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blainesebastian · 2 years

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coffee cart girl (pt5)

words: 3,418 ship: austin x female reader summary: you’re the coffee runner on the set of Elvis. Coffee deliveries run pretty easy, until Austin accidently spills coffee on you. notes: thank you so much for all the support! previous parts are under this tag, this part was inspired by this gifset warnings: none tag list: under the cut! sorry if your username does not link up on the post if you requested to be put on the tag list (it’s getting hefty! :)), unsure how I could fix that. please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed.

Despite everything changing, things stay the same—which is actually pretty comforting. You keep showing up on set, day-in-day-out, serve coffee, come back home and then wake up to do it all over again. You have to admit that you feel slightly lighter working your coffee deliveries and know it has everything to do with this relationship you’re building with Austin. Keeping things under wrap for right now feels like the best idea, just between the two of you, which is exactly what you both need right now. With Austin constantly working on Elvis, you have no interest in being in any sort of spotlight—at least not yet. Your script work is getting better but you’re still figuring out the steps that you’ll need to move forward, to get yourself out there—be noticed.

The last thing you want is for someone to assume you haven’t gotten somewhere by talent alone but because of who you know, or in this case, who you’re seeing.

Austin has always seemed like a very private guy anyways, he’s not very active on social media—he likes to keep his personal life exactly that, personal. It leaves you with this intimate bubble forms over you both, time to get to know one another and develop on shared feelings. It may not look like normal dating, and it might seem like sneaking around sometimes, but that doesn’t bother you.

In the end—what you have with Austin is no one’s business.

Except, you do want to tell Jillian.

Getting on set Thursday, you make a direct route to one of the makeup trailers that she works in. Climbing inside and closing the door, you make sure you’re alone with her before spilling the beans. You tell her everything, from start to finish, all the details you feel like are necessary to get you both on the same page.

It doesn’t take much—Jillian already thought that Austin liked you, so the conclusion jumping is a short distance once she has all the information.

Jillian’s face somehow looks like an emoji, a permanent heightened emotion that is hearteyes and shocked all at the same time. Her jaw may also be taking up a residence on the floor, she hasn’t closed her mouth since you began talking.

“I fucking knew it.” She laughs, “I’m so good at sensing chemistry—like, I should probably quit my job here and become a relationship guru,” You roll your eyes even though you’re smiling, “Or a tarot card reader.”

“You can’t tell anyone Jillian, I mean it.” You say after a moment, taking a step closer to your friend. “Austin and I don’t want our business out there.”

“Austin and I,” She repeats with a dreamy laugh, “Our,” She shakes her head, curls tied up in clip today, which is probably a good thing seeing as how she seems to be vibrating at a high frequency. “Does that feel weird to say—like, you’re dating a celebrity.”

You let out a slow breath, your stomach fluttering in a slightly nervous way that it does sometimes. It’d be obtuse not to acknowledge the elephant in the room that Austin is, in fact, a celebrity, that he is different than someone you met at a coffee shop or a bar. You two are very unique in that sense and are on distinct paths for your futures. But at the same time you find it important to remind yourself that Austin is human, he’s a regular guy that has normal emotions, needs and desires. You’re on the same page, you’re working together on this.

But that doesn’t mean that sometimes this whole thing doesn’t blow your mind because it does. It’s as if you’re worried you might wake up from a dream or something, harsh reality ready to grab you by the throat.

“Jillian,” You repeat, holding her gaze so you know she’s actually listening.

Jillian sighs, head tossed back towards the ceiling, “I hear you, promise. I won’t say a word to anyone.” And you do believe her otherwise you wouldn’t have said anything in the first place. Jillian might be a little eccentric but she’s trustworthy. “Are you going to go out on dates…or?”

You pause a moment, considering that…you actually hadn’t thought about it. So much of your interactions kinda stem on being on set together, you spend time between shoots, when you bring coffee or Austin lets you know when he’s taking food breaks but…

Eventually Elvis will come to an end and then what? There’s award shows and interviews and a very public eye. You’re pretty sure that even now if you two were to go out, someone would notice and put it out into the world—a fan, a pap, a gossip tabloid, too many different outcomes. One of the great things about set is that you can have privacy here.

“We’re figuring it out.” And it sounds like such a lame excuse right now but to be honest you don’t want to admit that it hasn’t crossed your mind.

Jillian just smiles before nodding, the door to the trailer opening up before any more questions can be asked. You’re secretly kind of thanking whoever’s listening for that—if your friend thinks you need to be a bit more planned about your future with Austin, she doesn’t comment.

Right now you think a day-to-day approach is best…but maybe a little bit more of a strategy wouldn’t hurt either.

The day is as busy as it always is, filled with running around on last minute rotations and add-ons mixed with your regular orders. Sal actually seems like she’s in a decent mood for once, which is always a nice surprise. You take your afternoon lull at the typical picnic bench, getting some serious editing done on your script as you slowly sip on a coffee. Second readthrough is done, now all that’s left is reading it outloud to catch any last mistakes before…letting a second pair of eyes actually look at it.

Speaking of—

You frown, picking up the clipboard nearby that had your morning and afternoon orders on it. Just as you thought, you don’t see Austin’s name anywhere. Time had been runnin’ so smoothly, you barely noticed that he hadn’t placed any coffee orders. Normally, you might not think that was odd but…after ending up on the same page, it’s usually a nice stolen few moments to see one another through a busy day.

You chew on your lower lip—it’s probably just a hectic day for him but there’s also a small pit in your stomach that is slowly beginning to feel like a black hole for whatever reason. You put the script in your bag and decide to stretch your legs, dropping your things off where you usually keep them and take a long stroll around set.

In a not surprising turn of events, you end up outside Austin’s trailer. Glancing around for a moment, you take a sip of coffee and make your way up the steps—at the very least you can pretend you have a last-minute caffeine fix for him, should anyone ask. You knock on the door and wait, taking a step back to make room for the door to open.

It takes a few moments but when it finally does, you pause, unsure of what to say.

Despite still getting to know him, it’s very plain to see that he’s upset. He must be in-between scenes because he’s in his own clothes, jeans, a black shirt, his hair scrubbed free of gel from what looks like his hands going through it. His face is slightly pink, eyes red-rimmed and wet and it somehow makes the color seem even more blue. He works his jaw a moment, swallowing, seemingly trying to get ahold of himself.

You’re kinda dumbfounded because…you’ve obviously never seen him like this before.

Blinking, you realize that you should say something. “Hi,” You pause, taking a breath, “Do you—you want me to leave you alone?”

“No,” He says quickly, clearing his throat. His voice is twinged with emotion, slightly deeper than usual as he opens the door so you can walk over the threshold, “You can come in.”

You hesitate for a moment before wandering inside, the door closing behind you. Austin moves to lean against the kitchenette counter and you stand in front of him, putting your cup of coffee down near the sink. You give him a few moments to collect himself, watching as he runs a hand over his forehead, swallowing, the muscles in his jaw flexing again. Your gaze flutters over the rings he has on today, both gold, one on his middle finger while the other rests on his pinky.

Did something happen? You’re trying not to bombard him with questions…so you do the only thing you think you can in that moment, remembering how his hand had smoothed its way down your back during that migraine. One hand moves to settle along his arm, squeezing, while the other gently rests along his neck. Your fingers graze the bottom of his jawline, his pulse quick and skin warm where you’re touching. You feel, rather than see him, take a short breath in.

Whatever’s got him worked up, it’s at least good to know that he’s letting himself feel it rather than keep it buried underneath his ribcage. Some people are so concerned about strong emotions, never allowing themselves to give into them, feeling like they have to keep them hidden or tucked away. Austin’s not only allowing himself to feel, but he’s also letting you see him like this.

Neither of you say anything for a while, just stand there together, soaking one another in. You rub along his arm, sometimes your other hand moving to cup his cheek, stroking along his cheekbone. He sniffles, running one of his own hands underneath his eyes before letting out a slow breath,

“Sometimes it’s uh, it’s hard for me to take a step back from what I’m doin’.”

You nod and honestly, a lot of details aren’t necessary. You're sure the emotional toll is sometimes brutal, how hard it must be to separate his feelings out between what's reality and what's the film. You know that Austin gives absolutely everything to his work—it's obvious in the way he carries himself, how he speaks about his roles, in interviews you've seen and even in conversations you've shared with him.

He doesn’t need to explain himself.

It’s a bit crushing to see him like this—you wish you knew what to say. “Can I do anything?”

Austin shakes his head, giving you a small smile. Removing the hand that you have along his cheek, he presses a kiss to the inside of your wrist, “You’re doin’ it.”

You smile back, your stomach doing that ridiculous fluttering thing it sometimes does because of him. “I was wonderin’ why your coffee orders were missing from my clipboard.”

“Just been kinda nauseous all day,” Austin admits, running a hand through his hair, “Stomach’s in a knot.”

You’ve heard rumors that way before filming started Baz had organized for studio producers, crew, and the like to heckle Austin while he played some of his first Elvis songs. This wasn’t done without a purpose—much of Elvis’s first performances as an artist were similar. Regardless, you can’t imagine what it’d be like to experience something like that, especially if you’re already nervous about embodying such a role.

You wonder if today was something similar in the studio…or maybe it’s just a bad day. Not all of them can be perfect, even if Austin shows up ready to work as hard as he possibly can.

Taking a small breath in, you step back from him—you don’t have much time left on your own break before you’ll have to start taking late-night coffee orders. You’re sure he wants to spend a bit more on his own before he’s called to hair and makeup or wardrobe.

“I’ll see you later?” You offer, leaving it open just in case he wants to take the rest of the day to himself. You wouldn’t blame him, sometimes time alone is the best way to bounce back.

But Austin reaches for your wrist as you move to leave, squeezing gently, “I’ll find you.”

Giving him one last smile, you grab your cup of coffee and head out of his trailer.

Shooting stretches until two AM, which is not at all surprising. You end up leaving set around midnight, making a convenience run to grab a few things before making your way back to your favorite picnic bench outside the food tent. It’s a skeleton crew and luckily no one seems to bother to ask you why you’re still hanging out, walking past you with either a goodnight or no words at all.

Looking up as you hear footsteps approach, you smile when you see Austin, sliding off the table you’re sitting on to meet him halfway. He’s in his own set of clothes again but his hair is still styled to look like Elvis—the most important part, he looks a lot better than when you saw him this afternoon. Shoulders not as heavy looking, his eyes brighter,

“Hi,” Austin smiles down at you, “Fancy meetin’ you here.”

“I know,” You laugh lightly, “What a coincidence.” Throwing your bag over your shoulder, you walk with him towards his trailer. You don’t pass many people, which is comforting, before you finally make it to the destination. Austin heads up the steps first, opening the door for you to walk in.

Switching on the lights, the door closes behind you and you pause as you see that way back in the trailer…is in fact a bed. So it is true that some stars have legit places to sleep on set if they wish for late nights, naps between scenes. Though you’re not sure how that’d go—you always feel like such a zombie waking up from a nap. Can’t imagine that’s a good thing going from scene to scene.

So much for that being refreshing.

“Is that comfortable?” You ask, motioning to the bed as you put your bag down on the coffee table.

Austin looks up and in the direction of what you’re referring to, “Kinda, it has its moments when you’re really tired.”

“You gonna sleep there tonight?”

He purses his lips in thought, toeing his boots off near the couch. “Probably.”

And that…is totally not something to be thinking about right now. You shake your head as if to get rid of the imagery before clearing your throat, “I got you somethin’.”

He raises his eyebrows as you pass over the bag from the convenience store,

“Just my go-to’s when I’m feeling poorly.”

You smile, chewing on your lower lip as he pulls out a few essentials: a plastic container of Oreo’s, Ginger Ale, and mint tea.

“They didn’t have peanut butter.” Then quickly to clarify, “For the Oreo’s, I mean.”

Austin laughs softly, nodding, running his hand over the pack before smiling up at you. He reaches out to tug you close, placing a kiss on the bridge of your nose. “Thank you.”

You feel warmed from the inside out, blooming in your chest and sprouting outward. It’s not much and you’re not sure if his stomach is still upset but…you just wanted to be able to offer something to help. Sometimes a well-placed gesture is all you need.

Opening the pack of Oreo’s, he sets the bag on the coffee table to take a cookie out. Biting into it, he says, “I’ve never had Oreo’s with peanut butter before.”

You raise your eyebrows in mock outrage, “This is just unacceptable—don’t tell me you’re a cookies and milk kinda guy.”

He smiles a little guiltily—it’s cute. “You gonna take the cookies back if I say yes?”

You crinkle your nose, grabbing an Oreo for yourself. “Just please tell me you’re not a dunker.”

Austin shakes his head and well, good, at least you can work with that. Snagging a seat on the couch, you take your shoes off, crossing your legs up on the cushions. As you both eat through another sleeve of cookies, your mind wanders to this morning when you were talking with Jillian about…everything. The future, or at least what might happen when the filming of Elvis ends. You glance up at Austin, on the couch with you, one long leg folded up under himself, the other resting on the ground. His fingers hold one cookie while the other runs them along his lower lip, as if he’s in thought.

He touches his face a lot, you realize, especially when he seems to be considering something. After the emotive day he’s had, you’re not sure it’s the right time to really talk through what’s on your mind. There will be time for that.

Austin looks over at you as he takes an Oreo apart, which makes you scrunch your face a bit because you know he’s going straight for the icing. “How’s your script comin’?”

You take a soft breath into your chest, debating the words behind your teeth for a long few moments before, “Maybe end of the week you can look at it? If you’re not too busy.” No pressure, you can have Jillian read it over if he can’t.

“I’m not too busy for you.” Austin replies and he says it in such a way that has you believing it. Though, it’s a double-edged sword, you’re not quite sure how you’re going to handle him reading your script and…what if he thinks it’s absolutely awful? It’s just one opinion, sure, but you have to admit that it means a bit to you.

You shake out the nerves best you can and nod, determined, he’ll get that script by the end of the week.

Then you’ll go from there.

You stay on the couch for a while eating Oreos, easy conversation passing between the two of you. It kind of amazes you how simple it is that you can just…talk about anything. There’s topics that range from the serious (where do you see yourself in five years, who’s your biggest influence, book you could read over and over again) to the dramatic (zombie apocalypse—how fucked are you, favorite bird that you think has the biggest personality, drunk food go-to).

Another hour of time passes and it was already late to begin with, another yawn slipping past your lips,

“I think you should crash here,” Austin says, “That’s like your fifth one.”

You blink at the offer because no…while you know it’s late and he’s not wrong about you yawning a lot, the day catching up with you, you couldn’t possibly sleep here, right? On a few counts.

No…people would notice, wouldn’t they? While you like to think you blend into the background pretty easily, tomorrow would be the day for people to notice you coming out of Austin’s trailer, or in the same clothes you wore today. Way too risky, right?

And yet, for whatever reason that’s not what comes out of your mouth, “I think I got an extra pair of jeans in my car but—”

“I can grab you somethin’ from wardrobe.”

You raise your eyebrows, a scoff sneaking out. Oh really? “This couch is—”

“Let me worry about the couch, you’re takin’ the bed.”

Now you do laugh, “What you got an answer for everythin’?”

He grins, “Maybe.”

This is such a bad idea—the couch was comfortable enough to nap on when you had a migraine but getting a full night’s rest? Not even to mention, “Your legs are far too long for this thing.”

Now he’s amused, his eyes dancing warmly as he leans into your personal space. Your stomach flutters, gaze flickering down to his lips when he speaks, “You checkin’ me out Y/N?”

“You’re incorrigible.” You shake your head, gently poking at his chest.

Austin hums, “I’ve been told that’s my best quality.”

You don’t kiss him even though you really want to, a smile tugging the corners of your mouth—you realize within those few moments how much you like him, how your feelings for him are becoming more and more defined the longer you two figure this thing out together. At the same time, it’s a dangerous thing—you’re really falling for him.

You just hope it’s not too fast.

Once again, thanks so much for reading! I think I worked out that this series will be 10 parts total :)

Tag list: @pearlparty, @theinvisiblecapricorn, @kittenlittle24, @andrewgarfields-girlfriend, @mirandastuckinthe80s, @nonsensical-nonce, @softlispoken, @dudinhahoff, @peterparke-r, @lottiee03, @little-diable, @therealwriter17, @bob-the-tomato, @bcofl0ve, @domaniquessidehoe, @matsbarzals, @rosequartzluvr, @callthedarknessdown, @laperceval, @ghostinthebackofyourhead, @starry-night-20, @ahoyyharrington, @obsessedunicorn24, @lulu-recs, @queenotaku23, @embobemm, @milaa24, @medleyj, @myownparadise96, @butlersluvbot, @girlokwhatever, @pinkle-monade0103, @vintagebitc, @xcallmetaniax, @adoreyouusugar, @karamelcoveredolicity, @thisisntmeok, @kvcssghbjbcd, @mamaspresley, @jazmin2211

#austin butler #austin butler x reader #austin butler imagine #austin butler drabble #elvis 2022 #mccall writes things #ccg #ccg series

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sirenjose · 5 months

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Kurt's Diary - Thoughts and Theories

(Including crack theory Naib didn't kill Murro)

1) Emily's (first aid kit?)

2) Wu Chang's umbrella is still here, and NE is making sure we know this. That means either Jose did leave but didn't bring the umbrella with him, or he didn't leave

If he did win, was he put into another game like Emma and Murro (Emma's letter did mention her being with others her 2nd time around)?

Orpheus did say he "treasured" the opportunity to include Jose in his experiments, which could mean he'd want to use him as long as he could?

* Michiko's mask is still here too.

3) The "guy" Murro would rather "freeze to death" than encounter can't be the Hullabaloo group (Murro the only survivor). Likely Naib, who's chasing Murro based on Naib's 1st letter (only other possible option is the manor owner)

4) HA! I WAS RIGHT! THERE WAS SOMETHING SECRET ABOUT THE FROG AND ITS GOLD BALL! (I'm sorry, I've been focused on that stupid thing since I first joined IDV and saw the diaries.) Question now is what it does... (secret exit?)

We know the gold ball was in Murro's room based on William's diary before he returned it to the statue. Maybe Murro knew its secret. But for what purpose? Did Murro hide something there, like how he used apple juice to write secret pages in his diary? Or something else?

5) Pretty sure the "explorer" isn't literally Kurt here. The one who "refused to trust his allies" and was "brutally slain by a wild beast" should be Murro, based on Murro's diary page Kurt finds, and Kurt may assume Bane killed Murro for now and thus Bane is the "beast"

Though considering the other letters, Naib is another option, but Kurt should have no reason to know that (if Naib did indeed kill Murro), so at least in this context Kurt says "wild best" to refer to Bane.

I've always had 2nd thoughts/doubts about the idea Naib wants to kill Murro. We know Naib works for Arthur Russel, who we know is a detective. Arthur is currently the one investigating both the Hullabaloo tragedy and Lakeside Village.

We know Arthur cares about his investigators as he pulls them out of the investigation when he believes a "crime syndicate" is involved with Lakeside. We haven't seen anything yet that implies Arthur also has his men do assassinations though...

Not saying that can't be the truth but I want more info before jumping to any conclusions, despite whatever the manor owner says, especially as we know even the manor owner isn't all-knowing (like with the people who only leave puddles behind, or Naib managing to disappear).

It's hard for me to say, but it is possible there were multiple sets of footprints belonging to more than 1 person, aka maybe Naib's was 1 of them (if not Bane's, if Bane only stays in his cabin in the forest).

Seem to be maybe 4 sets of footprints

1 set

2nd set

3rd set

4th set

But if Naib can disappear from the manor owner's sight, maybe he can also help other people to disappear too? If Arthur wanted to find the culprit of the Hullabaloo deaths and they discovered someone else from the circus had survived, they may have wanted to find him to help solve the mystery of the circus murders, which could be why Naib went after Murro as we saw in his 1st letter.

As an investigator, a new witness could be the key to solving the whole mystery (maybe that's just me as someone who reads/watches/plays too much detective stuff)

Naib obviously knows how to be stealthy/sneaky considering he has to do the same for himself to hide from the authorities, since Naib is a deserter, and desertion is a serious offense.

Murro's smart too considering the sort of invisible ink he uses.

So I think it's possible...

Maybe a good question to ask is “Why”? Why would Naib want to kill Murro? Mike is friendly with Murro, who Mike helped fake his death for, so he’s not the reason. And Naib isn’t just a brainless killer, since he deserted after refusing to kill his comrades, so he’d need a reason.

I guess you could say he might if he was paid to do so, but who’d ask to kill Murro? I doubt there are too many people that know too much about him enough to either hate him or have a reason to kill the person Bernard labeled as a “wild child” for his circus.

Different note, but the hole is gone in Servais' diary, but the boars are now in that same area that 1 set of footprints led to. It's also where Naib leaves the dead boar, which has a section of it torn open.

Still no idea what might've been inside.

Too many questions...

6) Info about Kurt's 2nd letter

"tree cave" = Murro's room

William and Kurt were awake in the evening due to the "awful weather". Nothing about sounds of "wild beasts"

Kurt thought they should do more than sit in their rooms, which is why he had Will help gather Naib and Murro. This was when Kurt went to look for Murro, found Murro not in his room + door locked, then went outside, where he saw footsteps, a (freshly dug?) hole, and Bane. He didn't see a "corpse", any heads being "bit off", or it being dragged off

Last thing Kurt says is to ask Naib to look at his new "work" based on his "experiences". This may be, at least in part, related to the work "Kurt Frank's Travels" from Kurt's 4th letter that he writes to Blackett Publications to get published. But nothing, at least from this yet, about telling Naib about seeing "a wild beast dragging his corpse into the shrubs. It bit off his head". Doesn't mean he didn't tell Naib this, but based on how much of the previous stuff was true, it's at least doubtful this is the full truth

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the-wisteria-house · 3 months

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The Arrangement (Rengoku x reader) - Chapter 9

This chapter starts off in the year 1888 and is the telling of what happened in a small village on a cold faithful spring day, along with how two brother's lives were altered forever, from the perspective of Seiko Kaneshon, an old glass maker whom Kyojuro met in the oddest of circumstances. There's also a (Y/N) and Kyojuro scene at the end. Enjoy ;)

Warnings: Death of an O.C (It's not described), Kidnapping, cannon typical violence, Kyojuro might be a little OOC (To be fair I would be in that situation.)

Seiko couldn't help the sigh that escaped him when saw the new missing persons posters join the countless others that already lined the square. As he gazed at them, he couldn't help but made note of the fact that none of the missing persons seemed to share any notable similarities; some were old, some young, some were rich, others were poor, and it seemed neither male nor female were spared from the killer's wrath. There was a clear lack of rhyme and reason and that sent shivers down Seiko's spine.

"Anyone you know?" A deep voice asked from behind the Seiko, and with a wary expression the glass maker turned, only to regret it almost instantly when he was met with a man with an impressively towering build and the brawns to match, but that wasn't the most notable thing about this man, no his hair which was reminiscent of flames was what truly caught Seiko's attention.

His eyes searched that males face, and he came to the quick conclusion that the man couldn't have been more than a few years his junior. Thogh that fact didn't stop the sense of apprehension that fell over Seiko as he turned his gaze to look into the mystery man's autumn like orbs, before it traveled slowly to the large, jagged scar that marred his attractive features.

He could tell merely by looking at this young man, that he had seen far more tragedies in his twenty-four or so years of life than Seiko would ever see in his own existence. No matter how short or long that may be.

"I can't say I knew any of the victims well, but I suppose yes. It's a small village after all. "He hesitated before continuing with a tight but firm voice, "Why you want to know?"

After an uncomfortable few moments of silence, (For Sekio at least the other male seemed content with just staring at him with his unreadable gaze.) another, more youthful voice joined the conversation, in an effort to break the tension, "You need not to worry Sir, we're only here to help!" Sekio jumped back before whipping his head around at a breakneck speed in every direction he could in an effort to find the person who this new voice belonged to, but much to his confusion he found that the only people in the square were him and the blond-haired male, who seemed to suddenly have a vein protruding from his forehead.

"Oh, I'm up here! I uh no- wrong building. Wrong one again. You're really not good at this sir... Didn't you play I-Spy as a kid?"

Seiko was finally able to find the owner of the voice when he saw the original man glare up at the building behind him. His displeased glower pulled tautly at his scar making it look even more terrifying if that was even possible. The scar traveled from the right side of the male's jaw across the bridge of his nose and ended on the apple of his left cheek bone. One couldn't help but wonder what had given the man such a painful looking scar? Maybe a wild animal of sorts, that could explain the odd uniform, maybe he was in a hunting group of sorts? Understanding that his wondering thoughts were irrelevant Seiko turned his sights to the figure on the roof: a young teenage boy who looked to be no older than fourteen, who was grinning ear to ear, seemingly taking great joy in his companion's displeasure.

The resemblance between the two males was uncanny, they had everything from the same forked brows to the fiery locks that sprouted from their heads. The only clear difference other than their clear age difference seemed to be the length and style of their hair. The older of the two had most of his hair pulled over his shoulder in a neat braid that ended at the center his bust, and the other had unruly hair that was just above shoulder length, some of his locs were tied up in a half up half down style.

"Don't look at me like that Seijuro. The man looked like he was ready to run from you, so aren't I doing you a favor Anuie, I'm keeping the questionee engaged!?" The teen asked with a humored tone confirming the glass makers theory.

"You're only meant to sit and observe Shinjuro, why can't you listen to me? If I didn't know better, I would think that it was Genjuro who joined me on this mission, not a Kinoe." The sputtering that followed seemed to have a fraction of a smile crossing Seijuro's thin lips. Though it seemed to disappear as soon as it arrived, "Now get your sorry ass down here, and shut your mouth. If you were with a different Hashira, I wouldn't hear the end of having such a flippant brother as my Tsuguko. You're a Rengoku now act like it."

The boy much to Seiko's Suprise didn't startle at his harsh words, instead he only nodded slowly before hopping far above Sakio and landing soundlessly next to his elder brother, "My apologies Seijuro..." A small frown crossed his features, causing the older male to shake his head with a sigh before wordlessly placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. His sights quickly turned back to Seiko who pretended not to be looking for a way to escape. HIs less than stellar acting skills finally seemed to be what made Seijuro cut to the chase.

"Your village is being plagued by what we believe to be a horde of demons. My brother and I were sent here to exterminate said demons and return order back to this settlement in turn." HIs gaze was unchanging as he spoke, that had Seiko letting out an uncomfortable laugh, that quickly trailed off after a few moments when he when he heard neither brother join in and he saw that their expressions had remained starkly the same he sweat dropped.

"Demons- have you seriously lost your ever-loving mind?! That's completely absurd, this is just the work of some sick killer!" It was now Sekio's turn to sputter foolishly, but his annoyance was far more intense than the teen's, "You're insane, if you expect me to believe that insanity!"

"I assure you my sanity is completely intact." Seijuro's expression remained unsettlingly the same, his large eyes not moving to blink even once. (How the hell did this guy not have serious dry eye?)

Sekio's eyes then met Shinjuro's eyes in question. Anyone could see that out of the two of the he was the more socially adept one, but all the boy gave him was a shrug, before the teens gaze turned back to his brother.

"There's no link between the different victims. I don't know how you two think you're going to find who, or whatever you think is doing this." Seiko went to move past the two males; frankly done with the tall tale he believed they were spouting.

"There is actually." a hand captured Seiko's shoulder in a firm grip bringing him to a halt. Neither he nor Seijuro made a move to look at one another as they spoke.

"What do you mean?"

"There are underground tunnels that led underneath the engwas of each victim's home."

"Do you truly expect me to believe that?" How preposterous was that, did this man really take Seiko for a fool?

"You should look underneath your own when you get home..." The man's hand removed itself from Seiko's, and even with the jerk neck speed the glass maker jerked his head to look at the younger male, he found that he was alone.

The man and teen had simple vanished; and seemingly not leaving a single trace that they had ever been there in the first place.

later that night as Seiko laid awake, his mind was unable to rest. He just couldn't get what those two boys had said earlier off his mind.

Initially Seiko had scoffed at the idea of a tunnel being under his engawa, and hadn't bothered to entertain the idea of checking to see if there were any grounds to their outlandish claims, but now as the hours ticked by and his tired body refused to rest, he found himself regretting that choice. He wondered if it would have truly hurt to have just peeked while the sun was up. Now it was too late, he was out of oil for his Lanters, and wouldn't be able to see without another. Why hadn't he just checked?

'No-shut up Seiko. There's no such thing as demons. Those boys just said all of that to mess with you!' But as he thought back to Seijuros serious unwavering gaze he found himself no longer able to believe wholeheartedly that what the spouted were truly lies.

Eventually the glass maker was able to dose off, but just as he was in-between the realm of dreams and consciousness a sharp pain spread across his calf causing him to scream; not only in surprise but in agony as he was violently pulled from his tatami mat.

He watched in horror as multiple small grey hands with talion like nails clamped down over his mouth and nose muffling his desperate cries as he thrashed in attempts to break free, but as his body grew weaker due to the lack of oxygen, Seiko came to the startling realization that he wasn't getting out of this, that he was going to die just like the others. Was this what their final moments were like to?

"Oh how I love how they scream when the realize their fate." The creature let out a high-pitched cackle as the young man's vision began to fade and his screams lessened, "Oh, but you truly have no idea what's coming to you. Poor little human. This is only the beginning!" One of the small hands removed itself from his arm and gently caressed his dark curls. Almost as if he were a prized feline of some sort, as his vision faded to a terrifying pitch black he was finally taken by the sleep that he oh so desperately craved only moments prior.

1915

"You know your own owlish gaze reminds me of that man's..." Seiko's said as his aged hand extended a simple ceramic cup to Kyojuro, who graciously accepted.

"Is that so?" Kyojuro's asked curiously before taking a small sip of his tea. The minor sweet floral notes that spread across his taste buds, had him pacing himself. He'd have remember to ask this man where he'd purchased the tea bags before he left, he was sure you'd enjoy this tea immensely. Well, that is if you hadn't had it before? He wondered silently about how many teas you must have tried.

"Yes, I'm assuming those men must have been related to you somehow given the uncanny resemblance. Would you like some of the rice balls I made earlier today?" The elderly man offered an Ivory plate to Kyojuro, who again accepted. The grateful smile he wore made it seem as if he'd been told he'd won the lottery.

"Thank you Kaneshon-San." Kyojuro impedingly shoved one rice ball into his mouth and quickly ate the savory treat it, "You'd be correct about those men being my relatives. My father Shinjuro, is the boy you speak of, and Seijuro was his brother, so that makes him my uncle!" Kyojuro confirmed before stuffing his face with another of the rice balls. As he finished his smile removed itself from his face and turned into something more serious and he decided it was time to finally ask the question that had been at the nagging at the back of his mind, since the start of the story, "You said most of the village was massacred, but by what you've told me so far only a dozen or so people had gone missing. Did more people vanish after that?"

"Yes, your father and uncle were correct; there truly was a horde of demons taking people under the cover of darkness, but there was something those two had no way of being prepared for." The man's expression turned grim as he looked upon the younger male what could have been regret.

"What do you mean?" Kyojuro turned his full attention to the elder whose hands seemed to tremor as he attempted to slip his tea.

"I only learned after your father saved me and removed me from the battle scene that the demons' had attacked the entire village in one foul swoop that night instead of one or two people like they had done previously." The man's trembling hands dropped the spoon had been using to stir his tea.

"What else?" Kyojuro placed a comforting hand over one of Kaneshon's own.

"I can't tell you what happened after they left me that morning, but I can tell you what happened when I saw them next."

1888

As he stared to come too Seiko couldn't even begin to wonder how long he was out for, but he knew given his half-asleep daze, along with the dull ache his muscles all held that it must have been a while.

A heavy feeling on not only his limbs, but over his chest as well quickly caught his attention. That wasn't the only oddity the male was experiencing, if he strained his hearing, he could almost swear he heard the sound of low murmuring above where he laid.

With this realization Seiko's horrified eyes flew open, and he let out an embarrassingly girlish screech the moment he saw the five greyish beetle like creatures that were responsible for the weight he felt.

As soon as he took in his surroundings, he came to the realization that he was no longer in his home. No, he was in a cavern of some sorts, but this was no ordinary caver. Countless tunnels dotted its rocky walls, which were easily 300 if not 400 feet tall.

"Look he's awake!" The creature at his right arm announced to the others who turned their beaty insect like eyes to look at him as he writhed on the stone floor.

"Should we get Mother?" The one at his left leg asked lowly not breaking eye contact with Sekio.

"Yea, she'll want to know about Marechi" Sekio didn't like the sound of that, and increased his violent struggle as he screamed, he wasn't whatever a Marechi was.

They ignored the hysterical man as if he were just a fly on a windshield, as the communicated with one another through clicks of agreement, before picking him up as if he were nothing more than a bag of rice.

Seiko thrashed violently as they started towards the largest and only lit passage. A lump formed in his throat as he came to the realization that if he entered that tunnel, he wouldn't be leaving alive.

As they neared the entrance of the cavern time seemed to slow as Seiko's silver orbs took in the countless bones that lined the floor before him, and before he could even hope to comprehend the horrors before him he watched what looked to be a femur bone soar through the air and land only a few feet away from him. Bile stung his throat when noted how stubborn strands of muscle still clung to the Ivory appendage.

"You've done well my sweet pets, take that and leave the Marechi to me. " A sultry voice sounded from the shadows. If he wasn't so busy trying to hold back his horrified screams at the situation he was in, he might have flushed at such a tone being used to describe him.

The clicking of metal had Sekio whirling his head around in warily, he knew they were going to eat him but dear god they weren't going to torture him first, right? But as his eyes gazed upon two familiar figures, he felt a sense of relief wash over him, "I- it's you two!"

There stood the two brothers he'd pegged as insane covered from head to toe in dirt and blood. Despite that the two still radiated incredible power, and the vibrant red blades they held did little to dull the effect.

Seijuro had an unreadable expression on his face as he peered into the intimidating darkness. This look was different from the look he gave Sekio earlier, now he had an air of certainty around him, as if this was what he was meant to do, what he was breed for.

"Should we attack?" Shinjuro readied himself, seemingly ready to carry out whatever order his brother would shoot his way.

"Wait." Seijuro held his hand in front of the younger slayer, as the sound of shuffling and the crackling of bones rung out, before the metallic smell of blood permeated through the air.

"Brother-" Shinjuro started before quickly being cut off.

"Wait-"

A bone chilling laugh came from the shadows and a thump of something...or someone being dropped followed, before a pair of luminance orbs blank open before they narrowed at the sight of the two brothers. The contrast of the black kanji against the creature's golden irisi's allowed Sekio to clearly read 'Lower moon one'.

"Shit! Shinjuro kill those demons holding that man and high tail it out of here!" Seijuro yelled to his younger brother who whipped his head to look at him with look of disbelief and disapproval.

"You want me to leave you alone with Lower Moon one? Shouldn't we stick together and fight it?! I'm no coward I can help!" Shinjuro practically pleaded, but Seiko seemed firm in his decision.

"Shinjuro, as it stands that demon is after that man. I'm a Hashira I've killed plenty of demons, I don't need you, he does!" The piercing glare Seijuro gave had Shinjuro faltering before fiery anger flashed in his youthful eyes.

"Brother, I understand that but please be reasonable yo-"

"We're not brothers! At least not here. Not when we dawn these uniforms!" The two slayers held eye contact for a few moments, before Seijuro leapt over Sekio and rushed forward to meet the Moon.

The demon had long flowing long hair and soft looking feline like ears, that clashed against her startlingly pale features, her lower body wasn't like the other demons that had initially captured Sekio like you would have thought with the title 'mother'. No instead of looking like a beetle it looked almost like that of a midnight black house cat. It amazed Sekio how the swordsman could see and parry her attacks in the darkness.

"Take the Marchini and kill him! I won't let theses slayers have him!" The demon screeched out as her arm was swiftly severed from her body.

"Shinjuro go now! That's an order!" Sekio roared as he swung his sword to aim for the demon's neck, but he was almost imminently redirected to cut across her torso. The path the blade left behind healing almost instantly.

The next thing Sekio knew he saw Shinjuro running towards him and the beetle that had been on his chest had grabbed his dark locs and slammed the back of his head against the rocky floor of the cavern. He could hear the sickening crunch that rung out, before a darkness accompanied by a low buzzing enveloped him.

The moments that followed passed in a dizzying and dazed flashes consciousness. There were moments were Sakio could hear the boy speak, "Crap that's a lot of blood-" then a comforting, "Just hang in there! We'll be to the surface soon!" followed not too long after.

"Sir please stop moving- I stopped the bleeding but there's no telling what damage there may be!" The feeling of pressure surrounded his head as he tried to blink himself awake and remove what he feared was another beetle. He couldn't remember when but at some point something was tightened firmly around his wrist, which had been pinned behind his back.

"I need to go help my bro- Seijuro. Just stay here until we get back!" Sekio watched the boys blurred figure ran in the direction he assumed they'd just come from, before the world around him once again faded to a cold and terrifying black.

By the time he woke he was back in his bedroom, and the boy had returned to his side.

"Is that your blood?" Sekio croaked as he pointed to the red splotches that stained his grey uniform.

"No, most of its yours." Shinjuro said almost numbly," Drink this, you haven't had anything for almost a day." He helped Sekio lean up before offering a clay cup.

"Thanks, what happened? You look...rough Kid." The older male trailed off as he took in the dark bags and blood shot eyes.

"Your blood has an intoxicating effect on demons, and like I said... I'm covered in it." The teen looked down at his sleeves which seem to be stained the most, "I was able to slay the demon because of it..." The almost dead look in the boys eyes caused the glass maker to falter.

"Why do you say that like it's a bad thing?" Shinjuro only looked to a bloody but neatly folded white haori at his side, with a blank expression. Sakio had seen that garment before, but he struggled to pinpoint where. His eyebrows knit as he searched his memories until he came to the startling realization of just who that haori belonged to, "Your.. your brother didn't make it?" Seiko was praying in that moment that he was wrong, but he knew just by looking at the boy he wasn't.

Silent filled the air and the moments ticked by until he heard the teen mumble something indecipherable.

"Come again?"

"I wonder why they made it white?" Shinjuro asked as he stared at the wadded-up fabric at his side. The faraway look in his eyes gave Sekio the inkling that he wasn't talking to him.

"What?" Sekio asked anyway, he soon found that the bitter smile that spread across Shinjuro's face to be one of the unsettling and heart retching things he'd ever seen, especially on such a young face.

"Red would have been better given our profession." a humorless laugh left the boy's lips before he took the folded garment in his battle worn hands, hands far too worn to belong to someone who couldn't even grow peach fuzz, "I guess it won't matter after I kick the bucket anyway." He shrugged halfheartedly as he seemed to be taken away with his thoughts.

"You're not thinking of- doing anything right...?" Sekio rested a gentle hand over the boy's wrist, pulling him from his thoughts, whatever they could have been. Seiko found himself at a loss for words, what could he say to this boy-Was there anything he could say? He couldn't even begin to understand what life that the Rengoku brothers had led.

"No, don't worry about me sir... You don't have to worry because I have to live long enough to ensure I'll be the last Flame Hashira... I won't let Genjuro or any other Rengoku lay down their life for the sake of some damn generational reasonability. This ends with me. " The unwavering conviction in his voice and the angry flames that burned in his eyes left the glass maker speechless. He truly had no hope of ever understanding the burden that this...this child carried...

1915

"After he insured that I had a doctor to check on me during my recovery, he left." The old man's eyes traveled from where Kyojuro's hand still rested over his own to the flame patterned haori that was draped proudly on his shoulders, how it still wasn't stained in blood he couldn't wonder, "I'm hoping he found peace with things given the fact that it seems you now hold the mantle of Flame Hashira. Whatever that means...I don't know if I want to know... but what I do know is that despite him being only a boy, but he seemed to have quite the resolve."

Kyojuro found himself unable to do anything other than simply nod, "My Father retired almost three years ago, I became Hashira soon after."

"I'm glad to hear he didn't stay killing demons until he was old and grey." The old man pointed to the front of the store with a humored and honest smile, "Sometimes when we do something so long, we forget how to do anything else, or that there's life out there. That's why I'm still here."

"I'm also glad Father retired. The end for a Hashira most of the time isn't a happy one, as you've seen... Only two others from his generation made it to natural retirement, but they retired while he was still in his prime, so they didn't work togeth-"

The gentle pinging of wind chimes flowing in the breeze had Kyojuro pausing before turning his head trying to discern where the noise was coming from, and why it seemed so close, "The wind chimes," he started as the melody started to fade, "Do you make them?"

"I don't make wind chimes, nor do I have any of my own. The noise would make it hard to work." The older male said off handedly.

"Is that so?" The flame Hashira's owlish stare had Kaneshon raising a brow before he went back to drinking his tea.

Kyojuro could tell the man wasn't lying, maybe he was more tired than he thought? What other answer could there be?

A heavy feeling settled over Kyojuro's shoulders the moment he made his way down the long corridors of his family home. The discussion that he'd had with Seiko weighed heavily on his mind even days later, along with the realization that accompanied it. Thankfully it was still quite early in the morning, and the sun wouldn't be rising for another few hours, so he'd have time to get his thoughts in order as he looked into things himself.

"Kyojuro your home..." a voice whispered right as he passed his father's study, causing said male to halt and quickly whip his head around to where he found you leaning out of the room.

"(Y/n), I could have been my father!" He stared at you in minor horror, as he came to the realization of what could have occurred if it wasn't him.

"He's out cold, and I heard you come in. You're not all that quite." You teased with a small smirk before schooling your expression into something more serious, "I haven't found any other files with (L/n) on them. I've searched multiple times at this point. I don't believe if there are other files in there." The absence of surprise on Kyojuro's features had you raising a brow in silent question.

"Are you planning to go to bed anytime soon?"

"No, I'm not particularly tired, so I can help with whatever you need." You let the question go, knowing he'd provide an answer eventfully.

"Well, it's come to my attention that I may want to look into the family's records. You're welcomed to join if you'd like?" He pointed to the door he'd been heading to, which was only a door down across the hall.

"Sure," You shrugged simply as you followed his gaze, "I've got nothing better to do." That fact was only partially true, you probably should have been sleeping instead, but to be frank you'd rather have done anything but sleep in that moment. There were only so many hours you could spend trying to wrap your mind around how you were meant to utilize katakana in your writing. Who knew how different writing and reading were? In the end each day you spent trying to learn left you feeling even more embarrassed with yourself.

With your response he entered the room, and you followed not far behind, "So, what records are we looking for exactly?" You asked curiously as you looked around the astoundingly large room which must have been at least double the size of the study, which was an impressive size itself.

"Well, we're looking for two birth records, Seijuro and Genjuro. Seijuro should have been born around 1865 and Genjuro sometime after 1874." Kyojuro led you towards the back of the room before stopping, "If we don't find those records, then it means my father has removed their files, for some reason."

"You think Rengoku-Sama had another brother, other than Seijuro?" Your brows pulled together in bewilderment, "Can I ask why?"

Kyojuro nodded in confirmation, before going on to explain the conversation he'd had with the elderly man, "If he went as far as to remove their records, and act as if they never existed then I fear that I have no idea what else he could be hiding?"

A comforting hand over Kyojuro's shoulder, and you asked the question he didn't know he had been dreading, "Kyojuro, what is this really about?"

He wordlessly placed one of his hands over your own as he looked away in thought, "I've been thinking. " He paused in thought before continuing, "(Y/n) I know your mother's name, but what was your fathers?"

"Ryota, but what does that have to do with anything?" The man remained silent.

"R.(L/n), what if R means Ryota (L/n), not Reia? Our fathers were both slayers. Surly if your father worked as a slayer until he was in his thirties, he must have been highly ranked and in turn somewhat familiar with the Hashira. Also, it's important to note before coming to live here with us, you still lived in the district my family has always patrolled since the core's inception. As I thought about the file more and more, I realized it was likely they must have worked together once at the very least."

"So, you're saying there should be more files with my father's name then just that one?"

"Precisely. So why isn't there?" His burning orbs settled on your form and his hand tighten around yours.

"Kyojuro, the file I found was from the summer of 1904, my father died that summer. If I remember correctly Father mentioned to Mother, it was going to be an assault of some sorts." You looked into Kyojuro's autumn orbs with the upmost seriousness," How likely is it that a Hashira was there?"

"Almost certainly, a Hashira is almost always called to lead if we have a chance of an organized attack. The only time I recall that not being the case is when I was given the opportunity to go in my father's place, but those where special circumstances."

"Well, there ended up being two moon's that day... " a grime expression crossed your features, "So how much you want to bet your father was there?"

Kyojuro stayed silent for a few moments, "What's the point of keeping such a thing secret?" he looked to you, as you pulled away and opened the cabinet that held the more recent birth certificates and fingered through them.

"There's four, one is your father and the three before are babies without names, just dated with your grandparents' names, no Seijuro and the one after Shinjuro's is yours, so no Genjuro." You turned to look at Kyojuro,"We can look in the death records? By what you told me Gen-" You paused when you saw the mix of emotions written on Kyojuro's usually vibrant features, "Oh Kyojuro..." You approached him slowly and before you found the will to stop yourself, you brought a hand up to gently cup his cheek and make him look at you.

"I don't understand it (Y/n), why are there so many secrets, so many lies? What did I do to make my father not trust that he could confide in me? Why did everything fall apart after Mother died?" He closed his eyes and leaned into your hand, as his exserior slowly cracked and reveled the insecurity, and confusion he's carried since childhood.

"Kyojuro, I know you may not believe me, but It's not you. You've spoke of how your father was before your mother passed, but kyojuro..." Your throat tightened at the sight of Kyojuro's pain, but you knew that you had to be strong for him, he needed you in that moment, "What if he was broken before...and she was what held him together, and after her death he was unable to cope with it all, so he erased any trace of the things that caused him pain. Taking down her photo's, locking away her things, erasing his brothers from the archives, and....drowning away his sorrows in Alcohol." You hesitated to add that last part which didn't go unnoticed.

"You can say it... I'm tired of making excuses for him." Kyojuro eyes slowly opened, and he watched as you shook your head slowly and a single tear finally escaped from your eyes.

"I'm not making excuses, for him Kyojuro...I just want you to understand this isn't your fault. Life just wasn't kind to your father, and you have no control of how he chooses to react to that fact." You took a deep breath before continuing,"Kyojuro I wish you would be kinder to yourself. You deserve to give yourself grace, you don't always have to pretend things are alright. You can be upset, no one expects you to be perfect."

"I-I just feel guilty," He looked at you as tears started to well up in his own eyes, "You'll never get answers because of my father's actions. (Y/n) your being forced to marry a man who's unworthy of your hand with no explanation."

" Kyojuro, haven't you ever considered I'm the one unworthy of you?" A heavy sigh left you as you looked away in an attempt to gain your bearing's.

"I'm sorry but I don't understand?" Kyojuro's brows furrowed at the look of defeat that marred your features.

"I-I never finished school... I had to start working to support me and my mother by time I was in third grade... Kyojuro I can't write more than a grocery list and even then, most of the time I get stuck. It's a miracle that I learned to read." Your hand fell away from his face to his shoulder, as you hung your head in shame.

"(Y/n), why is that shameful?" A gentle hand lifted your chin until you looked into his eyes once more, "(Y/N)... You were caring for not only yourself, but your mother as well. How could you learn something If you never were given the opportunity?"

"The Future wife of a Hashira should be able to write Kyojuro. If you were to marry me, you'd be marring below yourself."

"There are Hashira who can't write as well (Y/N), and plenty of Slayers who can't read. You told me to give myself grace, please give yourself the same kindness." He's words were firm but also comforting as he continued, "Such a thing doesn't change how I see you, or what your capabilities as my wife will be if that's what you're concerned about."

"Then why do you believe you're unworthy of me?"

Kyojuro burred his nose into your hair as his arms tightened around you. As you relaxed against his sturdy frame you didn't even bother to wonder when he'd embraced you.

"The longevity of my life is uncertain. Every time I leave for a mission there's a chance, I may not return alive. I'm at peace with that fact, but it would be wrong of me to expect you to carry such a burden."

"And what if I say that's a burden, I'm willing to carry?" You leaned back to look at the male, "As long as I get to stand by your side."

"What are you trying to say (Y/n)?" Kyojuro looked at you with a mix of confusion and desperation that you'd never seen before.

"I'm saying that I want to stay here with you. If you'll let me."

Hello everyone! It's hard to believe I've been working on this fic for a year now, I know it's been slow updating, so thank everyone who's been patent and has stayed with me on this journey. I see the comments and Kudos and appreciate all your kindness. It's what continues to give me the drive to keep writing. Now that was all a lot to unpack, I'm sure some parts were confusing so please don't hesitate to comment if you need any clarification on some parts. Thanks for reading see you next time!

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iambicpentameterhamster · 19 days

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What's happened with Jackson's Diary lately?

If you don't read all of this, at least scroll to my point on Dexer as that's my main issue.

Please don't take this too seriously, its just my opinion and im very open to having my mind changed.

So season 1 JD had me absolutely hooked, I loved the drama and the characters. There was a lot of character development and tension with underlying notes of supernatural mystery and the artstyle was consistently good and it was just... good. It was really good.

Come mid-season 2, I think we actually start to see a significant dip in quality- the characters, in my opinion, kind of lose the edge they had in season 1.

Let me explain. In season 1, the characters feel like REAL people in the sense that they were simultaneously flawed and fun. They had redeeming traits that made them likeable enough to the reader, but they all had flaws that made them act in ways that drove the plot. For example, David was funny, loyal and outgoing, but he was overprotective, slow on the uptake and jumped to conclusions. Exer was also cool, sarcastic and funny at times, but he had some pretty obvious flaws that i won't bother listing off. Jackson was sweet and easygoing but far too trusting. Ronald was intimidating but independent and thought for himself, Brenda was generous and bubbly but prioritized popularity over true friendship, Pamela was kind but standoffish, etc. All of these characters had different dynamics with one another, they weren't all friends and they weren't consistently friends. It was these contrasting flaws and virtues and dynamics that DROVE THE PLOT. And did so brilliantly.

But by the time season 1 finished, JD had taken off and was a very popular comic with thousands and thousands of readers. And these readers had become attatched to a particular ship, Dexer, which i think might be one of the reasons for the decline in character individuality. Paola has some amazing ideas and she is clearly a very capable storywriter and is good at writing and developing characters, so i think both time pressure and pressure from the fanbase caused these problems.

Season 2 was essentially three things- Exer's redemption, one long Exer and David will-they-wont-they storyline, and Jackson being therapized by everyone around him.

Exer's redemption

First of all, Exer's redemption. I think the inversion of Jackson and Exers roles in the plot is INCREDIBLY clever, but to be honest i would have liked to see that translated differently- rather than have Exer do a complete 180 and transform into a perfect person, i would have liked to see him keep some of his snark, some of his trademark moody eyeroll attitude from season 1, but show him becoming a better person at his core. Currently, i feel like he's just way too NICE. It makes his dialogue less interesting to read and it makes me less invested in him as a character because now, instead of his actions being affected by his conflicting character traits, i know he will just try and do the right thing no matter what. Maybe thats ideal for real people in real life, but it makes for a less interesting story.

He's also lost most of his motives from season 1. These used to be 1. Liking Brenda, 2. Maintaining reputation, 3. Competing with jackson and 4. Dealing with his powers and keeping them a secret. These motives conflicted each other and made it so he never truly gets what he wants, but now he just sort of... does. He got David. He got jacksons forgiveness. His friends and dad know about the powers. Hes a better person. Feels sort of like he ended up on top, really.

I would love to see Exer faced with a decision that makes him choose between keeping David or his integrity, for example. That would be really interesting. I would love to see some of the characters fall out again because them all just being good, supportive friends just makes it quite boring and low stakes. Even Jackson, with his new power, just uses it to help Exer and David and doesn't seem to have any intention or motive to use it for something more nefarious than that. Making the diary move by itself is just a way of removing Jackson's autonomy in the matter when i would rather see him make a decision himself and be responsible for his own actions, as Exer was. I want a power shift from Exer to Jackson, not Exer to Jackson to the diary.

The problem with Dexer

Now for Dexer. I think this is a key sign that the characters are now more driven by the fanbase and their desires then by what actually drives the plot. Yes, they're cute together. But they had more chemistry in season 1 when they were characters with edge. And it seems like, David in particular, his other character traits and struggles have been completely forgotten and now his character is "poor gay boy/ Exers boyfriend". And David's reaction to the trauma of what happened to his dad is just that hes... sad? What if, for example, he went manic and kept himself constantly busy because his need to be liked by other people has been harmed by this experience? Acting irrationally or seeking distraction to cope? Or even just being ACTUALLY sad instead of looking kind of sad but still doing and saying all the right things so the fandom continue to like him. David used to have other personal problems outside of Exer, for example his need to be liked by others and for popularity, or his dad telling him his future relies on football because he isn't so great at school. Now it's all about his sexuality.

It just feels like Exer and David aren't individuals anymore and have morphed into a two headed being called "Dexer". It would be SO much more satisfying to watch them get together as they were in season 1, with Exer's cynical, sarcastic and broody remarks contrasting David's endlessly sunny and optimistic personality, gullible and airheaded humour.

Some of my favourite interactions in the whole comic are between Exer and David in season one. Like:

Jackson: "Hey, is that Meryl Streep?"

Exer: "Seriously, do you think we're idiots or something?-"

David: *letting go* "Where?"

Or David constantly calling Jackson "Jacob" in early episodes, or him being totally oblivious to Exers dislike of Jackson or his crush on Brenda and enthusiastically trying to help with what he misinterprets to be reality, or slipping up about liking guys in really funny ways, Exers dramatic "After all we've been through?" And all of the funny misunderstandings and coincidences in season 1... small but entertaining things that made the characters who they were. THESE are the characters i wanted to get together. Not the ernest, well intentioned and flawless people they are now. They don't complement each other any more because they have the same basic values and traits. Like, where did Himbo David go? Where did broody Exer go?

And may i just mention, the OTHER characters have also been done absolutely dirty by this. Brenda is barely part of the plot anymore aside from helping Exer and David, same for Ronald. Brenda's thing with Ken might just save her character and has already introduced some quite funny moments, but throughout season 2 Brenda did not have any motives or development of her own outside of Exer and David (and occasionally Jackson)

Ronald had none of his funny moments, really, either. He was just David's emotional support russian. Maybe all of the character dynamics were hurt by the fact that most of the characters are all friends with each other with zero conflict except between Exer and Jackson.

Basically as the fanbase started to revolve around Dexer, the story actually seemed to mirror this. I don't blame Paola, she was giving the people what they wanted to see.

Therapized Jackson

I hate to break it to you, but real life people are self absorbed. People, especially young people, can be clueless and tactless and don't always say the right thing. When this is reflected in fictional characters, it can lead to interesting and tense scenes and character growth.

The detention kids, however, seem pretty damn perfect friends. They're always there, right time right place, and say all the right thinks to make Jackie feel better. They don't seem to have problems of their own that get in the way of their ability to constantly support Jackson, nor do they have any apparent reason for their devotion to Jackson. I mean, do they have endless time? How are they always free to help him out? Do they just wait around until he needs them? Seems kind of like they're in it for the Exer drama.

I know Jackson healing is important, but i think some of it should be internal, because realistically, who is going to have these zero-maintinance friends who follow you around giving you life advice?

Despite this, i still like them as characters and i think they have good comedy potential. They just need motives of their own and to slip up sometimes, or talk about something other than Jacksons mental health. The main characters have also fallen into doing this since making up with Jackson.

That's another thing, actually; in season 1, the characters bonded and talked about things other then whats currently happening in the plot. Now they just give each other advice and constantly talk about Jackson and David and Exer and literally nothing else, its tiring.

Anyway end of rant i haven't proof read this and i love you paola you're brilliant season 1 is a masterpiece

#david miller #brenda miller #exer campbell #jackson smith #jacksons diary #webtoon

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mariacallous · 1 month

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Your use of Reaction Images from the new Feid is inspired. Do you have any particular take on the new season? Personally I thought it was a bit melencholy and less campy that I would expect from a Ryan Murphy show (I know he didn’t write or direct this one).

I think it had some interesting things to say about the complex real life and media trope of the Gay Best Friend, and the resentments that build on both sides of that relationship but also the joys of it, but the structure and timeline of everything was kind of off putting.

Thanks for reading! Love your blog!

Aw, thank you!

My sister and I were talking about the series last night, and here's where we landed:

-The story or narrative was vague and/or undecided. At no point did Murphy and the others writing and directing ever decide, really, how they felt about the characters involved, and, by extension, where the audience is supposed to land or approach the characters. There's a difference between "these people are flawed and complex but ultimately we should be [sympathetic/unsympathetic] towards them" and "they're complicated and flawed!"

-The characterization, and indeed the writing in general, was very clunky and...not great. Lots of cliches, lots of stereotypes, lots of generalities, and at times the characters all had the same kind of voice.

-There was SO MUCH Telling as opposed to Showing. It was the only way viewers would be given any kind of indication what sort of stake or element was involved. It was lazy and detrimental.

-There were also what felt like Obligatory Virtue Signal Moments put in because it was expected or necessary and then things could progress. The sexism/misogyny element which kind of gets introduced in the first/second episode gets dropped very quickly and is almost never referenced again. The homophobia and Gay Best Friend element is mentioned sporadically throughout, with the heaviest concentration in the James Baldwin episode) but doesn't really come to any conclusions about how we're supposed to feel.

-The pacing and timeline *were definitely* off-putting - I think the jumping around was a detriment (especially because a lot of establishing moments for the friendship of the swans and Capote were scattered about). Starting with La Cote Basque 1965 was the wrong choice, because you have the explosion up front and then have to figure out how you're going to build up and progress from there. There's also, because of the Telling versus Showing, a lot of build up for certain events and moments, which don't pay off or get pulled off - the Black and White Ball is an example of that, I think.

-Additionally, the shifts in the kind of framing for the show hurt it - the first two episodes are a conventional set up, then you have the shift to the black and white documentary, then you're kind of back to the conventional set up, and then the last two episodes are weird dream sequences and kind of shoddy conjecture?

-As much as I like Molly Ringwald and Demi Moore, choosing to include/elevate Joanne Carson and Ann Woodward to this extent was a poor choice, as was not including what I feel are the more actual interesting swans (Pamela Harriman, my personal fave, as well as Gloria Guinness and Marella Agnelli) and making Babe the primary Swan wasn't necessarily the best choice.

-So much time was spent on Babe's cancer and Truman's alcoholism, to the detriment of fleshing out literally any and all of the other characters and stories, and both of those story elements were handled poorly.

-The James Baldwin episode was probably my least favorite because of how all-around bad it was, which is really unfortunate because there could have been potential there.

-Going into this series, Murphy and the others seemed to have made what my sister and I are calling the "Somehow, Palpatine returned" choice, aka the Marvelization Maneuver. In order to really follow along, you either had to be familiar with Truman Capote and the Swans and 1970s New York society, *and/or* have read Laurence Leamer's book, which the series was inspired by. So much was not explained or depicted, and so you have a higher bar to clear to engage with the material. And if you do have that background, because of the other choices, you would be disappointed because you *do* know the background and saw what was chosen to be used.

-I also think that an emphasis on the aesthetics versus the story was involved, which is also unfortunate.

I was excited and there were moments I *did* like, but there was a lot to be disappointed about.

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plantsarepeopletoo · 10 months

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Step by Step means step by step

So episode 10 concreted the idea that I had kicking around in my head that this show punishes anyone who is moving too fast or doing things out of order.

Episode 1: We see the start of three problems, Pat learning how to set boundaries, Jeng needs to learn how to be more sensitive, and their power dynamic.

Episode 2: Shows what happens when Pat doesn't put up professional boundaries and isn't clam. We also get foreshadowing of consequences of workplace relationships. The company WILL blame the person with no power, "Pat you need to distance yourself" but this is going off topic.

Jeng is still not quite aware of how insensitive he is.

Episode 3: After Pat isn't calm and now his consequence is feeling horribly uncomfortable, getting drunk and meeting Jeng's parents in a very awkward way.

Jeng is feeling the consequences of not being sensitive and seems to at least be realizing that it is a problem.

We get the start of Jaab & Jane. Jaab decides to ignore the fact Jane is taken. Jaab's consequence for now is feeling lonely and upset.

Everyone's clothes are very different, kinda as a sign of how far apart they are emotionally. - something to look for in later episodes.

Episode 4: Jeng listens to Pat! Gets rewarded with starting to have a better relationship with his employees.

Jeng fails to trust Pat after Pat makes a mistake. The game mirrors the boardroom, and Jeng messes up the progress he's made.

Pat isn't chill, jumps to conclusions, and this leads to the group chat incident and the most awkward conversation that could have been an email before he messed up.

Jaab isn't chill, leading to being discovered and pushing Jane away.

Put isn't chill, freaks us and Pat out.

Episode 5: Jeng isn't chill, he's firmly in Pat's boss zone, and his punishment is getting jealous by himself.

THE FIRST BIG ONE! Jaab and Jane flirt and kiss before Jane breaks up. And now everything is in flames, and still is in flames at episode 10 since no one has talked. This one is the real first time I realized the show hates when people do things out of order.

Episode 6-10:

Put pushes his relationship with Pat too quickly and without actually dealing with the core problems and finally pushes Pat away for good.

All of Jeng's heartbreak stems directly from not taking care of the power dynamic he has with Pat first. Or being sensitive, putting all of that weight on Pat when it comes out Jeng's gay and into him. They rush into a physical relationship and that gets them caught (this wouldn't be a problem if they'd do things right). Again, Pat feels all the pressure and Jeng isn't sensitive, so their relationship (from the preview of 11) seems to continue to self destruct. Jeng, sort your shit out.

ALL of the progress any character has made towards each other continues to blow up in their faces cause they're missing steps. Nan, Put, Jaab, and Jane show foreshadowing. Chot shows how you can be rewarded for moving forward by doing the right thing.

@lurkingshan @shortpplfedup @asdfghjklmpff

I'm hungry, hopefully this makes sense. I didn't learn how to gif yet, might edit just to add them if I figure them out.

#step by step #overanalyzing #step by step the series

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connorconsumestrousers · 11 months

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Im in the stage of the hyperfixation where I analyze anything and everything about this media.

the media being moral orel is. in and of itself something I am more than happy to analyze bc I know it's gonna be an emotional and moral rats nest /ref

also being aroace and being strict with the difference between attraction and love. will come in handy when screaming from the rooftops on why Bloberta and Clay's marriage is strictly based on some attraction and trauma. haha this'll be fun /hsrs

I'm. gonna put rambles abt that specific topic bc I have nowhere else to infodump abt my stange interest.

I'm telling you rn: this is all my opinion, so if something seems misinterpreted, then it probably was.

rambles are under the cut ↓↓

I think it's a bit obvious that Clay and Bloberta's marriage is NOT based upon mutual love. it's based on trauma both of them have. Bloberta's being feeling useless and unhelpful. she finally finds a guy that she has helped in some positive way. she immediately jumps to the conclusion of "this is it. this is the one." without thinking about anything else other than "he was the first one that has seen that I've helped, so obviously I have to get with him." and it's. a trauma response. she does have an attraction to him, bc obviously he's a handsome guy. but she doesn't know him. all she knows is that he said that she helped him. that does it for her. she doesn't need anything else.

and what she ultimately did was set herself up for disappointment. getting him drunk was a bad idea, obviously. so when he acts up and starts showing bad signs/red flags, she ignores it. or at least she tries to. leading to a sort of coping mechanism; cleaning. she thinks Clay is "filthy" so she goes to cleaning as her outlet.

this leads to her knocking Clay out, bc she can't take it anymore. once Clay wakes up, she helps him clean up, and talks to him abt what happened and proposes that they get married.

my genuine thoughts on why she did this so quick is, she doesn't want to get to know him. she doesn't want to see the red flags, or the bad parts. she also doesn't want him to say no. Clay is the first person that she had "helped" and she will not let this go. she won't let him go.

when Clay declines, she drops his head. this shows a bit of manipulation going on. a power imbalance. she's keeping him comfortable and safe, and once she lets go, he's not safe anymore. she did this on purpose, as I said before; she will not let this opportunity go. she has to marry him so he can make her feel wanted. that's all she's ever wanted. to feel helpful. to feel wanted by someone else. someone who would care about her and tell her she's useful.

when he finally "agrees" to her "proposal", she openly cares for him again. happy with the response.

they get married a bit later, the two having a service. you can see the emotion gone from Clay's face. Bloberta looks happy, but as soon as she sees Clay's deadpan face, her emotion drops as well. this shows that she might have genuinely liked him, in a love-ish kind of way. but we all know that they didn't know each other very well at this point, so she was probably hopeful for a happy wedding. and a genuine shared love with her husband. but she overlooked the possibility that maybe he didn't love her the way she loves him. because I think she did love him, at a time. at a time where she could look at him and love the man she saw. someone she barely knew.

this was probably the opposite with Clay. he barely knew Bloberta and he couldn't feel any real love for her. he doesn't try to fake this for the sake of a wedding because why would he? there's no reason to pretend to love someone you don't. and he was basically forced into this. being married to someone who practically manipulated you into saying yes isn't going to be the happiest decision of your life.

but I'm not saying she meant to manipulate him in this way. she probably just thought he liked her. and she liked him. so why not get married? two people who like each other. and when that takes place is a prime decade of unhappy marriages just because you liked someone and decided to get married. not getting to know them before holy matrimony is a fatal mistake, even now.

Clay's trauma is being worthless. this leads to him saying yes in the first place. hes told he's worth something. someone cares. someone is gonna marry him because he's worth something. and being very sensitive to any type of care, he'll take anything he can get. this specific scenario, a woman who is helping you is telling you that she wants to marry you. and you're supposed to say yes. you feel you have to. because she cares about you. she thinks you're worth it. who would say no?

also being hungover and not thinking straight, you're obviously not gonna have time to think before she leaves your life forever. and he doesn't want that. she's the first person to think he's worth hanging around and being with. it's a weird situation to be in. saying yes was the only logical thing for him to say, yk?

him being deadpan at the wedding. he knows he fucked up. he knows he didn't do the right thing, because he doesn't love her. not like you would love someone you genuinely want to marry. one: because he doesn't even know her well enough to grow and make a connection. two: because he doesn't want to be emotionally vulnerable again, being forced into something because your heart told you to.

BUT YEAH. that's my little. ramble I guess.

take all this with a. grain of salt. all of this is my opinion and how I view this!

#ramblings #my ramblings 🧡#moral orel #moral orel ramblings #this was very interesting to write so. hope you enjoy the read!#rambles

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prowerprojects · 9 months

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Something has to bring all the counterparts together, it's either Nine or some big space anomaly. (Still holding onto the sacrifice idea until we get the trailer later for proper speculation.)

There's such a big insistent that they're just as alive as the originals brings up how concerning the finale is going to go; cause I don't think some are going to swallow the idea of the verses being gone so easily unless there's proper reasoning for it. (That, and if the counterparts can live on in some manner.)

There's most certainly going to a huge emotional breakdown on Nine's part, I can feel it. (I wonder if part of it is that he's having a hard time processing a life that wasn't either hectic or in solitude. Him making those palm trees and coconuts has to mean something, I doubt those crossed his mind before Sonic showed up. And in his own lab at that, his own private space. Also Sonic mentioning to expect many adventures after the whole thing is over. {And will Nine ever experience a chili-dog? Questions, questions.})

Heh, it would be pretty funny if Mangey's first [and likely only] coherent sentence is the thing that strikes a deep chord in Nine. The fact that he saw both at all will probably be in his mind when working on the Grim. (Hmm, I have seen a few think Sails might be a representation of Tails' loyalty, and such, might have abandonment issues [like the rest of the pirate crew]. The fact that Sonic came back, but Dread jumped ship could probably cause some reflection.) In any case, not getting an episode with all 3 together when one's leaning into main antagonist territory would be a massive waste on the storytelling.

Haha, we'll see (idk if I've already said it, I personally don't believe in sacrifice because I still see the Shatterspace people as parts of the og, so how are we meant to "glue" them back together if a part gets destroyed?)

Hey, they don't say alive, they say "real". Which could mean the same, of course, but to me brings on a different connotation of what they're trying to portray there.

Idk about a "huge" breakdown, I mean, he'll probably cry, but idk how dramatic they'd want to make it (genuinely). It's still a show for little kids so they'll probably won't go for anything really complicated. (I lowkey forgot how childish the humor is before I watched s1b)

(I think the coconuts and the palm trees would most likely be used more for Sonic's character development... we'll see though. I think he'll see them in Nine's lab amd have a reaction of some sorts)

Mangeeey! I think Nine seeing his counterparts helped him to better understand how the Shatterverse works... he seemed confused when he saw Sails but downright scared when he saw Mangey... Idk what conclusions he came to though.

It could be loyalty, though out of all 3 Tailses Sails is the one with the least unique/obvious personality traits. I was mostly thinking how the things Sails and Mangey went through could relate to Nine's situation, it's easy with Mangey, but what could Sails offer, you know? If anything It'll be like with the Roses, "Fuck Dread and Fuck the Council Sonic", I don't think Sails could actually be of help here. (Unless it amounts to "hey at least Sonic isn't as bad as Dread, you should forgive him". Which I don't like because I don't think Nine is obligated to forgive Sonic. I wouldn't mind if he decides to forgive him anyway in the end, but no one should guilt him into it. I actually think it would be cooler if he didn't, because it would show Sonic that his actions have consequences and he can't placate Nine with a "sorry" the way he does Tails. (Even better if Nine also apologizes but still doesn't want to try to be friends with Sonic again))

Yep, agreed, I need a Tails³ episode, because Nine is so prominent but the other two barely have had any development it feels almost weird?

#sonic #sonic prime #sonic prime spoilers #nine #nine the fox #tails #sonic the hedgehog #project.txt #project.ask

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ruthlesslistener · 9 months

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I still remember how one time someone asked you to respect other people's headcanons, and immediately you went on a rant. I don't think that anon meant to... convince you to like that ship or to change your headcanons. They were saying exactly as it is. So I can understand why some are starting to see you as an arrogant fighter when answering asks. Will you blow up on this simple ask? Will you make fun of some anon for "having no reading compression" because they didn't go full into crazy details? It feels like that unless some ask fully agrees with you, there's a chance of you coming off as a jerk in some way.

Tone: deeply frustrated, but calm

So this IS about the adult Ghost discourse. Well that's because I wasn't replying with the intent to rant, I was explaining my take on it (and was admittedly probably very bitter about it because the misunderstandings were deeply frustrating me)- which I already explained to you earlier was something I just do by default. Can't remember which exact post it was either, but I believe it was also condescending as hell because I do respect other's headcanons most of the time, but this came after I had already stated that I was without any context for adult ghost prior to the incident with the exception of pornography, which negtively tinted my views on it pretty hard. So I had to add that context in there, because it deeply skewed how I engaged with the concept, and also I'm pretty sure that I stated it was personal preference already and that I didn't want to engage with it, but people were still saying that. Remember that food metaphor I made earlier? That's where I think the misunderstanding is coming from- I clearly stated my opinions on it because to me, it's as simple as not liking pie, but because I forgot that other people don't have that same view of fanon, it came off like a moral judgement. In which case I have to state again: it's not that deep for me.

As for losing my temper, yeah I did during the heat of that ask bombardment. But I mean, you gotta understand that this was one event where I responded ineloquently, with zero context for what I was talking about, and got a whole slew of comments by people who jumped the gun to conclusions about what I thought that I didn't say at all. That's deeply frustrating! And I'm really fucking bad about regulating my emotions bc of the afformentioned autism, so that frustration carried over into my posts, probably doubly so because I just write plainly without tone tags. Then when more asks that missed the point of what I was saying rolled in, I got even MORE frustrated. Because it was clear that my point wasn't being made, and it made me more and more upset- hence the 'no reading comprehension' gripes, bc I thought I was speaking clearly but people were responding with things I didn't say. Like, even now, I'm not angry- I'm frustrated and upset because I thought I was getting better at this whole social thing, but clearly not. Also, for context, the people who replied 'no reading comprehension' are those who either picked up on what I was saying, or are those I went to for help because I didn't know where I was going wrong.

Though I have to ask, anon- why not block me? You clearly seem to have some sort of problem with me, or at least with reading me properly, and I genuinely don't want you to continue to get raised hackles because of my social ineptitude fucking things over. I'm not some kind of social bitch who uses status to push people around, and the thought that I might inadvertently be doing that has honestly made me want to delete my blog and start over (though I probably won't bc I hate change). I'm not a professional. This is something I do in my free time with the few friends I have because it's a special interest, and no more. There's really no obligation for you to tolerate me if you don't like me, or can't read my tone- just block me. It'll get me off your feed and prevent you from having to deal with me, because while I'll try to get better with my tone, I don't think I can change my brain chemistry to be any better at knowing what people want from me or how to respond in a way that doesn't seem inflamatory. Because I genuinely don't know what to do.

#im not angry rn im deeply upset #and frustrated #i certainly was in the wrong but i dont know how to make it better #other than state over and over again that i lacked context and dont think kts that deep #anon #reply

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elminx · 1 year

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One of the things that I love about houseplants is that they teach you things.

I was not expecting this lesson to be about pests, but here we are. (It's really okay. Everything is under control.)

Last week my partner and I were inspecting the cane of one of my dracaena that wasn't looking super great. It was squishy exactly - not actively rotting - but it also wasn't as hard and strong as the cane above it (it was at dirt level). While doing so, my partner noticed (they have much better eyesight than I do) a tiny bug jumping on the surface of the soil.

Bugs on my plants isn't a new thing per se but it's Winter so there aren't outside bugs which severely limits the number of inside bugs. And I jumped to the conclusion that the bug was either making or eating the spot of weakness on the cane of my plant.

Part of it is that there is a ton of emphasis on "bad bugs" in the plant community. And people with huge plant collections are full of stories about that one time when they got thrips and it killed half of their houseplants. Mind you half of their houseplants is still more than all of mine, but I have worries.

Anyway, it turned out to be fine - they were probably springtails. We removed the soil and the bugs don't seem to be on any of my other plants. (The dracaena didn't have a rotten or being eaten cane, either) But, I decided that I had gone far too long as a plant parent without owning Neem so we made plans to go to the plant store.

They were having a buy one get one half off houseplant sale.

Even then, I almost made it out of the store without anything other than the Neem. I really want a Scindapsus pictus (Satin Pothos) but the specimens they had in the size that I wanted were very sad looking and over watered. But as I made one more circuit of the store, I realized that they had put the hoyas in the succulent aisle. (I am not sure where I expected them to be but they aren't full sun like the sign said...so?!?)

I sort of said that I wasn't going to get any more hoyas for a while but they had some Lisas (Hoya australis ssp. tenuipes). It turns out that I love the yellow variegation as much in person as I have in photos. Plus my partner immediately fell in love with the Compactas because they look like brains.

I checked the plants in the greenhouse. It wasn't until I came home though that I saw the mealies. (on the Lisa - despite the Compacta's reputation for harboring mealies, neither of us has spotted anything untoward...yet)

There weren't many and I'd only ever seen one mealie infestation in person before and it was an INFESTATION. This is a bit of fuzz between a few branches on one of the three plants in the pot. I'm proud of myself for catching it. And now I get to treat for mealybugs for the first time. Like a real plant mom.

(I've only ever dealt with aphids and fungus gnats prior, at least on inside plants)

I actually thought that I would be more grossed out.

#witchblr #words #mine #green witch #houseplants #mealybugs #they really aren't that gross #aphids make my skin crawl #houseplant pests #hopefully I can get the achievement Mealybug eradicator

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maedivae · 1 year

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Book Katniss and Movie Katniss.

What key point or best qualities of Katniss' that lost in the movie adaptation?

What do you think about Jennifer Lawrence portrayal of Katniss?

Thank you, @curiouskatnisseverdeen

For context, my first exposure to the franchise was to the first movie as a kid on Netflix, I don't think Catching Fire was out yet on DVD or streaming services but I also don't remember seeing it in theaters, so I just read through all the books after that. And reread them a few times since then. Let me tell you, those were the quickest three books I've ever read, I wish I could knock out a whole series in two days like that nowadays.

Back then I was pretty neutral to Jennifer's portrayal because I felt like she was very unemotional but now, I think she's just subtle with her acting, it fits Katniss's character well. So I really do appreciate her, I like how you can visibly see her fear without it being overdone: when her whole body is shaking before going into the first arena or when Peeta runs into the forcefield. Stuff like that is really nice.

Though Jennifer Lawrence doesn't physically fit Katniss's description that much to me compared to the books, the height difference between her and Josh is just chef's kiss. Peeta short king is a retcon I enjoy, haha. I mean, Liam still towers over them both and Josh is still stocky which is accurate so it's not a problem. And even Peeta's big old brown eyes are cute. But enough about them, this is about Katniss.

I'd say the thing I miss most from book Katniss to movie Katniss is a lot of her sarcasm, wit, and just crazy jumping to conclusions stubborn Taurus moments within her inner dialogue which is hard to put to screen. Also, her angsty teenage moments where she sulks in her room after she shoots the apple in the pig's mouth.

I also feel like book Katniss is still more expressive emotionally than movie Katniss at points, for example she's a much more physically affectionate person and doesn't ignore Peeta as much in the first book as much as she seems to in the movie. Like she at least talks to Peeta and even laughs at his jokes somewhat early on, hell, she kisses his cheek (even if in her mind it's some sort of 'gotcha' to him). Of course she still doesn't want to interact with him since she doesn't want to get close to her competition, but she was clearly trying to fend it off in the books which isn't very clear in the movies. So I think a lot of movie-only people don't understand why they have the bond they do and even think Gale and her were in a relationship already while Peeta was just some random she had to get along with out of necessity when it's more complicated. I can only curse Gary Ross. Most of my problems with the movies are with the first one, the cave scene being egregious to me in how much was cut or changed to make Peeta seem like a weirdo lol.

Though this is also a Catching Fire thing in that Katniss isn't even that bad at acting for the cameras in the books. She does a decent job of acting like a girl in love, which is energy that isn't present on the victory tour (maybe for tone issues), but I thought it was needed in the cave scene. Like, Katniss may be a very closed off and private person, some would even say masculine, but she's still a teenage girl and acts like it often. And I think her 'act' for the cameras must've been believable enough since some of the people in District 8 questioned her about the baby.

As for Mockingjay, her relationship with Johanna would've been great to see, as she doesn't have a lot of female friendships in either the books or movies. Sure, she had Madge in the books and Effie is more developed in the movies, but I feel like she could talk to Johanna about Peeta and the Games, something she really needed when she couldn't talk to Gale about either and Finnick literally just got married pfft. They have a shared suffering with training and drug withdrawals and they understand each other's personalities. They comfort each other, Katniss in her caring way of seeing that Johanna has no one and no belongings to call her own, so she fetches some pine needles from the forest, while Johanna is able to shed some light on Peeta because they were both being tortured in the Capitol. They're just great. The movies already have points where Katniss helps out people who are less fortunate than her, but I thought this was one of the stronger ones since Johanna was keeping her up at night with her withdrawals lol. Letting Johanna curse her out at 2 AM when she herself has to recover from her gunshot wound.

Anyways, talking adaptations, I used to be very much against a reboot of the movies but a TV series could fit the format of the books really well, if it was done right. There's practically a cliffhanger every chapter so there's plenty to work off of in each episode to get people to continue watching. And of course, the movies are still there to watch (because I think Josh and a lot of other actors were perfect in their roles), it'd just be interesting to see a new take on it. Maybe with a bit more blood and more of the politics and relationship development that was cut out for runtime. My pipe dream is an animated show in the same vein as Arcane or something like that.

But I also appreciate how The Hunger Games hasn't had a thousand spin offs and extended universe tie-ins, I know when something good should just end. And that time has probably already passed, we got pretty good movies overall, so I can't be too picky. I don't think the prequel will reignite hype to the same extent as the originals, that time period was insane you know. However I am excited to see the world of Panem again. Maybe for the last time.

#the hunger games #thg #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #everlark #answered #long post #text post

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katy-133 · 1 year

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Prime's Immortality - Theories

[This post is copy/pasted from a reblog post I wrote for the Rick C-137 & Prime Masterpost on Rick and Morty, and also includes new additional thoughts I had on it.]

Why couldn't Prime be killed by Jerry? Is he immortal or does he have fast healing powers?

In the animation, we can see a cut made by Jerry, some blood, and then the cut heals within seconds. So Prime appears to have regeneration abilities.

Prime not appearing to have aged in 40 years may be part of the time traveller theory, or it may be linked with his healing abilities.

In season 3 and 6 (the same seasons Prime appears in), we have two examples where other characters have temporarily obtained immortality (or at least being unkillable).

Fortune Cookies:

Theory 1, Prime is using the fortune cookies from season 6 (or something from the same dimension the Lockerean fate creature that created them is from) by holding an unfulfilled fortune that is preventing him from dying.

This one in my opinion seems less likely, because immortality achieved through this doesn't appear to give the user healing powers. Examples include: The Rick being bulletproof (but the bullets that hit his forehead still making him bleed), the guard who got his ribs shattered, and Jerry (where bullets just kept improbably missing him).

The Whirly Dirly:

Theory 2, Prime is using some sort of technology similar to immortality field the vacation resort (that the Whirly Dirly ride was located in). But instead of the field being a bubble, Prime has somehow applied it to just himself.

In the season 3 Whirly Dirly episode, Jerry gets shot in the head, but survives because he was within the immortality field. Rick and the episode's antagonist also get their heads injured and then healed. The visual to convey this makes it look like the animation is being played rewound for Jerry's injury, and for Rick and the antagonist, it looks like their heads regenerated. Though there's a gold glow (pictured below) that appears with all three of them when they heal (and that Rick Prime's neck regeneration doesn't have).

So, to link this back to C-137 and Prime's backstory, how can these theories help us? I don't think there's enough info here to get something concrete (yet), but it does raise some conclusions, and a few questions to explore:

Prime and C-137 both know about at least one of these places, being interdimensional travellers. Did they visit these places together or separately?

Did Prime have these regenerating abilities before or after his falling out with C-137?

It also helps give us a picture of why Prime is like This. He believes that he's unkillable, so you can imagine the confidence that's going to give a Rick.

Operation Phoenix:

By season 2 episode 7, Rick has been working on an experiment called Operation Phoenix, a project to help him cheat death. In the Tiny Rick episode, Rick puts his consciousness into a younger clone of himself. The experiment ultimately fails, because the young Rick's personality started taking over our Rick's mind. This leads to Rick rejecting the experiment and going back into his previous body.

But we see Operation Phoenix reappear in later episodes.

In Edge of Tomorty (S4), Rick is able to jump into different consciousnesses of his clones across dimensions. Not only that, but Rick doesn't have the same problem he hand in the Tiny Rick episode (of the body trying to take over his mind/personality). This could possibly be because either keeping the body the same age negates the personality takeover, or other Ricks developed the experiment to remove the side effect by then.

Then in season 5's finale, there is then another development of Operation Phoenix where we see some Mortys using it, not just Ricks. So we can assume the experiment is being continually worked on by Ricks.

This could mean that Rick Prime has perfected Operation Phoenix, and is using it to stay the same age as he was in flashbacks.

#rick and morty #storytelling #my text #headcanon #long post

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greenandhazy · 2 years

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Out of the general belief that fandom discourse shouldn't play out in AO3 comments, I'm not starting a fight, but I did just see the stupidest list of Guy/Thomas red flags I've seen yet and I have to vent about it. Because in addition to the usual "he'll be a servant" point (which was rephrased three times and listed as separate points), other red flags apparently include:

Thomas would be paid to sleep with him

WHENCE are you getting this idea, my good sir? Was it from the scene where Guy told Thomas that their relationship could be whatever Thomas wanted? and just out of curiosity, have you ever met a couple where one person was a stay at home spouse, and did you tell them that their relationship was #problematic because the working partner was paying the other person to sleep with them? or did you recognize that relationships are complex and often involve some sort of power imbalance and that healthy relationships can still exist within that dynamic, and often involve attempts to mitigate the actual impact of income disparities?

Guy is older, at least 50

okay first of all cool it with the "at least"--Dominic West was 51 at the time of filming, and we don't even know if Guy is supposed to be his age. (RJC was 44 at the time of filming and most people agree Thomas is younger than that.) and secondly, Thomas is at MINIMUM 32. like, absolute minimum, like I'm basing that on the fact that he was able to join the military in 1914. but that would make him 16 at first appearance, so... he's not 32. the suggested year that seems to come up the most for Thomas is about 1890, making him 22 at the start of the series and 38 by the end of the movie.

if you think a 38-year-old is inherently too young to be in a relationship with a 50-year-old, you're just a dumbass. like I'm sorry. the man is a fully grown adult. and not to be blunt, but if Guy had deliberately wanted to take advantage of a much-younger man, he didn't need to find an almost-40-year-old Englishman for that. There were (are tbh) PLENTY of attractive 20somethings leaving their family and going for Hollywood who would jump at a relationship, even an unhealthy one, that would get them closer to stardom.

Guy used a moment someone was vulnerable to take them away from everyone they know and like

Guy used a moment someone was vulnerable... hm. hm. just checking, do we even once see any suggestion that Thomas has told Guy about Richard? do we have any reason to believe he would have, prior to their conversation in Thomas's office? how can Guy evilly, manipulatively use Thomas's vulnerability against him when he has no knowledge of it? are we not allowed to hit on people who might possibly in the recent past have suffered a possible breakup? honestly the worst we can say is that he noticed Thomas seemed generally unhappy at Downton, and "hey you don't seem to like it here, would you maybe like it somewhere else?" isn't manipulative.

I also think it's dumb to paint anything as ~Thomas's vulnerable moment~ or whatever when it's been a month at LEAST since he's received Richard's letter. like yeah, if Guy had barged in the same day Thomas received it and demanded an immediate answer, that's a vulnerable moment for Thomas. but a month is enough time to-- if not "get over" the end of a relationship (if that's what the letter even was, which we don't know for sure), at least to come to terms with the fact that it has ended. Guy makes the offer, tells Thomas to let him know when he's decided, and then leaves. Thomas had time to thinnk it over. He already had the Downton job, he knows all the pros and cons, he can weigh his own options, and if he turned down Guy's offer, there would be zero repurcussions for him.

in conclusion: if you don't like the implications of Thomas working for his lover, if they're not your cup of tea, that's fair, I'm not going to convince you otherwise. but don't be a fcking dumbass about it.

#downton abbey spoilers #downton abbey sequel spoilers

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rebrandedstoryline · 1 year

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Rebranded - 12.2 - Learning Process Cont

A continuation of the previous part, in which Ayala and Sun are learning :3

Word Count: 1,623

“So you... You liked the food? How I made it, I mean...” Sun awkwardly inquired, sort of fidgeting in place as he stared at the woman. He was still struggling to fully understand her behavior. Really he was just feeling insecure and had gotten to the point where he needed to know for certain whether or not he had been doing something wrong.

“Well, yeah. It was cute. I like cute things.” Ayala responded, shifting ever so slightly to rest her head upon her hand. The one that she had split open on the bedpost the morning that they met. Thankfully the injury had effectively healed by now, with only a faint red mark lingering.

Her response left Sun in a state of deep thought for a moment. He needed to process everything that he had been told thus far.

Overall, he concluded that everything had been a misunderstanding. That he had jumped to the worst conclusion due to his own insecurities. Which overall embarrassed him. He had gone and made himself upset when he could have just asked Ayala directly and she would’ve given him an answer.

Ultimately, what mattered now was that he knew she never hated his cooking. She was just a slow eater who didn’t quite know what to do with foods designed to appeal to children.

“Can I ask where all this is coming from?” The woman abruptly inquired, catching the daytime attendant off guard. That was a question that he hadn’t anticipated being asked. She could have chalked it up to him wanting to make sure that he was a suitable caregiver and left it at that. Most adults reacted with that level of indifference where the animatronics were concerned. At least based on prior experiences.

“O-oh... Uh... W-well-“ Sun began to stammer out, not quite sure how to respond to the unexpected inquiry. He was also afraid of giving her an honest answer, as he expected that he would either get lectured for reading her private messages, or made fun of for being foolish.

To top it all off, he really didn’t want to lie. He hated fibbers.

Ergo he eventually caved. He would take whatever punishment he might be due, because he would rather give her an honest answer.

“W-well, after you first laughed at my cooking, I realized I wasn’t properly equipped to prepare meals for adults.” Sun began to speak, intent on giving the woman a proper explanation.

“I-I only meant to connect to the internet! But I... I-I wound up seeing the conversation you had with your coworkers about my cooking... I’m really sorry! It was an accident! But I... I noticed you always ate Logan’s cooking so much faster than mine. A-and you kept laughing at me when I made you food. I just... I thought I was doing something wrong…” He added, awkwardly rocking his face from side to side as he spoke. He tentatively squirmed in place, just overall feeling uneasy.

“Then you said you were a slow eater, and well, I... I got confused. So I just - I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding everything.” He timidly explained, going out of his way to avoid making eye contact with the woman. All the while he was mentally bracing himself.

He anticipated that he was going to be yelled at for breaking rules. He had invaded her privacy by reading her messages. He wasn’t supposed to be connecting to the internet without permission. Though, that was less a rule that she had given him and more one that had been programmed into him at Fazbear.

The woman, meanwhile, took an uncomfortably long amount of time to try and process what she had just been told.

“They aren’t my coworkers.” Ayala suddenly stated, having fixated on that bit of information for some reason. The part about Sun accidentally reading her personal messages? Him being worried? For some reason she seemed to completely overlook that information. No, her first train of thought was to correct that aspect of the misunderstanding.

“They’re employees at the publishing company I work through. Colleagues, really.” She added, abruptly turning around in her chair so that she could start typing on her laptop. The animatronic only became more confused as a result of her behavior. Namely because he assumed he was going to get in trouble. Instead, she was being surprisingly calm and nonchalant about the whole scenario.

“As for everything else, you should’ve brought it up sooner. Would’ve saved yourself a lot of stress.” She further added, more or less telling Sun something that he had already managed to figure out. He knew that he should have tried talking about it from the start. The problem was that he had been afraid of getting into trouble.

“So... You’re not mad?” Sun quietly inquired, hesitantly stepping into the Livingroom, only to freeze just past the threshold. He was still a bit nervous.

“No. You said it was an accident, and I believe you. You obviously feel guilty about it. I bet you’ve been beating yourself up over it. So if you’re expecting a punishment, I’d say we’re even.” Ayala replied, making it clear that she was not angry at Sun for his unintentional spying and that she didn’t feel like a punishment was in order. She felt that he had already punished himself plenty.

Her response both relieved and confused Sun. Had he somehow managed to pull off such a stunt back at Fazbear, he would have gotten in very serious trouble. He likely would have been sent to parts and services for a while, for no reason other than to take advantage of his paranoia. It was the animatronic equivalent of being afraid of going to the doctor or the dentist.

Then again, it should have been obvious by now that Ayala was not the same as the people who ran Fazbear.

“O-oh~... That’s a relief.” Sun responded, his voice coming out as something that sounded like a relieved sigh. He was genuinely glad that he was not being reprimanded for his mistakes. Ayala’s nonchalant reaction to what had happened actually did help. She treated it like a simple mistake, not like a major violation.

The woman offered an idle hum in response, having now started to type something on her keyboard.

“If we’re all sorted, I’m gonna get to work.” Ayala stated, seemingly attempting to bring the conversation to a close. However, Sun found himself unwilling to allow the opportunity to exchange additional, important information to pass.

“Oh! Uhm. Before that, I do have one more question. L-last one! I promise.” Sun replied, letting the woman know that he still had something important to ask. The woman seemed to let out a bit of an amused laugh as she turned slightly to look at him.

“Would it be alright if Moony and I tried the food?” He inquired, rather casually at that. He didn’t expect her to offer much of a surprised reaction, given how nonchalant she had been so far. He had just told her that he could connect to her phone on a whim, and she didn’t seem to care. He thought that maybe she wouldn’t react much, if at all, to him revealing that he could eat.

Her immediate, dumbfounded expression established otherwise.

“I... Wh-okay, no. You need to explain yourself on that one.” Ayala seemed to stammer a bit, clearly struggling to verbally react to the question she had just been asked.

The animatronic offered a sort of hesitant shrug, along with an equally hesitant smile.

“W-well, Moony and I have some... Special upgrades. We don’t quite understand the whole process ourselves, but we’re equipped with specialized fuel converters. So we can consume matter in order to convert it into energy. The best fuel sources are biodegradable, but we can also consume plastics and certain types of glass~! Just, no rocks and absolutely no metal. We can spit out rocks, but if we get metal into our fuel converters it gets a bit... Explosive.” Sun explained, attempting to give the woman a rundown of how his mechanical body worked in a way that she could actually understand.

This both did and did not work, as was noted by the expressions that she made while attempting to process this information. She could clearly understand certain aspects of what she had just been told. Just not all of it.

“Alright, so, wait. How have you been keeping charged this whole time if you need food?” Ayala inquired, still obviously confused.

“Oh, we don’t need food. We’re still able to plug ourselves into an outlet to recharge that way... But uh... Well, your house isn’t quite equipped in that regard. Every time I stick my finger into the outlet, there’s a tiny risk that the power will go out. I only charge for a few minutes at a time, and well... I’m running on very low power, right now.” Sun explained, more or less stating that he and his twin could be charged through more conventional means, but Ayala’s home was not quite equipped to handle their ideal charging methods. They had been designed to charge quickly with access to greater amounts of power. So only large buildings with lots of power would be fully capable of helping them reach a proper charge.

“Moony hasn’t been plugging himself in at all. He’s been eating all the trash produced while cooking. So I can’t say how well he’s doing in terms of power reserves.” He added, revealing how his brother had gone about maintaining a charge.

Her expression changed rather dramatically in response to this. She was still obviously confused, but she also seemed to be legitimately bothered by this information.

#Rebranded #Rebranded AU #Rebranded Storyline #Sun #Moon #Ayala #Sundrop #Moondrop #fnaf #fnaf au #fnaf sb #security breach au

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