#it's occuring to me that I should not have done an ask game focusing on lyrics lol I do not pay attention to them....

[rimouskis]

34 & 95!

34.

I fear I liked this song before every tiktok and reel started using it so you're just gonna have to trust my annoying hipsterish taste. Also I have never really paid attention to the lyrics of this song until today lol so I'm gonna say "send me shivers somewhere I used to go" for this one

95.

yay lyrics I actually really enjoy 🫶 not necessarily for their meaning but I deeply love how they sound when sung

Another complex, Big Tex, 20 and hit / You keep a notched up side piece with one in the clip / And it's getting late downtown but you can run with the kids / And you let it fly out loud with a rag in your lip / Black dress princess tied to your hip / And leather concho kicks that make you 6-foot-6

[cherryswisherz]

secrets and failed plans

paige x azzi

warnings: sexual innuendos, suggestive, narrarated by lemony snicket himself

based on this req

"you're my little secret, and thats how we should keep it. we should never let them know, never let it show. if you know, like i know, we should never let it go"

your my little secret (xscape, 1998)

-

if you asked azzi fudd about her relationship with paige bueckers, she would tell you that they'd known each other since high school. that they'd started as rivals and became frenemies and later, in college, best friends. she'd say that she loves playing basketball with paige because she knows her game like the back of her hand. azzi would tell you that paige is her oldest and closest friend. 

if you asked paige bueckers about her relationship with azzi fudd, she wouldn't tell you that they'd known each other in the most biblical of terms. that a simple game of 2 truths and a lie had changed the trajectory of their lives. she wouldn't say that she sleeps the best in  azzi's arms. paige wouldn't tell you that azzi is her girlfriend and had been for seven years. 

paige and azzi were basketballs best kept secret. 

they didn't have the novelty of soft or hard launches. instead, they kept the photographic evidence of their love safe in the confines of their 'my eyes only' folder. 

they didn't get to make possessive gestures, like necklaces with eachother intials, or hidden tattoos. instead they wore rings that the other had gotten them, and when asked about it, they simply said 'i forgot where i got this from.' 

they didn't own the privilege of PDA. for them, there was no making out in bars, or holding hands as they walked down the street. instead, they made do with a subtle lean in the others direction or the occasional risky level of eye contact. 

was this an ideal situation for two young women in love? of course not. paige and azzi would love to suck face in front of the world, or tattoo each others initials on their ribcage, or something equally cheesy and romantic and vile to single people. 

but it was just too complicated and messy. the questions and politics that came with dating another college basketball player, let alone you teammate, wasn't something that the couple was willing to go through. they realized this as soon as paige had graduated high school and had a surprisingly mature conversation about the terms of their relationship. they knew they wanted to be together, but they didn't want the sanctity of their bond to be tarnished by the media.

so they made a deal. keep it a secret until azzi graduated college and when they'd both gotten drafted, they would announce their relationship and get engaged and live happily ever after. 

that was the plan. 

and they'd done a damn good job at following the plan if you asked me. no one knew about them, except their immediate families. no teammates, no coaches, no friends, no media team members, no anything. everyone thought the pair were merely close friends.

of course this wasn't an easy thing to facade to keep up with. there were plenty of incidents where the true nature of their relationship was revealed. 

aubrey griffin had once heard them through the wall separating her and paige's bedrooms and then next day, when she inquired about the moans and groans she'd heard coming from her teammates room, paige only shrugged and said she couldn't remember her one night stands name. 

one night, nika muhl, being the observant woman she is, notice paige's earrings in ahotel room that she and azzi shared and when she'd asked azzi about it, azzi lied through her teeth and explained that paige had let her borrow the earrings the night prior. 

through all of the trials and tribulations of maintaining the confidentiality of their relationship, paige and azzi had always maintained true to each other. they never got frustrated with each other when a slip up occurred, never placed blame or made the other feel bad. they simply focused on damage control and went about their lives. 

with all this being said, even the most careful people can't hide forever. 

as the twosome stared in paiges bathroom mirror, a pit formed in both of their stomachs. splayed across paige's collarbone was a bruise. 

well... 

not so much a bruise as it was a hickey. 

you see, the night before was the couples anniversary and apparently, ms. fudd had gotten carried away while expressing her undying affection for her lover. 

paige and azzi spent the next 30 minutes perfecting the color correcting/concealer routine needed to hide the mark. they'd done well, except they hadn't thought of the technicalities. 

today was uconn women's basketball teams exhibition game against fort hays, and of course the face of uconn wbb bound to play at 150%. leaving her sweaty and gross. 

in all honesty, paige thought nothing of it when she threw the towel around her neck and began aimlessly wiping her chest in an attempt to rid herself of that swampy feeling. no one really did. they knew this was routine for players after leaving their souls on the floor. 

it wasn't until after the team had returned to the locker room and celebrated their win that a certain curious sophomore noticed the blemish on paiges pale skin. 

"oooouuu p boogers, who's been freakin on you?" kamorea teased, smacking the blonde with her towel. all eyes were now on #5

paiges willed her eyes to refrain from finding azzis, knowing that would be a dead giveaway. 

"man kk, chill!" she'd tried to laugh it off, play into the teams preconceived notion that paige was a player. "you know i don't kiss and tell." 

it was no use though, because kamorea was going to keep up her antics until she'd gotten the truth. 

but paige and azzi had worked to hard to protect their secret and paige wasn't about to let seven years go down the drain so easily. 

so she answered all of her younger teammates questions as vaguely as possible. simple yes/no replies and whatnot. 

finally, kamorea had gotten tired of paige's games and went to her next best source:

paiges oldest and closest friend.

"azzi poo! you have to tell me who was sucking on paige last night." in the process of asking her question, kamorea grabbed azzis bicep, eliciting a wince. 

of course, young kamorea noticed the reaction and looked down, only to see azzi had aqquired a few bruises of her own. two angry purple marks had formed on the girls bicep and shoulder. 

azzi didn't play in the game, so she couldn't have been fouled.... azzi and paige slept in the same room...

the gears began turning in kamoreas head and as the newfound detective put two and two together, paige's eyes had finally met azzis, knowing that they'd been found out. 

"OH MY GOSHHHH" kamorea began jumping around like a lunatic. "PAZZI IS REAL!" 

and just like that, five years of careful sneaking around had been undone by a nosy nineteen year old. 

the locker room erupted into cheers and the couple was swarmed with questions about how long this had been going on, why didn't they say anything, and so on, so forth. azzi followed paiges lead on being honest about the whole thing, but still being as vague as possible. 

after the chaos had settled, paige explained to her team that they had to keep it under wraps for the sake of their relationship. she broke down the plan they'd formed so many years ago and begged for their understanding, which of course, she received without the blink of an eye.

and at the end of that day, azzi and paige fell asleep in each others arms, like they'd done so many times. only this time, they were on the couch of the home they shared with their teammates. 

this time, they weren't worried about who would see what, they weren't worried about pictures being posted in an attempt to embarrass them. 

this time, they knew they were safe, and not alone in each others company. 

niyah speaks i hate this lol

taglist: @patscorner @riyahtheballer @mattslolita @thaatdigitaldiary @janaelalfysblunt

@mrsengstler @kmoneymartini @sageworld @darkskinchristiandiorpostergirl @justliketoreadsowhat @authentic-girl03 @pb524830

[firelordsfirelady]

XVII. The List

Author: @firelordsfirelady

Imagine: When Y/N—a princess of one of the Water Tribes—is told she’s leaving her tribe, she never expects that she’s to be betrothed to the Fire Lord’s son, nor was she prepared to be exiled the very day she arrived at the Fire Nation. With her life in the hands of her new fiancée, how will life change for the princess? 

Pairing: Zuko x F!Reader

Trigger warnings: arranged marriage, feelings of fear, banishment, mentions of burns/abuse, frustration, violence, betrayal, language

Word Count: 1639

Destined to be Yin and Yang 

I own no rights to Avatar the Last Airbender or any of the characters/story. 

Author’s Notes

The characters as all aged up so Zuko’s banishment happens when he’s 16 

Keep in mind I am bringing a unique world with inspiration from ATLA in their characters, some of the events that happen, bending, etc. Not many things may align or occur with what happened in the show. It’s intended that way, so I hope you enjoy it regardless.

See Y/N’s look this chapter here. 

Destined to be Yin and Yang Soundtrack (YouTube)

I had just pulled the undershirt over my head to expose my wound when a gentle set of knocks sounded at my door.

“It’s me.” Zuko’s voice was quiet from the other side of the door. “Can I come in?” Sighing as I looked down at the undergarments that kept my chest covered, I debated telling the Prince to buzz off. 

Why do you need to check on your distraction? I thought sarcastically before I granted him permission to enter. I turned my back to the door before I could see Zuko walk in. 

“Where are we off to next?” I asked as I finished taking the shirt off of me. “I know you saw the sky bison flying away too.” The last words I whispered were soft as I held my shirt in my hands. The sound of a door closing then water sloshing in a bucket brought my attention to the Prince as he set down a bucket before he looked at the wound on my left shoulder. The area around it was slightly red as the cells within worked hard to repair the damage caused by the rock, and it was slightly oozing a bit of clear liquid now. Zuko took a seat on the edge my bed as he rolled up his sleeves.

“We must wait for news of anything unusual.” Zuko’s voice sounded defeated as he grabbed a rag from within the bucket. “It’s a waiting game now.” He carefully wrung out the excess water from the rag before he moved to come towards me, but I grabbed his wrist lightly to stop him.

“I can handle my wounds.” I felt the rush of blood as it came to turn my cheeks red in the soft candlelight. I found it hard to look at Zuko as his eyes tried to convey whatever emotions he was feeling. Looking away from him, I tried to grab the rag, but Zuko tightened his grip on the cloth.

“I know you can handle your wound.” Zuko’s words were barely above a whisper. “Please, just let me help.” I bit back any hurt remark I would’ve thrown at him as I nodded my head and allowed Zuko to tend to the wound. His touch was gentle as he cleaned the area around the wound, and we sat in silence as neither of us made eye contact with the other. I wondered if he could feel how rapid my heart was beating with his proximity, or if he knew how messed up he had my heart, mind, and feelings. 

“You shouldn’t have done that.” He whispered as he dipped the rag back in the bucket. 

“There’s a long list of things I shouldn’t do.” I said just as quietly as the Firebender had. “So, I’m going to need you to elaborate.” 

“You should have gone back to the boat.” Zuko said as he brought the rag back to clean my wound. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, but his gaze was focused on the wound in my shoulder. The golden orbs held a deep sadness as he paused his action when he noticed my gaze on his face.

Gently taking the rag from Zuko, I levitated a small ball of water to me before maneuvering it to occupy the small deep hole in my shoulder. Closing my eyes, I focused on the flow of water in my body as I willed the wound to close. Bringing my hands back down, I heard Zuko’s sharp intake of air as he saw the faint scar that replaced the open wound.

“If I had, then Iroh would be the one with the injury.” My eyes remained closed as I spoke softly. “Staying on the boat is on the list of something I shouldn’t have done.” A moment of silence passed between us before Zuko quietly asked.

“What else is on the list?” I felt my heart stop briefly before it began to rapidly beat as I swallowed my nerves and decided to honestly speak with the man looking at me with golden pools for eyes.

“I probably shouldn’t have been on the boat to the Fire Nation three years ago.” I opened my eyes to look at my hands that were placed in my lap. “I probably should’ve died once I stepped foot in the Fire Nation Capital.” A joyless chuckle left me as felt a wave of emotions crash into me.

“I shouldn’t have kept my dream about the Avatar to myself, but I wouldn’t have been able to see the light leave your eyes if it was another empty lead.” I wet my lips and swallowed before I continued. “I shouldn’t have been jealous at the thought of someone waiting for you back home, and I shouldn’t have been so relieved when you didn’t.” Looking up, I found intense golden pools staring at me, and the wave of emotions hit me harder as my heart raced within my ribcage.

“I shouldn’t be in an arranged marriage with you. I mean, you’re a Firebender,” I motioned towards Zuko before I took some water from the bucket and played with it between my hands. “And I’m a Waterbender.” I guided the water to extinguish one of the lit candles nearby, and I sighed. 

Our elements themselves are yin and yang.

“I shouldn’t hate how the world treats you, and I shouldn’t see the good in you.” I could feel my heartbeat in my throat as I barely whispered my next words as I looked at Zuko again. “I shouldn’t care about you as much as I do.” The only sound in the room was the soft inhales and exhales of our breathing as the Firebender looked back at me. My eyes tried their best to memorize every detail of the man’s face in case I didn’t see him this close again.

“There’s a long list of things I shouldn’t have done.” I said in a normal tone as I leaned back into the chair. “Two things aren’t on that list: helping you rescue your uncle, and helping you regain your honor.” A yawn escaped my lips before I could stop it.

“You’ll have to forgive me, Prince Zuko, but I am exhausted after today’s events.” Zuko frowned slightly at his formal title. “I am in desperate need of a bath before bed.” I laughed a bit to help hide the heat of embarrassment in my cheeks. Zuko stood after I started to stand, but he gently grabbed my wrist as I went to walk past him, stopping me in my tracks. Turning to look at him, I felt a gentle tug before soft lips met mine and a hand cupped the left side of my face. As his other hand cupped the other side of my face, I closed my eyes and kissed the Firebender back before he pulled back to look at me.

“You shouldn’t have done that….” I whispered as I searched Zuko’s eyes for the answer to the question my heart was dying to know.

“I shouldn’t have done a lot of things.” Zuko whispered as his golden eyes steadily held my gaze. “I shouldn’t have been such an asshole to you.” Zuko’s right thumb gently stroked the left side my face as his eyes put his guilt on full display. “I shouldn’t have called you a distraction.”

“I shouldn’t act like you don’t mean anything to me.” Disbelief overtook my face as my heart leapt in my throat, and I struggled to swallow it back down.

“You shouldn’t say things you don’t mean….” I whispered while my mind raced and my heart panicked as my eyes flickered to look at Zuko’s lips before looking back to the golden pools. A soft smile was on Zuko’s lips as he looked at me before his hands left my face and he extended his right pinky to me.

“I pinky promise that I won’t say anything I don’t mean.” He whispered as his hopeful eyes searched mine. With my heart racing in my chest, I wrapped my pinky around his and squeezed.

“There’s another one more thing on my list.” Zuko whispered as he kept holding the pinky promise with reddened cheeks, and I raised an eyebrow. “I shouldn’t enjoy doing this.” Using my pinky to close the space between us, Zuko’s lips met mine in a gentle kiss. With red cheeks, we pulled away from each other and I let out a small giddy chuckle then smiled at the Firebender.

“I’m glad I wasn’t the only one.” Zuko smiled as he suddenly looked away in embarrassment before he cleared his throat and lightly rubbed the back of his head.

“I fear that I have kept you from getting to bed,” Zuko’s words were soft as he nervously shifted on his feet. “Forgive me.” He said in a teasing manner as the corner of his lip raised in a slight smile. I sucked my teeth as I slightly shook my head in a teasing manner.

“I might be incline to forgive you if there’s jasmine tea involved in the apology.” I smiled at Zuko as I rocked slightly on my heels then straightened up and stifled another yawn. “I really need to go bathe before I pass out in the water and drown.”

“There will be no drowning with me around.” Zuko said with a small laugh. “I wouldn’t want to break my pinky promise.” I smiled as Zuko walked towards the door.

“Good night, Zuko.” I said as he turned around to look at me once he was in the hall before I got on my tip toes and placed a light kiss on his lips.

“Good night, Y/N.” The Firebender’s cheeks were red as he turned around and went into his room across the hall.

Tag List @chevysstuffs @puttyly @ginger24880 @night-fall-moon @junieshohoho @0kauy @coolgirl458 @hypnoticbeing @angelruinz @preeyansha @playboygeniusphilanthropist @ssonniiu  @chi-ara @hagridshaircare @stell404 @kyo-kyo1 @herondale-lightworm @simonsbluee @nadlx33333 @nerdisthenewcool @jewelsrules @soggycrout0n @mymomsdisappointment @leeaintthere-blog @sanskritisays

[bellshazes]

been thinking a lot about people's varied reactions to the chaos & perceived inconsistencies around the rules of limited life and because i taught games professionally for a decade and have done a lot of reading on games academically, I have a few propositions for the fandom to consider.

proposition one: Your interpretation of gameplay events is not the same as a monolithic "the narrative" to which all players are equally subject.

Narrative is not what happened, but the interpretation and meaning attached to the events that occurred. Narrative is when we "give experience a form and a meaning." (Harris-Miller)

This construction of narrative - giving meaning to experiences - can occur in the way a video is cut an edited, as well as in the audience's interpretation after the video is released.

Social play is player interaction, both in the derived from the structure and rules of the game (being "It" in tag) as well as the social roles brought from outside the game. (1)

In transformative social play, players use the game context to transform social relationships.

Most players in the life game are more concerned with narrative as it relates to transformative social play - such as, what does this event mean for me, my alliances, my enemies, and the shifting of roles along that spectrum?

Narrative within the game is dynamic and always changing in response to ongoing events and shifting relationships. Viewers' narratives about the games are more static since they exist outside the game context and are not a part of ongoing social play.

Letting go of a single unified "narrative" lets us think about the differences, tensions, and resonances between players' in-game construction of narrative, the narrative constructed by the player's video edit, and the retrospective audience construction of narrative. (*)

proposition two: Fairness is decided by the players, not the rules.

Playing a game requires trust and safety with the other players. (DeKoven) Even in tic-tac-toe you have to trust that your opponent will take reasonable amounts of time per turn before you sit down to play.

We can distinguish between ideal rules (rules as writ, such as a physical rulebook) and the real rules (the general consensus on what playing the game should look like). (2)

Real rules can include how sportsmanlike behavior is defined, and when "breaking" a rule doesn't count; a common example is forgiving a player who genuinely made a mistake on accident and did not intend to "break" the rules.

The real rules are what actually matter in developed gameplay, and they can be negotiated and constructed inside the game as new events, situations, and dynamics occur. (3)

Brushing past Scar's "illegal" kill on greens is not him getting away with breaking the rules, it's the group coming to a consensus on the real rules of the game. Cleo asking Impulse if her kill on him can count and him finally agreeing is not the breaking of (ideal) rules so much as it is defining the real rules.

proposition: Players' own individual motivations and definitions of sportsmanship or interesting play inform their contribution to the general consensus on real rules and leading them to play "imperfectly" in favor of having more fun or staying true to something.

Purely optimal play is boring to the players and viewers, and taken to an extreme allowed by the ideal rules, would violate the real rules implicitly agreed to by the players.

"Optimal" gameplay in the life series could look like hiding in a hole underground for the entire game if the end goal is to survive the longest, but that would make a boring video and would likely be considered supremely unsportsmanlike by other players and their audiences.

Playing perfectly optimally is one motive to play a game, but is basically never the sole motivator if it's one at all.

Even if everyone in the life series has a goal to "keep playing the game as long as possible," that could mean being focused on winning, or being focused on making allies or not making enemies, or it could compel you to give up your life for someone else who's running out of time because to you to play the game is to play together. (4)

Scar is a perfect example of someone who consistently chooses "non-optimal" goals such as always having the enchanter and goes to great and stupid lengths to achieve it even if it means sacrificing winning.

This "non-optimal" play provides something for other players to play off of and react to, often leading to transformative social play, significantly meaningful narrative, or interesting negotiations of real rules. (5)

synthesis: The most interesting narratives are born out of situations where players negotiate the real rules, not ones where the (ideal) rules are broken.

The life series is inherently highly experimental - even as more seasons build on the experiences of prior ones, the constant addition of new mechanics mean the game is more or less always being playtested rather than simply played.

The "rule" against carrying Third Life into Last Life failed because it is basically impossible to eliminate the out-of-game contributions to social play, especially in a social deduction game where knowledge of other players' habits and behaviors is useful metagame (6) currency that can't be un-learned.

Some of the series' most iconic narrative moments - the end of 3L or DL, he loves me, etc. are born out of the tension between ideal and real rules, where players are forced to take a stand or advocate for something opposed to the "ideal" rules such as allying with reds, sticking with your soulmate, or that there can only be one winner. (7)

I'm offering the above as a way of showing that I think these imperfections and changes between seasons are actually the coolest thing about them and have the potential for transformative fan works in addition to transformative play.

if limited life's copious tnt minecarts via skynet and highly-manual, inconsisent giving and taking of time for kills which may or may not be deserved according to strict interpretations of the rules as stated aren't to your taste, that's just how it is sometimes! It's understandable to not enjoy ideal rules that are loosely defined or interpreted or are imperfectly implemented from a mechanics perspective, but understanding that the players of the actual game did agree and consent and get to negotiate the consequences and meaning of these imperfections is not some unfortunate side-effect but in fact an important part of any gameplay.

The various types of narratives and the various motives for playing mean there can't be a single unified narrative for all players - but thinking about these things in terms of tensions and synergies opens doors for talking about the many narratives and the relationships between them. you can hold multiple seemingly-conflicting narratives as a viewer and put them in dialogue and produce new meaningful narratives in their contradictions or overlap! go forth and embrace the chaos and tension between the chains of context that produce meaning and the freedom to look at that complex web and derive fuller meanings from it!

because this post isn't long enough, more citations and examples from the series below the cut:

Some footnotes:

(1) Social roles within the game are more artificial than the ones that exist outside of it. That doesn't make them less meaningful, but when we consider the consequences of breaking a social role defined by the game compared to a real-world breaking of a promise or law, it's hard to forget the artificiality of the game. The consequences are relatively minor; the morality of betrayal, for instance, during a game can be acceptable because of that artificiality where it would be reprehensible in real life.

(2) A few different ways to think about game rules that are not mutually exclusive but complementary to each other:

Three layers of game rules: the underlying constituative rules of a game, the operational rules that directly guide player action, and the implicit rules of proper game behavior, such as etiquette.

Piaget's developmental stages from the Moral Development of Children are useful background here: the first stage is loose play without rules, second is strict adherence to ideal rules, and the final adult-leaning stage is the understanding that the real rules are what matter. You could call putting ideal rules over the real ones juvenile.

"Ideal rules refer to the "official" regulations of a game, the rules written in a player's guide to Zelda or printed on the inside cover of a game of Candyland. Real rules, on the other hand, are the codes and conventions held by a play community. Real rules are a consensus of how the game ought to be played." (Rules of Play)

(3) "It is not that the basic rules of the game undergo a radical change; rather, they are experienced within a social context that decreases their value in favor of a socially-biased ruleset over which players have more control."

(4) I'm thinking of Bdubs in Limited Life session 7 here, since he gives time and stays alive, but if you take this concept a little further and more broadly you just get players like Skizz.

(5) Metagaming, defined broadly for my purposes as the larger social context of the game and not just the pejorative, could be its own too-long post, but I think it's worth mentioning as an avenue for thinking about the complex dynamics of the life series as social play. For example, Etho consistently is thinking from a metagame perspective, from stalling by accusing Cleo of metagaming or remarking that Scar's lost the dramatic moment so he can't attack now in Last Life, or threatening to break roleplay in Limited Life when he's mad at Scar.

(6) From Rules of Play: "Sutton-Smith's model for player roles includes an actor, a counteractor, and an overall "motive" or format for play. For example, if the motive is capture, the actor's role is to take, while the role of the counteractor is to avoid being taken. [...] In Sutton-Smith's model, the roles of actor and counteractor are both equally important in constructing the experience of play." I don't think this model is sufficient on its own, but it's a worthwhile point that conflict is part of the game and is in fact desirable within certain bounds.

(7) Scott in LL is really interesting narratively because his motivation is at odds with what the game asks him to do: he is extremely true to his word and chooses to take the penalty of being knocked down to red rather than trying to kill someone and making an enemy of them and/or failing and dying anyway. He's not breaking any rules, but his choosing to experience consequences because of his own motivation and social relationships is compelling. It pays off when he wins, and it pays off again when Cleo can't bear to kill him in DL - the metagame element of past social play relationships and player knowledge of other players contributing to the current dynamics of social play.

ETA: An important point I also wanted to make but didn't have space for up top is that Jimmy being a "canary in a coal mine" as a result of always dying first is not some immutable truth about fate that actually influences his games, but if you can accept that it's not actually fated then you can start to think about and react to the way that the in-game players construct narratives in response to the actual events of him always permadying first. Joel's futile attempts to prevent this are a product of previous seasons' social play, the transformative current social dynamics, and his own player narrative (again, narrative as meaning giving form to experiences).

Also, I strongly disliked DL's premise and thought the best parts were the chosen soulmates precisely because I think predestination is best left to Calvinists and choice, especially in opposition to prescribed rules or narratives, is the most interesting thing in the world. Of course Etho and Bdubs in Last Life is what hooked me and I am also smug that the players tend to refer to the series as "last life" even if 3L came first and it's been two whole seasons since then.

(*) On meanings:

I think that meaning is necessarily the complex web of relationships between any given things, and there is no objective meaning to anything. Words and events have no meanings outside of our interpretations of and dialogue about them - this is not nihilism, but a beautiful gift of communicating with other people. A real deep dive into semiotics is beyond the scope of this post and also my own abilities, but it informs this view. I don't think you have to read academically to know it; you can find the proof in arguments about whether a pop tart is ravioli. A stupid argument, but one that is negotiating the boundaries of words' meanings by drawing on the words' relationships to other words and the things those words represent. It's the act of making meaning, not uncovering it. So too is watching the life series and arguing about or making arguments for a certain narrative angle or emphasizing a detail etc. - I just think it's a loss not to celebrate the complex web that tugs in many different directions with many different motives. It's less simple, but much richer.

[autistichalsin]

That journal passage on Aradin's company strikes me as holding a mirror against the Pc's company. Halsin was so isolated and desperate, in his cause against the curse, and in general, to have to rely on the help of likely dangerous strangers in order to move forward several times, repeating a situation that nearly ended him once already, had him be left to be tortured for days, the bear saving him only so much. How many times might he have tried the same before that entry, knowing full well the dangers, but trying anyway? How many times to also go alone, through the mountain pass, and nearly die?

I also wonder if perhaps the enclave rushed to place him as archdruid on the basis of being, at the time, the most experienced survivor of the first battle against the curse among the grove, what was left of it then. He was their the ad-hoc expert on the ground, his research into the curse further cementing his position over the years, even as the curse stopped spreading, his discontent at the position notwithstanding. Should the curse extend, they had a very experienced sentinel already in place to know best what to expect and survive long enough to give further warning. But that isolated him more, since his call to act was not shared by those that could best help him among his peers and betters.

And he likely also saw that for the best, having witnessed the prior druids die at the hand of the curse.

He truly thought the curse was his burden to bear alone, survivor's guilt spurring him, grieving over Thaniel and the land on his own, and did not insist further for anyone to help. Unless you had a path to those lands without his influence, he would not request anyone attempt to go on his behalf directly. Being so isolated likely also contributed to his disregard for his safety, since he was leveraging his well being against Thaniel's, what he believed to be the last creature to care whether about him he lived or died.

I am consumed by thoughts of this bear druid! What a tragic sort he is...

That is definitely an interesting point and it occurred to me as well; Halsin is in a similar situation that went wrong compared to the player. It's interesting to note there's a party banter that sort of alludes to this as well. Wyll asks how Halsin could have been captured by goblins, and he cites sheer numbers plus the poor choice of traveling companions. Which he says has been "gladly rectified since then."

I am not entirely sure if that was the Enclave's reasoning; he has a note where he mentions they declined to help with the Shadow-Cursed Lands despite his urging. If they were trying to help in any way, I think they would have done more than appoint him Archdruid. I do think the battle had something to do with it, granted- I just think it's because he demonstrated leadership skills in the aftermath by rounding up the survivors, tending to them, etc.

I fully agree about the isolation- it's one of the most tragic parts of his character. :( And him thinking the curse is his burden is also very telling. In an older version of the game, it was possible for the player to collapse the portal after he made it but before he went in; he would scream at the player (justifiably) and specifically say, "I told you this was my burden to carry! Why didn't you listen?" He saw it as not only something he had to face alone, but perhaps as something that no one would even WANT to face with him. The player just might have been the first to truly offer him help- and even then he had to tell them that as much as he'd rather have them by his side, he has to face the Shadowfell alone. (Though now that I think about it, it does seem like excellent fic material, the player accompanying him there. I imagine it wasn't a pleasant experience for him, and though focusing on Thaniel probably made it easier for him to bear, he'd probably have liked to have the player too!

I love the tragedy of his character too; he struggles with so many things but keeps them so quiet compared to other characters, which just makes it all the sadder, knowing he views his burdens as less important than theirs.

[christotokos]

✨ 5, 9, 23, 37 ✨

5. lonelyverse“I’m going to take care of you, okay?” Ponyboy reassures Dallas, running his fingers through his hair. "You're just having a rut, I can help you."

Dallas groans, hating how his senses are utterly filled up with Ponyboy's scent, how soft his skin is against his own, how beautiful he looks beneath the lights. He shouldn't want him, shouldn't want this, yet every repressed feeling he's had is washing over him, telling him that Ponyboy is there, Ponyboy wants to kiss him, wants to take his knot, wants to satisfy his rut in ways that Johnny never has.

He wants to say no, should say no, and yet he doesn't push Ponyboy away.

9. trampsverse

“Don’t ask me that.” Antonio says, keeping his eyes focused on Cherry. He takes in the way she looks opposite him, the anger on her face, the disbelief. "I'm a lawyer; you and I both know that if we went toe to toe, you'd lose."

Cherry pulls herself away from the door, her eyes piercing. "No, you would. I know how your kind behave."

She sounds a lot like her father, Antonio thinks as he finishes washing his hands at the sink. The mirrors are as grimy as ever, and he keeps his mouth shut, not giving her another inch as she keeps on. "You'll grease hands anywhere you can, and you can't stand on your own if your money can't do it for you. I'm not going to just let you get away with —"

"Sweetheart, this isn't a comic book," he dismisses her, adjusting his tie, "Nor is this a movie. You can throw any accusation at me that you want; what matters at the end of the day is that you're not as smart as you thought and New York isn't Oklahoma."

23. peepshowverse

“Just pretend to be my date.”

That's what Dallas had said in New York, at the diner. That's what it was supposed to be, a simple con. Ponyboy doesn't feel it's simple as he looks around the lavish hotel suite they've gotten in Vegas. It's too fucking big, filled with too many things that could pay for his life for a year or more, too goddamn beautiful what Dallas gets him for it to be so simple.

He lies down on the bed, curling up in the fur coat, trying to just think about what they were doing, how crazy it is and he hopes to god he doesn't make a mistake here.

37. greekverse “Do you think they could have loved me?” Ponyboy asks, looking from the television set with the Browns game, and to Menelaus who was busy putting the tiropita in the oven.

It's been weeks since that visit to the deli. Most of them have moved on, haven't addressed the fact that it was Darry Curtis there, who'd recognized Ponyboy. Not beyond that one conversation with Pappo.

It feels like a good time to talk to Menelaus now, with Pappo out of the house, with the game on again and Menelaus closes the oven with a snap that told Ponyboy his mood right now: not annoyed at Ponyboy so much as he clearly was annoyed at the mention of Darry.

It occurs to him, then, that they might've met. Menelaus was about three years older than him, and it could've occurred.

He waits for Menelaus to exit the kitchen, his eldest brother looking at the television set and back to Ponyboy. "I don't know," he admits, still surely thinking about Ponyboy's description, "He was an asshole at the deli. Maybe if everything was different, sure. But someone like that, reacting to just you existing?"

He can see Menelaus trying to choose the right words like he'd done when they were younger and Ponyboy asked a difficult question about something like the arm or how Pappo was doing or their family history. How he always tried to say it in a way that wouldn't hurt and Ponyboy interrupts with, "It wouldn't be the same as you. I know it wouldn't."

[andromebaa]

Anything you’d have added to the previous chapters in retrospect? Scenes that only occurred to you after the chaps were done?

Ooh that’s a great question! I have to say, because I was not planning on Just the Two of Us to become such a big work I definitely have scenes I wish I’d included.

- If I’d have known I was going down a scarier route with it, I’d have included more horror straight up. I kind of wish I’d made the killing sequences at the beginning a chapter or two longer and more unhinged.

- Similarly, I feel like I could have included more slice-of-life, especially before and around that year Kaito and Kokichi spent together. Even some of my more domestic focused chapters had drama or sad stuff occurring. I just needed more fun fluffiness. Gardening seems to be one concept I keep coming to? Or just being silly and playing games together? I have a bunch of cute one shot ideas though so I might end up writing some in the future. I have at least one planned for Oumota week!

- in a similar vein, I keep kicking myself that I didn’t include more scenes of them testing the limits of the program too. Not even for more serious escapes I could just imagine Kokichi being like “Do you think I could make a giant water slide??” Or something crazy like that. I briefly considered them creating a pet cat but then I realised that if I have a cute living creature they’d probably die horribly and I couldn’t do that to myself. That’s how we got Shadow Child dying horrifically instead!

- More relationship building stuff?? I feel like I might have rushed that part a little bit and reflecting on it I wish I’d kind of given more time to building their relationship. This is actually the first time in a long time I’ve written anything remotely considered “romantic” so I’m definitely rusty at it. I think I’d have been more satisfied with it if I’d just given some more explanation as to why Kaito kissed Kokichi in the chapter after the wall broke. It wasn’t that he was in love with him at the point, I think it was more to prove to himself and Kokichi that he wasn’t the monster the leech made him into in the previous chapter.

- Different perspectives. Mild spoilers but I’m planning on having a chapter soon focus on a very specific character, and it’s made me realise how much I wish I’d included a Miu focused one as well, especially when Kaito and Kokichi were trapped in the bathroom and she’s observing them with the P.A.L. leech thing. I might write a one shot about her eventually who knows.

- Probably should have made Defragmentation an offical chapter lol my weird ass was like I can’t put a sex scene in this it’d make it crass then proceeded to write some of the most horrific content I could muster. Plus it has themes and lines I want to reference.

All in all I think my biggest regret is not making the first half of the fic a bit beefier. Eh, you live and learn. Thanks for the ask ❤️

[fredswrite]

Hiiii it's me🦅 I've been trying to find some Minho fics so you're my savior!! To the point, I was wondering if you're able to do a small Minho imagine where she was Sonya's best friend and the reunited?

If not it's COMPLETELY ok!! 🦅🙏🏼

Thank you bby 🤍🤍

A/N: Love this 🦅! Sonya is literally my wife and Minho is my husband so this is perfect. This happened in the second books but doesn’t really follow how it happened because I read the book so long ago.

WC: 2.8k

SUMMARY: You have spend the last weeks with the girls of group B, forgetting about the maze until you meet them again. Reader is supposed to attack them but she loves Minho to much to do so.

WARNING: Use of knife, death!threat, a bit of angst, Minho being honest and Thomas being astonished.

masterlist

REUNITED

After you finally succeed in escaping the Maze, you were taken away from your friends with Teresa. You were both completely lost until you met the other girls. They told you about the mission they had, which soon became yours as well. To kill Thomas.

They were all unsure if it was the right thing to do, they didn’t know the boy like you did. When you tried to think back of the maze, all you could remember was the nights spent with Minho laughing after your long days of running.

Yes, there was Teresa, but she was fighting her own thoughts to make sure this was the only thing occurring in her mind. When she stopped her telepathic link with him she stopped talking with everyone, including you. She wanted more than anyone his death, which was kind of confusing after you saw their bond back then.

The others were still debating if they would truly kill him, after all, they didn’t know if he was the evil person they thought he was.

You didn’t know what to do or think about it. He used to be your friend, but Gally used to be too before he killed Chuck.

You missed all your friends too, Newt, Thomas, Frypan, Winston, but one in particular, Minho.

"We’ll meet them soon, I feel it." Sonya told you one night when your thoughts were fixated on this, but not on Thomas, on Minho once again.

He was your best friend if not more. The way he would play in your hair during the bonfire nights and how he loved to run to your side in the maze were the thoughts that could make you find sleep. He wasn’t a demonstrative person, so when he made those small attentions to you, it was occurring in your minds for the next days.

The hammocks that were used as beds were the same ones that were used in the maze. Sometimes it made you consider if you never truly escaped WICKED and this was all kind of their game. But when you look at the many dunes of sand, you easily forget these thoughts.

You all stayed together in the same shelter, weapons for each one of them, in case of crank emergency or any other situation where you would need to defend yourself. You had a small knife you could easily hide if you needed to.

"Sonya what if they had to kill us like we have to kill him." You asked her, scared that Minho could have something to do in this situation.

"It’s about Thomas." She responded, knowing the deeper meaning of her words.

You would only nod, not convinced as you should be. The worry filled you days and nights, trying to find a way to forget about it.

Teresa, though, didn’t forget about it. She wanted to make sure everything she was told to do was done. There was something she wasn’t telling them, something else than her mission.

One morning, Sonya woke her up earlier than supposed, an uneasy smile expression on her face. "Y/n, they’re here."

You didn’t need to be told twice and you stood up from your hammock, grabbing the knife from under it. Straight away, you saw all the girls standing still, waiting for Teresa to give the signal. When she saw you, a weird look covered her face.

"Let me do the talking." She said and you didn’t thought anything about it at first, you were too focused on seeing them again.

Carefully, everyone took positions behind her, you to her side. You walked silently until you saw them. The boys you spent more then two years with.

The other Gladers noticed right after you did, and soon everyone had stopped to gawk at you and Teresa. As she marched toward them, her hands gripping that weapon, her face hard as stone. She looked ready to start stabbing the first thing that moved.

Thomas took a step forward, not really sure what he planned to do. But then more movement stopped him.

On both sides of Teresa, he noticed the girls appearing. They seemed to come from nowhere. He turned to look behind him. They were surrounded, by at least twenty girls.

You stared at him, wanting to run to hold him. But the look Teresa gave you saying "don’t ruin everything," made you back off. The task, right.

You all held weapons, varying knives, swords and jagged machetes. Several of the girls had bows and arrows, their tips already aimed at them. You could feel the slice of fear in Thomas. He couldn’t figure out why you both looked ready to harm the first one to speak.

They were all here unless three more people you didn’t recognize and Winston was gone. An older looking man with brownish skin, a girl with short black hair and a skinny boy with blonde hair that looked dehydrated.

Her thoughts were cut short when Teresa stopped about thirty feet away from the Galders. The girls did the same, forming a full circle around them. Thomas twisted again to see the girls, blades held out in front. He knew those arrows could fly and find a home inside someone's chest easily.

Minho spoke first. "What's this crap about, Teresa? Nice way to greet your long-lost buddies."

He looked like the only one to not notice you were here as well until he looked around like Thomas did. He saw you, your y/h/c hair and those eyes he could get abandoned inside. He trusted you deeply and seeing your weapon armed toward him, he felt betrayed after seeing you for so long.

"Y/n what’s happening."

You both didn't answer the question, and a dreadful silence swept across the group. Teresa walked toward them, and stopped about ten feet from where Minho and Newt stood side by side.

"Teresa?" Newt questioned. "What the bloody—"

"Shut up," she said without snapping or yelling it. She said it calmly and with assurance, which only made it that much more fearful for Thomas. "And any of you makes a move, the bows start shooting."

Minho looked at you, seeing the silence you expressed. You looked back at him, trying to say something but you couldn’t.

You and Sonya stepped closer to Teresa holding your blades. "Y/n." Minho said again his voice filled with calm, but at the same time he felt anger filling his veins.

"Shut up." Teresa said again, her spear closer to the boy’s throat.

"Teresa what’s-"

She reared back and swung the back of her spear at him, hitting it into his right cheek. A outburst of pain shot through his skull and his neck; he crushed to his knees, a hand to his face where she'd hit him.

"I said shut up." You reached down and grabbed him by the shirt until he stood once again.

Teresa repositioned her hands on the pole, and pointed it at him. "Is your name Thomas?" Confusion could be read in his face as she questioned who he was. You tried to stay calm, but you didn’t thought she would go this far.

"You know who I am, he looked at you, Y/n you do know right?"

You were about to speak, but Teresa cut you in your way by hitting Thomas in the stomach once more, but this time he keep standing.

"I used to, I’m going to ask you one more is your name Thomas?" Her voice no longer had the calming effect on him, he was glancing at her breathing heavily by the punch she just made.

"Yes!" He yelled back, "My name is Thomas!"

Just as he said those things, she dragged him out of the Gladers, as he followed with difficulty.

"You're coming with us," she called out. "Thomas. Come on. Remember, anyone tries something, the arrows fly."

"No way!" Minho yelled. "You're not taking him anywhere."

You were alone with the boys in the middle of the circle, since Teresa grabbed him away being half-conscious.

They looked at you while Thomas disappeared of their side. Minho was the first to talk. He looked so different, but somehow he was still the same. His hairs were wet with sweat and he changed his usual blue running shirt for a black compressive one. You could have hug him, having your happy ever after ending. But in that circumstance you were a total stranger to all of them.

"Bring the bag," Teresa said from above.

In his vision, Thomas saw two girls walking toward him, their weapons hidden away somewhere.

One of them Hariett, stepped closer to him, the brown bag ready to cover him. They stopped two feet from him; he got back to his hands and knees, scared to do anything more for fear of getting hit again.

"We're taking him with us!" Teresa yelled. "If anybody follows, I'll hit him again and we'll start shooting you. We won't really bother aiming. Just let the arrows fly any old way they feel like."

As you were about to turn away and join them back, she spoke up to you. "And y/n will stay with you, so don’t try anything." She threw you her spear and you aimed at the Gladers.

Was it a good thing? Maybe that way you could see them again, but you were only seen as the enemy, not their friend anymore.

"Teresa!" Minho's voice. "You catch the Flare that quickly? Your mind's obviously gone already."

She hit Thomas in the head this time and put the bag over him immediately. "I warn you, someone want to say something more?"

Nothing.

In the middle of the scorch, no sound could be heard except from the wind crashing into the sand and the moans of Thomas.

"Good." And they left Sonya gave you a sad smile, before they were out of your sight once more.

"What the fuck." The girl with short hair said, showing her fist to your nose, which you easily dodged.

"I-" You started, but Minho cut you off.

"What in the klunk happened to you?" All the love you two shared was gone, he saw you as a traitor who backstabbed his friend.

"We had to do this Minho, I promise you they said it was the only way we could save things." You tried to explain, but even in your own words, this sounded weird.

"To be killed by group B." Newt quoted the line written on his friend's neck, "For all I know, you aren’t from group B," He added.

They could have killed you easily, which made you think that maybe Teresa made you stay with them so you would get killed. During the past few days, she no longer felt anything that concerned you.

"You changed so much." Frypan let out, looking up and down at you and your weapon. Knife in one hand and spear in the other.

"So you’re going to kill Thomas?" The girl you didn’t know spoke again, and you could tell how deeply she cared for him.

Somehow that made you realize something, it made you come back to your true self, there was no way you would kill Thomas by giving WICKED what they wanted. It all made sense now Teresa was behind all this.

"I won’t. Sonya and Harriet won’t let this happen."

"What’s that supposed to mean? Teresa seemed quite sure she would kill him.« Minho said, crossing his arms.

"We’ll go in the wood, hide for the next day and meet them again. Sonya is smart enough to know what she’s supposed to do."

"What do you mean we." She spoke up.

"Do you want to save him or not?"

When the night had come, you couldn’t find sleep. The Gladers didn’t seem to trust you enough, they all kept a guard turn, to make sure you wouldn’t try anything. Which was understandable considering the things you did earlier.

It was Minho’s night shift when he spotted you, your back pinned against a tree. "Can’t sleep?" He asked you, and that reminded you of all your times spent together.

"I’m sorry Minho, I didn’t know what-"

He cut you off pressing his hand in his hair, which gave you a weird sensation in your stomach you weren’t used to.

"It’s fine." When he said something was fine, it was because it wasn’t. "I don’t know your side of the story, but being with all those girls probably made you feel like them."

"We got told we would save things if we killed Thomas, but now that I’m looking at it, it just seems so wrong. Teresa was really looking forward to doing it, so I thought it was the right thing to do."

He nodded and stood up before sitting back to your side, pinning his back to the tree as well.

"I understand, Thomas can be a real ass sometimes." He chuckled and just the sound of his laughter made your smile come back. He always hid behind sarcasm, but right now you could feel him be honest with you. He was letting his heart to you.

"Brenda really like Thomas doesn’t she?" You asked, finally knowing her name. You already knew the answer but you wanted to know the deeper story.

"Yeah, they got locked somewhere once and got drugged by some shanks. I saved them, of course, but I could tell something happened before I arrived."

He said playing with his dragger at the same time. You looked at it, noticing it was the same one he kept on him when running.

"Is that your knife from the maze?" You question turning your head to look back at him, knowing he probably missed running or was relieved he didn’t have to anymore.

"Yeah, I always keep it with me." He shrugged before pulling it back into his pocket where its place was designed. "It’s stupid."

"Hey, it’s not stupid." You said, grabbing his hand to keep him from hiding it. "I still have this." You showed him the random piece of wood Chuck sculpted for you. You and Thomas were his two best friends, went he was murdered he gave you both one.

Thinking about him always made your tears come back. You knew Gally was strung, but somehow his actions still hurt you. Every time you closed your eyes, you could see his death over and over again.

Minho closed your hand that held the sculptur, closing it with his. He looked up at you, his eyes were staring at yours, filled with worry. He was never good to comfort people, but this was difficult.

The boy noticed your wet cheeks, pressing his hand over your cheeks to wipe the tears away. "Don’t cry, I hate to see you cry." He murmured in a quiet tone, which reminded you why you loved him this much.

He stayed like that for a long moment, fixated on your eyes, your lips and every facial feature he liked deeply. His thumb started rubbing against your skin, millions of fireworks exploding on your face. You felt hypnotized by him and his touch.

"I really missed you y/n." The same damn voice, driving you insanely in love. He was everything you wanted, everything you needed. He was Minho.

"Me too." Was all you could respond, when you felt your skin burning, wanting more than just a simple touch. Your throat could have fallen to the ground if you didn’t remain composed.

"Can I kiss you?" It was a simple question, one that you never thought he would ask. It took you by surprise, but instead of replying, your lips met his in a slow and passionate dance.

It was everything you could think of right now. You were kissing Minho. The boy for who you hid your feelings for what seemed like an eternity. Your kiss expressed the admiration you had for one another.

He grabbed you by your neck, dragging your body closer to his passionately. His tongue asked for entry, which you gave at the same moment. He touched you everywhere he could, from your head to your hips, holding you close to him as if there was no tomorrow.

You smiled through the kiss as you explored his body at your turn. He let out a high-pitched sound when you grabbed his hair firmly. His back straightened to your touch as you felt his muscles tightening.

You were in heaven for the rest of the night, forgetting about all your problems. All you cared to think of was Minho beneath your arms, his lips connected to yours.

You could have easily told him you loved him right now, but he wouldn’t let your lips away except to breathe.

"You don’t know how long I waited for this." He said as he pinned you to the ground.

[doughcatball]

are there more liquid skies pages than what's on tapas? there's a bunch of art of the characters in your gallery but very little lore information and i have questions

do the purple cats (are they cats?) have some sort of nanobot fungus tool? the stuff they use seems to be part of them in patches.

what's up with petrikoro? (and do they smell like fresh rain?) are they a green puffball that can shapeshift into a knife and posses people? or is "petrikoro" a species name and not the name of a character? (it always occurs with another name and when at least one of the characters has dark grey primary coloration, green accents, and (except in 1 case with chroma and bailey) antlers, so, probably.)

also, what's the rune-like thing above bailey's head in petrikoro.png?

can chroma hue-shift or like shapeshift to a limited extent? is chroma faceless in that image and drew one on themself in order to confuse bailey? (my initial impression was that "petrikoro" was the name of a shapeshifting being made of nanobots that could imitate people's general shapes but not fine details like faces and that they couldn't change their green and grey coloration (and that the gun, knife, and scarf were actually part of them) and that they were messing with the other character (who i'm now reasonably certain is bailey) in some manner similar to "oh, you think i should have a face? no problem!" *carves drawing of face into head with knife*, but evidence does not point to this interpretation)

its so awesome that youre interested!!!!! i always want to work more on the comic but i never find the motivation (although i have the whole thing planned out, it is tedious) i intentionally dont reveal information because i want to show people the lore through stories and games rather than just telling them, and that motivates me to get things done :3 the purple guys (Vaporyl) do have some sort of mysterious weapon that spreads in patches, and the name petrikoro is inspired by petrichor so im glad you picked up on that :3 petrikoro (and vaporyl) is neither a species nor a single character, it is a whole faction of people with similar goals and abilities, although they do have a lot of species traits in common to make it obvious that they are related!

sorry for the confusion, but bailey and chroma arent my characters lol, chroma is the sona of my friend chroma, and bailey is a character from my friend lenix, that image is a part of a series of drawings where i put my friends' characters into the style of the corresponding color faction for liquid skies, just as a random spinoff thing, it doesnt say much about the actual story. chroma can hue shift, and likes military stuff like knives and guns (so i used him as a wild card because i couldnt find any green characters lol) and youd have to ask len about the design of bailey

if you want a little bit more lore, you can play my games on my site! (or itch.io because theyll load faster) liquid skies zero shows the combat abilities of four of my characters, and sneaks befriending simulator shows some personality traits of sneaks (although isnt really canon and more of a parody game) we are just starting a new game focused on petrikoro though! we are still planning things out, but hopefully we will have some sort of demo out by the fall :3 the gameplay will involve action sequences like liquid skies zero, and visual novel elements like the sneaks game, but with a more serious and well thought out story. im really excited to work on it and share the story! the game will be called liquid skies infected, and focus on the aftermath of the comics (which have not been made yet lol) so i guess that makes the comic a prequel technically

ill be sure to post more updates on my projects as we work on them! i appreciate the interest :3

[red-rain-platz-5]

to meet something Intresting

1. I knew

Suddenly inspired, I wanted to write about a man I meet. Jose Later I knew that he was an international student in Mexico. My impression of Mexico. It's the big bad guy in red who crashed into a volcano 20 years ago in the movie Despicable Me. Looking back now, I think that uncle is much cuter.

He seemed a little too quiet. The first thing we said when we met was he would go get ready first and that he would come back later. The activity was for everyone to draw together. There was no structure in my mind, and the drawings were mostly perfunctory. When I took turns drawing the second picture with others, the girl next to me drew a long-haired man. Looks a lot like Jose. He also smiled intentionally at the painting. I am responsible for processing this painting. I didn't know what to draw, so I picked up a small brush and poked along the blank areas of my hair, which looked like watercolor. But these unintentional touches cannot be copied, so I colored one side of Jose's hair, but the other side couldn't match the same color. Let it go, his hair showed an asymmetrical gradient color as a whole. Blue, green, brown and yellow… In the end, this painting is really beautiful, and it was taken away by the author of the original painting. But she didn't take the other one.

So, sommerfieren's story has already started a little bit.2. Why need to know before meet!

Zis in whatsapp said there was an activity tonight, kicker! It’s another activity I’ve never done before, let me have a look!

It's not far from my home and I arrived in a short time. We are a team of two. I ordered a glass of Beer first to see how others played. It looked a bit difficult, but everyone was very humble after playing the game. So the team leader Munem also asked me to play. And he told me how to play it. A handful of 10 balls. I do offense. Unexpectedly, we cooperated well and scored a few goals, good。

I get excited easily and will clap and celebrate with my teammates every time I come off the field. Also encourage each other with your opponents. Later, the crowd gradually became less and less. I was talking to Munem, and another handsome guy said to me, "Come， will you？girl？”

That's for sure! Come!

Playing becomes more and more immersive! I'm scoring more and more goals. It feels like a very talented person! Later, Jiyan, Munem's girlfreind，also came to play, and she was taken by Munem. She was still embarrassed and said, ah! So difficult! Since I was the only girl, she decided to team up with me and challenge Munem alone. Anyway, they fit in very well! I played with that girl and she got better. I am prone to shouting when I am happy, the ball is rolling around, I am particularly focused! Once we enter, it’s easy to celebrate happily! I also played in a team with another long-haired man who rarely talked. He taught me who should be in what position sometimes. He plays defense, and he can make up for any ball I lose in the frontcourt. But sometimes I accidentally became a not well teammate. His ball did not go straight to the opposite side but was blocked by me, and the opponent took advantage of me. Every time a goal is scored, beads need to be dialed to accumulate whether our team has won. I am happy and ready to celebrate. The hand he stretched out was to pull the beads! By the way, score. (score) I just give him a high five! Yes! Score, he said he wanted to keep score. Oh oh oh! The English word football, also called points, suddenly occurred to me. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ah, why didn't I think of it?

In the last game, Jiyan and I were on a team, and Munem was on a team with another boy who called me girls. Suddenly, I was more focused!

I am like the little in the snow, warm but not scorching. The atmosphere became more warm。 Now, whoever wins must celebrate loudly! wow the high fives are super inspiring!

Wow! So happy! ! ! Table football is so fun too! Two hours passed in a blink of an eye!

In this scene, I still don’t know what Jose’s name is and what country he is from. Just remember. Long hair. and a very straight back.

3 Hiking with mushroom In August, after a few rains, my friend Bao and I picked mushrooms. Picking mushrooms gives me a high sense of accomplishment. I find small bumps under the brown leaves. Those are mushrooms! Pat it first, and then cut the stems with a knife to save the process of washing the mud. I found a few nice looking mushrooms, as well as edible mushrooms, which made me feel like I have a very sharp eye. Jose had a Hiking. ad a Activity HikingI thought to myself, that forest looks nice. Practice my new mushroom knowledge! I registrierd. The weather in autumn is also very annoying, sometimes cold and sometimes hot. When it's cold, I put on my denim jacket and button it up, and I feel cold. The sun came out and we had to take off our clothes due to the body heat generated from hiking, but I was already sweating! Walking into the shade, my body felt chilly. When the wind blows, it’s my nightmare! I am weak. If I sweat and catch the cold wind in summer, I will get sick immediately! I had to juggle undressing and dressing with the temperature along the way. Gradually, I fell behind everyone. I walked slowly, and I was addicted to looking for mushrooms. My eyes are searching everywhere, looking for anything good-looking or new grow up Mushroom. I have to look at it. When Jose saw that I was walking alone at the end, he took the initiative to find me and said that there was food in the bag that man could eat. I… I said yes. He asked me if I was picking mushrooms. I said yes. I haven't spoken to anyone for a long time, and my language skills are unstable and restarting. Sometimes with English, and Sometimes with German. Fortunately, I made a few things clear. 1 I pick mushrooms because my friends also pick them and they teach me, how to know them.

Jose said that he also knows a few girls. They also like beautiful mushrooms. They always take pictures. What I doing for that? I said they are just like your female friends, they are good-looking. Perhaps another word for girlfriend. He said he didn't have a girlfriend. . . . . . Let me make a quick complaint (I mean, my language system is so lacking, and my English is a mess. Do you have a girlfriend? Do you think I’m trying to test it out?) 2 I am looking for mushrooms that are edible and also beautiful ones.

Some mushrooms are poisonous and cannot be eaten. Some mushrooms are poisonous and can be eaten. They just need to be cooked for a longer time, otherwise they will have to go to the hospital. He echoed, ah, that's true, it can't be poisonous. When I couldn't find the words, I felt a little anxious, my mushroom! I was inadvertently ignored when I spoke! Heartache! Later, Jose pointed out to me which mushroom he saw. But that mushroom was half eaten by bugs!

We were going to walk up a high tower, spinning upwards and moving mechanically. I was sweating unconsciously, so I took off my jacket. It's extremely cold at high places, and the cold wind makes me doubt my life. I just broke out in a sweat! ! ! But I can't bear the wind, so I put on my clothes again! Jose saw my clothes and said, "I like your Clothes." What's behind it describes how the plaid is designed? My English… hahahahahahahaha, I just rely on my own imagination. ha! Yes! Being affirmed by others makes me feel happy. Originally, I bought this jacket as men's clothing, but the price was just right and I bought it. In Zweibrücken 29 euros! I don’t know why I even thought of talking about this. Just because my mess English. After getting off the tower, we started eating. The food is made by Jose. I… still don't know if the mushrooms I touched are poisonous. I want to ask him for gloves. Those broken words…

Later, Jose mistakenly thought he had given me food, and I… I said no, and he asked, do you want a sandwich with kase (cheese) or a sandwich with eche (what is eche)?

eche? What is it? I haven’t eaten it before, so I asked for a eche. When I got it, I found it was an egg! What kind of Mexican egg is this, called a eche?

When we were almost back to school, I picked two large fresh puffball mushrooms. When I got home, one was thrown away and the other was cooked. It tasted like cheese and tasted pretty good.4. Beach Volleyball

Afraid of being swallowed up by loneliness, I need to go out and exercise. I signed up for Jose's Volleyball. What should I say? Every time something happens to me, something goes wrong. I clearly submitted the form, but the feedback email was not given to me. I forgot about it at the time. When I paid more attention to the matter that day, I didn’t find the confirmation email. I had no choice. I bite the bullet and tell Jose, I don't seem to have received the form. Can you see if my name is on the list? He said it’s okay, come on. What a coincidence! I fell asleep! From 4pm to 6:50pm. My phone was on silent, so I didn't reply to his message. Call me back when you find it.

I searched the car and found it would take half an hour, okay. I got on the bus and found that the bus had changed its route! I'm sitting in the wrong direction! ! ! The station of Hansahus is such a mystery, I learned it again. After running for another stop, I was sweating again! Waiting for a Bus. The conditioner on Bus is turned on too strong. I can't help but go up! Even if I put on long sleeves, the air conditioner would invade every pore of my body. If it doesn't work, I think I will get sick. I went to the driver to ask if he can turn down the air conditioner. I'm afraid of the cold. The driver didn't seem to understand how to turn on the air conditioner and simply said, "No, it's a rule." I ride a horse! When I got off the bus, I was hit by the hot wind. alternating between hot and cold, I think am weaker to be….. Run towards the map marked by Google. Walk to the marked spot with my Phone look down and the End look up. I saw a group of people and thought! Everyone is waiting for me! No one started? How can I be so virtuous? Take more look! Eh? How come everyone still eats it? I'm a little confused. He turned around and saw Jose holding the ball. He seemed to hesitate to speak. I…ah this! We played beach volleyball today! I smiled with embarrassing awkwardly and walked towards Jose. In this Volleyball, I feel that my skills are not good, and my understandingn is not good either. When Jose said "walk", I heard "work". I was wondering, I am hitting the ball. But why work? Is this work a professional word in Volleyball? I can also hear Wok next time, and I can stir-fry, which seems to match volleyball, and go down with a shovel.

Walking home, I discovered that this is a place I often come to. I don’t need to take a half-hour bus ride, but can walk there in ten minutes.

5 some new think from learn ——Fußball. Diejenigen, die mir geholfen haben, werden mir wieder helfen.

Jose sagte, wir wollen Fußball spielen, wer kommt mit? Wieder war ich das einzige Mädchen und der Rest waren Jungs. Vorwärmen, ich bin schon ganz gut drauf. U1s1, immer noch ein bisschen widerspenstig, dicht bei allen zu stehen. Aber Jose hat mich dann eingeladen, neben ihm zu stehen. Als ich an der Reihe war, rief er mir jedes Mal zu, komm schon, Yi, du bist dran. Während des ersten Spiels hatte ich plötzlich finde, faul zu sein. Jedes Mal, was ich gelernt und geübt, sind getrennt für mich. Jose hat mich separat trainiert und mir gesagt, wie ich den Ball schießen und passen soll. Ich muss dies und das machen. Überall auf dem Feld, gogogoyi, hat er meine Rolle gesehen und gesagt, komm, du bist dran! Oft habe ich meine Kumpels nicht erkannt, aber Fußballspielen erfordert Zusammenarbeit. Ich kann Freund und Feind nicht unterscheiden, hahahahahahahahaha, ich schnappte mir den Ball mit der gleichen Gruppe, und Jose sagte immer wieder, sicher, sicher! Hahahahahahahahaha, ich habe 3 Mal gebraucht, um ihn zu hören. Notbremse Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob ich dazu in der Lage sein werde. Wenn ich dem Ball vor meinen Teamkollegen hinterherjagte, riefen meine Teamkollegen oft: "Sameteam! Same, Same.

Jose hat mir gesagt, dass ich mich umsehen muss, um zu sehen, wer da ist, Teamkollegen, Gegner. Gib den Ball an einen Teamkollegen weiter.

Während ich auf dem ganzen Feld nach dem Ball suchte, stieß ich mit einem meiner Mitspieler zusammen, die enorme Trägheit ließ mich in meinem Herzen aufschreien, meine Hände berührten den Boden, aber wie durch ein Wunder rollte ich mich ein paar Mal auf dem Boden ab, um die Wirkung zu zerstreuen. Obwohl es ein bisschen weh tat, bin ich wieder ein gut stark man nach Aufstehen.

Ich hatte auch das Erlebnis, von einem Mitspieler getroffen zu werden. Mein Mitspieler war zu nah an mir dran und reagierte nicht, so dass er mir direkt auf die Oberschenkelbasis trat. Der Junge hat sich schnell bei mir entschuldigt, es war in Ordnung, ich habe gesagt, dass es wirklich nicht weh getan hat! Ich habe auch die Erfahrung gemacht, einem Klassenmitglied den Ball in die Schulter zu schießen. Es tut mir leid, aber es war keine lebenswichtige Stelle, und er sagte, es sei in Ordnung.

Ich habe heute viel verteidigt, vor allem den Gegnern den Ball abgenommen, und jedes Mal, wenn ich an den Ball kam, sagte Jose: "Gut! Yi, Yi, gogogo. Am Anfang hatte ich ein paar Mal keinen Erfolg. Später habe ich den Ball auch ein paar Mal erfolgreich gestohlen, aber wenn man es zu oft versucht, zögert man mit dem Fuß, was dazu führt, dass der Erfolg ein wenig ausbleibt, manchmal gelingt es auch, aber mein Geist ist stark angespannt, die Passdistanz ist besonders kurz und wird von den anderen fast weggenommen.

Einmal haben wir vergessen, einen Torwart stehen zu lassen, und ich überlegte mir, was kann ich tun, wenn der Ball weggeht, ich kam heran und der Ball ging wieder weg, stand zitternd in der Nähe des Tores, und in einem kurzen Moment streifte der Ball mein Bein und änderte seine Richtung und ging nicht ins Tor. Das heißt, ich hab's geschafft, dass der Ball nicht ins Tor geht! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Das war großartig!

Jose hat mich gefragt, ob es mein erstes Mal war. Es war tatsächlich ein erstes Mal! Er sagte, es war großartig! Yeah6. I was in Ulm

Yang is about to take the exam. She comes back from china on her own. She asked me if I could go to Ulm with her for a few days and accompany her on her exams. I gave an ambiguous answer, saying that I didn't find a job, so it was okay. So on those days when there is a lot of Jose activity. I went to Ulm. If my character were no longer firm, I could go to Magdeburg again with her. Until her boyfriend，Lei, bro，came to Germany. We stayed in a super luxurious airbnb. Went to stay in a super nice Brazilian style hotel again. I revisited old place and looked at the tallest church in the world again. The quiet atmosphere seemed unable to calm me doen. I only had a few moments of peaceful breathing. During this time, I seemed to know what kind of partner I was looking for.

I also deliberately let myself think about these past few days, I… In fact, I really want to try the salsa that night from Jose. But things on Yang's side are more important. I need to tell her not to be anxious, not to be afraid. I suddenly wanted to tell Yang that I taught her bouldering.7. Salsa and Bachata

Today is the dance organized by Jose. After chatting with my parents for a while, my time was compressed. I had already put conditioner on my hair and it was impossible not to wash it. I hurriedly took a shower and came out to dry my hair, but I refused to do it. After listening to the novel, it was very exciting, the pace was fast, and I was very enthusiastic while listening to it. Seemingly methodical hair care. Apply oil. Apply foundation, draw eyebrows, and apply red lipstick. I picked up a sample of YSL. (Big Red). There was no mirror when I got in the bus, so I could see through the dark screen of my phone that I was applying lipstick.

I was late, In such a short time, I even got some mushrooms from Bao and took down the advertisements on the Campus Busstation and made packaging. She saw me made up，and knew I woll dance with others , she said, that good. Jose was already at the door to greet me, so I ran over quickly. when we met, both of us smiled. He said "Hey, yi" and waved: "come come come". I ran in quickly, but he said there was no need to be in such a hurry, I already ran in. Start talking with the others After watching the demonstration, Andrey and I started. Wow, the boy’s hands are so cold! For a while, feeling that his hand had become a little warmer. I didn't speak the whole time because just kept my head down and counted the beats. It was not fun after a while, and I didn’t remember anything anyway. Like a big crab, it retreats with great force. There was also a boy who exaggeratedly imitated me and told me not to go back so far. During this period, I touched the hands of several boys. They were warm, cold, and sweaty. What? boys also have cool hands

After changing people a few times, when Jose helped me correct my movements, I found that his hands were also sweaty. Slightly cool. ? This guy is so cool on stage, why is he so nervous? Why? Is that that he would become embarrassed if he danced too much with boys?

He also asked me to look up his eyes ! ! !

if I don’t watch my feet, my rhythm will be messed up very quickly. That moment, I acted like a child, grabbing his hand and saying nononononono, I was so nervous that I couldn't speak. My behavior showed that whenever I raised my head, I would become confused. If I were stronger, he would have broken his hand！ He reluctantly said OK. He looked at my head and I looked at my feet and danced a bit. The more I jump, the better you can keep up with the rhythm. Eh? I still feel not bad.

Anyway, I touched a lot of sweaty hands.

If a boy danced with me, I would recognize him by looking at his shoes.

During pause, I am communicating with the girls. Are you looking at the floor too? They all said that being at such a close distance was super embarrassing! But they told me a solution, just talk. I don’t seem to be able to do that…

There was a move that I was not very good at, so a girl took the initiative to discuss it with me. She danced and counted the rhythm. We were both very relaxed the moment we held hands. Next time, can Jose arrange an opportunity for girls to dance with girls!

I also danced with others. A man wearing glasses who looked a bit arrogant asked me to look at him. Even though I made a mental construction all the people who came were brothers. But… I still feel awkward and wrong when I look at eyes. There was a boy who loved to laugh just like me. If l have nothing to do, just hahahahahahahaha. After dancing, I went to wash my hands. The sweaty hands made me feel a little uncomfortable. so I went to wash off the sweat from the boy. When I looked up, I just think my lipstick is too red. I should have brought a mirror with me.8. Unlock new ways to play bouldering

I went climbing today and found that no one I kewn came, nor did the two girls I met before. Alas, if I don’t know anyone, I can only climb by myself. I met an Indian with green cloth guy on the way. Some of the moves were a bit difficult. I was annoyed that my feet hurt and I sat on the ground. Jose came from behind and said Yi! How are you, eeeeee, it’s okay, I said it’s great. I wanted to sit down and hold hands with him, and let him pull me up smoothly, but this guy just bent down to hold my hand, and then half hugged my back。 ? ? ? I….. Later, I no longer knew how to do a few of them, so I approached an Indian green bro， and he told me that there was green one that was not difficult. Look at this. emmmm I tried many times, but I couldn't do it. Jose bouldered near me, and I still couldn't do it. It was so embarrassing! When I was preparing how to escape, he asked me, which route will I planning? I said the green one, and he walked over easily and told me this, this, and that. I lost my mind. Does a man’s skin get better when he fell happy? The last time he played football, he seemed not as refined as he is today. His face was red and astringent back then, and I felt like he had put on foundation today. This beard is much neater. And after he sprayed it with vanilla-flavored perfume, I actually felt it was warm and smelled a little good. I tried for a long time that way but failed. I asked the Indian brother, how do you say it is easy? It is difficult! oops! You see, he did it again. You see, it’s not difficult. I tried it myself, but it didn't work. I brought Brother Green here again, and ask can you show me the first step？ As a result, Green Brother demonstrated several times and found that he also forgot… Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha My ridicule is merciless. you forgot!

Later, I went to play with a few Chinese people, and the lines were still simple.

Jose is leaving to say goodbye to us. Ah, I met these Chinese people by chance. Of course he doesn't know him, either. . . . Come to say hello so seriously? He said he was leaving, huh? Then shook hands.

I suddenly discovered that he had an earring in his ear. He was a little human. Hehehehehe, me. . . . I want show it to Yang, what is it?

When I got nervous, I made gestures with my hands on my chest, and then he gave me a virtual hug. Maybe he also reacted and hugged the korean girl next to me. I was stunned. uh？ I just want to ask him to play football! Would he sit up in the middle of the night and ask himself, ——“Why did it at that time?”

I asked when he will have Veranstaltung to play football? He said his veranstaltung was gone this month. I. . . . . Ah this. . . .this。。。

The chinese girl asked me if it was easy to get on top. I said it's not difficult, just find the point where you want to climb when you come down. There will be a sense of fear, but you can guess it by feeling your feet! She listened to me and went up. But after looking around for a while, She found that she couldn’t get down anymore. Because of the obstruction of her sight and the constraints of gravity, she could not step on it when she saw the foothold, which would make her fall. Fear froze her exploration. Until an another guy came up and helped her with his hands and feet. Find the point and slowly find the way down. We communicate some of the routes here. He takes the initiative to invite us, will you ready to climb that high? Those two were thinking no, but I really wanted to give it a try! I just said, I want. The person who looked like an expert said to me should go get the equipment first, just one! He patiently tried the rope for me and taught me how to tie the knot. All ready, I chose a relatively easy route. It was exhausted! The difficulty in overcoming gravity lies in exhaustion. Up but there will be no strength to support it. Fortunately, this heroine, me, has good perseverance, and the guys below helped me climb some points with pulleys! Finally reaching the top! Yeah! That girl even took a video of me! I even recorded the video when I came down. Very timid but also very happy. Bro also left me a moment to celebrate with everyone! The two Chinese also took turns trying. Unfortunately, the boy almost made it to the top. He, like me, was exhausted in that area. Bro was about to push him up, but he gave up. The girl gave up halfway. She is slender and weaker than me. Who wouldn’t love such a girl? We are all exhausted, Expert bro ask us next rout ? No, no, we were here long before you were! But I’m so happy to meet you!

I found out that the expert brother and the Chinese pair knew each other, and they were from the same research institute.9. Too much thinking will make mistakes

Three days have passed since he hugged me How can I put it, I actually miss this hug a little bit. Somewhat comfortable. Literally, my arms are missing it. It may be that ovulation has arrived. Hormones are at work. But I turned over and over again and couldn't explain what he was thinking. Why not just ask him? But how to say it becomes a problem. If I asked him rashly, I would definitely scare him. I've scared away a few of these fragile boys. I really can't think of any sentence, how to ask tactfully. I started with… Why are you hugging me? I haven't been a happy little dog for three days because of this. Uhhhhhh， I'm at a loss for words. Neither did mit “l” at first. Neither did with “you” at first. Neither Me nor You can elicit a sentence. or….. Withdraw it. Anyway, he might not be able to see it before he replies. Withdraw it. When withdrawing, I clicked wrongly and clicked delete instead. Only delete on my part！ Fuuuuuuuuuck! Fuck！what can I do? I'm desperate also！ I just have to bite the bullet and write it down and explain it. I continued and clicked Undo to Delete. Ah this, blocking my quote! I don't want you to feel blamed for this, don't be afraid, young man. While I was still thinking about the next sentence, Jose sent a reply. He said he had to take an exam, so he didn't sleep. The deleted part was fine, and hugging was just a say good bay。Don't think too much. don't Worry! ? I’m already think too much with this reply， what can I say？ I…fine。 Emotions go around in a circle (only one circle) Exams are important. Let’s talk tomorrow The next day, I opened the dialog box and had no idea where to start. Thinking about it makes me anxious. Simply let it go. I escaped the first day and escaped the second day. Escaped with fencing on the third day. My problem here is not solved. what to do. I decided to ask Xiaochu， my ten years freind。 After I finished talking about the matter excitedly, I felt unhappy. saw again，Discover… Jose's complete sentence is that he finished the exam today and he didn't sleep all night last night. he was just sleeping. It means he doesn’t have to take the examn tommorrow。 ! ! ! It’s even more embarrassing, okay! Two mistakes in a row in one day! I…… Why do I! ? One more trap I set to escape myself. Given my high moral standards, I finally made a seemingly terrible reply on Saturday. What if I am Worry about. I felt it was inappropriate, so I asked for explanation and another word, but I didn’t know which word to use. . .. …

[s3898709]

Week 8

Reflection

Last week's test was by far the most positive feedback session yet, which was awesome to experience. People were very optimistic about the entire experience. I could hear from some of the talking during the showcase that I've definitely got this up to being an awesome experience, which has been great! Also, it was terrific to see the colours accurately represented finally. 

But, there's always room to improve, so here's what I took from last week's test and what I'm going to try and work on implementing over the coming weeks. Although I will say it is a lot more minor adjustments now. These include;

Having the penalty light pulse

Sync up the intro to be more in sync with the music

Darken the roof lights so that it doesn't overpower the walls

Sometimes, blue goes in the wrong direction on the roof.

These are some simple fixes; however, this week, I'm focusing on another aspect of the project...

Progress

The focus of this week has been on two aspects: collaboration and the milestone presentation. The milestone presentation will occur next Tuesday, so I will spend some of the time working on the project this week; however, my work focuses on collaboration. Moreso, it's to get the parts finished in which I need assistance from other people in the Splatoon community. The people I had in mind were NineWholeGrains and ShinyHunterZach. Both of these two have done the live commentary for the Nintendo Splatoon Championship 2023 (https://www.youtube.com/live/ecsVny3ebQ0?si=dFgsCA0iOy-7dSHw) and have helped out with the major in my organisation ran - FABL (https://youtu.be/Kz5w3a8Z_tM?si=PHLddrdJlB-PMwyi) so I've worked with them in the past, and luckily for me, they were happy to help out.

When getting them ready for this recording, I had a few dot points to cover to make sure that they were going in the direction I wished for (see image below). During the session, they were happy to follow all directions given, and we also had some discussions and improvements during the session on how to improve the commentary further which I appreciated.

Another collaboration I had to get done to deliver an awesome experience was to get some free cam footage of the stage that the match is set on so I could enhance the experience beyond what the standard in-game tools allow for. This was a bit harder to search for someone to help out. My usual contact unfortunately had their console broken, so they couldn't help. I then asked them if they knew anyone else, which led me to someone who knew someone else... who had temporarily lent their console to another person. With the people I know having the mod all unavailable, I finally turned to Twitter (or X as it's called now), and luckily, I got reached out to by SourBraix who had access to the mod. With a bit of direction from me, we got the shots that I wanted. Phew.

Research

This week, I looked at the Splatoon 3 Championship for 2023 to see what Nintendo was doing to try and make their event 'awesome'. And as expected, their live event still doesn't match up to their competitors in competitive gaming. However, being limited to showcasing the competition at an exhibition is quite a limiting factor in creating this type of experience. One particular section I wanted to focus on was how they are sharing some aspects that I'm doing in my work. At the startup of the match, the lighting system they had was to project both of the team's colours, which I did in my project, and then at the end of the match flood the area with the winning team's colours. Again, I already do this, but it shows that this is the direction I should be following and enhancing.

[spiralling-thoughts]

Ahhh the pain I can literally think of All kinds of possibilities and arguments that would occur between the tributes and their mentors and all sorts of heartbreaks. The youngest tributes would definitely be the first to start breaking down when they are separated from their protectors I always feel that mizzen was very scared and confused before the games and it was only coral encouraging and comforting him and resurging him that he is strong that helped him keep going so but now that they are separated he is fully the scared 13 Year old boy that he is he's curled up into a ball sniffing and crying and whenever someone approaches him he asks in a Shakey tone if he can see coral and eventually it esculent where he screams that he wants his parents too and that he wants to go home. Wovey is so confused and constantly wandering her cage asking where bobbin and the others are and at night she's heard crying and the next day she says that she couldn't sleep because she can't sleep alone and bobbin was always letting her sleep on his shoulder and resurging her whenever she was scared and anytime capitol citizens come to gawk at her she just asks where bobbin is? Where are the other tributes? When can they go home? And why is she being left All by herself? . And dill's health starts getting worse I can confirm from personal experience that crying when having a bad cough makes it all the way worse so dill is in a very pitiful state she is shaking and crying nonstop while her cough gets worse and worse until Felix starts freaking out and tries to get her to stop crying but obviously she can't she was so scared ever since she was reaped and reaper was the only one comforting her and keeping her from crying and she tries to say that but her voice had become so bad she struggles in talking. Meanwhile reaper and bobbin and coral are freaking out at first they furiously demand they get to see their district partner but eventually they break down and it turns into begging , and when festus tells coral that mizzen is just a temporary ally and she needs to stop acting like this because this will cost her sponsores she loses it and start yelling at him and rousting him so bad no amount of water will save him she tears it into him how he doesn't view either of them as humans and how he's everything that she despises about the capitol and how mizzen is someone she genuinely cares about not just a temporary ally

Actually here's a hypothetical conversation about how I think facet snapping at Livia would be like Bec the boy deserve to get to rant about her p.s I am not that good in writing conversations so sorry if these sounds cheesy

Livia comes to brag about how facet should win but he isn't listening to her and instead ignores what she's saying and asks how velvreene is doing to which Livia loses it

Livia: WHAT DOES IT MATTER TO YOU I AM YOUR MENTOR YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSING WHILE I AM TAKING TO YOU INSATED Of a compatitor that stands between me and winning!

Facet: that " compatitor" as you call her CARED MORE ABOUT ME THAN YOU EVER WOULD YOU SELFISH ENTITLED BRAT

Livia shocked and taken aback then frustrated: HOW DARE YOU? AFTER ALL THAT I HAVE DONE TO...

Facet: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME? NOTHING NOTHING AT ALL you never even bothered bringing me food when I haven't eaten or drank anything in days! All you did was just bragging about how you can win using me even though I would entir the games malnourished velvreene constantly gave me the whatever she got from her own mentor even though it was barely enough for her she cared more that I don't starve more than you did and your seriously shocked I am more concerned about her than you?

L: I...I had more importantly matters to attend to

F: yeah sure because grabbing something from your fancy kitchen and taking a 10 minute walk to give it to someone who's about to enter a fight to the death must have been so hard for you it was easier for you to just sit around in your fancy palace imagining yourself already winning . Listen here you B*** it's been living hell for me ever since I was reaped and the other tributes who are supposed to kill me cared more about me than you my mentor ever would after all I am only a replaceable toy to you after all you don't care if I make it back home or if I come back to my family all you care about is your stupid price to satisfy your ego you did nothing to me and you act like I owe you anything GET OUT GET OUT I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU !! LEAVE ME ALONE!

Then after he yells that leans against a wall and starts crying meanwhile velvreene is beginning her mentor to send food for facet and tells that livia won't bother feeding him

The nail in the coffin could be when the interview happens and the tributes get to reunite and immediately ask how each one of them is doing the concern very obvious on their faces and lots of district partners embrace one another with tears in their eyes and it's such a sad sight that breaks the iceiset hearts

TBOSAS where the thing that fixes the pain and suffering is the Capitol’s cruelty. Because I love positive irony like that.

Somehow, the zoo enclosure where the kids are kept is destroyed. Since it’s so unbearably hot in the books say something caught on fire and the tributes were taken out of the enclosure because there won’t be any games if all of them are dead. This conveniently sidesteps Brandy’s death because it happens either just before or right after she stabbed Arachne. If she did kill her bitch of a mentor the fire was so beautifully times that all evidence of her little crime was destroyed and nobody knows it was her. How convenient. One could almost say it’s divine intervention. Now, the kids need to be kept somewhere, and the zoo was sooooo annoying for the mentors, so the tributes are put in cages around the city. Near the academy so those poor oppressed rich kids who aren’t about to die don’t have to suffer even more for traveling 10 minutes to see the vile district scum. This… backfires horribly for the Capitol. See, the tributes are separated. For the sake of this story they’re all in separate cages on their own.

How does this lead to a fix-it? Well, it’s now much harder to not interact with the tributes. You don’t have to go to the zoo to see them, and you won’t have to pay money either. The tributes can’t hide in the enclosure, so everyone can see the discomfort plain on their faces as they try to cling to some kind of privacy. The cages have one side agains some kind of structure, so seeing these kids ducked agains the one solid part of their cage is very hard hitting because it’s impossible to ignore what they’re going through now. Even the biggest tributes look small, all alone and helpless.

And then the mentors get involved, and things really kick into high gear. All the tributes like Sejanus, and at first people thought it’s because he’s district. Now they can see it’s because he’s actually nice to them. The nicer mentors are trying their best to help their tributes, and the less amazing ones receive a bit of a cold shoulder. Several fights between different pairs of mentors and tributes happen, and all of them color in the kids’ perspective of everything in a way that’s undeniable. I feel like a big part of why the Capitol citizens had so little empathy is because they refused to see things from the tributes’ perspective due to not seeing them as people. But when massive crowds witness these arguments, it’s hard not to. When all you see is a figure deep in the enclosure and a face on a screen it’s easy to chalk their anger up to some irrational grudge or just vile beasts being their vile beastly selves without thinking about it too much. It’s a lot harder to do that when you have Facet screaming at Livia for treating him like a disposable object and shirking all her duties as a mentor, such as providing his basic needs, while pretending she’s done jack shit for him. When the citizens hear the raw emotion in his voice, it’s very difficult to not feel even the slightest bit of empathy.

And when they watched Lamina cry on a screen, it was easy to laugh at her for being so weak. But when this young girl is sobbing right in front of you, and you can see the pain on her face? Suddenly it’s a whole lot less funny. Even more so when she calls Pup over and ignores the food he offers her in favor of asking about her district partner. The crowd can’t ignore what they’re putting these kids through when they watch a clearly starving girl only accept food when she’s reassured a boy that has to die for her to live is being fed. When Lucy Gray sings for food it feels like the beggars in the city until she asks her mentor to bring more than half of what she got to Jessup and whichever tributes have gotten the least that day. And when all the tributes keep asking about each other with clear and obvious worry, even for the tributes from other districts who they’ve only known for days, suddenly the people find themselves stuck with the unescapable notion that these are kids who are being forced to perform like circus animals, who are about to be forced to kill each other, yet still find it in themselves to show empathy. It’s especially inescapable when the tough, strong tributes who everyone expects to be vicious are the ones doing this. Reaper and Coral for Dill and Mizzen, of course, but even more impactfully Marcus for Sabyn. Two of the stronger tributes showing concern for one another, despite neither having that underdog or innocent air the younger tributes have.

At one point, Treech is performing for a crowd and some of the mentors pass by, including Vipsania. As soon as they approach he stops what he’s doing and retreats to the one solid side of his cage. Vipsania calls for him, and he utterly ignores her existence. All he dignifies her with is a hateful glare. Then Pup comes into his line of sight, and he shoots up immediately to ask whether Lamina’s okay. It’s only when Vipsania gets huffy about this that Treech actually acknowledged and responds to her. Not nicely though. Rather, he goes “now why ever would I not want to talk to you? It’s not like you starved me so I’d perform or anything. Gosh, it’s such a mystery!” Before turning back around intending to sit down. Vipsania tries to defend herself and it goes about as well as you may expect. By which I mean, a one-sided screaming match ensues. More like Treech giving into the urge to start ranting and raving about all the shit he’s been through while finally telling Vipsania how he feels about her treating him like a toy to use and discard once he’s no longer of use to her. When she says she just wants to help him now, he reminds her that her “help” so far has come down to actively making his life harder for her own benefit. “You’ve done enough, Sickle. Go back to your prissy princess palace and leave me alone.” Very similar to Facet when he finally gave Cardew a piece of his mind, actually.

And slowly people start giving the tributes food, even when they’re not performing. Slowly they start to change their minds about the games, and once the interviews happen they finally realize all these kids have families and friends waiting for them in the districts. And only one of them gets to go home. But… they’ve seen how sweet these kids are to those that don’t treat them like shit. And honestly, nobody really wants to see them die anymore. And they realize if they don’t act now it’ll be too late. So they act. And long story short the games are finally stopped for good.

[buzzdixonwriter]

George Lucas Is A Lousy Storyteller, Episode Two

As noted, Lucas alone never rises as high as he does with collaborators.  He’s been extremely fortunate in his career to have been in the right place and the right time and to have struck alliances with numerous creators who possess a far better story telling sense than him.  Walter Murch, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Stephen Spielberg, Ron Howard, and the aforementioned Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck.

But he bungled the Star Wars franchise at the very beginning, demonstrating he lacked insight into the reason his film became such a huge success.  He started on an enviable high note, but instead of sustaining it he immediately set to work sabotaging his own concept.

Lucas changes his own history repeatedly, ghosting people whom he feels have failed him (such as Jim Nelson, the original associate producer of Star Wars who took the fall for budget and schedule overruns) or else stand up to him creatively (viz. Irvin Kershner, the legendary “last man to say no to Lucas” who overruled his boss to shoot the famous “I know” line in The Empire Strikes Back that delighted audiences, a situation Lucas never allowed again). 

Star Wars began life as the (hopefully) first script in a proposed film series, with Lucas recruiting Alan Dean Foster to write both the novelization for the movie and an original novel, Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye, to serve as a low budget sequel should the movie falter at the box office.

It’s long been speculated that Foster also did an uncredited re-write on the first Star Wars movie but he has formally denied this and so we will take him at his word and just say for once in his life George Lucas actually wrote a good screenplay.

But when the first film became the biggest hit of all time, Lucas forgot about moving the story forward and instead concocted a grandiose scheme that would involve four sets of trilogies with a standalone movie between each trilogy for a total of 19 movies.

This was a mighty high aim in 1977 (though Marvel and Eon Productions have proved it can be done).  It would have been a challenge had the original Star Wars been the first film in the series, but instead Lucas retconned it to be the first film in the second trilogy, with the first three to be filmed after episodes IV / V / VI were complete.

Again, this might have proven workable, had not Lucas decided the Star Wars saga would be about the ultimate dysfunctional intergalactic family.

Oh, no.  No, no, no, George.

Audiences responded as strongly as they did because they’d been primed and waiting for Star Wars all their lives.  From Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon to Lost In Space and Star Trek, they’d been given a taste of what glorious space opera could be, but instead of focusing on the whiz bang and daring-do that makes that sub-genre popular, Lucas opted to focus instead on Darth Vader’s lifelong hissy fit.

Here, let me say it out loud:  The success of Star Wars occurred despite George Lucas, not because of George Lucas.

It occurred because comic books and video games and novels and animated series and fan films gave the audience what they really wanted.

Lucas infamously bragged that when he sent the first draft of what became Episode I: The Phantom Menace to fellow directors and screenwriters, they all told him it was perfect and not to change a word.

The only way to get more smoke blown up an ass would be to set fire to a donkey’s stall.

The Phantom Menace unravels like a tyro’s screenplay, with numerous scenes ending on some variation of “I can’t think of anything else to say so I must ask you to go now” (hint: It’s called” CUT TO:” George). It’s far from the worst script ever written, but lordie, it sure ain’t a good one, much less a great one.

And Lucas, despite the boffo b.o. stung by audience reactions, proceeded to change plot points for succeeding Star Wars movies based on their set-ups not being fully appreciated.

If the audience can recognize a clue when it’s dropped in front of them, it ain’t gonna be a surprise when you finally reach the big reveal, right?

Yet if you panic at initial reactions, you undermine the (allegedly) carefully constructed story you built on those clues.

You can’t have your polystarch portion bread and eat it, too, George; either stick to your plan or play it by ear, but if you choose to plan, don’t gut it because you lack faith in your own storytelling abilities.

And there was a collective sigh of relief when The Rise Of Skywalker finally brought the original saga to an official close so audiences could forget about that and shift their attention to the more satisfying TV series such as The Mandalorian.

Lucas, lacking an understanding of why thematic structure is important in storytelling, contradicts his own mythos again and again and again.

He turned The Force from something any dedicated being could aspire to master into a luck-of-the-draw genetic mutation, creating a race of elitist super-beings who are justified in treating non-Force users like crap.

After plucky young Anakin saves Princess Amidala’s home world, she doesn’t visit the ATM machine in order to buy his mom’s freedom.  She does develop romantic feelings for him and marries him when he grows a pair.  Yuck.

Outside of making her catty, he gave no thought to Leia’s character, having her shrug off the destruction of her home world as if her bagel fell cream cheese side down, then letting her father -- purportedly as mighty a master of The Force as ever existed -- to torture her with drugs and a hypodermic needle yet she never displays any psychological ill effects from this nor does he recognize her as his own daughter (proof positive Lucas never possessed any clear idea of what he intended to do with the series).

Jar Jar Binks, whom Lucas apparently originally conceived as an undercover villain who only pretends to be inept, gets virtually written out of the storyline when audiences responded negatively to him, despite Lucas laying clues that would later reveal his duplicity.

You don’t do that.  You don’t listen to audiences and undermine a sub-plot you’ve already worked out just because they don’t grasp its importance yet.

As a creator, you owe your audience something, and that’s a story told to the best of one’s ability.

Lucas never displayed originality as a creator.  His first hit relied on him tapping into a cultural zeitgeist already primed at the pump:  Boomer nostalgia for the days before the Kennedy assassination.

Lucas cast Ron Howard in American Graffiti based on Howard’s performance in the pilot of TV’s enormously successful sit-com Happy Days (seen as “Love And The Television Set” a.k.a. “Love And Happy Days” on the Love, American Style comedy anthology series). 

Lucas didn’t pioneer new territory, he jumped onboard a train already pulling out of the station.

His later megahit, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, reflects little of him and more of Spielberg.

I’m not an overawed fan of Spielberg’s style of filmmaking, but the guy does know how to tell a story and in his later years turned out some really good work.

Lucas lacks that talent.  He would function best as a journeyman studio director in Hollywood’s golden era, someone to be handed over to a no-nonsense producer with a fully developed script who could supervise the final product without having to step in too often.

Come to think of it, perhaps I’m being too harsh on Lucas.

After all, he is telling stories to the best of his ability.

It’s just that like his retconned Force, if you don’t already possess the storytelling gene, you never will.

    © Buzz Dixon

[bonny-kookoo]

💜 𝓝𝓪𝓿𝓲𝓰𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 💜

🫂 YOU CAN SUPPORT ME ON PATREON NOW 🫂

⛔️THERE IS NO TAGLIST FOR ANY OF MY FICS⛔️

⚠️THERE IS NO MASTERLIST OF ALL MY FICS⚠️

Just stop asking about it. I don't have an ultimate masterlist of everything. I will not make an ultimate masterlist of everything for you. I do not tag people. I don't have taglists. I will not make a taglist. I actively ignore your comments/asks if they're only about masterlists or to be tagged. Thank you.

-> 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝:

Smut-shots: Closed

Drabbles: Open

Character asks: Open

Oneshots: Closed

Bonny-Meter: Closed

*please note that I only write what I personally feel comfortable with. If your request is not being posted, I'm not trying to be mean; I just didn't connect with the idea well enough.

Things I do not write:

Non-con (non-consensual), Dub-con (dubious-consent, aka 'I don't feel comfortable but I don't want to make it weird now'), SA, Infidelity, Second chances (in terms of infidelity/toxic behavior), extreme kinks (aka knife play, foodplay, scat & piss fetish etc), erotic little space, sole member x member content. Apart from these specifics, please have common sense when requesting.

Other things to please keep in mind:

My Yandere fics are not created to romanticize or condone such toxic behaviors, and should not be seen as such.

You can always ask me questions even if they sound weird or are random. This blog is judgement-free.

My sideblog for shorts has been frozen by tumblr, and is therefore inactive.

Stop trying to bring up the tea-blog with me, it's getting old, you're kinda late, go home.

I interact with whom I want whenever I want. I appreciate you trying to 'look out for me' but the people I've interact with have never done me any wrong. You know who you are, and unless you have actual proof of them talking shit about me, I will not just believe anything I come across.

My health is pretty bad atm, so there will be periods of time where I'm not active as much as I used to. I apologize in advance.

My niceness should not be taken as an invitation to bombard me with hurtful content just for your amusement. I'm very capable of telling you to fuck off if you overstep a line for me ♡

I'm not native in english. Grammatical errors will occur, you're free to keep them.

🌟 marks works that have specific patreon perks, which include early access and additional content. The additional content will not ruin the story experience of the free version, but will rather include specific scenes in more detail or patreon exclusive drabbles.

Some content can only be requested on Patreon, such as different POV's and specific scenes from a story you want to be written out in more detail.

Last but not least: I'm not your circus-animal. Asks and requests are called that for a reason- if you demand I write something, pay me :)

♥━━━━━━━━━━━♡━━━━━━━━━━━━♥

-> old Masterlist

Materlist containing all works pre-2021

-> AU Masterlist

! This contains ONLY AUs that have multiple chapters and/or a lot of sidecontent. This includes Drabbles and Asks. AU's like Good Girl and Bad Habits can be found here, for example.

-> The library

All completed stories in one list.

-> The Basement

All discontinued/Abandoned works.

-> Unconventional Hybrids

A list containing unconventional/unusual Hybrid Member x Hybrid Reader works.

-> Bonnys Alien Collection

A masterlist only containing all Alien content. ⚠️ Please note that some tags might not work yet!

-> Bonny's Smut-Shots

A list containing all short stories focusing on adult themes.

-> Welcome To The Show 🔞

In which you've been hired as a very special woman for the seven idols- and become even more special down the line.

-> Home Memory Collection

A collection of all the 'firsts' our home couple got to experience.

-> Bonny-Meter

A masterlist for all this-or-that speculations I've done.

-> Anchor Masterlist (Alien!Jungkook x human!reader)

-> Drabble Game 1

-> Bloodlust Masterlist (Vampire JK x human!reader)

-> Heart Shot Masterlist (Cyberpunk Jikook x reader)

-> Snowball-Princess Masterlist (hybrid!reader x ot7)

-> Timestamps masterlist (BTS x foreigner LDR Reader)

-> Hatred Masterlist (Jungkook x Reader)

-> Red Highs Masterlist (Vampire!Jungkook x Human!Reader)

-> Sugar (C)Rush Masterlist (Wolf!Jungkook x Dog!Reader)

-> Eat The Rich Masterlist (Cat!Yoongi x Cat!Reader)

-> Lock Me Up Masterlist (Detective!Yoongi x Cat!Reader)

-> Evocation Masterlist (Dragon!JK x Dragon!Reader)

-> Tongue Tied Masterlist (Dog!Reader x Wolf!BTS)

-> Monochrome Masterlist

-> Moonlit Masterlist (Alpha!Jungkook x Omega!Reader)

-> Take Care Masterlist (Doctor!Jungkook x Hybrid!Reader)

-> Lacrymaria Olor Masterlist (Alien!Jungkook x Human!Reader)

-> I like you (say it back) Masterlist (Shy!Jungkook x Bold!Reader)

-> X♡X♡ [seven days] Masterlist (BDSM!Jungkook x Inexperienced!Reader)

-> Into The Wild Masterlist (Werewolf!Jungkook x Reader)

-> Night Vision Masterlist (Alien!Jungkook x Bunny!Reader)

-> sweet Tooth Masterlist (Cat!MC x Rottweiler!Jungkook)

-> Rampage [Tiger!Jungkook x Deer!Reader]

-> 𝓘𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓲𝓬 Masterlist [Alien!Jungkook x Reader]

-> 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞♡𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 [Omega!Jungkook x Omega!Reader]

-> Clingy [Wolf!Jungkook x Otter!Reader]

-> ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕋𝕠 [Model!Jungkook x Stylist!Reader]

-> 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐎𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 [Older!Jungkook x Younger!Reader]

-> 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 [VR!Jungkook x VR!Reader]

-> 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 🍒 [Tattoo artist!JK x Cute!Reader]

-> 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 [Idol!Jungkook x IT!Reader]

-> 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙚 [Racer!Jungkook x Reader]

-> 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 [Idol!Jungkook x Foreigner!Reader]

-> 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 [Non Idol!Jungkook x Reader]

-> Sluts To L♡vers [Experienced!JK x Virgjn!Reader]

Patreon Masterlist:

-> Red Skies (Alien!Jungkook x Reader) [Part 1]

-> Moon Of Claiming (Wolf!Jungkook x Wolf!Reader) [~12k WIP]

-> Sweet Dreams (Jungkook x Reader, Soulmate AU) [Part 1 out soon!] [Story Idea]

-> Unnamed Story (Youtuber!Jungkook x Hybrid!Reader) [Story Idea]

-> Primal Bonds (Wolf!Jungkook x Wolf!Reader) [Part 1]

-> The Good Cause (Knight!Guard!Jungkook x Sacrifice!Reader) [Story Idea] [Part 1 out soon!]

-> Memorial (Devil!Jungkook x Demon/Human!Reader) [Teaser]

-> Timeless (King!Jungkook x Reader) [Main Work]

-> Starry Skies (Alpha!Jungkook x Omega!Reader, Dystopian AU) [Encyclopedia]

-> Baby Darling (Punk!Jungkook x Wallflower!Reader) [WIP]

-> Pets (Owner!Taehyung x Wolfdog!Jungkook x Cat!Reader, Poly AU) [Intro]

[hpimaginesandblurbs]

Could you do a Blaise smut where the reader has a degradation and breeding kink?

mixed with this request: office sex with blaise omg 

pairing: blaise zabini x reader 

warning(s): 18+, office sex, ceo!blaise, dom!blaise, husband!blaise, breeding kink, degradation, kinda cute tho 

word count: 1.0k

a/n: this turned out fluffier than i intended but i still think it’s cute and sexy all in one little ball of fun. 

You steadied your breathing as you walked down the hallway to his office. There had been a note left on the bed that very morning from your husband, telling you exactly when to meet him. 

When you reached the door, you read ‘Chief Executive Officer’ and underneath was your husband’s name, Blaise Zabini. You opened the door slowly, revealing your husband in an expensive, perfectly tailored suit, jotting down notes. 

“Look who’s right on time,” he said, not even bothering to look up. 

“Yes, Sir,” you said, knowing exactly what you were here for. 

“You know what to do,” he told you nonchalantly, eyes still focused on the paper in front of him. 

It wasn’t the first time he had asked this of you, so you stepped into motion quickly. Carefully, you bent yourself over his desk, draping your breasts right over the paper he seemed to have his sole focus on. You knew they were practically spilling out of the top of your dress, and when he noticed he couldn’t help but look up. 

“You know that’s my favorite dress on you, little witch,” he mused, a fond glint in his eyes despite the way he was treating you. Despite your bedroom games, which were currently happening in his office, you were his entire world. A world you were both looking to expand by one person. 

He stood gracefully and you could see the bulge in his trousers. Anticipation had gotten to him too, it seemed. He rounded the desk to stand behind you, silently taking in the way your dress rode up from the vulnerable position he was in. You felt a jolt of magic go through the room, no doubt a silencing spell. 

His hands were on you in no time, lifting your dress up to leave you fully exposed. He let out a groan seeing that you opted to not wear any underwear, revealing your glistening cunt to him. 

“My little whore, coming to my office to be bred and you’re already soaked,” he chuckled darkly, a shiver running down your spine at his words. 

He wasted little time in taking his cock out of his pants, running it through your aching slit and teasing you with his tip. The self control he had was immaculate. 

“Tell me what you want, slut,” he teased, letting his tip rest just inside of you but not moving. 

You tried to squirm, but his hands came up to hold your hips in a vice-like grip too fast. You let out a shaky breath, already struggling for air and words, before you spoke. 

“I want you to fuck me and cum in me, Sir. Breed me. Please,” you said, knowing your words would pack a punch on him. Typically, your begging mostly consisted of ‘fuck me’ or ‘I want your cock’, but you knew adding the bit about breeding you would get to him. That was the goal of you coming to his office anyways. 

He didn’t even respond, just sunk his cock inside of you in one long thrust. You let out a cry and gripped the opposite end of the desk until your knuckles turned white. As long as you two had been together, everytime felt like the first time. The way his cock stretched you always left your head spinning. 

“You’re such a whore for it, you know that? Coming to my office, begging me to fuck you until I get you pregnant,” he said between his own groans of pleasure, his pace fast inside of you. 

“You asked me to,” you bit back cheekily, unable to help yourself. 

Suddenly his chest was draped across your back, one hand coming up to fist your hair and pull your head back. 

“That’s no way to talk to me, now is it? You should be grateful I’m even offering,” he said lowly, eliciting a swirl of emotions inside of you that somehow left you more aroused. 

You attempted to nod helplessly, agreeing with him despite the obvious lie. You knew he wanted you pregnant even more than you did. 

“I can feel how fucking tight you are. Already trying to milk my cock like the dumb little slut you are,” he commented, his pace unrelenting. Every thrust was brushing right against your g-spot, his tip hitting so far inside you that you were already seeing stars. 

You were begging aimlessly through your cries now. Begging him to go harder, begging him to make you cum, begging him to cum inside of you. You were sure it sounded like gibberish, but you knew he understood. He always did. 

Without missing a beat, he reached a hand down in search of your clit and found it within seconds. He didn’t even have to move his finger, the second he applied pressure you were letting out a silent scream, cumming around his cock so fiercely that if he weren’t pressed against you so closely you would have been thrashing on the desk. 

“Milk my cock, just like that. Good girl,” he groaned, his body tensing as he started to cum inside of you. 

You felt yourself fill with it, your walls coated with his cum. He didn’t stop until every last drop was inside of you, and then continued some more just to fuck it into you for good measure. 

When he was done, the both of you were panting, unable to even form words. He was the first to move, slowly rising up from on top of you and slumping down in the chair behind you. 

“Fuck, look at you,” he groaned, the tone in his voice letting you know that round two would probably occur before you left the building. You couldn’t even bother to respond, but a small smile came to your face. 

It wasn’t long before his fingers were inside of you, pushing everything that had leaked out back inside as to ‘not waste a drop’ he liked to say. 

Finally, he was fixing your dress and pulling you onto his lap, letting you curl up against him while he held you. 

“You’re going to be the death of me one of these days. Can’t believe you showed up wearing this,” he said, a hand running along the back of your dress. 

“I had a singular goal in mind,” you explained with a small chuckle, moving your face to place a small kiss on his jaw. 

“I don’t think there will be a singular round though,” he replied, a smirk on his face as his eyes found yours.

[alaskasmonsters]

Gentle Hands | Shigaraki Tomura

with a quirk like shigaraki’s, physical touch had never been something another person had trusted him with. the fear of what he could do proved to be too great to get close enough. everyone was scared to touch him...everyone but you.

part two 

pairing: shigaraki tomura x gn!reader

w.c: 3. 223

warnings: canon-typical violence, mentions of blood, descriptions of injuries, shigs is touch-starved :c

a.n: this took me way too long to turn out like this...i seriously don’t know what happened along the way but this was meant to go an entirely different direction...idek.

Shigaraki’s room was enveloped in darkness. The only source of light coming from where you had carefully cracked the door open after several unanswered knocks. It barely illuminated the small space inside, only revealing the silhouettes and rough placement of the furniture.

You’d never been inside of Shigaraki’s room before. There had never been a reason.

As the league’s personal medical support (or nurse, something Dabi liked to refer you to) you’d mostly only talked to any of them if there was an emergency that required your help. Then they’d meet you in the “living room” (you hesitated using homey words like that in connection to the hovel the members of the league had resided in the last few months).

Not that you didn’t get along with them, but you couldn’t really say you were particularly close with any of them. Criminals liked to keep their distance. Distance meant safety, it was the first rule in the handbook basically. Shigaraki was no different. He was the most mysterious of them you’d say, even more distanced with you it seemed. Saying there was no reason to grow attached to a NPC, like you were a dog that would be returned to their rightful owner soon anyway.

It didn’t bother you much. You knew the man needed his personal space, he had his reasons to be suspicious of new people, to be hesitant to let anyone too close...they all had.

That’s the price they paid in a life like that, or maybe they had already been like this before they ever became villains.

Entering Shigaraki’s room now and without permission was probably the closest you’ve ever come to being disintegrated, you thought as you carefully peeked inside. The guilt from intruding already crawled up your stomach. You wouldn’t normally do this, but you were worried after Kurogiri had told you about an “incident” this morning.

It had left Shigaraki badly injured and hiding himself in the darkness of his own four walls, since they had returned. Kurogiri hadn’t told you any details, but you could tell whatever happened had been bad, judging by his concerned tone when he’d requested you to look after the man. He asked you to heal him even if he were to refuse and you had agreed immediately, although you doubted you’d get close enough to Shigaraki if he didn’t want it.

The darkness was thick before your eyes, you could hardly tell the difference between the bed and the rest of the room. Not even the tv’s light was burning...you had expected Shigaraki to play a game if he really were as frustrated as Kurogiri had made it sound like.

The only reason you spotted a glimpse of where the man was located was due to the way the light reflected off the white strands of his hair. He was on the ground behind his bed.

“Shigaraki?” you called his name softly, not sure if he’d already noticed you or if maybe he’d fallen asleep.

You got no answer.

“Kurogiri sent me. Can I come in?”

You waited a minute, probably longer, but when there was still no answer you let out a heavy sigh.

“I’ll take that as a “I don’t mind either way”.”

You squeezed through the small space between the frame and the door, not daring to expose the man to more of the light he seemed to be so sensitive to. At least you guessed that that was the reason he was sitting in the darkness. Maybe he was just feeling emo, Shigaraki seemed the type.

You closed the door behind you, plunging the room into darkness again. This turned out to be a bad idea, since now you were both without sight and you had to slowly and carefully approach where you remembered the bed to be. You could only speak of luck you hadn’t bumped into anything before you made contact with the bedframe, using it to navigate closer to where you suspected Shigaraki to cower at, sliding down to sit on the ground as well.

You sat in silence for a while, making sure he didn’t want you to leave after all, but Shigaraki stayed quiet, the only sign he was still next to you was the sound of his ragged breathing.

You debated what would be the best approach. Should you scoot closer? Maybe you should start with telling him Kurogiri had sent you? Or maybe you could let the two of you stay in silence for a little while?

Approaching Shigaraki when he was in a vulnerable state was similar to a wild animal that had been injured. You had to be careful about it.

“You hurt your hands,” the words slipped your mouth.

Not careful enough.

Had you seriously gone with the worst approach you could have possibly chosen? Good job, Y/n!

Shigaraki didn’t curse you out so you guessed it was fine after all. Maybe his hands were off worse than you had initially thought...

“I want to fix them, if that’s alright but i’d need a little bit of light to do so,” you explained, keeping your voice quiet and calm.

There wasn’t an answer for several minutes. You started to grow restless, thinking that maybe you had overstepped a line, maybe it was better if you left again…

Before you could though you heard a grumbling agreement, barely audible, much closer than you had expected. A second later a dim light illuminated the small room.

You had to close your eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness before you could finally look at Shigaraki, who was sitting a few feet away from you, his back leaned against the matratze of his bed.

He looked miserable, his face was lowered so he couldn’t meet your eyes and his features were hidden by the messy white locks.

But what shocked you most was his hands. He had spread his fingers, palms up, on his lap so you saw the actual damage that the attacker had done.

His palms were blood-smeared, cut open, some cuts running so deep you thought you could see parts of the bone peaking out from between the damaged skin.

You felt bile rise up your throat at the view.

It looked painful, cruel. As if someone had tried to ruin his hands in the most painful way possible.

You inched closer, eyes trained on the damage.

Shigaraki tensed up as you scooted closer and you stopped immediately, looking up into his face, making sure you didn’t overstep again.

He was still avoidant of your eyes, shrunken in on himself with his shoulders hunched. He looked like a scared child to you...

“May I?” you asked him, desperately hoping he’d say yes.

His eyes only flickered between you and his hands once before he gave a soft nod.

You carefully reached out to grab the backside of his hands, meaning to pull them closer for you to inspect. The way Shugaraki froze at your touch made you pause and you realized with dread that you had forgotten to ask if it was okay to touch him. He must be in pain, of course he was.

You quickly removed your hands again, giving him a concerned look.

“I’m sorry Shigaraki-kun, did i hurt you?”

He frowned at your question, eyes quickly jumping between your expression and your hands just inches beneath his, waiting to reach out again if he’d allowed it.

He seemed conflicted for a second, but then he shook his head.

You chose not to question it, only giving a soft nod in response before reaching out again. This time you gently wrapped your fingers around his wrists instead, drawing his hands closer so you could inspect them better.

The light was still too dim to see the most gruesome parts of the injury, but even without it you could easily get an idea of what had occured.

The wounds were too deep, the blood that came out of the slashes in a dark flow...this wasn’t caused by a normal knife. Rather by another person’s quirk, one related to mutilation because how else would you describe the cruelty of the wounds inflicted.

It probably made it impossible to heal by itself, too.

Whoever did this had wanted to make Shigaraki’s quirk absolutely useless, damaging his hands beyond repair in the most cruel way.

And while you did know he’d caused a lot of pain with those hands, the idea someone had tried to mutilate them made you sick to your stomach.

You let out a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down as you leaned down to hover just above Shigaraki’s hands.

Thankfully the league of villains had you and your quirk, seeing as you could heal almost everything, as long as the wound was still fresh and cells weren’t too damaged to manipulate.

Dabi had been the one to introduce you since he’d found you years before when you first started helping him with his unfit quirk. You weren’t a villain, only by association, but you’d always had a soft spot for difficult cases. You hadn’t been able to heal his scars then, since the cells were already dead and the injuries were old and your quirk wouldn’t let you revive anything. But you’d suggested to take care of all the newer wounds

Now you were working with the league of villains or maybe helped out was a better way to phrase it, considering the only method of payment you’d receive was fast food.

You focused your attention on Shigaraki’s injuries, leaning even closer to be able to see everything up close. It was necessary to use your quirk appropriately.

“Ready?” you asked, eyes searching for Shigaraki.

They were wide and attentive. He looked nervous if you had to guess, although he would have denied it if you had asked.

He gave you a nod and you smiled at him, giving his wrists a reassuring squeeze. You decided to ignore the way his eyebrows knit together at the gesture. You imagined he didn’t like touch very much.

You shift your attention to his left palm first, removing your hand from where they had gripped the man’s wrist to let it hover over the injured skin. The tell-tale sign of buzzing spread through your skin as you focused all your senses on the damage you’d been inspecting.

The sight of the cuts running oh so deep, the smell of iron stinging your nose, the feeling of broken and ruined skin and bones and muscles.

A green light, slowly growing brighter and bigger, more intense in color too formed and enveloped your hand. Your fingers inching closer and closer to the bloodied and ripped skin. Just right before your hand would touch his you stopped, the light now extending until it was enveloping his hand as well.

Shigaraki’s fingers twitched, his wrist tensed under your touch. You pressed down on the juncture to reassure him you’d hurry up.

You watched his skin pulling bac, his hands shaking a little when you concentrated on repairing the muscles that have been torn apart before.

It was a slow process, you knew that. You were known for officiency not speed, after all. And you were aware it hurt, probably just as terrible as when the blade had ripped through his skin in the first place. Regenerating injuries like this would usually take weeks and months, a dozen operations and it still would never go back to the way it once was. Doing it your way, basically forcing the cells to regenerate, speeding up the natural process and enhancing it...it took energy from both you and him.

His breathing was ragged, his arm was shaking in your grip, more intense than before and you hated it, hated knowing he was hurting and you couldn’t do anything to make the process go smoother for him, make it hurt any less.

All you could think of was running your thumb over the inside of his wrists, trying to reassure him like that. Trying to signal him that it would be over soon.

You didn’t know if it helped but you certainly felt his body freeze up for a moment. Maybe that was just because of the procedure though.

You watched the skin grow over again, slowly, and leave behind a slightly bloodied but smooth skinned palm. Shigaraki sank back into his seat, letting out a small huff as the pain stopped.

You took the time to inspect his palm, letting your fingers glide over the smooth skin and noting how it all seemed to be back to how they were originally with joy.

“Does your left hand feel okay? Flex your fingers a little.”

When he stayed still you looked up, Shigaraki’s gaze already focused on your face. There was something unreadable in the way he looked at you. He almost looked confused.

You bit your lip, glancing between his hands and his face as dread slowly rose in your stomach.

“You can flex your fingers...right?” you asked nervously.

What if you made a mistake? What if you messed up with his muscles?

Shigaraki’s finger twitched, before he bent them. Spreading them apart before creating a fist. You quickly pulled your hand away to leave him the room to move around a little, returning to tap his skin once more when you saw he was done.

“You feel that?” you asked, less nervous now that you knew that he could still move it.

The only answer you got was a grunt but that’s all you needed.

You moved on to his right hand then. Clasping his wrist with one hand to stabilize him and raising your other just above his palm. You repeated the procedure once more, green light enveloping both your hands as your face was set into a deep frown of concentration.

You stroked his wrist with your thumb once more as soon as you felt Shigaraki tense up again.

He was trembling even harder this time and you couldn’t tell if it was only because he was already exhausted or because this hand had been through more damage.

All you could feel was that the level of damage must be similar, the time it took you to fix the connections of the muscles felt about the same. Then his skin grew over slowly.

You repeated your check up, smoothing your fingers over the skin of his palm and telling him to flex his fingers. He reacted quicker this time, clenching and unclenching his fist a few times.

You gave his wrist a last squeeze before you let go, satisfied and happy you’d done a good job. Of course you wouldn’t know for sure until a few days later when Shigaraki was able to tell you if his hands were giving him any problems. But for now Shigaraki looked a lot better.

His pale face had filled with a little bit of color again, although his eyes were weirdly unfocused as he lowered his head to inspect his hands. You watched him in confusion, as he flexed his fingers again. Wasn’t he sure if you’ve done a good job? Did he feel pain?

“Is everything alright? Wait, lemme see again.”

You leaned forward, softly gripping his hands to pull them closer to inspect once more. Shigaraki froze up at the contact again and you frowned when you saw that the skin was all smooth and fixed, giving no reason for the man to act so tensed up.

You searched his eyes, only finding him already staring at you with an undefinable look in his eyes. You were just about to open your mouth to ask him about it. Not necessarily why he was acting so weirdly, but more specifically what haunted him.

Before you could do that, he surprised you with pulling his hands back before opening his palms which were facing upwards.

You watched in confusion.

He stretched his fingers, raising his hand upwards. The motion made you cock your head to the side. He was looking at you with narrowed eyes, clearly expecting something from you. Thinking you knew what he tried to ask of you you placed your hand on top of his, noticing him spreading his thumb apart to not touch you with all five of his fingers.

Shigaraki searched your face for a reaction but you didn’t know what kind of reaction that was supposed to be.

“I knew you were kinda crazy but that’s another level.”

“Excuse me?” you gaped at him.

“Only a crazy person wouldn’t be afraid to touch me.”

Gears started turning in your head and your cheeks heated up at the realization that that had been the reason why he’d frozen up. He wasn’t used to touch. He had been probably overwhelmed having your hands all over him.

“Oh...I guess I trust you wouldn’t disintegrate my hands.”

He raised an eyebrow at you.

“I’m useful aren’t i? Maybe I'd be more worried about a foot or knee cap but I kinda need my hands for the healing.”

He hummed in agreement, seemingly satisfied knowing you weren’t a total moron.

Although to be quite honest you weren’t so sure if you’d flinch from his touch even if it was directed towards your face. You didn’t know if you had it in you to mistrust him. When it had come to this point you didn’t know, somewhere along the way you had just stopped questioning your growing positive feelings towards the leader of the league of villains (and the other members as well).

Sometimes you liked to think both of you had mutual respect for each other. Enough to not randomly disintegrate the other person, that was.

“I’m sorry i made you uncomfortable, though. I should have asked beforehand.”

He snorted, fingers flexing under your grip, bending to run them over the palms of your hand.

“I don’t mind,” he muttered.

You didn’t think it was all he had wanted to say, but whatever else tried to leave his mouth was held back by Shigaraki biting his lip. You didn’t question it.

The man continued exploring your skin and you  spread your fingers a little wider to give him more access. It was fascinating to you, how curiously he was exploring your skin, like a small child eager to experience new sensations. He had cocked his head to the side, eyeing you from beneath his hair, calculating, waiting.

He reached for your hand and you let him. Let him grip and turn it, until he could easily intertwine his fingers with yours, hesitant and careful to touch you, mindful to spread his pinky to not touch your skin.

You felt your cheeks heat up at the gesture, curiously glancing up at the man that was so hesistant with physical touch usually.

“Shigaraki-kun?”

He shook his head, eyes focused on your hands

“Tomura.”

You smiled, surprised but satisfied for some reason.

“Tomura,” you whispered, closing your grip around his hands.

Taglist: @crystal-lilac​