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#this /does/ capture what it looks like for some people pretty well though yeah!
g1rld1ary · 2 months
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you never disappointed me ; luke castellan x aphrodite!reader
part one part two part three part four
➻ synopsis: charles beckendorf wants to go out with silena beauregard more than anything. one problem: she's not allowed to date until her shrewish older sister does, so he and percy come up with a plan. (10 things I about you AU)
➻ word count: 2783
➻ warnings: swearing ooc/kind of loser!luke, ooc silena, she/her pronouns used for reader
➻ this'll be a few chapter so this is p1!!!
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Charles Beckendorf arrived at Camp Half-Blood when he was fifteen years old. It was a wonder he’d lasted out in the mortal world so long with his significant stature, height enough to attract monsters, but Percy — his tour guide — guessed it was probably his more reserved nature which had kept him under the radar.
“Thank God it’s you showing me around,” Was one of the first things he’d said, “When you start things like this it’s usually all the kiss-asses that greet me.” With six schools under his belt, Percy knew what he meant all too well.
“Nah man, we’re chill. And if we get this done quick then you can meet my friends, we know how to have the real fun here.”
And so they embarked on their tour, Percy dutifully pointing out all the most important places around camp. First was the Dining Pavilion, where they met Grover as he chewed on some of the tin-can remains of lunch. Then came Thalia’s Tree, under which Annabeth was drawing out a map that Charles didn’t understand in the slightest but Percy explained was a strategy for capture the flag. After that they walked past the sword fighting arena, where they caught a glimpse of Luke in the middle of a fierce duel. They both passed quickly, and Charles got the distinct impression that you weren’t supposed to interrupt Luke when he was fighting.
As the two got to the lake, Percy explaining it was where most people hung out when they had the time, Charles faltered in his steps. Percy looked back to where he was frozen and followed his sightline to Silena Beauregard and rolled his eyes.
“Who is that?” He breathed.
“Don’t even bother, bro,” Percy replied. “She’s off limits. It’s a well known fact that the Beauregard sisters aren’t allowed to date — they’re only here over the summers and their dad is crazy strict about it for some reason.”
“But she’s so—”
“Self-centred? Shallow? Silena is all looks no substance, dude. You can do better.” Percy ushered him away but Charles was still daydreaming about the beautiful Aphrodite girl.
The tour was just finishing up by the Climbing Wall when they first saw you. You held the camp record for it, and so had been delegated the responsibility of teaching the younger kids. Today though you’d had to rescue a cocky bastard from getting obliterated by lava, singeing the fabric of your camp shirt all over your left shoulder, and you were not in a good mood.
Just wanting to get back to your cabin for a change of clothes and some ambrosia, you were certainly not in the state of mind to stop and chat with a new camper. So when Percy and Charles came along blocking the whole fucking path, you didn’t hesitate to yell “Move!” Pushing past them in a huff. You wouldn’t usually be so rude, but you were pretty sure your shirt was fusing into your skin which was so not what you needed. Plus, they were in the way. Beckendorf’s bicep was warm from where you’d shoulder-checked him with your injury.
“That’s your dream girl’s older sister,” Percy snorted, used to your disagreeable personality.
“That’s Silena’s sister?” Charles asked incredulously, “But she’s…”
“A shrew? Yeah. I’d watch out for her, and kiss your dreams of going out with Silena goodbye. Now c’mon, I’ll show you to your cabin.” Charles followed mindlessly, still thinking about the two Beauregard sisters.
When people thought of you, the consensus was pretty much this: Silena Beauregard’s older sister, and the most heinous bitch at Camp Half-Blood, a title you were extremely proud of. Whilst you really didn’t think you were that bad — in fact, you considered your actions quite reasonable — younger campers cowered away when you marched through camp and the older ones rolled their eyes when you spoke. Just the way you liked it. It wasn’t exactly unusual, camp had all sorts of kids living there, not everyone was going to get along, but it was pretty unexpected for you as a daughter of Aphrodite.
You didn’t get along with most of your siblings, despite all your efforts as one of the elder campers. You thought it was ridiculous that they wouldn’t participate in camp activities, regardless of the reason. What good was having all that beauty if it was wiped off the face of the earth by a monster? There were a hundred rumours flying about to explain you and your attitude, the most popular being that you were the secret lovechild of Aphrodite and Ares, which explained your affinity for fighting and permanent bitch face. You knew better. For one you shared too many of your dad’s traits not to be his child. Plus, Aphrodite had a long history of being associated with war in Ancient Greece which everyone at camp just conveniently forgot in favour of writing her children off as useless and vain. You hated it, and you refused to be who they wanted.
Even your favourite sibling was the polar opposite to you. Silena was a few years younger than you, and by all accounts was the model of a perfect Aphrodite child. Gorgeous, of course, and usually kind and patient. In your opinion, she was kind of annoying and self-absorbed, but you chose to believe she meant well so you could keep tolerating her. You didn’t know how the only two blood-related siblings in your cabin could be so different from one another, but it had been that way since you were fourteen and she was twelve.
You had made it back to your cabin, and your shoulder was all bandaged up after your shower. You were just flipping through The Bell Jar, your latest novel, when Silena came stomping into the cabin, waving a letter frantically through the air. You could assume what it was about.
“This is so unfair!” Silena whined, “Daddy doesn’t even know Ethan!” Ethan was the new boy Silena had been obsessed with recently, writing incessantly to your father in an attempt to get him to take back the no dating rule.
“What, can’t go swap spit with the vermin of the earth?” You exaggerated a pout. She sneered at you in the mirror.
“Worse. Now he’s saying I can’t date until you do, so now I’m going to die a stupid old virgin because of you!” You rolled your eyes and sighed.
“Have you ever considered there’s more to life than finding a boyfriend? Or, big shock I know, maybe I’m just not interested in the sweaty, uninspired pigs that are supplied here?”
“You suck!” She huffed, turning on a kitten heel and barging out of the cabin.
“You suck!” You mocked, turning back to your book. You knew Silena was really pissed at you for being so stubborn, but you hated the thought of changing your opinions over a man of all things.
Silena, in her frustration, was wandering around Camp Half-Blood to let off some steam. Charles, fresh from a kayaking lesson, spotted her across the beach and scrambled to catch up to her. Remembering what Percy told him about her not participating in many of the camp’s activities, he came up with the idea to offer his help to finish a project in the forges to get Chiron off her back. Silena seemed surprised but happy enough to agree, and Charles was ecstatic.
“She’s agreed to go to the forges with me!” He told Percy excitedly, and Percy raised an eyebrow.
“Do you even know how to weld?”
“Well, no, but I will!” As much as Percy liked the new kid, he was definitely a handful.
Charles’ first session with Silena didn’t go exactly as he’d hoped. She showed up already looking bored, and not keen to start off with a simple sword as he’d proposed. Soon he gave up with any welding, choosing instead to try and get her know better.
“If you’re not really into this we could try something else? I saw someone welding some metal flowers, you know, for like a date?” That caught her attention.
“Are you asking me on a date?” At his shy nod Silena couldn’t contain her slight laugh. “That is so cute! What’s your name again?” Charles told her quietly.
“Well, my Dad’s just changed our family rule — I can date when my sister does.”
“That’s great! So all you’ve gotta do is find someone who’ll date her!”
“One problem, Cameron-”
“Charles.”
“My sister is, like, totally antisocial?”
“Yeah, but people jump out of planes and stuff all the time! It could be, like, extreme dating!”
They both looked across the forge where you were working, fixing up your favourite sword after an Ares kid had done quite a number on it. You had on both your signature outfit and expression — long, practical jorts with your camp shirt tied in a knot and a dangerous bitch face.
“The oversized look is out, Beauregard, didn’t you read last month’s Vogue?” Ethan was hovering around you, trying his hardest to get a rise out of you in front of his friends.
“Run along, dickwad.” You refused to blow up at him, knowing it would only be used to make you look hysterical and unbalanced later. Plus, Ethan would get bored sooner or later and find someone else to taunt.
As Charles recounted this story to Percy later that night at the bonfire, all Percy could do was groan.
“Charles — Charlie — I really wanna like you, man, but this is probably the most stupid thing you could have done. I know they’re hot, but it’s not even worth getting involved with one Beauregard sister, and you’ve just gotten yourself tangled with both — and not in the way that most guys dream about.” Charles flushed at the innuendo.
“I think you’re wrong about Silena, I think she’s worth it. I just have to figure out how I can set her sister up with another guy.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Percy laughed, hitting Charles’ knee twice before turning away to talk to Annabeth. Charles spent the rest of the night trying to hatch a plan.
Early the next morning he got Percy on board, albeit very reluctantly. Percy brought Charles over to every single guy he could think of in your age range, begging them to take you out. The responses varied from a nervous shake of the head to Travis Stoll laughing in both boys’ faces.
“Why would I go looking for a kick in the balls?” He asked, still wheezing from his initial outburst.
They found themselves once again at the bonfire, both disheartened. Percy at having wasted a day all for this new guy he barely knew, and Charles that he was no closer to getting a date with Silena. Finally, somewhat eager to get this distraction over with, Percy came up with an idea.
“What about you just pay someone to go out with her?” He asked, and Charles considered the idea for a minute, it wasn’t half bad.
“I have literally no money,” He settled on finally, and Percy rolled his eyes.
“So you get someone else to do it for you,” He suggested, and Annabeth joined the conversation with suspicious interest.
“Like a backer?” She asked, at Percy’s nod she bit her lip, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, guys, it seems like it could really backfire on you. I mean, what if she finds out? I heard she once tied a camper to the lava wall just for looking at her wrong.”
“She won’t find out! I mean she only has to date so Silena can, it doesn’t have to be a long term thing. She goes on enough dates for it to qualify, then they break up while it’s still casual and I can go out with Silena!” Charles explained excitedly, but Annabeth still looked skeptical.
“Plus, if we have a backer, none of the blame will go to my man Charlie here,” Percy added helpfully, which swayed Annabeth a little.
“Okay, well be careful,” She said, leaving for the dining hall to be distanced from the plot.
Percy thought the answer to who the backer would be was pretty obvious. Whilst most of the boys at Camp Half-Blood wanted to sleep with Silena, Ethan White was both rich and desperate enough to agree to it. Plus when Percy Jackson was telling you you’d look great with a girl, you generally listened.
All that was left was to find someone to set you up with. The boys used the bonfire to scope out their options, but it wasn’t looking good. For one, you didn’t even show up to bonfires if you could help it, and it was anyone’s guess what you did instead. Rumours said blood sacrifices but Percy was almost completely sure that was a lie. Truthfully you were sitting up on the roof of the Aphrodite cabin, enjoying the peace and quiet of the camp when no one else was around.
They were about to give up, Percy trying to find the right words to let Beckendorf down easy, when they saw Luke. Luke, with his brooding eyes and his cigarette, sitting on his own at the bonfire with headphones connected to a mortal mp3 player. Luke, who had never quite been the same since he returned from his quest — rumours swirling about the horrors he’d faced that he refused to speak on.
“I think we’ve found our man.”
It was easy to convince Ethan to get on board, he was so overconfident in himself and his looks he would never suspect that Percy or Beckendorf had any ulterior motives. It was equally enjoyable to watch Ethan try and approach Luke to get the plan in motion. Percy and Beckendorf were sitting with Percy’s friends on the beach the very first time Ethan spoke to Luke. He was all macho confidence, still trying to play the tough guy. Luke looked up at him from his place sitting on a rock, barely moving his head to give him any attention. The moment of eye contact meant Ethan knew Luke had seen him speaking, and the abrupt walking away communicated his absolute lack of interest. It took a gargantuan effort from Percy not to burst out laughing then and there.
The second conversation went a bit smoother. Ethan had a metaphorical tail between his legs, temporarily giving up his ego to be the smaller person in the conversation. That got Luke’s attention, having known Ethan and his antics for years at that point. And then Ethan explained his plan. Luke couldn’t contain his laughter — a sound Camp Half-Blood was rarely graced with anymore.
“Yeah sure, Sparky,” He laughed, almost wheezing in an uncharacteristic show of emotion.
“Look,” Ethan stressed, “I can’t take out Silena until her sister starts dating — their Dad is super strict and has this rule—”
“Touching story, not my problem.” Luke moved to put his earbud back in when Ethan stopped him.
“Could it be your problem if I provided generous compensation?” Luke had forgotten Ethan’s mother was filthy rich. He looked him dead in the eye.
“You’re going to pay me to take out some chick? How much?” He asked, entirely disbelieving.
“Twenty bucks” They both looked down at you on the volleyball courts, spiking a ball into a girl’s stomach with so much force she keeled over on the ground. You had the decency to look mildly apologetic while the opposing team glared at you.
“Fine. Thirty.”
“Let’s see,” Luke smiled something devious. “If I’m taking her out it means leaving camp. That’s a lot of risk I’m pursuing for you, plus the costs of taking to her somewhere — the movies maybe. And you know inflation lately, let’s say seventy-five bucks.”
“This isn’t a negotiation, burnout.”
“Fifty bucks and we’ve got a deal, Fabio,” Luke countered, knowing he had the upper hand. He had nothing to lose. Reluctantly, Ethan forked out a fifty. All that was left was for Luke to get you to go out with him, how hard could that be?
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deripmaver · 2 months
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was the wagon scene in berserk sexual assault?
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i mean whatever lol. im ngl in some ways this feels like making a whole ass meta post about whether or not "casca enjoyed it." like do i even need to take this perspective seriously? yeah, yeah, i know, that's a pretty inflammatory thing to say, and a lot of the people who i've seen say the scene is NOT assault don't deserve to be belittled like that.
i think it's possible, and very interesting, to discuss the nuances of the scene. what was griffith's intention in that moment? why didn't casca bring up what happened to guts when he asked? how does this contradict or supplement what we already know about their characters?
per usual, though, most of the discussion of the scene itself put very little thought into one of the TWO main participants - casca. so let's do that, i guess, and look at the scene on the whole.
CW, i will show one eclipse panel (the kiss) in this meta, but that's is
what happens before?
the scene in the wagon comes immediately after the band of the hawk's encounter with wylad. wylad has thoroughly humiliated griffith in front of the entire band of the hawk, told them that griffith is totally defeated and broken, and tried to rape casca while griffith struggled uselessly, unable to help at all.
the band is regrouping afterward, and the reality of griffith's situation is sinking in to the members of the band. we don't know for sure if griffith can hear this, but the band is even discussing whether it makes sense for casca to permanently become the band's leader. where would that leave griffith? a burden, helpless, unable to even lead his own men.
griffith can, however, overhear casca talking to guts just a moment later. she says guts isn't reliant on griffith's dream, and griffith through the wagon can easily see their closeness.
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at this point, casca goes to griffith in the wagon.
so where is griffith? his men, who despite his capture have been sustained by his dream, are losing their faith in him because wylad showed how utterly powerless he is. meanwhile, guts is touching casca in an intimate, close way. he feels like everything is slipping through his fingers, even his particular place of importance for guts. he's lost guts to casca. i would argue this piece, seeing casca intimate with guts, changes his mindset even compared to where he was during the scene with wylad.
where is casca? she's still clinging to that hopeless dream. she was so lonely as the commander of the band of the hawk, trying to face the reality of griffith's injuries and the overwhelming way that their roles have been reversed. she's leaning on guts, on anyone, for support for the first time, while being forced to put on a brave face not just for the whole band of the hawk, but for her idol and savior.
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what happens during the scene?
casca is changing griffith's bandages. she knocks over a bowl of water, and when she goes to leave the wagon to replace it, griffith grabs her, and... well, that's kind of the whole crux of this meta, isn't it?
griffith forces himself on top of her. the question is why, and what's his intention? that's been discussed a lot on tumblr. the other question is: what does casca think his intention is, and how does she take it?
there is a lot of visual language in the scene that, to me, clearly indicates sexual intentions from griffith, and clearly indicates that's how casca takes his intentions.
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side note, i think griffith is crying in the above panel. could be sweat, could be tears... it's subtle enough to leave it up to interpretation.
that last panel in particular is EXACTLY paralleled with the kiss panel during the eclipse. the helmet, the direct eye contact, the pose... miura has always been very intentional with his parallels and his paneling, so i doubt this was an accident. the eclipse panel is just below, btw. scroll quick if u dont wanna see
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this is also how griffith and charlotte's sex scene started.
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the wagon scene and the sex scene with charlotte happen because griffith is doing something rash purely on emotion after feeling stripped of all power and no longer in control of a situation. it's not as simple as griffith being an evil rapist from the start, but you can easily see a pattern of him lashing out and trying to regain control through pushy/coercive sex with women. would griffith do this kind of thing normally? no, of course not. but nothing about the situations he's at these points in the manga are "normal," and again there is a pattern of him lashing out and using women as an outlet for his feeling out of control. they ALSO both happen because he feels like he's losing guts.
casca tells griffith to stop, and griffith does stop, but it's not clear to me if he stops intentionally, or if he simply is physically incapable of continuing. i've seen the idea put forward that griffith is terrified that guts and casca are going to abandon him, and so he offers his body as the only thing he has left in a fit of desperation. i'm not opposed to that being part of it - griffith has used his body and sex as an offering before, with gennon.
this is how griffith is looking at casca during the scene:
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one is normal and even wistful and sad, the other is...... fucking batshit LOL put those damn things away!!!! blue eyes white demon
one thing, though, that i want to say very clearly: griffith may have offered himself sexually to casca out of desperation, but it is very clear to me that casca did not want it. griffith fully forced himself on top of her, too, with his arms wrapped around her. if it was unwanted and forced sexual contact, regardless of why griffith did it or how much of a woobie he is to u, that is BY DEFINITION sexual assault.
this is the part that kind of drives me crazy. i don't personally believe that this was an act of self-loathing or self harm, like take my body because i have nothing left, but even if it is - it is still sexual assault. it is!!!! this isn't an argument!!!!!! yeah he was sad about it but it was still sexual assault!!!!
but anyways, enough about griffith. how does casca react?
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i've seen the fact that she doesn't push him off presented as evidence that this wasn't assault. i'll... get to that.
what happens after?
after, we get these panels of casca, obviously shaken, outside the wagon.
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she is clearly VERY upset. when guts approaches, he sees something is clearly wrong, but she brushes it off and says its nothing. when he keeps pressing, asking if it was something with griffith, she eventually breaks down and tells him that she can't leave with him. she has to stay with griffith, she has to care for him in his fragile, broken state. guts, on the other hand, has to go. even if its alone...
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is this reaction in conflict with the idea that what griffith did in the wagon was sexual assault???? no. not at all.
casca feels immense devotion to the band of the hawks, and especially to griffith. she reminisces about how strong griffith seemed to her while she bandages him in the wagon. he gave her everything - a purpose, a reason to fight, a dream, and now even though the event was terrifying she sees griffith's physical weakness and knows she can't leave him. she can't leave him. how often irl do women overlook instances where their boundaries were violated, or a man they're close with was sexually aggressive towards them, because of those pre-established relationships? because that's their boss, or manager, or idol?
and not telling guts - honestly, that to me oddly is evidence to prove it WAS sexual assault. i think casca's single-minded devotion to the hawks and their dream would have made it so that she wouldn't dare bring up griffith doing anything to make her uncomfortable, because everyone is already on the brink of falling apart. even before this, we see her putting everyone above herself to keep the hawks together - crying alone when she thinks no one can hear her, barely sleeping, so exhausted she becomes suicidal, there is no reason to believe she would bring up something that just upset HER. she is less important, in her own mind, than the good of the whole. it makes perfect sense that she would do exactly what she does - she cries alone by the side of the wagon and doesn't tell anyone what happened.
another thing that i want to be very clear about: the idea that because casca didn't immediately push griffith off of her, and because she didn't bring it up to guts, and because she decided to stay with him afterwards, that means it certainly can't be sexual assault? that is rape apologism. full stop. if your argument hinges on any of those things, your argument is rape apologism. this is not up for debate.
NOW - did kentaro miura in the 1990s in japan know about the nuances of how women react to sexual harassment and sexual assault? that i'm not sure about lol. the argument "this is not in line with the way i assume cishet man kentaro miura in 1996 would understand sexual assault, and therefore i don't think it was his intention to depict sexual assault" is something i can understand. that's NOT what i'm seeing though.
that being said, there is some evidence that miura DID have a very nuanced understanding of assault. here, we have griffith talking almost to himself (though casca is nearby), breaking down about how dirty he feels for sleeping with gennon.
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and yet, when casca embraces him, trying to comfort him, what does he do?
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HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
and yeah, guts kills gambino, but only because gambino tries to kill him. guts first reacts by crying and asking why?
finally, compare the above panels of casca after the wagon scene to casca after almost being raped by wylad, and after the eclipse:
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i mean, this is how miura draws casca when she's fucking going through it generally, but STILL. they are similar. she's shaking while bandaging him because he's so weak, but afterwards she is unable to mask how shaken she is. i don't think her reaction is JUST because he's weak.
this is so fucking long LOLLLLLL. i'm not interested in arguing with any of the various meta posts about the wagon scene not being sexual assault directly, or discussing it with the authors. if you want an alternate perspective, one that takes into account more of casca's POV, this is for you, and i hope you found this helpful! finally i've got this all in one place
tl;dr i think due to the framing you're supposed to see griffith's intention as sexual during the scene, casca very clearly doesn't want it, if your argument that it's not sexual assault hinges on her not pushing him off immediately u suck
uhhhhh that's it
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suffarustuffaru · 5 months
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why the emilia camp thinks otto is their most threatening member 👍
i see some people being confused on why the emilia camp collectively seems to agree that otto is the biggest threat there for some reason and like. yeah. i get it.
but let me explain real quick why i think it makes sense for the emilia camp to think that :O !!
otto though is disarming because. well okay look at him he doesnt look threatening at all. he has the looks and personality of a wet cat. hes whiny. hes cringe fail. he gets stressed out with paperwork. he looks like you could just smack him around like a bug. he HAS been smacked around like a bug. but that makes him unpredictable because apart from roswaal, he is the Most Amoral one there. you can expect roswaal to be trying some shit, but youd never know when to expect otto is planning something. his moral compass is just “does this benefit me or my loved ones in some way? if not, then its gonna be gone 🥺”.
sure, he does nice things sometimes out of the goodness of his heart. he genuinely means well a lot of the time.
but also then you read the shit hes thinking in his internal dialogue and its like.
“should i go save some girl i dont even know from bandits??? hmm lemme think for a couple minutes. im the only one that can help rn… some guy claiming to be her dad is begging me to help his daughter, but also hes kind of annoying… but i dont even live in this city so why should i help… or Care. actually. but i feel kinda bad about this girl… but also this is gonna put me and my profits in danger… but if i reject helping then im forever gonna be known as the guy who abandoned them and then i wont be able to make any sales in this city anymore :<<<< ……anyway im gonna help them then lol im so smart.” and then he gets captured by the exact same bandits anyway so hes like “well okay now me and this girl might be sold into slavery so i might as well save both of us or ill feel bad ☝️☝️”
(yes. yes this is genuinely ottos thought process if you read through the Otto's Bittersweet Peddling Log side story.)
except all the back and forth Calculation he does in his head Stays In His Head and doesnt match up with his outward appearance most of the time. which means that sometimes his words dont match up with his actions. “dont be surprised if i leave at the first sign of danger,” he says, right after risking his life and writing a suicide note over a dude hes known for like four days. “ahah thanks for giving me a vacation to see my family…” he says, damn well knowing he cant go back home yet otherwise he’ll get sniped by assassins. “im gonna give you some of my own money bounty money to help you BUT BUT BUT DONT THINK THAT IM NICE OR ANYTHING I NEED MOST OF THE MONEY FOR REPAIRS OK YOU CAN ONLY HAVE A BIT :<<<“
this also means that whenever otto says or does something Particularly Questionable, all his friends are still kinda blindsided by it because otherwise otto seems Mostly Fine in comparison to whatever the hell everyone else has going on. hes just a wet pathetic cat of a guy ahah. theres nothing more going on with h—
“if everyone in vollachia dies but rem and natsuki-san live, then we’ve won. if everyone in vollachia lives but rem and natsuki-san die, then we’ve lost.”
um otto can you repeat that. what the fuck did you just say.
otto looks Mostly Normal, Just Stressed Out or Somewhat Chilling the vast majority of the time, and then he whacks you over the head with a steel chair. like can you imagine being garfiel and learning that this pathetic rag of a man is actually pretty brave when it counts. youre like “oh cool lol we kinda beat each others asses and i was Annoyed but now that thats all over i got some newfound respect for you!!” and then you read through his diary and hes got a suicide note in there, which is like. okay fine whatever hes kind of a clown just like my New Captain lol but hes dedicated to his friends, ill give him that. and then a year later you find your now brother figure (whos also lowkey highkey an alcoholic) with a broken hand after punching a wall because he couldnt do his Lets Abandon 50 Million People Plan and youre just sitting there going
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and okay dont get me wrong—subaru is Batshit Crazy. in Multiple Incomprehensible Ways. if the emilia camp (or Anyone. At All.) knew about all the shit hes done and been through with rbd, subaru would INSTANTLY be skyrocketing up the Most Threatening People list. but at the same time subarus less threatening than otto in the sense that subarus Always going to want to do good. hes Always going to want to save everyone. hes Extremely forgiving, on top of that. he goes along picking up friends everywhere he goes in his own Incomprehensible Unhinged Way and hes fond of All of them.
otto? yeah his opinion of you could shift on a dime and you could end up in his personal shit list unless youre one of the *checks list* *clears throat* maybe like ten people he cares about. and even if youre on the I Care About You! :) list, he could still get pissed enough at you to, i dont know, punch a wall over you? and spiral into obsession? and even if hes not upset at you hes still gonna mansplain manipulate malewife his way to his goals <33
and yeah of course subaru is also Mansplain Manipulate and Gaslight Gatekeep but at least he has way more good intentions AND his attitude about it is gonna be like "sorry :<<< i just gotta do this for your sake :<<<<<< :((( haha dont worry about it". subaru would never ever want to do anything big to hurt his loved ones (except for rbd). while otto doesnt even bat an eye. everyone can be manipulated if he has to. he goes down his list of Things I Need To Do and goes "yeah that had to be done. oh well. anyway i got more shit to do (like maybe kill a toddler lol)"
also lets talk about roswaal's perspective really quick. post-arc 4 hes like "well subaru-kun is always gonna want to save everyone and hes doing a pretty good job of things in general so whatever lol. i can still keep him in check by killing everyone if even one of his friends dies :)". so its like. YEAH subarus an Unhinged Wildcard. roswaal knows that. but right now subaru is more predictable and also again, roswaal knows he can keep subaru in check by making subaru have to reset if roswaal really needs to.
but otto? yeah ottos second in line for being an Unhinged Wildcard. but whats even worse is that otto is Basically Subaru but More Calculating and with a moral backbone thats Near Nonexistent. roswaal was genuinely concerned for otto in arc 8 for once and there was still Literally No Stopping Otto from being a stubborn little shit whos hell bent on all the maladjusted insane mentalities hes got floating around in his head, half of which he doesnt even say out loud, and all of which he thinks is Completely Right and that theres Nothing Wrong with what hes doing.
and also otto being underestimated and Not In The Tome was a big help as to how subaru got the win over roswaal in arc 4 👍and then otto Continues to try keeping an eye on roswaal after arc 4, to the point of getting roswaal's tome and actively trying to investigate roswaal's actions, so roswaal is Very Aware that otto is. a bit of a threat. roswaal of course is smarter and more powerful than otto though, but that still doesnt change the fact that otto is still capable of being a threat if roswaal doesnt Also kind of keep an eye on otto back. because roswaal kind of lost to otto already in arc 4!!
but okay, on top of all of this, no one knows the full extent of whats going on with otto, not even roswaal (though he has his Suspicions), and most definitely not subaru yet (whos Still a bit of an otto apologist anyway), and otto is already a bit menacing even without knowing All of that. and the rest of the emilia camp are already a bit more lenient with roswaal (as hes seemingly chilled out after arc 4 + they all need him still). that, and you can easily Expect roswaal post-arc 4 to be suspicious and Probably up to something. you wont know what it is, but you wont Exactly be surprised when it happens.
and also roswaal isnt publicly batshit crazy like otto is. otto of course isnt as Openly Weird as subaru, but otto is still Openly Unhinged and Pathetic. just look at him declaring julius and anastasia, HIS CAMP'S ALLIES, as enemies right to their faces alsdfjlsdjfl.
and with subaru, there is Zero doubt in the emilia camp's minds that subaru wants the best for them and everyone around them.
otto though? yeah he also wants whats best for the camp. he Cares about them, he really does. but hes so obviously Questionable by the time you get to arc 8 to the point where the entire rest of the camp starts eyeing him like this:
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theres also the fact that ottos dp allows him to have eyes and ears Everywhere so long as he doesnt overuse it. that paired with his Intelligence, Stubbornness, and Lack of Morals or self-awareness/sometimes guilt/regret over his actions is dangerous. theres a reason why gluttony if subaru decided to flood The Entire Surrounding Area Around Otto. the flood took away the potential army otto couldve made out of the animals and allies otto had in the city, and once you do that, whats otto going to do against someone like shaula? all of ottos power regarding his People Skills and Animal DP was stripped away.
but if that Isnt stripped away... well honestly otto can do whatever the hell he wants the moment he figures out a solid plan to try and get what he wants. his biggest ability at the core of what makes him dangerous is his ability to quite Literally be in the background. so long as hes underestimated, so long as he still has secrets, no ones gonna know the full extent of his bullshit!! you cant stop him if you dont even realize what hes going to do, and hes Good at doing that!!
and if gluttonybaru hadnt taken out otto, subaru would be skyrocketing right to the top of ottos shit list after subaru literally just killed All of ottos (and previously subarus.) loved ones. otto wouldnt stop until he figured out how to destroy subaru. its to the point where im pretty sure if otto had to choose between destroying half the world vs kill gluttonybaru once and for all, otto would certainly choose one of those options in a Heartbeat.
anyway. if youre an emilia camp member, and you see the dude whos in charge of the Vast Majority of the factions political affairs, the guy who you Know is very intelligent and competent and determined when it counts, say shit like "if everyone dies in this entire country i wouldnt even give a single flying fuck as long as our friends get back safe and sound :) it would be such a loss if the entire country lived but our friends didnt :<<<" OF COURSE I WOULD BE LIKE YEAH THAT GUY IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ONE HERE. HE HAS THE SKILLS AND THE MOTIVATION TO BACK UP THAT STATEMENT AND I WONT EVEN KNOW WHEN ITD HAPPEN. he also has the Mental Instability to back that up too, given the amount of times he spends drinking and Raging and Being Terribly Anxious over Every Little Thing.
youll be sweating buckets being wary of otto while ottos casually standing there with his wet cat looks and a knife in your back.
and otto has, for the most part, some of the most normal trauma compared to a bunch of people in this cast (not to discount ottos trauma and pain or anything but its true lajdsfls sorry otto. but also im not sorry because arc 5 was partially on you T^T). he doesnt have rbd, he doesnt have some weird family drama bullshit going on like the astreas or emilias family or the segmunts, he hasnt been erased by gluttony, etc etc. but hes still like this. if you put him in subarus position and gave him rbd, he would get even worse than he already is.
yeah so anyway thats my quick rambley psa about why i think it makes sense that the emilia camp's voted otto as the most threatening one there 👍
but the fact that we (the audience) (or at least some of us!!) keep questioning why the hell the emilia camp thinks otto is the biggest threat there is means that otto's funny silly guy image is. Kind of Working??? just a little bit.
because. granted. of course i think subaru is easily the most threatening person there with both His Flavor of Insanity and rbd. subaru is an eldritch horror in every single way. but at the same time - hes an eldritch horror who thinks friendship is the best magic of all T^TT !!! he FORGIVES PEOPLE WHO'VE KILLED AND TORTURED HIM. hes not threatening in this sense - the fact that hes kind of just way too nice in this sense!!! granted yes, he IS abusing rbd and Terrifying and Threatening in a multitude of ways, but i'd rather take my chances with mainbaru over main otto right now HAH T^TT at least subaru will apologize and start bawling his eyes out if he stabs some random innocent civilian and stranger in the gut for Some Necessary Reason!! otto would feel a bit bad and then completely Eradicate that feeling of guilt with "i had to do it. it was them or me so no regrets <3".
because otto..................... yeah otto is the Worlds Most Pathetic Yandere to his whole camp.
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Hello, I hope you don't mind if I share a weird headcanon of mine 👉👈
I normally see people talking about Kakyoin make drawing about you but what if Jotaro does that too? The reason I have this headcanon because I remember the scene when Jotaro using Star Platinum drawing the fly he saw in the picture, and he draw it so well. It makes me think that maybe Jotaro has talent in art too. Jotaro's style will be realistic style while Kakyoin will be more like cartoon/anime style.
Imagine their sketchbook filling with so many drawing of you 💕 Jotaro will watching you from afar, sketching you with your cute smile, your beautiful eyes, he captured it all. For Kakyoin, I think he will even make up characters (oc) that look like you and him and ship them together lol (this headcanon inspried by my friend, she actually do that with her crush).
Thank you for reading my ramble, glad to talk with you :D I would love to hear your thoughts about my weird headcanon
P/s: Love you writing so muchhhh 💝
This is fun stuff, I could eat it up all day. Thanks for sending it in, so I can blabber my mouth about it
This always internally bugged me so I’m very thrilled that someone brought up how well Star Platinum drew that fly. I suppose it’s kind of easy to gloss over for a lot of people compared to Kakyoin’s scene of painting on that canvas. (Then again that fly was kind of important to identify to figure out where Dio was so then again it’s “???” for an explanation)
Anywho, I’d say signs point to Jotaro being able to draw, and I think it’s a hobby he prefers keeping to himself. Like you said of him having a sketchbook, almost no one sees what he draws in it and he doesn’t want anyone else to see it especially if it’s various sketches of you. So more than likely when he does do so, he’s somewhere where he won’t be pestered by school girls, or whatever punk tries to start a fight with him.
I’d also like to think he goes back and lingers on prior stuff, just staring at it for a little while. This applies usually when you’re out of school sick (which he’ll probably stop by later anyway with or without your knowledge). But there’s something comforting about seeing every piece of your visage in his sketchbook. Literally no one else knows about this sketchbook aside from maybe Kakyoin (Holly has her suspicions he takes a sketchbook around but she smiles not pestering her son on his hobbies as she thinks it’s adorable).
For the most part art wise I think Jotaro sticks to traditional art, maybe a dabble of charcoal but he prefers pencils. Maybe watercolor if he ever went beyond, but traditional with pencil/pen is the easiest way for him to pull something out at his leisure. Would he let you see? Maybe eventually when he gets you where he wants you, or if the cat is out of the bag early and you see it and you’re not quite with him yet. Let’s just say seeing that may speed up him taking you.
Kakyoin I could definitely see diving into the oc type of thing, he’d certainly reference an artstyle of a manga you like. (Don’t ask how he figured that out so quickly). Though he definitely loves putting some passion into his artwork and occasionally shamelessly make sultry artwork of you and himself. He loves painting the most as he spreads colors, mixing them into the wondrous hues that is your skin tone. Or splashing watercolors in a notebook, that looks something out of a fairytale. Soft and warm lighting….oops he’s getting a tad bit excited.
He definitely presents pieces that are obviously meant to be stand ins for the two of you. That no one else would ever be wiser too, yeah you might have this odd feeling something’s not quite right, but there’s nothing there you could really prove other than observe just how pretty the composition is. If you compliment it, that just fuels this man’s desire further.
Biggest takeaway here is Jotaro and Kakyoin very blatantly have their own styles whether sticking with black/white/grey, or full on color. Both would be pretty in their own right, and their style choices speak of their personalities without saying a single word.
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caelesblues · 11 months
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across the universe (part 2)
⋆。°✩ what it’s like to love a member of the astral express, even when you’re universes apart ⋆。°✩
c.w./t.w. fluff with bits of angst, lowercase intended, intense word vomit, an attempt at comedy at march's part
word count: 2057
characters: march 7th, stelle, caelus
gn!reader, title is inspired by “across the universe” by baek yerin, notes at the end
part 1 (with welt, himeko, dan heng)
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10 photos were sent 
2 videos were sent
the date-able lady: looklooklook! this is the new planet we’re stopping by! we finally had some time to just kick back, relax, and finally do some sightseeing! 
seen: 12:22 pm
15 photos were sent
the date-able lady: ugh it’s so pretty here! the food is also really good, we had lots of fun trying out the different cafes they have here! also do the photos look good? i tried some new settings to make the photos really pop!
seen: 12:30 pm
3 videos were sent
the date-able lady: you gotta see some of the shenanigans dan heng and our newest member got into! although it’s kinda concerning how they seem to have an affinity for trashcans….
seen: 12:46 pm
the date-able lady: hey! why are you ignoring me!?
seen: 12:47 pm
annoying person (affectionate): oh sorry i was taking a shit
the date-able lady: what the? so this entire time you were just sitting down on the toilet!?
annoying person (affectionate): yeah pretty much, but i also got sucked into the gaming hypothetical’s video explaining the lore of 6 nights at bobby’s
the date-able lady: …..why are you the way that you are?
annoying person (affectionate): you love it though
the date-able lady: you’re right  (•̀⤙•́ )
annoying person (affectionate): ( ˘ ³˘)♥︎
being with someone like march is like going on an adventure without really going on one yourself. surely it would feel that way if your partner was an intergalactic traveler, who liked to constantly share about her journeys with you all the time. her trusty camera and phone will always be there to capture various moments of her adventures with her fellow crewmates, ranging from the mundane to the absolutely wild (the amount of photos you’ve received wherein it was apparent they were in the middle of a mission, it’s astonishing).
video calls were also a common occurrence as well, sometimes as a means for her to play as a virtual tour guide for you or  just catch up with her during downtimes. either way you always look forward to these moments.
you truly appreciate the effort march always puts into making you feel included in her adventures, getting to see even just a glimpse of the vastness of the universe you’ve also longed to see. you’ve even become acquainted with the other members of the astral express, becoming familiar and friendly with all of them to a point they’ve considered you an honorary member of the crew (they also promised that you’re always free to join them if you so choose to partake in trailblazing as well).
and so through your lover you also get to be a part of their missions, be embroiled in the numerous intergalactic gossip, meet new people along the way, and feel as though you’re never really apart.
being with march also meant that there is a comfortable sort of stasis encompassing the relationship. stasis in the sense that no matter how far apart you’ve been from one another in such a long time, the very nature of your relationship, how you interact with one another, and how you’ve come to know each other does not change whatsoever. it is a testament to the strength someone like her possesses, not letting things change between you just because she’s no longer beside you.
it’s evident in the way you still go about your interactions, almost as if you aren’t galaxies apart. the initial insecurity of how such a massive distance will change you both and the relationship was quelled just as easily as it had formed in your mind, with the both of you just as naturally going about everything just like how you both easily fell in love. 
people always warn you that lovers who stay apart from one another are an easy breeding ground for them to become strangers eventually, but it’s not like that with march. there is no room for either of you to become estranged, not with the constant updates, efforts to always include one another in activities, making time for little virtual dates, and never once changing in spite of the distance that people said will break you apart.
and although she may have left your home planet a long time ago already, only making the occasional stops when they can, it’s never felt like she was ever gone in the first place to begin with. 
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it isn’t easy being born yesterday, abandoned by your mom, be found by strangers, said strangers then inform you that you have the cancer of all worlds implanted in you, and now you join said strangers to travel across the stars-and oh yeah you’re hailed as the savior of an entire planet, and you’ve become an esteemed personality aboard a starfaring ship. well for most normal people the aforementioned things definitely are not an easy feat to accomplish, and that’s without taking into account that those things aren’t so far apart in the timeline of someone’s life. but stelle isn’t just anyone, if you weren’t paying close attention she’s somewhat of an anomaly but also a bigshot already. 
somehow preternaturally gifted in combat, has a knack for getting into mischief, already finding themselves in world changing events, and being the talk of the town wherever she goes-that’s your stelle for you alright. a lot of people are awed by her, either by her talent in fighting, the ability to say the wrong things at the wrong time, or by just being the gremlin that they are; stelle is never without some admirers (and detractors) along the way. 
being such a hotshot would surely get in someone’s head, no? not her though, no one can really quite grasp what’s going inside their head (except you). always sporting a cool and indifferent look on her always-even when in the midst of imminent danger-stelle is able to keep her composure in check. never letting nary a speck of emotion taint their visage, thus never giving others an insight to what they may think or feel.
it makes them seem like that she’s unbothered by everything that surrounds her, but you most certainly know that that isn’t the case. it’s quite evident to you how much is brewing inside stelle, but can’t really let them out one way or another. with news spreading of how immensely capable stelle is, it’s no surprise that people have sought her out for whatever they need help with. running from one point to another, shouldering other people’s workload, getting caught up in others’ personal affairs; it’s a daunting task for someone who’s already carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
“oh! you’re that trailblazer right? can you help me with something?”
“it’s the savior of belobog! just in time, come help us for just a bit”
“is it true that you’ve been helping the seat of the divine foresight with the issue about the ambrosial tree? that means you must know your way around the artisanship commission, correct?”
“trailblazer, over here!”
“honarary member!”
“stelle! do you have a minute?”
“hey youngster, you’re not just gonna stand there let them get away with it!”
“stelle, stelle, stelle, stelle, stelle, stellestellestellestelle-“
“breathe in, breathe out. slow and steady breaths, count to ten then name ten things you can see around you. you’re ok, you’re going to be just fine.” these words are what stelle keeps replaying in her mind, a reminder and comfort from you that has helped her in moments wherein she feels like slipping away.
she wonders how you do it, how you’re able to tell so easily when she’s starting to get bogged down with everything. be it through messages or calls you know when to help her calm down, soothing her frazzled state with gentle reminders and helping her get grounded again. 
in stelle’s eyes you’re basically an aeon, with your supernatural ability to always be a stable presence for her even if you’re both so far away from one another. even if she’s seen as someone who is cool and aloof (even being called a menace), you see pass through those and see someone who is still trying to get their footing in this world, and you’re willing enough to stand by her and be the unchanging pillar she can always rely on.
no matter the immense changes she’s constantly facing, stress she’s undergoing, or the turmoil that finds her, you’re an unfaltering constant in her life that she desperately needs.
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wonderkid, the boy from beyond the stars, the savior of belobog, general jing yuan’s esteemed guest, the underworld’s boxing champion.
those are just some of the many nicknames caelus has collected across his adventures, always seeming to pick up some more along the way. he is never short of admirers whenever the astral express stops, people instantly in awe of his innate martial prowess, his rather unique (for a lack of a better term) personality and charm, as well as his admittedly good looks.
they cannot help but stop and marvel at the grey haired man, drawn in by the various situations he always seems to find himself in and the sheer aura of confidence he exudes (not to mention that he has an affinity for…being a gremlin that may or may not dig through dumpsters and wayward packages). 
without a doubt caelus has become some sort of celebrity in the places they go to, with some even saying that his name recognition alone can rival that of super popstar ast rickley. even his haters cannot deny that that man can talk the talk, never one to just brag about things but not deliver.
it’s why even his enemies have decided not to take him head on, unless they really had no choice but engage him in a fight-although it isn’t really a surprise that caelus would come out unscathed each and every time. the boy from beyond the stars truly is out of this world (get it?), shaking up the systems of the places he touches upon.
even as his lover you are not immune to gushing about caelus, taking every opportunity to shower him with praises and affection (also because that boy is so easy to fluster, which is just the cherry on top). i mean how can you not? there is so much to him that just warrants all your attention, from his insane fighting skills to how utterly loveable he is.
don’t get him wrong though, caelus loves the fact that you’re not exactly shy with your love for him, but he also feels like he might just explode from all of your loving (not to mention the teasing he gets constantly from march and sometimes himeko). 
but for caelus that isn’t even the best part of being with you, even as fantastic as it is to constantly be showered with your love, his favorite part of being with you is how he can just be himself. no more is he the savior of belobog, the luofuo’s most important guest, the undisputed boxing champion-he can be just caelus, not some kind of otherworldly being that just sprung up out of nowhere, going on fantastical adventures and building up a reputation across the stars. even if you tease him from time to time about this very fact, he knows that deep down to you he is just your precious caelus, the boy you fell in love with when they happen to stop at your home planet.
with you caelus feels like he doesn’t have to be anything that anyone wants him to be, he just has to be your lover, your best friend, and your biggest supporter. it’s possible for him to just be another guy that’s deeply in love, with his significant other that makes him feel like he can take on the entire galaxy (he can’t but he’s getting there). your love does not require him to do anything for you to see him as something worthy of such affections, no need for him to wow you with anything to receive even just an inkling of your warmth. 
so while caelus will be constantly be collecting new nicknames, continue to outdo himself with each new adventure, and ultimately become some sort of celebrity across the universe, with you he’s just another boy in love.
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AAAHHHHH part two is also here now! i can finally put this piece to rest ಥ◡ಥ idk if you can tell but i definitely ran out of juice writing these part, since i was already so tired and brain dead writing everything. likes, comments, and reblogs are highly appreciated!
caelesblues @ 2023 | do not steal, copy, plagiarize, or repost on any other platform
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booburt · 4 months
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Hi, I've been wondering for the photography AU what general time period it's set in, what type of camera(s) does Koby use (it looks like a canon to me but seems to make polaroids, at least that's the surface level observation I can make from my extremely limited knowledge on cameras), what type of photography he personally enjoys and the type he usually does for work (if he does it as his profession too). What does Koby aim to capture with his images, the casual mundane life of an average person, an unreal, etheral sight in a place the average person can't go, Luffy's luffiness, etc? Also what's the general budget Koby has towards camera equipment (doesn't need to be that exact, just a general "he's broke" or "He spends all his money on lenses" would suffice)? My questions are kinda vague here because I'm going to research more about photography later. Thanks in advance :D Oh yeah and also does Koby travel, if not what's the general landscape of his nearby area. You don't need to answer this since I'll probably make it up but it'd be good to know.
okok i wrote this all in the few free periods i got earlier take what you will ^_^
also a doodle i did ages aaaaago with a bit of slightly illegible info in my awful handwriting (sorry)
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actual answer vvv
- its a modern au!! so set like. now!
- koby uses sony cameras primarily but yes he does have a few canons (nikon confuses him)
- he has a seperate polaroid camera!!! he usually prints digitally from sd though
- for type of photography, he started with a passion for ocean and landscape photography, mostly beaches and any scene with water in focus. he also has an interest in portraiture but his love for portraiture only comes to play when he meets luffy. cheese cheese cheeeesyyyy because luffy smiles and hes IMMEDIATELY enamoured. anyway, he starts to study and practice portraiture in depth because of the pretty boy he met in maths class and eventually works up the courage to ask him to model for him. they get super close and eventually start dating; luffy likes how dedicated koby is to his work and how cute he is when he blushes.
-SORDY got carried away with the sappy lovey stuff. koby sells his landscape/wildlife photography at local stores as a side hustle thing haha. but he doesnt really do it professionally, he much prefers to keep it as a hobby / simple income.
- koby aims to capture the beauty of colour! he loves vibrancy when shooting with a softbox or some other source of light he will usually use something to change the hue rather than plain old bw on a simple white bg
- following on he HATES shooting black and white photos unless theyre negatives because idk i think he would think it looks cool. what a guy
- with luffy photography he just likes catching luffys smile or just luffy in general; whipped dud!!! he thinks he is gorgeous
- ahahhhh budget budgettt. lenses are fucking EXPENSIVE!!! he uses a 50mm that helmeppo got him for his birthday one year (rich kid stuff. he knew koby likes photography and searched Best Lense For People Pictures and bought the first one he saw) the 50 is canon as consequence so koby uses canon for loofy pics. he has an 18-55mm he uses as well.
- he is broke yes. koby does have a minimum wage weekend job to pay for living expenses but all in all that boys pockets are empty. luffy is the breadwinner (miss rabbit with the one zillion jobs) he works about 4 different jobs and is happy to pay for anything koby wants despite kobys adamant NOs. like i said he gets helmeppo to pay for a bunch of stuff and helmeppo pays on his dads card LOL.
- koby does travel! mainly by train or boat, not often does he go to an entirely different country but he has previously a few times. when he does go abroad he takes luffy with him!!!! (he looks pretty in the snow. he likes taking pictures of him in snow)
IM SO GLAD SOMEONE LIKES MY AU ENOUGH TO ASK ME THIS MANY QUESTIONS LMAO i had fun answering all of this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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mysteryshoptls · 1 year
Text
SSR Jade Leech Broom Birthday Personal Story: Part 3
"Happy Birthday"
(Part 1) (Part 2) Part 3
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[Octavinelle Dorm – Birthday Party Venue]
Kalim: Oh, the next one's the last question. Okay, I'll finish this strong…
Kalim: “How do you spend your days off?”
Jade: My days off, hm… Well, the way I spend it may differ depending on the day, so I'm not sure what exactly I should start with.
Kalim: Are you really always doing something different?
Jade: Why, yes. There are so many things here on land that captures my attention… There's not enough time in the world to experience everything.
Kalim: Cool, so, what did you do during your last day off?
Jade: During the most recent weekend… Oh yes, I blended some tea.
Kalim: Oh! That's neat, I do that sometimes, too. It's pretty fun!
Jade: Indeed. Even if I were to blend the same ingredients, by changing the quantity of the ingredients, the aroma, flavor, and color can differ when pouring the tea…
Jade: Oftentimes the result is not what I was expecting. I find that blending tea leaves is rather profound.
Kalim: I totally get it! Whenever I throw in the wrong amount of tea leaves, sometimes it gets really bitter, or it's not as fragrant.
Jade: Just so. Of course, I do find it entertaining that it doesn't necessarily come out as I was hoping.
Kalim: What kind of tea leaves do you use for your blends?
Jade: I don't particularly care as to where or when they were harvested, or even the grade of the leaves. The adventure itself is the key to success, I believe.
Jade: I've used some unusual flora that I've collected during my Mountain Lover's Club activities before, as well.
Jade: Even those flora that are considered weeds can be used as ingredients once dried and roasted.
Kalim: Eh, you use weeds!?
Jade: Fufu, surprising, isn't it? Moreover, I've found that the same weeds can have different flavors depending on where they were harvested.
Jade: Only by preparing my own ingredients am I able to enjoy such subtle differences.
Kalim: Woow, that sounds fun! Maybe next time I'll start with collecting the ingredients, too.
Jade: Yes, please do so. When it comes to flora available on campus, I would recommend trying thyme or cleavers.
Jade: Recently, just those flavors haven't been enough for me, so I've been cultivating my own plants for my tea.
Jade: The flowers I collected a few days ago looks as though it will bloom soon, so I am hoping to add them for fragrance.
Kalim: Wow, you go that far!? That's amazing, your tea blends are really intense.
Jade: Well, it does seem like once I gain an interest in something, I am the type to pursue it until the very end.
Jade: Ah, yes, and once I concoct a blend of leaves that I am satisfied with, I plan on making it available at the Mostro Lounge.
Jade: I would love it if you would come and drink some when that time comes, Kalim-san.
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Kalim: I feel like I learned a ton about you today. Thanks for talking to me about everything!
Jade: Of course, thanks to you, I was able to have such an enjoyable time.
Jade: After the interview, I am to fly on the birthday road, yes?
Kalim: Yeah! Here you go, here's the broom that's been prepped for you.
Kalim: It looks so fabulous with all those blue and white flowers on the end of the broom. It suits you!
Jade: Fufufu, how nice of you to say.
Kalim: 'Kay, you gotta take this broom and go nyooom in front of everyone else! Time to get your celebration on!
Jade: Yes. I shall "go nyooom" and accept everyone's warmest sentiments.
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Jade: I cannot say I would like to fly in front of so many people, but… I shall do my proper duty as the birthday boy.
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(Part 1) (Part 2) Part 3
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astroluvr · 2 years
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can u do one where reader is famous and is dating jack and they have a kid (1 year) and they post her on ig not her face. and one day while they’re out paparazzi is being annoying and trying to get pictures.
“Mama!” your daughter squealed, moving as fast as she could to you from Jack.
You were all back in Kentucky and enjoying the pretty weather in the huge backyard of the home. You were in love with Kentucky and if it wasn’t for your job, you would’ve lived here around the clock. Kentucky captured your heart when you took a step back from the limelight during your pregnancy. Now, to know that your daughter loved it so much, was all the more reason to stay.
“Mama can’t save you!” Jack growled behind her and you laughed from the deck, snapping a picture of Jack snatching Layla up from the ground and into his chest, rolling onto the ground.
You and Jack were particular about what you posted about Layla. There were only a few photos out there and none of them had her face in them. The moment was too cute to pass up on sharing, though. With a thoughtful glance to the two of them who were laughing loudly, you posted it to your Instagram story and put a heart over Layla’s hardly visible face. It was scary to think about the lengths people might go to enhance the picture for a few dollars.
The news over your picture lasted for much longer than the 24 hours it remained up. At first, it scared you, causing you to think that some intense photoshopping revealed your daughter’s face, but that wasn’t the case. People were just overdramatic at the slightest opening into celebrity life.
The matter made you a little more cautious when Jack’s feature bought you to LA. He had to do a good while’s worth of work on an upcoming song, so you decided to follow him with Layla. After a couple of restless days in the apartment, Layla practically told you and Jack that she needed to get out.
“Baby, will you please wear your hat? It’s just like Uncle Urban’s!” you held the tiny denim bucket hat in front of her in an attempt to persuade her.
“Urby?!” she gasped, and you chuckled at her doe eyes.
“Yeah, do you want to wear it now?” she nodded her head and let you put it on, turning around to Jack who was sliding his diamond ring on.
“Look, Daddy.” she demanded his attention and he gave it to her immediately.
“Oh, my goodness. You look so cute, Lala. I’ve never seen such a cute baby in my life.” he exclaimed, tackling the little girl with a hug and rolling around on the bed. You smiled at the two of them and laughed even louder when she rubbed her nose against his cheek like Jack always did to her.
“Jack, you’re going to raise a wrestler.”
“She’s a sweetheart. Like her mama.” he picked her up and they both showed you identical smiles.
Layla was damn near your twin, but nobody could deny that she had stolen Jack’s smile. You walked over and let a kiss on both of their foreheads. “Are we ready?”
Layla nodded excitedly, kicking both of her feet to get down and run to the door. “Go!” she yelled and you and Jack laughed before rushing to open the door for her.
Things went well, despite your nerves. Even with Jack providing that extra sense of protection, you were still worried that paparazzi would come any moment. Every time you saw a camera, you went to pull down Layla’s hat. She began whining about it and threw it off at one point, but Jack was able to ease it back on when she was distracted by a toy store.
Just as you were letting your guard down and waiting for Jack to analyze every shoe in the New Balance store, you heard a loud shuffle. “Look, Layla. Do you think Daddy should get these or these?”
Layla looked up at him and put her hands on both pairs. When you looked around Jack, you saw at least four paparazzi at the door. Jack turned around quickly and looked back down. “Fuck.” he said, trying to hide his panic by smiling.
“Come to Mommy, Layla.” you cooed, clapping your hands to make your arms seem more appealing. She scrunched up her nose while Jack focused on keeping you two out of focus, carefully matching his movements with yours to prevent the paparazzi from getting any revealing angle. “Please? Can I have a hug?”
Layla never skipped an opportunity to have or give a hug. She crawled into your lap and squeezed your neck and gave you a kiss on the cheek. As much as you wanted to savor the moment, Jack could only hide but so much, so you stood up and made your way to the door. Layla began to get curious about all the noise around her, which made getting through the mob of flashing cameras even more frustrating.
“Mama!” she whined loudly, attempting to lift her head up from your shoulder. “Loud.”
“Y/N, look over here. Y/N, show us the baby! Where’s Jack?”
Against your better judgement, you paused to look for Jack and found him shouldering through the crowd. In those three seconds, a paparazzi was able to tug at your arm. You gasped and shouldered them away while Jack’s voice thundered through the mob.
“Yo, I’ll fuck you up!” he yelled, getting enough attention to help you get a little bit further. “If any of you touch my kid or my girl, it’ll be over.”
“Mommy!” Lacey cried, moving anxiously against your body. Her hands moved from around your neck to pull your hand away from her head long enough throw her hat to the ground.
Everything went wrong so quickly. Your heart was pounding and your hands was sweaty. As you tried to concentrate on making it to the car, you could only think about how many pictures they were able to snap of your wailing daughter. The only benefit to come of it all, was her nuzzling her head back into your neck. From behind you, Jack had pushed himself through them all and made his way to you. His hand around your waist made you flinch at first, but when you smelled his cologne, you calmed down.
“I got you, baby.” you weren’t sure if he was talking to you or Layla, but you both calmed down a little.
With more reassurance, you swallowed and proceeded calmly to the car. Jack opened the door and you slid in quickly with Layla still tucked against you while Jack rushed to the front. Paparazzi still tried to crowd you, but when Jack blew the horn and pushed on the accelerator just enough, they moved.
You hadn’t realized you were crying until you pulled Layla back and saw her tears. Although she was fussy during the hectic clamoring, you weren’t aware she was crying so much. Your heart broke for your baby, seeing her eyes red and the staggered movement of her chest made you cry.
“Stop the car, Jack.” you murmured, and he did so immediately, pulling into a diner parking lot. He stared at the two of you with pity.
“I’m sorry.” he whispered into the air while you wiped at Lacey’s tears.
She’d been so eager to leave the apartment earlier in the day, not even ten minutes ago she was the happiest baby in the world, and now she would probably get nervous around flashes or leaving the house.
“Y/N,” he whispered again while you kissed Lacey’s cheeks and let her whimper against you. “Lacey.”
You turned your head when she turned hers, she quietly observed her father before reaching out for him. You released her hesitantly and watched how she cuddled into Jack.
“I’m so sorry, my sweet girl. Daddy’s sorry.”
All three of you sat in silence. Seeing things like that happen to other celebrities could be overwhelming, having experienced it yourself, but as parents it was even more frightening. Your safety and privacy had been challenged over a little girl who meant the world to you and Jack, but a pay check and gossip to the public. You didn’t care how they’d twist the videos; you knew how that went, but to think about your baby girl worrying about a camera in her face made your stomach churn.
When you all got back to the apartment, you and Jack laid Lacey down in your bed. She ended up calming down and falling asleep, leaving you and Jack to yourselves. He was holding you tight, rubbing your shoulder soothingly, although your presence was especially comforting to him.
“I think I want to move to Kentucky. Full time.”
“I'm absolutely down to moving back home, but full time means you won’t be able to do a lot with your job.” he looked down at you and you nodded. “I know today was scary, but you love what you do.”
“I loved what I did before we had a kid. I mean, if my career means anytime we go into a big city, Lacey will be tortured, I’ll give it up.” you said truthfully and Jack pursed his lips.
“I support you no matter what, Y/N, but I’ll still be rapping and paps will still be around. Even if you just take a step back and do a lot of work from home, you’re still going to be risking that. People are going to take what we don’t give.”
You chewed your lip and grew weary thinking about your options. “I don’t know what else to do, Jack. I’m a mother now, and Lacey is my priority. If I take a step back, everything of me will still be exclusive. If I don’t, Lacey will have to pay for it.” you turned your head and looked at him desperately for an answer. “What do I do, Jack?”
“What do you want to do?”
“Jack, that doesn’t help.” you groaned and he chuckled.
“I’m being serious. What do you want to do? What’s the best course of action, baby?”
“I want to pursue my career, but I want to keep my daughter safe while I do it.”
“And if you think that we can, that's what we'll do. Hell, I'll become you and Lay's personal body guard if I have to. That shit was fucked today."
"I'm grateful for you, J. For our life, our baby, keeping us safe, supporting me. I can't thank you enough for it all."
"You don't have to thank me. I did it all with you." you met his gaze and he hooked a finger under your jaw to pull your lips up to meet his. "I love you. Whatever you need, I'm here for you."
"I love you more." you whispered, cuddling up into his chest and letting yourself drift off into a world where nothing bad could happen.
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idrilka · 11 months
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in which i tell you to go watch weak hero: class one
it's me, hi, i'm the problem (here to recommend yet another drama), it's me. it's a good one, though, i'm serious.
so you know how you watch one drama that comes absolutely out of nowhere and makes you feel like you're seeing colors only shrimp can see? and you know how you're like, yeah, that experience is not gonna repeat any time soon, except then it does, and you end up writing 35k in a month like a woman possessed because the story just won't let you go? anyway, this is how we got here with weak hero class 1.
to be completely honest, prior to watching this drama, i'd thought i was largely done with enjoying stuff set in high school (notable exceptions apply!). i have not been in high school for a… number of years, and these days i'm just less likely to reach for high school-set fiction (though, again, if the story is good, i don't care what the setting is). but then a lovely anon on tumblr pointed me to this drama, so i checked out the premise, thought, "hm, maybe when i'm in the mood," and left it alone. turns out, i got in the mood pretty soon, and what i've ended up with are two separate fandoms which are simultaneously eating my brain. i don't know if i'd actively recommend this as an experience, because i'm pretty sure it's illegal to have so many feelings at the same time, but i'm not complaining, either.
more to the point, if you've seen me yelling about this drama here or on twitter, just know that when i say this was, in a surprising twist of events, my favorite drama that came out in 2022, i'm not exaggerating. i was not prepared for the absolute emotional punch that it delivered, and i was definitely not prepared to adopt two new boys to cry over. if you've seen and loved school 2013, this is, imo, required viewing. the emotions that weak hero gave me were the exact same kind i felt while watching school 2013, and truly, namsoon and heungsoo walked so suho and sieun could run.
apart from all the other things to recommend it, i feel like it captures the fraught transitional period of adolescence so, so well, without resorting to cliche or trite messages. quite the opposite, it's absolutely unflinching in dissecting all the ways in which teenagers are failed by the systems and people supposed to protect and care for them, and how, in many cases, what's left when all of that is gone is the last resort of violence.
and this is, without a doubt, a violent drama, but while the violence thrums in its veins, it doesn't at any point feel gratuitous or titillating. it's raw and honest, while at the same time the fight choreography is really well done and, at times, pretty unusual (if you've ever wanted to see conditioning done with a pen, look no further).
this drama doesn't waste even a second of its 8-episode run. it's tightly plotted and well-paced, but at the same time it's so, so good at working with stillness and silence - with all those moments of anticipation before the violence breaks out. i don't remember the last time i felt so tense (in the best possible way) while watching television - and it just builds and builds throughout the season, making the sense of dread palpable. this is accompanied by a very good score and some really neat cinematography.
what really makes this drama, though, are the performances. the three leads are, frankly, phenomenal and the actors deserve all the praise. park jihoon is amazing as yeon sieun, an exemplary student with neglectful parents who one day snaps when his bullies go a step too far. i've enjoyed choi hyunwook in everything i've seen him in, and this one is no different, because his ahn suho is one of my favorite fictional characters of recent years. he's so good in this role, and his chemistry with park jihoon is sizzling. i'm just saying, there's a reason why google autocompletes "is weak hero class one" with "a bl", and you know what, it should have been. all of their interactions sparkle (just like sieun's enormous eyes), and their dynamic is just so much fun. the fact that suho keeps looking at sieun like he wants to lick him and keeps calling him cute and taking him on scooter rides/dates also helps. and then there's hong kyung who gives a wonderfully nuanced performance as oh beomseok and carries that energy through all the way to the end. but it doesn't end there! the supporting cast is also excellent, with such standouts as lee yeon as youngyi or shin seungho as seokdae.
honestly, i've had so much luck recently with some truly excellent dramas, but even among those, whc1 is a definitive standout. it doesn't pull its punches, and it's so effective at getting its themes across, and i need season 2 right about NOW.
now, to leave you with something more than just my words, here's a masterclass in establishing a character in ~3 minutes (or: the meet-cute/meet-violent): link
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rearranged-fanfic · 29 days
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Cut Content (REARRANGED: Arc 2, Ch. 3)
Because this chapter is completely kicking my ass, let me share one of the many, many sections that I've had to delete from the chapter. It has been a process, TBH. I've now edited out over 15K words and shuffled them into my 'Scraps' file for later perusal/deletion. So, in the time that I've tried to get this thing wrangled, I've basically managed to type up 1.25 chapters worth of content that simply doesn't fit. And this chapter still refuses to come together in a cohesive way. Fun. Lol.
*Spoilers Below*
Excerpt 1:
Gojo cradles the shades in his long digits and taps his temple in a telling way.  Right.  His Technique makes his eyes sensitive.  But how much, I wonder? Sensitive enough that he has to wear blindfolds and thick black glass to keep them hidden away for most of the day, if the way he dresses is any indicator. “Then just turn the Six Eyes off for a bit.  Like,” and I pause to mime flipping a light switch, “click.” “Yeah, no.  No can do, I’m afraid.”  But he hardly sounds put off by it.  And he shrugs to capture some more of that ‘don’t give a fuck’ energy he embodies so very, very well.  “They’re a permanent fixture.” And that… that doesn’t seem right, does it?  The Six Eyes are permanent—since when?  In the Hidden Inventory Arc, he was able to turn them on and off at will.  In fact, letting his Technique drop is exactly how Toji had managed to sneak up on Gojo and stab him.  Or maybe I’m misremembering?  Honestly, I’m not sure.  Truth be told, there’s very little that I understand about Gojo, The Six Eyes, or Limitless.  I can’t pretend to know how his Technique really even works, not when it’s a combination of Physics and mystical mumbo-jumbo.  And the Six Eyes had gotten even less explanation. “You could turn them off before, right?  Before the whole,” I gesture vaguely, “thing that went down in your teens.” ‘Thing’, I say, because bringing up the fight with Zen’in Toji and Amanai Riko’s murder like they weren’t awful and formative parts of his past makes me feel icky inside.  So, I leave it up to interpretation.  He’ll know what I mean, anyway.  Again, I show more knowledge that I shouldn’t have, but do.  The man in front of me is used to it now, though.  There’s no suspicion or paranoia anymore.  Just a calm acceptance.  He nods at my query, blue eyes boring into me. “But not anymore?” A shake of the head.  Perfunctory.  Short. “So you’re stuck with them on all the time?” “Pretty much!” he chirps like a bird, seemingly not bothered at all. I can’t help but think about how sad that sounds, to hide his eyes permanently. And, before I can stop it, the question is out of my mouth: “Don’t you ever miss it?  What if you could turn off the Six Eyes again and just be… normal.” I wince at the word.  Normal.  That’s pretty fucking ableist of me, isn’t it?  ‘Normal’… Like having anything less than perfect sight makes somebody some sort of freak.  I lambast myself for my poor phrasing.  And I start thinking of a way to backpedal when I notice his thoughtful expression.  Gojo’s frozen in his seat, staring down at his glasses.  He takes a long moment to think.  And he finally breezes out a laugh. “’Normal’, huh?” he says softly.  “I’ve never even considered it, really.  What does ‘normal’ look like in the world of Jujutsu Sorcery, I wonder?”  He tilts his head and looks up at me, considering something.  “Does something so mundane even have a place in it?  Or is it an impossible concept for people like us?” “I, err, didn’t mean for that to become a philosophical question.” “No.  I’d imagine you didn’t, my curious creature.”  The glasses slide on, cast his haunting eyes in shade.  “You want an answer to your question, Oracle-chan?  The truth is that I don’t think about it. I could wonder ‘what-if’ for so many things in my life.  A hundred things—a thousand things, even.”  Those long pale fingers of his find the notches in the table that he’d left a few days ago.  They sink into the warps left behind perfectly.  It’s like he’d dipped his fingers into wet clay for how well the table has remembered the imprint of them.  “But to do so is to stand idly in place, never moving past those things, never coming to terms with them.  I’d be stuck facing behind me, always, feet chained to the ground.  But I don’t have the luxury to wait around.  I have to keep moving forward and accept things as they are.”
Excerpt 2 (directly related to 1):
But I also know that there’s a deep layer of hypocrisy to this as well.  Because Gojo is stuck in the past, in a way.  He can’t let go of his friendship with Geto Suguru, and probably agonizes over not being able to stop him from leaving.  I don’t know the man well, not now that he’s no longer a 2D character in a manga panel or television screen, but I’m certain that this is one ‘what-if’ that he’ll never leave alone.  I wonder what other skeletons lurk in his closet, what other fixations he purposely buries to keep from becoming distracted by them. And I wonder how exactly he distracts himself. Casual murder, my mind supplies instantly.  And then I realize that I probably don’t want to know if that’s true or not.  Not exactly the healthiest coping technique.  Or most legal.  Or sane.  Maybe he has a secret harmless hobby, like macrame or nude modelling?  Or maybe he secretly paints Picasso counterfeits and sells them on the black market? I don’t know.  Anything other than fighting and killing for sport, I hope. Maybe I need my own distractions, if this night is any indicator--besides what Shoko had suggested.  Because that clearly hadn’t worked out at all.
Why was this removed?
Honestly, because Reader-chan and Gojo aren't currently at the comfort level to be having these kinds of discussions. I think this talk about vulnerabilities is best saved for a little later, when they can actually be in a room together without teasing each other (Gojo) or insulting each other (Reader-chan).
Plus, this scene was running too long anyway, TBH. So this is the fat that got trimmed. Might reincorporate it in the future, but not in this chappy.
Hope this tides you over for a little longer, pookies 😘
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woosh-floosh · 3 months
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IIt’s a crazy bold move for Matt Johnson to play pretty much the same character as the one he plays in Nirvanna the Band the Show (which in turn is based on himself) in The Dirties, a movie where he plays a SCHOOL SHOOTER.
TBH I ended up relating a lot to Matt’s character, so much so that I ended up frantically searching up if my thought patterns are “normal” (at one point in the film Owen admonishes Matt for “always acting” and “always being conscious of yourself” and that’s like the curse afflicted by autism masking innit?).  But relating to the characters even though you know they’re gonna commit unspeakable violence is kinda the point of the movie, yeah? It maps pretty closely to a classical tragedy, doesn’t it? The whole thinking to myself “He isn’t really gonna do it! He can’t! He’s too much like me! He’ll get help!” but he does do it, and I knew he would because I read the blurb of the movie.
I guess there is something to be said about how autistic traits are often used as shorthand for someone being creepy, violent, or dangerous. Always “acting,” socially isolated, unable to connect with peers, only communicating with others through the lens of an “obsession,” strange body language, dressing strangely, being socially and developmentally “behind” their peers… 
During my school days the shy quiet kids that did nothing but get their work done and go home were often called ‘school shooters’ behind their backs. It's a strange feeling knowing that people would probably say the same thing about me if only I fit the profile a bit better.
Something else about the movie obsession as well and wanting to make a movie that is “real” speaks to me as well.
Well first that is another bit of strange self awareness by the director. Matt Johnson has said that early in his career he only wanted to film “real life” because people who do not know they are being filmed make the best actors. That’s why many of his projects use the real reactions of the public and loose scripts for characters to fill with improv! Maybe if he was more fucked up he would be more like Matt (the character)....
(Of course we could probably sit here and name many directors who turned abusive on set to capture “realness,” though none of them used the public!)
It’s easy why as a kid I picked up what was shown in movies and TV as being the “ideal.” I guess that’s normal, how things are portrayed in movies is an endless discussion that affects how people think. People like to romanticize their life as if it was a movie. But it’s different for me in some ways, most people don’t take movies and TV as gospel on how to communicate with other people. It’s one of the questions on the CAT-Q after all. Once in high school, I said about some event (don’t remember what) happening “feeling just like it does in high schools on TV.” My friend gave me a funny look and asked what I meant by that.
At the bonfire Matt describes his “cake plan” to a girl with a tone best described as “oblivious to her disinterest.” The girl responds that it’s probably not a good idea, it’s too over the top and it’s something that would happen in a movie, it wouldn’t work in real life. Matt responds with “Yeah, but what happens in movies works…”
Zooming out a bit I think there is something to be said about many Matt characters (the Dirties, NTBTS, Matt and Bird Break Loose, and Operation Avalanche to an extent) relying heavily on “plans.” Matt in the Dirties helps Owen concoct plans in order to win over Chrissy, and writes down a shooting schedule in much more detail than is probably expected for a school project. (I think Matt’s plans for Owen are supposed to be a parallel to the type of thorough planning needed for making movies, which is a bit ironic considering the loose improved shooting of the ACTUAL movie). Matt in NTBTS is constantly making plans in order to get a show at the Rivoli and often gets frustrated with Jay when he doesn’t follow through with plans or tries to change them halfway. This culminates in a scene in the final episode in season 2 where, stuck on a roof, Matt uses spray paint to write out a new numbered plan on a wall (a plan that only involves breaking the AC unit and then waiting for the repair person to arrive to sneak out the locked door). Almost as if he can’t possibly keep a plan straight in his head without it being concretely written down. When I opened commissions for the first time last summer I was so stressed that I wrote a detailed planning sheet in order to predict how every interaction would go. Only by writing it down did this plan feel real.
But going back through some interviews I was surprised to learn how much Matt Johnson (the character in the Dirties) is based on Matt Johnson’s (the director) actual experience in high school (the sweatpants story was real!!). I guess it’s just weird to watch a movie that is empathetic towards the school shooter (while still accurately capturing the horror of violence)! One of things that inspired him to make this movie was how ascribing “evil” to someone ends conversations, strips people of their humanity. It’s scary to think about how anyone is theoretically capable of doing this, how it could be us as well. It’s not uncommon for autism (or previously aspergers) to be pointed at by the news media as a “reason” for why people do these things.
Towards the end of the film Matt reads the definition of a psychopath from Dave Cullen’s Columbine book. (Paraphrasing here) Emotions, body language, facial expressions, and voice modulations can all be mimicked on cue. His life is a con, a personality fabricated with the purpose of deceiving people. Matt turns to Owen and asks him if that reminds him of anyone.
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aranarumei · 5 months
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the anomalous agate (part three)
*blows out candles* happy birthday to me! here's a gift for some of you <3
for anyone who has no idea what this is about, go here for part one
for those who do, here's the ao3 link, and if you prefer tumblr, it's just under the cut
case 2-x: the anomalous agate (part 3)
The clock had just ticked over to 4PM when Hanzawa Masato entered the shop on Sunday. I shivered at the brisk gust of wind that swept through Jewelry Étranger; Richard simply rose from his seat and said, “Welcome back, Hanzawa-san,” without a flicker of surprise on his face. 
That was my fault—I hadn’t been able to keep my mouth shut during the intervening Saturday—but it was still good to see Hanzawa in the flesh.
I’d run into Kaede on Friday, and we’d ended up grabbing lunch together. She’d been accompanied by a friend who eyed me warily before Kaede explained how the two of us knew each other, and I was comforted to know that she had people so dedicated to looking out for her. I had a feeling that wasn’t the only reason for her stare, though—the bruise on my face had darkened into a faded yet obvious purple.
As we began to eat, it was impossible to not notice the attention we’d garnered, and Kaede asked, “Does it hurt?”
“It doesn’t even sting anymore,” I told her. After diligently applying an ice pack for most of the day before, the swelling had decreased and I was pain-free, assuming no one was poking my face. “Mostly it’s just awkward. But you can’t help that.”  
At my answer, she relaxed, and we finally got around to making proper introductions. She, like Hanzawa, was a freshman in university, and—possibly like or unlike him—was studying literature. They’d ended up meeting through some mutual friends of theirs in high school, and once they’d found out that they shared the same taste in books and movies, became fast friends.
“Still, he’s pretty guarded,” Kaede said, and I wondered if her casual acknowledgment of that fact was the reason she hadn’t pressed for details on how Hanzawa and I had met. “Like, he knows so many people, but doesn’t really give off that ‘popular’ aura, you know? And he never had a girlfriend in high school—not that anyone knew of, at least.” Then she seemed to catch on to the fact that I felt awkward talking about Hanzawa when he wasn’t around, and quickly changed the subject.
We eventually started to talk about part-time jobs, and when I mentioned that I worked at a jeweler’s store, she whistled in appreciation. “Wow, that’s interesting,” she said, and I began to understand exactly why she and Hanzawa were friends. “What’s your store lighting like?”
I stared at her blankly. “The… lighting?”
“Sorry, I’m way too used to talking to other film buffs!” Kaede explained. “I was just thinking about how jewels are so hard to take photos of. It’s really difficult to capture the sparkle that you see in real-life, right?”
“Pictures definitely don’t do the real thing justice,” I agreed.
“Yeah, and I know that there’s some stuff that jewelers inspect for that requires special types of lighting, so I was wondering if there was any fancy equipment at your shop. But I’m realizing you probably don’t look at that stuff too hard, huh?”
She had the same kind of disappointment on her face as Tanimoto-san when she’d learned I couldn’t perfectly recall what metamorphism was. “I could… ask, maybe?” I offered.
“If it’s no problem!” Kaede accepted. “Lighting’s so interesting to me… it affects how things are viewed so much. Like, the type of makeup that people wear for filming differs from daily wear…” She clapped her hands together in realization. “That would be a great way to deal with your bruise, actually!” At my awkward look, she paused, and sheepishly tacked on, “Well, only if you wanted to, I guess… it’s pretty out there as far as a solution goes.”
“Ah… I kind of already bought some for that purpose,” I clarified. “So it’s a good suggestion—just one that I’ve already taken.”
“No, no, I’m glad you thought of it already!” Kaede exclaimed. “Did you shop at a store in-person? It must have been uncomfortable…”
What was really uncomfortable was maintaining the pretense that I’d thought this solution up on my own instead of being led around by Hanzawa. But judging by the fact that she hadn’t brought him up, I was pretty sure his skill with makeup wasn’t one Hanzawa often advertised.
“A little,” I said, opting for a half-truth. “At the checkout line, I got asked if I was buying the stuff for my girlfriend.”
“I guess it is uncommon to see guys buying makeup…” Kaede said, and then mumbled to herself, “But wouldn’t your bruise…?” Thankfully, she moved on from that line of thought and instead asked, “Did covering the bruise not work, since it’s still pretty obvious…?”
“It doesn’t really matter to me on the day-to-day,” I said. “But I definitely can’t work any public-facing job unless I cover my bruise.”
“Ah, I didn’t think of that!” Kaede gasped. “It’s probably good to use it sparingly, anyways—makeup isn’t that great for your skin, and I’d imagine yours is especially sensitive right now.”
“That’s good to know,” I said. “It’s been healing pretty well so far, so I don’t think I’ll have to use it much. I guess it’s because I just work security, but the television station I work at didn’t even mind—”
“You work at a television station?” Kaede interrupted, eyes gleaming in excitement.
I was surprised I hadn’t thought to bring it up earlier. It was a welcome change of topic, so I nodded.
Once again, she asked me about lighting equipment, to which I could give no answer, and she began to explain the various types of special equipment involved in filming. At a certain point, I had to awkwardly pause her explanation and point to her food, which had been left untouched for the past ten minutes.
“I got way too excited,” she admitted sheepishly when we’d finally parted ways.
“It’s alright,” I said. “I like hearing about that kind of stuff. It makes me think like… there’s just so much in the world that people don’t know.”
“I definitely feel that way, too!” Kaede said. “I mean, I know cameras fairly well, but recently I saw this interview from an audio director and realized just how much work goes into capturing and adding all the sound for films…” She managed to catch herself this time before she launched into another ramble and wished me a good day.
I wondered to myself if everyone had something they were secretly and intensely passionate about, like Kaede and Tanimoto-san. Though I’d developed a new appreciation for things after meeting Richard, I still wouldn’t consider myself a true enthusiast of anything.
It would be nice to be that way, I thought.
Later that day, I found that I’d been added to a group chat consisting of Hanzawa, Kaede, and I, where she delivered the news that the senior we’d made a report against had gotten expelled. Hanzawa replied first, sending a brief but warm congratulations, and I hesitated before doing the same. It felt strange not to acknowledge his existence directly, but I didn’t have anything I really wanted to say to him, either. Emotions were even harder to read through a screen—no matter what I said, I’d probably hit an impenetrable wall.
In the end, I simply set my phone on my nightstand and decided to sleep. I’d have to spend some time applying makeup before heading to work tomorrow, so it was best to tuck in early.
Saturday had passed, and now Hanzawa was here, entering Jewelry Étranger without even a hint of his initial hesitation. Maybe it was just my own increased sense of familiarity, but despite his calm demeanor, he didn’t look as closed off as before.
“You were looking for stud earrings, yes?” Richard asked. “I can bring out a few more, unless there’s anything in particular that caught your eye.” 
“The lapis lazuli was quite nice,” Hanzawa replied firmly. “I’d love to see more of that.”
“…Please, take a seat while I fetch them,” Richard replied, a beat too late, and then he was off, an unsteady set to his mouth. 
I supposed I’d been able to surprise him, after all. 
“Milk tea, right?” I asked, motioning to where I’d set it down on the coffee table. 
Hanzawa shrugged out of his jacket—today had brought biting wind along with the encroaching frost of mid-October weather—and laid it on the back of his chair before sitting down. “You thought ahead,” he said appreciatively. 
“Well, you said you’d come, so…” I trailed off, not wanting to spotlight our last meeting, but unable to act as if it hadn’t happened.
Maybe Hanzawa was the same, because though he’d been distantly polite to Richard, his tone was warm as he spoke to me. He held his teacup in that same delicate fashion and took a long sip as he assessed my face. Finally, he declared, “You’ve covered it up well.”
My hand strayed towards my cheek before I willed it down. “I was worried I’d messed it up because Richard noticed,” I said, “but none of the other clients seemed to.” 
Hanzawa didn’t seem surprised to learn this. “Richard-san’s quite observant; I didn’t think it would fool him.” 
And fool him it hadn’t—not even for a second. I’d come into the shop to see that a client had come a few minutes ahead of their morning appointment. At first, I’d interpreted Richard’s look of vexation as an annoyance with my lateness, even though I’d come right on time, so I simply busied myself with making tea. He’d been unusually curt with the client, though not out of the bounds of simple familiarity with a regular, and once they’d left, he’d whirled on me with a sharp look.
I’d frozen in place, pinned by the emotion I couldn’t quite place in his eyes.
“Sit down,” he’d said, and I followed his order mostly out of shock.
“…Richard?” I ventured, and then bit down a yelp of surprise when he suddenly knelt before me.
Way to give a guy zero warning. I knew that Richard disliked the ways in which his beauty isolated him, but it was seriously unfair to see his face so close.
“What happened?”
I wrenched my gaze away from the fine strands of his eyelashes. “What?”
“To your face,” Richard said. Though he spoke quietly, there was a frigid edge to his words. “What happened? Tell me everything.” 
“Ah—you mean my bruise?” I’d finally realized, and Richard’s hands shook at my confirmation. “It’s—well, remember Hanzawa?” 
After giving him a quick rundown of the events, Richard’s expression softened. He sighed, and as he pinched the bridge of his nose, asked, “Why is it that you can never seem to avoid trouble?”
I shrugged, still a little distracted by how close his face was to mine. “…Is it obvious?” I asked after a beat. Maybe it was stupid, but I really didn’t want to leave.
“You haven’t done a bad job,” Richard assured. “Tomorrow, bring your supplies to work, and I’ll do it for you.”
Now that I thought back on it, Richard had seemed rather shaken when I’d told him what had happened. I’d known that Hanzawa’s visit had bothered him, but I hadn’t expected that Richard would react to news about him with such concern. 
I tamped down another instinctive flare of jealousy and agreed with Hanzawa. “Yeah, he’s way too good at noticing things.” 
“I wonder if there’s ever a customer that finds it unnerving,” Hanzawa mused. “To be seen so well… it could be frightening.”
“In a way, I think it’s relieving,” I said, thinking about how Richard had applied my makeup with swift prowess this morning. I’d thought I’d done a good job on my own, but when I’d checked his result in the mirror, it was flawless. And he’d been gentle with the entire process, too—I’d felt fussed over in a way that was as embarrassing as it was pleasing. “I really like the way he doesn’t presume anything, so maybe that’s why I think it’s fine. Because I never feel as if I've been judged by him.” 
“What a lovely way to feel,” Hanzawa replied, savoring his milk tea with a smile. 
Our attention was both redirected to Richard, who had returned with his tamatebako in hand. An odd look was on his face—I wondered if he’d overheard us, but he opened up his tamatebako without comment or force. The earrings on display weren’t limited to just stud earrings, but were likewise simple, sparse designs that highlighted the stone in question. Gold sparked through in different patterns in each stone, and some were entirely without it, the entire rock a deep, even blue.
Hanzawa studied each set with a keen eye. “Blue’s a rather neutral color, but lapis lazuli looks so rich it borders on ostentatious,” he sighed. “Still, it is nice.”
Aren’t you fond of green? I thought to myself. But since I remembered how awkward he’d looked the last time I’d said so, I kept quiet.
“Is there something that drew you to this stone in particular?” Richard asked. 
“Like I said, it’s just such an arresting color,” Hanzawa said after a moment. “And… I was thinking a little more about what I wanted.” Maybe he’d realized he’d spoken with a bit too much bite, because he then laughed self consciously and clarified, “I guess I’m looking for something like a statement piece? Though it might seem strange to say as they’re just earrings, and not even in a particularly grand style. But this color…” 
He kept drifting towards that point. I could see where he was coming from—with the exception of some sapphires, I’d never seen such a deep blue, and the gold color scattered within lapis lazuli left a vivid impression.
“Statement pieces do tend to be on the grander side,” Richard conceded. “However, I think any piece of jewelry is its own kind of statement.” He paused, eyes flickering towards me, and tentatively added, “I’d like to believe that gems reflect the feelings of their owner.” 
“Is that so…” Hanzawa said, and in defiance of Richard’s caution, passed by his statement without further comment. “Tell me more about lapis lazuli?” he asked. “I knew about ultramarine, but I’m sure a stone like this has more history surrounding it.” 
Richard relaxed back into his chair. “Historically, lapis lazuli was central in Ancient Egypt. You’ll see it almost anywhere in many artifacts from that time period.” 
“All those gold and blue objects, then…?” 
“That would be lapis lazuli,” he confirmed. “As you can see, it was prized for its color even back then. The gold part of these objects, though, was actual gold—the flecks you see in lapis lazuli are something else.” 
“The gold color comes from… pyrite, right?” Hanzawa recalled. 
“You would be correct. Pyrite is commonly called fool’s gold, as well,” Richard explained. “It’s quite different, though—pyrite is far more brittle, and naturally forms a cubic structure, as opposed to the malleable shapes of gold. The color also tends to be lighter and more like brass.”
I vaguely remembered Tanimoto-san saying she liked the cubic structure of pyrite a while ago—I’d really have to find out what that looked like. The cubes certainly weren’t appearing in the lapis lazuli before me, after all.
“So… essentially, the name fool’s gold implies you’d have to be an idiot to be deceived by it,” Hanzawa quipped.
At that, Richard cracked a small smile. “Something like that.”
“I can’t think of an artifact I’ve seen that wasn’t uniform in its blue,” Hanzawa recalled. “Isn’t that hard to source?”
“It makes it a great deal more valuable, yes. Both pyrite and calcite are common components of lapis lazuli that can add noticeable gold or white spots. While pyrite’s inclusion doesn’t often diminish its value, an abundance of calcite in lapis lazuli would.”  
“So even something like lapis lazuli isn’t good enough to stand as is?” Hanzawa commented, without derision but with some measure of disappointment.
“To clarify,” Richard said, and it was at this point I realized that he hadn’t had the number of conversations I’d had with both Tanimoto-san and Hanzawa, “you’re speaking of the various ways in which gemstones are modified?” 
“Something like that,” Hanzawa allowed, and I wondered just how much the man before me knew about heat treatments and dyeing and cutting and polishing. 
“It is true that procedures like heat treatment influence the value of a stone,” Richard said after pondering the subject. “But no stone exists without human involvement. Each is mined or otherwise sourced, then polished and cut, and then fit into various settings. Not every jewel goes through each step of this process, but beyond that, every gemstone and jewel you encounter is prized only because someone has decided to do so.” He took a deep breath. “There is no stone in the world that exists without a human response. So, if there is a stone that is perfect untouched, then it is only because someone thinks it as such.”
Hanzawa was stunned into silence, a rare show of vulnerability cast on his face.
Richard took note and softened his voice. “So lapis lazuli’s value, like many others, arises from circumstance. It was one of the only sources for blue paint, and unlike a blue sapphire, could be carved. For those in Ancient Egypt, its rarity made it a signifier of wealth and status. Cleopatra used its powdered form as eyeshadow. Ra, the god of the sun, was often portrayed as having golden skin and lapis lazuli hair.”
“…There’s a lot of history carried in these, then.”
“Indeed.”
“I can understand why,” Hanzawa said. “In each setting, the stone looks slightly different. Like it has reinvented its image each time.” He inspected one pair of stud earrings where the pyrite gleamed in blue like a sharp crack of lightning before setting them down. “I doubt I’d fit a stone suited to royalty,” he said. He tried to couch his words in a light, self-deprecating tone, but it only worsened their effect. “I apologize.” 
“No need,” Richard said, studying Hanzawa intently. “Still, Hanzawa-san… the fact that this stone is sold here means that it cannot be just for royalty, you know?” 
“Then… if stones reflect their owner, what kind of people do you think wear lapis lazuli?” Hanzawa asked. 
Since he’d just mentioned her, my mind flashed to Cleopatra—she was certainly an image that was out of sorts with Hanzawa. But when I thought of that story regarding her pearl earrings, I felt that Hanzawa had a similar sense of pride and wit. At the very least, he could certainly match the composure of a queen.
“…I think there is not just one type of person suited to a certain kind of stone,” Richard began. “Things are not that… well, set in stone.” 
“Still,” Hanzawa pressed, “There must be some kind of consensus. Indulge a simple curiosity… what meaning is lapis lazuli associated with today?” 
“…Some claim it is helpful for mitigating insomnia and negative feelings. But as for associations with the stone itself—truth, I suppose.” 
Even a fool who thought their pyrite was gold would be able to catch the shift in Hanzawa’s expression. I realized then that even though he’d told me to tell him everything, I’d glossed over most of what I’d talked about with Hanzawa. Richard was brilliant, but he couldn’t actually read minds.
“Of course,” Hanzawa murmured, the strangled expression on his face having settled into an odd, muted reverence. “That’s why it’s so beautiful.” 
He didn’t look towards me; he knew I’d known, and he was smart enough to tell that Richard couldn’t. Client privacy was important, but half the reason I’d wanted to speak to Hanzawa was to get rid of that troubled look on Richard’s face, and here I was, mucking everything up and making the situation worse for everyone. I anticipated Hanzawa would become withdrawn and make the quickest, politest exit possible, but what he did instead was worse. 
In a single motion, Hanzawa drained his milk tea. “I’m no professional jeweler, but here’s my assessment,” he said, a resolute look on his face. “Lapis lazuli is on the delicate end. It’s flecked with fool’s gold, but not to its detriment—this makes it a stone that is as rich as it is fake. To wear it, someone must be capable of handling it with care, and grand enough to carry the attention its blue deserves.” He paused, sent a mischievous glance my way, and added, “Don’t you think Seigi would suit it well? He’s rather careful.” 
As if on autopilot, Richard scoffed and replied, “Careful?” 
Hanzawa dipped his head in agreement, though his smile was obvious. “Richard-san, I’ll defer to you opinion on him, as it’s you that knows him so dearly well.” 
Richard’s face turned slightly red—I guessed it was a bit disconcerting to respond on instinct rather than thought. In a strained voice, he offered, “Would you at least like to try on some of the earrings?”
Hanzawa stared at Richard, his momentary cheer immediately dulled. Then he smiled again, but it wasn’t friendly. He reached towards the set he’d been drawn to during conversation and tried them on without much fanfare.
Once on his ears, I thought they suited him beautifully—the gold seemed to glow under the lights of the store, and the deep color enhanced the blue tones of his irises. But once Hanzawa inspected his own visage in the mirror, his plastered-on smile flattened into a dim ghost of itself, and he shook his head. “No, I was right,” he said, and removed his earrings before either of us could say a word. “This kind of thing isn’t for me.” 
He'd become like steel; that countenance of his made it impossible to ask questions. He wished me well, and then whisked himself away, a sliver of wind wisping into the shop in his wake.
Richard lingered in front of the open tamatebako. That had been the last appointment of the day.
I sighed, unsure how to apologize, and simply said, “I’m sorry—I really thought that if he came to his appointment, it’d be…” And suddenly I realized that the more I understood Hanzawa, the less I was sure I knew.
“No… you were fine,” Richard said. “Wasn’t he comparatively talkative today?” When my frown didn’t lessen, he added, “For what it’s worth, he seemed to have opened up to you.”
“To me?”
“Well, it certainly wasn’t to me,” Richard answered with a raised eyebrow.
“Not much good it did you, though,” I muttered.
Richard sighed and motioned for me to sit next to him. I glumly pulled a chair to his side. “He entered here on a whim, the first time,” he said. “Today, I could tell that he was seriously considering what he wanted. Though I understand your disappointment, it is an honorable decision for someone to decide they aren’t ready for something.”
“You’re right,” I conceded, “but it still doesn’t feel right.”
Richard’s hand hovered by me; I wondered if he was going to poke my bruise, but he simply settled a cool hand on my shoulder. “Rather than push someone into a shaky decision or entice them into a purchase by playing to their desires… it is best when someone makes the choice on their own.”
Come to think of it, he’d called himself thoughtless for selling that amethyst to Takatsuki-san, who’d been moved by the powers it was said to possess. Hanzawa’s case was kind of the inverse situation, but he, too, had been moved—in the opposite direction. And if, like Takatsuki-san, the reason was due to an unresolved state of mind, the purchase of a jewel wouldn’t pacify it.
“…You’re way too good at logical arguments, you know,” I grumbled.
Richard squeezed my shoulder. “It’s just that you think with your heart,” he said. “But that is not a detriment—it is a strength.”
I felt my face growing warm and turned to hide my expression. “I’d better get this makeup off,” I said.
“Unique” was a lovely compliment, but somehow, the simple assurance that I was liked as I was felt twice as magical.
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colourfullsims · 7 months
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DAY 3 | It Takes Two (3/6)
Nina: Yeah, a little too late to be repentant now, Tucker: Tori's already booked to fly home tomorrow because of your little in the moment decision. But we'll get to you in a second. Over by the pool, Joey checks in with Manny about whether he's got a shot at capturing her affections this summer. From what I can tell, that's about to be a bit of an uphill battle for him. Though it looks like he's willing to put in the effort to prove that he's got what it takes to be Manny's main man! Not too far away, Tucker and Felicity talk romantic goals, to which Tucker seems to be less than interested in sharing, much to Fe's displeasure. I know we always say this isn't Friend Island, but Tucker probably would have been much better off saving Tori than putting himself in his worse case scenario. Eh, I'm sure he'll survive.
Next, we have one more couple to check in on as we zoom upstairs to the dressing rooms!
@queenofmyshuno @slothseasims @storiesbyjes2g @morrigan-sims
Beginning | Island Schedule | Previous | Next
Manny: So, what did you want to talk about?
Joey: Oh, nothing in particular.
Manny: Seriously? Then why the urgency?
Joey: Uh, well, I guess there was one thing. I thought we were clicking pretty well, you and I, even before today’s challenge. But you don’t seem too enthused over being coupled up with me. Guess I’m just a little confused.
Manny: Well, I would have thought that you would have at least asked me if I wanted to couple up with you before you decided for yourself. That would have been nice.
Joey: [chuckles] Alright, maybe I jumped the gun a bit, but can you blame me? Anyone would be a fool to pass up a beauty like you. And I’m not in the business of making a fool out of myself.
Manny: Uh-huh. Well, word of advice for next time: I’m not in the business of being someone’s conquest.
Manny: [in the DR] Tonight was shaping up to be a real win for me after everything that happened today, and now this. Joey really chose the worst time to go rogue. I know ultimately it doesn’t change too much for me: I’m still free to go and explore some other connections in the Villa. But it really sucks not being with who I really had my eye on.
Joey: Next time? Does that mean I should be expecting this little arrangement to go on for a while?
Manny: Not even a little bit.
Manny: Look, you’re a fun guy, Joey. I’ll admit we have some good back and forth conversation-wise. For that reason alone, I’ll let you shoot your shot. But to be clear, I won’t be closing off any other people from getting to know me. So you better be ready to step up to the competition.
Joey: Hear you loud and clear! And don’t you worry - I intend to sweep you off your feet.
Joey: [in the DR] I’d say I haven’t done too bad for myself tonight! I traded in a controlling redhead for a sexy blonde, and so far, I couldn’t be happier. Manny might be playing a little hard to get right now, but I’m sure it won’t take too much to make her realize just how good we are together. As far as I’m concerned, what competition is there really against me?
---------------------------
Felicity: So! I already have an idea of what your career goals are, but tell me what it is you’re looking for here in the Villa. A future heiress to your culinary empire?
Tucker: [chuckles nervously] Not exactly. I’m not too concerned about my future girlfriend being that involved in my work. I think it’s healthy to have a little separation. I wouldn’t say that I have that many “expectations,” really. It all comes down to whether or not the chemistry is there between us. Everything else is just extra after that.
Felicity: Ahhh, I see. I sorta agree with you to an extent. I’ve definitely got my list of “must-haves,” but if a guy were to check off all my boxes but we had zero compatibility, there’s no way we’d last.
Felicity: [in the DR] I’m absolutely buzzing over the recoupling! I knew I had a pretty good shot from the get go, but nothing beats actually hearing Tucker call my name in front of everyone. And I must admit, it was satisfying seeing Manny stuck with my leftovers. [laughs] I just can’t wait to find out so much more about Tucker! He feels like the exact type of guy I’ve been searching for!
Felicity: So would you say I’m your usual type?
Tucker: I wouldn’t say I have a “type.” Like I said, it all comes down to the vibe. Felicity: Aw, come on. Physically you have to have a preference.
Tucker: Not at all. I consider what’s on the inside more important. But, I actually was hoping we could cut this short. I was hoping to pull a couple other people aside before turning in for the night.
Felicity: Uh, don’t you think that’s a little rude? We just coupled up. Before this morning, I hadn’t gotten any alone time with you, and you want to spend that time talking to other people?
Tucker: [sigh] Felicity, I’m not trying to be rude. I just--
Felicity: Just what? 
Tucker: …You’re right. I…I can always have my other chats tomorrow.
Felicity: Perfect! I knew you would understand! Now, back to your dating history… Tucker: [in the DR] You don’t have to tell me how stupid a move this was. In the moment, I thought it would be better to not recouple with Tori since I wasn’t feeling anything more than friendship. But compared to Felicity, I would much prefer to still be partnered up with Tori right now. Fe’s the exact type of girl I don’t deal with. How the fuck am I gonna play this one off?
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meenawrites · 1 year
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Again with Trudy y’all!
Okay SO! We all know that Trudy HAS to have excellent taste in music. Like look at her.
I’m sure this woman has been gradually building up her musical library since she could afford it and now she has like 10 000 songs or something.
I think she sings a lot by herself like just jamming as she works on her kestrel or does stuff around the lab and eventually she starts sharing the music with Spider.
So it becomes like a mama-son thing for to give him one of her earpieces and they just sing at the top of their lungs together and have dance parties. Trudy used to be way more private about people seeing her sing or dance but like after the shit she’s gone through on Pandora it seems pretty trivial, plus it makes the kid happy so she’s just like whatever.
I also think that Trudy would have a great voice. Like I think she’d have a strong belt with a bit of a rasp to it (think kind of voice like Persephone from Hadestown’s voice). Like she can go pretty deep in her voice, her range is good. She can’t hit super high notes though, her throat tightens up at those and just like refuses to work.
Spider also has incredible range. He’s been a good singer since he was a kid both in Na’vi and in English and Spanish. He just has an ear for music and he loves it because it’s a different form of storytelling for him. He can hit those high notes even as he grows older, not like soprano level but mezzo-soprano or something.
Now I’m not enough of a music connoisseur to give a definitive look at what Truyd’s taste in music is but I can try from what I know. I think her vibe would be like 80s and 90s rock and some indie music. Like Spider, she also really listens to the lyrics of songs and not just the sound so most of her song collection has what she considers to be meaningful lyrics, with only a few staple generic pop songs that she can’t help but like. I think she’d be into indie music as well and some grunge. The type of music that comes to mind from my limited knowledge would be Paramore, Pink, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Journey, Aerosmith, etc. I think she’d have some Taylor Swift songs up in there; though I’m not like a die hard Swiftie, I’ve listened to her lyrics and her writing is honestly great so yeah she’s on there. I also think her guilty pleasure would be musicals; she doesn’t even show Spider those at first because she had a bad experience for her fellow soldiers judging her about it when she first joined the army, but eventually Spider gets unlimited access to her collection. And he eats that shit up! Yet another form of storytelling for him to explore that mixes narrative and song and sound and she finds out because she finds him belting along to like a Heathers song or something cause he has already memorized the lyrics.
I also am so sure Trudy has some sort of sex playlist listed an an obscure name with some dirty songs. That isn’t really my area of expertise though so I don’t know what would be on there per se but yeah. Though I am picturing this one song I know called “Kiss or Kill”. I don’t think she’d have any songs on there that are like super explicit but more just capture the feeling of when she’s in a sexy mood. I’m also picturing Dove Cameron’s “Boyfriend” being on there.
And we can’t forget her roots! She’s gotta have a huge Spanish playlist. Again this is not my expertise but I have a friend who does know! So hopefully I will make like an update post for that to include some songs she would have on there soon! If anyone does have any ideas I’d love to hear them.
So yeah Spider and Trudy have song alongs and dance nights together and that fills my brain tbh.
If anyone is interested in submitting songs you think Trudy would listen to, I would love to see them and maybe make a playlist out of them to share on here!
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filmcel · 28 days
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donnie darko - the best movie i’ve ever seen. such an interesting depiction of mental health. it’s interesting fuck the director though he’s a dumbass.
prisoners - THE movie to recommend people. idk anyone who has watched it and hated it. it’s so fucking good . tbh jake is like the least interesting part of the movie he’s pretty ugly. paul dano is the goat. the best movie i’ve seen revolving around some mystery. always on my toes always scared. when u think you know u end up being wrong. it gets u.
zodiac - he’s so cute in this movie and that’s as good as it gets. it’s good for one viewing and that’s IT. it’s very interesting has good sequences. but it’s so damn long. i guess if u wanna argue that it wants u to FEEL how they felt waiting so long trying to catch the zodiac killer id say sure fine but also they never even catch him so what’s the point of the movie. idk.
brokeback mountain - no comment
nocturnal animals - this movie is absolutely insane in the worst way. the two main characters r fuxking deranged. jake’s character is deranged for being like that. his weird revenge thing is so strange and it’s uncomfortable. i didn’t get it i didn’t like it i wouldn’t watch again.
enemy - this fucking movie…. idk how i sat thru it all actually. i’m proud of myself but i didn’t need to put myself thru that. jake is so boring in this. the movie itself is so fucking boring. it’s so weird. it’s so ugly. it looks like shit and it’s shot like shit and i don’t get why bc it’s a denis movie. maybe i’m not smart enough to get it but it sucked dick AND balls.
the guilty - okay. i know this movie isn’t very good. but i watched it and was entertained. it rlly is something you’d catch on the tv while ur at the dentist and get rlly invested in the 30 minutes ur in the waiting room. its nothing life changing but i had a good time
ambulance - HWHSJFJJDJAJAJS. the worst shit i’ve ever fucking seeeeeen. it’s hilarious tho . watch it drunk otherwise u might be bored out of ur mind. this movie is so insanely shot. i remember the billion drone shots. i remember the spleen burst. i remember the goofy shots they did of jake. idk how it got made. idk how jake is in it.
brothers - this movie… isn’t BAD…. i think? it made me uncomfortable. which yeah. that’s the point. but like the scene of tobey like being captured whatever . idk enough about anything but was that offensive in some way? let me know… it felt strange . the movie tho is super hard to watch. it’s cringey and scary. i wanna rewatch to get my full thoughts on it because it was awhile ago . great acting tho.
end of watch - Stupid baka fucking movie. i made my mom rent this shit and im sorry i wasted 4 of ur hard earned dollars. this movie is worth nothing. it’s so racist to mexicans. it’s embarrassing. like the main guy is mexicans and it does all that cringe cholo shit it made me want to claw my eyes out and never watch another movie again.
the covenant - GEHHRDHHFHRHSJZJFJRJEJ the most boring movie of all these honestly. i think i almost fell asleep. jake is in too many military movies actually holy shit. don’t watch this one at all lmfao .
jarhead - this one is the most interesting military movie he’s in but it’s also graphically one of the worst so beware. it rlly doesn’t hold back with trying to be gross and bad. and i understand why. but it does make it hard to watch. it’s shot rlly well though. and the acting is great.
demolition - OH BROTHHERRRRR. i thought this movie would be worth something because it’s one of those u see a lot of clips of online. it’s genuinely so stupid tho. i can barely remember the plot but i just remember it made no sense. ppl keep getting jake for these insane characters except it’s just dumb as shit.
october sky - this is a cute fun movie you’d watch in middle school ^_^! cute little time!!! and it has laura dern so what’s not to like!! maybe a little boring to some tho.
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abysscronica · 1 year
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Hallelujah [Eustass Kid (Law?) x reader]
Author’s note: this is set in the canon universe – just imaginary future, towards the end of One Piece. It's one of the one shots closest to my heart and I want to see how it does on Tumblr, so here it goes.
Word count: 4.54k
Song: Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
*
 War.
One of the biggest wars the world had ever seen. More than the War of the Best, more than the Payback War, more than Wano.
The World Government had captured the Emperor Monkey D. Luffy and his entire crew, sending them to be executed in New Marineford. Something similar happened before, when Portgas D. Ace was sentenced to death.
 The Strawhats had many allies.
During their journey, they saved not just a lot of people, but a lot of countries.
They had a shitload of enemies too, though.
Despite some of them being criminals, the WG signed a truce and asked them to join forces in the furious battle to come.
Because they knew what was coming.
 The Strawhat Grand Fleet, the Revolutionaries, the Kamabakka Kingdom, the amazons, Germa 66, the samurai, the Surgeon of Death, the Kid pirates, the Minks, what was left of the Whitebeard pirates, and others.
 And you.
Just one year before, you would have paled at the mere idea of being caught in such a war. Just one year before, you would have placed yourself on the other side of the frontline.
 Yes, the Strawhats had many powerful allies. And it took just a quick glance to know it was going to be a majestic pain in the ass to make them work together.
You just never thought that pain in the ass would have to be you.
*
"Well, [Y/n],» Killer said softly above your shoulder «I guess it won’t be easy, huh?"
"'Huh' my ass," you grumbled, a thin drop of sweat gliding down your temple.
 That hall was a mess.
The Cannibal had started a fight with Ivankov, while Kin’emon was keeping back Cavendish, who looked actually more like some kind of creepy demon at the moment. Nekomamushi was on the verge of attacking Vinsmoke Ichiji for some unfortunate comment, and the two big Boa sisters looked very displeased with Trafalgar Law for unknown reasons. The rest of the Strawhat Grand Fleet was caught in a quarrel among themselves. Only Marco the Phoenix stood calm in a corner, leaning against the wall.
 Your Observation haki was well developed, so it was immediately clear how strong all those weirdos were. Honestly, they could kick your ass any day of the week.
 That was an awful, awful idea.
"What the hell is this mess?!" your captain (and man) yelled from behind you.
Eustass Kid, not famous for his docile demeanour.
"So thais was your plan, Eustass-ya?"
Law walked over, an annoyed scowl spreading on his face.
"Gathering us all in your lair and assuming we would get along pretty well?"
"Watch your mouth, Trafalgar, or you'll be dead meat by the end of the day."
"Yeah, yeah. And tell me, who is supposed to be the head of this mismatched alliance? You?"
Kid snarled, his murderous intent glowing in his eyes, but he somehow restrained himself. For the time being.
"Not me," he growled "Her."
 In an instant, all those terrifying eyes fixed on you.
«Hey,» you muttered in the now quiet hall «Some of you already know me. I’m [Y/n]: member of the Kid Pirates, ex marine, awesome. I hope you’re all doing well.»
The silence that followed was broken by a light chuckle.
«Now, this is getting interesting,» Marco smirked.
*
The war was savage.
Your strategies overlapped with Sakazuki’s over and over. Someone betrayed you. People died.
 As the General of the Strawhat Rescue Alliance, you took responsibility for each one of them. As ex marine, your heart hurt for every enemy killed.
Even when your own nakama were falling, you had to stand strong, be lucid, yell orders in the Den Den Mushi, or everyone was going to be lost.
 You had to fight on the main frontline, Sakazuki aiming at you with all he got, far away from your captain, with so many lives depending on you.
You, a simple human being, with nothing special other than sarcasm. And good sniping skills.
The whole time, there was that new fear cutting inside you, that unknown feeling that was also your burning strength.
Eventually, the Strawhats were freed. When Nika joined the battle, the war was won.
 Many died on both sides.
The surviving marines fled across the sea and, while the pirates were cheering and celebrating all over the ruins of New Marineford, drunk with their own adrenalin, you couldn’t help but being afraid of the consequences for the rest of the world.
But that was for later.
"Congratulations, general."
The words snapped you our of your trance and you slowly turned to Nico Robin, standing beside you.
"The war is won. You should announce it in that Den Den Mushi and make it official, don’t you think?"
"Huh…?"
Your eyes flicked to the device.
Your voice sounded weak as you pulled it close to your trembling lips.
"To the Strawhat Rescue Alliance, this is your general speaking."
The island grew quieter, or maybe it was just your imagination.
"I announce you…"
You swallowed. Inhaled. Deeply.
"THE WAR IS WON!"
The yells of the alliance exploded all over Marineford, along with the cries.
Yes, you won the war. And comrades had been lost.
 You handed the Den Den Mushi to the woman and started to run along the shore.
"Oi, where is she going?!" Bartolomeo barked, nearby "She’s our general! She has to celebrate with us!"
Nico Robin raised her hand to stop him. Sabo approached.
"Take a look around, Rooster-kun," she said "None of the Kid Pirates is here."
"Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law were fighting on the other side of the island, weren’t day?" Sabo added.
"Shit, that’s true!" Bartolomeo grimaced "They had to take on Ryokugyu and Kizaru."
The blond glanced at the Den Den Mushi.
"They haven’t been replying to any call since half the battle."
Nico Robin was looking at the pirates all around.
"Friends and nakama are still missing for everyone." she frowned "The hardest time has yet to come."
*
HALLELUJAH
[ Kid, Law, reader ]
I've heard there was a secret chord That David played and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you?
Your panting was the only sound ringing in your ears as you ran across the ruins.
 Maybe they’re okay. Probably their Den Den Mushi just broke. They are okay.
After the Room Law created to move Ryokugyu on the other side of Marineford, the Admirals never came back to help the Marines, after all. But neither did Kid or Law.
 You’re okay. Please, be okay.
When the fight was done, you noticed Heat, Wire, and Killer disappearing immediately, rushing towards the opposite shore.
 Why haven’t they filled me in already? Those idiots!
It took almost half an hour of running to reach the spot.
You crawled up the boulders that obstructed the beach. Of course a battle among those three destroyed the place. When you finally past them, a straight view of the sandy clearing lay in front of your eyes.
They were there.
And it was immediately clear everything was not okay.
Well, it goes like this:
Law was sitting against a jagged rock, clothes ripped, elbows resting on his knees, chin bent on his chest.
Eustass Kid was a few feet away. He was lying down, his head leaning against a stone. There was too much blood around him.
The fourth
Heat, Wire, and Killer were gathered by his side.
The fifth
And they were crying.
The minor fall, and the major lift
You dashed towards them. You stumbled, scraped your knees, rose and ran again.
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
"KID!"
Your nakama turned to you. Law was startled by your choked voice but he didn’t raise his head.
The shadow of a smile tugged on the corners of Kid’s mouth.
"Birdie."
Hallelujah
You fell on your knees as soon as you reached him, shuffling in the sand to cover the last feet and crumbling on his wounded chest.
You couldn’t swallow.
So much blood.
The wound was…
You didn’t have to look at it to understand. So you didn’t.
Hallelujah
"Kid…!"
"Hey."
His voice was a hoarse whisper. His eyes were closed but he did his best to open them and look at you.
Biting hard your lower lip, you quickly turned to the others.
"What the fuck are you doing standing there?! And you!" your furious eyes darted on Law "You’re supposed to be the best doctor around, aren’t you, Surgeon of Death?! Why aren’t you treating him, for fuck’s sake!"
Heat and Wire didn’t answer, lowering their faces on the ground.
Finally, Law lifted his golden eyes.
"I already did all I could," he said, slowly.
Hallelujah
"Bullshit!"
Killer moved closer.
"[Y/n]…"
"No! No!"
You harshly shook your head, burning tears already lining your cheeks, lips tugged above your teeth.
Kid’s hand managed to move on yours, leaned on his marked chest.
"Calm down, birdie."
"Like hell I’m calming down! Heat, Wire! Bring here that fucking reindeer! If Trafalgar can’t do anything, maybe he will!"
"[Y/n]."
Trembling for the effort, Kid's fingers reached your chin, forcing you to face his weak, yet cheeky smirk.
"Look at me."
Your soaked grimace twitched.
"I’m dying, birdie."
Hallelujah
"No… no…"
 More people were gathering on the beach, even if you didn’t register it. It seemed your brain was not processing correctly.
 Law shoved his head between his shoulders, gritting his teeth.
"Why, why did we come here?" you sobbed "You don’t even like the Strawhats!"
Kid chuckled and coughed blood.
"Quit it. Regret doesn’t suit you."
Unable to control your despair, you dropped your forehead on his chest and wept.
You felt his hand in your hair.
"C’mon," he said "S... Stop crying. You’re supposed to be the... general... of this mismatched group of lunatics."
"I… I don’t want…" words died in your mouth "It’s not fair!"
Kid's chest rose and lowered under your face.
"I have no regrets."
Swallowing, you lifted your eyes on his peaceful expression, his messy red hair stuck all over it.
"I wanted to live to become the Pirate King, or dying in the process. I never asked for more."
He wiped away the tears from your cheek.
"Yet I had my stupid nakama. And you."
Well your faith was strong, but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
"Kid please, please, don’t," you begged "I cannot lose you, I can’t."
The others were silently crying behind you. A lot of eyes were fixed on you, probably the most notorious pirates of your age.
You couldn’t care less.
"You made me who I am today. You taught me freedom. This can’t be it."
"It’s... fine. I already spoke to... ugh! K-Killer. He will take care of you."
On the beach, Nami pressed her hands on her mouth to muffle her sobs. Bartolomeo was among the ones weeping openly, along with Ivankov and Momonosuke. Marco and Sabo stood there quietly.
She tied you to her kitchen chair She broke your throne and she cut your hair
In the middle of all that pain, a little part of you whispered in your ear you had to accept it. You had to accept it and say goodbye before it was too late.
His breath had grown slower, his eyes were less focused.
"Kid."
"I love you." he whispered.
Your chest, your guts, everything inside you crumbled.
Killer hurled his mask on the ground and growled his desperation between his teeth.
Law’s knuckles whitened in his grip on his trousers.
 You were losing him.
Kid’s amber eyes were looking at nothing, his skin was too pale, his breath almost gone.
He had to know. You had to tell him.
Before it was too late.
"Kid, I’m pregnant."
And from her lips she drew her Hallelujah
His eyes snapped open.
Broken gasps sealed the silence on the beach.
Law’s wide gaze flicked on you.
Hallelujah
Kid’s face was a mask of shock.
"Wha…?"
"I’m pregnant," you repeated, moving closer "I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d forbid me to join the war. Forgive me."
"Are… are you sure…?"
You nodded frantically.
Hallelujah
His signature smirk weakly tugged at his lips.
"So I’m gonna… be a father…"
"Yes! Yes!"
You leaned your forehead against his.
Kid’s amber eyes looked around.
"K-Killer."
"I’m here!"
The blond crawled on his other side, streams of tears running down his cheeks.
"D-Did you hear…?"
"Yes. I will take care of them, Kid. I promise. No one will touch them."
"Good."
Hallelujah
"Maybe your child will be the one finding the One Piece!" you whispered "Maybe they will."
He closed his eyes.
"I'd like that."
"Kid."
"I have to go now."
"Kid!"
You could feel the life slipping away from his body.
Holding back your screams, you gently pressed your lips against his.
"I love you."
Were you breathing? Would you ever be able to breathe again?
"Goodbye, captain."
Hallelujah
Trafalgar Law had a troubled life.
 His whole hometown was destroyed when he was still a child, all the citizens, including his parents and his little sister, were slaughtered by the Government. Then he was sentenced to death by an incurable disease. He defeated it, but paid the highest price for it: Cora-san’s life.
Yet, he grew strong and resolute.
But baby, I’ve been here before I’ve seen this room, I’ve walked this floor
Still kind of a loner but he had his nakama. And the Strawhats. Even Eustass-ya, his crew, and all the allies.
I used to live alone before I knew ya
 He never particularly liked Eustass Kid, or at least that’s what he told himself.
There was something, about that vicious pirate. The way his men looked up to him, the way you looked at him. His inability to surrender, even when there was absolutely no hope.
 Law always told himself he was better. He was calmer, smarter, stronger.
Yet no one ever looked at him like you looked at Eustass Kid.
And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
He never understood how a woman like you would stick to that man’s side. Or maybe he did, and he lied to himself.
No misunderstandings: Law was proud of who he was. And he knew whom to be grateful to for that.
 Yes, his childhood was shit. But he had the luck to be taught and saved by not one, but two father figures.
His biological dad. And Cora-san.
Everything good inside him was their making.
And love is not a victory march
He looked at the scene unfolding in front of his eyes. The despair on your face and the happiness on Eustass’.
“I’m pregnant”
Now that child was meant to grow without a father.
 His dad’s voice and Cora-san’s goofy smile flashed in his mind. He closed his fists.
What the hell was he doing? He was supposed to be a doctor! He had freed himself from an incurable disease, how come he was letting Eustass Kid dying in your arms? His comrades were calling his name. He had so many things to live for.
Too many things.
And Law knew what he had to do.
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
 He pulled himself on his feet, glancing around.
No Heart Pirates there. Good.
Hallelujah
"[Y/n]-ya, Killer-ya," he called, walking over "Move aside."
He almost wavered when Killer lifted his blazing eyes on him. He never saw his face before.
"What the fuck do you want, Trafalgar?" Killer hissed.
"To save your captain."
Your wrecked gaze rose too.
"What…? But you said…"
"There’s no time," he urged, hinting at Kid, who was not unconscious "Get off and let me do it already!"
Too numb and confused to object, you shakily stood on your feet. Heat and Wire sustained you and helped you moving back.
"It will hurt. He will scream. I didn’t think he could survive this." Law explained, dropping his jacket. His eyes flicked on yours "But maybe now he has a reason to live no matter what."
Hallelujah
"I can help!" Chopper chimed, running ahead.
"Stay back!" Law barked, and the little reindeer stopped.
The Surgeon of Death pulled out his Nodachi.
"I need to create a big Room for this. No one can be inside." he looked at the little crowd "Everyone step back."
"I have a bad feeling about this," Sabo murmured, but he did as Law asked.
Killer gently pulled you back.
"Come, [Y/n]."
You looked at Kid one last time, then turned to the Surgeon. He flashed his confident smirk at you but there was something wrong in it. Something sad.
"I will bring him back to you, [Y/n]-ya."
"Law…?"
"If you see my men… tell them that they did a good job."
Hallelujah
"Law, wait–"
"Room."
Hallelujah
Minutes passed like centuries.
 You sat against Killer’s side, hands pressed on your ears to not listen to Kid’s screams from the beach. After a while they stopped but the surgery continued, or at least you guessed so, since Law's Room was still in place. You didn’t look that way.
All the Kid Pirates had finally reunited and you all gathered together, without talking. Waiting in the sand.
As the Alliance’s general, you were supposed to check on the people who fought the war with you but you simply couldn’t, not now. Luckily, Vinsmoke Reiju and Marco took the task upon themselves, and they were reorganizing the army and the infirmaries.
Most of the Heart Pirates had medical skills, so they were the ones employed in assisting the injured allies all around. They were informed via radio their captain was safe, so they could focus on the wounded.
There was a time you let me know What’s really going on below But now you never show that to me, do you?
For these reasons, they didn’t rush to the beach. When most of the emergencies were taken care of, though, Bepo couldn’t hold back anymore and he headed to the sandy clearing. Shachi and Penguin tagged along, unable to conceal how bad they wanted to see their captain too.
But remember when I moved in you? The holy dove was moving too
"Here you are, guys."
Nami and Chopper walked towards them when they appeared near the beach.
"Oh? Is the captain still there?" Bepo asked.
Chopper nodded.
"Yes, beyond those boulders. He’s performing surgery on Eustass Kid. He’s in critical conditions." the small reindeer hinted at the beach, where you and your crew were waiting "It’s been a while now."
"Surgery?" Penguin glanced at his comrades "Maybe we can help."
"Wait, he said–"
But the three of them were already running towards the clearing.
"Oi!"
Hearing the call, you turned to the pirates approaching.
"The Heart Pirates are finally here," Wire observed.
Killer helped you stand.
"Where’s the captain?" Shachi asked when they reached you.
Heat pointed at the beach behind his shoulder. The wide Room was visible about two-hundred feet away. Bepo frowned.
"Wait. How long has that Room been there?"
You shrugged.
"I don’t know. An hour? More?"
"What?"
You saw their eyes widening and something in the back of your mind pulsated.
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
"It’s impossible!" Penguin squeaked.
The three of them bolted towards it, but the Kid Pirates quickly jumped on their feet and grabbed them.
"Let us go!" Bepo yelled.
There was a desperate note in his voice that made you shiver.
Hallelujah
"Trafalgar said no one has to get in!" Heat stated, holding Shachi back.
"Let us go now!" Penguin screamed, trying to wiggle out of Killer’s grip.
You approached Bepo.
"What’s wrong? Why are you so upset?"
"Don’t you understand, you fool?!" he shouted in your face.
There were tears in his little eyes.
Hallelujah
You took a step back, blinking.
"What?"
"He’s using the ultimate operation! The one that grants life in exchange of the user’s!"
 In exchange of the user’s…?
"HE’S GOING TO DIE FOR EUSTASS!"
Hallelujah
"If you see my men, tell them they did a good job”
Hallelujah
Eustass Kid knew it.
From the second the excruciating pain began, he knew what was going on. What that idiotic surgeon was trying to do.
 They fought side by side against the Admirals, they covered for each other, they won together, and it wasn't even the first time.
He saved that weakling’s life with his own.
So, when he lay in his blood and the stupid doctor tried to operate around him, he knew from Trafalgar’s face that he couldn’t save him back.
Kid had sneered at him.
"Don’t tell [Y/n]. She will kill us both for this mess."
Maybe there’s a god above But all I’ve ever learnt from love Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
And now that fool was dragging him back from hell with his bare hands.
"Trafalgar, you fucker…!" he coughed, the surgeon’s blade still inside him.
"Shut. Up. Eustass-ya."
Law smirked, a rivulet of blood pouring down his lip.
"It’s not… easy… to replace a heart when you have to use your own. So don’t make me –ugh!– lose… focus."
And it’s not a cry that you hear at night
The surgeon blocked Kid’s mechanic hand before it could push him away.
"Fuck you! I don’t want this!" the redhead hissed.
"I don’t care what you want."
"Trafalgar, you bastard, get off me!"
"Damn… stay still!"
Law hurt him, on purpose, and Kid cursed in the blood invading his mouth.
"Leave… me… alone."
"You will live, Eustass-ya."
It’s not somebody who’ve seen the light
"Get the fuck off!"
"You will live, and love [Y/n]-ya, and raise your child."
"Trafalgar, I swear…!"
"And, who knows, maybe find the One Piece. Although I place my bet on Strawhat-ya for that."
"You…"
"I was lucky, you know. I had two dads."
"Stop it."
"I won’t let your baby have none."
"Stop it."
"So you will live, Eustass-ya."
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Finally, the room dissolved.
The Kid Pirates let go of Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo. You all ran along the beach.
Hallelujah
Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law were lying on the sand, side by side. Both their chests had been opened and closed again.
Hallelujah
"CAPTAIN!"
The three Heart Pirates rushed Law.
You felt empty while approaching Kid’s motionless body.
 Sabo, Nami, Chopper, Jinbe, and a lot of other people were approaching as well.
"Kid…?"
After a time that seemed dilating, Kid’s torso shook and he coughed.
"KID!"
Killer immediately crouched beside him, grabbing his wrist.
"He’s alive! His breath and pulse are both regular!"
You collapsed on your knees as the Kid Pirates yelled in joy.
Hallelujah
"Captain…?"
The whisper made you raise your eyes. The Heart Pirates were curled up around Law’s form. You slowly stood.
"[Y/n]…" Heat called you softly, but you didn’t stop.
Till you could see him.
Trafalgar Law had a peaceful smile on his lifeless face.
Hallelujah
You walked to him, among his weeping nakama.
Your fingers brushed his cheek as your wet lips brushed his forehead.
"Thank you."
And you could almost hear his voice, in your ears.
Eustass-ya, [Y/n]-ya,
Live on.
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Epilogue.
A fresh breeze blew through the green branches of the willows on the hill.
"Oh, and you were right captain: Monkey D. Luffy did find the One Piece, in the end."
Penguin smiled, hands in his pocket.
"It was a bit of a mess, but whatever."
The white grave in front of him still had the Nodachi planted on its side, even after all those years.
No one touched it.
 The cheers of the others were audible in the distance.
Penguin scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry for the chaos, I know you don’t like it, but see… the Heart Pirates are babysitting today. I already regret suggesting it, we’re clearly not equipped to handle–"
A small figure rushed between his legs, making him stumble. Before he could grab the kid, that one had already jumped on top of the grave, agitating the small slingshot in the air.
"Tremble, New World!" the child yelled, her spiky hair dancing all around her face "I’m Eustass Doruya, and I’ll be the next King of the Pirates!"
Apart from the usual patches, her signature sadistic grin was plastered on her face.
"Hey!" Penguin yelped "Get down from there!"
"Huh? Why should I listen to you, you miserable weakling?"
The pirate’s jaw dropped.
"What?!"
"Doruya, you’re always such a pain in the ass."
The childish voice reached the two, while a second kid dragged his feet up the hill. When he arrived in front of the grave, he observed it with bored eyes. His hair was far less crazy but the color was bright red.
"Shut up, useless twin! Do you want me to beat you up again?"
He sighed, glancing up at Penguin.
"Can we leave her here? We’ll tell mom and dad she ran off."
"Do that, losers, so my grand adventure will start!" she yelled.
The girl jumped down and ran in the woods.
"W-Wait!" Penguin gasped, but two of his crewmates were already rushing behind her.
"Don’t worry," the boy said "She’ll be fine."
He went back examining the grave with his sharp eyes.
"Is this the man you were talking about, Penguin-ojisan?"
"Hum, yeah…" Penguin’s smile returned to his face "This was my captain, Trafalgar D. Water Law. I thought it was time for you two to meet him, that’s why I brought you here."
"Penguin-san?"
The man turned to the black-haired woman who was walking up the hill.
"Nico Robin?! What are you doing here?"
The woman smiled.
"I was nearby and I decided to pay a visit to an old friend."
"I see."
Her brown eyes moved to the child.
"Hi there."
"Hi."
 Nico Robin had already met the kid in the past, though he was far younger. However, it was not hard to guess who he was. You don’t see that hair color around much.
"And what are you doing here?" she asked, tilting her smile.
"I came to pay my respects."
"Your respects?"
The child nodded, then turned to the grave and bowed.
"Thank you for saving my dad, Trafalgar-san." he said "He gets angry a lot and he’s always bossing people around. You know, since he’s an Emperor and everything. But he’s the best dad ever."
He straightened himself.
"I speak also in Doruya’s behalf. She’s grateful too, she’s just too much like dad to say it out loud."
Some seagulls called each other from the shore.
"My mom is happy, and Killer-ojisan is happy, and everyone is happy thanks to you. So, yeah. Thanks."
The kid turned and started heading back to the beach. Nico Robin noticed Penguin quickly wiping away a tear from his eye.
"Hey, child-san," she called.
The boy stopped and looked at her.
"You know, it’s good custom to introduce yourself when you meet someone," she politely commented.
He curled his lips.
"I guess."
The child flashed her a confident crooked smirk that strongly reminded her of a certain doctor.
"I’m Eustass Law. Nice to meet you."
Fine
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