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codylabs · 3 years ago

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Afterland

Chapter 1

It was on the morning of the forty-first of February, year fifty-three hundred and three, (Gladius Major 2 standard calendar,) when I first thought to think that the war was over.

“So I talked with Katie the other day.” Dunkalk broke the silence rather suddenly.

“Oh yeah?” I drug my eyes away from the deep layers of whirling abyss I’d been admiring in my coffee, and glanced up at my friend. “That’s cool. You two getting back together or what?”

“Huh? Oh, no, no, no. No.” He shook his head, and his eyes wandered out the window. “Y’know. Just catching up. Work, bills, the like. She’s a clerk at the naval office now. Nice salary… And besides, I mean, she’s gone and found another man. They’re engaged now. Wedding’s in June or something. Happy couple.”

“Ah.” I tried to offer my consolation. “That’s too bad.”

“Ha ha, yeah, you’d think so, but I’m not twisted up over it though.” Dunkalk wasn’t actually talking to me, and I didn’t know who he was talking to. Maybe the rising sun out the window. Maybe the buildings. Maybe his reflection. “I mean, I’m glad for her. It never really would’ve worked out between us, and… Hmm. You shoulda heard the way she talked about him… Happy couple.”

“Hmm.” I nodded wisely.

“And it’s not like she just found another jock with a taller shell than me, either.” Dunkalk waved a claw dismissively. “He’s another human. They’re fixing on starting a family.”

“Hmm.” I nodded wisely. The information finally worked its way from my ears to my brain, and I perked up with a frown. “Really? Katie? She never struck me as the homemaking type.”

“Yeah, well. You never knew her as anything beside a pilot.” Dunkalk scoffed.

“And you did?”

“No. That’s the funny part.” He plucked whimsically at a loose pebble of exoskeleton on his chin. “And maybe that’s why I’m not sad. Because she’s not a pilot anymore. She can… Be who she is. Be who she was. I don’t know. She’s got a life of her own now.”

“Huh.” My eyes drifted back down toward my coffee. It was very dark, deep down in the depths of that drink. Black like the void of outer space, but shiny, and the sun shone off my coffee just as it had shown off the canopy of my fighter. And there were bubbles in the coffee, faint and tiny bubbles around the edges like drones popping to life on my HUD, dodging around and peeling in closer, loosing flares and bullets and whatever other tools they had in their bellies, fighting for their lives just as desperately as I fought for mine, but I knew them better than they knew me, and my fighter was just a touch quicker, my aim a touch truer.

The bubbles popped.

“Yeah.” I agreed.

The war really was over.

“Eh.” Dunkalk shrugged. “Anyway, speaking of women, how’s Authia been doing?”

“Good.” I nodded. “She’s getting her numbers up in the simulator. But she needs a lot more cockpit time than she’s been getting.”

“Yep. Ain’t no substitute for experience.”

“Nope. Actually, we were gonna take the Skips up later today, as a matter of fact.”

“Cool.”

“You wanna come?”

“Naw. Tom and I were gonna hit the fair later. Blow some cash on the races.”

“Oh. Well that’s cool. Tell him I said to suck the lemon.”

“Copy.” Dunkalk downed the rest of his drink in a single swallow, rolled to his feet, and made for the door. “But uuhhh, hey Marshal, do we really have the money to spend on flight time? Deuterium prices being what they are, and the jobs ain’t coming.”

“They’ll come.” I finished my drink, and followed him. The air outside the diner was crisp and fresh, and smelled faintly of cherry blossoms and rocket exhaust. And compared to a year ago, the former was now much stronger, and the latter much fainter. “They’ll come.”

~~~~~~~~~~

A Series-82 GDRL Combat Skip handles a lot differently than a single-engine propeller-driven crop duster. It had been invented several thousand years later, for that matter. But the machine war had been so large, and so long, and had taken so many things from so many people, that on a few of the poorer frontier planets, folks could still be found flying single-engine propeller-driven crop dusters, for lack of anything else with which to fight.

That was all she'd had to fight with, at least, when the machines first came. That little plane had carried her to safety when the deforestation units leveled her planet's western hemisphere. It had later carried a machine gun between its wheels when she'd tried to dent the endless lines of dust-belching excavators. It had protected her from that dust for years, as she patrolled between the lookout posts on the border. She'd been flying it when she first heard news of planetary liberation: the burning streaks and sonic booms of the Grand Liberation Armada reentering. She'd been flying it when she first saw a Skip in action. She'd been flying it when she first met Marshal.

She'd flown that same plane into enemy territory under the dust,carrying missiles to the auto-factories while Marshal and his team distracted the machines in the upper atmosphere. She'd ducked beneath that plane's canopy to shield her eyes from the blasts. She'd glided it home on fumes, landed it on a beach just short. She'd flown that plane until it was so old it was falling apart beneath her. She'd flown it right up until the day that the GLA was ready to move on, and Marshal got up the guts to ask her whether she wanted to join the team and go with them, and then, she left that little old plane back on her homeworld, and never saw it again.

Now here she was three years later, wearing a space age flight suit, holding a EM-shielded pressure helmet, looking out her apartment window toward the Series-82 Gravity-Drive-Rocket-Lift Combat Skipper parked outside the hangar, wondering if she could ever possibly master it in time to make herself useful in the war... At least, that's what she used to wonder. Before the war ended.

There was a clattering of straps and pressure seals coming down the hallway, which stopped outside her door and knocked. "Hey Authia, you all dressed up?" Marshal asked.

"Yep! Yep." She buckled the last few latches on her space suit, stood up from bed, and stepped out the door. "All ready?"

"I'm ready." He gave his helmet a little toss. "I had Briggs run the coolant already, so we should be good to launch as soon as we get the fields charged."

"Sweet. Charging to 30% today, right?"

"Right. And how much altitude is that?"

"Eight point four kilometers. You know I know the math."

"Yeah, I know."

It was a short walk from the apartments to the hangar, then a far longer walk to make it across the width of the hangar itself. Theirs weren't the only craft here, there were countless others: retired spacers kept little fusion dinghies here, civilian hobbyists with planes, loggers and teamsters with cargo helicopters, even a few other mercenaries stored Skips like theirs. But there weren't that many fighters out in the open anymore; they'd all been mothballed by now, wings folded, fields depleted and coolant drained, hoisted onto racks on the wall and wrapped in tarps, waiting for something; waiting for what? Waiting for another job? Waiting for the airshow? Waiting for another war? Or waiting for this last war to be covered over by enough years of nostalgia that the dated tech could be sold to collectors?

Most days, today being no exception, her own team's Skips were the only starfighters to be seen. And that was just as well to her, for they stood out. They gleamed. To her, they were the most beautiful machines on the world. A proud row of four stubby, angular knife-shapes, propped up on narrow landing legs, shining like shards of mirrors in the sunlight; the shape was for radar stealth, the shine for warding off lasers. The skips' g-drives were all completely internal, so the only openings on their surfaces were the cockpit canopy, the fusion-powered thermal rocket on the back, and the barrels of weapons. The light glinted slightly differently off the fins, flaps, and the texture of the reentry tiling on the belly, but the seams between were invisible.

Beautiful machines. Proud, sharp, polished, deadly; begging and pleading to be deadly again.

Briggs intercepted them about halfway across the tarmac."G'morning kids." She croaked, at which point she reached her limit for the number of polite things she could say per day, which was one. "You both reek." Smell was about the only one of her senses that battle and age hadn't damaged in some way, but as the ancient stories say, she'd been just as grumpy young.

"Morning Briggs!" Marshal smiled at her, as if by enough years of so doing he might change her. "How's it going?"

She ground her mandibles together with a truly awful noise. "Oh, I'm having the time of my life." She spat, which was her way of saying she was perfectly miserable, which was her way of saying that everything was going fine and normal. She fished a claw around in her bag and pulled out a pair of clipboards that she tossed toward the pilots. "Alright, same thing every week, same for both Skips. All 7 preflight safety pins have been removed and stowed for both craft, cryostats holding pressure at ten hundred, supercon stable, deuterium level ninety-five hundred, propellant flatzero so keep the intakes open and don't break atmo, fins locked in atmospheric position, G-fields charged along the laterals to 30%, launch brackets linked to pilot release, base power connected, inbound and outbound paths already cleared with the tower. All systems green, I hope you both crash and die."

"Copy that." Marshal glanced down the checklist and handed it back. "Did you replace that compressor bearing from last time?"

"Of course I did."

"You're awesome, Briggs."

"I know." She stated matter-of-factly, hefted her bags over her shoulder, and walked off to let them get on with their preflight. Authia had just begun checking pipes and running down a checklist of her own when she heard Briggs call over her shoulder. "Same time next week?"

Authia caught a hint of uncertainty in the question and glanced at Marshal, suddenly unsure how many 'next weeks' there would be.

"Eh." He closed an access panel and gave it a little pat, with no idea either. "One day at a time, how 'bout?"

"I tell myself the same thing." Briggs grumbled. "So am I gonna miss my show again next week or not?"

Marshal hoped so. He glanced at Authia. She hoped so too.

"Let's plan on it." He nodded.

Briggs slouched back to wherever she lived, while the pilots ran through their preflight, and birds sang over the empty runway.

~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn't a big place, this town. A shallow valleyon the outskirts of a larger city's wreckage, little hills and little buildings around a little river, dangerously overpopulated by refugees from every land. A few years ago the valley had been half crime-ridden ghetto and half barb-wired staging grounds for the armada, but Marshal had seen it transform into quiet suburbs and golden farmland, as the apartments had grown and the law had come and the armada had left, when the war had ended. He and Authia's Skips hardly had time to raise gear before the place disappeared into the distance behind them, and all they could see now were the blooming wildflowers on the concrete shores of the crater lakes, where the bigger city used to stand. The control tower told them they were clear to begin maneuvers.

"North Heston" had been the name of the city. "Strawberry Bend" was the town that remained. Neither had ever felt much like home to Marshal, or to Authia, or maybe to any of them. Places of dust and scars and memories, weren't they? The war may have died, but it had bled and spat and urinated itself across all this land before it had, and the smell would remain. Strawberry Bend would not, could not forget anything in this lifetime, nor could any town on this planet, nor could countless other planets besides, nor for many lifetimes more.

The Skips had been running on their thermal rockets until now, with their noses angled steeply upward to let their little wings catch the air. Now that they'd reached a safe distance, Marshal signaled to Authia to spread out to 300 meters, so they could activate their gravity drives.

Ordinary gravity-powered vehicles, like shuttles and tugs and those little floating baseballs that kids have, need their drive coils to be continuously supplied with power from an onboard reactor or battery or something, then have the whole engine on a gimbal for steering. Fighters, however, don't have the luxury of extra weight for a reactor or a battery, and couldn't risk anything as complicated and fragile as a gimballed drive. So the Skips' cores were closed systems; no electricity in, no electricity out, no moving parts. They were built as a tangled mass of magnetic coils and bottles of exotics facing every which direction, each wired into each other in a way that allowed the pilot to shunt energy from one to the other. Also unlike most commercial g-drives, which are only designed to expend energy by pushing off of nearby matter, the Skip's were designed to rapidly swap to and from a reverse mode as well, where they recycle energy by 'braking'.

Marshal eased off the throttle on the thermal rocket, thumbed on the g-drive, and pulled his joystick upwards. Briggs had charged the lateral coils up to 30%, so that the drive had essentially been trying to pull him both left and right at the same time for this entire flight. As he touched the joystick, the engine dumped all the power from both into the upward coils. The ship's invisible 200-meter-wide gravity field finally decided on a direction, grabbed all the air around the ship, and forced it straight downwards, propelling the Skip straight upwards, at more than 40 Gs. A set of reverse-wired coils in the core acted enough like a compensator to keep him alive; he only felt about 2-3 Gs of it.

It carried him upwards about eight point four kilometers, at which point it ran out of energy, and he slowed to a hover. On his left, a half second behind, Authia bobbed up level, and fell in. They punched the rocket throttles and bore back downwards now, letting the movement of masses of air through the fields charged the cores back up.

At a kilometer altitude he hit the G-drive again, instantly slowing his descent and peeling off to the right, with her just behind him. From the ground, it would have looked like both of their ships hit an invisible midair wall, and rebounded like billiard balls.He turned the sticks this way and that now, and his Skip bounced around the sky chaotically, while the gravity fields climbed and kicked and churned up great currents of air, filling the sky with a thunderous 'whumping' noise whenever they collided. Authia matching him movement for movement, step for step, move for move, but always maybe just a touch slower, maybe at a slightly wrong angle. She finally slipped up and fell out of sync entirely, and careened off East, back toward a nearby crater.

Two bounces and a second laterand he was right behind her again. He thumbed the radio to tease her or offer some advice (he hadn't decided which by the time he opened his mouth,) but then realized too late that she'd been baiting him, as she bounced straight backwards. She passed below him within about 50 meters, close enough for her drive field to encompass not only a lot of air, but his Skip as well. With the enormous traction that offered, she shot off to the North at more than 60 Gs, propelling Marshal at about 20 Gs south.

...Back overland.

"Alright, alright. Nice one. Didn't see that coming." He steered himself back toward the 2-kilometer-wide crater lake, where she was currently hovering still.

It was a game the team played over the craters, something between dogfighting and sumo wrestling, trying to throw one another out of the 'ring'. She liked it better than maneuvers or actual combat sim because she was willy enough to win almost half the time. He'd been trying to ween her off it since it didn't teach actual useful skills and largely just wasted fuel and encouraged them toward increasingly risky almost-collisions. But how could he bring himself to say no, when it was really so fun, and he liked seeing her win as much as she did... And so what if her combat skills stayed a little dull?

Wasn't the war over?

He dived his Skip down close to the water's surface, so close that his drive grabbed traction on the liquid itself, and jerked him forward, left, and up behind her at 90 Gs. The airframe shuttered in the turbulence, and by the time he should have been in range of her, she had anticipated him, dived down and south toward the water, baiting him again. He bounced after her, taking the bait willingly, thinking about how he would bounce down at the last second, bouncing her up and breaking her traction with the water, then... Well, what if she tried the same thing? What if they both grabbed each other and the water and launched themselves downward to their dooms? Would they be able to realize before impact? What if only one of them realized it? Which would? And then what?

It was a dangerous game with no reward. He hesitated.

The hesitation was his loss, as he found himself thrown out of the ring again before he could even react, and heard her laughing over the radio.

He glanced down at the water and the hard ground. "Alright, no more games." He wondering how close he'd been to death, or whether he would ever know. "You need to practice your maneuvers."

"Aww." Her Skip turned in a lazy little roll. "Well can we buzz Glasstop Island along the way?"

"...Oh alright." He relented. "Fall in."

Their maneuvers took them away from the craters and the city, past the machine's old landing units and a few of the auto-factories that had been destroyed mid-assembly. Past the dead husks of fallen ships, friend and foe, finally down dozens of kilometers of coastline, past the mountains and the poisoned reefs, far and away until a parting in the clouds allowed them to see Glasstop Island, the city-sized potato-shaped rock floating in the sky. Well, not floating, exactly. More like it had been undergoing the slowest reentry in history, and had been doing so for two years now. Thirteen gravity tugs sat anchored comfortably to its bottom side, converting the massive energy of the asteroid's slow descent into electricity, enough to feed the industry of half the continent. Every hour, on the hour, the tugs would drop a full battery into the ocean below for recovery, and every day, high at noon, massive winches would lift a couple dozens batteries back up.

Glasstop Island currently floated 27 kilometers up, in the upper reaches of the mesosphere. That was no problem for the gentle, thousand-kilometer-wide fields of the tugs' drives, but the Skips' short-range G-drives couldn't get enough traction on the thin air to climb that high. And since their thermal engines were intaking air for propellant too, they just had no way up.

None, of course, besides the batteries.

It was almost the hour.

Authia hit the throttle and went vertical, and Marshal behind her. The rushing air charged their G-drive laterals up to 100%, but they didn't use them yet. Instead they kept the thermal rockets floored, as the air grew thinner and their hull temperature began to climb from the friction. At hypersonic speeds the air intakes began having problems, but by that point the rockets were beginning to overheat anyway, so they cut out the engines and drifted as high as they could. Their altitude read 19 Kilometers, still 8 short of Glasstop, when high above, they saw the battery release.

Their fingers twitched on their G-drive controls for a few minutes of anticipation, as the battery plummeted slowly down toward them. The pumps in their thermal engines sucked in a little air, enough for a quick burst, and that was all. As soon as they got a good estimate of the falling mass's trajectory, they fired that burst and coasted toward it. Marshal had gotten used to how big things could be in space, but Authia never had, and it always took her off-guard to see these things up close. Just this one battery was taller and wider than any of the apartment buildings in Strawberry Bend, bigger than some of the armada's ships, impossible to really conceive of, and seeing her Skip's shadow for scale didn't help.

They passed within spitting distance of the battery's underside, close enough for nearly the entirety of its dense material to be inside their fields. Soon as they reckoned it was, they fired their G-drives and bounced away from it at more than 120 Gs, nearly quenched their drive coils, straight upward toward Glasstop. The battery was falling a fraction of a percent faster below, while above, they'd achieved hypersonic speeds again all of a sudden. Their ships shuddered and almost glowed in the heat, but this time, they didn't slow to a stop until they were up past 27 kilometers, close enough to get traction on Glasstop itself.

They kept it slow now that they were here, and not by choice; their G-drives didn't have any energy besides what they got from their tiny braking approach of the island. So they bounced lazily around the island's underside, past the tugs and their huge domed drive cores, past the massive nets and pitons used to hold the island together, past the strange pairs of walking arms in charge of shuffling around the batteries, past the island's jagged skirt of rocky spires.

Then across the top, so smooth and shining after having been melted to glass by the asteroid's first few aerobraking passes. There were buildings up here under construction, apartments and houses and roads, fancy and exotic land already bought and paid for, by investors and benefactors anticipating the day when the island would finally be set down in the ocean. Ordinary folks like Marshal and Authia would never be allowed on this land when it finally did; there would be rich people living here then, in their mansions carved of glass, playing golf on smooth translucent hills, and drinking Champaign from goblets of stone just for the irony, but for now, Glasstop Island was still technically in space, and space was free.

They dropped gear and set down on the roof of some pretentious villa, and sat still for a moment in the silence, for no reason but to see the bizarre and breathtaking sight again: this flying crystal city luxuriating above the sky, resting on the backs of a baker's dozen steel Atlases whose grip was failing slowly enough to bless the world beneath with thunder, while all around, a green and gold horizon tinted by peaceful blue stretched out in an endless curve.

And from up here, it was hard to believe there had ever been war.

Marshal glanced over at Authia. Saw sunshine lighting her helmet yellow from behind, planetshine blue from the front, and saw her eyes and her mask and her hair beneath it. And he wondered if whether or not, even after all this time, he had ever known her as anything besides a pilot. And he wondered who she was, and who he was, and whether she ever wondered the same.

He saw her eyes wander across the horizon, saw her catch herself, and return her attention to her cockpit. "Alright." She radioed over. "Glasstop Island reached. What's the next waypoint?" And he knew this was correct of her to say, for she truly was a pilot, and so was he.

A forbidden hurt lingered always in his chest, a thing he could never say and never admit, even to himself, for it was too horrible: it was a longing for the war to return. Oh, how he missed the war, the action, the excitement, yes even the pain, because back then he knew who he was, and had friends who knew the same. "Let's take a dive through Philippian Gorge, then two laps around Springland Peak." He answered her, as he raised gear and bounced back over the edge of Glasstop, down toward the planet again. "And no daredevil moves this time, alright? You gotta be a precise. Gotta be 5 moves ahead. Like a computer. You got me?"

"I got you." She stopped her antics and went serious as she followed, for she really did want to be a pilot, and for the rest of the flight, she really did try.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Marshal! Hey yo Marshal come in, would you pick up already!"

Marshal thumbed the radio over to isolate the ground frequencies. "Copy that Dunkalk, you're coming through loud and clear, over."

"Awesome, hey yeah, listen, Tom and I are at the fair, right, and we were in the livestock section, because, well I guess it doesn't matter why, but we were looking at the pigs, and there was this guy there who was selling these long little brown little piglets and he was selling them real cheap because he was tryin'a get rid of 'em because he signed on as a colonist but anyway we got talking and anyway we might have a JOB!"

"A job doing what, selling long brown piglets...?" Marshal frowned, with his attention momentarily split between Philipian Gorge and this nonsense gossip.

"Oh lick a battery Marshal, I mean it's a pilot job! Escort!" He could hear Dunkalk's mandibles clattering excitedly as he tried to string words together as fast as possible. "And boy are you gonna hate it, but you gotta answer fast though, like, you gotta give me an answer in like 100 seconds because he's literally on the phone with the colonial office right now to delay them making it public because then everybody and their mom is gonna be applying, so-"

"Wai-whoa hold on okay slow down!" He pulled the Skip hard back to a standstill hover, dumping all its momentum into the laterals. The cockpit became suddenly silent. "What's the job?!?". Authia's Skip circled his and jerked to a stop as well as she listened in. "Why will I hate it? What's the job?"

"Escort...! As... I said!" Dunkalk made a distinctly audible effort to make the words come out slower. "So! They're fixing to launch a colony toward one of the wiped worlds, it's like, 50,000 passengers, right? Tom, what did he say the pa-...? Yeah, 50,000. Fifty-grand folks signed up for this, and they launch in 9 days. They've got a colony together, habitats, fusion plant, underdrive tug, they even got authorization for a nuclear arsenal for O-prop and/or pirate-be-gone, all they need now is a couple mercs to run patrol, in case they run into any leftover machine nests. 8 month journey, 206lightyears, it's food, lodging, air included in the contract, it's a good deal. Easy money. Ee-saaayyy mon-naaayyy-"

"Yeah, okay, okay, but why would I hate it? You said I would hate it, this sounds great."

"You'll hate it, because the underdrive tug they're using is one of those military surplus type-35s. Nowadays they're so cheap that the whole thing costs less on resale than the fuel needed to make the return journey... So they're gassing it up for one-way. We ain't coming back, Marshal. We'd be colonists."

"Oh." He let go the controls and just sat and blinked, in stunned silence.

"But like, we're down to like 50 seconds to make a decision though man, like seriously right now right now this could be the deal of a lifetime, we'll retire as I dunno farmers or something, you down? I'm down."

"You're asking me to just leave my whole life behind in the next 50 second?!?" He frowned hard at the comm as if this would somehow impress Dunkalk with the seriousness of the matter.

"45, but yeah."

"You talk to Briggs and Poppa about this yet? If we don't got the whole team I-"

"Briggs'll do what whatever we tell her and Tom's on the phone with Poppa now uh- hey gimme that Tom." He heard the sound of Dunkalk snatching Tom's phone, and the speakers and earpieces of both phones being pressed together.

"Heeeey there Maaaarshal." Came the elderly, drawling voice of Poppa. "Saaaay did you hear about the little ol' gig Dunkalk just drummed up for us, hmmmm?"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard, what do you think about it? No take-backs on this one."

"Weeeell I think I need to finish this game..." The clack of a checker tile. "Then yeaaaah I'll be right there, gimme uhhhh five minutes I'm still in my pajamas I gotta find my flight suit..."

"But you think it's a good idea? You wouldn't mind a new world?"

"Listen sonny boy, if you think Ima chicken out a' this one you can come bite my aaaaaaaaaaa-"

Marshal flipped the comms off for just a moment to make a brave, if futile, attempt to think this through.He'd just started to try to start to get used to starting a civilian life, and now here it all was being uprooted again and lobbed onto some other planet he'd never heard of. Forever. He glanced out the cockpit at Authia, and thought what a tough place she'd been in without them here, but what if she didn't want to go?? And it occurred to him that perhaps the years had run him dry of things to tie him down, until now there was only her. "What do you think?" He mimed at her though the glass.

She looked around, contemplating. Then held up a thumb and nodded happily. It hadn't been a hard decision for her. He flipped the comms back on.

"Poppa, let's do it. Dunkalk, you there?"

"Yep, here!"

"We'll take the job. Tell the guy yes. We'll own this."

There were some scratching noises and some excited talking on the other end that he couldn't make out, then Dunkalk hollered "We got the job!"

#afterland #greystartales #original story #scifi #that's all I've written of this one so far #just a seed of an idea for now #a group of mercenary pilots from the machine war taking one last job #if you can guess which franchise this was originally inspired as a fanfiction of then you get a cookie

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nellynee · 4 years ago

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The makings of greatness, or why, as a ride or die Treasure Planet stan, I’m glad there’s no Treasure Plant 2

You ever see somethings that makes you unreasonably angry? Yes I understand exactly what I’m saying, and how that indicates that my emotions and opinions on this are exactly that. Opinions. There’s a good chance I have some objective truths mixed in, but that does not make my opinions based on those truths truth. If you disagree or have different tastes or opinions or interpretations, cool, let me know! maybe you’ll change my mind. That being said.

The plot synopsis for the Treasure Planet sequel makes me angry. Not like, actively so, just annoyed enough to be in a bad mood. And now you guys all have to be in one as well. Why?

Reason 1, and probably least important: Disney sequel syndrome.

Ok so Disney sequels aren’t inherently bad. I’ll stan the Aladdin sequels to my grave, who knew Cinderella could world build, obligatory Rescuers Down Under (the first one was better) blah blah blah.

But there is an inherit problem with sequels in general, and that usually has to do with cast and crew. An original piece of fiction has to grab the audience yes, but there’s also freedom in that. Media touches people in different way. The worldbuilding can mean more to some than others. Some are in it for the animation, or the character developments, or relationships. What connects with one person won’t connect with another. The problem with sequels is that different people who worked out the original material might and usually do not work on the new. And those new people are already working on that new material with their own personal lenses and experiences and interpretations coloring the old. The reason sequels (and remakes, and big budget presentations of other materials like books into movies) tend to bomb hard is because you are essentially being forced to accept someone’s fanfiction into the canon material. Usually, there’s a pretty strong correlation between more successful franchises/extension material, works staying true to the core material, original crew working on the material, and the enjoyment of the audience.

And sources say very few of the original crew remained. Some yes, but mostly voice cast. Even worse, TP2 was a DisneyToon production, not even a mainline feature. Now I’m not saying the new people weren’t talented, or passionate about the project, or were lacking in experience. It doesn’t really matter if any of those things are true or not. It’s the warping of their personal lenses I don’t trust. Fanfic I can disregard, meta I can disregard. This would have been canon.

And reading the Artbook makes is abundantly clear that the parts that touched me personally would have been missing. The very core of Treasure Planet for me was the relationship between Jim and Silver (and their exquisite animation budget). However you choose to interpret that relationship, you can not deny that Treasure Planet is a powerfully emotionally romantic movie. It’s quiet moments and emotional resonance shaped my views of intimacy with a sharp and fine touch. Silver and Jim’s bond is as undeniable and powerful as it is compelling and awe inspiring to witness unfold.

And a lot of that is owed not only to the voice acting of Joseph Gorden-Levitt (Jim) and Brian Murray (Silver), But to animators Glen Keane and John Ripa, who were the head animators of Silver and Jim respectively. Not only did Gorden-Levitt and Brian Murray deliver stunning performances, but made sure to work together and jointly play off each other in ways most voice actors don’t have the opportunity to do. And the Masters Keane and Ripa took an already stellar and carefully crafted vocal rapport and took it one step further. I highly recommend the Artbook as a good read, both Keane and Ripa talk about the journey of discovering who Jim and Silver were with delight, acting out entire scenes together using their own body language to build the characters together, using the same animation reals to animate, tag teaming in and out of the program rather than do it separately, becoming so attuned with their characters attitudes and mannerisms that you can tell they poured entire pieces of themselves into Jim and Silver.

I’m not saying the Sequel would have been inherently bad because it’s a sequel, or because a new crew worked on it, but I am saying I wouldn’t trust it with a ten foot pole.

Reason 2: Thanks I hate it (I’m saying it’s inherently bad because the plot is bad and I hate it)

I’m sorry for the length, but for you to really understand just how bad this is, I actually have to pick through every single line and tell you why it fails critically at some junctures and where it would be so simple to fix. For those of you who were unaware that there was a sequel in the works at some point, I’m pulling these quotes pretty much wholesale from the AnimateVeiws article Buried Treasure: The ill-fated voyage to Treasure Planet 2, specifically the interview with Jun Falkenstein who was set to direct the now canceled sequel. Spoiler warning, I guess?

So, from the begining

“The sequel was to pick up where the first film left off, with Jim Hawkins going to the Royal Interstellar Academy. At the Academy, he is a hotshot “natural,” but he doesn’t follow the rules very well.” - Strong start but then dropped the finish. I think the interstellar academy would be a very compelling starting point. I see no fault in it at least, it’s a good opportunity to world build. Clemence and Musket like to make a point that Jim was crafted to connect with the emotionally wounded and distant youth in a age of divorce, so showing what happens when that youth hikes up their britches and gets to work can extend on that theme aaaaaaand you dropped it. Dropped that strong start. Yes, Jim was more than a bit of a bite back rebel in the film, but that was a reactionary response to the bad place he started in. Jim was abandoned, and tied his self worth into that abandonment. His kickback against society was a reaction stemming from an inability to see his personal worth and any sort of future he could craft from it. He outgrew this, his very character development was about this in the film. His character arc was about realizing his inherent worth, embracing a sense of confidence and learning what he could do. Even disregarding that, bonus material outside of the film shows that Jim has a very strong sense of respect for Captain Amelia, her military career, and the hard work she put into it, and he’s there on her recommendation. Why would he act out in this? He is a natural yes, but the film shows he’s incredibly sharp and intelligent, if unlearned, and more than ready to learn given opportunity.

“Hence, he gets off to a shaky start – especially with his classmate Kate, who is very smart and has a type A personality. Kate’s father is Admiral Blake, the Commander of the Navy. Jim and Kate vie for top of the class but have very different skills.” - So building off this to fix the problem before. I guess the dynamic they are going for is something like “the kind of a jerk hotshit hotshot who’s got it all figured out and the straight laced rule fallowing stick in the ass rival”? I’m not apposed to to a rivalry, but lets tweak this, given how “hot shot natural jerk” isn’t really where Jim settles at the end of the film. Jim is a natural talent, who excels under tutelage, but more importantly, he has practical experience. While the time period spent on the RLS Legacy is not defined, they do sail to a deep and unexplored part of the galaxy, probably well outside of regular settlements, so no small distance, though Jim is young enough that a very long period of time would be noted in physical growth. Given comparisons to classic nautical sailing of the source time, months, perhaps up to a year? That’s a long time to spend, learning the rough and tumble basics, tying knots, experiencing food and water rations, extreme temperatures, playing with the rigging and mechanical aspects of the boat. Jim knows what it’s like to actually sail. Meanwhile, this is the Royal Academy, who probably takes in upper class second born children and pumps out military accolades for well learned mathematicians and strategists. Jim doesn’t fit in because he can visualize, he can think outside of the box, he can weld a damn engine to a hunk of shrapnel and ignite it freefalling against a metal hellscape and outrace a boat in a high adrenaline situation. He adapts where the other’s frantically look through their notes for the answer. Worse yet, he’s poor and not classically educated. Make it a class issue. In this aspect I do like Kate. Being the Daughter of the Commander of the Navy, she probably has a very technical and far more expansive understanding of navel ships, particularly the running of them. In this way Jim and Kate are perfect foils. Jim representing the poor, instinctually and practically knowledgeable crew, and Kate the upper-class, technically knowledgeable command, a dichotomy representing the haves and have nots in their skills, experiences, an class.

I don’t want to post a picture and break the post, but I do love Kate’s design. I do recommend looking up the article and checking it out. that being said, being a feline species, they messed up not spelling it Cate.

“Captain Amelia is dean of the Academy, which has a brand-new vessel: the Centurion.” - I… why, why is Amelia the dean? Additional material shows that Amelia broke ties with the military because she didn’t like their rule stickling ways and red tape. Why would she want a red tape position? She helped with a war and then bailed first opportunity to become a freelance captain so she could fallow her own rules. Even if you don’t know any of that additional material, you do know that she is a freelance captain. Why is she dean? what happened to the old one? Are they dead? Did DisneyToon kill them? Did Disneytoon kill the old dean?

“Designed by Doctor Doppler, the Centurion is the fastest ship in the galaxy.” - HE’S NOT THAT KIND OF DOCTOR!

“B.E.N. is its pilot”. - NO

In all seriousness all three of those statements show a serious problem, in that none of those characters are in fact those things. Amelia I’ve already explained. But Doppler was a debatably youngish bachelor with too much money who was fascinated by astronomy specifically and who suffered from ennui. And BEN was a navigational unit, so maybe it makes sense for him to be a pilot, but why is a robot who was functioning under a galaxy feared pirate for who knows how long given any kind of agency over a brand new incredibly important ship? These decisions were probably made to incorporate as much of the old cast as possible, to not exclude fan faves. But any decision that makes BEN a prominent part of the plot and thus gets more screen time is a BAD one.

“The pirate Ironbeard desires to commandeer the Centurion. This ruthless villain is relatively all iron – almost nothing of whom he originally was, inside and out, is left.” - On the one hand, I have a weird feeling that this would somehow violate the 30-70 rule. Buuuuut on the other hand, the Artbook does describe the decision making process of what and how was mechanical on Silver (my favorite tidbit was the wheel on his head representing his constant thinking and assessing) and states that that they in a way represent the pieces of humanity he gave up looking for Flint’s Trove. Extending that to a pirate who has given up everything could be a powerful thematic tool if used right (or intentionally)

“He leads a group of pirates to hijack the Centurion while Jim and Kate are aboard.” - ok, yeah, I’ll buy that. If they are butting heads constantly, I could see them sneaking off to the new piece of hardware to one up each other on who knows their stuff, or maybe bond over wanting to learn about the said new tech and being frustrated with restrictions.

“The Navy can’t catch the Centurion, due to the vessel’s speed and armor.”- sure

“Jim and Kate escape the Centurion. Jim decides he needs a pirate to help catch pirates. They find his old buddy Long John Silver in the Lagoon Nebula, where he is running a smuggling ring. “ - So what Jim just goes “I know just the pirate to help us” and then finds him? That journey of itself deserves it’s own movie, anything less is a disappointment. Alternative. Jim and Kate escape onto a particularly lawless planet. Jim has some tricks to keep them safe and fed, maybe he even excels in ways he’s been straight up stop gapped at the academy. Maybe his knowhow is appreciated by others who society also rejects. But Kate is a frustrating fish out of water, getting offended and worked up over things that are big deals to an average citizen but not criminals and pirates. But such reactions are putting them in danger and she needs to get perspective fast. It’s plausible maybe that Silver tracks them down through interesting rumors, but more than that, let it be fate. Neither having any idea the other is there till the second they see each other. Bonus points if Jim and Kate get in a bind and Silver is the leader of the harassers. Better yet lets add some thematic mirroring not only to the scene where Silver saved Jim from Scroop, but directly contrast it to the scene where Silver doubled back and down against the notion of caring for Jim when called out before the mutiny. *kisses finger* Touching and hilarious.

“ Silver agrees to help when he hears about the Centurion. “ - Silver agrees to help when he hears about the Centurion without Jim even having to ask. Storywise, lets make some kind of deal over how Jim, an upstanding enrollee of the academy, apparently is chummy with a pirate. Tension doesn’t just have to be external, and Kate is the daughter of the Commander of the Army. Maybe she’s recognized and this gets them in trouble. Maybe Kate has issues with her identity outside of her father’s career and need to learn a lesson about being outside of a rigid social structure?

“Jim and Kate receive a tracking signal from B.E.N. – who is currently hostage aboard the Centurion – and follow via Silver’s creaky vessel. They discover the Centurion docked near the Botany Bay Prison Asteroid. “ - While being the fastest ship yet is a good excuse for wanting it to get stolen, my suspension of disbelief breaks a little at any ship, let alone a creaky little pirate vessel, catching up to the fastest ship yet, or the tracking signal being the only way to track it to a guarded prison. Seeing as how I’ve written BEN out of this scenario lets fix it. After the events of the movie, the Royal Military swoops in after to confiscate the debris of Treasure Planet. For those in the know, canon lore states that the Planet was a giant computer, and it and the map were the byproducts of an ancient and advanced civilization. Studying the debris led to the Centurion, notable not for it’s speed, but for it’s stealth. It can cloak itself. Which is why no-one can find it. Meanwhile Silver lets it slip that he snagged the map from it’s pedestal as they escaped the planet as a souvenir. (handwave why the portal was still open with a “the whole thing was exploding, the computer froze). The map is able to track the remnants of said planet, aka the Centurion, meaning Silver has the only means of tracking the cloaked ship

“Ironbeard is using the Centurion to disable Botany Bay’s security systems. Jim, Kate and Silver sneak aboard the Centurion, where Silver reveals to Jim that he wants to take the Centurion for himself. He asks Jim to join him.“ YES. YES YES YES YES YES YES! Understanding that Jim’s decision to not go with Silver in the first movie is key here. He rejected Silver’s offer the first time because Silver had shown him he had intrinsic value, and Jim finally felt that the natural gifts he had were worth cultivating, that he did have the chance to explore who he could be on his own terms. Jim was comfortable being on his own, because he felt capable. Now, Jim and Silver bring out the best in each other, and the time apart has done them harm. Jim’s strings of social rejections are starting to fell like a glass ceiling he can’t overcome, and is finding more and more comfort in being a big fish in a pirates small pond, and the emotions of of being wanted that come with Silver is a powerful drug. But it’s a one way ticket away from any opportunities he could work towards, not to mention his barely repaired relationship with his mother. Meanwhile Silver has been slowly slipping back into the colder, more selfish self he was, a necessity for his lifestyle, and doesn’t want to loose his connection to Jim and what Jim brings out in him, but is still far enough gone to make the offer and try for the boat anyways, even if he knows it’s not what’s best. It’s an emotionally compelling decision. You want them to say yes, you know they shouldn’t

“Kate overhears this and is horrified, especially since the two have, of course, started falling for each other during the adventure.” - Hate. this I hate. Leaving shipping to they way side, what’s that “of course”? why do they have to fall for each other? Why the Disneytoon sequel love interest? I have a feeling her characterization would come at the cost of it. Why can’t they be rivals? why can’t they develop a mutual respect outside of attraction? Why can’t they both learn an individualized lesson about finding their own place in the world outside of social constraints as foils without macking? I hate this concept. Kate overhears, and is horrified, because Silver is a Pirate which is actually in universe get yourself hanged offense, and Jim is considering this, and they are going to steal a VERY IMPORTANT BOAT and and leave her stranded in a dagerous prison, and are making an objectively morally bad decision.

“Ironbeard discovers the intruders, charging into a fight in which Silver is injured. Meanwhile, the other pirates throw down ladders to the prison below, allowing swarms of elated prisoners to climb up into the ship. Silver, Jim, and Kate exit the Centurion amidst all the confusion. However, Ironbeard shoots down Silver’s ship. They plummet to the prison asteroid below, crash-landing” - cool. Drama. But for my purposes, lets tweak it so Silver isn’t injured yet. But I really want to emphasize that this attack does not interrupt before Jim can react to Silver’s offer. Even something as tentative as “I’m not sure” has consequences. None of this “misunderstanding” BS.

“ Kate is angry at Jim and storms off. “- again, make it clear that Jim showed a real chance of agreeing to steal the ship. if she’s angry before he had a chance to answer that’s contrivance for drama’s sake. Give her a reason to be mad

“ Jim is about to blow her off as well when Silver tells him to give her a chance. He reveals a part of his past through a flashback, when a young (non-cyborg) Silver screwed up a relationship with the love of his life – a decision which directly led to his life of piracy. “ - nope. nope nope nope . I’m gonna put a big old * here because this is reason number 3 why I hate this potential movie, and I will get to that believe me, but here’s me, putting a pin in it. That being said, have Silver selfishly try to double down on getting Jim to join him in a three way argument instead. This is the conflict of the film. Kate, who was learning to grow outside of the strict restrictions of her life and do her own work, make her own way, is being rejected. She is as morally repulsed as she is hurt that she wasn’t included, and hates herself for that hurt as well. Jim is torn between the freedom of what he could be after the academy paired with the strict social constructs around it, and the freedom of a life “full of himself and no ties to anyone” but running from the law and the two friends they represent. Silver is the aggressor here. He likes Kate, he does, but he loves Jim and only has one place in his heart, and has spent his life being selfish. There’s already a crew on board, and Iron beard is hooked into the Centurion. With having the only other means to navigate, they take down ironbeard, the rest will surely fall in line. This is paydirt. A fantastic ship, a bloodthirsty crew, and Jim.

“Silver has a very dangerous cargo with him that he had been trying to smuggle and sell for a fortune, which has the power of a neutron bomb. Jim, Kate and Silver reconcile and work together to fix Silver’s ship and prevent the Centurion, filled with the most evil pirates in the galaxy, from going on an insane robbing-and-killing spree. At the last second, Silver reluctantly gives up his “retirement fund” in order to destroy the Centurion, with Ironbeard and all the pirates on board.” - this entire section needs rewritten. That’s a mcguffin Silver put it away. I have retconned the mcguffin to be the old map, so that is now moot. Now to not blow up the ship. Afterall, Silver and Jim have both already overcome what Treasure Planet represented with it’s destruction. Rather, B plot

If we are that desperate to have past characters in, let’s have Amelia and Delbert back home. When the Centurion is captured, Amelia immediately volunteers to fallow, feeling responsible for Jim and secretly pining for some adventure. Delbert feels the same, and he to a bit of an adrenaline junkie after the events of the first movie, but they have the children to think about and only one can leave. Delbert is the one chosen to help by the navy officials searching for the Centurion. While Amelia bickers with the Admiral Blake over his pragmatic but emotionally distant decisions over the situation of his missing daughter, Delbert is an astronomer, and is blah blah blah science meta, fallow the flashing and bending lights around the cloaked ship to find it. As in Delbert is helpful. Amelia in a reflation to Admiral Blake, is torn between her family and commandeering her own ship to help. Blake is frustratingly headstrong in his decisions, and the script makes it seem like that emotional distance is disinterests, but reveals to the audience that it incorporates a great deal of suppression of his anxieties and worries over his daughter, and trust in her abilities, though he has issues expressing this pride to Kate herself. Amelia, Delbert and fam make what is probably a poor decision in commandeering a ship and leaving on their own to track the Centurion, the navy hot on their heels.

Back to A plot, the navy is approaching. Jim has to make a decision. He is the only one who knows how to unmask the ship using the old ones tech without training, as it’s based off the map. While Kate and Silver are distracting iron beard, he has to either steal the ship and sail off, or uncloak it for the navy. Iron beard is taken down, but not without Silver getting injured. Jim decides that Silver’s life is worth more than anything, and after agreeing with Kate that she’ll commandeer a doctor and wont let Silver die, uncloaks the ship. The Centurion is retaken in a blaze of naval glory that is the action climax. The pirates fight back up are over run. Maybe Kate gets taken hostage as the Admirals daughter, as an opportunity for a resolution with her arc as Blake’s distant daughter, though obviously said resolution comes at her showing her abilities in taking care of herself and the practical skills she has learned.

“Silver again parts from Jim and Kate, telling them to take care of each other. A few years later, Jim and Kate graduate with honors, while a proud Silver secretly watches from the shadows, smiling” - Boooooo. Kate and her dad make up, and she challenges him that she’s going to one day Captain the Centurion, with him understanding that she needs less a mentor and more an emotional support while she works her way up the ranks. She invites Jim to be her first mate, to which Jim accepts as a navigator, (a thing I’ve pointed out to be his real strength in another post). But to Silver, who has been “pardoned” for his part in retaking the Centurion, the movie hinting that he to would be on the eventual crew there I fixed it fic to come I s2g.

yeah there’s a lot of good there, but it’s so easy to fix the bad it’s frustrating. which brings me to

Reason 3: that little pin

Nope nope nope I’ll tell you why.

First of all, sources like the artbook say that Jim is so Important to Silver because he’s the first person Silver has ever let become important. he’s specifically stated to have no family, never married, no children. And that’s something he cultivated actively. His life of piracy, his metal limbs, his loneliness and moral failings were all gleefully accumulated for one reason and one reason only

Treasure Planet.

Treasure Planet was the great love of Silver’s life. It was a lifelong obsession. It destroyed his body, took his youth, his opportunities and nearly his life. He broke Jim’s heart over it.

And he let it go. For Jim.

And Jim understood this

This is the crux of treasure planet’s very themes. This is where Jim found self worth. Another person finally looked at him and said “you matter, you matter more than anything. I like being around you and I choose you first.” and it made Jim realize he’s someone worth choosing.

The treasure was EVERYTHING to Silver, and Silver let it go, for Jim.

That one line there, attributing the start of Silver’s fall to a girl? that actively retcons the entire theme of the previous movie. IT rewrite the emotional linchpin of Silver’s sacrifice of the gold. And actually fuck that. right into the ground. I do not accept. I do not pass go. I refuse. Fuck you non existent movie. That makes me mad. every single time. Hate I shall never let go.

#Disney #Treasure Planet #Jim Hawkins #long john silver #john silver #long post #meta #god I hate this non existent movie #This outline is the closest I've ever come to writing spitefic and its still up in the air #Treasure Planet is such a romantic movie and you come into my house and try to shred the emotional core and themes by recontextualizing?#fuck off #Fuck I love Treasure Planet #sequel synopsis can die in a fire tho

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storiesforallfandoms · 4 years ago

Text

awkward ~ harry styles

word count: 1911

request?: no

description: after taking a role in a movie that she regrets, she has an awkward encounter with the inspiration for the movie’s source material

pairing: harry styles x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist

(fair warning, there’s some slight trash talking of after. i really don’t like that movie or the books so if you do...maybe skip this imagine)

“And here we have (Y/F/N), star of the new teen romance After!” the interviewer happily announced into the camera.

I tried not to visibly cringed as I waved at the cameraman.

When you’re an actress, there’s this unspoken rule that you shouldn’t regret the movie that will launch your career. And, in some aspects, I didn’t regret After. I made new friends thanks to filming that movie, and, even before the first trailer launched, I was becoming a household name.

However, there was some things I regretted about After...like the decision to star in it.

I took the role of Tessa before I even really knew what the movie was about. I decided to do some research by reading the books, only to become absolutely appalled by them. The relationship between Tessa and Hardin was absolutely toxic, and the books only plot was basically sex. The entire trilogy! It was like reading Fifty Shades of Grey for teenagers. At that point, however, it was too late. I was already signed on to do the movie and I couldn’t back out.

Now, I was locked into trying to talk good about the movie until it was announced that I had backed out for the upcoming two sequels, something that wouldn’t happen until months after the movie’s release I was sure.

I was on the red carpet for an award show and I had already given at least four interviews about the movie. I was starting to get tired of it. Was this how Robert Pattinson felt trying to promote Twilight? That poor man.

“Were you aware of the source material before you took the role?” the interviewer asked me.

I shook my head, giving her the response I had basically memorized at this point. “I wasn’t, actually. It wasn’t until I got the script and it said it was based off of a book by Anna Todd, and I knew I had to go read the books.

“What were your thoughts when you read the novels?”

I thought it was an awful relationships and sex for teens. "It was interesting. The first movie isn’t a super close adaptation to the first book, but I think fans of the original will still like it.”

“Were you aware it was a fanfiction before a book?”

I tried not to sign in annoyance at yet another familiar question. “I found out shortly after reading the books actually. That’s pretty fascinating!”

“I don’t know if you knew this, but Harry Styles is actually here tonight. Do you hope to meet him?”

I felt slight panic swell in me. I wanted to say absolutely not! I didn’t want to have to face Harry after what I had been a part of. He couldn’t have liked the fanfic, it was awful! He probably hated that this movie was being made, not that he could really do much about it considering Anna Todd changed all the names in the book so it could be published.

I tried not to let me panic show as I responded, “As a long time One Direction fan, I would love to meet him if given the chance.”

I managed to get away from the interviewer before she asked anymore questions. I felt like I had to be on high alert now. The last thing I wanted was to run into Harry, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t want to run into me, either. Unless he didn’t know I was here, in which case that would make running into him even more awkward.

I managed to bypass any last interviews and get into the venue. Among the crowded room of people, I searched to see the one familiar face I was looking for. I let out a sigh of relief when I didn’t see him and went on to mingle some of the other attendees.

We were only 30 minutes to show time when I heard the familiar deep voice that I had been dreading all night. “Hello.”

I turned away from the conversation I was having to see none other than Harry Styles stood behind me. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment and I just wanted to melt into the floor. Did he come looking for me? What was he going to say to me?

“H-Hi,” I stuttered, causing Harry to smile.

“You must be (Y/N), it’s nice to meet you,” he said, extending a hand to me.

I tried to remain cool as I shook his hand. “I am, yeah. It’s nice to meet you, too, I’m a big fan.”

“So I’ve heard. An interviewer out there told me that she had been talking to you just before she talked to me.”

I could only imagine what an interviewer had said to Harry. Some of the interviewers on red carpets were vultures, they just liked to stir up drama for the sake of clickbait.

“Is that...all she said?” I asked, afraid of what else might’ve been said to him.

Harry shrugged. “She just talked about the movie some. I avoided those questions.”

I couldn’t stop the groan that erupted from my throat at this sound. “I am so sorry, I hope you know how much I regret filming that movie.”

Harry tilted his head. “Why do you regret it? They’re already saying it’s going to be the next big teen romance phenomena.”

“Yeah, so I’ve heard. Too bad I won’t see it grow after the first movie.” I mentally scolded myself for spilling the beans already as Harry gave me a confused look. “I didn’t sign on for the second movie, or the third or however many they’re gonna make in the future. The first After is the end for me, that’s it.”

“Why would you do that? This is an easy three movie deal, wouldn’t most people kill for that?”

I shook my head. “I can’t believe you’re so concerned over this. I thought you’d hate the whole franchise considering it’s based on a really shitty fanfiction about you.”

To this, Harry chuckled. “Well, I don’t exactly like the After franchise. I’m definitely not looking forward to more people becoming aware of it due to the movies, but I also know what it’s like to try and break into the fame scene. It’s hard, you should always grasp what you need to in order to get to where you wanna go, you know?”

I smiled at this. “I guess you have a point. I’m just glad you don’t absolutely hate me for starring in the movie.”

“How could I hate you? I haven’t even properly met you yet, and so far, you’re too nice to hate.”

I felt blush creeping up my neck at this. I looked away from him, but couldn’t contain the smile on my face.

Harry and I talked for another while until we were being ushered to our seats. I hated to have to break away from him, but I had a feeling I’d see him after the show again.

The award show felt like it dragged on forever. I wasn’t nominated for anything, After hadn’t even come out yet, and I wasn’t presenting anything. I was just there to give interviews on the red carpet and to be just another face in the crowd. The performances were good, and the host of the show was hilarious, but I couldn’t help but wish it would just end already.

When it finally came to an end, I found myself waiting outside the arena for my Uber ride home. I was watching in confusion as my driver went in the exact opposite direction. Weren’t they supposed to have the GPS on their phone working? Where the hell was he going?

A car pulled up in front of me and the passenger side window rolled down. Harry’s smiling face beamed at me from inside the car as he asked, “Need a lift?”

I looked down at my phone, seeing how far away my Uber was yet again, before cancelling it all together and climbing into the front seat.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” I responded. “Uber sucks.”

“You didn’t get a ride to the show with anyone?”

I shook my head. “My manager sent for this fancy car to take me, so that I looked good in front of the cameras and such, but didn’t arrange a ride home for me.”

“That’s shitty.”

I shrugged. “That’s show biz, kid.”

Harry smiled and chuckled at this, and I felt a warm feeling in my stomach. Not a bad one, quite the opposite really.

The drive was silent for the most part, just some quiet music playing. I watched out the window as Harry drove, unsure of what to really say or do in this moment.

“You like the show?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.

I shook my head. “Not at all. I thought it was quite boring since I had nothing to do besides talk up the movie I hate to the press.”

Harry chuckled. “Yeah, that’s understandable. Award shows are more fun when you’re not just sitting in your chair for like two and a half hours watching other celebrities get awards for things.”

“You did good, though,” I told him. “Your performance was amazing, you had the whole audience on their feet.”

He tried to contain it, but I could see the proud smile on his face. “That’s what I try to do with my music - something you can dance to and feel something when you’re listening to.”

“You definitely do both.”

God, small talk is so awkward. Why can’t you come up with anything else to say?

“I’m not good at this,” I admitted.

Harry glanced over at me for a moment. “Not good at what?”

“Talking to famous people,” I responded. “Well, super famous people I guess. I chatted with some people tonight who were more on my level of fame, but you’re like...you have your own level. Doesn’t help that I had a crush on you during my One Direction days.”

Harry’s low chuckle confirmed that I had indeed said that last part out loud. I face palmed so hard, the sound of my hand hitting my skin was actually audible, which caused Harry to laugh more.

“I’m such a mess,” I groaned. “Just dump me on the side of the road, it’s my time to go.”

“If I did that, I wouldn’t get to see you again.”

I looked over at him. “You wanna see me again?”

“Only if you’d like to spend more time with me.”

My smile was so wide that my cheeks were actually hurting, but I could’ve cared less. He was actually asking me to hang out and spend time with him? Yes please!

“I’d like that a lot,” I told him.

I was slightly disappointed when we pulled into my driveway, but it wasn’t enough to rid myself of the excitement I was feeling. Harry and I exchanged numbers before I got out of the car and smiled at him one last time.

“I’ll see you soon,” he promised. I was too shocked to say anything else, so I just nodded before making my way to the front door of my apartment.

When the door closed behind me, I exclaimed with excitement and jumped around like a child on Christmas morning. Who knew that the movie I so despised would bring me some good, and not just with my career?

#Harry Styles #harry styles imagine #harry potter imagine #harry styles x reader #imagine #one shot

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angelinasway · 4 years ago

Text

Regaining Hope Chapter Seven

Pairing: Clark Kent/Buffy Summers Warnings/Triggers:Torture, Violence, Mention's of Major Character Death, Bad Language, Sexual Tension, Eventual Smut, Mentions of Sexual Assault Summary: Takes place during Man of Steel. When Buffy discovers the U.S Military trying to keep quiet about an object buried in a twenty thousand year old glacier, she immediately thinks the worst. However, when a surprise visit to the Canadian Arctic puts her in the path of a mysterious stranger her whole world is changed forever.

Previous Chapters: [Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Three] [Chapter Four] [Chapter Five] [Chapter Six]

[TTH] [AO3] [FFN]

Authors Notes: Thank you all for your amazing and wonderful reviews. I do need to address something though, when it comes to reviews, I honestly don't mind anyone critiquing me when comes to grammar, characterization, or even if its kind of a heavy subject and someone feels like they need to debate me on it. That is absolutely fine, for instance I knew I would get a few blocks and even someone asking about the religious views of this story. I do not mind that. I do however mind, if you think I'm a decent writer, but then proceed to belittle the content of my story. I'm going to try to say this as absolutely nicely as I can...If you don't like the content of this story, if the talk of soulmates, soulbounds, or claiming is not for you, if the romance of this story is not for you, kindly back out of this story now and please just don't leave a review. I will say that anyone who's been in the BTVS fandom long enough already knows what a Claim is pretty much a fanon canon, since its been around our fanfiction community since like 2002 at least. Wesley mentioned Angel and Buffy being soulmates in season one of ATS, so that is actually canon. I say this in the nicest way possible, because sometimes I think reviewers who don't write, do not realize how much a review about content can actually screw with our muse and inspiration and I believe there will be at least a handful of people that do write who will agree with me. That being said, this chapter took as long as it did for me to write because of a bad review, so I'm sorry for the long winded exposition everyone. I know this chapter is a bit choppy and if it wasn't for my beautiful Beta Hipkarma, I'm pretty sure it would have been illegible. This chapter deals with some pretty heavy subjects and I added a warning tag just in case. I do not expect anyone to feel the way Buffy does on this subject, and if you feel the need I will gladly talk to you through pm about it. Thank you guys so much again, and please review, unless you know its an above subject and you hate it. Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Seven

The plane arrived right on time as Clark anxiously awaited Buffy’s arrival outside the terminal. He’d felt this way since he awoke this morning and he didn’t know why. It was almost like that feeling you get when you know you’ve forgotten something.

He’d dreamt of her last night and it was so vivid and real that when he opened his eyes, he expected her to be there. The feeling had washed over him after that, like a sudden cold draft in a stifling room. He’d also been as hard as nails and had to relieve himself twice in the shower. His dream Buffy whispering filthy words into his ear as he imagined pinning her to the shower wall and driving into her hard and fast. It only seemed to make the feeling worse though. There was a pounding, an almost driving force that told him he needed to see her and that coupled with the lust, he couldn’t seem to shake was a dangerous combination that he did not enjoy feeling at all.

It was so strange, yesterday he’d been fine, more than fine really. He’d walked into his house humming and smiling. His mom had noticed his exuberant mood in an instant and raised her eyebrows in surprise, a curious yet knowing quirk in her lips. She had immediately started bombarding him with questions about his evening and Clark had been unable to deny her even a single detail. Well, there were definitely a few things he left out, but he told her everything from meeting Buffy at the school to him having to sing at Lorne’s. This was a first for both of them, Clark making friends and being able to tell his mom all about it. She listened intently, a happy smile on her lips as if this was something she had always wanted for her son. The ability to just be treated normally by people, even if they knew what he was. The more he spoke about how great Buffy was the more his mom’s knowing smile grew. He told her he promised Buffy that he would pick her up at the airport, and his mom had agreed to let him use the truck as long as he promised to take her to work before he left. She had a full shift at the diner tomorrow, so he was pretty sure he could make it back in time to pick her up and take her home.

Later that night, after getting off the phone with Buffy so she could go patrol, Clark had spent the evening on the internet looking up several theories and ideas on the concept of soulmates. All in all, it was pretty simple stuff, a soulmate could be a romantic or platonic relationship with a mirroring of the souls. Where, both their values and ideals deemed them a perfect match. He had even gone to a few sites on the mystical aspects of soulmates that seemed to be pretty legit, and they believed that when it came to soulmates not only were the souls similar, but both souls usually challenge each other to perceive themselves and the world differently. In essence, your soulmate could help you transcend into a higher state of consciousness. All of that seemed to match very much with what he had been feeling since the moment he met her. None of that however, explained how he felt now.

Buffy had been right the other day when she said it wasn’t just the soulmates thing. He was almost positive the out-of-control lust and the uncontrollable desire to be near her had very little to do with the fact that they were soulmates and everything to do with the prophecy. Something wanted them to consummate their relationship, and he was pretty sure that something had a reason. He wondered if he was in danger of meeting the other woman and somehow changing his mind about her. He definitely couldn’t imagine ever doing that though, not when he felt what he felt, not when she had consumed his thoughts so thoroughly since the day they met.

He felt physically ill at the idea of ever having to fight Buffy as an enemy, Lorne’s words about killing her making him nauseous and dizzy. The demon said it most likely wouldn’t happen now, but God, what if it did? What if he wasn’t capable of fighting off this mystery enemy of the future. He shuddered at the thought, his anxiety level spiking in worry. He had to get himself under control.

As the passengers began to exit the terminal Clark looked on, his eyes searching for golden hair and green eyes. When he finally spotted her the tension that had been growing in his limbs immediately eased. It happened so fast he almost felt boneless by the sudden release. Her eyes met his and a similar look of relief washed over her face, but there was something else there. She was scared, which just made the tension begin to build again. Clark frowned in confusion, but didn’t deny her as she ran to him wrapping her arms around his waist tightly as she laid her head on his chest.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

She shook her head and closed her eyes. “There’s something wrong,” She whispered. “I shouldn’t be feeling this–”

“I know,” he whispered. “I feel it too.” Clark shuddered, so it wasn’t only him who was feeling it. “I think it’s time we learn more about this prophecy.”

He felt her nod. “I’ll call Wes once we get to the safe house.”

****<S>**<S>****

The drive there had been mostly quiet. The only real sound was Buffy’s smartphone giving directions to their destination. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from reaching out and entwining their fingers however, and she smiled at him gratefully before closing her eyes and sighing. They finally arrived at what looked to be an unassuming house just outside of town that rested on a few acres of property. Buffy untangled their fingers and reached into her carryon bag that was between them and pulled out a large multicolored crystal.

“Here,” she said quietly. “Hold this.”

Clark, frowned but did as she asked. Watching her as she muttered the word, “Agnoscis.” The stone suddenly warming in his palm as he caught the house in front of him shimmer for a moment out of the corner of his eye.

“Latin?” He guessed.

Buffy nodded. “It means recognize. It’s so you can get through the wards.” She bit her lip, “We can also bring your mom here, in case you ever need to hide her you’ll have a place to take her that’s pretty impenetrable.”

Clark nodded gratefully, his eyes studying the sad expression on her face. He reached out and gently brushing the back of his knuckles down her cheek. Her whole body shivered at the contact, a small gasp escaping her lips.

“Are you…are you okay,” He asked.

She shook her head, “I think it’s affecting me more than you.”

Clark was quiet for a moment, and then he shook his head. “It’s not, I think I’m just a lot better at controlling my impulses.”

Buffy chuckled humorlessly, “Maybe, that’s something you can teach me sometime.” She met his eyes and Clark lost his breath at the want he saw shining there.

God, she was beautiful like that. Her eyes almost swirling with color and heat. His temperature immediately skyrocketed, his pants becoming tight. He wanted to ask her if there was anything he could do, but didn’t dare for fear of what her answer might be. She had already told him she wasn’t ready, and if he was being honest with himself, neither was he.

He swallowed, his heart beating in his chest. “Come on,” he whispered, opening his door and stepping out. “Let’s go make that phone call.”

He walked around her side of the truck as she fumbled with her seatbelt, opening the passenger door for her and holding out his hand. She took it gratefully as she slid out of the passenger’s side, hoisting her bag over her shoulder after her feet hit the pavement. Clark reached in the truck bed and grabbed the only other bag she’d brought with her. He wondered where her weapons bag was, but remembered she’d just went through an airport and realized she probably couldn’t bring them with her.

As if she was reading his mind, she said. “Willow was here last night; I had her ward the training equipment so that we can use it without destroying it.” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye as they walked up the driveway. Her hand fumbling with her keys as they made their way to the door. “I also had her fill the fridge and bring my weapons bag over.”

He didn’t say anything as he watched her slide the key in the lock and open the door. He followed her through a spacious living room that was tastefully decorated, through another door and into a modern kitchen. She slid her bag off, dropping it unceremoniously on the floor. She pulled out her phone next, scrolling through her contacts and hitting send before putting it on speaker. She set the phone on the island between them and walked to the fridge, leaning her back against it as she closed her eyes.

Clark wanted to go over and comfort her, but something in his gut told him that would be a very bad idea. She was putting distance between them for a reason and he completely respected that. Her sudden change however, worried him and he was beginning to think maybe she really was suffering more than him.

"Buffy?" A cultured British male voice answered after the first few rings.

"Yeah, it’s me." She said quietly.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, his tone worried.

"No, not really." She answered. "I think it’s time you told us about this prophecy."

"Buffy, I've already explained–"

“No,” She cut him off. “No Wes, you don’t get to do this. Not now. Something is wrong with me, I feel…” Her face went red, as she looked at Clark, “I feel like I’m on fire, I…” Her eyes moved to her phone and glared, a growl tearing from her throat in frustration. Her teeth clenched as she ground out. “I feel incredibly sexually frustrated, okay? Like a cat in fucking heat.” Her face went scarlet and she avoided looking directly at Clark. “Want to explain?”

There was a sudden choking sound on the other line, as a coughing fit proceeded it. “Good Lord, it’s happening already?”

The outrage in Buffy’s eyes, did something to Clark in that moment and he stepped forward his anger simmering under the surface. “What’s happening?” He demanded.

“Mr. Kent,” Wesley said in surprise, “I didn’t…I didn’t realize you were on the line as well.” Clark heard the British man sigh, “I’m sorry we were finally introduced this way, I had hoped to meet you in person. I’m sure you already know that I am Wesley Wyndam-Pryce and that I am head of the Watchers Council.” There was a pause, before he continued. “I do apologize for not telling you both sooner, but I had hoped we would have a few more days before the bond started to require a need to be fulfilled.”

“Bond…what?” Buffy’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“I don’t really understand it myself,” Wesley admitted. “But it’s written that once the Immortal Slayer and, I believe the correct term is Star God meet, a…I think the term is soulbond will start to form and a compulsion to fulfill it will start to take hold. Now, both Willow and I think we’ve found a way to counteract the compulsion, but I didn’t expect it would start to take hold so quickly. I do apologize Buffy; I had planned to have Willow bring me there tomorrow so I could explain.”

“What’s a soulbond, exactly?” Clark asked, “And how is it any different than being soulmates?”

“I honestly don’t know, there are very few references to what it is exactly. I imagine that much like soulmates there must be a similarity or mirroring of souls if you will, but unlike soulmates there is a need…a compulsion for a confluence between the souls. As far as I can tell, once that happens it would act very similarly to a claim.”

Buffy gasped and looked at Clark, her eyes wide and disbelieving. Clark swallowed, “What’s a claim?”

“It’s a…a type of marriage between demons, vampires in particular.” Buffy shifted uncomfortably and looked down. “It’s barely ever used now because its unbreakable, not even magic can undo it. It’s ancient and powerful and requires total trust and consent between both parties.” She met his eyes then, an apology shining through but Clark didn’t feel like he needed one, in fact he just felt very confused.

“That doesn’t make any sense, not after what Lorne told me.” Clark said with a frown. “If this bond is as powerful as you say then…” It was his turn to look at Buffy apologetically, “Then even if I met this other person first, wouldn’t the bond take hold when I met Buffy regardless?”

“I don’t quite understand what you’re referring to.” Wesley said in confusion.

Clark looked up at Buffy and saw suspicion in her eyes. “Lorne didn’t tell you?”

“Lorne doesn’t give me the details of readings Mr. Kent; he treats all his clients very much like a therapist treats a patient.” Wesley said, adding. “The only thing he told me was that you were the one the prophecy spoke of and that you were on the right path in regards to your destiny. What exactly did he tell you?”

Clark shifted uncomfortably, feeling Buffy’s eyes on him but unable to meet hers. “He said I had two very different futures, that Buffy was my soulmate but I have another as well and in this other future this woman dies and something makes me go bad.” He finally got the courage and looked at Buffy, her eyes were wide and burning with hurt and maybe a bit of jealousy. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, thinking he had ruined everything.

Buffy shook her head and swallowed, “Did he… did he say what would happen if you met her now?”

Clark nodded, "He said I'm a one-woman man, that it wouldn't matter."

She seemed to relax a bit at his words, her eyes softening and darting back to her phone as Wesley began speaking, "Then you are very correct Mr. Kent, if you met Buffy in this other future, it should have activated the soulbond whether you had feelings for this other woman or not. A soulmate is not always a love interest after all." He paused for a moment, "There are only two things that could have stopped it. One would be that you don't meet Buffy until this mystery foe had your mind or if you did meet her, she was already claimed."

Buffy gasped, and looked at Clark guiltily, “I almost asked him to claim me.”

A potent wave of jealousy and possession swept through him at her words. If she was referring to Angel, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to control himself much longer. Not when the very idea of her being tied like that with someone else made his blood boil.

"What?" Wesley said, shocked.

"Spike, Wes. Not Angel." She clarified. "It was...it was right after we found Alicia. I knew it could make us stronger and I... I thought it might give us an advantage against Angelus. I never had the courage to ask him though."

“And thank every deity in the universe for that!” Wesley said sharply, “I don’t think you quite understand the repercussions that could have had on not just Clark’s future but your own.” There was a long silence, the only sound was heavy breathing before a much calmer Wesley finally said, “That kind of bond Buffy…think about what you did to Angelus and multiply it by a million. I was there that day you came through the portal after Spike died. You were almost feral; your Slayer was in complete control and she wanted to kill Willow for making her immortal. There was a part of her that already thought of Spike as her mate, and she wanted blood from whoever had wronged her. If you had been claimed and Spike died…” They heard him take a shuddering breath, “You would have burnt the world and then marched into Hell without a second thought in search of him. There would have been no stopping you.”

Clark watched Buffy shiver at Wes’s words, her eyes getting lost and faraway. His possessiveness grew at her words, but a small part of him couldn’t help but be curious as to what happened between the two of them and why she so rarely spoke about him. The book had only said that the vampire had killed two Slayers, and had tried to kill Buffy on numerous occasions. He had been hampered by some form of neurotechnology by the US Government and began working with her reluctantly. Somewhere along the way he had fallen for Buffy and regained his soul, sacrificing himself for the world once, where he was resurrected by a mystical amulet he was wearing when he died. The author of the book believed he’d been brought back by mistake and the amulet was meant to be worn by Angel, but there was also some speculation that Spike may have been the actual bearer of the Shanshu prophecy. The author however, was highly skeptical about this because Spike didn’t do what he did out of heroics, even with a soul he relished in the violence of his nature. The author believed that becoming mortal would feel more like a punishment than a reward for the vampire. It spoke some about his time at Wolfram and Hart, about his part in the fight against Angelus, and how he died saving Buffy a second time.

“I don’t…I don’t remember any of that.” She said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself. “Even what I did to Angelus, I only remember parts of it. I felt like I was outside my body looking at someone who wasn’t actually me, except I could feel what I was doing.” She shivered, and it took every bit of self-control he had not to go to her, especially when her voice cracked. “When I came to, I-I was covered in blood and…God, Wes there was nothing left but a torso and head. I…” She choked. “I even took his face.”

When a single tear tracked itself down her cheek, Clark couldn’t take it anymore and he rounded the island and pulled her into his arms, hoping she was too upset to be affected by the embrace, but not really caring if she was, not when he could feel her trembling in his arms. He understood now why she’d been so adamant the other day about her being wrong in the way she killed Angelus and about Slayers not actually being creatures of light but warriors for the light. He could never picture her being capable of such carnage even after hearing it from her own mouth. Then again, he could never picture himself killing her either or anyone else for that matter, not on purpose at least.

They heard a muffled sniffle over the line, before a choked sounding Wesley finally said, “Oh, Buffy, I never…I never knew it was that bad. We found the warehouse and the blood, so I did realize…but…not to what extent, and then you just disappeared and Willow couldn’t ever get a read on you. It was like you were blocking her somehow. Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this?”

Clark felt her shake her head, “I was ashamed.” She answered honestly. “Lorne’s the only one who knows everything, even the stuff I can’t remember.”

“Do you remember anything that happened before you captured Angelus?” Wesley asked cautiously. “I’ve always wondered how you did it, but was always too afraid to ask after the way we…the way we found you.”

Buffy sighed against Clark’s chest, her shivering increasing. “I think I let myself be caught,” she said quietly. “The only thing I really remember is being bound magically by Amy and then Warren tearing open my shirt.” Clark stiffened at her words, his whole body going rigid. She squeezed her eyes shut, her grip on him tightening. “Angelus threw him out of the way, and said everyone would have a turn, but he got to have me first.” Clark’s anger flared at her words, his fist tightening behind her back, he had to squeeze his eyes shut at the sudden heat he felt building. “I-I don’t know how, but somehow I was able to break through the magic that was binding me. Everything’s kind of a blur after that, but I think…” She frowned, her forehead crinkling in confusion. “I think none of the spells were working on me. I think…I think I killed everyone.”

Clark found himself sighing in relief at her words. God, just the image of someone trying to do that to her made him see red. Literally, in fact. He really hoped that something like that has never happened before, because he could already tell he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from tearing whomever did it to shreds. As horrendous of a way she killed Angelus, he couldn’t judge her for how she did it, not after hearing that. God, if she hadn’t been able to break the magic… He felt himself shudder.

Wesley was quiet for a long time, “I’ve always known that Willow brought you back stronger, but being able to break a binding spell with sheer force of will is extraordinary Buffy. We should have started testing this advantage years ago.”

“I try not to think about that day, Wes.” She huffed. “I don’t think the magic going wonky even occurred to me until this moment.” She was quiet for a few moments, before she finally said, "So what happens if I bond with Clark and I lose him too?"

Wesley sighed, "Well, I'm hoping since it’s your souls that are bonding and not your Slayer, that it will make quite a difference."

"You're hoping? That’s really not a guarantee, Wes." She said in annoyance, stepping out of Clark's embrace and leaning on the island. "And what’s to stop my Slayer from trying to initiate a claim? What if this soulbond thing isn't good enough for her? Lorne already said she's been looking for her mate since I was called. He said that's why I was so drawn to both Spike and Angel." She shook her head, "Well, according to this prophecy he's my mate, right? Or the closest she'll ever get to one. So, what's to stop her from doing what she's been wanting to do for years? I mean I looked up claiming in high school, Wes. As soon as I read the word, I was fascinated."

Clark stepped around the table so he could look at her. She seemed worried and deep in thought before her eyes met his and they softened immediately, a small smile forming on her lips as she studied him.

Then they heard Wesley sigh, "I honestly don't know. We've still not even translated the whole thing and we've been working on it for over a year."

Clark watched Buffy frown in confusion. "Is there a reason you haven't gotten Dawn in on this?"

"I'll give you three guesses as to why." He said sarcastically.

Buffy snorted, saying mockingly, "Aww Wes, you're not afraid of my baby sister, are you?"

There was silence on the other end of the line and then a grumbled, "I would rather face all the demons in hell than deal with Dawn on a tirade about you."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Well tough, because I want her in on this."

"But Buffy–” He started to whine.

“No Wes,” she said cutting him off. “I love both you and Willow, you know that. But, if there’s anyone in this world who will have our best interests at heart and give it to us straight, it’s her. I want her in on this.”

“Fine,” He groaned.

Then a smile broke across her lips and an evil look of mischief Clark was slowly becoming familiar with sparked in her eyes. “Plus, she already knows I spent time with Clark the other day and she knows he’s something other.”

“How on Earth did she find out about that?” Wesley said in surprise.

Clark smirked as Buffy’s smile grew. “I may have pissed Faith off by waking her and Gunn up with a cold shower. She ratted us out.”

There was silence on the other line, but she swore she could hear him shaking his head. “Do I even want to know?”

“Probably not.” She said chuckling and then sighed. “I’m feeling a little better now, I mean as far as the compulsion stuff goes.”

“Hmm,” Wesley hummed. “Perhaps it gets worse when you’re apart. I knew that you would feel a need to be around each other, but perhaps being away from one another has an even greater affect than I imagined. How about you Mr. Kent, how do you feel?”

Clark blinked in surprise. Now that Buffy mentioned it, he was feeling less uncomfortable than he had all morning. “Better, actually. It’s still there, but not as potent.”

“Then perhaps the theory is a sound one,” Wesley said. “However, to be on the safe side I’ll have Willow drop off the pendants she’s making this evening. They should be able to subdue most of the compulsion until you both feel ready to move forward with the bond. I would also recommend spending as little time apart as possible. I believe that the pendants are powerful enough to ward off the worst of it, however if this bond is as powerful as I think it is you very well might override the magics if the compulsion becomes too powerful.” He sighed, “I suggest staying there with Buffy for the time being Mr. Kent.”

Clark shook his head “That not going to work Mr. Wyndam-Pryce. I need to help out on the farm. While I was away my mom got behind on the payments and if we don’t bring in a decent crop this year my mom could lose it.” He looked at Buffy nervously. “You could stay with us though; we have a guest bedroom.”

Buffy nodded, “Yeah, yeah, that might be a good idea. I can help you with anything you need, and we can start your training in the afternoons.”

Wesley cleared his throat, getting both their attention. “I think you’re forgetting the contract, Buffy. He may very well not need to worry about that any longer.”

Buffy’s eyes widened, “Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. I’ll be right back.”

Clark watched her run out of the room as Wesley said, “Are you still there Mr. Kent?”

Clark looked at the phone, “Yes.”

“Good, I thought I’d go over the numbers for you and see if they’re satisfactory.” Wesley said. “I had thought of paying you as we would a hired mercenary or demon hunter, however since your role in the future will be pivotal to keeping this world intact, I decided you deserved what we would pay any Slayer, it’s only fair after all.”

“What aren’t you telling us about this prophecy?” Clark said, Wesley’s words telling him the man knew more than was saying.

He heard the man sigh, “I would prefer not to say at this moment. I already know how Buffy will feel about it, and I believe you both have enough on your plate with the bonding. I’ll tell you both, but she’s not ready to hear it yet.”

Clark frowned, “I don’t think you give her enough credit.”

“You may be correct,” Wesley conceded, “But I know she will not be happy about this, even if it’s a good thing. I, at the very least need to prepare myself for Dawn finding out, and she may very well tell Buffy even if I ask her not too. I do not believe either of you have long to wait.”

“Alright,” Clark said, “I’m going to hold you to that though.”

“Now,” Wesley said, just as Buffy walked back in the room. “How does two hundred-thousand a year sound?

Clark blinked in surprise, the blood rushing to his head. He couldn’t have possibly heard that right, could he? “I’m sorry did you…did you just say two hundred-thousand?”

“Clark are you okay?” Buffy asked, running to his side. “You look a little pale.”

He shook his head, “It’s…that’s too much.”

“No,” Buffy disagreed, shaking her head. “It really isn’t. Entering this world Clark… you’ll be putting not only your home but your mom at risk and no amount of money will ever make up for that.” She bit her lip and nodded, “Trust me on this, most demons aren’t stupid enough to mess with the good guy’s families, but the real big-bads, the uber-powerful demons, who’s only goal is destruction and world domination? Those demons won’t care, they’ll do everything in their power to try and hurt you, even if that means trying to break you.” She sighed, “It’s why I want your mom to have access to this place too. It will make me feel better knowing you can get her to safety if you needed to.”

Clark sighed, reaching out and sliding the small stack of paper out of her hand. “And what happens if I sign these and change my mind?”

Wesley spoke up, “You are not beholden to anything Mr. Kent, if you sign those and decide that helping the Watchers Council is not in your best interest, it would simply be like you quitting a job. You wouldn’t be paid anymore of course, but you would not be obligated to continue helping us either. However, with the bond beginning to form I’m not sure how you would be able to distance yourself from the Council or Buffy, but if you made that decision no one would stand in your way.”

Clark pulled out a chair and sat down, his eyes quickly reading it through. It was pretty standard stuff, nothing in it that had some sort of hidden agenda. He flipped the page and read through the rest before getting to the signature line.

“Do you have a pen?” He asked, looking at Buffy.

She went to a small drawer and pulled it open, grabbing one from inside and handing it over. Clark took the pen signing his name on the dotted line. “Okay Mr. Wyndam-Pryce, I signed it.”

“Very good.” Wesley said, “Now, I don’t suppose you’re up for giving him a tour of the underground facilities?”

“Of course.” Buffy said.

“Very well,” he said. “I’ll call you before Willow leaves, in the meantime try and keep your wits about you.”

The line disconnected and Clark raised his eyebrows in curiosity. “Underground facility?”

****<S>**<S>****

Buffy slid open the hidden panel in the wall of the master bedroom. She entered a number into the keypad and then looked up into a camera where it scanned her face, and slid her keycard into the slot.

The computer’s AI came online and a female voice said, "Good afternoon Miss Summers, what can I do for you this afternoon?"

"I need to give a new recruit security clearance."

"Name?" The computer asked, as Buffy removed her keycard and slid in the blank one Willow had left for them.

Buffy nodded at Clark and stepped away from the panel so he could stand in front of it.

"Clark Joseph Kent," he answered, stepping into the space Buffy had just vacated.

"Facial recognition." The computer said, and Buffy pointed up to the camera, indicating he needed to look into it.

Once that was done the computer said, "Four-digit pin."

Buffy looked at Clark and nodded, "Now choose four numbers you'll remember easily."

She watched as he thought about it a second before he put in his code. Once that was finished the computer said, "Thank you Mr. Kent, you now have full access to the Watcher Archives as well as all facilities. Ms. Summers would you like access into the rest of the building?"

"Yes," Buffy answered before the hidden wall shifted, sliding away and revealing the steel doors of an elevator that would take them down into the heart of the house. The doors slid open and Buffy removed the new keycard handing it to Clark as they stepped into the elevator, Buffy pressing the simple down-arrow button.

“We had these built in all the safehouses after what happened with Angelus.” Buffy said as way of explanation. “Or I should say, Wes and Willow did. I wasn’t really around for that.”

It didn’t take long for the elevator to reach its destination and the doors slid open. She could feel Clark’s eyes on her as she stepped out of the elevator and into the large steel control room. There were several monitors on the walls with keyboards on a stainless steel counter top that bolted into the walls along half the room.

“This is the control room.” Buffy said, “For safety reasons, if we’re ever in any code-red type situation, this room is always occupied in case someone manages to get past the outer wards. We can house up to thirty bodies here at a time and since most of us are a little something-other, we can at least hold off whoever’s broken in to give the rest of us a fighting chance to escape by sounding the alarm.”

She knew she was rambling, but she couldn’t look at him right then. It was just occurring to her all that she admitted to Wesley and what she’d said in front of Clark. He was going to ask about Spike, she could almost feel it. Of all the things Wesley could have brought up, it had to be claiming. She felt Clark move closer, and wasn’t surprised when she felt him place his hand on her shoulder as she rambled on about where the exits were located.

“Buffy?” He whispered.

She sighed and looked down, “Yeah?”

“Why…why don’t you ever talk about him?” Clark asked.

Her shoulders slumped at his words, but she still couldn’t bring herself to turn around and look at him. “It’s…it’s complicated.”

“Well then, I think you should try to uncomplicate it for me, because this thing sounds pretty permanent between us and I need to know if I’m going to be living in another man’s shadow.” He said honestly.

She spun around, her eyes meeting his in surprise. “God, no. It’s not like that at all. We were…” She sighed. “Maybe we should go into another room that’s more comfortable. This is a long story.”

Clark nodded at her and she turned, leading him through the heavy metal door to their left and down a hallway the AI illuminating the rooms as it monitored their approach. Buffy led him into a large rec room, a massive tv mounted to one wall with a standard sized couch in front. There was a card table in a corner and a pool table in another. A few pinball machines lined one wall of the room and a dartboard hung near a foosball table. She led him over to the couch, gesturing for him to sit before she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. She waited for him to sit down first, and sat at the other end biting her lip in thought, staring straight ahead into the black void of the blank tv screen, not sure exactly where to start. She figured the beginning was probably best, so she started there.

“When I met Spike,” she said slowly. “He was just about as evil as they come, or at least that’s what my sixteen-year-old-self thought. Though, I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Angelus yet, so I was a bit naive in that department. Anyway, his girlfriend-slash-sire had been weakened in Prague at some point and he came to Sunnydale to try and restore her and bag himself another Slayer.” She shrugged, “So, we pretty much started out as mortal enemies. We fought each other a lot that first half of the year, and he was a hell of a fighter. He almost got me on that first one, but incredibly enough my mom was the one who saved the day.” Buffy smiled in amusement. “Clocked him on the back of the head with an axe.”

Clark snorted in amusement. “Sounds like something my mom would do.”

Buffy smiled, “Yeah my mom could be pretty tough.” She shrugged, “Anyway, I ended up putting him in a wheelchair after dropping an organ on him during a spell that actually did end up restoring Drucilla. On my birthday I found out they were both still alive and Dru was reassembling an ancient demon called the Judge who couldn’t be killed by any man-made weapon. Me and Angel tried to stop it from happening, but we were both too late. That night I made the colossal decision of losing my virginity to Angel.” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and sighed, “And just like that his soul was gone. Maybe that’s why I clung on to the notion that we were somehow destined for so long. I mean, the breaking of Angel’s curse literally states that only a moment of perfect happiness could release the soul. I guess I thought that if our love was enough to drive his soul away, it must be special.” She rolled her eyes at herself. “Honestly, knowing Angel it had more to do with him somehow feeling redeemed in me or it very well could have been that he hadn’t dipped his wick in over a hundred years. Whatever the cause, so began several horrible months of mental torment from a demon wearing my lover’s face.”

“And Spike?” Clark asked.

Buffy sighed, “Spike went through his own torment at the hands of Angelus and Drusilla. Spike really did love her, but her love compared to his was fleeting at best. He told me once how they would mock him for being wheelchair bound and Angelus would…well, he would fuck Dru right in front of Spike because he knew how much it hurt him. I think that’s when whatever destiny Spike had must have started. He came to me and made a truce in the hopes of getting Angelus away from Dru and also according to him, he actually liked the world and didn’t want to see it destroyed like they were planning.” She sighed again, “Anyway, that’s probably the first instance where I started to see Spike in a somewhat different light. Less of a danger and more of a nuisance if that makes sense.”

“Yeah,” Clark nodded. “I guess I could see that.”

“Okay, so skip ahead a few years, when I’m in my first year of college. I’ve seen Spike once in that time when he kidnapped Willow and Xander, trying to make Willow preform a love spell to get Dru back. Apparently, our little truce didn’t sit well with her and she dumped him.” Buffy shrugged, “We had one more real fight where we were actually trying to kill each other that year, and then a few months later the Initiative planted the chip in his head and then once again he came to us for asylum.” A small smile tugged at her lips, “We fought like cats and dogs that whole year. I think our bickering is partly what drove Giles to drinking so much. Then sometime during the next year when Dawn arrived and my mom got sick, he realized he was in love with me.” Buffy sighed. “It wasn’t a healthy love though, not even a little bit. He was obsessed with me. He had a weird shrine to me and he had, the super nerd Warren make a lifelike robot of me for reasons I’m sure you can guess.”

Clark grimaced before saying, “Is that the same Warren that–”

“The one and the same.” She interrupted. “I’ve dealt with some pretty gross demons before, but as far as Warren goes, he’s probably the worst human I’ve ever had to deal with.” Buffy sighed, “Anyway, as weird as Spike’s obsession with me was, he did some things that year that really surprised me. Things that normal vampires wouldn’t do, though I still to this day haven’t decided if Spike was the unique one or if Angelus was, because I know for a fact Spike isn’t the first vampire to keep a portion of his humanity after being turned.” She shook her head getting back on topic, “Anyway, he protected my sister’s secret when Glory tortured him for information and he promised to protect Dawn until the end of the world. When I came back the next year, I didn’t really acknowledge it at the time, but he was still there. Still looking out for my baby sister. It’s strange how you don’t see those things when they happen, but Spike loved Dawn like a little sister and he loved my mom too. For some reason he was drawn to us Summers women.” She sighed and looked at Clark. “I already told you when I came back, I went to a dark place.”

Clark nodded, his eyes studying her face. “You have.”

“I went to that dark place with Spike, I didn’t… when I came back, I was numb and I didn’t know it at the time, but my Slayer had gotten stronger. Part of me hated my friends, I was furious with them for bringing me back and expecting me to be happy about it.” She swallowed, “Spike became my confidant at first, he became my quiet solace. I could sit with him and just be… he didn’t…he didn’t expect me to just be okay like everyone else. I was the one who made the first move…we were under a spell at the time but that didn’t stop me from making a second move after it was broken. One night not long after our second make out session, after my Watcher decided I needed to learn to do things on my own and left, we got into an argument about the kiss and I hit him,” she frowned bitterly, rolling her eyes. “He retaliated and must have realized his chip didn’t fire. The next day, well he started a real fight with me. The first one we had since…well since our brawl before the chip.” Buffy could feel her cheeks heat up at the memory, “It was the first time I felt alive since my resurrection and one thing led to another and we…well we weren’t fighting anymore. At least not with fists. It was the first time I didn’t have to hold back and it was exhilarating.” She looked at her hands, “And the next day I told him how disgusting we were, and I was cruel and awful to him.” She shook her head. “I’m not saying that he didn’t give as good as he got, but I was always the one saying the cruel stuff first. I was awful to him Clark; I beat him once and left him for the sunrise. He was trying to help me…well, I thought I accidentally killed someone.” She pursed her lips, even the memory of Warren now days could send her into a rage. “I hadn’t, Warren once again was trying to fuck with my life, but both of us thought I did. He didn’t understand why I had to turn myself in, how much even thought of hurting someone innocent was killing me. I…I just snapped. I honestly don’t know how he managed to make it to safety on time.”

She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt Clark’s arms come around her. “He still had bruises a week later and vampires, they heal fast.” She sniffled. “Shortly after that my ex-Riley came to town and somewhat reminded me why being with a soulless vampire was a bad thing. I realized that what we were doing…we had to stop. I was using him and it wasn’t fair to either of us, so I broke things off.” Buffy shook her head, “It was hard, because I really did still want him, but I resisted. Some things happened, over the next month or two, my friends ended up finding out about us and one night, he showed up at my house. I was pretty banged up from a fight earlier that evening and he tried to…I’m not even sure he knew what he was doing…but he tried to rape me.” Buffy said quietly, she felt Clark’s arms stiffen around her, this was the judgment she’d been waiting for. “I kicked him off, and he was shocked at himself and then I said, ask me again how I could ever love you?”

She looked at Clark then, and she could see the anger swirling in his blue eyes. “That’s why Spike got his soul. He thought it was the only way he could be sure never to hurt me again. He wanted to be the man I deserved. He did it for selfish reasons of course, but the outcome of those reasons? It was worth it in the end, because he’s the reason we don’t still have a Hellmouth in Sunnydale California.”

Clark shook his head, “I don’t…how can you have feelings for someone after they…even if he didn’t, how could you have not wanted to kill him?”

Buffy shook her head. “Because love isn’t rational, because it can be beautiful or a nightmare, and unfortunately feelings can’t just be flipped on and off. I think if he hadn’t gotten his soul, I would have felt differently, and maybe I eventually would have stopped caring about him. You have to understand though…what he did, it’s never been done before. He fought against his nature and became something incredible for it. I think I would be kinda a hypocrite if I could forgive and still love Angel for what he did to me without a soul, but couldn’t forgive and still have feelings for Spike.”

“Your ability to forgive, Buffy…I think you might have me beat in that department.” Clark said.

She shook her head, “I don’t necessarily think that’s true. I don’t think I can ever truly forgive Willow for bringing me back, and you now know what I did to Angelus.” She sighed. “I really do think it depends on the transgression. Willow tore me out of Heaven, she made me immortal, denying me the peace and reward that all Slayers crave. Angelus went after people I love and he tormented and killed my sister Slayers, all of which were young girls, newly called. I know what Wes said, and part of its true, but Spike was just the catalyst, he was not necessarily the cause. It was my hate, my emotions guiding my Slayer, and it wasn’t the first time that part of me wanted to kill Willow nor was it only her that wanted to destroy Angelus for what he had done.”

“And the claim?” Clark asked.

Buffy sighed, “It was something that was swirling around my head for a while, and at first it was absolutely a hundred percent my Slayer. But by the time I started seriously considering it, that was definitely all me.”

Clark looked away, “You wanted to bind yourself to him for eternity.”

She was silent at his words; she knew what he was thinking and he was wrong. She remembered very clearly why she wanted to do it. “It…I really did want to win, Clark. I know you’re thinking I must have been head over heels in love, but… I loved Spike, I did and I still do, but not…It was the type of love you hold for your best friend, for the person who gets you more than anyone else. I’m not saying it wasn’t romantic in nature either, but it was a love that formed over time. There was no cupid moment. I knew we were compatible sexually; I knew he would never leave me, and I knew it would make us stronger. Claims, they don’t even require love to be fulfilled, just a mutual respect for one another and I knew we could make it work.”

Clark sighed, leaning his head against the back of the couch. “Why didn’t you then?”

“Fear,” Buffy said simply. “Fear of the unknown, fear that he would say no, and fear that he would say yes.”

She watched Clark swallow. “And you want to do the same to me?”

Buffy blushed. “I-I don’t know. Yes, I think so…” She was silent for a moment. Did she want to claim Clark? Her Slayer seemed to think so, but was that the prophecy or an actual want. She certainly didn’t want to lead him on, so she said “But I think it’s something that could happen in the heat of the moment.” She could literally feel her face heating up even more. “Just, if…if I ever bite you when we…and say ‘Mine’, don’t answer unless you’re willing to do the same.”

“I’m assuming when you say bite, you mean breaking skin.” He said raising an eyebrow.

“I do.” She admitted. “That’s basically what a claim is, it’s a symbolic ritual of sharing one’s life force, blood, saliva, semen. The mixing of your essence with another to create two halves of a whole.”

A slow amused smile broke across his lips. “That actually sounds kind of beautiful, if not a little messy.”

Buffy snorted, her own amusement growing at his analogy. “Anything else you want to know, before we continue our tour?”

His eyes slowly gave her a once over, before he shook his head. “No, I think that was more than enough for today.” He looked down, “It’s hard for me to picture you like that, being cruel I mean. Not when…not when you’ve been so nice to me. I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand anything you told me about him and you, and…and if I’m being honest, I can’t help feeling…” He looked at her seriously, his mouth set in a firm line. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t come back from the dead again, because I can’t promise I will be very nice.”

She found herself giggling at the visual. Dear God, that would be funny, especially with how quiet and reserved Clark was. Spike would drive him up the wall. “Oh, trust me neither will he, even with the soul he had the ability to drive just about anyone mad with rage.”

“Well, then it’s probably a good thing he’s not around anymore. I don’t think I’d like to be responsible for killing someone you cared about.” Clark said seriously.

Buffy rolled her eyes; he might be from another planet but he was definitely a hundred percent male. “Yes, Clark, lucky for you, you only have one of my ex’s left to contend with and he’s married.” She pushed herself away from him, grabbing his hand as she did and pulling him to his feet as she stood. “Now, come on, I’ll show you the training room.”

13 notes · View notes

gb-fics · 4 years ago

Text

Dressed in Confidence

Fanfiction:

Kiryuuin Shou x Kyan Yutaka (Golden Bomber)

Note: So, you might have seen the self-cover Shou shared yesterday and it inspired me to write a fic right away. For the context: The character originally performing the song has a magic suit that makes him confident and popular with women. Please, don’t question how it works, we’ll just pretend a suit can magically change Shou’s appearance and personality in this fic ^-^ Also, if you haven’t seen the video, please check it out, because he is gorgeous in it and maybe it will make the story seem a little less random ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgzL_Ccmr1Y

„Just go over and talk to her already”, Yutaka urged quietly.

He didn’t know whom of the girls Shou had set his eyes on, but the glances he kept sneaking at the group of women opposite to their booth at the bar were more than obvious. Yutaka had waited to speak up until Jun and Kenji had went over to the counter to secure new drinks for themselves though. Shou was naturally self-conscious and Yutaka hadn’t meant to make him uncomfortable in front of the others. But his silent longing was becoming hard to bear.

“I can’t just do that”, Shou protested. Obviously, he knew what Yutaka was talking about immediately. He didn’t even seem surprised that Yutaka had noticed. “I’m not some kind of gigolo.”

Yutaka frowned. Although he was pretty good at seeing Shou through, he sometimes didn’t understand his reasoning anyway.

“Chatting up girls in bars and being a gigolo are two totally different things.”

Next to him Shou squirmed on the bench seat.

“I just don’t have that kind of confidence”, he whined.

“You are handsome, famous and you have money. Women have every reason to be interested in you. So, pull yourself together.”

Yutaka had lost count of how often he had given Shou similar pep talks already.

“I’m not”, Shou said right away. He cleared his throat. “I mean, I’m famous. And I do have money. But I’m not handsome.”

It was difficult to come up with the right reply to that. Yutaka never found the right words to talk about Shou’s looks.

“You should let them decide for themselves”, he pointed out.

Shou shifted his weight again. He reached down to check for the bag he kept on the floor between his legs. He had kept checking for it all evening, as if he was scared it might suddenly disappear.

“Please, if I go over there, I won’t even be able to look them in the eyes.” Shou winced.

Yutaka hoped that Jun and Kenji would hurry. The conversation was starting to make him uneasy. He didn’t know how to cheer Shou up without praising him, and he didn’t know how to praise him without making him uncomfortable. Being Shou’s friend could be difficult.

“What’s in the bag anyway?”, he changed the topic. Not the best solution, but at least a way to distract Shou from his self-pity.

“Ah, I wrote Party wo Tomenaide for that franchise, remember? They’re currently working on this magic suit and they gave me a prototype when I recorded the video for the self-cover. It’s supposed to make you cool and confident and popular with women.”

“And you brought it to the bar?” Yutaka hadn’t meant to let disdain sneak into his voice, but Shou pulled up his shoulders instinctively as if he wanted to shield himself from potential judgement.

“Just in case”, he said defensively. “We sometimes end up talking to women, when we’re in a group and I thought it might be a good chance to try it out. See if it even works. In case there is ever something I’ll need a lot of confidence for.”

Yutaka felt soothed to think Shou had only eyed the women as test objects to sate his curiosity about the suit and that he had not fallen in love from across the room. His tendencies in that regard were sometimes worrisome.

“Well then, give it a try”, he suggested. He had heard about the suit but hadn’t known Shou actually owned a prototype. He was curious, if it would work. Shou’s confidence could surely use an occasional boost and it would be great to no longer be the one responsible for it.

“If you insist”, Shou mumbled, but he was already fumbling with his bag. It was obvious he had only waited for some sort of permission.

He pulled out a suit coat and inhaled soundly before he got up. For a moment, he just stood there with the piece of clothing in his hands indecisively. Then he slipped it on in a surprisingly smooth motion.

All Yutaka did was blink and the next second, a completely changed person stood in front of him. Shou’s traditional Tamiya shirt had miraculously transformed into a silky, black suit. It even came with matching dress shoes. But it wasn’t just that. His hair had changed, too. It was styled in perfect shape and showed green streaks that made his look seem edgy and interesting. He was even wearing makeup that differed his usual style. A bright yellow flower stuck in his buttonhole.

Shou had transformed into someone so conventionally attractive, he might indeed start working at a host club.

Absent-mindedly he straightened his suit coat and turned towards the group of women.

He looked dazzling, but almost like a stranger.

Yutaka was surprised that he hesitated for so long before approaching the women anyway. He followed him with his eyes, curious how this would turn out.

Shou’s posture seemed straighter than usually as he walked through the room, yet he still managed to look awkward. He looked like a person who was arguing with himself about every step.

Finally, he stopped right behind a cute girl with bangs. Yutaka should have been able to guess it was her whom Shou had been watching. He would have chatted up her more light-haired friend, but when it came to Shou, she was just his type.

The girl didn’t notice him, though.

Shou just stood for a moment, although her friends had already noticed him. Seemingly, Shou had no idea how to draw attention to himself. He hesitated for far too long, before he reached out and tapped the girl on the shoulder. She flinched, which caused Shou to jolt in return and the whole situation was so awkward to watch, that Yutaka winced under his breath. The good looks and the confidence to approach women had done nothing for Shou’s coolness.

The girl turned around and even from across the room, Yutaka could tell that she seemed startled at Shou’s appearance. Her expression wasn’t annoyed but spoke of pleasant surprise. If a girl looked at you like that at first sight, it was very difficult to blow it.

Even from across the room Yutaka could tell that Shou would blow it.

Instead of looking at the girl while talking, he kept his eyes on the ground and his posture shifted, making it seem as if he wanted to curl back up into himself. He looked exactly as miserable and self-conscious talking to women as he had as a teenager. Everything about his body language radiated insecurity.

Yutaka sighed.

The woman shook her head. Instead of taking it with dignity, Shou managed to look even more miserable. Knowing him, Yutaka assumed he was probably blushing. He still didn’t make eye-contact.

After a very painful minute, Shou turned around and shuffled back to their table. He no longer seemed confident at all. His outward handsomeness remained, but it didn’t match with the way he carried himself at all.

“Sorry”, Yutaka said. “At least now you know.”

Shou sat down on the bench next to him again. Yutaka noticed that he wasn’t slumping down as usual, though, but sat surprisingly straight. It made him look taller and more self-assured.

“Too bad the suit is not working.”

“Oh, I don’t mind”, Shou said and turned towards him. His voice wasn’t as quiet and gloomy as Yutaka had expected. He spoke smugly. “I’d rather spend my time with you anyway.”

Yutaka eyed him suspiciously. The makeup suited him; his features looked more contoured and his skin smooth. His lips were always wide, but tonight they glistened invitingly. It was still Shou’s face, but the makeup brought out all its good qualities more strongly.

“What?”, he asked.

“Why would I waste my time with these women, when I can spend the night with a pretty guy like you?”, Shou asked. He was meeting Yutaka’s eyes head on. That was rare for him already, but tonight his gaze was challenging rather than stubborn.

Yutaka was so irritated by his unnaturally confident tone, that it took him a moment to realize what was going on.

“Oh, ha ha, very funny”, he said dryly.

“I mean it”, Shou insisted and placed his hand on Yutaka’s shoulder. He often did that, especially when he got tipsy and he had already had a couple of beers tonight, though by no means enough to justify him acting so out of character. His touch right now felt different, however. He wasn’t just seeking out body contact, he was using the gesture as an excuse to lean in, bringing them closer together. Suddenly, Yutaka was very aware of how close Shou was sitting.

“Let me buy you a drink”, he said, before turning around. Shou usually hated calling over the waiter and when they went to a restaurant together, he normally left it to the others. He was too shy and polite to raise his voice at strangers.

Now, he raised his arm and called out loudly: “Excuse me?” to make the young waitress turn around. “A bottle of champagne, please. Your most expensive one.”

The waitress nodded and headed off.

Shou turned back to Yutaka.

“Champagne? The expensive one? What’s gotten into you?”, Yutaka asked, still irritated. Before this, he could have written it off as a joke, but Shou would never waste money just to prank him. “You never order anything high-end.”

He still felt like he was talking to a stranger.

“Nothing but the best for my kitten”, Shou said.

Yutaka chocked.

“What?! What did you just call me?”

“Kitten”, Shou repeated. He sounded hoarse. His eyes trailed down Yutaka’s body and he didn’t try to hide the fact that he was shamelessly checking him out. It made Yutaka feel unexpectedly hot.

“Unless you prefer another pet name?”

And then Shou smiled.

It wasn’t a smug, cocky smile. His smile was warm and genuine and it looked just a little bit insecure as if he worried that he had crossed a line. It made Shou look shy and kind and charming. His teeth weren’t showing, but his lips seemed even wider and absolutely gorgeous and the small dimple on his left cheek didn’t seem as misplaced as usual, but it fit in perfectly with his handsome face. The smile turned him from a stranger into nothing but Shou, but the best version of Shou that he could possibly be. It was Shou the way he would look if he were no longer worried and self-deprecating; still shy but no longer scared.

Yutaka’s knees grew weak. But it wasn’t just his knees. It was his shoulders that suddenly held no tension anymore and his arms, that turned into butter and his whole body felt like it might just melt away when Shou smiled at him like this and called him cute names.

“Uhm”, he said.

“Your champagne”, the waitress interrupted them and Yutaka turned hastily, glad for the interruption that allowed him to clear his head. Something about this suit seemed to be working at least.

The waitress placed a bucket filled with ice on the table, that held a bottle of champagne. Steam was rising from the bottleneck, indicating that it had just been opened. Yutaka hadn’t expected it to be done for them already, but it was probably better that way. They would surely have created a mess otherwise.

The bottle came with four glasses and only their sight made Yutaka realize he had completely forgotten about Jun and Kenji. He wondered what was taking them so long.

“Let me get that for you”, Shou offered, although Yutaka hadn’t moved to fix himself a glass at all.

Shou placed his fingers on Yutaka’s wrist as if he wanted to physically stop him from helping himself. Once again, the gesture wasn’t untypical for Shou. He often touched people while talking to them, but this time, it had a different quality. Usually, his touches were distracted as if he didn’t really notice what his body was doing at all. But right now, he looked down on his hand resting on Yutaka’s bare wrist, and then he looked up, meeting his eyes, as if he wanted to make absolutely sure, that Yutaka became aware of the contact. His touch was fully intentional this time and Yutaka sensed heat creeping up his neck.

The touch lasted just long enough to not feel accidental, then Shou pulled back and reached for the bottle of champagne instead. He closed his long, slender fingers around the bottleneck firmly and took up a glass. His movements were secure and controlled. Yutaka had always admired Shou’s hands, that seemed too elegant and coordinated for someone who moved the way he did. But when it came to his hands, Shou always seemed to know what he was doing.

He poured a glass of champagne without spilling a drop and held it out to Yutaka.

Yutaka thought that with all the things that had changed, Shou’s hands had stayed exactly the same.

He took the glass and Shou held his gaze for a moment. It was Yutaka, who looked away first. Shou was wearing coloured lenses and his eyes were bright and intriguing. He didn’t seem in a hurry as he poured himself a glass as well.

Yutaka watched his movements closely. He could still recognize Shou’s way of moving, but he seemed less stressed and therefore less awkward. The only real difference seemed to be, that he was relaxed for a change and Yutaka wondered, if Shou would always look this sexy, if only he managed to put him at ease more.

Shou placed the bottle back into the bucket and held up his glass to Yutaka while meeting his eyes again.

“To a night full of fun”, he said. He said it like he was thinking of something dirty.

“To a fun night”, Yutaka agreed and clinked his glass to Shou’s. He did his best to make it sound less suggestive.

He emptied half of the glass in large gulps. The champagne made him feel bubbly inside, but he doubted it was because of the alcohol. This version of Shou made him nervous.

“Tastes expensive”, he observed lamely, although he couldn’t tell one champagne from the other.

Shou smiled again and once more, Yutaka thought that his lips looked stunning tonight.

“Oh, you guys ordered champagne!”, Kenji’s voice chimed in unexpectedly.

“When did you change, Shou? Is that the magic suit?”, Jun asked and pulled up his chair to sit down opposite to them.

Although Yutaka had hoped to be rescued from this weird tension, he still felt mad at them for interrupting.

Kenji placed himself on the bench next to Shou.

“He brought the suit to the bar to pick up girls, but it doesn’t work”, Yutaka declared maliciously. He was no longer sure if he was annoyed with Jun and Kenji for showing up, or for staying away for so long, or with Shou for acting so weird in the first place.

Shou patted the bench next to himself.

“Here, Kenji, come closer”, he said.

Kenji shuffled closer.

“Why?”, he asked. It was very much like Kenji to comply first and ask questions later.

Shou raised his hand and ran his forefinger across Kenji’s sharp jawline.

“So I can get a better look at your handsome face.”

Something inside of Yutaka constricted uncomfortably. He didn’t know why he felt so upset, but he couldn’t deny that he felt jealous of Kenji. Since the suit hadn’t worked on the girls, he had assumed it was only him having this effect on Shou.

“Oh god, what’s up with you?”, Jun asked, sounding seriously worried.

Kenji gave an embarrassed sound, but started pouring champagne for him and Jun as well without waiting for an invitation.

“The suit is turning him gay”, Yutaka explained nonchalantly and emptied his own glass.

“What’s turning me gay is sitting here with such cute guys”, Shou said lightly. He didn’t sound embarrassed at all. Rather than joking, he seemed flirting.

“That’s disturbing”, Jun said somewhat too loudly. “Someone get him out of this suit!”

Shou batted his eyelashes before looking right at Jun at the other side of the table.

“Please, Jun”, he said. “If you want to undress me, all you have to do is ask.”

Jun made a startled noise that turned into a mixture between a nervous laugh and a cough.

Yutaka placed his glass on the table too soundly.

Shou turned towards him. He leaned in closely.

“Don’t be jealous, kitten”, he said lowly. “I haven’t forgotten about you.”

Yutaka wondered how Shou had noticed his feelings without even looking at him, when Yutaka had troubles naming them himself. He felt oddly happy when he heard the pet name again. Shou hadn’t used it for Jun and Kenji. Maybe that meant something.

“I’m not jealous”, he lied and reached for the bottle of champagne. “I just need more alcohol, if you’re going to stay like this.”

He poured himself the rest of the champagne until his glass was so full, it nearly overflowed, before he put the empty bottle back onto the table.

Shou pulled the flower from his buttonhole. Up close, Yutaka could tell that it was a yellow rose.

“Here”, Shou said. When his voice was so low and deep, Yutaka’s body turned into butter again. He wondered, if Shou had the same effect on Jun and Kenji while wearing the suit.

“What are you doing? Get that thing out of my face!”

“Take it”, Shou insisted. “This one is only for you. To remind you, that you’re special to me.”

Yutaka hesitated. He wished Shou would sound joking, because a joking Shou was something he knew how to deal with. He still had the feeling that he was getting pranked, but he didn’t know how to avoid it.

He took the rose gingerly and placed it on the table plate demonstratively instead of keeping it in his hands. Shou’s facial expression was impossible to read. Yutaka could not tell, if he had offended him.

“It’s empty already?!”, Kenji complained. He had taken up the champagne bottle and studied it in disbelief.

“I can order another round!”, Shou offered right away and already raised his hand, but luckily, Kenji stopped him.

“It’s fine”, he said quickly. He seemed to be a little uncomfortable around this new version of Shou as well.

“Yes, I think it’s time we all go home”, Jun confirmed.

“No!”, Shou protested. “No, no! This party can’t stop! We have to keep drinking! Let’s celebrate all night.”

“It’s late”, Kenji pointed out.

“And you seem to need rest the most”, Jun agreed.

“You should take off this suit”, Kenji added. He spoke very gently, not like he was soothing Shou, but as if he was seriously worried about him.

“They’re right”, Yutaka said softly. He realized that he was worried about Shou, too. Tonight, he seemed unpredictable and possibly reckless. “Let’s pay the bill and then I’ll take you home.”

Shou turned and looked at him cheekily.

“I see, so you want to continue the party elsewhere.” His tone left no room for wondering what kind of party he had in mind.

“What? No!”

“I’ll take you to a fancy hotel”, Shou suggested and this time, he leaned in so far that Yutaka involuntarily pulled back. “Just give me a chance. If you let me, I’ll make you feel things that no woman has ever made you feel before.”

Yutaka’s neck felt hot again and now his face started to heat as well. He thought of everything that entailed. He thought of feeling Shou inside of him.

“Just let me try”, Shou coaxed, but he no longer sounded flirtatious. He sounded like he was begging. The despair in Shou’s voice scared him. He didn’t know what to do with it.

“Shou”, he said as sternly as possible and grabbed him by the shoulder to push him back. It felt like dealing with someone, who was very, very drunk. “It’s really time you take off that suit and get some sleep.”

Shou pulled back from his touch and wrinkles were showing around the root of his nose. The lines made his face look so characteristically himself, that Yutaka felt almost relieved.

“I don’t want to”, Shou said and finally, he sounded like his stubborn self again. “I don’t want this party to end.” He seemed to be repeating the words like a spell now and gestured towards the table as if he wanted to include everything. “I don’t want this night to end. I want to stay with you all night.” He gestured towards himself. “Like this.”

Yutaka didn’t fully understand what Shou meant, but his emotions seemed so raw and honest, it pained him anyway.

“You can’t, Shou. You are not yourself.”

Shou hung his head.

“I am”, he said. “I am.”

“Hey”, Yutaka said gently and touched his arm. Jun and Kenji stayed out of the conversation like they always did, when Shou turned difficult. It was only ever Yutaka, who managed to soothe him. “You need some rest.”

“Fine”, Shou agreed reluctantly. “But you have to take me. And I’m keeping on the suit.”

“Okay.” Yutaka sighed. He figured they could argue over the details later. He looked up at their bandmates. “Why don’t you guys go pay? We’ll pay you back later. I’ll make sure Shou gets home safely. Maybe the fresh air will help.”

“Alright”, Jun agreed. The fact, that neither of them argued about splitting the bill immediately although it contained the expensive bottle of champagne proved they were all irritated by Shou.

“Come here”, Yutaka said as gently as possible and took Shou’s arm to pull him up from the bench. “Let’s get you home.”

Shou followed without resistance. He picked up his bag, that was now empty and allowed Yutaka to guide him over to the front door of the bar.

It was colder outside, although the temperatures were warm enough that they didn’t need a jacket. The cold air cleared Yutaka’s mind a little, but finally getting some distance to Shou certainly helped as well. Inside the bar, he had started to feel dizzy.

Yutaka pulled out his phone and opened an app.

“I think I’m going to call us a cab, alright? We can’t take the train with you looking like this. Also, you might try to pick up random guys, if we don’t get you home straight away.”

“You’re jealous again”, Shou observed and this time, he sounded gleeful.

“I’m not”, Yutaka muttered and requested a ride before putting the phone back into his pocket.

When he looked up, he realized Shou was standing awfully close again. The suit seemed to be making him taller as well, because Yutaka had to look up to him slightly. Maybe it was just his straight posture in combination with the heel of the dress shoes though.

“Have you heard of personal space before?”, he complained and took a step backwards.

Shou took a step forward immediately. If anything, he was standing even closer than before.

“Sorry, that my handsomeness is making you nervous”, he said with a sleek grin. Yutaka had not thought that to be sentence he would ever hear from Shou unironically.

“Uh”, Yutaka said. He had been meaning to deny it, but Shou’s face was so close now, that he forgot how to say words.

“Shh, kitten”, Shou said quietly. He reached up and cupped Yutaka’s face with both hands. His touch was gentle but very secure. Yutaka could sense how bony and strong his fingers felt. They were surprisingly cool.

He knew that he was supposed to pull back, but he stood frozen, and he felt guilty for that. He knew that Shou was not himself and it was up to him to keep the situation from getting weird. But truth was, that he liked the way Shou touched him and he liked it when he held his gaze for so long and he liked it, when he called him kitten.

“Don’t”, he forced out softly anyway. “You can’t just do something like that in public.”

They were the only ones out on the street, but someone might walk out of the bar any moment. Anyone could see them.

“I don’t care”, Shou said. “I don’t want to worry about who could possibly see us. I’m tired of always worrying. I just want to kiss you.” He paused. “May I?”

Yutaka knew exactly what the answer was supposed to be. Under no circumstances could he allow this to happen, because it was reckless and dumb and moreover immoral.

“Yes”, he whispered.

Shou leaned in and kissed him with astonishing force. His kiss wasn’t hesitant at all. He kissed like he knew what he wanted. His lips were soft and his hold on Yutaka was firm. It made him feel very safe and oddly frail. He parted his lips and allowed Shou to kiss him like no one had ever kissed him in a public space before. Their teeth clicked together and Shou’s nose brushed his cheek and when he pulled back eventually, Yutaka was out of breath.

Shou looked at him and he broke into that sweet, bashful smile again, that looked so much like him, except lighter and happier than Yutaka had ever seen him before.

For a moment, he thought that he might just give in. He considered going back to a hotel with this new version of Shou, who would hold him in his strong arms and whisper sweet nothings into his ear and kiss him full of confidence. Yutaka would grow weak in his arms, because he was handsome and cool and self-assured.

But it wasn’t real.

“Stop it”, he said as gently as possible as Shou moved to lean in once again. “This is no good.”

“We can go somewhere more private”, Shou offered immediately.

Yutaka shook his head.

“It’s this suit. There is something wrong with it. It obviously works on men instead of women. It’s making you weird. You need to take it off.”

“No, no, please”, Shou said and he reached up instinctively, clawing his hand into the lapel of the suit coat as if he was scared Yutaka might try to tear it off. “This suit is not changing me. It’s just making me more confident. It’s … This is me. This is the version of me that’s in my head. It’s who I want to be. All the time. I don’t want to … I can’t let this end. I want to stay this version. I don’t want this party to end.” Vaguely he gestured back to the bar.

“So, you want to be someone, who promiscuously hits on all of his bandmates?” It had been meant as a joke, but it came out bitter. The way Shou had touched Kenji’s face made their kiss just now meaningless – regardless of whenever it was the suit or something Shou repressed violently.

“I want to be someone who is at terms with and open about his sexuality”, Shou blurted out.

Yutaka was pretty sure that the surprised was written all over his face. Before tonight, Shou had never indicated liking men at all.

“I want to be able to joke about it”, Shou said. “I don’t want to hide from the people closest to me. But most importantly, I want to show you how I feel. You’re the person I …”

He finally let go of his suit coat and his arm dropped down by his side as if he no longer had the energy to gesture at all.

“I wanted to try if the suit worked. I thought, if it does, I’d one day wear it to tell you. I wasn’t meaning to do it right away. Things got out of hand. I was scared of this night ending, because … I don’t know what will come afterwards.”

Yutaka licked his lips.

“So, you …?”, he started, but didn’t know how to finish the question.

“Yeah”, Shou confirmed. “I love you. And when I’m wearing this suit … when I’m wearing it, I’m cool and handsome. I’ll keep wearing it. And if you give me a chance, I think I can make you like me a little too. You allowed me to kiss you like this. You are at least somewhat attracted to me in this suit. I can be this version of myself for you. I’ll keep being it.”

Yutaka shook his head slightly.

“What are you going to do?” He wasn’t mocking Shou. He was sad, because Shou sounded so desperate. “Keep wearing the suit in your sleep?”

Shou shrugged and smiled helplessly.

“I hope they’ll design magic pyjamas soon”, he said.

Yutaka looked at Shou and all he saw was a handsome host. He had no idea where the despair in his voice was coming from. It was as if he couldn’t see below the pretty surface at all.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”, Shou plead. “I confessed to you. Don’t I deserve an answer?”

“Please, take off the suit”, Yutaka said. He suddenly felt exhausted. He was tired of dealing with this person in front of him. He just wanted to talk to his friend. “I want to give you a proper reply, but I can’t when you are wearing this suit.”

“It makes me better”, Shou insisted.

“This …” Yutaka gestured towards Shou and the green streaks in his hair. “I feel like I’m talking to a stranger. I need to make sure it’s really you.”

Shou looked at him for a long time and Yutaka was convinced he would decline. But then he nodded and slowly took off the suit coat.

He blinked and then Shou was already different.

He was back in his Tamiya shirt, his arms bare and pale and awkwardly holding on to the suit coat. His hair was blonde again and looked uncombed because he had run his hands through it early this evening. His face was flushed and bare and his eyes were tiny, but dark and so much warmer than when he was wearing coloured lenses. He kept his eyes cast down and yet Yutaka had the feeling he was seeing them for the first time tonight. He seemed small, hunched over once again and his head too large for his shoulders, making him look frail and in need of protection.

Yutaka felt a giant wave of affection rushing through him and he had to stop himself from wrapping his arms around Shou.

He had missed him. He had missed him so much more than he had ever expected. And he thought that this awkward little guy with the small eyes and the messy hair was the most beautiful version of a human being possible.

“Hey”, he said quietly.

Shou looked up briefly, but he didn’t manage to hold his gaze for too long, just as it had always been.

“Hey”, he replied.

“Do you …?” Yutaka broke off. For a moment, he considered that Shou might have forgotten about everything that had happened tonight. “Do you still feel the same? Without the suit?”

“Yeah”, Shou confirmed. “The same. Plus, an awful lot of regret for saying it out loud.”

Yutaka chuckled.

“I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.” Shou looked down onto the suit coat in his hands. His hands still looked the same. “I behaved awful tonight. Sorry for putting you into a position like this. Let’s just forget I ever said anything. In fact, let’s just forget about this entire night.”

Worried lines were showing everywhere on Shou’s face. His face looked all weird and wrinkly. He looked like his old gloomy, over-thinking self again.

“I should probably burn this thing to make sure I never do anything this stupid again.”

“You probably should”, Yutaka agreed.

Shou had looked happier when wearing the suit, more relaxed. Yutaka wanted him to look this happy always, but he knew they’d have to find a different way for that.

“Sorry”, Shou mumbled again.

Yutaka paused for a moment.

“Though, if I’m honest, I’m going to miss you calling me your kitten”, he confessed jokingly.

Shou looked irritated. Yutaka let him suffer for just a few seconds more.

“I’m also going to miss you kissing me”, he added.

Shou looked up and sucked in his lower lip. His teeth were showing visibly. He looked by no means conventionally attractive and Yutaka loved him for that.

“Really?”, Shou asked insecurely.

“Really”, Yutaka assured him without hesitation.

Shou started smiling and it was the same smile as before. The warm one with the cute dimple, that made his lips look gorgeous and that was shy and hesitant, but finally happy without a trace of worry. And Yutaka thought, that they were going to get there and that they wouldn’t need a magic suit for it at all.

“We can always work on that”, Shou said. “Right, kitten?”

#Golden Bomber #Kiryuuin Shou #Kyan Yutaka #kirikyan #fanfiction #fanfic

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laughtermagick · 4 years ago

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Hell: Everything Is Made Up & The Points Don't Matter Anyway

The "traditional" image of hell for most folks today looks like this: creative torture in a sulfuric lake of fire ruled by a pitchfork-wielding horned red Devil. The concept of hellish afterlife is present in many religions, but the details differentiate dramatically, and what may seem nightmarish to one culture can honestly sound comically ridiculous to another. In fact, some of the very early Christians might laugh to hear how hell is now being portrayed in Western culture. "Hell" as we think of it today didn't exist when Christianity was first founded.

There are four different words in the original languages of the Bible that were later mistranslated into the single English word "hell". Here's the original words and their meanings:

Sheol (Ancient Hebrew)

Every single time the word "hell" appears in the Tanakh (or the Old Testament), the real word being used is "Sheol," which means "death" or "grave". For many ancient Jews, there was absolute nothingness after death, and even worse, there was no more blessed awareness of God. This is where the modern Christian concept of hell being "total separation from God" comes from. The soul didn't exist apart from the body, and when someone died, their breath/soul/consciousness didn’t go anywhere: it just vanished.

After military defeats and political subjugation for millenia, Jews began to change their view on the permanence of death. Around 200 years before Yeshua (aka Jesus), the Israelite nation was longing for justice. They revived an even older worldview (that of Iyov [Job] in the Tanakh): Evil has been allowed to run amok, but has very little time left! God will surely intervene to bring forth the "Kingdom of God," a paradise right here on earth. Furthermore, God will resurrect everyone who's ever died (moral AND immoral) in order to dote on the righteous and totally rub it in the faces of all the evildoers.

Yeshua put a new spin on this concept: Actually, the Kingdom of God would be literally created simply by people returning to the two greatest mitzvah (commandments) in Jewish scripture: a deep love of God and dedicatedly loving all human beings. Yeshua was especially concerned for the poor, the outcasts, the marginalized, the immigrants - a total OG SJW, and definitely not someone preaching about Christian hell.

Hades (Ancient Greek)

It's important to note that the Greek underworld wasn't merely "Greek hell". There were designated places for bad souls (Tartarus), good souls (Elysium), really good souls (Isle of the Blessed), unremarkable souls (Asphodel Meadows), and even hopeless romantics (Mourning Fields). The word "Hades" occurs 10 times in the New Testament. Sometimes, the authors were even directly quoting scripture from the Tanakh, but they were writing in Greek, so they instead translated Sheol to "Hades," the name of the Greek god of the underworld. They were simply referring to where everybody goes after death: the grave.

Tartarus (Ancient Greek)

Remember how Tartarus is the place where Hades puts all the bad souls? This word only appears once in the New Testament: "For God did not spare the angels who sinned; on the contrary, he put them in gloomy dungeons lower than Tartarus to be held for judgment." What an interesting example of ideas cross-pollinating between cultures! The author was referencing Hebrew scripture (which originally said "deeper than Sheol") while also referencing Hellenic religion. The author was culturally Jewish, but he was writing this for gentile Christians who were very familiar with Hellenic ideas about afterlife.

Gehenna (Ancient Greek)

The word most often translated as "hell" in the New Testament (although it only appears 12 times) is "Gehenna". Gehenna is the name of an actual place located just outside of Jerusalem. "Gehenna" is the Greek version of the Hebrew word "Ge Hinnom," which literally meant "Valley of Hinnom." You see, the Valley of Hinnom has a dark history. Without going into too much detail, let's just say there were once rituals to evil gods that had a taste for babies. Later, the area was a landfill used to burn all the trash from the city. There aren't many other options for a place formerly designated for grisly human sacrifice, I guess.

When Yeshua occasionally seemed to speak of "hell," the word sometimes used (when not "Sheol") is actually "Gehenna." He was referring to the notorious valley that many Jews believed was the most desecrated dumping ground on the planet. Jews had even created some lore around Gehenna being a kind of purgatory; however, the longest a person could remain in Gehenna is 12 months, which is not even close to eternal suffering.

So, where did our current ideas about hell really come from? Largely, the book of Revelations (trippy AF and very, very open to interpretation) and especially the Apocalypse of Peter. Whereas Revelations was accepted by early Christianity as being scripture, the Apocalypse of Peter was definitely not. This is understandable, because it's even more batshit-crazy than Revelations. It describes hell as being... well, pretty much exactly how we imagine it today. It was incorporating all kinds of pagan sources and Greek philosophy, making a Frankenstein's monster of horror stories. And it gets really, really in-depth about the specific tortures assigned for different kinds of sins. I wouldn't be surprised if the writers for the "Saw" movie franchise were reading the Apocalypse of Peter for inspiration. The book was banned entirely in many churches, but this wasn’t the only "Apocalypse of-" book in circulation at the time, and those writings permanently implanted the idea of hell within the Christian religion.

The eternal torments of hell were not taught by Yeshua - it emerged much later among gentile converts who had preconcieved notions about afterlife. All these ideas about hell that were developed over the past 1,600 years are being retroactively tied back into the original scriptures by unaware Christians today. Hell started as fanfiction and got mistaken for canon.

#hell #religion #mythology #christian mysticism #jewish mysticism #jewish mythology #christian mythology #Q&A

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k7l4d4 · 4 years ago

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Kamen Rider Info and Ideas (Feel free to ignore)

As a huge fan of Kamen Rider, I always wondered about ways it could be expanded, and maybe not improved so much as become More. So, right now, I am gonna make a list of Kamen Rider Series, starting with Black and RX, and continuing all the way to the Reiwa Era! Everybody clap your hands!! *Cricket noises* Okay, here we go!

Kamen Rider Black, and its sequel, Black RX, details the journey of Kohtaro Minami, or Minami Kohtaro for those who prefer the traditional Japanese naming conventions, on his mission to defeat Gorgom, an ancient tribe/organization that has evolved into a cultic terrorist organization bent on world domination. While still holding to the Showa era’s tradition of having Cyborg Riders, Black and RX were the first in which, aside from Kamen Rider Amazon, the supernatural played a prominent part in the powers of the riders, as Kohtaro and his stepbrother Nobuhiko were the designated heirs to the leader of Gorgom, the Century King, and infused with the relics that contained his power, the Kingstones. Both Kohtaro and Nobuhiko were infused with the Kingstones, in the attempt to convert them into the Villains Black Sun and Shadow Moon, with only Kohtaro managing to escape.

One of the things that I felt could’ve been at least a little better in regards to the series was if Shadow Moon could regain his original self and rejoin the path of justice. It would’ve also been pretty cool if Shadow Moon gained his own upgraded form, which did actually happen in tie-in novels and manga, and if either or both of them gained the ability to unleash a final form that drew upon the power they wielded as the New Century Kings. Ah well, that’s what fanfiction is for!

Kamen Rider Kuuga details the battles of Yusuke Godai, the successor to the ancient warrior of justice, Riku, as the Kuuga. Kuuga’s powers are derived from Growth, allowing him to access a variety of forms and powers based on what he needs to grow into, and can be bolstered by mystical energy sources to ascend even further! Yusuke’s enemies are the Gurongi tribe, ancient monsters who abandoned their humanity to satisfy their love of death and conflict, and wished to have all of humanity become as dark and twisted as them, with the “honor” of being the Gurongi to start the process going to whichever of them managed to win their tournament, in which the Gurongi Tribal-members all battled to the death as a whole.

One of the things that bugged me a little, was that Kuuga never fully evolved all his forms, and that his true final form was even used in his series! I mean, seriously, what!? Once again, budget concerns limit the awesomeness of a series before it can bloom, sigh.

Kamen Rider Agito is the story of Shoichi Tsugami, a young amnesiac who belongs to an offshoot of the human race known as the Agito. Agitos possess incredible psychic powers and exist in a perpetual state of evolution, adapting to the changes in themselves and the world around them at an incredible rate.

My only real beef with this series was the limited number of forms Agito had as compared to Kuuga, and that one of the Extra Riders had the lazy name of Another Agito. You heard me right. All in all, not to bad, but a little frustrating.

Next up, Kamen Rider Ryuki, which also served as part of the inspiration for the list. Honestly, with how much I plan on covering JUST for Ryuki, I’ll probably leave this off after this and pick up more tomorrow. Ryuki is one of the first series in the franchise to fully exploit the nature of multiple riders, and basically invented the concept of Dark Riders, which I will also explain.

Ryuki involves the Rider War, a conflict taking place in the real world, and a parallel realm known as the Mirror World, populated by unfeeling monsters known as, you guessed it, Mirror Monsters, which must constantly kill when in our world in order to remain stable, or at least they are allegedly supposed to. The Rider War was a conflict set up by a man known as Shiro to revive his dead sister, under the guise of a tournament to the death for a reality-warping wish, which Shiro wanted for himself. The war brought together 13, yes you read that right, 13 Riders, all with variances in their styles and abilities. This selfish conflict is partially, if not entirely why I said that introduced Dark Riders properly to the franchise; Dark Riders are individuals who bear the same transformative powers of Kamen Riders, but instead of using them to fight against the wicked and monstrous, are instead put towards their own selfish ends, and none of them are the type of individual you wanna run into in a dark alley.

The Riders of Ryuki derived their power from two things, their Contract Monster, a Mirror Monster that they formed a bond with in order to exist without needing to bring about death, and an Advent Deck, a Deck of Cards that harnessed the power of the Mirror Monster it bonded to and allowed the Riders to survive in the Mirror Realm, which is inherently fatal for humans to be in. One of the key aspects of Advent Cards is how they work, each one draws and harnesses an aspect of the Contract Monster it is connected to, or wields a power specifically to fight other Advent Riders. Now, before I get to my thoughts and ideas, I am going to list each Rider from Ryuki, as well as the nature of their Advent Decks and fighting styles.

Shinji Kido: Kamen Rider Ryuki himself, and contracted to the fierce Dragon-Type Mirror Monster, Dragonredder. With a Dragon on his side, you’d expect him to be the powerhouse of the group, right? HAHAHAHAHA no. Shinji stumbled upon the Rider War by near-complete accident, and, being the nice guy he is, decided if he was going to be a part, he would protect the bystanders from the conflict and ensure as many of the Riders made it out alive as he could. Easier said than done. Out of all the Riders, Ryuki has the least straight-forward fighting style, not helped by his incredible clumsiness, with his deck emphasizing the ability to have as many options as possible; jack of all trades master of none, but better master of none than master of one.

Ren Akiyama: Kamen Rider Knight, and the contract holder of the Bat-Type Mirror Monster, Darkwing. He comes across as aloof, cold even, whose only in it for himself, but in truth he decided to enter the war to save the life of his ill fiance. Knight’s fighting style blends straight-up direct combat, and subterfuge based war tactics, with his deck emphasizing this by providing him with both weapons and special abilities that optimize getting the drop on his foes. Hmm... themed after a bat, a knight, and mixing close combat with dark and spooky tactics. Now where have I seen THAT before?

Masashi Shido: Kamen Rider Scissors, a Dark Rider, and the contractor of the Crab-Type Mirror Monster, Volcancer. A corrupt cop and detective, Scissors took bribes and cuts in illegal dealings, and used his Mirror Monster to liberally dispose of witnesses as he pleased. He ultimately died when his contract was destroyed and Volcancer turned on him. Despite his practices necessitating subterfuge, Scissors’ fighting style is rather extravagant, emulating that of a gladiator, with his deck providing cards that mix heavy combat with putting his enemy into an unfavorable situation to seal the deal, fitting for a backstabber.

Shuichi Kitaoka: Kamen Rider Zolga, one of the neutral and later heroic elements in the war, and the bearer of the contract for the Minotaur-Type Mirror Monster, Magnugigas, a colossal bio-mechanical behemoth. A shady lawyer with a lot of wealth, Zolga was diagnosed with fatal cancer, and desired to become immortal to continue living his lifestyle forever. While initially uncaring and selfish, he ultimately came to see the value in others, and lamented all the criminals that walked free due to his actions, hoping Ryuki would win. Cunning, intellegent, and crafty, Zolga’s fighting style favors both heavy defense and massive firepower, burying an enemy in a storm of blasts while he hunkers down, with his deck further emphasizing this with a bevy of long-distance combat cards and barriers.

Miyuki Tezuka: Kamen Rider Raia, a fortune-teller beyond compare, he enters the war to save lives and honor his deceased friend, and bears the contract of the Stingray-Type Mirror Monster, Evildiver. Raia’s fighting style places heavy importance on movement, offering cards that can offer him superior movement, and uses a whip as his principle weapon.

Jun Shibaura: Kamen Rider Gai, an utterly selfish and monstrous beast of a man, he wields the contract of the Rhino-Type Mirror Monster, Metalgelas. A prodigy of computers and gaming, Gai sees the death match that is the Rider War as nothing more than a game, and the fighters as players he can wipe out at his leisure. Gai’s fighting style is a straight up rush of overwhelming force, with his cards emphasizing interfering with his opponent’s options to force them to fight him directly and his brutal power of himself and his Contract Monster gives him an edge.

Takeshi Asakura: Kamen Rider Ouja, and the main Dark Rider of the series, holder of the contract for the Snake-Type Mirror Monster, Venosnaker. A sadistic monster to his core, Takeshi killed his own family as a child, and left a bloody trail in his wake for years, remorselessly cutting down anyone who falls in his path in his bloodlust. Despite his seemingly simple minded nature, Ouja is immensely cunning, favoring a sadistic fighting style that emphasizes causing as much pain to his enemy as he can before they die at his hands, and he is far from afraid to get his hands dirty. Ironically, Ouja has one of the weaker decks in the war, bearing limited options to fight with, Ouja thrives due to his sheer brutality, fighting ability, and utter ruthlessness. “Fun” fact, unlike the other Riders, Takeshi never realized that a wish was up for grabs, he was just having a good time! When he finally learned that the winner got a wish, he decided his wish would be to have ANOTHER Rider War, so he could kill another pack of warriors! Ouja’s deck does have two solid advantages over the other riders; Ouja possesses extra Contract Cards, meaning he can add other Mirror Monsters and their powers to his deck, ultimately deciding to save them to take the Mirror Monsters of the Riders he kills, with his other big trick his Unite Card, which allowed him to COMBINE his Mirror Monsters into the horrifying Chimera-Type Mirror Monster, Genocider (ain’t that a name).

Odin: Kamen Rider Odin, a Rider not designated Dark only due to the fact he doesn’t have enough of a mind to be one, and wielder of the Phoenix-Type Mirror Monster as his Contract, Goldphoenix. Odin is unusual, in that he is essentially a puppet, a brainwashed shell that acts as Shiro’s representative in the war that occupies whatever body Shiro gives the Contract to. Out of all the Riders, Odin has the greatest immediate strength, allowing him to overwhelm just about anything in ideal situations, and if things go wrong, Odin (along with Shiro) can REWIND TIME to reset the war until Shiro gets the outcome he wants, only giving up when he accepts that he won’t be able to bring his sister back.

Satoru Tojo: Kamen Rider Tiger, a man who wants to be a hero, and wields the power of the Tiger-Type Mirror Monster, Destwilder. Tiger is a broken individual, lacking a LOT of basic understanding in regards to people, he wavers between good and evil in his desire to be a hero due to his incomprehension of what it means to be heroic, ultimately becoming a hero when he selflessly sacrificed his life to save a father and son about to be hit by an oncoming truck, finally realizing what it truly meant to be a human in his last moments. A highly inexperienced fighter, Tiger often lost, which didn’t help his instability, forcing himself to rely on ambushes to win, his deck favored close-range melee and offered him support in the form of ice attacks.

Mitsuru Sano: Kamen Rider Imperer, a self-styled mercenary rider, and wielder of the multi-type contract allowing him to command the power of the Gazelle-Type Mirror Monsters, with Gigazelle serving as the leader of his horde. Imperer was raised to believe that wealth was what was most important in life, completely missing the fact that his idea to be a mercenary in the Rider War was impossible as all but one of the contestants must die for it to complete and you cannot quit either. After falling in love, Mitsuru seemed to be realizing that there is more to life than money, he tragically died before he could act on his new views, trapped in the Mirror World, reaching out to the image of his love, screaming in fear. Imperer’s fighting style makes use of boxing, and bum-rushing his enemies with his massive swarm of Contract Monsters.

And, because I am starting to grow tired and this is REALLY LONG, I am gonna finish this later today before I burn out.

#kamen rider #kamen rider franchise #kamen rider series #kamen rider ryuki #observations #feel free to ignore this

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years ago

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Survey #455

“but you didn’t have to cut me off / make it like it never happened and that we were nothing”

Are you and the last person you kissed in a relationship or just friends? We're besties! :') Has anyone ever pointed out that your laugh was unusual? No. Would you get a lip piercing? I already have a vertical labret. I've considered getting spiked snakebites (they might be called devil bites?) too, though. With a vertical labret, it looks sick as FUCK. It might be a bit much too close together for me, though, idk. Nose piercing? I want my right nostril re-pierced. What are you currently waiting for? Girt to message me back. I've decided what I want out of our relationship and just want to see him. Do you have feelings for anyone? Hit me pretty hard through a lot of examination of my feelings that yeah, I do. Have you ever run over an animal? Oh my god no, I would be DESTROYED. Have you chewed gum after someone else already has? bro what the fuck When people sneeze do you say ‘bless you’? I do only out of expectation. I don't want someone to think I'm an ass or something for not saying it. When was the last time you were on a bouncy castle? A few years ago for my niece's birthday. She was scared of how loud it was and was very reluctant to get near it, so my fat ass got in there with everyone else to show her it was fine lol. I can't remember if she eventually got in. She loves them now, though. :') Have you ever went on a bouncy castle whilst drunk? No, but thanks for the idea, ha ha. Have you ever entered an art competition? Yes. What is one thing you will never do? Try hardcore drugs. What is one food that you detest? Asparagus. Did you have a rebellious phase growing up? Not really. What religion were you brought up with? Roman Catholic. Are you still that religion? GOD NO. Do you often find yourself questioning your future? That's my full-time job. How many friends do you have on Facebook? 124. What sort of music did you listen to when you were in high school? The same I listen to now. What pet names do you use with your significant other? I'm single rn, but usually, I go for "sweetie/sweetheart," "hunny," "love," "dear," stuff like that. What’s the name of the store you usually get your groceries? Wal-Mart. Have you ever seen a theatre show? Yes. What’s your favourite vegetable? Broccoli. Have you ever missed a flight? Yes. I was SO fuckin upset because it was on Sara's birthday and planned in secret, and I was supposed to wake her up. It still wound up being a big surprise to her when she walked into her room and I was chillin' at her desk, ha ha, but I still wish it coulda gone as originally planned. Do your neighbours have any pets? Have you ever met them? Yes; they have a yappy-ass dog that doesn't shut up. I haven't met them. What color is your bedroom door? White. If you were ever to become famous, would you grow annoyed at fans? This may sound very ungrateful, but I have heard A LOT of celebrities say it: it would get old, being stopped constantly in public for signatures, pictures, etc. Like yes, I still WOULD be grateful, but I'd miss just being off the radar and able to go outside carrying out chores and stuff like a normal person. Have you ever met your favourite band/singer? No. :( Are you embarrassed by any of the songs/singers/bands you like? Nah, not nowadays. Have you ever written a story? Yes, a kinda short one when I was little. Think of the last poem you wrote: What inspired you to write it? The breakup with Jason and the fact we're just strangers again. It was really short, but I like it a lot, honestly. Do you have a chance with the person you like right now? I think so. What’s the weirdest thing you were scared of as a child? A skeleton in my closet, lol. Literally. Are there any embarrassing stories your family tells about you? alkdsjflakjwle yes In your opinion, what is the funniest TV show? That '70s Show. 3rd Rock From the Sun is high up there, too. What is the maximum number of children you’d ever have? HYPOTHETICALLY, two, but I'm pretty damn serious about having none. I just always feel kinda bad for children without a sibling, but three would make me pull my hair out. Have you ever been concerned you had a serious illness? Yes. I overreact to even minor symptoms to ANYTHING. Are you comfortable with who you are? No. Pretty much everything about myself embarrasses me, even if it shouldn't. Would you date someone even if you knew you’d get made fun of for it? Yes? Others' opinions don't affect how I feel about someone. Does popularity matter to you at all? No, outside of trying to be a successful photographer. Would you ever consider homeschooling your children? If they really wanted that and it would benefit them, yes. Who told you about the band/singer you are currently listening to? I discovered them myself. Do you ever read fanfiction? Nah. Would you rather die in a plane crash, ship wreck or fire? Jesus. A plane crash, I guess, because in a lot of cases, it would be an immediate death. What are your top five favourite TV shows? Meerkat Manor, Fullmetal Alchemist (and Brotherhood; shut up, they go together), That '70s Show, Ginga Densetsu Weed, and Deadman Wonderland. What is your favorite superhero movie? Logan. If you died next week, what would be the cause of death? Uhhhh idk... I guess maybe a heart attack? Judging by doctor appointments, my heart is just fine, but the fact still remains that I'm technically obese, so that's always a risk. Have you ever taken a break from Facebook or other social media? Why? Facebook, yes. It was just depressing me. I was playing the comparison game REAL hard. Who is the most talented person you know? I dunno. I know many people talented in a lot of areas. Are you currently platonic friends with anyone you’ve had sex with? No. Where did you and your current interest go on your first date? Bowling. Have you ever experienced two people fighting over you (physically or mentally)? What happened? Jason and Juan pursued me at the same time. They'd known each other in the past, and Juan hated him for "winning" his ex-girlfriend. Then when Jason and I got together, Juan wasn't the happiest for sure. Have your parents ever thought you were gay? What happened? Before I actually came out as bisexual, I don't think so? Are your parents more liberal or conservative? Conservative. Mom is more open, but still conservative. I think. What year are you going into at the beginning of the next academic year? I'm not in school. How far away does your closest family member live? I live with Mom. If you’ve seen both, did you prefer the Disney version or the Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland? I actually strongly prefer Tim Burton's. Would you have sex before marriage? Why or why not? Yeah. I just want to be in a long-term, serious, healthy relationship to reach that point and be as safe as possible about it. Are you more liberal or conservative? Liberal, but I do have some conservative beliefs, too. Who is your favorite Harry Potter character? I don't have one, given I never got into that franchise. What’s the worst that could come out of letting gays marry? Not a goddamn thing. What’s the most sexual thing you’ve done? Done "the thing." Name something that you are against. I'll go with an unconventional one that's a problem as of the late: making owning reptiles illegal. Why are you against it? Because reptiles are perfectly capable of being brilliant pets and, most importantly, can tame people's fears of them. I think that it's very important to see the worth and beauty in all animals, and reptiles are one of the most unappreciated families out there. :/ Have you ever played the Tomb Raider games? I played some of either the first or second one. I could never beat it. Old games are hard, man. Do you like it or hate it when your partner is clingy? I absolutely believe that it can get to an extreme that I don't like, but for the most part, I don't mind a clingy partner because hey, I am too. Beatles or Rolling Stones? Stonessss. When was the last time you changed your opinion on somebody? It'd been on my mind for a while, but I *officially* realized that I really do like-like Girt a couple days ago. And since then it's gotten a bit hardcore and all I wanna do is talk to him bc fuck me and how attached to people I get. What was the last thing that made you feel proud and why? Every single time I go to the gym, I feel proud of myself because it REALLY takes a lot out of me. Do you feel uncomfortable when people you hardly know confide in you? Nope. I'm willing to be a shoulder to cry on for like... anyone. If you're hurting, talk to someone. I'll be there as an easy option. What was the last thing to fascinate you? It was... INCREDIBLY disturbing and almost nauseating even for me, but I saw a video of a dead whale explode. It was GRUESOME. Guts just kept coming and coming and coming and :x Is there a certain noise/sound which scares you? Hmmm... I'm sure there is, but what, it's not coming to me. Sudden, loud noises are an obvious answer. Do you have a favourite microorganism? ... No, I can't say I do. Out of the people you know, whose birthday is next? Girt's, actually. It's in October. If you have pet fish do you bother to name them? I did when I actually had them as a kid. Do you keep your eggs in the fridge? Ye. Have you ever owned chickens? No, but that'd be cool. Fresh eggs from a properly cared for chicken taste SO much better. When did you last listen to music? Currently. NOW I'm obsessed with Melodicka Bros & Violet Orlandi's cover of "Somebody That I Used to Know." It's done in a gothic metal style and is amaaaazing.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''somebody that i used to know'' by gotye

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bisluthq · 4 years ago

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hi I’m that RPF anon and first of all thanks for being polite and not completely obliterating on me on sight. I’ve raised this point in the past with other people and t’was a fucking mess, I tell you

In terms of your point, I think I understand where you’re coming from. The whole schtick with celebs purposefully marketing themselves as sexual beings/fantasies and thus, inevitably giving their fanbase the ammunition/material to concoct their fantasies upon. I suppose I’ve never thought of it from a capitalist point of view but it makes much more sense now.

Re the swiftwyn fantasies: idk if I’m being a prude/cupcake but it still seems weird to me. Like, Yh Taylor’s screaming from the rooftops about how she’s getting dicked down on the regular (truly iconic and jealousy inducing in this panoramic if you ask me) but going out of your way to write that up is...not something I completely understand??. But it’s clearly yours (and quite a few people’s) on this blog and given you’re not actively harming anyone, have fun I guess?? It’s confusing to me but so long as the people indulging in it are sane and acknowledge it’s a fantasy (just like any other work of fiction)...no harm done.

But with Joshlie, i do think it’s a bit strange as josh doesn’t market himself as a fantasy? Esp not a sexual one. Like I don’t think it’s fair to say wanting fame = marketing yourself as a sexual being because I don’t think he does that - the two, imo, can be mutually exclusive Also, WHO HAS THE HOTS FOR JOSHUA KUSHNER? pls, like Karlie I get - she’s the smoking hot thirst trap and half of this couple but josh on his own? Nah, he’s just hot by extension/association with Kar sorry not sorry

Now regarding After - I still view After as low-key problematic (the OG books far more than the films) because of how HS was portrayed. He’s supposed to be this mysterious playboy that his fans are meant to thirst after (which is fair and not completely unfounded) but he’s written as a toxic, abusive, gaslighting asshole because the author (she’s a whole diff can of worms to deal with, yikes) decided to just give him a new (v. inaccurate and harmful to young girls) personality.

And it’s not just After that I’ve seen this with, it’s a bunch of fanfiction, RPF and fictional stuff alike. But I suppose that’s again a whole separate problem (problem being the constant romanticisation of abusive behaviour, particularly when helmed by the pretty face of a celeb) to deal with in general.

And in terms of saying, ‘well the movie made bank and so did the people involved so it’s okay’ doesn’t sit right with me because as far as I know, HS didn’t make money off of this? If anyone has info on this please correct me but to my knowledge, the name was just changed to avoid legal problems but I could be wrong. And so jumping off this point, I don’t see how this movie is okay - everyone knows that this is HS fanfic but it’s also a shitty fantasy for young girls to indulge in because it is harmful imo. And tbh, as I’m writing this, world tiniest violin for HS’s image technically being exploited and repackaged without him being able to capitalise on it but the franchise as a whole, imo, is garbage and has a net negative effect. This is complex stuff and, as you can probably tell, I’m kind of on the fence here. Feel free to chime in on what you think ✌🏼

Yeah as I said this is a huge discussion point and one I find very, very interesting because I do see the “EEK NO” angle and was on that side of the fence for this debate for multiple years, so it’s not like I’m purely like, “Oh fuck it don’t be a prude” (well I do say that to people who’re like “HOW DARE YOU WRITE SOFT PORN ON THE INTERNET” but not to like a “is this ethical” debate).

Re Harry making money off of After - it’s not that he got paid for it per se, but it being fanfic about him defs had people listening to his shit and looking him up more. It’s a symbiotic thing. Same as Idea of You - which has yet to become a movie - definitely leads to an increase in streaming. To me both projects have benefited Harry financially and in terms of growing his fanbases. Is it how he would necessarily want them to grow organically, like if he could choose? I’m not sure, I’d be fascinated to have a discussion with him about it, but I also think he wouldn’t pearl clutch about shit like that because in the end it does benefit him.

Now we get to like “is this a positive portrayal or not?” which is another thing I personally feel strongly about and why, although I’ve - recently, like this blog is my first venture into this territory, my smut before has been fictional fanfic or original - started writing RPF I wouldn’t write an AU/crack pairing and I wouldn’t write about people who I didn’t think were in a healthy loving relationship. But that’s a moralistic judgement. Like personally I wouldn’t feel comfortable portraying anyone I was writing as an asshole. But.... would me portraying them as an asshole affect their lives? No. After blowing up is bad for young girls who’re being role modelled bad behavior but that’s not the result of it being RPF inspired, like it’s just a bad plot.

As I’ve said, in many ways Taylor has invited fans to imagine her and Joe fucking. Like she’s put out multiple explicit sex songs and yeah we’re allowed to think about that. While Karlie hasn’t, she has shown off her husband and my vibe is... the people on this blog - real people who get comfort from reading shit here and just vibing - find her and him hot and want to imagine them fucking. Even if he hasn’t really invited that, he’s very much featured as her husband in many of her videos and in her public life. He’s a ~presence. My Joshlie fic didn’t say aaaaanything negative about them, like it was based around a public event that we know he left drunk, and then they have fictional sex in their hallway. Is that true? Of course not. Idk. It’s a fantasy that people wanted to indulge because they find them hot.

Then we also need to zoom out and look at the history of this type of shit because y’all know me I’m all for nuanced views and my obsession with the entertainment industry and the concept of celebrity and the histories thereof and such like... define me. If we think about how showmances and PR relationships started up - thinking in terms of the studio system - there’s a huge element of transference and fantasy. People wanted to see couples on screen be dating in real life. Why? Because then they could imagine their whole lives together, they could project the characters played onto the celebs in question. And that worked both ways, like if a couple was dating in real life, people wanted to see them on screen. That’s RPF. People were obsessed with Burton and Taylor acting together because they wanted Burton and Taylor not because they gave a shit about the film in question.

I think it’s very natural to fantasize. I think there’s a long history of that. And while I understand being like, “Eh I don’t like this” I don’t know how different the logic of going “here’s a short story imagining these famous people in bed” is from “hmmmm I really think Gaga and BCoop fucked because LOOK AT THE CHEMISTRY.”

We can say both are wrong but I also think we need to live in reality, we need to look at what’s profitable, and we need to look at history. And to me at this point it’s just... no big deal.

I will say the Joshlie stuff would probs make them far more uncomfy than the Swiftwyn stuff would make Swiftwyn but at the same time there are weirder things written about all of them on the internet than me being like, “Here’s a sexy consensual scenario between two people who adore each other” and again people walk away from my blog as bigger fans of all four people by and large and ergo spend money on their shit so eh I’m not feeling like I’m crossing any lines.

And obviously like any smutty RPF scenario is fucking fiction.

Obviously.

#nat talks fandom culture #Anonymous

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takerfoxx · 5 years ago

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You don't have to make a cheat sheet. If my investment in cookie-senpai is anything to go by, I'm already too far gone.

(though I can’t say I would have ever expected Mokou to be referred to as Cookie-senpai, but now I shall be thinking of her exclusively with that term)Anyway....

All right, peeps. Here’s the deal with this new story. For anyone who’s only familiar with my PMMM stuff, I actually originally broke into fanfiction through writing stories for the Touhou Project, with Resonance Days premiering exactly two years after that.

And for anyone that’s not familiar with the Touhou Project, it’s a Japanese indie game series of top-down bullet hell shooters. In fact, many would consider it to be the series of top-down bullet hell shooters, with many of the other entries in the genre often cribbing from Touhou’s notes. They’re notable for being completely created from the bottom-up by one single guy on his home computer. Specifically, this guy.

Meet ZUN, a Japanese video game legend known for eating too little and drinking way, way too much. Seriously, he’s admitted to being drunk during the bulk of the programming of at least one of his games, and his first impression of American culture was, “The meals were too big and the beers too small.”

Here we see him in what I presume was on an average Wednesday.

Anyway, when I said he does everything himself, I mean everything, from the plotting to the programming to the designing the sprite art (which is super pretty) to the character art (which is charmingly terrible) to the music (which is legendary for how catchy it is) to anything else you can think of. And thanks to a combination of their ridiculously huge cast of endearing characters, absurdly difficult and yet somehow not cheap gameplay, and amazing soundtracks, they have amassed a huge cult following that frankly dwarfs so many professional franchises. Seriously, we’re talking oodles upon oodles of fanart, fan comics, impressive fan animations, entire bands dedicated to remixing and covering the soundtracks, and elaborate cosplays. Every Comiket is largely dominated by Touhou content, and whenever ZUN himself shows up in person to drop a new game, expect people to be lining up out the door days in advance.

So onto the games themselves!

The games take place in the mystical country of Gensokyo, with an approximate map reproduction here.

Anyway, Gensokyo is a little hard to describe, so I guess the best description would be that it’s sort of a pocket dimension intended as a refuge for feudal-era Japanese mythology, where all the gods, monsters, fairies, spirits, and other supernatural thingies went to after Japan started to move away from their beliefs, along with a bunch of humans who wanted to still believe in them. And all of those supernatural creatures have been anthropomorphized as cute anime-esque girls in silly outfits!

This series has inspired a lot of porn.

Anyway, the two main characters of the series are the perpetually poor and always grumpy shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei and her best friend the cheerful but also something of a kleptomaniac witch Marisa Kirisame, pictured here.

And despite being the protagonists, they’re admittedly kind of a couple of assholes. Likeable assholes, but still assholes.

Also, these guys are also often playable as well.

But seeing how my story takes place decades before the first game and most of these guys haven’t even been born yet, that’s not really important.

Anyway, the series sticks to a formula that it only occasionally deviates from. Some weird shit is afoot, so whoever you selected as your character goes to investigate for whatever reason, spend the first two levels not making any progress and encountering boss fights that have nothing to do with the incident, running into someone on the third level that at least knows what’s going on and can point them in the right direction after having the snot beaten out of them, spending the next two levels facing off against the perpetrator’s minions/allies/friends/family/whatever, before facing off against the perpetrator on the final level. Do well enough, and you’ll unlock a super-hard extra stage feature a super-hard bonus boss that has some kind of connection to the final boss.

Anyway, the plots are rarely important, and most of the bosses end up befriending the protags after having some sense beaten into them and sometimes even show up as playable characters in later games.

So, this is where I come in.

Imperfect Metamorphosis is my flagship story. It’s basically a dark fic that plays all of the darker elements from the series straight and involves a freak accident kicking off a series of disasters that has a lot of factions forming, plots within plots, and overall chaos. Heavily influence by Song of Ice and Fire, if you’re into that sort of thing. And Swiftly Descending Darkness is basically the origin story of one of those disasters. Other related stories include the spin-off Rhapsody of Subconscious Desire and the second Christmas special Over an Open Fire, both of which feature Mokou as a main character and thus tie into this story, which is something I’ve been planning for...Jesus, almost as long as IM’s been running.

Anyway, canon characters from Touhou in SDD are Rumia, Keine, Mokou, and Kana (also that annoying blue fairy from the first scene, but that was just a cameo). All others so far are all OC’s, but one or two other canon characters might show up.

And that’s all I can really talk about without veering into spoiler territory. Anyone who’s read IM or is even familiar with Touhou can probably guess where a few things are going, but for those of you who aren’t, well, any googling will be up to you.

So yeah.

There you go.

#touhou

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avaantares · 5 years ago

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ten questions tag game

I was tagged by @mymagicalunicornlife. I think this game was intended for original fiction -- of which I have plenty! -- but I’m currently 133,000 words deep in a transformative literary work sprawling fanfic, so I’m totally going to cheat and use that one to answer rather than digging back into Blaze of Glory (my most recent original WIP). Blaze is on hiatus for a couple months because it was hurting my brain and I stalled out on rewrites, so instead of making progress on it, I’ve spent the past eight weeks wordvomiting a ridiculously long DMC fic instead. (Yes, I’m one of those writers who does both. That’s probably bad form. Not gonna stop, though.)

1. How did you come up with your WIP’s title? What does it mean in relation to the story?

Children of the Future Age is the opening line of the William Blake poem “A Little Girl Lost.” The works of William Blake served as a major inspiration for the fifth installment of this franchise (on which my story is largely based), and as a title... well, it’s relevant to the plot, but if I explained how, it would be a spoiler. Suffice it to say there are children involved.

2. Do you title your chapters? If so, what’s your favorite?

There are no published chapter titles. My working chapter titles (within this story) are organized by timeline, so they have names like “chapter 20 - Wednesday 2 wks” so I can keep track of how long it has been since [significant event] happened. (I write in Scrivener, so I can see all the chapter headings at a glance.)

3. What’s a recent line you really like?

“Well, I had just pinned him to the wall with his own sword and hurled a motorcycle at his face.” She smiled fondly. “Those were the days.”

“Right,” Nero muttered. “She’s gonna make a great babysitter.”

4. Are there any writing-related quotes you really like?

So, so many. This (along with many other variations on the same theme) is one I frequently repeat to force myself to work through uninspired or tricky points in the narrative:

“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” ― Jodi Picoult

5. Do you have an idea for cover design for your story?

This story isn’t getting a cover, because fanfic. But I usually do for my original works. Sometimes I sketch or mock them up while I’m thinking through plot issues.

6. What sort of AU can you imagine your story being?

All my stories are, in a way, already AUs. Every one of my novels grew out of some other existing media -- not fanfiction, per se, but the germ of a plot springing out of an interesting concept or “what if” scenario. My age of sail adventure trilogy was originally inspired by a 1920s crime novel. My Edwardian ghost hunter story was originally inspired by a modern-day BBC series. My epic fantasy was originally inspired by a children’s cartoon. The decopunk fairy tale I sold to an anthology last year came to me after watching an episode of a 1960s TV Western. AUs everywhere.

Since this WIP is a derivative work, it’s already an AU. But I could see it changing genres and easily turning into some kind of wacky comedy, if it had a little less angst and played the character conflicts for laughs. (The premise really could have gone either way, but I’m an angst junkie, so it became a drama. But if someone wants to rewrite it as a sitcom after it’s posted, I’d totally read it.)

7. Which OC character would be the most angry with you as the writer?

Nero. I do put the poor boy through the wringer in this one, both physically and emotionally. But it’s for his ultimate good, really!

8. If you had to tell the story from a different POV, which character would you choose?

I usually have several rotating POV characters, but for story reasons, this entire narrative is from one character’s perspective, and it’s WEIRD. I keep having to perform timeline gymnastics to get my POV character someplace he can be involved in important conversations, rather than just popping into another head for a scene elsewhere!

If I had to change POV, I’d probably have to go with Lady. She’s also at the center of a lot of what’s happening, and as the person who has known the catalyst characters the longest, she has unique insight. Also she’s got her own bucketload of backstory and angst to work through, and that’s always fun to explore.

9. What would be your OC’s character’s taste in music if they lived in our world?

Nero’s musical tastes are pretty well defined in the game, I think. Though I do have him playing guitar in my story (not strictly canon but strongly suggested by the guitar taunt, and totally plausible), so he’d probably listen to a lot of classic rock in addition to the heavier stuff he listens to in-game.

10. What’s one personal goal you want to achieve by the end of the story?

My personal goal right now is just to end the story. This stupid thing was supposed to be a relatively short one-shot (HA HA HA), and given where I am in the arc, I’m estimating that it’s going to wind up in the neighborhood of 180K words. Which is insane. Doubly so since I’ve written over 130K in just two months, a quarter of which was spent traveling out of the country. (That’s... 2.5 NaNoWriMos. O_o I need to figure out what magic juice I’ve been drinking and start stockpiling it for November.)

I also want to make sure that I loop in all those dangling story elements I seeded in the first few chapters, but that’s not so much a personal goal as a standard task to check off the list. Most of my longer stories seem to have a bunch of convoluted plot threads that need tied off. I guess that’s how they end up being longer stories.

Tagging:

@gmariam321 @iamtheshriekingguineapig @wordborne @radioinactivity and anyone who wants to play!

#tag game #writing #my writing #children of the future age #fanfiction

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ask-gijinka-creationtrio · 6 years ago

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clarification on that bit on gender and contemplations on other stuff

If anyone actually bothers to read this lmao

Dialga: This question was pretty much inevitable.

Palkia: I’m honestly fine with being referred to as an “it”.

Giratina: Why the hell should we worry about “it” being “dehumanizing” when we’re not human to begin with?

Something that I knew would eventually get brought up is the genders of my interpretation of the trio. The simple answer is encapsulated in the prev post: they’re dragon gods. Gender is a societal construct; sex is for reproduction. Legendary entities that represent the fundamental laws of the universe don’t really have a need for either society or reproduction. So as with the games, they’re all officially non-binary/genderless.

That said, my designs gravitate towards one or the other. One reason is that i’m not creative, bold, inspired, or talented enough to really translate that genderless attribute into humanoid form. Another is that someone pointed out to me a while ago that Palkia has a low waist-hip ratio, stiletto clawed feet, and some designs will feature a more prominent chest. That and the gendered color-coding Pokemon started doing with blue males and red/pink females, like with the menu screens starting from Gen III, the Eon Duo, Jellicent in Gen V, and Team Skull Grunts in Gen VII.

That said, I’m not a huge fan of these reasons, as you could also make the counterargument that Palkia looks somewhat phallic. So I kinda wanna get into an Extended Rant™ on why I choose to depict my OCs the way, even though no one probably cares lmao

It starts out with the Kanji/Hanzi for “Universe”: 宇宙, Uchū in Japanese and Yǔzhòu in Chinese. You might recall it if you’ve read Pokemon Adventures.

You might also remember if you visited that one dude on Route 228 in Diamond and Pearl who gets yeeted out of his house by Cyrus’s contrite grandfather by the time Platinum rolls around. Okay, realistically, barely anyone probably does (that guy wasn’t that memorable), but he basically says the same thing as Cyrus in the panels above: 宇宙, coined by the ancient Taoists, esoterically means something like “the totality of extension” + “the totality of duration”. In other words, the ancient Japanese/Chinese word for “universe” is lit. “space” + “time”. This is actually a somewhat obscure, unnecessary detail that even many native speakers seem to be unaware of. It also ties in heavily with the Yin-Yang 陰陽 of Taoism.

I know Taoism is more a Gen V theme, but it’s a concept implicit throughout the franchise, hence games generally come in twos, sharing complementary/opposing or dualistic/dichotomic themes. Even trios tend to have the third member as the odd one out or mediator. There’s much more to the Yin-Yang than just Truth/Ideals and I sorta wish Game Freak would explore it more to really unite the franchise as a whole around the interconnected theme of both diversity and harmony.

The Yin-Yang isn’t strictly about Truth/Ideals as much as it is about the fundamentally dualistic nature of existence and the oneness implicit in the inseparability of coexisting complementary concepts. Thus, truth and ideals are two sides of the same coin, as are time and space as relativity revealed. The Yin-Yang is vague enough to basically be an umbrella representation term for any complementary duality. It should be noted that the feminine Yin and masculine Yang don’t refer to stereotypical/conventional notions of femininity or masculinity, but rather requires an abstract interpretation.

The Yin-Yang is composed of an active component, and a passive/reflective/receptive one. More easily understood in that one aspect creates the body and the other gives it life. One which shapes/nurtures/mothers being and one which animates/directs/fathers it. Abstract interpretations of the feminine Mother and masculine Father follow suit. As do dualistic concepts like particle and wave, existence and essence, ovum and sperm, object/entity and idea/concept, magnitude and direction, defense and offense, nature/tradition and technology/advancement (Gen I & Gen II), space and time (Gen IV), truth and ideals (Gen V), night/moon and day/sun (Gen VII), and shields and swords i guess (Gen VIII).

I excluded Gen III because among the classical elements, earth and water are both traditionally considered reflective/feminine, with fire and air being active/masculine, but i suppose if you factor in Primal Reversion in Gen VI, it works. With the Aura Trio, I read something unrelated but interesting about how apparently Ohmori Shigeru hinted at parallels between the Weather Trio and Aura Trio. Can’t find the source though. Blue - Seas were the first (Alpha) source of Life; Red - fiery, desolate Lands signify the Death of all in the end (Omega); Green - Order/Balance mediates between two forces of nature that can be malevolent/chaotic left unchecked, with the trio master possessing abilities that cancel out the other two.

Going off the rails a bit more, speaking of color-parallels, there’s probably going to be one of the subtractive colors between Gen VIII and the (highly probable) Gen IV remakes this generation, with Cyan - Dialga, Azelf, Lucas’ accents, Za-cian; Magenta - Palkia, Mesprit, Dawn’s accents, Za-mazenta; Yellow - Giratina, Uxie, Barry’s accents, whoever the third member of the Gen VIII mascot/box art legendary trio is going to be. I wonder how they’re going to incorporate the parallels tho

Anyway I digress. The ancient Daoists associated feminine Yin with 宇/Space and masculine Yang with 宙/Time by virtue of insisting the feminine aspect precedes, but even disregarding that, Space fits in with the Yin criteria of that which represents the body and Time fits in with the Yang criteria of that which initiates life.

So while they’re genderless, Dialga represents the concept of masculinity and Palkia femininity in their most pure, abstract, and universal form according to the Dao. While this doesn’t make Dialga a dudebro and Palkia whatever the hell the feminine equivalent is, in my mind, Palkia has a strong maternal instinct and Dialga is very much a dad. Giratina is weird chaotic goth aunt/uncle who gives u ur first taste of alcohol just to spite grandpa and reads fanfiction with candles and a glass of wine like it’s a fucking literary hour.

That’s my logic and explanation behind it anyhow. The distinction goes something like Palkia will concern itself more with the state or properties of something (who, what, where) whereas Dialga will concern itself more with the role or activity of it (when, why, how). As time and space are, however, they’re deeply intertwined and cannot be separated.

I might move this bit to a separate post somewhere down the line since this has already dragged on long enough, but I’ll share some thoughts on Giratina here and tie it in with the overarching topic of assigning gender roles lol. According to Game Freak, Giratina represents antimatter, but there are some inconsistencies. I know this shit has to be taken with a grain of salt because of Pokemon logic/science and whatever, but I gave it some thought regardless. My personal headcanon is that Altered Giratina represents dark matter/energy and Origin Giratina represents antimatter. Whatever tf Gira represents in Pokemon lore is based on a combination of the two, with the Reverse/Distortion World probably alluding to the idea of an anti-universe. Antimatter and dark matter are not really the same thing, but they’re both trippy cosmic constructs that sound somewhat similar, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . I wanted to make a distinction because while antimatter doesn’t distort spacetime any more than normal matter, it’s speculated that dark matter (actually dark energy) does, and is responsible for the rapid expansion of the universe.

This would also go along nicely with Gira complementing the the Spacetime twins while also complementing Arceus. It would also fit as justification for Giratina having to switch from Origin to Altered Forme upon entering the universe presided over by Dialga and Palkia, not because of the shift in spacetime stability, but rather due to the violent, annihilating reaction that occurs when matter and antimatter come into contact with one another. It’s by no means a perfect resolution hc, but it is one that I’ve gotten attached to.

Anyhoo, I designed Giratina to appear more androgynous (or at least attempted to). However, going by that masculine active/feminine reflective duality highlighted in the Yin-Yang, Origin Gira, with antimatter a reflection of normal matter, appears a bit more feminine-androgynous, whereas Altered Gira, with dark matter an active driving force for the expansion of the universe, appears a bit more masculine-androgynous (though iirc it hasn’t shown up yet and i’m not too great with consistency regardless). That was my idea behind it in any case. Origin Gira wears a binder under that big dastardly overcoat. i guess it’s technically genderfluid.

Digressing a bit, but another artistic choice was the skin tone of the trio. 0 points for subtlety on my part, but the color is Cosmic Latte, the average color of the universe. Like that bit on gender, I wanted to base it on some aspect of reality. I juggled between that and pure black with stars for freckles, but in the end i’m a lazy piece of shit who cuts corners for a living, so i settled on Primordial Clam Chowder because it was easier lmao. that’s why they pasty af

Anyways, if you have any design ideas or you wanna see a member of the trio in another form, feel free to submit your ideas or a magic anon or whatever!

TL;DR tbh this wasn’t even a structured rant it was just me going off the rails and sharing random useless deetz. this isn’t even a tl;dr. what the fuck

#might try to finish that cover image #well it's not like i edited much to begin with #pokemon #hc #gijinka #dialga #palkia #giratina #text #ask blog #analysis #long rant #pokemon analysis #sinnoh #gen iv

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theragingprophet · 6 years ago

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👉List 5 things that make you happy then put this in the askbox of the last 10 people who have appeared in your notifications.❤️

hey, thanks so much!! now, hm,,,

1. undertale, for sure!! an excellent game, with a great soundtrack, story, and characters. i owe a lot to this game, namely; all of you! seriously though, i wouldn’t dedicate so much of my time to it if i didn’t truly love it. can anyone guess who my favorite characters are…? hint: i have yet to write a story with either of them as the main character, haha.

2. writing! in general, but fanfiction specifically. i crave that good, good validation, which is harder to come by with original work, but it also helps me to connect with people in a way that i didn’t have before. i’m truly grateful for what fanfiction has enabled me to do.

3. mythology & fairytales! i guess this is technically two, but i’m counting them in the same category lol. doing retellings and reinterpretations of these themes is my absolute jam, and it’s a trope that i never get tired of. Make the World Afraid hasn’t gotten quite into all the backstory i have for it yet, but i’m super excited to include more cryptids and monsters in general!

4. pokemon!! i have a tendency to switch between interests pretty quickly, but pokemon (like undertale), has managed to stick around for a really long time. that’s a franchise that i’ll never get sick of, lol. i need to catch up on the sun & moon anime!! (ps: my favorite pokemon is munchlax.)

5. matilda! it’s my absolute favorite movie of all time, and i honestly don’t know what i would be like as a person if i hadn’t seen it as a kid. i rewatch it pretty religiously, and a lot of how i treat my child characters is inspired by that movie & book lol. if you haven’t seen it, i can’t recommend it enough!

thanks!! i’m happy to spread the joy!

#the prophet whispered

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historyman101 · 7 years ago

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Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution Ending Speculation

Hi,

I know you’ve recently dissociated yourself from the Astral Army and E7 following the current direction of the franchise and its fanbase, but I’m curious to see how you think the Hi-Evolution Trilogy might end since you’ve seen Hi-Evo 1 and Hi-Evo 2’s preview.

Personally, I think the trilogy might go for a New Order-like ending where Eureka is forced to sacrifice herself to save the world. I think it would make sense with the direction that the trilogy is taking, considering how much Kyoda is placing emphasis on telling something new with E7 alongside the importance of Adroc’s sacrifice in the First Summer of Love. I know fans may not like it, but I feel that the bittersweet ending that we never got to see in its entirety (aside from that one special that aired on Japan that I personally don’t count since it’s a clip show) would be a fitting way to cap the trilogy and franchise as a whole.

I’m also curious to hear your thoughts if Bones did decide to go the New Order route for Hi-Evo. Fans may not like it, but with Kyoda and co stating that they’re creating something close to their original vision of E7 it seems that way.

I’ve gotten into the series about a year ago and your works have partly inspired me to get back into writing fanfiction after an extremely long hiatus. It’s a shame that each successive installment following the original series has failed to match the greatness prior, and it looks like Hi-Evo is another indication that it has truly lost its way. Haven’t watched the movies and AO and I don’t think I plan to aside from Hi-Evo depending on how all three movies pan out. If it fails on all fronts, then I truly hope it’s the final nail on the coffin.

Cheers, mate, and hope everything is going well for you on your end.

Wow, this is a lot to unpack, lol. You bring up a lot of interesting points, so I will try my best to address them all. Firstly, thanks so much for your question, and it’s nice to know that my historical fanfiction series has inspired you to write some of your own, at least in part. For a long time I thought people had stopped paying attention, so hearing this is a nice bit of news to hear.

This is going to be a very, VERY long post, since I have my own ideas, so if you can stand walls of text, read on.

Frankly, I would not mind seeing a New Order style ending, as I do agree it would be a good way to close out the franchise, but something tells me that we won’t see it here. While Dai Sato is back on the team, Tomoki Kyoda has stated in interviews and at Otakon that the ending will be brand-new. It’s worth mentioning that while New Order was never adapted in anime, it was adapted into manga form, so it is not as if people in Japan would be seeing something brand new. Additionally, he has said that part of his reason for making this reboot was to retrace the steps of E7, since it has been more than 10 years since he and the original staff worked on the production. They’ve all aged and are different people, and they wanted the reboot to reflect some of that.

I do think the ending of this trilogy will be bittersweet, but as for what that would mean and what we would see specifically, your guess is as good as mine. The previews for the next movie do not give any hint as to what direction this series is going, which normally I would have no qualms with, but they are so tonally dissonant that it makes me worry. One preview has Anemone dressed like an idol performing before a soccer match, with every single Nirvash variant (including those from PFOR and AO) on the field wearing a jersey, while the next gives off a rather Evangelion type vibe, showing Anemone’s past as a human test subject, and hinting that she knew Eureka as a child. Admittedly, the second preview gives me more hope, but the bait-and-switch tactics Bones has used in marketing this trilogy just makes me gunshy all around. I am afraid of committing to watching this because it could easily be one giant ploy, much like the first movie turned out to be.

Like you, I may not watch the remaining Hi-Evo movies depending on what happens. My decision to continue watching will ultimate come down to what information comes our way for the next films, the lack of which is rather disconcerting, to say the least. Seriously, it’s been close to a year since the original announcement of the reboot, and there’s still nothing?!

If I can be honest, what I fear may happen is the reboot may be abandoned entirely if the next movie doesn’t perform well. I can’t speak to how Hi-Evo 1 fared in Japanese theaters, but if the reaction at Otakon is anything to go by, the reactions from fans have been mixed. Potential movie franchises have been derailed due to poor box office performance and backlash from audiences before, and it could easily happen here.

I share your belief that the successive installments (PFOR, AO, and now Hi-Evo 1) have been poor or mediocre additions at best, and I still am of the firm belief the franchise should have ended when episode 50 ended. There was really no reason to go back to it, but at the same time, I can’t be completely bitter. I met many good friends in the Astral Army and formed some strong connections because of what we watched together, for better or worse. Today one of my best friends is a “soldier” I met during the airing of AO, and we talk on Skype every night.

Even if this franchise ends on a sour note, I still owe a lot to Eureka 7. It’s what made me into an anime fan, it still sets the standard to which I judge all anime, I met one of my best friends thanks to it, and it’s partly what influenced my writing. No matter how this ends, I am still grateful for watching it, and I know my life would be very different had I not.

I hope that answers your question, and thanks again for your submission!

#submission #eureka seven #eureka 7 #e7hievo #eureka 7 hi-evolution #speculation #e7

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scribblindown · 8 years ago

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Final Fantasy XV (Actor AU)

Dang this ended up long, I guess I got carried away ;; I'll keep it under the cut. Also, I refer to them as [character]'s actor, or just [character] on and off, but I'm mostly referring to their actor.

Final Fantasy (the television series):

Final Fantasy is an anthology science fiction and fantasy series that started in late 1987.

Originally it was produced only by the Japanese studio Square Enix, but as it became more popular, different countries come together to help make this series. Therefore it is now under multiple production companies, distributors, and is aired in multiple networks worldwide.

They currently have fifteen seasons, not counting their many spin-offs, movies, and crossovers with their sister series, Kingdom Hearts.

Constantly gets questioned on why the actors wear so many belts and buckles.

Stella Nox Fleuret:

Was an elegant and kind actress that was in a handful of blockbuster movies, so she was already well-known.

She was set to be in Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which was already in mid-way through filming, but they were making slow progress due to scheduling issues with Noctis' actor.

However, Stella's actress was suddenly in a near-fatal car crash, putting a halt to Versus XIII completely.

Not only was she hospitalized for many months, she decided that she wanted to take a break from acting because her traumatizing experience made her want to spend more time with her family.

She was even unsure if she wanted to go back to acting at all. Even if she were to take on any projects or roles, it would be the local ones, so she wouldn't be too far from her family.

She specifically told director Tetsuya Nomura this and didn't want to hold them back. Nomura respected her decision and took her off her contract soon later.

This was a very hard decision for her because she loves the series and her costars. Also, no one blames her for doing what she did. Everyone is still on great terms with one another. If another star is in the same town as her, they will call her up and they will have lunch together.

But because of this they had to scrap Versus XIII completely. With one of the major actresses suddenly pulling out of the show, it left a major gap in the story and production.

Money was lost, fans were left dumbfounded, and everyone was at a loss.

This led to a change in teams, production companies, and Nomura passed the director role to Hajime Tabata. It was eventually reworked into Final Fantasy XV, with major changes happening to the story line and character designs. Such as:

"What??? A plain white button up??? No, give him a purple leopard print shirt!!!"

Noctis Lucis Caelum:

Is the same actor that played Sasuke in Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. That's right, I went there.

Because he was still working on Naruto Shippuden at the time, Versus XIII was in the works for the past five years (not ten years like irl) before it eventually became FFXV. But everything worked out in the end because he finished up with Naruto and was able to give FFXV all of his attention.

He is a half-Japanese actor, and while he spent most of his life in Japan, he can speak English perfectly. This is due to the fact that his parents are divorced and used to pass him back and forth from their respective countries.

His uncle is a talent agent, and suggested the role of Sasuke Uchiha to him. The rest is history.

His personality is actually really close to Noctis'. While he can keep up the brooding, cold facade that he did for the past ten years for his other role, and work the cameras so he can come off as charismatic and charming, the actor is slightly socially awkward and introverted, but everything is smooth sailing if you get along with him and he's so kind to fans and tries to answer as many questions as he can on social media.

Cor's actor kind of intimidates him, and the actor who plays young Noctis drew a crude picture of the Immortal when he was off set. The two giggled about it like schoolgirls without realizing that Cor was right behind them.

Cor later asked for the picture, had them both sign it, and keeps it on his fridge.

He met some of the other actors of the FF series. Sephiroth's actor scares him and Noct has a slight crush on Lightning's.

He actually likes vegetables, so whenever he has to take them out and eat a burger or something on camera, he feels like they taste so bland.

His favorite costume is the Moogle Chocobo Carnival one. Usually they're in sweltering weather and his regular leather costume and king costume aren't very forgiving.

He was playing a prank with Prompto's actor on set and it backfired and he got himself locked in the Regalia for an hour.

He kept the Ring of Lucii after filming, the Moogle Chocobo hat, and his king costume. They made a king costume specifically for close ups and several copies for his fight scene with Ardyn that was meant to rip/be torn. He once wore the costume to take out the trash.

He does most of his own stunts, but has a body double that does the fishing for him because the boy can't fish for shit.

He is a cat person. The dogs who play Pryna and Umbra kind of sense this, so Noct has to keep dog treats inside his pockets when doing scenes with them.

He loves Vincent Valentine the most out of the entire franchise.

Prompto Argentum:

His older brother in real life is Loqi's actor (Thanks to @chocobro-hijinks this headcanon is giving me double vision.) who inspired him to act at a young age.

Loqi's actor is mostly a theatre actor, and when Prompto saw his big bro on stage, he was like "Ah! That's what I want to do."

He was a child actor that was in small family movies that focus mostly on comedy. They're the type of movies with the cheesy front cover, and barely anyone has even heard of it.

When he auditioned, his FF knowledge was zero to none, so he was like, "Oh, what about those clouds and lightning???" Nomura saw right through him, but felt like he fit the role of Prompto very well, so he gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Is the social media king. He does some light vlogging on the side, and if acting doesn't work out he can become a full-time Youtuber, no problem. He also has a Tumblr under a common name like "FinalFantasyFan4Life" or something; no one knows that it's him. He spends his break time on set reading headcanons, adding comments to some of them, and reblogging fanart.

He is a Promptis shipper.

He doesn't take any of the pictures himself. When he takes a selfie, he turns the camera around and holds it, but there will be a crew member taking the picture for him.

He says that his favorite moment on set is eating all the food that "Iggy" makes.

Is a big fan of Cor's actor's work. When he first met him, he almost stopped breathing.

Since he didn't do very many "large" productions like the rest of the crew, he is still considered sort of a rookie compared to the others. Because of this, he often goes to Cor's trailer when he is stuck on a scene and they figure it out together.

After filming ended, he kept Prompto's bracelets and bandanna as a memento.

He hates the cold, so when he was filming for "Episode Prompto" the second Tabata calls "Cut!" between scenes, he will legitimately jump into his trailer and sit in front of the heater for the entirety of his break.

If he has to stay outside, you will see him curl up into a big ball on his snowmobile with at least five large jackets piled on top of him. You can only see his blue eyes when he does that.

"So do you miss your crew members? Like Noct, Gladio, and Ignis..." "Oh yeah, but I bet they have it really rough too. Like sitting by the fire, or in a heated hotel room."

During a choreographed fight scene he accidentally slipped up and kicked Noctis in the head and gave him a concussion. Noctis insisted that it was okay, but Prompto felt so bad, and was so freaked out that he was apologizing through tears and sobs.

Ignis Scientia:

Started his career by modeling as a child for luxury, designer brands with a couple of guest roles in soap operas. When he got into his teens he started to focus on acting.

Never has any bad press on him?? He seems to do no wrong and never has any bad pictures taken of him, even if it was secretly. He's either the most boring person ever, or the most perfect.

He mostly did psychological thrillers, or suave spy movies like 007.

Is the Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston of their world.

He doesn't cook any of the dishes seen on the series, but to get into character he took cooking lessons and can replicate any of them perfectly. Most of the time during his "cooking" scenes, he's just assembling things according to instructions.

The line, "That's it! I've come up with a new recipeh!" was improv. He loves it so much, he repeats it often.

Is a jokester despite his image, and loves fooling around on set. If he pranks you that means he likes you.

During an interview he pulled out some Gladnis smut fanfiction the he found and read it in his most passive, monotone voice.

Didn't know that he was supposed to go blind until the very day he was supposed to put on the makeup.

Is allergic to coffee beans, but since he was cast into the role relatively late, they had already requested Ebony cans and vending machines to be made. The "coffee" that you see in mugs is dark hot chocolate and if he drinks out of the can it's usually water.

Has scarily good twenty/twenty vision, and sometimes his glasses are just empty frames. He goes to push them up, and ooop he almost pokes himself in the eyes.

He is fond of his current costume. He felt that his Versus XIII outfit was very plain and made him look like a "basic mafia mobster."

Had a high fever while filming "Episode Ignis," but insisted that they film anyway because his sickness helped him act better. (Poor babe.)

Kept Iggy's gloves and glasses after filming.

Gladiolus Amicitia:

He started out as a stunt double, fight choreographer/stunt coordinator. He was originally brought into the show to help the actors with their fight scenes, but they were looking for a forth member of the Chocobros and he already got along great with the crew and cast, so he got the job.

Was totally pumped up to not wear a shirt most of the time in XV, because he worked so hard to get his rippling nine-pack.

His favorite emoji is the flexing bicep. He uses it at the end of every caption he posts, even if it doesn't really make sense. The fans eat it up though.

"It's such a nice day today! 💪" "Just having lunch! 💪 "

His actor is the real mom friend of the crew. Iggy is responsible and all, but if Noctis or Prompto do anything stupid, he mostly watches in the background smugly. Gladdy Daddy to the rescue.

The cast once got together and read complementing, positive tweets from real fans to Gladio for a video. Noctis looked Gladio right in the eye with a straight face, and said, "Sweet dreams...Daddy." Prompto continued this by saying, "Let me have your children, Daddy."

Gladio burst out laughing and turned bright red.

He is such a college student at heart that he doesn't mind eating all those cup noodles. But due to shooting the same scene over and over in one go, he sometimes has to go through eight cups at a time. He knows that it's not good for you, and occasionally has to spit it out off camera. It breaks his heart.

Is bisexual. He doesn't bring it up often, but he came out publicly before, but to the media it seems as if they skipped over that fact. He doesn't really mind, but he get exasperated when interviewers constantly try to press that false facts that he's straight onto him.

After a particularly tiring day filming, he fell asleep on a table with his head down. When he woke up, he found out that his tattoo body paint rubbed off on his cheek. He didn't know this, and the other guys wouldn't tell him until a crew member had to come up and stop him.

He kept Gladio's necklace as a memento.

LMK if you're interested in knowing more about the other characters, or even FFVII's actor au! Sorry for continually mentioning Sasuke though, I just love that asshole so much.

#final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #ffxv headcanons #noctis #noctis lucis caelum #prompto #prompto argentum #ignis #ignis scientia #gladio #gladiolus amicitia #stella #stella nox fleuret #final fantasy #slight naruto #actor au

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