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space-mermaid-writing · 2 years

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The witchling and the god [Loki x Witch!Reader] Chapter 11

Summary: The Avengers were looking for someone to help Loki fit in with the team. To become socially acceptable, so to speak. He had been given the choice of sitting in a cell in Asgard or serving some sort of community service probation on Midgard. The Avengers and Shield both felt that as long as Loki was on Earth, he should be under supervision. This is now your job. Why? Because you’re a witch. You’re not sure why this qualifies you, but here you are, giving it a shot. What could possibly go wrong?

Tags: Witch!Reader, Magic, Witches, slow burn, everybody lives in the tower, character development, Loki‘s redemption, Stephen Strange is a friend, Loki and Stephen are frenemies, Tony Stark is a good bro, kids love Loki, Tony has stupid nicknames for everybody, eventual smut

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Read it on AO3 | Previous | Next

Chapter's Note: Back to being undercover. Where were we? Ah, yes! Loki had you pressed to the wall and someone interrupted you.

For the next chapter I need a song you would dance to in your kitchen. Any suggestions? Beta by @zaria-04 <3

Chapter 11: The Witch Cave

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"

So much for the illusion. You remain very still under Loki, who only slowly detaches himself from you and half turns to the man. "My lady and I were just looking for an undisturbed place for a moment," he slurs, as if he were drunk, and in a foreign accent.

"Guests are not allowed down here." The man remains stubborn. You don't think it's a bouncer, he would have thrown you right out. Maybe one of the bartenders who was replenishing the drink supply.

Loki takes his hand from your lips and reaches into his jacket, from which he pulls out a some bills. From these he counts out a few and slides them to the man. "We'll be out of here in a few minutes."

You can hear the smirk from his voice and decide to wake up from your torpor and play your part of the role. You put your arms around Loki's neck and pull him back against you. Out of the corner of your eye, you register the man looking at you for a moment before starting to move.

"Next time I come by, you better be gone."

The footsteps move away and then a door opens and closes. After that, everything is silent.

Involuntarily, you breathe a sigh of relief.

You realize that your arms are still around Loki’s neck. You never want to let go of him again. Your gaze wanders to his lips. They're very close, far too close and very inviting. The corners of his mouth curl as if he knows what you're thinking, and when your gaze shoots back up to him, you notice his dark, hungry look. He hasn't moved an inch from you.

"Trouble?" Natasha suddenly asks into both of your ears, breaking the spell.

You peel away from each other and Loki steps aside, glancing into the small hallway.

"Everything’s fine," he replies curtly, answering her question and simultaneously informing you that the way is clear. His voice is rough and sends a shiver down your spine. The empty spot in front of you feels cold and missing something. You won’t get rid of the image of him so close very soon.

Silently you walk on. It seems to you as if the corridor is suddenly narrower, more stuffy. And not only because you are approaching the boiler room. It's the last door in the corridor. Up to this point, everything was lit by long neon tubes on the ceiling, but when you open the door, there is darkness behind it. Instead of looking for a light switch, Loki creates a small light that appears next to him with a flick of his wrist. Wordlessly, he takes your hand and leads you through the darkness. His fingers are warm, familiar. You would follow him so much further. Maybe everywhere.

Focus on the mission.

Another door leads you into a larger hallway, painted friendly. Immediately Loki lets go of your hand as if it were burning him.

To your left is the main staircase, to the right is first an office, then the witch's cellar. It's easy to spot because the door is painted with many, strange symbols.

"We've reached the target’s location," you inform Natasha and Clint briefly over comm.

The first thing to do is to bypass the protective spell that each witch sets up around their sanctum. You brought something specifically for that, because this part was predictable. You tell Loki to step back a bit. Then you take off a ring from your little finger, a narrow silver band with small symbols. With a few words and gestures, it unwinds. The silver dissolves, while the symbols remain glowing and increasing in size. You weave it into the door, which opens with a soft click. You don’t get the ring back.

You step inside and immediately the hair in the back of your neck stands up. "There's something off about this place...," Loki says, getting the same bad vibes.

"What is it? The skulls dangling from the ceiling or the dried blood splatters on the wall?" you reply sarcastically. You need some normality for this mission, to focus. You don’t care if it’s a defensive mechanism.

Furnishings-wise, not much has been done to the room; the walls and floor are bare concrete. Red and black are the only colors that add some variety. The skulls you mentioned are mostly from animals, but you're careful not to look too closely. There are several tables of utensils and ritual circles on the floor. You watch out not to step on them.

"Me cabinets, you shelves?"

Loki nods and you split up for the search.

You open the first cabinet and find trinkets, incense, and candles. All regular stuff, nothing special per se about it. In the next cabinet are books whose titles leave a sour taste in your mouth. Among witches there are no forbidden techniques, but there are some that are frowned upon, downright cruel. Most of the books here fall into this category.

One compartment further down you find an actual wand. They are rare and very powerful. You haven’t encountered many in your life and are fascinated to find it here of all places. And you are very tempted to take it, already reaching out for it. But before you touch it, you stop. There's no luck in stealing from a witch. You are here only for the gem, everything else should stay here. You close the cabinet and move on to the next one.

"I've got something here," Loki informs you. He holds a small box in his hands, inside is a gem looking exactly like the drawing in Strange's book. "The magic signature matches."

"You take it. I don't have pockets," you say, looking down at your dress.

Loki grins suggestively, then suddenly, as if listening, tilts his head. "We need to hurry. My illusion has been discovered." He puts the gem in his jacket pocket and you two bolt through the door. But you don't get far, when you can already hear rumbling footsteps approaching from the stairwell in the hallway. The Asgardian grabs your arm. "Hold on tight." Everything around you blurs briefly as he tries to magically take both of you outside. A sharp pain runs through you and you stand in the same place as before.

"Ouch!"

"I can't teleport!" Loki curses. The witch must have erected a magical barrier around the club, making magical entry or escape impossible.

Two guards come running down the stairs. Loki pushes himself between you and them, conjured daggers in his hands. At least other magic still seems to work. He sprints forward and attacks the men. It's not particularly hard, they're not really a match for him. Simple men with little training in combat. They are skilled enough to deal with common men at the club or maybe an armed burglar. But not an Asgardian god. It’s not a fair fight. Loki hardly needs to exert himself.

You stay in the background, putting your fingers to the device in your ear. "Natasha, we're spotted. Basement, near the office and the witch's cellar."

Surprisingly, you get no response. Just a short, ticked-off static. Something must be blocking the signal down here. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice movement and turn around. On the wall behind you, circles spread out from a point in the center, growing larger and larger. Like the rings on a water surface after a stone got thrown into it.

Daegal steps out of the wall into the hallway. His face darkens as he sees you two, becoming an angry grimace.

"Well, well, who do we have here? Two pathetic mages who want a piece of the pie?"

He has an accent you can’t quite place.

You don't answer, but immediately activate one of your rings by twisting the stone into your palm and closing it into a fist. Then you push your arm forward and a blast shoots from you, hitting the sorcerer and yanking him backwards. He is slammed against the wall at the end of the hallway and falls to his knees with an 'oof'.

"He's here," you call to Loki, who is busy with another guard who has just appeared.

Grimly, Daegal scrambles to his feet. He raises his hands in front of him, turning them clockwise in a circle. Suddenly, reality shifts in the long hallway. You fall to the ceiling as if the earth's gravity had turned. Loki feels the same way, as does the confused guard. Only the witch remains standing where he is. He moves his arms back a bit and you roll onto the wall, which is your new floor.

As if you were standing on a ship on the high seas, you are thrown to the left and to the right and sometimes upwards, whenever he circles his arms, falling from wall to ceiling to floor and back. Tomorrow you'll have a lot of bruises.

You yank yourself upwards and float into the air. You can still feel your center of gravity shifting, but you stay in the middle of the hallway. Then you dart toward the sorcerer. He tries to hold his spell in one hand, trapping Loki on the ceiling and hurls a defensive spell at you with the other. But you are faster and sweep him off his feet.

A hand to hand combat ensues between you. You're not skilled at it, basically just trying to keep him busy until Loki gets here. Luckily, Daegal doesn't seem to be good in close combat either. You dish out a few punches, dodging with little elegance. Whenever one gives the impression of starting a spell, they get a particularly strong blow.

The witch grabs your hair, pulls it. You ram him with your bare shoulder, which probably hurts you more than it hurts him. He grabs you roughly and with an angry growl, he shoves you away from him. You stumble a few steps back and fall on your butt. Your collarbone hurts, and with a glance down you notice that you have a bloody mark where Daegal scratched you. Silently you curse your clothes, which are absolutely not fit for combat. Next time you want an indestructible super suit.

You look up and see the witch licking his finger. Hot chills run down your spine as you realize your mistake.

He has your blood.

Reciting a spell, he reaches out his fingers to you. The tattoos on them begin to glow, the color moving under your skin to form a new symbol. Before you can react, your throat tightens and you choke. You try to call for Loki, for help, but no sounds come from your lips. Panic spreads in your body, beating in your closed throat. The feeling is familiar to you, a dark memory that you have neatly tucked away in a drawer of your brain that you never wanted to open again.

A rope around your neck. It's rough and itches your skin. You are not the first to find your end in it and probably won’t be the last. A small crowd has gathered for this spectacle. Their eyes stare at you with disgust, fear and hate. There is nothing but an old barrel under your feet and you are trying not to move, not to lose your balance and summon the inevitable.

The rope is tied to a tree. The town's too small for its own place of execution. The words of the people reach your ear only muffled, single scraps of words. Fear beats too loudly in your ears and throat.

Someone kicks the barrel, you lose your footing and fall. A jolt goes through the rope, all at once your breath stops and you tear your eyes wide open in panic…

A green beam shoots over you and suddenly you manage to take a breath. You feel like someone pulled you back into the present. Your gasping has turned into a cough, in a desperate attempt to get air into your lungs. You blink away the tears from your eyes.

When you look up, you see that Loki has taken the witch to fall and is attacking him with two clones of him. In his fingers he holds the gem you stole from the witch cave. All three are making the same moves. The witch fights back, reaching through an illusion, which immediately disappears. He gets stabbed, stumbles. A tattoo on his neckline lights up and he grabs the two Lokis by the arm, sending lightning bolts into them. The doppelganger dissolves. The real Loki grits his teeth, but makes no sound of pain. He lunges with his dagger, but the attack is blocked. You scramble to your feet, forcing your body to start moving.

Another lightning attack. It paralyzes Loki for a split second, but it's enough for Daegal to disarm him. You grab him by the shoulder from behind. Surprised, he turns to you, but before he can attack you, you ram your knee into his crotch. With a high-pitched gasp, he doubles over and lets go of Loki.

Immediately the Asgardian is back on his feet and grabs the witch by the hair. A new dagger appears in his hand, which he puts to his neck. But before he can hurt him, you give Loki a sign to wait.

Your fingers still hold onto the fabric of Daegal's shirt. You mumble a few words.

Loki waits to see what happens, probably expecting you to finish it yourself. Then he notices the snake bracelet coming to life, moving down your arm like a real animal made of gold. It coils once around the sorcerer's neck, then hisses and bites him in the crook of the neck, buries its teeth deep in the flesh.

Daegal gurgles, then collapses, powerless.

Loki drops him to the ground. "Poison?" he asks you as you kneel down to pick up the snake again. You guide it to your arm, where it coils around again. With a single word, it freezes into jewelry again. Only then do you shake your head.

"He'll only forget this night," you reply, looking down at the body. "Witches shouldn't kill each other."

After all, you broke into his house. He was merely defending himself. Even if his witch cellar looks very suspicious and Daegal seems like a douchebag in general. That’s not enough to take his life.

Loki says nothing to this and puts the gem back in his pocket. You don't know if he agrees with you or disapproves of your decision.

Together you walk to the door that leads to the stairwell. It has become quiet, which seems suspicious. The both of you exchange a glance. Loki goes first.

On the next floor, he sees two more guards taken out, lying on the stairs. Natasha is taking their weapons from them. "There you are," she greets you. "Did you find it?"

"Yes."

"Good, then let's get out of here. Clint will get us off the roof."

Together, you continue walking upstairs. Just as you pass the floor leading to the club, the door opens and more security comes out. This time in a different, heavier uniform. Seems like someone called in the professionals. Your group hurries up to put more distance between you.

You stop briefly at the top of a stairhead and place your fingers on the floor. With a quick command, the steps fold in, becoming a smooth ramp that is a far more difficult obstacle for your pursuers.

Shots are fired and you yelp as you are hit in the shoulder. Quickly, you continue running upstairs. You hear more gunfire and duck your head, but don't stop moving. Gritting your teeth, you keep on your way. There is no alternative. Stopping means dying. Or worse.

Loki appears at your side, shielding further attacks with his body.

The guards aren't held long by your spell, you hear their heavy boots following you. But by then you've reached the door to the roof. It's locked, but with a kick from Loki it flies open, almost torn off its hinges. Asgardians have unparalleled strength.

As soon as you step out, you hear Clint's voice over comm. "Got visual."

You hear a low whirring sound before an arrow hits the side of the roof entrance. A metal rope is strung from it, reaching to the neighboring building where the archer is waiting. Natasha and Loki exchange a look and the Asgardian gestures. "Ladies first."

The Widow nods and steps onto the parapet. There, she pulls a hook from the belt of her leather pants, using it to secure herself to the wire rope that stretches almost horizontally. Then she nimbly climbs hanging on the rope to the other building.

Next Loki turns to you, but you watch in horror what Natasha is doing, your gaze wandering to the abyss between the two buildings. You must be seven stories high. Behind you, you hear rumbling from the stairwell.

"Hurry up," Loki urges, pulling you to the edge of the roof. You fidget in his grasp.

"No way!"

"I thought you could fly."

"I can float. There’s a difference. Even if I could fly, I wouldn't. I'm really not a fan of heights." You don't even dare look down over the edge of the roof. You feel like you're going to be sick. "I can't climb over there."

"You'll have to, I still can't teleport from here." Loki climbs up onto the small parapet. "Come on, we'll do this together."

Another security guard comes rushing up to the roof. Before he can fire his weapon, he is hit by an arrow and stumbles back. You have a choice between death by fall or death by bullet.

Loki takes the decision from you by grabbing your arm and pulling you up to him. He wraps his arm around your waist and you automatically lay yours around his neck to hold onto him. Briefly, you flinch as his clothes touch your wound.

"How are we going to do that?" you ask him, because there's no way either of you can climb like this.

"Loki, remember New York?" Clint asks.

The Asgardian hesitates for a split second.

"Yes."

You hear the whirring of an arrow. It's aimed directly at your companion, who turns a bit and catches it out of the air, just in time, before it hits his head. There is another wire rope on this arrow, just thinner. And at the end is a hook. Loki clamps it in place.

"Hold on tight," he commands you. You don't need to be told twice. A jolt goes through the arrow as you are pulled over as if by a winch. You close your eyes as your feet lose their footing. Loki's arm is wrapped tightly around your waist. You try to focus on him and not on possible death.

You only need a few seconds until you've reached the other side. Nat helps you climb through a window into the building. Loki follows you suit. Clint cuts the rope while Natasha fires a few shots at more guards who try to follow you. Then you start running. The building is an empty office complex, which makes it easier for you to escape. Without interruption, you run through the corridors to the first floor. After stepping on the street, your squad disappears unnoticed in the darkness of the night.

Shortly after, you're all sitting in the jet, heading home. Once you are in the air and have left the city behind, you breathe a sigh of relief.

Natasha is back behind the wheel. You don't know where she gets the energy to do this. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, fatigue sets in. But you still feel far too nervous to relax. You knead your hands between your fingers as the realization catches up about what happened. You've been fighting a witch and a whole bunch of security guards. You put Loki and yourself in danger because you were scared, you remember ashamed. You thought that at the crucial moment you would have reacted differently, acted more courageously. Sighing, you slump your shoulders. You have reached your goal, collected the piece of the artifact. There are no casualties on your side. That is all that matters.

You look up as Loki takes a seat beside you. His gaze lays on the gunshot wound on your shoulder. Fortunately it’s just a graze, but it hurts nonetheless. Blood has seeped down your arm, but dried down. The wound pinches and stings. An unpleasant feeling, but one that somehow grounds you. You are alive.

The Asgardian doesn't look half as battered, you enviously notice. But he's also much more used to fighting. As a prince of Asgard, it was part of his upbringing and from the stories of Norse mythology alone, you know that he and his brother had their fair share of adventures in the past.

"You're injured," Loki states the obvious and you look up, smiling tiredly.

"It's not so bad. I'll treat it at home." He extends his fingers.

"May I?" he asks and you nod. He puts his fingers on your wound, which closes in a greenish glow. That’s convenient. Loki also immediately summons a blanket to put around you. You're glad; you're still only wearing the short dress, and as fatigue creeps into your muscles, so does the cold.

"Thank you." You rest your head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I kept us on the roof."

"Merely an inconvenience," Loki waves it off. "Some fears are not rational. I understand that you have no control over it."

"I know, but still. That was unprofessional and put you in unnecessary danger."

"There was no real danger for me. And besides, in the fight against the witch you were outstanding."

"Yeah, that was pretty cool," you say smiling. But then you remember the choking and your heart clenches again. Better not to think about it. "I'm pretty beat. Can you wake me up before we arrive if I fall asleep?"

"I will," Loki promises.

You look around to figure out which position is most comfortable for sleeping. Unfortunately, the jet isn't really set up for that. There are individual seats for the pilot and co-pilot and otherwise just the barely padded benches at the walls where you sit. You wonder if Loki could conjure up a bed for you if you asked him to, but that would be a little weird. So the bench will have to do. You move a bit away from Loki, pull your legs up and lie down on your side. It's narrow, but there's enough room if you don't move.

"Put your head on my lap. Otherwise you'll hurt yourself in a turbulence," Loki instructs you.

Far too knocked out to question his offer, you simply accept it and move a little closer. He puts his hand loosely on your waist and thus prevents you from possibly rolling off the bench.

Although you're tired, you can’t sleep, only short episodes of dozing and half-sleep. Sometimes you blink, get blinded by the artificial light and close your eyes again. The buzz of the jet remains a constant background noise. Wrapped in the blanket and with Loki by your side, you trust him to watch over you.

You feel like you're dreaming, reliving the past few hours. Your body is twitching, processing what has happened, not yet understanding that you are no longer in danger. Loki looks down at you, sees your furrowed brows, the tense facial features. He lays his fingers on your head and sends you some soothing thoughts that seem to calm your body.

As he turns his head, he notices the Widow watching him from the bench across. She and the archer switched places a while ago. Clint now flies the jet so she can get some rest. She leans against the wall, one leg pulled up. But until she is back in the tower, she remains alert. She is a professional.

She doesn't shy away when their eyes meet. Natasha merely raises an eyebrow, taking in the unusual caring scene in front of her. Loki says nothing, doesn't even respond with a gesture. He doesn't want to wake you up, doesn't want to interrupt your much needed rest. Besides, he already knows that he has to be careful what he says to the Widow. She's smart, much smarter than he thought she was when they first met back in the helicarrier. Now they may be on the same team, but Loki won't underestimate her again.

He wakes you up as New York comes into view. Your eyes immediately shoot open as he gently shakes you. Your head still rests on his lap and you wonder if Loki has moved even an inch in the last few hours.

"We are almost there," he informs you as you sit up and stretch your limbs. They're a little stiff from being cramped on that small bench.

Through the large windshield in front of the pilot's seat, you see that it's still night, but there's a narrow strip of light on the horizon. It won't be long before the sun rises. You know you'll fall right back into bed in the tower anyway. Right after you've eaten something.

And you still have to hand over the artifact part to Stephen. But as you land, Loki offers to take over the task and you are grateful to him for it. You texted Stephen that you were successful, but there was no response from him yet. That means you still have to walk through Manhattan to the Sanctum, and you really don't have the energy for that anymore.

Secretly, you hope that it will take a little while for you to find the third and final part of it. For now, you've had enough action-packed adventures. The next mission can wait a little longer.

The morning has just dawned when Loki is standing in front of the doors on Bleecker Street. It's been a while since he was last here, and his last visit didn't exactly leave him with pleasant memories. Surprisingly, the doors still open for him without hesitation. Cautiously, Loki steps inside, bracing himself for the possibility that the floor might open under him and swallow him. But nothing of the sort happens.

He stands in the empty entrance hall. The master of the Sanctum should be notified of his arrival, but no one appears. On the other hand, Loki wouldn’t be surprised if Strange simply ignores him.

He is very tempted to just throw the gem on the floor and leave. Before he can decide to do so, however, a door to his right opens and a man steps out. He wears robes similar to Strange's, but is shorter. He is biting into a sandwich when he notices Loki.

For a long second, he just stares at him in surprise. Then suddenly the sandwich is gone and a trapping pentagram appears under Loki's feet. The man creates two glowing Ruby Rings of Raggadorr on his fists and eyes him suspiciously, clearly wary about the sudden appearance of an Asgardian god in the Sanctum.

"I'm looking for Stephen," Loki huffs, partly amused about the reaction, partly annoyed. He tries to move his legs but can't take his feet off the ground.

The man frowns. "The Sorcerer Supreme is currently unavailable. He's-…" He is interrupted as a portal opens at the foot of the grand staircase and Stephen stumbles out. His face is sooty and his clothes are partially burned.

"I fucking hate hell," Strange mutters under his breath. Then he notices that he isn't alone and he clears his throat. "Wong? Loki? Am I interrupting something?"

"The Sorcerer Supreme will see you now," Wong says to Loki and turns away, his sandwich back in his hands.

The pentagram remains under his feet.

"Your cloak is on fire," Loki points out, looking at it.

Stephen turns his head and looks down at the red fabric. "It is," he states, clearly not alarmed about the fact. Then adds, obviously not addressing Loki, "I told you to stop doing that." He moves his hands for a spell to put the fire out but the cloak rises from his shoulders and darts up the stairs, "Don't get anywhere near the curtains!"

Sighing, the sorcerer runs a hand through his singed hair.

"Should I be worried that your cloak is an arsonist?" Loki asks with a raised eyebrow.

"It's fireproof, but it likes the way flames tickle it."

"Sounds like an arsonist." It's probably a miracle that the Sanctum Sanctorum hasn't burned to the ground yet.

"Anyway, why are you here?" Strange demands to know.

Instead of answering the question, Loki points to the pentagram under his feet. "Could you...?" Stephen does a motion and the Asgardian is able to use his legs again.

"We got the second piece of 'Bloodweeper'.”

"Great," Stephen replies, holding out his hand.

Loki looks at it without moving a bit. "Don't you want to know where or how we got it?"

"Listen, I just came straight out of hell. Like literal hell, and it was a very long day. I'm sure you had fun on your little adventure, but I'd really like to take a shower and go to bed." Stephen looks very tired and very human.

Loki grits his teeth and is very tempted to just turn around and demonstratively leave him standing there. But that would mean he would have to come back another day, and he prefers to keep contact with the sorcerer to a bare minimum.

He summons the gem from his pocket dimension. But holding it in his hands, he is suddenly hesitant to give it to Strange. He looks at the clear structure of the gem, remembering the power that resides in it and that had passed through him when he used it against Daegal.

The sorcerer takes the gem from his hand.

Loki blinks and raises his head. "It really does amplify powers extraordinarily," he mentions, just to say something.

Strange is about to turn to leave, seeing the matter settled, but stops and narrows his eyes. "You used it?"

"It just sort of happened." The Asgardian shrugs, his eyes back on the gem in Strange's hand. "The owner was reluctant to hand it over."

The sorcerer lets the piece of the artifact float between his fingers. Then it vanishes into his own pocket dimension, drawing Loki out of his stare.

"Where are you taking it?" The Asgardian asks with interest.

"Somewhere safe." The answer is as short as it is cold.

The aversion between the two men is palpable. Strange harbors a healthy distrust of the Asgardian, while Loki has a personal dislike for Strange.

"I didn't vote for you," Loki clarifies, just in case Strange hadn't caught on to his dislike yet. "You know, to be Sorcerer Supreme."

Frankly, Strange cares very little for Loki's opinion. His thoughts have long since turned to the shower that still awaits him. "You haven't been there for the voting."

"If I had been, I still wouldn't have voted for you." With that, he turns and leaves. Luckily, because Strange is about to open a portal under Loki's feet and drop him endlessly for the next few hours so he can finally have his peace.

___________________________________

So much is going on: you and Loki being physical close. Fighting a witch. A piece of your past is revealed. And Loki and Stephen are perfect frenemies.

Don't forget to tell me your song suggestion for hips shaking dance in the kitchen!

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#loki x y/n #Loki x reader #loki layfeyson x you #loki laufesyon x reader #Loki x you #imagine loki #the witchling and the god #imagine marvel #mcu prompt #loki odison x reader #marvel x reader #mcu x reader #loki fanfction #slow burn #loki odinson #loki laufeyson

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bubblyhoney · 3 years

Note

sarah i have thought of another fic request or like a cute idea i guess! i didn’t have anyone in mind when i thought of it so you can write it for whoever you want honestly :)

okay so the reader is a streamer but streams games like animal crossing, standew valley, etc. then (insert who you’re writing for) says they don’t like that game, but later ends up buying it and the reader is like “i thought you said you didn’t like this game” and they’re like “well i like you” and they confuses their feelings and they end up playing the game together and reader gives them a tour of their island or farm

i feel like this request isn’t good, but the scenario seemed cute and i wanted to share it. sorry if this is confusing or just too specific cuz i know it can be hard to write requests like that! but yeah i hope it gives you inspiration and you like the request <3

new horizons

warnings: language, a Marvel reference (hint: natasha said it about tony), stupid idiots who don’t realize they like each other, use of pet names, Uno rage, Hasan Piker's presence

words: 1473

tags: sapnap x gn!reader

A/N: i’ve been trying to catch up a little on my requests (i’ve only got a couple so i’m not super overwhelmed) but school and outside life has been taking up most of my time so this one took me a while to make! tbh— ive never played animal crossing so i did google some of the game mechanics and i apologize if anything is inaccurate about the game…. but i liked relaxing and writing this cute one so thank you for requesting hails :3

requests/inbox status: open

“This game is trash.”

Your head quirks, fingers stopped on the screen. You’re in the process of giving your character a cute new nickname; it’s kind of hard to decide between “awkward dude” and “elderly skater”.

“Excuse me?” Your chat comes alive with emotes and ‘KEKW’s, obviously entertained by you and your almost-more-than-friends-friend.

There’s a story for that later.

Sapnap’s rough laugh comes through your headset and he audibly swallows, the sound of a water bottle dropping onto his desk echoing.

“I’m just saying—it’s boring. It’s like Minecraft but you don’t like… do anything.” The grainy image of his bearded face shifts and you see him pull out his phone.

“It’s— you can’t even compare it to Minecraft! It’s a completely different game system—you actually interact with other people live in the game.” You huff out a dramatic sigh, slumping in your chair with a pout. “Just because you go into this lucid state where all you know is ‘touch block, hit George’ doesn’t mean this game isn’t fun.” (He scoffs at your awful impression of his voice. Your viewers love it.)

“Jeez,” he mumbles, fumbling with the cap of his water bottle. “Touched a nerve there, bud.”

You roll your eyes, getting back to the village in the game.

“Don't ‘bud’ me.”

The call falls comfortably quiet, the sounds of him tapping obsessively on his phone and you clicking away filling the silence. A gentle bedroom-pop YouTube playlist remains in the background, prompting you to hum along and glance at the chat to see a flood of “check twitter” and “Y/N TWITTER!!”.

“What happened on Twitter?” You mumble, confused, and pull the website up on another monitor. Sapnap just makes a curious noise, swinging back and forth in a circle. “Oh my God,” you say to yourself, fingertips brushing your parted lips.

“What?”

“Hasan Piker just followed me and retweeted one of my not even remotely political old tweets. Like from a year ago.”

“That’s— wow. Congrats?” Sapnap’s voice cracks, and his ears flush pink the tiniest bit when you glance at his face on Discord.

“I’m gonna go on record and say that he could get it.” You shake your head in disbelief.

Sapnap falls uncharacteristically non-hyper-verbal, so you look past the frenzied chat and to his screen— wait. He muted and turned his camera off.

“Um,” you start, furiously typing question marks in your private chat. “Where’d you go?” You mute and turn screen share off for your stream, concerned that he might’ve fallen off his chair and broken his neck and needs you to call the ambulance.

The characteristic ding of a twitter notification sounds through your bedroom, and you look at your phone quickly.

“That’s where I went.”

Sapnap Tweeted: “all Y/U stans can choke on my dick”.

“Jesus, Sapnap,” you say, and rapidly refresh to read the replies. This tweet was deleted. “That’s so— that barely makes sense, bro. Why— literally what?”

His snicker floods your ears and you relax in your chair. Crisis: averted. “Don’t fucking— what’s wrong with you?”

“I thought it would be funny,” he offers, shrugging, and fiddles with the straw in his water bottle, smile fading. “And also Hasan pisses me off.”

“Why, ‘cause he wants a piece of this? Jealous?” You think back to your viewers, knowing they’re probably spamming question marks and coming to ludacris conclusions about both of your absences. No offense to them. You remember your stan days very vividly.

“I mean, kinda.” He rubs once at his nose, glancing at the camera (and what feels like you) before taking a sip from his water bottle.

“Wow.” You watch one strand of his hair fall from beneath his hat and brush against his full eyebrows. “I’m uh—I’ll get back to my stream. You coming? Or is it time for a Sapnap-snack?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He snorts and leans his chin onto the balance of his arm.

“That means you like to take a little snack break mid-stream and come back approximately nine hours later and you didn’t even eat.”

“You know what— fuck you.” He flicks the camera as you laugh at the look on his face.

The teasing mood is easily kept as you switch games from Animal Crossing to Uno, all the while slamming Sapnap with +4’s and skipping the newly-arrived BadBoyHalo at any chance you can get. It unironically pisses him off and he has to take a Sapnap-snack break midway through (only a fifteen minute break this time, during which you and Bad take a “What Kind of Bread Are You?” quiz). The rest of the night is filled with devious cackles (you), loud and sudden bangs that sound suspiciously like someone hitting their desk in anger (Sap) and the stupid barking of Rat, AKA Lucy (Bad). She’s cute but a menace to the sound quality of Bad’s microphone. You sign off stream around 2 a.m. with various forms of thanks and kisses blown to the camera. It’s been a refreshing night, actually; you’ve been busy organizing a partnership stream all week and all your friends have been busy filming or editing or what-not. Quackity had time for a little Roblox every couple of days, though. He’s got your back.

The next time you see Sapnap is after a two hour stream of him try-harding in Valorant and you finishing responding to an email from your partnership in the VC.

“Okay, I’m back.” You hear him shift in his chair and click a couple more times on his keyboard. You perk up in your chair, closing the email browser you’d been looking at.

“Do you want to play anything else? I’m down for anything.”

“Absolutely not Uno. You can go to hell for giving me 6 cards that one time,” he jabs. You scoff, crossing your arms and leaning back in your chair.

“Okay, the +4 was on me but it’s Bad who gave you the last two. That’s not my fault, sweetie.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbles, trailing off as the clicking of his keyboard stops. “Hey, um—Guess what?”

Your heart beats loud in your ears at the tone of his voice. He sounds nervous; that’s never good.

“I’m scared to guess,” you try, playing with a little Minecraft dog figurine you have on your desk with fidgety fingers. “What?”

“I bought Animal Crossing.”

Silence. You stare at his discord icon blankly, trying to reroute the wires of your brain.

“Tell me you love it.”

“Well… I haven’t actually played it— but you said you liked it, so.”

“So,” you repeat him, ears warming but continuing on. “Is that what you tell all your friends when you buy something they like? That it's because of them?”

He seems to choose his next words carefully, pausing a beat to consider your questions.

“Well, I don’t have a crush on all of my friends.”

“You—what?” You stutter, caught off guard and stumbling. What did he just say? “Don’t tell me you mean you have a crush on me.”

“I’m almost positive I just did.” His discord icon stares right back at you, taunting.

“You know, you’re very casual for someone who just admitted they like-like me.” Your cheeks flush pink and you have to press a hand to your chest to keep your breathing sounding stable.

“Yeah, I’m kind of cool like that,” he offers, a huff of a laugh punctuating his statement. The conversation moves into a lull that you can’t help but know is because of you. He must expect you to say something about it, right?

“You are very cool, Sapnap.” You tilt back in your chair, sucking in a breath to prepare yourself for your next words. “And—Isortakindofhaveacrushonyoutoo.”

He must understand you, for you can hear the grin in his voice when he asks “Really?”

“Y-yeah.” You feel like a preteen again, all shaky and giddy in front of the boy you just asked to a middle school dance.

“Um, alright. What do we do now?”

“I don’t know,” you answer genuinely and swing in a happy little circle in your chair. “We could play Animal Crossing.”

“I’m down.”

You swear you’ve never heard more beautiful words.

He keeps his camera off for most of the time you two play, too focused on creating his island and asking you questions about how to fish to turn it on. He silently flips it on when you help him decorate his lawn, needing to show you in real-time the decorations he has bought and where you think he should put them. He looks cute. I mean, of course he does. He always does.

You tell him goodbye late in the night, eyes saying a little more than just “see you tomorrow”.

You like him. He likes you.

It’s even better when you two have matching gardens.

A/N: anybody and everybody (especially my precious hailey) let me know what you think!! :]

#sapnap #mcyt #sapnap x gn!reader #sapnap x reader #sapnap x you #sapnap fluff #sapnap drabble #sapnap oneshot #bubblyhoneyfics #honey answers #mcyt x reader #🥚except small

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dangerouslyallaboutdraco · 3 years

Note

Hello!! May I please have a Draco Malfoy x Fem!Reader where they are making out and get caught by her overprotective older brother? And so they try to explain themselves and stuff bit her brother ends up taking the reader with him and just her brother being worried about her absanana

Found out

A/n: Of course !! I adore getting these requests. I chose the reader to be the sister of Cedric, just because the prompt sounded a lot like how I imagine him but feel free to request another character. This is set during 4th year and is an AU where Cedric doesn't die. Also slightly sexual towards the end

Being Cedric Diggory's younger sister was difficult, the popular Hufflepuff always had a crowd hanging around him but he and Y/n weren't completely alike.

When the Triwizard tournament was announced Y/n had begged him not to put himself in danger. But Cedric wanted to win that cup, and he was stubborn. Of course, she was beyond proud of him when his name flew out of the cup but she couldn't stop the bad feeling in her stomach.

"Cedric, you know you don't have to do this," Y/n begged him once she'd pulled him out of dinner one night. The sibling pair didn't talk to each other much during the school day, due to their differing social circles, but they were close.

She stood next to him in an alcove near to the big doors where the rest of the school was sitting.

"Y/n, if I win this mum and dad are going to be so pleased." He had the proudest look she had ever seen him with. Such a wide smile.

Growing up he was always the more carefree one, willing to get on a broom before their parents allowed them, climbing any tree around their house and getting into any number of bad situations for his friends. He was a risk-taker, Y/n knew that. But he was the most honest person she knew and if he said he would be okay, then it would be okay.

"Just be safe, okay? I'll see you out there tomorrow." She made him promise as she gave him a hug.

Cedric nodded and pulled away. "I promise, don't worry about me. Get some sleep." He told her, still fulfilling his protective older brother duties.

Y/n didn't notice Cho Chang until she stood next to Cedric, threading her fingers in his in a way Y/n hadn't seen before. She had heard the rumours that her brother was going out with Cho but wanted to wait until he confessed.

"Sorry to interrupt." Cho started, smiling awkwardly at Y/n who quickly cut in.

"No, don't worry. You can take him." Y/n told her with her own soft smile to let Cho know she didn't mind.

She looked relieved at that, clearly not wanting to piss off her apparent boyfriend's sister this close into their relationship. "It's nice to officially meet you, Ced talks about you a lot," Cho replied as she held out her hand for Y/n to shake.

Y/n had only ever heard their mother call Cedric 'Ced' and that was when they were really young and he was feeling sick but she thought the nickname proved their relationship was close.

"Yeah, you too." They did know each other, only by mutual classmates and Y/n found it mature she introduced herself.

"Okay, we should go, I'll talk to you later, Y/n," Cedric said, breaking the slight awkward tension he had created and turning the girls' attention back to him. When Y/n looked at him he looked awkward as he bit his lip and shifted his weight around.

Y/n raised her eyebrows at him and made it obvious she was looking at the couples joint hands. "Yeah, we will talk later." Her sarcastic tone made him gulp but made Cho laugh.

They walked off together, joining some of their other mutual friends and leaving Y/n there.

Instead of walking to her own dorm room, she waited until the hallway was quiet from students leaving the hall and snuck into the dorm room of her favourite Slytherin.

Draco was waiting for her, as he had done for the past 2 months since they started dating. Unlike Cedric, she could keep a relationship secret.

"How did it go?" He asked her cautiously, pulling her into a hug in the doorway.

Y/n was surprised by his embrace but welcomed it as she finally let herself, for the first time since Dumbledore readout Cedric's name, relax in his arms. "Badly." She replied, finally pulling away from his warm body.

Draco pulled her over to his bed, sitting on it and patting the spot next to him for her to sit. "Tell me about it, love." He insisted.

She sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I don't want him to get hurt, he's always been so protective of me and now I feel like I need to be because he's doing something stupid that could get him killed." Draco was the one person she could really speak honestly to which surprised her when they first got close.

"I know you think that but a lot of people volunteered to compete, they wouldn't have if it wasn't safe. Even stupid Potter got accepted despite being too young." He tried to reassure her, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tighter. "They wouldn't even have the tournament if it wasn't safe."

Y/n let out a huffing sound, knowing Draco was completely correct. "Thank you. I just need him to be okay."

"I know, he will be. And you never have to thank me for being here." There was that sweet smile that she adored. It wasn't something a lot of people got to see and that made her more grateful.

The couple sat together for a minute, the fall and rise of Draco's chest syncing with hers.

Then she spoke. "Can I stay here?"

"Yeah, of course." He agreed, smiling down at her again. And maybe it was the widest grin she had seen on his face.

It wasn't how either of them pictured their first night together like, but as Y/n drifted off to sleep in his arms she was infinitely more relaxed. And Draco didn't want her to get up and leave as she did every night.

"What colour is your dress?" Draco asked Y/n, one particular evening they spent up at the astronomy tower. Keeping their relationship secret was difficult but they both knew hiding places and the astronomy tower was one of their favourites.

It was quiet at night, a nice peaceful quiet. As the weather got colder naturally the nights were too and being up there meant they were bundled up in coats and blankets to not catch a cold.

Y/n looked over at him, focusing on his dark features instead of the bright stars. "I'm not letting you see it before the big night." She grinned at him.

"No, I want to match my tie." There was a shy smile on his face, something she didn't see much. "So tell me."

She rolled her eyes, still smiling at him. "Silver." She had picked the dress out the day the Yule ball was announced. At first, she thought of going for his favourite, green, but she knew he would love the dress.

He nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard. Will you at least dance with me?"

There was a desperate, insecure look in his eyes. "Yeah, we'll sneak out." Thankfully, he didn't look disappointed.

Tonight was the big night. Y/n found it hard to recognise her classmates dressed in their best clothes. The whole castle was decorated beautifully.

She has been waiting for Draco on the top of the staircase but when he didn't turn up she made the walk down the stairs herself, being careful not to trip with her heels.

That was when she saw him, at the bottom of that stairs. He was dressed in a white and black suit with a shiny silver bowtie and his hair was done slicked back, just how you liked it.

"Merry Christmas, you look beautiful," Draco told her as she met him at the bottom of the stairs, trying to look as inconspicuous to their peers as possible.

She has already received her Christmas gift from Draco, a stunning pear-shaped emerald necklace set in expensive gold. On the back of the gold setting was his initials 'D.L.M'

"Thank you for my gift, it's gorgeous," Y/n said, toying with the pendant in her fingers.

"You're gorgeous." He returned the comment. He was trying and failing, not to make it look like he was staring at her.

"You can get your gift tonight." She smiled, thinking about the gold watch she had waiting in her dorm for him. It was more than ironic they brought each other such similar jewellery, they were soulmates. "And also, you look amazing." Gently she let herself touch the bowtie, straightening it.

Draco grinned down at her, consumed by the smell of her perfume when she was so close to him. He had to fight every urge not to kiss her. "Ready to go in?" He gestured to the ballroom door.

She nodded, grabbing his pinky finger discreetly so she could touch him without anyone else seeing them.

They stood close to each other in the crowd of other students while the competitors walked through with their dates. Cedric briefly locked eyes with his sister, not noticing whose hand she was holding as he paraded his own date through the entrance.

Y/n grinned at both him and Cho, impressed by her dress. Then they split to dance with their own friends, trying to ignore the urges they were both fighting to kiss each other.

"Follow me," Y/n whispered into his ear once the ball had died down. Most of the students were leaving off beds they didn't belong in.

Draco's heart started to race as he watched the silver figure walk out of the room. He waited just long enough to see her disappear before racing out himself, hoping but not really caring if anyone noticed.

Once he reached the corridor he seemed to have lost her, a few other students were mingling around but his face dropped at the thought of her leaving him hanging.

He took a left, walking through the corridor before he found a wooden door he wasn't sure he'd seen before. Twisting the doorknob open he revealed Y/n who was standing in a small room he hadn't seen before.

"Missed you tonight." She grinned, pulling him over to her. They could still hear the slow songs playing from the ballroom and with her hands wrapped around his neck and his around her waist they began to sway.

"Missed you too." He whispered in her ear, as they danced. It was peaceful and far more quiet than the ballroom was.

When she finally looked up at him, he was staring right back down at her. His pupils were enlarged, and not just from the dark. She knew he needed something.

They were so close she could taste the punch on his breath and a hint of the cologne he put on at the start of the night. She lent up an inch and he met her lips. Unlike their usual soft kisses, this one was filled with more need.

He didn't let up either, gently slipping his tongue into her mouth. She moved her hands through his hair, tugging slightly at the blonde ends and making him groan with an open mouth. He moved his hands up from her waist, gently tracing up and down the sides of her boobs.

"Can see right down your dress, making me crazy," Draco mumbled once he pulled away to breathe, leaving both their lips wet. He slurred his words whenever he was feeling needy for her.

She grinned at him, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him back in. He groaned again and pulled her body closer to him. They were so close as their lips and tounges continued to intertwine that she could feel his body pressed up against hers, pinning her to the wall.

Suddenly through closed eyes, they could feel the room getting lighter. Draco pulled away from her quickly, spinning around to the door.

There stood Cedric. With a frown on his face.

"Y/n Diggory, what is going on?" Cedric asked sternly. She had seen her brother made over Quidich games, or when their parents told him off but he was fuming. His eyes were angry as he glared between the pair.

She didn't want to talk to him. She just wanted to be with her secret boyfriend that nobody knew about until now. "Nothing." She mumbled her faced flushing red due to her annoyance with her brother disciplining her.

When she met Cedric's eyes he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at Draco. "We're together. We have been for a while." He quickly answered. Y/n wasn't expecting that, now looking at her brother he almost looked as shocked as angry.

"No, no way," Cedric said strictly. "There is no way this is happening." He put his hands over his eyes like it would stop the recurring image of his younger sister making out with her boyfriend.

"Stop being so dramatic." Y/n shot back at him, finally feeling less embarrassed and angrier herself. "You have no say over what I do."

"Can we go somewhere else and talk about this?" Cedric asked more calmly, refusing to look at Draco anymore.

"Why?!" Y/n spat back at him. Although they were both quick to tempers they didn't often fight. This was an anomaly for their relationship but due to their joint stubborn tempers, neither of them could stop it now.

He glared at Draco and then back at Y/n. "Because I need to talk to you!" He told her, grabbing her arm so he could pull her away from Draco.

Draco let her go, still in shock himself and Y/n let Cedric pull her away. "I'll be back." She told her boyfriend.

Cedric pulled Y/n back into the corridor, taking her to a secluded alcove. "What is wrong with you?" She quickly argued with him.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?!" He mocked her, still fuming.

She rolled her eyes and huffed. "Right, I'm going back to my boyfriend." She said, tugging her arm out of his grasp.

"No, wait." His tone turned desperate as he pleaded. "Y/n, come on." There was a softness in his voice she hadn't heard today. "I'm sorry for yelling. I'm just shocked." His face was softer now as well now.

"I just hate it when you talk to me like I'm a child." Clearly one of the siblings was more stubborn.

"I know." He was being much more reasonable. "You're really with Draco Malfoy or was that a lie?"He finally found the courage to ask.

Y/n looked at him with disgust. "What? He wouldn't like someone like me?" She defended quickly.

"No, I'm not saying that. There's a lot of things that people say about him." That made her even madder.

"Draco is not what people say he is." She quickly defended, it was true. There were a lot of lies people said about him.

Now it was Cedric's turn to huff. "Really? Have you not heard stories about him hooking up with girls? All the girls he danced with tonight?"

"Shut up." Y/n pushed his chest. "He's not like that. We've been dating for 3 months." Cedric didn't say anything else, he just stood there like he was judging her. "And also I treated Cho very nicely so I would appreciate it if you did that same thing to my boyfriend." She finished not wanting to listen to him anymore. She stomped off back to Draco who now stood with his hands in his pockets near the Diggory siblings but far enough he couldn't hear.

Once she reached him she felt calm as her features relaxed. "Hi, sorry." She smiled, reaching out to hold his hands.

With their hands together at the bottom of the staircase, she leant in and kissed him on the lips, not worried about who was seeing. "Getting bold, Diggory." Draco smiled at her once she pulled away.

"If my possessive, seriously annoying older brother can't do anything about it, why not flaunt it, Malfoy?" Y/n questioned with a wide grin on her face.

She noticed his eyes shift off her and to someone standing behind her. He took his hands off her and stuck one out. "It's nice to officially meet you." Y/n then noticed her older brother standing next to her.

"You too," Cedric replied, shaking his hand. Y/n could tell he wasn't completely genuine but let Draco assume he was.

Maybe, it would be alright.

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levis-hazelnut · 3 years

Text

Summary: when you and your best friend, Hanji, were younger, you had made up stories about your dream guys - what they would look like and how you would meet. What happens when the one you had made up appears to be real?

Warning(s): mentions of abuse (if you squint). Please do tell me if there are anymore.

Taglist: closed

Status: completed!

part 1 > part 2

series masterlist

(a/n: i love mikasa, she’s a queen. But I’m sorry because she’s gonna be a bitch in this lol)

"(Y/N)! (Y/N)! (Y/N)! (Y/N)!!!!!!!!" Before that call, I was peacefully eating lunch with my friends and didn't wish for any interruptions from my crazy, loud best friend. I was just sitting there with some of my calm friends that I was in the mood for; quietly speaking about life, no stress, no laughter, no loud talking - just nice conversation. Other times (most of the time), however, I would be in the mood for my best friend, wanting laughter, craziness and loud talking. But this wasn't one of those times... So why the hell was she here sprinting and screeching for me? "(Y/N)!!!!!!!" "For fuck's sake," I murmured. "What do you want, Hanji?" I asked when she pushed off Connie, who was sitting opposite me, and sat in his place. She leaned forward and caught her breath as her gaze was not at me, but behind me. Before I could turn around, she grabbed my head and forced me to face her which made me frown. "What the hell is going on?" "Okay, so... Remember about five years ago when we would talk about our dream guy and meeting them later in life. And remember when we said that you would find your dream guy in university..."

"Hanji--" "Don't talk. Let me finish the story of the past." *FLASHBACK* With the sun beaming down on me and Hanji as we ate our lunch together on the grass, we stupidly and crazily told each other about our dream husbands. The appearance of my dream guy was based on a character from a show I watched. And because we were still young, horny and stupid, we let our imagination create stories of how we would meet our dream guy. Let's forget about Hanji's and skip to mine... So, Hanji had thought of it with that extraordinary brain of hers. She said that, "We would be having lunch with our new friends, and maybe some of our school ones like Connie, Eren, Sasha, Jean and Armin. Anyway, you would be talking to someone as I sit next to you, quietly eating--" "Hanji, that's already not going to be true. How are you going to be quiet?" "Hush, let me carry on. So, I'll be eating, maybe not quietly, and then I look around the canteen and see him... walking with his lunch in his hand. Standing there in his handsomeness, with black hair, grey eyes, a light complexion, emotionless expression. I don't know what his personality is when he's there, but his appearance is pretty similar to how we imagine him to be. I gasp and smack your shoulder many times to get your attention which you click your tongue at. I point towards him and you look where I'm staring, which is when you gasp as well, trying to find the words but I already know what you're going to say. And we get up and stalk him. As we do that, I spot his keys in his bag and cleverly take them, passing them to you. When he sits down, I tell you to give it to him but you're too shy so I push you forward until you're in his sight. He looks at you and you shyly hold them out to him, saying: 'I think these are yours. You dropped them'. And then he thanks you and you live happily ever after." "... That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. But, if that does happen, then I love you and your brain." And since that day, she kept on adding to the story which made me excited to meet my future husband. Of course, however, I knew this story of hers wasn't going to come true, no matter how young, horny and stupid I was. *END OF FLASHBACK* "Yes, Hanji, I remember that. But why are you telling me this?" "You idiotic fool! He's right there behind you!" "I swear, if you're lying--" "I'm not, I'm not!! Just look!" I slowly twisted my head to see the man I've wanted to marry for many years. Was he really there? Is Hanji just playing a prank on me? I took a deep breath and looked to see who she was talking about... And there he was, exactly how I had imagined. Well, maybe not exactly, but extremely similar. "Hanji, you already know what we're doing?" She vigorously nodded as both of us got up and raced towards him, and then slowed down when we got closer so we don't look like weirdos or creeps (which we technically were). He was holding no bag, but luckily, Hanji saw his credit card in his back pocket and somehow got it without him realising.

I never knew how much I loved her until this moment. This mysterious, kind of magical man sat down on a table with two of his other friends. But I could care less about them. Taking a deep breath, I tapped his shoulder and he looked up at me with the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. They may have had no shimmer or emotion in them, but they still entranced me. I didn't realise I was staring for too long until he spoke, "Are you just going to stand there and look at me, or actually say something, brat?" Maybe those weren't the first words I expected to hear, but at least it was something. His voice was deep and velvety and void of any emotion and I wanted to hear him speak more. It probably wasn't even that attractive to other people, but this was someone I had made up in my mind and he's right here in front of me, so I'm going to fall in love with every aspect with him. "Oh, sorry... Um, you dropped this," I said quietly and held out his card to him. He lifted an eyebrow at first before taking it from me, his fingers skimming my skin as he did that. "Hey, are you okay? Why do you keep staring into space like that?" "Uh, yeah, I-I'm fine. Just a little tired. Anyway, um... I'm going to go... eat my lunch. Bye." "Thank you, by the way, random person." I laughed lightly. "(Y/N)." "Thank you, (Y/N)." "So--" "Hey, (Y/N)!!" I mentally rolled my eyes when my name was called and my best friend appeared beside me, throwing an arm onto my shoulders. "What do you need, Hanji?" I murmured. "I just wanted to know who your new, little friend is. Looks like you were having fun." "Um, no. I just gave him his card since he dropped it." "Oh, so you're best friends now! Why don't you sit right next to him and have lunch together?" "Hanji," I said in a tone for her to back off. But she carried on anyway, pushing me onto the seat next to the man. "I'm so sorry about her. She's... insane." "I can tell," he said, eyeing both of us up and down. We were both definitely going to be the weirdos he should stay away from. "Well, you can go--" "(Y/N), I think you should stay! You seem like a delightful person!" the girl with pigtails opposite me squealed and I smiled at her. "It's nice to make new friends," a blonde male next to her stated with a polite smile. "Let her stay, Levi." "Oh, it's fine. My friends are probably wondering where I am," I stated, turning to find Hanji, but she wasn't there. "Shit," I mumbled. "What's wrong?" "Oh, nothing. I mean, I literally just came to give him his card and now I'm having lunch with you three. It's kind of weird." "'Him' has a name," he muttered bitterly. "It's Levi." "Sorry, Levi." I want to marry you, Levi. "You can leave now if you want." "Uh, yeah, I should probably go," I said and started to get up. "No, stay! Levi, you can't just push someone away!" the female with green eyes scolded him. "We barely even know her." "So? It's good to meet nice people and become friends." "Tch. You two can do whatever you want, then." "Maybe I can join you guys for lunch another time. Looks like Mr Moody doesn't want company." "Mr Moody?" he repeated and lifted an eyebrow at me. "You just met me and you're giving me that nickname?" "Uhh... I'm going to go now." "Bye, (Y/N)! I'm Isabel, by the way, and this is Farlan." "Bye, Isabel, Farlan. It was nice talking to you." I got up without addressing the raven-haired male and made my way back to my table, huffing as soon as I sat down. "I messed up bad," I complained to myself, causing the bald male beside me to inquire what happened. "It's nothing. Just me being stupid and childish to think that I'll magically be able to become some gloomy guy's girlfriend." "Who is this 'gloomy guy'?" "It's (Y/N)'s crush who's sitting right over there with that grinning girl and some other guy!" "Hanji, just forget about it. He hates me." "I've never seen him before," Connie stated, taking a secret glance at him. "We just saw him today as well." "And he's already your crush?" "Basically--" "Hanji, we promised that we won't tell anyone," I snapped. "It's stupid and I never want to talk about it again." "I mean, it's not really stupid if he's real. It could just be your fault because you were nervous and acted awkward around him. But then again, it could be my fault because I kind of forced you to sit next to him. Maybe I should let you do it your own way. So, for once, (Y/N), I won't get involved. I don't want this chance to go." "I doubt you'll be able to keep that promise." "I will! I don't want you to be annoyed and depressed forever. So you do whatever you want. And you can slap me if I get involved in the tiniest way." "Okay. Thank you, Hanji." "I'm still so confused," the baldie said. "Maybe I'll tell you one day, Connie. Maybe when I make progress." "Okay--" "Oh my god!! I just realised - he's actually real and right there!" I suddenly yelled, causing the canteen to quieten as students looked at me with confusion. "Ugh, I'm such an idiot. I need to stop making a fool out of myself. Did Levi look at me, Hanji?" "No. But he obviously still heard you." "God, I just want to die..." ~/~ Thanks to my roommate, I had to rush my morning routine and miss breakfast since I had to run to the university, which was about a five-minute walk away. Since I was running, however, it took me three minutes. I was definitely going to give Hanji what she deserves for not waking me up. I stumbled into the lecture hall to find that they had already started. I quickly apologised for being late and found a random spot to settle down and catch my breath. I took my laptop out of my bag and gulped on some water as I waited for it to load. And I soon got to work, focusing on the lecture and not taking notice of the people around me. As I was listening to my professor, someone beside me whispered my name and so I rotated my head to look at them. Act cool. Be calm, (Y/N). Just because you're taking the same course and you're going to see him more than you thought, doesn't mean you can freak out. "Do you have a pen I could borrow?" Levi asked in a hushed tone and I sifted through my clothes and bag to find a pen that he can use. After about a minute of looking, I found one at the bottom of my bag and passed it to him with a smile. He thanked me before both of us got on with our work. I could barely concentrate now that I knew who I was sitting next to, but I still tried my best. Towards the end of the lecture, which seemed like hours, my stomach rumbled and I froze and internally cringed. Why did that have to happen? Well, I didn't have breakfast so I guess it's understandable, but still. Shortly, I was able to leave, so everyone filed out and I packed my things away, slinging my bag over my shoulder as I made my way out. As I was leaving the hall, a familiar, husky voice called for me and I stopped. "You know, for someone that doesn't like people, you sure like saying people's names," I joked. "I was just going to give you your pen back and ask if you wanted to grab something to eat since it sounds and looks like you haven't had breakfast." "Shit, was my stomach that loud?" "I couldn't hear Professor Erwin," he said with no amusement, but something told me that he was just joking with me. I playfully rolled my eyes and let a small laugh escape my mouth before taking the pen from his hand and walking out with him following after me. "Hey, so yesterday, I was kind of in a bad mood which is why I acted like that. Though, I am usually cold and unfriendly and--" "What are you trying to say?" "Let's start over. Isabel and Farlan made me feel guilty, so let's get you some breakfast and know each other some more. All I know is that you and your glasses friend are weirdos." "Well, thank you very much for saying that, Mr Moody. We are weirdos, and we're proud." "Hey, Levi!" "Hey, (Y/N)!!" There were two different voices and two different names being called at the same time, yet they were coming from the same direction. Two sighs sounded when I saw Hanji and Levi saw Isabel. "What did I miss? Why are you two walking together?" Isabel asked. "We're going to get some breakfast. Since you, Hanji, never woke me up," I replied, arching an eyebrow and folding my arms over my chest. "I didn't know when your first lecture was, and I thought you would've put an alarm. How late were you?" "You weren't that late, you know. We started about a minute before you came." "So, I look like a mess and didn't make coffee for no damn reason? Ugh, I'm so glad I have no more lectures today." "Well, I need to head to my next lecture, so I guess I'll see you at home," Hanji smiled before fast-walking. "Me, too. Bye!" "Let's go?" I suggested and he nodded in response. Some words were spoken as we took our time in getting to a cafe that was a two-minute walk away. I told him a bit about myself, but he had very little to say as if he was hiding a shady past or something like that. Nevertheless, I didn't pry. "So you're not only a weirdo, but a perv as well?" "Hey! I'm not a pervert," I pouted, trying to fight back a smile. "It was a dare from Hanji... Though, I don't regret doing it," I muttered. "Perv." "Hush. Eren's ass is perfect to squeeze." "I don't want to know that," Levi said with a hint of disgust as he opened the door to the cafe, letting me go in first. We walked towards the queue and continued our conversation. "Well, if you want to start over and get to know me, then you have to know that I'm a weirdo, maybe a perv, and let's just say that you don't want to make me angry." "So you are a perv?" "Okay, fine. Yes, I am a perv," I announced. "And just like how I'm proud of being weird, I'm also proud of being a pervert." "Are you proud of letting your stomach rumble as well?" "Shut it, Ackerman." "Oh, hey, (Y/N)," the male at the register smiled. "Hi, Eren." I grinned back at him, seeing his gaze on the raven beside me. "This is Levi. I guess you could say we're acquaintances." "This is Eren?" Levi inquired and I saw a certain glint in his eyes. That is when I realised that I had told him I squeezed Eren's butt after getting a dare. Oh, why did I have a feeling that he was going to embarrass me? "Yeah. Nice to meet you, Levi. What do you guys want?" "You go first," I told the male and he nodded. "An Earl Grey, please." "Okay. And you, princess?" "Well, loverboy, could I get a coffee and pain au chocolat?" "Of course. Anything else?" "No, thanks," I replied, searching my pockets for my purse. Then my bag, but I couldn't find it. I bit the inside of my lip and turned to Levi. "I don't have my purse on me. Sorry. I'll pay you back." "You're too broke to do that, princess," he murmured and paid for our food. "Shut up. Thank you, Eren. Thank you, Levi." "No problem. I'll bring your drinks and food in a bit." I shot him another smile before strolling to a table with two seats facing each other. I took a seat, hanging my coat on the chair and dropped my bag to the ground, under my feet. "You and that kid in a relationship or something?" he randomly questioned after there was a moment of silence. "Me and Eren? No, no. We just have that kind of friendship where we act like a couple and call each other names. We don't actually like each other or anything. And he has a girlfriend, well, sort of." "What do you mean 'sort of'?" "It's not a stable relationship. There have been a few problems, and I've tried to tell Eren to just forget about her but he can't. I just want him to be happy with someone that truly cares for him and doesn't cause him any distress. He's come to me so many times just to cry over her." "What's her name?" "Mikasa." "What about Mikasa?" Eren spoke with a slight frown, placing down our things in front of us. "Oh, I was just talking about how she has the same surname as Levi and was wondering if he knew her." "Okay. Well, here's your coffee, tea and pain au chocolat. If there's anything else you need, just tell me." "Thank you." "... You're a good liar." "I'll take that as a compliment. Also, I'm surprised you haven't taken the chance to embarrass me yet." "Embarrass you? Why would I ever do that?" he remarked sarcastically, but obviously my dense ass couldn't sense that. "Because you know which boy's butt I squeezed, and you could expose me for being a pervert. Though, he already knows that I am. Everyone I know knows what kind of person I am." "A weirdo and a pervert," he stated after taking a sip of his tea. "I wonder what other traits you have." I snorted. "Are you sure you want to know?" He gave me a small glance, perfectly arching his brow. I felt as if I've known this person for longer than two days. Probably because me and Hanji have spoken about him for many years now. But, even then, I feel like we have a certain bond. And no, I'm not just saying that because he's the love of my life; I truly think we can create a strong friendship... and then, maybe something a little more. Even though he's a made-up person that became true, I sometimes forget who I'm talking to and just internally scream when I realise. But, seriously, how did this happen? I don't think I'll ever be able to believe that he became true (and maybe one day, I won't believe that I'm marrying him hehe). "Oi, you're spacing out again. Is that a habit of yours or are you just always tired? Or do you have someone on your mind?" "There's no one on my mind, I'm just always tired. Boys can piss off and leave me alone... apart from you, Levi. I love you-- Uhh, I mean, obviously I don't love you. We literally just met, I don't love you. It's just, uh, it's fun to hang out with you. You aren't like others... Ugh, I'm an idiot." I facepalmed the table and refused to look back at the male in front of me. "You aren't an idiot, you're a weirdo. Don't forget that. Anyway, I think we should head out because you look like you're going into a meltdown or something." "Sure. I'm just going to quickly finish my coffee." I gulped down the last few sips and left the mug on the table, thanking Levi for paying. He only nodded as I waved at Eren, who stopped us from leaving. "Could you wait like two minutes? My shift's over and I just want to relax at yours." "Yeah, sure. Levi, you can go if you want. I feel like I'm just dragging you around." "I'm the one that brought you here. I don't care about waiting for a brat." "Brat? He's the same age as us." "Yeah, I know. I just call people that, don't get offended, darlin'." "Darling? What's with these nicknames you're so generously handing out?" "Says that one that called me 'Mr Moody' in the first ten minutes we spoke." "Hey, you said yourself that you were in a bad mood." "Thanks for waiting. Should we go?" the teal-eyed boy beamed and I nodded, hooking my arm with his as he stuffed his hands into his pocket before all three of us left the cosy cafe. "So, where did Levi magically come from?" "He joined my uni yesterday, but we got off on the wrong foot and decided to start over. And since we're both doing biochemistry, he saw my miserable entrance, looking like a mess. And, my stupid belly chose to rumble so Levi kindly offered to get me breakfast. Now, we're just getting to know each other." "She's a pervert," Levi curtly said. "Yeah, that basically sums her up. Along with her being weird, tired, broke and an awesome friend." "You're lucky you added that last one before my fist was in your face." "Oh, she's also an adorable threatener. But, do not get on her bad side because she will be a monster towards you." "Yeah, Levi knows most of this already." "And I already regret talking to you," he teased. "Shut up, Ackerman." "Anyway, I'm going this way," Levi announced, pointing to the left as we were about to turn right. "We don't have any lectures tomorrow, so maybe I'll see you on Wednesday?" "Yeah. Bye, Levi." "See you later, darlin'. By the way, Eren, (Y/N) likes your ass." "Jerk," I muttered before looking at Eren, who just grinned at me. "And that's why you're a pervert." Both of us started to walk again but since I was holding onto him, I came to halt when he stopped in his tracks, pulling me to the side. "Tell me: why are you so comfortable around someone you just met?" "I'm not that comfortable. And you know I'm always friendly to new people." "Yeah, but not like this. What's the deal with you and him.?" "Nothing, Eren. Stop worrying. I'll tell you what this is all about one day." "... Fine. But, I have a bad feeling about him." "Levi? Why? He's perfect. I mean, I don't know that, but his friends seem to be really nice. And you can't get friends like that unless you're nice, too." "If you trust him, I'm going to have to trust you to not get into any trouble." "Yes, yes. Now, stop worrying." Eren rested an arm around my shoulders as we carried on going towards mine and Hanji's apartment. We walked there in silence, but my keys broke that serenity when they jingled against the door as I unlocked it and opened it, allowing Eren to walk in. We both took off our shoes as I locked the door behind us. Eren plopped down onto the sofa as I went to the bathroom to see my reflection. God, I looked like something out of a horror movie. How did people stand to look at me, or even talk to me? But I was home now, so I didn't bother fixing my appearance as I went to the living room and dropped onto the comfortable furniture next to Eren. "I would ask you if you want a drink, but we went past that stage of formality ages ago. Help yourself to whatever." "Thanks, but I just want to rest." "What's up? I know there's something you need to tell me," I said, ruffling his brunette hair like he was a little kid. "... I barely got any sleep last night. I was meant to go on a date with Mikasa yesterday after my evening shift. I reserved a table at some restaurant that has great reviews. So, after my shift, I dressed all nice and left to go to the restaurant. I took the bus and it took me half an hour to get there. She then called me as I walking up to the restaurant, saying she can't make it because she's sick. Obviously, being my stupid self, I just said okay and said that we can postpone our date. However, I was starving so I wasn't going to put that reservation to waste. When I got there and told them about the booked table under my name, they told me there were already some people that took the table, telling them that their name was Eren. I was so confused and looked over at a table, where I saw Mikasa and that jerk: Reiner." "And then you stormed off, went home and cried?" I asked, saying it like it was something ordinary. "... Yes..." "What's this, like the fifth time you've seen her with a different boy? I swear, it's not the same boy every time as well. I still don't get why you don't just break up with her. She doesn't deserve you, she doesn't make you happy, which is what you deserve. I say you break up with her sometime this week." "(Y/N), that's too soon." "I don't care. She's causing you into depression, and I don't like seeing you like this. I haven't seen you be happy once after you got into this relationship. And I don’t want to hear any excuses. You know that you aren't happy with her, so I don't get why you don't break up with her. Is she threatening you or something?" "..." "... Eren?" Shit. Eren, you better say something before that silence gives me the wrong idea. That bitch better not be hurting or threatening you, I thought, biting my lip as I waited for him to speak. "Eren, please say--" Once again, I pulled him into an embrace when he requested it and he quietly sobbed, nestling his face into the crook of my neck. This time, I truly felt sorry for him because he wasn't crying over another wrecked date, or another man he caught Mikasa with; it was something I've never heard about. I still haven't, but his silence implied it. I didn't want to say anything as I got lost in my thoughts. What kinds of things has this girl done to Eren - one of my closest friends? As I was in the middle of pondering, a phone's ringtone sounded in the room. It was Eren's and I didn't know if I should pick it up or not. When I saw the name of the caller, my bitchy side took over and I grabbed his phone which was on the coffee table in front of the sofa. I answered it with a sweet 'hello', waiting for a reply as I continued to hug Eren with one arm. He soon lifted off of me and tried wiping away the tears as he looked at me with an expression that destroyed my heart. "Who are you?" "It's (Y/N). You probably can't recognise my voice since I haven't seen you in so long," I said with fake politeness. "Oh, (Y/N)... Where's Eren, by the way?" "He's in the bathroom. I can take a message if you'd like." "No, it's fine. Just tell him to call me when he's free." "Yeah, like I'd do that, whore." "Excuse me? What did you just call me?" "(Y/N), what the hell are you doing?" Eren whispered angrily so I retracted the phone from my ear and covered the speakers. "Teaching her a lesson. How's she going to threaten you, cheat on you, reject every date, and still have the balls to call you? She's stupid to think that I'm going to let that slide. I don't like her, and neither do you, so I'm going to invite her here and you can talk to her." "(Y/N), please don't do this. I know you're doing this for me, but I don't know, I just can't break up with her. Even after everything she's done." "Eren, this is for your own good. You're always depressed and tired because of her. You need to let go and be free. This isn't how you're meant to be enjoying life." "... Fine. Bring that bitch over here." I smirked. "Good." I brought the phone back to my ear. "Sorry about that--" "What are you going on about? Why did you just call me a wh0re?" "If you want to know, come to my apartment. You know where I live. You can see your precious boyfriend as well." "I will. Because no one talks to me like that." She cut the phone and I passed Eren's phone to him. I got up and gave him some tissue to wipe his face that had some snot and tears. "Hey, I'm kind of nervous." "That's normal. Anyone would be nervous if they were about to break up with someone. Though, I feel bad. Did I just force this onto you?" "It's fine. I'm glad I'm finally getting it over with." "Also, was she threatening you?" "Yes..." "I would say you should've told me, but that was obviously something you couldn't say since she would do something. Damn, she's some messed up girl. Sorry. But I just had to say that." "No, I understand. I don't even know what I saw in her in the first place." "Don't beat yourself up about it. Everyone makes mistakes and you're going to learn from this for your next girlfriend. First of all, if she cancels a lot of your dates, break up with her. Second, if she cheats on you once, break up with her. And third, if she barely talks to you, or tries to avoid you, break up with her." "Okay. Thank you, (Y/N). I'd literally run back to her every time if you weren't here." "No worries, love. Just helping you with your problems." "Well, let me help you with yours, baby girl. What's on your mind? You've been acting a little distracted." "Mm... I guess I'm thinking about Levi..." "What's so special about him?" "... All right, I'm going to tell you this. But don't tell Levi, or anyone, because it's a stupid thing me and Hanji made up." "What happened to trusting me all the time? You always told me everything." "Yeah, but since you got with Mikasa, you've been a little occupied. Don't worry, though, you're still my second best friend," I grinned at the statement I had said years ago when I was around ten years old. I then changed the subject and told Eren about what me and Hanji created in our young, horny and stupid minds. "Wow... That's actually crazy. You guys never thought he was going to be real, but damn... Still, I don't think you should trust him too much. To be honest, that guy's suspicious, even supernatural if he was just someone made up." "That's what I was thinking. But, half the time I forget that he was someone I dreamt about. I feel like I've bonded with him before and we're just catching up with each other's lives." "I understand. But, unless he proves to be completely normal, don't get too attached to him." "Okay. And, it's been about twenty minutes since Mikasa hung up. I think she's going to be here soon. Do you know what you're going to say?" "Kind of. I've been thinking of a breakup scenario for a while, but I was never able to make it happen." "Hey, me and Hanji made up a guy and he happened. I think you can make this breakup happen; I believe in you." "Thank you so much, (Y/N). You honestly don't know how grateful I am for you." "Whenever you need me, I'll be here." I heard the buzzer echo through my apartment, meaning someone was asking for an entrance. I shot a glance at Eren before getting up and walking towards my front door, answering the phone and speaking a confident 'hello'. "It's Mikasa." "Oh, it's you," I spat with disgust. I pressed the button for the main door so she could come in and waited a couple of seconds before opening my front door. She barged past me, and I muttered: 'Never met someone so rude'. My bitchy side was locking in again and I locked the door before following her into the living room. Eren was now standing up, appearing as bold and someone who was ready to break up with Mikasa. "Eren, why did she call me a 'whore'?" "Well, is she wrong?" he pointed out.

#levi ackerman #levi x reader #levi ackerman x reader #aot #aot fanfiction #aot imagines #snk #snk fanfiction #snk imagines #attack on titan #shingeki no kyoujin #x reader #reader insert #anime #dream guy #modern au #series #i want hanji to be my bff

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

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RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Fault”

Hello, everyone! We’re not even bothering with an introduction today, let’s just get straight to the only thing that matters.

HERE HE IS, THE MVP OF THIS EPISODE, OF THE WHOLE VOLUME, THE SERIES, THE ONLY ONE I CARE ABOUT RIGHT NOW

I’m joking… but only a little. In all seriousness we will get to Ren, but you all want to hear a funny story first? I somehow got it into my head that there was no RWBY episode this week—the holiday and all—so I poured all my meta time and energy into a ridiculous Ironwood analysis as a placeholder, only to wake up this morning and find the strongest (and most complicated!) episode this year waiting for a recap. Like some sort of grimm nosing into my inbox.

Okay, so it’s not a funny story, but if RT would just do a better job with their website my life would be a whole lot easier.

So here we are, taking a look at the episode “Fault.” Quick question, is every episode this volume going to have a one-word title? It’s not a criticism, I’ve got nothing against a punchy name, I’m just curious since RWBY has never done that before. If anything, they’ve gone more for symbolically significant phrases like “A Brawl in the Family,” “Players and Pieces,” and “The Lady in the Shoe.” I wonder what sparked the change.

Anyway, we open on Robyn laughing about some story she’s told, something about Joanna losing a fair fight for the first time, presumably to her. This is what we’ve learned about Robyn since this volume started: she refuses to acknowledge that she had a hand in Clover’s death; she was asked by Blake and Yang to keep the Amity secret but, according to May, couldn’t keep her mouth shut about it; and she tries to cheer Qrow up by bragging about her own skill.

Alrighty then.

Obviously, this little story fails to land. “Tough crowd tonight.” Robyn looks to Jacques as well as Qrow when she says this and since she clearly doesn’t care about cheering him up, she must want to get a rise out of him. Create something, as she says at the end of the scene, that’s exciting. Robyn just really loves to start fights. Against Ironwood, Clover, bickering matches with Jacques—stories told about winning them! If she’s not fighting someone she’s not interested.

Qrow does eventually give the smallest smile though and Robyn cheers. “Did I win?” They both quickly grow serious again though and Robyn says she’s “sorry for what happened. It wasn’t your fault.” Her apology would mean more if she was apologizing for her actions, not providing a generic ‘Sorry for your loss’ like she had no hand in this.

Qrow then insists it was his fault… but, of course, not for the reasons why he’s actually responsible (also, didn’t we do this two weeks ago?). For starters, Qrow blames his semblance for everything that went down, despite the fact that his semblance is not responsible for him breaking Clover’s aura, or Tyrian stabbing him. The most we’ve seen his semblance do is cause minor mischief, which in and of itself is absurd considering we’re meant to believe that it has kept him from his family most of his life, and informs choices like whether he’ll travel with the group in Volume 4. Still, it’s not unexpected that he would blame his semblance and think that having friends is a “childish dream”—depression is one hell of a liar—but rather, it’s frustrating that no one is helping Qrow see the truth of the situation, both the good and the bad. He certainly doesn’t need Robyn providing generic platitudes that absolve them both of their choices.

You know what the worst part is? The two kind, level-headed adults with enough distance to help Qrow acknowledge his mistakes while also correcting him about his misconceptions… are Ozpin and Clover. The former is still ignored by the cast, the latter barely got to be a character before he was killed.

Qrow goes on to say that he “made a deal with the darkness and [Clover] paid the price.” I’m sorry, what does that mean?? Outside of referencing his team-up with Tyrian, that’s the most dramatic, nonsensical thing he could have said. Qrow doesn’t admit to the team-up though, rather he starts blaming Clover for his own death.

Precisely like a good chunk of the fandom has done 🙃

He says that Clover just “wouldn’t let up” (translation: he wouldn’t agree to let me go when I was under arrest) and that they could have “worked together against Tyrian if Clover had just—”

There’s a lot to cover this episode, so I’m not going to dive into another explanation of all the justified reasons why Clover didn’t trust Qrow in that moment and why Qrow was the one who “wouldn’t let up.” If you’re interested in that rundown, head here.

Side note: can RWBY please stop with the weird mouth closeups? I’m begging the animators. Especially when so much else in this episode is gorgeous.

Yes:

No:

Robyn’s response is to make it all about her. I say, as a hypocrite, because my instinctual response in comforting someone is to also bring up a way that I might, sort of, know what they’re going through. It’s something to work on and, as always, I’d be more receptive to Robyn’s attempts if she weren’t failing so spectacularly in every other aspect of her characterization. Case in point: she says that having a truth semblance tends to make people push her away, but we’ve never once seen that. We’re introduced to Robyn as she’s adored by Fiona. The people celebrate her. Yang and Blake trust her immediately, for no reason, and comment on how useful her semblance is—they’re not concerned with it. Ironwood likewise works with her and allows her to use her semblance on him in public, at least for a time. May spoke fondly of Robyn last episode. She just finished a story about Joanna… where is this pushing away you speak of, Robyn? I really wish RWBY would consider things ahead of time and actually show them to us, rather than just having characters announce that they’re (supposedly) there.

Nice symbolism though with Robyn touching the electric bars and pulling her hand back. You reach out, you get hurt, curl in on yourself, blah, blah, blah. Too bad it’s not a moment attached to an actual struggle of hers.

Qrow buys it though, saying he’s never thought about it that way before.

You know, I get why a lot of people in the fandom hate Clover. I can’t even claim I’m much interested in him as an individual. I’m sick of straight, white, able-bodied men getting the spotlight, which is one of the things that drew me to RWBY in the first place… so theoretically Robyn should be the better choice for Qrow’s BFF, right? Especially in a world where FairGame only existed in RT’s social media queerbaiting. Give us the badass gender-bent Robin Hood instead of the boring military man!

On paper it sounds great… which is why it’s astounding that RT bungled that so badly.

Qrow never finishes his thought about Clover because the Ace Ops come in to return Watts to his cell. Interesting. The writing has definitely made Ironwood stupid, but perhaps not as stupid as he could have been? If he got Watts to hack Penny (we don’t yet know what’s going on with her during all this) and then promptly shut him away again, that’s just about the best way you can follow up on your worst decision.

Harriet spots Clover’s pin and tells Qrow “You don’t get to keep that,” but then doesn’t take it from him. See, that right there is a better motivation for potentially opening the cell. Qrow says he didn’t kill Clover, Harriet shoots back that his blood was on Qrow’s blade (again, focusing on the wrong way that he’s guilty), Robyn challenges her to get the truth via her semblance… and Harriet considers it? Why? She’s not the one struggling with her loyalty here, that’s Marrow, yet he’s the one who has to pull Harriet back with “What are you doing?” when she looks at the keypad. Have Marrow almost be swayed by Robyn’s taunting, or have Harriet almost open the door because she’s furious and desperate to get Clover’s pin back. Either one of those would make more sense than this.

Also, no one checked Qrow during his arrest/before he was thrown into his cell?

Also, note that Marrow uses a nickname here—“Hare”—so I’m continually unpersuaded by the ‘They’re not friends’ claim. Yes, Harriet hits his shoulder on her way out… and Ren will later scream at Jaune about cheating. Harriet being in a bad mood because their leader was just murdered isn’t evidence that they’re not close, no more than Ren responding to Everything Traumatic Ever is evidence that he doesn’t care for his friends.

Also (x3), Robyn calls Harriet “mohawk”?? Can’t this woman come up with a single good insult?

As the Ace Ops leave Robyn lays back down on her bunk, exactly as she was before, and says, “Well, that was almost exciting.” Kind of like this scene! Luckily, the episode is about to get a whole lot better.

The music immediately picks up as we segue to Ren, Jaune, and Yang chasing after Oscar. On the whole I really enjoyed this scene, largely because it shows the group doing their best—in a way that feels persuasive. I’ll admit that others have a point about them just standing around while the Hound changes form—yet still failing because, you know, our villain is actually powerful! However, there are, as always, some nitpicks.

One of the first bits of dialogue we get is Ren noticing that the bikes can’t stand being in the cold for very long. It bugs me that bikes suffer more from the cold than the civilians do. To say nothing of the fact that it once again doesn’t amount to anything. Their bikes carry them through the whole battle and Jaune looses his because of a grimm. Then Yang manages to fix the totaled bike with a single part, despite the continued cold. Why bother introducing this as a problem when it’s meaningless each and every time?

The three do demonstrate some great teamwork though. When Yang yells that she wishes one of them could fly, Jaune uses his shield to launch Ren at the Hound… so that he can get dragged through the air, hitting rocks. This poor guy. I like that though because no, these teens shouldn’t be perfect, strategic masterminds and yes, they’re in the kind of situation where they just have to try something and see if it works. Jaune can’t think ahead to what Ren will do once he grabs the Hound, they just have to get him to that point and go from there. Which they do. Ren snags a boulder to slow them down further (that’s smart) and Yang goes higher to fire at the Hound’s face (don’t hit Oscar he doesn’t have aura!!). They’re at a crazy disadvantage here and still trying their best to get our boy back.

The overall tone is… fine? Again, love supportive Yang—that high five with Jaune was wholesome—but it continually feels weird to get that when Oscar is in the literal jaws of death here. On the whole though the scene keeps to the action and seriousness of the situation, which I appreciate. We’ll talk more about tone during the outpost scene.

It's looking like they might be making some sort of headway when the Hound lets out a roar that, as Yang puts it, calls for backup. 1. Yay giving this grimm even more power to mess with the cast, 2. Holy shit there are so many grimm around. See, scenes like this is why I’m side-eyeing the anti-army rhetoric in the show (a stance I’d otherwise agree with 100%). Because do you see how many there are? That’s not Salem’s army, that’s just the normal grimm hanging out around Atlas. The cast is screwed if anyone were to, say, order them to attack the kingdom…

Kudos to RT for bringing back the centipede grimm though. I honestly thought they’d just be a one-off action sequence in Volume 7.

While everything is falling apart Ren catches a glimpse of Oscar, complete with rosy cheeks to make him look super young, and the sight fills him with

He starts climbing towards the Hound and we cut away.

Meanwhile, Jaune’s bike is hit with some of the centinel’s acid (again, not the cold causing problems) and he takes a tumble, managing to keep his feet before Yang snags him. Moments like that really do show how far he’s come and I’m glad we got to see such a moment in an episode where his cheating was brought up. Jaune then uses his shield to fly over one of the dragon-y grim, but... wait. The shield is flexible?

Literally what is the point of that? As a shield, I mean (it clearly works fine as a ramp). If you can just tip it over like that then so can the grimm or another fighter. Forget how tiny the shield is, all a monster would have to do is boop it and it would fall over. In fact, it probably should have with the grimm scratching at it before. Seems rather useless, unless you’ve got writers crafting convenient situations. Also, does Jaune have multiples of this thing? He picked it up before, but there’s no way he found that one again. Idk, I’m really not feeling this addition to Jaune’s arsenal. Better to give him a range option so he’s more versatile.

Still, they fly over the grimm and the two let out a sigh in synch. Whatever else we might have to say about this volume, RT is definitely giving us different interactions and team-ups. Well done there. Why, Jaune and Yang have managed to survive all that together!

Oh wait, never mind. They’ve gone off a cliff.

Honestly, I’m shocked they actually went over. I thought Yang would stop in time, or we’d have a classic moment of them tumbling off the bike and ending an inch from the edge, maybe going off slow with time for one to hang on. But nope, they plummet and it was done with such confidence by the camera that for a split second (the illogic of killing them both off aside) I thought that was it. They’re done for. Lucky for them, Ren catches them at the last second, managing to snag Jaune’s sword and them and immediately use his semblance so the grimm doesn’t eat them. That’s skill, baby!!

But you can see why he’s pissed, beyond just the fact that his semblance is holding this group together. It’s not Jaune and Yang’s fault that there was suddenly a cliff, but last we saw Ren he was heading towards Oscar. He had a plan. Granted, not one that was likely to lead anywhere given the Hound’s power (and the plot needing Oscar to reach Salem), but that’s not the point. He was pulling himself towards their kidnapped friend and then at the last second had to cut himself loose to save two others. This moment wasn’t anyone’s fault, but it would take someone with no emotions at all not to be frustrated by it.

So we leave the trio literally hanging out and return to Ruby’s group who is threatening kids!

Seriously though WTF, Weiss? Look, I haven’t always been kind to Whitley. In fact, I think there’s a Volume 7 recap where I really laid into him for his attitude and for supporting Jacques. But then—with the help of some friends and other anon perspectives—I thought about it for a hot second and considered how little power this child has. I was wrong to blame him for so much given the various circumstances here. It took, like… five minutes of thinking, and that’s for a fictional character, not a real life brother. Weiss clearly hasn’t given her brother five seconds of thought. He’s in the same abusive household that she was. He wasn’t blessed with combat abilities and a semblance to easily escape. He didn’t have Weiss there to guide him like Winter guided her. He had to watch BOTH his sisters abandon him to Jacques… so when exactly was he supposed to learn to be better? Why would he be inclined to? Weiss was an entitled racist when she got to school and needed new friends to show her a new path. She admitted as much last volume! Yet the fact that Whitley is completely alone in this house while their mom locks herself in her room to drink doesn’t register at all? This woman, an adult out to save the world as we’re frequently told, never once considered what it took to get her here and realize that Whitley has had none of the resources she did?

I want to emphasize that Weiss threatens him with her weapon. It’s not just that she’s dismissive of him and his plight, she’s also happy to use violence if Whitley doesn’t do exactly as he’s told. Violence… against her brother… who is a child… without any training. Again: WTF, Weiss? You know how I was praising RWBY last episode for not having the group beat up the Atlas personnel? Yeah, we get this instead.

Then she tells him to go to his room??

Speculation is that Whitley is about 2-3 years younger than Weiss. Or, to put it another way, roughly the same age as Weiss’ leader, Ruby. She’ll follow Ruby unquestioningly into world-changing decisions, but sends her brother to his room like a toddler? Which is it, RWBY? Are 17 year-olds leaders you should listen to, or babies who must leave the room while the grownups talk? He certainly can’t be any younger than Oscar, so again, she’ll fight beside him, but treat Whitley like this? Whitley isn’t exactly going to offer help in a respectful, eager manner, but that “Fine. What do you expect me to do?” was incredibly open given his situation. He was willing to help and that was the perfect opportunity to have him, you know, do something. Something small and innocuous that wouldn’t threaten the team if he betrayed them, but kept him around so he could talk to someone. But nope. Weiss just sends him to his room after criticizing him for not understanding that they’re “busy trying to save Atlas.” Weiss, what does Whitley know about all that? He’s locked up in this manor after your father was arrested and the one news clip we’ve seen said that no one knows why Ironwood recalled his forces, or what’s up with those grimm overhead. She’s acting like he should have any idea what’s happening right now.

Also, all of this is coming on the heels of Willow begging Weiss not to forget her brother, so that’s just great. RWBY has the rest of their time in the manor to fix this, because if Weiss comes out of that scene having only been handed the means of arresting Jacques… that’s just bad all around.

Finally, should we talk about how strange this choice is? Last episode we saw the group flying away and I assumed it was them leaving Atlas to go back to Mantle. It certainly looked that way, but now they’ve decided to stay until Nora is awake. Why? Isn’t it more dangerous here? I mean, they didn’t know the staff was gone and there are still arrest warrants out. Was Weiss just going to threaten anyone who dared report her? Where are these shields Ironwood spoke of? Have they gotten through them somehow, or are they currently trapped in Atlas?

This is “Oscar is in the slums, leaves the slums, learns they’re going to the crater, but the slums are actually the crater, so we’re heading back now” all over again.

The one good thing about this scene is that Blake and Ruby talk! …for about two seconds lol. Eh, better than nothing. Blake says that if Ruby is worried about Yang she could try calling her. Ruby has, and Yang isn’t picking up.

Does Ruby think she’s in danger or ignoring her? Unclear. We, however, know that Yang is now lost in the middle of nowhere with no reception and no transportation back to Mantle. The three of them start trudging towards an outpost Ren spotted, needing to find shelter “before this weather drops our aura levels completely.” So what about everyone without aura?? I wish that I could check off the bingo space again because this is ridiculous.

Ren, once again, isn’t in the mood to talk, but unlike Jaune, Yang can’t leave something alone. So she coaxes him to tell him what’s wrong and you know what? She does a real good job at first. She’s encouraging, but her voice is level and she doesn’t come across as accusing. Well done, Yang.

Things quickly fall apart though as Ren says EVERYTHING I’VE EVER WANTED TO SAY TO THIS GROUP. Holy shit, everyone, let’s count ‘em up:

Nothing is going smoothly so let’s stop pretending it’s all fine

Oscar has been horrifically kidnapped that’s #bad

This is not a normal part of being a huntsmen

We don’t know the first thing about being huntsmen!

Every time we’ve had to make real decisions we got them all wrong, yay us

We’re trapping a city here for Salem to destroy whenever she feels like it, yay us x2

Our leader is barely more than a kid and one of us cheated our way here

People are going to die because of us

“I’m just saying what nobody else wants to”

Yang’s response? Incredibly weak imo. Just as weak as the fandom’s has been since this conflict started in Volume 7. Her argument against letting Atlas go is that Salem won’t just let it fly away with her whale… but no one knows that. She’s certainly just letting it sit right now! Assuming that something won’t work because you expect the worst is not a compelling reason not to try.

Her argument against their ineptitude? They saved Haven, took down a leviathan, and got the lamp to Atlas. Let’s break that down a little more.

Did they fight well at Haven? Yes… overlooking that Weiss would have died if not for a timely semblance reveal. But the real point here is that they “saved” the school by getting the Relic. Problem is, they never won the relic, it was handed to them. Literally. They retrieved it not because they were capable of overpowering Salem’s forces and a Maiden, but because Raven decided she’d rather her daughter be a target than her. That doesn’t tell us anything about the group’s skill, only about Raven’s flaws.

They took down a leviathan… after drawing it to Argus in the first place. That’s kind of an important detail when Ren is trying to make the point that their decisions suck. Also, how did they take it down? Using Ruby’s silver eyes, which only worked because Jinn randomly decided to let her stop time. Oh, and also using the rest of Cordovin’s mech that they hadn’t yet destroyed. Again, nothing about that fight demonstrates their skill, only others’ abilities, resources, and the strange favoritism they benefit from.

Getting the lamp to Atlas. Well, you drove Ozpin away who was your ticket across the border. Then Maria told Ruby how to save you all from the Apathy (and Ruby herself was the only one able to resist long enough to demand you get the Relic back in the first place). You started that leviathan fight and ended it surrounded by Cordovin’s fleet. So how did you get to Atlas? Because she let you cross. How did you reach Ironwood? Because he dropped your arrest. Yang stopped Adam, yes, but that was its own, separate fight. Regarding the “getting to Atlas” point they botched that up completely.

Basically, this resume of victories is unpersuasive, to say the least. Yang highlights the end goal rather than acknowledging Ren’s point: have we, as individuals, actually made things better lately?

They absolutely have not.

Note how, in contrast, Ren includes himself in this criticism. He doesn’t just lay responsibility at Ruby and Jaune’s feet, he’s second on the list for being underprepared. For messing up. He’s just an “orphan from nowhere” and this tells us that, unlike Qrow, Ren is actually concerned with this problem and his own place in it. He’s not just blowing off steam and running from his responsibility. Rather, he’s making important points here yet, as he says, no one else wants to listen.

And that’s why the scene ultimately sucks. “But, Clyde! It’s a speech straight out of your metas!” Yes it was and it was beautiful to witness, but the problem is that Ren’s supposed to be wrong. Jaune glares at him before leaving. Yang clenches her fists and asks if he just wants to push everyone away. He’s left hanging his head. Then later they talk about how “broody” he is and provide advice about how to stop doing that. The takeaway here is not, ‘Holy shit, Ren is right and we should rethink our choices,’ but rather that Ren is wrong and needs to come over to their ‘correct’ perspective.

I love that this was laid out. I love that the group is actually fighting for once (way better than Ruby and Yang’s ‘fight’). I also love that we finally see what’s bothering Ren… but we all know this isn’t leading anywhere. The scene ends with Jaune dismissing everything by stating that if Ren doesn’t want to be a huntsmen, fine, but he has a job to do. Ren is supposed to feel guilty here for… telling the truth? Jaune is supposed to look like the hero for soldiering on with his responsibility while moody Ren drags behind. The scene is great, but the purpose of the scene sucks.

Actually, I’d like to talk about a portion of the outpost scene real quick. Skipping ahead, because we really see here how little RT believes the words that they’ve put in Ren’s mouth. Jaune admits that he’s right about cheating into Beacon… but nothing else. Indeed, that “mistake” is swept away because he’s earned his right to be here now. You shouldn’t care about that anymore! Ignoring the point Ren was making about how much they’re in over their heads. Yang apologizes to Jaune on Ren’s behalf, making it clear that she cares more about his potentially hurt feelings than any of the points Ren made. Remind you of anything? Like oh, say, that time Yang cared more about Jaune’s feelings than whether he’d hurt Oscar after slamming him against a wall? All of this despite the fact that Yang JUST accused Ruby of the horrible situation they’re in. Now Ren acknowledges that they’re in a horrible situation and Yang… doesn’t care?? Again, RT is good at giving us the pieces we want, the surface level stuff, but is rarely able to combine it into something fulfilling. If anyone actually takes Ren’s stance seriously, changing their ways rather than talking him out of it, I’ll be shocked.

Especially since the real nail in the coffin of this scene is Jaune telling him that “The more you hide from what you’re feeling, the more alone you’re going to feel.”

Jaune………..buddy……….pal…………were you asleep during that scene? Ren DID tell you what he was feeling. For the first time he did come clean about everything he was experiencing and you both rejected him for it! He’s not pulling away because he’s hiding from what he’s feeling, he’s pulling away because he did show it and both his friends reduced it to “pushing [them] away.” Which is it, Jaune? Should Ren be more open, or should he stop saying things you don’t want to hear? It’s a more complicated version of telling your parents about your interests, them mocking those interests, and then they’re surprised when you don’t share things with them again. I mean, the gall of Jaune to reject everything Ren said in the moment, ignore it after he’s calmed down, and then lecture him about being hiding his emotions.

Jaune and Yang (and the story) don’t want Ren to say what he really thinks, they want him to say what they think. Ren should speak up, but only if he’s going to agree with them.

So Ren sits out in the snow because potentially dying from cold is better than staying in a room with Yang and Jaune. I can’t really blame him lol.

One last thing about the fight scene. Remember how May was put in her place last episode for not using Penny’s name? Well, Yang doesn’t either. Granted, “the Maiden” isn’t as overtly insulting as “tin can” (or whatever it is May said), but it amounts to the same thing: both are replacing Penny’s individual identity with her status as a tool they can use. May sees Penny as the cool tech girl who can get them into the military base. Yang sees Penny as the cool magic girl who is the answer to all their ‘How do we win this?’ problems. Everyone is using Penny. Ruby to launch Amity, Ironwood to open the vault, but you know RWBY will never have a scene where Penny corrects Yang about her name and Ruby looks on, smug. Because the group can continually make the same mistakes as the adults/antagonists around them, but aren’t called out on it in the same way. Ren calls them out and he’s told he’s wrong.

Anyway, the tl;dr of this scene is that Ren is the best. Too bad the story doesn’t realize that.

We then move to my poor Oscar who wakes up looking at his own feet, Ozpin’s voice is as reassuring as it can be under the circumstances. “Oscar? Don’t panic. We’re going to be okay.” I mentioned two weeks back that I hoped the show would explain why we didn’t see Ozpin try to take control during the Hound fight and we still don’t have an explanation, so that’s disappointing. This line is all we get from Ozpin because that’s the norm now. We moved from him being written out of the story entirely to having one or two lines an episode (excluding a speech meant more for the audience than the characters). So, improvement? But a lackluster one, I think. Especially given that he is the focal point of this entire situation with Salem.

I’m avoiding the elephant in the room though. Oscar’s torture is horrifying. In the sense that it should be horrifying. Salem might still inexplicably not be attacking Atlas—and what she’s after at any given time might be getting more and more muddled—but she’s absolutely terrifying here, which is what we needed. The mix of assault with that nurturing tone is just skin crawling. “My long lost Ozma. Found at last” while she (I think?) shows images of their daughters. Honestly, I only heard that from friends, didn’t catch it myself, but then my eyes are shit to begin with. I couldn’t see a thing in this shadowed shot.

(It’s like watching Game of Thrones all over again.)

Oscar tries to pretend to be Ozpin and he does a damn good job with “I’m sorry the reunion isn’t living up to your expectations.” It’s not enough to fool Salem though. She says he’s “not him” yet and I’m again reminded that the show continually references this merge without showing us any change. They’re apparently closer to one person now, but they still speak as individuals. Oscar has Ozpin’s magic, but hasn’t used it, even when his life was on the line. The closest we get to evidence that the merge is underway is that Oscar attempts to lie about knowing Jinn’s name… but what the hell else is he supposed to do here? I suppose he could go the action hero route and shout that she’ll never get the answer out of him, but trying to lie is by far the safer option. That doesn’t tell us that he’s becoming like Ozpin, or even that they’re truly “like-minded souls” as Salem claims. It just tells us that Oscar has two braincells to rub together and can say a short sentence without totally giving himself away. Maybe the kid played a few rounds of Remnant’s Among Us.

This moment highlights another justification for Ozpin’s secrets though. He lives an existence where he is not in control of his own (“own”) body. At any point the host he’s with could falter, fail, turn on him, and in doing so give crucial, world ending information to the enemy. It’s already happened on a small scale, with Oscar successfully taking control, stealing the Jinn information, and giving it to the group. Now here he’s being tortured. How long can he last? Will Oscar give up Jinn’s name? If Ozpin didn’t have the location of the Relic locked up tight in his own consciousness, would that information be lost too? I’m not looking to blame Oscar for anything here—I don’t want to imply that this situation is karma for him taking Jinn’s name, or some such nonsense—I just want to acknowledge that this is the sort of stuff Ozpin has to worry about. If he shares these secrets then that’s more fallible people who are capable of giving that information to Salem. If he keeps them…well, he’s the only one who has to keep his mouth shut during a torture session. His host might want information about the Relics, there’s an argument to be made that they’re entitled to them, but if I were Ozpin I wouldn’t want to take that risk either. The question has essentially become, “Would I trust a 14 year old to keep quiet while tortured by a witch?” Maybe Oscar will! He’s enough of a BAMF to manage it… but that’s still not something I’d want to bet on. Better that Oscar simply doesn’t have that information to give Salem, period.

So obviously this “working relationship” that Salem wants isn’t going well. When Oscar lies she jumps straight to torturing him.

This was legitimately hard to watch and I’m torn about that. On the one hand it’s what I wanted: a scary, powerful Salem who uses the tools at her disposal to get what she’s after. That’s great! Yet I’m still reminded of how far this show has gone to literally beat up the child of the group. Oscar is the one punched into a tree, attacked by a friend, shot by an ally, the star of the show’s most horrifying kidnapping, now the first to be outright tortured by Salem. I don’t really have a point here, I’m not looking to level any specific accusations at RT, I’m just commenting on the pattern and acknowledging that it makes me uncomfortable. There are parts of a story where you’re supposed to be uncomfortable—like the villain torturing a hero—and then there are parts where you’re uncomfortable because the writers seem overly focused on showing images of a specific kid suffering and that’s… weird.

I’m not sure what to make of that just yet.

Anyway, Salem’s magic here is surprisingly pretty. Pretty and painful, but I expected more red and blacks, perhaps some spikey imagery, so the rainbow was an interesting surprise. Given the amount of pain Oscar is in, I suspect too much of that would kill him, so Salem calls in Hazel to continue the interrogation. The first few hits he deals are for Haven, the others for his sister.

See, this is why RWBY needs to actually embrace its “life isn’t a fairy tale” theme. You cannot show me child torture in one week and then move to Ruby “We’ll win because we’re the good guys ^_^” Rose the next. The whole reason why Ironwood (and Ren now) was right is because this is the shit reality they’re dealing with. You didn’t run when you had the chance and now Oscar (and Ozpin) is being tortured. You keep talking about saving Mantle, but the only reason why they’re not already dead is because the writing randomly turns the cold danger on and off. This mix of horrific, real world danger and unjustified confidence doesn’t work.

…also, I officially don’t want any redemption arc for Hazel. This guy is beating on a child because he’s convinced that he��s Ozpin, blaming Ozpin for his sister’s decision, all while forwarding a genocidal maniac’s plans. Hazel and his ridiculous shirts can just get on out of here, thanks.

Finally, I just want to say... this is the woman a lot of the fandom defended. This is the woman you wanted raising those girls and blamed Ozpin for trying to escape with them.

This is how Salem treats children.

Oh, and all of this is without his aura because it just broke. So Oscar is in serious, non-fantasy trouble here.

Someone please rescue him soon 😭

We finish up with some frankly boring stuff with the rest of the villain cast. We learn that the Hound is an “experiment” and a new one given that Cinder has never seen it before. Salem’s dialogue is admittedly great—“Do you hear that, my pet? She thinks. She wants.”—but Cinder just rehashes everything we’ve heard from her before. She wants the Winter Maiden power. She has trouble remembering that she’s playing at Salem’s slave. She even rehashes the exact same line, “Without you, I am nothing.” Why are we wasting time on this when we had that tantalizing backstory before?

Bleh.

Salem tells her in no uncertain terms to stay put.

So Cinder immediately leaves LOL.

She just wants to “check on” Amity tower because she “knows those kids” in ways Salem doesn’t. I’m admittedly slightly confused as to how Cinder knows to go there? Did she believe Ironwood’s lie that it was finished even though it apparently IS finished now? Has she overheard something? I’m not sure. Frankly, keeping track of that stuff in RWBY is headache inducing, so let’s just roll with it.

Neo, the only one with a brain around here, makes it clear she thinks Cinder is an idiot for going. Emerald, always the Cinder fan, offers to go in her stead. She’s been working on her semblance, so I expect we’ll see something cool with that soon. They head off, apparently not worried about what Salem will do to them when they get back.

Which is when we move to the outpost for our final scene, most of which I’ve covered. I only have two more things I want to bring up here.

The first is the tone. As said earlier, the tone of the Hound chase wasn’t horrible, but I find myself disappointed in the overall attitude of Jaune and Yang. Yang is making jokes about how they can’t fly, high-fiving Jaune, and they’re both shrugging off Ren’s concerns. Jaune says he won’t be able to sleep due to worrying about Oscar, but neither of them act particularly worried. Which isn’t to say they need to be sobbing the whole time or whatever, just that Ren is the only one who feels real here. They may not agree with his stance about everything else, but they’ve all experienced the same event: watching a grimm that can morph, talk, and think horrifically kidnap a teammate. Shouldn’t there be more emotion attached to that? Things have gotten better with Oscar than they’ve been in the past, largely due to details like Nora’s hug at the beginning of the volume, but let’s be real, they’re still not perfect. Do we think Jaune and Yang would be this nonchalant if Ruby were kidnapped that way? Say all you want about Ruby being her sister, or others being teammates for longer, but the fact remains that Oscar has been taken to Salem herself and the only one reacting to that in any meaningful way is Ren.

Who they say will “brood himself to death.” That right there. The one guy freaking out about your kidnapped friend should not be described as “brooding.”

All of which segues into my second point, namely that Yang doesn’t seem to care about Ruby anymore either! She asks Jaune, “Do you think she thinks less of me?” for not going to Amity and when Jaune reassures her that Ruby will always love her, Yang’s response is, “Yeah… Ruby.”

She was thinking about Blake.

The kicker? I thought she was talking about Ruby too. Because Ruby is her sister. Because she and Ruby had the fight (“fight”). Because Ruby was trying to call her to check in. Because Blake and Yang didn’t even acknowledge that they went on different missions here. I thought Blake was like Jaune, not really taking a side and just heading with Ruby because the team is splitting down the middle. Where did this worry come from?

And I want to praise RT here (I really do) because I can see the effort. I said Blake and Yang needed to spend time apart, they have. I said they needed to work through their co-dependent identities, now Blake is reminding Nora (and theoretically herself too) that someone you love is just a part of you. I said that the group couldn’t be a hive-mind, now there’s disagreement. I said the show needs to make Blake/Yang canon at some point and you can’t do that if they don’t talk about and to each other. So I fully admit that this is everything I asked for… so why does it feel so badly done? No matter how many boxes it checks off, it’s still a moment where we thought Yang was finally worrying about her sister again—like she used—and then it’s ‘Sike! It was really just about Blake! Again. Yang is worried about a problem that was never even introduced.’

I suppose that’s why it doesn’t work for me. Yang and Ruby had the falling out, but Yang and Blake, somehow, become the focus. Is it really so hard to write Yang as a sister and a potential love interest? Yang apparently can’t care for Ruby and Blake, Weiss can’t care for her team and her brother, Ruby can’t care for Mantle and Ironwood… it’s like each character gets one (1) thing to put their emotional energy towards at any given time and that’s it. That’s all they get.

On the flip side, this is why Ren feels like a person this episode. He cares about Mantle, and the future fight, and their past mistakes, and his place here, and the problems within the team, and Nora… He feels like a well-rounded person! vs. Yang and Jaune who don’t even consider his perspective, vs. Yang having a fight with her sister but only cares about Blake. They’re one-dimensional in comparison.

It is, as always, disappointing.

As the group “broods” then the camera shows us a piece of the ice nearby, slowly cracking as Jaune says that “Things always seem to get worse before they get better.” Well, that’s unexpected. I didn’t think our opening would be literal. I’ve been worried about Atlas falling on everyone, not everyone falling… to whatever is underneath the kingdom as a whole. Is the kingdom falling apart? Or is something waking up and moving towards the surface? If RWBY can reproduce the characterization we got with the Hound, I wouldn’t be opposed to another leviathan grimm rising from the snowy deep to assist Salem…

Though how the fuck group will survive everything and that, who knows lol.

And that’s our episode! Issues aside—most of which have been ongoing issues. We knew they were there—I think this was our strongest episode so far this volume. Well done! There are still problems, no doubt, but at least I was only bored for a small portion of that 20 minutes. Let’s just keep heading in that direction.

Exciting Saturday, huh?

Regarding bingo updates:

RWBY actually re-used a grimm I thought they’d abandoned, so well done there.

No civilians around for the giant grimm army to attack, so that was fine. Kind of strange though that they completely disappeared after the Hound left.

The timeline is starting to get wonky. For example, what kind of stakes am I supposed to expect when Cinder decides to head to Amity? Is it currently empty? Is Pietro there? Has Penny made it yet? I said weeks ago that RWBY would need to follow multiple groups to fill out fourteen episodes in just two days—and they’re definitely doing that—but that means we don’t have a clear sense of what events are happening simultaneously and what are meant to be linear.

No Winter or Ironwood this episode.

Watts is back with Jacques! Potential for team-up 2.0? That will admittedly be hard with Qrow and Robyn there, unless those two escape.

(Oh yeah, I thought Qrow and the others would be held in the military base and Ruby would find him during her heist… but she doesn’t even care that Qrow is in jail.)

Maria is still a ghost. If we hit the halfway mark with her not doing anything I’m calling the space.

I definitely wouldn’t call this cliffhanger needless. That’s actually a cool way to end things, even if Jaune’s line was pretty on the nose.

Neo may be getting closer to backstabbing Cinder if those expressions are anything to go by.

Still waiting to see if Amity works.

And finally, drumroll please! …

“More obvious Blake/Yang implications without confirming a relationship.” Yup, I’m marking that this week. After Blake’s ‘just a part of you’ comment and now Yang only being worried about her reaction? Definitely calling it. If RWBY confirms a relationship this volume I’ll eat my words—and some celebratory cake — but until then salt prevails. Especially after the fiasco that was Supernatural.

Still no bingo. Ah well, maybe next week lol.

Until then! 💜

[Ko-fi]

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #rwby fault #rwby recaps #mymetas

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neon-junkie · 3 years

Text

Duality - Chpts 1,2&3

Summary: There's a handful of things you hate, like the men who continue to pester you at the Saloon after you've told them no, or the way strangers look at you when you decide to wear pants. But the one thing you hate that most is Micah Bell. But if you hate him so much, then why are you allowing him to wrap his hand around your neck as he grinds his crotch down against yours? Is he using you? or are you using him?

Pairing: Micah Bell x f!Reader

Word Count: 8837 (ongoing work)

Rating: NSFW Warnings: Depictions of Violence (Reader is fine)

Tags: Dead Dove: Do not eat, Fights/Arguments, Slow burn, Hate sex, Enemies with benefits, Enemies to lovers, Pity sex, Vaginal sex, Outdoor sex, Creampies, Blood kink, Knives, Choking, Breath play, Rough/Manhandling, Heists & Robberies, Nipple sucking/licking, Making out, Sloppy kisses, Dirty talking, Grinding.

Notes: This fic was inspired by the gang of children that recently decided to start hurdling abuse at me simply because I enjoy Micah character. If he bad then why he make my pussy go brr?? I ain't ever gonna stop writing for him, somebody's gotta love the ratman so I guess I'll volunteer as tribute. This piece is inspired by @deputytrash and their work called ‘Micah Bell is a Rat Bastard,’ that I can’t actually link here because Tumblr hates links:))) so please go stalk them for the original fic. shoutout to all the other Micah fuckers out there; we're kinda fucked up but hey, we ain't hurting anybody<3

[Chapter 4]

Some men are born with the purest of hearts; they're full of good intentions, kindness, willingness to help others. They want to see the world go round, they enjoy watching the days go by with their loved ones around them. They want nothing more than love and equality, happiness for everyone, and they strive to achieve that. Those men, such as Arthur, are ones that you obviously enjoy for such reasons, and you enjoy watching them on the sideline, smiling at the way they make everyone happy. You've tried dating those men before and something felt... off about them, almost fake; you wish to enjoy such relationships with the purest of men, but you've never been able to sit in that saddle comfortably. The leather smells off and something constantly jabs at your tailbone. It's fine, honestly, to not sit comfortably in that saddle. Others can enjoy those men, ones who deserve them, ones who are just as pure and wholesome as those men they seek out. You're happy for them, you enjoy seeing them enjoy each others company, they really do deserve it. Only that leaves you with the problem of 'who the hell am I meant to fall for?' There are others who are sometimes split down the middle, with good and bad intentions, men such as Dutch who eventually crack under so much pressure, as expected. But these men have never really taken your fancy either. You curse the Gods for creating you with no intentions to seek out those pure of heart, or even slightly pure of heart. Why can't you be considered normal? You're a good person, yet you don't long for someone as good as you.

Instead, those who have only ever walked the darker path take your fancy. Those men who have no good intentions in them, who only look out for themselves and sometimes (but rarely) the few people closest to them, if you're stupid enough to get close to them, to begin with. You enjoy the challenge, you enjoy taming the beast, being the one person that someone so wild can trust. It's a generic trope that you've read in romance novels where the princess falls for the villain, but they always seem to have the happiest of endings? and the stories themselves are so juicy, so rich and full of layers. The generic happy couple trope gets so boring, nothing to read into. But if you're given a story about a well-layered villain who softens out within time then you'll eat said story off the dirt if you have to, it's always so rich and fulfilling, though you never expected to end up in one. "Which book are you reading today?" Mary-Beth asks you as she joins you on the beach, leaning back against the log you're leaning against. You do miss sitting on the cliff at Horseshoe Overlook, peering up at the landscape whenever your eyes need a break from being so engulfed in whatever book you were reading. But there's something just as good as looking out at the water, hearing the waves lapping against the shore as you read, enjoying the river breeze on a hot Lemoyne day. "The same as last time, that one centered around the villain," you tell her, your eyes momentarily peeking up to watch as she sits down beside you. "Still? Oh, you and your dark fiction," Mary-Beth replies with a laugh. She'd given your book that nickname after you explained the plot to her. Mary-Beth, as wholesome and pure as she is, couldn't quite understand why you'd get so engulfed in a book where the princess falls for the villain, completely ignoring the stud hero and running off with the bad guy instead. After explaining how layered the villain was, and how his actions were the result of past trauma, she somewhat understood but decided that she's happy with her sappy romance novels. That's understandable, your taste isn't for everyone, and you'd both agreed on that. "Like I said, I just find it more interesting," you reply, your eyes trailing over to the landscape. "Which book have you got?" you ask. "Oh, the same still. I've almost finished it! The poor man in it has finally been turned away from that woman, though they're both in love," she replies. "But from what you've told me, she's not exactly... the best person in the world?" you ask. "I guess not. Maybe I am into a little bit of dark fiction then, hm?" Mary-Beth questions with a soft laugh, finally opening her book to pick up from where she left off. "Maybe-" you begin to speak, but the sound of shouting draws your attention back to camp. You and Mary-Beth peer over your shoulders to watch the commotion in the distance. Ugh. It's Micah again, screaming at Bill for being so kind to the poor dog Jack had found, Cain. He's hollering away, something about not being soft on strays, that they'll only follow you around for food, whatever. You try to hold in your laughter when Micah does the last thing you'd expect, literally barking at Bill before storming off. "That man sure is evil," Mary-Beth comments. "I still ain't sure why Dutch allows him to follow us around, a bit like Cain really," she frowns, turning her gaze away. "He is, funny that he can't see just how much of a dog he is," you laugh along, returning your focus back to your book. "Has he bothered you again recently?" she questions, knowing that your last run-in with him was only a few days ago. "No, he ain't spoke to me, he ain't even looked at me." "Good, probably because he's still got that black eye you gave him," Mary-Beth replies, trying to hold back on her laughter. "Well, he did deserve it." Micah had pestered you a few days ago, stirring up some shit simply because he was bored. You were sat by yourself in camp, playing a solo game of solitaire whilst the wind was quiet, your cards not blowing away for once. He waltzed over, as always, looking like he owned the place; he only acts that way because he sucks up to Dutch, a bit of a teachers' pet, though he's definitely never stepped foot in a school. "Hey," Micah says to you. Well, you were unsure if he was speaking to you as your head was down, focused on the cards, so Micah quickly snapped when you didn't reply. "I said hey. You deaf?" he asks, lightly tapping the back of your shoulder. You let out a long sigh as you roll your eyes and look up. "I didn't know you were speaking to me, Micah," you reply. "Well, who else would I be speaking to, doll? There ain't anyone else around here," Micah says with a laugh, waving his hands about to gesture that nobody was nearby. "I can see that now," you sigh. You begin to put your cards away, knowing that if Micah's here then there's no way you'll be able to play this game in peace. Whatever, you were stumped anyway, considering calling this game quits, and Micahs appearance had encouraged you to do so. "What're you doing?" Micah questions. "I was playing solitaire," you reply, shuffling the cards back together and returning them to their container, an old mints tin that you found fits the cards much better than their old paper box. "And why have you packed up, hm? Is it 'cause I'm here?" Micah asks, knowing the answer. "It is," you say as you stand and put the tin in your pocket, beginning to walk off. The last person you ever want to talk to is Micah, but it seems he really wants to talk to you as he begins to follow you. "Where're you going? I ain't that bad. I know we don't exactly get along but you can't fault me for trying to right these wrongs with you," Micah begins, playing the white knight card as always, batting his lashes as if he hasn't made a handful of remarks towards you in the past, ensuring there's a thick barrier between the two of you. "I ain't interested in making friends with you, Micah. Now leave me be," you snap back, picking up the pace as you storm past Dutch's tent, hoping he'd pick up on the small commotion but his head is buried deep in his current Evelyn Miller book. "Such mean words coming from such a pretty face," Micah pouts, still on your trail, letting out his generic laugh. "Wouldn't you rather have friends than enemies?" "I'd rather have nothing to do with you, Micah," you tell him as you come to a halt, stopping in the dead center of camp. If Micah won't leave you alone then hopefully someone will step in, as their eyes had begun to peer over to the commotion; even Dutch has put his book down. "Easy there, sweetheart," Micah coos with his generic laugh. He goes to speak again but you're quick to cut him off. "I ain't your sweetheart, Micah. Quit calling me those names," you huff. "Of course, you ain't. I like a bit of fire in my women but you're just a bit too reckless for my taste," Micah tells you, his tone slowly turning to frustrated. He's quit the innocent act, lowering his hands as he had them raised as he followed you throughout the camp. If he can't win you over then he'll ensure you never even slightly consider him a friend, beginning to insult you to burn whatever was left of that bridge. "Good, I'd hate to be your taste. What an unlucky woman she must be for the likes of you to have eyes on her." Micah lets out another laugh as he takes a step closer to you, a little too close, and you're quick to cut him off before he can open his mouth. "Back off, Micah. Don't you try and get close to me," you order him. "Why not, hm? You scared someone is finally gonna put a woman like you back in her-" That's enough. Without hesitation, you clench your fist and swing for that vermin of a man, if you can even be kind enough to call him a man to begin with. You were aiming for his nose but hit his cheekbone instead, which is just as good as his eye had swollen up from the impact. Micah stumbled back and hit the ground with the most satisfying thud you'd ever heard, the sound still making you smile whenever you think about it. You didn't stick around much after that, burning the image of Micah lying on the floor clutching his eye into your memory before turning heel and marching off, wandering off into the trees so you could cool yourself off and devilishly admire your bruised knuckles. You refused to bandage them up, even after Charles had practically begged you, but you were eager to show off your trophy, even flaunting it at Micah from a distance whenever he came into your line of sight. His eyes hadn't met yours since, but you could feel his burning glare on you whenever you two were within ten feet of each other. You'd even overheard him attempting to bitch about you to Kieran, who simply nodded along to prevent himself from getting pulled into this mess. Needless to say, you and Micah do not get along. There's a handful of camp members that don't get along, but your burning hatred for each other seems to stand out the most. You're always eager to step in whenever Micahs attempting to chew someone's ear off, and he always gives you that same laugh as he attempts to mock you, but he often turns heel and storms away, calling you a bitch or whatever petty insult he has on his mind. But since that interaction, Micah has stayed well clear of you. Dutch probably told him to stop pestering you after you'd almost knocked his lights out, though you doubt that as Dutch ended up doing something that only seemed to make your 'friendship' worse. ----------- Another day, another dollar, or whatever the civilized phrase is. It's a quote you've heard within towns and cities, something bosses drill into the minds of their workers to stop them from realizing that they're being used as workhorses for less than pennies. At least out here you can work on your own terms, your only boss is Dutch and he always ensures that everybody gets a fair cut. Why slave away in a factory when you can rob some folk that needs robbing and make a few hundred off them? Dutch has a heist planned for you today, one that he says needs a woman touch. Karen is the only other gunwoman in the camp but Dutch has told you that she's a little too reckless for the job. Dutch knows that Sadie is also a gunwoman but she's still in mourning, arguing with Pearson every so often, but she isn't ready to step up to that rank yet. "And that's why I need you for this job. It's genric and old fashioned of us, but there's a payroll heading up into Rhodes and I was thinking you could play the damsel in distress, hunched over at the roadside, pouting sweetly as you ask them for a ride into town," Dutch tells you outside his tent, a week or so after your last run-in with Micah. "And if they don't stop?" you question. "Why would they not stop? A pretty lady such as yourself asking for a ride? When they're already heading that way? They must be some cold-hearted folk in order to turn down such a simple request," Dutch explains. "What will you and the others be doing?" "We'll be hiding nearby, waiting for that opportunity to rob them. Once you're on board then they should hand over the cash, I don't see why they'd want a poor innocent woman to be hurt. Hosea will be waiting in Rhodes to bring you back to camp, and you won't need your guns for the job. A kind, working woman such as yourself wouldn't carry them anyway," Dutch replies with a grin, stubbing out his cigar with the toe of his shoes. The plan seems simple enough, and what have you got to lose? So, you agree to the heist, heading into your tent so you can change your appearance to look like the average working woman. You dress in a simple skirt and shirt, your hair neat and your makeup simple, just how the women in Rhodes dress. Arthur gives you a ride to the location, your horse staying back at camp, as well as your guns. You feel a little uneasy heading out of camp without them, but the boys are hiding behind what's left of a wall nearby. You overheard Arthur protesting with Dutch, saying they shouldn't be robbing folk so close to camp, but Dutch assured them that this would be fine. Dutch has brought along Arthur and Lenny, and unfortunately, Micah, who still hasn't spoken a word to you, but his eye is now unfortunately better. Dutch didn't even mention to you that Micah would be coming along, seeing as your paths weren't meant to cross. This was meant to be a simple holdup job after all, only this gang seems to be cursed as things always go wrong. You're walking along the road, acting as if you're exhausted. The sound of a wagon approaching can be heard, and you peer over your shoulder to see it coming into view. You begin to wave your arms, signaling for them to stop, and thankfully, they do. "Are you alright, Miss?" one of the men questions, the one driving the wagon. There are two more men on horseback behind them, not many guns for a wagon that's carrying payroll. "I do apologize to ask such a request but my horse bucked me a while back, I'm only trying to head into town. Are you heading that way? Would you be able to give me a ride?" you question. You play out the usual body language, slouched shoulders, batting your lashes, and pouting your bottom lip. This is a mans world, after all, but you know exactly how to play the game. The driver and the shotgun speak to themselves quietly, clearly bickering about the fact that they're carrying payroll, but they eventually come to an agreement. "You're welcome to climb on the back of one of the horses, though we can't let you on the wagon, Miss," he replies. Well, that's good enough, at least you're still somewhat of a hostage. "Oh, thank you! I really appreciate it!" you smile sweetly, heading over to the nearest hired gunmen and climbing on the back, loosely holding onto his shirt as you get comfortable on the horse's rear. They return to their journey, barely making it a few meters down the road when one of those slimy Lemoyne Raiders appears from behind a boulder and attempts to hold them at gunpoint. Your eyes peer over to where the gang is hiding and thankfully, Dutch steps in, one gun pointed at the driver and the other at the rival gang member. You're still unsure on what Lemoyne Raiders are. Inbred? Wannabe military? Either way, they're stupid enough to fire without warning, and completely miss Dutch, though Dutch doesn't miss him. The plan goes to shit and you're caught in the middle of the gang war, your gang and the Lemoyne Raiders fighting each other, as well as the wagon. The gunman that you were holding onto slouches over his saddle, a bullet ripping through his side, thankfully missing you. You think Arthur had shot him, but either way, you're pushing his body off and stealing his horse, riding out from the commotion. What help are you now without your guns? It's best that you run away and fast. As you near the camp, you notice a small group of white hats approaching round the bend - lawmen, so you decide to keep riding forward towards Braithwait Manor, dipping off into the trees before they can notice you. You'll find somewhere to hide out until nightfall, riding through the thick forest until you find a shack down south, close to Shady Belle, but far enough from the commotion so the law shouldn't tread down here. The stolen horse is hitched by a tree and you're about to head inside, but the sound of hooves approaching startles you. You hide behind the tree, not providing much cover, but hopefully enough so you can decide how to approach the incoming stranger. If it's a lawman then you can simply burst into tears whilst saying that the horse bolted and you couldn't steer it up into Rhodes, and if it's a fellow gang member then you'll be fine. Well, it is a gang member, just you were hoping for anybody but Micah. He slows Baylock to a halt as you come into his line of sight, stepping out from behind the tree looking like an angry kitten. "You alright?" Micah asks, swinging his leg over the saddle and hopping off his mount. "Go away, go find somewhere else to hide. Shoo," you wave your hands at him, only making Micah laugh instead. "What's a matter? Can't I hide here with you?" he questions as he approaches you. "No, you can't. Go bother someone else, you're the last person I'd ever want to hide from the law with," you huff. Micah isn't budging, he continues to approach you until he's stood in front of you, grinning from ear to ear as he lets out that awful chuckle of his. "You don't mean that. Besides, how're you gonna defend yourself without your guns, huh?" Micah questions, resting his hands on his gunbelt. "Well, you know that I can swing a punch, can't you, Micah?" you tease, giving him a smug smile which wipes the grin off his face, turning into a frown. "And here I was just tryna look out for you. Nasty thing, aren't you?" Micah spits. "I am, and I ain't welcoming to you, Micah," you huff again, resting your hands on your hips. "Now, I'm gettin' real sick of the way you talk to me, girl. I ain't been nothin' but nice to you," Micah tuts, taking another step towards you. He's pressed up far too close to your chest, puffing his own out as his icy blue eyes scowl into yours. "You may be a big girl in the eyes of Dutch, but you ain't to me." "I don't care, Micah. I don't need your approval, nor your company, so scram!" This time, Micah goes for you, reaching out to grip ahold of your arm. He takes a firm grasp of you but before you can find out what he was planning on doing, you're pushing him away, shoving him back by the chest. He stumbles backwards but doesn't slump to the ground, catching his own fall as he glares at you. His death glare makes your face turn sour and you begin to foresee that one of you isn't going to make it back to camp. Micah lunges for you again, grabbing onto your shoulders as he begins to try and tackle you to the ground. You manage to shove him off and land a punch to the same cheekbone, only it's not enough to stop him. He continues to fight you, eventually managing to shove you to the floor. He tries to climb onto you, attempting to pin you to the ground but you land a swift kick to his baby balls. He lets out a choke as his body goes limp and you jump at the opportunity to shove him onto his back, pinning him down instead. Micah attempts to grab onto you but you're quick, taking his own knife from its holster and pinning it beneath Micahs chin. He stops, freezing up and removing his hands from you, lying in the dirt with his swollen eye locked onto yours. There's silence, no words spoken from either of you, just heavy panting and the sound of the trees rustling. Micah licks his lips, tasting the blood that has trailed down from his nose, and eventually speaks. "Go on, girl. Do it," he tells you, his Adam's apple bouncing against the blade as he speaks. You don't reply, so Micah jumps down your throat again. "I said do it! Show me what a big girl you are," he says with a laugh. "If I am to kill you then I'd rather do it with my bare hands," you spit at him, pressing the knife sharply on his neck. From the way Micah attempts to flinch back, you're certain you've managed to cut him. Good, he deserves it. "Do it then. Go on, get rid of me already. Just do everyone a favour," Micah replies, his hands raising yet again, doing that generic innocent pose even as he has a knife held to his throat. As much as you'd love to, you know the consequences for killing other camp members. You could say he died in combat but Dutch knows that Micah can take on a bunch of Lemoyne Raiders with his eyes closed. Plus, it's far too suspicious for you to be the one breaking the 'bad' news. But you might as well scare some sense into Micah, maybe choke him unconscious then bail back to camp before he can wake. Hopefully, he'll finally get it into his thick skull to stay away from you, though you doubt it, but at least you'll have fun. You remove Micahs own knife from his neck, stabbing it into the earth beside his head. He watches you with wide eyes, attempting to look at his knife but you grip onto his throat. You know how to choke someone to death, and you know how to choke someone unconscious, so you go for the second option and tighten your grip under his jawline, avoiding his windpipe so that he doesn't stop breathing. He lets out a choked exhale as you begin jabbing your fingers into his throat, pushing more than hard enough to eventually knock his lights out. You know you look a mess, covered in dirt with scruffed up hair, a glare on your face that could easily kill a man; Micah looks up at you through half-lidded eyes, keeping his gaze locked onto yours as he attempts to breathe. You can hear the pressure on his throat with every breath, his lips remaining parted, blood still trickling from his nose, and his eye swelling up more by the second. His clothes are just as dirty as yours, his hat has fallen off his head a long time ago, his white pants are almost brown from rolling in the dirt, and his red shirt is missing a few buttons from where you've grabbed him. Micahs parted lips quickly turn into a grin as his eyes begin to fall shut. You've never seen him pull a face like this, but he looks... pleasurable. He somehow has enough energy to reach up and grip onto the waistband of your skirt, trailing his fingertips along the band before settling each hand firmly on your hips. He's... enjoying this, isn't he? Your thoughts are confirmed when Micah opens his eyes again; his pupils are blown, wide and full of lust, gazing up at you like a piece of meat, ready to pounce on you (if he could.) You want to feel sick. Why don't you feel sick? Why isn't your stomach turning at the sight of Micah taking pleasure in your attempt to kill him? You push down harder on his neck, wishing you were gripping onto his windpipe instead. His smile eventually fades away, his eyes rolling shut as he lets out slower muffled breaths. His grip on your hips falls limp and you know he's finally unconscious. This was meant to be the part where you run, heading back to camp before he can wake, praying he never even looks at you ever again. But you remove your hand from his throat, noticing how his body twitches as he begins to breaths properly again, and using the same hand that you just choked him with, you land a harsh slap right across his face. It's loud and sharp enough that it echoes throughout the forest, startling the horses and scaring a few birds away. You instantly regret your decision, your hand throbbing from how hard you slapped him, but the way Micah jolts awake gives you a sickly satisfaction. He begins coughing, propping himself up on his elbows as he attempts to catch his breath. You don't move off him, sitting back on your knees, his legs beneath yours, watching in delight as he returns to the conscious word. Micah lies back down, his deep breaths eventually turning into a chuckle as his eyes meet yours. "I knew you were just like me," Micah says with a sniff, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. His nose is still bleeding, turning his moustache red, and now his cheek as he's smeared his own blood across his face. "I knew you were sick..." he laughs. "I ain't sick, Micah," you frown. "If you ain't then you won't enjoy this-" Micah somehow has enough energy to flip your bodies over, pinning you down to the ground, narrowly missing his knife that is still jabbed into the dirt. You attempt to push him off, trying to kick him in the balls again but he's pinned you down as well as you had pinned him down. He does exactly what you feared he'd do, wrapping his own rough hand around your neck, pressing on those spots under your jawline that you unfortunately enjoy. You try and fight it, attempting to gulp down air, attempting to push him off. But the more you fight him, the more he holds you down, and the more you find yourself enjoying it. "Give in to it, sweetheart. Just let it happen," he tells you, the words that you didn't want to hear, but only because they're sickly yet tempting. Micah adjusts his grip and finally hits the nail in the coffin, your mind turning cloudy, the blood pulsating through your brain. That feeling in your stomach begins to burn, trailing down your body and making your pussy clench. You hate this man so much, yet you're allowing him to do this to you. "Atta girl," Micah praises you as you stop fighting him, letting your eyes shut and your mouth part. You're weak enough for Micah to shift his weight, parting your thighs with his knees and sitting between them after he bunches your skirt up. One hand remains on your neck whilst the under sneaks underneath your waist, pulling your hips up onto his knees. His crotch pushes against yours, his hand trailing over your clothed thigh, moving up to your knee as he adjusts your legs so they're wrapped around his waist. For some reason, you cross your ankles, only encouraging him to grind his crotch against yours, rutting his hard-on against your pussy. The mewl that escapes your lips is definitely accidental, but Micah tilts his head up to let out a hum of approval as he watches the colour continue to drain from your face. "Such a pretty sound coming from that pretty face of yours. You're goin' pale tho, darlin'. Least you ain't still spittin' venom at me," Micah smirks. The blood from his nose drips down onto your own face, painting your cheek, and the sight of his blood on you makes his pupils turn wide again, licking his lips as he finally removes his hand from your throat. You gasp, gulping down air, letting out a few coughs as you manage to fill your lungs back up. Micah barely gives you enough time to come back to reality before he's crashing his lips against yours, pinning your hands on either side of your head, grinding his crotch down hard against yours. You let out a whimper as he manages to brush his crotch perfectly against your clit, making him chuckle against your lips as he kisses you. Are you kissing him back? Unfortunately so, but only because the taste of his blood on his lips is making your arousal grow, and he's grinding against you far too perfectly to ignore. You eventually lap away at his blood, his nosebleed finally coming to a halt, and the feeling of his prickly moustache becomes more and more prominent. It's far too annoying for you to make out with him and ignore it, and it eventually irritates you to a point that you break the kiss. "What'cha stopping for?" Micah pouts, halting his grinding for the moment. "Your 'stache is too long, it's itchy," you tell him. "Well, I'll make sure it's trimmed for next time," Micah replies as he rolls his eyes. "There ain't gonna be a next time, Micah," you scowl back. "Oh, that so?" Micah chuckles, doubting your claim. "Well, I'll just have to make this worthwhile," he informs you. Micah moves his hands off your wrists, sitting up on his knees and pulling his knife out of the ground. He wipes the dirt off on his jeans then grips onto your undergarments, pulling the fabric away from your skin so he can slice down the crotch, ripping apart the garment and leaving a large hole right in the middle of them. "Micah!" you snap as you sit up on your elbows. "I'll buy you a new pair," Micah monotonously replies, a large lack of sympathy in his voice. You could have sworn he rolled his eyes as well. He holsters his knife and rips apart the hole even more, almost ripping the garment in two, exposing your pussy for his pleasure. Micah hums in appreciation as he gazes at the sight, pushing your thighs apart as he dips his head down and spits onto your folds. You'd be lying if you said you didn't enjoy it, and Micah picks up on the glisten in your eyes as he straightens his back up and begins to unfasten his pants, leaving his gunbelt on the ground beside you. Micah pulls out his cock, an average looking one, rock hard and flushed pink at the tip. You're surprised that his pubes are neatly trimmed, just as dirty blonde as his hair, but he keeps his pubes neater for whatever reason. He ruts his cock over your folds, slicking himself up with his spit and your juices; to say you aren't wet is also a lie, you've been soaking the second he put his hand around your throat. Micah finally pushes into you, slow and steady, letting out an "ooh" once he's fully sheathed inside of you. "It's always tighter if I don't finger you," he comments, licking his lips as he moves his hands underneath each knee, spreading your legs apart as far as he wants. Why are you allowing this man to fuck you? You're not sure, though you don't regret it, especially when he begins to thrust into you, surprising you with the way he rolls his hips, the tip of his cock hitting that spot inside of you with every thrust. If someone had told you this morning that you'd end up spending the evening with Micah Bell thrusting inside of you, after the two of you had had a fight and ended up aroused by it, then you probably would have punched them too after informing them that they're drunk. But here you are, allowing Micah to fuck you senseless, pounding you into the dirt as he lets out surprisingly pleasant sounds. "Shit!" you gasp as Micah shifts his weight, moving his hands off your knees to wrap around your waist. He pulls you up into his lap, lifting your ass off the floor and angling your body perfectly so he's directly hitting your g-spot with every roll of his hips. Micah's fucking you like a rabbit, fast and unforgiving, eager to make your walls tighten around him so he can fill you up with his cum. Micah begins to bare his teeth, hissing through them as he pounds you. You're a moaning mess beneath him, not holding back on the volume of your moans as nobody is nearby, and your volume level is filling Micahs ego more and more by the second. "That's a good girl," he tells you, his hazy eyes meeting yours. "I always knew you'd be a good fuck, the feisty ones always are," he chuckles. You roll your eyes at his comment, making him laugh instead. Ugh. That stupid laugh of his, the one he always drags out only because he knows it gets on everyone's nerves. You think fast, moving one hand back onto his throat to cut that dreadful sound out. His lips remain parted, slightly smiling as he continues to fuck you, enjoying that irritated glisten to your eyes. You tighten your grip on his throat, forcing a choked moan from Micahs lips. Micah's already hunched over you but you pull him down to your level, speaking right against his lips as you order him to "fuck me harder." "With pleasure," Micah manages to reply, gasping and straightening his back the second you let go of his throat. Micah keeps one arm underneath your waist, holding you firmly on his lap, whilst the other moves between your legs. His hand rests on your stomach, his thumb moving down to begin massaging your clit, flicking the bud in circles, his cock throbbing every time your muscles begin to shake. He's returned to letting out moans, followed by the occasional grunt through gritted teeth. You've seen Micah come undone before, you've seen that feral look in his eyes as he loses his cool and guns down an army of people. But this? This was a different look, just as feral but fueled by a mixture of lust and spite. Is he just using you for a fuck? Yes, but you're doing the same with him. And do you think you'll end up fucking him again? Possibly, but only if you can watch the life drain from his face again. It's sickeningly arousing, but Micah seems to enjoy it too. "You're gonna make me cum," you sigh, your thigh muscles beginning to shake, your eyes scrunching shut as your head rolls back in the dirt. "I know," Micah confidently replies, rubbing his thumb even firmer against your clit. What a cocky piece of shit, though you admire the confidence. You can't believe you're moaning his name as you orgasm, panting and shaking, wrapping your legs even tighter around Micahs waist as he pushes his cock deep inside of you and earns his own release. His hands grip onto your hips, his forehead eventually slumping on your chest as he pants and groans, filling you up with god knows how many months worth of cum, maybe longer, depending on whoever else has been stupid enough to sleep with him. Micah eventually straightens his back and pulls out of you, letting your legs slip from around his waist as you untangle your body from his. He looks debauched, his hair and clothes scruffy and dirty, not to mention the dried blood smeared across his face and moustache. You're certain you look just as bad, spending your evening rolling about in the dirt with the man you hate the most. Hate? Or hated? as you somewhat like the sight of Micah like this. Maybe you could tolerate him under these terms, and only under these terms. You attempt to sort your appearance out as you stand up, stretching your legs, hearing your knees click after being bent for so long. Micah does the same as he pulls himself up, tucking his cock away then picking his hat up. He whistles for Baylock who had wandered off into the forest, probably not wanting to be around... that. The horse you'd stolen has managed to unhitch itself and disappear, and you honestly don't blame them, but that means the only way back is hitching a ride off Micah or walking for an hour. "Looks like you're riding with me," Micah tells you. "I don't want to be seen trailing into camp with you, not when we both look like this," you tell him as he mounts Baylock. "How's about I drop you off on the edge of camp then spend a few hours away? Would that make you happy?" Micah offers, holding out his hand at the same time. "It would," you tell him, swatting his hand away and climbing up onto Baylock on your own terms. "So, you'll let me fuck you but won't even take my hand?" Micah chuckles as he clicks his tongue, letting Baylock go at a soft pace as you ride side-saddle. "Yep, and don't forget that you owe me new underwear," you remind him. "Oh, I won't forget to buy you some new panties, Miss. I'll buy you a whole set of lingerie if it means I get to cut it off your body," Micah teases but you know he's serious. "If that's what you want," you reply with a shrug. "You'd let me?" he questions, peering over his shoulder at you. "I would," you reply. For some reason, you lick your thumb and attempt to wipe some of the dried blood from his cheek. Maybe the sight bothers you, but Micah doesn't seem to mind as he lets you clean him up, his eyes occasionally flicking onto the road. "You wanna give me a kiss when you're done with cleaning me up?" Micah asks with a smirk. "No," you frown, pushing his face away from yours. He laughs as he looks forward, returning his focus back to driving. You and Micah don't speak another word on the short journey back, apart from a "thanks," from you as you slide off Baylock. He drops you on the edge of the forest, letting you walk down the path back into Clemens Point. You manage to sneak back into the camp; the only person who saw you in your state was Charles who simply said "I won't ask," when you gave him a look that said 'please don't.' You feel much better once you've cleaned yourself up and got cozy in bed, though your body aches from fucking in the dirt, and you're almost certain you're going to have bruises around your neck by the time morning is here. But the fresh memory of having hate sex with Micah only seems to arouse you again; just like Micah said, you are sick, just as sick as him. But if this unspoken arrangement is a good way of letting out anger then why not continue it? --------------- It's been a week since your accidental encounter with Micah. He's still not replaced your underwear, nor has he spoken a word to you, but you've picked up on those disgustingly arousing glances he sends you from across the camp. You've been tempted to chew his ear out about not paying you back yet, but he's not been in camp often, and when he has been in camp, it's been during the day and around others. The bastard knows what he's doing, and he definitely knows that you're still angry that he hasn't repaid you yet. You've been assigned guard duty tonight, doing lap after lap around the outskirts of the camp until 3am, which is when you can tap Bill awake and send him on his way to take over. Well, 3am is here and that's exactly what you're doing, prodding Bill awake and handing him the shotgun. You somehow didn't notice that Baylock had appeared amongst the horses, but you do notice that distinct white hat on the edge of camp. Micahs stood on the beach, looking out at the water with his arms crossed, a cigarette between his fingers. Finally, the opportunity to chew his ear off. You stroll over, ensuring nobody else is awake, not wanting to question why you're eagerly approaching the man you despise. "Micah," you greet as you stand next to him. "There she is, just the girl I was looking for," Micah greets you as he exhales his cigarette smoke. "You ain't looking for me, Micah. You're stood here having a smoke," you roll your eyes. "I was hoping I would have fucked that attitude out of you. Seems I ain't fucked you hard enough," he says with a laugh. You peer over your shoulder, reminding yourself that nobody is awake, nor nearby, but you don't want to risk your chances. "We don't talk about that in camp, alright?" you threaten. "Fine, whatever you want," Micah shakes his head as he finishes off his cigarette, flicking it onto the floor and stomping it out. You're about to begin questioning him on your missing underwear but he begins to walk off, heading further along the beach. "Where are you going?" you scowl as you follow him. "Over here so I can sit down. Was gonna ask if you're joining me but it seems you are," he says with a laugh, leaning back against a large boulder. You frown at him but settle beside him, turning your attention to him again. "I only came over here to ask you-" "-s'on your bedroll," Micah tells you. "What?" you question. "That new underwear I promised, I've just placed it on your bedroll whilst you were on guard duty. Plus a little something extra to make up for how long you've waited for it," Micah answers, his eyes fixated on the water. "Hmm..." you ponder, unsure if you believe him. "What? Don't you trust me?" Micah questions as he finally looks over at you. "Not at all," you scowl again. "Well, you'll see that I'm telling the truth sooner or later. Go check now if you want, I don't care," he shrugs. You stare at him again, trying to look for any signs of lying, but he gives you none; his nose doesn't twitch, his eyes stay glued to yours, he doesn't rub the back of his neck. Micah is probably telling the truth, knowing that you'll whack him over the head with a bottle next time you see him if he lies to you. "See, told you I ain't lying," Micah snickers as he looks back out over the water. You don't reply, you just lean back against the rock and turn your attention to the landscape. Your brows remain furrowed, arms loosely crossed, enjoying the sound of the waves lapping against the shore, the moonlight only just providing enough light as you're far enough from camp. A few minutes pass and Micah turns his attention back to you. "Why're you still here?" he bluntly asks. "I ain't sure, I'm going to bed," you shrug. You begin to stand, barely getting off your ass when Micah reaches out and grabs you by the waist, pulling you back down onto his lap with a slight thud. "What do you want?" you snap, picking his hands off your waist in disgust, making him laugh at the sight. "Just wanted to spend some quality time with my favourite camp member," he replies, though you're unsure if he's being sarcastic. "Well, you ain't my favourite," you huff. "Always so feisty towards me, ain'tcha? What's wrong? You still hate me even after you let me fuck you?" Micah questions with a throaty laugh, grinning from ear to ear. "I hate you even more now," you tell him, shuffling about on his lap until you're straddling him, one leg on either side of his hips, your chests almost touching. "That'd explain why you've just got comfortable on my lap rather than walking away," Micah chuckles again, knowing he's damn well in the right. He slips his hat off his head, placing it on the ground beside him, not wanting it to get in the way. You let out a sigh as you roll your eyes. "Ain't I allowed to just take some attention from you, Micah?" you question, batting your lashes and removing the frown from your face. "You're allowed to take whatever you want from me, s'long as I get something in return," Micah tells you as he wraps his arms loosely around your waist. "So it's agreed? That we'll just... enjoy this pity sex? But only because it lets off some steam," you place the offer down, finally trying to decide on this agreement. "It is agreed, sweetheart. You can call it pity sex or whatever else you want, but maybe I'll just fuck you so good that you'll end up likin' me?" Micah chuckles, pulling you onto his lap more as he speaks to you in a husk tone. "I ain't your sweetheart and I ain't ever gonna like you, Micah Bell," you spit. "Sure you ain't," he grins. So, this is what it's come to. You're sleeping with the enemy, pity fucking the man you hate the most, allowing him to pry into your private life and between your legs just for a little bit of satisfaction. Do you care? No. Should you care? Probably. But you're getting pleasure, finally, after waiting for so long. The gang is always on the move, running from the law and whoever else is chasing you, depending on where you are and who you've pissed off. You've flirted with other gang members before but it's never escalated anywhere, so if sleeping with Micah means you'll finally stop humping your pillow every night then why not? And maybe you can fuck some sense into him, maybe a bit of kindness of basic respect? You doubt it, but it'd be nice. A life where Micah isn't chaotic would be perfect, or one where he entirely didn't exist. But this is the way the world currently is, so you'll just have to make do with what you've got. You're still going to bark back at him whenever he kicks up a fuss in camp. If anything, you're eager to put him in his place. Maybe you can punish him every time he steps out of line? Maybe this... enemies with benefits, or whatever you want to call it, could whip Micah into shape and prevent him from being such an annoyance towards everyone. Probably not, but you can still hope. Micah tightens his grip around your waist as he lets out a pleasing hum, tugging you down to his level so he can kiss you. You're reluctant as his moustache was so irritating last time, but to your surprise, Micah has trimmed it to prevent the irritation, his 'stache brushing against your upper lip rather than prickling it. Micahs kisses are a lot more tender this time, not covered in blood and heavy breathing, not battling for dominance whilst both your minds are hazy from all that choking. Micah moves one hand up to entangle his fingers in your hair, cupping the back of your head. Your lips soon slide open, your tongue greeting Micahs. He bites your bottom lip softly, letting the skin slowly slip from his grasp before kissing you again, earning himself a soft moan as you shuffle onto his lap more. Things are slowly turning heated, Micahs kisses getting sloppier yet firmer by the second, drawing more moans and whimpers from your lips as he continues to make out with you. You pray that nobody has woken up, not wanting them to see... this. How would you attempt to explain this? Could you say you tripped and fell into Micah after not seeing him sat there, and you'd just accidentally kissed him on the way down? Could you say this way a new way of fighting, to show him what he's missing out on if he'd just be a good boy? Yeah, those excuses are rubbish. But you're sure you'd hear anyone approaching, not unless they're stealthy. Micah moves his hands to your chest, unbuttoning your shirt, stopping at your lower ribs. He breaks the kiss so he can pull your shirt open, cupping each of your breasts and leaning his head into them. His mouth latches onto one of your nipples, sucking at it surprisingly gently, flicking his tongue over the nub, tenderly kissing it. His hand massages them, kneading them softly. Micah moves onto your other nipple, repeating the process, sucking on your tits as he lets out a satisfying hum. "I ain't sure what my favourite part of you is, these things, or that nasty bite of yours," Micah says with a soft laugh between kisses. "Oh, you have such a way with words," you roll your eyes. "You know, I think we'd get along much better if you'd just tease me with these things in camp," Micah replies, returning his focus to your breasts. "I'll remember that in the future," you say, making a mental note. Maybe you could find a way to manipulate him? Using your womanly charm to tame this beast? It's a push but it's worth a try. He continues to suck at them, making your arousal grow, and you know he's getting aroused as you can feel it pressed against your thigh. Micah moves off your breasts and gently pulls your head down, enjoying another kiss, still tender, not the style you expected a man such as Micah to have. Micah breaks the kiss, urging you off him. "Now, come on. Before I start thinkin' with my dick and fuck you right in the middle of camp. But you'd like that, wouldn't you, you whore?" he questions, buttoning up your shirt for you. "You admit to thinking with your dick, yet I'm the whore?" you smirk, pointing out the flaw to his logic. "Real smart, ain'tcha girl?" Micah mocks, shooing you off his lap once your shirt is fastened. Micah stands first, pulling you up afterward. His hand lingers for a little too long in yours, though you don't move your hand away either. He begins walking with you back to camp, readjusting his hat as he walks. Micah dips before you approach camp, not wanting to risk anybody latching onto your agreement. Thankfully, nobody is awake, but you head straight to your tent anyway. You fasten the tent flaps behind you, lighting your lantern, and begin getting ready for bed. You notice the tailor box on your cot and open it up, revealing the replacement underwear, as well as the 'little something extra' that Micah had promised you. It's a full set of lingerie, an expensive-looking set too, a frilly white chemise, corset, and stockings. The chemise is definitely that short for a reason; you wonder what Micah's planning, though he did say that he wanted to cut it off you. You hope to at least get some use out of it before he does that.

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cyberfairyblog · 3 years

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Why Jillian Sucks

Hi, welcome to Odyssey Mystery Hour! I'm your host @gritsandbrits and today I'll be talking about a hot topic in the AIO fandom! Wanna know the tea? Keep on reading!

In the weeks I started getting back into the radio series, the newer episodes have started to irk me, mostly because of one of the more annoying additions: Jillian. Marshall. 😬😬😬

Even though I ship Jason with my self insert OC this not going to be about her. There's a lot of reasons why I do NOT like the idea of Jillian x Jason becoming a canon thing on the show. I hope to describe these feelings as best I can.

Who is Jillian you might ask?

Well to put it simply, Jillian is what happens when a Soccer Mom and a TikTok boyfriend mate and spawn an unholy baby and name them Rachel Berry. Out of the aspects of Nu!Odyssey I dislike, Jillian is the one thing I truly despise. Thankfully I've met fans who share the exact sentiment! 😁😒

Double-N Annoying, Double-O Nincompoop

Making her debut in 2018, Jillian is described as lively and upbeat, if a little high strung and immature; the perfect recipe for Kid Appeal! Before she moved to Odyssey she lived in different cities and worked nineteen jobs before becoming roommates with Connie and her sister Jules.

Now this is actually a fairly interesting set up: a new character struggling to find purpose only to discover it in a quaint small town. But as it turns out her going through that many jobs seems to be more than just struggling to find purpose.

When I first saw her design my thought immediately went to the smarmy classmates I went to school with.

We're introduced with this iconic line: "Hi!! I'm Jillian Marshall, double-L Jillian, double-L Marshall! It's so nice to meet you!"

With that one sentence I knew I was about to die.

The following episode has Jillian bumbling through every job interview much to Connie's duress after which she conveniently ending up working at Triple J Antiques...the same place Jason works!

A little backstory on Jason: he is the adult son of John Whittaker, one of the show's main character, and a bit of an Ensemble Darkhorse. He was introduced as a secret agent meant to bring action and intrigue into the show. He was set up as a charismatic and reckless sort of guy clashing with the calmer Jack Allen. After the Green Ring Conspiracy Saga, Jason officially retired from James Bonding and settled down to work at the Allen's antique shop.

Given his immense popularity there's understandable concern for how he is written and who he gets paired up with. So what does that have to do with Jillian.

Well, the idea of Jillian working at the same exact place as Odyssey's resident bachelor and calling him cute raises a few eyebrows.

"B-but Grits all she did was call him cute! You're reaching too far into this!"

Am I? Look I know this wouldn't be much of a big deal too but that is a subtle tactic the writers threw in to get the cogs turning for Jillison. Jason is clearly uninterested and even implied to dislike her. Jillian bemoans this but Connie reassures her that that's not the case. But hey at least she called him cute so OF COURSE she's going to end up being his love interest!

To me removing a character's core trait to justify a romance means you do NOT know how to actually write a compelling romance. It's trite, it's forced and painful to listen to.

It's also obvious she's a replacement for Bernard, given they have similar personalities and her brief stint on TV (which she also failed at lol). But whereas Bernard was actually endearing, Jillian seems more of a cliche womanchild with zero self awareness and tact. No actual depth, just a personality that is incredibly dumbed down and even insulting. Seriously they made her the dumb blond stereotype in an era where we should've moved on from that! 🤦

Did I mention she goes to church?

Yep she's gonna be one of those Christians.

Literally Loveless, Literally!

Oddly enough the narrative frames this as a rivals to lovers thing, where Jason is both the charismatic friendly guy and the super uninterested Straight Man. The constant twisting the turning makes him go OOC. See we know he's fit better as the former because that goes in line with his canon personality. But when they make him the latter he just comes off as unnecessarily mean. This is turns frames Jillian as someone we should pity: "Oh the attractive male doesn't like me because I went into his office without permission!!"

Wouldn't it make more sense for Jillian to be the one uninterested in a romance since her focus in to find a job/better purpose and romance might distract her? That would make a fun subplot...IF SHE WASN'T OBNOXIOUS!

A pattern I noticed and several fans pointed out: Jason's previous love interests were consistent in that they were strong minded women who challenged him in different ways. Their personalities bounced off creating a fun dynamic that was entertaining to see. Even though they didn't end up with him, you can still see and hear and feel their chemistry which is my goal for Jason x OC. Tasha doesn't make Jason OOC & they had a bittersweet arc, so their interactions were organic. Monica only made him OOC because she was a villain actively manipulating him. So again that worked in terms of story and led to Monica's redemption if my memory serves.

However, Jillian's dynamic is not that fun to listen to. You can feel her annoying Jason through the airwaves. She's strong but only in the sense of feeling something hard underneath your back laying on the bed and realizing that's just your earbud. She's vibrant yes but what else? She doesn't have any unique traits to contrast Jason, and any attempt at a contrast would mean making him act out of character. Adding her bumbling clumsiness and annoying voice, Jason would get tired of her very quickly. He's the type to go for people to have intelligent conversations with, not make him lose braincells. She could very well bring out the worse in him, it'll be an unhealthy relationship.

Here's a tidbit worth mentioning: the VA for Jillian actually auditioned with Jason's VA Townsend Coleman. Now that is big ass red flag right there! No hate towards the actress, just throwing that out there. There's also a facebook page dedicated to Jillison. Typical FB stupidity ramped up to eleven, or AIO fans who see something in Jillian; or at least THINk they see something worthwhile in her.

It doesn't help the writers keep insisting that these two go well together. The audience knows they do not work well as a pair but the narrative keeps insisting they are anyways. I recall an episode that had them pretend to be married while undercover and it was bad. Like REALLY humiliating to see Jason put in that position. He also told her to shut up much to my joy because she could NOT stop being irritating for five minutes. Alas the show still tries to justify Jillian being the Perfect Woman for Jason when she's anything but. And not even endearingly imperfect.

Follow Up

These tags I wrote on one of the AIO posts describes how I feel about Villain Marshall and the Jillison coupling as a whole. It just wouldn't work because Jason needs someone that can actually CHALLENGE him, have their own personality that can bounce off his (without being forced), and most importantly DOESN'T AGGRAVATE THE FANDOM!!

I have not met a single person anywhere that say they like Jillian. It's a different story apparently on the Club App - they like her for reasons I'm too cowardly to find out. But no, she sucks as a character. She makes a annoying friend, and is not a good addition to the show, much less a good love interest.

The only good thing she brought us are the nicknames we gave her 😌

That's all for now thank you for tuning into the Odyssey Mystery Hour. Next week I'll be talking a bit more about my OC Vanessa and her role in the world of Odyssey! Goodbye and make sure to lock your doors to prevent Jillian from coming in!!

#adventures in odyssey #jason whittaker #anti jillison #aio #rant #radio drama #adventures in odyssey radio show #jillian marshall #anti jillian marshall

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willowistic22 · 3 years

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Famous!newsies

Ok so here are my famous!newsies headcanons from an a modern au i thought of if newsies were celebrities/famous yknow bcs I couldn’t get this idea out of my head and idk what to do with it other than making a headcanon list nabsnzbsvsnsbz anyways hope yall validate me after not posting any original content for like…. awhile now hehe

btw it got longer than expected. And I mean r e a l l y long. So if yall wanna read this better sit down and buckle up!

Jack

He’s an artist on youtube

Like a modern day bob ross ig??

If yall know zhc on youtube just imagine that but not so rich (I don’t watch zhc btw but i do know that he does custom art on iphones and stuff and that is definitely not jack kelly)

Anyways Jack simply goes by Jack Kelly.

So jack does art challenges. Like does the weirdest requests from his fans left in his comment section and stuff

Or maybe challenging himself to make art from a specific theme or a specific media

Sometimes he vlogs too but his art videos are what his fans like the most

His merch is amazing because he designed the pattern/drawing/whatever yknow. It’s printed/sewed/whatever on the clothing and it’s good quality. It’s pretty lowkey for a youtuber’s merch bcs jack doesn’t like those merch that just smacks his logo on a hoodie

Davey

He’s a fantasy, YA, romance writer (he mixes it wisely ok?)

And goes by David Jacobs

Listen he’s a hopeless romantic and i’m pretty sure yall agree too

He wanted to stick to YA romance. The classic high school lovers yknow

But he wanted to challenge himself since he’s been writing about high school lovers since he was in high school

Thus the fantasy genre came in mind

So yeah he likes creating love in his own universe

Whether it’d be different worlds, universe, species, time periods, whatever.

He wanted to direct the movies based on his books, but he’s actually lowkey terrible at leading on his own. But he did stick to being the script writer and co-director (look idk how it works in the film industry i’m just making shit up)

Crutchie

He’s a solo jazz singer

Crutchie gives off Michael Buble and Jason Mraz vibes tho

And maybe a bit of frank sinatra? Yknow ‘cause he sings jazz

Also he riffs thank you very much :)

He goes by Crutchie Morris to everyone

He usually plays the acoustic guitar or piano on stage

Ok but he’s like really good with the piano

Makes the best jokes on stage too. Some are just sarcastic comments.

Crutchie asking through the microphone : “Oh, straight?”

A fan he’s talking to from the crowd : “Uhh… no, gay”

Crutchie : “no not you, the vodka”

Everyone at the concert : *laughs*

Crutchie, jokingly : “Oh, you’re drinking vodka! Straight? No gay”

(yes that was indeed inspired by that one video of Harry Styles and a fan in one of his concerts yall can’t stop me)

Kathrine

She’s a crime mystery writer

Think like the modern day Agatha Christie

Okok but she goes by Kathrine Plumber on her books :D

She chooses that genre bcs she’s a huge fan of Agatha Christie

Her favorite book from Agatha is Murder on the Orient Express

Oh and her books are sometime very gruesome alkjsfhakjsfb

Nobody check her browsing history, she’ll look like a murderer

Ok but I feel like she also has a youtube channel about books and stuff and sometimes like to vlog

She also has a writing tips series on her channel where she shares tips on some of the frequently asked questions about writing or her fans leave a specific question in the comment section and thought she could expand more to it in a full length video

Also she likes to vlog while she’s in a book convention

Her books are also turned into movies and she has done a great job directing it

Race

Yall would be lying to me if you don’t think this kid would end up being a twitch streamer and youtuber (like vlogging yknow. I feel like his gaming stuff would strictly be on twitch)

And ik it’s widely agreed by everyone in the fandom that he’s a dancer of some sort so yeah he’s also simultaneously a dancer

I don’t think I need to explain any further bcs it’s just so in character

He goes by Racetrack Higgins

Ok so he likes to vlog on his youtube channel

Sometimes does stupid challenges

Maybe he’d drag Albert to do a challenge which he always says no

“I’ll just be your cameraman dude, dw”

Race : *angery*

Since Al and Smalls are the skateboard peeps™ race is the rollerblade dude™ bcs I say so

He has three cats named Racecat Higgins, Spot Clawlon, and Romeow (i’ve mentioned it before and I will mention it again hehe) and his fans loves them endlessly

Albert

You don’t think this kid would also end up being a twitch streamer and youtuber like his bestie up there?? Lmao you thought wrong (again, gaming is strictly on his twitch)

He just goes by Albert DaSilva on the internet

And yes he’s also a dancer because I say so

On his Youtube channel he also vlogs

Half of his vlogs starts with him riding his skateboard

“Hey, guys! Welcome back to another vlog-” *falls off his skateboard for not paying attention to a curb*

It happens way more often than he’d like to admit let’s be real. His fans make a compilation of it and memes on reddit

Always wear a snapback

Snapbacks are an important element to him so his merch store is really boosting his snapbacks

And just for the wormsie discord server he has one with the word ranga on it after it being born from a stupid inside joke he, race, and both of their fanbases combined share (@ my wormsie fam thank me later)

Oh yeah, his youtube besties are Race and Smalls just so we’re clear here :) (I’ll get to Smalls in a bit)

So I always headcanon Albert having two big dobermans. So his fans always want to see a doggy update because Zara and Zoey are everything to them.

Doggo vlogs are fun. It’s usually Albert taking the two good girls to Central Park for playtime or teaching them new tricks

Spot

He’s a solo rock singer

Is an amazing singer like wow none of the newsies expected him to have that sort of pipes to reach high notes

And he does it amazingly with no sweat

Also his instrument is the electric guitar to go with his amazing singing ajsfhasjfhajhf

Anyways he goes by Spot Conlon still

And his songs are very lyrical. Like very.

A lot of metaphors. No one knows what most of his songs means.

So basically Taylor Swift songs if it switched genres to rock. And not even like songs from speak now or red. But like if evermore and folklore songs were to turn into rock songs with a little bit of reputation vibes sprinkled on top. And his concerts has the reputation era vibes but make it spot conlon (hey non swiftie fans reading this i’m so sorry i’m pretty sure yall don’t understand wtf i’m talking abt)

That is also the only way i know to describe his vibe i’m sorry but i don’t really listen to a lot of rock alkjhfasjk

Anyways it’s a known fact that he wears tank tops daily that it becomes his signature look. And also an inside joke among his fanbase

Now just picture the merch booth from one of his shows and there’s like endless tank top designs for his fans to pick and choose

He’s also crowned to be the King of Brooklyn bcs of obvious reasons

But the joke is he’s a pretty tough hardcore guy that’s a cat person

Sarah

She’s a badass female solo singer

Mostly does pop but the badass type of pop

Yes, she does go by Sarah Jacobs

Fans were really surprised Davey and Sarah are related

Because one is a hopeless romantic while the other is a total badass

Anyways she gives off Little mix, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and Selena Gomez vibes

That is literally the only way I can describe it

She’s very lyrical, with a lot of metaphors

When she dances on stage, she d a n c e s

All while holding a mic to sing. And she hits all those high notes like it’s no ones business (a literal queen i tell you)

She and Spot are besties and has been known to have done a few collabs together

Their fans were hesitant about their collabs since their genre is pretty different from the other but they make it work and it slAPS

And among all her boppy songs with full choreography and backup singers, she always have a few songs she sings while only being accompanied by piano or guitar (Either electric or acoustic) which she plays on her own

Finch

He’s an indie pop artist with his trusted acoustic guitar by his side

Just think of music by Wallows and Lewis Capaldi were to be blended in together and Conan Gray for the cherry on top

But it has a little bit of Ed sheeran, Lorde, and Lauv vibes to it too

His concerts are simple but his songs are mostly very boppy so his fans still have fun either way

And it’s usually in small venues but there are times where he had a concert in a huge stadium

He goes by FINCH (yeah all caps btw)

Finches are a very on brand thing for him obviously

Has been known to collab with Crutchie and they actually make a very good team

Somehow was able to combined both genres to produce a few boppy songs

Ok ok but Finch and Crutchie have made a collaborative album (and maybe they went on tour????)

Specs

He’s a history fiction writer

Yes this is inspired by the fact that he’s 100% a history nerd (no one change my mind i love this headcanon aight)

And he explores a lot of different histories from different parts of the world

He actually helps a lot of students understand history even further for school through his novels

Anyways he goes by Specs because I say so

No one knows why that’s his pseudonym and Specs isn’t interested in explaining either. No one other than the newsies need to know it was born from a stupid nickname the newsies gave him :)

His research mostly comes from history books because of his genre which wouldn’t be a problem since he has loads and will voluntarily buy more if needed

Also yeah he makes a great director for the movies taken from his books

Mush

He’s a chef on youtube

Goes by Mush Meyers

So think if Gordon Ramsey and his youtube channel but make it mush

Yeah that’s it really

Ok but Mush is a jolly and friendly person

Other than just food vlogging he does cooking challenges and cooking tips too

Sometimes he does the cooking challenges with a friend (mostly henry but i’ll get to him later on in the list)

But he also vlogs his life

Which isn’t really often but he likes to sometimes

He’s that big of a foodie he has a food blog too

And also a seafood restaurant so that’s cool :D

Henry

Like Mush, he’s a chef on youtube

Goes by Henry on the internet and in general

Ajkfhajfjska I’m thinking about how ppl would address him as Chef Henry kajhfkjlashfjklasfjklsf

He mostly does the same thing like Mush actually

Food vlogging and cooking challenges (they do it together so) sometimes cooking tips

But Henry vlogs his life a lot

And instead of a food instagram he has a food blog

He has a sandwich restaurant

Yeah it is inspired by his pastrami on rye with a sour pickle line from KONY get mad about it why don’t ya (well if i’m not mistaken henry was the one that said it but idk i have horrible memory)

Blink

He’s a youtuber

Ok so I have a specific headcanon that Blink majored in psychology but didn’t end up being a psychologist

So instead he becomes a psychologist on youtube

Who often vlogs jhgasjlfhs

The guy looks like he could cut you but his sense of humor once you get him talking is just *chef’s kiss* amazing

Which is why he also has a podcast because he’s also secretly great at talking

He just thinks mental health is very important, okay?

Romeo

He’s an actor

Mostly on Broadway but has worked with Hollywood before

He’s usually a supporting character but has been known to understudy for main characters

Ok ik these bullet points are getting shorter and shorter but these are mostly bcs some of these stuff are pretty self explanatory since it’s very in character

Like are you telling me a kid named Romeo isn’t gonna be in some way very dramatic and end up turning that personality trait into his career?? Plus he’s very good at that?

Yeah you’re lying to me

Also he’s a pretty frequent vlogger on youtube

Look he’s a fun guy, what did you expect?

Just goes by Romeo on youtube

Elmer

He’s an actor

Has done his fair share in Broadway and Hollywood but started in Broadway

He can dance but thinks he’s pretty average in it yknow

Which his fans has no idea what he’s talking about because on stage he can do flips and turns like it’s no ones business yknow

But he can sing really good and takes pride in it

Elmer would play characters that is really far off from his own personality that fans couldn’t believe that Elmer played that character

He has done his fair share in main characters and supporting characters on Broadway

In Hollywood he usually does indie and rom-com movies

Buttons

He’s a fashion youtuber and basically an influencer

Let’s be real this boy is a fashion icon

He’s not really a model but more like a fashion influencer and also kind of a fashion designer

His clothing line is very *chefs kiss* amazing

He designed it all and sometimes likes to design for his friends as well

He also does fashion tips on his youtube channel

His instagram game is god tier level (along with Tommy Boy and Sniper I’ll get to them in a bit)

But yeah he also vlogs

And goes by Buttons Davenport

Jojo

He’s an actor

Mostly on Broadway but has done a few movies in Hollywood

He radiates main character energy and he does become the main character most of the time (on hollywood at least)

On Broadway he mostly enjoys being apart of the ensemble because this boy loves dancing

But he does play a few supporting characters

He has released one or two albums too because his singing is top tier

But isn’t interested in doing a lot of live concerts with his albums

Since no one has the time to say Josephino Jorgelino De La Guerra he turned it into Jojo De La Guerra (so much for ‘a special nickname only for friends and family’)

Mike and Ike

They’re a pop boy band and bcs of my lack of creativity it’s called Mike and Ike

At the start of their career :

“My name goes first because I’m older than you!” - Mike

“You’re only older than me by 13 minutes, holy shit!” - Ike

But Ike slowly accepts the fact that it’ll be like this yknow

Anyways they’re pretty great singers

They have one direction and new hope club vibes

Tho unlike one direction they can dance (i love the boys alright but i really think it’s funny that they can’t dancelkhjjlh)

They like to switch from the guitar (electric and/or acoustic) to the piano

The amount of times their name is confused by the candy is too many

But they like it like that lol

Anyways i’ve mentioned a headcanon where Mike has tattoos (not like from head to toe but it’s fairly noticeable to everyone) and Ike has piercings

So the only way their fans tell them apart is by that

But there are times where Mike has his tattoos covered or Ike took his piercings off in public alone. A fan mistakens them for the other twin but they still respond to the other name because they don’t feel like there’s a need to correct them since they’re mostly known by Mike and Ike anyways. When the fan posts it on instagram and tags the twin they thought it was the twin that was tagged would comment “wrong twin but nice pic you two”

Happens wayyyyy too many times. Their fans are officially scared to approach one of the two in public alone without their differentiating indicators on which is which

And yes it is widely known that they argue a lot when it comes to writing songs

Nothing out of the ordinary sibling squabble yknow but it’s a lot

But they do end up finding a solution to the topic of their argument and make a good team at the end of the day

Hotshot

He’s an actor

On Broadway, he’s one of those actor’s that is mostly good in just the acting and singing

He can’t dance to save his life sjdfghaf

So Jeremy Jordan yknow asj;oghajshf

No not really. He can dance a little bit

So he’s mostly the main character

But he’s widely known for his works in Hollywood

He does a lot of drama. Think stuff like Elite and Designated Survivor. Yeah those kinds of heavy drama (well idk i think those two are pretty heavy)

He wants to release his own music because he’s a pretty good singer but he can’t write songs to save his life either jgnjafjasf

And all the demo songs he was suggested by producers isn’t his cup of tea

So he’s no singer ladies and gents ://

The name Hotshot is used to name his social media platforms. He always adds a description in his bio’s that Hotshot is a nickname his friends and family use so his fans and the media refer to him with his name

I headcanon Hotshot’s real name is Tyler or some sort. No don’t ask me what’s his last name is because idk either lol

Sniper

She’s a model, beauty and fashion youtuber (I’m pretty sure those are two different things tho idk i don’t watch youtube religiously anymore), and just an influencer in general

Instagram game on p o i n t

I know most beauty youtubers go by their names but uhh… i don’t think i’ve ever thought of a first name for Sniper but I really think she really would just go by Sniper Wah on the internet (Idk she seems like an Ashley in my head but feel free to recommend headcanon names to me)

Anyways she’s very fashionable

Tommy Boy (i’ll get to him just wait aight?) and Buttons are her fashion besties

The three of them pretty much appear in each other’s Youtube video not Tommy’s tho bcs he doesn’t have one lol

Sniper’s brand are huge sun hats

I have no idea how or why but that girl has sun hats vibes I can’t explain any further I’m sorry

Doesn’t have a clothing line but does have a make up brand of her own. She calls it Sniper. Yeah that’s it akjfhjf

Smalls

She’s a twitch streamer and youtuber like race and albert

They’re a youtube trio everyone loves it

And yes she does go by Smalls

Oh and she also dances like her two stupid besties thanks for asking

Bubblegum is her brand (idk how to explain she just has the vibe)

She is skateboard chick

I’m imagining a video collab of her and Al on a skatepark doing stupid challenges

It’s her most viewed video

Tommy Boy

Ok ok he’s a model, influencer, and dancer

So think a male version of Gigi Hadid that dances

No he doesn’t have a youtube channel but frequently has made an appearance on Buttons’ and Sniper’s videos

Yes his instagram feed is also very amazing

He goes by Tommy Boy

People genuinely thinking ‘Boy’ is actually his last name and kinda think it’s strange but doesn’t complain

Tommy literally didn’t think people would think it was his last name. But they did anyways

Les

Let’s just get straight to the point : he’s a famous tiktoker

And yes, ppl are surprised at the fact that him, Davey, and Sarah are related to each other

To the people that made it through this entire list. Congratulations and thank you for your validation. Have a wonderful evening and stay hydrated

i will write at least one oneshot out of this au i promise!!

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unsaid-stardust · 4 years

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JATP Week-”Holding onto You”

Prompt: Favorite character pov

Words: 1,462

Pairing: Willex

“Ok wait, so you’re telling me that record stores don’t really exist anymore?” Luke was shouting. Well, Julie had done it. She cancelled practice before it even started. I exchanged a look with Reggie which told me that he was thinking the same thing.

“I mean they exist, but no one ever goes. I haven’t even gone. It’s just easier to buy music online. ” Julie explains with a shrug of her shoulders. Annnnddd Luke will be gone in 3, 2, 1...

“What? That’s insane. We’re going to one right now and I’m not taking any protests.” He lifts his guitar strap over his head then and carefully sets his guitar down. He grabs a hold of Julie’s wrist then and even though she protests, claiming that we need to be practicing for our next gig, which we do, but I can tell that she’s just playing into Luke’s little flirtatious game, although Luke would never admit that was the motive behind this all.

He’s so dense sometime that it’s actually painful. You know, Willie taught me this “meme” I think is what it’s called, of someone having the last braincell and I’m pretty sure that person is me. I really don’t think Luke and Reggie could live without me. Well, ok maybe that’s the wrong choice of words considering we’re, you know, dead and all, but my point still stands. We may be dead, but they still can’t exist without me.

Julie and Luke disappear out of the studio leaving me behind with Reggie. It’s quiet when it’s just me and him. Sometimes, I wonder how we’re friends. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy, he’s like a brother to me, but he doesn’t always think. But, when I think like that, I just remind myself that I couldn’t imagine myself without both Luke and Reggie.

“Well, I think I’m gonna go hang out with Ray. He usually watches this weird cooking show at this time even though I haven’t really seen him cook. It’ll be the best day ever when he actually does,” Reggies poofs out of the garage, but I had time to give him one of my “would it?” looks that I find myself giving to Reggie a lot of the time.

As weird as it is to see him hanging out with Julie’s dad, I get it to some extent so I’m trying not to be too judgy with that friendship from now on. While Reggie’s parents supported him, they were always fighting. The amount of times that I would find the poor guy huddled on Luke’s couch at odd hours of the night because they were too loud really makes my heart clench up. It’s understandable why Reggie would be attracted to hanging out with Ray. He’s such a good and loving dad to Julie which is one thing that Reggie and Julie don’t have in common.

Being left to my own devices usually freaks me out a bit because it just leaves me to think about all these questions and what-ifs. Like what if we were sent here to protect Julie? And if so what are we protecting her form? Caleb? And what if Caleb comes back? He definitely still has it out for us. It’s just a matter of time that he reappears in our afterlives.

Ok so being left on my own still freaks me out a bit because I still, and always will, have so many questions, but now I'm just preoccupied with a certain long-haired, dreamy-eyed skateboarding ghost. The one I haven't seen since the night of The Orpheum. And it’s been stressing me out. Like my anxiety level was already at a 100 because of the whole “we need to cross-over and complete our unfinished business which turned out to not be playing The Orpheum and now we’re slowly fading but oh! Julie saved us and we can touch now” thing, but now?

Now it’s at level 100000000000 x 10000000000. Willie risked his afterlife for us. For me. Caleb already owns his soul so that only means that whatever punishment Willie gets, or has already gotten, could destroy him. And that hurts because he crossed him for me. If Willie had never met me, he’d be just fine. He’d be out here skateboarding at all his favorite places all over Los Angeles. Like that Justin Beaver’s house or whoever that was. I can’t just have that be taken away from him. Have his afterlife taken from him. I wouldn’t be able to exist with that thought nagging at the back of my head every single day and night.

I’ve tried looking for him. Every day. I’ve gone to all of his usual spots. But he hasn't been anywhere. And I don’t know if it’s because he’s laying low or.....I just have to find him. There’s one place I haven’t tried yet. One place that I haven’t had time to go to, but do now.

The Hollywood Sign. He’s taken me there a couple times. I’m always afraid of falling, I mean I'm way past that, but that’s not what I meant. I have such a bad fear of heights, but when I'm there with Willie holding my hand or leaning into me or having his head on my shoulder, I forget that I’m even way high up from the ground.

It’s different now. Now as I'm standing at the cliff on which the sign waits upon. My visions swirls as the city lights and sunset blurs together to create a scary abstract painting. Normally, I’d be entranced by the sight, in a good way, but with my stupid fear of heights, I'm entranced in a bad way.

I shudder and get myself to step back from the edge. There’s no sign of Willie. I don’t see his skateboard or him anywhere. If he were here, I'd see his legs swinging from the top of the sign. I close my eyes tight, my right hand involuntarily making a fist before I send a small rock flying off the cliff with a kick of my foot.

He’s not here. He’s not here he’s not here he’s not--he’s not here and it’s my fault and I'm never going to find him and he’s just--

“Alex,” A soft voice comes from behind me. I close my eyes even tighter, so tight that I can feel the aching pulse behind my eye lids. My fingers grip onto the hem of my sweatshirt. He’s not here. He’s not here--It’s just my anxiety making me believe--

“Alex, hey, hey,” And then I feel it. The strange mixture of warm and cold wrapping around my body. No, it can’t be. I open my eyes to see that it is. It’s him. It’s really him right in front of me.

“Willie.” I breathe and without even thinking, I launch myself towards him and fling my arms around him, pushing us both towards the ground, and bury my head into the crook of his neck. We stay like that, grabbing at each other to bring the other closer and closer, sobs and deep breathes between the both of us, for I don’t even know how long before I couldn’t hold my questions in any longer.

“Willie I-you’re here. You-you’re--you’re ok!” I stutter, surprised that I could even form words and not letting go of the skateboarder in front of me. His voice shakes in amazement as he speaks.

“yeah, yeah I'm ok. Caleb he’s-he’s still mad, but I was able to get away. I’ve just been lying low. I wanted to come see you, but I didn’t--I didn’t want to bring Caleb and I thought...” His voice trails off then. I shake my head signaling to him that he doesn’t have to explain before I launch myself at him for a hug again.

“But I’m here and you’re here and I just-” I tell him, my voice starting to give out. He nods against my shoulder, his hand placed at the middle of my back.

“I know. I missed you too, hotdog,” he says quietly into my ear, burying his head deeper against my shoulder. I can’t help, but hold him even tighter at the nickname, feeling relief for the first time in weeks. I was never fond of it, but I can tell you one thing: I’m fond of Willie. And I’m fond of this moment. This moment that I've been daydreaming about ever since the night of The Orpheum.

Don’t get me wrong. I still have a lot of questions (and anxiety). Where do we go from here? Are you free from the Hollywood Ghost Club? Does Caleb still own your soul?

But for now? I think I’ll just keep holding on to him and never let go.

#JATP week #julie and the phantoms #fanfiction #willex #Alex x willie #my favorite head canon that's been floating around #is that these 2 ghost boyfriends hangout on top of the Hollywood sign #bc they so would #also #I genuinely had so much trouble picking which character to write for #bc I love all of them #I had to use a random selector tool #bree writes

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dream-a-little-bigger-x · 4 years

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Chapter 17 -- Perfect Harmony | Charlie Gillespie

Summary: Emily Fox is a talented 17-year-old with a passion for all things music. Her dream is to become a successful singer-songwriter one day. But to achieve that dream, she needs to get into one of the most prestigious music schools in her district – it’s all been part of her plan since she was six. Sadly enough, those schools cost a ton of money that her parents don’t want to invest. They don’t even want her to pursue her dream. So, now Emily’s hustling, working at the music store to save up to get into college. That’s until she meets Charlie, an annoying seventeen-year-old boy with the same dream as her. The only difference is, he’s just doing it. He doesn’t need a fancy college to pursue his dream to become famous with his band. He just writes his songs and books small gigs here, there and everywhere. Will meeting Charlie defer her from her dream college, or will he actually help her achieve the dream?

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x OC (Emily Fox)

Warnings: mentions of death, sexual assault

Important note: the characters of Charlie, Owen, Jeremy and Madison are based on the characters they play on the show and i do not own their names, only OC are mine. The songs aren’t mine either, they’re all from the show except for one.

~|Emily Fox|~

Charlie has not left my side since Friday and it is now Thursday. Besides splitting up for school, he’s been stuck to my side like superglue. And even during school, he didn’t leave me alone one second by constantly texting me cute messages or hilarious memes to make me smile because according to him, knowing I’m smiling makes him smile. I don’t know how I deserved to meet a guy like Charlie. “Romeo sending you cute texts again?” Madison’s voice makes me jump. “No, he’s sending me hilarious memes,” I show her my phone screen as she sits down at our lunch table, and she cracks up after a few seconds. “He’s been sending me at least one every hour.” “Aah, love language of the modern day,” she sighs dreamily with an amused smile on her face. She then fishes something out of her backpack and hands it to me. A piece of paper with Emily and The Foxes written at the top in cursive. Live at Open Mic Night, and then the address of the Music Store. “I took the liberty to create a flyer for your gig on Saturday. So many people have reacted to your post on Facebook and Instagram.” Madi is way too excited about this. “How many people?” I cringe, not really wanting to know, but I want to be prepared anyway. “A few five hundred.” I gulp loudly. “That’s a lot of people.” Madison gives me a sympathetic look, knowing that would stress me out. “I don’t know if I can perform in front of that many people.” “Emsie, you have a great band that’ll back you up no matter what. You saw what they did last Friday with your song for your uncle Bobby! They were there for you even though you never rehearsed the song. They got you.” Her words do sound reassuring, but it doesn’t calm my heart down enough. “It still makes me want to puke,” I reply with a giggle, and Madison laughs too, if not out of pity. “I did start writing a new song last night with Charlie.” I grab my songbook, open it to the page and hand it over. Madi looks at it for a second. “It’s for Uncle Mitch,” I inform her, but I think she already knows. “This sounds beautiful, I bet you and Charlie have come up with a great melody for it.” “Not yet! We’re going to work on that tonight. Sometimes he comes up with the melody first, but for this one, we wanted the lyrics right before we added the melody or the beat.” “I don’t understand anything about songwriting. But you’re the expert, so,” Madison raises her hands, making me laugh. After lunch, Madi and I head to our lockers where I find Jake leaning against mine. My heart beats faster, but not in a good way, and my hands become clammy, my body freezing entirely. Madison even bumps into me because I’d stopped so abruptly. “Oof, Emily, warn a girl before—” she stops herself when her eyes land on what I’m looking at. I’d told her about what happened at the party last week. “I swear to God…” she grumbles while rolling up the sleeves of her jumper, ready to charge forward. “What are you going to do, Mads? Punch him? Not a great idea,” I tell her in a hushed voice. “We got to do something for what he did to you, Ems! He harassed you!” I glance around to make sure no one heard her angry whispers. “Charlie already punished him enough by nearly punching him. I think he learned his lesson.” A shiver runs down my spine at the thought of Charlie’s dark, angry eyes. “If he learned his lesson, what’s he doing at your locker?!” I shrug, turning back to Jake. “I don’t know, let’s find out.” Madison wants to start arguing, but I’m already charging forward towards Jake. “Can you move, please?” I raise my voice, hoping it’ll give me some power. “Emily, hi,” Jake breathes out in a blind panic. “What do you need?” I ask as he moves out of the way, so I can get into my locker. “I just wanted to check up on you. I know your uncle’s passing was a year ago.” “It was a year ago last week, dumbass,” Madison chimes in angrily. “I’m sorry, I-I didn’t know,” he stutters, glancing from Madison to me. “Yes, you did, Jake,” I tell him, “You broke up with me exactly a year ago on this day after a week of me not being able to function because of my uncle’s death. You know all-too well.” “Yeah, dumbass!” Madison hypes me up with her interjections. “So, stop bothering me and get back to your girlfriend.” I grab the book I need from my locker, slam it shut and then walk away from Jake with Madison in tow. “I am shaking,” I whisper to Madison and she wraps an arm around me. “That was so good!” she whispers back, and we both head to our next class together. I can’t believe I just stood up to Jake like that. Something in me definitely wanted to punch him, but I kept my cool. I wish I punched him though.

“I nearly punched Jake in the face today,” I tell Charlie when we’re in my bedroom after school. I don’t have a shift today, so Charlie and I decided to chill in my room instead to work on our music. Mitch did have one rule though; leave the door open. “What?!” he asks in a surprised squeak. “Yeah, he was waiting at my locker after lunch, saying he wanted to check up on me because,” I lower my voice for the next part, imitating Jake, “He wanted to check up on me because he knows my uncle’s passing was a year ago today.” Charlie furrows his eyebrows. “Jake sounds more like,” he squeaks out the next words as if his voice hadn’t dropped yet, “I’m checking up on you, Emily, because I am a jerk,” he goes back to his normal voice, “You know, because his balls haven’t dropped yet.” His comment makes me laugh. “Anyway, Madi was there too and she was like ‘It was a year ago last week, dumbass’ and then he stuttered a stupid apology, being like,” I cough and higher my tone, “I didn’t know.” “That’s better,” Charlie comments, plopping down onto his stomach on the bed, propping his head up with his hand, looking up at me. “Thanks,” I say proudly, “And then I was like ‘You did know, Jake. You broke up with me a year ago’, and Madi was like ‘yeah, dumbass!’ and then I went ‘So, stop bothering me and go back to your girlfriend’ and walked away but I so nearly punched him!” “You should’ve punched him,” Charlie agrees with me, and I halt in the middle of my room, right in front of him. He gives me this amused, smug grin, which just makes me proud of myself. His smile then turns to a scowl. “I wish Jeremy would’ve let me punch him.” “What would that solve, big guy?” I squat down to his height, placing my elbows on the bed. “Nothing, I’d just like to punch him.” I smile and plant a kiss to his nose. When I get up again, he captures me by my wrist, stopping me from walking away. “Are you okay? I can imagine seeing him wasn’t amazing after what he did to you.” “I’m fine, I had a minor panic when I saw him at my locker, but I’m fine.” “Come here, let’s cuddle!” He rolls onto his side and pulls me down. “No, Charlie, we have to finish this song!” I object but let him pull me next to him anyways. “Cuddle first, then we’ll work on the song.” We’re facing each other, our foreheads pressed together. His fingers reach up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear; a habit of his I’ve come to adore. “You’re beautiful, do you know that?” I roll my eyes at his compliment but can’t help the blush appearing on my cheeks. “You’re pretty too,” I reply instead, which makes him frown. “I am not!” He now just looks like an angry puppy. “Yeah, you are,” I tease. Charlie’s mouth drops open, eyes widening, and before I know it, his fingers attack my stomach with tickles, sending me into a laughing frenzy. “No, stop! Stop!” I wheeze out, trying to tear his hands of me. “Char, stop!” He obeys, and as my laughter dies down, I can’t help but notice the way he’s looking at me. A feeling of love and adoration fleets throughout my body, but my brain doesn’t dare to give my lips permission to say those three words at the tip of my tongue. It does, however, give them permission to take away the space between mine and his. “I’m so happy I met you, Em—” I know he nearly calls me ‘Emmy’, but stopped himself before he could. “Like, so happy,” he adds instead and kisses me again. Now I pull away after a few seconds, like I needed his lips to mull this over. “Charlie…” I whisper, combing away strands of hair from his forehead. “Call me Emmy.” His breath hitches in his throat before his lips curl up into the most beautiful smile I ever did see. “I’m so happy I met you, Emmy,” he repeats and then just kisses me again as I relish in the feeling of being able to hear that nickname again from a person I love.

After a cuddle and make-out session of about an hour, Charlie and I detangle – much to both our dismay – and start working on our song for Saturday. The one for Mitch. We’d come up with pretty much everything, it just misses a bridge. “What if we mix the pre-chorus with that second verse?” Charlie suggests, and starts singing. His voice raspy and low. “The times that I doubted myself I felt like I needed some help Stuck in my head, with nothing left” I join in now, our voices intertwining. “And when I feel lost and alone I know that I can make it home Fight through the dark” He smiles at me, “High note, go for it,” he says quickly, leaving the last line to me. “And find the spark,” I hit the high note effortlessly. “Yes!” Charlie exclaims excitedly, “Yo, I got chills, literal chills.” He shows me his arms, filled with goosebumps. “I can’t get over how talented you are, Ems.” He’s careful with the permission of the new nickname, I see. “Same goes for you, Charlie,” I compliment him and peck his lips as a reward of some kind. “Now with some guidance of the guitar, so we can show it to the boys tomorrow?” Charlie nods and grabs the guitar he brought from home or the garage. I haven’t talked to him about home yet. I’m too scared to. We sing it once with the guitar, and then start thinking about other instruments. “Let’s start with a bit of piano?” Charlie suggests, “And just you singing?” I nod my head in agreement. “Drums, electric guitar and bass join in at the chorus, but we don’t sing yet.” I raise my eyebrows at him, not entirely sure about that idea. “It’s your song for your uncle Mitch, Ems,” he reasons, and I can’t argue with him. Not that I don’t want to, but because he simply continues. “I’ll take the second verse?” “And Jeremy and you duet the pre-chorus, and then second chorus is all of us?” I chime in. “And we’ll alternate on the bridge?” Charlie nods his head. “Jere can guide on piano on the bridge.” “And you can hit them high notes during the last chorus when the boys join in again?” “Uhm, yeah, sure,” I reply, unsure about the high notes. I can hit a few, but I think he might overestimate my abilities a little. “This gig is going to be awesome, Emmy!” he exclaims excitedly and jumps up from the bed. “It’s a nice warm-up for my audition in a week,” I tell him absentmindedly as I write down all our ideas in my notebook. “YOUR AUDITION IS IN A WEEK?!” he yells loudly, making me jump. “Yeah, didn’t I tell you? Not this Saturday because Open Mic Night, you know, but the Saturday after that.” I don’t even look up at him until I feel the bed dip down. My eyes glance up at the boy kneeling on the bed in front of me. “You didn’t tell me that. You want me to be there?” He takes my hand in his and presses kisses to my knuckles. “Of course. I doubt I can do it without you supporting me from the sidelines.” His lips curl up until they very nearly reach his ears. “But first, Open Mic Night.” I turn to my songbook again and feel him kiss the top of my head before he gets off the bed again. His excitement is winding him up again, shooting balls of energy through his body until he becomes one. He even radiates that excitement when we have a band rehearsal on Friday when we show the boys the new song. “That sounds awesome, Emily!” Jeremy compliments giddily when we’re done explaining and showing. “Shall we open with that one?” All three of us agree with that idea. Then Charlie kisses me on the cheek when he walks past to grab his guitar. “Then Perfect Harmony?” he suggests, playing the first chords of the song on his acoustic. “I would end with Now or Never,” I chime in with my idea, which everyone agrees to. “Flying Solo third and Finally free straight after?” Owen goes on while I write them all down. “Are we allowed to play five songs?” Jeremy then asks, “I mean, we only played one the last time.” I feel one corner of my mouth tug upwards into a smirk. “I work here, Jere, of course we can.” A giggle eludes from his mouth. I love the boys’ excitement about everything. They often remind me of a huddle of excited puppies or curious squirrels. “Any other song we want to add?” “Ooh!” Charlie exclaims excitedly, “Do you want to do the song you played to that girl?” “Wake Up?” I ask, and he nods vigorously. “I mean, sure, but it’s been a while since I played that and it’s just piano though?” “It could be the song we play to emphasize the Emily in Emily and The Foxes?” Owen suggests, to which Charlie just nods his head again. “I’m not going to sing a song without you guys,” I tell them and move over to the piano. “Then we’ll add some drums and bass,” Jeremy sums up, and Charlie coughs as to tell his buddy not to forget about him, “And guitar.” “I mean… If you guys really want to do that…” “Yes! Babe, that song is amazing!” I’m a bit taken aback by the pet name Charlie uses. He suddenly goes from excited puppy to solemn, shy Charlie I’d seen appear a couple of times the first few days of meeting him. “That’s the song you played when I first laid eyes on you.” While Owen and Jeremy let out an ‘aw’, mostly to tease Charlie, I think, I smile up at Charlie. “It definitely has potential for a good Emily and The Foxes song, I guess?” I play the first few notes on the piano, being reminded of the song I wrote with Uncle Bobby. “And how about that Sirens song?” Owen asks, which makes me stop playing abruptly. “No, we can play Sirens at rehearsals, but not at gigs. I want to keep that song for us,” I answer determinedly. Owen simply nods, understanding what that song means to me. “So, for Saturday it’s Bright - Perfect Harmony – Flying Solo – Finally Free – Wake Up – Now or Never?” Jeremy asks, just for reassurance. “Yes,” Charlie and I say in unison. I’m still a little nervous about Wake Up, but I’m sure we’ll be fine after a couple of rehearsals. We even nailed Flying Solo after rehearsing for an hour and I know Wake Up by heart. “Are we nervous for our first official gig? Because I am,” Owen laughs nervously, wringing his hands. I pat the spot beside me on the bench in front of the piano, which he then takes, sighing nervously. I play a couple of notes, letting the melody flow out into the room. “I’m nervous too,” I tell him softly, “But I know as long as I have you guys, nothing can go wrong because you guys have my backs. Always,” I look up at him, but don’t stop playing. Owen offers me the sweetest smile ever. “We have each other’s backs, always.” He nods his head agreeingly. His arms snake around my waist as he hugs me sideways, and before I know it, Charlie has his arms around my neck and Jeremy’s hugging Owen. “See, I told you,” I whisper to the boy next to me. “We’ll be fine,” Owen reassures himself more than me, but it does work for me too. No matter what happens. We’ll always have each other. We’ll always be more than a band.

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ayuuria · 3 years

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Yashahime Translation: Animage Plus Editorial Department Interview

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

Jaken is the Mother Theory!? We ask Matsumoto Sara, Komatsu Mikako, and Tadokoro Azusa About “Hanyō no Yashahime”

The TV anime currently broadcasting, “Hanyō no Yashahime”. Continuing the world of “Inuyasha” in the same style, the new development in the Inuyasha world depicts the struggles of Sesshōmaru’s twin daughters, Towa and Setsuna, and Inuyasha and Kagome’s daughter, Moroha, as they travel all over the modern and feudal eras. Now, right after the broadcast of episode 14, we had the voices of Towa: Matsumoto Sara-san, Setsuna: Komatsu Mikako-san, and Moroha: Tadokoro Azusa-san, talk about the appeal and the behind-the-scenes of the work.

— What did you think when you first found out that a new story about Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru’s daughters was being created this time?

Matsumoto: When I found out it was being created, 1. the shock was huge… The fact that the characters I watched when I was little “had children” was a shock and I started thinking about all sort of things like how were they born? (laughs).

Tadokoro: I was really surprised as well! I knew that “Inuyasha” had wrapped up nicely, so to think that there would be a new story to continue that. I could see Inuyasha and Kagome having a child but I thought “Who would Sesshōmaru have a child with?” Before I prepared for the audition, I was looking at the character designs like I was lapping it up, wondering whose child it was (laughs).

Komatsu: At first when I saw the title of the work, I thought “there’s now a work with a name like “Inuyasha”” but I was surprised that it legitimately inherited the world of Inuyasha (laughs). On top of that, I was astonished that the story was set to be about the children of Inuyasha and the others. However, Miroku’s (and Sango) children were depicted in the final episode of “Inuyasha, The Final Act”, so it certainly seemed feasible. The feeling of joy and excitement I felt that I could touch the Inuyasha world I enjoyed as a child all over again was big.

— During the COVID crisis, I’m sure you are unable to record normally by any means so what is the recording site like?

Matsumoto: There are a lot of scenes where the three of us interact with each other, so a lot of the time, the three of us are together during recording. Though we’re in this situation, they’ve come up with a recording order that allows us to record with people we interact with as much as possible.

Tadokoro: Conversely, we don’t get to really meet if we don’t interact.

Komatsu: Moroha has a lot of individual scenes, so there are times where we don’t meet at all on those occasions.

Tadokoro: There are many times where Moroha is with Takechiyo and Jyuubee-san so on those occasions, I don’t get to see the two of them (Matsumoto and Komatsu) which is lonely…

— Seems like a harmonious recording site.

Matsumoto: Yes. The atmosphere in the recording (studio) is great and we do things together like go to the “Inuyasha” Collaboration Café after we’re done recording. It’s like we’ve joined the Inuyasha family which I’m grateful for.

— With each of you playing Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha, what sort of characters are they?

Matsumoto: Unlike Moroha and Setsuna, Towa was the only character that grew up in the modern era, so I thought that Moroha and Setsuna, who grew up in the feudal era, would criticize her like “you're too weak” or “you’re too soft” and Towa would deny that like “That’s not true!”. However, she surprisingly accepts things and I thought she was a very flexible child at her core.

Tadokoro: How to put it? Moroha seems stupid at first glance. Even sound director Nagura Yasushi-san told me “Please act more stupid” (laughs). She has an innocent side that acts before thinking, but she has a surprising side to her like how she’s managed to live on her own under fairly difficult circumstances, exceling in battle, coming up with the best plan among the three, and giving out orders like “You go there”. I think she’s a character you can’t take your eyes off of or rather the more you get know her, the more you like her. Not to mention, her emotions and facial expressions change constantly to the point that it’s hard for me to keep up. It’s an aspect that you never get tired of watching.

Komatsu: Setsuna is the opposite of Towa. While her calmness and her speaking mannerism makes you think she strongly inherited Sesshōmaru’s blood, there was a time when she grew up in a village, so she understands the human heart which I think makes her differ from Sesshōmaru. In regard to Towa, even though she (Towa) lives a soft way of life opposite to her which she finds annoying, she sways because she acknowledges that she (Towa) has a charm that she doesn’t have… I think she’s a girl who clearly displays the realistic swaying of a 14-year-old girl’s heart. Also, she does properly take part in comedic scenes, so she surprisingly gets into the mood. She’s the type that can read the mood (laughs). I wonder if that’s influenced from being raised in a village.

— While acting your respective characters, what aspects were easy and difficult to empathize with?

Matsumoto: To be honest, from the time of the audition, I never found it difficult to play (Towa). It’s like Towa’s thoughts smoothly came into me, even without thinking too hard on it. I don’t really struggle; on the contrary, there are a lot aspects that I empathize with.

Tadokoro: Since the time I received the first documents, I had this big idea that Moroha was the type to move like this. But I didn’t think she would feel down and seclude herself so easily just as I do… That’s why carrying her energy is hard work (laughs). Hence, I make large movements with my body when I act. When Moroha keeps walking with big steps, it’s an image of really using one’s body, so I move while trying to be really expressive. It’s like I’m trying to take a bite into Moroha’s vitality!

Komatsu: Setsuna is the opposite of Moroha, so it’s like I talk without moving. But if I just quietly talk, you can’t feel the pressure, so I keep in mind putting in a little pressure. A pressured voice that’s like even though it’s not a loud voice, you lend your ear to it without realizing it which is the type of voice I think Sesshōmaru has, so I stay conscious of that.

— Is it like putting dignity into your voice?

Komatsu: You could say that. In terms of what was difficult, at the first recording, my voice became similar to Towa’s that they pointed out that it would become hard to tell which one is talking.

Matsumoto: Oh yeah! That did happen.

Komatsu: Towa and Setsuna are twins so if we’re talking feasibility, then it’s feasible but as a character you need to be able to differentiate them… Hence, I figure out a way to project my voice so that the difference in the environments that they grew up in comes through.

— Not only do they have to be similar, but also different which seems hard… What do you think of each other’s acting?

Matsumoto: The documents I received before the audition was the character design that Takahashi Rumiko-sensei drew and a simple correlation diagram, so it was a mystery as to what sort of people these characters would be once each of them had a voice breathed into them. However, come the start of recording, I was like “I see! I get it, it would be like this!”. During the recording itself, I’m desperately catching up to the other two so that I don’t cause any trouble for them. I receive so much from them each episode.

Tadokoro: When I auditioned, I did the other two besides Moroha but to be honest, I couldn’t imagine what Towa’s and Setsuna’s voices would be like. However, when they had me actually record with the two of them, I was like “This is it! This is all it can be! I saw the answer!” (laughs) Towa is a character that doesn’t fit in with either the modern or feudal eras and wavers a lot, so she makes statements that are off which makes her role difficult. With Sara-san’s sincere and honest acting, I would say it makes me think that Towa has her own beliefs that allows her to say and act the way she does. I like Sara-san’s honest acting with her personality mixed in.

Matsumoto: No no, not at all! Thank you… …

Tadokoro: I understand this because I auditioned for Setsuna as well, but even though Komatsu-san is a woman, I think it’s amazing that she is able to make Narita Ken’s (the role of Sesshōmaru) acting come through. However, I can feel Setsuna’s 14-year-old cuteness, which makes me think that Komatsu-san’s extensive skill is amazing.

Komatsu: Naah!

Tadokoro: No, that is Komatsu-san’s skill! Every time, I very much feel that I have to keep up with the two of you. I always go home feeling discouraged.

Komatsu: I agree that Sara-chan’s personality comes through in her acting. Towa has a boyish impression based on her appearance, but she has a friendliness that I think would allow her to survive in any era. Sara-chan herself has that friendliness as well as strong communication skills, flat with everyone, and fun to talk to. Also, the large size of her conversation drawer gave me the impression that she was similar to Towa in that aspect. The acting for Moroha is like without a doubt she inherited the blood of Inuyasha and Kagome! The playful absentmindedness within Koroazu-chan (translator’s note: Koroazu is Tadokoro Azusa’s nickname) blends in with Moroha which makes Moroha appear cuter. That’s why I think even if she gets annoyed at Moroha, Setsuna will still go along with her. That is “Koroazu’s Magic”!

— We would like to ask regarding the work but did all of you have a scene that left a big impression on you as you were acting?

Matsumoto: Episode 14. It’s the episode where you learn why Towa and Setsuna got caught in the forest fire. It’s heartrending, fleeting, beautiful story where you feel a little sympathy for the mastermind who burned the forest… The scene where Homura, who burned the forest, took his own life tugged at my heart during recording and left a big impression on me. I was dumbfounded at what happened before eyes and it was an unforgettable episode.

Tadokoro: What made me think this was just like “Inuyasha” was how they thoroughly explain things during times like when they’re surprised, in a critical situation, attacking with their moves, or doing something.

Matsumoto: Oh yeah! That might be especially true for Moroha.

Tadokoro: You have to leave a surprised emotion while thoroughly explaining things, so it’s difficult. Despite struggling, I’m doing my best. But being able to do what my senpais in “Inuyasha” did now really fires me up! This time, I rewatched “Inuyasha”, and Miroku was explaining things while shouting so that must’ve been hard...

Komatsu: What I looked forward to was the episode with the night of the new moon since it’s something half-demons go through. Also, the episode where Miroku appeared. I was glad to see the parent-child interaction between Miroku and Hisui. Being able to see the good side of Miroku not just secluding himself in the mountains was like falling for him all over again and an unforgettable episode.

— With the mysteries of the story gradually being revealed, it’s about time for the identity of Towa and Setsuna’s mother to be revealed but what did you think when you found out?

All: (clapping) There was a lot of applause.

Tadokoro: We weren’t told either, so I was wondering who it was.

Komatsu: We repeatedly talked about it, but among them came the “Mama Jaken theory”. We thought about a lot of things like how Jaken is certainly a good caretaker and he’ll make a good mom but if it was Sesshomaru and Jaken’s child, they would just be regular demons instead of half demons (laughs).

Matsumoto: When I browsed through Twitter, everyone was having fun investigating.

— So you surf (Twitter).

Matsumoto: I’m especially curious on broadcast days so I end up looking. Like I look through the tags. I check while becoming grateful that everyone is watching like this.

Komatsu: I’m sure everyone is doing all sorts of investigations, but Towa and Setsuna’s mother will be revealed soon so please look forward to it while waiting!

Matsumoto-san, Komatsu-san, and Tadokoro-san spoke to us in a good, fun tempo just like the three girls in “Hanyō no Yashahime”. In the next broadcast, the identity of Towa and Setsuna’s mother will finally be revealed… …?! With that, you really can’t miss “Hanyō no Yashahime” going forward. Episode 15 is scheduled to air on January 16 (Saturday) from 17:30 (5:30pm on the 12-hour clock) on Yomiuri TV and Nippon TV!

#yashahime #hanyou no yashahime #yashahime: princess half demon #translation

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reyeslonestar · 3 years

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Personally I wish that Mateo and Paul, especially Paul, have some more screen time but also just give us more of them. Why didn’t Paul or Mateo say anything during the intervention? Maybe because they didn’t want to offend Owen? Idk just a guess but i just am kind of over those two getting little to nothing if this makes sense. Marjan, too, but she gets a little bit more than them. Story wise, dialogue wise and most of everything else. Mateo had more screen time this week which I loved because he’s great, too and I’m glad we got to see a little bit more of his life outside of work. But they said nothing in the intervention and also they literally barely ever show Mateo doing anything on calls. Like where is he lol is he still a probie? How long does that last maybe I’m dumb as missed some part of that probie storyline and if I did my bad excuse this part lol but if I didn’t then???? And Paul was gonna climb the ladder in the last episode but Owen was like nah I can do it. Why not let Paul do it????? I know this is silly because some scenes are purposely structured to show how Owen and others like TK or someone else will react and move their storylines forward but this is getting kind of annoying. Does this make sense? Why create all of these diverse and interesting characters with so much potential and literally do almost nothing with them. Seriously I know we are just scratching the surface with Mateo and Paul and Marjan. We are lucky to be getting this much Grace and Judd, especially Grace with the car crash plot line because before we didn’t get much Grace aside from short calls either. I just want more and I know we’re slowly getting it but this is so annoying to see some of these characters being wasted and ignored for the most part

hi! yeah, I would love more screentime for that little trio - the actors have obviously put a lot of work into building that dynamic and I love it so much - now give us more @ lone star!! however, something that @howtosingit noted here about the screen time is that the ‘top 3s′ are almost exactly following billing order currently. its worth remembering that Brian, Natacha and Julian are lower billed actors, they are not going to have the same amount of screen time as Rob, Gina and Ronen. (personally I think its sus that Gina is lower than where she should be for that but I guess theres still time before the end of the season) of course we will always like to have more of the characters that aren’t Owen, but realistically the order does reflect the industry convention of how billing relates to screentime.

as for their dialogue during the intervention, i think it kinda does make sense why they didn’t speak much:

a, Marjan and Paul don’t really have personal experience of seeing Owen off the rails, they’ve only really heard it second-hand from Mateo - Paul, Mr Observational, says during the rescue for the kid on the roof that he can’t notice anything apparently wrong with Owen and Marjan was obviously very underprepared for being asked to speak.

b, Owen kind of derailed the intervention before they got around to everyone being able to speak, so Mateo wasn’t able to properly give his thoughts.

(btw Mateo is no longer on probation, he passed his exam during s1 but I suspect he’ll always be probie to the firefam, it’s more an affectionate nickname than an indicator of his experience. he’ll probably still be probie until they get a new probationer, which might be a long time away skjdgjk)

I completely get your frustration at the lack of exploration of these really interesting characters, especially for the benefit of white male characters. I would love for them to really tap into the potential they have and understand that that would create a far more engaging show, as well as a more inclusive one. I have to admit though, this episode was not actually one that fuelled that frustration for me. I actually enjoyed owen’s storyline in this and I think it incorporated the other characters really well and also allowed them a couple subplots of their own.

I don't mind them using Owen as the main character when they give him interesting plots that actually develop his character - in the past, he’s been frustrating to see on screen because the narrative framing validated everything he did rather than challenging him, and so it became far more preferable to have him offscreen. I thought Owen taking over from Paul was quite interesting - it was a parallel to 1.04 when Owen went into the collapsed house instead of TK, and he did it for the same reason - to feel powerful after being confronted with his flaws. in 1.04 it was being faced with a man potentially losing his son reminding Owen of his own mortality, and this ep it was the team discussing his mental health over the radio. the reason why I liked this episode way more is the framing. 1.04 framed Owen as this hero, doing good things for other people and didnt really address why it was a stupid thing to do. 2x10 shows Owen as avoiding his problems by doing things that make him seem heroic but actually are just a symptom of his issues, especially when he started telling a child all about his problems go to therapy Owen istg.

but yeah, you make total sense. as much as I understand that the way the show works is a reflection of industry standards and conventions, doesn’t mean we have to like it or accept it as good enough. Im sure the fact that Carlos, grace, Paul, Mateo and Marjan are characters of colour is part of why the producers dont give them as much attention - film and tv production is built on the same racist structures that the rest of American society is (and like, the rest of the western world especially the uk, but trying to stay on track here) and lone star is not free from that. the fact that they have these characters is awesome, but now they need to use them properly and fairly.

idk if this reply really makes sense, but basically, yeah, we’d like more Mateo, Marjan and Paul and when we have to have the Owen plots, make them actually mean something for the character.

#one day I will write a short answer to an ask #today is not that day #asks??#marjan marwani #mateo chavez #paul strickland #owen strand #fandom discussion #episode chat 2x10 #anonymous #long post

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thegreatyin · 3 years

Note

I'm not very good at mmos but I love final fantasy, do you have any tips or advice? Your character is cute!

i don't actually know much about a good chunk of the game- i'm only at early heavensward context (the second expansion) so take my advice with a tiny pinch of salt.

having said that, sure, i can try to give advice! also please note that ffxiv is my first final fantasy game, but i'm experienced with mmos, so it's like... the opposite outlook.

if you look up literally anything about ffxiv, it'll be veterans saying that the current base game (a realm reborn) is slow and largely boring. i disagree for a number of reasons, but... it certainly does drag on for awhile. as i said, i don't know how this compares to other games in the franchise, but this one is a slowburn- well worth the payoff, but still slow as hell.

a single character can play all of the classes! this means, for example, rigel (my oc-turned-player-character) can be a black mage, white mage, warrior, dark knight, ninja... basically, alts (mmo-speak for alternate characters, basically any character you create and play outside of your "main") are effectively useless, but still fun to do if you don't mind a grind.

for the sake of all that is holy, when you unlock a job quest, drop everything and do it. these almost always give new abilities that become an essential part of your toolkit, and when they don't, they're leading up to one. i don't care if you're about to do a main story quest and think you can pass by without it, just do it and save yourself the trouble later.

you get your first mount at level 20, the grand company chocobo. however, due to the stupid amount of exp early quests give you/depending on if you're in a favored server or not, you'll likely be far above that when you finally get your bird. rigel was around 27 when he got bird-riding rights. said rights are tied to the main story quests, as is everything, so make sure to do those too.

red mage is really really fun i highly recommend it

at early levels the 2.5 second gcd (global cooldown, a timer where you can't use any abilities for a period of time) will seem agonizing. it gets better. by level 50 as a black mage i felt like it was too short.

i don't know how to navigate square enix's terrible site but be warned it is certainly something that needs mental preparation before attempting. buying this game is a nightmare.

so don't! the free trial goes up to level 60 and includes the entirety of the first and second expansions (first is actually the base game but that's a whole other can of worms) and lasts indefinitely. you can be a free trial player for years and never stop. just be warned that once you buy the game you can't return to free-trial status so once ur sins are committed, they're committed for good.

love yourself. don't play a healer class. or do, if you're into masochism.

housing is a fucking NIGHTMARE i haven't touched it with a ten foot pole

you can use FATES (open-world multiplayer events, basically) to grind extra classes in a pinch. it's not much, but you can do it.

you know that starting mount i mentioned? the grand company chocobo? you can nickname it. and dress it up. and change its colors. and eventually summon it to fight alongside you as a bird pet/companion/best friend and legitimately why would you use any other mount

seriously rigel's bird is named luhmel and i cherish him SO much i spent all my gil on outfits for him birb my BELOVED

i'd honestly recommend ignoring the gold/normal sidequests after the first few levels- they usually don't offer much, and don't give much back. it's only worth doing the blue "plus" quests (which always unlock something for you/your character) and the main story quests (which. are main story, lol. they're marked with a fire symbol around the edge of the icon)

oh hey whatcha know your job quests are blue plus quests maybe that means something

if you want to take Aesthetic Screenshots™ there's a thing called group pose (aka gpose) that you can use to loop an emote and modify lighting and everything to make some really nice pictures. i haven't used it much because i unironically discovered it two hours ago but i sure will use it in the future

once/if you hit levels 50/60/70, you should start hoarding poetics/tombestones! these can be used to buy fresh new gear that not only looks stylish but also will legitimately last you for half of the next expansion. i'm not joking. these are absolutely worth the investment.

if you play lalafell you WILL be pat on the head. it's normal. let it happen.

y'shtola best girl

new players are called sprouts, and are given a little sprout icon beside their name to represent that! this actually stays for a while- 168 total hours played and completion of stormblood (3rd expansion), iirc. i'm still a sprout. rigel's a little sprout boy.

once you unlock the waking sands, i highly recommend going into the side room and talking to all the npcs there! they have different/new dialogue every time the main story quests tell you to return there, and getting to know them all... well, let's just say that it'll make some parts hit harder, y'know? it pays off.

i haven't personally done them but i've heard the hildibrad sidequests are really funny i recommend those

there's a gambling cactus to gamble your life away and the parkour minigame infuriates me beyond reasonable definition

the community as a whole is super nice, and way better at giving advice on the spot than i am! for an anime game where i can play my depressed edgy angsty angel boy as a walking disaster gay catboy, it's really wholesome. not for everyone, but definitely a good time if it is your kinda thing.

okay but seriously do your class/job quests

#ask #ffxiv #thank you rigel is super cute i love my catboy

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brandstifter-sys · 4 years

Text

Molting

Word Count: 2479 (Ao3)

Rating: T+

Characters: Virgil, Remus, all other sides as of PoF mentioned

Pairing: Dukexiety (platonic but could be not platonic if you want)

Warnings: Body Horror, Spider!Virgil, knife, sex mention, grossness, Gore, swearing, physical strain, exhaustion

Virgil is a spider boy, and spiders need to molt. It’s not a pretty sight and it’s an ordeal Virgil hates. Lucky him, he has a best friend who is willing and able to help, even if it drives him nuts.

-----

"Hey Princey, where's Virge?—Whoa are you okay, you look like you need to sit down, kiddo!"

"Patton, Virgil won't be joining us for a few days, surely his eating habits and sudden baldness have been a sign of the time of year for him." Logan commented from his seat on the couch. Roman was curled up and shaking, pallid and horrified.

"You mean?" Patton squeaked and shuddered.

"Yes. I will be joining Janus and Remus during the clean up. I suggest you try to avoid his room for the next few days. Molting is a delicate process."

-------

Virgil felt like jello, trapped in a hard shell. He was on his back spread and nude, unable to move without the sickening feeling that came with it. His chelicerae and extra limbs were out and just as rigid, making his position more awkward. He couldn’t breathe and he desperately tried to force his gelatinous form to shift and expand where his head was. He was dizzy, just trying to crack the eggshell-thin casing like a chick about to hatch, only without anything solid to chip at the barrier.

Pop!

The casing around his head split in half, with a sickening crack, leaving him gasping for air. Oh that sweet, sweet oxygen was tainted by the taste of his own skin-flavored goo falling into his open mouth. His eyes were sealed shut, but not out of fear for what he would see, since they didn't do a great job at blocking the light. No they were closed until he was sure none of his shell got in his eyes, trapped in the gelatinous muck that would cause his eyelids to tear if he dared open them.

"I thought I might have to cut you out of there if you took much longer," someone, Janus he assumed based on the tone, hummed softly nearby, "Time to cut off the area around your shoulders. Do try and wiggle out of it once it's done. And yes, you have to get yourself out."

Virgil tried to calm his breathing, waiting for one of the worst parts. He was too fragile and squishy to be nicked by a blade, let alone a full cut. But he trusted Janus more than the others, except maybe Remus, especially with his mouth wide open.

Virgil could feel the vibrations through the floor. The steady gait and heavier footfalls were different from what he expected, but he could chalk it up to Janus being tired, he and Remus did carry him here and set up when his outer layer went rigid and his bones melted into this disgusting jelly.

He heard the blade gliding over his shell just above his shoulders with such a slight amount of pressure. It was far too smooth to be Janus's work, and Remus wasn't there, so it had to be Janus, but something about the stiff meticulous nature was throwing him off.

"Now you have to go up towards the ears on both sides and then to the crown. Once that's done you can carefully lift those pieces away." Janus said to the person cutting his head free. Virgil's heart pounded in his ears, at least his soft organs were still intact, as intact as the situation allowed. He struggled to keep his breathing even, unsure where the blade was.

"Would it be more efficient to cut along the fault?" That was Logan. That was okay, he was not easily disturbed. His suggestion, however, was not okay.

"Do you want to risk slitting his throat?" Janus asked with an edge to his voice, "He is vulnerable and having that scalpel near his throat will make his anxiety worse."

"I understand. In that case—" Logan trailed off and continued his task. Janus hissed under his breath, in a way that only Virgil would understand, but he didn’t, which was concerning. For the smart side, Logan had his stupid moments and this Janus was regretting bringing him in so soon.

"And to be clear, I am not supposed to peel the exoskeleton."

"Correct. And once you remove the upper half, will you have a suitable specimen?" this Janus responded curtly. He was done sharing this vulnerable moment with the nerd.

"Yes," Logan said as the tips of his fingers brush Virgil's new skin, making him wince, "Remus has already called 'dib'—is that the correct phrase?"

"Yes."

"He has already called dib on the lower half."

Virgil winced as cool air hit his tender form. He could feel the slime stretching and pulling away from him with a soft, sickening snap, with the tendrils falling back into the near liquid of his body. Logan was quick to set that piece aside and remove the other with as much dexterity and grace as before.

"Shall I tell Remus his presence is requested at this time?" Logan asked as he gathered his samples.

"No. I suggest you sink out to your room before he bursts in like the unhinged maniac he becomes when told to sit still and wait." this Janus droned. Logan nodded and sank out. And not a moment too soon. But it felt like the other presence changed rapidly.

"Virgil, I’m the only one here with you. I'm going to clear your nose before I wipe your eyes," Remus hummed, after dropping his disguise, and knelt down beside him on the old sheet he was laying on. The bulb syringe entering his nostril was a strange sensation when his nose was basically formless, as was the goo exiting his nose, but it was a relief.

"Stay focused on breathing, Virgil, 3/4 time—that's it. One more time."

The second his nose was cleared, Virgil closed his mouth. Remus giggled and conjured a clean rag.

"Whatsamatter, Soft-skull? Don't like the taste of your own mucus? It's like a giant loogie!" Remus cackled and carefully wiped down his face.

"I thought you said you weren't gonna pull that stunt," Virgil wheezed.

"Nerd wanted samples more than I want my dick sucked. I had to pretend to be Jan to keep things calm in here—you think the nerd would listen to me? Besides, Janus isn't good at anything but the first cuts. He thinks it's nasty!" Remus laughed, "It is but that's not the real issue—it's the mess that you leave behind that's the problem!"

Virgil rolled his eyes and focused on wiggling out of his shell instead of the duke's rant. It was the same one every season. Whether it was Janus's scales or the molting, Remus would bitch about the mess.

"... and I know what you're thinking—what everyone thinks! 'Why are you so bent out of shape? You like grossness and garbage and mess!'" Remus rambled, "There's a difference between a messy aesthetic and a mess! Organized chaos, Harlot's Web, I know exactly where everything is and where it's supposed to be even if it looks like shit! It's mine to manipulate! Your body cast is not in the design plan!"

"Talk cryptids, dammit!" Virgil hissed as he tried to squeeze his way out of his exoskeleton, weakly curling his toes, or attempting to, "I hate this shit too!"

"Cryptids and cursed objects?" Remus cooed.

"Fine!" Virgil grunted, feeling the goo on his skin shifting and stretching with the slightest movement, peeling him away from his old skin slowly. He was going to take hours to get out.

"Okay so I know you don't usually watch the videos of Dybbuk box openings and you should, gets the blood pumping, but you know those are fake, right? They're all a sham!" Remus started ranting. His rage was actually quite helpful as a motivator to move.

"...and don't get me started on the bullshit wax! It's so hard to clean! You know I have a design aesthetic and wax is not a part of it! Especially when there's no restless spook involved! It's a lot of crap with no real payout! If I wanted to have a creepy old box covered in wax I could make one myself!"

“Fill it with spider exoskeleton,” Virgil huffed and wheezed at the exertion, “It’ll make a good snack!”

“Just like you!” Remus giggled, “But seriously, those things don’t hold any angry ghosties, and they seem problematic in other ways too, which usually isn’t a problem for me, but no spooks? That’s crossing a line! I could create better cursed objects!” Remus paused as a wicked grin split his face. Oh no.

“Get me out of here and you can see something really cursed!” Virgil spat, venom shooting from his mouth, literally, and landing on the sheet under him. He broke into a fit of coughing, his form sloshing and molding in the shape of his exoskeleton.

"Easy there, Swamp Thing!" Remus jeered, "If no one helps Bolt, Nimby, Cirrus, Cyoomy, Hansel, or Gretel when they molt, you don't get much more help either."

"Swamp Thing? More like the Blob!" Virgil retorted bitterly. Remus clapped his hands and grinned.

"You are so right!" he cheered, "That's a better nickname when you're like this! Like an alien creeping out of a meteor all gelatinous and prone to leaving slime trails! Emo Jello! How you still have lungs is a mystery to me! You don't even have a digestive tract!"

"Great reminder, jackass!"

"It is! All your fluids and organs are blended up—except for your heart, blood, brain, and lungs!"

Virgil tried to ignore the glee in his voice and focused on moving. He didn't feel like telling him that his blood was traveling through his body through osmosis, always finding a way back to the heart and lungs, he would see it eventually. The rubbery slick kept him stuck to his exoskeleton, bending and stretching, but always pulling him back.

"You look like a jaundiced Hellboy cosplayer in a deflated Paleman blow-up suit who's gonna eat a crap ton when he gets back to normal! And then there's the whole hair growth thing! Like throwing straw on a potato sack filled with rotten meat! Do you even have eyelashes now?"

"You. Tell. Me." Virgil grunted and grit his teeth, which were far too soft to actually bite anything or grind. Remus squatted next to him and leaned in close.

"They're coming in!" Remus grinned and stood up. Virgil groaned and flexed his chelicerae. Some movement was better than none. He was trapped, like swimming in tar, and he had to fight to escape his full-body restraint.

"Do you want some music? I can do a striptease!" Remus asked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Does this get you hot and bothered, sicko?" Virgil scoffed and tried to focus on curling his fingers with what energy and strength he had. Remus pouted and wiggled his mustache in thought.

"No, not really. But just standing here is boring! Besides, it's just incentive for you to burst out of your shell!"

"Not. Interested."

"You and I both know you would do anything to stop me from getting naked for no reason!" Remus teased. He was right of course, but it was still irksome.

"Shut up," Virgil hissed, still not getting anywhere, "Put on some music and keep your fucking pants on!"

"Fine!" Remus groaned and rolled his eyes. He snapped his fingers, filling the room with some sick emo jams. At least they made Virgil more at ease!

Two Days Later…

"Remus, c'mon!" Virgil panted as he fruitlessly clawed at the soft carpet trying to remove himself from his exoskeleton, smearing goo all over. He was weak and exhausted from the endless strain. His body was still akin to a gummy bear with a dark cherry filling, but at least his bangs were back.

"Nope! I already cut out your—"

"Please! I'm not even stuck!" Virgil cried, "Pull me out of here!" He was so close to bursting into tears. Two days straight of wiggling just to get back to normal took its toll on him. Two days straight of moving two inches forward and one inch back with no food or water left him weak. There was no time for sleep and no time to rest. Remus didn't sleep the entire time either and it showed.

"I could tear you in half, and then your guts'll spill all over the floor and there'd be a huge stain and you'd be pissed off while you bleed out!" he said with a bright grin that bordered on maniacal.

"It's just my legs! Please!" he begged, "I don't have the strength!" He was actually crying at that point. Remus ceded and carefully looped his arms under Virgil's. The goo stuck to his shirt as he carefully pulled the emo from his old skin and scooped him up into his arms.

"Easy there, Raggedy Anx, you're free to crawl on the ceiling and scare those losers like some fleshy horror movie creature bent on devouring them, starting with the eyes," Remus said and stood up. He could have easily snapped Virgil's spine over his knee, watched him writhe in agony and scream until he couldn't manage it anymore. He could watch his fluids pool under his translucent skin and ooze out of the puncture wound from the snapped vertebrae.

He did the smart thing and placed the fragile blob of emo on the bed and stepped back. Molting meant growing and that meant he needed space as everything took shape again. Remus could already see what changes happened under that shell as Virge gasped, forcing air in to help his expansion.

"Stress workouts?" Remus asked and stretched his arms above his head.

"Mostly."

"You fixed your—"

"Yeah and that was your fault!"

"No no no, I didn't mess up the piercing—you let it get infected and tried to rip it off!"

"I'll rip yours off if you don't shut up!"

"I can regrow it, without going all rigor mortis alien!" Remus laughed, "But I can't make it any bigger, so you have me beat!"

"Go to bed," Virgil huffed, "You're losing it." He kept up his hyperventilating style of breathing and closed his eyes. Just a few more hours of this and he could finally get some rest.

"But you're not sleeping!" Remus argued, "And I vowed to watch over you while you're weak and nasty!"

"You sound like Roman," Virgil scoffed.

"You take that back!"

"'I vowed' c'mon that's a Princey line!" Virgil huffed, “You need to get out of this room. Come after you get some rest and food. You did your part.” Remus pouted and snapped his fingers. The exoskeleton and sheet on the floor vanished. That was the last thing he had to do before Janus could take over.

“Fine, but I’ll be back and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!” Remus laughed and sank out. Virgil rolled his eyes, like he could ever stop Remus from doing anything! This time he didn’t want to.

Reblogs > Likes

#sanders sides #spider!virgil #virgil sanders #remus sanders #dukexiety #platonic dukexiety #logan sanders #sex mention tw #spider tw #body horror tw #gore mention tw #knife tw #exhaustion tw #molting tw #sandyscribed #i wrote most of this back in Nov/Dec 2019 before i got wise and stopped writing symp!logan for mental health reasons

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shinsorokiri · 4 years

Text

UA Idol | Chapter Fourteen

Hitoshi Shinsou x Reader

Word Count: 2,516

Warnings: Language, dense Shinsou and (Y/n) (the usual)

A/N: I literally love the idea of Shinsou as a singer I can’t even right now. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was fun to write! I also am sorry I got it out like ten minutes late, I have a lot of homework and had to write a whole outline for something as well as this, so it took a teeny bit longer to find the time to upload. I hope you like it, nonetheless, and hopefully I get a moment to breathe soon so I can write all those requests I have! (All the songs I used are listed at the bottom of the post!)

For the duet, the words only italicized are sung by (Y/n), the word only bold are sung by Shinsou, and the words both bolded and italicized are sung by both of them!

───────────────────────────────────

The alarm brought you out of a great dream. But it wasn’t too bad, because the main character of the amazing dream you just got ripped out of was quite literally right in front of you. Well, more like you were literally snuggled into him. And he had you as close as possible. Huh. Maybe this wasn’t too bad. You reluctantly start to wiggle your way out of his arms, before they pull you back into him. “Where do you think you’re going?” you hear his raspy, tired voice say to you, and you can hear the small smirk on his lips. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. His voice. His sleepy confidence. What the hell. How are you supposed to just lay there and not feel things? Luckily, before you even have the chance to respond, there’s some heavy knocking on the door to your little practice room. You hear a soft groan come from Shinsou, which causes you to giggle. You don’t see it because of the dark, but he smiles to himself. He likes making you laugh.

He stands up, allowing the blanket to stay draped over you. You don’t feel all that warm without him next to you, though. He opens the door, immediately squinting and grunting at the bright light that hits his eyes. “Woah, did you two actually get some sleep and not stay up for two more hours practicing the already perfect song I’m sure you have prepared?” Denki says, shock genuine in his voice. “Yes. Did you bring us clothes?” Shinsou asks, rubbing his eyes to try and begin to adjust to the light. “Uh, yeah. Obviously. You two are going to look so good together, Denki and I low-key coordinated your outfits so they look good together but not like they’re matching, oh and by the way, the list of who all is going was put up. It looks like you two, me and Denki, and Kirishima and Bakugo are in the same group,” Mina says, she’s obviously very excited about that.

“Yeah! They did this thing where they have three duets going and then they make the decision to keep or let go of some of them or all of them or none of them or whatever, so that’s fun!” Denki gives a thumbs up, and you stand up, wrapping the blanket around you. “Okay, so when are we going?”

“Oh, uh, yeah about that. We’re going at three. We’re the first group. And you guys are the first to go out of literally everyone. Fun…?!” Mina says, and you and Shinsou both immediately snap out of your drowsy states. You both snatch the clothes, running to your respective bathrooms and changing as fast as possible. Yeah, it was only noon, and you still had sound check, so you had time to prepare but this is some serious shit. You need to be more than 100% if you expect to go further in this competition than this week. Lucky for you, Mina perfectly encapsulated the look of “Falling Cardigan,” so you were actually very pleased with her outfit selection. You walk out of the bathroom, ready to thank her when you see Shinsou. He, too, had on something that worked for the song. How did Denki and Mina do that? You and Shinsou literally told them nothing other than we picked more than one song to sing. Anyways, the wonder was pushed to the back of your mind because the man standing in front of you? Attractive. So, so attractive. So very attractive. In fact, he kind of resembled Harry Styles right now. If Harry had even wilder hair that was indigo and he was constantly tired and Japanese. Point is, he looked good.

“Wow! Look at you two! I think Denki and I did a damn good job,” Mina says, and Denki smirks. “You look like a power couple,” he says and Shinsou punches his arm. “Can you stop saying shit like that?” Shinsou says, avoiding your eyes. “Yeah, people are gonna start thinking we’re actually a couple. When we aren’t,” you say, frowning and looking away from Denki and Shinsou. “You guys do that yourselves, plenty of people already believe y’all are dating, we don’t have to do that for you,” Denki says, smirking at the two of you. Before Shinsou can hit him again, one of the producers runs up to you two and tells you that it’s time to do your soundcheck. You both head onto the stage, and talk to the stage managers, telling them exactly what you want for the performance. They fulfill your wishes and before you know it there are two pianos onstage, set up so you and Shinsou can be back to back. You sit down at one of them, with Shinsou following suit at the other piano. For soundcheck, all the two of you really need to do is play a bit of your soon to be performance and make sure that the piano’s volume and the microphone’s volume with your voices is balanced and everything technical wise can go smoothly. You two begin playing and singing, and the technicians begin working out all the kinks in the sound. And any time you need to stop and let them adjust something else, you both do it no questions asked. The soundcheck for the two of you goes very fast considering how cooperative you are with the technicians, which by the way they really appreciate because normally, the singers just kind of brush them off, but you two are being very professional. And it’s a nice change of pace from the usual type of people they get on this show. Regardless, soundcheck goes very well. Of course, there were a few hiccups on yours and Shinsou’s parts considering you hadn’t rehearsed for a few hours, but all in all it went very well, and the two of you were very excited to perform what you’d created.

The next couple of hours went by very fast, the two of you rehearsing and practicing a few more times before feeling extremely confident, and then being interviewed by the camera crew. “So how does it feel knowing you are the ones who are setting off the duet challenge?” PM asks, and you give a nervous laugh. “Well, I mean it’s exciting, but also nerve-wracking because it’s the first time anyone is ever doing the duet challenge, so yeah it’s intense,” you say, and Shinsou nods. “Of course, we’re going to do our best and hopefully impress the judges enough to get through to the next challenge,” he adds. “I bet the two of you will set the bar high, and don’t worry about the nerves. Having nerves are good because that means you actually care about what you’re doing, so if anything, saying that shows that the two of you are willing to fight to make it to the next round,” PM says, and you grin. You’d never thought of it like that before, but yeah, it makes sense. Why would you get nervous for something that you didn’t care about? Obviously, this was important to you.

After being interviewed, you and Shinsou decided to sit down for a while and relax before performing. He could tell you were nervous, so without thinking, he pulled you into a hug. You calm him down by physically touching him in some way, so he hopes that the same will work for you. I mean, he’s right. Maybe it’s not necessarily his touch, but it’s certainly something about him that just eases your mind. And yes, you’re very thankful. You just want to do well so you can showcase him and not drag him down. If anyone deserves to go through to live shows, it’s Hitoshi Shinsou. “Calm down, kitten, everything is gonna be fine,” he says as you pull away from his embrace. The gentle smile he has on his face tied with the stupid nickname he’s given you tugs at your heart, and you give him a small grin and nod. Damn. Okay, so maybe you liked him? Maybe he’s attractive? That’s not a bad thing, it’s not like its love. Love is the bad thing. Like? Completely different. And acceptable. When you like someone, your feelings for them can go away entirely. That’s not love. And that’s fine. Because love never does anything good for you. It’s a painful chase with painful results, and you’re fine in the romantically loveless life you are living. You didn’t even want to think of this man hurting you. Or of you hurting this man. You’d honestly rather die and love inevitably ends in someone getting hurt. At least your experiences with it have.

“(Y/n)? You’re kind of zoning out, are you okay?” he asks, genuine concern in his voice. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good just… nervous,” you say. And you’re telling the truth. Not only are you nervous for the performance, you’re also nervous for your blossoming feelings for him. Hopefully, they just stay in the “I like you” range and not the “I love you” range. You can do that. You can make them stay there. “Well, if you need anything, just squeeze my hand, and I’ll do what I can to help. I’m nervous too, like PM said, it’s natural for us to be nervous, but if it gets to be too much just let me know. Because I’m here for you.” Fuck, you can stay in the I like you range, just pretend he didn’t say that because that was adorable. “Thanks, Shinsou,” you say, and he gives you a smile before starting to talk about something to distract you from your nerves. What a good fuckin guy.

Before you know it, it’s time for the two of you to perform. He squeezes your hand befor you walk out onstage together, sitting at the pianos that have been arranged for the two of you. In this round, the judges are unable to talk to you or give any feedback, so the two of you just jump right in. You feel him nudge his shoulder with yours, as you’re back to back, and you feel instantly comforted. You then begin singing.

“You’d come back to me,

And you’d come back to me

And you’d come back…

Vintage tee, brand new phone,

High heels on cobblestones;

When you are young, they assume you know nothing…

Forget what I said

It's not what I meant

And I can't take it back

I can't unpack the baggage you left

But I knew you,

Dancin' in your Levi's

Drunk under a streetlight

I, I knew you

Hand under my sweatshirt,

Baby, kiss it better, right?

What if I'm down?

What if I'm out?

What if I'm someone you won't talk about?

I'm fallin' again

I'm fallin'

A friend to all is a friend to none

Chase two girls, lose the one

When you are young, they assume you know nothing

And the coffee's out

At the Beachwood Café

And it kills me 'cause I know we've run out of things we can say

But I knew you

Playin' hide-and-seek and

Givin' me your weekends

I, I knew you

Your heartbeat on the High Line

Once in twenty lifetimes, I

What if I'm down?

What if I'm out?

What if I'm someone you won't talk about?

I'm fallin' again

I'm fallin'

And I get the feelin' that you'll never need me again

Was all we needed

You drew stars around my scars

But now I'm bleedin'

'Cause I knew you

Steppin' on the last train

Marked me like a bloodstain

I, I knew you

Tried to change the ending

Peter losing Wendy, I

What if I'm down?

What if I'm out?

What if I'm someone you won't talk about?

I'm fallin' again

I'm fallin'

But I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss

I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs

The smell of smoke would hang around this long

'Cause I knew everything when I was young

I knew I'd curse you for the longest time

Chasing shadows in the grocery line

I knew you'd miss me once the thrill expired

And you'd be standin' in my front porch light

And I knew you'd come back to me

You'd come back to me

And you'd come back to me

And you'd come back

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan

Under someone's bed

You put me on and said I was your favorite.”

Immediately after you ended, everyone started clapping and cheering. Of course, you heard Denki and Mina screaming from backstage, and it caused you both to smile as you got up, walking over to where they were. “You two are actually crazy for even attempting that,” Denki says, and Shinsou shrugs. “What artist is entirely sane?”

“Touché,” Denki says, giving him a finger gun before he and Mina walk out together onstage. “You did really, really good,” you say to him and he grins. “You did better. I thought you were actually about to start crying, not gonna lie.”

“No way, I thought you were actually gonna start crying!” He chuckles, shaking his head at you while you smile at him. “Guess that means we killed it?” he suggests, and you grin. “I guess so,” you say, and he smiles at you. “I didn’t know those two song would sound so good together! That’s crazy, how did you guys figure that out?!” Kirishima whisper screams to the two of you and Shinsou shrugs. “I was playing the piano for Falling and (Y/n), being the genius that she is, started singing Cardigan. It just kind of… flowed after that.”

“Yeah, well I can’t even pretend it wasn’t fucking good and cool. Good job, losers,” Bakugo says, his arms crossed while Kirishima is beaming at the two of you. How… was their relationship even real? You were pulled out of your disbelief when you heard Denki and Mina start, and whew, the mood went from wow I’m sad to wow I’m horny in .5 seconds flat. They did extremely well, as expected, and then Bakugo and Kirishima go, and their voices are just heavenly together. Not to mention how cute it was that they sang Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. Altogether, your song tones went from heartbreak, to horny, to pure love, and that is just… hilarious. The six of you were then instructed to go onstage while the judges made their decision. It took… barely any time for them to speak to each other before they all turned to you. “This may be the easiest decision we will make today. All six of you did an amazing job. And Shinsou and (Y/n), we’ve never seen anyone do what you did in this entire competition. Ever. So good job there by making yourselves stand out while also performing a song that’s already come out,” Keigo says, and Midnight grins. “All six of you are going onto the next round.”

───────────────────────────────────

Song list:

(Y/n) & Shinsou | Falling Cardigan - Harry Styles & Taylor Swift (CosmicMashups on YouTube)

Mina & Denki | break up with you’re girlfriend, i’m bored - Ariana Grande

Kirishima & Bakugo | Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls

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