#i can't get over how similar these flashbacks are!

[lazycranberrydoodles]

its prosecutor jiang wanyin!!!! oh fuck!!! / gifs + au rambling below the cut / follow for more mdzs x aa crossover stuff :3

all the gifs i made (poses traced off franziska):

hes so similar to franziska when you think about it. theyre both deeply insecure tsundere adoptive younger sibling of successful main characters. who carry whips. something something edgeworth choosing death and wwx actually dying also

his share code is HWFEFF if you wanna use him in a trial! you can't share backgrounds but heres the scenery from the donghua i used.

the easiest way to put custom stuff into objection.lol is to send it in discord and then use the link from opening it in your browser :)

a whole lot of AU stuff

the art im making is for if mdzs was an ace attorney game, playing from WWX's POV to solve various mysteries/cases over the course of the plot. so this scene would be from turnabout goddess, which would loosely cover the dafan mountain mystery.

cases include:

Turnabout Revenge (Mo Manor, quick introductory first case)

Turnabout Goddess (Dafan mountain, the good times flashback)

Turnabout Saber (the man-eating castle (omg hiii nhs))

The Blind Turnabout (Yi City arc)

Turnabout Deviation (the Koi Tower conference, Empathy on NMJ ala turnabout memories or beginnings. opening cutscene is his qi deviation)

The Blood-Soaked Turnabout (second Burial Mounds siege, flashbacks: Xuanwu, Sunshot, YLLZ, Nightless City massacre)

Turnabout Lotus Seeds (testimony about JGY, tree scene, golden core reveal, bathtub scene. opening cutscene could be JGS' death but that would make it canon rather than ambiguous)

Turnabout Confession (Guanyin temple)

the problem with splitting novel!mdzs into turnabouts is that flashbacks are a huge chunk of the book but they don't have mysteries/ cases to solve so they've gotta be lumped together with present day stuff. imo? many of the flashbacks would likely have to be abridged so they could be retold ala DL-6, SL-9, or the fourth grade incident, where characters talk about it over some pieces of art. this is really difficult when theres a metric ton of unspoken, complex, and signifcant history between every character lmao

there's not as much of a problem with the cql timeline but i have not finished it. so.

the opening cutscenes in ace attorney always show the murder and/or the murderer plotting. the first cutscene of the game would be MXY summoning WWX, muttering about getting revenge on his family (it would also be good for him to mention the yllz being dead because that's how the novel starts.) cut to WWX's POV as he wakes up covered in blood and the investigation segment begins.

for investigations of monsters (goddess, saber, etc) the cutscene would be a scene of some poor throwaway cultivator getting their shit wrecked.

it would be cool to make a breakdown for JGY but again I need to review that scene cause I don't know who I'd base him on. maybe Vasquez or Dahlia.

tell me your thoughts!! i'm working off of a mdzs summary/ skimming the novel because i don't remember it too well so if i get anything wrong please yell at me

Jin Ling's sprites & Nie Huaisang's sprites / masterpost

#PLEAAAASE send it to me if you do actually use my animations in a case🥺 #here im adapting mdzs to aa gameplay rather than making a mdzs AU where they are lawyers #so jiang cheng is not a prosecutor in this hes just angry. and on the right side of the screen #that man has not graduated law school but then again no one in ace attorney has either #the names are based off of how ace attorney cases are either named after a distinctive item/location (bigtop bridge samurai etc) #or the main emotional/character type thing that happens (goodbyes reminiscence farewell) #the mdzs/aa au where the stories get blended (ie my tags on the nhs post) is very interesting but i would have to think about it very hard #and i dont want to . i would rather think about what the court record would look like (its full of severed limbs) #MDZS' EXPLORATIONS OF MORALITY MAKE ME CHEW ON ROCKS #urrgh i got carried away writing this post & wrote a couple hundred words comparing aa and mdzs' attitudes towards morality & public opinio #i could write an essay on this topic tbh. #can i call this an au? its the same story in the same universe just in a different format. hmm #mdzs #aa #art #mo dao zu shi #ace attorney #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #cql #the untamed #jiang cheng #jin ling #objection.lol #flashing image tw #pixel art #animation #my art #franziska von karma #i guess?? #mdzs aa au

[cheeseceli]

Skz reacting to your mouth piercing

pairing: skz ot!8 × gn!Reader (individually)

request: could you do a skz reaction to the reader getting angel fangs, like the piercing of it's alright.

warning: maybe a little bit cringey but what can i do

a/n: even though i said "mouth piercing", this can be read as angel fangs as well! i just changed the title so it'd be easier to understand. I wrote a few things about the angel fangs specifically as well. hope you like it nevertheless!

Chan

SUCH A SIMP

When you first told him that you wanted to get a piercing, he was mentally preparing himself to simp over you

But once you actually got it???

So in love with how you look

Besides that, he would help to take care of the piercing until it healed

Always reminding you of what to do and how to do it

"I can't get over of how great you look. Does it feel okay? You're not in pain right now, are you?"

Lee Know

Shiny eyes

Open mouth

Staring at your lips like a kid who's excited

Doesn't say anything for a while

But you know he loved it

The type to be more addicted to your kiss

Would even think of piercing himself after all of this

(ngl i think his favourite type of piercing would be angel fangs, so if that's the case, he is so head over heels for you)

"Can I kiss you again?

Changbin

Huge smirk

And infinite compliments

As long as my man can talk, he'd be complimenting you

The typa bf to take a picture of you like this and set it as his wallpaper

I feel like he'd want to be there while you get the piercing

But if not possible, he'd be waiting for you while being so excited

Would tell everyone how great you look with this new change

Your biggest fan

"Look how great you look smiling in this pic. It's the third time I change my wallpaper this week, because of you."

Hyunjin

*hyunjin's voice" "sexy, hard sexy"🫸

Fr tho, my man's holding back from kissing you so hard

Wondering how he survived all those years before seeing you like this

*flashback to the tongue piercing during trainee day's rumours*

Lowkey thinks about getting a tongue piercing so you guys could "match" as well

(And if we're talking about the angel fangs, he'd paint it for sure. It's cliche but it's true)

Han

Let's face it

He was the one who suggested it

He'd be like "good morning my love. Y'know what ? You'd look amazing with a mouth piercing"

And he's in shock

Positive typa shock

Deadass stared at your lips for a whole minute before saying anything

And when he does say something, every sentence he can form is a compliment towards you

"You look so good"

"I know Ji, you said that a few times already."

"No, you don't get it. You look SO good."

Felix

Such a simp for you!!

He wouldn't know what to do

You'd be talking and he'd be like

looking at your mouth

SO fixated

He's hypnotized

and 100% in love btw

"Felix, are you even listening?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry sorry. It's just, you look... beautiful. Really, really beautiful"

Seungmin

He's trying so hard to keep his posture lmao

but he's freaking out over how amazing you look

Every now and then you catch him lost in the little piece of metal, admiring you with heart eyes

Similar to Chan, he'd also take care of you to keep manutence of a piercing beforehand

I'm 100% but he's so bf material

(talking bout the angel fangs, I believe he'd be the biggest fan of it, he can't even hide it)

"You look even prettier somehow. I don't know how you do it"

I.N

He's dying to kiss you

He needs to kiss you and feel your lips right now in this moment

And he loves how the piercing makes you smile even brighter

He's giggling so much lmao

He swears he could spend a whole afternoon looking at your mouth

Probably will do it anyways

And if he didn't know about the piercing before, like a surprise, he will be so 😯

He's so devoted to you

"I'm telling you, seeing you like this was the best thing that happened to me the whole day"

feedback and reblogs are always appreciated!

dividers by @cafekitsune

#celi headcanon #tumblr stop deleting this please i beg you #skz fluff #stray kids #stray kids fluff #stray kids soft hours #skz x reader #skz #skz x you #stray kids x reader #bang chan #bang chan fluff #changbin #changbin fluff #lee know #lee know fluff #hyunjin #hyunjin fluff #seungmin #seungmin fluff #i.n #i.n fluff #felix #felix fluff #han #han fluff

[lurkingshan]

Love for Love's Sake Episodes 7 & 8

Well holy shit, that went in some directions I never imagined, and it was very dark indeed. I can't believe this intriguing little show is already over. So let's unpack what happened here.

My interpretation of everything we learned in these final episodes is that Myungha already died by suicide in the real world after a series of hardships, including the death of his grandmother, a long-term struggle with depression, and rejection from his ex and his mother, and the author gave him a chance to live again in the game world. The ending suggests he will now stay in the game world with Yeowoon and get another chance at life where his core objective is to make himself happy, and any expectation we had that he would have to return to the real world is out the window, because his life there has already ended.

But what exactly is this game world? I don't think we'll ever fully know for sure. Certainly, the show did not explain the how of it, or tie together all the vignettes we saw of Myungha and the author discussing their philosophy on life in a clear throughline to how we got to the game. The game world was purportedly based on the author's fictional novel, but all along it has taken on the features of Myungha's real life, including all the significant people we saw in his first life flashbacks. His grandma is here, his mother is here, his ex is even here in the guise of Yeowoon's agent. Myungha's memories and consciousness seem to inform the way this world was built, even as he did not create it. The author is given the role of Creator, somehow designing this world for Myungha to try to find happiness via seeking to make someone with very similar experiences to his happy.

Now, on this point, I don't think everything that happened in the original iteration of the game totally holds up. The way the author was messing with Myungha and forcing cruel choices on him really does not track with a desire to help him find happiness, and the point where Yeowoon seems to discover the game and somehow intervene to pull Myungha back in was lacking some clarity. And I wish the show had grounded us in Myungha's experiences earlier on rather than holding everything back for the sake of mystery--I do think that choice got in the way of a more coherent emotional arc for our protagonist.

But despite those quibbles, I still was able to connect with Myungha's struggles. This is a boy who has been so mired in his own misery that he doesn't know how to let anyone else in. He is too afraid to trust and let someone care for him in the way he cares for others. I wanted to reach through the screen and strangle him when his own emotional paralysis caused him to destroy the game--Yeowoon was telling him exactly what he needed, but he couldn't find the strength within himself to give it to him. And this is why knowing Yeowoon is exactly what he needed to see a different path for himself, because Yeowoon has experienced many of the same hurts but still finds within himself the ability to trust and rely on Myungha. Yeowoon is the stronger of the two of them, and Myungha needed to learn from him to overcome his own cowardice. Their happy reunion in the game world felt earned, and I believe in Myungha's ability to try again at both life and this relationship without holding back this time.

This show definitely wasn't perfect, but it really did some interesting things and left us with a lot to think about. I am looking forward to reading everyone else's interpretations of these final episodes, and Myungha and Yeowoon will be staying with me for a long time.

#love for love's sake #korean bl #kdrama #shan shouts into the void

[general-cyno]

I'm caught up with manga rn so I wanted to share a few thoughts (ramblings) on egghead arc zolu too. first, this convo after the crew leave wano and find out abt what's gone down in the reverie, and wrt to vivi specifically,

I do agree with some stuff I've seen about how using ace here as an example was not exactly the best one since we know how that ended up. that said, I think it's lowkey sweet that zoro still remembers so clearly what luffy said back then and well, he's not entirely wrong.

as I've mentioned in other posts before, zoro takes the crew and his own role in it very seriously. these are his companions, his friends and family I daresay, and part of his duty as both crewmate and friend includes keeping them all check and safe whenever it's needed. especially luffy, as we've seen in different occasions (water 7, thriller bark, punk hazard, wano, just to name some arcs with relevant moments related to this). storming into marijoa, THE world government/navy stronghold, without any information and/or plan whatsoever is a bad idea all around.

luffy may be impulsive and stubborn at times, but he isn't really an idiot and he knows zoro's right even if he doesn't like it. hence this:

ngl I love how grumpy luffy is at zoro here. these two are usually on a similar wavelength but there are key moments where their approach to things differ, and it ultimately works bc it's kind of... a complementary thing. making up for what the other lacks or needs to hear in those moments. I believe they bicker relatively less than other straw hats do in comparison (precisely bc of how similar they are imo) but it's funny when it actually happens. I can so easily picture luffy here fuming and stomping like a brat also being seconds away from asking for a divorce

this one's perhaps on a more delulu note on my part, but I like that zoro brought up ace in specific bc he was there both times when ace and sabo asked the crew to take care of luffy. it was curious to me that in the former case, zoro was kinda shown with this "!" reaction sign and later when it came to sabo in dressrosa, he was the one to fondly point out he sounded just like ace did in alabasta (and the "!" is back).

(the fact that sabo handed zoro luffy's vivre card there also lives in my mind rent free btw)

so yeah. zoro's definitely not one to mess around when it comes to the crew and luffy's safety, though he may get a handful of grumpy straw hats (captain included!) for it.

another thing, and do bear with me bc I might be reaching once again is... the break up flashback between shanks and buggy. I pretty much forgot to make a post about water 7/enies lobby zolu bits (too busy crying over robin, I admit) but this actually reminded me of it.

the context and personalities involved differ from each other, yeah, but I believe this shows exactly how easily it could've been for luffy and zoro to have a bad ending of sorts under different circumstances.

I can't say for sure how much of whiskey peak was intended to affect zoro and luffy's relationship later in the manga (I personally find some parts of it kinda goofy), but it at least served as an early example that they're not immune to suffering from misunderstandings and miscommunication issues. though unlike shanks/buggy, the fact that they're more similar than they're different and their differences tend to complement each other's likely works more in zoro and luffy's favor. still,

if luffy hadn't listened to zoro here - if he'd failed to stay true to what's expected of him as the captain (and being the captain is related to his journey to become the pirate king), to stay true to the kind of man zoro believes him to be and that he chose to join in that marine base, we could've had a similar scenario to shanks and buggy's imo. more so when you consider that zoro's as headstrong as luffy is, that he's been mistaken for the captain and now has turned out to have the color of the supreme king too. hell, zoro used to be a bounty hunter, is still called the pirate hunter. I don't believe it'd be easy for zoro to leave despite what he says, or that they'd become enemies per se, but it isn't (or wasn't) out of the realm of possibilities. zoro has admitted that he sees no point in being a pirate unless he's part of luffy's crew as well.

as it is, the fact that luffy values zoro's imput and listens to him whenever the need arises is such an important part of their relationship. as loyal as zoro may be, as great as his displays of that loyalty are, they only exist bc luffy cares for him just as much and has earned them through his actions. I love it!

last thing before this gets too long is this:

the mobile app's pic upload limit is my enemy so I can't share it but I also liked the page before this one, where luffy asks zoro if he needs some help, to which zoro tells him to focus on kizaru instead.

this is such a great showcase of how much they've grown in terms of strength - that zoro can take on one of pre-timeskip luffy's strongest foes now, and that luffy himself is no longer unable to do anything against enemies like kizaru. and yknow, I find it special that luffy can go against him now considering kizaru was the one who almost killed zoro in sabaody - one of those instances in which luffy was genuinely worried, upset and feared for zoro's safety to the point he was actually all teary when rayleigh managed to save him.

I would've liked to see zoro's reaction to nika!luffy since he was knocked out in wano when it first happened, but I suppose he's already seen the wanted poster and his lack of reaction now isn't that out of character probably. godly power up or not, that's still his silly gremlin captain ig. can't wait to see what else is in store for these guys in this arc and onwards!

#zolu #tp #long post #back here again folks #this one is especially dedicated to the lovely anon who sent me an ask abt how they enjoyed reading my posts #and to everyone who's liked them: love y'all #zolu in my mind rent free as always #jay reads op

[akiizayoi4869]

One thing that I think doesn't get appreciated enough when it comes to Aang’s arc is how it began and how it ended. At the beginning of the show, Aang gets freed from the iceberg, gets told that he's the only airbender that has been seen in 100 years, and that his people were thought to be extinct. He, in the expected optimism of a 12 year old, does not believe this at all(and honestly, I can't blame him, that is a LOT to take in) and eagerly takes Katara and Sokka to his home, the Southern Air Temple. Eagerly showing them around, showing them the games he used to play with his friends, like air ball. He shows them the statue of Monk Gyatso, someone who he quite obviously looked up to and loved a lot. And the entire time, he's trying to tell himself that his people can't possibly be gone and that he can't be the last airbender left. Only for that way of thinking to come crashing down on him when he sees this:

Monk Gyatso's body surrounded by a bunch of firebenders. Now, he can no longer deny the truth: that the fire nation really did kill all of the airbenders in their search for him 100 years ago. He is the sole survivor of a horrific genocide. Aang has to come to grips with this, and for the rest of the show, we get reminders of this moment, specifically in the Northern Air Temple episode, where we see one of the 4 air temples remodeled, effectively erasing the culture of the inhabitants who once lived there. Fast forward to Sozin's Comet part 1, and everyone is telling Aang that he has to kill the firelord in order for the war to end. This is not only a tall order to ask of him since he's, you know, a 12 year old kid, it's also asking him to toss aside everything that he learned growing up. And if he did that, it would be like truly giving up the way of life of the air nomads and that the genocide succeeded in erasing them from existence. And since Aang was the sole survivor of that genocide and a reminder of what the world had lost, he quite obviously did not want to do that. In the end, he ends up finding another way to defeat Ozai without killing him. He ends the war without tossing aside his peoples beliefs. At the end of the show, what do we see him wearing? Air nomad robes reminiscent of what we saw Gyatso and the other air nomad monks wearing in flashbacks. He even has on a necklace that looked similar to the one Gyatso wore. I can not even begin to tell ya'll how happy that made me feel when I saw that.

Aang’s arc began with being told that he was the last airbender and that his whole culture had been lost to time, and it ended with Aang choosing his cultural beliefs over violence in order to end the war, effectively saying "No, my people aren't dead. My culture isn't lost. They both live on in me."

#atla #Aang #Aang meta

[writingquestionsanswered]

https://www.tumblr.com/writingquestionsanswered/730814386289131520/defining-terminology-via-pov?source=share

I saw this post and it inspired me to ask a similar question I was dealing with. Is it weird for the narrator to explain time skips or off screen events? They always feel so unnatural when I write them. Ive seen it done, but I can't judge the best way to do it.

Narrator Explaining Time Skips and Off-Screen Events

Nope, it's not weird, no matter who your narrator is. Your narrator is there to tell the story to your reader. If there is no way to show something through action or explain it through dialogue, the only other alternative is to have the narrator explain it.

With time skips, that's almost always going to be the narrator's job rather than something shown via action or told via dialogue, simply because action isn't often the best way to show time passing (though it can certainly work in some cases), and dialogue doesn't usually come right at the beginning of a scene (though it can sometimes.) The point being, although you certainly can show time passing with action or explain it through dialogue, a lot of the time it's just explained in exposition, aka narration. I talk about that in these posts: Guide: How to Skip Time in Your Story, Subtle Scene Transitions, and Skipping Broad Gaps in Time without Timestamp.

With off-screen events, you really have your pick between exposition, action (yes... action... I'll get to that in a second), and dialogue. It just depends on what works best for the scene/story. So, for example, let's say a secondary character had to run an errand for the protagonist, and what they find out from that errand is important, but showing the actual errand playing out isn't important. So, it happens off-screen. You can have the narrator explain it:

While Todd and Amy started pulling down the interior walls, Anna went to city hall to find out next steps for permitting. After waiting all afternoon to speak with someone and being told to come back the following day, she returned to the house feeling defeated but bearing mochas from their favorite coffee shop.

Alternatively, you could use dialogue to show this off-screen moment:

"How did it go?" Todd said, dropping his sledgehammer when he turned and found a defeated-looking Anna, who at least came bearing coffee.

"Not great," she said, handing him and Amy a mocha from their favorite coffee shop. "I was at city hall all day waiting to talk to someone in permitting, and after I finally got to speak with someone, they told me to come back tomorrow."

Amy frowned. "Yikes."

If the off-screen event happened before the story begins, or happened off-screen but was particularly important or memorable for the character who experienced it, you could also potentially use deep memory recall, a flashback, or a dream to show it happening. This wouldn't really be a great choice for Amy's long wait at the permitting office, but for the sake of the example, if it was worthy, it might look something like this.

Amy woke with a start, drenched in sweat, her nightmare addled brain telling her she was still inside the permitting office. The nightmare had been so real, she could still smell the stale coffee that permeated the small room--could still hear the quiet sizzle of the mildly flickering fluorescent lighting. She'd been suck waiting to speak with someone all afternoon, and they'd told her to come back tomorrow. Now she felt like she'd been through the ordeal twice in one day. She wasn't sure she could stomach going back again in the morning. She would have to make Todd go in her place.

I hope that helps! :)

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[mimicha-arts]

Just a random post written after a sleepless night. Decided to collect a few thoughts and translate them into a single post for the future, as I'm wondering if the detail from the opening turns out to be what it seems. Mind you, this is all speculation and I'm just having fun.

Spoilers!

About Cheng Xiaoshi … Again. I'm still not convinced that the forest is a literal location. So far, this may be the actual location of the scene, but also a metaphor, similar to the foxes in the forest in the story of the twins.

Considering the theory where Cheng Xiaoshi is dead (or wounded) in some variation of events, although the injury visually seems to be at the same place as Lu Guang's wound, in my opinion, the circumstances were different.

It's still hard for me to guess how time goes by (I still have the idea in my head, given the characters' intros, that s1 and s2 are one long flashback). But whether it's a flashback that has already happened in some of the realities, or further events, in my opinion, the tragedy with Cheng Xiaoshi is connected with a gun. The presence of such a weapon seems to be a critical moment, it's kind of too obvious. 1. OP

Simple and clean. The gun will literally be one of the key items in the further plot, just like the star fox, as of yet unknown diary and 2 photos.

2. Qiao Ling's poster Qiao Ling's shadow (on the poster for s2) is one of the twins. If you look closely, there is a pistol in the right hand.

I'm not too sure which of the twins this is, as we have several diametrically opposed theories... and one of them is body-switching. For myself, I temporarily stopped with the thought that Xiao Hong from s1 is Li Tianchen himself (at least his body), and he is going to be the shooter from the future events. *There is still a room here if there are two time/reality lines, and a shot in "the past" may not match a shot in "the present". There is not enough information about the setting and facts. It could still be a metaphor for the destruction of time or something.

3. Qian Jin's profile As additional suspicious information, we know from Qian Jin's intro that he was an extremely skilled police officer, his profile information also specifically highlights his shooting skills. It seems that now he has ceased to act directly and relies on his people, but why was it necessary to highlight these words (用枪械)? I'll keep that in mind for the future.

So. Regardless of who else was involved in this situation, why do I think the one who was shot is Cheng Xiaoshi? Well, back to the Vortex (literally). When Cheng Xiaoshi (s1 design) enters the red space where two photos and a phone flicker, at the very last moment Cheng Xiaoshi flips over in a small flash of light. I think, with such a sharp penetrating gold line, the subsequent blue splashes, like blood, it is really a shot and a bullet passing through.

I think this is a very possible scenario due to such visual elements. The real question is when, in time and chronology, events occur. Maybe someone can get some new thoughts and insights from this~ Can't wait to see what really happened!

#link click #shiguang dailiren #link click spoilers #link click theory #link click s2

[teamsasukes]

ok in my opinion, many things are wrong with the idea that sakura viewed sasuke only as a prize to be won to boost her self-worth; that when it comes to sasuke, she's forever frozen in time as a 12-year-old girl who can't see beyond his good hair and great grades. this post is my attempt at thoroughly unpacking and refuting that notion

when we meet sakura in part 1, she is obsessed with societal standards and her admiration for sasuke is almost entirely rooted in that. he's the ideal future husband -- from an ancient clan, stoic, intelligent, skilled, and by sakura's own description, "cool" -- these are things that she has been conditioned to want! so this is the sasuke that she envisions, until...

until they get put on a team together, and sakura gradually comes to realize that perhaps sasuke is not what she's made him out to be in her mind. he talks about crying, about being afraid. he's paralyzed with fear in their first mission. naruto may very well be stronger and more capable than him! oh, and sasuke gets into silly fights with naruto all the time. none of that is "cool." suddenly he seems less like the ideal future husband and more like a real person with flaws and baggage of his own.

that sakura's view of sasuke changes is so apparent through how radically her behaviour around him shifts between the early formation of team 7 and the chunin exams (and any point after). sakura goes from being unable to listen to a bad word about sasuke (maybe even the ones that are deserved) to defying him when she deems fit. she even praises naruto at his expense, because societal views are not at the forefront of her mind when it comes to the two boys anymore -- they're just naruto and sasuke. they're her friends! she goes from calling kakashi out for bad-mouthing the uchiha clan because she's doesn't want to risk sasuke getting mad at her, to calling naruto out for a similar statement, not due to personal involvement in the equation, but simply because it's not right.

and people typically agree with me up to here. it's when we get to sakura cutting her hair in the forest of death that opinions diverge, and some people tend to think that sakura should have "gotten over" sasuke to propel her character development forward. i don't necessarily find this reading invalid -- it's certainly a more straightforward direction for her character to take. sakura's goal was sasuke, now sakura's goal is to be strong. the problem is that there was always more nuance to her goal of winning sasuke's heart than people afford it in fandom discussion, and similarly, i don't think that the progression needed to be as clear-cut as "sakura gets over sasuke" to still be meaningful. in this case, i feel like people's expectations about what should have happened following this scene might preclude them from seeing the growth that this moment did produce.

sakura cutting her hair in the forest of death is the critical point her arc built up to for all of part 1. sakura is insulted by the sound nin for pouring so much time into her appearance when her training is clearly not up to par, and she cuts her shiny and perfect hair in a declaration that she will no longer derive her self-worth from the validation that would come from romantic attachment (to sasuke, or anyone else). instead, it will be from standing shoulder-to-shoulder with (or even ahead of) her teammates in battle -- so that she can protect them rather than the other way around. then the flashbacks during her fight with ino make it explicit that sakura has wanted to become a skilled shinobi -- one who could match up to ino -- all along, but since that is not a socially acceptable goal from a girl, she instead declares them rivals over sasuke's heart. the boy is not important here (haha, it always sticks out to me that when she asks him out before the chunin exams, sakura is more bummed about sasuke's assessment of her skills than his rejection). she doesn't even think of sasuke while fighting ino, lol -- she grandstands about how only she can "get him," but that's for the purpose of riling up ino, so that there's no chance she'll go easy on sakura. sakura wants to know, definitively, that she can match up to ino. and she does.

in light of all of this, people often say sakura had "no reason" to like sasuke -- after all, i did spend the entire last paragraph establishing that sakura's pre-series crush on sasuke was an immature infatuation that had nothing to do with sasuke and everything to do with ino. but, again, team 7 spent months together on a team and sasuke and sakura became actual friends! he was a good teammate to both naruto and sakura, if a little rough around the edges. i don't think it's implausible for sakura to develop real feelings for sasuke during this time. and if that is not enough, if you need deeper, thematically fulfilling reasons -- well, i sort of object to that on principle. i think friendship, having fun with one another, being at ease around each other -- these are all perfectly good reasons to fall in love with someone. and you may say that naruto also fulfills this criteria, but if sakura was physically attracted to sasuke and not naruto -- well, i think that's fine too, and it certainly doesn't warrant any moral judgment. people say often that sakura should have ended up with lee or naruto -- the first of whom stated outright that he loved her because she was beautiful, and the latter who introduced her as a "pretty girl" -- but whether their feelings are shallow is not endlessly dissected. (it's not narusaku or leesaku i protest to here, just the double standard)

but for the record, i think kishimoto did write in enough for us to understand why sakura would fall for sasuke in particular. i discussed this in another post, but alongside ino, sasuke sparked the most significant character growth for sakura. he was the first to make her reevaluate her treatment of naruto (and by extension, her rose-tinted view of the world), he was the first (and only) of their teammates to express disappointment that she wasn't investing in her own skills, he figured out when she felt insecure and reminded her of the areas in which she was more proficient than the rest of the team. sakura's initial idealized view of sasuke does not endure for a number of reasons, one of which is that the real sasuke actually expects her to hold her own and sees potential in her. for sakura, whose main motivation as a character is to become stronger for her teammates, this must mean a great deal! we mostly lose track of this element of sasuke and sakura's dynamic in part 2, which is a shame, but when she cracks open the earth with only her fist, naruto and kakashi are utterly astonished, while sasuke just smiles -- like it is no surprise, like she's been capable of it all along -- so there is that, i guess.

(and for more on thematically fulfilling, see this post on what i think could have played out if sakura were not relegated to a side character in all but panel presence in part 2. but really, i find it so interesting that sasuke and sakura both repeatedly have a lot of trouble suppressing their compassion to do what is expected of them as shinobi. apart from sasuke, i think sakura is also the only character to express that human life has inherent value -- at least, she says something along those lines when she fights sasori.)

anyway, post-forest of death, sasuke version 1 has pretty much dissipated in sakura's mind -- the only place he ever existed -- and sakura's treatment of sasuke changes further. she stops intruding on his physical boundaries, stops flirting, stops asking him out -- she's there for him, but as a friend first. she hugs him in the hospital, but that's not necessarily a romantic gesture (she's physically affectionate by nature, which is why she ambushes naruto with a hug in the same manner at the end of the pain arc) and sasuke finds it comforting (signalled by many things, chief among which is that naruto leaves the room after observing sasuke's face). and yes, she confesses to being in love with him twice afterwards, years apart, but that is only because she is extremely stressed and panicked and wants him to stay for his own (and the second time around, add in naruto's) safety. her first confession is too centered on her own feelings, while the second is just woefully oblivious (through little fault of sakura's -- she doesn't know why sasuke is so intent on destroying the shinobi world), but neither of them come with the condition of sakura wanting sasuke to stay only so he can be with her. sakura wants sasuke to be safe! she wants him to be mentally sound! she lets him know that she cares about him!

i absolutely need to reiterate: at no point in part 2 does sakura display any sense of entitlement to sasuke. she always pleads with him to stay, rather than demanding anything of him. and even in the privacy of her own thoughts, sakura ponders bringing sasuke back in a few contexts: she wants sasuke to be okay, she is so sorry for burdening naruto, she needs to help naruto, and if sasuke comes back, they can all be a team again. romance does not even enter her mind. it is such a willfully egregious misread of the text to say that she only wanted sasuke back so they could be together.

moreover, it is honestly just nonsensical to me when people say sakura wanted sasuke as a prize, because it laughs in the face of her entire character arc and completely ignores why her pre-series crush existed at all. back then, sakura wanted sasuke as a status symbol. as of part 2, though, he is decidedly not what konoha's society would see as the ideal man. in the eyes of the state, he is a wanted criminal. sakura, meanwhile, is a student of the hokage, one of the most skilled medics in konoha at the ripe age of 16, and one of the most powerful shinobi of her generation (a feat achieved entirely through her own labour). she has stood next to her teammates in battle and helped take down a literal god. she does not need sasuke to feel fulfilled. nevertheless, she chooses, every day, to care about him, even though it would be infinitely easier not to. and if sakura wanted to haul around a status symbol in the form of a boyfriend, if only to bolster her already impressive profile (which she would not. that's the point!) -- naruto, konoha's new favourite traumatized teenager, is like. right there. but sakura loved naruto before he was proclaimed a hero by konoha, just like she continues to love sasuke even though he is very far from the coolest boy in their class.

my feelings on chapter 699 are... mixed, because the way things resolve for sasuke is just so sad, but what we see play out between him and sakura is: 1. sakura asks to come with him 2. sasuke is 100% comfortable saying no (how do the "sakura forced sasuke to be with her" truthers reconcile with that one, lol) 3. sakura appears mildly disappointed but like. she'll survive. that's it. then he thanks her, taps her on the forehead (but promises he'll see her soon, in an inversion of what that gesture meant from itachi), and we leave them in a pretty hopeful place, all things considered. there's room for reconciliation, for growth, for love. (and i don't want to hear about post-699 because i don't care. i don't consider it canon, and pretty much no one on tumblr does either, except to occasionally shit on ships they don't like)

this ended up being way too long, but i want to say: if you don't like sasusaku, that's your prerogative. i'm not here to change your mind. i certainly think they should have been written better in part 2 (but i'd argue that, like, 99% of those issues are just a natural consequence of sakura being continually sidelined by the narrative, rather than problems inherent to the relationship itself). regardless, i think too often people let their opinion of a ship impede character analysis. to claim that sakura relentlessly propositioned sasuke and that she saw him as a prize does such a huge disservice to how much she has grown and what she has accomplished over the course of the series.

#this is just something i feel very very strongly about #i'm so sick of people saying 'you can't be a REAL sasuke fan if you like sasusaku bc sakura felt entitled to him and pressured him!' #like. it is not my fault you never learned how to read!!!! that's on you! #& beyond that as i said i just think it requires an incredibly bad-faith reading of sakura's character to be tenable at all #haruno sakura #naruto meta #sasusaku

[eirenical]

Mysterious Lotus Casebook | Lian Hua Lou | 莲花楼 | Episodes 3 & 9 - The Letter

There is so much we don't know about what happened ten years ago between Sigumen and Jinyuanmeng.  A lot of it gets unraveled as the show goes on, but one thing remains true: there is a hell of a lot of unreliable narration to pick through to get to the truth.  And when it comes to the particular truths of what happened between the individual people involved, that becomes even more true.

And one of the little mysteries that always bothered me was this letter that Qiao Wanmian wrote to Li Xiangyi to break up with him.  Because I absolutely could not figure out when he actually got that letter.  Anyway, I finally caught a few details that helped me to tease that apart and my first realization was that he fucking LEFT HER ON 'READ' for about a month (Li XIangyi, PLEASE OTZ) and the second realization was that we get two different versions of these events YET AGAIN, but this time both from Li Xiangyi's POV in flashbacks, and I'm CHEWING GLASS OVER IT, so naturally I have to share.

So the first time we get this particular flashback is in episode 3.  Li Lianhua is remembering the aftermath of the Donghai Battle, how he fell into the ocean and washed up on the shore... a husk of what he had once been.

He wakes up and makes his way into town and to Sigumen's steps, overhearing all this terrible news as he walks.  People injured, homes destroyed, people killed, and so much of the blame being placed on all the sects, and on Sigumen in particular.  And as he walks, you can see it all starting to weigh him down, until he's literally bent over from the weight of it on his back.

And then the final betrayal.  His people, his friends, want to disband the sect.  They want to walk away.  They blame him and his hubris for this disaster.  And the coup-de-grace is Xiao Zijin asking Qiao Wanmian... "You don't like this place either, right?"

And the sad look on Qiao Wanmian's face finally breaks Li XIangyi of his paralysis and he turns away, back to the scene unfolding on those steps and drifts back to the shore, where he ultimately collapses.

And that's all we get.

We know he returned to Sigumen.  We know he overheard them wanting to disband the sect.  We know he left without a word.  And that's the end of the story as far as Episode 3 is concerned.

But this makes sense.  Li LIanhua is mid-Bicha attack and has just left Fang Duobing on the side of the road when this flashback comes on.  He's fighting his own body in a desperate bid for survival to complete the one task he's set himself and Fang Duobing has just dredged up all this stuff and gone off on a tear about how he's Li Xiangyi's disciple.  A road Li Xiangyi never got a chance to walk.  Another person he failed along the way.  And so he's focused on all the ways in which he is a failure in that moment, all the ways he doesn't live up to Fang Duobing's hero, Li XIangyi, all the ways that he is no longer that man.  So he zeroes in on the moment he lost it all: his reputation, his sect, his health, his power.  So that's the part of the flashback that we get.

But in Episode 9, we have an entirely different set of circumstances.  He's just saved his A-mian.  He's focused on helping her let go of the man he thinks she still loves.  He's putting himself aside to focus solely on her (or so he thinks—that's honestly a question for later, but bear with me, we'll get there ;D) and what she needs.  And we get dumped into this flashback again.

Only this time it doesn't start on the beach.  It starts here:

It starts with Li Xiangyi seeing his sect disbanded again.  Only this time, he remembers the words that come from Xiao Zijin differently:

There's no speaking out load of "you hate it here too, don't you?" or any similar sentiment.  Because at this point, Li Lianhua knows this isn't true.  She can't hate it there.  She lives there.  She didn't leave.  And she doesn't hate him because she very obviously misses him and mourns him.  So in his mind, he gives this moment a little less abrasiveness.  A little less fierceness.  But because he's so focused on A-Mian in this memory, we finally find out that there is an entire piece to this incident that we haven't gotten until now.

A-Mian's grief.

A-Mian's recognition that he was there.

And the letter.

The letter she wrote a month ago.

A letter Li Xiangyi NEVER READ.

We get to see A-Mian's regret.  We get to see her grief: both for her own sense of shame at being unable to keep up with the man she loved, and her sense of loss over her own innocence and the opportunities that they'll never have now to make amends.  And we get to see her break from her grief for just a moment to rush down those stairs because some instinct in her just won't quit.

Li Xiangyi had returned.

And she knew.

But it was too late.  She no longer trusted herself.  And Li Xiangyi, having heard her outpouring of grief, had already decided that he owed it to her and to everyone else to just… walk out of their lives for good. 

And he did. 

But he owed her one last thing first.

He owed it to her to read the letter that she'd written him a month ago and he'd never opened.

So before he goes back to that beach, he returns to his rooms in Sigumen to retrieve that unopened letter and read it.

On first watch, I had assumed this was after his healing with Monk Wuliao.  That he was RE-reading that letter, not reading it for the first time.  But these are clearly his rooms in Sigumen.  The desk he conducts business from is at the bottom right and the table he confronts Shand Gudao from is on the left. But unlike when we usually see these rooms, brightly lit during the day, they're now mostly in darkness, the sun clearly setting given the angle of the light coming into the room. This is the sunset of Li Xiangyi. The last moments of his life, in a way.

And the letter is very VERY obviously unopened when he first takes it out:

And reading that letter is the final nail in Li Xiangyi's coffin, I think.  Final proof that he'd failed in every aspect of his life: being a brother, being a lover, being a sect leader, being a friend, being a student.  After this, he leaves Sigumen and goes back to that beach to lay down where he washed back up initially, ready to let the death he temporarily escaped take him away.  And when the monk saves his life anyway, he still manages to kill off the part of him that was Li Xiangyi.  Li Xiangyi is dead, he insists over and over and over again, until he believes it himself.

Because in that letter—a letter he left unread FOR A MONTH—Qiao Wanmian manages to show him that he never really saw her at all.  That he never saw one of his dearest loved ones in pain right in front of him—pain that he finally witnessed on the steps of Sigumen as she poured out her grief and regret in sending this letter to begin with.  How ironic then, that a letter she'd sent intending to set him free of her to fly up to the heights on his own, was the final arrow that brought him down.  I don't think that's what she would have wanted at all.

But I really feel for her.  I do.

Just imagine sending this letter and knowing that it's sitting in Li Xiangyi's mail pile somewhere… and assuming that he read it and that's what spurred him on to this last desperate fight.  Because in that outpouring on the steps that clearly what she thought she did.  She thought this letter sent him to his death.  And in that moment she's wrong, because HE NEVER READ IT.  Not until long after that.  Not until after this moment.  And fucking HELL, but that just hurts me.

Maybe it wouldn't have changed anything if he hadn't witnessed that moment.  Maybe it wouldn't have changed anything if he hadn't read that letter.  Maybe he still would have felt that he'd failed enough to warrant death of some kind.

But maybe not.

I guess we'll never know.

#mysterious lotus casebook #mlcb meta #eirenical.meta #eirenical.screencaps #li xiangyi #li lianhua #qiao wanmian #li xiangyi & qiao wanmian #the letter #mlcb episode 3 #mlcb episode 9 #unreliable narrators #long post #just in case #HI GUYS #CRYING IN THE CLUB OVER THIS TONIGHT #THIS WAS MEANT TO BE A SHORT LITTLE NOTHING #IT IS... VERY MUCH NOT THAT ANYMORE #...ENJOY? #XD #lianhua lou #lian hua lou #莲花楼

[mochiimadness]

Hey, I dunno if your still taking requests but I have one!

What about s/o having hair like Entrapta's from She-Ra? I would love to see how they would react to their s/o with that!

Hello, I'm sorry for the long wait! I'm finally getting around to answering old requests, before opening new ones.

I haven't seen She-Ra, but I did look Entrapta up, so I hope I haven't gotten anything wrong!

Neon Leon

Leo is both insanely fascinated over your hair-

But also, very very terrified at first.

Remember when Leo wore that blond wig that ended up being completely and utterly evil??

Leo does.

Leo has flashbacks of this when he first sees you using your hair to grab a mug off the counter that was just out of hands reach.

May or may not have screamed.

"S/o, I don't mean to freak you out but- YOUR HAIR IS CURSED!"

"What- wait no it's just-"

"Don't worry- I got this!" he says, as he whips out his sword

Cue panicked screaming from everyone in the room as Leo attempts to 'save' you

He really thought you were in danger okay-

After managing to convince Leo to not chop off your hair,

You have to explain to him that your hair isn't actually cursed by some weird dude looking to steal stuff

"I was born like this, I can just make my hair move and stuff."

Cue Leo's suspicious squinting.

He does believe you! He just cant help peaking around corners detective style to spy on your hair at first.

Once he gets use to it tho, he's got to admit, having hair you can use to grab things jussst barely out of reach is amazing!

His jaw drops when he realizes you can fight using your hair too-

Your hair wraps around a rather slippery warthog mutant and launches him several feet away

Leo is staring in shock and possible fear

They'd been trying to get a hold on that mutant for ages, and you just managed to grab him no problem???

And launch him like a soft ball???????

Mad respect

Enchanted/cursed hair or not, Leo's just glad it's not using you for evil!

Plus, you seem to be having fun, so he's cool with it now.

Don Tron

Donnie's insanely curious about your hair

Absolutely runs some tests and experiments (with your permission ofc)

He's seen you lift mugs and smaller objects-

But what's the weight limit???

Is it like a muscle that can be trained to lift more over time????

Is it possibly sentient?!

You let him come up with new theories

But as soon as the conspiracy board and red strings come out,

You're lifting him with your hair and carrying him away for a break.

He loves when you help him out in the lab

Using your hair to grab and hold tools or parts

It's similar to using his spider arms, but 10x better since it's his s/o helping him.

Your hair also inspires him to make a different version of his spider arm battle shell-

This one using a more fluid movement to match your hair!

He lowkey looks like Doc Oc...

Villains do their best to avoid you both

Having one person who can grab and yeet them away was bad enough-

But now there's two??????

They are sprinting as fast as they can

Not fast enough though!

You're able to use your hair to grab and swing from walls, catching up to villains with ease

Donnie's impressed, you didn't even need a tracking device!

You two also found out another trick you could do,

You're able to use your hair as a extra set of arms- so you both came to a realization

You could use your hair to hold more controllers.

You two need an extra player???

Bam, you're holding two more controllers

Donnie cackles manically every time you two score extra points using this method

Is it technically cheating????

Maybe

You can't deny it takes a lot of skill and practice to do though, so who cares?

Not you and Donnie, that's who!

Mystic Mike

:0 !!!

Your hair can move?!?!

Please please show him what you can do!

Absolutely loves seeing all your tricks

From lifting a mug, to scaling a building-

He thinks you and your hair are awesome!!

One day, he's literally in the middle of talking to you when he interrupts his own sentence in a huge realization-

"So then I chased them down on the shells hogs and- WAIT WAIT HOLD THE PHONE-"

"Holding."

"NOW ANSWER IT!"

"Hellooo?"

"You can use your hair to paint!!!!"

Cue both of you jumping up and sprinting to his room

You can, in fact, use your hair to paint!

Whether it be using your actual hair as a paintbrush,

Or holding multiple brushes and items at once!

It makes art time ten times more efficient- but also extremely chaotic

Sure, now you both have easy access to art materials, but now your hair can literally spin everything

The guys entered the living room one day and saw it absolutely covered in buckets of paint

You are now banned from holding stain causing items in the common areas and Donnie's lab.

When you two go fight together

Mikey quickly learns that you can use your hair to help climb and scale buildings

Which leads to you crawling upside down on a ceiling at full speed, with Mikey floating beside you, at enemies

There are high pitched shrieks whenever you join the battle

You may or may not be a local cryptid now.

"S/O, they're calling you a spider mutant!"

"Nice."

Big Red

Like Leo,

Raph also thinks your hair is alive

Though, he's more concerned than fearful

If your hair is alive, then should he ask it if he can pat your head??

You reassure him that your hair is not alive or sentient

He's still wary about it though

Definitely gives it suspicious looks when you're not looking just to test it

When you catch onto this though, you start moving your hair 'without your knowledge' just to play around

Raph shrieks

"I KNEW IT!!!"

You'll have to explain that you were just pranking him lmao

He does realize that your hair isn't alive eventually though.

Is genuinely impressed by what your hair can do

Especially when he realizes you can lift heavier objects too

If you're able to lift him with your hair, he'll scream

Definitely has a fanboy moment

"WHAT!? How is it so strong?!?"

Even if you can't lift him with your hair,

He's still impressed!

Throughout the day, you'll use your hair to grab things that are out of reach and hand it to him

Usually it's subconscious,

Like when he just barely got into a comfy spot after a long patrol and realizes his phone is just out of reach

You grab it and hand it to him offhandedly

Or when he's sleeping and the blanket slips off, you'll reach around to pull it back up and make sure he's covered

He appreciates these little gestures so much

Absolutely warms his heart and makes him a little misty eyed.

During battle,

He sees you literally form a fist shape with your hair and deck a rather aggressive yokai right in the face,

Sending them flying down the street

Raph will stop and stare in awe

"Woah!! S/O that's amazing!"

He's so proud of you

Then he realizes the hidden city police are making their way towards the two of you

Cue both of you hauling it towards the nearest portal

"GO GO GO!"

"I CAN'T GO BACK TO JAIL!"

Hey everyone, I'm going through my old requests and writing them. I can't promise I'll get to all of them, but I'll do my best when I have time!

Sorry for the huge wait, life got crazy

#my writing #rottmnt x reader #rise of the tmnt x reader #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles x reader #neon leon #rottmnt leo x reader #don tron #rottmnt donnie x reader #rottmnt mikey x reader #mystic mike #rottmnt raph x reader #big red #the boys

[bengiyo]

Last Twilight: The Gay Angst of Low Expectations

Others are going to say much better things about the romantic stuff going on in Last Twilight this week, but I want to focus on how Day seems himself relative to August. The biggest thing that stood out to me this episode is that Day sees himself in a way that reads unworthy of August.

When we saw their flashback to their time as teammates, August is annoyed with Day a lot, and Day is always apologizing for any of their failures. He then spends an entire night exhausting himself to practice more. August recognizes Day's determination and begins to treat him seriously. They begin to win. When they stumble into each other, August is understandably hurt that Day didn't tell him directly what was going on. I enjoyed the Bond Between Men that they had formed as teammates and how earnestly August insisted that he wouldn't partner with anyone else but Day. It was also clear to me by all the hand holding that August feels something for Day.

However, when August doesn't show up for their dinner, Day was willing to wait more than seven hours for August to show up. He said that August is always like this, and blames himself for thinking August would actually want to see him. He describes their partnership as an arranged marriage to win championships, one where he struggles to befriend August and regularly works to appease August's temper for them to win championships. He admits he actually did like August, but regrets not saying anything when he could still see his face.

Then, August walks up and sees Mhok about to confess something to Day, noticing the flower and running his eyes over Mhok repeatedly. He hears Day's comment about liking August, shakes his head no, and walks away.

What stands out for me here is that August knew Day would be waiting for him. What he wasn't counting on what Mhok being there and clearly being some sort of rival. It was clear to me in the locker room scene that August also feels something for Day as well. I am going to be thinking about the fact that these two were unable to tell each other how they felt all this time. I'm thinking about how August probably felt hurt that Day didn't believe in him enough to tell him directly. I think about how Day always prioritized August over himself, and didn't feel like he could stand up to August.

It brings me back to the dynamic between Andi and Jonah in Andi Mack, my favorite Disney original tv show. For the other millennials out there who watched Disney Channel growing up, Andi Mack is a show by Terri Minsky (creator of Lizzie Maguire) with similar themes as her original show. Andi, who is like Lizzie, has a thing for Jonah Beck, who is like Ethan Craft. She has been hanging around him all season and joined the Frisbee club for him. In episode 9, Andi and the girls at school stage a protest about the school's dress code for picture day by wearing prison outfits. Jonah doesn't know what's going on and insists that Andi wear the team shirt for the picture. Andi, frustrated, demands Jonah tell her what her protest is about and then she'll wear the shirt. Jonah doesn't know, and Andi is hurt by this, but steels herself for the girl issues they're trying to solve.

Later, we get this apology scene.

Please watch this in full. This is one of my favorite romantic/platonic breakups in history. I love that Andi recognizes the power she gave Jonah over her. Jonah never asked for this power, but Andi still let him use it. This scene is important because she firmly takes that power back.

What I want more than anything from Day and August is for Day to take the power he gave August back from him. August may have a huge personality and a temper, but they can't be good to each other if Day is always going to be afraid of him.

So, while I am frustrated with August for standing Day up for hours without explanation, I am going to glare at him for knowing Day would still be there waiting. I want to see them unpack this expectation that Day will always WAIT for August. If August likes Day and also knows this, it's something the both of them need to face.

I'm all about the gay angst of knowing you like him but not being sure if he likes you. I'm here for the gay angst of being unsure about changing the relationship in your Warrior's Bond forged in the fires of competition. I'm all for the gay angst of thinking you'd lost him and wanting to take the chance that presented itself again. However, I don't want Day to always put himself second behind August, especially because August, like Jonah, never asked Day to do that for him.

#Ben writes #last twilight #last twilight meta #Youtube

[lunathebee]

Hello!! Could you write the moonboys finding the reader looking in the mirror and frowning. Maybe shes insecure about her body

THE MOON BOYS REACTING TO Y/N FROWNING (AND BEING INSECURE) IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR

Warning: none just fluff

A/n: I think I have done a similar reaction like this, you can also find it here anon ^^ Ty for sending in a request!

🍓Steven Grant 🍓

He doesn't notice you frowning at first.

I think Steven would go up and join you, looking in the mirror together.

Maybe he thinks you're admiring your outfit and he wants to join too (can this man get any cuter? 🥺🥺)

"Our pants kind of match! That's awesome" Steven smiles while looking at your face for a reaction.

And that's when he sees you frowning.

Still think about the pants. "No- no? Yeah, maybe they aren't the same color."

You tell him how you feel insecure about your body whenever you look in the mirror.

Great way to shatter his heart entirely.

"Noooo, no, you can't feel like that love; you're amazing! You're wonderful! Please don't be sad."

After that, you could feel much better and maybe forget about all this, but Steven doesn't.

He gets very serious whenever he sees you walking toward a mirror (or just if any mirror is in your way). He doesn't want you to get a flashback about that bad memory!

I think Steven definitely trips on himself at least once when trying to distract you from seeing a mirror.

🍓 Marc Spector 🍓

*see you looking at the mirror frowning* *doesn't think much and immediately looks away or continues doing what he intends to*

He will go plop down on the couch, legs spread, and just try to relax a bit (this man needs a really good massage).

After awhile, if you are still staring at the mirror, he will notice.

"You okay?" He raised one of his eyebrows when asking, "Women always find something to dislike about themselves, huh?"

"I'm serious, Marc, I just..." You turn to talk to him with a pout.

Marc let out a small sigh when he saw your face; he doesn't want you to waste time being insecure about yourself. "C'here on the couch with me?" he asked.

Marc waits for you to come over and trap you in his big and strong arms (he won't let go any time soon).

"Well, isn't taking a nap on the couch much better than standing there? C'mon, baby, you look like you need some sleep."

Marc smiled and gave you a kiss to make all the bad thoughts go away too.

(Can't you see that I love big-brown-bear Marc?🐻🐻)

🍓 Jake Lockley 🍓

What a man. Waste no time to come up behind you and hug your waist.

He would kiss your neck too (because that's how he is oh my lord).

Jake worships and adores your body, so he thinks you're simply thinking the same.

"¿Le gustaría ir de compras? (Would you like to go shopping?)"

He rests his head on your shoulder and looks into the mirror, now noticing your frowning face.

Immediately ask, "What's wrong?" or "Are you in a bad mood?"

"No.... Jake. I just don't think I look good these days."

He gets surprised and confused at what you're saying.

Jake shows you so much love and support (and I mean SO MUCH).

He would gladly fight anyone who says bad stuff about you; he never thought your hater would be.... yourself.

It makes him all mad and fussy lol

Don't ever think of such a thing when Jake is your lover, hun.

#steven grant x y/n #steven grant x reader #steven grant x you #marc spector x y/n #marc spector x reader #marc spector x you #jake lockley x y/n #jake lockley x reader #jake lockley x you #moon knight imagine #moon knight x reader #moon knight headcanon #moon knight fic #the moon boys #the moon boys x reader #mcu x reader #mcu fic #mcu headcanons #mcu imagine #moon knight reactions

[boinin]

Kaiser's characterisation and the flashback's position in the timeline

Chapter 243's official English release is available, and it's the most insight we've had into Kaiser (and Ness's dedication to him) since they've been introduced. So forgive my rambling.

My initial impression of Kaiser in this chapter was that Rin has a rival for the mantle of edgiest teenager. Did that little diatribe cut his tongue on its way out?

More seriously, have a lengthy analysis of both the timeline and Kaiser's character under the cut, featuring references to Christianity. Years of Catholic upbringing are finally paying off /s

Timeline

I always get hung up on event dates when it comes to Blue Lock (cos I write post-canon stuff and like to keep the lore consistent). It seems like the Bastard Munich try-outs took place not that long before the Neo Egoist League started—maybe as little as a year beforehand?

I believe the flashback takes place around April 2018, or the year before at the earliest. Here's my reasoning.

The panels of the outdoors in chapters 242 and 243 give spring vibes. More tellingly, Kaiser and Ness don't seem all that much younger than they do in the NEL. The main indicator of time elapsing between the flashback and the present manga setting is the addition of Kaiser's crown and thorns.

There's no legislation underpinning the legal status of tattooing in Germany (same as Ireland). But the industry tends to self regulate in the absence of law; another source mentioned that in Germany, people aged 16 or 17 may receive a tattoo only with the consent and/or presence of their legal guardian.

Did Kaiser have anyone in his life willing to accompany him to get a neck tattoo before he turned 18? My hunch is not, based on what he's hinted at in this chapter. So maybe he is 18 in this flashback... or maybe he got a back-alley tattooist to do the rose for him while underage. 🤷‍♀️

In any case, he was likely 18 by the time he got the sleeve done, putting him at either 18 or 19 during the Neo Egoist League. I like @echari3's theory that he's a Christmas baby for reasons I'm about to touch on; that would put him at 19 as of 25 December 2018. He can't be any older; otherwise, he'd be playing in the regular men's league, not at U20 level.

Ness is outwardly quite impressionable and childlike, so he strikes me as being younger than Kaiser or even Isagi—maybe 17 during the NEL? But who knows.

Strange trinity: Kaiser's characterisation

Anyway, back to Kaiser. This is something echari3 has already talked about, as have others, but this chapter further supports the allegories around how Kaiser is perceived (or portrayed) as a Christ-like figure.

The way he offers his hand to Ness—someone in despair, who lacks camaraderie and vision—gives strong Jesus vibes. At least visually; in terms of dialogue, Kaiser speaks like a kid who's decided swearing every other sentence makes him sound tough. But I digress.

Furthermore, Kaiser is capable of "miracles"... at least in a footballing sense. The way this scruffy kid drives a reversal of fortune in this game defies expectations.

His strong kicks and positioning sense are awe-inspiring to Ness, who looks at Kaiser like he's his personal saviour by the end of the match. Because he is. Through Kaiser's intervention, Ness is able to leave his cruel family home and pursue "magic" as a professional footballer. He becomes his first follower.

Kaiser goes on to get thorns tattooed around his arm, as well as a crown on his hand. A crown made of thorns is heavily associated with Jesus Christ (another nod to echari3, who made this connection in her post 💙).

If I had more time to re-read the NEL volumes, there's further similarities between Christ and Kaiser that I'd like to delve into. For one thing, as of the Ubers match, Kaiser is close to being persecuted by Isagi and his teammates, who seek to establish their own dominance over Bastard Munchen. His role as the "king" is being questioned, as Christ's claim to be the Son of God was. It'll be interesting to see how that pans out. Will Kaiser punish the non-believers... or will he be betrayed? Will he appear to die... only to be resurrected at a future date? *cough* the U20 World Cup

Anyway, that's a post for another time. The Christian symbolism doesn't end here though; it just takes a swerve in later panels.

Anyone familiar with the Bible will be aware Kaiser is overtly connected with that mythos: he is named after Michael, a high-ranked archangel. The name itself can be interpreted to mean “who is like God?” (a rhetorical question, since there are none like God according to scripture), or alternatively “gift from God.”

The Biblical angel has many roles and associations, but he is primarily regarded as a warrior, acting as the leader of Heaven's army. Furthermore, Wikipedia references a source which states: "He is viewed as the angelic model for the virtues of the "spiritual warrior", his conflict with evil taken as "the battle within"".

This all tracks in respect of Kaiser's characterisation. He is a strong, tall player with incredible strength, endurance and accuracy. He has a weapon (Kaiser Impact) and appears both omniscient (due to MV) and omnipresent (due to his good playmaking and positioning sense) at the start of the NEL. He's exceptional in every sense. He also has some... issues, psychologically. There's definitely a struggle going on under that ridiculous mullet.

But Kaiser's dialogue in the blue rose panel is interesting. He states that the rose symbolises "making the impossible possible in a rebellion against God". This wording brings to mind another Biblical figure: also an angel, but, er... on the opposite side.

This verbal allusion to Satan tracks with Kaiser's rather villainous aspiration to cause his rivals despair. It fits well, being that the Devil is said to reside in Hell, a place that is almost always depicted as being deep underground.

In conclusion, Kaiser's characterisation is multifaceted. He has the ability to inspire and lead others; he is capable of miracles; he is comparable to a god among U20 league footballers; he is waging a war on behalf of Bastard Munchen against his Japanese teammates; and he desires to send all his rivals to metaphorical hell. God, Angel and Devil, all in one. He's his own strange Trinity.

Without further information about his backstory and the reason for his desire to overcome "God", it's hard to draw conclusions. But he's certainly a fascinating little jerk.

I have some theories on what Kaiser's life looked like before meeting Ness, but that warrants its own post another time.

#blue lock #blue lock manga #blue lock manga spoilers #blue lock spoilers #bllk chp 242 #alexis ness #michael kaiser #kainess #mine #blue lock analysis #bllk analysis #boinin talks bllk #long post #tw christianity

[call-sign-jinx]

Endless Love (Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw) - Chapter 1

summary - Y/N Y/L/N and Bradley Bradshaw have had a rivalry ever since they both attended the same academy. Every chance they took, they always tried to one up each other. One day, Bradley takes the rivalry too far and Y/N ends up in the hospital with serious injuries. Will it make Y/N want to get him back twice as worse? Or will it make her realise that this rivalry between them is childish?

warnings - swearing, enemies to lovers, mention of serious injury, traumatic episodes, reader traumatised from what happened, smut, slowburn, seizures, flashbacks

a/n - hiya girliesss! this is my very FIRST series on here! i rlly hope u guys like it! enjoyyyyyy! xx

Bradley Bradshaw and I have always had a rivalry since we were at the academy. I think I'm better than him, he thinks he's better than me. However, on paper, we were just as good as each other. Same scores on all tests and practical tests. Same amount of medals. Same amount of almost everything. I realised that, but wanted to change the fact that we were the same. Because I earned my place at Top Gun. I literally flew from Greater Manchester to San Diego for Top Gun! I had to work hard enough for the money, enough money for the ticket, visa, small shitty apartment, furniture. Everything.

When I was talking to Cyclone the other day - because of an argument that me and Rooster had - he said that we were actually quite alike. I scoffed at the idea. How could me and Bradshaw me similar? I completely disagreed with Cyclone and voiced my opinions, knowing what the consequences of opposing my superior, but to my shock he respected me for standing up to him as not many people do these days. His words, not mine. 

It was now the first official day at Top Gun, well, not really, but everyone was going to be at the Hard Deck to meet each other and celebrate that we got into Top Gun, the best of the best.

I was one of the last to arrive (shit traffic) and my eyes immediately found another female aviator. Thank fucking God. So glad I'm not the only one. I confidently walked over and introduced myself.

"Hi, I'm Vandal. But you can call me Y/N." I stick my hand out for her to shake and I can tell she is just as relieved as me to not be the only woman here.

"Phoenix, but you can call me Nat." She had a confident smile on her face.

She told me everyone's names, Hangman (who she calls Bagman to piss him off), Coyote (basically Hangman's ass kisser, Nat's words not mine), Fanboy, Payback, Bob and then she pointed to the person I disliked most in the world, Bradshaw. Great, I knew he was coming to Top Gun because he tried to shove it in my face when he found out, but I just wish he wasn't here right now. Phoenix obviously saw the way I rolled my eyes with a groan. 

"What? You don't like the pornstache?" She has a smirk on her face as she points over to Bradshaw who is most definitely locking lips with some poor blonde girl who thinks he's into her for more than sex.

"Well, on top of that, we went to the same academy. He was a total prick. But so was I. In a way, we kind of have a rivalry going on. About who is better than who." Phoenix raised a brow as she listened.

"Oh so you're the 'British bitch' he's always complaining about!" Phoenix has a happy but surprised look on her face.

"British bitch? He needs some originality with insults." I roll my eyes as my gaze finds Bradshaw, as per, picking up girls after ditching the blonde. Guess he got bored of her.

"Why do you two have that rivalry anyway? I've asked Rooster about it but he never actually answers it." I roll my eyes again and sigh.

"Because we both can't put up with being the same, one of us has to be on top. It best be me though, I don't like coming second." I cross my arms as I glare at Bradshaw. I hate him. Why can't he just put up with being second? I mean, I had to most my life until I joined the academy, so it mustn't be that hard.

"Seems you're quite the competitive one." Phoenix has a smirk on her face as she crosses her arms. "Want a game of pool? Heard Bagman is 'undefeated' so I really hope you can burst his ego."

My ears immediately perk up at the mention of a competition. especially someone who is 'undefeated.' Not for any longer though.

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

"Oh come on! Beginners luck!" Hangman couldn't deal with the fact that someone actually beat him at pool, let alone a female. I smirk at him as I have just potted the winning ball.

"Come on Jake, you gotta just deal with finally being beaten." I raise a brow, my smirk growing bigger as Hangman's anger is seeping from him.

"What about a game of darts? Closest to... 180 wins." Hangman sticks out his hand for me to shake, I fake thinking about it for a second before eagerly shaking his hand.

"Ladies first." Hangman gestures for me to stand in front of the dart board.

"Age before beauty." I gesture for him to stand there, he stood in front of the dart board in defeat. He threw all 3 darts and scored 175. Now its my turn.

I take a deep breath and focus. I threw my first dart. It landed on a triple 20! Now I just have to get two more. I threw my second dart, landed on a triple 20 again. I could hear Hangman groan. Which only made my confidence grow. I threw my last dart. It landed on another triple 20!

"That's 180 Hangman! I win!" I had a triumphant smirk on my face as Hangman has all but defeat in his eyes.

"Aww don't be so upset Hangman, you're still second best." I had an evil smirk as Phoenix can't help but laugh.

"How? No one and I mean no one has ever beaten me at darts!" Hangman runs a hand through his hair as he gets a better look at the dart board to see if one of my darts was just close enough to the area above or below it. They weren't.

"Guess because I wasn't here." I pat him on his back and gesture to the bartender if I could get two more beers. One for me and one for Hangman.

"Here Bagman, to make you feel better." I giggle as I pass him the beer.

The rest of the night went by like a breeze. Hangman demanding a rematch every 10 minutes, me and Phoenix gossiping, Fanboy, Payback and Coyote playing pool, Bob sat near the wall nearly out of sight, and Bradshaw, at the piano with another girl on his lap as he sings Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis.

#bradley bradshaw x reader #top gun #top gun fanfic #top gun fanfiction #top gun imagines #top gun maverick #top gun rooster #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw fluff #bradley bradshaw smut #bradley bradshaw x y/n #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw fluff #bradley rooster bradshaw smut #bradley rooster bradshaw x you #rooster bradshaw fic #rooster bradshaw fluff #bradley bradshaw x you

[mrsbbradshaw]

Miscalculation

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Fem! Reader

(slight) Rooster x Fem! Reader

Warnings : Top Gun Maverick spoilers, character deaths, angst, unrequited love, PTSD

Synopsis : Instead of Hangman saving both Maverick and Rooster, it was her. But at what cost ?

Reader's Callsign : 'Ghost' ( She likes going so fast that she could vanish from radar, making her one of the best stealth & combat pilot ) << Thanks @americaarse & @mercury-mae >>

Reader's Lastname : Jones

Part 2 : "A Minute Too Late"

Italics are flashback scenes !

She couldn't remember why she was running.

The small flakes of snow above the freezing air continued to fall as she took every step she could to run for her life.

With the speed she was running, the fresh, airy, cold wind blew her hair stronger. Her hair was normally in a tight and neat bun, regularly pulled back from her face, twisted and wrapped in a circular coil around itself. Yet in her current state, her hair was all over the place, especially after tripping on a log in attempt of escaping enemy territory.

Her breath came in short gasps, forming clouds in the air as her calves burn, her boots pounded heavily into the layers of snow on the ground.

She darted past multiple trees, even when she was in an area she didn't recognize. Her legs took her to wherever was far enough.

Stealing a few glances on her back to check whether there were still people and german shepherds on the run for her, their voices were already inaudible.

Ghost went to the nearest tree to catch her breath, releasing heavy pants with her palms on her knees. She looked at her surrounding.

She was in a forest covered with snow.

The navy must've presumed her as KIA (Killed in Action) by now. The fighter pilot scoffed, releasing another breath, thinking what would people's reaction be when they get the news that she's dead.

The navy must've presumed her as KIA (Killed in Action) by now. The fighter pilot scoffed, releasing another breath, thinking what would people's reaction be when they get the news that she's dead.

She blinked twice, eyeing her decorated helmet. Her thoughts were right, there was no one else to fight for.

'This is it' she thought to herself. but How is it that on the few moments before her death, one person popped up onto her mind, the one person who made her fall in love when she knew she can't have him.

How was it possible that the man who didn't love her back and treated her poorly on her head ?

Why was Jake "Hangman" Seresin on her head ?

Y/n recalled the tragic incident that fell on her a few years back during a similar mission.

Ghost and her mission leader, Apollo were amongst the elite Top Gun fresh graduates sent to strike a uranium enrichment facility that caused danger.

The mission was a success.

The facility was bombed by the two foxtrot teams along with Apollo and Ghost herself. The enemy base were annihilated by the bombs as well, so there was no way a fighter jet could've still been able to fly.

The naval aviators hung their head high, proud of the mission they have conducted, all they had to do was fly home and celebrate.

"How 'bout this, dinner's on me tonight" Apollo said, giving a thumbs up to his wingman flying beside him, Ghost.

"Nah, let me treat y'all, have dinner at my place tonight, it's my son's birthday today" The curly brown haired man with hazel eyes, often known as Tree replied to his mission leader.

Cheers and Woos were heard from her helmet.

"Happiest birthday to little Ryan" Ghost chuckled, eyes focused on the clouds.

"How old is he turning, man ?" One of the two foxtrot team's backseater, Phantom asked

"He's turning one"

"Congratulations, Taylor !" Berlin, one of the other pilots called his first name.

"I can't wait to eat Mrs Taylor's cooking, especially her roast beef" Coma complimented with his southern accent

"Goddamit, Coma, some of us hadn't eaten our lunch yet" Apollo laughed.

All of them were so focused with their conversation, it was too late when a rapid beeping sound was heard from Apollo's jet.

Someone had a missile lock on him.

Too late to think, his jet was blown into pieces right in front of the whole squad.

No parachutes, the mission leader was dead instantly.

"Shit ! Hostile ahead ! Thunder 1 is down, I repeat, Thunder 1 is down !" Ghost exclaimed frantically to the carrier ship.

Her eyes shot open, her mouth hung open loosely, processing what had just happened to her mission leader.

From the black ashes of Apollo's jet, the enemy appeared in fifth generation fighter jets, two more appeared on their left and another two on their right.

"Thunder 2, do you have vision on the enemy ?" An officer from the carrier spoke

"We have 2 hostiles on our right, 2 more on our left and the leader right in front ! We're surrounded !" she replied, raising her voice, filling it with panic.

Where the hell did they come from ? They destroyed all fighter jets at the enemy base.

Shit.

This was a miscalculation by them. A miscalculation that would cost them their lives.

"Thunder 2,3 and 4, immediately retreat to the carrier ship immediately"

"Negative, they're all over the place, It's a dogfight alright." Tree replied, breaking left, destroying their formation with two of the enemy jets following him, enabling a missile lock on him and Phantom.

"Shit dude, Apollo's dead" Berlin said

The two foxtrot teams along with Ghost broke their formation, spreading themselves away from each other. Ghost pulled her lever as hard as possible, in attempt of going above the fighter jet that shot down Apollo's plane.

The beeping sound on her plane was easily recognisable by her, meaning that she had been missile locked, punching the flare buttons, while immediately breaking right, escaping the missile and the jet for a short while.

The corners of her eye caught Tree and Phantom being chased by two fighter jets, they were trying their best to shake them off, she took this opportunity by increasing her flight speed, placing a missile lock on one of the jets from behind, Ghost successfully shot one down.

"Smoke in the air ! Release flares !" She could hear the voices of Phantom, eyeing the yellow lights that were flying to smash the missile that was fired by the surviving enemy jet.

"Tree ! Fly above, play high ! let them be in front of you !" She yelled, before hearing Coma's southern accent, warning her.

"Ghost, you've got company on your back !"

"I see it" The jet that was previously chasing her came back.

Berlin and Coma fired a missile in attempt to help Ghost, only for the fifth generation jet spinning around, completely evading it. They had managed to shook of the jets who were chasing them.

"You guys save your missiles, save yourselves ! I'll be okay !" Ghost pulled her lever to the left, taking a sharp turn to the direction away from her friends.

With her fast speed, she was able to fly a circle fast enough to get behind the jet.

"Gotcha" The missile from her plane blew up her enemy's jet almost immediately.

"They have a missile lock on us, releasing flares" Berlin yelled

"Shit ! We're out of flares, Coma, We're out of-"

An intense yellow and orange color mixed with a low and deep noise was all visible to her the moment she gasped.

Not them, not them.

She lost her fellow pilots in front of her again.

Her breath became rapid while her heart beat faster, her eyes widened, immediately breaking the news to the carrier ship

"Thunder 3 is down, Their jets have been d-destroyed completely, z-zero survivors in sight !" She could hear Phantom's voice that were shaky but firm.

Releasing a missile on the enemy for revenge, Tree and Phantom managed to blow it up.

"Ghost ! You get out of here !" Phantom yelled

"Are you mental ? Do you think I can leave you two like that !" She yelled, angry.

"You're the only one fast enough to escape them, we'll grab their attention and you make a run for it !"

"What are you talking about ? Hell no ! I'm not leaving until all enemy jets are destroyed !"

"Ghost, if you don't go now, none of us are going to survive"

"No, you will survive. You go ! You two !" She eyed the jet Tree and Phantom were in.

"You guys go and I'll stay here." she proposed

"Thunder 2, you are ordered to retreat immediately." A voice on their ear spoke, they knew who and where it came from.

Even the carrier knew that the chances of the three of them surviving were really low. But her alone, with her speed of flying ? Her chance of surviving was 90%

Y/n "Ghost" Jones was one of the elite. Best of the best, and the navy couldn't afford to lose her.

"No ! I'm not leaving them to die !"

"Y/n, this isn't a debate !" Tree raised his voice

"We all know that you're the only one who can escape"

"Uh no ? For shit's sake Taylor, you have a kid who just turned one !"

"He has a mother who's gonna take care of him" His voice softened, tears beginning to blur her vision, she shook her head vigorously.

"Y/n...go" Phantom's voice ordered her

"Lieutenant Jones, you are ordered to return to the carrier ship immediately !" Her superior ordered, raising his voice

"you have backup, send backup..."

"Please..." a tear escaped her eyes, her voice cracked and shaky, her voice was practically begging to them that they would let her stay.

"Lieutenant Jones !"

Y/n let out a scream of agony, shutting her eyes close, breaking left sharply, maxing up her speed, flying as fast as the wind back as she was ordered to.

"Hey Jones ? Tell my family I love t-"

She could hear it again. The same explosion that blew up the other two jets of her friends. However, this time, it was louder.

She was already flying far away from where the enemy shot them down but the sound, the flashes of yellow, it would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"Thunder 4 is down.....I repeat," Her tone was like a whisper, whimpering with tears cascading her eyes.

She stopped for a while, a sob escaped her, covering her face with a shaking hand.

"Thunder 4 is down...."

Her jet sped through the clouds, Ghost disappeared from the enemy's radar just as expected, but her tears won't stop spilling.

She landed her plane safely, but what happened after that was, vague.

She rung the doorbell of Taylor's house that day, a smile plastered across his wife's face, expecting Ghost to be Mrs Taylor's husband.

They were waiting for his arrival, the interior of the house decorated beautifully with banners, the table was set for a family dinner, celebrating their son who had just turn one that day.

Yet it had to be her to break the tragic news to his wife, explaining, Lieutenant Jonathan "Tree" Taylor isn't coming back - ever.

A single drop of grief welled up from the corner of her eye as soon as she eyed Taylor's one year old son who wore a blue party hat with a cake in front of him, topped with a candle numbered '1'.

Her bottom lip quivered, and her shoulders dropped, her vision was blurry; it was difficult for her to see clearly. As more tears came, more thought whirled through her head, the guilt consuming her.

"I'm sorry"

No amount of apologies could bring him back.

Rosario Taylor fell to the floor in a disheveled heap as her grief poured out in uncontrollable tears.

The young lieutenant faced her friend's son, wanting to take her eyes off him so bad, it was hurting her even more.

The thought of it - losing a father on his first birthday, his son has to grow up without a father.

She blamed herself constantly, convincing herself that she was part of the reason why he died.

How she wished to die that very moment and every moment afterwards.

She couldn't remember what had happen after that, In a blink, she stood in front of five black caskets with no bodies in it.

The somber atmosphere surrounded her, she placed her palms onto each of their casket, guilt came after her again.

She constantly thought that it was better for her to die with them. It should've been her. Not them. If she did fight that day, she would've died and it would be fine for her.

Her parents were deceased and she has no family left. She was supposed to die, not him.

Not the people who left behind their family.

Her black navy uniform was stained with tears again, she had wiped her eyes so much they were red and swollen. The place was dark where the coffins were placed before the funeral.

She stood amongst her other comrades, giving a salute with her tear stained cheeks, as their caskets were lowered.

Five people were dead.

No, they weren't just 'people'.

Five of her friends died, leaving her alone in this cruel world.

The memories they spent together during Top Gun came back to her, how they spent their time together almost everyday, creating an unreplacable bond between them.

She remembered being in Top Gun with her other friends, Bradley, Jake, Natasha, Robert and others.

She was particularly close to Natasha, remembering the first time she laid eyes on Jake Seresin while Natasha instantly figured out that she liked him.

The time they had in Top Gun reminded her how hard they had to train to be there. Yet, when she thought she was a great pilot, five people died.

They could see the tears she was holding back, people said how she literally looked like her callsign.

Ghost.

But not everyone knew she was the only survivor of the mission. To their eyes, she was only close to the victims.

She made a formal request after the funeral, keep her name as classified so no one would know that she was the only survivor that day.

She did not want people to look down on her and pity her.

Still, the stories of their mission was soon spread amongst the navy. They later called the mission as "The Miscalculation Tragedy". The information of who was the only survivor of The Miscalculation Tragedy was classified.

Ghost carried on with life, conducting missions as ordered. She acted like nothing happened, not wanting her secret to get out. The tragedy scarred her for life, her guilt consuming everyday.

Yet, she put her flawless public facade, masking her true state.

Successfully fooling everyone.

2 years had past when she got called back to Top Gun for a special detachment mission.

"Here she comes ! The woman, the legend, Ghost"

"Great to see you again, Coyote" She smiled, taking the beer coyote had offered. Her eyes lingered to the blonde haired man who was bending his body, aiming to shoot the 8 ball.

She could admire him all night, how he was so perfect in her eyes, how his ego makes him hotter.

She would always look for his face in every random crowd, but he wouldn't even look for hers if she was standing right in front of him.

"Hangman," She smiled, he looked at her for a second, ignoring her. Then eyeing back to his game of pool.

It was sad, really.

How he would treat ladies like a woman, but he would treat her like dirt, like she meant nothing to him.

She knew she was pathetic, how she would always try again and again but have herself ignored by him and her dignity ripped apart.

She couldn't explain how she felt, each time he walked over to a lady and flirt with her. She felt worse than pathetic, wanting to be flirted so bad.

Their friendship has gone to the drain the moment he found out she liked him. Every moment since, he treated her like a plague.

She should hate him, really, but she couldn't

"Still him ?"

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw caressed her back, looking at the way she looked at him. The look of someone who was in love

"You deserve someone way better than him, Ghost."

She took a sip from her beer, looking at the brown eyes man who had just came into the bar.

"won't say anything to keep my dignity, Bradshaw" She chuckled, giving her best friend a hug

"It's good to see you again, Brad"

His heart skipped a beat, the way she called him by his nickname made his stomach filled with butterflies.

Hangman saw her through his peripheral vision, annoyed at the fact that she was hugging Rooster and not him.

But whose fault was it to neglect her feelings ?

He acted like he hated her the moment he found out that she liked him when he was in fact, the one who fell first.

He knows, she deserves someone better than him. He thought he wasn't good enough for her.

He wanted her the be treated by someone who's capable of loving her passionately. Jake Seresin was afraid of failing, so he made a plan. He needed her to hate him.

Something was different with her the moment she stepped in the bar, he was the one to sense it first.

Something was wrong with her, her smile didn't seem as genuine as it was two years ago.

Hangman kept quiet, he didn't have any right to straight up and ask her what was wrong. He lost that right ever since he saw her nothing more than a virus.

"Your mission will be destroying a uranium facility that's set to operate in three weeks time." Her mouth hung open when she heard that there was another uranium facility.

She's been called back for this ?

She's been called back to endure the same mission that killed her entire squad 2 years ago ?

"Now, I understand that 2 years ago, there was a similar uranium facility that has been destroyed by the naval aviator's strike team"

"Yeah, killing everyone but one" Hangman let out a low chuckle.

"But the mission was a success" Rooster defended

She felt her grip on her pen tighten, trying to keep a calm and professional expression.

She can't.

She can't face another mission like this.

"Which is why we do things differently now, We'll fly from below to avoid the SAMs that were placed, and we will anticipate the jets that are going to intercept our way out"

She blanked out, only for her to be left alone after class, Rooster tapping her shoulders after looking at the tear that escaped her eyes.

"Y/n ?"

"Huh ?" She wiped the tear that unknowingly trickled down

"You're crying, are you okay"

"I'm fine Bradley, I just have a lot in mind"

"Do you want to talk about it ?" He kneeled down to face her

"It's not something I like to talk about-"

"Lieutenant Jones ? A word please ?" Warlock called her, making her face him.

"I'll see you later, Rooster"

When she walked into Warlock's office, she didn't know that he was following her.

"You have been briefed, we completely understand if you would like to sit this one out, you know... after what happened last time with your squad, what were their callsigns again ?" Warlock was one of the people who knew about the miscalculation tragedy. Being one of the people inside the main carrier ship that day.

"Apollo, Phantom, Coma, Berlin and who's the other one who had a kid-"

"Tree, sir"

He nodded.

"Anyways, there will be no penalty if you decide that you're backing-"

"I would like to stay and conduct this mission, sir"

"Are you sure, even after-"

"Yes, sir"

Rooster eavesdropped their conversation, his brows knitted together, the callsigns he had just heard were the people who died during the miscalculation tragedy.

He began to put the pieces of puzzle together. There was only one person who survived, and they kept that information away from anyone. By the looks of it and Warlock's words, it could only mean one thing.

Y/n "Ghost" Jones was the only survivor to The Miscalculation Tragedy.

A/N : Hey @sicily1922 and anon ! Thanks for the request, I hope you like it ! There's not much angst and romance here, but I promise, the second part will be much more painful than this one ;) Reply on what you guys think on a second part. Cheers !

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