#remembering little details about them and their interests changes their lives

[good-beanswrites]

I wanted to bring up a silly ship idea. Just for fun.

03, 06, 09, 10

Was this before Kotoko attacked them? After? I dunno.

Thoughts?

YES the cringefail 20yo polycule 👏👏👏 Thank you for the request! I've seen a lot about the individual pairs, so it was really fun to think about all their dynamics together! I have a set of hcs that could work in the current canon Milgram, and then a normal au set because it's so fun thinking about them :3

Milgram-focused

The I’m-a-loner-who’s-doing-it-for-justice-don’t-TOUCH-me pair finally meet their match when confronted with the I-loved-someone-so-much-and-don’t-plan-on-stopping pair. They all go into the relationship with grand ideas of love: they think it’s all heroic acts of saving, massive gestures or love, and dramatic confessions. Over time, they realize the real heroism/romance is in the little things. 

Mahiru has her hands full with three people who neglect themselves for the sake of their work/interests, but she always loves feeding them and helping give them what they need. In turn, they can give her more affection and attention than she could ever ask for. They make sure someone is always around to spend time with her.

Each of the three is a perfect match for dealing with John’s reveal. Mahiru is calming and helps tone down Mikoto’s initial stress. Fuuta is honest and will help Mikoto finally confront his own situation and move forward. And since Kotoko can match his strength, Mikoto doesn’t need to be afraid of accidentally hurting anyone. Mikoto becomes less stressed with the overall situation as well as more accepting of himself/John.

I always love the idea that Fuuta is secretly starstruck by Kotoko and John’s strength. He’ll never admit how much he admires their ability to stand up and fight. He feels really safe around them. He’s glad to have the opportunity to fight for someone else, too – he likes to be Mahiru’s self-proclaimed protector and hero. (Even though most of the time she can stand up for herself, she still likes letting him take care of her.)

Kotoko’s experiences let her hold solid conversations with everyone. She’s similar enough to Fuuta where they share some interests (social issues, schooling, etc.) She understands hard work and burnout to earn Mikoto’s respect. She understands physical strength to earn John’s. She has a lot of people-knowledge, so she can gossip and talk about Tokyo life to Mahiru (Mappi’s doing most of the ‘gossiping,’ but Kotoko has solid additions). She's a good listener and has a good memory, so everyone feels heard by her.

They start to rub off on each other. Mahiru and Mikoto learn to be a bit tougher in standing up for herself. Fuuta, John, and Kotoko learn to take a breath before jumping right to violence. They stay very much who they are, but pick up on just a few habits that make their lives easier.

Their styles also influence one another: Fuuta gets pointers from all three about piercing his ears (though it takes him a long time to get up the nerve to do it). Mahiru helps the others dress more trendy and boost their confidence, and they teach her to worry less about her appearance and relax more. 

If they get together T1, Kotoko is shocked by the T1 verdicts. She might pull away from everyone in initial horror, but after developing a relationship ahead of time, she doesn’t follow through with her attacks. If not, then maybe in T3 when Kotoko is suffering from her guilty verdict, Mahiru and Mikoto are able to bridge the gap and develop a friendship, leading to more. Fuuta would take longer to come around, but I think seeing Kotoko got through the same pain as him, his hero instincts would kick in and he’d gradually help. 

Normal-au

Mahiru once again tries out her lovers’ interests, and gets a bunch of new hobbies. Fuuta teaches her to game, she works out with Kotoko, and she tries out photography with Mikoto. She becomes close with Fuuta’s beautician sister, and enjoys bonding over fashion and hair. She helps redye Mikoto’s hair, and give the other two pointers on style now and then. When going to nicer events, she and Mikoto have to step in and stop the others from their sneaker/hoodie combos. As the only one with a license, she’s the designated driver at all events, but doesn’t mind. 

Fuuta uses his tech skills to set up social media accounts for the others. He helps Mahiru network her flower shop, fighting anyone who leaves a bad comment/review. He helps set up a complex online portfolio for Mikoto. He and Kotoko still have a passion for justice, and he becomes the tech brains behind her vigilante operations (very Ron Stoppable - Kim Possible) It’s not necessarily healthy growth, but they’re happy with it lmao

Mikoto is the only full-time worker, the others are all still in university, and he makes sure to keep them all on track. He knows the most efficient tricks and cheats about getting papers done, pulling all-nighters, and cramming before an exam. The others have learned to spot when he’s burning himself out for others, and will stop him when he tries to take on too much. They’ll take care of him and force him to rest. While he can still get into a bit of trouble, John learns to call them first and get some help. 

Kotoko has trained herself to find people and information easily to catch criminals, but she finds use for it in much more mundane ways – she tracks down clients for Mahiru, snoops around Mikoto’s company to make sure he’s being treated right, and keeps an eye out for the people Fuuta is calling out and/or hanging out with. She goes on runs with Mahiru, and bike rides with Mikoto. Fuuta tags along sometimes to strengthen his legs for soccer. 

There’s definitely potential for them all to have their murders pre- or mid- relationship, and they help one another improve themselves and heal. I’m also a sucker for the relationship itself to cause them to change their ways and narrowly avoid the murder in the first place. (For the latter, Mahiru would ironically be the last to join the relationship, since she’d still be with her bf until the other three inspire her to break it off with him gently.)

#milgram #fuuta kajiyama #mahiru shiina #mikoto kayano #john milgram #kotoko yuzuriha #you got a peek at some in the first set but i cleaned them up and finally finished the second set >:3 #thank you for waiting asdfdsf these were really fun to think about :D #im loving the image of the four workout buddies asdfdsf #and id imagine their home is filled with photos as mikoto and mappi take a bunch of everyone :') #even in milgram i can see them snapping lots of shots #i know its harder to swing a post-attack relationship but i do think its possible given how intense everything is #just as prisoners were friends one day in t1 and enemies the next in t2 i think things can change fast #and yeah... im so sappy over them all picturing these massive gestures of love: #beating someone up to protect their lover - gifting them something elaborate - saving them from a burning building - planning an exotic dat #and instead they find that preparing a meal after a long day means the world to them #getting up early to workout and keep them company is huge #remembering little details about them and their interests changes their lives #<333 #OUGH now i just want them to be happy ;---; #headcanon time milgram

[chxrryhansen]

౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊ Cherry’s SStan Series Rec List

here are my sebastian stan series fic recs! they are mostly bucky barnes series but mainly Au’s! i will be creating separate lists for cevans one shots and sstan one shots😚

Clockwork - @sgt-seabass

When life seems to be finally back on track, a visit by a mob boss to your dainty town changes everything. (Dark!Alpha Nick Fowler)

The Soldat And The Sparrow - @navybrat817

Your fire burns for the Winter Soldier. And one day, you'll be free. Both of you.

For The Love Of The Game - @pellucid-constellations

Bucky Barnes was a menace. NYU’s top baseball player, he was used to girls falling at his feet and could smooth talk his way out of just about anything. You hated him. He couldn’t figure out why. So when the novelty of weekend parties and quick hookups finally wore off—and his feelings for you began to grow—he made it his mission to fix it. 

The Heart Is A Deep Ocean - @dreamlessinparis

Titanic was known as the ship of dreams. For you, it was the dream of getting home, or so you thought. From the moment you locked eyes with James Buchanan Barnes, all those dreams changed and your life was never the same.

Everything’s Better In WestView - @espinosaurusrexex

Bucky and Y/N sneak into Westview to have the perfect life. Away from late Steve and Tony, Vision and Natasha, they let themselves be consumed by suburban magic. To their surprise, however, some of these people aren’t so dead in the town. And there are some other weird things happening that make them question their sanity. But that’s okay, right? ‘Cause everything’s better in Westview.

The Bride Of Soldat - @vampy-doll

In the summer of 1986, a young woman goes missing whenever HYDRA kidnaps her to be their next experiment for the reward of their Soldat. Now, post blip, Bucky starts to remember defining details of his love, his match made in hell, and is determined to find her. But after years of isolation and torture after his escape, she isn’t who he remembers. Now they’re trying to piece together who she was pre-HYDRA to teach her how to live, without his undying love and obsession of her getting in the way. But when one head is cut off, two more shall grow in its place, leaving them to discover those behind her abduction.

Awake My Soul - @foreverindreamlandd

It's been five years since zombies first started walking the Earth, destroying anything and everything in their wake. Now, in this apocalyptic world, fighting for survival comes as naturally as breathing. The one thing you've learned ever since they arrived, though, is that the living can be so much more dangerous than the undead. When you stumble across two young, scared boys lost in the woods and being chased by walkers, you go against your better judgment and help them to safety. Little did you know that helping them would lead you to Bucky - an angry, grumpy, distrusting member of the camp Shield. Bucky has zero interest in having you enter his life. He's been hurt before and lost too many people to risk experiencing that kind of pain again, and he knows that there are secrets you aren't telling the group. Yet, when push comes to shove, and you're put at risk, he'll stop at nothing to keep you safe.

Guiding Light - @wkemeup

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Get the intel and go home. Until everything goes wrong and you’re taken captive by Hydra. While you struggle to stay alive and hold your sanity, Bucky begins to lose himself to a darkness and gives into the soldier because he doesn’t know how to breathe without you. Not until he brings you home. If he even can.

The Witness - @wkemeup

Owner of a bar full of criminals, maybe you shouldn’t be surprised when you’re the sole witness to a hydra hit. In comes Detective Barnes, the quick-witted, flirtatious cop who somehow became a regular at your misfit bar. When he takes it upon himself to ensure your safety off the books, you learn to rely on someone else for a change and find you don’t mind it at all. Not when it’s him.

Under Oath - @ugh-supersoldiers

The people called for justice, the state answered. The trial of State v. Barnes is set to begin, and the odds are most certainly not in favor of the not so beloved ex Winter Soldier. That’s where you come in, the quick, smart, and all too brave lawyer set on defending and saving one Bucky Barnes from legal prosecution. The only problem? He’s not so sure he’s worth saving at all.

Just One Kiss - @sarahwroteathing

Bucky Barnes has been chasing after you since he was ten years old, but you’re determined not to give in. How long can you hold out when all he’s asking for is just one kiss?

He’s Hazardous To My Health - @writing-for-marvel

Bucky Barnes is a beefy paramedic with a traumatic past, who has left a trail of broken hearts behind him. You are a resident doctor new to town, who barely has time to date between long shifts. When your paths cross in your ER during a disaster, is it the start of something magical, or are you destined to be just another of Bucky’s former flames?

Just Try - @waiting4inspiration

Perfectly happy with your life at the Avengers’ compound, an alpha walks into your life, flipping it completely over and revealing secrets you hoped you had buried a long time ago.

Дорогая - @waiting4inspiration

Bucky's Winter Soldier programming has been triggered. Turns out the Winter Soldier has a thing for you.

Red Ties - @sebstan2020

Mary, a sweet Christian girl living in the city of Brooklyn as a nurse had a simple life. She loved her work, her friends and attending church every Sunday and helping Reverend Owens. Her life was nothing out of the ordinary. However, it all changed one day when she bumps into the intriguing and intimidating James Barnes, Brooklyn’s notorious mafia boss and is introduced to a world of guns, lust and dominance.

Delicate Edges - @wkemeup

Your family’s beloved flower shop was not the only thing you inherited when your parents passed. Trapped under a mountain of debt to the Hydra club, you bear the cost of your father’s desperate bargain. It’s only in moments when the charming Bucky Barnes walks into your shop that you can forget the cruelty of the biker clubs of this town. But a war is brewing. The border is crumbling. You're trapped in the middle. And Bucky will stop at nothing to keep you safe.

Pride And Privacy - @adrinktostopyourthirst

Bucky works on himself as he gets used to a roommate. Turns out, she has a much better room than him and he crossed the line.

Feelings Are Fatal - @sunmoonandeddie

After the events of Endgame, you struggle to come to terms with what you’ve lost, though you’re learning that you still have something to gain.

Appointments - @noctumbra

bucky barnes, finally being able to live freely in 21st century, accidentally gets a fuck buddy and starts to rediscover himself. the only weird thing about this situation is that you have to make an appointment to get railed by him. 

Lazarus - @sagechanoafterdark

Things are complicated between you and James Barnes. For you, life doesn’t mean much when you never stay dead for very long. But it might just be an ex-soviet assassin that convinces you to start living again.

Its A Deal - @justreadingfics

You’re out of a relationship of 10 years and you’re just in desperate need to get laid, no strings attached, no romance, no complications. You dear friend Natasha feels like she’s going to regret this later, but she might have the perfect guy to fulfill your needs.  

The Two Of Us - @bucky-bucket-barnes

You and Bucky go to investigate the phenomenon happening in Westview, New Jersey. While attempting to understand the issue, you yourselves are sucked into Wanda's world of pretend. Now, you believe yourselves to be the happily married Mr. and Mrs. Barnes; in real life, you are most definitely not a happy pair. It is up to you and Bucky to piece together what's happening while dealing with one another inside the hex.

Snow - @delaber

Tired of your constant bickering, Sam sends you and Bucky on a mission alone. When the worst possible outcome happens and you’re forced to spend several days together in a small cabin, you finally get to see a different, more pleasurable side to the man whose flesh you’ve always had a thorn in.

All Good Things - @sagechanoafterdark

After only three days of dealing with the annoying specter haunting you, you break the rules and accidently give a ghost a body. So what do you do when you find out the man you’re now sharing your your apartment with isn’t really a ghost and that haunted touch is a little warmer than you realized?

Welcome Home… Soldat? - @winterarmyy

Y/N had make a habit of greeting Bucky a warm 'welcome home' everytime he came back from his missions, but there was one particular day when she unknowingly greeted someone else.

Heavy Metal Lover - @mypoisonedvine

every client is different, with different needs; but this client is, in every way, exceptional. (Sub!Bucky Barnes + Dominatrix!Reader)

Parent-Teacher Conference - @coffeecatsandcandles

James Barnes, a widowed single dad, had forgotten what love felt like and let it crush him, taking his daughter, Rebecca, with him. He was cold, rude, and arrogant, being one of the few teachers at Westview High School the students seemed to absolutely despise. But when you show up, a hopeful math teacher who’d previously taught Rebecca’s kindergarten class, and are adored by your students and colleagues- James’s attitude starts to change.

Duck & Cover - @whirlybirbs

you’re the howling commandos’ new medic (Sniper!Bucky Barnes)

Winter’s Mate - @maggyme13

The Winter Soldier threatens to get out of control with his instincts taking over more and more. After years of supressed ruts his body built up a resistance and Hydra need to find another solution. Deciding it would be the easiest to just give in. Hydra kidnapped the reader to turn her into a Omega in Heat using injections whenever needed.

Key’s In Your Ignition - @georgiapeach30513

Caught up in a sexual relationship with your father’s Vice President, and trying to not get caught.  Blind to everything else that’s going on in the club, and even your old crush, Bucky Barnes.  Not even noticing your brother and best friend flirting, until your father suddenly passes, and things in the club drastically change. (Ari Levinson + Bucky Barnes + Harvard Hottie- Hayden)

#chxrrys fic recs #sebastian stan #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fic recs #fic recs #sebastian stan x reader #nick fowler #nick fowler x reader

[aagneauu]

High value habits to elevate yourself 🥂✨

When the term "high value" is mentioned, we often think of things related exclusively to economic wealth, but being a high-value person is an attitude, an attribute founded on habits and a wealthy mentality. So today I wanted to mention a few habits that I personally perceive as something a person with strong standards apply on their lives. ✨

Sorry if there's any grammar mistakes, English isn't my first language :b

1. Long-term mentality ✦

Enjoying yourself is very important, but when we only think about the things that give us temporary pleasure, is often very likely that we forget to take care about our future stability. For example, if you want to travel, the smart thing to do would be to save the money in order to be able to afford it, but how many times we just feel the urge to waste money on unnecessary stuff just to get that brief satisfaction, that bad habit will take us far from our goals. This rule can be applied on almost every aspect, and if you're able to stick to your goals and take decisions according to them, trust me, you'll get very far.

2. Invest ✦

Stop wasting and start investing; your money, your time and your energy. In terms of money, you obviously can spend some of it on pretty stuff, but instead of wasting your whole salary on things you want, a smarter move would be to use part of that money to invest it on something that potentially can give us another income, maybe there's a valuable peace of jewelry or clothing that not only we could use, but to sell and trade in the future, or even if you have enough money saved, you can invest in a property, to not only live in it, but to rent it. Our time and energy works in the same way, we could be wasting our time and energy with people that don't give us nothing we can learn from, and you're worth way more than that. Find people and habits that not only make you feel good and appreciated, but that will leave you something interesting for your personal growth, and remember, better alone than in a bad company.

3. Details matter ✦

How we talk, how we decide to present ourselves to the world, our values, the effort we put on what we make. Every little detail says something about us. For example, something as simple as spraying perfume before we go out makes a difference, or if you study, the amount of time and effort you decide to put on certain classes. Socially, what you decide to say, and to develop the hability to stay quiet when necessary. Maybe you think that those little things don't make a huge difference at the long-term, but when you see how your life can change drastically with every little step you take, you learn to pay attention to it.

4. Patience ✦

It is a strong word, it is even harder to apply to our lives sometimes. Being patient not only with people, but with our circumstances. Sometimes things that we don't like happens, and we don't even understand why because we thought that we did everything right, but everything happens for a reason, it's like a fruit, you could take it out of the tree earlier because you're hungry, but it isn't that mature and tasty, but if you just wait, resist the hunger, the fruit will be way better. That applies to money, emotional growth and life changes. Learn to understand that sometimes, pain will be the sign to something better than your current situation.

5. Stop following the crowd ✦

Set standards and learn what is good for you, if you just rely on others to decide what is best for you, or even worse; you know something is bad for you and still do it for others, then expect low quality experiences. People time to time will call you boring or even extreme just because you decide to be loyal to your values. If something that everyone is doing seems beneficial, do it, but because it gives you something valuable, not because of the crowd. You can apply this rule to everything; friends, money, and other experiences. The amount ot peace and comfort that you can get with this transformation is a huge life upgrade.

This were some topics that come to mind when the "high value" term is mentioned. And remember, no one is perfect and every little thing makes us unique. Life is a long journey that you can decide to upgrade with every little move.

Hope u enjoyed! ♡

#girlblogger #fashion #girl blogger #girlblogging #moodboard #luxuries #luxury #aesthetic #luxury aesthetic #luxe #high value mindset #high value woman #high maintenance #it girl #black girl luxury #gaslight gatekeep girlboss #girl boss #girl blogging #luxury lifestyle

[punchliiine]

they love you

although i do plan on making a post solely for this, i just felt the need to say it

your cc/s will love you. they will miss you when you're not around and ask about you. they will be interested in you and what goes on in your mind (them) and your life. they will care about your tiniest details, things that you don't even remember about yourself, things that just go by unnoticed but they will be paying attention. they will look for you in crowds, probably seeking you out first in any gathering. they will check up on you when you're sick or hurt. they will go into souvenir shops and buy silly little things that reminded them of you. they will think of some of the jokes you've said and laugh quietly to themselves in serious times. you'll linger in their mind and they won't ever resist it. in fact, they'll (secretly) love it and won't ever try to change it. they will immortalize you, much as you have immortalized them. your impact on their lives will be woven into the very fabric of their existence. they will talk to the moon and stars about you. they will hum your favorite songs when they're doing mundane things like washing their hair or doing the laundry. they will cherish the experiences you've shared, the inside jokes that only make sense to you and them, and the unspoken understanding that transcends words, looks, and human comprehension.

they will love you and that's something no amount of doubt will ever be able to change.

now relax, take a deep breath, and remember, THEY LOVE YOU. THEY WILL LOVE YOU. THEY HAVE ALWAYS LOVED YOU. THEY WILL FOREVER LOVE YOU.

#shifting #reality shifting #shiftblr #shifting realities #shifters #reality shift #shifting community #quantum jumping #desired reality #desired life #desired self #scripting #shift #shifter #reality shifter #shifting motivation #shifting blog #realityshifting #shiftinconsciousness #shifting diary #shifting antis dni #multiverse #current reality #law of assumption #loassumption #this is a girlblog

[roosterforme]

Batting Practice Part 9 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley takes you out, and it's clear he remembers all the details you told him. He even treats you to a trip to the batting cages, and at the end of the night, he's more than happy to give you a little tour of the Bronco.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, swearing and smut (18+)

Length: 4700 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female single!mom Reader

Check my masterlist for more Top Gun fun! Batting Practice masterlist.

You locked yourself away in your bedroom as soon as Molly arrived and reread the text Bradley had sent earlier this morning. You had picked out a cute sundress to wear tonight, but now you were scrambling to change up your outfit.

Bradley Bradshaw: I wanted to surprise you tonight, Kitten, but I need to make sure you wear appropriate attire. I want to take you to the batting cages after dinner. You mind wearing sneakers?

You didn't mind doing anything he wanted. 

Quickly you perused all of the jeans you had lined up on your bed. You chose the pair that had a few casual rips and made your butt look good. You paired them with a flattering black top and some casual slip on sneakers. And then you focused on getting your hair and makeup in order. 

While you were a little hesitant for Everett to know you were going out with his coach tonight, you didn't see any way to hide it. He was making a pillow and blanket fort with your sister in the living room at the moment, and you figured Bradley would want to see him when he came to pick you up. 

As you were swiping another layer of mascara on your lashes and double checking yourself in the mirror, you heard Molly yell, "He's here!"

Your heart was absolutely racing as you capped your makeup and ran down the stairs just as you saw Bradley approaching your porch through the front window.

"Coach is here!" Everett called as you opened the door for him. Bradley was holding a bouquet of flowers in each hand, and he looked impossibly handsome. 

"Hi," he greeted all three of you, since Molly and Ev were now crowding around the door as well. 

"Hi, Coach. Come on in," you told him, nudging your sister out of the way with your leg. 

"I got one of these for you," he said, handing you some flowers. "And one for you," he told Molly, handing her the other bouquet with a smile. "Thanks for making tonight happen."

You would have been a little concerned about the way Molly was looking up at him if she was any other woman except for your sister.

"And this is for you," Bradley told Everett, extracting a baseball card from his back pocket. 

Everett's eyes went wide. "A baseball card? It's a Phillies player!"

"Yeah," Bradley replied with a laugh. "Do you collect them?"

"No," Everett whispered, gently turning the card over in his hands. You were ready to cancel dinner and the batting cages and take this man right up to your bedroom. The way he treated your son was perhaps the sexiest thing about him.

"Well, I do. That's one of mine, but you can have it," Bradley told him. "If you want to collect them, too, I'll get you a binder to keep them in."

Now both Molly and Everett were looking at Bradley like they never wanted him to leave their presence. 

"You ready to go?" he asked you softly, and you realized you were quite mesmerized by him too. 

"I'll take care of these for you," Molly said, gently pulling the flowers out of your hand. "Go have fun."

"Oh, Molly," Bradley added with a grin. "Bob says hi."

You turned and looked at your sister, and she was biting her lip and trying not to smile. That was interesting. 

When Bradley held out his hand, you laced your fingers with his, and both of you waved goodbye to Everett. 

Bradley opened the passenger door and helped you climb into the Bronco, but before he closed it, you gave him a quick kiss. "Thanks for the flowers. And Molly's flowers. And Everett's baseball card. You're really fucking sweet."

Bradley laughed and kissed you a little harder. "We're just getting started, Kitten."

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

The flowers and baseball card seemed to have the unexpected but also desirable effect of your hands constantly on Bradley. 

You held his hand as he drove to the beach and found a parking space. You linked your fingers with his while he led you along the boardwalk to get burgers. And you wrapped your arms around his waist while you waited in line. 

"Okay, Kitten. I know it looks like I put in very little effort here, but you told me you like cheap burgers."

You looked up at him, your chin grazing his chest while you laughed. "My favorite."

"These ones are good," he promised you, guiding you up to the window when it was time to order. You turned around in Bradley's arms, and now it was his turn to get his hands on you. He listened to you rattle off your burger order as he stood behind you and let his hands settle on your waist. 

"Make it two," Bradley told the guy who was working once you were done ordering. "And you're holding something special back there for me as well."

You turned and looked up at Bradley over your shoulder, but he just shrugged and gave you his most innocent face.

"What?" he asked, trying not to laugh. 

"You're going to go out of your way to make tonight perfect, aren't you?"

"Of course, Kitten."

He watched your brow crease. "Huh. I never went out anywhere with Frank. Same goes for Danny. Unless you count dinner at Red Lobster after our quickie courthouse wedding."

That was the second time you had mentioned how badly your douchebag ex husband and coworker fling had treated you. Bradley desperately wanted more information, but a bag of burgers and a bottle of chilled champagne were being handed to him through the window.

"Veuve Clicquot? That's like a hundred dollars a bottle!" you said when the champagne caught your eye. 

"Oh, that's how you pronounce it? I just asked the woman at the store what to get for someone I was trying to impress."

You looked giddy as he handed it to you. "Well you can go back and tell her that you did a great job with that."

Bradley led you back to the Bronco where he pulled out the heavy blanket he had stashed on the backseat. "Feel like watching the sunset on the beach?"

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

You and Bradley ate your burgers side by side on the blanket, facing the setting sun and the Pacific Ocean with paper cups of champagne. 

"Your job sounds a lot more exciting than mine," you commented after he told you about the six months he spent on an aircraft carrier last year.

"Kitten. Six months in the middle of the ocean with nobody to hang out with except Bob. Are you insane?"

You laughed and turned to look at him after you finished your food. "Are you insane? Bob is a literal angel! He's the sweetest man!"

"Hey, now. Did Bob ever buy you a three dollar burger? I don't think so."

You laughed harder as he leaned a little closer and kissed your cheek. "No, he never did that." Then your eyes went wide. "Why did you tell my sister that Bob said hi?"

Bradley shrugged. "They were pretty chatty after practice on Monday. Bob usually flirts by talking about income taxes or recipes he tried out. But Molly was laughing. Quite a bit. You have to bring her to another practice and see it for yourself."

You squeaked. "Molly thinks he's hot."

You watched Bradley grin and rub his hand over his mustache.

"And I still think he's so sweet," you added. "And so do all the other tee ball moms. You should hear what they say about the two of you."

"What do they say?" he asked, sounding slightly concerned. 

You snorted and shook your head. "That your arms are the size of fire hydrants. That you and Bob could take turns bench pressing them. That they would love a tour of your Bronco. I thought that one sounded like an innuendo, but I'm not exactly sure."

He smirked at you. "I'm only giving a tour of my Bronco to you."

"So... it is an innuendo then," you said, teasing him as he topped off your cup of champagne. 

"Don't take this the wrong way, Kitten, but is there a reason why you decided to get involved with that shitty guy from work?"

You glanced down at the blanket and scrunched up your nose. Frank had been an easy, convenient option, or at least that's what you had told yourself. When you looked up at Bradley, you took a deep breath and said, "I didn't think I could do better."

Bradley almost dropped the bottle of champagne, barely catching it before it hit the blanket. 

"Are you fucking joking?"

"No," you said quietly. 

"Jesus, Kitten. You could do way better than me, and I'd like to think I'm an upgrade from Frank who doesn't know how to take no for an answer."

You turned to look at the sun as it started to dip below the horizon, illuminating everything in orange. But your eyes were drawn back to Bradley and his beautiful face.

"See, Coach, the thing is... Frank was already an upgrade over Danny. We only got married, because I was pregnant. We weren't really even together."

"Kitten," he whispered, hooking his fingers underneath your chin and running his thumb along your lips.

"It's really all okay, because I got Everett out of the deal." The last thing you wanted was for Bradley to feel bad for you. Your life turned out better than you ever thought it would when you were still married. 

"Your son thinks you're cool," he said with a smile, and you smiled back. "I grew up without a dad, too. It scares me a bit how much I can relate to Everett."

You leaned into his palm where it was cupping your cheek. "What happened to your dad?"

"He died when I was four. And my mom died when I was nineteen."

You felt your face crumble as you scrambled across the blanket to reach for him. 

"It's okay, Kitten," he said with a soft chuckle as you wrapped your arms around his neck. "It was a long time ago."

"That just makes me want to hug you more," you told him, your words muffled against his neck. The deep laughter that rumbled in his chest made you push him back until he was laying on the blanket with you on top of him, your cheek resting on his chest.

Bradley tucked one arm behind his head and kissed your hair while he kept his other arm around your back. The two of you ended up watching the sun disappear from view and the sky start to turn purple with you draped across him, not saying a word until the first few stars were twinkling. 

"You ready to visit one of my favorite places with me?" Bradley asked softly when you tipped your chin up to look at him.

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

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" you asked, biting your lip as he parked at the batting cages. "I'm not even sure I know how to hold a bat correctly."

"I thought you were a pro now, Kitten. Watched all those YouTube videos."

You shot him a playfully scathing look as you unbuckled your seatbelt. 

"But don't worry," he added, leaning across the seat to kiss you. "I'm gonna be a lot more hands on." 

You pressed your lips together and nodded, and Bradley was excited for this. 

It was dark out now, but the bright stadium lights allowed this place to stay open late. There were some teenagers and another couple here as well, and Bradley led you inside to pay.

The air conditioner was blasting, and Bradley immediately opened his arms for you to snuggle against him. "Hi, one cage for an hour, please," he said, handing over his credit card. You were snuggling against him, but your lips also found their way to his neck as he quickly signed his credit card receipt. Bradley grunted your name as you kissed him, contemplating just taking you back to the car.

"Show me how to play baseball," you whispered. "I want to be a power hitter, too."

Bradley laughed and took you by the hand. "You gonna behave?"

You just shrugged as he led you to the helmets and helped you select one in your size. He grabbed one as well, along with two bats, and headed to the assigned cage with you, popping the gate open and then closing it behind you both. The sounds of other people hitting balls and laughing filled the air. 

"Keep your helmet on the whole time, okay?" He wiggled it onto your head and then gave you a kiss. "Want me to go first? Show you where to stand?"

"Yes, Coach Bradley," you said with a smirk. He wanted to wipe that smirk off your face with his lips. 

Instead he hummed as he positioned you in the corner of the chainlink cage and put his own helmet on. He turned the pitching machine on and set it to the highest speed. 

"See that light?" he asked, pointing down to the far end where the machine stood. "When I press the button to signal that I am ready for some pitches, it will change from red to green before each ball gets launched."

"Okay," you nodded, letting him know you understood.

"I have it set on fast, but I come here a lot. We can slow it down when it's your turn." Bradley pressed the button one more time and watched the light change to green as he got into his batting stance. He took a dozen pitches, hitting all of them hard up into the mesh or down along the ground. 

Maybe Bob was right; maybe he should join the officers rec league. He'd probably be better than everyone else, but maybe he could pitch instead of playing shortstop. He thought Everett might like to come watch him play. You and he could sit in the bleachers and cheer for him, and then Bradley could take Everett to pick out some baseball cards at the flea market in Coronado. 

"I know it sounds cliche, but keep your eye on the ball," he told you, hitting a few more pitches. "That's more important when you're hitting against a real pitcher than a machine, from a safety standpoint. But it's still important."

"You're all about safety, huh? I think it's part of the reason you make such a good tee ball coach." 

He turned and glanced at you. He hadn't really considered that he might be doing a good job at coaching the team; he usually deferred to Bob most of the time. But he was enjoying more aspects of coaching than he thought he would be. 

When he was done with his second round of pitches, he paused the machine and picked up the smaller bat. "Super into safety, Kitten. You have any idea how upset I'd be if you got hurt because of something I could have prevented?"

You took the bat from him and said, "Tell me."

"Devastated," he whispered, hooking one finger through your belt loop and pulling you toward him while he backed away. "Ready to give this a try?"

He turned you so you were in position with him standing behind you. "Plant your back foot over this way," he said, gently pushing your right foot back with his. "And then bend your knees a little more. Perfect."

"How do I hold the bat?" you asked over your shoulder.

Bradley wrapped his arms around you, and helped you place your hands where they needed to go. His front was pressed against your back, and he could feel the friction of his jeans rubbing against yours. 

"Like this," he rasped. You had goosebumps on your arms, even though it was still warm outside, and you were leaning back against him a bit.

When you were in position, he let his hands trail the length of your arms and down your sides until they settled on your hips. He'd been dying to be able to touch you freely like this for weeks, and now you were egging him on. 

"Like this?" you asked, your voice practically a moan as you pressed your ass back against him.

"Just like that," he agreed, letting his fingers slide up inside your shirt, making you giggle as he caressed your skin. "You ready for me to turn it on?" He squeezed you with both hands before letting go.

"I thought it was turned on," you mumbled before turning your face toward him and saying, "Yes, coach."

Bradley laughed as he selected the slowest pitch speed. "Watch for the green light, Kitten."

You swung too late at the first pitch, missing it completely. Same for the second and third pitches as well.

"You're swinging a little late, but you look good. Really good," he promised, staring at your ass as you swung a little earlier this time. You almost had the timing down, but you were just not quite there yet. "I'm pausing it for a minute." Bradley watched you bend to pick up one of the balls and he groaned. "Fuck."

"What?" you asked innocently. 

"You know what, Kitten. You love teasing me," he said, taking the ball out of your hand and tossing it toward the mesh fencing. He was a little hard now; something about the combination of your body and watching you try to hit a ball was really doing it for him. 

"Get me back into position?" you asked, and Bradley had his hands all over you again. When you wiggled slowly against him, he groaned before releasing you. 

"Focus. Let's try this again. Remember to swing earlier," he said, adjusting himself as the machine sent a pitch your way. 

You missed the first pitch and groaned. You missed the second one, still swinging a little late.

"Come on, show me where Everett gets his skills from," Bradley told you. "You can do it, Kitten."

Then you nailed the third pitch, sending the ball up into the netting. "Oh my god, did you see that?" you screeched. 

"Sure did! But pay attention, you've got more pitches coming."

You hit the next few in a row as well, and then Bradley turned off the machine and caught you just as you jumped into his arms. 

You dropped the bat to the ground and kissed him. "I'm a power hitter," you whispered against his lips with a smile. Bradley pulled off your helmet and let that fall to the ground too. He held your lips to his with a firm hand at the back of your neck.

He was certain you could tell he was a little hard, the way you were moving against him. "You proud of yourself?" he asked. 

That simple question could have so many meanings, but the way you gasped, "Yes," had him slipping his fingers underneath your shirt again. 

He kneaded your skin softly while you kissed him, and he finally managed to say, "Let's get out of here, Kitten."

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

The short ride back to your house was quiet, the air in the Bronco thick with anticipation. Bradley must know you couldn't invite him inside tonight. Even if you could sneak him in and back out again, you weren't going to do it when Molly was there.  

When Bradley pulled into your driveway and cut the engine you had your seatbelts off immediately. "Come here, Kitten," he whispered, easing his seat back and rubbing his thigh. He groaned as you crawled across the seat toward him and kept his hands planted at his sides until you were straddling his right thigh. 

"This is technically our third date, right?" you asked, licking your lips.

"That's right," he confirmed.

"Makes this okay, then," you whispered. You were wet; you could tell your underwear was soaked from the anticipation of the ride home. But it felt so good pressing yourself against him, like you were quenching a need you didn't even know you had before tonight. 

"Hi, Coach," you said softly, scooting up along his thigh with a soft gasp as your hands came to rest on his shoulders. 

Bradley's hands found your hips in the darkness, and then his lips and mustache were on your neck. "Hi, Kitten." He bit you softly, and your head tipped back slowly, your body arching against his. 

You could feel yourself slowly grinding against his leg, and then you stopped yourself, embarrassed. You were like a cat in heat, humping his thigh. 

Digging your fingers into his soft hair, you pulled his head back so you could get your lips on his. "Don't stop, baby," he commanded, hands on your hips guiding your core slowly along his thigh. "Feel good?" his breaths were a little shorter, and his voice was deeper now. The interior of the Bronco was so quiet, every single tiny noise either of you made felt impossibly amplified. 

"Feels so good," you whined softly, right next to his ear, and he jerked his leg up against you, making you cry out his name. 

"That's right, Kitten. I'll take care of you," he promised. "Give you what you need."

You nodded vigorously, lips parted before you mashed your mouth to his, letting him invade you with his tongue and taste your teeth. He swallowed all of your moans as he pushed his hands higher up your shirt until he was pulling it off. You were moving against him slowly, his huge palms warm on your back as the cool air hit your skin. 

Bradley leaned back against the seat and smiled at you. "Been dying to see everything since you sent me those dirty photos while you were at work."

His fingers found their way between the fabric of your plain black bra and your skin, and you could hear yourself begging him to unhook it. 

When you felt the fabric slide away from your breasts, only to be replaced by his rough thumbs, you became one hundred percent certain that he was going to make you orgasm with your jeans still on. 

"So pretty," he whispered, toying gently with your breasts while you moved your hips along his thigh, your movements becoming a little more erratic. 

"Bradley," you gasped, a little nervous about what was going to happen. "Is this okay?" Your voice was quavering. 

"I love it," he promised before his lips wrapped around your tight nipple, and you were practically seeing stars. Your underwear was slick and soaking wet as your clit was met with the perfect amount of pressure. 

Bradley sucked harder on your right nipple, palming your left breast a little roughly. "Oh, god," you gasped. He was amazing. He was doing everything you needed him to with almost no prompting. 

"Fucking gorgeous," he murmured, brushing your wet, hard nipple with his lips and mustache. Now you were bucking against him as he devoured you, all needy lips and gentle teeth. Bradley held your chest to his lips, both hands on your back as your legs started to shake.

"Oh!" you cried out into the darkness. "Bradley!" 

"Cum, baby." He was swirling his tongue against you as you stuttered and clenched deliciously around nothing, soaking your panties even more. 

You rode out your orgasm until your hips were barely rocking against him. Bradley was rock hard inside his jeans, pressing against your right leg, and when you reached for his zipper, he eased you back along the seat with his knee pressing firmly against your core.

Once you had eased his zipper down, you reached inside to stroke him through his underwear. He hissed for you when you squeezed him gently. He was huge. He was going to make you feel so good all over again.

Your phone alarm started to screech inside your purse, and Bradley whacked his head on the passenger door while you scrambled beneath him.

"I'm so sorry," you said breathlessly, reaching to try to silence your phone, but it took you a few seconds to find it. "Sorry."

Bradley just grunted and kissed your cheek. "Is that your cue to end our third date?" he asked through clenched teeth. 

"I'm sorry," you said again.

He was still holding himself above you, and you assumed he was still hard when you started to reach for him. But he eased himself away from you, and you wanted to scream out that it wasn't fair. 

"Bradley," you whispered, but he was already helping you up to a seated position. When you reached for his jeans again, he stopped you, and brought your hand up to his lips. 

"It's okay, Kitten. We'll have more time another day," he told you, reaching for your bra and helping you put it on. 

"I'm sorry, Bradley. It's just that Molly has to work tomorrow, and I promised I wouldn't be out-"

He quieted you with a kiss, letting his forehead rest against yours. 

"I had fun with you tonight." His breath was hot against your face. "I want to go out with you again."

"Me too," you agreed right away. That wasn't even a question in your mind. 

He pulled your shirt over your head before he popped open the passenger door. The air outside felt freezing as you stepped down onto your driveway, but Bradley followed you out, zipping up his jeans before wrapping his arm around you. 

As he walked you up to your door, you bit your lip and nudged his semi hard length with your palm, and he groaned before he started to laugh. 

"I'm sorry about that," you said with a grin. 

"Don't be, Kitten," he said and then kissed you. "Got you off. That was more important."

You squeaked as his lips met your neck. "Nobody else has ever made me cum like that," you whispered into the cool air. Bradley groaned against your skin, making you clench as you added, "Frank couldn't get me off at all. I had to think about you to be able to finish."

Bradley froze and then backed you up against your porch railing, examining your face. "You thought about me when you were with another man?" he growled, and you trembled.

"Yes," you whispered, and he was pushing himself against you and tasting your tongue again. You were about to chance taking him up to your bedroom with you, but your neighbor's motion activated light turned on and lit up your entire porch. 

Bradley pulled his mouth away from yours, but he was panting now, and his cock was twitching against your belly.

"I'll be thinking about that forever," he promised, looking at you in awe. He exhaled a ragged breath and said, "Go inside. I'll see you at the game tomorrow, Kitten."

You moaned as he stepped away from you and guided you to the door by your shoulders. "Good night, Coach." With one more kiss, you were opening your front door and letting your fingers brush against his. 

When you closed your door and leaned against it, you saw Molly was smirking from your couch, holding a book on her lap. 

"Oh my, look at you," she said, making you grin and giggle. "The two of you were sitting in the driveway for an awfully long time."

"Shut up," you mumbled, still smiling at her as she started to grab her things so she could leave. "Thanks, Molly."

After your sister left, you were too jittery to go to bed. Your skin felt flushed with heat, so you stripped down to your bra and damp underwear and fell back onto your bed, a puddle of satiated lust. 

You giggled as you thought of the state Bradley left in. You grabbed your phone and texted him.

Sorry I left you with such a big problem to take care of.

He texted back so quickly, you were scrambling to see what he said. 

Bradley Bradshaw: I just got home. I'm about to take care of it, Kitten.

You sucked air into your lungs, heart pounding as you wrote back.

Just how big of a problem is it?

He attached a photo that had your jaw dropping open. His cock was huge, tenting his gray boxer shorts. And he was grabbing himself through the fabric. You groaned as you were filled with need once again.

Bradley Bradshaw: Massive.

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

Massive. Thanks to @beyondthesefourwalls and @mak-32!

PART 10

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#bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #rooster x you #rooster fanfic #rooster x female reader #rooster x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley rooster x reader #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw x female reader #bradley bradshaw fic #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick fanfiction #top gun imagine #rooster bradshaw x female reader

[kazuko-stuff]

Watching Ghibli movies with the batboys

**This is my first time writing for DC btw. Give me ideas for later ficus

Watching Ghibli movies with the Batboys

Dick Grayson

Enjoys watching movies with anyone really

Will enjoy watching Ghibli movies without a doubt

You introduce him to Castle in the Sky first to watch

He worries for Sheeta as she fell in the sky from the air ballon from her captures and pirates

Breathes in relief when her amulet helps her floats down and is found by Pazu

He is drawn to the world building of the story and relates to Pazu, in regards to his antics and willingness to protect Sheeta because she reminds him of you.

Is very curious about the lore of Laputa island after learning the story behind the mythical island and aetherium.

He finds the Dola’s pirate gang funny and is happy they are willing to help the two escape from Muska’s army.

Again he is amazed by the world building when he sees Laputa island and loves the detail of the robots.

Angry that Muska appears and how he abuses his powers and knowledge to hurt people

Is happy that Sheeta understands why the people of Laputa fled from the island and she and Pazu uses the amulet’s power to finish Muska once and for all

If you continue watching more ghibli movies, he will most likely buy a big Totoro plush for both of you to cuddle on

Would sing the Ponyo song to annoy his family and friends and to sing in the shower

Wants to visit Japan to see the places that were inspired by real life places

Admits the food is very mouthwatering and enjoys when the protagonist have meals with loved ones

Jason Todd

at first didn’t seem interested but you give big puppy eyes for him to give in

Was instantly amaze of the story telling of the movie and will geek of the world building due to how immersive the movies are

Will have a hard time having a picking a favorite due to good the storytelling is but if he has one favorite at of all it will be Spirited Away

He gets goosebumps when the spirit bathhouse town gets more active and worries on how Chihiro will get out and save her parents.

He likes to make analysis of the movies after watching them and watches analysis videos on YouTube.

Acknowledges that Yubaba and the other workers get on his nerves because it reminds him of his childhood.

Starts to find wonder the meaning behind Chihiro’s name being taken away and being changed to ‘Sen’ and her first meeting with Haku when she was very little

He notices how Chihiro has changed a lot from the beginning and how it reminds him of himself

He was cheering for Chihiro doing the scene when she was helping the river spirit get clean but wondered what that rice herb cake was for.

He cries at the scene when Haku comforts Chihiro when she was crying and eating onigiri because he knows she being through so much at her age just to save her loved ones

(Btw you made onigiri and bought konpeito)

Shock when Haku has a dragon form and was injured but was relieved when he managed to get healed due to the medicine she gotten from the river spirit

When he sees the bath workers blaming Sen for No-Face’s rampage, he grumbled how it was their fault for indulging and encouraging bad behavior, since he feels ‘No-Face’ is a blank state.

He admits Boh the baby is annoying but doesn’t blame him for being spoiled since his mom is at fault and enjoys that Haku had enough of Yubaba.

Feels at peace in the train scene

Likes Zeniba’s cottage due to how simple and comfy it is to live in.

It reminds him of Alfred and his aura

Happy tears when she and Haku reunited And when Chihiro remembers her first encounter with Haku and his original name

Admits he found Boh less annoying as he grows as a person and stands up for Chihiro against his mom.

Happy that Chihiro manages to save her parents but is sad that an adventures comes to an end

Likes to cook food based on the Ghibli movies since it always has a warm feeling and you're the taste tester.

If he has a stressful day, he likes to listen to ghibli music to remind himself being peace at oneself

Wants to go to a hot spring in Japan at one point

Tim Drake

Decides to watch after seeing hearing it from a group of friends and your big Totoro plush

Like the rest of the batfam, he enjoys the world building and the characters in the Ghibli movie

He would get the foreshadowing and enjoys watching analysis of the movies

He writes analysis and the message based of the symbolism and Japanese mythology

He knew Chihiro almost lost her identity when Yubaba stole her name and figured out what happened to Haku, after seeing the conditions of the bathhouse workers.

His favorite character is Howl from Howl's Moving Castle

He loves how all the characters in the movie are alive and likes the fire spirit

He enjoys how magical the scene was when Howl was flying in the sky with Sophie

He enjoys the banter between Sophie and Howl over hair products that cause his hair to change color

He loves Sophie’s new outfit at the end of the movie

Bought a necklace based off of Howl’s necklace and one time tried to cosplay as him to attend a con with him without his brothers knowing

His likes how steampunk is portrayed in the ghibli movies and enjoys learning more about Japanese culture and mythology

Would likely to go to ghibli events with you

Damian Wayne

after first thought it was going to be boring since he thinks it’s childish but immediately hooked up when he saw the animation of the movies

He decides to watch most of the movies with you when he is in house arrest from patrol

He likes Princess Mononoke movie and My Neighbor Totoro

He enjoys how San is a no-nonsense person and acknowledges she should fight back to defend her home

He somewhat wonders if Poison Ivy is like this because she just wants to defend the environment since San wants to protect the forest, seeing that she is angry at those who is destroying the environment

He secretly likes to watch My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo with you and his family

He loves the animals in the Ghibli movies

Wishes to ride Moro and wants a pet wolf along with a fish name Ponyo

Ponyo movie inspires him to clean up local beaches

He would want to ride the Catbus from Totoro

Buys ghibli plushies for his collection

He starts to paint background from the movies due to how beautiful they were

He would visit Japan to see the places that set the inspiration for the movie and the Ghibli cafe theme events

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson #batfamily x reader imagines #jason todd x reader #nightwing imagine #nightwing x reader #nightwing fanart #nightwing #jason peter todd #jason todd #red hood #red hood x reader #red hood x y/n #red hood x gender neutral reader #tim drake x reader #tim drake #red robin #tim drake x fem!reader #tim drake x gender neutral reader #robin damian #damain wayne #damian wayne x female reader #damian wayne x reader #robin dc #robin x reader #dc characters #dc comics #dcu #dc fic #ghibli films

[silvergreenseraphim]

The First Soldier: Chapter Six

Japanese highlights + analysis

Hi guys! Okay, let’s look right into this chapter-

Opening with Team Glenn, we learn some small details. The Shinra dig will start soon, and Glenn marvels at how fast everything is moving. Matt credits Shinra power, Glenn credits their hard work as a team, and Lucia credits Sephiroth, who did most of the work. Glenn, being more humble now, admits that he cannot deny it, and remembers that he must tell Sephiroth about the payment.

However, he notes that Sephiroth does not seem interested in money. This is one of the first hints throughout this chapter that Team Glenn still do not fully understand what Sephiroth is to Shinra. It is a subtle but reoccurring pattern, particularly when the notion of “being fired” comes into play later on.

The English in this scene was good. No major changes.

The chief engineer calls the team over and reprimands them for being too relaxed, saying that they need to do their jobs and clear out the monsters near the living quarters. Glenn awkwardly agrees to get back to patrolling, but first he asks,

“Hey, have you seen our squad leader?”

The engineer responds,

“If you mean that kid, isn’t he still out looking through the bodies? It’s disgusting. Please make him stop.“

Glenn is surprised and says, “Sephiroth is rummaging through the corpses?”

Matt notes that Sephiroth does often disappear/go off on his own, and Lucia says to look for him on their patrol.

(Seeing how the other Shinra employees behave and speak helped me see why Sephiroth had no luck asking around about his mother. They are only there to do their jobs, and don’t understand the child SOLDIER at all. It is very much an indifferent workforce).

Next is the scene where we learn about the materia fragments that were shattered over time. This scene adds greater weight to the mako spring discussion in the Nibelheim flashback, where Sephiroth comments that the condensed formation must have taken ages. It takes a very long time for even small bits to form, and even then they can shatter.

There is the silly bit of banter between the team about using diversion pebbles/materia fragments, but I must note again that Glenn seems calmer and less cocky even in his jesting.

Then Lucia becomes visibly concerned and says,

“Looking through corpses…I wonder if he’s really doing that…”

Glenn responds,

“The chief engineer is just joking around right? There’s no way he (Sephiroth) would do something like that.”

Matt agrees that there would be no need for it, and the team moves forward.

(It is very wholesome to see them believe only the best of Sephiroth despite what others think, and they are more perceptive and accurate about him anyway. This story constantly leads the audience to worry that Sephiroth always held darker traits before immediately disproving these concerns or at least showing that his reasons were always understandable. Team Glenn speaks for the more optimistic viewers at this point).

Of course little Sephiroth is caught undeniably searching a body, and Glenn questions him in surprise. Sephiroth is confused at first, but then acknowledges that it does look wrong. Lucia asks him if he is looking for something. Sephiroth says,

“I lost the pendant with my mother's photo in it.. . . . . .I was looking for it. I was checking to see if someone might have picked it up and had it on them…”

(So, a small translation nuance; it is clear in Japanese that Sephiroth dropped it and believed that someone could have picked it up. He is not just looking under bodies, he is going through their pockets and all to see if anyone has it with them.)

Sephiroth chuckles and admits,

“Haha, I suppose I am a corpse-scavenger…“

(This is another case of Sephiroth’s childlike innocence mingling with his very dark reality. He lost his most precious possession like a normal child would, but now has to search for it among the dead that he himself laid to waste).

When the others understand, Glenn says,

“Alright, let’s look for it while we kill monsters.”

And Sephiroth replies,

“Thank you very much…that helps…“

The team moves on to kill monsters and search.

Glenn notes the lesser number of bodies and Sephiroth points out that it was because of the monsters. Glenn shudders to think of dying in the area, but Sephiroth takes the opportunity to beseech them to not let their guard down. He says,

“You all seem to be feeling a little relaxed. You can never be too careful. You must protect yourself. If you don't apply this basic rule...”

Right then a monster swoops in and Sephiroth kills it, stunning the others. He concludes with, “…then even I can’t protect you.”

Glenn asks, “So, you’re protecting us?”

Sephiroth walks up to him and responds,

“It’s because you’re my team.”

They are interrupted by more monsters, but when the fighting ends, Matt repeats what Sephiroth said.

“I’ll protect you because you’re my team…”

Matt glares at Glenn and says,

“I’d like to hear that from a team-leader I know who previously threatened to hit one of his own squad members…”

Lucia chimes in with the comment about that same team-leader making them be near his gross socks.

(They are both referencing the first chapter of the game, where Glenn’s outburst on the helicopter made it appear as though he were going to punch Matt, and when Glenn made a joke about his socks being so bad that they would pull Lucia out of shell-shock).

Sephiroth looks up at Glenn while shaking his head and laughs, saying,

“Ha…that’s the worst.”

Glenn remarks,

“But it’s “memorable,” isn’t it?”

Sephiroth thinks for a moment and says,

“Yes, I see. So, that team-leader fears being forgotten…”

This observation strikes Matt and even Glenn. They appear to rethink Glenn’s leadership style. Glenn does not protest the observation, but he ponders it.

(I found it sweet that Sephiroth did not judge Glenn, but pointed out what is likely a true insecurity of Glenn’s, but in a very mild and childlike way. Part of me even wonders if Sephiroth understood the fear because he too had struggled with it. After all, adult Sephiroth refused to be a memory even post-insanity.)

(Also, it is hard to fully explain, but reading this text in Japanese—it becomes easier to see how it is not just Glenn that influences Sephiroth, but also the other way around. It’s strange but…it feels as though Glenn has become…softer? Even when alone with his team, he is not disrespecting them so much or being so brash. It was his meeting with Rosen that helped him to develop sympathy for the “enemy” and it was Sephiroth that helped Glenn become kinder to his team. Even the way he speaks seems gentler. 

In the last chapter, Glenn was so harsh towards Seph at the beginning, but learned remorse and how to apologize when Sephiroth’s vulnerability was showcased. In this chapter, Sephiroth is the one to understand that Glenn might have been such a brash leader because he feared being forgotten, which was a very perceptive and empathetic observation, causing even Matt to reconsider. It was a very heart-warming scene). 

(The next sequence is devastating and I believe it caused some minor controversy with fans because of how Glenn speaks, but I can affirm that the tone in Japanese seems to aim for sympathetic character development. As I mentioned before, Glenn is different to the character we first met, and his arc is becoming more clear as we move forward.)

As the squad looks through the bodies, Glenn notices that there were not many Rhadoran remnants left, and Matt suspects it was because of their living conditions and the endless battle with monsters. Glenn remarks that it must have been a hard lifestyle. He then says,

“...I don't really understand why Rhadore hated the Mako reactors…I mean, there's no such thing as convenient (as the reactors), right?”

They are swiftly interrupted again by monsters, causing Sephiroth to say that they seem more interested than usual.

“The monsters seem more interested than usual.”

“They’re excited about live bait!” Glenn says.

“If you want to be bait, I won't stop you, but as a SOLDIER, please fight first.” Sephiroth urges.

When they clear out the area again, Matt considers the similarities between the Rhadoran believes and “Planetology” or the “study of the star.”

“When a person dies, their life returns to the planet with their consciousness and heart and intersects with the energy of life circulating around the planet. The idea is that a new life will eventually be born from it. The life around this planet is what they call “qi” (mana). The “qi” going around the planet enriches people and nature and the planet itself. It would be unthinkable for Rhadore to consume such an irreplaceable energy.”

Glenn is still confused, and then Sephiroth interjects with,

“Dr. Hojo talked to me about this…

“No matter how rationally and logically we explain things, there are people we will not be able to share understanding with. That is because they see the world differently.””

Glenn argues that such things won’t matter if someone dies, and that it would just be better to accept an easy life instead of fighting so hard against it. He points out that Rosen is the only one left, and says that if the Rhadoran beliefs are true, what will become of the last Rhadoran boy when he dies? When he is gone, no one will be left, and people will forget Rhadore.

Sephiroth sadly shakes his head and turns away, saying that,

“The planet remembers…I am certain that is what the people of Rhadore believe…”

Glenn receives his epiphany, and understands that the Rhadorans resisted the consumption of mana/mako because it would erase all memories of life. He is suddenly overcome with sadness and turns to kneel and honor the fallen soldiers. The others do the same.

(This scene was, in my opinion, intended to deliver a strong message, but was maybe limited by the story-telling style. Some people were shocked by Glenn’s questioning why the Rhadorans all died for their beliefs when he is with the very company that wiped them out. But I think it does help to remember that this war between Shinra and Wutai was something that soldiers like Glenn and his team only had seen one side of until this point. They were a survey team working for money after all, not the ones directly sent to kill the Rhadorans until Sephiroth arrived, who did most of the work anyway, and even shocked the others with his conditioned ruthlessness in the previous chapter.

Shinra is a propaganda monster, and undoubtedly played off the war as something the Wutaians started and were responsible for, as well as the Rhadorans. It does sound like Glenn is genuinely confused here, especially as someone who was probably used to Shinra being the default government for everything.

“Why would these people willingly die and fight Shinra for trying to make their lives easier?”

But that is the simple darkness of imperialism. Shinra was going to erase something very important to the Rhadorans for the sake of “convenience.”

Glenn only sees this after Sephiroth himself acknowledges the Rhadoran faith. This is where a change of heart occurs. The Rhadorans were fighting for a genuine reason. Of course they were.

I actually felt this was a very meaningful sequence after translating it. Very good attempt at addressing imperialist destruction.)

Afterwards, they keep up the search and Matt asks if Sephiroth is sure he dropped the necklace in the building they are in. He says he had it before the ruins, so he is sure it must have been in the building. Lucia explains that it might be difficult to find if they haven’t already. Sephiroth tiredly shakes his head and says,

“It’s okay. Thanks to everyone for looking together, I think I’m about ready to give it up.”

He is saying that since everyone looked at the same time, he is ready to accept that he has to let the photo go. If they can’t find it together, then it is truly lost. The others become downcast on his behalf, and then Glenn moves over to one of the dead soldiers. He suggests they bury them as a way to say sorry, though he is not sure if that is their custom. Either way, Sephiroth immediately says that he will help, and Glenn is grateful.

The next scene was clearly translated into English. As they bury the bodies, the dig begins and Sephiroth explains that they will need to evacuate to the sky in thirty minutes, thanks to a possible mako eruption or “torrent of qi” caused by Shinra’s explosives. Glenn remembers Rosen’s words, and Sephiroth says they need to hurry.

The following sequence is endearing as Sephiroth makes shortcuts for the team. He reveals a unique power that allows him to create great bursts of energy from simple materia fragments. The others are stunned. Glenn, in particular, cannot believe it even after Sephiroth explains. He says,

“No, it’s impossible! Sephiroth, you’re amazing!!”

In the next scene, Glenn is initially ready to chop down a tree to form a bridge across a river, but Sephiroth steps in and says his way will be quicker. Where before, Glenn would have been eager to lead the way, he kindly steps aside and lets Sephiroth take over. Glenn is once again verbally supportive, and says,

“Ha! As expected.”

Sephiroth says,

“As expected of a modified human (cyborg), right?”

Glenn says wasn’t going to say that, nor was he thinking it. Sephiroth says,

“Really?….I’m a little disappointed…”

Glenn is confused and Sephiroth shakes his head,

“I don’t really understand it myself…”

Bringing his head low and his hand to his heart again, he guesses,

“It’s just…nothing you guys say makes me feel bad, so I want you to be able to say anything…”

(The English got the point across as well, but Seph is sincerely saying that he trusts them because they don’t say things that hurt him, so he doesn’t want them to feel as if they need to hold back their thoughts. He is pointing out that he has grown to feel safe with them because they are not malicious with their words. It feels like he discovers the idea of trust in relationships right here).

Glenn perks up and says,

“Alright then, I’ll tell you what I think!! I’m counting on you, squad-leader! Now, let’s go!”

Sephiroth enthusiastically responds with “Yes!” and they move on.

The waterfall scene is largely the same. Glenn fully goes to Sephiroth to lead this time and hands him the materia fragment. He asks if Sephiroth can use it like before, and in Japanese, Sephiroth endearingly says he doesn’t want to “make things go boom” but that he has an idea. He freezes the waterfall and Glenn voices his praise again.

When they finally draw close, Glenn stops to think of Rosen, but Sephiroth urges him to hurry. When they get to the overlook, it becomes clear that Glenn and the others are struggling with remorse over the Rhadorans and Rosen being in danger. They exchange glances and Glenn almost says something to Sephiroth, but stops himself.

Sephiroth himself is far more concerned about them, his team, and their safety. The divide is obvious, and a choice will have to be made.

They arrive as the last ones to the Shinra helicopter and the engineer is ready for them to evacuate, but Glenn begs the man to delay the dig so that he can go and warn Rosen, thus setting his plans in motion without forewarning Sephiroth. The engineer refuses despite Glenn’s pleas and brings up the amount of money Shinra has put into the program. Glenn shouts,

“This isn’t about the money!”

And punches the engineer, much to Matt and Lucia’s exasperation.

The engineer says,

“I'll report you to headquarters! I can even have you fired.”

Glenn does not care. It is the first time we have seen him willingly dismiss money and fight for something else. He tells the engineer to get on the other helicopter, and Matt tells Lucia to make her decision. She apologizes to Sephiroth and hi-jacks the copter. Sephiroth simply turns his back quietly.

The final Stamp battle occurs afterwards as an interruption, and the team finishes the job, with more remorse from Glenn about messing with Stamp’s island. Then the engineer flies overhead and drops down the ladder, offering one more chance. Lucia says,

“Will Sephiroth also be disposed of?”

Matt reminds her,

“It’s okay, we’re the only ones at fault. There are witness too.”

With this, the team says goodbye to their leader, and Glenn tells him,

”Sephiroth, take care! Don’t overdo it/push yourself too much!”

They run off, leaving Sephiroth to evacuate, but he hesitates. The engineer shouts,

“Hurry up and get on, hero!”

But our hero can’t leave his friends just yet!

He runs up to them and Glenn is surprised. He says,

“You came…….are you sure? If you get on this helicopter, you could get fired, right?”

And the chapter ends with Sephiroth’s simple reply,

“I’m special.”

Glenn just laughs.

—

This appears to be a direct reference to Sephiroth’s future statement about always knowing he was special or different since he was a child.

The word is the same.

“Exceptional, unique, beyond ordinary…”

But this line from Sephiroth is actually more upsetting to me than funny or cocky, because yes, there is indeed a chance he is merely being proud about being able to get away with his current actions due to his status as Shinra’s hero, but…

There is also the chance he knows he cannot be fired or disposed of because Shinra would never let him leave. They have control over him. He is different or special in that sense too. He is a prized possession, unlike the others.

I have yet to see, but I wonder if Sephiroth knows that he is risking severe punishment for his actions by helping his team and will not be met with a simple lay-off, but since this is his last chance to help and be with his team, he is ready to pay the price. If they are fired, he may not see them again. Now is his chance.

His hesitation at the helicopter is sincere. He clasps at his heart and everything. I don’t believe he is being light-hearted when he tells Glenn he is different. In the English, it came off more prideful, as though Seph were daring Shinra to come after him. In Japanese, I get the feeling he is making a sacrifice. 

Sephiroth also believes it is his job to protect his team. If Shinra tries to harm them, he will have to face that. I fear that for now, Sephiroth has not learned that Shinra will not just punish him, but they can also kill people he considers friends.

I also think this chapter was full of foreshadowing.

Even the scenes with Glenn praising Sephiroth and making an effort to do it honestly and constantly felt as though it were meant to be a contrast for what could be shown later if the Shinra higher-ups appear and catch Sephiroth in the act of treason.

I am very proud of him, but I am very concerned for him now.

(I have more thoughts on Sephiroth’s relationship with Team Glenn after this chapter, but I will save it for another post! Hope you guys enjoy this one in the mean time!)

#finally!!! #sorry everyone #that was so hard to get posted and organized #but here we are #i want to format these like this from now on #often the english is decent but there are highlights that offer nuance #so an analysis + these translation highlights might be the best way to approach this #let me know what you guys think! #final fantasy 7 #ever crisis #ff7 #ffvii #sephiroth #the first soldier #ffvii first soldier #ffvii ever crisis #glenn lodbrok #lucia lin #matt winsord #shinra #my translations

[wasyago]

YAGO!!!! GAHFRHRHAHARHAHRHRF IM BACK (Design Detail Anon back << i dont know what to call myself LOL) I HAVE MORE WORDS

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON BIOLUMINESCENT TRITONS?!!!?! Obviously Gillion's eyes and coral already glow cause of his funky scrungly squelchy magic BUT what if... he had little glowing freckles... scales? im not fully sure how fish people work.

Your designs for Gillion and Edyn already do an amazing job of separating their underwater biology from humans like Chip and Jay (thinking of the glossy skin, the tails, and the yellow sclera/slitted eyes)- like it's very easy to tell by looking at them that while they are People they are very much FISH People. Which of course sounds pretty obvious but I mention it because a lot of triton art I see usually just looks like a blue person with gills and fins, if that makes sense.

But to expand on my original question- both Gill and Edyn are from the trench, and, in my logic, adjacent at the very least, to other deep sea creatures like anglar fish and some squids. They already have darkvision but the image of them having little hidden patterns when they get super deep in the ocean is... so cute...

im realizing after Ive written all of this that it kinda stopped being a question and started being a ramble so I do apologize :']

(on another note I love your caspian redesign it does a really sweet job of incorporating literal elements of water into his features *smooches him* **respectfully***)

OMG!!!! i love all your thoughts this is so cool thank you for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and thank you!! i tried very hard to make caspian look like a water spirit and not an ocean creature and still make him interesting visually...)

you know, now that you've said that the trench is deep under water im realizing that it's something i didn't actually think about. like, i remember hearing Gill say that he's from the trench, but it never actually registered in my brain that trench = deep and dark. everything makes so much sense now oh my god.... finn saying "why did they keep this from us" about the sun, because the sun simply doesn't reach to where they live...

i dont know why i imagined the capital as this bright white sunny coral reef when it should be dark and mysterious and harsh with no sunlight. bruh. it makes so much seeeense. and all the talk about strict rules for safety and foodchain and danger, because they're literally so deep there's a lot of giant spooky creatures.... hold on im having a worldview change.... oh god....

considering all this... YES bioluminescent tritons!!!!!!!!!!!! i imagine they don't glow too much, since while tritons are pretty smart they don't have a lot of natural protection from predators and attracting attention would be suboptimal. but they do have glowing parts for um... reasons. idk, they're magical creatures in a magical world.

i imagine their stripes and eyes and hair and underbellies all emit a glow in low lighting, and in complete darkness only the stripes are visible. and every triton has a unique stripe pattern or color so they're all different like that.

idk how it actually works. like, if they glow in any darkness or only in the darkness under water (although it wouldn't make a difference since they're always wet) or only when they're very deep or if they can choose when to glow or when to not, but its still a very cool detail!!!!!!!!!!! glowy fishy people yayyy

#yagotalk #my art #sketch #oh boy do i tag this.... its a long text post...... #aah yeah fuck it we ball #gillion tidestrider #edyn tidestrider #jrwi riptide

[argisthebulwark]

Opposites Attract Trope

summary: Short drabbles about the opposite type partners I think silly Skyrim men would have. gn, no pronouns or y/n used. feat: Balimund, Cicero, Miraak, Brynjolf, Farkas warnings: none

For someone living such a steady lifestyle, Balimund is surprised by how much he likes the Dragonborn. They're always on the move, changing plans and trekking across the continent at a moment's notice. He enjoys hearing all their stories when they find time for a dinner with him. There's often gaps between visits but they ensure one night in Riften before moving on again. They appreciate the comfort and stability he provides and their sporadic appearances add some excitement to his life.

After meeting the Listener many thought they'd detest Cicero - they're silent, quite stoic. Rarely interact with others. They absorb conversations but don't often speak. It's quite subtle but others start to notice clues; Cicero making jokes and the Listener cracks a smile. He's allowed to place a hand on their shoulder without a threat. It's shocking. When he calls them his 'dearest, beloved Listener' or refers to himself as the 'lovesick fool' all other assassins realize there is much more between the Keeper and his Listener.

The Last Dragonborn is intelligent, curious, and don't seem to care for power. Even the Thu'um means little to them. Miraak is fascinated by their lack of ego - do they not realize the potential they hold? He finds himself watching them more, taking interest in the most minute details of their daily life. It's purely for research purposes, of course. It has absolutely nothing to do with the way they laugh at his attempts to intimidate them or the rush he feels on the rare occasion they enter Apocrypha.

Brynjolf can't seem to stop himself from flirting with the cute guard stationed near the cemetery. They act annoyed by his honeyed words but he begins to notice the near constant flush in their face in his presence and the unconscious way they gravitate toward each other. He jokes about getting caught just to be under their care for his entire sentence. They warn that they aren't sure they'd let him go. It's playful banter but there's certainly something more beneath the surface. The quick meetings in secret rapidly become a highlight in lives controlled by their respective Guilds.

When Vilkas notified him of a historian visiting Jorrvaskr Farkas hardly gave it a second thought. Vilkas is the history buff, he'll handle all their questions without needing to bother him. He forgot most of the history Kodlak taught him before he could carry a greatsword. But when they ask to meet with him specifically, Farkas finds himself a bit flustered. They're cute and want to listen to everything he has to say. They never judge him when he mixes up names or admits to not remembering it clearly. He'll spill whatever story they want to hear. He cozies up to them in the evenings, introducing them to the other Companions and threatening anyone who looks at them wrong.

#skyrim #writing #x reader #x reader fanfic #Balimund #Cicero #Miraak #Brynjolf #Farkas #skyrim fanfic

[shalotttower]

Cultivating Flowers

Title: Cultivating Flowers

Fandom: Original

Summary: Marquis is a man of many interests, including gardening. Specifically, his new roses.

Word count: 3500+

Characters: OC!Marquis x Reader (female)

Notes: yandere!OC, manipulation, animal cruelty (not detailed, briefly described), seduction.

The first bloom appears two weeks after spring starts and it's the most glorious flower in all Marquis' garden. Gentle apricot color, like your favourite dress. You were saving for months — a whole autumn — and grandfather grumbled and grumbled about the frivolous waste of money, but once you finally put it on, his scolding didn't matter a bit. The dress made you feel like royalty — elegant, graceful, important.

You wonder if this is how Marquis feels all the time.

Gorgeous outfits, a splendid castle, a life of aristocracy and ease where everything is taken care of by servants and every other weekend there's an opulent dinner party full of refined conversations.

Your envy for him is almost as big as your caution.

Marquis Nicolae is rich. Like many rich people he possesses time. And when one has too much, they become terribly, infinitely bored. That's what grandfather told you in one of his drunken rants: people who are rich, castle-rich, private carriage-rich for generations are bored like nobody else, because nothing is scarce to them and so nothing is precious either. Work for them. Take their money. Keep your head low and remember — they don't see us like we see them.

Grandfather doesn't work in the castle anymore. He's got old hands which shake from years of physical labour and fruit brandy, back-aching hunched posture and swollen feet that need rest. Now he stays at home, waiting for you to return with stories and bread rolls baked by the cook.

He used to serve Marquis Nicolae's father, who was twice as rich, but thrice as wicked, according to grandfather's words.

"I was a stableman, your grandmother was a seamstress, God rest her soul. Sewed all my shirts, this one included," he tugs at the fabric with pride. "She did well on it... Look at those stitches."

For a moment he gets lost in muttering and rubs his index finger on an even patch of stitched fabric, as if hoping his touch can conjure a spectre. "Not like now, where clothes fall apart after just three seasons. Quality... Sturdiness," he smacks the table. "People used to think long term. Made their shirts for decades, strong like this."

Grandfather is forgetful these days, he leaps from one topic to another and loses the main line of thought, especially after a few glasses. But you wait.

"When I worked for Lord Cazimir, you see," he says finally. "He had horses, all strong, sleek, looked like jewels. A new horse each two months, said it wasn't right for a gentleman to have one for too long, but by God, I never saw a man treat them worse than him. Not enough sleep, ridden until bones hurt. If the carriage hit a stone, it was the horse's fault, if the reins got tangled it was the horse's fault, not the bloody driver. He had that whip with metal feathers which could cut through an apple. And before he made the last swish, he'd pause. Look the horse in the eyes. That was the scariest thing, how he stared at them, so calmly."

He glances at you, as if fearing an admonishment. For what? You wonder how it felt, caring for something that looked like a jewel time after time, after time, and knowing the goodbye was certain and inevitable, like a turn of a watermill wheel. Did grandfather mourn the horses? Or did he get used to burying their bodies under the soil? Maybe they fed someone later — people who don't have much are resourceful, they don't bury good meat.

You squeeze the water from the sheet in silence.

"None simply lived past two months, that's why he changed them so often."

"Why didn't you quit?"

"And then do what?" Grandfather snorts. "There was little job outside the castle, everyone who didn't have land or livestock worked for Marquis one way or another."

"It must have been difficult."

"Life is difficult," he answers, and you can't disagree.

Life is difficult, that's a fact, and it didn't get better when you started working for Marquis Nicolae yourself. A good thing is that unlike Lord Cazimir from scare stories he doesn't torment horses and rarely pays attention to anybody in a servant uniform. All of you share the same mindset: a quick "Good morning, m'lord" or "Have a pleasant day, m'lord" and then being gone as fast as possible.

Rumors circulate that Marquis never once had a full smile on his face. Charming chuckles when he's in a good mood, courtly lips stretches for ladies, bemused sneers when he's addressed by those who used to be in favour but now are out — yes, but the genuine and full-hearted joy: nobody has witnessed it.

He doesn't seem unhappy though, nor he is too serious. When you see him Marquis Nicolae always looks like he has eternity at hand and there's no hurry to spend it. To you, he is uninterested in anything and sharp about everything at once.

You can't describe him better. Words fail you when trying to fit him into boxes of easy understanding. But after all, it's not your job to fit him anywhere, your job is dusting shelves and scrubbing floors, and, since recent days — taking care of roses.

It's unusual for the castle to have such plants this early in spring. They're imported, said the gardener, from cooler places and prefer winter over the blooming season of May and June. That's why Marquis commissioned a greenhouse construction weeks prior, to have beautiful flowers which can bloom regardless of the weather. It took an entire month of hard work, people hired from nearby towns and a promise of good money. You watched them build from the kitchen window where you were helping with meals.

Roses arrived next. Seven bushes filled with buds ready to open up any day. And oh they did. Soft apricot colors covered stems like dewdrops, beautiful enough to make one gasp.

One morning you bring your rag and a bucket to the greenhouse a bit earlier to enjoy the fragrance before breakfast is served. Nice things like these are not for maids like you — the petal scent and the gentle touch of leaves — they're for ladies in beautiful dresses who have time and luxury to appreciate them, but nobody will know anyway if you stop to lean down close enough for your nose to almost bury itself in velvety softness. It's a small indulgence which can hardly hurt anyone. Nobody will know if you pretend to be a lady just for a minute.

"They're quite extraordinary, aren't they."

You freeze, nose in the middle of the rose bush.

"I- Yes", you straighten up and curtsy. "They are most beautiful, m'lord."

Marquis' figure, backlit by the morning sun, casts a shadow which stretches far beyond your own feet.

"Do you know why I chose it?" he asks. "This breed."

He's dressed in a dark waistcoat with delicate embroidery on the collar and doesn't have a single hair out of place, not a strand too thick, not a strand too thin; as flawless as a painting which hang on the walls of his library, but not as solemn. Those paintings seem to measure everyone around them. Marquis Nicolae looks more approachable in appearance, and that's where the approachability ends. His eyes, burgundy brown colour you've never seen before, measure people too, in value rather than worthlessness.

You shake your head, "No, m'lord."

"Because," Marquis continues without minding your answer at all, "it's pretty."

His lips stretch in a courtly smile of a gentleman who is amused by his own joke. You don't understand it but smile in return anyway, because you must. Because this is how the world works — nobles are amused and maids fake understanding so the amusement can persist a little longer.

"Go on," he says. "They are meant to be smelled after all."

You nod and curtsy again.

Later he will be served tea at the ornate greenhouse table while you scrub the floors until your fingers ache. Marquis' focus will shift towards letters, and this is how it's supposed to be. Him reading correspondence, you being invisible like dust under the shelves you clean. It feels better when he doesn't look at you with those eyes of his. They pierce through everything they see.

There's something wrong about him. But you can't tell what yet.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Life is monotonous, especially in a place like this, even banquets and events have that homogeneous taste, because there's at least one every three weeks, not speaking of brunches which rotate regularly depending on who's currently in Marquis' favour. You serve dishes full of rich fragrances that make your mouth water but can't ever dream of trying them. Meat dripping with wine sauce, roasted chicken breasts wrapped in crispy bacon and glazed with honey syrup. Fresh fruits coated in powdered sugar. Sometimes in the evening when everyone is asleep you mouth the names of those meals: "Beef Bourguignon," "Veal Piccata", "Chicken Florentine". Those foreign words are hard to pronounce — Beef Boo-gee-nyon, Veel Pick-kata — you do it quietly and mostly in your head so grandfather doesn't hear and scoff about wasting time on useless things.

"You're not starving," he would say. "There's bread, there's soup, you don't need those. Be happy, girl. We used to eat potatoes for months straight during famines."

You've never been hungry enough to know what famine tastes like but suspect that the flavor must be something similar to the dull feeling between the busy hours of work, which gnaws at you and makes your thoughts drift to the lunch break.

Sometimes, in a particularly sour mood he adds, "Don't stuff your head with fancy nonsense you can't have, it's only gonna make you bitter."

True.

You're a maid. A girl. A nobody.

And this is how it's supposed to be.

How to tell grandfather that you don't wish to be fancy? Just to try once the roast duck stuffed with grapes and apples, or fresh sardines baked in butter sauce, which smell heavenly as they're carried up the stairs to Marquis Nicolae's salon where guests are gathered.

How to tell him that it's not about food, not really.

It's about knowing what an apricot rose smells like early in the morning while others sleep. How velvety its petals feel when touched. Delicate things like these you're not supposed to have, but do anyway, because a moment stolen out of monotony pulls you from beneath the apron. You, yourself, not just a pair of hands with tired fingers, exist briefly when roses bloom in Marquis' greenhouse and a little piece of yesterday's cake is smuggled into your pocket.

You understand why he's wary. Grandfather's right: with longing comes bitterness. But you're careful not to overdo it. There's only one stolen minute of appreciation each day, not more, so you remember who you are — someone meant to be seen rarely and unnoticed most of the time — and return behind the apron.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Spring goes on.

Daylight stretches a little longer. Ground gets a little warmer. Marquis Nicolae often spends time in his private study after breakfast, then at noon — in the greenhouse. He strolls there among the greenery or sits by one of the tables with a book. Reading seems to be an activity he favors, and unlike some other gentlemen who grow tired within pages Marquis can stay completely still for hours without once getting restless.

You know because you watch him from the corner of your eye.

What kind of books he likes to read if they manage to keep him entertained for such lengthy periods, what titles do those leather spines hide, which stories are good enough for a gentleman like Marquis? He always seems so politely disinterested. You wonder if there are books that can make even him laugh.

Sometimes he asks you questions which startle you.

"Have you read 'The Castle of the Lady'? It's a novel."

You shake your head. "No m'lord. I can't read."

His eyebrows raise. Not in astonishment, Marquis Nicolae has a face of a man who rarely encounters surprises, his reactions are akin to mild interest bordering on curiosity, as if he enjoys discovering something new, something that doesn't fit into his existing assumptions.

"Can't?" he repeats.

You shift uncomfortably under his gaze, "No, m'lord. Never learnt."

"Who raised you?"

"My grandfather. He's a stableman... was. Now retired".

"I see," he returns to his book.

You fidget with a rag in your hands, why does he care to ask such question? What difference does it make whether you read or don't? It's not that uncommon. Most servants only know the basics, letters which form their names and the ones that stand for numbers. You don't really need the skill. What for?

"You may continue," he adds.

So you do.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

"Are you the only child?"

"Yes, m'lord."

"Your mother? Father?"

"My mother passed away giving birth to me, and father was a soldier, so he died in a war."

"What a shame," Marquis says, but it sounds like a comment on bad weather.

You're standing with fresh linens in his opulent bedchamber. It's spacious: tall windows and furniture made of rare wood. Old, like the walls of Albastru castle itself. A maid's life story is neither interesting nor important enough to pursue it, at least not in the place like this. Marquis Nicolae is bored, that's the most reasonable explanation to the current arrangement. He's looking for entertainment, but what entertainment can come at your expense, you're unsure.

Grandfather warned you not to draw too much attention, but it's not exactly your fault. Marquis' schedule is well known — he spends evenings in the salon and retires long past midnight. The chamber should've been empty. You should've been able to change his bedding, clean the fireplace and leave without as much as a sound.

Yet here he is, in a high armchair by the fireplace.

And here you are, in front of him, waiting for a dismissal that doesn't come.

On a small coffee table there're squares with simple pictures — a dog, a cat, an apple, made of thin wood with letters engraved in black ink. You step from one foot to the other, the lemon-scented sheets hide the way your fingers twitch.

Marquis traces a square with a rose.

"Sit down," he says and motions to the other chair.

"Your linens, m'lord-"

"They can wait."

No, they can't, you think. The bedding needs to be done, the fireplace cleaned, carpets swept, wilted flowers removed — there's so much to do to linger, and it's already getting late. If you're not able to finish on time-

But Marquis Nicolae didn't give you permission to leave.

You sit and put the linens on your lap.

Grandfather would say that Marquis enjoys the sight of your discomfort behind that courtly smile of his, but he doesn't look amused, he looks the usual. Calm and slightly disinterested. Sharp, despite being relaxed.

"If you figure out what letters stand from this," he points at the apple picture square, "to this one," then moves his finger to the picture with a goat, "you'll get a treat."

"M'lord?" you frown.

There must be something wrong with your hearing, but no, Marquis leans back and crosses his long legs. "A treat."

Treats are for children, treats are for dogs, treats are for horses who are obedient and look like jewels. You stare at him, puzzled, but try not to let it show; nobles have strange hobbies sometimes: races which cost thousands of gold coins for one bet alone, hunting dangerous animals, forcing their servants into duels to pass time. This must be one of those, an entertainment beyond your comprehension.

Still, time is moving forward and the complexity of your situation is becoming more apparent with every passing second; you've never felt particularly powerful — why would you? — but now you're acutely aware of how fragile one's position is when it depends on someone else's whims.

You take the first picture.

An apple. Letter A. Then a ball — B. Cat... So that's what they look like written down.

Marquis' eyes follow your fingers as they slide across the wooden squares, you feel his gaze like a touch, even though there's a coffee table distance between you and a bit more. You quietly mouth each word and letter by habit, unaware of this little detail. His eyebrows raise, this time with a hint of amusement which you don't see, too focused on your predicament.

Dog — D.

The clock is ticking.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

"Well?" Marquis asks later when shadows cross the room. The sun is gone, the fire in the fireplace burns lower but bright enough to illuminate the space. Sitting like this has given you a headache which makes thinking harder.

"I have them figured out m'lord", you say carefully.

"Tell me then."

"This is A," you slide the apple towards him across the table. It feels a little silly. "This is B."

The way you say them isn't quite accurate. It's "bee" instead of "b" and "dee" instead of "d", but he doesn't tell you that. Your voice goes quieter with each following letter, perhaps because you're nervous or maybe simply tired — who knows what time it is by now? Ah, quarter to ten. He watches you struggle with spelling and pronunciation until finally there they are. All squares from Apple to Goat, in order just like he arranged them.

"What about this one?" Nicolae points to the playing cat.

"It starts with 'K', m'lord."

You're quite sure, not that much variation is left after all, and say it with the most conviction you can muster so he would finally be satisfied and end this odd game. Your head hurts and stomach grumbles with hunger — there was no time for the lunchbreak today —both physical and mental exhaustion blur together.

Grandfather must be worried sick by now, he hates when you're late without telling anything beforehand.

Then Marquis covers his mouth, and for the first time since you entered Albastru castle, laughs.

Not chuckles. Not smiles without smiling. Laughs that his shoulders shake, that his eyes crinkle at the corners. You stare bewildered, not knowing what to do. Laugh yourself? Smile politely? Say "m'lord" again?

Marquis' laughter dies down eventually and he collects himself, straightening his waistcoat which doesn't require any adjusting in the first place, he's perfect as always.

"No, that's C."

Your cheeks flush red, how were you supposed to know? It would seem that a gentleman such as Marquis Nicolae should know better than mocking someone's lack of education, but apparently he finds it amusing. You lower your gaze and look away.

"How are you called?" he asks.

After a pause your name rolls off your tongue; small in his bedchamber, it barely leaves an echo.

"Well, I said a treat, didn't I?"

You don't want any treats, or to spend here even a minute longer; Marquis rises and walks towards his desk.

"Come here."

Reluctantly you stand up and follow him. The linens are left on the chair in a crumpled pile, they need ironing now. There's nothing to do other than obeying so you stop next to him where he opens one of the drawers. Inside you can see something wrapped in white paper with a thin ribbon bow around it. He takes the item out and pulls the ribbon off. Delicate scent fills the air, the little cakes, you know their name from the cook ─ macarons ─ bloom inside the wrapping.

Marquis Nicolae picks one up with two fingers and brings it to your lips.

The macarons smell sweet like almonds and look beautiful like roses in his greenhouse. They're not for maids, you think, no, this is...he shouldn't be doing that.

Your mouth waters anyway.

His eyes don't leave your face, "Do you want it or not?"

You do.

"Then take a bite."

The dessert melts in your mouth instantly. Its texture is soft, like petals, like everything else luxurious you've never had but imagined countless times. A little chewy, a bit crunchy, it's the most delicious thing you've tried, better than a piece of cake taken from the kitchen pantry, better than honeyed walnut bread.

"Another one?"

Marquis Nicolae feeds you two more, before you realize what exactly is happening — a bite by a small bite your dignity dissolves into his hand. You swallow the last morsel and quickly step back; you've forgotten yourself, forgot who you were and where, and now there's sweetness lingering on your tongue, while Marquise' fingertips smell faintly of apricot.

What have you done?

He looks amused again.

"Thank you, m'lord," you curtsy, then turn around to gather the discarded sheets.

"Clean the fireplace and change the linens. Then you might be free."

"Yes, m'lord."

It's a dismissal at last.

Marquis sits down and reaches for a book — he's done with you it seems — so you hurry to complete the assigned tasks. The fireplace isn't too dirty fortunately, just some ashes and coal leftovers. Next, the sheets, then the flowers.

Before you close the door and rush down the empty hall he speaks again, "If you still remember them all by tomorrow evening, you'll have another treat."

#shalott fanfiction #yandere #original character #original work #yandere x reader #yandere oc #yandere oc x reader

[polichinelle]

yeah fuck it i'm making this its own post. basically very long winded (but still not as extensively detailed as i'd like) thoughts on adam & ronan (sort of) & whelk & noah

i remember reading the raven boys back in 2014 (ten years of rot in my brain!) and being sooo disappointed that there was basically zero fandom interest in whelk & noah beyond "omg whelk is evil and awful and terrible, poor baby noah!" when that is not the narrative surrounding them, not really. i feel it's a disservice to both of their characters to do that, especially noah's:

there is nuance there. there are implications. like... it's ALL about the implications!!! we basically see nothing of whelk and noah beyond what's left after the carnage. and it's a theme in trc for characters to have irreparably changed before we ever meet them (gansey, ronan, whelk, noah). we don't know what they were actually like when noah was alive, when they were best friends. when they were tight as ticks.

what we do know is this: whelk was noah's gansey. whelk was cheating on his own girlfriend with noah's, which is a shitty thing to do for sure, but something we also have zero context for. we also don't know how true it is, because whelk has such a self-inflicted warped view of his past. he keeps rewriting his own memories to think lesser of noah, because his absence hurts that much! we know they were best friends, the same way adam & ronan are best friends with gansey. we know they did everything together

okay, changing gears a little.

i'll paste the part where adam is possessed, sorry for the amount of screenshots:

and this line from a bit further along the chapter:

then, from noah's possession scene:

compare this to whelk's recollection of killing noah, and the effects it had on him:

"red lines streaked in the corners of his vision" "in whelk's head, unearthly voices hissed and whispered, words blurred and stretched together" "dictated by something larger and more powerful than himself" "somehow invited into his body through czerny's death" yes i am going there, yes i am making that point. i think, to some extent, barrington was possessed when he murdered his best friend. neither noah nor adam get their own pov while possessed, so...

i mean, time is a circle. noah needed to die so that gansey would live. noah had already died, gansey had already lived. it needed to happen, and so it would.

where the difference lies, i think, is in barrington's reaction to being possessed, versus adam/noah. for all that i'm arguing possession, i don't think barry's a stand up guy, he's a kid who's never had good role models (need i pull out the quotes about his shit parents) and who was raised by money and objects and reputation, which is why i think the possession worked. the idea to kill noah might've seemed like his own in the moment, an escalation of the situation he was already in, but unlike adam/noah there was no one to hold him back (not to mention barrington isn't as familiar with magic things(?) as they are). in that moment, whelk did truly lost it. he did the unforgivable. but there is no universe in which he doesn't.

for every time we see noah reenacting his death, we also need to imagine barrington whelk, seventeen and shivering. realizing as he's committing the act that he can't go back. perhaps realizing too that he couldn't stop his hands from gripping onto that skateboard, no matter how much he wanted to after that first hit. ("But instead, he remembered the sound Czerny made the first time he hit him.")

there's also adam in this. both him as a parallel to barrington, and as a strange sort of part of noah in a way. adam and noah interact the least out of the main group, arguably, but they too are a two-headed creature; they started out as one singular character and you can sort of tell. something something hands and eyes, something something sacrifice. ronan sort of parallels noah, in that he is not the same lively person we hear about, and he never will be that person again. both are cabeswater personified (although in different ways).

some more things:

"he once had been tight as ticks with his roommate czerny" "only whelk and czerny, treasure hunters and troublemakers" "it was possible that czerny's death wasn't for nothing after all" "[...] his days a ribbon floating aimlessly in water" (in relation to: "he had been a swimmer himself, once") "czerny, you're in a better place than me, i think" "whelk, standing in the wreckage of his life, didn't laugh this time" "the dry, half-eaten burger on the passenger seat / the first fast-food burger he'd had in seven years" "these days, when whelk was trying to comfort himself, he told himself that czerny was a sheep, but sometimes he slipped and remembered him as loyal instead" "[...] took him back to that moment, the skateboard in his hands, the sad question gasped in czerny's dying sounds "we were friends like —"

also, whelk dying in the same place noah did. these lines:

both noah and barrington look the same in the end. broken, rumpled, forgotten. noah's family will never know his bones were reburied outside of their family plot. whelk's mother, however distant she is, will never be notified that her son has died. i think in a way barrington died at the exact same time noah did; something something invited into his body through czerny's death.

basically what i'm getting at is, noah and barry could've been ronan and adam i think, had the circumstances been different. they never will be, but i think about it sometimes.

and there's so many more things i'm not even gonna TRY going into, like noah and whelk both being parallels to gansey (the three of them kings in their own right), or the disparity between whelk talking about czerny vs adele talking about noah, or whatever the fuck is going on with whelk's backstory in general (what's the deal with his mother? how the hell did he get the aglionby job? a random headcanon of mine is that his and noah's search for the ley line lead them to fox way, seven years before the events of the book, and that's partly why whelk refuses to give out his name to maura, because barrington is hard to forget, and easy to trace back)

there is so much to talk about here and i'm so peeved no one is doing it properly... why are we still talking about declan bringing his weekly girlfriend over to monmouth for no reason when we could be talking about whatever the fuck kinda soul-fate-destiny bullshit noah and whelk have!

#i know trc has its villain of the book thing but i am sooo disappointed whelk is never really talked about beyond #the first novel. like he's one of the only tangible links we have to noah's life... he was RIGHT THERE #he's so interesting to me. i rotate him and noah over and over in my head like they're in a microwave #trc #the raven cycle #the raven boys #noah czerny #adam parrish #barrington whelk #ronan lynch

[junkdrawernoggin]

Welcome Home, Frank?

So I know I just posted but I have another thought. So, we know Frank is our lil bug dude. His whole scheme is butterflies and bugs and gardening. We also know he is the straight-man to pretty much all of the other characters. He is the only one who doesn’t seem to be in on the type of humor the show rewards and the other characters understand. He is also the only character we don’t have an origin for which is specifically called out in his intro card. Much like Wally, he seems a little out of place for the show minus his connection with Julie and Eddie. 

That makes it extra interesting that the audio clips are found by collecting bugs. Could it be that Wally is not actually the only character capable of breaking the 4th wall? Is it possible Frank is trying to communicate with the viewer?

My only real doubt for this theory is that through the audio we know that Frank likes Wally, or at least gets along with him well enough. So if he is trying to somehow warn the viewer, who is he warning the viewer about? 

However we do know he does *not* like Barnaby. Doesn’t understand him. And it’s implied that Wally has done *something* to Barnaby. Obviously Clown’s website is not canon, but it can inform us on maybe some original ideas. Well there’s the big photo of Wally puppeteering Barnaby’s decapitated body. There’s a lot of odd little details about Wally controlling/changing Barnaby. SO here’s where I’m gonna go a little crazy with this theory

Maybe Welcome Home is a wreck-it-ralph turbo type story. This isn’t the first time this theory has been brought up, but It’s maybe the first time it’s been suggested that FRANK was the one who was replaced as the main character. We don’t have an origin, maybe because Frank was the first one to live in the neighborhood? He’s the odd one out to all the other characters, down to his color scheme. I think a children’s show about a grumpy guy living in this fun town and learning how to open up and have fun would be awesome. Basically if Sesame Street was about Oscar. 

So we know that somehow Home has some level of control over Wally. So whatever power Home has/was created by on the real world side of things destroys any old content (black paint/goo) because Wally isn’t the main character of those. It inserts Wally into this TV show for whatever purpose. Frank is relegated to just another neighbor. The power works on Frank, convinces him that Wally has always been here, or has always been the heart of the neighborhood. 

BUT, it doesn’t convince him that Barnaby is right. Maybe in the original show Barnaby and FRANK were actually the main dynamic duo as opposites. Wally is new, so there’s nothing for Frank to compare to. But maybe some part of Frank remembers a different Barnaby. One that wasn’t best friends with Wally. And since I guess in this theory the characters have some level of consciousness, Frank turns to the only people who might listen to him, the viewers! He gives them what hints and clues he can that *something* is wrong. He may not even be sure what. 

So yeah that is my real far end crazy theory. There’s probably a bunch of things that disprove it, but it was fun to think about since I do adore Frank as a character. If you take away anything from this, let it be my theory that Frank at least has some ability to break the 4th wall and is the one helping us uncover the secrets. 

#welcome home #welcome home arg #welcome home puppet show #welcome home spoilers #welcome home update #welcome home frank #wh frank #frank frankly #welcome home theory #wally darling

[affixjoy]

Today I continued my Star Trek journey by rewatching Star Trek (2009) and boy howdy do I have some thoughts.

So first off, I saw this for the first time when I came out in 2009. It wasn’t my first experience with Star Trek, but it was probably my first with Kirk and Spock and that gang. I remember liking it a lot.

Now that I’ve watched all of TOS and a few of the movies with the original cast my feelings are a little more complicated.

Overall, fun movie! I imagine they had to have felt the weight of recasting and redoing such iconic characters, and in a lot of ways they succeeded. It certainly got younger people like me interested in the franchise!

💫 Spock: I do love this version of him. His “live long and prosper” to the VSA is perfectly bitchy and I’m obsessed with it.

💫BONES!! if you’ve read any of my other posts you’ll know that somehow Bones snuck up on me as my favorite character. I love his intro here, and I think Karl Urban gets the tone just right. This really is a buffet for the McKirkers out there, I can see how this led to 1000 academy era fics of them.

💫Kirk: oh Jim. Jimmy Jim Jim. Baby boy. What are you doing. How did being played by Chris Pine (who is incredibly hot) make you LESS attractive??

Obviously this Kirk suffers from some Kirk drift and the added trauma of losing his dad. He’s so much angrier, so much less sweet and nerdy. Rewatching this now I can see why I was so hesitant to like him in TOS because he’s a lot less lovable here.

💫 I get it’s an emergency and they had to for plot reasons, but almost all of Pike’s staffing choices make no sense. Sure, Spock as acting captain, I get that. But everyone else?? Imagine being one of the other people there who has been with starfleet for years and seeing him hand Kirk the role of first officer. The ship can’t be entirely cadets can it?? Imagine the group texts going around after like “thank god he didn’t die because I really need to bitch about this.”

💫 I love all three Uhuras (tos, aos, and snw) and I get why they made her Spock’s love interest here because they’ve got fun chemistry! They have a lot in common, they’re both hot and smart, I get it. But cmon guys, that man is a 6 on the Kinsey scale. You keep pairing him with women and it doesn’t work.

💫 I feel like they worked in lots of little references to classic trek, from plot stuff to smaller details like when Spock enters from the turbolift at the end in a very TMP way. I love that, it makes me feel like the people making the movie really care about the stories and the characters. When Spock Prime says good luck I felt all the weight of his relationship with his Jim and how it changed him. So lovely and touching.

And just how close they made Kirk and Spock stand, especially towards the end of the movie. They were always glued to each other in TOS and JJ must have known us Spirk shippers needed something to latch on to 😅

💫 There’s too much action in this movie for me. We didn’t need to see Scotty beamed into the water tank. The best sf stuff is always story based, I don’t need extravagant fights and cgi shit. I’m sure there are people who watch science fiction for the spectacle but I’m here for the ideas and the feelings.

💫 goddddd everything with Vulcan and losing Amanda. Rip all our hearts out why don’t you. Spock’s mom dying is just heartbreaking. I know they had to lose someone we knew to make the destruction of the planet more real to us as viewers but so crushing to see it.

💫 Old Spock 😭😭😭

He knows right away who Jim is and expects that Jim found him on purpose.

Old Spock just launched right in to the mind meld huh. To me this really says that he and his Jim are on very casual mind meld terms and he’s not fully understanding that this Jim is not his Jim.

Think about how fucking weird all this must be for old Spock. How heartbreakingly strange it would be so see a young version of your husband and send him to a young version of yourself. Meeting all your old friends young selves, years after you’ve lost them all.

And from here out it’s just miscellaneous thoughts I jotted down while watching that don’t fit great anywhere else:

⭐️I love when the redshirt is so excited to get the Romulans and Kirk gets this look like… that’s why you’re here? Dude the battle not the appeal here. A nice glimpse of how this Kirk is similar at heart to TOS Kirk.

⭐️Love you Sulu and your fencing skills

⭐️I love when they stop the lift for emotional reasons.

⭐️“Our destinies have changed” goddddd great speech Spock

⭐️Jim has the look of a man who is frequently escorted places by security

⭐️Spock wants to break Kirk so bad 😂

⭐️When Jim slaps Spock’s back and Spock has a look of “I think that just awakened something in me.”

⭐️Spock you’re calling him Jim already? You slut. (Delighted, affectionate)

Overall I think it’s a fun movie but it misses a lot of what’s at the heart of the classic Trek I love. They try to do everything too fast and it just doesn’t work as well for me. I’m excited to rewatch the next two and see how these versions of the characters change!

#spirk #star trek #james t kirk #spock #leonard mccoy #star trek 2009 #nyota uhura #not a bad movie! #but missing a lot of the vibes I love #I get why people love it and I get why people hate it. #mckirk

[bug-bites]

west side apartment, paper plane

tw: brief non-graphic mentions of ghost going thru war stuff and ghost's backstory in the comics (changed a few details because this is fanfic. duh), slight angst (bc yk,, yearning) but sort of fluff if ghost had a dollar for every moment he spent yearning he would have enough money to retire and live a happy life away from the military, also we're pretending british chinese takeout is good, not proofread :P

pairing: simon "ghost" riley x gn!reader (like always can be read as platonic or romantic)

characters: simon "ghost" riley

a/n: i hate how fucking massive the song link is but yk what its fine. but i am back and in a laufey moment!

simon has lived an interesting life, maybe he wouldn’t use interesting. if he could describe it he would probably use words like terrifying, cruel, or for a lack of better terms, shitty. from the moment he was born it seemed like misery and tragedy followed him around like a stray dog, finding its way into every aspect of his existence. his childhood home was always something he wanted to escape, or rather his father was what he wanted to run away from. there were good moments after he kicked the old bastard out, but the ever present threat of tragedy proved that it wouldn’t last. life had been cruel, dealing him possibly the worst hand possible, the only constant being misfortune, that is until you came along.

a temporary living arrangement. thats all it was. rent was a little too much for one person to afford, so you both signed the lease on a crummy, small, mixed-use apartment right in the middle of manchester. it wasn’t much, takeout dinners from the restaurant below and late rent payments were the norm but even with the busted heating, life in that apartment had never felt so warm.

after long shifts at your respective jobs he would come home, plastic bags of takeout in his hands, a sign for you to set a few blankets on the ground before both of you eat ungodly amounts of shrimp fried rice and orange sesame chicken. he could spend hours listening to you speak, nothing made him feel so at home. maybe it was the fact that the food was good and also inexpensive, or maybe it was because he was too exhausted to do anything else, but he loved those long sleepless nights spent sitting on the floor, talking about everything and nothing. simon cant imagine another time in his life when he was genuinely so happy or another time he laughed so hard water came out his nose.

he especially loved opening fortune cookies with you at the end of every meal. sure, he never believed in those fortunes but the idea was always fun to entertain. the sound of the cookie cracking open to expose the slip of paper, revealing what the future had in store for him usually filled him with a childlike curiosity. or at least got a laugh out of him.

“hah, mine says ‘there will be a happy romance for you shortly’. these things really could not be farther from the truth. bet yours is more accurate” you say, popping half of the broken cookie into your mouth “your father loves you and is always with you. remember that.” he reads out loud with a chuckle “oh. that- hm. yeah i take that back”

but the one thing he loved more than opening those silly fortunes with you or the late night dinners was after you both cleaned up the empty takeout boxes, taking the menus and folding them into paper planes. it became a sort of tradition after you got bored and began to mess around with the glossy paper that listed mouthwatering dishes and house specials. he could never get it right, one wing was always too big or his folds were clumsily made and uneven, making them practically incapable of flight but yours were the complete opposite. each crease made was perfect, every intricate pleat skillfully crafted to allow the small paper aircraft to glide through the air with ease. as you tossed your planes off the balcony of your shared flat, the sight of the plane sailing through the air as the sun set always filled the both of you with a sense of nostalgia. and of course you both picked them up and tossed them out because we dont mess w/ littering over here

simon cant help but look back at those simpler times and miss them. he knows from the start it was intended to be temporary, but he’s been through so much chaos and trauma all he just wants a quiet life where he doesnt have to be ghost. he just wants a nice warm home to come back to. it doesnt have to be big, it doesnt have to be expensive, it just has to feel like home. it just has to feel like you. its been so long since the two of you parted ways but as he stares at the last paper airplane that he kept, he cant help but wonder if you feel that way too. as he lies awake in his bed at the military base he’s stationed in, he spends those nights craving that domesticity he had with you. he recalls every memory, every minute detail that made him love that cramped apartment and maybe how he loved you even more.

#simon ghost riley #simon riley x you #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x reader #ghost x reader #cod x reader #x reader #ghost call of duty #call of duty #call of duty mw2 #cod mw2 #simon “ghost” riley #songfic #can you tell i like writing abt domestic ghost? #anyways laufey songs as cod characters will probably be a series bc i have so much planned tee hee #maybe ill make a poll for whos next :3 #probably just tha 141 but who knows! #bug blurb #Spotify

[mayullla]

Title: Virtual World Genshin

Character(s): Multiple Characters (Genshin Impact)

Summary: Sagau; Placing a device on your head, you lay down on your bed and entered a virtual world. Hanging out with npcs and teaming up with them to fight your missions or theirs. Well, maybe you were wrong about them being npcs?

Note: This is inspired by sword art online kinda? I thought of VR at first but I could not really make it interesting enough for myself to write then I thought the chars in sword art online got trapped in a virtual world...

Warnings/tags: Gn!reader, yandere themes, cultish, sagau, kidnapping (technically? you will be taken from your world), can be seen as platonic or romantic but the kids (Diona, Klee, Qiqi) are just platonic and nothing more.

Genshin is an interesting game, you thought to yourself yet whined when you remembered how much money you spend on this one game. It was expensive.

Placing the headset on your head, you lay down on your bed and logged into the game.

You felt like you were floating on air as you watched the world load in, first the terrain letting you stand on it, then the trees and buildings far and near that looked far too realistic sometimes when you watched all the small details load in.

The smell of glazelilies and delicious food and the sound of crowds, people talking to each other you can hear them as they talk about their day or how they try to haggle the price down in the shops.

"Ahh, you are back! How are you? Gouba missed you!" Xinagling smiled at you when you entered the restaurant, the smell of spice and the heat radiating of the stove... too real.

"Hey, Xiangling."

The game is simple enough more often than not you are just helping the traveler of your choosing either Lumine or Aether find their other sibling. (The sibling that you didn't choose.) You were like Paimon in a way, that you would be in their life when they need you.

How you would see a notification screen suddenly pop right in front of your face telling you to help the traveler and Paimon in their own missions. The archon quest and all but unlike Paimon you can leave the team whenever you want.

Able to roam free and do whatever you want. This was your own world and your world alone.

The game had co-op too, sending you to another world specific for that (always crowded with people) but when it came to your own world it was you and the npcs only.

You are just you here with the weapon and element you picked at the beginning of the game. Unable to change too much of your features except for the color of your hair or maybe a few tattoos.

Instead of the traveler who too focused on finding their other half, you have dailies and resin for yourself. Building your weapons, artifacts, talents and such. (gifts for the npcs is also another things that you often spent your mora on)

The daily missions are a mix, some designed so that you could do them by yourself while the other which usually involves a lot of fighting would involve asking certain characters to help you out.

It was fun really when you got Kaeya and Diluc who you met at the angel share to go with you to clear out the hilichurl camp.

"Oh, it seems that you have gotten a lot stronger than before Diluc. Could it be because of our lovely little traveler here?"

"Hmph."

Or maybe helping out Yoimiya and Thoma in protecting the hot air balloon goods from monsters.

"Thoma! Get that box that fell off from the ballon! Me and ____ will deal with the hilichurls!"

"On it, Yoimiya!"

Cleaning the anemo archon statues with Barbara or Venti is also fun.

But really the best is the Archon quests or World quests, this one is more specific when it comes to teaming with others. Sometimes would team up with one character only, sometimes with three but not over. The four of you work hard together to figure out puzzles, travel new terrain, steal or help others.

The more personal missions are usually nerve-racking more often than not seeing others' lives play out for a certain character and whatnot. And all you can do is be by their side.

You will morn with those characters their lost, you help them find what they are searching for, overjoyed when the other is happy. You are particularly close with the traveler seeing as they are the main characters in the story.

But in the end, this was just but a game, this isn't reality but a dream, virtual reality, and when you wake up from it you have to face reality.

It is hard at times when you have to log out when you were talking to one of the many characters. Telling them that you gotta turn in for the day, and that you need sleep. Them just smiling as the two of you say goodbye.

They never understood that this was a game you thought, after all you watched others play the game managing to get a video telling a character that they were nothing more than a game, codes and pixels.

Yet the characters never acknowledge that they were, looking at the player funnily as if they were just joking around or have gone crazy.

Walking around the game one time you wondered how the devs were able to make such a beautiful game. Again everything all looked so realistic the characters' emotions, thoughts, troubles and all that you just can't believe this was a dream or even a digital world!

When you got hit in-game you could feel the pain the hilichurl gave you, it was a little less painful than real life but the fact that you could feel surprised you the first time you got hit. What's more when you watched other characters get a heavy hit... you wondered if they too feel pain, when you watched Diona too panic to use her burst to heal Rosaria who was on the grass... hurt.

When you rested in the grass you could feel the pointy tips of it lightly tickling you and when you ate their food, everything tasted delicious, did they too also taste how delicious the food was? Sometimes you wished to believe so when they ate with you complimenting the food that you cook at camp that day.

The kind npcs who greeted you as a hero or sidekick with the traveler you knew why many in your world fall so far into the game wanting this world to be their reality far more than their own. Yet you could not help to also cherish this a little sometimes.

Sometimes.

You would be the same, but you understood that this was a dream and that this wasn't real but all just a game. Because in the end when you wake up the pain you felt in-game from getting hit by an arrow was suddenly gone, and the food that you ate with the characters did not fill your stomach. It is small things like that bring you back to reality and help you understand that all this was just a game.

Sometimes it is hard sometimes it is not but you learn how to separate reality vs game here.

How disappointing.

It was often when Yunjin and Xinyan would try to invite you to a show or two. Asking you to stay for a while longer when you have to leave soon.

"You must see this amazing show of ours! Yunjin helped me so much with this new song, you just gotta listen."

"Could you just stay for an hour, please?"

How the children would give you those pitiful eyes that made your heart pull when they ask you to play a little more.

"Klee wanted to play with you a little more... Are you sure you won't play with me anymore?"

"Qiqi wanted to watch the flinches with you..."

"I wanted to show you this new drink... not that I made it just for you... but it would be nice... hmph."

You thought that maybe it was because you are someone who played a hero that they adore you so much. Because of all the missions, they thought of you as a close friend.

It was nice when you, Diluc, Kaeya and Roasaria are together having a bit of banter whenever you got to the angel's share.

"You should drink a little more, it would only be a waste after coming all this way."

"They would like grape juice more, Kaeya. Too much drinking is also bad for you."

"Leave them alone you two."

Ninguang would tell you about her plans, never in full detail, but every so often she would slip a thing or two to you all the while Beidou and Kazuha would barge into the jade chamber (mostly Beidou) to play with you and Ninguang.

"So that is what I was planni-"

"Yo! I heard that you guys were together so I thought of dropping to the jade chamber to say hello!"

"Seriously Beidou, have a little sense."

Zhongli would often tell you stories of his own. Suspiciously stories that the internet never heard about when you look it up, made you wonder if there were hidden missions that you by mistake completed. Those stories are often the reason why you stay in-game a little longer, just to hear everything because you weren't sure you will be hearing them again.

"Have I told you about this?"

Childe would drag you together with him, telling you that you and he were comrades and that you and he must stick together!

"Since you are my comrade, you better watch my back alright."

Ayato and Ayaka would often invite you to the Kamisato home telling you that you stay for a while.

"You haven't been to the Kamisato home for a while, Ayaka misses you. Come and rest there for today."

"Ah! You are here, I am so glad to see you again."

Somehow just somehow Itto gets into more fights and trouble than necessary or even normal when you are around that you must stay a little longer to help Kuki Shinobu fix things up.

"Thanks without you I am not sure what to do with this guy and his group sometimes."

"Oh come on Shinobu! You love me, and so do you!"

When did this start?

There was always something that made you stay a little longer, there was always someone accompanying you where ever you go.

Sometimes you wondered if it was timed... you remembered that when you first started playing the game you were mostly alone if not with the traveler and Paimon searching and fighting monsters alone for their loot, finding beautiful sceneries as you traveled and marking them off your map.

Now you don't even have that moment of silence, as someone is always there with you. Don't get it wrong... you liked being with them, they are your friends in some form of way... complicated... and you would never say no when all they wish was a little bit of your time but also fight alongside you.

But you can't shake that feeling that when you look at their smiles there was a hint of desperation. That they were just clinging to you as if you are just going to disappear at a moment's notice.

When you promised Albedo, Ei and more characters that you will come back after taking a small break for yourself, some alone time. How they hold your hand or arm so tightly as if afraid only to reluctantly release them, smiling as they said goodbye.

You will come back...

What were you supposed to do when suddenly you aren't able to log out of the game.

That your body was stuck unable to wake up, as you tried and tried to leave. When you begged the system to let you out yet there was no answer, no notification just errors and errors which every button you picked to get out.

You didn't see them come close, surprising you when you suddenly heard their voice asking you if you were okay. Their words of worry you didn't trust when you saw the satisfaction in their eyes, the hesitance in them gone as they bring you into a hug clinging to you telling you that it was alright.

You belong to their world.

#genshin #genshin impact #sagau #genshin sagau #self aware au #genshin cult au #genshin yandere #tw yandere #platonic yandere #yandere imagines #yandere x reader #genshin x reader #genshin imagines #genshin scenarios #genshin self aware #genshin x you #childe #kaeya #diluc

[sonicasura]

Let's be honest with ourselves that Transformers Earthspark has its issues. It isn't uncommon for the series to have a few messy iterations throughout the years. However those at least have something going for them.

Bayverse is a junk pile yet there's a lot of material you can build off on and some pretty interesting concepts. RiD15 is an awful sequel to Prime but does decently well as a standalone although there are much needed changes to be had. Earthspark... Well, it's just there.

I can be lenient with the plot holes and poor pacing as Nickelodeon is notorious for interfering with any show that isn't SpongeBob to the point of cancellation. The issues truly land on the characters themselves. I'm gonna try to simplify it without devolving into a rant like the previous draft.

Edit: Gonna add some further edits as I wrote this in the middle of the night. Plus my simplified version skipped some key details.

Robby. Somehow they made a human character I actually dislike instead of be neutral about. In the official Transformers wiki, he's labeled as a big brother who cares for his siblings but his actions so far say otherwise. Robby literally ran away in the first episode because they moved then decided to try and hide the Terrans from his parents.

Yet he rarely gets enough consequences for his actions. I think we don't just need less Emberstone saves not just because of plot armor but force actual character growth on him. Like a life changing to one of his siblings as consequences for his actions and strained relationship until he gets his head outta his ass.

Edit: Yes, I know Robby is a teenager but that isn't a decent enough excuse for his behavior. Seen the trope about big brothers who do act closed off or at some points rude but they haven't done shit that put their family in serious danger. No, I didn't try to purposely forget the times he was injured badly.

There honestly needs to be less of those and his consequences be adjusted to it affects someone else badly. *

Next issue is lacking confrontation with Optimus choices alongside the obvious misplaced trust in the 13 Primes. Quintus Prime literally emotionally manipulated and scarred Mo through a fake bad ending reality because she doubted herself. No good person would do that, much less an actual ally. Even moreso on a child.

I seen this shit in Trollhunters but at least Jim, the main character, was a teenager. (It still was wrong though.) We also got remember that Liege Maximo and Megatronus/The Fallen are Primes. Yet somehow it is best to trust them.

Don't get me started with some of Optimus' choices when it comes to GHOST. He probably did it to protect his Autobots but what about the Decepticons who are locked away? Why are there so little of his companions with him especially since Bumblebee had fucking went into hiding before the show began.

There needs to be tension between Optimus with his Autobots. Someone is bound to snap and Bumblebee would have the biggest impact. The man clearly isn't okay as he's doing things that even Megatron admits ain't like him.

Mandroid needs to be written differently. He has the making of a sympathetic villain but oh boy. First off it is clear that his depiction is ableist aligned since the reason he doesn't like Cybertronians is because he lost his arm. Major thing to change right there.

Give him a narrative where his interest been genuine but slowly declines as the Autobot/Decepticon war increases the number of destroyed lives. Let him become a victim to this than just 'I lost my arm so death alongside experimentation to all Cybertronians'. Also don't make Mandroid ignore the obvious fact that the Transformers parts he puts into his body is slowly poisoning and instead come up with ways to fight the infection. Kinda like in Ironman 2 where Tony's arc reactor began to do the same thing.

Edit: Mandroid's negative views on Cybertronians are about the war and he's aware of the Energon poisoning. It is just that it is poorly portrayed to the point you rarely see it over his Arachnamechs/his ruined life.

Have the man present various evidence of destruction the war caused by both sides at the Malto children or anonymously spread such info around town to sew discontent with the townsfolk. 'These are the people who you consider heroes. Who you see as family and friends. Or should these tragedies be forgotten?'

Do a Baxter Stockman where you frequently see him try to fix the Energon poisoning than just simple dialogue. Even have testing on organic subjects to see how they react and find ways to counter it. Don't keep these key points as simple dialogue. *

I don't think Karen needs much changes either. 'But her taking over Cybertron doesn't make sense!' It actually does for one reason: hubris. Have you ever seen what happens when you give a control freak power? Their behavior becomes more erratic as they begin to think they deserve more. She is xenophobic in nature so imprisoning Decepticons and ordering around the Autobots is a drug to her.

Karen wants to treat them like slaves so the next step in her mind is Cybertron. Her death is well deserved and well played. Just like Icarus, the bitch flew too close to the sun.

I think the last major issue, other than out of character racist Shockwave, is the Terrans. No offense but they need a bit less screentime so the rest of the cast can shine. We barely see Alex and there's unclarified issues involving Bumblebee with Arcee if he's uncomfortable around her.

I also want their flaws to be at the forefront. Thrash is the only one who gotten such character development from his encounter with Swindle. We need more of that! Like Hashtag's overreliance on the Internet biting her back as she is forced to use real world skills.

Edit: I accidentally put in Terrans when I really meant Twitch. The screentime for everyone needs to be balanced mainly for the Malto family. Alex alongside the three younger Terrans rarely get involved or their characters further build upon. Twitch needs to get benched more.

Also the Dad Number 2 should really be addressed. Wheeljack was clearly uncomfortable when it been brought up. Plus it is way too fast to even consider such ideas unless you plan to have it addressed properly. Like 'Kid. We barely know each other yet somehow I became a father figure in an instant? It's best not to do that until you truly certain "Dad Number 2" doesn't mean harm or feels comfortable with it.' *

Earthspark clearly has potential but these problems need to be handled better. Addong the deleted scenes help add some clarification but canon needs to present it. We are supposed to get a second season so hopefully some of these are addressed.

#sonicasura #maccadam #transformers #transformers series #transformers earthspark #tf #tf series #tf es #tfes #personal idea #rambles #tv shows #slight rant #personal review #fixing canon #canon divergence #character flaws