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stormz369 · 1 month ago

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☕💖 Can I Get Your Number? ☕💖 Ch 16

Jason Todd x (f)Chubby!Reader

written with a female reader in mind, first person pov, no use of Y/N, will probably get NSFW later, let me know if there's anything else I should tag this with!

warnings/labels: suggestive content, little bit of angst, and fluff wc: 2.5k

A/N: sorry for the unprecidented delay in updates! Life got in the way and then I got sick and lost a whole day of writing. 😥

Chapter Selection

🦇BatFam Group Chat🦇

Dick: So Jaybird, how'd she take it?

11:02am

Jason: … I didn't tell her yet.

11:08am

Steph: WHAT??? 😰

11:09am

Tim: 😐 … Do you think a better moment is forthcoming?

11:11am

Jason: You really want to talk to me right now, replacement? After the shit you pulled?

11:12am

Steph: ???

11:13am

Jason: HE KNOWS WHAT HE DID!

11:14am

Dick: Ok, ok! Look, this doesn't have to be a big thing. Just tell her, it'll be fine!

11:15am

Damian: Do not lie, Grayson. It is a big thing, and Todd is not so stupid that he will think otherwise.

11:17am

Babs: You really should tell her soon, Jay.

11:20am

Jason: … Well when is Tim telling Bernard, huh?? They've been dating longer than we have, how is it not Gang Up On Tim Day??

11:22am

Tim: Yeah, I told Bernard. … And he already knew. 😬

11:23am

Dick: … We're gonna discuss that later. Right?

11:26am

Tim: Report's already in the Batcomputer.

11:27am

Babs: … Seriously, Tim??? O.O ????

11:32am

Tim: Hey, hey! Can we get back to Gang Up On Jason Day?

11:33am

Jason: No! I'm working on it, leave me be!

11:36am

Steph: … Given how she handled everything yesterday, what's the issue? Do you think she won't be able to take it?

11:40am

Jason: That's not it at all! … With her I get to be a normal guy. And the second I tell her, that goes away, for both of us

11:41am

Damian: … Granted, I have very little experience with women, but I do think that if she wanted normal, she would have bowed out the second she realized she was talking to a Wayne.

11:43am

Dick: Or when B showed up at the diner

11:45am

Babs: Or when Damian showed up at her apartment

11:46am

Cass: Or after sitting through a dinner with all of us.

11:47am

Jason: 😒 None of you are any help at all

11:50am

After the gala, Jason became determined that I should know how to defend myself. I was incredibly uncomfortable with going to the gym with him, but after a week of assurances he had me at least partially convinced me that no one would bat an eye at me there.

Once he had the green light, he jumped into action. He took me out to get some workout clothes, and we started going to the gym together once a week. I, like most every Gothamite, had taken self defense classes as a kid, so we started with some flexibility improving stretches, strength building, and making sure I still had a grasp on the basics. Every week we trained for a few hours, and Jason would take me out for dinner after.

I would never have expected it, but I actually started to look forward to our gym days. Jason was his most cuddly after training, especially when he was particularly excited about some progress I made. Every time I got a hit in, or blocked one of his, he would beam like the sun itself. The first time I caught him by surprise and kicked him to the ground he actually scooped me up in a bear hug, cheering for the whole gym to hear.

And what's more; his work was so sporadic that it was hard to predict if and when he'd be called away on the average day. He did his best to avoid it when we had plans, but sometimes he just had to go in. But he made arrangements with someone who worked for him so that our gym days were our days, so they very quickly became the day every week where I was guaranteed his undivided attention.

It was all so delightfully domestic. We would spend the night before together, just cuddling though he was slowly getting used to me touching him more. In the morning we made breakfast and ate together in bed. We'd go for a ride on his bike, see what was new at our favorite used book store, have lunch and a walk around the park, and head to the gym. After training we would take quick showers in the locker rooms and bring some take-out home. Sometimes we'd fall asleep in each other's arms, but if he had an early morning at work he would tuck me in with a kiss and head home to get some sleep.

Damian started coming over once in a while as well; as we had discussed, he would text me that he was on his way first. Somehow he never tried to come over when I was at work, and he avoided gym day too. But his visits didn't always correlate with Jason's. Sometimes it was just the two of us, and on those days he slowly started to open up. He would do homework at my kitchen table while I made dinner, we'd play video games or watch movies, and eventually the manor would send a car to take him home. He always grumbled that I didn't need to walk him out, but I wasn't about to let him out of my sight in my neighborhood, and he didn't protest past that.

Eventually he started leaving a set of casual clothes at my apartment. I took him to the cafe down the block, let him pick out snacks at the corner store, and one day we took the bus to the local craft store. He bought a dozen craft kits; crystal growing, shrinky dinks, window decals, little figurines to paint, even a candy making kit. They only made an appearance on days when Jason had to work, and Damian always looked so sweet and relaxed while we played with them, and every time he made me promise not to tell anyone. I wasn't sure what was so bad about his family knowing he played with age appropriate toys, but I always assured him that no one had to know if he didn't want them to. The crafts were always carefully packed away when we were done and tucked into a nondescript box in my hall closet.

Steph, Tim, and Dick all found me on Waynebook, and eventually Steph invited me to join girl's night. That Tuesday I found myself at Babs' apartment with her, Cass, and Steph, watching a movie, eating pizza and popcorn, and painting Steph's nails for her. Dick started sending me memes and safety reports from my neighborhood. I wouldn't even hazard a guess why he was so up to date on my area's crime reports, but I did appreciate the heads up. Tim didn't send me many messages, usually just letting me know when Bruce had been trying to get Jason to bring me by again, but he definitely stalked my profile since he liked a picture from my high school graduation. His stalking tendencies were starting to amuse me more than anything else, so I didn't mention it to Jay. Anything that strained their already turbulent relationship felt like unnecessary information.

Jason took me to see an outdoor showing of the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. He packed a picnic dinner for us, making sure all my favorite foods were available, and brought several blankets and pillows. He held me close and whispered in my ear, quoting along with Mr. Darcy when he confessed his love to Elizabeth; “you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on...”

It was an unusually peaceful day in Gotham; the kind of day that makes the hard ones worth powering through. We drove back to my place with the windows down. I didn't notice when Jason's mood shifted, but I did notice his hands trembling as he unpacked the picnic basket, and him glancing at me next to him. I set a hand over his, frowning slightly; “... Honey?”

“Hm?” He swallowed hard. “Y- yeah?”

“Are you ok?”

“Course. … Course I’m ok, doll.” He smiled softly, kissing my forehead.

“Cause you’re squirming like something’s wrong…”

“No, no! Nothing’s wrong, baby, honest. … Sorry, I just … I wanted to …” He frowned, taking a deep breath. “... We’ve been together for a while, and I … was thinking we could try something tonight?”

I blinked a bit, nodding slowly; “Oh? What did you want to try?”

“...Um … can we … push the comfort zone a bit?” He refused to look me in the eye, blushing bright red. I bit back the urge to giggle at how cute he was being, squeezing his hand instead.

“That could be fun~ … but if anything pushes back-”

He nodded quickly. “We’ll take it slow. And I’ll tell you if I need to stop, promise.”

I nodded, cupping his cheek; “very good. Then, how would you like to proceed?”

“Um … well, … I really like kissing you … I was thinking … maybe we could kiss some more places?”

I nodded, crossing my wrists behind his neck. His hands rested on my hips, stroking in small circles. “That sounds nice. You want lights on or off?”

“... Off will help.” He nodded slowly. “Is that ok?”

I nodded; “of course. Changing one variable at a time is always best practice, right?”

“Oh god…” He chuckled, holding me close. “What is this, some kind of science experiment?”

“I mean, we are experimenting, and it’s not not science - it’s biology and chemistry and psychology, and probably a bit of neurology.” I giggled, leaning in more. “I think the only thing we’re missing is the part where you have to write stuff down for it to be science. … So unless there’s something you’d rather be doing, I guess we could start writing out some lab reports …”

“... You know what, you little dork?” He scooped me up, tossing me casually over his shoulder, and began walking toward the bedroom.

“Woah!” I gasped sharply, giggling; “what?! What’s going on?”

He kicked the door closed behind him and laid me on the bed, leaning over me a bit, his hands trapping me between them on the bed. “I’m going to show you what I’d rather be doing … i- if that’s ok?”

The demanding tone he'd used was making me tingle all over. I bit back a giggle at the cautious way he ended the sentence, nodding quickly. “Sounds good to me~”

I could see a bit of his face in the light from the window, enough to see his eager grin as he dipped down, capturing my lips with his. I cupped his cheek, kissing back hungrily. He moaned softly, pressing his knees to the mattress on either side of my hips. I ran my hands through his hair as he slowly pulled away from my lips, kissing along my jaw to nibble gently on my earlobe. I gasped sharply, shivering at the contact, and he moved on to kiss down the side of my neck.

His lips slowly trailed from my throat down to my collarbone, placing gentle kisses there. “Is this … still ok?”

I panted softly, whimpering, and nodded. “Yeah~ yeah, this is … ooooh Jay~ this is amazing~”

He grinned against my chest, kissing more. His hand slowly made its way to my side, and his fingertips slid under my shirt a bit. “And … this?” He slid his hand a little further.

I shivered hard and nodded. “ohh god, yes~”

His hand caressed my curves as he kissed and gently nipped at my collar. I quickly found myself squirming under him, whining a bit; “yes~ … j- just like that, Jay~”

I squirmed a bit as he explored my soft tummy, pressing his hands into my sides to hold me close. His lips slowly made their way a bit lower, and a bit lower, until they were at the neckline of my shirt. Jason looked up at me, stroking my sides gently.

“Can … um … can I …?” He slid my shirt up ever so slightly.

I nodded quickly, shifting to help him remove it. He tossed it aside and began kissing my cleavage again. His hands fondled and caressed more, making their way up to my breasts. He licked and nibbled there, squeezing gently.

“Ohh fuck~ Jay~”

He groaned softly, nuzzling against me. He nibbled more, holding me close. “Fuck, you're incredible, doll~”

He fondled me more, kissing all over. I panted softly, gently tugging his hair. He purred at that, nipping more. I gasped softly, tugging his hair a bit. “Ow... G- gently, Jay…”

He froze, slowly pulling back. “I … I'm sorry, … I … fuck!” He pushed off the bed, backing up until he was against the wall. He stared at me, wide eyed, as I sat up.

“Take a breath, Jay. It's ok, I'm not hurt. Your teeth are just sharp.”

He took a deep, shuddering breath, and slowly nodded. “... I … I'm sorry …”

“It's ok, baby.” I held a hand out to him. He slowly walked over to me, letting me pull him down to sit next to me. I stroked his back, kissing his shoulder. “Relax, it's ok~”

“It's not. … I hurt you…”

“Well, mostly you startled me. And when I said ‘ow’ you stopped.”

He sighed softly, burying his face in his hands. “... I … I hate this … I … I don't know how to do this…”

“What do you mean?”

“... I think ... After everything I’ve been through … everything I’ve done … this isn’t what my body is built for … I can cause pain, I can take pain … I don’t know what to do with … pleasure. I don’t know how to give you pleasure. And I don’t deserve to receive it…”

I frowned deeply; “... My love, … you are so incredibly strong, and it’s true that you can take an inordinate amount of pain. But you are not meant for pain. Someone as kind and gentle and caring as you deserves to experience joy, and love, and pleasure.”

“... I don’t know how.” he shuddered, staring into his lap. “... But I want to … I want us to get to be happy together … I want to be able to pleasure you …”

I nodded slowly, chewing on my lower lip a bit. “... Jay, … how did you get so good at fighting?”

“… Years of training?”

A grin slowly spread across my face as I reached out for his hand. He let me take it, squeezing once. “Exactly. Someone who knew how to fight showed you how it was done. They had you practice punches and kicks, taught you how to shoot, right?” He nodded, slowly looking toward me. “... So why don’t we do this the same way?”

“... What do you mean?”

I cupped his cheek, purring; “you’re teaching me to defend myself. If you’ll let me, I will teach you about pleasure.”

A shuddering gasp ripped through him, and his lower lip trembled a bit as he slowly nodded, leaning into my hand more; “... Y- yes. … Yes, I want that. I … I want to learn. … Please, teach me.”

Next ->

Divider by: @saradika-graphics

Taglist (open): @jawdropforkpop @krys0210 @snowy-violet @superthoughts @wordsfromshona @mystic60 @iwannabealocalcryptid @morstuavitamea-a @frosty--giants @arisa191 @prized-jules @phoenix666stuff @dinonuggysandhuggus @anuttellaa @whore-of-many-hot-men

#fanfic #fanfiction #dc fanfic #dc #jason todd #red hood x reader #jason todd x reader #first person pov #wayne family adventures #no y/n #multi chapter fic #Can I Get Your Number?

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krirebr · 8 months ago

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More Than This 4

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x f!reader, Steve Rogers & f!reader

Word Count: ~6.1k

Summary: Arranged marriages have always been used to solidify business deals among the ultra-wealthy. Your stepfather wants to be in business with Harlan Thrombey, so now it's your turn.

Warnings: Heavy angst, age difference, adult themes, institutional sexism, Linda being Linda, a panic attack, p in v sex, sex in maybe not the best mindset, explicit language, the slooowest burn - Warnings will be added as needed for subsequent parts. All of my work is 18+ - Minors DNI

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

A/N: I thought this was gonna be a short one. 😂

Gigantic thanks as always to @paperweight91 who helped me figure out what the problem was when I was really struggling to feel inspired on this one, and then later on when the narrative took a bit of a turn that I wasn't expecting, she helped me navigate it and come out the other side. Chelsea, you continue to be the very best!

And an additional hat tip to @thezombieprostitute, who left a comment on the last part that inspired part of Linda's visit here. Thanks, dear!!

Unsurprisingly probably, this is another sad one. But I hope it'll be worth it!

Any comment, reblog, or ask to let me know what you think will be greatly appreciated. And if you need to come scream at me, that's ok too!

As always, thank you so much for reading! 💜

You’ve reached the phone of Steve Rogers. Please leave a message after the beep.

“Hey, Steve. It’s me. Again. Your sister. Um, shit. Yeah, you’re at work now, aren’t you? Sorry, I still haven’t gotten used to the time difference. I got your texts, and, uh, everything is fine. I’m– I’m doing good. But I miss you. And it’d be nice to hear your voice. But I’m fine, I’m good, I promise. I just– I’ll try again soon. Love you. Ok. Bye.”

You hung up and sighed, setting your phone down beside you. You hadn’t actually spoken to Steve since you’d gotten on the plane a week ago. Which was fine. You were doing fine. He’d texted you. And he was busy. You knew he was. It’d be easier, you thought if you were too. But everything had been unpacked. The housekeeper took care of all the upkeep of the house and you got the distinct impression that she didn’t much care for your “help,” so now when she was here you mostly tried to stay out of her way. Even Lola was getting tired of going for walks around the neighborhood.

You’d barely seen your husband since your disastrous attempt at sex. He’d been avoiding you, leaving early in the morning and coming home late at night. You hadn’t talked about what happened. You’d barely talked about anything.

You looked at your laptop on the coffee table and exited out of the WebMD entry on erectile dysfunction. That wasn’t helping. With nothing to do and no one to talk to, all you could do was think about what would happen to you if you couldn’t get Ransom to fuck you. If you didn’t get pregnant. You still hadn’t seen the contract and weren’t sure what the actual terms were, but you knew the consequences would be nothing good.

Steve had had an aunt on his mother’s side who’d been found in breach of contract and had her marriage dissolved. You never really knew her, but you remembered how Joseph talked about her, about the desperate arrangement she’d eventually had to settle for, the sadness in Steve’s eyes whenever she came up. That wouldn’t be you, couldn’t be you. You knew you wouldn’t even start to feel secure in your arrangement until that part of the contract had been fulfilled. You just needed to figure out how.

But, dwelling on it wasn’t helping. Googling possible causes of Ransom’s issue wasn’t helping (although it was better than listening to the voice in your head that wouldn’t stop telling you that he just didn’t want to touch you). You needed something to do. Back in LA, you’d worked part-time at an art gallery Steve had introduced you to. You’d mostly answered the phones and greeted people as they came in, but you’d liked it. There had to be something like that available in Boston. And at least trying to find it would give you something to focus on.

So you lost yourself in compiling a list of galleries you could try to contact, sitting on the couch with Lola curled up beside you. When Ransom came home late that night, that’s how he found you. You looked up, startled when he came in the door, and found a similar expression on his face.

“Oh,” he said. “You’re still up,” as he took off his coat and shoes.

“Yeah,” you said, not knowing what else to say.

He nodded and came as far as the beginning of the living area, then stopped and just stared at you for a moment. You waited for whatever it was he was going to say. Then, finally, “How was your day?”

“It was fine,” then, gathering your courage and hoping you wouldn’t be shut down, you added, “I started to look for a job.”

“Oh,” he looked mildly surprised. “Do you have any experience?”

You pushed down the tinge of hurt that bubbled up at that. The question wasn’t completely uncalled for. Many of your friends back home had never worked a day in their lives. But you couldn’t help feeling a little defensive when you answered, “Yes, I worked at the front desk of an art gallery back home. I liked it. I’d like to find something like that here.”

Ransom hummed thoughtfully as he nodded. “Well,” he said, looking off into the corner of the room, “uh, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help with that.”

“Oh,” you said, too surprised to say anything else for a moment. You’d been sure he’d say no. You weren’t quite sure what to do with an offer of help, of all things. And you would need his help if you got the job, with a way to get yourself there at the very least. But you didn’t want to jinx it or push things too far right now, so you just said, “Thank you. I will.” And then, “Uh, how was your day?”

“It was fine,” he said, stiffly. “Busy, I’ve been really busy. And I’m, uh, I’m exhausted now. So I’m going to go straight to bed. Feel free to stay up as late as you want. Obviously.” And just like that, he turned on his heel and left the room.

You should’ve gone after him, maybe. Made him talk to you about it. Or just taken your clothes off while he was talking (although that hadn’t worked the first time). Something. But you were tired too and you just didn’t have it in you, as important as you knew it was.

So, you gave it about half an hour before you went to bed yourself, going through your nighttime routine as quietly as you could in the ensuite. When you went back out to the bedroom, you found Lola already on the bed, curled up against Ransom’s side. You stopped, wondering if you should move her. She’d slept in the bed with you for the last four nights, ever since that awful night, and Ransom hadn’t said anything about making her stop. And he obviously hadn’t noticed her snuggling up next to him, so maybe it was fine. You climbed in next to her and wrapped your body around hers, ignoring the way it made you brush up against Ransom, too.

The next afternoon, you were busying yourself with trying to reorganize your walk-in closet, when you heard someone moving around downstairs. It wasn’t one of the housekeeper’s days, so you made sure you had your phone on you and started down the stairs with caution.

When you got about halfway down, you saw Linda standing in the middle of the living room. “Linda!” you exclaimed, unable to hide your shock at her standing before you. “Ransom didn’t tell me you’d be stopping by. I didn’t know you had a key.”

“Of course, I do, I’m his mother. And I’m the one who set him up with this house.” She cast a judgemental eye on the room. “I see you’ve been moving some things around.”

“Oh,” you said, now at the bottom of the stairs and looking around a little worriedly. You’d tried so hard to disrupt as little as possible. “Not much, I don’t think. Just a little to make room for my own things.”

Linda hummed in a way that made you want to shrink inside yourself. “Well,” she said and held out a gift bag. “I brought you a little something.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” you said, forcing a smile as you took the gift, slightly afraid of what might be in it. You glanced inside, moving aside the tissue paper to find about a dozen pregnancy tests. “Oh,” you said, afraid if you said anything more you might burst into tears. It was fine it was fine it was fine.

“Just want you to be prepared,” she said.

“Thank you,” you forced out. “You really shouldn’t have.”

“Well,” she clapped her hands together, “why don’t you get us some coffee?”

You forced another smile, trying to cover the panic you felt that she was staying. “Yes, of course.” You took your time getting the coffee prepared in the kitchen. Once it was ready, and you had the cream and sugar and everything else gathered on a tray, you couldn’t delay it any longer and brought everything out to the living room. Linda helped herself to a mug, finishing it to her liking as you did the same. You caught, though, the little face she made at her first sip. That was fine, it was her son’s fucking coffee.

“This is nice,” she said, in that particular syrupy tone of voice she had that meant she was trying too hard to seem friendly. “Just the two of us. Overdue.”

You made yourself nod. “Yes,” you said, “It’s great to see you.”

“I was talking to Ransom this morning, and he mentioned that you’re looking for a job?”

“Oh,” you started, something about her tone making you cautious, “yeah, you know, something to keep me occupied. I used to work at an art gallery and I’m hoping I can do something similar here.”

She took a sip of her coffee, then pursed her lips. “Well, that sounds lovely. But are you sure it’s a good idea with a baby on the way?”

You did your best to chuckle, trying to keep things light as you felt a sinking feeling in your stomach. “I’m not pregnant yet, Linda.”

“Maybe not, but you will be soon. And do you really think it’s fair to get a job when you’re just going to have to quit in a few weeks anyway?”

You stared at her confused, your own coffee now forgotten. “We don’t know exactly when I’ll get pregnant.” You may not care for Ransom much, but you certainly weren’t going to discuss his possible impotence with his mother. Or the fact that he just didn’t want you. “And I don’t understand why I would have to quit once I got pregnant anyway.”

“Well, I’m sure Ransom won’t want you working once you’re pregnant. He’ll want you to focus on growing his child and getting everything prepared for the baby.”

You felt the air go out of your lungs. All you could do was gape at her. What? You flashed back to the wedding, to Harlan telling you how good you were going to be for Ransom. To your mother telling you to keep him happy. To Joseph’s speech barely even mentioning you. It was like you as a person didn’t exist anymore. You were just here for him. Your whole life set up just to cater to him. You felt the tears starting to gather in your eyes, but you would not cry in front of this woman.

“But,” you started, “you worked all through your pregnancy and Ransom’s childhood, didn’t you? I don’t understand why I wouldn’t be able to, too.”

“Oh,” she said, as she gave you the most condescending look you might have ever received, “I see. You think you and I are the same. Sweetheart, no. I helped my father choose my arraignment. I came into it with my own money, having already established myself. A real career, not some silly part-time gallery job. I’m the one who supports Richard. I’ve always had the power. I was never you. And you will never be me. So, how about you let Ransom take good care of you and you focus on the things that you can give him, hmm?”

You just stared at her, feeling suddenly numb. What the fuck were you supposed to say to that? You’d only spoken to her a few times and every single time she’d made you feel so small, insignificant, weak.

She placed her mug on the table and stood up. “I’ll get out of your hair now, dear, but this was so nice. We’ll have to do it again soon.” She stood in front of you as all you could do was sit and stare. She raised her perfectly manicured eyebrow at you and you finally realized that she wanted you to stand. You robotically did so, still so numb from this short visit. As soon as you were upright, she gave you a stiff hug and patted you on the shoulder. “I’m so glad we were able to put this silly job idea to bed,” she said. “I’ll show myself out. Have a good rest of your day, darling.” And then she was gone and you were left standing alone in the middle of Ransom’s living room.

You spent the rest of the afternoon running Linda’s visit through your mind, over and over. The thing you couldn’t understand was why, if Ransom was so against you working, he hadn’t said anything about it last night. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just tell you no right away, rather than siccing his mother on you the next day? Why would he say yes? Was it just so that he could look like the good guy before he had his mom do his dirty work for him? Was he really that much of a chickenshit?

When you got to a point when you thought you might actually drive yourself crazy if you thought about it anymore, you got your phone out and tried, once again, to call Steve.

You’ve reached the phone of Steve Rogers. Please leave a message after the beep.

You wanted to scream. You were so fucking tired of talking to his machine. Every time you thought you couldn’t feel more alone, you just fell deeper.

“Hey, Steve. Um, I’d really love it if you could call me back. I know you’re busy. I don’t mean to– I’m sorry. I just– I just really miss you. I’d really like to talk to you. I love you. Ok. Bye.”

You hung up and then just stared at your black phone screen for a moment. You couldn’t just sit in the house anymore. “Lola!” you called out into the house, not sure of where she’d gotten off to. “Want to go for a walk?”

Ransom didn’t come home that night, the absolute fucking coward.

When you woke up the next day, you couldn’t tell if Ransom’s side of the bed had been slept in or not. Lola was sprawled across it, taking up much more space than her tiny body would indicate. You decided not to dwell on it.

There was a text message from Steve, sent in the middle of the night.

Hey chipmunk. I’m so sorry I keep missing your calls. I’ve been absolutely slammed this week. I’ll try to call you soon. Hope you’re doing ok. I miss you so much. Love you.

You couldn’t stop staring at it. The childhood nickname combined with the distance the message represented made your whole chest ache.

As the day wore on, you didn’t know what to do with yourself. The housekeeper didn’t want you around. All the unpacking was done. You couldn’t look for a job. You tried to read but you couldn’t focus. You called Steve but he didn’t pick up, again, and you just didn’t have it in you to leave another message.

You felt like you sleepwalked through the whole day, so when Ransom walked in in the evening, you were startled to realize the day was gone.

Lola lept off your lap on the couch and ran to him as soon as he came in the door, hopping up and down and prancing in front of him. He froze, his scarf halfway off his neck and caught in his hands. “What is it doing?” he asked, turning to you, absolutely bewildered.

“I– I don’t know,” you said, staring at your dog. It was stupid, you knew it was so stupid, but you couldn’t help the frisson of betrayal that ran through you. She was supposed to be yours. She was supposed to love you, only you. And now she was consorting with the enemy. And you were jealous of a dog. But what else did you have? Your husband wouldn’t touch you, your brother wouldn’t call you back, and now your dog loved someone else. It all made you want to sob. “I think she’s happy to see you.”

He looked at you aghast. “Why?!”

“I don’t know,” you said again. “Lola,” you called, but she was still hopping up and down in front of Ransom. “Lola!” She turned at your stern tone and reluctantly ran back to you. You picked her up and cradled her in your arms. “Sorry,” you said to Ransom, then quietly murmured, “What were you doing?” into her fur. You glanced at the time. “You’re home early.”

“Uh, yeah,” he said, somewhat sheepish. “Finally got out of work at a decent hour.”

“Oh.” It felt so weird to have him here. “I guess we could have dinner. Have you eaten?”

“Uh, no. Dinner sounds great.” He finally came out of the entryway and began digging through his fridge, pulling out two of the pre-prepared meals his housekeeper kept there.

As he put them in the microwave, all you could do was stare at him. You’d had the last twenty-four hours to stew in your anger and sadness and now all you really felt was tired. There was nothing you could do. It was his house, his family that held the strings. You were far from home with no one to back you up. He’d seen to it that you didn’t have a job to fall back on. All you could do was go along with what he wanted. The only thing you could do was make your place here more secure. As he bent down to get a plate out of the microwave, you blurted out, “Why won’t you fuck me?”

He straightened up quickly and stared at you. “What the fuck?!”

“I just–” you tried, “Has that happened before? Your problem. I’ve read that as men get older that happens sometimes.”

“I’m thirty-five, not fucking sixty. What the actual fuck?” He loudly dropped the plate down in front of you. “Eat your fucking food. I’m not talking about this.”

You sullenly started in on your food, it was pasta. You barely tasted it. You needed to keep talking about this, but doing it while he was angry probably wasn’t the best approach.

He heated up the other plate and then joined you, taking a seat next to you at the island. You both ate in silence, until he finally said, “I just don’t think this is anything we need to rush into. We have plenty of time.”

You looked up at him. Of course, he wouldn’t think there was any rush. Of course, he didn’t have any personal stakes in you getting pregnant. Of course, he could forbid you from working but then deny you the one thing that would give you something to fucking do here. Something that would take a portion of your anxiety away. “We don’t actually,” you growled. “We have no idea how long it’s going to take me to get pregnant.”

“You keep saying that, but I just– I think rushing it would be a mistake. We have more time than you think and putting this off until we know each other better is a good idea.”

And suddenly, you saw red. Every single fucking thing was on his terms. His hometown, his family, his house, his things, his staff, his single car, his timetable. “And how are we supposed to do that, huh?” you yelled, standing up now. “When you’re gone before I wake up and you cross your fingers I’m in bed before you get home. If you even come home! When exactly is this getting to know each other supposed to happen?!”

“Hey!” he yelled, standing up as well. Lola ran upstairs at the sound of his stool scraping against the hardwood. “Calm the fuck down! What is the big fucking deal if we wait a few months rather than doing it right now?”

“Because the longer we wait the less time I’ll have to get pregnant! And the more likely it’ll be that it won’t happen and we’ll nullify the contract and our marriage will be dissolved. And you’ll be fucking fine! You’ll still be your grandfather’s and your mother’s heir. Nothing will happen to you. But I’ll be sent back to Joseph. I’ll have to accept a second arrangement with anyone who will take me. I’ll– I’ll–” You couldn’t breathe. You couldn’t breathe. The room was getting smaller, pressing in on you, and you couldn’t breathe.

You sank down to the floor and suddenly Ransom was in front of you. He called your name, but it was hard to process it. He called it again and you made eye contact with him. “You’re having a panic attack. You’re ok. You’re alright. I’m here.” He was speaking so quietly, so gently. “I’m here to help you, ok? I’m going to stay with you.” You nodded as best you could. “Can I touch you?” he asked, and you immediately shook your head. “Ok,” he said quickly, “that’s fine. That’s ok. I won’t touch you. You’re breathing too fast, ok? You need to slow down. Can you breathe with me? Come on, do it with me.” And then he breathed in slowly and you tried to match his rhythm. In and out, in and out, so slowly. At some point, he started counting. In 1 2 3 4 5. Out 1 2 3 4 5. Eventually, you could do it on your own, without him coaching you.

You spent a few more minutes on the floor with him, you both just breathing at each other. Then finally you were able to find your words. “I’m ok,” you said. “I’m alright. Sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for,” he said, still so gentle. “Nothing at all. Can you get up?” You nodded and he helped you up. “Are you hungry?” he asked and you shook your head. “Ok, I’ll clean the food up later. Can I help you upstairs?” You nodded and he, very carefully, put his hand on your back, so slowly that you had all the time in the world to pull away. His touch was warm, soft. His touch was always so soft with you.

He guided you to the bedroom where Lola was already on the bed, shaking steadily and looking at you with big, fearful eyes. You climbed on and curled up next to her. “You’re ok,” you whispered to her. “I’m sorry we scared you.” She scooted so she was snuggled up right against you and you carded your fingers through her fur, scratching gently.

Ransom hovered at the foot of the bed. “Thank you,” you said quietly.

“Of course,” he said. “Has that happened before?”

You shook your head. “No, I don’t think so. How did you know how to help?”

“Oh, uh,” he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, looking down at the floor, “I used to get them when I was a kid. I had a nanny who, uh, she was really good about them.”

You just nodded, feeling like you should tuck away that information. You knew so little about him, real things that hadn’t been in the binder. You wanted to file away everything you could.

“Are you– Will you be ok if I go take care of the food?”

You nodded again. “Yeah,” you said, softly. “I’ll be fine. Lola will take care of me. Won’t you, baby?” Lola flopped onto her back so that you could give her tummy scratches and you let out a soft giggle. You smiled up at Ransom, to reassure him. And he just sort of stopped. And stared at you. Your brow furrowed as you became self-conscious under his gaze and your smile started to drop.

He suddenly shook himself out of whatever had been happening and nodded. “Yeah, ok. Yell if you need me,” and he darted out of the room.

You weren’t sure exactly how long he was gone. You passed the time snuggling with Lola, taking comfort in her. You felt shaky and raw. And scared, still scared of everything that could happen, everything you’d yelled at Ransom about. And Ransom himself, how he would take to being yelled at like that, once he was done being worried.

You heard his heavy footfalls at the top of the stairs and looked up as he came back into the room. He sat on the edge of the bed and turned so you could see half his face. “I didn’t–” he started and stopped. Then, after another moment, “I didn’t realize you were so worried about all of this.”

“How would you?” you asked, your eyes cast down, locked on Lola as you continued to pet her. “You’re never here. We never talk.”

“I’ve been really busy,” he said, just a tinge of defensiveness in his tone. “Work’s been awful.” He paused, then repeated, “I’ve been really busy.”

“Sure,” you said.

Neither of you said anything for long minutes. You just kept petting Lola, your hand moving over her body rhythmically.

Then finally, Ransom said lowly, “We can work on it. Getting pregnant. If that will make you feel better. Make things easier for you.”

“Can we?” you asked. “I don’t know if what happened– if that was something that happens to you a lot, or if,” you looked back down, “or if you just don’t want me.”

He moved his hand so that his fingertips grazed yours on the bed. “It’s not that. It wasn’t ever that, ok?” You couldn’t help the way your whole body heated, just a bit, at the implication. You looked up just as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. “I just– You were clearly so scared. You wanted to be anywhere else, I could tell. You wouldn’t let me touch you, you wouldn’t even look at me. I can’t do it like that. I just can’t.” He opened his eyes and looked right at you. “I just can’t.”

“Oh,” you said quietly. “That’s– I’m sorry, I–”

He shook his head. “No, that’s not– I just thought you should know.”

You sat quietly together for a few moments. Then you took a deep breath and said, “I think we should try again.”

He gave you a surprised look. “Now?” You nodded resolutely but he shook his head back at you. “You’re still coming down from your panic attack. This can wait til tomorrow.”

In the aftermath of your anxiety, the anger you’d felt had mostly faded away, but now it bubbled back up again. You were so tired of him dictating how everything would go. “No,” you said firmly. “I don’t want to put it off anymore. I’m fine now. This will make things better.”

He just looked at you, searching your face for something. You tried to show him how calm you were now, how sure. Finally, he let out a long sigh. “Fine,” he said. Then he got off the bed and started taking off his clothes. You scrambled up onto your knees to take your top off, gently coaxing Lola off the bed. She looked up at you, waiting for you to join her, but Ransom, now clad only in his boxers, picked her up, gently you noted, and deposited her in the hallway, shutting the door behind her. He looked at you as you continued to strip down to just your bra and panties, his eyes running over your body, and for the first time, you felt it. Maybe he did want you.

He climbed back on the bed. “Can I kiss you?” he asked. You froze for just a second, then nodded. He slowly brought his mouth to yours and caressed your lips with his own. His lips were soft and warm. The kiss was hesitant on both sides, not exactly passionate, but not chaste either. Nowhere near the worst you’d ever had. A quiet arousal began to pool in your core. Not need, not exactly. But it would be enough, you thought. You broke the kiss and laid down on your back. “I’m not trying to shut you out,” you said, trying to keep your tone kind, “but it’ll be faster, I think, if we both just get ourselves ready.” You started the same as last time, one hand on your breast, the other slowly traveling down your body to play with the hem of your panties. “But you can watch,” you added. “If that’s something you like.”

He cleared his throat and nodded. Then he reached over and lightly grabbed your underwear with both hands. “Is this ok?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you breathed, trying to push down your nerves. Everything was ok, this was what needed to happen. You were fine. You were ok.

He pulled your panties down your legs, then tossed them on top of his own clothes. You closed your eyes to focus again on your goto fantasy. The man standing over you. His voice in your ear. And again, you heard the sounds of Ransom getting himself ready. The snick of him opening the bottle of lube. The wet sounds of his hand working over his cock. This time you didn’t let it bother you. This time, you willed yourself not to flinch when you felt his hand on your leg. You had two fingers in your cunt and you worked yourself open, your thumb rubbing over your clit. Once you were wet enough, stretched enough, you opened your eyes and sat up. Ransom was staring at you, one hand on his hard cock, kneeling in front of you.

“Ok,” you said, “I think I’m ready.” He started to move forward, but you stopped him with a hand on his bare chest. “Can I be on top?” you asked. “Is that ok?”

He looked down at where you were touching him and then back up at your face. “Yeah,” he grunted. “Yeah.”

You switched places as he laid down and you moved over him, straddling his pelvis and then carefully lowering yourself onto his cock. You tried not to grimace as he stretched you. He grunted again, as you slowly took more and more of him. Both of his hands came up to grasp your hips as you began to ride him, slowly at first, then picking up your pace. He was staring at your body and it was– it was a lot. Too much. You closed your eyes against it, hoping you just looked like you were into it. As he got closer, he started to buck up into you. You couldn't help but gasp at it. One of his hands moved from your hip to rub circles with his thumb over your clit, the rest of his hand splayed over your pelvis. You breathed through it, trying to let go enough to let yourself come, but you could tell that wasn’t going to happen. That was ok. That didn’t need to happen. Only one of you needed to come tonight.

He continued to buck up into you, his movements becoming more erratic. You balanced yourself with your hands on his shoulders. “Can I–” he grunted. “I’m gonna– Can I move you?”

“Yeah,” you whispered. “Yeah.”

He sat up and tucked you into him, rolling you both over so that you were now on your back and he was on top of you. He thrust back into you, once, twice, three times, and then he was coming, filling you up. His whole body stuttered over you and then collapsed on top of you. He breathed into your neck for countless moments and you didn’t know why, but you brought your hand up to gently stroke at the short hairs at the base of his skull. “Do you need me to–” he started to ask.

“No,” you said, knowing he was offering to help you finish. “I’m fine. Good. I’m good.”

You felt him nod, just a little, but he didn’t say anything else. It was so quiet, just the sounds of him catching his breath. Then he placed a soft kiss where your neck met your shoulder and lifted himself up and off you. You whimpered, just a little, as he pulled out.

You quickly lifted your hips up to keep his cum inside of you. You reached blindly next to your head until you found a pillow that you shoved under your lower back to keep your pelvis canted up. Ransom moved around the room, picking his underwear off the floor, and then into the bathroom. A few minutes later he came back out with a washcloth. He moved it towards your cunt and you shot a hand out. “No! Wait.”

“Hey,” he said softly, “it’s ok. Just for your thighs. I know. I understand.” He gently moved the warm washcloth over your legs. “Are you alright?” He asked, not quite meeting your eyes. “Was that ok?”

“Yeah,” you said, moving your hand to brush along his forearm. “I’m alright. That was good.”

You lay in bed as Ransom lightly snored on his stomach next to you, Lola curled up between you. You couldn’t sleep. You’d been tossing and turning for about an hour, probably. You sat up. It was no use. Your mind was too busy. Sleep wasn’t going to come.

You grabbed your phone and got out of bed, moving downstairs to the living room as quietly as you could. You curled up on the couch and hugged your knees. You weren’t sure how you felt. It had been fine. Parts of it had even been good, maybe. It’d just, it’d been a long night. You’d gone through so many feelings, and now– Now, you just felt a little empty.

You looked at your phone. It was just before midnight. That meant it’d be a little before nine in LA. Steve hopefully wouldn’t still be working, but he wouldn’t be asleep yet either. He might be out, or painting, or busy some other way, but. It was worth a shot.

It only rang once. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” Steve gasped. “Work has been a fucking nightmare, but that’s no excuse. I was going to try to call you tomorrow, but I’m so, so glad you called me now. How are you? Are you ok?”

The tears had started as soon as you heard your brother’s voice. “Steve,” was all you could get out before you were full-on crying.

“Oh, chipmunk, no. What’s wrong?”

You wiped your eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get yourself together. You finally had your brother on the phone. You weren’t going to waste the whole conversation crying. “Nothing,” you managed. “I’m ok, I just– I’m just so happy to talk to you.”

“Yeah,” Steve said, and you thought that maybe his voice sounded a little thick too. “Me too. I’m so happy to talk to you. I’m so sorry it’s been so long. How are you doing? Your messages, you sounded– Are you ok?”

You sniffled as you tried to nod and then realized he couldn’t see it. “Yeah, I’m fine, I’m good. It’s just a little lonely here. I miss you so much.”

“I miss you too. Everything’s so different here without you. Shit, it’s late there. What are you doing up?”

You shrugged. “Just couldn’t sleep. It’s been a long day.”

Steve hummed and there was a tone to it you couldn’t quite decipher. “Is Ransom there?”

“Yeah, he’s asleep upstairs.”

“And how is he?” Steve’s tone was decidedly cold now.

“He’s fine,” you said, ignoring it. “His work’s been really busy too.”

“And how’s he been to you?” he asked and you definitely didn’t miss the challenge there.

“He’s been fine, Steve,” you said and you weren’t sure whether or not it was a lie. “Everything’s fine.” You’d already decided you weren’t going to tell him about the job thing. That wouldn’t do anything but upset him. Get him on a plane here, maybe, so he could try throwing his weight around. You rolled your eyes. It was better this way. “I’ve just been unpacking mostly. Nothing too exciting. What about you? What’s going on with you? I want to hear everything.”

“You’re sure it’s not too late there?”

“No, not at all. I’m wide awake. And nothing much to get up for in the morning anyway. But if you’re busy or need to go to bed or something, you can go whenever you need to.”

“Not a chance. I wanna talk to you as long as I can,” Steve said. And you knew he couldn’t see it, but you grinned into the phone anyway.

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#ransom drysdale x reader #ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale x female reader #ransom drysdale x you #reader insert #fanfic #knives out #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans characters #ce characters #arranged marriage au #kris wrote something #more than this

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cowboyfromh3ll · 1 year ago

Note

Hcs for the boys' toxic traits. Preferably arthur, javier, john, and charles, but other boys are welcome too! I'm curious to see what you'd say Dutch's toxic traist are, though they're pretty self explanatory 😭

I just love how you write sm sorreyyyy

Van Der Linde Gang's Toxic traits

(Arthur Morgan, Javier Escuella, John Marston, Charles Smith, Micah Bell, Dutch Van Der Linde, Sean Macguire, Kieran Duffy, Eagle Flies)

HAHAHA THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE. I tried not to sugarcoat anything.

Arthur Morgan - He definitely has some trouble communicating. Not to say he never will communicate with you but it'll be long in between and after it's been plaguing him for a milenium. As we've seen, this man is capable of having deep, well thought out conversations. He'd also be pretty prideful to some degree. Mostly depends what point in time you start dating, later in game he'd be able to see past his pride. Also, I feel like if you were dating a major point of contention in your relationship would be questioning whether it's time to move on from this life.

Javier Escuella - WAY too jealous. I don't even mean it in a cute way but in a way that would genuinely cause several arguments between you two. "Why were you looking at him that way?" "That sounded like you were flirting with him" "Why do you spend so much time around the other guys?" Would also be around you 24/7. Someone would be incapable of having a conversation with you that doesn't include Javier. You two would also argue about Dutch's leadership skills.

John Marston - Oh my God this man is so indecisive. Doesn't know what he wants ever. In a modern setting you two would be sitting in the car, asking each other back and forth "what do you wanna eat?". And his commitment issues? Good lord. At some points in your relationship it'd probably feel like you guys aren't dating at all. You'd probably have to beg him to put some effort into the relationship to be honest.

Charles Smith - It's so hard to think of ANYTHING this man can do wrong but alas, I must. You probably wouldn't be his top priority at all times. Which isn't to say you should ALWAYS be at the top of his list, but sometimes it can result in your feelings being neglected over a situation that affects you. Only when the day reaches it's end will he consult you over something, which will have you feeling incredibly frustrated.

Micah Bell - This man is a walking red flag so let's not dance around his flaws. Incredibly prideful, will ignore your warnings over something just to get his way. Also probably lies to you A LOT. Can be way too rough with you in many aspects. Also this man embodies the word sleezy. Yuck.

Dutch Van Der Linde - Do I even need to say. So fucking stubborn. He also probably thinks he's intelectually superior to you. If you bring up a concern to him he'll probably use as many flowery and big words as possible to make himself appear smarter during the discussion than he actually is. And if you advise him to do anything he'll probably just ignore you, saying you don't know what you're talking about. All in all, thinks he's better than you. Also you're probably a trophy wife since Dutch views women as accessories to his success, if you can even call it success.

Sean Macguire - He doesn't take anything seriously. If you're trying to have a genuine discussion with him he'll play it down and make it seem less important or severe than it actually is. Don't even bother trying to emphasize how serious you are because he won't take that seriously either. It's only until he feels the consequences of his actions will he listen to you, which results in a frustrating cycle.

Kieran Duffy - Also very indecisive but in the way where he can't speak up for himself because he doesn't think it's important. Has such low self esteem, he also probably thinks his emotions are less important which results in a lot of miscommunication on his behalf. Sorta just let's you take the lead all the way, always let's you have your way, with no valuable input of his own. You have to shake his shoulders and beg for him to actually speak his mind.

Eagle Flies - He's probably so childish. Like, mommy issues CEO over here. Will probably seek for you to fulfill that role in his life. Has almost no control over his emotions and has trouble identifying them, and when he does indentify them, has absolutely no idea what to do with them in terms of expression. He will make various efforts to communicate with you but will struggle immensely. Being with him will probably be like teaching a man how to experience emotions in a healthy way. I could write an entire post dedicated to what I think his toxic traits are

More eagle flies ones

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muddyorbsblr · 6 months ago

Text

charades

'one look and they'll know' collection masterlist See my full list of works here!

Placement: pre-relationship era; months before 'one look and they'll know'

Summary: After a particularly horrible day on set, Chris extends an invitation for you to join the cast in a game of charades to unwind.

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Word Count: 1.9k

Warning/s: workplace bullying (mentioned); language [let me know if I missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: hints of mutual pining; we're in Hemsworth's POV

"Come on, it'll be fun, Tiny Terror, I promise." Chris gave your shoulders a slight shake to hopefully snap you out of the sour mood you'd been in all day. It was more than obvious why, considering that there were a good few production assistants that looked like they were on their own personal mission to get you to break composure and break a nose, constantly putting your team down for working too slow or some other reason.

One of them even tried insisting that there were props out of place so they could call into question your skill in clocking the continuity between shots. And while it was simple enough to debunk their accusations, it had also been a rather tedious day even just watching all of the little inconveniences happen that seemed hellbent on putting a damper to your day. He couldn't imagine how much more stressful it was in your shoes.

You were only allowed a few minutes to breathe without much worry when those assistants were pulled aside for Taika to have a word with them. Because other than him, there was someone else that not only witnessed the borderline harassment that occurred today, but was damn near foaming at the mouth to start snapping at them for their insolence.

Tom.

And right now Chris could only imagine that the Brit was standing at full height putting forward every single intimidation tactic he had on display at those people and asking them point blank if they had some sort of issue with you.

"I really don't know, Hemsy, it's been a long day. I kinda just want it to be over," you sighed, the facade you'd put in place of trying to look unbothered finally cracking as your shoulders slumped. "No idea who fucking pissed in their cereal this morning but if their goal was to drag someone down with them, they fucking succeeded. Just wanna go back to my hotel room and order a big bowl of pasta and a bottle of wine and turn my phone off until tomorrow morning."

"Alright, how about this. Just a few rounds, and if you hate it, I'll pay for your pasta and wine?"

You paused, thinking over his offer for a few seconds before finally sighing, "Fine. Thirty minutes. But if I tell you I wanna go, you better be ready to order me the fattest bowl of truffle cream pasta you can find."

Just as you walked off back to your team, Taika and Tom came out of one of the back offices where they sequestered the offending crew members. There were visible scowls on their faces as they muttered to themselves while Taika whispered some instructions to security, probably telling them to keep an eye on the troublemakers moving forward.

"Saw you talking to Lil Mayhem," Taika spoke up once he stood where you did just a few moments ago. "She alright?"

Had the situation not been so tense, Chris probably would have poked a bit of fun at the way Tom's face became visibly more animated as he scanned the set trying to find you. If the Brit became even the slightest bit more enamored with you and still refused to do anything about it, he might have to tell you himself just to caution you that if you didn't feel the same way, you'd have to let him down gently. And preferably sooner rather than later.

"She will be," Chris answered. "She's joining us later."

"Ah perfect," the New Zealander exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "We can pair her off with Tom."

"Hmm?" There was an alarmed look in Tom's eyes now, the sound coming out of him uncharacteristically higher pitched than normal.

"Oh come on, mate, did you really think nobody noticed? You look at her like a pup, wagging its tail and jumping in place when its mum comes home." Chris clapped a hand down on his shoulder, trying not to laugh at how mortified he looked finding out his subtle "work crush" on you wasn't exactly that subtle. "Just don't go humping her leg when she walks in."

"Oh my God, yes you're here too," Tessa exclaimed when you walked into Taika's suite, doing a little bounce on her place at the couch and patting the seat beside her. "We can be partners and smoke their asses."

"Hemsworth promised to buy me pasta if I hated it," you told her with a shrug, sitting at the vacant seat. You didn't seem to have noticed that Tom had moved over, making room next to him on the other side of the table. "And I'm not one to turn down free food."

"Tessa you're already partnered with Chris over here," Taika informed her, pointing at the Australian.

"Hold on since when?" He simply showed her a paper containing all your names, your eyes widening slightly when you saw that yours was next to Tom's. "Fine," she huffed, shifting her gaze over to Chris. "We got this."

Taika then presented a little fishbowl containing folded scraps of paper and explained that a single turn would consist of each of you picking out a paper and trying to sign out whatever was on their paper, while the other had to guess what it was. Straightforward enough. "Whoever's signing cannot talk, but they can make sounds if they think it'll help," he kept on explaining. "Winning pair will get…a nice swanky dinner for two when we get to LA for the premiere. Sound good?"

Lay it on a little thicker, Taika, I don't think they're catching on yet, Chris thought sarcastically, immediately clocking the way your cheeks were reddening and Tom was without a doubt imagining what it would be like to be sitting across from you in a fancy restaurant, imagining that you two were on a proper date. What with the way he couldn't keep his eyes off of you, along with that dopey lovestruck smile painting his face every time you even shared the same breathing space, it wasn't that hard to take a guess what the Brit was thinking right at this moment.

Once everyone had a scrap of paper in their hand, Taika spun a little wheel of your names to pick out which pair went first. "Alrighty then, Tom? Y/N? Which one of you'll be guessing first?"

"Oh, uhm…can I guess first? 'Cause I can't sign for shit." Your request as you addressed Tom sounded casual enough, had it not been for the chuckle at the end that immediately had both Chris and Taika knowing much better than to mistake your demeanor for 'casual'. Seemed you were as skittish around Tom as he was around you.

And maybe Chris didn't have to interfere and advise you to let his friend down easy after all. Maybe he just had to sit back and let you two find each other at your own pace.

Though admittedly this was the type of behavior that started out cute but would grow frustrating to watch if it went on for too long. If neither of you made a move in the coming weeks he might be tempted to lock you two in a cramped storage closet to move things along.

Tom stood up from his seat, cheeks quickly becoming tinged with pink when he saw the words on his little scrap of paper before looking up and holding your gaze. On a whim, Chris decided to take his phone out and have his camera at the ready.

The chime on Taika's phone signaled him to start, and he held up five fingers in front of you.

"Five words." He then nodded and held up one finger before creating a letter "T" with his hands. "First word 'The'." He held up four fingers next and did the "T" symbol again. "And fourth word 'The'. So 'The Blank-Blank The Blank'?"

He nodded at you, a light shining in both your eyes as he kept on, like a couple of kids excited they found someone to play with. But then when Tom went on to sign the second word, for a split second you gave him a look that had everyone in the room that paid even the smallest amount of attention that his affections were definitely not one-sided.

You were well on your way to being completely smitten with him, too.

He held up two fingers before making a lassoing motion and snapping his fingers so loud that the sound made your neck twitch, your eyes glazing over as he pointed to the space in front of him. "Uh…uhm…Capture?" He shook his head, repeating the motion again. "Herding?" He shook his head again. "Collaring--Cowboy?" He let out a laugh before shaking his head again. "Okay I don't think I'm gonna get that, maybe another word we're running out of time."

Tom took a deep breath, as if composing himself before holding up five fingers. And then he drew his hands close to his chest and started making the most ridiculous sound with his head tilted to the ceiling. "Ememememe omomomomo".

That had you bursting into a fit of giggles, making him break out into a face-splitting grin and a few chuckles of his own. "I'm sorry I got absolutely nothing on that, go back to the second word." He went back to the lassoing and snapping movement. "Wait is this for a person or an animal?" He made a motion as if weighing an object in each of his hands, signaling to you that it was both. "Both?! Okay so…domestication?" He shook his head, but motioning for you to keep going down that route. "The--Taming?" Then you gasped, standing up right as two seconds were left on the clock, clapping your hands. "The Taming of the Shrew! The Taming of the Shrew!"

Out of the sheer excitement in the moment, he made his way around the table, grasping for your hands before framing your face in his hands. Had you both lost yourselves in the moment for even a few seconds longer, Chris would have bet good money that you two would have shared a kiss right in front of them.

But then both of you froze in place, giving each other an awkward smile before he stepped back, making his way back to where he stood seconds before. Good thing Chris already had his phone in hand and snapped a photo before your mutual shyness toward each other got the better of you.

"Cute," Taika commented, throwing Tom a look. "Alrighty then Y/N, it's your turn now."

You stood, looking at your scrap of paper and then looking around the room, your eyes landing on the decorative skull flower vase on the dining table.

Before you could signal for Taika to start the clock, Tom spoke up, "Hamlet?"

A choked sound of utter shock slipped out of everyone else in the room. "Hold up, that counts right, T?" Taika just nodded.

"How the fuck--Are you two telepathically connected or something?" Tessa threw the question out, pointing her finger at both of you. "You know what it doesn't matter, the night's still young. We still got a chance to smoke 'em, Hemsworth."

Chris wasn't paying much attention, shooting you a text instead. So you wanna cash in on that free food, Tiny Terror?

He had to fight back the knowing grin that pulled at the corners of his mouth seeing the message you typed back. I could stay a few more rounds.

A/N: I did mention before that I have some pre-relationship chapters planned for these two blorbos, right? 👀 Well if I didn't, I'm saying it now. Chapters. Plural. I honestly don't know how many pieces I have in store for this collection but safe to say it's not ending any time soon. 😳💖

'everything' taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @lovingchoices14 @lunarnights95 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokidokieokie @lunarnights95 @superficialdomina @kmc1989 @november-rayne @goddessofwonderland @buttercupcookies-blog @peaky-marvel @lokiified @tom-hlover @dryyoursaltyoceantears @herdetectivetheorist

#tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston x female reader #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston imagine #one look & they'll know #muddyorbs writes

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loveforquanrui · 11 months ago

Text

zb1's reaction to finding out you're sick

제로베이스원- zb1 and their reaction to finding out you are sick after trying to hide it from them, lowercase intended, mentions of food, gn reader, not proofread, lowercase intended

-jiwoong-

i think it would be easy to hide the fact that you were sick to jiwoong

i give it 2 days max until he finds out

when he does find out, he would not be mad or disappointed, i truly believe he would understand why you were trying to hide it from him

his first priority is to make you feel better, so he would try to come over to your house, so he can make his lovely partner feel better

in the case that you don't want him to come over

he would be respectful of what you want but would 100% be the type to drop off medicine, snacks, and stuffed animals

-hao-

unlike jiwoong, it would be so hard to hide something from hao

hao is soo clingy so its not an easy task to hide that you are sick

when he finds out that you are sick

he'd throw a little sassy fit over the phone and say that he is sad that you would hide it from him

would go over to your house and even though he is a bit upset that you tried to hide the fact that you were sick, he would do anything you need

need to do some chores no worries hao is already doing them

want to get up to grab your journal, hao is already running to your run to grab it for you

needless to say hao does not want you moving an inch from where you are laying

-hanbin-

you see hanbin he has days where he is clingly and days where he isnt

but hanbin is an enfj and would constantly check up on you

the moment you respond unusually late, he would already be knocking at your door

when he finds out you've been sick for a couple of days already

he would be so disappointed, he would be wondering why you would hide it from him

luckily even though he is disappointed, his first priority like jiwoong is to get you to feel better

once you are better expect a lecture on how you should not hide these things from him

he would randomly ask what are your symptoms?

once you tell him, he'd say "i'll be right back", and a couple of minutes later he would return with a bag full of medicine

he would take care of you so well, and even spend the night until you feel like yourself again

-matthew-

when it comes to matthew i feel like he would know that you got sick even before you got sick

you guys were probably out, when it started to rain, and that's when you got a slight cough

from there matthew already knew that you were about to get sick

he wouldn't lecture you in fact i feel like matthew would be sooo chill and relaxing to be around when you're sick

matthew would make sure to buy you the medicine you would need way in advanced

and when he takes care of you he would make a little fort for you two in your living room

and he would put on one of his favorite animes, and would also prepare your favorite snacks

-taerae-

taerae.. listen i believe in clingly boyfriend taerae, it just has to be real

so i give it max one literal day till he finds out that you are sick

when he finds out that you are sick and that you were going to hide it from him, he'd be so petty and slightly upset

our little duck has anger issues but it's okay cause its taerae!

he would be so upset because he wants you to tell him this things not hide them :,(

he would still take care of you of course his pettiness can only go for so long

but don't think it'll be easy

he would be a bit sassy and petty but would still take good care of you and give you all the necessary cuddles

so in conclusion don't hide something like this to taerae or our baby will be upset :(

-ricky-

our ricky who for sure is a T

i don't think ricky is clingly like the other members

so i think he would be clueless to you being sick but..

in the time when he does find out he would try to act calm and collected but our lovelicky would be a worried mess

immediately he would show up to your house bringing a doctor along

after the doctor prescribes you medicine, he would tuck you into your bed, and go buy the medicine in the nearest pharmacy

you being sick activates cute worried ricky :,)

he would help you with literally everything

he would try to feed you the medicine even though he's shy about it

would cuddle with you and watch any of your favorite movies, even if he's not interested in them, he would watch them to make you feel happy

i dont think he would stay the night over like some of the other boys but thats because everyday that you are sick..

ricky will show up with a new gift in order to get you a little distracted from your sickness

in a moment like this you're all he thinks about and he only cares about you feeling better

-gyuvin-

oh our clueless yet adorable gyuvin

listen despite him being a little goofy sometimes he would also be another member that you cannot hide things from

when you tried hiding the fact that you are sick it was.. hard

gyuvin is sooo clingly

so before you could even tell him not to come over because you were busy

he was already at your house, unlocking the door with the spare key

"Y/N" he'd yell and when you can't respond because of how sick you are, he'd look for you immediately

when he finds you and finds out your sick, he'd be asking so many questions

"why are you sick", "when did you get sick", "why didn't you tell me?"

when you answered his long list of questions he would assure you that he can take care of you, and that you don't need to call your mom to do so

and boy was it definitely an experience to put it nicely

he would make you soup and would help by feeding it to you

but of course your boyfriend isn't himself if he isn't pulling a little prank on you

he would feed you like parents feed their babies saying something like "here comes the airplane open wide", when you said you won't do that he insisted he wont let you eat until you do

and when you comply right as the spoon was about to enter your mouth he quickly feeds himself instead

you gotta admit it made you laugh and thats why you love your boyfriend

he always makes you forget about the negative aspects in life

-gunwook-

while gunwook is so smart, i'd think he's a little gullible

i feel like the reason why i think he's gullible is because he trusts you so much so he wouldn't expect you to lie to him about being sick

so when you text him that you are not sick he immediately believes you

it isnt until 3 days later when he calls you unexpectedly, and your words could lie, but your voice couldn't

thats how he found out you have been sick and not busy like you said

he would say "i'm coming over in 5 minutes"

he'd show up with all the right medicine, food, and some flowers

but he would be sooo pouty

he'd cuddle into you, not caring if he got sick, and after those cuddles comes the worst part

the lecture

he would give you a lecture about how you should tell him when you don't feel well because he's here to help you not make you feel like you can't tell him :,)

after understanding each other comes the lovey dovey part

gunwook would cuddle you day and night

and he would read you any book you wanted to read

and he would also tell you many stories of his childhood that you did not know about

and you would rapidly get better since gunwook made you also do activity like yoga that can make your body more relax

so in a week you were already cured, as if you never got sick

your boyfriend is so smart so ofc he knows how to get you to feel better right away

-yujin-

yujin is such a cutie

he would be so clueless as well

if you tell him you're not sick he would also believe you and not ask any questions

so hiding the fact that you were sick would be so easy

it wasn't until after you got a little better and you only had a runny nose when he found out you've been sick

"oh you should've told me"

he'd feel so bad for not realizing that you were sick sooner

so the next time when you guys met up at the park, he bought you a gift as an apology

he would tell you that next time you feel sick to let him know so he could be there for you

yujin may be shy and awkward and times but at the end of the day he is very caring and gentle towards the people he loves

#zb1 #zb1 imagines #zb1 reactions #zb1 scenarios #zb1 x reader #zerobaseone #zerobaseone reactions

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whumpshaped · 1 year ago

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a rather specific prompt for you :)

whumpee is/ was trained and used a a guard dog. during their time with their master they sustained an injury that causes them to not be able to fulfill their job properly anymore. still wounded, they get thrown out, chained in some allay. whumpee expects to die alone and cold, when caretaker comes along and accidentally stumbles across the abandoned whumpee. they (caretaker) think whumpee is just a regular pet and don’t realize they have a still dangerous guard dog at their feet and decide to rescue them and help them recover. whumpee has never experienced anything like this kindness, especially after becoming so useless, so (after having lost their old master) they immediately bond to caretaker as their new master, and would do anything to protect and please them

tw pet whump, amputation, abandonment, past trauma, broken bones, medical setting, caretaker new master, murder, gore, dehumanisation

"Oh, dear..." Caretaker crouched down by the shivering figure, putting the back of their hand against their forehead. They looked... half-dead, honestly, so the feverish warmth eminating from them was almost a relief. "Who did this to you...?"

The poor thing whined, and they reminded Caretaker of a wounded dog; but maybe that was just from how they were chained up. This was all so horrible.

"Okay, don't be scared. I'm gonna get you out of the alley and to a vet, alright? We'll get you all fixed up."

Another whine, and Caretaker suddenly realised there were other issues apart from the visible sickness. The pet's ankle... it was twisted in a way they'd never seen before. It was swollen, a mix of deep red and purple, bent in a way no healthy foot was supposed to.

"Oh... Oh, this is way worse than I thought, isn't it?" They immediately regretted the comment when the thing looked up at them with those wide, fearful eyes, probably expecting them to just give up now and leave them. "That's okay!" they added hastily. "It's okay. Nothing that can't be fixed! I... I hope... I'll call someone for help."

So they'd been wrong. Some things were in fact beyond saving, and Whumpee's foot turned out to be one of them. Amputation, prosthetics... Whumpee was handling it badly.

"I know," Caretaker soothed. "I know, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But it'll be better later on, I promise, the doctors know what they're doing."

Whumpee let out a soft whimper, a scared one, and Caretaker thought their heart was going to shatter even further. The pet hadn't uttered a single word yet, — maybe they couldn't? — but their face was expressive enough to make Caretaker tear up.

"I'll be here," they said gently. "Every step of the way, yeah? I'll be here for you. I'll help. We'll figure it out."

How? Caretaker didn't know. They weren't planning on adopting a pet, but... they couldn't just leave Whumpee alone after all this. They had an obligation, a responsibility.

If anything, Whumpee's awe-filled eyes just made them more determined.

"One foot in front of the other. Slowly. There you go."

Physical therapy was a lot, but Whumpee seemed dead set on achieving every goal weeks earlier than planned. The staff had said it would take four to eight weeks for Whumpee to be able to walk again... and many more before they fully got used to their artificial foot. They were out and about within two weeks, much to the dismay of said staff.

"They'll hurt themself," they'd said. "They should be resting."

"They're very eager to come home, I guess," Caretaker had replied awkwardly, but Whumpee had nodded along, completely serious.

So now they were walking along the corridors, Caretaker supporting Whumpee's weight less and less as they learned the ways and limits of their new life.

"I know it's not super fancy..." Caretaker opened the door and stood aside, motioning Whumpee inside. "But I guess it's... homey."

The pet surveyed their surroundings curiously, then turned back towards Caretaker with a bright smile. If they'd had a tail, Caretaker wagered they would've been wagging it.

It made them smile, too. "You like it?"

Whumpee nodded enthusiastically, walking over to the new pet bed Caretaker had bought just a week prior. They carefully set their belongings down next to it, — a shirt, a pair of pants, a pair of socks, and a collar — then made themself comfortable. Testing it out.

"I think we'll get along nicely," Caretaker commented absently. "I mean, I like you a lot. And you seem to like me. I don't see how this could go wrong."

Caretaker couldn't believe their eyes.

This couldn't be real.

Was that blood? Was that blood on Whumpee's clothes, and hands, and... face?

When the pet spotted them they immediately fell to their knees, whimpering in terror. They tried to wipe their hands on their victim's shirt, to no avail.

"Whumpee, what– what's– what's going on...?"

Whumpee was crying now, getting more and more desperate about ridding themself of the blood, as though that was the only evidence as to what they'd done. As though they could erase it all, if only they managed to erase the stains.

Caretaker walked closer, eyes wide with shock and horror. So much blood. So much gore.

Their sweet pet had done this?

"Why...?"

Whumpee scrambled to pick up some sort of equipment, struggling to hold it between bloody fingers. A lockpick, Caretaker noted distantly. They put it down on the floor in front of their feet, then quickly grabbed something else: a knife, this time. They put it next to the lockpick. Then they crawled back, flattening themself against the floor like a dog who knew it'd done something bad, whining as they waited for the verdict.

The stranger had been a burglar. Was it... self-defence? No, this had been a brutal murder.

"You're– you're a guard dog," Caretaker said softly, because they didn't think their voice could handle anything more. They got but a whimper in response. "This... Oh, dear. This is not... This is not good."

general drabbles taglist: @ashh-ed @whumpsday @whump-queen @the-scrapegoat @hidden-dreamland @rosewriteswhump @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @whumpkinpie @delicateprincepaper @whumppmuhw @whump-em @cyborg0109 @morning-star-whump @justanotherlokifan @2in1whump @lthrboy @justletmereadmywhump @florissimps @anonymous-tiangou @whump-kitty

#whump #whump drabble #pet whump #abandonment #past trauma #broken bones #medical setting #caretaker new master #murder #gore #dehumanisation #asks #recovery fic #amputation whump

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cloud-somersault · 7 months ago

Note

Something that absolutely destroys me about shadowpeach is just the fact that they weren't "good" to each other. They loved each other, sure, but sometimes love just isn't enough.

They are "right person wrong time." They helped each other unintentionally go into a self-destructive paths, and the worst part is that only Wukong managed to get out of it before it ruined him.

Its just so fucked up, imagine you love someone and they love you but they are undeniably going into a path with no return but they do change and they become better, but only after you're gone.

Yeah, I think shadowpeach is compelling and interesting for the layers of tragedy it has. I really do think they're the "right person, wrong time" type of dynamic. If they met each other later on, there wouldn't have been any major problems; just ones they could address as they come up.

But I think...it's a great showing of how people can change each other. A chance interaction can change a person for life. We, as people, are made up of those interactions, the pain, the hurt, the love, the joy we've been shown and what we've given to others.

Wukong and Macaque were doing what they felt was right. In the way they felt was right. And they didn't know how to address it or be better, because confronting the communication issues and lack of respect and value means admitting there's a problem, and neither of them wanted to do that.

I don't think Macaque wanted to, he just wanted to put up with it and stay on Wukong's good side. He disregarded his own hesitations and doubts and believed in this person wholeheartedly instead of making his own decisions and choosing to go against the grain. It's hard to say "no" to the Monkey King, admittedly, but Macaque, probably, felt as if he couldn't.

In s4, he subtly tried to remove himself from the uprising against Heaven, but Wukong dragged him back in on the premise that they're "bros" and it'll be a fun "whatever" kind of time and not a life or death situation. Macaque saw that truth; Wukong refused to.

And that's a lot of Wukong's whole story - thinking he's invincible, that he's above everyone, that he's the handsomest and strongest and best ever. he was entitled and didn't like being told no. Very haughty and spoiled. A brat. He had sense and was funny and showed kindness when he needed to, but he was selfish, also.

Against all that, Macaque's in an odd position. They're friends, but Macaque is quiet. He's subtle. A shadow. Introverted and observant, he probably never felt as if his voice mattered or would change anything. But getting the attention of the Monkey King is a high honor!

And Wukong just thought Macaque was cool, another strong guy with shadow magic that he could get into mischief with. Someone like him!!

It reminds me of a dynamic you see a lot in media. The adventurous main character paired with a more shy and scared secondary character. The main character drags them around unwillingly into situations, assuring the secondary character everything will be fine. And, eventually, it takes the secondary character standing up for themselves for a change to occur.

And that's what happened in that cave.

There is tragedy...in someone you love changing after you're no longer in their life. But...it's more important that they changed at all. A lot of people don't. It's difficult to change. And Wukong was traveling (and was trapped) in this journey with people, learning and humbling himself along the way, learning friendship and love. It took that specific environment and discipline to change him, because changing the Monkey King?? Is a huge task, something that Macaque by himself couldn't do.

And that's said around this fandom like it's a bad thing. I know Macaque would see it as one, because that's his character, but...I don't know. I don't see it as one. Maybe you're not what that person needs, not at that moment, not at that time. And that's..okay. I think that's something we gotta accept.

Because we can't fix everyone. We can't hold ourselves to that standard. Just as I said before, people are collections of their interactions with others, and maybe those other people...are what Wukong needed at that moment. Maybe Macaque wasn't at a point in his life, maturity wise or life experience wise, to direct Wukong on the path to change. Maybe that wasn't his burden to bear.

Sometimes it takes a specific person to say something. With how people weave in and out of each others lives, I think the takeaway should be more "I'm glad you changed. I'm proud of you. You did it!" Like, let's focus on the end result, because...if people change for the better, than they can help others change, and maybe Wukong is the right person at this right time to help Macaque change.

#ask #anon #long post #i feel like i didn't quite respond to this correctly but #i dunno #i did my best LMFAODSJA #lmk shadowpeach #shadowpeach

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medicinemane · 1 year ago

Text

You can't just be like "well my chart here says" or "well science says" or "well this thing agrees with my biases so therefore it's true"

Like man, I bet I could find something agreeing with any position I wanted to take. If I couldn't it wouldn't be hard for me to make a semi professional looking graph that makes it look like whatever I want is true

Also like... who's the source man, cause on any given issue there's some I'm probably gonna toss out because of their blatant bias. Like I'm not even gonna entertain anything 'autism speaks' has to say on autism because I'm not wading through a bunch of trash to see if there's a glimmer of truth buried somewhere in it. They've blown all their credibility with me, I don't admit them as evidence anymore and nor should I

So who's your source and do they have any credibility or are they extremely biased (cause... this happens a lot)?

What's this so called study? What's this so called science? I am not really the person who can sit through a whole paper, but I can at least sometimes give them a sniff and see if the stuff they're saying seems to add up or if I'm spotting anything instantly off (cause sometimes you straight up look and go "wait a minute... you didn't even account for this")

I'm not perfect, but at least I actually think about the problems with ideas I care about. Like with nuclear I know that the lack of economies of scale means infrastructure is going to be more expensive, but I can also at least point to solar and point out that it was the same with it, but once we got wider adoption prices started to really drop

At least I can think about my point and make actual reasonable inferences and conclusions rather than just blindly screaming at everyone to agree with me or they're immoral

#I'm just honestly kind of annoyed at people for acting like children about really really really important topics #that I often actually do care about and am even on their side... just not their behavior and black and white world view #and I really really really don't want to actually say what's stuck in my craw #cause people 100% can't behave like adults about it and have a civil conversation #and it's just an invitation for people to drop all illusions of humanity and sling whatever nastiness they feel like #cause they know they're justified in it #and heaven forbid they apologize later #did I ever mention that I do in fact hold long grudges; I just also know how to put stuff aside to cooperate?#but I do remember this stuff; and the behavior is not forgiven because no apology for the rudeness was ever offered #anyway... I'm not touching it; and the annoying part is nominally I'm actually on the same side #it's just I'm not a damn child about it; and I'm more worried about 'how do I get the results I want' instead of crowing my virtue #and I'm more worried about if certain measures actually treat the issue or don't do shit while just causing new problems #(guess what I think the case is)#I can instantly list you one simple step that would massively improve the situation #can't tell you how to make it happen (though I have thoughts); but I can tell you for a fact it'll help #concretely; undeniably I think it might be the number one step to slash instances of this problem massively #...but uh... doesn't seem like it's a popular answer despite it being an objectively good thing #much better to bring the cops in to it; a group we can certainly trust not to turn on us and misuse any new powers given #that's the way people would prefer to do it rather than getting to the root #so yeah... I'm just annoyed by this; I probably will be for a while cause people won't stop fucking crowing about it #(and if you knew what it was you'd know they never fucking will)#blah blah blah morals or whatever #ok vegan who hates bees and uses plastic wool level of stubborn fool #and how much have you done to actually fix the problem compared to how much you've done patting yourself on the back?#just damn annoying; the number of people I trust to behave like adults with this...#I might literally be able to count it on two hands

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bladekindeyewear · 2 months ago

Text

HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2024-09-29

(Previous post - current page 666)

Section 6 is finally here! (And the part at the bottom is gone, possibly never meant to be clickable?!) Time for possibly the last or second-to-last portion of one of my favorite Homestuck storytelling sections so far, let's see if and how this situation ends!

Time to see if it really HAS been a whole eight years before she finishes her therapy like the joke Davepeta left on last time, or if it'll add up to 6 for the whole thing to go with the Hell/purgatory/666 theme, I suppose! *click*

"LATER"

Well, I suppose it isn't going to tell us HOW LONG just yet...

Ooh Davepeta's theme again, it sounds a bit jazzier than usual if I'm not imagining it, like a slight remix!

Gosh she looks so proud and happy! (Even though the next line could easily pull the rug out from under us.) I can't wait to see grown-up Vriska having almost-sort-of resolved her biggest issues! (No change in her sprite when I compare to my earlier screenshots, although that doesn't tell us much about how much time has passed since there was always a good chance she had grown as much as she's going to physically the prior new sprite switchup.)

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < its b33n a long ass time but were cr33ping up behind the grand finale DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < that finale is never gonna s33 it coming

VRISKA: The final 8oss.

Ooh, who is it? I mean, probably herself obviously. But who else could it be? There are possibilities I'm sure but they're not coming to mind easily. I'm reminded very much, the way I have been this entire time, of the conversation in original Homestuck where the retcon-returned Vriska berated her possibly-inverted ghost self, insulting her and shouting her down in a way that was wrong and proved all the ways the version of her who HADN'T survived had grown and the one who HAD survived hadn't. She insisted that being the hero and hiding her self-hatred to go have an Epic Final Story Battle with Lord English was the only way forward for her while everyone else was escaping the bounds of canon to enjoy a life and hopefully true happiness outside the story's confines, and what she'd gone up to before The Plot Point was her reward, consigned to irrelevance again and now WITHIN the Plot Point shown that none of what she'd been pursuing up until now would have ever made her happy, or into a better person. Now she has to finish learning that lesson, or at least get close enough, of what to actually do and what true freedom ("Ultimate Freedom") and happiness is to finally do what's right for her and potentially everyone around her.

I guess that means I expect her to have to "fight" herself, because she's been the enemy this whole time, right? Everyone she's "reconciled" with has been, in effect, the reflection of those people that exists within HER Heart, much like Jake was able to invoke Brain Ghost Dirk. Lines in here in previous sections indicated that she really is "alone", that these people she's talking to are an illusion and really besides her tagalong therapists she's the "only one here", the only one keeping herself here and torturing herself. Because SHE'S always been the one torturing herself, and SHE needs to learn how and when and why NOT TO in order to be the best version of herself. The Jung in Homestuck shows itself again in the form of the shadow, in the lesson of merging to ascend, of accepting yourself and your flaws with a humility that doesn't deny your ability to affect the world around you, to understand how to leave your mark on reality and how you're WORTH doing so, without stamping down the wills of others.

I'm rambling and stalling, let's see what they have for us.

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < master hand, your days are fucking numbered

I know this is just a smash reference, but does Vriska think she needs to go at Doc Scratch again? His chess playing with her on the board is sort of some "master hand" shit, I'd think.

VRISKA: More like minutes!

A clock hand joke perhaps?

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < finally ready to take that final step

whatisitwhatisitwhatisit :D

VRISKA: I needed a 8reather!

Huh. I didn't think that maybe she had been just, not going back in AT ALL after the Doc Scratch thing and maybe just, resting for a LONG time that's about to be divulged after the first try, or perhaps multiple tries?

Oh wait is that a Breath aspect and freedom pun hint too? You can't always buckle down and go at your responsibilities (Blood) all the time or you'll snap like a rusty chain.

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < you sure did!

I know I'm stopping like, every line, but... I'm sensing a punchline coming of THE BREATHER'S BEEN X YEARS.

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < *a tear begins to well up in dps eye behind their shades* DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < *they f33l like a mom s33ing their freshly pupated charge about to finish their final trials and march off to the subgrubs or maybe a dope ass cave* DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < *dp wonders will they be safe out there? will she make use of all the lessons theyve learned here?*

Dave and Nepeta as a fusion is never not fun and interesting to listen to.

I don't expect The Plot Point to have "fully cured her" so to speak because not even comprehensive therapy is the full answer to solving your issues, and because we still have a good amount of plot LEFT besides all the attention Vriska is sucking up here of it. But if she leaves The Plot Point having identified her issues, confronted them, and with a true resolution to accept herself AND her flaws and do better out there in the real or quasi-real world, with a bit more of an understanding of how to ACTUALLY strive to be the best version of herself (the answer to the ultimate riddle) and begin honestly trying without much leftover regret, then yeah. That may be all she needs from here. We'll see.

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < *will she remember to wipe the lid?*

O-of what? The toilet? Huh? >_>"

(Is this a stealthy reference to Vriska being a trans gal in side content as per Toblerone and urinating standing up...?)

FEFETASPRITE: 3833 < 383

WAIT WHAT? Was she always here?!? Did I forget a comment about her showing up before? Is she real?? She's a sprite who DIED, isn't she, which would mean that since this isn't a reflection of Vriska's, sprites still HAVE ghosts that went to the Furthest Ring and could be sucked down here?! This is a heck of a random sprites-having-ghosts confirmation!

...I could have sworn that the joke of Fefeta being so talkative but never doing so onscreen was repeated SOMEWHERE in HS^2 since Beyond Canon and my liveblog of it resumed, but I can't freakin' remember where. I think I was just coincidentally talking with a friend about Fefeta's explosion recently on a random subject matter and I'm confusing it with having read/heard SOME mention of her again in the comic. Like from Roxy or something. Roxy might have brought up her past with Fefeta to remind us she existed so she could be dropped again on us in here, or... fuck I'm confused. Someone let me know if we had any clue Fefeta was here or mention of her elsewhere in Beyond Canon, or if her living again had been confirmed elsewhere before this, because my memory could NOT be failing me harder right now.

VRISKA: *The Thief proudly puffs out her chest with her hands on her hips and her 8ack to the sun, looking heroic and 8adass.*

--Okay I know that Vriska HAS roleplayed before, or we've been told enough that she has, but doing so ONSCREEN so shamelessly with Davepeta speaks of a really really strong friendship she'd have to be pretty vulnerable with them to do this, I think. Which is adorable.

Also, her back to the sun, huh? Nah, no need to dig into that.

VRISKA: Ha! You've got nothing to fear. VRISKA: I'm older and wiser now.

And the time it's taken punchline is coming aaany second now...

VRISKA: I want to thank you, too.

AWW! Gosh she's improved SO MUCH to be talking so freely vulnerably; the last time she approached this sort of opening-up was the moirallegiance with Terezi that was always too one-sided because she never intended to listen to her moirail's advice, back in the last stretch of original Homestuck.

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < what for DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < i barely did shit

HAH! Don't be modest, you kept her (relatively) sane this whole time! Davepeta looks genuinely confused, that's hilarious.

VRISKA: Haha yeah, 8ut I'm glad you were here anyway. VRISKA: You and everyone else! FEFETASPRITE: 3833 < 383

EXACTLY. You all spent X years with her in here just to keep her company!!! That's not nothing, that's a whole fucking ton of something! Even if I get the feeling that The Plot Point was partially a sink of sorts to suck up all the ghosts from the Ghost Rain and keep them from mucking up the place.

But no seriously, was Fefeta here before??? Did I genuinely forget she was? Because I'm finding it hard to believe I hadn't noticed her and the implications a formerly exploded sprite surviving here would have had before.

VRISKA: ........

Yeah I'm apparently with you there. XD Is she running into the same confusion as me? (Or is the fact that there are sort of two half-Nepetas here about to invite a conversation about Heart and the Ultimate Self again?)

VRISKA: So, DP, you're half Nepeta, right?

Oh, it is!!! :D (And Fefeta's just a sprite, or a ghost of one, not a sprite squared and thus automatic Ultimate Self of both Dave AND Nepeta.) We're about to get some Heart aspect to help stick in Vriska's mind to break down the ultimate answers for her and the audience I bet.

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < yeah VRISKA: Well, more of a whole Nepeta, along with a whole other dude. DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < ... yeah? FEFETASPRITE: 3833 < 383 VRISKA: 8ut Fefeta's also a whole Nepeta!

It feels like Vriska shouldn't be too confused on this, unless she's gotten lucky and subconsciously sensed that there's an answer she needs for herself, here.

FEFETASPRITE: 3833 < ...

Just don't explode on us again :p

VRISKA: So like... how does that work?

Vriska, you've met who knows how many alternate copies of literally everyone, right?

Nooooo don't make her Fefetasplode again!

VRISKA: Why are there two Nepetas?

A MEOW SOUND EFFECT AND THEN SHE FADES INTO NOTHING. Dammit!!!

I mean, solid joke, sure, except on the Fefeta lovers, but. Is this a consequence of Davepeta being an Ultimate Nepeta and sucking up any spare nonliving Nepeta air in the room passively when it's pointed out? All of HS^2, plus the Epilogues, had a theme in part of Dirk concentrating his power as an Ultimate Self by taking parts of himself back in from places like Candy where it wasn't convenient to exist to achieve his ultimate (hah) goal, which it was IMPLIED made him more powerful-- and we just saw alt!Calliope lose power when she divided herself and have to spend time meditating to reunite enough of herself to control any sort of Jade body again. (Which again, makes her super vulnerable to being disrupted by a Prince of Heart, by the way, which I have no clue how she can be so arrogant as to dismiss and think she can do this with just her squad.)

(Did I mention that there's a TINY chance that Ultimate Davebot's chosen purpose, in alt!Callie's quest to tie up all the loose ends and bring the plot back together, might be to have him scratch Caliborn's session so that alt!Calliope could properly exist? You know, my old debunked-and-defunct Third Scratch theory, the three scratches on Gamzee's face? Oh shit that post has old broken image links I need to fix too, I'll do that by tonight. It's only a small chance, though. EDIT 20240930: After sleeping on it, it seems even less likely than I thought, actually. Alt!Calliope's ship with Davebot and Aradia on it is headed for Dirk and Rose's new planet-- for Davebot to pull off what I just proposed, he'd normally need to use time travel on Earth C to leap to the distant near-death of its star when the cherubs lived and get an easy route into Caliborn's session. I can't say it 100% rules it out, especially if Davebot might (or might not) be able to rewind his entire ship journey when he's done with it to make a full Spacetime move instead of just Time; and that's given that when they entered the Meat timeline they even started at the Meat version of Earth C anyway, too, which is only really an assumption. But it doesn't seem to add up to alt!Callie's need for Davebot in the confrontation itself, at least.)

Okay back to poor, sweet Fefeta just having vanished under the slightest bit of scrutiny.

VRISKA: ... What the fuck was that? DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < you just fucking sent dear sw33t precious fefeta to sprite city.

Is that a literal Sprite City like the kingdoms founded on Earth C where Jasprose was hanging out, or a figurative Sprite City as in sprites tend to die?

Does an Ultimate Nepeta's presence here mean that unless avoiding scrutiny (Voidily) they all become part of the present Ultimate Nepeta and can't exist in this space at the same time? Also with the Umineko connection pointed out last time as something this whole sequence is apparently referencing, I know from my partial experience from the series that there's precedent for someone unable to exist and falling apart if their true paradoxical origins are revealed.

VRISKA: ???????? DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < hahahaha anyway

NO NOT ANYWAY, EXPLAIN

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < i was just fucking around earlier but honestly, im actually gonna miss you

Yeah, much like her ghost self from the pre-retcon timeline, this Vriska was likely a lot more gratifying to hang out with. (NO EXPLANATION AT ALL FOR FEFETAFADEOUT, GREAT)

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < i think im f33ling a goodbye glomp coming on

Yeah, they would. (Sorry for quoting and commenting on basically every irrelevant line it's become ingrained habit already and we've only been back here a few times aaaa)

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < oh yeah sorry

This is too fun a reaction for me not to screenshot, though. Yeah, personal space, Davepeta! Consent of contact!

Ohhhkay I think this is my sign that if I don't stop screencapping and retyping every single line of dialogue I'm never going to get through this final section. Time for more selective quoting and paraphrasing of action!!! (I promise! Kinda!)

VRISKA: Alright fine, one hug 8efore I crush this and I'm outta here.

Daww. :D

I wonder where everyone here is going to go... I don't think Davepeta is going to voluntarily stop existing, but they're pretty hard to pin down.

Yaaaay! :D :D :D

Davepeta you are by NO means allowed to stop existing once the Plot Point is resolved by the way. You can be as plot irrelevant as you want, just don't stop existing.

Oh shit, it's somewhat literal.

One of the eight-balls she compulsively broke, "increasing her bad luck" and leaving things to step on earlier that Kanaya pointed out she could have found her perceived luck returning just by cleaning up. The metaphor that she's been the one putting HERSELF through hell for much of her life, especially ever since she escaped her parent.

VRISKA: I've 8een waiting for this one.

You know who it is?! Is it you?

VRISKA: I have a pretty good feeling I know who's waiting on the other side.

Oh come on, I didn't break the habit of retyping every single line of dialogue at all!!! She's just guessing. Which raises the chance significantly that this might instead be Terezi she has to confront, within herself, to help bring this full circle and decide what she has to do. Everything about their arcs seems to be leading the two of them together again, and not just in their ghost versions, I feel like.

It's just as possible though that when we finally see the message Vriska left Terezi at the end of the epilogues, though, still unseen, that that represents the final word between the Scourge Sisters and these versions of themselves are meant to find their own paths, even though Terezi spent all those years searching the wreckage of the Furthest Ring for her. I can't say for sure.

Okay I'm going to start paraphrasing... pff, Davepeta lampshading the Silent Hill mind prison -ness of this, yeah plenty of works have had this sort of trope and that's certainly a good one (so much as I've heard/read of it anyway).

The quite possibly final goodbye from Vriska to Davepeta! Hope "see you around" remains literal and Davepeta doesn't go to Sprite City </euphemism>.

Wishing her luck!

Black screen, Vriska waits...

A tree fading in in the distance... multiple colors of tree... this feels like Terezi.

VRISKA: Hey!!!!!!!!

VRISKA: Is that you?

Ohh fuuuck the touching slow piano music is kicking in. D':

It's time for emotions

VRISKA: I knew it would 8e you!

I can't tell from here if it's her or if it's Ghost (Vriska) but... oh wait. Wait if all the ghosts are here. Could she be confronting, possibly... ACTUAL ghost Vriska with the actual ghost Terezi that reunited with her? That would be a knife-twist she'd learn a lesson from. Clicking further...

VRISKA: You were the one thing missing from this!

D': What a thing to say.

VRISKA: Even if you're just a phantom designed explicitly to torture me, I'mso happy to see-

It's not her like you wanted, is it? And you're the one who picked a path that you thought would lead yourself away from her forever. YOU kicked her away for the sake of your own glory. So maybe it wouldn't be as simple as just seeing her again here and making amends, hm? Let's see.

VRISKA: you...?

Oh this is totally DEFINITELY the ghost (Vriska) that she chewed out in ways that everything she just spent time in The Plot Point showed were completely wrong. The time she REJECTED her inverse shadow self instead of ACCEPTING and merging with all the parts of herself she hated most, showing how and why she was on the path to fighting Lord English and abandoning Terezi instead of finding any sort of true happiness for herself. Let me find the part in Homestuck AND where I talked about it, to link y'all... GOSH without the full text of Homestuck on command-F/control-F it's so much harder to find stuff like "(VRISKA)"...

Yep, "VRISKA" first showed up to see ghost "(VRISKA)" when I wrote this upd8 reaction in June 2015, then went on for the bulk of the conversation over here on my blog, and here in the comic. I explained how she was dressed like a Page, representing her shadow self, her inner Page of Void-- and still on a happier path than the main Vriska who gave HERSELF such an unjustified verbal beatdown for seeming "pathetic". If you want more from back then, look at my posts tagged Vriska from late June 2015.

It completely fits that Vriska would find the disappointment of not having Terezi here, AND simultaneously have to confront herself in this form as the so-called final boss.

Heck... I figured this hell was driven by Vriska's Heart, her ultimate existence across all timelines, but what if (VRISKA) has been having some specific hand in showing the other Vriska how she can finally be happy, like she figured out?

(Anyway that search took like an hour, I'm finally clicking forward now.)

Oh the way the music just STOPS when (Vriska) turns to the camera. THAT'S a sure sign Vriska isn't taking this well. But she's going to be able to figure this one out without any return trips, this time, I'm sure of it. *click*

Oh, THIS music is different from what I expected. Interesting. It's too slow for my mind to figure out if it's a play on Vriska's old walkaround theme.

GOSH SHE'S SO FREAKIN' TINY D':

Clicking... they stare back and forth a bit more...

Aww, Vriska's awkwardly holding her arm. (I'll resist the urge to screenshot absolutely everything.) She may really be catching onto the fact that she has to apologize to herself. Learn from herself-- from ALL of herself. The parts of herself she used to loathe most because she saw her own weakness in them. That's her Jungian Shadow.

And... perhaps it's also in part why we were reminded again of an Ultimate Self's being all of someone just before she dove in.

VRISKA: Alright, fine. VRISKA: Makes sense I'd have to do this eventually.

Yeah, you're smart enough to get it a bit already.

VRISKA: I'm sorry. VRISKA: For all that shit I said to- did to you.

No-- I mean, sure, that's a start, Vriska, but you don't just have to APOLOGIZE to yourself, your shadow, your perceived flaws. You have to ACCEPT yourself. That's more than a quick apology can do.

VRISKA: It was wrong of me to hate you for getting soft. VRISKA: For knowing when to quit.

Holy shit. SHE FUCKING GETS IT. WOW HAS SHE COME SO FAR. This is exactly what we've been saying since nearly a DECADE ago when that argument happened, just like what I said from my upd8 reaction back then to above!

And (Vriska) gives her back an expansive, pained shrug, huh?

VRISKA: HUH???????? What the hell...

Or... wait. No, she couldn't be. That wasn't a shrug was it. Was (Vriska) offering... a HUG?

That's the answer, isn't it? And why we got a Davepeta hug too? That on the inside, when you finally reach a hand out and offer to accept your shadow as an essential-but-not-predominant part of yourself... your shadow is willing to reach back. She was willing to accept Vriska all along if Vriska just tried. But the fear of one's flaws is a horribly hard thing to conquer, to love yourself-- your ENTIRE self-- enough to take that crucial step.

--yeah, that's an offer to hug it out, isn't it? Vriska probably needs a bit to accept that it's really THAT EASY. Because it wasn't. It wasn't easy. Vriska needed to spend ALL those years to really understand enough to do something like this.

And I'm heavily betting that when Vriska and (Vriska) hug, there's a good chance THEY'LL MERGE. Embracing and assimilating the Jungian Shadow, just like the ascent to God-Tier and merging with the dreamself, except this is part of how you become, in a sense-- at least closer to-- your Ultimate Self. Jung-- "while "no one should deny the danger of the descent [...] every descent is followed by an ascent", and assimilation of – rather than possession by – the shadow becomes a possibility." "NANNASPRITE: All the gates do, John. To ascend, each time you must first descend!" Jung-- "We begin to travel [up] through the healing spirals...straight up." Right from the spirograph gates above their houses to their dreamselves and merging to God-Tier, Sburb and Homestuck has been loaded with intentional Jungian psychology references, and this is just the latest instance of the story spelling it out for us.

Anyway, clicking forward. Yeah, Vriska's nervous. She isn't huggy, and this is one of the hardest embraces one can possibly make, whether she realizes it now or not given all the work she's done to get here.

VRISKA: You're asking for too much. VRISKA: You're really going to make me do this? VRISKA: ...

See? It's no wonder this is so hard for her. She was always in the way of herself.

What will you do?

HAH!

Clicking... she hesitates further, of course...

VRISKA: I...

You're so damn close. But that's the reason this is the final 8oss, isn't it? Accepting the shadow is the hardest step. Accepting that she deserves it, that she can deserve to forgive even herself for hurting herself.

VRISKA: I can't.

You can!

And... OH WOW SHE ACTUALLY OLLIES OUTIE?!?!?!??!?!?

It really IS that hard for her to accept herself. I've long covered exactly why it can be the hardest thing of all. Not inverting, but integrating, balancing, accepting ALL of yourself, the good and the bad, your right to make a difference and the importance of recognizing where you may do wrong. Everything Doc Scratch lectured her to fear about herself in part 5.

So she's back at the beach. Clicking...

And that's the end of the upd8. That was... excellent. I loved it.

Seems like we need to wait one more step for her to finally embrace herself. But that's all that's left! Just one more step.

See you next time!

#Homestuck #hs2 #Homestuck Liveblog #Homestuck^2 #upd8 #spoiler #spoilers #Vriska #Light and Void #Terezi #Alt!Calliope

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altocat · 1 month ago

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Sorry to be kind of a downer, but doesn't it feel like this new chapter of FS is lowkey erasing Genesis? He doesn't get mentioned at all here, even in the short story about Angeal's decision to join Shinra. I think in one of the ultmanias they attribute Angeal's reason for joining Shinra to joining Genesis there, but in FS this part is entirely omitted. It feels like SE is intentionally ignoring Genesis and it's been a pattern throughout the remake series where fans think Genesis will finally get new content and then he doesn't...

This is chapter 1 of presumably 8. There's a ton of content left and there's no telling if that content doesn't also include Genesis.

I want to see the guy as much as anyone--he's one of my faves. But there's no way they're dumping two characters at once into the plot. Too much work for the devs, too many costumes/banners/etc. Too much data. Too much shit to add that would almost surely break the game from data overload. Additionally, Sephiroth is obviously in no frame of mind to deal with Genesis bothering him on top of everything else. Angeal is a narratively better choice given Sephiroth's current state of mind.

I think everyone is being really paranoid about Genesis. I will complain if he never shows up, but I have every reason to believe that he eventually will. And NO, the reason he's not here isn't due to licensing issues, prejudice from the devs, or any other particular internal or external conflict. Simply put, it's because adding a single character into this game is a three month long process and they didn't have the time or storage to put in both. If Genesis is coming, it'll be later. I don't think they're erasing him. He was in the OPENING CUTSCENE in Episode 1. He didn't just stop existing.

I know you're probably hearing alternative things from outside parties (none of my mutuals--people I no longer associate with in the community) who are basically throwing a tantrum and would have you believe that Genesis not being here is SOMEHOW (magically!) Angeal's fault. Or that Square is somehow bigoted or cowardly or some other nonsensical reason. I thought that level of cherry-picking was stupid and unfair then and I think it's stupid and unfair NOW. I really just think it's an issue of space and storage over anything else. Otherwise what's the point of adding CC to EC to remind everyone what a big deal he was? What was the point of including a scene with Sephiroth trying to call him? Why bother including an era where we KNOW Sephiroth and Genesis meet for the first time? I know I sound pissy--I don't mean to be. And I certainly don't blame people for wanting to see Genesis and being upset he's not in. But I think certain parties are really trying to rile people up to fit their own narrative and I'm trying to push that line of thinking out. I've seen it influencing a lot of my mutuals. It's upsetting. I want them to feel assured about this.

I say we wait and see. If we never get Genesis or an Episode 3 that is primarily focused on Seph's relationship with Genesis, THEN I'll get mad. But I'm really just asking people to try to be patient. I don't think they forgot about him. I think they're waiting for the right moment. We just have to try to simmer down until then and go with the flow.

#asks #ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #sephcanons #crisis core #sephiroth #genesis rhapsodos #first soldier #angeal hewley #ffvii first soldier #ever crisis #ff7ec #ff7 ever crisis #ffvii ever crisis #final fantasy vii

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serasarascreams · 24 days ago

Text

Might as well add more thoughts into the mix. I was going to do it in the tags of the last post but it felt long enough. The last set of tags was a perspective I don't think I've seen yet, but then again I haven't been here too long. I think they're right in idea that the theme of responsibility doesn't just extend to Curly and Jimmy and that the game itself is a showcase of how all the little things add up and create the bigger issues alongside the certain major steps that were taken. They (aka @son-of-crows-and-rats) put it in much better terms than I did.

I was so focused on the main plot of the game a lot of other things went over my head, and while some things hit me later I'm sure there are more things like the person (and multiple others) pointed out that I'll catch here or again have it hit me later. Fuck Jimmy is the initial reaction I had at the end of the game, screaming disappointment in Curly came next, and the bleakness and awfulness of the events continue to seep through whenever I think about it.

I'm also very much on board with the statement that Curly did not deserve what happened to him and it's kinda messed up to say. Him getting deep fried, for lack of a better term, is another major consequence of him and Jimmy's actions (or inaction in Curly's case) while Anya is another. It's just a consequence that effects him directly now and I think that's a parallel to the way Anya was directly affected by Curly and Jimmy's actions. Neither Anya or Curly deserved the pain inflicted upon them, deserved to be forced to continue to live with it and all the suffering that followed, or deserved to have their autonomy ripped away from them.

Curly is not a trash human being, but I don't think I can call him a good man either. Good natured maybe, but not the best guy. The painful irony of his situation hits harder after the final conversation with Anya. His eye is always open, it's too painful to move, he can't speak. He can only watch and listen. There's no way for him to take responsibility anymore even if he desperately wants to. I think what's worse for him is that he got to live after seeing the monster beneath the skin of his friend destroy everyone and everything around him. I saw someone else say that when he froze the day of the crash it was a moment of "you were everything I feared you were" and I think that just adds an extra layer of awful to it. Curly could have been better, and if he gets rescued and lives, I like to think he will be. But I wonder if in the back of his mind it'll always eat at him that it wasn't when it mattered.

Sorry, that this partially ended up turning into a Curly post. It's just that he seems to be talked about the most. That's fair. He, Anya, and Jimmy are the ones who push the initial topic of discussion to the surface because it's there front an center.

I'll probably have more to say the more realizations dawn and the more I scroll through the tag. This is the first game in a long time that made me cry and the only horror game to really mess me up. Funny enough, it's because Curly scares me more than Jimmy.

I love this game and all the infuriating and saddening elements within and around it. I love and hate how human all these characters are. If Wrong Organ ever makes another game in the future, I'll be running to check it out.

#long post #mouthwashing #anya mouthwashing #curly mouthwashing #captain curly #jimmy mouthwashing #swansea mouthwashing #daisuke mouthwashing

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runabout-river · 3 months ago

Note

Do you believe that JJk part 2 would be made? The author seems to make it clear with the pacing, that the story is concluding in this series.

What other plot points could be addressed thoughtfully and with adequate pacing, if the trio's comeback, antagonist death, and main heros power escalation in the final arc, did not get the pacing it deserved?

It'll mostly likely wrap up in the next two chapters, with the last one serving as an Epilogue.

Thanks for this question! I'm going to cheat a little by copy/pasting a previous post of mine about everything that's still open ended in JJK, most likely will not get a proper conclusion in the last 3 chapters, and could serve as the groundwork for a potential JJK 2.

First, though, your questions seems a little misaligned. JJK is going to end in three chapters and there is no pacing issue there. Maybe it's a bad word choice or you've seen others talk about it like that, but chapter 271 is going to be a rounded end for the story that, in my opinion (08.09.2024), will lead into a JJK Part 2 because of these:

The Culling Games have not Ended

They still go on because players like Yuji and Hakari are still alive

We didn't even come close to the Merger

We have so much setup including pregnant Sukuna who left baby Tengen (probably) with Megumi now.

When as a writer you introduce world ending stakes, you better deliver on them even if only for the good guys to win against them.

Those stakes were never even reached though

The foreign invasion of Japan was introduced but then forgotten about

There are now militaries in Japan who abduct sorcerers for resources, giving Gege vast storytelling potential for the future

But Gojo could've dealt with them off screen and Yuta might continue to protect Japan in his stead now. This plot thread can be dealt with in the last 3 chapters but you would still ask: Why was it here at all?

Remy survived

Remy was the girl who tricked Megumi and who Megumi wanted to kill afterwards. Tsumiki's soul intervened on Remy's behalf and saved her, just for Remy to be abducted later. She's one of those characters Gege could've killed but instead we have a scenario where Megumi is poised to save her now while also getting into contact with Tsumiki's soul that hasn't happened yet

Tengen, the Star Plasma Vessel and the Six Eyes are connected by Fate

Multiple SPVs can exist simultaniously but not the 6E. After Gojo's death this minor detail mentioned by Tengen became obsolete for the story.

But then Yuta took over Gojo's body and now the 6E are back for this particular fate to happen again especially with Tengen's life in the strange state it is

Gege had come up with the story of the 3 Kugisaki women at the beginning of the manga

But instead of discarding it at the end of it, becasue it had no relevance or plot attention at all, Gege decided to open that thread and let it hang there, promising things to come like the bastard that he is with regards to the Kugisaki family.

Megumi's incomplete Domain

This is basic story telling especially in battle shonen: when you show the audience an incomplete ability, then by the end that ability has to be mastered barring a tragic end to the character.

Gege could throw us a curve ball about his domain with the last chapters but with Sukuna defeated now all tension of him accomplishing it is out.

But if this is Megumi's midpoint of his character arc and development, then everything regarding him, his domain and even his relationship with Sukuna can come to a proper end in JJK2

Sukuna's and Megumi's relationship and interactions were lacking in the end

But with Gege deliberately leaving behind 1 Finger, the option of Sukuna coming back as a curse, the remains of his first body most likely being permanent parts of Megumi, and not to forget the psycological and physical scars that Megumi has from him now, the potential for deep future interactions is there.

Sukuna's story has only been told to us from the perspectives of others

Sure, that does not have to change. Gege can leave it like that and he could or could not give us a Sukuna flashback in the last 3 chapters.

But he can go further than that and delve into that villain from more angles outside of mainly the narrator's and Yuji's.

He could eg go into the difference between Sukuna's relatiosnhip with Yuji and his relationship with Megumi to dive deeper into his personality

Kenjaku/Kaori, Jin and Yuji - none of that is resolved in any way

Just like how Kenjaku's true motives for creating the perfect vessel, who was in the end the perfect cage for Sukuna, was never explained.

So, yeah, I think JJK 2 is a real possibility with everything that hasn't been done and talked about, which was why I titled my original post with all of these points: "Gege kills off unneeded characters, why didn't he kill this?".

And I can see multiple reasons for why he would go the hard cut with the middle point of the series.

It's easier to structure narratively

he can make genre, theme and protagonist changes

he can get a break that can be longer than just a few weeks

it creates hype for the ending

keeping the story going makes him and his characters a cultural icon and him and SJ rich

also we would have a JJK 0, JJK 1 and now JJK 2, which would be funny

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #fushiguro megumi #sukuna #yuji itadori #nobara kugisaki #kenjaku #gege akutami #ask

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amethystina · 8 months ago

Text

A health update (and a general explanation of my long Covid)

So while I've been pretty open about living with long Covid, I realise I've never taken the time to explain what that actually means for me and my quality of living. It's a phrase I toss around but I can imagine it doesn't feel all that substantial to a lot of you.

So I figured that now that I'm feeling a bit better (more on that later) I should do so. Partly because I figure it will make it easier to understand why I sometimes have to disappear for weeks on end.

So, if you're interested, feel free to keep reading under the cut :)

But be warned: It's long and kind of whiny. But also ends on a high note! So there's that.

The first time I caught Covid was around Easter 2020, long before there were any vaccines, which meant that I was hit hard. But no matter how bad I felt during the illness itself, the aftermath has been ten times worse. I've been living with my long Covid symptoms ever since, so for four years now. They worsened for a couple of months when I caught Covid a second time in February 2021, but have otherwise held pretty steady during those four years.

A lot of people experience different symptoms with their long Covid and, sometimes, they'll change as the weeks and months go by. I actually had a very interesting couple of months during 2022 when my sense of smell just went completely whack and everything suddenly smelled differently than it should. Like, I could be smelling an apple but it did not smell like an apple. It was a weird time in my life.

Anyway. My most common symptoms are fatigue, fevers, joint pain, brain fog, memory issues, incoherent speech, and lowered blood circulation.

(The latter actually kickstarted the Raynaud's syndrome I have on my mother's side so now I struggle with fingers and feet that will occasionally go white, bloodless, and completely numb at random intervals. Fun times)

The fatigue and fevers are the worst by far. For the past four years, I have had exhaustion fevers between two to five times a week. Or every single day if I'm unlucky. It's very much tied to how much sleep I'm getting, how well I'm eating, and how many taxing things I do each day. I need eight hours of sleep to be functional and anything less than that will most likely mean I'll end up having a fever before the day is over.

Unfortunately, I've always had issues with my sleep so, on most nights, I don't get eight hours even if I try my absolute best. Sometimes it's because I wake up too early and can't fall back asleep and, sometimes — because my life sucks — it's because my fever is so high that I can't fall asleep. Cue the endless cycle of too little sleep and fevers.

Because one of the main issues with these exhaustion fevers — and what makes them so difficult to manage — is that there's no way to lower them. Medicine has no effect whatsoever. Once I have it, I just have to suffer through however many hours are left until I can sleep and hope that it'll be gone in the morning. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

And every day my energy level gets just a little bit lower and the fever a little bit higher. Some days, all I can do when I get home from work is to lie on the couch and stare at the wall because I'm too tired and in too much pain to even watch something. And, again, no amount of medicine helps.

It continues on like this for a while and, every third or fourth month or so, the strain eventually becomes too much and I fall ill. My body simply shuts down from the continued stress and exhaustion, to the point where I can barely get out of bed. And, usually, I can feel it coming. On top of the fevers, I start coughing, then get a headache, and then my nose gets stuffy. And, by that time, I know I have about two to four days before I get sick. It's so accurate that my coworkers have learned that when I give the sign, they have to tell me whatever tasks they need to be finished within the near future since I'll probably be out of commission for one to two weeks.

But I eventually recover, go back to work, and so the cycle starts again. And again. And again. And again.

For four years.

All of this has, unsurprisingly, affected my quality of life to a pretty significant degree. I can barely work, let alone spend time doing any of my hobbies. I can't really travel anymore and, if I do, I'll get sick from the exhaustion. Even the 50-minute commute to the office (which I have to do three times a week) usually results in a fever before the day is over.

This inability to travel was how I ended up missing my maternal granddad's funeral. My shitty relatives didn't tell us the date for when he would be buried until there were only two days left and even if I could have put myself on an overnight train to get there, I knew I would be in no shape to actually be at the funeral if I did. So I couldn't go.

I did go to sit with my paternal grandmother as she was dying but, as expected, I got sick and couldn't return to work for a couple of days afterwards.

I also have to skip most birthday celebrations and any events happening on weekdays since I'm usually too feverish or won't manage the required trip to get there. My life has shrunk so much I barely recognise it anymore. I don't recognise myself. I used to be one of those people who could do a million things at the same time and somehow complete all of them. I was firm, organised, and efficient.

And now I'm not.

(... or, well, technically I am — at least compared to many others — but not compared to how I used to be xD)

Point being, a lot of things have changed and I don't like it. But, with that said, I'm also well aware that I'm lucky to be alive and I'm fortunate enough to have a stable job and a roof over my head. So, all things considered, I'm still doing pretty well.

But I also can't lie and say that this hasn't affected me in a deep and fundamental way. My life has changed and, right now, I don't know if it'll ever return to what I used to consider normal. And dealing with that knowledge — and the grief and fear that comes with it — hasn't been easy. I have cried ugly, self-pitying tears over this many, many times. It's frustrating to have no control over what my body does and to constantly have to be careful of what I do so I don't exhaust myself. I am furious that this happened to me.

But, after four years, there's also a certain amount of acceptance. And while I'm annoyed by my new limitations, I try my best not to feel too sorry for myself. Instead, I try to adapt as best I can, even if I might not always do it gracefully.

That does mean that I sometimes push myself more than I should, though. Because, if I didn't, I wouldn't never produce anything. As depressing as it is to admit, everything I've given you in the past four years has been while I was sick. I don't think a single chapter I've written or drawing I've made has been untouched by this. I've become an expert at writing, editing, and drawing even with a fever.

That doesn't mean I regret it, though — quite the opposite. I think that if I hadn't had a reason to write and draw, I would have felt even worse. A lof of the time, the excitement I feel when I'm able to post a chapter or show off a drawing I've made has been the highlight of my week. It's an accomplishment.

But, that said, it's still hard. Writing in particular. It requires a level of brainpower I can't reach when the fevers are too bad. And so, sometimes, I just can't. I literally just can't.

And, back in January, as I was trying to edit chapter 39 of Who Holds the Devil, I honestly pushed myself too hard. I was so determined to finish it that I didn't let myself see just how bad I was feeling — not at all helped by how emotionally draining the content of the chapter was.

It was only once I finished the chapter and posted it that I realised how absolutely wretched I felt. Not because of the chapter itself, but my lack of compassion for myself, I guess? Because the fevers were bad, I was barely sleeping, and I was both mentally and physically exhausted. And, what was worse, I realised that I was displaying depression symptoms I hadn't seen in over ten years.

All of a sudden, I got annoyed as soon as a minor inconvenience appeared. Everything people said to me was dissected into its tiniest component. I feared that people were secretly hating me. I couldn't meet people's eyes anymore when I was talking to them. I didn't realise I was just sitting there, staring at a wall, until several minutes had already passed.

And, as the final nail in the coffin, I stopped talking about how I was feeling.

And that, right there, is my last warning that I need to do something — always has been, ever since I was a teenager. When I clam up completely, refusing to admit to the people around me that I'm feeling bad, that's when I'm about to spiral.

So, the very next day, I went to my boss and told her that I'm getting burnt out and I need to do something NOW or this was going to turn ugly real soon. Thankfully, my boss is amazing and, after a doctor's visit, I was put on partial sick leave. Right now, I'm working six hours a day instead of eight and, let me tell you, I'm thriving.

Or, well, as much as I can while still having long Covid.

I'm almost angry at how much better I feel because, if I had known, I would have done this a lot sooner. I actually have energy now! I've only had a fever about four times in a little over a month! That's insane! It used to be four a week!

So yeah. I'm feeling better than I have in a long time. The downside is that the partial sick leave is still only temporary and there are no guarantees that I'll be able to keep it. Though, if need be, I'll just have to ask my boss to rewrite my contract and change the amount of hours I work because, man, I don't ever want to go back considering how much better and happier I feel. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I feel like I've gotten my life back. It's not quite the same as before, but close enough to it that I kind of want to cry again — but happy tears this time.

And so I've spent the past couple of weeks just... living? When, before that, it felt like I was merely existing. I've been drawing a lot since that helps with the depression symptoms (which are almost completely gone, thank god) but writing has been harder. Possibly because I forced myself to do it during a time when I felt really, really bad and now I'm instinctively trying to shy away from it. But, since I know that's just my mind playing tricks on me, I'm going to give it another try this weekend. I want to write and I miss the stories I'm working on. And, hopefully, since I'm feeling a bit better, I can maybe get back to a more structured uploading schedule. But we'll see. As always, I can't make any promises.

But that's about it, I guess? I'm feeling better and, since I am, I've been doing a lot of things that I wasn't able to before (like taking walks — I take a lot of walks). And I'm still trying to figure out my new routine now that I work less. And while I still get sick sometimes (I am right now, in fact, due to lack of sleep on Tuesday night) I always find my way back eventually.

So yeah. If you've read this far, thank you so much for your patience 💜 I admit that I don't really enjoy writing things like these since it feels like I'm whining — I was very much raised not to take up space or complain when things are difficult (an unfortunate side effect to being the middle child with two disabled, high-maintenance siblings) — but I also prefer honesty and transparency. And I feel a little guilty since there are times when I've given pretty harsh responses when people question why I'm sick all the time or why I don't upload chapters as often as I used to, but without actually explaining why. So I guess it's time to be honest?

And the truth is that I've been constantly sick for the past four years. Not only due to my long Covid, but also the emotional and psychological toll of all the loss, grief, and pain I've been through. These past four years have been rough.

But I'm not saying that to gain pity or make excuses. I actually think I've done pretty well considering just how hindered I've been. I've improved my drawings so much and have written... god knows how many words. I'm honestly kind of scared to check xD But it has to be over 600k by now, maybe closer to 700k.

I think my only regret is that I haven't been able to engage with you all to the extent I would want. I wish I could be a more active and enthusiastic participant in fandom — to seek you out, hold conversations, and give you all even a fraction of the attention you've given me. I feel like I don't offer you nearly enough.

But I also know that I have to accept my own limitations. So, for now, we'll have to settle for whatever I can give, even if it's less than I would want. But I will keep on creating, trust me on that, because I'm stubborn as fuck and even if my pace is slower, I'm still determined to finish what I start.

And that's the note I want to end this on. I have suffered, yes — more so than I may have expressed to you all — but I've still managed to create some beautiful things. And while I mourn who I used to be and the fact that some of you have never known me at my best, I don't think the me I am right now is all that terrible. Do I want things to change? Yes, definitely. But do I want to change the choices I've made and the things I've accomplished in the past four years? No, I can't say that I do. I'm proud of what I've done, especially considering my limitations.

And, if you're reading this, thank you so, so much for your kindness, compassion, and support. Some of you are old friends while others of you are new, but I am grateful to every single one of you. You have made these past four years more bearable. You have made it easier to keep fighting. You have made it worth it.

Thank you 💜

#Amethystina and Life #I don't really know what to tag this as #A rant?#A rambling?#An explanation?#It's just a lot I guess #And I admit I'm still hesitating whether to post this or not #I don't like talking about things like this #Or draw attention to it might be a better way to put it #But yeah #It's here if you want to read it #But do so at your own risk #Now I'm going to bed #And might just pretend I never wrote this because I feel awkward and embarrassed x'D

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