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itbmojojoejo · 1 year

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A Good Man | Introduction. Part 1

Pairing: Finan x Ealdorman's Daughter!Reader

Summary: An Ealdorman who struggles to control his youngest strong-willed daughter y/n is taken on as a lady-in-waiting to Lady Aethelflaed in the hopes she will learn what it means to be a dutiful noblewoman leading her to meet the charming Finan. (Set post S3 onwards.)

Warnings: SLOWBURN. Reader is said to have long hair, colour and texture not specified (it's the 9th century, it was the custom.) No other warnings at this time. If I've missed any please let me know!

Wordcount:2.4k

Part 2 | Other Works

Authors Notes: Fictional Ealdorman and Brother named after some random 9th century names i came across when doing the old research thing. Some creative liberties have been taken. Planning this to be a series, length hasn't been determined yet.

As there was little going on at the beginning of summer in Coccham Finan had decided to join Uhtred and Osferth on a short trip to Saltwic he claimed was to spend time with his daughter Stiorra who had been placed there, but was more than likely to also see Lady Aethelflaed. He was starting to regret this decision as he sat bored in the elegantly decorated estate listening to an Ealdorman pleading with the Lady to help him convince his daughter she cannot keep refusing a betrothal.

He came to her as she was a mother in a higher position of power and as he had recently lost his wife he was concerned with his daughters future and didn’t want to force her hand too harshly.

“I cannot think of any other solution than to send her to a nunnery an-”

“Is this something your daughter has expressed an interest in?”

“No not quite, when I told her she is to be betrothed she threatened to disgrace the family by uh, well, she said she would take herself to a, uh, whorehouse and let...I fear the rest of the language she used must of been picked up from her brother, my Lady.”

Leaning into Osferth with his brows raised in confusion Finan whispered,

“Is this a young girl or a woman he’s talkin’ about?”

“I doubt a young girl would be speaking of whorehouses Finan.”

“And where is Lady y/n now Lord Aelfric?” Aethelflaed asked

“She is in the chapel”

“Bring her to me, I wish to speak to her directly and hear her own reasoning.”

“Yes my Lady, I will go fetch her.”

Finan crossed his arms over his chest and fiddled with the cross hanging from his neck staring out of a nearby window watching the leaves blow in the light summer breeze waiting to see the identity of an apparently unruly noble girl.

“What will you do?” Uhtred quietly asked Aethelflaed

“I’ve watched her grow these past few years when she’s been brought to Aeglesburgh, she is very much her mothers daughter, intelligent and strong-willed, not easily shaken by men of power and isn’t fond of my husband either.”

“You already have a plan for her?” Uhtred followed up, she only responded with a knowing smile.

Finan instinctively directed his attention to the large wooden doors as they opened revealing a young woman walking beside, not behind the Lord Aelfric. Your head was held high in confidence with the front parts of your long hair pulled back in intricate braids keeping it away from your face as you approached Aethelflaed, barely acknowledging the presence of the three other men in the room.

You were beautiful in a modest long lilac tunic worn over a white full sleeved dress and he instantly understood the fear on your fathers face when he spoke of you threatening a life in a brothel, you’d certainly be popular.

“I’ve been informed you have refused to be betrothed Lady y/n, why?”

“My lady, it is an unsuitable match. The man is the same age if not older than my father and if the rumours of him mistreating his previous two wives are anything to go by I do not wish to be forced into an unhappy marriage that I am unlikely to survive.” Your voice was kind but strong as you continued.

“I know my father deems me disobedient and foolish but he has no reason to seek me a marriage based solely on his own ambitions as an Ealdorman, my brother is a commander in the Mercian Fyrd and has already produced multiple heirs for succession, and as for my sisters they were both pushed into political marriages that have not been kind to them, I do not want to share their fate.”

“And what is that you do wish?”

“To be wed to a good man. Preferably one more age appropriate.”

“Your want for love is childlike y/n.” The lord chided

“I have never spoken of love or implied that I would not honour my duty of being a faithful wife I know that is not a luxury I can have, I simply ask to be treated with respect and kindness especially if I am to be used as a pawn in the ambitions of men and their politics.” Your tone was harsher with your father, this was clearly an argument you’d had with him many times over.

Finan found himself nodding lightly internally agreeing with your reasons and commended your bravery for speaking out, he didn’t always understand why no care or thought was given to who these men would marry their daughters off too past the weight of their purses and amount of land owned.

“Your father is suggesting the life of a nun, but I can give you a place here by my side as a lady-in-waiting. It would mean you travelling with me to Aeglesburgh and to the court of Wessex and other such places, this means you would have a chance to meet noblemen in a monitored environment and help me to make a suitable betrothal when the time arises.” Aethelflaed offered

“You?” Lord Aelfric’s tone garnered a stern face from Uhtred

“Yes Lord Aelfric, as a lady-in-waiting y/n would be under my care as a member of my house, she will receive her own retainer too so would no longer need your financial support either.”

The lord shifted his weight onto his other foot glancing between his daughter and Aethelflaed weighing up the options, if she were to go to a nunnery it could spark rumours of disgrace and negatively impact his families reputation but her being present in court would do the opposite. He sighed with a shake of his head.

“Well I suppose she would be in the right place to learn a thing or two about obedience and duty. I will allow it, if that is what you choose y/n?”

This was the only moment of doubt Finan witnessed in you, dropping your head ever so slightly as your thumb rubbed against your forefinger.

“Think she’ll go for it?” Finan whispered to Osferth

“Be foolish not to, unless she wants to be a nun?” The monk responded

Clearing your throat and readjusting your posture you spoke again

“Thank you, Lady Aethelflaed. I would very much like to join you here.”

“Then the matter is settled, you can see your father out and I’ll have Sable arrange a room for you.”

Turning to escort your father off the estate your gaze fell on Finan for a short moment, he offered you a small smile still fiddling with the cross at his neck as he had watched the conversation unfold and you returned it quickly directing your eyes to the floor.

You’d heard of the fearless, talented warriors known as Uhtred’s pretty boys before and thought that maybe the women were just exaggerating, but now having seen the soft dark brown eyes paired with strong arms of one of them for yourself even if only briefly you had decided it certainly was not an exaggeration.

After Sable had shown you around your new home you were instructed to join the Lady and her guests for dinner where you would learn more about your new role as a lady-in-waiting. You’d been seated to the right hand side of Aethelflaed who was at the top of the table, Uhtred sat to her left with Osferth and your attention turned to Finan barrelling through the door. He was still in his sleeveless leather tunic exposing his arms in the summer heat.

“Ah go on you little tike! Sit down.” He playfully ruffled the hair of Stiorra who entered with him and sat himself besides you with a nod and a smile. Stifling the sudden nerves in your stomach you rubbed your thumbs against each other in your lap and turned to the Lady wanting to know what your new position would entail.

“Forgive me Lady, but I’m unclear of what will be expected of me now?”

“Think of the title as a formality, you won’t be given the duties of a maid. You’re more of a companion with the odd task here and there, consider it a reprieve.”

“A young lady given a bit of freedom? Sounds like trouble.” Finan jested leaning closer as he filled you a cup of ale and put it into your hand catching the scent of lavender.

Pressing your lips together fighting off a smile you hoped the low light in the room would hide the light heat you felt hit your cheeks at the small physical contact, being around men wasn’t new to you but them being so openly close was different.

As the evening went on you soon realised how relaxed things could be here in Saltwic compared to the court at Aeglesburgh and felt more comfortable to laugh and steal glances at the irishman to your side as he spoke to you and his friends with no reprimand from your father or brother about how a lady should behave in the company of men.

“I gotta know, did you really threaten to send yourself to a brothel?” Finan asked, angling towards you and leaning an elbow on the table, resting his head against his knuckles.

“I did.” You nodded with a light laugh

“But why?” You sucked in a breath at his simple question and regarded him for a moment, the burning candles bathed his features in a soft glow that made it seem as if his skin was radiating an inviting warmth that made you feel safe to be honest with him

“I refuse to lose my life at the hands of a husband. You see, I’d known my first betrothed since we were children and he was honourable, good natured, the marriage would of been a decent one. The second however is a cruel man, there are rumours he is the cause of his first wife dying, and an even worse rumour that his second wife condemned her own soul to hell just to be free of him. I needed to say something to get my father to hear me.”

“Mm, why didn’t you marry the first?” Finan had already guessed the answer from you using the past tense but wanted to be sure he wasn’t misunderstanding

“He died at the battle of Bedanford.” You matched his position, elbow on the table leaning your cheek against your palm. You wondered which battles had given him the scars on his arms and forehead and how this warrior could still look so gentle.

“I’m sorry” His voice was soft, and the look in his eyes showed it to be a sincere apology.

“It’s quite alright, I cannot say that I loved him as a wife would or should but he was a friend.”

“We were there at Bedanford, it was brutal but not one man backed down. He would of fought bravely.” He reassured you

“Thank you Finan.” You sat there holding a prolonged gaze with the man beside you and all the noise in the room seemed to fade away, a tension began to creep on you before snapping away and all the noise flooded back in hearing Stiorra laughing on the other side of the table at something Osferth had said to her.

You finished a second cup of ale before saying goodnight and heading to your room. As you stood in the small space illuminated by a single candle you undressed and got into your sleepwear lost in thought, you had always been aware there was a cold and distant atmosphere between the Lady Aethelflaed and her husband. Tonight you had witnessed how comfortably close she was with Uhtred but didn’t think any less of her if she was indeed sharing her bed with another man, you were secretly relieved at their bond if meant you could enjoy the company of Finan once more.

He was charming and seemed to be genuine, he spoke fondly of his time spent with his friends on their many adventures but hadn’t once mentioned a wife or lover and you couldn’t help the giddy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Finan was sharing quarters with Osferth and he found himself thinking of the way you had smiled at him with a light pink tint decorating your cheeks and the scent of lavender that emitted from you every time you had moved, he wondered if it was from your hair or skin.

“You need to be careful Finan, she’s the daughter of an Ealdorman. She isn’t for the likes of us.” Osferth spoke out quietly into the dark room, almost as if he could hear his thoughts.

“What are you talkin’ about?” He kept his tone confused, feigning ignorance.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

Osferth was right, you weren’t for the likes of him. He wasn’t a nobleman, he didn’t have a title or lands or even wealth. He thought perhaps he was just being pulled in by the attention of a beautiful woman and it would fade away just as quickly as it had appeared.

When morning came around and he found you already sat having breakfast he opted to sit on the opposite side of the table thinking some distance would help ease the way his heart skipped a little when you had greeted him. He was wrong, he had to fight the urge to keep looking at you and could feel the gaze of Osferth beside him just watching.

You were relaxed taking your time with breakfast observing the way Finan sat staring at his plate occasionally flicking his eyes to you then to the monk at his side. Osferth shifted in his seat looking between you, Finan and his own plate causing you to suppress a giggle at the awkwardness, the silence in the room was getting too much.

“How did you both sleep?” You asked just to hear something

“Good yeah, thank you“ “Very well, thank you Lady“ they both spoke at once which was probably your fault for not directing the question at just one of them.

“How’s your new quarters?” Finan asked keeping his eyes downcast avoiding you and Osferth.

“Quite pleasant thank you. I have a window overlooking the herb garden, it’s much nicer than my previous view.”

No one responded and the room fell back into an uncomfortable silence, you rubbed your thumb against your finger willing someone to say anything when Aethelflaed entered the room.

“Good morning.” She chimed taking a seat and assessing the mood of the small group and dismissed it speaking again “Y/n, we’re leaving for Coccham today and will stay a night or two before heading onto Winchester.”

“Two ladies gracing Coccham with their presence at the same time? Lucky us.” Finan smiled looking between all of you. You barely caught the look that Osferth shot Finan trying to tame your own smile.

Part 2

End Notes: 'The word "tike" is an informal term that is used to refer to a small child or a young person, particularly in British English. It is not usually considered an insult or derogatory term, and can be used affectionately to refer to a child, much like the term "kid" in American English.' - FYI if its not a term you've heard or used before.

#finan x reader #finan fanfic #finan tlk #the last kingdom fanfic #tlk fanfic

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smalltownfae · 2 years

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2, 9, and 13 for the book recs ask?

2. for a beautiful writing style

We are starting well when beautiful is subjective, but I will try.

The Changeling Sea and Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that I consider McKillip's style to be one of the most beautiful I have ever read. This is the woman that makes me tear up while reading random quotes from books I haven't even read! From the books by her that I've read so far, The Changeling Sea and Winter Rose are the ones with the best prose. Winter Rose is a retelling of Tam Lin and as such it is a bit confusing and all over the place, there is a very dream-like atmosphere through the entire story. The Changeling Sea is more straight forward and very atmospheric. It is about a girl that works in a inn and magical things start to happen and show up around her. It's a tale of greed, self discovery and selfness. Here are some quotes as examples of the writing in both:

"She felt him quiet against her. He turned slowly, shakily, on his knees to face her. He put his arms around her wearily, his hands twined in her hair, his chilled face against her face. He did not speak again; he held her until the tide roared around them, between them, forcing them to choose between land and sea, to go, or stay forever." - The Changeling Sea

“I thought I knew what cold was, before cold stripped me bare of thought, then blinded me and froze my heart. I could not feel such cold and live; cold forced me into something other, something not quite human, who held a dream with bones of ice, and did not remember names, only what we once had been: a flower on a vine, a fall of light.” - Winter Rose

As you can see, her writing is very emotional and some people might not like that and find it cheesy so it's hard to say what everyone considers beautiful writing, but these two books to me are a great example of that.

I also find Robin Hobb's writing to be beautiful, but asking to commit to a series might be too much. So, for those that would want a taste I would suggest the short novella "The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince", that can be read as an extra for Realm of the Elderlings fans or as a short introduction to Hobb's style.

“A husband I would have to find, eventually. But my heart did not cry out for a man. I drew the tortoiseshell comb slowly through Queen-in-Waiting Caution’s sleek black hair, savoring the soft threading of it through my hands. I had all I needed there at my fingertips, for I loved her with all my being.”

To me, writing that evokes emotion on such a level is the most beautiful, but I do need variety since I can't read the same kind all of the time. I feel like it might lose it's magic if I get too used to it.

9. for an intelligent children's book

If we are talking about really small children, "Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss. I know he wasn't the best person and he has a reputation nowadays, but I do think this book is very motivational, even if maybe too optimistic. Still, the rhymes and pep talks are smart.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go…”

For kids that are more grown up, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. I have seen this marketed as YA before, but I think it's also for children and it's one of those series that started as middle grade and then was put in YA because it does appeal to a wide range of readers. There is something so charming and yet familiar about this world. It might be because it takes a lot of inspiration from Welsh mythology or because there are some similarities with Lord of the Rings, but either way it's comforting. I really like the lessons that, because it's for kids, are blatantly stated in the books (but I saw many adults misinterpret the same kind of lessons in adults books so maybe they do need to read these first). Even though the lessons Taran, the main character, learns are stated it never feels like the author is talking down to the reader and his writing style is very immersive.

“In some cases we learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” - The Book of Three

13. for a book with an unusual point of view

Well, I haven't read many books that aren't from a human perspective (or a human-like creature) and that aren't first or third person perspective.

If it's a matter of perspective, The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin uses first, third and second person brilliantly and I believe there is also an unusual entity telling part of the story at least (I haven't read the third book yet).

"Adulthood Rites" by Octavia E. Butler has the perspective of an half human/half alien child as he explores the different worlds of his parents in a coming of age tale of self discovery. It's unusual because the alien species in these books are quite unique. However, this is the second book in a trilogy. The third book is also from a half human/half alien character's perspective, but that one has the alien third gender, called Ooloi. The first book is from the perspective of a human though.

"Klara and the Sun" by Kazuo Ishiguro is a story from the perspective of an AF (Artificial Friend, basically an AI with the focus on emotional intelligence in order to help kids) that worships the sun.

Those are all I can remember for now. Thank you for the ask :)

#book recs #patricia a. mckillip #robin hobb #the chronicles of prydain #lloyd alexander #klara and the sun #xenogenesis trilogy #the broken earth trilogy #oh the places you'll go #book asks

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astridthevalkyrie · 3 years

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summer rain: chapter 1

Your days in the Training Corp aren’t too out of the ordinary. You make friends, you train hard, and you eat dinner every day.

Oh, and you’re also hellbent on getting revenge against Humanity’s Strongest Soldier.

Chapter 2

Read on FF.net or AO3.

Helloooo, beautiful people. I’m so excited about this story! This is now the official first part of the series, so it’s a prequel to the three oneshots I’ve already posted. If you haven’t read them, no worries, you can read this just fine. If you want to, just know they all have an established relationship and will reference the past, so you may possibly get spoiled.

I plan for this to have five or so chapters, so buckle up, and as always, happy reading!

You’ve been expecting more.

Maybe that’s the wrong perspective to have. It’s still the military, and it’s still your first day and sure, that’s exciting and all, but you’ve heard stories. People always describe their first day of training as absolutely terrifying, but life-changing. They say that the first day is the day all the baby-faced cadets realize they’re in over their heads. It’s an introduction to the rest of their lives. At least, that’s the case for the people who stay. If one can’t handle a verbal beating, how can they stand any chance against the titans? The first day changes everything.

This, however, isn’t life-changing. It’s not terrifying. It’s rather...dull.

To be fair, the man in front doesn’t look like he’s enjoying it either.

You’ve heard of him, of course you have. Even back within Sina, people talk. A newcomer, a gift from the walls, humanity’s savior. Recently joined the Survey Corp and yet already a lieutenant, a definite shoe-in for the next available section commander position. Apparently his origins are a bit of a mystery, but he’s either the long lost son of a rich merchant or he’s come from outside the walls themselves because it’s just impossible that any common person can possess the skills he’s rumored to have. You’re not sure you believe all of it - apparently he’s so fast that the titans can’t even see him coming? yeah, sure - and yet there’s just something about him that gives off a truly well-earned confident aura. That’s been the most exciting part so far, the chance to see him up close, to see that he’s actually real.

Still, since he began talking, Lieutenant Levi hasn’t once raised his voice. He hasn’t screamed at them all for being the weakest pieces of shit he’s ever seen. He hasn’t even told them about how they’re going to train to become snacks for the titans. It’s disappointing. You’ve been ready to stand your ground, to show you’re made of some tough stuff. That can’t happen when your trainer won’t even bother to strike fear into your heart. Where other people may be relieved, you are mourning this loss of the traditional military experience.

At the very least, he’s not the actual trainer. He started his speech with a complaint that their actual instructor was sick for the day so now he had the absolute pleasure to welcome dozens of new fucking brats to their new home and occupation. His words drip with venom and boredom - clearly, he didn’t join to do any of this. It’s beneath him. All in all, Lieutenant Levi seems rather...arrogant. Maybe it’s well-deserved. But you don’t have to like it.

As he walks up to people at random who shout out their bare identities, the lieutenant snaps out comments that seem like they’re meant to bully rather than to frighten.

“Your posture is shit.”

“Oh wow, I bet the titans will be real scared of your noodle arms.”

“And here I thought these villages would send their best and brightest. Instead they sent you.”

But you’re not one to let things get to you so easily. You have your fist balled to your chest proudly, ready to serve humanity. You’ve fought to get where you are, and now you’re really, actually standing here, with your new comrades besides you, and you couldn’t be more proud. A bright smile settles on your face. You will make the best out of this, no matter your humanity-saving trainer’s dour mood.

Unfortunately, said humanity-saving trainer takes notice of your smile, and with his gaze locked on his new target, he walks up to you, eyes narrowed in irritation.

“What’s your deal?”

You straighten your back, snap to attention, and look directly ahead as you know is appropriate. “Cadet (F/N) (L/N), sir, from Stohess District!”

His expression doesn’t throw you off, despite it looking like he’s never been so irritated in his life. You know you haven’t done anything wrong (at least not yet), so him looking that pissed off must be an internal issue, nothing to do with you. You’re not any different than any of the other cadets that have introduced themselves.

“Cadet (F/N) (L/N),” he says as though he’s testing out a brand new curse word, with just a hint of mockery in his voice. “I didn’t ask for your name or where you were from. I asked what your deal was.”

Well what in the holy hells is that supposed to mean?

Is what you want to say, but instead you simply furrow your brows and ask curly. “Sir?”

“What the fuck are you so happy about?” he clarifies, annoyance displayed clearly on his face.

Well damn, no need to be so edgy. You aren’t necessarily required to be as serious as everyone else here, and smiling isn’t a crime last time you checked. But this is obviously Lieutenant Levi’s thing, to be snarky and mean, and the sooner you answer, the sooner he’ll move on and find a new victim. “Just happy to be here, sir.”

Your smile stays right where it is.

“Oh, is that it?” He stares at you, deadpan. “You like the thought of being eaten? Does the idea just make your day? Do you fantasize about it at night? Let it lull you to sleep?”

Your smile grows a little strained.

Passion aggression is nothing new. You grew up in Stohess, you’re used to your fair share of cattiness. The lieutenant must take lessons from the tea-sipping high class ladies you’d basically grown up with, because he reminds you of them vividly. Ironic, considering you thought the military would be an escape to a life that was real and included less passive bullshit. It’s that frustration at the similarity that makes your polite mask crack.

The response slips through your lips before you can stop yourself. “No, sir, but last night I did happen to dream of a trainer that was tough enough to handle one of his subordinates smiling.”

You can be catty too.

The grounds become more silent than they already were. It’s as though everyone is suddenly holding their breath at this new confrontation, just waiting to see what the newly dubbed hope of humanity will do if someone matches his sass. The loud silence is what finally makes you just a smidge nervous - surely, they won’t kick you out on your very first day just because of a smart comment, right?

Impatient and a bit anxious, you finally allow yourself to look directly in his eyes, and you’re suddenly stricken by how grey they are. You don’t think you’ve ever met anyone with grey eyes. They’re damn gorgeous. And there’s a hint of...something in them, and to your surprise it’s not rage. He looks calculatingly gleeful, as though he’s just been waiting for someone to say something back to him. He appears cruel and delighted all at once, and the contrast of it along with the striking silver hue is more personality than you’ve ever seen in someone’s eyes before.

It’s a breathtaking sight. You move in just a millionth of a centimeter to get a closer look -

And then he moves, lightning fast, reeling back and swinging his leg around to sweep your legs from under you. With a gasp, you hit the ground hard, head ringing and vision blurring for a few seconds. Your hair, which was loose around your shoulders, flies across your face, some of it entering your mouth. From above you, grey eyes are triumphant, looking down on you as though to ask whether or not that’s tough enough for you. You’d love to answer, but your head is throbbing and you can only let out a pathetic, confused noise that causes titters to spread throughout the room.

What the hell just happened?

You move to get up, but he’s quicker, slamming his foot down on your leg and holding you right where you are. For someone with such a short stature, he looks pretty damn tall from down here. Maybe this is the sight that the titans barely get to see before he slices through them.

Everyone is watching, even if they’re not turning their hands. This is their entertainment today, and the fool has just made its move. The fool being you, of course. They’re all hungry to see how this will play out.

Your cheeks glow bright with embarrassment, but you are not going to waver. Not on the first day. This is what you wanted, right? You wanted someone who’d be a hardass, who’d strike fear in you and make this a day you’d never forget. Well, Lieutenant Levi is your wish come true.

“Please remove your foot, sir,” you muster as politely as you can, looking up at him icily.

He digs the heel of his shoe into your thigh to make a point, and maybe to see if you’ll cry out in pain. But you look him in his strange grey eyes and you only blink, a small smile returning to your face. Will he kick someone who’s already down?

The moment seems to last forever, and you briefly entertain the fantasy that time is freezing for him as much as it is for you.

And then it’s all broken - he takes his foot off and walks right by you, and the only words you’re spared after being humiliated are, “Tie your hair up, you look ridiculous.”

Thus goes your first meeting with Humanity’s Strongest Soldier.

____________________

Dinner that night is filled with chatter. It seems people have found their loyal companions pretty fast, and cliques are forming faster than a speeding bullet.

Luckily, you don’t need to worry about making friends. Besides the fact that you’re charming and perfect (according to everyone else and definitely not just you), you joined the military with your best friend from childhood. Millie Shackel is every bit the Stohess lady you are, the Rose to your Maria, the jelly to your butter. It’s amazing how much two girls can bond over a shared hate for the lack of activity happening within their stuffy town.

You gnaw at the bread on your plate, squeezing your eyes shut in pain after a particularly hard bite makes the back of your head throb. Not for the first time, you place your hand gingerly on the back of your skull, confirming that there’s no blood pouring out.

“Shouldn’t have mouthed off,” Millie quips from across the table, looking at you amusedly.

“Thanks,” you mutter bitterly, abandoning the bread for now until the soreness goes away. “Didn’t think one stupid comment was going to make him go berserk on me.”

She laughs, confirming you sound every bit as stupid as you feel. “I don’t think that classifies as berserk. That was a superior putting you in your place.”

“Suck-up,” you accuse, eyes narrowed. She only rolls her eyes, and you bring the cup of water to your lips and begin simply guzzling it down when someone claps you on the back, making you choke.

You turn to glare, still coughing up water, at two guys behind you. The one who nearly killed you is tall, with hair the color of bananas, and he’s grinning with no regrets, the shameful bastard. The other one behind him looks apologetic, red-haired with pretty green eyes. He whacks his friend on the arm. “You idiot, you nearly sent her to the infirmary!”

“Oh, come on.” The tall guy slides next to you without permission, slinging an arm around you as though you’re the closest of chums. Back in Stohess, you’d have called for his execution or some shit. “Surely the girl who talked back to Lieutenant Levi can handle some water going down the wrong way.”

Millie does not look pleased at the intruder, and looks even more grouchy when his friend sits down next to her, albeit keeping a much more respectful distance. When you finally stop coughing violently, you shove the guy’s arm away.

“A-asshole, what the hell’s your problem?”

“There’s no problem, kid.” He nudges your arm with his elbow. “I just wanted to see the balls on you. Guess it was overexaggerated.”

“Obviously,” you snap, “I just talked back, I didn’t hop over the wall and kill a titan.”

“Regardless, good job with the way you handled it. The others are talking about you.”

Millie gives you a stern look. “Hear that? Now we’re the troublemakers.”

You shrug apologetically, and decide to take another crack at eating your bread. This time, it goes down easier, with only a light sting to remind you of the lieutenant’s cruelty.

“I’m Stephen,” the redhead says with a shy smile, extending his hand. You shake it, then turn your gaze questioningly to the one next to you. He grins cockily, waiting for you to ask. You don’t.

“This is Ricky.” Stephen spoils his fun, sounding exasperated.

“I assume you two are close.” Millie wrinkles her nose distastefully. You bite back a laugh - there’s that Stohess bitchiness that you love about her.

“We met this morning,” Ricky responds, and you can’t tell if he’s joking or not.

The two of you warm up to the boys soon enough. Ricky is rather friendly when he’s not trying to steal your food thinking you won’t notice, and Stephen is downright sweet, his emerald eyes brightening when you ask him where he’s from. He goes off on a ramble about his village which is somewhere smack dab in the middle of the land within Wall Rose. Apparently their local stew is the best there is. You privately disagree; nothing quite tastes like the stew they make in the Orvud District, least of all this bland loaf of bread in your hand.

Ricky, on the other hand, is from Shiganshina, which is apparently an outer city of Wall Maria (so the two boys really had just met that morning).

“So, I’m guessing it’s the MP for you two?” Ricky says. Millie looks offended.

“That’s not right for you to assume!” She deflates a little. “But yes, it is.”

“Hey.” You shoot her a scowl. “It’s the MP for you. I don’t have any intention of hurrying back to precious Sina.”

Millie gazes at you with her we’ll talk about this later look like she has every time you’ve brought up that you have no intention of returning to fucking Stohess where nothing ever happens. Before she can say anything, Ricky ruffles your hair fondly.

“Should’ve known you were made of tougher shit than that. So what, you like playing hero?”

You shrug. “No, I just have a sob story. Dead old Dad was a Scout, and then he was titan chowder.”

Stephen looks disturbed at how bluntly you say it, and even Ricky is a bit thrown off. You chuckle at their expressions, waving a hand nonchalantly. “It’s fine, it happened a while ago. I barely remember him. But you know, what better way to connect with your dead dad than to align yourself with the people who let him die, right?”

Ricky’s mouth hangs open as Millie snorts. “You can laugh, she’s making a joke. Get used to her sense of humor, it’s always this bad.”

“I resent that.”

“So you don’t care about getting into the top ten?” Stephen asks carefully - scoping out the competition, you realize.

“Couldn’t give less of a shit,” you answer coolly, “but Millie obviously does.”

“I’ll get into the top ten, it’s not about that.” Millie says confidently, shaking her head as though it’s ridiculous to even imagine that she wouldn’t. After all, you two were raised to be perfect. “The real goal is to be first.”

Ignoring the madly ambitious look in her eyes, you focus on Stephen. “So what is it for you? The Scouts?”

He winces bashfully. “I’m...undecided.”

You laugh out loud, a bit meanly. “What, undecided like you’re going to some top university in Mitras? This is the Training Corp, Stephen, you’re not gonna get to try out a bit of everything. Just choose whether or not you wanna be shipped off to a pointless death, and then you’ve made your decision.”

Stephen frowns, shaking his head. “If it was that simple, then what would be the point of choosing?”

Who in the holy hells asked for his philosophical wisdom, that’s what you want to know. Rolling your eyes, you turn to Ricky, who is chewing on your bread, abandoned after your taste buds just wouldn’t adjust without the butter you were used to. With his mouth full, he answers easily. “Scouts.”

You nod. At least he’s sure.

____________________

“That wasn’t right,” Millie says later, right as you’re about to lie down on a scratchy-looking bed.

“What?”

“What you said to him. He can take his time deciding if he wants to. And it’s just rich, coming from you.”

Your eye twitches in irritation. “You’re just pissed because I don’t wanna take on the most boring job in the world.”

“Grow up,” Millie hisses, venom laced in her voice. “Not everything’s about your entertainment.”

Turning around, you see your best friend with arms crossed, giving you a disapproving look that reminds you of your mother. How odd. What’s that old saying about people becoming what they most hate?

“You’re gonna lecture me now too? Hit me with some philosophy, maybe?” You raise your brow, daring her to say more. “Or do you wanna knock me over again? Maybe I’ll get a concussion this time.”

Millie scoffs, sitting down on the bed she’s claimed. “You know what, it was nice. Seeing someone put you in your place like that.” Her lips quirk under your hard gaze. “Maybe he’ll teach you a thing or two about taking things seriously. Give you some actual goals to achieve.”

The only thing Lieutenant Levi will teach you is to never get distracted by something like how beautiful someone’s eyes look ever again. Even now, you can still picture him, the way he stood in front of you, startled you, threw you off. The way his eyes were filled with more duality than you’d ever expected to see in a person.

Pretending like you didn’t just fantasize about his pretty grey irises, you roll your eyes and flop down on the bed next to her’s. “He’s not gonna teach me jack shit. He’s not even our trainer.”

Millie hums, whether it’s to you or to herself you don’t know, and when you look at her again she’s closed her eyes, clearly wanting to end what was a very long day. It’s not long before you join her.

“(F/N).”

“Yeah?”

“I miss home.”

You don’t, but you keep it to yourself.

The last thing you think of before you fall asleep is how cold the lieutenant had looked when he humiliated you, and your cheeks burn angrily.

____________________

Two weeks pass by in a blur. Once training starts, there’s not much time to think about something like goals, because everyone’s goal is simply living until dinner each night. Avoid getting yelled at, attend classes, study hard, and for the love of all things holy don’t fall on your face when you’re balancing in the practice ODM gear.

It’s a rush, and you actually find yourself enjoying it. The food still tastes stale and the bed is still too hard to be comfortable, but there’s an easy routine that’s so much more than sit still and look pretty. While you’ve never been a fan of routine, this is different. There’s a purpose to this, even if everyone has different things they’re working towards. Whether they’re trying their best to show what they’re made of and get into the top ten like Millie, or pushing themselves because they get starry-eyed at the thought of saving humanity like Rashad, or simply staying out of trouble to avoid getting meal privileges taken away like Clara, everyone is working towards something, and it’s thrilling to be in the midst of it, to be a part of something meaningful.

You and Ricky are fast friends - he’s surprisingly not too insufferable and he shares your enthusiasm for not taking things so seriously. He also seems like he’s looking for a partner in crime, someone to partake in the oh-so delightful task of slacking off with. Millie is throwing herself into perfecting everything, and Stephen, while not as crazy as she is, is more nervous about losing respectability in front of their trainers and comrades. So the two of you naturally gravitate towards each other, because jeez, at least a few people here need to remember that life still exists outside of all of the training and military drama.

Today is the first time they’re letting you practice hand-to-hand combat, and while that’s obviously ridiculous since you’re training to fight titans (or just bully people, if you’re joining the MP, but Millie didn’t appreciate you voicing that out loud), it’s also a chance for you to show off a natural talent.

You’re flexible. And fairly fast too.

Sure, you’re no fighter, but back home you were put into dancing lessons since you were a wee young thing, so you have a much higher tolerance than most of these chumps. You can take a few hard punches here and there, and you’re fluid with your movements, so you’re giving as good as you get. Even combat is a dance in a certain way, it has all the same elements at any rate. Everything comes down to the placement of the feet, and every other body is an accessory that has to be utilized perfectly to do any damage.

Unfortunately, Ricky’s fought, like actually fought - fucking peasants from Maria and their street fights - and so as much as you put up a damn good fight, he eventually gets you in a hold from behind. You squirm in his grasp as he laughs, digging his fingers in your side. You try to protest, but it’s hard when he’s tickling you so hard.

“H-hey, hey!” Your giggling only gets two octaves louder when Ricky doesn’t let up. “Stop!” Ricky’s laugh mixes in with yours, until he’s lifting you off the ground. Your breathing becomes painful as you struggle against his grip, clawing at his hands. “Ricky! Let go!”

Finally, he decides to show mercy, dropping you. He regrets it pretty soon, though, because then you’re on him quickly, throwing a hard punch against his shoulder. He groans, letting out a pained, “What the hell, (F/N)?” but you’re not done. You grab the collar of his uniform, and tug it forward briefly to give yourself some momentum to shove him back as hard as you can.

Ricky stumbles on his feet, catching himself before he falls at the last second. There’s a determined expression in his eyes, not quite competitive but suddenly eager to show off.

“So, think your dainty dancing is gonna give you the advantage here?” he challenges, balling his fists in front of his chest. You do the same. “Hate to break it to you, kid, but that’s not how that works.”

“Beat me, then. Properly.” You smirk, planting your feet firmly. Let him throw the first punch, you decide. “I have to be on the ground for you to win.”

Ricky’s clever too, knowing you intend to use his size against him. He lowers his arms, extending them as though he’s going to let you take a free shot. Yeah, you’re not that stupid. You stay right where you are, raising an unimpressed brow. The two of you stare each other down, trying your best not to break into smiles.

“Hit me.”

“Hard pass.”

“Because you know your punch will be too weak?”

“How’s your shoulder, Ricky? Should be feeling fine, since my punch was so weak.”

He barks out a laugh, rolling his shoulder back experimentally. “Like getting hit by a feather.”

Okay, trash talk isn’t part of the combat training that the trainer, Instructor Grumman, has assigned. But it’s still fun, and it’s about a thousand times more preferable than actually fighting. Fighting is painful and pointless. Trash talk is entertaining and doable.

Still, you hunch your shoulders. If Ricky really won’t move, you’ll come at him with full force. Digging your heel into the ground, you give yourself a boost and run towards him with a burst of speed. His eyes widen, and his first instinct is to hold out his hands to keep you at bay. But with the close proximity and his lanky figure, it won’t be enough. You’ll have him on his back within seconds if you ram into him in one, two -

You don’t make it.

You don’t make it because you’re suddenly flung into the air. You let out a frantic shriek and bring your arms up to shield your face. The ground approaches with dizzying speed and you hit it with a sickening thud. Your hands are suddenly covered in scratches and you open your mouth to furiously ask Ricky what the fuck he was thinking and how did he even do that and did he have to throw you so high -

But when you look up, it’s cold grey eyes that meet you.

Fuck.

The glare that was supposed to be for Ricky is now aimed at him, unadulterated hate coursing through your veins. This is the first time you’ve seen him since that day. Just what in the actual fuck is his problem, and just what had you done to deserve being thrown over his shoulder and up into the sky like a fucking ragdoll? You hadn’t mouthed off this time. Hell, you didn’t even know he was there, so just what the fuck was he punishing you for?

“People who don’t take their training seriously usually end up looking up like this,” he hisses. His glare matches yours, which is ridiculous, because he’s the one who knocked you down. Why is he pissed off? “‘Course, they’re usually looking up at a titan, but we don’t have any of those on hand for me to demonstrate.”

Yeah, he’s far from a titan. Fucking shrimp.

“I was taking my training very seriously, sir,” you say with gritted teeth. “In fact, I would have defeated my opponent had you not stepped in and shot me up in the air.” Your hands would also have significantly fewer bruises.

He snorts, actually snorts, like you’ve just told a hilarious joke. “A real opponent isn’t going to let you run that mouth of yours before they come at you. You’d be dead in two fucking seconds.”

People are looking now. Everyone remembers that first day, and they all look as though their favorite stage actors have come to town to perform a show. They’re all waiting to see just what the girl who talked back to Lieutenant Levi will do now. A circus trick, perhaps? They don’t know what you’re made of - no one is going to see you crack. And definitely not because of this insufferable man.

“You don’t know that, sir.” You say it with a poisonous smile, wanting him to know that it’s not meant to be respectful. “I might just make it. Maybe I’ll even make it longer than you.”

There are hushed gasps all around you, but the lieutenant pays them no mind. He looks amused, as if you’re just a stupid little girl, an arrogant brat who somehow thinks she’s somehow stronger than him. You’re not an idiot, you know that he’s an excellent soldier who will probably make captain soon, and you’re a lowly cadet who doesn’t even know the basics yet. But once you’re trained up, once you have experience, you think you could take him on, and you could possibly win.

Lieutenant Levi leans down, crouching on his legs before leaning in. He grabs your shoulder harshly, and leans in to whisper in your ear. “I’ll be waiting, (L/N).”

You almost feel respected until he adds, “Waiting to see the day that fucking smile gets wiped off your face.”

With that, he stands up and turns. Turns to walk away. Turns as though you’re not still on the ground. Turns as though your comrades aren’t snickering around you, convinced that he just put you in your place a second time. Turns as though he didn’t just single you out for no damn reason - who even fucking asked him to watch? Who asked him to interfere in your business? Why didn’t anyone else demand his attention? You weren’t the only one goofing off. Hell, there were some people who were actually just lazing around! Where was their punishment?

Furiously, you speak before your brain can catch up.

“Why don’t you fight me, Lieutenant?” you say loudly as you get to your feet.

He stops.

Ricky, who is safely standing a few feet away now, gives you a wide-eyed look, silently asking if you’re brain damaged. But you pay him no mind, your eyes focused on the back of Lieutenant Levi’s head, probably burning a hole in him with your gaze by now. Immediately, the crowd changes sides again, hushed oohs spreading around. It’s not enthusiastic, no one actually believes you’ll triumph, but they are enthusiastic that you have the balls to try.

He turns, giving you the driest expression you’ve ever seen, and you half expect to be dismissed. To be told that you’re too weak to even think about fighting him.

Instead, his stance changes, his fists are raised, and he’s accepted your challenge.

You know you can’t win. That’s not the point. The point is to hold out. For a whole minute, at least. Half a minute. Was twenty seconds too generous?

There’s a small part of you that regrets mouthing off this time.

Lieutenant Levi doesn’t have to waste any time staring you down. He has no need to debate in his head about who should throw the first punch, and nor does he grant you the courtesy of devising a strategy in your head first. In half a second, he’s approaching you with dizzying speed, fist reeled back, about to knock you over for the second time today.

But you’re sick and tired of these fast maneuvers.

You duck down just as he closes the gap between you, and you go for his legs. He grunts in surprise as you make contact, clutching tightly. It may look pathetic. Your arms are wrapped around his thighs, which you basically just dived into. Your face is squished against his hip. Your feet have left the ground, as you’ve thrown your entire body at him. At this moment, you look absolutely ridiculous.

But it’s worth it.

The lieutenant loses his balance as his feet slip from under him. You can feel him falling down, down, down, with a gasp that is just fucking music to your ears. This is turning out better than you’ve ever hoped for. You’ve proved everyone wrong, even yourself. He’s going to hit the floor, and you’re going to win. You’ll win.

Or at least, you would have.

You’re both hurtling through the air for one glorious moment. Then, recovering from his shock in an instant, Lieutenant Levi spins the two of you in midair, and despite all your efforts and quick calculations, it’s your back that hits the floor again with a loud crack, air knocked clean out of your lungs. You gasp for breath. His knees are digging into your neck, you’re going to choke -

He takes no time to recover. He’s up and on his feet in a second, brushing the nonexistent dirt off his pants, and you’re left panting with your hand on your throat, trying to recover what little dignity you have left as laughter erupts around you. Dizziness and confusion overwhelms you, as does something else. Just a few minutes ago, you’d been looking at him hatefully. Well, you from five minutes ago had no idea what hate was. You could kill him right now, this arrogant, pompous, cruel jerk.

How dare he look so unperturbed? Like this is just a normal weekday for him?

A hand yanks you up by your hair, nails digging in your scalp painfully. You’re brought to your knees with a heaving gasp. He tugs your head up until you’re looking at him properly, and he has the nerve to smirk. It’s slight - perhaps he knows a full blown smile would look creepy on him - but it’s there, mocking you.

When he speaks, it’s just a little louder than a murmur. “I thought I told you to tie your hair up.”

Then he releases you, and your buckle over in pain. The position literally has you bowing down to him. White hot anger seeps through you. Consumes you. When he starts walking away, his every step thunders in your head, echoing a million times. He had no right.

No right at all.

It seems like Millie’s wish has come true. You have a goal now. A goal that Lieutenant Levi has so graciously given you.

You’ve decided. No matter what happens, you’re going to get revenge on Humanity’s Strongest Soldier. He’s going to fucking pay.

____________________

You’re pacing out in the field later that day, muttering under your breath, the events from earlier replaying in your head on loop. Millie’s decided to give up on getting you to come study with her, and she’s blatantly refused to participate in your little quest for revenge, citing it as “pointless and foolhardy.” Well, this whole thing is pointless and foolhardy. The Training Corp is just a way to produce more dead bodies every year. But Millie didn’t agree with your line of logic and has left you to brood on your own.

Realistically, what are your options? It’s not an easy task to take on. Humiliating a man who is now so respected and admired will be difficult when his ego soars sky high. Something heavy will be needed to bring it down. Now you have no intention of ruining him for life, nothing major or extremely dangerous. If you did have such an intent, it would’ve been rather simple, just a letter back home to your mother to spread the word of what humanity’s hero was really like. Not that she’s inclined to listen to your demands nowadays, but it’s a doable plan that would work one way or another. But you want to embarrass Lieutenant Levi the exact same way he embarrassed you. You want to knock him flat on his back, while everyone watches, and you want to stand triumphantly as he kneels down to you.

Someone listening to your thoughts right about now would think you were having a vivid sexual fantasy. You groan, slumping down against the bark of a tree. It’s going to be dark soon. You have a curfew that you’re inclined to obey. But you simply can’t go back without thinking of a plan. He deserves it. He deserves to be utterly humiliated. Punishing you is one thing. Beating you in a fight is only natural.

But holding you up by your hair like you’re one of the fucking spoils of war only to have you kneel to him - that’s sick. He’s sick, and probably perverted. You wonder if he’s always been like that, or if the glory has gone to his head. And you wonder why he’s chosen you to play this game with. Because of a smile and some cheek? That’s no excuse.

Maybe you’re just the prettiest one here, and he has a crush.

Even the cocky thought can’t distract you enough from your frustration. You can’t possibly beat him. There’s a reason he’s getting so much attention. It’s because he can fight like no other, and it’s all natural talent too. Frankly, you call bullshit, no one is just that good without any practice, but whatever, not the point right now. Who could possibly make you capable enough to beat the lieutenant in a fight? Who could possibly know all his weaknesses?

Probably only him.

Your eyes widen.

____________________

The sun shines brightly the next day. You feel the warm breeze from the open windows kissing your cheek as you run through the base. Most people passing by pay you no mind, although a few give you questioning looks. But they don’t say anything, probably figuring you’re just a lost newbie who’s inevitably going to get yelled at when you show up late for class. But they’re mistaken, you’re not lost at all. You’re running with purpose. And well, you might be late for class, but it’ll be fine, you know Stephen takes detailed notes that he’s willing to share, and even if he feels like being mean, this is much more important.

Originally, the plan was to go all the way to his office, the path pieced together from directions you’d gotten from Instructor Grumman who believed you were going to apologize (for what?). Hopefully, he won’t actually double check if you went through with it, because you have no intention of apologizing for a single damn thing. Your aim is far more sinister than that. Today is the first step of a plan that will take you a long while, but it’ll pay off eventually. You’re going to achieve your goal.

That is, if he agrees.

The universe is on your side, because you don’t even need to go all the way to his office. There he is, in the flesh, talking to a blonde man you recognize as Captain Erwin Smith and a woman who you haven’t seen before. Maybe if he hadn’t been so callous yesterday, you’d have waited until he was away from his comrades before approaching him. It’s too late to care about appearances now.

You step up to the three of them and salute, clearing your throat.

He looks at you, and his eyes harden when he sees a smile plastered on your face yet again.

“Can we help you?” Captain Erwin says gently, but there’s just the slightest edge in his tone. Clearly one is not supposed to just approach this dream team. Your bad.

You open your mouth to answer him, but Lieutenant Levi beats you to it, looking bored as he does. “She’s lost, Erwin. Classes are on the other side of the base,” he says dismissively, waving a hand like he’s swatting away a fly.

“I am not lost. Sir.” Your spine is still straightened and your fist is still balled against your heart. You’re not sacrificing it just yet, but you’re certainly sacrificing your pride here. “I have a request for you. After you pointed out my obvious flaws yesterday, I realized that if I don’t get help, I’m going to fall seriously behind.”

Captain Erwin shoots him an exasperated look, already having figured that his best friend (or whatever they are to each other) must have done something to you. Meanwhile, the woman cackles, nudging the lieutenant’s shoulder.

“She’s being proactive! You appreciate that, don’t you, Levi?”

He doesn’t answer. His attention is now exclusively on you - you nearly feel special.

“So what do you need from me, Cadet?” You ignore the way your stomach flip-flops violently from the way he stares at you, the corners of his mouth twitched upward in a light smirk. Something in him clearly enjoys the idea of you needing him for something. Something else to lord over your head, something else for him to be cocky about. “You want me to find someone to give you private lessons?”

“Close,” you say, mustering the brightest and happiest fucking expression you can, “I’d like you to give me private lessons. I want you to train me.”

The lieutenant’s eyes flash upwards.

Your hair is neatly tied up in a tight bun.

Y’all have no idea how weird it is to write “Lieutenant Levi.” I loathe it.

Also, this is my first time writing in second person. Lots of firsts here, folks.

Please review, your comments are my source of life.

#aot #attack on titan #levi x reader #snk #aot x reader #snk x reader #levi ackerman

310 notes · View notes

bloop-noop · 3 years

Note

You should write something where reader is a streamer and is on love or host and dream is on there and they you know find out their feelings for each other<333 and maybe if you want to add a little ✨angst✨ into the mix another cc is on readers love or host and they get heart broken seeing the interaction between reader and dream ùwú only if you want to though💕

Love or host

Content: slight angst at the end, but lots of fluffy feels.

Dream x gender neutral reader

Pronouns: they/them

I tried but I hope you liked it, I've been busy with school but I had fun, I accidentally got my feels all fluttery while I wrote XD

__________

Tonight was the night that y/n would finally find 'love' after being broken hearted by empty promises of empty marriages and proposals from their friends. Y/n was nervous unsure who was going to be their love or host. Friends jokingly said they were going to show up on their love or host to steal people who were trying to fight for their love for y/n, which made sense but they couldn't help but feel upset.

The stream had barely started with the slight intro which turned into the music portion of the stream, y/n sat and pondered nervously of who all joined. Maybe their friends really did join and there was literally no spot for other people who wanted to join. Or maybe she picked the wrong person and got hosted. Who knows, a few songs later the music portion had ended and it was time for everyone on the show to start getting ready for the reveal of everyone who was participating.

They didn't want to see who was all there out of fear but when the call of everyone popped up on the screen. To their surprise a few friends they knew were there and to another surprise their friend Dream was on their love or host. Obviously no camera showing his face but his little icon was placed instead.

Austin had moved immediately to introductions starting with y/n, "alrighty folks the guest of tonight's love or host y/n! Everyone give them a round of applause." Everyone clapped, along with the stream chat as clapping emojis or the word 'clap' was displayed on the screen going by fast. "Now y/n why don't you introduce yourself to those who don't know you, I mean who doesn't, but anyway take it away."

Y/n bursted out of their daydreaming and smiled at her camera shyly, "hi, everyone. Um as some of you know I'm y/n I do (content) on (platform) and I have quite a large following and I'm excited to be here. Even though at first I meant it as a joke but…here I am!"

"Excellent, absolutely excellent, now to the contestants! First we are starting with Mr/Ms. (Friend's name)! Go ahead and introduce yourself."

"Oh…um well I'm (friend's name) and I am a friend of y/n here and I am here to win their love or host. And as must as you think I'm hosting you n/n I am not. I truly chose love." A few contestants awe'd while some scoffed or jokingly teased them about choosing host. "Alrighty thank you Mr/Ms. (Friend's name). Next up is the famous Dream, introduce yourself."

"Well I'm Dream, I'm also a friend of y/n we did some streams together and I want to be the one who wins tonight. Don't stress about me choosing love or host just know that in the end I would give my time for you y/n." Y/n was shocked at what Dream had said, their cheeks were painfully obvious to the viewers and to the others who were looking at the call. "Aw lookie there y/n is already blushing and we haven't even gotten through half of them. Anyway, let's continue."

While viewers were talking about Dream's introduction, another person was staring at Dream's icon while others introduced themselves. They couldn't help but feel jealous and disappointed that their words didn't strike y/n's heart like Dream's did.

"Alright question time. All of you will get to answer a question but some will only be directed to y) n or you guys then by the end of the question, y/n will choose who does not get to continue. Ready? Alright first question not to y/n and this is the most common question on this show. 'Where would you take y/n on the first date?' Let's start with Dream, Dream you have the floor."

"Well in terms of first date uh I'd probably say that I would have a Minecraft date, since we live far, we can have dates on the Dream SMP or a new world. But if we meet up, then it would still be Minecraft."

Y/n thought about his answer long and hard, Minecraft date with Dream seemed cool but…not something they would do for a first date. A few others went before it was (friend's name) turn to answer.

"I know what y/n likes to do. I know they like (favorite series) so we would binge watch it as many times as they want and we could cook together (favorite food) I know y/n isn't really big ok dates, something small but fun for the both of us. I actually enjoy cooking with y/n, so many stories on that but yeah that's what I would do on our first date."

Y/n sat in their chair flabbergasted, surprised mostly, but this is the first time (friend's name) had ever said anything sentimental, or either y/n was completely oblivious. But the thought of a date like that warmed y/n's heart. They smiled at their friends' cameras and seeing their faces made y/n smile even more. And deep down y/n's friend knew he had won that.

"Smooth guy/girl aren't you kid? Seems like Dream and (friend's name) are competing for y/n's love, the rest of you better start fighting tooth and nail for y/n because it seems like they are getting popular now." Austin said with a mischievous tone not well hidden from sight.

After an hour people were kicked off one by one after each question leaving Dream and (friend's name) I'm the final round. Everyone who was on was very lovely even though half did choose host but still wonderful people.

Meanwhile Dream and (friend's name) were glaring at each other, well at their screen and since Dream couldn't be seen, only noises of annoyance were heard. They seemed to have been dissing at each other whenever y/n would blush or laugh or shyly looked away from one of the two, even the chat had noticed the two bicker which caused a spiral for the two.

But now it was the last round. The one on one date neared at any second. Y/n fiddled with their fingers under their desk while they figured out who went first, and to their surprise it was their friend. "Alright you two I'm going to start the timer for you two and then well end I'm starting your timer now." Numbers displayed on the screen only the stream could see but with small silence y/n broke the silence. "Did you think you would make it this far (friend's name)?" Y/n said chuckling at their friend who scratched their cheek nervously. "If I'm honest I actually did. Look I know Dream and I bickered like school girls but I hope you choose me. Watching random movies or each junk food till we get fat, something we can do together. Long as it's with you. What about you y/n?"

"What about me?" Confused at the question she thought about what to say next before the timer sound went off. "Alright you two times up, Dream is already prepared for you y/n so please mute up (friend's name).”

The timer had started once again and immediately Dream had said his hello. "Hey y/n! Crazy night hasn't it?" "Oh um yes it has. I assume it's the same for you, so Dream why did you want to come to my love or host, I thought you would be on George's?" Y/n giggled as Dream stuttered to find his words, "I um…well I wanted to be here for you. I think you are more important than George…wait no that came out wrong! I mean like fuck…if you choose me I swear I'll show you what I mean, is that blackmail? God I hope not but I-I hope you choose me. I have a lot to say but I guess we won't have time. But I am glad I got to be here and choose love." Dream smiled at his screen with a blush covering his cheeks, even if they couldn't see it, they could definitely hear from the sound of his voice. "We'll see Dream, I guess this is goodbye for now. It was nice talking to you."

"Alright chat now we are ready for the final vote, who will y/n choose? Dream or (friend's name)? Alright y/n whenever you are ready just DM me who you choose"

Everyone who was watching, waited impatiently as y/n thought long and hard who they would choose. A frown was plastered on their lips but soon took a deep breath replacing the frown to a small smile.

"Ok folks we have the results. And tonight the winner of tonight's love or host guest starring y/n is!"

Seconds went by as everyone's heart raced waiting for the man to finally reveal who had won. Seconds felt like hours till Austin finally revealed, "(Friend's name)...I'm sorry but Dream has won y/n's love or host! Congratulations Dream for winning the heart of our beloved y/n! And get this y/n, your man Dream chose. He had chosen…love! He chose love!" Y/n gasped laughing covering their mouth from shock. "Sorry (friend's name) tonight just isn't your night, actually (friend's name) had also chosen love which is unfortunate." Y/n's smile faltered a bit at their friend watching them sigh with a sad smile. "It's fine y/n I had fun, but I better get going.” With that, they left Dream and y/n's to their own date which wasn't streamed.

Dream turned on his camera without y/n noticing, they spoke about random topics till y/n gasped a little. "Y/n you alright?" "I-I yes! I just didn't um…expect you to turn your camera on which surprised me." Dream frowned a little, feeling insecure about himself, seeing his expression made y/n jump into panic. "Wait, I didn't mean it as a bad thing, I was just surprised since I've never seen your face before. Did you know you are really handsome Dream?" Both blushed at y/n's words. Since then they had both gotten closer, but at a cost of y/n and (friend's name) to drift further apart.

Y/n didn't understand why their friend had suddenly stopped talking to them since the love or host. They left upset, thinking they did something wrong. Dream assured them that it would take a while for them to come back since he knew that (friend's name) had a crush of his beloved partner.

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Words: 1,731

#mcyt x reader #x reader #dream smp x reader #dsmp x reader #mcyt #dream x reader #dsmp #dream smp #mcyt dream #fluff #request

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aros001 · 3 years

Text

First time reading through the light novels. Vol. 1 random thoughts.

A while back I'd seen the first episode of the anime and...didn't take it well because of that one specific scene. I was interested in where Goblin Slayer and Priestess would go from there but I was worried about my ability to handle the rest of the series. So months later I asked this Reddit if you guys would recommend I continue and you were very supportive and encouraging. I watched the rest and really enjoyed it. I just recently wrapped up another light novel series (at least the books that were available in english) and figured why not give Goblin Slayer's LNs a try?

These are just some random thoughts I had while reading the first volume. I did the same with Rising of the Shield Hero and it was fun to do, with other fans pointing out things I might have missed and starting discussions about what happened each book.

Right off the bat, I think Goblin Slayer is one of the few series I've ever read that brings up weapons getting dulled and damaged by blood and fat (or even bringing up fat from a slain foe at all). Shield Hero had a little bit that early on but most stories just have weapons that are so high quality that the quality never dips.

Also, back in the anime I'd found it interesting that goblins could make poison when everything else about them seemed so crude. But in a general view "poison" is basically a harmful substance that you don't want in your body. That the goblins can make poison out of their own shit and some herbs actually makes sense and works with the idea that they have the mental capacity of cruel children.

The first kill we see Goblin Slayer make seems to say a lot about him. Pinning a goblin to the wall with his shield before stabbing a burning torch into its face. Efficient yet feeling almost vindictive.He kills it in the most painful way he possibly can at that moment.

The Priestess blocked the one goblin with her staff on instinct and kept it from getting away long enough for Goblin Slayer to throw his sword into the back of its head. I'm curious if that's why he let her accompany him through the rest of the cave or if he would have done the same regardless? If he didn't see her potential would he have ordered her to leave instead of asking what she was going to do?

Are the gods of Truth and Illusion meant to be literal gods or just figurative? Either way, I'm looking forward to hearing more about them and the Earth Mother, Dark Gods, and Supreme God. I like mythology and that includes the party's talk about where goblins come from. I like that they, and we the audience, don't yet have a for-fact answer. All the possible origins they share are from legends, folktales, and stories you tell children (with some racial bias thrown in between the elves and dwarves). It really helps the world feel more real and lived in.

Out of curiosity, do Slimes exist in the GS universe? They mention giant rats and goblins as the monsters a lot of beginners take on and slimes are a famous kind of newbie monster in other fantasy stories, so I'm curious if they have those as well (or if it's a Konosuba kind of case where slimes are NOT a monster beginners should be fighting).

Oh jeez, the anime really wasn't exaggerating with Cow Girl flopping over the windowsill. Why is that so funny to me?

“Yes. A group of rookies are in the southern woods. That one is a request from a village near the forest.”

“Beginners,” he murmured. “Who was in their party?”

“Let’s see...,” Guild Girl said. She licked her thumb and began paging through a sheaf of papers. “One warrior, one wizard, and one paladin. All Porcelain rank.”

...

The day after that, showing no hint of fatigue, he joined Priestess in venturing to the southern woods. Cow Girl heard later that the rookies never returned from the forest.

I might be misremembering or thinking of a different group but the rookies came back alive in the anime, didn't they?

A big thing that helped me get through the anime was the introduction of High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, and Lizard Priest. They brought a lot of life both to the series and to Goblin Slayer himself. He's a man who really needs friends and something other than goblins in his life. What he does is important but spending too long in nothing but that darkness would eventually break anyone. In fact, nearly all the characters help bring some enjoyment to the story. I was afraid Spearman was just going to be another Motoyasu but he quickly proved himself to be, overall, a pretty good guy.

I also like that this novel gives more insight into the extra characters. Not just the humans like Guild Girl, Heavy Warrior, and the Hero (which was a very welcome surprise. I want to know more about her), but also some of the goblins as well, like that one guard of the old elf ruins. Even if they can't talk in a way humans can typically understand, it's cool (and a bit uncomfortable) having a direct show of how an individual goblin thinks.

While it's not as much as Priestess, I do really seem to have a soft spot for Guild Girl. Why she seems to like goblin Slayer is just really appealing for me. She likes him because he's different but not in the traditionally tropey way of "Oh, he's so different from the other guys". He takes the jobs that no one else wants to do, not to brag about it or hit on her, but simply because they need to be done, which means a lot less newbie adventurers have died or worse at the hands of goblins, something she's indirectly seen happen way too many times, even if it's a reality she has to live with. Completely unintentionally, he takes a lot of burden off her heart and mind. I can easily see how her respect and appreciation for him would eventually lead into feelings of affection.

Goblin Slayer = Beard-Cutter? I can understand to an extent Orcbolg and that both names come from a goblin killing sword, but do Dwarves refer to goblins as Beards? And if so, why? Or am I missing something here? This confused me in the anime too.

“I owe it all to you, sir!” Her gaze, her beautiful eyes, bored into him. He caught his breath. What should he say? There was a long pause.

“Not at all,” he finally squeaked out. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You did so much!” she responded with a grin. “You saved me when we first met.”

“But I couldn’t save your companions.”

“True, but...” Her face stiffened for a moment. She couldn’t quite finish her sentence—understandably.

Even he still remembered the awful scene all too clearly. Warrior, Wizard, Fighter, who had all lost everything. Her party had been trodden into the dust.

I really like this. It's be really easy to just make Goblin Slayer a complete hardass who's oblivious to everything and cold to the world (and to an extent he is). But he does still have emotions other than anger. He's at a loss by Priestess' gratitude and doesn't know what to say. He has regret that he couldn't save her old party. He's used to the sight of what happened but still finds it awful. He appreciates the elf, dwarf, and lizardman's help and isn't against partying with them again, even if he won't go out of his way to join them again. He feels truly helpless when he tells Cow Girl he can't defeat the Goblin Lord's army. As the story goes on I imagine it'll be explored how much he's doing what he does to keep the past from happening again vs. him just wanting revenge on all goblins. Which side rules him more?

But all things must end—often too soon.

The end to his idyll appeared in the form of repulsive black blotches on the dew-drenched morning pastures. Trailing mud and excrement across the fields, they were unmistakable: small footprints.

This is the one part I think the anime did a little better, if for no other reason than that we had a lot more times of Goblin Slayer checking for signs of goblins every morning. It was a great Chekhov's gun. It was something the audience knew had to come back into play later...but that you really, really did not want to because you knew what it'd mean. Every time he checked and didn't find anything was a relief but it left worry about the next time, building up that dread and anticipation, until finally we get that morning where he sees all the tracks.

At a table deep in the room, High Elf Archer made to stand, her face a furious red, but Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest stopped her. Witch sat on a bench, a slippery smile floating on her face. He glanced at the front desk to see Guild Girl vanishing into a back room in a panic. It occurred to him that he was looking for Priestess.

Awwwwwwwwwww! He does like having her around!

I think the main reason the story works, at least for me, is because it isn't just one of those "Life sucks. The world is dark. F**k you." types of "adult" literature. Yes, the world of GS does get very dark and messed up, but what gets you through it are these very likable and sunny characters who do care a lot about each other. At least with the content of this volume and what was covered by the anime, the draw isn't supposed to be how "edgy" the story can get but rather these characters trying to fight back against the darkness that exists in their world.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/GoblinSlayer/comments/fq3z9a/first_time_reading_through_the_light_novels_vol_1/

#goblin slayer #random thoughts #reddit repost

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ag3ntl3vi · 3 years

Text

Soulmate AU |Tsukishima Kei X M! Reader| ☁️

Im writing these at random until I can figure out how to make a request section on my page.

Trigger Warning: Cursing

Word Count: 1,306

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Soulmates.

You didn't understand the concept of a soulmate. Sure, you understood what it was, but not why it existed. Soulmates are supposed to be your destined partner or something cheesy like that. At a young age, you were overflowing with excitement when your words first appeared. You were four and grasped what a soulmate was quick. Your parents gushed about it almost daily, saying how beautiful the experience was for them and how they just knew your destined one would be the perfect match for their baby.

16 long years later you stood at the entrance of Karasuno High. You awed at the two-story building and high gates before you were tackled by an orange blur.

"(Y/n)! You beat me here!" Shoyo screamed, hugging your body tightly. Hinata Shoyo had been your best friend for as long as you could remember. You had helped him train for volleyball when his other friends declined to, mostly out of pity. But soon, you came to enjoy the sport, though you never joined the middle school team, to Shoyo's dismay. You still played with him (And alone) in your free time.

"Where else would I be? Nekoma?" You chuckled, ruffling his curly mane.

"Isn't that in Hiroshima?" He tilted his head like a confused puppy. You facepalmed at your friends' stupidity.

"Tokyo, Shoyo. It's in Tokyo." You sighed, looking up at him slightly. You were only an inch or so shorter than the hyperactive ball, so you were both often confused for middle, or elementary, schoolers, to your frustration.

"Hey, (Y/n), are you going to join the volleyball team?" He asked as he picked up his fallen bike from the dirt. You shrugged carelessly.

"I mean, I'll see what type of people are in it, but I make no promises." You said. Shoyo was bouncing excitedly, a wide grin on his childish features.

"I hope you join," He said, looking ahead. "Why's that?" You curiously muttered. Shoyo took a second to answer.

"Because it'll be nice having a friendly face on the court," He looked at you hopefully. You were taken back for a moment before a soft, content smile spread across your face.

"I bet.."

"Plus, you're like, super cool playing."

You raised your eyebrows. He continued.

"Your sets and receives are amazing! And your spikes are like 'Woosh!' then 'Blam!' It's so cool!" He bounced on the balls of his feet, his contagious grin stretching ear to ear.

"You're incredible too, Shoyo," You chuckled. "You're super fast and you go like, uh.." You paused. "'Zoom'?" You nodded. "Your jump is breathtaking! You can jump higher than me!" You remembered his last match of his middle school career. You were dragged to the game, though you would've gone willingly, and witnessed Shoyo's remarkable speed and jump first hand in a serious match.

It stunned you into an awed state of admiration for the boy. Although he had lost, he seemed to have another troubling thought on his mind. As you rode back to your school he kept rubbing his wrist, staring blankly out the window. After a while of dreadful silence, he told you that the guy he lost to, the King of the Court, was his soulmate.

Eventually, you both had to part at the school bell. You promised the ball of sunshine you'd go to the gym that the Volleyball team occupied after school. You were also very positive he had memorized your final class to pick you up in case you decided to run.

While Shoyo was athletically skilled, his brain was far behind. His grades have only gone down (or up if he knew the topic for once) since you've known him. You ended up learning twice the amount of classes you were assigned that year to help Shoyo pass with at least a D.

You even started carrying around candy rewards for a passing grade. It motivated the boy, so you never minded totting them around.

The day was painfully boring, each class doing an introduction that took up a majority of the period. The teachers did a huge slideshow and pretty much gave their life story and gave the students a total of ten minutes to say their name and an interesting fact about themselves. You didn't mind. You hated public speaking anyway.

Your final class came to an end as you internally leaped for the skies. You reminded yourself to treat Shoyo for getting through the long day.

"(Y/n)!"

Speak of the devil, you giggled. You turned to see Shoyo sprinting at you, full speed. You stepped back, avoiding his deadly collision, and gripped the white hoodie he wore under his uniform.

"Walk," You reminded him. "The gym won't run away, I promise."

Shoyo pouted. "But! Let's go! We're wasting precious time!" He begged pitifully. Sighing, you caved.

"Here," You held out an orange-flavored lollipop. "For surviving."

The ginger looked into your eyes gravely.

"It was a long and difficult battle. I barely made it out alive."

You snorted. "Good job, soldier."

You finally made it to the gym and Shoyo wasted no time in leaping into the empty space. Well Almost... empty. He froze, staring at someone.

"Shoyo?" you peeked in and quickly understood.

Kageyama Tobio.

You honestly zoned out during a majority of their childish banter, only snapping back when Shoyo and Kageyama were tossed out the gym like strays then all eyes fell on you.

You pushed yourself off the wall, nervously waving at the group.

A tanned guy spoke first. "I'm Sawamura Daichi, a third-year and captain. A pleasure to meet you...?" He trailed.

"Oh, uh, I'm (L/n) (Y/n), first-year. Pleasures mine," You bowed respectfully. "Just call me (Y/n)," You smiled softly.

A pale-haired male popped up, grinning. He had a cute mole under one of his honey eyes. "I'm Sugawara Koushi! Vice-Captain and third year." He gave a small bow that you returned.

Gradually everyone introduced themselves with a pause from two more characters entering the gym.

An adorable boy with green-tinted hair and freckles cheeks caught your attention first, then your eyes trailed up the tall figure beside him. You swallowed quietly as you took in his appearance. Short, blonde hair fell above his taunting, golden eyes. A white pair of headphones were wrapped around his neck. He gave you a pointed look before giving a short introduction.

Yamaguchi Tadashi and Tsukishima Kei.

Somehow Kageyama and Shoyo ended up in a 3v3 volleyball match set for a later date. You were easily confused and frankly, too many people made you anxious, and your stomach to act up. You reminded yourself of Shoyo before matches.

You made a quick escape to the other set of doors across the gym, sitting on the cold stairs and allowing the wind to brush your hair aside. The sun was starting to dip below the horizon, casting a colorful pattern to paint the sky. You adored sunsets. You loved the colors, the gradual change from day to night as the stars peeked out while the sun was changed to the bright, white moon.

"Are you okay?" Yamaguchi asked worriedly, sliding next to you. You nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, lots of sound and people make me feel sick," You sounded pathetic, but you didn't want to lie either.

"Aw, the shrimp can't handle a few people? How unfortunate." A low, taunting voice said behind you. Your eyes shot open, taking a slow breath in. You whipped your head around to the Tsukishima smirking down at your hunched figure. You froze, recognizing those words from anywhere. You've read them over a thousand times, after all. You forced back a deep blush, instead deciding to lift your middle finger and grinned mockingly at him, saying the series of words you knew were inked into his flesh.

"Suck my dick, you crusty, dusty dinosaur."

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#haikyuu tsukishima #tsukishima kei #oneshot #soulmate au #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima kei x reader #tsukishima soulmate au #haikyuu!!

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reluctant-mandalore · 4 years

Text

End of a Journey (Din Djarin x Reader)

Warnings: Fluffy fluff. Pinning and a little yearning from both you and our lovely tin can man. Not beta read.

Word Count: 4,372

a/n: This was a really nice request! I wasn’t sure at first but honestly I think it turned out nicely. I’m sorry it's so so soooo late. I know it's been some months since you sent these in anons. I just didn’t have the inspiration for these ideas at the time! I also combined the two because they were pretty similar in plot. I hope you see this and thank you for the request!! I would like to do a longer series based around a similar idea, but with a much more flushed out plot. I’m not sure if I’ll actually get around to it, but we’ll see!

Edit: This request was written and done before mando s2 :3

---

The stars had streaked by the Razor Crest in trails of gleaming light, brighting the small space with each one that passed. The Mandalorian had found himself zoning out, as he sat in the pilot's chair traveling through hyperspace. His mind being occupied with thoughts surrounding that of the child and his new found home with the Jedi.

Managing to find a living, breathing Jedi, had turned out to be harder than he thought it would be. Even finding any knowledge about the Jedi was difficult, seemingly almost non existent at times. People hadn’t even seen a jedi in years, and everything known about them appeared to just be stories passed down from parent to child. Any leads or information he did manage to find, usually led to a dead end, often leaving him feeling disheartened and discouraged from the task at hand. A feeling that Din Djarin was not familiar with.

That’s why, when Din had happened to overhear a man speaking about a Jedi he’d seen not too long ago, he was overcome with joy. Finally, after searching for what felt like forever, he had a lead. He was now one step closer to finding a jedi. This information was what had ultimately led him to the temple where he had first met the Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker.

Upon Din’s first arrival to the temple, he had expected some sort of hostility. He couldn’t imagine anyone being fine with a random Mandalorian showing up on their doorstep. However, he was surprised to discover that the opposite had occurred. Instead of being met with confrontation, he was greeted with a surprising calmness, and only saw a little of the usual fear that he tended to experience from those who he had come across.

People of all sorts seemed to avoid the gaze of a Mandalorian, appearing to not want to get into any trouble with them due to their fierce reputation. It seemed like those at the temple had similar thoughts and feelings when it came to those of his kind. Din wasn’t offended by this, rather, he was just worried that they would be too afraid to actually want to speak to him, and would thereby hinder his search.

The first person who did manage to greet him, when he had approached closer, happened to be you. While many of the other inhabitants had seemed to shrink away from his approaching form, you had walked straight to him. The robes you wore fluttering lightly in the breeze, your back straight and your head held high, as you moved across the landscape elegantly.

When finally face to face with one another, you had greeted him rather warmly, introducing yourself in the process with a small nod in his direction. He had quickly learned from your introduction, that you were a senator who was currently working at the temple. Hearing this from you had instantly quelled some of his nerves, and allowed for him to feel more hopeful about the encounter.

The child had taken an immediate liking to you, wriggling in Din’s hands in an attempt to reach out towards you. Although, the grip he had of the little one was unrelenting, not willing to allow the child to make his way towards a stranger they had just met. The Mandalorian had then noted the look of confusion which had crossed your features—brows furrowing and head tilting—as your gaze landed onto the squirming child within his arms.

The look on your face had caused for him to hold the child a little closer to his chest, nervousness edging into his mind once more. He had learned very quickly during his time of caring for the little one, that many people didn’t seem to take kindly to a Mandalorian having a small child in his possession. It seemed like you may have felt the same, but to his bewilderment, he watched as your frown had been quickly replaced with a small smile.

Shock had even flowed through him at the sight of you also giving a small wave in the direction of the child—who had giggled happily in response to being noticed. This had turned out to be a rather nice surprise from the interaction for Din, and was something that made him feel instantly more comfortable in your presence.

From there, you had gone straight to the point of asking why the Mandalorian was even at the temple. In response to your blunt questioning, he had explained everything he could to you about the child, and why he was in his care. Trying his best to inform you about how by creed, it was his duty to ensure the foundling returned to its own people.

A feeling of unease had once again spread through him when he mentioned the fact that he was actually in search of a Jedi in particular. He was unsure of how you would react in response to that knowledge, while also worried that there wasn’t a Jedi here at all anyway. This journey he had with the child wasn’t exactly fruitful in either. Making Din come to find that he was always concerned with the other person’s reply to his explanation, and you were no different to him in this regard. The more he had explained though, the more that the expression you wore morphed from that of confusion to understanding.

After he had finished explaining, you had led him into the temple, talking to him in an attempt to learn more about him and the child. The child had squirmed more increasingly the farther the two of you had walked into the building, but Din still refused to allow the child to roam freely in the new space. He still was not quite trusting of it all, and he felt better keeping the child firmly held safely in his arms.

The two of you had only stopped walking, when you had led him to what looked like a small conference room, “Wait here, I’ll be back soon.”

The Mandalorian nodded in agreement, watching as you had smiled briefly, before turning to leave him and the child alone again. A little bit more of unease had tugged at his thoughts while he waited for your return, and to calm himself, he had tried to take a look around the room. He had hoped that by doing so, it would distract him enough from his troubled thoughts. Although, the longer he stood in that empty room, the more his nerves had actually grown, and the more his mind wandered to that of worry.

“Mandalorian,” Hearing your voice had snapped back from his thoughts again, and he peered over towards the sound of it. By doing so, he was greeted by the faces of two new individuals. “Allow me to introduce you to General Leia Organa Solo, and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.”

The child had beamed with joy within the jedi’s precance, instantly reaching out towards him with his tiny hands, attempting to clutch onto the cloak which rested on his shoulders. Luke had chuckled at the sight, reaching his own hand out, and allowing for the child to take his fingers in his tiny grasp.

“The force is strong with this one.”

Din didn’t know what exactly Skywalker had meant by those words, and wasn’t sure how to respond to the man other than giving him a silent nod. Even though he had learned some things in regards to ‘the force’ while looking for the child’s people, he still had a very little understanding of the entire concept. He just knew it was something that Jedi were able to use and control.

“I’ll gladly train him.” The Jedi had continued, as the child giggled happily while playing with the man’s fingers. “He’ll do well here.”

Din couldn’t explain why he didn’t trust them. He didn’t even have a reason not to trust them. He knew for a fact that he should have been excited that he had finally managed to find a Jedi. The child could grow and learn among his own people. This would be wonderful for the development of the child. He knew that. This was the whole reason he had gone on this journey of searching for them in the first place.

When he had started this search for a Jedi, he knew that he would have to leave the child with them. Although, now that he had found them, he couldn't imagine going through with it. In other words, the Mandalorian didn’t want to leave the child here. He didn’t want to have to say goodbye to the little womprat. His little adoptive son.

The child had quickly become his family within the time he had spent looking after him. The Mandalorian had grown to love and cherish the child dearly in his heart. He had dreaded the day where he might have to actually let him go to join his own people. At times, he had secretly hoped that it would never come. Something which he knew was a selfish thought to think, but it had still managed to plague him in his time with the child. He truly had begun to hope that he could remain as the child’s family, but deep down, he knew that wasn’t possible.

Din had felt the tears begin to form at the corners of his eyes while he stared down at the child. The little one had only smiled up at him as he always did, bright and full of adoration for the man before him. The small child in his arms had removed his hands from Skywalker’s fingers by this point, and had instead placed them on the chin of the Mandalorian’s helmet. The gesture from the child was what had caused the tears he was holding back to fall, and soon streams of the salty drops were flowing down his cheeks in never ending waves.

Din had been only pulled from his thoughts due to the feeling of a hand on his shoulder. Looking towards its source, his gaze had locked with your own, and he resisted the urge to peel away from you. A small bit of shyness had washed over him due to him not being used to the contact from another person, and the fact he was currently silently crying in a room full of strangers. He had never been more thankful for the helmet which currently hid his face from view. Honestly, he hadn’t even been aware that everyone was waiting on him to say something, because of how overwhelmed he had suddenly become with the whole thing.

“Why don’t I show you two around?” You had said to him, a soft smile on your face. “This is not an easy thing to do, and getting a little tour may help ease some concerns.”

Din had nodded to you in agreement, not trusting his voice to sound out properly through the modulator. The others had readily agreed as well, both unaware that the man before them was crumbling as they spoke. Luke smiled once more at the Mandalorian and the child held in his arms, before turning to leave with Leia in tow. Soon, it was only you and him standing within the empty conference room.

“Come, follow me.” You had finally said, the long sleeves of your robe ruffling softly, as your one hand stretched out to motion him to follow you. He did so without question, his feet moving before he had even willed his mind to obey your suggestion, still trying to recover from his sudden burst of emotions.

The Mandalorian’s steps were louder when compared to your quiet ones, and they had echoed through the hallways of the temple with every step he took. The architecture of the temple was a beautiful sight, and he found himself looking around at it with admiration, while the tears that once fell from his eyes finally dried. The child had settled himself comfortably in his arms, his own wide eyes darting about excitedly as they took in the new areas bit by bit.

Finally, you had come to a stop in front of another door, smiling as you watched with amusement as Din had found himself almost walking into you from being occupied with looking around. A flush of embarrassment had shot its way through him again, and he sheepishly looked away as he noticed the amused smile that you wore.

“This would likely be the child’s room.” You had finally said, opening the door to the room, stepping to the side so he and the child could see inside.

The room was of a modest size, not too large and not too small. A single bed laid against the back wall, a medium dresser to the right of it. The room was bare other than those few pieces of furniture, but that was to be expected considering that it technically did not possess an occupant for the moment.

“It may look a little drab and empty now, but more furniture can eventually be added and it’ll feel more lively as he grows, of course.”

“Of course.” He had echoed you mindlessly, his voice soft and quiet as he moved around the space after setting the child down so he could explore it as well. His heart ached at the thought of missing out on seeing the child grow up, and he found himself thinking about whether or not the child would even remember him in future.

“Why don’t you stay?” Your voice had sounded throughout the room suddenly, “At least for a little bit, though I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind if you wanted to stay here permanently to keep an eye on the child.”

Din’s attention had been snapped over to you instantly, his gaze borrowing into your own. He felt himself straighten his back, his posture becoming rigid and defensive without him meaning to. It was a common defensive tactic he had developed when he felt put on the spot. While many would shrink away from the sight of it, you had stood unfazed, and instead he watched as your expression softened more. “I know it must be hard to just leave him here.”

“I...I couldn’t,” he had said as he began to relax again, watching the child move about the room, “I don’t belong here.”

“Are you sure? We have plenty of rooms and space.” You had replied rather cheerfully, a small chuckle leaving you as you watched the child run back over to Din, babbling and giggling in gibberish to the large man. “And personally I think you’d fit in just fine.”

Din had smiled as well when he saw the excitement on the child’s face, and soon he was picking him back up again. “I’m sure, but thank you.”

“Hmm…Well if living here won’t do, what about visiting?”

“Visiting?”

“Yes. I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind you coming around every now and then.” You said, taking a step closer to him as you talked. “I’m sure it would make the child happy as well, he’s quite fond of you.”

Din had paused in thought once more, his mind trying to think of any pros or cons that would come with visiting the temple. Soon he had found himself staring down at the child, who happily laughed as he entertained himself by patting the Mandalorian’s chest plate repeatedly like a drum. He felt his heart swell full of love again, before he found himself looking back towards you standing next to him, his mind finally made up.

“Yeah that could work.”

That interaction between the Mandalorian and you had happened months ago. Now, he was currently on his way back to the temple after having completed some jobs. He would visit often, as much as he possibly could, never wanting to be away for too long. At first it was simply so he could continue to see the child, but soon it had turned to him also visiting another special someone.

This special someone being you of course.

The effect you had on him was immense, and it always left him feeling overwhelmed with a multitude of emotions. The Mandalorian wasn’t sure he had ever felt this deeply for another person. He did of course care for the child greatly, but these feelings he had for you were much different when compared to the fatherly feelings he held towards the child.

Simply put, Din Djarin was hopelessly in love with you, and his feelings for you had made that quite clear. He was certain that he had managed to fall in love with you over the short time you both had spent together. There wasn’t any other realistic reasoning for these feelings of his. Din may not know much about love, but he did know how it felt, and this was exactly what he was feeling for you.

Shaking his thoughts away, he focused on landing the ship the closer he got to the temple. Then, after making sure everything was how it was supposed to be, he opened the large landing hatch, and stepped down it only to be instantly greeted by you. There was never a day when you weren’t there to greet him when he visited, and your greeting was something he always looked forward to on his visits by this point.

“Hello Mando, I’m glad to see you back so soon.”

“Yes,” He said, your words causing for a light dusting of a blush to warm his cheeks, “My last job went over quicker than expected.”

A little stretch of the truth. Din had actually sped through the job rather quickly due to his desire to see you and the child much sooner. He had missed you both terribly, and wanted nothing more than to be by your side again as soon as possible. Although you didn’t need to know that.

“The child is in training with Master Luke at the moment.” You said, the smile on your face being the sweetest thing he had set his sights on, “Why don’t you come on a walk with me until they finish up?”

“A walk sounds nice.” He had replied, a bit too quickly for his liking, and he did his best to calm his racing heart. He held his arm out for you to take, which you had gladly done, allowing for your palm to rest gently on his bicep, as you both began to walk down towards the temple’s garden.

Walks had become a frequent activity that you two had taken apart in while he was visiting. The two of you would walk along the gardens of the temple, talking about anything new that had happened between his last visit. He would tell you about any jobs he had done, or any interesting stories from his travel that he felt you might enjoy. Though it didn’t seem to matter what he told you, everything he said always appeared to peak your interest. He could probably talk about the most boring things in the entire Galaxy and you would probably still eagerly listen. The same could be said for him, it didn’t matter what you talked about, he just liked hearing you talk.

While he would usually speak of his work, you would usually talk to him about the child. Sometimes, you would talk about yourself, things like your own job as a senator and memories from your past. Anything you talked about was like music to his ears, your voice resonating in his ears and blanketing his heart in warmth. He would spend hours listening to you if he could.

Moments like these allowed for him to just exist in your presence, and enjoy the company that the both of you shared. He couldn’t help but notice every detail of you, from the curve of your nose to the colour of your lips, there was nothing about you that he couldn’t help but observe. He loved to see your bright smile, and he found that your laugh was intoxicating. He had learned quickly how compassionate and bold you could be, loving every quirky aspect to your personality, which only made him want to know more about you. It was no wonder he had fallen in love with you so quickly and so deeply. Everything about you was truly beautiful in his eyes.

Suddenly, you had stopped in place, your gaze drifting off to the side as you seemed to ponder in thought. The hand which rested on his arm had removed itself and found a place at your side.

“Something wrong?” He asked, concern evident in his voice, already missing your touch.

He watched as you had looked back up to him, chewing at your lower lip before looking away again. He was about to try and prompt you again, when you had finally decided to voice what was on your mind.

“I love you.”

“What-”

“-I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but I just had to tell you.” You had cut him off, your voice sounding uneasy from your confession. “I’ve never felt like this for another person.”

A sad smile had spread across your cheeks, as you looked towards him once more, the expression resting on your features making him feel almost guilty for being the cause of it. At first he had stared at you silently, not able to form words at the moment, the shock from the sudden confession still overriding his system. His lips have moved awkwardly underneath the helmet, trying to push out any sort of reply, but none came through.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel awkward, you don’t have to reply. I don’t want this to affect our friendship.” You said, trying to gauge his own feelings, before turning away from him completely, and continuing to speak. “We should continue, the child’s training with Master Luke will be done soon.”

After saying that, you went to walk once more, a flush beginning to settle on your skin due to the encounter. This time putting yourself ahead of him rather than by his side, feeling embarrassed and distraught from your sudden confession.

The panic he felt as he saw you turn away had made him reach out to you without a thought, his hand grabbing your arm to pull you close to him again. His sudden tug on you had made you stumble into his hard chest, the beskar feeling cold against your warm skin. At the contact you had looked up at him, your features morphed with shock and confusion. He stared down at you for a second, the grib he held on your arm softening, as he moved his other to cup the back of your head.

Din pressed his metal forehead against your own, the coolness from the sending a visible shiver to roll down your spine. At the contact his eyes had closed, not being able to force himself to see the expression you wore, afraid to see what it may entail.

“I feel the same.” He had finally managed to say, the words soft but firm as they left his modulator. “I love you too.”

“Really?”

He nodded in reply as he pulled back slightly, his gloved thumb coming to brush itself against your bottom lip, causing for your skin to warm again at the gesture. He watched quietly as your lips parted from his touch, your eyes drooping while peering up at him through your long lashes.

“I’ve also never felt this way about another person.” He admitted suddenly while lost in thought, averting his gaze in embarrassment as he continued with his own confession. “Honestly I never thought you’d feel the same. I mean… I’m a Mandalorian and-”

Din’s words had cut off from the sharp intake of breath that had left him. Your hands grasped at the jawline of his helmet, causing for a jolt of panic to flow through him. His mind instantly jumped to the conclusion of you attempting to remove his helmet. Something he absolutely dreaded.

The thought was so terrifying to the Mandalorian, that he found himself not able to react quick enough in order to stop you from doing so, if you had so desired. His body had gone completely rigid, unmoving and stiff. He was truly in no position to cease your actions from undoing his creed in a simple motion. Thought, rather than remove his helmet like he thought, you instead had pulled his head down to press a chaste kiss to the beskar in question.

The kiss was quick, and within a blink of an eye, it had ended. It was nothing other than a simple peck to help affirm your feelings to him, but it had managed to absolutely wreck the man before you. His heart felt like it had swelled to a bursting point of emotions, and his mind had become muddled with affection for you. His worry and fear had now melted away into adoration and love. He wasn’t used to feeling this amount of emotions towards another person, and he struggled to control them as they began to spill over, all while he tried to process how to react appropriately.

Who would have thought that a simple kiss would have left Din Djarin such a mess?

After removing your hands from his helmet, you had taken a step back to smile at him while Din himself had remained frozen in place. The shock of the gesture was still coursing through his system, and he hadn’t quite managed to calm himself by that point. He hadn’t expected the action from you in the slightest, and he felt himself blush deeply as he stared at you standing before him. His lips tingled with want, wishing that he could tear the metal away and feel your lips pressed against his own properly. He had never wanted to kiss someone so badly.

“Come now, the lesson with Master Luke should be done. I’m sure the child is excitedly waiting to see his father.” Smiling once more you stretched out your hand towards him—which he took almost instantly—his large hand intertwining his fingers with your own smaller ones.

“Yes, let’s go.”

---

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@ah-callie @readsalot73 @starrywatermelon @karnita-mexicana

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smallersocksx · 3 years

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Pokémon Character Analysis: Iris

With Iris set to return to the anime in next week’s episode of Journeys. I decided to take the time to analyse her character as I’ll be honest, Iris isn’t one of my favourite travelling companions. However, now that I’m older and I’ve taken the time to analyse her character. I realise, that a lot of the hate Iris receives is slightly over the top.

As with all my reviews/analyses, I’ll keep them under the cut. So, if you want to keep reading, that’s great!

Introduction:

As many people that have read my previous reviews and know me, may know I am a huge fan of the Diamond and Pearl games and anime series. I will be the first to say, I know Diamond and Pearl wasn’t a perfect series, honestly, there is no such thing as a perfect series. But as a follow-up to DP, Black and White was definitely a let-down for a lot of fans, either because of completely resetting Ash’s knowledge which was honestly an insult to his DP incarnation, his travelling companions or the fact that he lost to Cameron of all people in the Vertress Conference. BW in some aspects left a lot to be desired.

Nevertheless, this post is focusing on Iris, a companion similar to Goh, a lot of fans love to hate particularly because of her infamous catchphrase “You’re such a kid.” Looking back, this was one of the things that did make me drop the series, keep in mind I was 11 when BW started airing. So, hearing a character that is meant to be the same age or younger than you say "You’re such a kid!” Over and over again, got annoying quite quickly.

However, looking back the usage of that infamous catchphrase was probably exaggerated. Whilst, working past that I still didn’t come to love Iris. Considering, Iris is meant to be one of the main character and similar to Goh, they are meant to be written in a way that makes us want to see them grow, cheer them on and be happy when they succeed. Nonetheless, when you look at the way they are written and their development it just makes it abundantly clear that Iris and Goh are the victims of poor writing.

Iris’ Initial Characterisation:

The aspect that made me drop the series was Iris’ initial characterisation particularly the infamous phrase “You’re such a kid” which as I mentioned in the introduction, which with the benefit of hindsight I can see the usage of it has been exaggerated. Nevertheless, it doesn’t change the fact that it was annoying. Especially, given when Ash meets Iris, he had defeated legendaries by this point, acquired 36 badges (that’s including the Orange Archipelago badges) and defeated the Battle Frontier. Whereas Iris may have had good battling prowess and at one point had a 99-battle winning streak, but, her Axew was a newborn with hardly any battling experience and her Excadrill was refusing to listen to her.

Many people use the defence that Misty called Ash a kid yet she doesn’t nearly receive as much hate. To be fair, when Misty met Ash, he was a rookie trainer and Misty was a gym leader, so Misty at least had the position and knowledge to back her up. However, this was only an issue at the beginning of the series and the insults tend to die down, but, that initial characterisation is what stopped me from watching the series since my 11-year-old self did not have the patience for that.

Iris’ Goal:

Iris’ goal is to become a Dragon Master, however, by the end of Black and White, Iris opts to travel to Johto to battle Clair and following the conclusion of that battle she opts to follow the direction she saw Rayquaza flying. When I look at this conclusion, I’m honestly confused, I have no sense of whether or not Iris is any closer to achieving her goal. Or even throughout the series, we get no sense of how anyone who wants to master any Pokémon typing reaches their goal, a majority of type specialists typically end up in the position of Gym Leader or Elite Four. But Iris never once expressed a desire to be a Gym Leader or any higher-ranking position. Which, makes Drayden decision to choose Iris as his successor, all the more unusual to me. I suppose in one way it gives Iris a position/goal to work towards but given Iris’ free-spirited personality, having someone choose her path rather than choosing it herself feels unnatural.

Additionally, an obvious method to becoming a type specialist is catching Pokémon of the same type you want to specialize in and little more than half of Iris’ team actually consist of Dragon-types. I understand Gym Leaders having at least one alternative type to give their team diversity and cover their weaknesses. As shown by Candice owning a Medicham and Piers having a Toxtricity in his party later in the SW/SH games. But, Excadrill fits the bill more than Emolga as Excadrill is part of Steel-type which covers Iris’ team’s weaknesses to Ice and the newly introduced Fairy-types. That is not to say that I dislike Emolga or anything but it felt like she was an unusual catch.

I am aware Clemont only had one Electric-type on hand when travelling with Ash, to be fair, the remainder of his Electric-types were at the Lumiose Gym and before catching his Bunnelby he displayed apprehension at handling other types of Pokémon.

Axew:

I like to think of the characters’ first Pokémon or their partner Pokémon as a mirror reflecting their growth. Take May and Blaziken, they mirror one another’s development perfectly as when Blaziken was a Torchic much like May, he was inexperienced and unsure of himself. When Torchic evolved to Combusken, at this point May had won two Contest Ribbons and began to feel confident in her Coordinating skills. Once, Torchic evolved into Combusken he developed that same level of confidence, he didn’t feel the need to compete for May’s attention and wasn’t bullied or intimidated by other Pokémon like Ash’s Corphish. Then Combusken evolves to Blaziken in the penultimate episode, once May has decided to leave the group, travel through Johto on her own and find her own battling style. At this point, May has chosen to become independent and this reflects in Combusken, her first Pokémon evolving into his final stage. My point being I like to think every travelling companions’ ace reflects their character growth and I don’t get that same feeling with Iris and Axew.

Now it is clear that Iris and Axew care for one another and there is also the twist that Axew wasn’t Iris’ first Pokémon. However, for a majority of the series, Axew was Iris’ only Dragon-type and in the sixth episode, he has a dream of evolving into his final stage. After that, the idea of Axew evolving is hardly addressed. As I’ve mentioned, evolving or choosing not to evolve are one method of allowing Pokémon to develop, considering, Axew has expressed a desire to evolve, I think he should have at least evolved into Fraxure before the BW series concluded. As aside from him learning Dragon-type moves and developing as a battler, once, Dragonite’s introduced he’s kind of pushed to the sidelines and doesn’t develop any further.

Many fans are hoping by Iris’ appearance in Journeys, Axew has evolved into Haxorus. However, if Axew had evolved into Fraxure by the end of the series, then his evolution into Haxorus would feel more natural to me.

Dragonite:

I will be honest; I am not a huge fan of Iris’ Dragonite. It felt as though, the writers forgot to give her an additional Dragon-type and just rewarded her with this random Dragonite. Also, there is the fact, that Dragonite was disobedient towards Iris despite the fact he joined her team willingly. This display of disobedience reflects poorly on Iris as a trainer, especially after Excadrill’s arc. Moreover, Iris has had some of her best moments throughout the series with the other Unovan Dragon-types such as Druddigon and Deino both of which would have been great captures for her particularly Deino as she has a Hydreigon in the games.

Also, HE. SHOULD. HAVE. LOST. TO. DAWN’S. MAMOSWINE!!!! (and I’m not just saying that because I love Dawn and her Mamoswine)

If the writers absolutely felt that they had to give Iris a Dragonite, they could have at least done it whilst she was in Johto since Dragonite’s pre-evolutions can be found in Dragon’s Den and Route 45. It honestly would have made more sense than giving her a Gible which isn’t even native to Johto and we haven’t even been given a hint on whether or not Gible is appearing in the next episode.

Conclusion:

I think posting my thoughts, always, manages to clear my head. Now whilst, Iris wasn’t my favourite travelling companion of Ash’s. I feel as though some of the hate towards her is exaggerated as she has had some great moments and development throughout BW. One of my favourite arcs in BW, was Iris restoring her relationship with Excadrill which was one of the most poignant moments of the series.

I think if the writers did a better job as well at establishing Iris’ goals – we understand she wants to be a Dragon Master, but does she want to become a gym leader? A caretaker of Dragon-types (similar to Liza of Charicific Valley)? If they had established this from the beginning, we would have had a better understanding of the direction they wanted to take with Iris’ development.

As well, in the games, Iris has a better relationship with Drayden as she affectionately refers to him as “Grandpa”, I think if they transferred that relationship into the anime, it would have made Drayden’s choice of selecting Iris as his successor feel a lot more natural.

All in all, I feel as though Iris was the victim of some arguably poor and weird writing choices and she isn’t the only character to experience this throughout the series. After writing this, I am looking forward to Ash vs Iris next week, but you have to hope they don’t pull the same stunt as they did with Korrina and diminish all of Iris’ efforts and training during her absence. At least we’ll finally get to see Dracovish in action as well!

#pokemon journeys #pokemon black and white #pokemon #pokeani #iris (pokemon)

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thebibliomancer · 3 years

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Song of the Dark Crystal liveblog pt 15

Song of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee because HELLO NEW SPOOKY FRIEND

Last times in book: Kylan, Naia, and Tavra have traveled to the Caves of Grot to find a magic firca that will help them warn all Gelfling about the Skeksis. A Grottan gives them a startle by lurking above a tunnel entrance.

Chapter 15

Kylan and Naia meet with Maudra Argot

"Shadowling,” Tavra growled.

“Silverling,” the strange Gelfling replied, with a casual but equal distaste.

Huh! Time for more Gelfling prejudice.

Its hinted at later this chapter why the Grottan might be annoyed at a Vapran but I have no idea why the Vapran would have strong feelings about the Grottan.

So let’s get a look at our new friend, Amri.

Pulling back his hood, his skin was pale like moonlight, with silky silver hair like Tavra’s, shaved on one side and falling to his shoulder on the other. Had Kylan seen him aboveground, he might have mistaken him for a Vapra - except for his eyes. With his face hidden by the shadow of his hood, Kylan had at first thought he had no eyes at all. Now he could see two, large and black, with no whites in them. It was like looking into one of the inky ponds that dappled the cave’s basin floor.

He had to be Gelfling, based on the shape of his face and body but he held himself differently. Like a river plant, Kylan thought, or maybe even an eel or fish, eerily graceful as he gazed down on them with an unreadable expression. His movements were as fluid as if he were underwater, slow and seamless.

Maybe that’s why the Vapran and Grottan don’t like each other.

They both want to be the pale, white-haired pretty Gelfling clan and are like ‘one of us is going to have to change.’

Speaking of change, I wonder what did between the books and the show.

In the show, the Grottan have a greenish tint to their skin, like the Drenchen. On the topic, Spriton have darker skin in the YA continuity compared to the show. Not a big deal, things got changed around between show and books but I’m wondering if this was a case where the books were working off an earlier version of the series bible.

Having the Grottan be super pale actually does make a lot of sense, since they live in caves. Cave-dwelling creatures tend to be pale because they don’t need as much protection from light.

Naia introduces the group, although omits Tavra’s title since there’s already animosity without it being known she’s the All-Maudra’s daughter.

Amri just stares at the introductions then tells the group to follow him.

Kylan looked up as they passed through the center of the cavern, losing count of the tunnel entrances and walkways. Now that the silence had been broken, eh saw silhouettes of other Grottan Gelfling stepping out of the shadows, gathering in groups of twos and threes on the ledges to watch them pass. They were all ghostly, clothing in black cloaks like their guide. Only their faces, hands, and bare feet showed, slipping in and out of the shadows like starlight.

Ah, so that’s where the whispers were coming from. The peanut gallery.

Naia asks if this is really the Caves of Grot, which Amri confirms but says that the Grottan call it Domrak which Kylan translates as “Place-in-Shadows.”

“A fair translation in the common tongue. Others have called it the Cave of Obscurity. Land-in-Darkness. Hole in Ground. Either way, grot means crypt. Though in truth, nothing has died here.”

I love that one of its names is just. Hole in Ground. Hee.

Kylan decides that Domrak means home, not just place.

Home-in-Shadows has a nice ring to it.

But if grot means crypt, then Caves of Crypt. Which sounds weird.

And could you translate, Grottan as cryptid? Heh.

Amri takes them up a long spiraling stairway and like other parts of the cave, it is just lousy with dream-etching. Kylan reads bits and pieces of stories as they climb.

They reach a triangular archway carved to look like a colony of hollerbats, which sounds amazing. Amri goes in to speak with Maudra Argot and when he pops back out he says that Kylan and Naia can come in but Tavra has to wait outside.

Tavra snorted through her nose, and Kylan wished she hadn’t. If they wanted to gain the trust and alliance of every clan, they would have to be respectful, even if they did not get the same respect in return. Shouldn’t a daughter of the All-Maudra know better diplomacy? Huffing, she turned away and crossed her arms.

“I have no interest in paying respects to a Shadowling bat, anyway,” she said, turning her nose up. “Be quick about it.”

“Don’t start any fights,” Kylan said. “Please.”

Hope springs eternal, Kylan.

The maudra chamber has exposed crystal veins lacing the walls, but with the crystal still showing as clear and pure. The Darkening hasn’t seemed to reach this deep. Possibly the tree protecting them, as in the show.

Seated on the stone floor, cross-legged, was an old Gelfling woman. Her wings were sheer, almost completely transparent, draped out behind her like a crystalline pool. Her eyes were black, like all the Grottan, but bore the mark of time. Her kind, wrinkled face might have seen more than one ninet - if the greater seasons even affected the Grottan clan, so deep in the earth.

Apparently, a ninet is roughly one hundred trine. Wow!

Kylan and Naia very politely introduce themselves.

“It must be important, indeed, for daylighters to bother making the journey into the so-feared Grot. Amri here tells me you have a Vapra with you as well. Has the great Mayrin finally invited us to the Silverling capital? Ho ho hoo! Don’t answer that. I know it is not true. So tell me, children, why do you stray from the daylight?”

She seems fun. I like her.

And reasonably enough, the Grottan dislike the Vapran because the Vapran tend to pretend they don’t exist. Rude.

Kylan tells Maudra Argot that they’re looking for the firca of Gyr the Song Teller and that he read in a book that it was entrusted to the Grottan.

“Oh yes! That. What do you want with Gyr’s bone firca?”

“You have it here?” Kylan cried, forgetting all formality. “It’s real?”

“Of course it’s real. How else did you think all that dream-etching got on the walls? All of us can read here, of course, but it would have taken a whole ninet to do just half the caves the regular way. We don’t have time for that. Yes, yes, the firca is real. It is in the Tomb. Ho ho! But I’m not going to just hand it over to you younglings without an explanation first. Why do you need it? What will you do with it? And so on.”

Score one for a random story you read in a random book!

Of course, they now have the problem of explaining why they need it. If Argot is loyal to the Skeksis, they could be in big trouble. Heck, if she’s like Maudra Fara and just afraid to act, she might refuse to help.

The best way would be for Naia to dreamfast with Maudra Argot to show what she had seen. A conclusion that Naia also immediately comes to.

“Then dreamfast with me. I will show you what I’ve seen. You can decide whether it’s an explanation or not.”

“So you think I’ll trust your memories, no matter what they are?” Maudra Argot asked, tilting her head in the other direction. When she got a confused, uncomfortable silence in reply, she cackled again. “Ho! Don’t answer that, either. I am not afraid of your dreams, little Drenchen. Show me, and we will see where they lead us.”

Hey remember when I said it’d be boring to watch Kylan watch someone else dreamfast and that’s why he had to do it with Rian instead of Naia?

Well, I was wrong. Watching someone else dreamfast takes like a couple seconds.

The maudra let out a long grave hmmmmm.

“You have the gift of dreamfast, that is for certain,” she said. “Never have I seen dreams so vividly... It was almost as if I had my eyes back! Ho ho hoo! What a delight you are, my Drenchen daughter.”

Naia repeats some of the information aloud for Amri’s benefit and says they need the firca to warn all Gelfling.

“The Stonewood will be first, until the forest is empty of their tales and noisy dances. Then the Spriton to the south. Perhaps they will go west next, to the Crystal Sea - perhaps north, to take the capital itself. It is only a matter of time before they come for us, I suppose, even if we are the discarded relish on the banquet tray. Ho ho hoo!”

She described an ugly future, but her chuckle was so light, it was almost the giggle of a youngling.

“Nothing but a garnish on top of a Vapra delicacy!” Amri added. The comment sent the old maudra into a new fit, her little body shaking with laughter.

What a fun, weird old lady.

Kylan and Naia are uncomfortable with how funny she finds the extinction of the Gelfling clans and just sit quietly. Kylan reflects that maybe the situation is so horrible, that there’s nothing to do but laugh but can’t bring himself to join.

“Ho ho ho hooo! Oh, don’t sound so quiet. We’re not making light of the situation. This old maudra has heard many trine come and go. Just when I think I’ve heard it all, the Skeksis surprise me with something new and cruel. I can’t help but think Thra is telling a wicked song-for-laughs... Or maybe it is me who is old and mad and laughing when there are no jokes being told.”

Think about being so old that you think you know everything the world can throw at you and then hearing the most horrible thing you never knew.

I guess maybe all you can do is laugh.

Although, she’s a pretty laughy individual anyway.

Unsure of how to react to any of that, Naia just does Drenchen hard-talk and directly asks for the firca. And adds that its important that the Gelfling come together to resist the Skeksis because they won’t be able to do anything if they’re at odds.

“We Grottan have remained out of the affairs of the daylighters; ours was a different burden to bear, here in Domrak. But you are right. The Skeksis will never want the essence of an old maudra like me, but my children... even the lazy ones like Amri. We are all Gelfling. I’ll give you the firca. I’ll even give you Amri. He will show you to the Tomb of Relics and then go with you to Ha’rar on behalf of our oft-forgotten clan.”

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!

New party member!

Amri is less thrilled than I am, protesting that he doesn’t want to hang out with snooty snoots in Ha’rar but Argot tells him to suck it up. She already knows that he sneaks out of the caves to gather alchemy ingredients and she’s tired of his disruptive experiments.

“Take your maudra’s offer, and come back when you are grown.”

Sweet dunk on Amri.

Then she picks up her weaving which is a polite indication that the conversation is over so Naia and Kylan leave, followed by Amri. Although they hear Argot talking to herself as they leave.

“Damned Skeksis. Your time has come, at long last. Ho ho hoo...”

This was a very productive meeting!

#dark crystal #the dark crystal #Song of the Dark Crystal #liveblog #Kylan #Naia #Tavra #Amri #Maudra Argot

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wrightiverse · 3 years

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Hello and this is me annotating/doing director's commentary for the last chapter of Crowd as a victory lap. There's no indulgence like self-indulgence.

“I’ll just make my hot young boyfriend help me,” Robin teases. “When I’m eighty, you’ll only be sixty-nine.”

I love to take a thing from the beginning of a story/scene and revisit it at the end. In this case, 'hot young boyfriend' is a light callback to 'sexy-ass, significantly younger boyfriend' back at the beginning when Robin was sad about the empty nest situation. This is, I think, the first time we specify their exact age gap. It is also the exact age gap I have with my own partner, because I’m very lazy like that. (None of this was written with any reference to what's gone on in the podcast over the last year or so, which is good because it sounds like the whole aging thing for Glenn could have gotten really confusing. Wrightiverse Glenn came back right after Ravenloft, none of that other stuff happened to him. It's all good. Canon is optional.) * * * * *

It’s not like the men in his family have much luck in that area, anyway; Glenn never met either of his grandfathers, and Bill didn’t make it much past fifty.

I think Meryl actually lived for hundreds of years and is still alive in Faerun and they should totally meet, but Glenn doesn’t know all that. * * * * *

Aesthetics aside, it didn't seem like there was much for Glenn to look forward to in middle age and beyond. Nick would grow up and wouldn’t need his dad anymore, and Glenn would be all alone.

From Glenn’s second chapter in Crowd, when Robin is sad about Connor leaving for college:

“I want him to be independent,” Robin is trying to explain into Glenn’s knee, “but also I don’t want to be all alone.” Glenn flicks his ear reproachfully. “You're not all alone. I’m right here, dumbass.”

Sometimes what seems obvious when we're explaining it to somebody else doesn't feel as obvious when it's our turn. Admittedly, Glenn is coming to this with a different set of experiences than Robin is. More on that later. * * * * *

His career would go to shit, because getting old only works for rock stars if they’re actually bluesmen in disguise, like Keith Richards.

I think I got this theory from something Chuck Klosterman wrote, probably Fargo Rock City. * * * * *

He starts his grounding exercise without even thinking about it. Five things he can see: one, an information sign for the city park. Two, a freshly-painted bike rack. Three, some big public art sculpture that looks like a giant rusty hairbrush…

This particular grounding exercise came up earlier in Crowd. I didn't make it up for the story, it's real and many people find that it works well. Feel free to try it! The exercise he alludes to when they’re on the beach, creating ‘safe spaces’ out of vivid memories with lots of sensory details, is also based on a real thing. Lauren, his therapist, is named after the therapist who worked with me on my own PTSD and taught me that and a lot of other good stuff. At least based on my own experience, I can highly recommend EMDR if you can find a good practitioner. * * * * *

It was a hella sweet gesture from the kid.

Connor’s introduction in Name has to do with him carrying shirts past Glenn, and one of those shirts becomes important later to Robin. Given how big the GC3 actually seems to be, I don’t think Connor did the majority of their merch. I assume they used a regular printer and Connor just did small runs of fun custom stuff when he feels like it, meaning not much changed after Glenn quit. * * * * *

Of course, Robin is the only member of the family wearing the shirt right now, because Robin is the only one who doesn’t care that it isn’t cool to wear merch from the gig at the gig itself.

I have no idea how widespread the ‘no wearing merch from the gig at the gig’ thing is, but that’s the rule I learned. * * * * *

Robin is chatting away about something, but it’s hard to follow with all the noise and distraction around them. Glenn decides to let it ride, and allows himself to zone out and just watch Robin talk.

As requested by my brilliant co-author, this is a callback to when Robin spaces out watching Glenn talk on their first date. Both Robin and Glenn are consistently very prone to tuning out when the other one is talking, but neither of them particularly care. As Glenn says on their dinner date - sometimes a man just wants to think out loud for a while and get a ‘hell yeah’ in response. * * * * *

It's vastly unfair that Robin looks so good in direct sunlight, but he probably pulls it off because he's the one person in Los Angeles who isn't trying to look younger than he actually is.

Glenn should spend less time in WeHo. * * * * *

There’s already more gray in Robin’s hair than when they met, although Glenn will only accept partial blame for that. Either way, the old man’s on track to be a full-on silver fox before he even hits fifty.

It felt necessary to drop a reminder that despite how Glenn talks about him, Robin is not actually that damn old. I mean, I'm sure that sounds very old to some of you, but when you're in your mid-to-late 30s like Glenn, somebody in their late 40s is not unreasonably decrepit. I think it has more to do with their respective energies than actual birthdays. * * * * *

“What is it?” Robin has noticed Glenn’s gaze, and he touches his own face to check if there's something on it.

Glenn grins. "Nothing, just ogling."

This is another callback to their first date:

“Do I have something on my face?” Glenn asks, and rubs at his mouth.

“No, you’re good.” Robin says. “You’re great.”

Because I adore a full-circle moment, that's why. * * * * *

“Your eyes were intense," Robin laughs. "It looked like you were going to start growling redrum at me."

This is my own fault for saying in the last chapter that Glenn was rambling about Kubrick moon landing conspiracies when he comes back from his walk. I tried like seven different ways to get them on the subject. I still don’t know if it feels natural. * * * * *

Glenn stabs an accusatory finger toward Robin. “Did you suggest not doing the show because you knew I’d argue with you and talk myself into doing it?”

Can’t outro this story without at least a little argayment.

Glenn usually finds him in the bathroom at the end of the night, looking grumpy about being up past his bedtime and holding some girl’s hair back while she barfs.

With what we've learned about Robin over the course of Crowd, we now have the context to understand that for Robin, this drunk girl is very much the ghost of Christmas Past. I don't imagine he goes to many of these parties.

* * * * *

It doesn’t bother Glenn a bit. Life isn’t a movie, the cheerleader doesn’t have to put on leather pants and start smoking in order to get her bad boy and her happily ever after.

I know that there’s more going on in Grease than that, but consider: would Glenn know that?

* * * * *

He and Robin are very different people, and they always will be. They don’t make sense on the surface, but they both know who they are, and who they are fits together perfectly.

Circling back to Robin at the end of Name, expressing his anxieties:

Robin rests his forehead on the steering wheel, avoiding Glenn’s eyes. “Like I don’t make sense for you, and everybody can see it.”

Some of the circles that I closed in Crowd were ones that were opened in Crowd, but some went back further. * * * * *

Love bubbles up in Glenn like a shaken-up soda, and he finds himself standing up suddenly and grabbing Robin’s shirt collar to tug him down for a kiss.

I wanted to mirror the ‘Hot Dad surges forward to kiss him, hard’ thing from the beginning, but given the established height difference, Glenn can’t just go for it unannounced unless he’s gonna stand tippy-toe. Thank you @whotaughtyougrammar for this art of what happens when Glenn tries the collar-tug and Robin doesn't notice fast enough.

* * * * *

Robin is caught off guard and stumbles half a step back, managing at the last second not to drop his drink. “One second, sweetheart, just one second. You surprised me. What was that about?”

Glenn gives him a lopsided grin. “Luck?”

“Oh, well, then. For luck.”

Luck and how to change it is a big theme throughout the whole series, both in the sense of ‘good fortune/unearned blessings’ and ‘random, unforeseen chance.’ More later about that. * * * * *

When Glenn presses his tongue forward to slip between Robin’s lips, he tastes lemon and sugar.

Same as the first time they kissed, when he’d been drinking whiskey sours.

* * * * *

“Right, yeah,” Robin breathes, but he doesn’t let Glenn out of his arms quite yet. “You know,” Robin adds, “Nick was telling me earlier that he’s going to sleep over at Grant’s tonight.”

So I'll be there when you arrive / The sight of you will prove to me I'm still alive / And when you take me in your arms / And hold me tight / I know it's gonna mean so much tonight * * * * *

She’d found him there, and she'd saved him, like she always did.

We didn’t know Morgan’s name when we first wrote the scene where they discussed her in Name, so we wrote around it as though Glenn was reluctant to name her out loud. We maintained this throughout the rest of Crowd except for the line where Glenn says that he’ll tell Robin about the phone call with Morgan. Felt right. Her presence is very much felt but Glenn, at least, is not in the habit of talking about her unless he has no other option. * * * * *

They ran out of the venue and down the street, hand in hand and giggling like kids playing hooky.

@shrack was the one who began writing our Glenn with very physical methods of showing affection. I liked it a lot as a vibe and carried on with it. He and Morgan are also very young here. Glenn would be 21 or 22 at the oldest, which is barely older than Connor is now. I've always attributed some of his immaturity to the fact that he became a parent pretty young. (Glenn is 36 when Name starts and Nick is 13, meaning Nick was born when Glenn was 23 and probably conceived when Glenn was 22.)

* * * * *

It was like falling in love with every single person in the crowd, all at once. Glenn felt like he would never be lonely again as long as he could have that feeling.

Facing twenty thousand of your friends / how can anyone feel so lonely? * * * * *

By then, the GC3 performed in venues so cavernous that Glenn couldn’t see anything outside his own spotlight. He could hear the audience roar approval at him, making a wall of sound that he could feel like a physical force. It was loud enough to drown out the screaming in his head, loud enough to let him forget that she wasn’t out there among them. It was the closest he could get to forgetting, so Glenn did it as much as he could.

Part of a success that never ends / But I’m thinking about you only... * * * * *

Slowly but surely, he’d been learning how to go through life with his mind and heart focused on someone else’s well-being. It didn’t come naturally: that wasn’t the kind of family either of them knew. Still, they’d promised each other that they could do better than how they were raised.

I am never here for iterations of this dynamic that assume Glenn is the fuck-up and Morgan was the perfect parent. They both became parents at exactly the same moment, you know? The world does not need one more story with an incompetent sitcom dad and his smoking-hot wife who does all the actual parenting. * * * * *

Nick is long since asleep, but Adele fucking Close has stayed up until these sickening hours of the early morning.

Conveniently, Glenn’s brain has overwritten all his memories with the correct name and pronouns for Nick, because writing around it is a pain in the ass otherwise. * * * * *

“Hello, Glenny.”

Bill calling Glenn “Glenny” that time at Ravenloft really stuck with me. I don’t know if they ever revisited that in the actual podcast, but it was so slimy and chilling somehow. * * * * *

“I fucked up,” Glenn says bluntly, and his mother narrows her eyes ever so slightly at his cursing.

Glenn gets in his own head early in Crowd about comparing himself to Penny, and Robin later worries about putting himself on ‘the same level’ as Morgan. Neither of them are quite galaxy-brained enough to realize that there’s more than one person in Glenn’s life who uses a lot of terms of endearment for him, considers themselves old-fashioned, and wishes everybody wouldn’t swear so much. * * * * *

“Thank you, mother,” Glenn grits out. He sounds absolutely nothing like himself, not that she minds. “I appreciate your help.”

I assume that part of the reason Glenn has such a hard time offering genuine apologies is that when he was growing up, too much of his apologizing was forced rather than sincere. * * * * *

“You are out of chances. If you continue to neglect this child, I will get the state involved, and I will take custody myself. I’ve already spoken to the Freemans, and I have their full support.”

Morgan’s parents are not mentioned very often and don’t seem to be a big part of the Close boys’ lives. I imagine that whatever tenuous relationship Glenn had forged with them post-accident was pretty much destroyed by Adele forming this alliance with them and telling Glenn about it. * * * * *

Her patient demeanor is meant to remind him that she's here to clean up his mess again, like she always does, and his proper response is humble and apologetic gratitude.

And that is why Robin being patient can set Glenn off so bad, such as after the bike accident when they were arguing:

Glenn doesn’t really hear most of what Robin’s saying. It’s all just soothing, pointless stuff in that obnoxious tone that means Robin thinks he’s the smart, calm, mature one here and Glenn’s the immature asshole who lost his temper again. He’d never say it, but Glenn can tell what he’s thinking.

I hope it came across clearly in that part that Robin doesn’t actually see the situation that way and isn’t saying or thinking anything to that effect, but Glenn feels like he is because he’s had this somatic/emotional reaction triggered. Spatially he's arguing with Robin, but his body and a lot of his brain thinks he's arguing with his mom. Trauma can be like that. * * * * *

His mother keeps talking like he didn’t say a word. “We can all stay in each others’ lives, Glenny. I’m not trying to cut you out, I’m trying to help you. I know you think I’m a monster, but I’m just trying to do what’s best for my family.”

Sometimes the monster will tell you it's not a monster. * * * * *

From that night forward, Glenn will always know that he’s not a good person, because he almost takes his mother up on the offer.

I don’t think being tempted by this offer means Glenn’s a bad person, but we write Glenn as somebody who wishes he was a good person but is really afraid that he isn’t. He was at a very low point here and he needed help. Feeling drawn to the only help on offer, even if it was from a toxic source, is pretty understandable. * * * * *

"I'll get Nicky ready for school tomorrow and you can sleep in. We’ll finish talking about this when you feel better.”

Man, I hate that abuser thing when they start being sweet as soon as you muster the energy to fight back. You get a little bit of steam built up and then they dodge you like a matador so that it dissipates again. To be clear, Nicky isn't Nick's deadname or anything, it's just the somewhat baby-ish diminutive form that Adele uses for him, like how she calls Glenn "Glenny." * * * * *

“Family is important,” his mother says sadly. Just before she closes the door, she gives him a look that’s an exquisite mix of regret, tender affection, and a tiny spark of hope. Adele would have been a great actress, but Glenn can’t imagine who that particular performance was for.

Performance skills run in the family and Adele comes by her acting chops honestly, although she doesn’t know it. I picture one of those situations where a young woman from a good background gets pregnant by some rakehell actor and her family covers up the scandal by raising the baby as a new sibling. That would mean that as long as Adele’s “older sister” never spilled the beans, nobody in their family at this point knows that they’re related to Meryl. If Nick ever decides to do one of those ancestry DNA tests, things are going to get interesting. * * * * *

He certainly didn’t find it very compelling. Family? All the family he will ever need is sleeping soundly down the hallway, tiny arms wrapped tight around a stuffed plush Babar.

I wanted Nick to have a stuffed animal that was sort of his parallel to Mr. Lion. Robin is drinking with Mr. Lion in the beginning of Crowd when he’s upset about losing Connor to college, and Mr. Lion appears again when Glenn comes in to talk to Nick and Connor after Robin’s accident.

“I… I guess I don’t know.” Nick looks down, avoiding eye contact by staring into the darkness under Connor’s bed. Mr Lion is under there in a clear plastic box, along with some other stuffed animals. Even when Nick first met Connor, the stuffed animals were already banished underneath the bed instead of on top of it. But over the years, Connor’s never thrown them away.

Mr. Lion is one of the various ways we played with the theme that Connor is, as Nick puts it, “somewhere between a kid and an adult.” Connor is a very confident and clever guy, but you don't magically get a giant box of maturity and life experience on your 18th birthday. At various points, he asks both Nick (at the campus concert) and Glenn (after Robin’s accident) to try to understand that he's still growing and figuring stuff out. Nick has definitely been deprived of some chances to be a kid, but in some ways Connor has as well. He started hanging out with Glenn after Penny and Robin split up, and although he and Nick obviously hit it off, Connor was closer to Glenn for a while. In a different universe, that might not have turned out as well - I mean, tell me you wouldn't side-eye that arrangement in real life. I sure would. Robin just sort of flings his hands up at the role Connor plays for the Close boys, but I strongly suspect that shit would not have flown on Penny’s watch.

It’s funny - he thought Connor was so grown-up when they met, but the guy was only 16 when the Wrights moved in next door. He wasn’t much older by the time he was over at the Close place almost every day, helping Nick with homework or cleaning questionable leftovers out of the fridge. It didn’t strike Nick as weird at the time, It was just another thing about his life that wasn’t like anybody else’s. He never questioned what was in it for Connor. Back then, Nick didn’t even realize how lonely he himself was - he wouldn't have figured out why a kid whose parents had just gotten divorced might want to come over to the chaotic Close apartment to get away from the quiet in his own home.

Everybody was doing their best, and everything worked out for the best, but Connor over the course of the stories is sorting out the balance that works for him in terms of responsibility and playfulness. Fortunately, now that he has less responsibility for Nick, he can enjoy Nick more as a friend and brother. In Name, Robin and Glenn both sort of assume Connor will act as a babysitter to Nick while they go off on their first date; by Crowd, Connor is hanging out playing Smash with Nick and Grant as the gents get ready for their dinner date, but he's there socially, as a peer. Him being goofier and more immature also frees up Nick to do the same, since if Connor is cool and Connor is being playful, then "it's not a little kid thing, it's a bro thing" They both get to be kids now in a way that they weren't before, and I love that for them. Anyway, the point of Mr. Lion and why I wanted to give Nick a stuffed animal as well was to draw the parallel between the sons more directly and to anchor the stuffed animal component. So far there hadn't been any moment in which an actual kid was holding an actual stuffed animal.

#to be continued #wrightiverse

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datingintampafails · 3 years

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Chapter 30: Richard*

Let me start by saying, nothing is wrong with Richard*. I match with Richard* right as the nightmare that is “the microwave” has come to a close. Now that I am mere days away from being fully vaccinated, I break the rules a little bit to give myself a headstart before I am able to actually go on the dates. I figure, what is the harm in working on getting back out there? I send a “Like” to him on Hinge, inquiring about a prompt that mentions he had broken both of his arms. The next morning, I get a reply with the story. After discussing that series of events briefly, he goes on to ask more about me and the video games I play. I step on my soapbox for a time. He tells me that he plays a video game called League of Legends, which has a reputation for having some of the most toxic players online. I ask him half-jokingly if that is his way of telling me he is toxic. He swears by his alibi of not having his microphone on when he plays with strangers, so as to not be tempted. We reminisce about Runescape, and he tells me more about some of the games he plays.

We get into the topic of pets, where he says my dog seems nice. I ask him if he has any pets where I am surprised to learn he has two snakes. We talk briefly about what it’s like having snakes, and we segue onto a conversation about television shows due to my dog having a character’s name in a show he watches, which then segued into a conversation about having coronavirus, and travel, and my changes in taste since aforementioned COVID-19.

I narrate to him a conversation I’m having with my best friend about the show of the moment, “Bridgerton,” on Netflix. Pretty randomly, he officially asks me out for drinks. I tell him I have a caveat, that it needs to be next week, as at this time I am still technically not supposed to be dating yet since I am awaiting my second COVID-19 vaccination. I make a joke that I bet he thought I was going to say I had a penis. He jokes back that he was hoping I would. I continue a joke saying I am pretty sure I don’t have one, but if I do have one it’s extremely small. We learn that we have opposing schedules, “we suck” is how I put it. I offer that in the meantime, we can text/call/video chat in order to continue getting to know each other. He sends me his number though offers that we can talk with a “different method.” Being the jester I am, I turn this into a joke of seeing how many alternate methods I can think of. A good sport, he plays along and adds a few of his own, ending in “Mongolian throat singing.” Despite the ingenious ideas we come up with, I opt to stick to contact him via text message.

Upon texting him and seeing my area code, he recognizes it as his cousins lived in that area. He grew up a couple of hours away in rural Maryland. It is late, so our transition to text is brief for now. In the morning I challenge him regarding who woke up the earliest; I win this challenge due to having a call in at work at four in the morning. We then bond over the legendary Mountain Dew Game Fuel, Citrus Cherry, that would come out at game releases; once my favorite drink, being reminded of its existence brought me anger and sadness, which I expressed I was feeling to him. We are getting along so famously, that I decided maybe I can make an exception to seeing him before my vaccine. He says he is fine either way. We start to plan our date and settle on a brewery I like near me.

Much of our texts are light-hearted jabs at each other, nothing super deep. He compliments my quirks often. He often makes jokes about having a smooth brain and sends me many diagrams. He tells me about his major in college. I then realize I don’t know what he does for a living. I ask him what his job is, that’s when he tells me he is in the Army. The stereotype for men in the military is that they usually get engaged quickly, without knowing a person for very long. Being the jokester I am, I take this opportunity to jab at him. My response to his career is, “oh sorry I don’t want to get married next month.” He says that that is why he doesn't have his job in his profile, because of the stereotypes. I joke that I have been misled to believe he had been a chill down to earth guy.

When it is the day of the date, I jokingly keep saying I am going to wear an evening gown; I mention it a couple times. When I arrive, in my skirt and crop top, I see he’s actually dressed pretty nicely and is sitting outside, wearing long khaki pants and a dress shirt. It is a decently warm day, so I hope he's okay. I compliment him, saying he looks nice and he didn't need to dress up for me. He admits that because I kept talking about the evening gown, that he thought I might have been serious, so he wanted to match my formality. I do notice over the course of the date though that he is sweating through his shirt, especially at the underarms; not the most attractive, but a person cannot help these things.

The conversation goes well, we have a nice time and I regale him with the drama in my video game community and just talk about random things. I have a couple drinks and although we weren't planning on eating dinner there, he ends up eating a burger and I opt to just "steal some fries" since I had a late lunch. He is craving dessert so we walk a block to a local ice cream place and get some ice cream as well. When we return back to where the cars were, I realize that he had Ubered there, because another joke of mine was taken seriously regarding getting super drunk. I feel bad and offer to drive him home. We get in my car and I have him put in his address into Google Maps. I drive him there and when approaching his apartment, I see a lot of construction. He instructs me where I can drop him off and suggests that I turn around in a certain lot. He gives me a hug goodbye and I drive off.

I get completely confused and lost in the construction, between closed streets and cones blocking lanes, so I get stuck in the vicinity of his apartment for five minutes before being able to find my way back to the main road. I let him know of my troubles driving, and also when I got home. He thanks me for going out and says he had a great time. Whereas I also had a good time, I found it strange he made no moves whatsoever during the night and I didn't really feel a romantic urge with him.

I get my second COVID-19 Vaccine and take a day off to recover. We still talk at least daily while he is away on his trip; while he is gone I focus a little more on the other guy I am chatting with, John*. I've told my mom of my predicament between the two men, and between her and I, I decided I'll go out with Richard* again, give him another chance. If things still aren't progressing or feelings startup, I will end it and entirely focus on John*.

Richard* asks me when he can see me again and offers to cook for me. I give him my Friday night, which is a day after I am seeing John* again as well. On Thursday, he texts me to verify, saying "I'd like to see you tomorrow, did you still want to do dinner?" I told him I meant to confirm that day. We don't talk besides that, which is good for me because I don't have to worry about getting texts from him when I'm with someone else. The day of my second date with Richard*, I text him to ask for his address again and ask for suggestions on parking, since the construction was such a fiasco for me, I'm still traumatized lightly. He tells me and after a few hours, I get some complicated news regarding my gaming community, so I ask Richard* if I can reschedule to tomorrow, Saturday. He says it is fine and so we just chat for the rest of the day.

On the day our date will actually happen, he again seems to verify the date, asking me if I'm planning on coming over "today." I snarkily replied, "yeah I don't bail, you said 730." He asks me what I want to drink, as he must be grocery shopping. I panic and say seltzers. I take a quick nap and then let him know I am headed to his apartment. When I arrive, I try to follow his parking suggestions but get confused and don't see anything. After driving around for over five minutes, I start to panic as I don't see anything. I find a random gravel lot that is in earshot of where I had dropped him off on the first date, and I call to admit defeat. I send him a photo as well to show where I am. He comes out to find me and almost walks past my car. I flash my high beams at him to indicate it's me and he hops in the car. We drive around a few minutes and luck upon a spot that is close to one of the side entrances to his apartment complex.

I follow him to his apartment, he is again dressed nicely, and I am wearing more comfortable clothes. He is wearing a nice shirt, but with jeans. We get to his apartment and it is slightly better than a typical bachelor pad, but definitely not overly showy. He is still finishing up dinner, chicken pad thai, and he gets me out a white claw to drink. We chat briefly but he starts acting weird, just off. I just sit in his gaming chair and spin around, look at his one snake, and stay quiet. In a way, I am fine with the silence, as it solidifies my unease about this going anywhere. He eventually speaks up, saying he just got a killer headache and isn't feeling well. Due to his travels, I joke about him having coronavirus.

When the food is ready, I let him serve me, I tell him to go light as I don't eat much. He had talked a lot of game regarding his pad thai being good, and unfortunately, it was pretty disappointing. He used chicken thighs, which I am not a huge fan of, and the noodles seemed almost soggy. Richard* was aware of this, however, and commented that this wasn't his best dish and had used a new kind of noodles. I don't like and say that it's just alright, at least palatable. We watch some Brooklyn 99 and eat on his couch, sitting on opposite sides of the couch. After dinner, I get an official introduction to the snakes and get to pet them, it is bizarre, but kind of cool. Definitely not as fun as playing with, say, a dog. Shortly after that, I say it's getting late and I should probably go home. He walks me back to my car, which is a need since his complex is a maze. Again, he makes no moves and gives me a hug goodbye. For me, it's easy to see that something isn't quite right here. We chat briefly, for the next few days, as I'm not ready to immediately break his heart.

When he texts me four days after our date, explicitly saying the following, I see it is a perfect opportunity to come clean:

He took things very well, and I didn't hear from him again. I commend myself for being a real human and telling people how I feel, rather than ghosting and not giving others closure. I wish more conversations could go this way. I feel bad for the guy. It isn’t his fault that I ended up “playing the game” and doing what you’re supposed to do when you’re dating, which is, not to get stuck on one person and date around. It just so happens, he ended up being the one I obviously didn’t like as much and had to sacrifice for his own good. It’s possible that only due to my extreme attraction to the other guy, that he never had a chance as it was shadowed by my feelings for someone else.

#dating #relationships #tampa #tampabay #hinge #tinder #bumble #stpete #clearwater

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luckystarchild · 4 years

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INUYASHA Volume 01, Scroll 01: “The Accursed Youth”

Welcome to Lucky’s INUYASHA recap—a recap of the Inuyasha manga by me, Lucky, an anime fan who has somehow never read it or seen the anime before.

Over the course of these posts, I’ll be recapping and reacting to the events of a chapter (or series of chapters) of the Inuyasha manga. I’ll be using the official VIZ manga volumes as my source material. References to Not Quite Kagome (“NQKagome”) pertain to my ongoing fanfiction series, Lucky Child.

And without further ado... chapter 01 of Inuyasha (or volume 01, “Scroll 1,” as VIZ titles the manga chapters.)

We begin in media res; Inuyasha has stolen the Jewel of Four Souls (the “Shikon Jewel”) and is rampaging through a village. He wants to use the jewel to become “a true demon.” Kikyo, mortally wounded, shoots him with an arrow and pins him to a tree. Her body is burnt along with the jewel by her young sister, Kaede.

I don’t generally like prologues that employ flashbacks in writing, as they sometimes seem like a way to shoehorn in backstory that either isn’t necessary OR backstory that could be imparted through the reader more organically. (They’re all-too-often lazy, basically.) But this is a manga, so maybe it’s not so bad. Not sure how I feel TBH.

Was sort of surprised we learned what Inuyasha’s goal concerning the jewel is so soon; thought maybe that would get dragged out a bit longer, though IDK why I got that impression exactly. I’ve seen a few random eps of the anime and know he isn’t fond of his own half-demon status. Perhaps I feel like we should’ve earned this revelation during the narrative and on Inuyasha’s terms, rather than have it handed to us right off the bat by a faceless narrator. But that’s me being overly critical, perhaps.

Flash forward to 1997. The day before Kagome’s 15th birthday. Her grandfather tries to tell her a legend about the Shikon Jewel, but she shrugs it off.

Kagome’s family lives inside a big temple, and everything has a legend attached to it (including the massive 500-year-old Go-Shinboku God Tree), but Kagome never pays attention to them. Later, her brother loses their cat in the mini-shrine, specifically in the well house (which a sign declares the home of the Bone-Eater’s Well). Kagome bravely ventures inside to search for the cat.

Right off the bat, we get the impression that Kagome is a pretty average teenage girl—a bit of an airhead with a sharp sense of humor who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty or shy away from a dark and spooky well house. Nice bit of characterization in just a few panels. Well done, author-san.

NQKagome Bonus: She’d probably pay more attention to all the legends her grandfather tells, which could give her an edge in the Feudal Era.

Kagome hears odd noises coming from the covered well; the cover pops off the well and a horrible, Noh-mask-faced women with a skeletal snake body to leap out and drag Kagome into the darkness.

Her body regenerates, turning into a... centipede body. Not a snake. D’oh. Frightened as they fall, Kagome emits a light from her hands, breaking off the woman’s arm and sending her careening away into the dark as she cries something cryptic about the Jewel of Four Souls.

Soon Kagome stops falling and finds herself at the bottom of the well, but upon emerging, she’s lost in an unfamiliar forest.

I gotta say that as far as first-chapters go, this one is pretty good! We immediately know who Kagome is, where she’s from, what she’s like as a person, and this introduction to the supernatural is spooky and interesting. The stakes are high and the action is fast-paced, without an overload of exposition.

Kagome spots the God-Tree and hurries toward it, noting that she always used it to find her way home in the past, but she does not find her familiar home at its base. Instead she finds Inuyasha pinned to the God-Tree.

We’re treated to this gorgeous two-panel spread:

She notes that the boy pinned to the tree has inhuman ears before some villagers find her in “Inuyasha’s forbidden forest” and bring her to Kaede, the younger sister of Kikyo (who is much older than she appeared in the earlier flashback). Kagome realizes she is in the Sengoku Period (1467 to 1615 CE). The villagers theorize that she’s a spy, a kitsune, and similar before Kaede realizes that Kagome looks identical to the deceased Kikyo.

Kaede tells Kagome briefly who Kikyo was before the centipede woman attacks the village.

That bit where Kaede tells Kagome about Kikyo is where I would’ve placed the flashback from the start of the chapter, FYI. Would’ve given the earlier parts of the chapter more mystery to withhold some information from the reader.

Also we have TOO MANY K-NAMES. Already three of the four named characters start with K, and two even start with the “ka” sound in Japanese. We have this problem with YYH and I foresee it being a problem as I type these names a ton, LMAO 🤣

So... Kagome realizing what time period she’s been magically dropped into after approximately seven seconds seems… IDK, kind of handy? Easy? The only info she has to go on are the vague references to “battles” a few villagers shout at her, and maybe the way they’re dressed. She supposedly doesn’t pay attention to old legends, so it doesn’t seem plausible that she’d pay enough attention in history class to discern what period she’s in now based on the cut of a kimono.

(Disclaimer: I’m American and the American education system is notoriously horrible at teaching the subjects of history and science with any accuracy, so I might be projecting my experience onto hers to some degree. Maybe Japan is better about this stuff. IDK, but thought I’d mention it.)

ALSO, Kagome jumps to the possibility of time travel really fast. I would jump to “this is a dream” or “I have fallen into a historical reenactment amusement park in which no one will break character” (a special hell of its own) first. Again, though, this chapter is moving quickly to draw in readers, so I can see why they didn’t give her confusion more screen-time. Especially with serialized manga, you have a handful of chapters (if that) to grab readers, so it’s gotta move fast as a matter of necessity.

I appreciate that some of the villagers mentioned “kitsune” in this section (and not just because it reminds me of all the reasons Yu Yu Hakusho is so easy to cross over with this manga). It shows that the supernatural is something the locals consider on a daily basis, which helps with worldbuilding.

Also, I wasn’t expecting the nipples on the centipede woman??? In her first panels, her breasts were covered up a bit, but now we’ve got detailed nipples. I’m guessing the scant few episodes of the series I watched were censored quite a bit. I’m wondering if there’s going to be more fanservice in this series than I expected, especially after reading that the series’ author, Rumiko Takahashi, advised the anime team to avoid using Kagome for any pantie-shots…

The centipede claims Kagome has the Shikon Jewel, and Kagome flees the village (toward “that light” in the east, which Kaede notes she shouldn’t be able to see) as the centipede woman gives chase. Elsewhere, Inuyasha wakes, stating he can smell the scent of the woman who killed him.

So I know a few things about this series already thanks to the research I did for Lucky Child, and chief among these things is that Kagome is Kikyo’s reincarnation. We can already see this tidbit coming through in obvious ways: Kagome’s resemblance to Kikyo, the Jewel being connected to her somehow, etc. Kagome seeing that light is probably a power she got from Kikyo, too.

It’s interesting that these connections are as physical as her having the same scent as Kikyo, though; scent is informed quite a bit by genetics. Obviously we’re dealing with magic and not science in this story, so I’m not looking for infallible logic when it comes to this reincarnation plot device… but it’s almost like the magic here overrides things like genetics and the extreme differences in what Kagome and Kikyo must’ve eaten in their respective times when determining their scent and appearance. The soul is more important than the body, etc. Wondering how consistent that will remain over the course of this admittedly massive story.

And that’s it for chapter 1. This was super fun! I’m guessing I’ll have more to say once we get past the set-up and are introduced to more characters, but overall I think this was a really strong start to this feudal fairy tale.

If you enjoyed this recap, feel free to buy me a Ko-Fi☕, and subscribe to the tag “lucky’s inuyasha recap” to see more!

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#lucky's inuyasha recap #inuyasha recap #inuyasha manga recap #inuyasha manga #inuyasha anime #inuyasha #kagome #higurashi kagome #kagome higurashi #kaede #kikyo #luckychildfanfic

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ranma-rewatch · 3 years

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Episode 16: Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique That Steals Heart and Soul

I can’t believe it, 2020 is finally over. Or at least, it will be on the day this goes up. From where I’m writing it, we’re nearing the finish line, but haven’t yet reached it. Part of me wishes I could have finished season 1 in the same year I started this blog, but I’m getting close to there anyway, so I shouldn’t despair. This episode...yeah, looking at the episode title, I cannot remember for the life of me what the Shiatsu Technique is. By next paragraph, I’ll have rewatched the episodes, and I’ll know. See you in a second!

That was an...interesting direction for Shampoo’s introductory arc? I mean, it’s her second episode, and she’s barely in it. I think I’ll have quite a bit to talk about, but I will say once again I’m holding off on doing a Shampoo Character Spotlight just yet, just because I want to have more material to discuss.

So, anyway, the episode starts with the Tendo’s asking Akane to wake up Ranma, and it’s made clear once again just how angry and jealous she is over the whole Shampoo situation. That doesn’t get any better when she relents but finds that Shampoo is snuggling in Ranma’s bed with him, without him knowing. She dumps water on them, activating the curse, Shampoo tries to kill Ranma, he turns back, she wants to kiss him, it’s a bunch of hijinks.

As Ranma and Akane walk to school, they bicker a little more fiercely than usual, now that the spectre of Shampoo’s affections have come into the picture. Ryoga is chilling on a nearby rooftop, and he’s actually ready to leave. He’s being very angsty, upset that Akane only likes him as P-chan, and knows that if Akane ever admits to loving Ranma, it would break his heart. He tries to head back on the road, only for him to get hit by random water throwing lady’s water, at which point Shampoo finds the piglet in the road.

Next scene, the amazon breaks down the wall of Ranma’s classroom to give him lunch, which as it turns out is Ryoga, though he hasn’t been killed or ever really cooked. Still, Akane and even Ranma are concerned, even if Ryoga doesn’t really appreciate the latter. Angry at Akane ruining her plans for Ranma several times now, Shampoo gives Akane the Kiss of Death, but Akane doesn’t back down, and is ready for a match, despite the fact that Ranma seems absolutely sure that Akane has no way of winning.

By the time Ranma gets to the place they are fighting at, the match is already over. Shampoo is gone, and Akane is unconscious on the ground. When she wakes up, she feels rather refreshed, but is more than anything confused: Akane has no clue who Ranma is. It isn’t regular amnesia, either. She still remembers her classmates, Ryoga, even Ranma’s dad.

After a lot of Ranma trying over and over again to remind Akane who he is, which even fails when Ranma activates his curse, they eventually go to Dr. Tofu. As it turns out, he knows what did this: the titular Shiatsu Technique. It actually has a much longer name, but I will stick with that. Anyway, Ranma’s dad was passing by and saw the whole thing. The move is actually just washing and styling the person’s hair, but using specific herbs and massaging scalpel pressure points to specifically remove memories of a single person.

The only way Dr. Tofu can imagine curing it would be with more Chinese herbs, so Ranma takes Akane out on the city to try and find Shampoo and get what they need. Only thing is, Shampoo shows up at the clinic right afterwards, because it turns out she’s been living there, working with Dr. Tofu.

So, that’s the episode. I’m going to start with some things I didn’t like as much, before getting into what I thought actually worked. The entire premise is just a bit...odd? Like, I have to admit I’m kind of down on amnesia plots in general, just as a matter of personal preference, but even if I wasn’t I feel like using one in the middle of a main character’s introduction arc is a tad bit strange.

I talked a bit last week about how I find that shows using jealousy as a way to show much a person cared about another is kinda sucky, so I won’t go over it again, except to say I’m still not a fan. I’m even less a fan of the fact that Akane is still being looked over as a fighter. First she never really got to fight Kodachi, and now that Shampoo is here they get...a fight we don’t see that only lasts a few seconds.

Shampoo is an amazon warrior, I get that. But I just find it annoying that they completely sideline that conflict for the amnesia one, when giving Akane an opponent to fight who is better than her would be a great way to make her grow. Even if we got a real fight and she lost, it could be something to build on later, a way to see where Akane is as a martial artist. Sadly, this series doesn’t really take Akane seriously as a martial artist, so that wasn’t ever going to happen.

Only other small thing to cover in the negatives column is that I didn’t really like the whole comedy bit of, “Uh oh, Ranma shows Akane his curse, but she thinks he’s a cross-dressing pervert!” It’s just...yeah, I don’t have the mental energy to dive into that topic, let’s just say it left a very bad taste in my mouth.

So, what did I like about the episode, then? Well, quite a lot. As much as I dislike the general idea of doing an amnesia plot here, I liked some of the specifics of it. The fact that not only had Akane forgotten Ranma, and only Ranma, but that it seemed as though she couldn’t even form new memories of him, no matter how much he or others tried to make her understand, definitely added urgency. In a good way.

I also found myself liking the technique itself, strangely enough. The fact it’s just washing the person’s hair, but with special martial arts stuff, is just kind of amazing, ridiculous in that exact Ranma 1/2 kind of way. The fact that all of the characters treat it dead seriously, none of them laughing at the idea, also helps make it even funnier.

Speaking of funny, the slapstick was pretty on-point this episode. It wasn’t quite as funny as some other episodes, but I definitely was at least smiling for a good portion of it. The whole scene of their class trying to help Akane remember Ranma was pretty funny too, in English and Japanese.

For something more heartfelt, I love that after half an episode of Ranma teasing Akane, of so many episodes of Ranma kind of being a jerk, his immediate response to her forgetting him is to do everything he can to fix it. It goes uncommented on so far, but he clearly hates the idea of Akane never knowing who he is. It could just as easily have been done with Ranma not caring in the slightest, being an aloof jerk, but this shows that Ranma does genuinely care about Akane, even if he often has a bad way of showing it.

Ooh, also, on the characters front! Ryoga! My boy! I haven’t really talked about it in a while, but I’ve been kind of unhappy with how Ryoga is being portrayed for a while now. Ever since his arc, he’s just been chilling as P-chan, only turning back to try and take Akane from Ranma in some way. He’s been very scheming and underhanded, which doesn’t fit what I remembered of his character at all.

This episode was much more like it. Ryoga fits so much better as the brooding boy, stuck in the moral dilemma of what to do about his position with Akane, scared of how she might really feel. More of this, please, and less of him making schemes to steal her.

So then, how does this episode shake out, on the whole? Well, I don’t think it’s a surprise that I wouldn’t say it’s as good as last week’s. In fact, it’s dropped quite a few places. Just barely in the top half of episodes I’ve seen thus far, I’m putting this episode just above the Ranma vs Ryoga fight and one spot below the big fight that ended Kodachi’s arc. So, here is the new ranking.

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’

Episode 12: A Woman's Love is War! The Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 15: Enter Shampoo, the Gung-Ho Girl! I Put My Life in Your Hands

Episode 9: True Confessions! A Girl's Hair is Her Life!

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 6: Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know

Episode 13: A Tear in a Girl-Delinquent's Eye? The End of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 16: Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique That Steals Heart and Soul

Episode 8: School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga

Episode 11: Ranma Meets Love Head-On! Enter the Delinquent Juvenile Gymnast!

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 5: Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

Episode 10: P-P-P-Chan! He's Good For Nothin'

Episode 14: Pelvic Fortune-Telling? Ranma is the No. One Bride in Japan

Next week, I think we’re finishing this arc? I’m not completely sure? We’ll have to see? All I know is, the penultimate episode of the season is titled “I Love You, Ranma! Please Don’t Say Goodbye”. Sadly, unlike Ranma, I do have to say goodbye, but only until next week. See you all then!

#episode 16 #Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique That Steals Heart and Soul #ranma 1/2 #ranma saotome #akane tendo #shampoo #ryoga hibiki #anime analysis #anime rewatch

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