#i may or may not pop back in to contribute once in a while so i wont be completely gone ^^ | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

punkshort · 2 years ago

Text

Chapter warnings: smut (m masturbation), language

Chapter Three

Pairing: Joel x F!Reader, pre-outbreak and post outbreak

AU (the only thing I kept was the outbreak, Joel, and Tommy's characters. Joel's backstory is different, and the way he finds Jackson is different. I may include Ellie one day, I just haven't planned that far)

Fic Summary: You worked for Joel and Tommy a few months before the outbreak. The outbreak happens, and you and Joel get stuck traveling the country and keeping each other safe. Neither of you spoke about the feelings you had for one another pre-outbreak, and in a post-apocalyptic world, it seems like survival should be your only focus. But feelings can't be ignored forever.

Fic tags: Explicit Smut (18+ MDNI), Smut, Language, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use, Age Difference (Reader is 10 years younger than Joel), slow burn, mutual pining, angst, trauma, SA referencing later but I will put a big warning on those chapters

You were nervous about the office dynamic once you broke up with Justin. That following Monday, you walked into the department and risked a glance over to his desk. He was hunched over his keyboard, burying himself in some report, looking mildly panicked. You frowned as you made your way to your chair and slunk down, punching in your password while you waited for your computer to boot up.

Colleen popped up quietly behind you.

"Sooooo? How was camping?” she whispered with a huge grin on her face. "Tell me all the details!”

She propped herself against the edge of your desk, trying not to draw Justin’s attention.

“I broke up with him,” you whispered back, eyes wide. You needed to tell someone, your nerves were on fire. You knew you shouldn’t have told the queen of gossip, but people would have figured it out soon enough. Colleen’s jaw dropped.

"What?! Why?” she whispered back, but louder than the first time. You put a finger up to your lips, indicating she was being too loud.

"I don’t know, I just don’t feel the same way he does. He’s a sweet guy, but there’s no spark. I didn’t want to lead him on,” you told her, and turned back to your computer, opening your email program.

“Well, your timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I don’t think he’s got the time to be upset over it. He came in this morning to an email from Joel, with Heather cc’d, wanting a full breakdown on the 401K contributions for the past 6 months. Apparently, he caught some discrepancy, and he wants answers first thing this morning,” she said, raising her head a few inches to glance over the top of your cubical wall in his direction. “He must be shitting his pants; Joel never contacts any of us directly. I don’t think he even knows most of our names.”

You felt guilty as relief flooded through you. At least there was a distraction from the elephant in the room.

About an hour later, Heather came to collect Justin. He followed her out of the room with a folder tucked under his arm and nervously running a hand through his hair. As he walked by your desk, he gave you a tight-lipped smile, which you returned. At least he wasn’t the type of guy to be an asshole about being dumped.

It had been three hours since Justin and Heather left for their meeting. At this point, his absence was painfully obvious to the whole room, and everybody had given up on trying to be discreet.

The whole department had rolled their desk chairs out to the openings of their respective cubes so they could all see one another as they gossiped and speculated wildly. All except for you. You tried your best to stay out of it, but you kept overhearing everyone’s chatter, and it was incredibly distracting.

“They couldn’t possibly still be talking about a minor discrepancy, could they?” one person asked.

“No way, something happened by now. Oh my God, what if he was stealing from our 401Ks? I read a newspaper article about someone doing that last week!”

“Oh come on, Justin wouldn’t do that,” Colleen chimed in. “I bet they finished up their meeting a long time ago, and he and Heather are in her office doing a deeper dive into the numbers together.”

Everyone went quiet for half a second when the electronic beeping of the door keypad caught the attention of the room. Chairs were hurriedly being pushed back up against desks, and fingers furiously typed, trying to log back into computers that had been long asleep during the gossip.

Heather walked into the hushed room with an empty banker’s box in her hands and headed straight for Justin’s desk. She set it down on his chair and turned to address the room openly.

"Hey guys, I’m sorry I didn’t have the time to call a formal meeting, but I wanted to tell you all personally before the email from HR comes out... Justin quit this morning.” She paused when a couple of people quietly gasped and exchanged looks. “Now I know we are going to have some big shoes to fill, I may call upon some of you to help and do some overtime until we can find a suitable candidate to take his position. As always, if any of you want to recommend anyone you know, my door is always open. But for now, we will just have to make do. Does anyone have any questions? You know I like to be transparent with you.”

Heather glanced around the room of stunned faces. Everyone was wondering the same question, but nobody had the nerve to ask it, until Debbie spoke up from behind you.

"Why did he quit? Was it Joel?” She was standing outside her cube, frowning with her arms crossed, no doubt feeling some residual anger from when Cheryl quit just a few short months ago. Your boss sighed, and slowly nodded.

"Yes. Well, yes and no. Joel really grilled him in that meeting this morning, it went a full hour. I did everything I could to take some of the heat, but Joel was just dialed in on Justin today, I don’t know what got into him. He had a million questions, one after another, and it eventually got to a point where he was outright questioning Justin’s job performance and skillset. It finally got to be too much for him, and Justin announced he was quitting.” Heather paused for a moment and looked around the room at the team. She turned and pulled Justin’s chair from his desk, moving the empty box to the floor. She sat down, looking as if she was exhausted from just recounting the events from the meeting. She rubbed her pointer and middle fingers against her temples for a moment, and then continued.

“Joel didn’t say anything wrong; this is his company, and he has every right to ask those questions… he just has such a harsh way of addressing things. It is a lot to handle. I managed to grab Justin at the elevators and took him back to my office for a while. I tried to convince him to stay but he just wouldn’t hear it, he had his mind made up. I’m sorry guys, I really tried. I know this will put a burden on some of you, I will do my best to fill the position as soon as I can.”

The keypad that operated the door started chiming, and in walked Mike from the mailroom. He had his head down, looking at the pile of mail in his cart, bopping along to the music feeding through his CD player and into his headphones, oblivious to the awkwardness in the room. He stopped at your desk like usual and dropped a big stack of envelopes in your inbox, gave you a quick smile, and turned to leave.

Heather quietly began filling the box with Justin’s personal effects, looking like she desperately needed a cigarette or a coffee break. Or both.

You exchanged a quick glance with Colleen, one that said ‘we are definitely going to talk more about this when she leaves’. Then you noticed the envelope at the very top of your mail pile: Sullivan Agency, LLC.

Your heart thudded in your chest. It was a strange feeling – your body was waging a war within you: relief vs fear. Relief that you didn’t have to pay Mr. Sullivan’s balance out of your paycheck, but fear that you would now have to go to Joel’s office as he requested and tell him about the check.

You shakily opened the envelope and sure enough, as promised, was a check for the full balance due on his account.

You stood up, feeling slightly lightheaded as you made your way over to Heather. She jumped slightly when you quietly said her name.

"I just got the check from Mr. Sullivan. What should I do? Should I just email Joel and tell him it came, or do we really have to go to his office?”

You prayed she would tell you to just email him, but unfortunately, she said “We should tell him in person, I don’t want to make him even more mad.” She stopped organizing Justin’s picture frames and buried her face in her hands for a moment, trying to collect herself. She raised her head up, clasped her hands in front of her mouth in thought, then turned in the chair towards you.

“I really hate to ask you this… do you mind going up to his office by yourself? He’s had enough of me today, and quite frankly I’ve had enough of him, too. He seemed to take a liking to you, it won’t be that bad, it'll be quick.”

She looked at you hopefully, desperately, eyes begging, but followed up with “If you are really uncomfortable, I can go with you, it’s just...” her gaze drifted back to Justin’s desk, and the enormity of just how much work this put on her plate was likely hitting home. Updating a job description, meeting with HR, creating the job posting, screening applicants… the list went on.

You shook your head, always the people pleaser you said, “I got it, don’t worry, I will go up there right now and just get it over with."

You gave her a small smile as relief flooded her face. Heather asked if you were sure, and you promised her you were. Before your resolve broke, you turned on your heel and left, heading towards the elevator.

The moment the elevator opened and you stepped out onto the 10th floor, your heart lept into your throat. The nerves were finally catching up with you. You looked up and saw a small desk situated between two closed doors. Behind the desk sat a kindly looking older woman. She had hair so grey that it looked almost blue, and it was woven on top of her head into a conical shape. She looked up at you through her plastic pink framed glasses, which were adorned with a chain that wrapped around the back of her neck so she wouldn’t lose them. She smiled at you warmly, her bright pink lipstick somewhat smudged on her front tooth and beckoned you over. Your eyes flicked to her name plate - Ruby Potter - as you returned her smile and walked over.

“Hi there, dear, who are you here to see?”

“I’m here to see Mr. Miller," you said without thinking. Ruby chuckled.

"Dear, they are both ‘Mr. Miller’. Which one?”

"J-Joel, I’m here to see Joel. I have a check for him," you stuttered, your cheeks warming from embarrassment.

She picked up her phone and punched one of the buttons on her speed dial, lazily lifting the headset to her ear.

"You have an accountant here to see you,” she said. She had forgotten to ask your name. You tried to mouth it to her, but she waved you away, as if she did this all the time. You couldn’t hear the words on the other end of the phone, but you could hear the tone – it was sharp and aggravated. Ruby seemed unphased. Once the other end of the line went silent, Ruby said “So do you want me to send her in, or not?” She nodded with whatever Joel said in response and hung up the phone.

“Go right on in, dear. His office is that one.” She languidly pointed to her right, your left, and then turned her attention back to her computer. You took a moment to appreciate the elderly woman’s ease. She clearly dealt with Joel’s wrath countless times, yet she was completely collected. In fact, she sat before you, well past her retirement years, working directly for the man himself without a care in the world.

That gave you a small confidence boost. If Ruby could handle Joel, so could you. Afterall, it’s just words. You had a job to do, you did nothing wrong, you are here because he requested it.

You approached Joel’s office door and gently gave it three quiet knocks. You waited until you heard his acknowledgement to enter. You twisted the doorknob, opened the door just enough so you could squeeze through, and shut it behind you.

Shit, maybe you should have left it cracked. Too late now.

Your eyes locked onto the back of his tall, broad frame as he stood facing away from you, one of his arms resting above his head against the window. He was overlooking the city through the floor length windows as he finished up a call on his cell phone.

You had no idea what he said on the phone, you were far more distracted with how large and strong his shoulders looked in his white button-down shirt. Your gaze slowly traveled down, taking in his dark grey dress pants and noticing how generously they hugged his backside. You only wished he had rolled his sleeves up to his elbows like before - you wanted to see his muscles twitching under that tanned skin again. You watched in a daze as he lifted his arm from the window and ran his long fingers through his dark curls, wrapping up the phone call.

Get it together, what is wrong with you??

He pushed a button on his cell and began speaking without even turning around.

"What do you need now? I already told you-“ Joel swiveled around to see you standing before him, eyes wide, nervously clutching the envelope in your hands from Mr. Sullivan. He stopped short when he realized you weren’t Heather, and his expression softened a fraction. You must have surprised him, because before he could catch himself, he was raking his eyes up and down your entire frame, sending a shiver up the back of your spine. You were grateful you happened to wear your most flattering light blue sundress today. You thought this morning when you put it on that it would give you the confidence to get through seeing Justin at work for the first time since your break up. You never thought you would need that confidence for this moment.

You meekly cleared your throat.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Miller. You wanted me to tell you when Mr. Sullivan’s check came…” you trailed off, your cheeks feeling warm under his intense gaze. You needed to look somewhere else. You glanced down at the now crumpled envelope in your hand and stretched out your arm to eagerly show him your prize. You were at least 10 feet away from him, barely inside his office at all. It looked ridiculous; he obviously couldn’t take it from you at this range.

He nodded, pursing his lips, and then showed mercy on you when he finally looked away to take the few short strides back to his desk chair. He sat down, glancing back up at you expectantly from across the room.

"Sit.” he ordered, motioning towards one of the two chairs placed in front of his desk.

You responded to his command quickly, and you thought you saw a twitch at the corner of his mouth, but it disappeared too fast for you to be sure. You sat down in one of the chairs, shifting uncomfortably in your seat as you waited while he scrolled through his emails, looking bored. Looking down at the envelope in your hands, you gently fingered the edges in order to focus your energy somewhere. Why did he want you to sit? This should have been a quick conversation.

Joel cleared his throat, and keeping his eyes on the computer monitor, he began to unbutton the cuffs of his dress shirt. First the left sleeve, then the right, taking his time. He began to methodically roll his left sleeve up, up, up all the way to his elbow, before he leisurely did the same to the right sleeve. You didn’t realize your eyes had snapped up when you saw him begin to uncuff his sleeves, so by the time he finished, you had barely blinked and your lips were slightly parted, breath ever so slightly quickening as he finished his task. You didn’t notice your reaction, but out of the corner of his eye, Joel certainly did. He fought to contain the confident smirk that threatened to spill across his face.

He was right, you had been checking him out in that meeting.

“Give it to me,” he said, turning his probing gaze towards you once again. You looked into his dark, beautiful eyes for a moment, not sure what he meant. Then it came to you. The check.

Wordlessly, you outstretched your hand once again to hand him the envelope. Without breaking eye contact, Joel reached out and took the envelope from your grasp, but in the process grazed two long fingers gently against the back of your hand, sending sparks through your entire body at the contact. You gasped softly, and clamped your mouth shut. You dropped your gaze, embarrassed, while you waited for him to open the envelope and hopefully dismiss you. The tension was too intense, you needed this to end.

Joel didn’t seem to mind the tension in the room, or even notice it for that matter. He slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the check within. He took note of the amount as a small yellow post-it fell out. You hadn’t seen that before in your rush to get up to his office, you had no idea what it said.

Joel picked it up and read it thoughtfully to himself. When he didn’t say anything after a minute, you finally spoke.

"What does it say?” you asked, your voice almost a whisper.

He swallowed before bringing his heated gaze back up to you.

"It says: Thank you for showing me such kindness during my time of need. I’m sorry for the late payment. It won’t happen again.”

You glanced down at your hands in your lap, a small smile threatening to tug at your lips.

“You were right this time, but don’t be naïve. Not everyone is always tellin’ you the truth,” he warned, sliding the check and post-it note back into the envelope. You nodded in agreement, still sheepishly looking down at your hands.

Joel gazed at the top of your head as you stared at your lap. He didn't want the conversation to end.

"You’re doin’ a good job," he told you, pausing to reflect for a moment. "Thank you for making that connection with my client. I’m not good at all that. Talkin’ about their personal stuff. That’s more Tommy’s side of things.” He reached across his desk and held out the envelope for you to take back.

You looked up at his outstretched hand, and careful to avoid touching him again, took it.

"Thank you, Mr. Miller,” you replied softly, and stood up from your seat.

You gave Joel a quick smile and turned to head towards the door. Halfway to the exit, you stopped and turned back around, finding Joel’s eyes had yet to leave your body.

“I bet you would be good at it," you said, then your eyes widened as you realized how that sounded. “I-I mean, talking to the clients, learning about them, their personal lives…” you rambled as heat spread across your cheeks.

He stared at you for an awkward moment, considering your words.

“Well, I should be getting back to work,” you said, hitching your thumb to the door behind you, but before you could turn away, Joel stopped you.

"Thanks, sweetheart, maybe I’ll try it sometime,” he said, his expression softer.

You nodded and forced yourself to look away from the uncharacteristically relaxed features on his face. You turned to leave the room, but the door suddenly swung open. You nearly lost your balance, but a strong arm shot out to catch you.

“Jesus, Tommy, would ya watch it?” Joel growled from behind his desk, his expression leaving no traces of the softness you had just witnessed.

“Sorry darlin’, didn’t know my brother had anyone in here.” Tommy eyed you up appreciatively and grinned. “I don’t believe we formally met, I’m Tommy,” he stuck out his hand, which you quickly shook and gave him a polite smile, telling him your name.

You hastily made your exit, squeaking out an excuse about work, and shut the door.

“Do ya ever knock?” Joel seethed, but Tommy was too busy staring at the closed door, still thinking about the way your ass looked in your blue dress.

“I’m happy for you, Joel,” Tommy said, ignoring his question, and strolled over to a small cluster of framed pictures on the wall that haven’t been updated since they started the business. He leaned in to examine them more closely. “You need to be gettin’ back out there. I won't even give you any shit for dippin’ your pen in the company ink, like you did to me.”

“The hell you on about?” Joel replied, taking the opportunity to adjust himself under his desk while Tommy’s back was still turned. The way you were blushing and squirming in his office had a bigger effect on him than he thought. And you hadn’t even been trying. Not like him, rolling up his sleeves on purpose to see your reaction. He shuddered to think what it would be like if you actually tried to seduce him. He would be a puddle on the floor.

“Nothin’ was goin’ on, she just brought me a check.” Joel stood and walked around the front of his desk, leaning up against the edge of it, arms crossed and surveying the back of Tommy’s head.

Tommy chuckled, still examining the photos.

“Yeah, right. She was blushin’ like a whore in church when she left. Ya know, you should really get some new pictures in here. Did ya know you still got this old picture of the bunch of us at that rodeo? It’s got Amy in it.”

Joel sucked in air through his clenched teeth, the rest of his hard on instantly disappearing at the mention of her name.

“Sorry, Joel. It’s been so long, we still ain’t allowed to talk about it?” Tommy walked over behind Joel’s desk and flopped down in his chair, which made Joel have to turn around and sit in the same chair you had just occupied moments before.

“What’s there left to talk about?” Joel sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.

“Do you still talk to her? Keep in touch?” Tommy asked, fiddling with a pen on the desk.

“No.” Joel responded harshly. “Why would I? Last I heard, she’s been shacked up with that prick somewhere in the Midwest.”

“It’s been five years, and I still haven’t seen ya go out on a date, coffee, nothin’. Why are you doin’ this to yourself?”

Joel shook his head and stood up, already missing the warmth your body left in the chair.

“I’m just busy, Tommy. Haven’t met anyone worth chasin’," he replied, grabbing a pen and pad of paper from his desk.

“Well, that little lady that just left is well worth chasin’, if you ask me.” Tommy stood up too, and joined Joel as they headed out of the office to the conference room for their next meeting.

“Nobody was askin’, just drop it.” Joel couldn’t have Tommy egging him on, it was already difficult enough to keep his mind off you.

Joel hardly heard a word all throughout their meeting with the Marketing department. He vaguely remembered the head of the department nervously working through a technical error on his presentation, which made IT have to get involved. But Joel barely noticed. All he could think about was you.

You: in that thin, blue dress. He remembered how your cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and how you bit down on your lower lip when you tried to hold back a smile. He thought about how soft your skin felt when he gently grazed it with his fingers. How your knees pressed together as you squirmed in your seat, waiting for him to turn his attention to you. But you had no idea that his attention was always on you, even when you weren’t around. It was all consuming, at times overwhelming, the way he constantly recalled images of you in his mind.

Joel was relieved when the IT department could not fix the technical error, and the meeting had to be rescheduled. Everyone in the room held their breath, Tommy included, for Joel’s inevitable outburst, but surprisingly none came.

“Check with Ruby and put it on my schedule,” Joel said, collecting his things and leaving the room.

Tommy stayed behind to chat with the head of Marketing while Joel made a beeline for his office. He shut the door quickly behind him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he leaned his head back on the door.

What was going on with him? Why couldn’t he get you out of his head?

This was Tommy’s fault, had to be. He kept bringing you up and forcing these thoughts into his head.

But it wasn’t Tommy’s fault when his cock jumped after he touched your hand and heard you gasp.

Fuck. This had to stop. He rubbed his hands over his face roughly, then something Tommy said came back to him. It had been a long time since he was with Amy. Tommy was right, he hadn’t been on any dates, he was just sexually frustrated. It was building up, and he needed a release. That would clear his head.

Joel turned and headed towards his private bathroom, which was just a small pocket door in the wall, hardly visible when you first walked in. He went in and locked the door behind him. He unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock, already throbbing from the past hour of torture his thoughts have led him on.

Joel gripped the base firmly in his fist, and he squeezed his eyes shut, dreaming of you wearing that dress in his office. This time, when you squeezed your knees together, he imagined you were trying to create some friction to relieve the wet heat between your legs. You were just as turned on as he was in his fantasy. Joel lazily ran his hand up and down his cock, as his imagination kept carrying him away.

He wondered what kind of panties you were wearing under that dress. Maybe they were lace, or a thong. Maybe you weren’t wearing any at all. There we go.

He started running his hand up and down his shaft faster, his breath quickening as his fantasy took hold.

Now he was bunching your dress up around your hips, hitching your leg around his waist as he grabbed onto the back of your neck, bringing you closer so he could suck on the pulse point in your throat, making you moan his name. He pushed you on top of his desk, and you let yourself fall backwards, recklessly shoving papers and files off his desk.

He could feel his release bubbling to the surface now, as his movements became more frantic, and his other hand grasped the towel bar next to the sink for leverage.

Now Joel saw you bouncing on his cock, still wearing that pretty little dress, but your tits were spilled over the top. He pulled one nipple into his mouth, making you cry out and bounce faster, while his fingers brushed gently against the other one. You grabbed the sides of his face and dragged his mouth up to yours, hovering over each other’s mouths, gasping, but still not touching, as you bounced faster, faster, faster…

Joel groaned and desperately reached out to grab a tissue from the box next to the sink, right in time to catch his thick ropes of come. His hips gently thrusted forward as he came down from his high, breathing heavily, eyes squeezed shut.

He opened his eyes as his breathing returned to normal, glancing around the room to steady himself. He looked down, grateful he didn’t make a mess on his dress pants. He cleaned himself up, flushed the tissue down the toilet, tucked himself back into his pants and went to wash his hands.

He cupped some water from the sink and rinsed his face. Drying himself with the towel, he looked up at the mirror and saw a dirty, old man, who had just jerked off to the thoughts of a much younger employee. The shame was setting in now.

I hope you enjoyed it, you dirty fuck. She would never give you the real thing.

Joel dried his hands, and left the bathroom, feeling guilty, but couldn’t deny he had a much clearer head.

He didn’t see you for at least a full week. That whole week, he felt like himself again. He could see clearly; his thoughts weren’t all jumbled up and he was back to barking orders to his teams on jobsites.

He just needed to jerk off. That’s all it was. No big deal.

Early one morning before most of the employees started their work day, he made his way down to Heather’s office on the 6th floor. She had left him a voicemail saying that the company was being audited, and she needed to speak with him right away. This would require a lot of work from her department, and she needed him to approve the overtime, especially since he scared off your pretty little boyfriend, the department remained shorthanded. He walked off the elevator with his hands shoved in his pockets, sleeves pushed up to his elbows. It was quickly becoming his new look, just in case he ran into you.

He turned the corner towards Heather’s office but stopped short when he heard you laughing. He peered around a corner and saw you with some co-workers in the break room.

He was frozen to the ground, taking in your beautiful smile and laugh as you tried not to spill the coffee in your hand. You were wearing a knee-length flowy black skirt, with a V-neck light purple blouse. When you bent over to laugh again, he saw a glimpse of your tits bouncing under your shirt. He held his breath for a moment, trying to will himself forward, when you suddenly looked over and met his gaze.

Your friends didn’t notice him standing there, and you didn’t say anything. You just ran your eyes up and down his body, pausing on his exposed forearms. You gave him a shy smile and a little wave. Before he realized it, he was slowly lifting his hand up in return.

He was fucked.

Chapter Four

#joel miller fanfiction #joel miller #joel miller smut #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller fic #joel the last of us #tlou hbo #the last of us hbo #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller series #joel x reader #joel x reader smut #joel miller angst #joel miller fluff

404 notes · View notes

paperclipninja · 4 months ago

Text

Seeing everyone's reactions to the Good Omens news, I think I'm feeling some version of them all concurrently. And I know throwing my 2c into the basket is neither here nor there, but I've popped some rambling thoughts under the cut.

First off I want to be really clear: obviously the people truly impacted are the victims of NG's behaviour and that is first and foremost. This is not intended to erase or diminish that, I am distinguishing broader impact from impact on the show here intentionally, even though they are inherently entwined, but want to acknowledge that right off the bat.

This whirlwind of finding out about the allegations, to hearing that the show was paused, to assuming it was cancelled, to wanting it not to be cancelled but not wanting NG to be a part of it, to not being sure how that would happen, to being hopeful, to hearing it is back on sans creep but a movie, to hearing it's a series, to getting confirmation it's a 90 minute movie, to finding out that not even a month ago we were, in fact, getting nothing. It's been a lot.

And I managed to convince myself that if it's cancelled, well then the fandom will live on forever - creating, imagining and determined to continue this story and give these characters the varied and many endings and stories they deserve. Believe me, nothing binds a fandom like an unfinished story.

And then I heard that a movie, then a third series, was going ahead and took that to mean NG was no longer involved and thought ok, it's going to look a bit different probably but that's ok. We will still get a 6 episode resolution on screen, an ending that is canon and ties up all the things and we can enjoy that and all it brings and then, probably have lots of mixed feelings about how it's all tied up, then eventually, probably, start to move on.

And now we have actual confirmation that it's a 90 minute movie, NG properly removed other than some script contribution and it's somehow more than I expected and not enough, and a relief and heart-breaking all at once.

And I have been reflecting and thinking about it all morning and realised that for me, this is a funny, bittersweet kind of middle ground that sort of allows two things to happen: we get a resolution on screen, we get to see these characters we love so dearly together once more and for their story to play out to some kind of conclusion. But we will also have to create and imagine and determine what happens with all that we won't get to see now.

Am I sad that there will be many aspects of the story we will probably never get (thinking of more flashbacks in particular)? Absolutely. But the other thing that often happens when a show ends is that after a while, without the need to speculate or theorise or imagine what could have been, fandoms plateau (that's not to say people don't continue to create and love the characters and show, especially something like Good Omens, but generally, in my experience, the level of engagement will peter off over time without new content, especially if everything is wrapped up nicely with a bow). The compulsion to create endings and resolutions is often diminished once an ending and resolution has been established.

So I realised that we find ourselves in a rather unique position. We will get a resolution of sorts, but all those bits we will never get to see will become the source of speculation and stories and art and theories and what could have been, and it will become ours to imagine and create time and time again. I think that the collective experience of all of this, along with the need to fill in the gaps, might actually keep the many talented creators in this fandom inspired and the rest of us engaged and bound together in a way we may not have been otherwise.

This is obviously just my take and where I currently sit on all this - there is no right or wrong way to feel, engage or move forward from here. The beauty of fandom, especially one as big as ours, is that everyone can find their pocket, connect with those who bring comfort and validation, and proceed in a way that works for you.

I adore this fandom, the people I have met and the unbelievable content and fandom works that come out of it. It is truly unlike anything I've ever been a part of online and if nothing else, I am grateful for that. This was an indulgent little ramble, perhaps it might bring some solace or make you want to throw things at me, and that's ok. We're in it together.

#good omens #good omens season 3 #good omens rambles #my rambling thoughts

33 notes · View notes

raven-at-the-writing-desk · 1 year ago

Note

Do you think it is possible to adapt the events of Twisted Wonderland for manga someday?

As much as I’d personally love for the event stories to be adapted into a full-blown manga, I really don’t think it’s feasible outside of maybe one-off specials (similar to the anthology comic) or references (like how the Episode of Heartslabyul features Master Chef Riddle as he’s making an apology tart). There are many reasons for this (these also apply for why I don’t think vignettes would be fully adapted into “full” manga):

Firstly, event stories are purposefully limited time in the game; this is to induce FOMO (fear of missing out) and creates a psychological incentive to get in on the hype while the associated story and banners are available. This time exclusivity does not “translate” well into manga, which can be consumed at a far steadier pace.

To add to the last point, TWST is constantly coming out with new events, and at a rate far faster than the main story releases, even if each event is typically short in length. This means a hypothetical event manga may never be able to “keep up” with the new content (assuming the manga’s pace is 1 new chapter per month), unlike the main story which gets far larger gaps of time between major updates. If TWST were to start an event manga at this point, they already have 20ish events and counting to adapt compared to 7 books of the main story (and that’s not even counting minor ones like Master Chef/Culinary Crucibles) 💦

When you really think about it… not a lot actually happens in some events, which wouldn’t make them that exciting to read??? This is most noticeable in hometown events where the bulk of what happens is the characters going around and eating the local foods. Once we have that trivia the first time (via the game), it loses some of its impact in another format.

The stakes are not high enough (most of the time) to warrant dedicating entire volumes to a single event and resolving its conflict. (The main exceptions to this would be the Halloween events.)

There could be some confusion associated with timelines and/or could spoil the main story for som people. For example, events like Fairy Gala: What If have some ties to the ending of book 6.

Lastly… what would we do about the Yuus? The manga adaptation introduces a new Yuu for every main story episode; is there supposed to be a new Yuu for each event…? Do we bring back the manga!Yuus and distribute them among the events? But then what’s really the point when Yuu’s role is greatly diminished in the majority of events??? (Again, this is most notable whenever they visit a new area; Yuu just randomly pops up to each group of students and says/does nothing of note before walking away again. They typically also do not contribute to the resolution, whereas you can at least say Yuu is somewhat involved in the main story.)

As I said at the beginning of this post, I think the events being relegated to short anthology chapters and/or cameos in the main manga, as these formats would resolve many of the issues I identified for a “full” event manga. The anthology chapters thus far do not feature Yuu and instead focus on the boys, and the chapters are short enough that it can cover multiple events in the span of one volume. The cameos would also allow for event outfits to appear without the focus shifting so much into events where not a lot may happen story-wise. Those are my thoughts! 💭

#twisted wonderland #twst #disney twisted wonderland #twst manga #twisted wonderland manga #notes from the writing raven #question #episode of heartslabyul #episode of heartslabyul manga #Riddle Rosehearts

75 notes · View notes

premamelody · 8 months ago

Text

quick lil song talk thingy about a letimotif in mcsm s2

ever think about how xara's theme not only reflects her getting back her life after several years, but also everyone's animosity of romeo blending together. it represents how everyone is working towards the one goal of stopping him. making sacrifices, such hard decisions, with one common goal.

literally her theme and its first appearance xara joins you once she learns jesse has been wronged by romeo too. then in the second one to feature her theme is when you learn to the full extent how much romeo screwed xara over. you get the full picture of how messed up he is even before you learn about the fact he killed fred (i may be misremembering lmk if im wrong). even when xara loses hope in the world, jesse and everyone else pushes on which motivates her. she lost the will to keep going after so many years, but the spark of motivation of those around her keeps that flame going for longer, and her theme follows that.

the theme plays again (and the last time if u gave xara her bed) at the rebuilt portal. everyone at this point has BEEN working together, even more people to the cause. the fight against romeo is growing bigger, so the next appearance of her theme is stronger than ever, not stronger in appearance but also having more that accompanies it. unlike prisoner x and the oasis, theres a lot more going on in dangerous eyes as if theres a lot more people fighting, fighting on. the theme pops in a bit further into the theme after the beginning but in the middle it melts into something else. synergy? hope? an uplifting and keep on fighting sort of theme. (2:56-3:45 on the yt posting if u want specifics). all of this sort of dies out in the moment where radar makes a sacrifice and u have to choose whether to let him or not, like how it is in the FIRST theme choosing between lluna and nurm. a reminder that contributions to the effort involved sacrifices too, those who felt strong enough to the cause to ENDANGER themselves to move it on. ok ik lluna didnt but nurm literally tells jesse he'll take the fall.

and don't think i forgot about if you didn't give xara her bed. while not having her theme play at all and instead a different song kinda fits as it lacks the theme at all like how attacked without anyone else but on her own, i think the scrapped "Xara in Beacontown" works better. in it, the theme is stronger than ever before but it is also alone. the theme is on its own. not in sync or synergy with other things, just on its own. a fight for herself, a last stand for herself. but to have an abrupt end that matches the first part of the song. while she did prevent champion city from falling apart, without others she couldnt stop him.

it took everyone working together to stop him. everyone contributing. i mean literally in the fight against romeo, w/o jack or petra, romeo would've likely won. even in the last fight, jesse needed others to beat him, not just himself.

the summary? xara's theme not only emphasizes taking back what was lost, fighting for herself...but also every fighting together. everyone working together. everyone united to take back everything that they lost to him, to romeo.

#mcsm #minecraft story mode #xara mcsm #cd randomy #im sorry if this is long #i didnt actually think it would be #i spelt like an hour typing this and going back looking through stuff #please please lmk if i got smth wrong like when the theme plays or smth #or even possibly other interpetations #!!!!#fun fact i had to double check bc i forgot xara in beacontown isnt in the final

26 notes · View notes

t-oppenheimer · 4 months ago

Text

In sad news for my audience of 20 or so, there is likely going to be a definite termination of my forays into fiction / hobbyist writing. I never cared so much that it never turned up dough. I had a fantasy in the back of my mind that once I got a degree of recognition, I'd give all my work the wings to fly in the world without my interference or litigation anyway. As it stands, writing (or my writing) is a craft which does not stand by itself without volume much, much greater than I can offer while taking classes contributing to a stable-ish career. I will not be sullen if my total reach is only some hundred in grand total, though I wish I could have seen the wonder on their face as they pieced through my ideas.

These are the plans as they stand:

You have seen me post essays breaking down the philosophy of Spray and Pray's design. I intend on releasing it together in one document and releasing it for free, along with releasing all rights to the OBE engine through Spray and Pray as a sort of 'system reference document'. I am still very proud of my working through the puzzle of it's design and I hope that people will iterate on it and maybe make sure those numbers are fun at all.

A friend of mine I will leave unnamed expressed interest in illustrating with me some sort of light novel featuring 'wizard babes in bikinis'. I have left it an outline as they hadn't gotten back to me about it and it would certainly not be the first time I had to shelve a whole lot of effort because I planned around someone who insisted that they could work pro-bono against my desires but never actually had the resources to meet the project. If the collaboration is fruitful, you will know.

I am going to do what is in my power to see the first 'part' of Journal's of Caer published. Writing a full gamebook around totally unproven rules is inherently daunting, and although I already have an outline, sudden expenses has hemorrhaged my commission slush fund. I believe I have enough material to go ahead with a somewhat less flashy version of the book now.

At some point when I graduated I intended on publishing some of my undergraduate philosophy essays because-- in case you're somehow not familiar with me-- I have incredible hubris and am convinced that I am often very right and have prescient things to say on everything. It will be as easy as formatting what already exists, only I would want to wait until my undergraduate course work is actually done.

If there is some project which utterly grips me which I know I can complete within a week's time, you may see some free projects similar to Hypnosis as a Social Theory pop up.

If the situation changes, my mind will too. But a constructive murder is being tightened around my neck by the week and by the end of 2026 I will have need to make a plan to either afford medicine, be somewhere I can afford medicine, or shrivel up and die in my own urine in a way which will inconvenience the fewest people.

Spray and Pray: Recorps Corps is already my damaged, fraying at the edges magnum opus. It's a lovely little clockwork devil I know can march proudly with a few tune ups I never had the resources to give it. Please do inform me by whatever means comfortable if you 'get it' whatever that will mean for you.

#i should open a writing blog #indie ttrpg

7 notes · View notes

zahri-melitor · 6 months ago

Text

The Joker War:

Yeah so: this was a good event. The stakes were high, it pulled in and tied off a lot of storytelling since Rebirth, and it reset the status quo for Gotham. Plus, I had a lot of fun reading it.

Sometimes you read an event and come out of it going 'well what was the point'. This is not one of those events; I can see how it sets up a whole chunk of the subsequent 4 years of stories.

It also had an absolutely banger set of writers working on it, supplemented with solid artists. It was very much James Tynion's event, but he clearly was talking to Peter Tomasi, Ram V, Dan Jurgens and Cecil Castellucci to pull the storytelling together. (Scott Lobdell also contributed a single issue but it was very much a tie-in of the 'Jason receives a call' type). Castellucci was the weakest link in that set and even she landed what needed to happen with Barbara during the event.

So. Joker reveals that he knows who all the Bats are, and that he's known that for a long time, as he proceeds to try and break Bruce by plunging the city into chaos, stealing all of the Wayne fortune, revealing Wayne Enterprises to be as 'corrupt' as any other multinational, and using all of the Bat equipment that the company has been manufacturing to cause terror.

Bruce, who has been isolating himself in the wake of City of Bane and Alfred's death, initially starts out trying to fight all of this on his own, and then spends even more time hallucinating Alfred, as Tynion gives him a chance to process what happened. He eventually gets to the classic 'call in the family' round up. But mostly, he's fighting Joker by himself. Harley, who is extremely irritated by Punchline's whole existence (and sewed up her own slit throat with a guitar string at one point), spends a fair amount of time helping Bruce, and eventually sets up a situation in the final Bruce v Joker showdown where she ties bombs to herself and to Joker, tells Bruce he's only got time to defuse one, and sprints away. Joker is VERY put out by Bruce's decisions in this situation, because they contradict what he's been monologuing about.

That's the main Bruce plot. (Oh he also gets to deal with Two-Face bringing Lincoln March back and then my least favourite fake Wayne getting blown up in a way that may or may not be fatal. The wikis cannot agree)

Dick's entire Ric plot arc comes to a head with a series of brainwashings. Joker gets his hands on the crystal that had previously brainwashed him into having no memories and then to thinking he was raised by William Cobb as a Talon, and deciding to join in the fun, rewrites Dick's memories as 'Dickyboy', who was raised by Joker after the circus. Yes. We do Joker Junior (but for Dick!) Most of the bad stuff done during this period is like...calling for help to trick Jason, Tim and Babs to turn up, and then curbstomping Jason. Tim gets to defuse a bomb about to blow up a hospital and is very proud of himself, while Dick's fatal flaw of 'extremely suggestible to redheads' pops up and a combination of Babs and Bea are able to talk him around and restore his memories to actually being Dick Grayson (Bea's purple dreads get her into the category, I think). Thank goodness, Nightwing is back.

Selina is busy playing everyone, and ends up transferring the Wayne fortune she originally set in motion to be stolen from Bruce to end up in Lucius Fox's Caymans bank account, setting up the whole upcoming Jace Fox stories. Also she moves back to Alleytown in the aftermath of everything to get back to her Brubaker roots.

Barbara gets attacked by Joker who wants to replicate A Killing Joke now that he can reveal he knows he shot Batgirl at that time, and hijacks her spinal implant. So Babs digs it out AGAIN, then once she's got away needs Luke Fox to help her fix it and reimplant the connections. The entire point of all of these fun and games is essentially to put Babs in a position where she knows she needs to stop relying on going out as Batgirl: she finally gets to come back online as Oracle, in green wearing glasses, where she seizes control of the city and does some proper Oracle work. There's a fair amount of talk about how she needs to start transitioning back to Oracle at least part time.

Also James Jr has developed a split personality and ends up throwing himself off a building to his death, while Babs as Batgirl tries to grab him, leading to even more extension of the "Jim Gordon hates Batgirl" plot that's been running since n52 and the last time James Jr threw himself to his death (off a bridge). Sigh. I'm bored of that one. There's a broken body at the bottom and we bury him this time, so we're pretty safe from another James Jr plot until someone decides to drop his corpse in a Lazarus Pit or get Superboy Prime to punch time or inject him with electrum or whatever.

Oh and Steph and Cass switch costumes to be both be Batgirl in a short in the anthology issue, which has the most unfortunate art in existence and may possibly be the source of the confusion over their ages at the start of the Batgirls run (It would be fine if it was a DC Super Hero Girls imprint story; it's ridiculous for main universe).

It's fun! Quite a lot goes on! Pretty much everyone shows up at some point, including Kate Kane coming back to Gotham for the first time since the whole 'shooting Clayface' situation; the only big absences are Damian (stuck in limboland and only appearing on one cover; this is presumably due to all the back and forth going on as people try to work out what they're doing with him now that 5G is off the table); JPV, who I think is technically still in space?; and Harper gets namechecked as still working with Leslie, but doesn't show up.

I would definitely recommend it if you have read a decent amount of the Batman/Detective Comics/Nightwing/Batgirl/Catwoman comics between 2016 and 2020. I also would suggest it's a solid choice if you're simply interested in the set up for all the character direction changes spinning out after the cancel/relaunch of titles after Future State at the start of 2021.

This is definitely one of those events where, while there is a lot of Joker, he's actually being used for reasons that make sense, and there's a lot of other villains running around causing problems as well.

#z canon read throughs #The Joker War

19 notes · View notes

hae-yeon · 14 days ago

Text

534.U.S.-bound (3)

미국 갑니다 (3)

“I’ll go to sleep once I’m done watching this, sir. Having the TV on is supposed to help you fall asleep too, they say.”

Yerimie said, popping an earbud in one ear. Evelyn-ssi had immediately disappeared into a single-occupancy seat upon her arrival on the plane, saying that she’d be entrusting her Guild Leader-nim to Section Chief Song-nim and myself. Before making her exit though, she’d advised us to plan to get some shut-eye prior to arriving, particularly in light of the time zone difference between here and the States.

Since it’d probably be afternoonish when we arrived Stateside, just as Evelyn-ssi had said, I proceeded to usher the others to their designated seats as well about two or so hours into the flight, telling them to try and sleep a bit. And while they may have been labeled as ‘seats,’ they were effectively just single-person rooms. They each contained a bed of generous proportions, and were equipped with a separate seat in them as well.

“I don’t actually need to sleep, though.”

After tending to Yerimie, I pushed my dongsaeng into a bed as well, despite his proposal to ‘sleep together in hyung’s bed.’ Whereas Yerimie’s room had been a super-single that was closer to being a double, Yoohyunie’s was a plain single. It still looked spacious enough for even Section Chief Song-nim to be able to rest comfortably in, though.

“It’s just that we don’t know when the next time we’ll be able to rest properly might be. I have my Drawer to fall back on, but that’s not the case for you guys, right.”

So he needed to rest as much as he could, while he still could. ‘Be good and go to sleep, ‘kay,’ I said, and even pulled the blankets over his body for him. A big advantage to a pocket dimension like Myungwoo’s Forge or the Innoxious King’s Drawer was that they could be used as a rest point to take a leisurely break anytime, anywhere. Of course, because I was still struggling with the recharging feature for mine, I was limited in how often I could make use of it, but I was thankful for the Innoxious King’s contribution all the same. I just wished she’d given Yermie and Yoohyunie one each too, while she was at it. At least when judging from the model number that had been attached to it, it seemed like she’d had plenty more to go around.

Closing the door to Yoohyunie’s room, I went over to my own seat.

“Gyeol-ah, did you finish brushing your teeth?”

- Ye-es appa.

“Peace, your paw.”

- Kkiyang.

After wiping down Peace’s paws with some puppy wipes, I set him down on the bed. A separate cushion had been set up next to my pillow to function as Geyolie’s bed, in light of his diminutive size.

“Gyeol-ah, are you really set on accompanying Sung Hyunjae-ssi to participate in the Party? Things might become dangerous. Even now, if you want to return home instead, you can. Yoon-Yoon can escort you back. And auntie Yerimie said she’d be willing to switch party slots with you, too.”

If Gyeolie decided he wanted to go home, Yerimie had agreed to take his place on a team with Sung Hyunjae. Since Evelyn-ssi had rejected the prospect of being on the same team as her Guild Leader, and she’d feel awful making Section Chief Song-nim be responsible for Sung Hyunjae, she’d said. But Gyeolie determinedly shook his head in response to my words.

- I already talked it over with Chirpie.

“...huh? With Chirpie? You two are capable of communicating with each other?”

- Just through vibes. Chirpie’s gonna watch the broadcast, and come to our rescue if it sees appa or Gyeolie in danger. Since Gyeolis is small, he can teleport alongside Chirpie, y’see.

It’d be helpful if Chirpie was willing to chip in and help, but what exactly did he mean by ‘just through vibes,’ I wondered. In any case–if Gyeolie were to be kidnapped or something, then perhaps I’d be able to ask Chirpie to find him…maybe? But wait, wasn’t the U.S. too far away for something like that, to begin with. Just making it to Hong Kong had seemed to’ve drained all of its strength, back then.

“Gyeol-ah, you really won’t get hurt or anything, right?”

- Mhn! Since that’s my characteristic trait. I might not be incapable of inflicting harm on others, but that also means that others aren’t capable of harming me, either. …though that means I’m incapable of protecting others, too.

I used a finger to gently stroke the dejected fairy dragon’s drooping head.

“Even if you can’t, it’s alright. Your safety is what's most important.”

- Then, appa needs to prioritize his too!

“Appa is an adult, though.”

Gyeolie’s face filled with indignation. After calming Gyeolie down and giving Peace a parting pat as well, I slipped out of the room. There was a wine bar at the corner of the small lounge area. The plane we were currently using was configured differently than the pink-colored aircraft we’d flown in before. How many different planes did he have on standby, exactly. Haeyeon had its own private aircraft as well, of course, but if we were going to have to move together as a team anyway, using another’s resources was certainly preferable. There was no guarantee the plane wouldn’t end up in pieces this time either, after all.

Because how safe could an airport bustling with S-ranks be, when it came down to it. It was smarter to refrain from putting Haeyeon Guild’s assets at unnecessary risk. But we were each planning to return using our own separate aircrafts, on the way back. Since Dodam didn’t have a plane of its own yet, I’d be boarding Haeyeon's. Section Chief Song-nim… would probably feel more comfortable with Haeyeon than Seseung too, right? What should we do if he insisted on riding back in economy on a normal aircraft, though. Maybe a spot of kidnapping was in order.

“Please get some sleep too, Section Chief Song-nim, sir. You’ve probably been on a tightly packed schedule for a while, I imagine.”

I said, approaching Song Taewon, who was sitting with an untouched glass of alcohol planted in front of him. It was easy enough to guess that it had likely been forced on him by Sung Hyunjae, despite any protests he may have put up. Since he had a good sense of taste, it was probably something that was perfectly tailored to Section Chief Song-nim’s preferences in any case, at least. And he really did tend to be too strict with himself. Reaching out a hand, I nudged the glass a bit closer to Section Chief Song-nim.

“Since it’ll be quite a while before we land Stateside, sir. This seems to be one of Breaker’s wines, if I’m not mistaken.”

“A balanced portion of it, certainly.”

Sung Hyunjae commented, inspecting a wine bottle he’d picked up from behind the bar.

“It appears our Business Partner-nim is intent on reaping a bountiful harvest this time around as well.”

It was the reason why Moon Hyuna had headed out before the rest of us. For the Party, the broadcast, and the U.S. They were opportunities for her to conduct a wide-scale promotion of the wine that had been unveiled in Japan.

“I confess I’m quite curious as to how Breaker’s sponsors are taking the news, sir.”

“Quite–as it provides an opportunity for Moon Hyuna to become a significant player in the wine industry, outside of her capacity as Breaker’s Guild Leader. It would change her position considerably, from a ‘former pro athlete turned Hunter’ to a fellow entrepreneur.”

I was a bit out of the loop on the details, but it seemed that the U.S. side was aiming for an exclusive contract that would allow for a temporary monopoly, with the caveat that manufacturing details would be released after the agreed upon time had passed. Similar enough wines would eventually appear on the market, after all; and as such, it was deemed more profitable to expedite the production window to capitalize on the demand that existed now, in return for something that would ultimately become common knowledge anyway.

Besides, what Hyuna-ssi was after wasn’t to become a wine conglomerate, but to achieve independence for her guild. Even now, she’d occasionally drop by to complain to me about how ‘it really didn’t suit her at all.’

“Now, then, Section Chief Song-nim. Did you make sure to bring your sleeping clothes, sir?”

I asked, tapping on the rim of his wine glass with the tip of my finger.

“As well as your toothpaste and toothbrush?”

“...I did bring the latter, yes.”

“Then, please go ahead and retire after polishing this off, sir.”

“Or perhaps we could enjoy a pleasurable time together, you and I, while the children are asleep.”(1)

Section Chief Song-nim moved to pick up his drink.

“Will the two of you be retiring as well, if I may enquire.”

“Yes, I’ll be heading off to bed too, sir. I imagine Sung Hyunjae-ssi will go rest as well, once he gets bored of being left to his own devices. Like I said, sir–you can rest easy until we touch down in the States, at the very least. What could we possibly get up to, while we’re all stuck on this plane.”

We needed to be well-behaved, lest we get kicked off the plane. Being forced to swim across the entire Pacific ocean on your lonesome was a fate that even S-ranks would balk at. Draining the entire wine glass in one go, Song Taewon stood from his seat. A mix of weariness and concern were already casting shadows across his face.

“My household recently started using a new toothpaste brand that appears quite nice. Do you need me to lend you a tube, sir?”

“I appreciate the offer, but it will be unnecessary.”

Once Section Chief Song-nim had left the lounge, Sung Hyunjae nonchalantly informed me ‘that Chief Song Taewon only uses bamboo salt toothpaste.’ And how did he know something like that, exactly.

“Have you perchance committed breaking and entering into Section Chief Song-nim’s residence, sir?”

“We’ve traveled overseas together quite frequently, for business and the like.”

You mean he was forced to accompany you each time you left the country, you prick. Where did you get off phrasing it to make it seem as though you were work buddies, huh.

“But the toothpaste stocked at your residence was on the sweeter side, sir, as I recall–you two seem to have opposite preferences, in that regard.”

“As it was something procured for young Han Yoojin.”

Kiddy treatment for me, huh. Well, I had been passed over to him as a ward, after all. Sung Hyunjae slid a glass of alcohol my way as well. Slouching into a chair, I looked up at Sung Hyunjae with my chin propped up on a hand.

“What did he mean by those words, the Elder.”

Deep moon-like eyes lidded faintly. (2)

“Elderly individuals do tend to possess a long-winded way of issuing warnings, no. A reflection of the protracted years they’ve spent alive, perhaps.”

“Why don’t we do this quid pro quo then, sir. I’ll divulge something about myself as well, if you’ll see fit to answer.”

“I should already be privy to all of the mundane details, I imagine.”

“Section Chief Song-nim, there’s a stalker over here.”

Then again, Section Chief Song-nim was a victim of his too.

“Is there anyone else aside from Section Chief Song-nim and myself who should be reporting you to the authorities, sir? I’m thinking about creating a stalking victims support group, you see.”

“Heavens, no.”

That was a silver lining, at least. And in a sense, I supposed Sung Hyunjae could be considered a stalking victim of Crescent Moon’s, too, when it came down to it. Not to mention, that side was far more malevolent in comparison. After watching me silently for a moment, Sung Hyunjae began to speak.

“It is far more taxing than it may seem, lad, this business of retaining my ‘self.’”

“...I’d expect so, sir. It was touch-and-go for a bit there already, after all.”

“Consequently, it is paramount that ‘Sung Hyunjae’ always place ‘Sung Hyunjae’ above all else. If I were to ever permit a lapse in that prioritization of myself, ‘I’ would then undoubtedly become usurped.”

Was he saying that, if he was unable to maintain his place at the top, those ‘long-accumulated’ things stockpiled beneath him would rise up to swallow him.

“So that’s–the ‘lonely’ thing, sir?”(3)

“To prioritize oneself is not innately negative, in itself. As a matter of fact, it holds the potential of a worthwhile pursuit. However, it is also true that humans are occasionally given to become wholly absorbed in an endeavor, despite the detriment it causes to the self. Most commonly in the pursuit of love, or friendship. Or in their devotion to work or hobbies, perhaps.”

“...well, there are many people who simply lead quiet, ordinary lives as well, sir.”

But even as I said those words, a melancholy feeling washed over me as I imagined being subjected to such a fate. After all–regardless of what it might be, just being able to observe the deep passion someone held for anything could still transmit a similar sense of vicarious enjoyment to the viewer, so powerful was the emotion. Choosing to opt out of those sorts of experiences, versus being prohibited from such things, must feel completely different.

“And even within the mundane realm of everyday life.”

Sung Hyunjae tipped a bottle of wine towards the glass set before himself.

“It is not uncommon to see one prioritizes others in minute social transactions. Such as reserving another bite of food for one’s child instead, for one. The quaintness of human relations comprise those sorts of things.”

“...you’re pretty diligent about looking after others in your own way too, though, Sung Hyunjae-ssi. Like how you always make sure to prepare a gift on Section Chief Song-nim on his birthday, sir.”

“As, fortuitously, such things are but a grain of sand in a beach to myself.”

Ah yes, of course, sir. Any trace of the pity I’d started to feel for him evaporated in a flash, souring in the face of that attitude. So your lordship was so exceptional that hardly anything could amount to being a sacrifice on your part, huh. A mouse throwing itself at a fox to protect its comrade would be making a monumental sacrifice; but for a lion, to accomplish the same would hardly call for any further effort than a yawn.

“And the reason for the dressing-down you got before, sir?”

“I believe it was to be one for one, no.”

Tch. But I doubted he would’ve been willing to divulge the reason anyway, even if the condition had been for two or three instead of one. Prompted by his expectant look, I took a sip of alcohol before opening my mouth to speak.

“Well, I suppose, sir, I.”

“I’m not quite certain what I should do, to ‘like’ myself.”

Because everyone was worried about me, and tried to take care of me. I was grateful, and wanted to be able to return the favor, but.

“I just find myself incapable of it, sir. I’m well-aware of my ‘personal worth,’ of course–but beyond an objective understanding of that concept, I find myself at a loss.”

I knew of Han Yoojin’s achievements. I was cognizant of the hard work I’d put in, too. And there were the things I’d accomplished that I thought I deserved to be praised for, and recognized for as well.

“That you are able to voice such a thing out loud, lad.”

Sung Hyunjae went on, in a needlessly kindly voice.

“Perhaps it indicates that you are finally resolved to see a shift occur.”

“...I hope you’re right, sir. If only because I feel a bit guilty towards the people who care for me, anyway.”

“It will be a long flight yet to our destination, so if you are inclined to drown your sorrows, it should not pose an issue.”

“No–I really should be getting to bed, sir.”

Draining the rest of my glass, I rose from my seat. When I returned to my assigned seat after washing up, Peace, who had still been awake, wagged his tail at me. Petting Peace, I laid down in my bed and turned the lights out.

After tossing and turning a little for a while, I opened my eyes once more, on account of the memories that kept replaying behind my closed lids. Many things had changed, and were still undergoing shifts. But there were some things that remained the same, too. Even though time had been rewound, my past remained unchanged. …it was why it was impossible for me yet, that task of ‘liking’ myself. How could I, when.

I still couldn’t forgive myself.

- - -

The closer it came time for us to land, the more rigid Yoohyunie’s expression grew. Dissatisfied with simply sitting close together, he’d nearly pulled me halfway onto his lap, and was making no effort to conceal his displeasure about the situation. After witnessing this go on for long enough, Yerimie aimed a hard kick at Yoohyunie’s leg, scowling.

“Don’t think you’re the only one that’s concerned about mister, alright!”

Yoohyunie ignored Yerimie completely without even batting an eye. Good grief; and here was Gyeolie too, wearing a face like death as well. Despite being a little kid that hadn’t even been alive for a year yet, he was letting out a series of sighs with the world-weary expression of someone far older. His worry for me, compounded by his loathing to be paired up with Sung Hyunjae, was manifesting in the occasional full-body shudder.

- Sigh, siiigh, life really is a constant struggle.

“You can always turn back for home, you know.”

- Appa, in life, sometimes you have to do the things that you don’t want to do.

…Gyeol-ah, how old did you think you were, exactly, to be spouting off with something like that. Section Chief Song-nim seemed to be filled with a sort of restless anxiety, and even Sung Hyunjae appeared to be somewhat tense. Evelyn had gone so far as to take her meals alone, showing little desire to leave her seat unless necessary.

Honestly, why was the atmosphere like this. It felt as though we were heading towards a wake, rather than a party. Then again, I supposed that wasn’t too far off the mark, actually.

“Chatterbox promised that he’d take responsibility for my safety, Yoohyun-ah.”

I said consolingly, patting the arm wrapped around me.

“He definitely won’t try and kill me, okay? I’m more worried about you guys, as a matter of fact.”

“Hyung…….”

[ Hyung, Yoohyunie reaaaally wants to swallow up Hyung right now! ]

Irinie chirped, climbing onto my hand. I see–with the descent approaching, he was feeling the urge to finalize things himself. My dongsaeng was being such a good boy, holding himself back this well.

“If we weren’t on a plane, I’d have jumped off already.”

Yerimie groused, flopping down onto a sofa. However, in spite of her words, it was clear that she was feeling worried about me too. Most likely, she just was trying to keep from adding onto the grim atmosphere herself. Not that she was obligated to behave in such a way; but it might have been a coping mechanism that persisted in her still. Whenever the atmosphere turned tense, it was usually the child that was considered an ‘imposition’ on the family that bore the brunt of the fallout, after all. As a result, they might either attempt to change the mood, or simply retreat completely into themselves, so as to avoid drawing unnecessary attention. A trauma response, based on an instinctive desire to survive. Even though our household had a biological set of parents, in my case.

“Here, Yerim-ah.”

Taking a pendant out of my inventory, I presented it to Yerimie. It was the Egg containing the Water elemental. Irinie’s hackles went up at the sight, his tail going up ramrod-stiff.

“Apparently, you should be holding onto it from now on.”

Since it would be waking up soon with no more assistance needed from me, it would be better to have it stay with its soon-to-be contract holder instead, Ismoire had said. Exclaiming ‘really, sir?’ Yerimie collected the pendant.

“Myungwoo went ahead and put it on a chain for you. The necklace itself is fairly sturdy, and the elemental Egg shouldn’t break on you, it should be fine for you to wear it on your person.”

“Yessir! It’s so pretty.”

Hanging the pendant around her neck, Yerimie grinned happily as she admired the softly sparkling egg, smoothing her fingers over its surface. Irinie, who had been glowering at the sight, whipped around and retreated back into Yoohyunie. After it was born, would he and the Water elemental end up fighting like cats and dogs whenever there was a lull, I wondered.

Not long after, an announcement came on over the intercoms to inform us we were landing.

- - - - -

(1) 아니면 아이들이 잠든 사이 나와 즐기는 것도 괜찮겠지 → shj’s propositioning stw w the line parents use to invite their spouse for sexy time

(2) it’s hard to smoothly translate lines w wordplay like this sentence, where it’s meant to emphasize the imagery associated w a character.. e.g. the association sung hyunjae has with light(lumen)/gold(metal)/moon + song taewon with shadow/gravity/void(black hole) + lit. it’s closer to ‘deep/rich orbs like the moon ‘waned’ slightly’, to pair with stw’s own sentence earlier with ‘casting shadows across his face’

(3) yj asking abt what chaos said to him / ref to 'lonely' is from ch 531

yj: stop trying to get frisky with mom when he’s already tired you shitty stepdad, you’re the reason he’s so stressed all the time

stw: …………. (looking at problem sources #1 & #2)

+(Q&A)

Q) i’m curious about how long han yoohyun sleeps for, or his sleeping habits A) when han yoohyun is apart from han yoojin, he sleeps no more than two hours per day. when living with han yoojin, he syncs up his sleeping time with han yoojin. he can only sleep normally when next to hyung, and even becomes capable of dreaming then. when han yoojin’s body reaches a point where it needs rest, han yoohyun will also mimic feeling fatigued.

+(Q&A)

Q) in order to clasp a leash on song taewon, who is a high-ranking government official, i imagine that plenty of marriage interview requests would’ve come in from political and commercial circles; was song taewon the type to just show his face an adequate amount at those kinds of events, or was he the type to straightforwardly refuse? if he did happen to participate in such an event, i’m curious if he’s a wallflower, or if he’s the type to engage in conversation casually ㅎㅎ A) as he had no intentions of establishing a family in any form, they were generally resolutely refused. however, rather than for political relations, for a lead to a case, he has attended a matchmaking meeting before. pre-regression, while overseas, with undercover infiltration as their objective, he and Sung Hyunjae attended a high-rank Hunter award ceremony-esque event together as well^^ for sung hyunjae, it was an immensely enjoyable time. he’s not quite to the extent of being a wallflower, but he is the taciturn and terse type.

+(Q&A)

Q) when section chief song-nim is overseas and a foreign Hunter asks him <are you mister song?>, then will he really answer like "yea."??? A) if he’s in the middle of carrying out official government duties, he will clearly state both his title and name. however, if he’s there in secret because of sung hyunjae, he will not answer^^

+(Q&A)

Q) in the novel, on the topic of confession stories, song taewon answered that he’d had sufficient experience with them; has song taewon had a lot of relationship experience? A) he was popular both before awakening and after, but as indicated in an earlier answer, he established a firm boundary. even when he was overseas because of sung hyunjae, he received not only confessions, but bouquets and similar gifts as well every so often ^^

+(Q&A)

Q) have any of the respective heads of organizations acted as chief mourner in a funeral for a subordinate who lost their family to a Dungeon break? A) song taewon and moon hyuna have done so in the past. han yoohyun has not, but even if the occasion had come up, he wouldn’t want to participate in the capacity of chief mourner, which is typically filled by family. pre-regression, han yoohyun’s family comprised only one person, han yoojin–and even as a temporary arrangement, he has no intention of letting another step into a position that’s reserved for family only. in the case of sung hyunjae, the sole person he’d considered to hold a relationship with himself that would merit his involvement as such pre-regression, was song taewon. at present, with song taewon of course being a given, he’s also considering taking up the position of chief mourner for han yoojin’s funeral, as han yoohyun would have already perished alongside him, if it turns out that bak yerim struggles to do so.

+(Q&A)

Q) how did sung hyunjae end up falling for crescent moon’s scam contract? was it that he was gullible? A) the first contract wasn’t as frightful as the one during the course of the novel. it was a standard contract, and it didn’t contain anything sung hyunjae felt much opposed to. however, every time he was planted over, addendums were made to the contract and it grew stronger. as one of the earlier incarnations of sung hyunjae, sigma wasn’t tied down as strongly, which was why he was able to escape crescent moon’s contract while sung hyunjae couldn’t. the original sung hyunjae may not have been gullible, but the pitfall was that he inevitably lacked outer-world knowledge ^^

+(Q&A)

Q) this is really just… something i’m personally interested in, but… at some point… once enough time has passed… will… peace be able to speak, just like chirpie? A) as he’s become an inhabitant of the world after coming outside of the Dungeons, as he continues to mature, it’ll eventually be possible^^

+(Q&A)

Q) do peace and the other magical beasts get frito paws like dogs and cats do? A) as he will clean himself by lightly burning away the grime when the bottom of his paws get dirty or some foreign object gets stuck, peace’s paws have a faint scorched+burning smell ^^ the other magical beasts vary depending on their unique characteristics.

+(Q&A)

Q) you’d mentioned before that his dongsaeng + the kids were why he’d suppressed his own desires; then, not only during that situation, but for various other issues as well, does yoojinie repress himself in a lot of aspects because of the kids??? ㅠㅠㅠ A) even when it’s not necessarily owing to the children, and even for people who are not han yoojin–in order to live in harmony with others, one must be prepared to concede and put up with some aspects. as everyone's a little bit different, for the parts that don’t fit together, you need to work to match it together somewhat. only, for han yoojin, that trait was overpowering to the point it became troubling; but by the time the series concludes, he’s gotten much better. instead of blindly sacrificing himself for the kids, he’s learned how to hold onto his own desires as well, somewhat. of course, he’s still quite devoted to putting the needs of the kids first, but that’s han yoojin’s inclination(nature/personality). if he has something delicious to eat, rather than eat it all by himself, he feels a greater satisfaction and happiness when sharing it with the kids. a simplistic view of it would be that it results in han yoojin’s share decreasing and him ostensibly having to ‘repress’ his own wants–but han yoojin’s level of contentment is greater with the latter. if han yoojin’s self-esteem and self-love were at rock-bottom, there’s a risk that he might end up divesting himself of everything, then even go so far as to incur debts in his desperation to hold on, saying i still prefer it be this way–but at present, he’s at an okay place. with han yoojin’s character, he’ll continue to need to make efforts to take care of his share as well, but he should be able to do well^^

+(Q&A)

Q) is august 30th the day the current world’s sung hyunjae was ‘planted’ there, or is it the original sung hyunjae’s actual birth date?? i’m also curious about why sung hyunjae places so much importance on birthday (parties), and if there are any other details you paid special attention to re:the characters’ birthdays! A) the birthday that appears in the novel is the date he was ‘planted’. because the original world had a different planetary size, rotation, and orbital speed, the method used to calculate days was also different. however, crescent moon endeavors to plant sung hyunjae at a similar window of time to his original birthday. this is because fulfilling the ‘conditions’ as closely as possible also helps facilitate the planting process. proportionate to how strong sung hyunjae’s amour propre runs, he thinks that the day of his birth must absolutely be celebrated. as a result, even when he feels as apathetic as could be, he endeavors not to miss the occasion. for a similar reason, he’s pretty good about remembering the birthdays of those around him and doing something for them too, if only compulsorily^^ because of this, he feels sorry about kang soyoung’s birthday situation. as kang soyoung is aware of this, she’ll push her luck with things that she wouldn’t ordinarily be able to get away with on the day after her birthday.

+(Q&A)

Q) as you’d replied before that sung hyunjae and his parents would occasionally do check-ins via phone calls, which party tends to be the one who calls first? when they call… what sort of things do they talk about?? and when was the last time sung hyunjae met with his parents face-to-face? does hyunjae go out of his way to make sure to do something for his parents’ birthdays as well? i also wondered if they’d ever been kidnapped or threatened for being sung hyunjae’s parents! A) typically three times a year, usually on the new year and on birthdays, he’ll give them a call. sung hyunjae’s parents are almost never the ones to initiate contact. the three only communicate at the bare minimum necessary to maintain basic politeness^^ the amount of times they’ve met up in person can be counted on one hand, in accordance with the parents’ wishes. on his parents’ birthdays, sung hyunjae will only make the wellness check call, and vantis is the one who prepares the gifts. the sole person whose birthday sung hyunjae would make sure to personally attend to year after year, was song taewon’s. pre-regression, he’d sent a present to han yoojin as a birthday obligation as well, but it never reached him. aside from that, due to feeling sympathetic about her birthday being overshadowed by his own birthday celebration, he’s seen to a gift for kang soyoung once, before letting vantis or the secretarial office take over thereafter. as they’d been securely sequestered away, there was no danger posed to them. because sung hyunjae had already maintained a distance from them pre-Awakening, and the parents had ended up thoroughly hidden somewhere far overseas, they are nearly impossible to track down.

+(Q&A)

Q) in the many lives that he’s lived, has sung hyunjae ever dated or gotten married? A) perhaps in his first life, or at the very early stages when he was just starting to be planted; after a while, he came to nearly lack that kind of desire altogether. part of it is also because he’s unconsciously aware of his own circumstances (i.e. being bound to crescent moon).

7 notes · View notes

dorizardthewizard · 1 year ago

Text

Galactik Football season 3 rewatch, eps 16 - 18

Episode 16:

Nice levitation trick Simbai, but she's just allowed to use the Breath like that? Maybe because she's a flux society member? It does make me realise, since the wars were not so long ago, how many people are walking around who could previously use the the Breath all the time but now aren't allowed. That's kind of crazy!

I do like the idea of them actually learning how to use the Breath in more creative ways!

This soundtrack for Tia's training session is pretty cool

Well done Mei for wearing more weather-appropriate clothes this time!

Mice telling Mark to get it together kdjfskfd time for lover boy to get dunked on for once

FSJHDFKDSF ARTEGOR BEING A COMMENTATOR NOW I LOVE IT

Callie: Do you miss playing when you see your friends on the field? D'jok: Um, I- Callie: Certainly you must think they are still bitter towards you after beating them on Paradisia?

Callie those are some horrible questions leave the man alone 😭

I am once again asking for more Lun-Zeara action. Btw has she ever spoken a line? Fucking Stevens may have spoken more than her

I support the Snow Kids but I love seeing the Wambas winning and having fun <3

GOOOOOAL MICRO-ICE!

Artegor: Listen Barry, to be frank, I'm not a fan of your work

HE'S SUCH A BITCH LOOOL after my rewatch I want to make a compilation of Artegor's commentator moments

Lun-Zaera is CHILLING lmao, also I just checked the wiki for the spelling of her name and it's about as consistent as the Wamba's hair colour.

Why is Woowamboo being such a dick. She's trying her best!

Awwww D'jok cheering on the Snow Kids

Mei is carrying the defence in this match like the queen she is <3

Artegor contributes a more technical analysis of the game which is pretty cool

WOOWAMBOO FOULING?? I mean fouls aren't really rare but still, he's being far more aggressive than before? Sure, the Wambas aren't going to just be fun-loving when the GFC is at stake and they're as competitive as any other team, but when you combine this with the way he was talking to Lun-Zia it's just jarring?

Also WAIT. Woowamboo is ginger? So the player that switched to the Lightnings for the Paradisian tournament was just someone else? Fair enough as you wouldn't switch your star player, but yeah my bad. Actually wait, he literally has grey hair in the Netherball scenes in season 2. WHAT IS THE TRUTH

OK WHAT. SO LUN-ZIA TELLING THE WAMBAS WHERE ROCKET IS MOST LIKELY TO SHOOT IS PERFECTLY A-OK BUT D'JOK TELLING TEAM PARADISIA A LITTLE TIP ON HOW TO BEAT AHITO IS A BETRAYAL?? PLUS, in the last episode Aarch faces the SK in the holo-trainer and says he can beat them because he knows how they play, and that everyone else does too. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS SAYING WHEN I WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT THE AHITO BETRAYAL BS. WHICH IS IT, WRITERS?!

Well at least Woowamboo seems more accepting of Lun-Zia now that he's seen her give it her all. Nice to see her settled in with the rest of the team!

I just had a thought, where is Maya in all this? We've seen Mama-Ice pop up and check on (scold XD) Micro-Ice but we didn't see Maya interact with D'jok at all? Wouldn't she have gone to see him instead of only hanging with the Snow Kids?? And now that D'jok's “retired” and hanging out by himself at Genesis, isn't she gonna look for him? She knows football was so important to him, so to give it up is a big deal! Ah well, we'll see.

Episode 17:

Yaay more Tia and Mei being besties

NOT CLOVER GIRL DOING THE MARYLIN MONROE

Side note I like Kim-8's vibes, she's just cool

That scene in Ballow's restaurant where he's talking about leaving dirty business behind, all while henchmen are constantly coming up to him with dodgy items like stolen paintings is so hilarious jfdskmn

aww I love Artegor trying to convince D'jok to come back, especially with him telling him how hard the SK took it when he left. It's also interesting to see Artegor refer to playing with the Snow Kids as a responsibility - they're a symbol of hope for the people of Akillian, who didn't even want to go to their first match in the stadium due to the trauma from the glaciation.

He also reminds D'jok he's a Snow Kid, which reminds me of their conversation in season.... 2? Where Artegor tells him he'll always be a kid from Akillian. It's also nice that once he's voiced his opinion, he changes the subject instead of pressuring D'jok to answer. He's really developed from the demanding Shadows coach he used to be.

THE PIRATES!! CRUSH THE RED TIGERS!!!!

Poor Artie, he can never watch a full match LOL

FOUR GOALS FOR STEVENS!!! WOOOOOOOOO PIRATES BEAT A FLUX TEAM! TAKE THAT!!!

NO. NO NO NO NO NO. THE CYCLOPS CANNOT FREEZE PEOPLE. THAT'S THE XENON'S FLUX. TRY AGAIN. ACTUALLY WATCH THE PREVIOUS SEASONS. TAKE IT FROM THE TOP.

Do you ever watch an old video and get jumpscared by a comment you don't remember making? Because I wrote this on another upload 9 years ago and I still don't know how they messed that up LOL.

I mean yeah sure it COULD be a new ability they've unlocked like how the Snow Kids are finding new ways to use the Breath. But they don't show the Cyclop's hypnosis thing at all, the animation is exactly the same as the Xenon's flux, and Callie even mentions their "hypnotic" flux and how the players can barely stay on their feet, which doesn't really match what's on screen sooo yeeeeeaahhh this is just an animation error. A pretty big one though.

So team Paradisia have no problem using their flux? Which was a synthetic one to begin with? And the technology for it is no longer available? Or do they just get it implanted once and that's it? So what was up with them going into those pods to “charge”? How does this work???

sfkdgfkjdf Mark went too hard on the sauerkraut, I love this gag about Mark and food

YESSSS SONNY! FATHER SON BONDING TIME FINALLY. His speech about the Pirates always being by his side even in tough times is sweet, and makes sense for D'jok. He's been through a lot with the Snow Kids and they're basically family now, and family wouldn't truly turn him away if he was sorry for what he did. At least, they wouldn't stay mad forever.

BENNETT YOU LEGEND. But also a bit reckless of Sonny to stand with D'jok right in the middle of an open area

Sonny: We're trapped!

Um no you're not, there's a staircase right there

Poor Cyclops, always getting clowned on :( ARTEGOR IS A SAVAGE IN THIS MATCH

BALLOW OUTING THE CON ARTISTS FDKFDKJDF I'm sorry I know it's a tragic moment for Sinedd but THAT'S SO FUNNY

The way they animate Sidney rolling around is hilarious. Also Thran only thought of finding Harvey just now? Wow, talk about second-class citizens.

It's so funny how this is the last episode in the official playlist, like they just gave up uploading HD episodes 2 years ago. Unless it's a regional thing? I'm editing this in Austria rn and the official English uploads aren't available unless I use VPN, are the French eps all uploaded in HD at least?

Episode 18:

Aaaaand I'm back to 480p uploads from 10 years ago. Thank you for your service youtube user lykaon868

I do get to see the intro and outro now though yaaaay

Wait what? We ended last episode on D'jok wanting to talk to the Snow Kids and with this one we just skip ahead to him being on the team again? I mean... they were building up to that moment for sooo long and we don't even get to see it? What???

It seems Tia and Rocket have accepted D'jok back but Micro-Ice and Ahito aren't so enthusiastic. It's strange to see Ahito so resentful but it's a refreshing change to see him react like that.

Micro-Ice's reaction on the other hand isn't taken very seriously and it's presented as them squabbling immaturely but like... he's right to feel hurt! We could've had some good Micro-Ice angst topped off with a heart-to-heart between two guys who canonically consider each other brothers, but here we are.

Sinedd's parents were... I M P O S T E R S ?

Sharky why are you revealing this as a scoop when it just puts you into hot water for not doing a background check before inviting them on the show

OOOO SHADOWS SPEAKING HISTORIC MOMENT

This is the serious - silly contrast dynamic I had in my head for the Shadows LOL. Although it's sad this kind of implies the Shadows only care for Sinedd as a player and not a person, telling him to get a grip after something like that? Although maybe their whole thing is that they TRY to act tough but really they're all feeling like that one guy who ran out crying lol. It IS a bit weird to insert comedy like that into this kind of scene though, kind of undercuts it for me.

Artegor just having tea and biscuits 🤣🤣🤣

CALLIE ACCEPT HIS OFFER FOR TEA DON'T BE RUDE. He looks sad after her reaction fskdjfskds honestly Artegor is probably the best character this season

STOP HAVING THEM SCORE IN THE FIRST MINUTE SFJKDFSKS

Tia squaring up to Sinedd I LOVE HER

Also wtf Sinedd, but he was about to go to Mei so I wonder what he was gonna do? Taunt her? Or maybe he regretted it? I guess we'll never know

This is a match with the Shadows, the Snow Kids' biggest rivals, and yet the first half is over in a few minutes of the episode! The matches just aren't as interesting in this season and feel too rushed

TIA CAPTAIN MOMENT YYYEAAAAAAHHH SHE DESERVES IT!

I am not immune to some D'jok vs Sinedd action

Not Maya focusing on Sinedd when she hasn't interacted with D'jok this whole time 😭

Mei is such a savage, it reminds me of Stevens handing Sinedd the ball that one time when there was seconds to spare LOL also pls forgive the shit quality gifs, demonstration purposes only folks

Sinedd: Do like everyone else Mei, don't worry about what I do and just forget me. Mei: But Sinedd- Sinedd: I lost, Mei. I lost everything. Everything.

Oof Sinedd really goes through the ringer every season, huh

Mark is smooth as butter on the pitch but so incredibly cringe at flirting

Warren: The team. The group. That's all that counts, D'jok D'jok: Being a team player Warren, that's what I want to improve!

Sure D'jok, until next season. But it's also kind of weird to portray his arc as if he just needed to learn how to be a team player again, when a big part of why he left was the emotional turmoil from the breakup and him lashing out because of it. That's never really resolved, although I guess the season is trying to say that D'jok became obsessed with winning again, which is what drove Mei away in the first place, but again I'm just speculating here! They had the means for a really good arc for D'jok but fumbled it and decided to retread old paths instead.

Is Harvey alive after all?

I do love that Clamp is still working alongside Sonny. And yaaaay Thran gets to do something!

Wait Paradisia is a dead planet, it didn't blow up or anything. Harvey is a robot so is it that surprising he's still there? Why not look for him earlier?

#galactik football #dori watches galactik football #my posts

21 notes · View notes