#and anyway it's changed by fates at least a little and definitely lessened even if so | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

luimagines · 3 years ago

Note

Hey, I’m not sure how to explain this but getting straight to the point, I’m the person who runs the yandere-linked-universe blog and I’m pretty sure you’re pinkittwice.

So, I was just wondering what ideas you might have about the chain being yandere for one person. Like, what would the dynamic be and how they would behave as yanderes, you know that kind of stuff.

I hope it’s not too much to ask but I’m just curious to see what you might think of it since you’re pretty much the only person on the sight that I know of who also writes things involving lu and the reader. I’m not unhappy or dissatisfied in any way but it does get a little lonely being the only person who writes stuff like this. Sorry if this is too weird.

Masterlist

Yahaha~! You found me!

Everybody go check out their stuff @yandere-linked-universe

They do cool art sometimes and are even writing a whole fic which you can find right here.

It's really well written and I'm excited to see how the story progresses and where it goes- especially endgame.

And I'm assuming the ask means if they were yandere in the same circumstance than in the story.

That being said, I'm still going to apply the rules I have set for the Links. Like how Sky was never with his Zelda and similarly how Time and Malon never really happened. As for Wind, he will not be platonic unlike in the fic mentioned above- I will explain this in his section I promise.

Also, disclaimer, I'm not good at horror and I've never written for these types of characters before. But if you want headcanons then I'll provide the brainstorm that I've been cooking up of ever since I got this ask. (And it was a while ago I'm sorry for the wait.)

I'm also including some songs that I think best fit their rose tinted glasses ideal. Not necessarily yandere and can apply to Link being in love with you in general but it's as close as I'm going to get to making a playlist.

I might come back and change them to stalker songs and add these songs to a separate list entirely but maybe not...

Content under the cut!

It's long, brace yourself.

As a group, I think jealously would run high.

Everybody wants the attention of a single person and there's eight other people as competition.

If the group was tight knit as we like to portray them, it won't last long.

If dear reader was a little caring or naturally falls into a healer/medic position in the group, the group becomes more reckless, less caring about their personal safety- if only to get a momentary caress from the love of their life's fingers as their wounds are tended to.

There's less group unity and alliances between them form.

If the reader isn't a fighter well...

They would take turns guarding their prize and fight to be the one to do it.

Leaving you behind when they go to dungeons is a must.

They won't risk you getting a scratch on your person let alone putting you in a potentially dangerous situation.

They try to keep all their weapons away and out of reach. Less you get any ideas and try to fight with them or worse, get hurt playing with them.

Or try to fight against them. HAHAHAHA!! How crazy would that be?

Like you would stand a chance.

When you're simply traveling with the group, your designated spot is on top of Epona, hands down, no questions asked.

Not only would be easier to keep an eye on you, and make it harder to get away, but Twilight has personally asked Epona (through Wolfie) that if they were ever ambushed, she was to take off with you and get away from the fight no matter the cost. She'll always come back to him anyway- so if you're tied to connected to her than all the more reason for him to be the one to retrieve you when it's all over.

The others don't like how Twilight gets to be the one to greet you first. But Epona is on Twilight's side and everyone knows it.

So they wait their turn.

You're on top of Epona even if you're a fighter as well.

If you can prove your salt and fight with them, they actually don't try to keep you away as much as they can (because now it means that they can spend more time with you!)

It instead becomes a competition to be your partner. Among the younger ones anyway.

The older ones, are less concerned now by you fighting, and more by the younger ones who keep trying to be by your side (even if that's their spot) and try to keep them out of your way.

Every bump and cut you get is treated immediately by who ever reaches you first.

It's once again a race.

The group, as yandere's go, do not know how annoying they're being nor do they plan to stop.

If you told stories of your past conquests, it a mixed bag of awe, adoration and anger for you even being put there to begin with. These thoughts are not voiced however, and they instead stew and simmer and grow into their possessive tendencies.

Because they would protect you, honor you, worship you and you wouldn't have to worry about anything ever again. Not if you were with them, not if you stayed with them, not if you were in their Hyrule.

There's a slight knee jerk reaction when you bring out your items to take it away because it's dangerous. But not only would that piss you off, it would take away what little protection you have on your person and they don't want to take any risks when it comes to your safety.

I wouldn't share too much if I were you.

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Now as Individuals they're all different, obviously.

Let's explore that.

Time

He's the most dangerous

I'm starting this off with that

I'm talking the most calculating, scheming and devious of the whole group

He know he's in charge and that the others will listen to him regardless if they actually agree with him or not

Because he's the leader

His grip on the group lessens as time goes by and their unity dissipates

But he's delusional and he doesn't realize it

However, because he's already in this position, he takes it upon himself to take care of you

And others let him

Less work for them to focus on when they can be by your side instead

You never have watch

You're always in the middle of the group

He'd gladly send the boys ahead of you into danger to make sure that they deal with it before you even get there.

The others let him with little thought because it's for you

So they go for it

Time however, is somehow, never the one to go ahead, instead waiting behind (with you) while they go ahead and deal with the issue

He gets away with this 8/10 times

Mostly because he rotates who's he's sacrificing

Dad! Time is not here- not anymore

But he lets them near you because he's only biding his time

You're meant to be

Soulmates, if you will

If a little time with you is all those boys need to stay in line and listen to him then he'll allow it

Because they're only boys

He's a man through and through

They have nothing on him

And you deserve more than a mere boy

He has some other concerns on his mind while the boys fight each other like street dogs

Time has to think about your future together so he daydreams the most out of the group.

He doesn't really have a home and a roof over his head for himself- let alone you and he knows he'd have to change that

He thinks about staying as a permanent employee at Lon Lon Ranch

He can save enough money

Buy a house

Maybe some land

And enough things for you and him to make a comfortable life without any worries

Maybe even start a family?

The dream is a reprieve form the headache that are other boys who won't leave you alone

Pray you don't end up in his Hyrule

EVER

This is just the gateway he'd be waiting for to keep you all to himself

Fighter or not it's dangerous to travel with them

You're in danger

And he won't stand for that.

He doesn't know how exactly he'd do it

But he plans to leave you at Lon Lon Ranch, waiting for him, for when he comes back after the mission

He'd have to find some kind of way to actually keep you there and find you when you inevitably try to leave the Ranch

But he's traveled all over his Hyrule

There's no place you could go that he doesn't know about

As the adult of the group, he'd step over all the others

He's not going to listen to them when they try to stop him

They don't know as much as he does

They haven't experienced as much as he has

He knows that this is the best and only option to ensure that you're safe and well taken care of

He'd doesn't mind leaving you as prisoner to the Gerudo instead either if the others start to really get pushy

It won't be comfortable and it won't be glamorous

But they'll definitely keep you in one place

And he can walk in whenever he wanted thanks to that note from the chief from a time long ago

Pick you up, take you away and you'll be his

He daydreams a lot

And he knows that you'll choose him

You have to

He's the best and only option

He's never felt happier thinking about you and the life you'll both have

He's struggled so much anyway

Maybe you were the blessing the goddesses owed him for all his work in his youth

And surely they aren't so cruel to give you to him and then take you away by some monster attack or some terrible unforeseen fate

He can't have that either

So he'll take the first and best out he's given

But while you're here with him...

He's looking at you like you're magic

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Warrior

Warrior is the least dangerous

He knows the feel of being on the receiving side of someone's obsession

He was ignorant for a long time about it

But he wasn't sure how to feel comfortable in his own skin again when he found out about it

He can see how the others are starting to show similar obsessive tendencies and tries to mitigate what he can

He does a lot of damage control

It's what he's trying to do anyway- he's not very successful

Warrior is the one who's challenging their train of thought

Why do they think this is ok? Why don't they ask you for your opinion? Why do they not give some time alone to recharge? Why don't they lay off?

Because it's totally for your benefit- AND THEIRS

Because it's not ok

He doesn't see himself follow the exactly same train of thought

He doesn't see himself doing what they're doing

He's just annoyed that they're the ones doing it

Warrior becomes the very definition of hypocrite.

However- because he's the one acting as your advocate- the others don't consider him as much as a threat and therefore more inclined to listen to him at this point in time than Time himself

It also means that they don't fight him as much when he wants time with you. Mostly because in their eyes, he's not interested

They're wrong

At some point in Warrior's attempt to keep the group together and keep you from going crazy or hating all of them, he begins to gain ulterior motives in his mission

He begins to play the role in an attempt to win you over.

Because- see, he's not like them

He won't violate your space

Go through your stuff

Or keep you from doing what you love

He's the one to say you should join them in fights, that you should stay, that you can hold your own

Since he's the main strategist in the group, he takes into account your skills and always places you at a distance from the fight or from the most obsessive the group.

He knows that their one track mind could kill you or them and there's still the darkness to defeat.

They don't have the luxury to afford this kind of distractions

When the others aren't paying attention to him, he'd pepper you with compliments and flirty lines, playing up his charm and suave attitude

He becomes the perfect gentleman

You'd never know that he's crazy

Just join him and be with him- that's all he wants

He loves you so what more is there to offer you?

He's got the status, the looks and the means to take care of you so you wouldn't have to worry about anything else

He'd be the best husband that Hyrule has ever seen

He'd hate to have the group scare you off with how over the top they've all been.

He knows the group is being annoying with being by your side all the time and how they don't let you be and how there's always someone by your side even when you're at your final straw

Warrior is the one who takes over guarding you when you need to pee or bath and actively argues on your behalf to let you take care of your hygiene.

He's not always successful but it's the thought that counts right?

Hyrule agrees with him most of the time and since Hyrule seems to be the only one who still cares (somewhat) about the mission, they make an agreement

Warrior isn't at all concerned about the others and know that you'd come around to him eventually.

Since he's not like the others

You're his first thought in the morning, his last thought when he rests his head to sleep and there's nothing that he hasn't been doing that wasn't for you

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Hyrule

Hyrule is the least possessive

Mostly because of his low confidence.

I've mentioned in a previous post that is unrelated to this, his love language is physical touch- so he's all over you

There always have to be some way that he's holding you- whether its a hand on your shoulder or the small of your back, maybe he's holding your hand or maybe he's just pinched the edge of your tunic

But he's careful to not go beyond what you're comfortable with

He doesn't want to you to pull away from him

Because the others will not hesitate to push and pull him away if you so much as hinted at not wanting him near you

So he plays it cool

Hyrule also gets concerned when there's too many injuries to go around and he needs to heal the group

Because if you hurt then he can't spare anything else to help you

It's one of the few things he thinks that he's useful for- so if he can't do this little thing for you then why does he bother?

There's so many other guys here that could easily sweep you off of your feet and have so much more to offer you

He doesn't have any land

He doesn't have a house

His Hyrule... isn't the most welcoming and he doesn't like the idea of bringing you from one dangerous situation to another

Especially since he's being hunted for sport back home

It doesn't stop him from trying to win your heart obviously and he tries to show you and win you over in whatever little ways he can.

He's the gentlest with you

Whatever hurting you, he'll heal

Whatever scaring you, he'll deal with

Whatever danger comes your way, he'll end it's miserable existence

He- like Time- daydreams a lot but he's trying to live for the moment

He's almost resigned in a way- that you won't pick him

He knows they're on borrowed time, he knows that something dangerous can take you away from them or that he could be the one to be taken away instead

So he's trying to make up for it in the time that you do have together and spend every second by your side that he can

Because the group gets a little more reckless in their attempts to impress you and be dealt with (whether you're healing them and tending to their wounds or just yelling at them)

He heals the group a lot little less

If they're going to be stupid and get hurt- then he's not going to waste his magic when they're only going to do the same thing the next day

Soon, with enough time and patience, Hyrule begins to hoard all the healing potions as well.

It's an attempt to keep them away from you so when they're hurt he can step in and just get them healed up in a minute

But it also works to keep the group from getting too reckless

It's not his intention but he takes it as it is

If they get hurt too much anyway then that just means less competition for him to deal with and a higher chance with you!

Because of his low confidence about you actually ending up with him, he becomes one of the more mission minded of the group, probably right after Warrior

Since they both have their sights on eradicating the darkness instead of focusing on their love lives (for different reasons) this is the first alliance to be formed

Hyrule wants you to be his but he's at a crossroad

He knows Warrior has a lot of charm to win you over and has the means to make sure you live a good life

He knows it's more than he can ever give you

But he's fairly certain he can take Warrior in a fight

One well timed Thunder Strike and Warrior wouldn't stand a chance

Not to mention that they've been fighting side by side now, so he knows what to look for to bring him down

He doesn't think it'll come to that though

Warrior doesn't seem that interested with you anyway so he doesn't worry about him

Which just leaves the problem of winning your heart

He wonders what life would be like he can love like you do

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Twilight

Twilight is the most protective

It's his wolf instincts and his caretaker instincts combined.

He's used to being the one to look after everyone else

Being his village's primary babysitter and all

But wolves are family animals and they protect their mates

He's the one to fight to keep you away from the fights, whether you can handle yourself or not

He can Four agree with this and it's the second alliance that forms

You must be protected at all costs and there's many things around that can injure you, or worse

So they both try their hardest to keep you safe and secure

If bubble wrap existed in Hyrule you would have been wrapped in it and then wrapped again for good measure.

He's the first to run up to you and the first to drag over Hyrule or someone with a fairy or a potion to treat you

He's not afraid to start punching anything that dares to threaten you

Forget the sword

He'll just start swinging... or maybe just go full Woflie even if he's not in his form and go for the jugular

He lets you ride on Epona more often than not and refuses to let you work more than you should

He's quick to carry things for you

He tries to impress you by being a handy man and tries to fix whatever he can get his hands on for you

He's not good at it

But he tries

His love language is acts of service so he's trying

You don't really need his help though

But let him get it out

And tell him that he's doing a good job please, for your sake

He talks a lot about his home life with you and he ask a lot of questions about your own

He's comparing notes

Trying to see what way of life you'd be more comfortable with and how he can accommodate to it

He tries to win you over with the simple life and he paints pretty pictures of having a ranch and a farm and letting you have all and any animals you want

Wolfie make an appearance every other day instead of simply whenever it's convenient

If you're a dog lover then it's even better.

Twilight is not afraid of taking advantage of it to give you all the kisses and cuddles he can get away in his other form

The others would have to fight the each other just to get kisses from you but Wolfie gets special privilege's

He gets kisses no problem

He's not above using it to his advantage

Epona is always on Twilight side and while he's in wolf form, he tells her all about you and how much he loves you and all the ways he finds you amazing and spectacular

Because you're riding Epona more often than not, he tells her to watch after you and to keep your safe and to get to a safe area if they ever get ambushed

She doesn't know how human romance works, so she agrees.

Link is her master and her best friend, so she trusts him with her life and you're important to him, clearly, so you're important to her too

He's not going to lose you like he lost Midna

She left him behind with barely a glance behind

You won't leave him at all

He'll make sure of it

The others won't take you away from him either

Four seems to be the one who's most on his side right now and together they can lessen the competition

He'd hate to fight the guy and maybe they can come to an understanding but he knows he's got the brute strength that Four lacks not to mention Wolfie and Epona as well

So maybe he'll listen to reason

His world used to be so grey with no change in either direction

An eternal twilight

You became his light in the gloom

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Sky

Sky is the least violent

He actually falls in the middle of both protectiveness and jealousy.

But he's more set on letting each of the boy pick each other off (not unlike Time) and then he'll figure out who's left over to deal with them then.

Sky also isn't one to fight off the other people who you interact with

He's not going to go confront the person or drag you away and definitely not going to start swinging

He still feels uncomfortable if you aren't by his side but he'll make up for it when you're done by sticking to your hip

Sky doesn't want you to feel cramped by only talking to the group

But he does get a little jumpy when you're beyond his line of sight.

That being said- he will let you out of his sight

Not for long periods of time, mind you, but he's not going to be in your shadow the entire time or demand to be glued to your hip

He's arguably the most normal out of the group- the least yandere if you will

Still crazy though

Sky is also one to agree with Warrior and Twilight.

He's not a part of any alliance but between wanting you to be safe and still wanting you to be healthy and clean (he knows how being clean helps out ones moral and he doesn't want you to be depressed when you're with them) he'd let them do the fighting and arguing for him and when they lose a bit, he'll say something and add to their cause

He's trying to be chill and he plays on his harp when you're nearby.

If you come sit next him to listen and chill- he will absolutely be over the moon

He will go through some of your things to make sure you have anything and everything you'd need for their adventure

But he won't take away your weapons or go through your diary (he wouldn't be able to read it anyway)

He does try to ask you in some roundabout way if he has permission to do that.

It'll be long winded and vague and a total play on words, so be careful to what you agree with when he asks something of you

Sky although is the least violent, that's in regards to other humans

Monsters have learned to keep away from him when he's on the battle field and if they haven't learned that...

They will

He's the one that tries to have your relationship mature and grow naturally.

Sky is going to simply be your friend first and show you that he has your best interest at heart

So when you talk to him about your problems and how the others are driving you crazy, he'll give you advice, tell you he's on your side and openly give you outs to avoid the others.

If you want time alone and the others begin looking for you, he'll tell them you went in the other direction and he'll send them on a wild goose chase.

Since he's on your side, he tells you to at least let him know where you're going and for how long so he can distract the others.

He's not concerned about you running away, since the others are going to do the work for him

Four and Twilight and Wolfie can find and hunt you down in a heart beat and you'll be together again

He won't blame you for running away, there's a lot of people who won't leave you alone in the group and it annoys him too

And Hyrule, Wind and Time keep you within the group and close by so he never has to worry about not knowing where you are at all times

Warrior and Wild keep you well fed and well taken care of

And Legend makes sure that you always have a potion on you and has even given some power rings to ensure your safety

So all he has to do is butter you up by being the least persistent of them all and you'll fall for him and you can be together forever and ever and even be the start of Hyrule as everyone knows it

Wouldn't that be nice?

While he may not be the most musically inclined of the group, he's the one to serenade you when he gets the chance

He plays his harp more often than not, trying to get the notes out that he hears in his head when he looks at you

His life was such a simple song before you came along but now... It's a symphony, he wants you to know this

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Four

Four is the most controlling

He's the one putting restrictions on you left and right and is the one to never want you to leave his side- let alone his line of sight.

You see, he's got these voices in his head that bounce ideas off of each other.

When one might be, hey that guy is talking to you

The other responds with, he's close to you too

One might say, you're smiling and it's beautiful

Another says, why is it directed at that guy?

Which snowballs to, you're a little too close, a little too nice, is he flirting? Has he touched you? Is he trying to make a move?

And then he's even more possessive and it grows and spirals and next thing he knows, he's next to you again and chewing the poor guy out for no reason when it was a simple conversation about the weather and directions.

And that's in public

Now add in the threat of monsters and traps and many other dangerous that surround the group as a whole

He's paranoids in the extreme

So when Twilight suggests that they tie you to Epona and keep you where he they can always see you, he's the first to agree

In fact he feels as if Twilight is the only one who's actually looking out for your well being

Wind tries to throw fits and get the two of them to back off but he's just a kid, what does he know? He should know better anyway, he knows how dangerous this journey is going to get, so why is Wind trying to actively put you in harms way?

Twilight a least can get Wind to listen to reason and Twilight's better at explaining it than he is so while Four'll yell, Wind is really Twilight's problem.

He doesn't like the idea of fighting is friends but he can see that well... He's the only to notice that they're not as close as they used to be when you first joined.

He thinks that Warrior can feel it but Four is the one who'll say it out loud.

Four is actually the most trigger happy out of all them, he's not afraid to break character and yell at some poor passerby who's too foolish enough to even look in your direction

He's the angry guard dog in public and it's a little hard to reign him most of the time

Twilight agree with him in this but he's also the one to hold him back

The last thing they need is to be kicked out of town

But if while you're there maybe he can get something for you?

He's the kind of person to make something for their beloved but he only knows how to make weapons and tools

Things that he's never going to give to you and actively tries to keep them away from at all costs

Yes, if you have your own weapons he'll also try to take them away

He'd rather see you angry than injured

No, he does not see how being weaponless in a fight will lead to more injuries and no, he not going to listen to those who try to tell him that.

Maybe he can learn how to make jewelry and gift that instead?

A pretty thing like yourself should be adorned in more beauty.

And he can save enough to make it with rubies and diamonds and any gold that he can salvage in Hyrule

He'd give you and make you anything you want

You'd be dripping in jewels if he had it his way

He also knows that the voices try to point out his flaws and all the ways that he's really not that appealing to any potential partners

It doesn't matter that he's merged and they all have the same flaws

But whenever he's next to you and things are calm, the voices are quiet and he feels like him

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Wild

Wild is the Most violent

Like Four, he does not care if it's a simple conversation, if someone else is taking up your time and attention then he will want to start swinging.

He's usually held back by Warrior and Time since Twilight typically has to restrain Four

But if you're in danger? Real danger?

He becomes the equivalent of the Fierce Deity, no mask required

The battle field becomes a blood bath by his hand alone

Sure the others will want to to cause some destruction as well and destroy any and all threats to you, but Wild goes the extra mile

Forget Twilight going feral, he has an excuse- but Wild?

He'll go ballistically feral, even going as far to drop his weapons to rip into the threats with his hands and teeth

He has to make sure there's absolutely nothing in between you and him

He's not afraid to throw away his whole good guy reputation and even the reputation of the hero in order make sure he's the last man standing

Wild is now taking notes on how the the group fights and how they defend themselves, defend you and try to figure out the best ways to take them down

If there was ever to be a physical fight within the group, he'll not only be a part of it but most likely also the instigator

Wild has already lost all his friends and family before, he can't afford to lose anyone else

Besides his Hyrule has so much more to offer you than some of the others

Not to mention he has his own house- in a safe village- with low monsters around it- and barely any reason to think that he wouldn't be able to provide for you

He's got the rupees he needs from his monster farming and everything's nearby. Whatever he can't get, he can teleport to and he wouldn't have to leave you alone for long periods of time.

Wild goes out of his way to buy you clothes since the others have taken care of your other needs (much to his chagrin)

But he also makes sure you have the best portions of the meals he makes

He keep tracks how much you ate and when

He always there to give you a snack if you even mention of being peckish

He knows the others won't mind if he dotes in this manner

Not only because it's for you...

He has all the food anyway.

When he sees that you're wearing Legend's old tunic, he instantly hates it

He and Legend are less of an alliance and merely on tolerable terms- not that Legend notices or cares- because of this and Wild knows that your clothes have taken a lot battery

He wants to you be warm and protected

But he also has a lot of extra outfits

So he takes a page out of Legend's book and gives you some as well

He's a little disappointed you don't wear them as often but he knows that most of them are specialized for certain terrain- Legend's is more of a catch all kind of deal so he can understand the need for general uses

He's not happy about it

But he understands

The crazy thing is, you wouldn't want to end up in his Hyrule either

Pray you never do

Like Time, Wild has been all over his Hyrule and has traveled to all the nooks and crannies

He knows that he can hide you away without the others ever knowing what happened to you

Not even Wolfie would be able to track you

Why?

Because (and this is from AoC) he can teleport more than one person at a time, so he can just take you far away and somewhere secluded, somewhere where you wouldn't be able to leave

Hebra region? In the cabin where he learned how to shield surf? Or play the snow bowl game?

Gerudo Wasteland?

Akkala Region? With Robbie? It's hard to get past the guardians and the high level monsters...

Or maybe ditch you in the mountains with Paya in Kakariko Village?

Or maybe leave you on the Great Plateau? You can't get down without a paraglider...

Life with you is the only reason he's still on this journey instead of just taking you and leaving

The darkness is still around and it threatens his future with you

But it looks bright in his head when all is over and he's so happy that he met you

Life is now pink! And he won't take off his rose tinted glasses any time soon!

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Legend

Legend is the most possessive

As some people have headcanoned in the past, he has a problem letting things go

He's lost so many people he cares about- he knows that items are a little harder to lose

He's the Collector- the Hoarder

Naturally when he sees something that he wants, he'll stop at nothing to make it his.

However, since he has a problem coming into direct contact with his own feelings, he's projecting

Legend instead tries to keep you at arms length and fails miserably

He doesn't want to fall for someone only to have them be ripped form him again, and again and again,

He cares for the group still even after their disagreements and eventually mistrust

He doesn't want to leave this little family they've made for themselves and has disillusioned himself into thinking that he can save it before it's too late

But in his fairytale ending, you're with him

Legend, though, still knows that their time will end and everyone will eventually go home so by the time everyone begins fighting and jealousy runs amuck, he's trying to hold everyone at arms length

When you don't give him attention, he's prone to get angry and may very well at times act like he hates you

He doesn't like it when you so much as breath in someone else's direction

You're his and his alone, why is anyone else even worth your time and energy?

But he's not going to say this out loud

So he's frustrated with himself and pouts often

So he's stuck in a cycle of self hatred and jealousy and not willing to do something to change it

But when you do give him attention, he's melts into a puddle

He's at your beck and call if so much as say his name

There's very little that he isn't willing to do for you or get for you, anything to make you happy

He's also quick to give you power rings to protect you even if he's against you fighting

Legend is also going to give you an extra tunic if (/when) your clothes take too much damage and they're too far gone for him to fix

It's a power move on his part

Not only does he feel giddy with boyish excitement when he sees you in his old tunic (that definitely has some kind of magical properties to ensure your safety), it's also him marking you as his property

And the others know it

Wild does a similar thing so you can at least have a change of clothes but Legend is quick to tailor them when you're not looking to not fit you and be uncomfortable

He's the one going through your things for sure

He need to know that he's the one who's taking care of you

He needs to know you have everything you need

He needs to know if there's anything that you're lacking so that he can sweep in and provide it for you

He's not really planning on taking out the competition or is planning beyond keeping you by his side for the day

He (like Hyrule) is living for the moment, because he's afraid he's going to blink and you'd be gone and there would be nothing else left for him

But you won't be gone

He's going to make sure of that

He's got tunnel vision for sure

But since he's also trying to not fall for you and get his heart broken, it becomes a game of hot and cold with a whole lot of minefields in between that could set him off for (what looks like) no reason

He hates you- no he doesn't- he wants nothing to do with you- he wants to be your everything- he's not going to write you poetry or braid your hair or fall asleep listening to your heart beat- he would kill for that to be his reality- he hates that you're all he's able to think about now- don't leave him please

He's not crushing

He's not

He is

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Wind

Wind is the least protective- Still protective but arguably not to the degree of the others

You see, he knows that the others protect him because he's the youngest

And he's not blind

He can see that they're just as, if not more, protective over you

He can see how you hate it and how much it annoys you

He's not going to make that same move

And as a bonus, since the others are protecting you anyway, why should he put in the work and protect you as well?

There's enough people watching you all the time

With the others taking care of it, he can plan on winning you over

He's going to give you as much freedom as he's able to get away with

It'll put him as your favorite

This immediately puts him at a crossroads with Four who's somehow a hair's breadth away from tying you up and chaining you together by the wrists

They fight against each other the most

He plans on marrying you

It's honestly in the same degree of young children that say they're growing to grow up and marry their dad or their mom

Because obviously you marry the person you love and you stay with them for the rest of your life

And he loves you.

So that's what he plans to do

Win you over is step one

Then he (and you) just need to wait a few years for him to get older

And then he'll marry you

He does not see a problem with this plan

Typically I make the reader the same age as him to avoid the worst of it but in this case, this does not matter

I'd say that if you're older, he'd get more easily attached to giving you the freedom you've been missing

With him by your side obviously

Because you're older- you're an 'adult'- you can take care of yourself

You're so cool in his eyes

The others, naturally, see a problem with this

Not only out of jealously at the very thought of it not being them to marry you but because they know he's young and if you're older, (say closer to Twilight and Warrior's age) then they can see the problem it'll prove to be for you from a moral stand point

The others (mainly Legend and Four) bully tease him when you're not around about how selfish he is to even think about making you wait, when you could easily marry one of them instead, so why would you ever choose him?

He tries not to let it get to him because he does hang out with you more than they get to- so maybe they're really just jealous that his plan is working

Wind has the more innocent approach to this whole ordeal out of the whole group

His obsession isn't healthy, obviously, but he at least the excuse of being young and not knowing how to deal with crushes

Because he's awkward with it, (and he knows it) he's actually pretty quick to shut away the worst of it when he's spending time with you, less you think he's weird and push him away

Not only does he not want that to happen, but he's heard the others come up to you countless times regarding him and his behavior and if you'd like him to leave you alone

Because they will deal with him if you so much as say one word of annoyance

The choice is yours

If you indulge him when he wants your attention then he's more like himself and becomes the most normal out of the whole group

He becomes the him when you first joined

Before the obsession

Wind becomes your safest bet in terms of keeping your sanity intact and it's the groups saving grace to keep up any illusion that they're still normal

Wind is dealing with a highly flammable vial of puppy love concentrate

All in the form of budding teenage yandere hormones

If you had met him any later in his life, the cocktail would have no doubt exploded into the form of the other's behavior and he'd seem like a completely different person instead

He's almost like a lost puppy, always following you around and being in your shadow

It would be cute if he wasn't crazy

Wind adores you though and he wants you to know that

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#linked universe #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader #also yeah I get it #It's bit difficult to be the only one making this kind of content #mostly because there's not a lot of people to bounce ideas off of #feel to talk any time #i dig your story #and thanks for the request!#i had a lot of fun with this #i feel like the lists are a bit short #but the post itself was very long #let me know if anyone wants more #yandere #yandere thoughts

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butwhatifidothis · 3 years ago

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I did it! Finally fucking did it! I 100% the support log for 3H….Holy shit, that took longer than I was expecting, lol.

(Long rant, so heads up.)

I came in thinking “Oh they finally time-locked the supports, so I don’t have to have the damn cursor mocking me every time I open the menu like in Awakening and Fates, hurr hurr”. No no no no no. At least for Awakening and Fates, it was on my dumb ass for pressing the S-support and saving when I knew I shouldn’t. First off, if they wanted us to regain supports for Byleth in NG+, why the heck are supports for characters like Edelgard, Rhea, Dorothea and Lindhart locked? I don’t mean time-locked like the post-TS supports in a regular playthrough, I mean deadass “you can’t buy this, period” locked. “Oh it’s because you haven’t advanced that far in the story yet”. I can buy post-TS supports for the other characters, what makes El and Rhea exceptions?! The only thing that would be lost is that I don’t have to replay their entire route to get their S-support twice. It’s not like there’s enough differences between Bylad and Bylass to warrant the supports being locked, none of the characters specify a specific gender in their dialogue, and as far as different models go, changing models during a cutscene is coded into the game, so that should be no issue.

After going through the monastery option enough times, the hubworld is in this weird limbo state where it feels like it was made specifically for Byleth’s benefit (faculty training, recruiting party members, etc,) but the rest of the party seems to benefit from it instead (Instructions, Motivation points, etc). The Explore vs Battle options just don’t mix well, which feels like poor design choice. You can focus on auxiliary battles to raise your party’s level, but at the cost of potentially missing out on more party members. You can instead focus on the monastery to recruit party members, but at the cost of Byleth falling behind due to splitting activity points between recruiting and faculty training, and being in the monastery means less time grinding for levels. This isn’t as much of a problem in NG+, but if a game needs NG+ to lessen a design problem, then that’s more of a sign to me that the idea itself needed more ironing out.

As far as using the monastery to raise support points goes, the hubworld definitely needs a revamp. The only (good) options available are Meal Time and Choir Practice, with the latter being limited to once per week and the former making me think that the monastery must eat their own weapons to survive due to how fucking scarce food ingredients are. Getting meat and fish isn’t too big of an issue so long as you have enough money, but produce might as well be an urban legend. There were too many times where I had 60+ fish/meat, but produce was at fucking 1. I get that they wanted to be “realistic” in having seeds grow once per week, but if it’s at the cost of a gameplay element being nigh unplayable, then some more thought needs to be put into it. Sothis is a goddess of life and time, maybe her powers allow Byleth to make plants grow faster. Just something to make this section actually playable.

The final thing I wanted to talk about when it comes to the monastery is that, for some baffling reason, it is entirely possible to lock yourself out of key events like S-supports or being able to choose CF, simply by skipping to the end of the month. I’m not sure why this is a thing. It’s not like the game was designed with speedruns in mind (I mean, it is possible to beat a route in an hour, but fuck me if I ever succeeded in that), and nothing happens like a prompt popping up that you have to explore the monastery during that month or even limiting your options to just Explore (which the game has done before). This is especially weird for the quest in getting Jeralt’s ring (how to access S-supports), since Byleth is supposed to be sad in this month, so not being able to do seminars or Byleth being undeployable during auxiliary battles would make sense.

The option to choose CF is even worse though, because at least for Jeralt’s ring it’s a Red Quest that doesn’t allow you to finish exploring unless you complete it. For Edelgard, however? A dime-a-dozen quest prompt you can entirely look over and skip. No prompt by the game, no indication to talk to Edelgard, nothing. FFS, Rhea’s tea time quest was given more thought. At least her quest marker is a unique color.

(End of rant…sort of)

…So anyways, that was my experience with the game, lmao. Now you or someone else may be thinking, “nonnie, if you had this many problems completing the game, why did you bother?”, and the answer to that good question is…I’m not completely sure, lol. I know there’s more than one reason why, so bear with me here. I know part of it is due to sunk-cost fallacy (“I’m already this far into the game, I might as well fully complete it”), but I think a bigger reason is because I knew ahead of time that the routes were so similar to each other that there was little point in having a route split to begin with (except for CF, but who gives a fuck about that?). Despite all of my bitching, I do really like 3H even if I admit that it’s my least favorite FE game that I’ve played so far. I guess a part of me just wanted to like the game more despite my issues with it.

Now that I think about it, maybe the main reason was for fear of future mainline games. People are fear to like whatever part of a game that they wish, but I do think that 3H introduced some fundamental storytelling flaws that I’d rather not see repeated in the future, with me focusing on 3 in particular: 1) The Monastery, 2) Route Splits and 3) Byleth.

Aside from what I already talked about in regards to the monastery, if we are going to get another hubworld in the new FE title, have it to where it doesn’t conflict with how the rest of the story is presented. Is it better to simply tell us that the Western Church is xenophobic in an easily skippable side quest early on, or is it better to show us? Enemy Western Church NPCs going after foreign party members like Dedue or Petra more aggressively and calling them “animals” or the like, the map having Duscari NPCs locking themselves indoors for fear that the Western Church will persecute them, things of that nature. Is it better to tell us that there has been civil unrest in the Empire and the citizens revolting against Edelgard, or is it better to show us? Enemy Adrestian Civilian NPCs, assassins specifically going after Edelgard in a map, maybe one where a large farmland has been stripped bare. Things like that.

I’d rather do away with the Persona-calendar/Monastery hubworld, but if they are here to stay then they need enough content in it to keep the player engaged for 20-odd chapters, because there isn’t enough content in Garreg Mach to even hold up 12 chapters. Speaking of more content, if there’s going to be another route split in the next title, then there needs to be enough differences in the routes that actually warrants having a route split. Fates already did this well in having the route split be early in the game, along with the plot and story maps of each route being different, you could even skip to the route split moment on subsequent playthroughs, so 3H’s approach in having to play the same 12 chapters 3-4 times just felt like a massive downgrade. Playing multiple routes should feel rewarding rather than tedious, is what I’m trying to say.

Finally, and most importantly, I know that no one at IS is reading this but on the off chance that someone is - please, for the love of God, do not make another blank-slate/self insert main character like Byleth. Or at the very least, don’t have them be the focal point of the story, it’s a big reason why AM just works better than the other routes. For a game like FE, “self-insert” and “protagonist” goes as well as oil and water. Now, out of those three flaws listed, the Byleth one is what I’m hard set on. The monastery and route split flaws, my opinion might be flexible within reason, but the Byleth one…not so much, lol. If we really do get another self-insert doll for a main character, that alone is going to make the next game a hard sell for me, because seeing all the praise Byleth got (and has been getting) makes me fear that IS is going to take the wrong lesson from this and think they don’t have to put effort in making their protagonist anything resembling an actual person and their audience will still lap it up. It would be one thing if I just hated the character, but I don’t. I’m disappointed, which is even worse.

…With that said, it’s still better than whatever the heck Cap’n’Crunch is doing. Okay, rant over. For real this time.

—

I agree with a lot said here! But I do have a few disagreements, though they’re mostly my opinion than anything else lol

And this first one is probably like, extremely unpopular given how much shit I’ve seen flung at this aspect of 3H, but like… I actually really like the Monastery? Like yes, absolutely, it should have done more to not shelter the player from how bad the war is and it should change more with the world instead of being in this mostly limbo state where apparently seasons don’t real. I definitely also have those complaints, but to me, the Monastery was fine for the most part. A lot of the issues you brought up, like supports and Faculty Training and supplies for eating, weren’t a problem for me almost at all. My only real gripe is with how hard it is for Byleth to get training in Flying, Mounted and especially Heavy Armor without NG+ unlocking weapons ranks, since they don’t have access to Weekly Chores. I do believe I still managed to recruit everyone while only unlocking C in Faith on my Maddening playthrough of GD, but it certainly wasn’t easy. But I feel a lot of the problem people have with it are on subsequent playthroughs where they’re trying to do things like 100% any aspect of 3H, which yeah is gonna exacerbate the issues tenfold. Cuz like, while those three weapons ranks I mentioned are hard for Byleth to raise, on Normal mode you have unlimited auxiliary battles to help with all the other ones.

Like, I wanted to get Claude’s Dex to the max amount right? Just cuz I felt like it. And in doing that I found out just how tedious it is to get levels once a unit gets to a certain point, just cuz while Normal Mode gives you the Retreat option that lets you keep exp so you can drop a unit down on a yellow spot and get a decent boost in exp… you can do that like, twice or thrice on a story chapter. Once if it’s auxiliary (and not the freebie one). And that’s if you even have internet. And using the greenhouse to get Ailiell Pomegranates was a pain because they weren’t really guaranteed even if I used nothing but the right seed - doing that is more consistent, but not always, and I usually only got one anyway. It was annoying! But I was also doing a specific thing that’s gonna heighten the flaws in the system that I never would have noticed - didn’t even notice - unless I did that. The flaws are still there, don’t get me wrong! The Monastery definitely still needs improvement, battles still need to be a little more streamlined for future playthrough, but the flaws can seem a bit bigger than they are once you do certain things outside of a casual playthrough, know what I mean?

But, for example, when replaying 3H on hard mode and looking to recruit everyone after my no recruitment run, I didn’t come across any dilemma over “recruitment or Byleth being good, pick one.” That was the run my Byleth was usable, in fact - my first blind run that was no recruitment (save for Shamir) had my Byleth be pretty much completely useless while literally everyone else was fine. Also never came across problems with supplies for cooking (or at least not any big enough to comment on). So like, while these (and the above stuff) can certainly be problems for players trying to do everything everything in 3H, at least from my experience I just haven’t come across them. The monastery itself definitely needed a better story implementation, but yeah. I could’ve just been lucky tho lmao

I don’t mind how they implemented trying to get on CF at all tho lol. If you’ve been playing the game like it suggests you do - supporting characters and exploring the monastery there’s no reason for players to have missed getting on CF. If players wanted to ignore one of the biggest aspects of the game I don’t really feel that bad for them when they miss out on very achievable things. Plus, CF’s requirements are nothing in terms of FE’s madness when it comes to getting on a route. It may be more specific than any other route, but like I said, playing the game as the game tells you to would naturally land you in it (the only thing that might be a bit unfair is that I think if you talk with Edelgard at all that month you have to decide right then and there, and then the whole month is lost. Kinda ass).

Binding Blade, for example, requires you to do specific things that few first time players would think to do in multiple, random chapters in order for you to get the best ending. With absolutely no warning as to when these chapters happen and what to do in them. And some of these requirements are not fun lmao, I’d prefer how they did it with CF than with how they’ve handled ~secret~ stuff before personally

Pretty much agree with everything else though! While 3H is actually one of my more favored games in the series, I’ll be the first to admit that its storytelling is in dire need of improvement. Having the story and lore of the game just be spat out in lore dumps and this or that NPC just isn’t that good. Or if they are going to do that, at the very least give some visuals to go along with it! Imagine how much impactful Rhea’s story would have been if it was in a visual format, like CGs and/or a cutscene. It still would be an info dump, but at least we can see for ourselves how horrific the Red Canyon was for her! And I do not want another avatar in whatever next mainline game we get, personality or not. We’ve evolved past the need for self-inserts that all the characters Just Like lmao

But thanks for sharing your thoughts!! And sorry that it took so long for me to get to answering ;w;

#submission #anon #exqueuese me princess #but hey I found the og submission at least!! for some reason it got thrown in like the middle of my drafts?? weird lmao #but yeah overall I do think 3H could've done with some refinement for later more intensive playthroughs #and on the other hand I get why they didn't immediately think of them if that makes sense #also lol yeah the base game is infinitely more fun that whatever Cap'n'n doin' lmao

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intergalacticsuperstar · 4 years ago

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Dreamology | Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: Tom is the boy of your dreams...literally. After everything you have been through together with him asleep, will fate finally bring you together while you’re awake?

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader, oneshot

Warnings: fluff :) some light angst and a nightmare

Word Count: 5.3k (that’s my longest ever!)

Notes: This is inspired by the book Dreamology by Lucy Keating. Definitely the hardest I’ve ever worked on a oneshot, so please enjoy!

masterlist

----

You raced on the steps of Colosseum, trying to catch up with the boy of your dreams.

“Tom! Wait for me!”

You giggled as Tom reached the top, cheering and jumping up and down.

“Oh my god, Y/N! This is absolutely amazing! I can’t believe you went here!”

Finally, you reached the top, standing next to him, and touching shoulders as you looked over the city of Rome.

“Me either,” you panted, taking it all in. “It was incredible. But, the Colosseum was a little more worn down.”

Tom sighed, happy and content. The two of you stared at the city lights. The lights shined like glitter, and in the sky, the Aurora Borealis shone brightly.

“I also don’t think the Northern Lights can be seen in Rome,” he commented.

You shrugged. “Must be your doing. Or my brain got bored, wanted to throw in something special.”

Tom turned toward you, leaning one arm against the stone of the Colosseum and the other grabbed your hand. You felt butterflies swim up your chest and heat your cheeks.

“This is amazing. Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” you answered while smiling.

He pulled you in, wrapping his arms around you and putting his chin on your shoulder you can look out over the city together.

“Let’s come here every night.”

“It’s your turn tomorrow,” you answered, amused.

“Well, I choose here again. This is beautiful, you are beautiful… I wish I could just stay here forever.”

“Me too.”

You yawned leaning further into him.

“Nooo,” he whined. “Don’t fall asleep. I want to stay with you longer.”

You smiled at him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He sighed, kissing your forehead.

“See you tomorrow.”

---

The mornings were always your favorite. For a few blissful moments when you woke up, you could still pretend Tom was there, right next to you, holding you tightly. Every detail was memorized and perfect.

But, ultimately, you had to get up, and you had to face reality.

A reality where Tom doesn’t exist.

The first time Tom showed up in your dreams or you ever really remember dreaming at all, you were seven. Nothing was out of the usual, but when you closed your eyes that night, a boy was there on the other side.

You were standing in a field of rolling green grass. The sun was high and shining, warm on your skin. Ahead, back turned to you, sat a boy your age with curly brown hair. You were confused at who this might be, but not scared.

In fact, you felt safe and comfortable. And you were even aware of the fact that you dreaming, which you hadn’t recalled ever doing before.

You walked towards him slowly. Grass squishing between your toes.

“Hello,” you said when you finally reached him.

He jumped back, surprised. “Oh, hi,” he responded, obviously a little shy.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Tom. Who are you?”

“I’m Y/N.”

Tom smiled at you and you took that as a sign to sit down next to him.

“Where are we?” you asked.

He shrugged.

“I don’t know, but it’s really pretty.”

“Yeah,” you sighed. “Want to play tag?”

Tom immediately nodded with a grin and you both stood up, chasing after each other all night.

Looking back, you always laughed at the memory. You were seven so, of course, the first idea that came to your mind was to play a game of tag. But, little did you know, Tom and you were just alike and quickly grew to be best friends.

“We are just dreaming, right?” you asked, sad as you began to grow tired after your long time of playing tag with Tom that first night you dreamt of him.

He looked down.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Well, maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He grinned and the two of you hugged.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And the next night, you did see him. And you saw him every night after that. Usually, the location changed automatically when you were younger. But, as you both grew older, you learned how to control the dreams and the locations.

The world was at yours and Tom’s fingertips.

You could show each other memories, you could make up places, go to places that you’ve always wanted to go to. But, it was always easier to go to a place in your memories, sometimes adding elements or combining both you and Tom’s memories together.

And, as you grew older, you and Tom fell in love. You had decided that you were soulmates, and each time you fell asleep, you looked forward to being with him. You could be your self with Tom 100%. There was no pretending.

After a bad day, he would comfort you. And you would do the same with him. You’d give each other advice for real-life stuff, and try to make sure that each other were loved and supported.

There were only a few setbacks.

It’s hard to explain, but there were unwritten rules when it came to these dreams, and it didn’t take long before you and Tom figured it out.

For one, you couldn’t give any personal information about yourself besides your first name, age, and birthday. Anything that could hint to a location was barred out. There was no explaining it, you simply could not talk about it.

The memories were also altered to avoid revealing locations. Anything that gave away how to find each other was blurred or changed. For example, when you went to Rome, you couldn’t tell him or show him you were there. But, the moment you left, you could tell him and show him anything you wanted to.

The most you knew about Tom’s actual info, like the stuff you would find on a driver’s license, was that he is a boy, he is the same age as you, his birthday is June 1st, and he has a British accent, which gave you a clue. But for all you knew, he could be British and be living somewhere else entirely.

You couldn’t make plans to meet up. You couldn’t find each other awake. Those were the unwritten rules.

You both hated them, but as you got older, it didn’t matter. You were just happy to have each other when you went to sleep, even if it was kind of weird.

Because your dreams were so uniquely centered around Tom, and they were lucid and vivid, you never related to anyone else when they would talk about their dreams.

“You are telling me you dream up a boy you’ve never met every single night?” your friend asked you one day at lunch in middle school.

“Yeah...is that weird?”

“It’s pretty weird. It happens every night and you remember them?”

You shrugged. “Yeah, of course.”

“Wild.”

A few years later, another friend would try to get you to forget about Tom.

“Come on, Y/N. How about you try to date someone that’s… I don’t know… real? Dream boy sounds like a dream, but you deserve to have an awake life, too.”

But, you never did find anyone else. Tom had just set too many high expectations for you, and every time you tried to connect with someone, it didn’t stick.

You and Tom avoided talking about real-life relationships as much as possible. It was weird, and it usually made things more complicated. And besides, it was most likely that Tom wasn’t even real anyway, so it was unrealistic to give each other expectations about who to and who not to date in awake life unless the other was asking for advice.

Ultimately, though, it didn’t matter. You and Tom loved the time you got together.

You were lying on a hammock on a beach. The waves were crashing, and the sun had been frozen at sunset for a few hours now. You were growing worried. For the first time in your life, Tom was nowhere to be found.

It was year 8 in school. Tom and you had been growing even more cuddly lately. You were both excited for the summer and looking forward to high school.

It was normal to be off a little here and there. Sometimes you would beat him to sleep and other times he would beat you. When you were little, it was easier. You both had a bedtime around the same time. But, once you hit middle school, it became normal for you both to fall asleep at different times. Usually, it was around the same, but sometimes you would go to bed early and he would stay up late doing homework. Or vice versa.

At least you knew that you were on the same or close timezones.

But, at the four-hour mark of him not showing up, it was pretty concerning. You had gone to be pretty late anyway. It was a Friday, so you were free to do whatever you wanted. But, Tom not being here? That was a first.

That four-hour mark hit and you grew frantic. The scene changed from one of a gorgeous sunset to that of a small, dark, stormy island. It was rocky, and you were at the top, alone. You were scared. It was windy, and you were soaked from head to toe, shivering.

You tried to stop it, but the nerves of Tom not showing up anymore made you lose control.

You experienced your first ever nightmare.

Another four hours, and you were miserable, begging to wake up. Worried that Tom was hurt, and you just wanted to be done with this nightmare.

And suddenly Tom was there.

“Y/N!” he screamed, realizing where you and he were.

“Tom?” you screamed back through the rain.

He reached for you, and the moment the two of you touched, the rain lessened. But it didn’t stop entirely.

“Darling, what are we doing here? Are you okay?” he asked frantically, searching you over.

“I-I… I couldn’t control it… you… I was scared…,”

Tom didn’t wait for you to finish your thoughts. Instead, he focused on changing the scene. The next thing you knew, you and him were back on the warm beach. You, however, were still soaked and shivering.

Tom took off his jacket and wrapped it around you. He pulled you down with him, sitting in the sand, and you fell into his chest.

“Where have you been? I-I was so worried,” you said to him.

He sighed. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. My friend had a birthday party and we ended up staying up all night playing games. I must’ve finally crashed. I didn’t know you would be worried.”

“Oh. I just… I didn’t know what happened. This had never happened before, and the next thing I knew I couldn’t control anything in the scene.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll warn you next time.”

“You better,” you answered, finally smiling at him. Your body suddenly dried and you were wearing new clothes.

You yawned loudly. Tom smirked.

“Already waking up?”

You rolled your eyes.

“You were up all night! Now it’s your turn to spend some time alone.”

“Fine, fine. See you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.”

---

As you got older, you longed to know even more about each other. You just wanted to meet him in real life. Or rather, you wanted him to be real. You didn’t want to only have him in your dreams.

You were sitting in floaties in a lazy river of this waterpark you went to one time. Tom was to your right in his own tube.

“So, I have this really cool opportunity coming up,” he mentioned casually.

“Hm?”

You were both 18. It was the summer before your freshman year of college, but it looked like Tom had other plans in mind.

“It’ll be a long process. Probably a whole year. But, if I get it, it could change my entire life.”

“Wow, Tom. That’s amazing. It’s good, I hope?”

He grinned, “Yeah, very good.”

The next thing you knew, Tom was jumping over into your tube and you squealed. The tube expanded to fit both of you, and Tom wrapped you in his arms.

“I hope it works out,” you finally said after you were both settled.

“Me too,” he said and kissed you on the cheek.

---

He never really mentioned it after that. You had no idea what it was, so you figured that whatever it was must’ve put his location in jeopardy. That was another rule you discovered when you got old enough. Careers were off the table.

You had ideas though. You knew it was creative, and you were pretty sure it had something to do with the performing arts. Tom liked to dance and put on little plays for you sometimes.

You, however, were going to college for film production.

It was during your sophomore year that everything changed.

You were with one of your friends who was a total Marvel nerd. You were eating lunch together when she squealed suddenly, causing you to jump.

“What was that all about?” you grumbled, tired from your day of classes. You still had one to go, but you couldn’t wait to get back to your dorm room and relax.

“Marvel just posted who they are casting as Spider-Man! Spider-Man, Y/N! In the MCU! This is absolutely nuts!”

You chuckled, but you didn’t really care. You had seen most of the Marvel films, but you weren’t really obsessed like your friend was.

“Oooh, he’s pretty cute,” your friend said.

She turned her phone around to show you and you immediately froze, the cup that you were setting down now stuck in mid-air in your hand.

It was Tom. Your Tom.

Your friend was starting to feel awkward when you finally unfroze from the spell.

“Give me that!” you said, snatching the phone out of her hand.

“Hey,” she whined but didn’t really care.

Your heart, however, was beating out of your chest. Fingers shaking, you scrolled through the article, barely reading the words. All you could focus on was the pictures and the name.

Tom Holland.

“What is it?” your friend asked, gazing at you with a curious expression.

“I-uh… I have to go.”

You stood quickly, gathering your things. You made the easy decision to skip your next class, and went back to your dorm room.

You set down everything haphazardly on your bed and went to your desk to open your laptop. The name ‘Tom Holland’ immediately went into the search bar, pulling up mostly articles about the Spider-Man announcement. But, finally, you found an IMDb page that showed everything he was in before.

Just to think, at any time in the past few years, you could’ve accidentally watched one of his movies and discovered him long ago.

Would the rules change now? Would you be able to talk about him to him? You started getting excited for the night.

---

Of course, hours later, you were so nervous and excited you couldn’t fall asleep. You sighed, frustrated, checking the time to see 1:01 am. Tom was probably already asleep and waiting for you. It was another hour before you finally crashed.

“About time,” Tom says when you enter the dreamland.

He’s smiling-- no, he’s glowing. He looks radiant and powerful, and full of joy. If you weren’t so focused on revealing what you know, you probably would have just kissed him all night.

You are in his bedroom, the one from when he was little. The bed sheets are Spider-Man themed and he has trophies on the wall. You had a feeling you knew why Tom chose this place tonight over another. Sometimes the subconscious chooses for you. A time where Spider-Man was only a dream must be on his.

He’s sat up on the bed, leaning on his arms casually, looking at you as you stand in the sunshine coming through the window.

“Thomas Stanley Holland,” you said, punctuating each word. “Your parents are Dominic and Nikki Holland. You live in London, England. You're an actor. You used to be Billy Elliot. And now, you are the next Spider-Man.”

You finished with a smile, matching his grin.

“You know,” is all he said, eyes full of wonder.

You nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

You jumped onto his bed, and he wrapped you into a big hug.

“The rules must’ve changed,” you said.

“At least for me, anyway. I still don’t know about you.”

“Maybe you will, someday. Now that I know you are real and not a figment of my imagination.”

After that, the two of you spent the rest of the night figuring out the logistics. Your instinct was to immediately go find him. Now that you had his info, you could meet up. The problems were that you still couldn’t talk about meeting up, Tom knew nothing about you, and the topic sort of… made him nervous.

“Don’t you think finding each other would mean… I don’t know, upsetting the cosmos?” he said, when you brought up the topic.

“Upsetting the cosmos?” you asked, eyebrows raised. “Since when have we cared about upsetting the cosmos?”

He sighed, clearly trying to not upset you, but knowing that he probably would.

“Look, it’s just that… we already have an amazing gig here. We get to be with each other every night. Do whatever we want. And there’s these rules… that are clearly controlled. So what happens when we do exactly what those rules have tried to prevent us from?”

You stared at him.

“We get to be together, Tom. For real. People don’t think I’m crazy because I’m obsessed with the boy in my head.”

“I just don’t think we should rush into this. Trust me, darling, I want to see you too. But, I also don’t want to ruin what we have. Besides, my memories from these dreams have always been different than yours. What if I don’t remember you out there? What if we meet and we forget because we upset the cosmos?”

You rolled your eyes. “You're being superstitious.”

“I’m being careful.”

You turned away from him.

“Hey,” he said gently, reaching for your hand. “I’m sorry. Please, do you understand?”

You sighed, finally looking at him again.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Despite your general anger, things cleared up between you two pretty quickly. You never could argue for long, but this little debate lasted over a week. You were upset and you felt like he didn’t want you in his life.

Nonetheless, he kept reassuring you, making you know that he loved you, and trying to make it up to you. He really was just paranoid and worried what would happen if the two of you met in real life.

---

Time passed.

And as it did, things changed.

A lot of things.

The first year or so, it was fine. Everything was great. But then, Captain America: Civil War came out. Tom Holland’s popularity was growing.

Tom began to have more responsibilities with press work. He got signed to more movie roles, and soon he was jet-setting across the world.

That was the worst part, you thought. When he was traveling and the timezones changed, you often didn’t see each other for days. You hated it.

One time, you didn’t see him for almost two weeks, and it would’ve been longer if he hadn’t forced himself to take a nap so he could see you.

When he finally would come back, he was exhausted, and instead of wanting to talk, he usually just wanted to cuddle in some dream cloud. This was fine, of course. You were just happy to have him back, but for the first time in your life, Tom wasn’t always there to talk to you.

And as the fame grew, so did the inconsistency.

It was just hard to line sleeping schedules up. You were busy with school, him with his career. It was also weird because while you knew everything about him, he didn’t know anything about you.

Sure, he knew you. He knew you better than anyone. But, he didn’t even know your last name. Or where you lived. Or what you were studying.

During the day, Tom didn’t have to be reminded over and over every time he got on social media that you were out there in the world and he couldn’t see you. But, that’s what you had to deal with.

Now, it really wasn’t all bad. It was just different sometimes than what you had been used to your entire life. There were still plenty of nights that it was just the same old Tom and you, causing trouble, laughing all night, holding each other in each other’s arms.

There were still plenty of the good moments. It was just strange that there were some bad moments. Those never happened before.

---

A couple years passed, and you finally graduated school. It was time to dive into the work field and as a film production major, the place to do that was in LA.

You and Tom were sitting at the top of an old stone castle. It was sunset, and you guys were having a picnic. This was one of the better nights as of recently. Tom wasn’t working, so he was home.

He was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen in the light of the sunset.

“So,” you began. “I have some news.”

Tom perked up, looking at you. He gave you a slight smile.

“Oh yeah?”

You smiled back, a little nervous. It was always hard to talk about where the two of you were going. The “cosmos” as Tom had started to call it in the past few years prevented you from saying anything. Even when Tom went on business trips, you never knew where he was exactly until he got back.

“Yeah,” you responded. “I’m… I’m moving. For my career.”

Tom’s eyebrows raised.

“Oh. Oh, that’s… that’s great. You’re moving… like far?”

You nodded. “Like different timezones far.”

“Wow, well, I’m happy for you. I still think it’s unfair you get to know my career but I don’t know yours.”

You smiled, laying your head against his chest.

“Yeah, well, you just had to go and become famous.”

He wrapped his arms around you.

“Are you excited to move?” he asked quietly after a moment.

You nodded. “Yeah. I think so. I think it’ll be my best chance at a good opportunity.”

“That’s wonderful, love. Whatever it is, I know you’ll be great.”

“Thank you.”

He looked down at you.

“I love you, you know that?”

You couldn’t help but grin, reaching up and giving him a soft kiss.

“I love you too.”

He yawned and carded his hand through your hair. It was his tell-- you knew he was about to wake up.

“See you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.”

---

It took awhile, and a lot of hard work, but before you knew it, you were steady on your feet in Los Angeles, the film capital of the world.

During this time, you and Tom were still close. The timezones thing didn’t end up being too big of an issue most of the time.

After a bit of time though, you got an exciting gig, working on a new big movie. There were some big stars in the cast, and you would be working in the camera department. Already, people were saying this movie could be an Oscar contender, so to say the least, you were ecstatic.

It was your first day on set. You were setting up some cameras that the Director of Photography had instructed you to do. A lot of the crew was milling around. Today was the first scene with actual actors, and you were excited to meet them.

You were pretty sure the last you heard the lead was Timothée Chalamet.

The door to the studio opened, and you heard the director cheer in the distance.

“Ah wonderful!” she, the director, said.

You were tightening a tripod when the director continued talking.

“Everyone! Can I get your attention?”

The whole room quieted down as people turned their heads to the director. You finished tightening the tripod as she said, “I know things have been hectic trying to get the cast secured… Unfortunately, Timothée Chalamet had to drop out of this film in favor of another.”

Finally, you looked up.

“Luckily,” she continued, “We got Tom Holland to sign on last minute.”

You froze.

Your eyes were wide.

Your heart was pounding.

There was blood rushing to your head.

You weren’t even breathing.

Instead, your eyes were locked on him.

On Tom.

Your Tom.

Your living and breathing Tom who was standing 10 yards away from you in full costume for the role.

He smiled at everyone, waving, and then, his eyes locked to yours.

You couldn’t even smile or try to do anything; you just stared at him in complete and utter shock.

He was staring too. For a moment. And then another. His eyes were wide. Another moment passed. And then his face went slack, like it wasn’t phased at all, and continued to smile at the crowd.

The director said some more stuff that you didn’t hear, and before long, everyone was back to work. You didn’t move. At least, you didn’t move until the DP came over to you, nudging you on the shoulder.

“Hello, earth to Y/N,” he said, waving his hand in front of your face. “It’s time to film the first scene for today.”

You shook out of your trance.

“Uh, right, right. Sorry, yeah. Let’s do this.”

That entire day was torture. You were focus pulling the camera, making sure the actor, Tom, was in focus no matter how much he or the camera moved. It was a hard enough job how it was, but now? Now, it was extremely difficult. Your hands were shaking the whole day. You weren’t even sure if you took a full breath once.

When it was finally over, and the last scene of the day wrapped, Tom made a swift exit, heading out to get his makeup off and costume off. You had to help pack up the cameras with the crew.

You were moving extremely fast, trying to get done, and the moment that you were, you darted off to the costume trailers, praying he was still there.

He was, and you barged in. Thankfully, he was already dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. He was in the process of tying his shoes when you came in. Luckily, no one else was there.

He looked up, surprised. You froze again.

“Can I help you?” he finally said.

You frowned. The boy you knew better than anyone was right in front you, and it was like he didn’t even know you.

“Do you… do you remember me?”

He shook his head slowly.

“I’m sorry. I don’t.”

He gulped, and you squinted at him.

It was quiet as the two of you stared at each other.

“You’re lying,” you finally said, shocked.

“What?” he responded quickly. “No I’m not.”

“Yes you are,” you exaggerated, pointing your finger at him. “You always do that gulp thing when you are lying!”

He stared at you, tense for a moment before sighing and slumping against the counter.

“Aha!” you exclaimed. “See! Why did you lie to me?”

You were surprised at how natural it felt. You thought for sure that you would be frozen and nervous while trying to speak to him, but right now, the two of you together. It felt natural. Like it was just an ordinary dream.

Except this time, it was real life.

“I’m sorry,” Tom said, looking over with a pained smile. “I… I panicked.”

“Because of the cosmos? Well,” you said, lifting your arms out and looking around, “looks like nothing has exploded yet.”

You and Tom stared at each other, smiles slowly and slowly growing until both of you were grinning.

He flew out of his seat and pulled you into a hug, spinning you around.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe this is real! Are you sure we aren’t dreaming?” he said.

You giggled, and he set you down, hands still on your arms.

“I’m pretty sure we aren’t,” you said, and unexpectedly tears welt in your eyes.

“Aw, don’t cry,” he said, lifting his palm to your cheek. You set your hand over his.

You giggled again, tears falling. Tom also got nervous when you cried.

“I’m just so happy. I- I can’t believe it.”

“Me either, darling. But here we are.”

He looked deeply into your eyes, and you felt like melting. You felt like you were dreaming in real life. You finally understood what people meant to feel like that.

“Y/N?”

He said your name. He said it so softly that the world could have suddenly disappeared and your name would still go on drifting into eternity. You loved the way he said your name, and to hear it in real life, in person, while awake, it was something truly magical.

“Tom?”

He pushed a piece of hair out of your face.

“I love you,”

You giggled again, and he smiled and poked your nose.

“I love you too,” you responded, barely believing that this was happening.

And he pulled you in for the most magical kiss you had ever shared.

---

That night, there was a lot of talking. You went back to his place, and you told each other everything… everything you didn’t know anyway. (Which truthfully wasn’t much, but was still a lot).

He learned your full name, and kept saying it over and over. You were pretty sure he never stopped smiling the whole night. You didn’t either.

You told him about your career, about living in LA. You talked about each other’s hometowns which was an exciting first for both of you. One you had been wondering about forever.

Turns out, Tom’s brothers, Harry and Sam, who you definitely knew, (Sometimes they appeared in Tom’s memories.) knew about Tom’s dreams. You never really told anyone in your family about them, but Tom was pretty excited to call them and introduce you to them. They thought the whole situation was fascinating.

You continued to talk to Tom for the whole night. You snuggled up with him in bed, and you both just rambled and rambled about all the things you were never allowed to talk about before.

You don’t even remember falling asleep, you just know that you did because the next thing you knew, you were on an airplane.

For a little, you barely noticed you were dreaming… sometimes it was like that. But when you did, you sat up in your seat, looking for Tom. He wasn’t there yet. You got annoyed with the airplane and changed the scene to somewhere in your hometown. Somewhere you had never been allowed to show before.

Meaning, the rules must’ve changed. You can show Tom everything now.

It didn’t take him long to get there, excited as soon as he saw you. You embraced and both rejoiced in the fact that you didn’t have to lose this special part of your lives.

“Guess the restrictions are gone now. Tom… this is my hometown.”

You spent half the night showing him your “restricted” memories and the other half looking at his. You made promises to go there in real life.

And when you finally settled down with him on a large tree branch, somewhere majestic and beautiful, you didn’t grow sad when you both started to get tired and you knew it was almost time to wake up.

Because when you woke up in the morning, you weren’t alone. Tom was right next to you. He had his arms around you. You were awake.

And just like that, the boy of your dreams was now your reality.

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

AN: Thanks for reading! I worked super hard and long on this, so please let me know what you think :)

Taglist:

@peterbxrnes @thenoddingbunny-blog @tomzfrog @kateelyse96 @cosmicholland @alex--awesome--22 @moorehollandplz @lunastar-parker @quackeroos @parkerpeter24 @greenarrowhead @popluckbih @reengard @unbelievableholland @lovelyystylesx @dreaming-lia @orowit @spidxrparkxr @thefallenbibliophilequote @maybemona @dark-infernal-instruments @parkeroffline @kaciidubs @bellagrayson-wayne @tomshufflepuff @its-a-mess-here @desir-ae @theamuz @officiallyunofficialperson @avengers-america @spideyflicker @yourbiggestspiderfan @miraclesoflove @girllaroundtheworld @organicpurplepants @trustfundparker @fairydustparker @itsvianny @captainbuckyy @dogsfoodartmaingoals @someinsanefangirl @wildefire @its-the-unknownspideywrites @xxxxdelenaxxxx @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh @starlightseoksmain @wazzupmrstark

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elizabethvaughns · 3 years ago

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so i've been mulling over this for quite a bit now, so i might as well articulate my thoughts and get them out onto this blog. so i was just thinking: subjectively or objectively, which one is better? the if/then dc preview or the broadway production? long post (1750+ words), so i'm putting a read more break <3

now, objectively at the very least, i know i have to say it's the broadway production. why wouldn't it be? it's a lot more polished, it's...the final draft, of sorts, of the production. we all know the final draft is usually better than the rough draft. but here's the thing. when it comes to an artwork that has several different versions, one tends to gravitate toward the version they saw first and have a certain bias against all the other versions. if you saw the bway version first or the dc version first, you probably like that one more. now i'm not saying this bias is conscious by any means. absolutely not. however, when one falls in love with some media, in my case at least, they take it in over and over and over again. and then they get so used to that one thing that all other versions seem weird. i can pinpoint two non-if/then instances in my life where such a thing happened.

in the summer of 2018, i watched the RENT movie on netflix. now i was fully intending to listen to the obc soundtrack before watching the movie, but i never really got to it. anyways, that movie was like love at first...watch to me. oh man, i loved it so, so much. so i downloaded the soundtrack on my phone and, you guessed it, listened to it over and over and over and over again. one fine day, (about a few weeks after, actually) i realized i never actually had listened to the obc soundtrack. so i did. and it sounded...odd to say the very least. i mean, some of the voices were different, sometimes the lines were changed, all in all, a confusing experience. to say the least, if you asked me back then which version i preferred, i would've readily said the movie version. but now, three years in retrospect, i'm not so sure. the obc version is a lot more...complete, i like the vocals more, and i'm now salty that "christmas bells" as a song was cut. evidently, i like the obc version more(but i still love the movie version hell it's still one of my comfort movies).

in the fall of 2019, i listened to falsettos. i actually listened to both the obc and the 2016 revival cast recordings. i guess that lessened the bias a bit because i was exposed to both versions at about the same time. on the fateful date of 2 october 2019, i watched the falsettos revival proshot. that's when i truly fell in love with this musical. but, even so, my initial exposure was to both recordings so even though i had a slight bias toward the 2016 version, i still loved both of them.

now, back to if/then. i actually find it difficult to pinpoint where exactly my exposure to if/then started. was it the very first time i heard about it in 2018 when i read a very meta RENT fanfic on ff.net where elizabeth made an appearance and i thought "what the fuck"(pun very much intended)"is if/then" (psst if you find the fic could you please drop the link in the replies meta fic isn't really my shit but i want to reread it for nostalgia's sake)? or was it the very first time i listened to the obc recording in 2020? or was it the boot of a broadway production that i first saw on 13 march 2021? whichever one i pick, they all lead to the same conclusion: i naturally gravitated(and sometimes still do) toward the broadway production because it was the first version of if/then that i was exposed to.

now sometime in early april 2021 over my spring break, i watched a recording of the dc production. i knew beforehand that this production is a preview, after which some changes had been made, resulting in the broadway show. since those changes were obviously made to better the production, it would be a logical conclusion that the very presence of those changes entailed a...worse production (not considering the fact that the interpretation and the very liking of art is entirely subjective). one could say i entered the watching experience with an unconscious bias, of sorts.

from the very first note, i was caught off-guard. i didn't know they changed this much. when i watched the bway production, i was just enjoying it for all it was worth. but when i was watching the dc preview, i was comparing it constantly to its broadway counterpart. oh, david's shirt colour is different here. oh, anne's wearing a pantsuit instead of a dress(cute). oh, time for hey kid! oh wait no they put "the moment explodes" right here. also, i was just humming along to the songs, just mouthing along the lyrics(because i have them all memorized), and every now and then and getting thrown way off-track when the tune remained the same but the lyrics changed. most notably, in "walking by a wedding" and "you learn to live without". all in all, i had what one could consider negative opinions about the dc production because of that bias.

but then i watched it second time. a third time. a fourth, fifth, sixth time. and over that time, i fell more and more in love with that production. as i've said before, the interpretation of art is wholly subjective–what one may consider a shortcoming of a particular piece, another may consider a strength. let me take the placement of "the moment explodes", for example. in the dc production, it's before "some other me". therefore, the line "every friend i ever knew or thought i did" doesn't hit as hard because we don't know her situation with lucas yet. even so, "some other me" hits twice as hard because lucas is an even bigger asshole now. in comparison, however, "the moment explodes" is after "some other me" in bway as you all know. so the aforementioned line holds a much greater significance when compared to its dc counterpart. however, one could also consider that line (in the dc production) as a sort of foreshadowing for the reveal in "some other me" of the new normal of beth and lucas's friendship (or the lack thereof).

obviously, some changes were most definitely welcome, "this day" to be more specific. of course, there was that little reprising of "what if?" near the end of "this day" in the dc production which i really loved, but all in all, the mood of "this day" was much more fun and enthusiastic in bway as opposed to dc, which in my opinion is an excellent way to start an act. in contrast, some changes were...not as welcome. i don't know about you, but personally, i really enjoyed two cut scenes from "the story of jane"("no more wasted time" dc version). first, the scene where kate brings her kindergarteners to beth. it was fun to see higgs squirm. second, the scene where elena and beth's interaction parallels beth and stephen's in "map of new york". narrative-wise, i think that it is an incredibly important scene as we get to see two sort of boss-employee relationships mirrored to each other, only beth does it well as a boss (if that makes any sense). we see beth as passionate but still sort of hesitant in mony but she grows to be more self-assured by nmwt, and i think the aforementioned scene only cements that notion as beth takes on the role of mentor for elena. also, "the story of jane" was a really fun song and, as much as i love "no more wasted time", i wish it still contained elements of "story of jane". and while i did enjoy the reshuffling of "the moment explodes" such that it became clear when beth and lucas made up in the bway production, they were ultimately still...not talking during "you learn to live without. as a result, we miss that one scene from the dc production where lucas and kate attend beth's awards ceremony and shoo stephen. and need i talk about the lucas/david duet verse("you get that we're connected, / i feel like you get me") in "ain't no man manhattan"? honestly, i feel like dc anmm was, all in all, better than bway anmm–especially that one verse where lucas sings to this other dude about how everyone is connected(no, not the one to stephen, the one after that. the one that ends with "[something something] / who you helped get elected").

also the situations with stephen and with kate/anne in both timelines were relatively clearer in the dc production. even so, the actual distinguishing of the timelines was better in the bway production.

in conclusion, the relative merit of each production(broadway vs. dc) is really up to the interpretation of each viewer. scenes that may seem weak to one may be considered narratively important to another. both productions have their own merits and flaws.

to me, both productions are equally good. my previous assertion/assumption that the final draft is always better than the first is not necessarily true. some things that you think were actually pretty good get lost in the editing process. some other things that should've been cut (ahem ahem, kate's referrals to lucas with "she", ahem ahem, liz's "i don't believe in independents like i don't believe in bisexuals. pick a side" line) get left in there. art is subjective. the editing process is subjective. in the end, though, the only thing that matters is that you enjoy what you're watching and find personal fulfillment in it. and i do! for both of these productions. for both of the productions, i'm smiling all the way up to "here i go". i'm slightly saddened during "you don't need to love me". i'm empowered by "the story of jane"/"no more wasted time". i'm grinning in liz-verse all the way up to "i hate you". i feel like sobbing during "some other me". my throat clogs up when "i hate you" starts. i'm actually sobbing by the time "you learn to live without" ends.

...you get the gist of it. all in all, both of these productions are phenomenal and i'm grateful for their existence and to have been able to watch them in the year of our lord 2021.

i love this show so much i swear.

i talk a bit more comparing broadway and dc here.

my other ramblings essays:

if/then appreciation

"what if?" vs. "what if?(reprise)"

character analysis of lucas

#if/then #broadway vs dc production comparison

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astroi · 5 years ago

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From Black to Blue

Steven watched Steven 2 check something off on a sheet of paper, everything was written in some sort of code, he couldn't dream of reading it. His future counterpart counted on his fingers in Spanish, Steven didn't know enough Spanish to really follow it.

"Uno: Salva la aguja del mar." He tapped his pen to the paper, scribbling an X.

"Dos: Protégelos del musgo." He placed a check in the box. He hummed, partially content.

"Tres: Interceptar las mentiras de papá." He smiled and put a ✓ in that box.

"Cuatro: Exponer las Gemas a los robonoides de Peridot." Steven 2 checked that box with a stiff nod.

"Cinco: Capturar Spinel." He folded the paper back up into his pocket.

"What 'cha doing, 2?" The pen he was holding became dented in his grip.

"Wh-what, Steven?" He was never a good liar, "What- how long have you been watching me?"

"Just a little bit, can you tell me what language you were writing in, it looks cool." Steven 2 chuckled at that, lightly shaking his head. It was nice to see him smile.

"If I tell you, you-," he trailed off staring at the puppy dog eyes of his younger self. He couldn't resist their power!

"It's modern gem gliph." He confessed with a sigh.

"Gem gliph?" The boy tilted his head.

"It's what Era thr- tw- Gems use on- on- their networks nowadays."

'Nice save, Universe,' he chastised himself.

"Ooh, cool! Can you teach me?"

"I could-," he definitely could, there were slight discrepancies between Gem and English, mostly in phrases and vocabulary. Understandably, they do not have a word for taco or any food, as of yet.

"Can we start now?!" Stars gleamed in the kid's eyes. Diamonds briefly flashed in his, "Okay, but when I get back."

"Where are you going?"

His knuckles rapped on the empty plastic, "Just a Gem mission."

"Can I come?"

"No," Steven 1 deflated, "it's a little too dangerous for you. If you came along I have no idea how that could impact the future."

"Why did you come to the past anyway, 2?"

His teeth gritted together as he spoke, "The same reason anyone would: to fix things before they can break."

"So what broke?" Steven 2 didn't reply, only standing up from the couch and pulling out a water bottle from the fridge.

"What broke? Some cool Gem artefact?" Steven 1 pressed. Steven 2 avoided conversation by chugging the water bottle and grabbing a second one.

"Why are you drinking water?"

"There isn't any where I'm going."

"Maybe I can come and carry the waters for you?"

'Please', he just wanted to be useful.

"Why do you want to come so badly? Don't you have a video game to play or a movie to watch?" He snapped.

Steven 1 snapped right back, "It's so boring here! And you're always going on those cool secret missions in the middle of the night!"

He stammered, "I-I-I, how do you know about that?"

"Sometimes I wake up early and you're not there."

"Uh, w-well, it's a job in itself preventing sh-st-stuff from happening."

"Can't I come with you?"

"I, not this time, little guy, but if they're tame, I guess you can come."

Steven 1 cheered, "Oh, thank you, thank you!"

"I'm sure there's something you can help me do." He thinks of Nephrite's crew, "Yeah, yeah, you and I can go on a mission soon, maybe tomorrow-ish."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it won't be too hard, if you do good on it I'll consider taking you to more complicated missions."

"I won't let you down, I know the Sea Spire thing was my fault, but I won't mess up again, 2." Steven 2 tossled the lad's curls fondly.

"See you tomorrow, then."

"Wait, you'll be safe, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm as tough as nails!" He grinned at the kid, hoping to cheer him up. There was a slight chance he might never return, at least as who he is now.

He went outside to use that warp, 'as he always does,' Steven 1 mulled.

He jogged in the desert's cold for however long it took for him to find his mother's old leg ship. Activating it, he launched himself out of the Earth's orbit. The coordinates were set for The Garden, it was only a matter of time before he had to bubble that Gem. Spinel probably didn't deserve this, but he had to protect the Earth and himself, so he steeled himself as he neared the abandoned planetoid.

It almost hurt him to see Spinel all hopeful like that.

"Pink?" He heard from the top of the legs, "Pink, is that you?"

He floated down gently, he knew what happened the first time; he didn't have to fight her.

"No, I'm sorry. Pink has been dead for fourteen years."

"But-but,"

"She was never planning on coming back for you, Spinel, I'm sorry."

Spinel was sobbing, yanking at her heart-shaped buns "She left me here for thousands of years, and," the pink Gem hiccoughed, "then she dies!" Spinel crumpled in a heap on the ground, letting out a broken sob before poofing. Steven 2 bubbled the Gem and left it there; he couldn't bring himself to take it back with him. He felt his memories changing. He felt lighter: he got his happily ever after. Sure, Aquamarine and Eyeball were a pain to deal with, but they were relatively harmless. Everything was good, even if he spends most of his time on Homeworld these days. He'd do anything to stop them from moving in with him on Earth; if that meant visiting at least four times a week, so be it.

He left the legs in the desert, curled up against the wall of the weird trash collection his mom had amassed. He made his way back in a series of happy hops.

Steven 1 ran up to him, when he opened the door, "How'd it go?"

"Went good, the hard part was just getting there, honestly." He opened the refrigerator to get more water, tearing the paper and stepping into the bathroom.

Steven 1 noticed 2 had changed, his shirt was different (after turning on the light that became very apparent) he seemed happier though. The Steven 2 he knew was never in this good of a mood. What happened? Where did he go, what did he change?

He knew he should be happy for 2, but he's acting like a different person now. Humming, singing, dancing and still adding things to that ever-growing check-list of his. He missed his friend, he could make friends again with this new Steven 2, but how long will that last before he changes again?

Amethyst, Pearl and Garnet didn't seem to remember the Steven 2 he met a couple of weeks ago a-top the sea spire with the moon goddess statue in his hands. It was weird to see them acting like this.

"Hey, bud, what's wrong?" The cyan-shirted 2 asked.

"I miss the old you."

"That's valid, kid. You got to know the guy, I don't remember being him anymore."

"You don't?"

"Nah, it's okay for you to miss him, all I know is that his life was worse than mine. For me, going back in time has been like a vacation for me: I get to speed things along and get to enjoy the sights one more time." He smirked, "It's actually kind of refreshing to see things changing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, everything's always the same in the future. Go the work, make a couple calls, check-in around town, look for any leftover corrupted gems; it's the same day in and day out. I get plenty of days off though, it's nice to split the load for once. Back when I was sav- fifteen, it was just me for the most part. It was exhausting having to do all I had alone. It's nice to just lounge around, I barely got to do that before. I always have to sit upright an' stuff." He laughed, "I wish I could get into the details more, but that could break 'all of time and space as we know it.'" He made an impression of a nasally voice.

"Psh, as if, Pink Lasagna," he winked, "has got it covered."

"Who's-,"

"Man, I wanna tell you everything, but," he huffed crossing his arms, "I'm supposed to wait."

"What? Why can't you tell me now?"

"Something about saying it messes up the future. I only really came here to enjoy myself and lessen the suffering of a few Gems while I'm at it. I can do that, it's not like any time is passing in the future while I'm here."

"So, are you still gonna teach me Gem Gliph or let me go on super secret missions with you?"

"Oh, sure, I can teach you some Gem Gliph. No biggie. As for missions,"

"Oh, here it comes,"

"I'll need to gauge how strong and in control of your powers you are, I can train you if you want, it's not really going to change much if I do."

"You'll train me?"

"Why not? No one knows how to use our powers more than I do."

This Steven 2 was nice, cocky and reminded him a little bit of his dad. The old 2 was sad, grumpy and protective, the only things these two Stevens have in common is how little they sleep.

He remembered what the other Steven 2 said to him when they met.

It was 12:01 A.M., Mr. Squeezy wasn't an adequate replacement for the moon goddess statue. He was shouting in frustration, "Are you serious?! The timing was off?" The bright pink of his flesh contrasted with the pitch black of his tee-shirt.

"Um, hi?"

"Oh, hi. Listen, we gotta bounce."

"Who are you?" Pearl inquired with a raised tone.

"Yeah, why do you look like an older version of Steven?"

"Because I am an older version of Steven?"

Stars gleamed in his eyes, "Another me?! Can we keep him?"

The other Steven frowned at him, "We don't have time, this place is coming down."

"We kept Amethyst." Pearl cackled at Garnet's comment.

"Stop it!" A dome of pink rhombuses encased us, protecting us from the debris.

After a moment, he let it drop when Steven's yellow raft surfaced. He let out a dry exhale, "Do any of us have a paddle?"

"No."

"Of course," he was very resigned into his fate.

He offered the stranger some food, food always cheered him up, "Does anyone want a wet bagel?"

"Sure, whatever." He had an expression on his face that read, 'what else do I have to lose?' To Steven, he just looked tired from using that power.

"It was really cool what you did back there."

"It's new."

"Can you teach me how to make myself all pink like you?" His eye twitched when he heard him.

He placed his hands on his shoulders, "You don't really want to discover that power in you, Steven, it's dangerous."

"But if I learn how to control it now, it won't be a problem later."

He raised an eyebrow, "Can you even summon your gem weapon yet?"

"N-no." He was working on it, he just didn't know how yet.

"When you can do that on command, I'll think about it." He was so cool, like a cranky Garnet.

Now he was gone, replaced with someone clearly more put together than he was, but still. He couldn't help himself from missing the guy. Tears fell down his cheeks.

"Hey, hey, kiddo? You alright?" He hugged the new 2, crying into his jacket. 2's jacket.

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

@sutimetravelau Check this out.

@space-is-the-place2

#i just used google translate sorry if my Spanish is wrong #time travel au #my work #su f spoilers #su #suf #Steven universe future #steven universe #did a sequel #my works #k2b

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love-fireflysong · 4 years ago

Text

Day 10: Road Trip

Fandom: Until Dawn Character(s): Josh Washington, Chris Hartley, Ashley Brown Words: 2791 Rating: General Author’s Notes: And we are back to our regularly scheduled dose of Nerd Trio™ shenanigans! With bonus appearance of “oh no. there’s only one bed!”. I can only hope that you guys have half as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

To say that the three of them weren’t looking forward to this trip, would have been a dirty, rotten lie. They had been planning this ever since Ashley first joined them in the esteemed and hallowed halls of high school. The moment (or at least, couple of weeks after) she graduated, the three of them were going to rent an RV and just go. They had spent the last couple of years saving up for it in fact. While Josh had graciously accepted the cost of renting the RV, they still needed money to pay for gas, food, lodging, and so forth. It was planned as one last summer of freedom for all three of them before the duties of college, work, and being an adult lessened the ability to just hang out.

And oh, did Josh have a plan

He stood in front of the RV rental location, hands on his hips, and his head held high as he went through the objectives of said plan once again.

Step 1: Rent RV with 3 beds Step 2: Immediately change rental to two beds when the other two leave. Step 3: Feign shock when you drive it to pick up the others at how there’s not enough beds anymore. Oh no! What to do?! Step 4: ???? (Hint: it may have involved sharing the bed) Step 5: Profit

Steps one and two had been completed at the beginning of May, and now he had to get his acting chops together for step three. He had a bet to win after all. He had put down a frankly stupid amount of money that Chris and Ash would be married before they finished college. And the best way to do that was to get them dating before Ash even started. Hence, the whole ‘there’s not enough beds’ shtick.

‘I don’t know what to say guys’ Josh practiced in his head as he walked to the front desk. ‘There was a mix-up and we got stuck with this one instead. I tried to talk to some people but because it’s summer it was just too short notice to find another vehicle. But it’s fine! We got this! I’ll take the smaller bed, no, it fine, I’ll be okay, don’t you worry. You both know how I tend to hog the blankets anyways. And you two—oh. I guess that just leaves the double for you. Well, I’m sure you’ll manage.’

It was perfect. The plan was completely foolproof. Sure the multiple others he had tried over the last couple of years had failed spectacularly, but this one was different. If the two of them waking up in the same bed nestled in each others arms everyday for a month didn’t change things, then nothing would.

And so, Josh walked into the air conditioned lobby of the rental place, and greeted the man sitting at the front desk with an exuberant cock-sure grin. After a quick confirmation check, making sure to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s, Josh signed the paperwork with an overly outlandish signature and was handed the keys to their new home for the next month.

This month was going to be great.

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

“This month is going to be awful.”

Ashley stood in the center of the RV, her arms crossed angrily over her chest as she glared at the double bed situated further to the back.

“C’mon Ash, it’s not so bad. I mean, we can definitely make it work. Maybe?”

She turned towards Chris, who’s skill at placating Ash was less then stellar right now. “Make it work? How in the world are we supposed to make it work? There are three of us Chris! And only one bed!”

Unfortunately for everyone, especially Josh, she was right. After a day of driving, the three of them had finally arrived at their first stop on their leg of the journey. And with the way things were going already, it was looking like it might be their last.

“I don’t see how on earth you didn’t catch this Josh!”

From where he was sitting at the kitchen table and leaning back against one of the wall cushions, Josh shrugged weakly. “There was a mix-up and they accidentally booked us the wrong RV.” he lied, though not quite as smoothly as he had planned earlier in the day. “It’s summer and they didn’t have any others available that weren’t already booked.”

There was no way he was ever going to admit that he had declined the quick inspection that the agent had offered. He had just taken the keys and hooked it up to the truck without a single look. He was taking that secret to the grave.

With a groan, Ash joined Josh on the bench and placed her head in her hands. “I knew that I should have insisted a look when we were throwing everything into the back of the truck. But no, you insisted that everything was fine and we were late leaving anyway so I didn’t argue.” She moved to just placing her head face-down onto the table in the circle of her arms.

Hesitantly, Chris walked over to the table and joined them. For a moment, Josh thought he was going to start rubbing Ash’s back to try and calm her down, but he chickened out and awkwardly placed his hand back at his side. Instead the blond looked at the two of them hopefully. “I mean, maybe there is another bed somewhere?”

Josh regarded him with a flat look. “And where would you suggest that be Cochise?” He gestured with his arm to the rest of the area and watched as Chris’s face fell at the admittance the Josh had a point.

The area of the RV was small, as one would expect. There was the aforementioned double bed at the one end of the trailer, the kitchen table and its U-shaped benches where they sat at the other end, and the door leading to the small bathroom across from them. In the middle was a small kitchenette with a couple of cupboards, and the storage closets across from it. There was no chair or couch for them to sit on, or sleep on as the case was. They couldn’t even use the weird little table alcove as a bed either. The table was bolted into the floor of the trailer so you had to literally slide in if you wanted to sit down. Meaning that there was a very high chance of someone waking up and cracking their head on the table if they weren’t careful.

Ashley’s voice was muffled but mournful from where she had deigned to face plant on the table. “Knew Josh shouldn’t have went alone to grab the stupid thing. One of us should have went with him.”

“Yeah, well, them’s the breaks girl. I hate to be the one to interrupt this lovely pity party we have going on, but we really need to finish bring in the rest of our shit.”

Thankfully, Chris seemed to agree with him. “He’s right, Ash. Aside from bringing in the pots and pans and our clothes and toiletries, we still need to buy food. And I don’t know about you two, but I for one am starving.”

Slowly coming up from the safety of her arms, Ash sighed. “You’re right,” and continued with a more hopeful “And hey, maybe we’ll figure something out after eating some food.”

Three hours later, after an exciting evening of putting away their stuff, fighting over what food to put on the list, grocery shopping, fighting again (‘Who put the stupid Oreo's in the cart? We agreed no Oreo's!’ and ‘Really? Spinach? What are we, rabbits?’ being only two examples of the many, many arguments had there), and having shared a hearty and nutritional dinner of Kraft Dinner before bickering over who got to clean the dishes first (Josh lost that fight, on virtue of screwing up with the RV), they still hadn’t figured anything out. So now here they were, the three of them dressed for bed in old t-shirts and sleep shorts and/or sweats. And all staring at the only bed in resigned acceptance of their fate.

“I mean, one of us could just sleep in the truck.”

Ashley sighed. “No Chris, no one’s sleeping in the truck.” Noticing the look on his face, she was quick to shut him down. “Or on the floor, so don’t even bother offering.”

Josh shrugged. “ I mean, we’re all pretty skinny people. The one benefit of being pasty bookworm, and even more pasty technophile, and a handsome horror movie connoisseur.” He expertly ducked to avoid Chris’s headlock, though it put him right in line for Ash’s smack to connect with the back of his head. “So if we squeeze, we might all fit.”

The groan that came from Ash would have been insulting if he wasn’t feeling the same way. “Unfortunately, I think that’s the only option available to us. Oh, this is so not going to be comfortable.”

“Well, excuse you Ash, but I have heard from reputable sources that I am a very comfortable person, a human shaped body pillow if it were, so I take extreme offense to your complaints.” Again, Josh was able to avoid Ash’s push but was left open for Chris to punch him in the arm. He rubbed his arm as he stared at the other two. “Okay, seriously, how are you two doing that? Do you plan this out or something? Have normal, scheduled meeting about how best to injure me?”

“Something like that.” Chris responded distractedly as he dug through a drawer, closed it, and then opened another. Eventually, he managed to find what he was looking for and after a few more moments, turned around with three pieces of a plastic straw in his hand.

Josh eyed the straws warily. “What? You planning on having one last milkshake before bed or something?”

Chris rolled his eyes as he offered his hand clutching the straws to both Josh and Ashley. “Of course not you moron. Ash didn’t let us buy any ice cream anyway. No, this is to decide who gets to be in the middle.”

With a slightly nervous glance shared with Ash, Josh swallowed and reluctantly chose a straw.

And, as it turns out, ending up as the middle spoon as he laid cramped and miserable and oh so awkwardly between Chris in front and Ash at his back.

“This is awkward and I hate it,” Josh said.

“Shut up, Josh,” Chris and Ashley replied in unison.

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

When Josh woke up the next morning, the early morning sun shining into the window right above the bed, it was with him spread on his back. Chris was snoring right by his head, Ash’s face was smushed into his shoulder, and each of them had one arm draped over his chest. Someone might have found this entire scene cute.With Chris snoring loudly in his ear and Ash drooling on shoulder though, Josh was not that person.

With a groan, he carefully extracted himself from the center of the bed, somehow miraculously managing to not wake the other two up, and watched with nonplussed amusement as Chris and Ashley gravitated in their sleep to the now empty center, Ash ending up pressing her face into Chris’s chest as he buried his own into the top of her head, still snoring all the while. With a wistful sigh, he could only bemoan the fact that his plan totally would have worked. If only there had been a second bed.

Yawning and scratching at his stomach, Josh made his way to the shower at the other end of the trailer, grabbing a fresh set of clothes and his own shampoo on the way. When he emerged refreshed and marginally more awake thirty minutes later, it was to the smell of bacon and eggs and the still slightly red faces of his two best friends.

“Oooh. Service and a show.” With a grin, he twisted his towel and as a joke snapped it lightly at Chris’s ass while he cooked the bacon. He snickered at the yelp that resulted, and even more at the flat eyed look of disapproval from Ashley as she sliced a loaf of bread at the counter.

“That’s it. No breakfast for you.”

“Oh come on, Ash!”

“Nope. You lost your chance. Either cook your own bacon and eggs or have a bowl of cereal.”

“You are a cruel and heartless woman, Ashley Brown. I hope you know this as you sentence me to this injustice.”

Josh gave an overly exaggerated wail of despair as he moved to steal a piece of cooked bacon from one of the plates, and was intercepted by a smack to the back of his hand from Chris’s spatula. He cradled his now grievously injured hand to his chest.

“You heard the lady. You’ve been regulated to cereal like the child you are.”

“You two are going to be the most killjoy and unfun parents ever. I will have to rescue my poor nieces and nephews from your clutches just to show them life outside of their bleak and dreary lives.” He ignored them sputtering behind him as he dug through through their makeshift pantry. “What did we do with the cereal?”

While not removing his eyes from the pan of sizzling bacon, Chris turned his head slightly to talk over his shoulder. “Check the middle shelf to the right. I think Ash put a couple of boxes there.”

“Yeah, I see those one’s Cochise, I meant the fun cereal.”

“And what exactly is wrong with Raisin Bran and Cheerios?”

“Um, everything Ash. Just, everything.”

Chris snorted, then gave another yelp when he moved to dodge some grease when the bacon popped with a sharp crack. “Top shelf. I put the good stuff up there.”

“Chris!”

With a shout of victory, Josh pulled out a box of Oreo O’s and came behind Ash to grab a bowl from the cupboard above her head and the carton of milk from the fridge next to her.

“Wait, how the hell did you manage to sneak those into the cart?”

“I wanted Oreo’s, Ash, and I was gonna get my Oreo’s one way or another,” Josh said as he poured way more then the recommended serving into the bowl and poured in a helpful amount of milk. Replacing the milk in the fridge he grabbed a spoon and sat down at the kitchen table and started to eat his bowl of pure sugar as he reclined into the cushioned back of the benches. Shortly after, Ash and Chris joined him at the table with their own plates of slightly burnt bacon, eggs, and toast. “So, sleep well?” he asked innocently.

In response, Chris and Ash both ripped off a piece of toast and threw it at his head, which Josh easily dodged with a cackle. The rest of the meal passed in relative peace, aside from the occasional minor food fight that was Josh flicking pieces of cereal at their heads, as he felt wont to do every now and then. Until, that is, Chris dropped his fork by accident and it fell to the floor with a clatter.

Swearing under his breath, Chris vanished under the table only to not reappear seconds later with said fork in hand.

“Ya doing alright down there, Cochise?”

When Chris responded back, it was with a pained edge to his voice, still under the table. “Can you two clear the table for me please.”

“You get stuck down there or something?”

“Just, just clear the table.”

Giving Ash a look of confusion similar to the one she was giving him, the two of them nonetheless cleared the table of all dishes, cutlery, cups, and ketchup that rested on it. With a grunt of effort, Chris extracted himself from beneath the table. And then, giving an extremely pained long-suffering sigh, put his hand underneath the table top and something mechanical snapped. In silence, they could only watch as the table slowly collapsed down to rest on what everyone now noticed to be the slightly lowered edges of the u-shaped benches, making a completely flat surface.

Without a word, it was Ash who reached for the cushioned backs of the benches and was easily able to rip them from their velcro and laid them across the newly flat surface. The three of them could only stare nonplussed and quiet at what was obviously a second bed. The burnt bacon and soggy cereal now long forgotten on the counter top behind them.

“I call dibs on the Table Bed.”

#pride month prompt challenge #my writing #until dawn #josh washington #ashley brown #chris hartley #chrashley #a day late again #i have discovered the need for the chaos that is the nerd trio grocery shopping #i needed a fic detailing this yesterday #i am not getting the point of these being short drabbles #how the hell are each of these ending up so long?

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dovakhiindrabbles · 4 years ago

Photo

Two in one I’m on a roll! Anyhow, I thought I’d jump into Emeline’s side of the family before moving back to Aisha and Isran – I want to tie the two together but I really need to introduce these two and elaborate on their relationship with one another and Rosie before I do that! They haven’t gotten enough attention when they’re both incredibly important members of Rosie’s family – after all, this is where our Rosie got her name!

A warning for death and violence however! If you’re sensitive to those themes please keep them in mind before reading!

More Info underneath!

To avoid confusion, I’ll be referring to our Rosie as just Rosie and her grandmother as Rosalie!

Continuing from that, I’d like to introduce a new face: Rosalie Julienus-Asarmeson (The first of her namesake – though she took the title of Rosalie Sr. with Rosie’s birth). To be blunt, Rosalie has had a rough and difficult upbringing that led to the short-tempered, and brash woman that Tulius would eventually meet. She grew up an orphan in Bruma, abandoned at a young age and left to fend for herself in the cold mountains. Occasionally a pitying member of the Fighter’s Guild or the Great Chapel would offer her help only for Rosalie to promptly stick out her tongue and declare she didn’t need any help. She was considered a bit of a nuisance and continually sought after by guards who she’d smugly give the slip.

However, years of further and further alienation built Rosalie into a distant, frustrated soul. Her few good deeds would go unnoticed upon a mounting pile of small ones and the citizens of Bruma never quite understood how to connect with a child whose very first memories of the city were coated in loss. Attempts were made on both ends but never at the same time, or at the very least, not enough to make Bruma her home. At fifteen, she left and made her way to the Imperial City, desperate to find a sense of worth. Rosalie found the closest semblance in the Arena.

It was when Rosalie won the title of Champion that she was recruited by the Imperial Army, years later. She’s noted for her incredibly strength and resilience – even fighting bare handed and by whatever means in order to win. Her potential is finally recognized and though Rosalie would never admit it, it’s the possibility of finding that support system she’d always lacked that convinced her.

However, she almost immediately comes to regret this when she’s put under the command of Tulius, a newly promoted captain given the task of keeping Rosalie out a trouble for a minute training Rosalie. The two are almost always at each other’s throats, bickering, arguing, and fighting until it almost reaches a breaking point. Almost. Things thankfully, begin to change when Tulius (definitely not after being given a stern talking to from his command) stops trying to make Rosalie do things his way, and instead attempts to appeal to her. He observes her habits, mannerisms, and actions and attempts to implement that into her training. Rosalie of course, notices this and moves to the offensive – changing her movements and throwing him off at every turn. It’s confusing and frustrating and ultimately culminates into the very thing they should’ve done from the beginning: talk.

It begins as a furious argument – Rosalie upset over Tulius constantly trying to get in her head and Tulius then enraged that he wouldn’t have to do any of this if Rosalie tried to work with him! Rosalie then admits that she doesn’t know how to work with others, she’s always been on her own, why would she immediately bend over backwards to appeal to some stuck-up captain? This opens up a dialogue, and the two have a deep and meaningful conversation that points them in the direction of friends. Both take steps to be more thoughtful and patient with the other and soon enough, Rosalie becomes Tulius’s closest friends and advisor. Through years of surviving and fighting on her own Rosalie had become an excellent strategist, and Tulius had roused the strength and loyalty in his soldiers to carry out these plans. They became an inseparable duo and along the years, those feelings of friendship became more.

As a couple, one could often find the two sneaking off plenty of times to spend time with each other – people figured out soon enough, they didn’t have to say there was an ‘impromptu meeting’ but the lovestruck doofuses did anyways. Their relationship was always full of understanding and kindness, and even when the famed and feared General Tulis was at his most vexed, he could always be calmed down by equally feared Legate Rosalie just holding his hand. Rosalie and Tulius had a single daughter, Emeline, who they adored with all their hearts and souls. It wasn’t rare to see a baby Emeline in a sling on Tulius’s back as he tried to have a meeting or Rosalie doting on her toddler in the middle of a training. Rosalie wanted to be there for her child in all the ways her parents never had been. She truly loved her daughter and eventually Rosalie more than words could ever describe. Tulius too, was a notorious sap, who could be in an absolute rage only to melt at the sight of either his daughter or his granddaughter. (His famed ‘sweet voice’ was a well-known joke among the soldiers)

Rosalie was one of the most highly valued and respected members of the Imperial army, commended by Emperor TItus Mede II and even offered a place among the Blades. She could’ve easily been alongside Tulius as General had she not had that fateful meeting with her own former soldier, Ulfric, who initially idolized Rosalie. She was this intelligent, and masterful Nord leader among the Imperial forces and in his eyes, exemplified everything he himself wanted to be. Rosalie herself, kept him at a distance. He was a gifted young man who’d trained among the Greybeards but he always teetered along an edge. He struggled connecting with others from his training among the Greybeards and blindly loyal to the traditional, fracticous ways of Skyrim that Rosalie never understood.

She did her best to steer Ulfric towards growth and act as the supportive figure she never had in her youth when Ulfric was kidnapped in the midst of the Great War. This would eventually culminate in the dangerous, hateful figure seen in the Civil War who eventually kills Rosalie when the two meet again, with Imperial Legions investigating early Stormcloak sightings. (Not shortly after Civil War is declared but many hadn’t considered it with the scale and ferocity seen with Rosie’s time. Many thought it’d be a lengthy but ultimately useless endeavor. I’d say 188? Making Rosie 13) Rosalie’s death is considered a catalyst for the size and intensity the Civil War is seen with in Rosie’s day. Rosalie’s death was considered a tragedy all throughout Cyrodil, and Tulius himself was despondent and guilt-ridden for not being with her for months afterwards. Inadvertently, Tulius distanced himself from much of his family, even Emeline, and Rosie’s visits to Cyrodil lessened more and more. Their relationship is only rekindled when the two reunite again in Helgen and Tulius is fueled by revenge and frustration. Rosie joins her grandfather to seek vengeance against the man who destroyed not just their lives and families but those of so many others.

———————————————————————————————————–

My apologies, I know that’s quite a bit! But Rosalie’s character is so extremely important to the motivations of Rosie that I couldn’t ignore her! Tulius too is also someone who’s relationship with Rosie has a lot of depth and change throughout her story that I really, really wanted to at least touch on it! That being said, here’s a few more lighthearted facts!

Extra!

- Rosalie almost sobbed for hours when Emeline told her that she was naming her daughter after her biggest hero, her mother. Rosalie spent all her years as Rosie’s grandmother striving to be the best example possible and even was the one to introduce Rosie to the two-handed weaponry she adores so much.

- Tulius calls his granddaughter, ‘Rosebud’ and spoiled her to no end. He and Ehsan would write letters exchanging gift ideas when birthdays or holidays came around.

- Emeline as a child used to steal her father’s cloak so he wouldn’t leave her for his ‘boring meetings.’ She was glued to her father’s hip all throughout her childhood and was without a doubt her father’s daughter.

- Rosie and Rosalie will eventually meet again in Sovngarde when Rosie goes to vanquish Alduin. It’s a heartfelt and teary reunion and Rosalie leaves many messages for Rosie to send back for the family she misses so dearly. It brings back a bit of light that Tulius had long thought was gone when Rosie relays the message to ‘wait just a bit longer’ for them to reunite.

- As a child, Rosalie’s only source of comfort and idolization came from the Hero of Kvatch. She adored hearing stories of his rise to heroics and courage that never faltered even during the most difficult of times. (He was a little bit more of a shy doofus but most people don’t entirely remember that) It was his stories that made the harsh, cold nights a little easier to weather.

Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed this important look into Rosie’s family and even more so hope that you have a marvelous day! If you have an questions feel free to send them my way!

#Rosieverse: Rosalie Sr #Rosieverse: Rosalie #Rosieverse: Tulius #Skyrim #Skyrim tes #General Tulius #Tulius #LDB #Dragonborn OC #My Dragonborn #Rosieverse #blood tw #tes

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alexiethymia · 5 years ago

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mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all

title: mirror mirror on the wall notes: Character study on Kou and Mitsuba. Written before chapter 65 came out, but I decided to share it since there was a lot in the chapter which coincided with what I’ve always felt about their characters. I’m glad they’re not closing off the painted world with a neat little bow and that they keep referring back to it since there are so many things unresolved there.

I wanted to play around with the meaning of fair or fairness. It can mean beautiful like Mitsuba. It can mean light like what the kanji in Kou’s name stands for. And it can also mean justice, which can refer to Teru or even Hanako. I think that for Kou, he sees one in the other, maybe because of his admiration for the both of them, or how he perceives them to be strong, and duty-bound, either way it’s a source of confusion for him.

summary: Kou is a Minamoto and with that name comes a century’s worth of tradition, pride, and pain. But he is also just Kou and he has to live with that.

But at least he can live.

fair /fer/ adjective 1. the quality of being just 2. of a light nature 3. beautiful

Kou is a Minamoto and with that name comes a century’s worth of tradition, pride, and pain. But he is also just Kou and he has to live with that.

But at least he can live.

And Kou isn’t one to grumble, he’s the type to just suck it in and push forward, like a steam engine, even if the train tracks are cut, he’ll just move forward, forward, forward -

Even if he tips off the edge, he’ll just keep moving forward even if he doesn’t know where he’ll end up.

Looking at Teru-nii is like looking at a mirror, like looking in a mirror, but not quite.

Other people have always said they were reflections of each other, but Teru-nii is perfect, and he’s just Kou.

And he’s perfectly fine with that because he’s a trier and his whole life has been trying.

For the longest time, Teru-nii had been his pinnacle...

Teru-nii is the Minamoto family’s pride; he is Kou’s pride. Meanwhile, Kou is the least powerful in his family.

Maybe it’s because he’s dumb or simple-minded or naïve. He can never do well in studying, so it’s a good thing he has the smartest older brother in the world to help him. When there’s something he can’t understand, he only has to ask, and Teru-nii will have the answer.

He’s not as smart or as talented as his brother, and this is not Kou complaining, but just a statement of fact.

Instead what Kou lacks in ability, he makes up for with his convictions. It’s the one thing that he can be sure of is solely him, and not Minamoto or Teru-nii.

So he’ll stubbornly hold onto those convictions with the simple-minded foolishness of someone who has always been protected, with everything he’s got. Even if…even if those convictions will put him on the other side of his Nii-chan.

This side? The other side? Their side? Our side? Kou used to think the divide between good and evil was clear.

Fact one. Kou is a Minamoto, which means Kou is an exorcist, which means his job is to protect this side. The near shore, where Nii-chan, Tiara, Yokoo, and Satou are.

Fact two. Hanako is a supernatural. More than that, Hanako is a murderer. He belongs to the far shore, which means he and Kou will always be on opposite sides.

He really must be dumb if he can’t even get simple concepts like these. Nii-chan is already telling him the answers, but all he has is questions.

Because if Kou is meant to be on this side, and Hanako is meant to be on that side, where does that leave Senpai, who’s smack-dab in the middle, not belonging to one or the other? Because, Fact three, Senpai will might (he'll change it) die soon.

Kou protects because that’s what a Minamoto man does, and has been doing for centuries – just like his Nii-chan. And because he’s been protected for all his life, and he just wants the people he loves to be happy.

But Nii-chan, who protects those who have no one to protect them?

Nothing much can get Kou down. He doesn’t grumble nor does he complain. Besides what is there to complain about when he’s been blessed – with the perfect older brother, the most adorable younger sister, surrounded by his best friends – his whole life? When there’s a setback, he just picks himself up and tries again. He has neither smarts nor ability nor talent; all he has is positive thinking and his one-track mind.

Sometimes though, in the middle of the night, while clutching an old and well-loved camera in his hands, he cries about the unfairness of it all like a spoiled child.

unfair, unfair, unfair

Life and Death aren’t fair. No one gets to choose.

Of course it’s not fair that Hanako murdered his younger brother or that Mitsuba died far too young without Kou even knowing about it (his fault, his fault, his fault).

Logically he knows it’s no one’s fault, but Kou has never been the logical sort.

All he can do is rage against the unfairness of fate (he can’t imagine a world without Senpai’s smile in it, disappearing and fading like an old photograph, like Mitsuba’s did, he doesn’t know if he can go through that again-)

It's unfair that he can live, and they can't.

At his lowest point, he thinks he’s resolving himself; maybe it wouldn’t be so bad just slipping to the other side. That way he can better understand Mitsuba, he can be with Senpai, and ok yeah maybe Hanako, when it does happen. Put like that, it doesn’t sound too bad.

(There's no need to rush. You’ll be a fine exorcist one day. A little spirit like me will be a piece of cake to expel. I’ll be looking forward to it.)

(Are you really trying to kill yourself? Are you that much of an idiot?!)

(I want to live for the next ninety years!)

He hates Hanako for calling him ‘boy’ and treating him like a kid (and yet trusts him enough to exorcise him, and he doesn’t know what he hates more among that many things he hates about him – being Tsukasa’s mirror image, reminding him of Teru-nii, making Kou rely on him, taking on all the burdens by himself and making Senpai worry, the list goes on and on, that bastard-)

But it’s at moments like these that he really feels he’s just a kid. He thought he knew the worth of sacrifice (I don't care what happens to me as long as I can protect everyone!), but faced with two kids his age who have already lost life and his precious Senpai who might lose hers, he realizes he is still so impossibly young.

Because he thinks he’s comforting Senpai just like how he comforts Tiara when he tells her it’ll all be alright, when in fact it’s the other way around, her placing a reassuring hand atop his and smiling as he’s crying.

Because it’s Mitsuba saving him as he jumps off a building.

Because he’s too weak to watch Hanako’s back and lessen what he’s carrying.

Kou is just Kou. He’s not Teru-nii or even Hanako. He’s powerless and weak.

But because Kou is just Kou, he doesn’t understand difficult concepts like sacrifice and trade-offs and impossibilities. He’s too dumb to know when to give up. He’ll just keep pushing forward, forward, forward, with all his stubborn naiveté.

Even if Hanako gave up on finding a way to save Senpai, even if Mitsuba gave up on living in the real world,

especially, when Senpai won’t give up on herself, especially then,

Kou doesn’t know how he’ll do it, but he resolves himself that he will. He’ll save and protect all of them, his weakness be damned. He may not be Hanako or Tsukasa who can grant the wishes of the living or the dead, but he’ll grant them regardless, even if only through sheer force of will. He swears on his name as a Minamoto and everything that comes with it.

Because Kou has always just been Kou, and all he’s ever wished for was to make the people he loves happy.

______________________________________________________________

Is a reflection real?

Mitsuba has had plenty of time in the Hell of Mirrors, alone, that he can hear himself think, the thoughts so loud they ricochet off the glass and reflect back to him.

If all he is, is a reflection of the real Mitsuba Sousuke, who exactly is he? Or is the better question, what?

Maybe it was better when he was just an empty shell that didn’t know anything.

If anyone asked Mitsuba if there’s anything he worried about, he’d tell them he was too cute to worry about anything.

But for the longest time, there was no one for him to ask or answer.

Mitsuba hates being alone.

I mean come on, how could anyone leave someone as cute as him alone? Were people blind or something? (He hates feeling like a ghost, even if that’s all he is now, and even then, not even that.)

So he’ll grasp onto anyone or anything as proof of his existence.

If he was never alive in the first place, he wants to shout into the void, then at least, he was here.

(But only echoes answer him)

He grasps onto Tsukasa-kun because at least Tsukasa-kun wants him here or at the very least doesn’t care enough to get rid of him. At least Nanamine-senpai and Hyuga-senpai are nice.

Tsukasa-kun’s mirror image, aka Crazy Knife, aka Honorable No. 7, aka apparently his boss, most definitely wants him gone. Something about the balance or order of the world, but he can’t really talk when he went evil mastermind to keep Radish-senpai trapped, dragging all of them into his crazy scheme in the process, so there.

(But Mitsuba wonders what it’s like to love someone that much.)

Radish-senpai is also nice. Even if she’s obviously not as cute as he is and has fat ankles to boot. He really doesn’t know what Hella-Lame-Traffic-Safety-Earring sees in her. Maybe it’s because they’re both the same – idiots who don’t know how to give up.

He misses Yokoo and Satou. Maybe it was fake, but they were as much his friends as they were ‘Mistuba’s’ right?

Even if they’ll never remember him.

Real or Fake, it doesn’t matter anymore. If he’s not real anyway, can’t he take advantage of a fake world? He can pretend for his whole life, like a marionette on a string. Fake happiness is still a kind of happiness right? Right?

Why wake up from a dream, why break the illusion, why destroy the mirror -when reality is more painful?

What Hella-Lame-Trafic-Safety-Earring doesn’t understand is that when you have nothing, you can settle for anything.

Tsukasa-kun was cruel giving a reflection dominion over mirrors and memories, especially when he has none of his own.

But Minamoto-kun is crueler still for seeing his dead friend whenever he looks at him, even though it’s not his fault.

But Mitsuba is desperate. He’ll let Minamoto-kun call him friend even if it’s not really him Minamoto-kun is seeing, like a trick of the light.

After all Minamoto-kun is dumb, he probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway.

And yet if Minamoto-kun was so dumb, why was he able to tell what Mitsuba’s real wish is?

And with that infuriating face, why does he have the gall to tell Mitsuba that he’ll make his wish come true?

With what power can he act so high and mighty.

And oh, Mitsuba must be the dumb one here, because despite all the odds, why does he believe him?

#jibaku shounen hanako kun #jshk #toilet bound hanako kun #minamoto kou #mitsuba sousuke #hanako kun #yashiro nene #minamoto teru #fanfiction #fanfic #fics #writing #ramblings about jshk

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wavemaker9 · 5 years ago

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So far I think Toni has like 4 potential ships for him? Remind me if I’m forgetting anyone but so far I think it’s just Cami, Mel, Gil, and Ivan who’ve gotten a focus on.

I also think I already touched on how Cami’s the best for Toni in the same way that Mel is for Austin and Ivan is for Kyle, so I prolly don’t need to go too deep into those two. I will say I had the thought the other day of like a need vs want thing with the three boy’s ships, and like. I think it was that Austin needs Mel but doesn’t usually want her right away, Kyle both wants and needs Ivan like right at the start, and like. Toni needs Cami a little but I do think he wants her more than he needs her. Mainly just cause like. We’ve discussed this in discord but not on here so basically for a written record, We were talking about Cami being a source of character development for Toni in GTA AU but then countered that because in GTA AU he really doesn’t develop any from his relay with Cami. He does for a little bit I guess but then regresses right back to normal because he’s a dumb idiot who learns nothing from his mistakes. It’s the same thing with the issue with Gil, he doesn’t come away from that going “I need to value and trust my friends more because we care about each other and I’ve known them long enough to not only recognize that, but /recognize it in a way that adjusts my behavior accordingly/”. He doesn’t. Like. If you talked him through the whole thing with Gil and Francis, you could get him to quickly admit he genuinely doesn’t believe there’s any way that Gil or Francis would, unprovoked, betray him. But then also be like “But technically there’s some way, so gotta be prepared.” HE’S THAT BATMAN LINE. THE DUMB ONE ABOUT “IF TEHRE’S A .1% CHANCE HE COULD BE OUR ENEMY WE HAVE TO TREAT THAT AS A 100% CERTAINTY!” Dumb idiot. I think it’s just that like. Because Toni wants to be prepared for everything so that he can handle everything, he has a hard time prioritizing probability over possibility. And that’s probably true in any AU but especially in ones like GTA where he has more to lose and has learned to be more paranoid. He knows the probability of Gil betraying him is like so small it’s basically 0%, but also Toni can think of ways that would force Gil to pick a side and have Toni be that losing side. Threatening Ludwig is the biggest one (and I’d assume there’d be an equivalent for Francis of “if someone threatened X if Francis didn’t betray me, he’d have to pick X”), but Toni probably also assuming that if it came down to a thing of picking Francis or him, Gil’d pick Francis. Similarly, Toni assumes Francis would pick Gil if Gil forced Francis’ hand, while not also considering the fact that if your two causes are “Francis would betray me if Gil made him” and “Gil would betray me if Francis made him” and you don’t have any other factor that would prompt either Francis or Gilbert to make that move to push the other in the first place, then those aren’t really possible/probable causes are they, Toni? Even if the other cause is “Someone threatened Ludwig/X to make Gil/Francis betray me, but he doesn’t want to fight me directly so he’s then convincing Francis/Gil to do it.” like. His independent mentality doesn’t even have him consider “They would come to me and the two of us could work out how to save Ludwig/X together.” He just assumes betrayal because that’s how shit works in Los Santos, and because he assumes betrayal even in the .1% chance this extreme event happens, he feels he has to be prepared for it and won’t fucking chill about it. And even when it’s pointed out to him “Do you realize how unrealistic this is,” that’s not what he cares about. He knows it’s unrealistic, but that doesn’t make it impossible. It’d be like always wearing a life jacket 24/7 in case your house floods. You can point out how unlikely the flooding is at any given time, but he’ll just counter “and then what if it happens and then I don’t have a life jacket????” Like I guess you’re technically prepared, sure, but at what cost. Ugh, Toni’s the worst, I can’t believe I took this character I liked the best out of my three and made him the worst in his inability to learn a goddamn lesson.

Similarly, GTA Toni doesn’t learn a goddamn thing from what happens with Cami either. He doesn’t learn to communicate better, he doesn’t learn to trust people and put more faith in their choices, he doesn’t learn not to lie needlessly. To him, it’s not a factor of “Things would be better if I HAD told the truth” and more “Things would be better if I’d BEEN ABLE to tell the truth” because he’s still in some dumb mindset of unintentionally not respecting Cami’s (or anyone’s, really) autonomy. He /couldn’t/ tell Cami the truth, he /couldn’t/ 100% trust Gil and Francis. Again, he’s not realizing that these were actual choices he made and are specifically his fault. They are what /had/ to happen because, given his own knowledge and no other input, they were the best option at the time and thus the only thing he could really do. Even after Cami snaps at him about how much his break up with her and everything hurt her, he laments factors that were outside of his control instead of recognizing the choices he made weren’t good. If only he hadn’t gotten into the crime business, if only he’d met Cami earlier in his life, if only X, if only Y, blah blah blah. He recognizes that he made things worse here, but it still feels to him like “cami would have been better off if she never met me or if she’d met me before I got into crime” vs “cami would have been better off if I’d treated her with more actual respect and not this romanticized old version of respect where I pull her chair out for her but don’t ask for her opinion on major life decisions”. All of it basically boils down to ‘this wasn’t solely on me because I did what I /had/ to do given the circumstances. Nevermind that I could have changed the circumstances by discussing /anything/ with /anyone/. *hanzo voice* I do what I must.’ I touched on this in the fic with him and Gil, but Toni leans on excuses a lot more than he likes to think he does. During mel’s fake death, he calls out Kyle for not planning ahead and being aware of the consequences his actions have until they’ve already happened, but Toni has the exact opposite problem of /always/ trying to plan ahead to a harmful level and only being aware of the connection any consequences that happen may have with his actions until he actually does the thing and then any mistakes were a flaw in fate itself really, he did his best.

Anyway, fuck, that was supposed to be 1 paragraph about the generic dynamic of cami and toni, not multiple trainwrecks about what a trainwreck I turned that boy into in GTA AU. Back to the point. A lot of that is lessened in the handful of other AUs where Cami and Toni end up together even briefly, so that’s good at least. I mentioned to Khep the other day the idea of a similar thing happening with Toni in Color Coded AU of him having an interest in Cami after meeting her thanks to investigating her for PRISM, but when seeing how truly kind she is, him trying to step back because, while he does value PRISM for the help it gave him with his powers, he recognizes it’s shady and manipulative towards coders at best and doesn’t want Cami involved in that world. PRISM keeps a close eye on every one of its heroes, even those that leave/retire if it can, and Toni probably believing that while Cami could stay under the radar if staying on her own, any serious involvement with him would put her more at risk of PRISM’s lasting attention and she doesn’t deserve them watching over her and possibly deciding when she should and shouldn’t join. But in that one, he’d actually talk to her. Instead of spending his YA years as an independent and pseudo-paranoid crime leader, he spends them in a large community and as the leader of a team where communication is key. This Toni /knows/ that it’s important to ultimately trust people with information in order to better protect themself, and the only reason he’d hide info from Cami while trying to break things off would be at the very start since it’d probably take a little effort to find a way to communicate with Cami where he could be sure PRISM wouldn’t be keeping tabs. In other more chill AUs he tends to be better about that shit, too. Firefly AU was brought up since that’s another Toni that learns to lie with priority, but they don’t really end up together in that one so agreeing with the point there fo it not being as much of a thing? Mel and Gil feel like bigger factors into his development there than Cami does. Honestly, I can’t remember many other AUs where they even interact let alone date, now that I think about it tho? There’s the one happy one where they’re both single parents but that always felt more like a focus on the interaction between the kids/kids+parents vs between the parents, like honestly the TonixCami factor there was definitely back burner whenever I thought about it. Ugh, there has to be other AUs, right? Okay and I just went through my page of AU/Xover lists and it seems like no. Wait OUAT, I forgot that, but that’s also a bad one but not my fault. God we really do need better AUs for them. But honestly there aren’t many AUs for any of these ships we’re here to talk about so I guess I’ll be as assuming here as for the others.

I do feel like a non-GTA and the like AU where Toni and Cami can end up together is good. I’m still standing behind what I said in discord the other day of like. Toni is not necessarily the best end for /Cami/ if the AU has anyone else like Cian in it. I’ll also add something new of like. Even though Cami is probably the best of the options so far for Toni, she’s not the /ideal/ match either. Which, tbf, the same is true for Austin and Mel, honestly? It falls back to the need vs want thing. Kyle lucked out and got someone who helps him better himself while also being the type of person he absolutely adores. Austin’s best option would be someone who challenges him similar to how Mel does, but in a more reserved way and someone he has a bit more in common with. Someone he could start off wanting, instead of learning to want after a long while. (That’s also part of why Aud is a better fit for Mel too, since Aud is a bit more open and accepting of challenges and such due to her past vs Austin who is really not here as much to be significantly challenged; Aud isn’t /looking/ for a challenge either exactly, but she won’t back away from one as quickly as Austin will). For Toni and his ideal, there’s obviously the thing of like. Usually a relay with Toni isn’t great for her either since it’s just. Their relationships always feel very romanticized but not super realistic? I could see them having a long term relay and being happy, especially in more chill/neutral AUs like the adopted family AU one, but I think it takes them both a medium to /long/ while to relax around each other. Which isn’t… the worst, but also, it just feels a little unhealthy having to try /to that level/ in a relationship. Like trying in a relay is good, trying to seem perfect in a relay isn’t so much, and it’d probably take a few years to a decade or so before toni starts to feel comfortable not trying to the max 24/7. And that’d be exhausting, and that’s for Toni who is used to and honestly lowkey thrives in a challenging environment, because Cami would in turn likely also feel the need to always be at her best regardless of Toni’s reassurances, and that’d be even worse for someone like her who is NOT already confident and believes herself as being at the best level already. Eventually they could settle into a really nice comfortable life together, and I think it’d be very good for both of them at that point, because they’re both very caring and passionate people at their cores, but it’d probably be rough to start off with.

Mel is next on the list and honestly a very good match for him, too, although probably not as challenging as he would need to key points. I’ll cover this more for Gil and Ivan later on but I picture Cami and Gil are better at challenging Toni in ways that he could use given his flaws, where as Mel is more middle ground and. God, Ivan. We’ll get to Ivan. With Mel, it’s not that she wouldn’t be capable of challenging him or anything. She’s honestly probably the most prepared for that and can probably shut down a lot of shit the first time she sees it and knows it’s bad. Toni doesn’t talk to her about something important and just does X thing and her confronting him immediately on it. Same with like the one fic I did for the rarepair thing. She sees he’s not honest about who he is and what he likes, and she talks to him right away to kind of address that and why it’s important to her that that change even a little if they’re going to stay together. Really, they are a good match in that they either compliment or contrast each other well. They’re both active worker types who enjoy fighting and such, and though there’d have to be some competition between them, I could imagine it being treated as more playfully competitive than full on “I have to be the best” aggressive. Toni’s more diplomatic and that helps Mel with socializing some times and kind of getting her to take a hot second when angry to calm down and think through her reactions so she doesn’t get too mad and make more enemies than friends. They really do work very well together when they try and it’s not like having each other wouldn’t help better them. Honestly the main reason I don’t move Mel up to the highest potential pairing is just that I don’t picture Mel as the sort that would inspire him to naturally want to change on anything that’s a major issue for him. Like he wouldn’t naturally want to fix the communication thing, he’d just see that mel doesn’t like this so he’d fix it. One of the things that causes Cami to appeal to him most is her being so nice and sweet leads to him trying to be a naturally nicer person and just genuinely care more about people. Tone down that pride and judgement and be more open minded and selfless. The other thing, as we’ll get into with gil, isn’t something he thinks he needs as much initially but would probably learn to recognize a need for more, and that’s just chilling the /fuck/ out for once and just having a breather. Again, he thrives on challenge and stuff, he loves putting 110% into everything if he can, but like. Just relaxing and being chill and not being the best is okay too? And that’s not like “do the work, take a nap, get back to work” that’s like “I don’t have to be prepared to defend my non-existent title on everything to impress people. I can just relax and be myself genuinely and it’s probably fine.”

So let’s just move onto Gil then since that’s the big pro when Toni gets to date him. Honestly, at least atm, I think Gil is the only person Toni ever knows that he feels like he can 100% relax with? Francis is close in most AUs, probably like 95% in more chill scenarios, but Gil has a much more natural way about him where he’s just so honest, it’s infectious to Toni. It really is why he likes Gil so much. Francis is arguably cooler and more fashionable and confident, but Gil seems to have this fucking ultimate zen thing going of owning who he is so completely which even Toni hasn’t mastered yet, and Toni thinks that’s the coolest. Great humor and confidence is a big factor into Toni befriending Gil so closely. Gil can always make Toni relax and laugh and forget his worries for a bit and Toni has such a chill genuine fun time when with Gil, and, again, for someone like Toni who feels like he has to try 110% minimum at all times, feeling comfortable in the moment enough to not feel like he has to impress and watch himself is really nice. Honestly? I feel like there are a lot of things Toni likes that he’s just kind of filtered out of his personality because of reputation, and it’s only when hanging out with gil or the full group that he’ll find himself doing that kind of shit again because he feels like he can get away with it more when with gil and/or francis. Like in a lot of AUs Gil’s probably the first one to get out of Toni that he does like being called Toño more, to the point of I don’t even know if Toni often fully realizes it until Gil gets him to stop and consider it. Like there’s just a lot of stuff like that where Toni doesn’t even think about it anymore. He found ‘Toni’ was the name people found easiest growing up (usually) in America, so he went with that until it felt like his preferred name. God, honestly I think there’s just a lot of Toni’s personality that might not really be his personality and who knows what is or isn’t at any given time? He probably doesn’t on a lot. I sure don’t, I’ve never had this boy down pat. Hell, there’s already the thing of him naturally wanting to swear a lot but training himself to cut that out so he really only does it around Francis and Gil. Like. Maybe dressing up in high business casual all the time is just something he’s convinced himself he likes? What if I say he actually hated tomatoes as a kid and just whoever his guardian is in each AU loved them and made them a lot so he eventually tricked himself into liking them?? I can do anything with this new power, incredible! But yeah, maybe that’s another factor of liking hanging out with Gil too is not just “oh I get to relax and enjoy things I don’t normally allow myself too” but also “sometimes I remember I enjoy things I haven’t done in years and that’s nice”. Fucking Gil one day just questioning “Hey how come you say ‘probably’ or ‘probably not’ a lot when I ask if you like a thing instead of just yes or no?” and then through a slow convo of having to break down toni’s answers because even toni doesn’t realize fully that he does this, that finally coming out and gil just baffled once things click. Gil showing up the next day with a bunch of foods from the store for toni to try and actually see if he likes them. Toni like I don’t think this is how it works, Gil. Gil teasing back ‘maybe you’ve just convinced yourself you don’t think this is how it works when the REAL toni would love my idea? It’s impossible to know!’ and toni just laughing but conceding, sure, yeah, sounds 100% legit and not at all bullshit, what’s first on your goofball buffet, bud?

Okay, distracted again, back to the point. Toni relaxing is good, but I think it’s better as a friendship thing longer term? Toni relaxing every once in a while is a good break, but his morals and priorities and such slip when he’s not careful. Which leads us to the last boy on the list, Ivan. ...Listen. I /love/ the compare and contrast factor between Toni and Ivan because they really do have a surprising amount in common for not seeming like they would at a glance. A couple of terrible smile boys, love them, /but also/. Not the greatest influences on each other. This is especially true in verses like GTA and Nationverse with baggage. Toni tries to be a better person and move past his bloody history, but given who he is, it requires a /lot/ of maintaining. And like the pro with Gil is that I think Gil would still mostly be a good enough influence where even while encouraging toni to relax more, he’d still be a more good than bad influence in almost any AU. Like even GTA, Gil is a chaotic good sort, and that’d be important. But Ivan is decidedly not in those sorts of AUs, and pairings between him and Toni have the potential for being the worst in those. GTA (and probably Nationverse too?), Ivan loves prying at that mask of Toni’s and so tries to instigate him more, that would lead to Toni then pushing back, and like. A long term relay between them in those AUs would be hard. You factor in that Toni’s trust issues are worse in those and his darker instincts are way stronger from his history + Ivan also probably very similar on a lot of those points too and also just has not learned to respect human life at all tbh? Toni’s trying to respect human life, but yknow sometimes it’s hard???? (anyone else: I find it’s not hard at all not to murder people. I often go long periods of time without killing anybody! | toni and ivan: we all have our draughts) I just picture in those AUs they are too much of a chaotic force when together and it would be damaging for themselves and/or others. Plus the idea came up once between Avi and I of the GTA fling between them becoming more romantic but god you’d have to find the perfect storm to really make that happen to be honest? It’s not /impossible/ but it’s very unlikely. Toni doesn’t trust ivan enough to let himself become that close to him really, and if he couldn’t allow himself to let down his walls for cami, it’d be damn fucking hard to get him to do it for ivan in turn. He’d pull himself back before he did, and that could be another factor of ivan trying to pry at toni and see how much he can push him, see if he can pull him back in, but that would just further sour any possibility of an actual romantic relationship. In better AUs where they aren’t both bad kids, it’s a little more possible, but I still think even then, they wouldn’t be /great/ influences on each other. Definitely better! They both learn to try and be on better behavior, but. yknow. The bar was set low; there’s only so many AUs that aren’t better than gta au.

#ignore this #the boss kid #amusing muse musings #hey you au #crossovers! unlimited crossovers!

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smashingatsonicspeed · 6 years ago

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AUGUST SMASH DIRECT THOUGHTS

Boy! That last Smash Direct certainly added more hype then there already was for Ultimate. Just like with the E3 Direct I’m going to go through the major things covered in the order they were announced

SIMON & RICHTER BELMONT

Simon was technically leaked twice. He was among a seemingly credible leak that mentioned Ridley, Snake, Ice Climbers, and no cuts. And then Simon apparently was accidentally leaked through some goof up by Nintendo. (Though I dodged it since I know it was only one night before the reveal so I still didn’t know for sure if Simon was in until the reveal). But either way this ia amazing, Castlevania is certainly a worthy inclusion in Smash on the likes of all the other NES franchises represented. But what wasn’t leaked was Richter as an echo. Richter was the protagonist of Rondo of Blood. Which wasn’t exactly on a Nintendo console unless you count Dracula X in the 90s. Richter was also in Symphony of the Night which has never been on a Nintendo console. But he’s famous even in the meme-wise cause he’s the one who’s there for when Dracula yells “WHAT IS A MAN?!” in the hammy voice acting that was normal for this era of gaming. He was also an unlockable character on a DS game but otherwise Richter isn’t too Nintendo famous. But he is the most popular Belmont in Japan. They just needed to still feature the most iconic Belmont as the main inclusion still. I’m fine with Richter though. Though when I play as either of them, I’m playing Simon more for sure.

P.S. The trailer was great, not just for the super cool footage of Simon. But it was hilarious seeing Luigi running scared. Luigi getting killed by Death has quickly even become the latest Smash Bros. meme

DRACULA’S CASTLE STAGE & BOSS

The stage itself looks fittingly creepy and will have some pretty amazing music I imagine too. And Dracula being a boss is great as well. I kinda wish they’d have him yell “WHAT IS A MAN?!” when he came in. But I imagine that would be a bit much and ruin the moment. But it’d be hilarious to me.

NEW ECHO FIGHTERS: CHROM AND DARK SAMUS

When Chrom showed up I actually smiled. Now I’m no Fire Emblem fan. And yes it’s another sword user, and a fourth Marth-like character. But given how humiliated Chrom was in Smash 4. Not just in the Robin/Lucina trailer but the memes it caused in the Smash fandom that made a once proud and potential newcomer into a butt monkey on nearly the same level as Ridley with the TOO BIG memes. Even for characters I don’t necessarily want to see I would not want that fate to happen to their fans. It’s just brutal. Though at the very least Chrom seems to borrow a few moves from Ike as well. I even thought at first he was an echo of Ike before I checked later that it was actually for Roy. So I’m pretty happy Chrom actually got to have his chance. I am also certainly using Chrom more then I ever will for Roy.

It’s no doubt though that Dark Samus stole the show for echoes. She’s already my favorite echo so far and she has some slick-looking animations that may make her more worth playing then regular power-suit Samus. Metroid fans can be happy that they’ve doubled up the reps. And both of them are well-deserved additions.

ECHOES CAN EITHER BE STACKED OR SEPARATED ON THE CSS

This also may lessen the disgust that people had with Dark Pit’s inclusion back in Smash 4. Just put the echoes in the corner of the character they’re echoing. I’m certainly going to keep them stacked myself. I think the CSS will also look cleaner that way

ALL CHARACTERS WILL BE REVEALED BEFORE LAUNCH

In other words, Sakurai has had it with those final roster leaks only weeks/days before release. Base Game speculation’s days are numbered until the final Smash Direct before release (Which would be likely in October or November). DLC speculation will immediately start after it. But we’re going to have our explosion of reactions to the final base roster done soon enough. Going to be some tense times until then

RETURNING STAGES

There’s so many returning stages! I’ll just say that Brinstar Depths, Magicant, and Fountain of Dreams are particularly ones I’m excited are back. Yoshi 64, Venom, Fourside, New Pork City, and Windy Hill are also nice to see.

CAPTAIN TOAD ON NEW DONK CITY

Welp, Captain Toad is looking very unlikely now. He could be DLC potentially since he isn’t a major stage hazard nor an Assist Trophy. But with a focus on longtime fan favorites and bringing every veteran back. Captain Toad just fell to the way side. It’s a shame, if the newcomers have been chosen in the same fashion Smash 4’s was. I think Captain Toad would of been a near certainty. This also unfortunately means that the last chance for a playable Toad has left us. Smash can’t include everyone, even with some characters like Ridley finally getting their chance, there are still some characters that would certainly count for Nintendo All-Stars that just couldn’t quite make it. This is probably one of the few disappointments I had with the direct. But I’ve dealt without a playable Toad for 4 games already, I can deal with another.

103 STAGES

Man that’s a lot of stages. Not to mention we won’t have to unlock any, they’ll be there from the start. Though Sakurai mentioning this does have me suspicious that this means there’s no more base game stages to add unless they are really trying to hide any newcomers that may come with stages. But it seems odd to point this out exactly if there were even just a few more stages in reality

STAGE HAZARD SWITCH

If you’re a competitive player or even just dislike stages where you’re fighting the stage more then your opponent then you absolutely should love this option. More viable stages and everything

STAGE MORPH

Now this is cool. And could definitely add to the Chaos of a match especially if you randomize both stages. Imagine you get a nice stage that would be competitively legal but then BAM you get something like Great Cave Offensive or Big Blue as the stage morph stage. Plenty of opportunity for hilarity there. Should be fun.

800+ TRACKS + 20 SONIC SONGS + STILL ONLY 2 FINAL FANTASY SONGS

Man this game’s soundtrack is going to be crazy! I am interested in what they have new for Sonic. There’s apparently only 20. If every Sonic song returned that was in either of the last two games. There’d be room for only 2. But if none of the Brawl ones return that leaves room for 6. And that’s not counting the possibility they cut some songs. Though perhaps another bummer from this is apparently Final Fantasy is still only getting 2 songs. So now we know it wasn’t just DLC budget getting in the way. Square is still being stingy.

STAMINA NOW A STANDARD MODE THAT CAN HAVE STOCKS

I’ve always kind of liked Stamina mode as something to be a change of pace of the regular gameplay. So it having it able to have stocks is quite cool

FINAL SMASH METER

Now this is really cool and may even open the possibility of some tournaments allowing Final Smashes in tourneys. I doubt it will be in really serious tournaments anyway, but could certainly allow for some hype in tourneys that do allow it.

SQUAD STRIKE

It’s a little vague at the moment. But Squad Strike might be the closest to something like the match in Smash Tour with a different character per stock? Though it could also just be a 1v1 match for each character. Also opens up for battles between teams.

OFFLINE TOURNEY RETURNS

You can have offline tournaments again like in Brawl and Melee! I sometimes just did CPU only tournaments with those which was kinda fun to watch. Just overall neat to have that back

SMASHDOWN

A cool option to have people not just use the same main they’re great with and also encourages people to diversify the characters they use.

TRAINING MODE UPGRADES

Training now has essentially a ruler to know your character’s launching power! Very cool and Competitive players will love it since it’s much easier to measure things.

CLASSIC MODE BACK TO MORE STANDARD

This is definitely a return to form for Classic mode. It’s kinda like SSB64’s but it’s a different set for each character that’s predetermined. No matter how many times you go through with one particular character it will be the same. While that may arguably sound like a step backward from the complete randomness of Melee’s classic mode. I actually love this a lot, the team can choose a particular set of opponents that make sense for that character to fight. Or even if it makes absolutely no sense, then it’s up to the fanbase to think of a reason for why they fight. Also what seems to be a thing is each character has a name for their run. Kirby had Gourmet Clash and Roy had A Journey of Swords. Bringing the same kind of intrigue that the Punch-Out Stage titles bring. I am excited to go through with every character like I always do.

NEW POKEMON

Alolan Exeggutor is hilarious, Abra will certainly provide some salt on some people, Mimikyu was a character often seen as possible to be the Gen 7 rep so might of been the first major reconfirmation not counting the Captain Toad one found later. Vulpix is a cute addition to the pokeball lineup. And Ditto is amazing. I almost kinda want the enemy team of this game to now be Ditto fighters.

NEW ASSISTS

Only 2 possibly major reconfirmations in the form of Zero and Shovel Knight. Zero was often seen as a possible 2nd Mega Man rep and Shovel Knight was considered the most likely if an Indie were to ever make it. It’s a miracle Shovel Knight even got this far though. Yacht Club games should be proud. Other then those though, Klaptrap looks annoying to deal with, Kapp’n seems funny just for the characters in the bus’ faces, Chef Kawasaki is the return of Kirby’s old Brawl final smash repurposed, Nikki’s a cute character to include, and the Majora’s Mask Moon is amazing as an assist trophy idea. It doesn’t even discriminate, even KOing the one it summoned. There was also the Rathalos assist trophy that turns out to also be a boss

ASHLEY DECONFIRMED

At the tail end of the Assist Trophy section was the sudden appearance of Ashley and not even with the name tag. Though they made her eyes red again. Ashley was considered one of the possible likely newcomers revealed this direct mainly because last week WarioWare Gold released. So it would be great timing.But it wasn’t to be. Sorry Ashley fans

MAIN MENU AND A MYSTERIOUS SPIRITS MODE

The menu looks more refined then Smash 4’s though I didn’t mind the Smash 4 menu as much as most people did. However most of the buzz is of course around the mode Sakurai had blurred out. Through some deblurring people found the mode will be called “Spirits” but that’s still too vague to know what it’ll be exactly. Based on any hints though from the bosses, it seems it will be some kind of Adventure mode. My guess is something in between Melee’s Adventure Mode and Subspace. Not as extensive as Subspace but more content then Melee’s adventure mode for sure. Perhaps you find the spirits of the characters to unlock them. But anything else is definitely all speculation at this point. It’ll be interesting to find out what this mode will be all about when we get to it.

KING K. ROOL

You know they just had to leave us with one more thing. And it certainly was a big one. K. Rool was only 2nd to Ridley in being one of the most wanted characters in Smash. And was often seen on the top of the list on the ballot. Also gotta say the trailer is amazing to show all those heroes and the villain and then it cutting to Donkey Kong, cause that’s when exactly you know who’s coming. The Dedede fakeout was also hilarious, though I doubt it really fooled anyone. K. Rool was in Smash and Donkey Kong finally gets a much needed increase of representation. Perhaps we’ll see Dixie soon come up as a Diddy echo. But until then K. Rool is what Donkey Kong fans as well as a good majority of Smash fans wanted. And he’s here cementing this Smash as certainly even more fan service focused then previous games.

Overall, an amazing direct. and can’t wait to see what else is in store for this game. We still have more characters and of course the Spirits mode to see. The road to Smash Ultimate is getting smaller each day and we’re surely in for a few more spots of interest along the way. Cannot wait to see what’s revealed next!

#Super Smash Bros. Utimate #Super Smash Bros.#Simon Belmont #Richter Belmont #Castlevania #Chrom #Fire Emblem #Dark Samus #Metroid #King K. Rool #donkey kong series #Donkey Kong Country #K. Rool

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iamthelostcoin · 6 years ago

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The Thing About Overthinking

This is the extended version of my column article “The Overthinker” in Sensus Communis VII: The LATHE Journal.

If I could describe myself in one word or term, I won’t resort to any of my top favorites: jackets, corned beef, Pixar, fruit juice, milk, my shuffled Spotify playlist, nor comic strips. Maybe, I’d be more of what I am really good at. Nope, not singing and I swear you won’t want my monochromatic harmony get into your ears. Not also writing, I am but a simple and humble word arranger or text artist. Not Math, that was way back before college, or at least I think I had. If there’s one thing that I’d like to do almost every minute of my conscious being (and which am most definitely good at), that is to worry.

Though for some it may not be evident, maybe I’m not that expressive of my anxiety whenever around them, but for the people I am closest with, they might be aware of this weird habit of mine.

I overthink things, but overthinking is not necessarily related to intelligence (which I also lack of, not to be humble, just honestly). I worry about my grades, my pending articles, my thesis, my career after college, I don’t know what plot twists may be pulled off along the way to every life chapter. And more of little blunders along the way.

Overthinking is not also synonymous to overanalysing. When I tend to overthink, I just worry about worst case scenarios, not really about what to do with those situations. There’s over reaction deep within me that even in the most common shortcomings, I’d be nervous and my mind would go haywire like it was programmed to absorb negative thoughts.

I may not be alone to have this special skill, and if I am paid for every time I get to worry even over the littlest of things, maybe I’d be anxious on where to hide that much wealth. Anywho, being an overthinker is not necessarily being a perfectionist per se, although things would be better off with a smooth path rather than a bumpy road. To explain, when I am in a scenario that I had projected in my mind on how things may possibly go (like some sort of future vision and yeah you may deem it as cool, but hey really, it’s simpler term is actually “expectations”) and then when fate takes a course of path that is unbeknownst to the “expectations,” that’s when beads of sweat will start to form in my forehead to indicate that the events are not going the way I imagined, or there’s something unusual on an accustomed pattern.

You may tell me, like duh, I’m not the ultimate force of this universe to tell fate what to do, and I’m just being irrational on not expecting a slight revision of the events of a near future. And yes, I am well aware of that, religion, philosophy, even cheesy movie lessons, and the unfathomable irony of being a captain of my own ship. But I really don’t know, maybe this is my default setting, to be anxious on unforeseen things, and life’s default setting is to be full of surprises. Probably, the deal between me and this future is to contrast each other.

The future is a really big place, and if you ask me if it is bigger than the past, I don’t care. What matters is where I’m headed and the possible things that can affect me to where I’m headed. Even overthinking of the past could mean there might be an unlikely or unwanted turn of events caused by the deeds or happenings of very past. You see, the thing about overthinking is for the probable suffer or blunder that may be unfolded in the time to come. It’s like when you’re driving a car (though I have not ever, really) in the middle of the night, and then the headlights suddenly had gone out. No discernible light source can guide you but you still have to pursue anyway. Well, in reality, we really have no choice of staying in the present. With or without headlights, we are always driving towards our future and it is inevitable.

Things don’t always turn out the way we expect them, and trust me, it happens like almost every time. That’s why I developed this mutant skill of overthinking. But the thing is, this special power has its price. What you will possible overlook with overthinking is the appreciation of what is laid right before you: the present.

Forgive me, Pixar, if I am referencing Kung Fu Panda with their message that the present is a gift that’s why it is called such. Life has a lot to offer, aside from its uncanny surprises. The future is scary, but the present is here to live on. Pardon me if I sounded preachy, not really intended, so I’d say who can really blame people like us who are very sensitive to changes (or mishaps or troubles or setbacks)? Who have asserted the effects of the changes in the previous time jumping into a conclusion that all changes to come are inconvenient and-slash-or possibly irrelevant?

Do you blame the thermometer for letting the mercury rise to an increase in temperature? Or won’t you bring an umbrella everywhere? (Yes, guys, I always carry mine much many times than some of my girly friends). Or when your pupils grow bigger in the dark? The thing about the future is both big and scary, but the thing about me, I am a magnet of pessimism.

If it is entirely a bad thing, I am not really sure. But what I have realized lately as I am nearing the sound of the graduation march (which I am also overthinking if this is really actually near) is that being always on the look for tomorrow may possibly block the view of the image of today. Being an overthinker lets me miss the stuff I could’ve enjoyed and marvelled at.

I should've been more appreciative of what I like. I could've shuffled my Spotify playlist instead of biting my fingernails when reviewing for a possibly difficult major exam. Or I should've just emptied my milk glass whenever I can't sleep instead of letting overthinking mood in mind on loop. Or I could've only drawn comics instead of exhausting my mind to picturing an entire future path that may not be even meant for me.

And for more than two decades of struggling to exist and fitting in to survive, I overthought that nobody’s getting any younger each passing minute, each second, or nanosecond. Do I really want to spend all of my time figuring out which bridges to cross in a time where (or when) I haven’t gone to? Or should I live today and come hell or high water, I’m still going to live in the today of the future?

For now, I still don’t have the answers on how to lessen my frequent anxieties. But what I fear now is that I may miss the gift of being young by always getting ahead of myself. I may still be an overthinker, but don’t worry, my concern now is how to minimize this weird habit. That’s what I am overthinking for the meantime.

#coinfessions

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overthinkingfeathers · 8 years ago

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They're not what Zevran was expecting.

The plan isn't ruined, per se, but he was rather counting on them to be slightly less suspicious. Grey Wardens are heroes of legend, and people routinely called heroes are supposed to be giving and trusting. This lot clearly isn't. The elf - Dalish, if he's seeing correctly - and Qunari are just short of openly disdainful, trading eyerolls when they think no one can see. At least, he clearly sees the elf roll her eyes; the Qunari is on the far side and perhaps more mannerly than Zevran gives him credit for.

Perhaps only the human is a Grey Warden then. He certainly seems eager to assist the woman Zevran's hired. His information is scare and outdated; it's entirely possible the others could be tagalongs. That would be more fitting. Champions sometimes amass a following, and outlaw heroes have their own appeal. And if the Grey Warden is this blindly trusting, well, he certainly needs them.

That rather complicates things for him though. The two suspicious ones are scanning the horizon, shoulders tight, clearly expecting something. The massive dog - and Zevran's not sure if he's a Grey Warden or not, this being Ferelden - is scenting the air. They're not going to make it to the wagon.

Well. He can improvise. He leaps up, shouts, "The Grey Warden dies here!" and charges the human. Around him, he can hear sudden clattering as the others spring out of hiding places, and he can taste the bitter dryness of a mage gathering mana. He hopes at least one of them will down the elf before she can intercept him.

They don't. She steps in at the last minute, close enough that he can see her expression shift from anger to surprise. Then, before he can take advantage of that, she lashes out and hits him. The first blow is a lucky shot. She catches him in the stomach, and he stumbles back, winded. The second blow is skill.

He doesn't remember falling, but he's definitely on the ground when he wakes, and there's a boot on his chest. It can't have been long; faraway sounds of battle still echo around him, with the occasional loud snap above his head. His vision swims, and he refocuses upwards.

The elf is standing above him, unhurriedly tracking the fleeing mercenaries with her bow. She is grim and focused, and Zevran is reminded of an Antivan statue of Andraste that's many times taller than him. It is, despite the artist's best intentions, ominous and looming, towering over the city like an unvoiced threat.

The boot on his chest is hers. It's an odd choice. The fight, judging by the lessening noise, is mostly over, and he has lost; there's no chance of him bringing them all down. Still, he could twist and unbalance her, maybe grab one of the daggers on her belt. She would probably still win, but he never expected to walk away from this anyway.

She grinds her heel harder into his chest, as if sensing his thoughts, and he lays still instead. The mud feels like it's sucking him down, and he counts the seconds between her shots. He doesn't want to think about why he's still alive.

When she finally releases him, he sits up slowly, more dazed than he thought. He sees no trace of uncertainty in her hazel eyes or in the steady hand that points a dagger towards him. The others are still some distance off, dumping out bags and recovering arrows. If they realize she’s left him alive, they don’t show it.

"I have some questions," she says, and her tone is menacing, the threat of further violence clearly implied. She would be easy to antagonize, he thinks; there's no reason he has to keep going. She would kill him without a second thought. That is what he wanted. That's why he took this job in the first place.

He opens his mouth to seal his fate and finds that he can't do it. He's walked away from a sharp knife a dozen times over, cursing his inability to end himself, and this is no different. It seems wrong to die calm and unafraid.

So he flirts, barters with information, and in the end, lives.

_____________________________________________________________

Zevran makes it a month and a half before falling ill. It's a charming side effect of such a damp climate, he's sure; nothing life ending, but it will take a while to recover.

He tries to hide it from Mahariel for as long as possible. She is not needlessly cruel, but her practicality can sometimes brush the edge of it. It's a trait tempered by the kinder members of the party, none of whom currently trust him. He doesn't think they'd just let her abandon him on the side of the road, but he's not sure enough to test it. The fights when he first came back with her were vicious.

So he pushes himself harder than he should. Even walking leaves him exhausted and sore. By the third day, not even halfway to the Circle tower, he feels lightheaded and queasy. It is, all around, a truly miserable experience. He drops behind further than he means to, too wrapped up in a fever haze to notice his slowing pace.

He only realizes when he runs straight into Mahariel. She's facing him, frowning with her arms crossed. The others are a good distance ahead.

He opens his mouth to apologize, but she speaks first. "How long have you been sick?"

He feels like it's been forever, but that can't be right. He tries to narrow it down, fails, and goes with a shrug instead. "A little while."

She scowls and steps closer. A reflexive knot of fear rises in his stomach, and Zevran pushes it down. Mahariel is not a Crow, and he has never seen her do more than raise her voice at the others, but old habits die hard.

If she notices, she doesn't show it, but the hand she presses against his forehead is gentle and cool. It's the first thing in hours that's felt good, and inappropriate as it is, he wishes she'd stay just like that for a while.

She doesn't, and to his credit, Zevran doesn't protest when she moves. Out loud, anyway. She surveys their surroundings, searching the flat land dotted with the occasional tree. Finally, she shrugs. "This spot is as good as any other." Cupping her mouth with her hands to amplify the sound, she shouts, "We're making camp here! Come back!" In the distance, the others turn.

Mahariel doesn't bother to check. She takes off her pack and tosses it on the ground, then turns to Zevran. "Give me yours."

He struggles with the straps and succeeds only in getting it halfway off before she steps in and eases it off his back. She places it on the ground - a good deal more gently than her own, he notes with faraway amusement, like he has anything of value - and unhooks his bedroll. She spreads it out and points.

"Rest." He must look blank, because she frowns and repeats, "Rest. I'm not asking."

He wants to protest. Setting up camp is difficult and monotonous, and everyone is supposed to help. It's one of her rules. But he can hear his heartbeat in his head and feel every aching muscle, and he wants badly to sleep. If she's ordering him to take a break, it can't be a bad idea, he justifies. He lays down and almost immediately begins drifting off.

"'Tis barely past midday," he hears, and Mahariel's response of, "I'm going to need you to make more health potions."

Then he's gone.

When he awakens, the spot has changed. It's night, and tents are clustered around a low fire. He feels surprisingly comfortable. Not well yet - he can feel the pain at the edge of his conscious, but for now, with the benefit of hours of sleep, he can ignore it.

To his right, Mahariel is sitting at the fire, systematically grinding deathroot in a mortar. Her hair is loose and tangled, reddish undertones illuminated by the flames, and she's discarded most of her armor in favor of light clothing. It's a rare look for her, one normally reserved for the time between waking and leaving each day. He doesn't see anyone else, including her hound. She must be on watch then.

He's aware that he should say something, perhaps thank her for stopping. He's been loyal and hardworking, and he deserves as much, but it's still not the reaction he expected. He doesn't understand her. She's reserved and combative, so confident in her skills that she routinely fights her way out of situations that never needed to be escalated in the first place. The others regard her as their leader, and it's a role she's embraced, often deciding in favor of harsh solutions the others object to but ultimately obey. She's made it clear that her only goal is stopping the Blight. Any good deeds she does along the way are simply for material benefit. Anyone who stands in her way is as good as dead.

And yet, he's still alive and wrapped in rather more blankets than he started with.

He goes with the same question he's asked every night since he first joined her, because he doesn’t know what else to say. He doesn't expect an answer; she's never given him one. "Why did you spare me?" His voice is rougher and louder than he expects, but Mahariel doesn't startle. She merely puts down her work.

Tonight, apparently, is going to be different. "Danyla," she says. She says it simply, like the name itself is a sufficient explanation. It means nothing to him.

"I'm afraid you must have me confused for someone else," he says when it's become clear she's not going to continue. "My name is Zevran. Fiendishly handsome assassin, renowned lover, personal bodyguard? You remember this, I hope."

She rolls her eyes. It's a favorite gesture of hers, usually accompanied by an exasperated sigh and a muttered, "Creators, must I solve everyone's problems?" This time, however, fondness is tugging the corners of her lips up slightly. It is a good look for her, he decides.

"You don't ever let me forget. But I'd like you to tell me important things - like, you know, when you're sick - so I guess I can tell you this." The teasing smile dies away as suddenly as it appeared, and she's back to her usual self, serious and wary. For a minute, she stares into the fire like she's reliving something, and Zevran wonders if the reason is more painful than he imagined. Perhaps he shouldn't have asked. Then she shakes her head and says, "When we were in the Brecilian Forest, there was an elvhen woman named Danyla. She had been infected in the werewolf attack and transformed. The Keeper said she was dead, but really, she had run away. We found her in the forest. She could still speak, but she was in tremendous pain. She asked me to kill her. I did. I slashed her throat and continued on like it was nothing.

"We found out later that there was a cure. She could have been fine. Instead, she's dead." Mahariel turns toward him, serious and intent. The fire behind her illuminates her silhouette, making her look like a painting of some sort of lost prophet. She is the kind the Chantry would try to erase, he thinks, strong and war like and unabashedly elven. "We lose so much every year, Zevran. I killed her, I killed an ancient elvhen spirit trapped in a crystal, I killed a second ancient elvhen spirit because it attacked me. I ransacked a temple filled with our history - history we don't even know, history we'll never get back - because it was filled with werewolves. I'm one of the People; I'm supposed to add to our clans, not take away from them." It’s more regret than he’s heard in her voice before. Up until now, he thought she simply wasn’t capable of it.

She sits back, and some of the tension leaves her shoulders. "I promised I'd never kill another Dalish elf if I could help it."

There is a lot he could say in response to that. She knows about his mother, knows that he isn't Dalish himself. She had asked about his clan there on the field, when he was at her mercy, and he hadn't lied. She could have killed him and not broken her vow. Instead, she had taken him back to camp, patched up his wounds, and given him protection. Half of his gear is now Dalish made, all gifts from her.

He doesn't know what to say. She misinterprets his silence and says, a bit defensively, "You came from behind us. I only got a glimpse of your tattoo."

He can work with that. "Your tattoos are in honor of your gods, no? Is there a god of ridiculously talented elves? I could see why you would think I'd bear his mark."

She snorts. "The only half face vallaslin I've seen is for Sylaise. One of our sister clans uses it. Or they did at the last Arlathven, anyway."

"Is she the goddess of ridiculously talented elves then?"

"She's the Hearthkeeper. She gave us medicine, weaving, and fire." Mahariel sketches a pattern in the dirt. "It's been years, but I think it looked like this. Yours would need a lot of work to match."

He's too far away to make out the finer points of the design and too comfortable to move, but he can tell it is far more complicated than his tattoo. "I'm not sure a wise woman quite matches me. Besides, I am not Dalish."

"I know that." Her face is still turned towards the ground, hair obscuring her expression. He cannot tell if her tone is defensive or sad. Perhaps it is both.

"Which god do your tattoos represent?" They cover most of her face, lines half sharp and half rounded as if the artist could not quite decide what suited her. The ink is lighter than his own, with a reddish brown undertone, but it's not yet faded from age. He cannot picture her without them. He can almost picture her getting them, expression serious and stubborn, shoulders unflinching.

She glances up at him. Suddenly, he wants to ask if the experience prepared her for this, if having to remain unmoved while needles jabbed under her skin was anything like having to fight monsters day in and day out. He waits instead.

"Ask me some other time," she finally says. "You’ll need a new question now that I've answered the last one."

It is, somehow, the nicest thing she’s ever said to him.

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sanguine-fairy · 8 years ago

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Your Lightning in January Chapter Three

A/N: SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! Here is chapter three! You can read chapter two here. I’d like to give a big shoutout to @miss-zei for helping me write this and for the constant encouragement. You’re the best. I hope you guys enjoy this. Chapter four will not take as long as this one did xD

Things were surprisingly normal between the two of them. For some reason, Laxus had it in his head that they would have to worry about a sort of awkwardness. Lucy had asked him to a dance! How much more awkward could it get?

But things weren’t awkward. Lucy continued to smile and talk with him in the same way that she always had, it didn’t appear as though she’d been affected too much by the whole ordeal. Or even at all, for that matter.

Even as they sat together during lunch, Lucy happily spoke of a lab that had gone horribly wrong during her last class. Apparently, her lab partner had accidentally added a bit too much of some kind of chemical that he couldn’t pronounce and the whole south side of the school wound up smelling like a mix of rotten eggs and spoiled milk.

While the rest of her class had been completely disgusted and mortified, Lucy had found the whole situation to be quite humorous. That much was clear in the way that she could barely contain her giggles as she struggled to get the whole story out for Laxus.

“You should have seen the way everybody was diving for the door that leads outside, even the teacher was pushing kids aside to get out there.” Lucy wiped away tears that had formed in response to her fit of laughter, she sighed. A perfect sound of contentment that made Laxus smile a bit.

“I can’t say I’m a fan of rotten food smells.” That and, Laxus enjoyed hearing Lucy talk so much, he wasn’t sure he was willing to have experienced that story any other way. Her voice was just so soothing, he felt a little bit like a creep for enjoying it so much. But of course, he couldn't really help it.

The way she weaved herself into his life so intricately right under his nose went against everything that was drilled into him by his father. Don’t get attached. Well… it’s too late for that. Much too late. His father never warned him about blonde haired angels who come barreling into your life like a hurricane of sass and laughter. He wasn’t quite sure what these feelings were, but he knew it was too late to turn back.

“Laxus?” Lucy’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Huh? Oh yeah.” He attempted to play it off with a smile but the look on her face told him he wasn’t successful.

“Anyways, are you ready for the test in Fiore History tomorrow? I’ve studied all week and I still don’t feel confident in my knowledge.” Lucy said with a sigh.

“Wait, you’re in that class too?” There is no way that Laxus would have missed seeing her in that class. Lucy wouldn’t let him live it down if he did.

“Well, yeah! I have it later in the day than you, silly. All juniors have to take it.” Laxus felt his cheeks tinge in embarrassment. He should have known that.

“Oh, right. I haven’t really studied at all but I guess I should…” He trailed off. Why would she be bringing this up in the first place? She never showed any interest in his studies before. Lucy sighed again, this time almost expectantly, and then it hit him.

“Would you… uh, like to study? Together I mean. We could study at my house. If you wanted of course.” He cleared his throat nervously. Talk much?

Lucy’s face lit up as she smiled, putting the sun to shame. She never failed to be the brightest person in the room.

“Okay! I’ll come over after school and we can study together. Do you have any snacks? We’ll definitely need snacks,” Laxus shook his head no in reply, “okay that’s fine. We can stop by my house on the way to grab some. Oh! That’s the bell. I’ll see you after school.” With that, she skipped off through the cafeteria leaving Laxus smiling after her.

In class, Laxus had a hard time keeping his eyes off of the clock. Each second passed slower than the next. His excitement was definitely getting the best of him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had invited a friend over to his house, let alone a girl. He’d never been in a place long enough to make any friends to invite over. Laxus was headed into unknown territory and Lucy was leading the way. For the first time in his life, he felt like a normal teenager. Whatever that meant, anyways.

Like most teenage boys, Laxus wasn’t much of a believer in fate. There was no solid evidence that things happened for a reason with those reasons being beyond any person’s control. But the more he thought about that first day at Magnolia high, the more he started to consider the possibility. Lucy couldn’t have been the only office aid in the school but she just so happened to be that morning. What if he had gotten to school twenty minutes later that day? Surely he wouldn’t currently be on the edge of his seat waiting for the last bell to ring because of a girl. He definitely wasn’t complaining.

It felt like a small fire had started in the pit of his stomach. He hadn’t noticed it before but he was sure sparks were flying that first morning. Each day it was like Lucy was adding kindling, piece by piece. It made him feel… alive. He’d spent most of his life not having much of a purpose. Eat. Sleep. Go to school. Don’t anger father. Repeat. It was a life without color, a life without heat. The only thing he truly cared about was music. But now, he found himself listening to music less and talking to Lucy more. He found himself wondering about Lucy’s day instead of how to get his hands on the limited edition Bowie vinyl. He even started wearing his headphones less whenever Lucy was around.

In the hallways at school, that was a different story. The end of the day had finally arrived and Laxus was eager to get to their usual meeting spot.

He wasn’t surprised to find her waiting for him. The teacher had kept the class a few minutes late in order to finish his lecture. Laxus took a moment to admire the way that her golden hair fell over her shoulders, he was amazed that such unruly looking hair could appeal so much to him. It always seemed so soft and inviting.

It was then that she caught him. Her brown eyes lit up in that familiar way when her gaze landed on him and… was that a slight tinge of pink to her cheeks? No, it had to have been the early evening light playing tricks on him. She waved and he quickly lessened the gap between them.

“We shouldn’t have to stop by my house for too long, I actually just went to the store yesterday for some and haven’t even taken them out of the bags.” She smiled at that, as though enjoying a secret before she spun on her heel and gestured for him to follow along. “Really, I’ve got a ton. You’re going to have a whole selection to choose from. Chips, popcorn, chocolate, blueberries, strawberries… you name it, I probably got it.”

Laxus couldn’t help but chuckle at that, “Geez, you sound like a dealer.”

Lucy laughed before playfully shoving him. The force behind her effort was pitiable, though the blond just chalked it up to their sheer size differences. Though… he couldn’t help but think about how fragile she seemed. Even through her tough words and actions, it wouldn’t take a whole lot for her to break.

That thought scared him.

“Who knows, maybe I am a dealer.” Lucy stuck her tongue out at him before she laughed again and started to run, leaving Laxus in her wake.

The young man pursued the girl and let her win the unspoken race. She cheered the entire walk from her front gate to the front door that she unlocked with a golden key that she pulled out of her school bag. She stole a quick glance back at him before she pushed open the door.

The room was dark but Laxus could still make out what looked to be a large living room as he followed Lucy inside. His assumptions were confirmed as she flipped on the lights. The living room was filled with beautiful dark wood furniture that looked like it had never been used. Beyond the living room was an even more grand kitchen. Based on the two rooms he’s seen, the house was immaculate but it didn’t feel right. It felt… sterile. He followed wide-eyed behind Lucy as she walked towards the kitchen.

“This place is… amazing.” He commented while still taking in the sight. The kitchen was so large, at least three times the size of his bedroom and he thought his bedroom was a decent size.

“Oh, this old place? My mom would love to hear that. She’s an interior decorator. She changes the decor at least once every couple of months. It’s a good thing my dad’s a doctor so he can afford it… even if that means he’s gone often.” Laxus tore his eyes off of the decor to look at Lucy. Her words had been tinged with sadness, a sadness he knew all too well.

It shocked him, knowing that she might be struggling with a similar problem that had plagued him for as long as he could remember. He studied her face. She was smiling, like she always was. Her face was an impenetrable wall, not betraying her emotions like her voice just had. Maybe behind that smile, she was just as alone as he was

“I gotta grab all of the snacks and then we can head to your house.” She began to dig through the cupboards. “Oh, I forgot that we don’t have any things to drink here. Do you have anything at your place?” She didn’t bother turning around to hear his answer as she pulled random boxes and bags onto the counter.

Laxus tried to picture the contents of his fridge. “We have energy drinks… and some green tea stuff.”

“Anything without caffeine? I’m… not supposed to have caffeine.” She replied.

“Just water. Maybe some juice? I can’t remember for sure. How come you can’t have caffeine?” Lucy paused slightly at his question, contemplating her answer.

“Well-” Before she could finish her sentence the front door opened.

“Luuuuucy, I’m home! I got those drinks you asked for from the store. I hope I’m-- oh!” Lucy’s mom halted as she noticed Laxus standing in her kitchen. “Well, hello. Who is this tall, handsome young man?”

Laxus felt his face heat under her curious gaze. Lucy was the spitting image of her mother. The long blonde hair, coffee brown eyes, the whole nine yards. If he didn’t already know any better, he would have thought they were sisters.

“Mom, this is Laxus.” She left her spot at the cupboard to envelope her mom in a tight hug. Laxus ignored the dull pang in his chest as he watched the embrace and gave them a nervous smile.

“You didn’t tell me you had such a handsome boyfriend, Lucy!” Her mother exclaimed when they released each other from the hug.

“Mom!” Lucy screeched, her face turning a bright shade of scarlet. “Don’t embarrass me in front of my friend!”

Her mom gave Laxus a knowing wink. “Okay, okay. I’ll leave the two of you alone. Be safe!” She dropped the groceries on the counter and rushed out of the kitchen before Lucy could complain.

Just like her daughter, Lucy’s mom came in and out of the room like a tornado, leaving Laxus wondering what the hell had just happened.

“Let’s get out of here before she comes back.” She handed him a bag full of snacks and grabbed the drinks before pushing him out of the house as fast as she could.

The walk to Laxus’ house was relaxed. Neither of them spoke much, they were both stuck in their heads. Laxus kept replaying Lucy’s mother’s words in his head. She had called him Lucy’s boyfriend. And lucy didn’t deny it directly, although she did call him her friend right afterward. The thought of being Lucy’s boyfriend warmed him… and scared him.

There was no guarantee that he’d still be in Magnolia in the next month but he couldn’t deny the magnetic pull he felt towards Lucy. He could see them being close for a long time, even after he moved on to a new city. One thing he knew for certain was that he’d never find another Lucy in any other city out there.

The moment his thought process switched from ‘don’t get attached’ to ‘enjoy it while it lasts’ could be pinpointed to that walk to his house. If he couldn’t control how much time he had left in Magnolia, he could at least control how he spent his time there. He wanted to spend it by Lucy’s side.

It was starting to get dark by the time they arrived at Laxus’ house, the winter sun making its leave for the moon earlier every day. Seeing the even darker house, Laxus made a mental note to leave the porch light on when he left for school in the mornings. He fumbled the keys in his hands, dropping them once. The sudden wave of nervousness hadn’t hit him until the two of them were standing on his doorstep, but it hit him hard nonetheless. He was bringing a friend, let alone a girl, to his house for the first time. There would be no one home to chaperone. Just him and Lucy. Alone.

“You okay?” Lucy’s question managed to pierce through the silence and shock Laxus out of his sudden, yet near suffocating anxiety over having her over. He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit before sending her a reassuring smile and nod.

“Yeah, I guess I’m still getting used to the new set of keys.” Which wasn’t entirely false, he wasn’t sure he would ever get used to one set of keys.

With only a bit more fidgeting with his keys and then the door knob, he was soon letting themselves in. The first thing he did was smack the light switch that was on his left.

“The place is a bit of a mess,” he admitted sheepishly as the room lit up. There were still several boxes scattered around, he simply hadn’t felt motivated enough to unpack. He never really did. Laxus’ father certainly never had the time to do so himself.

“I don’t mind!” Lucy sang happily as she removed her shoes and carefully set them next to where Laxus had placed his own. “Maybe one of these days I can help you unpack, it might help liven the place up a bit! I definitely wouldn’t mind. I have always enjoyed moving things around, I guess my mother rubbed off on me in that aspect.” She giggled softly before she turned her gaze to him, “Where will we be studying?”

His nerves began acting up again at this question and he realized that he probably should have thought about this a little bit more before agreeing to study at his place.

“I… actually don’t have a desk or anything set up. The carpet in my room is pretty soft, but I’d understand if you’d rather not work on the floor.” The ‘kitchen table’ was really just a bar counter and he’d only saw the need to have one bar stool for it.

His life really was not shaped to fit another person in it.

“That's fine by me! I don’t mind at all, lead the way.” She smiled and Laxus attempted to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. What was wrong with him?

His bedroom was equally as bad as the living room had been. Boxes remained stacked up against the wall, only a few were open.

“Alright, show me the notes you’ve taken! We can compare and then talk a little bit about what we’re struggling with and figure out from there what we should do about it.” Lucy said, immediately kneeling down in the middle of the room as she swung her bag from off of her back and set it on the floor in front of her.

Laxus watched her with a chuckle before he did the same.

Usually, homework or studying were things that Laxus preferred to put off as long as possible. Often times this would result in a zero or two, although this was typically fine because of how skilled he was when it came to actually taking tests.

He’d be screwed if he were a bad test taker.

Though this… this wasn’t so bad. He probably wouldn’t even mind doing his homework if he could do it by her side every day. He wasn’t sure what made it so much better, perhaps the occasional brush of their shoulders as they worked.

She smelled nice.

Her overall presence would be enough to make even counting grains of sand enjoyable.

One hour passed and quickly turned into two, before he knew it… the clock struck eight.

“Geez… where did the time go?” Lucy laughed after having glanced at her phone to check the time, “I should really head home. My mom will throw a fit if I’m not home by the time she gets ready for bed.”

Laxus stood as the blonde did and he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “I’ll walk you home.” Even though they’d see each other at school the next day, he didn’t want their time to end quite yet. He was enjoying her company outside of school too much.

“Okay!” Lucy replied as she gathered her notebooks back into her backpack.

She followed Laxus out of the house and into the chilly winter night. It had gotten considerably colder compared to the unusually warm winter day they had earlier and Lucy only had a light jacket to protect her from the bitter cold. Despite her attempts to hide it, Laxus could tell she was shivering. He’d never understand why girls never had warm enough jackets in the winter. It’s like they wanted to be cold or something. Or maybe…

“Are you cold?” Laxus asked the shivering blonde.

“N-no. I’m okay. My house is only a few blocks away anyways.” She replied, her breath creating white puffs of air in front of them.

“I can hear your teeth chattering from here. Why don’t you take my jacket?” He began to shrug off his long, fur-lined jacket.

“No! I don’t want to take your jacket. Then you’ll be cold!” She said, waving her hands in protest.

Laxus put the coat around her shoulders, “It’s only a few blocks anyways,” he teased, using her own words against her.

Lucy huffed in defeat but pulled the jacket tighter around herself, reveling in its warmth.

The rest of their walk was quiet. There was something about this silence that was different from their usual. Laxus couldn’t shake his hyper-awareness of Lucy walking next to him, wrapped in his jacket. Each time their shoulders would bump against each other, he’d lose track of what he was planning on saying to break the silence. She was walking closer than usual, Laxus thought. Soon Lucy’s house was in view and they hadn’t spoken a word since he lent her his jacket. Their night together was coming to its conclusion and he couldn’t let it end in silence.

However, just as he was opening his mouth… something unexpected happened. All of a sudden, mid-step, there was a softness thrown against him that completely took him by surprise.

The hug lasted only about three seconds, but he could have sworn it had stretched for an eternity as his brain struggled to comprehend what was happening. Before he could even return the hug, she was retreating. His jacket was thrown at him as she bid him goodnight and booked it the rest of the way home, her face hidden from his view.

Leaving a very shocked Laxus Dreyar in her wake.

#your lightning in january #ylij #fairy tail #lalu #laxus x lucy #laxus dreyar #lucy heartfilia #my writing #I fucking FINALLY FINISHED THIS BITCH #zei is the best #btw #fairy tail fanfiction

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keepstridingon · 8 years ago

Photo

Aah hello, I’m super excited to be joining you all and I can’t wait to start plotting with everyone. My name is Liv and I’m pretty much trash for everything about sci-fi, fantasy and pretty much any other genre you could throw at me. I’m English, I like tea, dogs, I’m 19 and currently at uni studying sports therapy (yay medicine).

I tend to use skype more often for chatting and plotting mostly just because it messes up less than tumblr so if you want to add me there just ping my a message and I’ll give you my username but I’ll plot over tumblr too if that’s what you’d prefer. I’m very chill about everything so no need to rush replies. I also ramble a lot, like it’s kind of ridiculous how much I can ramble. Anyway, I’m just going to put some background about my sweet cinnamon child who tries to help all the people because he’s nice like that under the cut and if you’d like to plot please feel free to hmu. \O/

H I S T O R Y ;

Life was relatively normal for Zach; born the only child of the Stryder family he was loved and cared for like any child. Even when his power manifested at quite a young age they loved him all the same, though they thought that since he was only displaying minor capabilities there was no real harm in keeping him at home. Over time and with practise his powers continued to grow in strength until one fateful day the event that would change his life occurred. After a particularly intense argument with a neighbour he accidentally tripped a blackout across his home-town and the surrounding ones.

The Stryder family knew it was only a matter of time before organisations connected the dots and came to try and collect young Zachary and take him away before anything more severe occurred, but little did they realise that Zach’s abilities had already been picked up by scouts for a faction of elitist mutants who wished to recruit him for their cause. He was after all, incredibly powerful for his age and still had plenty of time to grow this power and in an age of growing technological warfare his abilities were considered indispensable.

The day of the blackout was when it was finally decided to extract him for the cause. Unfortunately for the mutants sent to collect their prize, Zach’s parents (his mother already being a former student) had already been in contact with the Academy about potentially having him transferred there or even a mentor being assigned for his own safety. The attempt to kidnap him went south; his mother being killed in the chaos and his father severely injured, ultimately leading to the decision for Zachary to be transferred from England to the Lynx Academy where he has since lived since he was in his early teens. An odd case in comparison to most. Zach is incredibly apt at engineering, electronics and designing gadgets mostly wishing to simply make both his and everyone else’s around him more easier.

P E R S O N A L I T Y ;

Zach in a nutshell is an attractive nerd, he’s intelligent, friendly and has a great sense of humour; which makes it hard for people to not like him. He is a known prankster more often than not being up to some mischief with his friends around the Academy. Despite his intelligence Zach is rather socially awkward resulting in episodes of technical and science babble when he feels nervous. Even though he is prone to mischievous tendencies he is an incredibly hard worker; wanting to succeed and often putting himself under immense pressure to get things done to perfection.

He isn’t the strongest person on the island and he knows it, but he makes up for it with his brave attitude and quick thinking making use of anything around him to get out of a bad situation or help people out. He is strongly opposed to anti-mutant agendas though is fully aware he isn’t really going to be any help on a battlefield and thus aspires to be as useful as possible off of it in the engineering and technical department.

- Here’s just some general rping things - Here’s some stuff on his powers - Here’s some connections I’d love to get

Below is just a factfile summary kudos if you actually want to read it xD :

Full Name: Zachary Malcolm Joel Stryder Pronunciation: Z-ae-k-er-ee M-ae-l-k-uh-m J-oh-uh-l St-rye-der Name Meaning & Origin: Zachary: God has remembered (Hebrew) Malcolm: The name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing Macbeth, the usurper who had murdered his father. Joel: He that wills or commands. Stryder: Walker or wanderer. Other Names: Zach, Zachy, Microsoft, Network

Age: 24 Years Old

Born: 16th July 1993.

Zodiac: Cancer

Hometown: Greenwich, England

Nationality: English

Ancestry: Scottish

Powers: Technopathy/Cyberkinesis

Family & Significant Others:

Mother: Rachel Stryder (Deceased)

Father: Thomas Stryder (Alive)

Siblings: N/A

Grandfather: Malcolm Stryder

Grandmother: Marie Stryder

Assigned Elite: Open

Relationship Status: Single

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual, Biromantic

Physical Characteristics:

Hair Color: Dark brown

Hair Length: Short.

Hair Style: Unruly.

Eyebrows: Dark and narrow.

Facial Hair: N/A

Ear Type: Rounded with a slight lobe.

Eye Color: Brown with hints of amber.

Glasses: Occasionally though prefers contact lenses.

Nose Shape: Straight.

Teeth: Straight, white.

Chin Shape: Defined and straight.

Height: 6 ft 2

Weight: 154 lbs

Build: Tall and very slender

Dominant Hand: N/A - ambidextrous capabilities.

Other:

Shoe Size: 9

Style: Particular to wearing blazers, jumpers and shirts with jeans. Enjoys wearing long sleeved tops with waistcoats or anything from his wide range of fandom shirts - most outfits paired with boots or sneakers. [ See Here ]

Intellectual/Mental Attributes and Attitudes

Educational Background: Public schooled up until arriving at Academy, highest grades in most to all classes. Particularly gifted with science and physics in particular.

Intelligence Level: 120

Memory: Equivalent to the storage of a computer, it only continued to improve the more he practised his abilities and now is able to memorise and recall events to a high degree of detail.

Character’s short-term goals in life: To get through the day and keep his grades up, perhaps to become an inventor for the academy.

Character’s long-term goals in life: To find and get revenge on the group who killed his mother. This has lessened over the years but he still harbours a lot of resentment about the event.

How does Character see himself/herself? Flawed but still optimistic about the world and future.

How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others? Awkward, socially undesirable and generally feeble.

How self-confident is the character? Not incredibly anything that he does that suggests otherwise tends to just be a joke at his own expense. He’s incredibly self-depreciating and tends to use humour as a defence mechanism.

Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof? A combination, but he’s very much ruled by his heart on most matters although occasionally he tries to use a more logical approach.

Emotional Characteristics Strengths: Intelligence, wit, level headed, reliable, independent and courageous. Weaknesses: Paranoid, overcritical, perfectionist, insecure and selfless. Introvert or Extrovert? Introvert Patience: His patience is usually rather long-lasting however it really depends on what topic he’s having to wait for. What motivates this character? The hope that the next day might be better than the one before. What frightens this character? A fear of failure is probably the strongest thing that Zach feels afraid of. What makes this character happy? Chocolate, pizza, music, dancing and building things is a definite thing that makes him happy. Is the character judgmental of others? Not very unless they do something really stupid then he can’t help but judge a little though otherwise he tries to be as non-judgemental as he possibly can. Everyone deserves a chance or two in his opinion.

Health & Fitness:

Nervous tics: Pushes his hand through his hair and fidgeting.

Dexterity: Agile, quick - very fleet footed.

Posture: Straight though slouches a little when sat down.

Hobbies: Building, studying, drawing designs, playing video games, watching TV, reading and coding.

Mannerisms: Very active with his hands in particular when emphasising a point.

Speech Patterns: Intelligent, though prone to awkward pauses when nervous and/or uncomfortable.

Other:

Criminal Record: None reported, but has successfull stolen a grand sum of money.

Highs and Lows

Favourite Animal: Dragons, obviously.

Favourite Band: OneRepublic, Maroon 5, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Take That, X Ambassadors

Favourite Book: Game Of Thrones, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Skulduggery Pleasant, Classics

Favourite Colour: Grey.

Favourite Drink: Water, orange juice, milk, tea.

Favourite Food: Pasta, curries, pizza and chocolate biscuits.

Favourite Movie: All Marvel films and other sci-fi related films.

Favourite Musical Genre: Indie, pop rock, charts and country.

Favourite Mythical Creature: Phoenix or dragons.

Favourite Number: 24

Favourite Quote: “Impressions can be fake, but actions tell the real story.”

Favourite Season: Winter

Favourite Song: Rubik’s Cube - Athlete

Favourite Store: Bookstores.

Favourite Story Genre: Fantasy, action, sci-fi, murder mystery and thriller.

Favourite Subject: Science, engineering

Favourite TV Show: NCIS, Sherlock, CSI

Least Favourite Animal: Cats.

Least Favourite Book: Twilight

Least Favourite Colour: Yellow

Least Favourite Drink: Champagne

Least Favourite Food: Tomatoes and mushrooms.

Least Favourite Movie: Twilight, Percy Jackson

Least Favourite Mythical Creature: Giant Spiders

Least Favourite Number: 7

Least Favourite Pastime: Doing nothing

Least Favourite Story Genre: Horror

#lynx.ooc #background

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