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the-mercurial-star-o-vesper · 4 years ago

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I HEARD A SCREAM...

… in the woods somewhere.

What do you know about the Walten Files?

Theater Ahead. I like a good dramatic show, so I’m going to add some flaire. Some will be references, some will be questions, some will just be me being weird. Its all good fun, I assure you. Stuff like this usually is. The song being referenced is Hozier’s “In the Woods”.

Horror Ahead. Do Not Consume after Dark. Do Not Consume until 18+. If you cannot stand blood, body horror, horror and terror, the dark, and murderous robots, this is your final warning. Turn away. For some things should remain in darkness, and we only have a lighter for company…

Spoilers Ahead. If you haven’t seen the Walten Files, I’d watch them. I’d recommend some theory videos then, to make some sense of what you saw. We’re plunging into the dark and the deep, and the story here has both a helpful narrative and a malicious one. Someone is trying to help us, but someone is trying to stop us…

[Safety in Pills, Sophie]

A brief summary, the Walten Files (made by Martin Walls on Youtube) are a VHS style horror-mystery series on Youtube, taking inspiration from both the Lost VHS FNAF videos and FNAF itself.

Our (Main) Animatronics this time around are: - Bon, the Bonnie-inspired central character. Definitely, explicitly, implied to be possessed by one Jack Walten, who is the center of our supernatural stuff. Whatever is going on, it leads back to Jack. We have not seen Jack Walten’s death scene, and that’s one of our biggest mysteries. Bon is HOSTILE DO NOT TOUCH. - Bannie, a purple female bunny character. Explicitly implied to be possessed by one Susan Woodings. She have a lot of implication of her death, but nothing confirmed. - Boozoo, what appears to be a human(like) circus master looking character. Implied to be possessed by one Charles (Walten?); we have not had any scenes, as of this writing, on when or how Charles died, only implication that he is possessing Boozoo. - Sha, a white female Sheep character (too easily mistaken for a Poodle). We know she’s possessed by one Rosemary Walten. We watched it happen. - Billy, a Clown animatronic. Likely possessed by one Ashley P, as we got to listen to her death screams as Bon stuffed her into the animatronic. Billy the Clown has a list of names on a tape, overriding a birthday party song.

Now, I’m not gonna go through any Mass Story theories and I’m not going to make a timeline, but I am going to point out some things I saw and found. Minitheories, probably, lots of speculation, maybe, and mayhaps, we’ll get some stepping stones. [You do not have all the clues to solve this]

0. DEATH OF THE AUTHOR (OF THE RECORDING) … I clutched my life, and wished it kept.

Notice how every File ends in a Death? Mostly the Deaths of the Employees who made the ending video? File 3 is going to be interesting…

CONSIDERATIONS: - If the 3D distorting face was Bon’s recognition software, does it also have something to do with why Brian’s face was beyond recognition? A horrifying turn of events, if Bon was actively trying to make his head as the 3D imaging was trying to make the Identification fit some sort of Criteria.

1. CRYING ANIMATRONICS … I saw new eyes were watching me.

One thing that separates Bon’s Animatronics from FNAF’s is that these guys cry. When in cartoon form, they’ll do one of two kinds of crying: Actual sadness and tears, which is to be expected from cartoons, and the black stream, which is to be expected from horror.

But there is importance here.

For one thing, they only seem to do this (except in one case, but we’ll get to that) when encountering certain entities.

For example, our mystery sprite, which I’m dubbing the “Shadow With Eyes”.

In the cartoon, where Sha introduces us to the K9 Facility, the Shadow With Eyes appeared on the second time we entered the Basement, blocking the bottom doorway. [How odd, I remember we visited this room already]

When she finally appears on screen, Sha starts crying with tears. (Her poster has blacked out eyes). When she attempts to go down to the blocked doorway, either into or through the Shadow With Eyes, the scene glitches / crashes.

The poster is crying the dark streams, and so is Sha.

Not long after, we’re introduced to the story and death of Rosemary.

We are treated with the image of her cartoon dismembered corpse, and to Bon, with bloodied hands (and a bloodied leg?), as he stuffed the pieces into Sha. However… He’s caught in the act, as the screen turns from black to white (lights on?) and the Shadow With Eyes walks through the Employee’s Only door. Sha is distorted…

But Bon is crying Black Streams.

We have been introduced to this before. The first animatronic who “cried” was Bon from the first File, with the dark streams, implied to be blood. And when he did this, it was in the middle of Brian Stells’ video recording.

Is it possible that the Shadow With Eyes is an Employee? Perhaps even a Facility Caretaker? It does appear in the K9 Facility, and the purple uniform is shown being worn by an Employee in the Relocate Project video as they pack Billy into a moving Van.

But wait.

What about Bannie? She cries tears, then cries black streams / blood. But there doesn’t appear to be anyone around.

But her room was glitching too, wasn’t it? She couldn’t leave, the doorways kept her inside. She was trying to get out, trying to get the “Owner’s” attention.

Perhaps… She had a Witness who ignored her.

[There’s something missing here…]

QUESTIONS: - Who is the Shadow With Eyes? Are they a Facility Caretaker? - Who was the poor bastard who walked in on Rosemary’s murder? - Does this give reason why Bon attacked Brian?

2. LOOKIN’ FOR FRIENDS … I called your name till the fever broke.

Bannie introduced us to the Animatronic expressions, and while it doesn’t appear to be relevant yet. I should note, that when Bon (or someone) called Rosemary backstage at Bon’s Burgers… His eyes were also in “LOOKING FOR FRIENDS” mode, before settling on Rosemary. The same mode Bannie was tested on, before settling on the Viewer / Recorder.

QUESTIONS: - The Mode was introduced by the Revisions, so how the Hell did Bon have it years before? - Bon talks?

3. BACKROOM … I turned and ran, to save a life I didn’t have.

In the introductory cartoon with Sha, Sha tries to explain what the three doors have. But when she gets to the third door [Oh what does it Hide], her face distorts. With small blank black eyes, and a mouth that was clearly edited to be upside down [make that smile turn into a frown].

We do see this later. With Ashley P’s portrait with her friends, as she is being murdered or worse by Bon… After going into the Backrooms.

Every Facility Caretaker (and Tech it seems) is given a small key, and that small key goes to the Backrooms.

The Backrooms hide something, and its possible that it hides Billy (an Animatronic implied to have been on Stage, but not stored with the other Stage Animatronics) and a tape with the names (A hitlist?). But the end text says that Ashley “Saw” something, not listened.

QUESTIONS: - Was the Third Door the Backroom as the editing Implies? - Why are the Main Animatronics stored separately from all the ones in the Backrooms? - If the Techs were supposed to repair the animatronics, why not just take the endoskeletons and other parts from the Backroom, and place them where they can be easily found and thus make things go faster? - What did Ashley see, if it wasn’t the tape? Was it Billy? Another strange animatronic? (the Gray Rabbit?) - If there is something in the Backrooms meant to be hidden, why give a Key to the Employees at all? Why not keep it with those who are “in the Know”? Its almost as if someone wants something to be found… Murderous Bunny notwithstanding.

4. NAMES ARE IMPORTANT ... I prayed my mind be good to me.

The names of the characters all have meanings, and some of them might be important: - JACK - Gracious; Supplanter; Man - WALTEN - Foreigner; Wood; Wall; Stream; Ruler - ROSEMARY - Rose + Mary - SUSAN - Lily Flower; Rose - WOODINGS - Wood Cutting; Mad (?) - CHARLES - Man; Free Man; Warrior; Army - BRIAN - High; Noble - STELLS - Stella? Star. - ASHLEY - Ash Meadow; Ash Tree Meadow - ANTHONY - Son of Herakles; Priceless One; Flower - FELIX - Lucky - KRANKEN - Suffer (... Now that’s an interesting last name) + MARY - Bitter; Beloved; Rebelliousness; Wished-For-Child; Marine; Drop of the Sea. + HERAKLES - Glory of Hera + HERA - Beloved; Air

- SOPHIE - SOPHIA. Wisedom; Skill; Cleverness; Intelligence [Be Wise] CONSIDERATIONS: There are themes of knowledge, light, darkness, blindness, and last I checked... We do have a “holy” entity, Sophia, from Gnosticism and Gnosticism deals in themes of Knowledge, Light, Darkness and Blindness. A demiurge that created a suffering world... A world in darkness... A world where man suffers...

Hm...

[... With knowledge but never with...]

5. Sy05 (?) [?] … I spoke no words, no sound he made.

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To be continued as the series continues.

How many years I’ll know I’ll bear I found something in the woods somewhere.

#The Walten Files #Walten Files #Walten Files Theories #The Walten Files Theories #Theories #In the Woods Somewhere #Hozier In the Woods Somewhere

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maskedlady · 4 years ago

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things people who haven’t read/studied the homeric poems should know

the iliad isn’t about ten years of war. it’s about fifty-one days from the last year of war. more than nine years have passed since the beginning. neither the recruit of achilles or odysseus nor aulis nor the sacrifice of iphigenia nor the trojan horse and not even achilles’ death feature in it. it actually ends with hector’s burial.

similarly, the odyssey starts during the tenth year of odysseus’ travels, when he leaves the island of the nymph calypso who had kept him there for eight years. while the story of his travels is actually there, it’s a massive flashback that odysseus himself narrates.

odysseus actually only travels circa one year, if you subtract the seven years spent on ogigia, the one year with circe, the various months and bits they camped in other places.

part of the odyssey is actually about odysseus’ son, telemachos, and his quest to find his father. also another part is about odysseus returning to ithaca and killing a bunch of princes who were trying to usurp his throne.

the aeneid is not a homeric poem. it’s styled on the homeric model, but it was written in latin by a roman poet, and the protagonist is technically one of the antagonists from the iliad.

homer never existed.

he isn’t a historical figure, he is a name with a legend attached, to whom these poems are attributed. the poems were written—no, not even written, composed orally by a series of unnamed aoidoi (hm... ministrels?) through the ages.

in fact this is quite obvious when you read the iliad. there are a lot of inconsistencies, like frequent style changes, chapters that have nothing to do with anything else and no influence on the story whatsoever, strange time lapses—at some point it’s midday twice the same day

it is thought that all of these separate fragments were then collected and organized by one person, and this version was then handed down, orally, until the first written edition around 520 b.c.

the mycenean civilization that these poems originate from ended in 1200 b.c. circa

the odyssey was initially part of a whole group of nestoi, aka “return poems”, that were basically the tales of the return of each hero from troy. the odyssey is the only one that remains, though we do know something about the others too from other pieces of greek literature

a warning for the interested. these poems are a pain to read. they are delightful but they are a pain. they were composed orally so they are full of epithets, descriptions, metaphors and similitudes. these acted as fillers to help the aedo of turn reach the length of the verse, make the various characters more recognizable, and also make the poems more comprehensible to the general public, composed mostly of common people who had never actually been in a battle—so battles and duels are often compared to more familiar scenes, like fights between animals.

no i’m not joking

there is one in particular where the screeching army of trojans coming down the hill is compared to cranes migrating over the oceans.

also, the duel between hector and patroclus is one of the “compared to animal fights” scene

when odysseus is about to drown, he talks to his own heart. possibly because it sounds slightly less crazy and more Romantic than just directly talking to oneself.

helen insults paris real often. hector berates him both internally and publicly. in fact everyone insults paris. paris is the local coward and scapegoat. deservedly. i rejoice

everybody loves patroclus. all the kings hate each other but everyone loves him—so much so that they risk their lives over his corpse

which, mind me, wasn’t something that special in and of itself. it was important to retrieve comrades’ corpses because if the enemy got ahold of your body he’d leave it to rot and be devoured by dogs and crows, which was a huge dishonour (and also possibly barred you from entrance to the afterlife)

so much so that the ancient greek version of “go to hell” is eis korakas, “to the crows” (“may you die, lie unburied, and your body be eaten by crows”)

at some point they hold a truce (possibly several times) so they’ll have the time to collect, burn and bury all the fallen soldiers.

back to patroclus because i got sidetracked: still. this time it is kind of a big deal because the literal centre of the fighting after patroclus dies is all the major greek heroes playing tug-o-war against hector and his brothers with patroclus’ corpse. the centre of the fighting, people, this is no joke

at some point someone is sent to tell achilles that his lover’s body is in danger so he better get out of your sulk, hurry up and come help the rest of us

achilles going armour-less to the battlefield and screaming for patroclus is enough to send the trojans running.

i am sure that all of you know this but the reason achilles doesn’t have armour is that when hector kills patroclus he takes achilles’ armour, that patroclus was wearing, as spoils of war

so an entire book after that is devoted to hephaestus forging achilles new, better armour so he can actually fight again

look, it is not actually stated that they were lovers, but it’s obvious. in greek culture especially. that was the norm and italian school teachers can get over it and stop omitting it from lessons and school books any time now

odysseus isn’t actually an asshole. sure, a lot of his misadventures were caused by him being too curious and disregarding his comrades’ advice *cough*cyclops*cough* but most of the most destructive events were caused by them disregarding his orders.

“do not kill and eat the sacred cows of apollo! he’d kill us.” guess what they did. guess how it ended

or when they stopped by eolos’ island. eolos, god of the winds, gave odysseus a flask with all the adverse winds imprisoned inside, leaving free only the one that he needed to take him to ithaca. they got so, so very near, and then odysseus fell asleep and the others opened the thing because they thought there was more treasure inside it, and all the winds came out and blew them halfway across the mediterranean

athena often glamours odysseus to look younger and prettier or older and then again younger. it’s amazing because he always looks either like an old beggar (for camouflage) or like a young and handsome man.

do some maths. at the beginning of the war he must’ve been at least twenty. + ten years of war. + ten years of travel. at the end of the odyssey he is at least forty. by ancient standards that was not young.

odysseus’ whole voyage is basically a pissing contest between poseidon and athena. actually between poseidon and the rest of the gods. poseidon hates him and all the other gods take turns helping him.

odysseus is not an asshole, but the greeks probably considered him a shitty character, because he was clever, shrewd, and the only survivor of his community. the greeks really insisted on the concept of community, the individual doesn’t have worth in and of themself but as a part of society. this is particularly evident when he gets to the cyclops, who are the very antithesis of the greek man, described as uncivilized and living in isolation without assemblies or laws. a lot of emphasis is put on the fact that they live outside of a community.

alternatively, the difference between the iliad and the odyssey (and their respective heroes) signifies the change in greek culture, from the warrior myceneans to commerce and voyage: odysseus represents the victory of intelligence over force, and his qualities are the characteristics, for example, of a merchant

i should perhaps point out that the odyssey was composed much later than the iliad, which is also the reason it has a more complex structure (begins with the gods + telemachos’ quest, we first see odysseus on ogigia, then he recounts his whole voyage in a long flashback triggered by a bard at a feast singing about the trojan war)

oh look i got sidetracked again

back to the trivia!

do not be fooled by madeline miller. patroclus was indeed a warrior, and a very good one at that. and briseis was indeed achilles’ lover, and loved him (that is explicitly stated).

odysseus might have loved penelope but that does not mean he did not sleep around with every woman he met

circe. calypso (by whom he is imprisoned for seven years). and nausicaa princess of the phaeacians falls in love with him. this is engineered by athena

i don’t think he actually sleeps with her but athena does make him look younger and prettier so she’ll be smitten and welcome him at the palace and give him a bunch of gifts and eventually a ship to take him back to ithaca

in the poem named after him, his own poem, odysseus is always the stranger, the guest, or the beggar.

or all three.

or all three, but it’s a lie and he’s actually at home, the king returned.

despite the iliad being about one and a half months and the odyssey being more than a year + more time taken up by other characters, the iliad is about one and a half times the odyssey.

more to come (maybe)

#if i can think of anything else #eden rambles #iliad #odyssey #homer #this is half actual stuff i learned in class half things i find funny

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mizumelona · 4 years ago

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set me up | atsumu x reader

SYNOPSIS: You’re an ambitious career woman, who’s got everything…except a significant other. Your mom, sick of you showing up to family functions alone, sets you up on a series of (terrible) blind dates. You make these dates meet you at your favorite restaurant, Onigiri Miya, but for some reason the owner’s jerk of a twin brother always happens to be there exactly when things crash and burn.

NOTE: This chapter is dedicated to my lovely friend Sharon who encouraged me to start this blog and helps me with my writing. @Sharon I kept my promise hehe.

MASTERLIST

PREV | WFH 1 - THE TRUCE | NEXT

TAGLIST: @awkwardali6106 @kasandrafaye @veggytaled @svtbitch @stinkyobeymerat @hollypastl @differentballooncollection @o51oc @sunboikyo00 @justxanotherxshipper @kaisemieita @rizamendoza808 @tomo-uwu @sugardaddykenma

You tossed Atsumu’s sweater into the washer with your other juice covered clothes and made your way to your bedroom. You picked up your phone to text your mom.

Lovely Daughter:

I think I need to take a break from these dates

You still wanted to find a boyfriend and flex on your cousin, but this blind dating thing wasn’t exactly working out. You cringed remembering that your favorite cream shorts might be ruined for good. Taking a step back seemed like a good choice for now. Maybe you’d spontaneously run into someone worth your time. Blonde hair and a cheeky smirk flashed in your mind.

Huh. What was that? You shook your head. That was definitely not happening.

As you finished sending the message you got another notification.

Boss:

Reminder that our team is working from home this week while they replace the carpets in the office. Can you send me the updated prototype of your project by Friday morning?

Ugh. Working from home was bad news for you. Despite being an overachiever, your home was a safe oasis that was completely separated from your work life. When it came to trying to work while your favorite blanket and TV were 2 feet away, you had no self-control. You tried to look on the bright side. Who knows? Maybe this is the week you learned a little self-control.

Onigiri Miya. Thursday 6:27 PM

It wasn’t.

You had plenty of inspiration on Monday but took a break to watch one episode of your favorite sports anime and ended up binging the next two seasons. Tuesday you’d pulled up the files you needed to work on but you saw a manga spoiler while browsing Instagram and decided to binge the manga too. Yesterday you were shook about the most recent cliffhanger and got carried away reading fan fiction. It wasn’t until 5 PM that you realized that the prototype was due in a day but by then you were already fucked.

Cut to you grinding like crazy for the past 24 hours. You’d pulled an all-nighter last night except for 20 minutes at 5 in the morning when you crashed and knocked out on your keyboard. When you woke up there was an imprint of the spacebar on your chin. Finally you had most of the prototype completed, so you were crawling out of your cave for some food.

Sweats, glasses, hair messily pulled away from your face. You haggardly stumbled toward the restaurant. You’d exhausted your instant noodle supplies and had been so focused on finishing the damn prototype that you didn’t stop to eat today. You were pretty sure you were going to pass out if you didn’t get some food in your body ASAP.

You pushed the door to the restaurant open.

“Welcom- woah [Y/N]…you doing okay?”, Osamu paused mid rice ball roll and looked you up and down.

“Holy shit ya look like a zombie!”, Atsumu exclaimed from his usual seat at the bar.

You ignored Atsumu’s comment. You had no energy left for making snarky comebacks. “Osamu. Three Minced tuna onigiri and an iced Calpico please and thank you.”

“Sure…”, Osamu gave you a concerned look before turning to get started on your order.

You dumped your things onto an open table and sunk into the seat. You flipped open the laptop that you’d brought with you and started tapping on the keys. There was a big fat error alert on the screen. Great. You tried to edit the file. Another error. Ugh you were so close it was frustrating. You typed a few more edits in. Success! Loading…

Finally. You leaned back into the chair, staring at the ceiling. You heard some familiar footsteps approaching you. Here he comes.

On cue, Atsumu slid into the seat across from you. “Yo what happened?”

“I’m an idiot. That’s what happened.” You closed your eyes and massaged your temples. Your head was aching from staring at the screen for so long.

He snorted. “I know a lotta idiots but you aren’t one of them” He peeked over at your screen. “What’s with the laptop? This isn’t a coffeeshop sweetheart”

“Work.” You bluntly replied. You scrunched up your face. Sure his voice was smooth as ever, but right now anything but complete silence was making your head pound.

“You’re in a good mood aintcha?” He smirked. You glowered in his direction, your dark circles making you look extra ominous.

“Stop irritating my customers ‘Tsumu” Osamu smoothly shut Atsumu down. He placed a tray of food on the table. “I got three minced tuna onigiri and an iced Calpico”

“Bring me a drink too ‘Samu”

“Get it yourself ’Tsumu”

An upbeat ringtone started playing from Osamu’s pocket. He pulled his phone out and took the call. “Hey babe…I’m just at the restaurant…no, it’s not that busy…wait…what!” Osamu raised his eyebrows.”…Okay yeah I’ll be right there.” He turned to Atsumu. “‘Tsumu close the restaurant. I need to go help Sharon”

“Huh? Ya can’t just-“, Atsumu tried to protest, but Osamu took his Onigiri Miya hat off and shoved it on Atsumu’s head. Osamu scrawled a note about closing early and taped it to the door on his way out. Atsumu stood there looking irritated as he watched his brother run off through the window.

He turned to you. “Well ya heard him. You’re gonna hafta take your rice balls and work home sweetheart”

Wait. You checked your screen. 15%. Rip. Starting the process while you ate dinner probably wasn’t the best idea, but you needed this to finish loading and couldn’t risk it getting messed up on the trip back up to your apartment. You turned to Atsumu, “I’m sorry about earlier. Please let me stay a little longer. I really need this thing to finish loading”

“No way”

“It’ll only take a second” You pleaded with him. He turned to walk away. “Please. Atsumu”

He paused. Wait, was that the first time you’d called him by his real name? He turned back to you with that devious smile he got whenever he had one of his “brilliant” ideas.

“How ‘bout this? You help me clean, I’ll letcha stay here even though I really should be closing up”

“Deal”

Onigiri Miya. 45 Minutes Later.

“I’m pretty sure when we made our deal you said it would take ‘just a second’”. The bashful smile from earlier had long been wiped off his face replaced with the current impatient scowl. You’d finished eating your onigiri shortly after Osamu left, and you two had been sitting at the same table sipping Calpico and watching the loading bar for the last 45 minutes.

“It’s really almost done now.” You were running out of excuses to stall for time.

“Hurry it up. I got things to do sweetheart”, he said and took a noisy sip of his drink.

Okay [y/n] we need to think of a way to stall. You went through your options. Hm. Actually, complimenting people usually works pretty well, especially when that person has as big of an ego as this blondie. Okay you decided on your plan of attack.

“Hey” You smiled innocently at Atsumu. “Thanks again for waiting with me. You’re a lot nicer than I thought”

“How many times do I hafta tell ya that that creepy smile isn’t fooling me?” Atsumu set his drink back on the table. “And was that supposta be a compliment? When did I ever do anythin’ to piss you off?” He leaned back, crossing his arms.

“Says the guy who crashed not one but two of my dates”

“I didn’t do nothin’”

“You were the reason the strawberry juice was on the table to begin with”

“I’m also the reason why you’re still here even though I could’ve kicked you out an hour ago.”

You couldn’t argue with that.

“Touche” You leaned forward. “How about we call a truce then.” You held out your hand.

He looked at your hand skeptically. “Truce? That implies we were fightin’ in the first place”

“You gonna take it or not?”, You smiled slyly and waved your hand. “Let me tell you now. I’m not someone you want as an enemy”

“Jeez that’s pretty scary sweetheart.” He leaned forward with his trademark cheeky grin…and was he blushing a bit? “Fine. Truce.” He reached out to shake your hand.

“I know the perfect way to celebrate” He said, rising from his seat. He walked behind the counter and rustled around in the fridge. You heard him mutter, “Where did ‘Samu put it”, as he continued digging around. “Aha. Here it is!”, he declared, finding whatever he was looking for. Atsumu walked back and plopped down in his seat, setting two cups of pudding on the table.

“Haha. Nice.” You picked up one of the pudding cups but noticed a little note stuck to it. “Huh. What’s this?” You pulled off the note to read it. Osamu’s pudding: DO NOT EAT. “Wait a second we can’t-“

Atsumu took the container out of your hands, broke the seal on the cover, and handed it back.

“Atsumu!”, you exclaimed.

“You’re welcome.” He opened his pudding cup and shoveled a spoonful in his mouth. “Mmm”

Well it’s not like you could put it back now that it was opened. You scooped a spoonful into your mouth. Your face lit up. Osamu’s pudding preferences were on point.

“I have a question”, Atsumu asked. “Why were ya tryin’ so hard on those dates anyways? Those guys were obviously trash, and ya don’t really seem like the type that’s desperate for romance.”

What he said wasn’t wrong, and you two were kind of having a moment here. You figured it’d be fine to tell him about it.

“Ugh the thing is” You gulped down another spoon of pudding. “I’m trying to prove something to my family”

“Huh?”

“They don’t think I’m capable of romance, and my shitty cousin loves to rub it in my face. I’m trying to find a guy so I can flex on them”

He smirked. “Hah, that’s real petty”

You pointed your spoon at him. “I don’t wanna hear that from you.”

“Fair point”

Your computer chimed. You both turned to look at the screen. 100% Loaded.

“Yes!” You pumped your fists.

“Finally” Atsumu sighed, scraping the last of his pudding out of the cup. “So, ya gonna help me clean?”

“A deals a deal. Where should I start?”, you said combing your hair out of your face.

“I’ll take the tables. You’re on dish duty”

Atsumu went into the supply closet and came back with a rag. You caught yourself staring as he pushed his sleeves up. Okay the man had beautiful forearms, so what? You quickly looked away.

“You okay [y/n]?”, Atsumu interrupted your thoughts, cocking his head. Shit. You hoped he hadn’t noticed your little slip-up.

“Uh yeah! I got the dishes!”

You’d emailed the final prototype and you two were almost done tidying up. The only thing left to do was mopping the floor.

“[Y/N], How about we have a lil challenge”

You raised an eyebrow.

Atsumu brought two mops out of the supply closet, tossing one to you. “I’ll race ya. Last one to mop to the other side loses”

This was stupid there was no way you were about to have a dumb mopping ra-

“Unless you’re too scared”

You gripped your weapon. “Hah, You’re on”

You both stood at one end of the restaurant. Mops in hand.

“Ready” Atsumu clenched his mop. “Go!”

You realized that challenging a pro-athlete to a fair race was stupid. That’s why you didn’t intend to play fair. As soon as Atsumu motioned to take his first step you swiped your dripping mop in front of his foot. He lost his balance.

“Fuck!”

“Haha Loser!”, you turned to laugh at him. Thwack!

Atsumu collided with you knocking you backward. You hit the ground with a thud, securely pinned under him. Shit. He hauled himself onto his hands and knees, looking down at you.

“You cheated!”, he shouted.

“That doesn’t give you the right to tackle me!”, you shot back.

“I wasn’t tryin’ to tackle you!”

“So what!”, you grabbed his collar pulling him back so your foreheads were touching. You both paused. Shit. Did you just do something weird?

You were suddenly very aware of the nice smell wafting off his hair. You gulped. There was a pink blush creeping over Atsumu’s nose. He looked dumbstruck at first but soon a cheeky grin spread across his face.

“Wow [y/n], you’re pretty bold huh.”

“Shut up!”

The chimes jingled and the door opened. You both jumped and turned to the sound.

“Oolala”, the girl who came with Osamu was snickering.

“…is that my pudding?”

After that, you’d both apologized to Osamu, properly mopped the floor. You were getting ready to go home now. Luckily neither of you had been seriously injured in your little incident, but any time your eyes met Atsumu would shoot you an infuriating smirk.

As you were about to leave, Atsumu called out to you. “Hey [y/n] I’m gonna need my sweater back soon”

“Oh right! I forgot it at my apartment but I washed it so I’ll bring it by tomorrow”

“Sounds good. Good night [y/n].” As he turned to walk away, he looked back over his shoulder and smiled at you. It was a sincere smile like the one he gave you as he handed you his sweater the other day. You couldn’t help but smile back. This guy.

Your phone buzzed as you started walking back toward your apartment. You pulled it out.

Jerk Cousin:

Family brunch two Sundays from now. Don’t forget you’re in charge of fruit. My mom told me to remind you. She also said to tell you that you can bring a plus one, not that you’d need it lol

Onigiri Miya. Friday 11:15 AM

You’d slept like a baby that night, and woke up more refreshed than ever. It was like your 24 hours of hell never happened. You pulled open the door to the restaurant.

“Hey Osamu is Atsumu here? I have the sweater I kept forgetting in my apartment” You rustled through your bag pulling the sweater out. Looking up, you suddenly noticed that the restaurant was more packed than usual, and most of the occupants were looking at you.

“Oya?”

“Oya oya?”

#haikyuu #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #atsumu #atsumu x reader #set me up

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gayregis · 4 years ago

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hi! why do u think Regis doesn’t not exist as a character without hansa?

i am so glad you asked this question!! it's something important to me when it comes to regis's character that was made apparent to me after i read the hansa parts of baptism of fire, tower of the swallow, and lady of the lake. this argument came to me from flipping back and forth between games!regis as he appears in blood & wine, and books!regis as he appears originally.

this train of thought stems from the differences between book and game regis, which i think i have already described at length somewhere else (edit, i found some thoughts (still couldnt find the og post i had in mind though, idk where it is, it was very long and i wrote it on a train): (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x))

but to summarize, games!regis isn't as personal with geralt, he doesn't seem committed to humanity at all, and his scenes involve more depressing and violent overtones (forced relapse? unable to control self with tempting of blood, having to be locked in a cage? what in the spiral...). in this analysis of the differences between games and book regis, i attributed some of games!regis's OOC-ness to the lack of the rest of geralt's hansa.

i think that regis cannot really be an accurate representation of his character without the presence or at the very least, the acknowledgement of, the other members of the hansa in a sincere and involved manner.

the conditions that i mean by this: when i refer to the "rest of the hansa," i mean at the very least geralt, dandelion, milva, and cahir (since angouleme was introduced later), but especially milva, for reasons i will desciribe later. when i refer to a "sincere and involved manner," i mean to say that the characters can't just sit there as pretty background or interact once and never again - they actually have to interact multiple times if not constantly, have meaningful conversations which demonstrate things about their characters, play off of each other in humorous exchanges, etc.

okay now onto my two main points

i. positive relationships with other members of the hansa demonstrate commitment to humanity

regis’s primary character goal and purpose in-universe is to be the “epitome of humanity.” i ask, how is this goal ever going to get represented or achieved if he never speaks to or interacts with any humans on a meaningful level other than geralt?

regis’s first and foremost role, that we learn as an audience as he introduces himself in his character debut in fen carn, is that he’s a barber-surgeon. this means that he is a healer, his whole job (which is quite significant in a medieval-esque setting such as this, one’s job pretty much defines their entire life, which you can see with geralt, yennefer, dandelion, milva, cahir, etc) is that he heals people and tries to help as many human lives as possible.

how is he supposed to be a surgeon if he never actually is shown healing anyone? if he doesn’t have close relationships with the hansa, who else is he supposed to heal? one of the large parts that regis provides the company in baptism of fire is that he actually functions as a healer. he assists the peasant milva gave a concussion to, he sews the head wound dandelion garnered from his and geralt’s escape from the partisan camp, and he helps milva with her options relating to her pregnancy and later immediately goes to provide medical attention when she begins to miscarry. these actions demonstrate not only his role in society and demonstrate how he fits into the world of the witcher, but demonstrate his committment to humanity and to the wellbeing of others.

but of course, he could heal random other humans. why does he need to be around the hansa, specifically?

regis has many valuable interactions with the hansa, part of which i’ll expand on in my second point, but his developed friendships with each of the members and as a group begin to define him as committed to humanity not only in a general ethical sense, but in a personal manner.

i have mentioned this “arrogant immortal vampire” archetype (think of like, a vampire that thinks they’re so much better, powerful, and knowledgable than humans just because they are a vampire) that regis is completely the opposite of, and we get to see that he is the opposite of this archetype only through his interactions with the rest of the hansa.

it’s parts like when dandelion notices, “i see you know your fish!” and regis replies modestly, “i know lots of things :)!” or when regis criticizes geralt for not having a goal and that the cardinal directions of the compass mean nothing to him, and milva disagrees and says, “but ciri’s his goal? how can you say she’s nothing?” and regis apologizes and explains he was joking, without much tact... when regis treats angouleme with distance in their first meeting and tries to accuse her of lying, but then gives her his horse and in the next book defends her against fringilla/distracts fringilla’s sharp tongue from her and onto him. regis demonstrates humility and respect for others, as well as genuine friendship to others and propensity for humor during his interactions in the hansa.

without the hansa, specifically in blood and wine, what is regis? he doesn’t interact with anyone else, only geralt, maybe another vampire. how is he supposed to demonstrate and develop such meaningful interaction, good nature, and weighty values towards humanity without ever having the opportunity to be amongst friends? he simply will be a shell of the character he is supposed to be if he is separated from the hansa which defines him.

ii. contrasts with other characters develop character

regis without the rest of the hansa will be expotentially weaker as a character because his qualities are not effectively made apparent without contrasting him against other characters.

i think milva and regis in baptism of fire have a very good character dynamic in that they are kind of opposites of one another. milva is action, force, to kill. regis is talk, placation, to heal. they address situations in extremely different manners, and have extremely different senses. this is good because they are both members of geralt’s company, and are liable to sway geralt either way, sort of representing a fork in the crossroads, or an angel and devil on his shoulders.

this is apparent in many scenes, but the ones that first come to mind are in baptism of fire, when regis describes the refugee camp in a very elaborate manner and then milva tells him “why use three dozen words, when three will suffice?” and is very blunt about the situation, and later when they are sitting by the fire as regis dispells myths about vampires, milva criticizes his philosophy and points out how generally useless it is. neither character is wrong in this situation, but their exchanges provide an opposite to compare the other to.

if regis spoke about philosophy on his own, and geralt nodded and muttered “hm...” (as you might see in tw3), or argued a little with him about what he was proposing, but ultimately conceded (as you see in baptism of fire), then what you as a reader get from this exchange is that regis philosophizes. that gives you information about his character, but it’s essentially useless - what does that say about him? he philosophizes. great, that’s good for him. but it doesn’t make him stand out as a character, because there’s no dissenting voice or someone to argue with him and point out the faults in his approach.

by milva addressing regis’s approach as not the only way to approach a situation and to give another perspective, you learn something valuable about both of their characters: regis doesn’t just philosophize, he philosophizes unnecessarily, to the point of annoying and excessiveness. milva doesn’t just come at things from a simple point of view, she is headstrong and unwilling to entertain ideas she deems stupid. this is so much more interesting than just regis talking on his own, and no one responding to it with a genuinely different viewpoint or approach. geralt may argue with him, but in tw3 geralt is more of a vessel for the player to adopt rather than a character so his responses are limited, and also in baptism of fire, geralt is more wanton to argue with regis about the actual topic regis brings up: for example, discussing vampires and the symbolism of blood. geralt disagrees with regis’s analysis of the symbolism of blood and engages with him on this, milva disagrees with addressing the whole subject in a philosophical manner entirely.

and it’s not just contrasts... it’s also the general exchanges they have as a company, like regis getting excited about what dandelion is writing in the tower of the swallow, like angouleme calling him uncle and him trying to address her formally but she gives him more sass, like when they are walking in angren and regis points out the pines, “take a closer look at those trees,” and begins to lecture them, like when regis reappears and gives advice to geralt despite geralt trying to get rid of him. it’s this kind of human interaction which demonstrates to the reader his character traits, what kind of behavior he is prone to, how he is liable to respond in a given situation.

idk how to end this but basically yeah like regis needs his friends :( i also believe that more broadly, as it relates to real life, that we are defined by the people we share our lives with and how we treat them, not by our own conception of ourselves. it is our actions towards others and care which make an impact on this world and show what our inner characters are like

#regis #the witcher #bw #arinasassymessi #ask #long post /

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saiilorstars · 4 years ago

Text

Dare To Forget Me

Ch. 27: Shock-worthy

(Previous chapters)

Fandom: Law & Order SVU

Pairing: Rafael Barba x OFC

Warnings: Due to the nature of the series’ plots, I do have to rate this as ‘mature’ for constant mentions of rape.

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel [If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ` 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Chapter Summary: The case SVU has going on is a particularly terrifying one. It has a few of the detectives feeling sick to their stomachs. Meanwhile, Sonny comes to a shock-worthy realization that might hurt a few people...

"So you guys didn't really...get anything, did you?" Montserrat couldn't help ask Amanda as they walked down the corridor of Riker's. At Murphy's command, the two detectives were supposed to visit Gordon and extract more information on Wilkes.

Amanda's bob of head said exactly what she thought about their undercover job. They hadn't really gotten anything from Wilkes directly, so now they were supposed to get Gordon to talk again. "We tried. Murphy tried."

"Hm…" was all Montserrat had to say.

They stopped at the front desk where they had to sign and relinquish their guns.

"I get that you don't like him, but he is trying to do his job," Amanda leaned against the desk while Montserrat finished writing her last signature.

"Oh, I can't say that I don't like him this early in the game," Montserrat looked up with an expression that read 'But I'm close to saying it'. "I just feel like he needs to sit back and let us show him how we do things. He should be taking notes from Olivia. She's practically a Lieutenant already."

"Well, as long as you don't say it this early," Amanda's light sarcasm made Montserrat roll her eyes.

The two detectives were allowed into the visitor's ward a short moment afterwards. Gordon was brought out and immediately had something to say to them.

"Can you get me into solitary? Everybody's looking at me all the time."

Montserrat so badly wanted to respond with 'Why do you think?' but knew it would hinder their investigation. So, she kept her mouth shut until she had something better to say.

"Might be able to do that, but you gotta stop holding out on us," Amanda was the one to respond. "Your pal Erastes, did he ever talk about actually hurting boys?"

Gordon shook his head. "No, I'm not a part of that, okay? I-I-I just like to watch. He is into things that I would never do."

"Hm, like what?" Montserrat gave him a hard, levelled look warning him he better not lie.

"Well, there was this live-streaming Webcast from Estonia a few months ago. Erastes kept sending messages to the master asking him to hurt the boy...make him bleed. Now, I-I turned it off, but then later, Erastes bragged that he had watched the boy die. And then he said to me that we should find a boy that nobody would miss."

Montserrat exchanged a glance with Amanda. This could be exactly what they were looking for.

"Listen to me very carefully," Amanda leaned forwards, "What was the name of that webcast?"

~0~

Once they had gathered sufficient information from Gordon, Montserrat and Amanda reported back to Murphy about what they learned.

"Gordon told us about a Webcast for something called 'damage groups'", Montserrat said, though the more she explained the more uncomfortable she looked. And that was saying something considering what they worked at. "They take live requests to torture young kids. The darker the skin, the worse they get it. Bruises don't show."

"Okay, any way to access it?"

"It streamed live three months ago," Amanda replied. "And everything's been turned over to interpol."

"That won't help," Murphy turned to the other detectives in the office. "Take over Gordon's chat room accounts. Keep fishing."

The detectives filed out of the office with their new tasks. Though at the end of the day, they really didn't come up with much to work with except for another UC job.

"How about tonight?" Nick was asking the others as they left the precinct.

"Tell me where," Olivia agreed.

"No, I got to head uptown, going to a meeting," Amanda said as she backtracked in the opposite direction.

"Okay. Safe home," Olivia waved her off.

"She's really working her program," Montserrat was happy to see. It wasn't too long ago that Olivia was threatening to transfer Amanda and now here she was doing better than ever.

"Least someone's doing good around here," Nick shrugged, though his attempt at being casual failed miserably.

"Jesus Nick, you could at least pretend to be civil with Murphy," Montserrat turned to him. "You know, like the rest of us do. Right?" she glanced at Sonny, but the detective just shrugged.

"He's alright," his choice of words prompted Olivia to make a 'thank you' motion at him.

"Guys, I think you all just need to give him a chance," Olivia felt tired of having to repeat herself. Everyone just seemed on the plan to hate Murphy.

"You should be C.O. now," Nick said, "He comes in and…"

Olivia was not interested in hearing the same thing again tonight. She guessed why Nick seemed more on edge today. "Maria and Zara are in town, right?"

Nick knew where she was going and shook his head at her. "Yeah. I'm not crossing the line. Maria asked to see me. She got a job offer in California and wants to take Zara with her."

Now it was really easy to understand why and Nick was so on edge.

"And she brought up the idea of me going with them."

"What?" Olivia blinked.

"Yeah, I know. I mean, a month ago, she's calling you, telling me to back off. I do, and then…"

"Are you thinking of going?" Montserrat had to wonder. It wasn't easy separating from your child, much less when that child would be going to the other end of the country.

"My life is here," Nick said without a moment's thought. "I don't want to fight, but Maria's not taking my daughter away from me."

"We're here if you need anything," Sonny said. Nick thanked him and the others. "Hey Montse, Kara just texted me saying you weren't answering her."

"My phone's dead,"Montserrat shrugged.

Sonny gave her a look that indicated how irresponsible that was, but all the ginger did was shrug. She was going home anyways, what was the point?

"She's having dinner with her brother and wants you...and me…there…"

Montserrat gave him an amused look. "You, uh, don't sound so excited about it."

"Having dinner with your girlfriend's brother isn't exactly what I had in mind when I asked her to have dinner with me," he said in a straight face, one that made it incredibly hard not to laugh.

"Damian is nice and you're going unless you want to die by Kara's wrath."

Before Sonny would answer that, he briefly looked to Olivia and Nick. "Now you know who did it if I ever disappear."

Now Montserrat had to laugh. "C'mon!" she grabbed him by the arm. "I wonder what she made for dinner? I hope it's not pasta again. She's the one dating the Italian, not me." Sonny rolled his eyes while Montserrat dragged him away then waved goodbye to the others.

When the two got home, they found Kara in the kitchen, taking something out from the oven. She was dressed in a nice sleeveless, purple jumper. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail and when she turned around they saw her light make-up.

"Don't you look nice," Montserrat remarked. She began to take off her blazer. "Making me feel underdressed."

"Makes 2," Sonny said rather self-consciously as he fixed the collar of his button shirt.

Kara set down the tray of casserole on the table and smiled. "You guys are fine. It's just a casual dinner."

"It's never casual for me," Sonny said with a frown on his face.

"Jesus, you are so dramatic," Montserrat patted his arm and went straight for the table.

"Ah! Don't touch!" Kara smacked Montserrat's hand away from the food.

It was always the rule: don't touch the food until every guest is there. Lucky for Montserrat, who happened to be starving, Damian arrived only 5 minutes of waiting.

"Oh thank God, sit down!" Montserrat gave Damian a quick hug then yanked him towards the kitchen.

"Hello to you too," Damien said with a laugh. "Guess we're not giving hugs to anyone else?"

Kara stood by the table with her hands on her hips. "Guess not." Her disapproving look on Montserrat didn't faze the ginger at all.

"It's fine. She gets a pass," Damian smiled at Montserrat.

"I do? Why? Just so that I know how to use it when I need it," Montserrat pushed her chair in and signaled Kara and Sonny to do the same.

"Because you're you," Damian looked at her with type of expression that almost made Sonny do a double-take.

Was he seeing right? Was anyone else seeing right?

They started eating together and having conversations. It started with Kara's day which, as it turned out, had been stressful.

"This lady was just so difficult to work with! She asked for a bob and I gave her a bob but then she started saying it wasn't!" Kara huffed angrily. The mere reminder of the frustrating woman made her blood pressure go up. "How do you not see what a bob is!?"

"You want more to drink?" Sonny asked her, making Montserrat and Damian laugh on the side.

Kara pointed but nodded her head. "Yes, please. I really hope I never see her again."

"If you pissed her off that bad then she won't be coming back anytime soon," Damian pointed his glass at her. "Drink up, little sister." Kara all but drowned her glass that Sonny had just filled up.

"Dare I ask how was your day, then?" Damian looked to Montserrat.

"Eh, I don't think you would want to know," Montserrat crossed gazes with Sonny. Wilkes was quite the man and his doings weren't something you'd want to talk about at the table.

"Gloomy, got it," Damian nodded. "I don't know how you guys do it, honestly. Seeing all that stuff…"

"We do it for the victims," Sonny said without a second thought.

"So what do you prefer doing?" Damian asked Montserrat. "Homicide or SVU?"

Montserrat bobbed her head while she thought about it. Each time she did, though, she always came up with the same answer. "SVU. Homicide gave me the luxury of not having to deal with live victims, but SVU gives me the ability to get full justice for victims. They're here to see it be done."

"And I guess you get to talk to them and make them feel better?"

"Well, gotta admit sometimes it feels like there's not a lot of words we can say to make them feel better," Montserrat said with a small sigh. "Though it does get better when they get to hear the guilty verdict."

"But you're there, helping them through the process," Damian gave her a soft smile. "I'm sure you give them a lot of comfort."

Montserrat automatically smiled back. "Thanks."

Whether or not he planned to, Sonny looked over to Kara. He wondered if she saw the same thing he was beginning to, but Kara looked none the wiser. She ate and laughed along with them. But another thing Sonny saw was that Montserrat didn't even appear to notice anything.

Maybe I'm overanalyzing things, he thought after a moment. This was meant to be a dinner, after all. Just a casual night with his girlfriend and friends.

But then Damian pointed out the watch Montserrat was wearing around her wrist - it'd been his gift for her on her birthday. It was a beautiful Kate Spade watch with light pink crystals over the hour the glass. Sonny, as well as the others back at the precinct, had remarked over the elegant watch when they first noticed it. Montserrat absolutely loved it.

When Damian remarked he'd gotten the watch on a good deal, as a joke of course, Sonny went into shock with his realization.

~0~

Thanks to the latest UC job Murphy conducted, SVU had been been led straight to Wilkes' torture room that turned out to be quite supplied.

"Oh, this is horrendous," Amanda was just one of the people completely stunned by Wilkes' "torture room" and what it consisted of.

Montserrat felt like she wouldn't be able to walk further into the bright, white room for fear that something might snap her ankles. Every part of the room seemed to be part of a torture instrument. Who's to say there wasn't anything on the floor ready to capture their ankles and keep them still?

"Well, that's the view he talked about," Fin stood in front of the small window that gave the perfect view to a school across the street. "Right out onto the school yard."

"Gordon was right," Sonny said with a scowl.

"Luminol every inch. Check all film and storage spaces," Murphy was busy giving orders to the incoming forensics. "Pull up the floors. Knock out the walls."

"This place is pristine," Nick stopped by Murphy and gestured to the cleanliness surrounding them. It could almost sparkle from how clean it was. "He brought boys here?"

"So he scrubbed it clean. He's careful," Murphy moved past him.

"So what does he do with the bodies?" Olivia dreaded to think the more she gazed around the room.

"Open up the drains and test for chemicals," Murphy called to the nearest forensic. "I want a drop of blood, a shard of bone, something, anything."

"Lieutenant," another forensic's walked up with several pictures in hand, "CSU found these hiding behind a fake wall."

Murphy all but snatched the pictures from the woman. He flipped through them in disgust. "Sick son of a bitch. Pick him up, now."

And that was one order none of the detectives minded following.

~ 0 ~

Wilkes had his face buried in his hands, rubbing from his forehead to his chin while he listened to Olivia's and Amanda's findings in the interrogation room.

"It was all fantasy!" he tried arguing for the tenth time since he was brought in. "Nothing happened."

"Nothing?" Olivia gaped at the blight lie being thrown her way. "Found your little…" she scrambled to find the right pictures for him to see in case he'd forgotten he owned a torture room. "We found your room! Photos of boys being tortured in that room? Who are they?"

"What? No, I photoshopped those," Wilkes tried to reach for the pictures but Olivia snatched them from his reach. "I'm an art photographer. I took photos off the lnternet and manipulated the images."

"Yeah, stop lying now," Olivia let the pictures fall back to the table. She felt Amanda's hand on her arm and was overly confused to see her not appearing to be as frustrated as she was.

"Let's hear his side."

Now Olivia was convincing herself she was hearing wrong, but Amanda looked dead serious. "His side?" she repeated, almost tapping her ear so she could see what she was doing. "We have him on tape, negotiating to buy a boy that no one would miss from Mexico, El Salvador." She settled a death glare on Wilkes. "Does that ring a bell?"

"That was just a game-"

"-A game? Do you think it's a game to torture young boys, huh?" Olivia practically slammed her hands on the metal table, creating a loud clang that made Wilkes flinch in his seat. "You like to be in control? Well, guess what, that game's over. New game, my MY rules, not yours." Amanda knew that the closer Olivia got to Wilkes' face, the less willing Wilkes would be to speak without a lawyer but Olivia seemed hellbent on making Wilkes realize his situation.

Outside, on the other side of the glass, were the others watching keenly.

"If she keeps this up, we'll have nothing," Rafael warned Murphy, practically telling the man to pull Olivia out already. He was already on edge from this difficult case considering there was, so far, no concrete evidence except for those pictures.

"I know," Murphy said, his hand already nearing the door. He just wanted to give Olivia a chance to reclaim her control...but it didn't look like it was coming back anytime soon.

She was face to face with Wilkes, spewing out some hard threats. "How about we play this game? You start talking now, or I'm gonna take you back into that room, and I'm gonna strap you into that chair, and I'm gonna slice you open until your blood runs out-"

Murphy flung the interrogation room's door and shouted for Olivia, "Sergeant!"

Olivia basically ignored him and continued with Wilkes. "How about that game?"

"Hey!" called Murphy again.

"I need a minute!"

"Take a break!" Murphy commanded and left no room for arguing, especially in the vicinity of a suspect.

Olivia withdrew from the table and turned away, storming out of the room. At Murphy's second order, Amanda was brought out as well. The blonde might have been a bit pissed Olivia went overwhelmingly head-on with their suspect that now she too was being pulled out of the interrogation.

"I've been here for 15 years. And you've been here for two minutes, and you're pulling me out of an interrogation?" Olivia was right in Murphy's face, much to the surprise of the others.

"You weren't asking him questions. You were yelling at him," snapped Murphy. "You do know the goal is to align yourself with the suspect, not to judge him?"

"Yeah." Olivia released a small breath, probably the way to begin calming down. She crossed glances with the rest of the squad and realized they were all giving her strange, startled looks. She might have gone a little overboard, but had Wilkes not done enough things to provoke it?

"Then what the hell was that?" demanded Murphy.

Olivia wouldn't bother answering because no matter what she said, it wouldn't be right. "I'm going to take that break," she muttered and turned to leave.

"Don't be hard on her, it's not like the guy doesn't deserve it," Montserrat folded her arms over her chest.

"You better not show that type of feeling when you get there," Murphy's subtle order startled Montserrat. She blinked and even pointed at herself, asking if he really meant her. "Go in there and align yourself."

"Are you kidding? I go in there, I cannot guarantee I won't follow in Liv's footsteps."

"I can go back," Amanda volunteered but Murphy shook his head.

"No, I need someone fresh. Someone he hasn't seen yet," Murphy pointed at Montserrat to go. "Amaro, you too."

"Fine, guess we can kill him together," Nick mumbled under his breath, though not as quiet. Still, he didn't look so bothered by the disapproving looks.

"Detectives," Rafael's warning voice stopped the two in front of the door.

"We'll tone it down," Montserrat promised but then mouthed a 'maybe' at Nick. They shared a smile before going into the interrogation room.

It irked Rafael how close those two were acting lately. And he was going to be sticking to the 'irk' description because there was no way in hell he would be admitting to anyone, even himself, that it was more jealousy than annoyance. Just...where did that closeness come from? When - You need to stop, Rafael berated himself when he realized he was letting his thoughts get to him. He wasn't even paying attention to the interrogation happening in front of him.

The irony is that this was one of the reasons why he told Montserrat they couldn't be together, because their jobs would be affected. If they clashed before, then who knows what could happen if they got together? And yet here they were, not together, and he still couldn't focus on his job. Great.

Inside the interrogation room, Montserrat and Nick weren't exactly getting much from Wilkes. And it was a real struggle to keep trying to bond with Wilkes over his "Photography".

"It's true," Wilkes kept insisting over his photography. "I have images in my head, and I try to re-create them, but it's digital trompe I'oeil. I don't expect you to understand."

"I don't think we do," agreed Montserrat. She sat across Wilkes but, probably like Olivia, she would really like to climb over it and slam Wilkes' head against the table.

"I imagine your jobs-" Wilkes made a gesture at her then Nick, "-often times put images in your head...from everything you've seen. I just get those images...and I watch videos at night...as an outlet."

Nick wanted to scoff but if he did that then his 'bonding' would end there and then. So, he kept it cool. "That's what you're saying this is, a release?"

"Yes, I swear!"

"But you crossed over when you started talking about buying a boy," Montserrat snapped. Her hands on the table started gripping the edge of the table, something Nick caught. "Literally... buying…" she struggled to say the sentence in one go, "...a boy."

"Your guys were talking about that!" Wilkes argued. "There was no boy. There never has been one. I didn't give any money!"

"Yeah, but, Simon, that chamber…" Nick reminded, but Wilkes shook his head and refused it to be true.

"That's...My meditation room. I'm the only one who's been in there. Tear the place apart. You won't find anything."

Montserrat's lips curled into a humorless smile. "It's a meditation room," she repeated sourly. "Sure."

The door flung open to let in a woman who made a beeline for Wilkes' side. "Mr. Wilkes, I'm Minonna Efron. Your wife's waiting right outside. She's retained me as your attorney. Detectives-" the woman gave Montserrat and Nick a look, "-give us the room."

Montserrat figured it was better to give space before she lashed too. She left the room first and glared directly at Murphy. "Cannot believe we had to bond with that guy."

"Nothing you haven't done before," Murphy said. "It's called doing your job."

"Hey, I've got two kids," Nick reminded. "A ten-year-old son. I want him gone."

And for that, Montserrat turned to Rafael. "Get him gone."

Suddenly Rafael's irkness - that was not jealousy - disappeared. There was a certain feeling that usually came when Montserrat laid her absolute faith in his prosecuting abilities. "I'm going to need evidence," he warned, but Montserrat didn't care. She needed to see Wilkes behind bars.

"I'll get it done," she promised and took off.

#ocappreciation #svu #rafael barba #svu fics #rafael barba imagines #svu imagines #rafael barba fics #svu imagine #fd: svu #oc: Montserrat Novak #fic: dare to forget me

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hklnvgl · 4 years ago

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Fan Fic Tag Game 2020

Ao3 Name: dorypop

Fandoms: hm mostly the raven cycle but i’ve also written for all for the game, harry potter and avatar this year

1. Fic that was the hardest to write/you spent the most time on: skinny fleas. i started writing it before summer, but then i had trouble finding aurora’s voice, and then i started writing other stuff that came easier to me so i just kept procrastinating on this one. but it’s literally the only adam & aurora fic currently up on ao3 and i love the idea and the first 2k words, so i just had to write to be able to read it, you know? i had two weeks of leave from work in october and i spent them finishing wips, and even though i needed some more time after that for the finishing touches i really applied myself to this one.

2. Fic you spent the least time on/easiest to write: the snow is melting (aftg). i honestly had the idea and started typing at a break at work and i didn’t bother to fix plot holes and stuff. i just wrote it in like two days and posted it and moved on with my life.

3. Longest Fic: i’m going to consider all 5 parts in my fifteen years later series as different fics, so it’ll be the miracle came with a pop (52379 words | hp). i didn’t write all that in 2020 but i did finish it this year so let’s say it counts.

4. Shortest Fic: i don't want to screw this up (536 words | atla). it was a short ficlet born from a tumblr prompt.

5. Fic you were nervous to post: hm so i wrote a kinda quarantine/covid fic back in march and at first it was supposed to be this cute “and they were quarantined together” thing but then my brain started providing unhelpful info and the only way i found to deal with how scary everything felt was to write that. i then got a very angry anon comment which was probably my first ever anon hate? so i’m now a bit ashamed of that fic? but i’m not taking it down bc ao3 is an archive so it’ll stay there. plus i like the title (spring will be spring)

6. How do you choose your titles: oh boy. ok so in summer 2019 i started reading haiku poetry from a very pretty bilingual edition of poems by akutagawa. i just fell in love with the format bc it’s normally very visual and evocative but also super short, so my attention span doesn’t suffer. since then i’ve bought a few more books in the same collection and i dog-ear the pages of the poems that i like or that i think could work as titles while i read them. later, when looking for a title, i sit myself to think what the fic is about and browse those dog-eared poems in search of the perfect one. sometimes i’ll also google “spring+haiku” or something if i can’t find the perfect one. then i just choose a line from the poem. i know it’s a lot of work and probably nobody notices but! it makes me happy!

7. Fave Fic you read: oh i got so many! i bookmark all my fav finished fics

8. Fave Fic you wrote: in vino veritas (drunk pynch). it looks really similar to what i was picturing in my mind.

9. Fave comment: i appreciate and love all my comments but i especially like the few i’ve got with requests/suggestions of things to possibly include in my fifteen years later series, bc then i get to plan around those things to maybe put them in the text and it’s super fun!

10. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: i don’t want to rewrite it at all, but one of the aus that i’ve written that i think has space to grow is there is a world (my hogwarts au)

11. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning:

(it’s from part 6 of the fifteen years later series!)

Adam’s phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a text from Harvey.

ronan says to tell u foods ready

Adam snorted. Ronan usually yelled at him to come down.

Adam got up and washed his hands, feeling a pang of shame curl around his ribs. Ronan was probably as freaked out as Adam was, and Adam was here feeling sorry for himself and having a mild anxiety attack while Ronan was braving the fort downstairs. He should be supporting him instead, kissing away the wrinkle he always got between his eyebrows when he worried. This was all Adam’s idea to begin with.

12. What was your goal for your fics this year? Did you meet it?: i didn’t really have a goal? i wasn’t planning on writing so much this year actually! back in january i was only thinking i wanted to finish the miracle came with a pop and then never write long fic ever again, and i’ve mostly succeeded—i just need to think of the installments in my harvey series as separate fics, and i’m good to go!

13. What is your goal for your fics next year?: i have the idea for one more installment for harvey that i’m definitely going to write, and after that i think i might take a break for a while (but maybe i’ll get new ideas?? so i’ll never stop???)

14. Highlight of your fandom year: i’ve met really wonderful people through fandom this year. it’s been hellish and i’ve mostly fled every other social media/platform except from tumblr and ao3, so it’s really wonderful that i still want to come here and talk about fictional stuff

15. Highlight of your personal year: oh well it’s been quite bad? mostly due to covid, sure, but i also had some major things come up back in february and early march that were quite hard, and then i had to learn to live with constant changes of plans. i’ve redecorated my whole room though and it feels really welcoming and cozy so that’s a great thing 2020 has brought.

thank you very much to @creativefiend19 for tagging me!! i’m tagging @ailec-12 @pumpkinpadparadscha & everyone else who feels like doing it!

#trc #fic #aftg #hp #d #tag game #skinny fleas #the snow is melting #the miracle came with a pop #15 years later #spring will be spring #there is a world #snow on bamboo grass #in vino veritas

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nordlichtgeschichten · 3 years ago

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Writer Asks!

Asks from @writtendevastation :3

1. What are you working on now?

Uhhh, right now, mostly a horror fic for a zine; still got 2 rounds of editing to do. Also currently making the 2nd draft of Finding Magic, but the horror fic has a deadline and I already asked for an extension so uh. Gotta hurry.

2. How long have you been working on this WIP now and has anything changed since I last asked about the WIP??

The horror fic, not too long. Joined the zine server on March 16th, and started some time later. FInding Magic I started when I was... 15?? So 9 years ago maybe? Don’t think much has changed there recently, but I haven’t done much work, either *pensive emoji*

3. How many scrapped WIPs do you have and why did you scrap them?

Not many, most just hibernate indefinitely. I completely scrapped and deleted one story where a bunch of kids (self-inserts for me, my crush, and a few friends, plus some boys to be their love interests) ended up in a fantasy world, and one where the MC runs away from home to live in the forest, but her cat follows her and it was supposed to end with her being basically feral and not quite human anymore. Not deleted, but scrapped, I have one about two horses, one whose human dies when they get attacked during a hunt, making the human’s parents chase out the horse, and the other horse being a wild horse running away from some humans who captured him. Semi-scrapped I also have one about a girl who’s curious about demon stuff, and manages to actually summon a demon who ends up luring her to become a demon herself. Scrapped ‘em because... None of them were very good tbh, though I might revisit some or all of them at some point. Definitely got interested in reworking Dark Sides (the semi-scrapped demon one) a while ago at least. Also semi-scrapped a wlw detective couple, I’ll probably still use the characters but probably in very different roles (maybe a romcom how they meet, or maybe I’ll make them journalists instead one being a writer and the other being a detective)

4. How many OCs do you have across all your WIPs? (im not counting people you give names that are mentioned once and never again)

Many, I never counted.

5. If your characters could be stuck in any video game or tv show, what would it be? Why, and would they survive?

(Gonna save that question and do it as a separate post, I think this’ll be fun but I have enough OCs it’d make this super long)

6. What is the longest time youve worked on a single WIP?

Theoretically... 10 years? I think that’s when I started Changes, but there were long breaks in between.

7. When did you first start writing as either a hobby or full time?

Phew uh, I think I was 10-12? Had some long breaks, tried being more serious when I was 16-19 or so, and got really into it again like 2 years ago at 22 I think. Breaks were shorter if we’re also counting forum RPGs, but still there.

8. What is your average wordgoal for a novel?

For a novel, I’d try to go for 50k or more, but I don’t want/need all I do to be novels; for short stories, there isn’t really a minimum, though I kinda try to go over 1k.

9. How many drafts do you plan to do for any of your WIPs?

Short stories always get 4 drafts, 4th gets posted. Not sure yet for FM (since that’s the most complete one), considering I want to publish that and that means also getting a professional editor etc, but I’d guess at least 2-3? Especially since I don’t outline.

10. Who is the hardest character to write and why?

Hm... The MC for NaNo 2020 who still needs a new name, though that’s not really something about her character but because that was written in 1st person present tense, but I’m more used to 3rd person past tense.

#long post #writtendevastation #Writer Asks #personal

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hakuogakuen · 4 years ago

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Hakuouki SSL: Prologue

EDITED 7/31/20

Hello! Here is the translation for the SSL prologue. Primary translation is by yuugs, with proof reading done by shizuumi, kuririn, and dei-hime. Translation begins below the cut!

― May ―

Chizuru Yukimura: "The door and windows are locked..."

~ding dong~

Chizuru Yukimura: "Heisuke-kun, are you awake? It's almost time for school..."

"..."

"......”

FInally, the door opened.

Chizuru Yukimura: “Uh! Um... It's Yukimura. Hello? Heisuke-kun―"

Heisuke Toudou: "Sorry, Chizuru! Gimme five more minutes!!"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh... Heisuke-kun!? Geez..."

‘Five more minutes, huh...? There's still some time left, so I guess it should be fine...’

Chizuru Yukimura: "... It's already been five minutes...Is he still not ready? ...What now? Should I ring the intercom one more time...?"

Heisuke Toudou: "Morning! Also, sorry!"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh, Heisuke-kun! Morning!"

This is Heisuke Toudou-kun, my next-door neighbor. We attended the same high school, and walked there together when we can.

Despite being a junior, a grade above me, he hated me calling him ‘senpai,’ since we were childhood friends.

I'd counted on him since we were little, but he sometimes overslept or played video games all night, which could be a problem.

Heisuke Toudou: "We good for time? How bad's it look?

Chizuru Yukimura: "I think we might not make it...!"

Heisuke Toudou: "Seriously...? Okay, let's book it!"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Yeah!"

It was shaping up to be a bit of a busy morning, but we had to hurry―!!

Heisuke Toudou: "Dammit, if my alarm just rang properly, we'd have definitely made it on time!"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Heisuke-kun, you said that last time as well."

Heisuke Toudou: "M-My alarm's busted! I'll buy a new one next time!!"

???: "Sure is noisy this morning, huh?"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Ah..."

Souji Okita: "Morning, you two."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Good morning, Okita-senpai!"

This is Souji Okita-senpai, a junior. He was in the same class as Heisuke-kun, and we were pretty good friends. He could be a bit mischievous, and like to take pictures with his smartphone. Occasionally, he'd email me and I wouldn't know how to respond.That did bother me a bit.

Heisuke Toudou: "If Souji's here… then we're seriously late!"

Souji Okita: "Maybe... But it's not that bad. Not like the school's going anywhere anytime soon."

Heisuke Toudou: "It’s absolutely that bad! The gatekeeper of hell's waiting for us!"

Souji Okita: "Haha, you're exaggerating. No need to be so scared."

Chizuru Yukimura: "L-Let's hurry anyway! Okita-senpai, you should try and run!"

Souji Okita: "...Looks like I'll have to play along."

After that, we began running for our lives. Of course, tardiness was against the rules, but even with that, there was another reason we didn’t want to be lateー

Heisuke Toudou: "All right, and he's saaaaaaafe!!"

???: "Unfortunately, he's out."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Huh..."

Hajime Saitou: "Sorry, but as a part of the disciplinary committee, I can't make any exceptions. Not even for five seconds."

Kaoru Nagumo: "What he said. A shame, really. You ran so desperately just to make an own goal."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Kaoru...and Saitou-senpai...!"

...Yes, the reason we ran so frantically is because of the disciplinary committee.

This is Hajime Saitou-senpai , a junior. A serious and deeply earnest person, he was a feared member of the disciplinary committee. Heisuke-kun often called him 'inflexible', but he's tougher on himself than anyone else. I think he's a good person. Although he might not be the best with words, he was a good senior in my eyes.

This is Nagumo Kaoru, a sophomore, like me. He's actually my twin brother. Why our last names differed was a long story, but basically, we grew up separately when we were young. Initially, I was happy that we were going to the same school. But... Kaoru wasn’t the politest person ever. He would even disrespect our seniors without a second thought, and he always made me nervous…

Heisuke Toudou: "It was only five seconds! The gate isn't closed yet ―just let it slide!"

Kaoru Nagumo: "No. How would letting you go benefit us?"

Heisuke Toudou: "Maybe it wouldn't, but it's not like it'd hurt you either!"

Hajime Saitou: "Heisuke, this isn't open for discussion. The rules exist for a reason."

Souji Okita: "You heard him, Heisuke. Too bad."

Heisuke Toudou: "Souji, whose side are you on?!"

Chizuru Yukimura: "U-Um... Heisuke-kun. It's a fact we were late. We can't do much about that."

Heisuke Toudou: "But...!"

???: "Pipe down! What are you up to there!?"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh...!"

Toshizou Hijikata: "Saitou, Nagumo! It's time. Close the gate."

Hajime Saitou: "Yes, sir."

Kaoru Nagumo: "Hmph, that's a shame."

Toshizou Hijikata: "Heisuke, Souji, Yukimura! You three hurry up and head inside....Don't be any later than you already are."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Y-Yes, sir!"

This is Toshizou Hijikata. He was Heisuke's and Okita's homeroom teacher, and also taught classical literature. He was very harsh, but passionate about education. As well being the vice principal, it was said that he was a childhood friend of the principal, Kondou-sensei. He always looked tense. He had this prickly aura about him that kept people away.

Toshizou Hijikata: "I swear... You never learn. You're late every single day..."

(A flash lit up his face and a camera shutter noise sounded.)

Toshizou Hijikata: "W-What was that?"

Souji Okita: "Haha. The wrinkles in your face are even deeper than yesterday's."

Toshizou Hijikata: "Souji! You punk!!"

Souji Okita: "Would you like to compare yesterday's pic with today's? Here, take a look."

Toshizou Hijikata: "I don't need to! And don't take photos of people without their permission!"

...Seeing as everyone else was afraid of the vice principal, Okita might have be the only one who could banter with him like that... With that thought, we headed past the school gates.

――The private school, Hakuou Academy.

This school was an all-boys school up until this year. Thanks to the principal Isami Kondou-sensei and his efforts, the school became co-ed recently.

Somehow, I became the first female student at Hakuou Academy...

...And the only female student.

Of course, I was a little nervous when I learned that there were no other girls... But the people here were really nice, and I had always been good at getting along with others, so I was doing pretty well.

Chizuru Yukimura:"...Oh no! I have to get to class soon...!"

"Thank god, I made it in time..."

Ryuunosuke Ibuki: "Hm? It's not like you to show up at the last minute, Yukimura."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh, Ibuki-kun. Morning. This morning's been a bit much..."

This is Ryuunosuke Ibuki-kun, my classmate. He could be a bit blunt at times, but he was a kind person. He always had milk and red bean buns for lunch. When I asked him if he was eating enough, he would say that it couldn’t be helped, since he had no money… He complained about someone called Serizawa-san being rough and tyrannical to him. I wondered what his relation was to Ibuki-kun, exactly.

Ryuunosuke Ibuki: "The teacher's about to arrive. We ought to take our seats now."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Yeah, thanks, Ibuki-kun."

???: "Take your seats, you lot. Homeroom's about to start."

Chizuru Yukimura: "!"

While I hurried to sit down, Harada-sensei smiled at me from the front of the room.

Sanosuke Harada: "What's wrong, Yukimura? It's rare for you to be late."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Y-Yes... I'm sorry..."

This is Sanosuke Harada-sensei. He was my homeroom teacher, as well as the P.E. teacher. Friendly and open-hearted, all the students looked up to him as if he were their big brother. He used to go to the same Kendo dojo as Heisuke-kun and Nagakura-sensei, the math teacher. Even now, they all still seemed to be close.

Sanosuke Harada: "Well, I can imagine the reason why. You know, you can just ditch Heisuke if you think you'll be late."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Um, that's… I'll see what I can do about that..."

Sanosuke Harada: "Yeah, please do. Well, let's wrap this up quickly. Today's announcements are--"

I didn’t want to just leave Heisuke-kun behind... ‘I’ll try to figure out a way so I can pick him up earlier…’

Classmate A: "Phew, it's finally time for lunch."

Classmate B: "Yeah, I'm starving. Hey, Ibuki, you eating at the cafeteria?"

Ryuunosuke Ibuki: "If you treat me, I’ll go."

Classmate B: "No way!"

Ryuunosuke Ibuki: "Then don't ask. You know full well I'm low on money."

Classmate A: "U-Um, Yukimura-san, what about you? We can go together if that's cool―"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Me? Well...."

While it made me happy when my classmates invited me to have lunch with them…

Chizuru Yukimura: "I'm sorry… I already have plans. Maybe another time?"

Classmate A: "I-I see..."

I apologized once again and then headed to the cafeteria. At lunchtime, the cafeteria got so crowded, it was like a battlefield. It seems like things are ramping up with everyone on an empty stomach…

Heisuke Toudou: "Oh, hey, Chizuru! Over here, over here!"

Heisuke and Okita are waving at me.

‘I can't keep them waiting, I have to hurry...!’

Chizuru Yukimura: "Hm.... Should I get set meal A?”

I bought a ticket for set meal 'A' from the vending machine, and then joined the line.

Genzaburou Inoue: "Oh, Yukimura-kun. You came to the cafeteria today."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Inoue-san, hello!"

This is Genzaburou Inoue-san. He was in charge of cooking the meals for the cafeteria, and his food was always delicious. He was very kind and warm, and students affectionately called him the “Mother of Hakuou Academy”. In fact, rumor has it that he was quite a big-wig as well. But was it true, I wondered.

Genzaburou Inoue: "I’ll keep your portion on the smaller side. The boys’ portion could be a bit too much for you."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Thank you so much!"

His effortless consideration for others was one of his best traits, to me. I would have liked to take some cooking lessons from him one of these days, too...

Souji Okita: "You kept us waiting. Oh. You don't have much on your plate, as usual."

Chizuru Yukimura: "You think so?"

Heisuke Toudou: "Chizuru's a girl, so of course she'll have less, right? You don’t eat that much either, Souji."

Souji Okita: "And you eat a lot. For your size."

Heisuke Toudou: "That wasn't necessary!"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Hehe."

After a fun lunch, I parted ways with Heisuke-kun and Okita-senpai, and headed back for the classroom.

Shinpachi Nagakura: "Yo, Chizuru-chan!” Working hard today?"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Hello, Nagakura-sensei!"

This is Shinpachi Nagakura-sensei. He was a math teacher and a close friend of Harada-sensei's. Much to his dismay, he was often mistaken for a P.E. teacher, which was no surprise, since he always wore a jersey. He was hopeless with money management and often got in trouble with Hijikata-sensei because of that. But otherwise, he was a great teacher.

Shinpachi Nagakura: "Are you done with lunch already? If you wouldn't mind, I've a small favor to ask of you.”

Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh, yes! That's fine. What is it?"

Shinpachi Nagakura: "Sorry for the trouble. I just wanted you to deliver this to Sannan-san for me."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Sannan-sensei... So the infirmary?"

Shinpachi Nagakura: "Yeah. I've, uh...got some other things to take care of. Yeah."

Chizuru Yukimura: "I understand. I'll head there now!"

Shinpachi Nagakura: "Great. Thanks for the help!"

I headed off to the infirmary with the manila folder Nagakura-sensei gave me.

Chizuru Yukimura: "Excuse me."

Keisuke Sannan: "Oh...Yukimura-kun. Are you unwell?"

This is Sannan Keisuke-sensei, the school nurse. He was always calm, kind, and willing to lend a hand. Knowing that, it was strange how most students tried to avoid ever going to the infirmary...

Chizuru Yukimura: "No, I'm fine. Nagakura-sensei told me to hand this to you."

Keisuke Sannan: "Nagakura-sensei...?"

Keisuke Sannan: "Ahh...I see now. He didn't want to deliver it himself, so he used you instead."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Huh?"

Keisuke Sannan: "Heh... He actually missed the deadline for the submission of his documents, you see? I suppose he didn't want me getting angry with him. I'll have to have a word with him later… To think he sent you on a fool's errand when he could've done it himself."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh, no, it's really no trouble."

Susumu Yamazaki: "Excuse me. ...Oh."

Keisuke Sannan: "Oh? I see that I've got many visitors today. You're here too, Yamazaki-kun."

This is Yamazaki Susumu-senpai, a junior. He was in the same class as Saitou-senpai, and his homeroom teacher was Nagakura-sensei. As part of the Health Committee, he frequented the infirmary to help Sannan-sensei out with his work. Yamazaki-senpai was a very strait-laced person, who'd never slack off on any of his committee work.

Susumu Yamazaki: "Pardon me! I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation..."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh, no. It's alright! I've already finished up here."

Keisuke Sannan: "How cold of you. Are you implying that you've no business talking to me now that you've wrapped up here?"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Huh, wait― What!? N-No! That's not what I meant..."

Susumu Yamazaki: "...Sannan-sensei."

Keisuke Sannan: "I know, I know, Yamazaki-kun. I was only teasing."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Really...?"

Keisuke Sannan: "Heh. It was only a joke. Feel free to come by anytime, now. Of course you should visit when you're feeling ill, but do stop by if you have other concerns as well. I have some good medicine."

Susumu Yamazaki: "Sannan-sensei? But that's...!"

Keisuke Sannan: "Yamazaki-kun. Is there something you'd like to say...?"

Susumu Yamazaki: "...Nothing."

Chizuru Yukimura: "???"

The bell for afternoon classes rang just after I left the infirmary.

Chizuru Yukimura: "I'm already so sleepy..."

With my full stomach and the warm weather, I began to feel a bit drowsy. Thinking that, I returned to my classroom.

Then, as usual, I finished my afternoon classes...

It was time for homeroom again.

Sanosuke Harada: "...and that's all for today. Those in clubs ― give it all you’ve got. Those going home ― take care not to wander about too much."

Whole class: "Yeeessir."

Sanosuke Harada: "...Oh, right, Yukimura."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Yes?"

Sanosuke Harada: "I also told Heisuke. Don't be late tomorrow."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Y-Yes, sir...!"

Sanosuke Harada: "Hahaha, don't give me that face. I'm not really angry with you. Well then, see you tomorrow."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Right! Have a nice day."

I smiled and left the classroom.

Chizuru Yukimura: "Hm? What's going on.... What's all this commotion about?"

???: "Hey, hey, move it, bastards!"

???: "I'm so sorry, but if you could make way,please."

Chizuru Yukimura: "...That voice is..."

Chikage Kazama: "Hmph. For these nobodies to block my path... unforgivable. Those who dare defy yours truly, the eminent student council president, Chikage Kazama, must prepare to face the consequences."

Kyuuju Amagiri: "...Please understand this is to avoid further trouble, from what you can see here."

Kyou Shiranui: "It’d be less dull if some guys here had the guts to throw down with him though."

Chizuru Yukimura: "......!"

When I saw those three cut through the surging crowd, I thought to myself, 'Oh, no.' I really didn’t want to get caught, if I could avoid it. But as that crossed my mind...

Chikage Kazama: "Oh... You came to meet me yourself. What a praiseworthy sentiment, my betrothed."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Ack! It was a coincidence...!"

Kyuuju Amagiri: "Greetings, Yukimura-kun. ...You have my sympathies."

Chikage Kazama: "Amagiri. What do you mean by that?"

Kyou Shiranui: "The man said what he said. Ain't that right, Chizuru?"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Um......"

I was at a loss. I could only stand there in silence.

This is Chikage Kazama-senpai. He was a senior, and the student council president of Hakuou Academy. He was always accompanied by his attendants, Kyuuju Amagiri-senpai and Kyou Shiranui-senpai, and acted as if the whole world belongs to him.

And why, really, why did he want me to be his bride? He decided that completely on his own...

This is Kyuuju Amagiri-senpai, another senior who acted like Kazama-senpai's watchman of sorts. ...He didn’t look anything like a high school student. There’s really no other way to put it. But I'd decided not to worry about that. He was probably the only person able to put up with Kazama-senpai's recklessness with any amount of success.

And lastly, this is Kyou Shiranui-senpai. He was also a senior, like Amagiri-senpai, and always with Kazama-senpai. However, unlike Amagiri, he didn’t seem to really respect Kazama. He could be violent sometimes and a bit scary, but occasionally he could be quite kind too, according to his whim.

Chizuru Yukimura: "Um... Kazama-senpai. I've repeatedly asked you to not call me your wife, so please stop..."

Chikage Kazama: "Why?"

Chizuru Yukimura: "W-Why....? Because it's not true!!"

Chikage Kazama: "...I can't hear you. Amagiri, what is the girl saying?"

Kyuuju Amagiri: "......She said that she is currently undeserving of the honour of marrying you."

Chizuru Yukimura: "What?!"

Chikage Kazama: "Is that so. Such a commendable attitude; such humility is a virtue."

Chizuru Yukimura:: “But, th-that's not...!"

Kyou Shiranui: "Give it up. He doesn’t wanna hear it."

Chizuru Yukimura: "No way!"

Chikage Kazama: "Hm... Fine. I'll overlook this for today. But know this, Chizuru. Once I set my eyes on my prey, I never let it escape. I suggest you ready yourself by coming to a decision.”

Chizuru Yukimura: "Kazama-senpai! Wait...!”

Without listening to a word I said, he turned and left, along with Amagiri-senpai and Shiranui-senpai.

...As they were leaving, Amagiri-senpai bowed deeply to me.

Chizuru Yukimura: “I would rather that he deny it along with me, though...”

"Phew..."

Somehow, after that, a wave of exhaustion came over me, and I let out a sigh. At that moment…

Isami Kondou: "Hm? If it isn't Yukimura-kun. Are you heading home now?"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Kondou-sensei!"

This is Isami Kondou, the founder of Hakuouki Academy. He was always full of enthusiasm. Just watching him and his energy inspired me to do my best, too. His topknot hairstyle surprised me at first. But it seemed that he sports one as his own policy of sorts.

Isami Kondou: "Glad to see you're doing well. Have you had any issues lately?"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Thank you very much. Everyone's very kind and polite, so I'm doing well!"

Isami Kondou: "I see, I see, that's great! To think that you're the only girl among a sorry lot of guys."

Isami Kondou: "Even now, I think the admission interview was a bit crazy. I'm sorry about that."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Ahaha..."

As I remembered the Hakuou Academy entrance exam, a wry smile came to my face.

That was back in the winter of this year. I was at a loss for which school I should attend.

My friend, Osen-chan, suggested Shimabara Girls' High, which she was attending... It was an upper-class all-girls school, and I was worried about the formalities and expensive tuition fees.

Many other schools also interested me, and I just couldn't make up my mind.

Then, as I was trying to decide…

Heisuke Toudou: "Hey, Chizuru! Come to my school! Starting next year, they'll accept girls as well!"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Oh... Really?"

Heisuke Toudou: "Really! Go to the same school as me!"

At Heisuke-kun's suggestion, I began researching Hakuou Academy.

The tuition was pretty cheap, but more importantly, their educational ideals resonated deeply with me.

And so, I decided to take the entrance exam for Hakuou Academy.

It was difficult, but thanks to the work I put into revising, I managed to pass somehow. What I was most nervous about was actually the interview afterwards. What would they ask me? As my heart began to pound thinking that, the person I faced in the interview was…

Toshizou Hijikata: "...Chizuru Yukimura. Our academy will begin to admit girls for the first time next year. Depending on the situation, the number of girls may be considerably low. Could you focus on your studies in such an environment?"

Chizuru Yukimura: “...I may have fewer female friends, which might be lonely. But studying is bound to be the main priority for school, so I'll be fine."

Toshizou Hijikata: "...Why did you choose our school?"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Though this is embarrassing to admit… For one, the tuition is cheap. I don't want to burden my father,” I said. “Beyond that, a childhood friend of mine attends this school, and he told me this was a good place... And after looking into it, it seemed to me that this academy creates an environment that puts their students first... So now, I want to study here. That's what I truly think."

Toshizou Hijikata "...I see."

For some reason, Hijikata-sensei had kept silent for a while after that.

With his most serious expression yet, he had finally opened his mouth again, and asked me this:

Toshizou Hijikata: "...Last question. Can you recite our school's educational philosophy?"

Of course, I had responded immediately.

Chizuru Yukimura: "Yes! It's 'Sincerity'!"

Toshizou Hijikata: "......"

After that, I made it. I was able to pass the admissions process.

At the time, I would never have guessed I'd be the only girl in the school. That had me fairly worried at first.

Isami Kondou: "I can tell you now that Toshi was against accepting female students until the very last minute.” He continued, "Ah... How do I put it? Um, we're a school with a short history, even if we have noble ideals and whatnot... So, when the proposal to accept girls was raised, Toshi insisted it'd distract the current students and disrupt their discipline."

Chizuru Yukimura: "S-So that's what happened..."

Isami Kondou: "The compromise was that Toshi would interview candidates himself. And here you are ― the only girl who passed! But I am really sorry. You must have felt out of place. I wouldn't blame you for feeling nervous..."

Chizuru Yukimura: "Kondou-sensei... It's true that I did at first, but I'm alright now. And besides... Now that I'm enrolled here, I think it was one of the best decisions I've ever made!"

Isami Kondou: "R-Really...! Thank you!! There may be hard times along with the good ones… But I want you to be proud that you're a student Toshi himself accepted, and enjoy your time here. As the principal of this school, I'll be watching over you!"

Chizuru Yukimura: "Thank you so much!"

Mr. Kondou waved me off with a smile and, after waving back at him, I left the school.

Chizuru Yukimura: "I'm home...! ...Haah... It feels kind of lonely when nobody's home..."

My father, a doctor, was on a business trip to some remote island, and wouldn’t be coming home for a while.

Our family clinic was also closed. While I was used to it by then, I think I took it for granted that someone would welcome me home before.

Chizuru Yukimura: "Hm?"

‘I should probably reply as soon as I can.’

-----

Sub: About emails

Since we're in the same class and we're pretty much friends, I'll tell you something.

At the entrance ceremony, the school admins announced that they would contact us via email. Have you registered an address?

You're going to start receiving emails, but apparently you can only reply to them right on the spot when you receive them.

You'll be able to check your email history later, but you can't reply.

If you want to reply to a message, reply on the spot.

Well, even if the school contacts you, I'm sure it'll just be chatter from teachers and students anyway.

That's all I wanted to tell you.

-----

Chizuru Yukimura: "Huh?"

"It's Ibuki-kun again."

-----

Sub: Ryuunosuke Shop Grand Opening

My bad, I forgot I needed to tell you one more thing.

As you spend time at Hakuo Academy, you'll accumulate points from doing things like replying to emails or playing mini-games.

Now that my shop has opened, you can exchange those points for various goods at the shop.

There is a limit to the number of points you can have, so use them quickly.

There are also certain things that cannot be obtained until a certain time has passed, so come and look often.

I mean.

The operation of this shop is a matter of life or death for me.

I'm begging you!

Please exchange points!

-----

"Alright, I guess I'll take a look next time."

After I checked the email from Ibuki-kun, I put my phone on my desk and looked out the window.

Chizuru Yukimura: "...I have my friends and teachers. It'll be okay."

‘Tomorrow's gonna be a busy day. I'm sure I won't have time to feel lonely then.’

A place dear to my heart, where I could enjoy my everyday life.

My days at Private Hakuo Academy had only just begun――

#Hakuouki #Hakuoki #Hakuouki SSL #otome #fan translation #common route #prologue #updated

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snowdrcpsa · 4 years ago

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headcanon meme : dating edition / accepting. @tiltedsun : 💘 + isaiah & makoto uwu

where they first met and how ooo i’m not sure ?? feel like they ended up in the same area when they were both traveling back and forth, kind of hit it off then / are both looking for company

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved hmm I’m not sure it took terribly long for feelings to get involved on makoto’s part bc it was kind of a more vulnerable situation for them?? isaiah was just generally a flirt with them and he did like them / was fond, but it wasn’t necessarily a romantic thing until they met up again.

who fell for who first ( if applicable ) we know it was makoto </3 and that it took a While for isaiah to really reciprocate at all

where their first date was and what it was like it was definitely something simple, but probably would have had to be something that actually involved them going out to really consider it any sort of date.

who asks who out and how ( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? ) for them really put on a label on it, it probably had to be a conversation that had to have to sort out what they both want / what they’re willing to give, but was likely something that had to be initiated by makoto bc u know isaiahs not gonna start it

who proposes first hm,,,,,,, no

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away they wouldn’t be very vocal about it / I don’t think they’d have many people to really tell to begin with. it also probably takes some time for isaiah to ease into the label, so they’d be lowkey about it at first

where the proposal happens and how ( kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded by ducks? at a disney park? ) if,,,,,,, IF it ever happens, also something relatively simple, would probably need to be Another conversation and not something too spontaneous bc I don’t think they’d be sure of how either would react

if they adopt any pets together makoto already has taro and she is enough <3

who’s more dominant hmm isaiah i think, kind of pushes his way most of the time

where their first kiss was and what it was like early on since they’re just hooking up initially, wasn’t something too,,,,, Big ig??

if they have any matching couples stuff ( mugs? sweaters? pillowcases? ) if they do it’s something smaller, probably a piece of jewelry or a little token. I think we might have mentioned them having like little matching bracelets or something?? maybe rings if things get more serious

how into pda they are they don’t show a lot of pda, maybe holding hands at the most and even that might take a little getting used to

who holds the umbrella when it rains I think makoto would be the one who holds it at the start bc they like doing little gestures like that, but isaiah might take it after a bit bc he also wants to help

where their usual ‘date spot’ is ( if applicable ) hmm i don’t think they have a usual spot, but they have a lot of little dates at makoto’s place or maybe have a spot nearby where they might go to eat

who’s more protective maybe…. makoto? I’m not sure they have a lot to be protective of with him, but they’d be the one to show it more maybe? I think isaiah gets progressively more protective the more time he spends with them, though it could also be labeled as just defensive

how long it is before they sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ ) Immediately BDJKFG but yknow, that was the initial arrangement but like actual sleeping / sharing a bed together took a little longer, probably after they met up again

if they argue about anything definitely, isaiah’s leaving sparks most of their arguments, as well as just not seeing eye to eye with what they both want from each other

who leaves more marks ( lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. ) ooo they both definitely do. makoto’s one of the few people isaiah let's leave any kinda marks on him and he definitely does the same to them, though they vary a little more on what kind of marks they are

who steals whose clothes and how often isaiah might borrow something from them but makoto definitely wears whatever he might leave behind when he’s not there and when he is gbjkfd

how they cuddle ( spooning? facing each other? ) sometimes, as a lil treat,,,, usually spoon I think, especially if isaiah’s sleeping over and kinda alternate who's holding who, sometimes face each other but not usually

what their favourite nonsexual activity is hm maybe watching movies together or playing something, once makoto gets him into it gbdfkg

how long they stay mad at each other hmmmmm i think makoto’s the one to really get mad at isaiah but i’m not sure that it lasts for too long bc they don’t want to keep him away. isaiah might get frustrated more than angry, will get a bit distant for a while but ends up coming back when he can

what their usual coffee / tea orders are not sure if they have a steady kind or order,,, might switch around isaiah usually gets plain coffee but probably tries to take some of makoto’s sometimes bc he doesnt wanna order something new <3

if they ever have any children together unlikely i think gbdkfgd

if they have any special pet names for each other I don’t think they have any specific / special ones, but isaiah likes to use them from time to time bc he knows they get flustered

if they ever split up and / or get back together yeahhh maybe a few times. had that initial splitting up when they stopped being fwb / seeing each other, then fell back into it a while later na dhad some more, probably smaller scale splitting ups scattered around. also a little hard to keep track of them bc of how often they’re just generally separated

what their shared living space is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? ) hmm think if they ever move in together, isaiah would probably let makoto kind of take care of the set up bc he’s not too used to it gkjfdgdf so maybe wouldn’t be too different from makoto’s current place at first

what their first christmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like hmmm lowkey,,, if it happens?? might spend the night in together, makoto probably has some lil things planned and isaiah would go along with it <3

what their names are in each other’s phones honestly probably just have each other’s names gkdf makoto would be the one to have something different, but I think they’d be a little hesitant if he saw, maybe has a heart??

if they have any ‘couple traditions’ ( buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking every friday evening? ) hmm would take them a bit to get into any kind of tradition,

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first isaiah likes to make sure he wakes up first, doesn’t normally sleep in, but also kinda likes having the option to Leave unnoticed if he ever needs / wants to

who’s the big spoon / little spoon they trade off!! depends on the mood and maybe whos being fussier gbkdff

who hogs the bathroom hmmm could go either way or Neither, maybe isaiah if he’s got something to do afterwards

who kills the spiders / takes them outside could also go either way, makoto kinda seems like a take them outside person and isaiah might panic and squish on sight </3

#tiltedsun #isaiah && makoto.#isaiah / hc.#maybe i just want them to be Happy

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yutaya · 4 years ago

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Iron Fist Rewatch: 1x01: Snow Gives Way

-Someone barging into Ward's office acting like they own the place and also know Harold is alive must have sent such a jolt of fear through Ward for a second

-Ward puts himself between Danny and Joy when it seems like Danny might get physical

-Ward tells Joy not to have Danny arrested - Harold concerns?

-Danny PTSD set off by the elevator turbulence?? But he was fine going up. Just stress induced? He's shaking.

-FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT BREAK INTO THAT HOUSE

-Joy's dog just disappears after this episode?

-Danny just meditates or something to get that dog to calm down. Calms his mind so as to seem not a threat / not present? Is Danny some sort of animal whisperer? I'm now positive that at some point during Danny and Ward's Adventures Across Asia, they were stranded somewhere for some reason, Ward is complaining about being stuck in some muddy backwater hick town or whatever, Danny just sort of strolls up to some large animals (attached to a cart? Wait, that would be stealing. Hm...) goes all zen state, then says to Ward "they'll take us to the next town" like that's a normal series of events and not COMPLETELY INSANE, DANNY, WHAT THE F---.

-Pictures on Joy's shelf: Harold with his arm around young Joy, all six of them on some vacation. Rands + Meachums kind of separated in this photo, though. Don't people normally stand closer together in group photos? Also, young Joy much shorter than young Danny. Note: Wendall's hands on both Heather and Danny's shoulders. Harold's hand on Joy's shoulder. Ward and Danny both have hands in pockets.

-"Dad says rules are for pussies" ;___; (Young Ward refusing to pay monopoly rent because he just doesn't want to. Starting the corrupt financial elite training off early, huh?)

-"Oh, here comes Mommy and Daddy to protect you and give you lots of hugs and kisses and tell you what a sweet little boy you are. It's disgusting. *sweeps all the game pieces off the table even though they've clearly been playing for awhile and it's not like Danny just won he was only asking for like $200*" Ward, you dramatic bitch. Also, they were literally only saying they were home, not necessarily rushing in to protect Danny from the Big Bad Ward refusing to pay $200 monopoly money. Metaphorically, I suppose this is still Ward being a sore loser, though. It's not monopoly Danny beat him at, it's having parents who love him. T_T AND THEN HE LIES ABOUT IT, PLAYING THE BELEAGUERED BABYSITTER, ASDFGHJKL - WARD. (Note: neither Danny nor Joy speak up against this blatant unfairness. Previous failure? YOU'RE SUCH A BULLY, WARD.)

-Big Al is first person to be friendly to Danny and I'm sure Danny doesn't forget it. Headcanon Danny is def actively caring towards 'lower class', including homeless and drug addicts, and actually sees + treats them as equals. Classism definitely a theme in these shows with the people who struggle financially like Colleen being the kindest and most charitable and the rich being assholes.

-But also why is he informing Danny that the internet can be used as a search engine with no prior indication in their conversation that Danny doesn't know this? I mean, Danny does not, in fact, know this, but.

-In the news article, the photo of the Rands is the same one in Joy's apartment, but the Meachums are not there. However, they are not merely cropped out: the background extends into the spot they should occupy. Did some poor news article graphic designer have to go find a photo of that tourist spot background at the exact right angle and photoshop them together to get rid of the Meachums, or was Joy's photo a photoshopped family vacation image, which could have explained the awkward distance between the two families, even though it wouldn't have been that hard in editing to set them all closer together? Maybe they all still went on the same vacation together, but instead of asking a passerby to take a photo for them, both families took photos of each other and then someone combined them at a later date? Practically speaking, that still means the angle would be likely to be off for the background, and it's also suspicious that there are zero other tourists around. These rich families rented out the entire space?? Would lend to lack of external parties to take a group pic for them. Obviously, IRL explanation is they're all photoshopped onto a static background, but fun to think of the in-universe reasons. ...Actually, most likely explanation is that they took multiple photos - Rand only, Meachum only, maybe also kids only, Wendall+Harold only, etc, as well as group. So this entire train of thought is inconsequential. Oops.

-Harold had a big event funeral, "mayor and everything"? That must have been fun for both Harold and Ward, with significantly different usages of the word 'fun'.

-Hello Joy, not only did I follow you home to accost you at your front door the morning after I attacked the security at your workplace to enter your probably restricted top floor executives offices, I also did extensive research into your childhood history down to the position you and your friend played on your childhood soccer team, oh and also I broke into your house yesterday where I interacted with your dog. Now watch while I prove my physical prowess by flipping over a taxi.

-Bird flying into city while Danny meditates?? Symbolically, follows the idea of the bird flying through the pass that was Danny's sign to leave K'un Lun and return to NYC. Spiritually - what? AU where the bird is Danny's spirit animal and he's connected to it / seeing through its eyes right now. For the HDM AU fans: bird could be Danny's separated dæmon? (Would a HDM AU Danny's dæmon be a dragon? Honestly, idk how much dragon stereotypes match Danny's personality. Would have to think about that. Would be funny if someone else had the dragon dæmon, not any of the Fist holders.)

-Danny. Danny. Colleen JUST HUNG THAT FLYER UP. Take one of the little tabbies, if you must, that's what they're for, but don't take the entire flyer down! Those cost money, you know. And it takes time to cut all those little tabbies out and then go around hanging the flyers up.

-Colleen be like "dear god, this is why you shouldn't be nice to people, they start trying to hit on you, @ random park dude, please stop talking at me and following me while I continually shift out of your line of vision"

-Danny: "Hey you speak Chinese? I speak Chinese." Colleen: "I'm Japanese you dick. :)"

-Ward: I'm gonna make sure our personal security team is guarding you against this clear and present threat, but also we're still not calling the police??

-Ward turns this from either a crazy homeless guy or a scam artist into a potential organized corporate sabotage - the kind of threat that Joy is more easily able to compartmentalize her emotions on and crush under her heel?

-Ward just gets into a moving vehicle with someone he has verbally acknowledged as an active threat to his family. Did you have ANY stranger danger safety lessons growing up, Ward?

-Danny now appears to be actively threatening Ward, while using the reasoning that Ward and everyone else have been seriously trying his patience and he's in danger of losing his temper, but he's still giving Ward one last chance to back down. Note: this is a technique commonly employed by abusers, and probably more triggering to Ward than Danny knows, even though Danny probably actually does think he's being sincere as opposed to manipulative.

-->Aaaand Ward responds by ratcheting up instead, because of course he does, IMMEDIATELY leading to the gun to head scene. oh, geez.

-Danny provides personal details - probably this is the moment Ward starts to believe it might actually be Danny somehow, against all logic and reason. He looks shaken, then immediately starts trying to gaslight Danny. asdfghjkl WARD.

-->Ward lying to Danny's face and putting himself in the position of the righteous with Danny as the person in the wrong when they both know it's a lie is very reminiscent of the monopoly scene from when they were kids and the implied constant behavior from when they were kids. But this time, Danny doesn't accept it the way he did as a kid. He stares at Ward, remembering this pattern, actively teetering on PTSD flashback mode, and fights back. Makes Ward think he might be about to kill them both - while having flashbacks that hinder his ability to stop so Danny in hindsight gets freaked out about what he almost did too. (Note: looking freaked out and claiming he didn't mean to almost kill them both just now was probably more concerning to Ward rather than less.) And then he promises he'll be back because this isn't over. gdi, Danny, no wonder Ward wants you gone asap.

-Colleen, trying to tell Danny to go away because he's being a creeper: TAKE A HINT TAKE A HINT

-Danny, casually: Oh yeah Master Lei Gun "The Thunderer" used to smack me hard in the face with the practice swords

-Colleen bringing a sword to a gun fight

-Danny grabs enemy's gun, but not to use as weapon/defense - only to disarm it and run off - which Colleen sees.

-What festival is this that's happening in Chinatown? Has anyone figured out an IF timeline? Could compare dates to real world events, see if there's any potential cross over.

-None of these bystanders so much as bother to look at the fistfights happening 2 feet away from them

-Ward sitting in his office eating his food (it has decorative greens so you know it's ~fancy~) and answers his phone smiling because he's expecting the good news that Danny-probably-an-impersonator-but-also-potentially-maybe-not-but-we're-not-thinking-about-that-Ward-get-a-hold-of-yourself is dead. Way to be a villain stereotype, Ward. I know you try real hard at it so good job uwu

-Harold intro. Ward clearly at his beck and call and just as clearly resentful of it. "I think...” *resigned* “-of course, right away." is such immediate shorthand for someone abusing the power imbalance. (Note: Ward puts off approaching Harold with the "Danny problem" until night 2, tries to handle it quietly until he has implicated himself (Danny now knows Ward tried to have him killed) and Danny is still present and now an even bigger threat)

-So many elevators. All express to specific floors/areas? This lobby is so unsettling. Elevator leads to another hall full of elevators, then stairs, then handprint access to hall with second elevator into penthouse. (Note: Ward is one of those people who press the close door button multiple times with a frustrated facial expression)

-Ward to Harold: "How do you even know about that? ...Shit. Are you behind this? Is this another one of your stupid tests?"

-Harold to Ward: "I wish you would take things like this more seriously, so I don't see my company destroyed."

-Photos on Harold's shelf: young Joy, posed photo of Meachums in formal-ish clothing, Harold's hands on both kids shoulders, indistinguishable group of people on a bridge(?) somewhere. Group photo atop a fancy box, Joy photo in front of the Meachum family photo. On Harold's desk: another photo of young Joy, this one looks like one of those posed school photos where they have the kid stand against a "tree" backdrop.

-Ward says out loud that he could ignore Harold and Harold wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Harold casually observes that Ward is now and has always been childish. Ward remarks that Harold has been telling Ward he's disappointed in him his whole life. Harold is still disappointed in Ward right now.

-Harold: this is how you make your employees loyal to you. *proceeds to display his complete dominance over Kyle, who looks nervous and threatened by the direct attention* Ward: "Jesus, Dad, what the hell is wrong with you?" (Still doesn't do anything to remove Kyle from this situation though)

-Harold lectures at Ward as if everything Ward has ever done is wrong, always, including snapping his fingers at him when he starts to speak himself, like a bad dog, and listing off things that Ward has already brought up to Joy as if Ward is an incompetent who would never consider those angles himself

-Ward makes a snide comment, Harold snaps at him, Ward smiles a little bit because he has succeeded in getting under Harold's skin for a moment

-Harold: Leave this to me. I'll tell you exactly what to do. Ward: Like always. Harold: Like always.

-Awww, Danny was rushing back to tell his new friend Al all about Ward sending people to kill him, possibly looking for advice? ;_; (Also, why is there a foreboding music significance to Al having a bird tattoo? Does this ever come back??? I don't remember this mystery going anywhere.)

-Danny is lurking in Joy's office. He doesn't say anything even slightly reassuring, like that he has an appointment, just heavily implies that he snuck in. sigh.

-"I'm not gonna hurt you," Danny laughs, after displaying a whole lot of extremely threatening behavior. Joy smiles, drugs him, and buys time until it kicks in.

#iron fist rewatch #iron fist #snow gives way #my stuff #the immortal iron fist

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randomguywithwords · 5 years ago

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As The Dust Settles: Chapter 8 (Dabi X Geten Slowburn)

Previous Chapters: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

“Hey.” Dabi slammed the door behind him. Apocrypha didn’t turn around.

“You have 10 seconds to leave my room.” Was her soft greeting. It wasn’t a growl nor a hiss, more of a polite threat, and that signified something Dabi couldn’t pinpoint.

Dabi bit back a retort. If he hadn’t just talked with Dabi, he would have shot back with, “Or?” He leaned against the door. “Look, since we’re commanding this squad as equals,” He said, resisting a snort on the last word, “can we put a pause on this?”

“I don’t believe in ceasefires. They only lead to betrayal.”

“I’m telling you, I’m not going to. Even if I wanted to, Shigaraki wouldn’t let me.”

“Really?” She replied with sardonicism. “You mean to say your leader would favour me, an enemy-turned-ally, over you, one of his allies from before the merger?”

Ugh, when you put it like that...Dabi pulled his face with a groan. “He’s our –” He forced out the next word sourly. “Leader now.”

“Hm.” She turned around. “I find that hard to believe.”

“He’s still in the council room, if you need proof. Go ask him yourself.” Dabi jerked a thumb at the door.

“I don’t want anything to do with your leader.”

Dear god. Dabi closed his eyes and took a breath. “Fine, all I came here is to tell you that I’m going to be looking through our squad. I have their information here. Would you like to join me or keep staring at the window?”

“Do it here then. And you only need to tell me their Meta Abilities. I will know them.”

“If you say so. I’m gonna sit down.”

Receiving no reply, he muttered, “I’ll take that as a yes.” Plopping himself down on the sofa, he took out the papers in his pockets and read out, feeling quite stupid, but at least she wasn’t trying to impale him.

“There’s only three we need to care about. The rest are cannon fodder. First up, some guy with a quirk called Ethershark.”

“Charioteer,” Geten responded immediately. He’s decent, but he’s useless if his husk is attacked while he’s activating his quirk. Otherwise, he’s ideal for causing chaos and providing a distraction.”

“Uh huh…” Dabi scanned the information on him. “So he summons a ghost shark and his body can’t move.” He whistled. “Sounds cool.”

He heard Geten scoff, drawing his attention. She still was staring out the window. “Do you judge the efficacy of meta abilities based on how flashy they are? That’s a poor criteria.”

“Lighten up, will you?” Dabi said, a flicker of anger passing over his expression. “Anyway, the second guy’s quirk is Gasoline.”

Geten made a noise — a noise so foreign and unnatural Dabi’s head shot up in alarm. It took him a brief moment, a click in his head, to realise that she was laughing.

“Him? He’s one of the strongest ones in our squad?” She said, guffawing, bringing a hand to her mouth to stifle it, to little effect. “The standards have really fallen, haven’t they?”

“It synergizes with my quirk very well. Maybe that’s why Shigaraki put him under me.” Dabi said the last sentence more to himself. Damn, he actually planned this decently.

“I hope so,” She snorted, and it amazed Dabi that for once, she wasn’t the target of her disdain and hatred. “Otherwise, all he can do is make people slip, or if he actually managed to use one of his lit matches. Either way, I could easily defeat him.”

“I’m sure you could,” Dabi humoured.

“Stop with your sarcasm. It’s infuriating,” Geten shot with that emotionless voice of hers.

“Stop with your hypocrisy. It’s infuriating,” Dabi replied, met with silence. Shit, is she going to –

“Whatever.” Was her dismissal. Dabi blinked. Is she really like this now?

Then it hit him. Their fight. She thought she had lost. She thought he had fire left in him. She had no idea he had been equally powerless then. That means...hmm...

“Anyway,” He continued, trying to keep his voice passive as a smile crept over his face. “The last guy, his is called Beatdown.”

“What?”

“What, what?”

“What’s his quirk?” She sounded bewildered.

“Beatdown. He has enhanced stamina and muscle strength. His nerves become more resistant to damage as he becomes more – Hey!” Dabi said indignantly as his paper was snatched from Geten, who scanned through it with wild eyes.

“Is he one of yours? Another criminal?” She interrogated.

“No, he’s from your army. What’s the big deal?” Dabi leaned back on the sofa, annoyed. “Not like you guys aren’t always trying to hook new people in.”

“This man. I don’t know him. I should. I know everyone.”

“What? All hundred thousand of you guys?”

“Only the strong ones. It narrows the list by quite a bit. And this man, whoever he is, his ability is strong. I would have noticed it. Someone’s been hiding him, and...maybe more.” Geten ended the sentence mumbling to herself, her eyes gradually unfocusing. She dropped the paper onto his lap, heading towards the door.

“Should I ask where you’re going?” Dabi said.

“No.”

The door slams behind her, leaving Dabi alone in her room. He frowned, picking up the information sheet on the Beatdown guy.

“Why’s she freaking out about that guy? Jeez…” Dabi studied his quirk for a while before deciding that it was an admittedly powerful quirk.

He looked around the empty hotel room. Geten had been holed up here since the night after their victory over the Liberation Army, and while it was tidied up slightly, it was still messy. Her bed was a mattress on the floor, and Dabi thought about the room he had in Re-destro’s mansion. It was filthy with wealth, but if he got to exploit it, he wasn’t complaining. He wondered why Geten still stayed here.

He stood up, surveying the room. He saw what looked like a notebook on the desk and snatched it. Flipping through the pages yellowed from age, he saw the first few pages filled with handwriting exercises. Messy scrawls that slowly straightened out into neat repetitive words meant for practices. Then, it was someone’s journal. Hers? Possibly.

He sat down on the chair next to the desk and began to read.

4/2/01 Thursday

Very tired. I spent the whole day training. I can separate an ice cube into two now. The Grand Commander said he wanted me to be able to split one into five by the end of the week. Hope I can do it.

7/2/01 Sunday

I disappointed the Grand Commander. He did that thing again. It hurts, but he told me he would stop once I could split an ice cube into 5 pieces. I can’t disappoint him again. I’ll make him proud.

I tried to put some ice on the bruises and make them stay as cold as possible. Maybe this is also part of my training.

Dabi slammed the journal on the table with shaking hands, and then slowly backed away.

I’ll make you proud, father. I’ll make ice, and fire.

“Fuck,” He murmured. He repeated that word to himself over and over again as he left the room. Why’d you read it? Bad idea, very bad idea.

He scrambled to the bathroom. He plunged his hands into the sink and began to wash them. He wasn’t sure what he was scrubbing off. He gasped as the familiar pain latched onto his arms and bit. It was milder than usual, but it still hurt.

Looking into the mirror once more, he saw more than himself now. He saw Touya Todoroki as a boy, a boy emboldened with a purpose to be the strongest Todoroki. At the same time, he saw a poor girl forced to do Re-destro’s bidding, till she...Dear god.

This sick, twisted army.

Dabi hated them now more than ever.

–––––

Btw, I’ve been cross-posting these to other sites, and they’re technically edited versions although I haven’t been actually doing that. But the edited versions are there, sort of. Every chapter here is the first draft.

My Ao3, Wattpad and FF.net are all under the same username: CompletelyAnonymous.

Story-wise, I really hope I didn’t make this reveal too early. Might regret this decision later on, but it’s a scene I’ve been wanting to write for a while because it’s a turning point in how Dabi views Geten. Also, uh, I’m no good at writing child abuse and it’s a touchy subject. Very sorry to those who take offense if the portrayal is not proper, and I’ll be willing to do the necessary further research and revisions.

#bnha #mha #bnha fanfiction #bnha fanfic #mha fanfiction #mha fanfic #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #dabi #geten #dabiten #dabi x geten #geten x dabi #bnha geten #mha geten #bnha dabi #mha dabi #ATDS

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selfignitingimagines · 5 years ago

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Stiles- Obsessed

A/N: Okay, I attempted to edit the original and accidentally deleted it *facepalm* so here is the reuploaded version of Obsessed! Let me know if you guys want a part two (with less mistakes).

“You really think the mountain ash will work?” Stiles asked, reaching forward to cut off the radio.

“Hey,” you complained from the backseat of the Jeep. “I like that song.”

Scott shot you a look from where he sat in the passenger seat. “You’re the one who wanted to be a part of this.”

You narrowed your eyes at your older brother. It had only been a few months since you found out Scott was a werewolf, but you were picking things up fairly quickly. Scott had never intended for you to know the truth and he wasn’t thrilled that you had gotten involved.

“And how exactly were you supposed to explain away the fact that Stiles was chaining you to the radiator?”

Stiles glanced over at Scott. “She’s got a point. I’m a good liar, but I’m not sure I’m that good.”

“You know, the werewolves actually make sense,” you commented. “But a murderous lizard person? I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Neither would I,” Stiles agreed. “Which brings me back to the thought that maybe the magic fairy dust can’t trap it.”

“Deaton did say you have to believe, Stiles,” you pointed out.

“And,” Scott added. “We don’t have many options right now. Everyone is going to be at the Underground Show and that’s our best chance to catch whoever’s controlling Jackson.”

Stiles let out a discontented sigh. “I just...I don’t get why it has to be me.”

“You’re the only other human besides Y/n. And you know we can’t ask Allison.”

He snorted. “Like I’m not reminded of that every day of my life.”

“I can try to sneak off and come help you,” you suggested.

Stiles shot you a longing glance over his shoulder, but Scott shook his head. “You’re supposed to be keeping Matt distracted. He’s been asking too many questions and he’s way too involved now.”

“It’s actually kinda perfect that he’s asking you out,” your brother continued.

“If that’s how you define perfect,” Stiles said. There was an uneasy edge to his voice. “I still don’t trust him.”

“You don’t have to,” you told him with a shrug. “I’ll distract him, drop him off at the end of the night, and hopefully this will all blow over once we find whoever’s controlling Jackson.”

“See?” Scott asked. “You’ll both be fine.”

Stiles bit the inside of his cheek as he drove toward the high school. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and took a breath.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “We’ll be fine. Even if we don’t make it into the show, which is still a big problem, since we don’t actually have tickets.”

He glanced back at you in the rearview mirror, and you flashed him a small smile as the Jeep pulled into the school parking lot. He immediately looked away, and desperately hoped that you hadn’t seen him blushing.

Stiles had been friends with your brother since they were eight years old and you had spent the majority of their friendship running along after them. While Scott incessantly complained about you needing to find your own best friend, Stiles never did. The minute you entered high school, a year after they did, the three of you became inseparable.

Lately though, things had been different between you and Stiles. While Scott was off sneaking around with Allison, the two of you were often on your own. Maybe you didn’t know what it meant yet, but you and Stiles had grown closer.

He glanced back at you in the rearview mirror, and you flashed him a small smile as the Jeep pulled into the school parking lot. Stiles killed the engine and hopped out, holding the door open for you as you crawled out of the backseat. As you tossed your bag over your shoulder, you noticed that Matt was standing on the sidewalk nearby.

“Oh great,” Stiles muttered under his breath.

“There’s gotta be some other way to get tickets, right?” Scott asked as he shut the passenger door.

Stiles rolled his eyes. “It’s a secret show. There’s only one way, and it’s a secret.”

You smirked, and Scott rolled his eyes at the two of you. Before you could bite out a sarcastic comment, Matt called out to you.

“Hey,” he said, jogging up to the three of you. “Any of you guys know why no one got suspended after what happened the other day at school?”

“Just forget about it,” Stiles said, waving him off. “No one got hurt.”

Matt tilted his head. You could tell he was annoyed. “I had a concussion”

“Well, nobody got seriously hurt.”

“I was in the E.R. for six hours,” Matt told him.

Stiles huffed. “Hey, do you wanna know the truth Matt? Your little bump on the head is about this high-” Stiles crouched down and held his hand inches from the sidewalk. “-on our list of problems right now.”

Scott placed a hand on his shoulder, and you stepped forward. “Are you okay?”

Matt smiled at you, brushing off Stiles’ without a second glance. “Yeah, I’m fine now.” He looked over at Scott. “So you didn’t get tickets last night either.”

“Are they still selling?” Scott asked hopefully.

“Uh, no, but I managed to find two online.” Matt shot you a wink, and you blushed. “You should keep trying. Sounds like everyone’s going to be there. I’ll see you tonight, right, Y/n?”

You smiled. “Yeah. I’ll pick you up at eight?”

He nodded. “Sounds good. See you later.”

Stiles watched Matt saunter away, looking pleased with himself. He shook his head and then glanced toward you. “I don’t like him. Are you sure about this, Scott?”

Your older brother pursed his lips. “Last time, whoever’s controlling Jackson had to kill someone because he didn’t finish the job. What do you think he’s going to do this time?”

Stiles sighed, and looked ruefully between the two of you. “Be there to make sure it happens.”

-----

“Do you want to move closer to the DJ?” Matt asked you.

He was gripping your hand tightly, almost as if he was afraid you were going to slip away. That might have been a valid fear, considering the place was crowded with sweaty, glowing bodies, and you couldn’t go three inches without brushing up against one.

Your phone had been going off in the pocket of your jean skirt since you got to the rave, and you could feel it buzz against your thigh. Matt saw you glance down at it, peeking out of your pocket, and he tilted his head.

“Should I be jealous?” he asked jokingly.

You let out a nervous laugh. “Of course not.”

“Check it,” he told you. “I don’t mind.”

He was watching you carefully, and for a few seconds you noticed his light attitude had disappeared. There was something in his deep blue eyes that you couldn’t decipher. You cautiously reached for your phone.

“It’s just Stiles,” you said, tucking it back into your pocket.

You didn’t exactly want to read the message in front of Matt, but you caught a few alarming words flashing across the screen before you locked it again. Stiles had definitely been asking for help.

“What’s up with the two of you anyway?” Matt asked.

He was trying to be casual, but you knew he was asking a loaded question. Between trying to answer and forming a plan to sneak away and help Stiles, your mind was spinning.

“He’s my brother’s best friend,” you told him with a shrug. “He’s been around since I was little. I guess I’ve just gotten used to him being my friend too.”

“You sure there’s not anything between you guys?”

“Oh god no,” you swore. “I’m his best friend’s little sister. There’s no way he’d...no way.”

A part of you had always wondered about Stiles. He was hilarious, incredibly smart, and you knew he would do anything for you, but you were pretty sure that came with the territory of being Scott’s best friend. Stiles was practically family. Of course you would be special to him too.

Despite occasional fantasies of what could happen between the two of you, that was a topic you had forbidden yourself to think about.

“So there’s no one else I have to worry about?” Matt asked softly.

“Hm?” You had been lost in your own thoughts until Matt’s voice had shaken you out of them. “Oh, no. Of course not.”

Apparently, Matt took that as an invitation to make a move. His hand was suddenly on your waist, and he leaned in to press his lips fiercely against yours.

You had kissed one boy before, during a game of spin the bottle at a party in seventh grade. It had been wet and uncomfortable, and you were pretty sure Garrett Meyer’s tongue was not supposed to be in your mouth. This was nothing like that, yet something about it still felt wrong.

Matt’s lips were soft and forceful, but not rough. He obviously knew what he was doing, but for some reason your stomach turned at the feeling of the kiss.

You placed your hands on his shoulders and pushed him away. He looked genuinely hurt as you apologized profusely and mumbled something about needing to use the bathroom. You left him there, standing on the edge of the crowd as you disappeared into the throng of dancers.

-----

Stiles was panicking by the time you rushed out of the warehouse. Relief washed over him in waves as he saw you step outside.

“What happened?” you demanded. “I thought Deaton gave you two bags.”

“He did!” Stiles cried, holding up the handful of mountain ash. “This is all I have left.”

You swore softly, glancing at the ground surrounding the building. On the concrete were two lines of ash wrapping around the warehouse, separated by about forty feet.

“Did you call Scott?” you asked, panic creeping into your voice.

“Three times,” he told you. “He didn’t pick up.”

You sighed. “Okay...okay, look. Deaton said you have to believe, right? So just believe you have more mountain ash.”

“Are you kidding me? That’s the plan?!”

“It was the plan to begin with,” you pointed out.

“To run out of mountain ash?”

“No, to believe you could do it,” you reminded him. “If you’re giving it the spark of power like Deaton said, then maybe you’re powerful enough to make it work.”

“So, what happens when we run out? Wing it?”

“Stiles, all you do is wing it! You’re seriously telling me you can’t just close your eyes and hope for once?”

He took a breath. “Okay, fine. We’ll wing it.”

He held his empty hand out for you to take and you raised your eyebrows. Stiles swallowed audibly. “Please.”

You grabbed his hand, casting a worried glance toward the line of mountain ash. He squeezed your hand, and you closed your eyes as he walked forward, letting the ash slip through his fingers.

Then he stopped. “Y/n, look.”

When you opened your eyes, Stiles was looking incredulously at the pavement. The two lines of mountain ash were now connected, completing the barrier that would trap the kanima and its master inside the warehouse.

You and Stiles looked at each other and erupted into joyful shrieks. Elated, he wrapped his arms around your waist and spun you in a circle, nearly tripping into a nearby car.

“I did it!” he cried. “Oh my god I did something!”

You laughed as he placed you on top of the trunk of the car, only to have it’s alarm blare out across the warehouse parking lot. He yelped and pulled you down, but his face was still flush with excitement.

“You were right,” he breathed. “I’m gonna have to listen to you more often.”

“That was amazing,” you whispered.

Stiles’ cheeks were warm with pride, and as he gazed down at you, it occurred to him that you might have as much admiration for him as he did for you. His hands were still resting on your hips, and before he could talk himself out of it, he pulled you closer and kissed you.

For a split second you were frozen in shock, but then you quickly melted into the kiss. Your life had changed so much in the past few months. It was like your entire world was turning upside down, uprooting you and everything you thought you knew. Maybe it made sense that your relationship with Stiles would be shifting too.

When you parted, you stared at each other silently, not quite sure what to say. Then several things happened at once.

A distant popping filled the air, and you recognized the sound of gunshots almost immediately. The funny thing about constantly dodging werewolf hunters was that you had learned how to recognize the sound of their bullets. At the same time, your phone also began to chime relentlessly.

When you checked it, you found that it was Matt, apologizing profusely and asking where you were. Stiles swallowed as you looked down at your phone. “You should probably go find him.”

“Yeah,” you said. “But I don’t really want to.”

Stiles smiled softly. “I don’t want you to...but the hunters are close. You need to find Matt and stay out of trouble.”

“Matt isn’t trouble?” you wondered.

Stiles grimaced. “I don’t trust the guy. You know that.”

“I do,” you agreed. “But I can take care of myself, Stiles.”

“I know. But if you need anything call me, okay?”

“Okay.”

You smiled and turned away, heading back into the warehouse. Stiles watched you go as dread churned his stomach. Everything inside him was screaming for him to call out to you, to pull you back and wrap you up in his arms, just to keep you safe. With everything going on, he knew that was a fantasy. No one was safe in Beacon Hills. Not anymore.

-----

It took you about thirty five minutes to find Matt. He wasn’t where you had left him, but you eventually spotted him leaning against the wall in a tucked-away corner of the building.

“Hey, sorry,” you breathed. “I just...I needed some air.”

“I get it,” he told you, smiling. “I’m just glad you found your way back. I think they’re wrapping it u-”

He was interrupted by the noise of a disgruntled crowd.. The music had stopped thumping suddenly, and the warehouse was filled with grumbling teens and twenty-somethings, wondering why the party had stalled.

“Looks like the party’s over,” he commented, reaching for your hand. “Let’s go.”

You swallowed nervously as you watched the crowd filter through the various doors of the warehouse. If Scott’s plan succeeded, Jackson and the person controlling him should be trapped inside the building.

As you headed out though, you glimpsed Jackson walking out the door farther up in the crowd. You held your breath until you crossed through the door, but Jackson was nowhere to be found. He had crossed the mountain ash barrier.

You felt your heart sink as you realized the plan hadn’t worked. You wondered what happened, and briefly panicked at the thought that something might have happened to Stiles.

You and Matt stumbled out of the building and toward you car. You wanted to reach for your phone and call Stiles, but you knew you wouldn’t be able to sneak away from Matt again. If you even texted him, he might get suspicious, and the whole point of you going out with him was to stop him from asking too many questions.

As he tugged you toward the parking lot, you couldn’t help but feel a sinking in your chest. Somehow you just knew there had been another murder. You knew the entire plan had failed.

-----

“Do you ever feel like no matter what you do, you just can’t win?” you wondered, as you turned down Matt’s street.

You had been quiet for almost the entire ride, and relief flashed across his face when you finally spoke.

“No,” he said smoothly. “Unlike the rest of humanity, I’m perfect.”

That made you smile. “Thanks. I guess things have just been really crazy lately. It’s been stressing me out.”

Matt looked down at his feet when you pulled to a stop in front of his house. “Yeah, and that...incredibly bad idea probably didn’t help things either.”

He looked like he was about to burn up with embarrassment when he talked about the kiss.

“Don’t even worry about it.”

“For real?” he asked.

“Definitely.”

“So,” he asked carefully. “What’s going on with you and Stiles? I know you went to look for him at the show, but are you guys...together?”

You started to say no, but then thought better of it. The moment you had shared with Stiles in the parking lot had given you a lot to think about.

“Not really,” you told Matt.

“Not really,” he repeated. “God, I hate ‘not really’. You never know what to do with ‘not really’.”

You pressed your lips together at his bitter tone. “Would you understand if I said it was complicated?”

Matt raised his eyebrows.“Not really.”

You laughed, and he smiled gently at you. “But I can try.”

With one last smile, he opened the door and waved you goodbye. You sat there on the curb for a few seconds, watching him disappear inside his darkened house. When you went to shift the car into drive, you realized Matt’s backpack was still on the floor of your car.

You reached over and grabbed the strap, only to pull on his camera by mistake. It was still on, and you figured he had probably been taking pictures at the rave and just forgotten to turn it off in all the chaos.

Purely out of curiosity, you tapped the bottom to scroll through his photos. Matt had talked about his photography, but he had never really mentioned how good he was.

You smiled when a picture of you flashed across the screen. It was a candid of you, smiling in the stands as you cheered for Scott during one of his lacrosse games. The next picture was of you laughing, and you remembered that Stiles had been making faces at you from where he was benched on the sidelines.

As you scanned the photos, you realized that they were more of you than anything else. Your fascination quickly turned to horror as you saw that Matt had pictures of you walking down the hall, studying in the library, and even sitting in front of your bedroom window.

You were just starting to wonder how long he had been watching you when you were startled by tapping at the window. You quickly powered off the camera and looked up.

Matt was standing next to the car, illuminated eerily by the streetlights outside. He had a smile on his face, but it was wry and twisted. He pulled once on the handle of the passenger side door, and you were suddenly grateful you had locked the car after he got out.

“Open the door,” he mouthed.

You took a deep breath, hoping your expression didn’t betray your fear. You didn’t open the door, but you did roll the window down about halfway.

“Forgot my bag,” Matt told you, gesturing to the backpack on the floor.

You nodded. “Yeah, yeah.”

Your voice came out shaky and uneven, and you were completely still as he reached in, pulling out his bag and the camera. “Some good pictures in there, don’t you think?”

“Oh, yeah,” you agreed enthusiastically. “The lacrosse ones are amazing. You’re really talented. I was-I was really impressed.”

Realizing you were rambling, you quickly pressed your lips together. Matt smiled evenly at you. “There’s a good candid of you in there too.”

“Really?”

“You can see some of the others if you’d like,” Matt offered. “I mean, this tiny little screen doesn’t really do it justice, but, uh, I could show you some on my computer.”

“Oh,” you breathed. “I would totally like that, but...maybe another night.”

“Just for a few minutes?” he pressed.

“It’s getting kind of late,” you told him. “Scott’s probably expecting me home.”

“It’s the weekend.”

“I-I know,” you stammered. “But-”

“And it’s spring break. I mean, you don’t have anything going on tomorrow, do you? I’m sure your brother wouldn’t mind.”

Your heart was pounding in your chest. With the way Matt was watching you, you could have sworn he could hear it. “I should really get going.”

Matt’s lips twitched. “You sure?”

“I’m sure,” you said hoarsely.

“Okay,” he said softly, backing away from the car.

He eyed you carefully, but you didn’t look back at him. You peeled away from the curb, terrified to see him still behind you, watching.

When you got home and trudged up the steps, Scott poked his head out of his bedroom door. “Hey. You dropped Matt off?”

You nodded wordlessly. That was when Stiles’ head appeared next to Scott’s. They were both in pajamas, ready to pass out after the exhausting night. It was past one am, but you knew they had waited up to make sure you got home safe.

“Yeah,” you whispered hoarsely. “Just tired.”

“Are you sure?” Scott asked with a frown. “Do you wanna talk about what happened tonight? I know it was intense.”

“Scott,” you snapped. “I just want to sleep. I’m not a little kid anymore.”

Your brother recoiled in shock, and you instantly felt ashamed. Stiles was looking at you in concern, but you didn’t meet his eyes as you headed down the hall. The tension of the kiss from earlier was burning in the air, but after what had happened with Matt, you weren’t in a place to deal with it.

You shoved open the door of you room, stripped off your sweaty clothes, and immediately jumped in the shower. Even as the hot water streamed down your skin, you could feel the tears dripping down your face.

Some of the pictures Matt had taken were from weeks ago. You didn’t remember all of the moments he had captured, but one of them was definitely from the night Allison and Lydia had taken you shopping for the upcoming spring dance.

You had opted for a more casual dress with a bright floral pattern that you were absolutely in love with. Lydia, however, insisted you get something more formal, so you chose another one. She bought you the floral as a gift.

You were so excited that you wore it home from the shopping trip, and judging by the photos you had seen on Matt’s camera, he had been watching you that night as you walked inside. You would never wear that dress again without thinking of him capturing the moment and twisting it in his own perverted way.

Your phone had been buzzing non-stop for the past thirty minutes, so you finally decided to step out of the shower. Nausea bloomed in your stomach, and you wondered if Matt was trying to reach out to you.

As you walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, you realized Stiles was the one who had been blowing up your phone.

“Oh shit!”

You jumped when you saw him sitting on the edge of your bed, covering his eyes. His cheeks were a bright red, and he was stammering.

“Oh god, uh, I’m so sorry. I’ll just-”

He tried to get up while his eyes were covered and ended up tripping over your basket of clean laundry. He fell with a thump, and you snorted.

“Stiles,” you told him softly. “It’s fine. It’s not like you saw me naked.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, scrambling to his feet. “I was just worried. I thought that maybe you’d want to talk or something, but…”

You grimaced. “No I...I want to talk. Just let me change.”

He nodded and sat back down on your bed, watching as you hastily yanked some pajamas out of your dresser. You disappeared into your bathroom, and a minute or so later, you came back out fully dressed.

You sat beside him on your rumpled comforter, wondering where to start. Eventually, you and Stiles spoke at the same time.

“So about the kiss-”

“Something happened with Matt-”

He paused, looking at you with concern. “You mean back at the rave? What happened?”

You shook your head. “No. It was when I took him home. He left his bag in my car on accident. I went to pull on the strap, but I grabbed his camera by mistake. It was on, so I just looked at the pictures, and...and he had pictures of me.”

“Pictures? What kind of pictures?”

“Some of them were normal,” you told him. “I saw some of me at the last game, and I know he has to take pictures of the crowd for the yearbook. But then there were others. Like pictures of me at my locker, or...or in my window.”

Stiles jaw dropped. “Your bedroom window?”

You dropped your eyes to the floor and nodded.

Stiles jumped to his feet. “We need to tell Scott right now.”

“No,” you said quickly, reaching up to grab his hand. “Stiles we can’t. He already has so much to worry about with the kanima and Allison’s grandfather.”

“Then we have to at least go the cops. Y/n, that’s stalking. Matt’s been stalking you.”

You took a deep breath and tried to fight the tears forming in your eyes. “What if no one believes me?”

Stiles placed his hands on your shoulders. They were warm and steady, and even though tears were slipping down your face, his stability gave you hope. “I believe you. And everyone at the station will too. Besides, he’s got the proof on his camera.”

You swallowed. “So do we talk to your dad?”

Stiles scratched the back of neck. “Actually, uh, they just put him on a leave of absence.”

“Like they fired him?” you asked incredulously.

“Basically, yeah,” he said softly. “And it’s pretty much my fault.”

“Why would you say that?” you asked him.

“Well, believe it or not, the son of the Sheriff stealing a police van and kidnapping someone didn’t look too good to the town. ”

You grimaced as his shoulders slumped in shame. You reached out to gently touch his shoulder. “Stiles, I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve gotta stop the murders first. Then we can figure out how to get my dad’s job back.”

“You’re still allowed to be upset,” you reminded him. “Stiles, nothing about this is easy.”

“You are.”

You blinked at him. “Wait, what? I’m easy?”

“Woah, no, that came out wrong. I mean, this with you.” He gestured between the two of you. “This is easy.”

“Talking?” you asked.

“Everything,” he admitted. “I know you’ve kinda been stuck with me lately since Scott’s been preoccupied. But when it’s just me and you...I don’t really mind it.”

You smiled at him. “I don’t either.”

“And I was thinking maybe...maybe if you wanted to…”

Stiles took a deep breath. His cheeks were flushed and all of his confidence from earlier seemed to have disappeared. “I totally suck at this.”

“It’s okay,” you told him with a laugh. “I think I know what you’re asking. And the answer is-”

Knock! Knock! Knock! You and Stiles both froze at the sound of a knock on your door.

“Y/n?” Scott was calling softly. “You awake?”

“Uh, hold on, I’m naked!” you yelled.

With wide eyes, you quickly yanked Stiles up from the bed and shoved him into the bathroom. For good measure, you gestured toward the shower. Stiles obliged, and you quickly flipped the light off and shut the door.

You took your discarded towel and wrapped it around your hair, twisting it up. Then you opened the door for Scott.

“Hey,” he said, peering around the room. “Is Stiles in here?”

“He’s not with you?” you asked.

“No. I woke up and he wasn’t in my room. I thought I heard voices in here so I came to check. He’s probably just getting a glass of water or something.”

“Oh,” you said casually. “I was on the phone with Lydia. She’s just nervous about everything going on, so I was trying to distract her with girl talk.”

“Girl talk?” Scott asked.

“Mmhm. You know, dresses, nail polish...waxing.”

Your brother grimaced at the thought. “Okay, I get it. I was just making sure you were okay. You seemed upset earlier.”

“I was,” you admitted. “You were right. Everything at the rave, the last murder...it was getting to me.”

Scott nodded. “I know this is hard. It’s why I didn’t want to get you involved.”

You rolled your eyes slightly. “Yeah, yeah. I know.”

“But hey,” he said, reaching out to put his hand on your shoulder. “I’m glad you know now. I’m glad you have my back.”

You pressed your lips together and stared up at him skeptically. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. He reached out to pull you into a tight hug. “I love you. You know that right? And everything I do, I’m just trying to keep you safe.”

“I know. And as annoying as you are, I love you too,” you mumbled into his shoulder.

He rolled his eyes and pushed you away. “Go to bed.”

You watched Scott as he walked down the hall and turned back into his room. Then you quickly shut your own door and locked it.

When you yanked open the shower curtain to let Stiles out, he jumped.

“What?” you asked quizzically.

“I thought you might have been Scott,” he admitted, stepping out of the shower. “I couldn’t hear you guys from here.”

“You should probably leave before he gets suspicious,” you told him.

He looked down at the floor. “Yeah, you’re right...hey, uh, were you going to Lydia’s party tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” you told him. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“I’ll see you there, then.” He reached out to grab your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’ll figure everything out. Matt’s not going to hurt you.”

You nodded, and squeezed back once, knowing full well that his words from earlier were hanging in the air. Now it seemed that the moment had passed, and Scott was awake down the hall, looking for Stiles.

“Goodnight, Stiles,” you whispered.

“Goodnight.”

He smiled softly at you before silently slipping out of your room and down the hall. You closed your door as quietly as you could, walked over to flick off your light, and crawled into bed.

Despite the chaos of that night, sleep found you easily, and you slipped into unconsciousness, not thinking of Matt, but of Stiles.

#teen wolf #teen wolf imagines #selfignitingimagines #stiles stilinski #stiles stilinski imagines #Teen Wolf Ships #@derangedangel

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alias-b · 5 years ago

Note

"Neil would have kept trying for you. And eventually, he would have taken pictures of my little girl." Susan welled. Her body gave an odd vibration with the thought. "I can't stop thinking about that fact. I won't for a long time." -Susan broke my heart in this chapter, I love that she's woken up to Neil's shit. Getting closer to Camille is a good thing!! Their last scene was sweet. The dream jarred me though. I keep thinking about what would happen if Cam went to Neil at his manipulation? Scary

I’m so happy that Susan’s growth is being spotlighted. Her heart to heart with Camille was a scene I walked away from so proud of. :) Billy and Camille both got good moments with her. And…your last question actually got me to pull something from my drafts. It’s an AU scene after the break up/Camille’s mental meltdown/her kissing Jim in a moment of illness and confusion.

Yes, there’s a chance she WOULD have gone to Neil in her state. She feels so unwanted at the moment and his manipulation was really getting to her. Awful or not, attachment happens even to people who are abusive. I actually wrote an AU scene where she skips school all the same and goes to him instead of Jim finding her first. It was more of an exploration to prepare for the Camille & Neil convos I had coming. I preferred what I did by a mile, but this helped me feel out Neil and Camille’s relationship and her turmoil and honestly I put a lot of my own isolating thoughts into it. I’m…terrified to post it and still going slow, but I figure if I get more terrible anons, I have double the support from good friends. Also figure it’s relevant to how I feel now so I’m sharing.

So here it is below, be warned it’s uncomfortable and leads to the Jim kiss and there is heavy, heavy gas-lighting and some sexual references from Neil’s bullshit mouth. The FOIL between Jim and Neil is so stark, I wanted to highlight it. It’s not rly edited, I just pulled it. Thanks all.

Open Wound

Camille swept snowy slush around her feet while a fresh coat fell. Dainty little flakes that stuck to dirty sleet as if to hide it away. Loch Nora was smaller than she recalled. Rollerskating up and down the street when the wind was warm and flowers in full bloom.

Edna snipping roses to pot some around the house interior. A smile and wave at her floating girl. Stuck close to make sure Camille was safe.

“Bullshit.” Smoke swelled out from red lips. A cigarette flicked toward the mass of frozen dirt that used to be the Harper house. She remembered Billy bleeding out in her lap and the fire that ate everything in sight. It was beautiful at the time. Now, she and Billy bled separately.

Kids around here say they can hear moaning and weeping from the plot at night. Camille felt like she was watching herself. Like she was a soul and no body. No skin, no muscle, no bones to rattle from the cold. It was all far away. Her car swerved along ice when she parked near Cherry Lane. More so in the forest.

Camille Harper was desired around town. Not wanted. That bleated. But, there was one soul who wanted to play.

Billy would be at school still. Susan at her morning shift in the perfume department. It was a roll of the dice. Camille felt her entire being stretch to wrap around the town. Around this Earth. Cold air puffed and snow began to crunch too loud for any sound to get in.

Neil knew why she’d come the moment he saw her shaken and wide-eyed there. Red and loud against pristine white snow. No innocence. He was wrapped in a winter coat. Ears prickling pink. Gloved hands swept snow from his truck with a plastic scraper.

“Camille Harper.” Neil pretended to be blasé about it. Brushing snow and ice with short swipes. Flecks melted on his front.

She seemed drunk. Half here.

“Do you see me?” That flitting tone shrunk. He hitched like he might laugh, lip twitching.

“Yes, Camille, I do see you.” Neil forced his eyes from her expression to the car. A beat. One hand clicked the passenger door open. She stared. He could have said a number of things about how she was trembling and frosting over. Better to come inside where it’s warm and sound. Camille lingered still at the opening and felt red lights blare.

“Don’t get into that car. Just come back to school.” Billy said behind her ears.

Billy didn’t want her anymore.

She crossed with ire. Climbed in. Neil stood there with one hand on the door while she looked ahead.

“It’s important,” he took his frosty glove off and reached to buckle her in, “that you’re safe.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hargrove.” Camille gave a dreamy sigh. Didn’t remark that his arm was still over her lap, palm resting on the seat.

“You’re very welcome, Camille.” He stepped back. “Neil is fine.” The door shut.

She didn’t hear the car start. Didn’t feel it move. Didn’t even process the music or heat turning on.

“You’re upset.” He noted. Threw a brick into the silence. Camille turned her head toward his profile when they took a left.

“Are you hurting him badly again? What did you do to him?” She rasped. “Billy. Do you want to hurt me too?”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Neil sat back in his seat. Shrugged like he might be thinking of what groceries to buy later.

“He’s different. Bad different,” she decided. “Worse different.”

“Listen, Camille, I’ve known. This whole thing between you two. I imagine you both learned a hard lesson from it. It’s for the best. Billy was never good with secrets. My boy was never good with much of anything. Pretty girls for one. And you’re the prettiest of them all.”

He made it sound like such an apology.

“Where are we going?” She asked finally. Tried not to choke.

“Moving here, I’ve gotten to know some fine people.” He said instead. “Everyone knows each other and do they love to talk.” Neil laughed. Hearty like a dad. Something vulgar about it. He touched his mustache in thought and came to a red light. “You’ve been crying.”

“I’m fine.” A quick reply. Sharp and airy at the same time. Camille stared through him. Not at him.

“I see you, Camille.” Neil set his elbow to the little pull down rest between them. One hand on the wheel. “You lost your parents. I lost mine when I was younger too. I did this, you know? Acted out. Tried to replace them. Learned I never would, but that didn’t stop me trying for awhile.” He parked on main street and cut the engine. Few shops still open from Starcourt taking business away.

“It’s okay, you know, to look.” He clicked his seat belt off, faced her. “You’re all shaken still. I make you that nervous? Do I not make you feel safe, Camille? You got into my car.”

And she couldn’t take that fact back. Another chill rushed.

“I’m upset.” She admitted, felt like for the first time. “I miss the way things used to be.” Neil tutted, caught a tear with his thumb and skimmed down her cheek. Edged the corner of her lips. “I miss my mom and dad.”

She sounded like a baby, face crinkling. Head tipped to the rest. Fingers clutched at his coat. Neil’s lips lifted as he shushed every little weepy sound. Patted hair.

“There there, you’re too pretty to cry like that.” Neil eased, tipped her chin up in a way that was encouraging. “You feel safe here. You got into the car with me. I can make it better. Ask me to make it better, Camille.”

She blinked at him. Really considered it because no one fucking wanted her except one red light that blared and readied to consume her. She felt Billy lick the shell of her ear and utter, mutilate. Syllables caught and Neil sighed when she slipped down, bowing her head as if to pray before him.

“Shame. Stay here.” Neil slipped away to get out.

“Wait,” a hand snatched his wrist on instinct. He was looking not at her face, but at the hand on his skin. “Where are you going?”

“Girls like hot chocolate, don’t they?” Neil smacked the door shut after locking his car. Looked around. Camille covered her face and quivered. Those red flares burned her flesh. She glanced outside and saw herself with Robbie. Too young. Him offering her an ice cream cone.

She took it. Smiled. Licked.

She should have just screamed.

She should have screamed now too.

Neil returned and offered a to-go cup that steamed. He didn’t buy any for himself.

“Take a moment and drink it.” Neil turned his car back on. Heat kicked up. Camille steadied her breathing enough to sip. It went down all chalky. Hair stuck to pink cheeks. “Police Chief can’t replace them, can he?” Hands smoothed his tie.

“Jim is nice to me.” Her back hunched like she was avoiding a crushing blow.

“Man has quite the reputation. Nothing that should be near such a nice girl.” Neil only shrugged, blue eyes lifting. “Unless, maybe, you’re not a nice girl. Painting your lips so he sees them. Dressing the way you do. Does he like to look at you?”

“I-”

“Do you like it when he looks?” Neil almost smirked, it flashed in his cold eyes. “You want him to pat your pretty head and kiss your cheek.” His palm cupped her face. The free hand took her cocoa away to set it aside. “Has he touched you?”

“What?” Camille reeled back. Neil’s hand came to her knee. Everything locked up.

“Have you shown him things? Hm, Camille? Taken your clothes off for him so he can see you too? Good girls don’t do that.”

“We-”

“You want a big man to kiss you all better. You want daddy to sweep you up. Make you feel good again. Don’t you, Camille? You just want to feel good again. I understand that too.”

She twisted, reaching for the handle when the lock came down.

“Camille, don’t make a scene,” came his chiding, “I think you’re being very unfair to me right now. We’re just talking. I’ve been nothing but kind to you. Aren’t you safe here? Am I going to hurt you?” Neil’s grip on her knee clamped down. She wanted to scream that he hurt Billy. His family. Scream that he was the dirty monster. “You got into this car all on your own. Face it, you asked for me. Say it.”

“It hurts.”

Camille didn’t know what exactly was hurting. Everything. Nothing. But, it was an open wound she kept picking at.

“There’s a place, you know.” Neil’s hand left her leg. The ability to function swept air into desperate lungs. “A place I could make you feel better. You wouldn’t have to do anything. Unless you wanted to. I’d take care of it. Don’t you want to be safe and secure again?” Wet clumpy lashes fluttered shut. “No, you stay right here.” Neil grasped her shoulder to shake. Eyes opened.

“I see it. I see you.” He sounded so nurturing. “I see what made my damn son so crazy. You do these things to men, you know?”

Neil laughed again. Camille felt him sucking the air from her. The pang of a jackal’s teeth sunk into her heart.

An answer was upon the tip of her tongue.

“Camille?” A muffled knock on the window. Neil’s play cut, he reeled from her quick. Detective Callahan looked less dopey staring there. He gestured for the window to roll down. Camille grew petrified.

“What’s going on here? The Chief got a call. You skipped school.” He peered behind her. “Neil Hargrove?”

“Afternoon, officer.” Neil’s smile dazzled. Camille stared at Callahan all paled and tearful. Never seen Phil this serious in all her time working at that station. “Ms. Harper was wandering the street. She’s a friend of my family. I worried. I was about to take her right back to school. Poor girl just went through a bad break-up. It’s my fault, I figured a nice cup of cocoa could solve anything.”

Camille felt Neil’s warning hand on her back. Knew Billy would pay a price later if she didn’t lie right now.

“Isn’t that right, Camille?” He chirped too cheerfully.

“That’s right. I’m feeling better now.” She turned to Neil. “Jim must be so worried about me. I want to get home to him. Right now.”

His brow twitched.

Neil hated her and those red lips.

“I got her from here,” Callahan didn’t thank Neil. Just took Camille’s hand and led her to his own vehicle. Neil stared the entire time. Waited until they drove off before he threw the cup outside with a spatter and sped away. “Camille.”

“Is Jim at home?” She cut.

He sighed.

“Yes, he’s not happy about this.”

“Oh.” Camille looked at the icy trees. Cracking against harsh winds.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine. Fine. Tired.”

“Why did you skip school? This isn’t you.”

“Yes, Philip,” Camille sniffled and faced him with red eyes, “it is.”

They pulled up to the house. Camille felt fear flood.

“Go on, he’s waiting for you. Don’t skip school again, Cam.” Phil offered. Tried to be careful about it because she was breaking.

“Thanks for the ride,” Camille got out. Saw her car pulled up. Jim must have gotten a buddy to tow it over. The door opened and Jim crossed his arms there. Already aflame.

“Skipping? Leaving your car in-”

“I know.” Camille locked the door. Put her head down to go around him. “I just…needed to get away. All right?”

“No, it’s not all right. Do you have any idea how worried I was?” Jim’s tone lifted. “I need to know that you and El are safe at all times.”

“Well, we’re not.” Hands jabbed out and fell. “Can I go to my room now?”

“Callahan radioed that he saw you in Neil Hargrove’s car.” Jim grasped her arm. “What’s that about?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Camille, I know how that guy is. Just talk to me. Let me help you.”

You can’t.

“He didn’t force me into the car.”

Admitting that made her feel like trash. Jim saw her bottom lip wobble and let go. He rubbed his scruff and turned to sit at the head of the kitchen table. Covered his eyes when irritation twitched.

“You need to understand that you can’t run off like that. It’s not safe. It’s a risk. We don’t take risks. I know…what happened with Billy is hurting you. I can’t watch you-”

“Are you mad at me?” Camille crept to the table looking insecure. Hands pulled to her stomach.

“Yes, Camille, I’m actually furious with you.” Jim’s hand smacked down. Caused her to jump. “Running away from school when there are people after you, I thought the worst!”

“Don’t be mad at me, Jim, please.” She welled and came to his left side. “I can’t stand it when you’re mad at me.” Hands lifted. Heart pounding. Red lights scorched now. All she wanted to do was smother them out. “It hurts when you’re mad at me, let me make it better. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please, don’t be upset.”

No one wants me.

I’m not a nice girl.

“Camille, it’ll be okay, just…don’t do this again.” Jim cocked his head with an easier sigh, lifted his eyes to see her too close to him. He opened his mouth to continue before bright red lips fell upon his.

Begging.

Tears wet Camille’s cheeks as she took his jaw and opened her mouth. Moaned. Tried to deepen the kiss instantly, but Jim muffled a gasp of shock. Jerked up and away so quick that the chair skidded to crash into the floor. Camille was still looking at him with her hands lifted aimlessly, huge hazel eyes shining.

“I…I thought…”

“Camille, Jesus Christ, what was that?” Jim wiped his mouth and saw red smeared on his hand. His own gut twisted. He looked like she slapped him. Guilt that maybe he led her on pooled. “You can’t do things like that.”

Camille burst into tears. Covered her face and crouched down on wobbling legs like she might collapse.

“I’m so stupid,” she cried. Jim recovered and came down to her level. Felt a cringe back into the wall the second he touched her.

“Hey, Camille. Just breathe for a second. Talk to me.” Jim was too good. The open wound bled out. He managed to get her into his warm arms.

His girl was confused. Trying to hurt herself. He knew the pattern well enough. Tears wet his uniform. Camille pressed her cheek into the cool metal badge still pinned to his chest. Felt his heart beat under it.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” it wasn’t often Jim used pet names, they made her soften, “you’re safe. I got you. Just take an easy breath for me.” Camille shuddered into his body. Clutched at him and lifted glimmering eyes.

“But,” Camille cringed through a sob, “can you see me, Jim?”

Am I real? Am I dirty? Are the red lights going to burn still?

Jim Hopper had no answer. He tucked her back under his chin. Kissed brown hair. Squeezed Camille so tight. Until she stopped crying and berating. Until she could breathe once more.

“You just…make me feel safe,” she said, “I’m sorry.” Jim nodded and rubbed her back. “Are you still mad at me?”

“No, I’m not mad at you.” Hopper looked at the patterns in the wallpaper behind her. “You’re hurting. I just…can’t watch you hurt yourself more, Camille.”

“I’ll try to stop.”

“Promise me.” Jim’s own voice cracked.

“I promise.” She closed her eyes. Exhaled Neil Hargrove out of her skin.

For a single beat there, Camille Harper felt the wound might be able to close.

#billy hargrove #Camille Harper #neil hargrove #Jim hopper #blurb #mine #writing #ask #anon #reply #Billy hargrove x oc #susan mayfield

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sobdasha · 4 years ago

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"I definitely updated my list of books I was reading on tumblr so it's all good" -me, a lying liar, right before spending several months finishing my reread of All The Discworld Books I Own But In Chronological Order For The First Time Ever Which In Fact Makes A Difference.

(and then I did it again after the libraries closed)

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin Hm, so. I definitely read this. At some point. It was not really for me, not bad, but not really for me. This particular edition had various notes before and after the text, all of which I read, which made it an experience I got more out of. It's important for me to know that the author is aware that the protagonist is a raging misogynist who's stupid, and yes this was on purpose so you'd realize how really incredibly stupid he is and thus maybe be tricked into changing your mind yourself. It is a legit tactic, but one I tend not to enjoy, so if I hadn't been forewarned I'd have been UUUUGGGGGHHHH MAKE HIM SHUT UP ALREADY and probably rage-quit. As it was, I was able to better appreciate what Le Guin was doing here, even if this book didn't win a place in my heart and I probably won't reread. I definitely preferred Ancillary Justice's take, with the feminine pronouns. For my brain, masculine pronouns = they might as well all be men = business as usual = I didn't really get any gender queering from it. I can't really remember much else now. Oh, it was also part "survival in the wilderness" story, which they're big on making you read in school (which I find very suspicious), and which I tolerated and read a few classic ones on my own until they kept assigning these kinds of stories for us to read and now I get nothing from them and mindlessly hate them. Anyway, as I said, not bad at all but not really for me.

Lavinia, Ursula K. Le Guin This one's a reread--I picked it up from the library during college because we were doing Titus Andronicus in class and it didn't occur to me that there might be more than one Lavinia???? But hey it worked out because later in college we did the Aeneid and then I had Background for rereading Lavinia. This is the book that is lyrical and beautiful and pulls me in and makes me care deeply about the world and the characters. This is the book of Le Guin's that makes me feel the way everyone else feels about Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness and etc. I would like to find more of Le Guin's work that makes me feel the same way, because as I've said you can really tell from her other stuff that she's a solid writer who knows her stuff. I just…don't enjoy any of the other things. Anyway I recommend. I always forget about this book, and then when I reread I'm like "wow why don't I read this more often?????"

How Long 'Til Black Future Month?, N. K. Jemisin I liked every story in this short story collection. I should just reread it and try writing this up again tbh but also tbh I'll probably do the rereading and then just not write anything up again. Just read Jemisin's stuff I love her writing so much okay. ETA: that’s exactly what I did, I reread this during my covid rereads and said “I should do a proper write-up this time” and lo and behold where is it

Tehanu, Ursula K. Le Guin Okay, this last Earthsea book treated me much better than the others. It's probably not for everyone else, which might be why it's for me. It's much more domestic, much less "plot" happening, full of introspection, and centered on women rather than men. This novel acknowledges and confronts the rampant internalized misogyny in the previous three books, engages it in a way that the misandrist in me finds satisfying even though it never comes to a good solution for the problem. This book is more like a reflection. Earthsea has never been about "light is always good, dark is always bad; be a hero, fight evil" etc. But this one I think shifts the tone a little farther; it's less about balance, and more...I guess I'd put it as, "actions have consequences." It's not concerned with right or wrong, it's concerned with people getting hurt. It's pretty somber and serious, without any humor to balance it out, tons of bad things happen to people, lots of PTSD...but this time I really cared about the characters, and I feel like it was all handled really well? In addition to critiquing internalized misogyny, it also critiqued victim blaming. Seemed like it handled disability pretty well too--was honest about how people are jerks about it in reality, while still being optimistic and treating Therru as valuable; made occasional mentions of considering work-arounds for having only one fully-functional hand, while mostly just having Therru go about living and doing chores and being capable and assuming she did find those work-arounds without having to draw attention to it; and Therru's terrible scars didn't get magically healed at the end, the whole book makes a point all the way through that her physical scars will always be with her the same way her emotional scars will be, and she's simply learned how to go on living with them. Tehanu: a book full of trauma happening to people, where what would normally be the plot in a fantasy novel ended up not even getting started to be resolved, but Le Guin's writing and handling of the subject matter helped heal my jaded soul.

Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee A quick summary of my experience: Chapter 1 - ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh what is going on what even Chapter 2 - no, no this is just, this is what sci fi is like, right? Just give it a few chapters and then by the end of the book everything will probably make sense. I'm sure that's how it works. Remember how even in Ancillary Justice I ended up with two separate Battles of Valskay, but now everything is fine??? It's. Fine. Chapter 4 - (ohhhhhhh I still don't know what's going on) Several Chapters Later - still no clue what's going on, but hit my stride with the terminology, my foreign language instinct kicked in where words stopped sounding weird and while I could not for the life of me define any terms for you, I had a vague comprehension of how the words operated In Context. Sort of. And by then I had, without realizing it, begun page-turning and binging, so I guess I liked the book lol! Another serious-but-not-funny one, but with an extra dose of War Memoir and all the gruesomeness that entails (but probably, like any good War Memoir, probably not actually gratuitous and actually in fact the necessary amount of gruesome). Jedao was turned into a woobie at the last minute and, well, damn, guy knows the way to my heart. The novel apparently gripped me enough that I don't even mind that it only came into play at the very end of the game. And hey, there's two more novels to deal with that revelation, which I have picked up from the library to read immediately! Yay! Current personal theory: based on the heavy math references that made me want to cry at the start, but the almost entire absence of actual numbers, and a reference to "there's no way actual physics works like that, it was obviously a calendrical effect" or something…I'm going to throw out a wild guess that the calendar stuff (and all the social structuring that goes with it) is so that they can break and reinvent math. So they can effect a universe where 2+2=5 and therefore a bunch of people standing in this exact position makes a force field or bullets of rose thorns or whatever and some other dude can make himself immortal. This sounded like a pretty terrible theory already and it sounds even worse now I've typed it up but oh well.

Raven Stratagems, Yoon Ha Lee Guess who didn't write this up back when she read it!!! Also, I returned Ninefox Gambit to the library right before the libraries shut down for covid. So, I had Raven and Revenant on hand for months but I didn't have Ninefox on hand to do an immediate reread to see if that made the sci fi make more sense. (It probably wouldn't have, but I would have liked to do a rereading while the ending was still fresh.) By this time there is a lesser degree of visceral viscera. Lee is brutal, however, about continuing to be honest about what war costs and whether war is worth that cost (which depends, really, on whose lives you think matter. Very relevant for these times. Very much prepared me to shut up and not whine about the inconveniences of protests and their fallout. There is no pretty and clean way to have a revolution, since it involves destroying a particular [terrible] way of life, so we're all just gonna have to sacrifice together). Also I think by this point all the character development from the first novel paid off in the form of character dynamics being hilarious now despite, y’know, the gruesome shadow of war.

Revenant Gun, Yoon Ha Lee Continues to discuss the honest price of war and the messiness of fallout. Shuos "The risks I took were calculated, but boy am I bad at math" Jedao. Oh I think this is also the one where every so often one of the characters thinks, "Okay so this person is a tyrannical murderous dictator but he is ensuring that there will never again be food shortages and no one in the space empire ever goes hungry." And then Lee turns around and is like, "Haha but don't forget this same person invented a form of vital infrastructural technology (and also immortality) that is optionally based off ritual human torture sacrifice. Like he didn't have to do that to make it work. He just decided to anyway. And that's always bad :) " (Also useful in our current climate of "Okay but we should consider the other person's circumstances and point of view" and also "Yeah but that doesn't apply if they're literally Nazis tho.")

Hexarchate Stories, Yoon Ha Lee A collection of short stories set in the universe of those three books. There's one story at the end that does satisfy the "But I wanted another sequel!!!" urge. And there's a bit of backstory for Jedao and Cheris. But by and large what you should be in the mood to read is flash fiction snippets that simply happen to be set in the same universe but have no bearing on the plot. Which is pretty cool and interesting if you are in the proper mindset! Even better, Lee includes author's notes at the end of each story to talk about the story, or the influences, or the context of his life at the time, etc etc. That is always my absolute favorite part of a short story collection. Also these notes told me everything I needed to know about why I liked certain things about his writing. "I wanted to write my own AUs," "If I get stuck I go on TV Tropes," "My only regret is that I had to cut the scene where Jedao goes to ~Halloween~ dressed as himself and trolls people" ahhhh that's also a regret I share.

Dragon Pearl, Yoon Ha Lee This one is YA! There is a lot less gore although I guess there was still genocide! Read this when you are in the mood for something that doesn't attempt to hide the fact that the plot is completely, conveniently contrived to give you fast-paced action and fun. Min sure has a lot of coincidental meetings that should stretch my disbelief but I don't care. Also, I am enjoying reading books with girls as protagonists that do what I'm tired of being told to love about boy protagonists--just keep barreling along with complete self-assurance that you are right and, if you run into trouble, you can egotistically figure your way out.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N. K. Jemisin Gods and mortal ruling family's messy soap opera sexcapades is not exactly my favorite genre, but luckily it is handled by Jemisin so it's all good. Lots of Souma Family Values. I'm really appreciating how Jemisin considers choice of narrator very carefully and uses it to brilliant effect in this trilogy. Stories are things told by a narrator to an audience; why should we rely on the artifice of an "impartial" "reliable" "omniscient" 3rd person narrator writing into the void? This trilogy was Jemisin's first, I believe, so it's a little awkward coming back to them now, only because Jemisin is such a powerful writer that the themes she's begun working with here have only gotten stronger with each successive work.

The Broken Kingdoms, N. K. Jemisin This one I rated as I read for Protagonist Is Blind based on the scale of a sighted person going "but some of my best friends are blind!" In that regard, I think the book does really well! Blindness doesn't define Oree's life and value; Oree doesn't get magical powers that make her a blind person who isn't really blind; Oree moves away from home and gets a job and lives on her own which seems very accurate to me based on my knowledge of one (1) person who is blind; instead of being ~cured~, Oree actually gets more blind at the end of the story and this is considered a Good Ending. Also personal bonus points are awarded for references to her stick being handy for hitting people with. Some stuff was stereotypical, but Jemisin's intent was not. A+, will read again, please support including way more characters who are blind in media. Anyway I enjoyed this one.

The Kingdom of Gods, N. K. Jemisin First off, Jemisin directly up front critiques the narration choices she made in the first two books and then pays it off like a boss at the end. Like holy crap. I admit by now I was getting a bit bored of the genre, but the book was still very engaging because Jemisin is a master. It may also have been affected by how much increasing pain I've been in lately.

The Awakened Kingdom, N. K. Jemisin I'm dead. This one was way more my speed and you need the other three books to understand this novella but ohhhh my god it's perfect. I read a lot of choice passages of this aloud to my roommate because how could you resist. It's still heavy but it's hilarious. Bless Shill.

#sobdasha booking

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