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kaythetrashcan · 6 months

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Here are some of my thoughts on DN: short stories!

And it's a lot. I'm crossposting this from my reddit account. Spoilers ahead

Book cover

Why does Ryuk look different on the cover? He looks like normal in all the actual stories but on the cover he has a red spot on his chest and red lips (among other things).

I do really like his right bracelet, it reminds me of the handcuffs Light and L had. I'm not sure if it's new but it's cool.

Speaking of the cover, there is 'Death Note' written in shiny letters and I only noticed once I turned my lamp on. That's such a nice detail.

Onto the stories themselves.

C-Kira

When I read the name Yamamoto, I though it was one of Light's friends from the manga, since they have the same name and appearance (spiky black hair and glasses). But apparently they are different characters entirely, which is kinda disappointing even if it doesn't change anything.

I'm bit confused on what's up with Matsuda. He tries to justify actions of C-Kira and I'm not sure where the writers where going with this. Like he was supportive of the original Kira but I kinda thought that ended when he shot Light several times.

I like that Near's hair got a bit longer from last time. Also the tator card towers are insanely cool.

And the way he just pops out of them on page 22 XD.

When Near recalls the video chat, we see a kid with a striped shirt, who I'm guessing is Matt

I haven't seen the Relight movies (I'm planning to one day), but I saw L's monster speech and I'm guessing it's based on this scene. The manga is pretty different from it, L is more forward and cold.

It's pretty interesting to hear that L picked Near and Mello because they didn't ask him any questions, just listened. Also bc of their glares.

And if this is the only time Near interacted with L, how does he know his appearence for his finger puppet? Did he see a photo or did he just get a description from someone else?

I can't believe Ryuk got other shinigamis, including the actual King of Death addicted to apples. Good lord.

Also I love how Ryuk refers to king of death as an "old fart". Makes it sound like he's the shinigami's dad XD

Near just tuning in, calling C-Kira a murderer and then signing out was pretty badass. Rip C-Kira, you were okay.

Speaking of C-kira, we actually know really little about them. All we got was they own a bunch of anime figurines.

I noticed how many bananas Meadra has eaten. Do all shinigami's have a specific food they like? Although all seem to like apples.

I like Near not being sure if he acted like L and how Rester tells him he's L now, it's pretty sweet and adds a bit of humanity to Near.

Also how are the towers holding together? Near's breaking laws of gravity

Meadra is such a nice friend, bringing Ryuk an apple.

This was a pretty fun story and it's always nice to see Halle Linder.

A-kira

I really like Minoru's design. He looks unique but still natural and his hairstyle is bit more modern compared to Light's.

Ryuk picked Minoru rather than just throwing the death note and waiting for somebody to find it. It's a interesting shift from his first appearence.

I love Ryuk's disappointment when Minoru told him he can't read the rules and demanded translation.

Minoru is so based for just trying to sell the notebook and his plan is really clever.

Ryuk holding the sign while literaly everyone in the studio can't see him is hilarious.

Near looks gorgeous with the long hair. <3 And so does Halle Linder with the shorter hair cut

Is that Donald Trump???!!! What even is this story?!

I love how Armonia just shows up with his chair and leaves immediately.

Wait, Yotsuba??? I was wondering what the Yotsuba group was actually leading, nice to get a conclusion.

I'm also intrigued that Minoru decided to keep only a fraction of the money, but it was pretty smart and he still got a bunch of money from it.

I can't believe Ryuk met Donald Trump.

In the end, Ryuk writes the name of Minoru in his note book. I thought the rule would kill him immediately? Or is Ryuk obligated to write it?

Anyways, this story was goofy, Minoru was entertainingly smart and I liked it.

Scribbles

I love how insane and fun everyone in this. We need more. Also Sayu has more to do. Yay :D

Why does Light think strawberries are more sexy than apples?

Misa's back!!! I missed her so much.

Her swimsuit is really bland, but Light looks great in the Hawaian shirt. He should wear it more often.

I'm not sure how to feel about Misa getting sexualized in this. I'm fine with fanservice and her being sexy, but I feel like she sometimes gets treated more as a source of fanservice than an actual character.

I noticed she's the one driving the car. And I don't think I ever saw Light drive. This leads me to a conclusion that Light never learned to drive. Headcanon that Misa just drives him around during those 5 years.

Also I live for Misa and Sayu's friendship!!!

Misa making bunny apples for Ryuk is so cute.

Somehow, "Disappointment" makes Misa and Light into a somewhat healthy couple.

In second to last strip, Light somehow pulls L up using only one arm. My boy is strong.

And the last strip, "Debate" depicts Rem holding a glass of wine (?). Since Rem doesn't have a favourite human food (unlike Ryuk, Meadra and Sidoh), maybe she likes to drink wine? Misa seems to enjoy drinking (in that one scene in the anime). Maybe she shared some with her.

L - one day

Watari narrates this like an animal documentary.

It also gives L both really bizarre and really normal traits, like he bathes in a washing machine and can't be bothered to put a shirt on, but he is fond of art galleries and theme parks.

Also L's a pop fan. Love that but I'm bit said we didn't get this in the main series. I'd love to see what interactions with Misa could come from that.

I'm glad to know that L does more than just sit in front of a computer.

L- Wammy's house

I love L, but he looks so weird as a kid. Glad he didn't stay like this forever.

So L came into the orphanage without a name. Did he name himself or did Wammy gave him that name? How do all the kids get their names? Why does Near have a normal name but then we have a guy named Mail?

How did L manage to defeat a group of kids who were trying to beat him (the new kid) up? And judging from what L says, this might be a common thing, so why isn't anyone doing anything about it?

Kids in Wammy's house share bedrooms so I wonder who did Near and Mello live with.

L and Watari's dynamic here is so hilarious.

Overall I'm not really big on this story. I know it's a matter of preference but L feels really overpowered and inhuman here. I kinda prefer when he gets some grounded moments, like his monster speech in Relight movies or even just his reaction to Misa kissing him on the cheek. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just not really my thing.

Taro Kagami

This is also a pilot for the series.

I noticed that the shinigami's look more human. I'm glad their designs got changed, I don't like how they look like sexy women with weird faces.

Taro is so cute! I really like his design.

I like how he just uses the Death note as a regular notebook and accidentally kills someone. It's a pretty common concept in memes about DN so it's nice to see it in a serious story.

I appreciate Taro's reaction to Ryuk and accidentally killing people. It's pretty realistic for a kid like him.

Takagi kinda looks like Raye Penber while Yamanaka's design didn't make it into the series. Its kinda a shame, since it's pretty unique.

I also like to see Taro's mom getting involved. We never really got any reaction from Sachiko.

The conversation between Yamanaka and Takagi about how they'd use the death note is really interesting. Yamanaka makes a great point on how most people would use it.

I also love him saying that Takagi would have to kill half the world to achieve his harmonious world.

And personality wise, Takagi reminds me a bit of Matsuda.

The death eraser is a cool concept. While it probably would be too overpowered in the main series, I'd love to see what could be done with it.

I'm also intrigued by the author of detective novels. His design is cool as well and I wonder if he somewhat inspired L's character. His deductions were great.

And so we're Taru's, when he figured out Miuro is the second DN owner.

The ending itself is amazing in my opinion. Taro manages to twist the truth just right, so Miuro trusts him while he keeps the original note book. Death note becomes a legend but Taru still has it after all these years. The ambiguity is brilliant.

And older Taru looks great with long hair.

I read on the wiki that Taru might have inspired Mikami and I honestly believe that, but he seems like a combination of both Taru and Miuro.

He gets his long hair from Taru, glasses and fanatism from Miuro (who kept screaming "Die, die, die" while frantically writing names of criminals) and being bullied from both.

This was my favourite story. It flows a bit better than the A and C kira stories and it had some really cool ideas.

Final thoughts

While I'm bit sad we didn't really have any female characters (since DN doesn't really have many and as a woman I'd like to see them) I had fun with this book, the art's great and it's nice to see the pilot, shorter funny comics and what's most of the living cast up to after Light's death.

#death note #death note short stories #l lawliet #light yagami #ryuk #near death note #nate river #mello death note #mihael keehl #c-kira #minoru tanaka #a-kira #watari #wammys house #quillsh wammy #wammy boys #taro kagami

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zoophagist · 7 months

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ooc;; okay, so i saw 'dracula: a comedy of terrors" last night and the verdict is .... um, not awesome. i always hate to rag on live theatre because as a fellow theatre-maker i know how hard it is and even in a show like this that i didn't particularly like i still respect enormously the talent of the cast, techies, and creatives that brought it together. so it hurts to say this was ... kind of unpleasant, but i can't say otherwise when so much of the humor was just punching down, on women, on unattractiveness, on mentally ill characters... even in its wack victorian sensibilities i can really confidently say that the novel was kinder and more progressive than this was. more detailed thoughts below the cut.

the big "yikes" for me was the (mis)handling of crossdressing roles. there were two actors, a man and a woman, who largely crossdressed for their roles, the man played mina and van helsing (genderbent femme) and so much of the comedy around these characters was about how ugly they were, how unattractive, how masculine or disgusting, or stupid... it was really quite sad to watch for me (though i will say the audience responded very positively to this humor, which only made me sadder...) it was a lot of man-in-dress jokes layered into a lot of pseudo-misogynous ideas about femininity and desirability. and that was bad in its own way, but it was extra "yikes" when one takes into account that the crossdressing woman (playing the seward-esque character, the demeter's captain, and renfield) had no equivalently cruel humor. there were no jokes about how silly it was to see a woman in trousers, no jabs at being unmanly or unattractive. there was humor, but all coming from generally more plot-based veins. and putting these two portrayals up next to each other it was very clear that the humor was based on an idea of femininity as lesser-than, derogatory. when a woman dresses as a man, it's aspirational, it's smart, it's cool, etc., but when a man dresses as a woman it is humiliating, silly, sick. masculinity is valued, femininity isn't. and add in the ghost of transphobia directed at transwomen that i could feel just hanging over the whole mina & van helsing characters, and i hope it's not hard to see why i felt uncomfortable with the piece.

since this is the #renfieldzone i think it's also my duty to talk about how renfield was handled. and. i mean. he wasn't, mostly. he was there, and absolutely the only joke he ever got was the bug-eating. like damn, we couldn't even let him have birds or rats too, huh? this show was a super condensed version of the story so lots of characters were cut (rip arthur, quincey, and most of seward's personality) so honestly i'm a little surprised renfield was here at all. he was largely useless to the plot because the actress playing him doubled as the seward-type and therefore the latter's import to most scenes meant renfield couldn't be there. (but there were many very clever quick changes!) since the play was also just... so absolutely cruel and demeaning to mina, there was no space for any empathetic mina-loving redemption for renfield, so he really just seemed to be here because... well frankly because the writer clearly had a lot of jokes about insanity they wanted to include. not going to waste space talking about them all, just know it was, as said before, a lot of punching down. the only other interesting thing about this renfield is that he is shown to be zoöphagous before ever meeting dracula, so in the age-old debate of 'did dracula make him do it or is he just like that' this play came down firmly on the side of He's Just Like That.

you may notice i keep mentioning a 'seward-type' character and not just a seward, and that would be because the doctor placed in the vaguely seward-shaped hole in the dracula plot is really nothing like seward and indeed has a different name to boot. he's called dr. westenfeld, and if you're thinking 'hey that's kind of like westenra' then that might be because he's lucy's father in this retelling. and also mina's? mina and lucy are sisters now, i guess. and also, they're effectively role-swapped. lucy is jonathan's smart, brave, modern-thinking fiancée and mina is the one turned first by dracula. because this show is, again, ruthlessly cruel to mina, she has no suitors, no close bonds beyond lucy, and gets absolutely no respect.

but what about dracula? he's... well he's hot. and a little bit of a bastard. and that's about it. no hairy palms, no crawling in his lizard fashion, barely any on-stage blood. honestly i have very little to say about him other than that i find it a little hard to swallow just how heavily the marketing of this show leaned into his queer energy when the full show really isn't that gay at all and so constantly equates dracula's queer-affected vampirism with promiscuity, mixing the signals and making it seem like queerness is promiscuity. not a great look.

this is already an essay so even though i have more miscellaneous thoughts i'll wrap it here. if anyone's curious about specific things, i'm happy to answer pointed asks.

so yeah. tl;dr just. i respect the craft of all the people that brought this together, i think the actors did great work with poor material, and the design and direction were solid, it's just... it's very hard to save a show with a fundamentally bad script, and that's what this felt like to me. good stagecraft, bad material.

#@ these playwrights: turn on ur location i just wanna talk #||x long and afar off [ ooc ]#||x the good book [ meta & dracula relevant content ]

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soka-writes-things · 11 months

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Blinded by coffee

echo x café!reader

word count: 2.4k

summary: who knew a bit of coffee and a blind dating app could be the start of a love story?

warnings: cringe & the ending feels rushed but i don’t know what else to put ,.,

authors note: super sorry for the long wait but this story caused such a writer’s block it isn’t even funny. thank you for all the support on my last two posts!

You glared at your phone, the little blue line blinking mockingly at you. Regret buried itself into your stomach and your anxiety creeped up your back like a a spider.

After constant nagging from your friends, you had finally given in and downloaded the app Shuffle. Shuffle, a popular blind dating app, had been sprouting all over the city of Coruscant the past few months and your friends decided your lonely arse should hop on the love train. You regret listening to them.

You had set up your profile and swiped meaninglessly through the profiles of people for an hour before deciding that you’d choose the next one that popped up. Stupid idea but you thought it would be funny since you were bored of the people who kept appearing. The profile was actually really neat, and the person seemed to have quite a few good qualities, so you checked it and left the app.

A couple of days later, the profile you had forgotten that you checked had also checked you. Then started the waiting game of who would message first. About ten minutes had passed and your phone had dinged twice with new messages from the app. The other person had messaged you first and to top it off, they had sent you a terrible pickup line about… cheese?

Despite the awkward attempt, you had responded and a conversation bloomed between the two of you. You learnt that this person is a he and his name is Echo. Echo came from the city of Kamino far on the other side of the planet and had worked as a mechanic for a while there before moving to Coruscant. Regardless of his quick and clever mind, Echo preferred creativity and artistic things instead of the hard facts. He also told you that he came into University later, so he was only now finishing his final year of Art Uni. You told him all about you, how you wanted to go into music and be a singer but after freshly coming out of Uni and being a new face, no one wanted to hire you. You made a few covers and posted them to HoloTube and an original song of your own, but you were yet to bloom.

The conversation was lovely, he kept dropping terrible pickup lines which made you laugh, and everything was going well. Until now which brought you back to the fact that he just asked you out. Of course there was nothing wrong with him asking you out, but since you had bad anxiety and tended to make a fool of yourself in stressful situations, you panicked. Especially when he dropped the bomb that he wanted to bring you to his favourite coffee shop (once again, nothing wrong with it) but that shop was where you worked.

So of course in your moment of panic, you did the most logical thing. You told him you had an event on that day and wouldn’t be available. His three dots appeared, and you watched it with a proud smile at yourself for thinking up such a smart idea. Until he told you that he was available every day this week since his Uni was currently having a weeklong holiday.

Your smile dropped from your face and a groan came from your lips. How would you get out of this one? You stared at the screen lost in your thoughts until you remembered that Echo must be waiting for your answer. With a reluctant sigh you told him that you’d be available on Friday around 9:30 in the morning. Your shift ended at 10 am that day and if he came in early, you could assess him before actually having to go over and interact with him.

Echo responded almost immediately with his own confirmation and that’s how you managed to land yourself a date.

You texted your group chat, telling them what had just happened (they thought you were pranking them at first) until you gave them all the details. They were proud of you of course and since two of them worked with you at the coffee shop, they’d be able to be your backup if anything went wrong. A plan had been set in motion and you felt much more confident in yourself. And then you remembered that you had to pick an outfit which brought you back into the spiral of despair.

The next few days flew by, and terrible thoughts planted themselves in your head. What if Echo was one of your co-workers? You had quickly shaken that thought out of your head, telling yourself you knew these people and that was a stupid thought. What if Echo decided he didn’t like you? What if you were too loud and made a fool of yourself? What if-

The bell rang in front of you, and you had to remember to stay in the moment of your job.

Finally, Friday creeped up and jumped onto you, throwing you into the day starting with a stomach full of panic. After ten minutes of rearranging your closet for an outfit, you gave up and picked light blue jeans and a white matching top. Simple and casual. That would work, right?

You headed into your shift exactly at 7am as scheduled and tried not to vomit from the butterflies in your stomach. Your friends tried to give you encouraging words but nothing seemed to be working, if not it seemed to only make you more nervous. You briefly wondered if you could drown yourself in the coffee machine but decided against it since the bitter coffee would be a terrible way to die.

You snapped out of your intrusive thoughts when a hand shook your shoulder aggressively. “What about him?” Your friend asked, pointing at a new man who walked in. You rolled your eyes. “I really don’t think it’s going to be him.” You retorted, filling up a new cup of coffee for table four.

Sabé, one of your friends and co-worker, bounded up to you with a bright smile in her eyes and on her face. Your other friend, the one whom you were previously talking to, turned to Sabé with a quirked eyebrow.

“What is it now, Sabé? Did you find another rich white boy to bring home?”

Sabé scowled, “Shut up Dormé.” She smacked Dormé on the shoulder. “So inconsiderate.”

Sabé turned to you. “It’s 9:30, is your hubby here?” You stared at Sabé blankly. “What?” She asked.

Dormé rolled her eyes, picking the filled coffee mug from your hands and already swiftly making her way to table four.

“Sabé. It’s a blind date.” You stated in disbelief. “How would I know what he looks like.” Sabé shrugged. “You ask?”

You struggled to resist the urge to face palm. Just as you opened your mouth to retort, the bell rang again, signalling a new arrival. Sabé whistled lowly, pushing you aside so she could cashier for the newcomer. You rolled your eyes at her actions, turning back around to restock the muffins.

“Hi~!” Sabé sang as she greeted the newcomer. A low voice greeted her back. Despite your better part of yourself, curiosity won the battle and you pulled out your phone to look at the guy in the reflection of your phone.

Even though you couldn’t properly see him due to the bad reflection, you could tell that the guy had tan skin and unruly curly hair. His eyes seemed to be deep brown, but you couldn’t confirm. You cleared your throat slightly as you put away your phone and turned around with the tray of muffins, turning to the glass cabinet.

You made your way over to the display and decided to take a peek at the man who was still chatting with Sabé. As if sensing you looking at him, he turned his head to you, locking your gaze with his own. You choked on air and stumbled slightly as you whipped your head around, looking towards the glass cabinet.

The man chuckled and Sabé said something to him. Something you would’ve heard if your blood wasn’t pounding in your ears, your face flushing in embarrassment. You hastily shoved the muffins in the display case before shuffling away to go respond to a calling table.

When you came back from serving the table, the man had already left. Sabé grinned cheekily at you, already opening her mouth to begin her taunting. You held up your hand with a tired sigh. “Don’t even start, Sabé. I know that was embarrassing.” Sabé continued to grin. “Actually, I wasn’t going to say that. Apparently he is here for a blind date.” Sabé wiggled her eyebrows at you.

Your heart jumped in your chest, but you scolded your overexcited heart. “Don’t get my hopes up. It could be a coincidence.” Sabé shrugged, rearranging the money in the cash register. “Don’t be such a down in the dumps and try to get some information! Maybe he is your hubby!”

You frowned, your social anxiety getting the best of you, and you shook your head. “Maybe in a bit.” You promised. That promise didn’t hold awfully long since you continued to eyeball the lonely man in the booth as you continued with your shift.

Ten minutes passed and Dormé had served his coffee to him. He drank the coffee slowly as he peeked at the entrance every so often.

Fifteen minutes passed and your heart continued to pound guiltily in your chest. What if it was actually him and you’ve been leaving him hanging?

Twenty minutes passed and the man looked just about ready to get up and go. He grabbed your attention as you were passing by and asked for a muffin. You nodded and scurried to the display before realizing that he didn’t ask for a specific type of muffin. With glowing red ears, your face clearly flustered in embarrassment, you went back and asked the man which muffin he’d like. He responded with a chocolate muffin and looked down at his phone almost excitedly when it lit up but then became disappointed when he saw it to be something other than what he was expecting.

You gave a small nod and retrieved the muffin for him. By now it was almost 5 minutes until your shift was over and the man looked almost sad. You almost stepped away to go back to your shift, but your guilty heart pounded in your chest again. “So, uh, are you waiting for anyone?” You almost wanted to slap yourself for stating the obviousness of his down mood but the man merely sighed, rubbing his cheek in slight awkwardness. “Was it that obvious?” He asked.

You nodded, shifting your weight. “You would look at the door every few minutes. It was kinda hard not to watch.” The man looked up at you in confusion and you dropped your notepad as you waved your hands in the air. “Not like that! You just looked awfully sad.” You confess. You bend down to pick up the notepad and banged your head on the flat side of the table when coming back up.

You scowled, rubbing your head in annoyance. A bright laugh came from the man, and you beamed as your pain had made him slightly happier. “Are you alright?” He asked between chuckles. You smiled at him, patting your head. “I’ve got a thick skull, should be fine.”

The man shook his head with a smaller smile, the air turning more solemn again. “So!” You said quickly, not able to bear the silence. “I heard from one of my colleagues that you’re here for a blind date?” The man’s eyes casted downwards. “Ah yeah. Seems it was a no go though.”

You frowned, “Damn that kinda sucks, sorry about that. I’m supposed to be on a blind date as well but I’m not sure if he’s even here.” The man peered up at you with a confused look. A cringed look appeared on your face, and you swore under your breath. You bit the inside of your cheek and look back down at the man. “If I’m correct about what I’m about to say, I’m going to feel like a downright sheb.”

The man narrowed his eyes, starting to catch on. “You don’t think?-“ He started. You shrugged, sitting in the booth in front of him. “Only one way to find out.” You stuck your hand out in greeting and introduced yourself. The man’s eyes widened at your name, “I’m Echo.” He also introduced.

Now you really felt like a sheb. Echo quirked an eyebrow at you. “So, you didn’t “show up” because you actually work here?” The guilt that had weighed in your chest seemed to slam into you tenfold.

“I had my reasons!” You exclaim hurriedly. “I saw you walk in, and my friends kept telling me to talk to you, but I was really nervous and just decided to wait and see what you did.” Now you really wanted to slap yourself. “Hearing it out loud just makes me sound really stupid and I’m sorry.”

You waited for Echo to say something in response to what you just said but he just sat there, musing over you. “Well.” He said finally, “Even though I had to wait a bit, at least you are here now.” You nodded in relief. “I’m still really sorry. That’s super embarrassing of me to stand you up like that.”

Echo waved his hand in dismissal. “Are we going to have this date now though? Or is it going to be rescheduled?” You jolted in panic. “No no we can have it now! Let me just make myself a quick coffee and I’ll be right back!”

Even though the greeting was terribly embarrassing, the date continued on smoothly and Dormé and Sabé continued to give their silent cheers from behind the counter. When the date ended, Echo actually surprised you by asking if you’d like to go on another one. You agreed with an excited smile and you two exchanged numbers with each other. As Echo left the shop with a wave, Dormé and Sabé wiggled up to you, squealing about you having to drop all the details.

Guess the Shuffle app really does help people find love…

tags: @quizznag

#tbb #star wars #tbb echo #the bad batch #modern tbb #modern echo #coffee shop reader #coffee shop au #modern au #soka-writes-things #fanfic #star wars fanfiction #echo fanfiction

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whumpshaped · 2 years

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,,,so I may very slightly be absolutely obsessed with writer whumper. Did you know I love your writing???? I love your writing. I love whumper insulting whumpee for being slow because of how unsure they are. Would you ever consider making this a series? Because I just. Can’t stop thinking about whumpee being trained properly like they always told themselves they wanted, and whumpee trying to shove down their self doubt whenever whumper is extra mean and. This lives in my head rent free. Poor pumpkin is so shy, wouldn’t it be fun if whumper forced them to tell whumper everything they’ve fantasized about? And maybe they even have to beg ask nicely to be whumped! ~🐸

trigger warnings: humiliation, conditioning, captivity, locked up, manipulation, obsessed whumpee, emotional/psychological whump, self-deprecation, fucky thoughts, pet whump

Whumpee was roughly shoved into the cage and locked up right away, but much to their surprise, Whumper just left them alone after that. They'd said they needed to take care of some things, possibly concerning the covering of their tracks.

Keeping someone captive was a big responsibility - as avid readers and writers of whump, they both knew that full well. It only terrified Whumpee even more.

They spent the next hours curled up and thinking about all the things they'd read on Whumper's blog, all the clever and manipulative whumpers and the poor, innocent whumpees. That was what drew them in, really. The fact that all the victims were so innocent, so easily tricked... like them. They saw that address and thought they got lucky, then walked right into Whumper's carefully set trap. They were just as stupid as the characters they'd been reading about. If Whumper was also just as smart as their stories made them seem...

Whumpee covered their mouth with their hand, stifling a whimper. This was so messed up. Were they really getting flustered thinking about their situation? They were locked in a cage in a stranger's basement. Well, Whumper's basement. Someone they'd been obsessing over for months, rereading their stories a thousand times and imagining every single way Whumper could hurt them. They wanted to be manipulated, they wanted to be tricked and locked up, they wanted to be insulted every which way. They were completely fucked in the head, and Whumper already knew that, which meant they were set up to be humiliated constantly.

They felt a single tear roll down their cheek and hit the cold ground underneath them. They wanted that. They were scared, they couldn't have been more terrified, but it was the same exact feeling theyd always gotten reading the stories. The feeling that got them addicted.

The door at the top of the stairs opened again, and Whumpee carefully pushed themself up. They didn't risk talking without permission. They weren't clueless, like those other, unworthy whumpees on Whumper's blog, who screamed and kicked and fought for their useless freedom.

Whumper walked over to the cage, leaning on top of it and forcing Whumpee to look up at them from where they sat. It was impossible to ignore the power imbalance, the way Whumper could move around, walk out on them at any moment if they wanted, because they were free. They could stand there, leaning on the cage, while Whumpee was forced to stay on the ground, surrounded by metal bars that barely let them sit up straight. They were relaxed and confident. Whumpee was tense, anxious, and despite all of this - no, specifically because all of this - they could feel the sense of blind adoration bubbling up in their chest.

"Don't give me the bedroom eyes already," Whumper taunted, making Whumpee look away in an attempt to hide their face. "All I've done was lock you up, are you seriously that pathetic?"

"I'm sorry," they choked out, jumping when Whumper slammed their hand on the bars.

"What was that? That's your apology for being a disgusting creep?" Whumpee's breath caught in their throat at the sharp words, and they couldn't even manage an excuse. Whumper was... they were perfect. But clearly, continuing to stare at them in awe when that was the thing that got them in trouble in the first place wasn't the right choice, and Whumper made that pretty obvious when they spat in their face.

Whumpee finally snapped out of it and wiped their face with the sleeve of their sweater, mortified at the fact that this was the treatment that was leaving them so lovestruck that they forgot how to speak. "I'm s-sorry for being a creep..." they tired again, cautiously looking up at Whumper to see if this was better.

"We're getting there. Say, you're a fan of mine, yeah?" Whumper grinned at the term, given that Whumpee was so obsessed with them that they were willing to walk into a kidnapping of their own volition. "I'll let you try again, and I expect you to address me properly. Surely, such an obsessed little stalker can work out what I like best, hm?"

There wasn't an ounce of hesitation this time before Whumpee spoke. In fact, it sounded like they'd said this exact thing many times before. "I'm sorry for being a disgusting creep, Sir," they said quietly, seemingly reveling in the way the words felt on their tongue. They weren't alone in their room anymore, acting out a fictional scenario they'd read on Whumper's blog. Whumper was right there, listening to them say it, ordering them to say it.

Whumpee had no idea what they expected to happen, but they didn't expect to be laughed at. No, they knew what they wanted, they wanted to be praised for knowing exactly what Whumper meant, they just proved themself worthy, they- they did well.

"You're the most pathetic thing I've ever seen in my life," Whumper said without any sign of being impressed. If there was any emotion on their face, it was pure, wicked amusement at their self-imposed humiliation. "Have you been practicing in front of the mirror? Because it sure looks like you're right in your element, being treated like a stupid pet. Oh, I bet you had fucking dreams about this, I bet you spent night after night reading all that shit I posted and wishing I'd talk down to you like that. And now you're here, you're finally fucking here, and you just cannot wait to please me, whatever sick shit it takes. You're such a fucking joke."

Tears welled up in Whumpee's eyes as they kept talking, berating them further even after they thought there was nothing more to say. Their chest felt impossibly tight with the familiar feeling of betrayal, and they curled up again, hugging their knees and hoping for it to be over. They were disgusting. Sick. Pathetic.

Whumper pushed themself away from the cage with a satisfied smirk, thoroughly enjoying the reaction they managed to get out of their plaything. For a moment they were worried that Whumpee was way too obsessed to be broken properly, but from the looks of it, they were going to have a lot of fun after all.

#the bad scribbles #writer whumper #AGAIN I JUST DIDNT GET TO THE THING U ACTUALLY SUGGESTED EVEN THO THAT WAS WHAT I WANTED TO DO-#I'LL GET TO IT #AT WHUMPER'S PACE APPARENTLY #im telling u dream whumper/writer whumper is just. theyre in control here im but the fool with the keyboard #also as soon as i remember their name i'll switch to calling whumpee pumpkin and whumper. that name

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k-odyssey · 2 years

Text

A Business Proposal | ep7

I just watched ep7 of A Business Proposal and I want to write my thoughts now, while I'm still in that happy bubble, cause I've learned from experience that if I wait I won't find the same energy and enthusiasm later.

Let me preface this by saying that the most common kdrama watching experience for me is first being super into it, loving the concept/all of the possibilities, and then getting a bit disappointed by the execution from ep10 or so. This is not how I've felt about A Business Proposal. I feel like it's getting better as we go! It helps that this is a 12ep drama. There's no time for filler in a shorter show.

But it's just such a fun, comforting, happy drama! This is achieved through a clever use of romantic tropes, and great friendships, and just good writing.

Tae Mu should be a walking cliché (he's that insanely rich chaebol whose family wants him to settle down with someone from their social circle, obviously handsome and smart, with some rain-related childhood trauma, who falls for his employee) and yet he's ... not? Like, he feels like more than the sum of his parts, if that makes sense.

In the same way that Ha Ri isn't a helpless heroine who needs saving. (Well, occasionally she needs someone to salvage her reputation.) She's good at her job, demonstrably so. Intellectually, they're definitely equals. She also has family and friends, she's loved, and she's not in a particularly vulnerable situation. So it doesn't feel like he has the upper hand all the time, and that's refreshing for this type of drama.

Usually a character telling another they won't stop pursuing them after getting rejected would be a red flag for me tbh. But idk it doesn't feel too bad when Tae Mu says it somehow, because it's pretty obvious that a lack of feelings on Ha Ri's part isn't the problem, what she's afraid of is being treated differently once they become a couple. So it feels more like an affirmation that he's sincere and that he'll make sure they can be together/protect her, rather than pushing his feelings on her.

Also I'm really glad that she kisses him!! Which is what happened with the other couple too!!! The writers were like, let's have women take the initiative and I can only say thank you.

Anyway, is fishing supposed to be cool? Is this a class/cultural thing? I laughed hard at their silly competition. In my mind, fishing isn't something that'd look cool, but I guess doing it on a yacht, looking as they do, as a contest in stereotypical masculinity.... I appreciated Tae Mu's apology and admission that jealousy clouded his judgment.

The chef is looking worse and worse as a person. He's been enjoying the fact that he was Ha Ri's one and only all this time, while never considering dating her. It's like he doesn't want her, but he doesn't want someone else to have her. Boy, she's not yours, and she can date whoever she likes!

We've been blessed with great best friends. Young Seo is so entertaining and charming and great. And somehow relatable at times, even tho she's like,,, also insanely rich. Sung Hoon is... well, he's definitely here for the visuals and I can't blame the people who cast Kim Min Kyu, but he's also very funny and keeps Tae Mu in check!! These two (YS and SH) are the same type of die-hard romantic who fall in love at first sight and also just sleep together on the day they admit their feelings?? And it works.

#a business proposal #kdrama thoughts #i'll have u know i forgot about work while watching this!#it takes a lot these days #i actually laughed out loud

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cheesyficwriter · 2 years

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Can you make a fanfic about rose,Hugo,Ron and Hermione family time before rose and Hugo inter Hogwarts I really loved the way you write 😍😍❤️❤️

Hi there! Thanks so much for the love! I hope you enjoy this piece from Rose's perspective, an ode to her family before she leaves for Hogwarts. I thought it fit perfectly with the theme "Meet the Family" for @romioneweek. Cheers!

Romione Week Day 5 - Meet the Family

Granger-Weasleys: A History

When Mum gave me a piece of paper and a quill, she told me that I should write about what my family means to me ahead of my first journey to Hogwarts. Although it feels like she was just eager to give me my first ever essay, she also says that I should save this letter for my future self to read, just in case I need a reminder of the light in my life when things seem most dark.

It's not easy to find the proper words to describe my family. It's so big, usually chaotic, and sometimes downright barmy, but I wouldn't trade my Granger-Weasley genes for anything.

My little brother, Hugo, is always the mischievous little one in the family. Arts and crafts hold his attention for such long periods of time throughout the day that I start to wonder if he's being recruited early by Uncle George to create a new line of children's products for the joke shop.

We don't always get along, but then again, what pair of siblings do?

Then there's my mum. Dad calls her the "anchor" of our house, and I can't agree more.

I share my love for books with her, and I grew up memorizing lines from Hogwarts: A History as soon as I could read, so I'm very knowledgeable on what the ceiling in the Great Hall looks like and that the use of Muggle computers isn’t possible on school grounds, which has made Bampy Weasley very sad to think about.

Mum doesn't cook but Dad does, and he can make wicked chicken and ham sandwiches. One of the first times I remember seeing magic was when an empty plate of food magically refilled itself. Blimey! I love magic.

Dad says I’m a good mix of him and Mum. I get excited when Mum tells me that she thinks I could become a prefect like them someday and I giggle when Dad later whispers in my ear that he’s got loads of fun stories to share with me before bedtime of the mischief my Uncles, Fred and George, got into while they were at school. I laugh with Dad a lot and he’s always willing to take me for a fly, which I LOVE!

After all, he surprised me once with my first ever toy broom! Mum was furious, but Dad calmed her down like he always does. Sometimes they kiss out in the open — it's gross, really. Lucky for me, Mum doesn't like public affection, however from time to time, she lets my dad be a bad influence on her. Mum doesn't seem to mind it too much when it comes from him.

Mum says that I am the most well-spoken eleven-year old she knows and thinks I could become a professional writer — as long as I don’t end up like that beetle, Rita Skeeter, and makes me promise to only publish real news if I decide to work for The Daily Prophet. Dad then tells me that they'd love me all the same even if I wasn't so smart and clever and that I could be anything I want to be — except a quidditch player for the Bulgarian team. He says it jokingly, of course, but Mum rolls her eyes every time. I don’t know if I quite get the joke, but I know all about their most famous player, Viktor Krum, from the Quidditch magazines that my Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny let me read. They always tell me that Krum is “he who must not be named” around my Dad.

My parents are very educated and brave. Sometimes I feel a little intimidated by my high-achieving family, and wonder if the other kids in my year will gawk and stare, knowing I'm the child of two war heroes — my cousin, James, has told me that the attention wears off, and the other students will find something new to chat about...eventually.

I know all about the war, of course, and my parents' epic time at Hogwarts through the moving photographs they have stowed away in an album on Mum's bookshelf. They only let me look at them occasionally, but I wonder sometimes if I will get to go on adventures like them? Dad’s face goes red when I ask him. I don’t think he likes that thought very much. I should ask Nanny and Bampy how they felt when he was in school.

My parents always emphasize that I’m supposed to tell the truth, even if it puts me in a rotten situation. I’m expected to be courteous to everyone I meet — even Scorpius Malfoy who, according to Dad, will be in my year. Dad let it slip once that Mum slapped Scorpius' father across the face while at school. Mum can be dramatic sometimes, but Dad seems quite proud of her for standing up for herself, and wants me to do the same if the Malfoys start giving me any trouble.

"Just don't tell your mum," he insists.

To sum it all up before my hand starts to cramp up, my parents and little brother are the absolute best. Hugo and I have always been taught to help other people out without expecting anything in return, to be patient and kind even when people treat us like rubbish — with the exception of the Malfoys, as Dad mentions — and to remember that with just a little bit of courage and bravery, we can do anything we set our minds to.

So how would I describe my home? Happiness. Love. Fun-filled. Trusting.

Hogwarts may soon become my new home for many years, but I will never forget the home I grew up in, the home I will come back to, and the home that has taught me that anyone can see the magic in the world if they just believe.

Yes, Mum, I know I won’t be allowed to use magic outside of school, but a girl can dream about the day that she is old enough to do so, right?

I am so lucky.

Signed,

Rose Granger-Weasley, Age 11

Future Outstanding Hogwarts Student

#1 Chudley Cannons Fan

#romione #romione fanfiction #romione fanfic #ron weasley #hermione granger #rose weasley #rose granger weasley #hugo weasley #family #hp fanfic #hpfanfiction #romioneweek2021 #ron weasley x hermione granger #granger weasley #cheesyficwriter

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sniper-childe · 3 years

Text

Hello! I’d like to share some of my notes if I were to Beta-read the most recent Archon Quest. I will be going through what worked, what could be taken out, and what could’ve been better. Note that I’m looking at this through an editor’s lens so I’m going to try NOT to change the plot we were given no matter what my opinions are about it BUT some of the said opinions may slip out.

Also, a bit of a disclaimer: I know that Genshin isn’t an actual literary work but miHoYo is known for its writers’ great storytelling and I’ve always loved their work so it really came as a surprise as to what happened to the mess that is Inazuma Act 3. So yeah.

Contains:

1. What was foreshadowed about the characters and why the payoff of their portrayals felt cheap.

a. About Kokomi and the rebellion.

b. About the Fatui, the James Bond villain wannabe.

c. About Ei and the Raiden Shogun.

2. How Chapter 2, Act 3 could have been the turning point that would have us, as the Traveler, cement our perceptions of the Archons and Gods of Celestia OR what I think the death of Signora was supposed to be but was undermined by this one tidbit.

BONUS: I wrote this before Kokomi’s story quest was released but decided to wait for it before posting. And guess what? I think Kokomi’s Story Quest works better as an Archon Quest. At least, some parts of it.

miHoYo teased us this intelligent leader of the resistance that is well-versed in the Art of War. The end of Ch2: Act 2 showed us a powerful Kokomi. So why was she sidelined all throughout the act?

I actually like the idea of the resistance asking the Fatui for aid. But miHoYo chickened out and made it so that they did it unknowingly. To which I say: how? If Kokomi was so smart she should’ve known better. I figured it was the Fatui within a single sentence, so why didn’t Kokomi?

They should’ve stuck with the concept of the underdogs – or in Kokomi’s words, the little fish – of war in an act of desperation. They could’ve shown a calculated Kokomi “making a deal with the devil” and will do anything to win the fight against the Shogunate.

In her Character Teaser, she was willing to burn the enemies’ supplies – to starve the enemy. She can be ruthless, that’s why Kokomi actively giving Delusions to her foot soldiers would have made much more sense to cause the Fatui to be involved rather than the whole “the Fatui orchestrated everything” schtick.

Which brings me to my next point: when did the Fatui turn into a James Bond villain? I hate that trope so much. It’s like the Deus Ex Machina of villainy. It’s lazy. And it doesn’t even fit the Fatui’s modus operandi.

In the prologue, the Abyss Order corrupted Dvalin and the Fatui was just there waiting to steal Barbatos’ gnosis while the Knights are distracted. Morax decided to retire one day so the Fatui swept right in and offered a test of Liyue in exchange for his gnosis.

The last two locations had their own story to tell while the Fatui was just in the background like the opportunistic antagonist that they are.

It also would have been a stronger plotline to have the already set lore – like the tenuous relationship between Watatsumi and Narukami – be the driving force of the Inazuman Civil War.

The prologue and chapter 1 also delivered what we are told we’re going to get in the Story Preview. That’s why they are satisfying. However, with chapter 2, the way it ended turned out to be more about the Fatui rather than “what do mortals see of the eternity chased after by their god.”

Sure, we got the consequences of the war in the World Quests and some of it in the second act. But making the Fatui the Big Bad in the end takes value away from the actions of the characters that are supposed to be the main feature of this chapter.

How much of the Eternity the Raiden Shogun is pursuing is directly from Ei? How much of it is its own understanding of eternity, coupled with Ei’s memories, and its own response? How much of it is the Fatui’s influence?

I have to say though, I’m fine with the puppet actually. Believe it or not. I have had kinda figured that out with the weird shifting of emotions in and out of the puppet. And the dead glowing eyes. So kudos to the design and animation team for that foreshadowing.

It was also said that the current Electro Archon lost someone dear to her and, while I didn’t think it was a twin, I did figure that the current Electro Archon wasn’t the real Electro Archon. So the whole Baal and Beelzebul backstory didn’t really surprise me. So I guess that was foreshadowed too? But my friends didn’t feel the same way so I don’t know. I’m not touching that.

But I do agree that all of the new lore got info-dumped to us by Yae rather than have us find out about them. To be honest, I would have wanted the backstory of Ei to be in her story quest rather than it be in the Archon Quest. A World Quest could work too.

I just feel like the 2.1 Archon Quest ended up cramming so many themes and subplots when it should’ve been focusing on what was promised: the darkness that is brought by their god.

They already had set up the Visions are people’s motivations/ambitions and that taking them away also takes away their agency.

Then they could’ve played with the idea of the people of Watatsumi looking up to Kokomi as their pseudo-god in-place of Orobashi and so with her actively giving Delusions could fit well in the said theme.

They could’ve made Ei and Kokomi character foils of each other and have the final showdown be about them.

And then it’ll all, of course, end up with the people of Inazuma learning how to work without their “gods” or something like that, which is the overarching theme of the whole series if you think about it.

But as I said, my opinions about the plot shouldn’t matter and I’m only here to make what was already written better.

So let’s talk about something that the puppet has done which didn’t make any sense on the surface level but could’ve been clever if it was done right. Killing La Signora.

Okay. So there is a pivotal moment at the end of the first arc of a three-act story where the main character experiences something that will leave them no choice but to move forward. This usually is a physical thing like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. But it can also be a mental or emotional situation.

Over at Honkai, the first arc ended with the death of a beloved mentor and a shattered world (both external and internal). The characters had no choice but to step up and “to stay alive, bravely” (yes, I won’t stop using this line ever). It was so very well done and even after so many years it still hurt no matter how many times you reread/rewatch the scene.

This reread value is what shows how much a twist is well written.

And that is what miHoYo is known for. So I had high expectations with the plot twist (technically this pivotal moment is called a plot twist because it twists the feel and/or pace of the story). Chapter 2 is the perfect spot to end the first act of a seven-chaptered story. So I’m really preparing myself for the inevitable twist.

But then we ended up with Signora’s death.

Okay. So. They could have used that to show us, as the traveler, how Archons and Celestial beings are unfeeling and not to be trusted. We were told this repeatedly by Dainsleiff and by the Abyss Twin. But it is only textbook writing 101 to show NOT tell.

And Signora’s death could have been this portrayal. Although, to be honest, it would have been more impactful if the one who died is a friend of the Traveler.

Them seeing someone die at the hands of an Archon could have their idea of gods shift. Because there is no turning back once you see the proof right in front of your eyes.

But instead, the puppet did it. So what was the point of Signora’s death if not just a power demonstration? We already knew that the Raiden Shogun is powerful. So why did Signora have to die?

Sure, one can argue that the puppet was enacting the Ei’s will so maybe there was a point. But! In Ei’s story quest, we were told that the puppet would have no hesitation when it comes to killing whereas Ei can show mercy.

Which begs, again, the question: how much of the Raiden Shogun’s actions is a reflection of Ei’s will, and how much of it is a logic response of an artificial intelligence from Ei’s memories?

Honestly? I don’t like that they killed off Signora. It doesn’t feel right. I would’ve taken Beidou’s death over Signora’s no matter how much I love Beidou. There was just no build-up to it and it feels weak. I… didn’t feel anything besides confusion. The anger only came later because of the wasted potential.

But overall, I do think they could’ve made it work if it were actually Ei doing the killing.

So I just did Kokomi’s Story Quest and man. The soldiers wanting to continue the war is what they really should have made the motivations of the actual war rather than have it as a post-war response and then have Kokomi fix their mess.

Seriously. While it was really interesting to see the usual trauma response of soldiers who had only known war their whole life, they wasted this idea, man.

Before doing the Archon Quest I had thought that the Watatsumi had a hand on the Vision Hunt Decree. Because if I were a tactician, I would have made something to anger the people of my enemies and have them have their internal issues. And while the Shogunate is weak, that’s when I will strike and claim Inazuma for my people and my god.

Then Orobashi will rise once more.

Yep.

Obviously, I really wanted Kokomi to be a more active character in the Archon Quest.

Anyways. If you reached the end, thank you for reading this ~1.5k words of musings. Tell me what you think. Or don’t. You do you.

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gale-gentlepenguin · 3 years

Text

Gale Reviews: ML Season 4 Episode 3: Gang of Secret

(Spoilers below)

-So they just beat a villain, and Ladybug is acting SUS. Like she doesn't Want to leave yet. Hmm

-Chat noir YOU SLICK MOFO. (I dare not ruin it, because I am laughing at it)

-She is still not over her break up. So I guess Lukanette stans, get whatever remains of your juice while its there.

-Ladybug ... sweetie. Do you need a hug? Cause you look like you need a hug.

-Chat noir realizing his idea was NOT very smart after that.

-Ladybug ruining experiences for a LOT of couples today

-Chat noir trying to help, but Ladybug aint telling him

-They are going swimming now. Chat noir for once, is not thrilled about hanging out with Ladybug... thats a YIKES.

-She has goggles and a towel, so she did go swimming.

-The Kwami see her in pain, QUICK, TEAR DOWN THE PHOTOS.

-She said no tho, but clearly sad about it.

______________

-So Alya is giving the girl posse the rundown on Marinette. Claiming she is lovesick.

-Rose thought they were cute, and Juleka says nothing. Is it wrong that I want Juleka to have an opinion? Whether positive OR negative

-Juleka is like "Yea, he is sad." shows picture of sad Luka. Though to be fair, that is a decent pic of him.

- So Alya is LAST to know. Double ouch.

-Marinette was crying in the bathroom, baby girl no!

-MARINETTE OMG! HOW DOES SHE HAVE THAT?!

-Alya out here trying to be a good friend. By showing Marinette she has support. (She aint even mad that she was last to find out. She is more concerned about her friend)

-THEY HAVE A SECRET HANDSHAKE!

-They calling her now

-She didn't answer. She is too sad

-So she won't detransform and talk with tikki. Can I PLEASE give her a hug. She needs it.

-Yo... Marinette has zero concern for herself and only detransformed when she thought it was causing strain on Tikki.

-Mylene offering friendship bracelets. Never change dear.

-Okay so are they witches now?

-Alix is like 'Can I not be in a ritual, Id rather give her some juice'

_________________

-Marinette sad cause Ladybug can't have a boyfriend. Cause even if she dated Adrien, it would be the same as it was with Luka.... Tikki knows that aint true but can't say why. UGH! This is pain

-Did Tikki just confirm Kwami can't fall in love? NO! MY CHEESECAKE!

-OH S***! So now she gonna be Perma ladybug?!

-So the girls showed up as soon as ladybug left. This isn't good.

-And of course Marinette is TOO GOOD at making s***, so they curious about the new dollhouse

-OH S*** THAT WAS CLOSE!

-And things going to s*** in 10, 9, 8

-Oh no... this... this is not good. Marinette sweetie no. No please.

-Look can we take a second and APPRECIATE HOW HARD ALYA AND THE GIRLS ARE GOING FOR MARINETTE! Did the writers see all of the alya salt and say 'Yea f*** that noise'? Cause I feel like they did.

-Okay so I know Marinette just didn't want to expose her secret... but damn girl... THAT was harsh.

-Marinette literally going scorched earth for being Ladybug... Okay, this episode PHYSICALLY hurts me. SHE DOESNT MEAN IT GIRLS. PLEASE DONT HATE HER.

-Shadowmoth could you not. Like seriously?! COULD YOU F***ING NOT! MY BABY GIRL IS IN PAIN AND I WILL GO THROUGH MY SCREEN AND [Redacted]

-And then you'll have to f*** sideways.

-So first 5 way akumatization

-So can we talk about how the last 3 akuma were after the secrets of Marinette. well 2, but the other one was Adrien. But still. A Lot of Hawkmoth saying 'F*** this individual in particular'

-THEY JUST WANT HER TO STAY THEIR FRIEND! OMG I CANT EVEN BE MAD.

-I wish I could understand Juleka. Can someone please just translate with what she is saying. It was funny in truth, but I want to know

-OH Timebreaker and Horrificator are BACK. Yay, I missed them

-Just realized how AMAZING their Gang of akuma are. Like damn, thats like a super team of evil. Yea sure

___________________________

-Not to nitpick, but Marinette, you should have led with that box.

-TRIXX IS GONNA USE HIS POWERS OMG FINALLY! A PURE KWAMI POWER. We haven't seen that since Plagg.

-Damn that was a really boss illusion trixx. But question, how was that out of control? Like if anything, that was BETTER then when the user used it.

-Trixx makes a really good point. WHY DOES HE NEED A HOLDER AGAIN?!

-OH, HE WAS LYING. EVERYTHING LOOKS F***ING BANANAS.

-Trixx is now my second favorite Kwami.

-PLAGG! MY SON! HE IS IN THE EPISODE! I MISSED HIM. Also, surprisingly knows.

-Plagg cares about other Kwami.

-Adrien just chilling, watching tv. XD

-Timebreaker casually committing murder

-Hold it, Okay so why are so many people in school right now? Ivan is there, chloé and Sabrina? Oh my tomato son too. Can someone tell me wtf is up with this school schedule?

-Fragrance/Reflekta Power combo is amazing.

-Wow, this gang is MEGA DANGEROUS

-So yea Ladybug. Maybe... idk... TALK WITH CHAT NOIR ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS!?

-So they really gotta plan this time.

-Ladybug smart to disarm Ladywifi.

-Ladybug trying to get lady wifi to fight the akuma. This is touching

-SHE DID IT! ALYA BROKE FREE! LIKE A MOTHERF***ING BOSS.

-No, shadow moth, you's a b***

-Loving this Alya- Ladybug friendship

-Chat noir looking boss by fighting 3 akuma at once while on the phone. Chat noir Leveled up.

-So Ladybug can now pull the miraculous out of anywhere because she has guardian status. Thats a cool trick. Makes it much easier.

-Thats a secret tho, Alya got trusted with a big secret.

-RENA ROUGE IN THE HOUSE!

_______

-And Chat noir is captured... but in his defense. He did have to fight 4 at once this time. So that took longer than usual. So no shame kitty. You did well.

-Lucky charm is an inner tube

-Clever illusion. POINTS! Using the goal of the akuma to distract. Alya gets gull points!

-WOW! REALLY CLEVER ILLUSION.

-Ladybug suave catch of rose tho.

-So that was probably the best Group akuma attack since Heroes day (and honestly it probably tops it)

________

-Marinette patches things up with her friends. That is a relief. She was able to somewhat explain her issues up to the point. Without spilling the details.

-Marinette has some really good friends.

-Alya knows that not everything has been told... Hold on DONT TELL ME.

-Oh wow, Marinette is breaking down.... My poor baby girl is hurting real bad.

-OH S*** SHE SAID IT! SHE TOLD HER! SHE TOLD ALYA!

____________________________________________________________

wow this episode... This one hurt. This one hurt a LOT. But also, it was really good.

Okay so, 10/10.

I haven't been this enthralled with an episode in a long time.

Are there one or two nitpicks? Absolutely.

Do I wish somethings were not mentioned? A little bit.

Am I glad Alya knows? Out of everyone, she is the second person I wanted Marinette to tell.

(The first one being chat noir, but lets face it, we kind of knew that won't be happening for a while.)

So can Alya salt stop now? Cause Alya CLEARLY showed how much of a motherf***ing boss she is.

But damn I didn't feel this emotional since Chat blanc.

I DONT EVEN CARE THAT THE AKUMA WERE REPEATS.

That was OBJECTIVELY, one of the best episodes in the entire series.

This made me rethink my favorite episode. THATS HOW GOOD IT WAS.

Season 4, You keep doing what you are doing. Your writing (minus some very minor nitpicks) has been pretty damn good.

#ml #ml spoilers #ml gang of secrets #miraculous ladybug #gale reviews #my heart #I cant #I CANT EVEN #marinette dupain cheng

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m-y-fandoms · 3 years

Text

COMMISSION: Joker/Akira/Ren x Reader Part 3

This fic assumes Mishima isn't a confidant, the reader is the Moon arcana instead, keep this in mind.

word count: 6.3k words, SFW

- Admin Myah

Over the next few weeks spent with Akira, or… Joker, as he seemed to be called when the situation demanded, you learned that the world was much more complicated than you ever could’ve dreamed. Sure, you praised yourself for being a little less of a sheep than the idle-brained teenagers of your everyday life who thought of nothing but gossip, status and appearances, but now you felt insignificant, like you’d been asleep all this time until Akira, Ryuji and Ann had placed six symbolic hands upon you, and shaken you to life. Layers upon layers, he explained the subconscious world that lay beneath, which ached to be revealed, only to those who’d open their eyes.

＊

It’d been a rush, your first time in the Metaverse. You’d insisted to Akira, though he protested, that you wanted to see what all of this near-unbelievable nonsense he was explaining was all about. He’d never taken non-Phantom-Thief confidants into the Metaverse, and he was hesitant, silent for a long while before deciding that your help was worth the risk. After all, he’d already told you everything, and they had no way to erase memories… yet.

You remember Akira taking your hand, the skin on skin contact. Up on the school’s rooftop with Ryuji and Ann flanking you, Akira had told you it was a precaution, to make absolutely sure that you transferred into the Metaverse with them and landed in the same place. You had to be touching one of them, for your safety, and he’d eagerly volunteered. With the cat in his bag seeming to smile at you over his shoulder (an occurrence which made you feel like you were going looney already) he tapped an app icon on his phone, some scary red little square, and with that, your body lifted, began to float, or so it seemed. Red completely consumed your vision, red and black ink like those blobs you’d seen the Phantom Thieves appear from when this all began. You gasped, stumbling back a step as if you could escape the all-encompassing wave, and Akira, sensing your trepidation, squeezed your hand slightly.

The rooftop faded, and you felt like a character from a videogame fast-traveling to their destination. Almost as fast as it appeared, the trippy red and black sludge subsided, and before you sat a dark, dreary scenery. A castle, one that obviously belonged to a malevolent ruler sat amongst a purple sky and the smell of despair.

“What the…” your mouth hung agape for a second, taking in your surroundings before letting your eyes trail down to where your hand met Akira’s. Assuming you no longer needed it, you shook him off gently, not even sparing a glance his way, and his eyebrows creased just the smallest amount, not that you noticed. You were too focused on the giant cat before you, knee-height, with a round, bulbous head. “Is… are you-?!”

“Much more handsome and dashing in this form, wouldn’t you say?” Morgana - now confirmed - gave you a sly look as you leaned down to his height to run your hand along the fur on his head.

“Wow… so cute!” You cooed.

“Hey! Stop it! Stop it! I am a warrior and to be taken seriously!” he whined, shooing away your hands, his fur on end.

“Ha!” a sharp laugh rang out behind you, and you turned to see that Morgana wasn’t the only one who’d made a drastic change. Ryuji was now clad in some kind of leather pirate’s uniform, his demeanor far more fearsome and a skull mask across his face. Ann donned a skin-tight body suit and cat mask, and Akira wore a lavish long coat, red gloves, and a masquerade mask. He looked like a magician from some fairytale, or perhaps the leader of some band of Robin-Hood-inspired band of vigilantes… although you supposed that was kind of what he was now… either way, he would make amazing source material for your main protagonist. Such swagger, a commanding presence… he didn’t seem to exactly be the same Akira you’d met earlier.

＊

The trip to the Metaverse was almost completely uneventful… almost. Just once, when you’d begged Akira to press forward and show you the inside of the castle, something called a “shadow” attacked, and you got to see the band of thieves in action. It was shocking, leaving chills running down your spine. Here were your classmates, people your age with ghost-like spirits materializing at their backs, flipping through the castle’s corridors, shooting guns and slingshots and magic at terrifying beasts. It was all so fast-paced, so stunning, that your body locked up witnessing the battle. A shadow spotted you in the background, defenseless and clearly not part of the Phantom Thief entourage, and taking the petty opportunity only a sore-loser on the ropes would take, struck out against you. You shrieked, your hands uselessly coming up to defend your face as if it would help. Akira’s eyes widened, his reflexes so much faster in this realm, and turned on his heel, diving in front of you to deflect the blast of frosty energy swirling toward you. It bounced off of the side of his large steel dagger and ricoheted back at the shadow. After assessing the situation and asking if you were okay, Akira decided it was time to return you back to the real world. It was too dangerous for someone without a persona to wander here. The thieves would return later, once you were safe at home.

＊

Anyway, now you believed him, you knew everything he was saying, about Kamoshida and his fucked up mind, about confidants, personas and metacognition was real and very much a serious matter. Now all that was left was to decide just how you could help them, what kind of deal you could strike with the clever leader of the Phantom Thieves. Of course, he didn’t expect you to get something and give nothing.

It was decided that you’d offer your knowledge as a writer to help with negotiation and charming shadows in the Metaverse. You’d turn those golden lines you wrote on the pages into real-life lessons, and Akira would learn to seduce shadows, to out-smart them, to persuade them to give up everything they had: their money, precious belongings, even their very selves. He would flirt, threaten, intimidate, any honeyed word or silver-tongued method he could use to make deals with shadows go along more smoothly. Perfect. It would help him out immensely. But, what did you want, he’d asked again.

It felt embarrassing, now that you were put on the spot, forced to disclose it, but although those “golden words” translated well into lessons for others, you found that you couldn’t as easily take your own advice. You struggled with human interaction in your real life, especially of the romantic kind. You could write a healthy relationship out on paper, create the ideal love interest from scratch for a story, but stumbled along words like some socially incompetent fool once it came time to apply that knowledge. As much as you hated to admit it, these days even getting true, realistic romantic moments down on paper was a struggle. The well was drying up, writer’s block, as you’d explained it to your online friends. It was near impossible to make something from nothing, and you had nothing. No real romantic experience. You couldn’t help but think this was the route of the problem. Your writing, your precious romance novel would flourish, if only it’s author wasn’t completely clueless.

“Date me…” You mumbled, surprised out how your long moment of pensive introspection had accumulated into this clunky statement.

“What?” Akira let out a breath he’d seemed to be holding the entire time, just watching you think on what method of reciprocity was worth your help. Losing your nerve at the incredulous tone of his voice and the raise of his brows, you shrunk back a bit, ready to defend your words.

“W-wait!” You held a hand out between you. “Not really. I mean…” how to word this…? “Like, fake!” He looked even more confused than before. You released a noise of frustration. “What I mean is, you take me on dates - fake ones - stupid little stuff couples do, for my writing, of course…” You looked toward the ground, suddenly extremely interested in your shoes.

“How does that benefit you in any way?” He smiled, a bit forced, a blush dusting his pale cheeks.

“Well I- I’ve been having writer's block lately. I mean sure, I can give you lines and lessons from my previous works, drabble and things I’ve learned, written down in the past, but I have no fresh material. Stagnation is every writer’s downfall, but I have no experience, I need more to go off of… and then maybe I can even transfer what I discern from our… interactions - er… dates I mean - to you. Does that make sense?” You looked up at him hopefully.

“Uh… no,” Yeah, you knew it didn’t, but that’s all you had for him. His hand shook, much less confident as Akira than Joker, and he shoved it in his pocket.

“It’s hard to explain, I just… that’s my deal. Will you take it?” You clutched your bag a little closer to your body. “We don’t even have to tell anybody. I just want to experience it… going out… with someone…” It sounded a little more pathetic now that you were actually hearing yourself. You both stood in silence, Akira contemplating your words. It wasn’t that he didn’t like you as a person… it was just… complicated…

“Give me a day to think about it,” he spoke quietly, giving you a polite send off before parting ways.

That night, anxiety set in as you rolled around in your bed restlessly.

Did you sound like a creep? Were you being unreasonable? Was this asking too much of him? Does he think you’re crazy? You’ll probably never hear from him again. He’d probably rather find a way in that crazy Metaverse to erase your memories so he can forget the awkward exchange ever happened. Maybe he’ll kick your shadow’s ass one day.

You debated going to school the next day.

＊

Akira’s night, though not as horrendous as yours, was not a peaceful one. Like so many nights, he found himself awoken to the clink of a ball and chain, dressed in striped rags as he stood and walked to the bars of his cell. The twins were waiting, as always, anger in their eyes.

“Look alive, prisoner!” Caroline spoke.

“Our master would have a word with you!” Justine chimed in. Akira looked up, meeting Igor’s large grin.

“You’ve forsaken a bond, Trickster. One must ask, why?” Igor’s hands splayed over a deck on cards on his desk.

“Huh…? What do you mean?” Sleep lingering in his mind, and confused as to why he was here this time, Akira replied.

“I’ve told you, the bonds you strengthen over time and the new bonds you form, they will be what wins this fight. You can only complete your mission, save all that is, through the support your confidants provide, so why have you abandoned this bond?” Igor’s fingers folded together, hands clasped, a show of disappointment. “Now is not the time to not try hard enough.” Was that a hint of frustration in his tone? If so, he didn’t show it.

“...I’m afraid I don’t understand.” Akira rubbed one eye lazily.

“You’re not trying to understand, worm! Wake up!” Caroline’s fist banged down across the bars, startling Akira slightly. He looked to Igor again, who held up a single card between two fingers. On its face sat two wolves, both howling up at a glittering moon.

“The Moon.” Igor stated plainly. “Illusion, fear, anxiety, intuition, uncertainty, complexity, secrets, the unconscious mind. A friend, a possible lover, someone unsure of themselves and others. Creativity, shadowed by doubt. Someone who supports others but not themselves.” As he spoke, images of your face flashed in Akira’s mind. Igor threw the card into the air, catching it upside-down, letting the wolves fall into the moon, swimming in its glow. “Reversed: release of fear, repressed emotion, clarity, misinterpretations overturned. Someone who can fix what was upright. But you’ve passed over the opportunity.” Igor swipes his free hand in front of the card, and it disappears.

Scenes play out in Akira’s head. Confrontation with shadows, confrontations with real people, but these aren’t real… or rather, haven’t happened yet.

He receives clarity.

The Moon has more to offer than lessons on charisma, seduction, trickery, persuasion. His intuition will grow, his ability to perceive things before they happen, the ability to read and understand people, and be understood in return. Other bonds will grow, empathy will grow. More friends, closer friends, a flash of blue hair, white uniform, red hair, headphones, then a tidy uniform, a Shujin uniform, gloves, a beige jacket, and finally bouncy curls and a soft, high pitched voice. With your help, the Phantom Thieves can grow. Bonds will strengthen. Complexity, Igor had said. More than meets the eye. Was there more to you? You weren’t too bad, obviously intelligent… a bit odd, but kind enough, and he did find you cute… but pretending, a fake relationship? How could a fake bond strengthen

The card reappears, as if out of thin air, and Igor points to one upside down wolf.

“Me.” Joker whispers, as if guided by an unseen force. Igor points to the other wolf.

You.

He awakens with a start, nearly knocking Morgana off the bed. He has an answer for you now.

＊

He finds you at school the next day, huddled in the library and not where you’d said you’d meet him. You’d been dreading this, waiting for the rejection, your hand trembling slightly on the book in your hands. He sits across from you, a look of determination on his face. Waiting for him to speak was torture.

“I’ll do it.” He holds out a hand, waiting for you to shake it, seal the deal. A contact has been signed.

＊

Your first date with Akira is clunky, unpracticed, unprecedented of course. He doesn’t know much about what to do, either, so he takes you to Le Blanc for dinner. Some coffee and curry, maybe a soda and some conversation on the side? It couldn’t be too bad, right? That’s what dudes do, he thought, bring their... pretend sweetheart somewhere for dinner, right? Sojiro is teasing, of course, wondering who this new person was, why Akira was holding their hand. He smirks like a dad proud of his boy, and Akira, too embarrassed under Sojiro’s scrutiny now to sit down and serve you curry, rushes you upstairs.

After being dragged by the hand up rickety old stairs, you end up in Akira’s room alone. You look around, taking in his sparse decorations, humble belongings. It then strikes you that you are, in fact, alone. Alone with a boy in his room, for the first time in your life. You didn’t know how you got here, and so fast. Maybe you were in over your head. Maybe you just needed to calm down. This was part of the process, right? Real couples did this, to get to know each other. He beckons you over, gestures for you to sit on his bed with him. You’re hesitant, but Akira isn’t making a big deal out of it, and you’re not really alone, with Morgana right there, so you sit, as far from him as you could be on the surprisingly soft bed. Struggling for words and new to dates himself, Akira decides to treat you first and foremost like his friend. That makes this all easier.

He spends the next hour or so describing Mementos, his mentor Igor, the twins. He wants you to know everything, and it surprises him. His other confidants, save for the actual Phantom Thieves, don’t know anything about the hidden world their bonds are healing. He describes the arcana to you, the tarot, the way his soul resonates with The Fool, Ryuji The Chariot, Ann The Lovers. His doctor friend is Death, Sojiro the Hierophant. Morgana here is the Magician, and proud of it. He explains how he feels a bond with them, as he now does with you. They make him feel like he can do anything. You’re included in that now. You feel warmth rise to your cheeks. How could he say that so casually? It wasn’t like it was a love confession or whatever, but you had trouble seriously telling your online friends you appreciated having them in your lives without adding a joke or meme in there somewhere. Why did he even need your help? He seemed well spoken. You said so, voicing these opinions aloud.

“Huh.. you know, I actually don’t usually talk this much,” he smiled. “Must just be you.” He was only half teasing. You looked away nervously, feeling the need to change the subject.

“S-so, what am I?” You began to stroke Morgana’s fur, and this time he didn’t seem to mind.

“You mean your soul?” He scooted a bit closer.

“Yeah.” It didn’t go unnoticed.

“The Moon.” He replied softly.

He spent the rest of the night explaining the levels of Mementos, and some of the wicked people whose hearts he’s had the displeasure of seeing inside, but the absolute pleasure of changing. You say you aren’t surprised so many people are walking around so hurt inside or eager to hurt others. When the “date” ends - neither of you having even gotten that promised coffee or curry downstairs - you’re touching, sitting shoulder to shoulder looking at the moon outside his window with Morgana on your lap. The room seems a little warmer, a little less humble. Akira mentions with a sheepish grin that it’s getting late, and offers to walk you home.

Rank Up!

＊

You sit in your bed that night, Akira now having returned to Le Blanc, and think about if this will make good writing material or not. You had to have learned something, right? There was something to be gained from every experience… but you can’t help feeling like you’ve warmed up to the thought of Akira a bit more… not too much, however. You smiled to yourself at the thought of The Fool, tricked into dating the Moon, for all it can offer him.

He’d been so awkward at your front door when he dropped you off. You could tell he had no clue what to do. He was frantically looking around. People in movies kissed their date at this point, cheek or lips, depending on how the date went, right? He confessed that he’s one of those people who truly don’t know anything about romance, like you’d mentioned earlier in one of your conversations. You tell him it’s fine, that you didn’t expect anything, that you just met the other day. He thought he was being clear, dropping hints that he might want to peck your cheek, just a quick gesture to kick off your fake relationship, but maybe he wasn’t as slick as he thought. The hints seemed to go over your head. Maybe he really did need help.

＊

Your second date comes in the form of you begging to go back into the Metaverse for some inspiration. He fights you, bringing up the last time a shadow attacked you, but you are persistent. He gives in, taking you to the highest rung of Mementos, where the shadows are weak and he can keep you safe adequately on his own. It is a date, after all, no Phantom Thieves tagging along. Mementos is a bit more frightening than Kamoshida’s Palace, you mention, and he eases your fear, promising to protect you here, always. You take in his Phantom Thief uniform in more detail as you walk the long corridors of the realm of the subconscious and decide he looks quite handsome in it.

You watch him battle a demon that is the personification of lust, a succubus-like creature dripping with temptation and love, or so it thinks. Joker uses all that you’ve taught him so far, which isn’t much, and cons the false idol of love out of their money. It was quite comical yet a bit sad to watch the shadows expression fall from a cocky to a defeated one, but preformative love you’ve decided, is doomed to lose. The irony flies over your head.

From this experience, watching Joker fight with speed and grace, you settle on a genre for your novel. It will be a high-fantasy romance. Joker will inspire your main character, of course, but the love interest… was still undecided. You started drafting her to look like Ann, act like Ann, give off the energy and power Ann does. Ryuji was an option at first as well to inspire the love interest’s personality, but he was a bit too brash. You wanted someone strong, but soft and elegant at the same time. These characters were loosely based on the Phantom Thieves, anyway, so it didn’t really matter.

＊

When you leave the Metaverse, though Akira is a bit exhausted, he takes you to a local casual restaurant to make up for the last time at Le Blanc. There, sitting across the counter from you two is an older gentleman. Yoshida, Akira whispers, is a friend of his, another confidant. The Sun. Yoshida makes small talk, asking politely if you’re with Akira, and you feel your stomach clench. You knew this was fake, the agreement was clear, but hearing it aloud, the awkward ‘we’re just friends’ that was coming made you sweat. It still felt like rejection anyway. When Akira confirms that yes, you are in fact dating, your eyes widen, the coil in your stomach releasing. He smiles, taking your hand. This has to be an act, a show to play up the relationship. He’s just performing his duty, his role, holding up his end of the deal in order to simulate a real relationship and give you worthwhile source material… right?

Either way, you appreciate not being publicly humiliated, and smile back. That night, you write down everything, and what it’s like to not be alone.

Rank Up!

＊

Days pass, Kamoshida coming and going, justice being served, and you spend more and more time with your fake boyfriend. Your parents let him come over, and in your room you let him read some of the old poetry you’ve written, some lame pining drabble from your younger years, and some more recent things you’re proud of. He scours your room, digging up old hobbies and photos. You tell him all about them. He tells you he enjoys learning these things about you. You simply smile. It doesn’t seem to be the reaction he was looking for. Not liking the small frown that adorns his features, you pick the conversation back up, asking if he thinks you’ll ever have a persona. He smiles, maybe someday.

Rank Up!

＊

The Phantom Thieves are gaining fame, only more fodder for your writing. The more you hang out with Akira and his friends, the more real it feels. Your online friends can feel it, too. They sense you changing, talking less of writing and more of Akira. They tease you, of course, but they don’t get it. He’s just a main character… just a muse.

This time, Akira walks home to Le Blanc alone, wondering if he should tell you how he feels. He doesn’t like it, holding up this pretense of a fake relationship, pretending the glances and touches don’t matter. He wants to tell you…

...that he’s slowly falling.

You receive a little gift in the mail the next day. It’s a deck of tarot cards. The return address is blank. You call him to tell him all about it, and end up discussing the pros and cons of each card all night. What a coincidence that you should receive your own deck all of a sudden.

Rank Up!

＊

There are moments where you’re afraid you may be falling, too. There was the time that a blue-haired young man stalked you and your friends through Shibuya, turning corners when you did, always on your trail. When Ryuji finally got fed up and confronted the weirdo, asking why the hell he was following you guys, he’d revealed that his name was Yusuke, a student of a painting master, and that he was simply following inspiration where it lead.

“Your friend there, I was drawn to them,” he points elegantly, like some manga bishounen, past Ryuji and toward you. “I beg of you, allow me to paint your form. Something about your normalcy stands out. What I mean is, there is beauty to be found in not standing out, a silent grace in being so plain.” You could tell Yusuke meant no harm, that he simply may be a bit socially inept with his words, as well, but the way he was talking about you set something in Akira on fire. He stood in front of you, shifting until his body blocked yours from Yusuke’s sight.

“They aren’t plain.” He spoke with a dangerous edge to his tone, and you felt your heartbeat speed up. The hint of jealousy in his voice at Yusuke’s request for you to model for him, and anger at him calling someone he found so fascinating plain was evident.

＊

Yusuke seemed to be in denial in the coming days. Though your little troupe seemed to constantly be bumping into him, offering him sound advice and trying to awaken him to the mire of corruption that was the truth behind his mentor, Ichiryusai Madarame, he refused to see reason. He dove further into his art, but you could tell he was hurting. You used your time with Akira these days to teach him how art, much like film and literature, can reflect false truths and influence people. The deception, corruption and shallowness of the media extended to the art world, as he learned after one or two gallery visits with you.

It was then, in a gallery displaying Yusuke’s work, as you sat in a secluded corner alone discussing ways to take down Madarame, that Akira started to flirt incessantly.

He takes your hand, bringing up romantic tropes in movies he’s seen that seem so forced, one-sided, cliche, uncomfortable. He mentions that he would’ve done better, explains how those scenes would’ve played out if he had any say.

“Is that so?” Your brow raises, amused by how animated this usually quiet boy could be when he was passionate about something.

“Yeah! Of course! What, you don’t see me doing that?” he laughed breathily, going on about how the male lead of some high-school romance film Sojiro rented for him was clumsy, forceful, and didn't give his lover time and space to think about their feelings. “I would’ve treated them much, much better… “ his words trail off, as if lost in thought.

“...Is that so?” You ask again, studying his face and asking yourself how you didn’t notice before how beautiful the hue of his eyes were. You sure as hell were noticing now… steely grey, sharp, deep, purposeful. You’d have to write that down… for research purposes of course. When you pull yourself back to reality, no longer lost in the swirl of his irises, you realize he’s staring at you, and has been for some time.

“Do… can I-” he speaks, throat dry, and scoots himself closer. “May I kiss you…?” His voice is soft, so soft, scared.

“...Yes.” You answer, naturally, impulsively, voice just as soft. When Akira leans forward, and softly presses his apprehensive lips to yours, you feel like you’ve been set on fire. Your mind begins to go crazy, while your body is frozen. It’s not that you didn’t like it, some part of you did. You wanted more, but it felt wrong. This wasn’t real. You didn’t truly like him… right? This kiss was fake, for research purposes… to cure writer’s block…

...right?

You were frozen more from guilt than nerves. Weren’t first kisses supposed to feel like little butterflies in your stomach? Did he think he owed you this? Were you taking advantage of him at this point? Did he feel forced to kiss you to keep up his end of the bargain?

Akira deepened the kiss, a hand on the back of your neck, guiding you, begging you to reciprocate. When you didn’t, lost in your own head, he pulls away, a small frown tugging at his lips.

“W-we… we should head home. I’ll walk you…” he sighs. You both stand, make your way back onto the main street from the museum, and are silent the entire walk home.

You think he’s silent because you’ve forced him to think he needs to kiss you, and now regrets his decision. He thinks you’re silent because he’s just forced a kiss upon you, just like some Chad from a movie who can’t understand boundaries. Neither of you know your silence is for the exact same reasons.

Akira drops you off at home with a quiet ‘goodnight,’ and walks home, clearing his head in the cool night air.

“Stupid… jeez… fuckin’ stupid,” he huffs, repirmanding himself. This wasn’t real. You’d stated that from the beginning. This relationship was to benefit your writing, to help him in the Metaverse, nothing else. Nothing else.

Nothing. Else.

It was his fault he let himself develop real feelings. He has no right to be sad, to blame you, to get upset. You’d stated the terms from the very start…

Maybe he really was The Fool.

Rank Up…?

＊

The next few weeks are awkward.

Both of you think it’s your fault.

You go on dates like usual, but they are strictly business. You get writing material, he gets advice, no touching, and certainly no kissing. Yusuke joins the group. Things are great… friendly… strained, tense. Akira wonders what the hell he’s doing, if this bond is even worth it. Weeks pass. He feels your bond with him growing, but not in the way he wishes. It felt like all of his other confidants: visit, gain, rank up, gain power, learn. He wonders if he can keep this up. His heart aches. He wants to touch you more, but can’t, wants to tell you more, but won’t let himself.

＊

One rainy night, he calls you, like he often does when you can’t meet up in person, and tells you he can’t do this anymore. You lie, and say you agree. The guilt won’t let you tell him the truth, that you want to end the farce, move onto something more real. You can sense your feelings for him growing stronger each day, and it’s not fair to him. Without fighting, without the big “it’s not you it’s me you” you’re used to reading about in books, you tell him you respect his decision, and it’s over. When Akira hangs up, he finds himself a bit angry inside. You didn’t even try to fight for the relationship. There was a tiny little part of him that hoped you felt anything for him, that maybe it meant something to you. He cries that night, for the first time in a long time. They are angry tears, frustrated ones.

＊

In your bed, you find yourself sitting upright, dead inside, unfeeling, empty. You feel like a part of you is gone, but can’t pinpoint why. You don’t even notice the tears sliding down your own cheeks as you sift through the pack of tarot cards that mysteriously came into your life. You find The Moon, and play with it, twisting it between your fingers before sending it flying across the room like a paper dart. Did this mean you couldn’t hang out with the Phantom Thieves anymore? Were you losing your only in-real-life friends and… boyfriend(?) all in the same day?

You sifted through the cards and gently set aside the Emperor, the Lovers, the Chariot. Then your hand drifted over the Fool. You held it out in front of your face. A dancing man looking up at the sky with a jesters cap perched upon his head smiled back at you.

The start of a great journey, freedom from constraints. Each day is an adventure. Courage, anything can happen. There is a need to experience new things, to let yourself experience the love you deserve. Be willing to take risks.

A sad, thoughtful smile crosses your lips. You turn the card upside down.

If you disregard the repercussions of your actions, you are the Fool. You cannot see the position you’ve put yourself in. Is everything what it seems to be?

A breath catches in your throat, a wave of nausea hitting you. You scramble for your phone, and dial a number.

Silence, ringing, silence.

“...Yeah…?” Akira sniffles. He’s been crying???

“I want… can we talk… can I come over?”

“It’s late.”

“It’s not, we came home way earlier than usual. You’re just using that as an excuse.” You were feeling a little braver than usual, the spirit of the Fool within you. You heard him thinking, a sigh that came through as static.

“Yeah… fine, I’ll be waiting.” Relief washed over you.

＊

When you knocked on the door after speed-walking to Le Blanc, Sojiro let you in with a warm smile. He obviously didn’t know about your falling out with Akria, yet.

“He’s upstairs,” he gestured, exhaustion evident in his voice. You rushed past, thanking him with a small bow of your head. Only now was the inevitable fear starting to sink in. Akira heard footsteps creaking on the stairs. Sojiro never came up unannounced, and with that realization, his back stiffened. Morgana picked up your scent, excusing himself, passing you on your way up the stairs. He could take a hint.

He stood immediately, stepping toward you, stopping halfway. You shrunk into yourself, unable to meet his eyes.

“Akira… I wanted to talk…” you muttered.

“You said that… about what?” He was more than a little pissed, but he was always one to hide his temper well.

“Can we sit…?” You gestured to his small sofa. It didn’t feel right to sit on the bed. He hesitated, before shuffling over and sitting next to you. “I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?” Oh, there were so many things, but he wanted to know what you thought was worth apologizing over. Maybe he wasn’t being fair, he dialed back his attitude a tad.

“For… making you enter into the agreement in the first place. Someone’s affections, their love, their touch and body… it’s not something that can be forced. It should never be pretend.” You felt like the biggest hypocrite ever right now. His head shook a bit in disbelief, blinking hard.

“I wasn’t pretending!” His hands flew to his hair, mussing it. “That was the problem.” He sighed heavily.

“What?” You couldn’t believe what you were hearing.

“I wasn’t being forced… are you… you must be the most oblivious person I’ve ever met.” He laughed cynically.

“But-”

“Wait, wait, why did you think I ended our” he put air quotes up, “ ‘fake’ relationship.” He needed this clarification, now. For closure, for redemption, to fix things, whatever may come next.

“Because… because I was forcing you to date me! You were uncomfortable?!” You could feel your voice begin to break, tears clawing to escape. You’d never felt so disgusted with yourself as you did right now.

“Are you serious?” He took both of your hands, looking you in the eyes. You nod. “Answer truthfully. Do you have feelings for me? Real ones?” You bit your lip, that feeling of selfish guilt creeping like bile up your throat. You nod again. “This whole time?” Another nod. He releases you, turning away. “Sheesh, maybe I’m the oblivious one here…” he spoke more to himself than to you. You both sat in tense silence, not sure what to do, what to say.

“Akira…”

“It was real to me,” he moved closer, trapping you against the end of the couch.

“Really?” Your heartbeat was going crazy, and he leaned ever so slightly closer, his hand on the back of the couch for support. “I broke up with you because it was hurting me to pretend I didn’t have real feelings for you, and to think you didn’t want me back, not for real. I thought… that you’d always think of me as just some character for your book.”

“No… Akira… had I known you felt this way…” He leaned in further, your noses bumping slightly, clumsily. This time, he felt no discomfort, no hesitation from your side. His heart fluttered in excitement. You could feel his breath on your warm cheeks.

“May I kiss you?” He asked again, a secondary, unspoken question sitting beneath his words.

“Yes.” Your voice was shaky, but you were sure, for once, of what you wanted. His hand went to your back, cradling you into his chest to lay down flat against the couch. With a passion he’d been holding back, he pressed his lips to yours without reservation. You sunk into the warm, plush feeling, tilting your head at a better angle. He kept the kiss soft, shallow, low pressure, looking for you to give him the signal to stop. When your arms reached upward, snaking around his neck and pulling him harder down into you, he groaned softly, barely audible, before passing his tongue over your lips a single time. You parted your lips, allowing him access, and his hand, pale and trembling, came up and found its way under the hem of your shirt, splayed nervously against the smooth skin there.

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immaturityofthomasastruc · 2 years

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Hope your enjoying Mahoutsukai Precure its a rough but enjoyable series. And arguably has a brilliant film. After Healin Good whats your next planned series?

Well I just finished the final episode yesterday, and I felt this last third was really good, though still a little flawed at times.

There’s a good balance of episodes in both worlds, which does help one of my earlier complaints that there wasn’t enough time spent in the Magic World.

We also meet Riko’s parents, Lian (who I thought was a reincarnated Dokurokushe, so that’s on me) and Lilia (voiced by Junko Iwao of Cardcaptor Sakura fame), who are pretty enjoyable characters who contrast, as Lien is more stoic while Lilia is far more emotional, showing what Riko got her personality from.

It’s also really satisfying to see Jun, Emily, and Kei’s subtle development in other episodes. I like how earlier on, Emily was afraid to fly on a broom, but by Episode 38, she’s a far more skilled flyer, and how Kei went from someone who constantly forgot everything to someone who made it a habit to write everything down and become more attentive, and how Jun went from a lazy bum who had no motivation to come to class to someone with more of an interest in fashion in the No-Magic World. It’s subtle, but I like how the writers took the time to develop these side characters. Part of me wonders if they were meant to be part of the team originally, but the idea was scrapped with how much focus she got.

There’s also some really clever worldbuilding and foreshadowing. There are two episodes focusing on some crop shortages, but it turns out both of them are connected to the villains, and are a hint things are going to go south. We also learn that Haa-chan is actually meant to be the successor to Mother Rapapa, essentially the goddess of magic, giving her more focus and more of a role in the endgame, which was good, because I was worried the Emerald would get shelved in favor of the Rainbow Carriage.

The new villain faction Labut was a part is called Never Ending Chaos, a group of otherworldly beings who try to revive their master, Deusmast, an eldritch god who seeks to drown the world in chaos, and unfortunately, Maxwell Smart is nowhere to be seen.

The main villains themselves are alright, as they’re characters with more fantasy elements as opposed to anthropomorphic animal servants, but like the Dark Magicians, don’t really get a lot of development or screentime.

Shakince is a tengu who... uh... is stoic? Yeah, like Stop and Freeze, he really doesn’t get a lot of personality, and he gets killed in an episode focusing on another character with a connection to a different villain entirely.

Benigyo is a demon who has a little more sass, but much like Sparda, she doesn’t really get a lot of standout moments.

The only member of this faction who is actually an interesting character is Orba, an cold and calculating angel who actually kicked off the events of the series by scattering the hints to dark magic all over the world, and even brought back the Dark Magicians for a couple episodes.

Even though their screentime was short, I loved how their personalities had drastically changed. While Gamettsu was opposed to fighting again after dying a glorious death against Miracle and Magical, he was more interested in fighting Felice because she got her powers from the Emerald. Batty was more depressed at the loss of his master, so he didn’t really want to do much until he was the only one left (and he ended up helping the team towards the end), so Sparda of all people had to take charge, and showed a lot more personality and leadership skills she really needed earlier in the series. I really wish these guys got more screentime after their revivals, and played more of a part in the final battle. It was still nice to see Batty enroll at the Magical Academy though at the end. Good for you, magical man bat.

Another semi-villain is Chikurun, a bee fairy who was blackmailed by Orba into serving Never Ending Chaos after being caught slacking off on the job and acted as a spy to gain information on Team Mahoutskai, but grew to like them, and eventually betrayed his masters. Yeah, that’s right. It’s entirely possible to write a selfish bee-themed character and give them a redemption arc. The writers didn’t just condemn him to eternal suffering or write him off as a lost cause, and neither do the Cures.

Deusmast himself is just an awesome villain, and is my favorite of the four main villains of the four seasons I’ve seen conceptually. Rather than give him a stereotypical gravely or deep voice, he actually speaks through Labut, Shakince, Benigyo, and Orba because they’re all actually extensions of him, a really clever twist that I didn’t see coming. Even his design is just so inhuman compared to Dune, Darknest, or Dyspear, towering the Earth itself which adds to the scare factor

While the final battle with Deusmast is relatively short (clocking in at around five minutes), it’s clear the more powerful conflict is Mirai having to say goodbye to Riko and Haa-chan. Deusmast pulls a Star Butterfly and blends the worlds together, so defeating him would essentially separate them, leading to an emotional goodbye scene. There’s a lot of drama in this scene and excellent performances and animation in what happened, arguably more powerful than Hikaru saying goodbye to Lala. Admittedly, the reunion five years later was a little confusing (as well as them all aging back to thirteen year old girls for some reason, but given Haa-chan essentially became God, I’m guessing she did it), but it was still a satisfying finale.

The final episode is more of an epilogue where they fight one last monster and meet up with the next Cure, Ichika/Cure Whip, who seems pretty fun with how energetic her baking skills are, even though I’m pretty sure she’s doing this without supervision, much less a vendor’s license. Maybe I’ll check out her show later on.

I had a lot more problems with this show than the last three, and I think it’s my least favorite of the four I’ve seen so far, but I still thought it was a fun watch.

As for my next series after Healin’ Good Precure, I might check out either Fresh or Hugtto, as I’ve heard good things about them. Hopefully Healin’ Good will be less like Kamen Rider Zero-One and more like Mashin Sentai Kiramager with COVID screwing up the production.

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #not miraculous ladybug #precure #pretty cure #mahoutsukai precure #mahoutsukai pretty cure

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thesherrinfordwoman · 3 years

Text

why is the show loki so *stupid*

I have something else to say about this fucking disappointmentpile of a show.

These writers do not know how to write clever characters.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, throughout this show. I was wondering if maybe it’s really hard to write smart people. Is it? I honestly don’t know. I flatter myself that I write smart people, people who can and do think their way out of situations - or into them - and when they get caught, it’s because they were outsmarted, not because they were stupid or shortsighted or the writers got fucking lazy and wanted to go home.

Which I feel like has been the case with Loki.

Our Loki is smart. Loki in Avengers is possibly the cleverest character in the movie. You could argue that he isn’t the strongest - that’d be Hulk, I suppose - and he’s acting alone instead of with a team, the Avengers have backup, etc. He isn’t the strongest, he doesn’t have the most friends (do the Avengers win by the power of FRIENDSHIP?! :D), but he is most certainly the cleverest. Isn’t his name supposed to be Silvertongue?

Loki isn’t stupid. He was never supposed to be stupid. He outwits his enemies. So even if you wanted to have him fall in love, you would have had to go through so many iterations of clever thought and outsmarting each other to get to that kiss we saw onscreen. And it was disgusting how quickly Loki got caught.

Even in episode one this bothered me. He’s out in the desert, right, he lands in the sand. And the first thing he does is...grandstand on a rock?!

That already wasn’t Loki.

Loki, our Loki, the real Loki, the avengers Loki, would have looked around for water first. Food. Other ways of survival under a hot desert sun. (maybe survive as a frostgiant?! did we just forget he is one?!) He would have enchanted one or all of the women who approached him, whether through magic or simple silvertongued manipulation. He would have established his power...not stood on a rock and proclaimed it. While leaving the bloody tesseract vulnerable, lying in the sand! You seriously think Avengers!Loki would have done that? Left the most important thing to him, his literal escape route, lying in the sand, several feet away, vulnerable?

And then they what, grab him and he just goes? He doesn’t try and fight, he acts nervous and hesitant the whole bloody time and doesn’t try to stab anyone at all? Try to lie? They just accuse him of things he’s not even doing?! And he gets all cutesy with his jailor?! WHERE IS THE CLEVER MASTER PLANNER?! Oh, let’s psychologically break him down...in twenty minutes? That’s not even how breaking someone works, you FUCKS!!

Even if in that desert scene like...like if this was a real show, about our Loki. I could have even see him landing in the desert, slowly establishing his power, then the TVA showing up like 3 episodes later to be like “hey no” and needing to outsmart Loki, maybe the village defends their new god...like that could have been a hilarious sequence. Loki setting himself up as a local king/god and having villagers defend him when the TVA shows up. And if at that point, he gets outsmarted, fine, but it would be slightly more believable! The TVA is stupid too! Why is everyone so stupid in this show?! Why can’t they think their way out of any given situation?! They just make stupid quips and go along with decisions because this was Stephen Strange’s Prequel and not Loki!!!

Loki was a prop this whole time to set up the multiverse so other characters could have their backstories. They used his name, his image, even his actor to pretend this was Loki. But it never was. He wasn’t smart enough. Maybe the writers are equally stupid.

Look i don’t like to go around saying I’m smarter than other people, because I also have empathy but like....I’m fucking smarter than these writers. I think most of Tumblr is. I’ve seen better fanfiction. It’s so frustrating that so many of us are out here, brilliantly writing Loki in a thousand ways - ways that could also set up the fucking multiverse, we’re good at that too - and when Marvel hires someone, they hire an idiot who couldn’t think their way out of a paper bag.

It cannot be this difficult to write clever people. Hire someone better. Write better. Be better.

#loki series negativity #loki series #loki spoilers #loki series spoilers #loki #loki is bad #what the fuck #fuck marvel

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purekesseltrash · 2 years

Text

My Year in Review

It’s been a fucking wild year. To put it mildly. A wild, wild year. It has been, by far, the year that I have written the most. I have written 21 fics in 2021 with a total word count of 258,649k, all for My Hero Academia. I have developed as a writer the most in this year and it isn’t ever close.

It all starts with Rooftop Necromancy. I wrote the entire thing on January 6th 2021, a date which, as an American, is a bit infamous. Picture me, getting into an insane hyperfocus stage over metalhead Aizawa and Hizashi and just powering through a fic, only to surface for air and realize that a bunch of Qanon morons have attempted a coup on the fucking House of Representatives. Picture the surprise and whiplash I felt. I’m gonna be an old lady one day and someone is gonna ask one day what I was doing and I’m gonna pull up pictures like ‘I wrote a fic of this cockatoo man sucking off this tired boi’.

Anyway though. Rooftop has let me know so many people that I wouldn’t and I am incredibly grateful for that. @kyurilin mentioned the Rooftop fucking owned in an erasermic discord and then mentioned that she wrote Cars fanfic and I immediately was like ‘yes, hello, I love you so much’. And that love has continued. She just... she’s so nice you guys. I pester her so much and she’s right there. She reads all of my google docs. She reviews EVERY SINGLE ONE of my fics. She let me, me the biggest goober in the world, read a fic she never would show the light of DAY and it was a glorious fic. She’s such a good friend? I’m so lucky?

@ifyougoillfollow is also someone I know thanks to Rooftop. They were the first person to comment on Rooftop and if you look at those comments, it is embarrassing how much I was like ‘hello i love you plz be my friend’ but their writing is so fucking good and they are so smart and they leave the nicest reviews in the world and legit, without their reviews, Rooftop as a series might never have gone on.

@mckittericks is also someone I know thanks to Rooftop. Id noticed that username steadily leaving kudos on all of my erasermic fics and then following me on tumblr and THEN. I got THE REVIEW. The review that was so nicely thought out and that made me cry and I immediately just messaged them on tumblr like ‘hi hello how are you, we are friends now, I love you’. And god, their comments on my fic and beta help?!!?!?!?!?! I would pay for it a million times over. I love it so MUCH.

And then I got into shoutoko, lol. I got into the BNHA Big Bang and got ready to write Bury Them Deep where I was able to beta for @illogicalruse. And their story was so fucking fun and clever and wonderful and I kinda fell in love with them as a person just from their writing. You ever read someone’s writing and just want to be buddies? Yeah, it was that. I also got to meet @sarathewise from that Big Bang and again, another person who fucking rules and who I value a ton.

I also had the pleasure of having @starblazer124 as an artist, a fellow midwesterner and wonderful human, and the incredible @shabby-illustrations. Fucking Shabby, man. I talk to Shabby at least once a week and have since the big bang. They have read all of my google docs before they go out and they give me feedback which just FEEDS ME so much. And they have made me art!!!! And man, when I decided that Kyuri needed fanart of ‘Present Mic’s Totally Bullshit Life’, I knew exactly who to go to and who would understand that fic like I did. And I was not wrong. Shabby rules.

I’ve met alot of other cool people through Shoutoko and BTD. @the-worm-in-the-dirt has given me amazing feedback and validation and has blessed me with being shown their work and I can’t wait to see what they create this year. @yeehawshira fucking getssssss me and Tokoyami and is a fabulous artist. @wingedaria let me just worm my way into her life because I was such a huge fucking fan of her Shoutoko work.

And then there’s Leave Her Johnny, the pirate/regency/smuggler AU that I wrote and kind of forgot about. But I got a comment from @aubreyms asking if she could cosplay Mic from the fic and I was like ‘????? That was even an option?!?!?! Of course?!?!?!’ and then I promptly bragged about it to a select few people and forgot about it. And then she and @burbanowl made a whole fucking series of tiktoks based on the fic and like. Y’all. It was such an honor. It was so cool. I... I can’t even begin to say how lucky and honored I feel. Corndog Patrol read the fucking fic and left a kudos like ?!?!?!?!?!

If 2022 is anything like 2021 in terms of friends and fandom, I will be a lucky, lucky person indeed. I love you all.

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bellasweetwriting · 4 years

Text

Rescue Romance

Spencer Reid x f.Reader

(not my gif)

MASTERLIST

plot: you’ve been kidnapped by an unsub who fell in love with you, and Spencer is the one who rescued you

notes: extreme confident!reader, nervous!spencer, this is just a brainstorm of a book idea I had and decided to make it a spencer fanfic u know normal stuff

warnings: kidnapping, mentions of torture, mentions of rape, drinking, age gap (22-29), blood, injuries, criminal minds typical stuff

category: mostly angst and a little bit of fluff

word count: 3,9k

"Y/N Y/L/N, 22, kidnapped in a club near the college campus while partying with her friends. Last seen at 1 AM, reported missing by her roommates when she didn't appear in all-day three hours ago," informed Garcia to the team while they were revising the case on the jet. "The New Haven PD is waiting for you at the police station."

"Thank you, Garcia," thanked Hotch, but Garcia continued to talk.

"There's something else you need to see."

"What is it?" Questioned Morgan.

"One of her roommates, Sandy Melville, has a channel where she posts videos of her life in college and with roommates. And Y/N appears in all of them."

"You think this could be the work of a stalker?" Asked JJ looking at Garcia.

"Someone could've watched Y/N in the background of the videos and developed a crush on her," said Emily.

"Not in the background," corrected Garcia, "she's the protagonist of the videos. Sandy followers love her, and I don't blame them."

Garcia proceeded to show the team one of the videos of Sandy walking through the snow of New Haven. The three friends were on the sidewalk, and the camera was focused on you as you kicked the snow off to the street as you laughed.

"Y/N you are going to slip and fall!" Exclaimed your other roommate, Liz, pointing the ice that was on the border of the sidewalk. You continued to laugh.

"Don't be such a drama queen, Liz, and enjoy the snow!" You yelled with a smile. "Kindness is like snow ─ it beautifies everything it covers."

"Kahlil Gibran," interrupted Spencer, surprising the team who haven't heard him talk in the entire trip. "It's a writer, he said that."

"Don't be so poetic, Y/N!" Exclaimed Sandy.

"Kahlil Gibran said it, and I live for those words," you replied. The camera quickly turned to Liz.

"She's crazy," said laughing before being hit with a snowball on the shoulder. "Y/N!"

You simply laughed, and the video ended.

"There are videos of their whole lives," commented Garcia. "Sandy recorded everything and posted online."

Spencer was still staring at the frozen image of you laughing. Something about it had your complete attention.

"Ok, JJ, I want you to make a press conference, and then, you and I will talk to the roommates and ask Sandy if she recorded something about the night of her disappearance. Morgan, Prentiss, go to the club, watch the security tapes, see if someone was looking at Y/N or talking to her. Reid, Dave, victimology, go to her apartment and learn everything you can about Y/N, including maybe what attracted the stalker to her. Garcia, check conversations, someone that has messaged her, that she blocked, calls, anything you can get, see if there is anything suspicious. We'll meet back at the station with everything we found."

Spencer grabbed your picture from the file. It was your college ID photo, and you looked stunning. Your hair was curled, your eye makeup was bright, different from the one's he has seen. Yours made your eyes appear bigger and shinner, while your lipgloss made shine your pink lips.

-----------------------------------------------------

Rossi and Reid walked through your room, staring at the details of your walls, your awards, your photographs. You are intelligent, your bookshelves are filled with different literature books that could explain your knowledge.

"She speaks French," announced Rossi as he grabbed your French edition of Candide by Voltaire.

"And Spanish," added Reid going through your notes in Spanish literature class. "She's smart."

"She goes to an Ivy League School, we should've expected more than this," observed Rossi. "This is a clever, intelligent girl, she wouldn't leave with a stranger just like that, it doesn't make any sense."

"Well, she was drunk," said Spencer. "She just finished finals, she's graduating with a Criminology Degree in two weeks and went to celebrate with her friends."

"Finals are very stressful, and it was a college bar, so maybe she didn't have her defence mode on, she trusted the guy. Where is her dog?" Asked Rossi pointing the dog bed next in your corner.

"With her roommate," Spencer replied. "It's not usually from a stalker to approach their object of desire without preparation, and a club is risky. Y/N had to know the guy and trusted him."

"Or, she never saw him coming," whispered Rossi.

"Do you think hhe attacked her from behind? It was a crowded club, someone must have seen it."

"He could've put a knife on her back, asked her not to scream and walked her outside. She was drunk, so she was weak, she couldn't fight back. He had to know that. Y/N looks like a girl who can defend herself. Everything in this room screams confidence, her videos, her attitude, he had to kidnap her in her weakest moment."

"For that, he had to know she would have her finals last week. What if we are not looking for someone who developt a crush through the internet videos, but rather someone who sees her every day?"

-----------------------------------------------------

You slowly opened your eyes. The room was dark, with just one dash of light entering through a small window near the roof.

You were in a basement.

Your hands were tied over your head, your feet lifted from the ground only letting the tip of your tow to touch the cold dirt under you. You exhaled. Your eyes felt heavy to open. Blinking was hard because opening them again felt tiring.

Your underneath t-shirt was filled was no longer red, your pants and sweater were missing, for some reason, your stomach hurt like hell.

With all your strength, you look at it, having an idea what was it but being scared of it. You slowly focused your eyes on the red stain in your clothing and the cuts in your legs.

You heard someone crying and took you a few seconds to realize it was you. You haven't sobbed in a while, in years maybe. It scared you. You were scared. All alone.

-----------------------------------------------------

Spencer and Rossi entered the police station and walked towards the table where the team was sitting. The whole board was filled with your information, your class schedule, your contacts, your credit card information, your grades, your family members, everything that Garcia could get from your computer.

"What did you find?" Asked Hotch to Reid.

"She's intelligent, she speaks three languages, and her whole life screams confidence, "look at me". It doesn't make sense she would leave the club with a guy and not tell her friends before in case something happens to her."

"We think her stalker is not someone who watches the videos, but someone she knows. A classmate, a teacher, someone that knew her well to affirm that she finished her finals yesterday, and that will go to a particular bar to celebrate with her friends."

"There are at least five different college bars that Y/N and her friends frequented," added JJ as she remembered what your roommates told her. "How did the unsub know she will go to that bar exactly?"

"Maybe he heard her. If Reid's theory that the unsub is a classmate, she could've said it in class and he listened."

"Ok," interrupted Garcia, "I found three blocked accounts in Y/N social media of guys trying to flirt with her but coming to strong that maybe worried her, but none of them is remotely near her, and I checked their entire background."

"We checked the security cameras and the bar receipts," announced Morgan as he and Prentiss entered. "Neither she nor her friends bought any drinks that night."

"They were sober?" Questioned Spencer.

"No, someone bought them for them. Maybe our unsub."

"My dear super friends," interrupted Garcia appearing on the screen. "I was checking Sandy's phone like you told me, and she did record last night at the bar."

"I thought she said she didn't remember."

"Well, turns out she did. Check this out."

The video was clearly terrible quality. Sandy was moving and dancing around, making it impossible for the camera to focus. When she stopped, the team could clearly see your silhouette as you drank what it appeared not to be your first shot of tequila.

"Y/N! Y/N! I'm dying to know," said Sandy drunkenly. "What is your plan after graduating?"

"Uhm," you whispered, trying to talk clearly. "The only thing I have available is the FBI."

"Could you imagine," interrupted Liz between laughs, "Y/N with a gun?"

"I would look incredibly hot with a gun, what are you talking about?" You joked between laughs. "I don't know what it's outside for me. All my life, I've had everything planned. Study, get good grades, repeat. It can be scary doing something different."

"Oh, please," said Liz as she was falling next to you. You were quick to catch her and put her arm over your shoulder, "you are Y/N Y/L/N, I bet everyone wants you."

"I am a man who does not exist for others."

"Ayn Rand," murmured Spencer.

"You are a woman," said Sandy.

"It's from Ayn Rand, you guys are so drunk," you laughed before turning around. "Where the hell is the guy who bought these for us?"

You looked through the bar but didn't find him.

"Hey, girls, I'll be back in a sec, I'm gonna pay for the drinks," you told your friends with a tiny smile.

"Wait, Y/N, let's dance," interrupted Sandy, grabbing your hand and dragging you to the dance floor.

"Morgan, who was the guy who bought the drinks for them?" Interrogated Hotch and Morgan quickly went through the receipts of last night.

"At least six people bought tequila shots last night. End of finals week."

"Y/N felt the need to pay the drinks back," pointed out Spencer as he watched you danced on the screen. "Why would she do that?"

"She felt bad because he bought drinks for all her friends but wasn't hanging out with them?" Proposed JJ.

"Or, something attracted her of him," whispered Spencer before clicking one of the videos in Sandy's vlog. "I was looking at this video earlier. Sandy asked Y/N how her ideal guy look like. Maybe the stalker watched it and tried to mimic it."

"Why were you watching that video, Reid?" Asked Emily, and he shook his head nervously.

"Research... for the case... yeah. Here it is."

"My ideal guy," you murmured as you played with your little dog on your bed. "He has to be smart, but not cocky smart, he has to be humble. I hate mystery, so he has to be direct with me, with what he wants, I like that. Maybe tall, handsome, not afraid to talk to me. I don't know, Sandy, someone that can catch my attention without even trying."

Reid paused the video just in time to see your smile to the camera. You were so pretty.

He had to find you alive, he had to meet you.

"We don't have time for a profile. Garcia, check the security video and look for a tall, good looking man that bought tequila shots between 10:30 and 11."

Garcia was quick enough to show the security footage in the screen, pausing just in time to show a man buying the shots and telling the bartender to send them towards a table. Your table.

"Who is that?" Questioned JJ, and Derek was quick enough to check.

"Baby girl, look for William Klaus, Gale Andrews, Damien Ace and Ricardo Montero and tell me which one looks like the guy at the bar."

"Neither of them," she said.

"Can he have used another person's tab?"

"No, that would have involved other people to his concerns. He is meticulous, he doesn't leave a trail."

"Did he pay in cash?" Asked JJ.

"That many tequila shots? Who has that kind of money in hand? He had to use a credit card."

"All of these kids go to private school. If he actually goes to college with them, he has money."

"We are back to nothing. All of our eyewitnesses were drunk."

"Except the bartender," pointed out Spencer. "He's gotta remember someone who paid in cash."

"Ok, Morgan, Prentiss, go to the bar again and interview the bartender, ask for someone who paid for shots in cash. We will deliver the profile."

-----------------------------------------------------

"The man we are looking for is white in his late teens and early twenties. Tall, and handsome, probably talks smartly and is nervous around people, traits that he learned by listening to Y/N description of an ideal man."

"It is a student on campus. We denominate this unsub as a Love-Scorned stalker, he believes that Miss Y/L/N is madly in love with him. He has probably seen her sometimes giving him glances, or smiling, and thinking they were for him."

"This type of unsub is extremely asocial, does not participate in scholar events, does not raise his hand in class, and is remarkably intelligent, enough to get into a private school."

"This unsub is not a killer but will become one the second his fantasy seems interrupted. Maybe by the same Y/N who doesn't want to play along, there's no way to know how is he going to react with her. We trust that Y/N will realize that she needs to pretend to be in love with him to survive, but we can't be sure."

"In case of his fantasy being blinded or interrupted, he can get really aggressive and possessive towards her. He's been dreaming to be with her for so long that her rejecting him is not an option."

"Stalkers commonly killed their objective of desire. The time in which they do, variates in how the victim reacts to them."

"That's why we need to find her as soon as possible. Ask her classmates, teachers, friends. Someone has to have listened to our unsub suspiciously talk about her, maybe in a way that made them uncomfortable. Our unsub can't manage what he says in public due to his weak social skills."

"Thank you," finished Hotch, and the police department broke apart, going separate ways. "She's been missing 20 hours, let's find her as quick as possible." The team divided, but Hotch stopped Reid before he could walk away. "Reid, have Garcia found Y/N's parents?"

"No, uhm, her mom died, and her dad abandoned them when she was little. Her aunt is on her way, though."

"Ok, thank you."

-----------------------------------------------------

"Dance," he ordered you, "I always loved your dancing. You danced for me a few weeks ago, remember."

"It was a charity event for the school, Parker," you whispered. "I danced for everyone."

"I'm not scared of you, ok? Do whatever you want. You want to kill me? Then do it, I'm tired."

"I will never hurt you, Y/N."

"Yes, you will. Stalkers always kill their object of desire, Parker, and you've been stalking me for a while, haven't you? You think I'm in love with you, don't you?"

"Shut up," Parker whispered before you spit blood that you had in your mouth. "You are ruining this!"

"What? Your fantasy? You aren't in love with me, Parker, you are in love with the idea of me. You don't know me."

"I do... know you... I know you."

"No, you don't. Just because you know at what time I leave for school, at what time I arrive home. Just because you know I walk my dog every afternoon and with who I hang out doesn't mean you know me. Parker, I'm more than a schedule, an object that you see walking through your binoculars. Just because you raped me and broke my arm doesn't mean you know my body. You can't love, Parker..."

"Stop!"

"... it's chemically impossible," you continued, "you don't feel love. You are missing one of the most beautiful feelings in the world, and it's not even your fault! You are a sociopath, and no matter how much you try, you will never know how the adrenaline of seeing someone across the room that you love feels like, you'll try to replicate it. You'll kill just to feel something, even if you don't want to."

"Shut up! Shut your mouth!"

"Kill me," you didn't even realize how you stuttered while saying those words. "It's the only way you are actually going to feel something. Kill me, because when you get in a mental home, the feeling of my blood running through your hands and skin is the only thing you are going to have, and you are never going to get it again. It's a drug that it's only going to work the first time. After you stab me with that knife, you are going to feel something for three seconds for the first time in your life, just so then, not feeling nothing at all for the rest of it. You must want it to be unique, right? Your first kill, probably your only one. So, light some candles, end my suffering... I'm not even going to feel it with the pain of my arm so who cares."

Parker was staring at you, not moving, not knowing what to do, while you just look at him. You already knew that if you didn't get medical attention soon, the blood you are loosing for the cuts in your legs, and the pain from your broken arm were going to do the job for him, so you had nothing to lose. And making him spend his entire life in jail for murder was your goal.

"Do it... kill me..."

-----------------------------------------------------

"Ok, so I did some research and found out that Y/N was part of this dance marathon for a charity event where an anonymous guy donated three thousand dollars just so she would keep dancing," informed Garcia.

"That's an enormous amount of money just for her to dance," observed Derek.

"And that is not the creepiest part, I found the name of the donor, and it is Parker Edwards, he is an art and literature student, and please look at the last art assignment that he delivered for his final grade in finals week."

Garcia showed them a gigantic portrait of you next to a creepy guy, not smiling, just staring deadly to the camera.

"Well, that's definitely creepy," murmured Prentiss.

"Do you have an address?" Asked Hotch.

"House 365, 21st with Second Avenue."

"Let's go."

-----------------------------------------------------

"Y/N, I need you to open your eyes," you heard someone whisper to you, and you slowly did. "My name is Doctor Spencer Reid, I'm with the FBI."

"He didn't kill me?" You questioned slowly. Your mouth was dry, and you couldn't feel your legs.

"No, he didn't. Y/N, I need you to open your eyes, please." You nodded. He proceeded to untie you, and you let fall in his arms. "I got you, I got you," he mumbled. "Can you walk?" You glanced at him, for then to show him how you couldn't even put your feet straight. "Sorry, stupid question, put your arm around me."

"Not that arm, he broke it when he carried me in here." Spencer listened and changed sides, helping you to get out.

As soon as you were outside, the smell was different. You were used to the smell of dirt and your own blood, that when the spring breeze of New Haven hit you, you couldn't help but to smile.

"Would you join me in the ambulance?" You questioned, and he nodded. The paramedics got you inside and started plugging cables and hydrating you, but your eyes were just in Spencer. "You look young to be a doctor."

"If I had a penny for every time I hear that," you chuckled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like writing this in the experience box for my FBI academy application," you mumbled, now making him laugh. "I know that I'm covered in dirt and blood, and shampoo hasn't touched my hair in a while... but I'm actually pretty." He raised his eyebrows, noticing that the painkillers were taking effect. "Probably my legs look like the legs of a training object for ninjas with all of those cuts, but I'm a terrific dancer."

"I know. I saw the videos that Sandy filmed. Of you dancing at the bar."

"That's drunk. But sober, let me tell you, John Travolta got his inspiration for Pulp Fiction by me, true facts." He laughed. "Thank you for saving me."

"It's my job, and it's going to be yours too."

You chuckled.

"You are cute, doctor," you mumbled before closing your eyes and being able to sleep for the first time in hours.

-----------------------------------------------------

October arrived. It's been months since the kidnapping and arrest of Parker, and it was your first day in Virginia for the academy. You were nervous, now more than ever. What if you didn't have what it takes?

You were completely cured, and the doctor freed you completely, and the first person you wanted to tell was Spencer.

You and the doctor had been talking for months now, and he was everything you dreamed of. He was smart, funny, he paid attention to you, and even though you guys were just friends, you liked him.

You liked him a lot.

"This pile paperwork gets bigger every time I look at it," whispered Morgan staring at the tower. "I had plans tonight."

While Derek complained, Reid finished his and gave them to Hotch, and Morgan felt that as a personal attack."

"Please, tell people that if you disappear, I'm the prime suspect."

"Hey, isn't that Y/N from the New Haven stalking case?" Asked Emily to Spencer, making him look towards the door where you were standing, looking at him.

"Be right back," said the doctor standing up and walking towards you.

"What was that?" Asked Morgan to Prentiss, but she had no idea.

As soon as he was closer, he hugged you, and you felt safe immediately. You've only had seen him a few times since the hospital, so every time you guys reconnected, it was like you both grew up even more.

"Y/N, you look great."

"I told you once that I was incredibly pretty."

Last time he saw you, you still had cuts in your face and a cast on your arm. Now, you were like a different person. Like that girl, he once admired dancing in those videos months ago.

"What are you doing here?"

"Today is my first day in the academy," you let him know. "I wanted to tell you tonight, but I couldn't wait." He smiled. "Hey, so, I have a surprise."

"Another one?" You chuckled.

You took out from your pocket two tickets for a horror film festival the day before, and he glanced at them curiously.

"We both love Halloween, so I thought it could be a great idea." He smiled.

"I love it... Y/N, about us."

"Don't say anything, you whispered, proceeding to kiss his cheek. "We will talk about it after. Bye, Spencer."

"See you tomorrow," he said softly, making you smile before leaving.

"Reid," Morgan called him, "care to explain?"

"Don't you have paperwork to do?" Morgan laughed, watching him walk away with a big smile.

"Pretty boy..."

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