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millenialfanfictionaddiction · 2 years

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Expecting: Life with their Pregnant Partner

Featuring Aizawa, Fatgum and Hawks

Aizawa x pregnant GN! Reader; Fatgum x pregnant GN! Reader; Hawks x Pregnant GN! Reader

Warnings: fluff, reader being a little reckless

AN: I was reading through my google docs and found these 😄 absolutely zero clue when I wrote these. Honestly love that for me.

Aizawa

"YN what the hell are you doing?" Shota shouts as he walks in, seeing his heavily pregnant partner perched along the baseboards of class 1-A's dorm floors.

"Shota! Just in time, I need you to change my water bucket. Look how dirty these baseboards are! Can you believe that?" you say, smiling at your husband as you go back to dipping the cloth in the bucket and wiping the soaking cloth along the now sparking boards.

"YN, seriously? I can't leave you alone can I?” He says going to help you up from the ground, fussing over you as you stand.

"You know the doctor said to rest right? I mean you and I were both at the last appointment. I'm pretty sure I heard him say that about 15 times,” he says, looking at you with a scowl as you roll your eyes in response.

"I'll have you know I did rest sweetheart. But then Miydoria came in and asked if I wanted a snack. So I said 'yes let me help you' so then I got up. I walked to the kitchen and noticed some dirt on the floor. So I got the broom out. Then I swept the dirt and noticed a scuff on the baseboards and well we can't have a scuff so I went and got a bucket. Then one scuff turned into two and then three and then five,” you say gesturing to the floor boards.

“YN seriously,” your husband said, crossing his arms over his large chest.

"You really want our baby to be born with filthy floor boards Shota?" You say, crossing your arms and waiting for your husband's reply.

"YN the baby isn't going to be studying the floor boards when they arrive. Plus I think you should be worried about more important things like, and maybe I'm just being dramatic here, but oh I don't know labor perhaps?" Shota says escorting you to the nearest coach the rest. You scoff at your husband once more as Midoriya, Bakugo, Kirishima and Todoroki walk in.

"I'm going to need you all to watch YN for me,” Shota says standing up and walking towards his students

"Excuse me? I'm very capable!” you shout, shocked at your husband's words to his students.

"YN I have a patrol tonight. There is no way I'm leaving you to your own devices. You'll probably end up repainting the whole common area,”he says looking at you.

"Didn't you already by paint YN?” Todoroki says before you quickly interject

"Well would you look at the time! Come on boys, let's go start dinner,” you say waddling towards the teens

"YN you have got to be kidding me right now?!?” Shota says rubbing his temples

"Have a great night love!” you say pushing the boys towards the doors.

Fatgum

"YN I'm home my love",” Taishiro shouts. The apartment smells amazing and he is starving. After a long night fighting crimes and arresting villains, Taishiro only wants two things.

To have a good meal and to see his beautiful partner.

"In here my love! I'm just finishing supper,” you shout as you wipe your hands on your apron.

Taishiro stoped and looked at you. His beautiful partner, pregnant with his baby and making him his favorite meal.

"Honestly I could get use to seeing you pregnant for the rest of my life YN,” Taishiro says pulling you into a hug and kissing your forehead lightly.

You giggle and pat his stomach as you head back towards the stove to stir your vegetables.

"Lets get this one out first and then we will talk,” you say rubbing your belly as your stir the food and grab plates.

"Busy day my love?" He asks, washing his hands and sitting at the table.

"I went by the new fish market today and grabbed a huge variety! Then I went to the farmers market and got these and some fresh produce,” you say pointing to the freshly cut bouquet of sunflowers sitting on the table.

"YN I thought the doctor told you to stay away from fish,” he says worryingly.

"Love I can eat some cooked fish but I mostly got it for you! I've been watching this cooking show I wrote down some awesome recipes to try!” you say plating Taishiro's food and setting it in front of him

"Baby you should be resting during the day,” Taishiro says scolding you

You look at him, deadpan. "Babe I literally sit on the coach and write down recipes. I'm not running a marathon," you say rolling your eyes.

"I just worry about you YN. You do so much for me and I want you and the baby to be healthy,” Taishiro says, grabbing your hands and pulling you close.

You smile at your husband and give him a soft kiss. "Taishiro, you have Kirishima and Tamaki check on me at least twice a day when you are at work. Plus you text me every hour. Aizawa even came by last week to make sure I didn't need a snack. I'm well taken care of love!” you say smiling at your husband as he smiles back.

"Ok YN,” Taishiro says smiling as he grabs his fork and begins to eat.

"I did lug the groceries up the 5 flights of stairs today tho,” you say resting your hips against the back of the counter and smiling at your husband as he chokes on his food, quickly reaching for his water.

"YN seriously?!" Taishiro says clearing his throat as his eyes widen on you

"I'm joking babe," you say smiling. Taishiro breathes out a sigh of relief as he goes to take another bite.

"It was only four flights," you say laughing as you walk out of the room, leaving your husband hanging, fork halfway to his mouth.

Hawks

Hawks walks into his apartment to hear music coming from down the hallway. He smiles as he sets his keys down, removing his goggles, headset, boots and coat before heading to see you.

He knows you’re in the baby's room. That's where you've been for the past few days. Your nesting has kicked into full gear as you prepare for the arrival of your baby any day now.

What Hawks doesn't expect is to see you singing 5 feet above the ground, as you balance atop a ladder pounding a nail into the wall.

"Holy crap YN!" He yells as he goes to steady you and you smile down at him.

"Hey baby! So glad your home safe! How was your night?" You say smiling down at your husband

"YN what in the hell are you doing? Get down from there!" Hawks growls as your roll your eyes, setting the hammer on top of the ladder and climbing down.

"Ok I'm down here now what?" you say looking percuriously at your husband.

"Well for one, no more ladder,” Hawks says grabbing the ladder and folding it up, hauling it out of the babies room.

You sigh and follow your husband as he puts the ladder away.

"Keigo I have things to do!” you say your hands now on your hips as your husband glares at you.

"Do I need to put a lock on this door YN? Because I absolutely will!” he says narrowing his eyes at you.

"Keigo the baby is coming and their room isn't finished!" You say pouting and stomping your feet.

You husband sighs and rolls his eyes, walking up to you and pulling you into a hug. He knows how stressed you've been about your babies arrival.

"YN the baby isn't even going to be sleeping in their room remember? You have time love," Hawks says nuzzling your nose.

"Keigo first impressions are everything! And I want to give the baby a tour when we bring them home. And that includes their FINISHED room!" you say with emphasis, throwing your hands in the air.

Keigo looks at your, trying not to laugh at your pure ridiculousness.

"I'll tell you what YN. How about this weekend we do the finishing touches together?" He says as he notices your mood perk up at the suggestion.

"Babe that would be so awesome!" You answer gleefully.

"I mean I have to put the crib, swing and rocker together anyways. Might as well do it all,” he says as he notices your eyes widen and you look away from him.

"YN-"

“Ok so I may have accidently out the swing together,” you say, grinning at your husband.

Hawks sighs, his hand doing to his head, "what in the world am I going to do with you?"

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writingwisterias · 1 month

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Late-Night Cravings

Leon S Kennedy x Pregnant! Reader

Words: 1.2K Warnings: Pregnancy, Fluff, Hormones, Weird Pregnancy Cravings (I had to google them lol) Summary: Leon begins to leave work to come home and gets a call from his wife with her latest cravings-

Something random I thought about instead of my job...hope you enjoy! My requests are open ~ Mads <3

Masterlist

Leon’s phone vibrated in his pocket as he walked through his office building. It was out of hours, he probably stayed a lot longer as he wanted to get everything done before his wife at home went into labour. He sighed loudly as he had an armful of reports trying to fiddle in his pocket for the device, balancing his load to prop the phone to his ear. “Agent Kennedy” he grumbled through the speaker, his tone professional and harsh as he expected it to be someone calling him to try and get him to go on a mission. Except it was his lovely wife, innocent asking him for a midnight snack request, he silently cursed himself for not looking at the caller ID. “Oh, I’m sorry I can call you later”

Crap you had your tiny voice on, the one that he knew meant you were upset. “No honey it's okay, I thought you were someone else” he tried to reason, his heart thumping at the silence that followed. “I just wanted to see when you were coming back, we miss you”

He loved that, we, the warmth that filled his body at the fact you had allowed him to experience this part of life. His mind always told him that he didn’t deserve it, all the innocent people that he had watched die as he got to live his life. “I’m just leaving the office now love, Send me a text if you want me to get anything,” He said making sure his voice was a lot chirpier. “Ooh, I’ve been thinking of this new thing we can try…I feel like it will be really good today” you rambled. Leon chuckled, silently cringing at the idea of trying one of the weird cravings you had gotten now you were in the later stages of your pregnancy. “Send me a list as we will try it when I get in love” he said. He could hear your giggle through the speaker, he was sure to have a heart attack at how cute you were being. You both said your goodbyes and he left the office with a spring in his step eager to please his wife.

You sat curled on the sofa, your stomach ballooning in front of you with your snacks balanced on top. You chuckled at the small kicks protruding from there. “Practicing your backflips like your dad” you joked, you hand rubbing the bump soothingly. You smiled at the sound of the front door opening “speak of the devil” you muttered under your breath. Leon’s voice echoing around the home as he greeted you. Leon smiled at the sight of you in his shirt, cosy in the corner. He leant down giving you a kiss and another for your stomach. “How are you both” he smiled placing the shopping bag on the coffee table as he kneeled on the floor to be at your height. “This one is taking after their and practing their backflips and I am eager for my snacks” you giggled. He laughed, kissing your stomach once again, “You’ll have to help me prepare this one love, I don’t want to get it wrong like I did last time”

You playfully groaned, shifting your weight to be able to get up. “God, do you want me to feed it to you as well?”

“That would be so kind, you know I had to go all the way to the store to get it and everything” he teased, his arms wrapping around you as he helped you stand. You hugged him tightly, holding him close for just a second. “I love you so much” he whispered into your hair, his scent filled your nose as he brought you closer; squeezing you as if you weren’t even real. “I love you too” you replied, pulling him into a kiss. You both began to get lost in the passion of the kiss, tongues soon battling for dominance as he savoured the taste of you. It wasn’t until a small kick brought you back to your current task, trying to get Leon to try your latest craving. “I think you’ll like this one,” you said, dragging him into the kitchen ignoring his laugh at your waddle.

He watched you crush up the bag of flaming hot Doritos in the bag he swore he could see your mouth watering at the sight. “Can I have the yoghurt please?” you asked him so innocently, a large smile grew on his lips as he passed you the item, watching as you methodically tried to figure out how to mix the two. “Do you want a bowl?” he asked already moving to get you one from the cupboard. “Oh yes! Good thinking” God you were so cute He tried not to gag at the sight of you mixing the two different textures before you scooped a large spoonful and brought it to your lips. You moaned as the flavours hit your tongue acting as if it was the best thing you had ever tasted. “This hit the spot, it might be my new favourite. Thank you so much” you said, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before going back to your snack. He prayed he had got away scot-free, hoping you had forgotten your plan on getting him to try it as he watched you waddle back to the living room clutching it tightly like someone was going to steal it from you.

The sound of him closing the crisp bag to prevent it from going stale caused you to turn around with a wide devilish grin on your face. “How could I almost forget you wanted to try it” you giggled walking towards him with the spoon outstretched. “I wouldn’t say I wanted to try it” he said begrudgingly taking the spoon from your grasp. The smell alone caused his nose to wrinkle, his eyes meeting yours pleading that you wouldn’t actually let him go through with this. However the way you were rocking back and forth on your feet waiting for his opinion like you did everytime this happened. “Leon you have eaten raw fish and eggs this can’t be worse than that” you teased. He just rolled his eyes, bring the spoon into his mouth and taking the whole thing. It wasn’t that it was bad, it was just the crunchy tecture of the doritos and then the fact the yogurt was strawberry flavour as opposed to greek or plain. Compared to all of your other cravings it wasn’t horrible. “It’s not bad” he said when he finally managed to swallow, “but its not good”

He watched your shoulders deflat the excitement leaving your body “you never like it” you spoke, your bottom lip jutting out slightly. “Think of it as a good thing, you know I wont eat it so you'll never run out”

You seemed pleased by that comment as he watched you attempt to run back to the living room and get situated back in your spot. He didn’t know what he did to deserve this, but he was glad he got this, that he got you. Forever thankful for you helping him escape from the dark place a few years back, giving him a new reason to continue the fight he had started when he was so young. As well as giving him a new reason to return home.

#resident evil x reader #leon s kennedy x reader #leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy #resident evil fanfiction #leon scott kennedy #resident evil #leon kennedy x you

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horrorhot-line · 1 year

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the grandfather paradox

The name comes from the idea that if a person travels to a time before their grandfather had children, and kills him, it would make their own birth impossible.

➵ pairing: saiki kusuo/female! reader (ish)

➵ word count: 5.5k

➵ genre: crack rlly

➵ warnings: none

➵ summary: kaito saiki goes to sleep, only to wake up in the middle of town. on his way back home, he realises he’s managed to time travel and worst of all? stopped his parents from meeting each other like they should have.

➵ masterlist (requests are open)

➵ previous part - brontide

I DO NOT CONSENT TO MY WORK BEING POSTED BY ANYONE ELSE ON ANY PLATFORM

before you read:

‘saiki telepathically communicating with reader.’

‘reader thinking or interacting with saiki through thoughts.’

“saiki talking without moving his mouth.”

“saiki talking using his mouth.”

notes: i realise i’ve done it again and disappeared for a while because writers block got to me. i’ve been really busy with life if i’m being honest and moving houses. i hope you guys enjoy this.

this was requested by anon, here and here.

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Saiki sat at home in front of his desk with a looming headache. When he woke up that morning, feeling like something was amiss, he had been right.

The psychic brought his gaze down from the ceiling to the pink-haired child before him. How was he supposed to react when the preschooler in front of him claimed to be Kaito Saiki, his son?

"No offence, but can you get over yourself? I need to go back to my timeline."

What a pain.

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The day started like always. Saiki woke up before his alarm and used his psychokinesis to turn it off before it rang. He took his time wearing his uniform, buttoning up his shirt and folding his tie neatly before looking in the mirror. Not too neat and not too messy, he looked ordinary.

Well, as ordinary as he could look when his control devices poked out of his hair, his green glasses stayed perched on the bridge of his nose. He quietly went downstairs to eat the breakfast Mrs Saiki had already prepared, ignoring his parents acting like long-lost lovers who couldn't keep their hands off each other.

Saiki chewed on his rice absentmindedly, thinking back to when he had first woken up. Nothing had been out of place, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong. Saiki closed his eyes, placing his chopsticks down when he was finished with his food. He would worry about it later.

For now, he had to make his way to PK academy to repeat the entrance ceremony like he did every year when he had to use mind control and reset time on Earth.

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You had woken up knowing today would be different. It was your first day at PK Academy, after all! You grabbed the alarm from your bedside table, turning it off to stop the assault of the sudden loud noise on your brain. You lifted the duvet covers off you, groggily getting up to wash your face and make sure you looked presentable for your new high school.

After completing your skincare routine, you fumbled but finally finished throwing on your uniform, struggling to tie the red bow around your neck. When you finally managed to do so, you realised you were running late. "Shit!" You exclaimed, rushing down the stairs, nearly tripping but catching yourself on the railings before you went to grab your shoes.

You didn't have time to sit and eat breakfast, opting to grab a piece of toast as you let your family know you were leaving for school. You haphazardly put your shoes on, grabbing your school bag before leaving the house. Finding your way to PK Academy was pretty easy when you had an app to help you navigate.

You had pulled up google maps on your phone and entered your desired destination before making your way down the street. That's when something in the distance caught your attention. When you noticed pink hair in your peripherals, you turned to your left. Your eyes landed on a small child who was staring right back at you from across the street.

Weird-coloured hair was nothing out of the blue in this universe, something you had to accept as a child. His eye colour was the only thing normal about his appearance- and it was eerily similar to yours. It was rare to see since you never really saw the shade after the age of 4 when you started spouting neon green roots.

What perplexed you the most was trying to understand why this kid had hair clips. You would've chalked it up to his parents choosing to dress him up if it weren't for the fact that- the longer you looked, the more it looked like they weren't hairpins at all.

For one, you were sure hair pins had clips that were visible, even after they were snapped into place. And why did he look like the most unexpressive child you had ever seen? You swore kids were supposed to be carefree, always smiling- not stoic, with eyes that looked dead inside, like that one.

You were distracted when a group of girls walked passed him, and you recognised the uniform. It was the same as yours! Did that mean they went to your school too? The plan was to follow the group of girls you saw in the distance so you could be sure you were going the right way- long forgotten was the strange child you had seen earlier.

Again, that was the plan- but when did anything go your way, really? The answer was never. Before you could cross over to tail the girls, you felt nausea hit you. Your vision swam, and you realised you could barely see straight.

It was unlike anything you had ever felt. Your legs gave out from under you, and you fell to the floor, too distracted by the pain in your head to notice how your hands scraped the concrete pavement when they reached out reflexively to cushion your fall.

You failed to notice the high school boy with similar pink hair walk past you, too distracted by the sickly sweet saliva pooling in your mouth, telling you that you were about to throw up your breakfast. Saiki failed to notice you, too, unable to hear your thoughts which stopped him from acknowledging your existence.

People crowded around you, worried about your health. You couldn't answer them, too busy feeling like your head was being hit repeatedly with a hammer to pick up on what they were saying. The noise around you sounded like they were far away, and anxiety took hold of you as you realised your vision had started to spot black.

And then, as if some miracle had happened, the terrible headache plaguing you dulled, and sound returned to your ears. Your stomach no longer felt like it was doing flip-flops. That's when you noticed a small hand on your back, and when you turned, you came face to face with the pink-haired child you had seen earlier.

"Sleep, mom."

Your brain barely had the chance to question what the kid meant, your eyes closing and your body slumping as you passed out.

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Kaito Saiki, the son of Y/n L/n and Kusuo Saiki. The child of the most powerful esper to exist and the most potent nullifier.

Unlike his father, whose abilities proved to be a challenge to control, Kaito possessed the ability to nullify his own powers if he chose to. That was thanks to his mother, who could shut off her link to the supernatural if she tried hard enough.

The only issue Kaito faced was that he had no way of stopping his psychic capabilities when he wasn't conscious. Not yet, anyway. He was six, after all, and his father had cursed him with supernatural abilities, which wouldn't have been so bad if only his powers weren't 100 times stronger than Kusuo's. That meant that when Kaito was sleeping, he could blow up Japan with a single sigh.

All was well when you were around because you could stop his powers from going haywire when you were within 100 metres. The only issue was you had gone on a weekend away to visit your parents, and because Kaito couldn't miss school days, he had to wait until Tuesday for your return.

Initially, the child psychic and your husband Saiki had reassured you that all would be fine because Kaito honestly did think nothing too drastic would happen in your absence.

He had been wrong. Come the first night without you, he realised he grossly underestimated how much your presence affected his power or lack thereof.

After seeing you off at the airport on a Friday afternoon and walking hand in hand with his father home, his face more stoic than his dad's as if that were humanly possible he watched re-runs of shows he had seen you enjoy in the past. It definitely wasn't because he missed having you around.

He wasn't like his dad, Saiki, who spent the day cleaning, occasionally staring off into the distance when he found something you misplaced before putting it back where it needed to be- definitely not. His old man needed to stop overreacting; he was acting like you had left forever! You would be back in 4 days; it wasn't that big of a deal.

Kaito hadn't even realised how tired he was, dozing off on the couch in the living to the sound of automated laughing tracks wishing it was your laugh mixed with them.

When Kaito awoke, it took him a few seconds to realise he wasn't covered in a blanket. If someone paid attention, they'd see his shoulders slightly droop at discovering you weren't there to tuck him in for the next few nights. Sure, his dad would teleport him into his bed, but you would tell Saiki off for risking Kaito waking up. Then again, you weren't there to do that either.

That's when it hit the young psychic; he wasn't in bed or on the couch sinking into the pillows. No, he was in the middle of the city, and it was broad daylight. The loud thoughts of the whole town flooding into his brain was annoying. Kaito lowered the intensity of his powers so that his telepathy only reached a radius of 10 metres, grateful he was his mother's son and had inherited nullification as an ability.

With the tedious voices of a thousand others no longer invading his skull, he could finally think in peace.

People passed by Kaito, paying little attention to him. He recognised his surroundings; he was in the centre of his town. Familiar shops surrounded him, and Kaito began walking, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts as he navigated back. Was it just him, or did the stores around him look different? And why did the style of the clothes people wore around him look old-fashioned?

Kaito guessed he had teleported in his sleep, but he couldn't, for the life of him, wrap his head around why something felt off. He ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach. Was he ill? No, that wasn't possible. Something as ridiculous as sickness couldn't affect him. None of that mattered; for now, his only focus was walking down the familiar road that led past PK Academy to get to his house.

Letting out a sigh at how bothersome the situation was, Kaito let his feet drag him forward. When little kids around his age ran past him laughing as they played tag on their way to kindergarten, he rolled his eyes.

If he decided to smite them off this Earth, it'd be okay, right? No, he shook his head. You would definitely get angry at him if he did. And he wouldn't want you to be upset at him.

How annoying; the people around him were like rats. He didn't mind them, but they were still nuisances.

All was okay- until it wasn't. Kaito made the mistake of looking up from his shoes to the swarm of people trying to get to school early in the morning when his eyes landed on familiar hair. Squinting his eyes, his feet slowed as he tried to get a better look across the crowd, and then his gaze landed on your face. For the first time in his life, Kaito was shell-shocked.

Granted, his expression stayed the same, but he wondered if he had actually contracted some type of illness because his stomach dropped to his feet.

He didn't like the feeling, and he definitely didn't like how it got increasingly worse when you turned to look at him. If Kaito had the ability to express his emotions better, he was sure he'd be scrunching his nose. He only deadpanned at you, wanting to clench his jaw at how there was no softness behind your eyes when your gaze landed on him.

The adoration your eyes usually held was nowhere to be found; you looked at him as if he was a stranger. That's when it hit him. Kaito had managed to time travel. Your school uniform, smile lines barely visible on your face and your shortened height. All of it made sense to him.

You raised your eyebrow at Kaito before a group of girls clad in the same clothes as you seemed to catch your attention. That's when he saw it. Pink hair, same as his, topped with the exact same hair clips he wore. His father had just walked past him.

Kaito didn't catch a good look, not with Saiki's back facing him. The young psychic hadn't realised he had stopped walking until then. When he went to move forward, continuing on his journey, his new goal being to find a secluded place so he could collect his thoughts and find a way to get back to his current timeline, he stopped dead in his tracks.

Kaito had never been an expressive child, something he was sure most parents would worry about if he was anyone else's kid. He wasn't, though; he was yours, which meant no matter how stoic or ungrateful he came off, regardless of what you did for him, you always welcomed him with open arms and a smile on your face.

The child esper guessed he loved his parents, even if he didn't show it. The warm feeling he would get in his heart was evidence of that- every time he saw you and Saiki. He wasn't sure why, but he would always favour you over his father.

Maybe it was something about how understanding and patient you were with him that tugged at his heartstrings like no other.

So Kaito forgot all about precaution, and his brain blanked when he saw you collapse to the floor, falling to your knees as if you had lost all your strength. Of course, he knew why; you had told him of yours and Saiki's meeting, that his dad's powers took a toll on you the first time you were in his vicinity.

Should he get rid of his dad? Permanently? He was the cause of your pain, after all.

Kaito got rid of the intrusive thought as quickly as it had appeared; if he did kill Saiki, he'd never have been born. And that meant he'd never see you again. There were more pressing issues at hand; he was sure you were on the verge of fainting, no doubt feeling nauseous.

What else could have happened when his father walked past you that morning, not knowing of your presence or the effect he had on you as he passed you by to get to PK Academy? Of all the moments in time Kaito could have travelled to, this had to be by far the worst. Judging by how Saiki didn't spare a glance at you, he had yet to meet you.

Crowds of people swarmed you to make sure you were okay, obstructing Kaito's view of you. He wanted to blast them away with his powers; they weren't helping. Saner heads prevailed.

For the first time in his life, urgency came before all else. If anyone saw him teleport to you, he'd deal with it later; Kaito's main priority was making sure you were okay first. He appeared behind you instantly, ignoring the people around him, only focusing on you.

Kaito closed his eyes, placing the small of his hand on your back as he imagined a void around him, willing it to grow to a metre's radius, covering the two of you. He had successfully blocked out any of his dad's powers, hoping the nullification would at least relieve some of the pain you felt.

When he opened his lids, you turned to look up at him. "Sleep, mom," Was all he said to you, and he watched as you slumped back, his right arm catching you. The only reason his mind control affected you was because he was born from you. When he had grown up, he had questioned you on it before.

You had chalked it up to the fact that since he was your child, there was a bond between you that you shared, so there were no 'broken strings' between the two of you. Kaito was grateful for that fact now as he picked you up in his arms with ease.

He ignored the crowd's shock at his strength and the murmurs of the people surrounding him and you. Turning to face the tall strangers in front of him, using mind control, he willed them to forget what they had seen today before teleporting to his maternal grandparent's house, where he was sure you were still living.

He was grateful the house was empty, guessing your parents had gone off to work already. Kaito placed you on the couch silently before he left, sparing you one last glance as he did.

Good grief.

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This was catastrophic. By catching your attention earlier, Kaito was sure he had just meddled with his parent's first meeting. Had he not been there, you wouldn't have stopped for a few seconds to look at him; you would have headed to school like normal and met Saiki later on.

The whole thing was a domino effect. Kaito knew his fair share when it came to time travel and was also aware that when anyone did jump timelines, the only smart thing to do was to be an unnoticeable bystander. Don't touch anything, don't talk to anyone and try not to get seen.

Something as simple as moving a pencil from its original place to a different location could change how events play out. If Kaito had known he'd travelled to the past in his sleep, he never would have walked the streets without a care in the world.

Kaito had caused a grandfather paradox. A theory that if one travelled back in time and assassinated their grandfather before he had children, they could make their own birth impossible. Kaito had caused a paradox, alright- except it was with his dad minus the killing, too, of course.

The damage was already done, and there was no use pondering over regrets and what-ifs. At this point, Kaito would have travelled back to the future, but he had changed a major event in the timeline- and that would be his parent's love story. That meant if he went back now, there was a possibility that his parents may have never met each other; even worse, he might not exist anymore.

This was why his dad had warned him not to mess with time travel; messing with the timeline had ended in world war 3 for Saiki. Kaito originally wanted to go back a day, but factoring in how he had yet to grasp his powers properly, he might go back in time to when you and Saiki hadn't been born.

He didn't want to risk it, so he decided he would do the next best thing.- get the help of his father, who was still in high school. Saiki had better control over his psychic powers than Kaito did.

With a plan in mind, he got up from the park swing he was sitting on to teleport to his paternal grandparent's house this time. Judging by how the sun was already setting, the school day for his father should already be there.

Kaito sat on the bed, with Saiki perched on his desk chair in front of him.

If Kaito had the ability to laugh, he guessed he would have when he first appeared in front of his father. The older psychic had been shell-shocked, and if it weren't for the fact that Kaito knew he still had contacts in, Kaito would have theorised he had managed to petrify his dad with how he was frozen in place.

"Who the hell are you?" Kaito only raised an eyebrow at his father's colourful words. Would the correct response be to scoff in this situation? Who knew his father lacked brain cells as a teenager? "I'm your son."

Saiki deadpanned at him, his lips parted and his eyes covered by the light reflecting off of his green glasses. "What?"

Kaito sighed- why was the man in front of him so slow? "Can't you tell by reading my mind?" Kaito shot back before realising Saiki probably couldn't. Maybe he should cut the older esper some slack; having a stranger appear out of nowhere only to claim he's your son must come as a shock. "You might want to sit down; this may take a while."

"I'm already sat down."

"It was a figure of speech."

After explaining his life story to Saiki, from how he saw his mother on the street to how the original timeline was supposed to go and how Kaito had messed things up by distracting you, he snapped his eyes back to look at his dad, who looked like he had just gone through the five stages of grief in one sitting.

"I need your help; I need you to time travel back a day and take me with you so I can make sure things happen the way they should." Kaito was sure he hadn't inherited your patience, but boy, did he wish he had because Saiki was starting to annoy him with how slow he was in catching on.

"There's no way you're my son." Was he allowed to smack his dad into next week? It'd be fine since you weren't there to scold Kaito. The young psychic purged the idea from his brain, he needed his dad's help after all, and the man was no use to him if he was unconscious- or dead. "That's it. I'm going to Uncle Kusuke for help."

Kaito got up from his seat on Saiki's bed, acting as if he was ready to leave. Of course, he wouldn't go, but pretending like he would to get his way wouldn't hurt anyone, would it? If Kaito and Saiki had anything in common, it was the fact that they shared a mutual dislike for Kusuke Saiki. "Wait. I can't have my brother find out about this."

The corners of Kaito's mouth twitched ever so slightly; he had hit the nail on the coffin. Saiki had no choice but to help.

The older psychic lowered his face, switching his gaze from the ceiling back to Kaito. The child esper could tell that Saiki still doubted he was his son.

"Why can't I read your thoughts? We're both psychics aren't we?" Kaito tilted his head to the side as if the answer was obvious. "What a pain. It's because I can nullify any of your abilities, and if I turn it off, you'll learn too much about the future. That might change my current timeline; I can't risk that."

Saiki exhaled through his nose, leaning forward in his chair, "You're my son, alright- you even have the same catchphrases as me." Silence followed as the two stared each other down. Kaito refused to yield, and a slight sense of pride filled his small body when Saiki broke eye contact first by closing his eyes.

"Fine. What do you need help with?" Kaito had been triumphant. Finally, he could go back home. Was what he felt not called satisfaction? He felt like pumping his fists until he realised how silly it would be to do so. Kaito faced Saiki, opening his mouth to speak only for him to blink and deadpan.

Kaito had time jumped again. How? He had no idea. He wasn't even sleeping this time! He concluded that being so far away from his mother must be the reason why this was happening to him. How was he supposed to return to the correct timeline if his powers were going haywire?

One thing Kaito did know for sure was that he was no longer in his future dad's bedroom but rather in a field with only crops surrounding him. Letting his eyes sweep the vast green around him, he sighed yet again. There was nothing but plants for miles, as far as his eyes could see. Was this frustration he felt? He couldn't tell.

The most important thing to do was find out what time period he was in. That was what Kaito planned to do, but he didn't get a chance to follow through on it. Why? The answer was simple- bugs.

When Kaito felt something move on the skin of his calf, under his pants, all the baby hairs on his body stood up. For a split second, Kaito was sure his soul had left his body- halfway on its journey to the heavens. He was familiar with this feeling, having experienced it countless times when he found cockroaches around the house.

Kaito's body reacted before his mind did in his sheer state of panic. He kicked his leg out to get the creepy crawly off of him before teleporting far away.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

When Kaito's vision adjusted to his surroundings after he had teleported yet again, he realised he was standing between two people. A sense of dread filled the young psychic- surely the universe didn't hate him that much. He slowly gazed up and found two familiar faces staring down at him. The universe did- it hated Kaito Saiki.

Kaito's eyes blanked, devoid of light. "Eh?"

Gazing intently at him was none other than his mother and father, except they were younger. "You're seeing this too, right?" You were the first to pipe up, not breaking eye contact with Kaito as you watched him curiously. "Kusuo, you didn't tell me you had a little brothe-" Saiki cut you off before you could finish. "I don't."

Kaito had no idea how to talk to you. He gulped as you watched him curiously. He proceeded to do something he only ever did when he was extremely nervous (normally, it only happened when he was getting scolded by you. Kaito's mouth moved before his brain could catch up.

The only thing he could do was quote tik tok references you loved to say. "Baby, I'm not even here. I'm a hallucination. Move on- move on." Your jaw dropped at the boy in front of you, recognising exactly what video the small child was talking about. Your eyes lit up at him in what Kaito assumed to be utter awe. It took everything in him not to hug your leg, knowing all too well he wouldn't be met with the softness that the you from the future would provide.

Your eyes widened as if something had clicked, and realisation dawned on you. Kaito felt it too- the rush in his ears he could faintly hear every time his mother wasn't around, calmed. The weight of his powers lifted slightly, and he inhaled. "Hi." Kaito only looked to you, feeling small and unsure of himself for the first time in a long while.

"No way." You sounded breathless, for good reason. You slowly met Kusuo's gaze at the same time he did yours. Kaito looked around to observe where he was and surmised he had teleported to Saiki's room. "It can't be."

If the two of you were together, then that meant the farm Kaito came from was in a time before he had meddled with yours and Saiki's first meeting. Thank god. If there was any out there.

"What's your name, little guy?" You looked down at Kaito once again, and he craned his neck to meet your gaze. His eyes softened at the sight of you, something both you and Saiki picked up on. "It's Kaito... Saiki." Your lips parted before they stretched into a smile. Saiki's only response was to deadpan- as if his soul was moments away from leaving his body.

"I always wanted to name my kid 'Kaito'. See, told you I was right, Kusuo." You whipped your head to face Saiki, excitement bubbling up on your features. The older esper only rolled his eyes at your antics, opting to look at Kaito instead. "Why are you here?"

Kaito opened his mouth to speak, only to feel an itch in his nose. His face scrunched as he pulled his hand up reflectively, sneezing into it.

Bringing his hand down slowly, the small psychic blinked. He was smack bang in the middle of town centre yet again.

Could he have? Had Kaito actually been that lucky- as to travel back in time to before he had messed up his parent's first meeting? There was only one way to find out.

So Kaito walked passed the crowds of people, trying to keep his pace steady as he made his way towards PK Academy yet again. He stopped just before he suspected he'd see you and hid behind a wall, barely visible.

That's when Kaito spotted the version of you from high school, and he felt himself physically relax, like a burden was lifted off his shoulders. Had the situation stressed him out that much? Probably.

Kaito watched intently as you gazed up from your phone at the group of girls walking past you, clad in the same school uniform. Kaito let out a sigh of relief when you followed them like the universe had planned for you to do so. Kaito stuck around for when his father appeared, absentmindedly walking to PK Academy with a stoic expression not long after you.

Finally, everything had been set right. Now, Kaito had to find a way back to his current timeline.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

After a few tries and focusing solely on not interacting with any human Kaito came across to stop a butterfly effect from happening, he finally made his way back home.

Kaito appeared in the living room, and before his eyes could even adjust to his surroundings, he was engulfed in a hug, "Oomph!" The second he realised it was your arms around him, he visibly relaxed. Breathing you in, he melted into the hug as he buried his nose into your shoulder. He was finally home!

"Where did you go, Kaito?!" The worry in your voice pulled on his heartstrings. He felt a hand run through his soft pink hair, and guessed that must have been his dad.

'I time travelled in my sleep.' Kaito telepathically told you and Saiki, his face still covered by your shoulder. He felt almost ashamed to admit it, as if he had done something wrong. He decided then that he needed to get his powers under control as soon as possible.

"I was worried sick- you disappeared for hours!" You let go of him in a hurry, your hands sliding down his arms as you looked him over before checking his forehead for a fever. "Are you hurt?"

Kaito only shook his head, staying quiet. It felt like his heart was going to burst open, and he had no idea what to do about it. The young esper's attention shifted when he spotted the 2 suitcases behind you. Had you... not left to go visit your parents yet? Had he travelled back to before you went to the airport?

"Don't go." That was all Kaito could say. He looked up at you in time to see your eyes soften. Despite his stoic expression and his empty eyes, you could read him like an open book. He didn't have to say much; you understood straight away. If his powers went haywire when you weren't here, there was no saying what would happen.

"Okay, I'll stay."

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

bonus:

After putting Kaito to bed and telling your parents about the change of plans, you walked down the stairs wordlessly. What a long day.

When Kaito didn't come down even after you called for him a few hours ago, you immediately sensed something was wrong. Leaving your suitcases in the living room near the couch, you called your husband over to help you look for him.

Half the day went by with you looking for your son, Kaito. Saiki teleported everywhere, used his telepathy, and even then- he couldn't find your child. Then, like magic, Kaito appeared in the living room. You had heard a brief version of what had happened from Kaito himself before you tucked him in.

"Stressed?" Saiki asked from the kitchen, handing you a warm mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows. You smiled at him, your heart swelling at the simple act of him making you something. "Not anymore." You smiled over the rim of the mug before taking a sip.

You watched quietly as Saiki silently did the dishes. This was it, everything you had ever wanted in life. "What would you do if you never met me?" You asked out of curiosity, the question spurred on by what Kaito had told you.

Saiki paused, placing the last dish onto the drying rack and turning the tap off before he turned to you. "I'd be single and by myself." You kept eye contact, studying your husband to your heart's content. "Until I find you." Your lips stretched into a quiet smile again as you stepped forward.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me, Kusuo." You wrapped your arms around his neck as you pulled him close. Saiki's hands found purchase on your hips. You tip-toed as you placed a kiss on his lips, your smile still present.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

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mulders-too-large-shirt · 1 month

Text

s3 episode 23 thoughts

the previous episode was SO good. but, it is true, i was distracted by the dog. it was SUCH!! a perfect episode. EXCEPT for that one thing. so i hope that today, i can face this episode with a clear head, free of judgement based on the fate of little dogs.

well, boy, i did face this episode with a clear mind, and wow. wowza. another AMAZING ep... and i will keep the angst from this episode in my heart forever and bottle it and take a nice long swig when i need my msr feels, which is basically always. wow. an exclamation point doesn't even feel APPROPRIATE, it just needs to hang in the air for a bit. (wiping tears away) wow....

let us go back to yesterday's notes, which shall commence below:

reading the episode description... so this one features murders linked to a device that alters television signals… huh. man, too many people i know don’t even have cable anymore. this simply would not work in the modern era. imagine if hulu or tubi or something made you kill people though lmao that would be silly to imagine.

we open with a guy digging a hole in the woods. always a promising start. seems he’s in an orchard of some sort? and the music is very very creepy.

okay, so just as you suspect, this dude is burying a dead guy. sometimes your gut instinct is correct and tropes are not meant to be subverted. but the dude who is burying him says “your killing days are OVER” so is this actually a justice arc??? hmm. it is not clear. man, it would be hard to dig a hole like that.

shovel murder man is at home washing the blood off. but then someone else approaches him and he kills THAT GUY TOO WITH THE SHOVEL?? huh? what is going on.

police at da guy’s house. everyone has the same face as the dude he just killed??? so they tase him. and then the faces go back to their REAL faces. now what is going on here!!!!!!!!!!

as the real faces return, the man realizes he killed someone named sarah!!! and he seems sooo upset by the fact that he killed sarah!!!! poor sarah :(

so does the tv make you see other people’s faces on the bodies of random people….? omg that’s insidious...

we now shift to a different scene, one where mulder is sitting in his car at 2 am. doing what???? waiting for some guy!!! he was waiting TWO HOURS for this guy!!! who is this guy...? it's giving blind date/drug deal.

the man who enters his car gives him a newspaper clipping about the murders we just saw. and mulder came here after getting AN ANONYMOUS EMAIL in the middle of the night??? this is crazy because literally so many people want him dead and this would have been a very easy way to accomplish that goal. wow. seriously, no self-preservation instincts on this guy.

mystery man says he has no obligation to explain what is going on, but if mulder walks away from it, more people will die. so no pressure!! xx

cutscene to a hospital, where mulder is watching our murderer through glass, while scully comes in saying that she is sorry she is late, but “the beltway was a parking lot”. beltway refers to interstate 495! thank you wikipedia i love your services!

murderer is named joseph. and he claims to have been killing the same guy over and over again, and that he wouldn’t die. which seems pretty awful.

OH! and the week before, in the same town, a babysitter attacked the kids she was watching because she thought they were WOLVES??? omg that is horrific??

they’re talking to the physician, dr. stroman, who says perhaps this was provoked by amphetamine abuse. then joseph starts SCREAMING. he sees a guy on the TV- miriskovic- sorry y’all idk my post-soviet history 💔 (update: i googled it, i don't even think that guy was real because all the results are links to wikis on this specific episode... reveals how little i truly know)

anyway, seeing that guy's face on the TV seems to have triggered the screaming situation. does he have trauma from the country he used to live in and seeing references to it makes these things happen…? that would be a wild episode. put me in the writer's room and let me cook.

scully quickly picks up on the fact that this case is Weird, and mulder admits it came from some random guy, which makes her suspicious. but they go to the crime scene, and, like always, he lifts the crime scene tape up over her head, and it’s very charming despite the lack of sensibility in going down this whole rabbit hole.

the minute they get in, they hear screaming and a gunshot! but it’s just some kids watching TV??? eating popcorn in a crime scene??? LMAO WHAT?

mulder kicks them out and scruffs one of the boy’s heads... ohhhh he needs to be a father so bad huh... like i have been saying this since s1 he just has a Need to tease and spoil children. well, we can unpack that another time. there's crime afoot.

so he watches the tv and it starts to go all static-y because a guy outside is fixing the wires. scully finds a TON of tapes and they’re just shelves and shelves of cable TV shows!!!

“there must be hundreds of videos here”, she says, to which he asks “anything good?” <- idk why this made me giggle. it sounded like he was gonna put one in and chill for a bit lmao

scully starts to wonder if seeing the cable news, like joseph had recorded, was what triggered his episode back at the hospital. ooooh! a theory!!!

cut to mulder watching a tape in the bed of his motel, making an absolute pile of sunflower seeds- this dude is gonna attract mice or something someday omfg- and also he has a cola which is peak american culture. LMAOOOO he has a HUGE pile of tapes on the floor i’m crying... my type A self could NOT deal with him!

he says he watched 36 hours of bernard shaw and bobbi batista and is now also ready to kill someone as scully welcomes him into her room, which also has cola but is much more nicely organized! she found something weird on the tapes from late april, each a night when he committed a murder

AND WHY DID MULDER GET ALL COZIED UP ON HER COUCH?????? hooooooly fuck i have never seen such a baby girl of a man

OMFG??? all the reports from the murder nights feature that miriskovic guy!!!

so did seeing violence make him violent? mulder says no, and that theory assumes that “americans are just empty vessels, ready to be filled with any idea or image that’s fed to them like a bunch of pavlov dogs, and go out and act on it” oh if only this man could see the news lately……… insert ben affleck smoking a cigarette image here to describe the things we see in our current age. mulder you would not believe.

he’s really bashing her theory, but she’s saying maybe he was high and seeing these things sent him on a spiral- makes sense to me

he is leaving to go get some sleep (after admitting he can’t explain what is going on!!! which always endears me) but scully says she is going to watch the rest of the tapes… a herculean task for our girl

middle of the night and it’s still tape time for scully, but she hears the phone ringing. she hears mulder having a conversation. and he says “no, she doesn’t” which is weird… that is suspicious… what doesn't she...

scully chews her ice which is so funny because me too sometimes. she has chewed all of her ice and must fetch more. and get a cola ofc!!! nothing more american than a cold soda iktr!

but she sees mulder in his car??? lighting up with cig man???? HUH??? and handing over a tape? omfg this is crazy. i assume she is hallucinating though, because no way….

cutscene to a lady named helene watching “the price is nice” (lmaooo) and washing some dishes. but the soap in the dishes starts to look funny- and everything is glitching around her!!! she sees a man outside in a hammock… kissing a woman!!! and oh, she is furious!! she gets her SHOTGUN?? this has escalated very fast. and we hear some shooting!!!

scully is still very visibly disturbed. mulder is reporting the murder, but she seems like a shell of herself. she checks the ash tray in the car, and there is no ash… she notices the car has been moved and he says he got a paper…. why do you ask…. “nothing. it’s nothing” OHHH THIS IS JUICY

so the crime scene has a very bloody hammock. and a dead man, who the wife claims he saw in the hammock with a blonde. but the only other creature at the scene was a dog!!!

OH!!! the hammock man wasn’t even helene's HUSBAND??? this really is LAYERED!! she killed the NEIGHBOR thinking it was her husband, who wasn’t even in town!!!!!! how do you mess this up so badly?

despite the fact that scully is clearly suspicious of mulder, she is sharing the umbrella with him in their usual fashion, and the sense of tension this produces is delicious

they go to investigate the crime scene and mulder finds some sort of bike and immediately climbs upon it while proclaiming that television does NOT cause violence (LMAOOO HE IS SO WEIRD i need him.)

they find a bunch more tapes and AGAIN the same guy is messing with the cables outside while they're investigating!!!! mulder is in chase mode!!!! but he cannot chase this dude in the van!!! no man, even a track star such as him, can outrun a van carrying secrets!

scully is trying to fast forward the TV and she looks out to see mulder climbing the pole…. average day for a man like him. he finds a weird cable scrambler in there. she wants to send it to the crime lab, but he says he’ll do the analysis, and she should go interview helene the murderer. OH... she is so suspicious, she just wants to go home…. scully :((( mulder is deeply confused as to why she is being so weird

so he takes the thingy to the lone gunmen, who say it looks like it’s used for blocking premium cable channels, which i didn’t even know was a thing, you learn so much with this show. but it doesn’t block anything!!! HOWEVER, if you compare a tv with the machine and one without it, the one with the machine is slightly different. hmm...

“you know how television works?” “yeah, you click it on, you have a picture” <- the man who said that line went to oxford btw

it seems that this cable blocker thingy is adding some sort of frequency, but they can’t tell what… hmm.

mulder on the road. scully calls and only asks “where are you” in this very flat and creepy tone and OH i’m scared!!!!

he tries to explain that there is some sort of signal being introduced to the tv- he even says she might be right about the tv inducing violence theory! but she isn’t answering… she hears a clicking, like they're being listened to, and she says he never went to the detective…. let’s wait and talk on a landline, he says.

despite being in his car many miles away, he can tell that there is something very wrong with scully. he says don’t go anywhere, he’ll be right there, and redials after she hangs up. it's very much echoing when she said something similar to him in his crazed gargoyle quest.

but she is so scared, she rips the phone out of the wall and takes it apart!!!! and then the lamp too, and the table. she is checking everything for any sort of bugs!

holy hell, we have never seen her like this before... but i’m actually gagged because she is usually relatively stoic and seeing her paranoid is so different, but it also feels very natural??? she is acting her ass off here as she rips up everything in this motel room. big shoutout to GA, i love your work.

and the static that set in helene's vision earlier is setting in hers now!!! she hears a car pull up and drops to the floor…. she hears a man say “she’s in here” and a pounding on the door.

OMFG someone tries to open the door and she FIRES 4 SHOTS RIGHT AWAY??? but it’s mulder!!!!

(author's note: i was thinking after i finished the episode, and we know that she is a good shot- remember how she hit just the right angle to knock mulder out but not kill him at the end of s2? so she is either SO out of it that she cannot even aim straight, or there is a tiny tiny tiny part of her that still thinks that mulder isn't worth killing. please mull over which option brings you greater angst)

he’s coming in with his gun and his hair is blowing in the wind and he can’t FIND HER!!!!! it was really very dramatic. hair blowing in the wind has this effect.

cutscene to scully’s mom’s house, and we see a picture of young scully on the table... AWW stop she’s so cuuuute and one of missy as well 😭😭😭

OH! it’s mulder on the phone calling mrs. scully in the middle of the night!!! NOOOO he has to tell her that he doesn’t know where she is :( NOOOO poor mrs. scully has gone through too much. he feels SO bad breaking this news, that he even apologizes for hanging up right away, something he never ever does. he must be in deeeep distress to do such a thing.

and why does he hang up?? because SKINNER IS HERE!!! he’s leading a manhunt for scully, and mulder is saying she shouldn’t be hunted like a convict… but skinner says dude SHE FIRED FOUR ROUNDS AT YOU AND SOME RANDOM GUY last night!!!!

despite this, mulder insists that he can get her to listen to him if they just keep her safe; she’s suffering from some sort of paranoid psychosis. skinner is being quite patient as he tries to explain that the video tapes made her do it. skinner says well... you better find her before these guys do.

GASP!!! he’s putting up the x on his window! and doing that thing where he bounces his basketball because he cannot relax!!! stop i'm emotional!!!!!

the lone gunmen call to say they found something on the tape…. and it induces electrical activity…. MIND CONTROL???

but why wasn’t he effected?

! MULDER LORE REVEAL ! HE’S RED-GREEN COLORBLIND???? THIS IS AN INSANE LORE DROP TO GIVE NEARLY 4 SEASONS IN??????

wait, is this just for plot purposes, or is DD actually colorblind and they decided to roll with it? because now i’m gonna be looking at all the red-ish things we see on screen (like his tie he is grabbing to emphasize his point) and wonder, can he see that? how does this impact his tie selection process....

okay that really threw me off guard. man, i was getting to think we'd never get another lore reveal, which is a shame because i quite like formatting those facts in that way. good to know we could get more at anytime!

he gets a phone call from maryland state police. the lone gunmen ask if she’s okay and he says no, he has to go and ID the body. WHAT!!!! WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!! he is trying to keep composed. holy fuck………..

(heavy breathing as i grab your shoulder and squeeze) hey man. hey. he was trying so hard to be strong.

so he pulls up to the morgue and stops before he gets out of the car, and holds his head above the wheel STOP I’LL CRY???? i’ll cry… what are they putting him through??? losing her again……..

(i mean i have SEEN gifs of scully in seasons past this one, so i know she's gonna pull through, but HE doesn't know that, and must be reliving the worst days of his life AGAIN, and aughhhhh!)

but the mystery guy from the start of the episode that give him the info on the muders pulls up and says get in right now!!!!!! mulder is furious, he says he’s busy. in a shocking display of insensitivity, mystery man says he does not give a fuck. mulder is yelling that this is all his fault. mystery man says “they” are destroying the evidence, and they’ll finish it by tomorrow if he keeps searching for her, but he kicks the door shut and ignores him.

(omg…. he loves her enough to break him out of his bloodhound mode… the dogged ahab-like quest for answers and revenge… i’m getting flashbacks to his conversation with missy in one breath…….. realizing he needs to put the ones he loves before his need for revenge sometimes..... wow)

so he walks into the morgue, and the dude in there says they found a body nude and shot in the forehead.

he closes his eyes to try and brace himself before taking a peek, to prepare to see her lifeless, probably reliving those many hours by her bedside when she was in the hospital, trying to imagine her shot in the forehead, the scully he knows and loves with her dry humor and her teasing smile and caffeine dependency, the her that is so full of life, lifeless…

but it isn’t her. PHEW!

despite this being good news that he has to share- she's not dead! her mother isn’t answering her phone…. so he goes to her house. and i'm thinking, oh my gosh, did she do something rash in her grief?

but mrs. scully answers the door and claims dana isn’t here. he bursts in and says he needs to see her right now. omg, he saw right through her lies.

(also, it always feels weird to refer to her as dana, but moving on)

NO!!!! she has him at gunpoint and says he’s here to kill him!!! poor guy looks so flabbergasted… and her mom is trying to get her to please put down the gun, and he’s trying to explain what is going on!!! he is so singularly locked into her….

“he’s lied to me from the beginning. he’s never trusted me” “scully, you are the only one i trust” AUGHHHHH (rips my clothes off of my body in biblical levels of grief)

“you’re one of the people who abducted me” AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (rips off not only my clothing but also my hair as i experience emotions that rival what job from the bible went through)

she’s CRYING, and saying he killed her sister while her mom gets between him and the gun… and she’s saying she knows she’s safe here, that’s why she came here, and to put the gun down. and she falls into her mother’s arms sobbing.

WHAAAAAAAAT. and he had to watch all that… oh my scully oh my goodness my poor scully…

timeskip a little bit. he shows up to the hospital where scully is with her mother, and mockingly puts his hands up in surrender, because he is so STUPID and he always has to make a joke, and i love him so terribly, so so so terribly, because he loves HER.

she's laying in the bed, and he shuts off the tv and asks how she’s feeling. she says she is ASHAMED- as if being a victim of mind control was a personal failing. scully, i want to yell, you have NO REASON to be ashamed, let me take all the shame from you and carry it elsewhere. she says it was like the world was turned upside down.

and he makes ANOTHER stupid joke about the world being out to get him, and now she knows how he feels-

before leaning in and explaining how joseph, the first murderer on this case, became convinced he was killing the bosnian war criminal who people called “the modern hitler”, which was especially important to him because both of his parents survived the holocaust. hence his line about the killing days being over!!!

and helene was scared her husband would cheat on her. so somehow the TV signal turned their worst fears into a living nightmare.

OHHHH HER WORST NIGHTMARE IS HIM BETRAYING HER. HIM BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR HER GOING MISSING AND LOSING HER AUTONOMY AND MEMORIES... wails into my shirt.

(this reminds me of that episode in s2- irresistible- when we learn her biggest fear is that humans are capable of terrible horrific things and grasping to trust despite that knowledge. we’re seeing that again right here. how uncertainty seeps in)

THEY CALL HIM THE CANCER MAN!!! wow very official canon recognition of the name (yeah it’s happened before but it happened again so that is cool) anyway she says she saw him giving cancer man the tapes and reporting.

he says that maybe cancer man was behind this, but then he whispers “why don’t you try and get some rest?” and there is something in me that melts so entirely as he leaves her to sleep.

(perhaps it is the fact that hurt/comfort and whump are my favorite tropes. because is there anything more intimate than letting someone see you at your most vulnerable, and them choosing to love you at it? is there any feeling more cutting than seeing your loved one suffer and knowing you’d stop the world for an instant of their relief? the terrible desperation of both parties, the wordless connection upon recovery, someone being the last thing you see before everything fades to black and then the first person you see when you return... yeah. it’s cathartic. but also it makes me want to yell and cry. pls give me all the hurt/comfort content)

so the doctor found high serotonin levels in her that maybe can be associated with mania, but now they’re back to normal. he asks if someone in her situation would be diagnosed with amphetamine abuse, and she says no. then he quickly calls the hospital where joseph is staying… what is he cooking in there…

he wants to talk to joseph's doctor, dr. stroman, who left behind only a number from the motel…. and he had JUST checked out…. so he’s going through his stuff. and asking about his calls. and he DOES find a cigarette in his room but a lot of people smoke so… try not to jump to conclusions juni… but the cigarettes mean one thing in this show!!! was this innocent-looking doctor behind such a cruel experiment?!

he calls and has the last number the doctor called get checked from the folks at the lab… so he goes to visit the place of residence and creepy music is playing. the dude from the cable company we saw before rolls up!!! he walks right inside the house, so mulder peeks inside. it seems the people in the house set up a trap of some sort, as they are talking about “him” showing up at 7.

he bursts in after hearing gunshots and both of the men in there are dead!!! shot in the head!!!!

who is there... but X???? X says he HAD to kill those men- he just hoped mulder would get them first. and oh, mulder is YELLING AT X!!! he is letting him HAVE IT!!! he says he is a coward, he was too scared to unveil the situation with the mind control TV murders himself….. he says X NEVER risks his own life, but he sure does make him risk mulder and scully’s.

OH! he is holding X at gunpoint. all X is saying is that he failed, and that mulder needs him. so he walks out, confident he won't pull the trigger. and he doesn't.

WHAT! i need to kind of just let that sit for a second. i need to figure out this X fellow, but i get the sense i never will…. he failed… because he chose to try and save scully…….

cutscene to skinner’s office, where mulder is giving him a report. and scully walks in and says that dr. stroman DIED IN 1978!!! when skinner asks about the killer, mulder jumps in and says he remains unknown… oh, skinner is def gonna pick up on that….

so now we see X in a random back alley. getting into a car…. WITH CANCER MAN?????? X REPORTS TO CANCER MAN??? he asks if he has completed his work, and X reports that he has cleaned out all the personnel, everything is removed, but mulder still has a device. and mulder’s source has been eliminated. but the source’s source remains unknown. oh, he’s def lying through his teeth.

OOOOOOH this episode was SO good.

oh man, my brain is racing in a bunch of different directions. scully breaking down and sobbing into her mother’s arms…. scully convinced that mulder is a traitor, that he did those terrible things to her…. mulder so scared that she was gone, bouncing his basketball, getting a call from the police department that he had to go identify her… choosing her, even in what he thought was death, over following the Truth… the sick and twisted relationship he has with X, and X with Cancer Man, and Cancer Man with the world… it’s making me think of how mulder broke into his house that one time, was going to kill him over what he did to scully, and cancer man had the nerve to say he liked mulder… OOOH my brain is just racing racing racing.

poor scully… how scared she was, how horrified afterward…

other things that are on my mind, in no particular order: the bond between scully and her mother; mulder being all babygirl on that couch; mulder hopping on that bicycle and picking up some random doll from the murder victim's house; how haunting scully's voice was when she asked him over the phone where he was; their cola drinking; mrs. scully trusting mulder no matter what; how he tried to cover the grief in his voice when he told the lone gunmen he had to go identify her body; how he kicked the door shut of the mystery man, damning the investigation to pay his respects; how his head hovered above the wheel of the car before he got out to do that; how X uses and uses him to no clear end, and what is HE doing reporting to cig man, and what was that random doctor doing conducted fucked up experiments on random people; and scully's miraculously bad aim; mulder's conviction he could talk sense into her (spoiler: he could not); her shame at being convinced he had been the one who abducted her; how terrifying that must have been; and his stupid jokes when he walked into her hospital room, with the sincerity he tries so hard to outrun and outfox breaking through in his whispered why don't you get some rest?

so needless to say, i see why this one is a fan-favorite. this is certainly one i will be revisiting in the future when i need something strong. i have a million things to think over that will stick with me Forever, and i am in no rush to move on from this. in fact, i took these notes yesterday, but in the process of editing them tonight, i have decided i am not ready for the season finale and will have to save it for tomorrow because i'm still feeling So Many Things. so stay tuned to see how that goes, because whew!

#man i did all the typing of the notes yesterday but editing them took another hour today because RAHHHHH there was so much here to unpack #and i am going to KEEP unpacking it for a while #someone please give that man a child it is becoming increasingly evident he loves being around kids #let's get him to talk about his feelings first and then he can have a baby okay? one thing at a time #OHHH WHAT is this X fellow UP TO?!?!? AUGHHH i need to know #scully. my poor poor poor sweet scully. you deserve no pain and yet such pain has been inflicted upon you.#and her poor mother :( she is just the sweetest :( the pictures of dana and missy on her bedside table...#she is so loved :( and she loves mulder too which is so important :(#WAHHHH <- more crying!!!#so good. but in case you were wondering this still didn't bring actual tears to my eyes.#i guess that is just for poor little doggies getting eaten by beasts...#juni's x files liveblog #the x files #txf

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ofstarsandvibranium · 1 year

Text

My Sweetheart: Part 2

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Summary: You purchase a vintage sweetheart bracelet from an antique store and with it, comes the spirit of the woman who owned it. Through her, you go on an interesting journey to find out what happened to her old lover.

Part 1

It's been two days since you've basically taken a ghost back home with you. Said ghost named Dot who was attached to the sweetheart bracelet you bought. In the few days since discovering her, you've discovered that she can be pretty powerful. She'll open doors, knock things over, stuff to grab your attention. While she does have a lot of energy, communicating with you can take a lot out of her sometimes. Now it's day three and you're at your computer with a pen and paper beside you to see if she can give you the name of this Jamie person.

You watch as the pen moves a bit but doesn't lift. You're sure she's trying her best, but it kind of frustrates you. You want to help Dot so she can move on and so that you can get back to living your regular life, completely alone without your newfound ghost roommate.

Ways to talk to ghosts

You type the words into google and click on the first link you see: ouija board, a spiritual medium, pendulums, rods, voice recorder, or a spirit box.

Out of all the options, you felt like the ouija board would be the best bet to communicate with Dot. So later that day you go to your local Target and purchase a ouija board, because, yes, they do sell those there. The board being considered as a game.

Later that night, after you've had dinner, you sit in your living room. You have the ouiji board set on your coffee table. The lights are off in the room except for a few candles you lit. You place the sweetheart bracelet beside the board, hoping it'll bring as much of Dot's energy as possible. Beside that, is a pad and paper for you to jot notes

You take the planchette, sliding it over to HELLO.

You take a deep breath, "Dot, are you here?"

With your fingers lightly touching the planchette, they slide towards YES on their own.

"Alright. What is your full name?"

You watch at the device slides over each letter to spell out D-O-L-O-R-E-S-M-I-L-L-A-R-D.

"Dolores Millard. Okay. Nice to meet you, Dolores. But I'm assuming you prefer Dot?"

YES, she says as it slides to the upper left of the board.

"Alright, Dot. Who is this Jamie you want me to look for him? Why do you want me to look for him?"

J-A-M-E-S-B-A-R-N-E-S

"James Barnes? Uuuhh, is there anything else you can give me? Does he have a middle name? It'll make things easier to looking him up."

B-U-C-H-A-N-A-N.

"James Buchanan Barnes. Alright. Give me a second," you pull out your phone and type in James Buchanan Barnes as well as 1940s.

You went through a list of men, Dot either telling you YES or NO. Then it hit you, "Wait. Hold on."

You type in BUCKY BARNES to google and tap on a picture captured of him and Sam Wilson, "Is this your Jamie? Is Bucky Barnes your Jamie?"

YES.

"...well shit!"

_______________________________

Bucky didn't expect things to go this way. He didn't think he'd find himself working beside Captain America again. However, he did find it therapeutic in a way. Sure, he still went to therapy, just not with Dr. Raynor anymore, but this was a different kind of therapeutic. This was him doing good, to make up for all the bad he's done as the Winter Soldier.

The newly renovated Avengers Compound in upstate New York was where Bucky stayed a majority of his time. He still had his place in Brooklyn when he needed to get away from Sam and the newbies, but, for the most part, this was where he can be found.

"Uh, hey, Mister Barnes?"

Bucky looks away from the tv to see Kamala looking at him confused, "What is it, kid?" He asks the young Avenger.

"So there's this lady in the main lobby asking for you. She said it's important?"

"Define important."

Kamala shrugs, "I don't know. Something about a bracelet and a lady named Dot."

Bucky's brows raise in interest, "Dot?"

"FRIDAY?"

"Yes, Bucky?"

"Bring up the CCTV footage of the lobby?"

"Got it," a holoscreen appears and you're seen sitting in a waiting area. Your leg is bouncing, your fingers are tapping on your lap.

"Is she someone you know?" Kamala asks.

Bucky shakes his head, "Nope, but she's mentioned someone that from my past. So I guess I'm gonna talk to her."

Kamala excitedly asks, "Need backup?!"

He chuckles at her eagerness. Even after working with Carol and Monica, Kamala is always wanting to jump in to help, "I think I'll be okay. You can watch the live footage if you want, just in case."

"OKAY!" Kamala plops herself onto the couch where Bucky previously sat and watched the holoscreen eagerly.

It takes a few minutes for Bucky to get to the lobby. The new Avengers Compound is much bigger now after Thanos destroyed the first one.

His brows furrow as he thinks about Dot. It's been literal decades since he's seen her. He knows she's long passed away after looking her and several other of his loved ones up on the internet. She ended up marrying another guy, had a few kids, and a few grandkids. She died about a decade ago.

When Bucky entered the lobby, you spotted him immediately. One of the security guards rushed to stop you, but Bucky held his hand up, "It's okay."

He then looks at you, "Do I know you?"

You shake your head, "No, sorry, um...can we go somewhere private?"

It's Bucky's turn to shake his head, "Sorry. Since I don't necessarily if you're a threat or not, this is the best we can do."

"Alright," you sigh and pull up your sleeve to reveal a bracelet, "Does this look familiar to you?"

Bucky looks down at your wrist and gestures, "May I?" You slip it off and place it into his metal hand. He looks at it and suddenly remembers, "Dot. I gave this to her before I was shipped out for the war."

"Right. Okay, so, um...do you believe in ghosts, Mr. Barnes?"

He snorts, "Call me Bucky, and, I mean, I've fought aliens, super soldiers, died and came back a few times now, so, sure, I guess ghosts are real. Why?"

"Soooo it seems that Dot's spirit is still connected to this...realm...? Anyway, she's attached to this bracelet and her spirit asked me to find you. I think, maybe, for some closure?"

"Is Dot here now?" Bucky asks, a bit, weirded out by this whole thing.

You shrug, "I don't know. I can't see her."

"Then how'd you communicate with her?"

"She wrote on my steamed up mirror the first time and then it's been primarily through ouija board."

"Those things actually work?"

"Seems so. Anyway, I'd really appreciate it if you helped me give her spirit closure so I can start living a normal life again, sans my new ghost roommate."

Bucky snorts. You're very interesting. It seems you're also very determined and a little desperate to solve this Dot situation out. Bucky's not busy. Sam's away on his own mission, so that leaves Bucky to some free time.

"Yeah. Sure, I guess I'll help."

"Thank you!" you fist bump the air, "Should we start now?"

"What exactly should we do first?"

You slip off your tote bag that you've been carrying and pull out the ouija board you've been using, "We can make contact with Dot?"

"You're...efficient," you shrug and Bucky chuckles, "Yeah. Sure. Okay. Um, we need to get you clearance first so, uh, come with me." You follow him to the desk and watch as he discusses your clearance badge to one of the security. You never thought buying a pretty vintage bracelet from an antique store would lead you to meeting an Avenger.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky imagine #f!reader #female!reader

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cr4yolaas · 1 year

Text

— forget me not . kaeya x reader

synopsis . you loved him, and you thought he loved you too. you had to pay for your ignorance. [concept from @/o1kawasgirlfriends on tiktok]

warnings . angst !! i use a lot of rhetorical device stuff idk. arguments (kaeya and reader), one-sided relationship, kaeya is manipulative, little bit of gore-type descriptions towards the end, barely proofread, idk if i characterized anyone properly lol

notes . umm i was going thru my google drive for school thingies and ended up finding this from so long ago n i was wondering why it sounded so unfamiliar . realized i nvr posted it 😭

the sunlight drenched your bones, dandelion breezes humming away. bits of dirt and grass nipped away at your feet, while you pondered.

perhaps, the reason your chest felt so light was because you had placed the heart of clay once encased within your body into caramel hands. your heart, carved and sculpted to perfection by those who sat in celestia, had been put in the care of another.

how foolish.

and yet, you played with the idea. enjoyed it, even. the cotton in your ribcage began to feel familiar, warm, and you loved it. you loved the fuzzy sensation that blossomed when you caught a glance. you loved the grins that were smudged onto your face because of a man who had no cares and all the cares in the world. you adored it. and thus, you craved.

kaeya alberich. a name that rolled off of your tongue so gracefully, dripping off of the edge of your own chapped lips. a name that you called every so often, what with your position in mondstadt’s knights of favonius.

the concept that was once dreadful morphed into something you now deemed funny. you, an aspiring knight, wished only to protect your city. and instead, you had fallen for the man who was to help you reach that goal. stupid, stupid, stupid.

sword clashed against sword, the ring of metal echoing amongst the courtyard. there was no malice nor hatred laced in the slashes, no. there was adrenaline. excitement. energy. you could not say you loathed the one you were battling with, for he was the one that made your chest flutter and your teeth rot. adolescent grins were carved onto each of your faces, euphoria spilling through the cracks in your teeth. a sword clash that was not one of war or death or anger. in this moment, you couldn’t feel stupid. you could only feel ecstatic. joyful, even, as your blade knocked over his, and his eyes widened with both shock and pride.

“i’ve trained you well,” he spoke between heavy breaths. you watched as he walked over to pick up his sword, examining the worn hilt and the scratches painted across the metal. “excellent job.”

a mere hum escaped your lips, cracked and burning, as you lay on the floor. the cold stone was refreshing against your skin.

above you, a singular eye that reeked of crushed blueberries and ocean waves stared down. kaeya let out a gloved hand to assist you, pulling you up from the ground. “you can go home now. rest up. we have work tomorrow.” the words were soft to the ears, and you could’ve sworn the small grin on your face grew thrice.

kaeya sat in his office, waiting for you to bring him his coffee for the morning as usual. however, when you stepped in, you wore an expression of slight uncertainty, playing it off with a nervous smile. “sorry. i didn’t know which drink you wanted, so i got green tea, since i heard from lisa that it’s good to have in the earlier hours of the day.”

the man furrowed his brow at the cup. the green liquid that sat peacefully inside the porcelain seemed mocking, almost. “now, i thought you knew i prefer earl gray? you’ve always been good at keeping these things in that pretty little head of yours.”

“ah, i must’ve forgotten — apologies. i’ll do better next time.” kaeya dismissed the apology, staring down at the drink confusedly. the soft green was a great contrast to the obsidian black he was used to. he chose to ignore it for now, sipping at the drink absentmindedly.

you carried on with the morning, dropping off papers for your captain to finish and greeting the other knights. kaeya did the same, sitting at his desk and scribbling away with his favorite pen. and yet, the interaction continued to linger at the back of his head, itching at his skull endlessly.

odd.

you watched as jean dismissed herself from the building. the eyebags scribed onto her features were prominent, yet familiar. you pitied her for the stress placed atop her shoulders.

the halls of the headquarters were now silent. however, through the wooden door, you could hear the rough scratches of pen against paper, the sound seemingly louder than the hum of air around you.

this had become routine. kaeya would drop you off at your house once he finished his paperwork, wish you farewell, and make his merry way over to the tavern. you found comfort in the way he complained about work on the way back ( despite this, he never thought twice about quitting his job ) and how he would question you about your day right before reaching your doorstep. he held a tone towards you that was akin to honey, to dandelion kisses that you would constantly indulge in. unbeknownst to him ( or maybe he did know, after all ), he had you wrapped around his finger with every glance, every word.

both of you approached the door, your hands reaching for your keys. kaeya prepared to turn around, only for your grip to reach the end of his sleeve.

“...please stay.”

the aloof smirk on his face melted into a softer smile. “anything for you, dearest.” he stepped through the doorway, his boots clicking against the wooden floorboards.

kaeya welcomed himself onto your couch, motioning for you to sit beside you. “so,” he muttered. “what’s making you crave my presence?”

“i don’t know.” the response elicited a chuckle out of him. “... ‘m not sure. there’s something comforting and warm about talking to you. i can’t place it.”

your voice was soft, something he relished ever so slightly. he knew exactly what you were saying. it was a shame you didn’t.

and it was a shame he didn’t feel the same.

either way, he chose to succumb to your personal fantasies, feeding into them slowly and tantalizingly. “i may feel the same way.”

for your sake, he told himself.

there was a silence. sickening and dreadful. it gnawed at you, sculpting away at your limbs as you stared at the wall in front of you. “pardon?” your voice reeked of hesitance. his

confession felt ethereal, misplaced. despite the hint of wariness, you followed the hums of the sirens.

“did i not speak clearly enough?”

you gulped, face igniting with flames that even the most violent of ocean waves couldn’t quell. of course, you heard him perfectly. you just couldn’t quite process it. months of pining and obsessing over a man you were supposed to only know as a superior in the knights led up to this very moment spent on the cushions of your couch.

the moonlight that bled through the curtains illuminated his face, however, you still couldn’t place just what was swimming in his eyes. there was no genuineness. but there weren’t any hints of foul play.

and so, you fell into his hands once more.

kaeya seemed to be at his wit’s end lately. and unfortunately, you seemed to be the cause of it.

the crows of the evening invaded your window sill as your supposed lover stood across from you, his brow furrowed intensely as he struck you with his gaze. sharp and cold. the same way he stared at his enemies, those who he despised. maybe, if you waited for the rain to come, for the droplets to wash over the sorrowful earth, it would rid the sour expression on his face. however, rain showers didn’t come in the summer, and instead you would have to deal with the beatings of the sun as it melted the golden melodies you held onto so dearly.

“what do you mean you forgot about it?” venom dripped from his tongue so quickly, slowly forming a stream, a waterfall of white hot anger bleeding through the cracks in his teeth.

“i’m sorry, i-“

“are you, though?”

were you?

it was equally shocking to you. at least, it was once he brought it up. you had promised

to care for kaeya so dearly, and that came with remembering events that were important to him. so why was it that you made other plans today, of all days?

he shifted his stance, transferring his weight to his opposite leg. “he died today. and you forgot,” he took a step towards you. “how dare you?”

there was nothing for you to hold onto as you suffered through kaeya’s wrath, merely

watching as he spiraled into his long forgotten hole of pain and guilt and hatred. what could you do, anyways? he would swat your hand away again. remind you that he didn’t need to rely on you constantly. that he was his own person, and he didn’t need you hovering over him like a mother.

he ran a hand through his hair, the ribbon that held it in the day falling loose. an apology slipped from his lips, watered and broken. before you could reply, he escaped into the depths of night, clicking the front door softly. a rumble grew in your ribcage as guilt crawled up your spine carefully. so, so carefully. you doubt you ever even felt it.

the bedroom door creaked open. yellow rays, soft and gentle, barely there, fell from the crack between the wood and the doorway, and along with them came the man you could barely place. without a word, he made his way into the bathroom, leaving behind no trace. something he did so often, too often.

his arrival caused the book in your lap to fall. you clasped your hands together as you waited. how long were you willing to sit still, to hold for him as he moved as fast or slow as he wanted to?

kaeya slumped onto the bed, his back facing you once more as he propped his elbows on his knees. no words were spoken. the clock ticks and the gentle breezes said everything instead.

just as quickly as he sat, he collapsed into the spot beside you, his legs dangling off of the edge. a singular eye burned into the ceiling, writing scripts that couldn’t be deciphered by even teyvat’s top scholars. a mystery. just as you’d known him to be. just what you’d admired.

the path, eventually, circled back to you, in your mildly bewildered state. scrambled arpeggios flooded the room, the yellow light banished to the hallway as you both basked in the darkness. it was so sickeningly calming. almost as if you hadn’t just pissed him off.

your hands sneaked away from one another, remnants of sweat left on your palms. you didn’t want to look at him. but you did. his eye reeled you in so tenderly. it was far too tempting. and so, you stared, you drunk in every bit of eye contact he spared you, every second spent of silent gazes. you relished in it. and you loved it.

kaeya sighed, lifting himself up from his spot and burying himself beneath the blankets, handing you the wondrous sight of his back for the umpteenth time. vermillion flames of sorrow engulfed your being as you hoped for just a few more seconds, he would give you his face instead.

the bed bore a familiar coldness that the pile of blankets and pillows couldn’t dare rival. sunlit dust filtered in through the window, cascading onto your skin as the sun crawled onto the horizon. this time, the ceiling was barren. empty. the writings kaeya bore into the wood just last night had been erased, gone.

or were they?

perhaps it was your eyes playing tricks on you. your lips parted as you searched through your head for the memory of his gaze, locked onto your own, only to end up with nothing. the image seemed to have slipped from your grasp, sinking through the lines in your fingers.

you needed answers — but unfortunately, work always came first.

the paperwork in front of you was long forgotten, what with the ghouls scratching at your mind and your head resting deep in your hands. your leg shook beneath the desk violently. and at just the right second, a hurried alchemist stepped through the door.

“i’m here to collect a few papers, but,” he spoke, catching his breath — presumably from running from the lab where timaeus and sucrose worked to the knights’ headquarters. “are you alright? you look as if you’re in a state of distress - not from your work.” he held a look of concern that was, surprisingly, genuine.

you cleared your throat, letting your arms rest on your lap. “ah, well... it seems i’ve forgotten about him. pieces of him, i mean. it’s quite frightening.”

albedo closed the door behind him softly to give you both some privacy. “really? how often does this happen?”

“...a little too often,” you spoke, giggling softly in an attempt to lighten the mood. however, it was clear that the sound was strained. “i don’t know. he’s slipping from my memory.” the man nodded, lips parting to speak whatever conclusion he came to.

“hm. this is quite a rare case — but existent nonetheless,” he began, leaning against the wall as he started to ramble on. “the name escapes me, but it’s a sickness in which a person who faces one sided love begins to slowly forget about the one they admire. a phenomenon, really. it’ll start off with smaller things such as favorite colors or their birthday, but it quickly evolves into much larger memories like special events or anniversaries. through this process, the victim’s heart begins to deteriorate and rot slowly. as of now, there’s a cure, but no one’s sure if it’s that safe, considering how infrequent this is.” albedo snapped out of his trance of words as he looks back towards you, only to see your lip quivering as dews start spilling from your eyes. “…ah, i didn’t mean to scare you in any way... i’ll take my leave now.” however, before he could open the door, your hand stopped him, grasping desperately onto the end of his sleeve.

“you know how to treat me, don’t you?” he nodded slowly. “please. i could care less about the consequences.”

a hum left his mouth before he left with a single word, “understood.”

if you didn’t continue on with this parade of white hot sorrows, you might as well drown.

the porcelain walls confined you with your thoughts. with your ashen knees bent up to your chest, scrunched up hands buried beneath the water, you’d laugh at just how pitiful you looked. there was a ticking in your skull. it was due to end, to explode if you didn’t get an answer. then again, would there truly be any honest answer? even albedo’s scientific concoctions couldn’t dare get a truthful word out of kaeya in this situation, absolutely not. he was a man of secrets, and frankly, you fell into his trap. the nights replayed in and out on your bed, the book on your lap long forgotten as you stared at your lover’s plastic back. the pages were tainted. stained. all because you were slowly losing memory of his face, constructed of caramel blessings and dulcet poetry. you could not scribble it on paper, nor explain it, nor conjure it up in the confines of your imagination.

perhaps this was a bad dream. a bad dream where his face had been ripped and scratched and marred beyond words. you couldn’t dare face it. couldn’t dare accept it.

and, even through the blemishes of your eyes, you admired him. through the white lines, you adored him, loved him, cherished him.

how stupid.

you had come around full circle. the water in the tub had gone lukewarm from just how long you were sitting and staring, drumming your fingers against the stone of the bath to an unnamed rhythm of disarray. you were not the most religious of people, however, you prayed to whatever god heard you first that he could hear your melancholic symphonies just as well. unfortunately, that much was humanly impossible, for the distance from the house to the tavern was simply too great. he wouldn’t care to listen, wouldn’t tune in to hear a mere note. so you had to deal with your raptures alone. in your tub. as always.

three months had, apparently, been enough time.

however, three months was nothing compared to the five years you spent suffering with kaeya alberich. the cause of your downfall.

you couldn’t remember when it happened, where it happened - but all you knew was that the man who supposedly lived with you loathed you beyond description. there was a fierce stare in his eyes. you oblivious to where it sprouted from, merely observing as he prodded at your bones with a gaze of steel.

eventually, you could barely recognize he was there.

the man in blue had molded his anger into despair. you no longer found yourself victim to his stares, to his stabs. he was looking everywhere but you. and you didn’t know why.

the day you snapped was the day you had been banished from the home completely.

his voice was distant, however, you picked up on tidbits as he explained the situation to albedo, the chief alchemist who worked down in the city. according to him, you had thrown a fit, an unsettleable rage the moment he stepped into the room, purely because you had taken him as a stranger, recognized him as an intruder. the most noticeable part, however, was the look of fear in his eyes. one that contrasted the horrific glares he set you for weeks on end.

and so, as you lay on the wooden table of albedo’s lab, awaiting his arrival, you prayed that the sunkissed man would come too. however, such wishes were those of a fool, a moron, a selfish person. after all, you weren’t sure which sunkissed man you were hoping for, couldn’t place a face to the thought anymore. instead lay a blob of mishapen limbs that haunted your mind as the hours passed. only one man came in, dressed in a lab coat that fit him just right. his presence, sadly, did nothing to soothe your mind.

albedo sat on a chair placed too close and too far to the table. he seemed to be writing so fervently, as if his life depended on it — or rather, yours. with a sigh, he stood up, tightening the gloves that adorned his hands just before standing above you. “are you sure?” he spoke in a gentle tone, one that calmed the crashing waves in your guts and sent the ghouls away.

“yes, of course.”

time was of the essence. the alchemist - although not too experienced in the field of surgery - managed to work around the rot and mold building up inside in a good amount of time, using whatever scientific creations he had at hand. your sleeping form was a rather horrifying sight, for he wasn’t sure if you were still there every few seconds.

soon enough, the gaping hole in your chest had been stitched up neatly, your body dressed up in a plain white gown that albedo had borrowed from sucrose. he slumped onto the floor, not caring for how bad his posture was at the moment. now came the waiting. he would wait for you to awaken, no matter how long that would be, because this was his job - and he was dedicated.

surprisingly enough, it wasn’t that much time until you rose from your spot. he was achingly close to passing out, however, his path to sleep was quickly interrupted as you sat up. “good morning,” you spoke, voice somewhat raspy. you stood up, walking towards the counter to get a drink. “care to explain why i’m in your lab and you’re on the verge of falling asleep?”

“ah... surgery. i’m not sure it’d be very pleasant to hear the cause.” you hummed in response. the soft echo of chatter rang in the hallway, tempting you to step out. “don’t go out yet,” the boy spoke, as if he read your thoughts. “you need to recover for a bit. plus, i don’t think it’d be very fitting to step out in that gown.”

“oops.”

you returned to the table, sitting on the edge and allowing for your bare feet to ghost against the wooden floor. the iron stench of blood was still somewhat present in the air. your blood, you assumed. fortunately, albedo was able to take your mind off of the smell with his ( sleepy ) small talk, reminding you that it wouldn’t be safe to head home just yet considering your state.

it was comforting. and yet, you couldn’t help but feel like a piece was missing.

the sunlight drenched your bones, dandelion breezes humming away. bits of dirt and grass nipped away at your feet, while you pondered once more.

everything seemed to lack its color recently. you couldn’t place it, and it irritated you. however, even while you were stressing over how dull everything was, there was an airiness in your chest that you couldn’t place, couldn’t rip out and inspect. it fluttered so harshly, knotting around your limbs hastily.

perhaps it was because of that sunkissed man who offered to take you under his wing as a knight.

and so the cycle starts again.

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belle--ofthebrawl · 10 months

Note

I am so invested in your posts about Mountain and his pack of moms.

Does Mountain turn into a big kit whenever he visits them? Like a college kid who goes back home to his family during holidays.

- @ghouletteanon

(I did exactly two Google searches and these are the names for the previous drummers I found. I went with Terra over Gamma for obvious elemental reasons. I think there's three total? My inbox and DMs are open to any and all earth ghoul stans who know more than I do.)

Nothing terrible under the cut except the horror of knowing your parental figures have sex.

He knows Pebble's aware as soon as he sets foot into the deeper woods. The trees and mycelium networks are her eyes and ears, leaves rustling with wind-carried words to wherever she is. Not a single twig in this forest snaps without her knowing about it, which would give anyone else an incredible headache but Pebble seems to like it just fine.

And sure enough, he doesn't get but a yard or so before she appears. Sitting on an ancient log like she's been there the whole time waiting for him to pass by, even though he knew he'd been alone just moments ago.

She's all criss-crossed up from her arms to her legs, still as a statue as she watches him approach with his picnic basket. He doesn't say anything; he knows this routine well enough by now. Pebble can get odd, when left to her own devices for too long. The others are usually good at bringing her back to herself though.

Food helps too. Not the food she can scavenge from the forest like berries and mushrooms and prey animals eaten raw. Food that's been altered, baked, cooked. He lifts the cloth of the picnic basket and lets the warm smell of fresh bread waft out. Her nostrils flair and she stands up, quick as a wink. With one quick nod, she's off; darting through the undergrowth like a fox. It's on him to keep up, but he knows she'll come back for him if he lays behind too far. She'll get impatient but she'll always come back.

The path is different every time he visits. Some trick of Terra's to keep strangers out if they aren't guided in but he doesn't mind. He knows how much they value privacy and the time it takes to get to the destination is never too long. The undergrowth thins out, the trees grow further and further apart until they're in Ivy's garden with Ivy herself bending over to tug up a bundle of root vegetables. Pebble licks her fingertips as she walks over, delivering a loud and resounding smack to Ivy's rear end that Mountain glances away to avoid seeing barely in the nick of time.

"Pebble!" Ivy shouts, shooting up straight and cuffing the small menace in return. "Just once, a hello would be nice to hear instead of-"

"Hello." Mountain calls, walking between the rows to her with a wave. She turns around again and her happiness is so infectious that nearby plants immediately start flowering in response. Pebble takes the opportunity to dart into the little home that's been carved into the earth, set into the base of gentle slope covered in soft green grass.

"Mountain!" She cries, dropping her harvest into the dirt and leaping over the plants to catch him up in a bear hug. "Oh, I was just thinking about you! Terra was saying you were all back from tour, so of course we've been expecting you but honestly not so soon and-"

"Let that boy breathe." Comes a deeper voice from the doorway of the little home. Mountain straightens up automatically, brushing a few fly aways out of her face as Terra easily lopes over with her cane. She stops a few feet away, looks over him with a critical eye and he's acutely aware of every wrinkle and stain in his clothes, the way his right boot's come untied and how the flannel he has on now was definitely hers once upon a time.

"Suppose we'll have to take you as you are then." Terra says, a telling twinkle in her eye though her face remains firm. "What'd you bring us this time?"

"Harvest bread." He says, finally handing over the picnic basket. "Gooseberry and raspberry jam. Two kinds of cheese. Wine and whiskey and weed."

"Good stuff." Ivy says in approval.

"We'll see." Terra says. Then, "Pebble, don't you dare."

Pebble slinks out from behind Terra, hands raised in innocence even as her tail whips back. It's caught just in time by Terra's own tail, wrangled into submission as Mountain pretends to be thoroughly engrossed by his feet. He's not a prude, far from it but it just feels awkward to watch the ones who helped him with his first moments Topside be...like that.

"Welcome back." Terra says fondly after Pebble yanks her tail away and stomps off to set the table. Ivy picks up her vegetables again and goes to put her gardening tools away. "Tell us where you've been this whole time."

"All over." Mountain begins. And, like he always does, hits his head on the doorframe on the way in.

Some things never change.

#mountain ghoul #ficlet #i shoukd dig out that fic where mountain asks pebble for advice about his magic. she talks a little more in that one but not by much.#mostly lets mountain solve his own problems

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anonfromtheflight · 10 months

Text

Heeeeeey!

Thank you so much for the messages I got wondering if I was alright. I am! I just have the worst luck ever!

But at least I'm in good health? And alive. That's a win too. I'm just convinced more than ever that nothing good will ever happen to me without something horrible happening right after 😓

So I made it back to Santiago from home on Sunday night and all was well. But I got robbed on Monday! After work, rght outside a subway station! And not only the asshole took my cellphone, he punched me in the face to make me drop it!! 😒 I almost never take my phone out in public for security reasons but when my boss called, I answered because I thought I had left something important at work. But when I hung up while I was leaving the subway station, before I could put my phone back in my pocket, a huge dude came to towards me, punched me in the face and then left with my phone! 😩

It wasn't even a nice phone, it was basic af and I had it for three years, but it had my stuff and UGHHHH I had to go to the police and then to the hospital to get my face checked because my cheek swelled right away. At least he avoided my glasses? Oh and I had to block my phone number with the mobile company, my bank account because of the bank app and another banking app i use.

To make things worse, I left my tablet back at my mom's by mistake last weekend so I had no electronic device with my info to block my stuff myself. I had to ask my sister to do it and to post a message on instagram in case my friends got any weird messages and to let people know I wouldn't be available. And that if someone talked to them via whatsapp, it wasn't me.

I didn't think about her doing the same for me here, I didn't think anyone would notice or care oops, sorry for that 😬

AND UUUUGHHH I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED THE S3 RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCEMENT!!! At least I can enjoy the theories and gifs now 😑 I also can't believe I missed a WHOLE week of OMR beauty content with Omar looking gorgeous and downright sinful wtf

Now I'm back home because tomorrow I have to go vote, got my tablet back and blocked absolutely everything. At least since I sold my soul to google, I don't have to try to remember my passwords lol and could basically wipe everything from my phone remotely.

But yeah, I'm okay! I'm only sporting an ugly bruise on my face that makes me look like I'm part of the lamest fight club in existence.

#Respondiendo #scheduled a phone appointment with my therapist during the week and I'm seeing her today too #now I have to use money I had saved to get a new phone fuuuuuuuuu #ugh I hate everything #about me I guess lol #do you know how boring it is to go through a 7 hours bus journey not being able to listen to music???#while being too anxious to sleep??? TORTURE!#desperately need something good to happen to me #maybe with the new year? I doubt it but still lmao #I missed looking at wilmon and Omar's face negl

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compusever · 11 months

Note

Hi there! Bit of a weird question, and I’m not sure if this is the right blog for this, but… best laptop for privacy? I’m going to go to uni in a year and my parents have said that they’re going to buy me a laptop, which is awesome, except— I don’t know which one to chose? I’ve never had a laptop before but I try to take being private online as seriously as I can, and so I don’t really care… well, like, I do care that the laptop has good storage and works and stuff, but I care mostly about how private it is. Which one supports adding privacy-related stuff the best? Which one steals your data the least? I… am actually not sure what kind of questions I should be asking, since… again, never had a laptop before, and I don’t know what about its make makes it private (other than like general online privacy practices across all devices), so I was just wondering if you had any recommendations for me? Tldr: don’t care about fancy features, just want a laptop that more or less works, but would love privacy to be the main focus. This can sort of come at the expense of convenience - I don’t care it if’s harder to set up, use, etc., so long as I can connect to the internet with it.

So the hardware is pretty agnostic on this, the place where privacy is going to become an issue is in the software.

Windows loves to track you and send your data back to homebase; Apple is a walled garden that doesn't let people get deep into configurations; linux is intimidating for a lot of people.

Your actual best bet on privacy would be to get a laptop with no OS and install a linux distro on it, but it sounds like that's probably not something that's terribly approachable for you. So in that case I'd recommend getting a Windows laptop (mac prices aren't worth it) and going through this list to change the settings to ensure better privacy.

HOWEVER please note that you should be getting a laptop with a full OS. Windows has an option for "windows 11s" or "windows 10s" and first off you should be going with 11 at this point but second that "s" means that there are pretty strict limitations on what you can do as a user in terms of configuration and installation.

If you are willing to pay a bit more for Windows 11 Pro instead of windows 11 Home, the pro license cuts off some of the more annoying tracking that Windows does automatically, but I'd say you're better off simply getting the home license and really digging into the settings and getting to know it and setting it up for yourself.

BUT if it's at all possible, honestly I'd say get a bare metal laptop (that means it's just the hardware, no software, you need to install an operating system before you do anything) and install linux. HOWEVER keep in mind that there are some significant downsides to using linux as a student, mostly that you'll likely run into software at some point that you won't be able to install. Also if you're not already pretty good with computers it can be difficult to keep a linux machine running (but very easy to make it private; that's the tradeoff - you can make it more secure more easily, but you really have to know how to fix your own computer if something goes wrong.)

For your situation, again, I think a Windows 11 Home laptop with the settings adjusted is your best bet.

Absolutely positively don't get a chromebook (you've got no control of the settings on a chromebook and the thing is made to feed information to google) and don't get a mac (you can get better specs on a PC at a lower cost).

For an idea of budget on this, I'd say you can probably get something from Dell, Lenovo, or HP for around $650-1000 dollars that's got decent specs (12th gen or newer i5 processor, 16gb RAM, 512GB SSD) and maybe something more like $500-800 from acer, asus, or samsung. Whatever computer you end up getting, you should get the added drop protection warranty because that means the manufacturer will fix your laptop if you drop it, something that is a bigger deal for college students than most people (because of your environment you're more likely to end up with drop damage than a lot of people AND because you're a college student you probably won't be able to afford to fix or replace the computer)

Good luck!

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roetrolls · 7 months

Text

(woagh! we did it again!! it's a collab between me and Chase @sasster! Look, there's a google doc!)

Appraisal

Emarra is still drunk on attention when he returns to his trailer, buzzing with adrenaline and the thrill of a crowd. He expects Sylvie will follow him here soon enough, his little sprite always so eager for his praise after a successful show.

He’s already imagining what he’ll say to her, turning the words over in his mind as he busies himself removing his jacket and pushes past the beaded curtains into his home.

“Yumeno.”

He freezes. Now there’s a voice that will kill a mood.

Ever the performer. Emarra is quick to reel himself in, shocked expression melting into a smile tight enough to rival Faithful.

“General.”

An unscheduled visit from the Marauder rarely spells good news, but retiring for the morning to find the man waiting in your home? That’s a level of horror all its own.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asks through gritted teeth.

Zerkev has already made himself comfortable–if such a word can even be used to describe such a straight-laced troll–in the seat by the window, gaze hard and stern.

“Sit.”

It is always cumbersome dealing with fuchsias that feel they can just walk into his home and tell him what to do. Resentment leaves a sick taste in the back of his mouth as he takes a seat opposite to the general.

“There’s no chance that what you’re here to talk about could have been a text message, I’m guessing.”

Zerkev’s expression tightens, not one for jokes on a good day, let alone on one where he is already beyond the threshold of having patience for the man.

“Why have you not found Mallum yet?”

Well, of course that’s what this is about. What else would The Marauder be making home visits for? There are so many ways Emarra can answer that question too, and they all flash in his mind one after the other.

Chiefly, he has been busy with his circus, and also it isn’t his job to play Pravus line babysitter.

Neither of these answers, however, would be met with the most pleasant of responses, so he swallows them down with the taste of resentment that now coats his throat.

“He’s in the company of professionals. You know that.”

“I was under the impression that you were a professional, Yumeno.”

“Gracious and the Roatus kid can’t find him either,” by the grace of God, he manages to swallow the indignance that tries so hard to claw its way out. “It’s going to take me some more time.”

“More time?”

Something snaps behind the general’s eye, perhaps his last thread of patience, something that somehow does not influence the rest of his expression.

Instead, Zerkev sits there stone-faced.

“Just a little patience, I’ll find him.”

“Mm,” comes the muted response. The seadweller stares a moment longer, gaze boring into Emarra with a scrutiny so intense he has to suppress the urge to shift in his seat. “Would you say you’ve been distracted from this task?”

Emarra all but scoffs at the accusation. Was he expected to put his entire life on hold until the kid was found? That’s a ridiculous idea, even for someone as work-focused as the Marauder.

“No,” he answers shortly, stopping himself before anything more insulting can tumble from his mouth.

Zerkev raises an eyebrow. “That so? I’d say otherwise, personally.”

He reaches into the jacket of his uniform to withdraw a phone. It’s almost comical how out of place the thing seems in his hand, but Emarra is in no mood for humor.

After a few seconds, Zerkev brandishes the screen, playing a short, looping clip of a shadow unfurling along someone’s wall.

The Ringleader feels a brief twinge of satisfaction as he makes note of the tiger-shaped nightlight by the bed, one corner of his mouth twitching as if to smile.

Then he squares his jaw, lifting a blank gaze back to his uninvited guest.

“What am I meant to be looking at here?”

The general cocks his head. “You tell me.”

“It’s a recording on your phone, why would I have that information?”

With a nod, Zerkev pockets the device once more and leans forward on his knees, fingers laced together. He pauses a moment, expression deceptively placid, before answering.

“I know you’ve more sense than to lie to my face.”

The statement, simple as it is, is easy to identify as a thinly veiled threat. Emarra, having worked with the general long enough to detect that threat a mile away, leans back into his chair as if trying to put some more distance between himself and the fuchsia. It takes some effort to conceal the panic working hard to bubble up through his chest, but he manages even then to keep his gaze level.

”Then you should know that I am not lying, to your face or otherwise.”

Zerkev purses his lips, and though his expression does not shift to betray him, he does possess the uncanny ability of letting his disappointment and irritation poison the atmosphere of the room without such dramatic shifts.

The Ringleader very briefly finds his thoughts drifting back to the other’s missing son. Yeah, I’d run away too if this guy raised and was looking for me, no question. Poor thing must’ve had an intolerable adolescence.

Locked in a terrible staring contest with his boss, Emarra then takes the opportunity to sift through a mental list of his choice in extracurricular activities up to this point. He risks being skinned alive if he admits how lax he has actually been about finding Mallum in the many perigees that have passed between now and his being given the assignment.

He risks a fate worse than that if he so much as breathes word about harassing that damn runaway of his own in the meantime.

Zerkev clears his throat, the time limit on his second chance at honesty clearly reaching its end.

“Are you telling me that you think every time something goes bump in the day that it will have something to do with me? Come on. Be real, Zerkev. I have a life, you know.”

A disappointed click of the tongue is his only response. Is he really tsk-ing him right now? Beneath his indignation, an invisible fist constricts around Emarra’s lungs, abated only slightly by the thin shred of hope that spawns in him as the seadweller rises to his feet.

Did that actually work?

Zerkev fiddles with his cufflink and hefts a weary sigh, staring ahead of himself as if lost in thought.

“Yumeno?”

For fuck’s sake, would he just go already? “Yes?”

Without warning, the Marauder’s hand shoots out to grasp Emarra by the hair, yanking him from his chair by the scalp. The motion wrenches a pitiful yelp from his lips, palms grasping at his assailant’s wrist in an effort to relieve the pain.

“I thought I told you not to lie to me, son.”

His voice, perfectly level, belies no hint of anger. He might as well be asking about the weather for all his tone suggests.

“Zerkev–”

The grip on his hair, already ironclad, grows tighter.

“General Pravus, sir,” Emarra corrects himself breathlessly, a nervous chuckle catching in his throat. It would be unwise to double down he thinks, but… Ah, screw it. He’s a carnie at heart. Honesty has never been his virtue. “I have a show to run. You really think I’m wasting my precious time on pointless games?”

Zerkev regards him carefully, lips pressed into a line. The silence hangs over them like lead, suffocating enough to prompt another anxious plea from the clown.

“You know how Maelia treats me! Why would I go looking for trouble under his nose?”

“Hm.” The general blinks slowly, fingers still wound tightly in the purpleblood’s hair. “I suppose you wouldn’t, would you?”

Emarra nods the best he can with his head practically glued to the man’s hand, eyes blown wide. “Exactly! I–”

“Yumeno.”

“Sir?” He swallows, choking down his pride with some hope of warding off the venom that lurks behind that stony expression.

“Did I tell you that was Drakon’s hive?”

Emarra’s stomach drops like a stone, the panic he’s been working so hard to suppress now lurching to the surface, plain as day on his face. Zerkev’s expression is unflinching, much like the tight and fearsome grip he maintains on the Ringleader’s hair.

A reply is hard to come by under that icy glare, but eventually the clown manages to find his voice.

“Wh-Why else would you be so upset?” he stammers, choking on his own desperation. “Everyone knows how you get about your privacy.”

The way Zerkev’s lip twitches, it’s clear that was not the answer he wanted.

“My livin’ with Drakon is public knowledge now, is it?” His tone, low before, turns downright dangerous. It’s a miracle he hasn’t ripped Emarra’s hair right out of his scalp.

Past the edges of his own hubris, the purpleblood can see that he is being given one final chance to come clean. As much as he hates the man, he can’t deny that the Marauder’s patience is astounding. Any other fish would have flown off the handle ages ago.

He swallows, fingers still clasped around the general’s assaulting wrist, and selects his next words with care.

“I made a mistake,” he says slowly, heart lodged in his throat.

“A mistake?” Zerkev echoes incredulously, almost amused at his audacity.

“A poor choice.”

“I’ll say. Unless you wanna tell me spyin’ on my home was a necessary part of the process?”

“I… I was just messing with the kid,” Emarra finally admits, voice small.

“Instead of lookin’ for mine.”

“Both! I was doing both! You couldn’t have expected me to drop my entire life for you!”

Zerkev exhales slowly, something between a growl and a sigh. It’s all the warning Emarra gets before the general throws his arm to fling him face-first into the wall, the ache in his scalp quickly replaced by a new searing pain and the scent of blood in his nose. He loses his footing in the toss and crumples to the floor in a heap, hissing quietly.

Before he has the chance to catch his bearings, the Ringleader feels a cold-toed boot upon his neck.

“I’d say I’m a reasonable man, Yumeno, wouldn’t you?” He grinds his shoe into the base of Emarra’s skull before easing up, not waiting for an answer. “So here’s what I think sounds reasonable.”

Still somewhat dazed, he can only grimace in response as Zerkev grabs him by the collar and hoists him to his feet to slam his back against the wall.

“You’re gonna get one warning. Keep that greasy nose out of my business. Leave my mate and his family alone. And find my goddamned son. Are we understood?”

Emarra squares his jaw and nods.

“Are we understood?”

His teeth are as good as dust with how hard he grits them. “Yes, sir.”

Zerkev regards him carefully, eyes flitting across his face as he, perhaps, tries to gauge the man’s sincerity. Emarra can’t help but bristle. Can’t he let him go already? What more does he fucking want?

The general frowns, evidently displeased by whatever attitude he can still detect on his underling’s face. The clown prickles under his scrutiny, for once facing down a type of attention he would sooner escape. Then, all at once, that attention is drawn elsewhere, to the small voice that sounds beyond the room’s beaded entrance.

“Emarra!”

Though Zerkev doesn’t release the purpleblood’s collar, his grip loosens considerably, just in time for Sylvie’s innocent, four-eyed face to push its way into the scene. Those eyes become saucers when they land on the Marauder, the woman’s delicate features overtaken by fear.

“General Pravus,” she squeaks, gaze darting between him and her ringmaster.

Zerkev nods in greeting, venom all but evaporated, and Emarra thanks the Messiahs for his sprite’s timely arrival.

“I-I, um…” She shoots him another anxious glance, hand unconsciously drifting toward her own nose as she spies the blood leaking from his. “I didn’t know you would have… company.”

“I was just leavin’,” the general answers, though he makes no move to do so.

Another silence descends on the trailer, with Zerkev’s pensive gaze now settled squarely on the mutant. Emarra can practically see the gears turning in his head, and he only wishes it could come as a surprise when the man opens his mouth again.

“I just got one more thing to square away ‘fore I go. Miss Selari, hon, would you mind steppin’ outside a minute? Won’t be long.”

Sylvie hesitates, again looking to the clown. With an agitated grimace, he sighs and gives her a nod. The sooner they can get this over with, the better.

His approval eases her enough to acquiesce, and soon enough she is padding back out on light and silent feet, the gentle rattle of beads all that announces her departure. The moment that faint click subsides, Zerkev’s attention is back on Emarra.

“She’s sweeter than you deserve.”

The Ringleader balks at him, the tameness of the insult somehow a bigger slap than his previous scathing reprimands. He doesn’t care what the bastard thinks of him, obviously, but it’s not the type of comment he expects during this kind of performance review.

“How long’s it been now? That you’ve had her?”

“This is what you’re hanging around to talk about?”

Evidently, the question was rhetorical, as Emarra’s non-answer glances ineffectually off the general’s chest. He finally releases him and steps away, at least, allowing the clown some room to breathe while he prepares to prattle on.

“Mallum’s always been a bright kid, you know. Wicked bright. Bit more self control and he’d be unstoppable.”

“Uh-huh,” the purpleblood responds, his irritation palpable.

“He had a hard time with schoolfeeding. Lacked discipline, always got distracted with other things. Ain’t his fault– We’re a species built on base impulse. Same reason we don’t rear our own young.”

What the fuck is he even talking about right now?

“Most trolls lack the ability to self-regulate. We found with Mallum… It sometimes helped to remove the distractions for him. He hated me for it, ‘course, but it did him good in the end.”

“I’ll remember that next time I decide to become a lusus,” Emarra deadpans, wiping the blood from his nose.

Zerkev locks eyes with him, placid expression once again turning grave.

“Yumeno. The next time you force me out here to remind you of your job, I’m taking Miss Selari back with me.”

#this guy is so fed up with his clowns #writing #guest star!#collab!#zerkev pravus #the marauder #oops i forgot sylvies here too #sylvie writing #zerkev writing

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ntdiwtz · 2 years

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hiii<3, just wanted to ask if you could do a gavi x reader where they have been dating for like a really long time and when gavi becoming famous and peopl like wondering if he has a girlfriend or somthing and one day a fan spots the two of you holding hands and the reader is like getting hate or love on social media (sorry id it doesn't make sence)

It’s here love💙 (it’s not that good, sorry!)

“Shit!

- What's it?

- Other side of the street.

I am clearly curious to know what has bothered Gavi, and as I look in the indicated direction, I quickly identify the problem.

A girl was pointing her phone at the two of us and tapping the screen desperately.

Thanks to the blessed being on the street, we barely made it past the bookstore and went home.

When we arrived we stayed on the couch just talking and watching whatever channel was on television.

Bored, I pick up my phone to surf the internet.

Upon entering Google I am surprised by an article that contained photos of me and Pablo.

— Love or time? Soccer star Pablo Gavi was spotted walking hand in hand with a girl through the center of Barcelona today. The two were seen walking into a bookstore and then heading home!

What do you guys think about the possible romance between the mystery girl and our beloved size 30 shirt? - I read the report out loud so my boyfriend could hear.

— Madre mia, but how these people love to gossip!

"As if you don't like it!"

He looks at me with a look of indignation at my accusation, which brings a genuine laugh out of me.

— Mi amor, what about the comments? - he takes me out of the trance, returning to the subject.

I was afraid of what I would see, but contrary to my thoughts, many good comments about me were present.

- Look! - I give him the cell phone and a relieved sigh escapes his lips as he looks at the device's screen. "Well, that's to be expected. - Before finishing his speech he pulls me to him — Who in their right mind can hate you? You are perfect woman!!

And so we spent the entire afternoon exchanging caresses, happy that we didn't have to hide anymore.

————————————————————————————

I hope you all like it!

Sorry for any spelling mistakes, I'm not fluent and English is not my first language.

Please remember to like and fell free to request💙

#pablo gavi #pablo gavi x reader #fanfic #fc barcelona #futbol imagines #gavi imagine #gavi x reader #imagines #pablo martín páez gavira #booklr #imagine

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script-a-world · 2 months

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Submitted via Google Form:

I have an idea that instead of very fast spaceships in my story, the spaceships are kinda slow and the main way to get places is via teleports. However there is also max range for these teleports so they have to have a relay of them, especially the oens in deep space that stretch between galaxies. Installation is slow of course - they had to wait many years between dropping each teleport off as the spaceship had to use the previous teleports to the latest location and travel slowly in the spaceship to drop a new one off. Then here's the question of objects in space moving all the time, so these teleports are obviously moving. What exactly is keeping them where they are supposed to be? Or can we say that doesn't matter as much as long they are still in range and these teleport systems are on platforms that have an engine and can get arranged properly? You might think there is a big hole here since the spaceships are so slow, how did they know what's out so far, and why is there even a need to build quicker travel. That's because there is someone else with even better technology that initally got them there, and they now know about it but they had to design their own system to get there themselves without the help of that someone else. Note that my story starts after the teleport systems are in place and there is regular transportation via these teleport systems across several galaxies so this is basically history.

Tex: Stargate stargate stargate- ahem. There is a very well-known set of TV series about this exact subject (with some occasional plot, of course): Stargate. The three main series are Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Stargate Universe, and each deal with a different environment of technology created by a group of people known in-universe as the Ancients (later known as the Alterans) as they are used in different galaxies.

The eponymous technology that features most prominently in all of these shows are stargate, which stabilize wormholes generated between two gates and can be connected to via a series of addresses based upon celestial constellations. These addresses are dialed via something nicknamed DHDs (Dial Home Devices - yes, jokingly after the movie E.T.), and the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies (the latter of which is the setting of Stargate: Atlantis) have different gate systems that cannot connect to each other - the protagonists were only able to do so with a huge boost of energy from a device called a ZPM (Zero Point Module) that draws power from subspace.

The gates themselves are relatively stable, and can - through a lot of legwork - be operated without a DHD; Samantha Carter in SG-1 figured out how to do so via an Earth program to use Earth computers, whereas in contrast the puddle jumpers in Atlantis (a type of ship small enough to fly through the gates) have their own dedicated versions of DHDs in the pilot’s console.

Although it’s not explicitly stated in canon, each galaxy’s gate system seems to be manufactured differently from each other, given the differences in their appearances. Realistically speaking, since these connect via wormholes, there should be no issue connecting any gate to any other gate, but it’s possible that each gate has a hardwired address array paired with its DHD that’s specific to a given range of its position in spacetime, thus giving a self-limiting range.

In SG-1, the Jaffa and Goa’uld would be of most interest to you, and in Atlantis, everyone not from the expedition would be of interest to you, as these groups of people have used their stargate networks for thousands of years on a regular basis.

#google submitted #spaceships #transportation #space #technology

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frogsandfries · 7 months

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I'm so exhausted.

Okay, look, I know I seem to be expressing a lot of physical exhaustion lately, but this is more in regards to my increasing exhaustion with what the internet has become: One giant, inescapable, smothering advertisement.

I probably only want to cry about it right now at this very moment because I'm so tired, but I mean, honestly, if I'm not crying over it, I'm seething over it.

So you, a corporation, you don't want to pay your employees fairly or properly, and you then expect people who can barely afford their rent, never even mind their stupid health insurance or any of the other expensive life necessities, you really expect them to turn around and spend every last of their five remaining dollars on your piece of cheap shit instead of a cheap loaf of bread which will at least allow them to get through the next few days??? Unlike your stupid foot soak boot things, hey epsom your tired feet while you clean your apartment after work--multitask, grind, hustle!! But also, treat yo'self and self-care.

There's no fucking point in having fucking adblock, because when I go to research how to get better at my hobby, google wants to shove a dozen more products that I neither need nor want down my throat. The only way to improve a fucking smart phone is to make it a better shopping device. "Hey look, do you see something irl, maybe during your vacation or just out and about for the day, and you need to buy it right fucking here and now?? Buy our fucking phone because it will help you have fifty afterpays instead of the usual five that you're constantly balancing at any one fucking time."

As someone who used to be curious to learn, I still remember when the internet was seen as a way to exchange knowledge and information, and sure, if you're really, really good at using the internet, or if you're incredibly resourceful, and lucky, and maybe find a group on like Discord or Reddit or maybe Facebook, full of people who share your general interest, and maybe they have the knowledge you're asking for readily at hand.

But it's bullshit. The more and more ads in a row, video after video, song after song, that I have to wade through to get to the information that I came here for, the less interested I am in things like Youtube for information and learning. I really have cut myself off from learning, because increasingly for years, it's been harder and harder to actually use the internet to learn anything.

The internet has become a giant screaming relentless bright flashing fucking billboard advertisement and I'm just so.......done.

Look, frankly, I miss having books in my home. Books aren't very reasonable for lugging about the country to your next couch. But that lifestyle is behind me. Books don't constantly advertise at me. The index in the back of the book doesn't make me watch a fucking ad to figure out how I'm supposed to be doing this next part of my project or how I can up my skill at this thing I'm trying to learn or improve at.

And whenever the hell I decide to leave my meat-suit, donate my books to a library if no one in my family wants them.

I'm just so fucking exhausted. I'm doing relatively financially okay right now. I have money to pay my bills and feed myself and still grab a couple things most paychecks. It is currently often a choice between improving my household or taking care of my physical body, or taking care of my emotional well-being, but that's fine. A privilege, really, compared to the places that I've been.

But I don't have the buckets of disposable income that the internet seems convinced that I do.

The internet was supposed to be a beacon of information sharing and a new fucking era of communication.

I don't think anyone foresaw it being a capitalist hellscape. It feels like I can't move through reality or cyberspace without being screamed at on all sides to spend out every last dime on things I don't want, don't need, and am extraordinarily NOT interested in.

I'm so exhausted. I'm so sick to my bones, my guts, my soul.

The thought of escaping into the mountains, becoming a hermit, never to be seen again, becomes increasingly appealing.

#internet #enshittification #capitalist hell

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theonlinebrat · 5 months

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W-A-S-D

Dear reader,

It's been a while since I last posted anything, hasn't it? My bad.

I have been juggling between Don't Starve Together (now that we have the Scrappy Scavengers expansion), Stardew Valley (now that the 1.6 update is finally out) and Game Dev Tycoon, - all financed by my boyfriend.

I'm starting to understand why my mom doesn't want my baby brother to play video games at a young age considering my… uh, outstanding dedication to them.

Like I said before in my now 404-ed Blogger page, this isn't even close to being my first time gaming around, so I’m well acquainted with the myths that can surround this infamous hobby.

I'm no Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler’s character in the 2015 movie Pixels), but according to a few online dictionaries I found, I am a gamer, a.k.a. a person who enjoys video games. As a hobby, not as a profession.

If you never cared to Google it like me, you might ask yourself, what’s a video game? Where do they even come from?

Did aliens bring them to Earth, maybe?

Well, not quite.

I hope not to disappoint the world's most beloved gamer, Henry Cavill, with my poor research skills...

But yeah, taking Wikipedia as my source, video games can be defined as a form of entertainment that involves interacting with an input device, such as your keyboard if you're a PC gamer, to generate visual feedback on a display device, e.g. a monitor. It's similar to how Newton's Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.

During their earlier history, video games were mostly related to research projects at universities and large corporations as academic and promotional devices, rather than to the general public's entertainment.

One of the first examples of a modern video game that we know of was patented in January 1947 by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann, and it's a thing called a "cathode-ray tube amusement device”.

It basically consisted of an analog device that lets you move a dot on the screen to simulate a missile being parabolically fired at paper drawings fixed to the screen, inspired by radar display technology. And, yes, the first video game ever was essentially an Angry Birds prototype.

Over the following years, other game patents were created with different means of display and whatever, but none of them were able to achieve the commercial success of Atari's inaugural arcade game, Pong, in 1972.

The release of this timeless ping-pong video game played a pivotal role in establishing the industry as we know it today, not to mention that one of the first consoles ever was also released a couple months before in that same year; I'm talking about Magnavox' Odyssey home console.

Speaking of the Xbox’s great great great grandmother, it's well-known that video games tend to be classified by platform because of the differences there can be when comparing one piece of hardware to the other, so we have:

Arcade games

You can play these in the coin-operated machines of the same name, like in the beginning of the Pixels movie. The classic single-game cabinet only allows you to play the one game it was designed for, and it was really popular in the US since the 1970s, until it began dying down by the late 1990s when people started to bring the arcade experience home with consoles’ growing popularity and ever-developing technology.

Console games

These can be enjoyed in specialized electronic devices that consist of a main unit - the “console” - that has the hardware that you're supposed to connect with your display device of choice and a game controller like this one: 🎮.

Let's take a moment to reminisce here because, back in my days, you needed to buy a game's cartridge to be able to play it, which meant offline and immediate access at the cost of lower storage capacity and physical bulkiness. But, even before the world wide web, Control Video Corporation (CVC) was an early pioneer in downloadable games and cloud saving for consoles... before it went bankrupt during the 1983 video game crash and was merged with AOL.

CVC introduced the GameLine, a dial-up game distribution system designed for the Atari 2600 console and introduced in 1986. Despite its innovative concept, it was ahead of its time, lacked licensing from most video game companies, and ultimately failed in the quest to fix the physical bulkiness issue.

Had they waited for the modern Internet and the Cloud to be created, they could have seen the same success as Xbox Live and PlayStation Network years later!

Due to coding and/or hardware incompatibilities, you can only play games in a console if they are designed for it, meaning you can't directly transfer a PlayStation 2 game into a PlayStation 4 despite them being brand models developed by the same company. Sony not sorry.

PC games

You can always download them to your desktop computer or laptop from their official website, if there's any, or from a trusty storefront like Steam… as long as the software requirements match. Since computers are not gaming-exclusive devices, there may and most likely will be differences when running the same game on another computer!

Mobile games

You can download these from a trustworthy website as an APK file to be installed on your smartphone or tablet, or just go ahead and use a digital distribution service like Google's Play Store or Apple's App Store, like the smartphone's system might recommend. Though, much like PC games, these tend to have specifications that your phone must meet for them to run properly.

Smartphones and tablets are probably the only case of being both the input and the display device simultaneously without having traditional buttons as an input option, unlike the Nintendo Switch or the PlayStation Vita, and that must be exactly why so many people dislike mobile gaming.

Admittedly, some games can become more challenging with the whole “inaccurate touchscreen controls” part, notably in PUBG Mobile and Don't Starve Pocket Edition. Except the latter has even shittier controls, per its Google Play reviews.

I haven’t played arcade games in a LONG time because my favorite arcade got super expensive in its last few years before closing down, leaving me with nothing but fond long-term memories of digital eggs falling into my basket, Coldplay's Yellow in a plastic guitar, and table-hockey-ing.

However, I have been consistently trying out PC and mobile games across my lifespan. Especially the free-to-play ones, since my family didn't allow me to spend a single penny on video games when I was younger.

And, oh boy, isn't the list of games I've tried criminally long! But blaming my unending passion for video games on my predisposition is only fair.

I mean, I remember my mom was able to defeat Mario Bros.’ Bowser in a single day when I was a child, and hearing similar stories about her older sister's gaming prowess.

Come to think of it, we must've had a NES console back when all that happened, considering my faint memories of being thrilled to play Duck Hunt. That couldn't have happened irl otherwise.

Also, my cousins had a living room computer BRIMMING with, uh, ✨ free copies ✨ of various popular games that we often played together when we were in elementary school.

I did have a couple of consoles of my own, including some sort of green, translucent knock-off GameBoy I was gifted at a school event and what I think was a PlayStation, but quickly lost both.

My cousins were gifted a PlayStation 2 of their own later on, when it was a thing, until it got damaged because they were using pirate cartridges. Or so we were told back in the day; it could’ve been a dirty reading laser in reality, but, you know, my cousins lived in a very small town, so it was a rarity that they had that console in the first place.

I didn't get to bond with console games much because I found the controllers too difficult to use with my poor hand coordination, and couldn't practice for free either way, so I was stuck with mobile Tetris and Bounce Tales, both of which I found in my grandpa's phones.

It wasn't until some time after my middle cousin passed me down her old Facebook account that I found what would be my main source of entertainment for the next year or so: social network games.

They were THE SHIT when I was middle school aged and Facebook was on the rise across all corners of Spanish-speaking countries.

Ever heard of FarmVille or Dragon City? These ancient Facebook games, and other titles, are a type of online game that is played through social media. They tend to have multiplayer gameplay mechanics and use real-time analytics to sort of motivate you to spend real money on in-game resources and/or consistently log in for rewards.

As mobile gaming took off, many of the games you could find on Facebook desktop were re-released for mobile as well!

But Facebook is not the only company who ventured into browser games. This category includes anything you can play using a web browser, like good ol' Ecosia. They're mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer, and are also grouped by their software platform, for example, Flash games.

A few famous examples of browser games include Club Penguin and the McDonald's Video Game, but personally I was more into Moshi Monsters and whatever “girly” games you could find on the in-browser hubs JuegosJuegos.com, friv.com and DressUpGames.com, in particular.

Even TV channels like Disney and Discovery Kids had TONS of themed Flash games available on their official websites back then, and it was a wonderful time to be an Internet kid.

Then, tragedy struck: Adobe Flash stopped being supported between December 2020 and January 2021, mainly due to security concerns, dealing a debilitating blow to browser gaming.

Many underrated games that weren't coded into another multimedia display software got lost in memory lane and Facebook's neverending evolution, which sort of forced me to dive a lot more into what the Google Play Store and Steam had to offer.

Still, I would learn coding just to bring Facebook's City Girl Life and Suburbia back.

While I’m pretty flexible in terms of the platforms I’ve tried, I remain selective when it comes to the genres. Although, that doesn't exactly mean I dislike any, just that I may prefer to watch old gameplay videos on YouTube most of the time.

For instance, I'm a big fan of the first 5 Five Nights at Freddy's (survival horror) installments and everything that came out after Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (action-adventure), yet I have no intent of playing any of them myself. I'll stick with simulation and strategy games, which I excel at and relax with.

About video game genres, they're not really related to the setting or story of the game as literary genres are, but to the way the player interacts with the game.

I’m not diving into specifics here because games often incorporate key features from all genres all the time or blend them into hybrids, making it useless to try to differentiate them. Plus, there are countless sub-genres to consider. Even the Dark Souls saga is considered to have its own sub-genre!

To top it all off, it's no secret that females and minority groups tend to get harassed in shooter and MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games communities, so that can obviously make me, a minority female, feel hesitant about joining those spaces as myself.

Highly competitive environments tend to amplify the toxicity of the yappiest players, especially in multiplayer games, and that can lead to this possible misconception that, for instance, all League of Legends (a MOBA) players are disgusting, when in reality it might only be a small percentage of ill-mannered people that are deterring potential new players.

Then again, it is League of Legends that we're talking about…

Going back to the so-called obscure spirits, much like what SORRYLAG narrates in this video about Dark Souls being so difficult to beat that it's often considered THE game that makes you a gamer in other gamers' opinion, I'd add that there's this weird pressure in the video game world about who can beat the games with the most challenging gameplays with no health penalties (such as Dark Souls), or who can speedrun the fastest, or who discovers the most convoluted easter egg.

The one thing stopping me from chasing after any of the three is my day job and my lack of talent in ✨ strategizing ✨ outside of my day job.

It's hypocritical to bash or segregate people for enjoying something just because they have less practice or different preferences.

I would refuse to think I'm less of a gamer just because I like mobile gaming, don't want to beat Sekiro, and won't even pick up Duty's Call, thus I'm not bothered by other people with similar casual gaming tendencies.

So, setting aside the standard fandom issues around them, I wouldn't say video games are a problem on their own. It's not Donkey Kong's fault that we've created so many stereotypes around a lifeless entertainment format.

Do they cause violence? No. Some of them can definitely contribute, but not cause it, nor have long-term consequences on their own. It has a lot more to do with our modern overstimulating environments plus the way our brains are wired for anger to obtain food equaling disaster, according to a few studies.

Are they addictive? Look, those sneaky strategies to make us play more frequently like real-time statistics don't help and I'm borderline addicted myself, but the truth is anything that makes you produce dopamine and other happy hormones will become addictive if you struggle with discipline and self-control in general. Even food. We're just too scared of taking accountability as humans.

Do they cause loneliness or social isolation? It can be the case for some, but that doesn't mean all gamers are lonely. I mean, my boyfriend and I found each other, didn't we? Not to mention you'll fail at most multiplayer games with no teamwork or proper communication, and there are tons of online communities out there that welcome anonymous users, so how do you even get lonely if it's not by perspective?

Are they made for kids, teens, or men only? We're in 2024, come on. There are plenty of options for everybody.

Such a shame that a few people will never get to experience the joys of playing video games because they're too stubborn to believe anything other than what one news article of dubious origin said.

We can't really force a person who dislikes video games for any reason to love them, of course, but it's always nice to see them understand that respecting others' likes and choices will not cause the end of the world, isn't it?

Personally, I tend to choose to play whatever video game I'm trying to (slowly) complete at the moment over asking people to hang out whenever I'm free because going out is more expensive anyway.

This isn't affecting my quality of life any more than pollution does because I still do my chores and work despite the suffocating heat of a tropical summer, so there's that.

In conclusion, as long as video games don't get in the way of your self-care, daily habits, finances, and overall health, you should feel free to play them as much as you can, and want.

Unlike the mistaken belief that video games will ruin your brain or contribute to obesity per se, you can get benefits from most of them, actually.

As of today, we have the VR goggles + omnidirectional treadmill + exploring Skyrim by foot combo for fitness purposes; puzzle games for cognitive skills development; strategy games for planning and problem-solving; action games for reaction time improvement; and so on.

But, once again, gaming shouldn't negatively impact your life. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read about that one Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament where a female participant had to step out due to the odor. Even sports athletes shower before competing, so my hobby is not their excuse for being dirty!

What do you think about video games, though? Yay, or nay?

Until next time!

- N

#spotify #stardew valley #mr qi #video games #dark souls #dst #league of legends #gta 6 #gta san andreas #blog #mobile games #pc games #arcade #console #history

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