#gotta get ready for work now oof
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quietlyblooms-gone · 1 year ago
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good morning!! bc of my lil hc blurb last night, i’m still thinking about how controlled chiyo is physically despite touch being one of her love languages. as friends, she gets more comfortable linking your arms/holding hands and doing something like laying her head on your shoulder, but it’s still toned down. she doesn’t touch you as much as she wants, doesn’t initiate hugs often, etc. bc she’s embarrassed to want these things so much and doesn’t want to come off as clingy. but the more comfortable you are with her, the more chiyo will be physically affectionate without overthinking it. particularly if you’re dating, chiyo will bounce back and forth between control and throwing caution to the wind :’ ) she wants to be touching you always ( unless she’s working bc it would distract her asdf ), yet she doesn’t want to be too much. she almost always wants any and all attention and affection you’re willing to give, but she doesn’t want to be seen wanting it so much.
chiyo’s got a certain amount of shame with her desire, you could say, and it takes some work getting past it.
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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 10 months ago
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You Don't Gotta Work 2
Warnings: unsolicited nudes, light stalking, allusions to coercive sexual acts.
I would appreciate a little feedback on this tiny whim of mine! Thanks to any all and hope you enjoy.
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Your phone chimes, jarring you from a deep sleep. You scramble to grab it. Your heart picks up. Is it Mr. Scarmer? You must have overslept your alarm. 
Your panic dissipates as you realise it’s still early. The room is dim and your vision fuzzy with the dregs of sleep. You groan and squint at the screen. A WhatsApp message from some random number. Another spam bot. 
You go to tap block but instead miss and hit the notification itself. The app loads and opens the conversation. You’re met with an unexpected and unwelcome image. A man’s reflection from neck down, naked, posing, erect! 
You yipe and toss the phone away from you. Oof! What the hell is that? Do guys really pull that stuff now? Sending unsolicited nudes to randos.  
You cringe and shudder in repulsion. You reach for your phone, covering the photo with your hand as you open tap the settings button in the top corner. Below, another message pops up. 
‘Like what you see buttercup?’ 
You hesitate. Buttercup? Only one person ever calls you that... You shift your hand so you can only see the top half of the picture. The arms, the freckles, the chest; you’re pretty sure it’s him. You should’ve figured that out sooner. 
You bring the menu up again and block. You haven’t seen him since that day he threatened you. That’s what he did. His promises can only be that. 
He sent more flowers too but you refused the delivery. The chocolate-dipped berries were also sent back. And the final gift you ignored completely until it disappeared from the hallway. 
You lay back down. Figures. You finally get into a good sleep and the rude awakening has you restless. You close your eyes and fight for another hour before your alarm goes off. You don’t get even half of that. 
You get up and get dressed. You ready yourself with a mug of coffee steaming beneath the mirror. You sip throughout your morning routine. You finish the cup and wait a couple minutes before brushing your teeth. As you put on lip gloss, you check the time. You should get going. 
You step into a pair of low beige heels and rush to the door with your handbag swing. You squeak as you walk straight into a wall outside. You stagger back as Lloyd smirks down at you. He scrunches his nose and clucks. 
“Morning, buttercup,” he raises his arm above you to grip the door frame, “you miss me?” 
You back up and grab the door. You don’t get a chance to shut it before he has his other hand on the wood. He holds it open as he looms over you. 
“Now, let’s not spoil the day before it’s begun,” he purrs. “You didn’t answer my message so I just had to make sure you’re okay. I worry about you, baby.” 
“No, you need to go. You can’t be here.” You push on the door but he’s too strong. “I mean it, Mr. Hansen--” 
“How many times do I gotta correct you, buttercup? It’s almost like you’re begging for a spanking,” he growls and leans it. 
“Ugh, Lloyd,” you spit out his name, “I mean it. I need to get to work so please, not right now--” 
“Again, I don’t like repeating myself. Buttercup, I’m gonna say it slowly this time. You don’t gotta work. Well, you’ll be doing a different type of work,” he winks. 
He lets go of the door and tries to step inside. You shove his chest and he grabs your wrists with a snicker. He clings to you and pulls you off-balance. 
“Oh, kitty’s got claws,” He holds your hands against his chest. “Mmm, you know, that feels exactly how I imagined. Your hands on my chest, warm, soft... but you were straddling me in my mind--” 
“Get off!” You tug your arms but can’t get free. “Lloyd, please--” 
He narrows his eyes and shakes his head. He pushes your hands back behind you and brings them together. He traps you close to him and walks you into the apartment. He kicks the door shut as he enters and he exhales deeply. 
“I tried being nice, buttercup. I don’t do that. I usually just shove my hand down the hottest girls’ pants and she’s down,” he tisks. “You want me to work for it. I worked. Now you gotta pay.” 
You wriggle in his grasp and whimper. You stare up into his eyes and gulp. You try to twist free of him but it’s useless. You’re not going to make it to work. 
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katethetank · 6 months ago
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The Dungeon - Chapter 7
Rating: 18+, minors gtfo Chapter Summary: Third date time! Eddie takes Steve out, they trauma dump and learn more about each other CW: Discussions of shitty parents, overdose/parent death, child abuse, parental neglect, alcoholism, cheating, coming out, slutty pasts - tell me if missed anything! Pairing: Rock Star!Eddie x Counselor!Steve Word Count: 2.7k
Chapter 6<<Masterlist>>Chapter 8
“You surprise me, Edward Munson.”
“How’s that, Chrissycakes?”
“Two dates with this guy and you didn’t even get in his pants. Your physical restraint amazes me.”
He flips her off via FaceTime. “I am capable of keeping my hands to myself, thank you”
“Your track record would prove otherwise.”
“Fair.”
It’s been about a week since date number two and he’s currently getting ready for number three as he catches up with his best friend. 
“It’s not like that though. This isn’t about a quick fuck for me. Or him either! I don’t know his whole story yet, but I get the vibe that he’s been let down a lot in the past. So, he’s being cautious. I totally get that, and I’m not gonna push for anything and risk hurting him.”
“That’s really sweet, babe. I have to ask though…what’s the end game here? Say you guys do get closer and you end up sleeping together. You don’t want to hurt him, but eventually your break is gonna be over and it’s back to work. Then what?”
Isn’t that the million dollar question? Eddie would be a big fat liar if said he hasn’t thought about it. It’s his biggest worry, actually. What happens when he has to go back to L.A.? Back to the studio, or on the road again? 
“I’m not sure…this is all pretty new still, you know? I don’t think I need to have those answers just yet, but the questions have definitely been on my mind. It’s not like I’m never in Indy - I come back to see Wayne when I’m able. I can make an effort to be here more if that’s something Steve would want.”
“Look at you, making grown up decisions!”
“Fuck off!”
“I’m serious! This is big, Ed. It sounds like - dare I say - you’re willing to commit to this guy.”
“Maybe I am, we’ll just have to wait and see! Now let me go so I can finish primping, I gotta leave soon.”
“Where are you taking him?”
“Well, we joked about how the third date is where you trauma dump, so I reserved a smash room for us. We’re gonna break shit and spill our guts. And if he still wants to stick around after learning what a broken man I am, then I’m gonna take him to a food truck festival.”
“That sounds super fun! He’s gonna love it!”
“I sure as hell hope so. Alright, I gotta go, love you!”
“Love you too! Wrap it before you tap it!”
Eddie cackles as he hangs up and gives himself a final check in the mirror. He told Steve it would be casual, so he’s got on some ripped black jeans, a studded belt, super soft faded Metallic shirt, an open red flannel, and his shit kicker boots. His hair is down and he used a little product to tame it. He nods in the mirror and gives himself the finger guns before he steps out of his room at Wayne’s house.
He makes his way out to the black SUV in the driveway. He figured it would be a good idea to temporarily lease something since he’s gonna be in town for a few months. Better than stealing Wayne’s truck all the time. He hops in, turns on some music and heads over to Steve’s.
When he arrives, he barely finishes knocking on the door before it flies open and his sunshine boy is standing on the other side with a big smile. “Hey Eds!”
Eddie’s gonna die, he looks so cute. Light wash jeans that are leaving very little to the imagination, a buttery yellow sweater, and worn black and white Chucks. “Hey sweetheart, you look adorable. C’mere.”
He pulls Steve in by the waist, tilts his chin up with a ringed finger and gives him a slow and gentle kiss. God, he’s missed those lips. 
Steve hums and runs his hands up Eddie’s arms. He breaks the kiss and lightly pushes Eddie back. “Oof, ok enough of that or we’re never gonna leave. C’mon, let’s go!” He locks up and they head to the car. Eddie opens the passenger door and bows. Steve fakes a courtesy and climbs in, both of them giggling like children. 
Eddie hops in and takes a minute to pair Steve’s phone with the car’s stereo. “Alright sweetheart, you’re the DJ tonight. Do your worst.”
“You’re gonna regret that,” Steve laughs. He taps around on his phone for a bit and then music starts to pour out of the speakers.
It takes Eddie all of 3 seconds to recognize what he’s hearing. “Is this Tears for fucking Fears?”
Steve cracks up and says, “I told you you’d regret it! You said I get to pick, so you only have yourself to blame!”
He’s absolutely right. Whatever playlist he’s picked is actually really fun, though. A lot of 80’s pop and new wave. They both know every song and sing along like it’s Carpool Karaoke, hands held over the center console.
“So, where are you taking me on this mystery date?”
Eddie grins and replies, “Just you wait, we’re almost there.” A few minutes later they pull up to a nondescript building. Eddie opens Steve’s door and leads him by the hand inside.
As soon as Steve registers where they are, his face lights up. “Oh my god, is this a smash room? I’ve always wanted to do this!”
“That it is, sweetheart. I pulled a few strings and got us the whole place to ourselves. Come on, let’s gear up.” Eddie greets the guy who’s running the place - turns out it’s Gareth’s cousin and he was happy to do him the favor. For a price of course. 
He leads them back to a concrete room and gives them the protective gear to slip on. They’re baggy jumpsuits, a white head sock thing that covers their hair and necks, work gloves, and heavy duty plastic shield to cover their faces. They look like idiots but it’s worth it to hear Steve’s laugh. The guy gives them the basic safety rundown. Eddie hands over his phone and has him take a picture for them before he leaves them to it.
“Alright Stevie, it’s trauma time! We’re gonna take turns dumping all that baggage, and then smash the shit out of something. They got a whole selection of tools over here for…well…smashing things. So pick your poison and let’s get started!”
He has no right looking as cute as he does in all this ridiculous gear. Steve peruses the options and hesitates before he selects a baseball bat. Not just any bat though. It’s a fucking nail bat and Eddie may have made a mistake choosing this activity because he’s definitely going to be pitching a tent in this atrocious jumpsuit as he watches Steve twirl the damn thing around.
He chooses a (much less cool) metal pipe and they step over the plastic bins filled with all kinds of glass items. Plates, bowls, mugs, vases, you name it. Eddie decides to break the ice as he grabs a vase from the pile and sets it in a metal filing cabinet in the middle of the room. He gestures to Steve to step back, then looks him in the eye and says, “I didn’t graduate from high school until I was 20.”
The vase explodes when he swings at it with the pipe. “Holy shit. That was fun!” He’s scared to look over at Steve, afraid that there will be a look of disgust and disappointment on his face. He forces himself to turn around and is met with kind eyes and a small smile.
Steve motions him aside and grabs a pint glass, setting it in the same spot. He looks at Eddie and says, “I’m dyslexic.” The nail bat decimates the glass. Eddie could cry.
He takes his turn placing a serving bowl upside down on the floor. “I grew up dirt poor in a trailer park.” Smash
Steve selects a coffee mug with geese on it. “I grew up as a trust fund kid, but I’d have given that all up for parents who actually loved me.” He tosses the mug in the air and swings. Smash
Eddie grabs a mug with a generic flower print. “I dealt drugs in high school to help Wayne pay the bills.” He launches the mug at the wall. Smash
Steve finds a dinner plate. “My parents left me alone for weeks at a time starting when I was 13. They’d leave me money to order pizza and pay the utilities, but never even called to check on me when they were gone.” He throws the plate on the floor. Smash
Eddie takes a wine glass and sets it on the filing cabinet. “My mom was an addict. She overdosed when I was 6.” Smash
Steve sets up another vase. “My mom will deny it till the day she dies, but she’s an alcoholic.” Smash
Eddie gets a teacup. “My dad is in prison for armed robbery, and like, 10 other charges that I don’t even remember anymore. Haven’t seen him since I was 12 when they took him away.” He lets the cup fall from his finger. Smash
Steve finds a soup bowl, sets it on the floor. “My dad has been having affairs for years. My mom would travel with him for business trips and shit to try to keep him from cheating but it never stopped him.” Smash
Eddie puts several shot glasses on the cabinet. “My dad caught me kissing another boy in the neighborhood before he got locked up. Beat me with his belt. Shaved my head. Said he wasn’t gonna have a fag for a son. I ran away and went straight to Wayne. Never looked back. That was my first kiss.” SMASH
Steve sets up a serving dish. “When Will came out to his parents, they were so supportive. Like an idiot I thought my parents might be some fraction of that. I told them I was bi. My mom just ignored what I said and offered to set me up with a girl from the country club. My dad was furious. He gave me an ultimatum: take back what I said and live a ‘normal’ life, or get out of his house. I packed up that day and moved in with Joyce and Hop.” SMASH
Eddie grabs a mug from a truck stop diner or something. He hesitates for a moment before looking at Steve. “I’m gonna turn 30 this year and I’ve never been in a serious relationship. And I’ve never been in love.” He launches the mug at the floor. Smash
Steve hesitates as well before picking up a glass. “I look for love in everyone I sleep with and never find it.” He throws it at the wall. Smash
Eddie sets up a pint glass. “I’ve slept with more people than I can count and I don’t even know most of their names.” Smash
Steve finds another vase. “I’ve been a slut too.” Smash
They both laugh at that one. And suddenly the air seems lighter. They take turns just breaking stuff for fun. Lobbing things at each other and swingIng their weapons of choice. Steve making contact way more than Eddie. Fucking jocks.
Steve sets up an old lady candy dish on the cabinet and is quiet for a moment. He looks at Eddie. “I really like you. And I’m scared of getting hurt. Nobody ever chooses me, not for more than a night. I’ve been so happy this last month, getting to know you and connecting with you. But I’m afraid there’s an expiration date on whatever this is. I don’t know what your intentions are or where this could go. But I want to find out. I want to try.” Smash
Eddie has to fight back tears as he picks out a pitcher. “I really like you. More than I ever could have anticipated. It scares me too, you know? This feels like it could be something really big. I don’t know what the future holds either. My break ends in a few months, but I want to spend every moment I can with you. And whatever happens next, I want you to know that I’m in. I’m all in. I want to do whatever I can to make this work. If you’ll let me.” Smash
Steve grabs a glass. “Of course I’ll let you. But if it’s ok, I don’t still don’t want to rush anything.” Smash
Eddie takes a plate. “We’ll go as slow as you need honey.” Smash
They stare at each other and the tension in the air is palpable. Like magnets, they move towards each other, their weapons clattering to the floor, pulling off the shields on their faces and removing those god awful head socks. Their mouths collide in a hard and intense kiss. Steve throws his arms around Eddie’s shoulders. Eddie's hands cling to Steve’s back. Their lips part and tongues entangle. They’re groaning and panting into each other's mouths when they hear a knocking on the plexiglass partition on a nearby wall.
They break the kiss and look over to find Gareth’s cousin shaking his head and rolling his eyes. He taps the nonexistent watch on his wrist and they get the message. Time to wrap it up. 
They share bashful smiles and make their way out of the room. The jumpsuits are shed and Eddie makes sure to give this poor guy a tip for having to whiteness them making out. His phone is handed back - he forgot he didn’t even have it - and they head out to the next part of their date. They climb into his car and Steve sets up the next playlist. Eddie nods in approval as Nirvana pours out of the speakers. 
Steve sighs happily. “That was so therapeutic. Thank you. Seriously, I didn’t realize how much I needed to get all that out.” He takes Eddie’s hand in his and intertwines their fingers. “And I meant everything I said. I really want to try making this work.”
“Me too, Steve. God, I haven’t unloaded like that in a long time. I think Wayne and Chrissy are the only other people who know all of that. Welcome to the club, I guess.”
Steve chuckles and says, “I’m glad to be a part of it. So what’s next?”
“Are you hungry?”
“Oh my god, starving!” 
It’s fully dark out when they get to the food truck festival. Steve is an adorable little ball of energy as he drags Eddie from one truck to the next. They try sushi, brisket sandwiches, tacos, chili fries, everything they can get their hands on. And if they feed each other bites of food and kiss the taste out of each other’s mouths, well that’s for them to know and everyone else can mind their business. They walk off their full bellies at a nearby park, fingers linked, and share more lighthearted stories than their earlier topics.
Steve shivers in the crisp night breeze and Eddie decides it’s time to call it a night. They head back to the car and make their way back to Steve’s. The playlist chosen is really fucking chill. “What is this, Stevie?”
“Gregory Alan Isakov. Is it ok? I figured you usually like metal or whatever, but this is like…really good nighttime music.”
“No, it’s great! Totally not what I usually listen to, but it’s beautiful…you’re beautiful.” It’s too dark out to see the blush, but Eddie knows it’s there. They arrive at Steve’s and Eddie walks him to his door. “I had the best time tonight sweetheart.”
Steve bites his lip and his puppy eyes blink up at Eddie. “Me too, Eds…do you need to head home or?…Do you maybe wanna come in for a bit?”
He’s trying his best to not let his mind wander to what those implications could be. But he knows his boy isn’t going to rush into anything. “Yeah, I can stay for a little while.”
Steve smiles and turns to unlock the door. Eddie slowly breathes in deep. Restraint. He can show restraint.
Chapter 6<<Masterlist>>Chapter 8
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I like comments! Taglist is open! I love you!
@annachronisme @mrsjellymunson @kozuuji
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shikai-the-storyteller · 1 year ago
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People talk a lot about how Fit didn't want a kid when the Egg event happened, but I'm watching his Egg Event Day stream for the first time and picking up a few interesting things that both confirm and contradict what a lot of people say about Fit's perspective of the Egg event, So here are some notes from his VOD:
Fit immediately went over to Ramon when he saw him and cooed at his cute little mustache.
Fit repeatedly said to himself "I'm not a dad I'm not a dad I'm not a dad" while the informational videos were playing. HOWEVER--
When Ramon flashes the "Egg" sign repeatedly to them, Fit says he has eggs at his base and tells Ramon to wait with Spreen. Ramon chases after him, and Fit insists that he stays with Spreen, saying: "I will be right back, Ramon. Don't worry, I will return. I promise." ~ 1h 17m
Moments later when he's on his own, Fit says "Spreen better keep that Egg alive. I'm not emotionally attached to the Egg with the mustache, ok? I'm not emotionally attached." (Mirroring the things he often says these days about not having separation anxiety. Which is a lie). ~1h 18m
Fit says even though Ramon has a mustache, he doesn't know if Ramon is a boy, girl, or enby. (This isn't really relevant lore-wise, but I thought that was sweet). ~1h 20m
Foolish and Vegetta introduce Leonarda to Ramon, and Vegetta says "Look look, it's a friend, it's a friend! 😊" and then two seconds later says "Now fight to the death! 😊" ~1h 25m
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(The QSMP admins also make a whoopsies here and call Fit "Feet" in chat LMAO)
Despite joking that he's going to build Ramon a dog house near his place, when Spreen asks if they should build a simple house or something nicer for Ramon, Fit says, "Well he is our kid, so he deserves only the best, right? Maybe we should make a big mansion." ~1h 31m
Ramon makes a beeline to Fit's starter house (which the admins poked fun at) and excitedly jumps on the bed
Spreen accidentally hits Ramon (again) and Ramon runs off, and Spreen apologizes while he and Fit chase him down. Fit says "He didn't mean to do that, he loves you very much!" ~1h 36m
Fit gifts Ramon a seashell. ~1h 42m
Fit jokes that there's no doubt he's the father because Ramon looks just like him -- bald as an egg
They put Ramon to bed, but Spreen and Fit introduce Roier, Jaiden, and Bobby to Ramon while he's asleep. ~2h 10m
Spreen says he left food for Ramon in case he gets hungry at night. They get worried about Ramon because he's been sleeping for a long time and check to make sure he's still breathing. ~ 2h 14m
Spreen says they'll be a really good team, and Fit says, "We will be very good parents together, I can feel it." (oof) ~ 2h 15m
Fit and Spreen say goodbye to each other, and Fit says "Being a father is not easy, that's why I've put off fatherhood for so long, I don't know if I'm ready." He says it doesn't seem so bad, but Ramon's sleeping a lot and he's kinda lazy, so he doesn't know how he feels about this child, but "We'll make it work." Right after he says this, he suddenly finds Ramon climbing up the hill towards him, and they go fishing together. ~2h 16m
Fit calls Ramon "Mi huevito." ~2h 19m
"I dunno how I got roped into this fatherhood thing" he says while waiting for Ramon to finish using the bathroom. Then he teaches Ramon how to cook the fish they caught (classic Dad behavior) ~2h 21m
Spreen tells Fit he's going out and to take care of Ramon. Fit teases him and says it's a shared responsibility, and Spreen says he has to go to work. ~2h 26m
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IMAGES THAT AGED VERY VERY BADLY
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The subtitles don't show it, but Spreen is saying "Don't worry, Ramon. You'll see me tomorrow." Fit says he'll teach Ramon how to grow crops, and Spreen says, "That's right Ramon, I want to hear all about how to grow crops when I get back."
Fit tells Ramon "You are my huevito" and sings him a lullaby. 2h 30m
"Spreen going out for cigarettes my ass! I'm not gonna see him for months now. See - someone's gotta step up and be a parent, and be there, and take the responsibility! That's me. That's me. It's weird though, I mean, I'm not used to this whole "fatherhood" thing, keeping a living thing alive. It's weird." ~ 2h 31m
Fit says he thinks he and Spreen will be a good parenting pair if Spreen comes back. But he's glad the child is doing well right now. ~ 2h 36m
Not related to Fit and Ramon, but these are some other funny moments:
Fit gets kicked for "flying" (he was jumping off a tall tower, but manages to clutch it) ~ 2h 43m
Fit meets JuanaFlippa! ~3h 12m
Slimecicle gives JuanaFlippa a landmine. ~ 3h 21m
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twilightmalachite · 10 days ago
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winkWINK - Sparkle future 2
Characters: Yuuta, Hinata, Anzu
Translation: Mika Enstars
"I can’t believe that you’d think such a thing… I’ve misjudged you."
[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]
Season: Summer
Location: Saison Avenue
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Next day, returning home after checking out the venue…
Hinata: ~♪
Yuuta: You’re in such a good mood that you’re humming, Aniki.
Hinata: Ahaha! I ended up getting really excited after seeing the venue in person! Like, “we’re going to get to perform here~!”
And I have to thank you and Mitsushita-san, Yuuta-kun!
Yuuta: You can thank just me. That guy caused us a lot of trouble.
Hinata: Don’t say that~!… Is what I thought, but even they themselves seemed to really insist not to concern ourselves about them.
That guy’s kind of a strange one, aren’t they? They’re competent, but they place themselves so lowly it’s kinda worrying.
It’s like they’re ready to endeavor to the point of sacrifice just to achieve the best possible result, you know?
Yuuta: Well, as the person contracting with them, I wouldn’t wish for that, but…
They gotta at least work like a horse if they are to make up for all the unnecessary worries they caused me! ♪
Hinata: Oof. You really are back to usual, aren't you?
My heart is really happy to see that you’re feeling better, but I also wish I could’ve seen the meek you for a bit longer!
Yuuta: Wha, how cruel. So you wanna see me hurting, Aniki?
I can’t believe that you’d think such a thing… I’ve misjudged you.
Hinata: No, no! That’s not what I meant! I want my beloved Yuuta-kun to have a smile on his face always!
Come on, bring it in for a friendly hug! Come unto my bosom!
Yuuta: Excuse me? …You know, our Fan ThanX Festival is coming up soon, can’t you be a tad more serious…
Hinata: Uwah, the rug’s been pulled out from underneath me! Your composure is so cool that I feel like I’m going to catch a cold!
But, yeah, it is. Now that we’ve got a venue set in stone, we gotta go all-out in figuring out the structure for our Fan ThanX Festival.
As the name suggests, it’s a festival for expressing our gratitude to our fans, so we’ll want to put on a live that prioritises our fans first and foremost~!
We did put together some slight ideas beforehand, but maybe it’d be a good idea to try considering it from the perspective of what our fans want?
Yuuta: Heh heh heh… Well, leave it to me. ‘Cuz I’ve got a secret plan.
Hinata: Really? Huh~ what is it? I’m so curious!
Yuuta: Hold your horses. You’ll just have to wait until our next meeting for that. ♪
Hinata: You’re keeping secrets again? …Is everything okay? You’re not going to run away again, are you~?
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Yuuta: Hold it! I’ve finally started to feel better about that, so don’t go digging it back up!
And I’ve already discussed it with Anzu-san, so it’s all fine and dandy, ok!
Location: CosPro Office Meeting Space
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The next day, at the CosPro Office Meeting Space…
Hinata: Al~right! Sorry to keep you waiting, Yuuta-ku~n!
Aoi Hinata is here! Arrived on time, this time as we…ll?
(Huh? Neither Yuuta-kun or Anzu-san are here yet. Did I maybe go to the wrong place for our meeting?)
Yuuta: Look like you’re here at the right time again, Aniki.
Hinata: Ah, Yuuta-kun! And Anzu-san too, hello~!
Seeing nobody there really surprised me~! …Huh? What is it you two are holding?
That’s a really huge cardboard box. Really, if you had to carry something, I would’ve helped out…
Yuuta: Really? Okay, here you go, thanks!
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Hinata: Whooahh?! Don’t just drop it in my arms like that… Oh, it’s pretty light, actually?
There we go. Let’s see… These are fan letters to us?
Yuuta: That’s right! I asked the Vice Prez to gather them up for us.
It seems we’ve been getting a ton more of these since Volcano Island and 2×2.
Hinata: Hehheh… Keepin’ count, huh, Yuuta-kun?
So, you’re thinking we should read our fan letters to get an idea of what our fans want from our lives?
Yuuta: Very nice, Aniki. You caught on quick. ♪
“What can we do to make everyone at our Fan ThanX Festival happy?” To find the answer to that, it’s easiest to ask the people themselves.
So, let’s get to it! Anzu-san, could you look through that box over there with Aniki?
Hinata: OK~! Let’s see here, the first one says, “You’re so good at juggling! I’m learning how to do it as well!”.
And this one says, “Watching you two’s intensive dancework makes my heart race!”
“I’m always so excited to attend your lives, I always look forward to what you are going to do next!”, huh~? ♪
Yuuta: I know you love to get your fan letters, but it’ll take an entire day to get through them all if you let each and every one overwhelm you with emotion, okay?
Hinata: I guess, but they just make me so happy.
Things like this really make you realize just how many people are supporting us.
…Do you remember, Yuuta-kun? Way back, we managed to perform as an opening act for a popular unit’s live.
Nobody there knew who we were. We were performing on a stage that nobody came to see us for.
And now… We’re the main attraction. People are going out of their way to see us.
Since then, 2wink has become an idol unit beloved by everyone. I can’t believe it.
Yuuta: …That being said, I’d say we’re still considered fledgling idols within the industry.
Huh? “The two of you have shined so brightly ever since back then”?
Hinata: Ahaha, that makes me really happy to hear from you, Anzu-san. ♪
But, that’s exactly why we want to properly give back to our fans who have brought us this far.
With more love and gratitude than ever before!
Yuuta: You’re right. I feel the same way.
However, if that’s what you think, then get on with reading and come up with some ideas, okay?
Hinata: I know, I know! But what I’ve seen so far is that a lot of people are fond of our dancework and our performances.
Yuuta: Yeah. I think they’d be happy if we incorporate fan-favorite performances and production from the past.
Let’s keep this up and figure out a plan…!
[ ☆ ]
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nocreativityfornames · 2 years ago
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teen mc and the brothers (possibly with the side chars too?? idk u can just do the brothers if u wanr!!) going to a carnival and mc goes
"WOAHHHH THATS A BIG STUFFED TOY!!!!" and they look at it with sparkles and turns to them with a smile like :DDDDDDDDD
so i wondered how they would do to win the prize? it could be any carnival booth activity thingy
A/N: Thank you for the request! This was very fun to write!
The brothers (+ Diavolo & Barbatos) when Teen!MC wants the big stuffed animal prize at the carnival
Lucifer
☆ He actually wanted to refuse the idea but after seeing MC's little expression he finds himself not having the heart to do it.
☆ You know that part of the Lantern Festival Event where Levi is struggling to win a shooting game and then we turn to see Lucifer there with the prizes already, having won the thing without no one even noticing? Same shit happens here. He wins the game so effortlessly that the stall guy is just left standing there in shock till Lucifer calls out to him and asks for the stuffed dinosaur.
☆ Mr. Pride here can't help but snort softly when sees MC hug the dinosaur like it's a long-lost friend, a sweet smile making an appearance on his face. "Now, would you care to tell me how exactly you're planning on carrying this thing home? Because it's almost your whole size and before you ask, no, I'm not doing it. It's yours and therefore your responsibility."
☆ Little MC tries to convince him otherwise but after seeing he wouldn't give in, their only option is to accept defeat and carry the big plushie themselves.
☆ The jerk (affectionate) actually laughs seeing MC struggle to carry the dinosaur. Fine, he'll do it, but only because he doesn't wants the kid tripping on their feet for not being able to see where they're going.
Mammon
☆ Confident as fuck, he's wearing a big grin as he brags about how he's going to win first round! It's just a little game, it'll be easy-peasy! Child's play for the Great Mammon!
☆ He's at his 11th attempt and still nothing… 🥲
☆ Man is struggling, he wants to get the damn thing for MC but he'll lose all his precious money at this rate. He can't disappoint the brat though, not when they look so excited to get the stupid duck plushie prize and he's already promised he'd get it for them!
☆ Finally wins but his wallet ends up dead empty. He's crying on the inside but also happy at the same time after seeing how excited MC is to hold their new plushie.
☆ If they let him name the stuffed animal to make up for all the trouble he went through to get it, his heart will melt on the spot, what a sweet kid...!
☆ "Of course the little human wants the Great Mammon's help to carry their new prize, give it here! I'll show ya how capable I am!" He's very proud as he carries the duck the whole way home, not caring about the looks he's getting from other demons.
Leviathan
☆ Just stares blankly at the big octopus plushie and MC for a second. Really? They want HIM to play it??
☆ He wasn't very enthused at first but will do it for MC, so he hypes himself up beforehand. That's right, he's gotta show the kid the power of a true otaku! He'll get that thing in no time, no worries!
☆ He fails miserably first try but is still confident, on the second try he'll get it! It's alright!
☆ It's his 5th attempt and he's getting anxious and losing all his energy, but MC hypes him up again and he's ready for more.
☆ Oof, he finally gets it! The octopus is MC's now! (if they name it Levi or Lord of Shadow he'll be moved, much like Mammon)
☆ "Y-You want me to carry it??" He's embarrassed to be seen with the thing, honestly, but he will give in eventually since he can never say no to MC's adorable pleading look.
Satan
☆ The moment his eyes lay on the cat plush he's in. It's not that he wouldn't do it if it wasn't a cat, but it definitely made him agree much faster.
☆ Gets it first try because he's read about how the game works and knows the most effective strategies to win (if MC says he looked cool while playing he'll get them an ice cream on the way home).
☆ "Can't you carry it yourself? You're the one who wanted it, after all." He stares down at MC with a curious look.
☆ "You sound like Lou."
☆ He immediately grabs the thing and starts walking home upon hearing this outrageous offense to his name. MC better pick up the pace if they want to keep up.
Asmodeus
☆ Of course he'll do it, MC doesn't even need to say a word, their expression on its own is already enough.
☆ He's many rounds in, but still hasn't managed to win the prize. It's making him tired and the teen can see it, so they try to convince him to give up, telling him they didn't want the bunny that badly.
☆ Asmo sees right through their lies and decides it's time to pull out the big guns. "Don't worry, sweetie, I still have one card up my sleeve! ♡" and MC just watches as Asmo shamelessly walks up to the demon at the stall, greeting them in an overly flirtatious tone.
☆ In the end MC ends up with their beloved plushie, and Asmo with a date scheduled for the weekend. It's a win-win situation, really.
Beelzebub
☆ Sure, he'll play it for MC.
☆ Wins without much trouble on the second try, having understood what he needed to do to win the game after failing his first attempt.
☆ Very happy to see MC's reaction to getting the stuffed bear. "It's pretty big, do you want me to carry it for you?" He asks after the teen thanks him excitedly.
☆ Will keep the sweetest of smiles on his face the whole way back to the house as he hears MC rambling about all names they could give the bear.
☆ Happily accepts whichever one they choose. "That's a very good name, MC." He ruffles their head like affectionately, smiling back.
Belphegor
☆ Will probably say something snarky about how childish they're being and try to dismiss MC's request at first. But! After seeing how much they want it, he'll agree to it, though he still groans while going up to the stall. He's just too lazy for this, you know…?
☆ Doesn't even play the game and instead just approaches the demon there, saying something to him that MC couldn't hear since Belphie had told them to stay behind. Soon enough the Avatar of Sloth is coming back, yawning with boredom as he carries the big stuffed bear under his arm.
☆ He also dodges MC's question when they ask what he said to the guy to get handed the penguin plushie so easily without even playing the game at all. "This thing is really fluffy, I could use it as a pillow." The brother chuckles as they leave together. "Oh, maybe you could let me borrow it from time to time?"
☆ Yeah, he definitely threatened that guy…
Bonus: Diavolo (and Barbatos)
☆ Diavolo immediately accepted. The man was actually even more thrilled than MC to get the thing, he loves these types of games!
☆ He's very very excited while playing the round and in the moment of truth, turns to the demon at the stall with a big grin asking if he won.
☆ He in fact did not win, but the poor demon had no choice but to say otherwise as Barbatos stood behind Diavolo and MC giving him the most ominous aura while somehow still managing to keep a smile on his face.
☆ Ahaha, of course Lord Diavolo won!! Here's your plushie kid!!
☆ *insert here Dia's loud ass laugh* "I won! MC, I won!" The prince celebrated excitedly, it was hard to tell who was the real kid, him or MC.
☆ Meanwhile Barbatos just stands there with a content smile as if he's suddenly standing in a field of flowers and hadn't been this close 🤏 from committing murder a second ago.
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tater-tot-jr · 10 months ago
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Yapping time! Spoilers for DRDT C2E14
So the entire episode was great, but there’s one part I’d like to talk about most. David’s monologue towards the end. Specifically the second half, where he gets away from his logical stuff and into the more interpersonal stuff. I’ll break it down line by line.
“All I want is for Teruko to distrust others.”
Okay we are starting off interesting. Now, due to David’s nature we can’t trust him to be honest. We cannot take this as explicit confirmation of any sort of goal. With that said, his goal appears to be fucking up the class trial in some manner. We don’t know his motive, but that goal seems consistent enough to work with. So let’s work with it. Teruko is literally one half of this classes helpful trial participants. Her and Charles are the entire brain of this class. Charles can be killed, he has a glaring flaw in a debilitating fear of blood, he’s easy enough to deal with when the time comes. Teruko is stupidly resilient. To everything. The one thing she obviously struggles with is her trust issues/paranoia. If you’re looking to get under her skin that’s where you gotta go. Saying this is a clear demonstration he intends to poke at Teruko emotionally, which is an interesting thing to admit out loud. If I had to guess, it’s because he’s trying to kill two birds with one stone and make the class start to distrust Teruko as well.
“That’s why I’m doing this, telling such obvious lies.”
This is him saying he’s lying about seeing the body, I think. He’s doubling down on inciting paranoia, in both Teruko and the class. It’s interesting he would say this out loud. He’s hyper focused on fucking with Teruko and it shows. If you take out the brain, the body goes as well. It’s certainly a strategy of all time.
“There is no other proof of Eden’s innocence.”
As far as we know, this is a true statement right now. Unless I’m unaware of something that was the biggest piece of evidence meant to clear her name, and he brought it into question.
“As long as there’s a possibility that the evidence is false, as long as there’s even the slightest reason to distrust others, then Teruko cannot trust Eden.”
Oof, he’s got her dead to rights. I don’t think there’s a good faith argument for him being wrong. It’s cool to see how much he understands the cast. It’s an interesting way to show how Teruko’s thoughts process works without betraying her guarded nature. Having a character so ready to pick at her weakness is a good writing choice, and I hope they keep David around for a time. Teruko is the least trusting character I’ve ever seen in any fangan game, granted I haven’t played them all but still. There’s a chance the story doesn’t have any sort of lesson, and we’re just gonna watch Teruko suffer. The idea that she can’t bring herself to trust if there’s even a 0.001% chance of something being false is such a good character flaw. She’s clearly terrified of risk, and she doesn’t know how to get rid of her paranoia, even though I think she wants to.
“Isn’t that right, Teruko?”
Ohohoho you smug piece of shit. You fucking dick. This is more proof he’s not just saying these things in an objective way. He’s just trying to hurt her, as far as we can assume.
“…”
Yeah she’s fucking rocked. Teruko really doesn’t take things lying down. Befitting of her backstory, she’s the type to struggle and fight back against anything she can. But here she has nothing to say. David has read her for filth and they both know it. Now that I think about it, this probably also plays on her fear of being vulnerable. What could possibly be more vulnerable than someone telling you your own exact thought process?
“It’s in your nature to distrust people.”
This is a more interesting statement than it appears at first glance. Specifically because he says it’s in her nature. To him, this isn’t a choice she’s making because of the killing game. It’s not circumstance that has pushed her into this. No, this is who she is, and this is who she’ll always be. Which is a horribly insulting thing to say, because it’s within most humans nature to trust each other somewhat, and it’s life circumstances that push them away from collaboration. He’s saying that Teruko is so fucked in the head that she’s fundamentally different from the standard human baseline.
“Everyone you know has already betrayed you. There’s no one in this world who won’t hurt you. Even the people you love will turn their backs on you in the end. You know that well enough, don’t you?”
…Jesus Christ. He really is just the devil on her shoulder. These are her worst thoughts said out loud and back to her. Do you think she considers someone dying on her and leaving her alone a betrayal? Is that a part of this? Him saying ��even the people you love” is interesting, does she really even have anyone she loves in the cast? Or does she just tolerate them. He’s making grand, sweeping statements about her life potentially before the killing game and hitting the nail on the head every time. An impressive feat of manipulation and perceptiveness.
“So distrust in others. Because that’s the only way you know how to live.”
Ow. Ouch. Owie. Not only is this a banger way to end the monologue but it’s just so telling. Teruko doesn’t even say anything in response she just waits for Charles to change to subject. Also, is he even really wrong? She tried to afford people trust and then she got stabbed and everyone else blamed her. She’s definitely swung too far the other way, but it’s not like she was good at knowing how much trust to afford people. This life is really the only way she knows how to live. How things are now, she’ll suffer any other way. It’s such juicy character writing. Damned if you do damned if you don’t. David has definitely been watching Teruko’s behavior, and quite frankly he has her figured out. He’s perceived her, and she hates it. I think we all know Teruko is lonely, she deeply wants people around her. But between being a danger to them and all her trust issues she shuts herself away. David is doing everything he can to keep her as far away from forming meaningful connections as possible. He’s clearly got some sort of plan.
There’s also a few things I want to talk about that I didn’t have the ability to put under a spoken line, so I’ll yap down here.
Firstly, Teruko extending some “trust” to Eden doesn’t prove David wrong. If anything, it strengthens his argument. Looking at the actual content of Teruko and Eden’s back and forth, it’s barely a scrap of trust and it’s completely conditional. Teruko basically said “because you helped me last trial I will trust you enough to investigate you second” which is still incredible progress for her, but it’s nothing close to genuine trust. This is not to diminish the progress Teruko made in that scene, but it’s nothing close to countering David’s claims.
Secondly, THAT VOICE ACTING HELLO?!?? David’s VA has always been great, but combined with DRDTdev’s wonderful writing and sprite design/choices he really brought this scene to life. He was perfectly smug and condescending. He had a voice that really portrayed that “I’m 100% right about you and you can’t do anything about it” vibe. Just a total piece of shit. 10/10 would listen again.
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rapha-reads · 1 year ago
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IWTV rewatch
(s1 finale… Ready for pain and blood? Let's do this. *grabs tissues*)
Season 1 episode 7 [The Thing Lay Still] - part 1/3
- Oof, opening with the Moonlight Sonata, how to put you right in the mood.
- Daniel side-eyeing Rashid/Armand…
- [Daniel] "Can an immortal meet mortality?" - weeeell, to paraphrase our favourite rockstar, "the sun or the fire might kill me, but then again, it might not".
- [Louis] "Decapitation. He confided that to me one blood-drunken night in Bâton Rouge." - and then Louis proceeded to never forget it. I want to know more about their nights of hunting and partying. There's like, 80 miles (is that roughly 100km? I'm French, I don't know miles) between NOLA and Bâton Rouge, even if they're vampires, that's still a little trip that could be special when they have all of New Orleans to hunt (an anniversary? A date? A special performance of Macbeth or Puccini? Someone needs to write a fic)…
- [Louis] "Add to the toxic air a new ever-present paranoia, and now, you are with us." - kinda wish I wasn't tbh. "The toxicity, in my city"… Ahem.
- [Louis] "Lestat de Lioncourt. 179 years in the Savage Garden. 148 years the blood-drinker, the bringer of death… the deer come up the trail." - ooof, first point, Lestat, or at least, Louis' version of Lestat in this recollection, oozes danger and predator. He looks, feels and moves dangerously. And acts unhinged. His words heavily accented. Go figure if he really was that scattered and angry at that time, or if Louis' anxiety, trauma and guilt color the scene that way.
Second point, another mention of the Savage Garden! Made by Louis this time, so one could imagine that Lestat told him about it, that they had a conversation or more about the subject during those 30 years together, given that the theme is a Lestat special.
- Ooooh, the unholy family moving and acting together as one, totally in synch! Say what you want about how toxic they are for each other, it can't be denied that they are a family that knows each other by heart.
- Hey, who turned off Moonlight Sonata? Now I'm left wondering if it was extra or intradiegetic music. A disk playing in NOLA in 1940 or in Dubai in 2022? Can't decide.
- [Lestat] "Enough! Two in one night. Dolls, Bibles, letters become torches and pitchforks. We have to leave this place. We have to leave New Orleans." - should have left 10 years ago when Grace decided to kill off Louis… I wanna say better late than never but given that people are actually openly seeking your house to ask for healing and whatnot… Y'all are in danger. And obviously it's Lestat so there's no leaving discreetly. Gotta make a show out of it.
- Looooove Daniel getting distracted by Armand's presence. Cannot wait for some more Devil's Minion.
- Hello social commentary, segregated tramway, another slight to Louis and Claudia. I love the layers.
- [Claudia] "'You share a coffin with him.' [Louis] 'I don't talk in my sleep.' [Claudia] 'You share a heart with him.' [Louis] 'I can cut it off!' [Claudia] 'No, Louis. You can't. You spend an hour with him and you're breathing in sync together.'"
Thank you for confirming that they've still got it bad for each other, Claudia. Love the way the heartbeat starts getting louder, love the way Lestat can feel Louis looking at him and immediately looks back.
[Claudia] "'He'll know. It'll only work if you give in. Give him all your heart and I'll do the rest.' [Louis] 'I can't do that. I'll lose myself in him.' [Claudia] 'Leave a little shelf inside there for me. I'll jump back in and pull you out before I kill him. Can you do that for us, Louis? Louis?' [Louis] 'Yeah, I can do it.'"
*screams* First the wink and Lestat obviously seeking Louis' attention. Then Claudia directly asking Louis to keep a part of his heart for her, all that she's ever wanted, to be put first. Then her overestimating her pull on Louis and underestimating the intensity of Lestat and Louis' relationship. And then Louis very clearly knowing he cannot resist his feelings for Lestat no matter what. And finally Louis outright lying to Claudia saying he can pull it through while already knowing it will destroy him, have you seen his face in the last shot before leaving the tram? He knows he can't but he'll still try and maybe do it, but he'll lose a part of himself, and he's already grieving for it.
Then again. That's 2022 Louis describing the scene and the conversation, with the hindsight of 80 years or more (I'm bad at maths) of knowing what he's lost and how he lost it and how much of himself he's lost. Maybe 1940 Louis wasn't thinking of that at all.
*screams a little bit more* Maybe if y'all learn to openly communicate, we wouldn't be currently plotting a murder. Maybe.
- [Louis] "'What about Greece? Cradle of Western civilisation.' [Lestat] 'Sun worshippers, hot springs…. Those Who Must Be Kept.' [Louis] 'What was that?' [Lestat] 'Nothing.'"
Yeah, absolutely nothing. Don't mind that. It's really not important. Not at all about to come back and bite you all in the neck.
Things that mean nothing for show-only and everything for book readers… *jumps around the room in excitement*
Do we think Marius is still in Greece in 1940? If Lestat still meets him around 1789-1790, it's been a century and a half, he's definitely moved them somewhere else.
Love how Lestat's face goes vacant and momentarily dreamy when he starts thinking about Akasha. You can tell she still lingers in his mind.
- [Claudia] "'Bach. Always back to Bach.' [Lestat] 'Bach is beyond you.' [Claudia] 'Yes, the music of the master race is… not made for these mongrel ears.' [Lestat] 'You irritate me. Your very presence irritates me.' [Claudia] 'I came to make peace with you, Uncle Les.' [Lestat] 'Mm. Sister, daughter, infant death, you must think me an idiot.' [Louis] 'Could you two please just…?' [Claudia] 'Musique française pour les mains françaises ?'"
Pleaaase I love them. Toxic mother-daughter relationship, it's like looking into a mirror. Love all of Claudia's punches. Bailey's French is really good. And love how Louis immediately moves in to turn the pages for them.
- Oooh, so the party idea is not Lestat's but part of Claudia's murder scheme? How delightful!! Like father like daughter I guess, how they resemble each other so much. And love how Lestat starts by being against it and then gets slowly seduced by the idea.
- Oh, goddamn fucking bloody Tom Anderson is still bloody fucking alive. Kill hiiiiiim, please kill him. Wonder why he hasn't led a mob to their doors yet, with how he literally has known them since 1910 and has a pic showing them still as they are. Too chicken, Tom? Or too New Orleans, rather not know and keep going as is? Oh, I see, tempted to make your own deal with the "Devil". Ha. Idiot.
- [Louis] "The weird brothers and their doll-like sister were coming out." - I just like this line. Tells about a whole story hidden behind the main story.
- "Let the flesh instruct the mind." - now that is one hell of a line.
- Lestat playing his bloody Marie-Antoinette fantasy is simultaneously so bad taste and so hilarious.
- Their outfits are GORGEOUS. And the white is making Louis' green eyes even greener.
- [Louis] "The blood was everywhere. The veins and arteries of a few hundred hearts ringing out like air sirens, drowning out the rhythm section of the hired band."
I love how Louis' narration is almost inaudible beneath the sounds of heartbeats.
- Lmao, Lestat has groupies everywhere he goes.
- [Louis] "A cascade of feelings came over me as I watched him sponge up the adoration. I wanted him dead. I wanted him all to myself. The fasting was a mistake. I wasn't thinking clearly. Something was off."
You never think clearly around Lestat, Lou babe. Case in point, the besotted face you were just making at him, that he was returning to you (where are Sam and Jacob's awards), and the fact that suddenly you can't even tell Claudia's mental voice from - oh, a wild Antoinette appears. Yeah, something is off.
- When can we get rid of Tom Anderson. Soon? "It's got to be one of those tricks that you and your fag pederast satanic trio got in your pocket." Ugh, he looks so proud of his dumb line. Please tell me we're draining him soon. Thank you Louis.
- Aaaah, a balcony scene, aaaaaah! Aaaah, the lightning of cigarettes, aaaaaaah! Aaaaah, Lestat being emotional and genuine, aaaaaah!
Time to sing Sam Reid's praises:
"I'm going to miss this place. There's not an inch of this city that wasn't built from the fierce wilderness that surrounds it. Hurricanes, floods, fevers. The damp climate on every painted sign, every stone facade. High windows, through which enamelled bits of civilisation glitter. Silhouettes emerging, wandering out to catch a silent flash of lightning. The silky warmth of summer rain. Desperately alive… and desperately fragile. The hunger has me too, it seems."
*pterodactyl screech*
It's the way his voice wavers with barely restrained emotion. It's the tears glittering in his eyes. It's the way he never stops looking at Louis. It's the way New Orleans was, is and continues to be a metaphor for him, for Louis and for their relationship, "I am she, she is me".
The way his voice breaks on "desperately alive", because at the end of it, that's what Lestat, little Wolfkiller, who refused Magnus' bite and was forced into the darkness, who rejected the idea of a coven, who gazed upon the Mother of all vampires, Lestat who is constantly struggling to run away from his pain, trauma and loneliness, that's what he is, desperate and alive and desperately alive. And so afraid to show his real self to Louis and be rejected for it that he immediately makes a joke out of his deeply genuine moment.
And the way Louis refuses to engage with this moment also says a lot about where Louis is at at this stage. Refusing to give in fully, rejecting the true emotions, running away from both Lestat's love (because that's what it's about) and his own love (the shame and the guilt and the fear)… Refusing to open up his heart and thus forcefully closing down any door that could be opened.
Imagine for a moment that Louis had answered Lestat's feelings in truth? What would it have changed, in what ways? Or would it not have changed anything, because neither he nor Lestat are in control of the narrative at that point and Claudia holds the power? And what would Louis responding in kind and giving in to Lestat's depth and his own emotions look like? It would be interesting to explore it…
ep1 | ep2 | ep3 | ep4 | ep5 | ep6 | part 2 | part 3
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sibilans · 4 months ago
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for the wip folder game !! that blitzwing cliffjumper wip made me curious
Thank you for the ask! This is an older, not-very-developed WIP but I still think it’s charming. There is a little bit of mentioned valveplug in the snippet but nothing explicit. I hope you enjoy!
Blitzwing/Cliffjumper (G1)
Suddenly, the delicate organic-made metal snapped and, while Thundercracker was able to quickly transform into a jet and speed away, Cliffjumper wasn’t so fortunate. He took a tumble to the ground below — or he would have, if Blitzwing hadn’t been there to save him!
Blitzwing had rolled out of hiding, transformed into a jet, and swooped low. Two servos poked out of his jet-mode and snatched Cliffjumper from the air like he weighed nothing at all. Now with a squirming minibot in tow, he flew away from the raging battle, through the clouds, and towards the looming rocky mountains above.
Blitzwing tossed Cliffjumper’s small, squirming frame a few meters into the air, then transformed into root-mode. He landed on the solid earth below with a heavy thud! and easily caught the minibot as if he came barreling back down.
So far, so good! Blitzwing thought proudly. If this ain’t romance then I dunno what is!
He looked down at his prize, expecting to see a wide-opticked, swooning minibot who had realized the error of his Decepticon-hating ways, but was instead met with a squirming, cursing, completely agitated Cliffjumper trying to wriggle out of his grasp.
Hold on a klik, somethin’ ain’t right here.
“Let go of me, you big ugly Decepticreep!” Cliffjumper shouted. “Agh, scrap you and all you dirty ‘Cons to the Pits!”
Huh. He thought heroics would have worked, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Blitzwing’s servos slackened and Cliffjumper fell to the ground, a small clang! and a pained “Oof!” ringing across the mountainous expanse.
Still believing himself to be some sort of gentle-bot, Blitzwing landed and graciously held out his servo. Cliffjumper wearily looked up at him, a little dented and smeared with dirt. Blitzwing wore his kindest, most charitable grin, hoping he looked handsome from Cliffjumper’s point of view. He had polished up for the occasion and everything.
To Blitzwing’s dismay, his extended servo was slapped away as Cliffjumper hauled himself to his pedes.
“Aw, I was jus’ tryna help,” Blitzwing said as if good intent would grant him any favors. “No need to be so grouchy.”
“Lay off! Some of us need our headlights intact, you know!”
“I — I saved ya! The least ya could do is — agh!”
Cliffjumper had used their size disparities to his advantage and punched the triple-changer squarely in his modesty paneling, sending him reeling backwards and clutching the now-dented metal like he had been stabbed. His ventilations sputtered and wheezed as internal systems tried to mitigate the pain.
Surprisingly, Blitzwing was not angry. “What’s a mech gotta do to get a little apprish-ee-atin around here, huh?” he grumbled.
“Did you mean to say appreciation, bolts-for-brains?” Cliffjumper snapped.
“I… I meant what I said!”
“Idiot.”
“Alright, alright,” Blitzwing said, gathering himself. “I think you and me got off on the wrong pede. I ain’t here to hurt ya, Cliffjumper. I jus’… uh, well…” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, his ventilations releasing a huff of air in an attempt to his own nerves. “I brought ya here to—”
“What, you wanna frag me? Is that what this is? Well, I’d like to see you try, you oversized turbofox! Put ‘em up!”
Cliffjumper raised his fists and bent his knee joints, slipping into a brawling stance. Blitzwing watched the minibot unsurely. Normally he would never turn down the opportunity for a brawl, but this was different. He liked Cliffjumper. He wanted romance, not more combat.
“Frag ya? Who said anythin’ ‘bout fraggin’ ya? And why’re ya tryna fight me all the sudden?” He wrung his hands together, a strikingly self-conscious demeanor stooping his frame. “I… I jus’ wanna get to know ya… I ain’t ready to get intimate right off the bat…”
Cliffjumper’s servos fell to his sides. He cocked his helm to the side, confused. What in Primus’ name was going on? Had some kind of processor malfunction or virus ravaged the Decepticon ranks, turning them all into a sappy hoard of cowardly lovebots? And why did Cliffjumper suddenly feel bad for insulting a Decepticon in the first place, especially one as dumb and volatile as Blitzwing?
Blitzwing turned away, clutching his helm as if he couldn’t figure something out. “Slag, this isn’t how I wanted this to go…” he muttered to himself. “What do I do, what do I do?”
“Uh, are you…?”
Before he could finish his question, Blitzwing whirled back around with a renewed burst of energy. He fixed Cliffjumper with a big ugly grin that made the minibot wince — it looked painfully strained.
“How ‘bout we go somewhere fun!” he exclaimed, clasping his hands together. “I know another nice spot, real nice — a lot better than this slaggin’ dump. See, I’ll show ya!”
“Hey, get your greasy metal mitts off me!” Cliffjumper said, swatting away two large servos trying to pick him up again. “I’m not going anywhere with you, got that, Decepticreep?”
“Alright, I get it, I’ll letcha choose. I dunno much ‘bout Earth places, anyway.” He was overjoyed by Cliffjumper’s sudden participation, believing it to be reciprocated interest. “Whatcha Autobots get up to for fun? Racin’, joyridin’, siphonin’ energon from an electrical plant, maybe? Can’t say I’m the fastest flier under Megatron but I’m an easy mech — don’t take much to keep me happy!”
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thatgurlvels · 5 months ago
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Kitty Cain the "Big Sister/Washed-Up Childhood Actress" Ex-Pop ~ Dialogues
Unlike canonical Ex-Pops, I like playing with the idea that Kitty can interact with other characters in a Prime Time/BioShock sorta way.
Patrolling:
I'm still the star! I'm still the star, I am.
Fifteen years and people still remember me! (Giggle) Everyone's critic!
"The stars… are gonna twinkle and shine this evening about a quarter to nine. My lovin' arms… are gonna tenderly twine — sweet, sweet twine — around you, around a quarter to nine."
"Man, she's anything but calm. A regular pint sized atom bomb! Atom bomb baby, little atom bomb..." Hello? Scientists? Paparazzi? Are you watching?
Mommy, Daddy! Like this right? La la la la la laaaa!
Who wouldn't be jealous of me? I can dance, sing, act, and, and, and... Well, I'm good at lots of things!
There's freedom in the spotlight!
Those Commies don't got good entertainment.
Lights, camera, action! I've come to steal the show! The spotlight is a price. You've gotta be ready. Let's go.
Attacking/Lunging
Stealing the show, are you?
Ah, ah, ah! You're not good enough!
Laughing at me?!
Pervert!
Try hard!
I worked hard to look this good, you didn't!
Big shot, huh?!
I used to be famous!
Don't remember me!?
I'm- I'm not a whore! You are!
Peek-a-boo, bitch!
Finding a Reagent/Hearing a Noise
You're here for an autograph, aren't you?!
Where do you want me to sign?
You remember me!
Spotlight!
You're perfect for the role!
You're not going anywhere!
No T.V. for you!
My casting agent! Finally!
It's a casting call!
During a chase
A new role?! Okay! I was made for this! It's supposed to be the other way around! You're supposed to be chasing me!
This is my part, you're just an understudy!
I'll push you down the stairs and take the part myself!
You didn't audition for this part! I did!
Don't you know who I am?! Talentless bitch! I'm prettier than you!
You're making me lose my place!
Cut!
Ugly, ugly, ugly!! Get ready for a standing innovation! I've come to save this show! Get off stage! Hit the bricks, palooka!
I'll kill ya and put ya in make up and a dress! How about that!
I'll turn you into my next prop!
Giving Up Chase/Losing a Reagent
And that's that.
That's how a star does it!
You're looking for something different?
What do you mean? I'm a star! I'm a star (Pearl style)
But, but... You said the role was mine! You promised!
Hm... I thought more fans would show up...
Thought this was an award show... guess I was wrong.
Wait! Come back! Let's try that again! One more take! Eeeeek!!! So many eyes on me! Gah! Stage fright! Thank you and good night!
Getting Stunned/Hit with Rigs:
What the- Oof.
Ugh... oh. Ugh! You bitch!
The spotlight! It's- it's too bright!
Kill the lights! Kill the lights!!
How dare you!? I'm an actress!
Line!
No talent!
Ow! It hurts!
Clumsy fucker!
I had real talent! Ughh!
You're making me lose my place!
I'm too good for this.
Recovering
Now, what was my line again?
Let's take it from the top.
What a party...
Well, that was good drama!
Oh... Next take? Okay.
I gotta go powder my nose now... hmmm...
Dedicated Dialogues for Fellow Specialists and Prime Assets
Mother Gooseberry:
Look, Mother! I'm a star just like you and Doctor Daddy!
I used to watch your show as a kid!
C-can I... Um... Ms. Gooseberry, can I get your autograph?
I'm such a big fan!
Oh, and Doctor Futterman! Two of my idols!
My idol!
Mother! Over here, look!
Well, you see, Mr. Casting Agent, sir... Mother Gooseberry has always been my inspiration. I used to love her show.
I used to have all the Futterman toys in my trailer on the backlot!
What a trip!
I could watch her show for hours
Need help with those kiddos? I can entertain them just fine while you go teach those punks a lesson, Mother!
It'd be an honor to watch the children!
Three legends on the stage and the crowd goes wild!
Can I pet Dr. Futterman? Can I? Can I? Can I?
Yes, ma'am. That's correct. I've always wanted to meet you.
What did I do to deserve being noticed by THE Mother Gooseberry?!
Let's work together again! (Curtsies)
Sergeant Coyle
Ah, no... Not the cops.
I'm a big girl, Officer. I can do my own work.
I don't need protection!
Hey! Who let this gorilla on my set?!
There aren't any police in this scene!
Oh... Officer, you... You don't gotta question me, sir. I've been a good girl. Heh. Heh. Heh.
Aww... Just give me a break, Officer. Just a break.
If you keep sniffing around here, I'm gonna SCREAM! Ooh... Mister PoLiCe mAn...
In the theater, a girl gets used to unwanted attention... Doesn't mean I like it.
Bad attention is still attention!
Yeah, I bet that shock stick could light up a thousand stage lights.
You can see that bastard like the City of Stars... Jesus...
What's that fella? You think I'm prettier than Marilyn... why, I ought- Oh... heh... I mean thank you, Officer. (Curtsies)
He's out here wearing sun glasses at night and no one talks about it? Must be famous or something.
Does that thing work better than a gun? No, no, no! Turn those lights on! No making your own fun during my movie!
Alluring... Never got that before.
I DO NOT wanna make a movie with him...
Franco Barbi
I dunno if make up is gonna fix that mug.
Is that a prop gun?
I don't like you coming around here!
Next time, work on your timing.
All publicity is publicity, I suppose.
Even ugly people can land roles. You'll just play the villain!
I hear you got some of the good stuff.... Give it. Give it!
Endorsement? For this? For going around with you? Get outta here...
At least the little freak has good taste in clothes...
That is the freakiest freak I've ever seen.
Betcha he likes good tunes. Maybe some Frank Sinatra or something like that.
Can I try and shoot? I betcha I can do it.
I've only shot a prop gun and he can come in here on set with a real one? What the hell?
Daaaaaaaaaaaddddyyyy!!!! Moooommmmmyyy!!!! The little bastard made ammo again!
Can you even kill people with teeth?
THIS IS WHY MOM DOESN'T FUCKING LOVE YOU! (Y'all know)
Arrogant bastard!
Stop staring!
You're a plain little boy... Too plain... Boring.
Get out of my dressing room, freak!
Pusher
I'll pay ya good for whatever you're selling.
Whatcha want for it?
I need something to get rid of my stage fright. You got it, don't you?
You got want I want?
Did you bring the good stuff?
I'll meet ya in the alleyway behind the theater.
Oooh! Hey, I've got a big wad of cash for you!
How can you see out of that thing?
I'll take your entire supply!
Why don't you tell Mr. Skinner Kitty says hi!
Where can a girl get a smoke around here?
The set ain't a no smoking zone, pal!
Oh, good! The exterminator is here!
Now this is worth allllll the trouble. (Giggles)
I'll make sure they put your name in the credits, kid.
Night Hunter
My love interest is here!
Aha! The leading man!
I think the director's gonna have us practice that kiss.
Oh, we'll be THE couple.
"Stars shining bright above you... Night breezes seem to whisper 'I love you'. Birds singing in the sycamore trees, dream a little dream of me..."
"To have seen what I have seen… see what I see…" 
Finally! Someone who sees me!
A-A boy at my level?! (Sobs) It's been so long...
You'll make my fans jealous, darling.
Hey, after this, why don't we get outta here? Go to a fancy restaurant and chat or something.
You wanna buy me dinner?
"Hello my baby, hello my honey, la da di da da da"
I really like your eyes... They're... Why... they glow a beautiful shade of green.
I'm so happy your home!
Your eyes are looking so bright today, Jack.
It's so romantic! Just you, me, and the darkness.
You make me feel so popular!
Your eyes are the only spotlight I need.
You make me feel young again, you know?
I'll be your eyes in the bright rooms. You be mine in the dark. We'll get 'em together!
Oh, lover boy! (Giggles) Why, I just can't take my eyes off you! Your eyes are so pretty and bright.
(Will squat next to him and hum)
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eddysocs · 7 months ago
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Mistletoe Mischief — Ted Lasso x OC
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Summary: When Ted starts playing around with mistletoe, Matilda goes out of her way to make it difficult for him to kiss her.
Word Count: 972
Warnings: Pure fluff
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The AFC Richmond offices were buzzing with festive energy. Twinkling fairy lights adorned every surface, and the christmas tree in the corner glowed with warm white lights, decorated with baubles and tinsel, as christmas music played in the background, hardly heard over the din of the team and its staff.
Ted Lasso stood in the center of it all, wearing a red sweater with “Believe in Santa” stitched across the chest in bold white lettering, a Santa hat cocked at an angle, and a sprig of mistletoe dangling from his fingers.
Matilda Northbrook leaned against the far wall, more keen on observing the festivities than fully participating. She had her notebook out, ready to jot down any amusing anecdotes that may transpire as the night wore on. But right now she was focused on watching Ted parade around the room with his mistletoe like a kid with a new toy. She liked Ted, of course, more than liked him at this point, but he was also relentless when it came to spreading Christmas cheer.
“Careful, Mattie,” came Keeley’s voice as she sidled up next to her. “He’s already claimed three victims, and I don’t think he’s slowing down.”
She’d already seen the evidence. She watched as he managed to sneak up on three Richmond players so far, giving each a quick peck on the cheek before dashing off. “I’ll take my chances,” Matilda replied, though her pulse quickened when Ted turned toward them, his eyes zeroing in.
“Matilda!” Ted’s voice carried easily over the chatter, and the crowd parted just enough for her to see him striding over, mistletoe raised like a trophy. Keeley quickly made her exit. “I don’t believe I’ve caught you under this yet.”
Her heart skipped, but she squared her shoulders, setting her notebook on the table and crossing her arms. “And you’re not going to, Lasso.”
Ted grinned, undeterred. “Come on, where’s your christmas spirit?” Ted took another step forward, the twinkle in his eye unmistakable. “Not even one little peck on the cheek? It’s Christmas, Tildy. You gotta let the season work its magic.”
“Nope.”
“C’mon.”
“No,” she reiterated, but her tone remained light. She was just being stubborn and they both knew it.
Aiming for the element of surprise, Ted lunged, holding the mistletoe high above his head. Matilda squeaked and darted around the table, earning a burst of laughter from the team as they watched the beginnings of this merry mistletoe showdown.
“She’s fast,” Jamie remarked, smirking as he leaned back in his chair.
“Faster than Ted at least,” Roy grunted, though the corners of his mouth twitched, getting a kick out of watching the two of them.
“I’m just here to spread some holiday joy, Miss Northbrook,” Ted tried to reason.
“Well, Mister Lasso, spread it somewhere else," she told him, but the smile that was lighting up her face told him that their game was still very much on.
Ted’s grin grew wider, and before Matilda could dart away again, he blocked her and held the mistletoe just out of her reach, waving it tauntingly.
Now, more members of the team had stalled their conversations to watch, but neither Matilda nor Ted realized the audience they were gaining.
Matilda narrowed her eyes, lips pressing into a determined line. “Give me that.” If she could secure the stupid little plant, this would all be over.
“Come and get it,” Ted challenged.
Without thinking, Matilda lunged for the mistletoe. Ted anticipated her move, raising it higher, and her sudden momentum sent her colliding into him.
“Oof!” Ted stumbled back, catching her by the waist to steady them both.
“Not fair!” Matilda protested, trying to wrestle the mistletoe from his hand. “Give it to me!”
“You gotta work for it!”
Matilda growled in exasperation, but laughter quickly bubbled up to replace it as an idea dawned on her. She grabbed at Ted’s sides and began tickling him mercilessly.
Ted yelped, twisting and squirming. “Oh no—now that’s playing dirty, Northbrook!”
“Give me the mistletoe, Lasso!”
“No way!” He gasped, laughing so hard he nearly dropped it.
She took advantage of his momentary distraction and lunged again, knocking him off balance until they both tumbled onto the couch. Ted’s hat fell off, and Matilda finally managed to snatch the mistletoe out of his hand.
“Victory,” she crowed, holding it up like a prize.
Ted laid sprawled beneath her, his hair mussed and cheeks flushed. “You cheated.”
“All’s fair in love and mistletoe,” she joked.
“Yeah?” He raised an eyebrow, his voice softer now.
Matilda’s breath hitched as the weight of the moment settled in. She was still half on top of him, the mistletoe dangling between them. Ted’s hands rested lightly on her waist, and his eyes were warm, bright, and unflinchingly sincere as they met hers.
“Yeah,” she murmured, her smile faltering.
Ted’s hand moved to brush a strand of hair from her face, his thumb grazing her cheek. “Guess that means it’s my turn to win.”
Before she could argue, he leaned in, and Matilda met him halfway, letting herself melt into the kiss. It was soft at first, almost hesitant, but then Ted pulled her closer, and her fingers grabbed at his sweater as the room around them seemed to disappear.
A loud wolf whistle from Isaac shattered the moment, and they broke apart, both flushed, but laughing breathlessly.
“Finally,” Keeley shouted.
“About time,” added Jamie.
Matilda groaned, burying her face in Ted’s shoulder while he gave an exaggerated wave to their cheering audience.
“Well,” Ted said, still grinning as he turned back to her. “I think we just gave Richmond a new holiday tradition.”
Matilda rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling. “Merry Christmas, Ted.”
“Merry Christmas, Tildy.”
And with that, he stole one more kiss. This time, with no mistletoe required.
For anon
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Forever Tag: @baubeautyandthegeek, @kmc1989, @curious-kittens-ocs, @fanficanatic-tw, @gcthvile, @immyowndefender
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rmorde · 10 months ago
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Trigun Manga Reaction
Now back with Volume 1 - Chapter 3
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I like this. Simple pose but very interesting with the "imbalance" I guess with the tilted head, shadowed face, and slightly lower slope of one shoulder. It's not "stiff" and it's easy to imagine the wind blowing through Vash's coat and hair.
A thought occurs tho, Did Trigun predate Tetsuya Nomura's obsessive belts, belts, and more belts design quirk? Did Nightow and Vash started that anime fashion trend?
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Uhuh. Says the people who tried to shoot a GRENADE at that same one guy.
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I kinda put these three panels in a sequence because... we know Vash is a good guy. Of course, he's going to save the women but the emphasis on the Nebraskas reaction to his rescue is really interesting.
Vash gives them a side-eye. He's either gauging their capacity for mercy or already clocked in that they are capable of mercy and silently hints for them to wait just a moment.
Father Nebraska understanding and just waits as he smokes. Then confirms first if Vash is ready to rumble again.
Idk. It's a moment of humanity not only for Vash but for the Nebraskas too imo.
AND IT'S WEIRD! In '98, Father Nebraska tried to get a cheap shot on Vash while he was still carrying someone to safety.
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Yeah, assholes. Vash is doing his best to keep the women in the clear while you guys just throws grenades willy-nilly into buildings who have people in them. Smh.
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Ngl. This sequence confuses me a bit. But, going with what happened earlier, the Nebraskas were not targeting the women. The punch was intended for Vash - which he dodged easily. However, instead of running further away, he shielded the women from the flying debris that the punch caused.
WHICH AGAIN, I REITERATE, IS REALLY WEIRD FOR '98 TO DEVIATE FROM!
In the '98, they are bonafide bad guys but in the manga they're still bad but not "Muwahahaha I'll shoot the injured women Hahahaha!" bad . The Nebraskas have some semblance of honor here.
I guess this is why TriStamp has a much more nuanced presentation of these characters. It's closer to the manga.
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Oof... Owww... Vash... 😢
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Another gorgeous art. I like how Nightow's way of using perspective here!
Junior is established to be huge - a giant. He always take up so much space in the panels/pages like below:
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However, when Vash finally "duelled" them seriously. Doesn't Junior suddenly "feels" smaller and Vash really big?
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It's really cool how it instantly shows that Vash isn't goofing off anymore and the Nebraskas stand no chance in winning this.
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Ragey Baby Girl no longer smiling.
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Sigh. Gotta admire their one track mind.
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Ngl. The line work here gave me Junji Ito vides for some reason. Vash's eye look haunting, cold, and really old.
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Linework carrying hard on this page. Vash is obviously quicker with how much lines are there in his entire arm - convincingly too fast of a blur. Meanwhile Junior has less lines which makes his fist less blurry and, therefore, slower.
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Clever use of the sound effects in the first panel.
I don't know what the fuck is going on in the second panel. I've been staring at it too long already and I still can't understand except it has something to do with Junior's arm?
Third panel is the crazy detail on Vash's eye. His glasses seem like he is looking at the side. However, on closer inspection, Vash is actually not looking away from the incoming attack.
The following pages is really great at building the tension on how would this duel end. The '98 anime captured it very well!
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Looking cool, Vash!
Also, is it just me or does he always look for opportunities to show off his flexibility and long long legs. Must he really split here?
...
...
YES. YES HE MUST.
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Oh. Ooooh! So that's what happened!
In '98, this conclusion was given to the bandit in Episode 1. His own enhancements crunching his body until he passed out and lost to Vash. However, they can't exactly rehash this in Episode 5. So, we have the "LOVE AND PEACE!" scene instead.
Admittedly, I prefer the "LOVE AND PEACE" conclusion more.
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I like how, so far imo, Nightow just gives no fucks about anatomy in his art. I mean... Look at this! Even if we reason that it's because his coat is dramatically billowing with the wind, Vash's body is not proportionate. However, it doesn't matter! It looks cool and it evokes the right emotions just fine: fear and awe.
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OMFG?!!! The trials these two are going through! These poor insurance ladies! Milly hanging on for dear life to that pillar. Meryl just screaming her lungs out EVEN WITH A MEGAPHONE!
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AND IT WAS FOR NOTHING!!!! OML
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Being considered as someone equivalent to a natural disaster shouldn't bring joy, but damn it... LOOK AT HOW HAPPY VASH IS!!! AWWW BABY GIRL!!!
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Wow. They blame HER!!! How dare- Meryl beat them up! No, Milly. LET MERYL HAVE THEM!!! THEY DESERVE TO BE CRUMPLED LIKE TISSUE PAPER AFTER THROWING OFF GRENADES LIKE CONFETTI EARLIER AT VASH!!!
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Awww. Their first interaction is SO CUTE!!!
In '98, it's funny and amusing. Ditto on TriStamp. But this one is sweet since Meryl and Milly kinda saved Vash in here.
I mean. Yeah, the townspeople are scared because Vash just beat the Nebraskas, but they are desperate for money. Desperation can override fear given enough time. Vash would've been hunted all over again.
I take it back. The insurance ladies climbing up to that bell tower was not for nothing. It was enough to allow Vash a moment to breathe and, as he rejoices, be free (even just for a while).
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Wonder what exactly went through Vash's head here. Confusion? Fear? Dread?
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HELL YEAH!!! BADASS LADIES IN LONG COATS! STRIKE FEAR TO THE HEARTS OF EVERYONE!!!
Oh. Some responses to the a couple of tags:
@alena-reblobs
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Thanks! Glad you're having fun too because I sure am. I appreciate the warning and I'm kinda nervous because the action this chapter was kinda confusing to understand. Hopefully, it won't get worse (will it?) I agree that they are very cool nonetheless!
@eldritchneuro
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Thanks for explaining! Paneling is always fun to study in mangas because they usually follow a 3 or 4 panels which mangakas creatively breakdown to evoke a feeling among readers.
Trigun is interesting because its from the 90's! So, some of the paneling are probably "prototypes" of the crazy ones we'd see in modern mangas.
I guess, Nightow's aiming to make the page very "cinematic" with slo-mo (sparse panels) and hyper focus on details (graphic weight). It draws us readers in to the story more effectively as if we are there too with the townspeople looking at the Humanoid Typhoon.
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bengiyo · 1 year ago
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Ossan's Love Returns Ep 5 Stray Thoughts
Last week, Maki had to leave for a work trip right as his dad was home alone with back pain. Haruta stepped in to take care of his father-in-law, but Maki's dad was not feeling it. We also learned the sordid details about Izumi's dead lover who was Haruta's doppelganger, and they Izumi is determined to avenge him. We also know that Kiku is in love with Izumi. Izumi offered some insights about Maki's dad via chess that allowed Haruta the honor of being allowed to wipe his father-in-law's butt. Kiku also came clean about their law enforcement role to Kurosawa, figuring he'd just be a problem if he wasn't told. Takekawa went on a bachelor show and was summarily rejected. Also, the chief had a fall and scared us all.
Kurosawa won the vacation voucher!
Kurosawa's apartment layout looks similar to Aoyanagi Hajime's.
OOF. Kurosawa is struggling with loneliness.
Yes, let's follow-up on the butt-wiping and Takegawa getting rejected.
These enormous ongiri are throwing me off every episode.
Wow this handstand is very impressive.
Choko is now the Gay Whisperer, and she has new reasons to despise Haruta;
Oh lord these people are still spying on Izumi and Kuki.
Yes! Everyone go to Atami!
I'm so ready for the hijinks!!!
Episode 5: Take Me to Atami
Atami is very beautiful! Good work on the tourism front.
I will never stop thanking this show for how physically affectionate Haruta and Maki are.
Kurosawa almost falling on the stairs twice would be funnier for me if I wasn't worried about his health.
Maki lost his ring!!!
Guys, do not put the waiter through this!
Poor Maki. This is not what her had in mind at all.
Why is Kurosawa still fanning??
I appreciate that Kiku also has strong feelings about honoring Akito's memory.
Oh shit, I didn't expect Kiku to actually admit it.
Oh, Kurosawa. I'm glad he hugged Kiku as a fellow loser in love.
Now how the hell did both Maki and Izumi fall here.
Chief, you gotta stop putting hands on that man!!
This sloppy brawl is everything I hoped for. Chief and Maki fighting and tearing shit up. Kiku stumbling in drunk. Unexpected wrestling and double pinning of Haruta, opening up a whole can of worms about how Izumi and Kiku probably wanted to fuck Akito. Dragging Haruta for being indecisive. Sloppy crying. Kurosawa had a fan the entire time.
Oh, Haruta. I love how hard you love your husband.
"Make sure to reflect on that." I'm so glad Kurosawa had a good time.
Izumi...bro...
This trip was so much fun. I loved seeing them blend with the neighbors, and I loved seeing Kurosawa get to be as extra as he wanted. He was ready to fight Maki the entire time and he did! I can't believe Maki smashed a fake rock over Chief's back. Incredible. I just know the staff was pissed about them in the morning. Let me not forget Choko, because she is right to be annoyed that Haruta always seems to be at the center of gay drama around here. I'm also so worried about Takegawa.
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lyra-r05e · 10 months ago
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Hi! I thought it would be fun to post a little teaser of the upcoming chapter.
Chapter 11 - Priorities will be posted this Sunday (Oct 6).
The excerpt below is not explicit, but the fic definitely is (minors be warned).
What Friends Are For
Fandom: Stardew Valley
Rating: Explicit (Smut, Graphic Depictions of Violence)
Genre: M/F, Friends with Benefits / Friends to lovers
Pairing: Sebastian x Female Player ('You' perspective)
Summary: You finally finish up the first major arc in your Solarian Chronicles campaign with Sam and Sebastian.
Notes: The characters refer to "you" as "Farmer" in this story. It can be interchangeable with y/n or her nickname.
“The dragon’s fire narrowly misses you both, just barely singeing the ends of your hair as you dodge its fury. It raises its head, and lets out a roar of frustration when it sees you unharmed,” Sebastian snaps his fingers, pointing at Sam who does his best dragon roar impression.
You giggle at his sound effects, breaking character. It's the final boss of this arc in your campaign, and it's been a tough fight so far. No time for giggles, gotta strategize.
“The dragon takes a defensive stance, arching its neck and flicking its tail. It opens its wings wide, looming over you. Both of you, roll an intimidation saving throw please,” Sebastian rolls a die behind his game master screen, taking notes.
“16!” Sam reports.
“Oof, only 11 for me,” you say.
“Samwise is not rattled by the dragon’s body language, but Rancher is shook. You won't be able to move this turn,” Sebastian looks at you over his screen.
“Uh oh. Samwise, I don't think I can dodge another fire breath,” you gulp, looking at Sam, “I could use some of your unearned confidence right about now.”
Sam looks back at Sebastian. “Can I try to inspire her to overcome her fear?”
“Sure, what do you say?” Sebastian grins at his enthusiasm.
Sam turns to you, getting in character. “Don't worry, Rancher. We got this! We've come so far to get here, and we’re so much stronger now. This scaly bastard is slower than us, as long as we anticipate its fire breath there's no way we’ll lose!”
You exaggerate a deep breath. “You’re right, we got this. We’ve already worn it down so much.”
“Good work. Rancher, you get advantage on your next skill check,” Sebastian scribbles another note.
“Can I move now?” You ask with hopeful eyes.
“Too late,” Sebastian says, “the dragon is already preparing its next attack. It bares its teeth, retracting its neck and eyes up Rancher as its next target.”
“Uh oh. I want to move in front of Rancher, waving my arms and trying to get its attention on me instead,” Sam chimes in.
“Go ahead,” Sebastian nods to the map on the centre of the table.
Sam moves his miniature on the grid in front of your character. “So I'll split my movement, stopping here first to do a bonus action. I'll yell at the dragon ‘HEY! I'm the tastiest snack in this cave, feast your eyes on THIS!’ And then turn my ass towards it, waving it in its face.”
You and Sebastian laugh. Sam is so much fun to role play with.
“Alright, the dragon snarls and switches its target to Samwise.”
“Sweet! I'll move to draw its attention away from Rancher,” Sam starts to move his miniature again, but you interrupt him.
“Oooh! I have an idea, don't go too far away from me. Try to bait it so its face will come within range of my light spell,” you say excitedly.
“I like the way you think, Farmer. I mean, Rancher. I'll move here, bracing myself to dodge its attack,” Sam moves his figure a few spaces away from yours, leaving a small window for the dragon to attack.
“Alright, Rancher’s next in initiative, but I assume you'll hold off until after the dragon goes?” Sebastian looks up at you, and you nod to confirm. “Okay. The dragon isn't quite ready for another fire breath, so it's going to attack Samwise with a bite,” Sebastian rolls a die, “you'll need to beat 17 with agility to successfully dodge it.”
You inhale through your teeth, glancing at Sam nervously.
“Come on, come on,” Sam shakes his dice extra long in his fists for good measure. You cross your fingers as he rolls it. “YES! 19, almost perfect.”
“Yess!” You high five Sam.
“Nice. Samwise expertly dodge-rolls the dragon's attack, its teeth snapping shut between you both,” Sebastian looks to you for your next move.
“Right, now that the dragon is in range, I want to use my light spell to flash in its eyes to try and blind it!” You say enthusiastically, and Sebastian motions you to roll your die. “Oh right! Oh SHIT!” You rolled a 2.
“Noo,” Sam groans. “Oh wait! You have advantage!”
“Oh yea!” You roll again, watching the dice with hopeful eyes. It lands on 18, a sure hit. “YES!” You and Sam both cheer.
“The dragon winces its eyes, crying in shock. It's completely stunned for the next round of combat, so Samwise, your next attack will hit as long as you don't roll a 1.”
“Don't jinx it like that!” Sam throws his die, “Okay, it's a 6.”
“Lucky break,” Sebastian grins, “go ahead and roll for damage.”
“Alright, my sword is a d12 plus 8. Moment of truth…” he shakes his dice, and you do a drumroll on the table. “WHOO! Max damage, I got 12!”
“No way, we might beat it right now!” You squeal.
“So that would be 12 plus 8, so 20, and since the dragon is paralyzed it's an automatic crit. You just did 40 damage,” Sebastian looks over his screen to your hopeful eyes, pausing for dramatic effect. “Samwise, you did it. Please describe your finishing blow.”
You both gasp with excitement, and Sam clears his throat. “Okay, okay. As the dragon starts to retract its head from the brightness, I grab onto one of its horns and draw my sword. As it shakes its head to get me off, I let go to get some air above it, and swing down with all my might, slicing its throat with my sword. I do a superhero landing on the ground as it falls, its head landing right in front of Rancher.”
You and Sebastian give him a round of applause, and he bows to you from his seat.
“I run up to Samwise, tackling him with a hug. ‘WE DID IT! Now let's loot the body,’” you say in character.
Sam and Sebastian laugh. It's been a running joke that you always try and collect everything from each corpse or chest you find.
“Well done, team! That's a wrap on act one. I wrote down a list of treasure you'll have for next time. Including anything you can take off the dragon’s corpse,” he winks at you. “How do we feel about that?”
“Great. That was so satisfying,” Sam says.
“Agreed! Though I always feel weird about the whole ‘slay the dragon’ trope. I'd rather make friends with the dragon and use it for fast travel,” you say with a twinkle in your eyes.
“If dragons could be farm animals, you'd find a way to get one,” Sam laughs.
“Only ONE!? I'd want one in every colour!”
The boys chuckle, and the three of you start to pack up. This has been super fun, but the campaign ran later than you’d have hoped. Even with the extra sessions last month, you still needed today to wrap it up.
“Thanks for playing, guys. I've wanted to do this for a long time,” Sebastian smiles warmly.
“Thanks for running the game for us! I know it's a lot of work,” you reply.
“Yea, thanks bud. And you too, Farmer. Having you to play with has been a blast,” Sam flashes you a toothy grin.
“Awe, thanks!”
“No pressure, but let us know when you think you can start this up again,” Sebastian looks at you, a bittersweet hopefulness in his eyes.
“I will, I promise. I want to play, but I'm just trying to be realistic. I'd rather not have to cancel or be too tired to give it my all,” you give them an apologetic smile.
“We totally understand. It'll be worth the wait!” Sam grins, standing and stretching his shoulders. “Do you guys wanna get pizza?”
You check the time before answering. “Well, considering you obliterated that dragon so quickly, yea I'm in!”
“Sweet. I'll text Abby to meet us there,” Sebastian pulls out his phone.
“Do you think she'd join us next time?” You ask.
“Maybe, depends on how busy her classes are this year. I know she's interested,” Sebastian says.
“Yea, it would be a blast with all four of us!” Sam grins, leading the way out the door eagerly.
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astheskycries · 2 years ago
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The Meeting
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After being Ari's one and only, it's only natural to meet the most important woman in his life.
I'm so excited to share the first of many projects with you! As always comments and reblogs are always welcome, and if you want to view my masterpost (or buy me some coffee) check out the links below! All the love &lt;3
Masterlist Buy Me a Coffee
You bite your lips nervously, fingers drumming against your leg as you stare out the window of the best up truck. The houses are rushing by in a blur, though you can see the street ahead and know time is running out. Despite Sarah and Ari being on good terms, you're still terrified to officially meet her- especially knowing their complicated history. Ari's constant missions and workaholic tendencies tend to interfere with a lot of your time together, but being paired together has allowed more freedom in the relationship that Sarah never had. You can't help but worry about the future, if Sarah doesn't approve of you being near her daughter, or if Maya doesn't like you, or-
"Get out of your head, pretty girl." A large hand takes yours, bringing it to scruffy lips, and you blink out of my thoughts and smile as Ari briefly meets your eyes. “Stop being so nervous, they’re going to love you.”
“Will they?” You raise your eyebrows at him. “It’s your ex-wife, who could think I’m going to try and replace her… Not to mention Maya…”
He squeezes your hand. “Trust me, sweetheart. Sarah will love you. Maya will love you.”
“Says you, you’re biased.” You rest your head on his shoulder, getting comfortable and trying to stop your mind from racing.
“And I’m right,” He kisses your hair, parking along the street. "C'mon pretty girl, let's get you inside. Sarah mentioned some kind of dessert we're supposed to try- daughter's orders."
You can't help but laugh, knowing his sweet tooth knows no limits as you keep a tight grip on his large hand, letting the cool breeze soothe some of your nerves. You bite your lip nervously as Ari firmly knocks against the wood, and you release a slow breath before a beautiful woman opens the door. 
"There you are, come on in." Sarah ushers us inside, eying Ari disapprovingly but smiling at you softly. "Nice to meet you. Usually he isn't this early."
You laugh a bit, knowing damn well you're both later than planned. "I <i>tried</i> to get him out the door on time."
She shakes her head, grinning as she crosses her arms. "He's a lost cause," She smirks at Ari teasingly, making him roll his eyes. "I'm just glad he's here and trying with her. She doesn't need an absent father."
You nod, careful not to overstep despite wanting to defend how hard he works. Their relationship has always been delicate since Maya was born, and even though it's out of love for the little girl, you know he wishes it had ended better. "Well, all that matters is that she has you both now."
"True," Sarah smiles, calling for her daughter as Ari winks at you. "I hope you're ready, she's been excitable today."
As if on cue an adorable little girl bounds down, looking so much like her father but having the warm eyes of her mother. “Daddy!” She rushes over, knocking into Ari enough for a small oof to escape his lips as she wraps her arms around his middle. “You’re back!”
“I’m back,” He grins, holding her close to his chest. “I issued you, were you good for your mom?”
“Always,” She grins, and from behind you watch Sarah playfully make a face. “Well, mostly.”
“Sounds familiar,” You grin at Ari, not missing the side eye it earns you.
“I have someone I want you to meet,” He rests a large hand on her head, turning her to face you. “This is (Y/N), my… friend.”
“Girlfriend,” Sarah corrects gently, nodding to Ari reassuringly at his nervous expression. “She’s his girlfriend, just like your aunt has her boyfriend.”
She nods, understanding dawning in her eyes. “Nice to meet you,” She smiles gently, taking your hand. “You gotta come play with us, Daddy always has the best games. Do you work with him? Is he as fun out there as he is here?”
“Maya, take a breath.” Her mother chides, smiling at her energy while Ari makes a face at her ribbing. “She just got here, remember?”
“I’d love to play with you,” You smile as she lights up, chatting excitedly as she leads you upstairs to her room. It’s beautiful but simple, full of art and pictures of her and her mom and dad, but nothing negative about their relationship- a testament to their devotion to her. “These are beautiful, you’re an artist?”
She blushes a bit. “Yeah, but not that much. I like to draw Daddy pictures though.”
Ari clears his throat, and you turn to see him leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. “You’ll have to show her more later. What do you want to do first?”
She instantly moves, leading us into several games- some with Ari playing a sea monster and her leading the ship, some of them drawing and creating stories together, and even some where they play board games with her little collection. By the time you have a second to catch your breath it’s been a few hours, Sarah gently calling everyone down to try something Maya made, and you can see with a glance Ari’s worn out from her antics.
“This is great,” You hum, smiling as Maya grins happily. “You’ll have to share more of your desserts with us sometime.”
“Especially with me,” Ari grins, winking at her. “I need more energy to keep up with you.”
Sarah laughs, shaking her head. “We all do if we want to stand a chance,” She rises to start cleaning up, waving her hand dismissively when you and Ari rise to help. “Go relax with her, I know you have to go soon.”
Ari nods, yawning and stretching. “Give me five and I’ll be ready, I need to recharge a bit,” He pads over to the large couch and flops down, almost immediately falling asleep and snoring the way only he can, and Maya giggles as you wink at her. 
“I don’t know, I think you should make him spend time with you,” You tease, seeing her grin as she sneaks over to him. Before she can do anything he moves, wrapping his arms around her and dragging her to settle on him without opening his eyes. She laughs and tries to scramble away, making you laugh as he tickles her and kisses over her face. Something in you aches, wanting to give him more chances to be with his daughter, and it takes a moment for you to blink out of it and see Ari’s baby blues watching you intently. 
“He’s a good father,” Sarah hums, quietly sitting with you at the table and handing you a mug of tea. “And a good man.”
You blush a bit, taking a sip and letting the warmth soothe you. “He is…”
She gently squeezes your hand. “Things didn’t work out well for us… But I don’t regret the time we spent, or that little girl he loves so much. He’s nothing but an agent, but he’s a damn good father to her.” She smiles at you gently, nothing but warmth and reassurance in her eyes. “He loves you, (Y/N). I can see it in his eyes. You’re a good match.”
You smile shyly, a bit touched she’s being so kind despite her history with your boyfriend. “Thank you, Sarah. “
“What’s going on here?”
You both look up, Sarah smiling as he holds a half-asleep Maya in his arms. “I think it’s about bedtime,” Sarah rises, tea forgotten as she brushes hair from Maya’s face. “Do you want to tuck her in before you go?”
Ari nods, smiling as Maya waves and yawns out a goodnight before he disappears upstairs, giving you time to help gather everything and get ready before Ari rejoins you. After a few goodbyes and promises to visit again soon, he wraps an arm around your shoulders and tugs you closer, kissing your temple. “You ok baby?”
“More than ok,” You lean into his touch, smiling as his arm tightens around you. “I want that. Someday.”
He raises a single eyebrow, glancing down at you. “Want what?”
“That. A warm loving place for you to have a family, a place for you to call home when the thrill of the mission fades. You deserve that happiness.”
“So do you,” He kisses you softly, helping you into his truck but not moving away, keeping his hands on your hips as you spread your legs for him to step closer. “I’d like that. A family with you.” He kisses your ring finger, eyes never leaving yours. “But you’re my home, (Y/N). Not a building, or a city, or even a country. You.” You flush, smiling shyly, and he kisses you again before moving to climb back into the driver's seat. “We have a lot of time to practice… and I intend to start immediately.”
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shaotie · 1 month ago
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Where Loyalties Lie - Ch 24: Buddy!
“There’s the door, try not to get yourselves captured again on your way out.”
Leo pointed to the exit door leading to a back alley and opened a portal to step in, but before his raised foot went through, he heard Mikey’s pleading sort of voice ask: “Aren’t you coming with us?”
The red-eared slider turned his head to smile at Mikey behind his back, gave him a playful wink, and said: “Not this time mi hermano, I’ve got katanas to rescue."
”Rescue? What do you mean by that?" Raph asked in a stern tone Leo didn't yet know was his ‘I’m ready to protect you at all costs’ big brother voice.
If he did know that, he would have most definitely responded differently than his pleasant-sounding: “I mean stealing them back from Big Mama, of course!” before abruptly disappearing through his portal that he left open behind him.
“Big Mama!” Raph and Mikey exclaimed after he was gone. Donnie, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned and walked toward the exit while calmly commenting: “Well, I hope Leo gets home ok. You guys ready to go?”
In response, Raph gestured to the glowing portal left open in the room and chided: “Donnie! We gotta help Leo!”
Mikey nervously gazed at the portal as Donnie calmly replied: “On the one hand Leo says he can handle himself but on the other…” “He’s too stubborn to ask for our help even if he needs it?” Mikey suggested. “No, I was going to say we need to get my tech bō back. And my Bug Slapper.”
"And our weapons too!" Mikey angrily blurted out.
"Oh yeah yeah I forgot she took those," Donnie replied dismissively.
“It’s settled then,” Raph said. He stood in front of Leo’s blue portal that he had only gone through once before - when their red-eared slider brother ejected them above the dirty laundry bin - and thought out loud: “Now how does this thing work?”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the portal, Leo stepped out into Big Mama’s empty office instead of the vault he was aiming for. He rested his odachi over his shoulder, shrugged it off with a casual: “Beats the roof,” and decided to keep his portal open for a quick retreat. Then he walked over to the vault door to input the password he knew, saying the numbers out loud as he turned the dial lock on each digit.
“1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1.” *click.* “Heh, one of the most powerful yokai in the world and she never figured out how to reset the default code. Priceless.”
Leo reached up for the handle to pull the thick, triple wide, heavy metal door open, and his grin got bigger when he saw his two katanas prominently displayed on a four foot tall display mount in the center of the jumbled mess that was Big Mama’s vault.
Before venturing in, he searched for any signs of hidden traps, and then gazed around with the help of his ninpo vision, searching for any mystic ones. This search proved valuable, because he discovered various random items within that, if touched, would trigger the door to slam shut and lock behind him.
The mystic-imbued forcefield protected door that once closed, could not be forced open from the inside. The only way to get out would be to use something very sharp and exceptionally powerful to pierce through one of the reinforced walls, floor, or ceiling; or use mystic powers to portal out.
When he was sure nothing else would trigger something, he stepped ahead; but at that moment a mutant snapping turtle unexpectedly tumbled out of his open portal and landed flat on his stomach, with Donnie calmly stepping out behind him and looking down to ask: "Did you consider stepping through?" immediately before Mikey fell through the portal with a big: "Whoa!" and his arms spinning around frantically as he lost his balance, banged into Donnie, and knocked them both down on Raph's spiky shell.
The impact knocked Donnie's goggles off the top of his head onto his face, and he let out a winded: "Oof," when he landed on top of Raph and was sandwiched in between his big brother and his little brother - who fell on top of him. Then he turned his head to glare at Mikey, pushed his goggles back up, and let out an annoyed: "And ow."
“What are you doing here!?” Leo curtly ‘greeted.’ The three of them got to their feet, and Donnie sarcastically replied: “We came to help, you’re welcome.” In response, Leo gestured wildly with both hands to his katanas and snapped: “Does it look like I need help!?”
Raph walked up to him and sternly replied: “We weren’t letting you face Big Mama alone! We do things together in our family!” “Plus we have to retrieve my tech,” Donnie factually piped up. "And our weapons!" Raph and Mikey yelled at him in unison. "Oh, yeah I suppose you want those back, too," Donnie dismissively replied.
Leo conceded and replied with an annoyed: “Fine. But hurry up and don’t. Touch. Anything but your stuff, Big Mama has her vault booby trapped.”
Leo led the way into the vault and walked up to inspect where his swords were displayed, searching for any signs of a trap he missed that would be triggered when he took them before touching anything. But just before reaching up, the door automatically slammed shut, imprisoning them inside.
Leo snapped his head around to see Mikey holding a shiny orb in his hands. “What happened?” he asked innocently. In exasperation, Leo exclaimed: “I told you not to touch anything is what happened! What part of ‘Big Mama’s vault is booby trapped’ did you not understand!?”
“Oops. I forgot.”
Mikey let the orb slip from his fingers, and it clanked onto the floor and rolled away from his feet into a pile of Big Mama’s valuable junk. “It’s too late for that now,” Leo complained. “How do we get out?” Mikey asked, as Raph punched his fist into the palm of his hand before exclaiming: “Raph smashes us out!”
Leo roughly grabbed his katanas, one at a time, to sheathe them on his hip belt so he could keep his odachi out at the ready. And then he turned around to face his three brothers.
Donnie was the only one of them who had enough sense to grab his weapon, which he was currently holding up smushed against his cheek, stroking and talking to it like a beloved pet. Mikey picked up the shiny mystic weather orb again (that Leo briefly considered might be a useful thing to steal for himself so he had a reliable way of predicting the cold snaps); and Raph’s eyes were firmly locked on the door, as he backed up to get ramming speed, until he was standing alongside Leo in the middle of the large room.
Leo rested his odachi over his shoulder, grinned at Raph, and said: “As much as I would love to see you leave a Raph-sized imprint behind in that door, it’s secured with a mystic forcefield even you can’t smash through with those rad ninpo fists of yours. And there's no way you're getting through anything else, the entire vault is double enforced with titaneium.”
"You mean titanium?" Donnie asked with one eyebrow raised.
"No," was Leo's blunt reply.
"And where would one procure this titaneium? Perhaps in the yokai Hidden City you refuse to talk about?" In response, Leo flopped his hands down by his side, threw his head back in annoyance, and groaned: "Uuugh, not this again!"
Meanwhile, Raph scanned the room for his and Mikey’s weapons at the mention of his ninpo, and Donnie gave up his questioning and moved on to find (and subsequently hug) his tech Bug Slapper (patent pending), while Mikey was sitting on the floor, shaking the weather orb like it was some sort of magic 8 ball.
Leo watched his little brother for a moment to give himself time to calm his nerves before attempting a portal. When Mikey stopped shaking the orb, the gray clouds within remained unchanged, so he moved on to trying to twist it open, even going so far as chomping on it with his teeth.
“That’s not how it… nevermind, have your fun,” Leo told his little brother. He left him to his ‘toy’ and took his odachi off his shoulder to hold it up with both hands, at the same time Raph dropped Mikey’s kusari fundo on the floor beside him. He smiled at Raph and put the orb down to grab his weapon, and Donnie calmly inspected the locked door and asked Leo: “So how do we get out of here?”
When Donnie turned around to face Leo for his response, he instead watched Raph rummaging through some of Big Mama’s interesting stuff, while Leo stayed intently focused on his sword.
“There’s only two ways out now. My portals, or someone opens the door from the other side,” Leo replied. He lowered his sword slightly to make eye contact with Donnie and said: "Unless you've got summoning tech and finished that giant drill Mikey told me about."
"No, my drill is still in beta," Donnie flatly replied. "However I do have a smaller drill in my tech bō." He calmly looked down on it to click a button, but the only thing that happened was a flashing red 'low battery' symbol appearing on a small display screen built into the purple titanium (not titaneium) shaft.
"Or not," he added rather calmly, despite the current situation they found themselves in.
"You know you should really tap into those mystic powers of yours. If they're anything like the tech you make, you could've probably busted us out of here by now with a mystic tech drill or something," Leo gruffly complained.
"Ah yes, the unscientific magic that doesn't obey any known laws of physics. Let me get right on that," Donnie sarcastically replied.
"That 'magic' is what's keeping us from busting the door down and getting out of here!" Leo snapped in anger. Then he readjusted his stance, held his sword out in front of him, took a deep breath, and slowly released it on the exhale as he tried to focus on using his 'magic' powers to get them out of trouble and in to safety (Which weren't at all like the sorcery and potions that were a commonplace part of life in Witch Town. But that was something he was not getting into with his scientifically-minded brother right here and now).
Then he was interrupted when Raph took his tonfas out and gripped them tightly, stared at the door with a determined look on his face, and firmly said: "Raph can still try to smash us out!"
Leo rested his odachi over his shoulder, looked at his brother with a crooked grin on his face, and decided to amuse the big snapper by stretching his left hand out toward the door and saying: "Go ahead; give it a try, big guy."
Without once taking his eyes off the heavy, mystically reinforced vault door, Raph punched his fists together, sparking his ninpo powers which formed into glowing red forcefield fists over his turtle ones; and Leo's grin spread across his face as he watched his older brother run at the door while yelling: "Power smash jitsu!"
And as expected, the only thing Raph managed to do was to leave an impressive imprint in the impenetrable door - one that didn't in any way go through the mystical forcefield layer inside of it.
"Oh," was all the surprised snapper said as he looked down at the big dent he made, that was completely flat in the middle where the inside layer of the door made contact with the mystic forcefield.
"Do you wanna try smashing through the wall too, or are you gonna listen to me now?" Leo asked in an amused tone that carried a hint of sarcasm. "No, Raph'll listen," the big snapper replied, before turning his attention to a pile of random stuff beside the door. Then the ninja red-eared slider got back in his stance, with his feet spread apart and the odachi grasped with both hands, ready to try and open one of his unpredictable portals; but first sternly told his big brother (and by extension all of them): "You shouldn't announce your attacks in advance. The only reason I got away from Donnie's spinning tech bō the first night we fought is because he yelled 'fibonacci' before he threw it at me."
"Hm, what was that?" Donnie calmly asked, looking up at Leo from something he had been giving his focused attention to: an expensive-looking, high tech weapon that was laying on top of one of the many piles of Big Mama's collectibles, among the random stuff she threw in her vault over the years and subsequently forgot about.
"Nevermind," Leo grumpily replied, before giving his attention back to his portals. The amusement he felt over Raph's ninpo smash attempt was replaced with the mounting tension he felt over the prospect of Big Mama showing up before he could get them out, so he tried his very best to stay focused on the task at hand. But his concentration was broken again when Raph blurted out: “Hey guys, look at this! Big Mama even has a Jupiter Jim limited edition action figure in here!” He held up the toy and smiled at it while playing with the ‘real chopping action’ feature, but Leo knew Big Mama wasn’t one to collect useless human junk, so he used his ninpo vision to see it was infused with a sickly green parasitic mystic energy that was creeping up under Raph’s fingernails.
“That’s not an action figure, it’s a mystic parasite!” Leo snapped. “Put it down before it contaminates all your ninpo!” Raph abruptly dropped the toy, and when Leo was satisfied the green glow on his big brother’s fingertips had all dripped off, he grumbled: “Stop touching stuff, you don’t know what any of it does! I’m looking at you, Donnie.”
Donnie gave Leo a big, nervous grin and pulled his hand away from an interesting artifact that looked like an elaborate chest. One that Leo recognized as being the mystic ‘chest monster’ Big Mama bought one day when he was younger and she took him to the annual International Yokai Mystic Market and Food Festival. Which happened to contain rows upon rows of sharp, serrated teeth that snapped off the hand and arm of anyone unauthorized to open it.
“Stop fooling around and be quiet!” Leo snapped in frustration. “Big Mama knows her vault was tampered with, she’ll be here any minute and I need to focus for this to work!”
“Why?” Mikey asked innocently. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor now and looked up at Leo from the weather orb laying in his lap that he resumed playing with.
“Don’t you have to focus when you use your powers?” Leo asked sourly. Raph shook his head with a: “No,” Mikey calmly replied: “It just comes naturally,” and Donnie didn’t speak up because he hadn't yet tried to tap into his 'unscientific magic' that didn't obey the know laws of physics (in the human world at least, but mystic energy was a thoroughly studied and well-understood normality in the secret underground lives of yokai society).
“Of course it does,” Leo muttered under his breath. Then he sternly told them: “It doesn’t come naturally for me, so shut…” “I wonder who Big Mama trapped in her web this time?” they heard from the other side of the vault door.
A surge of panic was instantly followed by the sensation of Leo’s ninpo retreating up his hands and arms, back to his chest, where it always settled and stubbornly stayed whenever he was really stressed.
He flopped his arms down by his sides and muttered under his breath: “Just great. There’s no point in even trying now.”
“I’ll have to override the security commands, this will take a few minutes, mum,” came a voice from the other side. “Take your time, it’s not like they’re going anywhere,” Big Mama replied in an obnoxiously amused tone that got Leo’s blood boiling over his laughable stupidity of walking right into one of her traps.
Again.
Not that he set off the trap, but it was his fault in the sense he knew his three brothers were under-trained, still learning the ropes, and Mikey had an easily excitable personality often coupled with a short attention span. Therefore he should have kept a closer eye on them instead of putting all his focus on safely getting his katanas back.
At least Draxum would see things that way if he ever found out.
Then again, he was supposed to kill his brothers on sight, so if Draxum found out about this whole situation...
Leo didn't want to think about it and gazed around at his three brothers, figuring he would be in more hot water over being with them than walking into Big Mama’s obvious trap.
(Hopefully not literal hot water with the mood Draxum was currently in)
That fearful thought made the ninpo energy retreat in on itself a little more and tighten like a fizzy ball of electricity buzzing around inside his chest.
That was the moment Raph picked to walk up to the slider with a big, toothy, nervous grin; and he sounded more like he was talking to a little baby as opposed to his teenage brother when he asked: “Hey buuuddy, no pressure but now would be a good time to open one of those super handy portals and get us out of here.”
Leo responded by holding his sword out in his right hand to show that all he got were sparks of blue ninpo electricity when he tried, and replied with a sour: “My powers don’t work when I’m stressed, do yours?” being sure to keep his voice down so Big Mama wouldn’t hear him.
“Yelp,” “Mm hmm,” Raph and Mikey confidently replied without hesitation. “Of course they do,” Leo groaned. “And you…” He took his anger out on Donnie by thrusting an accusatory finger at him while the sound of clicking and tinkering continued coming from the other side of the door. In a high-pitched, angry tone he copied Donnie’s words to him when he said: “‘Don’t worry, I got it under control’! Does this look like under control to you!?” He gestured to the room they were locked inside, and then aggressively pointed at Raph.
“And you!” he whisper snapped. “‘One more visit won’t hurt,’ ‘we’ll be in and out in under five minutes!’ I showed Donnie the cracks in my shell! The ones she gave me! Why didn’t you listen to him!?” “Cracks!?” Raph exclaimed in as loud of a whisper as he dared - not having known about that because Leo always kept his shell concealed around them, and was currently wearing the black piece over his plastron that was a part of his cloak.
Leo opened his scowling mouth to say something in reply, but stopped when he heard Big Mama complain: “Oh really you need a piddly hammer now? Why is this taking so long!?”
When the vault filled with the loud sound of hammering outside the door, he glared at Donnie and angrily exclaimed: “You didn’t tell them!?”
Leo batted Mikey’s hand away when the box turtle reached up to push his cape back with the intent of peering in between his cloak where the black piece in front and the cape in the back overlapped, to sneak a peek at Leo’s injured shell; while the slider kept his angry gaze fixed firmly on Donnie, who defensively replied: “It got lost somewhere between ‘Someone burned Leo's shell,’ and watching you murder yokai in the Battle Nexus together!”
Leo batted away Mikey’s hand a second time and opened his still scowling mouth to reply: “You all watched those tapes together but wouldn’t warn them about the cracks she put in my shell!? Your priorities are messed up. And you!”
Leo batted Mikey’s hand away a little aggressively this time and curtly told him (but with an undertone of kindness he didn’t display toward his other two brothers): “We’re in this mess because you picked at stuff after I told you not to touch anything!”
Mikey nervously twiddled his fingers and bashfully replied: “I know.”
The tender tone in his voice made Leo drop the attitude, and he rubbed his forehead in frustration and told him: “You need to be more careful than that, Mikey. One day your impulsiveness is gonna get someone killed.”
Leo stopped rubbing his forehead and dropped his arm to gaze at the door in front of him, while the cessation of the hammering was followed by clinking sounds inside the thick, heavy door where the gears were located - signaling Big Mama was one step closer to revealing who she had 'trapped in her web'.
“Big Mama wants to make you her rodeo clowns! Do you even know what a yokai rodeo is!?” Leo asked, exasperated. Mikey opened his mouth with a smile as though he knew the answer, but Donnie slapped a hand over it and asked: “What is a yokai rodeo?”
“The rodeo is a big event every month when Kraken Tom and all the rest of Big Mama’s Battle Nexus ‘pets’ are brought out to the ring for feeding time," Leo responded. "After they tear apart their animal ‘appetizers’ comes the main event, when whatever hapless saps her and her lackeys scrounged up are dragged into the ring to be ‘rodeo clowns’ for a free-for-all feast. No one gets out alive, and feeding time is tonight.”
They all froze in place for a second when a clunk was followed by a loud screeching noise from the unlocking mechanism inside the vault door seizing up.
“Oh for biddy sake what’s the holdup now!?” Big Mama loudly complained. “The gears seized, mum, you really should get this serviced more than once every ten years.” “Nevermind serviced, you’ll be served as the next main course for my beloved Kraken Tom if you don’t get this door open right this second!” Big Mama yelled in anger. “Yes, mum!”
“Mama, mama!”
Leo slapped his hand over his face and groaned: “No, not Gus, too!”
They all listened carefully to the conversation on the other side of the door while engaging in their own hushed argument in between.
“My dear, sweet Gussy-pup, it’s always a pleasure to see you. Big Mama could use some good news right now,” the spider lady told her guard dog yokai pet in a pleasant, upbeat tone.
“How do you know we couldn’t take on those pets of hers with our awesome new mystic powers?” Mikey asked with genuine curiosity.
“Yeah, yeah, I got good news, look at the big bone I got!” Gus told Big Mama excitedly.
Leo bluntly replied to Mikey’s inquiry: “I know because you three already lost your weapons to her once, and walked right into Big Mama's trap twice tonight! After I warned you both times! And then you couldn’t get away from one spider and a few of her bumbling henchmen without help! But, you think you can get out of a fighting ring filled with dozens of vicious hungry beasts! Oh, and did I forget to mention no one gets out alive? Because no one gets out alive!”
“Who gave you the bone, my pet?” Big Mama asked Gus in a pleasantly polite tone.
“My Bud! He was here toda…uh oh.”
“Uh oh is right," Leo thought out loud.
“Oh your bud was here today!” Big Mama replied in an overly happy tone that told Leo she knew exactly who his ‘Bud’ was and that he was also the one on the other side of her vault door this very moment.
It was nothing short of infuriating.
Leo groaned, rubbed his forehead in frustration again, and told his ‘hero’ brothers who came to ‘help’ him: “April was right about you three when she called you a bunch of bozos! Now I gotta face Big Mama! Uuughhh, what else is gonna go wrong tonight?”
“Hey, we came here to help you!” Raph defensively snapped. “And get my tech back,” Donnie piped up, calmly inspecting his titanium tech bō for scratches as though they weren’t about to be attacked by Big Mama. Until Mikey and Raph angrily glared at him, so he muttered under his breath with an eye roll: "And your weapons."
“Almost there, mum, just one more turn ought to do it.”
Leo protectively stepped ahead so he was standing between Big Mama and his poorly trained brothers, unsheathed a katana with his left hand so now he had two swords at the ready, and said: “Let me handle the talking, but Big Mama's not one to back down peacefully, so be prepared to fight our way out of here.”
Raph gave a firm nod of his head, put his tonfas in hand, checked that his other two brothers were likewise armed and ready, and the sound of gears clinking inside the heavy metal door signaled it was about to be opened.
“It’s about bloody-well time!” Big Mama snapped.
Leo took in a deep breath through his mouth, readied himself for a fight; and when the door swung open the four mutant turtles were greeted by a random yokai mechanic, the devious grin of Big Mama in her spider yokai form, and, of course, Gus - who was completely oblivious to the tension in the room and emphatically greeted Leo with a joyful:
“Buddy!”
🔹🔹🔹
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