#hence--i assume--why it is able to be decently weird. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

pelagic-crimson · 5 months ago

Text

Ah! Sorry - I think I got a bit overzealous and forgot a bit the actual topic of discussion. That and I've been maybe burnt a bit too much by reddit's frankly abysmal character literacy (then again the consensus there is more "why the fuck didn't anyone pick Heathcliff, the street smarts guy who's proven to be a decent detective and who has the home advantage?")

I do wonder though if some of Dante's seeming social ineptitude is also a result of us being able to take a step back and look at the narrative as a whole and having background knowledge on the sinners. For example with Hong Lu, while there's plenty of examples of him showing deep emotional intelligence, they're pretty subtle and all at times where there's a lot of other shit going on, like Effie bleeding out or the high emotional turmoil of Yi Sang's entire canto, which I think might be intentional on Hong Lu's part. I don't feel like he's meant to be the focus in those scenes, despite what he contributes. We can look at Dante and go 'man you really suck at picking up on these things" but from Dante's perspective they're simultaneously trying to manage the drama of twelve maladjusted sinners while also learning everything about The City and their job on the fly - I'm not entirely sure you can blame them for not entirely catching the full potential of someone who's intentionally trying to stay under the radar. Outis is obviously suspicious in universe, but she's especially suspicious to us because we know how gacha game archetypes and PM's favourite tropes work (though I thought Dante was just confused by Outis, not explicitly falling for her act and that kinda dissapeared a few cantos in anyways).

Or in the complete other direction, given Faust's statements about who Dante used to be, I wonder if their problem could be less social ineptitude and more arrogance or some other aspect of their original personality that might be bleeding through, and Vergilus is trying to correct it before it gets worse and interferes with things. Like remnants of the old Dante that didn't need to fully learn about the strengths and weaknesses of their team because they think they can just typecast everyone into little boxes skill wise and would probably fall for Outis' schtick because they do think they're the most amazing manager that does deserve all this praise. Or maybe it's both! I have no idea where Dante lies on the amnesiac scale of how subconscious (if at all) is their original personality.

Also I wouldn't really call Meursault naive. Naive is always assuming the best or being blind to the harsher parts of reality. Sinclair and Don are naive, and maybe Yi Sang. Meursault's more oblivious and adverse to anything that could be wrong. He knows he doesn't 'get' people, so it's safer to take everyone at face value than to start assuming things that could be wrong. People that are friendly to him give him more information to work with, so he's going to have a harder time doubting them, hence my point about him being easy to manipulate. I'll admit, I kinda totally forgot about him spotting the traitor in 4 and honestly, that's a bit odd imo. I could make some argument about that being a purely logical conclusion based on observation rather than a judgement call, or that Shenre wasn't actually giving out enough information to start creating contradictions between what he saw and she says...but it's way more likely I'm attributing too much of his book character to the game character. The man's been my weird french existentialist blorbo for years and I will admit, it's a little hard to separate the two when you've been familiar with the original character for much longer.

Also seeing the trailer, istg if my joke about Meursault getting into trouble with the police for historical/absurdist reasons is actually right...

*rises from the grave*

*trips and falls flat on my face*

Heyyyy, it's ya boy, your favorite chronically exhausted Hong Lu identity that forgor about posting to Tumblr. Hi. Hello.

So. Timekilling Time, huh? Very fun, very exciting, we love focusing on Sinners that are misunderstood both in and out of character. We love Rodya, Hong Lu, and Ryoshu focus. We love Ryoshu's butch mustache swag.

Anyway, allow me yap about it a bit, because I took frame by frame screenshots of the teaser and I haven't yapped on Tumblr in a while. I'll also give a general update on how I've been doing at the end of the post for those who are interested.

The first thing I've noticed in the teaser is Dante actually lays out the exact traits that their choice of Sinners would need. These being (exact wording):

Someone who can support Dante

Someone who can remain laser-focused on the case

Someone who can be free from biased judgement while making rational, quick spur-of-the-moment decisions

In other words, we need Sinners who will help Dante out, are able to stay focused, and who can think on their feet without relying on their own internal biases.

I think it's important to lay those out as clearly as possible, because it makes the selections made by Dante and Verg very interesting, and also kind of funny.

Let's look at Dante's picks - Yi Sang, Meursault, and Faust. These are all, at a surface level, decent general picks, as all three of them are seen as smart and rational. However, if we look at them while keeping the previously mentioned traits in mind, it turns out these three might just be some of the worst picks Dante could ever fucking make.

The biggest issue - none of these bitches can think quickly. Faust is especially notorious for this, as it's consistently pointed out how she always needs a long time to come to a conclusion or otherwise has to pause to come up with answers. We also know Yi Sang is the type of person to get lost in his thoughts and just meander instead of getting to the point. Meursault is a bit of an outlier in that we see that he can think quickly, but if he's not given any orders he's never gonna act on those thoughts. Admittedly, he has been getting better at speaking up over time, but he's still mostly in this "only does what he's told to do" mode of operations.

This is where their issues split up a little bit.

Yi Sang is probably the most likely to be supportive of Dante out of the three - we see that he cares about others and has learned to interfere and give advice when he feels it's necessary (though who knows if he's doing well enough to keep that up after Canto 6, oof). No, rather his other issue lies in the focus department. This is the guy who, as I previously mentioned, meanders all over before getting to the point. Again, like Meursault, he has been getting better at not doing that, but he's still got ways to go.

Faust and Meursault on the other hand have the opposite issue. While they're fairly goot at staying focused on what they have to do, the issue is that they never fucking speak up. They're probbably the furthest from being supportive of Dante. They're most likely to learn info and just keep it to themselves until everyone has wasted way too much fucking time. Hell, Meursault would probably make a decently good detective if allowed to do the case all on his own, but since he's meant to be a part of a group, he's unlikely to help out that much without Dante directly ordering him around.

Now, onto Verg's picks - Rodya, Hong Lu, and Ryoshu. This is where things get really, really interesting. Because we have the reverse situation to Dante's picks - on the surface the choices seem random and counter-intuitive, but if we look deeper, it turns out they all fulfill the requirements surprisingly well.

I'm about to go on a tangent here, but I find it extremely important that we're focusing on this group of Sinners in the first Intervallo between what I consider to be the most thematically different arcs within Limbus. The first half of Inferno has been pretty squarely about confronting one's past, whether learning to face it properly after running away from it (Gregor, Rodya, Sinclair), or learning to move past it after refusing to let go of it (Yi Sang, Ishmael, Heathcliff).

However, looking at the Sinners we have left, it feels like the second half of Inferno might be focused less on the past specifically, but more about the Sinners' general reality. Especially the next upcoming trio of Cantos - Don Quixote, Hong Lu, and Ryoshu - have some heavy thematic focus on the idea of one's perception of reality, especially fitting for the three Sinners with weird eye shit going on.

With Timekilling Time focusing on the Sinners most misinterpreted by others in-character (and out of character), it feels like the perfect intro to this switch in thematic focus - exploring the actual realities of people who are otherwise hard to understand.

Anyway, back to discussing how Rodya, Hong Lu, and Ryoshu fit Dante's requirements.

Supportive of Dante - this is the requirement all three fulfill pretty well. Let me explain.

Rodya is probably the most obvious - she's a hypegirl through and through, and happy to take the reigns in some way or another if nobody else is able to, as we see in Canto 2. She's often one of the first people to point out when someone is not doing well, and shares a lot of her insight if in the mood, but she also knows when discretion is necessary.

Hong Lu is a fun one here - he's extremely perceptive and insightful, often sharing his thoughts with very little prompting. His only issue is that he tends to backpedal when he feels like he said something wrong, or generally just words shit in weird slightly offensive ways. He's supportive, he just doesn't always talk like he is.

Ryoshu is one I find most interesting here, as a lot of people seem to miss this about her character - despite her short temper and peculiar manner of carrying herself, she's actually pretty understanding and helpful towards people she's on amicable terms with. She always explains her acronyms if asked (and when she doesn't it's usually because people stop asking or Sinclair translates instead), she listens when told to stand down or otherwise do something when asked of by Dante or Sinclair, and the reason she tends to stay quiet is because she only speaks when she feels what she has to say is important.

Staying focused - this one is a bit harder to judge, but I'd say the only one who might not fulfill this one is Hong Lu, but only by a margin. Ryoshu is shown to get so focused she gets impatient when she can't get to the point, and Rodya always has her goal in mind even when she might act like she doesn't. Hong Lu is a bit harder to judge, as he seems to be the type to prioritze gathering information and satiating his curiostiy over the main goal, but in a case like this that might just be a massive plus.

Unbiased quick thinking - again, all three fulfill the quick thinking part very well. Rodya shows it constantly throughout Canto 2, Hong Lu shows it best in social interactions, and Ryoshu just doesn't want to waste time and so she naturally thinks quickly as well. It's when we come to the unbiased part that things get extremely interesting.

As individuals, Rodya, Hong Lu, and Ryoshu are all very biased people. Rodya sees the world from the perspective of someone who suffered in the poor Backstreets. Hong Lu sees the world from the perspective of a rich Nest dweller coming from a family of dubious morality. Ryoshu sees the world from the perspective of (probably) an ex-Ring member obsessed with the art that is reality. Their backgrounds color the information they take in a lot.

However... this means that as a group, all three balance each other's biases out. Rodya's cynicism gets balanced out by Hong Lu's idealism, which is balanced by Ryoshu's realism. Their backgrounds couldn't be more different, and thus give the widest possible perspective when put together.

I think this is the point Verg is making with this selection. Dante's selection is the easy way out. It's people that Dante already knows how to deal with, and would rather pick even if their skillsets don't fit the situation. Verg is making Dante learn how to work with Sinners who might be harder to deal with, but have skillsets more fitting for the situation at hand.

Dante can't keep half-assing everything by always turning to the same few people. Every Sinner in the group has their use and are smart in their own unique ways. They have to figure what every Sinner's strong point is, otherwise they'll end up putting everyone in danger by relying on people who are simply not good in a situation while ignoring those who could help.

So... that's what I think.

Anyway, personal general update - I'm still alive! And also very swamped with college and constant exhaustion. So, things will have to change a bit moving forward.

Number one - I will not be returning to old analysis requests. There's too many at this point, and I just don't have the time to sit down and write longass posts whenever I want anymore. However, that isn't to say E.G.O and Sin analyses will never return! I have plaaans for what I want to do with those moving forward, it just may take some time to materialize.

Number two - I'm generally just more active on Discord than on Tumblr. Yapping on Discord feels more natural for me, as it's just... less formal than making a full post I guess. So, if you want to discuss things with me, or if you're on a server that you think would do well with having me yapping in there, feel free to shoot me an invite link in replies (or in DMs if you don't want it to be public)!

Number three - Go check out the Absolute Pride Resonance event on Youtube! I'm not a part of it maybe next time wink wink nudge nudge, but you should still check it out cause it's a bunch of cool people doing very scuffed streams, as is fitting for the scuff Project Moon is known for.

Alright, that's it. I still don't know how to end Tumblr Posts. Bye.

#that joke was also legit originally a full on The Trial ref too #but I shortened it to actually also include Yi Sang's similar historical and literary context

201 notes · View notes

squadron-of-damned · 2 years ago

Note

Do you have any personal headcanons or thoughts about your von Karma fan-family? Or something like a list in songs they have about characters?

Personal headcanons, as in headcanons that I have privately for myself about the family members which we’ve made up as a group? Well, I guess I do have some.

First and foremost there are probably waaaaay more family members than i described in the last ask. we just as a collective don’t have the spoons in general to make that many characters. making a decent character is Complicated.

Headcanons in no particular order:

Frieda initially was not planning on having children, or elevating Bernard above “decorative husband” status. Shit just got out of hand because Bernard was adorable.

Half of the family is ginger, the other half is blonde. Nobody actually knows what the hell is going on with Franziska’s hair, but they know that the ice-blue-white is actually natural, so they conclude it’s a bit weird blonde.

There is a family reunion every Christmas back in Germany, traditionally organized by Wolfgang. He takes it as a point of pride to be able to get there everyone who is not dead or his brother.

Yes, that means he has actually a functional plan to get Manfred out of the prison for a week so eh can come visit. It never came to it, because per Manfred’s reply: “Bold of you to assume to give up this perfect excuse not to have to see any of you ever again.”

Established thing is that Markov writes on his sleeves cuffs (he wears paper ones for that). Not established is that he has his own shorthand (regular shorthand was not fast enough for him) and has the tendency to flick the cuffs in people’s faces if they try to refute their previous statement.

Markov is also very eager to get into a fight. He never starts them, but he frequently provokes them. It’s not impossible for him to actually kill someone in an accident, but if he had, there have never been any witnesses. Usually it end sup with several Distinctly Non-Lethal Injuries.

Calling things/people “fool” and derivatives of the word is a family thing. It’s a self-censure feature, where “fool” substitutes “fuck”.

Technically the entire family is made of Christian Protestants, specifically Baptists. Practically the whole religion thing fizzled out around 1950′s, so they they are Baptists just for the statistics. The current young generation actually isn’t even baptized, so they don’t count.

As a family tradition quite early in their lives a young von Karmaling receives a copy of Also sprach Zarathurstra (Thus Spoke Zarathurstra) by Nietzsche, usually for birthday, a fancy one with extra wide margins so you can put in your own notes and annotations.

These copies get worse and worse treatment over time as the recipient resents Nietsche, their own life and the family more and more.

Manfed’s copy served as a doorstop for years in his office, and also as a coaster for cups of coffee or tea.

Markov and Franziska’s copies are both used as projectiles with surprising accuracy.

Miles spent a very meditative afternoon filling the margins of his with the repeated phrase of “scheiß drauf“.

Nobody knows where Gandulf’s copy is. He lost it five minutes after he got it. He’s received several replacements since then. Only one of them has been found since then - at the ISS, completely covered in dried ketchup.

Wolfgang doesn’t know what a furry is, nevertheless he is one.

Gandulf knows what a furry is and also is one.

One of Ilse’s sacred duties is preventing her father from convincing other relatives to start a furaffinity account.

All of Nikolle’s (and Helena’s) dogs were named at Miles’ suggestion, hence why there so far have been two dogs named Phoenix (and one named Unicorn to throw the scent off).

Bigger Phoenix the Dog, the successor to the original Phoenix the Dog (whom Manfred von Karma used as an example that having a pet sharing a name with a person doesn’t make the person betrothed to the owner), absolutely loves chicken sandwiches and also tackling people with a big affectionate hug.

A lot of people know that Edith Vin Korek is married. Sometimes they get to meet the husband and they are very surprised to learn his name is not Markov Vin Korek. “Sir, you sign your articles MVK.” “Yes, the VK stands for ‘von Karma’.”

Helena lives off of energy drinks, adrenaline, and the knowledge she has to be back home by 4 PM to make the dinner.

Almost everyone in the family got shot into the right shoulder. It’s referred to as “getting the hereditary”. The notable exceptions are: Friedrich (who is too charming to be shot at), Griselda (who doesn’t leave the house), the kids (”Don’t worry, it’ll come.”), and Siegfried (who got shot thrice in three different occasions.)

Yes, Gandulf got the hereditary. No, he doesn’t know how. One day he just went to get his yearly checkup and the doctor was “Where did you get the gunshot from?” “Huh?” Conclusion: Don’t run around the woods in your fursuit while it’s the open season.

Franziska and Miles did get to try weed exactly once and they got into a LOT of trouble over that. But they got to try it when the school debate team went to Netherlands for a competition, so technically it was legal. (Neither of them liked it.)

At some point Phoenix the Attorney is going to start getting ampty postcrads/birthdey cards in his mail and it creeps him out greatly. He is going to bring it up to Miles who is going to sigh heavily and conclude “I think that’s a hint for me to marry you.” Markov von Karma competing for the most subtle matchmaker of the year with Gretchen (who outright asked to be Miles’ flower girl. on a phone. in the middle of the night because time zones).

#von karma fan family #yes Markov is my special baby #where by 'baby' i mean 'insufferable angry old man'

4 notes · View notes

sunlight-moonrise · 4 years ago

Text

The Five Times (Reid Imagine)

Summary: Reader recounts the first moments she shared with her new neighbor.

A/N: I finally wrote a pure fluffy fic! This is a complete 180 from my previous fics. I hope I did the genre justice. As always, thank you to the lovely @spencer-reid-in-a-pool for being an awesome beta! Enjoy.

Category: Fluff

Content Warnings: None

Word Count: 4.2K

Masterlist

The first time I met my neighbor, I was moving into my new apartment. The movers from the company I hired were kind enough to bring up my heavier furniture, but I was stuck with the boxes holding my miscellaneous objects.

This was my fifth trip up to my apartment and I still had at least ten boxes lying around in the lobby. My body was starting to get tired from all of the excessive movement.

I heard the familiar ding of the elevator, signaling its arrival. With my current pace, I wouldn’t be able to get in before it closed.

“Hold the elevator!” I quickened my stride, hoping whoever on the other side of the door would be kind enough to adhere to my plea. Luckily that was the case, as I saw a hand shoot out to keep the doors from closing.

Once I made my way inside, I placed the boxes down, allowing my arms a few seconds of rest. I turned to my companion, noticing his tall figure, kind eyes, and small smile.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, what floor?” His voice was soft and sweet. He smelled like cinnamon and coffee. The words that immediately came to mind when I took all of him in were cozy and home.

“Second floor, thanks.” Just then, I noticed that the button was already lit up, signaling that it has already been pressed. “Oh, I guess we’re floor mates,” I commented with a light laugh.

“I guess we are.” There was a momentary silence as the elevator rose up the two floors. I saw him observe the boxes scattered on my feet. “I’m assuming the other packages downstairs are yours,” he stated.

“You got that right.” The doors opened with a ding as I tried to quickly pick up and balance the items in my arms once again. Before I could say something, the kind stranger grabbed one of my boxes and held it in his hands.

“You don’t have to,” I started to protest, “I don’t want to be wasting your time.”

“It’s fine. Helping people is what I do.”

I wanted to complain, to put up more of a fight but my body was already starting to feel weak. It’s been hours since I’ve rested and the heat was not helping my current situation.

With that in mind, I begrudgingly accepted his help. “Okay, but I owe you one.” I led us down the hallway, taking a turn until we were in front of door #24.

“Wow,” I heard him whisper to himself. I was confused as to why he made that comment. Did I do something weird? Is there something embarrassing on my pants?

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just that I live across from you. I’ve never had a neighbor my age before.” He pointed to the door that was behind us, a small smile adorning his face. I couldn’t help but reciprocate with a grin of my own.

“Wow indeed. I promise you I won’t have loud music or multiple visitors.” I open the door, pushing it wide enough for my neighbor to easily go through. I gestured for him to place the box on the floor while I put mine on top of the kitchen’s table.

“Do you want help with the rest of your stuff?” he asked, taking note of the disarray in the small space.

“Yes, I’d appreciate that.”

We finished bringing the rest of my stuff back to my apartment in record time. What would have taken me five trips was cut down to two. I thanked him profusely throughout the whole ordeal and he laughed every time I did so. Once we had all the boxes inside, I made sure to see him out the door, thanking him a final time for his help.

“It’s not a problem, really,” he said, his voice getting slightly higher in pitch. “Uh, my name is Dr. Spencer Reid by the way. Y-you can call me Spencer. It’s less of a mouthful. Or Reid, whichever you prefer. I answer to all three.”

He had the shy smile on his face once more and I couldn’t help but repeat his name in my head. Dr. Spencer Reid. “Pleasure to meet you Dr. Reid. I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

It was at that moment that I associated Spencer with kindness.

●●●

The second time I saw Dr. Reid, I was jogging at the park. It has been two months since I last spoke to him and I felt a twinge of sadness at our lack of interactions. I figured since I was the first neighbor he had his age, that we would be seeing each other more often. Guess that was wishful thinking on my part. I shouldn’t be too upset, he’s a doctor after all; his hours must be crazy.

I was slowing down on my run, searching for a nearby fountain to fill up my bottle. Instead, I found Dr. Reid sitting on a bench, skimming through a thick book. The happiness that filled my body should be embarrassing, I only talked to the guy once. Nevertheless, I made my way too him.

“Dr. Reid!” He startled a bit, almost dropping his book. He looked up, a smile gracing his face when he recognized it was me.

“Hi (Y/N). How are you?”

“I’m pretty good, long time no see,” I stated, hoping he’ll hear the humor in my tone. He gazed at me and for a moment I felt self-conscious. I’m a sweaty mess right now. Loose strands of my hair were sticking to my forehead and my face was red.

“You-uh-went for a run?” he stammered out. A slight pink tint crept on to his cheeks, which I am pretty sure was due to the sun’s rays.

“Yeah, I try to get some exercise here and there when I can. How’s everything going at the hospital by the way?” Maybe if I find out what his schedule is like, I’ll be able to see him more.

“Pardon me?” Crap, did I say something wrong? I tried to recollect the small amount of information I gathered from him when we first met. I don’t recall him mentioning where he works. Maybe he has his own clinic.

“Sorry. Do you have a private practice?” I hated how nervous my voice sounded as I asked him. Spencer’s look of confusion quickly morphed into one of mirth. He let out a small laugh and I became more perplexed by his actions.

“I’m not that kind of doctor,” he clarified. “I hold PhDs in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering as well as BAs in Philosophy, Sociology, and Psychology.” His voice lowered a bit at the end and he started looking elsewhere once he finished his statement. Was he ashamed of his accomplishments? I hope not. If I were him, I’d be bragging to anyone within listening distance of my achievements.

“That’s very impressive, I barely know what’s going on in my own profession. You must be some kind of genius,” I remarked with awe. His head snapped back at me, probably trying to figure out if I was pulling his leg.

“Well, I do have an IQ of 187 as well as an eidetic memory. I can also read 20,000 words per minute,” he stated, his voice returning to its usual octave. I glanced at the book on his lap, he probably was reading the text instead of skimming through it like I initially thought.

“So if you’re not a medical doctor, what do you do? If you don’t mind me asking,” I wondered.

“I work for the FBI, with the BAU. Behavioral Analysis Unit. We catch serial killers, terrorists, rapists, and other criminals by analyzing their personalities.” I would have never guessed this man was a federal agent.

“Wow, so you’re a professional hero then.”

He laughed once more before shaking his head, “I’m far from a hero. I just use my skills to my advantage. It’s all in a day’s work.”

I can now add humility to my mental list when describing Spencer Reid. With every moment I spend with him, my infatuation seems to grow.

I was going to continue talking when an insistent cough came out from the man to our left. He sat in front of the chess table, staring at us expectantly. His eyes kept on dashing between Spencer and myself. I scowled at him, wondering what his problem was.

“Uh this is my friend Eric,” Spencer said to me, gesturing to the coughing man. “Eric, this is (Y/N), my neighbor.” Great, now I feel like a jerk for thinking of his friend in such a rude manner.

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

“Likewise.” His eyes returned to Spencer, gawking at him as if he had a secret. However, Spencer’s attention was on his phone and I saw his features change to a stoic expression.

“I have to go; it's work,” he said to the both of us. He gathered his items and stood up from the bench. He turned to me, “Hopefully I can see you by the apartment more often.”

“Hopefully,” I agreed, “See you soon, neighbor.” I flashed him a smile and waved goodbye. He returned the gestures as he walked away.

At that moment I associated Spencer with bravery.

●●●

The third time I saw Spencer Reid, I baked too many cookies. It’s been two weeks since I last saw him, but I knew he was working hard. I heard him come in pretty late last night when I was finishing some chores and decided to come up with a reason to see him. Hence the cookies.

I tried to make sure I appeared decent this time around. So far, the only times he has seen me, I’ve been sweaty and tired. After applying a small amount of makeup and putting on my favorite sundress, I was ready to go.

I made my way across the hallway, balancing the plate with one hand while knocking on his door with my other. I didn’t need to wait that long before the door opened. Only the person I was expecting was not behind it. My smile immediately left my face.

“Hi, can I help you?” asked the beautiful petite blonde woman. Oh god, this is probably his girlfriend. And I am over here pinning over him like a pathetic little girl. If the ground could have swallowed me up, that would’ve been a blessing.

“I made these for Spe- uh Dr. Reid. As a thank you for helping me move,” I quickly stated, hoping she doesn’t hear the dejection in my voice. “Can you please give these to him?” I stared down at my shoes as I pushed the plate towards her hands, cursing my own for being a bit shaky.

“(Y/N)?” I heard a lowly voice whisper. I turned back towards the door and saw Spencer standing behind his girlfriend. He whispered something in her ear before motioning for her to go inside. She glanced at me quickly before doing as he requested. Great, so they both know about my little crush and now he has to come let me down gently.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, although I am sure he had an inkling with the way he was eyeing the plate still in my hand.

“I baked some cookies. Chocolate chip.” I cleared my throat, hating the way it clogged up so fast. “As a thank you for helping me. Had I known your girlfriend was over, I would have given you some more.”

“She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my colleague,” he corrected, that shy smile that I grew to love on his face once again.

“Oh.” A sigh of relief left my body only for it to stiffen once more. Sure she’s not his girlfriend but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have one.

I debated whether I should ask him if he's single or not, but figured that would be pushing boundaries. I shouldn’t be asking someone such intimate details about their personal life, especially on the third encounter. But then again, it’ll be nice to know his relationship status before I dig myself too deep in this hole. However, he deserves to tell me that kind of information without me pestering him. Although he migh---

My thought process was interrupted when I saw a hand, Spencer’s hand, waving in front of my face. He had an expression of confusion yet amusement on his face. He was the only person I know who was able to pull off the look.

“(Y/N), are you okay?” He asked with slight concern in his voice. Or at least I’d like to imagine that there was slight concern. I’d like to think he cared over my well-being. I shook myself out of my stupor, returning my attention back to him.

“I’m sorry, I was distracted. What was it that you were saying?” I noticed I was still holding the plate so I quickly placed them in his waiting hands. Gosh, how many times am I going to embarrass myself in front of this man?

“I said that it’s a good thing that I don’t have a girlfriend. I wouldn’t want to share these with her.” Spencer’s voice had that timid tone once again, the one that reminded me of when he was talking about his accomplishments. I saw the redness on his cheeks which I’m sure matched my own.

“You never know Dr. Reid, these may be the worst cookies you’ve ever had,” I teased. I couldn’t hide my current contentment no matter how hard I tried. The more I talked to him, the more I wanted to spend time with him.

“I highly doubt that. If they’re as sweet as you I’m sure I’ll enjoy them.” I felt butterflies in my stomach at his statement. I’m pretty sure my face got even redder because all I felt was heat enveloping my form.

“Well, my door is always open if you want more,” I responded. And to think that I wanted to drop dead on the floor a few minutes ago.

“I’ll be sure to take you up on the offer,” he smiled, this one bigger than the others I have seen so far. My heartbeat picked up a little and I prayed that he didn’t know the effect he had on me.

I needed to go back to my sanctuary. I can only handle so much before I internally implode and that’ll do neither of us any good.

“See you around Dr. Reid.” I started a slow retreat to my door. Once I made it inside, I turned to see he was still staring at me.

“See you (Y/N).” He waved to me before closing the door.

At that moment I associated Spencer with warmth.

●●●

The fourth time I saw Reid, I wasn’t prepared. The day was going on pretty normally. I did my daily routine and made a trip to the grocery store. Thankfully, it wasn’t packed so I was able to go in and out within minutes.

I was placing my purchased items in my car when I heard a noise behind me. I couldn’t figure out what it was. I’d typically ignore it, but my mind was screaming at me that something was off.

When I turned around, I saw a man with a bloody knife in his hand staring at me a few feet away. He seemed as if he came straight out of a horror film, the crazed look on his face made me very uneasy. I thought that this had to be someone’s idea of a sick joke.

He slowly made his way towards me, knife up ready to strike. I didn’t bother closing my trunk before I jumped into my car, thanking the angels above that I left it on and running. I turned my key in the ignition, preparing to drive off when all of a sudden this man was at the driver’s window.

He was pounding hard against the glass repeatedly, leaving bloody prints in his wake. I screamed as I saw cracks forming, knowing it was a matter of time before he would hurt me. Pure adrenaline kicked in as I stomped on the gas pedal. I zipped by him, feeling a bump as I most likely ran over his foot.

I kept driving, not stopping until I thought I was in a safe area, which happened to be a relatively deserted dead end. I called 911 and told them about the situation. How they understood me through my hysteria is beyond me but I was informed that help was on the way.

I watched around my surroundings, noting the few people that did walk by. They stared at my car with concern but I didn’t care. I was hyper-vigilant now, holding my keys as if they can offer me a smudge of protection. All I could hear was the sound of his footsteps, the sight of the bloody knife occupying my mind.

Even when the cop cars and black vans pulled up, I did not feel safe. I stayed inside, not daring to come out. Despite seeing a middle-aged cop approach my passenger door, I still jumped when she tapped on the window. It reminded me of the pounding I heard barely fifteen minutes ago.

Tears streamed down my face as I felt myself hyperventilate. Oh my gosh. oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I could have died just now. I could have been dead. It would have taken a few seconds for him to plunge the knife into me, taking away my life. My body would have probably been cold before anyone would have notified the authorities.

The driver’s door opened and I held my keys closer to my chest. I know that it was irrational of me to get defensive over the people that I called for help but I couldn’t help it. My body was still on fight or flight mode and there was nowhere else for me to run to.

“(Y/N). It’s me, Spencer.” What? Is my mind playing tricks on me? Bringing forth the person that could offer me the best comfort at this moment. But as I turned my head, I took in the sight of him. Spencer was here, he was actually here.

“Sp-Spe-Spencer,” I cried out, tears still trailing down my face.

“Yes, I’m here. Can you grab my hand? Can I take you out of there?”

All of sudden, I wanted out of this car. I quickly jumped into his arms, holding him as close to me as possible. The scent of coffee and cinnamon helped to relax me.

I felt his arms wrapped around me, his hands running soft circles against my back. “Shhhhh. It’s okay. You did so well. I’m so proud of you.”

Proud? Of me? I didn’t do anything remarkable. I panicked and ran.

“Do me a favor. Breathe with me. Follow the way that I breathe,” he stated, his voice offering me serenity and calmness. He could have asked me to jump over a bridge or deep dive into the Atlantic Ocean and I would have done it at the moment.

I obeyed his instructions; inhaling and exhaling the same way he was. I followed the movement of his chest, captivated by the soothing rhythm. The adrenaline slowly started to leave my body. The blood rushing in my ears gradually decreased in volume and my breathing began to lengthen once again.

“Reid, the ambulance is here. They can examine her.” I heard a deep baritone voice say. I didn’t want to go, I didn’t want Spencer to leave me. I tightened my hands around him and buried my face even deeper into his chest, enveloping myself in his scent even more.

“It’s okay Hotch, I’ll take care of it,” I heard Spencer say. The vibration of his chest as he spoke brought warmth to me once again. I wish we could be in this position under different circumstances.

“The paramedics need to check you,” he whispered to me. “But I’ll be right next to you the whole time. I’m not going to let you go.” I peeked over at the ambulance, feeling my heartbeat picking up once more. I didn’t want to go, but I had to have faith in Spencer. I gazed up at him, needing affirmation of his previous statement.

“Promise?”

“Promise.” He offered me that small smile of his. The one that is full of comfort and tenderness.

I believed him. I trusted Spencer more than I feared the unknown.

He kept his word. Spencer stayed by my side the whole time I was with the paramedics, the car ride back to the precinct, and the duration of the questioning I received from some of his teammates. He even drove me back home and walked me to my door, promising to check on me in the morning.

At that moment I associated Spencer with safety.

●●●

The fifth time I saw Spencer, I was making dinner. It’s been a couple of days since I last saw him and my life was slowly returning to normal. I still flinched when I heard loud noises and I strayed from using my bigger knives. However, the nightmares have decreased and the therapist I’m seeing is very helpful. I hope I can go back to being the person I was before this incident.

I heard a gentle knock on my door. I made sure to calm myself down before answering. Unexpected loud noises still frighten me but I am slowly moving past it. I made my way to the entrance, checking the peephole before answering.

I unlocked the door, welcoming the sight of Spencer on the other side. It amazes me how fast my lips tug upwards just from looking at him.

“Hi (Y/N).” He gave me a small wave and an even smaller smile. “We caught him. He won’t be able to hurt you or anyone ever again,” he promises.

Something tells me that he didn’t have to come over here to personally deliver this message. Sure, we’re neighbors, but he didn’t have to go out of his way to tell me information that can be delivered with a phone call or a text.

“Thank you. I really appreciate you telling me this.” I took in his form. He appeared tired, more so than usual. I guess he just got out of work, especially since he still had his satchel on him. He didn’t even go back to his place before coming to mine.

The small pause lingered between us. Spencer looked like he was debating on what to say next. “Well, enjoy the rest of your evening.” He started taking small steps towards his door.

“Wait,” I shouted. The word came out louder than anticipated in the quiet hall. He startled a little but stopped walking to focus his attention on me.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” I asked, hopeful that he would accept my request. “I assure you there is plenty of food. Plus, it’ll be nice to be in your company again,” I finished. His head tilted as he stared at me, a bewildered expression on his face. I felt mine heating up as I realized the mistake I made.

“Uh I-I mean to have company. It’ll be n-nice to have company again,” I rushed out. I anxiously waited for his response as he contemplated my invitation. His hands were fiddling with one another and I saw a slight blush decorating his cheeks.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a home-cooked meal,” he stated with a smile that I returned. I moved out the way, allowing him to enter my lovely abode.

“You can place your jacket and satchel on the coat rack. Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right back.” I made my way back to the kitchen, checking on the food to make sure it hadn't burned. I then opened the fridge, grabbing my pitcher of water.

“I like the way you arranged your furniture. Your living room looks a lot more spacious than mine.” I heard Spencer commented. I poured the water into a glass before walking back to where he was standing. He was admiring the small stack of books I had on my shelf.

“Thank you, I tried to make the most of what I got. I’m glad it worked out.” I handed him the glass of water which he graciously took from me. I cursed myself for staring at the way he drank the cool liquid, his Adam’s apple bobbing with every swallow.

“Dinner is almost ready,” I stated, my pitch coming out higher than normal. I hoped my face was not as red as it felt.

“It smells amazing. Would you like me to set the table?” he asked.

I looked at Spencer again, noticing that he had a different smile on him. This one was wider and more genuine. I could see his white teeth peeking through. This smile gave me a sense of domesticity, affection, purity, and more. I am sure the grin on my face matched all the emotions I felt for him as we stood in front of one another in my living room.

At that moment I associated Spencer with love.

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fluff #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fluff #reid fluff #reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid reader insert #fluff #dr spencer reid #mgg

1K notes · View notes

i-am-totally-a-human-being · 3 years ago

Text

With 4th of July finally coming to an end.... it’s time! Time for the story we’ve been planning! That being said:

Danganronpa V4: A New Ending

(Title pending?)

Pairing: Hajime x female reader

Summary: a whole new killing game, with a different group of participants, and a whole new character

The first chapter will come out soon, and when it does, you’ll find the link here!

Here is all our people starring in this story!

Y/N L/N, The Ultimate Forensic Scientist

A spunky young girl with a spunky young attitude. She tends to keep to herself, but isn’t necessarily shy. From her school file, it’s highly assumed that she somehow stumbled across a crime scene as a child, how she actually got there is unknown. Although no older than 13, she was easily able to point out evidence that the forensic specialists already in scene missed before she was quickly escorted away.

Seemingly unbothered by the corpses she witnessed, she then pursued her newly found interest in crime scenes and how to process them, along with collecting evidence.

Her quick learning caught the attention of many, including Hope’s Peak. They offered to pay for her entire schooling if she attended, and she agreed. As Y/N got dressed and ready for her first day at Hope’s Peak, she could have never guessed she would be forced to fight for her life along with 15 others, and put her talent to use.

Hajime Hinata, The Ultimate???

A hotheaded teen who seems to have amnesia, being unable to remember his talent. His uptight nature puts off some of the others, but a few seem interested in him, some even offering to help him discover his talent.

Although he’d never say it, he feels self conscious due to not knowing what his job is supposed to be.

Admires most, if not all, talents, especially the ones that directly make society run better.

Not much can be said about him, he’s still trying to figure out who he is.

He remembers getting ready for the start of the school year, walking out of his home, and then everything going black. Then he woke up on this island, and now has to keep himself and those he cares for alive.

Kokichi Ouma, The Ultimate Supreme Leader

A spry young boy who refuses to really speak of his past. It’s unclear what in his school file is even the truth. He claims to be the supreme leader of an evil organization called DICE, an organization with elegidly 10,000+ members. Hence his talent title. Almost everything that comes out of his mouth he claims to be a lie, so it’s hard to tell what he is actually like.

While he doesn’t ever go into detail of his organization, it seems to be one of the only things he actually cares about and wants to get back to.

He seems hardly bothered by the idea of a killing game, even saying, hopefully joking, that he’d make the first kill. Most are unnerved by his presence and stay away.

Mukuro Ikusaba, The Ultimate Soldier

A quiet, stern girl who does not speak unless absolutely necessary. The older fraternal twin sister of Junko Enoshima, a fashionista famous in Japanese magazine��s. Mukuro seems completely indifferent to anything unless it’s about her sister, to which she grows immediately passionate, almost like a different person. Doesn’t speak about why she and her sister have different last names, claiming it shouldn’t matter.

While not thrilled at the thought of a killing game, she shows extreme faith that her sister will find and rescue her. Most people avoid her, she is the ultimate soldier, after all. Out of everyone, she’d be able to kill the most efficiently.

Doesn’t mind that people avoid her, she likes the quiet anyway.

Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky Student

A simple, average teenager who lives a simple and average life. He was randomly selected to go to Hope's peak, so he doesn’t really possess any actual talent.

Although talentless, he does seem to possess a decent level of smarts and gets along with everyone easily. No one really fears him, he’s too small and sweet to be capable of murder.

While he doesn’t pose a threat to others, he poses a threat to the mastermind, or anyone who lays their hands on his sister.

Komaru Naegi, a normal student

Komaru possesses no actual talent, much like her brother. However, she is different in the sense that she wasn’t even accepted into Hope’s Peak since she wasn’t quite of age to even be considered as a possibility.

She remembers being taken hostage after she and her parents sent off her older brother, only to awaken on an island, her brother right beside her.

She wants to trust everyone, and takes relief in having her brother by her side.

Shuichi Saihara, The Ultimate Detective

A shy boy who hides his eyes behind a black cap. He seems rather insecure, despite having the talent that poses as the most useful in the current situation. He is quiet and doesn’t like interacting with others, but seems to get more comfortable as time goes on.

He doesn’t like the idea of the killing game, obviously, but he’s mostly worried that some of his classmates will take it seriously.

K1-B0, The Ultimate Robot

Created by a man called Professor Idabashi, a prominent figure in robotics engineering. He created K1-B0(has told others they can call him Keebo) as a culmination of his work.

Keebo doesn’t quite understand human emotions perfectly, but he has a decent idea which is impressive in of itself.

Much like Mukuro, he has faith that he will be saved by a family member. Seeing as he refers to Professor Idabashi as his father. He says he has a tracker, and that when the professor realizes he is missing, a search team will be sent.

Toko Fukawa, The Ultimate Writing Prodigy

An extremely shy and timid girl who does speak to many people. Those she does speak to tend to be weirded out by her... odd and even perverted nature.

She had written multiple books and does seem to be extremely smart, her only issue being her timid nature.

Accused most (if not all) the boys in her class of being perverts.

Angie Yonaga, The Ultimate Artist

Angie loves art in any form, obviously because of her ultimate.

However, she also stands out due to her belief that she is the Devine interpreter for the god Atua, a god she says her people worship.

Angie believes Atua will have his way, and that the killing game is part of something bigger.

Rantaro Amami, The Ultimate Adventurer

A chill, laid back boy who believes in keeping the peace. His calm and collected personality is soothing, leading most, if not all, of the other students to trust him and listen to what he suggests.

Some seem off put by how calm he acts, but most understand that he’s just really good at staying calm and knows that panicking won’t always help.

Often tells tales of his travels to distract those who are afraid.

Nagito Komaeda, The Ultimate Lucky Student

Yet another lucky student, chosen to attend Hope’s Peak at random like Makoto. However, he seems to also have an.... interesting relationship with luck.

His luck has caused death and destruction around him, but he still manages to stay calm and even cheerful in the face of a literal killing game.

Nagito believes hope will prevail no matter what, so he chooses to pretty much just “go with the flow.”

Byakuya Togami, The Ultimate Affluent Progeny

A stuck up and condescending teen who makes it very clear that he does not approve of being trapped on an island like this. This isn’t a funny prank or initiation.

He is rather rich and will inherit the Togami company, after competing against 14 other siblings to “take the crown” and earn the inheritance. He was the youngest of the sibling, or candidates, and is the first youngest to ever come out on top.

Gonta Gokuhara, The Ultimate Entomologist

A.... sweet young man who loves anything and everything bugs. He isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he has a good heart.

(Jsvshsv I don’t know what to write for Gonta I’ll finish his later)

Mikan Tsumiki, The Ultimate Nurse

A clumsy and frightened girl who somehow manages to find herself in compromising positions constantly. On accident.

With her and Y/N present, people are at ease, seeing they have practically a full medical team in case something were to happen.

While she often does more worse than good due to her clumsy nature, she has a good heart, and people know that.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru, The Ultimate Moral Compass

A stern and strict boy who believes in respect and following rules contstantly. He is probably one of the only students who respects the killing games headmaster, Monokuma.

While not thrilled about the idea of a murder game, he sticks to the idea that it is a prank from upperclassmen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that’s our introductions! Sorry some were shorter than others!

Stay tuned!

-🐝

#danganronpa #danganronpa x reader #x reader #goodbye despair #hajime hinata #hajime hinata x reader #hajime x reader #danganronpa hajime #Hajime x female reader #slow burn

46 notes · View notes

i-need-entertainment · 4 years ago

Text

Haikyuu!! Boys and what they order at Starbucks

Characters: Akaashi, Washio, Konoha, Kita, Suna, Ushijima, Yahaba, Iwaizumi, Futakuchi, Daishou, Numai and Iizuna.

**I will stick with the usual suspects, but from time to time I will add a character if they fit with the scenario~ Hence why Tsukasa Iizuna will be joining us today~**

Akaashi Keiji: Starbucks Double Shot on ice

It’s kinda self explanatory honestly.

Just a bunch of caffeine, with MORE caffeine, but with a nice little touch of milk and sweet.

Perfect for a nice wake up on a saturday morning.

But it’s also a nice motivator for practices, and it has saved Bokuto’s life on several occasions.

He doesn’t really like black coffee, but he doesn’t want it super sweet either, so this is the perfect compromise for his caffeine needs and taste buds.

I feel like he’s one of those people that drinks caffeinated coffee, but when they go decaf they get huge headaches *cough* withdrawals.

Washio Tatsuki: Chai Tea Latte

There’s something so comforting and calming about this drink that has made it Washio’s go to.

He’s not a big fan of cold drinks so he tends to stick with the warm ones.

He likes coffee just fine, but he strikes me as someone who, if given the option, will go for tea over coffee.

But Chai Tea is the perfect inbetween for coffee/tea lovers!

...It also has a decent amount of caffeine, and has also saved Bokuto’s life on a few occasions.

Konoha Akinori: Iced Passion Tango Tea Lemonade

He doesn’t know what it is, but he can’t handle coffee AT ALL.

The flavors too strong, and it’s like he’s drinking water that’s been burned.

So, coffee’s a no-go for him.

But, tea is quite nice.

He used to just get the normal iced-tea, but then his little sister got this...thing...

Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to try it one day.

He didn’t expect it to actually taste good so when it did he made it his go-to order, deciding to ignore the questioning stares he got whenever he ordered it.

Kita Shinsuke: Earl Grey Tea

A nice, calming and simple drink.

He doesn’t like the super sweet drinks, but he isn’t the biggest coffee drinker.

But a plain hot tea does the trick for him.

Also doesn’t care if it’s caffeinated or decaf, he can go from one to the other without problem.

All in all, he prefers the simplicity and cozy feeling the drink gives off.

Suna Rintaro: Pink Drink

Now, heRe mE oUt

He doesn’t really care for tea or coffee, they’re fine but he wasn’t the biggest fan.

He had taken his little sister to starbucks cause ~why not~

She had gotten the ‘Pink Drink’ but she ended up not liking it.

Not wanting to waste like, 5 bucks, he drank it instead.

...it was pretty good.

He hasn’t been able to order anything else since, and it’s worth the teasing from the twins.

Ushijima Wakatoshi: Iced Americano

It’s literally just...coffee and like..water

Think gulping down a whole coffee pot, yeah it’s like that.

But it doesn’t bother him.

He doesn’t drink coffee often, but when he does it’s usually been a rough day.

He also has a hard time switching from caffeine to decaf, it doesn’t hit him as badly as it hits Akaashi, since he doesn’t drink it everyday.

But it definitely throws him off.

Yahaba Shigeru: Blonde Vanilla Latte

He strikes me as someone who has coffee at least once a day.

At home he’d just drink it plain with a little bit of milk n it.

But starbucks?!

That stuff is just a *little* bit too strong for him.

So, he usually goes for the blonde which is a little lighter and vanilla cause it’s ~tasty~

Will drink cold drinks in the summer and hot drinks in the winter, never the other way around.

Iwaizumi Hajime: Cold Brew w/ Milk

Basically just coffee and milk.

Usually when he has it at home he’d just drink it black, but he gets milk in it at starbucks cause that stuff is *intense*

Tries not to drink it too often cause he doesn’t want to build a dependency on it.

But on days he’s gonna be hanging out with the Seijoh 3rd years?

He downs one of these on his way there lol.

It may not be great for his heart, but it will be great for his mental stability.

Futakuchi Kenji: Horizon Chocolate Organic Milk

OKay, so they’re like the milks with the red box and the cow.

AKA the good ones, like, high quality chocolate milk.

He can drink coffee and tea, but he’d really much rather have this.

Get weird stares every time his mom, sister and him go to starbucks.

They both get their teas/coffees and he, this tall intimidating obviously older teen walks out happily drinking his milk box.

It doesn’t matter who he’s with, he’ll get it with no shame.

Daishou Suguru: Cappuccino

idk bout this one

But something about Daishou with a Cappuccino just makes sense.

Doesn’t like black coffee, well, he assumes he doesn’t.

He watched his older sister down two cups of straight coffee before his eyes when she was going through college.

He’s seen the devastating effects of caffeine.

But eh, who cares energy is energy~

He still doesn’t drink black coffee though cause yUcK.

Likes the *taste* of the cappuccino.

Numai Kazuma: Nitro Cold Brew

Likes the *buzz* it gives him.

Much like Iwaizumi, he usually has one right before he hangs out with the 3rd years.

Because babysitting all four of them, he needs it.

Has one before they leave for away games too, firstly he needs the energy.

Secondly it’s the only way he can cope with the chaos Daishou and Sakishima are no doubt planning.

Iizuna Tsukasa: Iced Caramel Macchiato

So, he likes coffee, and he likes tea.

He just can’t drink hot drinks.

It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, he will always get a cold drink.

His sisters definitely tease him though, especially when it’s 30 degrees and they’re both warming their hands with their drink while he freezes with his.

He gets the caramel macchiato because he seems like he’d have a really big sweet tooth, and seeing as at least half of it is just caramel it is perfection~

He got it a lot for Itatchiyama’s summer practices, it was the only way he was going to emotionally and mentally survive Komori + Sakusa.

#akaashi x reader #washio x reader #konoha x reader #kita x reader #suna x reader #ushijima x reader #yahaba x reader #iwaizumi x reader #futakuchi x reader #daishou x reader #numai x reader #iizuna x reader #haikyuufanfiction #haikyu x reader #Haikyuu!!#hq headcanons #hq imagines #hq x reader

91 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

Text

Star Vs Tom Luictor Retrospective Detour: Skooled!

Dedicated to Jessica Walter 1941- 2021

Welcome back all you still mourning people to Prince of Wishful Thinking, my Tom Lucitor Retrospective... or at least a detour from it as I need to cover the Meteora arc to cover Divide/Conquer properly. When we last left off with Star she and Tom were going closer, but both are taking a break this time. We’ll get back to them in April... oh will we get back to them in april. For now we’re back to Meteora who I forgot was ABSENT for a while. not forever, but while her parantege, the cover up related to her and all of that has been vitally important, Meteora herself vanished after Monster Party and hasn’t been seen till now. But i’ts a good storytelling engine.. it ratchets up tension for her inevitable return, and gives us time to find out what happened with her and let that sink in.. granted i’td also be the last time it sunk in but I can dunk on the series decline later... I still have season 4 episodes to cover after all. So join me under the cut as we get the welcomed Return of Henious, an unexpected hero.. and Ponyhead because this series clearly hasn’t hurt me enough. And as usual for my Star Vs Reviews, i’d like to thank one of my Best Friends @jess-the-vampire for her insight on this episode. It’s always welcome and she always manages to find something I didn’t think of .

So we open at Saint O’s with Ponyhead returning to the school, having previously run it post rebellion before leaving because.. I don’t know. She probably got tired of being a leader, and out of universe they needed her to be around star more. Look the series has far more important things it never explained and never will, not explaining why a recklessly irresponsible asshole left a position of authority and responsibility I can let slide.

She’s come for brunch but things have changed... the school is still a warm, free environment for princesses to better themselves and party hardy, no longer an oppressive brainwashing gulag run by someone who as it turned out was horribly brainwashed herself.. it’s just now it actually has rules and structure.

It now also has an actual leader, Princess Patty Arms who showed up in the school’s previous appearance this season here and.. that’s it. I think she showed up in the background of the original st o’s episode. And it’s a shame because she’s a really fascinating character. No really she’s calm, dosen’t take Pony’s shit, and while a brunch exam SEEMS like a waste of time... it really isn’t. A good meal can loosen up a dignitary and some rulers have sticks up their keisters about things like this, so being able to do it just right can win them over. It’s still a touch ridiculous but given the world of star is a touch ridiculous to start with, it works.

Pony naturally leaves in a rage over this especially when no one backs her up.. but soon the School has bigger issues and we get to why we’re actually here: Meteora is back. And while she has changed, now having grown larger and stronger, easily scaling the wall, she still wants payback and we get a damn fine battle sequence as the princesses all unite against their former tormentor. It’s also sad in hindsight.. because as Jess pointed out to me almost NONE of these characters show up again. And I only added the almost because Penelope is in there. They all seem interesting, the setting of ST O’s itself is interesting, and the idea of a school for princesses of various types is a cool idea. I’ts something the show could’ve come back to to see how they bounce back from this attack.. but like most cool background elements in the show they forget about it. It was intresting to see the schools slow evolution from horrible nightmare to princess ran utopia and like many things coming up it feels like a lost opportunity.

That being said the fight is awesome, with Meteora proving to be a juggernaut in strength and outplanning her enimies, having brought an overide switch for the robots (Patty reprogrammed them to work for the school) and having them throw their hearts/ power sources as bombs. It’s a damn fine sequence as she finds way after way to keep going, with a now restored rasticore helping them simply portal in.

Pony meanwhile.. is hiding , as Patty find sout when she finds her, and Pony assumes this is about her... though for once i’ts not JUST ego.. but because she was one of the two who started the uprising at the school in the first place and THE person who tossed her out. We also get a nice character moment as while Pony tells patti she still hates her.. she puts the princess behind her when Meteora approaches. She may be a selfish twit whose massively unlikeable.. but she has a good heart.. and not just the one she keeps in a jar she got from one of her boyfriends.

But Meteora has more important buisness and finds her way to the depths of St. O’s.. where we meet the Schools namesake and her adopted mother a robot played by tress macneile.. another thing the series never bothered to care about as where did these robots come from and why?

Turns out Meteora came to find out her own personal history, with the remote from before used to find the real dirt.. and what we find .. is heartbreaking as we slowly journey back through Meteora’s childhoods as Henious.. and it’s fucking heart breaking with Tress voicing her younger versions, hence why I didn’t use this as the jessica tribute as while walter’s good in the episode, she isn’t given much.

We see her as a teen, forced to hide her tail and insulted over it by her mother.. and it only gets worse as when her cheeks glow as a kid St. O tries to wash them off and we get the poor child desperately begging that “she can be better”

We do finally get the answers Meteora saught as we see Shastacan dropping off the baby meteora, calling her “Henious”.. which St. O took as her name. Proving the spiderbites minus penelope’s dickishness is indeed genetic and why I have no sympathy for the prick getting eaten later... and hopefully globgor will do an encor with penepople’s parents. Here’s hoping.

So Meteora now knows she’s the rightful queen, and decides to go take it back.. though Pony does try to stand up for her friends... and while we don’t see it hte next episode confirms she got her horn ripped the fuck off. And this horribly traumatic injury.. is magically fixed via 3d printing next time we see her after an episode grappling iwth it instead of having pony deal with not having a horn, or her prostetic not giving her magic powers again. Because this show again really likes to leave good ideas out to rot in the sun like that package of hamburger I left out in the sun yesterday. And I actually had a reason there: I need a lot of Racoons for an elaborate scheme involving a map to tex cruz’s house, a used apache helicopter and a bulk order of tiny parachutes.

We do get some payoff to things though, as Henious comes on to rasticore who not so politely rejects her for being nuts.. before it’s revealed Gemini, her loyal servant is also a robot and she uses his heart to blow up rasticore and take the arm with her... which is ALSO never brought up again. Seriously this episode is so full of loose ends i’m suprised it just dosen’t end with Zuko asking his dad about his mother. Gemini’s death is genuinely tragic as his last words are “If you wanted my heart.. all you had to do.. was assssskkkkk”. God damn. So with that Meteora heads out to reclaim her birthright.. no matter the cost.

Final Thoughts on Skooled!: This one is decent.. but like the last episode I covered, the lack of payoff off for almost anything here, excluding the Meteora plotline and the Pony thing which instead got a BAD payoff, is really starting to rear it’s ugly head as the series greatest weakness. Yes bigger than the romance plot. And given that romance plot after this season can be best discribed as...

youtube

The show just.. forgets a good chunk of things happened to keeep things chugging along. It sets UP plots, what happens to st o’s from here, buff frog and a small caravan of monsters leaving forever, the message from shastacan, who built the st o’s robots, and on and on.. but it never PAYS them off. It dosen’t care to. It just does things so the plot can move but never bothers to think about the fucking consequences. It just gets more and more irrtating to think about as other shows throughly DO: Amphibia has the fact the characters get into shenanigans become a commented on running gag and something they grow past, and everything that happens matters. Every episode of Owl House builds on the foundation of the previous episodes. OK Ko dosen’t forget one episode had the characters not be able to turn back into humans and implies their wearing human costumes for the rest of the series. Which is fucking weird, but it was their memory. My point is other shows around the same time or right after didn’t magically forget things happened for convience sake. While it’s OKAY to loose some things in the shuffle, it happens to the best of us, it’s not okay to do it SO fucking often and with no clear care for the audiences desire for payoff. The show just ignores what plot points, like the huge cliffhanger of Star telling marco how she felt at the end of season 2, it dosen’t care about till it needs them and ignores the ones it never does. You can’t just.. bring shit up like it’s important and then try and forget it ever happened. People remember stuff, we are NOT stupid. KIDS are not stupid. When I was younger I REMEMBERED things that happened on KND, Danny Phantom, Xiaolin Showdown, TMNT 2003, because those shows, which are from decades ago, knew I would and trusted even if I missed something and was thrown off i’d tune in for the quality.

And in an age of streaming and more story based tv you can’t just.. ask kids to act like something they saw didn’t happen because your fucking lazy and frankly YOU never should have. Kids deserve better, my niblings deserve better and frankly the adults your clearly also writing for.. deserve better. This episode is eh, but the problems it represents are so fucking worse.

Next time on tom. If you thought I got angry towards the end of this one, just you wait. Next time i’ts Booth Buddies. Yeah.. yeah that one. Stay tuned.

#star vs the forces of evil #skooled #lilica ponyhead #meteora butterfly #gemini #rasticore #patty arms #rat princess #penelope spiderbite #saint olga #saint olgas #disney xd #disney plus #disney channel

27 notes · View notes

simpsiren · 4 years ago

Text

trailer of you

park jisung x reader

main masterlist

description. “Will a 30 second trailer really tell you everything you need to know about a person and know what you’re getting yourself into?” The only question that resonates in my head after my smooth relationship with the guy next door started to get rocky. Judging from his trailer, he seemed normal at first glance. Should I even open my heart to him? I trusted him too quickly with his baby face and sweet words, only to find him hurt my heart with his expertly hidden agenda.

genre. college!au, trailer!au, strangers to lovers!au, betrayal but soon get back together typa au cudndjdn

warnings. nonee

a/n. as you can probably tell the idea came from the 30 seconds trailer trend on tiktok and i liked the concept so i wanted to try it out! this is my first time writing jisung HAHA other than that this is going to be a long ass ff so buckle up! :D

“Did you know?”

I groaned as I heard Jaemin speak. “Dont tell me you have another mind blowing discovery fact that I just had to know.” I waved my hands around in the air jokingly as i kept my back towards Jaemin and continue writing my essay on my laptop.

I’ve been friends with Na Jaemin for a long time. Probably too long. Ever since I got to meet him in high school due to being in the same mathematics class and sitting next to each other almost everyday, it didn’t take the two us long to become close and soon, best friends.

Of course the two best friends decided to attend the same college together. At the very least, not all our classes were the same. The only class Jaemin and I signed up together was psychology, since we both shared an interest in that field. Apart from that, we went about pursuing our other interests. For me, it was modern dance while Jaemin decided to take some class about Geography, a subject I just seem to never come to like.

To top it off, we got a room in college together as well. Might seem weird to others since almost everyone shares a room with the same gender but then again, it felt completely normal for us.

On days like these where the two of us ended our classes around the same time, we would usually stay in for the day and just hang out.

“So you know how the room beside us is empty?” Jaemin sat up from his bed while I spun my chair around to face him. I rolled your eyes clearly at him, making him snicker.

“It’s not another ghost story i swear!” Jaemin lifted his arms up in the air in defence. I chuckled and raises my eyebrows, motioning him to continue and elaborate.

“I found out that a new student apparently enrolled.” Jaemin sayed nonchalantly, moving to the edge of the wall and letting his back lean on it.

I shrugged. “So?”

Jaemin folded his arms and gave me an unimpressed look.

“High chance he or she will move in next door.” Jaemin clicked his tongue. I turned my chair back to face my desk and resumed typing on my keyboard.

“Not to be rude, Jaemin, but that fact is practically irrelevant to me.” I mumbled, loud enough for him to hear. “Who knows?! He or she might get possessed by the spirit lingering in that room!” Jaemin retorted. I heard the bed creaking as he stood up and took two wide steps to reach my desk, his hand placed on the headrest of my chair and having him bent down beside me.

“You said this wasn't another ghost story.” I bore my eyes at Jaemin. I shook my head and pressed my finger down on the period key, signalling the end of my paragraph for today. I let out a sigh of satisfaction as I used my mouse to scroll through my essay, scanning over my sentences and paragraphs briefly before proceeding to shut down my laptop.

“I get that you hear banging on the walls but that happens in basically every apartment.” I added on, standing up from my chair and walking to the kitchen to find something to eat in the fridge. Jaemin followed closely behind me.

“Okay yes well apart from that...” Jaemin pauses for a moment while I went to the fridge and pulled out a packet of KitKat. As i peel the wrapper off, I jerk my head up with raised brows. “That...” I repeated his last word to signal him to finish his sentence. “We should make friends with him or her.”

I kept silent as I started to think about Jaemin’s idea. Making friends? It’s not my thing, never has either. The only person I would consider to be my friend is Jaemin. Other people whom i’ve met were just merely people I consider acquaintances. College was no different. Jaemin is clearly the more outgoing among the two of us. Having plenty of friends and quite high of a social status within the college. It was he who had to force me to socialise by bringing me to parties or outings with his friends, though the only group of friends he have that i seem to get along with decently are his hockey friends.

“I guess that’ll be okay?” I reply, the tone of doubt that i tried to hide away somehow shined through. Jaemin pat my head as I break the KitKat into two, unconsciously giving Jaemin the other half and taking a bite of mine. “It will be. Remember, I’m always there to guide you if you feel the awkwardness” Jaemin reassures me, lifting his half of the KitKat in the air before taking a bite. He grins happily, a feature of his I will never get tired of. His ray of sunshine and liveliness has always been a vital part of our friendship. I truly appreciate the fact that he always has a happy aura around him to get me through college.

“Do you know when the student’s moving in?” I ask, leaning my hip against the kitchen counter. Jaemin copied my posture and nodded his head. “I heard from Jeno that they’ll be moving in tomorrow.” Jaemin quickly finished his KitKat and washed his hand. I wasn’t even half done through my stick.

Shaking off the excess water on his hands, Jaemin walks back to the kitchen counter. “I’ll text you when I end for the day and we can meet him together.” I only shrug my shoulders in response, finally finishing the stick and throwing the plastic wrapper into the trashcan and washing my hands. I heard Jaemin’s footsteps going away from me as I assumed he went to the living room, hearing the television switching on.

I took my seat beside Jaemin as he opened up Netflix, browsing through different movies we could watch on our free day. “We can see his trailer as well. I really hope it’s not boring like many others.”

In my opinion, all the trailers of the people I came into contact with were really boring. It didn’t seemed to peak an interest in me and I overall felt that I wouldn’t be able to fit myself into their life as my life just didn’t seem to fit well with theirs. Jaemin was the only one who had a trailer whom I found interesting and I immediately thought that I could be close to him. Hence, becoming best friends.

“You’re just way too unique. Honestly when I saw your trailer it made me think Looks like I'm the only one who can fit into her lifestyle. And now look. I’m your only best friend.” I smacked Jaemin in the chest, making him let out a wince in pain. Lucky for him, he was used to my beatings and recovered right away.

I shook my head as a waved a finger in front of him. “Nuh-uh yours was as weird as mine. You don't know know how skeptical I was watching your trailer.” I retorted with a scoff.

I tried making myself comfortable while Jaemin was still browsing the movie section. With impatience taking over my body, I snatched the controller away from him and decided to choose a horror movie that had an interesting cover with an intriguing synopsis.

“Both our trailers were weird, and that’s why we’re a match made in heaven.”

“No shit, dork.” I lay my head on Jaemin’s shoulder as the two of us grew silent and paying our attention onto the tv screen.

Classes today went by as usual. Not surprised by the fact that I received my results for my History of Architecture test and earning an A+. It always felt so good when my hard work of staying up and having daily night long sessions of completing workload paid off. Well, it was mainly my determination but also Jaemin’s ability to get me my milk tea from Liho that pushed me through those sleepless nights.

I finally ended my last class. I was packing up my stuff when someone bumped into me, i assumed accidentally as he walked away without even reacting to the fact that he bumped into me and caused me to drop my pencil case and having my stationery falling out.

I scoffed in amusement. “Rude, much?” I mumbled to myself as I brought my gaze upwards from the floor to see the back of the person who caused me this mess.

He was wearing a black backpack and a black jean jacket which had green accents on it, along with black jeans and a pair of Classic Old Skool Vans. I creased my forehead as I quickly shrugged it off, not wanting to make a big deal out of it and went back to packing my bag.

“You sound annoyed. Sorry i guess.” My eyes blinked rapidly as I heard a voice. I knew from the guy who bumped into me as i heard his footsteps coming back to my direction.

It irritated me how he sounded arrogant and had a somewhat husky voice. Though I thought it was the kind of voice where the owner of it would be bright and lively like Jaemin, but dangerous once you anger them. I wanted to take a look at his face but he was soon out of my sight as he exited the classroom.

While i was walking out of class and making my way down the halls, I took out my phone and texted Jaemin to ask where he’s at. After not receiving a reply, which was odd since he has always been able to reply my texts in the matter of seconds, I only assumed he had an important matter to attend to or his class was being extended. So, I decided to head back to our room.

I unlocked the door and headed inside, tossing my bag onto the chair near my desk and throwing myself onto my bed, letting out a long sigh as i felt the comfort of my bed, grabbing my stuffed toy fox to indulge myself with even more comfort.

Bringing out my phone that I had in my hand, I got comfortable in my bed and started to play on my phone till Jaemin finally sent me a reply. I opened the chat instantly.

nAnA 😤🙄✌️: Hey sorry for not replying. Class got extended. I’m heading back to our room. You’re there right?

y/n: yeah i am. see you soon dork <3

I put my phone under my pillow as I look down to my fluffy stuffed toy fox. I got lost in its beaded eyes as i start wondering about how the person next door is like. More importantly, how his or her trailer would look like. What kind of moments would the trailer show that could describe their life story in 30 seconds?

My thoughts got cut off when i heard the door open, knowing it was Jaemin. He closes the door behind him and throws his bag off to the side of his bed and walking towards me to take a seat at the edge of my bed. I knew he was about to tell me about how we should be going to meet our new neighbour but before he opened his mouth, I lifted my hand up to put his words on hold.

“Do you even know what time he or she ends today?” I asked, sitting up straight and hugging my stuffed toy close to my chest.

“Firstly, it’s a male. Secondly, I found out that he’s in the same elective as Mark, he told me that it’s their last class for the day so they should be finished by now.” Jaemin rambled on as he glanced at the time on his phone’s home screen.

“You seriously have way too many connections with way too many people.”

Jaemim chuckled. “It’s not wrong to have connections that would never fail to benefit you.”

I shrugged and pushed Jaemin off my bed so i could get up, planting a quick kiss on my stuff toy before placing it neatly in front of my pillow. I looked towards the body length mirror in between the two beds to adjust my clothes. I then tilt my head up to Jaemin. “Shall we go then?”

Jaemin nodded. I grabbed my usual essentials as Jaemin opened the door for me and we headed out.

It only took us about 6 steps to reach the room where our unknown neighbour lies behind the door. However, I also started wondering if he’s even in his room or not. Who knows? He could be busy and hasn’t arrived yet.

Regardless, Jaemin took the initiative to knock on his door. The two of us could only wait silently as we didn’t seem to get an immediate answer. Jaemin bobbed his shoulders and knocked on the door one more time. We waited, again, longer than previously.

I was about to open your mouth to tell Jaemin that he’s probably not in his room until he puts a finger in front of me as he leaned towards the door. I paused my actions as I could hear footsteps from the other side of the door coming close.

Finally the door opens, revealing a blonde haired guy who looked like he had just woken up from his slumber. His eyes were half opened as he rubbed one of them with his hand while the other hand ran through his hair. He shakes his head as he widened his eyes to focus on the two strangers in front of him.

I scanned him up and down. Taking notes on his posture, actions and appearance. As my eyes went down, I took a look at his outfit. It matched to the guy who bumped into me at the end of class.

“Quinn?” He asked while he yawned. I tilted my head in confusion.

“Oh you know Quinn?” Jaemin asked back, surprised as he pointed his finger at you.

He looked taken aback for awhile trying to process the situation. I started wondering how he knew my name.

“Uh yeah. I’m in her Architecture class.”

“But how do you know-“

“I saw your name on your notebook when i bumped into you.”

Jaemin cocked an eyebrow as he noticed an unknown tension.

“So what’s your name? Im Na Jaemin, and as you know, she’s Quinn.” Jaemin introduced, his hand gesturing to me. I barely bowed my head to greet him. “Park Jisung.” Jisung introduced himself, shoving his hands into his pockets. It made a clear voiceless statement that he didn’t want to shake our hands or have any form of contact.

“We live next door to you so i guess we’ll be seeing each other often. Especially Quinn.”

Jisung doesn’t reply, constantly switching gazes between me and Jaemin, probably having the same idea as us. Jaemin however was the first one to speak up. “Could we... perhaps watch your trailer?”

“I’d like to see yours as well.” Jisung jerks in head towards us. Jaemin and I nodded, proceeding to do the same actions as Jisung to reveal our trailers.

Putting his index and middle finger in the air, he places them beside his head and swiftly bends it forward slightly. That resulted in a see through screen popping up from his head.

Jisung watched Jaemin’s trailer first, reaching his hand out towards his screen and pressing the play button.

Jaemin and I exchanged glances before clicking on the play button for Jisung’s 30 second trailer to begin.

While Jisung was looking at Jaemin’s trailer, I noticed a few things.

Honestly speaking, what i was seeing in the trailer didnt exactly match the person whose standing in front of me. The trailer showed a lot of moments where he smiled, eyes forming into a thin line and a scrunched up nose whenever he does. It showed him doing what I assumed to be hobbies like dancing and playing video games.

I thought about how Jisung and I have a common love for dance, something I hold dearly and thought it would be a great way to get close to him. I just have that common connection with dancers, since they know things about dance that's unique which others don't.

I only saw one group of friends around him. They seemed like the group of friends who are always chaotic and would have play fights with each other almost every second, but that was what showed me that Jisung had a close relationship with them. It was heartwarming to watch.

I also saw him trying to cook in the kitchen. I see a few of the same friends in the kitchen with him. Only one of them seemed decent in cooking while Jisung was practically clueless. It made me laugh softly. I found it cute how he’s dorky and clueless.

As i finished watching the trailer, taking into account all the moments that showed who Jisung really is, he seemed like someone i could vibe with. Someone I could possibly be my quirky crazy self like how I am around Jaemin. The person in front of me may not seem like the one in the trailer, but it made me think that he’s like me, someone who can't open up to others at first glance.

When Jaemin knews that Jisung has completed his trailer, Jaemin gave a questioning look towards him. “So how’s my trailer?”

“You’re weird, looked drunk most of the time but i assume its due to the coffee that you consume an unhealthy amount of everyday.”

Jaemin laughs nervously. “But I like you, don't worry.”

I saw Jisung’s smiling. The warm smile I saw in the trailer.

The next trailer he had to watch was mine. For some reason, I felt nervous thinking about all his possible reactions. Would he be fine with it? Would he be disgusted or irritated by the moments in my trailer. Will he not think that I would be able to make good friends with him like how I thought about him?

I guess my nervousness showed through my actions when i felt Jaemin patting the lower part of my back. I turn towards Jaemin who nodded his head to show a sign to reassurance as Jisung extended his hand to play my trailer.

Jisung’s reaction was skeptical. Some parts had him make a soft smile, which was great while other times he had a serious and judgy expression. It looked like reactions that you made while watching other people’s trailers.

30 seconds went by fast and the see through screens above our heads all dissolved into thin air at the same time. “What do you think? Wanna hang out with us more?” I brushed a few strands of hair behind my ear.

Jisung hummed softly. “Sure, looks like i'll have fun with you guys.”

Jaemin and I grin in unison. At least I finally had someone whom I might be able to consider my friend. It was too quick to assume that, but I just have a feeling and Jisung and I would get along pretty well.

As time flew by, Jisung started to get closer and closer to me and Jaemin. More so to me. After a day out where the three of us went to check out a new restaurant that just opened a few blocks away, Jisung started to invite me to go out with him alone. I felt a little bad on our days out since it meant for Jaemin to be excluded, but he was always cool with him, opting to stay in the room or hanging out with his other groups of friends.

Today on a Saturday night was no different.

“You heading out with Jisung again?” I hummed in reply as Jaemin appeared behind me. Only his chest down could be seen in the mirror in front of me as i wore my earrings while sitting down at my dressing table.

“Where to this time? You seem to be dressing up classier than usual.” Jaemin commented, brushing my hair through his hands gently as he took a good look at my outfit and makeup.

I looked at him in the mirror, letting out a soft, “I don't know.” Jaemin’s eyebrow twitches as he looked as me with suspicion.

Jaemin leaned forward, his face alighting with mine side by side. “He better not do shit to you, or else I’m killing him.” Jaemin’s eyes grew dark and his voice became low and husky. I shivered, not seeing this side of Jaemin often since I was never in a situation where he had to be protective.

I turned my head to the side and push his face away, earning a frown from Jaemin. “I’m going to fine. He said he wanted to surprise me so...” I shrugged, standing up from the dressing table and packing my essentials up in a small sling bag.

“Got any plans tonight?” I asked Jaemin as I slid my phone into my back pocket.

Jaemin bobbed his shoulders with a slight smile on his face. “I might be going out with someone.” Jaemin whispers softly, looking down and fidgeting with his feet.

I smirked widely. It was no doubt the suspicion in my mind was right. “Keep me updated on her, alright? Have fun!” I said to Jaemin as I checked the things in my sling bag one last time and winking at Jaemin playfully to which he responded with a chuckle before exiting the room.

Jisung and I have been walking down a street for awhile now. I was met with unknown shops left and right. Clearly this place was quite secluded and out of public view. Despite me exploring the town near college, it was only now that i found out this place existed thanks to Jisung.

“Just where are you taking me?” I asked with a soft laugh.

Jisung suddenly stopped in his tracks and swung his body to face me. I tilted my head at his sudden behaviour. Jisung motioned to a shop on the left. I looked towards Jisung’s direction. It didn't have a sign above it nor a window where i could see what was inside. “Come on. I’ll show you.” Jisung interlocked his fingers with mine, something we have grown to do as friends. Our friendship eventually grew to be more physical as time went on.

Jisung opened the door ahead for me, gesturing me to walk in. As i stepped inside, my mouth gaped open. The shop was filled with books. Book on shelves, on tables for display. It was like I entered paradise made for me. I flashed a wide smile over to Jisung, who tightened his grip on my hand.

“I knew how much you liked reading. So I did some research and found this place. I heard all the books have been hand picked by the owner.”

I didnt reply, only laughing in excitement as I looked around the tiny shop, immediately going to a random shelve and picking out a book that had an interesting cover.

While reading the synopsis behind a book, I whispered softly, “Why bring me here when it’s not your place of interest?”

Jisung breathed sharply as he let out a quick sigh. “I wanted to do something for you. That’s all.” Jisung replied simply, shrugging as if what he did was just a small gesture. I, however, thought it was a huge gesture. It showed me that he cared. The fact that he went to research for a place I have never heard of and would like.

“Ever heard of The Wrath and the Dawn?,” I asked, pulling it out from the shelve immediately when I recognised its spine. Jisung shook his head. I chuckle, passing the book to Jisung. He took it into his hands, not sure what to do with it.

“Read it. I know you don't like reading, but this book really changed things for me.” Jisung hummed, holding the book up in the air with a subtle smile.

I browsed through the store, quickly picking out two books that seemed interesting to me as I didn't want to bore Jisung any longer by having to put up with me checking every book in the store.

Just as I was about to take out cash from my wallet, Jisung placed a hand on mine that was in my wallet. I looked up to meet Jisung’s eyes.

“I’ll pay.”

“But you pay for everything on every single outing we went together-”

“You know you cant fight me on this. Put the wallet away.”

I pouted, making him let out a laugh as I slid my wallet back into my sling bag. He payed for the three books, two of mine and the book I recommended him to read. I took a good look at him while he had a small chat with the cashier and owner.

The way he smiled and laugh. I started to think about the times I’ve spent with Jisung. The fact that I was able to open up to him quickly and have conversations I never thought i would have after meeting someone after less than a year. The deep conversations we would have, in person or on the phone late at night while Jaemin was asleep. He saw me in states where i felt all the more cautious about. My intense breakdowns due to stress which could only be treated with Jaemin’s comfort as well as kind words that had immense impact from Jisung over the phone. We shared dark secrets as well. Looking back at these moments made me felt something I never did. It was similar to how i felt towards Jaemin, but very different.

“Quinn?” My thoughts were cut off with Jisung’s voice. I shook my head off the thoughts and proceeded to head out of the shop, offering to carry the books but of course Jisung insisted on holding them.

We decided to head back to college grounds and hang out in Jisung’s room. The place was secluded and dimly lit, only the library was opened for students who wanted to study there overnight.

“Can i ask something?” Jisung paused the video about the funny moments of Seventeen on his laptop, turning his is body to face me. “Hm?” I let out, frowning at the fact that he paused the video at my favourite part.

“Have you ever been in love?”

A question I have never had a proper encounter of it. I hugged my knees near my chest as I took a sip of iced peach tea in a can that we got from a vending machine near the cafeteria. “I don't think so? I did date Jaemin once, but we were kids and barely knew what love was.”

I let out a soft sigh, “I’m still unsure of it... even now.”

Jisung flashed me a subtle smile. I felt soothed by just that. “Never did I, either.” He pauses for a moment before continuing.

“But if I had to guess... I’d say that love is a feeling where you feel yourself wanting to be better around that particular person. You start to act so dumb around them to make them laugh and you start finding out what they like and dislike, to make sure all that person could feel were butterflies and rainbows.”

I started to think about his words. Butterflies and rainbows. Something I’ve always felt whenever I’m with Jisung. No matter what state of emotion I was in, it felt as if he knew me well and knew what to do to make me feel better. I started to find myself wanting to look better around him, dressing up to make myself more presentable as usual. I even have his Liho order etched into my mind every time we went to Liho to get milk teas.

“And you know what’s funny?”

“What?”

Jisung took in a deep breath before letting out a loud sigh, chuckling to himself as he shook his head, his blonde fringe falling down his forehead to frame his face perfectly.

“The fact that I feel all those things whenever I’m with you.”

I froze in my spot with my muscles suddenly becoming stiff. My mind went blank as his words were repeated. How do i even react? What do I say? Do i tell him I feel the same? But that would mean he thinks I like him and I should be in a relationship with him but I’m clearly not prepared for that yet.

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

My frown deepened. I wanted to say something. I couldn’t just leave his words hanging with no proper conclusion to the conversation. It was sort of my habit to have everything laid on the table so I could get a clear look at the situation.

“I feel the same... but I’m scared of getting involved in a relationship.”

I watched as Jisung forced a smile. I knew it was forced. This smile was different from the one he would have every time he take a bite of his favourite chocolate ice cream. He nodded his head, telling me that he understood my feelings.

“I get it. We’ve only been friends for less than a year. When i watched your trailer, I had a feeling you weren’t one for relationships.”

I was about to open my mouth to speak, but my words were stuck in my throat. A second passed before I could form my sentence properly. “I mean I’m open to it but you’re kind of right. I want to give us more time.”

I heard him sigh. I could tell he was disheartened yet he’s trying his best to stay together. I felt a sharp pain in my heart as he chuckled to himself.

“It’s fine. I can wait. Just as long as I’m not waiting for nothing.”

I could purse my lips into a thin line. Slowly but surely, I brough my hand up to brush away strands of hair that covered his eyes. He lifts his eyes up, but they were unable to meet mine.

“I promise. I see myself with you in the future.”

“Quinn~” Jaemin called out to me while i was playing with my phone while laying down on my bed.

“What?” I asked, my back still facing him.

I heard Jaemin’s bed creak as he stood up to take a seat at the edge of my bed. He gently places a hand on my head and caress my hair. I turned my body and looked up to face him, obviously weirded out by how nice he was being.

“Are you seriously babying me so that I would go to the frat party?” I rolled my eyes. Jaemin’s intentions were always too obvious whenever he gets all soft and sweet with me.

As Jaemin is my best friend, I knew his habits. One of them being that if I didn't agree with him on something, he would pamper me as much as possible as a way to convince me with anything that was on his mind. And with his puppy dog eyes and cuteness, you could imagine how hard it was for me not to fall for his trap.

“Yes, yes I am.” I gave Jaemin a look of disinterest. He knows I dislike going to parties. And he knows how hard it is to persuade me to go. Yet he never gave up. The next thing he said however, intrigued me immediately and started to take his idea into consideration.

“Jisung’s gonna be there.” Jaemin shrugged, trying to act nonchalant but I knew he was thinking about how he’s winning me over. I blinked my eyes once as i gave a blank expression. I then pouted my lips and sat up straight. Jaemin’s eyes literally sparkled the moment I did so.

“When is it?” I heaved a sigh in defeat, rubbing my face with my right hand. “This Sunday.” Jaemin answered immediately out of excitement.

Though I had my focus on the conversation with Jaemin, my mind also wondered off to thinking about food. I was seriously craving take out right now. “It’ll be fun! Come on, we’ve just finished out exams. You’ve been stressed enough. You should go out more.” Jaemin added on.

While listening to Jaemin talk, I opened the app Grab Food on my phone. As i scrolled through the different places near the college and browsing through different menus, Jaemin let out a quick, “Plus, it was Jisung’s idea to invite you.”

“Did he now?”

Jaemin hummed as he leaned near me to have a peek of my phone. “Take out?” He asked, with his tone was bright and happy. I nodded my head.

“We seriously think so alike.” I gave Jaemin a subtle smile before Jaemin and I ended up looking through the menus together. While Jaemin decided on what to order, I couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous about the party on Sunday. Would I really be fine? I’ll have Jaemin, though I assume he can't be around me 24/7 due to his social nature. The only hope I had that would best help me get through the night was Jisung.

Jaemin and I entered the frat party. And I already hate it here. I wasn't even five steps in when a stranger hands me a red plastic cup filled with beer. The huge crowd and very limited space, the loud banging music, though I only appreciate listening to them on my earphones and the amount of talking and screaming that filled the room. Of course it had to be topped off with the reeking smell of alcohol.

“I’ll find Jisung for you, alright? I’m going to meet my hockey friends after.” Jaemin said, keeping his arm around you shoulder to make sure you were close and protected near him.

I only nodded nervously. I honestly wished I could just magically vanish myself out of here and in the room with a book. But I never want to disappoint Jaemin by leaving the party that he tried so desperately for me to come, so I made a clear decision in my head to put up with it and prayed that nothing would happen to me.

Jaemin kept me very close as we walked through the crowd, people bumping into at every direction. “Jisung-ah!” Jaemin shouted. Jisung didn’t seem to hear his call. He was about to shout again when out of nowhere, one of Jaemin’s friends pulled him away from me. I opened my mouth, wanting to call out to him but he soon disappeared into the crowd. I did however see his hand waving up high above the crowd and giving me a hand sign of a phone to signal me to call him if anything happened.

I groaned and rolled my eyes, looking down at the cup of beer in my hands. Shrugging, I took a small sip. I wasn't much of a drinker, but tonight - tonight was the only exception, using alcohol as a way to release the pent up stress that have been bottling up inside me during the exams.

“Hi!” I suddenly heard. I turned my back to see who it was. Oh no, was all i thought as I stared at the girl whom I dislike. The girl who broke Jaemin’s heart.

“Hey, Ji A” I mumbled back. I tried to give her a half-smile. I felt myself tensing up at the thought of starting a conversation with someone I held a slight grudge against.

“What do you think of the party?” I blinked at her. I kept quiet for a moment before answering with a soft. “It’s fine.”

I was about to burst if she ever think she can hold a conversation with me right now. She knew very well what she did to Jaemin, as well as the fact that I’m his best friend. I couldn't get how she could act as if nothing happened in the past and putting it all behind her like it meant nothing and did not result in a single impact on her.

“I was thinking about asking you if you wanna-”

“Hey, baby.” I heard the familiar voice that made me let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Baby? That’s definitely a first.

I felt Jisung’s arm slide around my waist swiftly as he pulled me close. I would be lying if I said that my heart didn’t quickened as butterflies started fluttering in the bottom of my stomach. I only prayed that my cheeks were not blushing a bright pink. To make matters worse, Jisung leaned down to plant a quick kiss on the side of my eye as he fakely smiled towards Ji A.

“You need another drink, don’t you?” I looked up at Jisung, slightly confused. As he raised his eyebrows and jerked his head slightly, I immediately received his signal that told me to play along as he sent some telepathy message that he was trying to save me from my uncomfortable situation with Ji A. “Uh... y-yeah of course.”

“Sorry but please excuse us. We’re going to be a little busy upstairs soon.”

I wasn't sure if this was the real Jisung, or the alcohol that I assumed he has consumed to be talking. I was definitely shocked by how bold he was since he has always seemed to be the shy type to me.

Ji A looked at us with a smug face, clicking her tongue and huffing in amusement. “Sure, go ahead, Have fun.” She said with annoyance before walking away with her arms folded. Jisung kept his hand on my waist, not to tightly nor loosely either as he led me to a space in the house that was away fro the large crowd that was gathering for who knows what reason.

“You seem to not like that girl.” Jisung bent down to whispered near my ear in an attempt to overpower the loud music in the background. I pursed my lips into a thin line and hummed. “If there’s anyone I would throw under a bus, it would be her.”

Jisung replied with a smile and a chuckle. “I know you have plenty of other people you would like to do that to.” And it was true. Due to my judgy nature, I would judge anyone that came into my sight. And if i sensed that I didn’t like their attitude, I would never fail to whisper to Jisung or Jaemin that i dislike them at first glance.

“Did you drink?” I asked Jisung, noticing how his breath reeked of beer yet he was his usual self. “Yeah. Had a few but I have a high tolerance.” My mouth formed an ‘ah’ as i nodded.

Out of the blue, Jisung spun my around, this time placing both his hands on my waist as my body was now facing his. Not to mention there wasn't a single inch of space between our chests’.

“You look cute whenever you’re pissed.”

I rolled my eyes, faking my exasperation. “Ho ho wanna see some real annoyance?” I raised both my eyebrows as I gave Jisung an intimidating smile. Jisung shook his head, looking down before matching my gaze with his again. “Please save that for tomorrow.”

I laughed softly. Jisung then looked around the house, as if trying to find someone. He lets out a soft “Ah. Found them.” I hummed as I looked around as well, wondering who he found.

Jisung released on hand from my waist and walked me over to a group of guys. My vision only became clear when the crowd that was blocking my view went away, revealing Jaemin as well as his group of hockey friends. I smiled at the familiar faces before me as they all shouted my name and urged Jisung and I to seat with them.

“You know them?”

Jisung only shrugged, taking a seat beside Mark and gesturing me to sit down next to him. “I met them through Jaemin.” I looked over to Jaemin, who was laughing hysterically and punching Winwin’s arm, who immediately turned to him to fight back. Clearly they were drunk. I wasn’t surprised at all.

I laughed when I turned my attention over to Jaehyun, the guy in my Psychology class. The way he only sat there, unbothered by the chaos surrounding him radiated couldn’t care less energy.

“You guys seem pretty drunk.” I commented.

Jaehyun chuckled lowly and tilted his head to Jaemin and Winwin who were fighting, eventually having Lucas joining in as well, along with Taeyong trying his best to keep the situation at bay but has soon given up. “You think?”

I let out a long sigh as the little sips of alcohol I have been taking from the moment I stepped in until now started to kick in. My head started to get dizzy as my vision became slightly blurred.

I lay my head down on Jisung’s shoulder. I felt Jisung’s eyes on me. “You need to go to a room or something?” Jisung whispered. I frowned.

“You think i should?” I mumbled softly with my head turning in multiple directions to find a comfortable position on the crook of Jisung’s neck. I breathed in his scent. You would think his body smelt like alcohol but his perfume was still standing strong, putting me at ease.

Jisung tightened his grip around ms, pulling me closer so that my body layed comfortably on his.

I could tell that the others, especially Jaemin were worried about me when he shouted a, “Bro she good?” to Jisung.

“She can use my room if you wan-“

“I’ll take her back to her room.” Jisung cut Jaehyun off. My eyes were now half opened as I saw Jaemin tossing the room key to Jisung, who caught it swiftly.

“Take care of her.” Was the last thing I heard before fully closing my eyes and passing out.

I woke up, taking awhile to process my surroundings due to the banging in my head from all the alcohol. As I took into consideration the items and furniture of the room, I quickly concluded that I was in Jisung’s room. Jisung, however, was nowhere to be seen.

I patted my hands at the space around me, desperately trying to find my phone. I eventually found it within the covers, pulling it out and looking at the time on my lockscreen. 4:16 AM. I stared at the time. Where was Jisung at this timing? Could he still be at the party?

I tried recalling what happened before I passed out and remembered that Jisung was about to bring me to his room. So what i remembered was practically useless and didn’t benefit me in knowing Jisung’s current location. Great.

I groaned as I pressed a hand on my head, praying to God that my headache would come to an end soon. Though I highly doubt that as I knew from my past experiences of getting drunk that it takes me a very long time to sober up, meaning that I predicted that I would be in a hangover for quite some time.

I heard the door open. My eyes remained on the bedsheets as I assumed it was Jisung who entered the room. My assumption was soon proven wrong when I heard the sound of high heels clacking against the wooden floor, the sound coming closer and closer to me.

I looked up and tried my best to adjust my vision as I squinted my eyes. The figure, poster and clothes. Without a doubt, it was Ji A.

“So he left you here with the door unlocked and no one protecting you? Not surprised.”

“What?” I whispered, raising an eyebrow at Ji A. Just what was she doing here? How did she know where Jisung’s room was? What does she want from me?

“Hey. Lemme tell you one thing while I can tell you’re still hungover.” Ji A placed her weight on one leg as she puts a hand on her waist. I started feeling irritated again, but I was way too weak to even bother putting up a fight.

Ji A bent down to meet my eye level. The signature smirk that lit a fire in me appeared on her lips as her eyes looking down on me unsympathetically.

“You ever wonder why Jisung has been way too nice to you? How he was been nothing but perfect in the way he treated you and how you two just never seem to have gotten into a fight once in your single year of friendship?”

I used one hand to rub my face. What is Ji A going on about?

I took in a deep breath. “I’m sorry?”

“Buckle up, honey. All the butterflies and rainbows you have been experiencing with him will all be ruined by a storm he’ll be sending in not too long from now.” I heard Ji A chuckle in a devil-like manner.

As I started to process her words, my thoughts became clear and my suspicion started to peak. “The fuck are you talking about, Ji A?” I asked as I cleared my throat. I didn’t get a reply as I watch her laugh and leaving the room.

I scratched my head furiously as I tried digging further into her words to find the true meaning behind it. Was she trying to threaten me? What “storm” was Jisung about to bring upon me? As more questions filled my mind, I found it too much for my hungover state to take in. I ended up falling asleep after looking at my phone meaninglessly.

I felt a finger or two gliding over my jawline. My eyes were closed but I immediately sensed that Jisung was sitting at the edge of the bed. I fluttered my eyes open as Jisung came into my view.

“Sweetheart, how you feeling?” Jisung asked in his gentle, calming voice that always helped to soothe me. Oddly this time, it didn’t. And I knew it was because of the weird encounter I had with Ji A before I went back to sleep.

I sat up from bed weakly, falling back slightly but having Jisung hold me up and I shook my head, placing my hand on the back of my neck.

“Hey, you need to rest.” Jisung said, trying to put my body back down on the bed but I fought back. Ji A’s words about Jisung started to repeat itself in my head. Out of pure distrust that I suddenly developed towards Jisung, I pushed him away and forced myself to stand up.

I saw Jisung standing up and holding his hands out, getting ready to catch me in case I fall while I staggered to the door. “Get back in bed. I bought hangover soup for you-“

“Just...” I placed my hand on the doorknob, turning my head around to face Jisung who had an extremely worried look on his face. “Just get away from me.” I whispered, twisting the doorknob and pushing the door.

I headed out of Jisung’s room and made my way over to mine. Before I could open my door, I heard Jisung’s footsteps coming towards me as he stopped me with a hand on my wrist. “What’s wrong? D-did something happen?” Jisung stuttered, surprised by my sudden attitude towards him.

I yanked his hand off me and opened the door, seeing Jaemin on his bed with widened eyes as he saw my weak body at the door. He rushed over to me. “Quinn? Jisung...”

“Get the hell out of my sight, Jisung.” I raised my voice ever so slightly. Jaemin heard my words and furrowed his eyebrows towards Jisung.

“The fuck did you do to her?” Jaemin asked, his tone growing dark and intimidating.

“I-I dont know she just woke up and told me to back off-“

“I’m finding out what you did to her. And once I do, it’s game over for you.” Jaemin threatened Jisung as he brought me in by supporting my body with his hand around my waist and closing the door quietly in consideration of the state I was in.

Jaemin carried me to my bed and placed me down gently. I rubbed my eyes with my hands as I looked up to Jaemin, who had his arms folded and standing still.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Jaemin asked, his voice becoming soft and gentle as he took a seat on my bed. I sat up from the bed and placed my head on his lap, my head digging into his chest.

“Not now... please.” My voice got muffle as tears started to flow out of my eyes. As much as I want to hide it, my body didn’t let me. Jaemin felt his shirt getting wet and immediately started to caress my head slowly, letting out a soft, “Sh sh..” to calm me down. I continued to sob and cry as I got vulnerable in Jaemin’s embrace, eventually crying myself to sleep, wanting to forget everything that happened before and needing to rest my mind for at least a few hours.

I woke up once again. This time, the sunlight that shined through the thin curtains of the room made me wince as I looked at my surroundings which has now became fully clear.

I realised I was still laying my head on Jaemin’s lap. I noticed how he was in an uncomfortable position with his back against the wall and his head hanging downwards. I sat up and poked his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. Luckily it worked and Jaemin rubbed his eyes before fully opening them and looking at the side to face me.

“Your eyes are all puffy, love.” Jaemin said with a subtle smile, reaching his hand out and gently brushing his thumb over the bottom of my eyes. I chuckled softly. “Did I cry that much last night?” Jaemin nodded. I let out a long sigh.

“Care to tell me what happened last night with Jisung?” Jaemin motioned me to get close to him. I got near and wrapped my arms around him as I was indulged in his cuddles. “I was at Jisung’s room. I don't know why he wasn’t there, but suddenly Ji A came into the room.”

I could tell Jaemin was taken aback since he didn’t give an immediate reply. “Ji A?” He finally spoke. I hummed in reply. Jaemin clicked his tongue and kept silent. He was thinking about his past relationship with Ji A but still signaled me to continue the story.

“For some reason, she threatened me. She said that my relationship with Jisung is going to get wrecked soon. I don't know what she meant by that.” Jaemin eyes started to fill with anger as I felt him balling his first against my shirt. Though he tried to stay calm and wanting to make me feel better is his top priority , I could tell he was furious. “The bitch really did that?” Jaemin muttered, running a hand through his hair.

“Wait how did she even know where Jisung’s room was?” I suddenly question as I started to get deep in my thoughts. That fact was odd, but the answer was obvious. “Those two probably knew each other.” Jaemin quickly replied.

Does a 30 second trailer really tell me everything I need to know about a person? That question started to resonate in my head now that I thought of what Jisung could be doing. I started to think whether is actions were pure and sincere. Could there be a hidden agenda as to why he’s been oh so nice to me just like Ji A said? She could have told me that just to make me feel insecure. But at the same time, what if it was true?

“Tell me what to do, Nana. I seriously don't know what to think right now.” I whined to Jaemin, whose face was as still stern and scary after I mentioned Ji A.

“Maybe act normal around him first, like nothing happened. While I go spying on him and Ji A.” Jaemin said with a wide smirk. I immediately laughed, giving him a light smack on his chest. “You can’t be serious.” I said back, shaking my head.

Jaemin furrowed his eyebrows and pouted. “Hello! We can’t ask Jisung straight up. We need to be discreet.” Jaemin jokes. I swear Jaemin could make me laugh at his dorkiness in any situation.

“I might just ignore him, to be honest. I’ve been hanging out with him too much. I want to spend more time with you.” I said, reaching my hand out to ruffle Jaemin’s perfectly soft hair.

Jaemin gave me a few pats on my back. “Good that you’ve realised it now. I’ve been lonely without you.” I gave a subtle yet sincere smile.

I cocked an eyebrow at Jaehyun’s words. What is he even thinking?

Jaehyun leaned in close, looking around to check if anyone’s watching. “Jisung keeps pressuring me to tell you to talk to him and I know you’re avoiding him but I can’t take it no more.” He grumbled. I placed a hand on my forehead and let out a long sigh. “Tell him to give up.” was all I said as I heard the professor slamming the door shut and getting everyone’s attention in a matter of seconds.

A week has passed now without Jisung. And although I have Jaemin with me, it felt like I was missing something. It just didn’t feel right with him around. Being away from him made me look at the big picture. I’m deeply in love with him. I could deny that fact all I want but I’ll never be able to get away from it. I missed every part of him. His scent, laughter, smiles, the way I felt so right with him. But I also thought of my trust towards Jisung that was slowly deteriorating. I’ve been receiving constant texts and calls from Jisung, but I didn't reply, only using my anger as a way to keep myself from replying to his texts or picking up his calls.

“Yo your guy here is starving and craving Subway.” Jaemin shouted out while laying on his bed. I was in deep concentration while in a PUBG Mobile match. “Order us something, will you? I’m kinda busy.” I muttered.

“I was thinking of buying it downstairs. I need to walk around a little.” Jaemin stood up from his bed and stretched out his arms, groaning in the process. “Yeah sure, have fun.”

Jaemin went over to my bed and take a peek of my phone. “Okay firstly, why didn’t you invite me? Secondly, you know I’m not going without you. Come on.” He suddenly said, grabbing onto my arm and dragging me out while I was still concentrated in the match.

As Jaemin and I walked down the halls to get to food area where there were different fast food shops, including Subway, my eyes were kept on the screen as I feel Jaemin’s eyes on me and my phone, watching the match intensively.

“Oi! Kill him!” Jaemin shouted and constantly tapped my shoulder.

“I’m trying, idiot!” I shouted back. I realised we were already at Subway as Jaemin pushed the door open for me, his eyes still glued on my screen.

I quickly took a random seat that faced the door while Jaemin sat next to me. “Ah fuck!” I screamed, not too loud as I didn’t want the other customers to look at me as I died in the match.

Jaemin and I groaned at the same time as I slammed my phone on the table while Jaemin shaked his head.

“You can never win without me now can you?” Jaemin said with a cunning smirk. I punched his shoulder. “Shut up.”

“Alright, hurry up. Invite me.” Jaemin said. I looked down at his phone to see that he was already in the app. “Damn, you’re quick.” Jaemin shrugged nonchalantly.

While Jaemin and I started the match and were playing together, I heard the door open. I didn’t really thought anything about it until I saw a figure at that was unrecognisable from my point of view. I took a quick look at the person, not thinking who it was and assumed it was a stranger. “Sorry this table’s taken.” I said simply.

“How long are you going to keep ignoring me, Quinn?”

Jaemin and I shot our heads up at the same time, knowing that familiar voice belonged to Jisung. He had a really concerned look in his eyes with a small frown. Jaemin scoffed, putting his phone down and leaning in with his elbows against the table. “She doesn’t want to see you. I’m sure she’s made that pretty clear.”

I placed my phone screen faced down on the table, unable to meet Jisung’s eyes. “No. I have to talk to her. Quinn please.” Jisung pleaded with soft eyes. I glanced over to Jaemin who bobbed his shoulders as a way to tell me it was my decision to talk to him or not. I let out a long sigh and nodded reluctantly.

Jisung placed his hand on my wrist and dragged me out. I took on one last look at Jaemin who mouthed out, “Be careful, love.” i could only take a deep breath as Jisung dragged me to a secluded seating area.

Jisung sat me down and sat on the opposite side. He had his arms interlocked on the table while i tapped my hands on my thighs. “Please tell me why you’re doing this to me..” Jisung whispered.

I glanced at another direction before gathering up courage to look at Jisung. Fuck those eyes. The sweet eyes of Jisung that could mesmerise anyone if he wanted to. “What are you and Ji A?” I asked sternly.

“We’re just friends, mere acquaintances.” Jisung immediately replied with no hesitation.

“Then how did she know where was your room?”

Jisung opened his mouth to reply but not a single sound came out for a moment.

“I’m sorry?”

“I woke up in your room. You were nowhere to be seen. The door was unlocked and Ji A came in. She fucking threatened me saying that my relationship with you would go bad.”

“I- wait how did she-”

“Please don’t act. Stop all this bullshit you’re trying to pull.” I cut Jisung off.

I exhaled sharply. “Your 30 second trailer. Was it even real? What are you hiding from me?”

Jisung puffed his chest a little before running a hand down his face. “I...” I waited impatiently for him to gather the words he needed to explain what was about to be said next that completely shocked me.

“I made a bet with Ji A during a party. She said I have to make you fall for me to prove that I’m capable of being in a relationship.”

My mouth practically could fit a whole burger at how large it gaped open as I scoffed in astonishment. I slammed both my hands down on the table that was placed on my thighs before.

“So what? I was just some bet to you? I didn’t mean two fucks to you, huh? I should have known. You were too nice from the start. Fuck you. Gosh I didn’t know it was possible to lie in your trailer.” I said, adding a hint of sarcasm at the end.

“Wait Quinn please calm down I can explain-”

“You already did. I’ve known enough.” I stood up from my seat and took a full ninety degree turn to find Jaemin right in front of me, looking towards Jisung with angered eyes.

Jaemin rushed over to Jisung and grabbed him by his collar, lifting him up slightly from his seat. I tried pulling Jaemin away, only wanting to get away from Jisung but Jaemin pushed me back. “A bet? You played my best friend friend just for a bet to keep your pride? God you’re low.” Jaemin pushed Jisung back down on his seat violently.

Jaemin leaned in, his hands firm on the table as Jisung backed himself away ever so slightly.

“Stay the fuck away from Quinn here on out. You fucked up, big time. Don’t show up in front of us ever again. You don’t deserve her at all.” Jaemin gave Jisung a clear and taunted warning before grabbing me by the wrist and walking us away.

Jaemin doesn’t say a word when Jaemin walked us back to our room, immediately closing the door in front of us. “He’s a dickhead for doing that to you.” He muttered and he quickly sat down on his bed. I walked over and sat on mine, heaving out a long sigh. “Are you gonna cry again?” I heard Jaemin ask. I shook my head.

“I’m done crying. I feel pissed. Can I somehow constantly slam his tongue on a car door?” Jaemin couldn’t help but laugh. “It’ll be more fun to slam his head against the wall.” He added. The two of us laughed but the room grew quiet quickly.

“Wait isn’t our trailer suppose to show our true intentions we have with the person watching it? How did I miss such a huge thing?” I asked Jaemin.

“I’ve heard a rumour of people altering their trailers. I never thought people actually do it.” Jaemin inhaled and exhaled sharply.

“Fuck it. I just don’t want to see him anymore. End of year exams are coming. I can’t let shit like this get in the way.” I said with determination. Jaemin nodded.

The end of the year soon came. Our results were handed out this week and we could finally have some break time for Christmas. Students were allowed to leave college and celebrate with their families. However, for me and Jaemin, we decided to stay together this Christmas, opting to video call our loved ones to keep in touch.

“This place is so creepy with not many people here.” Jaemin spoke as we decided to walk around the college campus for the fun of it.

I shoved my hands into my padded jacket, letting out a sigh as smoke came out of my mouth. It was very cold this winter, but it seemed that snow has yet to fall. “I’m so glad we’re done for this year.” I whispered.

“Two more years till we graduate.” I added, looking at the shops that were closed and noticed that only the vending machine was working.

“Please don’t tell me-”

“Let’s go ghost hunting!” I laughed out loudly as I walked over to the vending machine. “Very funny, Jaemin.” I took out a one dollar coin from my wallet and placed in in the slot of the vending machine. Pressing on the drink I wanted, I waited for it to be dispensed.

I soon heard the canned drink and pick it up from the bottom slot. I looked at Jaemin who was staring at my drink. I shoved it towards his chest. “Open it.” Jaemin smiled and cracked open the top, drinking down a few gulps before handing the drink back to me.

“When do you think the snow is coming?” I asked Jaemin. I’ve always been fond of snow ever since I was little, playing in the snow by myself was what I did everyday.

Jaemin only shrugged and looked up into the sky. I did the same as well. “I’ll pray that it’ll come soon for you.”

I reached my hand out and ruffled his hair. “A thoughtful prince indeed.” I said with a subtle smile.

“Oh wait! What happened with the girl you were talking to back then?” I asked as the thought suddenly popped up in my mind. In the midst of whatever was happening between Jisung and I as well as the exams, I completely forgot about it.

“Eh I don’t like her. She’s not like you.” Jaemin shrugged nonchalantly.

“Your girlfriend isn’t suppose to be like me.” I commented.

“They say your significant other should have the same qualities as your best friend so that you two can click immediately.”

I shook my head. “Yeah, yeah.” I waved my hand in the air lazily.

“Hey guys..” I suddenly heard. Jaemin and I turned around, taking in a deep breathe in unison.

“Jisung.” Jaemin greeted with an uninterested look. Jisung bowed his head slightly at Jaemin before turning to me. “I thought you went out of college.”

“Oh no my family’s busy this Christmas so I can’t visit them.” I simply nodded my head. “Besides the point so anyways, can I talk to you, alone?” I looked to Jaemin, somewhat wanting to ask for his approval. Jaemin glared at Jisung before letting out a quiet sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Go ahead.” Jaemin said with a tone of defeat.

Jisung pulled me by my the edge of my padded jacket as Jaemin soon left my view. “What is it that you want, Jisung?” I finally asked.

Jisung didn’t answer and only stared into my eyes. I raised an eyebrow. “If you aren’t going to say something-”

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you, Quinn. I have been wanting to talk to you but with exams and all I didn’t want to bother you.” I watched as he pursed his lips into a thin line. “So now that exams are over you came to bother me?” I asked with a hint of sarcasm. Jisung shook his head furiously.

“Have you heard of the rumour about the first snowfall?” I sighed, shaking my head as I start to think about what he’s going on about.

“They say...” Jisung started as he took out my hands from my pockets and holding them dearly in his hands. I looked up to look at Jisung but found that he was admiring my hands, gently brushing his thumb over the back of my hand.

“They say that if you’re with the person you like in the first snowfall, it signified love and fate, symbolising that true love will blossom.”

I bit my bottom lip as my mind slowly went back to the times I’ve spent with Jisung. It would be a understatement to say that I’ve been reminiscing my past when Jisung was a big part of my life. Although my mind back then was concentrated on the exams, Jisung has always been somehow hidden away and never forgotten in the fold of my thoughts.

“I’ve heard of it.” I whispered, unable to meet Jisung’s eyes when he lifted his head up.

Jisung took in a deep breath. “I’m sorry for what happened. At first, I only got into your life because of the bet. But I truly did fell in love with you the more I got to know you and spent time with you. And I still am. I’m still in love with you. It pained me everyday when you avoided me and hated my guts. I’m just sorry for everything.” Jisung confessed. I felt a lump in my throat as I couldn’t make up an answer to give right away. “S-so what are you going to do about it?” I asked.

Jisung slowly took a step closer, closing the gap between us as he leaned in towards my face, our noses barely touching and our lips so close. And then, it happened naturally, Jisung connected his lips with mine, pulling me into the softest kiss ever that was filled with passion and care. It took me awhile to process what was happening before moving my lips in sync with his and closing my eyes.

As if this scene came out of a fairy tale, I felt something falling onto my head. I opened my eyes slightly as I continued to kiss Jisung, realising that snow has fallen onto us. The first snowfall.

Jisung pulled his lips away from mine as we both stared up into the sky, watching as the snow continued to fell. Jisung smiled softly as we both looked down to meet each other’s gaze.

“I love you, Quinn. Please be mine.” Jisung whispered softly as he got close to lean his forehead against mine. I bite the side of my cheek as I looked into his eyes, taking in the moment of silence to admire the person I dearly missed. “Don’t make me regret it.” I whispered back, taking the initiative to place my lips on Jisung’s to once again feel his sincere love.

#nct #nct 2020 #nct dream #nct jisung #park jisung #nct park jisung #jisung x reader #nct jisung x reader #nct x reader #nct scenarios #nct imagine #nct imagines #nct fluff #nct angst #park jisung x reader #jisung fluff #jisung angst #nct jisung x y/n #nct jisung x you

76 notes · View notes

thewhitefluffyhat · 4 years ago

Text

Thoughts on Karin’s Magical Girl Story

Another collection of thoughts and reactions, plus analyzing some small changes the NA translation made (similar to the translation comparison I did for Alina’s MGS a while back).

Starting off with not a change, but an interesting note: Karin and Alina’s club situation is rather strange. Alina is the “outsider” from the Art Club, while Karin is part of the Manga Club. The classroom they share, though, doesn’t appear to be the main space for either club. I’d initially assumed that it was the room originally used for the Manga Club, but once Arc 2 updates these backgrounds...

It turns out this actually is an art classroom! I guess the school just has two?

First major change: Just like in Alina’s MGS, they removed direct references to Karin and Alina’s ages. The reference to Karin’s age at the start of the Magical Halloween Theater event was also changed.

(In JP here, Alina was said to have won a lot of different awards “for a 16 year old,” while Karin stated her age as 14 in the MHT event.)

Again, unsure of why the change, but it could be in order to fix the continuity issues. Because good lord, that continuity is snarled...

I think the order that makes the most sense is Karin MGS > Alina MGS > Magius forms > one year passes > MHT > Main Story Ch5 > Holy Alina’s MGS. In theory, then Karin should be 13 and Alina should be 15 in their Magical Girl Stories and then 14 and 16 in the present, but as mentioned that’s contradicted by the start of Karin’s MGS in the original Japanese.

There’s also the weirdness around when/how Karin learned Alina was a magical girl, since Karin seems aware of it in MHT, yet it’s unclear if she knows in Holy Alina’s MGS.

… Anyway, stuff like this is why I gave up on constructing a coherent timeline for Magia Record. There’s just too many continuity tangles. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

References to Karin being in her second year in middle school and the third years leaving – also changed. Probably because it’s both an uncommon way to refer to grades in English, and also, once again, another continuity issue. (If the third years left, why is Alina still there in one years’ time if she’s at least one grade ahead of Karin?)

Another change: some specifics in why Karin and Alina are in the same classroom together. In JP, it’s not specified who made the deal to let Alina use the room. If anything it seems like Karin is the one making a deal directly with Alina.

Which actually makes far more sense all around – why does “the school” care that Alina is giving informal lessons to some random kid?

And it makes more sense from Alina’s perspective too, in that it explains why she tolerates Karin constantly bothering her – putting up with Karin is explicitly the price she’s paying to Karin for using the space.

Oh boy, this. Karin having this mindset is why it took me so long to really ship AliKari. Because the dark undertone to “if only I improve, then surely Alina will treat me better” is that Karin is blaming herself when Alina is cruel to her. And that can very easily slide into an abusive relationship - if you don’t consider it one already.

Alina treating Karin decently should not be dependent on Karin’s art skill. Or anything else, for that matter. Full stop.

(Tangent time, including some Arc 2 spoilers)

What ultimately made me come around to AliKari is some of the early Arc 2 stuff, where Karin starts thinking the reason Alina disappeared is because Alina is mad at Karin for not improving. Karin’s explanation is spectacularly wrong, so I’m now more trusting that the game is implying that Karin’s mindset is going to change. That she’ll stop believing she’s at fault for Alina’s actions - and hopefully stand up to Alina too while she’s at it.

The other half of the equation is Alina, who as far as I can tell, is genuinely not interested in bullying Karin. She certainly has every opportunity to do so – especially given how her teacher punishes Karin for Alina’s behavior – but Alina never takes advantage of it. So while she is overly harsh and blunt about expressing her opinions to Karin, I don’t get the sense there is any manipulation underlying it. Indeed, very unusually for Alina, we also never see her enjoying or fantasizing about Karin’s pain or distress. She really, truly, just wants Karin to get better at art already!

Obviously, for any kind of relationship between the two to work, they would both need to undergo significant character development. But that’s the draw of AliKari – while other characters have stagnated (sigh, RikaRen), Alina and Karin are still some of the most dynamic characters in the game. And in general, the direction has been that despite starting out in a bad place (like Karin’s mindset above), they’re growing to become very positive influences on each other.

(End tangent)

Enjoying the extra cliches thrown in here and there, and in general how they translated Karin’s dramatics by adding additional cheesy and on-theme descriptions. Stuff like “dark and dreary night” or “cauldron of trouble” aren’t in the original Japanese, but they’re wonderfully in-character – honestly probably an improvement over the original!

Not a change, but more reminding myself that I really need to read Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne. I’m like 97% sure that’s what’s being referenced here – the plot description and even the comments Karin makes about “Phantom Thief Kirin” In her later Magic unlock quotes are all a very close match.

Interestingly enough, I’ve heard KKJ mentioned as an earlier dark magical girl series that Madoka Magica rips off. So it’s quite interesting to see it referenced again back in a PMMM property – I wonder which part of the creative team was responsible for this detail?

Hm, so, the subject and detail of Karin and Alina’s conversation in the middle differs between translations. In JP, the subject is vague, so the fan translation has Alina going off on an extended metaphor comparing the history of art to the protagonist of Karin’s manga. Meanwhile, in NA she just makes vague comments comparing her own growth as an artist.

I think I prefer the former - Alina usually doesn’t like talking about herself, but she sure loves to ramble about art history.

The translation I can find for the metaphor Karin’s grandmother uses here in JP renders it “barely able to keep a business going” - so did Karin’s grandmother possibly own a business herself? That’s a bit more interesting than just “struggled to make ends meet.”

Speaking of Karin’s grandmother, I really like her as a character. Her relationship with Karin is really sweet - I mean, how often do you see a teenage girl and an older woman being fans of something together? It happens in real life plenty of times, but it’s so rare to see this kind of interaction represented in fiction.

And it’s nice to see an example of mental illness being treated as just that – an illness. I especially like that there’s consent to the cure – Grandma outright says she wishes to be cured, rather than Karin deciding as such on her own. (As Karin is often wont to do…)

This is a fun illustration of how Alina has a very strong internal logic to her, but she’s really terrible at communicating it to other people.

Karin, naturally, takes Alina’s comment here as an exceptionally mean thing to say – it sounds like Alina is callously implying the thing Karin worked so hard on was so bad it wasn’t even worth Alina’s time to destroy, so she’s making Karin suffer even more in having to destroy it herself.

And the way Alina elaborates makes it quite clear that yes, she did mean to call Karin’s work garbage. This isn’t Alina having difficulty with Japanese or English.

But while Alina’s sense of taste can be quite sadistic, I don’t think that’s what she was aiming for here. Remember that Alina believes that “only the artist themselves has the right to destroy their work.” So this is actually Alina acknowledging Karin’s work as art, and therefore only Karin has the right to rip it up.

And why rip it up? Because whenever Alina finds her own work unsatisfactory, she destroys it. Hence Alina’s question at the end of this little back-and-forth:

If Karin doesn’t want to rip up her manga, then according to Alina’s logic, that means she must be happy and satisfied with it. But even Alina can tell that Karin is still unsatisfied and lying to herself, hence Alina’s frustration and confusion at Karin not destroying her work.

Another timeline note: Alina doesn’t lie, and even if she did, she doesn’t have a ring here. So I think it’s pretty settled that Karin’s MGS takes place before Alina learned about magical girls.

Oh huh. In NA, Alina thinks she’ll be the one in trouble if Karin isn’t ready. In the fan translation I’m used to, it seems like Alina is saying she’d just be mad herself… but I think NA has it right here. (In the original JP, Alina is using the passive form of “get angry” without a subject.)

Both work, but the impression NA gives with both this change and the earlier one is that someone at the school is basically putting Alina in charge of supervising Karin. Which… what the hell, Sakae Academy?

Going back a bit, Alina’s advice and its effect on Karin is interesting. One of Karin’s flaws really is that she makes excuses for herself and only half-commits, so Alina pushing her to think about what she truly wants and work hard to get it was genuinely what Karin needed to hear at the time.

However, Alina is also an obsessive perfectionist that tends to push herself to very clearly unhealthy levels…

So it’s rather fitting that on following Alina’s advice, Karin ends up pushing herself into doing something very dangerous: insisting on fighting a witch alone even though Kaede tries to get her to retreat. Karin is so determined she’s risking her life to fulfill her goal – something Alina would no doubt approve of. But also a great illustration of why Alina and her advice is flawed too.

Which, come to think of it, is part of why Karin and Alina’s MGS actually form a nice pair of complementary short stories. If you read them in chronological(?) / original JP release order, you first get to see how Alina helps Karin to grow as a person, and if you think hard about it, you can kind of see foreshadowing for Alina’s own issues. Then in Alina’s MGS, you get confirmation of that foreshadowing about Alina, and furthermore, the payoff to Karin’s development with her now being the one to give Alina some hard-hitting advice.

#magia record #misono karin #alina gray #alikari #magia record analysis #my ramblings #na translation changes #magia record na #magia record jp #read more

55 notes · View notes

savannah-lim · 4 years ago

Text

Don’t Be Shellfish || Savannah & Dave

Timing: Current Location: The Codfather Parties: @savannah-lim and @seizethecarpe Content: Gore, violence, discussion of death Summary: Savannah and Dave go out for dinner and the food is a little bit more fresh than they anticipated.

Savannah could only have been more relieved if Dave had asked her to go for drinks instead of a meal, but she understood his reluctance considering the recent bar fight. There was nothing to stop them having drinks with their food, right? She hardly ever used her daily allowance for food and drink, so still reeling from her conversation with Felix, Savannah decided that fuck it; she was going to treat herself. What was the point of living in the East End and not trying out the best restaurants in the area? The FBI could foot the fucking bill.

Savannah had called ahead to make the reservation a few nights prior, and even upon arriving, she could tell this place wasn’t her usual setting. Maybe that was why it was so appealing though. For once, she wanted to distract herself with something that wasn’t leftover Chinese food or a burger and fries. Savannah arrived first, ordering some wine while she waited for Dave to arrive, hoping he had the sense to dress for the occasion.

Dave had been a bit hesitant about coming to the Codfather. He didn’t have the clothes for a place like this, never mind the money. But when she’d suggested this place, Dave could hardly say no to what he ate on the daily, but made fancy. He’d have to cut his food small enough that he wouldn’t need to chew with his teeth caps on, but he had plenty of practice with that. With his neatest plaid and a pair of jeans that were only scuffed and torn at the bottom hems, he walked in to the restaurant only mildly uncomfortable, quickly smelling Savannah out through the crowd, and using her scent to lead him to her rather than sight. “Evenin’. How’ve you been?”

Rather than be judgmental about Dave’s choice of attire, Savannah found it oddly amusing. There was a sort of cheap thrill that came out of debunking everyone’s expectations. Savannah herself hadn’t dressed completely fancy; just a plan navy blue dress and a little bit of jewelry, but some of the patrons wore what could only have been the most expensive garments. She could sense the entitlement around them. “I’ve been…” she started to answer, shrugging with a vague laugh. “Well, I don’t know. I’ve been fine, but I’ve seen a lot these last few weeks. I’ve learned a lot. How about you?”

“Yeah, Jesus, sounds like you’ve had a more exciting month than me.” Well, that was likely debatable - the bruises around Dave’s neck had slowly shifted into faint shadows, but they still ached. He wasn’t moving his arm as much as normal, where the cut was still healing around carefully practiced stitches. Still, contributing to the banishment of Bloody Mary was no small thing, but he wasn’t the one being chased by witches on broomsticks. Hell. He’d almost bought a vial of Nepenthe, he had stared at it on the counter with his dealer for a long old while before deciding he didn’t want to be that kind of guy, not when he had other options. “Been better, been worse. Fishing’s always a bit rougher in the winter, but I make do.”

“You’re not a very open person, Dave. You know that, don’t you?” Savannah ordered them each a drink, (whatever Dave wanted), a small, humorless chuckle leaving her lips. “Better and worse. Not very specific. You’re one of the closest things to a friend I have in this town, and I still know nothing about you.” She sipped her beer, shrugging. “Okay. I’ll go first. I’m from Boston. I’m from a Korean-American family, thoroughly upper middle class and very set on their kid’s achieving things. They expected me to be a doctor or lawyer, but this is close enough. I was married. Now divorced, but still keep in touch and have inappropriate conversations every once in a while. No kids. Don’t want them… No pets either, but maybe some day.”

Dave chuckled, tilting his head in in wry acknowledgement. “I’ve been told that before.” He thanked her for ordering the drinks, watching the waiter go. “Damn. I don’t know if that says more about me or you.” He said it teasingly, but listened intently, focusing on her lips as she talked, mouthing the words subconsciously to make sure he didn’t miss any of it. He smiled at her reference to inappropriate conversations. “Alright, then. Well, I’m from Texas. We travelled around the coast when I was young, not really sticking to any sort of place. Grew up exactly as my parents expected, athletic and charming. Still am, I’d sure you agree,” Dave laughed at himself there. The sands of time had worn away most of his natural charisma. “Was married. Three sons. Haven’t really lived in one place long enough to settle down in the last couple decades. I live on what I fish and what I hunt by and large. Sometimes I sell what I catch, sometimes I help folks find things they’ve lost in lakes and shit.” Dave smiled thinly. “That help at all?” Their drinks arrived, and Dave took a big gulp of his lager with enthusiasm. The problem was that he couldn’t tell her everything. Seemed shitty to be her closest friend here when his whole life had to be a secret, when he idly wondered whether the kind thing was to get someone to take her concerning memories.

As secretive as he was, Savannah enjoyed Dave's company. Maybe it was a fire-forged friends thing, an unspeakable feeling of kinship without rhyme nor reason, forged out of almost being human sacrificed together. "You're probably right. It does say more about me," she shrugged. "I've often focused more on my work than my relationships. Hence the divorce." She listened as he told her about himself. "Any of your sons close to my age?" she teased, shaking her head. "That right there is more about you in thirty seconds than I've learned in... weeks? Months? Time doesn't seem to exist in this town." She flipped the menu over, handing one to him. "Since you're the resident fisherman, what would you recommend? Fuck the price. I haven't spent my full FBI living allowance in weeks."

“Me too. Never been able to stick to a relationship since my first. Too distracted with other stuff.” Dave said. Too busy getting justice for his first family to be able to get justice for his second. “Hey, watch who you’re calling old,” Dave replied with a wry smile, but it didn’t last. “My sons died, decades ago. Hence the not talking about myself.” He shrugged, the wrinkles of his smiles not quite reaching his eyes. “Prefer to keep to myself. Work keeps me busy, and I’m usually out on the water in one way or another. Not much of a people person.” He flicked his eyes over the menu, looking it over. “I know these folks catch local and fresh, and the lobster in the area is good. That’s what I’ll be going for, either way.”

Oh, shit. His sons had died. Well, now she felt like a dick. “Sorry to hear that.” Savannah took a sip of her wine, as if it would cure the embarrassment of jokingly flirting with a man’s deceased children. “Okay, I won’t ask you any more personal questions until at least dessert.” She signalled the waitress over and ordered a mixed platter of starters to share and a lobster each for the main course. Savannah’s family were decently well-off, as you’d expect successful doctors to be, but she had reasonably simple tastes and rarely went all out like this. She asked Dave about generic things like fishing and hunting while they ate, keeping her promise not to delve into anything more personal. By the time their plates were clean, Savannah exhaled a massive, satisfied sigh. “Wow. I don’t even know that I have room for dessert after that. It was amazing.” It was just as well, because Savannah wouldn’t even have had time to reach for the dessert menu before the soft background music and casual conversations around them were pierced by the sound of dishes and pans clattering in the kitchen, followed by yelps and screams.

“Me too,” Dave said, sipping from his beer with the same vigour. Talking about dead kids always put a weird vibe in the conversation, but he had the feeling Savannah would have been able to tell if he had lied too obviously, and he couldn’t maintain the same straight face talking about family as when he lied about the supernatural. As the food came, they settled into easier conversation, the kind he could do while remembering how to eat lobster the fancy human way and not the crunch-the-exoskeleton-with-your-jaw way. He managed it, and by the time they were done he was more than satisfied, he wouldn’t even have to go for more later. Dave was about to wave away the dessert, happy to watch her enjoy, when he realised that the room was reacting to something he couldn’t hear. Everyone was looking over to the kitchen, including Savannah. When someone staggered out of the kitchen with a bleeding arm, hand dangling on by just a couple inches of flesh, Dave jumped to his feet, grabbing his bag before striding over to the kitchen to see what was up, without even looking over to see what Savannah was doing.

Savannah’s eyes widened in horror at the sight. They got out, someone was screaming. They fucking got out! “Call 911,” she demanded of the nearest person, knowing that giving the task to a specific person was more likely to yield results than letting the whole restaurant fumble and assume someone else was going to do it. Luckily, she’d finally realised she needed to bring her gun to literally every place she went in White Crest, and she followed Dave towards the kitchens, calling after him. “Hey! Hold up. It might be dangerous! Something got loose in there.” However, danger was unlikely to deter Dave, given they’d met one another while volunteering to be human sacrificed as a ploy. The kitchen door swung on its hinges, back and forth as Dave walked through it. Savannah did the same, gasping at the sight that befell her; lobsters the size of everything from cats to Golden Retrievers, running around the room, destroying everything in sight. “I don’t think--I don’t think this is gonna help,” she said, gesturing feebly to her firearm. Where was Kaden and his harpoon when she needed him?

Dave reached into his satchel, pulling a strange metallic device the size of his forearm. He stepped back from the Karkinoids, quickly unfolding the prongs of the trident and extending out the haft until everything clicked in securely. An imperfect weapon, but decent for driving between the chinks of a nearby Karkinoid’s armour. “No, it won’t. Get out of here!” He barked. He used the trident to fling the karkinoid across the room, looking for where the hell they’d come from. In the corner of the room was an extremely large bucket, that looked surprisingly sturdy for holding just lobsters. It had been knocked over. Unless, of course, they knew they weren’t. Dave groaned, jumping away from one little slash at his ankles. There were what, four or five? He couldn’t kill them with the trident, just whack them around. He’d be able to do more with his teeth, but if he could get them all back in the bucket, it’d be a hell of a lot easier. Dave swore, pinning down one of the nearby karkinoids with his trident while he tried to get something resembling a plan.

Savannah’s eyes widened in awe as Dave pulled what appeared to be a giant fork from his satchel. What kind of dinner had he thought they were going for? “I’m not--no!” was all she could answer when he told her to leave, and not having a trident to hand, she could only make do with spraying the creatures back with a fire extinguisher to give herself enough room to climb up on top of the counters. Rest in peace to this place’s hygiene rating, but that was the least of their problems right now. Dave was holding his own, and she gazed on, shocked and impressed, but they couldn’t just keep up this avoidance tactic forever. God, she was going to have so many words with the manager after this. “What do you want me to do?!” she asked. Should she call Kaden? No. They’d be lobster food by the time he even got here.

Dave tongued the covers off his teeth, his fangs descending. He moved spryly on his feet. “I want you to leave,” he growled, words not forming as easily around his canines, although he was careful not to show his teeth to Savannah. “They’ve got to get back in the barrel.” One of the karkinoids swung its giant claws for Savannah, and Dave moved with a feline reflex, grabbing it by the tail and hurling it across the room into the barrel. That was one, but the karkinoids were looking for freedom, and the two of them were the only thing holding the rest of the world from the karkinoids.

“I can’t leave!” Savannah called back to him. His voice was almost guttural. They’d kill her before she even got to the door, and she couldn’t just leave Dave to fight the things by themselves. “Why the barrel? Just--kill them!” As if it was that easy, or that obvious. There had to be some kind of weapon in here, something they used in the event of this ever happening or to get the things in there to begin with. Then she saw it, or rather, them. There were a pair of catchpoles on the wall. One for each claw. “There!” she yelled, pointing. “We can get them restrained!”

“How do you propose I do that?” Dave snapped back, clambering onto a bench to avoid being snipped at. Instead the claw of the karkinoid cut right through the steel drawers underneath the counter, and the rest of it began to groan as that support was taken out of the picture. This wasn’t his sturdy trident, it was his back up in case of emergency. In the water, this would be piss easy, but while they weren’t fast moving on land, nor was her, and it wasn’t so easy to get his jaw around them here. “Can we?” He repeated, following the line she was pointing at. “Great,” he growled, before jumping over to another counter, and then dropping back down to the floor heavily, rubbing his knee before grabbing the poles, throwing it across the room to Savannah. That was just enough time for a Karkinoid to pinch the flesh of his calf and cut into it deeply. With a roar, Dave caught its tail, picked it up - it was only cat sized - and with his teeth crunched through the red exoskeleton and tore off its pincer, before throwing it onto a counter where the hot top was still on, and it struggled to get off the heat. He checked whether his leg could hold his weight, before looking up to Savannah. They each had a catchpole to deal with the other two.

“I don’t know!” Savannah answered. Somehow this situation made her even more frantic than the mermaid. At least with Kaden, they had come prepared. “I’ve never killed a giant lobster before.” It wasn’t as if they could boil them until their shells were nice and soft. The catchpoles were all they had to work with. Dave quickly took care of one, though Savannah couldn’t fail to notice the rip in his pants and the blood dripping from his wound when she turned back towards him after grappling with her own. She tried to keep her grip steady around the handle as the lobster struggled to break free. “I think we know why our meal was so filling,” she said, using the pole to edge the creature back towards the huge barrel it had escaped from. “Keep the other one back,” she instructed as she struggled with the creature, clearly less practiced in this area than Dave.

Dave has killed giant lobsters before, as Savannah called them. But not like this, not in an enclosed space, not with his back up Trident that wasn’t very secure, not while above ground in his human suit. Definitely not, while trying to hide his true identity from an FBI agent. Every time he shifted his weight or tried to step away or towards one of the karkinoids, his leg threatened to give away underneath him. He nodded as Savannah told him to keep control of the Karkinoids that she wasn’t pushing towards the barrel, but even the split second he took to read her lips was enough to get another deep gash on his leg. Yelling, Dave kicked the lobster. He’d aimed for the joints of its exoskeleton. It bounced against a nearby table, stuck on its back for a second. Dave grabbed a nearby counter to take his weight off his leg. Jesus, fuck, that hurt. If nothing else, he was relieved that he hadn’t tried to dress up for today. With the Trident he pinned the Karkinoid in place, And managed to get the Catchpole that he was holding over one of its pincers. The other pincer sliced right through the table and a flurry of pots and pans clattered to the floor, along with a large piece of salmon that had been prepared earlier. Grimacing, Dave used the Catchpole to drag it over to the barrel and drop it inside.

It was incredibly frustrating to not be able to use her gun in this situation. She wished she had Kaden's harpoon or the other tools he was sure he had access to. "Shit, shit, shit--" Savannah repeated frantically under her breath as she tried to wrangle the creature, to get it under control. It was evident that Dave was badly injured, maybe not in ways that would cause permanent damage, but certainly enough to impair him in this encounter. She narrowly missed being grabbed by the one she was wrangling and finding herself in a similar situation.

Dave fought to get the creature back in the tank, and Savannah did the same. Once they were done, she let go of the catchpole, not even caring that it fell into the pot with them, and then she pulled the lid back on, sealing them inside. She collapsed onto the ground in the pile of recently fallen pots and pans. "Are... Are you okay?" she gasped, eyes widening as she saw the extent of the blood on his leg. "I'll call an ambulance..."

Dave lowered himself to the floor slowly, extending his injured leg out in front of him. “Been worse,” he said gruffly, the waver in his voice a clear sign that it was not great either. “Looks worse to you than it is,” he groaned, wrapping a nearby tea towel around his legs, staunching the bleed. All the same, this would take him out of the running for a few weeks at least. When she reached down, he pushed his teeth guards back into his mouth. Like hell was he acknowledging that he’d ever taken them off, to begin with. He huffed laughingly. “Think they’ll comp us the dinner?”

#paras #with: dave

5 notes · View notes

flower-of-the-desert · 4 years ago

Text

Thoughts on My Engineer ep13

I thought it would easier to just split this post into parts talking about how I feel about each of the couples this episode:

1) Thara/Frong - I like the way the show is taking its time to build up the connection and relationship between them and like how we see them bonding over their loss of a parent and concern over Frong’s mom and all that. This is probably the first time Friong has met someone who understands perfectly what he’s been through and the lingering affects of it.

2) Mek/Boss - the Fon situation left me feeling a bit confused not gonna lie. I assumed that Boss had already talked with Fon before diving head first into dating Mek and I’m not too happy that he’s been putting it off apparently? I get not wanting to do it on the phone, that’s the decent thing to do when you’re going to break up with your partner but I feel like he should have made an effort to go to her and talk about it before the camping trip. I hope we get some more insight into what’s going on with her feelings like and why he’s not telling Mek about it.

3) Ram/King - my babiiiiiieeeess and their flower crowns. How precious was that?? Ram really pays so much attention to King and the things he likes I cant. I’ve seen a lot of confused comments on why King is suddenly pushing Ram away and I dont know whether I’m right or not (guess we’ll see next week) but for me, it makes a lot of sense why he did what he did. For one, I think when King said to Ram’s brother that he was teasing because he liked “weird people” he was telling the truth. I dont think King started this relationship with Ram with the intention of persuing something romantic (or at least not consciously, we could argue he was crushing on Ram since the start but didnt realise that’s what it was). He found Ram’s personality interesting so he wanted to get to know him better, to find out what made Ram tick. In the process obviously they got closer and I think King’s feelings started going from wow, what an interesting person to wow, he’s beautiful I wanna lick his tattoos which freaked him out.

You can see it in those moments which became more and more explicit in later eps starting with when he put the flower behind Ram’s ear and Ram said King was the only one who understood him and King gets this look on his face half confusion/half panic like he’s trying to figure out why is Ram acting like that and why does that make him feel things he hasnt felt before.

Hence why I think he’s trying to get some distance from Ram now because he’s finally figured out that his feelings are beyond friendship and doesnt know what to do with that.

4) Bohn/Duen - yeaaah... I’m pretty disappointed with the direction they chose to take the relationship, mostly because it’s absolutely unnecessary to make their break up about some random creepy asshole hitting on Bohn when you’ve already established the couple’s issues. I think that’s what frustrates me the most in the ep the fact that the show has done a pretty good job of showing both Bohn and Duen’s flaws so far - Bohn being unreasonably jealous and trying to emotionally manipulate Duen to get the attention he wants (that thing he does where he pretends to be angry so Duen will feel so bad that he’ll go around begging Bohn for forgiveness just ain’t cute, friends) and Duen not being able to see how his actions hurt Bohn and his inability to talk about his own boundaries and sexual needs, instead just shoving Bohn away every time he tries to act like any boyfriend would. And we’ve seen how these flaws affect their relationship negatively. So those would have been perfectly valid reasons to break up! They were right there. The story already established these character flaws and then... did nothing with them.

#bl drama #my engineer the series

27 notes · View notes

mavmax · 4 years ago

Text

Strange Love (Part I) | Maverick & Sooyun

When: Tuesday, January 19th

Where: Somewhere in Ocean Park.

Warnings: Drugs, Alcohol

Featuring: @sooyunjeong

sooyun felt exhausted keeping up the appearance of Eric's supposed girlfriend, which was probably why she found herself at a party that was being held just to get away from the annoying questions and looks of her stealing Eric away. In her defense, Lexa should have made a move on Eric instead of beating around the bush. But it was sort of her fault for sending that selfie to her through Eric's phone while he was passed out. She shot back the shot and cringed at the taste, vodka wasn't her strong suit but it was the only drink that she could rely on that wouldn't give her a terrible hangover. After the performance, Sooyun left the band behind and ended up at this party where she knew no one, everyone clearly were far different from her social circle. The young girl leaned against the wall and felt the vibration against her body, maybe she shouldn't have taken those drugs. Opening her eyes and squinting as she recoginize the face and that smile anywhere. "Maverick Maxwell!" Sooyun yelled out, pointing at him as she pushed herself away from the wall and grinned cheekily, "What are you doing here?"

Maverick knew not to pass up any party invitation in Santa Monica, although this one, he almost considered passing up to shoot some hoops to get his mind off the stress that Lexa practically radiated the whole weekend. He needed to let loose, and so, he called up a few of his college buddies, pre-gamed and smoked a blunt--or three, and now here he was crossfaded as all hell and taking shots as if they were water. He mingled throughout the party, making casual conversation from everything to crazy ragers in the past to a recent performance that Maverick had zero clue about, but was bummed out that he missed. He always liked local bands performing. As he made his way to grab himself some snacks from the back, he heard a voice that made his whole body whip around. "Well, well, well, what do we have here!" Maverick smiled making his way over to none other than Soo-yun. "The host invited me and a few of the boys. What're you doing here?"

"I got invited as well," she shrugged her shoulders, she don't even remember who it was that dragged her here but they left her behind as she wander off and made friends left and right. "At least now I know someone around here, I kept getting asked questions and I never know how to hold a decent conversation before running away." Sooyun tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and grinned, "Did you go to the concert? If so, I didn't see you, I can't even see when I am on stage so there's that." Someone tapped her shoulder as they passed by to wave, in turn, she waved back unaware on who they were due to the fact half the time she doesn't even remember their names, might've been one of the parties she went too in the past. "There's talk of the after after party--who knew people can party for so long."

"Damn, looks like you roll deep around here. Small ass world," He chuckled. With Santa Monica being as big as it is, there was no surprise that people's circles would often intermingle, if they played their cards right of course. "I mean shit, that's what I'm saying cause my boys all disappeared within the first hour and shit. And honestly, conversations can be weird. I like to keep 'em light, talk about different parties, ixnay on politics, spot another person, wave and respectfully dip," He explained with a wry grin. "Wait, there was a concert? Shit...no, I didn't go. Had I known, I definitely would've gone. It's been a while since I've seen local bands play with basketball and shit," He responded honestly. She effortlessly mingled well with people and Maverick had to admit he was pretty impressed, well--he wouldn't mention that now with the haze settling upon him. "That's what I was hearing too! Like damn, you guys really want to party til the break of dawn, huh? Pretty fuckin' wild," He laughed. "Are you going to the after after party?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah there was, it wasn't planned but they needed a band to cover and I figured why the hell not, so hence here I am. Lost my band mates but it's fine, good thing a thing called Lyft is available incase I have to somehow hobble my ass home or sleep with someone." She said out loud, the downside of being intoxicated it appeared the things she normally kept shut was coming to surface, "But on another note, I might...I really don't want to go home and I really don't want to answer any more questions about Eric." Sooyun didn't mind questions about herself but when it came to the supposed relationship, she couldn't come up with anymore lies and the fact Eric wasn't helping by shutting out the world in his dream state, Sooyun was left to deal with the domino affect and dodge questions left and right. She quickly grabbed a plastic red cup and started mixing her own drink, something that would numb the stress. "Also you should go bug Eric sometime...he is practically sleeping his life away at this point."

"Ahhhh, okay. Makes sense. Impromptu gigs are the shit. You show up, surprise the audience, do your thing and wow everyone. I mean, that's what's up, you know? As for the rest of your evening, well, there's a bunch of hotties to go around, so..." Mav chuckled as he looked around at the word "hotties". Last thing he needed was to take a drunken L, least he could do was pretend to be slightly uninterested compared to his sober self, although his sober self was currently taking notes now. "Well, you could either hide out at the next party and scope out to see where there'll be less people or wind up at Onyx?" He added with a shrug. He managed to block out the mention of Eric, probably because he eyed the bottle of tequila and as much as he hated the taste, here he was, reaching over for it, unscrewing the cap and taking a swig from it. Future him is going to hate himself tomorrow. At the mention of Eric again, he chuckled at the thought of him sleeping. "Homeboy sleeps like a bear. Plus, his phone's prolly on DND. I'd say Lexa could get to him, but she's been busy with CEO business and shit. When he wakes up though, we'll prolly go get some gimbap or something."

She knew mention Eric was a low blow, she seen those posts on GG, she didn't think Maverick would actually be that interested in her after the many times she shot him down. She figured that he would move on with ease or maybe she just assumed all that due to her ex who in a way was similar to Maverick but standing here before him, realizing they were completely different sure they shared the confidence of flirting but now Sooyun was able to see that Maverick wasn't anything like her ex. "Yeah he does, which I was surprised but hey...everyone has their niche." Sooyun shrugged, her eyes widening at Maverick drinking the tequila, "Uh...you really think that's a good idea? Tequila doesn't sit well with most people. Not that I should be telling you how to act but I really don't want to drag you out of here, I may act strong but I have no muscles."

While the mention of Eric and Sooyun sucked for the time being, he was able to bounce back fairly quickly, as if he were unscathed. The one thing that's swirled in his mind is that Sooyun's rejected his advances prior anyways, so at the end of the day, the sting lessened. However, he was definitely confused as hell now that Sooyun seemed happy to be conversing with him at the moment. It almost gave him some sort of hope. "I'm pretty sure he can sleep through a tsunami warning at this point. I envy his sleeping pattern, that's for sure," He admitted with a laugh. It would be the only envy he'd admit out loud given his state, too. "Oh this? It went down pretty smoothly, so y'know, that won't be too bad. I was gonna grab some food anyways so the effects of the tequila won't hit too hard," He reassured her with a laugh. "You game to grab some food too?" He offered cautiously.

The mention of food made her realize she hasn't even eaten dinner nor lunch, all the nerves enabling her to eat a decent meal without puking. "Depends...are you going to hunt through said kitchen or are we going to grab an uber because I don't know about you...but now after seeing you take that tequila like a champ, I want to one you up on shots." Sooyun knew that this was a terrible choice especially now she realizes she's drinking on an empty stomach but the fact she was high and about to be even more intoxicated, it just didn't mesh well from the first time around she done this. "Let's see...how about...four shots, make it even. Four for you and four for me...make a toast or whatever." She waved her hand as she grabbed mini plastic shot glasses and grabbed the tequila from Maverick, pouring them the shots and set it between them. "Oh we can even spice it up...if you can't take a shot, you have to make a confession. So...eight shots." That math didn't make any sense but at this point, Sooyun didn't care.

"Yeah, I was gonna check the kitchen first and if there wasn't shit, then we'd grab and Uber and go wherever we felt like eating at,"he shrugged. "You really want to challenge me to shots?" He asked, a devious smirk curling on his lips. Maverick knew very damn well that he was playing with fire at this point. Sure, he took a swig without wincing or making a face, but this was about to be torture...but the thing about Maverick Maxwell was that he never backed down from a challenge, especially from someone as gorgeous as Sooyun. "Bet, you're on," He said with a nod. His crossfaded mind tried to do the math in his head as best as he could. Eight shots between the both of them was bound to fuck them up. "Like truth or dare? Okay, I see the vision here," He said as he watched Sooyun pouring the tequila into each of the shot glasses. Taking one of the shots and handing Sooyun hers, he smirked. "Bottoms up," and threw the first shot back.

Sooyun knew she was about to die, almost like her body knew what she was about to be put into the next day, she tried to pay much mind to it as she squeezed her eyes tightly together and threw the shot back. Cringing as the taste went down smoothly, with a burning trail as a reminder for what she was doing to herself. "Jesus...I swear tequila never gets any easier," she mumbled to herself and wiped the back of her hand against her mouth, looking up at Maverick and laughed, "Another? Or do you want to use one of your truth or dares already?" She teased him, flipping the shot glass upside down onto the table, the sound around them muffled as her attention was solely on Maverick. To think she managed to hide her attraction to him sober but now that sobriety was out the window, it was as if she was a whole different person.

It was official that both he and Sooyun signed their death sentences tonight. Tomorrow was going to be incredibly brutal and he was already mentally blocking out his hangover stage because it was going to be a bitch. The taste of the tequila was smooth but the familiar back of the throat burn was what nearly threw him off, he had to silently smile at his poker face behind it. "No going back now. Despite the back of the throat burn," He teased with a laugh. He met Sooyun's gaze again and nodded. "You're not getting me that easy," he responded with an eyebrow wiggle as he set down his shot glass upside down. He liked that it was just them two playing their own little game, drowning out the rest of the world with just them and tequila. It was beginning to get harder to pretend that he wasn't as interested in her, but that would be a problem for later Maverick. He took his own shot again, throwing it back with a smirk and flipping his upside down. "Just like water," he bragged with a laugh.

"Here I thought you would be weak," she laughed, making a mental note to drink water before she passes out later, but she doubt she would even remember that simple task. "Another then," she grinned as she reached for the second glass and held his out towards him, flashing him a flirtatious smirk, raising the glass and throwing it back, coughing at the burning taste. Sooyun realized the next round she might have to use one of her own truth or dare at this point, especially because she wasn't taking a break between each shots and the thing about tequila, it was worse than vodka, it will creep up and bite her in the ass. She just hoped no one would report what they see tonight towards GG, it was hard enough to not slip up when she was out in public with Eric, she also knew it was hard for him which was why he stayed home and kept his phone on DND to avoid confrontation.

"You severely underestimate me, Soo," He winked, the flirtation slowly creeping back in on him as much as his sober self tried to reign it back in. At this point, all bets were off. Although, he was beginning to think that the impulsive Gatorade vibe would save his life tomorrow morning. At the second shot, the burn was slightly stronger than the last, a clear warning sign for him to slow the fuck down before things got ugly too soon. When he heard Sooyun's cough, he was relieved. At least now they could truth or dare it out because there was no way both of them in the current states that they were in, that they'd make it out in one piece. He pondered what he could confess about, it had to be something small, yet, somewhat meaningful, but still not enough to scratch the surface. Last thing he needed was to confess he practically shut off all emotion about Sooyun so he could move on quicker. "I guess we're gonna have to use that truth or dare card," He chuckled. "Tequila's getting more bitter by the shot, don't you think?

"More like it's death in each shot I throw back," Sooyun grimaced as she reached for the mix drink she made for herself and took a drink to somehow wash out the taste. Mixing alcohol was probably not the best idea but at the moment it definitely helped. "Okay...I guess since I was the one to tap out, you can ask me the magical words of truth or dare." She caved in, letting Mav take the first round since she practically came up with this stupid game in the first place.

"I'm so glad I wasn't the first to admit that," He teased with a laugh. "You're right though, I'll give you that," Maverick tried not to look at the tequila shots as he tried reaching towards the fruit bowl. Finally, sustenance. Grabbing two apples, he handed one to Sooyun and kept one for himself, taking a bite out of it. "I guess so, huh?" He smirked. "Alright Sooyun, truth or dare," He asked coyly.

Sooyun realized her mistake on the fact she was probably going to have this game backfire in her face now that she could either pick truth and having to say something true from his question or dare where he could possibly have her embarass herself. She rolled her eyes, "Dare...not about to spill any secrets just yet," she giggled, waiting to hear his dare for her.

Maverick took another bite of his apple waiting for Sooyun's response. A big smile graced his features as he knew very damn well she was going to play hard to get in this round. "How'd I know that's what you were going to pick?" He teased with a knowing look. "Okay, I dare you to, take off your bra and use it as a hat now, if you don't have a bra...I'm sorry to say, you might have to use your panties as a hat for the night," He challenged.

gaping at him and his words, she assumed he would choose some silly dare not this sort of dare, laughing lightly, "Now what if I wasn't wearing any panties...then what." Sooyun challenged Maverick, of course she was wearing underwear, she wasn't that adventurous and even if she was, she wouldn't admit to anything unless the person she was sleeping with took her clothes off. "Good thing I wore a bra that is easy to slip off," she rolled her eyes as she placed the apple in her mouth to hold and reached behind to unclip it, doing the whole slipping the bra off and out of her sleeve to pull out a soft pink bra and place on her head. "Gotta make sure not to lose this, you know how much bras cost? Which is ridiculous for a tiny piece of cloth.

He couldn't help but laugh at Sooyun's reaction to his dare. Mav knew he wasn't going to make it that easy for her, after all, it wouldn't be him if it was. "The backup plan was charm someone's shirt off to wear it as a head wrap, but that's pretty mild compared to the original," He explained with a grin. He watched the whole ordeal and the one thing he had to admit was girls really had their own tricks on getting bras off without getting their shirts off. He was going to make a note of what Sooyun did--for science. "Don't worry, with a color that pink, it'll be hard to miss," He teased. "Guess that means it's your turn."

#p:sooyun #para #I cut it into two parts cause it got looong #drugs tw #alcohol tw

2 notes · View notes

soymimikyu · 5 years ago

Text

Witcher Episode 8 Notes

The next installment in my rambling series of notes taken while (re)watching the Witcher on netflix. Note, I don’t say last because I failed to take notes during the first couple episodes of this rewatch and as a result will need to rewatch those again -- they will be critical for a future work. Today’s notes are brought to you by the most excellent Final Fantasy XV Piano Collections. Why? Because Somnus and Luna.

Once again, there is no Jaskier. Hence unfiltered notes. Not because I lack content this time, but it seems trending. Jaskier should be my filter. Also because the first time I saw this episode was after being awake for maybe 20 hours and being very tired. It was an interesting experience, but damn did I miss things. So here we go!

* I like the consistency with which Geralt’s approaches a promise. He doesn’t seem to care much about destiny (perhaps by this point he does), but a promise is still important.

* Given how many complex characters we have seen this season covering a wide spectrum of behaviors (I’m shying away from outwardly calling anyone bad because so many motives are not clear -- although Cahir and Fringilla are harder to defend...), Yurga is refreshingly kind and good! He really cares about giving the dead a proper burial.

* YAY SWORDS AND UNDEAD! Why ghouls? I know there was brief mention of Nilfgard messing with forbidden necromancy...perhaps some acolyte got curious? Or are ghouls just generally common. The witcher map netflix put up mentions “adult” ghouls which just seems weird to me -- do they grow from something?

* Did Ciri steal the nice lady’s horse or was it a different horse?

* AHHH WTF CIRI KILLED CLIP!!! WHY!!?!? WHAT DID CLIP TO YOU?!? Probably bad mouthed her or made fun of her for talking to horses. Still -- not cool. RIP CLIP.

* I really like how mostly chill Yurga’s wife is when she approaches Ciri in the field. “Yep--totally flattened grass, mangled bodies, a ritualistically sliced up horse (*sniff* clip....) and mysterious girl in the center of it totally unharmed.....feels like Tuesday”.

* Yes subtitles -- the music is upbeat. Thanks for letting me know. Most of the music has been upbeat. Perhaps, subtitles, next times you could be classier and say it like it really is -- “jaunty af music”.

* SQUEEE SYMBOLS STUFF. I have liked this from the first episode and this was very pleasant. Kudo’s to the design team that did this.

* I always appreciate how Tissaia can put Yennefer in her place and put things in perspective. She feels like the Mom Yennefer probably did not have in some scenes.

* This was filmed in Hungary right? Where are these places -- so much of it is gorgeous!

* I appreciate how magic continues to still tax the body and we really see it in this episode. Ties back to how Fringilla almost destroyed her hand in the second episode.

* Yennefer really fucking hates the what Nilfgard did to the Ale. She keeps on talking about the shitty Ale. It must be really shitty Ale. (But also a decent vehicle for describing the conditions).

* I just have a note that says Tissaia’s character is great. Yes past me -- this is true. Would you care to elaborate?

* Aww Ciri looks so sad / grateful that someone has taken her in. Yurga’s wife is also such a good person. These scenes really contrast with the absolute chaos of the battle.

* YAY GERALT IS NOT DEAD

* So this might be a bit of a stretch, but do we have any idea if Geralt’s mom had him before she learned magic or was he adopted? Assuming she also did that transformation process, she would not have been able to have children. If he was not adopted, who is Geralt’s father? if he was adopted, why did she adopt a child?

* So there have been two instances of Dimertitium in the show so far (I think), but really no explanation as to why it is bad for mages.

* Wait -- did Vilgefortz kill a friendly? Wtf what happened!

* So many questions about Vissena -- but this does somewhat answer the juniper question from the episode where Geralt meets Yenefer. How did she know anything about that? I have no idea.

* I am super amused that Yurga offers Geralt the law of surprise for saving him! Because that would just mean Geralt gets Ciri! Ahhhh! That was great!

* Given the way magic works in the world, what was the cost of Yen’s final spell. That final scene is no clearer than when I watched this sleep deprived.

#the witcher #yennefer of vengerberg #geralt #RIP Clip the Horse #dammit ciri killing horses -- it was your destiny to talk to them #ramblings #geralt's mom #clip the horse

12 notes · View notes

unsureofreligionname · 4 years ago

Text

This was meant to be me venting, but accidentally became a history of my relationship with religion instead.

Alright. So.

Came here to talk about religion because I have no outlet. If you don't want to hear it, just block me. I'm not trying to convert anyone, I'm just explaining things to see if anyone has a feckin name for my damn belief system, because I really want to avoid accidentally starting a religion or something and pissing everyone off more.

People who got pissy last time got on my ass about how I probably wasn't even ethnically jewish, so here's the whole story.

I was raised by a mother who was raised by a non-practicing jewish mother, both of whom converted to christianity in the late nineties, shortly before I was born. They're ethnically jewish, or so I'm told.

Not super related, but, in case it comes up later, I was raised with the belief that my mother's family is a long line of very careful psychics, which roughly means "a lot of the family is sensitive to spirit shit but avoids it like the plague because it's scary."

I was raised by a father who is, as far as I know, not ethnically jewish. He's of mixed asian heritage, so i guess maybe, but I'm going to assume he's not. His parents, however, were both religiously Jewish; my grandmother was adopted and raised Jewish, and my grandfather converted sometime between meeting and marrying my grandmother. They are reform. My father wasn't the most religious guy in the world, but, if you asked, he'd probably either make a joke about ohio state football or say that he was jewish.

I was raised by my father and mother together until I was seven. We didn't always consistently go to church in early childhood, but my mother did take me to two or three for months or years at a time during the 2-5 period. We celebrated christmas and easter, and i had an illustrated children's bible that, if I remember right, was split into two parts: the first was marketed to christian and jewish kids, and the latter- new testament- to christian kids. Guessing the marketing from the publishing organizations. I think I had a few other religious books and videotapes directed towards kids, both jewish and christian. I specifically remember one that illustrated mana as vanilla wafers for some reason. At seven, my parents divorced, and I primarily lived with my dad.

My dad didn't take me anywhere on the regular, but when I visited his parents for the full weekend, they'd take me to the synagogue. This was every couple of weeks. We celebrated major jewish holidays, but smaller festivals only really got a mention. When I was ten, my dad and stepmother married. She wasn't really religious, but her parents were christian, so christmas was back on our roster then, too.

I started going to hebrew school in 6th grade, but I didn't actually have a bar mitzvah because I ended up getting kicked out at around the time I turned 13 due to a whole thing about me going trick or treating when I was "too old" or whatever, shitty parents, so I ended up having to go live with my mom after that.

At this point, my mom was studying to become a youth pastor, and enrolled me into a local christian school with about a hundred students. Unfortunately, this ended up being a weird fundamentalist cult with its own textbooks and teachings, including that bacteria was not real, AIDS was a summoned by The Gays™ to kill all the christians, evolution was a conspiracy meant to dissuade people from religion, et cetera. It was fucking bizarre, at one point they called several of us posessed for being autistic and otherwise neurodivergent, and they categorized us students into the groups wise, fools, simple, and scorners. (I was a fool, by the way.) It was really not ideal, and the weird punishments were pretty traumatic. There was some weird brainwashy type word repetition involved with lookatthepersonsayokayanddothetask over and over and over, and it sucked.

So, I was at that school for about 18 months before they kicked me out for refusing to stand on one foot for an extended period of time after tapping my foot in class which caused a student who disliked me to complain.

At the same time, my mother was working at a small church out of town that wasn't exactly a cult, but I think the pastor kind of wanted it to be? It was like he wanted the cult aesthetic™ and devoted followers and shit, but only had the skill to make a really sketchy and toxic small town church with a lot of people sitting on blankets on the floor instead. That church honestly wasn't a big part of my life the way the fucked cult was, I just sort of went most weeks. I went to a confirmation class there- I'm pretty sure it was a methodist church- and got confirmed into it shortly before my mother left because the administration was weird in like an asshole way, and that was the last I knew of it.

I was homeschooled for a while during the end of this period due to all of the school stuff. Religiously, by this point in my life, I'd developed some of my own beliefs. I believed in most of the new testament and most of the torah, but I didn't have much exposure to the talmud or much of a comprehensive education in any religion. I think I read a bible cover to cover at least once as a kid, including some shitty commentary (it was a preteen bible) that gave me some internalized homophobia issues for actual years. I was also super curious about the paranormal but terrified of possession- remember the cult?- and I was curious about the idea of some people being reincarnated if they were needed on earth again. Not sure where exactly that idea came from, but it was there. People told me from a lot of sides that those with the wrong religion would go to hell, and the cult tried to teach us all to convert people at any opportunity, but, after leaving, the whole situation just made me massively uncomfortable. I did continue to practice the jewish traditions I knew how to do on my own- like hannukah and a weird private sort of passover- and my mother would support this by getting me what I needed for it, even though she didn't participate and I didn't go to any place of worship during holidays.

After getting kicked out of school not that long after adjusting to not seeing my dad or siblings on his side, we moved. My dad lost custody at some point and we no longer had to live close, so we moved and tried to find a better school. It was a Catholic grade school this time, and I was there for about six months, if I had to guess. It was actually a pretty good school, but I had some issues at the time, so I didn't enjoy it much. I was scared of teachers and administration by then, and I had trouble going the entire school day without panicking or not being able to work. There was a period of a week or two in which I didn't speak at school at all. We ended up settling on half days, and, after that, I did well.

The religion class was awkward. The other kids seemed to know more than me even though I'd thought I had a good grasp on religion at that point, and the little information we shared I'd been taught from a very different perspective. Everyone was very nice to me, but I definitely stood out as the kid who wasn't catholic at that point.

Chapel was even weirder. We had to go every wednesday during school, and catholic churches had so many traditions I didn't know about, and the stuff I knew about from either my jewish grandparents or protestant churches had a different name for some reason.

I'm looking at you, sacraments.

Anyway.

I don't think I got much out of the chapel, but religion classes were kind of cool. I liked learning about stuff I hadn't heard before, and the things that were the same were a comfort.

Soon, though, I was graduating eighth grade. I ended up going to a catholic high school. I was still out of place, but I at least had a basic idea of what to do during the mass this school had monthly.

I liked the religion classes here more, how they were an open discussion of everyone's opinions and experiences, and I liked that both of the most recent schools I'd gone to had actual textbooks with facts and studies in them. There were more kids there who weren't catholic, and I felt more comfortable to actually explore religious topics with people. I had a better understanding of catholic beliefs, a decent idea of their traditions, and could recognize at least a few of their holidays I couldn't have before.

I spent my last year of high school at a public career center to start working towards a medical career.

Now, my current beliefs. If you don't want to read it, then just don't.

I haven't been to any place of worship since my school required it, but I do have strong beliefs. I believe in one God (which I generally write all the way out after a billion essays for religion class) who created everything and watches over humans, which he made in his image, etc etc etc. I believe the old stories from the tanakh/old testament/don't care what you call it and the new- yes, including the key messiah bit- though I do think it wasn't all translated perfectly and that it was written by humans who made mistakes and poor decisions sometimes in their writing. I believe people's salvation comes through their intention, not through a piece of knowledge or a creed or good deeds or a tradition, and I believe different people worshipping in different ways is how it should be, because different people NEED different styles of worship. I believe that if someone is genuinely mistaken and incorrect in who or what they believe in, it doesn't MATTER because it's the intention to strive to do good and not harm fellow people that counts. I'm a little guarded about sharing my own beliefs, hence why I made an anonymous tumblr account, but I'm generally very curious to hear about what other people believe. I find that, for me, celebrating Jewish holidays and traditions helps me get closer to God, and I'd like to find a place of worship one day, but churches fucking terrify me now. I worship best by sitting and discussing beliefs, but I have no place to do it now that I've graduated school. I also developed some of my less related beliefs now: I believe in a lot of old stories that have popped up around the world, like fairies of various places, different creatures and entities and things that have become the subject of curiosity or worship, spirits and things, etc. I think many of these creatures exist, just that they may be different from us in the nature of how they interact with the world and matter and that, and I don't think they're deities or anything. I believe in ghosts of humans in some cases, too, though I believe sometimes other things mimic them. I don't find the idea of God having someone reincarnated if he wants the same soul to play many parts in the world unlikely at all, though that's really just me speculating. I still believe in demons, and I still don't want anything to do with them.

A lot of my understanding of things comes from Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant teaching in a strange mishmosh of culture and religion.

I relate to a lot of things directed at Jewish people, and I understand what's directed at Catholic people. Things directed at Protestant people are both understood and, unfortunately, make me instinctively wary due to weird cult trauma (that in no way reflects on actual protestant people, i love you guys some people just suck and twist religion) so are hard to interact with.

In a lot of ways, I'd consider myself Jewish. Culturally, at least, if my religious beliefs aren't "validly jewish" or whatever.

I have literally zero actual connections to any Catholic church, but I almost feel like a weird half-catholic. That's not a thing, but it's how it feels. I believe a lot of it, and I'm interested in all of it, even if I have my disagreements, plus I understand the environments and culture of it, even if I'm a bit of an outsider.

A year- or maybe two years, idk- ago, I mentioned some upcoming holiday or smth in a post and tagged it messianic. That's the closest name I could find for my experience, but apparently some organizations who use the term suck or something. I ended up getting a bunch of asks calling me a predatory fake jew or a fundamentalist christian trying to appropriate judaism or other weird shit that I'm NOT DOING. Because of my experiences in the past, those comments still weigh so damn heavy on my that I broke my resolve and made this stupid account to complain about it.

I don't have a name for what I am. I don't know where to go to talk about my beliefs with people, or what environment I could find to actually practice whatever weird faith I've dreamt up with other people in a way that isn't just picking part of what I believe and leaving the rest to rot. I feel closer to God and more spiritually fulfilled practicing the festivals that call back to what the Jewish people of old went through, but I also believe in the messiah of the new testament, and I like to read the pope's opinion on things, even though I think no human is perfect or infallible. I want to talk about old writings with people and discuss what they mean, from my religion or others, and I don't want to give any of what's right for me spiritually up.

I don't know what this post is for.

Maybe I'm just venting, but I do want to know if this is a thing or if I'm the only one with this belief system. I'm sick of getting shit for the actions of people who I'm not affiliated with, so apparently calling myself messianic doesn't cut it. I can't call myself "spiritual but not religious" either, because I'm very religious, it's just very personal and not something I shove at people, and "christian" doesn't describe a solid half of what I believe. Off and on again I've considered converting to Catholicism, but I think that's kind of grasping at the closest thing that won't piss off tumblr anons as much. (And yeah, the larger Catholic church can suck, but I honestly think I'm gonna get that with any religion with a large following)

Rambling aside:

I want to find a short description that hits the major points of what I believe in order to help me find a place or group of worship that actually matches my spiritual needs without compromising the cultures that I grew up with and making me feel like shit.

(Also don't try to change my beliefs thanks)

I'll be tagging this with anything I've mentioned or vaguely heard of that might be related so relax ok

6 notes · View notes