#he’s so horrible in a lot of ways but also | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

catenary-chad · 1 day ago

Text

Why Greaseball is a Really Great train villain: a looong post (4.8k words) on all the historical train context behind replica Greaseball

For all my issues with the other main engines, I think (replica) Greaseball is FANTASTIC. He just works on so many fundamental levels and gets so much better/worse with historical context. If we make him an EMD E9 locomotive (a common headcanon) things get even more interesting, and there’s even a convenient irl engine to base him on!

Note: if you’re into real US trains this info probably won’t be as new to you as my Nez Cassé post, since E and F units are so well preserved and documented in English. A lot of the topics I go on are pretty widely discussed in US railfan circles and not terribly obscure. Also this is just about replica, Elvis-style Greaseball vs Wembleyball… her being more modern and European changes a lot and I would take a very different approach.

Also CW for non-graphic discussion of abuse in the very last section. I have a separate warning before it comes up so you can leave before then.

DIESEL TRACTION IN THE US

First of all, to clear up a common misconception: 99% of all diesel locomotives are diesel-electric. The diesel engine is used to generate electricity to power electric motors to turn the wheels. This is why dual-mode engines that can switch between drawing third rail/overhead wire electricity and making their own with a diesel engine are so common. Besides the power source, they work similarly, so it’s not hard to incorporate. This is NOT how hybrid cars work, though diesel-electric setups have been used on very heavy trucks for purposes like mining. Diesel-mechanical is more in line with how automobiles work but is basically unheard of outside of very small switchers in the US (mostly in museums now) and 50s-era shunters and that one weird Fell diesel in the UK. The technical reasons of why isn’t really important here, but has to do with the difficult of making an appropriate gearbox for road locomotives and appealing qualities of electric motors for train use (high starting torque).

Internal combustion-based locomotives are actually much more recent than pure electric ones. Electric engines achieved practical use around the 1890s and were well-established in urban and mountainous areas by the 20s-30s…. which is when diesel boxcab switchers first started production in substantial numbers and lightweight diesel trainsets like the Zephyrs, M10000, and Flying Hamburger started to pop up. The earliest diesels were either slow (switchers) or fast but very weak (lightweight trainsets and railbusses). There were major tech limits to maximum horsepower in diesel locomotives until the second half of the 20th century, which is why several of them were often needed to replace one steam or electric engine, and why you had some weird turbine designs in the 50s-70s as an alternative.

Early diesel locomotives in the US actually had a lot in common with their early implementation in the UK. They’re often perceived differently because Thomas the Tank Engine had so many characters based on unsuccessful early British diesel models, while most of the failed earlier US diesels are obscure compared to the successful and widespread ones (that often have the strongest museum presence). There were some notably good early switcher models (some still being used today) that were among the first to replace steam engines because it was one of the tasks that they had the biggest advantage over them in, and limited size wasn’t an issue. Road diesel implementation was messy and due to the early state of the technology, some railroads like the Pennsylvania Railroad had a strategy more akin to early British Rail in that they planned to just slowly phase out steam as they electrified. Higher wages and stronger unions were also a factor in both countries dieselizing, due to the vastly lower labor needed for diesel locomotives vs steam and generally safer, more pleasant working conditions on them. There was also a need to shed a reputation for being outdated to draw in customers again with both. There was also a desperate early demand for diesel power that led to a lot of questionable builders and designs being picked up early on and later dumped for being nonstandard.

The main difference is that dieselization’s serious pursuit in the US started around the Great Depression and really picked up in the late 30s, almost two decades before the Modernization Plan of 1955. So it was a far more mature and well-established technology by the 50s and Greaseball is very much based on this dominant position vs the messy early experiments of the Thomas diesels.

Greaseball’s helmet heavily resembles the fronts of the E and F unit carbody locomotives made by EMD from the 30s-50s. I’ll go into those specific models later, but the manufacturer alone is really interesting and has a lot of great symbolism that works with Greaseball.

Earlier diesel manufacturers included steam builders like Alco and Baldwin, outside companies getting into the diesel locomotive market like Fairbanks-Morse, and EMD, which started as an independent company but quickly became part of General Motors. One of the major advantages EMD would acquire is mass-production in assembly lines, the way cars were made, as opposed to building one engine at a time like steam shops did. So Greaseball has some quiet ties to the auto industry (and boy did GM hurt trains in other avenues). They also used common parts between models, making them relatively easy to repair and rebuild. You had all kind of mods and changes done to their engines over the decades, which is a fun tie-in to the bodybuilder AND greaser aspect of Greaseball. I’ll go into how I think he’d specifically be modified/rebuilt later though.

Another major factor of EMD is… they often weren’t the best in a lot of ways and very much an example of “survival of the good enough”. Until very recently they all used relatively dirty and inefficient two-stroke engines and other manufacturers often had stronger or technically superior competing models… but it was the ease of working on them and relative reliability vs their competitors that contributed to their success and helped make EMD the dominant manufacturer.

Bonus fun fact: EMD (and later General Electric) had a lot of success in the export model market due to their early reliability, especially vs British diesel engines. One of the funnier instances being several colonial African railways holding onto steam into the 70s because they were forced to buy crappy British diesel engines otherwise, and promptly dieselizing as soon as they could buy American ones. EMD made huge inroads into the British freight market with the Class 59 and 66 (the latter also used in continental Europe). These came too late to have had any affect on the development of the show early on, but it’s an interesting instance of American encroachment that could be thematically relevant. The sheer ubiquity of EMD diesels worldwide makes Greaseball weirdly relevant in a lot of countries if you basis swap him a little. I haven’t figured out quite how I’d approach Girlball but I’d definitely make her one of these export models since it fits.

Anyways, back to the general history timeline because it’s important for the other reason EMD was so successful. By the late 30s, diesel switchers were widespread and road models were starting to come out in limited numbers. Widespread dieselization would have happened nearly a decade earlier if not for World War II. When the US entered the war, copper, oil, and diesel engines became critical to the war effort. Coal was not and steam engines don’t use much copper, so the existing steam manufacturers were forced into building them. EMD’s FT series had proven itself prewar and the company was among the few to be able to develop their locomotive lines during the war. This gave the company a huge advantage post-war and their E and F units dominated the road locomotive market afterwards (switchers remained more competitive since they had more development before and during the war).

If you’re European and know little about American trains, you may wonder when things started getting electrified after that. They didn’t. Outside of one stretch of the Northeast Corridor, a recent project by Caltrain, and some isolated freight lines… the US didn’t electrify anything after WWII, and if anything de-electrified much that had existed. The oil crises of the 70s almost led to something, but the subsequent drop in prices in the 80s made that dry up too. Leading to the modern day status of having only 1% electrified rail mileage. The rest is all diesel domain. They were never a stopgap here. Due to railroads remaining private businesses post-WWII and facing almost unwinnable economic and political conditions vs roads and air travel, the cost of electrification was out of the question and the much smaller up front cost of diesel engines made them take permanent hold over most of the country post-steam. To this day, railroads avoid paying up front for things vs just paying more in yearly maintenance for diesel locomotives, and the price of fuel has never gotten high enough to incentivize electrification. There’s also a whole carrot vs stick situation with state governments raising emissions standards without providing assistance to electrify that leads to a crappy state of limbo that just gives automobiles even more of an unfair advantage, but that’s another tangent that’s not relevant enough to go into.

This is all a long way to say that Greaseball as the conservative, oppressive establishment is spot-on to the status of diesel traction in the US. It really can’t be overstated how dominant and inescapable it is. It’s kind of hilarious hearing people from the UK or Europe talk about how gross and stinky and backwards they are and how much more disliked they are there. This is why the Greaseball vs Electra feud is so appealing to me- the US is one of the few places where they would be considered remotely competitive and where that matchup is politically relevant. There’s this compelling thread of Greaseball being a “pragmatic compromise” that’s held on so long it’s become status quo, but would be viewed as a regressive relic elsewhere in the world, akin to how the US’s economic politics are seen in much of the rest of the world. Greaseball is the majority who very much has capitalism and inertia on his side, Electra is the more qualified but long-sidelined minority who wishes things were even a little more like Europe economically and politically. They’re so rural vs urban, right vs left wing coded it hurts. Diesel power mainly thrives where frequencies are low and distances are long and rail is a private business that often can’t afford to electrify. Urban trains are almost exclusively electric due to their inherent frequency and pollution requirements, and are almost synonymous with being state-owned.

Him being particularly nasty to steam engines also checks out, he’s the era of diesel locomotive that often directly replaced them and I’ve seen claims EMD did deceptive things if not outright cheated on tests vs steam engines. At the very least they had fairly aggressive marketing. There’s a reason why I object to the idea that Electra would cheat against a steam engine (even in the early days electric ones trounced them so thoroughly it routinely exceeded railroads’ expectations), but think Greaseball doing it makes sense. Him playing dirty against Electra also makes sense because they’d have similar top speeds (and that’s being very conservative with Electra’s abilities and keeping them a relatively old model) but Electra benefits far more from a clean setting and would be relatively vulnerable to attack. There’s been decades of cultural downplaying of the advantages of electric vs diesel trains due to the latter’s sheer dominance in the US too. Further tying into the political aspect, electric trains are one of those things whose status only goes up the more you actually learn about them… and it really knocks combustion engines down several pegs, paralleling how right wing politicians in the US tend to be actively anti-education because they quietly rely on voters being low-information and uneducated about how negative the effects of their policies often are.

Greaseball as a macho jock is also reflective of the perceived strength of diesel vs electric engines. Because the US is infamous for its large heavy freight trains that are almost entirely diesel-hauled (besides a single power plant out west), electric freight is an almost alien concept and people associate electric traction with high speed trains, subways, maybe lighter, faster European freight trains at most. People often act like they’re weak because of this. This is patently untrue, just look at IORE or the Virginian Railway. Also see my earlier discussion of how weak diesel engines were early on. Electric locomotives still have vastly higher horsepower per single unit and the only reason there aren’t ones as strong as diesel engines in the US is lack of demand. It wouldn’t be that hard to build one for that niche. But diesel has strong associations with being the “strong and manly” blue-collar option because of its use by every large freight railroad and almost every shortline for all the tough, gritty jobs, unlike those darn city slicker commuter trains. Let’s just conveniently forget that the Milwaukee Road existed and that mines are full of weird little battery-powered “lokies”. People will even crow about the Big Boy all day and rarely acknowledge the multiple electric engine models of that era with comparable abilities.

EMD E and F UNITS

Finally, we can discuss Greaseball’s more specific basis. Greaseball’s helmet doesn’t have a single explicit one like Electra’s, but its styling is very typical of 30s-50s era carbody diesel locomotives, specifically the “bulldog nose” E and F-Units. These models were and still remain some of the most popular toy and model diesel engines, and are some of the most recognizable American trains in general. Which they totally deserve, they came in a lot of fun colors and were VERY widely used from the 30s to early 80s irl and were still used in limited numbers for decades after that and are extremely common in museums today. It’s probably harder to find a railroad museum in the US that doesn’t have one. They are probably THE symbol of diesel trains in the US, especially circa the 50s. Even highway signs for train stations resemble them.

Carbody locomotives like these made the streamlined body a structural element of the engine to save weight and required indoor walkways for maintenance access vs being able to open external panels. Alco and Baldwin also made far less successful carbody locomotives as competitors but they looked very different. Funny enough, a number of electric locomotives of the era also were built this way, but with cabs at both ends, some of them looking a LOT like Greaseball’s helmet.

The E-units were EMD’s first line of road diesel locomotives, mainly designed for passenger service. Since the 30s there were several different models of the line, the first few being built in smaller numbers, and the later ones being much more widely produced post-WWII. They were relatively long and large for a diesel engine of the time, with atypical A1A -A1A (powered/unpowered/powered x2) wheel arrangements and two seperate prime movers (the actual diesel engine) to produce more horsepower due to the limited abilities of individual engines. While successful compared to their competitors (which were… generally a mess) there’s a sense that they were designed for a time that would never come.

They were very much optimized for being smooth at speed for passenger use and while not useless for freight service, weren’t ideal for it due to their limited strength and not having all powered wheels for traction. Which was a terrible market to be in with the massive decline in passenger rail post-WWII. The E-units still generally had long and successful lives, but were never as successful as their younger, smaller sibling, the F-unit.

F-units visually resemble shorter E-units, but with single prime movers and Bo-Bo wheel arrangements (four powered axles). By modern standards they’re small and not terribly powerful, but for their time they were solid and VERY successful in freight service, and often took the place of E-units in passenger service since they worked for that too, and were more versatile overall. There are a bunch of F-units running in museums because they look good and are easy to find parts for due to the sheer quantity produced (also some, but far fewer E-units). You could totally make Greaseball an F-unit and it would fit with how there’s been some infamously short Greaseball actors.

There’s a lot of fun commonalities between both models that are relevant to Greaseball. Both were explicitly designed to be used in multi-engine sets due to their limited individual strength, which perfectly fits Greaseball having his Gang follow him around. Working in packs that large is a VERY midcentury diesel thing. Both had the massive drawback of having no rear visibility and basically no ability to go backwards for switching. That was one of the main traits that led to this style of engine falling out of favor, roadswitchers that actually had rear visibility were more versatile than having separate road and switch engines. In a race going backwards, Rusty would clean his clock even if he was SUPER crappy and could only go walking pace, because Greaseball would be flying totally blind and crash. It’s also a hassle to perform maintenance and get inside that body style and the noses were reportedly harder to manufacture.

As a cursed side note, ATSF solved these problems with their old F-units by roadswitcherfying them into CF-7s. Hey, they were old and past their prime but still useful and worked GREAT as ugly utilitarian roadswitchers and ran for decades afterwards. There’s several of these things running in museums. I’ve actually worked on one and I approve of roadswitcherfication because they really are way less of a pain to maintain this way.

Speaking of rebuilds, the highest horsepower Greaseball would have as an E-unit would as-built is only 2,400 if he was an E9, but because early EMDs got modified so much and routinely re-engined, we can play around with this. It fits the character and the Railways Series routinely did this kind of thing. We’ll suppose Greaseball was re-engined or otherwise modified to get up to 2,700 horsepower… but then there’s the reported issue that the unpowered axles might make him too slippery to actually apply full force, so we’ll get a bit more out there and say he got more substantially rebuilt into a Co-Co (six powered axle) arrangement. Now you have something that would be vaguely comparable with one of Amtrak’s dysfunctional SDP40F diesels of the late 70s-early 80s, if still a bit weaker but probably more physically stable. It’s hard to avoid that Greaseball is kind of statistically wimpy no matter how you slice it. They’d need to tweak the numbers in the song a little, but again, swapping out engines in early EMDs was super common and suits him so it’s not too much of a stretch to bump him to 3700 or something. You still have issue that he’s not large by UP standards specifically (they are INFAMOUS for large single-unit engines) but he’d still be fairly large vs more typical passenger diesels of the time.

Anyways, another VERY fun fact about E and F units is that they were regularly used on corporate trains after most of them were withdrawn from regular mainline service in the 70s-80s. People often complain that Greaseball is barely relevant circa the 80s, which isn’t really true since a lot of E and F units were used on commuter lines for years afterward (if often in cab car form, which are terrifying in any talking train verse). But there’s another huge loophole that gives a perfect excuse for his existence well into the modern day. Union Pacific itself used a set of three E9s on their corporate specials until 2019! They only got pulled due to wheel issues… got no lovers if you got no wheels I guess. But now you have a perfect excuse for why Greaseball is a 50s-era engine with UP colors pulling passenger trains well after the railroad axed those services in the early 70s. He’s a corporate pawn! He’s one of the faces of their company, chauffeuring executives around. Which leads into another fascinating topic with him.

UNION PACIFIC, FREIGHT RAILROADS, AND PASSENGER RAIL

All of the modern big Class I railroads in the US suck in similar ways, but Union Pacific has a stronger identity and seems to have the largest cultural presence abroad, making it the most visible and appealing of them to the public. It tends to be THE American railroad to many, which goes well with Greaseball’s basis being THE American diesel engine. Yes, they do have some cool heritage fleet stuff and really cool heritage unit paint jobs, but you’ll never see me depict them in a terribly positive way (if at all) because they’re a PR campaign like the Budweiser Clydesdales for an infamously awful company. Make no mistake, this is a company that’s been voted “worst place to work” on multiple occasions (and its cohorts aren’t much better). That’s the ironic thing about Electra being made a crappy boss, Amtrak is notably much better to its workers (and steam engines are the most competitive where labor is cheapest and least organized). The main thing is unreasonable on-call hours, lack of sick leave, vacation, and break days in general, and working conditions. Look into the blocked 2022 railroad strike for more on this. Greaseball could be SO nasty to the freight to reflect this if you made him a symbol of railroad leadership. You’d have any railroaders in the audience booing him if they did this in the US, it’s a very relevant political issue. Ironically, things weren’t nearly as bad labor-wise in the 80s, ALW just really bet on the right horse in terms of railroads to align a train villain with. But there’s a more prominant and existing aspect of canon that also fits the crappy things UP and other class Is do.

Passenger rail has never been as profitable as freight in the US. To give a modern ballpark estimate, I’ve heard $30,000 revenue on a fully loaded longer passenger train vs $500,000 revenue on a train of oil tankers. And that’s not even including the higher maintenance standards that passenger rail requires, which adds millions to its cost and makes it almost impossible for it to turn a profit. There is a reason why almost all countries with widespread passenger rail today have nationalized rail systems and even US passenger service is all government-run outside Brightline and museums.

This situation was particularly bad in the 50s-60s before Amtrak took over passenger service. Passenger trains absolutely bled money overall, and many of them were required to keep running even at massive losses per government regulation because they were an essential service. This contributed to the financial ruin of many railroads, and most of them dropped passenger service or sold it to the government as soon as it was offered. UP in particular was more financially stable, but also happily got rid of their passenger trains when offered.

Since then, the giant merged Class I railroads have become almost exclusively freight-oriented and hostile towards Amtrak-run passenger services. They’re almost all terrible, but UP is one of the more visible offenders, holding up commuter services in Chicago, and contributing to the massive delays in long-distance western trains. “Coach sexism” in the form of widespread hostility towards passenger rail by the likes of UP is one of the few canon social metaphors that WORKS. The other engines would not be that way considering the systems they’re aligned with, but Greaseball could be made so, so much worse.

There is a weird element of “I hate my wife” boomer humor when people describe passenger trains. There’s “keeping freight trains in line” schedule-wise due to their time sensitivity. There’s being seen as needlessly spendy for PR reasons (often true in the older days) paralleling “my wife wastes money on stupid things”. There’s being seen as more delicate and refined due to needing better track conditions and gentler handling because you know, humans have standards that grain hoppers and sand don’t. There’s the way that passenger rail isn’t as profitable as freight and basically requires government subsidies… not unakin to caring jobs and “women’s work” in general vs blue collar industrial jobs (Caveat: passenger rail employees were almost all male until Amtrak). In short, yeah the freight railroads’ treatment of passenger trains in the US does have parallels to sexism, if slightly different from how canon does it. Abruptly dumping them in the 70s also fits Greaseball ditching Dinah mid-show.

Even if you go the comparatively mild route of mirroring modern railroads, you still have him treating the coaches as second class vs freight (despite them being legally prioritized). This is a major issue and why Amtrak has so many delays on long distance trains. To summarize a complicated issue: due to the relatively unique economics of railroads, they are incentivized to run fewer, longer, irregular freight trains that have become so large they don’t fit in sidings and can’t physically let prioritized passenger trains through. They then get delayed for hours, especially if the freight train breaks down (bonus: freight trains have a staff of two, engineer and conductor. The conductor may have to walk up to THREE MILES to check out a possible defect on a car, delaying even more). The Class Is have a broadly hostile relationship with Amtrak in general for various reasons related to insurance and minimal investment in track maintenance, and it even affects non-Amtrak passenger services like steam excursions. UP has its personal steam fleet for publicity reasons, but all of the Class Is are various shades of hostile to running steam excursions with passengers now due to those same reasons. Even UP barely sells public tickets for theirs.

Bonus: the reason Mexico has basically no passenger rail now is due to the nationalized railroads being taken over by companies heavily aligned with US freight railroads and with many similar attitudes towards passenger service. They ditched virtually all of it en masse when they took over. Turbo works perfectly as just Greaseball but in Mexico because the same thing happened there… only a few years before the Mexican Stex production happened. Electra might be an even more pathetic and unthreatening character there though, because the single, long-delayed electrified mainline built by NdeM was ripped out after only a few years of service by the private freight railroads.

WARNING: Leave now if you do not want to read about how abusive Greaseball could be made based to US railroads’ treatment of passenger trains pre-70s. It’s not graphic, but it is blunt and dark. I put this at the end for a reason, there is nothing beyond this last section.

Basically, canon even at its worst arguably undersells how awful Greaseball could be to Dinah and the coaches if you make them symbols of UP and other major railroads vs passenger service pre-Amtrak. They could be even MORE toxic. You have a situation now where he outright hates her and wants her gone for above reasons, but is forced to stay in the relationship due to outside requirements and is fundamentally built for that kind of setup as an E-unit. Railroads forced to keep passenger services usually didn’t have mandated quality standards for them. They just had to have something. This led to pathetically short trains (one or two cars), understaffing, and poor maintenance because they just had to have SOME passenger train on that line. Track conditions reached terrible standards in the 70s on railroads that were near bankruptcy and delaying maintenance. I absolute do not blame canon for not going this dark in a kids show, but basically there is no limit to how miserable Greaseball could make her life, short of actually killing her. I can’t understate how much she symbolizes something he’d want to rid himself of at any cost but can’t and will take that out on. It’s BLEAK. I don’t think I’d even write them this dark myself.

Well… now you see why I do not redeem and revise Greaseball the way I do Electra. While the latter is wrongly demonized in an impressive number of ways, Greaseball is awful for all the right ones, to extents deeper than the creators probably ever imagined. He is so versatile and nearly timeless in his awfulness. If Greaseball were portrayed as remotely good I’d be ripping him to greater shreds than I do Rusty, but he’s great as a hateable bad guy who’s entertaining and globally recognizable even by much of the general public. Despite all this, I’m fine with him just being a cartoon bully because it’s more palatable and not wrong. But you could also make him so much nastier than even the workshop if you wanted to go darker.

#Stex #starlight express #technically this is character hate but it’s about how he’s great at that as intended so it’s maintagged #because he really is such a compelling and horrible character the more you look into it #probably the major character i’d most want to play because i’d incorporate a lot of this to make him nastier #he is the embodiment of so many past and present rail issues in the US and weirdly effective abroad too #reference #also lol this is why you will never see me talk very positively of Uncle Pete (or other big US railroads)#the fallen flags i’m fascinated by are more like watching a train crash than stanning. based on who made the funniest bad decisions #can’t overstate that i’m also fine with greaseball being played more stupid and cartoonish and less malicious #it’s genuinely very hard to go wrong with replica greaseball for me because he works in so many ways

33 notes · View notes

bnyf · 12 hours ago

Text

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ#1 crush ♡

╭﹕୨୧﹒yandere male elf x female human reader ♡

┊ warnings : yandere content and themes, unhealthy behaviors, relationship and relationship dynamic, sexual content, noncon, kidnapping, size difference, strange dynamic.

╰﹕୨୧﹒authoress note : after receiving some unwanted but much needed criticism i've tried my hand at writing a little better and fixing errors. i apologize in advance if there's any errors or gaps in my writing, i also apologize for the messed up story that this is. ik some people don't like the way i write the reader but like??? idgaf sorry anyways other than that, i hope you guys enjoy, please read the warnings and proceed with caution <3 i would also like to say that this post is kinda inspired by a very popular yandere artist on here with a male elf oc

what a treacherous fate had befallen on a vitreous soul such as yourself.

it truly is unfortunate, you're so unlucky. how could your luck have run so low? to think, this everyday mundane routine would now be your nightmarish reality was stomach wrenching. you never did anything to deserve this, this was simply some sort of faulty by the gods, right? there's no way this is your horrible ending. no way.

you sobbed and yet... he hummed and chastised you by smacking your puffy clitorous.

it's always like this, it's been like this for...? a while now apparently. you've completely lost track of time. maybe a month or so if you're playing the guessing game.

well, if it wasn't obvious already, you've been taken hostage by an insane elven prince. probably the most insanely angelic, good-looking, prettiest and sick minded male you've ever met.

he really needs professional help. something that he can more than afford considering his house is almost made of gold, his herculean physique adored and draped only with the most expensive clothes, jewels, silks, soaps and scented creams and perfumes. his perfume, so extravagant, worth more than your vital organs all put together. that was the part you admired about elven people, they are so intelligent, so ahead of humans.

but to him? therapy is cheap and free! you're the first ever human he's laid eyes on and that's all he really needs. and really, you're the one to blame for his actions. it's all you. so you should take responsibility, right?

he's sought out humans before, trying to break the barrier between the two worlds and connect with them. he was damn near obsessed with coming into contact with the human realm and ruling over them like a god despite the fact that any sort of magic that threatens to break the barrier and connect the realms or offer passage through the two realms is absolutely forbidden. this is such a serious offense that if caught violating, can lead to public execution.

but your little caregiver did not! give one flying hoot at all, nor did the rules really even apply to royals as the royals participated in a lot of magical corruption and kept it all on the low.

so what a surprise! not really that he'd succeed in his conquest. not entirely since he'd only manage to bring one human to the elven realm, but now he knows for sure he's making great progress. and not only succeed in getting a nitty gritty palms on any human, but such a cute little human female like yourself.

humans are a lot more fragile, smaller, weaker, lesser intelligent beings, almost like a sub species from elves. so that's why you must be taken care of with so much extra love and attentiveness. all this was his reasoning for treating you like a minor being, enabling you and excuses for his weird kinks.

there was no way you'd ever dream of over powering him, not when a large veiny arm wrapped so tightly around your wrists, holding it behind your back, and the other with it's slender long digits effortlessly reaching your g spot.

it was 'bath time' or whatever, which called for a thorough inspection and cleanse. or just another excuse to use your body to his likings.

his tongue lap at your folds and clit, moaning in delight and relishing in all your juices spraying him. his voice muffled by your pussy, making wet sounds as he attempts to praise your gorgeous body: all of which sounds like incohesive unhinged, obsessive rambling of course.

if you ignore this scene and focus on other small things around you maybe you can, somewhat imagine yourself having a luxurious warm bath in the tub, with flowers and scented stuff in the water, scented candles creating a relaxing atmosphere, marvelous one-sided glass view... maybe not the one-sided glass view that's actually a little too scary to think about but yeah, you're having a nice little bath.

the most relaxing bath in the most prettiest and pearliest tiled bathroom you've ever been in.

your insides contorts though and you find yourself coming again undone on those perfectly manicured fingers of his, messing up his perfect face with your essence. your voice is loud and echoes throughout the bathroom, all the way into the bedroom and closet but never enough to each anyone's ears as he's casted multiple protective barrier spells to keep your presence unknown from other elven people. you've came like 5 times already and he won't let you rest, getting high off your pussy juices.

"poor baby, you look so tired, shhh don't worry~ mama will take care of everything, just relax and be good for me, okay? it'll all be over soon, my darling ^ mama will get you all cleaned up and dressed, right after this..." you wish you had the energy to welp out an 'ewwwwww da fuck?!' right about now but you were so weak and constantly sedated. you felt helpless as his bulbous tip hits your pussy, rubbing it back and forth to coat and lubricate himself with your juices. he leisurely teases, making your hole spasm and grasp around nothing, your body reacting in a lovely manner to his advances.

he licks his lips, only putting the tip in before quickly pulling back out. taking his time cause he wants to drive you insane like him. and luckily for him, his mind games always work so well.

his precum leaking and smearing you in the process as he rubs his whole length, measuring your pelvic area with his cock length and soon putting it in to see how far it'll actually go.

you almost blacked out. even though he prepped you well for this it still stings, he's just too big. and you? way too tight, squeezing him like you want every last drop of his seed, has him shivering and grunting in the process.

"fck- you're so tight, baby ngh~"

has him seeing stars and by the time he's balls deep in you and hitting the tip of your womb, you're a drooling and moaning mess. can't even control his obsessive thoughts from spilling out his mouth, he immediately gets to work on those hips too like a wild animal, only sparing a few seconds to sloppily kiss you and slap your thick behind.

it only takes a few minutes before he breaks his load inside you and shifts you into another position, manhandling you and roughing you up like a meat toilet, all for his own enjoyment and pleasure.

his long silky hair tickling your skin. when you think about it, he's so masculine with many feminine traits too, like the perfect balance actually and it is to be expected from an elf. he always wants to be in control, always wants to take care of you like a god watching over his creation. it sorta overlaps with him calling himself your mama but it makes sense in a way. he doesn't see himself as a woman in any sort of way, he just wants unrestricted authority over you.

your tears stream down your cheeks which he licks away and kisses, it only hurts your head trying to rationalize this or even understand it, your vision goes all blurry and for the next few rounds, your in and out of consciousness while being filled.

when you're awake again, you're draped in silk half naked and powdered up, you feel your caretakers strong arms wrapped around you, spooning you as rubs circles into your skin. he's also half naked with nothing but a cloth draped around himself. you both lay on a soft layered bed with many squishy pillows and blankies. fruits, steam veggies and grilled meat laid out on a silver tray for you to enjoy, though your stomach was filled with his cum.

#yandere x reader #male yandere #male yandere x reader #yandere #yandere x darling #yandere x you #yandere male #yandere oc #yandere writing #yandere x y/n #yandere blog #yandere boys #yandere elf #yandere smut #yandere drabble #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #yandere fanfiction #yandere fantasy

66 notes · View notes

legendofmorons · 1 day ago

Text

Written in the stars (forever on loop) Chapter two - Catch my breath (what else can I do?)

Pairing: eventual Poly! Chain x reader, platonic Wind & reader

Series Rating: T

Summary: Day two with the chain has its challenges. Thankfully, Epona and Wind are there to make things better. Four and Sky have a heart to heart while a late night talk with Warriors leaves you with some questions and thoughts.

Warnings: grief, cursing

Other: If I missed anything, please let me know

Previous masterlist. Next

Breakfast is your saving grace in the morning, especially because you need something to do that isn't focusing on everything that happened yesterday.

You sit by Sky again, though Wind sits on your other side.

Sky looks exhuasted, blinking blearily and having to stifle a yawn every so often. He's got puffy eyes... has he been crying? Maybe it was just a bad day...

No one else speaks to you or sits near you, though. There's a tense atmosphere you could cut with a very dull butter knife.

"So, what do you do back home?" Wind asks before stuffing a bite of his food in his mouth.

You smile politely, "I work, I listen to music, I talk to my friends and family. Nothing exciting. What about you?"

"I like to sail a lot." Wind says.

This isn't a surprise. He gives off pirate gremlin energy anyhow. It's good to know it is from a hobby and not just your own interpretation of what is apparently more than a video game.

You smile a little more real this time. "That's good, it's important to have hobbies. Do you live near the sea?"

"You know about the sea!" Wind declares excitedly.

You laugh a little, "Of course I do."

You can feel the way all the others look at you with strange gazes and furrowing brows or outright glares.

You focus your gaze on Wind, blocking out the others.

Wind looks absolutely delighted, though, his grin wide and bright. "No one else but Wild knows. You do, though!"

"I do." You agree easily.

The young teen is adoreable in the excitement that causes his ears to twitch a little.

Sky smiles too, "He's a fan of the sea."

"Maybe we can visit it." You offer.

Wind cheers, beaming at you. "I hope so!"

Time clears his throat to get everyone's attention. The air goes thick again around you.

You turn your gaze to the oldest, wondering yet again why he has the fierce diety marking on only half his face if he has them at all.

"We're going to keep looking for a town today, we need to get our new friends some supplies since they were caught unawares." Time says.

He hasn't looked at you. Most of them haven't looked at you. Not really.

You feel your face heat up a little. Embarrassment floods your being.

If you had known you were going to end up here, you would have prepared more!

"We should also probably see about finding a river or something soon." Warriors adds firmly.

The others agree with both sentiments.

Wind elbows you playfully, "Don't worry, we all got caught unawares at least once. I started my adventure by hitting things with sticks."

The teen gives a wink at the end, like he's telling you a secret.

You laugh, recalling that sequence in Wind Waker. Immediately, you feel guilty simply for having loved and played the games.

Apparently, the world of Hyrule is real.

Oh.

Right.

This is all so bizarre.

You played through what were probably horrible quests and memories for fun. (You didn't know! If you had known - breathe. You remind yourself to breathe.)

Last night's dreams were weird.

Everything is so different

"Don't overthink." Sky chides lightly although, it sounds like it's something he says on autopilot, his face twisting with an unreadable emotion.

Grief, maybe? But worry, too.

"Okay." You manage.

"Twilight, Wild, Wind, Legend, and Sky, you'll all look for a river. Warriors, Four, Hyrule, and I will take (Y/n) and look for a town." Time says.

No!

You don't want to leave Sky and Wind. They are the least tense!

At least you'll be with Four and Hyrule. They are far less intimidating than Time and Warriors.

"Don't worry," Wind whispers to you as he nudges your side lightly. "They're all big softies."

He gives you a dramatic wink.

You crack a weak smile. "Really??"

"Really." Wind assures.

"Thanks." You say softer.

The teen grins at you. He looks pretty eleated in general.

"Alright, when you are ready, we'll head out." Time says to you. He's finally looking at you, but his face is stony.

You acknowledge his words and work on finishing your food.

After you've eaten and everything has been packed up, the groups split up.

You are flanked by four men as you walk. Warriors and Four on either side of you with Time in the back and Hyrule beside him.

None of them talk except to tell you if you're turning. Their eyes never seem to be on you, but you swear they're watching.

The silence is strange. (Some strange subconscious part of you rails against the tense air around you. This is wrong!)

"So... uhm... what's with the portals?" You ask after a good twenty minutes of walking.

This seems like a solid start point. The silence is too much anyway.

The others seem to share a silent conversation around you. None of them look at you.

Warriors looks at you as he answers. "There is a Sahdow opening them and letting lose monsters of different eras."

You nod. That sounds like some Legend of Zelda stuff right there... You should probably stop thinking of this as a video game world.

Four sighs. "Of course we're all here because we're heroes."

"That makes sense... why am I here?" You ask, feeling as if you're in free fall without a parachute as far as information goes.

There's a beat of silence.

The men exchange glances around you, yet another silent converstion exchanging in seconds.

"We don't know." Time says evenly, a measured tone flowing in his voice. His gaze is still too heavy on you, as if he's daring you to do something.

"Okay." You manage.

Four offers you a slightly strained smile. "We'll figure it out."

His smile is wrong. His eyes are wrong. He dosen’t believe in what he says, does he?

"I hope so."

Hyrule hums once. "Are you a hero where you're from? That might make it make sense if you are."

You laugh a little, startled at the notion. "No. No, my life back home is... boring enough."

Four and Warriors both look spooked by your laugh, looking at you with frowns. The latter looks a little angry, too, with pinched brows.

Okay. Maybe it was rude to laugh?

"Oh." Hyrule says.

"Boring can be good." Warriors offers after a moment, face fixing itself into an overly polite mask.

You smile weakly. "I guess so."

"Are you a royal then?" Hyrule asks.

You laugh again. "No. I'm definitely not."

The silence comes back, heavy and awkward. You don't bother trying to break it again.

There's something wrong in the air. You just can't place it. You have barely interacted with any of them!

At least Hyrule and Four just seem to avoid watching you. Or maybe it just feels that way because Warriors and Time won't stop - even if you don't catch them, you can feel it.

What is it with these heroes and the staring problem?

Yeesh.

Hopefully, when you see Wind again, He can lighten the mood.

-------

The trip to town was awkward, stilted, and almost painful. When you're dropped off at an inn to what for the boys to get the others, you are relieved.

You've gotten a travel pack with a place for your bed roll. You've also been given a few spare clothes, which is nice.

You are apparently to share an inn room with someone tonight.

Hopefully, it's Wind or Sky. They haven't glared at you or made you feel unwanted.

You settle on one of two beds, wondering what you have done to earn their cold shoulders. Did you... over step somehow?

Maybe they know about the video games? They aren't self-aware in the game, hopefully?

Nothing makes sense anyway.

There's a knock at the door before someone calls. "Hey, it's just me! We're roommates!"

Wind.

Thank goodness.

The door opens to reveal a grinning Wind.

"Did you have fun?" You ask.

The teen is practically bouncing. "I did! It was great, oh my goodness! Wild and Sky got tangled up in some roots, and we had to finish a mini dungeon!"

"That sounds... busy?"

"It was fun! We got some rupees, too."

"That's good!" You say a bit more cheerily.

The boy grins.

He asks you about your trip, and you just say it was okay, a little awkward, but not horrible.

Dinner is quick, and every time you try to make conversation with anyone but Wind they look pained by the attempt, and it peeters out.

Even Sky seems a little skittish about you during dinner, although his eyes look puffy again. Maybe he's going through something?

You sigh, deciding to go see Epona. Maybe she'll let you pet her?

Epona is at least less scared of you. She just sniffs your hand curiously.

As soon as she sniffs you, she's pressing her face into your hand insistently, as if asking for attention. Who are you to deny her?

She's sweet, at least.

"Such a good girl you are." You coo to Epona sweetly.

She isn't at fault for the tense atmosphere of the boys.

Petting her mane gently is relaxing in ways you hadn't quite expected. She's all but leaning into it, a few soft snorts here and there but otherwise seemingly content to be near you.

"Aw, I wish I had something to give you, sweetheart."

Epona just leans a little more into your touch.

"I'll just keep an eye out. Maybe we can find an apple or something for you."

You can feel a few others watching you, but you don't turn. It's much nicer here with Epona than with the heavy silence and strained attempts at conversation provided by the boys.

Although Wind is certainly picking up some slack there, he deserves some cookies or something.

"How'd you get to be so sweet, pretty girl?" You muse.

It's a nice break from havin to be around anyone. Epona is so gentle and sweet, at least with you. She's happy to let you pet her man and sctach behind her ears gently.

Animals are amazing.

-------

Sky and Four take to their room, both looking forward to getting away from the painful reminder you are. They know it's not your fault, you seem nice, but still...

Grief is funny sometimes.

The moment the door closes, Sky's carefully polite face is falling into twisting grief.

Four just flops himself onto his bed. His head hurts, pounding like a horribly novice out of step marching band is playing their show inside his skull.

It's too much.

Sky just leans against the door, sinking to the floor with his head leaning back.

"Why couldn't they look different?" Sky asks in a shaking whisper.

The question escapes his mouth on accident.

Four turns over, so he's staring up at the ceiling. "I don't know."

Sky dosen’t turn. Instead, he just closes his eyes.

"It's not their fault." Four says, staring at the ceiling.

"No." Sky agrees. "It's not."

"I feel so bad for them." Four manages.

He does.

Against the grief and the anger and the stupid hope that twirl around his lost love, there's sympathy. Sympathy for the unexpected start of an adventure.

Sympathy for the lost look in their eyes at unfamiliarity scripts of hylian writing.

"Goddess... They looked terrified when they first saw me." Sky whispers into the room.

He uses that expression of terror to ground himself. It sounds bad. He knows it sounds bad.

But your terror is proof that you aren't his beloved sunshine.

His sunshine... never looked at him like that. They were never scared of him. Not when they saw him seal the imprisoned. Not when they saw him fight Demise.

They were never scared.

The expression of terror on your face chafes at his soul, but it helps him remember you aren't anyone else but a stranger in a scary situation.

"I think they're scared of Time." Four says.

Sky laughs weakly. "He is intimidating..."

"It's uncanny... They're identical in looks and personality."

"I know."

"How do you do it? I can barely look at them."

"I - can barely look away." Sky laughs, though it almost sounds like crying.

Four hums once, thoughtful mostly. His entire being, all of his colors, struggle under the grief you've stirred up. His empathize for his soul brothers is endless.

His grief is even more vast.

"Goddess. They'd be ashamed of me." Sky admits, "Dancing around a stranger trying to keep everything under wraps and falling apart as soon as the door shuts."

Four narrows his eyes, pushing up to lean on his elbows. His glare is trained on Sky. "Don't sully thier memory by assigning your shame to them."

"What?" Sky swallows, looking at Four with wide eyes.

The hero of skies looks like a kicked puppy, glassy eyes, and shaking form.

Four dosen’t care. Not now. Not when the memory of their soulmate's memory is being treated so poorly.

"They wouldn't be ashamed of you for doing your best in a hard situation. They wouldn't blame you for having complex feelings. Your own guilt shouldn't be projected onto their memory." Four says, or maybe that's Blue and Vio in control for now. Who can tell?

They all miss you. Every piece of him misses you.

"How could they not be?" Sky asks. "I'm messing everything up!"

"Legend hasn't stopped glaring at them, Time just stares silently, I can barely look at them. Sky, you're being more normal about this than anyone!"

"Wind is doing much better."

"Wind hasn't lost them yet. Of course, he's doing better." Four rolls his eyes, pushing down the envy.

"I know. I... Why does he still have them when no one else does?"

"He's fourteen. There's plenty of time for him to get fucked over like the rest of us." Four snaps.

"I didn't mean- I just miss them."

"I know." Four sighs, closing his eyes. "I know... I think we all do."

Silence falls over the room, heavy but not uncomfortable. It's the silence that falls over loved ones when they've had a hard conversation and need to think but still feel safe together.

Four falls back against the bed, trying to remember the way his lover once held him. Perhaps it's self destructive, but when it helps him cope, he dosen’t care.

He can feel the colors, his head is still pounding.

Blue is restless as ever, a rage at the reminder that you're gone. Anger that Sky could speak of your memory so poorly.

Green and Red are trying to calm it all down. They're trying to focus on the better times they had with thier lover.

Vio... is Vio. He's focusing on the facts again.

Like always.

Four focuses on his breathing, pretending that it's them here counting it instead of him.

Who knew trying to keep himself together would be so hard?

-------

You're outside trying to get some air after having the same dream from last night. The argument and lead up to something horrible in the dream is - draining.

The night air is chilly, but it's a nice relief from the stifling feeling of the bed.

Stars above you make out patterns you shouldn't be able to recognize, but you swear you see a set of stars that's supposed to be a harp. It isn't the harp constellation from your world, though. It's different.

You sit on the steps that lead up to the inn porch, leaning against the banister.

There's some sort of spinning string instrument tune stuck in your head, unplayable as the origin of the second and strange harp constellation.

There's the sound of the door opening and closing behind you. Probably another person in search of some air.

"What... are you doing our here?" Asks a man.

You turn, looking over your shoulder to see Warriors, still in his entire outfit, chain mail, and all.

His gaze is heavy, not as bad as Time's but strange as ever.

You sigh, trying to avoid tensing up at the sight of him. "I needed some air... I guess you do, too."

Warriors sighs, "You could say that."

"Don't let me stop you." You say, turning your head back to facing forwards and gazing out at the small town before you.

A lazy night breeze blows across you, ruffling your hair a little.

Warriors is silent behind you, a large presence. He's unmoving.

You're left wondering if he's still there for a moment.

It seems rude to check, though.

How he can be so still is beyond you, but you suppose that's probably a skill he picked up from the war. (A war you're not meant to know about.)

Warriors moves finally, walking until he's beside you. He stands there, unmoving again as he stares up at the stars.

"You shouldn't be out here without a weapon." He says finally.

You glance up at him. "Why? It's a small town."

"Ambushes can happen anytime anywhere."

"I can't say that's something I've had to worry about much." You admit. Which is true, for all the creeps and killers of your world... none of them are literal monsters.

Besides, you don't have a weapon right now. Why would you need one while traveling with the group?

"Count yourself lucky." Warriors tells you, "You should start worrying about it, though. Our group gets ambushed often."

You take a slow breath, trying to decide if you're supposed to respond or not. What do you even say to that?

He looks at you, face carefully neutral in a way that feels vaugley threatened. "You... aren't a fighter, are you?"

"Not the way you guys seem to be."

"You've never fought a war... have you?" Warriors asks in a soft voice.

He sounds- he sounds like your answer is important to this question. He sounds like you have some huge sway over what happens with this answer.

His face is still carefully blank.

"No. I've never fought in a war." You say slowly, trying to make sense of whatever this is.

Warriors let's out a slow, heavy sigh. "I hope it stays that way."

"Me too." You say.

You mean it, too. How could you not? Who hopes to get pulled into a war? Not you.

Moments pass, and thick silence seems to press in on you.

"I'm sorry." You say finally.

Warriors looks at you, face still unnervingly calm.

What life has he led that he's so good at neutral poker faces?

"Why?" He asks you.

That's a great question. Why are you sorry?

There's so many reasons.

You're sorry you played their games and enjoyed them.

You're sorry that you're here and slowing them down.

You're sorry that you came unprepared, and they had to step up.

You're sorry he's lost so much.

"I'm sorry I've been such a pain." You settle on. "I know I slowed you guys down and that you stepped up yesterday to help make sure I'm set up for whatever it is we've all been dragged into."

Warriors sighs while something heavy flashes through his eyes before it disappears. "You don't need to apologize. We weren't going to kick you aside."

"I guess. I'm still sorry."

"Do you know how many times I've heard these kinds of apologies?" He asks.

You shake your head. "No."

He looks up to the sky again. "Too many times. Too many people have told me they're sorry for things they can't control. That they're sorry for me doing something simple."

"Oh."

"Don't waste time or words on things like that." Warriors tells you with a stern look.

You would imagine it's a look he picked up as a captain.

"Okay." You breathe out softly.

"I mean it, (Y/n)." He says, though he sounds far away. It's like he's actually speaking to someone else.

Someone he lost.

"Okay." You say again softer.

-------

#misty writes #linked universe x reader #lu written in the stars au #lu written in the stars (forever on loop) au #written in the stars au

62 notes · View notes

byler-invested · 22 hours ago

Text

Stranger Things / Twin Peaks parallels

_____i. CONTEXT

In the previous picture posted by @ziggystardustmybeloved, the yellow flannel guy (who, like Ziggy implied, very clearly and intentionally looks like s4 Will Byers) is Bobby Briggs, a character in David Lynch's 1990 mystery TV show Twin Peaks.

However, upon searching deeper about Bobby Briggs, I learned that his arc and personality actually has very little in common with Will's. What caught my attention, though, is the fact that Bobby dated Laura Palmer.

Now, in the past, I've read some posts by @pinkeoni about how Will is heavily paralleled to Twin Peaks' Laura Palmer, and at the time I found those parallels not only plausible, very intentional but also incredibly interesting, for various reasons. I highly encourage everyone to read them.

Side note: I read those posts a long time ago and unfortunately I can now only vaguely remember them, so I'm sorry if something in the following paragraphs has already been said by someone.

_____ii. THE PARALLELS

So. In Twin Peaks, there is a love triangle involving Laura Palmer, the above-mentioned Bobby Briggs, and a third male character, James Hurley. After researching this love triangle, here's my summary and interpretation of some parallels I'd read about before and others I identified now:

Will Byers = Laura Palmer:

Abused & traumatized 'final girl'-type love interest full of secrets who dies/vanishes in mysterious circumstances.

They're officially dating the 'bad boy' type (Chance/ Bobby) but their heart truly belongs to another secret hopeless romantic lover (Mike/ James).

Mike Wheeler = James Hurley:

Brooding ("emo"), hopeless romantic, dreamer, sensitive, protective, "knight in shining armour", Romeo-type male lover who aspires to be a hero, however his arc is usually doomed and tragic.

Deeply cherishes, loves & cares for the feminine love interest (Will/ Laura), doing everything in their power for their well-being.

I have to add that James Hurley also curiously & very heavily parallels Eddie Munson for some reason; very interesting considering that Eddie is Mike's role model. If someone's interested about this aspect, I can add a lot more info about it.

Chance = Bobby Briggs:

Reckless bad boy jock-type who acts tough but is secretly very sensitive & emotional inside, however he expresses those emotions through anger, hostility, mocking and violence. Wants to be respected and feared, but is also desperate for approval.

He's in an 'official'/public/consummated relationship with the feminine love interest (Will/ Laura), but their relationship is rocky and toxic.

Has an open rivalry with the hopeless romantic lover (Mike/ James) and frequently mocks him for being emotional, sensitive & broody.

Bobby is also involved in crime, specifically drug dealing, though he’s not as tough or ruthless as he pretends to be and when confronted with real danger and violence, he panics.

_____iii. WHAT WOULD EVEN BE THE PURPOSE OF ALL THIS?

My long-standing theory has been that in ST5, Chance will actually parallel Lonnie and fulfill the role of a bad/toxic influence over Will, not knowing how to properly love him and ultimately taking advantage of him in some way (my guess: something to do with sex or drugs, not unlike our very dark theories about Lonnie).

I think it's no coincidence that Chance is older than Will— some say this disproves their 'entanglement', I say the unhealthy age gap is, sadly, exactly the point. To, in a way, 'mirror' Will's trauma with his horrible father figure, a situation most commonly and crudely known as 'daddy issues'.

This is one of the ways Will is going to fall deeper into unhealthy coping mechanisms and try to push Mike away, because he doesn't believe he deserves true happiness or healthy love.

_____iv. CONCLUSION

In short, I am becoming increasingly convinced something akin to this will actually happen and it franky seems that the hints have been piling up more and more.

I'm 100% aware many people don't subscribe to this Chance-Will-Mike love triangle or believe it can happen, and it's totally OK to disagree! As always, these are just theories and they may ultimately turn out to be true, or not at all. Just happy to share my ideas!

Let me know what you think! 🧠💡🙏

In the meantime, if you want to check out my other posts speculating about Chance's possible s5 role (and why I'm becoming increasingly suspicious lol), here they are:

______________

Tagging some names I know in the ST analysis community (you can tag more) in case you're interested: @greenfiend, @strange-anni, @threemanoperation, @pinkeoni, @conflictofthemind, @erikiara80, @reo-bylerwagon, @bylerlipglances

Something ive really noticed about will is that he's always super buttoned up and is wearing so many layers.

At the start of season 4 he's wearing short sleeves because duh it's California.

But after their fight in Rinkomania (where he is more covered up when first meeting Mike probably because he was apprehensive about seeing him for the first time in so long with so little communication) he's wearing a flannel over a longsleeve shirt?!?!?! In the middle of the californian desert?!?!?!

Even Mike has taken of his blue/green jumper. But even after shovelling a hole under the sun Will is still wearing a ridiculous amount of layers.

Now listen I get it, anything for the fit but I think it's interesting that in the scene above Mike's being vulnerable with Will and he's taken his jumper off. Will after their fight stays covered up representing him literally hiding himself from the world and being closeted which is not allowing him to be emotionally vulnerable in the same way as he used to. He's always holding a part of himself back this season.

And in the promo pics of season 4

Bruh, he's wearing a flannel, a jumper and a jacket over it. Seriously, he's wearing a ridiculous amount of layers 8f you compare him to most other characters in the show.

I don't think this is the only thing in which he's hiding himself, another aspect is definitely his hair. The bowl cut literally covers a lot of his face yes but its also the fact that his haircut hasnt changed since he was 10. He's stuck in his development because of the trauma he's experienced.

We know that a big part of Wills arc this season is coming into his own as a man and probanly coming out to his friends and family. He needs to overcome a lot in order to move on from a super traumatic childhood and embrace himself as he is, im imagining once this happens the iconic will byers bowl cut will be replaced with something that leaves his face more open and his wardrobe will change slightly to have him wearing less layers.

Just some interesting storytelling with the clothes i noticed this season! Exciting to see how wills appearance will change during the next season to show us this change, I honestly can't imagine a will byers without his bowl cut so I'm interested what they will do :)

245 notes · View notes

nymphaea-blue · 2 days ago

Text

Oneshot - Rafayel taking care of you.

Info : 1800+ word count, fluff, reader and Rafayel in a relationship, mentions sickness (fever, dry/scratchy throat, loss of appetite, weakness) + wounds, maybe hurt/comfort, small spoiler to Rafayels lore.

Notes : This is for everyone that is sick right now, like me.. ^^, I am planning to write something for his birthday, but we will see if I will feel good enough. Good luck with your pulls if you are going for his birthday memory as well! <3

It was a horrible day for you, to say the least.

You woke up with a dry throat, you took a sip of water in hopes that it would soothe the scratchiness but it didn’t work - and that was how you knew you were sick. Despite your sickness, you still came to work, you couldn’t just call out an hour before you were supposed to start your mission.

The entire day, you felt miserable, your throat was all dry and scratchy which soon also resulted in coughing and your head started to hurt, because of course a fever was also something you needed. Some of your teammates quickly understood that you were sick and tried to get you to go back home but you refused each time, even your mission partner, Xavier, couldn’t get it through to you that you needed rest. In your eyes, if you already made the effort to get up from bed, you might as well stick around long enough to finish it.

Because of your sickness, missions weren’t as easy to manage as usual and you ended up with a few small wounds, but because of your sickness you felt more weak and sensitive so they still hurt you quite a lot. But even despite the pain, at the end of your work day you showed up to the base to handle all file documents from the missions you did that day to Jenna, even though she saw how terrible you looked and asked you to stay at home until you felt better.

After all your work was done, you went back home and quickly plopped onto your bed, not even bothering to eat something or change clothes, you didn’t have an appetite in the moment anyways. Sure enough, after a few moments you fell asleep, all the stress of the day finally getting to you. It felt nice to relax even for a moment, your body needed that so you allowed yourself to take a quick nap.

That “quick nap” of yours wasn’t quick at all, in fact, by the time you woke up, it was the next morning already. Still sleepy and very weak from your sickness, which wasn’t getting better, you could hear some sort of sound somewhere in your apartment, but you guessed that it was just something going on in the corridor so you went back to sleep. Despite all those hours, you still felt quite tired and you honestly didn’t have energy for anything else but sleeping.

“Cutie.. cutie!”

“Hey, wake up!”

You could feel someone shaking your shoulder, which slowly awakened you from your slumber. As you opened your eyes a little, the sun was shining a bit too much for your liking at that moment, you saw… Rafayel?

“Finally! I thought you would never wake up, you know! Don’t scare me like that again.” He said dramatically before he sighed, relieved to see you awake and alive.

“Rafayel..? What are you doing here? What time is it?” You questioned as you rubbed your eyes a little to try and get more awake but it was almost futile. You felt so confused, perhaps sleeping for such a long time wasn’t a great idea but you needed it, and honestly, a few more hours would be even better.

“I decided to check on you after you didn’t even read my messages from yesterday and didn’t pick up my calls, I was getting worried. And it’s 4pm by the way, which makes me wonder why you are still in bed.” Rafayel responded in a slightly worried and perhaps a bit scolding tone, and you couldn’t help but feel a little bad, you made him worry so much.

“I’m so sorry Rafayel…I just felt horrible lately, I didn’t even hear your calls.” You responded with an apologetic tone, before you tried to search for your phone to see how many messages you missed.

You quickly realised it wasn’t on the bed with you and it wasn’t on the bedside table, so you probably left it in your work bag which was in the living room. Now the strange noise you heard a few hours ago made sense and you almost facepalmed yourself at how stupid you were, but that quickly erupted into a cough.

“Oh yeahh that doesn’t sound too good… are you okay? How do you feel? Should I take you to the hospital?”

“N-no, no need for that.. It’s just a cold probably Rafayel, I’ll be fine-”

You were about to say more but your words got cut off as Rafayel suddenly place his hand on your forehead and his face was close to yours, you could see the worry and perhaps even fear in those pinkish blue eyes of his. The way his eyebrows furrowed, his lips were slightly downturned and there was a slight gloss in his eyes as he looked over your face, to see how you were.

“You are not fine. I don’t think your forehead should be this hot, and all those wounds on your body… Why didn’t you call me? I would be here to help however I can.” He asked as he took his hand away from your forehead but placed it on your cheek instead, you could feel the love and worry in his touch as he touched you so gently as if you would break yet also firm enough as if he feared that if he would let go - you wouldn’t be there anymore.

“I felt very tired, I didn’t think straight… I went to work yesterday, I thought I would be able to handle it but I couldn’t and at the end of the day I practically passed out in bed. Besides, I thought you would be busy, so I didn’t want to worry you.” You said as you leaned further into his hand a little, you felt shame in not calling him, you knew he would come if you only even thought of asking him for help.

“Oh cutie, you don’t need to worry about bothering me. Nothing is more important than you, you know that.” He responded, now with a soft smile as he suddenly took you into his arms in a princess carry.

“Huh? Where are we going? I’m still in my work clothes!”

“Back to my place, you didn’t think I would just let you suffer alone, did you? And don’t worry about your clothes, I have some of yours in my closet from the last time you came over.”

After a short ride in his sports car, you arrived at his home. Rafayel, being the gentleman he is, carried you upstairs to his bedroom as soon as he unlocked the door and placed you down on it gently before he tucked you in.

“There, all nice and comfy. Now, what do you need?”

“Hmm.. some water would be nice, or hot tea, for my throat.”

“You got it!”

It only took a few minutes before Rafayel eventually arrived with some of your favourite tea, all properly prepared and even cooled down a bit so you would be able to drink it without burning yourself.

“Ah, that feels much better, thank you!” You said after you took a sip of the tea, your throat finally got some much needed relief from the dryness, even if only temporary.

“I’m just glad I could help. What else do you need? Maybe I should call a doctor, just in case, you still look very weak.”

“No no, don’t worry about it. I’m okay for now.”

“Are you sure? Did you eat something?”

“...”

“I knew that. Wait here for a moment, Chef Rafayel will make something great for you!”

Soon enough, he returned again, with a few dishes. The meal consisted of seafood, some kind of spicy pasta, sandwiches and a variety of chocolates and other sweets alongside a soda. It looked like he put together a bunch of ingredients from his fridge together, which was adorable in a way, but also you couldn’t have most of them currently. In the end you only picked the sandwich.

“What’s wrong? Are you not hungry? You need to eat to get better from what I heard.” Rafayel questioned as he saw that you didn’t eat much, rather you stuck to the sandwiches and took a few bites of the sweets he got for you.

“It’s not that, it’s just… I can’t have most of these, it won’t be good for my stomach right now.”

“Huh? Really?”

You felt slightly confused by his demeanor, did he not know that? He seemed quite surprised at the news, he thought that he just got you your favourite food and you would be okay.

“Yeah, spicy food can worsen my issues and upset my stomach since I haven't eaten anything in a while. Chocolate is okay but I shouldn’t drink soda since it can be bad for my stomach and seafood is, well, cold, which wouldn’t be good for my throat.” You explained patiently to him.

“Ohh.. it makes sense. I’m sorry, I guess we will stick you to plain food for now huh?”

“Mhm, that would be best. You didn’t know about this?” You asked him finally, you weren’t trying to be mean but you were just curious.

“No, not really. You see, Lemurians rarely get sick,and if we do, then we have ways to get rid of it but I guessed that it would be different than it is for humans.”

And that was when it hit you - his fearful and worried demeanor, the confusion and weird insistence of getting medical help for a cold and the odd food he gave you, it was all because he was Lemurian and was never sick before but he still tried to care for you anyways.

“That’s okay, thanks for helping me anyways. I’ll guide you on what you should do, how about that?” You proposed with a smile, it felt nice that you had such a caring boyfriend who was willing to help you even if he had no idea what to do.

For the next few days, you guided Rafayel and he did a splendid job of taking care of you after a few instructions. Those days, though still slightly uncomfortable because of your sickness, were very wholesome and relaxing, as they were spent with the person who loved you so much he learned about human medicine just for you. He took his role as your personal nurse very seriously and in the end, you slowly got better, thanks to his help. Ever since then, you promised both yourself and him, that you would always let him know if you ever get sick again.

#lads rafayel #love and deepspace #rafayel x reader #lads #rafayel #fluff #lads fluff #comfort #lads comfort #sickness #sick!reader

74 notes · View notes

lurkingshan · 2 days ago

Text

A lot to unpack with the characters' choices in this ep and there's still context we don't have, so my perspective could shift, but here's how I'm reading them as of the end of episode 4:

Fourmod is obsessed with Chian and will not be able to move on until he gets his heart thoroughly crushed, and I appreciate that at least he's not lying to Baabin about that. After a month of being ghosted he jumped right back on the merry go round with Chian without a second thought. And he looked truly miserable when contemplating Chian rejecting his confession. This relationship makes him feel horrible about himself, but he won't stop until Chian does.

Baabin is the kindest boy in this story and in the end he put Fourmod's desires over his own. But this is not going to end well for him or Fourmod. He's really the architect of his own misery in every moment, from lying to spend more time with Fourmod to encouraging Fourmod to use him to missing out on seeing Lisa to taking back his own confession only to turn around and confess to Chian on Fourmod's behalf. He's going to be struggling the whole time Fourmod is mixed up with Chian, especially knowing he is the one who pushed them closer together.

Chian's choice at the end of this episode was perhaps the most intriguing to me. Last time Fourmod said he liked him Chian panicked and ghosted. This time, Fourmod didn't actually confess, and it was Baabin who showed Chian that Fourmod was feeling insecure about whether his feelings were returned, which seemed to inspire Chian to make a move on him (without actually saying anything about his feelings, of course). I suspect Chian likes being liked as long as there's no pressure attached. It's the expectation that he have any commitment or responsibility about it that turns him off. So he responds warmly to knowing Fourmod likes him—as long as Fourmod doesn't expect him to return the sentiment.

Bua is still the hardest to read. His advice to Baabin in this episode felt sincere, but also like he could be pushing him to confess as a way to prevent Chian and Fourmod from getting together. I got the sense it was genuinely both—he seemed to feel for Baabin and want to help. But from what we've seen he certainly wasn't being truthful about being clear with Chian and we know he plays games. We still know the least about him of any of the boys in this story, and I hope we get a POV episode for him soon. Let me inside that head!

#gelboys #gelboys the series #thai bl #shan shouts into the void

70 notes · View notes

twopoppies · 2 days ago

Note

Sorry for the non fandom question but I am genuinely wondering how’s the atmosphere at your country after what happend with Trump and Zelensky yesterday? I am european and always have been proud to be european but I am terrified what is happening right now between US and Europe and don’t even want to think about future right now ‘cause I don’t feel it’s safe to be here how simply Trump is giving Russia a green light for possible future attack to any NATO country.

I’m in a blue state and the people I’m around tend to be very liberal, so everyone I know is horrified by Trump and Vance’s behavior yesterday. It was an embarrassing and pathetic attempt to bully a man who has more courage and sophistication in his pinky finger than they could ever hope to have in their whole being. They just looked like uneducated, insecure bullies.

Beyond that, I’m not hopeful about the state of the US. I think the only thing that’s going to make any difference is either a massive economic disaster that affects the companies of the oligarchs (which obviously would also negatively affect the people), or violence that takes out the people in power (which would obviously mean a lot of good people also losing their lives, so it’s a horrible thought). Neither idea is at all appealing.

I’m preparing as much as possible for disaster. I’m trying to get my kids out of here. My husband can’t easily do his job away from here, so I don’t think he or I will be able to leave, but I’d leave if I could. I have a feeling Europe isn’t going to put up for very long with the way the US has basically aligned themselves with Russia, North Korea, and Israel… I’m not in a very hopeful state of mind.

#us politics #world politics

43 notes · View notes

xemylixa · 24 hours ago

Text

I myself must confess that, with fictional characters, I kinda alternate between judging them as characters (in which case they're tools to tell a story, so anything goes so long as it arranges itself in an interesting pattern), and as people (in which case holy shit get away from me the lot of you!), with very little in-between, lol.

So, from this latter idealistic perspective, I must note the fact that Kmicic paid an eye for an eye and judge him for it, even though I understand his motivation just fine. It's how my brain works currently. I absolutely understand what you meant, though. I just can't commit to such a sentiment myself, if you know what I mean.

Kmicic's saving grace is, indeed, that sincerity you noted (I've no idea how he even lies with such cunning - that Charisma score allows for some insane Deception checks! sorry for the D&D lingo, it's true tho). And, particularly, a vital interpersonal skill that it allows him to have and that I learned the term for recently - accepting influence. Once Oleńka's cutting words land and make him think about where he is in life, and this brick wall of "I'm awesome and doing the right thing! :D" allows a trickle of bitter truth through it - there is no turning back. (Especially when it's Michał - this time it's a peer saying that; and Oleńka is still a woman. Kmicic is a horrible snob and that never really changes. The Tatars, like you said... yuck. Oh, and he kidnaps her - I think we're all really quick to forget that one! He completely escapes responsibility for a lot of things. I'm salty about that. Anyway...)

The same acceptance of influence, I think, becomes a core belief of "I need help, and I need guidance", as opposed to "I'm always right and if I'm not the worse for the facts". He knows he hasn't got it all figured out - and so he staggers like three different times between different lords. (Eventually landing on The Right One after literally the same thought process that got him into Radziwiłł's trap... because of course the problem was "whom to serve under" and not "what do I personally believe in", riiiight author? :D I despise feudal morality with all my being, by the way; does it show?)

And that would be why he acknowledges Kuklinowski as a possible reflection of himself - because he no longer thinks he's above all this. Also, Kuklinowski was "his biggest fan uwu", and by now his very existence only reminds him of the darkness within himself that he's only just sort of conquered (with strict guidance, again).

I'm not sure Kmicic is actively afraid of this still being his future. I think it's mostly a symbolic way to get back at his own past, now that he knows how horrible it was.

...I used to be better at writing concise essays, I swear. This just ran away from me. You put it a lot better than I could.

czemu ta scena jest taka silly

be who you are

#trylogia

138 notes · View notes

sophieinwonderland · 2 days ago

Note

In light of what has happened recently; Every passing day makes it more and more incomprehensible to me that the American electorate voted for clowns like Trump and Vance when there were red flags everywhere. Jesus...

This is something that bears repeating: The Republican candidate being a bully and all around horrible person is a feature to the people who voted for him, not a bug.

Yes, what tipped the balance might have been neutrals who were misinformed into thinking Kamala would be the worst option, or people "protesting voting" or staying home... but Trump's base... the people who have been loyal to him through all of this... they don't see his behavior as "red flags."

The term "sanewashing" has popped up a lot lately in how the media refers to Trump. But I think it started with his electorate first.

There was this idea among Democrats back when Trump was first running that he was too radical to win the Republican primaries. When he beat out all the competition, Democrats would cope by saying "well, look at all the Republicans who didn't vote for him." But it didn't matter because those people did vote for him in the general election.

Democrats have been acting for the last decade like there is going to be something Trump will do that will be so horrible that the Republican electorate will turn against him.

I think that this is because most Democrats are fundamentally good people who expect that even if they disagree with their political opponents, those opponents have some shred of humanity and human decency somewhere inside that will be appalled by what is clearly monstrous behavior.

Democrats and Republicans both project. Democrats are largely good people who tend to project our goodness onto Republicans, thinking Republicans should be horrified by things that are so clearly horrible. Republicans are terrible people who only care about themselves and want to hurt everyone who isn't like them for being different, and project by seeing us as just as vile and nasty as they are.

One example of this that I've seen a lot is the "Russian Bot" narrative. Yes, I'm sure that there are plenty of Russian bots out there. No doubt! But it also seems like a way of shifting blame. An idea that the most horrible messages have to be coming from bots because you just couldn't imagine a real human being that terrible or monstrous.

It's not that all Republicans are terrible either. There are or at least were some good or okay ones.

But remember that moment when John McCain corrected supporters who were claiming Obama consorted with terrorists in 2008 when he was the Republican presidential candidate, and he was booed by his own party at his own rally?

youtube

This is what Democrats seem to consistently not understand about the Republican party.

The rot is in the electorate. It always has been. The politicians are terrible and corrupt, yes. But a lot of them are also still representing what their voters want.

What you see as "red flags" are traits Trump's voters WANTED from McCain and he couldn't deliver on.

They like Trump bullying our allies because they see that as strength.

They like Trump taking away rights from trans people and locking immigrants in concentration camps because they don't have the capacity to empathize with anyone not like them as a human.

They like Trump breaking the law as he sees fit, being accountable to no one and declaring himself a king because they want a dictatorship as long as the dictator is theirs.

And the hardest pill to swallow is that these horrible people who would have gladly supported the Nazis in the 30s and 40s are not bots. There are not some distant enemies. They're your neighbors. They're your family. They're the people who will smile and wave as you pass them on the street.

This is what modern Democrats cannot seem to process. That there is this actual blight of evil in this country that are otherwise normal people, but politically would gladly support the most heinous and monstrous of policies.

31 notes · View notes

okavara · 2 days ago

Note

Would Cryptid Kel bite someone if offered? Would he politely refuse or get carried away with monching?

You just started a horrible internal war LOL I'm stuck on mouse today so you get mouse drawn kelryptid <3

He'd politely refuse and also get very nervous.

I'll touch more on the nature of his flesh cravings as we go through chapters 8 and 9 of CotV :} (I have 6 and 7 planned out now, 4 and 5 are written, 6 partially written!) BUT I will say...

His reaction depends on what kinda day you caught him on! If its a Bad day he'd have this reaction. Staring at the spot freely given to him... Blood fucks him up bad because he likes it. He's afraid of that. He wouldn't hurt a fly when it comes to humans. At least- Not without good reason.

Sure, he'll eat human flesh if it happens to literally fall from the sky, he's not hurting anyone for that. To be willingly offered a taste would be something he'd have to wrestle with. A bite would just feel wrong and too intimate of a thing to do with a stranger, or at least an acquaintance.

You'd have to get him comfortable with physical contact with you at all first before even bringing up the idea.

He'd probably give you a lecture about how he does NOT want to end up accidentally fucking killing you if he loses his mind and goes a bit feral. You're the first person he's seen in HOW long?? He's not going to risk your life. He's not going to risk harming you, or causing an infection you would likely die from (Did you know human bites have a high likelihood of getting infected?)

Human biteforce is surprisingly fucking Strong (not much less than some shark species) soo. It would be very hard to get him to let go if you somehow did convince him to bite you.

It would take a LOT to convince him to actually bite, just btw. Like. Weeks of pestering and probably annoying him until he snaps would be one of the potential ways I could see that you could use to get him to bite you. Or the comfort route but I won't get into that one - sniles and giggles.

Once he tastes blood and gets into pupils dilated mode, it's very nearly lights-out for a while. He'd just want to keep his teeth sunk into the flesh and drink the blood that flows from the wound for a few moments until he's satisfied, or at least just barely enough to get his mental faculties back. I don't think he'd allow himself to drink until he's fully satisfied before he tears himself away.

Also, that would Hurt. You'd be alright, though. Hope he doesn't accidentally break an artery or vein in your arm or bite through any important nerves.

He'd quickly then bandage you up and give you a lecture about it. It would be a very angry wholeass lecture about how this Could Have Fucking Killed You. He'd ask you "Why the FUCK would you do that!?!?!" He's definitely still a person in there he's not going to go "oo human meat fresh off the bone yipeeyipe" hed go. "Oh god. What the fuck is wrong with you" when offered initially LOL.

Honestly being goaded into biting would break his trust a little bit. Both in himself and in you. He wants to be able to trust being around another person again. If he can't trust you to not ask to be hurt, and he can't trust himself to not follow through with that, he'd realize it wasn't safe to spend time around you without putting both of you in danger. He'd start keeping his distance and start staring from the woods again.

But, if it was just a simple question? Yea! Just a polite decline and then he'd probably lose sleep over it for the next week LOL. He's an overthinker....

#okatalks #cryptid kel #asks #long post #imagine if you were a vampire and offered an arm to bite #but you also have this instinct to kill and maim and tear #wwyd???#Really enjoyed this ask btw it got my noggin joggin for hours hehe!!#hope the tone didnt come off mean at all! he's just a whole guy #a Weird guy but #he's still 95% Kel in there #just has an extra 5% of Creature that feeds into his already feral nature #Human Kel is a feral bug and nobody can convince me otherwise

24 notes · View notes

b3ach-bunn7 · 15 hours ago

Text

SWEET BOY

Shinsou Hitoshi gets the practise room on odd days, and you the even ones. You’ve never met him, but the notes he leaves on the music stand keeps you interested.

Noquirk!au, band au, guitarist Shinsou

—————————————————————————-

There’s only two practice rooms in UA.

It’s no surprise. UA is a sports school. That means about ninety percent of their extracurricular funding goes to new basketballs and volleyball nets, and not to the suffering music department. You're not too fussed by it. You suppose two rooms are better than nothing. The only reason you use them is because you and your slightly overzealous friend, Hana, are both auditioning for some prestigious music school in the summer. You need as much practice as you can get, and luckily being a senior means that you can kick out the younger students if you need to use them.

Only this year, there's a new stupid sign up sheet. Apparently now, instead of the usual first come first serve system, you have to sign up for a room and get allocated them in advance. Your friend Hana grumbles beside you, and you adjust the violin case that’s wearing heavy on your shoulder.

“This is so stupid. These should be first come first serve. Why do I need to sign up?” Hana snaps.

You smile slightly, quickly scribbling in your name under hers. “Look, nobody has even signed up apart from us. And… Shinsou? Who’s that?”

Hana peers at the sheet over your shoulder. She shrugs. “God knows. Probably some loser first year who thinks he can play piano.”

“Hana.”

“What?”

You nudge her shoulder. “Don’t be rude. If we’re lucky we’ll only have him to share rooms with.”

“Whatever. Let’s go get food, I'm hungry.”

You try not to cringe at Hana’s very over dramatic reaction to the schedule two days later. She doesn’t really have any shame in yelling in the middle of the corridor, and you tap her shoulder impatiently at the looks you start receiving from around you.

“Hana. Please, chill out! It’s not that serious.” You urge, trying to push her away from the notice board she is very angrily staring at.

“No! He put us on seperate days!”

You look back at the sheet, in the scrawny handwriting of Mr Hamada.

UA Practise room timetables:

Odd days of the month: Hana Ushijima in 3A and Shinsou Hitoshi in 3B

Even days of the month: Sato Akiro in 3A and Y/N L/N in 3B

“It’s not so bad. You're sharing a room with Sato, he’s nice!” You try to smile encouragingly but Hana is not impressed.

She grips your shoulders and shakes a little. “Let’s ask Hamada if we can move days. So we can practise together.”

As horrible as it sounds, you don’t really want to move days. Hana is your best friend but she’s also a lot, especially when it comes to your music. You can only practise with complete and utter calm and silence, and she prefers to chat the whole time and comment on every piece you play.

“I’ll talk to him later.”

You’re not actually going to do that. But what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.

Your first day in the music room is spent considerably annoyed.

You said your goodbyes to Hana, after assuring her you were definitely going to talk to Hamada today, and welcome the silence as you click the door to room 3B shut. You can hear the distant sound of chatter and commotion pouring in from the open windows, and you make quick work of shutting them all. You only have half an hour before you have to get to English, and the sound of prepubescent teens fighting over a football outside is not going to make that time any slower.

The room isn’t anything special. It’s not that big and only consists of an old piano that’s always out of tune, and a guitar hidden in a fabric black case that’s falling apart a little. The furthest wall from the door is covered in drawing and notes from students, and you won’t sit and lie that a thirteen year old you hadn’t scribbled her own messages on the wall.

And then you see it.

The wrapper of what you recognise as the schools way too overpriced sandwiches thrown on the stand for sheet music, and a tissue. Irritation immediately spikes in you, and you frown.

You know it’s that Shinsou kid. Who else? The teachers never come in these rooms, and clearly the cleaners don’t either. It’s just rude, frankly. It’s common courtesy to not litter, especially in a room shared by top people. It’s literally one of the rules in these rooms. You think about throwing it away for a second, because there is a trash can literally outside the door, but you decide against it. This Shinsou kid can clean his own mess.

But you can’t stop thinking about it.

When you take your violin out of its case and pick off the hair that’s sticking to the top. When you wax your bow, place the cool wood on your shoulder. You have to balance your sheet music on the windowsill because of your righteous decision to leave his rubbish on the stand. The piece is one of Bruch’s, and you try your hardest to run over it as best as you can, but you just can’t. His stupid mess rings in the back of your mind like an incessant fly. You’re annoyed he left his stuff there and you’re even more annoyed you’re so annoyed about it. A vicious cycle.

After twenty pretty unproductive minutes, you pull out your own lunch. You sit in the rickety chair in the corner of the room and stew as you eat the bento your mother made you. It’s then you decide that you can be petty too. You rip a paper out of your maths notebook and leave a note, balancing it against the stand alongside his rubbish.

Dear Odd day musician,

It’d be nice if you didn’t leave your rubbish on the music stands. You’re not the only one using the music rooms, and you can clean up after yourself.

Sincerely, Even day musician

Dear Even day musician,

Thank you so much for the little note, but that was not rubbish. I had a riff written down on that tissue. Also, please kindly do not leave your negative Even day vibes all over this room. You’re not the only one using the music rooms, and you can clean up after yourself.

Sincerely, Odd day musician.

You have half a mind to go and find this Shinsou guy and shove this note up his ass. He’s thrown the wrapper away, but you see now that the tissue, that he still hasn’t moved, has messy scribbles on it he’s considering notation.

You decide that after you practise your violin you’ll write a reply. It feels stupid and a little childish passing notes back and forth like this but you don’t think you’ll be finding yourself coming back on odd days to yell at him for his mess. The sound of your music leaks out under the door and vibrates in your chest. It’s loud and grating and you put your violin down faster than you should’ve.

You love music. And the violin. You just don’t think you see yourself dedicating your whole life to it, contrary to the beliefs of just about everyone you know. It just feels like you have to do it. You get perfect grades, and the teachers love you, and you’re known around school. You don’t really know how or why, but it’s just who you are. And the next step is some prestigious music school that your mother can brag about to all your aunties.

It’s fine. You like the violin. It will be fun.

You grab a pen and more paper from your bag. You sit in the same rickety chair and scribble another note.

Dear Odd day musician,

Apologies for my mistake. Did the wrapper of your panini also have a riff on it, or was that in fact just your trash? I think my even day vibes are quite positive, and I don’t see how I can stop leaving them all over the room.

P.S: If you clean up after yourself, you won’t have to read any more of my ‘little notes’.

Sincerely, Even day musician.

“We’ll be in there in like, ten.”

Hana’s voice sounds tinny out of your phone speaker. You’re laying down on your bed, violin and school bag beside you. The collar of your shirt itches your neck and you tug at it.

“Did you braid your hair like I told you to?” Hana asks and you hum in reply.

“Yes. Took forever.” You mumbled, hands twirling around one of them.

“Yes, well. It’s worth it. You look cute.”

You don’t want to look cute, you want to look sophisticated. You tell Hana that and she laughs.

“Sophisticated is overrated. And TestsuTestsu will like it. He’s got a crush on you, you know.”

You frown. You sit up, fixing the back of your hair. “No, he doesn’t.”

“He so does. He’s always looking at you in chem.”

You stand up as you hear the rev of an engine outside. You hoist the violin case on your shoulder and the hard case digs into your back. Your brain thinks of a tissue on a music stand and angry notes.

“I don’t care. He’s too loud.”

“Whatever. We’re outside.”

You wait anxiously for the lunch bell to ring. Today you’ve got a egg sandwich that sits heavily in the back of your backpack. You’ve got about an hour until lunch and until your small peace in the practise room. You have orchestra first, though, and everyone waves hello when you walk in, and Mr Hamada grins loud and bright.

“Y/N! I’ve been meaning to ask you. We’re having a school open evening, and I was wondering if you’d be willing to perform a piece?” He asks, bounding over to stand in front of you.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” You smile brightly and you hope he believes it.

It’s the last thing you need to have another performance to practise for. Your mind flits to your audition, the English essay you haven’t completed and the notes on the music stand.

“Great! It’s this Friday. Is that enough time for you to practise?”

This Friday is three days away, you want to yell. But you just nod, hands itching around the neck of your violin. “Yes. That should be good.”

Mr Hamada gives you two thumbs up and makes his way to the front of the room. Hana pokes your shoulder.

“Lucky. You always get the performances.”

You sigh, rubbing at your eyes. “I don’t even want it. I just can’t say no to people.”

Hana rolls her eyes. “Sure, sure. You know you love the attention.”

You wish you could tell her you really really don’t but Hamada’s voice rings across the room to silence you all and you raise your violin.

Orchestra can’t end quickly enough. You wave your goodbyes and rush your way over to the practise room. You place your stuff on the floor and you sit, sighing. You look down at your violin and curse. You can’t be bothered today. Especially not after the hour you just spent with Hana whispering too-mean jokes in your ear every time the girl on clarinet messed up. You pull out your phone and find a recording of you playing and let it ring across the room. At least this way anybody walking past will think you’re actually using this room for good.

You breathe a little lighter. Your eyes dart to the guitar in the corner and then your latest note to Shinsou. This is weird, but you stopped caring a while ago. It’s sort of fun, if you’re being entirely honest with yourself.

Dear Mrs Even,

I’m struggling to understand why you are so bugged by my wrapper. Surely the time it would’ve taken to throw it away would have been much shorter than writing me another angry note? I know you are well known at UA for your perfect grades and perfect attitude and perfect violin plucking, but instead of being mad, get inspired! Maybe write a violin number called “Mr Odd Day’s trash.”

Sincerely, Mr Odd.

You read the note twice to make sure you're not seeing things. You ball it up in your hands and lunge it at the wall. You watch it skid across the tiled floor and, after a few choice words, pick it up and throw it in the bin. You take it back. This isn’t very fun. What does Shinsou know about anything? You’ve never even heard of him before this whole music room problem. You whip out your own notebook and start furiously writing.

Dear Mr Odd,

I apologise that my annoying and perfect vibes have ruined the serenity of your music room. Please enjoy the remains of my egg sandwich. Maybe write a song about that.

Sincerely, Mrs Even

You feel better when you drop the crusts of your sandwich on the music stand. A little voice in the back of your head warns you that Hamada might see them and you’ll get in trouble, but your revenge feels more important than that.

Your leg jogs up and down and the chair creaks below you. Your eyes flit to the guitar in the corner of the room. Without thinking, you reach over and grab it. The case is worn out and old, the fabric peeling, and you unzip the case. The guitar is used and worn out. The strings are not cut at the top and it’s heavier than your violin. It sits across your lap, and you strum.

You mess around with the strings until you find the E major scale and you pluck the notes gingerly. The sound is deeper and louder than your violin, and you waste away the rest of your lunch break playing the guitar instead.

Dear Mrs Even,

Have you been playing the guitar?

Sincerely, Mr Odd

Dear Mr Odd,

No. I play violin, not guitar.

Sincerely, Mrs Even.

Dear Mrs Even,

This is sad. The guitar is crushed and so am I. My band could’ve used another.

Sincerely, Mr Odd

The next day you and Hana check out Shinsou’s instagram page.

You’re not interested in him. If anything he’s annoying, with his stupid notes and surprising intuition that you’d been playing the guitar. You’re just… curious. You feel like you know him, even though you’ve never seen his face before. Until now, of course.

You’re both laying down on Hana’s bed, stomachs down on the mattress. Her covers are soft and there’s a lavender candle burning on her bedside table. You tug her laptop closer so you can see properly.

“Do you have a crush on him?” She asks.

“No! I’m just. I’m just curious who he is.”

Hana hums suspiciously. You watch her click around on different profiles, searching for his. You lean your head on her shoulder.

“I spoke to him, you know. I saw him walking into 3B and I asked him if you could swap days and he said no. That he liked the ‘odd days of the week’.” She rolled her eyes but you smiled slightly.

“Yeah. Sounds like him.”

“Oh, come on. You don’t know him.”

“Shut up and open his profile.”

She clicks it, shin_sou.h04, and you both lean in.

He’s cute. He’s got that rugged, nerdy sort of look you find unfairly attractive. He also looks sleep-deprived and a little emo, so it’s a perfect combination. The fact this is the guy you’ve been leaving notes to leaves a little tingle in your stomach. Hana hums beside you as she scrolls through his page.

“Hm. He’s okay. He’s in a band. He plays-”

“Guitar, yeah.”

Hana looks at you suspiciously. “How do you know that?”

You falter, face heating. “You know. His guitar, he always leaves it in the music room.”

She doesn’t say anything. The silence makes your skin hot, so you snatch the laptop out of her grasp. “He’s in a band. That’s cool. I want to be in a band.”

“No, you want to be in an orchestra. Our auditions are literally so soon.”

“They are in three months.”

“That’s very soon.”

You pause on one post in particular. He’s standing next to a boy with bright blonde hair, teeth shining as he grins widely into the camera. It’s clearly been shot on an old camera and the quality faded the edges, but they still look good. He looks good.

Hana drags her laptop back. “You so have a crush on him.”

“I do not!”

Dear Mrs Even,

I’m no fool, you know. Once again I sense your even day vibes lingering all over my guitar. So I may or may not have done the stalkery thing of coming to room 3B on your day, and there I hear it. Under the sound of your (recorded?) violin playing, the up and down scales of my guitar. So that begs the question: has my influence made you turn from a life of violing? That band position offer still stands, you know.

Sincerely, Mr Odd.

Dear Mr Odd,

Fine. I am playing the guitar. It’s a nice breath of fresh air after all this sucky violin playing. Don’t get me wrong, I love it and all, but. I’m sort of sick of it. I’ve been playing ever since I was four, and even though I have no idea how to play it, the guitar is fun. Just don’t mention it to anyone. I’m supposed to be performing tomorrow at the open evening assembly and I should be practising for that but. That’s neither here nor there.

Also, thank you for the band position offer. However, I am in the school’s orchestra and I already have my work cut out for me as is.

Sincerely, Mrs Even.

The auditorium is noisy with the sound of a few dozen people chattering. Your eyes scan over the new prospective students and their parents, your violin sitting heavy on your lap.

You don’t mind performing. Contrary to your recent aversion to violin, you love music. You love everything about it, especially the complicated melody of the song you’d picked for tonight. It felt like your responsibility, as someone who played music, to share it with the world, and you were glad you could at least do that much.

You listen as Principal Nezu rambles about the upcoming tours and whatever else principals talk about, before he turns to you.

“And now, a piece played by our own Y/N L/N.”

You smile. The audience breaks out into applause and you swallow. You know Hana is sitting there somewhere, promising to wait for you after so you can get boba, still a little jealous she didn’t get the part. Your eyes flit to the audience for just one more second to look for a purple-haired guitarist. You don’t see one, though, so you raise your violin. Your eyes shut. You lift your bow and begin.

The next note is not left on the music stand. Instead, it slips out of the bottom of your locker, and you scramble to hide it before Hana can see. Unfortunately though, the world is quite against you, and she sees it just before you slip it into your backpack.

“What’s that?”

“It’s nothing.” You say, quickly zipping up your bag.

Hana reaches forward and tries to grab it. “Come on, show me!”

“No, Hana-“

“Just give! Is it a love letter? From your big fat lover Shi-“

You shove her and she laughs. Your little back and forth is catching the eyes of a few people nearby and you think you’d die if this somehow got back to Shinsou. You shush her, quickly shutting the door to your locker.

“Okay! Shut up, people are going to hear!” You hiss, shoving her shoulder again.

“Alright, alright! What is it, though? Another performance offer?” She drawls and you roll your eyes.

“Shut up.”

You slip the note out of your bag. You open it, and just like you suspected, it’s from Shinsou.

Dear Mrs Even,

Your letter makes me sad. Nobody should ever hate their instrument. Music is beautiful, and it should always be played and loved. Which is why I was wondering... if you’re sick of violin, I could teach you how to play guitar? You can come to the music room on one of my days and I’d be glad to show you the ropes. If you think that isn’t weird or anything. I’ll leave my number at the bottom, so just text me if you’re interested.

Sincerely, Mr Odd.

Your face heats as you read the note. He wants to teach you guitar? He wants to meet you in the music rooms? He gave you his number?

You don’t care. You don’t. It’s not like you have a crush on him, regardless of what Hana seems to think. You just think he’s kind of annoying. But in a funny way. And he’s attractive, but that’s pretty much it. You don’t care.

Hana gasps at the look in your face. “Wait, is it actually a love letter?”

“Not a love letter. Just a letter.” You shove it into your pocket before she can read it.

Hana huns under her breath. “From who?”

“Nobody.”

“You lie. Just tell me!” You start walking towards class and she dashes after you, linking your arm in hers. “I promise I won’t make fun. As long as he’s not ugly.”

You huff. “Shinsou isn’t ugly, he-“

You curse under your breath. Hana gasps for what might be the hundredth time today.

“I knew it!”

“It’s not like that!” You whine and she laughs.

“Sure, sure. Did all our instagram stalking make you fall in love?”

“I hate you.”

The note burns a hole in your pocket as you sit in maths class. You think about what to text him. If you even should text him, instead of working out the difficult looking quadratic formulas on the board in front of you. Your teacher drones on, his voice low and monotone. Your legs jogs under your table, and against your better judgement, you’re pulling your phone out of your bag and hiding it behind your water bottle.

You feel a little rebellious. You're not really supposed to be on your phone in class, and the thought rings in your head as you copy the number from the letter. It takes you another two minutes of convincing to send a message.

You: Hello

You: Is this Shinsou?

Was that too much? The grammar probably is. Hana always says that your texting is too formal. Maybe you should’ve mixed in an emoji.

Shinsou: gasp

Shinsou: y/n texting in class???

Shinsou: is my favourite goody-two shoes rebelling once again??

You: Unfortunately

You: This is your bad influence

Shinsou: aw shucks x

Shinsou: im flattered im so influential

You: Don’t get too ahead of yourself

Shinsou: you always text this fancy?

You: Yes

You: Is that a problem?

Shinsou: nah its cute

Shinsou: does this mean u want a guitar lesson

You: Yes

Shinsou: YIPPEE

Shinsou: today is my day so u can come on down

Shinsou: and ill teach you a lesson

You: It sounds like you're going to beat me up

Shinsou: LMAO

Shinsou: i never hit women…

You: Wow… U are so woke

Shinsou: thank u I LOVE WOMEN!

You end up telling Hana, because you're not really sure how you’ll explain yourself if she sees you walking into the practice rooms with Shinsou. She drinks thoughtfully out of her apple juice as you both walk slowly to the music rooms. The corridors are basically empty, and you smile at a teacher who catches your eyes as she enters her classroom. Nobody questions why you and Hana are inside during lunch. You’re not supposed to be, but you guess it’s one of the perks of being a ‘goody two shoes’, as Shinsou calls it. The thought of him fills your stomach with another bout of nerves, and you swallow.

“I’m nervous. Should I be nervous?” You ask, and Hana shrugs.

“No.” She pauses. “Well, maybe. I think he likes you, so. This could be considered a first date.” She ponders and you groan.

“I look like shit! This can’t be a first date.” You say, gesturing down at your clothes.

Hana rolls her eyes. You arrive sooner than you’d like and Hana pulls you back before the two of you can walk in. She fixes your jumper, wipes off the mascara from beneath your eyes. She fishes around in her pocket and holds out her lipgloss and you dutifully put it on.

“Just chillax. You overthink too much. And you look cute.” She raises her eyebrows. “And I’m sure Shinsou will think so, too.”

You sigh. “Thanks, Hana.”

She gives you a reassuring smile. “Remember I’m next door.”

“Aw, thanks, but I don’t think I’ll need anything.”

She takes the lipgloss out your hand. “No, not for help. I mean if you two start fucking in there, don’t get too loud. I need to practise.” Your face burns red and Hana laughs, walking off.

“You- Shut up.” You hiss, shoving her as she walks into her own practise room.

You look at room 3B. It’s on the end of the corridor and luckily far away enough that not only does Hamada never come check on them, but also nobody would see the fact there were two people in the one-person-only rooms.

You take a deep breath and walk up to the door. Should you knock? Or maybe just walk in. That could be rude, though. Technically, this is someone else’s room, considering the fact today is Shinsou’s day. But he invited you so that probably means he doesn’t care if you walk in. Knocking feels too formal, anyway.

Luckily, your questions are answered for you when the door swings open, and Shinsou is there.

He’s tall. Taller than he looks on Instagram, at least. He looks a little more sleep deprived in person, but the way he grins down at you makes his whole face look wholly more attractive than you feel is fair. He’s wearing an old band shirt and your eyes dart down to the chain that sits against his collarbones.

“Well, if it isn’t Mrs Even in the flesh.”

You smile slightly and walk in. The room feels smaller with the two of you in it, and the door clicks shut.

You hum. “I’m only here to make sure you aren’t littering again.”

Shinsou’s voice is deep, and he runs a hand through his hair. “You wound me, Even. And here I thought you were here to learn.” His fingers drum against the neck of the guitar.

You drop your back on the floor and lean against the wall. Shinsou sits on the chair. The guitar looks better in his hands then it does yours, like it belongs. He strums it once.

“No, I’m here for that, too. Can’t turn down free lessons.”

He huffs a laugh. “You gold digger. You’re just using me for my incredible guitar skills.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“I’m literally in a band. That’s like all the proof you need.”

“So show me.”

Shinsou sighs, rolling his eyes playfully. “So bossy. Didn’t expect this from timid Mrs Even.”

You frown. “I’m not timid.”

Shinsou tilts his head. “You’re a little timid.”

“No. I- Okay, just play.”

And he does. It’s nothing long but it’s also nothing simple. You learn quickly enough that he’s a rhythm guitarist, and the practised way his hands fly across the guitar is incredible. And he loves it. You can tell by the way he plays, the ease on his face. It fills you with a little jealousy, but. You love the music too much to focus on that.

He finishes and you clap. “Alright. I’ll admit it. You’re good.”

“Thank you, thank you. I’m here all night.” He holds up his hands and you glance at his hands. There’s way too many bracelets that clink against the guitar.

“I like your bracelets.”

“Thanks. You want one?”

You laugh slightly. “What? No I wasn’t-“

“Have one. I’ve got hundreds of these.” He shrugs and tosses you a beaded bracelet you just about catch.

You pull it onto your wrist, and pull up the sleeves of your jumper. It’s dark green and streaky and cool against your skin. “Thank you.”

He stands, holding out the guitar to you. “You ready?”

You nod. You walk forward and when you grab the guitar your fingers brush against his.

“Should I be nervous?”

“Nah. Your fancy violin fingers should be trained enough to play guitar easily.”

You sit down in the chair, and place the guitar in your lap. Shinsou pulls over the cajon drum in the corner of the room and sits across from you. He’s close enough that you can smell a woodsy cologne and the smell of fresh laundry on him.

“Alright. Lesson one: lighten up.”

You give him a pointed glare and he laughs. “See? So much tension in those shoulders. Relax, sweetheart.”

You swallow roughly. “I thought I was timid. Not tense.”

He grins, all white teeth and dimples. “You can be both. Cute, too.”

Your cheeks flush. “Shut up and teach me. You’re so unprofessional.”

“Apologies, apologies. Okay, so you look less tense. I can work with this.”

He taps the long end of the guitar. “This is called the neck. And these lines separate different frets.”

You nod. It’s kind of like a violin, except your instrument isn’t separated by frets and lines. You just have to remember where the notes are. You tell Shinsou and he nods.

“Us guitar players aren’t as clever.”

“That I can agree with.”

“Shut it. Okay, so chords are simple. You press your fingers on the right strings really hard and you strum.”

You nod again. He nods too, hair bouncing.

“Okay, so. Press your middle finger here, pointer there and index at the bottom string.”

You follow his instructions. “Like this?”

“Kind of. Just.” His hands inch forward but he stops. He look up from your hands to your eyes. “Can I?”

“Yeah.”

His hands are long and slender and soft when he pulls your thumb lower on the neck of the guitar. You feel the rough edges of his callouses as he presses over your own fingers, his other hand strumming the guitar once.

“Look at you. Fast learner.”

You smile. “Thanks.” He strums it again, other hand leaving yours.

“That’s a G chord.” You say, and he hums.

“Impressive.”

“Hm. I’m much more musically inclined than you, I bet.” You tease and he huffs.

“Show off. Come on, let’s keep going.”

You play three more chords, and with all four in total, Shinsou tells you you’ve learnt a song. It’s only after three runthroughs and his humming that you realise what he’s taught you.

“Is this Creep by Radiohead, you emo?”

“Bingo!” He cheers. “You know good music.”

“Everyone knows that song. Though I do like Radiohead.” You say, balancing the guitar against the wall.

You aren’t playing and Shinsou isn’t teaching anymore, but he doesn’t move any further away. Your knees brush against his and you smooth your skirt over your thighs.

“You do? I assumed you only listened to classical music.”

“No. Well, I do. But I listen to other stuff, too.”

The mention of classical music has you glancing at your violin. You’ve started just leaving it in the music room. You wonder if Shinsou has ever picked it up. His eyes follow the trail of your own.

“Ah. The dreaded violin.”

“Stop. I like it. I do.”

Shinsou looks at you curiously. You feel a little watched. Like he’s looking right inside of you.

“I don’t know. I love music. Really. I live and breathe it, but recently violin just feels like a job. I don’t get to love it anymore. It’s play this, learn that. Whatever to impress the people at the audition, the parents at open evening.”

You sigh, rubbing at your face. “Sorry. I don’t mean to ramble.”

“Nah, you’re fine. I get it. Well, not completely. My mum doesn’t love my passion for music so I think that makes me love it a little more.”

You huff a laugh and Shinsou smiles a little.

“But you’re very good. At violin playing.”

Your eyebrows furrow. “When have you seen me play?”

“At the open evening.”

You think back to the night, the quick piece you’d played and the fact you’d looked for him and found nothing.

“Really? I didn’t see you there.”

He leans forward closer. “Aw. Were you looking for me, sweetheart?”

“No. Though I’m sure the bright purple hair would’ve been hard to miss.”

Shinsou cracks his knuckles and you wince at the sound. “I messed up the times, but I caught you at the end. You’re amazing. Really.”

You stir a little at the compliments. With the most grace possible, you get them a lot. But it sounds a little better coming from Shinsou, especially when he’s looking at you so intently.

“Yeah, well. I have been playing since I was four.”

“Stop doing that. Making excuses. You’re good because you’re good. Even if it’s getting annoying it’s obvious you love to play.”

You flick his leg. “Alright. Fine. I’m good. At violin and guitar.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves now.”

Your finger lingers on his knee a little. You’re about to say something, and so is he by the way he sits up a little. But the door to the music room opens suddenly, and Hana pops her head in.

You stand up suddenly. Shinsou waves at Hana while you try to look like you’re not doing something you shouldn’t be.

“If you two are done.. whatever you’re doing in here, me and Y/N have got Math.”

“Hey, neighbour.” Shinsou says and she nods curtly, stepping out to wait for you.

“She’s a pleasure.” Shinsou raises his brows and you smile.

You pick up your backpack and pull it over one shoulder. “She just needs to warm up to you a little. She’ll like you if I like you.” You walk over to the door.

Shinsou stands too. “So. Do you like me then?”

You look back at him, hand still on the doorknob. “Hm. Still deciding. Might need a few more guitar lessons before I can know.”

He grins. “Good. I’m free every odd day of the week.”

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

This fic was very confusing to write.. lots of different media forms.. I was trying something new and I hope u like it!

I was tryna go for nerdy ochestra girl x emo band guy cause Shinsou is lowkey giving that if I’m being really honest with myself and I want SHINSOU if I’m being honest with myself

I hope u all enjoyed.. I will deffo be writing a part two, but it’s currently Ramadan so my posting schedule will probably be very sporadic..

LOVE U ALLL

#b3ach bunn7 #oneshot #fluff #bnha shinsou hitoshi #shinsou x you #shinsou hitoshi #ao3 shinsou #shinsou x y/n #mha shinsou #shinsou x reader #bnha shinsou #hitoshi shinsou #shinsou hitoshi x reader #shinsou smau #mha shinso hitoshi #hitoshi shinso x reader #bnha shinso hitoshi #mha hitoshi #hitoshi x reader

31 notes · View notes

bwoahtastic · 5 hours ago

Note

Please tell us more about lewis and max bridgerton vibes 🥺

So thst one is based on the a/b/o regency tag where Lewis sponsors Max to take part in the season so the omega can find a husband (and escape his horrible father) but he falls for the sweet omega himself... (and Nico and jense are there to help and have cutie Logie as pup!) So a few rambles:

Nico gets to cuddle Max most freely out of all of them as he is an omega (okay Logie can ofc snuggle around as much as he wants!) And Lewis is a little jealous seeing Max curled up so sweetly to Nico

Max being so anxious at balls that Lewis takes pity on him and dances a few times with him as well so Max doesn't have toctalk to strangers. And it feels so right!

Max doesn't always sleep well, especially before events, and Lewis is up late a lot workingnon stuff for the estate so he tends to run into Maxy in just his sweet white night gown and blushes

But also, Max sitting on the little study eith Lewis, the Omega curled up on the sofa with a boom until he falls asleep and Lewis carries him back to bed

Max sleepily nuzzling his face into Lewis's neck then because it feels so safe and Lewis smells like home!

Max getting a letter that his dad is displeased with his season so far and he threatwning to come take Max back and Max runs straight to Lewis, falling into his arms and sobbing his little heart out and not caring what is "proper"

When jenson and nico become Max's sponsors so that Lewis can court Max in a proper way, Max is a little shy but purring so much, because he gets snuggled by Nico and Jenson is making bad dad jokes and its like family he never had!

Also Max being so skinny when he first arrives cos his dad was basically feeding him leftovers, and then when he starts gaining weight and his dresses become too small, he panics so much because Lewis will have to spend more money on him to get new dresses, but Lewis is just so happy Max finally looks so healthy!

Lewis finally proposing to Max adter some proper courting? Pls Max crying with happiness!

#asks #a/b/o regency

22 notes · View notes

bringbackmaes14 · 19 hours ago

Text

Guys I think this is recency bias.

Andrew Johnson was a horrible president. In fact him ending up president was a complete fluke. He was only chosen as Lincoln's VP in his second term because he wanted to appease more Democrats in his second term. And then of course he only became president because Lincoln was assassinated (except fun fact Andrew Johnson and William Seward were also supposed to be assassinated that night but Seward's assassin was fought off by Seward's family while he was sick in bed and Johnson's assassin just didn't have the guts to do it—he just went to a bar to get a drink for his nerves before the job and then never left the bar that night.)

There are a couple things that Johnson did that were horrible:

Reversing Special Field Order No. 15

Basically during the Civil War, Union General William T. Sherman took his army across the Confederate States and seized and/or burned pretty much every piece of land they came across (except Savannah, Georgia—Sherman left that in tact because he thought it was a beautiful place). In total they collected about 400,000 acres of land. In 1865, still during the war, Special Field Order No. 15 was a proclamation made by General Sherman basically saying that they were going to divide up all the conquered land between newly emancipated black people and some poor white people and give families 40 acres of land to start a farm. Eventually the plan was also amended to say the army would give each family a mule, and the plan then also became known as the "40 acres and a mule" plan.

Enter Andrew Johnson as President. He basically doesn't think it's fair that all these wealthy white landowners had their land stolen from them, so he reversed the order. It had been in effect for about a year. Not only did he say all the leftover land that was not yet given out is going back to its original owners, he also repossessed any land that had been newly settled by the emancipated black families or poor white families and returned those plots back to the rich white landowners too. So he really inhibited societal growth after slaves in the US with this.

Andrew Johnson's interpretation of the Declaration of Independence

Okay so you know how in the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson wrote "all men are created equal"? And that's pretty vague which on one hand is like, why would he do that, but on the other hand the exact reason that he did that is so the meanings in the Declaration of Independence could grow and change with the country. However, because it's vague, it means that random idiots like Andrew Johnson can interpret in any way they see fit.

In 1859, Johnson gave a speech to Senate where he claimed that the phrase "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence did not apply to African Americans because the same phrase ("all men are created equal") was in Illinois's state constitution, and the state of Illinois barred African Americans from voting.

Which is just honestly... one of the wildest and worst interpretations of the Declaration of Independence I've ever heard.

First President to be Impeached

So, despite being really racist, and undoing a lot of Lincoln's legislation, (and pardoning so many (but not all of the) former confederates despite the fact that they had been marked domestic insurrectionists by Lincoln and a lot of the Union), none of those were the reason he ended up getting impeached.

The first thing you need to know is that both the House of Representatives and the House Select Committee of Reconstruction tried to launch separate impeachment inquiries against Johnson before he was officially impeached on the third try.

The first inquiry was pushed by this guy James Mitchell Ashley in December 1866 because he was obsessed with this conspiracy theory that Johnson was somehow involved in Lincoln's death. It made it to the House on January 1867 but no one really heard him out. But by then a lot of Midwestern states were petitioning Congress to kick Johnson out, so Ashley changed tactics and started saying that President Johnson should be investigated for corruption and usurpation of power, all relating to people Johnson had appointed to the government, the Confederate leaders Johnson had pardoned, a lot of presidential vetoes, all the confiscated property he sold and supposed interference with elections. The House agrees to do the inquiry, but not full impeachment trial. And it goes on for a few months.

The second inquiry is in January 1868 and it was headed by this guy Rufus Spalding basically because Johnson refused to play nice with the mostly (radical) Republican Congress and so Spalding was inquiring about impeachment on the basis that Johnson was shutting down pretty much every legislation sent his way that was a Republican idea.

Johnson was finally impeached in March 1868 because he had violated the Tenure of Office Act (1867). Basically when Lincoln was president, he had established Edward Stanton as his secretary of war, and Stanton was a Radical Republican. Congress (which I'll remind you was also mostly Radical Republicans) really liked him, and wanted him to stay Secretary of War after Johnson inherited him into his presidential cabinet. So they passed the Tenure of Office Act which basically said the president can't get rid of appointed officials without approval from Senate. Because Johnson couldn't get rid of Stanton without Senate approval and Senate was at recess for the season, he suspended him in August of 1867. Then he tried to fill the position with Ulysses S. Grant. Senate voted to reinstate Stanton in January 1868 and Grant immediately resigned, fearing the upheaval would hurt his future wishes to run for president. Johnson continued to complain about Stanton and tried again to replace him but this time with William T. Sherman (an enemy of Stanton), but Sherman turned down the offer. Sherman tried to offer other Radical and Moderate Republican options for the Secretary of War positions, but Johnson shut them all down. Finally in February 1868, Johnson appointed Lorenzo Thomas. Johnson informed the Senate of his decision and Thomas personally informed Stanton he was replacing him, but rather than leaving, Stanton barricaded himself in his office and ordered Thomas' arrest for violating the Tenure of Office Act. The charge was only dropped by Stanton after he realized it would cause the courts to look at the constitutionality of the Tenure of Office Act and he didn't want that to happen because that act was letting him keep his job. Finally, he was impeached on 11 articles, mostly for violating the Tenure of Office Act (which was deemed unconstitutional in 1926, but I stand by the fact that his musical chairs game with the secretary of war position was ridiculous), but he missed conviction by one vote, letting him remain in office.

Crazy stuff.

Worst US President Bracket

#andrew johnson #worst us president #us presidents #polls #dot says

77 notes · View notes