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seungkwansphd · 1 year ago

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contusion confusion

pairing: seungcheol x afab reader word count: 4K synopsis: your clumsy lab partner left a bruise on you. seungcheol seems disproportionately upset by it, but it makes way more sense once you understand why. themes: college au, best friend seungcheol, double sided repressed feelings, possessive and jealous seungcheol. warnings: smut, mentions of bruising/marking, mention of reader being smaller than seungcheol.

a/n: i started this literally one year ago and lost steam. and then blonde.fucking.scoups comes along and truly does a number on me. anyways, bon appetit, LOL

“What the hell happened to you?” Seungcheol’s eyes widened as you stretched your legs across his lap on the sofa.

“What?” you blinked at him, taking your eyes off of the television momentarily.

“What’s this bruise from?” he asked, resisting the strong urge to touch the bluish purple mark just above your elbow.

“Ah, that!” you shrugged, “I almost tripped the other day in lab. Mingyu grabbed me, but he might as well have let me fall! Who knew someone could bruise you just from grabbing you! Like how strong is that dude even?” you rolled your eyes. Grumbling, you returned your attention to the screen.

Seungcheol stewed next to you. While he had no real claim or reason to be upset at your lab partner, every time you brought him up, it made him want to strangle someone.

Mingyu was so tall that you had to readjust the titration burette between replicates. Mingyu was all sweaty because he had come to lab right after the gym. Mingyu didn’t cover his face while sneezing.

Seungcheol eagerly awaited next semester when he wouldn’t have to hear about this man anymore.

Swallowing, your eyes flitted nervously to your best friend’s hands, which were stroking your calves absentmindedly as he watched the show. While just a mindless gesture on his part, you were struggling silently with the way it made your insides turn just slightly into jelly.

“Cheol, that tickles!” you finally pulled your legs away, curling into a ball against the armrest of the sofa.

“Oh, sorry,” he smiled sheepishly at you, seeming distracted. It almost seemed like your friend was sulking, but you couldn’t understand why. You were watching a sitcom!

…

“There you are!”

You looked up to see your lab partner standing over your table, clutching the straps of his backpack.

“Oh, hey Mingyu,” you furrowed your brows at him, “Did you need something?”

“I thought we were supposed to be working on our lab report today?” he cocked his head at you, wondering if he had gotten the time wrong.

“Oh shit!” you cursed, “I’m so sorry Gyu, I totally lost track of time!”

“That’s okay,” he laughed, “It’s not that big of a deal. You want to work on it now?”

“Sure!” you nodded, glancing at Seungcheol and Jeonghan, who were immersed in their computer programming assignments. “Do you mind if Mingyu joins us? We have a lab report.”

“Yes, we heard,” Jeonghan rolls his eyes at you, “Sure that’s fine.”

“Thanks,” Mingyu nods before taking the seat next to you.

“Did you start anything for it yet?” you asked, pulling your lab notebook out of your backpack.

“Whoa, did I really grab you that hard that day?” Mingyu exclaimed, seeing the purple bruise on your arm.

“Yes, it fuckin’ hurts too!” you squinted at him, annoyed.

“I didn’t think you could bruise someone just by grabbing them. I guess I’m just super strong, huh?” Mingyu preened.

“You’re so fucking annoying,” you threatened to punch him.

Jeonghan observed Seungcheol’s shift in mood with mild interest as you and Mingyu muddled your way through your lab report.

“I need some coffee or I’m going to rip my eyeballs out,” you announced after calculating mole fractions for far too long. You stood from the table to move towards the cafe in the library. You tapped your fingertips on your wallet mindlessly as you calculated how many shots of espresso you could consume without your heart bursting out of your chest.

“YN!” a familiar voice greeted you as they tapped your shoulder.

“Ah, hey!” you smiled at Bina, your lab partner from last year. “Ugh, I’m working on a lab report and it is giving me flashbacks to last semester!”

“Oh my god, please don’t remind me!” she rolled her eyes. You two had barely managed to scrape through that class. Unlike you, it had been her only chem requirement, so she was free of the horror of lab reports now. “Who’s your lab partner this semester?”

“Mingyu Kim,” you scrunched up your nose slightly, “God bless him, but he is such a klutz.”

“Wait, no. Mingyu? The Kim Mingyu?” Bina paled slightly.

“Why? Do you know him? Is there tea?” you looked at her with wide eyes.

“No, god I wish. He’s just so hot to me! I’m jealous, I would slog through another semester of chem to be his lab partner.”

“Would you?!” you gaped at her, thoroughly alarmed. “You’re sick in the head over this man,” you laughed heartily.

“No, probably not,” Bina chuckled after giving it some more serious consideration. “But I’d think long and hard about it.”

“We’re sitting over there if you wanna stop by and say hi. I’ll introduce y’all,” you offered before placing your order with the cashier.

“I might do that,” she craned her head to see exactly where your table was. “You’re sitting with Seungcheol too? My friend is infatuated with that man. They’re in Comp Sci together. Can she come say hi too?”

“S-sure,” you answered blankly. You had no stake or claim, but something in you wanted to scream ‘NO!’ when you heard Bina ask that question.

“You’re the best, we’ll be over in a bit,” Bina smiled brightly at you, giving you a squeeze.

“Okay, I’m ready to resume crying,” you announced when you returned to the table with your beverage.

“Okay, good, cause I’m ready to take a break from crying,” Mingyu looked up at you pitifully. “I think I figured out 4. So then if we can figure out 5, then we just need to pull together some nonsense for the discussion.”

“Okay, okay,” you nodded determinedly. By some miracle, question 5 was just some simple dilution practice, so before long you and Mingyu were typing furiously, chipping away at the remainder of the lab report.

“Hey YN!” Bina’s voice pulled you out of a sentence about how (DUH) important it was to switch pipettes between samples.

“Oh, hey Bina! What’s up?” you waved excitedly at your friend, eager to do some meddling for her.

“Not much, how are you? Long time no see!”

“Yes, luckily you’re done with your chem requirements, otherwise you’d be here crying with us,” you laughed as Mingyu and Seungcheol looked on at you with interest. Jeonghan had long ago put on a pair of noise canceling headphones and was ignoring everybody. “Mingyu, Bina was my lab partner last semester. And she was a lot better than you are,” you couldn’t help but tease.

“Hey!” Mingyu pouted.

“I mean at the very least she’s my height, so I didn’t have to readjust the biuret every time we titrated,” you rolled your eyes playfully at Bina.

“It’s not my fault you’re both short,” Mingyu protested, eyes flickering to Bina for some support.

“If it makes you feel better, I was terrible in lab too,” she offered up sympathetically, “YN is my patron saint of chemistry. Did she ever tell you about how I exploded two crucibles one time?”

“No!” Mingyu looked at her with interest, “Was YN also very mean to you and made you finish your work way ahead of time?”

“Yes!” Bina giggled excitedly, “Like why can’t we pull all nighters like normal people?”

“Hell no, I’m not disrupting my sleep schedule for y’all. No thanks,” you shook your head stalwartly. “Anyways, you two should exchange numbers so you can complain about me on your own time,” you chuckled. Bina and Mingyu seemed to agree and set about that task enthusiastically.

“Ah, sorry I’m being rude, this is my friend Hayoung! We’re in a writing foundations class together so we were working on that.”

“Hi,” she waved at everyone shyly.

“Hayoung, what’s your major?” you asked.

“Computer science, focusing on human & computer interactions.”

“Ooh?! Love me a girly in STEM! These two are comp sci as well! Do you all know each other?” you asked, mostly Seungcheol as Jeonghan was still intent on ignoring you.

“Maybe? You look kind of familiar, but I don’t talk to many people in class,” he chuckled honestly.

“I think we might have a class together?” Hayoung smiled.

“Oh wonderful! You two should exchange numbers too! Maybe you can work on comp sci stuff together,” you suggested. They weren’t really giving you too much to work with, if you were being honest.

“I’d actually love that,” Hayoung’s eyes creased into a smile, “I don’t know that many people in the major.”

“Is it because they’re being sexist?” your eyes widened and you raised a fist theatrically, “I’ll fight them all for you. Cheol, you will too, right? Jeonghan’s not much use in a fight, if I’m being honest,” you commented quietly, glancing at the target of your teasing.

“Sure,” Seungcheol’s face creased into a real smile as he watched you whisper about Jeonghan animatedly.

Hayoung and Seungcheol exchanged phone numbers as you watched on excitedly. Hayoung was clearly pleased, but Seungcheol was making a face as if he had tasted something odd, but was too polite to say anything about it.

“Bina is so cute!” Mingyu remarked happily after they both left, “Lucky you with your cute lab partners!”

“Yeah,” you rolled your eyes at him, “I love doing unpaid babysitting in the lab.”

…

“Cheol, can I crash on your couch?” you spoke after he picked up your call.

“Yeah, of course! Are you okay?” Seungcheol’s brow furrowed, worried.

“Yeah, I’ve just been sexiled,” you grumbled, starting your walk towards Seungcheol’s apartment. He met you about halfway and the two of you caught up on the walk back.

“How are things with Hayoung?” you asked, not quite making eye contact.

“What?” his hand slipped as he was moving to turn the doorknob.

“Hayoung, did you guys ever meet up to work on comp sci together?” you asked, lips pursed as you followed him into his apartment.

“Oh, no, she texted me but I forgot to text her back,” Seungcheol shrugged.

“Text her back, you jerk!” you poked Seungcheol insistently, “Hayoung’s cute! And she likes you.”

“That’s good for her,” Seungcheol grumbled, irritated at your attempt to push him towards someone else. Maybe his cause was truly hopeless.

“You’re acting weird,” you glanced at him oddly before flopping down on the couch.

“No, you take the bed,” Seungcheol ignored your statement and plopped down near your feet, tapping your legs lightly.

“No! I’m not gonna kick you out of your bed!” you protested.

“No, seriously, sleep on the bed. I always wake up before you anyways. I’ll end up waking you up if you sleep out here.”

“I-,” you tried to think of another excuse, but he wasn’t your best friend for no reason. He knew you just as well as you knew yourself. “Okay,” you acquiesced, hopping up from the couch to walk into his room, “Do you need anything from here before bed?” you turned to ask him, hand on the doorframe.

“Nope, I don’t think so.”

“Okay, thanks again for letting me crash,” you smiled at him before pulling the door not quite closed behind you.

Once inside, you dropped your bag and helped yourself to a t-shirt and pair of shorts from Seungcheol’s drawers. You laughed at the way you were swimming in the shirt.

“I look ridiculous,” you laughed, walking back out into the living room. “Cheol, look,” you spread your arms out to your sides, showing Seungcheol the way that his t-shirt just swallowed you.

“I-,” his brain stopped for a few moments. He wouldn’t say anything, but he could in fact see your nipples as you tried to show him whatever you were showing him. “What?”

“Your shirt is too big on me,” you folded your arms over your chest, irritated that he had been listening.

“Oh yeah, well I’m bigger than you,” he replied curtly.

“Well, yeah,” you glanced away from him. He was in such an odd mood today! You grumbled just a little bit before flopping down on the bed. You were tired.

Tossing and turning, you fought for a long time to push down the arousal that was building in your gut. Being enveloped by Seungcheol’s scent was making your brain go haywire. You could feel yourself throbbing and you bit down on your fist in an effort to try and distract yourself, but that hadn’t worked. Glancing nervously at the door, you contemplated seeking some relief, but the idea of doing it in Seungcheol’s bed while he was just outside the door inspired guilt, worry, and worst of all, excitement.

You managed to ignore yourself for about ten minutes before your left hand snuck down between your thighs, stroking them softly. Sinking deeper into Seungcheol’s pillows, you closed your eyes and imagined your best friend’s hands softly caressing and spreading your legs apart. You were embarrassed to hear the wet sounds of yourself opening up, but not embarrassed enough to stop. Your right hand came to tease the sensitive undersides of your breasts as your fingertips stroked languidly through your folds.

In the living room, Cheol wrestled with whether to disturb you or not. Several minutes ago, he had noticed that one of his textbooks was still in his room. He’d been planning to get ahead on a problem set, so it wasn’t as if he needed to disturb you, but he also didn’t see himself falling asleep anytime soon. Chewing his lip, he noticed that the door was still slightly ajar and decided to retrieve the book as you must not have gone to bed just yet.

When his eyes first landed on your face, your brows were knit up in utter concentration as your hands worked feverishly under the covers. Your front teeth had your lower lip pinned down as you bit back the loudest of your desperate noises. Seungcheol’s pupils dilated as he registered what was happening. Frantically, he tried to back out of the room, but his sweater caught the edge of a pamphlet that had been hanging off the bookshelf, sending a handful of items clattering to the floor.

“Fuck!” your eyes shot open, panicked as you met Cheol’s gaze, “I’m, you-, help!” you squeaked, pulling the covers over your face as you wished to vanish off the face of the earth.

Seungcheol’s mind went blank as he walked towards you, placing his hands over yours to pull down the covers. You peered up at him through your eyelashes, so overcome with embarrassment that you failed to register the look of hunger in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry Cheol, I didn’t, I shouldn’t have done that here!”

“What?” he cocked his head to the side, brain not really functioning.

“It’s your bed!” you looked at him as if he was crazy, “I just-, you smell so good,” you spoke without thinking.

“I…,” he looked you up and down, “You’re telling me I inspired this?”

“Shit, I shouldn’t have said that, oh my god!” you groaned, trying to shrug under the covers again. Seungcheol’s large hands held you still and you watched in disbelief as he brought your left hand up to inspect it. The shine of moisture on your fingers was mortifyingly telling, but he surprised you to your core when he brought your hand to his mouth and sucked your wet fingers inside.

“Huh?!” you choked out, eyes fluttering shut as he tongue stroked between your digits, tasting you thoroughly.

“You should’ve told me about this sooner,” he told you, voice gravely with desire, “I’ve been torturing myself trying to ignore how much I think about you.”

“Oh?” you blinked at him in disbelief.

“Yes, oh,” Seungcheol rolled his eyes at you, “Now let me help, as you requested.”

His fingers wandered. His eyes widened slightly when he felt just how wet you were. The rumble that emitted from his chest almost sounded like a purr and you found yourself quickly breathless at his ministrations.

“Cheol,” you moaned, melting slightly as his substantially larger fingers swirled dizzyingly through your folds. He smirked down at you, more than pleased to hear your saying his name in that manner.

“So needy,” he chuckled, eyes flicking over you.

“Well I was halfway there when you walked in,” you teased him and his eyes flashed at you, a subtle warning.

He raised one eyebrow at you before sliding his fingers inside of you. You choked on your breath at the intrusion, though your legs parted asking for more.

“You-, your fingers!”

“Mm, how do they feel?” he smirked at you, confident.

“I knew they’d stretch me out, bigger than mine,” you panted and his eyes widened at the realization that this wasn’t the first time you’d imagined this.

“You think about me a lot?” he raised an eyebrow at you, now cocky.

“No,” you lied, glancing away to avoid his eyes.

“My thick fingers spreading you open,” he continued anyways, smirking when he felt the way you reacted around him.

“Seung-,” you whined, overwhelmed at the way he teased you.

“God I like hearing you say my name like that,” Seungcheol shook his head, as if in disbelief. “Can I see you?” he asked, other hand itching to peel back the comforter.

You nodded wordlessly. You were slightly mortified to reveal yourself to him in this way, but his other hand quickly distracted you. You watched his eyes rove across you appreciatively until they trained in on your bruise, his jaw clenching.

“I’ve been thinking about this all week,” he exhaled sharply.

“Why? It wasn’t on purpose!”

“No, it’s not-,” Seungcheol paused. “That’s not why. I was annoyed because the idea of getting to be the one to leave marks on you has rendered me…basically unable to produce coherent thought.”

“Oh? OH,” your eyes widened, gears in your brain turning. “I mean…all yours, Cheol,” you smiled sheepishly at him.

“Really?” he groaned, looking at you appreciatively as he thought about exactly where and how he’d like to mar your skin.

“Seungcheol!” you snapped at him as he continued to mumble to himself.

“Maybe a handprint here?” he grazed your upper thigh with his palm, eyes dancing mischievously at you. “Or a necklace of hickeys,” he growled as he nipped at the base of your neck. He had decided to seize the opportunity to tease you, and as much as you liked it, you only had so much patience.

“Cheol, please,” you pouted, grabbing at his collar, “I can’t take anymore of this.”

“Yes princess,” he pulled an old nickname out of the vault. You melted.

“Mmmpf!” he smothered your next protest with a kiss.

“Seung. Cheol!” you moaned desperately as his hand grabbed your thigh, hard.

The strength in his grip set your nerves alight and your head fell back against the bed, arching your chest up towards him. His mouth took the opportunity to latch onto the underside of your breast, biting down firmly. Your hand fisted itself in his hair.

It was so much sensation. It was so good.

“Hn,” he pulled back with a breathless smile. His eyes flicked down to the spots where his mouth and hand had been and his lips curled into a cocky grin at the bright red marks. With any luck those would be bruised nicely tomorrow.

“That was…a lot,” you murmured as you caught your breath.

“In a bad way?” Seungcheol’s brow furrowed with sudden worry.

“No,” you smiled at him, slightly fuzzy, “In a good way. A really good way.”

“Really?” his eyebrows raised back up with delight. “So you won’t mind if you bruise a little?”

“I don’t think I’ll mind even if you bruise me a lot,” you answered after some thought.

Your best friend’s eyes darkened. The way you had rearranged his words hit the possessive button in his brain like crazy. His lips nibbled and nipped their way down your torso while his hand came to cup your breast. His grip was on the hard side of firm as his lips latched onto a spot on your inner thigh. His tongue stroked across the sensitive skin as he sucked firmly.

Your thighs parted of their own accord as you squirmed at this building onslaught. As you shifted, you could hear the wet sounds of yourself spreading. Open and inviting.

“Cheol, please,” you tried to pull him towards you. “Please,” you panted.

Seungcheol, the bastard, increased the intensity of his sucking before releasing his lips with a loud ‘pop!’. The jolt of the disconnection sent a shiver through you and the spot where his mouth had been now felt woefully cool.

“Pretty,” he looked at the red mark appreciatively. The thought that you would be reminded of this encounter over the next weeks sent a streak of pride through him that was unexpected.

“Seungcheol!” you grabbed his face by his cheeks, directing his attention to you. “If you don’t fuck me right now, I’m going to kick you out and take care of it myself!”

His eyes widened and he chuckled sheepishly before reaching over you to pull a condom out of the nightstand. You watched, almost painfully aroused, as he undressed and unrolled the condom over himself. His cock bobbed proudly as he pulled his sturdy torso over you, slotting himself between your thighs.

You sighed when his cock came to rest against your core. You could already tell it was going to be good.

“Seungcheol, please,” you placed your hands around his jaw. “Need you.”

He nodded, reaching down to slip himself inside of you. A soft gasp escaped you as his head pushed in and you couldn’t help but relish in the stretch. Seungcheol took his time sinking into you. The whines and gasps that you made were way too good to be rushed.

“Cheol,” your hands clutched at the back of his thick neck until he was pressed flush against you. “Fuck,” you exhaled into his ear.

Seungcheol’s hand was gripping your hip so hard as he struggled to keep control of himself. Of all the things that he found overwhelming, the way you pulsed and squeezed around him, the little sounds you made as he had pressed into you…the worst of all was the way you smelled. His hand fisted itself further in your hip as he inhaled you, a most intoxicating scent.

You clenched around him as his hand tightened. He was sure to bruise you there, too, and you couldn’t wait. Knowing that you’d be able to see these marks as evidence that this wasn’t another crush induced dream made you feel crazed in a different way.

“You feel perfect,” Seungcheol groaned against your skin as his hips started to move. “I just knew it.”

Clench.

You hooked your legs around his hips as he pumped into you deeply. Each thick stroke pushed you dangerously closer to the precipice and you were ready to fall off the edge.

“Cheol,” you pulled back slightly to meet his blown out gaze. “I’m there.”

“Go ahead,” he encouraged you, aching to feel you come apart around him. “Be good and come for me.”

Your eyes squeezed shut as you let go. Your hands clutched desperately at his shoulders as your pussy fluttered around him. You didn’t even know what kinds of sounds you made as you simply didn’t have the presence of mind.

“So good,” he smiled, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against yours. “So good,” he grunted before his hips shuddered and he emptied himself inside of you.

You wrapped your arms around his torso as he slumped down on top of you. He smiled when you gave him a squeeze with your entire body.

“So you’re kind of possessive, huh?” you chuckled softly after you’d regained your sanity.

Seungcheol squeezed his eyes shut with a laugh. He hadn’t realized it, or maybe it was just because it was you, but yes. Yes he was.

#scoups smut #seungcheol smut #svthub #seventeen smut #scoups fanfic #seungcheol fanfic #svt fanfic #seungcheol x reader #seungkwansphd:writes

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starry-stormy-knight · 11 months ago

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this piece caused me so much hell and pain lmaoo but this idea was the namesake of this blog so i persevered 💪😔

anyway the Battle of Narak inspired by van Gogh's style!

i don't remember how and when this idea popped up in my brain, but i guess i made some connection between the highstorm and Starry Night and i wanted to do my own take

i swear i did a thumbnail sketch to figure out what in the world i was going to do but apparently didn't do a value sketch, or not in a concrete way because i had so many lighting problems lmaoo like this whole affair would have been so much easier if i did the bright highstorm on the left with narak for contrast, rather than the dark on dark sigh. this isn't even going into the horrible time i had trying to do the everstorm because i wanted it to contrast in style as opposing forces

actually the thing that unlocked something in my brain was to go light to shadow (the opposite of my typical process) and i suppose it can tie into the dark otherness of voidlight perhaps?? anyway i just embraced the chaos, with the help of volcano eruptions with storms for references lol

i did have the shattered plains more brown, but i did the distant background to reflect van Gogh's Wheat Field vibes and it was so weird to look at, but when i made them more cool toned it kinda brought everything together?? i hope??

anyway hope you guys like this hahah <3 bon appetit or whatever

The Starry Night (1889) and Wheat Field with Cypresses (1889) by Vincent van Gogh

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proteesiukkonen · 8 months ago

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Shortly put: did a thing. Had breakdowns. Bon appetit I guess.

Longer ramblings:

A scene I originally did as a distraction because a longer story snippet I had planned felt more daunting to tackle at the time. Only later realized narratively this kinda accomplishes the same thing as the first snippet I ever did from this setting, but that's a couple years old now and I think this does it better, so maybe that's fine. Chronologically this would happen somewhere way earlier than those anyway.

And just so that it's clear, I'm not planning to continue from this, at least not directly. I have several other snippets I wanna do, but I'll do them in whatever order and pace feels good to me. This is my comic-making rehab project so I'm not making it with the intent to "publish" it or to make it A Thing. It's just another thing I drew, much like anything else I share.

#my art #original characters #setting: thugs and birds #just mildly anxious about posting this #aaahahahahhahaaaahshggsgs

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mncxbe · 1 year ago

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𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞

𝘿𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙞 𝙭 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

I think I love you...

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Dazai cooking

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: fluff ♡ slow morning

The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled my nostrils as soon as I stepped out of the bedroom. I managed to murmur a "Morning Dazai" between two yawns. The man that stood before me was wearing the pink apron that my mother gave me for my 20th birthday and was holding a spatula in his right hand. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of him.

"Haha very funny" said the man as he placed the spatula on the countertop and walked towards me. I stretched my hands above my head, letting my lover embrace me. His arms wrapped around my waist, holding me close as he breathed in my scent.

"And here I wanted to make breakfast for us and you laugh at me. You're so cruel sometimes, bella" he said in a chipper voice. I smiled, letting my head rest on his shoulder. We stood like this for a couple of seconds before he returned to the omelette he was making. I tried to step in to help but the ushered me to sit, pointing at a chair with his spatula.

"No no bella. I can handle an omelette you just sit there".

Until the eggs were done we talked about general things: the sunrise, how well we both slept and plans for the day. He poured me some coffee and started cracking his typical jokes. I couldn't help but smile at every word he was saying. Soon after he placed a plate in front of me.

"Bon appetit!" said he as he sat on the chair opposite to mine.

I looked down at the omelette. "Osamu..."

"Yes?". He raised his gaze from the plate as he swallowed a piece of egg. "What's wrong?" He was acting clueless again.

"Osamu why did you make a heart shaped omelette?"

He simply grinned, taking another bit of the egg. "If you don't like it you can just not eat it, you know? I have something better for you anyway" (wink👀).

I decided to ignore the last part, pressing my idea even further:

"I just wanted to know why you made the eggs heart shaped."

"I guess I just wanted to surprise you today"

"Well you certainly did"

I gave him a smile which he eagerly returned. I started eating my meal, only looking at my lover from time to time. His gaze never left me. Suddenly he broke the silence:

"I think I love you"

I choked on a piece of egg. I washed it down with a sip of coffee and started in surprise at the man before me.

"What did you just say?"

"I said I think I love you"

His voice was calm, a loving smile forming on his lips. "I woke up this morning and the first thing I saw was your sleeping face. In that moment I felt like I was home. I always thought that home was just a place where people went to sleep at night. But I was wrong. You are my home" he paused to take a sip of coffee "You know. At the beginning I found my actions quite pathetic. Every night, after every mission I wound up here at your place. And you always took me in, showed me kindness like I've never seen before. Now you're always on my mind. No matter what I do my thoughts wander to you, to your smile, your embrace and your scent. You made me want to live again, offered me a reason to stay alive and something to look forward to. So yes, I love you bella"

My eyes started burning and my vision slightly clouded.

"I love you too Osamu. More and more each day" I replied with a silly smile on my face.

We looked eachother in the eyes for a few moments, enjoying the comfort of silence. I reached to grab my cup of coffee, my fingertips brushing his in the process. He took this opportunity to interlock his fingers with mine. We stood like this, sharing this perfect moment. At this point I didn't even care about the coffee. I knew it had already gotten cold.

#bsd dazai #dazai osamu #bsd #dazai x fem reader #dazai x reader #bungou stray dogs #osamu x reader #osamu x you #fluff #bsd fluff

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fandomzwriterk · 2 months ago

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Stars in Your Eyes

Pair: Gambit/Remy Lebeau x Fem!Trailblazer!Vidyadhara!Reader

Warnings: canon lore of how “Trailblazer” works + the lore of Vidyadhara’s + canon character death + Semi-Amnesiac!Reader + yes Reader can shift paths and elements + slight Genshin inspiration too + love triangle (?) + Canon episodes of X-Men ‘97 + Rouge and Jean fight over Trailblazer’s life choices

Pt: 3/?

(Don’t worry the gif has nothing to do with the chapter😁 I just need one of Remy being hot as fuck😋)

This chapter is brought to you by the song “Killer Queen” by, you guessed it, Queen!

The dream made you wake up, your body slowly coming back to reality as your eyes blinked over and over, trying to un-blur what you had seen. It was morning already, how much sleep had you gotten?

“I will never understand what that is.”

You’ve had this dream before, you’ve remembered those details though you wish you could forget. It was like you lived it a thousand times over, and you knew there would be no running from them, no matter how hard you tried.

“Ello there Blaze! Time to wake up! Everyone wants to meet you.” You heard the muffled voice of Jubilee say

You got up, walking to the bathroom to see yourself. The light bags under your eyes showed how tired you were and how much sleep you hadn’t gotten. Wait, when was the last time you slept? So, you begrudgingly went to the door and opened it, seeing Jubilee turn to face you, looking you up and down.

“Gee Blaze you okay? You like you haven’t slept at all.”

“I’m alright Jubilee. I just need something to eat.”

“Oh good! You’re gonna like Gambit’s cooking then!”

Gambit cooks? Well somebody has to in this house and between him and all the other X-Men… he looked like he was the only one who had any sort of cooking skills. Logan might as well have eaten an animal he hunted, Beast looks like he doesn’t eat all that much, and even Cyclops looked like he relied on Gambit to keep everyone fed.

“Hey everyone! Good morning!” Jubilee shouted as she walked into what looked like a living room

Everyone sat at a table, Scott and the woman named Jean sitting at the counter as you saw Gambit wearing a crop top and had his tied back, cooking something over what you believed like a stove.

“Hello there Blaze it’s nice to met ya.” A woman with dark hair and a couple strands of white hair said

“Oh um… hello.”

“Shy thing ain’t ya? Don’t worry sugar I don’t bite. A friend of the X-Men is a friend of mine.”

You nodded at the woman, using your one hand to grab the bicep of your other arm, showing a sign of confusion and worry while the woman guided you to a spot at the table.

“Anyways I’m Rogue.” She said as she put a hand on your shoulder

“N-nice to meet you Rogue. It’s nice to meet you all, on better terms.”

The man called Logan sighed, stabbing into the food that sat on his plate. An unfamiliar woman with white hair sat across from you, letting Rogue sit next to her.

“My name is Storm. It’s a pleasure to have you here at the manor Blaze.”

You nodded, waiting for something to happen.

“Bon Appetite!” You heard Gambit say next to you

He places a plate of some sort of bread-like food in front of you, the top covered in some sort of white fluffy powder. You tilted your head in confusion as you grabbed a fork to gently poke it. What was this thing? It sure looked good though.

“It’s just a beignet mon âme. It’s not gon’ jump at you.”

He’s standing right behind your chair, a hand gently patting your head as you stabbed into one with the fork. Brining it to your mouth, you saw the fluffy powder fall off a little. Once you tasted it, it felt like a sweet heavenly piece of bread. You had to have more, so you dove in to eat every single one… and there was 10 while everyone else had about two or three on their plates.

“Goodness gracious you sure are hungry ain’t ya?” Morph asked

You could only nod, the food filling your belly slowly like you hadn’t ate in years. You could feel every eye on you, seeing a tiny smile on Gambit’s face out of the corner of your eye.

“I guess somebody likes your cooking Remy.” Rogue replied

“Hey, ca c'est bon.”

Gulping down a full one, you looked around the room, every pair of eyes on you like you were someone foreign that they needed to study.

“What? Is something wrong with my face?”

Morph, Rogue, Jubilee, and Cyclops started laughing.

“We’re glad to have you Blaze.” Jean added as she walked up and put a hand on your shoulder

You turned to look behind you, catching the glance of Jean’s blueish eyes staring at you. One second you were in the kitchen… and now you sat at an empty table somewhere on the Express. About five feet away stood a different red haired woman, in a long dress that went down to the ground. Her eyes… you felt like you recognized those eyes.

“I know you…”

And you were back in a second, putting a hand to your head to stop the spinning that you could feel inside your body. Immediately, Scott and Jean held you up from slumping onto the table.

“Blaze? Blaze!” You heard Scott say as your eyes closed a little

“Blaze wake up. Come on I know you’re in there.” Jeans voice spoke inside your head

You opened your eyes, slowly sitting straight as you shook your head and felt the feeling of spinning go away. You blinked a few times, back in the kitchen with your plate still in front of you.

“You okay?” Jean asked

“Yeah… just peachy. Augh that hurt more than last nights.”

Your eyes opened wide, rendering yourself fully awake. You hadn’t realized you said that out loud after a few seconds until Rogue gave you a puzzling glance.

“I mean I’m fine. Just a bad dream. That’s all it is.” You added

“Are you sure?” Scott asked

“Mhm. I need a second outside.” You answered

You stood up, a hand still at the side of your head as you took a few steps outside the door, feeling the sun on your face as you let go of your head and letting your arm fall, closing your eyes as you stood in the sun and felt the light breeze around you. It was quiet, the silence calming you as you started to feel a little better.

“You okay there Blaze?” You heard Rogue’s voice say next to you

“Yeah… I think so. Just a bad dream I had last night.”

There was silence between you two, deciding to sit down on the grass where the two of you could oversee the woods from yesterday.

“I know what it’s like to hurt yourself… with your own powers. Mine relies on touch… so I can’t touch anyone unless I have the gloves on.”

“I just want to remember what I was before I came here. Where are my friends? Do I have a family?”

You looked up, your vision aimed at the sun. Your eyes became clearer, seeing and feeling the sun on your face as the feeling of warmth slowly came back to you. The sun felt… safe.

“I wish I could help you Blaze. It’s a shame, I know. If I was you, I’d do anythin I could to get home as well. Granted, I’m sure you will one day soon. Maybe for now you need to focus on yourself and slowly take time to get familiar with yourself.”

You could only nod at Rogues words, feeling the weight of your situation setting in. You were stuck… stuck in a place you had no idea about.

“I’ll let everyone know you’re-“

“No no. I’m okay. I just needed some air.” You said standing

Rogue stood up as well, following behind you as you walked back inside. Gambit, or Remy as you’ve learned so far, leaned up from his spot against the wall.

“I got it from ‘ere Rouge. Good ole Cyclops said maybe we should do a training exercise in the Training Room.”

“Is that wise? She just got here and it’s barely even been 24 hours. How sure are you that she’ll even live through one drill.”

“I have faith in ‘er. She can do this. Even Cyclops and Jean agree.”

Rogue sighed, turning to look at you as she stood by your side. She then looked to Gambit, walking past him as you felt more eyes stare at you. You turned your head, staring into Gambit’s crimson-black eyes, his eyes seeming to stare into yours, a sign he was looking for something in them, anything.

“Come on cher. Let’s get you there.”

Most of the walk consisted of you walking behind Gambit, staring at the walls and ceiling around you.

“Ain’t much to look at eh?”

“Hm?”

“There’s not much to look at inside this mansion, unless you’re big blue furry man down the hall. Ain’t much here.”

You followed Gambit down some stairs, walking into a steel hallway with different doors around you both. He walked up to one, putting in some sort of code in what looked like a lock pad. Huh… that felt familiar to you.

“Oh come on Fille there ain’t anyone here.”

You looked at him up and down, trying to understand what he just said to you. His words didn’t sound normal every now and then. Gambit just grabbed your hand and pulled you in with him, your eyes quickly spotting Logan, Scott, Jean, Jubilee, and Storm.

“Good to see you’re alright Blaze. Do you know what this room is for?” Scott asked

You shook your head no. You felt anxious, your hands feeling shaky in this large metal room with only one way out, the way you came in.

“This is how we train. Don’t worry, Jean and I have something easy planned for you.”

“Alright! Come on Blaze over here!” Jubilee shouted as a fully destroyed city was built in seconds

You run, sprinting as fast as you can just before diving behind Jubilee and a mini wall, both of you sitting there.

“Alright Blaze it’s yo time to shine!” Gambit shouted

Jubilee pushed you, making you roll into an open area where a giant mechanical robot stood tall above you.

“Oh crap!” You shouted as it fired beams from its eyes, making you run around while your teammates hid

“This isn’t helping!” You shouted as you jumped on top of a train on its side, slightly broken as if it had seen war

“Storm!” Scott shouted, stretching out her name as a sort of warning

“Blaze! I can’t see you!” Jean shouted as you ran through the fire and smoke slowly clouding your vision

You ran, jumping over flaming objects and dodging the beams being shot at you. Why did it seem like you were getting targeted?

“Why are you running? You are stronger than it, so fight back.”

Your brain clicked off for a second, feeling your body turn as you closed your eyes, feeling your legs sprint for their life. As you opened your eyes, you noticed you were running up the robots long arms, about to cross the threshold of its made-up elbow. Ferocity filed your veins, a burning desire to fight back and destroy anything in your path was what drove you now. You jumped high into the air, feeling lighter than the air itself. Your veins burned as your fingers grew talon-like nails, the spark of a flame burning around your first as you struck the robot where its heart would’ve been. It wasn’t just the will to fight back… it was the desire to kill and destroy.

“Rise hidden-sun… world condemning dragon!”

An echo was heard around you, booming off the robot itself and the half destroyed buildings as well. Wind kicked up around you, feeling every single ember, grain of dirt, and metal part hit you like how a meteor strikes a planet. Your strength felt amplified by a thousand percent, the single strike you made tearing apart the robot and reducing it to pieces on the ground. You barely had time to register what had happened as your body felt weak, falling to the ground from the air, landing into something much like steel. The strength was gone in a matter of seconds after the hit, now you were reduced limp trapped under tons of metal and cement.

Meanwhile…

Gambit pov

“Shit! Jean! You and I will go restart the program! Jubilee get out of here in case it gets worse! Logan, you and Gambit look for her! Storm see if you can calm the fire in any way!”

Scott took off, Jean flying right over him and through the metal door and off to the side of the frame, Jubilee going through in a rush to look for someone to get Blaze out while good ole Wolverine helped me scale the destruction.

“Crap. I can’t smell anything except ash and burning steel.”

“Come on Logan we can’t give up now. She needs help, and that’s what we X-Men do.”

Logan only sighed at my response, quickly scaling up the overturned buses as I went diving through windows to find her. The smell of ash and melted rubble filled my nose. Wherever she was, Blaze had destroyed every single thing around her. Heck I didn’t even get to see what she did. All I saw was the flame rise, the Sentinel burning from top to bottom as Blaze came falling from midair.

“Blaze!” I shouted through the rubble

Nothing. I hated that silence. Surely she couldn’t die that easy right? She survived a damn fire once before so surely she could do it again.

“Come on, come on Blaze where are ya?”

Through the smoke, I saw the crumpled form of a young woman, long grey hair covered in ash and slightly burned at the ends. Her form was motionless, trapped underneath iron pillars about a hundred times bigger than her. I couldn’t even see her breathing…

“Blaze!” I yelled as I ran up and over pillars and broken down walls

She was silent as I stopped by her side, pushing two fingers against her neck right below the jawline, feeling a faint pulse.

“Don’t you dare fucking die on me now Blaze!”

I quickly tried to pull her out from under the rubble, to no avail. I had two options, go find help and hope I found her in time or I wait this out and try to get her out myself.

“Fuck it. I have to-“

Blaze started to stand up, pushing off the rubble like it was mere paper, stopping as she used her hands to prevent herself from falling forward while she was on her hands and knees. She shook her head, long silver hair flowing as she came back from being unconscious.

“Gambit? That you?” She asked as she pushed off the rubble easily

“Yeah. It’s me. Scared me there for a second Blaze.”

“Oh. Did the thing go away?”

“It’s done. Let’s get ya out of ‘ere.”

She walked slowly up to, slowly climbing behind me as we scaled a large overturned bus. I could hear her behind me, faintly, but managing to keep up with my pace.

“Gambit! Blaze!” I heard ahead of me

Logan came rushing, Cyclops and Beast right behind him. It took a couple of seconds, but Logan was right next to Blaze and be a crutch for her. I could see the faint color in her eyes, but she was still hanging on.

“Sweet god how did she survive that?” Logan asked

“Don’t know. Was that a fluke Scott?” Jean asked

“No! I made it so it would stand still and just move a little!”

“Well CLEARLY it decided to otherwise.” I answered

“Enough. We have to get her to the lab.” Beast spoke up

We all walked down the hall, Scott walking behind us all as he closed the massive door to the room. He looked around in hesitation, something the great leader of the X-Men never does.

Some time later…

You sit at the table, holding some ice against your skull. Whatever you did, it hurt like all hell. Heaven forbid you even do it again, maybe that’ll hurt more than this one.

“Gee that looks awful. Do you need anything Blaze? I’ll get you whatever you need.”

Rouge’s kindness could be felt somewhere inside your heart. Although… did you have a heart? You felt lost, abandoned, forgotten, hell maybe even empty. It felt like something was missing from you… but you couldn’t remember what or why. Is this why couldn’t you feel anything from anyone else?

“Oh I’m okay Rogue. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’ll be okay in a little while.”

“Oh hey Rogue how’s the rookie?” You heard behind you as you turned in your seat

“Easy Remy. She’s had a rough couple of days. Scott doesn’t wanna strain her body and mind.”

“Gambit wasn’t gonna do that to the poor girl. Was just wonderin’ how she was feeling.”

Rogue sighed and crossed her arms, leaning against the table by your side as you both stared at Gambit.

“It’s da’ truth!”

Rogue took a few steps, pushing Remy out of your way as she ushered you forward go to bed and rest. Reluctantly, you decided to go up to bed. Would you even fall asleep tonight? Would those nightmares leave you alone at all?

“Maybe it can’t be helped…”

To be continued…

A/N: sorry this took so long I’m just starting the third week of college on Monday plus I’ve been going out to do things with my bf every now and then too. Hope you enjoyed!

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piratecaptainscaptainpirates · 10 months ago

Note

I mostly lurk and don't read a lot of ofmd fic (short ones, no au) but one I haven't seen much of is hurt/comfort where Stede is the hurtee/comfortee. I know Ed gets the most comforting but, IMO, Stede deserves some too, poor guy. I do like hurt/comfort a lot, so if you are moved to write something like this I would love to read it.

I remember an expression from back in the bronze age of fanfic, h/c, and slashfic that "if he's smaller or blonder, he's toast." Stede meets both those requirements, LOL! Anyway, thanks for asking for asks. Enjoy your posts and fic.

Yesss, Stede needs some comfort!! Bon appetit!

Send me a prompt and I'll write a 1k word fic!

Ed didn’t realize what had woken him up, at first. The sunlight was just beginning to creep in through the curtains, and Stede’s shoulders were shaking. Stede was crying, little hiccups and hitching breaths as he tried to stay quiet, and Ed was reaching for his hand before he opened his eyes.

“Sorry,” Stede mumbled, squeezing Ed’s fingers with one hand and rubbing at his eyes with the other. His voice was creaky and wet, and it made Ed’s chest feel tight. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Ed couldn’t say Stede hadn’t woken him up, because he had. It wasn’t his fault, it just…was. He thought he would’ve felt it, no matter how hard Stede tried to hide it. He would have felt Stede’s pain in the air itself. “I’m glad you did,” he said instead, and it was true. He never wanted Stede to have to cry alone again. “What’s wrong?” Stede’s bottom lip trembled. “Have a bad dream?” Ed guessed. Slowly, Stede nodded, and Ed repositioned them, tangling their legs together under the blankets and pulling Stede into his chest. Stede pillowed his head on Ed’s bicep, one hand slipping under the covers to rest over Ed’s bare hip, tracing little nonsense patterns onto his skin. “You can tell me about it,” Ed said softly. “You don’t have to. But you can if you want to, you know I’ll listen.” Stede stared up at the ceiling, pursing his lips. “Might make you feel better,” Ed offered. Stede’s hand had gone all still where he’d been rubbing circles over Ed’s hip. “You listen to me talking about mine,” Ed went on. “It’s not fair, for you to just go on pretending you’re not having them. You don’t have to - no talking required here! - but you can. If you wanna.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Stede said carefully, his eyes flicking away from Ed’s. He sighed up at the ceiling. “Hardly seems fair. You have more right to bad dreams than I do-” “Stede, babe, it doesn’t work like that.” Ed reached up with his free hand to pull his hair, still in the ponytail he’d put it up in before bed, over his shoulder. The gesture accomplished what he’d set out to do, and Stede got his hand in it immediately, gently running a hand through his hair. “It’s not a competition. We can both have bad dreams, doesn’t mean you’re trying to…what, steal all the attention?” “Well,” Stede wheedled. “You listen here, Bonnet,” Ed said, lowering his voice to be all fake-menacing, “you better let me give you all the attention I want, or there’ll be - I dunno, consequences?” “Oh, no, not the consequences,” Stede pretended to whine. “Yep. I’ll eat all your dessert tonight,” Ed vowed. “So, if you feel like you wanna, you better talk to me. If you don’t want consequences. Because I’ll do that.” “Oh, I don’t doubt you would,” Stede chuckled, but he still looked hesitant, so… “How about this,” Ed said. “You could always make it into a story, if you like. Pretend you’re talking about someone else? Might be easier.” “I could try that,” Stede conceded. Ed hummed softly as Stede thought, enjoying the feeling of Stede’s gentle hand in his hair. “Once upon a time,” Stede began, “there was a very, very selfish man-” “Hey.” Ed gently poked Stede’s ribs. “What have we decided about this?” “Ow!” Stede squirmed away from Ed’s fingers, then flicked the tip of his nose in retaliation, and they both burst into giggles. “Seriously, though,” Ed said through his laugh.

“Fine, fine!” Stede huffed. “Once upon a time, there was a man who really wasn’t terribly or unusually selfish, if you were very generous with your definitions and were also feeling charitable on the day you decided to describe him.” “That’s better,” Ed allowed. “Thank you.” Stede gave him a small smile, but his eyes were getting distant, again. He had a faraway look Ed didn’t care for. “And that only typically selfish man once hurt someone he loves very badly, and he was almost too late to ever see him again. And he worries that he might just keep hurting him, because there’s something - something rotten in him, and it hurts people. He’s trying to be brave, and strong, and he’s trying to believe he’s not broken. But he’s not all that brave, and he’s not all that strong. The end.” Stede’s voice went all weak and shaky at the end, and Ed let out a breath through his teeth. Talking it through, when it came to the two of them, was usually a bit of a weepy affair. But it didn’t always have to be. Ed was getting better, at trusting Stede, at trusting himself, at knowing what would make Stede feel better. “Not all that strong?” Ed playfully squeezed Stede’s bicep. “C’mon, mate, have you even seen these guns?” Stede laughed, gratefully burying his nose in Ed’s neck when Ed threw an arm across his waist to hold him close. “Seriously, babe.” Ed leaned forward for a sweet little peck of a kiss, only pulling back far enough to brush their noses together. “You’re, like, the strongest guy I know.” “Ed, I wish you wouldn’t tease me-” “No teasing here,” Ed promised. “Seriously, you blow me away. You’re so thoughtful, and kind, and you’re so you all the time-” “That might actually be part of the problem.” “No, Stede, don’t you get it?” Ed cupped Stede’s face in his hands, making him hold eye contact, making him listen without looking away. “That takes a lot of guts, man. You never let anyone tell you who you should be, and I admire the hell out of you for it.” “Well, that’s…” Stede tried to hold back a smile, obviously flattered. “You’re so sweet.” “Not just a pretty face, huh?” Stede laughed, pressing his forehead against Ed’s, and Ed leaned in to meet him for a kiss that tasted like home.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd fic #my fics #actually managed to keep it to exactly 1k words. clap

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scarasun · 2 years ago

Text

another year wiser - and happier.

pairing ; scaramouche x gn!reader

wc ; 5.6k

summary ; when you find out that scaramouche has been keeping his birthday a secret from you, you take it upon yourself to make his day as amazing as possible.

cw ; scaramouche is called scaramouche throughout the fic because idk what else to call him, reader can't cook, slight angst at the end but we get a happy ending (wooo), your ex shows up and he's a creep, you're bad at painting, light cursing

a/n ; andd here it is!!!! i've pieced together this fic in the past two days, so im truly sorry if there are any mistakes throughout, or if the wording is just off. maybe i'll read it through later and fix a few things. anyways, im tagging @keqism, who prompted me to get my idea on paper for scara's bday,,,ty <333 speaking of ideas, i had wayyy too much time thinking about what scenario i could possibly write, and ended up using all my ideas...that's why this piece is so long. anyways, enjoy!

9:00am

Scaramouche, once the mighty Sixth Harbinger of the Fatui and now the Dendro Archon's helper, has been keeping his birthday a secret from you.

Although the both of you had been together for quite a while, he had given no indication that his birthday fell on the third day of the year, and if it hadn't been for Nahida's intel, you would've never guessed.

You straightened your back, wiping the sweat from your forehead as you examined your handiwork. A couple small sausages lay on the chopping board in front of you, the bottom half of them sliced into eighths. They looked just like the pictures in the recipe you were using (if you were willing to look past the fact that the cuts were uneven), and if the instructions were correct, the ends would curl up when they were put to fry.

Such was the magic of squid sausages - and you were hoping your boyfriend would love it.

Being no good at cooking, Scaramouche had designated himself to be the household chef, claiming that even as a puppet, he was not immune to food poisoning. That didn't stop you though.

Knowing that Scaramouche had hidden his birthday away from you probably meant that he had never celebrated it in his life - or maybe he never had a reason to. But now that you were in his life, you were determined to bring a smile to his face - starting with breakfast in bed.

You filled the heated pan with some oil and put the sausages into it, biting back a yelp as the oil began to react violently. You watched with bated breath as the ends of the sausages began to curl outwards, and you switched off the stove after a few moments, too afraid that the sausages would begin to burn. Turning to the bento box sitting on the counter, you began to organize its contents carefully, folding the fried eggs into rolls and shaping them into hearts. You positioned the sausages to lie face up, placing the bacon you had made earlier on top of them to make it look like a blanket.

When it looked perfect in your eyes, you took the bento into one hand and a glass of juice into the other. and made your way to your shared bedroom. You walked as lightly as possible, being careful enough to not accidentally spill the juice, but it still quivered dangerously in its glass as you opened the bedroom door. I'm shaking it way too much...

Looking up, you almost dropped the bento to the ground. Before you, Scaramouche lay on his back, hands behind his head - clearly wide awake. At the sight of you, he cocked his eyebrows.

"Good morning! You're awake," you said cheerfully, shaking out of your initial shock. You dropped the bento and the glass on his bedside table, taking a seat next to where he was lying.

"Well it was sort of hard to stay asleep with all the ruckus you were making," he mumbled, his voice still hoarse with sleep. "Didn't I tell you to stay out of the kitchen?"

"Well yeah, but I didn’t," He sat up, and you took the bento into your hands, placing it on his lap. "Bon appetit, sweetheart."

He poked at the food with his fork, taking a bit of the eggs into his mouth. You clasped your hands together, awaiting his response, but he remained silent.

"Well? How does it taste?"

"...It's quite good actually. You've improved a lot." You beamed, and he reached up to tousle your hair.

"Aren't you wondering what the occasion is?" you asked. You knew Scaramouche wouldn't forget his own birthday – right?

"Not particularly," he responded. His attention was laser-focused on his breakfast, and you almost felt like he had forgotten. Almost. But you knew better than to fall for his poker-face.

You touched his shoulder, and he looked up, finally glimpsing the serious expression on your face. "Come on, don't act like you don't know. Today is your birthday, isn't it?"

He paused his chewing, wide eyes locked on yours. So Nahida was right - it really was his birthday.

"Who told you? It was Nahida, wasn't it?" His eyes glinted, like a deer caught in headlights.

"Yeah, but why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I don't like following stupid human customs,” he replied nonchalantly, popping a squid sausage into his mouth.

"I knew you would've said something like that. But I'll show you how amazing our 'stupid human customs' can be!"

He paused his chewing. "What are you thinking about doing?"

You stood up from the bed quickly, your excitement beginning to bubble over. "I'm glad you asked! I have a lot of things planned for us today-"

"Absolutely not. Ignore what Nahida told you."

His rejection meant nothing – you had many cards up your sleeve, cards that would have him succumbing to your plans in a second. You sat back onto the bed, looking at him with pleading eyes as you pulled your lips into a pretty pout. "Please? Do it for me?"

"...Fine. But at least let me wash the dishes. You’ve already cooked."

"No! It's your birthday!"

"If you don't let me at least wash the dishes then I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Okay! The dishes are yours to handle."

11:00am

"Here we are!" you said, pointing to the low-ceiling building in front of you. It was a Sumerian restaurant, one that had opened recently. Its roof was tiled with vibrant green, and patterned, red cloth was hung from each of the four posts at the corners of the restaurant. It looked even better than the last time you saw it.

"And what is this?" Scaramouche deadpanned. He looked up at the restaurant with no kind of amazement.

"A restaurant, obviously."

"But we just ate."

"Well all that traveling has got me hungry! Besides, I've been wanting to take you here since they first opened. Let's go!" you said, pushing him towards a seat on the outskirts of the pavilion.

As soon as the both of you sat down, a waitress approached your table, smiling cordially. "What would you guys like to order?"

Scaramouche opened his mouth (no doubt to tell the waitress off for rushing the both of you), when you leaned over and touched his forearm. His attention now fully focused on you, you took his distraction as an opportunity to intervene.

"Yes, we'd love to order now. I'd like to have the Aaru Mixed Rice, and he'll take the Tandoori Chicken, please."

"I don't think I've ever heard of that dish in my life," Scaramouche mumbled under his breath.

You patted his hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, I know you'll love it."

"Okay!" the waitress said as she finished scribbling in her tiny notepad. "Your food will be ready in fifteen minutes tops!"

"I'm going to the washroom, I'll be right back," Scaramouche said, getting up from his seat as the waitress departed.

You leaned back in your chair, feeling its cold metal digging into your skin. So far, things were going well, and your boyfriend hadn’t been reacting negatively. As a matter of fact, he wasn't giving any type of reaction. You knew he wasn't often the excitable type, but you were beginning to wonder if taking him out was the best idea. He wasn't easy to appease, and while you enjoyed teasing him, you didn't want to upset him.

Maybe there's a reason why he never shared his birthday with me, you thought.

You both had your fair share of baggage, but Scaramouche's past was darker by far - there was no doubt he hid it from you without a good reason. You sighed, fiddling with the edge of the tablecloth, when a large shadow loomed over the table.

"Scara, are you-" You turned your head, and the words died on your lips.

It was your ex, a smug smile plastered onto his face, like a pirate who had found some thousand-year-old treasure. The look sent a shiver down your spine. What was he doing here?

"Well, look who it is. It's been a long time, hasn't it? What are you doing at a restaurant like this?" He reached out to touch your hair, and you instantly recoiled.

You straightened your back, giving him a dirty stare. "That's none of your business, Earl."

He let out a hearty laugh, but you knew he was less than amused at the situation. It only masked his anger at being talked back to, if anything.

"Seems like you grew some guts since the last time we saw each other," he said lowly, his gaze traveling to the empty seat across from you. "And it also looks like you're here with new company. Your better half, maybe?"

Earl cackled again, attracting the attention of a few customers nearby.

"And who the fuck are you?" a voice laced with barely restrained anger echoed from behind Earl, and you heaved a sigh of relief.

Although Earl was probably a full foot taller than your boyfriend, his confidence seemed to wither under the ex-Harbinger's stare.

Your ex grit his teeth, trying in vain to maintain his confident exterior. "I'm the ex. Who the hell are you?"

You saw a muscle tic in Scaramouche's jaw. "I'm the boyfriend. Now scram."

Earl gave him one last look before turning awkwardly on his feet, scurrying as quickly as possible in the other direction. Scaramouche took his seat across from you silently, as if nothing had happened.

You cleared your throat. "I'm so sorry-"

He waved his hand in dismissal. "It's fine. Let's move on."

You nodded, and a comfortable silence settled over your table gradually. Scaramouche’s purple eyes ventured out of the lookout point and beyond the city, and you followed his gaze.

It was basically a perfect view of the landscape of Sumeru, luscious green stretching on for miles and miles into the horizon. The sounds of laughter and talking along with the clatter of cutlery in the restaurant provided a busy sense of comfort, and for a moment you knew this was right where you needed to be – even if you had been accosted by an asshole mere minutes ago.

You looked back at Scaramouche, only to see him already staring at you. A sharp intake of breath escaped through your mouth.

"Well? How are you enjoying the view? I believe this is the best seat outside," you said hurriedly, taking a sip of your water to hide how flustered you were. Even though the both of you had been together for a considerable while, his purple stare never ceased to send your heart into disarray.

"It's...actually beautiful. Nice job," he replied, his gaze not once flickering back to the scenery.

Chuckling shyly, you pulled your hands into your lap. You opened your mouth to reply when you saw the waitress approaching your table at the corner of your eye, her hands filled with platters of food.

"Enjoy your meal!" She put the dishes on the table carefully, departing soon after. To say the food looked delectable would have been an understatement. The Tandoori Chicken seemed to be cooked perfectly, its golden skin shining under the sun. The rice you ordered was piled onto the plate, its colors varying as much as the ingredients used to make it. Both dishes smelled absolutely delicious, and your mouth watered as its aroma filled your nose.

"Taste it and tell me if you like it!" You took a bit of his chicken with your fork, and brought it to his lips.

He scowled, but it didn't hide the deep red coloring the tips of his ears. Taking the food into his mouth, he began to chew slowly. You watched as his eyes gradually lit up, and he swallowed.

"Well?"

"It's definitely not bad." You chuckled, knowing that that was probably the biggest praise he would probably ever give. From the way he was eating, you could tell he was enjoying the food.

After a few moments, he spoke again. “What’s next on the agenda?”

Deciding to be a little playful, you said: “Agenda? Who told you we were going anywhere else?”

Scaramouche put his fork down and glared at you, his mouth twisted into a frown. “You said you had plans – plural.”

You laughed; he was so easy to tease it was almost ridiculous.

“Don’t worry about that right now. Just focus on eating.”

2:00pm

By the time the both of you had paid the bill and left the restaurant, the sun had risen to its station in the sky, watching over Sumeru with a burning glare. People who had initially decided to eat outside fled from the scorching heat, and you yourself had taken off your jacket, already beginning to boil as well. Scaramouche, as expected, didn’t give any indication that he was bothered by the heat.

“Where do we go next?” he asked, as the both of you continued along the path leading deeper into Sumeru city. It was probably the fifth time he had asked since the both of you left the restaurant.

“Oh? Are you, by any chance, excited about our next destination?” You hooked your arm through his.

He rolled his eyes at the smile plastered onto your face, but didn’t say anything to deny it. “To answer your question, we’ll be going to a spot right outside the city, to do something I think you’ll enjoy. But we have to make a stop over here first.”

You pulled him towards a pair of large, brass doors, the steep, rounded stairs leading the both of you to the Bazaar. It was as busy as expected, shop owners clamoring loudly as customers bustled through stalls. The air was thick with the aroma of spices and flora, and dancers practiced on the large stage, their costumes glimmering under the bright spotlight.

You led Scaramouche to a stall on the right, being careful not to bump into the crowd. “What could you possibly want from here?” He asked, raising his voice over the commotion.

“You’ll see!”

Eventually, you reached a small stall at the corner of the Bazaar. Two shelves at the back contained row after row of bouquets, all in the most elaborate vases, and flower vines wrapped around the posts holding up the canopy of the stall. Behind the counter sat an old lady with kind eyes hidden behind thick glasses.

“Mrs. Li! I’ve come to pick up my order.”

“You’re here, finally. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show up,” she got up slowly, making her way to the back of her stall. Mrs. Li was a gardener who hailed from Liyue, who decided to travel to Sumeru to partake in the market of selling plants and flowers. You had met her on your own travels to Liyue, and when you heard that she was opening a shop in the Bazaar, you knew you needed to check it out.

You turned to Scaramouche, who was shuffling from foot to foot. His face harbored no expression, but you knew he was less than pleased at the crowd.

You took his hand in yours, rubbing circles onto his knuckles soothingly. “Don’t worry, we don’t have much longer. I just need to grab something from here and we’ll be on our way.” You gave his hand a light squeeze and felt him squeeze back.

“Did you buy me a present from this stall?”

Before you could reply, Mrs. Li reappeared behind the counter, holding a simple yet beautiful bouquet in her hands. She winked and smiled at Scaramouche sweetly, before handing the flowers to you.

“Here you are. Enjoy!”

---

Back outside, you dragged Scaramouche to the first empty corner that you spied, eager to let him examine the bouquet more closely. You had placed the order for a custom-made bouquet an entire month before his birthday – and Mrs. Li surely delivered.

“Here you are,” you said, thrusting the bouquet into his hands. You leaned over and pecked his cheek. “Happy birthday, handsome.”

His ears reddened at the nickname. “Thank you.”

“Look here,” you reached over and opened the pristine, white card attached to it. Written in gold lettering were the names of the flowers included in the bouquet, along with their respective meanings. “The pink bluebells signify everlasting love, the gardenias represent joy, the balloon flowers mean endless love and honesty…”

Scaramouche said nothing, but you knew he was listening attentively. He stared at the bouquet, his eyes slightly glazed over.

“Well? Do you like it?”

“I do.” His voice was quiet. He reached up and plucked one of the balloon flowers from the bouquet. You opened your mouth to protest, but not before he could lean over and bury it in your hair.

“These mean endless love, right…?” He said nothing more, but the implications were clear. The tips of his ears were red again, but this time you also felt a familiar heat creep into your cheeks. Even though this was his day and you were supposed to be treating him, he still found ways to make you fall in love all over again.

Patting his shoulder, you whispered, “Thank you.”

He looked away first, clearing his throat. “...Anyways, let’s go to the next place.”

4:00pm

The both of you walked in silence to the city gates, his left arm holding the bouquet close to his heart, and the other linked with yours. There was a certain bounce in his step that told you the gradual quietness of the atmosphere had improved his mood significantly, and with the way he was holding the bouquet, you knew he wouldn’t be parting ways with it in a hurry. He always made it a point that he detested sentimentality with every fiber of his being, but you knew him for too long to know that that wasn’t true.

Eventually, the both of you came across a clearing where a park had been installed. The grass was short but still thrived, and the rustle of the leaves overhead was more than enough to send a pleasant wave through your body. There were a few wooden tables evenly spaced out in the clearing, and lucky for the both of you, they were all empty. You led Scaramouche to the table closest to the trees and under the shade, and rested your satchel onto the table as you took your seat.

Scaramouche sat opposite to you, still clutching the bouquet of flowers to his chest. He looked around the empty area, the wind tousling his hair.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to have another meal,” he said flatly, watching as you rummaged through your satchel.

“No, actually. Although I do have some sandwiches in case any one of us gets hungry.”

You pulled out a dark brown, wooden box from your satchel and placed it onto the table, its cover painted with gold patterns. You opened the cover to reveal an abundance of potted paints and a variety of paintbrushes. Your boyfriend’s eyes widened at the sight of it, and you smiled.

Not long after he began working under Nahida, he had picked up the art of painting. He had spent endless hours working colors onto canvases – but he had never once showed you any of his artworks. Once day, while the both of you were walking along the streets of Sumeru, you noticed how the embellished wooden box of paints had snagged his attention, and he didn’t seem to take his eyes off of it until the both of you had rounded the corner.

“I know you seemed particularly interested in these paints the last time, so I decided to get it for you before they all sold out. I hope you like it.” Just like before, his eyes stayed glued to the box as you slid it towards him on the table. “I also brought some canvases. I thought we could try a little something.”

You reached into your satchel and pulled out two small canvases, along with two matching easels.

“I’ve been seeing a lot of other people doing this and I thought it might be interesting…let’s try painting each other!”

He put down the cerulean blue paint pot he was examining and focused his full attention on you. His eyes narrowed. “Is this your excuse to take a peek at one of my paintings?”

You threw your hands up in defense. “No! I just wanted you to try the paints out, and we can spend some quality time together while you’re at it.”

He hummed, probably only half-convinced, before taking up one of the easels. “Let’s get started then. Sunset is close.”

And so it began – your journey to capture the essence of your beloved’s soul onto a canvas. It puzzled you how Scaramouche – usually abrasive and snappy – could take up such a hobby, which required time and patience. Glancing over at him, you could see that his eyes, which were usually stormy, were now peaceful and clear, and the seemingly permanent scowl on his face had melted away. His paintbrush danced across his canvas in long and short strokes, and his palette was already filled with a myriad of mesmerizing colors.

You, on the other hand, were struggling.

The colors you chose looked off together, and you never seemed to choose the right paintbrush to do the job. If you were in any other situation, you would’ve been pissed, but the most important thing was that Scaramouche seemed to be enjoying himself. That alone was enough to keep your mood from plummeting.

“I’m done. What about you?” he asked, setting his paintbrush down.

You were busy trying to fix the head you had painted for him, which looked more like a lopsided egg than anything else. You were about finished with the general painting, but nothing looked quite right.

“Uh, I need more time,” you mumbled, painting over his bangs.

He nodded slowly, reaching over in your satchel to have a sandwich. Sitting back, you examined your painting from afar. If you squint a little, it doesn’t look so bad…

“That’s enough fixing. Let’s see your rendition of me.” You jumped, startled at his loud voice.

“Fine…It’s not any good, but in my defense, I don’t think I’ve ever held a paintbrush in my life…” You turned the easel towards him, watching his reaction closely.

His eyes widened into a look of horror, before his eyebrows twitched into a frown – but then, he did the unthinkable.

Scaramouche slapped his hand over his mouth and let out a full-bodied laugh, loud enough to echo through the park. He bent over his seat, his cheeks red and splotchy as tears began to stream down his eyes. You stared at him, shocked by his reaction. Was your painting really that hideous?

Finally, he calmed down, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.

“Well? I hope I did your handsomeness justice,” you said lightly, playing off your incompetence as a joke.

He took the canvas from the easel and smiled – one of the biggest you had seen in a long time. “...It needs some work. Maybe I’ll teach you some basics in the coming days.”

You smiled, before your gaze slid to his own canvas and easel. “You’ve had your fun, now let me have mine. I want to see your painting.”

He seemed to hesitate, his eyes lingering on the picture, before turning his easel towards you. You gasped.

To say it was breathtaking would’ve been an understatement. He had painted a picture of you smiling so deeply that your eyes were closed, and your hair seemed to blow in some imaginary wind. It didn’t even seem that he had pulled together such a piece in only two hours.

“Oh wow…” You breathed.

“I take it that you like it?” Scaramouche’s voice wavered a bit, and you looked up. His gaze was laser-focused on the wooden table in front of him, and a light blush dusted his cheeks.

“It’s absolutely amazing! I’m just surprised that you showed me your painting with so little convincing. You’ve never done that before.”

He shrugged. “It was the least I could do, especially for the paints.”

You reached over to give his hand a light squeeze. He squeezed back, and you smiled.

The sky overhead was beginning to turn purple, and you got up, taking a deep stretch. “The sun is starting to set, so let’s get going now.”

He stood up as well, packing away the supplies. “Are you done with your little tricks, or are we actually heading home now?” There was no bite to his words, and his lips were curled into a small smile. You held out your hand to him.

“Nope! I have one more place to take you. I have a feeling you’ll love this one the most.”

7:00pm

The sun had fully dipped below the horizon by the time the both of you had arrived at your last destination. Although the journey had only taken half an hour, you were panting by the time you made it up the hill.

“Here we are! Our final destination,” you spread your arms, taking your last few steps onto the plateau of the hill. From your location, you could see the entirety of Sumeru City in all its glory at night – a mix of warm glowing lights and stunning architecture. It was truly a sight to behold.

You turned around, feeling the absence of Scaramouche’s warmth by your side. He was standing a few feet away from you, moonlight shining onto his face. He was still holding the bouquet and canvas, but his eyes held a faraway look.

“Hey, are you okay?” you asked, walking towards him again. He shook his head and took a deep breath, coming out of his trance.

“Isn’t this the place where we…?” He didn’t finish his question, nor did he have to. You knew what he was talking about.

Months ago, when the both of you were still hiding your infatuation for the other under a moth-bitten veil, you had journeyed up that very hill with him to star-gaze. A study of the constellations quickly turned into a confession, and the next thing you knew, his soft, inviting lips were on yours. It wasn’t a day you had ever forgotten, and by the looks of it, it hadn’t slipped his mind either.

You looked out at the city again, a small smile creeping onto your face at the memory. “It is. Do you mind being here?”

He shook his head, and followed you to where you stood at the plateau. You took a large cloth out of your satchel and spread it across the stony ground, taking your seat next to him. It was usually so easy to forget what a small place you took up in the world with everything going on around you, but with your gaze elevated towards the stars, all your worries melted away.

From next to you, you felt Scaramouche’s hand slowly creep onto yours, your fingers intertwining. You looked towards him and smiled, reaching up to run your fingers through his soft hair.

“How do you like the view?” You whispered. He leaned into your touch and closed his eyes.

“It’s just the same as I remembered it,” he opened his eyes suddenly, and a serious look crossed his face. “But didn’t I tell you the stars in the sky were fake?”

You rolled your eyes at him, your gaze turning towards the sky once again. The stars seemed to have been thrown randomly throughout the sky, some bigger and brighter than others. Some also appeared to be twinkling. Even if your boyfriend was right, and the stars really were fake, was it not enough to appreciate the night sky as it was?

You turned to Scaramouche, only to see him staring back at you.

“Frankly, I don’t care if they’re fake or not. What really matters is whether or not you enjoyed your birthday.”

He turned his face away from you, obviously hiding a smile. “Well? Did you?” You reached around his neck, dragging him towards you so that your forehead was against his.

“Of course I did, idiot. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here now.”

You sighed, relief flooding your chest. “Well, that’s a relief. I was wondering if all my careful planning would be a waste.”

He leaned over and gave your cheek a light peck, before the both of you settled into a comfortable silence. However, something still lingered at the back of your mind, only beginning to resurface now that your surroundings were quiet.

“Scaramouche.”

“Hm?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about your birthday?”

In your arms, you felt his body tense up, before he pulled away from you. His eyes were shadowed with an indescribable emotion, and he edged away from you, the few inches of space between you now feeling like miles and miles of cold nothingness. You could feel him mentally pulling away from you, and you knew asking such a question was a huge mistake.

“It’s okay! You don’t have to answer…Just pretend I never asked.”

With his face angled towards the ground, it was difficult to gauge his expression. After a few agonizing moments, he finally shook his head, turning to face you.

He was crying.

Tears streamed down his face, and his breaths came in short gasps. It was nothing like a few hours earlier, when he had laughed so hard he started crying – these were real tears, glistening with sadness and hurt.

“I’m so sorry! Please, don’t cry…”

Comforting others wasn’t usually your strong suit, especially when it came to Scaramouche. He would always request that you leave him alone whenever he was facing another one of his nightmares, always desiring to put up a strong front. But you could always see in his eyes how much he needed you there by his side, even if he wasn’t ready to admit it.

However, in that moment when he turned to you, his energy was different. His usually hard exterior had totally shattered, leaving nothing but a broken boy. He was broken, but he was still beautiful.

Tentatively, you reached out to wipe the tears from his cheek. He leaned towards you, burying his neck in your face, and you wrapped your arms around his shaking form. A few minutes passed with the both of you huddled together like that – or it could’ve been hours, you weren’t sure – before he finally pulled away, his cheeks still red and splotchy.

“I’m sorry…” He sniffled, and you felt your heart breaking all over again.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize for anything. It was my–”

“No.” He inhaled deeply and straightened his back, his eyes hardening with a new resolve. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

You stared at him in silence for a few moments, before he continued. “I’ve never celebrated my birthday. Before I met you, before all of this, I hated myself. I didn’t see the point in my creation – my mother had found me defective, and tossed me out like trash. I had spent years suffering and consequently making others suffer because I hated myself. But now–”

He took your hand gently, caressing your knuckles. “Now, because of you, I don’t feel like that at all, and it’s almost scary. I’ve been hating myself since I existed, and now I can’t bring myself to feel like that again…It’s so scary.”

You pulled him into a hug again, and he wrapped his arms tightly around you. In the crook of your neck, you heard him whisper: “I don’t deserve this kindness…”

You pulled away from him to look him in the eyes, wiping away the extra tears that had fallen. “No, you do. Even if you don’t think so, you have good in you – you are good.”

He began to shake his head, but you took his face into your hands, making sure that he had nothing else to focus on except you. “Yes, you are good. What about all those times you insisted on helping me around the house? And when you defended me earlier today? You might not think of yourself as kind, but everyone else can clearly see it. Although I can’t speak for anyone else, I for one am glad that you’re here with me, even after everything you’ve been through.”

One of your hands came up to rest on his chest, where his heart should’ve been. You leaned over giving him a small peck on his nose. “Don’t cry, okay? It’s called happy birthday for a reason.”

He couldn’t fight the smile that crept onto his face at your analogy.

“If you don’t mind, can I ask you something? How did you enjoy your first birthday celebration? I know you said birthdays were stupid…” You chuckled at the memory from earlier, and he followed suit. You were glad to see him smiling again.

“Of course. Didn’t I tell you before? If I didn’t like it, I would’ve left a long time ago. And you were so kind, doing all these things…” He stole a glance at the bouquet and the canvases peeking out from inside your satchel.

You released a sigh of relief, the weight on your shoulders lifting. “I’m glad, then.”

You pressed your lips to his, and he reciprocated, deepening the kiss. You pulled away first, leaning your forehead against his. If you weren’t sure earlier, you were definitely now – he was the one you wanted to be with at the end of your days.

The moon was already deep into its journey through the sky, but you didn’t want the night to end. You just wanted to see him happy for as long as he existed.

“Happy birthday, Scaramouche.”

#scaramouche x reader #scaramouche x gn!reader #wanderer x reader #wanderer x gn!reader #genshin impact #genshin impact fanfic #happy birthday my love <33😭

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copperbadge · 2 years ago

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Current Events Reading Reccs

I had a couple of people asking me about my “current events” reading in general (news aggregators, podcasts, etc) so I figured I’d just list them off here.

I don’t read any tumblrs that are specifically focused on current events, I just kinda get news from various people I’ve followed, but I’ve found in general it helps to find people for whom the news is a hobby, not a consuming habit. I have communists and anarchists and prison abolitionists on my dash, but they aren’t people who have made that their identity, which removes the “You are insufferable” factor. So I guess find fandom weirdos with strong political views and follow ‘em.

Also I want to state at the top that part of why I’m on top of shit that I get through Tumblr is that I have a policy of never reblogging or reacting to anything until I have 1. read the article being linked and 2. done my own research. This has saved me a vast deal of embarrassment, because sometimes I’ll save something outrageous to research and before I can even research it, it’s been rebutted. I cannot stress how important the process of reading and research is -- you can’t get your news from headlines and particularly not clickbait you see on Tumblr.

As far as I know there’s no single tumblr clearinghouse for good high-level current events reporting and analysis (the analysis I think is a vital part) but if folks have resources they use, drop ‘em in the comments or reblogs.

Anyway, some mailing lists I belong to are:

Quartz Daily Brief: finance and tech, mainly. Back when they were for-pay I paid for them, this newsletter was that entertaining. I believe they’ve now gone fee-free but they sometimes link to paywalls. I get it as an email newsletter, that’s just a link to the web version.

Breakfast with ARTNews: Obviously a bit niche but I really like keeping up with the art world and they cover art crime too. The link is to the all-newsletters signup page, I only belong to Breakfast.

The Futurist: This is the most insufferable nonsense masquerading as news ever. The ads are indistinguishable from the content. But it does help me keep a finger hard on the pulse of what irritating tech bros are into. Watch scams unfold in real time!

I also follow a number of local interests -- community centers and neighborhood organizations primarily -- in Chicago, so those are always good to hunt up. Most major cities have a “citycast” podcast (just search “citycast [your city]” in your podcatcher) that is also good for local news.

Some websites:

Longreads: Since longform.org went under, the best place to find the current longform pieces that everyone’s talking about.

Brand Eating: Extremely niche, but I really love reading about “brand” food trends. It covers new food releases and sales and such in the areas of packaged food (potato chips, candy, etc), fast food, and casual dining. It’s also great as a resource for cheap eats.

I stopped reading Bon Appetit recently (they ran this appallingly sympathetic story about a dickhead hiring manager) but like, honestly, if you want to track food trends, the BA email newsletter is kinda the way to go. If you’d like good food news in podcast form, I recommend The Sporkful (it’s in the podcast list).

I used to read the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, and Fortune Magazine (which mostly scraped the not-awful stuff from Forbes) but I’ve cut it down to just the Trib; I don’t really need Fortune to keep me current and the NYT has morphed into a creepy proto-fash nightmare. The Trib has pretty good national/international coverage so if you don’t have a decent local paper it’s not bad, but I don’t know how much access you get as a nonpaying reader (I subscribe).

Podcasts:

Quartz has a podcast, Quartz Obsession, which is off-and-on in terms of when episodes come out but very interesting when they do.

Planet Money is a once-weekly podcast about economics, and has a daily show called “The Indicator” which is daily “small bites” current events coverage.

The Late Show and the Daily Show both have an “ears edition” podcast that’s just the show audio; I’ve stopped listening for the most part but if you want good cultural commentary, that’s the place to go.

The Journal by the Wall Street Journal is a weekly podcast focusing on one or two news stories, generally pretty relevant.

Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me is a panel show but it’s a fun way to get bite-sized news you can look up later in more detail if you want. And it’s taped in Chicago! If you listen you can hear me in the audience laughing. :D (I’m going to another taping in a few weeks!)

Behind The Bastards is actually a history podcast but if you’re listening current he does a bit of current-events commentary, and also I just really like it as a podcast.

Stuff You Should Know is a trivia podcast but they occasionally do current-events stuff.

The Sporkful is pretty good about current food news, although I run hot and cold on it.

I used to listen to a really good “professional” medical podcast, but it went full paywall when it started to offer certain forms of professional credit, so I found The House Of Pod as a very good free replacement. It’s not really for non-doctors, but as a non-doctor I still find it accessible and informative. (For medical history and curiosity, I do highly recommend Bedside Rounds, but I wouldn’t call it a current events cast.)

So that’s how I get my news -- it’s not what I would call fully comprehensive but it’s reasonably informative!

#bread-tab #auressea #tigerist #current events

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bokutosmochi · 2 years ago

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LIVING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND ♡ NANAMI KENTO

nanami kento x gn!reader

ingredients? tired and cold from a christmas season mission, nanami and you come to your hotel room to discover a single bed at the center.

what's it? general. a sprinkle of fluff

allergen warning/s? gojo being a nosy prick

sugar level? 1.8k

regulars? @tokyometronetwork @tahonet

parlor's note? i've seen so many oh-no-there's-only-one-bed fics with gojo, but none for nanami, so here's my present for my nanami hoes <33

happy holidays everyone!

bon appetit!

when the two of you finally managed to exorcise the special grade curse and retrieve yet another one of ryomen sukuna's fingers from it, the blonde man heaves a sigh of relief for more reasons than one.

it's heavily snowing in tsunan in the niigata prefecture, the temperature in the negatives. just his luck to be dispatched to one of the snowiest places in the world, during christmas too, no less.

a chill ran through nanami's whole body, and it had nothing to do with the adrenaline in his veins. he even swears it has nothing to do with the fact that he was dispatched with you on this particular mission, but rather how cold it was. his whole face was flushed pink, from his chiseled cheeks, the tip of his nose, all the way up to the top of his ears. his teeth were chattering slightly, and if one were to focus on him, they'd see how his figure shivered.

followed by the sigh was a sneeze and a sniffle which made you smile lightly and tilt your head to the side at him, "guess we'd better go back to the hotel, huh, big guy?"

big guy, he grimaced internally. that sounds worse than nanamin, and when someone gives a nickname more annoying that the ones gojo satoru gives, you know it's bad. however, nanami doesn't have it in him to complain about it; he curtly nods. "yes, i believe that's the best way to avoid getting sick in this weather."

the curse attacked the both of you prior to you getting checked into your hotel, so you picked up your bags from wherever you were able to throw it earlier before hailing a taxi cab. "you sure you got everything, nanami?" you asked him as you began putting your luggage into the trunk, and as he did the same with his, he answered you. "yes, i'm sure. i made sure to pack light since were aren't staying here for long anyway. what about you, [l/n]-san?"

"nanami! i told you that you don't have to be so formal with me! my first name's fine." you waved it off, "but yeah, i have everything too. thanks for asking!" you beamed at him.

the cab ride from the old, abandoned building to the hotel was short. perhaps just a bit below ten minutes, but it was filled with chatter from the old driver. at first he wondered why the two of you were out so late, and at the aged hospital that no one has used for the last ten years as well, nonetheless. nanami, sat at the passenger seat was able to quickly and smoothly make up a lie, and from there, started to make some small talk which evolved to the male driver telling crazy passengers he had driven in the past. the stories ranged from three gaijin wrestlers filming for their vlog, to drunk celebrities, to high schoolers singing along to the seventies music that his favorite radio station played -- he expressed that the last one was more surprising than being on the crazy side of things.

but alas, your fruitful interaction had to be cut short when you've finally reached your destination. nanami just let the man finish his last story, before paying for the cab ride and getting out of the vehicle.

thankfully for the both of you, the hotel, as expected, was much, much, much warmer than the outside world. nanami let out a sigh of relief at the warmth when he step foot into the establishment, then made a beeline towards the front desk. he was worn out and tired the same way you were. number two on his wishlist was to be somewhere warm, and now that he has received that, it was time for the close third; rest and as well as a comfortable bed.

just as nanami turned around to see if you were still behind him, your phone unexpectedly rang. you lifted a quick finger at him as you fished it out of your pocket to answer. the device's caller id identified it as gojo making you roll your eyes. while you did count the man as one of your friends; being a sorcerer makes you feel some sort of connection to people who are in the same boat as you, no matter how annoying they are, and annoying gojo satoru was. going against your better judgement, you swiped your thumb across the screen to answer the call and pressed the cool material to your ear only to hear the white haired sorcerer greeting you with a voice that's too cheery for half past ten in the evening.

"moshi moshi [y/n]-chan~" he spoke through the line. "are my precious underclassmen safe and sound yet or do they need my help?"

and for the second time, you rolled your eyes. "hey gojo-san, me and nanami arrived at the hotel a few minutes ago. we're going to our rooms now." you informed him as nanami gestured that he already has the room keys and that you could already proceed to the elevators to get some much needed sleep.

"hmm, and is it as cold there as the news make it out to be?" he asks in a sing song voice, clearly entertained at your expense.

"yes. yes it is." you refused to give him a reaction you know he'll tease you with and opted to keep the conversation as short as possible. "do you have anything of substance to say, gojo-san? or can i hang up now. me and nanami are tired."

you heard him chuckle on the other end of the line. "nada, [y/n]-san. hope you enjoy your night with nanamin." there's a teasing tilt to the end of his goodbye that made you wish you never went out drinking with him because what happened was you were the only one that drank as he wasn't good at handling his alcohol. you didn't remember much of what happened that night, but when gojo enunciated the blond man's name every time he spoke it the next day, you knew you opened your mouth and spoke too much around gojo.

the elevator ride and the walk to your shared hotel room was quiet and uneventful. neither you nor nanami felt the need to plug up the comfortable silence with uncomfortable small talk. the time you uttered words to each other was when he pushed the door to the room open. "what the fuck?"

one bed.

at the center of the room, there was a single bed. it could fit two people, you're sure of that, but that didn't change the fact that there was one bed when there was supposed to be two.

staying in the same hotel room with nanami was enough to set your soul on fire by itself. sleeping in the same bed as him? you're certain you might melt into a puddle on the floor that nanami would hate to clean up.

"i knew it was a mistake trusting that dimwit." you heard the man next to you mutter, so you turned your head towards him for some sort of explanation because you were at a loss.

he looked at you, before looking away quickly as if in guilt or something else. you couldn't tell. "i may have asked gojo to handle our hotel reservations."

your eyes widened at once, a scream was building up your throat, you could feel it. the hot air from your lungs was slowly rising up, up, up, fueled by tension until it was in your mouth, "i'm sorry, you did what?" you screeched, but nanami had quick reflexes and pressed a hand on your mouth at once to muffle your words. "i apologize, [l/n]-san. i was busy at the time and didn't realize he would stoop this low."

you inhaled a deep breath and pried his hand off of your face. "'t's fine, nanami. i guess we all make mistakes sometimes." you shrugged at him, putting your luggage down and going through it to fetch a shirt that's two sizes too big for you as well as pajama pants. "it's real late," you glanced up at the clock, "i doubt we can get another room, and kicking up a fuss about this more than i already have is pointless." you told him. "lemme just take a quick shower, then the bathroom's all yours, yeah?"

normally, you would have asked him if he wanted to go first, but tonight, you deeply needed to gather yourself since your heart's already pounding out of your chest at the mere thought of spending the night laying in the same bed as him.

with a small bow, you walked past him and into the bathroom.

the hot water definitely did you some good, and so does the music you're listening to right now. you're able to keep calm laying in the neat white sheets with your eyes shut tight. when you hear a door open and close, you keep it that way, not wanting to break your concentration. however, that was impossible.

a clearing of the throat was heard, followed by a deep raspy voice. "[l/n]-san, the best course of action for tonight would be for me to sleep on the couch." your eyes snapped open and you sat up via their own accord. "i don't want to make you uncomfortable, and besides, this was my mistake. i am not going to burden you."

"it wouldn't be a burden!" you answer too fast. you shrank into the sheets in embarrassment. "i meant, we're both adults, nanami. i trust you. us sleeping in the same bed wouldn't make me uncomfortable. you don't have to worry about that.” you waved it off.

he raised an eyebrow, "and you're being honest? i don't want this to be another case of you being too polite." he started walking towards the bed as you nodded. "i'm sure nanami, it's perfectly fine with me, as long as it's perfectly fine with you.

he wasted no time after that, lifting the covers on the side you weren't on and shuffling into it. "thank you [l/n-san, i mean it. i was afraid that laying on the couch would hurt my back." he confessed making you laugh. "of course, nanami-san. you've never done anything to make me feel unsafe around you. let's have a good night's sleep, yes?"

the following morning, nanami found himself in a very unfamiliar position: him on his side with you snuggled in his chest, longing to absorb all the body heat from him that you could muster. and he has wintertime and gojo satoru of all things to thank for him being able to check off number one in his wishlist.

i get: reblog

you get: a prosperous new year

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valeriefauxnom · 11 months ago

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Silly Hypothesis du Jour

There's something silly about the implicit cultural residue of Dragalia's world seeming to have the same English attitude regarding French. I know it's just a byproduct of writers injecting their own worldview, as we all do, but still is silly.

Now, Dragalia had quite a few cultural analogues already. Sventila? I'm probably spelling that wrong, seems to be 'Russia', Hinomoto is 'Japan' in feudal era, Taiwu is China...but we never really established a cultural land for France. Fair enough. There's too many countries to cover in any depth.

But the French lingers. Specifically, it seems to pop up with slightly more frequency in the royal family's dialogue, with words like rendezvous, atelier, and soirée in at least some members' vocabulary alongside other fairly common words of French origin like coup. They also seem to have drawn at least some noble titles from historically French ones that migrated to English like marquis and baron.

Combined with the other context it pops up in most frequently, which is to say, fine dining, I believe that whatever the origin of the French language in Dragalia, it carries much the same aura of fancy, high-class language.

(L'amandier is, surprise surprise, French, for an almond tree. His restaurant name is The Almond Tree. 'Pièce de résistance' is, meanwhile, a masterwork, though more literally it's 'piece of resistance', ie, something that has sticking power.)

(Forte is pretty well known- a strength, as is its French meaning, strong. Voilà needs no explanation but I will anyways: It's a contraction between vois and là, voir being the base verb to see, and là referring to a 'that' in this sense. It's essentially a 'see this!, a 'lo and behold'!)

Aside from those, there's also words like hors d'oeuvres, "allez cuisine!", sous chef (which, contrary to some people's thoughts I've heard, doesn't mean soup, it means 'under', they're subordinate to the big chef in the militaristic French cuisine world), and even in Valerio's skill names, amuse-bouche and bon appetit.

Honestly, I'm surprised at how often the Dragalia team took to actually adding in the accents, since people often forget.

Then again, another funnier if-still-relevant to my claim here is the array of very informal speakers butchering the spelling and saying of another French phrase. Ranzal's the most common offender, but anyone from Sarisse to Mym to Ilia (does that imply French as a fancy language is over 1k years old???) will say:

It's off of 'tout de suite', which means, essentially ASAP. Instantly. Given their relative care in ensuring pièce de résistance is accented properly, I'm guessing the writers just found this one funny and kept using it, Canadians as they probably were along with the voice cast.

So yeah, that's my case French, wherever it originated from in Dragalia lore, has all the same haute culture ideations that many in the English-speaking world do.

As a fun little fact: many of the words that do see usage in English that are directly derived from French, ex 'forte', 'naive', etc, are the feminine spellings. The masculine spelling of naive, or rather, naïve, is naïf. Most of the time you only need to slap 'e' on whatever word you're using but of course, there are exceptions. You also can see it in words ending in -ve, instead of -if, like positive.

I'll cut myself off here, but hopefully you've at least reaction to my silly insights:

#dragalia lost #dragalia #dragalia analysis #Whenever I look at Picaro's name I have the urge to bellow it like “Figaro!”#Which his name itself might be an homage to French saying something is piquant. That is: spicy or spiky.#And no: my username isn't based off of Valerio's haha. But it definitely does draw upon French...#Also how was Ilia thinking Mids was going to send a message?? Did they develop telepathy?? Do dragons write scrolls with their claws???

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maguro13-2 · 11 months ago

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Elphelt : Oh boy it's Christmas and it's also my birthday.

Sin : Really, so it's your birthday and it's good that Christmas has arrived. What did you get for your birthday?

Elphelt : I got everything and I got the biggest birthday gift of the century. Here! (Uncovers the sheet to reveal a statue of herself and Nagoriyuki)

Sin : It's a statue of yourself.

Elphelt : Yep.

Faust : And it's kinda cool that you did it for yourself.

Nagoriyuki : Hmm. I never seen a statue that you made it by yourself.

Elphelt : So, you really love it!?

Nagoriyuki : Although it does have a little texture to it. It's a real work of art. Say, how did you make this wonderful kind of art, what is it made of?

Elphelt : Chocolate.

Nagoriyuki : What? (Turns and sees that the statue is missing, which Kirby ate it)

Elphelt : Well it was a good statue. And I thought everyone liked it.

Nagoriyuki : Consider that gift a failure to yourself.

Sin : Nice statue, Artist Valentine. You just had to make a statue out of food.

Elphelt : Oh well, I guess that wasn't my idea. But hey, I got something for my birthday of course, sol and Jack-O gave me a birthday cake, but I give you a freshly baked pie.

Dizzy : Cool. Free pie! Say where did you get that!?

Sin : It looks really tasty!

Dizzy : Say where did she get pie from anyway?

KY Kiske : Let me think...Hey, Sol. Did you know where did she get that pie after you made yourselves a cake?

Sol : Technically, I have no idea of how did she even get a pie and why did she bought it from...

Jack-O : (realizing) Oh crap. I think we gave her the wrong one. Elphelt, drop that pie! That thing your in hand is...!

Elphelt : So in honor to celebrate my birthday, I decided that I saved it for you, for us to share. So let's dig in!

Ramlethal : Elphelt! Wait! That pie your holding in your hand is really an explosive from cartoon logic and it could really destroy the--

Elphelt : --Here you go, Nagoriyuki. Bon appetit! (trips) Whoops.

Happy Chaos : [yelling in slow motion] NOOOOOOOO!

Nagoriyuki : [in slow motion] Holy shi-

*SPLAT+LOUD EXPLOSION*

Nagoriyuki : Well, good thing that I even celebrate birthdays. And also "Ouch".

Ramlethal : We told you it was cartoon logic. I told you not to touch those.

Elphelt : [weak] Yay...*coughs out*

(the two collapses)

Jack-O : Well, it's a good thing that we manage to survive from the explosion. (Looks down on herself and is revealed to be naked) Oh hahaha! Very funny!

Sol : So much for a crazed rockstar girl for having a birthday.

KY Kiske : I told you the Cheesecake Factory had that delicacy for cake and I gave the gift card to someone that I gave you the most of it!

Sol : This has been a heavy day for us.

KY Kiske : Yep. 23 has been a hell of a year and now it's going to be a new one coming.

Sol : So am I!

[Iris shot]

Elphelt : (gets up) Best birthday ever! (Groans and falls back)

[Iris out]

"That's all folks!"

Porky : (scratching sound) That's all b*tches!

~ Happy Birthday Elphelt Valentine! ~

#guilty gear #guilty gear strive #ggst #sol badguy #ky kiske #jack o valentine #ramlethal valentine #elphelt valentine #dizzy #sin #faust #Nagoriyuki #happy chaos #comedy #arc system works #funny #humor

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redfountainpostin · 30 days ago

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oKAY so these are my kinda sorta moods for boy's fashion, I'll make more detailed text post later (that's what I get for not learning how to draw). So like, first of all, I know Helia's sucks ass but it was either that or Eren Jaeger (THEY HAVE THE SAME FUCKING SHIRT) so uh. Bon Appetit XD Sky is just a basic bitch, I know he would probably want to use his time as "just a squire" to wear stuff he truly likes, but honestly, I don't think he actually knows what he likes. Thus, when he's not in uniform, it's the basic blue tee and random pants for him. Poor boy doesn't have his own style or taste yet. Nabu is a fucking king and he deserves to slay, my man goes in robes around on a regular tuesday- he absolutely could pull off such a dress. I was actually like "aw damn I wish that Billy's dress came in red" and I OOP-. Now Riven was DIFFICULT. The pick used is a bit overboard for his every day looks, but it involves a feminine color and has a rocker vibe which is what I was going for. Fun fact, I knew I wanted to base him on Maneskin, and when looking for pics I actually had to type in "Damiano David WITH CLOTHES". My man just loves to be free I guess. Anyways, I think this is something he could wear to a concert- and the shirt he can wear casually just like. Buttoned up. (there was a pink shirt pic that was more his color but idk it didn't fit much). (Also, Riven doesn't have any real tattoos, (not until he and the others get drunk and get matching tattoos) when he's feeling like something he writes it on with a marker, it gets smudged usually but he doesn't really care. Now Timmy and Brandon are why I MADE this post. First off, Timmy's whole wardrobe is just. Whatever Sheldon's wearing. I think it fits perfectly and I adore. And Brandon? CHAAAAD. His outfits in season 1 were soooo frat boy dorky I can't even. It's what he was advised is smart to wear when representing as the prince, now I don't even think he got to buy clothes, it was sent to him, thus the explanation for the... questionable, but memorable style lol. When he's no longer posing as Sky, he's still wearing those clothes because he has mountains of them, but as he's slowly buying some stuff he actually likes, and gets to mix and match, he after a few years fully transitions into dark academia- and so his outfits are no longer chaddy, they're just great.

#winx #winx headcanons #winx shitposting #winx riven #winx sky #winx fanfic #winx specialists #winx club #winx brandon #winx timmy #winx helia #winx nabu

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marinersubmariner · 1 year ago

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Ahsoka series thoughts

I wasn’t going to post this because most of the recent Star Wars stuff gets worse upon reflection and it bums me out. Plus it’s all been said better elsewhere and the last thing the internet needs is more Star Wars complaining. But I also like reacting to what is basically the only fandom thing I ever think about on an ongoing basis! And I type it all out to myself anyway! So here you go. More Star Wars complaining. Bon appetit

I actually overall had a pretty good time watching this show, because there’s a deeply-ingrained part of me that simply likes hanging out in the SW universe. I AM, in fact, just here for the vibes. 😔✌️ Unfortunately that doesn’t tend to carry over into long-term affection for the Disney+ shows themselves, and the only series I find myself still caring about and thinking fondly of when it’s not immediately in front of my face is Andor (every part of that show but especially Luthen’s speech and the whole mood of that scene and how I felt watching it is STILL in my head.) Star Wars would be so good if it was good, etc.

On a visual level, for a Volume show it didn’t look too terrible for the most part. What it lacked in dynamic lighting or convincing realism it often made up for in atmosphere, and they did a better job on some of the larger environments. At least until the finale, which devolved into a bunch of plain rooms. I thought Seatos looked nice, that was my favorite new location—the moody red forest and the map hologram on the cliffside were really appealing. (side note: I had to google what that planet was called because it takes me a while to learn new places when they don’t put the names on the screen, and in my head I was picturing it spelled like C-DOS. GLaDOS’s cousin.)

I was REALLY thrown by Sabine training as a Jedi because it came out of nowhere and I don’t see how it fits her character, but I am otherwise generally a fan of the “anyone can be a Jedi” thesis. I know it’s controversial because by now it’s been very established that space wizardry is a highly selective genetic trait, and of course surprise superpowers aren’t as fun or special if just anybody can do it… but going all the way back to the OT I always felt like Luke’s journey had more of an everyman quality to it, that he chose to follow that path and he trained and he learned to tap into the Force. Some people are born to be better at it, some people are way too strong with it and have to learn to control it, but theoretically anyone can do it. The Force connects ALL living things, so it makes sense to me that anyone should have the ability to access it, even if that only manifests in faint or subliminal ways (“I have a bad feeling about this,” that old theory).

I’m just not convinced they should have gone this route for Sabine! Her relationship with Ahsoka still doesn’t make sense to me, they didn’t flesh it out at all and I can’t track it from what we saw in Rebels. And it also disappoints me that she did ultimately work out how to use superpowers because I enjoy the dynamic of non-Force sensitives who are nonetheless very narratively important, even when you mix them in with the magic users who tend to suck up all the story weight. I like it when the magic is a little more rare and unique and hidden (particularly in the OT and ST eras!), and as much as I love space wizardry, that mythic element seems to work a little better at movie scale than at tv scale.

So I’m kind of a big hypocrite when I say anyone can use the Force when I also still want it to be special and exclusive, lol. I guess logically I like Force usage to be all-inclusive (or at least have that potential) but narratively I like it to be rare. ???? IT’S CONDITIONAL, OKAY. I contain multitudes.

I still have a really hard time connecting to live-action Ahsoka and I don’t think she seems enough like her animated counterpart for me to feel emotionally invested in her. It’s just a lot of Rosario Dawson doing a Knowing Smirk and posing with lightsabers. It was especially stark in comparison to Ariana Greenblatt’s younger version, who seemed EXACTLY like animated Ahsoka—which admittedly is not a fair comparison because she was literally playing the animated version, but she got the voice and mannerisms down so well.

Really all the animated characters seem so thin, and while I did like Sabine and I warmed up to Hera, forcing this all into live-action has the two-fold effect of not being enough for people who are familiar with the cartoons (because we don’t need the Cliff’s Notes versions of their characters, we know them and their story, and this just seems like cosplay versions of them clunkily recapping us on how they know each other) but ALSO not being enough for general audiences who haven’t seen the cartoons (because who the hell are these thinly drawn characters referencing a bunch of backstories and events we’ve never seen??). It’s like, yes, I recognize them from the cartoons! But that recognition alone is not enough to carry an entire series! Whereas if they’d just gone ahead and made a sequel cartoon they could’ve actually made a plot and it wouldn’t feel like they spent all this time on what only amounted to setup for something else.

I DID, however, feel like Ezra was the most successful translation from animation to live-action—I loved him a lot and he felt most like his actual character to me. (well. him and Chopper. lol) I understand why they gave him a beard but I hope he ditches it, then he’d be perfect. I can’t even wish for them to do away with the colored contact lenses because I know they won’t, but obviously those are awful across the board. It’s so distracting for everyone to have dead doll eyes, but apparently cosplay accuracy is more important than staying out of the uncanny valley. “We have to literally give them these goofy-ass cartoon eye colors! Otherwise twitter will riot!!!”

I just do not understand why they would make this show with its entire main cast from the cartoons, that is a direct sequel to the cartoons… not a cartoon. (I mean, from a cynical standpoint I get it—they have a ready-made premise and characters to continue churning out live-action Star Wars Content™ in lieu of actually making any more movies. But I don’t LIKE it.) People who know the characters are distracted trying to do the mental gymnastics required to align new voices/faces/mannerisms/personalities with what they already know, and people who don’t know the characters are totally lacking any of the context that would allow them to care and not be bewildered.

They throw Thrawn’s name around soooo much before he shows up, they make such a huge fucking deal about Thrawn, and we’ve never seen Thrawn in live-action before so it has absolutely no meaning to anyone coming into this cold. Even for me, watching it as someone who knows who Thrawn is, it feels completely stupid to treat it like something that has so much weight in the universe when within this story he has never existed before now. You say a name ominously and this is supposed to matter? Why? Who cares? You’ve never even shown this guy. It feels like I’ve missed something even when I’ve watched everything there is to watch. There are ways to build suspense around an unseen character, but just saying their name a bunch without showing why anybody should care or where all this talk came from in the first place is not it. They’re not connecting these dots, and certainly not in a way that makes for a compelling viewing experience. None of these stories stand on their own anymore, it’s like it’s all just references piled on top of references. They’re so busy talking about past events and setting up future events that they’re not really bothering with current on-screen events.

I did think Thrawn’s intro scene had some pretty cool gravitas, but here’s where I admit that I don’t care about Thrawn. 😬 Now, GRANTED, I’ve only read the Thrawn trilogy and watched Rebels, so I don’t have any exposure to his other appearances in the current EU. But he irritated me SOOOO MUUUUUCH in the original books that I’ve never wanted to seek out more. He’s a stream of deus ex machina gotcha moments, “I’m always ten steps ahead of the heroes because reasons,” and I never found it interesting, it was always just annoying. “I study art so I know everything forever” uggghh shut up. But! At least that guy was competent! This version of a brilliant strategic mastermind written by dummies is even worse. He’s not intimidating at all.

And I mean, a good way to maybe get me to care about Thrawn would have been anything approaching fandom’s invented odd couple adventures for Thrawn and Ezra post-Rebels, but instead the implication here is that they have done absolutely nothing and have not interacted at all throughout their entire exile. Complete stasis for both of them. Like, I hate the vague tell-don’t-show of the Sabine and Ahsoka stuff, but it’s doubly boring to not even have the suggestion of anything happening in that intervening time period. What a transparently lazy way to shuffle Ezra and Thrawn off the board for the OT just to zip them back and pick up where they left off to fill in some dead space before the sequels.

That first shot of Enoch’s weird FACE HELMET was so bizarre I was really excited—the combination of gold and an unsettling molded face mask reminded me of Death Stranding, so for a second I was like omg weird Kojima Star Wars, holy shit. But it was really only one weird visual that wore off quickly. Just another different action figure, nevermind. And then I learned he was AMOS FROM THE EXPANSE so I just wanted him to take the mask off. Classic mask guys: I know you’re hot underneath there!!!!!!

I was enormously frustrated with the finale because, while I had decently enjoyed the journey, it really made it clear how futile it had all been and it wasn’t fun enough to overlook the emptiness. Ahsoka and Sabine facilitated the one thing they were trying to prevent and they’re fine with it. It was one long “To Be Continued” and like. I dunno. It would have been nice for a tv series to have SOMETHING within its scope that was being built to.

I liked Baylan and Shin a lot (new characters we’ve never seen before??!?!? who have cool outfits and cool vibes??!???!? LOVE IT) but toward the end I started to get irritated that we had no idea what Baylan was really up to and I assumed we would find out in the finale. Haha NOPE!! The lack of resolution makes it an even bigger bummer that Ray Stevenson is gone and they’ll have to recast to continue. From a logistical standpoint it just seems so odd and unbalanced that the season started with them and then by the end they only merit a few seconds of silent check-in without ever clarifying their reason for being in the story in the first place. (Obviously I see they’re bringing Mortis into this somehow [completely unclear to non-cartoon viewers!!!], but. What ABOUT it???? SHOW YOUR WORK)

Seeing the World Between Worlds was cool and I enjoyed the resultant Ben Solo clowning. :) (I also was comforted by seeing people excited about that, because my initial gut reaction was to be ANXIOUS AS HELL about them using up things I want for Ben on other characters. Noooo you should be saving that for my boy!!!! Please don’t chip away at my delusional hopes for the future, I need those to survive!!!!!!!) But the more Anakin’s corpse gets dragged out and bandied about the less sense it makes that they didn’t bother to use him in the sequels. You know, the conclusion to the saga about his family. The place where it would have made the MOST sense to use him. Nah. Anakin Skywalker throughout his entire life and afterlife: “Fuck them kids.”

I do think it’s cute to see Clone Wars-era Anakin and I’m glad we’ve progressed to a time where people appreciate Hayden. But I am also personally in dangerous territory of being like “I’ve had enough of this dude.” Between this and Obi-Wan suddenly Anakin is all over the place… while being markedly absent from the part of the story that features his legacy dooming all of his descendants. I don’t wanna be a person who holds a grudge against a fictional character for choices made by the writers, but I do find myself feeling more like “piss off, ghost!” because of TROS. If you’re gonna be an absentee father then GET OUTTA HERE!

Too bad Marrok was a nothingburger and went out like a total punk, because he looked so much like a Star Wars version of Rinzler I was losing my mind. Tron AU 4ever

Huyang was great, David Tennant has an excellent droid voice. And of course I loved the talk about Kanan 😭 But I’m bummed that lightsaber construction—!!!!!! one of my personally monumental longtime wishes for live-action Star Wars!!!!!—got rushed out in such an anticlimactic way on a mediocre tv series. Sigh. Glossed right over it just to cram another lightsaber in there for some bad action scenes. I actually liked Ezra only using the Force and Sabine only using a lightsaber so they had like a tag team “two halves of one Jedi” thing going on.

The zombie stormtroopers and their loud undead moaning were so stupid. I believed what the internet was theorizing, that all those troopers were dead to begin with, but I guess not? (I was really expecting that reveal in the previous episode with the group that got wiped out in the outdoor battle.) They were scarier and cooler as quiet automatons. The Spirit Halloween shambling zombie garbage really ruined it.

I was pretty intrigued by the whole “other galaxy” premise and the ancient artifacts/magic. I love the Zeffo aesthetic, and I love the Nightsisters so seeing the Great Mothers was really cool. But Peridea was such a dull environment it wasn’t as awe-inspiring as it seemed like it should have been. I did like the giant monuments and whale bones, and the crab guys were cute, but otherwise… not a lot going on. I know the universe is a big place and most of it is more likely to be dead and empty than not, but also. It’s a fantasy. And I wanna see COOL ALIEN STUFF and WEIRD ENVIRONMENTS.

I enjoyed the duels between Sabine and Shin—the first one on Lothal was particularly cool because as it was happening it dawned on me that, holy shit, is this the first time we’ve ever seen a live-action lightsaber duel between two women?!?! And I had to scan my memory banks to be sure. Sometimes… you spend so long in a dude-centric universe and become so desensitized to it… you can’t even tell when you’ve reached the light. 🤧 So anyway that was fun!! They also had some real copycat Reylo moments that made me laugh. (Shin threw Sabine into a tree!!!!1!1!)

The Purrgil were nice. :) I also liked that the Peridea boneyard had some brief glimpses of SPACE SHRIMP?? I did wonder as we were getting such an up-close look at Purrgil baleen if they actually ate space krill, and welp, I guess so. Just some regular whales in space. Star Wars was jealous that everybody’s favorite Star Trek is the one with the whales.

The “bokken Jedi” phrase Baylan introduced here is interesting to me because it’s nice to have something to describe a concept that I LOVE: the late-stage kids informally trained in the wild who have no idea what they’re doing. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed thinking about in terms of the sequels (see: one of my old meta observations that I’m most proud of!). The one thing I don’t love about it is more just straight-up copying Japanese words and concepts—just because Star Wars started that way doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it. :/

One unequivocally good thing I will say about this series is that I LOVED the music. The end credits in particular were awesome, I watched that all the way through every time.

The only things the finale left me looking forward to were Dathomir and whatever the fuck weird Force mythology they’re gonna get into, but I’m not exactly holding my breath about any of it. It’s not like they can make any sort of seismic shift since obviously the sequels still happen. ……Unless they break the Force so hard that they go full alternate universe………….. or they break it several years down the road right when Rey is born and actually cause the dyad to form… oh god

#star wars #ahsoka #sw meta #i don't have any other outlet for my star wars opinions anymore so i periodically just have to ramble about it at excessive length #i can only bottle up so much #i have the soul of a livejournaler but i've trapped myself in the body of a silent reblogger

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