#but i'm definitely even more interested in reading the full scripts now | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sol-consort · 5 months ago

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I didn't expect the Thane post, i even forgot my og ask, but by chance, I saw it scrolling through my homefeed (which i dont often check bc im not super active on tumblr) and omfggg, the scream I scrumpt. What a happy suprise! We Thanemancers got fed GOOD. Thank you. My heart feels healed. Now, I will need to invest in creating a time machine, clone you, and send your clone back in time to work on me3. Perhaps make a whole army of clones to make each clone work on the writing for every romance. The Kolyat inclusion is peak. Thank you for not forgetting Kolyat, he really is so inportant to Thane. Geniunly made my entire week. I want to print your post out and chew on it everyday. Thank you!

🫡

I felt bad for taking so long because the chances of the original requester actually seeing the finished fic got more and more slim by the day.

And by some twist of fate you actually end up seeing it!! Even though I only started being active again a couple days ago?? Even though you rarely open tumblr??? The fact it was on your homepage rather than you specifically looking for stuff on the Thane x Reader tag???

I'm beyond happy <333

Most of all, I'm really glad you liked it! That fic might not have been the most intricate vocabulary wise, but god, it drained me creativity wise, having to come up with scene after scene, second doubting myself, erasing and rewriting.

I will never underestimate storyboard writers and script makers after this. It felt like a world champion boxing match where I only managed to win by an inch. Damn that story got hands.

I had to scrab the whole Party and Identity Theft II mission stages because words wouldn't register in my brain anymore. Maybe in the future I'll go back and add them, but for now I'm clinging to my beloved short drabbles.

Then there was this whole letting it rot in my draft for months out of petty bc I thought no one was reading my stuff either way, what's the point in posting it– I got upset at the idea I spent so much effort on one story only for it to possibly end up never read by a single person.

I tried not to gloss over Thane's condition or his impending doom. I didn't want it to be a full escapism–which is ironically my ideal style–but a proper sweet goodbye, a final dance, the chance to experience life by his side a little bit more, a small extension on the deadline before the curtains fall.

And I wanted Kolyat to share the spotlight as well, he deserved so much more. Shepard was there during the confrontation, aware of it or not, you were a turning point in his life as much as his father finally stepping up to take full responsibility for his past actions.

Kolyat and Grunt being best friends came out of nowhere tbh, at that point the characters had a mind of their own. And it hit me, Kolyat grew in the hanar world, it's mostly oceans, he must have gone to swim a lot, he definitely knows about the aquatic life.

What if I give him an interest in marine biology? What if that's what he's persuing in his study in uni, hanar granted him a fully paid scholarship—another bittersweet benefit he got handed in exchange for the ruthless job his father took—while working a part-time job himself, living in a modest apartment and leading an independent life.

But Kolyat is a loner. He has no friends, no significant other, or even pets. Which causes Thane great concern, Drell society values finding a parter a lot. Maybe that's why Thane moved into his apartment to help make him feel less lonely and subtly push him into making friends. Blaming himself for Kolyat's antisocial nature.

So, with Grunt being very fascinated by sharks, a massive extrovert, a natural leader personality, zero hesitation to speak his mind and aim for what he wants. He makes the ideal friend for Kolyat!

The wedding imagery and symbolism in the casino stage are my absolute favourite details. Part of it was because I saw a mod for "wedding dresses" back when I was playing ME2 for the first time, scrolling through the mods page for a nice looking dress to use in the casino mission.

Writing Thane's distraction lines was fun ngl. One scrapped line was about him walking up to a human security guard, mentioning how he's actually dating a human and wanted to get some advice on how to woo you and act, what do humans consider romantic?

But then I remembered Garrus has a similar line, just a little more sexual and I didn't want there to be repetition.

Thane didn't seem like the type to hit on the security guards like other characters, even as mere pretend. He's too devoted to his partner for that. Half of his lines were genuine, wanting to hear about the human's family back on earth as a way to help them vent.

Lastly, you're so kind <3 Thank you so much for your sweet words fosjofjskfks It made me so happy to receive this. I never expected it, which made it just more sweeter.

100% on board with the whole cloning thing, it should've been me on that ME3 writing board! I would've given Cerberus justice I swear! I would've kept Thane alive by the sheer power of love...maybe some prothean magic too.

Like you receive an email for him stating his concern for Kolyat getting into trouble again, he's been coming home more and more late each night. He asks you to investigate, you oblige.

First stage is following his son through the Citadel stealth style, exactly like Thane Loyalty mission in ME2. But it's much shorter and ends once you see Kolyat board an unmarked spaceship.

You follow him, ofc, try to confront him. He's surprised by your presence but then expresses relief rather than acting what you'd expect from someone caught red-handed.

He explains he read in an asari research paper about a prothean technology that could possibly help repair damaged organs, or at least prevent them from degrading even further. But the research has been abandoned since the war and developing biotics took priority.

Kolyat informs you that he's been investigating and managed to get a copy of the whole unedited first draft of the published paper. Some scrapped information in it were apparently the theorised location of the prothean artifact.

He's going there to retrieve it, with or without your help...but he'd be very thankful if you came. He doesn't know how to uh...hold a gun you see, some skills don't pass down in genetics.

You can agree - Thane lives, Kolyat lives

Both of you go there and you can pick only one other teamate. Kolyat is a bit of liability, but bringing him along opens shortcuts and grants you so much lore about him, his late mother, and Thane's past self. It is Kolyat's loyalty mission in a way. You gain the hanar Marine biology branch as a war assest afterwards. You Gain Thane as a new recruit.

You agree, but demand he doesn't come along - Thane lives, Kolyat dies.

He went behind your back and boarded a different shuttle, without the Normandy abilities...the ship barely makes it into the atmosphere before the prothean technology defences shoots it down.

Thane is very visibly depressed and apathetic for the rest of the game. You gain Thane as new recruit.

You refuse and demand he hands you the papers - Thane dies early, Kolyat lives

Plays out the same in canon. You gain Prothean research papers as a war asset.

You refuse - Thane dies early, Kolyat dies

Same as canon but no funeral this time since Kolyat isn't alive to make preparations. You don't gain anything.

I imagine the mission to be your run of the million clearing out a base, etc. Maybe throwing in some stray collectors who were hiding their for old times sake? Bringing Javik and Lara gives unique dialogue, but you can't bring both unless you sacrifice Kolyat.

Bringing Javik informs you early that this technology isn't a miracle maker and doesn't magically fix organs. It simply delays the inevitable a little bit. It grants the sick a short extension on their lifespan, the pain mostly disappears, their health is restored...but it's a mirage. Nothing in reality changes much, placebo is hell of a thing.

However, despite you telling Thane about the placebo, it still takes effect. He makes the most of his time, realising he doesn't want to spend the last of his moments in a hospital bed.

But if you don't bring Javik, then you never discover that fact, which makes the eventual death scene when both of you realise his health is still deteriorating, much more painful.

Ik you're joking about the munching thing, but if you want to save a copy for yourself or just to keep in your files and reread, then I'm more than okay with that. In fact, I crossposted the fic to AO3, which natively lets you download it in any format.

#☆Thane #☆Kolyat #☆shepard reader #☆x reader #☆angst #☆me3 #☆love letters

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starlightkyeom · 2 years ago

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tell me how it got this way | ch.5

pairing: jungkook x f.reader, hoseok x f.reader genre: fwb to lovers/friends to lovers, love triangle | angst, smut, fluff | non-idol!au chapter rating: mature, minors dni warnings: drinking, mentions of sex (nothing explicit), jimin is a little shit (affectionate), swearing, i think that's it word count: ~6k a/n: other idols pop up in this chapter (ateez & seventeen), they're really just used as names. ages aren't relevant and you can assume they're all generally around the same age. the final part (at least for what i have planned) is also finished and i'm going to post that next week! prev | masterlist | next

When Namjoon had initially pitched the idea of selling the movie rights for your books, your answer was immediate. No. Movies rarely, actually, came out as good as the books and you felt like you lost so much of the finer detail. If you had wanted to see your work on the big screen, you would be writing screenplays instead of full-length novels. Which, okay, that sounded pretentious even in your head, but whatever. Namjoon got the picture and the conversation was tabled temporarily.

About two months after that, Namjoon had found what he called a compromise. You weren’t sure how it was a compromise since it was your work and you didn’t want to sell the rights. Until Namjoon reminded you that the publishing company also had a stake. Point: Namjoon. It was a good point, though, because a streaming service wanted to pick up the rights to just the first book as a test and do a limited-run series as opposed to a movie. Namjoon was very clear on the differences here. The budget, in some ways, would definitely be smaller, you aren’t looking at big superstar names, and, most importantly, you have to either sign on as a co-writer for the screenplays or fully sign the rights over. They were fine with either option, they just knew that there wasn’t enough in your book for the standard 8-10 episodes.

And that answer was just as immediate. Yes. These were the kinds of chances that authors hoped for. Yes, it will still be different from the book. This just gives you much more leeway to include the important details and even flush characters out more in a way that’s just too much for a book. You’re not Stephen King over here releasing his “unedited” version of The Stand, which, if you’re being honest, was kind of (read: insanely) self-indulgent. Not that you’re comparing yourself to Stephen King, either. To each their own and all that.

So, with Namjoon’s guidance, you signed a deal where you’d co-write the episodes with a team who actually have a lot of experience doing just that. Really, you know you’re just there to keep everything true to the world that’s lived in your head for years. That’s why they want you. Some people will stumble onto this show never having heard of the books (and Namjoon hopes it’ll make them buy a copy), but others will tune in expecting it to come off the same way they’ve been imagining, for characters to make decisions that feel authentic.

You actually kind of loved the writing sessions. It was really amazing to see how things came together and to be in a room where you didn’t need to shout to be heard. Everyone there was genuinely interested in your feedback, and you tried to be conscious of when to just let the process unfold. It was collaborative in the best way. The only hard thing was keeping it all under wraps from almost everyone. The whole team had decided that they wouldn’t announce the news until the rough copies of the scripts were finished enough to move on to casting.

Now, that you’re having to sit through casting auditions, you’re rethinking your entire life that has led to this moment. No, that is not dramatic. You gave the casting team literal pages on pages for every character that needed to have any sort of significant role in the show and had even worked with someone for fucking *mood boards* for the main characters. There were days when you barely slept because you had to churn things out for casting. All so you could turn the rough scripts into final copies. What else did they want from you?

To sit through casting calls, apparently. So fine. You can eat craft services with the best of them.

After a few days, you do start to see the point in it all, see the times when the casting team liked two people for a particular part and looked to you as the deciding factor. While it felt like a lot of pressure, it also allowed you to make sure everything felt right. It was never just about physical appearance, that was always fluid. You also didn’t want Kristen Stewart in the Twilight movies with one damn expression the entire time. (No shade to Kristen Stewart, it just wasn’t anyone’s best look in those movies).

The one positive is that you’ve managed to meet a few people you actually kind of like. And, okay, yeah, they’re mostly assistants to some of the more important people in the process, but those people are stuffy and very unlikely to gossip with you around the water cooler. Since you’ve never had a normal office job, this is a very important part of actually getting to work with people. Namjoon scoffs a lot at this, says that it’s probably good that you haven’t had a normal office job. He spends a lot of time letting you know actual office jobs aren’t anything like sitcoms, which is funny considering the office where he works. Maybe he doesn’t gossip around the water cooler, but you’ve definitely seen the assistants gathering. Even heard his name come up a time or two. Heard how attractive they all seem to think he is. They’re not wrong.

Your new friends are also the type of people who insist that you absolutely have to join them when they decide happy hour is the perfect way to end the day. As San points out, you have the morning off tomorrow anyway. When you ask why it would matter if it was just happy hour, Wooyoung promptly elbows San hard in the ribs and says it doesn’t. You don’t miss the conspiratorial look on their faces, but fuck it. Happy hour sounds good.

Your head is pounding and it feels like you got hit by a freight train. You don’t even remember getting that drunk the night before. The whole evening is kind of a blur of shots and bright lights and off-key karaoke. It was just supposed to be happy hour, which you learned quickly was your first mistake. There was no such thing as just happy hour with San, Wooyoung, and their insanely chaotic group of friends. And as the sleep is wearing off, something else creeps in. There is an arm draped over you. You’re not alone in your bed. Peeking one eye open, you’re immediately struck with the fact that these aren’t your walls, not your sheets, this isn’t your bed. You’re praying on everything that you don’t believe in that the arm belongs to one of the other people you’d gone out with the night before. You remember thinking one of Wooyoung’s friends was cute and tall and smiley, a little flirty and a little shy too. And then you see the hands. And the rings. With a careful glance back, you confirm it’s Hoseok, shirtless (you don’t need to check if it’s wearing anything else).

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

It’s rushing back. You quickly learned San and Wooyoung had no intention of letting you go after just happy hour. They were all convinced you were too stressed and that what you really needed was a patented WooSan (yes, they had a couple name, despite not actually being in a relationship) night of fun. You briefly considered protesting, but really, what was the point? And fuck, they weren’t wrong.

So happy hour turned into multiple stops. Wooyoung was on a karaoke mission and although you had never heard him sing, you instinctively thought drunken karaoke was never a good idea. (You were wrong, he had the voice of an angel to match his personality of the devil.) Karaoke meant meeting up with more of their friends. And somehow, because fate was cruel, one of their friends had brought along his friend Hoseok. You remember staring at him like a deer in headlights before declaring everything was fine and hitting the shots. There also may have been a lot of flirting with Wooyoung’s tall friend with the shy smile whose name you couldn’t remember.

Now, in the light of day, it was not fine. You gingerly slide out from underneath his arm and carefully get out of the bed, tiptoeing over to what you can only hope and assume is a bathroom, phone snatched off the nightstand on the way. You’re thanking drunk you for not making it harder to find.

Once you’re in the safety of the bathroom, you sink down to the floor and take a couple of breaths. You’re not sure if it’s the hangover rearing its ugly head or just the situation you’ve found yourself in.

You: Yoongi are you up? You: Please be up, I need you! You: This is important! Like one of those most important things in the world.

Yoongi isn’t answering and you’re starting to panic. You need someone to talk you through this. So you call him, knowing that it might get his attention. The first call goes to voicemail and so you try again. This time after the second ring you hear him grunt a frustrated “what?” and then hang up.

Yoongi: What the fuck? You call twice and hang up on me? You: Because I need you

Missed call from Yoongi

Yoongi: Then answer the fucking phone You: I *can’t* You: Yoongi, I fucked up, like really fucked up Yoongi: What’s going on? You: I went out drinking last night and ugh I did something really fucking stupid Yoongi: Whatever it is, it’s not that serious You: I just woke up next to Hobi… You: Like I’m in fucking university again Yoongi: … Yoongi: I’m going back to bed, you’re being dramatic You: I’m *not* this is SERIOUS Yoongi: It’s not that serious You: I’ve spent 5 years trying to get over the way he treated me, so yeah it’s a big deal Yoongi: it’s just drunken sex and I’m tired You: oh my god, give the phone to Jimin Yoongi: Just text him You: Yoongi, please

You stare at the phone and try to figure out what else to say when the screen lights up again.

Yoongi: I have a very grumpy boyfriend You: Jimin, thank god Yoongi (Jimin): what is it my little problem child? You: Just read up Yoongi (Jimin): You bitch, you went out and got drunk and didn’t invite me? You: Jimin can we focus please? Yoongi (Jimin): Who did you go out with? You: Is this really the time? Yoongi (Jimin): I’m waiting You: Fuck Jimin, just some people that are working on the show You: Now can we please talk about this colossal mistake? Yoongi (Jimin): I’ll be there to pick you up and take your hungover ass to get breakfast, which is more than you deserve since you went out WITHOUT ME You: Thank you and I will never go out without inviting you again Yoongi (Jimin): Better

You’ve taken way too long in the bathroom and you know there’s a chance Hoseok will be awake now. But you can’t bring yourself to leave the bathroom until you get the text from Jimin that he’s downstairs. Bless him for being an absolute angel, even when it’s his horns keeping the halo upright.

Despite being a colossal pain in the ass about nearly everything in life, Jimin does actually come through and take you to one of the best meals you’ve ever had. Or maybe you’re just that hungover. You don’t really know. He’s also somehow managed to bring you a change of clothes (which, you’re not really sure if they’re actually yours or where they came from, but the outfit looks remarkably put together) and makeup so you don’t have to go all the way home. You try to ask why he’s so prepared and he only gives a vague answer about how you didn’t know him before Yoongi and smirks. You’re immediately filing that away for another day when you do remember to invite Jimin out to drink with you and whatever group you’ve been dragged into.

When Jimin drops you off at the studio (another point to Jimin) where your car is still conveniently parked from the night before, you’re feeling and looking significantly more human. You know you owe him, he doesn’t have to say it. But he’s Park Jimin so he says it anyway and you just smile.

The auditions feel a little less tedious with a stomach full of greasy food the day after a much-needed night out (where you will be pretending that you did not fuck Hoseok again). You’re looking for some more minor characters today. If things go well and you end up doing a second season based on the second book, they could play a much bigger role. For now, though, it’s still small.

Realistically, you’re not hungry because Jimin really did hook you up. Then again, the food is there and it’s free, so you’re looking over to decide what you might actually want to try. Someone approaches the other side of the table, looking tentative. You immediately recognize him as one of the guys you pointed out as fitting the right look for one of your characters. He was sweet, kind of endearing, but with really striking features.

“Hey, I just wanted to introduce myself,” he says and you look up. “I’m Chan.”

“I remember,” you say and you’re being honest. You were insistent that he be kept around to audition.

“Wow, I didn’t think…well that’s great. I’m excited to get the chance. Thank you so much,” Chan says and you realize this might be a big deal for him.

“No problem, you just remind me of him,” you say.

“I was talking to my dance teacher before the first audition,” Chan starts and you raise an eyebrow. “Oh, I know this isn’t a dancing part, I just like to take the classes.”

“That’s fair,” you say.

“And I was really worried about the audition and how it would go,” Chan says. “But my dance teacher, he’s awesome, he said he had gone to school with you and used to be friends with you and all that and that you were really nice.”

That one statement brought you up completely short. What the fuck?

“Who’s your dance teacher?” You already know the answer because really, who else could it be? Still, you need to hear him say it.

“Oh, Jung Hoseok,” Chan says quickly and you force a smile. “Do you remember him? He gave me all this great advice about the audition and said he’d try to reach out to you if it made me feel better. He’s so nice.”

“Yeah, he was. It’s been ages since I’ve spoken to him though,” you say, hoping that you succeed in the attempt at nonchalance.

“Yeah, he said that. I think he was just trying to help me feel better, offering to reach out,” Chan agrees. “I get it though. You’ve had so much success as a writer, so it makes sense you wouldn’t still talk to everyone from college. It’s so cool they’re turning your book into a series and you’re so young!”

“I feel like I’ve been writing for like 20 years with how much it ages me sometimes,” you say to distract yourself from thinking of Hoseok.

“I actually…read all the books when they came out, I’m a big fan,” Chan says and blushes like it’s embarrassing to admit. You think it’s sweet. One of the PAs calls out for you, though.

“Good luck today, Chan. It’s been really great speaking to you,” you say and excuse yourself.

Honestly, you can’t believe the audacity of fucking Jung Hoseok to say what he had to this poor kid. Playing it off like he knows you, making it seem like you just used to be friends. And what was he thinking, offering to reach out to you on behalf of this kid?

That’s when a truly sickening thought settles into your brain. Takes root in a way that you know you can’t shake it. One of those intrusive thoughts that shouldn’t ever exist. Was that what this all was? Is this why he reached out? Does he just want to help one of his dancers get a role in your new series? That would be seriously fucked up if that was the case. And you hate thinking he could be capable of something like that. The reality is that you used to know Hoseok, while the guy who wrecked you was a complete stranger and there’s no way of knowing which one had shown up now.

The rest of the day is kind of a wash from a concentration standpoint. You’re a million miles away and thankfully, nobody seems to call you on it. You’re not sure if it’s because they’ve worked with writers before that had their heads in the clouds or because you’re still answering all the questions asked of you. Either way, you’re not really there at all.

Over the next day or so, you decide the best way forward is to continue ignoring Hoseok (despite him texting you multiple times wanting to talk about what happened after karaoke). Instead of talking to Hoseok, you do the completely rational thing and talk to every other person you trust. How can you decide on the next move without multiple opinions?

You can’t.

Yoongi is first up and he’s exceptionally grumpy since you woke him up before he was ready to be a person. It may not have been that early by normal human standards, but Yoongi is only part human and part gremlin, you think, so he’s never really followed normal hours. Once he’s done being grumpy, he takes his time being thoughtful. As far as he sees it, this was just some drunken sex. It isn’t like Hoseok actually asked for anything, that you remember. And you insist you remember everything from the night. For all you know, it was just stress relief for both of you. No point in getting worked up.

Since Jimin is there and incapable of being ignored, he also gets to weigh in. Which is welcome, actually, because Jimin can be really calculating when he wants to be. He asks a lot of questions, both about the guy you were friends with and the fight that ended it all. You’re just about ready to call this conversation a day when Jimin says he doesn’t think it sounds like something malicious. There’s only one way to know for sure, though, and he suggests that you just talk to Hoseok like an adult with multiple published books and a streaming deal. There’s Park Jimin for you.

Part of you wants to ask Namjoon, but thinks better of it. The Affair incident is fresh in your mind and you really don’t need to give him another reason to question your sanity. There are enough of those just in everyday life. And you just had to relive the entire fight with Jimin so you’re not too eager to explain all the backstory to Namjoon.

Which makes the final person you ask Jungkook. His opinion is so incredibly important to you, yet it’s the one that you’re least excited about getting. It means you also have to tell him about sleeping with Hoseok, a fact that you have carefully avoided. Not that you owe Jungkook every detail of your life, because you’re not actually in a relationship. It’s just that, sometimes, with how much you depend on each other, it feels like something more. Feels like it’s much more than just some friends-with-benefits type situation.

In true Jungkook fashion, he takes the news in stride and doesn’t linger on you fucking this stranger that reappeared at the Gala and hasn’t seemed to go away since then. He’s thoughtful, Hoseok has come up a lot in your conversations lately, so he doesn’t have to ask questions like Jimin. And you tell him how frustrating it was to answer them, anyway. There’s no escaping it when Jungkook comes to the same conclusion, though.

“Just talk to him,” Jungkook urges, “you’ll feel so much better being able to gauge his answer.”

“I’m really sorry,” you say and Jungkook’s eyebrows furrow at that.

“For what?” he asks.

“Getting drunk and making a stupid fucking mistake by fucking him,” you answer, avoiding his eyes.

“It’s really not a big deal for you and me,” Jungkook says.

“Are you sure?” you ask. You hate how small your voice sounds.

Jungkook closes the space between you and kisses the top of your head. “I’m sure. I’m here for whatever you need.”

This brings you to texting Hoseok.

And that brings you to sit down in a coffee shop with him, because apparently you can’t just text or go to each other’s apartment, like normal people. Which is nice too, actually, because it gives you a chance to see more of the city than just your apartment or the studio where you’ve been working. It allows you to people watch, see those rushing by in a haze mingled with those taking their time. Let’s your overactive imagination come up with a story for each of them.

You still aren’t even sure if you want to forgive Hoseok for everything that happened all those years ago. And with all the writing sessions and casting calls, you haven’t exactly had a lot of time to even think, let alone talk to anyone outside of your small circle. Which isn’t totally out of character, you’ve never been one for a huge circle of friends or social engagements. It just makes everything a little more complicated now as you’re trying to sort out feelings.

Hoseok beat you to the coffee shop this time, seemingly by a bit since he’s going to get his second cup just after you sit down. You spare a passing thought that maybe he’s nervous about talking to you. He certainly seems like he is. Weirdly it makes you less nervous. It makes you feel somehow more in control of the situation because you do know what you want to say.

“So,” Hoseok begins after he sits back down, “about the other night…”

“Actually, that isn’t exactly what I wanted to talk to you about,” you say, watching his eyes go wide.

“What?” he stutters out.

“I mean, I guess it’s kind of related? But also not,” you say. “I met Lee Chan at a casting call the other day.”

Whatever Hoseok was expecting, it’s not this. He tries to connect the dots for a moment before meeting your eyes again. “Okay? He’s a great kid, I’m glad he decided to go to the auditions after all.”

“That’s it?” You’re watching him for a reaction that just isn’t there. Maybe, despite The Fight, he’s still more or less the person you were friends with.

“I’m not sure what else to say about him,” Hoseok admits.

“Okay, cards on the table,” you say with a confidence you don’t entirely feel. “Did you show back up in my life to help your student get a part in my series?”

Hoseok chokes on his drink when the question comes out, turns into a coughing mess and takes a minute to clear his throat. “What the fuck? Is that what you think? Come on, you know me…”

“I don’t though, do I? Not anymore,” you disagree and there’s finally an emotion on his face that you can place: hurt. He’s hurt and you’re not sure how to feel about that. Your feelings about him are still so mixed up. A big part of you wants to comfort him, though. Which isn’t exactly the response you’d expected.

“Maybe I deserve that, but it still hurts,” Hoseok says. You chew your bottom lip while you think.

“It hurt to have the thought it was possible too, trust me,” you say. “But it was weird timing, you know? Chan introduced himself during his second audition, later the same day I woke up in your bed.”

“I would never sleep with you to help a student get something out of it,” Hoseok says earnestly. “I’d never sleep with you to get anything out of it.”

“I want to believe that,” you admit.

“I had no idea that you’d be there. Another guy from the studio who teaches but also takes my master classes is friends with your friends that invited you out. He asked if I wanted to come out, I wasn’t busy, so I figured why not?” Hoseok explains. “And then I wake up and you’re gone.”

“Hoseok,” you say, a quiet warning.

“Actually, I wake up and you’re sneaking out without saying anything,” he amends.

“I needed to not be there,” you say because it’s all you can say.

“I get that, I know you’re seeing someone, but we needed to talk about it,” Hoseok says.

“Yeah, Jungkook knows,” you say and feel your heart constrict a bit at the way Hoseok pales.

“What?” Hoseok asks. When you don’t say anything, he continues. “Please tell me you’re kidding, he looks like he could kick my ass and barely break a sweat.”

“He would never,” you disagree. “My…relationship, if you wanna call it that, with Jungkook isn’t exactly what you think? Like he’s not my boyfriend, we’re not exclusive or anything like that.”

“But you let me think you were?” He doesn’t look upset, just confused if anything.

“Yeah, I know,” you say and he’s still watching you carefully. “It was just easier and honestly, I didn’t feel like I owed you an explanation for my personal life after all these years.”

“I - yeah, okay, I guess I have to respect that,” Hoseok agrees. “But we still need to talk.”

“I’m not ready,” you say immediately, try not to feel anything when he deflates.

“I guess I just thought…since you asked to meet me,” Hoseok says, trailing off.

“I needed to know if you really just did that for a student,” you offer.

“You believe that I didn’t, right? That I wouldn’t?” Hoseok asks with so much hope that you’re not sure you can take it.

“I do, yeah,” you say. You’ve barely had time to process, but you know you do believe he wouldn’t do that. It’s about all you know when it comes to him now.

“I really do need you to know how sorry I am,” Hoseok says and you start to open your mouth, but he’s quicker. “Please, you don’t have to say anything, just let me say this? Please?”

He looks so much younger, so vulnerable for a moment. All you do is nod.

“I know sorry isn’t what you need to hear, I get that. I know that I can’t go back and change that fight and all the fucking stupid shit that I said. Stuff that I didn’t mean. And I do hear you that you’re not ready. I just want you to know that I’m so sorry,” Hoseok says.

You let out your breath. “I do know that Hobi, at least on some level.”

“I’ve, well I’ve done a lot of thinking about that day. I talked to a lot of people, both friends and a therapist, actually. There aren’t any excuses for what I did, no matter what was going on in my head. If I’ve learned anything over the past few years, it’s definitely that. So I want to make sure you know that when you are ready, if you’re ever ready, I won’t make any excuses. What happened was entirely my fault and I completely acknowledge that,” he says, so earnestly.

“I appreciate that,” you say because it’s all you really can think up.

This was supposed to clear your head up, which it has in some ways. You feel a little silly for even thinking that Hoseok would do something like sleep with you to help get someone he only kind of knows a role in a TV series. And you’re also questioning your friends since none of them pointed out you were having a full breakdown over a man. Not your finest moment.

But with that one, small thing cleared up, your mind immediately goes back to the bigger issue: Hoseok has reappeared in your life and you really need to figure out how you feel about that. You’ve missed him, of course. You’re not going to deny that very obvious truth. On top of that, you also very clearly have some sort of feelings for him. After all, you’re not stupid college kids anymore. It’s not like you can pretend the sex was meaningless.

Hoseok, showing some definite growth from your college days, accepts it when you say that you just can’t talk about all the very real things you need to right now. Accepts it when you say that you believe him but you have to go. Accepts that you’re running late for something. The only problem is that you’re not running late. It’s not like you actually planned for after your talk with him. It was too much to even think about how the conversation was going to go.

Now it’s over, though, and you don’t really want to go home to be alone with your thoughts. One of the few times that you don’t like that you live alone. Don’t like that you don’t have a built-in person that can just be there without you having to explain what you’re feeling or that you don’t want to be alone. Which is when your brain goes to Jungkook. He’s become that person that you go to when you don’t want to be alone or when you need to get out of your own head.

Except you’re not really sure that’s fair to him. Not really sure if seeing him right now is going to help you. Since the Gala, he’s been nothing but supportive and understanding. This is too much, though, isn’t it? Sure, you and he have never really wanted to bother labeling things, both just happy with the way things are. Things have naturally kind of evolved, but you haven’t stopped to talk about any of it. Sure, Jungkook always assures you that it’s fine, that he’s happy to be there whenever you need him.

The healthiest thing to do is go home and actually try to sort out your feelings. The second healthiest thing to do would be to call Yoongi and tell him that you actually need to talk to him (which you do, desperately, need his help).

None of the healthy options include texting Wooyoung to see if he’s got any plans that night. The healthy ways to process definitely don’t include agreeing to go out for happy hour knowing full well what that means with Wooyoung. At least this time, you invite Jimin to avoid one disaster.

(Jimin agrees to come and agrees to your terms that he’s not allowed to ask if you’re okay or if you want to talk. Agrees that he won’t tell Yoongi even if he thinks you’re making reckless decisions. He also finds a way to tell Wooyoung’s friend not to invite Hoseok this time without outing you. When you’re sober, you’ll probably thank Jimin. Maybe. There is always his ego to consider.)

“I feel like I’ve seen you around somewhere,” San muses, looking at Jimin.

Jimin just smiles his most mischievous smile and shrugs, taking a sip of his drink. “Probably.”

“Jimin is one of my best friends, he’s been by the studio a few times,” you say when it’s clear Jimin isn’t going to provide any more context. He sighs and rolls his eyes dramatically.

“I’m also dating her platonic soulmate, so she’s stuck with me,” Jimin adds and you snort.

“Is that what we’re calling Yoongi these days?” you ask. Jimin smiles a real smile, eyes crinkling.

“Honestly, yes, your friendship with him is so sweet, it makes me sick,” Jimin says with nothing but affection.

San seems satisfied and Wooyoung just looks enamored by anything Jimin says. Which is actually kind of cute because you can tell he’s not even interested in Jimin like that, just genuinely wants to be his friend. And you definitely get that. Jimin is one of the sweetest, most charismatic people that you know. Yes, he can be a devious little shit, but when he’s like this, it’s impossible to not like him.

That’s just kind of how the night goes. Thankfully, it’s not quite as crazy as the last time you went out with this group. You learn the tall guy’s name is Mingi and for some reason, he seems weirdly shy around you. It’s cute and he’s incredibly sweet. Jimin fits in seamlessly, which isn’t a surprise to you with how many times you’ve seen him like this.

What is a surprise, though, is that Jimin keeps demanding you get up and dance with him. Since, of course, happy hour turned into going someplace else. It wasn’t just Jimin that wanted to dance and now you were just along for the ride. He also insisted that you were a safe choice to dance with and also gave you a sob story about how Yoongi would never dance with him at the club.

(Probably true, crowds and people and this kind of thing were definitely not Yoongi’s first or second or even last choice. It’s also true that Jimin is a really amazing dancer and you’re a little intimidated by him. You’re also, thankfully, just buzzed enough to not really care.)

It’s the early hours of the morning when you finally head home, feeling a lot lighter than you had after leaving Hoseok. In fact, you haven’t checked your messages since meeting up with Jimin, Wooyoung, San, and the others. There’s something freeing about just putting everything on Do Not Disturb and enjoying the moment.

By the time you get out of the car at your apartment, the alcohol haze is already wearing off. Which ends up being a good thing when you open your door to see someone sitting on your couch. There’s a half second of panic, of your brain calculating fight or flight, before you realize that it’s just Jungkook. Sitting on your couch, watching TV like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

“Jesus Christ, Jungkook,” you say, hand on your chest like you’re about to die. A little overdramatic, maybe, but your brain is still a little hazy around the edges.

“Sorry,” he says, eyes immediately going comically wide. “I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“No, it’s fine,” you say as you toe off your shoes and drop your keys and bag on the table by the door.

“I really am sorry,” he says. It’s easy to believe when he looks that bashful. “I don’t even know why I came over. I just, well I texted you after I got out of my shoot to see how things went and you didn’t answer.”

“Oh yeah, I went out for drinks with Jimin and some friends from the set,” you say and Jungkook nods.

“Yeah, he actually texted me,” Jungkook admits and you just chuckle. Of course he did, you think. “But I was already on my way over here and your apartment is more comfortable than mine. I can leave though?”

“No, it’s fine, it’s late,” you say as you collapse on the couch with him. “One rule, though.”

“What?” he asks.

“I don’t wanna talk about the conversation with Hobi right now,” you say quietly as you nestle into Jungkook’s side.

You miss the way that he tenses for a minute at the way the old nickname falls so easily from your lips. Miss the way it takes his arms a minute to wrap around you. Miss the way his face falls a little at you not wanting to talk to him about something.

“Of course, whatever you need,” Jungkook says.

You don’t hear the way his voice sounds a little hollow, a little less animated than it usually does. He wants to mean it, wants to keep being there for you however you need him. It’ll be fine, he tells himself. He can do this.

all of them are kinda going through it right now, but please let me know your thoughts <3

#jungkook imagine #jungkook scenarios #btswritersclub #btshoneyhive #bangtantheatrenet #kvanity #thekpopuniverse #jeon jungkook imagine #jeon jungkook fic #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #bts imagines #bts scenarios #bts x reader #hoseok x reader #hoseok imagine

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ariel-seagull-wings · 2 years ago

Text

FICTIONAL CHARACTER ASK: RAY STANTZ

Asked by anonymus

@amalthea9 @angelixgutz @thealmightyemprex @goodanswerfoxmonster @spengnitzed @bixiebeet @themousefromfantasyland @stantzed @filmcityworld1 @professorlehnsherr-almashy

Favorite Thing About Them: Ray is one of the first dorky geeks that was proud of his geekness in visual mass media. He is optimistic, resilient, outgoing, curious, sometimes shows concerns and reservations, but when pushed into a new situation, he jumps with entusiasm at the adventure, and he loves to share his passion about the supernatural with people, and even if he appears at the wrong hour, or some people are just not interested and may judge him as a "weirdo", he never looses his entusiasm or acts ashamed of who he is. A lot of people in the audience would love to have him as a friend because of how quick he is to embrace new people into his life, and he is also one of the first plus size characters that many fans to this day consider phisically atractive, wich should be considered an important mark in the Body Positivity movement.

Least Favorite Thing About Them: When in the novelization of the 1984 movie, there was an insertion of "Innocent Insensitivity" in his character in a scene where he reacts surprised for Winston being black, saying that "the supernatural reacts more strongly in the presence of black people". I hope Winston had a talk with Ray about the concepts of positive discrimination and exotification, and why they are harmfull, in private after that.

Three Things I Have In Common With Them:

*I enjoy the taste of roasted marshmallows as a comfort food;

*I love comic books;

*I have a fascination with mithology and folklore from around the world;

Three Things I Don't Have In Common With Them:

*I'm too easilly frightened to want to make physical contact with a ghost;

*I don't drive;

*Both of my parents are still alive;

Favorite Line:

From the October 1983 Script Draft:

"Drop everything; Venkman. We got one."

"Peter, at 1:40 this afternoon at the main branch of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue, ten people witnessed a free-roaming, vaporous, full-torso apparition. It blew books from shelves at twenty feet away. Scared the socks off some poor librarian."

"No, this one's for real, Peter. Spengler went down there and took some PKE readings. Right off the top of the scale. Buried the needle. We're close this time. I can feel it."

"Spengler and I have charted every psychic occurrence in the Tri-State area for the past two years. The graph we came up with definitely points to something big."

"What do you mean by "seen?""

"Well, I was at an unexplained multiple high-altitude rockfall once."

"I told you it's real."

"Okay. Okay. I got it. I know what to do. Stay close. I have a plan."

"Okay, now do exactly as I say. Everybody ready?Okay... GET HER!!!"

"I guess I got a little overexcited. Wasn't it incredible! I'm telling you, this is a first. You know what this could mean to the University?"

"Then we were right! This is great. And if the ionization rate is constant for all ectoplasmic entities, I think we could really kick ass - in the spiritual sense."

"You said you floored ‘em at the Regents‘ meeting."

"My parents left me that house. I was born there."

"But at nineteen percent interest! You didn't even bargain with the guy."

"Wow! Does this pole still work?"

"Are you troubled by strange noises in the night? Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic? Have you or your family actually seen a spook, specter or ghost? If the answer is yes, then don't wait another minute. Just pick up the phone and call the professionals —— Ghostbusters."

"Everybody can relax. I found the car. How do you like it?"

"Just needs a little suspension work...And a muffler...And maybe brakes."

"You know, Peter, this could be a past life experience intruding on the present."

"I just realized something. We've never had a completely successful test with any of the equipment."

"All right. Let's cool the negative vibes. These things can sense them."

"Sir, what you had there was what we refer to as a focused, non—terminal repeating phantasm or a Class Five Full Roaming Vapor...A real nasty one, too."

"I couldn't help it! It just popped in there!"

"It can't be! It can't be!"

"It's...It‘s...It's the STAY-PUFT MARSHMALLOW MAN."

"I tried to think of the most harmless thing...something that could never destroy us...something I loved from my childhood."

"The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man! He was on all the packages we used to buy when I was a kid. We used to roast Stay-Puft marshmallows at Camp Waconda!"

"Either way we're history."

From the novelization of the 1984 movie by Richard Mueller:

"It's not a car, it's an Ectomobile."

brOTP: Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Winston Zeddemore, Janine Melnitz, Dana Barrett, Louis Tully, Slimer, Jake, Buster, Louise, Irena Cortez, Bryan Welsh, Ilyssa Selwin, Melanie Ortiz, Kylie Griffin, Eduardo Rivera, Walter Peck.

OTP: Winston Zeddemore, Elaine Phermon, Jenny Moran, @amalthea9 OC Peggy, @spengnitzed OC Michelle.

nOTP: Kylie Griffin.

Random Headcanon: In the 2009 videogame, Ray briefly mentions that he went to study in a Seminar, so I assume he was raised Catholic.

Unpopular Opinion: I wish he made use of the camera that he appeared at the beggining of the 1984 movie more often, as a way of documenting the ghosts behaviours, maybe even interviewing them. Is a pity that this filmaker side of Ray never went furter explored.

Songs I Associate With Them:

Frankenstein Twist

youtube

Monster Mash

youtube

I'm a Believer

youtube

The Night

youtube

Ghostriders in the Sky

youtube

Favorite Picture of Them:

Dan Aykroyd in the 1984 movie

His design in the pilot and first two seasons of The Real Ghostbusters

#fictional character ask #character ask meme #fandom musings #ghostbusters 1984 #the real ghostbusters #idw ghostbusters #ray stantz #Youtube

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acheronist · 7 months ago

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hey! i saw your post about “he was a marine by the cut of his big” and the first thing i thought is i know he wrote in inverse and obviously it would be confusing and you’d probably forget or skip words from time to time, i think he likely meant to write “the cut of his gib” as in “he was a marine based on his overall appearance/way he looked” :)

ohhh omg i hadn’t read it that way at all but that’s so interesting!!! HENRY!!!! 'the cut of his gib' does make a lot of sense like i just had a very crazy moment of second-guessing myself LMAO but nearly all of this & the next facing page were written in the backwards code system he made up, excluding like… 7~10 words for both pages? and big/gib is the last word on the page + it's kind of hard to tell if there is a period to end the phrase or if what i Think could be a period is actually just a spot of damage along the crease of the paper.... so i can't tell if that's the whole sentence or not....... it just feels kind of unlikely to me that he’d suddenly drop the pattern in that exact spot???? no source very little evidence it’s just how i feel 🧐💌🤷🏻‍♀️⁉️ also i don't think after four lines of getting the backwards script done at 100% he's gonna randomly give up and phone it in on the last word of the page lmfao

fwiw also, russell a. potter’s transcription (where he’s cited that he didn’t have much to improve upon re: a.g.e jones & richard cyriax transcriptions of the pages either) also reads this portion as “wos a marine By the cut of his big” so that also makes me feel a bit more certain !?

but 'cut of his gib' definitely does make more sense as like... a normal phrase he'd genuinely say as opposed to like... y'know, the higher up officers writing in with a very proper queen's english type of language. like oh well yes of course he'd be using the language that a working class sailor would use!!! but also he was 🤏🏻juuuuuust Probably Dyslexic enough with his spelling that now i'm also wondering if he might have gotten a j/g noise mixed up in the 'cut of his jib' slang. hm. also i was just wondering if this phrase was even popular around the 1840s (it was) BUT I JUST REALIZED IT COMES FROM A SAILING TERM ORIGINALLY!!!! that's crazy i had no idea.... okay so anyways that also definitely lends credit towards "the cut of his jib" being in his vernacular

oh something else i'm thinking about now is like... a lot of his Full Pages are organized on a slight slant? like he had the paper angled a bit While he wrote, but also he started squeezing the words in together as he neared the end of the pages.... so that might have something to do with if it's a full sentence or not.... running out of literal space on the paper mid-sentence..... the arrangement of letters is obviously important to him in other places (the spirals etc) so that might be something..... i dunnooooo….

MUCH TO CONSIDER! i fear we may have to bust out the ouija board and get henry to explain himself & read his shitty handwriting for us

#i wish i was a real academic with confidence and not just an obsessive freak doing this as a hobby #i’m constantly arguing with myself over the way/ what this dude did or did not write down lmao #like henry!!!!!! get back here i have questions for you!!!!!#anyways thats enough yapping from me now. sorry if i was supposed to reply to this in a shorter way LMAO #📜

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muppet-chaos · 8 months ago

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⭐ also for a fic of your choice!

Okay we're getting a little bit silly with it, I'm gonna try and do a full directors commentary for You Were My Fool. This one is very long so, under the break!

This was the first fic I ever started writing for Woe.begone, I believe. (Not the first I ever finished and published but whatever). I was (and am) not normal enough about Ryanball to finally make an AO3 account and write and publish fic for the first time in actual years. It's also the first smut I ever wrote. I'm interested to see how that holds up now that I'm much more comfortable with it.

I ended up going with the 5+1 style of story structure because that's a fanfic thing that I really enjoy and I thought it would be interesting to apply it to something uh... unconventional. Anyways, let's dive right in.

"Toph… have I ever told you that you have a very wringable neck? I think it's probably the way players have killed you most often. People just really like to wrap their hands all the way around you, I guess." Ryan smiled at Toph, looking up from his computer, like what he'd said was the most normal thing in the world, which, by Ryan's standards, maybe it was. He did spend a lot of his time making people cut off limbs. What was a few strangling deaths?

Oh boy, off to... a start. I think it's kind of funny that I just went write in with the strangling because that's usually not my thing but the fact that Ryan literally says in the show that Topher has a very snappable neck was too good to pass up.

I don't know what the fuck "people just really like to wrap their hands all the way around you" is supposed to mean. That sure sounds kind of horny but in a way that actually makes literally no sense. That's fine. It works.

Topher was pretty sure that Ryan had never killed him, himself. Pretty sure. He wasn't sure that Ryan didn't want to, but if he knew him at all he knew that he usually preferred his victims to remember the horrible things he put them through, and Topher certainly didn't remember Ryan ever personally wringing his neck.

I feel like this is a pretty important detail for how I characterize Ryan, and also their relationship in this fic. Despite everything there's at least some trust between these two.

He felt himself subconsciously lifting his shoulders up, bringing his neck and chin closer into himself. Ryan reached over and patted him on the back. "Aww loosen up Toph. No time for that. We've got work to do."

Toph's body language is definitely an important theme throughout.

“Hey Toph, does this message for the player match up with the current Aliza Shultz blog?” Ryan plopped the laptop screen down in front of him leaning over Topher’s shoulder to watch the screen while he read it. His chest was pressed up against Topher’s back and his chin could practically have been resting on the top of his head if he chose to lean over. Topher tried to tune it out and focus on actually checking the player message for continuity errors.

I never have any idea how to actually describe what Topher's work on Woe.begone is. I mean, he's definitely doing something. Is this it??? Also first example in this fic of Ryan having absolutely no sense of personal space which is my most dearly held headcanon about him for sure.

“You ever thought about trying it out yourself?” Ryan’s arm snaked around his back, tapping out an idle pattern on Topher's opposite shoulder and his attention was wrenched from reading the message script and back into his body.

Every once and a while whether or not Topher actually ever played Woe.begone comes up and I'm largely of the opinion that everything he told Mikey in season one about playing was in fact a lie. I don't think Ryan made him play to get the gig.

“The second challenge.” He wasn’t looking at Ryan’s face but he could hear the smirk in his voice. He could picture the exact expression. It was searing itself in his mind's eye even as he stared dead ahead at the computer screen. He opened his mouth to ask why he would ever do that but Ryan gave his bicep a squeeze and he shut it again. “Lot to get through here, think you could do it?”

"Built like a brick shithouse". Enough said.

“You’d bring me back, right?” Why was he even asking this? He was not going to cut off his arm. Not for Ryan. Not even for an actual prize.

Oh Toph you are down so bad buddy.

It had to be a stakeout. Why couldn't they just use the tech for this stuff? Ryan had assured him that it was necessary to do this in person, even pulling out the technobabble explanation for it, not that Topher could understand any of it. And anyways, Ryan was here too. He doubted he would have found himself standing next to Topher in the dark cold alleyway waiting for one Ty Betteridge to pass by if it really was just an excuse to fuck with him.

I'm sure I had some idea what they were doing to Ty here and why when I wrote it but I definitely don't remember now.

Ryan chuckled, taking another step towards Topher. Unless he wanted to blow their cover and book it out into the road he was well and truly penned in now. Ryan chuckled, reaching out a hand for Topher's and sung under his breath. "Once, upon a time, your heart would skip…"

At least according to the Q+A's Topher was the one who came up with the Cut Off Your Hands challenge which I didn't know when I wrote this bit but adds a fun little layer here I think. Taste of your own medicine Toph. And also Ryan is paying attention to the things Topher likes, awww.

Ryan leaning over him with the saw… it had always been the electric type when players did it… or at least when any player who actually succeeded, but in his mind it had become a hand saw. Slow. Brutal. He could imagine the feel of the teeth cutting into his skin. The sound of metal and bone. Ryan pressing down on his chest to hold him down and cut.

...hot

“C’mere Toph.” Topher stayed where he was, swaying slightly on the side of the dumpster. Ryan frowned briefly and then sighed and repeated in a more strict tone. “Topher. Come here.”

Uh oh Ryan is getting the dom voice out.

Topher turned back around to face the road. He could feel Ryan's stare boring into the back of his head but he tried to stand still and not let him see that he was still uncomfortable. Slowly Ryan stepped around him, standing in front of him also looking out into the road… frankly, blocking Topher's view. Ryan wasn't exactly a small guy even if Topher was taller than him.

Trying to figure out the relative size of these characters is interesting. A lot of the men in Woe.begone (especially introduced in the begining of the series) are very large which fair. I can't complain. Big beefy masc guys doing horrifying violence 🥰. As previously mentioned Topher is "built like a brick shithouse" and Ryan is apparently Mike's type so likely also pretty big and pretty masc. I tend to imagine Ryan as more of the gym rat body builder type and Topher as more naturally large and, as obvious here, slightly taller than Ryan.

"There…" Ryan grumbled. "Are your hands warm yet?"

I will never get over the fact that Ryan is the one who points out Topher has bad circulation. Real no one is allowed to bully him except me energy.

“I think I’d start with breaking his fingers… that’s easy to do but it hurts a lot. That moment where it’s pulled back, just too far, right before it snaps.” Topher’s fingers twitched, he clenched his fist and tried not to squirm too visibly. Don’t draw attention to yourself Topher. Don’t draw attention. His stomach twisted. Ryan leaned back further until his head was in Topher’s lap, dragging his hand across his chest as he moved to lay it behind him on the couch. “Maybe crawl on top of him and break a few ribs. Not enough to puncture a lung. Just enough to make the pain white hot every time he breathes. Then maybe go for a few organs… none of the important ones you know but, just mess around in there for a bit.”

I don't know why I was so fixated on breaking fingers at this point but "Climbing" has that in it too (the fic I published before this one. Also more Ryan having literally no sense of personal space.

"Topher?" He couldn't place the tone in Ryan's voice. Confused but fond… Ryan sounded unsure of himself, which he never did, but also with an undercurrent of excitement, if Topher could call it that. He started to sit up, his elbow digging his weight into Topher's thigh. "Are you jealous?"

Yep.

The hand that wasn't pressing Ryan's weight into the meat of Topher's thigh came up and grabbed his face by the chin, turning Topher back towards him. There was no hiding how flustered he was, his face turning bright red, Ryan just about half sitting in his lap now. He tried to keep from making eye contact but all that got him was staring at Ryan's lips and that stupid evil hot smirk. "Topher? Do you want me to hurt you?"

I described Topher as turning bright red like three times in the last couple of paragraphs oops. On the bright side, this paragraph also has one of my favorite little things to do while writing from a specific characters point of view, subtly changing the way that they refer to a specific thing in their thoughts over the course of the story. Topher thinks about Ryan's smile a lot in this fic and this is the first time he just outright calls it hot, earlier its implied but he skirts around it.

Another example (not in this fic) is in "The Change" where over time Mikey just eventually starts referring to his nest as a nest without really acknowledging that. I wanted that to be subtle and a little disconcerting.

Topher swallowed. He wasn't actually sure he could open his mouth with Ryan holding it like that. Ryan leaned in, and for a moment Topher was wide eyed thinking that he was going to kiss him. He brushed against his cheek and then whispered in his ear. "There's a lot I could do to you, Toph. With the fail safes we have you would just come right back to me. I could cut your heart out right in front of you."

For some reason I remember really not wanting to write kissing in this fic. It was definitely one of the things about writing smut that I took a while to get comfortable with. Also, once again... hot.

Topher let out a low whine in the back of his throat. The attempt to hide this from Ryan was all but gone… the attempt to hide this feeling from himself. He could imagine the blood dripping from Ryan’s hands, his blood dripping from Ryan’s hands, and he didn’t understand, but shit he wanted it. “You’d like that would you?”

Here's another thing I struggled with when I got started writing smut. I was okay at dirty talk from the dominant partner but... not great at it from the submissive one. "Cowboy Up" definitely helped me break out of that pattern but in this fic particularly Topher just kind of, immediately gives up on talking when things get heated. I think I realized it didn't quite work and tries to pull back a bit later in the fic.

Ryan had a cute little smile where his chin rested on his hands on the table. A smirk… it was still a smirk, but it was a cute smirk. “Aww… you’re not exactly a good actor… Cannonball.” Oof. “It will work better if you’re actually in pain I think. Would a broken bone be easier? It would make it less likely that you’d bleed out before they found you. Or maybe I could cut off a couple of fingers?”

Honestly whether or not Topher is a good actor is something we have conflicting information about. In season one he seems to do a perfectly passable job playing the Cannonball role. He fools Mikey for just about as long as he's supposed to. In season four though Mikey dunks on his acting chops pretty hard. I imagine it might be a case of level of preparation.

Topher nervously stepped away from the counter and sat down. He leaned his elbow on the table, laying his hand out on the table in front of Ryan as naturally as he could manage (not that he was really managing to make it seem natural at all). It wasn’t his fault if he was bad at playing coy. At least as Cannonball he’d had the chance to practice some of his lines. Ryan chuckled and reached out for Topher’s hand pressing at the flesh of his palm where it met his fingers as if he was sizing up how he would go about taking one of them off. “Now you’re really just teasing. How’s that going to convince anyone that I was injured in a fight?”

Oh lol apparently past me was also already thinking about that contradiction.

Topher took a deep breath trying to keep himself still, he could feel the words that were about to come out of his mouth in the moment before he said them and he thought if he let himself he might turn and run before they ever got out. But he didn’t want to run. He was as sure as he’d ever been that he wanted this. “Are you just going to keep teasing me forever? Or are you actually going to hurt me, Ryan?”

HOT!

Topher had some questions about how in depth Ryan seemed to have thought all of this out. He supposed thinking of elaborate ways to hurt people was sort of what Ryan did with a lot of his time, but this wasn't Woe.begone, this was different. Was this all for him? Or was he just the first unsuspecting man to say yes to something like this? Was he even the first? He wasn't sure he wanted to hear about it if Ryan had talked some guy he met on Scruff into a similar situation but in the meantime thinking about it was a great way to keep his mind off of what was about to happen to him. It wasn't that he didn't want to think about it, but the anticipation was just about to drive him insane. And he didn't want to lose his nerve before it had even started.

I didn't actually consider the answer to this when I wrote this I don't think. I imagine Ryan was probably involved in some pretty hardcore kinky sex pre Woe.begone but probably not anything quite this extreme. The ability to use time travel tech opens up a lot of avenues of pain that would be a lot more of a hassle or just down right impossible/unsurvivable without it... which is largely the point of this fic lol. And I imagine he hasn't actually slept with any players so this planning probably really was all for Topher's benefit.

"Uh. No. Not happening." Maybe he should have talked a few more of these details over before he let himself be tied up. "What? Don't want to stick a sock in it Toph?" Ryan dangled the gag in front of his face with a laugh and Topher scowled. "Not funny." "Fine, no gag." Ryan put it back down and gently patted Topher on the cheek. "I want our neighbors to hear your screaming anyways."

I put so much thought into this bit. Topher doesn't want to be gagged here and he also doesn't end up reciprocating oral sex later in the fic this guy is not okay with things being stuck in his mouth post getting kidnapped by Mike. Interestingly, my other smut fic with Topher ("Employee Benefits") is set in the season ten timeline where Mikey never kidnapped Topher and so he doesn't have any issues with performing oral sex in that one.

Topher wasn't sure what the intended response to that was supposed to be but the idea that someone out there might hear all this sent a thrill through him. Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Oh you liked that idea, did you Toph? Maybe I should record some of this next time." Next time. Well. "I know a few circles online that would positively just eat this up. What do you think?"

One day I'll write the Ryanball snuff film fic.

Ryan licked his lips and Topher let out a whine. "Jeez, Topher. I'm not even doing anything yet. At least try to use your words." He was more amused than annoyed.

Self callout lol.

“I never took you for being so… adventurous Toph,” Ryan took a step back, pulling his shirt off and tossing it aside. “I really can’t complain though.” Surely someone with more acceptable tastes or morals would have left Ryan to his own devices long ago, powerful time travel technology or not.

Genuinely the core of their relationship.

“I hope not.” Topher grumbled. He was sitting fully naked and tied to one of their support beams. He was not in the mood to start hearing complaints about his behavior.

Support beam??? I know I wanted him to be tied to something and on the floor with his back to whatever that something was but I have no idea what I was picturing the room looking like lol. Having kinky sex in your minimalist open concept living room with wood beams I guess???

Also, gotta love sassy Topher. He's a loose cannon guys ;)

Topher didn’t get the time to finish asking himself whether or not Ryan was going to give him a warning or not because in an instant he stepped forward, his hands taking hold of either side of Topher's left forearm and then his boot came down on it hard. There was a moment of pressure where Topher wasn’t sure what was about to happen to him and then a sickeningly loud crunch and a wave of burning pain radiating up from his arm, intense enough his vision whited out for a moment and he felt more than heard himself scream. His vision cleared to Ryan leaning over him and grinning, one hand cupping Topher’s cheek, the other one still clutching the wrist of his broken arm, which settled into a dull but pervasive thud. “You still with me Toph?”

I distinctly remember googling how much pressure it takes to break a bone to figure out if this was possible or not, also how a breaking bone sounds. I don't remember if I actually looked up what breaking a bone feels like though.

Also I just realized how Topher is tied up here is not consistent at all he mentions his wrists being tied a couple paragraphs ago... oops? I will choose to assume that Ryan untied that arm while he was distracted from the pain, or something.

“Good.” Ryan said, stepping back into Topher’s space. He was holding something small in his hand but Topher couldn’t see what it was yet. And his focus was dragged away from trying to figure it out as Ryan knelt down so he was standing even with him and reached for the hand of Topher’s injured arm with his free hand, weaving their fingers together. Even the small motion sent a few more pulsing aches up past his shoulder, a strange contrast to how gentle Ryan’s touch actually was, as his thumb brushed over the soft skin of Topher’s wrist.

Genuinely kind of obsessed with this juxtaposition. Good move past Fortune.

“You do seem like you’re enjoying yourself.” Ryan licked his lips again, (Topher wasn’t even sure he was conscious of that motion), and stared down at Topher’s cock, a look not all that different from when he’d been about to hurt him. Like he was thinking of devouring him whole. Topher, admittedly, hadn’t even realized he’d gotten this hard. There were, a lot of things having an effect on him but, his attention had been elsewhere, with his body's other responses. Ryan leaned in closer, nipping at the base of his jaw and whispered, “you want some help with that big boy?”

Ryan calling Topher 'big boy' here was certainly a choice. Also I'm not sure it's obvious to anyone else from this description that I was not at all comfortable yet with trying to describe Topher getting hard but it's definitely obvious to me.

It was hard not to get lost in the sensation of Ryan going down on him. He was good at this, not that Topher had really expected anything else. Maybe he was a bit biased at the moment but it seemed like Ryan was good at everything he did. Whatever part of his mind wasn’t focused on the pleasure of Ryan’s lips, and tongue and throat, and the breathy little noise he made as Topher threaded his good hand into Ryan’s hair was otherwise still just as distracted by the pain in his broken arm.

Okay... his other arm is untied too I guess. Oops. Also once again, definitely not comfortable with describing a blow job yet when I wrote this but this way of writing around any concrete descriptions of what Ryan is doing by just describing how Topher feels about what Ryan is doing does a good job of masking that fact.

Ryan walked around him for a moment as if he was looking for the best possible plan of attack and then stopped, standing over Topher with a vicious grin. A beautiful vicious grin. He reached down and undid his pants, letting out a groan as his cock was freed. Topher watched him pour some lube into his hand and jerk himself a few times, eyes fluttering closed, bottom lip caught between his teeth. Topher wanted to hold onto this moment, this picture in his mind for a while. There were some other things, more urgently he wanted to hold onto right now though, and he whined a little intent on letting Ryan know that he was starting to feel a little ignored.

The evolution of how Topher thinks about Ryan's smile continues. Also I'm clearly finally getting comfortable talking about dicks finally at this point in the sex scene.

Ryan leaned back taking an appraising look at his handy work. "What do you think Toph?" Topher looked down at his chest, and snorted, a motion that sent pain ricocheting through him. Ryan, the bastard, had carved an R across his chest.

This was uninventive, but in my defense Topher is the artist between the two of them and Ryan definitely does have a big enough ego to do this.

Ryan slumped a bit, and with him no longer pressing down, Topher was able to shift until he willingly slipped off of his chest, moving to kneel beside him. Topher ran a hand over his own chest smearing together cum and blood. He looked over at Ryan, covered in his fair share of it as well and smiled, despite any of the pain. Ryan leaned over kissing him on the forehead, a surprisingly gentle gesture after all of that, and said, "Alright. Let's get you cleaned up big boy. I’ll go hit the switch for the failsafe code."

Doubling down on the big boy choice apparently. Also that image of Topher smearing together blood and cum on his chest does still live in my head rent free and I imagine, probably Topher's.

"Oh." A little bit concerning, but Topher could roll with it. He moved his arm, experimentally, expecting a flash of pain but finding none, a feeling that was both relieving and disorienting. He reached his hand down to press on his leg. Nothing there either. Ryan pulled down the covers and both of them stared down at his bare chest for a moment. Topher had seen this kind of time travel trick work on players dozens of times so he didn't know why he felt surprised to see it work on him. He was almost a little sad he didn't get to spend a bit more time reveling in the feeling of being soaked in sweat and blood and cum but he would just have to think of that for next time. Next time. There was going to be a next time. Ryan had clearly enjoyed that as much as him. He had enjoyed that right?

Mike Walters coded. Also... Ryan isn't like, great at after care but it seemed out of step with his characterization in this fic to not have him do any of it at all. Despite everything he's pretty protective of Topher.

"Well if I just left you to fend for yourself after all of that you'd probably be useless for a while and we do still have a job to do. This murder game isn't going to win itself." Ryan rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. Was that nervousness?

Yep. Definitely completely pragmatic. Mhm.

Ryan looked at him conflicted for a moment and then climbed into the space next to Topher in the bed, easily slotting into being the little spoon. Topher buried his face into Ryan's hair and breathed in the scent of his shampoo. Soft. He could get used to this.

Aww I forgot Topher finally got to put his face in Ryan's hair after he avoided doing that earlier in the fic. That's cute. I don't know if this is like... a thing for anyone else but it's a pretty strong sensory image for me and it's very comforting.

"Don't expect this sort of treatment all that time." Ryan grumbled. "I know." Topher mumbled. "You have to be the big scary game runner. Let's get some sleep now though."

Topher too sleepy to take any of Ryan's shit is very funny. Shut up and cuddle.

#do not propagate #woe.begone fic #w.bg fic

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katalist · 2 years ago

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Some immediate thoughts: Oh there's SO MUCH aftermath that is going to result from this and I've got theories.

BIGGEST TAKEAWAY: Marinette already sent a voicemail to Chat Noir explaining that Gabriel was Hawkmoth. Maybe this will be hand waved. But even so, she's decided not to tell Adrien, but we haven't seen if she'll tell Chat Noir or not. And if she doesn't?

Adrien already has negative feelings about his father. Even in the end scene, he's conflicted. I'm not sure if HE believes the lie he's being told. Just a few days ago, he threatened/tried to kill his father as Chat Noir. Being told his dad defeated Hawkmoth right after this? There's some conflict, there.

Not only that, but as Chat Noir? He's bound to pester Ladybug. Who was Hawkmoth in the end? How did Gabriel help? How is Ladybug supposed to respond?

Also, Felix and Kagami both are in the know about Gabriel as well–they know that something's up with Gabriel being "celebrated." And maybe they realize that it's all in the interest of protecting Adrien–theres a reason Felix didn't let Adrien in on this stuff before–but how long can that last? Plagg also knows. And Lila. And Nathalie! (And I wouldn't be surprised in Alya finds out, as well.)

The point is, too many people know the full details of the situation. And too many of THEM know Marinette's identity, as well. There's a lot of stress on the situation, and no one there besides Plagg knows that Chat Noir is Adrien. And why would Chat Noir be kept in the dark?

And then, what's the excuse for Chat Noir to have been missing for the final confrontation, and how is ADRIEN dealing with not having been there? There will be whispers behind his back. He's going to catch wind of /something/ if the idea of being sheltered from the truth doesn't eat away at him first.

There's too much weight on a shaky foundation, right now. This shit is going to come crashing down. At the very least, it's going to be a lot of angst.

----

Additional thoughts: There's some debate on whether it was Emilie or Amelie in the end scene. She's wearing clothing associated with Amelie, but apparently some folks are saying the script referenced Emilie? If it's Emilie I have a lot of questions, but I'm not going to outright deny that possibility. It felt vague on purpose.

There's also a reason Gabriel didn't verbalize his wish, and I don't just think it was for dramatics. That was DEFINITELY ambiguous on purpose. I think that there's more going on here than self-sacrifice. I'm personally still hung up on the line where Gabriel mentions he won't sacrifice a real "human being," potentially alluding to the sacrifice of one of the senti-humans, but that could be me reading too deep. Something is up with Gabriel's wish, though. It wasn't just himself to save Nathalie. I'm having a hard time believing that, there's still something really off about what his ORIGINAL wish/sacrifice was going to be that was never explained in full.

#ml recreation #ml conformation #conformation spoilers #recreation spoilers #miraculous ladybug #ml re-creation #katalist speaks

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televinita · 11 months ago

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tagged by @empress-of-snark to post my recent, current, and future reads! (Which: hahahahaha! an excuse to GET LONG)

recent: Like in the last week? Love Interest by Clare Gilmore (still tap dancing between 4 stars for overall joy and 3 due to demerits); The Seat Filler by Sariah Williams (perfect hand-claspy fluff of fantasies! once I washed the author's notes out of my brain); Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart (a quick but delightful read! brought to you by: "when I left this morning I thought I was just dropping my parents off at the hospital but actually I'm staying with Mom the whole time and will end up staying at the house overnight"); Penhale Wood by Julia Thomas (disappointing meh after I loved her debut).

and on audio, Texts From Jane Eyre (which is a STELLAR listening experience; it's just two narrators but they are full on voice actors bringing the literal equivalent of a script -- with no stage or other directions -- to life. While I only vaguely remember the original...blog? Twitter account? website?, this had me cackling)

God, we haven't even made it to Current Reads yet, huh.

--------

current: Meanwhile Farm by Margaret Cheney (70s back-to-the-land memoir by a widowed and middle-aged feminist -- bought it at a book sale ages ago and when I was at the house, it ended up being the one that spoke to me most as a Next Read. it's interesting but overwritten, so probably not a keeper but still worth the read); When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord (underwhelming; I really thought LiveJournal was going to play a far bigger role than it has so far, 2/3rds in); Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands (💖) (so much so I haven't gotten past chapter 3 as I keep putting it down to squee)

and on audio I'm working through Goosebumps #10 (The Ghost Next Door) to fall asleep to -- childhood favorite! -- and just started The Only One Left by Riley Sager.

-------

future: it's incredibly dangerous to even think about next books given the state of the above section, but since there's still a bit of a queue for it and it's checked out right now, will probably try Starter Villain. Beyond that, it could be anything from this list (copied from my temp. pinned post, since it's liable to change):

the first two books in the Maxie & Stretch cozy mystery series by Sue Henry

A Barn in New England: Making a Home on Three Acres

The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home

The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus

Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country

and an outside shot at A Bird in the Hand and a Bear in the Bush, which I almost picked over Meanwhile Farm and which definitely looks more fun, a 70s memoir of a family who moved to the country and started rescuing/rehabbing orphan/injured wild animals. Also bought ages ago at a book sale.

Please consider yourself tagged if you wanna talk books! Credit me even! (let me look at your words about books) (even if you simply list titles. which is probably what everyone else does. i simply cannot be contained or even modestly restrained is all) (see also: these extra-unnecessary parenthetical asides)

#randomly being away from both my library books and my apartment books for 36 hours really was the equivalent of #kicking a stack of books (my planned TBR) over and then innocently turning around to build a new one from a different shelf #recent current and future reads #how many different genres did I hit in this post; i hope it's ten

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mlembug · 2 years ago

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I find these translator notes pretty fascinating. (the context is that this is a fansub for the anime made for for cult recruitment purposes by Aum Shinrikyo, the cult responsible for 1995 sarin attack on Tokyo subway)

I'd say the combination of casual explaining the translation choices given the subject matter, but also mention of quieting questioning the inconsistencies through "10 precepts" and guilt-tripping you into your good behaviour which is similar to a certain other religion.

(id is very long so I'm also putting it under the "Keep reading" line here, in addition to putting it directly on an image)

YouTube comment by "Garlic Goblin Ziusudra"

This fansub project left me gasping. No, not in admiration before Shoko Asahara, I won't start to frequent Aleph's meditation circle, don't fret! But because it was mentally taxing. It was my most ambitious solo project to date… I juggled with complex Buddhist concepts along the way. Also, I felt as if the stampede of a Brahma bull rammed into me with unbridled idiocy. I needed a long sleep to recover from all that, I tell you. Now, I'll write footnotes around the project I think you may need to know:

1) I covered this project purely because of its entertainment value. Besides, I think Aum Shinrikyo is a poorly known cult, and I sincerely hope my translation shed light on what they were about. Being well informed is power. 2) trying to keep a straight face, I translated the script in a manner I think an authentic disciple would, full of misguided admiration. Since the cultists regarded Asahara like a god, his pronouns all start with a capital letter. 3) the kanji of "spirit force" roughly translates "transcendental human power". Spirit force isn't a fully accurate translation, but sticking with it shorten the sentences considerably… Shoko Asahara basically baited you into the cult, thinking you could become like a super hero from Marvel after passing meditation stages. 3) I interchangeably translated そんし (尊師), as "our guru" "our leader" and "the Holy One". Funnily enough, そんし is the way you pronounce Sun Tzu's name in Japanese. If you misinterpret, it comes as if the adepts have an unhealthy admiration for the Art of War 😂 4) note the Abrahamic component of the cult with the 10 precepts. Aren't they a formidable tool of peer pressure, used by a guru to quell any dissent? I am sure Asahara used these vague commandments more than once to quiet those questioning the inconsistencies in his teachings or attitude. Anyway, the long lasting members end to be the most efficiently brainwashed ones, gurus know how to weed out the obdurate people from the ones they desire. 5) Imagine believing that transgressing precepts gets you to reincarnate in the three lower paths of Reincarnation. You would be terrified to stand against the bullcrap of Asahara, wouldn't you? "Chouetsu Sekai" tells you in substance that obeying the guru will either reward you with blessedness or doom you to a next life of suffering hell. Very efficient tool of manipulation, am I right? 6) Vajratissa wasn't an original character created for this OAV. He genuinely existed, like Kalu Rinpoche. It was the holy name of Tomomasa Nakagawa, a senior member. He was a physician with a legitimate background, acting as a scientific arm of the cult, much like fellow death row mates Masami Tsuchiya and the veterinarian Seiichi Endo. I ignore what exact parts he had in conceiving the chemical weapons, but he had a clear interest in the topic. During his time in the death row, he even wrote a paper about the VX nerve agent and accused Kim Jong Un of recuperating Aum Shinrikyo's stock to kill Kim Jong Nam! Nakagawa was one of the few members expressing remorse for the sarin gas attack and the death of Sakamoto family. He didn't deny responsibility and fully accepted his hanging. He is definitely a more complex and intriguing figure than the guru. 7) I know, I know, the last part is particularly disgusting. It is a thing to enroll consenting adults, but another to indoctrinate children like that Noriko. By the way, the mother is Shoko Asahara's spouse and Noriko his daughter. I am not exactly certain whether Uma Parvati is Asahara's wife holy name or the narrators refers to the Hindu goddess (the spouse of Shiva). I'd lean towards the first option.

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annebrontesrequiem · 6 days ago

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I wrote a banger review of the Last Duel and now I'm making you all read it.

Tw: Rape

Rating: 2.5/5

This movie was made for people not in the life as a feminist. You might think that the low rating on the Last Duel comes from the supreme horrors of the costuming and hairstyling in this film, but that's not actually what stuck out to me in this film. The Last Duel is very interesting in what it reveals about the way that we as a society perceive rape - as well as the Middle Ages, gender rolls, and, yes, the court system more generally.

Let's start with the good. Jodie Comer has literally never been bad in anything she's ever starred in. God bless. Um, I thought some of the throwaway lines were interesting but underdeveloped. And overall, it is a definitely watchable film. Despite not loving it, I could truly call it poorly made or even that poorly scripted. I could rewatch this - and I might after I read the book.

But let's talk about the meat of both this film and my beef with it (ha). This film feels like Scott had a gimmick planned - three stories combined to one - and then afterwards fit the story of Marguerite, her husband, and her rapist to it. I think the movie is trying to make a point about how men see themselves and their actions, how they justify it to themselves and others. But in that case, I think it would have been better to frame the two men's stories as their court testimonies. I think that would have driven the point home much better than just seeing their stories and then Marguerite's.

Why is that? Well the biggest reason is because Scott does not understand the fundamental driver behind rape. Rape is, and always has been about power. It's not about lust, it's not about love and losing one's senses. It is about power. le Gris telling the world he was merely in love with her and it was consensual would have worked fine by me. But the fact that he sees it as a genuinely consensual encounter wherein he merely loved her just does not drive at what assault is fundamentally, always about. Why do people assault others? It's because of power.

Moreover, having the three stories with Marguerite's last does in some way prime the audience for a 'mystery.' What did happen? Perhaps the filmmakers weren't thinking of this outright, but it does prime the audience to ask: 'is Marguerite lying.' Not outright, but subconsciously. Now, maybe Scott is playing 4d chess with rape apologists, but I don't actually believe that. I just think he didn't think this through. Unfortunately, the consequences are still dire.

Lastly, this movie doesn't actually do a good job of portraying medieval life, especially for women. Because it's split into three stories, you get these snippets without understanding the full picture. An accusation of rape is one against the husband since the woman is his property under couverture? Super interesting! Unfortunately this is a throwaway line. 'False' rape accusations lead to death for the woman? Also super interesting! Is a plot twist. So much of this world is under explored and based on Napoleon I do unfortunately believe this is because Scott is not fundamentally interested in history beyond spectacle.

This is frustrating because I think the story of Marguerite is one that has incredible potential for a story. What if the whole story was Marguerite's perspective? What is Jean didn't just kinda see her as property? What if their marriage was fundamentally amicable, but this broke Jean down because he couldn't take the assault to his masculinity - so much so that he himself in his heart blames Marguerite and sees her as guilty? What if Marguerite had a more complicated relationship with her mother in law and the women around her? What if she confided in them first and they begged her not to say anything, not as accusations but as women genuinely thinking they were looking out for other women? What if this only later turns callous as they reap the social consequences too? Life as a medieval woman is fundamentally way more complicated than many people seem to think. The question of this movie should not be 'what actually happened.' The question should be 'what was the price Marguerite paid for speaking the unspoken truth?' Unfortunately, this movie was not interested in answering that.

#I shall not tag cause generally hate in the tags is looked down upon even though I'm making stellar points #rape tw #bern speaks

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dashawfrostart · 5 months ago

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This... Month? In "Time & Again" #20: Die Herausforderungen des Schreibens 📚 - und mehr

Here, I thought I'm finally coming back with some truly awesome news quite shortly - but alas, it turns out it's been roughly a month. Sounds like the frequency of my overly giant posts is rigorously dropping... But I intend to let it simply flow, following its own pace, so I write whenever. I have probably already mentioned that writing doesn't always go buttery smooth for me (and I'm pretty sure I said that somewhere before; it's not just the title of this post signifies that). If the posts do not form in my head - then I simply don't write, and I don't force the process either. The spark is very, very important when creating.

But enough of digression, let's get straight to the business! First things first!!! And the news is truly fab!!!

Chapters 1, 2 and 3.1. of "Time & Again" now exist in the physical world!!! 🥳🥂

This is so cool, I cannot contain myself!!! 🤪 This is a very odd and somewhat awkward feeling, to hold your own book in your hands. Back in the day, I started working on it as an exclusively digital release - and yet, I designed it (just in case!) as a book almost right away, with the covers, inner artworks, and the proper page count that was suitable for physical printing, if need be, although without the bleed areas.

Well, turned out the "if need be" situation happened in the end. And after all, it's just very nice to have a physical copy of your own work on hand... Well, because I'm an old-school person and I love paper books. Once the entire story is done, I will definitely prepare and order a hardcover copy just for myself. And if the local (and beyond local) readers so desire, I'll print some for them, too. But that is just a potential plan for the future consideration 😁 Right now, the succulently depressing Chapter 6 is waiting for me.

Preparing it for the physical printing was a bit of a struggle - the topic I already mentioned in one of the previous posts. I have spent a month working on all of that, plus refining some little things and adding "Notes, Commentaries & Hints" section to each one of the chapters. Ordering prints, unfortunately, was also a struggle, in an odd way.

But I succeeded. And now I am very happy.

Please note that I also added a QR code that leads to the landing page with all my art links and socials for everybody to explore. That was also yet another one little thing I've worked hard on for a while last month. It even has a link to my Doomworld profile 😁 *a happy smiling and spinning cacodemon smiley should go here*

Now, I am ready for yet another one juicy announcement on today's agenda:

The script for Chapter 6 is finally done!!! Yaaaaaay!!!11!!1!1!!! 🥳🥂

Revisiting the fruits of my labour yesterday, I can say I did good. It made me happy. And that's saying something. Chapter 6 is going to be very, very wordy (thank you Lothar for thinking non-stop). 19 pages with approximately 12500 words sure will make a big impression on some readers, I'm certain... However, a large part of that whooping page number is actually commentary only. But there's still a little more reading than in any average previous chapter. Now, off it goes directly to my editor-in-chef for the proofread. Which means that incredibly soon I will finally be able to start working on the page templates for the actual release. Excited. Chapter 6 is going to be highly experimental and daring. ... and unbearably dark, too. Darker than Chapter 5.

Returning back to our aforementioned topic of the writings, as well as the ultimate torments and tortures of the process, I must share something that you might find interesting to clarify the situation - or at least entertaining to some extent. Yet again: writing does not always go smooth for me. In the previous post I have shared my fears and concerns in regard to Chapter 6 in general, particularly the writing. Well, here's the full story for a disclosure: back in the day, approximately around the time I created Lothar (and shortly Jeanny), sometime in 2015, I attempted to write a large novel about the catpeople named Freia and Fjolvarr. That story has never been finished, and the problem with it happened to be, as I ponder now, the lack of self-organization of the author. Meaning, I could write separate notes for the story in multiple notebooks, because a lot of different ideas and thoughts would swirl in my imagination, so, like fools, I would try to save them all. Which was a good tactic - and I still think it is!.. The real problem, however, emerges from the depths of creative process later on, when it's time to stitch everything together into a logical and consecutive narration. I ended up with a lot of parts that were very difficult to tie together. Usually, when I used to write my text-only stories, I went with the flow and let the logic of the characters' conversations circulate naturally - and in most cases, it yielded great result. But with the things written split in parts right from the start, finding the right chain link to link them all together into a naturally flowing conversation was... a nightmare to say the least. Perhaps I was not persistent enough, or maybe the amount of work was a little too much, for that story was supposed to be, well, at least 200 pages in total (I approximate), therefore there as a lot of unrefined material to work with. As for "Time & Again", I definitely didn't want it to die in a swamp of creation that went awry. "Time & Again" bears ENORMOUS importance to me. I could not simply let it disappear into nothingness, because that would've been easily the most disappointing thing in my life. By the time I sat down to get to finishing up and polishing the script in July, there were indeed parts of the dialogues and Lothar's delirious monologues that required connection links. I cannot really say that I dreaded working on it. But I had fear that it might end up being as unfinished as the aforementioned catpeople story. This time I was aware of the weaknesses and failings of my previous, almost 10-year-old outdated approach. So I was ready to embrace a potentially tremendous amount of works that was waiting for me.

And I did really good this time!

Have I ever told you that narratology interest me very much? Narratology classes were something I've never taken. The same with psycholinguistics and the its lesser known, more targeted subdivision called ethnopsycholinguistics. And now I feel like I have missed out on INCREDIBLY MUCH. For a language nerd such as myself, it's shameful. But nothing's impossible (am I, like, in the mood for Depeche Mode quotes today or what?..), and there are lots of books available on the above mentioned topics, so I am not sad one bit. I love sciences 🤓 And I am always up for self-education (basically almost everything I've learnt very willingly was thanks to self-education alone).

I thought I wanted to mention some other fun topic, but I no longer remember what it was. That's alright; chances are by the time I decide to return to make another post, it will shape itself a tad better anyway. So I'll save my currently improperly shaped thought for later.

See you soon! 👋 I really gotta pick up the slack and start posting more frequently 😅

#TimeAndAgainbyDWF #This Week In Time And Again #graphic novel

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poolpartymusic · 1 year ago

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wait i wanna say more!

Okay, I went to the toilet and decided there is more to say:

WHAT DO I WANNA DO WITH MY LIFE?

Maybe caps is a little dramatic, because I am relatively chill about it. My most concerns are with my student debt, but even that is something I'm sure will work out eventually.

"Artificial Intelligence has genuinely interested me, but building smart vacuum cleaners does not sound right to me. Meanwhile, whenever I read someone is interested in film making, I get jealous for their bravery. But then, the proud that is burning inside of me tells me to go to WO University, to study something useful and secure. I always said I’d rather study something fun than something that would get paid well. I’m aware of what I want to do, but I am insecure. There is no experience in the film industry for me, except for all the years of writing. And then what? Script writing, is that what would make me happy? No, I’d want full control. I’d want to study Film Directing, but we all know I won’t get hired for that. That last statement is something I believe. Even if it is a logical statement, as the only people getting in are about 24 years old and have made shorts, I still miss the key characteristic for making it in the film world. Confidence. I tell myself I’d be willing to work hard, yet mean while I’ve been disappointing myself by surfing through fucking Habbo Hotel in my free time. I’m stuck."

I remember feeling at home at the thought of studying AI at Tilburg University. It was something I did find interesting, but I never realized I didn't even see a future in that work field for myself. At the same time I felt super cheekily excited about filmmaking: It scared me. It saddens me to read that I didn't believe I could ever really become a film director. I went into the film studies so insecure...

And then after two years I switched to Illustration. I do think it was a very good call. If I would've gone through wat film, I wouldn't have learned as much as I have now. Still, I don't want to become an illustrator.

These past months up to maybe two years, I've been telling people I aspire to make short animation films and documentaries, while also making little poetry books with illustrations. And while that is definitely true, I of course am also following an ICT minor right now.

And I realize that pedagogy or psychology is also something I'm interested in. I don't feel like I must make a choice between everything, but I do wanna broaden my horizon and put myself to work.

Therefor, I have two options. Firstly, I can learn more about coding and coding in art. I could make a project where I try to make a game. Secondly, I can spend time learning about child development, psychology and pedagogy. This because I'm considering doing 1.5-2 years of pedagogy work after my studies, just to earn money and try something new.

I think for now, and really I'm just brainstorming along while I'm writing this, I'll just need to make a decision. None is wrong, I can always change.

I do miss writing. I do wanna draw more- And if I decide to do pedagogy after my studies, I'll have to attend classes either way. So maybe let's focus on game making.

Okay. Now, I'll stop ranting here and I'll make a Notion page on which I outline how I want this project to take form.

I'll maybe keep you up to date, though this blog was mainly to talk about more personal struggles. We'll see.

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sisterdivinium · 1 year ago

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I assumed it was the case with your joining the fandom early, don't worry! :)

The increase in participants in the Discord server you were in is an interesting phenomenon (perhaps more interesting still that it has died off since then...?) Sometimes numbers can really, well, do a number on people. I've heard of users trying to get a conversation going in a non-avatrice ship-specific channel only to be "left on read", as it was, when there had been previous activity there for that pairing. I think feeling like you're talking to yourself can take a toll -- and yes, Discord servers can get so inflated that I wouldn't think badly of people who just up and left for something more private with that small group of fans interested in the same thing they are; I know I wouldn't much appreciate getting a billion notifications from an avatrice channel or a general channel that ended up discussing them just for one or two messages every six months in the subjects I'm actually interested in (granted, I refuse to participate in any fandom Discord servers. Not my thing. I'm a message board and Livejournal/Dreamwidth woman at heart, lover of many paragraphs and exposition -- always have been and always will be, haha).

"It's also entirely possible there are full communities of shippers for those other pairings in their own private Discord servers that I don't have access to."

Definitely, I'm trying to take that into account in thinking about all of this. An anon mentioned how there's a lot of love for Alba when I tend to see more of it for Kristina in the places I frequent, which really drives home the idea that we might just never really see the big picture at once, that there are nooks and crannies we are just not allowed into. Who knows, maybe there's an underground alternative WN ship community in some godforsaken mailing list (alright, maybe not a mailing list, lol, but just something that isn't in the public eye -- and used by people who might not be interested in or aware of the fact that some of us are over here on Tumblr right now, for example).

I'm right there with you in the Subtext Club. That's always been my default position regarding ships in fandom as well (and it was never a bad place to be -- frustrating at times, but certainly a lot of fun). No idea if younger generations of fans who didn't go through that (who never even heard of Strikethrough, for instance... Oof) have a different perception of what they "can" ship now that there are canon f/f couples, constant cancellation of their shows notwithstanding...

The script idea is intriguing! Without those fans to give us their point of view, it could at least point at some more theories on what went on with them and the other ships...

And I get you about WN blowing up. There's always a bit of a bittersweet sensation when these things happen, I think; while recognition is always good since it enlarges the pool of like-minded people we can potentially reach out to and fangirl with, it is also always a double-edged sword as drama emerges, the mood shifts and certain things that were possible before just aren't anymore (like, say, people interacting with some of the cast and crew on Twitter more often and directly). Pros and cons to everything...

And hey, you're more than welcome to stop by!! I appreciate your contribution, regardless of how active you still are in the fandom or not. Definitely gave me food for thought -- and for anyone else brave enough to read this whole post, I should hope!

You know, for a show with so many female characters that so many of us love given how they all get time in the spotlight one way or another and they fill that time up rather wonderfully since they are deeper and more developed than what we're used to seeing in general media, it is peculiar (to say the least) to see so few "alternative" ships to the main one.

I'm not saying the canon ship doesn't deserve its attention -- I'm wondering instead why the canon ship and it alone seem to guide the WN fans who just so happen to enjoy writing/reading fic or fanart or whatever.

You'd think all these cool women would inspire more ships or combinations thereof, but those of us who aren't invested in avatrice just... Float along, around one another, ignored (and, yes, mostly undisturbed too; being unpopular does have its advantages and that includes a lot less weirdos leaving you strange or awkward messages -- it does not, however, shield us from people flooding our goddamn tags on AO3 with fic that has nothing to do with our little ships and I do wish such negligence of the pairing itself meant we didn't have to deal with this spam...)

I am also not saying that fandom activity should be based solely on shipping (and recently someone on Reddit was rather confused by the fact that a lot of it is, which is quite an interesting topic to discuss in itself -- after all, there is more to fan creativity than shippy fic... Or there used to be), merely that, here, it appears that a canon relationship can outshine interest in the other, non-canon ones. It's already there and it was doubtless well-done by the show, so it's natural that it should claim people's attention, sure. It's just that being canon was never the parameter for whether people were interested in these or those two (or more) characters maybe being involved and trying to explore what that could mean through fanwork.

There has always been a complaint haunting fandom spaces concerning the minuscule amounts of f/f fic, art, discussion, w/e based on how few (interesting or sympathetic or relatable) female characters there are in media at large. So what I'm curious about is why fan creations made around WN -- a show that finally gives us a whole cast of female characters that are what we have been craving for decades -- don't also reflect its diversity.

There are alternative ships (I'm here, all happy in my tiny Doctor Superion bubble, and I know there are Camila/Lilith, Ava/Lilith, Mary/Shannon, Mary/Lilith shippers out there, so a warm hello to you if you're reading this), but go on AO3 and compare the numbers of things tagged with these proper pairings to the grand total of WN stories. Better (or worse) still, do so with the "otp: true" trick or simply by excluding avatrice from the search to see how many are left.

It's... A considerable difference. And a mystery, at least to me.

#meta fandom talk i guess #i guess i just have shipping wars flashbacks LOL. i have no beef with avatrice! i just wish we had more of other things!#don't fire all those cannons at your disposal at me for my ship is small and harmless avatrice people! hahaha

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emyluwinter · 2 years ago

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Yuu there's a girl here

When I get really crappy in my soul and heart, I become hyper sentimental and caring… My therapist in the past said that such an abundance of "love" from me is that I'm trying to compensate for what I didn't get in life.. Huh, if I ever have a partner or friend, they will definitely need a circle to swim in all this. ahahah.

During the break between lessons. Yuu's classmates and several other students from parallel classes are trying to find good "replicas" for the script in the film club. All five guys already felt a migraine from impotence. None of the options suited them. Because the Leader of the Pomfiore Dormitory was not so easy to please as the main director!

Mob from Diasomnia - Aaaaaargh!!It's all wrong!! How can you talk about unrequited love without mentioning someone specific?!It's not math.

The Octavinelle mob - is just a mockery, how can you write something we don't know about….

The guys' eyes immediately turn to Yu, who were peacefully sitting reading a book and writing some thoughts in a notebook. "Do you want help? ask Yuu, but at least feed her?"

-Hey!Yuu! Can you help us? - someone from the group asked, thinking that outside help and an uninvolved look might be useful.

-M?What is it about?

-Say any phrases that are suitable for unrequited love or falling in love! -Whatever comes into your head. We need to write a draft script!

Ace and Deuce, who were engaged in copying magic analysis from Yuu's homework, also pricked up their ears. They are also interested in what she will say. It was possible to make fun of it ~

-Oh…

After thinking for a while and putting the book on the desk, Yuu quietly begins to speak, slightly embarrassed, lowering his gaze.

-I would like to be a cup of tea in your hands…then I was able to satisfy my hunger for the touch of your elegant hands, quench my unquenchable thirst by drinking to the bottom the taste of your lips and immortalize in memory to leave a trace of your lipstick…

or..

I envy your bracelet on your wrist..After all, he touches your skin more than I will be able to feel her touch more than in my life.

or…

I envy your bracelet on your wrist, your pendant around your neck, because they catch every beat of your precious heart, and feel your breath.

........or oh!

No artist can pick up the shade that your eyes are gifted with. You want to plunge into them with your head, reach the bottom and not return to the call of reason on the surface

I would like to be a blanket for you, so that on cold days you don't freeze, and wrap your graceful body, the dream of any sculpture in something warm and cozy that would give you a full breath. And I could catch your every sleepy breath in that moment.

Yuu awkwardly rubs his cheek while looking at the group.It wasn't her style after all.

-Will something like this do?I know it sounds corny…

The group turned scarlet with embarrassment with each sentence of Yuu. And they barely had time to concentrate to write everything down word for word. One of the mobs asked directly in the forehead while not even hiding his red face and broken voice from nervousness.

-Hey. Yuu… what are you doing on Friday night?

Ace was definitely taken aback by such impudence, choked on air. As if he would let his cough best friendcough the person he hangs out with cough definitely not out of pitycough someone took it and broke she heart!!!

-Yuu is busy on Friday!!

-Oh, and what is Trappola?!

- Don't be impudent, boy!The fact that you stuck to the Prefect like a tick does not mean that Yuu cannot arrange his personal life!

-H U H ?!?

Meanwhile, Yuu, hearing their skirmish, chokes with laughter and quietly wheezes unable to restrain himself. Covering his face with a book so she wouldn't be noticed. These obnoxious boys are now fighting almost verbally because of her "stupid attempt"

Deuce becoming an unwitting witness - Yuu… it was very… um…

Yuu seeing that Deuce is struggling with his vocabulary to find the right word. She found it cute.

- Subtle transfer of feelings?

Deuce nodded vigorously in agreement. Yuu couldn't help but notice that his cheeks were ruddy too.

-Where did you learn this?Or…did someone tell you that?

The prefect just shrugs, turning over a page in the book

- Just said what she would like to hear herself…probably? Although I wonder why they didn't ask Rook for example…he would have come up with a whole volume of such replicas for them.

-I'm afraid they wouldn't have finished the script by next month.. ****

San - I think Yuu has a very sharp tongue for comments when she is finally allowed to insert at least a sentence.

Also, San. - Yu can surpass in flirting, only a Rook. Because Yuu can speak sincerely, say compliments and not worry about opening up. ***

One of the boys is annoyed - why didn't anyone think to just give the steering wheel to Rook or Yuu when this ghost bride took over the college?!Everything would have gone much faster.

- Because Rook wouldn't stop talking and he would be slapped in the face just so that he would finally shut up. And Yuu because she would have stolen Idia by climbing through the window and then asked Eliza to return their dorm. Appealing to pity that "the poor non-magical orphan will be thrown out into the street"

-And you're also asking why Yuu ended up in a school for villains…

Yuu in the background heard the conversation - Once again I say I did not intend to get here!!!I didn't steal someone else's coffin!!!

#twst #twst wonderland #twisted wonderland #disney twst #disney twisted wonderland #twst mc #twst yuu #twsited wonderland #twst ace #twst deuce #Yuu needs to be well fed or treated with something delicious so that she can help #Yuu can eat very little. But this does not mean that she does not like delicious food #Sebek mentioned several times that Yuu eats very little even for an ordinary person.

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glitternightingale · 3 years ago

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❛ i’m glad to have met you. ❜ Agustín and Bruno mayhaps?

You can also read it here on AO3

"I'm glad to have met you."

His back might hurt a bit from the eventful past week, but that didn’t keep Agustín from catching up to Bruno, his new and only friend in the Encanto.

Sure, he had met the bulky guy Félix fleetingly, and they had gotten on pretty well right off the bat but there was no way he could leave Bruno hanging, especially after he had singlehandedly given Agustín’s family a new home to move into, saving their lives now that he could think more clearly.

The village in the middle of the jungle was still unknown territory though, and who could blame him? He’s only been there for barely four full days. Hence, Bruno was giving him a little tour through town, showing Agustín the most important shops and hotspots.

With one lanky step forward, Agustín could walk shoulder-to-shoulder with his friend, or rather, shoulder-to-elbow because Bruno was very small.

Agustín glanced down on his head inconspicuously, although he was supposed to observe the fabric shack Bruno was pointing at with academic interest.

“Here’s where your family can buy… fabric. I don’t know a lot about the tailoring business, but you might have competition with the Garcías. They specialize in—” the older boy explained numbly like reading off a script, but Agustín droned it out, something he would get an earful from his mother and father for as they wanted nothing more than to assimilate.

But to Agustín, the most interesting part of his stroll through town was his guide. Ever since Bruno had shown him the emerald vision templates he could create and tell him his freaking future, the younger man couldn’t help but want to learn more about him.

It was still baffling to him that the secrets of the universe took form in such a tiny body, that the future was housed in such a humble, nervous guy, who was swallowed by an oversized poncho.

Agustín was sure that if his little brother had the same Gift (or magical power or whatever it was called) he would rule over his subjects with tyranny and an iron fist. Or maybe he should stop bashing his younger sibling every time he got the chance, but he sure was a bother sometimes.

“Their oldest son is a rising star, but I don’t think his clothes even look that good,” Bruno criticized, trying to conceal his disdain for his former classmate, but Agustín could clearly detect it in the way he spat the last part of his sentence. The guy and Bruno must have had quite the rocky relationship.

Even when wracking his peabrain, Agustín couldn’t find any excuse for why anyone would dislike Bruno. Even now, in the middle of a busy and packed street near the town square, passersby inched away from the Prophet, putting as much distance as they could between them and staring down their noses at Agustin, who crossed his arms challengingly, protecting his friend in every way he could.

Not having the heart to make Bruno aware of the affronting stares, Agustín carefully put a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder, holding open the door to the shop and gently pushing him inside. The younger man cringed at the neckline that slid over his companion’s narrow shoulder, his heart already designing the pattern for the new, more flattering poncho he would definitely sew for Bruno.

“You don’t even know what good clothes look like, amigo,” he joked, and Bruno was, gracias a Dios, already comfortable enough around him to playfully punch him in the ribs.

Judging by the slight pressure on his torso, Agustín was sure that Bruno wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone even if he desperately wanted to.

“But really,” Bruno continued, scowling at the rows of fabric that were orderly sorted by pattern and color on the high shelves, “Watch out for that guy. He might try to appear nice, and you might fall into his trap. He’s popular, though, if that makes you want to risk it.”

Agustín snorted, running his hand over a green roll with dark stripes, assessing that it was high quality. “Pfft, me and being motivated by popularity? What a strange concept!”

Indeed, he had never been particularly popular, especially not at his late school in Bogotá. He had always leaned more to the nerdy side, but if he was being honest, his mental capacity didn’t quite cut the mark.

Bruno, on the other hand, was admirably clever and down-to-earth because the secrets of the universe did put everyday struggles into a more modest perspective.

“Why do you dislike him so much?” Agustín asked, unraveling the fabric that intrigued him, stretching it between his hands and holding it up into the light rays of sunlight that shone into the shack.

Bruno huffed, appearing to be drowning in the bulks of products in the opposite aisle. “A better question would be what there is to like about him. He’s deceitful and rude and pretends that he’s not.”

Oh, yeah, one thing that Agustín had quickly noticed about Bruno was that he valued honesty above all else. And who could blame him when he knew the truth? It must be frustrating to know what would happen and then put up with all the lies people spewed for selfish gain.

Agustín tried to picture what a poncho could look like made from the fabric in his hands and projected the pattern with a seam allowance on top, sliding it over Bruno’s disgruntled form from his removed point of view.

“What’s 45 times 64?” Agustín asked, too dumb to do the math himself for measuring the amount of fabric he would need.

The correct response came automatically, only a side-thought of Bruno’s rant. “2880,” the older man mumbled, waving a lax hand and taking a deep breath before continuing, “But the worst thing about him is that he dated my sister.”

Agustín choked on his spit and clutched the fabric, suddenly sweating. “Wh-w-which one?” he stuttered as if he had been punched in the gut, “Y-your older sister or your oldest sister?”

Bruno stared at him with such a flat expression that Agustín’s cheeks heated up, embarrassed by his overly eager and stupid response. But although he had barely talked to Julieta, he wanted to know more about her as well and perhaps comfort her should she complain about her horrific ex when she lay in his arms and fed him more buñuelos…

“Pepa,” Bruno stated and scoffed at the ceiling, “She has a bad habit of attracting assholes. Well, that’s why I go to church every Sunday; I pray that she and Félix stay together.”

“I get the feeling that you’ve warned her repeatedly?” Agustín questioned, smoothing out the fabric to look for blemishes.

“Yes,” Bruno sighed and folded into himself, tucking his arms into the poncho that almost obscured all of him that way. Agustín gazed at him with sympathy, tucking the fabric roll under his arm as he went over to his friend.

“It’s just… when I told her what would happen in all likelihood— I didn’t need to have visions to see that coming— she started accusing me!” the smaller man admitted, his expressive face faltering, “I’m simply afraid that… she also thinks that I’m responsible. That I’m Bad Luck like they all say I am.”

“Hey,” Agustín spoke softly and nudged him, “She’s your sister, and speaking from experience here with my sibs, family is the first and safest option to let off steam and frustration. I’m sure that Pepa yells before she thinks.”

A wry smile pulled at Bruno’s lips at the innocent assumption. “Yeah, she yells and makes lightning rain down on you.”

Agustín chuckled and guided his friend to the cash register, ringing the bell on top of it. “Look, she loves you. I saw it firsthand when she got us out of that jungle pit,” he reminded Bruno, putting a hand over his vest, “And me? I’m glad to have met you. I’ve never had greater luck.”

And while Bruno blinked tears away, trying to find a flaw or a lie in Agustín’s honest statement, the younger man couldn’t help but laugh. Because, really, he owed Bruno everything he had gained: a new home, security, understanding, a potential girlfriend…

And above all, unconditional friendship.

#my fics #encanto #encanto fanfic #asks #requests #writing prompts #agustin madrigal #agustín madrigal #bruno madrigal #madrigal family #my writing #drabble #my art

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