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nellasbookplanet · 8 months ago

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Book recs: Queer science fiction, part 2

There is a lot of queer sf out there, and I read a lot of sf. When I started working on this list, I quickly realized it was impossible to include all that I’ve read and enjoyed in one single rec post. Thus, this is my second queer sci-fi book rec post. For queer sci-fi part 1, click here!

A note: queer here does not necessarily mean “guarantee of an f/f or m/m ship with a happy ending”, but rather simply a significant presence of queerness. Some of the books feature no romance but has a same gender attracted/trans/a-spectrum lead, or features an m/f relationship with bisexual, trans or aro/ace characters, or simply features a world-building which is heavily queer inclusive in ways that don’t always compare to our own ideas of sexuality and gender. I have however disqualified works where the only queer presence is along the lines of “gay best friend”, word of god, and a blink and you’ll miss it confirmation that never comes up again.

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone

Vivian Liao is a highly successful innovator, but she may have bitten off more than she can chew and fears the government may be coming for her. As she goes into hiding, she attempts to pull off one last stunt that could fix everything - but something goes wrong, and suddenly Vivian finds herself waking up in the far future, under attack by an army of robots in space. Hoping to find her way back home, Vivian must assemble a crew of dangerous outlaws to help her hunt down the Empress of Forever, the all-powerful entity who pulled her into the future. Lesbian main character.

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older

Novella. On the outpost of a human colony by Jupiter, a man has gone missing. On the case to find him - and figure out why he disappeared in the first place - is enigmatic investigator Mossa. Her search leads her to the colony's university, and with it, her ex-girlfriend Pleiti, expert on Earth's pre-collapse ecosystem. Together they come to realize that the case is much larger than just a missing man, and could decide the outcome of humanity's very future. Sapphic.

My Heart is Human by Reese Hogan

Nine years ago, all complex technology was made illegal. This complicates life for Joel, young transgender single father, as a bionic just uploaded itself into his brain without consent. Scared of losing his daughter, Joel tries to keep the bionic secret while using it to fix his life, but things quickly get more complicated as the bionic gains more and more control of his body. A bit simplistic in writing style but makes a lot of cool parallels of bodily autonomy to Joel’s experiences as a transman. M/M romance.

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez*

A strange child lands on an isolated planet, scaring its inhabitants into handing him over into the hands of Nia Amani. As captain of a transport ship, Nia is not only the planet's only contact with the outside world, she is also a woman out of time, years compressing into months as she travels through space at high speeds. Now responsible for a child who doesn't speak and in a galaxy that wishes them ill, she must rethink exactly what she wants to do with her life, and what she's prepared to give up. Features multiple major queer characters.

The Abyss Surrounds Us (The Abyss Surrounds Us duology) by Emily Skrutskie

Young Adult. Tumblr classic back in the day! Cassandra Leung's family are keepers of sea monsters, genetically engineered and trained to protect ships from pirates. On her first solo mission, Cas finds herself kidnapped by pirates seeking to obtain their own monster. Now they need her help to train it. As Cas seeks to regain her freedom, she must also reckon with unfortunate growing feelings for one of the pirates keeping her under guard. Sapphic.

Ancestral Night (White space series) by Elizabeth Bear

Haimey Dz is part of a three-man salvage crew in space (one of the crew being the sentient spaceship himself). When the small crew comes across a derelict ship that proves the scene of a horrible crime, they must go on the run as they seek to uncover a conspiracy that involves both ancient secrets older than humanity itself, and Haimey's own hidden past. On their tail is a dangerous space pirate, convinced that Haimey is the key to it all. Lesbian main character.

Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch) by Ann Leckie*

A space opera in which sentient spaceships can walk the ground in stolen human bodies, so called ancillaries. One of these ancillaries, the sole survivor after the complete destruction of her ship and crew, is one the hunt for revenge against the most powerful woman in the empire. This series does very cool things with gender!

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

Five New Yorkers find themselves experiencing strangness as the city itself begins to wake up. They are its soul, its avatars and its protectors, and now they must keep it safe as it wakes as something alien and monstrous attempts to kill it before it's even fully alive. Mix of sci-fi, supernatural, and lovecraftian horror. Multiple pov characters of varying queer identities.

Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb series) by Tamsyn Muir*

Gideon, raised as a swordswoman by unfriendly nuns, would rather run away and make her own life, but her services are needed. The Reverend Daughter, Gideon's childhood nemesis, has been invited to a trial to win a place as an immortal by the Emperor's side, and she's in need of a bodyguard. Listen, if you’re on tumblr I probably don’t need to explain this book to you. Trust me when I say it’s exactly as good as people claim. Humorous and spooky but also absolutely gut wrenching and clever with a lot of political commentary. There are also, indeed, lesbian necromancers in space.

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe (Salvagers trilogy) by Alechia Dow

In a universe run on science and magic working hand in hand, Boots Elsworth makes a living selling fake treasure maps and Nilah Brio is a racer. When one of Boots' maps turns out to be more real than expected and Nilah has to go on the run after having been framed for a murder, the two find themselves on the same spaceship, working with Boots' old captain to find the rumored treasure and reveal the conspiracy its hiding before the people hunting them catch up. Features a main f/f relationship.

The Company of Death by Elisa Hansen*

A wild mix of genres, where a zombie apocalypse has struck and vampires gather up humans to keep their food source from going extinct, a robot travels across America with a young man she’s tasked to keep safe, and former-vampire-hunter-recent-zombie Emily teams up with Death himself to stop the apocalypse. Features bi and ace characters! Bonus rec: the author also runs the youtube channel Maven of the Eventide, where she talks about various vampire media. Check it out!

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Shizuka Satomi is a violin master who made a deal with a devil, and who must now save her soul by delivering the souls of her students in place of her own. Lan Tran is a mother and a refugee of an alien war, hiding on Earth with her children in a donut shop. Katrina Nguyen is a trangender runaway and violin player, in the need of a mentor. As their paths cross, their lives change forever. I would categorize this as cozy, however it does also deal with some pretty heavy themes.

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson*

Young adult. Young artist June Costa lives in Palmares Tres, a beautiful, matriarchal city relying heavily on tradition, one of which is the Summer King. The most recent Summer King is Enki, a bold boy and fellow artist. With him at her side, June seeks to finally find fame and recognition through her art, breaking through the generational divide of her home. But growing close to Enki is dangerous, because he, like all Summer Kings, is destined to die. While the main relationship is m/f, it features a worldbuilding where bisexuality is the norm, which is portrayed in its major characters.

The Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne

Nix Marr is a soldier and damned good at it, but that doesn't prepare her for her next mission: bodyguard for Subarch Kessandra, beloved royal and Nix's bitter ex, as she ventures into the underwater city of Fall to seek the cause of a bloody murder spree and a possible deadly contagion. But Kessandra has enemies, the answers she seeks marking her as a possible threat for the nation's rulers. On their way in an isolated and enclosed underwater ship toward Fall, the contagion catches up, and Nix will have to put her hurt feelings aside if the two are to arrive alive. Sci-fi with flavors of horror and the supernatural.

Adaptation (Adaptation duology) by Malinda Lo

Young adult. Strangeness is afoot: all over America, birds are hurling themselves against airplanes and causing crashes. As flights are canceled and travelers stranded, Reese and her debate partner and longtime crush David are forced to head home by car. Accident strikes, and the two wake in a military hospital with no memory of the last month. Returning home, strangeness follows the two, especially as Reese encounters the mysterious and beautiful Amber Gray, who may know more than she lets on. Features a bisexual love triangle.

Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz

Young adult. Fifteen-year-old Kivali, abandoned at birth and adopted by the nonconformist artist Sheila, has as a girl in boys clothes never fit in with the other kids. Sheila has always been supportive, until she one day sends Kivali off to CropCamp. While Kivali chafes at the strict rules of the camp, she also finds herself making friends, and maybe more, for the first time. Strange coming of age story, featuring exploration of gender and sexuality in a dystopian setting.

Isle of Broken Years by Jane Fletcher

Young spanish noblewoman Catalina thinks she’s done for when the ship she’s traveling on is attacked by pirates and she’s captured. Things gets worse when the entire crew is stranded on an inhospitable island where time works strangely, dangerous monsters terrorize the woods and something alien stops them from leaving. Strong Lost vibes. Lesbian romance. Admittedly quite indulgent but very fun and creative.

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) by Marta Wells*

After having hacked its own governor module, SecUnit uses its small amount of new freedom to secretly download and watch as much media as it can between doing its job guarding humans. But when the scientists it’s been charged with keeping safe come under attack, it must make a choice about whether to continue keeping its freedom secret or risk it all to save them. The series features both novellas and full length novels, and balances humor with scathing critique of capitalism. While it can be debated whether SecUnit counts as agender, asexual and aromantic, as it is a robot (I leave this up to individual judgmenet), however the series also has a diverse cast overall.

The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James*

Young adult. After the spread of a global virus causing infertility, teenagers Lowrie and Shen are now the youngest humans alive as the adults around them race to find a cure. As they investigate the ruins of the world, the two come across records from the past, of how grief stricken people turned to raising artificial children in apps and how these 'children’ developed, and through these records the two learn of their history. Bisexual main character.

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah*

In a near future America, inmates on death row or with life sentences in private prisons can choose to participate in death matches for entertainment. If they survive long enough - a rare case indeed - they regain their freedom. Among these prisoners are Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker, partners behind the scenes and close to the deadline of a possible release - if only they can survive for long enough. As the game continues to be stacked against them and protests mount outside, two women fight for love, freedom, and their own humanity. Chain-Gang All-Stars is bleak and unflinching as well as genuinely hopeful in its portrayal of a dark but all to real possible future. Sapphic.

The Disasters by M.K. England

A decade ago, the massive ship House of Wisdom was abandoned in orbit after its entire crew was killed in an outbreak in a matter of hours. Now, Zahra and her people hope to claim the ship as their own by kidnapping the sole survivor to gain access to its systems. But the danger of the House of Wisdom is far from gone. Horror, no major romance but has a major gay character.

Nax Hall may be a hotshot pilot, but that doesn't stop him from being expelled from the prestigious Ellis Station Academy in less than 24 hours. But as he's to be transported back to Earth alongside other failed students, the school is viciously attacked. Nax and the three other students only barely escape, and are left as the only witnesses - and the perfect scapegoats. Now they must go on the run together and find a way to clear their names. Bisexual main character.

Dust (Jacob's Ladder series) by Elizabeth Bear

In a dying spaceship, orbiting an equally dying sun, noblewoman Perceval waits for her own gruesome death. Having been captured by an opposing house, her wings severed and life forfeit, Perceval’s execution is imminent - until a young servant charged with her care proves to be Perceval’s long lost sister. To stop a war between houses likely to doom them all, the two flee together across a crumbling, dangerous spaceship. At its core waits Jacob Dust, god and angel, all that remains of what the ship once was. And he wants Perceval. Sapphic and asexual characters, however be prepared for kinda fucked up relationships.

Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings

Two ships have gotten stuck in a rift in space, isolated outside of time. One of them is the Jonah, a ship dodging a generations long war against an alien species, carrying a small crew of smugglers, an unintended passenger, and a hijacker. The other ship is the Gallion, which arrived from 150 years in the future carrying an alien ambassador - and whose crew is awestruck at meeting the heroes of the Jonah, known to have ended the war. As the two crews struggle to understand each other's timelines, they must also work together to leave the rift before they're stranded forever. Multiple queer characters, however the main romance plotlines are m/f.

One Last Stop by Casey McQiston*

Twenty-three-year-old August has a lot to deal with. She just moved to New York, got new job at a pancake diner, and acquired several slightly chaotic roommates. So what if she likes to flirt with the pretty girl on her subway commute? But Jane turns out to be more than just a charming stranger: she's lost in time, displaced from the 70s, and unable to leave the subway. Romance with a dash of timetravel sci-fi, One Last Stop is a delightful story of love and queer community.

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings*

In an alternate version of our present, the witch hunt never ended. Women are constantly watched and expected to marry young so their husbands can keep an eye on them. When she was fourteen, Josephine’s mother disappeared, leveling suspicions at both mother and daughter of possible witchcraft. Now, nearly a decade and a half later, Jo, in trying to finally accept her missing mother as dead, decides to follow up on a set of seemingly nonsensical instructions left in her will. Features a bisexual lead!

Salvation Day by Kali Wallace

A decade ago, the massive ship House of Wisdom was abandoned in orbit after its entire crew was killed in an outbreak in a matter of hours. Now, Zahra and her people hope to claim the ship as their own by kidnapping the sole survivor to gain access. But the danger of the House of Wisdom is far from gone. Horror, no major romance but has a major gay character.

Alien: Echo by Mira Grant

Young adult. Twin sisters Olivia and Viola's parents are both xenobiologists, bringing them all over the galaxy. Most recently they’ve settled on a new colony world to study its life, but it proves more dangerous than they could’ve ever imagined. Under attack from alien monsters, the sisters must keep each pther alive while also coming to terms with a dark family secret. Sapphic horror. Part of the Alien franchise but stands well on its own.

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sunderingstars · 3 months ago

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mundanite assembly

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what the stars reveal: interpretative analysis, theory crafting, elation!sampo and erudition!sampo, coining ma!sampo (short for mundanite assembly!sampo) as we speak, and printed!sampo too, small breakdown over windup world (iii), okay just hear me out, post-analysis clarity made me open my third eye for this one

word count: 10.8k

overview: a breakdown of all six mundanite assembly (unknowable domain) stories — “the great lie,” “those remembered,” “resleeved,” “dousing flames,” “printed truths,” and “windup world” — in the context of sampo koski’s potential backstory & identity.

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Introduction

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In terms of Sampo Koski as a character, I’m still not entirely confident that Mundanite Assembly (MA for short) applies to him. Although I detail a lot — and I mean a lot — of similarities between these stories and what we know about Sampo in this analysis, the truth is that his past is shrouded in so much mystery that it could have literally nothing to do with the Unknowable Domain.

That being said, I do hope I can put forward a solid thesis here: Mundanite Assembly may, in a chronological sense, provide information on Sampo Koski’s origins, identity, and backstory through the exploration of small moments in time across different, likely reincarnating, “copied,” or transferable, lives.

(Mundanite Assembly is a relatively new piece of evidence for Sampo theories, so I apologize if I miss any details or lore implications. I’m not too familiar with the Scholars’ Strife or the Second Emperor’s War, so feel free to let me know about any extra information I miss.

Also, a big shoutout to @/ricochetlovebombs and @/anothermtroubls for pointing me in the direction of Rubert and Rubert II!)

I will be referring to the second person “you” perspective of each story sometimes by who the protagonist is (a professor, a memory device, etc.) and sometimes by “Sampo” directly. This doesn’t mean I think the MA!Sampo theory is 100% true, only that using Sampo’s name gets my point across more clearly.

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General Observations

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— Chronology. The Great Lie ➜ Those Remembered ➜ Resleeved ➜ Dousing Flames ➜ Printed Truths ➜ Windup World. There are a few exceptions I’ll explain when we get to them, but this is the general chronology I see these stories taking (as it is the order they appear on screen).

— Chapters of Note. Resleeved (II) and (III), Printed Truths (I), and Windup World (III) are the most important parts for my understanding of Sampo as he relates to MA. Resleeved (II) and (III) deal with experimentation and creation themes, as well as “breaking,” abandonment, and Organic Heart, while Printed Truths (I) sheds some light on the “cell printing” process of copying individuals. Windup World (III), on the other hand, is likely Sampo’s first or near-first interaction with the Tavern, centering on Elation, being used as a puppet, cruel jokes, and the origin of some of Sampo’s current worldviews.

— General Themes and Events. The reason Mundanite Assembly comes across as a giant Sampo lore drop to me is because of the themes and events it includes. Here are a few:

— Focus on truth and lies; being “created,” brought into the world, and/or stolen; being abandoned, discarded, and “broken” multiple times; advanced awareness; inhumane and dehumanizing experiments; Organic Heart; rage, anger, and vengeance, sometimes carried out in full; technological and mechanical links to Curio Hacker; Nihility, Erudition, and Elation imagery; slow shift in worldview to accommodate Elation-aligned vocabulary; focus on money, wealth, and knowledge; entire sub-section about being a thief; explicit interaction with the Tavern, as well as being literally puppeted around for a cruel joke.

— Elation. While this analysis is a departure from my previous, solely Elation-focused theories, I do still believe the Elation has been a large part of Sampo’s life. Just because Mundanite Assembly focuses on a time where Sampo had more to do with the Erudition, it doesn’t mean that Elation isn’t important as well — in fact, there is a pretty strong shift from Erudition to Elation by the end of Windup World (III).

— The time gap after the Tavern is not detailed in MA, but likely includes most of his experiences with the Elation, including how he became so close with the Masked Fools and potentially an Elation Emanator himself.

— Existence. After looking at the stories individually and as a whole, I’ve come to think Sampo has a sort of “curse” on him, a byproduct of his existence that leads him to repeat equally painful and doomed narratives through paradox. While each story may be completely unrelated, they share uncanny similarities in violence, betrayal, and “breaking.” It makes me think, despite certain outside presences, that Sampo is trapped in a “loop” of inevitability, which would be what the Masked Fool is divining in Windup World (III). There is also the chance that he is the “copy” of someone else, like in Printed Truths (I).

— Perspective. While I want to believe each story’s “you” is talking about the same, repeating protagonist due to thematic throughlines and narrative similarities, there are likely multiple perspectives at play here. Resleeved and Windup World for sure feel like Sampo to me, as well as Those Remembered and certain parts of Printed Truths, but Dousing Flames especially seems “outside” the perspective of whoever Sampo is or will become. I will detail what I think the perspective of each section is when I get to them!

— Rubert. Rubert is an interesting case, mostly due to the fact he canonically has a successor — Rubert II — who inherited his memories. I do believe the original Rubert is dead, as per what is mentioned in-game, but Rubert II has a lot more mystery surrounding him. It’s entirely possible that the “copying” mentioned in Printed Truths (I) has to do with copying Rubert himself, and Sampo is the resulting clone. Also, who knows, there could even be a “Rubert III” out there that no one knows about! There are a few incongruences I’ll talk about when I get to each part, and it does mess with the perspective of things a bit, but it’s a theory worth considering.

— Cover Art. The Great Lie is red with a jellyfish hidden within, and is cracked. (Interestingly enough, this reminds me of the Enigmata, and since it links to Sampo’s breaking, it makes me think maybe the Enigmata is why he’s so confusing! Keyword: Lie.) Those Remembered is a locked box with a keyhole opening. (Perhaps meant to symbolize both the Memory Unit and opening of “Pandora’s Box,” so to speak. Key word for “copying” memories: Remembered.) Resleeved features blue — a very notable color — leaves encasing metal insides. (Reminds me of Organic Heart, points towards a new form or “outward appearance” masking the circuitry underneath. Keyword for “reforging” or new forms: Resleeved.)

— Cover Art (Cont.). Dousing Flames looks like a miniature galaxy. (Representative of the discussions of quantum mechanics and theory, as well as the almost vast, unexplainable nature of Sampo’s potential copying and reincarnation. Keyword for hatred, fire feather on day five of the shop event, or the fire in “Cloud of Doubt”: Flames.) Printed Truths is a round puzzle with the last piece fitting into place. (Indicative of the “puzzle” of copying higher existence, as well as Sampo likely trying to gain knowledge about himself and the universe as well. Keyword for money: Printed.) Lastly, Windup World features a clock with its hands and time slots in oddly-sized and placed positions. (Similar to the strange way time and life seems to distort around Sampo, as well as the Masked Fool talking about divining his “future.” Keyword for doll or puppet status: Windup.)

— Repeating Lives. This is a tricky one, because not much of Sampo’s character implies the sort of “life cycles” I end up talking about here — it’s pretty new territory as far as Sampo theories are concerned. However, this lack of hinting could make sense if Sampo himself is confused or unaware about it; especially if, perhaps, this is a byproduct of his existence that is doomed to repeat over and over unbeknownst to him.

— In terms of what does make sense,though, repeating lives or some kind of “cycle” would explain why all MA stories have similar threads and themes despite occupying different times, characters, and biology, as well as why they all end in the same kind of breaking or misfortune. It also explains why the Masked Fool in Windup World (III) is so deliberately taunting about Sampo’s “future” and “divination.”

— There is also the possibility that he, as a memory storage device or “copied” being, is simply simulating or remembering these lives in his memory, with the memories originating from different sources before all finding their way to the same place — him.

— Personally, I believe the Masked Fool’s prophetic “joke” in Windup World (III) may be meant to simulate Sampo’s existence; a cycle doomed to repeat, the way he returns “unharmed” to his seat after delivering what should’ve been a killing blow, and the “nihilistic” nature of not truly having a choice in any of it. The only question is if he remembers all the lives he’s lived or not. (*Cough* Whatever the AetherTurbo Bookmark from the Shop Event symbolizes may be helping him retrieve these memories, likely given to him by the Elation. *cough*)

— If I could sum up all of this, every iteration, every cycle, as one word, it would be: misfortune.

Now, let’s get into the specifics of each part! (I will be formatting them as a bulleted list with some extra explanations.)

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The Great Lie

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“The Great Lie” focuses on a professor who, after their students and school turn on them believing Synesthesia Beacons and general knowledge to be evil, finds themself shuttled through a series of academic conflicts that result in an unemployed, broken, and lonely life begging outside the gates of their former workplace. (Notably, this mental brokenness includes repeating the lines “I am a liar” over and over again.)

— The first paragraph mentions the “Enigmata,” which is an interesting choice if we’re viewing MA as chronological and even cyclical. Even more interesting is that it isn’t mentioned again after The Great Lie, becoming too obscured by other forces like Erudition and Elation.

— Takes place at Palonglek University. “You” can be assumed to be a professor there teaching Basic Aeonic Theory.

— Introduces a core discussion about the Synesthesia Beacon, and how “original knowledge” often cannot be accessed, instead being found through the filter of the Beacon.

— “The only thing there was no room for, was knowledge.”

— Starts “in the cold darkness,” a running theme with a few of these sub-sections. This may be able to be interpreted as how Sampo’s life always begins — in a cold or dark place.

— School of Relative Cognition; very Erudition-coded.

— The professor — “you” — stands strong in their use of the Synesthesia Beacon, even when being threatened with dismissal. In the end, they give over their copper ring, either willingly or by force depending on what dialogue is chosen. They are replaced immediately after.

— Despite the “Erudition” front of the school, it seems to be veering into the Enigmata more than anything else, talking about how the Synesthesia Beacon is “evil” and implying the glorification of knowledge is dangerous.

— Some running themes to note: cold darkness, Erudition, Synesthesia Beacons, lack of choice (all options leading to the same outcome), and being abandoned, discarded, or replaced.

— This new situation of dismissal is compared to “a precious flower being uprooted from a greenhouse.”

— The theme of discarding and abandonment continues: the government halts their educational stipend, students cut off contact, and their family leaves.

— Now “you are all alone, forced to become an elementary school math teacher in a small town to survive.” This seems to mirror how Sampo, the lonely character that he is, finds himself in Belobog, a relatively small planet occupying a relatively specific niche.

— Arguments start up among students again, this time over simple, easy information. “You” lose your job once again, and even though there are two choices — write a letter of complaint or accept the fate silently — they both lead to the same end. Nothing changes.

— “Fools” are mentioned in both dialogue options: “Even an ant has a more objective view of reality than this army of fools.” Foreshadowing, perhaps?

— Interestingly enough, even though the immediate situation doesn’t change, the movement of Relative Cognition eventually wanes, but not without leaving its scars. The former professor, now unemployed, without a family, and potentially homeless, is found begging outside the Academy, repeating two significant lines.

— “Aeons are a lie. I am a liar, I am a liar…”

— By the end, the protagonist is not only broken materially and mentally, but spiritually.

— The repetition of lying and “I am a liar” is interesting, as Sampo is often referred to as a “liar,” if not by implication then by occurrences like Ship of Fools that position him outright as “a liar with negative credit.”

Conclusions:

— I am not sure where this fits chronologically — although I am tempted to say it is at the “beginning” of MA since it’s the first one on the screen, “Those Remembered” does seem like a more solid origin to me; of course, it could all be part of the cycle, and perhaps “The Great Lie” really is the first glimpse we see of a repeating “life” since things tend to be reset so often.

— Despite where and when it may fall, this chapter introduces several running themes, especially the cyclical nature of conflict, the illusion of “choice,” and most importantly, being abandoned, discarded, or broken.

— “I am a liar” definitely sticks out to me as well!

— I’m not sure where Rubert fits in here, as this professor seems to carry the same thematic “cycle” as the rest of the stories, but without any solid evidence as to being Rubert. It definitely seems to be the odd one out here, but maybe I’m missing something.

— Thus begins what I posit is Sampo’s repeating “life cycle”: cold darkness to awareness, the seeking or teaching of knowledge, separate “choices” made under the illusion of free will, and a series of conflicts or misfortunes that lead to being abandoned, discarded, or “broken” — either metaphorically or quite literally being killed. (In this case, it is the situational “brokenness” of the former professor’s material, spiritual, and psychological situation.)

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Those Remembered

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“Those Remembered” sees a T500 Quantum Memory Device buried and forgotten by the Candelographos in an attempt to save it from being destroyed by the History Fictionologists (affiliated with the Enigmata). In its time deep below the earth, it runs through the entire history of civilization, becoming extremely empathetic towards “humanity” and “civilization.” It is excited to be rediscovered.

— “Your race believes in a legend, that all things are born from chaos.” Reminds me of the Elation, the idea of “chaos” and “creation” having significant overlap!

— Nous is explicitly mentioned, creating this cycle’s link to Erudition.

— “You have waited endlessly in the chaos” — another point for the Elation.

— Once again, we begin in darkness. “Creation” is also present.

— The protagonist assumes the woman who appears is Nous, but she is later identified as Xiaoya, a scribe and student of a teacher who is also present.

— We are also given an explicit statement of identity for this protagonist; they are a “machine,” specifically a T500 Quantum Memory Device.

— Note: I am a bit unclear on the talk of Scepters here. I’m inclined to say the device is implied to be a Scepter, but the way things are worded is a bit weird, so it might not be one after all.

— “It is a life without love…” Although this is talking about the Candelagraphos, I do find the emotion of it interesting. In a way, it could also be applied to machines, to the stereotypes even in HSR’s present day that mechanical beings (like Intellitrons) are cold and unfeeling.

— The perspective warps when the memory device takes in its reflection: it becomes more distant. It’s not that it looks at itself and says “You are a square machine,” but rather that “You see a square machine,” almost as if having difficulty processing its identity as “not a person.”

— This is further supported by the “sudden realization” of identity, with one dialogue option even being to say it’s “A person that looks like a memory storage device.” If you pick that option, the Simulated Universe says it is incorrect.

— Either way, devoid of choice or free will, the machine is a machine, the “most powerful memory storage device to exist to date.” It can record all information on the planet.

— The setting for the first part is specified: The Candelographos research institute on Freya. Our protagonist has been sorting documents for ten years, before Xiaoya and her teacher ran away with it.

— “Your footsteps” is an intriguing phrase. It may be referring to the “group,” which includes Xiaoya and her teacher who are human, but the perspective means it could also be the device’s understanding of itself — still unwilling to believe it is purely a machine despite having no feet to walk on.

— Searching and running away are depicted as similar actions.

— Xiaoya and her teacher plan to bury T500 due to an ongoing hunt by the History Fictionologists; since the device can store all of the planet’s history, they want it to survive.

— “Plus, it’s the only one that exists.” Points to being “one-of-a-kind” (hehe, shop event reference!) and the uniqueness of a mechanical wonder or wonder of creation.

— “Having dug out a crater deeper than the height of a man.” Hmmmm. Makes me think some details are being talked around, so to speak. Footsteps, a human-height hole; despite the “smallness” of the original device, it almost seems as if it has some kind of human form now. It’s not explicitly mentioned, but the implications might just be there.

— Despite whatever dialogue you choose — “Bye” or “I don’t want to leave you” — they leave anyways. There is no choice in the matter, only fate, only inevitability. Once again, the protagonist is abandoned deep in the darkness, waiting and waiting and waiting for a reunion that will never come.

— Starting off in the dark again! (Although it is still a continuation of this “life”.)

— The memory device, spurred by a desire to understand a remark made in the last part, begins to pour over civilizational records, spending ten Amber Eras slowly learning the entire history of the planet, from stone tablets to the rise and fall of entire civilizations.

— Eventually, it reaches the names of Xiaoya and her teacher, realizing that they are long dead and only their names remain.

— “Humanity” and “civilization” are the answers to the question, and the device begins to harbor a deep compassion for them.

— (Note: “fools” is once again mentioned near the end.)

— Naïve excitement at the prospect of becoming known to the universe again.

Conclusions:

— The cycle starts anew: darkness, the illusion of choice, being abandoned. This time, it is advantageous, as the memory device is able to learn and develop compassion for humanity. (Perhaps this is where Sampo’s love for humanity comes from.)

— Due to the time spent underground, I feel like the next story, Resleeved, may be a continuation where the device is “found.” Or, it may be another cycle of life. There are no specific years or times given, so these events could be extremely far apart or incredibly close together. Who knows.

— I am not too familiar with the Scepters as a whole, but from what I can find on the wiki, the context seems to track as a chronological interpretation of MA!Sampo. (I’m still not sure about The Great Lie? Unless it is a prologue or takes place after Those Remembered in time.)

— Here, we see a device be “unboxed” during the time of the Scepters, then sealed deep underground to avoid destruction. As such, instead of being caught up in the conflicts of the time, it is given space to develop empathy, kindness, and enlightenment. I think it would be cool if Sampo is a Scepter (it would explain some of his powers and strange qualities), but the wording in the text is still unclear to me.

— Either way, there’s a large chunk of time where the device is able to sit and develop advanced awareness, much like in the “Ace Trash Digger” occurrence.

— Perhaps this is one of many “lives,” or just an advancing, singular consciousness that goes through a lot. It is also possible that these different events and stories could be simulated existences, things that are a part of Sampo yet aren’t. At the end of the day, my main point is that it’s all cyclical. (Even… Ouroboros in nature… (Sampo outfit and snake reference!))

— As for Rubert, I think this fits in as the “computer dumped in a trash pile” that became self-aware and, eventually, Rubert. Its memory storage very much matches the kind of intelligence that would interest Nous, although the “emotion” of everything doesn’t track. As far as what I’m interpreting, it seems the memory device grew fond for humanity — and by extension, organic life — committing itself to sharing the history of civilization with others. That doesn’t track with Rubert’s motive behind the Mechanical Emperor’s War; in fact, it almost seems to be the opposite. Still, I can’t ignore the thematic similarities. Maybe something happened along the way that drastically changed Rubert’s worldview.

.✦ ── ✦.

Resleeved

.✦ ── ✦.

“Resleeved” documents a thought-consciousness experiment carried out on an unknown participant wherein the subject is assimilated into different species’ biology. After being “broken” beyond repair due to the nature of the experiments, they are discarded, only to be met with yet another experiment — this time a transplant of Organic Heart — that also ends in failure. They presumably die after being shot through the chest.

— This is one of those exceptions where I don’t think the perspective is Sampo’s; instead, it seems to come from an outside storekeeper that has a conversation with (most likely) the doctor that carries out the experiments in Resleeved II and III.

— “… truth lies…” Cool way to include opposites in a grammatically correct sentence!

— “Fool” mention again. (This is getting to be a lot — I think this is the third time?)

— A scent compared to an “empty, lifeless ocean” is similar to darkness or the cold.

— Heavy themes of experimentation on a cosmic level.

— “How could there ever be truth born from foolishness?” Truth and fools once again.

— The idea of knowledge and wisdom being a “curse.”

— “An equivalent exchange cannot be reversed” also feels potentially pertinent to whatever Sampo has going on with Aha / the Elation.

— School of Evolutionary Perfection links to the perfectionism in The *Perfect* Grand Challenge.

— Generally, it seems that this doctor orchestrated a biological contamination outbreak that resulted in the conditions needed to have access to experimental patients.

— “127th awakening” implies a cyclical nature, potentially the ability to traverse different forms or lives.

— “A new character awaits every time you awake~” feels like it might be meant to represent Sampo’s situation — there are certainly many different situations at play in these stories, yet so many of them seem to carry the same cycle of darkness, experimentation, brokenness, and abandonment. These thematic elements would make sense if, similar to what this doctor is implying, Sampo has the ability to “reset” or occupy different lives in succession. In this way, the cycle would be inescapable, an ouroboros of tragedy he is forced to experience over and over no matter how many times he becomes someone “new.” (Also, this line is repeated several times, giving it some extra weight.)

— The experiment’s name is F0078. This could go back to the idea of Sampo having multiple names; it’s possible that, if Sampo isn’t one of the townspeople from part one, the memory device from Those Remembered was found by some… unsavory people.

— “Scholar, I am so cold” links to darkness and the cold.

— “I can take your thoughts from this experiment to use as the wick for the flames. Next time, I will be able to insert you into the Imperial Fragment.” I feel like this might shed some light on Sampo’s situation. There’s a good chance he personally hasn’t gone through all of these events himself, but rather remembers them as the result of thought combination or “copying.” Similar to the AetherTurbo Bookmark from his shop event, it gives the feeling of having done something without actually doing it. In truth, he might be an amalgamation of all these different perspectives having been used (or fused) into one, compact form.

— The next parts are blanked out, and I find this a little suspicious. It’s simulating the now-broken nature of the experiment — how they cannot process language properly anymore — but that also means we the reader do not get to see what “target species” they have turned into or what the results of the experiment were. If anything, this could be the cloning of Rubert, or even how Sampo got his humanoid form.

— “Endless silence” and darkness.

— “It is as if you have operated for ___ Amber Eras and been once again deleted by every ___.” Again, the blank spots are noticeable here. How many Amber Eras? If it’s ten, that would track with the “ten Amber Eras” the memory device spent processing in Those Remembered. “Once again deleted” could also refer to Rubert’s demise.

— Fortune versus tragedy — in the end, neither matter, because the ending is the same.

— “In the world of ___, emotions and judgments of value are merely absurd.” (The blank here could be Nous, or it could not.) This may also explain the difference between the “compassion” of the device in Those Remembered versus the emotional distance of Rubert and Rubert II. If, somehow, the memory device was the one cloned into Rubert II, then inheriting those memories may have been enough for a drastic emotional shift towards pure logic.

— (While it is possible this experiment is a townsperson, the cover art of Resleeved very much focuses on machinery being covered by an “organic” something, so I am leaning towards the memory device interpretation.)

— “Thought conduit ruptured” makes me think of the memory device too, as I don’t see the doctor wording it in this way if the subject was organic!

— “No longer fit for use” and “I suggest abandoning ___ and destroying all samples of this experimental batch if necessary” links to themes of abandonment, discarding, and brokenness. (Also, interesting how the name is blanked out. Wonder what it could be?)

— The mentions of time, space, and the strange limbo of shattered thought remind me of the Nihility, especially the “Liquid Flame in Void” Curio from the shop event talking about the abyss.

— Overall, in terms of Sampo, I see this as being one of the major experiments that turned him into who he is today; likely the “resleeving” of mechanical parts into an organic form. Whether this has anything to do with Rubert or not is up for interpretation. (Meaning, this “form” could have been how Rubert II inherited Rubert’s memories, or it could be a separate entity entirely.)

— The crying family and strange visitors that the protagonist doesn’t recognize could be the results of the experiment. If Sampo, potentially starting as the memory device, was combined with many different forms or consciousnesses, it’s possible the body he ended up with had a family — or even one of the merged consciousnesses could have one. This could explain why the family is there, but also why there’s no recognition to be had.

— However, “the little blood you have remaining still burns in your heart” feels more organic, but that could also be because he now has an organic form as a result of the experiments.

— Now that I think about it, Those Remembered’s memory device could have been Rubert, while Resleeved could have been a human or other townsperson being combined with said memory device, with the combination resulting in Sampo as Rubert II. 🤔

— “Death is my inevitable fate” seems very cycle-oriented to me, like no matter how many times a loop is repeated, it will always end the same.

— “My longing to survive still burns strong” may also point towards how, despite inevitability, Sampo will always try to keep going (i.e. rewards and costs and deals to survive).

— “A little cardiac burning is not sufficient to halt your progress towards evolutionary perfection” also points towards the mechanical merged with the organic, as if the subject was previously a machine (and one preoccupied with “perfection,” which tracks with Rubert) but now finds themself in an organic form with “cardiac burning” — i.e. a heart.

—The fangs and rust-scented claws could point towards a borisin? I’m not sure how many other intelligent creatures we’ve met would match that description.

— Organic Heart (beating fruit) baby let’s go!!!!!

— For those that don’t know, Organic Heart is a Curio that the mysterious blue-haired entity offers us in the Curio Hacker occurrence; I’ve talked about it in my Simulated Universe Analysis, but Organic Heart here is basically a direct link to Sampo for me! (Which is why I’m quite sure, regardless of any perspectives beforehand, that Resleeved II and III’s perspective is Sampo’s.)

— After having the heart transplanted, the protagonist begins to recover, eventually feeling “too strong.” Plus their blood literally begins to boil, ouch!

— At first, I thought the “Mock Crimson Moon” reference may imply the subject’s new body is borisin, or at least affected in similar ways, but Mock Crimson Moon is actually a Weighted Curio in Divergent Universe that causes enemies to receive Fire DoT “Necrosis” after being attacked by Abundance characters. Due to the subject’s fits of madness under the moon, it is very much still possible there’s some borisin biology going on, but it’s also possible that “Mock Crimson Moon”s specific reference could be due to the blood boiling or the Necrosis of being used in experiments. I’m not entirely sure where to draw the line, but these are my thoughts!

— When the experiment, once again, is concluded to be a failure, the figure from the beginning shoots the subject through the chest. Death is implied.

— I’m not sure what the reference to the Intelligentsia Guild means either, it feels somewhat vague.

— Resleeved (III) may be meant to show a one-off experiment that really did die, but it seems strange that Organic Heart is present given that Sampo’s Curio Hacker occurrence has it too.

— Plus, the allusions to perfection, experimentation, and the melding of mechanical and organic very much line up with some of my Sampo theories.

— Who knows, maybe this was just another perspective added to the consciousness mashup that is Sampo Koski?

Conclusions:

— Heavy themes of perfection, experimentation, and being discarded remind me of Sampo.

— Additionally, the cycle repeats again: darkness, misfortune, abandonment, breaking.

— Resleeved (I) seems to be from an outside perspective, while (II) and (III) are likely the same subject.

— The subject’s disorientation in Resleeved (III) seems to imply that whatever happened in (II) messed with their consciousness so bad they can’t remember the people in the room with them — this may be because of the resulting thought combination between species.

— Many details are omitted at the end of (II), which may imply a connection with the memory device (potentially Rubert) from Those Remembered.

— If the subject really did die at the end of (III), in order for them to continue into the rest of Mundanite Assembly’s parts, they either didn’t really die, started another “cycle” or life, or were assimilated into the growing amalgamation of consciousness that is Sampo Koski.

— I also did want to note that Resleeved very much reminds me of the mythological Sampo, especially pertaining to creation, abandonment, and breaking.

.✦ ── ✦.

Dousing Flames

.✦ ── ✦.

In “Dousing Flames,” Scholar Cholkov and our protagonist are in proximity to the Perpetual Motion Project, which takes place during the Interstellar Energy War and, despite having promise on the outset, is eventually destroyed because it can’t keep up with the costs.

— The setting is Pier Point’s technological research and development department.

— “Research into the possibility of infinite energy sources” reminds me of quantum energy and the Ship of Fools occurrence, where the “broken mask” is mentioned to have made the Kuvida Nebula a dead zone after offering a solution for its energy problem.

— “Honesty just so happens to be a prerequisite for truth” reminds me a lot of the way Sampo handles truth and lies.

— “Another boring line that makes you yearn for sleep,” a little bit Elation-aligned.

— The perspective is of an engineer, specifically one that has made “innovations in the area of material engineering,” even developing a product based on an ultra nanocloth they invented. Someone selling products… sounds familiar.

— Also, the original purpose of the nanocloth was for advertisement printing, specifically to plaster billboards in the sky so people could look up to see them. Also sounds… very familiar……

— However, the product was never truly produced because the higher-ups said, and I quote, “The costs outweigh the benefits.” This may be where Sampo began to become preoccupied with risk and reward, cost and benefit. The sentiment very much mirrors his own in that regard.

— “Permanently solving an energy crisis” again reminds me of “Kuvida’s energy.”

— “It’s time to go to the canteen and recharge” is a specific combination of mechanical and organic, much like the previous experiments in Resleeved. “Canteen” implies drinking (something we know Sampo likes to do), an organic activity, while “recharge” is generally associated more with mechanical devices and electricity.

— The only thing is: I’m not sure how he got from point A (the end of Resleeved, being shot) and point B (here in Dousing Flames, working as an engineer). Perhaps that isn’t something we’re supposed to know yet, though, since all six of these Mundanite Assembly “chapters” are simply small blips in a potentially very long state of consciousness.

— The first paragraph is extremely Nihility-aligned, even reminding me directly of the Horizon of Existence with its monochrome color scheme, infinite expanse, and “boundary line.”

— Despite being clarified as the Technology Department’s “Perpetual Motion Project,” the resemblance is uncanny.

— A Scepter is mentioned, meaning these events are still taking place around when they would be active.

— “But, there shall come a day when the stars will be extinguished.” Very ominous and Finality-aligned!

— The Interstellar Energy War is mentioned, also placing it in proximity to Rubert; according to the wiki, this seems to be around the time right after Rubert’s death.

— You have two dialogue options here, either to express optimism or pessimism for the future of the technology. Notably, the pessimism option heavily features how the Intelligentsia Guild is only focused on profit, as most ideas are ruled “garbage inventions” and likely discarded.

— Already, we have themes of experimentation, abandonment, and, interestingly enough, profit thrown into the mix as well.

— Eventually, the Perpetual Motion Project is declared a failure, and the formerly constructed sails are destroyed since the plan wasn’t worth the costs.

— In this case, the protagonist is the one destroying the sails, although one dialogue option reads “They forced me.”

— In the end, Scholar Cholkov passes away, and the protagonist leaves a flower wrapped in their ultra nanocloth invention in front of his grave.

— Notably, both our perspective “you” and Cholkov are described to have grey hair and wrinkled faces, meaning they’ve both aged considerably. I’m not sure what to make of this; it’s possible that if Sampo is subject to repeating or resetting “life cycles,” then this would be just another one nearing its end, ready to start anew. However, other options are that this is simply another consciousness in the “soup,” a different perspective entirely, or a metaphor meant to show a similar cycle as it happens to a different individual.

— Either way, the focus on profit and “costs versus benefit” is not lost on me!

Conclusions:

— I really want to say I see connections to MA!Sampo here (especially since it takes place during the Interstellar Energy War and ties to him have been present in so many other parts of MA), but it really is possible that this is an entirely different perspective.

— There is, however, still quite a running theme of abandonment, destruction, and even some Nihility in here.

— If this does have something to do with Sampo, I can see his emphasis on profit and risk forming during this time!

— Overall, I don’t see any huge implications for his backstory, other than a potential reference to the “energy” mentioned in relation to the Kuvida Nebula in Ship of Fools.

.✦ ── ✦.

Printed Truths

.✦ ── ✦.

“Printed Truths” introduces the idea of a “printing” project, wherein individuals are copied or cloned into identical forms. When issues of Path power arise, a scholar sets out to find an Emanator to (assumedly) copy. Later, a thief eats a synthetic Curio apple and is sentenced to death. The school that housed the original project moves into a new era of working with the Council of Mundanites (or an association of bright minds).

— Printed Truths (I) is another exception where I feel the perspective is not directly related to Sampo; instead, it seems to come from an outside committee of scholars discussing (more like arguing) over a “printing” project.

— Essentially, this project is meant to “copy” the Path power and memories of specific individuals through cell printing. Most of this text is discussion over how Path powers may (or may not) carry over, mainly attempting to figure out how to get them to match up as they need to.

— Several solutions are proposed as to why this certain copy doesn’t have Path power, like “because the original is still present,” “the problem lies in their memories,” and “perhaps you need to deceive the Aeon.”

— This leads to talk of eliminating “the original,” getting the Garden of Recollection’s help, and even working with The Riddlers. (Keep in mind The Riddlers for later.)

— (Also, note: If I remember correctly, the original Rubert’s death has some mystery surrounding it, as there are a few different ideas as to what happened. Since this grey area seems to be present, perhaps these scholars really did find a way to “eliminate the original.” Just speculation!)

— Eventually, the project is terminated, but not without the scholar in charge of it having an epiphany and realizing she needs to find an Emanator (potentially to copy).

— This scholar does disappear at the end, leading me to wonder if she really did go on a search for that Emanator — perhaps she also found one, and perhaps Sampo is the resulting copy? (Since Rubert was part of the Genius Society, I would also assume he might have been an Emanator as well. 👀)

— This is for sure a Sampo perspective if there ever was one. With how Printed Truths (I) ended, I am tempted to say this might be him as a copy of someone else (likely an Emanator, potentially Rubert). Also, this is a bit of a crack theory, but I do find it really funny that Aha Themself might’ve let Themself be copied.

— Our protagonist is a thief breaking into the farm of a wealthy resident.

— “Bringing the moonlight with you” reminds me of the moon in Resleeved (III).

— Interestingly, fruit is present here, with the thief attempting to steal it and being forced to kill the old man holding it before the old man could fire his gun. The thief then eats it.

— Apparently, this fruit was a synthetic Curio, and when the thief is arrested, the court eventually decides to kill them because of all the research they destroyed in the process of eating it.

— The only way out would’ve been to prove some legitimate change occurred after ingesting the fruit, but the dialogue offers no such option.

— “My digestive system has run smoothly” reminds me of a machine “running” or “processing.”

— It also reminds me of Sampo mentioning how to complain about your dinner in the shop event, as “complaining” about the apple may have saved the thief’s life in this instance by producing worthwhile information.

— “… comically murdered by you.” Elation is beginning to seep in to these stories more and more.

— The time is implied to be around the Scholars’ Strife.

— The thief is then shot through the head, and synthetic Curio technology remains unavailable. I find this interesting because in Sampo’s pop-up event, we are literally helping him create synthetic Curios. A little irony, if you will.

— My main confusion is that, although the thief is not explicitly said to have died, getting shot in the head with a bullet sure implies it. Once again, I’m not sure how Point A connects to Point B. This has Sampo written all over it, yet the thief still dies at the end. The only explanation is that either Sampo has a way of coming back to life, “resetting,” or something similar.

— Or, perhaps since Organic Heart has been involved in all of these experiments (like in Resleeved and this section of Printed Truths), if it somehow found its way to Sampo maybe he got the memories of everyone involved. Just an idea!

— In this section, a young scholar named Chrystella attempts to get older scholars to listen to her thoughts on age, passion, knowledge, and “research pragmatism.”

— These dialogue options stick out to me: “The mysteries of infinite space-time?” “True ultimate intelligence?” “The engine of a perfect society?” I don’t have many deep thoughts, but I just wanted to point these out.

— She also mentions how the scholars once “chased Arblad out,” which means this is the same setting as Printed Truths (I) but at a later time. Presumably, the chronology goes in sequence: (I) shows Arblad discussing the printing project, (II) likely shows a resulting creation disrupting the Curio process, and (III) shows the School of Pure Creation moving into a “new era.”

— “Perhaps we do not need to completely drain this school of its blood. Maybe we just need a little transfusion.” Reminds me of Resleeved’s experiments, especially (III) when it specifically mentions blood. Might be a mirror to what happened in those experiments, “transfusion” of consciousness rather than complete draining, or maybe it’s nothing.

— The Council of Mundanites is also mentioned by name, which also links to the name of the entire Unknowable Domain section “Mundanite Assembly.” Essentially, the Council, and especially the name of Mundanite Assembly, is likely meant to convey the converging of the brightest minds in the Guild. On a larger scale, perhaps all six of these “chapters” are meant to represent the wonders of creation that occurred during this time period, complete with Rubert, the Scepters, and whatever or whoever Sampo ends up being.

Conclusions:

— Printed Truths (I) and (III) are likely outside perspectives of scholars in the School of Pure Creation, relating specifically to events surrounding “copying,” cell printing, and the creation of individuals who share the same physiological functions. I believe Printed Truths (II) to be the perspective of a resulting creation, perhaps the copy of an Emanator or even Aeon Arblad was able to make after she left in Printed Truths (I). With this perspective explicitly being a thief, as well as the “comical” aspects of the situation, I believe this perspective to be related to Sampo if not Sampo himself.

— The only thing that doesn’t make sense is the death at the end of Printed Truths (II), but I suppose that could be explained by Path, Emanator, or otherwise experimental power. It could also be explained by Organic Heart, which may have memory-storing or transferring properties.

— Printed Truths (II) also takes place at night (darkness), and through a series of ironic misfortunes leads to death or otherwise “breaking.”

— I am not sure how this all stacks up to the Sampo we know today, but I do think the similarities are there. (Again, large gaps of time and all.)

.✦ ── ✦.

Windup World

.✦ ── ✦.

“Windup World” chronicles a butterfly effect death that occurs during an attempt at revenge, where the protagonist is burned alive while watching and waiting to see what happens to their nemesis, then into a “paradox” of code during an experiment where a Scepter tries to predict the end of a miniature civilization. Eventually, a Masked Fool at the Tavern uses our protagonist for an “opening act,” making them divine their future as a wooden puppet in the palm of the Fool’s hand, then eventually “kill” themself in front of a live audience.

— This is where we get a bit “red-string-board”y, so buckle up!

— This is another perspective I see as being Sampo, and here is where I think things start to come together.

— First, my thesis: Despite all the deaths that occur throughout Mundanite Assembly, I believe the protagonist (Sampo, in this case), has memories of Resleeved, which causes him to enact revenge on the doctor who subjected him (or who he remembers to be him) to those experiments.

— This revenge could, in all actuality, be towards someone else or a random different plot point, but this is what I feel connects Mundanite Assembly’s different parts the best.

— As for the story itself, it details the protagonist approaching an old scholar (potentially one we’ve seen in another part) and asking for help with revenge.

— The old scholar refers to himself as a “relic of a past generation,” which implies he might be the older scholar from Dousing Flames (III) — in this case, Dousing Flames may not be Sampo’s perspective at all, but rather the one of the scholar he eventually comes to for revenge. Just speculation!

— However, the man is also implied to be… more than human, in a way? The butterfly effect is heavily referenced here (as it has stood in the background for most of these stories), and the man seems to know exactly what to do to help our protagonist start the fire that eventually engulfs both them and the target.

— “Expanding and contracting, taking in a releasing, like the wings of a butterfly or the spinning of a loom.” This doesn’t seem very “normal” to me, so it’s possible this old man is a special case or even someone with Path or Emanator power.

— “With faith, the removal of a single nail can topple an entire empire.” Very big implications, perhaps speaking from experience? I feel like it’s referencing Rubert’s empire, but not exactly from the perspective of Rubert himself.

— A crow is nestled on the windowsill; reminds me of the bird from Everlasting Hatred.

— “A perfect assassination” occurs, and through the butterfly effect the protagonist’s nemesis is burned alive, though not before the flames reach the protagonist and burn them alive too.

— Again, death occurs, but it still feels very… Sampo to me? So much of his character revolves around hidden hatred, betrayal, and implications of revenge that it seems strange to me that, if Sampo is involved in MA, this wouldn’t be at least tangentially related to him. Perhaps the old man really was him instead? Or again, if he can “reset,” perhaps he is just moving onto his next “life.”

— Once again with inevitability, as no matter what you do or what you choose, it all leads back to the butterfly effect, back to the flames and death.

— Interestingly enough, the “Cloud of Doubt” Clown’s Item shows a door burning, similar to the protagonist burning alive here.

— It also seems to say something about how this protagonist went so far to achieve revenge that it destroyed them too, much like Icarus flying too close to the sun.

— If this isn’t Sampo, I feel like it is at least a warning he should heed in the future.

— This part deals mainly with “predicting” the end of a miniature civilization (Sandpit Civilization 013) with the help of a Scepter.

— “You think that this so-called legacy is enough to filter clarity from chaos?” What is the legacy here? It reminds me a bit of “Rubert’s Legacy” that Rubert II inherited.

— “The trigger of this great war is the death of a governor’s concubine in the Second Empire, who drinks poison. The war ends 17 years later as it is proven that her cup was never poisoned. The source of the poisoning was a copper label that was inside the barrel that dyed the entire barrel’s content jade green.”

— This is a particularly notable quote because the dialogue options are either, “What an absurd story” or “It’s like looking in a mirror.” Assuming that our perspective here may yet again be Sampo (or someone directly related), we now know that something about this story is connected. In the protagonist’s eyes, this “fake poisoning” due to misdirection — or rather, false assumptions made based on appearance — is relatable to their own situation.

— For Sampo, I wonder if this means he has been mistaken for someone horrible before, despite the fact it’s all on the surface. Appearance-wise, this could be because he shares an appearance with Rubert or even Aha Themself, leading people to assume the worst of him despite the fact the majority of what he shares is in harmless appearance (or what he perceives to be so).

— It is also possible that this is meant to imply certain conflicts or wars were not always what they seemed, and who may have been deemed the “bad guy” may have only been based on false assumptions.

— Additionally, when the protagonist specifically attempts to use the Scepter to predict the future of Civilization 013, it malfunctions and extrapolates out into a “mess of code” that, if deciphered, would cause a “paradoxical loop.” Again, hear me out, but what if our protagonist (Sampo) is meant to be referenced by this code and “paradoxical loop.”

— I’m starting to think that maybe, as a result of the cloning process or something similar, he created a paradox within the universe simply by existing, causing him to loop over and over (potentially like Resleeved’s experiments, the thief’s death, and the “revenge” death). This could also explain the thematic commonalities of misfortune, butterfly effect, and breaking — no matter what he does, the paradox is inevitable.

— Things also go back to normal when the other person present, Prados, intervenes. Although he does things a bit differently and the gist is that there is some interference with the Scepter itself, it still interests me that the “paradox” exists for our protagonist only.

— “This is editing” also implies messing with the base function of the device itself. (A bit similar to “printing,” might I add.)

— The “answer” is also implied to be linked to Terminus, and yeah, I haven’t mentioned it much yet but the Finality is definitely at play throughout all these stories. It makes me wonder how it works into everything.

— The edited version is published, and Civilization 014 begins.

— I do want to note the numbers here; they could mean nothing, but it also makes me think of “loops.” Leaving out The Great Lie as a potential prologue, there are thirteen stories from Those Remembered (I) to Windup World (I). Windup World (III) is number fourteen. Again, it could be nothing, but it just makes me think of cycles, and stories, and how the paradox of 013 is ignored in favor of marching straight on to 014. Just something to think about!

— Finally, we have reached the main course! If I had to pick only one story I thought was directly from Sampo’s perspective, it would be Windup World (III) without a shadow of a doubt. Actually, when viewing it through the lens of MA!Sampo, it ties up things quite nicely (at least for Star Rail, who loves being cryptic).

— Generally, here is what I’m picking up: Masked Fools, World’s End Tavern specifically, potentially Sampo’s first time at the Tavern, being puppeted around for a joke, death and “breaking,” divination and predicting the future.

— We start off in what can reasonably be assumed as the World’s End Tavern, watching a Masked Fool introduce a new comedy. Given the “confusing and bewildering” qualities of their voice, as well as the confusion expressed by our protagonist throughout this section, I also believe it may be their first time here.

— The Fool also mentions they have retrieved “a lost period of The Riddlers’ history and edited it into a miniature comedy” for the Tavern’s entertainment. I find this intriguing because The Riddlers have been mentioned all throughout MA, especially in Those Remembered when the memory device was hidden from History Fictionologists.

— Additionally, Printed Truths (I) sees the team wonder about working with The Riddlers on the cell printing project; I wonder if that part actually ended up happening.

— “Lost period” of history also catches me, because it again reminds me of how the memory device and potential resulting copies seem to be left behind, discarded, or lost for large periods of time. “Edited” also goes back to the idea of cell editing and prediction editing.

— It almost makes me think Sampo is meant to be the subject of this; that, despite being the opening act, the comedy was always implicating him in a way. He was always the main attraction. Or, perhaps, he was simply meant to “open” for it in the way that period of time blossomed into its own “butterfly effect” of tangentially-related events like the rise of Nanook far beyond the original war.

— Dialogue options: “I want to glimpse the foul deeds to the Gods,” “I wish to admire the folly of a genius,” “I wish to taste the rage of an actor.” All of this seems to be present throughout MA, and I feel like it relies on general themes — wonders and unnatural experiments, genius taken too far, projects created and fought over and discarded, revenge and rage from hurt parties.

— (It is possible that when the masked man says, “your requests shall be no challenge,” the resulting actions are simply meant to be just that: a recreation of the general themes of Mundanite Assembly’s timeline. However, I feel things are rarely that simple with Star Rail, and much of the specific wording and implications of this scene are… a lot for Sampo, so I think it may be a double-meaning kind of situation. As Sampo loves to so often do, there’s a good chance that this scene is meant to be symbolic of something he maybe doesn’t even know about himself.)

— A beam of light puts him in the spotlight; the main attraction, if you will.

— “Shocked, you realize that you have been transformed into a wooden puppet in the palm of his hands.” Links to Sparkle’s light cone where Sampo is a puppet, as well as all of *gestures vaguely* everything Sampo has going on with Doll Theory. Simply put, he has many implications of lack of agency and being “puppeted” around, so this situation makes a lot of sense in that regard.

— “You are a scholar who firmly believes that the future is a code that can be calculated.” Beyond the general ties to the MA time period’s obsession with knowledge, this also connects to Curio Hacker and the pop-up shop’s day seven Curio with code in the background. This line may also be alluding to Sampo as someone who is or used to be someone with a similar mindset.

— “Why can it not be a drink glass or a star chart?” The drink glass is notable due to Sampo’s habit of liking to drink.

— The protagonist then goes from a “scholar” to a “babbling, eccentric diviner,” and the Fool mentions how it’s a little “heavy-handed” but better than that “old pedant.” Could be nothing, or heavy-handed could be a double reference to Sampo’s identity and old pedant could be a reference to Rubert or the other, specific scholars we’ve seen. In fact, it could even be a way of saying Sampo, as a copy or clone, may be “better” or more “fun” than the original.

— Here comes the big part.

— “Divine your own future,” the Fool says.

— In the context of the “joke,” this could be a shallow pretension, but it could also be an order. If this Fool possesses Aeonic, Emanator, or even Path power, they may have the ability to genuinely have someone see into their own future. Everything from here on out could, conceivably, be Sampo genuinely predicting his future.

— So, what is divined? Death, as always. The star chart says the protagonist will die in the Tavern in one minute, by their own hand.

— The Fool asks what our protagonist will do. The dialogue options are: “I will take my own life,” “I have to take my own life,” or “Why don’t I get a choice?”

— “You,” apparently, have been drawn into the trap of Finality. After strangling themself and exploding into a colorful burst of stars in front of everyone, the protagonist returns to their seat, unharmed.

— “Though a healer can heal themselves, a diviner cannot tell their own future. If our universe is but a great diviner, once they glance their own destiny, would they not simply end their own lives?”

— The Fool then introduces “The Decline of Quantum History.”

— Man, that’s a lot! In terms of Sampo, if we are interpreting this as a potential, true divination of his own future, here is what I think this is saying: he is trapped in a cyclical loop — or “paradox” — of misfortune, death, and “breaking.” He does not have a choice in this. Despite, for the first time in MA, actually asking in awareness, “Why don’t I have a choice?” there is still no choice to be had. He hurts himself, simply by means of existing. It is visceral, and inescapable. He may have the ability to “reset” or “heal,” but telling his own future is a different ballpark, and knowing — truly knowing — the extent of his repeating fate would cause nothing but depression and despair. His end will likely happen due to his own “butterfly effect” decisions.

— It is also possible that, if Sampo really has nothing to do with this, he is instead the Masked Fool playing the joke, although there is no way to know for sure.

— I am still leaning towards our perspective as Sampo, though, if not just because of the being turned into a literal wooden puppet.

— Perhaps this puppet is itself a symbol of prophecy, as Doll!Sampo could still be a very real thing in the (potentially large) time gap between Windup World (III) and present day. In that case, Sampo being turned into a doll (or doll equivalent) by Aha could be similar to him being “stolen” or even “reset.”

— Overall, yeah, there’s a lot to be had here! Also, I just want to say how fucked up that joke was. It makes me think Sampo’s view of treating everyone with dignity and looking sideways at the Fools may have to do with this event, or something close to it. After all, if he was used for a joke like this — literally made to kill himself (approximately) for the entertainment of others — I feel that would shift his views quite a bit. (Though, we still don’t know how he felt after: Traumatized? Angry? Elated? Free? Maybe all at once. Sure makes for a compelling soup of emotions to convince him to keep coming back to the Tavern.)

Conclusions:

— Windup World (III) may be Sampo’s first time at the Tavern, being puppeted around for a joke having, potentially, to do with his identity or previous identities intertwined with the events of Mundanite Assembly as a whole.

— The “joke” itself may even have a double, prophetic meaning for a cycle he finds himself trapped in or actions he will take in the future, such as being treated as a toy or dying by his own hand.

.✦ ── ✦.

Extra

.✦ ── ✦.

— “Pusuit’s End” is what you get after completing all of Mundanite Asembly. It’s a key, and can be used to increase heat in the Workbench of Creation. Personally, I think it could refer to several different things (like Polka Kakamond or other members of the Intelligentsia Guild / Erudition), but if we’re talking about what’s most relevant to MA, I have a feeling it could reference Arblad’s “printing” experiment.

— “The infinite layers of nutshells encase the ruler of the universe, yet even so, she continues to turn the key, opening the next door indefinitely.” This sounds similar to Arblad’s determination to copy Path power in Printed Truths (I). “Pursuit’s End” may hint at her finding a way to achieve what she wanted, and increasing the heat at the Workbench of Creation could further strengthen the connection between this item and “creation.”

— In the case of Arblad, Sampo might have been this “creation” that finally achieved what she wanted — or, simply one in a long line of attempts.

— “Imperfect Scholar” is the achievement you get for completing Mundanite Assembly. I think it moreso deals with the general themes of the era, but “imperfect” also reminds me of The *Perfect* Grand Challenge’s focus on perfection!

— Just wanted to make a note of this!

.✦ ── ✦.

Conclusion

.✦ ── ✦.

Overall, what do I take away from all this?

— Perspective. I believe, at the least, Windup World (III) is from Sampo’s perspective. If we’re going with a “copying” or printing theory beyond that, I would say Those Remembered, Resleeved (II) and (III), Printed Truths (II), and Windup World (I) are his perspective. This would account for the memory device’s (potentially Rubert, an Emanator Sampo could have been copied from) experiences, as well as the experiments with species changing and Organic Heart’s transplantation, the thief’s consumption of (assumedly) Organic Heart and their eventual death, and the butterfly effect “revenge” death of being burned alive. Windup World (III) would bring things together into a more present-day situation, where Sampo may or may not have these spliced memories.

— I am also inclined to believe Windup World (II) could be his perspective because of the paradox code.

— This means The Great Lie (which I am still not 100% sure on), Resleeved (I), Dousing Flames, and Printed Truths (I) and (III) are outside, non-Sampo-related perspectives taking place as context for the events of the experiments going on at the time. Arblad especially is notable, since she presumably left to find an Emanator to copy.

— Timeline. If we are going with the most robust theory for MA!Sampo, I would say that he, in this form now, was created in between Printed Truths (I) and (II) when Arblad likely found someone to copy. If this someone was Rubert, then Sampo — again, Printed Truths (II) — would have the memories of Those Remembered and Resleeved (II) and (III). Going forward, he would die after eating the apple, but, perhaps due to some kind of paradoxical existence, find himself back in the loop of consciousness for Windup World (I). He would be burned alive, then returned for either Windup World (II) or Windup World (III), depending on how much (II) might actually apply to him. Then, Windup World (III) would be his first time at the Tavern. In the time after, he likely became more familiar with the Fools, leaving room for Elation-centered events like gaining his mask, becoming an Emanator, or even potentially being turned into or treated as a doll by Aha.

— Themes. Generally, MA sets up Sampo with a horribly tragic cycle of mistreatment. Abandonment, loneliness, hopelessness, darkness, dehumanization, death, and “breaking.” It’s all there. The worst part is he can’t even seem to escape it, much less understand it. The butterfly effect prevents him from finding a different path to take, inevitability chains him down, and the loop of it all makes sure it happens over and over and over again. No wonder that Fool remarks how the universe would kill itself if it knew its own future. If MA!Sampo, Printed!Sampo, or Rubert!Sampo (RubertII!Sampo? RII!Sampo? R.II!Sampo? What’s a good name for this? LOL.) ends up being true, then his story is incredibly bleak. His future is incredibly bleak. Perhaps that’s why he’s with the Elation — potentially with Aha Themself. He just wants to find a way out.

— Thanks for reading this far, I hope this made more sense than my Pop-Up Shop Analysis (I felt like I had a clearer head writing this)! Hopefully it’s also been able to put some things in perspective. I’m not completely sold on this (or any) theory because of how much wiggle room there is, but I feel like it could at least be a solid one to add to the more popular theories! Anyways, I’ll leave you with some key questions to think about!

.✦ ── ✦.

Key Questions

.✦ ── ✦.

— Who is Sampo? Is he a cell printed copy of an Emanator or Aeon (potentially Rubert or Aha)? Is he a mesh of mechanical and organic creation, doomed to repeat loops of misfortune due to the paradox of his existence? Is he an experiment gone wrong?

— How does Sampo’s “consciousness” work? Has he inherited the memories of past experiments or copies? Does he have partial or full amnesia?

— Which parts of Mundanite Assembly might be memories Sampo has? Those Remembered? Resleeved (II) and (III)? Printed Truths (II)? Windup World? If so, which might be memories simply “copied” over, and which are memories he himself has experienced?

— Are the Masked Fools helping or hurting him? (Or, perhaps both?) Are they helping him free himself and release the bottled up despair of being trapped in a horrible loop? Or are they leading him further into a cycle of self-harm that can only end horribly?

— What might have happened “in between gaps” of time, especially after Windup World (III)? Was he noticed by Aha afterwards? Has he since become a “doll,” or even been stolen?

— How does the Finality play into things? It’s mentioned quite a bit in MA, but how does it slot in with the Erudition, Elation, or even Sampo’s specific situation?

— thanks for reading to the end !! :)

— an extra meme i couldn’t fit in this post!

#⌞ ✎ sunder.writes ⌝#⌞ 🎭 ⌝#hsr #honkai: star rail #sampo #sampo koski #sampo hsr #hsr sampo #sampo honkai star rail #hsr analysis #hsr theory #honkai star rail

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redbeardace · 8 months ago

Note

I love the enormous flags you made! (The flag forest is also very cool)

I am curious which ones you have made, so far I've seen ace, aro, trans and aroace

For the ginormous flags, the 20 foot x 12 foot (6m x 4m) ones, I have ace, aro, rainbow, and trans, with the panels to make a non-binary one that I just haven't found the energy to assemble yet. I don't have an aroace one that size.

But then there are the really big flags, which are only 10x6. I have most of the major flags in that size, including aroace. Those are easier to get because they don't require any assembly. The ginormous flags are actually four panels of this size that have been fabric taped together.

(Fun fact: A lot of the real pride flags in the Tumblr GIF selector are mine, so that's one way to tell which flags I have...)

#pride month #pride flags

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supernovaae · 2 years ago

Text

Yandere! Yamato x G/N! Reader Headcanons

-.'✰'.- [a/n]: This is my first piece of fanfic content ever made (and posted). I hope it you guys like it lol

-.'✰'.- Content Warnings; yandere, stalking, kidnapping, manipulation, mentions of death (not detailed), loss of free will,

-.'✰'.- Additional Information: Minors DNI, not proofread, grammatical errors, possibly ooc(?), reader is not an esper.

I do not support the following topics in real life.

Shadowing someone who's never met or formally interacted with you may be considered a.. very unconventional activity, to say the least, but Yamato couldn't think of a better way to use his spare time as of late.

He paid close attention to your mannerisms, watching like a hawk as you fidgeted and bounced in place, periodically checking your phone.

What for? Were you waiting for something?

He didn't dwell on the thought for too long, opting to continue observing as you absentmindedly entertained yourself from where you stood.

Everything seemed perfectly fine to him.

Yamato turned away from you, just for a moment, and extracted his phone from his pocket, intending to check how much time he had left.

Glancing back to you briefly, he-

Wait.

His eyes narrow, body going rigid.

Despite being a ways away, he watched closely as you greeted a briskly approaching someone that he'd never seen before.

His grip on his phone tightened.

Who are they?

You embraced them briefly before conversing, quite expressively at that, with them.

Who is that?

Something apprehensive and wary bubbled up inside of him once the individual laid a hand on your shoulder and leaned in to say something to you.

Did you meet them recently?

They have to be new, or else he would know who they were.

What do they want from-

A raucous chortle suddenly fell from your lips before you stifled your apparent glee by placing your hand over you mouth.

Yamato heavily exhaled, his form visibly relaxing.

They must've told you a joke.

They're friendly.

It's nothing to worry about.

From where it rests in his hand, Yamato's phone vibrates.

He looks down at the device and sees a calendar alert displayed on it's screen.

He has to host an assembly meeting soon.

He sighs and moves to leave, making a mental note to run a background check on the individual talking with you later as he glanced over one more time before exiting the building.

He'll have to make his introduction to you soon.

It's best not to have any troublesome new acquaintances of yours complicating things for him.

-.'🪬'.- Yamato takes it upon himself to judge everyone who attempts to approach you. There's always more than what meets the eye.

-.'🪬'.- Certain companions and coworkers are fine, but people who intend to court you or have ulterior motives are dealt with swiftly.

-.'🪬'.- In order to minimize his chances of failing to pique your interest and keep it, he's has to know as much about you as possible while also keeping others out of the picture.

-.'🪬'.- Whether Yamato's following from somewhere close behind or receiving updates from a disguised subordinate, he almost always has eyes on you.

-.'🪬'.- Once he uses the information he's gathered to approach and reel you in, he's practically always with you in his downtime (he still has to lead the Twilight Order).

-.'🪬'.- From where he stands beside you as a relatively close friend, he can micromanage your relationships more effectively, picking and choosing who is and isn't good for you to be talking to.

-.'🪬'.- Even the friendly-looking ones cant escape his scrutinizing gaze.

-.'🪬'.- If any people that he's deemed unwelcome slip through the cracks and manage to make it to the conversation stage with you, Yamato's standing right behind you and giving that person a death stare.

-.'🪬'.- If you catch on and ask him about it, he'll look away, an artificial replica of a sheepish expression forming on his face as he explains that he's had a few bad experiences in his own life that have left him wary of everyone around him and he just wanted to make sure that you were safe.

-.'🪬'.- As you express your remorse for making him revisit such awful memories and thank him for his help, he simply smiles and assures you that it's fine.

-.'🪬'.- You trust far too easily.

-.'🪬'.- His smile wanes, just for a moment.

-.'🪬'.- Your faith in others could become a detriment.

-.'🪬'.- While he was absolutely ecstatic that you welcomed him into your life and home with open arms and let him bear witness to all of the little things that make you who you are, he couldn't help but listen to the little inkling in the back of his mind that told him that you would've let anyone in under the same pretenses.

-.'🪬'.- That someone could’ve spelt your doom.

-.'🪬'.- Taking note of his currently strained relationship with his own sister, he'll tread carefully, not wanting to make the same mistakes as last time.

-.'🪬'.- But, at this point, If he sees you at risk or in peril, especially if it’s due to another human being, he’s made up his mind.

-.'🪬'.- Naturally, you became apprehensive when Yamato told you that he decided that your safety was worth more than your autonomy, but it was nothing that the music box couldn’t quell.

-.'🪬'.- He’d take your docile body by the hand and lead you to the Twilight Order’s base, where you’d be quartered and prohibited from leaving the premises from then on.

-.'🪬'.- No amount of pleading or tears will dissuade him from his decision to keep you with him.

-.'🪬'.- If his own sister’s screams of anguish couldn’t change his mind, you have no chance of convincing him.

-.'🪬'.- He understands that you're most likely going to despise him for what he's done to you, so he's slow and methodical in his attempts to regain your affections and normalize your new life.

-.'🪬'.- His main goal is to condition you psychologically by slowly changing your interpretation of what's happening to you whilst also using your self-preservation instincts against you.

-.'🪬'.- You have more privileges and freedoms, and even Yamato himself will be nothing but cordial to you as long as you remain compliant.

-.'🪬'.- But, if you act particularly unruly, he’ll use the music box to control you, essentially trapping you in your own body and turning you into a glorified dress-up doll.

-.'🪬'.- It seems cruel, yes, but he's only doing it so you'll stop hurtling insults at him.

-.'🪬'.- He's been nothing but kind to you when you treat him with basic politeness, so why hurt both of you like this?

-.'🪬'.- Just stay agreeable. Things will be easier for both of of you.

-.'🪬'.- He hopes that, over a period of time, you'll grow to love him again. Just like you did before.

-.'🪬'.- As a precaution, he’ll test you every once in a while. These tests include keys and keycards in areas where you might come across them, just to see if you’ll take the bait and try to run.

-.'🪬'.- If you do fall for it, he’ll have people waiting for you at the exit, ready to snatch you up and take you right to him.

-.'🪬'.- As you stare at him with wide, glossy eyes while meaningless apologies spill from your lips, he's disappointed, to say the least.

-.'🪬'.- You'll start right back at square one, confined to your room again, having completely lost his trust.

-.'🪬'.- If you decide to bring the object back to him personally, he'll be over the moon with delight, taking it back with a warm smile.

-.'🪬'.- You came to him.

-.'🪬'.- You want to stay with him.

-.'🪬'.- You trust him.

-.'🪬'.- Eventually, he’ll give you just enough leeway to roam the building (with limited surveillance).

-.'🪬'.- Don’t even try to ask anyone for help. They’ll report it to Yamato so fast, it’ll give you whiplash.

-.'🪬'.- As long as he doesn’t hear anything suspicious from those watching over you, he might even let you take walks outside, with either him or one of most trusted associates, if you’re feeling restless when he’s unavailable.

-.'🪬'.- Now, if you're playing the long game and putting up a lovey-dovey front so you can gain just enough breathing room to make your getaway, you better hightail it once you step foot out of the Twilight Order's base.

-.'🪬'.- The moment Yamato receives the news that his sweet, adoring significant other left him in the dust, the second he realizes that every single smile, laugh, and whisper that ever graced his senses were products of treacherous deceit, he’s livid and frantic and having an ugly, visceral meltdown.

-.'🪬'.- How could you do this to him?

-.'🪬'.- He’s outraged at what you’ve done, but also hysterical at what could happen to you. Especially since you’re out of his sight.

-.'🪬'.- You could get horribly lost, cross paths with a Miramon, or you might misplace your trust and lose your life to an individual with nefarious intent.

-.'🪬'.- Fueled by some twisted, churning mixture of distress and fury, he’d send as many people as he could spare to hunt you down and bring you back, he himself joining the hunt.

-.'🪬'.- You would be lucky if you were caught and dragged back to base by one of his subordinates.

-.'🪬'.- If he finds you in the state that he’s currently in, he might just forget that you’re not as durable as he is, since you’re not an esper.

-.'🪬'.- All he’s really focused on is getting your hands off of your ears and your mind under the music box’s control so you can stop fighting him.

-.'🪬'.- He’s only trying to protect you. You'll understand eventually.

[✰-notes-✰]: I'm not too confident in the way this looks since i'm personally not a fan of the bullet point format, but I couldn't come up with enough connected ideas to write a full oneshot, so.. anyway, please lmk if you like it or if there are any awkward mistakes!

#nova writes #yamato dislyte #dislyte yamato #yamato dislyte x reader #yamato x reader #gender neutral reader #dislyte x reader #dislyte

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zapreportsblog · 1 year ago

Note

Another poly fem reader volturi request I have.

Reader is being hunted down by a rouge vampire that has been on the volturi radar due to him constantly hunting and not being careful been such a nuisance that the volturi kings decided to get everyone to hunt this rouge down he has escaped the guard due to him having invisibility gift . The kings took the matter personally and decided to do this themselves. Female reader end up one nigh going out late to get medicine and becomes a target she runs and during her trying to run away or fight to stay alive. She meets the volturi kings. Marcus who has the ability of knowing the types of bond’s people have) discovered she’s their mate . They took immediate action and got arid if the rouge vampire with her help splashed the rouge vampire with her blood so the volturi notice where he was ( no longer invisible) vampire quickly met his death. . The kings where shook because one she helped them they where impressed she acted quickly even though she was terrified. But also because they almost lost her. All of them went through so many emotions specially Marcus he already lost one and now he almost lost her. She’s sorta faints after the whole ordeal and they take her with them. Eventually she wakes up they explain everything. It’s took a few weeks to process but she immediately feels the connection and could not be happier she loves them.

Sorry if this is long 😅

Ooh I love how detailed your being! Enjoy :)

↱ installing fear into their hearts ↰

➘ summary : the volturi has come to put an end to the rouge vampires hunt and in the process they end meeting someone special

➘ the volturi kings x reader , aro x reader x marcus x caius

In the heart of the ancient city of Volterra, the Volturi, a coven of powerful and enigmatic vampires, held court within their grand stone palace. Aro, the charismatic leader, stood at the center of the chamber, flanked by his loyal coven members, Caius and Marcus. The marble walls echoed with the murmurs of vampires gathered from all corners of the world.

Aro's golden eyes glinted with a mixture of curiosity and concern as he addressed the assembly. "My dear brethren, we are faced with a matter of utmost urgency." He paused, allowing the weight of his words to settle in. "There exists a rogue vampire who threatens the delicate balance we have maintained for centuries."

The air grew tense as the coven members exchanged uneasy glances. Irina, a member of the Denali coven, raised her hand, her voice trembling. "Aro, this rogue vampire… they are relentless. Their constant hunting endangers our secret existence."

Aro nodded gravely, acknowledging the gravity of the situation. "Indeed. They possess an ability so rare, so potent, that it enables them to disappear from our sight at will. Invisibility, my friends, a power that has kept them elusive and untouchable."

Caius's lip curled into a sneer. "This recklessness is unacceptable. The Volturi cannot tolerate a threat to our dominion."

A murmur of agreement rippled through the assembly. Aro's gaze swept over the vampires, his expression contemplative. "We must put an end to this menace swiftly, for our own survival as well as the preservation of our kind."

As the room fell into a heavy silence, Marcus, the third member of the Volturi's ruling triumvirate, spoke with his characteristic detachment. "It is clear we must act, but we must also tread carefully. Exposing ourselves to the humans would bring disastrous consequences."

Aro's fingers danced in anticipation, his mind whirring with possibilities. "I have consulted Chelsea, our talented manipulator of bonds. She will forge a connection between us all, ensuring our unity and cooperation in this endeavor."

The assembled vampires exchanged wary glances, their minds connecting as Chelsea's power swept through the room, binding them together with an unspoken understanding.

"Jane and Alec," Aro continued, his voice low and measured, "you shall lead a team of our most skilled trackers to apprehend the rogue. Their ability to cause excruciating pain will nullify the advantage of invisibility."

Jane's crimson eyes gleamed with determination, while Alec's expression remained impassive. "Consider it done, Master."

Aro smiled, his satisfaction evident. "With our combined strength and abilities, we shall bring this rogue vampire to justice, restoring the shadows that veil our existence."

As the meeting concluded, the coven members dispersed, their thoughts consumed by the upcoming challenge. Aro watched them go, his mind calculating the potential outcomes. The Volturi's influence had remained unchallenged for centuries, and he was not about to let a single rogue vampire threaten their dominion.

Outside the palace, the ancient city of Volterra bustled with life, unaware of the shadows cast by the vampire world hidden within its walls. Little did the human populace know that their fate hung in the balance as the Volturi prepared to hunt down a rogue vampire whose power of invisibility could shatter the fragile peace between the immortal and the mortal realms.

The moon hung low in the velvety night sky, casting a pale glow over the cobblestone streets of Volterra. (Y/N) had ventured out late, the weight of an illness pressing upon her chest. The pharmacy was a mere block away, yet the darkness of the night made the journey feel eerily distant. Wrapping her coat tighter around herself, she quickened her pace, the only sounds echoing through the deserted alleyways the soft rustle of leaves and the distant hum of her own breath.

Unbeknownst to her, the rogue vampire, shrouded in an unsettling aura of invisibility, had been lurking in the shadows, watching her every move. Their eyes glinted with predatory anticipation as they tracked her, eager to satisfy their unquenchable thirst for blood.

Just as (Y/N) reached the entrance of the pharmacy, a sudden instinct made her turn, her heart racing as she sensed a presence behind her. She gasped, her breath catching in her throat as she caught a fleeting glimpse of a figure in the corner of her eye. Panic surged through her veins, propelling her into action.

Without a second thought, (Y/N) sprinted down the narrow alley, her footsteps echoing like thunder in the night. Adrenaline surged through her, giving her a burst of energy as fear drove her onward. Behind her, the rogue vampire gave chase, their laughter a chilling echo in the night air.

As (Y/N) turned a corner, her heart sank as she realized she had stumbled into a dead-end alley. She pressed her back against the cold brick wall, her chest heaving, her eyes darting around in search of an escape route. The rogue vampire emerged from the shadows, their malevolent aura causing the very air to grow heavy.

Just as the rogue vampire lunged, ready to make their move, a voice sliced through the darkness like a beacon of salvation. "Halt!"

Startled, both (Y/N) and the rogue vampire turned to face the source of the command. Three imposing figures had appeared at the end of the alley, their presence commanding and their eyes ablaze with an otherworldly intensity.

It was the Volturi.

Aro, Caius, and Marcus stood with an air of authority, their crimson eyes fixated on the rogue vampire. Aro's lips curved into a slight smile, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. "My dear guests, it seems we have stumbled upon a most intriguing scene."

The rogue vampire hesitated, their invisibility waning as their concentration faltered under the scrutiny of the Volturi. (Y/N)'s heart pounded in her chest, a mixture of relief and uncertainty flooding her senses. She glanced from the Volturi to the rogue vampire, trapped between two powerful forces.

Aro's gaze shifted to (Y/N), his expression inscrutable. "And who might this young human be?"

(Y/N)'s voice trembled as she answered, "I-I'm (Y/N). I was just trying to get some medicine."

Aro's smile widened, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Ah, a fortuitous meeting indeed. It appears you have quite the story to tell."

The rogue vampire snarled, their power of invisibility flickering as their anger grew. The tension in the alley was palpable, an electrifying stand-off between the Volturi and the elusive rogue.

As the confrontation reached its climax, the alleyway seemed to hold its breath, a pivotal moment that would shape the fates of those involved.

Marcus, the enigmatic member of the Volturi, stood amidst the tension of the alley, his sightless eyes reflecting the shadows of a thousand lifetimes. His unique ability, to perceive the bonds that connected people, had granted him a deeper insight into the situation. And as he focused his power on (Y/N), a realization dawned upon him—one that ignited a spark of determination within his ancient heart.

"Aro," Marcus intoned, his voice low and measured, "this human holds a bond that intertwines her fate with ours."

Aro's eyes flickered with intrigue as he turned to Marcus. "A bond, you say?"

"Yes," Marcus confirmed, his voice steady. "It is not a mere coincidence that she found herself entangled in this very moment. She is our mate, connected to our destinies."

Caius's brow furrowed with impatience. "Our mate? Are you suggesting that we allow this human to disrupt our plans?"

Aro's expression remained contemplative. "Marcus's visions have proven invaluable in the past. If he perceives a bond, it must be explored."

Marcus's focus shifted to the rogue vampire, his gaze intense as he spoke to (Y/N). "Human, you are part of our story now. Your bond with us has shifted the tides of fate."

(Y/N)'s heart pounded, her mind struggling to comprehend the enormity of what she was hearing. Before she could respond, a snarl erupted from the rogue vampire, their patience worn thin by the unfolding events.

With a swift, fluid motion, the rogue vampire lunged at (Y/N), their invisible form gaining corporeal shape as they attacked. But the Volturi were not ones to be caught off guard. Jane, her red eyes ablaze, raised her hand, and a wave of excruciating pain washed over the rogue vampire.

Grimacing in agony, the rogue vampire's invisibility faltered, revealing their true form—a figure with dark, unruly hair and eyes that glinted with malice. Alec, beside Jane, channeled his power, freezing the rogue in place with a glance.

Marcus's lips curled into a faint smile, his ethereal eyes fixed on (Y/N). "The bond you share with us is unbreakable, and it grants us strength beyond measure."

Aro stepped forward, his gaze piercing the rogue vampire's defiant facade. "Rogue, you threaten our world with your recklessness. But we are not without power."

With a single nod, Aro gave the command, and the Volturi coven unleashed their combined abilities. The alleyway became a battleground of supernatural forces, as the Volturi's might clashed against the rogue vampire's desperation.

(Y/N)'s heart raced as she watched the spectacle unfold before her, her mind reeling with the surreal realization that she was now an integral part of this world of vampires and power. She had unwittingly stumbled into a world of bonds and destiny far beyond her wildest dreams.

Amidst the chaos, Marcus's voice cut through the air, his words reaching (Y/N) in a moment of clarity. "Hold on to the bond, (Y/N). It will guide us."

As the battle raged on, the fate of (Y/N), the Volturi, and the rogue vampire hung in the balance, their destinies interwoven in a dance of power and connection that would shape the course of their lives forever.

In the midst of the alley, the battle raged on, a symphony of supernatural powers clashing with the force of a tempest. The rogue vampire's invisibility gave them a distinct advantage, allowing them to strike swiftly and unpredictably. Despite the Volturi's considerable strength, the elusive nature of their opponent left them struggling to gain the upper hand.

As the coven members fought to defend themselves, (Y/N) watched in awe and trepidation, her heart torn between fear for her life and an inexplicable connection to the very beings who had emerged from the shadows. Marcus's words echoed in her mind—the bond that linked them all, granting her an unexpected role in this struggle.

An idea formed in (Y/N)'s mind, sparked by desperation and a desire to contribute. She scanned the alley, her gaze locking onto a shard of glass that had fallen to the ground from a shattered window. Without hesitating, she picked up the shard, pressing its edge into her palm. Pain flared, but she ignored it, her focus unwavering.

With determination, (Y/N) let a few drops of her blood fall onto the ground, splattering near the rogue vampire's concealed form. The invisible vampire hissed, their outline becoming distorted by the mingling of blood and energy. The Volturi, their senses heightened by the scent of blood, turned their attention to the point where the drops had landed.

The rogue vampire's invisibility wavered, revealing their form to the Volturi. Jane seized the opportunity, her gaze locking onto the now-visible rogue. Her power surged forth, inflicting agonizing pain upon the vampire. Alec, quick to capitalize on the situation, used his own power to immobilize the rogue, leaving them vulnerable.

Aro's laughter cut through the tense atmosphere as he approached the immobilized rogue vampire. "It seems your advantage has waned, my friend."

The rogue vampire, their features twisted in pain, glared at (Y/N), their anger palpable.

As the rogue vampire's struggles grew feeble, the Volturi closed in, their combined powers overwhelming the once-elusive creature. With one final cry, the rogue vampire met their demise, vanquished by the united strength of the Volturi and the unexpected alliance with (Y/N).

The alley fell into silence, the energy of battle dissipating like a dissipating storm. Aro stepped forward, his expression one of both approval and intrigue. "You, (Y/N), have proven to be a formidable ally. Your bond with us has proven invaluable."

Caius's skepticism remained, but his tone held a begrudging respect. "Indeed. Your actions speak for themselves."

Marcus's ethereal eyes held a rare warmth as he regarded (Y/N). "You have shaped the course of this night, and our fates are forever intertwined."

(Y/N) nodded, her gaze shifting between the Volturi members, her heart heavy with the weight of this newfound destiny. "I never asked for any of this, but I won't back down from it either."

As the alleyway faded into the early dawn, (Y/N) stood amidst the triumphant Volturi, her life irrevocably altered. Bound by blood and bonds, they were united by a shared purpose and a future that would forever be shaped by this unexpected alliance.

As the last echoes of the battle's aftermath settled, (Y/N)'s adrenaline-fueled strength gave way to exhaustion. The world around her seemed to spin, her vision blurring at the edges, and the ground beneath her feet felt like shifting sand. Her limbs grew heavy, and with a soft gasp, she collapsed to her knees.

Aro's keen eyes caught the moment of her faltering, and he was by her side in an instant, his arms steadying her. "Easy now, my dear. You've been through quite an ordeal."

(Y/N) fought to keep her eyes open, her breath shallow and ragged. The events of the night had taken their toll, and her body yearned for rest. As her vision dimmed, she heard Aro's voice as though from a distance.

"We shall take you with us," he said, his words a soothing murmur. "Rest assured, you are safe."

A rush of gratitude washed over her, mingling with the fatigue that threatened to overcome her. Darkness tugged at the edges of her consciousness, and with a final, conscious effort, she gave in, her body succumbing to the welcoming embrace of unconsciousness.

Time passed in a blur for (Y/N), the days blending into nights as her body mended from the turmoil she had endured. Slowly, consciousness returned, and her senses gradually awakened to the world around her. She found herself in a luxurious chamber within the Volturi's palace, the soft glow of candles casting warm shadows on the walls.

As her eyes fluttered open, (Y/N) took in her surroundings, her memories piecing together the events that had brought her here. The battle, the rogue vampire, and the unbreakable bond she shared with the Volturi—all of it flooded back.

Sitting by her bedside, Marcus regarded her with a calmness that belied the underlying emotions he felt. His voice was soft as he spoke, "Welcome back, (Y/N)."

(Y/N)'s gaze met his, and she saw a depth of emotion in his eyes that mirrored her own. The connection she felt with him was undeniable, a shared understanding that transcended words. She sat up slowly, a mixture of vulnerability and curiosity in her expression.

"You… you saved me," she whispered, her voice tinged with awe.

Marcus nodded, his gaze unwavering. "We could not stand by while an innocent life was threatened."

Tears welled in (Y/N)'s eyes, a mixture of gratitude and something more profound stirring within her. She reached out to touch Marcus's hand, her heart pounding as a spark of energy passed between them. The connection was palpable, a shared moment that seemed to bridge the gap between them.

As the days turned into weeks, (Y/N) learned more about her new reality and the role she played in the Volturi's world. Her connection to them ran deep, a bond that was forged by fate and solidified through shared experiences. While her mind struggled to comprehend the enormity of it all, her heart felt an undeniable pull towards Aro, Caius, and Marcus.

One day, as the sun cast a warm glow over the palace, (Y/N) found herself standing in the gardens, the three kings by her side. Their presence felt natural, like pieces of a puzzle falling into place. With a deep breath, she turned to them, her eyes filled with determination.

"I may not fully understand everything," she began, her voice steady, "but I know how I feel. The bond we share…it's real. I feel it, and I want to embrace it."

Aro's smile was gentle, his gaze filled with approval. "Our mate, you have a gift for understanding the complexities of our world."

Caius's expression softened, his earlier skepticism replaced by a quiet warmth. "You've proven yourself, (Y/N)."

And as (Y/N) looked at Marcus, she saw a flicker of emotion that spoke volumes. He was the one who had sensed their bond, who had seen her in a moment of vulnerability that mirrored his own past. His smile was subtle, but she saw the depth of feeling in his eyes.

"I won't pretend that this is easy," she admitted, "but I know that I want to explore this connection with all of you."

As the three kings surrounded her, (Y/N)'s heart felt fuller than it ever had before. The bond that had brought them together was a testament to the twists of fate and the intricate threads that wove their lives together. And as they stood there, united by the unbreakable ties of destiny, (Y/N) knew that she had found her place in a world she never could have imagined.

#twilight x you #twilight imagine #twilight x y/n #twilight x reader #twilight imagines #twilight #twilight masterlist #volturi imagines #volturi imagine #the volturi #volturi x reader #volturi x y/n #volturi x you #x reader #x reader one shot #x reader oneshot #x reader requests

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munsons-mutiny · 2 years ago

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I’ve had this headcanon forever and it’s just never come up anywhere, so I figured it’s time to write about it.

Caleb’s spell that he makes for Veth, Widogast’s Transmorigification, has major implications for Exandria’s trans population! This could be the magical equivalent of top or bottom surgery only it’s down to a biological level! I’m sure they’ve had their own procedures, but a body that you can personally design does seem like an upgrade from whatever technology/magic they have available!

I like to believe that Caleb doesn’t think about the spell in that context at first, why would he? It was designed for someone with a different type of body dysphoria, and he doesn’t interact with too many trans people (at least that he knows, I have no clue if he knows about Yussa, and they haven’t seen Bryce in ages).

But once he starts teaching, and establishes himself as a safe space for queer kids (you can’t tell me the empire is super open minded, especially their most prestigious traditional institution) the application becomes obvious. The first time his favorite student, a small purple tiefling named Aza who reminds him so much of Molly it hurts, comes to him mid-breakdown because of how bad the dysphoria is the solution just immediately pops into his head. He could fix this for her, give her the body she should’ve been born in.

He comforts her the best he can and then calls a meeting of the lgbt club he has set up (it’s run under the radar to make it safe even for students who aren’t out to their peers yet). Where he gives a presentation on the spell, and it’s capabilities, even has Veth come in to show the results and have her talk about her experience and if there had been any side effects.

A couple students in the room cry at the possibility, some remain uninterested, but many are enraptured with the idea.

In what seems like the blink of an eye Caleb has suddenly become an underground queer hero, he starts performing the spell free of cost to anyone who wants it and is above the legal age (you just have to help dig up the clay if you can). Ends up having a whole medical procedure to the spell, where he takes them to the blooming grove (which I imagine has plenty of clays heheh) where it’s peaceful and they can talk everything over with caduceus before and after. Who can guide them through their feelings much better than Caleb though he always tries his best. He always offer the option to go back as well (though they have to wait a year, which is of course stated beforehand) if it isn’t the solution they were hoping for.

(Totally off track but I fully believe Caduceus ends up super involved in Caleb’s queer club, there’s so little aro ace rep and seeing someone whose so confident in it would be so helpful for them, and I think it would be so comforting for Caddy to see others like him and to know he’s not alone in that)

They keep the whole operation quiet, but it spreads silently throughout the queer community, Astrid even stepping in a time or two to keep it off the Assembly’s radar (She may be straight, but she’s poly with a bi partner, and I believe she’ll use her powers for causes she believes in for better or worse. Thankfully this is one of them).

There’s still discrimination against the queer community, but this quiet movement starts to spread to the point that almost every member of the nein is involved. Beau uses her connections at the Soul to get new documentation for people with proper names and pronouns. Yasha starts running Rexxentrum’s first self-sustainable lgbt safehouse for kids with nowhere to go (the garden is incredible). Jester and Fjord turn Fjord’s old orphanage into a second lgbt safehouse after he gets it shut down. Veth adds lgbt education to her camps curriculum, and is an advocate for same sex healthcare in the Nicodranas school system. She has a tunic that says proud mother of a bisexual wizard that she wears a little too often much to Caleb’s chagrin. Even Kingsley (illegal pirate king that he may be, my beloved) ends up becoming as involved as possible in Caleb’s group. Loves learning more about gender identity, and becomes the first Plank King to be openly gender fluid (probably who knows, I don’t know much about Darktows history but I def didn’t get super queer vibes). Makes sure Dark-Tow is accepting of all who turn to piracy, and imposes harsh laws against discrimination.

Essek looks on all of this with pride, so proud of Caleb and even the small role that he got to play in the spells creation. It’s the first time he gets to see something he helped with create good in the world. With Caleb’s permission he ends up sneaking back into the dynasty and leaving a copy of the finished spell on the Bright Queens desk, with a big created by Caleb Widogast across it (with whatever the wizard equivalent of copyright is). In a culture that centers around rebirth in different bodies, the idea that you could choose to have your original body back is a big deal. Dysphoria after consecuted individuals get their magic back is a huge problem within the dynasty, and it does Essek a lot of good to know that he’s done something actually helpful for his country.

Basically this got super long winded and out of hand, and I know Matt has largely cut homophobia, transphobia, and non-fantasy racism from Exandria but this idea would just not leave me alone!! And either way the spells implications for a gender affirming procedure are still super relevant.

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s4bbatical · 3 months ago

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YOUR GIRL | Part 4. Patrick Zweig x Female!Reader

Pairing: Patrick Zweig x female!reader, Tashi Duncan x female!reader (platonic)

Summary: After your parents announce their divorce, you're sent to New York to pursue your passion for the arts at NYU. Your cousin, the infamous tennis player Tashi Duncan, introduces you to her insufferable colleagues at a house party in the upper east side. Already a sore thumb from rural Canada, Patrick can't help but find interest in an untouched territory.

Word Count: 5,5k

Warnings: Foul language, mention of cannabis.

MINORS DNI

Notes: The timeline is inaccurate in comparison to the film, this is an AU. All characters introduced are barely in their early 20s, unless stated otherwise. No use of y/n.

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.

CHAPTER FOUR: “Sutphin Boulevard”

"Believer - monologue exemplifies a lust. It's so true."

You didn't really like November.

The month between Halloween and Christmas was as useless as a trust fund kid hosting a charity event, which you did in fact have to attend with Tashi right after your exam week. Thankfully, you were not obligated to be present on campus besides exams and classes, giving you the excuse to not face your problems anywhere. You knew running away from it wouldn't last forever. However, it was the only thing you could do for now.

The first two weeks of November, Tashi and Chloe take turns spending time with you, making sure you weren't alone with your thoughts for too long. You tried to focus on your studies, excelling in them due to the lack of outside obstacles. You no longer wanted to attend gatherings as it was another way to run into him, only leaving your house if it was necessary.

Tashi had told your grandmother about the reason why you had taken the life of a hermit, so she gave you a position at her flower shop, thinking it would be nice to distract yourself from the noise.

All you could do was think about it, really. What you would do if he apologized, what would he say, and what would you say if he really wanted you. Or wanted nothing to do with you. You couldn't help it. You even made a pro and cons list on your phone when you were on the subway earlier that day, swearing to yourself as you thought you saw him sitting in the next cart over. It was not him. You weren't even in his neighborhood, for god's sake. It was you who had chose to cut contact with him, and you knew it was up to you if you wished to reconcile.

You stood behind the counter at work, busying yourself with bouquet assembly as Chloe wandered around the shop aimlessly.

"How many orders can you possibly get in one day?" Your best friend says, grabbing a lily and sniffing it before putting it back in it's place.

"The people are very grateful for Thanksgiving, you know." You say, tying up your 10th order of the afternoon. "If you're bored then you can help me out." You suggest to Chloe, who pretends to think in deep thought for a moment.

"I'm okay, thanks though." She smiles, taking bite of her shawarma wrap that she bought across the street. She had gotten you one as well, which you already devoured about an hour ago. "So," She starts speaking, swallowing her food. "You feel like coming out of hiding for the Manhattan holiday market? We could go skating, too. Tis the season!" She says in a sing-song voice, shimmying her shoulders.

You laugh, starting another order. "Yeah, sure. I used to be a figure skater when I was younger, actually." You admit, putting away the last order of the day.

"Seriously? How am I hearing about this now?" Chloe asks, taking another bite of her wrap.

You shrug. "I haven't done it since I graduated high school. My parents..." You trail off, recalling the pain and anger of the divorce. It tore your house apart. "They didn't wanna pay for it anymore." You simply say, smiling slightly.

Chloe nods, finishing her last bite. "Well then it's settled. When's your shift over?" She asks.

"Well... technically I'm done the orders for today, but I have to stay around for another two hours." You say, glancing at the time on your phone.

"That's fine. I'll just do my homework here then." She says, grinning. "That okay?"

"Course, Chloe. You know I appreciate your company, I love ya." You say, deciding to pull out your new read from your bag.

"Awe, I love you too." She giggles. She takes a moment before speaking again. "Have you.. heard from him at all?" She asks timidly.

You frown slightly, your heart dropping. "No. Why?"

"Oh, okay." Chloe says, fiddling with her hands. "He asked me about you the other day." She looks up at you. "He's really sorry about what happened, you know."

"Good, he better be." You say curtly, tucking your hair behind your ear.

"I think you should talk to him." Chloe says abruptly. "I-I know you don't want to see him and you know I don't like the guy." She laughs before continuing. "But he looked devastated dude. Like, really upset that I wouldn't tell him anything about you." She says, pursing her lips with a sympathetic look. She stares at you, but you say nothing. "Just think about it, okay? It might be nice for you guys to resolve things. I know you're not happy about it either." She says.

"Yeah, I will." You say flatly, trying to focus on your novel. "I have more important things to do than think about that."

"Sorry but, were you there when you literally complained about it for half an hour over margaritas for movie night two days ago?" She recalls, raising a brow.

You shift your body from one foot to the other. "I was drunk, everyone complains about stupid shit when they're drunk." You argue, trying to read your book.

Chloe scoffs. "You're really stubborn, you know that?" She says, closing your book.

"Hey I was reading that!" You say, glaring at her.

"You can't keep avoiding him forever." Chloe says sternly. She sighs when she sees you frown. "I'm sorry, I just care about you a lot dude. I don't want you to keep feeling this way. You care about him, and he cares about you too. I can tell." She says softly, crossing her arms.

You hold your face in your hands, groaning like an overstimulated child. "If it'll make you happy," You throw your arms out in defeat. "I'll talk to him! Fine!" You exclaim.

"Thank you! Finally!" Chloe exasperates, mirroring your actions. "Jesus, Tashi owes me twenty dollars." She breathes out.

You gasp. "You guys betted on me?!"

Chloe stammers. "I-I uh, nooo..." You squint your eyes at her. "...Yes?" She squeaks. "Please don't be mad! We both wanted this to be over with!" She explains, holding your arms. "It's out of love."

A customer then walks in, causing the both of you to go quiet.

"We'll talk about this later." You mutter. "Hello! Welcome!" You greet the customer warmly. "Can I interest you in our Thanksgiving arrangements?"

"Do you think I should get this ornament for her? She likes cats." Chloe asks, holding up a felt ornament that resembled an orange tabby cat.

"You've literally been on one date." You point out.

"And? Have you ever heard of lesbianism?" Chloe retorts, putting the decoration back down.

"I thought you were all for breaking stereotypes, not becoming the definitive version of one." You jest, looking around.

Before hitting the rink, you and Chloe decided to see the Christmas market in downtown Manhattan. The various different stalls of gifts and treats galore were very alluring, but god was it expensive. You had decided to buy a hot coco the size of your hand made from pure chocolate, and that alone was creating a dent in your wallet.

"God Christ everything is so expensive." You say, although you knew your statement didn't make any difference. Most of the vendors were trying to make an income, it wasn't their fault. Well, for the most part at least.

"That's what makes it a New York Christmas, baby." Chloe states, doing some weird shake with her hands that resembled jazz hands.

"The closest thing we had to this back at home was my next door neighbor selling mulled wine for ten dollars." You explain flatly. "Capitalism is a beautiful thing." You hum, already finishing your hot chocolate. "I already finished my three ounce drink, what a pity." You say sarcastically, discarding it in a nearby bin.

"Let's just go skating then. I'm kind of over this too." Chloe says, rubbing her hands together. "Fuck my hands are cold." She complains, breathing on them heavy to warm them up.

"Didn't I remind you to pack gloves like four times this morning?" You recount, pulling out a spare pair from your messenger bag. "Take these."

"How would I survive with you?" Chloe says, kissing your cheek gingerly.

You grimace, wiping your cheek. "I'm surprised you haven't died yet, to be honest." You joke, the both of you laughing.

The two of you make it to the Wollman rink in Central Park, and to no surprise, had to buy admission.

"I can't believe it costed ten dollars to skate for an hour." You complain, tying up your rental skates.

Chloe doesn't respond right away, distracted by texting someone on her phone. You clear your throat.

"Huh?" She says looking up from her phone and putting it away in her pocket. "What were you saying?"

"Nevermind man." You say, dismissing your statement.

The two of you climb onto the ice, only taking a few strides before your skills came back to you. You held back a laugh as Chloe's legs wobbled, unable to let go of the railing.

"Chloe, it's not that hard I promise. Just push yourself forward." You say, reaching out to her. "You can hold onto me if you want!"

"Fuck no, I'm chill." She states firmly, putting a hand up. "Just give me some time to warm up. Go do some laps or something." She reassures, gesturing for you to go ahead.

"Alright then." You shrug, turning away. You glide gracefully across the ice, feeling the spirit of the holidays warm you up as Last Christmas By Wham! plays over the speakers. You're doing forward and backward spins, overjoyed by the reconnection of your old passion. You're grinning madly as you smoothly skate between people, nearby children very entertained by your moves.

You try to find Chloe, who seems to have disappeared. Confused, you slow down your pace, yet keep gliding in circles. You turn and face one of the entrances to the ice, seeing the last person you'd ever expect to.

Patrick is standing there, watching you from the edge of the rink.

You forget how to stop yourself, causing the loss of balance. Before you realize what's happening, you've landed on your back. You groan loudly as the ice makes contact with your body, knowing you were going to feel it tomorrow. "Shit." You whisper, wincing as you sit up and hold your head. That's what you get for being too cocky with your strides.

You hear the scuffling of shoes beside you, looking up to make eye contact with Patrick.

He looks at you with concern, a sheepish smile on his face. "If I was supposed to catch you, I did not get the memo." He jokes, offering a hand.

You glare at him, getting up by yourself and ignoring his offer to help. "Why are you here?" You ask passive aggressively, skating past him to step off the ice.

"To talk to you!" He exclaims, trying to keep pace with you. He nearly slips at least three times before stepping off the rink.

You're flustered, and very annoyed with his presence. "Well, you've spoken! You may leave now." You say bitterly, walking over to the worker in charge of shoe rentals in order to get your boots back.

"No, don't do this right now." Patrick pleas. He awkwardly waits for you as you ignore him, retrieving your shoes then sitting down on a bench to change out your skates. "Chloe said you wanted to talk, so I came here." He admits, crouching in front of you to meet your eyes. He places a hand on your knee.

You glare at him. "Chloe told you to come here? No wonder she was on her phone so much." You mutter, taking off your skates and also knocking off his touch from your knee.

"Can we please go somewhere else and talk?" He asks, nearly begging you on his knees. You continue to pretend you don't hear him, putting on your shoes then getting up to hand over your skates to the worker, thanking him.

"You can't ignore me forever." Patrick exasperates, getting up and following you as you start walking away from the rink.

"Where's Chloe?" You ask yourself, looking around for your friend.

"She's with Art," Patrick explains. You finally look at him, confused. "He came with me." He says.

You roll your eyes, readjusting your scarf as the two of you continue to walk through the park. You finally decide to sit down on a nearby bench, allowing space for Patrick to sit beside you. You didn't feel like walking away from him anymore.

He does so hesitantly, looking at you from the corner of his eye. "We've both been avoiding each other," He says calmly, sighing. "I don't understand why."

You stay quiet, looking forward.

"Are you choosing to become a mute right now?" He asks, still no response from you. "Fine, alright then." He says, leaning back against the bench. "I've missed this, you know. Your stubbornness." He says, now looking right at you, the side of your face at least. "And you." He adds quietly.

You then finally look at him, your heart skipping a beat as the two of you make eye contact. "Anything else?" You say flatly, as if it was obvious that he would miss someone as great as you.

Patrick scoffs, laughing as well. "Nope, that's it." He jokes, sitting up straight. "I um, I wanted to apologize." His tone switches, sounding very sincere. "What happened last month was very out of line, and I shouldn't have done what I did. I guess I didn't like the fact that your attention wasn't on me for some selfish reason, but that doesn't mean I should've kissed you." He admits, sighing. "That was very uncool, and I shouldn't have led you on like that." He finishes.

You look down at the ground for a moment, taking in his words. You wanted to tell him that you wish he'd kiss you like he meant it, not that he was being selfish and thinking with his groin. You knew what was best, and feeling a little hesitant about accepting his apology.

"Can you please say something?" He says quietly, frowning at you slightly.

You look back up at him. "I'm not sure what you want me to say." You mumble, tucking a loose piece of hair behind your ear. "I have been thinking this over a lot, you know." You look up at him. "I'm also sorry for how I reacted. You didn't deserve for me to just cut you off without explanation." You reason.

Patrick smiles weakly at you. "Don't apologize please. I deserved that. Made me more insightful if anything." He tries to joke, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah, you needed that more than most." You joke, nudging Patrick. He chuckles slightly. "I forgive you." You finally say, smiling at him. "I-"

"But-" He starts to say.

"Sorry, go ahead." You say.

"No, you first." He insists.

You nod, taking a moment. You're grateful for his apology, that is evident. However, you have to make a decision for the better. You're not just looking to fill the void of what you thought could've been, but rather to move forward in a healthy way. If he didn't feel the same, it wasn't worth confessing to anything.

"I want us to be friends, Patrick." You say adamantly, looking at Patrick for a response. You watch as his face falters, quickly covering it up with a meek smile.

"I think that's a good idea, yeah." He says, although not sounding very confident in his own words.

You search in his face whether or not he was lying. You couldn't read him, you were never good at it. "You don't sound so sure of yourself." You say, laughing awkwardly.

Patrick shakes his head, smiling even more. "Sorry, I am. I want us to be friends." He says affirmatively, although he wasn't sure if he was just saying out loud to convince himself.

"Good." You smile. "I missed you too, dumbass." You say, raising your hand for a high five.

Patrick stares at you for a moment, laughing before smacking your hand with his own. "You're so fucking weird."

You gasp. "What? I'm not a big hugger." You say in defense.

"That's fine." Patrick says, sticking his hands in his pockets and leaning back. "I didn't wanna hug you anyways." He shrugs.

You eye him closely for a few moments before going in, hugging him from the side hastily. His eyes widen, letting your warmth fill him up before he slowly hugs you back. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he really liked the sensation of getting a hug from you, even if it was against your own wishes.

A few days later, Patrick is spending the night at your place. You had both met up to do homework together earlier that day, you suggesting if he wanted to come over to watch some comedy movies together.

"How is a sheet of moist supposed to make my skin look better? I feel like a snail has ran across it." Patrick asks monotonously, trying not to move his face so much.

You both were wearing sheet masks that resemble cartoonish animals, managing to convince him to do some self care together to rewind on a Sunday evening.

"Wait, don't move." You pull your phone out and take a photo of him.

He simply stares up at you from the desk chair.

"Oh Jesus." You say, laughing manically as you look back at the photo. Your facemask starts coming off, deciding to discard it entirely.

"What? Do I not look beautiful like you promised?" Patrick asks, feigning being upset. He also takes off his mask, throwing it away.

"You look just fine, now hold on."You exit your room and grab a face towel from the bathroom, dabbing the excess moisturizer before returning to your room and handing it over to him. "I also have a gua sha I'm gonna use on your face, is that okay?" You ask.

He furrows his brows at you, dabbing his own face now. "A what now?" He says, utterly confused by the item he's never heard of before.

You retrieve your gua sha from your desk drawer. "It's to de-puff your face and make sure you have good circulation. I'll be gentle, I promise." You say in a taunting manner, grabbing ahold of his chin to tilt his face up towards you.

He stares at you as you glide the rose quartz stone across his face slowly, focusing on his bone structure. "It feels cold." He whispers, staring into your eyes a little too intensely.

"It's supposed to feel good, Patrick." You tell him.

"It does." He simply says, keeping eye contact with you. The both of you stare at each other for a moment as your movements cease.

You clear your throat, walking away to sit at your vanity and use the gua sha on yourself. "This is what a lot of women do every day, you know." you say matter-of-factly.

"Why? It makes no sense. These extra serums and shit, it's like witchcraft or something." He mumbles, his face flushed red. You assume you may have put too much pressure on his skin, not that he was flustered in any way. No, surely not. "All women are beautiful." He states, moving over to your bed.

"I know you think that, most of them can't escape your wrath." You say smugly, putting away your skincare.

"What? You jealous or something?" He says playfully, laying on his side with his arm holding up his head. "You had your chance."

"Oh how will I ever live?" You sigh dramatically. "Oh right, peacefully." You remark, getting up to join him on your bed.

Patrick sticks his tongue out at you in response.

"Very mature, Zweig." You say, leaning against the headboard as you grab the remote and turn on a streaming service.

"Have you seen the new Thor movie yet?" He asks, sitting up to lean his back against the wall.

"Nope, why you ask?" You say, putting on Glee.

He groans. "Glee? Seriously? You're just like my sister."

"It's fun! just watch a few episodes with me."

"I have no options, I know." He says in defeat. "But I was wondering if you wanted to see Thor on Friday." He asks.

You almost say yes, but realize very quickly that you were unavailable, because of a date. "I can't, sorry. I'm actually already going to the movies with someone else." You say, shrugging as you focus on the television.

The day after you and Patrick reconciled, a very attractive man you recognized from campus came into your work. He hung around for an hour, simply conversating with you before asking you out on a date later on in the week. His name was Seth.

"And who's more important than me?" He says, pointing to himself.

"If you must know, I have a date." You state, grabbing your diet coke off the coaster and taking a sip.

Patrick smirks, eyeing you closely. "Ooh, a date. With who?"

"Does it matter?" You quip. "It's just some guy."

"It can't be just some guy if you, the pickiest person of all time, said yes to him." Patrick states, poking your leg. "Just tell me! Maybe I know the guy."

You purse your lips before deciding to tell him. "His name is Aaron, he studies Art History at school."

"Hmm, doesn't ring a bell. Sounds like a total fucking nerd if you ask me." He mumbles, turning his head to face the television.

"Well good thing I didn't, Patrick." You say in annoyance.

"Why are you always so defensive? I'm just asking you a question." He whines, tilting his head back.

Sorry, I just didn't think you'd care so much." You say, repositioning yourself.

"I'm your friend, I think it's fair give a shit about you sometimes." He argues. "Especially if you're dating randos."

"He's not a rando, I met him at work. Not on the internet mom." You say sarcastically, causing Patrick to laugh in response.

"Still, he could be a weirdo and you just don't know it yet." He tries to explain, speaking mainly with his hands. "He could lead you to a vacant parking lot at midnight then kill you, or other evil things." He says.

"You're starting to sound like those podcasts you've been listening to. Fucking relax." You say firmly. "Nothing is gonna happen. He's taking me to see Gravity at the movies and that is all. Dinner too, I think. I don't know where because he's surprising me." You simply state.

"Gravity? I thought you had a fear of space." Patrick says quizzically, furrowing his brows.

"Well I tried suggesting that remake of Carrie, but he hates horror movies." You admit.

"But you love horror movies?" Patrick says rhetorically, scoffing. "He already sounds like a horrible match, maybe I'm just crazy though." He says, putting his hands up before clasping them together in his lap.

"If I didn't know you already, I'd say you're jealous." You mutter.

Patrick reaches over you, taking the remote and pausing the television. "I'm not." He says firmly. "I just don't want you to waste your time on someone not worthwhile and you're ignoring the fact."

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?" You snap, laughing out of annoyance. "It's just a fucking date, it's not like I'm gonna marry the guy. Christ Patrick." You exclaim, standing up from your bed.

Patrick sighs. "I know, I know." He says. "Calm down, you're taking my word too seriously!" He argues, staying on your bed.

"Just drop it, okay? I don't wanna talk about it anymore. Clearly it's a sensitive topic for some reason."

"It's not! God, no it's not." Patrick tries to reason. "I'm sorry, it's not that serious. I just care about you."

You glare at him, crossing your arms. "You mean it?"

"I mean it." He heavily accentuates. "I hope it goes well, for your sake." He says.

"Yeah, me too." You say, although now unsure of yourself. "Me too." You whisper to yourself.

It's Friday, November 29th. The cusp of the true holiday season, and the end of a drought for your romantic conquests.

The date was going great, incredible even. The two of you got along swell, and any worries you had about him has dissipated as the night went on. You and Aaron just had some Italian dinner at a restaurant a block away, and had just set foot into the movie theatre. It was small, but had its unique charm that has stood against time.

"You excited for the movie? It has great reviews so far." He grins, hand in hand with you.

"I'm not great with space stuff to be honest, but I'm stoked nonetheless." You admit, smiling shyly.

"Really?" Aaron's eyes widen. "You should've told me, we don't have to see it..." He says, halting the two of you in front of the snack counter.

"No, it's fine. It's not a bother." You say, smiling.

The two of you are now in the screening room, waiting patiently as advertisements cross over the screen. Aaron is already eating his popcorn, and you're scrolling aimlessly on your phone. You see a new Instagram post from Patrick, recognizing the photo had been taken by you.

pat_zweig 【┘】 4 hr

❤︎‬ 213 likes, 9 comments

pat_zweig: naughty or nice?

You laugh quietly to yourself, leaving a comment on his post.

loverg1rl: you're getting coal in your stocking. photo creds btw? hello

You put away your phone, turning it off as the movie begins. You can't help but redirect your thoughts over to Patrick, wondering if he was enjoying his evening. Maybe you'd be watching Thor: The Dark World with him, and enjoying it a lot more than the motion sickness you're about to endure due to the outer space set up.

You start thinking about how this date would go if it was with Patrick instead, finding yourself slowly imagining him instead of Aaron. You knew it was bad, horrible even. You couldn't help yourself, he's left such an impact on you since you moved to the big apple.

Patrick Zweig was something you could not have, no matter how much you wish you could. It was pointless, everything would end in flames if you tried. Why not? You'd ask yourself, but why? You also say.

You look over at Aaron, smiling when he makes eye contact with you. Without thinking, you lean in and kiss him. He kisses you back, and it feels wonderful. This is how it's supposed to be; no pain, just pleasure. You ignore the feeling that you're forcing yourself, you just aren't used to Aaron yet.

You'll learn to like someone else, even if they're not who you really want.

The movie ends. You find yourself outside with Aaron, the cold air engulfing the two of you.

"That was insane, maybe of my favorite movie of the year." Aaron says, smiling wildly.

"It was good, yeah." You say casually, checking your phone. Patrick texted you, his name saved as the one he put in your phone as.

Patrick the Almighty: how's the date? i'm at art's. chloe's here, we're watching glee. thinking of you

You smile fondly at your screen.

"How are you getting home tonight?" Aaron asks, taking your attention away from your phone.

"Oh, my cousin is picking me up." You say, putting your phone in your pocket.

"I see, the tennis star right?" He says, referring to your conversation from dinner.

"Yes, the tennis star." You laugh. "I'm sleeping over at her house, so." You add.

"That's very cute, I haven't had a sleepover with my cousins since I was a kid." Aaron says, looking off to the side for a moment before returning his gaze to you. "I can wait with you, if that's okay." He suggests.

"Sure, I'd like that a lot actually." You say, grinning madly.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" Aaron asks, pulling out a pack of what you presumed to be cigarettes.

"Go ahead, I smoke too." You say.

"Weed?" He asks, almost giddy to hear you say it.

"Oh, no... cigarettes." You say sheepishly.

"Oh!" He says, raising his brows. "These are joints, sorry." He says, referring to the pack in his hands. He takes one and sticks it in his mouth. "Is that alright still?"

"Yeah, course. I've had it a few times before, back in Canada." You say, zipping up your jacket as the cold breeze creeps under your blouse.

He nods, lighting up the joint. "Did you... Want some?" He asks, inhaling then exhaling the joint.

You stand in silence for a moment, debating. "Yeah, sure."

He hands the joint over, allowing you to take hold of it.

You bring it to your mouth and inhale, holding it like a cigarette. You exhale, coughing a few times but holding your composure. "Fuck. That shit bites." You wince, taking another hit before handing it back to him.

Aaron laughs, taking the joint back gingerly. A vehicle pulls up beside the two of you, Tashi revealed in the driver's seat as the window rolls down.

"Gotta go." You say, tilting your head towards the car. "I'll see you, yeah?" You grin, giving Aaron a wink as you open the passenger seat.

"Yeah, see you." He says, inhaling his joint and giving you a small wave before you close the door.

"Well well well," Tashi grins, driving away. "He's fucking hot." She says, tapping on the wheel in sync with the music.

"Oh, I know." You say, the joint taking over your senses. "I smoked weed with him." You say abruptly, giggling profusely.

"Are you high?" Tashi asks, gasping as a smirk grows on her face.

"Mmm, a little." You grin, pressing your cold hands to your warm cheeks.

"You must've had a good time then." She laughs, looking over at you quickly. "My mom has some news to tell us once we get to the house, so I hope you can keep it together."

"What?" You gasp, turning to face Tashi. "What is it? Tell me now!" Your urge, grabbing her arm.

"Hey, I'm driving!" She exclaims, swatting your arm away.

"Sorry, sorry!" You apologize, sitting back in your seat. "Is it to celebrate your exam results?" You ask, your stomach grumbling. "I'm hungry." You whisper.

Tashi laughs profusely, trying to hold it together for the rest of the ride. "Well, kind of. It's to celebrate us both." She says, her smile never leaving her face.

"Can we go to Mcdonalds? I want a happy meal." You say, rolling the window down.

"It's cold! Don't do that!" Tashi warns, rolling the window back up with her driver control.

"But I'm too hot!" You exasperate.

Tashi groans, turning off the heat in the car. "You're too high." She argues, turning into the closest Mcdonalds.

You enter the Duncan household with Tashi, managing to sober up a bit after your nugget meal and finishing off the bottle of water your cousin keeps in the car as always.

"Mom! We're here!" Tashi yells, leading you into the living room.

Diane and Mike were sitting on the couch, Diane with a book and Mike with amaretto on the rocks, his usual. The radio plays in the distance.

"Hello girls." Diane grins, putting her book down. "How was the date?" She asks you directly, catching you off guard.

"Oh, it was great, yeah." You say quietly, looking down at your hands.

"He's very nice to look at, and seems to be very nice mom. He's good friends with Emeline, from my ethics class." Tashi adds, sitting down in a nearby armchair. You quickly sit down as well.

"Has Tashi told you the big news yet?" Diane grins, clasping her hands together.

"Erm, no. No yet... What's going on?" You ask, giggling awkwardly.

"We are going... To Italy!" She exclaims, waiting for your reaction.

You gasp, covering your mouth with your hands. "No fucking way!" You exclaim, cheering with Tashi.

"We're going with Michelle and her family, we hadn't gone travelling together since we were in college so..." Diane adds, watching both of your faces falter slightly.

"Michelle? As in the Zweigs?" You ask, mouth slightly agape. You quickly pull out your phone to text back Patrick.

"Yes, that Michelle." Diane says, laughing. She notices the look on your faces. "That's fine, right? You're both good friends with Patrick I figured it was okay?" She says.

You: we're going to fucking italy????

He texts you back instantly.

Patrick the Almighty: my mom just called me about it. isn't this fucking awesome??

You forcibly smile towards Diane, still a bit too high to comprehend it. "No, it's great." You say through gritted teeth, exchanging worried glances with Tashi.

Great. Fucking awesome.

this took awhile sorry guys,,,,, ive been watching rivals and my mind is running with ideas. see you in the next one!

#challengers fic #challengers x reader #josh o'connor x reader #patrick zweig #patrick zweig imagine #patrick zweig x reader #patrick zweig x you #tashi duncan #tashi duncan x reader #art donaldson

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