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oh-shtars · 5 months ago

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RFTS!AU AskBox #4

Me to @signed-sapphire for the legendary number of 50 Questions Galore they sent me:

Heads up though, you might notice there’s certain questions skipped. I’m either not able to answer some of the asks at all OR they’re either some art requests that I haven’t finished and will post in future posts. So I had to skip them for this post unfortunately…. I apologise as such. 😅

Anyways, let’s get speeding through them shall we?

1. How do you plan to show the songs?

It should be question 6 of this post here. :)

……

2. How many songs do you plan to have in RFTS?

4 or more. Depends on what I come up with.

……..

3. What ‘vibe’ would each song have?

Uhhhhhhh, idk tbh. I’m really just going with the flow of what this story brings me. You can’t wait to see what the RFTS!plot has in store? Yeah, me too.

……..

4. Who’s voicing Valentino and the main cast?

For Valentino, I’m not sure. I’m debating whether it should be younger Bambi or Ronno’s VA. But he basically has an actual kid’s voice this time rather than a deep-sounding one. (Because honestly, I found that a bit weird personally). For the the other characters, I don’t really mind the voices they have canonically.

And I think I’ve mentioned this before, but even though Sueño can’t speak, I could hear him singing this in this voice hypothetically.

………..

5. Write or draw any cute interaction between Ashueño!

Mk :3

………

6. I know Asha will have a different outfit by the end, but do you have different designs for anyone else?

Yeah, I do actually. Some characters have a different outfit to better reflect their current context. (Like how Sakina would have work clothes similar to Asha.) But I don’t want to reveal most of them at the moment since I would like to keep them a secret for now.

……

7. Some Gabo doodles, if you don’t mind. I rarely see the short king in any Wish Art.

Fiiiiine.

His design makes a lot more sense if you were me and you knew the context. Take this art with whatever theories you guys can throw at me 😂

……. 10. What made Amaya fall in love with Magnifico? What changed?

Amaya had a family who greatly discouraged her interest in studying magic and potions since it’s against what their family has done for generations. Meanwhile, Magnifico who was adopted as Rosas’ prince, is expected to learn magic but COULDN’T because he struggles to do so since he hasn’t moved on from his trauma.

When these guys were around 16-15 years old, they were mutual best friends. Mag offers Amaya to read from his magic books while he finds comfort in just having a genuine friend who doesn’t remind or push expectations onto him that he hears everyday in the castle. She’s like an escape from the stresses he has in there.

In their future years, Amaya grew to fall in love with someone who promised her the world if she only asked for it. She finds bits of herself in Mag, as both were people with crushed dreams that deserve better. (In their POV anyway.)

Falling in love was not at all what she expected since she used to believe sympathy would only hold her back from exploring the limits of magic. But you know, Amaya’s as much as a tragic character as Magnifico is.

…….

11. Who fell first and who fell harder between those two?

Is it possible to say that RFTS!Magnifico is both?

……..

12. Any fun fact about the Royal Couple? (You can tell who I’m most invested in. lol.)

The only reason Espino, the royal cat, is in the castle is because Amaya wanted him around. Otherwise, if it were up to Mag, that cat is out to the streets. He’s not very fond of animals and he considers them as pests. Though, Espino gets small bonus points from Magnifico just because he keeps the castle clear from mice which he especially hates.

(Good to know you’re enjoying ‘Grand Despair’ while it lasts :)

……

13. This may be weird but…Body Swap! How would Hopes and Dreams react?

Asha would have zero idea how to get star magic under control. Meanwhile, Sueño finds an interesting realisation.

……..

14. What’s your favourite fanart piece of your AU?

I LOVE all of them so much!! They’re all made by very amazing artists!! I’m so happy to see these silly characters I’ve made be brought to life in someone else’s style. 💖💖

Mere words can’t express this joy enough. I hope you all would love the final chapters once they do come out as much as you loved seeing content of them now. X3

……..

15. Are you telling your story via writing or art of word dump?

I’m planning to share it in chapters like how Anny and everyone else has been doing. Plus some more sketches I would keep making of them obviously.

………

17. Draw Ashueño dressed as another Disney couple!

Hehehehehe guess whooo~ 🙃

………

19. Young!Sueño!

Which one? 🙃

Awww, good times back then when the little guy is still figuring out the forms he likes….

…… 20. Young!Royal Couple!

Mini Magnifico would rather drown himself or drink snake venom than call Oliver his dad- ………

22. Give some more lore on Asha’s father. Are you keeping him as close to the source material as possible? Will we see him in flashbacks or something?

You’ll definitely get to see Tomás at certain points in the story. Either in the short prologue, mentions and flashbacks. He’s generally a friendly guy but at the same time, is also assertive to defend what he thinks is wrong. But even though his life was cut short, Tomás ended up inspiring more people than he thinks. Especially his old friend, Sabino, who hasn’t given another wish or attended any more wish ceremonies after his death.

I don’t think we really knew much about Asha’s father at all in the canon movie, but I’ll pretty much be close to what is depicted there already with some more detail on how he made an influence in the lives of those he loves.

………

23. Give Sueño a stuffed toy for him to cuddle with. He deserves it <3

He adores it so much 💖💖

……….

24. More lore about the Astral Realm!

Not all Wishing Stars have the strong desire to venture down into the human realm someday and that’s completely fine. They can still guide their wishmaker from above. But for those who do want to, they need to answer one important question first:

“Why do you grant wishes?”

Since they would be going down to earth by themselves ALONE with none of their elders to guide them this time, their answer to this question serves as their anchor in case they get lost or distracted. Answers do vary and some may be the same among stars, but that’s fine. As long as they’re sincere with all their core on their answer. Some examples may be: “I like to see them reach their very best and reap their deserved rewards.” Or “I like watching them journey and discover themselves.”

……….

25. SNEAK PEAKS!!

This scene is one of my dotpoints I came up with but I’m not so sure anymore if that would still fit in and whether I should scrap it. Regardless, I thought this would be a nice little thing to show you all. Proof that I’m indeed working on it 😅

(Actually, this sounds so cute to draw. Feel welcome to try and do so if you want to, my fellow artists ^^)

…… 26. How does Magnifico’s magic work?

I made a whole post on this :3

………

27. Where did Amaya learn potions?

She’s self-taught mostly. But I also did mention that Mag generously lets her borrow what is meant to be his books of magic soooo, he played a role on that as well.

……

29. What’s Amaya’s opinion on the other Wish AU Mags?

I’m not exactly sure how different her opinions would be on each of them since I think we all decided to have our fun with Magnifico just being a shameless show-off and fun evil villain. I’ll try though.

Amaya would think KOW!Mag reminds her a lot of her own husband, also short-tempered and a disgustingly sweet romantic at times. She’s kind of a play-hard-to-get girl though 😂. One thing she does notice is that what WRTS!, Wish Granted! And KOW!Mag have in common is how loud they are with their ceremonies. Is that a universal Magnifico thing? Eh. There sure is a lot of interesting knowledge to learn from these universes. Hmmm.

TKoRaT!Maggy has that same pained look that falls on RFTS!Mag whenever he’s sulking by himself and needs time alone. Usually it’s because of his old village trauma. It’s an intriguing but ever so familiar cycle she recognises well.

Meanwhile. TFS!Mag is……different, she would say. Not exactly good different. I kinda imagine her eyeing this guy like a cat. This Mag just gives off a very different vibe of non-ruthlessness(?) that she’s not used to.

……..

30. Same for Mag, but vice versa.

RFTS!Mag gets very very very familiar vibes with KOW! And Wish Granted!Amaya. He finds it slightly amusing since it feels like his wife just became a part of some triplets. (He jokingly asked RFTS!Amaya if she had any sisters she never told him. The woman wasn’t amused. She doesn’t really like being reminded of her family.) I’m sorry TKoRaT! And TFS!Amaya, but you’ve made the decision to adopt Asha as your daughter and so he thinks lower of you now. Although…the TKoRaT!couple might just get to redeem themselves for that since they sound interesting enough. They’re going to have the ditch the girl though at some point.

WRTS!Amaya just feels off. He doesn’t know what exactly though? Is he losing his mind or something? Ugh, I think he could use devouring another Wish Bubble just in case…

……..

31. You know what, for Asha and Sueño too!

Oh boy, here we go. 😂

Asha will NOT be able to handle Wish Granted!Star’s energy. It’s so different from the silent but still lively conversations she has with her Starboy. Star just can’t bring himself to stop talking, can he? 😅 Asha thinks WRTS!Aster and TKoRaT!Star are adorable. Cielo may be a bit much at times with his light teasing and flirting, but she’s aware he means well.

I could see Asha’s non-hesitant empathy, patience and genuine concern to Haedus would be a huge comfort for the poor guy. (Trust me, she’s done this plenty before.) She’s a bit surprised to see Naos and Nembus but I think they’d get along just fine. She’s pretty good with playing with kids from her experience with a mischievous Valentino. And lastly, KOW!Aster is a total sweetheart that she jokingly comments could rival Sueño’s. (That comment caught Sueño’s attention quickly lmao.)

MEANWHILE:

Sueño is more hesitant and unwilling at first to approach humans by his own accord. He’ll still keep a short distance buuuut… if they’re just another version of Asha, it can’t be that horrible, right?

KOW!Asha’s drawings are a familiar sight for him and he’s impressed that she could bring her own drawings to life. Same goes for WRTS!Asha with her magic wand. Maybe they’re friendly… Maybe they could both do that together :D He’s neutral with Wish Granted! And Aled’s Asha for now until he gets to know them better.

Sueño recognises that same shyness and timid nature in TKoRaT!Asha. (It’s weird how she does the same thing RFTS!Asha does of turning their head away and hiding behind their hair when he innocently just looks her way.)

And then there’s…….HER. TFS!Asha. Cielo talks about her a lot….😬. But you know, that girl scares him.

Unfortunately, Sueño is staying a relatively farther distance away from the last two Ashas I mentioned. Why? Idk, probably the fact that they’re the daughter of Mag and Amaya-

……….

32. *Gives Sueño an iPad with Duolingo on it* Here my child. Learn Spanish.

I have a feeling you did this so he could finally find out what his name, ‘Sueño’ translates into. Lol, nope. Not yet he’s not.

He still appreciates the gesture though, but the guy got distracted by the other cool features and apps this weird magical mirror-tablet thing(?) had and completely forgot all about the Owl app.

……

33. Will Asha ever attempt to learn Celestial? Maybe with a candle? Like Morse Code? Idk.

Idk. Speaking Celestial is really just stars exchanging screechy sound waves to each other telepathically like words, while their glowing sequences indicates the mood and tone of what they’re saying. Maybe if Asha comes to learn how to harness light magic on her own, she’ll be able to at least convey emotions such as happiness in it by controlling the brightness and duration of each flash.

…….

35. How are you planning out your story?

I usually think of what main message I’m trying to get across first and build the story around it. After some character and world-building stuff (that I keep adding to because procrastination), I put the key scenes I could think of in bullet-point format and then just think up some in-between scenes that could occur between those points.

Usually though, the most usual process is that a random concept/idea pops into my head and then I immediately type it down so I won’t forget it. It’s basically my thing now to organise the giant mess of reminders into comprehensive plot lines.

I’m not writing the story at this point. The story is choosing to expose itself to me XD

Another main thing I do is listen to my Spotify playlist of this AU, read the Wish Artbook, or rewatch a movie that has inspired the RFTS! plot in some way.

……..

36. Are there any kisses in your story?

Hmmmmm….. *glances at Ashueño and Amnifico*

Oh well, since you’ve asked me, I gueeeeess I’m unfortunately now going to have to remove all the kisses I had included since y’all are so desperate to know….. (/jk)

……..

38. Will the Royal Couple have villain transformations?

………..

39. What’s your take on the ‘eating wishes’ thing?

As I’ve mentioned in my last post on how the magic system works in the RFTS!AU, Magnifico eats wish essence to reverse the costly effects of using Curse Magic. To put it simply, he uses them to make him more mentally stable.

.,,,,,,,,

40. What Easter Eggs are you planning to put in your story?

Awwwww, where’s the fun in that? Find them yourselves >:)))

And who knows? Maybe certain fellow creators in the Wish Rewrite Fandom will make a reference in some of the chapters. Keep an eye out 😉

……..

42. What exactly does Asha’s job entail?

Being a king’s apprentice is a way to gain experience and learn how to use magic by the king himself, so you could use the attained knowledge as to however you want. Share the talent with Rosas or Go out into the world.

However, when Magnifico’s reign started, he forbade magic usage other than he and his wife with the claim that it’s for the greater good and safety for Rosas. (He kinda had a point since criminal activity and accidents did decrease in number after that rule.)

Since Mag doesn’t really need an apprentice, Asha is more of an assistant now, following in her dad’s footsteps before her. She’s tasked to do help with whatever Mag might need around his study such as keep the fire going or organise his papers. But Mag doesn’t really like having her around a lot, (since she asks a lot of questions about his wish-keeping system) so he purposefully tells her to go carry out outside tasks such as go into the garden and help the gardeners or something.

……..

43. Did Magnifico make Sueño’s bonds?

If I told you, would that make you more blood-thirsty enough to gather pitchforks and torches for his head? Because if you are, please don’t. I still need this guy to stir up conflict in my story :((

(You can have him all you want though once I’m done with him. Lmao.)

………

44. How was Rosas founded?

Nearly a century ago, the kingdom was first built. I’ve read in the Art book that Rosas was apparently named to reference ‘Beauty and the Beast.’

Like, ok….?

Anyways, I found that roses are meant to represent love, rebirth and beauty. So I decided to add more onto that than just have it as another reference. The kingdom’s founders wanted Rosas to be a place where people who are wary and feel outcasted by their homes can find and start a new beginning. To ‘Rebirth’ and have a second chance to find the ‘beauty and love’ in their lives again,

Blue and white were made the royal colours because the blue was meant to stand for trust and reliability and white for new beginnings. Symbolising the past kings and queens’ responsibility to have their talents in sorcery be used to serve the people who come here. Thus, Rosas’ citizens all are in a variety of different cultures.

……..

45. Over how many days does your story take?

I’m thinking within one month. It’s a race-against-time sort of thing where Asha needs to find out how to confront the Royal Couple before they do something horrible on Rosas’ celebration of its 100th anniversary, which is literally just a month away.

…….

46. What was your favourite part of Wish? Are you translating that to your AU?

I really really loved how Mag’s magic looked and how he went all evil-ish green as a tribute to past Disney villains. If we ignore the awkward transition he had from sympathetic to just plain psychotic, it’s a cool magic display. I kinda wished they went more full out on the final battle because it just felt so underwhelming asf.

I’m keeping the magical final battle but with more magical funsies. :D

…….

47. Least favourite part?

I’m frustrated how bland and empty the character interactions and emotional beats are since those kinds of moments are usually my favourite when it comes to movies.

Magnifico’s tragic loss of his village? “Pfft- What tragedy? We don’t need that in the movie’s 2nd half.”

Asha’s dead father? “Eh. We only needed him for a few mins and he’s non-existent from that point on.”

Valentino claims to be Asha’s helpful animal sidekick. “Did I mention I have a deep voice? Oh, and my butt’s a funny thing too. Did I already mention that my voice is loud and soooo deep??”

Simon’s betrayal? “Oh wow, that was a shock…. Anyways, wanna start a rebellion?”

OMG, Sakina’s wish is back!! “What was the wish about? Idk who cares.”

Asha’s friendship with Star doesn’t even feel that special to me?? GUYS, I felt more chemistry between Rapunzel and Pascal. COME ON, BUILD IT UP. DON’T JUST SAY ‘Awww, you and I are thinking the same thing~’ AND EXPECT ME TO BUY THAT.

……….

48. What’s your favourite aspect of the TFS!AU?

Idk why, but I like how there’s a unique twist in your AU on how Wishing Stars don’t have the best reputation to humans. It’s a nice subversion that makes it stand out a little more. :)) Because usually, the idea of wishing on stars is always seen as a positive thing but that’s not the case in this story. It’s intriguing to watch characters slowly realise that not everything is what it seems.

That, and the hilarious dynamic you’ve got going on between Cielo and Asha and how deep in denial they both are, even though it’s clear as day to the other TFS!cast. 😂

(Wouldn’t it be funny if TFS!Mag and Amaya also noticed? They may be going down a dark path but they’re not blind, girl.)

……..

50. What’s a boring fact about you?

Uhhhhhh…. I like organising stuff by colour for fun...? Like, I used to pour out a box of legos and sort through them as a kind of pastime. I still organise coloured pencils in rainbow order if I could too. 😅 ………

@annymation @uva124 @your-ne1ghbor @ficsinhistory @rascalentertainments @gracebethartacc @spectator-zee

It’s a long read, but I think you guys would enjoy going through it regardless. I hope so anyways.

Btw, thx for all the fun questions Bo! 💖 Might post some more regarding your other doodle requests that I’ve put to the side for now if you don’t mind. :))

#ask #reach for the stars au #rfts au #wish au #wish rewrite #wish starboy #wish asha #wish reimagined #wish magnifico #wish amaya #star x asha #asha x star #ashueño #Spotify #magnifico x amaya #au lore #au dump

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lephamquynhnhu · 1 year ago

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Millennial Aegis

Chapter 3

Jing Yuan x Fem! reader

WARNINGS/ TAGS: Arranged marriage, the reader has a default name, OOC, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

Word count: ~2300

Summary: He is so stubborn to give up on you, and you are too hard-headed to reciprocate his affection. When do you both stop torturing each other?

Note: I don't know how you can find my fanfic, but I am genuinely grateful for your support. This will be a short series, and I have already had an ending for it.

However, the general refuses to sleep, his mind falling into spiral thoughts and wandering to the golden day you two first met.

"I didn't expect that a businesswoman could perry those blows fluidly. They were all perfect movements." - Lord Jing Yuan brightly praised as he escorted you to the Stargazer Navalia's clinic.

"Father taught me Jujutsu to protect myself in many dangerous circumstances, and a merchant must know some martial art when traveling alone." You replied with a small smile, yet melancholy vaguely clouded your eyes, which Jing Yuan quickly noticed. Your father was a strict and conservative man, so his decision was ultimate. Growing up with countless rules and rigid regulations was the factor of robotic demeanors but resourcefulness in your personality.

Throughout the escorting time, the general loved listening to your distant dreams and seeing your smile, even if you rarely did. Therefore, Jing Yuan cherished each second of staying by your side; and he felt the path shortened more than expected when the two of you reached your destination. Since that day, he could not get rid of your figure, his mind kept rewinding your smile as a broken record, and a nice glow bloomed over his chest as he thought about you. Jing Yuan supposed he headed over heel for you because of the dauntless action and your intellect. Jujutsu was an art of self-defense, but you also used it to taunt the enemy's attention and protect your partner valiantly.

However, the general did not gain any contact information except your name, so it took him two months to investigate your identity. He knew it was his fault when taking you against your will, but he could not afford to lose his beloved again.

"I vow to my name. By all my intelligence and power, I will protect and adore you forever." - Lord Jing Yuan silently declares as he kisses your lock lovingly.

You finally woke up and saw him sleeping soundly beside you. His strong arms are wrapped tightly around you. Your body feels relaxed from last night's activities. As soon as you see his face, a shiver runs down your spine as the last-night event flashes back. You quickly turn around and start criticizing yourself.

" We...we had sex" - The heat is creeping up to your ears again when you recall the general's lustful face pounding into you mercilessly. As you intend to move out, he hugs your frame even tighter.

"Stay by my side a little longer, will you?" - The general still closed his eyes and murmured in the morning voice. You feel yourself blush harder as turning to him and argue that you both overslept and he should be ready to attend at the Cloudfort. You secretly felt grateful for regaining your sanity and confidence to face him.

His Highness slowly opens his eyes and softly caresses your cheek, a hint of playfulness dancing in his orbs.

"Don't worry about it. We both got tired after all those fun times yesterday."

Your eyes divert elsewhere except those amber pupils as you gently remove his hand and let go of him.

"Very well then, you can stay as you wish. I will freshen up first."

The moment you start walking, sudden aching shocks to the very core cause you to stumble on the floor. Lord Jing Yuan quickly catches you before you fall. He helps you stand up and holds you close to him, wrapping his arms around you protectively. A knowing concern washes over his face. You politely thank him when peeling your body off him again to take the cloak covering your naked body and carefully stride up to the bathroom. After you leave the room, he sits on the bed, looking at the ceiling. He sighs deeply, thinking about what happened yesterday. A smile appears on his lips as he thinks about how beautiful you were last night.

As soon as at the private space, you quickly wear off the robe and inspect yourself in the mirror. Three hickeys scatter on your collarbones, several toothprints on your shoulder blade, and a handprint faintly bruise your hips.

You gave an exasperated sigh and internally lamented at the consequence of a passionate night. When you finish freshening up and leaving the bath, your room has been cleaned and decorated with fresh flowers. The general is waiting for you at the dining table with a light meal. He is back in the usual military uniform. His tail hair also dripped off the water, showing he just had a quick shower in the other bathroom.

You both silently have breakfast together but are lost in thought. When ready to go off, Lord Jing Yuan places his hands on your shoulders and leans forward, pressing his forehead against yours.

"A Zhi, I...- Before he completes the sentence, you interrupted with a light curtsy which implied no farther advance - "I'll see you later, your Highness."

He nods slowly and says nothing, then before going to the Cloudfort, he turns back to bind goodbye to you, smiling softly.

We then live our plain days for the next one hundred years. Lord Jing Yuan keeps managing the Xianzhou. As for me, I coordinate the domestic affairs in his estate, sometimes being his temporary advisor. Thanks to the peace, I spent most of my time in Lord Jing Yuan's study room reading books or assigned to supervise some vicinity in Xianzhou Loufu. Through a century, I orchestrated him into countless decoys, yet the general never fails into them, even one. The general also attempted to close our proximity but never fruitfulness because I cleverly avoided his affections all the time. As a result, those trials gradually died away as he recognized there was no way I felt in love with him.

Before the wedding, I used to tell Lord Jing Yuan that it hurt when love someone who did not love him, and it turned into truth. I could sense the sorrow behind his long lashes whenever facing me, yet there was nothing I was eligible to do. We still sleep in the same bed but are always people of two different worlds, and he never lays a finger on me again since the first night. We both are too stubborn, so the price to pay is spirit torture to eternity.

"General, her Ladyship...stays at the Exalting Sanctum and refuses to return the estate." - Yan Qing is his Highness's disciple adopted last year - reports awkwardly.

Lord Jing Yuan quirks an eyebrow at the young boy, and a small smile appears on his lips since this must be one of your traps. He genuinely loves and spoils you rotten, but the obstinateness needs a truce. The general decides to pick you up himself and quickly dismisses Yan Qing.

Before Jing Yuan arrived at the Exalting Sanctum, streetlights and flower-shaped lanterns lit gloriously across Xianzhou. The ship is even more vibrant than daylight. When rendezvous at the guest room, it seems you have been waiting for him as you read books and leisurely sipped tea.

"Three rounds of gaming chess. If you win any of them, I will let go of you. Or else, you must stop being stubborn and return to the estate with me." - He exclaims while sitting parallel to you with his chin resting on his palm.

You perceive that he eventually has lost all patience because of the annoyance in your behavior. The general has fallen into your long-term end when suggesting this treatment and his bargain chips. You expressionlessly observe Lord Jing Yuan's face while carefully calculating the next move. His frame indicates seriousness, yet there is indescribable confidence in the general's eyes. "It is an enormous gamble when playing in his specialty. However, the reward is too good to be true. What a dilemma." - You monologue and start weighing the elements.

"I accept the challenge, but you must concede me the first five moves in every round because I am on the disadvantageous side as playing your specialty." - You lower your voice when modifying the conditions prudentially. This factor will accumulate your victory and secure your safe point. "I will adapt to the general's playing style in the first round, plan the counteracted strategy in the consecutive wave, and checkmate him in the last game."

As soon as Jing Yuan quickly accepts and hums in amusement at the condition, you think the victorious goddess blessed your side. However, there is a fatal factor that you forget.

"Checkmate! A Zhi, you lost." - he calmly declares after winning three solid rounds.

[That he would rather die than let go of you.]

You look petrified at the chess with a hollow mind.

"Absolutely defeated..."

You unconsciously clench your hand so tight that the knuckles become white as a sheet of paper, and your palm threatens to bleed with the pressure of nails. "Lord Jing Yuan's style of playing chess is utterly peculiar. I could not get him because it constantly changed and nullified my moves."

You feel like you have gone berserk. Everything crumbles. The general of Xianzhou eliminated your strategy with detailed tactics and underwent an entire century in only one step. Suddenly, a warm hand thaws your icy one, which brings you back to reality as His Highness unravels your fingers.

"You are hurting yourself." - he gently massages your hand with a concerned look.

"My apologies, Lord Jing Yuan. I am just..." - Before you finish the sentence, Jing Yuan quickly removes his cloak to wrap it around your figure.

"It is getting chill outside, my dear. And don't worry. We can rematch any time you want with the same conditions."

You surprisingly inquire again as if you misheard him. The general pulls you into his embrace and confirms his answer as he pats your head lightly. A glee appears on his face because of two things. You did not push him away or evade his affection as usual, and he found a new hidden aspect of your personality. He never expects you to be that competitive.

"Let us head home. Little Jin."

You keep your words to the contract but rematch with him restlessly for the next 50 years. The loss counts up to 2573 rounds and shows no stop sign. Finally, you are bored with the repeating duty and head toward the botanic garden to refresh your mind with the old hobby.

The garden is enormously vast and sublimely tailored to look like the epitome of a pristine forest with emerald color. The dazzling sunlight of early Summer danced through the slit of leaves shining the pathway, and cicadas started their iconic song. You silently rejoice as soft breezes with a faint floral aroma gently caress your cheeks. You began playing a folk song with a bamboo flute, then all your favorite compositions. Birds also sing their melody along with your rhythm. A sudden clap resonates behind your back when completing. You turn around and see Lord Jing Yuan looking at you, grinning happily.

"Pardon me for my rudeness, your Highness. I didn't notice you were here." You quickly greet him with a small smile. A nightingale flies down to sit at his point finger, then mischievously jumps on his shoulder. The general watches the bird hopping up and down on his shoulder before looking at you.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it." - Jing Yuan's voice sounds gentle and soothing - "So, you are the musical master of Yan Qing? I saw a flute dangling at his side last week, yet I forgot to ask him."

You hum shortly as an answer to his rhetoric question and change the topic. After several dialogues, you learn that Jing Yuan usually stays in the garden to play chess with himself and accidentally hears you playing music. As your spirit is in a high mood, you suggest performing his requested songs. Time seems to flow slower to the general in this ardent Summer, and he feels this peaceful sentiment has not appeared for ages. There is always an invisible gigantic wall between you and him, but now, it is like a rendezvous of two soulmates after a century. Even if this short-lived moment is an ephemeral dream, Jing Yuan graciously treasures each second passing. As long as you stay by his side, nothing matters now.

When fulfilling the performance, the general maneuvers his hands, and you are astonished by a hairpin in his palm.

"I never expected my Lord can be a magician." - A light chuckle escapes your lips as you look at the ornament. It is an exquisitely carved camellia with ivory raindrops. The flower petal is as red as his hair tie, and the pistil shares the same color as Jing Yuan's eyes.

"I intended to gift the bespoken hairpin to you this evening. But my lady is here now, so the wait is needless." - he gently pins it on your hair and smiles brightly as compliments you.

A bittersweet suddenly tastes on your tongue as you subconsciously touch the carved flower. It is sweet because no matter how many times you gave him your cold shoulder, Lord Jing Yuan's adoration for you never changes. It is bitter because you feel guilty, unable to reciprocate his love. The two of you were then immersed in gaming chess at the wood pavilion in the garden until sunset. They were no longer rematches because you wanted to play mere chess with him, and you could practically see the jubilant sparkling in his eyes all day. However, the happier he is, the more sinful you feel. At night, when you both settle in bed, you ask him why you cannot win even a single time, or at least let you win a round since they were not re-challenges.

"Because losing to you means losing my lady forever." - There is clever wordplay in his answer as the general crosses his arms and stares at the ceiling. Although he hints at humor, you know that Jing Yuan is deadly serious and still clings to a sliver of hope of winning your heart.

"Hah...General is always stubborn, after all..." - You internally laugh, but it is humorless.

#hsr x you #jing yuan x reader #honkai star rail x reader #jing yuan x you #hsr fanfic #honkai star rail fanfic

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funhouse-mirror-barbie · 10 months ago

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Man. I’m honestly sad about Hazbin Hotel being the way it is. Maybe, maybe it will surprise me and somehow the last 2 episodes will make the first 6 more engaging or enjoyable but like…(general vent/overall impression so far below)

Lord, it’s so clear that they had SOOOO MUUUUCH they want to get through, and for whatever reason they don’t seem to believe in their work and their story enough to let it take it’s time.

I think if they had just let the first 8 episodes be about the general main cast, maybe with each episode focusing on the improvement and work towards redemption for each hotel resident, we would have a LOT better groundwork for building up to all the intense things and lore they want to include later.

But we’re seeing either full character arcs being speed run or we’re having big twists or revelations nearly every episode and it’s just…I WANT to feel moved by this show. I WANT!!! To like the show!!! I really want to!

Because there are moments that show depth, that could have been really really interesting if we knew more about the characters, if we got to see more of how the characters interact with each other, if we got to see them take the TIME to build up to and resolve their conflicts.

But how it stands, we get at least one, if not two new characters shoved into every episode. They show up create chaos or sing a song about something important to them that we just learned about, and then they leave.

I WANT to get to know these characters! I want to see a flashback or something where Camilla and her daughters were trying to hide from the Angels, and Camilla has to fight back to protect them.

I want to see how the hotel residents ACTUALLY bonded during learning to fight with each other.

I want to learn more about Alastor from literally ANYTHING other than an exposition dump.

Sorry, again if you find these characters to be emotionally deep or they are important to you, nothing I say should take that away.

This is a lot more vent-y than usual, but I guess I’m just sad and disappointed b/c it seems like the writers and creators behind Hazbin don’t believe in their own story and their own characters. This is just how it comes off to me, and it’s just a bummer man.

This was the same feeling I had when the Pilot came out, but the Pilot at least had charm. And while I was ultimately disappointed by its writing, it was clear it was the product of a bunch of people, and bunch of artists, coming together to create something.

And even if the Pilot still needed a lot of work and improvement, you could tell that the people making it really believed in the story and characters and were excited to make it!

I didn’t really want to see the Pilot picked up when it came out in 2019, because while I admired the passion of the creators, animators, voice actors, and composers, I wasn’t sure if I personally believed in the story.

Then it got picked up, and I thought “Okay then. I’m not gonna assume the worst. There must be more to this than I initially thought. I don’t know how I’ll feel about the series, but I want to give it a chance. I hope it’s well done, I hope it’s good”

It’s come out now, and so far, to me, it’s just bad. There are still those little moments of creativity, but they are few and far between, and a lot of the time when I watch the show I’m just waiting for the next song, because that’s usually the one part of the show that is at least catchy.

I guess my only reflection I have for this moment is just. Supreme disappointment.

Sorry again for the post that’s less a review and more a vent/rant post. I think at the end of the day if I DO write any actual reviews of the episode, they will largely be me talking about things I WISH we could have seen in the show, but didn’t get to.

#funhouse convo #media criticism #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel critique #hazbin hotel criticism #media critique #media conversation

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oodlyenough · 3 months ago

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6-2 magical turnabout

I gotta admit I was deeply skeptical of this one, because it felt weird to jump back to Apollo and Athena and Japanifornia after the tutorial, and I'd heard about the uh questionable way Phoenix and Trucy's relationship is handled, and the Gramarye retcon stuff was a mess ...

but I actually really liked it! At least as much as Turnabout Academy, where I think they are similarly "so dumb it loops back around to being fun" (not a bad place to be for an AA filler case). What gives this one the edge is that SOJ has actual gameplay again. Thank fucking god. I can click things! I can investigate! There are minigames! I have to solve puzzles myself instead of waiting for NPC Athena to do it for me! These are the most basic elements of an AA game and somehow Dual Destinies had none of them, making SOJ feel like a revelation. So I think that makes this my fave case since AA4? Wow

Anyway let's get into it

I like the idea of defendant Trucy. Trucy was so ignored in AA5, and even in AA4 where she was a major player we rarely dealt with how she honestly feels about things. So it was nice to explore that a little more. Being a defendant is a rite of passage for an Ace Attorney character. She's all grown up now.

A magic show as the scene of a murder is a really fun idea also. It just gives great excuses for the shenanigans that take place in any murder case, and the solution feels less contrived bc it is with a perpetrator and a set design where those things are expected and facilitated naturally without a shit ton of contrivances and coincidences.

Apollo and Athena, for all my complaints about how they cannibalize each other's screentime just by simultaneously existing, are a fun team. And this time we actually got a lot of interactive banter because we actually got to CLICK STUFF wow so great much gameplay.

I do really enjoy Athena. I wish this franchise would get out of the habit of creating these interesting but half-baked characters just to park them immediately in the next instalment to create more interesting but half-baked characters. I have the rest of SOJ to go but I don't imagine Athena will have much of a role to play in it, just like how Apollo got shafted in DD to make way for Athena, and Trucy fared even worse. The main cast is so bloated the games can't balance everyone.

I am THRILLED Ema is back. Some of her new sprites are sf cute too. Overall, I have to compliment SOJ's sprites, which are very detailed and have lots of different animations. Many characters have new/more expressive ones, and they look way better than DD's 3D models.

The Gramarye lore is a hot mess. I do not believe the new writer remembered that Trucy is a Gramarye on her MOM'S side, since apparently the "Gramarye creed" was "passed down from my father, from his father", making it... the Enigmar creed. I also, generally, could probably have done without some of the way the Gramaryes were discussed here. They were pretty obviously a toxic shitshow nightmare in AA4, and Phoenix explicitly wants to protect Trucy from the truth of that. Here, we introduce the Jonkler out of nowhere, and have him cursing Magnifi and taking his revenge on ... the toddler... and it's all just a little bit weird. The poster of him being CANCELLED is the funniest thing I've ever seen though so I can forgive a lot of it just for that.

Also where is my man Valant. Why the hell would Trucy invite the Onceler to her show and not him lmao. Justice for Valant!!

I've also never wished Apollo knew his heritage more than in that last bit where Tony Stark was raving about how he defeated the "last" Gramarye lmao.

Nahyuta is ... fine so far. Honestly I know he's so unpopular in fandom but he's kind of fine so far? Not an immediate fave, but not even in my bottom two. The bit where he talks about studying Japanifornian culture made me think of the Dalek that "knows everything" because it downloaded the internet in 2013.

I've been semi-spoiled for Apollo and Nahyuta having a history together, and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised that the game is not concealing this, but teasing it right from the off. I liked that in Apollovision his dialogue box is labelled "Nahyuta" even though everyone in-dialogue is calling him by his surname. I suspect this might be more a game dev limitation (character limit?) than anything else, but even if that's the case, it's a happy coincidence. The real test will be if they manage to stop Nahyuta and Apollo from feeling like a redux of Edgeworth and Phoenix, or Athena and Blackquill. Much of my issue with the end of DD was that it felt like we were just revisiting the trilogy's greatest hits without the same depth. But... whatever. I'm intrigued enough, at this point.

The biggest problem with this case, the elephant in the room, is Phoenix, who is inexplicably not there for his daughter's debut, did not even send flowers (apparently), and does not even talk to her on the phone in the last scene. This is exceedingly stupid and reeks of a total narrative oversight because they're not even trying to make some kind of point about Nick being a bad father. It's just a total lack of thought or effort. But ... anyway I have a whole other post written up about how Trucy and Phoenix's relationship is written in all the games, so, more on that another day, I guess. TL;DR Canon is a liar sometimes.

The "Gramarye[Enigmar] Family Motto" stuff, which is already so similar to the Mia Fey wisdom, could've just been collapsed into one thing: Trucy as a performer adapting that lawyer motto to her own life would be a nice way to show how Trucy is influenced by Phoenix, as well as Apollo and Athena. But uh, well, the game doesn't seem to care much about Trucy and Phoenix, so. I also find the "smile though your heart is breaking" mantra, including the JUDGE telling Trucy to look happy lmao??!?!, is like, kind of weird tonally, to the degree where I wonder if there's a culture gap happening. But I don't know enough about Japan to say.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this case. SOJ is off to an OK start with me so far, at least in comparison to DD.

#ace attorney #aa6 spoilers #magical turnabout #spirit of justice #oodly plays AA

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nopenototdaysatan · 11 months ago

Note

I would be very interested to hear your Green headcanons (or any other headcanons you have) if you would be willing to share :))

no pressure tho<3

Yessssssssssss! Hello friend. Welcome to the chaos because I have been wanting to talk about my colors (plus Zelda and Shadow) playlist for forever and now I have a reason to do it.

But, before I start I need to explain some stuff and give the link. I've been listening to a lot of Gen Z Alt so, the themes are a little more dark and mature which will come into play in different ways for each of them. Some it's just the darker things they had to handle during their quest others it's post adventure and how they respond to that adventure. I had a lot of fun with this so, let's begin. Here's the link to the playlist:

Blue: "Angry Too" by Lola Blanc-

Blue starts off the playlist because they're my current favorite color. And because this song is fantastic. I don't think I could have ever found a better song for Blue and I take no criticisms on this song. It feels perfect for both the anger Blue struggles with in game and how I think they would struggle with it post game. To me this song shows the balancing act of reasonable anger and anger that is just there to hurt. Lola talks about how she tries to reign in her anger and yet how she still feels angry in spite of it even if she has control. She also talks about her anger not being seen when she has truly been hurt. And that is something I could see Blue struggling with because when is it okay to go bat shit insane and when do you need to hold it close and bury it deep.

I would also like to say that I absolutely love the trans!girl Blue head canons. I don't know what about trans!girl Blue makes me so happy but it just fucking does.

Favorite lyrics for Blue in the song:

I don't wanna be the monster in the making

I don't know how to be, just standing by blankly

If you knew what I knew you would be angry too

Oh good girl. Why you upset? Guess they have forgotten what they did

Green: "Throne (ft. Neoni)" by Lost Identities Remix

The reason we are here. People can drag this song from green over my dead body. CX

Let me first give some context for this. I've always seen Green as a leader even though we really don't see much of it canonically. He just has the aptitude for it and would be the most reasonable of the four to do it. I can't see anyone else doing it. Now, this is where my old college leadership minor comes in. There are numerous different leadership styles let alone getting into the what you need to be classified as a leader or the ethics of it. We're gonna keep it simple tonight though. The main component of a leader is to be able to guide a group of people to complete a goal. The style I see in Green is Servant leadership. You normally aren't going to as easily notice Servant leaders as they aren't generally giving the orders. They instead help and guide their team along the path to achieving their goal. Now, I could actually see him being a more standard style of leadership like giving orders to others( he also has a lot more interactions with the knights so he would have their trust.) but to those who are closer to him he won't. He'll just guide them to success. Now, that my need to blather about leadership has been satisfied let's talk about the song.

I see this song talking about two different things. Either this is calling out Vio right before they fight or this is him letting anyone know that fucking with his princess will be met with annihilation. In essence he's over here saying back up and back off before he uses his skills (and leadership) to make you wish you had never thought of this. This song to me really shows how far he could go if pushed to the extreme.

Green is Zelda's right hand man. Prove me wrong.

Favorite lyrics for Green:

So, you wanna go to war with me? Talking to me like you're royalty? You think that I'm afraid... But I don't break.

So, you wanna be my enemy? You better know that I won't kiss the ring.

I don't belong with your nobility. Who died and made you king of anything?

Red: "My favorite things" by Elliot Lee -

Red! The hardest one to find a song for. Oh God, it took me forever to find something good for him. This isn't even his first song I had a different one originally to keep with the darker themes but it was also way too dark and just felt more like an extreme version of him than just a mature version of him. Then came along this masterpiece.

Context time again!!! My grandmother had a music box with the original of this song that was placed in my brother and I's room when we stayed there as kids. The og version of this song is my childhood. The whimsy, innocence, love and beauty of being a kid. So, when I found this song after reading a really good red chapter on AO3 I knew this was the one.

It's dark and gritty but the words are about all these things you love as kids. It's the perfect epitome of Red and how even in the worst parts of their adventure he still keeps to his heart and believes in others. His strength of heart is amazing and needed to be treated with respect on this playlist.

Favorite lyrics for Red:

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things

When I'm feeling Sad I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad.

Vio: "VILLAIN" by Neoni -

Vio is a pain in the ass as expected of him. I actually have a smaller playlist for him but none of those songs vibes for what I wanted for this playlist. I needed to show both his darkness and his light. He couldn't be one without the other and this felt good for that. He needed to be both the good guy and the bad guy or in this song both the hero and the villain.

Vio is complicated and as much as the manga feels like it tries to put his allying with shadow as him deceiving shadow the whole time, I just don't believe it. I think there's a little bit of darkness to him that he is willing to let out to achieve his goals and though his goals are righteous his actions still cause harm. And this song gave me that vibe through both the music and lyrics.

It's a song of feeling at the end of your rope and deciding to say fuck what everyone else thinks I'm gonna do what is necessary to make everything better no matter what it is. This is one of the songs I don't think many people would disagree with me on.

Love when people decide that Vio says fuck gender it's a nuisance because same.

Favorite lyrics for Vio:

Lavishes and sycophants while we are out here suffering

As you pretend, fake innocence; I'll play my tiny little violin

If I can't be your hero I'll be your Villain

I'm the monster you created. How could you ever forget me now.

All the kings horses and all the kings men can't put my sanity together again

And now to the two who cannot be ignored and are the true stars of the show: Shadow and Zelda!!!!!

Shadow: "LOVE AND WAR" by AViVA

This is just canon.

But seriously, if you want a song talking about the betrayal and confusion shadow must have felt at the end then this is it.

The song tells the story about having loved someone only to find them gone and not knowing whether they actually loved them or not. And what to do now? They have no idea. The only truth they have is that all fair in love and war. Shadow had grown a strong friendship with Vio and was hoping that they would be together for life only for Vio to betray him and now he doesn't know what to do. He's stuck in this in between of continuing to follow Vaati and Ganon or going after his once friend and whatever that may involve. Having to choose between someone who actually saw him and living. Living himself or watching the one person he cared about be destroyed by Ganon and Vaati. It's heartrending and this song really shows the confusion and dread behind these moments.

Cat shadow headcanon is best headcanon. Liquid shadow is a good boy.

I find it hilarious that so many of us look at shadow and just see a future good boy and then look at Vio and see the darkness he could be. The two really bring out the other part of each other both good and bad.

Vidow is characteristic tragedy and I love that about them. Realistically they would never be able to work due to how they hurt each other but that's the beauty of it.

Favorite lyrics for Shadow:

You were there but now you're not. I couldn't keep up and now you're gone.

This friendship was pretend. I meant it. Now, it's dead.

I still don't know what to do.

You've cut my heart from me. You run from me. But I trusted you so. Just let you fight with me. Fight for me. Now I really don't know.

All's fair in love and war. You were there but now you're not.

Zelda: "Army" by Besomorph, Arcando, Neoni -

The leading lady of the hour is here!!! Just like Shadow's song this is just canon. I will be taking no criticisms on this either. I will fight anyone who thinks she just stood there. You do not get Zelda being able to actually change Shadow's mind from her doing nothing. She was absolutely working to change Shadow and help him become the good boy we all know and love. It wasn't just Vio that helped Shadow. Zelda played her part in this and that is why "Army" fits her perfectly.

She would do anything for the colors and Shadow. She has their back every single God damn day and she would fight anyone who dares to fuck with her best friend and hero. And she has an actual fucking army if they need it. Zelda is their main support and she wields that trust gracefully. Zelda if anyone ever dared to talk shit about the colors + shadow: "What did you just say about this country's hero and my very dearest friend?(said threateningly)"

Love fsa's Zelda.

Also, Zelda/Green with both being super protective of each other but in such a way that the other doesn't know. They threaten each other's enemies on the down low and tell no one else. CX

Favorite lines for Zelda:

Seeing monsters out your window, no you can't sleep you pretend though.

You don't have to play the hero

Cause I got you like you got me

If you're going to war then I'm going with you. Pick up my sword there's nothing I won't do.

Swear on my breath that I breath I will never retreat I will be your army

When your nightmares turn to real life, when your mind's filled with landminds, we will face it standing side by side

Thank you for coming to my Tedtalk! *Takes a bow*

#four swords adventures #four swords manga #red link #blue link #vio link #green link #loz #shadow link #Zelda #this originally had a link song but it barely works and wasn't giving the message I wajted it too so to the drawing board.#look at them!!!!#they're adorable #the colors are so much fun and I just genuinely love their content so much #hope everyone enjoys the playlist

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listener-symphony · 7 months ago

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Sorry for being so inactive, I’m going to do another “randomly generating pairs of every single character” here just for some interactions, also I’m still not 100 on what to do with Real Life so we will just pretend it doesn’t exist until I have an idea I’m happy with and prepared to use.

——

SL!BigB: Hello Ren it’s me your soulmate!

DL!Ren: Hello! You’re not… my actual soulmate, but, technically you are..? It’s complicated.

Gem: I wonder what it would be like if I had a soulmate… Like, who would that be?

SL!BigB: It’s me.

DL!Ren: But you just said you were MY soulmate!

SL!BigB: I’m cheating on you

DL!Ren: NOT AGAIN 😭

—

3L!Ren: I’m jealous. I wish I was stuck to a giant werewolf.

DL!Scott: …No, you don’t. Pearl is a nightmare and she’s even more terrifying now that she’s bigger.

3L!Ren: But she’s so cool! Okay, maybe I’m not jealous of you, I just want to be her.

DL!Scott: You want me attached to you? I’m honored…

—

LimL!Pearl: So, your wife can talk now! How’s that been?

SL!Joel: Um, been pretty good honestly, not many ways for this to go wrong.

LimL!Pearl: Cool! Has she said anything about possessing anyone?

SL!Joel: what

—

SL!Martyn: 🚨‼️ASK FORCE COMING IN‼️🚨 I’ve noticed no one has asked you any questions?

DL!Grian: LEAVE ME ALOOOONNNEEE

—

SL!Mumbo: This tower is DEFINITELY bigger than Gem’s was, right?

SL!Pearl: Yeah, I’m sure, especially cuz we don’t have a model of Gem’s to compare it to.

SL!Mumbo: Hey, we don’t need one! It’s so indisputable!

—

LL!Cleo: You chopped a guy’s head off right? Was it fun?

3L!Martyn: …

LL!Cleo: Was it fun?

3L!Martyn: …

LL!Cleo: Sounds fun. Did you have fun?

3L!Martyn: …

LL!Cleo: You look like you had lots of fun doing that.

—

3L!Cleo: I just want to say, thanks for winning instead of Dogwarts.

3L!Grian: Oh, yeah, no problem… couldn’t let those guys win.

3L!Cleo: Yeah, not with the way they were acting. I don’t know what I would be doing with myself if the guys worshipping Ren actually won.

—

DL!Impulse: Hey, you’re married to Joel right?

LL!Grian: ? no?

DL!Impulse: Great, so I was wondering if you had any advice on being married to Joel..

LL!Grian: We’re not married.

DL!Impulse: It’s just been really difficult for me to figure out what to do with Joel, you know? So I’d like some tips from an expert..

LL!Grian: I’m not married to him why would I be the expert on being married to him

—

LL!Scar: Oh, why hello there! Welcome to my lovely magical wizard tower! It’s not often people visit, especially not by flying in through the window!

DL!Scar: Oh, I get complaints about doing this all the time around here, so I’m glad this tower is different! You said you don’t get a lot of visitors?

LL!Scar: No, I’ll be honest with you because you’re me from the future… I am extremely lonely.

DL!Scar: Ohhh, well that’s fine! Who cares, right?

LL!Scar: I care! I want friends! We finally don’t have to murder each other and I still hardly have any friends!

DL!Scar: You don’t need them! This amazing wizard tower is all you need!

LL!Scar: Well, thank you, but I’m not so sure…

—

DL!Cleo: I am very shocked and disturbed by the fact that you decided to make yourself responsible for some… rowdy kids.

LimL!Cleo: Bold of you to assume I chose the mom life.

—

LimL!Scar: Can you perform “I Killed Bdubs With A TNT Minecart”? Because the Impulse I know killed Bdubs with a TNT minecart.

SL!Impulse: Okay :D *starts playing the drums and improvising a song about killing Bdubs with a TNT minecart*

—

LL!Bdubs: I looove Etho

SL!Cleo: …Okay? Well I already knew you were the number one Etho fangirl.

LL!Bdubs: That’s true.

—

DL!Joel: BOO! 👻

3L!Jimmy: AAAAAAAHH!!! Oh my gosh dude you scared me!!

DL!Joel: BE SCARED BE SCARED BE SCARED

3L!Jimmy: AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

—

LimL!Scott: What’s that?

SL!Lizzie: [It’s a device that lets me talk]

LimL!Scott: Oh cool! I want a cool little device!!

SL!Lizzie: [Well not this one. You have a face.]

LimL!Scott: I dunno, saying two things at once would be pretty cool…

SL!Lizzie: [I can’t think of a single reason you’d ever want to do that]

—

DL!Jimmy: Tango 🥰 Rancher 🥰

SL!Tango: Oh my goodness. Hello??

—

LL!Etho: Hey Skizz.

LL!Skizz: Hi! Where’s the rest of team BEST?

LL!Etho: I think I saw Bdubs go to that human Cleo, and Tango’s talking to himself.

LL!Skizz: …Huh?

—

3L!Scar: Hello Scott, I was wondering if I could have those crystals?

LL!Scott: …I… don’t think so? Why do you want them?

3L!Scar: They look nice!

LL!Scott: I thought my Scar was supposed to be the crystal guy… well, you can try to take one, but they might be stuck around my head.

3L!Scar: Let’s find out! *tries to pull one of the crystals away, but it won’t move past a certain distance from Scott’s head*

LL!Scott: …Well, this is pretty entertaining.

—

LimL!Skizz: …I kind of miss being in just my underwear.

SL!Grian: I’M LEAVING

LimL!Skizz: WHAT?! NO ONE WAS SUPPOSED TO HEAR THAT!! NOOOO!!

—

LimL!Tango: Please don’t tell me you died really embarrassingly

LL!Tango: 😬 …

—

DL!Bdubs: WHAT THE…

LL!BigB: yo.

DL!Bdubs: I DIDN’T KNOW TERRY WAS IN TWO SEASONS…

—

LimL!Grian: I’m a bad boy

DL!Pearl: You better not mess with this place…

LimL!Grian: I WASN’T GOING TO!!! YOU ARE VERY SCARY, I WAS FRIENDS WITH PEARL!!

—

3L!Skizz: I’m sorry for killing you.

LL!Jimmy: ? I’m not the Jimmy you killed.

3L!Skizz: Oh I know, I just figured I’d apologize to all of you, cuz apparently I started something.

—

LL!Pearl: IF YOU WERE GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, OR GIRLBOSS, WHICH ONE WOULD YOU BE?

LimL!Martyn: Gatekeep because I’m going to crush you if you get any closer.

LL!Pearl: BUT THAT’S SCOTT!!!

LimL!Martyn: No he’s Gillboss

—

LL!Ren: Dude I swear someone is singing songs about killing you

LimL!Bdubs: WHAT

—

SL!Jimmy: ARF ARF

3L!Etho: …hi?

SL!Jimmy: You gotta say it back, dude!

3L!Etho: Oh, uhh… do I have to?

SL!Jimmy: YES!!!

—

DL!BigB: yo I’m Terry

SL!Bdubs: WWHHHOOOO???

—

SL!Skizz: So, you love Jimmy?

DL!Tango: Yes he’s my Rancher 🥰

SL!Skizz: Aww, that’s sweet!!!! I hate him.

DL!Tango: 😨

—

LL!Impulse: For a CLOCK???

3L!Bdubs: Yeah! 😁

LL!Impulse: …… you know, that explains a lot.

—

LimL!Joel: Ew 🤢 Boat boys? 🤮 Disgusting 😒 Etho you suck 😡

DL!Etho: …what… happened between seasons…

—

DL!Martyn: Do you have fairy magic that could help me win over Cleo

LL!Lizzie: n- CLEO?????????? I DON’T THINK YOU WANT THAT…

DL!Martyn: But she’s my soulmate!

LL!Lizzie: I’m so sorry to hear that

—

SL!Etho: *bumps into 3L!Joel* Oh sorry! I wasn’t looking! Boat Boys!

3L!Joel: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

—

3L!Tango: You having fun up there?

3L!Impulse: What the?! Yes, yes I’m having lots of fun up here in exile.

3L!Tango: Okay, just checking.

—

LL!Martyn: Can you perform a song about winning Last Life? Because the Scott I knew won Last Life.

SL!Scott: Sure!

—

LL!Mumbo: Why didn’t you invite ME to team TIES?

LimL!Etho: …There’s a lot of very obvious answers to that question.

—

3L!BigB: Dude I think there’s a song about you killing Bdubs

LimL!Impulse: what

—

LimL!Jimmy: Flower Husbands 🤢 Hashtag Not Saying I Love You Back 😎

3L!Scott: Okay, rude!!!

—

LimL!BigB: Maybe I will go see what everyone’s up to

LL!Joel: hey 😁

LimL!BigB: Oh no. Okay I’ll see what everyone in the opposite direction is up to.

LL!Joel: oh come on!

#trafficblr #oh god. I have to tag everyone again?? it doesn’t even show up when you search the blog!!!!#also I’m sorry if some of these seem very pointless. there’s a LOT of pairs I don’t wanna write 50k slowburns about each pair

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glacierruler · 1 year ago

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Nimona Analysis

Hi, so for those of you who don't know, I watched Nimona last night and kind of live blogged it! So if you click on that link, those are my live reactions to the show. Some of them more thought out than others. And also I was wrong a whole lot near the end of the movie. This post will be the analysis of the movie itself, I'll be analyzing the characters a little bit later. I'll come back and put links to the character analyses after I finish each one.

I'm going to tag two people specifically who I think would love to read this, based off of the interactions I had while liveblogging! @duck-in-a-spaceship and @wolfxkissed (I hope you don't mind the tag wolfxkissed, I just know you said that you'd like to read this!)

This post will contain spoilers for the movie Nimona

Also this is probably the longest text post I've ever made

Some CWs: suicide mentions, suicide attempt, trauma, religious trauma, brainwashing, cult like behavior, abuse, isolation, ableism, queerphobia, death, attempted murder, murder

Please tell me if I missed any, again this movie is dark, so this analysis of the movie will be touching on the darker aspects of things.

Okay, the first thing I want to say, is I love the writing that went into this movie. Each and every single character had thought behind every action they made. And while my live blog went somewhat deep into some of the actions behind the characters, it nowhere near does them justice. However, before we analyze the characters I want to analyze the movie itself(which will have a bit of character analysis in it, but not nearly as much as they all deserve). I'll be trying to go in the order of most light hearted to most dark.

I think that Nimona was specifically made for the Tumblr queer and ND folks, don't get me wrong, it was probably made for queer and ND people in general, however based on the humor, the beliefs of the characters(especially Nimona herself), and the execution of how the movie shows certain things just leads me to believe that at least one of the main writers for this show is a tumblr user. (/hj /hsrs)

Now with that, let's get into the movie.

Again this is not a scene by scene analysis of everything but a lightest to darkest topics analysis.

First I want to talk about the usage and reversal of common tropes. Usually the light and dark knight trope is used to symbolize who's in the wrong and who's in the right. You're usually rooting for the light knight and booing the dark one, the dark one's the villain. Which is why I like how they did this, they took that trope and reversed it, but they did so by making it so that neither knight were the actual villain. Both were hurt and brainwashed into a society that they hoped and wanted to accept them. Pitted against each other because of misunderstandings, lies, and where they were in their character arcs.

I want to talk about the isolation and loneliness that Nimona feels throughout this whole movie. In the scene where she's remembering her trauma vividly, you can't help but feel for her. She tried to be loved by every creature, but all of them inherently knew that she was different than them somehow, and she finally makes a friend, Gloreth, and she's a human. Someone who had embraced Nimona for who she is, instead of turning her away. Now I believe there are two reasons for this.

The creatures ignoring Nimona is to show the way a lot of ND folks tend to be ignored by those that they wish to be friends with at best. I want to touch on this more, but despite being ND myself, I don't think I was on the receiving end of this, or if I was I didn't really notice 'cause I was busy with my friends who are almost all slightly ND.

How trans people are villainized and ostracized in our society, and that when kids are younger, they tend not to care deeply about things like that until their parents take a stance on it. I say this because Gloreth did not care about the shapeshifting at first, she had been a bit nervous because it meant that Nimona was different. But overall Gloreth had found it cool that Nimona could do that(which was my internal reaction to my friends coming out before I realized I was genderfluid myself, I didn't know it was possible so it was the coolest thing ever and I wished that I could do that, although it seemed Gloreth was content with not being able to shapeshift so that last part might not apply to her).

What makes this so heartwrenching, is at the end of the scene, you see the first time Nimona was villainized by others, being so surprised and hurt physically and emotionally. They had all seen something so different in this little girl that they had known, and decided she needed to die because of it. The thing that had saved Nimona, her ability to shapeshift. The trait that I believe she comes to hate most about herself.

Which, okay, I know that one's going to be hard for me to explain. But hear me out. (I say as if that movie didn't touch on her self hatred of her powers at all, despite it being like a main plot point.) Nimona had been ostracized and almost murdered because of her powers, called a monster. As strong as she is, when something like that is ingrained into your head, it doesn't matter how much you know it's not true, it still feels true. Her powers are I think the one thing she hated and loved about herself the most. She loved being able to transform, to be herself, there's no denying that. But everyone else hated it. They hated her for it.

Which brings me to all the underlying and not so underlying queerphobia in the movie. Not in the oh this movie is so queerphobic way, but in the oh this movie went through and showed all the queerphobia that todays society had and still has even with people who say they're progressive, it is calling us as a society out for this which is sadly rare to see in movies and shows that make commentary about society. It's less rare now, but still rare or not done right. But with this show, they did it so well. So much thought was put into this. With some of Ballister's lines really hitting how, transphobia especially, can come from more 'progressive' people or even people in the community. Especially the, "Not everyone is as accepting as me,"(paraphrased) line. Telling someone to hide who they are, can make them feel isolated and alone, and it hurts worse when it comes from someone who you thought would at least come from someone on the same page as you. Really emphasized by the fact that both of them are seen as villains for something that's not their fault.

This is one of the reason's that I really like Ballister's character arc, and how he grows in the movie. He's not perfect, and I'm so glad about that you have no idea. If he or Ambrosius had been perfect I would've hate watched the rest of the movie, simply because of everything that's happening around and to them, it would've ruined the movie. idk, maybe that's just a me thing. Anyways, back to what I was talking about. He was set up for the murder of the queen who we learned was questioning everything about Gloreth. Because of this and the prejudice already against him because he wasn't of noble blood, it was easy for the population to believe that he had killed the queen. In fact, I believe that if this had happened irl, we would've believed that. But I'll hop onto that point later. Because of the position he had been placed in, one would think that Ballister would be able to understand where Nimona is coming from better, but he doesn't and can't because of how he himself had been raised and brainwashed. Which again, will be the next point I talk about, although it's hard not to talk about it here too much as well, because Ballister's dangerous misunderstandings about Nimona come from being raised in a cult-like environment. And you see him battling his thoughts, especially in the later part of the movie, having realized that he was asking small minded questions that were hurting her. But because of how he viewed her and how he was trying to change how he viewed her, it still got to him in the end. However, you can still see the character growth because he can't call her a monster. Which is when you see Nimona's despair and hatred for herself as well, because she did. She called herself a monster, and she ran out believing it.

However a lot of the underlying queerphobic subtext comes from Todd, who is quick to beat up those who divert from what the director wants/says. Much like how queerphobia comes mainly from the Christian church in most places. Todd mocked Ambrosius for being in love with Ballister, he beat up Ballister asking for information on Nimona. Which might not be seen as queerphobic, but with the situations and circumstances, it is. It is literally to show how queerphobia like that comes from high ranking places, and the people in those places either join in or turn a blind eye to everyone. This is more based on what I was feeling during the film though, so I don't really have much to back it up with.

Now before getting into the darkest aspects of this story, I want to talk about the cult-like behavior of the monarchy in Nimona. This monarchy raised noble children who raised noble children who raised noble children to rise up and be able to defend the kingdom from monsters, which we either knew coming into the movie, or learned later throughout it, was a bs excuse to maintain power. An excuse that came from the 'monster' being hurt by the humans, instead of hurting the humans like everyone has been told had happened. The director knows this, she has to, based on her speech to Nimona pretending to be Ambrosius. The queen had been looking into things, so the queen had to be killed. It was also a strategic move killing the queen, because, at least from my perspective, the director seems more like a beloved religious figure, especially with how she dresses, I wouldn't be surprised if that was why they chose that outfit for her. To symbolize how governments will take a certain religion, and use it for their own power, and if something diverts from what the religion wants, then it's this horrible evil thing.

Throughout this film both Ballister and Ambrosius made choices that most people would get mad or upset at, because they don't necessarily understand these choices. But both of these individuals have been raised in this cult like environment that thrives off of lies for their whole lives. And nothing had ever challenged that false perception of the world before, so they had no way of knowing anything else. And it was heart wrenching because I know what it's like having to go through that.

Ballister was ostracized because he had worked his way to the top, which the director did not like. Although she pretended to let him in so she could frame him for the queen's murder. But there was really only one person on Ballister's side, his boyfriend, Ambrosius, and then he lost that as soon as the queen died. (Which, to be fair to Ambrosius, if your bf was holding the sword that killed the queen in front of everyone you would think your bf killed her as well).

But I think the most telling part of how fucked up this cult-like institution had become, was that Ballister thought everything would be fine if he showed his bf the clip of his sword getting switched. He thought, that if that had happened, there was no way that Ambrosius would think he was a murderer anymore. And then the confrontation happened, and the director was whispering lies in Ambrosius's ears, to keep him on her side. Forcing him into a situation to choose, between the person he knew the most, or the institute. And in his mind, he had to choose the institute, because everything pointed to his boyfriend being the murder, yes he finds out later that it's fabricated by the institute, but he had no way of telling that, and so was torn between this decision.

I think the only thing I didn't like is how rushed it seemed at the end of them breaking down everything. Like, yes, it took a while to get there, and it probably took months for society to look like that again. But it almost seemed like it had only been a week at most. It's about the only thing I don't like about the Nimona movie, and it's simply because of my personal experiences with being forced to believe something that wasn't true. It can take years just to be able to change that mindset, and everyone in this civilization had the mindset of Gloreth is perfect and unwavering and slays the monster! And it just felt rushed to me. Again this is more of an opinion than a fact, but it is based off of my experiences with that.

Now for the darkest part imo, the part where Nimona actively tries to kill herself. After years of being alone, hurt, isolated, and treated like trash. She finally thinks that everyone else is right, that maybe she should just die, it would be easier on everyone without her. And you can't help but want to tell her that she's not a monster, that she's cared for. But she had just been discarded by someone who she thought she could trust, something she doesn't give out easily after what happened with Gloreth. And it took Ballister a while to be able to save her, in fact, based off of where he was and how fast she was moving, plus his injuries, logically, he couldn't have been able to stop her. But, speaking from experience, sometimes what keeps you alive, what keeps you from killing yourself, doesn't make logical sense, doesn't fit what you had thought everything to be or where you thought that person was. And that is why I'm so glad they did it that way. They didn't have a heart to heart, it was literally him holding her back from running her heart through a sword. I don't really have much to say here, without going into some personal stories, that I'd really rather not go into right now, but yeah.

Is there something that I'm not seeing and/or overlooking, probably. And I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this movie!

#nimona #nimona spoilers #glacier rambles #cw sui attempt #cw suicide attempt #cw religious trauma #cw trauma #cw abuse #cw queerphobia #this gets really dark

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taexual · 7 months ago

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Dude where do I even start :ccc

This chapter, I really couldn't wait to have some free time and read it peacefully (peacefully meaning, squealing and losing my shit at every paragraph)

I loved the plotting ok, the attention to details, the way they all worry about each other and just fight against this urge to bury Sid alive, so inspiring and wholesome :D

Also, something I've absolutely always loved about your writing is this continuous narration of the characters thoughs, interactions and quirks, like it may be the simplest of things for other people (like writers in general and stuff) but for me these moments -of Luna finally exchanging a gossipy stare with Maggie, or Jungkook feeling devastated when Oc took her hand away, and then making sure that it wouldn't happen again-, they just add so much endearment, personality, depth to the story. Idk, it feels like every comma you write has a purpose, and will eventually add up to some beautiful metaphors, and revelations.

What does it feel like to be such a talented writer??

Now, regarding the lovey dovey stuff... What the actual fuck are you trying to do to me? I swear I cannot look more deranged giggling at my phone every 32 seconds jfc, have some compassion.

Like jk demanding that kiss in the park? Had me doing flips

The “I never knew how to love you quietly."

AND OC RECITING HIS ENTIRE SPEECH??!? ‘We have Sociology together, I saw you sleeping in class, very cute by the way, the professor does not know how to shut up, have you seen that new Studio Ghibli film, I recently watched their classic with some friends, My Neighbour Jungkook, I’m Totoro by the way, I thought maybe—wait—no—’”

“Not one period, nothing,” you continued, a melancholic haze in your eyes. “Just commas and an endless stream of thought. You could have asked me to bury a body, I would have said yes.”

STFU I ALMOST CRIED, THOSE ARE MY BABIESS

The rain listened. It had become a fundamental part of your present and a prophet of your future: the two of you were going to spend the rest of your lives listening to the rain and falling in love.

This destroyed me actually, get me someone to listen to the rain and fall in love with, rn please and thank u

Also watch me try and write 'transfixing. Beguiling. Effulgent. Pulchritudinous' next time I'm falling asleep to test my writing abilities fr, just you wait

He was almost ready to call Rated Riot’s next song “Smile Lines” and just sigh dreamily into the microphone for five minutes while Yoongi played gentle piano chords in the background.

As if their entire discography wasn't like this already, at least in my mind it is. But yeah, I can totally see him doing something like that next time oc does anything remotely endearing (breathing basically)

Ugh idk what to say, you have me screaming and crying for this couple, these characters and their story all the time, and I love you for it. There are also things I forgot to mention because my phone refuses to actually save things in the Clipboard, but overall this made my week, as your updates always do (and that paired with Ateez's performance in Coachella in a couple of minutes?? Yeah life feels worth living again 🤭🤭)

Thank you sm for this, take care of yourself pleaseee, ill be waiting for the next one cccc:

oh how i wish i could thank you eloquently, instead of going sskdhfksh at every word of your message 😭 i must stress that the fact that you noticed (!) these little moments between characters and you've enjoyed (!!!) them is the absolute highest reward i could get 🙏🏻 it's so easy to skim, you know?

babe making you giggle is my main purpose in life at this point, i don't know what to tell you. and you'RE SO RIGHT OMG he's so whipped for her, their next album is just going to be jungkook morphing from this 🥰 into just this ❤️ (like me for you rn, fr)

i also hope you have more peace and quiet to do the things you enjoy in your life!! i love you!!! 🥺🤍🤍🤍🤍 bless ateez btw

#ask #alanniys #taexual; sleepwalking #thank you thank you thank you 🥺🥺🥺#i actually had to split this chapter..... so this almost 20k monster is only half of what i had planned 🥴#but i figured the word count was getting kinda wild and split it in two shdkdh #so naturally i was a little worried about the plot and the pacing #but i hoped that the uncut / intentionally long scenes between the two main characters would make up for it? 🥺#editing still took me over a week lol #so i'm overjoyed that it all got you to smile 🥺🥺🥺🥺#YOU are transfixing beguiling effulgent pulchritudinous (jesus this last one) and so much more #thank you again 🤍🤍🤍

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kindahoping4forever · 2 years ago

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For some reason I really love ask games and I get super excited when I see one happening 😆 I have no idea why though! 😂

Okay, question time:

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

Hope you have a good day!!!

I think ask games are so fun too! It's a fun excuse for us all to interact with each other and it's so interesting seeing different people's viewpoints on the same topics! I wish they went around more often tbh, it's a good time. 😁

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

In retrospect, I wish I would've spaced those last two Encore fics out a bit more because I feel like the Halloween chapter, Wild Horses Couldn't Drag Me Away, got overshadowed. And I get it! It's on me, releasing two 12k fics a day apart was asking a lot of people lmao and it makes sense that the Christmas one generated more interaction because it was the finale of sorts, holiday fic generally does pretty well, and (spoiler) it had the "I love you" scene everyone had been waiting a year for. But I wished Wild Horses would've had a little bit more of a moment - I think it's really fun and funny, shows some interesting growth within their relationship and I worked really hard to give the smut the right balance between unhinged filth and loving exploration. (Somehow I'd never written bondage before! I did research! 😂) It found a bit more of an audience on AO3 than on here but I still haven't heard much feedback about it on either platform.

🕯️How do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

It's interesting because I am really not a people person at all but I joined Tumblr primarily to engage with fellow fans. I was enjoying fangirl life on my own but I knew it'd be so much more fun to experience that with other people, whether it was through direct correspondence or just scrolling my dash, reading everyone screaming about the same things and relating to the different reactions. And it took a while for me to engage with other people! To be honest, the Tumblr fandom wasn't quite as tight-knit or welcoming back then as it is now (we all kind of have our own lil zones we hang out in but I feel like we kind of recognize or are generally familiar with most people?) and I lowkey got brushed off by the first few people I tried to befriend but somehow I stuck it out and I couldn't be more happy that I did because I can say wholeheartedly that some of the best, most gratifying friendships I've had in my whole life have been in this fandom on Tumblr. As for the broader "fandom experience", I think engaging with each other and having discussions, whether it be about our art or just our opinions is a key component. Being a part of a fandom is to be a part of the community and it's always encouraging to feel seen and understood by a peer. To seek out and be found by kindred spirits is why I'm here and everyday I'm thankful I made that choice. 🙂

Let’s chat! Writer Asks

#thank you for the questions!#like i said i love these - i'm glad to hear you do too!!#ask #justreblogginfics #real writer asks #kh4f writing

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saspitite · 1 year ago

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Waji

hi!! back with another short story that somewhat expands on the god mentioned in the last one, "Point Nemo". this is, of course, inspired by lovecraft's work, and i wanted to try to incorporate some of his writing style into my own, just to see how it feels. it's kinda fun! might do it again but idk, lmk what you guys think and feel free to give suggestions on what i should write next! whether it'd be like, mortal encounters god, gods interacting, historical cosmic events, expanding on something touched in a previous work, etc.

i wouldn't say there's any major content warnings to mention here? besides general horror, slight existential themes(?), and some gross descriptions

I am writing this as a warning to those who are foolish enough to attempt what I and my deceased friends had done. No amount of time, no amount of medicine, no amount of therapy can ever erase what I witnessed. It is forever my cross to bear, and part of that responsibility lies in warding away fellow idiots that wish to follow in my footsteps. I’m unsure if I can keep my own sanity while writing this, as the memories are highly unpleasant, but I have to try.

On October 5th, 1933, my good friend Oswell came to me with a bizarre idea— he had read about some strange tale of a Sea-God slumbering at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. I initially took it as a joke and teased him about reading too many fairy tales, but he swore this one was true. Now, I’m a rather skeptical man, and concepts such as beings of higher power were never something I took seriously. I have heard rumors of ancient entities being spotted all over the world throughout my lifetime, but the lack of substantial evidence for these sightings had me thinking they were completely false. Now… I can no longer say that with confidence.

It wasn’t until Oswell roped in another friend of ours, Dexter, that I decided to tag along�� for the sole purpose of ensuring the fools’ safety. I knew that no amount of convincing would stop them from investigating a place so fantastical. It was said that this Sea-God, “Waji,” granted wishes to those brave enough to find her, and my friends were hoping to be blessed as well. Knowing this concept was completely ludicrous, I was prepared to guide my disappointed friends home after making such a journey. Oswell rented a small boat, to my surprise, for us to use on our journey. It was rather rudimentary in appearance, but he assured it would “get the job done.” I reminded him that nobody would help him recover the money he wasted before we finally set out on the voyage on October 12th, 1933, spirits relatively high— not including my own feelings, of course. Though, as I record this horrible venture, it’s occurred to me now that I miss the two’s bubbly optimism, despite how I acted back then. Knowing they were at least somewhat excited about this damned trip… it brings a small amount of rest to my heart. It just stings to know that this didn’t turn out so positively.

The journey was exhaustingly long, taking about ten days to reach the supposed island that’d lead us to our destination. The first two were smooth-sailing, with plenty of energy and food to keep us in high spirits. Dexter brought with him a small journal, in which he logged each day. The first two entries were unremarkable, but the third I feel I must share— its contents are too disturbing to leave out. He wrote:

October 15th, 1933

Three days into the trip. I knew this’d be no cruise, of course, but I have to say my dreams have become concerning. They’re much more consistent and clear in depiction compared to what I usually see. A banquet of sorts— but a feast of terrible, terrible things. I was encouraged— no, forced— to eat the dismembered bodies of my family. Surrounding me were these putrid avatars, familiar yet completely unknown to me, some of animalistic appearance and others completely out of the realm of description. They laughed and mocked me as I choked on that horrible feast, forcing the flesh down my throat when I’d refuse to eat any further. I found myself hoping, praying, begging to wake up, which only resulted in further mockery. I think one of those things spoke to me soon after I finished my “meal” and broke down into scream-sobs, not in English or any human language, but something unearthly and impossibly cavernous. Perhaps, since my brain couldn’t comprehend such a cosmic tongue, it just decided to hear it as English instead. It spoke:

“Foolish Earthen child. It was always mankind that viewed themselves so highly and arrogantly. Take this advice, vermin, for you’ll meet an unpleasant fate if you don’t: TURN THE SHIP AROUND.”

I woke up shortly after. I don’t really know what to do. Oswell might not listen— certainly not Ethan, we practically dragged him onto this boat. But I’d be a fool to keep quiet. It’s just too heinous to recall! I can’t keep thinking about this. I can’t. Maybe I should burn this journal… no, it’s fine.

The chilling entry has been in my mind ever since I read it. God, I shouldn’t have been so negative towards the two, knowing now that Dexter felt like I wouldn’t take him seriously on such a horrific occurrence. Dexter, wherever you may be now, just know that I truly am sorry. The rest of the third day was seemingly fine to me, as I never thought of it any further. Oswell was demonstrating the songs he learned on the violin and Dexter would sing along if he knew the lyrics. If only I had caught on and questioned the glazed, distant look in his eyes. The fourth day wasn’t merciful to him, either, with his next passage reading:

October 16, 1933

It’s been difficult getting a good night’s rest. These horrific dreams keep plaguing me, causing me to wake up every hour or so at night. The others haven’t caught on, and I’m glad for that, as I don’t know if I’m yet prepared to tell them the truth. I’m terrified. I’m honestly, truly terrified. Yesterday night’s dream was much worse, simply attempting to recall it is making me sick. That thing which spoke to me the night before was towering over me once again, glaring down with hateful eyes. Its head, if you can call it that, was reminiscent of a hyena’s, with eight odd spires coming out of its neck and connecting at the ends to form a “wheel” of sorts. Its body was an amorphous mass of tendrils or tentacles, somewhat resembling the trunk of a tree, as it splayed towards the bottom to grasp and slide across the floor. Claws or talons exploded out of its abdomen, constantly changing in number and size, with the biggest two being treated as its own hands. What this thing gained out of torturing me in my dreams, I will never know. But I now know its name, as it whispered to me: Nyell’yahg’hoth. It is the supposed creator of this world and knows it best, thus the incessant warnings. God, I truly wish I could muster the courage to tell them, but these dreams make me horribly sick even thinking about them. If I weren’t such a coward…

And on that fourth day, even I, the dense and clueless brick that I am, knew there was something off with Dexter. Oswell was quicker to notice, discreetly informing me on the evening of that day. The hollowness in his voice, the shakiness of his hands, his appetite dwindling… it’s all too obvious now. And yet, I did nothing. The entries of the fifth, sixth, and seventh day were all mysteriously ripped out, with only remnants of the pages left to suggest as much. The eight entry had hinted to why he did such a thing:

October 20th, 1933

I’m not sure how much longer I can hold up in silence. Those last two nights were far too terrible to comprehend— I’ve decided to rid them from my memory altogether. If a forgetful, placid, ignorant mind is what I need to heal, then I must think of these things no longer. But again, am I not dooming my friends by staying silent? God. I could show them these journals. But they would just believe I’m insane. Maybe I am. Maybe I should stop writing.

And indeed he did, for that was the last entry Dexter had written in his journal, as well as the last he’d ever write. On the eighth day, we had finally considered abandoning the trip, but eventually decided against it as we were already too far into it. The atmosphere was uneasy and Dexter’s waning mind became more apparent. I’d find him mumbling to himself in tongues, despite him only ever speaking English in his life… it resembled none of the languages of this earth, and while it might’ve sounded like nonsense when passively listening, I could tell it was genuine… but it can’t be a language that was ever spoken by humans. He’d speak it so smoothly and with an ominous tone, almost as if he were possessed. When we questioned him, he’d say he had no memory of ever saying such things.

On the final day, our joy had left us, rations were low, and dread lingered in the air. At this point, we were all hesitant and almost unwilling to continue the journey, but a certain, inexplicable desire seemed to override any rationale. After several hours of tense silence, we had finally reached the destination— a remote island said to have an underground tunnel that, after millennia of walking, would bring one to the Sea-God Waji. As the boat touched shore, we hesitantly stepped foot onto the beach, tossed around looks of terror, and began to walk.

I could not begin to explain what I had hallucinated on that walk towards that tunnel. Demons, monsters, spirits, things, whatever you could call them— they’d torture you with terrible imagery and disappear just a moment later, and I’d second guess myself, wondering if I had already went insane. But I assure you, those blasted things were real, and they’ve followed me home even after everything that happened— they’ll never let you sleep, they’ll never let you rest, they fill your head with noise and madness like no other… I must find an exorcist.

The descent down the tunnel was indescribable. This time, my friends had agreed with what I claimed— which must mean it’s true— the walls were alive. As we went further down, it spoke to us with terrible teeth and fangs jutting out of wounds in the walls, speaking to us of ill things I cannot say here. It was alive, I tell you, though it may seem to be of ordinary stone and dirt— utter nonsense! What is stone and dirt if not a degraded, or perhaps evolved form of our own bodies? As we die, we become dirt, and dirt eventually feeds us. To claim that tunnel was stone and not flesh is simply mad. I’ve learned they are one and the same. I’ve learned that, even if it might seem otherwise, the earth can talk to you, too. Listen!

This next part may seem unbelievable. I began to suffer from these terrible thoughts, thoughts in my head that pursued relentlessly, thoughts that nobody like myself would ever think— disgusting— I had wanted to do so much to my poor friends in that moment— gouge their eyes, rip out their teeth, bend their fingers backwards, eat them alive… but I assure you, it was the walls that had placed those ugly thoughts in my head. It was with sheer willpower that I managed to do nothing to poor Oswell and Dexter. Yes, if I was even a smidge weaker, they would’ve been goners! They’d never know the horrific impulses I had right then and there! But by God do I swear those thoughts weren’t mine.

We had finally reached the bottom of the tunnel, despite our legs nearly giving out, and an odd feeling of joy washed over us. Jumping and laughing giddily like children, we began to wander aimlessly around, taking in the grandeur of the scenery that greeted us. An impossibly large hallway— big enough to fit ten giants shoulder to shoulder— made from impressive, nearly ceramic stone, intricate etchings throughout its surface. The hall was strangely iridescent, seeming to shift colors upon closer inspection. Vaguely every color of the spectrum— millions of shades, some completely unknown to me, and I still question if what I had seen were actually “new” colors. Along the walls were these interesting scripts, paired with illustrations, which seemed to tell a sort of ancient story. The drawings were rather vague, depicting alien creatures which seemed to change each time I looked at it. These amorphous beings, according to the drawings, would frequently visit an endless pit that housed an infinite serpent, who would coil out from darkness and bless Its devoted followers. Over time, It would gradually visit them less, until It eventually retreated in Its endless pit, leaving the followers stranded and alone. They now guard the silent pit and patiently wait for the serpent’s return. The language, I was completely unfamiliar with, yet it spoke to me in a bizarre fashion, as if uncovering ancient memories of the tongue. I may have just hallucinated it, but I swore some of the etchings had said something like, “FOREVER BORN, FOREVER DIE, BELOW THE EARTH THINE WONDERS LIE.”

It was then that Oswell broke down. He spoke oddly, caressing the walls in strange fervor, perhaps trying to look for something. I noticed quickly— the terrible squirming and squelching just barely audible behind the stone— he was searching for the source of that awful sound. I nearly wanted to tear out my ears from how unpleasant it was, but I knew all senses would be vital for this venture. As we continued down the hall, we began to hear the odd piping of several flutes coming from everywhere— above us, behind us, beneath us… it was a sight to behold. They overtook the terrible squelching and replenished the whimsy in our souls, and we began to chase the ethereal music in pursuit of the mysterious player. We began to lose track of time, as a moment of walking could’ve been eons, but the joy in our hearts overcame any sense of exhaustion. We could’ve ran forever.

It was then that the hallway widened into a large circular room, with large chairs lining the walls, all facing the large pit in the middle of the room. It was reminiscent of something you’d see in a circus, which we felt like we were already in at that point, so we began to yip and howl like performing animals. I was at the height of my delirium— and honestly, I cannot say for sure what happened from then on, as it could’ve been fabricated by my own delusions. At that moment, the floor caved in, and we were stunned in pure fear as a foul shape arose from the cavernous pit. This was, without a doubt, the Sea-God Waji, for She told me so Herself. That loathsome shape bubbled out of the ground, morphing into a sticky serpentine body with several humanoid arms sprouting out of it. Her head was of a vaguely crocodilian shape, a bit rubbery in appearance, along with other details too abhorrent to recall. Obscene things had sat down in those seats up above— unknown faces wearing unknown expressions— and we had decided by then that this truly was a mistake.

She spoke, not with a voice, but with a pure cavernous rhythm that all life and death obeyed. What She said cannot be translated to any human tongue, so I cannot detail it here, but I could explain what happened afterwards. We managed to break out of our fear-induced paralysis and, without concern of where we were going, ran. We ran, hollered, screamed, laughed until our lungs gave out, and continued to run even when our legs had atrophied, desperate to escape the court of things in that wretched room. I had nearly forgotten about Dexter and Oswell entirely, and only their ear-piercing screams beside me reminded me that I went on this journey with the two. Before we could reach the tunnel leading out of the underground horror, that thing finally caught up. Waji, who might have been millions of years old, who might have slumbered for several thousand, who might have hungered for flesh and blood, who might have been desperate to live, who might have been close to death, Waji the Dreamer of the Deep, Waji the Infinite, Waji the Living-Dying, Waji the One that Yearns, Waji the formidable Sea-God— devoured poor Dexter and Oswell with Her ten-thousand rows of teeth.

I had barely gotten out in one piece. That damned infinite tunnel nearly kept me under the earth forever! By God, if I wasn’t as fit and athletic as I was, if I wasn’t as mad with terror as I was, if I had moved a second slower! I scrambled to the boat and left that putrid island as fast as humanly possible. I survived catching fish and other slimy things in the sea on my trip back. I feel that I had lost something that day— mind, soul, sanity, whatever it was, I’ll never get it back. And I’ll never come back to that horrid place. Never. Never! Even if it meant I could see my friends again! Terrible teeth and fangs are forever in my mind, creeping in corners I cannot see, just under my skin like burrowing leeches, infesting my mouth! I tore out those horrible teeth in my mouth. I knew they weren’t mine when I looked at my reflection. I was admitted to a hospital once I got back home, but I see nothing wrong with myself— it’s their fault. The teeth, the mouths, the faces, all of those wretched unseeable things are to blame! They will never leave. No matter what you do. They’ll haunt you, even after death, even after nothingness, the teeth, the mouths, the faces… Yes, they will always be there, as I know I am never alone… Placidity does not exist, never has… They’ve taken everything from me, those damned doctors!… This letter must get somewhere, they’ll take it from me if they find it… If nobody knows, they’ll be doomed… No matter how ugly… No matter how terrible… Those teeth, those teeth should never be witnessed by any human… I have to show them!… Do not take this from me!!… Thou shall die, fools! …Ne'r let that serpent reawaken, 'lest thou'd something see the wrath of a ravenous god!… Keep back! Keep back!… Hhggh… Ghhkk… Aaghg! V'ir frra vg nyy!... Gur Ryqre-Orvatf! Guvf npphef'q cynar unfa'g zhpu yrsg...! Vs fur jnxrf... Vs fur jnxrf...! Waji! Waji!!…

(The writing of the letter turned into unintelligible scrawls.)

#sas stories #cosmic intertwines #horror #eldritch horror #lovecraftian horror #lovecraftian #my writing #original writing

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madisfilmblog · 21 days ago

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Harold and Maude (1971) dir. Hal Ashby

I must confess that I went into this with a personal disdain against age-gap relationships that clouded my expectations. I have witnessed the power-imbalance that can go hand in hand with age-gap relationships firsthand and how that can seriously alter the quality of someone's life and interpersonal relationships. I pressed play feeling nervous that what I was about to watch would, to put it bluntly, set me off.

Harold and Maude... flipped that feeling of unease on its head. I have to admit my defeat and say that I found this film to be very endearing and not what I was expecting at all. There is no power-imbalance between Harold and Maude. Their differences in life experience and maturity levels is never a concern or obstacle in their relationship. In fact, much of what they lack in themselves is found in the other.

Before I discuss their relationship and how the movie showcases their journey together, I want to briefly discuss the topic of marriage.

At one point in the film, Harold decides Maude is who he wants to marry. He was always going to choose her; the girls Harold's mother had arranged for him to meet were never going to make it past the first meeting.

Harold meets with three key authoritarian figures in his life to talk about his wish to marry Maude, and each one makes sure to tell him why their age-gap is wrong. Harold's uncle, a general, tells him its socially abnormal. His psychiatrist tells him its mentally abnormal. His priest tells him its sexually abnormal. Every male figure in Harold's life wants him away from something they consider to be taboo in accordance to marriage.

At and around the time of this film's release, life surrounding marriage in the United States was experiencing a new period. We can thank the women's suffrage movement for its indirect effect on future marriage laws, as women gaining the right to vote re-conceptualized their place in society and within their civil unions. A marriage now consisted of two citizens rather than a man and his wife.

It wasn't until 1967 that interracial marriage was legalized nationwide due to the Supreme Court ruling Loving v. Virginia. The first same-sex marriage in the United States occurred in 1971. Relationships were becoming more private, as the introduction of birth control allowed for a lot more freedom and choice in the sex lives of many couples.

What Harold and Maude directly challenge with their relationship is the idea of the nuclear family. An older woman with a young man don't fit the ideals of the socially normal and mutually fertile couple. It's understood that a 79 year old woman has gone through menopause and won't have children and the way the priest talks about her body with fervent disgust as the camera slowly zooms in reminds us how engrained some of these authoritarian figures are in the more intimate parts of people's lives.

What is overlooked in the eyes of these three figures is the love that Harold and Maude share for each other. Like I mentioned above, what one lacks, the other has. Maude lives on the edge. There are many shots in which she drives (terribly, I might add) away in a car that doesn't belong to her. She has no concern for the law, just a concern for not living her life the way she wants to. Maude is obsessed with her ability to pave her own path and enjoy every waking moment.

Harold is the complete opposite. He struggles to connect emotionally to his mother, whom he performs elaborate suicide scenes for. He is obsessed with the idea of death, the escape of consciousness, and the dramatics of what comes after passing. There are many moments in which his face is so pale and grey, he looks as if he's already dead.

Maude pines for companionship. She chases after Harold. The first time they interact is in a church during a funeral. Wide shots show us how far removed they are from those who actually knew the deceased and also how empty the room is. We see Maude stand and move, but the funeral party does not care to notice. Not even when she attempts to get Harold's attention, nor when the camera shows her prancing across the aisle to offer him some licorice and chat. Harold, so preoccupied with the funeral, doesn't give her much attention until they follow the casket outside to the hearse.

Maude's persistence allows for their relationship to blossom. Her consistent life-oriented preaching allows for Harold to increase his willingness to enjoy his own life as well as the one he is creating with her.

Yet, there is one very short shot in this film that I would consider a turning point in their relationship and that is the slow zoom on Maude's arm as they sit and watch the sunset together. As Harold's eyes glance down, the camera shows us the concentration camp tattoo, uncovering the painful and atrocious events she lived through. This shot is never explicitly discussed, and easy to miss if not paying attention but it is very integral in understanding who Maude is and the amount of change Harold undergoes.

Harold, who spends his life attempting to face death, realizes that Maude doesn't just understand it... she knows it. She's seen it. Lived it. Couldn't escape it. However, her hardships have only made her stronger, happier, more courageous, and in control. I believe this is the point where he begins to truly adopt Maude's approach to life.

At this point in the film, Harold no longer wears the pale, death-ridden face he once wore. He's begun to embrace life and love. Despite this, Maude commits suicide on her 80th birthday. This is her controlling every aspect of her life, as she won't be stifled by anything around her. This is her deciding her fate, and makes much more sense with the short nod to her history.

For once, Harold actually stares death right in the face and is genuinely terrified. There is no laissez-faire attitude, instead we get a jarring scream to siren auditory match cut, thus beginning the final sequence of Maude's passing and Harold's acceptance to move forward.

This film really pushes the boundaries of a social moral code regarding love and relationships. The comedic, yet tender and philosophical approach to such a frowned-upon relationship allows for a more introspective look at what brings them together. Philip Drake mentions one of the trailers includes many scenes cut from the film. This same trailer announces: "Harold And Maude Say: Get Together Regardless of Your Age, Race, Creed, Color or National Origin" which, again, directly nods to the multiple changes in marriage laws at and around time of release as well as many other political ideologies and movements.

And sometimes, 'it's best not to be too moral; you cheat yourself out of too much life.'

#the banjo makes me mad too

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sometimesanalice · 1 year ago

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BETH!

It was such much fun getting to revisit these two! That fic was the first I'd ever written (both for the fandom and in general!), so coming back to them after having written a few other stories such then was so satisfying!

more for you!

And then the more you’d thought about it, the more you’d overthought it, the more annoyed you’d gotten for overthinking it. A vicious spiral that not even hours of searching on Pinterest had helped to pull you from.

This so perfectly expresses the complete agony of trying to decide on a costume! 😂 I too am constantly personally victimized by my own wardrobe!- its such a universal experience! whether for a costume party or an even in general when you go to your closet and just don't have anything! But I loved the idea of this perfectly organized closet being on the floor like it'd been hit by a hurricane, lol. She worked herself up into that full tizzy!

Their text messages tickled me so much - Bradley + showerhead? The possibilities are endless 🥵

You, 3:11 PM: (Want to know the best part of working from home? I can get off any time I want. Have fun flying with that hard-on, Roos.)

Super flirty and fun!- I am the type to have most everything plotted out before I begin a story. I tend to over marinate and have detailed notes so that I know where things are going and building to, but that little text exchange was a last minute addition, and I loved the cheekiness it added! I wanted to show how they interacted and worked together as a couple even though they're both still kind of in their head because it's still a pretty new relationship.

Rooster knew you were a bit anxious about tonight, even though all his friends really liked you, but he was starting to think that maybe he might be deeper in this than you were. He was trying not to let his mind spiral about why you didn’t want him to pick you up, but the only thing he kept coming back to was that maybe you wanted a way to make an easy escape if you weren’t having a good time with him or his friends.

He was worried that you might have one foot out the door.

Oh Bradley is besotted too and its so cute that he's worrying - but he doesn't need too! 🥹- this was such a fun dynamic to explore again from the Christmas fic! How they're both so into each other, but also scared of coming on too strong. I love that they're literally both on the same page (they almost had an unintentional couples costume, because she definitely thought about coming as Sandy), but still in their own heads about things. Those kind of spirals they had here are echoed in the Christmas fic, and revisiting that was such fun!

“Jesus, Rooster. Aren’t you worried about your dick falling out of those? They’re indecent,” Jake drawls, looking every inch the action hero he thinks he is.

“Please,” Bradley says with a roll of his eyes, “You wish you could pull these off, Bagman. If you got it, flaunt it.”

“I’m flaunting plenty,” Jake counters as he flexes. His shirt is unbuttoned all the way to the waistband of his pants. Although, Bradley is pretty sure Indiana Jones at least had sleeves. “Once your girl sees these abs she might be my girl by the end of the night.”

JAKE FUCKING SERESIN 😂 This was just too funny! He's right though... and both him and Bradley would be such a sign for sore eyes in their costumes! 🥵- BLESS THEM! They know their duty as eye candy and boy do they bring it!! And nothing amuses me more than their back and forth, because even in a friendship, they'd never stop trying to one up the other for fun.

“Summer lovin’ happened so fast and all that.”

AND SHE'S THE ONE THAT HE WANTS OOO OOO OOOH!- and he ABSOLUTELY blushed when he said that too, the precious smitten nerd. He was like so pleased when he thought of it, not only because he knew he'd kill it, but also because he was like "oh hey, we had a summer romance" and thought he hit the jackpot. He's cute like that, such sweet boy. and yes! she's the one that he wants oo ooo oooh!

I'm so happy you enjoyed this one, Beth!

Seeing Double

Summary: Two weeks had felt like more than enough time to come up with something. And now you’re costumeless and in a panic less than a couple of hours before you’re supposed to be meeting your boyfriend’s closest friends. You’re ready to call it quits when you’re suddenly hit with a burst of inspiration.

Pairing: Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x Female Reader

Length: 6k

Warnings: fluff, allusions to smut, and Bradley Bradshaw in short-shorts (minors dni)

(This fic is a one-shot that is set before the Oh Christmas Tree, but you can read it on its own! Enjoy 🧡)

Looking at your closet, filled with everything and yet absolutely nothing, you’re beginning to realize just how totally and royally screwed you are.

The thing is you’d had time. More than enough time, in fact.

When Bradley had first invited you to go with him to this Halloween party, two weeks had seemed like plenty of time to concoct the perfect costume.

One that had left you costumeless for a party that was supposed to start in less than two hours with all of your boyfriend’s friends.

Fuck.

It was one outfit for one evening. You should probably be more concerned about Ciara from Marketing and her not-so-subtle scheming than what you were going to put on your body for the next five or so hours.

As you a sift through your perfectly color coordinated clothes, dragging hangers across the closet rod as if you’ve been personally victimized by the wardrobe you’d bought with your own money, you can’t help but wonder if you might have some self-sabotaging tendencies.

Bradley Bradshaw had snuck up on you when you were least expecting it. And what you thought was just going to be some summer fun had quickly turned into something more.

More often than not, you were thinking of him.

More often than not, he was texting you throughout the day.

More often than not, you were sharing a bed with him at night.

The last three, almost four, months had flown by in a summer haze and you liked Rooster more than any other man you had dated in the past.

You might even love him, but that was something you were keeping close to your chest for now. It felt too soon to be feeling the way you did about him.

He was more than just the pretty face and easygoing smile that had swayed you into giving him your number. He was more than just a fun night out and some no-strings-attached-yet-mind-blowing sex that you had tried to convince yourself it was.

He’d made it impossible for you to try and keep it casual in the way that he’d thoroughly swept you off your feet. You’d given up trying to keep him at arm’s length after your fifth date with him.

If you couldn’t beat him, you might as well join him. And so far, it was a gamble with your heart that was paying off.

Which was probably why you had given yourself the world’s worst mental block trying to figure out a costume to wear.

You’d met a few of his friends, like Natasha and Jake, during the nights he’d taken you to the Hard Deck. He’d told you that after one of their missions earlier in the year, the members on the squad had been in high demand. But this was the first time you’d be hanging out with them all at once.

So yeah, you were more than a little nervous about this evening.

And you didn’t just want to make a good impression, you wanted to absolutely charm and delight them. These people were so important to him, they were his family. They mattered to him and he mattered to you.

You pull out a black cocktail dress and debate whether you could pull together a Breakfast at Tiffany’s look with the pearls your grandmother had left you. It was a classic for a reason, right?

Or did it make you look like you were trying too hard? She was basically a callgirl after all.

The formfitting little dress goes back on the rack with a little more force than is necessary.

It’s just a causal get together, so why are your palms sweating?

You eye a silky pink slip dress and think about pairing it with one of your overpriced sleep mask. But you think you’d look less like you were flirty, thirty, and thriving and more like you forgotten to get dressed after rolling out of bed.

There are still a couple of cozy plaid button ups that you’d brought with you from home, but unless you carried around a roll of paper towels all night, it was an idea that might get you a more than a few perplexed looks. And there was nothing worse than having to explain your outfit for it to make sense to people.

Or worse, you’d be the one cleaning up spills all night.

You wanted your effort to look effortless.

Cool but not try hard. Thought through but not over the top.

You remember seeing some friend of a friend’s post from last weekend where she was dressed as Kim Possible. Green pants and a black top feel very doable. And she’d looked very cute and low maintenance, which was just the kind of vibe you were going for.

Remembering a pair of green khakis your sister had somehow talked you into the last time she came to visit, you go to your dresser and yank out the drawer you think they’d be in and toss it on the floor. You’re over trying to keep some semblance of order, that’s a problem for future you to deal with now.

Digging around in the pile, you will a flash of olive green to appear before your eyes. And when the items formerly nicely folded drawer and nothing but a heap of wrinkled, olive green-less chaos, you’re hit with the realization that the khakis that had seemed like a bad idea when you’d first gotten them had felt like a bad idea every time you looked at them and they’d ended up in the donation pile during your last closet purge.

You flop down and take in the carnage.

Half open drawers, random tops and skirts flung on your bed, the perfect rainbow of your closet now some technicolored disarray.

You’re almost afraid to pull out your phone to look at the clock, that pressure growing in your chest keeps getting worse. You can almost feel each individual second as they tick by. Glancing down you see that there’s a new message from Bradley, one that you missed in your frenzy to find something, anything to wear tonight.

Bradley, 9:52 AM: That wake up was worth the extra pushups I had to do for being late.

Bradley, 11:10 AM: Did I leave my shirt at your place this morning?

You, 12:22 PM: I’ll check when I get home and let you know. But I’m sure it’s there since I vividly remember the way you took it off last night.

You, 12:23 PM: And you only have yourself to blame for those pushups. (PS. I told you what time it was before I got in the shower, you were the one who invited yourself to join. PPS. I liked that thing you did with the shower head)

Bradley, 2:37 PM: As I said, worth it (PS pretty sure the only thing I heard you chanting was my name. Also I just ordered a new shower head for my place, one with a fancy handheld and everything)

You, 3:04 PM: I guess I’ll have to wake you up with my mouth more often then. (PS. just curious how many settings does it have? Asking for a friend.)

Bradley, 3:10 PM: Jesus Sweetheart, I’m up next to do a hop… (PS more than enough, and by enough, I mean 7)

You, 3:10 PM: 😘 (PS. can’t wait, I’m more than happy to product test)

Bradley, 3:11 PM: Yeah, I bet you are...

You, 3:11 PM: (Want to know the best part of working from home? I can get off any time I want. Have fun flying with that hard-on, Roos.)

Bradley, 3:12 PM: Baby, you’re killing me here

You, 3:12 PM: Fly safe ❤️

🔴 Bradley, 6:14 PM: Just got home, I can’t wait to see you tonight. What time should I pick you up? You might have to come down though, I don’t know if they’d let me in...

Skimming the previous messages from earlier in the day helps relieve some of the anxious energy that was thrumming in your veins. Because he’s just so Bradley.

He hadn’t been the only one who got to work late this morning. You’d actually worked from the office that day, but it had been more fun to tease him from your desk than draft the internal communications you were supposed to be working on.

The original plan had been to work a half day and then leave early and figure out your costume situation. But then you’d been pulled into an emergency PR meeting on your way out the door for one of the company’s biggest clients and had got home much, much later than you’d planned to.

You’d spotted Rooster’s shirt crumpled on the floor by the foot of your bed, from where he’d shucked it off the night before, the second you’d flown into your bedroom. Now it is carefully draped against the back of the soft blue tufted chair in the corner of your room. It was a colorful patchwork of beach themed vignettes in soft corals, teals, and dark blues. In addition to the palm trees and foliage, there were also planes and ships on it.

It was one of your favorites because you always felt like you were finding something new on it every time he wore it.

He’d told you once early on when you’d first gotten serious, after you’d teased him about his seemingly endless supply, that he’d even gotten curious one drunken night and looked up the resale value on some of his favorites and was shocked at the numbers. That it had taken him a month to put one back on because he didn’t want to ruin any of them on accident, now that he knew what exactly his father had left him.

You knew how much Bradley valued his collection, what they meant to him. You were even watching a few vintage ones in nice condition on Ebay to give him for Christmas.

Letting out a ragged sigh, you look back at the pile on the ground.

You’ve always prided yourself on being a problem solver. And the one time you needed to spring into action with a pivot plan is the one time you’re at a complete loss. You felt paralyzed by indecision and the kind of pressure that only you could put on yourself, which made everything that much more frustrating.

How you had kept the novelty six-pack tank top you’d taken home from a White Elephant exchange, but donated the green khaki pants was beyond you.

Out of the two, one would have been much more practical in this particular moment.

You pick it up off the floor and feel the fabric between your fingers. It was surprisingly soft for something that you’d expect to feel like sandpaper no matter how many times it got washed.

That tank top had never seen the light of day, yet always seemed to make it through your yearly purge unscathed. Probably solely on the fact that it made you giggle whenever you saw it. You always forgot about it, but it was a happy surprise when you pulled it out from where it was tucked away in the back of your dresser drawer.

You let it fall back onto the top of the pile.

Your thumbs hover over the keyboard of your phone as you try to figure out what to say to Bradley, as you look back and forth between your mountainous mess and the empty text box.

You know you could call him and he’d pick up before the third ring. You knew you could text him and he would reply the moment he could. And you know, if you told him you were stressed about meeting all of his friends and wanting to impress them, to impress him, that he would understand. He’d tell you- in that soothing way of his- to not worry about it, that you could just wear whatever made you comfortable, no costume necessary.

He’d probably even ditch his own so that you weren’t the only one there in normal clothes, even though he’d been dropping teasing hint about his for days now. He was so excited for tonight, you didn’t want to bring the vibe down before you’d even arrived.

You close your eyes and allow yourself a couple moments to reset.

What you wore didn’t matter. But whatever you wore, you were going to have a great time with Bradley and the people he cared about. And that was the only thing that mattered to you.

You could throw on your little black dress, or a red and white striped sweater with a pair of glasses, or some skintight leggings and a leather jacket. But it didn’t matter because it was all going to end the same way: with you tipsy and giddy and in Rooster’s bed.

Already feeling much better you open your eyes again.

You’re greeted again with those perfectly sculpted abs of that silly little tank top that still sits on top of the mound of clothes on your floor. But out of the corner of you eye, those cheerful colors adorning your chair in the corner wink out at you.

The glimmer of an idea settles over you like stardust.

It’s on that the more you sit with, the more perfectly solidified it becomes in your mind. Oh, you can see it so clearly now.

It’s an idea that makes you feel like you could bubble over in excitement.

You shoot off a quick text to Rooster and set about grabbing all the things you needed. You’d be a little late, but not terribly so. Fashionably late.

And you’re hopeful it’ll be worth the last-minute change of plans.

There was only one thing you needed that you didn’t already have, and you knew just where you’d be able to find it.

Just a quick little pit stop on the way to the party.

On your way to Bradley.

When Rooster parked in front of Fanboy and Payback’s place he shouldn’t have been surprised to see the Spanish-style house they rented together absolutely covered in every type of decoration imaginable.

He’d heard Reuben moan and groan about it enough over the last few weeks.

Halloween was Mickey’s favorite holiday and there was nothing more he loved than going all out on a theme. It didn’t matter if it was St Patrick’s Day or National Cheeseburger Day, he always committed.

They’d all be pulled into the argument about whether or not a faux body bag filled with empty bottles should be strung up on the front porch. Fanboy lost that one by a mere two votes. And Bob had been the one to broker the peace by suggesting they make some ghosts to hang up instead.

Dozens of glowing pumpkin lanterns hung from the trees outside and lined the pathway up to the front door. The bushes were wrapped in fibrous looking cobweb material as lights flickered and flashed underneath them. There was a fog machine hidden somewhere because wisps of smoke were curling and crawling along the lawn. Custom gravestones littered the yard along with a few well-placed plastic skeletons. The front of the porch was filled with more pumpkins of various sizes and shapes and colors as well as those truce ghosts and a few oversized bats swaying in the chilly October night breeze.

Rooster wasted no time letting himself in the glowing entryway, rubbing his arms as he hustled to get inside. Normally he ran warm, but he’d been covered in goosebumps from the moment he’d gotten out of the Bronco.

His costume had earned him more than a few wolf whistles when he had stopped to get gas. He’d simply shot them a wink and a smirk as he’d strut past them to go inside and pay.

He looked damn good.

But there was only one person he’d wanted to show off this outfit to.

He didn’t know how it was possible but the inside was even more decorated than the outside of their place was.

There were stands and strands of colorful string lights in black, purple, and orange strung across the ceiling covered by gauzy black fabric. There were more cobwebs covering every exposed bit of the walls and flameless candles lining the floor of the hallway. And there was a mix of eerie forest sounds playing under the Halloween party soundtrack that Coyote had been roped into making for the night.

Bradley follows the hundreds of little plastic spiders decorated the wall leading him to the living room. And almost collides with someone as he rounds the corner.

The shorter man he’d nearly taken out had on an overly bleached and spiked wig with a goatee and was wearing more neon orange flames than any one person should be allowed to wear.

They were both eyeing each other waiting for the other person to lob the first comment.

Rooster sees the way Mav’s cheeks are twitching as he takes in the length of the shorts he was wearing and just how much leg he had on display.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s hear it, old man,” he snorts, reaching out and taking the drink from Mav’s hand and taking a swig from the mostly empty bottle before passing it back.

“Did they lower the drinking age and I missed the memo, kid?” Mav tosses back easily, pointing to Bradley’s clingy, red Rydell High School t-shirt. “Don’t need a Class A misdemeanor on my record, that file is already big enough on its own.”

“Laugh it up, Flavortown,” Bradley snorts, “You on your way out?”

“Yeah, just wanted to swing by for a minute before I go over to the Hard Deck to help Penny out for the night. She sent me with some treats too, they’re over on the table. Where’s your girl? I was hoping to see her before I left.”

“Oh, uh, she’s meeting me here. Said she got caught up in a last-minute meeting,” Bradley says rubbing the back of his neck. He was trying not to over think the text you’d sent him. “So what’s Penny dressing up as?”

Mav uses both hands and gestures to his costume, face flat.

“No shit,” Bradley laughs.

“Amelia hustled the both of us,” Mav says shaking his head fondly. “I’m telling you, kid, teenagers these days are a scary bunch.” He takes the last swig of his beer and passes the bottle to Bradley, patting him on the shoulder. “Make sure you and your girl try the candlestick cakes. The realistic ones are the ones that Penny made.”

“And the others?” Rooster asked with a smirk.

“Let’s just say I’m a better pilot than I am with a piping bag,” he says with a self-deprecating laugh. “Happy Halloween, Bradley.”

“See you on Sunday for brunch.”

He and his godfather exchange a hug before Pete strides out the door, giving him one more pat on the back before he leaves.

Rooster makes his way further into the living room and goes to check out the food situation and to grab a drink in hopes that it’ll help settle that anxious coil in the pit of his stomach.

He waves over to Fritz, Yale, and Omaha, who are dressed up as the Sanderson Sisters, as he makes his way to the dining room. Fritz has his arm draped over his wife’s shoulder who is dressed like a black cat and they’re all gathered around the keg in the kitchen like it’s a cauldron.

Under a display of floating candles, Fanboy and Payback’s dining table is filled to the brim with all kinds of party food. Breadsticks that looked like fingers, a charcuterie board being clutched by a skeleton, a carved pumpkin puking some kind of tasty looking dip, and rice krispies with an ungodly amount of red dye number forty wrapped up in plastic on Styrofoam trays. And of course, the candlestick cakes. It was obvious which one’s Penny had made and which were Mav’s handiwork.

He pops one in his mouth, making a mental note to text Penny about how good they are.

Off to the side there was a homemade cooler shaped like a coffin and a witch’s cauldron bubbling away with dry ice filled with something potent, if the patriotic punch from the Fourth of July was anything to go by.

He grabs one of the plastic syringes from the bowl that says free shots and sips it down easily, trying not to grimace at the ratio of tequila to cranberry cocktail, and then dropping the now empty syringe in the hazardous waste bucket that’s placed next to the bowl.

Checking out the inside of the cooler, he sees it’s been stocked with a good variety of beers and ciders, he even spots your favorite which he knows you’ll be excited about.

That is whenever you get here.

Bradley pulls out his phone from the back pocket of his tight-fitting shorts to see if there’s any new message from you yet.

No ETA, no update, no on my way. Nothing since his last text nearly forty minutes ago. He’s tempted to shoot you another one, but he doesn’t want to come across as overbearing.

He was worried that you might have one foot out the door.

You’ve met most of his friends now, just at different times and never all at once.

After the Uranium Mission, their team quickly became very in-demand. Getting requests to join other training contingents, classified trials and testing of new tech in development, and smaller specialized missions. It’s very rare now that they’re all in the same place at the same time. It always feels like there’s always someone missing, they’re always going and doing.

His team has always been good about finding ways to let off steam.

Although, he’s been less frequently found behind the piano bench of the Hard Deck since he’s taking on a more starring role in your bedroom. His friends would tease him on base about keeping you to himself. But he wouldn’t apologize for wanting to spending all his free time with you than the people he already spent the majority of his days with. Bradley doesn’t want you to feel like he’s trying to keep you away from them, he just would rather soak up all of your attention than share you with everyone else.

He liked that you were his girl.

Sighing to himself, Rooster puts his phone back in his pocket and walks back out to the living room before anyone can accuse him of sulking.

Callie and her fiancée are dress up as Velma and Daphne and chatting away with Bob over by the fireplace that is filled with skulls and thick pillars of candles. Bob’s homemade chef’s hat is glowing lightly from the inside and showing the silhouette of a little rodent.

He watches as Fanboy in his Hamburglar costume heading over of the bathroom with a trash bag looking more than a little suspicious. Bradley is sure he has more than a few pranks up black and white striped sleeves tonight.

“Where’s your Sandy, Danny?” Nat asks, sliding up to him and passing him a beer.

“You know, I don’t actually know what she’s coming dressed as. She never gave me any hints,” he admits, taking a small sip as he takes in her costume. She’s got fluffy bunny ears on and her nose is painted pink. The only thing missing from her Lola Bunny ensemble is the basketball.

“Oh?” He can tell Phoenix is trying to school the surprise on her face. “I just figured with you wearing that and all.”

He just shrugs, his thumbnail picking at the label on the bottle.

Bradley had thought about floating a couple’s costume when he had invited you to come with him, but he pivoted at the last moment, not wanting to put pressure on you to agree to commit right away.

“Is she on her way?” Nat asks, looking at him out of the corner of her all too keen eyes.

“Hopefully, if she doesn’t change her mind,” he says ruefully.

“Why would she do that? Did you do something to piss her off?”

“Not that I know of. I know I’m reading into things, but I was supposed to go pick her up and she texted me last minute saying that she’d meet me here instead. And I don’t know what to make of it, it just isn’t like her.”

“Is that why you’re standing here look like a sad puppy? You know I’ve never been able to get through those ASPCA commercial without them getting my credit card information. Can I read the text?”

“Sure, have at it,” he says, unlicking and handing over his phone to her. “Uh, just the last few though.” He tacks that last part on quickly and she just gives him a pointed lift of her sharp eyebrow.

He feels dumb watching Nat skim the texts, he knows he’s overthinking things. But he also knows he’s not going to feel better about any of it until you get here and he can see your face.

“She said she’ll be here, Bradshaw. I don’t know how else you’re reading into this, but I imagine the mental gymnastics must be getting tiring.”

Bradley huffs a laugh, because she’s right.

As always.

“Yeah, I know,” he sighs, running his hands through his hair, “It’s just- I really like her, Nat.”

“Oh, we know. You moon after her with those big cow eyes all the time” she teases, nudging her elbow against his ribs. “But I’ve also seen the way she moons after you too, so relax.”

He can’t fight the small smile that works its way onto his face. The idea of you watching him the same way he knows he looks at you when you’re not looking at him makes his chest fill with warmth.

Nat peers around him and he spins to see who’s just arrived.

“Jesus, Rooster. Aren’t you worried about your dick falling out of those? They’re indecent,” Jake drawls, looking every inch the action hero he thinks he is.

“Please,” Bradley says with a roll of his eyes, “You wish you could pull these off, Bagman. If you got it, flaunt it.”

Seresin shoots him a wink and struts away, the plastic whip on his hip bouncing with every step. Rooster just shakes his head after him, watching as he high fives Javy, who is dressed as The Rock complete with a fanny pack and chain around his neck, in greeting by the sliding glass door that leads to patio.

“I still can’t believe you use to date him,” he ribs Nat lightly.

She plucks his beer out of his hand, claiming it as her own in retaliation. “Me neither,” she grunts, but he hears the hint of affection in her voice.

“Hey, you two look great! Do you need anything?” Mickey asks enthusiastically. His shifty eyes and overly wide smile instantly making Bradley edgy.

“Where’d that trash bag you had earlier go, Fanboy?” he asks warily.

“That’s for me to know and Javy to find out about later,” Mickey says slyly.

Rooster and Nat exchange a look.

This was the thing he was worried about when Cyclone had announced the news earlier in the week that they’d all tentatively have the next couple of months off through the new year. A well-earned break. No extra assignments. No extra transfers or additional training seminars.

Mav had told him in confidence that there was one small deployment that might get approved near Thanksgiving and that he was going to pull some string to see what information he could find out about it. Bradley was hoping that you might ask him to come home with you and meet your parents, so he had his fingers crossed that his name was left off that list.

The mood on base was already light. Mickey and Javy had started a series of pranks against each other that had slowly been escalating over the last few days. And Rooster knew that this extroverted bunch would be leaning in at full force and cutting loose tonight.

“Can you do me a favor, man? Can you hold off on the pranks for an hour, I don’t want you guys to scare her off the second she walks through the door.”

“She’s met us, she knows how we are.”

“I think that’s that point,” Nat quips.

“She likes us and we like her, so what’s there to worry about?” Fanboy asks rhetorically.

“Not all at once,” Bradley mutters.

“Lighten up, Rooster! I’m sure she’ll get here soon. In the meantime, go have some of the Potion of Peril punch that I made. I promise we’ll be on our best behavior. I won’t even ask her to grab something from the fridge for me,” Fanboy says that last part with a concerning laugh as he scurries away.

“You won’t what? Wait, Fanboy, come back,” Rooster calls after Mickey. He sees Payback dressed as Marty McFly coming down the stairs, and catches him. “Reuben, hey, what’s in the fridge?”

“Mickey has been collecting all of our empty jars for weeks now. He filled the damn fridge with jars of heads. It scared the shit out of me the first time I saw all of them. I haven’t been able to find the open container of mayo for days, and I’m tired of eating dry sandwiches.” Payback lets out the biggest sigh and rolls his eyes before he leaves them making his way over towards Coyote and Hangman still by the patio.

“See, Nat? This is what I’m worried about. We’re a lot, in more ways than one.”

Bradley pulls out his phone again, probably for the fifth time since he’s arrived and begins working on a text to send her. There’s nothing wrong with a little heads up and if he can get a little update from you then he’ll consider it a win.

“Well, if it ain’t Rooster,” he hears Hangman call out from across the room.

“We just did this, man,” he tosses back, not bothering to look up from his phone.

“Hey! Bradshaw’s girl has got a better set of abs than he does!” someone else calls out.

That gets his attention.

“What the fuck are you guys talking about?” he grunts irritably, as he tries to put his phone back in his pocket.

He doesn’t get a response because Phoenix is already turning him towards the entryway, the room erupting in a series of hoots and hollers as the rest of the party takes notice of your costume.

You’re shifting a little on your feet under the attention, there’s a small shy smile on your face and you have your pretty eyes already trained on him.

Hangman wasn’t kidding when he said you had a better set of abs than him.

You’re wearing a pair of frayed light blue denim shorts with a truly impressive screen-printed washboard stomach is on full display tucked into them. Over that you had on the Hawaiian print shirt he’d left at your place on accident this morning, it was one of his favorites with all its bright colors, along with a pair of sunglasses dangling from the pocket.

There was no mistaking who you’ve come dressed up as, not with that striking press-on mustache you were wearing.

It’s all he can do to just stand there and stare at you.

You’ve always been so damn beautiful, and even with a felt mustache on your face, you can make his heart pound away in his chest. Not to mention, he really likes the way you look in his shirt.

Your face lights up as you take him in too. Your eyes sweeping over his two-sizes-too-small shirt and the white short-shorts that left nothing to the imagination.

There is such fondness on your face he can’t believe how he’d let himself get so twisted in knots.

He forgets about all of his friends and their commotion as he struts over to you taking your face between his hands and kissing you. You make a little noise of surprise that he uses to his advantage to slip his tongue into your mouth.

When one of his friends catcalls them, he waves them off with one of his hands, and then drops it down to your ass to pull you in closer to him.

A flash goes off, the light bright behind his eyes.

He can feel the laughter bubbling out of your chest before comes out of your mouth, even he fights to tamper down his own amusement in favor of kissing you more.

Pulling away Bradley gently takes your chin between his finger and thumb turning your head left and right to admire your costume of choice, up close and personal.

“I gotta say, sweetheart, you’re really working that mustache.”

“I get your attachment to it. I think I wear it pretty well,” you say looking very pleased with yourself. You reach up and affectionately brush your fingers along his own.

He’d thought about shaving it off for the sake of his costume, but ultimately couldn’t go through with it. And now he’s really glad he didn’t.

“It’s not just that ‘stache you’re wearing well,” Bradley says low just for her, toying with the hem of his shirt draped on you. “You know I like the way you look in my clothes.”

He can’t help up enjoy the way you’re getting bashful under his appreciative gaze and compliments.

“I had to make sure you got the shirt back somehow,” you say with a smile.

“So it can end up on the floor of my bedroom instead?” he teases, kissing your cheek.

“I like the sound of that, and not just because my bedroom looks like a crime scene.” He cocks his head at you, but you just shake your own at him in response before continuing, “But I’m letting you know right now, the mustache is staying on when you have your way with me.”

“You have yourself a deal as long as you share your routine with me,” he murmurs, running a finger down the line of the faux abs of your tank top. “Can’t say I remember seeing these this morning in the shower. I’ve got a girl to impress, so I’d be happy to show you how grateful I am for any tips and tricks.”

“Think you’re doing just fine in those short-short of yours,” you reply, taking a step back to give him a thorough once over, “What inspired this eyeful of an ensemble?”

“I knew the shorts would make my ass look good,” he says with a shrug that send you into a fit of giggles. He’s ready to skip the party all together, in favor of appreciating how good you look outside of your costume. Your eyes are dancing with amusement and he finds himself wanted to admit more, “And because, you know…”

He thought his costume idea had been pretty witty, but now he felt a little sheepish because he didn’t want you to think he was being corny. Sure the shorts had been the thing that sealed the deal, but he’d picked good boy Danny Zuko for a reason.

“No, Bradley, I don’t think I do. Will you explain it to me?”

“Summer lovin’ happened so fast and all that.”

“‘And all that’, huh?” And there’s that look of your, he was absolutely putty in your hands when you looked at him like that. “Ok, ok, but I need to know,” you pause for moment, and look up at him with a very serious expression, “Did you have yourself a blast?”

He watches as you bite your bottom lip trying not to laugh at your own joke.

And in that moment, he just knows.

The sureness had been taking up residence in his bones since he’d first convinced you that trying to keep it casual with you wouldn’t cut it for him.

“Would now be a bad time to tell you that I love you?” he asks, threading his fingers through beltloops to pull you in closer to him.

“While I’m wearing a tank top with a six-pack dressed up as you? Seems a little narcissistic, does it not?” He’s never seen your smile this big or this bright before.

He knows. He knows. He knows.

Rooster pulls you back in for a deep kiss.

“I love you too, Bradley,” you murmur against his lips.

He kisses you until he can’t keep the smile off of his face.

“Hey, Bradshaw!”

Surprised, he pulls away from you to see Nat waving him over. He takes your hand, ready to take you over with him.

“No, not you. The better Bradshaw,” Phoenix announces as she points at you, crooking a finger and holding out a shot syringe for you.

You pull him to you, giving him one more quick before floating over to join Nat near the kitchen.

He’s feeling more than a little dumbstruck in that moment.

And not just from the sight of your shapely legs in those cutoff jean shorts.

Bradley’s feet feel cemented to the wood floors beneath his black hightop converse as he watches you throw your head back in laughter at something Nat says.

He doesn’t want to get ahead of himself, but he thinks his last name looks good on you.

You smile wide and beaming, your eyes shining as you turn to look at him from across the other side of the room.

Yeah, it looks really good on you.

Happy Halloween, Friends! This little moment has been living in my head since I posted my first ever fic on here, 'Oh Christmas Tree'! I'm so glad to finally release it to share with you! Thank you for reading!

If you want to find out what happened next for these two, just follow the link above!

If you're curious about what all of their costumes look like, you can see them here!

You can read more of my stories here!

Taglist:

@gretagerwigsmuse @sehnsuchts-trunken @notroosterbradshaw @tongue-like-a-razor @laracrofted @bradshawsbitch @starryeyedstories @top-hhun-main @startrekfangirl2233 @callsign-viper @teacupsandtopgun @shanimallina87 @angelbabyange @oneelleandaneye @mizzzpink @cornishkat @alana4610 @20th-centu-fairy-girl @pono-pura-vida @donttouchmycarrots @eg-dr3amer3 @whaledots-blog @a-beaverhausen @hangmanscoming @mandolin22 @theweekndhistorybook @lilpeekabooze @high-bi-imgonnacry @ahintofkiwistrawberry @ruewrote @spiderman-stilinski @jayniebop @my-soulmate-is-mycroft @imaginecrushes @keyrani @chicomonks @artemissunn @mayempress @eddiemunsonreader

#thank you for reading and reblogging!#here have a bradley🎁#the babe with the short shorts

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the-timeless-founder · 2 years ago

Note

So I saw this post about shipping Saeclus and La'ela or Aurora. And I'm really curious of what it would be like if Saeclus met La'ela and Helen. Will he? How would he feel about them? How does he feel about Aurora?

I would definitely like for him to meet La'ela or Helen, but I can't say anything because this depends on how @nutaella-kookie, the owner of those OCs, feels about this and what she thinks, but since he definitely meets Aurora and I've had this fic planned for a while now, I can give you this fic that describes how he feels about Aurora and just, another interaction between them.

I will say though, that kookie owns all rights to Aurora, and if / when you read this, kookie, and feel as though Aurora has been misunderstood or misrepresented in any way, please tell me. I'll change it immediately.

I do hope that everyone enjoys this though ❤️

Spring Blossoms and Autumn Leaves

"General." He smiles softly, his eyes cast at the other party, a nod following the turn of his head in polite acknowledgment. "I had not expected to see you here - a pleasant surprise."

Meeting again at what ruins and broken down structures that remained of the once-glorious city of Kralle, capital of Adlerland, was far from the ideal. And yet, it suited the life the two of them had been leading to a degree.

Remnants of lost kingdoms and declining people. Standing tall, not so proud any more. And wanting more than anything to go home.

"Sir." Aurora's expression has shifted from the pained one she wore before. Now it was one of surprise. Though even this look passed quickly. It seems she's become so tired that holding on to any feeling besides grief has become a pesky chore.

He can't say he blames her.

"It's a delight to see you unharmed again, though we could wish for a better scenery."

She seems to agree with that, her eyes refusing to meet the rubble around her again, instead fixated on his own golden gaze.

"As it is to see you again, sir. But... Why would you roam the ruins like this?"

"I have no other task to attend to these days." He hums - sorrowfully, if one paid enough attention - and continues. "The recording of history in its true, pure form also means observation. Of the battle, the ruins that follow, the refugee camps that become of the losing party..."

He halts his words there, and instead casts his eyes to the young Adler General. Aurora's eyes reflect what's left of the city - hollow with grief and haunted with what-ifs and maybes. Perhaps he should have left that last detail out.

Though, that would not have hindered the woman from thinking of the starving and freezing people she once proudly served, would it? Aurora is many things to many people, but a fool she has never been.

"How come you visit the ruins?" He decided to pose a question, to snap her out of where her train of thought would be headed - he knew well it would lead her only towards more despair. "And with the King of Vampires at that. I don't suppose you're awfully fond of each other."

Aurora's face barely changes, but he can still spot the bitter distaste she has for the Gold Blooded King - as the historians named him, though Saeclus preferred his much more sinister and forgotten name; the White Dread - as she speaks.

"I suppose you've spotted the dragon. We left it to hunt, and now he has gone to retrieve it from nearby. It would have been best to let it feed and rest itself for the journey ahead." Aurora states, quite the cold disinterest in her tone regarding the matter.

"A journey from here? Quite the odd place to start from."

"Not if you wish to travel the Black Mountains of Al'ahraish."

Saeclus feels his eyes go wide at the words. And for a few moments more, he stares at the General - whether hoping for his ears to have failed or for her to say more, he isn't sure. He now turns fully to the Adler, striding forward so he stands only a few paces away from Aurora, his eyes bearing into hers with a cautionary gaze.

"I would advise against it." He says, first, and then clears his throat. That was rash, he would do well to be less vague. General Aurora has always been strictly practical and reasonable, not one for an appreciation of vague thoughts and half-sayings.

"The Black Mountains are a dangerous, unruly place. Home to some of the most feared and yet revered demons in our world's history. No party has ever departed for the mountains and returned in whole. Some would deem it unwise to venture a place so discordant alone with a man whose unworthiness of trust is only rivaled by his cold cunning."

Aurora seems to ponder and linger on the words for a moment or two more. Then, her gaze settles on a nearby ruin of what was once a house, her voice firm when she responds. "I have decided to go. I said I would lead him beyond, and I will do so, and then I will return to my... House."

The fact that she purposefully replaced the word 'home' did not escape Saeclus, and he breathes for a moment. He's always found her determination and bravery remarkable, even if it's been denied by many.

After all, who could truly say a girl who survived military training, so harsh and gruesome that it brought tears of blood to the eyes, is not brave? And who could truly blame her for grieving, in cold loneliness, the sheer knowledge that she was to go down in history as a double-crosser?

"Do you hold faith in Karl Heinz?"

"No. But I do have faith in her."

Ah yes. Now it all made sense. This her Aurora spoke of could be no other than the infamous Lady Devyn Kang. He had heard from the Lady herself that she and Aurora have been close companions for years.

"I see."

"Is it bothersome?"

"I don't believe it is my place to be bothered, General Aurora." He smiled softly again, a golden light held within his eyes, her name sounding clear on his tongue. A silent show of trust. "Nor is it my place to decide what you choose is right or wrong. Only time will tell of that. Think of my meddlesome words as cautionary tales - those of a comrade to another's."

He turned to the side, and began to slowly walk to the aforementioned ruins. He could sense the Vampire King walking back towards them. The dragon must have finished its hunt.

"Whatever our souls have endured has not been wholly by choice, as fate twists in cruel and daunting ways."

She may not enjoy poetry much, but that wouldn't stop Saeclus from expressing himself through it. He found a pretty string of words and interpretative yet sincere meanings as close as he could get to a discovery of self. Perhaps that is one reason she dislikes them so.

He turns to her one last time, she is looking back at him now, and offers one last smile. "I should hope to see you back from your trip, General. Perhaps we can meet again in autumn, when the leaves of peach trees begin dancing in the wind, spring long forgotten by nature."

Aurora's face seems to brighten for an instant, the word 'spring' having sparked something within her alive. That's good. It means she is not too far gone yet.

"I would like that. To see spring blossoms and autumn leaves."

Saeclus holds his gaze on her a moment longer and offers her another nod. "Only the unloved and the unnatural would dislike that, and you are neither."

He doesn't turn back again, walking ahead into the ruins, vanishing from sight and aura as though he was never there to begin with.

You are not unloved, Aurora. It was a silent voice, a whisper in the wind, a reassurance that was spoken of not lips but in-between words. And you need not be alone. Let us meet again someday.

In the years to come, Saeclus will think of this short conversation again. He will ponder how his every action may have changed what became of the General Aurora, her kind's greatest. Would his persuasion have mattered had he tried more? Perhaps he could suggest to accompany them? Or should he have followed in silence to observe fate as he had said he does?

But for the moment, he was content with an unspoken promise of another meeting and moved by the power of trusting in another person so strongly. He hoped then that the time had come for her to leave "the Destroyer" behind, and live on as Aurora would want to.

And he could hope for no better fate.

#my writing #diabolik lovers oc #aurora #diabolik lovers #saeclus sanguine #diabolik oc #saeclus #dl oc #my oc #ask #(( honestly i adore kookie's ocs #(( but i also want to respect her space #(( thank you for showing interest though anon ❤️

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