#its just ye olde train wreck | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

threepandas · 5 months ago

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Bad End: Kept Safe

[Art by Miu_A]

You ever give someone advice, knowing full well they aren't going to take it? Even AFTER they have begged and pleaded and WHINED at you, for hours, for it? Even after they poured their heart and soul out to you? And you, a good friend, carefully and tactfully, tried your best to help? LIKE THEY ASKED?

Ever find yourself the designated "run too dramatically weep in the arms off" friend?

I have.

It is hell. I am in hell.

This is my punishment for all those hours I spent reading and playing Otome Isekai junk instead of, I don't know, solving world hunger or something. Because it HAS to be. I am clearly being punished. Repeatedly. By some sort of petty, petty, anime God.

Fuck you too, buddy.

A fresh round of highly dramatic Protagonist sobbing peirces the air. Dear lord, she has a set of lungs on her, does she? It's like an air siren. But more... upset toddler. It was bizarre. I'd LIKED her as a character. I HAD. Bright and cheerful, determined with a good heart. She'd been a bit naive, yes, but she'd grown. Love had changed her for the better.

But THIS?

This was some middle school "he threw away my secret note, that I didn't sign, so that means he HATES MEEEEE~" bullshit. It went on and on and ON! God, it'd been MONTHS! Years!

I made friends with the Protagonist when we were in The Royal Academy. The story's setting. It SHOULD have finished by graduation. SHOULD. HAVE. But DID it? No! This nonsense had spilled into the COURT! The general population! Actual political factions were starting to get involved!

All because my "friend" COULDN'T PICK A MAN.

And she didn't listen. I tried. God, how I TRIED! No matter HOW I phrased "just fucking TALK to them" it didn't get through her dense fucking skull. I tried taking a break. To calm down. She HUNTED ME DOWN with her little Harem of political trainwrecks!

That poor port city STILL has yet to recover from the chaos they unleashed.

I don't... God, I don't even LIKE her anymore. I've just been reduced to her HANDLER. Forced into girlish tea parties devoid of any taste, because no one ELSE will come. Followed by winces and pitying looks by every lady in all of polite society. The sacrifice to keep HER distracted, lest her gaurd dogs decide its a good idea to do something unhinged again.

It's exhausting.

I'm not even listening.

She seems to have worked through her usual cycle of "cry, mope, what about meeeee~, then I going to go be Plucky at them! Tee Hee~♡!". Good, good. You go have fun, you little train wreck. I'm going to go find an actual ADULT to hide behind.

I have my maids change me out of an outfit that, frankly? I am too old for. I am not sixteen. We are not GIRLS, for the heaven's sake. We are WOMEN. It was a cute outfit. I enjoyed wearing it, back when I was physically young enough that it was appropriate. But even THEN... that's the down side of the whole "isekai" thing.

You keep your mental age.

Everyone around you? INFANTS. Fresh faced babies. You are being flirted with by fourteen year olds and? It is DISGUSTING. They can never be anything more then "cute kids" to you. The characters you once thirsted over? Reduced to actual, living, breathing, pre-schoolers.

There's no going back after that. I'll NEVER unsee it. Can only continue to age, even as they simply... grow up. And then? When they started behaving like FOUR YEAR OLDS? Forget it! I'm beginning to share my parents fears I may die single.

At least I have a refuge. A place of SANITY and SENSE.

I grab the imported wine I had purchased. I'd noticed him drink it before on special occasions. Found a tea seller that was willing to also bring some back. Mother LOVED the tea and my friend was going to love the wine, I could just tell.

Cautiously poking my head out of the guest apartments i was staying in, I checked the hall. Left. Right. Left. Thank god. No Protagonist in sight, she hasn't come back yet. Better hurry though.

I walk fast and keep close to the wall. Ducking into alcoves at every new female voice. Passing servants, Nobles, and the occasional Knight either murmur what they know of Protagonist's last known location or politely pretend not to see me. For anyone else, this would be scandalous behavior. For ME? Well... everyone knew EXACTLY why I was being driven to such extremes.

I thankfully reached the governance wing unmolested. It was far quite and none of the pack of fools ever really set foot here. Not ever the ones who were SUPPOSED to be busy learning their future roles as leaders of this country. God, I could only hope the third prince somehow quietly pulls a coup.

Not that I'd SAY that.

The gaurds don't even bother to announce me, I'm here so often. Merely opening the door. I maintain my decorum none the less. JUST long enough for the doors to finally close and I am able to drop my social mask like whipping of my bra after a long day. Oh thank fuuuuuuck. FREEDOM!

A familiar chuckle, like incense smoke, wafts from the second floor of the office.

"Oh my~, so tired?" My friend muses, his voice that ever lilting purr. I hear him closing whatever heavy tome he's currently studying. "And so early in the DAY! Was it the little nuisance again? Surely she must have SOMETHING better to do?"

Gently putting the wine I'm gifting him on his desk, I then throw up my arms. You would THINK! Wouldn't you?! It's an old complaint. And frankly? I'm glad he still let's me vent about it. It HAS to get old. Yet? He let's me complain anyway.

I met the, roughly translated, "Keeper Of The Shield" at one of the Crown Prince's many ridiculous parties. I was dragged along as Protagonist's plus one. Because GOD FORBID she bring one of her suitors! That might lean towards CHOICE! Can't have THAT!

It was an overly dramatic, gaudy, slow motion trainwreck from beginning to end. I? Got very, VERY drunk. I knew I shouldn't. It was wildly inappropriate. But I was HORRIFIED. Hid near the balconies and drank to forget. Contemplating jumping.

Was likely the only one there my age NOT in ten layers of bows and fabric flowers. It was probably why Crevan decide to talk to me. That and the look of abject suffering. He informed that, sadly, the balconies were locked. But if I planned to maim my self to escape, he could probably boost me up enough to reach the upper windows.

I choked on my drink and guffawd like an idiot. It was SUPER flattering. Very pretty. And honestly? The best conversation I'd had in YEARS. He was droll. Witty. Snarky. In just as much hell as I was. We gleefully narrated the drama playing out before us in as cutting a manner as possible. Grown adults, government officals! Behaving like fucking CHILDREN.

Only after, did I learn I had been chatting with the equivalent of the minister of the Defense. THE commander of our nation's defensive forces. All of them. Knights, army, spies. All of it. And the poor man had been dragged from his desk to play party prop by a glorified teenager. I was horrified. Appalled. Fucking OUTRAGED to learn that it was just... normal!

This country was a nightmare! Otome games are HELL. Lacey, sparkly HELL!!!

But at least I had Crevan to keep me sane. He was always willing to listen. Advise when he could. We had HOPED that Protagonist would start maturing... I'd even mentioned it, but it just seemed like she back slid again and again! Trapping me. Isolating me! Ruining my chances to move ON and have a LIFE!

I don't know what went wrong! Is it me? Am I too hand holdy? It's starting to destabilize the country! Not that the royal family even seems to notice! God no, if it weren't for Crevan, the whole PLACE would have collapsed!

I flop down on my couch. Technically it's not "mine", but honestly? He's fooling no one. The man barely had ANY guest furniture before we became friends. It's totally my couch. (He even got a tea table for us, the softy.)

"Oh? A gift? How thoughtful, dear~" It's only months of friendship that keep from jumping these days. I should get that man a BELL. "Would you like some?"

I can't help but huff a laugh. He always looks to PLEASED when he gets the jump on someone. Startles them. A mischievous asshole, that one. Touchy, too. Forever cupping my cheek or earnestly taking my hand. Patting my head. Guiding me by the elbow or shoulder. He has so few friends... I am certain he is touch starved.

A thought occurs to him, as he pours two cups. A sly grin stretching across his face as he turns to offer me a cup. The wine's scent mixes, burning and delicate, with the ever present smells of incense and his favorite herbal cigarettes. Blurring the senses and relaxing. It's a pretty strong drink.

"You KNOW... it just occurs to me! Darling, if you want to avoid that pest? Why not spend the day HERE? I'd love to have you. " his voice becomes low and serious for a moment, almost catching me off gaurd, bouncing back before I can really think about it. "You could trash my shelves again! Camp out on my couches! It'll be like a little party~ Just you and me! Not a care in the world. You won't have to worry a single thing~"

He grins, glasses catching the light, toothy like the old scheming fox he is.

"I'll keep you nice and safe~"

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yes-i-write-fanfiction · 5 months ago

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Below is why I think these bots would be fun to see;

-Knockout would become a famous model and Breakdown would be his bodyguard. I just think it would be funny to see Knockout caught up in a rogue attack and go absolutely apeshit on some poor goon that accidentally stained his 5 000 dollar designer jacket. Breakdown has to pull him of the poor man like "Babe, babe, it's ok, we'll get you a new jacket. How about a nice new suit too? That sound good?" Meanwhile the goon is fucking traumatized.

-Wreck Gar sees that Gotham is covered in trash and makes it his own personal mission to collect all of it and create his own trash kingdom. Gotham's streets have never been cleaner.

-I just want to see Kup train the batfam. And act old with Alfred. Perhaps save one of the vigilantes after they get captured, using nothing but his holoform, a bottle of liquor, a stun gun and guerilla tactics.

-You look me in the eyes and tell me Tarantulas wouldn't fit right in in Gotham. His freaky ass belongs there. He would sneak into Arkham to observe the patients, just for fun. Maybe terrorize them a little. "Doctor, the spider talks to me!" "Sure pal, of course it does. Did you take your medicine today?"

-Thundercracker becomes a best selling author in Gotham by writing about his experiences in the war (everyone thinks its just a very detailed fictional world). Jason gets absolutely hooked on the series and meets him one day while Thundercracker is out walking Buster. Jason promptly nerds out.

-Just full on pandemonium with the Scavengers. Krok tries to organize them so they can find a way back home but these idiots keep going on side quests. They were supposed to steal some Wayne tech? Sorry, Misfire got caught up in a riddle contest with the Riddler and Spinister is having a BBQ with Solomon Grundy.

-Airachnid becomes a serial killer/hitman in Gotham and quickly earns a reputation as a brutal and efficient killer. Not really that funny but a lot of potential for drama. She sets her eyes on her newest hit; Bruce Wayne.

-Swindle is fucking living life in Gotham, selling repurposed cybertronian tech to rogues. Not even necessarily weapons, just random pieces of regular cybertronian tools, like bottle cap openers that get repurposed into actual weapons by the criminals. Well, now he's on the batfam's watch list and has go into hiding.

-Ok, listen, First Aid is a freak. A well meaning freak but a freak nonetheless. So when he finds a vigilante bleeding out in an alleyway, of course he's gonna help them! But not before taking a picture of their wound and sampling their blood. Not for nefarious purposes! He just thinks it's interesting. But now the batfam tries he's going to try and clone them.

-All the rogues and vigilantes of Gotham band together to stop Shockwave. He's just trying to make his way home but his experiments and casual disregard for human life makes him such a threat that even sworn enemies have to put their differences aside if they want to survive.

-Predaking befriends Cass and she doesn't tell the batfam cause this is her alien friend and they've already got their own (Batman&Superman, Nightwing&Starfire, Red Hood&Bizarro, Red Robin&Super Boy, Robin&the other Super Boy etc.). Of course Robin eventually finds out and he's so mad cause that's a robot/alien/dragon! She can't just keep him to herself! That's so selfish of her! Meanwhile, Predaking is like "Where the fuck am I?"

#poll #transformers imagine #crossover #DC #knockout #breakdown #wreck gar #kup #tarantulas #thundercracker #the scavengers #airachnid #swindle #first aid #shockwave #predaking

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batboyblog · 5 months ago

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I think there are some people who were too young during Trump's presidency to be fully aware of the ways he was harmful, destructive, or disturbing. Could you post some bad stuff he did as a reminder to people (especially the younger ones) about how high the stakes are? Thanks!

Definitely something to think about. I've mostly tried to focus on saying positives from the Biden administration, because I feel like that gets lost? Its easy to point out that Trump is a Rapist and a Racist and oh yeah also a criminal and a lot of people have been drawing attention to his de facto platform and plan for his second President the Project 2025

so I've wanted to mostly focus on the positive case for Biden not just the negative case against Biden

but yeah you do have a point, I think there are a lot of first time voters who were in middle school or early high school and not awake to the Trump Presidency, particularly before the nightmare year of 2020, if you're an 18 year old first time voter in 2024, you were 10 when Trump took office in 2017 and I wouldn't expect most ten year olds were paying attention to the total madness train wreck that was 2017

but also Trump is a human dumpster fire, his former adviser (now headed to jail) Steve Bannon called it "Flooding the Zone" you put out so much distraction the human mind can't focus, even I, someone who both was paying very close attention and who generally has a great memory for this kind of thing find myself remembering events and going "OH RIGHT! THAT!" like the craziness of the Muslim ban literally signed with-in 3 days of Trump taking office it unleashed total chaos you had lawyers literally jumping into their cars and going to the airport and setting up office on the floor trying to help people because there was no warning, no one knew the rules, Trump didn't even have a confirmed Attorney General and the acting AG a hold over from Obama refused to support it so he fired her and there just wasn't a top lawyer enforcement officer in the US... that was week one.

so yes I will look into maybe writing a history of the Trump President for the youth but also just to remind all of us of all the crazy shit that happened that the amount of crazy has forced us to forget.

#Donald Trump #Trump #election 2024 #politics #US politics #American politics #ask #answer

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iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia · 5 months ago

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Vesuvia Weekly: Baby Fever

Taking into account everything except what's in my personal space, it's a fairly normal afternoon in the Center Marketplace. Selasi's humming a popular song as he shovels another batch of rolls into his oven, the regular shoppers are bustling between the merchant's stalls, and the steam from my cup is wafting as gracefully as ever into the bright blue sky.

Oh, shoot that's a burning hazard isn't it, patronsdangit -

"Language!"

And the cheeky greeting from the magician appearing suddenly in front of me isn't helping.

"Fudge you, I'm trying not to be a bad influence."

"You? A bad influence? On who - oh, hello."

I glance down again just in time to move my cup away from the dimpled, chubby hand grasping for its boiling contents. The one-year-old in my lap looks up at me and grins. I look back at Asra with a smile. "I don't want to be a bad influence on this one."

They're already taking a spot at the low table, putting themself and their bag between the baby and the walkway to the stairs. As responsibility-averse as he is, it doesn't stop him from lending the toddler a steady hand as they wobble out of my lap. While the other steals my pumpkin rolls -

"What's their name?"

"This is Nasha." The tot gives me a gurgling giggle, grasping at the edge of the low table while they bounce on their feet. I brush a stray dark curl out of their face. "Their parents needed an afternoon out and know I used to babysit, so they called in a favor. I hope you plan on replenishing those."

"He already ordered a second batch." Selasi approaches with a basket for the table, steam rising through the cloth from the rolls underneath. "Hello, little one. And what are you old enough to eat? May I hold you?"

The tot looks up from where they're digging through Asra's bag, Faust nudging the no-so-baby-friendly contents out of reach and dodging their grabs at her tail. They stare wide-eyed at the burly baker before lighting up the market corner with a drool-filled smile. I hoist them up by the armpits and hold them out in Selasi's direction.

"They turned one last week. Do you know how to hold them safely?"

"Oh, Selasi knows all about how to hold the small ones, yes he does." He takes the toddler on one arm, cooing and rocking them back and forth. This is a side of him I haven't seen before. "Look at how many teeth you've grown, my tiny friend! If I remember right, you're old enough to be eating honey now, aren't you? Selasi's brought you a little dish and spoon for a nice treat, if your decaying-mind-friend says it's alright."

I groan at the nickname. "Not you too - and yes, their parents said they can eat honey now. Just be careful about -"

And I'm interrupted by an excited screech from several booths away.

"Is that a baby with brainrot?! Hi baby!!"

Portia sails into view, her brother dragged behind her by the coat and away from the newly-established leech stall where he was probably about to sink half his savings. Julian stops struggling and straightens up as soon as he spots the baby on Selasi's arm. "My my my, what do we have here -"

"Awwww, can I hold them? Please?!"

Portia's curls are going to stand on end if she tries to contain herself any longer. I nod, but Selasi seems hesitant to let go of his new friend. "You should be careful, they've just eaten some -"

"Fear not! I shall rescue you, small one!"

It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion as Julian uses his long arms to reach over Portia's head, plucking Nasha from the baker's grasp and seating them on his arm. The baby looks at the newcomer in surprise and decides to introduce themself by smearing their honey-covered sticky fingers down the doctor's cheek.

"Well, aren't you a - hrck - nnghck!"

Determined to explore further, the wide-eyed tot sticks their full hand into Julian's mouth mid-sentence. What follows are a series of chokes and gags as they reach deeper, giggling at the funny noises the doctor makes as he tries his best not to bite them. Portia adds injury to insult, yanking him down close enough to take the baby by tugging at his ear.

"Hey, you little cutie, what's your name?" She cradles them on her hip, cooing sweetly at them while her brother hacks and coughs behind her.

Julian straightens with a wince. "I think they went for my uvula -"

"His what-a-wha?"

The loud question behind them makes Julian jump, Portia eye-roll, and Asra grimace. I lean to peek around my visitors at the ex-count fast approaching us. "Hey, Lucio. It's a 'uvula', the hangy-down thing at the back of your mouth."

"And this little stinker tried to grab it? HAH!" He cackles, the loud noise making Nasha begin to curl in on themself. Portia tightens her hold on them, reconsiders, and then shoves them into the arms of the large shadow that's been lurking in the background for the last five minutes.

"Don't you call them that! That's brainrot's baby!"

Lucio freezes, face blue-screening as his eyes jump wildly between me and the baby nestled in Muriel's frozen hold. Asra snorts into their hand. Julian gives me an oddly thoughtful look. "Technically speaking, he is old enough and has the anatomy to have one safely, and he does seem, ah, quite comfortable holding one ..." Portia slowly nods along, taking a long look at me.

I ignore his mumbles and her stare and address the sputtering journeyman. "Nasha isn't my baby, they're my friend's baby, and I'm taking care of them for the day." I turn to where Muriel's adjusting his hold on the one-year-old. "You good?"

Nasha looks up and meets his eyes, pinning him with a four-toothed, honey covered smile. I swear I can see him melt. "... yeah."

"Since when do you take care of babies? I thought you were a writer. Let me see it -"

I brush Lucio away as respectfully as possible. "They're not an it, they're a baby, and your arm is way too sharp to hold them with that gauntlet on it."

"As to why he takes care of babies, he used to be an au pair, if I'm remembering correctly. You must be quite fond of children."

I didn't see Nadia approach with all the ruckus, but now she's standing between Lucio and Muriel and trying to give the baby in question her signature gentle smile. She's a little too stiff to pull it off. I can see Muriel's comfort levels disappearing with the growing crowd and reach over to relieve him of his charge. Nasha curls up in my lap, visibly relieved to be held by someone they know, and nestles against my shirt with a quiet sigh.

"Kids? Nobody likes kids, they're terrible at parties - OW! That hurt, Noddy!"

Nadia's smile is genuine now as she turns back to me, visibly curious about my answer. "Well?"

I chuckle, giving the tot my tattooed arm to poke and prod so they stop trying to snatch and eat Asra's shiny blue stone necklace. "I like them." Nasha leans back in my hold, eyelids drooping and squirming sleepily as I clean the honey off their hands and mouth with a spare cloth. It's hard to hold back the smile when they snuggle further into my arms.

"I've always wanted to have kids of my own. You get to cherish this tiny person through all their ups and downs, and teach them what unconditional love looks like while they figure out who they are and come into their own. And then one day, they're able to go out into the world and build their own life, while you cheer them on and watch them flourish."

I can feel myself flushing from the impromptu sappy speech. "Not to say that everyone should want kids! They're a lot of work and time and a serious commitment so I totally get why others wouldn't want -to - uhm -"

The six misty gazes I'm met with when I look up at my visitors makes me falter. Julian and Nadia look like they've seen a miraculous revelation. Portia and Lucio are hungrily eyeing the way Nasha dozes against my neck. Asra and Muriel are watching me reflectively, lost in thought and smiling quietly at the way I tuck the toddler's blanket around them.

I back up against the wall and make a show of snapping my knees shut, curling myself protectively around my charge. "I didn't say that I wanted to start having babies now, I'm a trans man, that shi- that stuff's complicated and I don't have the money!"

"Mpreg -" Portia coughs into her elbow, and I send her an annoyed look.

"Gee, thanks for the reminder of how taboo I'll be, Portia, let's hope I don't turn into someone's personal fetish or ick."

"Hey," Lucio cuts in with a slight pout, "Why didn't we have any kids, Noddy?"

Nadia fixes him with a stone-cold stare while everyone else looks at him in horror.

"Oh, you know why."

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littlemissmarianna · 4 months ago

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Marriage is hard.

The statement is cliché, but TK never doubted its truth. For years, he watched his parents struggle to make their relationship work and promised himself that his marriage would be different. He wouldn't argue with his spouse. He wouldn’t twist their words to manipulate them. He wouldn't yell and slam doors. He wouldn't bring up past hurts to inflict new pain. He wouldn't withhold affection as punishment.

TK was convinced he had safeguarded his marriage from all the pitfalls he witnessed throughout his childhood, but there's no precedent for this. He and Carlos are facing challenges neither saw coming. And while TK doesn't want to give up, he also doesn't know how to save their marriage when it feels like he's the only one fighting for it.

____________

Carlos will save everyone except himself.

Andrea has always known that, but it's still painful to watch him spiral like this. It's painful to watch her son disappear a little bit more each day.

"Mijo..."

Carlos doesn't look up. He never looks up. He never makes eye contact. He just sits at his father's desk either staring at the evidence or staring at nothing, distracted and distant.

And yes – Carlos has always been dedicated. He's always been focused and determined, but this...this is obsession. This unrelenting compulsion to investigate Gabriel's murder at the expense of everything else must stop before it's too late to salvage the life Carlos has abandoned. His health, his career, and his marriage are suffering from chronic neglect, and Andrea refuses to let it continue.

"Carlitos. You need to go home."

"I am home."

Andrea shakes her head. She can't deny that the ranch will always be her son's home, but that's not what she's talking about...and Carlos knows it. He spends more time in Gabriel's office than anywhere else, and while TK has been patient and supportive, Andrea sees how Carlos's absence is impacting his husband. She sees the sadness in TK's expression. She hears the uncertainty in his voice when he asks if Carlos is spending the night at the ranch again or if he's returning to the loft.

"You haven't seen TK in over a week."

"I've seen him," Carlos defends, gesturing to his phone. "We FaceTime every night."

"That doesn't count, Carlitos. TK deserves to sleep beside his husband."

"So do you," Carlos replies, his tone cold and sharp. "But Dad is dead, and whoever killed him is still out there somewhere."

"You're right," Andrea admits. "That person needs to be found and brought to justice. But your father wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your future for him."

"I'm not sacrificing my future," Carlos counters. "I'm trying to protect it. I can't move forward if I have to constantly look over my shoulder, Mom. What if this person isn't done with our family? What if you're next? Or Ana or Luisa or..."

Andrea knows the name left unsaid is the one Carlos fears losing the most. But her son doesn't realize that on some level, he's already losing TK. Carlos doesn't realize that the biggest threat to his future – to his marriage – is his apathy.

"Go home," she repeats, leaving no room for argument as she nudges Carlos out of his father's chair.

____________

This feeling never gets old – that straight shot of adrenaline that floods TK's system whenever the alarm goes off.

"Train derailment?"

"That's a new one."

"Sounds like a cluster..."

TK agrees, but he welcomes anything that takes his mind off his own train wreck. He never imagined he would feel this lonely being married. He never imagined he would be ignored by his husband or treated like a bother.

"Are you with us or the jocks this time?"

TK smiles and shrugs. Since Judd left, that's always the question when a call comes in: who will have custody of TK – the firefighters or the paramedics?

"We'll decide on scene," Owen says but tells his son to grab his turnout gear just in case.

____________

It's worse than they thought.

Some train cars are stacked on top of each other; some are scattered like toys after a tantrum.

Survivors are covered in soot and dirt and blood as they wander around the scene in shock...while those who were not as lucky lie motionless on the ground.

____________

"We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news."

Carlos glances up as he pushes the food around on his plate. His mother insisted he eat lunch before heading back to the loft, but Carlos isn't hungry. He's just tired. Tired of feeling empty and detached. Tired of feeling like a failure.

Andrea gasps at the live footage. She recognizes the location instantly.

Carlos does, too. He also recognizes the 126.

"Do you see TK?"

Carlos shakes his head. He knows his husband has been putting his dual certification to good use, which means TK could be anywhere. The likelihood of spotting him in such a chaotic scene is slim, but Carlos keeps scanning as the reporter provides details.

Andrea leans forward, her own lunch forgotten as she also tries to locate TK. She always feels better when she has eyes on her boys.

"Okay. We've just been told we need to move further back for our safety."

Carlos frowns. He's not there, but it looks like the reporter is already far enough from the scene.

The desk anchor seems to agree. "Has there been a new development?"

"Yes," the reporter confirms, glancing at the camera as she walks. "At least one of the train cars was hauling – "

The rest of her statement is lost as static fills the screen.

____________

The last thing TK will remember is trying to outrun an explosion.

____________

The faster something occurs, the slower it seems. Seconds drag on for hours.

Owen is familiar with that phenomenon, yet it still catches him off guard when it happens. He saw TK running toward him as the explosives began to ignite.

But when the smoke clears, his son is gone.

____________

Andrea is holding Carlos's hand when the signal is restored.

"Sorry about that," the reporter says, breathless and disheveled. "We were just rocked by a huge explosion, but we're still here. We're fine."

Carlos never wants to see anyone get hurt, but this stranger's well-being is not his priority. He takes out his phone and sends a message to his husband, asking TK to let him know he's okay as soon as he can.

____________

There are now two active scenes – the derailment and the giant crater created by the blast.

Even with flashlights, it's impossible to see the bottom of the hole...but Owen knows TK is down there, unconscious and injured.

"What do you need, Cap?"

"My son," Owen replies as he prepares to rappel into the darkness.

__________

Carlos tells himself TK is just busy. That's why he hasn't answered.

Or maybe TK is giving Carlos a taste of how it feels to be ignored. That seems cruel in this situation, but –

"We have an update," the reporter announces. "All passengers are accounted for, but sadly, one firefighter is missing. We have his photo..."

Andrea holds her breath, then tightens her grip around Carlos's hand as a smiling TK appears on the screen.

"This is TK Strand, the 29-year-old son of fire captain Owen Strand. Both are with the 126, which has a history of tragedy. Viewers may remember the station's catastrophic loss back in 2020. A paramedic was also killed in 2021."

Carlos's ears are ringing as he stares at the photo. Andrea was right when she said Carlos hadn't seen his husband in over a week. TK does FaceTime him every night, but Carlos doesn't hold the phone. He leaves it on the desk, so he can continue working. Each night, TK converses with the ceiling while Carlos grunts or hums his responses.

Carlos can't even remember the last time he had an actual conversation with TK. He can't remember the last time he looked into those beautiful green eyes or kissed those soft lips. Was their honeymoon the last time Carlos held his husband? It was certainly the last time they made love.

When they returned to Austin, Carlos allowed himself to be consumed with rage. His only focus was avenging what he lost...which made him forget to love what he still had.

But this is his wake-up call.

"Mijo..."

Carlos pulls away from his mother as he stands. He took an indefinite leave of absence from APD to pursue Gabriel's case; he took the same leave of absence from being a husband.

But as of right now, Carlos is back on duty.

____________

The 126 executes the rescue like they always do – as a family, as a team.

TK is unresponsive when they find him, but he's alive.

That's all that matters.

____________

Carlos is halfway to the scene when Owen calls.

"Please tell me you found him."

"We did," Owen confirms, though he doesn't ask how Carlos knew TK was missing. "We're still wrapping up here, so can you meet him at the hospital? If you're not too busy..."

The words are meant to sting. They're meant to send a message of their own, and Carlos deserves it.

"I'm heading there now," he replies as the Camaro sails through an intersection.

____________

A miracle.

That's the doctor's only explanation for how his patient survived an explosion with just a minor concussion.

My miracle, Carlos thinks as he kisses TK's bruised forehead.

____________

TK doesn’t remember coming to the hospital. He doesn’t remember anything, except –

“Baby. You with me?”

TK blinks as he realizes Carlos is sitting beside him.

“Hey. How do you feel?”

“My head hurts,” TK admits as he glances around the room. “What happened?”

“There was an explosion,” Carlos explains, his fingers gentle as they fan through TK’s hair. “But you’re gonna be okay. They’re discharging you soon.”

“Is Dad coming?”

“He’ll meet us at the loft.”

“Us?” Maybe it’s the concussion, but TK is confused. “You’re taking me home? Don’t you need to – ”

“I don’t need to be anywhere except right here,” Carlos replies, holding TK’s gaze. “I love you. It’s been too long since I’ve told you that.”

Carlos has said those three words every night before he hangs up, but they were delivered on autopilot. For weeks, I love you meant practically nothing. To hear them now with such conviction and sincerity makes TK want to cry.

“My dad’s case is important,” Carlos continues. “But you are my husband, TK. You will always be the most important part of my life. I’m sorry I haven’t been showing that lately. And I promise I’ll never make you doubt that again.”

TK nods and reaches up, closing his eyes as Carlos wraps him in a hug.

____________

The next morning, TK wakes up in his husband’s arms.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispers, smiling when their sleepy kisses turn into something more.

#911 lone star #carlos reyes #tk strand #tarlos #fanfic #S5 spec fic #mari_marie on ao3

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bari-the-witch · 2 years ago

Text

“Ahoy there, sailor!”

Eddie saunters into Scoops Ahoy like he owns the place, an overly cheerful expression on his face. He nearly panicked again making his way through that blasted mall full of people, and putting on a fake smile is his way of not losing his mind. It’s not the healthiest way Eddie knows but it’s quick and it’ll do for the moment. He can deal with the aftermath of being overwrought later in the confines of his own bedroom.

Fortunately, Steve doesn't seem to notice the fakeness of Eddie’s behavior or notice him at all. He’s too occupied with trying to make the little girl at the counter explode or something if the look on his face is any indication of that.

“Listen, Erica. You can’t come in here every day and demand free samples of every flavor we have, okay? I told you yesterday. And the day before. And every other day of summer until now. So buy something, or leave.”

Steve looks like he’s ten seconds away from tearing his hair out or banging his head against the wall. Eddie is torn between watching how this unfolds just for shits and giggles, or jumping in and saving Steve from his obvious discomfort. Unfortunately, he's a very curious person, so he seats himself at one of the many tables near the entrance and watches the train wreck in front of him unfold.

“That’s not how you treat a customer, idiot. Do you want me to talk to your boss or something?" The girl - Erica - replies, clearly not impressed in the slightest by Steve’s lecture. “I bet he wouldn’t like what you did.”

“You wouldn't-." Steve pauses for a moment. There seems to be something in Erica’s face that makes him falter mid-sentence. Because in the next second, Steve sinks into himself like a puppet with its strings cut off.

“Fine,” he groans. “What do you want?”

“See, I knew you’d come around.” Erica sounds proud of successfully blackmailing Steve into giving her what she wants.

Ten minutes and a few samples later, Erica leaves the store with a smug expression on her face. When she catches Eddie staring at her, she glares at him with disdain, before finally leaving for good. Geez, those young girls sure are different today.

“God, I can’t believe her sometimes…,” Eddie can hear Steve muttering from behind the counter, head tipped back and staring at the ceiling like it holds the secrets of the universe inside. When Steve looks down again and finally spots Eddie sitting there, he blanches, his face immediately losing all color.

“Oh no,” he states. “Please don’t tell me you’ve been here the whole time.”

“Would it make things better if I told you that this little girl is absolutely scary before giving you an honest answer?” Eddie says, before making his way over to the counter.

“A little,” Steve squeaks, sounding unsure. “God, you really must think I’m a loser now.”

Eddie deliberately lets his eyes wander over Steve's body, clad in that scandalous sailor outfit." Right. Only now.”

At first, Steve doesn’t get what he’s hinting at. Then his eyes widen. Then they narrow. And before Eddie knows it, he’s met with the infamous Harrington glare of doom. Or the mean girl stare as Grant jokingly likes to call it. It’s almost funny to watch Steve turn from complete and utter embarrassment to this in a matter of seconds.

But instead of lashing out, like he surely would’ve done last year, Steve leaves it at that and a “Funny, Munson”, before smoothing out his face again into a neutral expression. Though he now believes Steve changed, Eddie is surprised by his tame reaction. The old Steve would have verbally torn him to shreds at such a jab at his ego by now.

“Does she really do that every day?” Eddie asks, changing the subject, so as to not test his luck. He doesn’t need to overdo it when the first soft tendrils of their friendship are still fragile.

“Erica? Yes, unfortunately,” Steve replies, making a face. “And because I need this job and my asshole father surely would serve my head on a platter if I lose it, I have to play nice with her. Mostly.”

“Your father makes you work here?”

That’s a bit surprising actually. Eddie always thought the Harringtons would rather be caught dead than let any member of their family work a minimum-wage job. In this ridiculous outfit no less.

“Mhm. Remember when I told you they always nag at me for something?” Eddie nods, and Steve continues. “Well, seems like he didn’t take it well I graduated at the skin of my teeth and couldn’t go to college because of it. Seems like he was right calling me a disappointment since the first time I brought home a bad grade.”

He sounds so defeated telling him about the way his father treats him, Eddie feels the urge to punch Mr. Harrington in the face fester inside him. He balls his hands into fists at his side, trying to shove his anger down. This is not the time, nor the place for this.

“So that’s the reason I work here. And most of the time it’s not even that bad,” Steve says, shrugging his shoulders like it’s no big deal for him. But Eddie isn’t convinced at all. From the things he heard about Steve’s dad, whether it was from Steve himself or his uncle Wayne, Mr. Harrington doesn't strike him as the person to give his son a job he would like.

“I mean, I get free ice cream sometimes. And at least I have a job, unlike others. So I shouldn’t complain that I-.”

“Steve.” Steve immediately clicks his mouth at Eddie’s firm tone, something that he’s definitely filing away for later. “It’s okay, really. You don’t have to pretend to like your job in front of me. I’m not judging you for it.”

“I uh - thanks. I guess.”

“Don’t mention it. I would be a hypocrite if I’d actually encouraged you to like your job in that evil den of capitalism,” Eddie jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

It seems to work because Steve snorts, his solemn expression turning into an amused one. “Are you going to jump on tables here, too?” he quips good-naturedly, then his eyes widen. “Oh, please don’t actually do that.”

“Wasn’t planning on it. Although it sounds rather tempting.” When Steve wants to protest, Eddie holds his hands placatingly. “Just kidding Stevie. Wait, does that mean you actually listened to those things I said at the school cafeteria?”

“It was hard not to,” Steve grins toothily, his cheeks red for some reason. “Has anyone ever told you really have a knack for the dramatic?”

Eddie bumps his finger against his lips a few times, pretending to think about Steve’s rhetorical question. “Hmm. Nope, definitely heard this the first time today.”

“As if,” Steve laughs. “I think you being dramatic is like a law of the universe or something.”

“I’m going to pretend this is a compliment,” Eddie replies dryly but feels somehow giddy at Steve’s words. He feels seen. “Otherwise it would be totally rude of you.”

“Believe me it is a compliment” Steve becomes serious again and Eddie feels almost dizzy with how fast the other is changing his emotions today. “There’s just something so admirable how you’re so unabashedly yourself. Makes me a bit jealous, to be honest.”

Jealous? Steve Harrington is jealous of him? No way in hell. But Steve looks so earnest that Eddie can’t do much than accept the fact that this may be the truth.

“Sorry I-,” Eddie hesitates because this is just so weird for him. “I think I’m a bit surprised hearing that from you.”

Steve shakes his head. “Don’t be sorry. It’s only the truth. And I think I’m jealous because if I would be a bit more like you, I maybe could accept myself more easily.”

This catches Eddie’s attention. “What do you mean by that?" he asks curiously. And it must’ve been the wrong thing to ask because Steve’s expression immediately slides shut and suddenly there’s a distance between them that’s almost palpable.

“Uh, nothing. Forget it. It’s - I - nothing, really.”

Despite his brash demeanor, Eddie knows when it’s the wrong time to pry. So he just nods and lets it slide for the time being. Maybe there’ll be another opportunity to talk soon, where Steve will be more open about whatever this is.

#steddie #i'm bored and alone don't judge me #steddie fandom #pre relationship #but they're getting there I hope

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trashpandawithangerissues · 1 month ago

Text

BULLY HEADCANONS

FOR CONTEXT I HAVE LIKE A LITTLE AU WHERE ITS THE NEXT YEAR AT BULLWORTH AFTER THE EVENTS OF THE GAME SO SOMETHINGS ARE DIFFERENT:

Derby, Ted and Johnny are all 18 (we at least know they’d be 17 in the main story)

And Edgar is 19, same age as the Prefects (who are around 18 in the main story)

Also all the Townies that we’re still old enough to attend school got reenrolled thanks to Jimmy boy (he gets Zoe back into school in the game so he could probably get the others)

Derby Harrington

- Not SUPER inbred (like Tad nearly is), but he still does have some issues. His immune system is AWFUL like the flu season is like the purge for him and if - god forbid - he gets sick he looks like he’s about to right his will. Like this is him:

- He’s the one who introduced Bif and the Preps to Boxing and also Botany (in a deleted dialogue when you kill the crapula maximus Chad says: “Derby’s going to KILL you!”) He and Parker are the most invested in Botany and Derby has a couple nice orchids on his balcony. He also trains Bif and also the others and I like to think that before Bif took the boxing spotlight, Derby was the champion, but his parents thought he’d be better suited for modelling

- Doesn’t particularly like modelling all that much, it bores him more than his father’s lectures do

- Sometimes disobeys his parents out of spite, but nothing overly serious, because he doesn’t really feel like getting beaten everyday

- He and Pinky put up the dating/betrothed act for their parents, they really kinda just hang out on their dates as besties/cousins rather than actual partners

- He has a drinking problem, like BAD (in the prep hide outs there’s almost always a bar in game) He’s also the complete opposite when he’s drunk, sometimes he’s sad af, sometimes he’s angry, sometimes he’s telling you your his best friend and he loves you and sometimes he’s white girl levels of crazy. He can do shots like it’s NOTHING or scull a whole bottle of expensive booze (shocks people when they first see this happening, damn near gave Johnny a heart attack)

- His way of saying “hey I don’t hate you and you’re my friend heheheh” is buying. So. Much. Stuff. Like oh you don’t have money for lunch? Here’s 3 cheeseburgers, oh you need money for your car to get towed? Take my money.

- Overdresses, to everything, like it could be fancy dress and he still looks way to fabulous.

- Has a guilty love of old corny movies and horror movies like slasher movies, he and Johnny watch them together either at one of their houses or at the movies/drive in movies

- Fairly decent at academics, especially math from him having to help his father with accounts

Johnny Vincent

- Of course, has a smoking addiction who would have guessed. Also he definitely could use an inhaler he STRUGGLES sometimes

- He’s AGGRESSIVELY Italian/American, like he’s the fucking poster boy for them. Angry Italian, the Italian hand and everything. He talks with his hands quite a bit. Like he’s yelling at you in loud Italian while doing this

- He has a sweet tooth especially for home made desserts, just home made food in general he’ll devour it if you look away for one second

- you think he’d be good at flirting but no, he’s a nervous wreck actually. Like if the person he asked out said yes he’d be the type of guy who’d pump his fist as he walked away.

- His uncle - one of many lol - owns a locksmith business and from this, Johnny can crack open damn near anything. Want to get into the staff room? Consider it done.

- Also, his love of cars, motorbikes and mechanic work is from the family business, he knows EVERYTHING about it, how to Hotwire cars, how to fix the pistons cheaply and effectively. His version of Derby’s “I’ll buy you anything you could ever want” love language, his is “I’ll fix you car for free give me some WD 40 and some cigarettes” He will NOT let you go to the mechanic as long as he’s alive

- Like Derby, adores old corny movies and especially the drive in. His favourite type of date is taking them to the movies to watch a horror movie. Is that because he wants his scared date to cling on to him at the jump scares? Maybe. Does he also just really like bad horror movies? Yes. Derby and him could binge the whole of the slasher type movies in one night easy.

- He wins an old broken down Harley Davidson from the auto shop class for having the best grades in school in that class. He fixed it up and he treats it better than he would his first born child

- Although he’s not that good at school, if he can relate it to mechanics, he’s amazingly good at it. Like math, if it’s something he’s had to use before fixing cars he’s great.

- Despite that, he has had to ask Derby for help in math or, reluctantly, Earnest

- He can speak Italian and also English, sometimes he messes up here and there but overall he’s pretty fluent in both. His Grandma and Grandpa on his mum’s side came from Italy and in his Fathers side his Great Grandparents came from Italy

- His sense of style came from his family lmao so did the smoking tbh

- His mum makes so. Much. Food. Like to the point she’ll cook for his friends. He has to tell her when people come over, last time he brought over the boys and he didn’t tell her she yelled at him in Italian and immediately whipped up a whole pot of pasta for them. His friends love her

Ted Thompson

- Golden Retriever boy

- He was going to get braces again (he had them when he was younger FOR SURE) but didn’t want to get bullied again/be a NERD

- If someone’s flirting with him, he won’t get it until you YELL IT at him. I feel so bad for Damon and Justin

- He uses bro and dudes unironically. He’s such a loser I love him

- Like overly competitive in EVERYTHING even board games and video games. Like this would be him

- Sheldon is his step brother. He hates him. Like these two would that sibling duo where Ted just -throws- him away when he’s pissing him off, which is everyday. He’d be that sibling to put Sheldon up somewhere high or tape him to a pole and leave him there. He wouldn’t admit it but he’ll kill someone if they do the same to Sheldon, that’s his job.

- He’s one of those gym bros who could eat a whole cow and still not get “fat” he’s like a black hole he’ll inhale a whole foot long in 5 seconds. He loves Johnny’s mum because of this, she’ll just feed them so much food. He also loves pestering Derby for food, tbh so do Johnny and Edgar.

- He’d totally just, pick up smaller kids like Kirby with one arm. All the big Jocks do tbh

- He’s one of those loveable idiot guys when he’s drunk.

- He BLASTS white girl music like you can hear it from down the road, he also treats it as if it’s karaoke and it’s that karaoke is a competitive sport rivalling AFL and Rugby on footy final day. Like for song like “Talk Dirty” he sings the trumpet part as well.

- He has a Wii and he’s broken at least like 2 remotes, he has to have the strap, lest someone gets a concussion

- The type of guy that if he found out you’re a lesbian he’d be like “Wow you like girls? I do too! We have so much in common”

- I feel like he’d be aggressively supportive of people, like someone calls his friends a slur and he’d just barge them Tf over and throw them in a bin

Edgar Munsen

- I like to think he does his own tattoos, the one on his arm is his first one he ever got. he wants to get more soon. He did that one right as he turned 16, Gurney probably did it for him.

- I feel like he’s also surprisingly good at drawing because of it, like oh btw you said you liked flowers? Here’s a tattoo design. And it’s just like a really good sketch and he down plays it constantly.

- One time he drew one of Derby’s orchids and he nearly got it tattooed right then and there, then remembered his dad would actually kill him

- He’d also get piercing later on, Johnny suggested the place he got his.

- He and Gurney are the booze smugglers of Bullworth, any alcohol you could name, they’ll steal it/buy and smuggle it in for you

- Like he’d stuff booze under his shirt even he’s probably pulled this before

- He smokes the devils bush if you know what I mean. Plus other stuff (in game a couple townies mention making bongs)

- He for reason always has a knife on him. Like he just pulls out a switchblade at school. The prefects have tried taking it off him, but he always gets it back somehow.

- He keeps forgetting he’s technically the same year as the Prefects and he hates it

- Like Johnny, he’s pretty good at breaking into stuff, even more so actually

- He’s definitely hot wired a car before

- I personally think he’s multi-racial with some Asian, African American and Hispanic in him (I like to think he’s Vietnamese/Jamaican-American/Puerto Rican/Mexican)

- He’s more Hispanic though, he’ll cuss you out in Spanish in a heartbeat and maybe some other languages

- Like he’d stub his toe and you just hear loud cussing in 5 different languages

- Like Johnny, he sometimes messes up some words of any of his many languages, but more so

- He also loves horror movies but unlike Derby and Johnny he likes the more psychological horrors that are FUCKED like those French Extremity movies

#bully scholarship edition #canis canem edit #my posts #edgar munsen #ted thompson #johnny vincent #derby harrington

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b0amagination · 27 days ago

Text

Tastes of Whumptober: Day 17

Ohhhhh baby we're back to my pirate whump roots! If you've been with me since then, I just wanna let you know that I started Persistence nearly five years ago now <3 haha passage of time moment (terrifying please help)

Yes Fjord is an homage to my first whumpee's name <3

Ruined Map

“Searching for treasure, sweetheart?”

He leapt down from a boulder with the grace of a cat, greeting his fellow pirate with a smug grin.

“Just hanging around, Fjord.” They rolled up the scroll they were reading with a casual disdain.

“Back to our old nicknames, are we? Then I should be calling you Delta, m’dear,” he said with a bow. “But I never knew you to hang out around deserted islands.”

“I’ve grown into new hobbies. Have you? Or are you still rummaging through the remains of old wrecks like a rat?” Every repetition of the r rolled harshly off their lips.

“Well, I have found an affinity for swordplay, now that you mention it.” Fjord stepped back and drew a cutlass, shining where the sun peeked through dappled leaf cover.

“What, you’re giving me a demonstration?”

“I’ll do you one better. I’ll fight you for that map.” He pointed to Delta’s hip where they’d tucked the scroll.

“You’d be sorely disappointed by your win. If you win.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve been practicing as well.” They drew a rapier from its sheath. “Dual to what point?”

“To a slash?”

“To the ground.”

“Shake on it.” He extended his right hand and they took it with a firm grip and a curt shake.

“Now let me out into the open so we’re on fair ground.” Delta stalked forward, forcing him to step back from the rocks and instead take his stance on the sand.

The two pirates circled each other, watching for movement, before one struck. Fjord pushed forward, slashing low at Delta’s legs, and they deflected the swing with their own blade. They lunged and stabbed while he was off balance, but only grazed his shoulder. Then it was back to a watching game, trying to outsmart the other.

Fjord initiated contact once again and slid their swords against each other, spraying sparks. But he pushed hard enough to bend the rapier back and used the moment of vulnerability to slice through their sleeve and draw blood. Delta hissed.

“There’s that spark. I missed that about you, darling.”

“I’m nobody’s darling, Fjord.”

“Be careful there. I can cause you bigger problems than nicknames.” To punctuate his point he forced contact again, targeting their leg this time with a stab. They got off with a thin laceration.

He’d really been training, it seemed. But cockiness meant he wasn’t holding up his guard as well as he should. With a swift stab, they buried their rapier in his left shoulder. Not the dominant side, but it would have to do. But when Delta went to pull their sword from the wound, it wouldn’t give. At the end, Fjord’s fist was curled around the blade, holding on tight. It was simply shock that made them lose their grip and let him scamper back, wrenching metal from his body and flinging it away behind him.

“What’s your issue, sweetheart?” He panted, blood quickly spilling over his cream blouse. “Squeamish?”

Fjord advanced on them now, breaths coming raggedly, but cutlass still firm in his grip. Their mistake was turning their back on him and running.

A well placed swing slashed the skin of their calf and they screamed, falling into the sand. Even as they scrambled to their back to sit up, bloodied metal greeted them.

“I win. To the ground, don’t you remember?” A triumphant laugh when they fell still, and he flung his sword away as well, only to pull a dagger concealed in his sash. Delta panicked when he knelt over their legs, entirely defenseless, but he shushed them.

“You just sit pretty while I claim my reward,” he gloated, plucking the scroll out and unfurling it over their torso. But they couldn’t hide a smile and he soon realized why. “What the hell is this?!”

“I- I told you it wasn’t a map.” Spread over their chest now was parchment with vague scribbles of ink and absolute nonsense directions.

“You were lying!”

“Was I?”

“What would you be doing here otherwise?!” He looked at them in stunned disbelief.

“Following you. You already knew there was something here, or you wouldn’t have threatened me so quickly. I just needed confirmation.”

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some-beans · 2 years ago

Note

I’m in a mood babe. I gotta write, but I’d be hella inspired if you wrote like a hot MHA pro hero teacher Y/n (if its not too much both male and female, its okay if you only do one, no pressure!)

Just the pros thirsting 🧘🏾‍♀️

— Love you ⛹️🏾‍♀️

you got it babe 💃💃 imma do both

✎...pairing: pro heroes x pro hero!teacher!reader ✎...themes: chaos, pro heroes are down bad, seen as romantic ✎...notes: i want reader, reader is thick for both male and female bc i can, reader's quirk is up to your imagination, though reader teaches health, can you tell which characters are easier to write ✎...enjoy !!

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

gonna be real with y'all

a hot mess

like he's a highschooler giggling and kicking his feet

blushing and shit

i feel like it starts off as a crush from respect and slowly turns southwards when he manages to find you beaten to hell and back with your costume wrecked to shit

bc just like megan said, body-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody

but also

women with muscles 💕💕

but besides that, i feel like due to how he constantly trained, all might legit has rizz ー with that ass ー but has no idea how to use it

also, with his skinny form, self-conscious baby 🥺

𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

now, it takes him a lot longer to develop these feelings bc i kinda see all might as a ❛traditional man❜ but not in a religious way

like, in a sense he would do old fashion things to woo someone

anyway

like earlier, all might would have to be sat down by someone and have it told to his face that he finds the health teacher attractive

cuz god DAYUM you're yummy

your costume hugs and accentuates all of your muscles

especially your tiddies

definitely uses the excuse to work out with you just to see those muscles move

same goes when you help him out with his classes

that ass is muy caliente

𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐑

𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

the only chance he'd see you would be out on patrol or if it had something to do with shoto

however, after his divorce and now trying to rebuild his connection with his family, he does end up talking to you

this is bc shoto won't shut up about you to fuyumi or natsuo ー yes, he was eavesdropping

manages to catch you while on patrol

it was very awkward

manages to watch how you easily interact with kids

and how caring you are to shoto ー caring enough to make the boy smile

. . . why did his heart flutter??

𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

same with the female reader, the only chance he'd see you would be out on patrol or if it had something to do with shoto

i feel like for a male reader, endeavour would have to build up respect for you before feelings ever get involved

but when you got hit with a quirk that made your costume melt

. . .

he can get behind the gay agender

totally doesn't use his power to ask for you to work on cases with him

totally not

ahem

if your costume happens to have a boobbie window, he will be staring

𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃

𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

y'all

this man right here, closeted simp

hands down

does all the small things that make your teacher workload easier

like he would organise your desk, make sure you have pens, coffee/tea/energy drink at the ready etc

present mic brought this up

he lost his loud noise privileges

anyway

as i said he will do anything for

like a n y t h i n g

. . . a tad bit yandere if you ask me, guys

𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

definitely acts like a grumpy cat when you first meet

tends to be wearier of male pro heroes as they don't really have the best representation in the media and in his eyes

eyes you off whenever you're around

however

that broke when sneaked in the new kitten you got into work and let's just say aizawa is very interested

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐌𝐈𝐂

𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

bashful, blushy and stumbling mess

may or may not have accidentally activated his quirk when he's around you

god, is just like when first got it

folds like an omelette when you smile or call him ❛honey❜

well, it could be any pet name, but that one just

*internal screaming ensues*

𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

man is open to anything

look me in the eye and tell me this man hasn't drabbled in the fruit salad

tries to act suave and confident, but folds like origami whenever you smirk at him

y'all he turns into a puddle when you give him any attention

like, even a crumb

laps that shit up

𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

yum yum

loves a strong, independent woman

thighs thighs thighs

wants them to be wrapped around her head

earmuffs forever

very vocal about you just destroying her life

and stepping on her

very big fan

𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

yum yum part two: the electric boogaloo

sure, she's got all might's and vlad king's muscles to look at, but yours??

dear GOD

she just wants to

*chomp*

also

when his dick slaps when he walks, i shall listen when he talks™

epitome of that^^

ceo actually

𝐇𝐀𝐖𝐊𝐒

𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

down bad horrendously

mummy issues who??

now, considering how he grew up, has zero ideas of how to woo you besides using his natural bird instincts

which is very cute

especially if you're taller than him and he tries to make himself look bigger by puffing up his wings

swoons and almost cries when you show him gentle affection

that was a surprise and a half

𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

down bad horrendously part two: the electric boogaloo

daddy issues who??

typically does the whole bromance thing that board line has everyone assuming you two are actually dating

he may have friend zoned himself for that in the beginning and does the arthur fist whenever he remembers that time in his life

has one of his feathers following you when you're on patrol just to make sure you're safe

even tho you kick ass and will most likely be fine

𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐊𝐎

𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

fruit salad 🎵 yummy yummy 🎵 [ iyk where that's from, i love you ❤️ ]

flirting is 100% on

maximum rizz game

mirko is going make it known you're a tall of water and she's thirsty

will 100% be staring at your tiddies and thighs

also very much keeping her hands on you whenever she can

𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

legit

looked you up and down, and said ❛aight❜

she can get behind it, but don't expect her to be a shy blushing mess

will be coming in strong and she will be jazzed you return the same energy

lowkey digs the height difference *cough cough size kink cough cough*

#💌 some beans requests !!#bnha #mha #my hero academia #my hero academy x reader #mha hawks #mha endeavour #all might #eraserhead #present mic #mirko #mha midnight

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carmenized-onions · 5 months ago

Note

Yap sheet, live and in color!!

I wrote this as I was reading it, so it very well may be incoherent since I read the chapter almost immediately upon waking up. 😍 OH OH OH before i forget this is going to be really long, so my apologies, BUT !! Can i get put on the taglist? Pretty please 😛 .... wait adding this later I think im already on it 🤔

1.) I can taste what is happening here, i think, and I swear to god, if it ends up that he calls tony, calls ME THE READER, a distraction, I'll cry. Onion, you will have made me cry. Sigh. A dish getting sent back making him all wiggy does make a lot of sense, though, I fear.

2.) "He’s not meant to be a good person. He’s meant to be a good chef." :< i hate u that's so sad and isolating, and so on the nose for Carmy :<

-side note idk why but this :< and :> have become my absolute favorite lil emojis lately so silly

3.) Cue my eyes widening all comical and shit cause ONION "you should be dead" NOOOOOOOOOO L major L cause wtf

This yap sheet is gonna be mega long if i keep doing it like this, I'm ngl. But i think you'll enjoy it, so I might keep it up

4.) Yes, match our clothes to Carmy's eyes... or whatever !!!

5.) Poor Fak. "So Fak is gonna be our server?" "Yessir." "He any good?" "No Sir." And that's so real, actually. Okay, just read more, and Neil really is a small train wreck, and "Oh wow" definitely made me giggle

6.) I feel like im taking notes for class here, and i usually hate taking notes, so that's how you know you've got me by the balls with this story, Onion. Also, this is its own point bc ik ur gonna reply to these in order like this so this is me telling u that if u don't want me to send these this long i will not be offended cause this is gonna be so much. ALSO did this just for u bc I'll see in other asks when ur lamenting abt people not pointing out certain things (I TOTALLY get that btw) and I usually notice them but forget them in my yap sheet cause i do them after the fact so :> also this point is so long now okay this backfired on me.

7.) NOT TONY REFERRING TO THEIR RELATIONSHIP AS A RESERVATION thats so silly. I love that Fak was all. Oh, is that Carmy's jacket?? And Richie jumps straight to oh yall are fucking. NOT A SEX PAINTING OHMYGOD

8.) :< that's all I have to say about that sequence with Carmy that made me very :<

9.) Anyway, um Tony screaming at the sight of him is also very :< also him immediately thinking he is the problem or like the self loathing taking over is also so :< bc like UGH this poor man I really just want to give him the biggest hug in the world. But in Tony's defense, I, too, would get jumpscared by slicked back hair Carmen. I mean, I guess that tracks since Tony IS me, technically.

10.) Okay Fak appears like he's going to be this bad the whole time so unless theres smth specific to say, I'll just cap the Fak interaction here and say I feel for my man Neil bc I, too, am a very slow learner and I would probably also fall flat on my face just like this.

11.) Richie is so dear to me as a character, like that man held everything together in his two hands and got zero appreciation for it. And like, that is something I relate so heavily to. Richie watching Tiff move on must be so :< even if he does seem like he's made his peace with it

12.) Okay, so i just read for a lil while, but um. CARMY'S OLD BOSS SHOWING UP??? DIABOLICAL!! YOU ARE AN EVIL ONION FR like that's so vile. Also I will say that the syd comforting is so slay. Tony just going immediately into caretaker mode is so me actually

13.) THE RACIALLY TARGETED MILES MORALES BANDAIDS !!!!

14.) Anyway I love Syd and Tony and the let me love you is so URGHHHHH i just love them sm

15.) Okay so I hate that fucking guy but ,,, GO TONY !! Love that she basically just handed them their asses by being smart n shit.

16.) RATATOUILLE MENTION !!! Love

17.) Okay the fact that tony questions whether or not Carmen would defend her over impressing chef asshole is so UGH UGH UGH makes my chest all tight bc like, yes, I think he would, i think he absolutely would choose Tony over all of it but... then again.... UGH

18.) OH MY GODDDDDDDD CARMY WROTE TONY A NOTE FOR HER MEAL THATS SO. ITS SO. OH MY GODDD. Even when hes being a grade a dickface hes so sweet :<

19.) LOVE??? Yeah im so gone goodbye

20.) Oh im so dead the moment she got the plate I knew she was gonna give it to chef asshole but STILL IT STILL HURTS

21.) Okay yes im like very :< abt the nat and carmy convo but what is this did mikey have a lil folder abt chip tony like a journal type shit wtf onion

22.) NO THIS IS TERRIBLE NEWS CARMY THINKING SHE DATED MIKEY??? NOOOOO THIS IS EVEN WORSE ACTUALLY THIS IS SO BAD??

23.) I hate you. Thats all 🫶 that cliffhanger was abhorrent

No but fr that was phenomenal and i really hope you like this ugh. Ur writing so fucking good im like crying at the optometrist rn

ALRIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU SKIPPED TO MY ANSWER N DIDN'T READ THE ASK !!! goin' under the keep reading for this one. Will this be the only ask I get through before I have to go run errands? We'll find out. Will there be a snapshot of the next chapter under the cut as a little treat? I honestly don't know, I'll have to look to see if there's anything I can give you that doesn't give away everything lmao.

Before we start though, I do want to note somewhere, I have finished the draft for the next chapter-- I usually don't do to much rework at this point, but I do think it'll need some decent edits-- It's very hard to write like, after a fight, yknow? Like I'm trying to do a very organic aftermath, as well, it's not just a complete cliffhanger, where I can time skip the awkwardness-- And that's like. Woo. Need to revise and make sure it's good.

Anyways, this is all to say:

Thank God I split this from the last chapter, eh? Almost dropped fucking 20k straight on your heads like a comical boulder.

Anyways time to actually REVIEW THIS WONDERFUL YAP SHEET LETS GO

YES you're on the taglist and never apologize for yapping, I do it all the time. And I love to be yapped back to. I know how much work goes into taking notes, so it genuinely really warms my fuckin' heart that you'd take that time for me thank you my love!!

OOH. I think bro gets very close to saying distraction, I think he says that he gets distracted, but never actually calls Tony one straight up. I do think Tony basically calls herself one at some point... Which... Baby, your self image pleaasse. AND YEAH, THE PLATE SENT BACK-- You'd all laugh if I showed you my notes app drafts, I literally have a note titled 'carmy mental snap' and a list of things to fuck with him psychologically that come to me throughout the day

Writing the not a good person, good chef, actually did make me realize what the fuck bro was yapping about in the Season 2 finale. I always like got the amusement or enjoyment line, but I don't think I fully understood what he meant because I was like-- You make food baby, that's a form of enjoyment-- It's not to him. It's money. He doesn't get joy out of being a chef, right now. UGH. I'M RUINED.

Yeah babyyyyy, the voice in his head is still his exeeccccc lets goooooo-- Pulled up the NYC scene dialogue, for that whole morning routine. Pulled all those lines straight from it. Major L to Jeff from Community. He had a major change in character smh

or WHATEVER!!!!!!

I promise I wasn't planning on dogging on Fak this much as a server, and then I watched the trailer, and no spoilers, he fucking bombs and I was like , well, okay, that's the game we're playing Mr Storer? I'll play,,,

DAWWW, again, I know how much this takes, and I should say-- Never feel pressure, lmao-- Whenever I poke at people for not noting things, it's just me poking fun i swear. I never want it to feel STRESSFUL to read these chapters, though (well, i guess i did want THIS one to feel stressful lmao), so please don't feel like you have to do this-- Do i love it? Yes. Do I also beg for essays? Yeah.,,, but like, like yknow what I mean-- Go at thine pace, baby

Richie and Syd are Tony's two besties, and them both immediately going SO YALL ARE FUCKING???? Feels very correct, to me. Sex painting also, I just think is such a Fak thing to whisper. I mean those canvases couples FUCK on, with paint covering, by the way, if that wasn't clear. I don't know how well known a thing that is. I went to art school, so. When worlds collide, yknow.

:< Zero Pulse Carmy L Count: 2 (the morning scene was rough)

I love seeing the different reactions to Tony yelling, because it's either like: AWE POOR CARMY or THATS SO FUCKING SCARY SHE SHOULD BE SCREAMING, WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?-- And I love to see that.

I would 100% flail like this. Fak is me at my new admin job every day.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I went from a certified Richie Hater to a lover. Writing this fic I think also aided to that, alot, because it forced me to think very critically about like, what it fucking meant to stick around, when your best friend dies. Like me and my best girlfriend-- The Syd to my Tony, essentially, have both said repeatedly if one of us kicks the bucket, the other one is immediately yeeting it. Like. Richie staying alive let alone in the same place, that takes a lot of fucking strength. Love him.

DIABOLICALLLLLL HAAAAA, I did a little dance, when everyone started tweaking in the comments with that one. Love to see it. Got your asses with that surprise-- Got Carmen with it too, lmao. Can you imagine going to work already in a bad fuckin mood and then the Devil from your shoulder is like 'i'll be there in 30'? Ohhhh bitcchh--- I'd be doin worse than Carmy, tbh.

I would've dug so much more into the RACIALLY TARGETED MILES MORALES BANDAIDS!!!! if I was explicitly writing Tony as a POC, but I needed to give her a tamer response with 'i hate you'-- But to note, if I was going full WOC besties, it would've been fuckin' 'oh so you'd prefer peter parker?? racissstttttttt'-- Nothing says solidarity in the black/brown community like calling your fellow POC racist.

LET ME!!!! LET ME!!! Had that line written in my head for quite some time-- I've been planning this chapter since chapter 2, so it's like, like I really got to LIVEEE writing Tony/Syd, I adore them.

GO TONYYYYYY, I was worried I gave her too many talents, tbh. But like. Her title and nickname is Jack of All Trades, and it makes a lot of sense to me that being a Lead Paramedic = Fantastic under pressure, great at giving direction/leading, decent bedside manner + Repairman Level Memory + Wine Fascination since highschool = Not that many actual skills, but they all transfer into so many different branches. So I think she's not to OP lmao. WE'VE GOT TO NERF TONY.

The rat chef!!! I'm shocked no one found it frankly offensive Carmen hasn't seen Ratatouille-- But I do think that would be canon. I think Carmen's life would change dramatically for the better if he just fuckin' relaxed and watched Ratatouille.

RIGHT? I'm literally still debating the idea of what Carmen would do, in the scenario. Like, a lot rides on the idea of a star. His whole life and everyone elses--- Would he prioritize Tony? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm let's not think about it

The note, bah. What a sweetie. It's also like, written on the recipe card he drafted, too, so technically if she gained all the Michelin skills rn herself she could make it. Theoretically.

LOVEEEE...... moving on....

Speaking of Love, I have loved seeing the handful of people saying they knew immediately when she got that plate what Tony was gonna do about it. Like that is both touching to me as an author and also heartbreaking that on a story and character level, you immediately knew what Tony would do to herself there--- Bah.

JOURNAL IS INTERESTNG-- I wonder if Mikey would be the logging type. Maybe entirely unmarked in his notes app.

WOOOOFFFFFF

I'm sorry but I'm not sorry and I hope the OPTOMETRIST APPOINTMENT WAS GOOD DESPITE DA EMOTIONS HAHA

Now let's see, is there anything in the water I can give you here... Anything that won't spoil something,,,

There's not really much that isn't really emotionally charged, so I'll give you this, at least. Feels like any context of the next chapter is spoilery, but eh, read it if you'd LIKE to. haha. AGAIN-- THANK YOU LOVE!!!

#yapping #extensive yapping #ask #catsrdabestsocks101 #onion wip

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loosingmoreletters · 9 months ago

Note

(still the exact same anon expect me to keep haunting your blog every few days because i am an absolute sucker for this fandom and i am so sad there isn't more material. actually i could fix that but. sighs sadly. Maybe. One Day. I'm working on it but i am also working on 90 other things and it is night here and these things are due tomorrow)

wow. yeah. ship names. laughs awkwardly... normally i'd say if we wanted to keep it simple just like. character names smushed together? But i also adore the concept of. A thing that Represents each character that you can immediately tell is said character and those two things together as a ship name

but also im letting "Sword Daddy" (sugar daddy but in swords bc shin junseo. yun taeheon is also a sugar daddy he is giving shin junseo so much shit) sit in my mind. or "moneysaver". is it practical? no. will i regret it every time i have to look at the tag in the ship in the future because i think it's dumb? yes. is it funny? also yes. i have no clue but im shutting my brain up now its not giving me good information anymore. bye ill be back. soon.

I await your return like a swooning maiden hahaha

But also mood on the 70 other things I should be working on

Sword Daddy sudhdjb arguably they are each other’s sugar daddy. Very much. oh god train wreck crack AU where way before dungeons and everything Taeheon v much was Junseo’s sugar daddy and now you get the awkward “well we never dated but I do know what size suit you wear. so you. Want to pick up our old contract-ish” reunion

But yeah!! I also really like ship names that represent but I doubt we can push that in this day and era still

#ask #anon #weapon creator

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vibinwiththefrogs · 4 months ago

Text

I just came to a crazy epiphany... I think... I hate school.

Which is insane feeling for someone like me, who in kindergarten begged my mom to enroll me in school (instead of being homeschooled), who loves school aesthetics, who spent my early 20's just trying to even get to college, who gets giddy every first day of school, who ran an intense langblr/studyblr for a while.

I have a final presentation in two weeks and I just realized... I don't mind presentations, I don't mind essays and papers, I don't mind reading, but I HATE being evaluated intensely and being put under a magnifying glass. I dislike most my professors on a professional level. I'm dreading this presentation not because its a speech but because its so heavily weighted.

And I'm realizing that school is a core part of my perfectionism issues. Because I was an autistic child who didn't know when people expected perfectionism vs. being average, so I strove to over achieve for safety. And now as a 26 year old who has been in other places and situations, I realize... NO ONE looks at you as close as graders and petty young students who only know school. Unless you're in a particularly intense job or being targeted by internet trolls. Most people aren't going to be looking at you all that closely, and so perfectionism is an absolutely ridiculous thing. As an adult now i look at all the situations I've been in in the past 4 years, and I realize I feel most threatened and judged on my campus compared to anywhere else.

And its a bit heart breaking since really a majority of my life has been in school and about school. And I feel like I'm seeing it all in a new light. Now, me and my friends are the top grades in the school who have had our self worth attached to this system, so I know we're not exactly the norm. But I've watched school drive my friends to be anxious, puking wrecks. I've watched so many dreams be (seemingly) crushed by grades. School put me in such a vulnerable fucked up place that I sought a psych eval my sophomore year. Most of my friends and I have a kind of persecution complex and feel like we're always being evaluated and looking for approval.

What the fuck kind of learning environment is this? Yes i know school is just training people to be compliant workers under capitalism, but for a long time i did believe the proclamations about school and creating better people and society. Let's say I or you still believe that, and I ask again, what the fuck kinda of learning environment is this? What are we molding people into with this? I'm tired man. I think its about time to separate myself from it, considering a majority of my life was invested in these institutions.

#rant time babey #studyblr

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claire-starsword · 1 year ago

Text

Shining Force Pre Release Coverage

yes i have made a post about this before but i was a baby with one magazine. Now i’m a big 90s kid who has gone through the entirety of the Beep Megadrive archives from 1991-1994, as one does. Get ready for what might be my biggest post ever, I don’t wanna break it into parts for the timeline vibe.

To contextualize the following dates: the game came out in Japan on March 1992.

October 1991

More cool sword animations for Max. Also it took me way too long to realize this background is also not anywhere in the final game, though the final Gate of the Ancients bg does take a lot from it. Apparently it was once meant to be an indoor location with torches.

Here are screenshots of the map itself. Icons were completely different, and Gort and Mae are there. Obviously this could be just the use of debug features to test the characters, but I suspect their story roles were actually changed and they were meant to be starting characters. More on that later.

there’s also a screenshot of Guardiana with a slightly different layout. There are centaur NPCs in town as opposed to only in the castle, the old man sprite is different, and the little girls are normal as opposed to dragging cats around. In the final version, this little girl sprite is only for Karin, Krin and Koron, the important little girl trio. The bed sprites are also different and kinda failing at perspective.

Besides screenshots, we also get a synopsis.

Centuries before Mephisto’s uprising in Shining in the Darkness... In the continent of Rune, far to the east of Thornwood, many countries big and small lived in endless days of peace. However, the great nation of Rune Faust, wanting to take over all of Rune, plotted to get its hands on the “Legacy of the Gods” inherited by the country of Guardiana since ancient times.

The Legacy of the Gods is said to be both a superweapon and a frightening beast. Whoever attains it can become a god or a devil... But even though the Rune Faust army has invaded Guardiana and ravaged the country for its plans of domination, it hasn’t succeed in finding the legacy...

Meanwhile, the soldiers of Guardiana, forced into a life of wandering after the fall of their country, have risen to the task of defeating Rune Faust. And as they resist against the unknown evil power controlling Rune Faust, people have come to call them “the forces of light”, Shining Force...

The grassy plains of Guardiana, mountains full of precipices, jungles, deadly deserts, rivers where piranhas live, those and other stages await our heroes.

After all, who is the one controlling the powers of darkness? And what is the truth behind the Legacy of the Gods? Hiding many mysteries, a new legend begins now!!

Very basic stuff, but while it might just the drama vibes, it does feel that Guardiana was supposed to get more wrecked, or get wrecked earlier, which would explain Mae and Gort joining earlier as well. Simone narrating the king’s last wishes right in the intro supports that idea as well.

Lastly, we get some character art and info:

(i know it’s hard to see the og text with this resize but hey, that’s why I linked the magazine collection before)

These are the forces of light, “Shining Force”!

“I’m the swordsman protagonist, Max!”

The protagonist of this story, Max. He’s human, but is an expert with the sword and can also use magic. He roams across the continent, leading the Shining Force in its way to defeat Runefaust.

One more for the “Max was meant to have magic” pile.

Archer - Hans

An elf who used to work at Guardiana’s palace. His skill with the bow is first-class.

Very nitpicky detail: Hans’ class is written with kanji here, when it’s written in katakana in the final version.

Knight - Mae

A young centaur warrior. Daughter of the late Knight Captain.

Priest - Lowe

A dwarf who’s a great friend of Max. Currently training at magic.

Shining in the Darkness already had a hobbit priest so i wonder if there’s some miscommunication here. The hobbit discourse is even older than I’d imagined.

Warrior - Gort

A hotblooded dwarf old man and Mae’s servant.

Told you there were changes on these two. There’s no indication of any connection between the two in the final version, especially since centaurs tend to be arrogant towards other races, a fact that does not come up here at all, nor does Mae’s tough personality. Even more evidence will come up later that those things were added late in development.

Knight - Ken

A centaur in knight who admires Max.

The enemies don’t get descriptions and all have their final names except the Rune Knight, who is only Centaur Knight at this point.

November 1991

This is a big one. The beta title screen is the least interesting thing about it.

We see more of Guardiana, and the centaur NPC was actually Varios all along, meaning the intro was really different.

Max and Mae get to smile! Given the story is kinda obvious why this was changed, but I always did find it weird that their artwork had different expressions to begin with.

Plenty of screenshots of a field battle with completely different graphics. More on this later.

Also a different and apparently pretty big shop.

But now for the part that really rocked my socks, a whole beta map:

Here’s the final map so you can compare the geography yourself. This map doesn’t label pretty much any town and instead brings up a bunch of new names for the natural areas.

The Gate of the Ancients, or what I suppose is it, it’s not labelled, sits atop the Mountain of Guidance, which seems to be a single mountain as opposed to the big mass that stretches up to Rindo in the final version. The gate also seems drawn like a little castle, which would explain the indoor bgs shown so far.

Alterone is to the northwest of Guardiana as opposed to the northeast. It is also right next to the Beagle Mountain Mass, which, makes A Lot More Sense with how much we hear it is a mining town. I’ve been wondering where their mines were in the final map. They must have mined too much though, because in the final version this mountain mass is largely gone.

Further to the north is Rindo Harbor, and you, english speaker, might think, “oh yes Rindo that’s the final name” but nope, in the JP version the town’s name is Rindorindo, for some reason, so that’s a difference. A difference that matters to no one.

There’s no river near Rindo, and Manarina and Shade are not labelled, though its concepts seem to be around. Manarina also seems to be surrounded by a lot more forest than in the final version, which might explain its guide book entry.

The forest near Manarina has a name that deserves its own post, Kaien, in katakana so that it is harder to discerning its meaning of course (and intentionally allow double meanings). Possible interpretations are the start of a performance (開演), the opening of a park or garden or banquet (開園 and 開宴), a superb performance (快演), or an eerie yet fascinating performance (怪演). I’d say the last one is the most fitting for Manarina, but localizing it is still a pain in the ass, the english staff dodged a bullet here. Right now most I can think of is Enthralling Forest, but you still miss some charm.

I also have to wonder if Mishaela was conceived as a boss for this place. Puppet performance and all that. She also ends up having a forest stage in Shining Soul.

All the white mass on the north is Pao Plains, no sign of the bridge or the forests of Bustoke, although there is a town in the mountains. Was this a Shining Force without Zylo? Inconceivable. But might confirm something I’ve been suspecting due to my debug mode escapades. In the battle test mode, egress usually takes you to the last church you’re supposed to access in that chapter. Yet for chapter 2 battles, it takes you to Bustoke, which is on Chapter 3. The editor also shows Bustoke as one of the first map in the data, between Rindo and Shade. It is likely that Bustoke was meant for Chapter 2.

In fact the reasoning for going to Shade Abbey is very shaky, you can see in the final map that there’s a lot more mountains between Shade and Bustoke than from Manarina. I guess the point is that guides work there, but in that ase they should work somewhere else. I’m not complaining though since Shade Abbey is one of the most iconic parts of the game.

The Pao Plains are surrounded by the Boho Mountain Range. Boho is short for bohemian, the romanticized view of nomadic/alternative lifestyles, so it’s very fitting for Pao.

Waral was a single island instead of an archipelago, and the ocean between the two sides of Rune is Cypro Ocean, a name that eventually made its way to the guide book. The region in the center of East Rune is Conga Basin, which we’ve also seen in another book, and Dragonia is to the north already. Finally, the Crescent Mountain Range is the bunch of mountains to the east of Runefaust.

Note also the big isolated structure south of Runefaust. Perhaps the Castle of the Ancients has not always been under the ocean. I also see no sign of Prompt, while all other towns are in (except Waral but Waral isn’t even in the final map, it’s tiny). This might explain why Chapter 7 is cursed on debug mode, frequently failing to load an egress point.

All this rambling was just for the map itself. There’s more written about it, I’ll just translate things directly because I’m a bit tired of taking screenshots.

This is the Rune Continent where Shining Force will take place

There’s no comparison between the world of Shining Force with that of Shining in the Darkness, it is far larger. There are mountain ranges, towns, large coasts, and even islands as well. The adventure starts at Guardiana to the south of West Rune, and the you’ll move clockwise to north, and then to the eastern part of continent, shrouded in mystery. That region to the south of East Rune, could it be Runefaust...?

East Rune and West Rune

The two continents and the Cypro Ocean between them are all referred to as the Rune continent, and are far to the east of the land where one day Thornwood, the kingdom where SitD takes place, will be built.

Guardiana, where the journey begins, is on West Rune. West Rune, compared to the eastern side, is more developed, with many countries living in peace and abundance.

In the eastern side, it is said an ancient civilization once lived there, but currently there are no countries other than Runefaust, and a wide spread of steep mountains and eerie forests.

Because of that and Runefaust itself, the people of West Rune regard the east as a dark land full of mystery.

They’ve thankfully chilled a bit on the “light side versus dark side” in the final game, possibly because they needed churches/HQs/shops to welcome the heroes gameplay-wise. I do see something drawn in the map here where Rudo should be, so perhaps other settlements in the east were already in the cards, just not very developed.

The country of Alterone

A neighboring country of Guardiana. It was originally a mining town built to extract rare and magical minerals from the Beagle Mountain Range around it, and then developed into a country. With the minerals excavated, Alterone amassed a lot of money, which was used for its own development. The common citizens began to live in luxury, and even despite other countries. Of course the royal family too has filled the castle with loads of luxury items and art, and the army is small and lacks zeal despite its extravagant equipment. The cultural level of these people with not much history, is not very great. A rising rich country. One could argue it’s a bit like today’s Japan with its excessive liquidity, or maybe not?

oh i am unequipped in so many ways to understand that jab

The country of Guardiana

A country that prides itself in having the deepest history in all of West Rune. It is said this country was built by people who inherited the duty of protecting the “Legacy of the Gods”. Because of that they’ve grow a tradition of respect for the military arts, and the royal family believes in maintaining a humble lifestyle, so the castle has no ornaments or luxurious items. However the long time of peace has weakened these traditions and the people, and they could not defend themselves from Runefaust’s ambitions, being destroyed...

Being a small country, it has little stock of weapons and such, but it is blessed with fertile land and the agricultural production is plentiful. The story of the Shining Force will somehow begin around this country.

Nothing I hadn’t seen in guide books already, but I’m somewhat surprised the worldbuilding was all already there and not refined for the guide books only. I guess it just didn’t find its place in game.

Speaking of that, here’s a long interview with the devs and I don’t have the energy to translate it all. Here’s the summary:

Unsurprisingly, the game’s biggest challenge was data size. Without compression it was around 30MB, around 15x the size of its final ROM, and definitely not fitting a Mega Drive cartridge. The interview only talks about compression but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had to cut things as well.

It’s brought up that they could have solved that problem by making a CD game instead, but they wanted to reach a wider audience.

Lots of comparisons with SitD, how the game was bigger and more complex, requiring more work and graphics and maps and everything basically. Again it is said that the story happen centuries before SitD.

When asked if there's a connection with the SitD, Masaki Wachi (writer for SF and the GBA remake) enthusiastically replies “Yes! Oops, I said it (laughs)”. He then elaborates that there were big clues about it, but that he wouldn’t comment on the connection with Mephisto and the ending of SitD.

Kenji Orimo (director and writer) does add though that if it was meant to be a direct sequel, it would just be called Darkness II. He also mentions seeing more potential in expanding the Shining World from Force than from Darkness.

Yoshitaka Tamaki (character designer, art director) mentions SitD characters having more of a fairy tale vibe, while SF characters were more grounded, with some pretty scary enemies in the late game, with more of a “war spectacle” vibe.

Lots of hyping up the battle animations.

Also hyping up the unique spin on tactical games, where characters and enemies all have their own agility instead of just alternating between an ally and an enemy phase. I don’t know anything about tactical games to comment on this.

December 1991

We get a better scan of Mae’s old portrait :)

Max on the other hand has already changed to his final one. Character description are largely the same as October with a few more tidbits on personalities such as Ken being a super honest boy. Gort is still referred to as Mae’s old servant, Lowe is still listed as dwarf, and no mention of Mae’s tough personality yet. Max’s class is also listed as warrior, but he was mentioned as swordsman on October so I assume it’s just a mistake.

We do get more characters this time though.

Tao Class: Mage Species: Forest Elf

A mage in training, but her talent is huge. Has a close relationship with Anri, the princess of Guardiana.

The forest elf thing is very curious since Hans and Diane are not listed as such. I have seen the term float around for Nigel of Landstalker, but I didn’t play that yet so no comment.

Diane Class: Archer Species: Elf

A wild girl who lives in Bustoke. Being raised in the mountains, she’s vigorous in battle. Scary.

Zylo Class: Werewolf Species: Beastman

Leader of Bustoke, the mountain nation. Focused in hand-to-hand combat, he does not equip weapons, and instead fights with his sharp claws.

Guntz Class: Steam Knight Species: Beastman

A knight of heavy power who wears an armor powered by a steam engine. Well known through the world as a mercenary specialized in castle assaults.

Well, that’s not my chill guy. Seems his personality wasn’t nailed down yet, which surprises me as his artwork very much implies the gentle guy we know now. Worth mentioning though, Guntz does join the team right as you’re going to assault the fort, and the GBA version even elaborates a bit on that invasion by requiring you pick a bomb from Crock, though Guntz isn’t involved in any of that. Perhaps this sequence was intended to be a bit more elaborate from the start.

Khris Class: Priest Species: Cantaul

A priest who used to work in Alterone. Despite being both priests, she’s stronger than Lowe in battle. Let’s see who is the best at magic.

Kokichi Class: Wing Knight Species: Human

An old gramps from a noble lineage of knights. Entranced by the dream of flying, he spent fifty years researching flying machines.

We then get a bunch of monster art i won’t even try to fit in a screenshot, and more description than they ever got in guide books as far as I’ve seen.

Dwarves

Skilled at close combat due to their strong body, but has low defense. Their lethal axes are menacing.

Dark Priests

Runefaust priests, wearing white masks as per the army’s regulations. Working on an attack with focused magic.

rip dark priests you did not learn blast in time if that’s what they’re implying here

Also, they’re called Dark Priests here, Priests in the final game, and Dark Priests in the english localization. I don’t know why I bother paying attention to that.

Snipers

With superior footwork, they attack from a long range with bows. The double team kind, working as pairs with the Rune Knights.

Puppets

Evil marionettes, it’s unknown if they have consciousness. Part of the Monster Corps, they attack swinging swords.

Except they don’t in the final game. They don’t even have swords in the art either, so I’m unsure if that’s a change or an idea that never made it in.

Hell Pierrot

It seems they are not really pierrot, just disguise as such. Those who are fooled and approach them carelessly end up hurt.

That’s the final JP name for the Dire Clown as well.

Gargoyles

They are statues, but had temporary life breathed into them by magic. Seems not all of them turned into flesh, some parts remain stone.

Cerberos

Guard dogs of hell into a deep sleep in the caves under Alterone. Trained by the Runefaust army.

Worms

Giant mutant earthworms dozens of meters long. Don’t have any senses other than touch.

Dullahans

Headless ghost knights who used to be Rune Knights. No comparison between their power though.

And now a special boy that does get to be screenshotted:

Mimics

Transform immediately as you open them thinking it’s a chest. Their lids grow sharp fangs, and they sprout legs to move.

It’s worth noting that while these guys didn’t make it to any classic game, SF2 does have a mechanic of monsters spawning from chests, we just don’t get to see because the search in battle option was removed in the english version.

To finish the parade of weird creatures, Yogurt is here.

What is this Yogurt creature, after all?

Yogurt, a mysterious characters that shows up around Guardiana and toys with the enemies. No clue if he’s an enemy or an ally, but he certainly has a likeable vibe, you could even call him cute. He’s not docile enough to be raised as a pet, and seems prone to quick mood swings. Does a lot of weird things as he pops up in the adventure. You could say he’s kind of a versatile performer.

Yogurt’s Data

He’s 80 cm tall, weights 10 kg, walks on two feet, while the front paws have atrophied and become small. His main food seems to be berries, but he’s omnivorous. From what’s been observed, he can swim, is fast and has strong jumps. It’s unknown when he started wearing the helmet on his head. No one has seen him take it off either.

Insides:

Tail - Uses it to balance while walking in two feet.

Feet - Way better for jumping than for walking.

Head - On par with humans. Seems to be very intelligent.

Hands - Cannot use tools

Belly - Quite fat but he’s still agile.

There are also doodles of his secret appearances which I’m not gonna translate now. They’re very much just describing his antics.

January 1992

Pink haired Simone appears. Sadly there’s no dialogue screenshots.

Guardiana is already pretty much the final version, only the entrance still seems unfinished, some NPCs are different.

Remember that field battle with different graphics? There’s more of it here, including the map.

It’s horrifyingly large.

Finally, there’s some talk of critical hits being capable of special effects like one-hit KO, but it’s very vague so it might be the magazine staff not knowing this was attached to a specific weapon.

February 1992

Pink Simone is still around, and so are unfinished weapon animations and the old knight battle sprites. Max still shows up with zero MP. Guardiana and the starting maps seems mostly finished with a couple odd spots.

Guardiana castle is full of chickens, and has a gate.

The king’s room has a couple more flags in it.

The Gate of the Ancients now looks like the final version, though battle screenshots still show the indoor background. The starting team is also the final one, with Mae and Gort no longer there.

The Alterone battle shows enemies inside the shops.

The article ends with a recipe for yogurt.

March 1992

The game is released, and I too am released from this long ass post. From here on, every article, ad and official material I’ve seen uses only screenshots from the final version of the game. If that sounds obvious to you, wait for the SF2 post.

Update: ??? 1992

Joke’s on me, I was not free from the post. I found some old footage, sadly i don’t know which date it is from, but it shouldn’t be too early in production. Simone already has brown hair, the Gate of the Ancients is already outdoors.

There are still things to note though. Simone still talks of the king of Guardiana in her intro as opposed to the final one. The intro to Chapter 1 is a placeholder text.

Anri’s dad does not have a unique portrait and uses the default king one. Also, the castle still do not have centaur knights, even though their sprite already exists. In the place are not chickens though, and instead some weird placeholders you can see at the top right corner here.

Unlike every other battle scene in this post, the final sword sprites are in, but their animation for Max is still unfinished. Also, having footage we can hear some audio, and while Simone’s theme and the field map theme are in, the town and battle scenes use placeholders from SitD

More importantly,

cat.

Their sprite isn��t exactly the same as the unused ones in the ROM though, as those have the tail up like a properly happy cat. This means these sprites still got further polish before being ultimately scrapped anyway :(

#shining force #shining series #sf yogurt #sf max #sf mae #sf gort #sf simone #sf guntz #long post #reeeeeeally long. i am dying #second time trying to update this because tumblr disappeared the first one somehow. if it goes wrong i'm gonna start biting

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