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overobsessedfanboy23 · 2 years

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Top 10 5Ds Characters (old, sub based)

I know I was negative in my 5Ds overview but I honestly did like the first half. I wouldn’t sit down and watch the whole thing again but the things and characters that did stand out were some of the best things to come out of Yugioh. I can 100% see how this is people’s favourite show, it’s just not my cup of tea and the problems I do have with it drag it down as a whole. However, it’s still Yugioh and I still like it, so I’m gonna make a top 10 characters list for it… based only on the first half and Bonds Beyond Time though, I haven’t watched the second half. So I don’t know anyone introduced after the Dark Signers arc. Also, yes, I’m aware I just gave away one of the entries on this list with that explanation but let’s just ignore that.

10 Martha

I’ll admit I struggled a little bit to get ten characters for this list. These bottom two did somewhat boil down to “just pick someone” but thinking about it, I do genuinely like both of my choices. I don’t have a deep reason for this one, I just think Martha was funny and her “death” did draw emotion from me.

9 Kiryu

Again, this was kinda just by process of elimination. Kiryu’s history with Yusei, Crow, and Jack kinda came out of nowhere but it’s still a good story. He’s an interesting take on the concept of extremism and while his actions in the past were horrific, I can still feel some sympathy for the guy.

8 Misty

I really like villains, what can I say? Misty just had this air of mystery to her in her early scenes, that made her really interesting to watch. Like when she told Carly she saw death in her future which I still can’t believe was foreshadowing, that’s so clever. Her backstory and Divine’s intervention did botch her somewhat but I still like her overall.

6 and 7 Lua/Rua (Dub name: Leo) and Luca/Luka/Ruca/Ruka (Dub name: Luna)

These twins’ names are so confusing. I’m putting every variation of their names but just know that I default to Lua and Luca. These two are in separate spots, it’s just kind of hard to talk about them separately because their story is so intertwined. Between them though, Luca’s the better one. I liked both of them instantly for being fun and feeling like real siblings (switching between being at each other’s throats and having each other’s backs) but I really didn’t like how Lua overshadowed Luca, especially in that Dark Signer duel. I don't mind it being their duel and Luca coming in part of the way through to duel alongside her brother but Luca was in the Spirit World for way too long. She barely got to do anything in the duel she was destined to fight. It felt like she was being intentionally cast aside. Also, Luca was just more interesting. Her connection to the spirit world was interesting before it felt like over-padded filler and she was the one with all the pressure on her, which is more relatable. Still, I like the twins' conflicting personalities and siblinghood. They were one of the few light-hearted elements of 5Ds, a reminder of what the protagonists are fighting to protect, something really important plot wise to me that 5Ds was really lacking in.

5 Crow Hogan

This was inevitable. I loved Crow taking in some orphaned kids and becoming very protective of them in Arc V, of course I love him being every orphaned Satellite child’s father in 5Ds. I love how he seems like just a sneaky street thief at first but then you see that he has a heart of gold, being a loyal friend to Yusei and Jack and a father figure to the kids in Satellite who had no one. Crow had no one as a kid before Yusei and Jack and the game of Duel Monsters and he wants to make sure no one ever feels that loneliness and it’s just… god, he’s so sweet and simultaneously badass.

4 Jack Atlas

Out of everyone on this list, Jack is probably the objective “best” character from a writing perspective. At the beginning of 5Ds, he was a selfish snob who only cared about his status as the king, which he was willing to do horrible things in order to gain and keep. He felt like a discount Kaiba to me, and his appearance in Arc V really didn’t help his case. Then he (predictably) loses to Yusei, leaving him injured and shamed. He isn’t the king anymore, which was clearly what he based his self-worth on and because of what he did to gain and keep that status, he has no one he can genuinely feel close to. Then he meets Carly. Even if you put aside the (canon) ship, Carly is undeniably essential to Jack's growth as a character. She was there for him during his loneliest time and told him exactly what he needed to hear to pick himself back up again and become a better person. They forged a deep connection in a short amount of time. It's really no wonder Jack is so protective of her. After this, Jack becomes a much more humbled and mature character, which I liked him more as. He's still the 'gruff tough guy' of the group but he genuinely cares for Yusei, Crow, and Carly and shows that care, even if it's sometimes not in the best ways. He's no longer someone who will sell out his friends for power. He proves it in the final duel when he refuses that call to power (from the guy who previously manipulated him) but even more so in his duel with Carly, where he was ready to die alongside her so Carly didn't have to die alone. I've discussed that duel and Jack and Carly's characters and relationship in depth in a previous post if you want more details. I'm also gonna talk more about it in Carly’s section. BUT BEFORE THAT-

3 Paradox

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, he shouldn't be this high up, I know, I KNOW. But you know what? Paradox does qualify for this list. Bonds Beyond Time and thus Paradox are canon to 5Ds. BBT is basically a 5Ds movie that sets up later plots of the show (I haven’t seen those plots but I know Paradox only cameos and the little details 5Ds gives us about him are things I know about) and I have been wanting to put Paradox on a list like this for months now. Let me have this one, I love this freaking guy. He survived through an apocalypse, watched everyone he knew and loved die because of a card game and decided to go back in time and slaughter the bastard who created this card game of death. It’s the perfect story for the villain for the big 10 year anniversary event that Bonds Beyond Time was. Because Paradox is 100% correct. Not in the murdering but in his reasoning. Duel Monsters is dangerous and destructive. We’d seen it for ten years before this movie and for over ten years after. The main characters do save the world from destruction with these cards but from villains who use those very same cards. Still, Paradox is going really far. Because he didn’t just kill Pegasus, he murdered countless innocent bystanders, with the very cards he hated and claimed destroyed his time by the way. Not to mention he’s dooming entire generations of people to never exist, something he probably didn’t think about until he was dying (which I’ll get to), but the fact that he sees this many innocent people as worthy sacrifices to his goal is pretty terrifying and hypocritical. And honestly, that’s really fascinating to me. His motivation is sympathetic but the way he’s going about it makes him a villain, a really vicious one. Still, I feel bad for him. Yugi, Judai, and Yusei don’t even seem to care about what happened to his time, they just insist the future isn’t set in stone, implying they don’t even believe him and that he’s lying or something (as if someone would go to those lengths for the shits and giggles). However, Paradox knows they’re wrong. He comes from a time far beyond their’s so he knows their actions can’t prevent the apocalypse because it already happened. (I don’t know if Yusei later fixes the hecking apocalypse in 5Ds, I would assume so but BBT Paradox wouldn’t know this anyway.) Paradox, from his perspective, is the only person who can fix the broken future he comes from. That’s why he’s willing to go so far and why he’s so blinded in his pursuit of this goal to see the harm he’s doing. In his final moment in the sub, he wonders if his extreme actions were really worth it, and if they would’ve actually changed anything. It was a moment I initially found silly before giving it more thought. Paradox was so fixed on his “noble” goal of destroying Duel Monsters and felt he was the only one with the power and the will to do so that he didn’t think he didn’t think about the other possible consequences his actions would bring.

So yeah, Paradox is a really interesting character to talk about. He’s also just really funny. He has a lot of funny quotes, particularly in the dub. For a quick example: “I would say you three put up a good fight only you didn’t.” He’s so sassy and sarcastic, I swear that’s the fastest way to my heart: being funny and snarky. I know the idea of putting him over characters like Jack and Crow is absurd, but like… the heart wants what it wants, sorry guys.

2 Carly Nagisa

Okay, back to characters people other than myself care about. While watching Yugioh series, I sometimes read the Crunchyroll comment sections of the episodes and when I did so for 5Ds, one thing I saw was a lot of Carly negativity, mainly people calling her annoying or useless. Now obviously, opinions be opinions and you’re all perfectly valid if you dislike Carly… but you’re all wrong, Carly’s fucking adorable. Annoying or adorable aside (since that’s subjective), one thing Carly definitely isn’t is useless. Like I said earlier, Carly was absolutely essential to Jack’s character growth And actually, he was essential to her growth in a similar way. In the beginning, Carly cared for nothing but getting the best scoop as a journalist because if she lost her job, she would end up homeless on the streets. That’s not speculation, that’s something she straight up says. It’s understandable that she’s desperate and willing to do things of questionable morality to keep her job. It’s out of need. Still, it led to her considering making Jack’s private inner turmoil public, which she tried to drag out of him by getting him to spend time with her. She, like Jack, was willing to do messed up things to preserve her status. Both of them realised this about themselves about the same time, which is why Carly was the only one who could help him out of his funk: she understood what he was going through. I know I go on and on about this ship but it really did vastly improve both of their characters. I didn’t like Jack much at all before this development and while I did find Carly cute pretty much instantly, she did bother me a little. Like, disguising herself as a nurse to sneak into a hospital and find one of the patients is… definitely weird. She does get less weird after that scene with Jack in the tower. She still sticks her nose into things that aren’t really her business… like a lot but it’s less out of selfishness, I feel. And even if the snooping around she did in Arcadia’s base was too far, it’s the thing that gets her KILLED. Yeah… Carly being killed and resurrected as a demon was a huge gut punch for me, both because it’s just harsh to have the sweet innocent cinnamon roll DIE (in a realistic way too, jesus christ) and become a demon and because I knew Yugioh was cruel enough to force Jack to duel Carly like this, and very likely kill Carly. I was right, and their duel is one of my favourites in any Yugioh series. However, there is one 5Ds character I prefer to both of them.

1 Aki Izayoi

Yeah, this was obvious. I made so many thirsty posts about her, you guys probably just think I put her at number one because I have a crush on her. First of all, I can’t tell which ones I have a crush on and which ones I don’t anymore, I kinda simp for this entire top five and second, Aki is the most relatable character in 5Ds and one of the most relatable in Yugioh overall. I didn’t go in depth with this in any of my posts as the reasons I relate to her are very personal, so I stuck to what was funny for the sake of the memes. For this though, I’ll try to explain it. I liked Aki the moment she was introduced. She was this mysterious powerful woman, who spoke in a completely emotionless tone during her duels, even as she was hurting people. She was… kind of intimidating, I’m not gonna lie. However, there were hints even early on that Aki was severely damaged inside. That numbness alone was a hint but also the way she spoke of her signer mark, the mask she wore being potentially symbolic, and some of her lines, like the one about physical scars healing but not scars of the heart. It caught my attention. I could tell they were trying to set her up as this traumatised emotionally closed off person… like I am. I saw the most broken parts of myself in Aki. She was always hiding her true feelings behind a metaphorical and literal mask and feeling alienated from the rest of society, which did nothing but shun her for her oddities. Also, I don’t want to go into any personal details, but Aki’s backstory with her parents was relatable too, which is why it frustrated me so personally that she was forced to forgive them. It wasn’t me wanting Aki to be miserable. I’m so incredibly glad she was able to recover and find happiness, I just wish the way the writers had gone about it had been different. Her forgiving her parents should’ve been left completely up to her and the point of her redemption should’ve been for her to forgive herself and not let her father’s abuse define her. You’re not a bad person if you don’t forgive people who hurt you. Forgiveness isn’t an obligation, it’s a gift to give. I just feel like the writers were sending a bad message with the way they treated Aki in that duel, a message that could legitimately hurt people in the real world.

But anyways back to Aki. She was underused by the show, which did actually make it pretty difficult to choose between her and Carly, whose arc ended in a more satisfying way if we ignore everything post Dark Signers. Which by the way, can I sidetrack for a second and say how well 5Ds actually wrote its female characters in this first half? There are a lot of female characters with varying personalities and many of them, Aki, Carly, Luca, and Misty are vital to the plot. Heck, half of this list is women. That’s more than any of the other shows. (I may be a man but female representation is important so shut it.) Anyways, while Aki was a little underused in my opinion, she was absolutely fantastic when she was there and her relatability does put her higher than Carly in my mind.

So overall, 5Ds may not have been my favourite show but when it’s good, it’s really damn good. The top five on this list are practically sacred to me

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anim3tingz · 3 years

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'Match-Up' for uravityko

Hey, Ivy. Sorry for the wait, love. I hope you enjoy it. ❤️

Assassination Classroom

Karma Akabane

Relationship Song: Self Control - Bebe Rexha

Oh, Lord! The sarcasm!

Both of y'all are very sarcastic individuals, but this boy takes things to the next level. You know those times when you just can’t deal with anything; let alone someone’s sarcastic ass comments? Yeah, Well, Karma likes to go over that line, at times. His reasoning...You look fucking hot when you get mad. He knows you tend to be a little bit of a hot head and he loves to push you to that limit. Not all the time, though. And, he knows not to push it too hard. He just loves seeing your fiery side come out.

He’s able to easily pull you out of your moods by simply making a sarcastic joke. You’d have the most annoyed face on, but as soon as the joke leaves his lips you try your damnedest to try to suppress your laugh. It never works, though.

He loves making you laugh...And, making you angry. Lol. Did I mention he finds you hot when you’re mad? But, don’t worry he’d never make you cry.

If you’re having a bad day he’s right there pulling you into his arms for a hug. He doesn’t like seeing you sad or upset. And, babe, you can bet if it was a person who made you upset he’d do something about it. He’s not letting that person get away with hurting you. “They’ll never bother you again, Ivy. I promise.”

You guys are both pretty laid-back so I see you guys down to do pretty much anything together. Wanna watch anime? He’s right there with some snacks. Feeling artsy? He’s down. He’s actually quite intrigued by your glass paintings, tbh. He loves watching the whole process. It’s very relaxing. Plus, there’s just something about watching you in your element. You seem so happy and at peace with the world in those moments.

A surprising activity the two of y'all do together is makeovers. He’ll gladly offer himself as your model. You wanna do his makeup and hair? Go right ahead. He finds the whole thing actually pretty relaxing and plus he’s not gonna lie...He looks hot AF all made up. It’s not unusual to see him checking himself out in the mirror once you’re done. He feels like a model. And, if you’re a good girl, he’ll put on a little fashion show for you.

Study dates!

Everyday after school you’ll go over to each other’s houses and work on homework/study. I mean Karma’s a smart guy, but he can be a little lazy, at times. So, don’t be surprised if y’all end up making out instead. Tbh, it’s hard to study whenever you’re around, but he’d never admit to that.

PDA:

He loves to hold your hand, fingers intertwined, as you guys walk. The warmth of your hand against his just does something to him. He feels so happy and at peace.

Piggyback rides! Karma’s got a playful side, so I definitely see piggyback rides being a thing between the two of you.

Also, this man checks you out ALL the time. Sometimes he’ll be sly and sneaky about it, but a majority of the time you’ll just blatantly stare at you with a smirk etched on his face.

Hugs with karma are warm and tight. He loves to grab you by the waist and pull you into his chest as he rests his head on top of yours. Just don’t be expecting to leave his embrace anytime soon. You’re going to be stuck in his arms for a while, js.

Now kisses...babe...Kisses with Karma are passionate and playful. You can expect playful nips at your lips and even some along your neck. And, he LOVES to leave hickies on your neck. He’s a bit possessive and loves to show others that you belong to him.

Speaking of which, a jealous Karma is a little scary. Lol. God bless the sorry soul who was flirting with you. We all know that crazy look Karma gets in his eye. If you can it’s best to pull Karma away from the person before he has a chance to do anything. Because, he will. When Karma sees someone hitting on you, especially if they’re particularly persistent, he just sees red. So, unless you want to help hide the body it’s best to just drag him away from the situation as fast as possible.

Now, don’t think you’ll get away unscathed. Oh, no, no. You can expect that boy is going to pin you down and make sure you know who you belong to.

Just know he trusts you wholeheartedly, it’s other people he doesn’t trust. You’re his and his alone.

My Hero Academia

Keigo Takami (Hawks)

Relationship Song: I.F.L.Y. - Bazzi

Keigo is a sarcastic, smart-ass, but you're able to dish it right back at him. He’s never been more attracted to you like he is in these moments. God, when you roast him, he loves it. Nothing gets him more riled up than your sass.

You guys also make a pretty great team. I mean the both of you never second guess your choices, which is vital when being a hero, and y’all just have a very great dynamic going on. There’s so many partners who have contrasting personalities and end up butting heads when it really counts. Y'all aren’t like that. With a similar thought process you guys bounce ideas off each other with ease.

When chilling out together you guys tend to end up watching TV or playing video games. He’s also gotten into a few anime shows because of you. He’s really into ‘Durarara!!’, atm.

He, himself, isn’t very artistic, but he loves to watch you draw & paint. If you ever want to draw him he’d be very down with it. Lol. Just don’t expect him not to get a little playful with it.

Keigo actually has a bass guitar so I see the two of you having little jam sessions together. Whether you guys play similar music or not, you guys are always learning to play new pieces and playing them for each other.

Like Karma, I see Keigo down with getting a makeover from you. You wanna go all out on him? Go ahead. Hell, he’ll even let you take a picture of him all dolled up afterwards.

Dates with Keigo are usually stay-at-home events or to the arcade, movies, or amusement park. He’s pretty laid-back and is down for anything as long as his with you.

You craving food at 12am? He’s down to make a food run. What do you want?

Also, I feel like he’d own a motorcycle. I see y’all going on night rides together. The adrenaline from the motorcycle and the feeling of your arms wrapped around his waist is absolute euphoria to him. These moments are his favorite, hands down.

PDA:

This man LOVES to cuddle. So, don’t be surprised if you often find yourself wrapped up in his arms. He sees you as his personal teddy bear. You’re warm, soft, and smell great. Why wouldn’t he want to snuggle with you?

Kisses with Keigo are passionate and somewhat lazy. He often pulls you into kisses as he wraps his arms around your waist. Slow, lazy kisses are his go to, but he likes to mix it up every now and then and surprise you with a really intense breath-taking kiss.

He’s a tease in every sense of the word. You can expect wandering hands when you’re around him, ex. surprise butt/boob grabs when cuddling/kissing or when leaning into a kiss he’ll swerve on you at the last minute. Just little things like that.

When Keigo gets jealous he’ll simply walk over to you and wrap an arm around your shoulder and pull you in close to him. He may be a crowd favorite, but he does have a very intimidating presence to him so whoever was flirting with you instantly gets the message.

Now, if you were ever to get attacked by villains you can bet he’s not holding back. As soon as he gets you out of harm’s way he’s going in for the kill. It takes a lot for him to get very angry, but hurting you drives him feral every time.

#assassination classroom #karma akabane #karma headcanons #mha #bnha #my hero academia #mha matchup #bnha matchup #bnha matchups #my hero academia matchup #my hero academia hawks #wing hero hawks #hawks headcanons #hawks mha #mha takami keigo #keigo takami #anime matchup #matchup request

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mangamushi · 3 years

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Thoughts on Panorama of Hell

(HINO Hideshi, 1 volume, 1984)

(warning for spoilers and disturbing topics)

In Panorama from Hell, a painter obsessed with depicting hell takes the reader on a journey to discover his life. His work, his neighborhood, his family members and family history are presented to paint a bleak and violent picture of hell on earth.

Hideshi Hino is a very big name of horror manga. Panorama of Hell is one of Hino’s most famous and acclaimed manga, and represents in many ways the quintessence of his style. When he draw Panorama, he thought it would possibly be his last horror manga (he didnt actually stop after that, though).

It displays all his favorite themes and even blatantly recycles ideas from his previous works. It is therefore is a very good entry point for anyone interested in Hino’s stuff. One the other hand, it feels a bit redundant when you are already familiar with his work, especially if you have read Lullaby from Hell, as both manga are very similar.

As the title suggests, Panorama takes place in a hellish setting, described in great details by the main character. He is a painter who uses his own blood to paint, and the world he lives is horrible in many ways: from his window he sees an execution platform operating non-stop, a stream full off trash and corpses runs next to his house, he lives in the smell of burning bodies because of the next-door crematorium...

These first few chapters are so insistent on being as abhorrent as possible that I found it hard to take seriously. In the beginning it felt so exaggerated and lacking any subtlety that it almost felt a bit comical at times, like the author was just stacking awful things on more awful things for shock value.

“his daily routine”

And it keeps escalating from there. Next, his family is introduced: cruel children with a dark sense of curiosity, a beautiful wife who seems straight out of a classic japanese horror tale (pale skin and long black hair, wearing traditional clothes...), until we go back in time to witness the story of his grand-parents and parents.

It gradually becomes more interesting, especially the part about his family which shows deeply ingrained violence and insanity getting passed down from a generation to the next. It culminates when historical events (WWII and its aftermath, the atomic bombings) are shown, intertwining with the painter’s personal story.

Different kinds of hells complete each other (ambient with initial setting and scenery of desolation, a more personal hell with the intra-familial violence, and the wider-scale historical hell of war).

Overall, I find Hino less imaginative than fellow “horror masters” Junji ito and Kazuo Umezu. Those two can come up with the craziest ideas, whereas Hino’s scenarios and imagery are somewhat more expected/conventional for horror.

But perhaps the most interesting part of Panorama is the way it blurs the borders between reality and fiction. First of all, the main character, an artist who specializes in depicting horror, acts as a stand-in for Hino himself. This is fairly common in his work, his other manga Lullaby from hell even has an extremely similar character overtly present himself as Hino:

The artist from Panorama is making his last, best painting, just like Hino who was thinking of ending his mangaka career with his strongest work. Both the painting and the manga share the same title, “Panorama of Hell”.

The similarities between Hino and his main character don’t end here, and many elements of the story are actually taken from Hino’s own life: his grandfather really was a yakuza, his brother went into a coma, his father was pig farmer with a tattoo on his back...

Just like the painter, Hino grew up in the context of the direct aftermath of WWII. Both the character and the author were born in Japanese-occupied China, and were nearly killed when their family fled back to Mainland-Japan after the country’s loss. He takes inspiration from his own life and in the traumatizing things he witnessed and lived through to draw his manga. It is hard to discern what is fiction or not in the painter’s story. Many elements are obviously fantastical and folklore-ish, like the beheaded ghosts visiting the wife’s bar (this chapter feel like a tone-shift, it is much more whimsical, with the corpses happily eating their own body parts), yet the references to real historic events like the war and Hiroshima bombing still links Panorama of Hell to reality, to our world.

The painter’s insanity makes him an unreliable narrator. Indeed, at the end of the story, the current members of the painter’s family (his wife, his daughter and son, his brother...) are revealed to have been fake all along : the wife and children are a mannequin and puppets, the brother is a pig’s corpse...

Moreover, by having the painter address the reader directly (”let me show you...”) Hino breaks the fourth wall that should separate the world of fiction from reality.

This culminates at the very end of the book, where the painter throws an axe at the reader to kill them.

Hino’s art style is really simple and easily recognizable. The way he draws body horror and wounds isn’t very realistic, which makes the gore parts less shocking. His character’s simple, soft, deformed appearance reminds me of modeling clay or perhaps melting plastic toys.

I am even tempted to describe his style as cute. The big eyes, round features, and the way his characters are often miserable and mistreated by others...it is cute in a pitiful way.

Hino draws lots of babies, children, and baby animals which adds to both the cuteness and the horror. It also helps that I share Hino’s fondness for insects, worms and other similar crawling creatures...

There are figures based on his works that are just too cute!

Hino often puts animals in his stories and even merges animals and humans. He writes stories where people transform into animals (Bug Boy) or give birth to inhuman creatures ( Unusual Fetus -My Baby ). Human bodies are more often than not hosts to parasites and maggots (Mermaid in a manhole...).

In Panorama of Hell, humans are executed one after the other like livestock in a slaughterhouse, and their bodies get dumped in a stream where they mix with other dead animals. Beheaded bodies try to put animal heads on to feel complete again, and the painter’s daughter is obsessed with animal corpses that she collects and dissects.

He doesn’t use any screen tones, nor does he use a lot of crosshatching as a mean to create different shades of grey, so the jet black ink creates a stark contrast against the white of the paper. Some pages are beautiful and esthetically pleasing in spite of the repulsive contents. Especially towards the end of the book, which depict strange surrealist imagery as the world is falling apart.

His frequent use of pitch black silhouettes reminds me of shadow play theater (which originates from China where Hino was born), as well as of Kamishibai (street theater using paper, which was very popular in post-war Japan).

Kamishibai originates from buddhist temples and was often used to spread buddhist teachings.

Hino makes uses of buddhist concepts and imagery in his depiction of hell. Panorama of Hell could be compared to the Hell Scroll, a famous scroll describing the Chinese Buddhist conception of hell with text and pictures.

↑ The “Blood Lake” and “Needle Moutain” in this panel refers to two of the different kinds of hells depicted in the Hell Scroll. The blood lake is exclusively for women.

Young women are only thing that are drawn in a conventionaly beautiful way. However, finding beauty and fascination in the most horrendous things is a central point of Hino’s body of work. His characters are either artists or collectors obsessed with what fits their strange idea of beauty (cf. Flower of Flesh and Blood, where a woman’s dismemberment is an act of creation and a research of ideal beauty in the perpetrator’s eyes).

The contrast between the solid black shadows and the untouched white of the paper can give the impression that a strong, blinding light is hitting the world. The violent light emitted from an explosion, for example. Which is fitting, giving the importance of the Hiroshima atomic bomb in the story and its repercussions that still dawn on the characters years later. It’s like the characters are constantly bathed in the harsh light of the bombings.

The Hiroshima bomb is called a “gigantic emperor from hell”, it rules over the character’s lives, even years after it was dropped. As a child, the painters created a replica of the mushroom cloud that he worships like a god.

Panorama of Hell is a very dark and pessimistic work, displaying a world where there is no hope and nothing is spared (not even the reader, who receives the painter’s axe!). In fact, the main character was already doomed before he was even born. Indeed, he is the child of the Hiroshima bomb itself: his mother got pregnant as she was hit by a beam from the explosion.

#hideshi hino #panorama of hell #horror #hino hideshi #horror manga

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atxlxs · 3 years

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Beyond The Veil: Chapter 14

Sometimes, Midoriya thinks he must have crossed some particularly vengeful god during his past life.

There is literally no other explanation for this.

Today started out fine, great even, when they had arrived at the USJ. He and Uraraka bonded over their mutual awe in Thirteen for what the Pro Hero has accomplished and Muska was standing a little to the side but behind him, a shield to whatever or whoever came up behind them (not that that was on purpose but he appreciated it all the same). He noticed Aizawa-sensei whisper something to Pro Hero Thirteen and he had wondered about it until he saw the man hold up a discrete 3 fingers. All Might. His time limit.

Oh.

Ignoring a creepy feeling of familiar weariness that fought its way up his spine, today was supposed to be fine, Midoriya returned his attention to the lecture Thirteen was giving about the dangers of using one's quirk on another without the proper training. (Training that people encouraged Kacchen to try, to harm with-) Suddenly, he was grabbed back by Muska’s hand. Turning wide eyes in her direction, in confusion, and he felt a pit drop in his stomach when he took in her expression. Wary, scared, and serious. Something was about to happen, something that wasn’t good.

Sure, it’s only been 4 days since he’s been able to consistently spend time with Muska. Reliably, one wouldn’t fully trust someone after only 4 days but Midoriya isn’t one to do reliably. He doesn’t rely on anything, that makes him vulnerable and his life has taught him that you can’t be vulnerable. Instead, he does what he’s always done. A habit he’s never been able to break since the day he turned 5.

He analyzes.

Muska does several things consistently. 1; she always watches someone's mannerisms when they talk. It seems to be subconscious and after a few minutes of watching she tends to adopt some of that person's mannerisms for herself during the conversation. Midoriya understands the need to do that on an empathetic level. He may not adopt other peoples mannerisms, but he adopts a personality that will prevent the other from getting irritated or harmful towards him. 2; she never speaks first when she’s put in an environment with new people unless she has too. 3; when her guardian showed up at the infirmary, Muska dropped her mask and became entirely comfortable. Comfortable enough to speak first and joke around with even more sarcasm than he’s heard before. 4; when something screams danger on some kind of energy level (Her quirk was so cool!), much like with the battle trials before Kacchan released his gauntlet, she freezes.

Muska was frozen.

Snapping his head around to the plaza where the fountain was starting to splutter, the place where Muska’s gaze was locked, Midoriya called out to Aizawa-sensei.

“Aizawa-sensei! Viridis noticed something strange in the plaza!”

The lights began to flicker and shut off for a moment before coming back on. Aizawa-sensei had already snapped into a defensive stance as he turned towards the plaza himself, Thirteen mirrored his actions and that’s when Midoriya noticed it. A back mist that seemed to fluctuate had appeared in front of the fountain. It spazzed and startled until it started steadily growing larger until it was large enough to span the length of several people. Slowly, oh so slowly like time was solved down to compensate for the growing fear, someone walked out of the mist.

He was covered in hands, Midoriya prays that they aren’t actually from human bodies but he doubt’s it, had pale blue hair and stood in a slouched posture that put Aizawa-sensei’s to shame. Midoriya couldn’t see his mouth due to the hand hiding it, but based on the way it moved the man was saying something. Next was a bird mutation(?) based giant that had it’s brain exposed and-

So many. So many people were flooding the plaza. Aizawa-sensei tensed and Thirteen took a step forward in front of the students, a hand raised to usher them back. Muska’s grip tightened until he was sure it would probably bruise but that didn't matter. Nothing else mattered except for the sternly, steel laced, spoken words of Aizawa- no of Eraserhead echoed around them.

“Stay back! Those are villains, Thirteen protect the students!”

---Aizawa Pov---

Shouta Aizawa hated field trips. Locked in chaperone duty with glorified overpowered toddlers is never a fun experience and usually ended up with at least one injury. The size varies but the USJ trip had ended in broken bones and a concussion before so he was justified in his distaste. Plus, he would much rather spend the time getting a nap or teaching situational awareness. Teens always seemed to lack this particularly life saving skill.

Standing there in front of a villain covered in hands, handy-man as he’s been mentally referring to him, as his elbow ached painfully Shouta made a vow to himself:

No more fucking feild trips.

Nedzu owes him a raise and paid leave. (Not that he would take the vacation, he’s too much of a worry driven workaholic) Really, the day had started somewhat normally as well.

After waking up after his nap from last night's patrol, Shouta had downed his 2 coffees as usual and headed to UA where he promptly collapsed on the faculty room couch for another nap. Waking up at 10 minutes before the bell, Shouta responded to a few texts (From Eras, dropping the -san due to her insistence) and headed to class to wrangle the overgrown toddlers onto a bus and they shipped out for USJ.

Thirteen was always a pleasure to work with, they were nice and knew when he was in the mood to speak or not so that was a plus. He got the brats somewhat under control and Thirteen started their usual lecture as he observed.

That's when everything decided to go to shit.

Because of course the world just never gives him a break.

He hadn’t noticed at first, but when Midoriya called out to him despite the kids obvious anxiety with no stutter or hesitance he snapped immediately to attention. The fountain started sputtering as if on cue and the lights had powered off for a split second before a goddamn warp quirk dragged hundreds of villains into the USJ plaza. How nice of them.

“Has the exercise already started?”

Shouta was adding in observational awareness classes as soon as possible, regular class schedule be damned. (If they even get out of this mess-) With his hero persona in full affect, Shouta ordered,

“Stay back! Those are villains! Thirteen, Protect the students!”

Launching himself down the stairs, Shouta gripped his already flaring capture scarf and braced for impact at the bottom of the stairs. The thrum of a steady beat in his chest acted as the tempo as he got to work.

The closest, 2 villains with obvious mutations, 10 and 2 o’clock.

Two strands of capture weapon went flying, strangling the villains and he pulled, launching them into each other with a painful thud. With a sharp movement, the scarf came whipping back into ready position as the villains laid unconscious at his feet.

Next, 3 villains, only one of which was a mutant, between 11 and 12 o’clock.

The burn behind his eyes as his quirk activated was an afterthought, he was relieved it was an easy patrol last night, and he left two of the villains quirkless. Their surprise acted as an opening as he launched his knee into the solar plexus of the mutant type, sending him careening into the other two. Yanking the two together like bowling pins for the mutant, the three went sprawling onto the ground.

Like clockwork, Shouta slowly started working on the villain's numbers. His breaths intertwined with the beat of his feet against the ground. Each punch, each kick, perfectly timed in a rhythm only he knew the direction of. He hoped that the students managed to get away but he knew better. The enemy had a warper. God fucking damnit. None of his the kids were going to die on his watch. Not if he had anything to say about it.

Continuous fighting, villains upon villains. No matter how many he took down there was another one waiting to just fill the spot. They were low level thugs but there were enough of them to be a danger, he works best in spontaneous small fights after all. Shouta fought his way through them, punching his way into their focus, steadily drawing their attention and bodies further into the plaza. He needed to get them away from the stairs where his students were currently waiting at the top.

“THIRTEEN!”

Fuck.

Shouta had forgotten to keep track of the warper, who was now standing (floating(?)) at the top of the staircase that was missing over half his class. Dodging a fist, he jumped back, closer to the fountain now he picked up the sound of fain mummering. He heard numbers being thrown around, first 27, then 25, 23, 20, 18, and more. He racked his brain for an answer to the why one of the villains was counting but he didn’t fully register his answer until there was an indescribable agony shooting from his elbow. Gritting his teeth so hard they should have cracked to prevent the scream that wanted to be released, Shouta kneed Handy-man in the stomach and backed up a few meters. His arm limp at his side.

He spared a quick glance at it and noticed that his skin was flaking off.

A quick flash of a memory swept through his brain and Shouta cursed.

Disintegration.

And based off of what the gate looked like two days prior? It was powerful.

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

Tags:

@baguettehead

#bnha #mha #bnhaoc #mhaoc #mhafanfic #bnhafanfic #au

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miss-tc-nova · 4 years

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Dense as a Brick Wall - Terra x Fem!Reader

First off YEEEESSSSSSS! I NEED MORE DARK ROAD ASAP! Second, Terra is actually one of my favorite characters of the series so I was excited for this request! I admit I struggled a bit but I hope you like it and I’m sorry it took me so long.

~~~~~

I can officially say today has started off wild, but I mean my version of wild—these keyblade wielders apparently find travelling to different worlds pretty normal. First thing in the morning, the trio of Aqua, Ven, and Terra all show up on my doorstep and insist I hang out with them for the day. When I finally relent, that’s when they break the news that we’re going off-world.

So one insane trip later, we end up in this bright, sunshine world of Destiny Islands. It’s gorgeous with its tropical atmosphere and sparkling beach and it’s a shame I didn’t bring my bathing suit. The trio then takes me to the larger island where I meet way more people than I was prepared for. They all seem friendly enough and accept me pretty quickly; also we’re apparently not the only group to travel from another world.

That’s when the inhabitants—Riku, Sora, Kairi, and Namine—announce an activity they’d come up with for the visitors: a photo scavenger hunt. The groups pair up quickly, leaving the four of us from the Land of Departure.

“So how do you guys wanna split up?” Terra asks.

“Oh, I know,” Aqua hums, wandering towards Namine. Once she returns, she presents four pieces of paper in her grasp. “Whoever draws the two with colored ends are partners. You first,” she says, offering the handful to me.

Tugging on a strip, I find it colored red on the bottom. “Oh. Cool.”

She turns to the man beside me. “Alright. Terra.”

He picks a strip and my insides run with ice; they expect me to go on a scavenger hunt, alone, with the only person I’ve ever fallen so hard for.

I don’t even know where to begin with Terra. He’s the biggest sweetheart and I’d have to be wearing fire-retardant pants if I said I never admired those muscles. I know he gets a lot of flak, but the guy can actually be pretty smart when it comes to strategy and situational awareness, though his social skills could use a little work. So, while I can say this about his physical build, it also unfortunately applies to his empathic understanding: he’s as dense as a brick wall.

I’ve done everything just short of saying, “hey, you know what? I have an enormous crush on you.” Well, that and kiss him. I once even held his hand when we were wandering through town, but I think he mistook it for me trying not to get lost in the crowds. For the love of all that is good in existence, I cannot get him to take a hint! That and my dumb ass is too nervous to straight up confess.

“Hey, are you okay with that?”

Snapping back to the present, I look up at those beautiful blue eyes. Blood rushes into my ears, but I smile anyway. “Yeah. This’ll be a piece of cake.”

He smiles back and I feel my self-awareness melt just a little, until I realize I might get lost staring if I don’t look away.

We’re given a list of things to photograph and a deadline to meet back up on the small island and the teams start to go their separate ways. Only a few steps into our adventure, I look back at Aqua and Ven and my heart stops. A smirk sits upon her lips and pinched between her fingers are the remaining two strips of paper: they were all colored on the end. My brain begins screaming bloody murder.

“Woah, hey!” A large hand beneath my arm pulls me to the side just in time to miss walking into one of those mail collection boxes. Face burning, I glance up at my concerned sort-of-hero. “Are you sure you’re okay? If you’re not feeling well, we can go home.”

For the love of the gods, I cannot tell him what Aqua did, but she’s absolutely going to get it later—regardless of whether or not she can destroy me in a heartbeat. “No no! I’m fine. I just got distracted.”

Dark brows furrow, still concerned. “Would rather be partners with someone else?”

“NO!” Okay, I probably didn’t need to respond quite that quickly…or yell. A laugh escapes me in an attempt to regain my composure. “No, it’s okay. I promise. This is going to be fun.”

A big grin crosses his lips and we set off, ignoring the fact this is a set up—or maybe not; who knows.

There are two lists on the paper Kairi had given me: one of object and one of activities. Things such as the beach, something red, and a statue are on the list of objects, but on the other are things such as walking barefoot in the sand, going down the slide in the park, and shaking a stranger’s hand. The thing about the second list is that there has to be photo evidence of each person to get the points. Trailing through the sand and asking a random guy to shake hands with each of us is easy enough and we’ve been having a lot of fun, but poor Terra kind of got stuck in the slide and we lost a couple hours—but I got the evidence at least.

“You sure you’re okay?” I ask for like the tenth time, stupidly fluttering eyelashes at him.

My partner laughs sheepishly. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He’s such a good sport but oblivious as always. “I’m just relieved we didn’t break it.”

“Yeah…I was kinda worried we were gonna have to call the fire department or something—or worse, our friends.”

“I really don’t need another story Aqua’s not gonna let me live down,” he sighs. “What else is on the list?”

Pulling the paper from my pocket, I scan over what’s not marked. “Well, there’s not much more we can do before time’s up…so I guess we head back and hope we see a dog, a sign that starts with the letter V, and a rubber duck—where the hell did they think we were gonna see a rubber duck?”

“Does that count?” Out points his finger to the ocean where a giant, inflatable duck peacefully floats along.

“I don’t think it’s made of rubber, but I’m gonna say yes,” I say, using Terra’s GummiPhone to snap a picture of the ridiculous sight.

So off we go towards the smaller island on one of the rental row boats. For a while, we chat and amble about the beach—and I drop more ridiculous hints—until Terra asks, “Hey, wasn’t there something on the list about food?”

“Um. Try a food neither of us has eaten.”

“I don’t know about you, but I have no idea what that is.” From a crooked tree hangs a bright, yellow fruit.

I laugh, following him towards the stairs leading up to the islet. “You wanna just start eating random fruit?”

“Why not?”

The young man scales along the curved tree until he successfully gets his hand on the star-shaped fruit and returns to sit next to me on the tree. The fruit is broken into two and I get a piece. It’s sweet, almost like a candy and super watery.

“I may be regretting my choice,” Terra murmurs around a mouthful.

“What? This is amazing.” I almost drool in my protest.

“Too sweet.”

“Ah, I forget you don’t like sweets.”

Eyeing up his questionable prize, he ventures another bite.

“You two are here ear—” Looking back reveals the Islanders. Both girls gasp and the guys just gape.

“Hey guys,” I greet. “What’s up?” I take another bite.

Riku is the first to break. “You two have no idea what that is, do you?” A glance is shared with no answer. “That’s a paopu.”

When the only response is staring, Kairi hastily explains, “If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined!”

“So says the legend,” adds Namine.

Terra’s mouthful comes flying back out while I opt to choke on mine. While I’m busy hacking away, the rest of our friends arrive.

“What’s going on here?” Aqua asks as Sora is patting my back.

“According to these two, trying new foods means sharing destinies,” Riku explains, gesturing to the dropped leftovers.

Ven is very poorly containing his laugh. “You guys ate a paopu fruit?”

“We didn’t know what it was,” Terra retorts. It makes me feel somewhat better that his face is probably just as red as mine.

“I told you about those,” Aqua retorts. “Remember? I based our wayfinders off them.”

I eventually breathe fine again and everyone hangs out to share their pictures and just hang out. Xion and Roxas got the most points and win the game while Terra and I get the most teasing for the paopu and the slide. Still, the symbolic meaning of the fruit plagues my thoughts—it’s a nice thought to have Terra as part of my destiny. I’d probably squeal if it weren’t for my new friends sitting around. In my revelations, I can’t help beaming down at the pictures of my partner.

It’s just as we’re all getting ready to head home that Aqua sighs, “It’s a shame that, even after I went through all the trouble to make sure they were partners and neither of them confessed they liked each other.”

A second passes, and then another, but finally, Terra’s eyes widen as he realizes what I’ve known from the beginning. “You rigged the teams?!”

Ven snarks, “She wasn’t exactly subtle.”

My brain carefully scrutinizes the frantic behavior of the young man. “Wh—Bu—How—Why would you do that?!”

“Didn’t you hear me? So you could tell her how you feel,” she states bluntly.

Arms flail and, had anyone been within close proximity, who knows what kind of damage he’d deal. “How could you do that?! I’ve been dying all day trying to figure out how to tell her!”

The analyzing brain blips. Wait…

“It wasn’t really that much of a secret,” his blonde friend mutters, the flustered not hearing him.

“All so you could get a few laughs picking on me?! And I still don’t even know how to tell her how much I like her!”

A jolt ripples through me and my jaw falls open.

“First of all,” Aqua starts. “I didn’t do it to pick on you. Second, it was Ven’s idea.”

The accused adds, “He’s been driving me nuts over it.”

“And third, I’m pretty sure you just confessed.” A finger points to me.

His olive skin goes visibly pale, outrage dropping to instant horror. Those shocked eyes lock onto me; clearly he’d forgotten in his outburst that I was even here to begin with.

With a strange sense of outward confidence, I close the gap between us. My heart is beating deafeningly in my ears as I approach but he doesn’t move even a little, watching me in stunned silence. Fists take hold of his shirt, pulling him down to my level as I stand on tiptoe.

Raging in my gut are the butterflies that have been teasing me all day. I may be on fire right now, but there’s an ocean just over there—it’s fine. And sure, my partner is in a stupor but that doesn’t make my elation any less real. There are no words for how much I needed this.

Leaning back, there’s a lingering taste of that paopu we’d split earlier. I can’t help the resulting smile though Terra looks absolutely bewildered.

“I’ve been dying to do that for months,” I tell him.

“Perhaps my efforts weren’t in vain after all,” giggles Aqua. She gets a raspberry from me.

Terra, with an incredibly ludicrous question, grabs my attention again. “Did you just kiss me?”

My eyes widen before I start laughing. “You really are as dense as a brick wall.”

The shock leaves his face, replaced with a frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She’s been flirting with you hardcore for as long as I can remember,” Ven tells him. “Everyone but you picked up on that.”

“R-Really?” This time, he goes a little red.

Slipping a hand into his, I reply, “Really.”

The free hand meets his face. “Ugh, geeze I’m so dumb.”

“That’s okay. You’re still cute.”

“You’re not supposed to agree with me, you know.”

“Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

Then Aqua gets in another jab. “I think that’s a little unfair, Ven. It’s not like she picked up on his flirting either.”

“Wait, what?!” Eye shoot up to Terra who gives me a smile that I’d die for.

“Guess it’s not just me, huh.”

#kh terra #terra #kingdom hearts terra #terra x reader #novas requests #fem!reader

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fimflamfilosophy · 4 years

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“Is DnD Still Popular?”

To some of you giant nerds, the question, “Is DnD still popular,” is probably one of the stranger things you’ll read today, but within a specific context it makes a lot of sense. Speaking of, the show “Stranger Things” presented a popular, physical look at what DnD beasties might feel like, even if it didn’t present an honest view of what DnD games really play like. Along with more online media referencing the game and sites like Roll20 making it easier to join a group, it makes sense. Is this a temporary boom or has the roleplaying community seen a lot of permanent additions to its nerdy hobby?

I wouldn’t have numbers to say, myself, but for what it’s worth, roleplaying is always a very personal experience. And for a few of us, the question isn’t, “Are people still playing DnD?” Of course they are - it’s all anyone plays! The question is, “Can you get anyone to play anything else?”

What Is DnD?

For some people, Dungeons & Dragons has become so intertwined with the concept of roleplaying that people think DnD and roleplaying are synonymous. If you roleplay, you play DnD. Originally, this had a kernel of truth. There are articles about the history of the system, and during its inception the game had a hard time taking off. Fundamentally it was asking people to play make-believe, but with a system of mathematical rules and designs. We know now that this type of thing is like catnip to massive dork-faced neckbeards, but at the time it wasn’t expected to have much appeal.

Eventually it did get off the ground, and it became the standard for the entire concept of a roleplaying game. And as with all “firsts to the market”, there have been many competitors and copycats, but it’s difficult to pry the audience away when you need everyone to use the same system. In economics they call this “network utility value” - that is, a fax machine is useless if only one person owns one. You can only send faxes to other people with fax machines, so if another company tries to invent their own offshoot of the fax machine, they’ll never get anyone to adopt it because everyone is already using the existing fax machine network. Everybody knows DnD, which means that if you go to a convention or look for games online, you know you’re going to find more players for that system than any other.

Why Does DnD Continue to Work?

In early editions of DnD, there were a lot more rules, and as a result more freedom to design your characters. When I first started roleplaying, it was during the 3rd edition of the system, where you could still allocate skill points to become better or worse at specific skills like lying, climbing, forgery, or crafting. This meant that with good planning, you could play a sub-optimal wizard and make up for it somewhat by investing a lot in your “persuasion” skills to rely on talk more than magic.

But being the system that everyone has to learn isn’t enough to stay on top forever. Other systems like GURPS have taken hold by now, and some types of popular nerd media have introduced their own completely unique systems designed to simulate their specific media universes. The owners of DnD had two choices: either make the game more open and try to eat the lunch of other companies, or make all of DnD easier to play in general to capture a broader audience.

So they released 4th edition! We don’t talk about 4th edition. And then they quickly released 5th edition (and a few mumbled apologies), which streamlined a lot of things about the game to the extent I’m not sure why they even let you control your character stats at all now. Skills became baked in with your level, and most of the game is about choosing abilities when you level up. It’s become very similar to playing an MMO, and I believe that’s the point.

One of the big things you always see in a complicated roleplaying system is players spending hours putting together a character. For your experienced player, this is a labor of love. You really care about the small details and want to make sure you get it right, or you’re a Win-At-All-Costs type who wants to make sure you’re rolling the biggest numbers. Either way you’re familiar and know what you’re doing, but it presents a hurdle to new players, and that hurdle has been largely done away with in 5th edition.

No matter how old you are, how experienced you are, how creative you are (or aren’t), or how much you know about any aspect of the game, you can play 5e DnD. I think you could play as young as seven years old and have minimal problems, because all you have to do is choose a job and virtually everything else is filled in for you, as if by a program, as if a video game. An experienced player can help a new one whip up a character within fifteen minutes, and that new guy will be rolling dice at the dragon about as well as everyone else.

DnD is the Worst System

But DnD’s accessibility is also its greatest downfall. Because everything is sort of programmed out, you find a lot of players eventually growing bored with the same-old, and they try to find ways to inject new life into the system. They invent new races, new classes, new abilities, and so on - they call this “homebrew”. yet many people are bad at creating balance and fairness for something they personally intend to play, and DnD recognizes this problem. It has a lot of supplemental books telling you all you need to know about other races and classes you might want to play, and in theory they are as fair and powerful as anything in the base system.

Yet no amount of homebrew or supplementary material will solve DnD’s core problem: it’s rigid. If you want to play, you need a battle mat, because every spell, every action, can travel or act within a certain number of squares and you always need to know exactly where you’re standing. Players are expected to be able to take a certain number of actions per turn based on their level, and do an expected amount of damage. Monster encounters are built loosely around the concept of “Challenge Rating”, which is meant to imply a group of four players will find a CR of 5 suitably challenging if they are all level five. Basically it plays like “X-Com”.

And as you lock people in these mechanical, video game-styled designs, you find people champing at the bit. Not everyone wants to choose their abilities at level up or have their skill proficiencies dictated by what level they are. Some people want to express truly outlandish concepts, or play something that isn’t specifically designed around the idea of walking room to room blasting monsters. You’ll see people in roleplaying communities often asking, “Does anyone have any good ideas to homebrew [this idea] and make it work?”

Fans of DnD argue the homebrew approach works. Yes, it’s complicated and frustrating to invent entirely new classes and races for a single game where you don’t know how long you’ll play or what level you’ll reach, but DnD’s strict rules and design philosophy is a perk to those people, not a drawback.

Yet a fact of note is that a quote from a game I run got into a popular “Out of Context DnD” blog. The quote was, “ Mecha-Jesus unleashes a barrage of flames from his palms, but the train-snake martially dodges out of the way!”

It received 337 notes, and I was a little surprised by that. The game is a post-apocalyptic Road Warrior setting where the team boss decided to kill God as revenge for one of the gang members dying. Also featured in that day’s session was a battle between two men operating bucket cranes in a duel to the death above a giant grain silo, among eight other equally implausible events based loosely on Dante’s Inferno. For me, Mecha-Jesus is not a 300 notes event - it’s literally every other Friday.

What Do You Want to Play?

In my view, DnD often poses the question, “Are you even roleplaying?” I mean really. A lot of players feel like they are because they do an accent and come up with a backstory, but if you set yourself next to another player who has the same character stats and you’re playing together in the same game, has the system really given you the tools to solve problems all that differently? And the answer is is broadly, no.

I understand the counter-argument. Every player is unique. But in their way each Paladin in “World of Warcraft” is unique too. They have different gear, different competencies of player, and may take different abilities, but fundamentally they’re expected to crash dungeons and use what they’re given to kill monsters. The only advantage DnD has is that the GM can allow his players to interact with scenery items or talk to things, and you’ll see debate on exactly how much leniency a GM should give his players to act outside DnD’s base mechanics.

That’s a mentality. Some people like the safety of the system. They like to know what all the monsters are, what the risks are, what the rewards are, and have it all neatly lined up where you can see it. They want to join an Adventuring Guild that will bureaucratically assign a dungeon for them to attack so they always have something to do and a sure reward for doing it. The GM went through the trouble of drawing that dungeon out, after all. DnD is extremely safe.

And then there’s the alternative. I actually learned to roleplay among theater nerds who were already big into the concept of improv and narrative. One of them used to joke, “If you think DnD is the best system for the game, you know it’s not character-driven,” because any time you’re fine with trying to build an actual human around a set of level-up choices, you’re probably not designing the strongest possible personality.

Going back to media making DnD more popular, the first televised introduction to DnD I can personally recall is an episode of “Dexter’s Lab” where they address exactly this conflict. In it, Dexter runs a game where he forces his friends to play by his rules, where he wins. When Dexter rolls poorly, he turns the dice over to a better number and declares his evil wizard “fried” the team of adventurers. Then his sister, Dee Dee, takes over, and with no knowledge of the game’s rules at all, embarks on an improvised session of pure roleplaying where the guys tell her what they do and she tells them what happens. The sheets are just guidelines for them, and if they say they can do something Dee Dee accepts it.

Dee Dee’s roleplaying is open. It’s a void, and for some people, when you look into the void it looks back. How do you control everyone when they can do anything? It requires a certain level of trust that some players have a difficult time not abusing, yet weirdly everyone I’ve ever known who would lie and cheat during a roleplaying game actually preferred DnD, and I think I know why.

Rules Can Be Broken, but the Suspension of Disbelief is Immutable

The grognards that break the rules in DnD do so because the rules are so strict that they ironically can be easily broken. If the system says people take a certain amount of damage when they fall, and you find a way to throw to them that elevation consistently, by gum they’ll damn well take that damage. It’s in the rules! A friend I know combats this by saying if his players exploit the rules, then the monsters will start exploiting them too, to discourage arms races of bullshit.

What I’m describing is often called “rules lawyering”. So named because it involves finding a rules passage, interpreting the rule so the wording sounds like it favors an exploit, and then leveraging that into a powerful ability players were not meant to have. Because DnD requires you to know absolutely everything about your relative locations and words like “Attack” can have important diverging meanings depending on context, it’s a system extremely vulnerable to lawyering.

But with a more open system based on narrative and characters, it becomes harder to lawyer something you shouldn’t. In an open system, you build what the game calls for without consulting a bunch of charts and level guides. If you’re super heroes, you build super heroes. Cyborgs are cyborgs, Orcs are orcs - it’s whatever, and if you try to do anything outside the believability of the game, the GM tells you no. He has more authority in a more narrative game because the GM leads the narrative.

I’m personally fond of the Hero System, which ascribes massive ranges to all forms of weapons (a gun or eye laser can reach you down a long hallway) so the only general questions that need to be asked are, “Are you close enough to punch a guy?” and “Are you bunched up close enough to all be hit by this grenade?” You don’t need battle mats and the games play a lot more intuitively. There are two books of rules in Hero and they can be specific, but most of the rules revolve around character design rather than how to play, and fiddly things like physics or bursting through walls are meant to be decided depending on the type of game, at the GM’s discretion. There are guidelines, but they’re only that.

So if someone tells you they can punch through a wall in your noir investigator game, you tell them no, because the rules are just guidelines and in this game you can’t just drive your fist through a concrete brick even if you can find figures in the book that say maybe you can, because the book also says maybe you can’t - you’re expected to play the narrative, not the game. You can punch through walls in the super hero game where that’s typical, but not in this one.

From DnD to Anything Else

Of course, the open systems also present an opportunity for players to be very different in skill sets and abilities. You could imagine DnD is like “Power Rangers”, where everyone’s a different color and has different weapons but they’re basically all pretty much on the same level. An open system will wind up more like “Avatar the Last Airbender”, where one player is going to be Toph and someone else is going to be playing Sokka.

It’s important in DnD that everyone be the same, because a lot of the game is spent in a 20ft x 20ft room full of skeletons (or Putties) - Toph would single-handedly dominate every challenge. Whereas in a narrative-driven game the ability to crush everything with a rock doesn’t actually solve half your problems and whoever’s playing Sokka probably winds up more active than the person playing Toph.

At the end of it all, that’s why the question for me is whether you can take the players out of DnD and take DnD out of the players. Everyone plays DnD, but can you get people to play Sokka and have a good time if Toph is in the party? Personally I think it helps to start people on systems other than DnD, and then they can go into DnD if they like being in small rooms full of skeletons.

Of course, trying to start people on anything but DnD is usually defeated by the network utility! Everyone knows DnD! It’s THE system synonymous with the hobby! A few too many times I’ve seen people play a DnD game and say roleplaying just isn’t for them because it’s boring. All you do is wait for your turn and then roll dice at goblins.

But all I can say to that is, you never roleplayed, man. You joined a pen-and-paper video game. I agree, throwing dice at goblins sucks. I used to have a friend who would compulsively roll dice when he got bored waiting for turns in games like that, and when asked what he was rolling for, he’d joke, “I’m killing the dragon! I’m killing the dragon!” Him, enjoying the experience of DnD combat in between other people’s turns.

In many groups that’s all DnD is, silly accents and go-nowhere backstories aside. Acting is hard. But if you’re very lucky, and you know just the right people, it’s possible to land in a game that is pure story and character, and those things are a rare treasure and a real blast.

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lillithenettix · 4 years

Photo

Part 4

Part 5/?

With Dallas running off after the other two, Boris didn’t even bother trying to turn around this time. He just continued sitting, passively waiting to see if anyone else is planning on pouncing him or not. At least this time he is prepared. Somewhat.

Read the rest of the fic under the cut!

To be honest, Habit hadn’t talked to Dallas all that much back at the Habitat. But when they did talk, the topic was rarely about something other than art. While Habit was definitely doing art as a hobby, the other man took it more seriously. He knew which colors went together best, how to draw figures from different perspectives, how lighting works, all that mumbo jumbo Habit never really cared to learn.

Habit was always left a bit impressed, thought, at the end of the day he still preferred his comically cartoonish drawings. It was simple, cute, and a great way to express himself when nothing else did the trick.

Thinking back on it, maybe he shouldn’t have expressed himself that much around the habitat with the drawings. The first time he went back to visit the Habitat, some days after the Big Event, to finally shut it down, he realized how creepy some of his doodles were. The blood, the creepy staring, the crying. Frankly, he scared himself with them.

He felt a pressure in his chest, being thankful to Flower Kid for saving him, once again.

While he was still looking off to the side from which Dallas came from, he heard footsteps from his front.

So there are more of his potential future friends still coming! He has to admit, it made him quite happy and hopeful.

In the short second it took him to look at the new person approaching him, his mind went through all the next potential people that could arrive. Thought, honestly, he really doesn’t know which ones have more chances of appearing so he just focused on the then and there. His smile grew in excitement.

As soon as he laid his eyes on the newcomer it dropped. Not in disappointment, anger, or any other emotion than surprise. His mouth was agape, he tried to say something but nothing came out.

He really though he was ready but to see Questionette here left him in awe. He didn’t even think she would’ve understood his letter. She wasn’t even speaking English in the chatroom from what he remembered.

Maybe she took an English crash course in the short time between the group chat and now? It’s the only thing he could think of at the moment. Sure, it might’ve taken him a few years to become fluent in English when his family migrated to the United States, but he will push the slight pang of jealousy down for now, and rather be impressed if that was really the case here.

Or maybe she just got someone to translate it. Who knows.

“Bonjour, flouriste!” She greeted, a small gentle smile on her face, and put something down on the table.

Habit briefly glanced downwards and saw a Hydrangea. It looked freshly picked, the petals dainty and healthy, and a pretty blue colour.

Thank you for understanding.

Huh? Had he remembered the meaning right? He was quite sure he did. But he couldn’t come up with a reason she’d be thankful to him for.

Come on, Boris, think!

He looked back up at her, straight into her eyes, as if that will bring back any forgotten memories. He wanted to remember but he couldn’t.

If she saw his confusion, she didn’t acknowledge. She just leaned both of her elbows onto the table, intertwined her fingers, and laid her head on them, much like Boris had done when patronizing or mocking his Habiticians in the past.

But Questionette still held a gentle smile, no hint of mockery. She just kept looking, not moving a muscle, waiting.

What was she waiting for, thought? An apology?

Well, duh, Boris, you dunce! That’s why you invited them all here!

“…Sorry.”

He wanted to slap myself across his face. Could he have possibly sounded any more unsure and insincere? So hesitant to say it, in only one word, and practically monotone. He wanted to try again.

Before he could fix his mistake, start anew, she looked away. Her smile still present, waiting.

This baffled Boris.

She didn’t seem disappointed or mad at his half-hearted apology. Was she waiting for something else?

Questionette looked back at him, staring at his face as the gears inside his head turned and turned, trying to figure out the puzzle she posed for him.

So much for the whole ‘understanding’ affair. He must seem like a total idiot to her. So far, their interaction has been a disaster from start to finish on his part. His look of shock, his mouth hanging open, not even greeting her back-

Not even greeting her back.

Boris! Where are your manners?

He had to stop himself from blurting out just any old ‘hello’ or ‘hi’ in a rushed panic. He wanted it to seem special. Well, as special as a greeting can get.

Then he remembered one.

“Privjet, prijatelnica!” He blurted out, no hesitance, with the confidence of a car salesman.

It didn’t take him long to start second-guessing himself since the greeting was the very same as the one he initiated conversations with back at the habitat. More specifically, conversations with her.

Questionette gave him no time for regret as her smile grew into one of pure happiness.

She puckered her lips, as much as she could with her wide smile, and sent a kiss flying in his direction.

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

When Questionette arrived to the United States, let’s just say things didn’t go very well for her.

She didn’t really know what she was thinking. Maybe it was her naivete, or maybe her youthful enthusiasm. Disregarding her family’s worries, and her friends’ warnings about the outside world. Only knowing how to speak French, and with a big ambition to make a name for herself in the theatre world, she almost instinctively decided to move to America.

America, the land of the free. America, land of opportunity. And America, the land of English speakers.

Oh, Questionette, what have you gotten yourself into.

So with whatever little money she brough from home, she started traveling, looking for jobs at local theatres. But, unfortunately, it is hard to find a job when you don’t understand your employer and your employer doesn’t understand you.

And all the paperwork. God, the paperwork. It took her so long to fill out anything the government needed from her with help from some equally confused government workers who didn’t understand her.

When searching or traveling she made a quick buck acting as a mime, though she had to admit, that wasn’t her forte. But Americans did love laughing at a random Frenchie trying to not make a fool our of herself on the street, so she had to swallow her pride at times.

Eventually, she became just too tired of everything. Everything was so hard without communication. She didn’t even have enough money to return back to France. To her family. Prove them all right, and admit she just wasn’t up to the task.

Then she started seeing strange flyers everywhere. They didn’t contain a whole bunch of words on them. It was mostly pictures and drawings. There were many variations of the flyers, or at least she assumed as much by looking at the style of the drawings. And they made sense to her.

Something made sense to her. Finally.

It’s been so long since she understood anything in this damn country.

She wanted to go to this place. To this place where you can find your smile again. For free! She had been so happy she could’ve cried.

So she started walking, and she didn’t stop until she arrived on top of that hill with the strange but unique building on it. She grabbed the giant door which she assumed was the entrance and pushed.

It didn’t move. She pushed again. And again.

If pushing wouldn’t solve it, then maybe knocking would. So, she had done just that. Hitting the door a little louder with each knock. She had to admit, she was starting to despair a little.

Eventually her hands started hurting from all the knocking which got progressively more aggressive.

Now, Questionette is by no means a violent person, but damn was she desperate right now. She just wants a little time off, rest for a bit, gather up her strength.

She plopped down on the ground and waited. Someone had to come around eventually. She was confident she understood the flyer correctly. Heck, the last one she found was just some scribbles getting the point across, not a word in sight!

She must’ve been sitting in front of the place for hours. The sun was slowly setting, and it looked beautiful and peaceful. She started nodding off, eyes closing and her mind just wanting to catch some rest when a very, very, tall man appeared in front of her. So many various screws, bolts, and thingamajigs in hand that the pile seemed to be blocking his view.

Wanting to make herself more presentable by dusting off her skirt and straightening her shirt she shot up, only to startle the poor giant, seemingly only noticing her once she was standing at her full height.

All the doodads he was holding fell to the ground, scattering all around them.

“Fu-“ he started but took a deep breath, held it in, and exhaled before continuing, “blin.”

Feeling sorry for making the man drop everything, she quickly rushed to pick everything up. She hoped nothing was broken. Glancing up at the man, she saw him looking at her. Not sure whether he was going to get angry at her or not, she apologized.

“Désolée, c’est ma faute, je ferai attention la prochaine fois.” And she meant it.

It was probably just gibberish to him, but still, better than not saying anything.

But his reaction was unexpected. He smiled with excitement.

“Privjet, prijatelnica,” he started waving at her as if she was an old friend he saw across the street, and not a random stranger that scared a year of his life out of him.

She had to admit, it left her a bit confused. That didn’t sound English. But it sure as hell wasn’t French either. The confusion must have shown on her face.

The man proudly lifted a clenched hand to point at himself with his thumb, still beaming.

“Yevropa!”

Taking a moment to process what he said, she let out a small ‘ah’ when it finally clicked.

Questionette let everything she picked up so far drop back to the ground and imitated his previous movement by pointing at herself.

“L'Europe!”

It might have been a little weird. Two Europeans who didn’t really understand each other yelling ‘Europe’ in their respective languages with the excitement of a six-year-old getting a new toy, but somehow it brought comfort to her.

From that meeting on, things went much smoother. She eventually learned that the place was called the Habitat, and that she arrived a week before the official opening.

Whoops. Well, mistakes tend to happen when you can’t read flyers properly. At least she was the first one to experience the luxury of this free resort.

The tall man, Doctor Habit who she figured out was from Russia, introduced his two employees to her as well. Kamal Bora, the one who worked as the Doctor’s assistant, and Wallus Breadbear, the janitor.

She and Habit didn’t literally understand each other, but she enjoyed his company immensely. It was hard to hate a guy who’d greet her as happily as he did every day, always with the same sentence. It really grew on her. She wanted to look the words up in a dictionary when she got her hands on one.

While the four of them were waiting for more Habiticians to arrive to this happy place, they got to mingle a bit, and it didn’t take Questionette long to start getting close with the two workers as well. Especially the janitor.

Not even a day after they got introduced to eachother, Wallus went and bought the biggest English to French dictionary he could find. She found it sweet that he cared enough to do that. Their conversations were slow and mostly in broken French but with how much time they had on their hands, they managed. Surely enough, feelings started to blossom between them.

But the doctor didn’t like that.

She learned he was a very jealous man. Pulling her away from Wallus at every opportunity, butting in on their conversations, things that went unnoticed by her for some time. At first it was sort of cute how he wanted her attention, but the longer it kept going, the creepier it became.

Then Wallus lost the dictionary they couldn’t find it anywhere. Everyone, excluding the Doctor, helped search for it, Kamal, the newly joined habiticians, as well as herself. Losing the little book was very unpractical for their relationship. So unpractical, in fact, that it began to crumble not long after.

She tried keeping the relationship alive, but it seemed like Wallus didn’t. He became more and more uncomfortable being near her, and she never figured out why. She had some theories, but that’s all they were. Theories.

Eventually, Habit stopped hanging out outside his office.

Then she became lonely again. At least, until the Flower Kid showed up.

Thinking back on it, it wasn’t all bad in the beginning. But when things got good, they got worse again. Which sucked. At least now she’ll have a great story to tell her friends and family back home, whenever she would see them again.

Surprisingly, when she got out of the Habitat, the big woman that hung out on the roof, watching for birds all day, started talking to her. Granted, Questionette didn’t understand a word that came out of the woman’s mouth, but it was still nice.

The woman introduced herself as Borbra Luddington.

In the following months Borbra even helped her learn English. It started with pointing at things and yelling out their name, but eventually she gifted Questionette some used textbooks and workbooks she found online.

When Kamal invited everyone to the chatroom she wanted to surprise everyone with her newly acquired knowledge, but she decided against it. There was a little childish part inside her that wanted to see and get as much praise as possible for learning English. She wanted to surprise them in person. See their faces, their reactions.

And what better opportunity than at the doctor’s… err… florist’s new workplace!

What a surprising change of professions for the man. As for herself, she stuck to theatre. She might not have been the most popular or famous, but she got a few small roles when she auditioned in the recent past. Everyone has to start somewhere.

She had to admit, she did miss Habit. Just a little. She was still hurt by his actions, but when Flower Kid gave her the rundown of everything that happened in the Habitat, he did occupy her mind for a while.

Sorting through her feelings, mulling everything over she figured out that she wanted to forgive him. Maybe because of ‘the good ol’ times’ when he saved her from giving up on the streets, maybe because she felt a tinge of pity for him, or maybe both.

If he really is working towards gaining her forgiveness, she is ready to forgive. Forgive, and finally look up what his greeting meant.

In any case, she had an idea of what to bring him as a sentiment of goodwill.

-------

Yeeeaahhhh, i didn't know how tf to work with a quik-translator so i transformer it into a english-french dictionary in the fic :')

also i apologize to any russians reading this, i try to avoid cyrillic script since the fic is in english

#my art #my writing #smile for me #boris habit #dr habit #sfm #questionette #smile for me game #i got really emotional abotu questionette in this fic ok #she needs more love

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kpophours · 4 years

Text

One Love || part II

➵ SF9: Youngbin x fem. reader / series, werewolf AU / fluff

➵ warnings: slight cursing, slight mentions of alcohol

➵ word count: 2.6k

previous. | next.

Youngbin stood in the middle of his office, blood rushing to his head. He was shaking, heart beating way too fast and breath coming out in shallow, quick huffs.

He had just met his mate.

You were his mate.

His knees buckled and he had to lean against the wall behind him for support.

He had just met his mate for the first time and like a complete idiot, he had run away from you.

But he'd simply been unable to cope in that moment - he never would have thought that he’d ever meet his mate, never would have dreamed of meeting you here, in his shop... Inseong had said you smelled different to him, but that you definitely wasn't his mate - well, the slightly older man had been right, you smelled differently to wolves, because you were his, Youngbin’s mate.

He took in a shaky breath and let out a small, humorless laugh.

Inseong’s scientific assistant was his mate. Of course his and Inseong’s lives had to be intertwined even more. That was just his luck - the relationship he had with the slightly older man was rocky to say the least, thanks to their past. But they had finally begun to work together again these last few months, sharing the burden of being oldest of their pack and having to care for the younger wolves. He knew Inseong wouldn't be happy about yet another person - which whom he had to spend a lot of time with - being "seized" by Youngbin. First his beloved cousin, now his scientific assistant - who Inseong liked, that much was obvious, even though he had been working with you for only two days so far. He had been practically gushing about you yesterday!

"What a mess.", Youngbin murmured and closed his eyes, taking another deep breath to calm himself.

"Hey... Uhm, are you okay?" your soft voice suddenly asked from beside him, making him jump. He opened his eyes, blinking down at you.

God, you were beautiful.

He just wanted to bury his nose in the soft waves of your hair.

You just... smelled so good, how was he ever supposed to concentrate around you?

And your eyes... those eyes!

He stared at you in wonder.

"Uhm… Mr. Kim?" You sounded nervous and drew your eyebrows together, "Are you okay? You look a bit pale."

"Youngbin. Please... just call me Youngbin.", he finally answered, trying to smile. Your face immediately softened and you returned his smile. You were even more radiant than before and he gulped. "Uh, Hwi is looking at your car right now, I hope?"

You nodded. "He is indeed - he said I could wait in the office and that you would make some coffee or tea." Now, you full on grinned, "So, I thought I should take you up on his offer."

Youngbin rolled his eyes, but his bright grin betrayed his real emotions.

He is even more handsome when he smiles, you thought to yourself, trying to ignore your fast beating heart.

"Well, I guess I’ll have to show you my hospitality now, won't I? We don't want you to be disappointed.", Youngbin joked and you nodded grimly, though your eyes were sparkling with hidden humor. Youngbin gestured towards one of the chairs inside the office, before turning towards the coffee machine. "Espresso, Latte Macchiato, Cappuccino?", he asked, face turned away from you. He was still trying to get his facial expressions in order as he didn't think it would be wise to show you his apparent wonder and admiration - that would surely just scare you away.

"Cappuccino please." Your voice... he could listen to your voice for forever.

"So... you're Inseong’s new scientific assistant, I heard?" God, he was truly horrible at small talk.

"I am indeed." You sounded amused. When he turned around again, the two cups of freshly made coffee in his hands, you had crossed your legs and were observing him with a watchful expression on your face. He felt a bit helpless - something not often accomplished as he was an alpha and therefore a born leader.

"Thank you.", you said when he placed one of the mugs in front of you, taking a seat behind his desk - the table providing a much appreciated barrier between you two.

"So, what's it like to work with Inseong?"

"Well, I've only had the pleasure of working with him for two days so far - but he is very kind and I'm sure we’ll get along just perfectly. You have known him for a long time, right?", you asked and raised the cup to you lips, gently blowing on the hot beverage, before taking a careful sip.

"Yes. One could even say we grew up together - so we share a lot of history.", Youngbin answered, voice rather tight.

"You don't sound too pleased about that."

"He's like family to me. But as so often, one doesn't always see eye to eye in a family."

"You argue, you mean."

Youngbin smiled, humorless. "Some would probably say too much."

You sighed. "It's the same with me and my brother.", you confessed, "We are very different people - and whenever we see each other, we begin to argue." Youngbin took a sip of coffee as well, before asking: "About what?"

"Oh, you know..." You lazily waved one hand, shrugging, "About this and that. Sometimes about stupid, unimportant stuff, but mostly about his perception of the world or how it should be - at least in his eyes... let's just say, he's not very open-minded."

"Other than you?"

"I would like to think so, yes. What about you, would you consider yourself to be an open-minded person, Youngbin?" You fixated him with glinting eyes, the corners of your lip curling into a slight smile.

It was the first time you said his name - and he wanted you to repeat it over and over again, never before had his name sounded so beautifully. "I would like to think so, yes. But there are boundaries to my tolerance."

At this, you nodded thoughtfully. "That's not a bad thing per se. It depends on what you tolerate or don't - everything should be within reason."

"We see eye to eye, then."

You smiled at him and he swore, his heart stopped for a few seconds.

You talked about this and that for the next half an hour and time simply flew by - way too soon, Hwiyoung entered the office, telling you about finishing the check up on your car. "There's a minor damage concerning the steering mechanism, but it's not too bad. You can make another appointment to have it fixed next week. Other than that, you're good to go.", the young man explained, wiping his grimy hands on an even grimier towel. You breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God, you had me scared for a second. Can I make that appointment now?"

Hwiyoung looked at Youngbin, who nodded. "Of course." With that, he opened his MacBook and clicked on his calendar. "What time and day suits you best?", he asked, trying not to look at you with too much admiration in his eyes - just so Hwiyoung wouldn't notice anything being amiss with his alpha.

"Uh, well... to be honest, I'm free most of the time. I have to work Monday till Friday from 9 to 6 or 6.30pm latest, but that's about it..." You smiled, a tad embarrassed, "I don't really know anyone around town just yet - well, except for Inseong of course - so I don't have any plans next week. What day would suit you guys the best?"

Youngbin thought about it for a second. "What about next Tuesday, 7pm?"

"But you'll be alone at that time!", Hwiyoung immediately protested, but Youngbin just shrugged. "I don't have any other appointment that day and I think I can repair the damage on my own." He looked at you and you nodded in confirmation: "Tuesday, 7pm it is, then."

"Perfect. See you on Tuesday.", Youngbin tried to sound nonchalantly, which earned him another smile from you.

He would never get used to your beautiful smile - not in a thousand years.

"Thank you for having a look at my car, Hwiyoung. See you guys!" With that, you waved at them, took your car keys from Hwiyoung and left the office - not before giving one last look and smile to Youngbin, who couldn't help but softly smile back at you.

When you were gone, Hwiyoung turned around to look at his alpha. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much in such a short amount of time.", he commented, raising an eyebrow suspiciously, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't get on my nerves.", Youngbin just grumbled, rolling his eyes and closing his MacBook again, "Let's pack things up and go home.“

The rest of Youngbin’s week was spent thinking about his mate way too often. He knew he should talk to the rest of the pack - or at least to Inseong - but he hadn’t been ready for that yet. He was still digesting that he had really, finally found his mate.

“Youngbin!“

He looked up, surprise written all over his face. “What?“, he asked, gazing at the rest of the pack. “It’s your turn to draw out our new routes for running.“, Chani said, raising one eyebrow, “Where the hell are you with your thoughts? Is everything alright? You’ve been acting strange these last few days.“

Youngbin sighed deeply and rubbed his face, tiredness washing over him. He should really try to concentrate, the youngest pack member was right. “Yes, sorry. I’m just... tired, that’s all. I’ll tell you guys about your new routes tonight, I promise.“ With that, he abruptly stood up and left the living room - leaving the rest of the pack somewhat bewildered behind.

“What’s up with him?“, Taeyang asked, confused, and looked at his older brothers. „I don’t know, but something’s up. He’s been acting very strange for a few days now.“, Hwiyoung murmured, drawing his eyebrows together and thinking hard, “I think it started on Tuesday?“

“Did something happen at the shop? Something out of the ordinary?“, Zuho inquired and Hwiyoung shook his head. “Not that I know of. We had a few cars to repair and late in the evening, Inseong’s new scientific assistant came by, but that was about it…“

“Y/N was at the shop?“, Rowoon asked, earning himself a few surprised looks.

“Do you know her?“

He nodded. “Yeah, Inseong introduced me yesterday. I like her, she’s really nice!“

“Huh... Well, I think she should come over sometime soon, so that we all get to finally meet her.“, Jaeyoon suggested, sounding a bit jealous. Dawon nodded. “Yes, especially as she’s going to be around Inseong so often - it’s only logical.“

Taeyang frowned at his older brothers. “Not really. It’s not as if both will be hanging around each other all the time during their free time.“, he tried to reason, but the other two just threw him dirty looks.

Meanwhile, Youngbin listened in on their conversation, hiding on top of the staircase.

So, the others had noticed he was behaving a bit more strange after all.

Damn it.

He definitely had to do better in the future - or at least until he had decided what to do about his mate.

The rest of your week passed in a blur - you got some stuff for your apartment, finally unpacked the last boxes, went out for drinks with Inseong and spent a relaxed weekend at home with a Lord of the Rings marathon and a bottle of your favorite red wine.

You felt very content and relaxed when you entered the office on Monday morning, but to your surprise, Inseong was nowhere to be found. Instead, a handsome stranger sat in his chair, fiddling his thumbs and seemingly waiting for him as well.

“Uh… Good morning.“, you said, raising both eyebrows, „Not to be rude - but who are you and what are you doing in my office?“

A dimpled smile lit up the stranger’s face and he immediately jumped up from the chair, walking around Inseong’s desk. He was tall and broad, with brown wavy hair and large, dark eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry! I was just waiting for Inseong, because I have to ask him something personal. You must be Y/N, his new scientific assistant, right?“

You nodded, shaking his offered hand. “And you are…?“

“Oh, sorry!“ His laugh was infectious. “I’m Jaeyoon, I’m part of the same pac- uh, we’re roommates!“, he finally explained, scratching his head and smiling down at you.

“Ahh, right! He told me about his living conditions - you’re nine in total, right? Well, it’s nice to meet you, Jaeyoon.“, you smiled back at him, “But I have to say - I can’t help you. I actually thought Inseong would be here by now. He’s never been late so far.“ You frowned, gnawing on your lower lip. “I hope nothing has happened to him...“

“To whom? To me?“, an amused voice behind you suddenly asked and you whirled around. And there, just stepping through the door and into the office, was no other than your missing boss - two cups of steaming hot coffee in his hands. “I’m late one time and you immediately think something must have happened to me. I don't know if I should be flattered or offended.“ With that, he grinned at you and handed you one of the cups. “Hi Jaeyoon. What are you doing here?“, he then asked the other man, raising both eyebrows in a questioning manner.

“Oh, I… uh, actually forgot.“ Jaeyoon frowned, thinking hard. “I wanted to ask you something, but it must have slipped my mind… I’ll just text you later if I can think of it again. See you! Bye Y/N - it was nice meeting you.“ He quickly smiled at you before hurrying out of the office.

“Well, he seems nice.“, you said, before taking your place behind the desk.

“Mostly… But he’s one half of the chaos line, so he can be quite… challenging at times.“, Inseong agreed, seating himself behind his desk as well.

“The chaos line?“, you asked, confused, and Inseong laughed. “That’s what I call him and another one of my broth- uh, roommates, Dawon. They can be quite a handful - very mischievously, especially together.“

“Sounds exhausting.“

“Well, they can be. But they’re also real moodmakers. You’ll probably meet Dawon soon enough, if I know him at all. And to be quite honest, I think that was Jaeyoon’s plan all along as well - I don’t think he wanted to see me, but to finally see you.“

You laughed at that and shook your head. “Cheeky.“

“Oh, he is. But come to speak of it... Would you want to come over for dinner some time this week? Then you’ll finally meet my whole pac- I mean, my whole family.“, Inseong looked quite nervous upon asking you, which made you smile. He truly was just such a sweet guy.

“Oh, I would love that - I can make dessert, if you like!“

Inseong clapped his hand together, excitement written all over his face. “Oh, that’ll make Rowoon very happy - he loves cooking, but he’s not that much into making desserts. I’ll ask the others which day suits them best and confirm with you again?“, he said, obviously pleased with your response.

“That sounds perfect, thank you.“, you agreed and returned his smile.

With that, you both finally began to concentrate on your work for the day.

[next chapter] | [all chapters]

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kbstories · 4 years

Text

Intrinsic

in·trin·sic (adj.) Belonging naturally; essential.

Just because Trafalgar Law didn't make plans beyond Dressrosa doesn't mean Bepo didn't.

(Or: Law comes home.)

Tags: Reunions, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nakamaship, Trafalgar D. Water Law Gets A Hug, References to (Past) Suicidal Thoughts, Bepo and Law are soft and I love them

Set in Zou. Content warning for references to suicidal ideation (in the context of Law’s plan).

***

Months Bepo waited.

Months he roamed Whale Forest, him and his crewmates, their leader in name only as the days bled into weeks and the horizon remained unchanged. Up until the Beast came a-knocking, there hadn’t been anywhere to lead them to. The Heart Pirates weren’t budging a single inch, hell or high water or freaking Mammoth shifters be damned.

Finally, finally, the forest murmurs with the presence of someone new, glistening leaves and sun-lit meadows welcoming the silhouette of a man Bepo would recognize anywhere, anytime, be it a year from now or another decade.

Then Trafalgar Law smiles and it all disappears in a haze of happily shed tears as the crew rejoices around them.

Things slide back into place just like that, between the excited cheers of the Heart Pirates and the slump of Law’s shoulders as he relaxes into Bepo’s fuzzy-tight embrace.

“Welcome back, Captain”, Bepo tells him, intense with the wave of love and devotion and relief crashing within him, and designates this the best day ever when Law’s smile stays where it is, eyes warm with affection.

“It’s good to be back.”

(Months they spent waiting and yet the world won’t stop spinning for their sake. “We can’t linger”, Law says hours later, arms crossed and expression guarded across one Strawhat Luffy. Strawhat nods, solemnly; he turns around and declares:

“Everyone! Reunion party now but make it snappy! Traffy wants to get going!”

Bepo decides he likes their new ally then and there.)

A party is a party, and with a crew as boisterous as the Strawhat Pirates, the chances of it remaining somewhat contained go towards zero pretty much instantly. A few hours in, Bepo is vaguely gobsmacked that the crew is as crazy as their captain. Then again, they have to be, to follow a force of nature in the shape of a man.

Suddenly, the resigned sigh Law breathes over his mug of beer – technically Pirate Hunter Zoro’s mug of beer, which he had thrown in Law’s direction regardless of his protests – makes so much more sense to Bepo.

It makes him laugh all the harder. His poor captain’s nerves must’ve taken quite a beating in this alliance: He hasn’t even started slicing limbs off people yet. And that after Bepo saw Chopper cling to Law’s head in an effort to hide during an impromptu game of tag with their long-nosed sniper and Penguin, of all people. In fact, Law didn’t even blink. He merely waited for Chopper to leave before fixing his hat, huddling closer to his drink and going back to ignoring them all with icy resolve.

There is a very real possibility the perpetual chaos that are the Strawhat Pirates broke Trafalgar Law somewhere along the way. Bepo has yet to determine if that’s a good or a bad thing.

Two bowls in hand, he settles beside the fallen tree Law perches on, a nice distance away from the bulk of the banquet in full swing. Bepo nudges Law’s elbow with his own and offers him his share of lasagna. “At least Penguin’s having fun?”, he adds with a hopeful smile. Law glances at the bright grin on Penguin’s face – he holds the tiny reindeer over his head like a trophy and yells, “Gotcha!”, only to be tackled to the ground by God Usopp a second later –, then at Bepo’s pleading eyes. He huffs, an undeniable trace of humor hidden in there somewhere.

“It’s something”, Law grumbles into the first forkful of food.

He eats and Bepo does too, humming in appreciation of the explosion of meat and melted cheese on his tongue; even Law seems pleased, picky eater that he is, and Bepo’s spirits practically soar to the stars above them.

A mere day ago, this exact scenario was little more than a pipe dream. Sure, the arrival of the Strawhats had been a much-needed sign that their waiting was coming to an end (and it was pretty fantastic news for Zou, in the grand scale of things). Rarely in his life had Bepo been happier to meet four complete strangers.

That joy had somewhat faded when Sanji answered Bepo’s call for his captain with a sympathetic twist to his mouth and a shake of his head. Don’t worry, he’d said right after, and faith had burned in that unshakeable gaze. Luffy’s with him. Nobody dies on my captain’s watch.

Bepo had thought of a lonely island far away and the anguished cries of a brother mourning another and winced. It seemed downright cruel to bring that up, and so he didn’t. Instead, he’d taken that trust and used it to summon another bout of patience.

It turns out Strawhat's cook was right all along. Bepo swallows another mouthful of lasagna, his fork pausing on its way back to the bowl. Sanji had looked so proud of his crew in that moment. Would he really leave them behind like that?

“What’s up? You’re awfully quiet.”

Law’s voice is low, the concern in it meant for Bepo and Bepo only. He waits for Bepo to come back to himself with a blink and a soft apology before raising an eyebrow. No more words are needed: Law sets aside his mug and the empty bowl, and slips to the ground, folding his legs against his chest somewhat-gracefully. Like the tides follow the moon, Bepo shifts with him and lets his captain lean back against him.

A quiet sigh signalizes that yup, Law is comfortable. Then:

“Bepo. Talk to me.”

Always so impatient. Bepo smiles and relaxes, too.

“Just thinking, I guess… The Strawhats are our allies now, right? Do you think they’ll be alright, going against Big Mom?”

Law looks up at him with mild surprise, tilting his head back to see Bepo beyond the brim of his hat. Bepo doesn’t bother hiding his unease from him; he’d be able to tell, anyways. A decade of friendship will do that to people.

“You’ve barely known them for a day. You’re seriously worrying about Blackleg already?”

Busted. For a moment, Bepo contemplates the merits of feeling embarrassed about it. “It’s been over a week with Sanji”, he negotiates, pulling his snout into a pout when Law just smirks. “Besides. Whatever trouble they start, we’ll catch it too. It makes sense to worry.”

Law huffs one of his rare laughs, a little rough around the edges but so familiar. Perhaps Bepo can forgive his captain for being a jerk.

“Don’t get me wrong: I don’t blame you. We were in Dressrosa all of, what, three days? Strawhat stepped off that island a national hero, him and Longnose. Don’t ask me how the fuck they do it. It’s exhausting.”

Of course, Bepo read all about their exploits in the paper. What kind of first mate would he be if he hadn’t? What happened, it sounded a whole lot like a nightmare and a miracle and a revolution wrapped in one. It sounded like a lot – and Bepo has carefully laid plans to bug Law into opening up about it once they’re safely wrapped in metal and a few hundred fathoms deep.

Trafalgar Law doesn’t do heart-to-hearts, ironically enough. Thus, Bepo’s plan might’ve taken… unreasonable proportions to ensure he does, this time.

Yet Law mentions Dressrosa so casually. He’s not tense in Bepo’s embrace (yet). A mere stone’s throw away, the Strawhats and the Heart Pirates and the minks dance around the bonfires, all smiles and drunken laughter, and Bepo takes a leap of faith.

“So. Dressrosa.”

Law stills.

“…Yeah.”

With gentle pressure, Law pillows his head against Bepo’s chest. Bepo wishes he could see his face; he compromises with a gentle squeeze to Law’s arm, the uninjured one. I’m sorry.

Law sighs. It sounds fond and really, really tired, too. “I’m not gonna lie, Bepo. It was pretty fucking horrible. I knew it was gonna be a shitshow but… Fuck.”

Somehow, that one word tells Bepo more than any newspaper could. Carefully, he wraps his arms around Law's shoulders, loose enough not to crowd him but there nonetheless. “But you made it”, Bepo says quietly. His voice goes soft with emotion, as close to unsteady as Bepo will let it. “You’re alive. That’s all that matters to me, Captain.”

And it’s that that makes Law stiffen, his breathing more measured, tense. An inked hand rises to meet Bepo’s, hesitant. Bepo intertwines their fingers, soothing.

“You knew.”

Bepo huffs at the numb surprise in his voice, hard enough to ruffle the collar of Law’s shirt.

“I’ve been your friend for about as long as that plan of yours exists, Law. ‘Course I knew. It was your decision to make and I’ll always follow your lead, no matter what. Just… I’m glad it didn’t end that way. Your life is so much more than that asshole ever deserved.”

A long bout of silence follows Bepo’s words. Maybe it’s weird for Law, to be the one out of his depth between them – yet Bepo had nothing if not time on his hands to think, and to wonder, and to hope with all he had that Law would be alive long enough for Bepo to tell him he matters.

Here, where Law continues to draw breath in his arms, it’s hard to imagine a world where he didn’t come back. Where the Heart Pirates waited and waited, safely out of the picture while their captain was slaughtered by the man he hates most.

It’s the very stuff Bepo’s nightmares are made of. There’s no point in putting that burden on Law's shoulders, though. That’s all his, and if that’s the price to pay for Law to be alive and free, Bepo will proudly wear those scars to the end of his days.

Suddenly, Law’s fingers squeeze his, and Bepo tilts his head down to watch his tattoos move. D E A T H, a bold challenge to fate that has served them well, despite it all.

“I’m sorry for– Yeah. I didn’t know there was another way. I just… I needed him gone. So Cora can rest, y’know?”

Bepo nods, his chin nudging Law’s hat so he can feel it. “Of course. No need to apologize, Captain.”

Unexpectedly, it makes Law chuckle of all things. “No apologizing, huh?”, he says, teasing, and– Fine, Bepo walked straight into that one. He grumbles and knocks his knee into Law’s without heat.

Then, Law lets go of Bepo’s hand to burrow deeper into his arms, shifting and turning into his favorite position for a nap. Finally, Bepo catches a glimpse of Law’s face – a little pale, a lot tired but comfortable, at peace – before he smooshes it into Bepo’s fur.

And yeah, okay, Bepo can take a hint. Seems like Law decided to enforce his golden rule of no mushy talk in public, after all.

“Oof. Gentle, Captain.”

“Mhm, sorry.” Law’s voice comes out muffled. “I haven’t slept in fucking forever. Strawhat wakes up with the sun like some kid. Seriously, who just does that?”

“Lunatics”, Bepo answers immediately, mostly to feel Law laugh again. “Figures that’s the kind of friend you would make, all by yourself out there.”

“Ugh, terrible”, Law agrees, a little slurred with oncoming sleep but still coherent enough that Bepo can and will tease him later for sounding so fond. For now, he lets him doze off, warm to his core at the sight of Law falling asleep almost immediately.

Bepo makes himself comfortable and settles in for a long wait. Usually he’d fall asleep right along with Law – there’s something so calming about feeling someone’s heart beat so close to one’s own – but for now, he’s happy to listen to Law’s quiet snoring and watch his crewmates make a fool of themselves to match their new allies.

(Much, much later, Bepo startles awake to wide eyes staring at him just inches from his face. Law is still asleep and thus Bepo doesn’t move – instead he blinks and stares back, watching Monkey D. Luffy’s face move into a pensive pout like he’s thinking hard enough to hurt.

When it’s clear there will be no explanation beyond a long hmmm, Bepo clears his throat and whispers: “Do you… need anything?”

Strawhat tilts his head. Bepo expects him to yell as he always does but his voice matches Bepo's, barely a murmur.

“Kinda? I wanted to ask Tra– uh, Law if he wants to go now. He seemed in a hurry earlier and I kinda forgot. Well, everyone’s drunk but we’ll manage, y’know? He’s sleeping though. Hm.”

There’re at least two things in that statement that Law would tear Strawhat apart for, and one of them is the sudden use his actual name. Bepo wonders if Strawhat still thinks he’s confused by ‘Traffy’, even though he already explained the nickname to him.

Reluctantly, Bepo offers: “I can wake him up?”

Strawhat shakes his head, his signature smile quick to appear on his lips. “Nah, it’s fine. Law needs his sleep. He’s always so angry in the mornings. It’s funny.”

And as sudden as he came, Strawhat's gone, jogging back to the bonfires and instead opting to jump on his sleeping swordsman half-way there. Bepo witnesses the ensuing scuffle with amusement.

Yeah, Bepo definitely likes Luffy.)

#one piece #fanfiction #trafalgar law #bepo #monkey d. luffy #one piece fanfiction #i just rewatched their reunion in the anime and it's so cute!!!#this fic is also on AO3 but i can't link it cause tumblr #my stuff

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emptynarration · 4 years

Text

AUs and Verses (Short Edition)

Here’s a collection of my favorite AUs and Verses! Hopefully a bit shorter and more easily understood uwu

[HERE’S THE LONG EDITION, WHICH INCLUDES A COUPLE MORE TINY VERSES!!! DO CHECK THIS OUT AS WELL if you’re interested]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Normal / Default Verse

[Here’s the story of how Author turned into Host!]

Author was very greedy. He wanted to become a literal god. His greed attracted an actual old god, who abused Author’s greed.

The old god, named Alden, forced Author to gouge his own eyes out.

After Author passed out, after mutilating himself, Alden “possessed” Author’s body. Normally, its omnipotence destroys human minds. But not Author’s.

Due to neither being able to overpower/destroy the other, they came to a compromise, and share the body between them. Their body was named “Host”, as it now hosts the old god together with Author.

Over time, they grew so intertwined, that they’re one very well working person, while also still being their own.

Twisted Minds AU

[Here are the Fanfics I wrote about the whole AU]

The egos all live in a manor together, everything was alright.

One day, the body Dark used rotted away, and got too hard to keep going; so he had to leave it. Without a human body containing the entity which is Dark, slowly seeped into the manor again, even though he tries his hardest to stay contained in what was once his office.

Due to his shell-less self, everyone was slowly changed. Emotions brought to extremes, personalities flipped, appearances growing inhuman, etc.

[Here’s a little post about the gist of it all]

Author was also affected, like everyone else. But, due to Dr Iplier wanting to use Author in an experiment, and things going sour for the writer, he was thrown “into” Dark. He nearly died. He was changed, his sight gone and powers changed.

This made him into Host. And Host, due to his powers, realized how wrong this reality is, and how fucked up it is. Thus breaking him out of the cycle of madness, as well as making him a terrified being.

Cursed AU

Set in a fantasy world, slightly medieval perhaps.

Author and Host are brothers. They live in a cabin in a forest, away from other people, happy with only themselves as company.

One day, someone Author angered tried to kill him. But instead of Author, Host was hit, and was quickly dying from a curse.

Author didn’t care when he was hit with a curse as well, angry, wanting to kill that woman, but Host dying in his arms took priority.

The curse Author was hit with was worse, though. It turned him into a sort of “undead” state. And to stay “healthy” and strong, he had to leech the life-force from other people. The touch of his bare skin does so.

He unintentionally quickened Host’s death.

Author was cursed to live forever with this curse, unable to die. Due to the strong connections between the brothers, as well as the circumstance of his death, Host is stuck as a ghost.

Host is technically bound to the cabin, but, Author wears the same slightly magical necklace that Host had. This makes Host able to go with Author, though not stray too far from him.

Teeny Twins AU

[Here is a collection of Fics I’m writing!]

All of the egos are a little younger than typically (Between 24-38 on average, outliers being Magnum, Dark, Wilford being older, and Host, Author being younger)

Author and Host are twins and live together in their cabin in the woods.

They know where the egos live and visit them quite often.

They have their respective powers, but don’t know their full extends.

Neither of them wants to be anything like a god or something alike; the thought alone makes them uncomfortable and even scared.

They are quite mysterious but also total rascals. Favorite past time: pranks. They’re best friends with the Jims and Bing due to that.

Author is more active, energetic, and reckless. Host is more quiet and thoughtful.

everything i wanted AU

[Here’s two little fics I wrote about it]

Host and Author are twins. They grew up very close, and were eventually taken in by Dark and Wilford.

Author was very very open to explore his own powers, always pushing and pushing and pushing.

Dark, with the excuse of fearing Author would be a danger to himself and especially others, banished Author into the void, where Host had also gotten hurt in the process.

Author sort of became one with the void, gaining strange weird powers. With them, he managed to escape the void -just in time to save his brother, who didn’t want to live without him.

Swap AU

Egos’ “roles” and sorta their powers being switched around!

Host is “swapped” with Dark.

He is monochrome. He wears a black trenchcoat and black tights, as well as knee-high black combat boots. He has a bright strand of hair, no eyes, and bandages around his eyes.

[Here’s some info about the AU and Host’s/Dr Iplier’s/Dark’s/Wilford’s backstory!]

He is called Darkiplier in this AU (pronounced Dark-eeplee-er? sorta french lol).

He talks in third person as a comfort mechanism.

He doesn’t really have a goal like normal Dark (getting revenge on Actor) but he takes care of the other egos and keeps them safe and in check.

He does his radio show still, but has no narrating powers.

Florist AU

[Here’s the main artwork for it]

Author is a very soft boy, and a florist.

He writes very dark and gruesome stories he publishes online in his free time.

He lives in a pretty much one room apartment right above his flower shop. He’s not very wealthy, but he survives.

He loves tattoos, but is shy about getting more than the one he already has (plus money is a slight problem).

Painter AU

[Here's some art for it]

A human AU! Every ego is a human

It's focused on Author, but Host also exists as his twin brother!

Author is a somewhat famous painter, but he doesn't really care about the money. He's super clumsy and ditzy, a whole himbo mess really. But he looks like a hot fashion model.

Author is more the traditional medium guy. Mainly painting, but also sculpting, pencil drawings, illustrations.

Host is more the digital artist. Mainly illustrations, but also some painting stuff, also uses 3D sculpting for art purposes. Probably works with video games, making art, doing some voice acting.

Wilford is one of Author's friends and a fashion designer. He recommends models (and friends) for Author. He drags Dark to their friend-meetings a lot.

So Dark's a singer. Just wanted to sing for fun, but somehow it turned into popularity (like Billie Eilish whoops)

So Eric is Dark's boyfrend and makes music with him. Plays piano. Sings a little but very shy to do so anywhere other than a little for Dark's songs. Too nervous to meet the gang but everyone knows from dark talking about Eric anyways

The Jims twins work mainly on the video game Host helps working on as well. They both do the writing, but only one of them also does programming. They eventually meet up with Host sometime after a lot of only online talking and somehow love happens eventually

Little Demon AU

Host is a demon, still called Host.

He is 7 inches tall.

He has dark purple horns and two tails, and no bandages, but keeps his eyes closed.

Looking into his eyes will cause the looker to be pulled into their own mind and be faced with their deepest and darkest fear.

Host will be able to see that and interact with the person there, but also leave them there alone to suffer.

He can “teleport” short distances, mostly through shadows.

Harpy AU

Host has no name he goes by, but will let anyone name him.

He is 8 inches tall.

He’s a brown thrasher harpy.

He has slightly darker skin (than Mark), short, like brown fuzz on his head resembling hair; white feathers with dark spots on his chest and hips down his thighs, where his legs then turn into bird’s feet; dark brown, almost black eyes. His wings have light brown feathers.

He mainly eats fruits, berries, nuts and insects.

He isn’t afraid to attack anything larger than him, going so far as to attack humans if he has to.

Mermaid AU (other versions depending on size!)

Host goes by the name of Host.

He had almost been caught once by humans, which resulted in the loss of his eyesight, and thick scars over his eyes.

His scales are golden. His fins are slightly see-through, and tipped green. His ears are fins. He has fins on his underarms. He has scales on his shoulders and arms.

He has scales that glow in the dark, and markings on his face which also glow in the dark (not visible unless glowing)

He’s a siren, and thus can speak and understand English.

Underwater mermaids communicate via clicking sounds (kinda like morse code, but different).

Human AU [Second Version]

Host is named Markus Barker. Sometimes uses Host as nickname.

He is either: Born blind (sclera/pupil milky). Blind due to a disease (Neuromyelitis Optica).

He lives on his own with his pets. He either: Lives in his cabin in the forest. Lives on the outskirts of town with a garden.

He has an older brother (Arthur, world-wide known author).

He works on a rather popular podcast as main-narrator. He also either: Works at a radio station. Stays at home (financial help from his brother).

Can also go with human Author, the aforementioned brother of Host.

Both can also exist without brother.

Human Slave AU

Host is named Markus Barker. Host is his nickname though

He is either: Born blind (sclera/pupil milky). Got his eyes gouged out by an owner.

He had been sold as slave when he had been a young child (around 4 y/o?).

#the other is speaking #blog rules

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jungshookz · 5 years

Note

I rlly love librarian joon so much that ive been rereading it and i was wondering,,, maybe a drabble on how y/n gets a tutor for her philosophy (or any subject) class and they have lessons in the library and joon gets jealous esp when y/n tutor is obvioUSLY flirting with y/n but shes an oblivious walnut (we still love u y/n) and he gets kind of insecure that y/n doesnt ask him for help instead and constantly ditches him for tutoring lessons and overall just seems to have more fun with her tutor

→ pairing: kim namjoon x reader

→ genre: librarian!joonie is back!!!!, let me introduce you all to arthoe!taehyung, oblivious!y/n, fluffy times + lil bit of angst + tinY bit of smut u know how it be

→ wordcount: 3.4k

(gif isn’t mine!)

namjoon usually doesn’t take things personally because he’s groWn and he has better things to fret over

but sweetie

he is FREttING over this very very hard

you decided to take up art history this semester and you didn’t want to sLip so you hooked yourself up with a tutor

you just came out of nowhere and you were like hey by the way i can’t hang out after class today because i have my first tutoring lesson and namjoon was like ?? do you have another philosophy exam or something

“nah i don’t have any more exams i’m just taking art history this year and i want to be ahead of everything and stuff”

wha-

namjoon thinks that he makes a pretty good tutor himself and he would totaLLY memorise 100 books worth of information so that he could teach you because that’S how much he cares for u

but of course he doesn’t think much of it because yeah it makes sense

art history isn’t namjoon’s specialty so obviously you would reach out to someone who’s actually learning the stuff

okay

whatever it’s fine

“okay! are we still going for dinner?”

“i’ll let you know but honestly probably not?? i’m behind on coursework and taehyung’s going to go over everything that i missed which is a lot!!! i’ll text you later dweeb” namjoon doesn’t even get the chance to respond before you’re leaning down to give him a quick peck and then you just yeEt out of the library

….taehyung

your tutor is a guy

which is fine!!!! totally fine

he’s just curious as to who this taehyung guy is

he’s not like a super jealous freak of a boyfriend it’s all good

namjoon purses his lips before shrugging to himself and bringing his attention back to his laptop

about 20 minutes pass and namjoon’s phone buzzes on the desk

‘we’re still on for dinner!!! i’ll meet u outside the library at 6’

hAh

see

nothing to worry about

hey

remember the thing namjoon said about having nothing to worry about

now he has something to worry about

it’s nearing 6:45 and you still haven’t shown up

namjoon sighs and leans against the front door

he could go back into the library but he already set up the alarm system for the night and he locked everything up

god it’s cold tonight

he shudders and wraps his coat tighter around himself

where are you??

and right on cue namjoon’s phone starts ringing in his pocket

he scrambles to unlock his phone and he brings it up to his ear

“y/n?”

“joon?? i’m so sorry!!!! i completely forgot about dinner i didn’t even know how quickly time was going by!!!”

“it’s fine, don’t worry about it!” namjoon clears his throat and musters a smile “i’ll see you tomorrow?”

it’s good that you’re taking your studying more seriously

yeah it kinda sucked standing out here in the cold for literally 45 minutes but u know what it’s greAt that you’re so passionate about learning new things now

“uh-huh! oh, i have to tell you aLL about taehyung he’s hilarious and he taught me so sO much and i didn’t even know studying could be this much fun! anyways i promise i’ll make it up to you-”

U M

what’s thAT supposed to mean

was studying philosophy with namjoon not fun???? he made like a shiTload of fancy flashcards and you seemed like you were having fun!!!

namjoon presses his lips together to keep himself from saying anything snarky even tho he really wants to

“i’m sorRy i’m sorry i’m soRRy i’M sorrryyyyryryryryyrryyr-“ you whine and slump in namjoon’s arms when he opens them up to give you a hug when you come in the next day

“it’s hard to hug you when you’re all floppy and boneless.” namjoon chuckles and you stand up straight before wrapping your arms around his neck loosely

you stand up on your tip-toes to give him a peck or two (or three or four or five) and namjoon hums contently

you should ditch him more often if it gets u to act like this (just kidding he didn’t like being ditched it was awful)

he has you sandwiched in between the book cart and himself and you’re not usually a PDA kinda gal but you can work with this

“do you forgive me?” you adjust his tie and namjoon leans down a little to sneak another kiss from you

“i haven’t decided yet.” namjoon jokes and you let out a small whine

“maybe if you take a quick break.,.. we can go into the backroom..,.,., i’m sure i can find other ways for you to forgive me.,,” you whistle and trace your finger along his chest and namjoon scoffs playfully before stepping aside and letting you out of the bookcart-namjoon sandwich

“i forgive you, don’t worry about it, hm? i’m sure it won’t happen again.”

“yes, you’re right! it won’t happen again. …and i wasn’t kidding about the backroom thing.”

“tempting, but… someone was being a little too loud in there last time.” namjoon pokes your nose before sliding a couple books onto the shelf and wheeling the cart back to the front counter

meanwhile you’re trailing behind him the whole time

“touché. you’re coming over to my place this weekend, right?”

“correct” namjoon opens the little gate to let himself behind the counter

“good!!! i made sure to fluff up your pillows anD i put the shirts and boxers that u left last time in the drawer”

“oh, i get my own drawer already?” namjoon teases and although you roll your eyes your cheeks are starting to heat up

ya he has his own drawer now so what it’s not a biG deal okAY

“ooh, by the way - do you think i can study here today?” you point over to the lounge area where your backpack is thrown haphazardly over the couch and your notes and pens are scattered everywhere

..classic

“the classroom that we usually go to is booked up.” you lean over the counter and give namjoon your cutest pout “and i already told taehyung to meet me here”

right

taehyung

he still doesn’t know who the guy is

whoever he is he made you ditch dinner but namjoon isn’t biTTer or anyThing

namjoon rolls his eyes playfully “don’t look at me like that, you. of course you can study here! just make sure to keep it quiet and stuff since this is the library, after all”

hey

spoiler alert: namjoon agreeing to let you study here was a big fat MISTAKE

why do bad things happen to good people

in this case the bad thing is kim taehyung and the good person is namjoon in case that wasn’t already painfully obvious

namjoon resists the urge to roll his eyes when he hears another giggle slip past your lips

yes

he loves the sound of your giggle

but noT when it’s caused by kim taehyung

namjoon peeks over the top of his book to look over at you two again

what even is he wearing

are those shoes from guCCI

he has dad-looking square framed silver glasses which look a loT lamer than namjoon’s thick-framed glasses in his humble opinion

and he’s wearing a dangly earring but it’s only in one ear like if ur going to wear dangly earrings u might as well wear them in both ears

and he’s wearing a beret???? this is the LIBRARY this is not PARIS

cE N’EST PAS PARIS

taehyung leans forward and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear before grabbing the leg of your chair and pulling you closer as you continue to babble on about something

meanwhile namjoon’s just sitting behind the counter gawking at the two of you

what is happening????? what the hell is this??????

“now, lift your hand.” taehyung’s baritone voice is suddenly all namjoon can focus on

jesus

his voice is like.,.,. smooth dark chocolate.,.,,. warm honey.,,.,.,.smokey,.., bbq sauce?,.., the point is namjoon sounds like a frog going through puberty compared to taehyung

namjoon is very obviously staring at the two of you now he’s not even going to try and hide it

“-the elegantly, loosely held hands from da vinci probably represent the most exquisite drawing of hands in the history of art…” taehyung hums and presses his hands against yours before loosely intertwining his fingers with yours “every detail of the long fingers and the beautifully modulated shading produces a convincing effect of reality so that one can almost know the person from her hands…” he pulls away and traces his finger from the tip of your middle finger down to your wrist

hausdhKJSHFJKHDS

is that allOWED ??? is that alloweD????????

namjoon is noT going to let this.,.., this.,,.,., ART HOE steaL you from him

and that’s when the lightbulb appears above his head

art history can’t be thAt hard to master…right?

long ass story short: namjoon spends the entire night going through your syllabus and making sure he’s brushed up on all of the topics so that when he teaches you he’ll have somewhat of an idea of what he’s talking about

he took out a bunch of history books and lugged them all home and he has sticky notes everywhere and his brand new notebook is full of information relating to art history

he pauses and stops typing and leans back against his chair

what the hell is he doing

he’s seriously going to sit here the whole night doing research on a topic he’s never studied before because HE wants to be the one to teach you instead of stupid taehyung

….the answer is yes

namjoon adjusts his glasses and begins typing out his notes again

“the elegantly loosely held hands represent the most exquisite drawing of hands in the history of art…” namjoon mocks taehyung when he gets to a part in the textbook where it talks about da vinci “i bet he has some kind of hand fetish.,,. that beret-wearing weirdo”

maybe he’s being a little too harsh

namjoon is not a mean-spirited person

he’s just not used to.,..,,. relationship.,,., things..,., and the..,., the jealousy thing

he thinks that it’s stupid that he’s jealous but he can’t help it okay

he can be insecure sometimes and right now he’s kinda insecure because taehyung is smooth and handsome and charming and namjoon is weird and awkward and dorky but like in an endearing way??? kinda?? and-

u know what he’s not going to worry about this he doesn’t have time to worry he needs to write out these notes

the point is

these are unfamiliar waters

he lets out a small breath

okay

nice and calm

everything’s good

EVERYTHING IS NOT GOOD

EVERYTHING IS BAD AND EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE AND THIS LIBRARY’S LOCATION IS IN HELL

“aw, joonie, that’s awfully sweet of you, but you didn’t have to! taehyung has it covered.” you coo and reach up to cup namjoon’s cheek “okay i’m going to go back to-“

“wait- you don’t even wanna try studying with me?? l-look, i made flash cards and everything!” namjoon sets the textbooks down on the counter with a thud before reaching over and grabbing the whole stack of multicoloured flash cards

“well, maybe we can study together… later! you really didn’t have to do all of this for me…” you trail off and furrow your brows

namjoon did a LOT of work like he filled out an entire notebook with notes and this is a thicc stacc of flashcards

“plus you need to dust the bookshelves, don’t you? why don’t you go ahead and do that?”

“y/n, you coming back?” you look over your shoulder and taheyung’s looking over at you worryingly and you wave him off

“yes! hold on, i’m just-“

“c’mon come sit let taehyung take a pee break or something let’s do some study- oH OH u know what i actually have a surprise for you!” namjoon rifles through his papers before sliding a brochure over to you “there’s an art exhibition in town this weekend! i can take you!!!!”

namjoon’s not aware of this but you’re not really paying attention to him because you’re looking through all the notes he wrote out for you

this is a loT of work how long did he take to write all of this down

you look up at him when you realise he’s stopped talking “sorry what was tha-“

“y/n! c’mon, i was just getting to the good part of the book.” taehyung suddenly appears behind you and wraps his fingers around your wrist

“oh, yep! okay, uh-“ before you know it taheyung’s dragging you back to the couch and you shoot namjoon a sheepish smile

it’s officially been three weeks since taehyung became your tutor

and these have been the worst three weeks of namjoon’s life

after the whole desperation act everything’s just seemed to get worse and worse and woRSE

suddenly taehyung is sucking up all of your time

you can’t grab a bite to eat with joon because taehyung wants you to watch a documentary to learn more about the mona lisa

you can’t hang out with joon in general because you’re spending every free minute studying your ass off

and all of these things have a common link

KIM TAEHYUNG

oOH god namjoon has never actively hated a person before but there’s always time to try new things!!!!!!!! HE HATES HIM

but this

this is just the iCIng on the cake!!! the cherry on the sundae!!!!!! the KICK IN THE ASS

“where are you going?? i thought we were finally going to grab some dinner together.” namjoon raises a brow when he notices you beginning to pack up early

“tae’s taking me to some art exhibition because he says it’s better for me to see the pieces up close rather than through the textbook” you hum as you start packing up your things “but don’t worry! i’ll make it back in time for dinner!!!”

namjoon’s eye twitches

you’re going to

you’re going to the art exhibition…. with taehyung……….. but u didn’t want to go when he suggested it.,,.,,.,.

“oh. i see.” namjoon slaps his book shut and clears his throat

you look over your shoulder before turning around

“…something’s wrong.”

see you have a thick skull but not to the point where you can’t see that something is obviously wrong

namjoon can practically hear the gears click-click-clicking away in your head as you stare at him blankly while trying to figure out what it is….,,. you did wrong,.,.,. ??

namjoon looks up at you and raises a brow “nothing’s wrong.” he shrugs casually before checking the time on his watch “you should probably head out to meet tae soon.” he murmurs a liTTLe more aggressively than he would’ve liked to murmur and brings his attention to his laptop

click-click-click-click-click

OH SHIT

oOOOohHHhHHH

“aw, joonie… i’m sorry!!!!” you pout and bend down and wrap your arms around him from behind as best as you can

“have i not been giving my doting boyfriend enough attention?” you tease and pop a kiss on his cheek before propping your chin up on his shoulder and namjoon lets out a sigh and stops typing

“cut it out, y/n” namjoon mutters and shrugs you off and you let out a breath

damn

he really mad

“namjoon, c’mon. i’m sorry, alright? i should’ve- you know how thick i am sometimes i thought tae was just being friendly because he seems like a naturally touchy person!”

“no one that friendly ever has friendly intentions.” namjoon turns around in his wheely chair to face you and raises a brow

“i’m sorry, joon. really, i am.” you plop yourself down on his lap and wrap an arm around his neck before leaning down to rest your head on his shoulder

his arm slinks around your waist and he rests his other hand over your lap

“no, you don’t have anything to apologise for… it’s just me and my dumb insecurities.” namjoon coughs and you pop up immediately

“what insecurities?”

“i… i dunno… taehyung is… well, he’s not ugLy, that’s for sure.,., and he seems like he’s pretty well-off with his gucci shoes and his fancy berets.,.,. aNd he seems super smart like i heard him speaking fluent french and yA i can speak french too but not thAt well and whenever i hear him explaining things to you he’s super well spoken and it makes me feel like maybe i… maybe i’m not good enough for-“

“Don’T finish that sentence. don’t!!!” you gawk and furrow your brows

how could he even think that???

“you have absolutely nothing to be insecure about. i don’t like taehyung like that, i like you. i don’t care about his gucci shoes and his french and his fancy terminology.,.,, i only like him because he makes tutoring really fun! i like you, okay? you with your dorky glasses and your grandpa cardigans and your big, big… brain!” you beam at joon and he scoffs and rolls his eyes “if it makes you feel any better i think his cologne is waY too overpowering.”

“huh. that oddly does make me feel a little better.” he hums and you grin before leaning in to give him a kiss

you tilt your head to deepen the kiss and your hand slides up namjoon’s chest to fiddle with his tie

namjoon nudges you off his lap and you’re confused for a split second but then he’s pulling you down so that you can straddle him

“how much time do you have before you have to meet taehyung?” namjoon asks innocently although his hands are not so innocently sliding down your back and getting dangerously close to underneath your skirt

he buries his face into the crook of your neck and starts planting warm kisses on your skin

you glance at his laptop over his shoulder “mm, 20 minutes?” you breathe out and let out a gasp when namjoon bucks his hips slightly

“is the,, uh.,, the act of forgiveness that you owed me for ditching me last week.,.,., is that still a thing?” namjoon pulls away and you nod quickly because YES it is still very much a thing “…u wanna… help me restock some books in the backroom before you leave?”

…u don’t even need to answer that question

taehyung enters the library to see that nobody is at the front desk

you were supposed to meet him by the math building but u didn’t show up.,., so naturally he decided to come to the library

he raises a brow and looks around the empty library

where-

“oh my god, namjoon!”

tae’s eyes pop out of their sockets when the silence is suddenly broken by a very loud moan

is that

is that u

oh my god

“yes, please, oh my god yes-“

…he’s just going to wait outside for you

help me help you make your wishes come tru (aka send me a request)

masterlist

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firstofficers-log · 7 years

Text

this dreadful, terrible ‘it’

pierre bezukhov (great comet) x reader ~1300 words

Pierre is feeling low. You decide to comfort him.

author’s note : I was on my roof when I decided to write this and I went on my roof the same night I finished this lmao

With Pierre, it was never too hard to tell.

On his good days, he would smile warmly at anyone he saw; his eyes sparkled with familiarity from behind his glasses, and he would often laugh and joke with his friends. On his good days, Pierre was full of life, his presence filling the room, making everyone smile with him.

His bad days, on the other hand… well, Pierre was hardly himself on his bad days.

Pierre would rarely go out on occasions like these. However, if he did, he would still smile at anyone who glanced his way -- let it never be said that Pierre was impolite -- but his face would be without its warmth, his eyes betraying how he truly felt. He wasn't as open as he usually was, peferring instead to draw into himself.

What got to you the most, though, was just how… hollow Pierre looked. There was no glow to his face as there usually was. It was instead replaced with dark circles under his eyes, a result of his sleepless nights. On his bad days, Pierre's face was pale and gaunt. Others would rarely notice -- or if they did, they said nothing.

When he got like this, Pierre liked to go out on the roof to look at the stars. You'd never asked him why before -- you figured that he would have told you had he wanted to. Tonight, though, you decided that you would join him, should he let you.

"Is there room for one more?" you ask quietly from the window leading to the roof, trying not to startle your friend too much. Pierre does jump a little bit, though, and he hesitates before nodding and scooching over. You smile at him, though you don't expect him to see -- it's dark out here, the only light coming from the moon and stars above.

As you settle yourself next to him, you pretend you don't see him wiping away his tears from underneath his glasses.

"I thought you might be able to use some company," you tell him quietly. He gives you a meek smile before sighing and looking away. The two of you sit in silence for a while, and you admire the clear skies above you. You regard Pierre, too; he's sitting cross-legged and looking down at his hands.

"Do you want to talk about it? Whatever it is, I'm happy to listen if it will help." You break the silence, smiling reassuringly at Pierre, hoping to alleviate at least some of his anxiety.

He seems to deflate a little bit, twining and untwining his fingers before giving a half-hearted shrug. Pierre pushes his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, not quite looking at you.

You scoot closer to him. You can feel how warm he is despite the slightly chilly night air, and you have to stop yourself from leaning closer. You compose yourself somewhat before speaking.

"You don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable," you murmur. "If you want to be alone, that's okay, too. I can go--"

Before you can finish, one of Pierre's large hands is on your arm. You look up at him, and he's looking at you directly for the first time all evening, and God, do his eyes look so sad.

"Please, stay," he chokes out, his voice evidently scratchy from crying. You nod at him, placing your hand on his and settling down once again. Pierre swallows before continuing.

"It's just--" He can't quite finish his thought, dropping his hand from your arm onto the blanket the two of you are sitting on. You can tell that he's tearful again, and you desperately want to help him.

You place your hand on his, smiling at him. "It's okay, Pierre. Take your time."

Pierre squeezes your hand once before letting go so he can play with his fingers yet again. It's a few moments before he speaks again, his voice low and thick with tears.

"I just… I feel as though I'm undeserving of… all of this," he says, motioning rather aimlessly around him. "I've lived my life… and for what? I have nothing to show for anything I've ever done. I sit at home and I drink, and I read." Pierre sighs and scrubs at his eyes again, looking anywhere but at you. You see the stars reflected in his glasses.

"I want to do something. Something that makes me deserve to live." It seems as though Pierre wants to say more, but he stops himself before he closes his lips and swallows rather heavily. He appears to be choking back tears, and his next words come out so quietly you have to strain to hear them.

"I'm… worthless. I don't deserve to live in a world when so many others are dying each day."

Pierre has only been looking at his lap this whole time, hiding his face from you. However, you're unable to miss the few tears that he can't help shed that roll off his cheeks.

You find that you're far too nervous to look at your friend while you speak, so instead you turn to address the stars above you. It takes you a few moments to compose yourself and your thoughts.

"Pierre, you're worth more than all of the stars out there, and you shine twice as brightly as any of them," you tell him earnestly, trying to get him to understand how much you mean what you're saying. You find that you're fighting tears of your own.

"You're one of the most kindhearted, passionate, smartest people I've ever met." You've drawn your knees up to your chest, still not quite speaking directly to Pierre. "I'm so lucky that I know you, and that I have you in my life. I just… I feel so bad that you can't see that."

After a few moments of hesitation, you take one of his large hands in both of your own, turning it over so you can kiss his palm. You can taste salt, from when he tried to scrub away his tears. You smile and fold your hand into his, intertwining your fingers, looking up at him.

He's looking at you, his lips slightly parted. There's a large enough silence that you begin to panic, thinking that instead of helping, you'd made everything worse.

"God," you murmur, trying (and failing) not to show your panic. "I'm sorry, Pierre, I-- um, I didn't mean -- I mean, I didn't…" You begin to get up, afraid that you've irreparably fucked up, but Pierre's hand on yours makes you stop.

He says nothing when you question him. Instead, he envelops you in a tight hug which is made only slightly awkward due to the fact that you're both sitting. Still, you bury your head in the crook of his neck, accepting and reciprocating the embrace.

Pierre mumbles your name into your shoulder, and you stroke his back as reassuringly as you can.

"You don't have to go through it by yourself," you murmur, squeezing your arms tightly around your friend. "I care about you, Pierre. I don't want you to feel like you're alone."

Pierre shudders, and then sobs, and you realize that he's crying. You put your hand on his hair, stroking it and untangling some of his curls. He leans into your touch.

"Maybe we should go inside, yeah?" you murmur after his tears have somewhat subsided. You pull back from the embrace and brush a few tears from Pierre's face. He looks at you sheepishly.

"Yeah…" he says, his voice evidently straining. You give him a small smile.

"Come on. I'll make you some tea. Maybe something to eat?" You awkwardly climb through the window and back into Pierre's home. You offer your hand to him as he does the same, which he accepts with a ginger smile.

You spend the rest of the evening with Pierre, trying your best to make him feel better. You think you've succeeded -- or, at least, you've succeeded in assuring that he's not alone. You know you haven't fixed everything, but you're certain that Pierre looks a little less melancholy than you'd found him.

#text #pierre x reader #reader insert #natasha pierre and the great comet of 1812 #pierre bezukhov #pierre bezukhov x reader #great comet #my writing #great comet fanfiction #pierre bezukhov imagine #i do not know what else to tag this as #um #enjoy ????

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notcrypticbutcoy · 7 years

Text

When in London

For day 1 of Malec Week 2017, which really crept up on me out of nowhere – Future Scene!

(In which Malec inspire young love in London, and then cuddle and talk about it)

***

Julian hated Tube trains.

Alright, London was a busy city, with a population of ten million, but it felt like, at rush hour, all ten million people crammed themselves onto the London Underground. Commuting into the city was a horribly unpleasant affair, crammed into a corner with someone’s rucksack digging into his calf and someone else’s unpleasant body odour permeating the air and making him gag.

Forcing his way through the uptight businessmen and women with their smart briefcases and the significantly more rowdy and more cheerful people with toolboxes and sweatpants was almost a relief, if only because it meant he could final step onto the platform and get the hell off the train.

Both escalators up from the platform to the exit of the station had been set to move upwards, to quicker get the impatient commuters out of the station. Julian stood on one, tapping his fingers absent-mindedly against the rubber hand grip that moved faster than the escalator itself.

Something - or rather, someone - on the escalator to his right caught his eye. He glanced over, and saw two men standing together, one clearly on the step above the other, grinning at each other. Both looked tall, from what Julian could tell. The taller of the two had hair styled up high, shot through with magenta highlights. He was wearing navy skinny jeans and a stylish, fitted leather jacket that did everything for his shoulders and biceps, with a multitude of necklaces hanging around his neck, drawing Julian’s gaze unwillingly to where he had the top three buttons of his shirt undone.

The other man, in contrast, was more muted, his clothing somewhat unremarkable, although, Julian couldn’t help but notice, he was incredibly handsome.

But, irrespective of their attire (because frankly, it was London—everyone had seen far stranger things than a man with pink highlights and painted nails) Julian couldn’t help but notice the other glaringly obvious thing about them.

They were a couple.

One of those awful, gooey, sickeningly in love couples. The taller of the two had his arms around his boyfriend (boyfriend? partner? husband?), and they were both smiling at each other, laughing a little, watching each other with shining eyes, smiling so wide it made the skin around their eyes crinkle. The man with highlights leant forwards and pressed a kiss to his boyfriend’s nose, before turning around to step of the escalator, and—

Oh. Okay. The man with highlights was actually slightly shorter than his partner, although he was still plenty tall enough to see over the gaggle of people in front of the couple to find whichever exist they were looking for.

Julian broke himself out of his staring just long enough to get off the escalator, feeling a little embarrassed. What was he doing, staring after random couples like that?

It was just… Well. They were so open, and so obvious, and they so very clearly didn’t care if anybody was going to give them a hard time, for being a same-sex couple or for being an interracial couple, and—

Well. It was sort of beautiful. And Julian wished he could be that fearless.

***

Working in a coffee shop, admittedly, hadn’t been his plan for when he’d left school. He’d been aiming for—

Well. He’d been aiming for having a blast at a university in London. Which he was. He just hadn’t factored in the need for a job, nor had he realised that for students, his options would be limited to three or four coffee shop chains, or McDonald’s.

But, still, he didn’t really mind. Especially not when his shift coincided with Alex’s.

It was almost two o'clock, just after the lunchtime rush of city workers coming in to grab their midday caffeine fix and a sandwich before they hurried off back to their next offices, when the door opened, and two people fell in, laughing.

Julian looked up from where he was standing washing up some of the blenders, because Alex was across the room, cleaning up the crap people had left on their tables, and did a double-take when he saw the pair.

It was the couple he’d seen this morning, at the station. They were hand-in-hand, the taller of the two carrying a silky scarf that Julian would have bet his entire day’s wages belonged to his boyfriend. It wasn’t that cold outside, considering it was only March, but there was a healthy glow to the both of them.

Julian wondered whether it was because they’d been walking around the city for a few hours, or because they’d been here together.

“Well, hello,” the man with highlights said, blinking at Julian. American, Julian thought, although there was a hint of something else. He tugged his boyfriend forwards, and leant an arm against the countertop, a smile on his face. Julian had to swallow down his nervous embarrassment.

“Magnus,” the other man chastised him, rolling his eyes. “You’re shameless.”

“I’m not being serious,” the man - Magnus - said, assuring Julian or his boyfriend, Julian didn’t know.

Then he caught sight of Magnus’ hand, and felt his chest tighten. Not boyfriend. Husband. That was unmistakably a wedding band on his finger.

“Although I might be,” he added, appraising Julian with slightly narrowed eyes, as though he could see right through to his soul. “If you weren’t sixteen, and I wasn’t married.”

“Oh my god,” his husband muttered, closing his eyes and letting out a long-suffering sigh. “I’m never going wine-tasting with you again. I’m so sorry,” he added, to Julian.

Julian was about to make a somewhat-bewildered dismissal, because the whole situation was a little odd, but not at all unpleasant, when Alex cut in from across the shop.

“He’s eighteen, and he really doesn’t mind!”

Magnus’ lips twitched upwards. “Could we get a vanilla latte and a black americano, please?”

Julian rang up their order for them, and Magnus swiped a sleek black credit card, and then he set about making their drinks. The other customers in the shop seemed utterly unfazed by Magnus’ unusual - although very tasteful - sense of style, nor by the fact that the two had their arms around each other.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t noticed anybody at the station paying them the time of day, either.

Julian tried not to listen to their conversation as he made their drinks, but it was a little hard not to be curious when Magnus sighed, loudly, and said, “Alec.”

“Don’t Alec me.”

“I’m just saying. I’m right.”

“How can you possibly know that?” Alec demanded.

Julian cut their conversation short, when he handed them their drinks, and tried not to catch their eyes for too long. He was simultaneously too awed and too embarrassed for any more eye contact than was necessary.

The couple spent the duration of the visit sitting drinking their coffee at one of the tables in the corner perfectly innocuously, chatting intermittently and scrolling through their phones, turning the screens to each other and reacting to whatever was on the screen.

They had their fingers intertwined across the table the entire time.

When they left, Magnus dropped him a smile that was oddly sympathetic, and Alec nodded to him, tossing out a “thanks” over his shoulder as they walked out.

***

It wasn’t until the end of their shift, when he and Alex were closing up the shop for the day and finishing up to make sure things were set for the following morning, when Alex brought the couple - and Julian’s affectedness - up.

“You could do that, you know,” Alex told him, leaning against the counter with his sleeves rolled up and his phone in hand. His eyes, though, were on Julian, who was in the process of putting away the last mugs.

“What are you talking about?” Julian asked, although he was perfectly aware.

“That couple, today. You could do that. Nobody would care.”

Julian paused, and straightened, glancing over to meet Alex’s gaze. “Yeah. I– I don’t think I realised how little people really do care. I’m just not that brave, I guess.”

“They looked pretty seasoned,” Alex said, flicking his bangs back with a nonchalant toss of his head. “You could be that brave. You just need some practise.”

Julian bit his lip. “With you?”

Alex, for once, looked momentarily surprised. He blinked. “Pardon?”

Julian’s heart was hammering in his chest, but something about seeing two men - two married men - holding hands and giggling together and flirting and being so blatantly out and proud in public made him want to do something reckless. Something… Well. Something brave.

“Practise. With you?”

One side of Alex’s mouth curled up. “Yeah, alright. Why not? Practise with me.”

Julian exhaled in relief, and Alex let out a little laugh.

“You done, there?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well.” Alex smiled. “If you want practise, there’s no time like the present. I’ve always wanted to actually go in the Chinese place at the end of the street, rather than just walk past and salivate.”

Alex held out and hand, wiggling his fingers, and Julian stared at it for a moment, glancing between the proffered hand and Alex’s face a little doubtfully.

“Really?” he asked, because god, it seemed to good to be true.

“Really,” Alex said, and Julian took his hand.

***

Across the city, in a hotel room seven floors up, Alec lay sprawled across Magnus’ chest in bed, the sheets tangled around their legs, while fingers raked through his hair.

“I know I’m right, darling, there’s really no good in arguing,” Magnus said, and Alec could hear the smirk in his voice without turning his head to check.

“I’m not arguing,” Alec replied. He was tracing random patterns over the hard planes of Magnus’s stomach, basking in the pleasant afterglow of beautiful, phenomenal sex. “I just don’t get how you can possibly know that he was gay.”

“I don’t. I just know he was attracted to boys.”

“Magnus, you know what I mean,” Alec said, rolling his eyes. “Stop being so pernickety.”

“I know, Alexander, because he kept staring at us, and he was embarrassed, and he couldn’t stop looking at these.”

A finger ran over Alec’s wedding ring, and, unbidden, a smile passed over Alec’s face. Yeah. That had happened. He was officially married to Magnus, as of three days ago, and fuck, if that wasn’t beautiful. God, he was so in love with Magnus Bane that he didn’t know how he could contain it all.

“He was embarrassed because you’re hot,” Alec said, bluntly. “And— Shit, you’re right.”

Magnus laughed, the sound vibrating through his chest. Alec could feel it rumbling through his torso, and he thought that the sound of Magnus Bane laughing was possibly the most beautiful sound in the universe.

“Of course I’m right. And my hotness–” Magnus was smirking again “–was, of course, a contributing factor, but so was the fact that we’re together. Think about how you’d have felt if you were eighteen and saw two married men wandering around the Institute holding hands.”

“I’d have had an aneurism,” Alec said, and, sad as it was, it was probably true.

“That’s a rather alarming admission,” Magnus said, and when Alec tilted his head up to look at him, he did look a little bothered.

“Magnus—”

“I think we should go back to that coffee shop,” Magnus announced.

“You’re interfering,” Alec warned him. “Don’t start interfering.”

Magnus scoffed. “Give me some credit. I’m subtle. I just mean we should…expose a young man who loves men to the world of loving men. And how beautiful it is.”

Alec rolled his eyes, but he felt a smile tugging at his lips, because really, he’d married the snappiest, most gorgeous man alive, and he couldn’t have been happier.

“I love you,” he said, because he did, and because Magnus deserved to hear it, and because if he didn’t say it, he felt like he might burst with how much he felt it in his every cell.

Magnus’ eyes softened, and his fingers curled into the hair at the nape of Alec’s neck.

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

Alec pushed himself up on his elbow as Magnus leant forwards, and their lips met, softly, the world around them fading away and disappearing until it was only them, skin pressed together and hair brushing forehead, hands mapping across bodies.

Because love was beautiful. Loving someone, and being loved, was beautiful.

And every young person in the world, self-hating and in denial and terrified of who they wanted to love, deserved to know that.

#malecweek2017 #day 1 #malec #my fic #magnus bane #alec lightwood #alternative pov #this probably has tons of typos I'm sorry #writing tag

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