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matchalovertrait · 1 month

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So many people, so many different thoughts and opinions!

Previous / Next (Transcript under the cut)

Transcript:

(1.) [Andrea] You have 30 minutes to make an appetizer using all four of the basket ingredients. The timer starts... Now!

(2.) [Alex] I'm making a raclette with an assortment of merguez sausage, vegetable flatbread, pea shoots, and a side of shakshuka sauce. I think everything will go nicely with the melted cheese.

(3.) [Alex] I'll add ham, salami, steamed potatoes, and olives. I'm kind of playing it safe, but I hope the variety of flavors work out for me. It's all part of my strategy to at least get to the second round.

(4.) [Lewis] I've calmed down now. I decided to make a salad with pea shoots, crumbled sausage, flatbread croutons, and a shakshuka vinaigrette.

(5.) [Lewis] It's a salad. I can't possibly mess this up.... right?

(6.) [Dulce] I went with pizza wedges with a flatbread crust. They'll have shakshuka sauce, pea shoots, and merguez sausage. Of course, I'll be adding some mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

(7.) [Dulce] The pizza wedges are going to be soooo cute and fun. I'll also put some bacon bits and garlic. I can't put too many things, though. The wedges aren't going to be that big.

(8.) [Rubiya] I'm making spaghetti with merguez sausage meatballs, shakshuka sauce, and pea shoots. I'll add the vegetables from the flatbread to my sauce and use the rest of the flatbread to make garlic bread.

(9.) [Rubiya] Could I have made shakshuka? Yes, but that's rather predictable. Also, as someone from a Middle Eastern family, I refuse to use premade shakshuka sauce. I must make it from scratch.

(10.) [Andrea] It's time to introduce the two judges here today who are joining Michelin-Starred Chef, Mia D'Angelo-Ramirez.

(11.) [Mia] Thank you, Andrea. I'm always accompanied by amazing people, but I think the viewers and contestants will find today's lineup quite astounding.

(12.) [Dulce] Wow, it's actually her... I look up to Chef Mia a lot as another Mexican-Italian. I don't have Italian blood like her, but I was born here. I want to be on her level someday.

(13.) [Lewis] Oh my gosh..... I know Chef Mia is in every episode, but I still got nervous again when I saw her at the judges' table. She is so beautiful and talented.

(14.) [Carlo] Mia, you flatter me.

[Andrea] Chef Mia is right, though! Folks, here we have Executive Chef and Food Entrepreneur, Carlo Mancini.

(15.) [Alex] Chef Carlo Mancini??? He's the real deal. It's too late to change my appetizer now, so I have to impress him with my raclette.

(16.) [Rubiya] Chef Carlo Mancini. This will be fun.

(17.) [Andrea] And here's Grammy Award winner, Sofia Bjergsen!

[Sofia] Thank you so much. I've already been having a blast here. Not many people know this, but I was actually in culinary school for a bit before I decided to pursue music full-time.

(18.) [Dulce] THE Sofia Bjergsen??? I have all of her vinyl records! My favorite song by her is My Love Knows. I know the entire choreography for that song... here, I'll show you!

(19.) *My Love Knows by Sofia Bjergsen starts playing*

(20.) *My Love Knows by Sofia Bjergsen starts playing*

(21.) [Alex] Okay, I'll admit that I'm a fan, but what is she doing here? Isn't she on a world tour right now?

(22.) [Andrea] We are overjoyed to have the three of you as judges. Please, talk amongst yourselves while I check on the chefs.

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loveinhawkins · 1 year

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Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 ao3

When it gets dark, they put the bedside lamp on so they can talk and still see each other—but once he’s lying down, Eddie finds himself drifting off far sooner than he’d planned. He doesn’t even realise that he’s falling asleep, just hears Steve’s voice fade into a distant, warm blur of sound, and then…

He’s gently pulled back to consciousness when he hears paper being turned over. Blinking drowsily, he watches Steve reading something, upper body leaning slightly to the side so that more of the lamplight falls on the page.

“Bedtime story?” he asks around a yawn.

Steve’s eyes flick up, crease a little at the corners when he smiles. “Not exactly.”

He turns another page, and then Eddie sees that there’s multiple sheets collated together into a file.

“Got a souvenir,” Steve says, and he wiggles the file, as if to say ta-da!

Eddie snorts. “You’re so fucking weird.”

“Pot, meet kettle,” Steve says rather smugly. “No, I mean, just look at this shit.”

He brings out the top page, and it takes a moment for Eddie’s eyes to adjust, to see that the majority of it is redacted, whole paragraphs made unreadable by thick strips of black ink.

“Wow, so informative, right?” Steve says dryly, and then he must read Eddie’s reaction from his face, because he suddenly says, “Oh, come on, dude, please laugh or I’ll go crazy. I’m giving you permission and everything.” He even has the audacity to pout, like he’s bombed the punchline to a joke at a party. “Come on, Eddie, it’s funny.”

“It’s not even a little bit funny, man,” Eddie says, but he ends up kind of laughing anyway, because Steve completely overplays a look of awe at every black paragraph before saying, “This is what I wished I could’ve done to my report cards.”

They sober as Steve thoughtfully lines up the papers.

“You can read them, if you want,” Steve adds, more seriously. “I’m guessing these parts,” he gestures to the large redacted portions, “are just, like, the… circumstances or whatever. Shit you already know.”

Eddie gingerly takes the file. His eyes are drawn to each black line despite the fact that he can’t make anything out; his stomach sinks as he skims them—he doesn’t need to know what they say, feels like the circumstances will be etched onto the back of his eyelids forever.

One of the papers is a discharge note, detailing the pain medications Steve has been instructed to take. Overleaf there’s a hand drawn schedule in pencil; Eddie recognises Steve’s handwriting. Remembers it from taking fleeting glances at Steve’s papers—on the rare occasions that teachers would deem him responsible enough to hand out the class test results.

There’s asterisks added to Steve’s schedule in another hand, noting when he should take food alongside the meds—and from the care in that, Eddie knows it’s been written by Joyce.

He flips back to where the text first starts to be readable, where the watered down version of Steve’s injuries is described.

At first there aren’t any surprises: the broken leg, the open wounds on the skin which are just stated as being ‘animal bites’—which, Eddie supposes, is not exactly a lie.

Then he gets to the bruise on the arm:

No fracture—patient occasionally describes feeling as if the limb has been broken. This is not the case.

Lungs clear after treatment (see: Patient A).

And Eddie finds a note that actually includes the time in which it was written—one in the morning. He has a brief second of wondering why that’s familiar when it clicks: this will be when Steve woke up, just after Eddie left the hospital.

Patient reported moderate to severe levels of pain when breathing.

Eddie thinks of Steve insisting that no staff be called; of him giving Eddie all the time in the world to talk, just because he needed it. And all the while, never letting on that…

Eddie sets the papers down on the bedside cabinet. “You—Steve. You never said that it hurt to breathe, man.”

Steve’s brow pinches a little. “Not—not all the time, just if I breathe too deeply.”

“Oh well, that’s fine,” Eddie can’t stop himself from quipping back, because it’s either that or scream.

Steve rolls his eyes. “I mean it. The drugs are helping; they kinda already knew what to—see Patient A? That’s Will. He was breathing in all kinds of Upside Down shit for seven days straight, so really, I got the better—”

“Jesus H. Christ, Harrington, I can only tolerate so much crap. Were you seriously about to fucking tell me that you’re better off somehow—”

“Jeez, all right,” Steve huffs. “Point taken.” But then he softens. “I mean it, though, it’s getting better. S’what the meds are for. And it’s just, like—yeah, it’s a stabbing kinda pain, but it’s gone in a blink.” Eddie must still look dubious, because Steve huffs again and says, “Here.”

And he takes Eddie’s hand, guides it to rest on his sternum. He breathes in deliberately so, and Eddie feels it beneath his hand, feels the briefest moment when Steve’s breath stutters.

“See? It’s getting better,” Steve says. “It’ll be gone soon, I can feel it.”

Eddie keeps his hand on Steve’s chest for a little longer, beyond Steve’s demonstration. The deepening breaths Steve takes begin to calm him, and he wonders faintly if Steve feels the same, if maybe his touch somehow helps each inhale come easier.

His own breathing slows in unconscious imitation, and his hand gradually slips down from Steve’s chest. He feels the warmth of Steve gently manoeuvring his hand so he won’t get pins and needles.

“Go to sleep,” Steve whispers. “You’re tired.”

Eddie hums in agreement. His last look is of Steve reaching for the file again, re-reading the schedule. The lamplight softens his face even more, reminds Eddie of the Hollywood lighting in old romantic movies.

Steve’s movements are subtle but there: the little furrow of his brow as he thinks, his eyes slowly drifting across the page. The way his lips half-form whatever it is he’s writing.

The thought comes to Eddie slowly—not a lightning bolt, but more like the quiet patter of rainfall: that Steve is so beautiful, exactly like this. So alive.

He sinks down, down, and doesn’t register when he slips into a dream. Into a memory.

He’s gripping Steve’s hand, feels the awful slackness of it, and it’s so, so cold; no-one should ever feel that cold.

“Wake up,” Eddie breathes. His chest is catching, heaving; each inhale burns with an emotion he doesn’t dare acknowledge. “W-wake up, just—stop doing this, don’t—please—”

But you’ve been here before, haven’t you? says a distant part of his mind that isn’t screaming. Eddie hates it, hates the icy calmness of it. When you beg for them to wake up, it’s already too late.

You have already doomed him.

Eddie can’t stop the wail in time. Takes Steve’s hand and squeezes, presses it to his cheek like he can somehow pass on warmth that way.

Take it from me, he thinks numbly. I’ll do anything. God, anyone, help him, help him.

“Just fucking l-look at me,” he says, and he’s sobbing in earnest now. Because Steve Harrington’s eyes should not be…

Dreadful screaming. Robin. “No. Steve, Steve! God, Nancy, what do we do?”

The sound of them collapsing to the ground. Eddie can’t even look at them, can’t take his eyes off Steve, can’t—

“Robin,” Nancy says. Quiet, quiet. “It’s too late.”

“No.”

Barely there in his periphery, Eddie sees Robin stand, shake her head over and over. And then she’s off, scrabbling over chasms, running no matter how many times Nancy calls her name. Running like it’s the end of the world.

Because it is.

“I don’t—don’t know what to do,” Eddie whispers. “Do I—sh-should I move him or—”

“Eddie—”

“Fucking don’t.”

“I wasn’t quick enough,” Nancy says. “I’m—I’m so sorry.”

“No, you’re not—he just needs to breathe, how do we—?”

“There’s nothing we can do,” Nancy says, and she’s crying; and Eddie feels something in him shatter irretrievably, because deep down, he knows.

He already knows.

The haunting screech of sirens. Robin’s harsh breathing.

“We can get him some help, they can—”

“Robin—”

“No, Nancy. We can’t just give up on—”

“That’s not what I’m—”

Sirens, growing louder and louder.

“Oh, shit,” Robin says suddenly, and that finally makes Eddie look. Her eyes are wide. “Eddie, I never—never thought—” Her gaze shifts to Nancy, like she knows Eddie isn’t really listening. “Nance, is it safe for him to—? Should he hide?”

Eddie laughs. Weeps. What does it matter? Nothing fucking matters anymore.

“I—I can’t leave him,” he says. “I can’t leave him, I—”

“Okay, okay—”

“—can’t leave him a-all alone, he shouldn’t be alone—”

“Hey, hey. Eddie, you’re okay.”

Eddie wakes with tears on his face, shaking. But it’s like his mind can’t catch up, still feels like it’s trapped in a dream, and he can’t stop himself from begging, “D-don’t go, don’t go. Please.”

“Shh, shh, shh. I’m right here.”

Steve’s hand on his, warm, warm, warm. A chest rising and falling. A heart beating.

“You’re okay,” Steve repeats, and he’s looking right at Eddie, like his heart is breaking. “M’not going anywhere.” He covers Eddie’s hand with his own. “We’re safe. We’re both right here.”

“Fuck,” Eddie says. Something in his chest rises, like a wave about to break. His mouth twists.

He tilts his face into his pillow and bursts into tears.

#the self sacrificial steve agenda #steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie

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shawty-writes-a-little · 1 month

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Mundane longing 4.

[series list]

Spencer Reid x fem!reader

word count: 2.8k

Weeks were commonly long in a suburban living, nothing unusual and soft life. Later that week, y/n was called in at the bureau on her leave day, for some sign off on a paperwork that needed to be sent to another unit and the process would be very slow without her. New superintendents of neighbouring units were rather combative of competence. Petty.

It was just going to take an hour or so and since she was called in as an urgency she didn’t bother dropping Julian home and brought him with her directly from his school game. From the looks of it, she had a big supportive sports jersey on with the same colour as Julian’s and his football shoes. However a grumpy pout adorned Julian’s face as she walked in with the boy, “I’m really sorry it was last minute” Emily said as y/n shook her head dismissing the trouble of it.

“It’s fine really, the game was over anyways” she shrugged as she took the file from Emily glancing through its contents. Julian, with crossed arms and a face of frown evident of his anger crossed to y/n’s desk and sat on her chair.

“What’s up with him?” Derek asked as Spencer joined too when he passed a grumpy Julian who didn’t say hi to him.

“School football.” She replied with a sigh, half attention still on the file she was going through with Emily.

“Let me guess, his team lost?” Emily inquired.

“Worse, they won but he was benched the whole time.” Y/n replied with a bit of a regretful look on her face “I somewhat embarrassed him too” she told them as she turned around to show the back of her sports jersey which had Julian’s name in big letters with his number.

“Wow, y/l/n.” Emily remarked with raised brows, regardless they got back to work.

“It’s alright though, he’ll come around” She shrugged in Spencer and Derek’s direction getting along to finish whatever she was required for at urgency with Emily.

In the meantime Spencer decided to approach Julian on y/n’s desk who was spinning around on the chair. His legs didn’t reach the floor so he had to use his hands with the support of the desk to spin and again and again had to unfold his crossed arms, display of being upset. “Hey there” Spencer spoke gently as he leaned on the desk beside him.

“Did y/n send you?” Julian asked with a scoff and a best attempt to roll his eyes, he surely had his auntie’s temper.

“Of course not, I don’t follow orders from her.” Spencer clarified and stoped Julian’s spinning so he could see him “I came by myself.”

“Then you can curtainly leave by yourself.” Julian mentioned.

“You mean certainly?” Spencer asked as a small chuckle escaped him. “Why I just wanted to talk, why are you so mad?”

“Football…” Julian told him with a sigh. “I didn’t even want to join their stupid team or go to their stupid practise or wear this stupid tshirt!”

“Then? Why did you?” Spencer asked, he was naturally very patient with children.

“Y/n made me. Just because I like messi and football doesn’t mean I’m good at it. I don’t even like any of it anymore” He confessed as his tiny brows furrowed.

“So you’re saying you don’t like messi anymore?” Spencer asked full well knowing the answer, people children idolise are difficult to let go off.

“I’ll always like messi…” Julian trailed off with a dejected sigh “Just football.”

This time Spencer knelt down so he could see eye level with Julian who sat on the chair, “You don’t like football because you’re not good at it? You’re just a beginner yet, beginner in football and even in life. You’re just seven. You got selected to be on a team at seven, that’s a huge deal already. When I was 13 I wasn’t even selected to volunteer for our school football team.” He recalled laughing a bit to himself.

“Yeah but…” Julian trailed off with a sigh “Everyone gets selected at my school team, everyone got to play today and I was just on the bench as an extra. I really did want to play.”

It was sad to see his spirits so dampened, it would be easier to convince and console an older kid with words, Julian being as young as he was had superficial hurt “hey now, you’re going to part of teams much bigger than that, where a coach who favours some kid whose mom sent cookies on practise days won’t get to decide who stays on the bench and who gets to play.”

“Y/n was so excited for me, she should’ve gotten to see me play…” Julian trailed off with a little hurt in his tone.

“Are you kidding? Y/n will forever be excited for whatever you do Julian. You are her absolute favourite and she loves you unconditionally, if you get benched or play or loose the game. It wouldn’t change anything for her since you’re you.”

“You kinda make sense” Julian nodded as a little smile formed his face, his tiny legs dangling, he giggled even more when Spencer tickled him. “Stop!”

“There’s that smile again” Spencer added laughing along for a while. Derek too came in, conversing with the little man. The two of them even got offered to come to the amusement park with him and y/n later once she was done with the work. Derek apparently had to refuse because he did not have a half day unlike Spencer.

“I don’t think y/n would really agree” Spencer told Julian about him joining the two of them to go to an arcade.

“Agree to what?” She asked from behind when she was done with the last minute file work she was called for, packing up her desk. It wasn’t as messy given she was there for just an hour.

“Can red come with us to the amusement park?” Julian asked her with big eyes.

“It’s Reid.” Y/n corrected him with a suppressed laughter “Uh I don’t know I-“

“See. She doesn’t get along with me you know because I’m bet-“

“He’s not better or whatever, he’s probably just busy right now. I get along with everyone.” She added feeling dismissed of her credibility of ‘making friends’ since she didn’t her last lesson to Julian about being nicer to his nemesis at school. She could be nice to Spencer, kids learn from actions.

“I’m not busy.” Spencer huffed.

“Can he join us then?” Julian asked raising his brows at y/n.

With a pause of contemplating how annoying Spencer was as it is on her work day, now she’d have him around even on her day off. She masked to be pleasant about it anyways “Sure thing!” She said as as Julian jumped out of his seat with a big ‘yes!’ Y/n was surprised he got over his prior hurt so fast.

She raised her brows at Spencer correlating if he had something to do with Julian’s lifted spirits. Spencer nodded a yes with a blink of his eyes and an understanding smile. Somehow that was a hit heartwarming to y/n. It was unexpectedly cute how well Spencer got along with Julian, because Julian was very reserved and y/n herself was always bickering with Spencer. They had a record of ‘fighting’ through a 3 and a half hour of flight. The reason they were going to the amusement park was because every time julian was having a bad time y/n liked to do all she could to change it. Spencer had already become a catalyst to that.

It was a beautiful evening at the amusement park, Friday crowd wasn’t huge and the lines were short. Julian and y/n just did the typical rides, the cup and saucer, the cars, some arcade games. She was terrified of the big machine rides which weren’t even that huge, but any ride with her feet off the ground was a big no so Julian never got to ride them.

But since Spencer on his side, the scenario was changed. It was generally y/n dragging Julian away from the big rides now it was different “It’s not even that high up what are you afraid of?” Spencer asked, the swing ride wasn’t even that high in truth.

“I’m not afraid” y/n said wanting to appear completely neutral to it as Julian tugged at her legs to come join them too.

“Don’t be such scaredy cat!” Julian whined at her.

“I’m not a scaredy cat, just-“

“Oh you’re most definitely scared” Spencer had a good laugh along with Julian. “Come on it’ll be fun” he said attempting to hold her hand to come with them since Julian’s tugging was futile.

“No!” She exclaimed “I will remain on solid land, ground, where I put and where I am intended to be you guys carry on..” she said, Spencer and Julian seemed very sincere to have her join them so dropping the I’m-not-afraid act she instantly folded.

“She always does this!” Julian sighed giving up sharing a look with Spencer.

“Scaredy cat.” Spencer said as he held Julian up in his arms so the two of them could go along.

She rolled her eyes at the two of them having a fun jab at her, “I’ll wait for you guys on the bench.”

She walked back to the bench carrying loads of stuff Julian had on him, the stuff Spencer won him from the claw machine. With a faint smile on her face with how Julian and Spencer were laughing. She waved at Julian who was getting buckled up on the ride as she sat on the bench, an elderly man next to her who witnessed the whole interaction.

“Kids…they’re very adamant!” He remarked laughing softly.

“Tell me about it” Y/n added offering the old man a smile.

“My wife and I used to take our son to the carnivals, back in those days they were very frequent around the holidays. No matter how many times we’d go my wife would never climb on the ferris wheel!” He laughed recalling the memory, “It’s too high, too untrustworthy she’d say…my son and I would have a good laugh about it.”

Y/n couldn’t help but laugh as well as she nodded, “I relate to her.”

“We sometimes come here with our grandkids, it’s the same story even today…” he talked to y/n about his wife, family. Showing her pictures of his grandkids on a phone he didn’t know his way around but his wallpaper were the kids.

“Aww they’re adorable!” She exclaimed as she saw the picture the old man showed her.

“You and your husband have a beautiful family too!” The old said with a smile, talking about Spencer and Julian who were still on the ride.

“Oh-“ y/n paused for a second. She was always seen as Julian’s mom, being his god mother auntie and parent figure she mostly never corrected anyone. But her and Spencer well, “Thank you!” She accepted with a smile instead of correcting him. It wasn’t a long pause but she contemplated why she just did that? She couldn’t simply clarified they weren’t married, maybe on the spot how she never corrected the family dynamic assumptions with Julian was why she didn’t correct him. Because she was used to it.

But Spencer? Really? She’d be so irked if anyone mistook them for even friends. ‘We’re just people who have to work with each other.’ was her line followed by his annoyed eye roll. Why did just accept that. That to be with a smile or prolonged hesitation.

Her and her husband’s beautiful family: Julian? It did not sound as bad, she thought about the old man’s life. Growing old with Spencer going to such rides she would be too scared to be on. Growing old on inside jokes and a grounded domestic life. Envisioning a life with Spencer amongst hers, waking up next to him, stupid conversations and a twenty four seven fun fact box within him she secretly cherished which wouldn’t be so secret if they were married no? She realised how closely she knew Spencer despite it all, to vision a life with him not just so superficially she actually knew him that well? Perhaps he did too beneath all their petty fights. To be loved is to be known is it not?

No. Stop it. What in the actual world? Some sappy old man just going about his day with absolutely nothing to do but sit at benches and talk to strangers about his kids and grandkids would not induce some feelings for Spencer in her. Feelings what feelings, what even was that no? She suddenly pulled out of that train of thought feeling heavily awkward with her own self. Genuinely uncomfortable the life she was off to imagine. There was no reality where that was possible with the annoying Spencer.

“Oh they’re back!” The old man informed her of what he saw, when Julian and Spencer were getting out of the ride.

“Right…” she trailed off with a smile getting out of the bench, “have a good day sir.” She told him leaving the bench as if she was guilty of something, she somewhat was. Not planning to tell Spencer about the interaction nor planning to have that conversation with herself ever again she greeted the two normally. Them going off about how fun the ride was as Spencer carried Julian and they walked through the park to its restaurant.

Going through the menu as y/n announced she’d try something different, Spencer suggested an item on the menu with a reasoning of her taste. Which was absolutely accurate. He remembered that? How did he know this? To be loved to is to be known. No. Rubbish really stop. That was so inane, he was a profiler, it was his career to notice and know things him noticing her preference through lunch and dinner does not mean it’s romantic. It’s barely platonic they don’t even like each other that much.

She felt like she was disgracing herself with how far her mind could think, too embarrassing. Thinking about your coworker like that. As someone who’s raising a child having a teenage girl day dreaming segment in your mind was ridiculous she had to pull herself out of this before it gets worse.

Later that night Spencer dropped off Julian and y/n back at her place, hugging his goodbye to spencer Julian was the first inside. Leaving y/n and Spencer on the porch, street light illuminating above the houses in a line and her yellow light from the swing on the porch on the two of them.

“You don’t want to come in?” Y/n asked politely, completely courteous, like a professional. She added those adjectives for herself in her head. “Cup of coffee?”

“Weren’t you off of coffee though?” He asked puzzled remembering how she told him she was on a coffee detox on his last visit.

“Two whole days. New record.” She told him with a sarcastic smug at the irony of it, gaining a small laugh out of him.

“Remarkable.” He added soothing his laughter “Later I guess…I plan to sleep tonight so” he said.

“Right of course” she nodded with a smile, “good night then” she told him. Awaiting his goodbye and goodnight but neither of them said anything nor moved. He didn’t, for some reason and y/n’s mind wandered to what it would be like if he just kissed her right here. On her porch like in the movies, she was somewhat paralysed in that state with a small smile adoring her face. Evident of her wandering mind having good thoughts.

Just then Spencer closed the gap between crashing his lips onto her. It took her a while to register she wasn’t going mental and hallucinating this, it was actually happening as his hands held her in his. Pulling her close through her waist, she had already instinctively kissed him back. To keep up she smiled into the kiss enlacing him in her arms. It was a passion filled kiss with tender touching of holding and wanting to be held.

After a while when she pulled away to breathe, the smile hadn’t left her and how she was naturally flushed brought a smile on Spencer’s face too. Neither saying anything after that long and passionate kiss.

It was all in the haze of new romance until it dawned on her, the upcoming misery marathon. No no no no. What? What did she just do? “That was-“ before Spencer could finish his sentence she immediately looks for a way out.

“I uh I have to walk my laundry…” she said hurriedly as the awkwardness burst into both their faces. To over explain much much more poorly she added “And wash my dog…” she said with urgency and opened the door behind her to inside her house. “Good night.” She greeted him and ran inside shutting the door behind her.

Eyes wide and for once the genius’s mind worked too slow to comprehend her.

#spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid x reader fluff #spencer reid x reader angst #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x fanfiction #spencer reid x self insert #mathew gray gubler x reader #mathew gray gubler #Mathew gray gubler x reader fluff

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autumn-leaves-chasing-breeze · 8 months

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The Reaper and The Devil - Part 3

Sorry for the delay on this part! I, apparently, can't stick to writing in one tense and so it had to be edited... twice. Thank you, again, to @weemssapphic for the beta <3

There will be one final part after this one. Thank you for all of the love and engagement on this fic, it means a lot. <3

Taglist: @weemssapphic @crow-raven-crow

Warnings: a LOT of talk of death in this one, demon summoning, light nsfw (kind of)... I can't think of anything else <3

“Wow. Heaven sure looks a lot like the Maldives.” Maeve’s eyes are wide with wonder and awe. The wind dancing through her long blonde hair, her curls waltzing with the breeze.

The sun is low in the sky, golden hour at its peak. The world is coated in a warm orange glow, the sky filled with oranges and yellows, the blues receding overhead. The air is warm and the sand is still retaining the heat from the day. You and Lucifer are standing a few feet behind Maeve on the sand as she lets the waves kiss her feet.

You chuckle lightly and tilt your head to the side. “That’s because this is the Maldives.”

Maeve turns to look at you, confused. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve wanted to travel to the Maldives since you were 13. You were going to come backpacking here once you’d finished your A-Levels. I figured we could make a stop on our way.” Your smile is soft, kind and full of care.

Maeve’s eyes glow with joy and wonder as she turns her attention back to the sea. She slowly sits down on the sand and stretches her legs out, the waves now gently caressing her legs as they race to the beach before retreating for a re-match. A warm, content smile settles on Maeve’s face as she closes her eyes and tilts her head back to take a deep breath, the smell of salt air filling her lungs.

You look up at Lucifer to find them already looking down at you with a soft expression. They wink at you, an innocent and sweet gesture before sitting on the tree log that is resting just behind you both. You follow suit and sit beside them, leaning into their side as their arm curls around your waist, pulling you closer.

You rest your head on Lucifer’s shoulder and they place a soft kiss to the crown of your head. You both watch Maeve for a moment, reveling in how alive she looks. Ironic, really. After a moment you turn your head and kiss Lucifer softly on the cheek.

“Thank you for coming with me,” you whisper. Your tone is full of love and adoration as your eyes flit over Lucifer’s profile. One can be forgiven for forgetting that The Morningstar is an angel but in this light, they’ve never looked more ethereal. The warm gold of the slowly setting sun illuminates their features with a softness that you are determined to commit to memory. Their hair is almost glowing, their cheeks have a light flush that makes them look so alive, their lips are curved into a content smile and their eyes… You’ve never seen a blue that enrapturing. As they slowly turn their head to you, you get lost in their eyes for a moment. Your own gaze dances between Lucifer’s and you see their gaze drop to your lips. Your heart leaps in your chest and you almost look away. Almost.

Lucifer gently cups your cheek and ghosts their thumb across your bottom lip, your lips softly parting involuntarily. You watch their expression change slightly. If you had been further away then you would have struggled to place the emotion softly gracing their features but you are barely inches apart. Lucifer is full of love and adoration with a hint of lust swimming in their eyes. Your heart starts pounding against your ribs and you lean forward, Lucifer’s shuddering breaths now evident against your face.

“Luci…” You whisper, your voice trembling.

Lucifer’s eyes snap up from your lips to meet your gaze. Your pathetically love sick, lust-filled gaze. Without missing a beat, Lucifer closes the gap. The kiss is soft, full of all of the emotions neither of you can say out loud. Your hand makes its way to the back of the Lightbringer’s neck and the kiss deepens slightly, your tongues meeting in a passionate yet slow dance. You feel electric. Kissing Lucifer is intoxicating and addictive. You’ve kissed countless times before but every time feels like the first. You lose yourself to Lucifer’s touch for a moment, a small hum of delight escaping your throat. Lucifer smirks into the kiss before pulling away and you can’t help but feel yourself lean forward, chasing them.

Lucifer chuckles lightly as your eyes flutter open and meet their gaze once more. “What were you going to say, Little Lamb?”

Your brows knit together in confusion for a moment. “Huh?”

“You said my name before I rudely cut you off.” Lucifer’s smirk makes your stomach flip with nerves and delight.

Your face relaxes and a small smirk plays on your own lips as you worry your bottom lip between your teeth. “You can cut me off any time you like if you promise to do it like that.”

Lucifer laughs loudly with abandon and you feel your breath catch in your throat. Hearing Lucifer’s real laugh is like hearing the patter of rain on a window while wrapped in a blanket by a fire with a hot chocolate and a book - warm and comforting. When their gaze meets your own again you can’t help but run your fingers through the curls at the base of their neck. The sound of the waves is distant and you can almost forget where you are until the sound of someone clearing their throat forces you both to turn towards the noise.

Maeve is standing in front of you, a sheepish smile on her face. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, I was just wandering…” She’s nervously picking at her cuticles as she speaks.

You and Lucifer release your grip on one another and you feel sad at the loss of contact but the look on Maeve’s face brings you back to the present with a sobering suddenness.

“What’s wrong?” You keep your features soft and kind, trying to reassure the young soul as you observe the nervousness pouring from her.

“How did you both know my Nanna?” Maeve looks between you and Lucifer with a nervous curiosity and you indicate for her to sit in front of you.

As Maeve settles herself on the sand Lucifer nudges your shoulder gently. “I’d quite like to know the answer to this question myself.”

You chuckle before speaking, your voice and demeanour changing to a more serious one as you speak. “I was there when your grandfather died.”

Maeve looked confused for a moment. “He didn’t die while laughing in his sleep?”

You shake your head gently before lowering yourself onto the sand so that you can be eye level with Maeve. Lucifer watches you and smiles softly to themselves, your caring and pure nature is always so refreshing to them. They don’t get to see it often in Hell and they love you all the more for bringing it back into their life again.

“I was with my sister, Death. We’d been at a family meal and I had mentioned to her how anxious and uncertain I was with my role still.” You scoop sand into your hands and watch it slowly slip through your fingers as you continue to speak. “She’s good, my sister. She’s caring and I’m lucky to have her to look up to. Her immediate response was to have me come with her on her next job and I gratefully accepted. We left dinner and went to this house on a quiet street in England. You may be familiar with it.”

Maeve smiles and a small giggle escapes her throat as she nods, already understanding where you were going with your story.

“I followed Death inside this middle terraced house,” you continue, picking up another fistful of sand and watching as it escapes your grasp, “and she told me to stay in the conservatory. Your grandfather was mowing the lawn and he collapsed to his knees. Death walked over and rested her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and smiled. He looked so calm as Death spoke to him. I couldn’t hear them but I could see he wasn’t afraid with her by his side. I heard a noise behind me and turned to see what it was and I saw Elsie standing just behind me. She looked worried and scared for a moment but then Death and Benny looked at her and she relaxed. Tears filled her eyes but she was smiling. Benny blew her a kiss and said he loved her and she returned the sentiment. Then Benny and Death walked out of the garden gate and disappeared. Elsie looked at me as her smile turned sad and her tears began to fall. I pulled her in for a hug and then sat with her for a while. I stayed as the paramedics came and took your grandfather’s body away. I sat with her as she called your mum. I slipped out when your Mum arrived, knowing Elsie wasn’t alone anymore. I’ve made it a habit to check on her on the anniversary of Benny’s passing. The first year she took it hard so I sat with her again, kept her company while she grieved. And then this year I saw you there.”

You look up and meet Maeve’s gaze. Tears are slowly falling down her cheeks as she listens. You reach your hand out and softly wipe her tears away. “She didn’t need me because you were there. And you can be there next year too, if you want to be.”

Maeve chokes back a soft sob as she looks at you confused. “How?”

“You’re not coming to Hell, Little One. You can go back and visit whenever you choose.” Lucifer’s voice is calm and gentle as they speak, spreading warmth through your chest as you continue to wipe the tears from Maeve’s cheeks.

“Like a ghost?” Maeve asks.

“Exactly.” You take Maeve’s hand and squeeze it gently as she starts to laugh.

“Oh, Nanna will hate that.” Maeve’s voice is trembling and wet as she laughs and cries at the same time. The small moment of relief making her shoulders relax slightly.

You laugh lightly with her and nod your head. “Yeah, she doesn’t like being proven wrong. Benny visits her regularly and she told me she knew he was there because all but one clock would be wrong.”

Maeve laughs harder, more relaxed. “He used to change the clocks all the time and it would drive Nanna insane. He used to tell me it was his way of keeping things exciting. In his words ‘nothing is more thrilling than watching her try and figure out which of the clocks is at the right time so she could correct the others.’ She guessed wrong once and they were living three hours behind everyone else for a week.”

Lucifer chuckles as they watch you and Maeve laugh at the ridiculous playfulness her grandparents had. All three of you relax after a moment and Maeve turns her attention to Lucifer.

“I hope you don’t think I’m rude but… Why did my Nanna know… The devil?” Maeve’s words fall quiet at the end of her sentence and Lucifer smiles mischievously.

“Elsie was friends with some very… quirky people when she was a teenager.” Lucifer smiles and you turn your full attention to them. “One Halloween they were playing with a ouija board. Elsie was insistent that they left it alone but her friends wouldn’t listen. She decided she would sit to the side, wanting no part in it. A wise decision, it turned out, because her friends had no intention of calling upon a loved one. They had the bright idea to call directly to Hell to see if they could summon a demon.”

“What the fuck, who does that?” Maeve’s eyes are wide with horror as she speaks.

A light chuckle leaves Lucifer’s throat as they nod, slowly. “Indeed. Needless to say, Hell heard their call. A whole host of Demons began arguing over who would get to go and terrorise the teens but I heard your grandmother telling her friends to stop. I could sense she was a true, pure and kind girl so I thought it unfair for her to be tortured and disgraced because of the actions of her so called ‘friends’. I decided I would go and teach her peers a lesson.”

“What did you do?” Maeve has turned her body towards Lucifer, like a child listening to their teacher read them their favourite story during reading hour at pre-school. You look at her and realise you have subconsciously done the same, your body now facing Lucifer straight on with your hands clasped in your lap with your legs crossed.

“I approached your Grandmother in my true form, as I look now, and reassured her that she was safe. No harm would come to her or her friends but I was going to scare the Heaven out of them. She had looked at me with such innocence that I knew I would remember her for all eternity. I changed my form and, to my surprise, she laughed. I had turned myself into Baphomet and she had laughed.” Lucifer can’t help but smile at the memory and you watch as your heart melts behind your ribs. “Her friends turned to look at her and were terrified to see me standing just behind her in the dark. Chaos ensued and the entire time your grandmother had watched and laughed. Once the others had managed to fight their way out of the house - I had to make them fight just enough to terrify them properly - Elsie applauded my performance. I changed back to myself and sat with her by the fireplace. We talked for hours about how they had forced her to be there and that they were more bullies than friends. Something in me felt a pull to protect her from that night forward. So, that is what I do. I keep an eye on her from afar, stopping by in a more human form for big occasions such as graduations, weddings and births of her children and grandchildren. I make it a habit to have a fireside chat with her every Halloween. We’ve kept up that tradition for the last 60 years. She’s a true friend, your grandmother, and she has retained her purity and kindness through all of her struggles. She’s a good soul.” Lucifer trails off, getting lost in thought with a warm smile gently tugging at their lips.

“My Nanna, best friends with Satan… Who’d have known?” Maeve chuckles. “Wait, were you the blonde woman at my graduation?”

Lucifer nods and you can’t help but feel your heart beat harder in your chest. You know Lucifer is a softy at heart but to hear of such an innocent and kind friendship with a human makes you fall even deeper in love with them.

“You’ve been at so many big family celebrations. I always asked my mum who you were and she would just shrug and say you were a friend of my Nanna’s.” Maeve’s eyes flicker from side to side as she runs through all of the memories in her head of the mystery woman at every major family event and you watch as Lucifer laughs under their breath.

You stand up and bend down to kiss Lucifer softly, your hands resting on either side of their face as their hands find purchase on your waist.

“I love you.” You whisper it against Lucifer’s lips and their wings shudder for a split second as though a chill has run up their spine. You smile and kiss them again before turning to face Maeve.

“Right, Kiddo. Are you ready to go?” You feel Lucifer’s hand slide to your lower back as they stand up beside you.

Maeve stands and her face slowly turns to an anxious expression once more. “What happens now?”

You take a step forward and take her hands in your own, squeezing them gently in reassurance as you speak. “We take you to see your grandfather.”

#gwendoline christie #lucifer fanfiction #lucifer morningstar #lucifer x reader #the sandman #the sandman fanfic #the sandman lucifer #the reaper and the devil

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mr-styles · 1 year

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Harry Styles' Sonic Evolution: How He Grew From Teen Pop Idol To Ever-Evolving Superstar

Harry's House' not only gives Harry Styles his most GRAMMY recognition yet — it serves as a testament to how much he's expanded his sound over his already storied career.

GABRIEL AIKINS | GRAMMYS/JAN 25, 2023 - 12:02 PM

Watching 16 year-old Harry Styles walk onto the stage for his "The X Factor" audition in 2010, it's remarkable how little some things have changed in the following 13 years. Though his rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" was rather unpolished — even receiving a "no" from judge Louis Walsh — his magnetic charisma and natural talent were more than evident. And at just 16, Styles clearly knew he was on the right path.

"Singing is what I want to do," Styles said in an interview before his audition. "And if the people who can make that happen for me don't think that I should be doing that, then it's a major setback in my plans."

Of course, so much else has changed in the ensuing decade. Styles was tabbed alongside other contestants Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik to form the group One Direction. As the band stormed the charts and captured the love of fans globally, Styles grew into his abilities — and now, he's achieved a rarified level of fame.

Even after being part of one of the most successful boy bands of all time, Styles has reached new heights of superstardom in his own right. In addition to selling millions of albums and selling out arenas around the world, he's starred in four feature films and became the first male cover star of Vogue magazine. The depth of Styles' charisma and drive he's shown from that first audition have made him an all-encompassing star like few before him.

While Styles was a solo star as soon as he emerged in 2017 — selling out his first-ever solo tour and debuting his self-titled first album atop the Billboard 200 — he has dominated the 2020s. His second album, 2019's Fine Line, spawned his first No. 1 hit in the U.S. in 2020 with "Watermelon Sugar," which also earned him his first GRAMMY in 2021 for Best Pop Solo Performance. But 2022 was the year he took his stardom to the next level — and it all began with an invitation to Harry's House.

The lead single of Styles' third album, "As It Was," became undeniable, debuting atop the Billboard Hot 100 and spending 15 weeks there — the most in history for a British act. And when Harry's House arrived less than two months after "As It Was," it was clear that 2022 was the year of Harry.

The album, featuring smooth electronic beats and funky bass riffs, went platinum in the UK and US, put four songs into the Billboard Top 10 at the same time, and earned Styles the most GRAMMY nominations of his career. His six nominations for the 2023 GRAMMYs include his first in the coveted Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year categories; Harry's House also earned a nod for Best Pop Vocal Album and "As It Was" is up for Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Music Video.

If you ask Tyler Johnson — who has co-written and co-produced the majority of Styles' three solo albums — the GRAMMY nominations may just be Styles' biggest validation yet. "It's really the music community recognizing him as Harry Styles — [his time in the band] is just another part of his resume, it no longer defines him. And that's really exciting."

In reality, Styles hardly ever let his past define him. Even Johnson sensed Styles' star power upon meeting the singer in 2015. "When I first met him, I knew a lot about him from the band, but it was obvious he was a star," he recalls. "Especially how he performed in the vocal booth, it was very brave. I was like, 'Wow, this person has no barriers.'"

With no barriers comes a willingness to always try something new — which is why the Harry Styles of Harry's House sounds much different than Harry Styles of One Direction. The change was heard immediately back in 2017 on his first solo single "Sign of the Times," released ahead of his self-titled debut LP later that year. It's a rock track to its core, starting with hearty piano chords and building to a crescendo of wailing electric guitar and crashing drums. This initial offering was a sign of what was to come, as Harry Styles is built on these rock sounds from beginning to end.

Even if reviews weren't outright surprised by this sound, they noted the seemingly brand new, well, direction. "Few people probably predicted the 23-year-old ex-One Direction superstar to drop the kind of album that makes your uncle or your mom perk up," read Variety's review. Pitchfork mused, "If you only know one thing about Harry Styles, it's probably that the album bucks the established trends governing bids for young male solo pop stardom." Styles becoming a rock star was something new, but looking back at the totality of his work, it's not quite as surprising as it might be at first glance.

When assessing the music of One Direction, the singles will of course stand out. Tracks like "What Makes You Beautiful," "Live While We're Young," and "Best Song Ever" are big and boisterous, with infectiously fun hooks. And while each of the group's five albums had rock influences — queue the Clash-like electric guitar opening of "Live While We're Young" — they're all pop projects at their core. And the writers and producers behind them were pop masterminds, too, including Rami Yacoub, Steve Mac, Ed Sheeran, and Ryan Tedder.

By nature of an essentially constant touring schedule and working with so many other people — especially the four other members of the group — there was simply less opportunity to write. Across the 86 songs in the band's discography, Styles has writing credits on only 21 of them, whereas he serves as lead writer on every track on each of his three solo albums.

"I think it was tough to really delve in and find out who you are as a writer when you're just kind of dipping your toe each time," Styles told Rolling Stonein 2017, recalling some of the struggles of being in a band. "We didn't get the six months to see what kind of s— you can work with."

Listening to the songs Styles did have a hand in writing for One Direction, though, the throughline of his career becomes clearer. Even the earliest tracks he co-wrote include key elements to his later songs.

The chorus of Up All Night's "Same Mistakes" takes his penchant for lyrical repetition, creating a folksy call-and-response feeling and pairing it with powerful guitar chords; he uses a similar pattern on Harry Styles' opening track "Meet Me in the Hallway." Made In The A.M. ballad "If I Could Fly" is strikingly vulnerable lyrically and melodically minimalistic; this combination is seen on Styles' solo ballads, like Fine Line's "Falling" or Harry's House's "Matilda."

Styles' solo success also stems from his versatility. Alongside folksy ballads, he has an ear for rock songs to fill a stadium (and after completely selling out his 2021 and 2022 Love On Tour stretches, stadiums may be where he's headed next). "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" is one of One Direction's most anthemic tracks, tailor made for karaoke or shouting alongside a crowd. It's no surprise Styles is the sole One Direction member on the writing credits for it, and you can hear that same exuberance on his solo rock anthems, from Fine Line’s ultra cool smash "Watermelon Sugar" to the funk rock-infused "Late Night Talking" on Harry's House.

In a 2017 New York Times interview, Styles explained his rock influence — and really, his musicality as a whole — stems from his own musical tastes. "I really wanted to make an album that I wanted to listen to," he said of Harry Styles. "That was the only way I knew I wouldn't look back on it and regret it. It was more, 'What do I want to sit and listen to?' rather than, 'How do I shake up compared to what's on radio right now?'"

Judging by the elevated sounds on Harry's House, Styles' musical interests have grown as he has evolved as an artist. While there are hints of his previous writing and growth on the album, Styles incorporated so many new elements, and that's what makes Harry's House so interesting and so refreshing.

Funk pervades the record, with synths and stylized loops fleshing out tracks like "Music For A Sushi Restaurant" and "Keep Driving." There's a constant sense of playfulness throughout all 13 tracks — something that was apparent to Styles' collaborators long before the world got to hear it.

"Harry just said that he's never been more proud of anything, and Tom [Hull, better known as producer Kid Harpoon] and I are just there for the ride," Johnson says. "We didn't feel too caught up in the kind of reality of who he is and having to put out an album very specific to the commerce side of it. It was a lot of having fun and just kind of burying our heads in the sand and enjoying doing it. That was very different from Fine Line."

Styles can seemingly feel his evolution himself, too. In a wide-ranging interview with Zane Lowe upon the album's release in May 2022, Styles revealed that he tried not to take direct sonic influences on this record like he had in the past. "I kinda felt like you can reference things by the emotions that they evoke," he said.

The same interview points out how much more comfortable Styles has become with being flexible and fluid, both in his own writing and his collaborators. And now that he's found his right-hand men in Johnson and Hull, he finds it easier to bring his ideas to life. This has allowed Styles to continue to expand his writing, and that resulted in an album that launched his superstardom to even greater heights — and showcased Harry Styles simply having fun.

Now 28 (almost 29!), Styles has been a beloved star for nearly half of his life. In that time, fans have watched his musical abilities mature, morph and expand; he has shown a willingness to always have an eye on what comes next — and that forward thinking paid off in a big way in 2022. However he evolves next, it seems Styles will never lose the drive and endearing charm the world first saw on the "X Factor" stage over a decade ago.

"He's a very similar person. He's a very consistent, loyal, kind person, very focused. That is all the same," Johnson insists. "He's just doing what people do when they do it more and more — he's focusing in on who he is more, he's gaining confidence, and he's becoming more and more himself — which is a very potent thing."

via Grammy.com

#harry styles #Grammys 2023

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skymagpie · 1 month

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“Blizzard is currently trying to somewhat mend them“

Correction make worse, the writing has doubled down on orcs, trolls, goblins and Tauren are evil.

The latest book literally talks about how trolls are dumber on a genetic level than trolls.

This is even far worse than the mid 90s and early 2000s Warcraft which already was not great. Also it attracts real world racists if you want to hear.

Oh I know well about the stupid book, it made me so angry as someone who was hoping after 13 years the game would change for the better and also as a Khadgar lover (he would NOT say that, not after WoD and Legion and Dragonflight lol)

When I said that they are trying to somewhat mend it, I feel like I wanted to say they are trying to give these characters more diverse roles instead of just the stereotypes they wrote them in, like make them more three dimensional characters and we get to see them behaving in new ways (like instead of just orcs being warmorgering brutes we see them in roles like scholars, explorers, archeologists, Kirin Tor mages etc).

However that's why I added in the end that it's hard to do because the foundation is built on this racism, so you can't take it out without rewriting the whole worldbuilding. And it's so sad that they are still using the outdated stereotypes about the races like in that book and that it's part of their internal world building/lorebooks they give to these writers.

Also for your last sentence, I was surprised when I shouldn't have been that there are honest to God elf supremacists on Twitter and Reddit that think (white) Blood Elves are the pinnacle of creation along with (white) humans and that trolls are truly 'savage beasts'. Truly the level of derangement I should've expected.

I am sorry this was a very incoherent mess of a reply, but I am not eloquent with words and I have a lot of beef with WoW's racism (and misogyny!) I think that even if they are trying to diversify the cast, the cultural appropriation this is built on will always exist and the racism will always find its way around. I like some old stuff like "The Last Guardian" and its filled with racism to the brim. Sadly this is why I hope WoW fans talk about these things and don't shut down the discussion, in fact I encourage it.

#pls if you ever feel like correcting me or venting I am down because I think fandom doesn't talk about this games racism enough #world of warcraft

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lazulian-devil · 8 months

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The Villains of Skulduggery Pleasant 2

Now before I start, I want to point out that Book 2 has an absolute myriad of Bad Guys™.

The book introduces not only Dusk (who is great at making everyones day just a whole lot worse. Just fun to be around. Only bit Valkyrie, killed the Lord Vampire of Dublin™ Moloch and is generally just... So much fun!), but also the whole Diablerie Subplot (oh look, China is getting a backstory upgrade), Billy-Ray motherfucking Sanguine (who is in one way or another responsible for a third of my favourite quotes from the books), the Torment and Roarhaven (and all that bullshit), the reflection quite literally cracking (this could never possibly become important later on), the whole Faceless One dimension and whatever was going on with Thurid Guild.

So uh, yeah. Book 2, for being actually quite short in comparison to the absolute Grimoires Derek would later be known to write, is a dense friggin book. You might ask yourself "Wow, this sure is a whole lot more dense than the first one" and thats because Landy had at this point already won and be nominated for enough awards that his writing adventures would be a solid thing for him.

The first book was a leap of faith, the second was the beginning of a saga.

(Tangent: I personally think Landy plans and writes books in pairs of threes, as even Phase 2 was originally supposed to be nine but then turned into six books by force of publisher. Because I read them on a Kindle, I am very much aware of how much longer they have gotten with each installment and I think that he, like many an author, would absolutely benefit from cutting down some of the sizes of his books. But book 2 is still very much on the shorter end, if not the second shortest book of the series).

So, after all these absolute bangers of villains, who will I focus on? The one that dies (which is honestly how I think I should do these. Just slowly talk about everyone who actually dies and leave the "I will appear in a trillion books" villains for last, in favor of my sanity).

Baron Vengous.

In a world filled with sarcastic, silly villains, Vengous is the stern military guy that doesnt talk a lot.

And I mean that literally. Besides like... One or two speeches the guy just doesnt talk much.

Ive managed to complete Book 7 in my reading insanity and have read up to 13 before that (reading them as they come out) and I can say with a solid 78% conviction that he is the most "normal" villain and antagonist the series has ever had.

Hes straightforward. Hes methodical. His status as a General of Mevolent is based not only in honestly insane levels of power, but in his pure military might brain and body.

Baron Vengous is the absolute most opposite anyone could have written to Serpine. He almost seems specifically written to oppose him in as many ways as possible. If Serpine was the Vibe, Vengous is the Antivibe.

You get my point.

We actually get an in depth look into him later (where? Leibniz. In terms of trouble, always assume Leibniz) and even among those people, he is somewhat normal. Apart from his wife.

Oh and the other character trait he has. What was that again? I can barely remember.

Ah. Right. Faceless One fanaticism to the point of self destruction.

It makes you wonder what he did after the Amnesty, as he is broken out of prison by Sanguine at the beginning of the book and its never quite explained why. Serpine was just vibin' in his castle. Maybe he did some human sacrifices to his beloved gods and got caught for it. Who knows. (Afaik, its never explained what he did after the Amnesty to end up in prison in the first place and at this point, Im convinced it doesnt really matter and was just a neat way to introduce Sanguine).

But Vengous just isnt a very... Interesting character. He only works so well because Sanguine is a delight anywhere he shows up and Dusk is just utterly terrifying. The Baron is almost too normal among them.

You need proof? Fine. Let me grab my Kindle real quick.

Insert transition music.

Alright, so. Vengous first appearance (Chapter 3: Vengous) paints him as the man in control, the guy who has been in prison for eighty years (Im sure cellphones blew his mind) is out and looking for revenge. He doesnt say a lot. His first actual words are "You're late." to Dusk (who he later points out in his internal dialogue isnt even a man to him). This gives us two insights into his character: First, his stoic mentality. He just murdered someone. Hes entirely calm. Lifes are a casualty to him. And second, he holds enough power or reputation that a very skilled vampire is not only working for him, but accepts being talked down to by this man.

Later in Chapter Ten: The Armour, Sanguines inner dialogue says "The Baron was not a man to be trifled with, especially at a time like this". Once again, we have a whole chapter that shows of several things (passively) about the Baron. He is a planner (shown by his knowledge of the armor and its requirements, the supposed knowledge of where Vile died and his general tactical demeanour being described), he is someone who seems to be in control at all times (shown by him casually watching a bunch of infected under Dusks command dig away) and he is incredibly patient (shown in previous chapters by him being able to wait 80 years and then just "get on with it. Sure, hes mad at Sanguine, but his plans are more important).

And then we add something a little spicy in the mixture: Hes not only a fanatic, hes also an asshole. Ooooohoho.

Its Chapter 18 in which our Protagonists finally meet him and he simply despises Skulduggery. But thats not whats actually interesting. The Chapter reveals him to be self important. Sure, hes a leader, stoic, goal oriented. But hes also cocksure of himself. (A trait he shares with about 84% of all characters in the SP universe).

Skulduggerys taunts go right over him.

"Skulduggery nodded. "So, you married or something? Do I hear the pitter patter of tiny evil feet?"

"I will destroy you."

Normal reaction, ey? The scene goes on quite a while longer than that, but only hammers home this point even more.

The Baron believes himself superior. Righteous. Blessed, probably.

What kills him in the end? His self importance. And how does he react to his death?

"But... But this isnt how Im supposed to die", He said weakly. "Not... Not like this. Not by your hand. You're... You're an abomination."

And then he crawls towards the actual abomination he summoned, pleads it to tell them (the Faceless Ones) that hes sorry for failing them.

The Grotesquery moved its hand so that it touches Vengous' face. It looked almost tender, until the hand gripped and wrenched and the Barons head snapped to one side.

Vengous is a fascinating villain, because he stands calmly among the flashy and vibrant. In a long line of batshit insane people, his insanity is the one that hits closest to home. Many, many villains in the future would be obsessed with religion (the Necromaner Temple, the whole Diablerie plot, later on Darquesse). But all of them are so overpainted, so saturated, that many are just that: A mockery of real life fanaticism.

And the Baron still feels like someone who is rootes in reality. He truly believes that he and the Faceless Ones are superior. His last act is - and I cannot stress this enough - apologising to his gods.

This man. This stoic, straightforward man. This absolute unit. Former General of Mevolent. Words like a scalpel, tactician, wit and gumption combined.

Hes just as insane as all of them. But his insanity is so much quieter. So much more refined.

And that makes him scary.

While I would like to end here, lets summarise real quick:

Vengous has mostly two traits that make him stand out: Straightforwardness and Fanaticism.

Hes a pretty boring villain in comparison to his counterparts.

He is - at least in my opinion - one of the most realistic villains in the series. His insanity is believable and while its not as flashy as those of others, its a kind of insane that makes your skin crawl as soon as you think about it.

He stole Skulduggerys Armor. If you know that Skulduggery is Vile, there are some really interesting scenes that allude to it.

His Leibniz counterpart, for once, seems to actually improve on the OG one. He talks more and he even shows a certain twisted kindness to Valkyrie in explaining her everything. I would almost argue that the Baron of Leibniz is more interesting than the OG Baron. Also, silly wife Eliza. Such a stupid joke.

If he had been succesful, he would have actually ruined the world. Legitimately. The stakes were so high and the man remained so calm. Imagine trying to resurrect your gods. Imagine resurrecting Jesus, all the while having the vibes of a Military Dad with PTSD.

Im afraid that I never found Vengous that compelling. The writing in Book 2 is immaculate though and Dusk and Sanguine are amazing.

I give him a... 7? 8 out of 10?

Also: remember to stay hydrated. Eat a snack. Stretch. You deserve it.

Wanna read more of my mad ramblings? Heres Part 1 with Nefarian Serpine and Part 3 with Batu!

#skulduggery pleasant #baron vengous #character analysis #ramble post #again this is way too long #literary analysis #villain #sorry y'all #SP villains

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outsideratheart · 1 year

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Ficlet Masterlist

🎄 = Christmas ficlet

Alexia Putellas

59 “H-How long have you been standing there?” 146 “Were you just masturbating?” “U-uh..no, I was just..” “Want some help?” 149 “I don’t care what you do just fuck me.”

144 “Just let me finish this/this level and I swear ill go down on you until you cum at least three times.”

3 “I almost lost you.” 5 “Don’t you ever do that again!”

42 “how have you survived this long by yourself?”

91 “Don’t go on that date.” “Why?” “You know why.” “Say it.” 92 “ i think i might be in some kind of love with you.” 93 “say you want me, and i’m yours.”

80 “i’m not wearing any underwear. thought you’d like to know.” 98, “if we weren’t in public right now i’d have my head between your legs” 104, “ive never wanted to fuck someone as badly as i want to fuck you right now”

104 “ive never wanted to fuck someone as badly as i want to fuck you right now”

🎄Barça Team: snowball fight (Prompt 8)

Leila Ouahabi

41 “you need some sleep”

149 “I don’t care what you do just fuck me.

Aitana Bonmati

1 “Come over here and make me.”

🎄2 "That should be our Christmas card this year."

Patri Guijarro

53 “How do we get out?”

Claudia Pina

64 “Can I hold your hand?”

Jana Fernandez

🎄34 “You’re my Christmas angel.” - “Wow that was…intense.” - “Just take the compliment.”

Bruna Vilamala

🎄17 “This is the best gift you could’ve given me.”

Nuria Rabano

🎄14 Christmas party

Leah Williamson

8 “Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…”

134 “Touch yourself for me.”

128 “you’re pretty.” - “you’re drunk.”

Alessia Russo

🎄24 New Years Eve Countdown, 28 “You look so beautiful in the snow.” 24 “Hey, if we don’t find someone by midnight…you and me…maybe?” - “Ask me properly and I might consider it.” 35 “Will you be my new years kiss?”

🎄Scene 1 - decorating the tree. Dialogue 1 “stop trying to get me to walk under mistletoe”, 6 “Do you want to it the star on the top of the tree?”

Jill Roord

56 “Just marry me already.”

Athenea del Castillo

148 “I really want to kiss you right now.” “Then do it.”

129 “i told you i’d come home to you.”

🎄11 Christmas baking

🎄21 Secret Santa

Olga Carmona

108 “is that my shirt?”

🎄10 Mistletoe

Carmen Menayo

59 “H-How long have you been standing there?”

🎄22 Both Reaching For The Last Christmas Cookie

Amaiur Sarriegi

🎄35 “Will you be my new years kiss?”

Guro Reiten

60 “I’ve never felt this way before and I’m terrified to be honest”

Stina Blackstenius

123 “fuck you.” - “when?”

🎄24 “Hey, if we don’t find someone by midnight…you and me…maybe?” - “Ask me properly and I might consider it.”

Deyna Castellanos

90 “If I ask you to kiss me in front of all these people, will you do it?”

🎄12 Christmas market

🎄21 you have really made my Christmas this year

Laia Aleixandri

🎄1 Decorating the tree

🎄22 “I thought you were going home for Christmas.” - “Well, I couldn’t leave you all alone.”

Chloe Kelly

6 “Kiss me.”

🎄5 “I hate Christmas shopping.” - “I love Christmas shopping!”

Lauren Hemp

🎄13 “You’d make a cute elf.”

Esme Morgan

🎄16 Dancing to Christmas music

Vicky Losada

108 “is that my shirt?”

🎄33 “I’ll let you sit on my knee.”

Gulia Gwinn

🎄3 Present shopping

Lea Sculler

🎄27 “Did you get us matching pyjamas?”

Klara Buhl

🎄15 Watching Christmas movies

Niamh Charles

🎄4 "I know we said no presents this year but…"

Lisa Evans

🎄10 “What are you doing?” - “Making a snow angel.”

Laura Weinroither

🎄7 “What do you think? Like the tree?”

Sofie Svava

🎄19 Making Christmas dinner

Alex Morgan

🎄13 “You’d make a cute elf.”

Julia Grosso

🎄16 Dancing to Christmas music

#ficlet masterlist #ficlet #prompt request #masterlist

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oswlld · 2 months

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oswlld's monthly wrap up: february

note: i am trying something a bit different this year, so bear with me as i figure out how i want to format this. i wanted to spend more time sharing what i consume, beyond what i rb, and put my thoughts in one place. these posts are okay to rb

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid [started 02/04, finished 02/13] I recall an article calling out TJR as one of many authors that are pro-israel and haven’t seen anything that disputes the claim. I don’t have much to contribute to the conversation anyways, so I’ll pass on leaving a review. — After Dark, Haruki Murakami [started 02/06, finished 02/21] What I admire about what Murakami accomplished with After Dark was achieving the right level of simplicity to bring out the tense undertones in the magical realism. I also really enjoyed being invited to float with the story, almost breaking a fourth wall and interacting with the spaces. 4⭐️ in storygraph. — When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamín Labatut [started 02/24, still in prog] I am only about 50 pages in and I am already ill. Too early to form an opinion, thus I’ll offer a snippet of the book description: “A fictional examination of the lives of real-life scientists and thinkers whose discoveries resulted in moral consequences beyond their imagining. When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction.” Feels very timely reading this at the same time as watching Three-Body and then Oppenheimer in the next week or so.

High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America, Netflix [started: 02/02, finished 02/07] WOW!! Wowowowowow. Wow. This needs to be a mandatory watch, even though we are at the end of Black History Month. It’s a well curated journey through the slave era to present day, from shores of Africa to all areas of the US. It’s so empowering and inspiring. Don’t wait until June or next year, please educate yourselves and open your heart to this show. — African Folktales Reimagined, Netflix [started 02/02, finished 02/08] I heard about this show through an article posted on Short of the Week last year and immediately put it on my watchlist. What a wonderful choice of directors for this series. Such strong visionaries and visuals. My favorites out of the six stories were Enmity Djinn and MaMlambo. MaMlambo still has a chokehold on me. MAJOR trigger warnings for this series is under the cut. — Three-Body, Viki (also avail on YT) [started 02/19, paused on 02/26] Trigger warnings for this series is also under the cut. With that said, I have a very personal connection with Three-Body Problem, both the novel and the physics problem, so taking this show on has been my entire world. When it comes to tackling my watchlist, shows that have a substantial number of eps/seasons gets split into chunks, so that I can tackle them over a number of months. For this series, I divided the 30-epsiode series into three ten-episode parts that will take me from February to June. I’ll post an official review when I finish over the summer, but for now I will say I very much enjoy having my brain turn into goo after every ep. What an explosive first outing. I will be resuming this show in April for eps 11-20, where I’ll be reunited with my beloved war criminal.

Over the Moon, Netflix [watched on 2/10, DNF] So unfortunate that I started this and could not finish. I hope to get back into it in May, so I can talk about how beautiful it is. Gotta do it for Glen Keane. — Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang, Netflix [watched on 2/11] I…. I think I am going to let this quote from the film speak for me: “In the 60’s, when American astronauts landed on the moon, that was really good news, even in China. But I was sad because I thought I would never make it to space myself. But later on, I realized that art could be my space-time tunnel connecting me to the universe. If there was an opportunity, I would like to make a ladder into the clouds. But the purpose of this ladder wouldn’t be for me to go to space, it would be to encourage a back-and-forth, a dialogue.” I MEANN!!!! Yes, I did go into this film already aware of some of his works but I didn’t really know a lot about him. What I admired most was his joy and child-like wonder when he’s interacting with his art. I loved witnessing him act like he’s 7 yrs old again, especially in that air balloon scene. There’s also a moment when he’s become complacent in his projects, settling on the bare minimum to get a job done. When the art of creating is stripped of the art, what is left of Cai is very clear to the viewer: he is frustrated, he feels suffocated, he’s used. Alternately, towards the end of the film, he brings it back with “Yes, a lot of artists do things that are too commercial. It lacks some compulsive and sincere emotion that should exist in all art. Collaborating with [unknown artists] will always remind me of the pleasure I felt and my original purpose for doing art.” (Fascinating to compare his turmoil with the govt whilst working with Netflix.) All in all, this film did a great job telling a story about the magic in enduring passion projects over time. In this case, his Sky Ladder being a fourth attempt at a impossibly large scale dream project. I feel like my thoughts are all over the place with this film, but I’m still finding new things that really speak to me as an artist. — Your Name Engraved Herein, Netflix [watched on 2/18] I thought I had this gifset on my blog but it turns out I may have just DM’d @forcebook about this and didn’t rb, but anyways I saw this and thought hey this has the potential to ruin me lemme put it on my watchlist. And now over a year later, I finally got around to it. Well… it’s exactly what I ordered, it definitely ruined me. I mean, when they come at me with “Maybe more people would understand me in hell. Make it easy for me and help me go to hell,” what else am I supposed to be but ruined. I want a sequel, I need their reset.

There are more to add to the movies category, due to Oscar season, but I’ll save them for a separate post, with all my thoughts on the films/shorts I was able to catch, for Oscar weekend.

Ella Sings Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald with Ellis Larkins at the piano [first time listening] One hobby I picked up during the pandemic was growing my vinyl collection. I found this vinyl in 2022 with the intention of finding more from this era/genre. Not much movement since then, since vinyl purchases only happens once or twice a year. Suffice to say, I am so happy that the quality is still in tact and it makes me want to get back into vinyls soon. Current top 3: My One and Only (What Am I Gonna Do), But Not For Me, and Soon — Wicked [relistening] One thing you need to understand about me is that Wicked was my first musical hyperfixation. I used to spend summers on the train to the city to catch the raffle drawings and when my name was picked, it would be the best $25 well spent to be seated front row. And when I was not in the city, the CD would be on repeat in the car on my long drives going to and from home and college. My introduction to YT was watching all of the bootleg clips of every casting. All the Eden Espenozas and Stephanie J Blocks and Kerry Ellis’. All the Kendra Kassenbaums, Megan Hiltys, and Annaleigh Ashfords. And yes, all the Aaron Tveits don’t look at me. I’ve seen almost all facets of this show enough times to start frankenstein-ing together my version of Wicked. All this to say that my love for this show remained dormant for over a decade, until the movie trailer for part one came out. And then *SPLASH* I immediately jump in head first into a slime tutorial just like that. Long ago, I watched Kara Lindsay’s broadway vlogs without having seen her Galinda and now I can say I have seen the light, she’s just as immaculate as I imagined she’d be.

Welcome to Night Vale [recurring/catching up] I typically catch up on this podcast seasonally, since I find that this show is more enjoyable when I binge it. This time around, I have fallen more behind and needed to catch up on 11 episodes. My favorite eps: A Car Crash on Buellton Avenue (Ep 232), Sister Cities: Vermillion Falls (Ep 239), and He is Holding a Knife (Ep 240). I will admit that there was a period of time, maybe four or five years ago, when I dropped the show for reasons I cannot recall now but I am glad that I stuck around.

And now here are some tw to keep in mind:

AFRICAN FOLKTALES trigger warnings: domestic violence/abuse, child abuse, attempt(s) of suicide, drowning, and miscarriage.

THREE-BODY trigger warnings: The plot centers around solving the mystery behind scientists committing suicide on an international scale. Scenes ranging from allusions, thoughts of suicide, to moderate depictions of suicide.

#oswlld 2024 wrap up #mine: edits #after dark #three body problem #high on the hog #african folktales reimagined #cai guo qiang #your name engraved herein #ella fitzgerald #wicked the musical #welcome to night vale #hope you all are doing okay over here <3 #will be back again soon miss youuu

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mamawasatesttube · 2 months

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🍓 and 🕯️?

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction?

oh man. through running an rp blog for an obscure tolkien elf (i'm talking "this guy didn't make it into the published silmarillion" levels of obscure) back when i was like 13 djflkdjs!!! i've long since lost touch with the people i used to rp with, but i'm always soft and grateful they were all so welcoming and supportive when i was just an overexcited kid with a lot to say. they were the first people to encourage me to start trying to write fic and not just rp responses!

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

10!!!!!! editing is my favorite part of my process for SURE. i get to sit there and read the fic i wanted to have exist??? and i already wrote it so i just get to read it and make it better??? AND it's not even nearly as rough as i was sure it would be while i was writing it?? WOW!!! GREAT bargain for me. plus, editing makes me feel much more confident in my finished product!! bc i already read through it once, made some changes, and liked it, so i know it's solid.

Writers' Truth & Dare Ask Game!

#answers #dio-icarticaae #for anyone in the know the elf was argon btw. i made a lot of chemistry jokes back then skdjhfjsj

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yc-shiya · 2 months

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danganronpa universe dashboard simulator

💔 monoslayy Follow

rlly it’s not “pretentious” to not find the newer seasons better?? listen i love the new ones as much as anyone else (ESP DANRON 48 UGHHHHH WTFFF) but to act like the junko twist is still subversive is just WRONG

😈 junkosgirl04 Follow

Literally who said that lol this is not an unpopular opinion at all

💔 monoslayy Follow

are you biased maybe “junkosgirl04”

☠️ the-sauna-scene Follow

they did him so dirtyyyy 😭 we do not talk about this hair ATROCITY!!! its not even funny

🌟dangan-wrongpa Follow

I find it really interesting that you so-called “sympathetic” Danganronpa fans are always harping on about the tragedies of the characters played by *REAL LIFE ACTORS* rather than the later seasons when the showrunners recruited and killed *TEENAGERS* for money and views. It’s one level of wrong to be a fan of the show and still acknowledge its problems, especially with the newer releases. It’s something else entirely to still be talking about seasons one, two, three…and completely ignore the ongoing human rights violation that is modern day Danganronpa. You people disgust me. I sincerely wish you could take a better look at the media you consume, because it’s actually, LITERALLY killing people.

☠️ the-sauna-scene Follow

not reading that

🌟 dangan-wrongpa Follow

wow! posting fetish art of REAL LIVING PEOPLE too! literally nothing shocks me anymore with you freaks!!!

🍬 kimurasgf Follow

hey wait arent you the guy who auditioned for season 53 pitching yourself as the ultimate vtuber? lmfao?

🧈 death-by-balls Follow

If i had a nickel for every danganronpa man ive loved who was executed and turned into butter, i would have three nickels, which isnt a lot, but its weird that its happened thrice

#in 1 then 13 then 39 #they were cooking tho ngl 🔥🔥

🍀 hopefulservant Follow

listen i can be fucked in the head sometimes but we srsly gotta take a step back and consider how the series is exploiting mentally ill people for content. i mean, whens the last time we had a double or triple murder where the killer wasn’t already, or eventually revealed to be, mentally ill? What is that saying, exactly??

💣 togamicorp Follow

more👏neurotypical👏serial👏killers👏

🔪 chapter3sweetheart Follow

OP i have some news about your best boy

🍀 hopefulservant Follow

….agh…….my worthless talent…….

🎹 warriorsofdope Follow

okay can someone tell me why im seeing ship discourse about danganronpa 48 again? i thought we all played the same game and came to the consensus that the optional romance event with the whole class was universally canonical

🔮 30-percent Follow

Some of us didn’t get it on our playthrough 😒 also Sorry but I don’t like some of the cast of danganronpa 48. I don’t want them all shipped together.

🎹 warriorsofdope Follow

I can’t forgive you . Im gonna have to kill you for having that opinion.

🌟 dangan-wrongpa Follow

you shouldn’t ship the cast of danganronpa 48 because half of them are confirmed clones of Junko. go through chapter 5 again if you forgot.

🚀 femmesakura Follow

SHUT UP ABOUT THE JUNKO CLONES SHUT UP ABOUT THE JUNKO CLONES SHUT UP ABOUT THE JUNKO CLONES SHUT UP ABOUT THE JUNKO CLONES SHUT UP ABOUT THE JUNKO CLONES SHUT UP ABOUT THE JUNKO CLONES

THAT THEORY WAS DISPROVEN IN DANGANRONPA 49 STFU STFU STFU HOW ARE PEOPLE STILL THINKING THIS?!?!?

🐹 gundamwenttohell Follow

dont bother with him hes the vtuber guy

#danganronpa #I FIND THESE POSTS FUNNY SORRY….#the discourse would be unimaginable. even moreso

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simp999 · 1 year

Text

A New Home Ch. 13

Various! Splatoon Manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader

Wc: 1.7k

A/N: I didn't mean for it to be this long! (Totally not bc Mask's my favorite whaaat)

A/N 2: I'm sorry if he seems a tad OOC, but I feel like he'd be more comfortable/friendly(?) When there isn't anybody else around. He definitely does at least a couple things to make him appear scarier for his reputation.

Back To The Start! Previous Next

A few days later, and it looked like the weatherman was right. The skies do look quite miserable today. It’s full of dull grey clouds, but no rain. You sit at home, bored, having nothing good to do. You want to play video games, but you’ve already speedrun them all with Leo, or they’re no fun. Then it hits you. The Shoal! You’ve always wanted to go, but it was always way too busy for your comfort zone. You quickly get up and throw your favorite top on, grabbing your bag and headphones, throwing your shoes on. Milo asks you where you’re going, just to be safe.

“Alright, have fun! Oh, grab a brella and don’t get caught in the rain!”

You sigh at how protective he is, but he’s right. You grab his brella since it’s closest to the door, and head out.

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

‘Wow, it’s so much nicer in here when it’s not packed.’

You take a look around, only spotting the person at the counter and a couple who are about to leave. You can actually hear the sounds of all the arcade games waiting to be played, instead the screams of young squids. You get your coins, a good handful of them, and take a quick walk around the building. You spot a game that looks familiar. It looks almost just like pacman, Except with squids. Oh, how this brings out the kid in you!

You get lost in the games, going from pac-man, to space invaders, even finding tetris. Those aren’t the proper names, but they’re basically the same games with some more splatoon-like attributes. It doesn’t seem like anyone’s around, so you absentmindedly start to hum, then quietly sing some songs that have been stuck in your head.

We are fighting dreamers, takami wo mezashite~

Fighting dreamers, narifuri kamawazu~

Fighting dreamers, shinjiru ga mama ni~

You continue to hum the lyrics you’re not sure on, but stop mid lyric(mid-hum?) when you hear some loud clicking. It’s coming from the front of you to the right, hidden by some large arcade machines. You could barely see through the cracks of the big machines, not recognising the person. It seems they were playing squid beatz, and they were phenomenal at it. You didn’t want to bother anyone, but they sounded insanely skilled at the game. Just a little peek? You go around the machines and turn the corner, now recognizing this familiar, cyan-colored inkling immediately. You kept quiet not wanting to distract him and mess him up. When you turn your back to him, he calls out to you.

“Hey, yooou.”

You notice he just completed the level, with a seemingly perfect score.

“Uh, yeah?” You shift in your spot awkwardly, not really wanting to interact too much.

‘Actually, the story is only focusing on Rider and Goggles in hero mode right now. That means that this is the time to meet these characters.’

“You look familiaaar. You had curry with everyone a couple days agoooo, right? You came and watched some of my battles, toooo.”

“Never would have thought you paid so much attention to details. I don’t think I stand out that much, do I?” You decided the best way to go about this was to feel somewhat comfortable, but still keep your space and show a bit of respect.

“Where’s the rest of team cyan?”

He picks an easier song to play to, not wanting to lose while still semi-focusing on the conversation. How thoughtful. (It was still a difficult song, but there were fewer quick sequences of notes.)

“Juuuust me here. They wanted to finish speedrunning a game that I beat aaaages ago.”

You boot up a game just a few machines down, knowing that this one’s easy to play, so you don’t have to have your full attention on it.

“What about yooours?”

“Wanted to come alone. Never been to the Shoal before because it was always so busy, figured today was my best option.”

He finishes the song with ease, patting his pockets and seeing that he needs more coins. He brought a small bag with him, and you see a pile of tickets building up in it. He must have been here a while. You’re not sure what to do, so you follow behind him after purposefully loosing your game.

He notices you,

“Yeah, weather’s perfect. Just hooow I like it.”

He looks outside, now being close to the front of the store.

“Starting to raaaain.”

Already? It doesn’t feel like you’ve been here that long. You check your phone and sure enough, you’ve been here for a couple hours.

“You plan on heading home before the rain hits, Mask?”

“I wouldn’t mind staaaying here aaaall day.”

You shrug, agreeing on that. The sun is usually really hot out, so it’s a nice change of pace. A big contrast to all the bright colors and loud sounds that are usually everywhere.

Your stomach rumbles, and you remember that you haven’t had anything to eat since a small snack you considered breakfast.

You look around and see a sign that says they offer food, perfect.

“You hungry? I bet you’ve been here a while.”

“A liiittle.”

“How ‘bout I get us some pizza?”

He contemplates it, but who’s gonna deny free pizza? He puts his coins in his pocket.

“Suuuure.”

You take your time eating, they had some surprisingly good pizza and soda here. He’d pull his mask just barely above his mouth to take a small bite every once in a while. Mask would sneeze every so often, earning him a tissue from your bag. He didn’t eat lots, which made sense considering his overly skinny frame. Good thing he did turf to gain some muscle, but he should really try to take better care of himself. You two didn’t talk a lot, but sometimes Mask would ask you something, usually unrelated to battles. It’s actually quite nice not talking about battles or your skill, it seems it’s all others care about when it comes to you.

He’s weird, that’s for sure. But once he warms up to you, he’s a nice break from reality, if you could even call it that. Not that he’d ever be completely comfortable, not even with his own teammates, that’s just how he is. You noticed that even out of battles, they would keep a comfortable distance. It seems he’s not a fan of physical contact, which is something you could respect. Once the two of you were done eating you continued to play on the arcade machines. You finally ran out of coins, sad that you had to leave. You were enjoying this time, finally able to genuienly hang out with someone from the manga without being afraid of changing the story. He notices that you’ve been quiet for a while, and sees that you’re no longer playing your game, just watching his. He offers you a couple coins, but you deny them.

“That’s really sweet of you, but I should probably make my way home. Milo probably has an actual supper ready. Can’t wait to get home and have him lecture me on having pizza before supper.” He turns his head away, not used to being complemented. You check your pockets to see how many tickets you have, you probably have a couple hundred. It won’t get you any big prizes, but if you were to give them to Mask, on top of his - at least a thousand,- he could get himself something nice. You try to subtly drop your tickets into the bag next to his foot, but he catches them before they can fall into his bag. Oh yeah, he’s S+. He’s got quick reflexes if he feels like using them.

“I don’t need them, I’m here ooooften.” He quits his game halfway through, and walks over to the prize counter, bag in hand. You want to question him, curious as to why he wants a prize all of a sudden. Maybe he just remembered something at the counter that he wanted. He asks for something behind the counter and the worker trades him for it. While browsing the smaller prizes, you vaguely hear the words: “One thousand tickets,”

Hey, he worked for them, so whatever he’s getting is completely up to him.

Once he’s done at the counter, you ask the worker for two keychains. One cyan squid, and one squid of your main ink color. He gives them to you in exchange for 125 tickets each, and you clip the cyan one to your bag. Mask watches you and waits for you to be done before holding out the item he got.

“It’s Naruto, volumes 1-3 all combined in one book.. I heard you humming the opening earlier, so I figured you were a fan of the series.”

…that’s embarrassing.

Since when was he this kind? But also, Naruto! That means that 1. Anime and manga exist here, and 2. He’s a weeb. Actually it was kind of obvious, he definitely seems like the type to watch anime.

You’re unsure of how to accept it, it is really nice of him, but it’s so expensive! But he already got it, and he probably already has the same one at home, so you can’t just deny this!

“Oh… thank you. That’s, um, actually really nice. Makes it feel more like home.”

“Huuuh? Hooome?”

“Oh, yeah, I just moved here, and couldn’t bring all my old manga, which really sucked.”

“Ouuuch. It can get pretty expensive.”

You sway on your feet, not sure what else to say. You already thanked him, but you don’t want to leave. You’ll see him again though, you’re sure.

You offer him a small smile and wave after some contemplating, and make your way out the door, grabbing your brella.

He watches you make your way out of the building, open your brella, and walk out of his sight. He picks up his bag, and feels a bit of cold metal on his hand. A keychain. With a squid that matches your ink color.

‘Huh. They sure are weird.’

‘I guess I might might like some inklings that enjoy life.’

Next Part

May.3.23

#fanfic #x reader #splatoon manga #splatoon manga x reader #splatoon #splatoon 2 #splatoon 3 #splatoon manga mask #splatoon fanart #splatoon mask #splatoon manga mask x reader #my sweet boi!

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