Tumgik
#Reading them again gives me a lot of nice nostalgia.
ruershrimo · 3 months
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take me back (take me with you) | f. megumi x fem! reader | chapter 1: nostalgia
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chapter synopsis:
'“You’re my best friends forever,” you whisper to them. It’s the truth and it’s a promise. The train halts with that chuffing sound all trains produce, and your mother holds the luggage as well as your other hand as you wave to them goodbye.' --- ' It’s very late and I still have so much I want to talk about with you, but I’m really sleepy now. My eyes are barely open and my face is about to fall on the paper, I think. Just know that I'm thinking of the two of you all the time. XX
Love, [Name]
(P.S.: I still have your hair tie. Do you know if I’ll ever be able to give it back?)'
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word count: ~5k; tws: none for now
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2-4-2015
Dear Fushiguro Tsumiki, 
How are you today? I’m so sorry that we haven’t talked in so long. 
Forgive me for asking so many questions in this letter— I know too little about writing them; my mother is the one who asked me to write this saying that it would help me keep in touch with my friends or write better (either of the two, I can’t quite remember). 
Between an urban area or a rural area, which would you prefer? I’ve had to go all around the place because of my mother and I’m still all the way in Tanegashima now. If you were to go from Tokyo to where I am, you’d have to either go for a drive lasting more than 20 hours or book a three hour flight. 
I’ve only stayed in the city once— that was when we were still in the same school, and we could all fit in my aunt’s apartment since my father was outstationed for the whole year. But I digress. Personally I prefer the city. It all feels so modern, and so much less empty than how it’s like here on this little island. I mean, we have the space centre, so I can always visit that, but after the third or fourth time you’d probably get a little bored of it too. 
I wish I could go to Tokyo again one day, though. I’d definitely take the time to visit you, too. I read on a pamphlet once of how pretty everything gets in Tokyo during winter time, especially during Christmas. We don’t really celebrate Christmas here but the pamphlet reminded me of that one December when we spent it at my aunt’s, we ate lots of KFC and had a little party while my aunt sang songs and drank enough alcohol to prove she had a liver of steel a million times over. 
It’s nice to reminisce on these things, and it’s nice to reminisce on when we were still there too. I know I never told you this enough, but I was so happy when you walked up to me on the playground that day and asked if you wanted to be friends. I really, really liked your hair and wanted to ask you the same. I was just too shy to do it, and thought that if I would I’d end up messing things up and mortifying myself. I miss that and you and I miss 2010 and I miss Tokyo, and walking back from school with you and Megumi (you were like my cool older sister), and I really, really miss doing each other’s hair. It was the most joyful I’d ever been in my then 8 years of life and every day was a new fragment of happiness to keep in my heart like a picture in a locket. 
Now I really want to go there again, and maybe go to the Shinjuku-Gyoen, or see the lights at night. I wish I could stay for a whole year and see how the trees can change from being highlighted cherry blossom pinks, to lush greens with summer dew on them, to golden ginkgo leaves. I’d keep them with me, too. I hope you can take me there one day and we can see everything together again. My apologies if I’m asking too much of you. 
Also, how is Megumi? I miss him too. Is he the way he was, still? Is everything okay between you and him, still? Unlike elementary school, the boys in junior high are all taller than the girls, so since we’re the same age do you think he’d be taller than me too? Is he taller than you, or are you still one of the tallest girls in junior high like how you were in elementary school? 
It’s very late and I still have so much I want to talk about with you, but I’m really sleepy now. My eyes are barely open and my face is about to fall on the paper, I think. Just know that I’m thinking of the two of you all the time. XX
Love, [Name] 
(P.S.: I still have your hair tie. Do you know if I’ll ever be able to give it back?) 
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28-2-2011 
The train to the airport is arriving in a minute, and you’re sure your mother won’t let you just wait for the next one, so you’re stuck clutching your little luggage bag as you look at Tsumiki and Megumi, that inseparable pair, and their snowy-haired “benefactor” (whatever that means. You think he’s more like their father sometimes, though). 
Even if you knew it was inevitable and that this day would eventually come, especially with your leaving Tokyo being pulled even earlier than you thought it would, a part of you pretended that you’d still get to stay with them for a little while longer. In Tokyo you’d solidified your place and built your roots— you had friends, were doing alright in school and had even begun to be less anxious about everything. Now you’d be uprooted again, you thought as your fists trembled, Now you’d be back to square one. 
2011 had started as a busy year— your father had begun preparations to move somewhere else where you and your mother could follow him and the three of you would be together again. It was busy for Tsumiki, too, who had more school matters to tend to due to her being one of the best, most well-rounded students in her year (you didn’t know much of the details). 
…it had also begun with you seeing a dog when you were alone with Megumi once. It had these unique markings on its head, with alabaster fur and jaundice-hued eyes. And Megumi then had a panicked look in his eye, asked how and why you could see them as well as whether you’d seen them before, which you suppose caused him to be busier after that, too. Tsumiki and Megumi’s benefactor visited you and your mother the night after, asking to speak with your mother and your mother alone. He paused before you, almost shocked, you supposed, but you couldn’t see through his pitch black sunglasses (he was one weird guy, seriously— pitch black sunglasses? Really?). To which she frowned, as the man uttered that you could be a “window”, but that you could still be able to use “cursed energy”, or something. You’d heard of neither of those, and weren’t able to eavesdrop or discern anything else they’d said. 
Then nobody else mentioned the dog anymore. 
If you questioned any of them, you’d only be told that the dog was a stray, and that those markings must have been a particularly special birthmark. Yet you knew it was all a lie, but after multiple tries you gave up on wondering. 
When you’d first learned you’d be moving yet again, you cried and screamed for your mother to let you stay, and for what felt like hours. After relaying this to Tsumiki, she just put her hand on yours before hugging you— always wise, always kind, always smiling, you can’t say this enough about her. Megumi patted your back before she pulled him in as well, and for once he didn’t shove her hand away. You couldn’t even bother to be confused at that— you just continued to weep as Tsumiki comforted you, whispering, “I can’t promise I’ll always be able to talk to you, but I’ll try my best to keep in touch when I can. And even if we don’t, we’ll always be friends, okay? So we’ll meet again someday, don’t forget that, okay, [Name]?” 
A day after that Megumi told you to stay safe. Nearly ordered you to swear you’d stay safe and protected, always. He said that the world was dangerous since it was full of dangerous creatures and people who could kill you at any moment, but as long as you were on an island like the one you were moving to, you’d be fine. You furrowed your brow at that as he held your hand and felt him squeeze it— subconsciously, most likely. 
“Well,” Tsumiki starts, a tinge of sadness in her tone, her eyes slightly swollen. Megumi’s expression is unreadable but his fists are balling the fabric of his shirt and his leg is shaking. It makes you want to sob and cling to both of them and you know if you did they wouldn’t ever let go, “I guess this is goodbye, [Name]…” 
Before you realise it, tears start pooling in your eyes and soon they’re trickling down your face uncontrollably, just like the day when you’d first met her. “We’ll still be friends, right?” You won’t leave me, right? 
“Mhm!” Tsumiki smiles— she was always smiling, always, even when she was about to cry along with you. Her lip was trembling and for a second you swore you could detect that in the ever-stoic Megumi, too. “It’s okay, you don’t have to worry. We’ll be friends forever, so we’ll surely see each other soon enough,” Tsumiki assures you, close to sniffling, “We made a promise to always be friends, right? So you’ll see the two of us again in just a few years’ time no matter what.” 
“Okay,” you sniff, “I’ll see the two of you when we’re all grown up, and… and I’ll be taller, too! I promise I’ll visit Tokyo next time!” 
“...that’s good,” Megumi says, his leg still shaking discreetly, joining you and Tsumiki’s conversations in a way he’d rarely done. 
Tsumiki nods, “Yeah. That sounds really, really good, [Name]. Wait—! Let me give you something. You can call it a gift!” 
She takes it off, and her hair unfurls like flowers from bouquets after they’re untied, placing the red-ribbon hair tie securely in your palm. 
“Your hair tie?” you ask, “No, it’s okay—!” 
“Please, just… just keep it, okay? It’s a gift from Megumi and I to you, [Name]!”
Then you’re in her embrace again as you clutch the hair tie, while after a little hesitation Megumi joins in and you swear you can see their benefactor smiling— not just the smile he had when you first saw him, this one in particular seemed proud, fatherly, the same way your father did when you told him about how you were able to read through a whole book with beginners’ kanji in it. 
“You’re my best friends forever,” you whisper to them. It’s the truth and it’s a promise. 
The train halts with that chuffing sound all trains produce, and your mother holds the luggage as well as your other hand as you wave to them goodbye. 
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15-3-2011
The phone continues to vibrate in your hands as you anxiously tap your foot on the ground. You’re sure it’s going to end up sore. Frantically, you press it almost forcefully to your ear when it stops ringing. “Tsumiki, Megumi!” 
“[Name]!” 
“Are you alright? I saw the footage of the earthquake on the news, are you safe? Were you and Megumi evacuated, are you all safe? Please tell me whether you’re safe—!” 
“Megumi, it’s [Name]!— Don’t worry, we’re safe now.” 
Relieved, you sigh, “That’s good, that’s good,” you say, “It must’ve been really scary…” 
“Mhm— everything started shaking as if we were on some boat in the middle of the sea and the waves started getting wilder, and it was like the ground was rumbling.” 
You shiver. “That sounds so scary…— I’m glad you’re safe, though. I don’t know why stuff like that has to happen so quickly sometimes, and so suddenly, too. And it takes so many people along with it. I thought I could’ve lost the two of you.” 
“Well, we made a promise,” she tells you, “So don’t worry. —Oh! Megumi wants to talk to you. Here, Megumi.” 
“Are you alright?” he inquires, “Have you seen anything scary in the countryside?” 
“Huh? Oh, no, I haven’t seen anything. Why?” 
“Nothing. Just wanted to know.” Now that sounds like a bold-faced lie. 
“Uh-huh, okay.” 
-20-5-2011-
“Hello? Is this Tsumiki? I need to ask if she’s alright—” 
“Oh, little [Name]?” a man says over the phone— the benefactor, you remember, “So sorry, she’s pretty busy right now… call next time, okay?”
-21-5-2011-
“Hello? This is the Fushiguro house contact, right?” 
“Sorry, Tsumiki’s busy at the moment. Me too, actually.” 
“Megumi!” you smile, bringing the phone closer to your cheek in excitement, “How is everything?” 
“Good, to say the least,” he replies, “We’re just a bit busy. Sorry, but I’ve to hang up soon.” 
“Oh, oh-okay! Bye bye, Megumi!” 
“Bye.” 
-13-7-2011-
“Hi, [Name] speaking. I called twice last month and a few days ago. Are you still busy?” 
“A little— well, Tsumiki is,” the voice on the other side says. You know it’s not Tsumiki, not yet at least. “She’s really sorry, [Name].” 
“No, no, it’s okay! I don’t want to bother any of you either, so thank you for telling me!” 
“Well, if you want I can try to get Tsumiki right now,” the voice offers. 
“Really? Thank you so much!”
The pause that ensues after is followed by the fifteen happiest minutes of your life since February this year. 
“[Name]? Is that you?” 
“Yeah! Hi, Tsumiki!” 
She gasps slightly in the way that children do when in awe or when someone finds out they’ll be eating their favourites for lunch. “Hello!” 
“How are you?” you ask.
“I’m good! Really busy, though, so I’m really sorry if I can’t call you as often… but everything’s been alright. You?” 
“Mm,” you hum, nodding your head even if she can’t see it, “I’m good, too!” 
-18-8-2011- 
You don’t know when you started heading to the phone and keying in the number, doing everything but ringing it. You’re busy, too— you’ve less time now to ring them up, and the last time you did, Tsumiki still apologised but sounded a little distant, just that one bit too busy to be able to tend to you. One step farther away from you. And Megumi was seldom ever the one by the phone. Still, you could understand why. You supposed they always had something going on that you never understood or never asked about. That would explain the incident with the unusually marked dog. No, they weren’t sketchy, but there was definitely something they must have known about the world that you didn’t. 
Now you don’t know if you can even muster the courage to talk to you or write to you. The distance between you has widened exponentially and you hesitate just a bit more every time you hold the phone and press its buttons. 
Then the phone rings, and after you hesitate once more, you put it down. 
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9-2-2016
If there’s one thing you remember from about half of your life ago, it’s that your first crush was probably Fushiguro Megumi. 
You’re honestly surprised it wasn’t actually his sister. That over Tsumiki and her abundant compassion and beautiful soul, you’d feel your heart leaping and overflowing with warmth because of him instead. Constantly angry, never for once not irascible, always serious and aloof. You’re sure that if you’d met him now instead of back then you’d find him some asshole who you just wouldn’t be able to understand— why’d he always have to seem so angry? 
Yet it was a struggle, trying to understand him. It really was. Maybe you didn’t really have to understand anyone, much less Megumi. He never ceased being so serious and easily angered but you could tell from his eyes that he must have not intended to hurt anyone; half of the time you understood him: like when you could see that glint in your eyes that replaced what would have been a ghost of a smile on his lips, the other half of the time you didn’t: like whenever he shoved Tsumiki’s hand off his shoulder, and Tsumiki just continued to smile. Now, that really confused you. You’d thought about that for days before coming to the conclusion that you’d probably never find an answer. 
Conversely, Tsumiki was kind and patient. If you’d met her now you’d have fallen in love with her immediately and she probably wouldn’t even notice in that terribly goodhearted, unknowingly innocent way of hers. 
In retrospect it should have been more obvious: he scowled at you and if it were anyone else who did so to you back then you would have merely cried and closed in on yourself, yet you never did when it came to him. You just continued to stick to him like those kind of glue residuals left behind after you take a sticker off a table or a price tag from the back cover of a book. You were probably annoying like that. And to some degree you suppose he’d given you his own form of special treatment by letting you do so anyway. 
If you’d known what you were feeling back then you probably wouldn’t have admitted anything, anyway. Probably you would’ve kept it all within you, quiet and unnoticed, trying to drown yourself into life’s backdrop like an insect engulfed in resin. 
But you’re older now, more mature and slightly more outspoken; you’re going to try to be confident and meet someone, this one person alone who you can only meet now without his sister there just because you used to have a crush on him and— 
You don’t think you’d be able to admit anything either. Yet to yourself he’s the first. He always will be, and you’re not sure whether that sounds pathetic, miserable or disgustingly, hopelessly delusional, considering you don’t even want to pursue anything yourself. 
It’s going to be Valentine's Day soon and you’re quite sure that most of your school friends are making Valentine’s chocolates for their boyfriends or their crushes. In all truthfulness, you might as well not feel blue about it— you’re 14, that’s still pretty young, you don’t have to rush things like relationships or confessions through and you’ve been told to focus on your studies instead— but the thought that you’re going to be alone is still kind of depressing. 
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10-4-2015
Dear [Name], 
Don’t apologise— it’s partially my fault. I ended up being really busy that year due to something we had to deal with. 
But anyway, it’s been so long! I miss you every day as well! 
Megumi and I’ve been great, and I hope you’ve been too. It’s been a long four years since we last talked (it’s already 2015, how time flies!), but you still sound the same. It’s like you’ve got better handwriting now, though! 
Aside from the fact that I’ve been swarmed with stuff to do (I joined the student council, yay!), junior high has been okay, to say the least— and hey, I’m still pretty tall, you know? Plus, a lot of the teachers say I’m surprisingly tall for my age, heheh. Things are going the same as always. I’ve got accustomed to the loads of homework we have now too. But it’s like Megumi’s been having a problem lately— he’s getting into fights, beating people up, things like that. I wouldn’t call him a delinquent, though: moreso someone who beats the delinquents up instead. I know what he wants to do and why he does it, but I don’t want him to fight other people and get himself or others hurt. 
I’ve tried to tell him this before, to be honest. I’ve tried it many times but each time I must sound more annoying to him than the last— I don’t want to force him to do anything, though, and I understand that part of why he does this is because of his own ideals. I just want him to not raise his hand against others. So I have to resort to this. 
Sorry for spilling it all on paper like this… I just wanted someone to talk about this to, and I thought you would listen to me, I suppose. Sometimes it’s hard— sometimes I really do feel like his parent instead of his sister and it makes me feel so lonely, really. 
Oh dear, what do I do to make him hear me, seriously… 
Anyway, I totally get what you mean— I’ve stayed in Tokyo all my life, but I’m sure that if I was uprooted and had to live somewhere else I’d have lots of trouble. Tokyo to me is my home, and my whole life is here. Moving somewhere else would probably shatter it completely, I think. 
And please visit when you can! Maybe if your mother allows it, we can come to us instead, one day! And it’s not like we can’t visit you either. Our door’s always open. Once this school year ends, perhaps we could stay with you for a night or two! (If you would have us, of course). 
Besides that, I don’t really have much to say. I did have a good day today, though. I went out with some of my friends from school after our classes ended and we ate some donuts. They were so tasty!!! Honestly, whenever you have the time, I really recommend going there with some of your friends after school!! 
Regardless, I think this is all I have to say in this letter. I promise I’ll try my utmost best to always set aside time to write to you!!! Get some good rest whenever you can, okay? Miss you always! 
Sincerely, 
Tsumiki 
(P.S.: Do you have an email or a phone number of your own yet? If so, please shoot me an email or give me a call! I can reply more there since I have those now and can use those instead of always relying on our house contact.  You can keep the hair tie, too, by the way! It can be like a memoir (*^▽^*). And it’s for you, after all!) 
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13-3-2015 
You remember seeing a little dog one time back in your hometown when you were around six or seven years old. 
It was a tiny little thing, with the fluffiest black fur you’d ever stroked, and though every second it was barking louder than your mother could ever handle, it was adorable and seldom threatened to bite anyone. And it liked you— it never barked at you and let you shower it with pets despite how much it had frightened you initially. 
He was irritable but calm, someone who frowned and scolded but never raised his hand against anyone— not even that “benefactor” of his who you’d never heard him talk about without mentioning how much he’d like to punch him someday. You genuinely don’t think he’s ever done so, either. He doesn’t seem like the type: from what you remember, if he were to think he’d hurt someone he knew or evidently cared about— as much as he’d like to deny this, however— he would blame everything on himself, you think. He’d feel the guilt rake through his body and lacerate his skin, piercing through his ribs. Yet he’d keep living, and he wouldn’t tell anyone about it; he’d be so quietly miserable. 
That’s what he was like: quietly miserable. There’s a certain sorrow in the way he does things; you could tell this from the start despite how young and inept at articulating yourself you were at that age. But you’d always known and sensed that there was a sadness running through him, coursing through his veins, one that you could feel like heat from the warm blood beneath one’s skin. 
Today you wonder if he’s the same, if he still seems like the saddest person you’ve ever met, if he still seems like he would have been the saddest and most doleful had he not always tried to act as if otherwise, living defiantly against it. If he hadn’t always been able to keep living while suffering quietly like a child with nothing but muffled sobs in the desolate corner of an empty classroom. 
But at eight you thought maybe you could liken Megumi to a puppy. Or something like that. He certainly reminded you of that all-bark-no-bite puppy from the past. You wondered how it was now, whether it was still being fed and taken care of. 
Tsumiki was vastly different, though— the kindest girl you ever knew, with neat, soft hair and the type of handwriting all the girls in her class wanted to have. She was always smiling, always kind— you thought she was immensely wise for a girl around your age; you always wanted to be as amazing of a person as she was: always hardworking, always clever, always kind and forgiving, no matter what. 
…you don’t even know why you’re thinking about some kids you met once who you’ll probably never see again. Just two kids who you never kept in touch with. Or at least never tried to. You had their contact— you tried talking to Tsumiki a few times, but for some reason she could only ever reply once or twice (she apologised profusely for not being available any time she picked up as well), and as time passed the way the distance between the two of you grew, by the summer of 2011 you’d begun holding a telephone close to your ear without keying any number in it, as if clinging onto it would provide you with any sort of closure. 
You miss them, though: smiley Tsumiki and frowny Megumi. 
Leaning back into the mattress, you trace your fingers over the hair tie on your wrist, fingers rubbing against each thread of fabric in its red ribbon. 
Could you even talk to them or face them anymore after ceasing contact with them for years, though? Heck, you don’t even know whether they’re alive or not. Would they be angry at you? Disappointed? Feeling as if they’d been wronged or left behind? 
Still, you miss them. You really do. 
Your mother’s calls bring you downstairs, and you eat until your stomach is full before washing your plate. The only other step in your routine now is to head up and retreat to your room again. 
“Come down, [Name], could you?” your mother says, interrupting your trip back up, “I just want to talk to you for a second.” 
Now, that… that was a bit strange. Your mother rarely ever asked you to talk to her. You spent enough time with each other as is, doing almost everything else besides being in school or at work in the same house, even if it never meant asking about each others’ day. It just was never part of the conversations you had with each other. You’d ask where she wanted you to throw things or how you could cook something, but she’d never go out of her own way to learn about your own day since you were about nine or ten, and it wasn’t like you ever did either. Perhaps she was trying to make the effort to? 
“What is it?” 
“You like writing, honey?” 
“I mean, I guess so?” you reply hesitantly, “As long as it’s not for school or my grades don’t rely that heavily on a task, writing can be pretty fun.” 
“Good, good,” she remarks, nodding her head, “Actually, I recently found something you may be interested in online. You still have your friend and her brother’s house contact, right?” she questioned. Instantly you know which friend she’s referring to and say yes— how could you not, after all? “Ever heard of pen pals, darling?” 
Which brings you to where you are now: your mother leaning by the door frame of your room as you’re hunched over the table writing the letter. Surprisingly, she really seemed to care about this, even preparing the prettiest paper you’d ever seen, with pastel pink patterns printed on the paper’s edges, and though you struggled with what to say it first the words have begun spilling out of you despite how late it’s started to get. 
You wonder whether she’ll reply. She probably will, though, but a fragile part of yourself surmises that she may not, and although you’d like to talk to her again you fear that because of the time that’s passed things may just not be the same anymore. You wonder if the years have made the three of you infinitely different than your eight and nine year old selves. 
But that was growth, right? So you had to grow and learn how to talk to her, learn how to face her without thinking that she’d be angered or frustrated, or anything like that. And even if she did, even if it would hurt you, you’d be able to live. The world would keep spinning and all that would be lost were two friends who you lived without for about four years, ceteris paribus. Who could claim that the seventy or so years after those four would be any different? 
That’s why you took the pen and paper and started to write, telling yourself you’d face it and finish the letter no matter what. Even if it was short. Even if it wouldn’t be enough to express four years’ worth of unspoken words, from funny things that had happened in school, or what you thought of whatever was on the news, or how your parents had gotten you a new phone. 
As your eyelids gradually grow heavier, you watch how you fill two whole pages in the handwriting you have— you wish it could have been at least a tad bit more similar to Tsumiki’s, who never needed any boxes or lines to write completely straight and uniform for each character as if copying excerpts from finely printed books to the letter. 
Soon, you’re reaching the end of the letter, determined to keep the handwriting legible even if you feel like plopping your head on the table and falling asleep— to some degree you still need it to look presentable, after all. 
“(P.S.: I still have your hair tie. Do you know if I’ll ever be able to give it back?)” 
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misslycoris · 2 months
Text
SIGNED, ALASTOR
A little snippet of the latest chapter, if you plan to read a bit more, consider giving us a visit sweetie ♡~
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THE RADIO DEMON DOESN'T MIND GROCERY TRIPS
Can of soup, can of soup, more cans of questionable soup, it was an aisle filled with nothing but canned soup. You sometimes question what that says about the current state of humanity, what with the abundance of premade soups. It helps though, and saves time and money. You took two cans and placed them in your basket, tucking your wings in as you moved to another aisle, George preferred home-cooked meals anyway so you wouldn't need to bother about it so much. You always wondered how the ones who made these cans of soup last so long inside metal cans, aren't they supposed to rust or something? You were mostly sure that the reason why most of these canned goods tasted shit wasn't because of rusting, just that the people who made it didn't put the taste into account more than profit. From one aisle to the next, you trudged on to check everything off your list.
"Well look who it is! A familiar set of wings, and an even more familiar face!" Then there came the jovial tune of a jazz band playing on the radio, you didn't even need to turn around to see who it was. "About time I got bothered again." You mumbled, focused on finding the right kind of seasoning. "Busy with the groceries?" He asked, you hummed in response, grabbing a random box of spices. "Ah ah, not that." He said, taking the bundle out and instead grabbing a bundle of different spices. "These taste better and for a much cheaper price no less!" You took a moment to stare at him questioningly, that makes for another surprise. "You seem, experienced. Been here before?" You asked, unsure but made no move to remove whatever he just placed inside your basket. "Nope! But it's a sure choice of mine! You can never trust a box to deliver something with value after all!"
You grabbed a random brand of pasta noodles only to have it snatched and replaced by Alastor. "This one is an insult to the Italians, my friend, I suggest you keep yourself far away from it unless you prefer your pasta soggy and falling apart at the seams." He said, pointing towards the now returned box of pasta. You nodded your head, checking the pasta off your list.
"You seem to know a lot about these." You pointed towards the shelf, Alastor twirled his staff and raised his chin proudly. "I happen to be quite familiar with the art of groceries! Reminds me of the good old simple days with my mother!" You nodded, looking for the next item on your list. "Your mother? That seems, oddly nice of you. I'm guessing you had good memories with her?" You took two brands of parmesan and showed it to Alastor. "Only but the best! If you think I'm any good with these, you haven't seen her in her element! She knows a good ingredient when she sees one!" He pointed towards the parmesan you were holding to your right, you returned the other back to the shelf and chucked his cheese of choice in your basket. "She seems like a great person." You meant it, with how he seemed so fond of the woman you can't even imagine just how kind she was. "That she was my friend, tough but with a gentle touch to her." Alastor hummed as he stalked along, finding a sense of nostalgia as he saw you searching for whatever it was you were asked to buy. Really, he could almost see a younger him dragging his mother around, eager and curious. Stars behind his eyes as he hoped to get things his family at the time couldn't afford, yet his dear old mother never said anything. The woman only smiled and asked Alastor to be patient and that she'd get it for him later, she sometimes did and Alastor never knew how she managed to.
He remembered all those times that she had enough to cook something special for the both of them, him eating his mother's jambalaya while listening to the radio with her. He never could quite replicate her recipe, he always got close but never could get that spark that it had when she made it. Did he miss something? But he was always there when she made it, he had the recipe memorized by heart, the measurements to a tee, and all the small tricks his mother taught him he kept under his sleeves. So what was it? Was there something his mother hadn't told him before she died? Or did it taste special because she was the one who made it?
You glanced at Alastor who was now rendered silent, the music following him now muted. You didn't want to interrupt his thoughts so you let him be, giving a moment to think about whatever it was he was thinking. His mother seemed to be a good person uninvolved with what he did to get to Hell, so that would mean that his mother may have been kept in the dark, his mother found out, or his mother died early on before he started going awry. You were certain about one thing, however, a mother like that would've never wanted her son to turn out the way he did. "I wonder which," you paused, staring at the two similarly looking products. It was then that Alastor snapped out of his trance and chose for you. "This company has a habit of copying others, so my best bet would be on the other one." His voice held no ulterior motives or malice, just him providing his thoughts and bits of advice with the intention of helping you. You went through the list with ease, Alastor on your side as he gave you a lecture on what spice to use on what type of dish.
"Don't be afraid to use spices, don't skimp on it either! It gives a needed zing to your dish! If the recipe calls for something to give it a spicy kick don't sprinkle in a few and call it a day!" He exclaimed as you got in line to pay. "What if you can't handle spice well?" You asked, you didn't want to be the first person to kill someone with capsaicin. "Then you add as much as you can without scaring them off, they'll eventually learn to handle it with enough dishes!" You didn't notice it and neither did he, but the people in front went out of their way to move, letting you and Alastor go in front of the cashier first despite being at the back of the line. One of them even eyed you intently.
"Does that work?" You asked, setting down your basket with Alastor helping you take the contents out. "You'd be surprised with how fast it happens so long as you slowly increase the spice with each meal!" You nodded attentively, making a mental note of his advice. "Have, have a nice day!" The cashier stammered, practically shoving the paper bag on you. "But I haven't paid yet," Alastor tilted his head at the quivering state of the poor bloke as you tried to balance yourself at the sudden weight shoved at you. "You have, yes you have. Please have a good day." You raised a brow at what he said, but as you looked at him he stared at you with the most terrified expression. "Please get out." He mouthed silently, eyes spasming as he put up a desperate smile. Right, you were with Alastor. Overlord and certified nightmare.
Before you knew it you were out the door, the bell ringing as you held the bag between your arms. "Well, I didn't expect to get these all for free." You laughed almost unbelieving of what had just happened. "Do you always get free service when you're that terrifying?" Alastor almost seemed pleased with himself, a small smile adorned his face. "Well, who am I to refuse such an act of kindness in Hell? People can be quite decent on some days!" He joked, and you laughed along with him. "In any case, I suppose I should thank you for it. Count my blessings right?" The crowd cheers, Alastor grinning wide. "Exactly! You're getting the hang of it!" You shook your head, it was about time you left so you bid your goodbyes and stretched your wings out.
"Should I expect you to come and bother me again next week?" He guffawed, a swing beat loud in the distance.
"You know me well already my friend!"
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EDITED: Edited out a part that lacked context and added additional tags
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mtkay13 · 1 year
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Qin Huaizhang and his pupils! I always love thinking a lot about Siji manor and how it was, how it started, etc. I really wanted to make an illustration reflecting a nostalgia of these times. More Siji manor rambling below >>>
I am going through a crisis regarding my headcanons about it, though. As in, I can't be satisfied by what the book gives us, and clearly I got too invested in the backstory I made up to just accept giving it up based on some random infos sprinkled here and there. Here are the named characters that I assume are all from Siji:
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(Duan Pengju isn't there because, for good balance, I thought it would be nice to have him as an agent recruited later on by ZZS.) QHZ is obviously the founder of the manor, right? According to the book (which gives us very little), he's an oddball, and he could have gone about with only two disciples-- or very young ones... But simultaneously, we do get informations in extra 5 about Siji manor's wide reach and activities. It's hard to believe that ZZS was the oldest disciple (as it is suggested in TYK in that one line where he's said to having been a dashixiong.....); he was 15 by the time of QHZ's death, so could QHZ really have operated alone with an army of tiny kids before that? Sorry, Priest, I will have to fight with canon lines here. I like to imagine that QHZ had associates within Siji-- he was the main founder, but he wasn't working alone. Old Bi, who's mentioned in TYK, chapter 1, could have been one of said associates. Lu Yu....... So Lu Yu is from Qi Ye, and up until recently he was my anchor when it came to justifying my idea that no, ZZS and LJX weren't the sole disciples in Siji Manor (since, in TYK, ZZS says it was "just the two of them"-- but it could be metaphorical!! and Lu Yu being there so early on in Qi Ye could be a proof of that!!). Turns out, the infos we get from Extra 5, once again, make me feel like it's unlikely that it was really literally only ZZS and LJX, but-- Anyway; I did picture Lu Yu as being older than ZZS, probably a shixiong, but it's also mentioned in Qi Ye that he his technique was "worthy of ZZS' teaching"...... which makes it harder to justify him being a shixiong. I mean, some mental gymnastics can probably make it work, and after all this is only a remark coming from Jing Qi's narration, BUT. Bichen suggested he could have been trained later on by ZZS as more people left Siji in disagreement with ZZS' own politics... so why not? I like to think that ZZS was QHZ's only disciple-- the others, shixiongs and shidis, were disciples of QHZ's associates rather than his own direct disciples. Maybe he didn't want any, until he met with ZZS and figured that the kid was worthy enough of being his disciple. LJX would have been taken in by QHZ as an additional trial or training method for ZZS-- because teaching is the best way of putting your own knowledge to the test. ALL OF THIS TO SAY, i do imagine that ZZS and LJX had a peculiar relationship with QHZ that other disciples didn't have, and that it was just the two of them from the moment ZZS was chosen by QHZ to become the next leader. Bi-shu... could have been reluctant at first, then decided to believe in ZZS until years later when he figured he couldn't do TC anymore and it was time for him to go? Anyway--- I could go on for hours bc clearly I have nothing better to do w my life than to muse about some random background storylines LOL
Thanks for reading!
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simpforpeterp · 7 months
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Simon Petrikov x Reader
Nostalgia
summary: a short but sweet one shot in which you’re simon’s neighbor, a human. and human’s in a post apocalyptic world can find funny ways to connect
warnings: usage of beautiful but not gender specific, the briefest mention of 9/11????
word count: 1.3k
author’s note: i really want to see more simon x reader so i’ll be the change i want to see in the world /j but anyway this isn’t the fic i had the dream about but something different also if you spot the djats reference i will give you a million kisses also PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SEND IN REQUESTS!!!
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You stroll outside, shutting the door behind you and it’s sunny. It’s nice, it’s not blinding and the wind is blowing a slight chill. You make your way to the side of your house where your trash cans are and immediately see something in the window next door. Your neighbor is sitting there reading. You look down for a moment and when you look back up, he’s looking back. You wave and smile to not be mean or anything and he puts up his pointer finger before setting his book down and walking away.
Fuck. You didn’t want to interact with him today. And maybe not ever. It’s not anything personal. You mean it in the most honest way that anyone could mean it when you say that it’s not him, it’s you. It feels too awkward. Is he gonna talk about the Ice King? Is he gonna cry if it gets brought up?
Within seconds, his door is open and he steps down into the grass between the houses. He walks closer and smiles at you again despite the slightly awkward silence and the crunching of the grass as he walks closer.
“Hi, neighbor.” He grins.
“Hi, how’s it going?” You calmly reply.
“Good, good. Have we met?” He asks.
“Um…sort of.” You tilt your head and squint the slightest bit.
“Was I…” He starts but can’t seem to finish, it’s too much.
“Yeah.” You nod awkwardly.
“Oh. Well, I hope I- he, didn’t make too bad of an impression.” He laughs nervously.
“He kind of did but you’re doing well so far.” You laugh and he can’t help but join, looking at the ground for a moment.
“You’re human, right?” He asks.
“Yeah, sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“I’m a witch. A human witch.” She explains.
“Is that how you survived the mushroom war?” He asks.
“No, I just stood out in the open and yelled until anyone and everyone could hear me and come find me.” You smirk.
“Really? That doesn’t sound like it would help you at all.” His face is pure and utter confusion.
“I was kidding. I’m Y/N, Y/N L/N.” You reach your hand out to him.
“I’m Dr. Simon Petrikov. It’s nice to meet you, I’ve seen you through the window but I’ve never said hi or anything. That wasn’t meant to be creepy, I just mean, shit. You leave the blinds open a lot and I like to read by my window. I’m aware that this doesn’t sound any less creepy than before, I’m sorry.” He sighs.
“Well, Dr. Simon Petrikov, it’s nice to meet you too. And it’s a good thing I’m usually fully clothed then or else this would probably be more awkward. Anyway, I’ll be right back, I’m gonna take these out.” You point to the trash and recycling bins.
“Here, I can help.” He puts one hand on the trash can, ready to pull it.
“Oh, thank you.” You smile before putting your hand on the recycling can.
You silently drag the cans onto the driveway and then to the end. He watches you in the corner of his eye as they do. You’re beautiful. And maybe it’s just the way the sun is shining to make you look effortlessly radiant but you look incredible. He had noticed that about you before but never like this.
You look at him as the two of you leave them at the end with a smile. And you do it with no shame. You look at him and smile like you’ve never had to worry about the awkward dance of one person looking and the other looking away, that whole back and forth. Like you’ve got this natural way of holding his gaze, as if it's a secret language only you share, leaving him silently longing for that same self-assured charm. You’re pulling him in like a moth to a flame. And it’s so weird, he doesn’t understand it.
“Do you know a lot about me already?” He abruptly turns to ask you as you place the bins side by side.
“Should I?” You ask with the smallest laugh that pulls him in more.
“I- I don’t know.” He shrugs.
“Are you busy right now? Other than the reading and watching me by the window?” You joke.
“No, I’m not just, and I’m sorry about that again.” He replies sheepishly.
“Wanna get breakfast with me? Or coffee? Whatever it is that you take with your books.” You grin.
“That would be nice,” A small smile grows across his face. “There’s a good mom-and-pop place down the road if you want to go there.”
“Okay, cool. Let me just go get my bag.” You nod before quickly turning to go back to your house. You do a quick little run to the door before shutting it. Simon just uses this opportunity to make sure he doesn’t forget his wallet inside.
“Table for two?” The hostess asks and Simon almost shivers. He hasn’t heard that in a minute. You nod with a hum and a smile before the older woman grabs two menus and silverware wrapped in napkins.
She leads the way to a small booth by a window, showing the beautiful day outside. You slide into the booth as Simon does the same across from you. Their waitress immediately asks for your drink orders while placing the menus down.
“I’ll just have coffee, please.” Simon smiles.
“Can I please have an iced tea with three lemons?” You ask and Simon can’t help but smile wider before the waitress heads back to the kitchen.
“Three lemons? That’s specific.”’
“Iced tea, three lemons. Club soda, two limes. Martini with two olives and an onion. I'm particular about my drinks,” She laughs. “I'm particular about a lot of things.”
“I am too. Just wait until my coffee gets here.” He grins.
He plays into your every word, your every topic of conversation. You remind him of home. Of the way things used to be before the mushroom war. And you have this confidence that he can’t understand. In simpler terms, you’re absolutely enchanting him.
The conversation is effortless. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the back and forth and talk about things from your past. Things that no one else here could possibly remember. The nonsensical chatter is addicting to him. He hates to admit it but damn, has he missed feeling human.
You talk about what could be considered the dumbest things. You discuss the best and the worst of the nineties. Your favorite shows, songs, movies, just anything and everything pop culture. You even, of course, had to talk about the mandatory question of where you were during 9/11. Simon was always so focused on other things, he’s never talked about pop culture like this. But because no one ever understands certain niche things from the past, he’s bringing up everything.
Simon would be the last person you’d expect to even say the name Paris Hilton but in a few minutes, he’s talking about her. But he admittedly doesn’t have too much to say about things that aren’t in his line of work or other more academic things. Once the OJ Simpson trial gets brought up, he has more to say.
Your food comes and goes, neither of you really caring about that. You get wrapped up in this. You talk and talk and talk and it never seems to run dry. It’s nice.
“This has been…incredible.” Simon sighs.
“It really has been. I miss talking about stupid shit like this.” You laugh.
“I didn’t even realize how much I missed it until today.” He can’t help but smile at you.
“We should do this again. This was…really nice.” You tell him.
“I would love to.”
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ad-hawkeye · 2 months
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wanted to know if you ever got to read artem’s pool/8 ball card i thought the event story was cute but i was a wee bit curious on your thoughts on the card
I JUST FINISHED IT!!!!!!!!! AS WE SPEAK!!! i have a whole list of my thoughts HAHA SORRY FOR THE RAMBLING IN ADVANCE
"artem had to join a pool club for work" is one of the better excuses to give him a new hobby, ill begrudgingly give them that
im glad artem still has the alcohol tolerance of a squirrel. do NOT let this man go off by himself he will accidentally take a sip of alcohol and then need a time out in the corner.
"is it that obvious?" yes, artem.
mc making sure artem eats a fucking meal is rly cute LMFAO
mc ordering artem a non-alcoholic drink is also sweet. i remember i wrote a fic (all the way back in like 2021 after reading atmospherics) where i wrote abt artem going out of his way to drink mocktails after all of that. genuinely really happy to see that's canon.
i've noticed newer ssrs are just. shorter? first year ssrs tended to be like, over an hour long when put on auto. but newer ones are only 40 mins on auto. laaaame. but then again with the overall writing quality, maybe they're just putting us out of our misery.
ah yes. artem getting surprised by mc kissing his cheek in public. what a sly sex chad. did they get the only good artem writer left at hoyoverse on this card or something
artem being exhausted from socializing is a mood. girl same.
the way these two talk about alcohol sends me. dear god artem we can let you have a sip oh god. OH JESUS CHRIST ARTEM NO --
this story is cute enough to make me sad. godddd. it's really nice to see artem more casual and open, esp since this story is more in character.
THE IRISH GOODBYE?? ARTEM LMFAO.
mutuals meet me in the secret passage of the pool place
sneaking out by running is giving the same energy as his revisiting youth ssr where they decided to sneak to the school's roof and hide from the security guards lmfao. ah. the nostalgia.
AND this ssr acknowledges artem's love of movies?? YES
STOP KISSING IN THE STORAGE ROOM GUYS THE CINEMA STAFF IS GOING TO FIND YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! DEAR GOD
"this should be filmed in slow motion" LMFAO
JUMPSCARE. JUMPSACRE. NEW ARTEM EXPRESSION. JUMPSCARE. HOLY FUCK
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i sincerely think a full on artem smile is all i ever wanted back in the day i cant believe i fucking got it in the POOL CARD OF ALL CARDS
"was something set up incorrectly?" "[artem pout] probably."
mc taking a pic of his stupid distracted expression is amazing and him getting blushy about it is even funnier
"was it too sour?" "yeah...."
thank god pathetic artem is back
nevermind he is licking her arm like a dog. tot's fascination with licking will never fail to amuse me. this is like when my dog licks my leg in the middle of the night
if one sip of alcohol fucks him up this bad i'd hate to see what happens when he's a few shots in. mr wing breaking it down sloppy style on the floor (not clickbait)
STOP LICKING EACH OTHER YOU FREAKS
i think artem should trip a few more times it's funny
this is the closest we've gotten to artem fessing up about atmospherics i can fucking taste it
NOOOO THEY FUMBLED IT. NO ATMOSPHERICS MENTION. ENDING IT ALL. GOD DAMN IT
i can forgive this bc the running joke of them missing scenes in a movie is back
all in all as far as post second anniversary cards go, this one wasn't bad at all and had a lot of cute moments. a few weird ones (which is to be expected at this point ig), but mostly cute!! it made me miss my fav artem cards but in a good way. siiigh ;_;;;
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wonuumelody · 10 months
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“ Feelings I would associate with seventeen” :
An : I really wanted to write that. I also wondered what others thought.
Seungcheol Woozi Hoshi : Modesty
When I think of these three, I really think of modesty. They work so hard but still remain humble and continue to work again and again. Woozi produces for the group, Seungcheol takes on the role of leader and sometimes hides his emotions to take care of his boys and hoshi works extremely hard for the dance level of the group. « Modesty is moderation, restraint and even reserve in self-esteem » , which is very similar to our 3 leaders. They're wonderful and really admirable.
Wonwoo Mingaho Vernon : Calmness
I think the definition and synonyms of calm fit very well with these boys. Quiet, serene, peaceful. When I see them I feel soothed, soothed in the sense that they have I find a very relaxing aura, although mingaho is sometimes very believed in his way of speaking I find that he exudes a sweet aura. Similarly for vernon, it is often quite calm and can expressive even if sometimes it is quite the opposite. For wonwoo I think there is no debate, her presence and her personalities are relaxing.
Dino Mingyu Dokyeom : happiness
They make me happy. When I think of happiness, even though I think of all the seventeen members it's these 3 that come out. We all know that seokmin is the sunshine of the group, I also put dino because he makes us laugh so much when he gets annoyed by the others. Then mingyu, he's so nice and pure, contrary to his appearance, he's tall and very sturdy, but his personality is sunny. « Happiness is, in the common sense, a pleasant emotional state »
Seungkwan Jun Joshua Jeonghan : Nostalgia
I don't know why, but they remind me a lot of the feeling of nostalgia. But not a bad nostalgia, a sweet, pleasant nostalgia. When I see them, I think to myself that in the past they were sweet beings, maybe even supernatural like fairies or whatever. They really inspire me with a feeling of sweetness and affection.
_______________________________________________
Hello everyone, as always thank you for reading my content, it's makes me rlly happy :( Do not hesitate to drop by my Ask box to give me ideas of things you would like to see for example! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Love ya <3 Melody
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mobiused · 5 days
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follow-up on the lyrics!
i'll begin this by saying that so many times k-pop songs lyrics are a bit non-sensical (maybe this is a particular of title tracks as i don't usually go search for the translations of b-sides from other groups unless i'm very interested in that particular song) so my bar for good k-pop lyrics is LOW low
so i'm proud of the loona girls that they managed to pull-off lyrics that actually make sense (points down for Yeojin's Moonlight on this one tho. i do think she managed to put in some beautiful imagery and sentences in there - idk how they sound in korean tho :/ - but as a all, and with a bit more of experience, maybe she'll get more cohesive! and i did like that the lyrics followed a logical line of someone reaching enlightenment and i guess self-confidence? but i did need her commentary to understand the message. i do think she has LOTS of potential, and want her to move out of the moon imagery)
as for vivi's he said i said, it was fine! cute! i can't actually giving an unbiased opinion bc i thought (and was very enthusiastic about) that it was going to be a song about gossiping? and when i wasn't i was sooo disappointed, this was totally my fault tho, but i can't look at those lyrics without thinking how nice it would be for songs to move out of the love theme for a bit
gowon's (and yves'!) truman show.... nice! a breakup song, and once again we get to see yves' lyricism. i only pity that this means we still don't have a solo-written gowon song! unfortunately i haven't been able to check out truman show (...the movie) yet so i don't really know how the lyrics connect with it.......
hyunjin's starlight! NOW we are getting to the good parts. hyunjin had already proved herself with day by day, in which she made a pretty nice use out of the structure of the song and her vocabulary and symbolism to write very good lyrics! she seems to particularly enjoy those feelings of nostalgia mixed with hope for better days. can't wait to see what she writes out of those themes, but this only cemented my trust in her lyricism. i'll add that i was very surprised when the loossemble track list came out and she had written dbd by herself, as i previously had no idea she even was interested in lyric writting and suddenly here she is with a honestly beautiful song thats a message to fans and her members....wow
getting to the end, hyeju's girl's night.... now THAT's the gem of the crown for me. not only is it a understandable and easy to get message (low bar!) but it connected to sensitive's message and to the values the loossemble girls have said again and again they want to partake in their songs.... not only that, it's catchy and SO hyeju. love the "ooh i wanna fight" in the chorus particularly. definetely she was the one who surprised me the most in a very very good way. i can't wait to see the girls growing more confident and to diversify their topics in the lyrics
<3
Sorry for leaving this so long but I loved reading this!! Thank u so much sharing your thoughts and I'm excited for more songs by them
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papermonkeyism · 1 month
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Me age 13: "omg, this is the best book ever I love it so much!"
Me age 20: "ugh, this is the worst book I've ever read, I hate it."
Me age 36: "this is a DnD campaign."
So I made it through the second book of the Icewind Dale trilogy, Streams of Silver, in my nostalgia trip.
And yeah. It's a game of DnD.
Specifically, it's a bunch of Tolkien fan boys having fun playing a fantasy fighting game and being awesome, and, yeah, it does its job.
It's still lacking in things I like in stories, but I can see where this is coming from. I prefer characters with more emotional depth and them having more natural feeling interactions, and deeper world building. But this is a game for people who like feeling awesome in a traditionally heroic way, and experience similar stuff as with their favourite books.
The characters are more archetype-ish/stereotypey, because they're written as player characters instead of complex people. There are A LOT of bad guys and evil creatures that the heroes have to fight, because DnD is a game built around a fighting mechanism, and campaigns are built with Random Encounters so the players can engage with the mechanics of the game they're playing. So this area has orcs in it, that will fight you. This bit here has human barbarian tribes that will fight you (and have some Unfortunate Implications about "noble savages" and their belief system being built aroud this monster creature from another plane of existence and other fun eighties tropes, but it's not like they get mentioned again after the encounter.) You failed a persuation roll to let this one town's guards let you pass because your elf hails from an evil elf race even if he himself is a good individual, and him having black skin marks him as dangerous to people (no wonder many modern depictions of drow have them more purple or gray than flat out black), so you are forced to take a detour through this swamp area that's full of trolls that will all attack you. And there's a giant snake that will attack you. And so forth.
And the Tolkien really shows! You could probably make a drinking game out of spotting all the Tolkien references, just the amount of times the word "mithril" gets thrown around could be one on its own.
So one of the main characters is a dwarf king of a lost underground dwarf kingdom, the Mithril Halls, who's ancient home got taken over by a shadow dragon which drove them to exile, and the Main Quest is to go find it and take it back (Hobbit). (None of his other clan mates from the Icewind Dale seem to remember or care enough to join their king in his search, but that's not the point, because you only got four players and they all picked different races. It's a game, your supposed to build it for them to play, that's the whole point.) Once they get to the place, there's a kinda "Mines of Moria" feeling scene of them wondering how to open the door, though the solution to it is more DnD feeling than that of Lord of the Rings. Though, speaking of Moria, remember how awesome the Gandalf vs Balrog scene was? Good news! We liked it too, so much so that we did the whole "beloved hero falls to a 'certain death' in the depths of the mine while fighting a bad guy/evil being" thing TWICE! Oh, and did your players like Galadriel? You have a nice GM who gives you a magical queen NPC (who's name even rhymes with her), who comes to the heroes' aid by giving advice and helpful items, except even better, because what if she also had a crush on your favourite character?
Sprinkle in a group of evil rivals, with a nemesis for the favourite character ("narrative foil" kinda feels like an understatement, though, as Entreri gets introduced as a dark mirror for Drizzt with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer), couple evil wizards, a fun and quirky family of good wizards for a fun interlude for your players, and few other fun and magical encounters, some cool loot, and a classic damsel in distress (though I do give credit for Catti-Brie actually having a role in this book. I hated the way she got kidnapped and damselled when I read the book last time, but on a re-read now, I do see her being clever and using her situation to sabotage her kidnappers, even if teenage me was very disappionted in how she didn't pick up a sword and do the awesome battle stuff herself).
(Okay, so this is just me theorizing, and I don't really have any factual basis for this, but I kinda get the feeling like Wulfgar was originally planned as the "young hero protagonist" of these books, but Drizzt ended up a lot more interesting of a character, and the stories just gravitated to focus on him instead as the author's fave. Not that a similar thing would have ever happened to me or anything, haha...)
Like. This book still isn't my thing, really. I very much prefer deeper and more rounded character writing and more thought out worldbuilding, but I must admit, realizing that this book was basically a game of Dungeons and Dragons kinda made the whole experience so much more enjoyable. Even if I spent the entire time reading thinking about the players of the characters instead of the characters themselves as people, but still.
You made the story out of reshuffled Tolkien tropes but edgier, put in some whimsy nonsense that makes no logical sense, and had tons and tons of really flat enemies that kept spawning and aggroing your party like video game mooks. Aww, sounds like a fun campaign, your players must have had great time!
... I should probably re-read Lord of the Rings one of these days.
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gamesception · 5 months
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Sception Reads Cass Cain #28
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Batgirl (2000) #12 writer: Chuck Dixon pencils: Dale Eaglesham
Batgirl (2000) takes a break from the usual creative team for a tie in to the Batman Crossover of the month, Officer Down. We've seen Eaglesham draw Cass a few times now & he's always solid. Dixon wrote for Cass back in Robin 73, which wasn't the best showing for her. Better this time, if more reliant on narration blocks than I'd like. Kind of odd that this is a 'tie in' rather than part of the story proper. Like they didn't want people to feel they had to buy this issue? I'd say it was a slight against Cass, except it's not like she was kept out of the rest of the crossover, she's in like half the issues.
But the fact that this issue is partially segregated from the rest of the crossover is convenient for me anyway, as it gives me an excuse to just look at this issue on its own this week, while next week we can bundle together the rest of Cass's appearances in the cross over.
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Off the top, I have to say I really like the art in this issue. Eaglesham's fast cementing his place as my second favorite Cass artist. And not just because I like the way he draws Cass as Batgirl, but just, I mean, look at this page here, with all the details and personality packed into the scene. Kudos also to Jason Wright, the colorist for this issue, for really capturing this warm cozy homely interior, almost nostalgia-sepia-toned, while everything outside is cold and wet and blue. A single page that really captures Cassandra's isolation. At this point in her story she's basically living as Batgirl 24/7. No alter ego, no normal life, no friends. Not even really any connections apart from her somewhat fraught relationship with Barbara and her extra fraught relationship with Bruce. To see Cass on the outside looking in at the sort of connections that seem so impossibly distant, especially after the run in with her father last issue, it really works.
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I also love these panels of Cass navigating Gotham, moving around like a shadow, often in the background or in silhouette. Bits like that convey the spookiness of this Batgirl a lot more than other artists who give her an angry face or emphasize the stitching on her mask or the like.
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Love that panel of her rubbing her chin, thinky face clearly visible through the mask. Batman's out, so Cass decides to start investigating on her own. It's nice to see her doing the detective part of the bat-person vigilante job, rather than just leaving that part to Barbara, and Dixon does a good job of walking the reader through her thought process.
He is relying on narration blocks a bit more than I'd like, but he keeps them short and terse. Cass can talk now, but English is still a second language, and that comes across pretty well, imo. I was very critical of Dixons last showing with Cass, but he's honestly doing a solid job with her here, and as much as I don't care for them in general, I think the thought bubbles are helping. Some writers just have a hard time wrapping their heads around a non-verbal character. I'd imagine even just a little bit of language makes thing a world easier.
That said, not to beat a dead horse here, but with Cass speaking a few words here and there like this, they could have believably gotten her to this point through her own effort by studying with Barbara, no psychics required. Just saying.
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I guess it hadn't really been decided how much Cass's new speaking ability had translated to reading yet? It seems from these panels that she can read at least a little, at least enough to recognize names and dates as such, which is more than she can do later on. But clearly she's not comfortable or adept enough at reading to get much out of the police files beyond Catwoman maybe being involved, and you can feel her frustration here when she abandons the papers to finally just go ask Babs for help.
Good stuff.
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Of course, Babs isn't home either.
Again, I really like the way Eaglesham draws Cass. I like it more each time he shows up in this retrospective. Love little head tilt in the first panel, love the cape in the second panel there, very dracula-esque. Love that we can kind of see her face through the mask, makes her feel like a person.
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Oh, you poor random doofus goons.
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There's an ok fight scene at one of Selina's safehouse, albeit against no-name mooks. The panels are well drawn, the fight's perfectly readable, but it still feels pretty arbitrary, like hitting a minimum action quota for the issue.
Regardless, Selina isn't there, and the issue ends with Cass abandoning her solo efforts to go find the others.
As an event tie in the overall issue feels... pretty unnecessary. Nothing is really discovered, the story isn't advanced at all, nothing much happens. Makes sense that it wasn't an official part of the crossover, though you're left kind of wondering what the point was at all.
Even so, I kind of like the issue regardless. Eaglesham does a spectacular job with the art all the way through, and Dixon seems to have a much firmer handle on the character this time around. We get some solid panels of Cass trying to do some detective work on her own, something we rarely see, and the excellent bit early on of her flittering around through the city like a shadow. That sense of isolation from the first page really permeates the entire issue even if if the plot never touches on it, with Cass seeking out the only two people she really knows only for both of them to be out.
So yeah, even if nothing that happens in the issue really matters much, even if it doesn't really tell a stand alone story per se, I still like this one a lot.
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Salt Mines Reborn - https://dramarising-replacement.tumblr.com/post/739...
well hello there
uh I think we're talking about me? maybe 
I was in the lightning dom team back in 2015 and I was def immature (I was barely an adult, not that it excuses anything I did lmao) and def uh, messed up
if you wanna know what happened i honestly don't remember it clearly because it was uh, 8ish years ago? all I know is someone came over to lightning, also got on the dom team and started complaining about how we weren't doing things well. They used to do raffles so had like a few supporters because they had a lot of money to throw around and stuff. Demanded another user give them control of lightnings dom bank. Kicked off at our dom head and some other people. I was annoyed because it felt rude and disrespectful I believe. I didn't really know the dom team too well, but it just didn't feel nice. I won't go into further detail (I don't remember most of it, and I don't want to frame what I do remember without context because this isn't about me starting drama tbh) but we got into an big argument and I think it was probably fairly nasty. I think our dom head and others agreed to stand down but I wasn't having it because I was upset someone could just walk in and make demands, and when I guess I wasn't getting anywhere/losing the argument I thought I was clever by taking screenshots and uploading them to the og drama rising to like dunk on this person but it was honestly a super childish thing to do. Obvs I don't remember exactly what I was thinking but I guess I assumed people would pick my side? But nah I just caused a mess and a bunch of people left lightning and I guess I haven't thought about it in years because I kinda obviously rightfully got called out on that and packed my bags for earth and then in like 2019 I stopped playing the game (until a few months ago when a friend mentioned FR in passing to me and I suddenly was like big nostalgia)
I used to have a big temper and an attitude for sure. I think some people in lightning already didn't like me before this incident and thats okay. I've moved to nature now and am living a happy lil chill existence with my auraboa trees and silly lineage project. I'm glad to say I've grown as a person since then and I'm a lot more mature - I still don't like it when people barge in and try and tell other people what to do, but I like to think I'd have handled it with a lot more tact and not post it all over a drama forum in order to idk, get some kind of mob justice? Idk what I was thinking would happen honestly. Probably for more drama? The only thing that happened was people complaining about me and the other person and there being like some sort of fight over which of us was worse (lol). 
BUT I guess, rambling sorry, I saw this (I guess I do gotta admit I still love to read drama, but I do my best to stay out of it) and my first thought was like 'oh if anyone does remember this and remember me I hope I didn't hurt anyone too bad' so like, yeah, its like 8 years late but I'm sorry about what I did. It was childish and I was arrogant and rude back then. The ONLY thing I did right in that drama was resign from the dom team and move flights (lol). I hope lightning all the best honestly it was a fun flight. And the person who came in and tried to take over lightning dom - I hope you're doing okay too. Don't get me wrong, I hope you aren't gonna pull this kinda stuff again but hey, who am I to judge past you from 8 years ago when I was also part of the problem?
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seventeenlovesthree · 8 months
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OPLA episode 2 - first impressions
I swear, I feel like a screamy fangirl, considering I have watched German One Piece since I was like... 12, quite literally, since it aired in 2003. Even though I haven't consistently read/watched the series, I had a stronger phase in 2011 or so and watching the series now brings a lot of nostalgia back. SPOILERS AHEAD.
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I've said it before, but the Romance Dawn Trio is giving me SO much life. I have always had a fondness for OT3 dynamics and the dynamics portrayed here are just... Wow. (I told this a friend, but they actually kinda remind of me of the JJK trio here, but let's not digress.) Again, the whole thing with Zoro and Nami doing their best not to give the impression that they give a damn, just to STILL end up doing everything for Luffy and each other is giving me so many goddamn feelings every. Single. Time. Zoro and Nami have always been infamous for having that "One for you, one for me" dynamic, constantly bickering, always looking for that "equivalent exchange" with, apparently, no strings attached, only gains, no emotional attachment whatsoever... But the one thing they (and all strawhats, really) have in common is that they would move mountains (read: die) for Luffy. And that's where they'll always put their differences aside - the moment they smiled at each other, promising to kick butts of everyone they'd encounter (to eventually save Luffy) side by side, was everything to me. Maybe there aren't a lot of emotions between them, but even if they appear to be on completely different ends of the loyalty/motivation spectrum - there is that thing that links them together and that's just very enjoyable, despite all the bickering. ("There's something way more valuable than diamonds - knowledge!!!") Also, a piece of framing I haven't even REALLY thought about before is really nicely done - the fact that BOTH Zoro and Nami do NOT think highly of pirates at this point in time. So Luffy being Luffy, convincing them that he is indeed different... It makes their developing bond so much more special.
The LuNa scene at the beginning - even if we've already seen them in clips -, is just sending me. Luffy's ADHD energy is beautiful, you can really tell how excited he is - and how easily he attaches himself to his not crewmates. I mean, one of his love languages CLEARLY is physical touch after all (the second one is food sharing) and, again, I just love how natural it is. Or maybe that's just me.
... What is it with the way Zoro's opponents have been oozing with sexual tension towards him so far??? And he's not any better, seriously... I mean, we already have the lone wolf facade CRUMBLING HEAVILY, having Zoro basically CONFESS that "this simpleton in a strawhat" changed his way of thinking within HOURS of having known him.... Be still my ZoLu heart.
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I love the foreshadowing in Shanks' portrayal, even as someone who hasn't completely caught up to everything that is happening.
I really enjoy that Buggy is actually portrayed to be terrifying, I think they did find a good middle ground in language usage not being TOO on the nose with everything. But the imminent fear of death is always there and his over-the-top, dramatic acting fits SO well.
Again, I really enjoy Koby's acting, his and Helmeppo's dynamics are great and Garp has been intimidating as well...
Luffy's good-hearted-main-character-energy is still through the roof and I love it. Never stop smiling, my friend.
Fight choreographies and CGI still look high quality to me.
Again, for me it's easy to take this for what it is, I feel heavily reminded of my beloved Digimon stageplay and I've known these characters for years, so my bias should not come as a surprise. But really? I enjoy being catered to and the quality speaks for itself!
NAMI FIXING THE HAT THOUGH!!! God, I love them.
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togeqii · 8 months
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I meant K-Pop!! I haven’t found any good K-Pop fics lately and that’s why I wanted your recs lol sorry for the confusion :)
omg! yes i can definitely recommend a few good fics haha i haven't been an avid reader for a while but i Do have a few notable favorites! i'm kinda just taking this from my rec tag on wuahae lol but . i'm ngl all the fics by these authors are so good like if you like the writing (You Will ....) you should def check out their other fics in their masterlists! also if you like the fics pleeeaaase leave feedback in their askboxes or in their notes :( i know it would mean a lot to them because it always means a lot to me!
eat, play, love by @husbandhoshi
e2l romcom au .... really Reads like a romcom i can talk at length about this fic but also lily is just a great writer . it's just good fic!! the perfect amount of funny with a touch of angst and as always Real Genuine feeling . will always rec this one <3
gold rush by @dkfile
exes-to-lovers mingyu it is just SO scrumptious .... ci masters the art of the small town nostalgia haze and the dynamics in this fic are just MWAH . conflict is perfect, characterization is perfect ... if a fic is named after a tswift song you just know it has to be good!
parallels & almosts by @httplastic
vernon friends to lovers! it's almost wong kar wai esque the way peach writes their prose ... so so pretty. always so meaningful i loved reading and analyzing their words trying to dissect metaphors and double meanings :") the type of fic where i read and i go "i wanna write like that!!!" one of the top fics i'll go to when i wanna read a nice comfort fic in winter <3
those are the most recent ones i've read but here are a few honorable mentions from fics that were released a while ago but i think about almost daily . fics that rewrote my brain chemistry .
the times we couldn’t say goodbye (the times i loved you most) by @/husbandhoshi
SORRY this is another one by lily but its the one that made me follow her.... she just gets the Hoshster im sorry ..... also this fic deserves like 10 million notes with how it made me feel . fantasy au where hoshi is a wizard and yn is the innkeeper and even though hoshi isn't someone who Stays you're always going to be the one he returns home to . GUNSHOTS .
just us and the moon (till the sun starts waking) by @97-liners
THE FIC THAT MADE ME START CARATBLR ....... actuallyyyy just read all of jackie's fics 😁😁 i feel like i rave about this fic every chance i get but its deserved idc idc i come back to read it regularly . yn in this fic is so real like the me of last summer was bawling her eyes out because of how peeled i felt reading it...... anyway its fwb!woozi and Obviously that means don't read this fic if you're a minor but . but .... i became a changed woman after i finished it . Again the perfect amount of humor + angst + Implied smut without feeling gratuitous or out of place . my hall of fame for realsies.
other people's weddings by @neonunau
ok i Just checked after going back to link this fic and i saw its at 2k notes?!?!? deserved /srs . but Again it's giving romcom ... its f2l seungcheol but the way mads depicts him is SO chef's kiss. like if lily gives him the insufferable former frat boy energy with dusty cheeto fingers then Mads writes him as Sufferable college friend cheol. the yearning is so real from him . he holds your purse . swallows his feelings it practically gives him And you (the reader) constipation but every court needs their jester and he's happy to provide ..... not to mention the side characters are so funny its insane. humor is perfect . romance is perfect . writing is perfect ..... its just good fic!!!
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aqua-dan · 9 months
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World's Finest: Teen Titans #1 Review
Now that the first issue of the series has been out for a while and I'm less concerned about spoilers, I felt like now would be the time to say a few things about the start of the series and get some of my opinions out there. There's a lot to say, so I suppose I'll split it up into pros, cons, and general commentary.
Pros
On the positive side, it's genuinely nice to see the Fab 5 + Karen together in a group again! No matter how much time goes on and no matter how many interpersonal issues the group has, they're still my favorite team.
It's nice to see all the different little references to the original series -- from one of their fights being against the Separated Man to the picture of the Flips up on the wall of their base, it does feel pretty nostalgic to someone who is a big fan of Teen Titans vol. 1!
The art is overarchingly pretty nice (although I wish I could hit the colorist over the head and scream at them that Garth's eyes are purple! NOT BLUE!)
Despite my nostalgia for the original series, I am finding myself being more ok with the changed lineup than I originally thought I'd be. Now, this obviously messes with some Titans history that I'm reluctant to give up, but it is nice to see Karen highlighted especially! I also think the inclusion of Golden Eagle was nice! He's probably one of the lesser known Teen Titans, so even seeing him show up was surprisingly pleasant.
Despite the fact that I do also have a slight complaint about it, I do think it's nice that they are leaning into popular slang and what is "cool and hip with the teens." To be honest, I think it could even be dialed up a notch! Bring out your inner Bob Haney!!
The ending to the first issue was also interesting! I like that they are setting up the major conflict but keeping it vague for right now. I'm genuinely excited to see how that progresses!
Cons
On the more negative side, there is also a lot to say. Some of it might be nitpicking, but I feel it's worth putting out there anyways. My biggest issue with the series thus far is that it feels too self aware. I know it's only the first issue, and I know that I just praised the references to the original series in the "pros" section, but in many ways I can't help but feel that the series is superimposing later versions of these characters onto their younger selves despite the story-beats that would cause them to act that way not having happened yet.
Just for example's sake, I think the way Batman is acting is a decent showcase for this. Not to say that he entirely wasn't strict before a certain time, but the extremely controlling and closed off way he's acting is far more in-line with post Death in the Family characterization, and not the time period in which Teen Titans vol. 1 would take place.
Not all of the characterization in that regards is bad -- after all, those traits need a base to develop from -- but in some cases it really feels too aware of how these characters would later become. Because of that, a lot of the dialogue and interactions feel sort of hollow and don't allow for much natural or nuanced progression.
Besides that, this series has really made me confused on the DC comics timeline. With the constant mentions of social media, livestreaming, and modern slang, it reads like it should be something set in present time aka 2023. But considering how this is a flashback, shouldn't this be set in the time of, like... Myspace? Shouldn't the slang be ever so slightly dated, and social media NOT be such a ubiquitous thing? Maybe I'm wrong and the current DC timeline is actually taking place in the future, but still, the over-modern nature of the writing feels a little bit jarring to me.
Speaking of jarring, there are a few details that felt super weird throughout the issue. Roy's comment about Ollie "taking him in from the streets" is jarring since I guess that means they're sticking with the N52 backstory for Roy, which.... ugh. The other things I find jarring are honestly just nitpicks. Without going into it too much, there were just a lot of small details that make my brain go, "hey! That's not how that happened! That's not correct!" Regardless, I need to remember that this isn't a part of the old continuity, so changes can be made whether I like it or not.
General Commentary
All in all I don't think it's a bad start to the series. As it continues, I really hope that things start to feel more authentic so that the series is actually able to develop both its own identity and develop these characters further than they have been before without feeling redactive. I sort of miss the small, homegrown feel of the original series, and how going from smaller missions to world ending events was genuinely a big change for many of the Teen Titans. I'm hoping that there are some more small moments going forward that keep it from getting too big too fast.
I think it's too early to judge the series more heavily, so for now I'm just eagerly awaiting the next issue so we can see how it's going to hold up in the long run.
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stranger-rants · 1 year
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(1) I hate how the Duffers and no one im the ST fandom allows Nancy to be flawed and how she's now shapped as this person incapable of making mistakes. With that mentioned, all these anons around Billy Tumblr finding genuine joy when she's bullied by Carol and Tommy (which i admittedly like how they embrace their mean energy), even after she's concerned about finding Barb, saying that her hitting Steve was wrong and that she shouldn't have reacted like that, making "nancy wheeler slander" party posts, the whole sex shaming situation that a lot of fans still feed into these days, blame her for Barb's death, claiming that all those moments that she was ridiculized weren't a big deal, pretty much laughing and saying that she deserves all that treatment just because she is annoying and entitled its something that pretty much makes my stomach churn in ways that i can hardly describe...
(2) This is coming from someone that stopped caring about her after S3, bur also from someone who has been in same slut shaming bullying situations and that possessive jealosy treatment Steve (i'm not saying he's bad either) gave her on S1 just because he thought she was cheating on him with Jonathan
I’ve only gotten a couple negative anons about Nancy, and they’re usually about Nancy and Steve. Otherwise, I don’t get these posts on my dash nor do I see them in the tags because I don’t follow anyone doing these things and I generally stick to the Billy Hargrove tag only. I think a possible reason for the antagonism in “Billy fandom” have to do with how many vocal Nancy fans are Antis, but at the same time there’s prominent Steve fans who are Antis as well and Steve does tend to avoid criticism for a lot of things. It just reads to me like two characters being pit against each other for the nice guy love interest Steve which is a tale as old as time in fandom spaces.
I do think Nancy and Steve come with an entitled attitude to certain situations, but that’s because of class. I am also critical of the way that the Duffers use her as a “girl boss” while also positioning her and her family as conservative. There’s something about how they’re not just trying to capture the pop culture nostalgia of the 80s, but the political nostalgia of the 80s through their most popular characters that really bothers me… but again Nancy is ultimately a teenage girl with her own flaws just like any other character on the show. I wish fans of the character and fans who hate the character alike would spend less time making it our problem.
I’m not particularly interested in The Wheelers, so I don’t spend a lot of time willingly talking about them unless something comes up that I want to address. I’m ambivalent to Nancy, but I will get defensive if fans pull unfair criticisms of just plain hate against her on my blog but really this isn’t a Billy fandom problem exclusively. I know post season two and three, there was a lot of discourse among Steve fans about her and what she “owed” or didn’t owe Steve. That pissed me off and I’ve spoken up about that in the past on my main blog, but really she is not the character I care to spend the majority of my time talking about outside of that.
I understand the discomfort this brings, but it also makes me uncomfortable how a wedge has been purposefully driven between Nancy fans and Billy fans despite the characters hardly interacting. The amount of hate comments I’ve seen from Nancy fans in the Billy tag is astounding and I’ve blocked many of their accounts, which might be why I don’t see this particular fandom discourse all the time. I don’t go into the Nancy tag, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they get similar hate posts. I just don’t see any of my mutuals doing that, nor giving love and support to hateful anons. I think it’s worthwhile to look at the wider fandom for criticism on this one.
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agustdblues · 5 days
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GMMTV 2024 PART 2 (I heard Gmm is letting fans submit stories for adaptations now😭😭 bffr gmm and hire WRITERS)
•US: GL NATION ITS ANOTHER WIN!! EMIBONNIE !!! WITH SING. I couldn’t have asked for a better cast Usually I’m not up for the “siblings having same love interest” typa story but the shots looked so pretty plus P’Fon is doing this series so IM SEATED. They took the best trailer of the night for me !!
•Revamp (The undead story): WabiSabi probably having a bad day rn💀 GMM has two vampire projects now? hmmm which one of them will get pushed back to 2025🤔 Boun is one sexy vampire BounPrem always look good tgt. Aah sooo many familiar faces are in this, I’m looking forward to it
•Thame-Po (Heart that skips a beat): An Idol romance series! Unexpectedly I’m very sold on this EstWilliam are very handsome and something was working there. Sammy is also here🥺 Since real idols will be singing I can expect better performance too☝️
•Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist: Mark getting his well deserved main role. I’ve been waiting for this day!! The plot might be simple but it will be adorable. My pretty (REAL) doctor Jimmy is also in this- most likely to give me a second lead syndrome haha
•The Heart Killers: FirstKhao and JoongDunk with P’Jo. Unlike my impression of the mock, this is a ROMCOM🤡 Yeah the pilot was not clear at all FirstKhao have great chemistry but it just felt like I was seeing SandRay in another universe. On the other hand, JoongDunk have finally made it out of the universities. I heard that it’s gonna be based off The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, which confuses me more. I’m quite skeptical about this
•The Ex-Morning: Who would’ve thought I’d see KristSingto in a bl in 2024😭 It’s so nice to see Singto onscreen again. The rekindling flame theme is ironically suitable for them. Apparently P’Aof is writing the original script with the Sotus director. I’m torn about this cuz I dislike krusty a lot but the nostalgia is kinda hitting me. It’s truly og revival era
•Perfect 10 Liners: Not an ensemble again🤦‍♀️ I was so confused when I saw the huge ass line of actors onstage but it seems like this will be split into 3 parts to focus on all of the cps. So basically it’s Midnight Series but only gay with Jittirain’s mediocre engineering plot💀 Even if I were to watch this it will only be for JuniorMark but no promises made cuz I can’t even bring myself to watch We Are rn
•Ossan’s Love Th: actually I was seeing EarthMix in the opposite roles but Earth being the one stuck in between is much more fresh ig. I cringed a lot while watching this. Idk Earth maybe comedy is not your forte? I won’t be sure until the actual thing will start airing but still the sirens are on🚨
•Scarlet Heart Thailand: Tu is back again in an adaptation after quite a while. They’ve put together a strong cast here but why is Gun not here!?! I’ve neither watched the series nor read the novel but I’ve heard people say it was traumatising🤡 Since it’s a historical setting, this will cost a lot in production I don’t expect this to air until the end of next year
•Leap Day: This is the best one out of the lakorns announced in part 2. Gun is always acting his ass off damn. This show will be stressful asf but the plot is pretty unique. Everyone’s reaction when Pond said Gun is playing his younger brother was so skdjjdj
•Hide & Sis: Janhae in a family murder drama niceee I got some Pretty Little Liars vibes in the start. If you’ve enjoyed PSIHY you’ll probably like this too
•The Dark Dice: Is this Jumanji and Squid Game mixed and made darker?? Prim definitely loves doing thriller shows but I beg of her to get out of that school uniform already💀 and Gemini finally got to put his hands on this genre. I’m not interested at all
•Friendshit Forever: Girl who is coming up with these show names😭 They had me believing it was a gl in the first 30 secs. Ohh Boun welcome my pretty boy. Betrayal game shows are so boring🤷‍♀️
•Break Up Service: So Midnight Motel made even more illegal? It’s funny how I can see the clear distinction in Off and Gun’s solo project styles lol
Right now I can say I’ll watch atleast 3-4 of these shows. Well many of these series won’t be airing until next year considering Part 1 list is still pending to air Overall part 2 was much MUCH better than part 1
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mellorphic · 1 year
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Tommy-Centric Fanfiction Recommendations
I’m pretty sure I’ve made a post like this before, probably with some of the same fics, but I can’t find it for the life of me.
First, the classics
Passerine
Completed, 7 chapters, major character death, royalty AU, God AU, SBI-centric, has a prequel and a couple of sequels which I haven’t personally read. Niki, Puffy and Tubbo also make appearances as well as Dream and Sapnap
If you haven’t read passerine you’re either new to the fandom or you live under a rock. Even SAD-ist has read passerine. Even Niki read it.
DO NOT read this without taking a good look at the tags and the warnings. It’s a very, very heavy fic
I don’t really need to say much - it’s a beautiful, tragic masterpiece that I read across two days, but if you tried hard enough you could finish it in one. The characters are simultaneously so different and so similar to their canon ones. It had me sobbing at 2 am and I haven’t recovered but this fic made me feel very seen, despite never having reallly experienced the things the characters went through I found each one relatable and found many quotes applicable to my own life.
It’s hard to pinpoint a favourite part because taking any single bit out of the perfectly sewn together story feels almost like a disservice. But one of my favourite quotes has to be: “Wilbur couldn’t remember it happening, but somewhere along the way of studying warfare and politics, of staring up at the throne that would one day be his, of learning how to be a prince, he’d forgotten how to be a son.” From chapter two.
TommyInnit’s Clinic for Supervillains
Completed, has a prequel and a couple of other bits in the extended universe of it that I haven’t read, 26 chapters, hero/villain/vigilante au, mainly crime boys centric, but features the rest of SBI as well as bench trio and the Dream Team
Warning for derealisation/unreality in one chapter and general warning for violence throughout.
I’ve read a few vigilante aus and I’ve loved each and everyone one of them but this one stood out as it kept me hooked the whole way through, even waiting between updates I still was able to remember what had happened which has been a struggle for me with other vigilante aus for some reason.
It’s a great balance of light-hearted and heaviness that makes it incredibly fun to read. The characters and their morals are so fascinating, as is trademark for any AU like this. Tommy has a lot of internal conflict.
The relationships between each character are really interesting to me so that’s one thing I really like about this fic especially.
“Tommy’s jaw clenched as he thought back to eating McDonald’s on the roof with Siren only a few weeks before. Obviously he couldn’t tell Wilbur about that. It would just raise too many questions.”
Now, my personal favourites
Still Life
Completed, one chapter containing over 30000 words. Tommy centric but features SBI and Niki pretty heavily too. Fundy, Eret, George and Jack also make appearances. Runaway AU set in a small town in the early 80s of America.
Reread this fic last night and it’s really interesting how Meridies is able to cultivate such a rich story in a oneshot. It’s by no means short but it’s also nowhere near as long as anything else on this list. I dunno, it’s the perfect length. It says everything it needed to say.
Once again the characters in this are stunning. The entire town kind of takes Tommy under their wing and it’s a lovely read. It gives me a certain kind of nostalgia for a home I don’t have, and it made me long for that kind of community.
It explores the idea of childhood in a really nice way too. Tommy’s a kid and he gets treated like a kid, which gets on his nerves until it doesn’t. And every now and again the other characters treat him like his age affects his intelligence, and then they realise it doesn’t. But he’s always reminded that he is allowed to act his age. B
This fic tells you nothing and everything about Tommy’s childhood at the same time. The ins and outs of what it’s like aren’t explained but the little he does say explains everything you need to know and even Techno remarks on that. That scene is actually a little jarring because Techno asks Tommy why he doesn’t talk anymore, but since the reader is getting Tommy’s internal monologue it feels like he’s saying more than he is in truth. I love that - you as a person can feel like you’re saying everything you need to say but so much of it never reaches the people around you.
I love the way it explores human attachment and the sacrifices we make for people. The way that leaving a place sounds so easy but it can be the hardest thing in the world.
This is another fic that speaks to me. This Tommy is a kid who’s been bashed for being young and when he stopped acting like a child he couldn’t grow into himself. Now, he’s lost and doesn’t know who he even is.
“Then Techno was saying I can’t do this anymore out loud, and Tommy was struck with the sudden realization that the three of them were caught in a tangled web of their own creation. They were tangled so tightly they could not see which way would loosen the knot and which would pull the knot tighter. Tommy needed one of them to let go.”
Post-Mortal
Completed, 4 chapters. Crime boys centric but also features bee duo very heavily. Tommy’s actually dead in this one. Canon divergence set right before the prison arc.
This fanfic is one of those ones that I’ve only read once but certain parts have stuck with me. Wilbur makes slow progress toward recovery and relearns how to live.
Tommy is in this fic, through flashbacks and a disembodied ghost who is in a much happier place than his canon limbo was. This is probably the least Tommy-centric of the Tommy-centric fics but I’m counting it anyway.
One of my favourite Tommy related parts is from one of the many, many flashbacks. “Tommy held him on the forest floor. That was the most he could have done, and yet his most was not nearly enough to keep Wilbur from shattering.” This is from chapter two.
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