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heartthumpnovel · 1 year ago

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Heart Thump: Chapter 4

“Where Trouble Begins”

Word count: 5233

Jason messes up big time.

Thank you to those reading this and having patience for releases. I've been doing re-writes and actually have my boyfriend helping me edit my work. I've been gaining more momentum though and hopefully should be putting out more chapters sooner than later :'D cw: Minor claustrophobia Last chapter: Growing Imagination Next chapter: Carrying the World

----

Ding. Going up. Jason moved his finger from the buttons of the elevator and placed them on his phone as his fingertip was shaking considerably. Swiping upwards through the search results of the page; ‘sudden growth spurt’ ‘growth spurt mid age?’ ‘Symptoms of elephant man syndrome’ ‘Alice in wonderland syndrome’ ‘cute kitten images’ ‘endocrine disorders’ ‘signs of schizophrenia '. Wondering page after page with his questions not revealing anything coherent or was completely unrelated to his little ‘problem’. Something wasn’t right about the day before- or the day before that one for that matter.

Ding.

None of that could have possibly happened right? Of Course no one could just survive a lighting strike like that in such a coincidental way? Sure there might have been many survivors from many lightning strikes. He had a pretty bad one. It’s not like anyone up there could have heard Jason scream his mournful monologue into the cold late night breeze. He was drunk after all and it could've been an alcohol induced nightmare. But what about the pain he felt when he was struck by a force greater than anything he had felt in his entire 26 years of life? The screen of his phone turned dark as he pressed the home button and stuffed it into his pants pocket. Ding.

Nah, nah- Jason had felt pain in his dreams… strange but it did happen before. Constantly in fact. As sad as it may seem, if experience did equate to knowledge, Jason should be awarded for being an expert on night terrors. Plus having the room shrink around him just had to be regular strange dream stuff sealed the deal. Even if it all felt so realistic… it just had to be a figment of his imagination.

Ding.

That decided it then. It was a dream. Nothing more, nothing less… Ding. How ridiculous.

Dong.

~~~~~~~~~

Jason gave out a sigh of relief as the elevator doors opened and he got onto the bustling office floor as workers left to right were rushing around trying to get work done with concerned looks upon their faces. It’s been a rough hour with tons of call-ins and more or less organized chaos going around. Jason had to slowly push through the crowd of coworkers to try to find his cozy cubicle so he could punch in for another day of work.

All the pushing and shoving made it difficult for him to get to his cubicle. Gripping and pulling the plastic divider had gotten him smooshed into his office as he barely had the space to push through all those busy people. With his new found space he sat down at his desk and started to boot up his computer as he reached the time card machine and clock into work.

As Jason entered his ten-digit password, he realized something was different. There was no cheery voice chatting on the phone or a particular blonde coworker peeking over the paper-thin cubicle wall. It wasn't until the office finally started to quiet down, and people became focused on their work that he decided to investigate. He stood up and went on his tiptoes to check on his neighboring colleague.

Plants were generously placed around the cubicle, with potted ferns and cacti on almost every corner of the well-used desk. It made the workspace feel cozy, with an odd bowl of discolored stones in the far corner adding to the homely atmosphere.

However, there was no sign of the overworked woman who often napped at her desk, face smacked down on the keyboard. It was about time for her daily nap.

Suffice to say, Ellie just wasn’t there.

Jason wasn't surprised to find Ellie absent from her cubicle. She was an overworked master's degree student, constantly taking on an unhealthy amount of credits and sleeping irregularly. It wasn't uncommon for her to collapse into a never-ending coma-like sleep.

Jason assumed Ellie was having one of those days and didn't blame her for it. However, Anyone who worked in this place knew Natasha would cut her a break.

Turning back to his computer- which at this point was logged in and displaying a deep gradient blue default desktop image with a few important shortcuts neatly pushed into the left corner of the screen. It was time to bend down into the workload he was expecting as the room seemed to be beaming with people rushing to get stuff done in the last quarter. Upon clicking the mail shortcut he was met with.. nothing new. An eyebrow raised as he clicked his spam, trash and even sent to make sure there weren't any important emails hiding. Strangely, he wasn’t sent anything containing any replies he would have gotten from him sending out vitally important marketing data to the other sectors of the company. Surely someone should have gotten back to him? Even Natasha didn’t reply back to an email about a good time for another meeting with the department for him. Something tickled his guts wrongly, he frowned before trying to send out an email.

Unable to send.

“Fantastic.” Jason grumbled under his breath.

This wasn’t the first time that he couldn’t receive or send emails, though it always caught him off guard every time this happened. Jason turned to the phone on his desk, staring at it wondering if contacting IT again would be worth it. While they do eventually put duct tape on the issue, which Jason appreciates they can even fix it at all, it takes nearly a whole day for everything to go back to normal if he was lucky. “Now what am I supposed to do?,” Jason mused as he turned away from the phone, patting his fingers down on his knees. “Can’t really get any work done right now until things get back in order…”

His eyes slowly moved away from his knees and drifted to his filing cabinet. His eyebrows rose with the metaphorical bulb in his head lighting up. Quickly, he peaked over on the wall in his cubicle with his knees pressed on the bottom of his chair in a frantic kneel. The whole department still looked busy with no one paying attention to the cozy cubicle smushed onto the wall. Jason lowered down from his observation as he thought, since he couldn’t work for a bit and well- Ellie was going to be late, he might as well catch up on some important reading. He grinned widely.

His boney fingers fiddled the edge of the filing cabinet shelf and yanked it open with a forceful tug. Files upon files of the company’s past dues nearly overflowed the poor filing cabinet. If it weren't for the fact that Jason hardly ever touched these files due to the wonders of technology, he would have had to throw them out like he was supposed to have done the day he was hired. However the papers did have use to him as a clever facade to what was truly important there. He pushed the junk files aside to reveal his secret library of paperback novels of varying degrees of cover quality and romance plots. The smell of the aging pages had bubbled the excitement in Jason’s chest in glee as he pulled out one that still had a bookmark in it.

Goodness, he was overwhelmed by emails and crunching numbers that he hasn’t been able to check into the exploits of the great knight dame Elisabeth and her star crossed princess lover Thaladortha. Normally he wasn’t too interested in fantasy rubbish but, this one did tug his heart strings so far as it was filled to the brim with wholesome sincerity. Plus it wasn’t completely inappropriate for a workplace environment, a welcome addition.

The little office employee leaned back into his office chair comfortably and plopped his shoes on top of the filing cabinet half heartedly like a rascal. Flipping open the page, Jason flicked the tip of his thumb to the most recent paragraph and began to dive.

“Dame Elisabeth for gods’ sake let the poor man go!” Shrieked the desperate servant as they hung onto the bulky woman dawned in burning stainless steel armor. The weasel would scream if he could if it weren’t for his throat being clutched shut by a coiled fist. Rage blinded Knight Elisabeth to the point of nearly crushing his scrawny throat, her teeth gritting harshly. “ This shall be the last time I remind you; MY FAIR MAIDEN WILL NOT SETTLE FOR ROSES.”

She dropped the frazzled noble onto the ground with him trying to grasp onto oxygen. “Only the most beautiful succulents will suffice for her wedding you fool.” she proclaimed.

The noble tried to stutter out an excuse of roses being the traditional choice for a wedding, however he was quick to shut up when the dame gave him an ice cold glare that chilled him to the soul. “She cares not for tradition. If she’s going to be forced to have a wedding- At Least have plants that will bring her joy!” She turned away from him and strutted down the hallway heavily. The servant trotted worryingly behind her. “M-madam I.. I think physical violence was going a bit far isn’t it? Just for some flowers?” they spoke up- freezing up when the knight stopped in her tracks.

She went quiet.

Until the servant could clearly hear soft.. Sobs? Coming from the dame herself? It couldn’t be. Dame Elisabeth turned her head- revealing tears sweltering down her cheek. Shaking her head in shame.

The servant quickly grabbed the dame's hand before she could hide her sorrow. "Please forgive me, my lady. This is all my fault. I didn't want to upset you so much." They bowed their heads low.

"Hmph... fine. You can stay here for now." Elisabeth said softly before she continued onwards.

The servant smiled warmly and thanked the dame. The Dame then told her sad tale to the servant, how she fawned over the maiden ever since they were small and how she wished she could be the one taking her hand in marriage that day. That's why she had no intention of settling for anything less than the best. Though at the same time, she didn't want to see her beloved maiden marry someone else just because of political gains.

"It is a cruel reality we must live with," Spoke the Dame in despair, "Even if we must never have our love for each other be seen by the world. " Her voice cracked as her eyes began to well up.

The servant felt awkward at first but decided to comfort the Dame by holding her hand. She gently squeezed her hand and told her everything would be alright. "I'll do what I can for you my lady." They stood there, silent for a moment.

"You really care about her don't you?" The servant asked as she wiped the tears away from her face.

"Of course. She's my best friend!" Elisabeth replied with enthusiasm, "And lover!"

Both of them chuckled quietly, though the servant was too nervous to say the next part.

"So um... Why not court her?"

Elisabeth's face went blank.

"What? Court her? What do you mean 'court'?" She was confused.

"Well.." The servant trailed off.

"That would put both of us in danger!" The dame crossed her arms, trying to avoid having to talk about treason.

"But... She'd be happy wouldn't she? And she's the only person who truly understands you," The servant pleaded.

"No, this isn't right. We should never act on our feelings... Though." The Dame continued, thinking of the times when her maiden would laugh in joy at her jokes, and the times when they kissed under the moonlight.

"Are you sure it's okay with doing this?" Elisabeth asked worriedly.

"Yes. I'm quite positive," The servant answered with confidence.

"I trust you. If you feel like we should do this, then I am all for it."

----

Jason let out a deep sigh as he melted back into his office chair, or at least he attempted to. He shifted side to side, feeling a bit uncomfortable in his chair despite being engrossed in the heart-wrenching story. He noticed that his knees were rising higher, and he seemed to be a bit higher up than usual. The armrests were hugging his hips tightly, which was odd for his petite frame.

Suddenly, it dawned on him that his chair was in the wrong adjustment. It wouldn't have been the first time that Motor had pulled this trick on him, nor would it be the third. Jason reached down and adjusted the seat lever to make himself comfortably leveled again before leaning back in his creaky chair to continue reading.

----

"And do you, Alice, take his hand in marriage?" The pastor asked the maiden, who was dressed in a bleak white dress.

Alice's heart pounded in her chest as she waited for the answer. Looking around the room filled with people. All of them eagerly waited for her response.

"I...." Before Alice could finish, Elisabeth shoved the doors open, loudly exclaiming, "I OBJECT!"

Everyone gasped, except the priest himself. He merely sighed and looked at the knight.

"Dame Elisabeth I suppose you wish to object?" He inquired.

"I do, sir. because... Alice wouldn't be happy marrying him! She should be with the one that SHE chooses!" Dame Elisabeth roared as the guards began to surround her and Alice's father screaming angrily at the Dame.

"Be silent! You are not to speak unless spoken to!" Alice's father bellowed in rage. "Now please leave, Dame Elisabeth."

Elisabeth growled and glared at the priest. Before she could continue, Alice spoke up for the first time in confidence, holding her hands to her chest and approached Elisabeth with tears in her eyes.

"Dame Elisabeth..." She whispered in awe, "I wanted to marry you. I always did. But... I couldn't. Because of my father, and you being a knight. Please...marry me. For real this time. Marry me, Elisabeth."

The knight fell into silence, staring at the young maiden. When she finally looked up, her face softened and she saw nothing but sincerity in those blue orbs.

"Then.. YES, I will marry you Alice," Dame Elisabeth said happily before she took the maiden's hand and kissed it passionately. Alice burst out laughing as everyone in the room cheered and clapped.

----

Jason was yanked backwards with a sudden force, causing him to fall onto the aging carpet. His swivel chair came down with him, and its wheels spun helplessly in the air, no longer in the safe grasp of the floor fibers. He groaned, struggling to get himself off the ground as he felt a strange bloated sensation throughout his entire body. He wondered what caused his chair to suddenly give out, but the answer he was looking for came quickly as he realized his cubicle was feeling a lot more cramped than usual. The plastic walls were slowly closing in on him, and his computer seemed to be … shrinking? ‘No. Nooo no no no.’ It couldn’t have been happening again. That whole thing couldn’t have been real, he had to be asleep in his bed still. It’s much more possible that he just missed his alarm this morning than whatever this crazy sensation was. His hands scrambled to grab hold of the desk but his fingers kept slipping off of the smooth wooden surface and he desperately tried to get off of the floor. Breathing had gotten much harder to do- it felt like his chest was about to explode.

Jason almost stood up to get his bearings, but then he noticed that he was getting taller than the cruddy plaster cubicle walls. Everyone who wasn't buried in their own work was going to notice him, and public humiliation would be his worst nightmare.

The red-cheeked office worker bent down on their knees as he saw that his body was still keen on getting bigger. Was he actually growing, or was he losing his grip on reality? He wasn't sure which one would be worse; Jason would have preferred being late to work.

His heart felt like it was going to fall out of his chest from the rate it was beating at. The office chair that was currently laid on the floor disagreed with the notion that he was going bonkers and that this impossible body fluctuation was the real deal. Drat. If he had to make a quick scientific guess from someone who majored in business, he had about 50 more seconds until someone would notice that little 5'3" Jason wouldn't be so little anymore with the rate at which he was growing. ‘Why did Ellie have to sleep-in today?’

Finally, his long forgotten survival instincts kicked him in the backside and he decided it would be for the best if he could find a good place to hide, somewhere roomy and quiet preferably. It was the best he could think of right then. Calming down until he was normal again seemed to work last time but.. He didn’t have anyone there to guide him now.

Jason went on hands and knees, giving him a chance to peek outside the cubicle entry way, which was now starting to barely graze his shoulders and slowly sink into them. The work rush seemed to be in full swing as his fellow coworkers were in their own little cozy spots making phone calls and typing away. Strange no one noticed the crashing sound. The ignorance of loud noises was a little concerning to Jason but, at the moment he didn’t have much time to worry about that.

Fortunately, it seemed that someone was smiling down upon him as Jason spotted the largest conference room on the entire floor, which was conveniently empty. The oak double doors were wide open, beckoning him to safety. Despite some hesitation, Jason managed to clamber across without breaking the cubicle he was escaping from. He quickly slid into the conference room ungracefully, feeling a bit of carpet burn but otherwise unscathed, even though he was now as large as a Honda civic. Adrenaline continued to pump through his veins as he sat up and grabbed the door knobs, but he immediately paused when he realized his palms were nearly 30 times larger than the knobs and still growing. Jason yelped as he gingerly took the tiny knobs and quickly pulled the doors shut.

Right. Immediate crisis over. For the moment anyways. He still was having the issue of his heart beating faster than light and he was getting taller by the second. Inch by inch. He closed his eyes just trying to grasp at something to calm himself down. He usually took those slow breathing exercises when he was with Ellie right? Well, trying to recall exactly how to breathe calmly turned out to be harder to remember than one would imagine. His fingers brushed through his hair thinking about the technical bits of that exercise. Okay- four squares. Wait did it include the inhale and exhale or were those things separate states. Wouldn’t it be technically two square breathing? Who even decided that calling the stages squares anyways? Wouldn’t that just be counting? This scattered thinking was soon interrupted by the feeling of something pressing on his head and snapping him out of it with a scare. Jason fell back onto his backside again and realized he was definitely pressed for time.

Jason thought for a moment what made him happy, surely something that makes him feel better might make his head calm down right? The first thing that came to mind on the subject of happiness was the thought of his hands being held gently by Natasha’s soft fingers. “OW!” Jason yelped as his height suddenly doubled and he smacked the back of his head on the wall.

To his horror, even the thought of Natasha's soft, meaningful gaze was making his heart beat more pronounced. The supposedly massive conference room, meant for department-wide meetings, was now feeling just as claustrophobic as his shrinking cubicle. Jason's head lowered, and he was left speechless as the walls seemed to close in around him. His leather loafers scraped along the carpet, unintentionally taking some wooden chairs for a ride. His heart couldn’t help but to race, how was this happening and more importantly why was it happening? Jason’s heart felt like it was going to claw its way out of his throat and hop out to go on a paid vacation because god did it deserve a break. Jason’s face felt like it was lit on fire and it was getting harder to stop and breathe. Things can get any worse from here? Right?

A knock came from the miniature door in front of him with a sickeningly sweet voice coming from the other side. “Jason, are you good?”

The overpriced deco chandelier got him right in his temple as he suddenly felt a jolt go through his system as he felt an explosion of gigantism hit him harder than an oncoming freight train. His shoes basically pushed the whole table to the other side of the room along with all the tiny chairs falling over onto the floor.

Quickly, Jason tumbled over onto his stomach and slapped his palm right on the front of the door. It was just his luck that Natasha had to hear his pathetic yelp. As his fingers were eclipsing the door- he could feel tiny pushes on his palm. There was no way Jason was going to let her see him like this. In fact he wouldn’t want anyone to see the horrific transformation Jason was going under.

---- “You okay lil guy- wait. Why’s the door locked? Jason.”

Natasha, try as she might, couldn’t get the door to push open. What was he up to? Pink hair pressed on the oak wood door to try to decipher what his groaning and panicked British mumbing meant. Natasha’s worry got worse as the thought of needing to call an ambulance was going to be called. Eventually she did get a response- a rather loud one at that.

“Y-yeah the door locked. Uhm- I am not.. Feeling that great. I felt under the weather and HUGHk- … I might have made a really-really big mess in here.” Jason half-truth as he was facing the challenge of not screaming in agony when he felt the talons of the pure gold chandelier pierce into his mid back. His hair was getting squished down by the popcorn ceiling and the room was quickly becoming his coffin.

Natasha scowled with her nose rising a bit as she pulled her head away. “Why didn’t you call in then?!,” Natasha retorted back as she gestured her hand. “ You shouldn’t be working when you have the flu! You could get everybody here sick! For God's sake, I didn’t send you home yesterday just because I was giving you a day off.”

She waited about five whole seconds for some sort of explanation and when she did get a response it was just a really sorrowful “My bad…” mumbled its way through the oak.

Natasha brushed her bangs forcefully from her face with a long sigh. “It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine. She muttered before she turned to look at an elevator that finally arrived on their floor. Natasha turned to the door once more with a soft voice, “Go home Jason and see a doctor, Call me up later to let me know how long you need to rest alright?” Natasha didn’t bother to stick around for a response as she started to walk towards the elevator. However she had to step out of the way for a sleep deprived college student that rushed out of the cases with papers literally flying out of her grip and nearly caused a foot traffic collision with Natasha. “Woah-WOAH ELLIE-” Natasha sputtered out when she managed to side step out of the way. Ellie’s heels came to a shrieking halt and nearly hauled over from exhaustion. However she didn’t let herself waste time by catching her breath and began to conjure a whole rant of apologetic lyrics. “OhmygoshNatI’msorryIwasstudingreallylatelastnightandIlosttrackoftimeandIgotreallytiredandIsleptin!Iknowit’sbeenthethirdtimethismonthbu-” Ellie whipped out in a panic before her tongue got twisted by a hard pat on the shoulder.

“It’s alright, Ellie. You’re not that late. Just clock in, hun,” Natasha said with a stern yet sympathetic smile. Ellie let out a fluttered sigh and grazed her fingers on Natasha’s wrist, nodding slightly in a blissful silence and letting her shoulders relax. “Thanks a ton,” Ellie commented as Natasha swiftly pulled away from her and they made their way into the waiting elevator. “Oh yeah and could you let Motor know he’s needed in conference room A113? Jason ain’t feeling great. Thanks~” Natasha added.

As the elevator doors closed, Ellie's brief moment of calm shattered.

---

Crisis averted- for the most part. Jason grumbled in this tight box he was shoved into and the increasing pain he was feeling wasn’t making things any more comfortable. Not to mention the creaking noise he was hearing wasn’t making him confident either. Now that he wasn’t about to be exposed- he wondered how in the world he could get out of this room and more importantly, not be an impossibly giant human that defied science.

Frantic knocking came from the oak door- who did Jason have to lie to next? “J-Jason, are you okay in there???” Ellie whispered, “Did … it happen again?” Ellie spoke more quietly at the last statement to not raise an alarm in the office room. Thankfully it seemed there was quite a buzz in the office due to a sudden flow of work and calls. So no one was noticing the commotion happening in the conference room.

Ellie tried the door but she was also denied entry, However Jason this time was at least willing to at least come clean. “It-it got worse Ellie.” Jason murmured as to not drag attention to them.

Ellie’s demeanor changed like a lightbulb getting shattered by a baseball bat. She frowned as she plastered her body against the wall and lowered her voice to a solid whisper. “Well bud you’re going to have to let me in and help you.” Ellie replied back with a worried grin plastered on her face, wondering what he meant about it ‘getting worse’.

“I don’t think I can literally let you in…” Jason spoke solemnly. “I can barely fit myself in here.” “Uhhh… what do you mean by that?” Ellie tilted her head as she took a double take at the door. A voice didn’t respond to her but loud jostling as if there was a moving crew pushing around furniture on the other side. Noticeably however, the door no longer had any pressure on it and the handle became turn-able again. When Ellie managed to discreetly push the door open slightly ajar- she wasn’t greeted by her best friend, but a huge, looming, hazel eyeball staring worriedly back at her.

[Image Description: A big hazel eye is staring at Ellie as she pushed open the door. Ellie is covering her mouth.] Its lids twitched sporadically and grew more watery as Ellie had to cover her lips to not scream in abject horror and alert everyone in the room that there was a giant occupying the room. What did come out of Ellie’s mouth however was a high pitched whine that could have broken glass if uncovered.

“This is a bit awkward, innit?” Jason quietly mumbled- trying to be inconspicuous as he possibly could be in his situation. Though his leg was becoming more numb and fuzzy the longer he sat on it. Shifting it to the side might do the trick, but as he tried to move his leg over- his heart dropped as he suddenly heard an ear piercing shriek moan from the overly stressed floor boards below him.

...

clink

“Sick.”

Another abandoned plastic bottle was slammed into the trash can for 50 points and Motor was just killing it in his little makeshift game. However, even with his high score, he still couldn't compete with his reign as the grand champion of disposing of all abandoned cans, which was never-ending and filled with sticky glory. He then noticed a helpless Sprite that had been left behind and without hesitation, he grabbed it and threw it into the recycling bin at the other end of the room.

clink

“Nnnnnnice!” Sizzled the janitor under his breath that was followed with a victory pump. That sick dunk called for another celebratory soda. Motor turned to the vending machine, popping in his quarters as he jammed out to the ear-splitting majesty of electric guitar riffs and the lead singer screaming about his personal problems, which he probably needed therapy for.

How relatable.

Right as he was about to chuck another can, his aim was thrown off by the ceiling shaking above him. The can flew onto the wall beside the trash with a disappointed thunk. Motor was baffled and took a few steps back to check up on the ceiling. “... Swear to godzilla if the goddamn pipes broke again, construction is going to have their bones twisted into pretzels -” The room suddenly collapsed in on itself, and Motor narrowly avoided losing his head by falling debris. He let out a string of curses and had to pause to process what had just happened. After collecting himself, Motor got up to inspect the damage and see what had caused the catastrophic event. … Leather? Motor had to stare at the large boulder of dark brown leather that was accompanied by a chunk of scuffed rubber. Before Motor could look into the destructive object further, as fast as it arrived- it lifted back up in the air and nestled into the hole it made. With a careful ear Motor could now clearly hear Ellie’s and that one stuck-up coworker’s voice. It only took him a few seconds to connect the dots and he got this emotion where he was full of confusion and anger but strangely enough, excited.

Finally, a cure for his boredom.

It didn't take long for Motor's thunderous footsteps to reach the service stairs and ascend to the floor above. He pushed past shocked suits and cubicle rats, determined to reach the source of the commotion. As he approached the crowded door, people were starting to panic and wondered if they should call for emergency services.

Motor elbowed his way through the crowd and joined the group of water cooler guys who were trying to force the door open. Despite their efforts pulling it, the door wouldn't budge.

"Relax, bozos. I'll see what fell over. Probably just a light fixture," Motor said sarcastically, trying to calm the onlookers. He gave the guy at the door a stern look, causing him to back away a few meters. Then, with ease, Motor pushed the door open.

Due to his large stature, no one could see what Motor was witnessing. The conference room was in ruins with the whole fancy light fixture crashing into the floor. Right in front of that light there was a sight of Ellie holding onto a hyperventilating Jason’s shrinking hand. Seeing a man that was the size of a truck become Jason sized was more than surreal. Ellie was the first to notice that they had an onlooker right as she was finished with calming Jason down with a wide terrified look and color draining from both of their faces.

#g/t #giant tiny #gt writing #heart thump #gt community #giant #tiny #writing #gt #it's the moment we've all been waiting for #Jason's first detrimental growth spurt

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azure-firecracker · 9 months ago

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ATLA Live Action Stream of Consciousness (Episode 5, Part 3).

FUCK KOH IS HERE THIS IS NOT GOOD! (But appropriately scary!)

Some of the roots of Sokka’s imposter syndrome are showing.

Some veeery faint Hakoda/Ozai parallels here. Hakoda isn’t abusive or anything but the desire to please/feeling of failure is a thing with all 4 of their children (and I saw people saying Hakoda wouldn’t say that but I don’t think his character is established enough to know what he would or wouldn’t say so I’ll give it a pass).

KOH’S DESIGN IS SO COOL! SO IS THE VOICE!

Aren’t you not supposed to look at his face? And since when does he eat people?

IS THAT REALLY GYATSO?! HOLY SHIT!

I do like the extended development of Aang & Gyatso’s relationship. This show is focusing a lot on parent figures, even more so than the original and I’m here for that.

Damn this rescue had better happen quick!

Aang going to Roku does need to happen but how much time do you actually have? This time frame makes no sense.

YES GYATSO HE NEEDS TO HEAR THIS! But isn’t this a Katara line from the OG…that they gave to a man…again?! Dammit! (I’m willing to forgive if I turn out to be wrong).

YOU KNOW I’M SCREAMING ABOUT THE FINAL MONOLOGUE WITH THE FIRE SIBLINGS! I love how this shows how lonely they both are and how they��re both suffering so much because of their father but in different ways. I hope this is setting them up for some future reconciliation especially since we seem to be humanizing Azula more (come on Netflix if you can’t give me a good Katara at least give me my fire siblings wish fulfillment!)

The monologue talking about believing were the problem as Azula exhausts herself practicing late into the night, and so clearly can’t stand her own performance…man that hit hard for me. Like me personally.

What just happened with Zhao? Did I miss something?

I just wish we’d gotten slightly more friendship development between the core 3 before we got Aang’s love for them as a motivator.

#atla #natla #netflix atla #avatar the last airbender #atla live action #atla stream of consciousness #koh #sokka #hakoda #ozai #gyatso #aang #katara #zuko #azula #zhao

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astorythatwritesitself · 7 months ago

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Mass answers!

for @aceghosts @mxanigel and @teamdilf !

A: Of the fanfic you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

At the moment? Honestly... Same Difference is the one I actually like going and reading the most. Irikah's been a fascinatring character to me since the beginning, and I've already been cobbling a little sorta roleswap AU where she's the assassin picked up in ME2 instead of Thane, so that exercise in the server wound up being a really fun sort of... 'origin' for it, and a great way to work more with a character who'd only been haunting the narrative before.

E: What character do you identify with most? Is there a certain fic of yours that captures these qualities particularly well?

-loud shrug- I project like a motherfucker on everyone at all times, so.

J: What’s your favorite fanfic trope? Have you written it?

Oh I am a slut for whump and it's almost exclusively what I write ��

L: Which of your fanfics was the most emotionally challenging to write?

Of the extant ones... eh, honestly, all of them are about equal? This Is Fine might have been the 'most' since it's a very anxious mindset?

Q: Do you like getting prompts from your readers?

Oh god yes - I am constantly pulled in a billion directions, so anything that helps narrow focus is great, even if all it accomplishes is 'ehhh turns out I don't wanna do this'.

U: Is there a pairing you would like to write, but haven’t tried yet.

My main Hellsing ships tbh, particularly Yumikel, though I do want to give Alutegra a shot sometime too - I have like. Ideas! But Hellsing is a beast to match tone for, so backburner and constant ramblings it is.

V: Are there certain comments you’ve received on your stories that have stuck with you?

A few! Particularly on a couple of my pieces with Thane & that GLaDOS monologue fic - more than one person said I nailed the voices, which is honestly something I crave hearing when I'm writing fic lol. Like - hearing anything else is good is nice, of course, but my biggest turn-off for fic is a character just not feeling Right (not synonymous with canon-compliance, more the. 'He Would Not Fucking Say That, Nor Have You Adequetely Gotten Him Into The Situation To Say That' vibes?), so. It's always a delight getting a good grade in writing the blorbo xD

Y: What are your thoughts on your personal satisfaction with something you’ve written vs. the popularity of your stories? Do you tend to be most satisfied with your most popular stories?

... I'll be real here like I'm Fucking Trying but I uh.

I'm like. Never actually satisfied with my writing 😂 Like I'll get to a point where I Am Okay With It, and there's bits I do like to share, but the imposter syndrome is still very real, very loud, and to this day the furthest I've gotten is an 'okay I don't want to throw myself into the sea if somebody Percieves this'.

That said I am a little surprised Data Decay got such a strong response, since I fired it off literally over a lunch break at work. Like - I'm pretty satisfied with it, but. Huh xD

Z: Is there a story you’ve written that doesn’t seem to get much love?

is it whining to say 'most of them' lmao - very little since the SU fic days gets beyond like 40 hits, but what can you do?

That said goddamn it I actually really like the general vibe of Broken Faith and while I haven't done the deepest of dives, I've been in this fandom for like 12-14 years and have seen so little fleshing out Thane's history let alone the drell at all-

#ask #HA THIS ALSO FULFILLS MY FLOWER ASKS it counts enough lol

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kingwuko · 7 months ago

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7, 11, 13, 27, 43, 50, 79 for the fanfic asks!

YAY of course!!! I'll put them under a cut

7. Post a snippet from a wip.

“Guess not. But if the swamp showed you a vision of her…,” Korra said carefully. “The swamp is strange. It sort of shows you what you need to see. The visions aren’t always right, but whatever the swamp showed you probably has some deeper meaning…” Korra wasn’t sure what the Earth Queen might have done or said to Wu, but whatever it was, it had really rattled him. Of course, that wasn't saying much. Wu wasn’t exactly the most cool and collected person she had ever met. Still, Korra got the sense that whatever Wu had seen was intense. “What I need to see…” Wu said thoughtfully. “I… I don’t know. The things she-I mean, the things the vision said to me…” “What did she say in the vision?” Wu’s posture became uneasy and his eyes darted away for a moment. He was being cagey, which wasn’t like Wu at all. Normally he was over eager to share. The vision must have really freaked him out, if he didn’t want to talk about it.

11. Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around?

OOOhh good question. I actually try to write in order! There is a fic author from a different fandom who posts (amateur) fic writing tutorials. She's got a great track record with longfics and wrote a tutorial explaining her methods. One important point she made was that she always writes in order, because it helps her get through the not-fun parts if she has the fun parts waiting for her; just like it's enjoyable as a reader to experience a build-up to the big moments, it's enjoyable as a writer too! I followed this advice and I think it worked REALLY well for me. I managed to finish Secret and Windswept is coming along really nicely. That's not to say I've never written anything out of order, but if I have a scene in my head that's further down the line and I don't want to forget something I've thought of, I put it in my outline rather than directly into a document. Tricks my brain into thinking that I haven't really written it yet, because it's just part of the outline.

13. Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what have you been listening to recently?

I do! Well I try to, anyway. If I'm sitting down to write after the kids are in bed, you betcha. But I also do a lot of little micro writing throughout the day as ideas come to me or I have a few moments to myself. in that case I don't listen to anything. I have playlists for my fic and I like to listen on my work commute which is some of my daydream time where I think of fic ideas. Here's my playlist for Windswept:

27. What area of writing do you feel strongest in?

oh boy you're going to make me compliment myself??? I have imposter syndrome big time this is difficult 🤣 I think I'm pretty strong in the sort of inner-monologue-stream-of-consciousness area. I really love getting into the character's heads and portraying their inner thoughts, and capturing their inner voices throughout it. And I think I do a pretty good job!

43. Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?

I REALLY want to write something about Wuko from Bolin's perspective. Every time I write Bolin I have SOOO much fun I really want to get in that guy's head!!!

50. How would you describe your writing style?

Maybe introspective? I try to keep the story moving but every time something happens, I always make the POV character think about it. I really like writing what's going on in the characters heads.

79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

Get a beta reader for your fanfics!!! Seriously. If your beta reader is just someone you send your completed drafts to and they provide suggestions and edits, that already will elevate your writing miles above what you started with. If it's someone who can also be there to help bounce ideas off of, outline, brainstorm, keep you on track with writing by encouraging you etc. Even better! Also. Don't be embarrassed about writing smut. Whatever. It's just sex. If you're writing it, you probably like reading it. Just write it and don't feel weird about sending it to a beta reader (as long as they've agreed beforehand that they're okay with smut!), don't feel weird about posting it. Lets unlearn shame together and all that. If you're writing outside your experience, try to get the perspective of someone from that experience. If you can't actually talk to someone about it, google and try to find info. For example I'm writing m/m when I don't ID as a man. I so I talk to men (especially mlm) and read accounts from men about certain things, so there's less chance that I'm being offensive or disrespectful or just plain wrong about something.

#answered ask #wuko #prince wu #king wu #korra #fanfiction #ask game #anonymous

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ircn-mvn · 8 months ago

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ItaNaru 2

TW: Capture-Bonding (sort of Stockholm Syndrome), mention of sexual abuse (did not/do not happen), canon stuff

“Itachi!”

Naruto’s scream echoed in his hospital room. He sat in his bed, his breathing labored. It took another moment for his senses to catch up. Sakura and Kakashi were the closest, but Naruto’s gaze focused on Sasuke. It traveled on his face, searching. But little things were missing as his ex-teammate wasn’t the Uchiha he expected by his side anymore.

“Naruto-kun —” Sakura tried.

Her voice was softer than Naruto remembered. Probably because she had never bothered showing him such kindness in the past. Sasuke, however, didn’t look any different.

“How long?” Naruto asked.

His throat hurt, and his words came out raspy but still understandable. No answer came at first.

“How long?” Naruto asked anew. He needed to know. “Please.”

“You were found three days ago,” Kakashi said at last.

Which meant he had escaped a little over two weeks ago. More than enough time for the Akatsuki to realize he was gone and wonder how it had happened, he thought as his hands curled into fists around his sheets.

“I need to go back”, he said.

It wasn’t a question. He wasn’t asking for permission, and yet.

“You are not going anywhere,” Kakashi said. “You just got out of a coma, amongst other things.”

Other things, like being interrogated either by T&I or Tsunade herself. Naruto had only one thing to say.

“He still has his mask, you know.” Naruto started.

Kakashi did his odd dog-like head tilt and Naruto’s gaze shifted to focus on his sheets. He couldn’t look at his old team for long. Not without feeling bile invade his mouth.

“He keeps it hidden in one of our, his, secret places,” Naruto added. “He might not wear it but it’s still who he is. It’s all he has been since the Third...”

He trailed off as his throat closed around his next words. It took him another moment, his anger building before he looked up, his gaze fierce despite his tears.

“Everything he did, the Third asked from him,” Naruto growled. “They made him choose between his Clan and his Village, and then, they used him again and had him join the Akatsuki. They asked him to give up everything he had and he did. The only thing he asked was for you to be spared —”

His glare traveled from Kakashi to Sasuke. Itachi’s precious little brother who had no idea all that his older brother had sacrificed for him. He looked paler than usual as he realized whose story Naruto was sharing with them.

“So no, I’m not staying to be pushed back into a corner while one of my —” precious people, he didn’t say. “One of ours is fighting for his life out there alone because he protected me. Us.”

A silence followed his monologue but Naruto didn’t mind. He didn’t even care if they believed him or not. They could go and ask Tsunade. All he needed were some clothes, and perhaps he could steal a medical scroll or two.

Itachi had been getting sick in the last few months, and also he told Naruto not to worry about it, he couldn’t help it. Itachi was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Before they got to know each other, the only person who had ever shown real kindness and attention to Naruto had been Iruka-Sensei. But like everybody else in Naruto’s life, he had other responsibilities. Other precious people.

Naruto’s attachment to Itachi often had Kisame laughing. He said he suffered from capture-bonding. And maybe he did on some level, except Itachi never had any true bad intentions. He did what he did because it was the best way to protect Naruto at a given moment…

And if he was honest with himself, Naruto didn’t care. His life had always been a mess, if not worse, and Itachi had always been good to him. He sure had done more than his previous caretakers, starting with the Third and the Matron from the orphanage… Even Kakashi hadn’t been much of a sensei to him next to Itachi.

“Is it true?” Sasuke asked finally.

“I don’t know,” Kakashi said. “If it is, then only Tsunade would —”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Sasuke stormed off. Kakashi hesitated, his gaze traveling between his students before he — unsurprisingly — followed, while — to Naruto’s surprise — Sakura stayed put.

“Naruto,” she called softly. Her gentleness freaked him out a little. “You were dehydrated and chakra depleted when you were found, we did what we could with what we knew but… Do you have any other injuries we should know about? Did — did they hurt you any other way?”

Naruto didn’t understand what she meant at first. Of course, he had been hurt during the past four years. Itachi couldn’t always protect him — not that he didn’t try but he wasn’t always there. Also, the only time it had taken him more than a few hours to heal had been after a failed attempt at extracting Kurama from his body. It had been violent and Itachi had been furious.

Naruto frowned and Sakura took a deep breath before she added:

“I need to know if any of them force themselves on you.”

Oh.

“Itachi wouldn’t have let them,” he said.

“And did Itachi ever —”

“Of course not!” He glared at her, then sighed. “He didn’t. He doesn’t see me like that.”

His voice probably betrayed his sorrow because she gave him a wide-eyed look upon hearing his answer. Did she think his childish crush on her had perdured all these years? Naruto wondered.

“You know, there is this thing called Capture-Bon —” Sakura started.

“I know what Capture-Bonding is!” Naruto interrupted. He was angry again. “I know what it is. And I know I probably have it. But I don’t care, do you understand? In case you forgot, it’s hardly the most fucked up thing that has ever happened to me!”

There was a pause. She had been taken aback but was busy studying him now.

“Actually, people who suffer from Capture-Bonding don’t usually know or admit they do,” Sakura said. “At least not without going through separation and therapy first.”

So what? He didn’t have the damn syndrome, then?

Naruto shrugged. Again, he didn’t care one way or another.

#naruto x itachi #itanaru #naruto got kidnapped by the akatsuki #jiraya was too late to stop itachi

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ambersky0319 · 1 year ago

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you sly dog you got me monologuing! (i love you very much amie)

Sksksjshsgsgshd I wasn't expecting to read that in Syndrome's voice oh my stars

(I love you very much too, thank you for being a wonderful friend! 💜💜💜)

#getting people to monologue is my favorite past time :D #amber's amazing friends #tacochippy #ambersky ask #ask #Tumblr remember the tags ive been using for literal years challenge wth

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everyvampiremovie · 2 years ago

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Bit

2019/dir. Brad Michael Elmore/90 min

2.5/5★ 6/16/22

i like some parts of this film a lot! some parts i was fine with and some i’m not nuts about.

the cinematography, editing, costuming; all good. they do that thing occasionally where they change the focus of the camera to make the background look like it’s zooming out while staying focused on an actor’s face - like they are being Effected - and there’s one left to right wipe shaped around foreground elements but that’s about it for fun editing. i was kind of expecting more from how funky the poster looked but books and covers and all.

i also think the premise is kind of #girlboss, in a negative and positive way. i’ve definitely been that person who was like “yeah i want a group of gay vamps to kill homophobes!” but having got it i’m not obsessed. i actually liked the ending where the big evil vamp came back and was like “you are not immune to in-group manipulation” because it made it more interesting to think about, and yeah queer groups are not immune to infighting and abuses of power. and how sometimes people trying to recover things they’ve lost end up hurting other people.

in a similar way i feel conflicted about but also interested in mark’s monologue about being the sibling on the side. he’s definitely trying to hurt laurel at least a little, but hearing about his experience gave me some things to think about.

but the film is more typical vampire coming of age story where the vampires are girls who are dating (or whatever) each other. so in that sense it was alright!

i really hate to say it but i kind of have to, i wasn’t a big fan of nicole amber maines’ acting. she looked great, her voice is clear and sounds good, and she got the blocking but i think she needed a little more time. i’m definitely glad she got this role and i can’t wait to see the stuff she acts in later!

EDIT: oh also i forgot to talk about the final scene. laurel and mark are talking and they decide that maybe it would be better if everyone was turned into a vampire. it feels like a very syndrome-from-the-incredibles conclusion, and doesn’t seem right after the two of them had just been saying that they were turned without their consent. it feels like maybe it was supposed to be a conclusion drawn from having vampirism be a metaphor for queerness or something, but it’s the only place in the film where it does that. except for maybe when duke is giving laurel the pitch and talks about how you don’t have to give up your family, which feels like a modern evolution in queer acceptance (you can be queer and still have your family, versus the old trope of coming out and having to leave everything behind).

#mine #review #bit #another ok one #eventually i'll have to backlog the movies i wrote two sentences for #long

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princesscatstronaut · 2 years ago

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post-therapy-thursday-thinky-thoughts

one of the big things we talked about today was the split between my inner child and my inner adult. as a child I was tasked with making sure my diabetic mother was safe, which is parentification and not a fun way to live. and I learned to manage the emotions of the people around me to make sure mom didn't get too upset and have a low blood sugar reaction. the underlying themes of that time in my life are two-fold: 1) oh my god can't anyone see that I need help? why is no one helping me? does no one else recognize how fucked up this is?, and 2) don't let anyone see how emotional/sad/depressed/anxious you really are bc they'll hurt you. so you see, I desperately want help and am simultaneously petrified of being seen and therefore vulnerable.

there were times in the last week where I was able to work on my thesis a little bit. its not getting done in time to be submitted for this semester's deadline and I'm sure I'll get flack for that, but like, what are they going to do? if they say I have to defend again that wouldn't be terrible, from the 4 months of job interviews I did after my defense, I've got the talk down so much better now.

and we discovered that during the times leading up to when I would engage with the thesis edits, I was bathing in cortisol-induced anxiety hormones, and this was like embodying the inner child. she's afraid. but at the same time she also desperately wants someone to understand how hard all of this is. but when I finally get myself to sit at my desk and work on it, that's when I can turn off the anxiety enough and actually get things done. at that point I'm adult-me. I am able to get a lot of hard things done in a short amount of time, but then I'm absolutely drained and go back into avoidance behaviors (my favorite trauma response).

and I keep hearing this monologue in my head that I'm not working hard enough, both at the new job and at my thesis edits. we all know about imposter syndrome. but in this case the imposter I'm playing is the version of me that everyone wanted me to be. and I'm not doing super great at maintaining that right now. and this refrain of not working hard enough has been in my head my entire life. if only I was more vigilant, mom wouldn't have had that low blood sugar attack and had to go to the hospital. if I was a better grad student, I wouldn't have gotten kicked out of grad school the first time. if I was a better grad student the second time (or chose a better boss), maybe this time wouldn't have been so terrible. this voice is inner-child-me. I guess I didn't recognize that until therapist pointed it out today.

I've been in the inner child headspace a lot. its why I've been listening to The Adventure Zone non-stop. bc it shows a family playing a game together and having emotions and dealing with those emotions in a safe and productive way. and it makes it sound like there's people around me, which as a single person in the pandemic, this is very comforting. my parents would never play dnd with me. bc you have to play a character and really embody them and its a safe place to work through feelings that you can't do otherwise (also its a place where you can actually have an effect on the world and make it better). and my parents are emotion-phobic. I wasn't allowed to show that I had them growing up. which, expecting a 13-yr old to not show emotions is like asking napoleon to be taller, it's damn near impossible. but that's what they expected of me. and I was never good enough. it's why I cosplayed Data (from ST:TNG) so many years for halloween. he didn't have emotions. he was the kind of child they wanted.

I have a lot of work to catch up on and I need to get to that but I want to eat something and do literally anything but that right now. I think I will allow a dinner break and make myself come back to the desk later. making myself sit here doesn't actually help, especially when I haven't really eaten much today.

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fisherrprince · 3 years ago

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@renatogpadilla : What about baby Ven headcanons from the Age of Fairy Tales? Or current day Ven with Chirithy back and training with Kairi? I imagine having been a part of Sora for so long makes him want to protect Kairi like crazy, but it's VEN, so maybe it doesn't go that well... (Wether it's because the Daybreak Town issues hit them like a ton of Bricks or because Kairi legit wants her own adventure and accomplishments is anyone's guess... Regardless, Chirithy sus)

(vibrates) small ventus this got long my sincerest apolocheese

this goes hand in hand with my daybreak hcs so i think small ven has no concept of private gardens. Daybreak town had communal gardens/agriculture, and the LoD had their gardens and the market near town, and he barely went to the second one so if that boy sees a fruit tree. He's going to take one.

also my FAVOURITE HC thats now supported by khux is that ven Did not Learn how to Read Modern Script until about a year into staying with Eraqus. Ancient text he can read, but Xehanort didn't give him books, and hundreds of years have passed and language has evolved he has no idea what this sign says. Aqua gives him her YA fantasy novels like magic treehouse. vanitas can't read either

he was also just, Extremely nervous a lot... if we had anxiety medication in the age of fairytales he'd be on some. Not only as like, an insecurity thing (because this kid is the most insecure little man--) but also he startles easily and his brain often goes to the worst outcome. He's not necessarily a pessimist, he's very excited when things go right and when there's New Stuff to see!!!!! He often thinks the best of people he hasn't gotten to know!! but that also makes him think he's the one with issues, not someone that might be rude to him. the kid has inattentive adhd leave him be there are also no medications for that -- but he's doing better now that there are older kids who taught him coping methods that work.

He also Definitely played down how darn powerful he was because he didn't want to like, brag, or was afraid the other kids were obviously stronger than he was. The other dandies are STRONG, but Ven didn't have much going on socially, so training/missions was his go-to. khux ven wasn't allowed to be awake during th finale bc he would have gone ham

also wasn't allowed bc the Darkness he ate still had a sentience if not a heart and it hadn't gone thru time and gotten muddled yet so it would not have gone well

Ven Loves weather as a Thing that exists, he loves when it snows and rains and thunderstorms and he would and still does dash outside in that thunderstorm just to be in it. Ventus you will catch a cold. its worth it!!!

when he wakes up he sometimes has a hard time remembering when and where he is, or what he's doing. Sometimes his brain just says hey! We're back home ten years ago, go look for the master :] or hey we're supposed to be asleep go to sleep. it really messes with him he doesn't like it, he'd never experienced something like a sleep paralysis hallucination before and dislikes it Immensely

UM I THINK, I think actually that he and Kairi are buds and they totally see eye to eye! Both fulla light, kind of treated like glass by their best friends, both very interested in being part of something though while Ven is very into traveling and safeguarding the worlds Kairi is taking the Riku route and is into protection mostly for her close confidants. She doesn't care much about The Big Picture, she cares about her friends. They would hang out and like, shake hands and agree not to hold back on each other (well, mostly, Kairi is still learning and Ven is nearly at Mastery level) when sparring or just talking. I feel like if they had to be careful talking to other people, they wouldn't have to with each other. I just think they're fwends and they play extreme uno together... Ven has Huge protective instincts for Sora, like, fully big brother instincts him, but Kairi visited for a little bit a while ago and he kind of "watched over" her little sleeping heart during that time, knowing that Sora was keeping her safe just like he did for him. ventus loves sora to absolute death and sora doesnt even know the full extent of it

anyways yeah chirithy sus but i give it a kiss on the head just don't do anything drastic and i will still love u you sweet sweet kitty cat . how are u affecting your keybearer is he like, good, mentally, with you around,

i cannot Wait until this kid starts remembering things. I think Namine should help. I think that maybe he should realize half his memories are with Vanitas and hysterically try to find him to get them back

i also think ven has taller energy than the rest of the heart hotel. sora/vanitas/roxas/xion are 5'2" (CANONICALLY? YOURE SHORT?) (vanitas is 5'4" with the heels), ven is 5'5", Namine is 5'7". they r all still growing a little but their heights will remain in this order

#soft spot for chirithy...........#ask #kipspeak #kh #ah. yeah that got long #SYNDROME VOICE YOU GOT ME MONOLOGUING #YOU CAUGHT ME INFODUMPING YOU SLY DOG #khux #Metazone

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delicrieux · 4 years ago

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corpse husband... 👀 could I get a soft pastel aesthetic reader playing among us with the group and being absolutely terrible at it. maybe like she sees him kill someone and doesn’t say anything or report it and he follows her around to sorta protect her from the other imposter? at the end she asks why he didn’t kill her and he says it’d be too easy but ofc someone’s gonna make jokes and be like “no you’re just a simp” idk i think that’d be funny? you dont have to tho- no worries

⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡author’s note: we love pastels and corpse in this house. we love the “i’m helping cuz u cute” trope. we love the public simping. gotta stan this request

masterlist.⁀➷｡˚⸙͎۪۫⋆ ༄

There is a long list of things you’re terrible at, and Among Us is at the very top. But besides your lack of prowess at the game, it is perhaps luck you should curse, for what you have just witnessed will send you into the afterlife: Corpse’s little black astronaut murdering Rae in cold blood. You still by your keyboard; out of the corner of your eye, you see he chat going nuts. The stream just got ten times more interesting.

For a long few seconds neither of you move. You’re not exactly surprised Corpse is the Impostor, it’s just that you desperately did not want to get in his way - you’re bad enough at this game as it is, and trying outmaneuver the master at this game of chess? Impossible.

Shrugging, you glance at your camera, “I ain’t see nothing.” Before, in-game, you promptly turn on your heel and glide to the other side of the map. Corpse follows. You start sweating, “Noooo, I swear I’m not gonna snitch, please spare me, sir. I swear on my” You idly tap your cat headphones with your hand, “-only prized possession. And my plushie collection.” He’s still trailing after you, even when you hop into Navigation. Turning to the chat, you ask, “Guys, how do I telepathically convey to Corpse that I’m not going turn him in? No one tell him, though, that’s cheating.”

“girl, start manifesting” one comment reads.

“Oh, manifesting, okay. Saw that on TikTok. I also heard it’s like a big thing in LA.”

You’d imagine that if somehow you were actually transported to the cool chamber of a dying spaceship, cornered by a black figure with devil horns blocking your exit, you would probably start crying. But you’re safe in your little stream room, decorated in fairy-lights and soft colours and even softer blankets. That initial primal fear of having nowhere left to run lingers, though, and you gulp.

A meeting is called and you breathe out a heavy sigh of relief before unmuting your mic, the first to chime, “What happen--No! Rae! Who killed Rae, fess up now!”

“Well, maybe you killed Rae!” Sean exclaims, and even if you can’t see him, you instinctively know he’s pointing a finger at you.

“It wasn’t (Name).” Corpse says smoothly, “We’re together.” He backtracks quickly, laughing anxiously, “Uh--In game, I mean.”

The conversation rages on, though you’re forgotten, which is a small reprieve. Corpse is quick to frame someone else and everyone agrees to vote. Momentarily you can’t believe you’re betraying your fellow crewmates and wonder why you’re doing it exactly. To make an entertaining stream? That’s definitely part of it. Charlie is flung into lava and you know it should’ve been Corpse but you’re having a bit too much fun to care.

“nooooo!!!! they corrupted her!!!! our sweet baby is on the villain arc!!! RIP”

You hope not mentioning what you had seen transpire minutes prior will dissuade him from killing you - he still could, but he’s just standing by the door, watching your movements. You decide you will only figure it out once your back is turned to him, whilst doing your tasks. Apprehensively, you get to it and--

Nothing happens.

Once you’re finished, you run circles around him. He joins in soon. The olive branch had been accepted. You grin. Rush out of Nav and he, once again, follows after you.

The game continues like this, you doing tasks and he hoovering by your side like some little guardian devil. You almost forget that he’s the Impostor until he murders Sean right in front of you. You slap your hand over your mouth. Did Stockholm Syndrome kick in already? He self reports and his first words are, “(Name) and I found a body in Weapons.”

You aren’t sure how much your betrayal aided the Impostor victory, but you were the only survivor left between two serial-killers. Your chat spams celebration emoticons and fake-deep monologues about living in a society. While you were an unofficial Impostor, your audience single-handedly decides you were the best one.

It’s all laughter and apologies from your part to your slighted teammates, though even they have to admit it was a good game. Everyone agrees to play another round, but before it can start, you just have to know, “Hey, Corpse?”

“Yes, (Name)?”

“Why didn’t you kill me?”

“Oh,” He mutters, a small chuckle following after his words, “it would’ve been, uhh, too easy, I guess?”

“Lies.” Sean interrupts, “It’s because you’re a fucking SIMP!”

The discord call choruses “SIMP SIMP SIMP” in surprising harmony. You sit in your chair, giggling, smiling so brightly your cheeks start hurting.

“Guys, come on--” Corpse says, sounding like he’s smiling, like he’s got his face covered with his hands, like he’s embarrassed; he laughs - it’s a light, pretty sound, “I just wanted (Name) to have fun. And not be killed by Sykkuno.”

“Wait--” Sykkuno pipes up, “So you just...followed her around the map?”

“...Yeah.”

“Oh my God, you stupid simp!” Sean laughs, “(Name) was there when he killed me, I was so confused why she didn’t say anything because I figured she was the other Impostor, but turns out he just kidnapped her. Don’t worry, (Name), we don’t blame you for betraying the crew. You did what you had to do to survive.”

“It’s the her seeing Corpse kill me and pretending she’s blind for me.” Rae snickers.

“Wait a fucking minute,” Charlie says, “you mean to tell me, (Name), our little pastel princess fucking peach over there, saw Corpse slitting your throat and fucked right off, and then lied like a grade-a-politician during the meeting? Who killed Rae fess up my ass, you all are saying Corpse played us like a fucking fiddle but it was actually (Name) the whole time.” You hear a smile in his voice, and somehow feel a surge of pride, “(Name)--” He’s cut off by Sean trying to interject but quickly shushes him with a few choice words “Jesus fucking Christ, shut up, I’m trying to figure something out. (Name), did you or did you not use Corpse for protection?”

You’re giggling; you can’t control the sporadic giddiness mixed with light anxiousness, “I just...I just didn’t want to die!” You exclaim. More laughter.

“I rest my case, she’s a fucking wolf in sheep’s clothing, it’s always the nice one’s that stab you in the back for the fuck of it.”

“Guys,” Corpse says, “guys, guys, guys...Let’s play another round?”

“Yes”es are exchanged like trading cards. Before long, your screen lights up and you gape at the word IMPOSTOR written over you little astronaut standing right next to...Corpse.

You grin: if the last game was crazy, this one will be straight up insane.

hope you liked it! xx

#corpse husband #corpse #corpse husband x reader #corpse x reader #corpse husband fic #corpse husband fanfic #corpse husband x y/n #corpse husband imagine #imagine #imagines #reader insert #request #fluff

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realcube · 4 years ago

Text

The Maid Café || Saiki K x Reader

summary: nendou and kaidou keep pestering saiki to visit their favourite maid café but he shuts them down every time. however, after a bit of prying they manage to convince him to give the place a try and while they are there, you just so happen to be on shift.

tw// cussing, maid café, (she/her) reader

key:

“non italicised text” = somebody besides Saiki speaking

“italicised text” = Saiki telepathically communicating

‘italised text’ = Saiki’s thought

‘Of course Nendou and Kaidou would be into maid cafés of all things — not cat cafés, not internet cafés — it just had to be maid cafés.’

Saiki’s internal monologue began as Kaidou continued gushing on about the cute lady he met at the café a few days ago as an argument to why Saiki should join them next time they go. Not to say Saiki wasn’t listening as he felt extremely sorry for whatever lady had to tolerate Kaidou’s advances and his prayer went out to her but besides that, he really couldn’t care less about the maids or the café.

Until, his attention was involuntarily aroused at the vocalisation of his name from Nendou, “Saiki’s definitely in for Friday, I’m pretty sure I sold him when I told him that the sandwiches there are almost as good as the ramen we usually get.”

‘No, you didn’t. I won’t be coming to join you on Friday. I’d much rather stay--’

Somehow Kaidou managed to cut off Saiki’s internal monologue with his annoying voice, “Don’t be silly, Nendou. You’re not going to win Saiki over with such a ridiculous comparison, one that he clearly doesn’t care about.”

‘Am I delusional? Is this a hallucination? Or did Kaidou just say something logical and based in reality?’

Kaidou’s aura immediately changed to dark and sinister as a mischievous smirk crossed his face, the background squawks of the crows suddenly became much louder for some unknown reason. “Instead, you must locate your opponent's weak point before you can recognise the crucially important moment to exploit it. The process takes patience but it is one I have learned from my many years rebelling against Dark Reunion. Now, young Nendou, watch and learn.” He finished with a dramatic flip of his school jacket which was slung over his shoulders as a cape.

‘What was all that about?’

Saiki wondered before Kaidou turned to him, much less brooding than he was a few seconds ago, and said casually, “Your loss if you don’t come, Saiki — you’ll be the one missing out on some of the best desserts in our whole town — not to mention the coffee jelly.”

✿✿✿✿✿

‘How do I always end up losing to these people? I am a psychic for god’s sake!’

Saiki mentally cursed himself out as he stood shamefully in front of the maid café, wearing a carefully curated outfit — including his germanium ring — created especially to hide his identity from anyone from his school that might pass by the café and spot him in there through the window or something. Honestly, he wouldn’t be caught dead in a maid café, or so he thought.

However, all the reviews he read along with both Nendou and Kaidou’s thoughts helped him conclude that this place’s coffee jelly and general dessert selection is nothing to sneeze at. In fact, his favourite Tumblr blog - DeadlyDesserts11037 - visited the place and gave it a 5 star review, recommending everybody who happens to pass by the town to definitely check the place out. After that, he was sold.

Saiki looked over at his friends and couldn’t help but facepalm in response to their bright red, thrilled expressions. “Good grief, please don’t tell me you are both that excited over ladies in maid outfits.” As you might’ve guessed, Saiki didn’t really understand the concept of a ‘maid café’, so he simply assumed the male obsession with maids had something to do with the objectification of women hence he obviously did not want to take part.

“Saiki, you’re seriously just built different if this doesn’t touch your soul.” They both brushed the pink-haired boy’s comment off, completely mesmerised by the sight of a particularly pretty maid-lady walking by the window — probably on her way to serve a table — carrying a notepad in one hand and a plate with a scrumptious-looking coffee jelly on top.

Saiki followed their gaze, his breath hitching at the sight. He was speechless; no sarcastic comment, no running commentary, nothing. Just..woah! If he had known that the girls that work at this place were so gorgeous and the food looked so delicious, he would’ve came a long time ago.

He wasn’t even sure which one he wanted more; the girl or the jelly. In a way, one wasn’t complete without the other because the coffee jelly which she held high next to her head brought out her (E/C) eyes while her shapely figure highlighted the defined curves of the jelly. Drool was quick to start forming at the corners of his lips but he was even quicker to wipe it away; he was starving.

“We’re going in.”

✿✿✿✿✿

To Saiki’s dismay, it was not the stunning (H/C)-haired girl who he had caught a glimpse of through the glass that ushered them to their table. Rather, it was a slightly less gorgeous maid-lady who had long, bright purple hair which was clearly a wig.

Fortunately for him, after she left Kadiou, Nendou and himself to take their seats, she rushed off saying that someone will come take their orders whenever they are ready.

Even with his psychic abilities, there wasn’t much he could think of to alter fate so the pretty coffee-jelly lady would end up serving their table, and besides that, he was way too caught up in gawking at all the mouth-watering desserts they had pictured on the menu.

Simply glancing over the menu brought a stupid grin to his face, he wanted to try every delectable treat presented in front of him. However, he knew he must exhibit restraint, which was fairly simple as he knew deep down there was only one thing on the menu that he was truly after. You guessed it — coffee jelly.

Usually, he couldn’t care less about what his friends comrades were going to order but in this case, he was tempted to try convince both Kaidou and Nendou to order something he liked so he could take a bite of whatever they were having, “What are you two going to order?”

Yet again though, he was ignored as Nendou and Kaidou were both too busy checking out other types of snacks to care about the ones on the menu.

Then, a movement out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention so his head jolted from the menu to his new target, the beautiful girl he had saw through the window earlier. Previously, she was holding a coffee jelly but now she was basically empty handed, until she approached the table and pulled out a notepad and pen, “May I take your orders?” She asked in the most calming, melodious voice Saiki had ever heard, the sounds that left her mouth were nothing short of angelic. Which made sense since her serving their table must’ve been god’s gift to Saiki for all his hard work.

Chills, Saiki got literal chills before he mused, “A coffee jelly, and two brownies for the pair of clowns.” His blood ran cold; curse his smooth sarcastic comments! Most of the time, he was able to filter himself but due to the nerves that arose while talking to you, he probably shouldn’t be surprised that he had a little slip of the tongue. But now, you probably think he is a bitch that insults people on the regular; which he is, but not usually aloud! Plus, he couldn’t even tell what you were thinking due to his germanium ring and your distant expression, awful combo!

While he was in the middle of feeling bad for himself and considering teleporting away home, a miracle happened, you burst out laughing. And somehow, your laughter was even more silvery than your voice.

Saiki had zoned-out from pure shock for a moment before coming back to reality, noticing that you had started jotting down something in your notepad, a sweet smile still lingering on your face despite the fact you had stopped laughing. “Alright, so one coffee jelly and two brownies. Anything else?” You asked, glancing back and forth between the three equally unique and strange men sitting at the table.

“That’ll be all, thank you.” Saiki telepathically communicated as he usually did, considering actually using his mouth to speak for a change so he didn’t seem weird but in all honesty, he couldn’t be bothered. In any other situation, he would’ve gotten a drink of water or perhaps hot cocoa but right now he was way too afraid of making another error in his speech to request something else.

Silently, he extended his arm to hand you the menu he was given when he entered the café, along with the ones Kaidou and Nendou were given too. His actions single-handedly shooting down your plan of leaning across the table to ‘take the menus’ but in reality it is just a subtle way of showing-off how nice your torso looked in this maid outfit, a trick you learned from your supervisor.

You nodded, closing over your notepad and making your way over to the kitchen, being sure to swing your hips just a little bit extra to impress the pink-haired megane at the table you just took an order from. You mentally cursed your stupid brain though for always crushing on guys/gals who don’t seem the least bit interested in you. In this case, the guy’s attention was divided between his star-struck friends and the desserts on the menu, rather than you which was an unusual sight in a maid café considering that most people would only come to ogle at the waitresses.

✿✿✿✿✿

“So, Saiki.” Kaidou finally landed back into reality after a large chunk of the waitresses roaming around were now in the kitchen which he didn’t have viewing access to, “What did you order us?”

‘So, he was fully aware that the waitress came to take his order, he just chose to ignore her and left me to order his food. What a child, it must be a side-effect of his eighth grade syndrome.’

Saiki couldn’t help but sigh, “I ordered you both brownies.”

Kaidou stuck out his bottom lip to form a pout as he crossed his arm over his chest like a toddler, “I hate brownies.” He muttered to himself, realising that if he wanted something done right, he’d have to do it himself.

An amused smirk tugged at Saiki’s lips but he resisted the urge to laugh, ‘I know.’ He thought, his masterplan to eat more food without looking greedy falling into place. “Oh well, more for me then.”

Suddenly, Nendou spun his head around to abruptly join the conversation, “Hey guys, did you see the hottie that was serving our table?” He inquired with starry eyes, as if he was a kid in a candy store.

Saiki nodded, ‘Obviously I did, you moron. I was the one who ordered the food for goodness’ sake!’

Kaidou shook his head, his eyes lighting up as he leaned in close to Nendou, “Nope! I was busy looking at the other girls, but tell us!”

Nendou chuckled at Kaidou’s enthusiastic reaction before glancing to the side, outstretching his arm and pointing at the waitress that was now approaching the table with the food in her hands. “There she is!”

‘Don’t point at her, you idiot!’ Saiki mentally insulted his friend but instinctively followed the guidance of the tip of his finger until his eyes landed on your shapely figure — accentuated by the nature of the maid outfit — slowly heading toward his table, holding the coffee jelly and the plate of brownies in the same graceful way you did when he saw you through the window.

The gleam of your gorgeous hair, the movement of your luscious lashes, the gentle bounce of your upper body, how your perfectly manicured nails clutched the base of the jelly glass; everything about what he was seeing made him believe that if/when he were to die, this would be his ideal first sight as he passed through the gates of heaven.

Before he knew it, you had reached the table and placed his jelly down on the table, gently nudging it towards him, “One coffee jelly for the cute boy with antennas.” You mused, making Saiki’s heart flutter in a way he was unfamiliar with. Then, you placed the brownies in front of Kaidou and Nednou who sat opposite from Saiki, “And two brownies for the clowns.”

If it wasn’t for the fact the pair of clowns were too busy leching over you in your maid outfit, they’d probably be curious as to your choice of words but luckily for both you and Saiki, they were way to entranced by your visible bra strap to care about the little nickname.

Saiki felt a light blush creep onto his face, which only got worse as you discretely sent him a playful wink before turning on your heels to stroll back to the kitchen, “If you need anything else, just give me a wave.”

All of them hummed agreement in unison until the waitress was out of sight, giving Saiki a moment to process the events that had just went down. Not only did you refer to him as ‘the cute boy with antennas’ but you also winked at him, if that wasn’t a clear sign you were interested, what was? However, Saiki still had his doubts since this was a maid café after all, perhaps you were just trained to do that with all your customers.

Luckily, the had the foresight to slip off his germanium ring to read your mind and that helped him come to the conclusion that you were either interested in him or you were just very competitive as the whole time you were serving the table your thoughts were along the lines of;

‘I’ll adjust my skirt- Ha! You looked! Try resist falling for me now, you hot lil’ megane! Your heart is mine and I know it! See, I’ll fidget with my corset too-- just make a move already, pinkie!’

Although he didn’t appreciate being called ‘pinkie’, he had no right to judge what was going on in your brain. All he could do is be thankful that you didn’t say that aloud.

✿✿✿✿✿

You sighed as you noticed the pink-haired boy and his little posy exit the establishment without so much as a goodbye, or even a wave!

It was disappointing as you had already mentally planned your future with this guy and he had the audacity to do the real life equivalent of leaving you on read. But oh well, it would be approximately a week until you developed a crush on a random customer that lasts for around 30 minutes and for the time being, you can focus on doing your job.

You glumly shuffled over to their table to gather their plates to be washed, then a piece of colourful paper attached to the empty jelly glass caught your eye. As you held up the glass to inspect it further, you realised that it was a sticky note with a message written on it in black ink and neat, cursive handwriting. It read:

‘Dearest waitress,

Thank you for the excellent service, we (myself) tipped accordingly.’

You hadn’t finished reading yet but you were curious as to what he meant by that, and apparently you service must’ve been exceptional as the writer had left a whole ¥2000 tip. That’s a huge addition to the demonia fund.

Followed by this charming little message was an extra tip for you; the writer’s phone number! Meaning that this little sticky note was something you had to protect with your life..so you shoved it in your bra for safe-keeping.

But not before taking a moment to giggle with delight at who the note was signed by,

‘Sincerely, the hot lil’ megane (aka Kusuo Saiki)’

#saiki no psi nan #kusuo saiki x reader #the disaster of psi kusuo saiki #the disastrous life of saiki k.#saiki k x reader #saiki x reader #saiki headcanons #saiki k headcanons #kusuo x reader #saiki kusou no psi nan #kusou saiki x reader #saiki fluff #saiki k fluff #saiki k oneshot

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teddy06writes · 4 years ago

Text

Locked Away

Requested by this anon: “Heyo! Can I please request an Awesamdude x Fem!Reader in which the reader is an inmate at Sam’s prison? Not Stockholm syndrome or anything because the reader already had a crush on Sam before being put in there. Thanks!”

And also this one: “ please i will cry if i don’t get more awesamdude content. i’ve scrolled to the very end of his every hashtag.”

Awesamdude x fem!reader

trigger warnings: some swearing, yelling, manipulation (dream’s the reason your in prison), character death

premise: In game AU; or the past three months you’d been under Dream’s control, only half aware of what was going on, the last thing you can remember from before was talking to Sam almost telling him your feelings, but now, as you are suddenly yanked from his control you find yourself being thrown in prison, now under his watchful eye

{oh there is no fluff here fellas}

“blep” talking

‘belp’ talking but its the green bitches voice in your head

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

You were drifting, drifting through your strange, foggy world, doing your best to forget about the way you could barley control your own body, just a puppet on strings, when yelling, not of the voice that you’d been hearing, but of someone else, cut through the smog.

-“It’s over!”-

-”none of this will ever be over”-

The voice, it was your own but it didn’t belong to you.

-”Dream has Surrendered (y/n), we can’t allow you to continue on his work”-

Growing bored you begin to drift away again, barley seeing, or feeling the people dragging you away.

Sometime later, you’d been drifting, and then were suddenly plummeting back down into your body, a strangled sound escaping your throat as you regained control of your own body.

“What the fuck?” A loud voice asked.

You jerked your head up, turning to see that it was Sapnap who had been restraining you as you shuffled along, weakly asking, “Wha-? Sapnap- what’re you? Wh- what?”

You looked around frantically at the smooth Blackstone walls, and down the hallway to where Bad and Sam are moving through unlocking a series of locks, “Where? Wha- Where I am I? Wh- wh- wh- what’s going on?”

“Yeah nice try,” Sapnap scoffed, “I’m not letting you go because of fake amnesia.”

“No- it- I-” Panic was rising in your chest as Sam and Bad finished with the locks and pulled open a door to what looked like a cell.

“You think we shackle her like we did with him?” Sapnap asked, all but dragging you forward.

Bad was clearly about to nod when Sam stopped him, obviously conflicted as he searched your eyes, “No. She won’t need them.”

“What is happening right now?” You asked desperately.

Ignoring you Sapnap nodded, pulling your forward and pushing you into the cell, the barred door closing behind you, “Well, you don’t need me anymore, I’m gonna go talk to Dream.”

“Be careful.” Bad advised and Sam began to relock the door.

You slowly, shakily, pulled yourself to your feet, look through the bars at Sam and Bad, “What is going on?”

Bad frowned, almost glaring at you, “(y/n) this is what happens to people who do bad things. Siding with Dream is just about the worst thing you could have done.”

“Side wit- side with Dream?” You blinked, rubbing at your temples as panicked tears began to prick at the corners of your eyes, “I- I didn’t- I wouldn’t-”

Bad simply turned away as Sam finished the locks, taking in a shaky breath, “We trusted you, you know?”

“I- Sam- I didn’t- Sam I don’t know whats going on? Where am I? I didn’t- I didn’t side with Dream- I would never side with Dream.” You said desperately.

“This is The Prison (y/n), entirely unescapable, made for people li- like you,” His voice wavered, and quickly he turned, “There's no getting out.”

You cried yourself to sleep that night, small sobs echoing through the empty halls of the prison; in his office Sam felt each new sob in his chest; in his cell, with each new sob Dream’s smile only grew larger.

Sam sighed, blocking out Dream’s monologue as he slid the tray of food through the opened slot in the door.

Dream’s cell had no bars, just a full steel door, and a tiny window in the ceiling, yet the man seemed to enjoy it, far to much.

“You know how funny it was to see (y/n) getting dragged in here?” Dream laughter shrilly.

“You were in here, there was no way you could’ve seen anything.” Sam replied sharply.

“Oh but I hear everything,” Dream laughed again, “Stupid bitch didn’t even know what was going on, god I didn’t think it’d be that easy to get in her dumbass head.”

“Don’t call her that,” Sam hissed, slamming the slot shut and locking it, “I don’t want another word out of you until you’re giving me that fucking tray back.”

Ten minutes later the hallway your cell was in was deadly silent other than Sam’s footsteps, “Food time.”

He slid the tray into the slot of your door, and look picked your head up from leaning back on the wall to look at him, “You do realize something’s wrong here, right?”

“I mean, you siding with Dream was certainly wrong.” Sam muttered.

You sounded utterly broken and defeated as you moved to lay back on your cot, turning to face the wall, “I didn’t realize manipulation was a form of agreement.”

Sam sighed, “Are you gonna eat this or not? I’m not suppose to leave till you do.”

“Then I guess your going to have to sit here.”

The first 15 minutes passed in silence, Sam resigning to sit on the floor outside your cell as the minutes ticked on, eventually asking, “You were saying you didn’t remember anything, what exactly do you remember?”

“You.” The word was simple enough, “We were talking- you said you thought you could do something. Tried to walk me home but I said I’d be fine. Dream was waiting at my house.”

Sam hummed, a slight anxiety rising in his chest, “What did I think I could do?”

You sighed, studying the Blackstone wall, “You said ‘I think I might be able to love you’ but with whatever I did there's no way it’s true anymore.”

Sam stayed quiet, thinking back on that night nearly two months ago, plans for the building of that very prison were being finalized, he’d felt so on top of the world he’d admitted the feelings weighing him down, but then you had become strange, distant.

“Why did you do it?” He asked eventually.

“Do what?”

“Y- you were helping Dream, with fighting New L’manburg, exiling Tommy, blowing up L’manburg again, you- you helped him round up the things that hold power.”

You frozen, distant foggy memories flaring up in your mind, a thousand answers presenting themselves, ultimately deciding on, “Do you know what it feels like, to not be in control of your mind? To be stuck in the passengers seat as a madman takes to the road?”

He was silent as you continued, “To have your consciousness so nearly severed from your body that you can barley see or feel what’s going on? I didn’t have a chance to ask what was going on. He was just there, in my brain. Do you know what that’s like? I’d say you shouldn’t. Just take that food back and leave. Let me go back to dreaming of a future I missed out on.”

“How did it happen?”

Another quiet question, another quiet silence interrupted.

“It’s- foggy,” You admitted, more to the ceiling than to Sam, “But I think- I think it was like a switch got flipped. Could still be flipped. Then he’d be in control again.”

A week had passed since you’d been locked away, and still Sam would sit, until you finished your food, or, more like, until you finally pushed the food away, still refusing to eat despite the pangs of hunger.

“I- I didn’t kill anyone, did I?” You hazarded.

“I don’t know,” He admitted, “Even if you did, that wasn’t you. Nothing you did then was you.”

“Stop doing that.” You muttered, rolling over to face the wall yet again.

“Doing what?”

“Saying things you would’ve said before,” You said bitterly, “You can’t treat me like a monster one second and then like a lover the next. I may be a monster thanks to him but I do not think I deserve that.”

“You’re not-”

“A monster?” You cut him off, “That why I can still fucking hear him sometimes? Taunting me? Threatening to take over again?”

Sam froze, looking back through the bars to your turned back, “You can here him?”

Your hands began to shake, thinking about the barren whispers that filled your head at night, forcing yourself to sit up and turn back to him, plucking a small piece of bread from the tray, “Sometimes.”

“How? His cell is on the other side of this place.”

“He’s in my head, still hasn’t fully left, that is,” You sighed, biting off a small chunk of the bread before tossing it back on the tray and pushing it toward the door, “Thank you.”

Reluctantly Sam took the tray, standing up and starting to trudge back down the hallway, “I won’t let him hurt you.”

Soon, he journeyed back down to the level where Dream was being held.

“I had a feel you’d be down here.” Sam could hear the smirk in Dream’s voice.

“What did you do to her?”

Dream chuckled, “I guess that depends on what you mean. Technically I didn’t do anything, that was all her.”

“What did you do?” He repeated.

“Nothing of consequence. For me at least. Honestly it was really quite easy to get in her head, didn’t even fight it,” Dream shifted, letting out a harsh laugh, “Part of me thinks it was like she was already that bad. Just as evil as me.”

Sam crossed his arms, “No one could be as evil as you, least of all her.”

“Of course you’d think so,” Dream laughed, “Course you’d think better of a monster.”

‘you think he’s ever going to forgive you?’

‘you’re a monster (y/n) nothing can change that.’

‘no matter how much you beg, no matter how much you try to get them to understand it was me, they will never let you out.’

His voice haunted you, keeping you up far into the night, words etching themselves into the walls of your mind.

‘he will never forget what you did.’

‘you ruined people, you worked for me, and that makes you evil.’

‘Your a monster. And even if you weren’t one before, I’ll make sure you become one.’

“You don’t control me.” You muttered up into the darkness.

‘oh (y/n) your so naïve.’

“Shut up.” You muttered more forcefully.

‘you think I can’t control you from here? you are a fucking fool.’

Almost immediately a feeling of panic surged through you as something changed, the switch in your head being flipped once again, the last thing you could truly hear as he took over was two harsh words.

‘you’re mine.’

It was early in the morning when Sam had woken up to a panicked sounding Bad over the coms, “I don’t know what's happening!! It- it sounds like- like someone's trying to kill her!”

Almost immediately Sam was up and sprinting down the corridor.

It took him all too long to reach your level, where Bad was frantically trying to undo the locks on your cell.

“Get out of the way!” He yelled, pulling out the master key card as he heard the obvious sounds of someone being choked.

It took yet a moment longer to get the cell door open, to find you one hand clamped around your own throat, the other desperately trying to pry it off.

“Bad go get healing pots!” Sam yelled, immediately rushing forward to help you as Bad went running.

It took him a moment to wrench your hand away from your neck, just long enough for you to cough twice, looking up at him in fear, “Sam, run.”

His brow furrowed, looking down at you confused as your face seemed to shift, and then suddenly you were throwing him across the room.

Sam watched, dazed as you bolted out of the cell and down the hall, master key card in hand.

By the time he had dragged himself to his feet, and his vision had cleared itself of the spots that had drifted through there were several alarms going off, and distantly, he could hear people running.

“Bad! Ant! Give me an update, what’s happening?!” He yelled into the coms, already starting to run to where he suspected the noise was coming from.

“The key cards! She got the key cards! They’re headed for south sector!” Ant yelled back.

“I want someone back in the control room,” Sam ordered, “Turn the mining fatigue up, set the lava traps and get guards on the outer perimeter. We can’t let Dream escape.”

Sam continued to run, listening to chatter over the coms as to where you were headed, quickly gaining.

“Freeze!” Sapnaps loud voice echoed through the corridor.

Dream turned from where you were toiling to break the wall to see Sapnap, Antfrost, BBH, and Sam all aprouching, crossbows drawn.

“Surrender now and we won’t take your last life.”

Dream merely laughed, looking his former friends in the eye, “You can’t stop me.”

“It’s four on two, seems like pretty good odds in our favor.” Sam hazarded, stepping forward and breaking the line.

Dream seemed to size him up, before glancing to you, “Kill them.”

The words were simple, and clear.

You stood, dropping your pickaxe and donning the armor nabbed while on the run.

“(Y/n), don’t-” Sam said cautiously, lowering his crossbow.

Dream sneered at him, drawing the other sword taken from the armory as Sapnap drew his own, “(y/n), fight him, I can take care of the rest.”

You nodded obediently holding up your sword before launching yourself towards Sam.

Sam raised his shield, blocking your first thrust, and then the second, quickly trying to back away from you as Dream attacked his comrades, “(y/n) don’t do this!”

His words fell upon deaf ears as you attacked again, this time grazing Sam’s arm with your blade.

He yelped in pain, instinctively starting to swing back, though not heavily enough to hurt you.

The sounds of fighting echoed through the corridor as you and Dream clashed with the guard, the men Dream attacked falling quickly until it was just you and Sam battling it out.

You slashed again at his arm, this time penetrating deep into the exposed skin on his inner arm, using his pause and yell of pain as time to kick him back knocking the sword out of his hand and pinning him to the ground with your boot.

Your sword poised at his throat you looked to Dream, waiting for confirmation.

When the man nodded Sam desperately reached out to you, “(y/n), (y/n) please- don’t- plea-”

You’d been drifting again, thinking of the night before Dream had taken you.

It had been late, you had stayed to long gazing at the sky, and Sam had found you sitting by the prime path.

He’d sat down next to you, and for a while you talked about everything and nothing all at once, until you’d laughed, and in some sort of sleep drunk state, leaned in and tried to kiss him.

Much to your surprise he had kissed back, giving you a murmured confession, the same one you heard now, yelled and frantic.

-”(y/n) please! I- I think- I love you- Don’t do this! Don’t-”-

The strings were cut, and you plummeted back into your own body in time to see a blade cutting into his neck.

“S-Sam?” Your eyes traveled up the blade, to the hand clasped around the grip- your hand.

“Sam!” You were desperate now, tossing the sword away with a clatter as fresh tears sprang in your eyes.

Distantly you could hear Dream laughing as you leaned over Sam’s body, “Sam no! Sam- Sam- I told you to run- I told you to run! Why? Why didn’t you? Sam! Please! No!”

The only thing you got in return was Dream’s wild laugh, and the blade being thrust into your back.

#mcyt x reader #mcyt imagine #awesamdude x reader #teddy06 writes

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macgyvertape · 4 years ago

Text

Castlevania kinda had a pacing problem

spoilers for all of Netflix’s Castlevania. I haven’t seen much analysis for the show on tumblr, im honestly curious if discussions I had with irl friends mirror what fandom talks about

tldr: Castlevania seems inconsistently paced from season to season, and within season as well, leads to a lot of characters motivations feeling unclear so characters repeatedly explain why they are doing something while they’re doing it

overview of the seasons:

S1 I know somewhat of a test for Netflix but it has good main trio character establishment and sets the scale of the conflict

s2: pretty complete emotional arc for most characters and resolves the plot of killing Dracula while setting up additional characters to continue the story. Isaac, Hector, Carmilla all established with the audience as characters whose story would continue

honestly I would bet this is the most popular season

S3: s2 did a bit of worldbuilding, but this season really fleshed out the world with both a wide range of locations and exploring the question of “what now, Dracula is dead but vampires and night creatures remain”.

There were basically 4 plot threads: 1) Sypha/Trevor investigating the cult & Saint Germain; 2) Hector & Carmilla (also introducing Lenore, Striga, Morana); 3) Isaac’s journey of revenge & self discovery; 4) Alucard sits around the castle and is betrayed.

overall characters roughly feel like they are in the same place if not worse. A big criticism I saw at the time, which hold up after rewatching this before s4 is nothing felt resolved for the main characters

I would say this season is where the pacing issues start to become apparent, juggling 4 plot threads that lack a central theme or even mutual character connection. If there was a central theme it would be “humans are awful to each other”. The Judge doing Hot Fuzz style murders, The Wizard in the tower, Sumi & Taka

S4: it starts with the same 4 plot threads, though upfront it is made clear that the plot theme is “people are trying to resurrect Dracula”, and the progression of the plot works to resolve unrelated plot threads until the main trio reunites for the boss fights. To me and my friends watching it was obvious that the show would reunite the main trio, the question was how and how far into the run time.

Season 4 is why I’m writing this essay, for the past 2 days I’ve been like, yeah that character sure explained their motives repeatedly maybe with some philosophical discussion, but it’s just such a weird place considering where they were in s3

Alucard’s arc:

Where he was left in season 3, it was after killing people he had trusted in self defense and impaling their corpses. It was clearly meant to parallel Dracula’s dislike of humanity. However overall his character lacked a proactive motivating force.

Honestly the most interesting thing I found in s3 was Alucard clearly misses Sypha and Trevor, however they don’t miss him or refer to him

One reason Sumi & Taka betray Alucard is for the secrets and power of Castlevania. After inviting the village including St Germain who Alucard was warned of into the Castle, Alucard makes 0 effort to secure anything, not even his personal childhood room. Guess he really learned nothing

Discussing St Germain, I think it’s funny that they had a several minute flashback sequence for his lost girlfriend (who doesn’t have a name or a voice actor), to remind the viewer of who he is, and to justify how he’s suddenly back and down for murder.

In s4 there is the call to help the village, and the walk back to the castle is a montage of Alucard opening up to Greta and becoming friendly literally overnight. He laughs off the impaling, and basically all of the darker things he went through in season 3, which has me asking what was the point of his season 3 arc then?

Honestly writing this I realize the biggest parallel he has with Dracula is the call to action from a bold woman with a dramatic entrance speech which then leads to a romance

Isaac’s arc:

in s3, with all the other themes of “humanity sucks” I was always unsure if the townspeople were meant to appear irrational while attacking a larger force instead of letting him pass through an leave, or him not caring about how he’s provoking them is meant to show his insanity

ive seen the discussion elsewhere, curious about the Discourse here

is s4 Isaac has the whole monologue about how he now has agency but him gaining that agency was his s3 arc. In s4 he’s already at the point of accepting it. By the end of s4 he’s one of those who comes the furthest from his first character appearance to his last.

s4e5 where of Isaac attacking Carmilla in Isaac’s 2nd appearance had him resolving like 4 plot threads at once (Carmilla, Striga& Morana, Hector, and Isaac himself).

but i do wonder if Trevor, Sypha, or Alucard even know any of these people exist. I think not

I was honestly confused if I missed a scene from his dialogue about building something and what is inherent nature, to “My plan has evolved, my plan is now conquest” because he only conquests the one castle and the rest is left unclear

Upon rewatch the connection there is “killing [the wizard] felt just ... I liked that feeling”, so the show says that Isaac in the end attacked Carmilla for the sake of justice and not revenge.

Isaac in his last conversation expresses the theme of s4 “build something new on these old bones, where people can live for the future”

however, his arc honestly feel scenes were cut, and then dialogue was written around it. He’s the only living character who doesn’t show up in the epilogue and the sentient night creature “what if I could empty hell” dialogue was some of the most interesting worldbuilding. Night creatures with sentience and possibility of regaining memories!!!!

The Council of Sisters & Hector’s arc:

oh I’ve already seen s4 discourse about Lenore/Hector while searching for character analysis, a chunk of it seems to be rationalizing the absolute difference between how s3 ended with these characters and s4. It was extremely confusing for me and my friends; wondering if 1) was Hector showing more emotional intelligence than before and putting on a facade to cover up hatred? Nope 2) did more time pass than 6 weeks for there to be some kind stockholm syndrome? No, Hector seems fine to let Lenore kill herself

The slave control ring: played up in the climax of s3 and easily solved s4. s3 Lenore says if he tries to harm them, flee, or take it off it would cause crippling pain, in s4 Hector just easily cuts off his own finger.

for a control ring that they take time to show a version being on the Rebus, it doesn’t do much controlling of Hector

also guess the definition of “do harm” just refers to direct action

Lenore in s4: has no purpose in conquest, has that useless remarked on by multiple characters, is imprisoned, then kills herself after a genre aware philosophical discussion. This essay is long enough, but what the fuck happened to this character who ended s3 clearly physically and sexually abusive? Seriously this was one of the biggest writing changes to the point where she was treating Hector as an equal. Compare her last words in s3 “shh the real people [vampires] are talking”. The change in the relationship is actually something I would have taken being shown, or atleast told of what exactly caused this change other than the vague “you adopted him”

Striga&Morana get the best arc of the Council. 3 scenes: the tent argument, Daybreak armor fight & argument resolution, declaration of feelings and turning away. You could argue Castlevania is plot to be connective tissue between fight scenes, but for all the dialogue about human resistance in different seasons it was nice to see it. Overall the scenes were short but had a lot of showing what their relationship is not just telling,

unlike Carmilla. For as much hyping up as they did with her, and as much power as she had, she only appeared in 2 episodes and no other group except Isaac knew about her military conquest.

the map scene where she states her motive for conquest of wanting to take things from old men is the key example of how characterization became tell not show. How interesting was that monologue compared to the past seasons flashback to her murmuring the old vampire lord, or all her repeated insults of men/man-children that shows how she judges people??

That monologue had to carry the weight of justifying the Sisterhood bonds falling apart as well as why her motivation changed from building a human pen from Styria to Braila to world conquest. I think it did so poorly

Sypha & Trevor

really Sypha & Trevor have the main plot in the show. I checked and post season 1 the only episode they don’t appear in is s4e6, which is entirely devoted to the Isaac, Hector, and Council of Sisterhood arc. Their partnership and adventures are the main plot of the show.

Its easy to see what Trevor’s arc was over the show: coming to peace with the deaths of his family, taking up the mantle of being a Belmont, and starting a new family with Sypha.

With Sypha I actually had to scroll through tv tropes for what is her character arc, and I guess hers is disillusionment from adventure and life outside the speakers? My friends joke that Sypha’s magic is what the plot demands to look cool in a fight, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Tangent: the ending of their arc was easy to guess: as soon as Trevor went to fight the final boss alone I literally said “oh i bet Sypha’s pregnant, Trevor’s doing a heroic sacrifice, theyll use the unexplained magical dagger mcguffin, and 60/40 odds that he goes through an infinite corridor to outright come back vs just the implication he might come back”

I guess my final thought of the show, was overall the SUPER Final Boss got my by surprise. It was a good twist I enjoyed. Not that Death appeared, I had guessed that from the heavy foreshadowing, but I was surprised by who it was, because I had thought I thought the characters involved feeling shoehorned into the plot was just more bad writing. The Alchemist who put St Germain on the path or murder for no discernible motive for helping? Sure gotta move the plot along. New Dracula court member Varney who has a whole introduction with almost every character he meets and banter about his smell? Sure thats basically how all characters talk with a snarky and acerbic voice.

#Castlevania #castlevania spoilers #castlevania meta #castlevania season four #overall i enjoyed the show #id love to find some discussion of the show #this wound up being more of a recap than a persuasive essay #but i think my tldr thesis statement stands

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