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#like dont get me wrong i can totally see why people make The Green into a trans thing
sonknuxadow · 5 months
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its kinda funny when people say that scourge's deadname is sonic and him turning green was him transitioning because like . if scourge is trans that would mean sonic is trans too right. and also its literally canon in archie sonic that sonics birth name isnt sonic . so presumably that would also apply to scourge too . unless you guys are saying deadname to mean any name someone used in the past but doesnt go by anymore and not just their birth name
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I said something similar on my blog but I feel I didn't word my thoughts better:
The newer phases' art styles feel too polished for me, from the lineart to the boring shading and saturated colors. (Especially with phase 6) I miss the messy feel of Phase 2, 3, and even 4 because it still kept the feeling of the older phases. Phase 5 I'm iffy on because imo it still looks fine with the colors but still has that modern Gorillaz art style I dislike but it still sorta felt experimental in a way?-. On it's own the art styles are...Alright, but for Gorillaz I just don't think it fits, I love the cartoony art style from the earlier and find it more charming and memorable. I don't think I'm saying this out of nostalgia (I joined the fandom during 2018, lmao) I think it's just because of my own preferences
I saw someone say that it's like Jamie is trying to make the characters more conventionally attractive and I couldn't agree more.
hmmm ..... ive heard many people say this but i have mixed thoughts on it.
the tone of gorillaz overall taking a turn towards being more brand-friendly is definitely a factor, but i dont think its the only one. i really do think jamie gets bored and its not just me speculating, apparently he said he was "fucking bored of drawing those characters" in 2008, yes, since BEFORE PHASE 3. i do still think he has a lot of enjoyment in drawing them (otherwise he'd probably quit) but you can really tell when he's drawn something just because he felt like he had to. that's why gorillaz promotional art seems to be increasingly lacking in personality, imo. something really changed around song machine era where stuff was just getting pushed out as fast as possible and predictably got rushed. because ive brought this up before, if youve seen his art in the gorillaz artbook it's an entirely different vibe than promotional artwork cause thats the stuff where he does whatever he wants and is free to experiment. but that level of experimentation that he wants to do is very non-commercial, and it would've been in any phase. (that semi-realistic murdoc rasputin picture freaked people out when it was released but thats the kind of thing he really wants to do!!)
it's not only got a lot more personality and life to it but it's retained that edge that earlier gorillaz art had, despite using brighter colors and overall more poppy visuals. there's a murdoc shrunken head ffs. i really like it. i hope we see more of that kind of stuff in phase 8.
here is the edgy 2d everyone's been asking to make a comeback, in the 2020's:
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personally i dont mind the brighter colors and overall more clean and lighter vibe. it doesnt resonate with me quite as much, but i dont think its neccessarily a sign of becoming more commercial. it can look that way and have edge at the same time as seen in the artbook.
murdoc becoming neon green is an eyesore often times but i think it's made up for by the fact that it's really funny in an ironic meta way. some day he will just transcend the color spectrum visible to the human eye probably....
i dont see how the characters have gotten more conventionally attractive. for example noodle had her whole eyebrow shaved off on the meanwhile ep art. theyve always been ugly and to get rid of that youd have to change their designs and personalities to make them unrecognizable. plus i think murdoc's actually somehow managed to get uglier... his face looks more misshapen as he's aged.
one thing i dont like in newer gorillaz art that i havent seen anyone else point out is how much jamie's horniness leaks into it. maybe i have just noticed it more than everyone else. dont get me wrong i think its totally fine if he draws that stuff on his own time of his characters if he wants to but when it gets into official gorillaz stuff its just plain weird and unneccessary and makes me uncomfortable 😭 like wtf ....
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thebunniesgrim · 1 year
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It's almost embarrassing how much I like the episode lol
So, the new ep dropped yay! 
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Over all I personally liked
it a few extremely minor nitpicks
but overall, I loved it  
If you wanna know my nitpicks, go ahead a read them but otherwise I'm gonna go on a tangent about fire in hell because I wanna :) 
does this count as criticism?
Fizzes new song wasn’t as good as thought would be, but I understand it’s improve but I think the joke would have landed better if it was actually extremely catchy like total ear worm of a song 
I don’t like that fizz and Bliztos relationship kinda resolved so fast (but I'm a hateful bitch who can't let go of things so hey maybe that’s just something wrong with me :/) 
Stolas was in the episode homeboy was hospitalized how are you just up and ready to function. Couldn’t be me honestly after that ruffing up, I would have needed 10 to 12 business years to recover lol  
I really don’t understand why Asmodeus was seen as the weakest sin especially since we haven’t seen the other yet. If it's because he canoodling with an imp, ok? But he’s still a sin also if I wanted to pick on any of the sins, we’ve seen so far it would be Bee just saying she’s dating a dog! Someone less than imps just saying!  
Crimson is fucking stupid threating a deadly sin (first Loona now him why are people just so causally threating or trying to fight the deadly sins? Are they the big bads or not? We have imps and hellhounds trying to fight them like that doesn’t matter)  
We didn’t see Asmodeus go crazy and like fully murder someone see a hint of his powers and frankly I'm a little upset about it lol like don’t tell me was worried about Fizz and didn’t want him hurt. homeboy you are a deadly sin you could turn Crimson and his Goons into paste in like 5 milliseconds like?  Like and you expect me to believe Ozzie is the top in this relationship? Please other than the size difference bottom Ozzie is definitely believable if he let Crim bitchify him like that just saying.
This is how I looked when Ozzie didn’t just murder them:
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“Ozzie how can you be so stupid Ozzie?” (go watch Rigamarole)
Lol
Don’t get me wrong, I find Crimson and Striker very entertaining but like really? come on...
Anyhow fire! 
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This episode very much answers my questions on fire in hell  
I didn’t want to vocalize this because I was worried it was an extremely dumb question  
I totally missed in Murder Family that blitzo says to Martha (#bring back Martha)  
“Yeah, your fire doesn't really work on us” yeah, your fire  
I always assumed the termed ‘hell fire’ was just a dramatic saying I didn’t think it was literal  
But even if it was literal, I didn’t think Hell Fire would work on Hell Borns, I thought it would be a sinners only things like if sinners are supposed to be in hell to be like confronted with sin and tortured why would the imps and such be affected by the fire you know? How are imps and such supposed to help torture the sinners if they are also affected by hell fire? And with now much stuff is on fire in the background in the show I always assumed it was for show when the backgrounds got too earthy like hey don’t worry, we’re still in hell  
So, I assumed that each ring has different fire (even though earth as also has colored fire but that’s not important) and if you were born from a certain ring that fire wouldn’t hurt you so if you were from the lust ring then lust fire wouldn’t hurt you. Still seems very inefficient if you move rings to go work in another but hey not my show.  
So, from what we can see lust has blue
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greed has green
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wrath has... orange?
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And sloth as purple or light blue I think from the little sloth people’s candles I'm assuming.  
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gluttony has... yellow? pink? i dont know i think this is the few eps without fire in it tbh i think...
So that being said blizto, frizz, and barbie are form greed because the fire in the flash back was green good to know  
It makes since in hindsight tbh with they’re entertainment background and bltzo working in LooLoo land I guess idk why you’d work somewhere with the robot version of the guy you thought you hated but hey whatever a gig is a gig I suppose. Also, that means LooLoo World is in the pride ring since Charlie took Vaggie to the LooLoo World unless Charlie can move Vaggie through the rings as like a princess of hell perk thing idk. Also dick move Stolas to take your kid to the discount amusement park (if I was Octavia, I'd be so petty about this just saying. I can't believe Stella let this happen) 
Idk why Blitzo didn’t mention that he was also from greed when IMP went to go see Moxxies dad but not important I guess  
(also, it was nice seeing Striker and Crimson in the new ep tbh) 
Also, in the roller-coaster in LooLoo land that Millie said she liked had fire on it and how come that didn’t hurt anyone? Also, the explosion at the end of LooLoo land the Blzito and the M&Ms were messed up but not really like you know Fizz levels of messed up granted we didn’t see how close Blitzo and M&Ms were to the explosion  
Side note 
Why were there explosives under the table to begin with at Fizz’s party? No wonder it looked like Blitzo tried to set him up like? That was planned idk someone had it out for him  
I understand the explosion is what messed up Fizz but like I feel like the extra damage from the fire shouldn't have caused that much damage also Fizz was facing the explosives he should have died just saying face and head blow off completely  
Also, how can the horses have fire mains if fire hurts them?
still cute tho :) 
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SO tumblr deleted the Ask/Draft, but here you go anon! Hope you see this someday...
I am assuming this is for tolkien, because that IS most of my blog.
1. the character everyone gets wrong
Feänor is an easy one, so we're gonna go with Nolofinwë. 1) Fingolfin translates to Finwënolofinwë. Not addressed in the published Silmarillion, the Shibboleth of Feänor adds great context and character depth. 2) "High princes were Fëanor and Fingolfin, the elder sons of Finwë, honoured by all in Aman; but now they grew proud and jealous each of his rights and his possessions." THEY grew proud and jealous of EACH of his rights!!
Whatever his motivations are, (he thought he was a better choice, he wanted to prove to finwe he was better than feänor, whatever) nolo WANTED that crown, and he wanted it LOUDLY.
ALSO i was going to put this under 10, but figured it fit here better. This is a concept I think lots of people get wrong!
Arda Marred and Arda Healed.
it is NOT post Final Battle Arda un-marred, it doesnt *magically* go away! its Arda HEALED, ok? Arda un-marred is pre-Morgoth singing. Arda Healed is Arda *healed.* listen, I love those "what if post Final Battle, Arda Un-marred deletes people who are considered 'marred'" too, but some people consider Arda Un-Marred to Be Canon, and I'm here to tell you that's incorrect. I know in 10, I'm like "everyone's canon is valid" but a) that was written before this and b) you asked me what character concept i think people get wrong and this is it!!
3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr
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this was the only one I have saved, and yeah, I mention this a lot LOL
I had to track this one down and it is such a bad faith take:
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and ops clarification which makes it worse, somehow
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and Dior is a Nepo Baby. exactly as it sounds. Dior is a nepo baby because he got the throne when he was like 30 lol
10) worst part of fanon
I saw this one and said "we really are choosing violence" LOL a few things! The inability to see Grey. Elwing is either good or bad. the Valar are either good or evil. ut like, No one is all one or the other. This is also why people saying Nolofinwe was humble and didn't really want the crown bothers me lol like you can like a flawed character. Also, that's why I like the silmarillion; someone is good and righteous from one perspective, but from the other is a total ass. Thingol is a good king...but he not a good ally. [[[]]]. Like, theyre likable for their flaws, and seems lots of folks are like "i like character Y, so they're actually good. but I don't like character A, so they are actually a huge dick." ... which i HATE. especially when they use this to bash another character or make an...not inaccurate comparison, I'm not sure what the word I'm thinking of is, but let's say I've read enough fics where feanor is treated worse than morgoth because they didn't like feanor but liked morgoth
ALSO the attitude "my canon or you get cannoned, and by that I mean a canon ball to the face." Like, don't get me wrong, I think debates about canon are fun! but there is no One True Canon (OTC). The only ones I will agree with as Canon are the published novels and even they can contradict each other. Now that I have my circle of tumblrinas i dont see this as often, but I have seen quite a bit of "[opinion] is canon" but then get aggressive when people would say "no thats your headcanon..." or would ask for a source.
ALSO ALSO the "a TRUE tolkien scholar can back up their headcanon with at LEAST 54 references from HoME and a citation from Letter.s" WHAT the hell is that? Sometimes I just wanna give Green Elves lore, ok? Or I think Aredhel is Aro but not Ace and her favorite color is yellow, actually. I don't NEED a citation. *I* LIKE reading the Lore and making HCs according to that, but no one NEEDS it. And like I said, I think Lore Debates can be fun! Debating what HCs are "true," or which version of Canon is "true" can be fun! (fun fact felixwhetsel and I have a theory that everyones version is correct, because if the LOTR and Hobbit and Silm are all copies of the originals, passed down, things are bound be be changed by time, culture, and language!)
I should clarify that debates are fun, if everyones having fun. If not, then it's just mean. I'm sure I've been guilty of that, and I'm Sorry if we had a debate and I came across as a total Bitch.
19) you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...
This is the question that I was stuck on for a WHILE. I try not to be horrified/ashamed of things I like and if it makes me mad, I just don't like it.
So I decided to ask it differently. first I asked, "is there anything I'm quiet about liking because other people will judge me?" and the answer is "yes, but i'm not worried about people judging me." (if you were wondering, the answers are "OC centric fics" and "I think Eöl could be an interesting character") so then I asked: "is there anything I'm like "I can't believe I like that!""
The answer is yes, but it does not make me feel mad, horrified, or ashamed, it makes me feel sad
It's the Orc Bank. I headcanon the Orc Bank. There's this one post that sums it up really well, but I can't find it, so I'll try to sum it up. The theory is that only Eru can create souls. Morgoth can only corrupt them. Given that Orcs exist well into the Third Age, there's a couple options.
1. Modern Orcs have no souls (doubtful)
2. Eru creates Orc souls (also doubtful)
3. Maia have the power to corrupt souls (more believable, but logistically how would that work? Sauron tortures *every* orc? When does an Orc stop being an Orc then?)
4. The Orc souls are Recycled into the Orc Bank.
It's exactly as it sounds. The souls corrupted by Morgoth are re-used throughout the Millenia. There is No End to their suffering. It makes me SAD every time I think about it. That post came across my dash and I went "Holy Shit. It makes so much SENSE. But it's TOO SAD to reblog." which is why I can't find it lol Just about every canon compliant fic i write that has all my lore compliant HCs is AU to me because i'm like "Yes, I HC the Orc Bank, but it's TOO SAD. thats is it's OWN fuckin universe"
ask me -> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/bluedancingkittykat/722302678068248576
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alicentsgf · 2 years
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hi i was the otto anon and ty for ur lovely response! it makes so much sense to me! i dont think otto is good overall but like you said i do think his fear about rhaenyra was justified. it’s just so odd to see people who arent alicent stans (or outright hate her) think otto is the worst man but think viserys is some poor old man? like i’d say the least horrible man who is a major player is criston but people act like hes worse than actual groomers and rapists in canon 😭 do you think in s2 there will be a more equal footing in showing the greyness of each side? or do you think itll be next to impossible because of the corner they wrote aegon into? thanks again for answering, i hope youre recovering from covid well!
hello again!! some more great questions! and thanks so much thats so sweet of you i still have a cough and stuff but im feeling a lot better x
it ultimately comes down to lack of context. like... it really does. because as i said otto and corlys are functionally similar but we're given far more context for corlys. especially emotional context. and criston killing joffrey was like... at least a little bit more justifed than daemon killing rhea but people treat them as similar occurances because of the lack of context. if i point out daemons a murderer people bring up criston and joffrey and like, whatever, murder bad and all that, goes without saying, but joff was Really pushing it going up a guy he didnt know and kinda threatening him by saying 'i know a secret that would get you dishonoured and executed if it got out'... that was not very smart. and we can see how it suddenly all seems to have gotten out of cristons control so he goes a bit crazy with fear and shame, kills a man in public, and then immediately goes off to try and commit suicide? this is a man in fucking crisis lmao.
whereas daemon just decided rhea had become too inconvenient and had to die - and unlike joffreys murder it was totally premeditated. but as often is the case in this show the consequences faced (in this case those of a white cloak taking the virginity of a princess) werent made obvious (especially since criston so readily admitted his indiscretion to alicent just before this) and so criston could be seen as completely over the top in his reaction to joffrey later on? ...but it was his entire life and legacy being threatened yet again. like im not excusing it, but his reaction is not as disproportionate as people like to imply - at that moment joffrey represented the possibility of losing what little he still had left.
this is a problem the greens face time and time again. there just isnt enough explained about how this world is stuctured, so they often look like their fears are unfounded. for example the laws around bastardry arent made clear at all. i dont think people understand that if alicent had accept for helaena to marry jace... if he was later declared to be a bastard then any children they had together would also be illegitimised. and thats just one of the better outcomes alicent could have hoped for... i still cant quite fathom why she was framed so negatively for protecting her daughter? they never even let her vocalise that she would be afraid for helaena; they let the audience believe shes bastardphobic for no good reason she just wanted be a bitch.
i think they've admitted they are going to try and balance the scale more next season. whatever that means. but idk if they actually understand what the issue is with the writing so far thats making it all skew so heavily in favour of rhaenyra's contingent. im worried they'll try to make the greens more superficially sympathetic instead of investing in storylines that flesh out the world around them and show why the greens actually have very legitmate fears and desires.
the aegon thing is definitely a problem... i havent seen the og quote so correct me if im wrong but i think TGC said something about it undermining aegon's character to make him a rapist because very few will want to invest in his growth over the series after that. and... yeah. agreed. i have so many criticisms of the way they dealt with aegon, not least because its just kind of insulting to the audience to make that kind of person rhaenyra's competition, as if the audience needed to be so heavy-handedly manipulated in one direction. i still hope we're going to see some extreme evolution from aegon but ultimately even if we do its always going to be bit overshadowed by these early decisions.
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What pets would the cast of TR and FMA have?
What pets would the TR cast have?
This seems like a fun asf one! Also ima expand just a lil more on a few :) i think i also might do demon slayer bc theres no requests for it :( link to FMA ver || link to demon slayer ver
Please note i havent read the manga so ill take a shot at a few characters who i think I understand their personalities but if im wrong dont @ me
Mikey
This bitch totally has a ferret named sherlock stinky. Fight me. He makes sure to take extra special care of him, because he was a surprise from shinichiro before, yk- :(
Draken
He owns a snake, 100% and a fucking HUGE one at that. (Its a hefty burmie) It freaks emma and takemichi the fuck out. lowkey mikey too. (Takemichi cried ofc)
While working on his bike he just lets it chill out on the bike/around his neck. He also probably has a beardie and has looked into crocodiles (hes a sucker for reptiles and honestly me too man) draken be like
Takemichi
He has a hamster and a few zebra tetras. He cant handle much more the that. Also this poor sucker cannot keep a hamster alive, he will treat it with the utmost care and love and its still gonna die in abt a month or two
Mitsuya
Hes also probably a snake dude. Actually was the one who recommended the dude draken got his snake from. He prefers a smaller snake though. He has two, a green tree python and a lavender coloured corn snake. In winter he makes them lil sweaters, he will make one for drakens snake too, even if its a bit of work, yk? He also probably has one of those really pretty fish tanks that him and his sisters set up 🥺🥺 (maybe sum like this? 👇)
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Baji
He would have a cat 100% he probably brings all sorts of animals home, not just cats. The list so far is 2 birds, a squirrel, a dog, 2 cats, a salamander, a rabbit, ALMOST a chicken from a petting zoo, a decent amount of toads, and tadpoles i have brought all of these home and more he also is the one his mom calls when she sees a mouse, she never lets him keep it :(
Chifuyu
Cats, cats, cats. He also helps baji catch random animals. Idk what else to say abt him 😭😭
Kazutora
Once again, cats. He has considered some sort of rodent but decided against it, later on he got a cockatiel. He also has a few catfish :)
Kawata twins
They probably have to share a pet and fought over what to get. Smiley wanted a ferret and Angry wanted a mouse
In the end they ended up with a turtle.
They love him to death but still bicker over what rodent they should’ve gotten instead
Im sure they also own a few little fish, they seem like they’d go for something a lil more basic
Souya wanted a betta, nahoya wanted a goldfish therefore staring up the sibling rivalry again
Souya drew the short straw so they ended up with an oranda goldfish nahoya named “nerd”
Haitani brothers
These fuckers have pet tarantulas. These assholes love scaring people with them
ran got sanzu by surprise once and made him scream like a little girl
Ran has a mexican red knee and will sometimes take her with him to do shit, she normally poses no issues (mex red knees r VERY docile and calm)
Rindou opted for a cobalt blue tarantula for his first one, he later on realized his mistake. (Ran totally knew they’re NOT for newbies to arachnid care but said nothing lol)
Rin will sometimes get jealous of his brother for having a pet he can actually handle. Ran just chuckles at him and refuses to share his
Kisaki
He has one of those REALLY fucking annoying and aggressive chihuahuas. He brings it EVERYWHERE and carries it in a dumb little bag
Shall i say more?
Hanma
Somehow, SOMEHOW AND SOMEWHERE this fucker got his hands on a horse, nobody knows where it came from, why he got a horse, and where tf he keeps it 💀 but he has been spotted with it on multiple occasions. He got himself a black forest horse.
After about 6 months it dissapeared and he got something normal
It was a german sheppard
Sanzu
Ok so i can see sanzu having a nice collection of tropical fish
His prized fish is a platinum arowana, considering the cost and rarity of the mutation.
He also really likes longnose hawkfish
He has one pet octopus that has escaped 3 times now. Hes finally got him in a secure tank.
Idk if im forgetting anyone, its like 5am so forgive me 😭
bonus hc: episode 21/chapter 61 spoilers, small manga spoiler (its the future shit)
In the pet shop after Baji’s death, Chifuyu and Kazutora keep a large, black, longhaired cat around the shop named Kei. He’s a bit of a trouble maker and an asshole to anyone but them and they really believe its baji reincarnated 😭🥺
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hotwings0203 · 3 years
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HOWDY!! how are u doing?? Its that person who asked if you would write something for that deku imagine that @candy-hime wrote, about you and deku forced to live together and you corrupting him it could be you or reader but I just love that concept of corrupted! Deku 😩🙏🏾💕💕
Thank you, have a nice day/night!! 😪💜
OH HI HAHAHA MASSIVE BET, I think I’ll do a little bit of both. This will probably be a little self indulgent but I’ll still put it as an “x reader”!
Tw:noncon, misogyny, the reader is a bitch, vouyerism
It was a dare by your friends to live with Izuku Midorkya for a month if you really could handle any type of man.
You’ve dealt with Hawks’ cocky nature, Shoto’s bland comebacks, Bakugo’s constant state of rage- you’ve done it all. Any type of scummy or tiring man a girl has to date you’ve seen in all of these men. They’re practically walking red flags.
Until you’re forced to room with Deku for a whole freaking month.
You just don’t get him! Why is he always so cheery? What the fuck is he smiling about? And who the hell is he baking for? There’s only two of you in the house, it’s not like you’re his girlfriend or anything.
You don’t buy it. There has to be some kind of catch to all this facade of a gentleman.
“Hey, Y/N?” He knocks on your ajar door and peeks his cute little face in. “Did you have dinner yet? I was gonna eat but then I thought I’d have some ramen with you-“
“Did I say you could enter?” You slowly lift your head up from your laptop and glare at him. “Are you some kind of pervert? What if I was changing?”
“N-no! I’m so sorry, I should’ve let you answer first, I just wanted to see if you were hungry-“
“God, what are you, my dad? Is that what you want? For me to call you Daddy?” Sneering, you jump up from your bed and stall towards the door.
Deku stumbles over his feet to retreat after seeing the look on your face. “No! Not at all, what? Come on, I didn’t mean any harm-“
“Yeah? Then knock before you enter closet perv.” And with that, you slam the door mere inches away from his startled face as hard as you can, uncaring if the low this on the other side of the wood was his connection to it swinging shut.
“What a fucking brown-noser,” you mutter loud enough for him to hear.
It’s odd how long you wait behind the door before you can hear his footsteps retreat.
A week later you decide to amp it up a notch. There’s no way he’s so fucking green, there’s gotta be some twisted thing inside him that makes him tick.
And so on the day of his turn to do laundry, you decide to dump your fanciest and sluttiest undergarments into the laundry basket.
He’s in some dorky apron when you catch him kneeling over the bag, ruffling through clothes and spraying them with detergent like the good little boy he is.
You perch on the couch behind the laundry room and wait. He doesn’t hear a thing with his headphones blasting some stupid happy-go-lucky songs in his ears.
Eventually he pulls out your lace g-string, and stares at the crumpled mass in confusion. He unravels the lace and stares at it for a good minute or two in surprise you think.
But nonetheless, like the chivalrous man he is, he shakes his head and slaps his reddening cheeks to get over the shock before reaching for the spray.
This was your cue.
You make sure to sound out of breath and extra irritated when you flounce over to his kneeling form and snatch the garment out of his hands.
He jumps a bit and takes his headphones off when he sees your hand descending.
“Oh, it’s just you. You scared me for a sec’ there,” he laughs sheepishly and rubs his neck. “I was just doing the laundry, sorry if that looked weird.”
“Looked weird? You’re fucking disgusting, Dick-u. I’ve been looking for these for days now, and where do I find them? In your grubby little hands.”
His jaw drops open.
“Huh? No, you’ve got it all wrong! It was in the basket, I swear! You must have misplaced it by accident or something.”
“Oh, so now you’re calling me a liar? You think I’m crazy or something? Im not the one sniffing girls’ panties!”
He frantically waves his hands to negate your accusation but you merely spit on the floor next to him.
“Don’t touch my shit again you fucking freak. Go buy a pocket pussy or something since you can’t keep it in your pants.”
At this, he pinches his eyebrows together and starts getting up.
“Hold on, what’re you being so aggressive for? I told you, they were just in here, I’m not that kind of guy.”
He steps towards but you don’t back down. Rather, you jab a finger in his toned chest and bring yourself face-to-face with him.
“Dont fucking walk up to me like that you douche. You’re the one in the wrong here, so I wouldn’t be so aggressive, like you said. Come at me like that again and I’ll fuck you up.”
With the lace in hand, you barely contain your smirk as you storm back into your room, relishing in how Izuku stands like a statue in the same place as you left him, his hands curiously curling into fists and his nostrils inflated.
But behind the safety of your door, he doesn’t continue any shenanigans.
He stays relatively quiet and out of sight for a couple of days, and you start to get bored again.
So this time, you put all your cards on the table and do a double whammy.
One night you call Katsuki, a fuck buddy of yours for a while and use him to help you get off.
You’re not really horny, but the blond side does have a way of getting you there. Luckily, your room is right next to Deku’s so your plan is executed to the best extent.
“Katsuki, oh Katsuki, please. Fuck, fuck yeah, ‘wanna hear you cum for me baby, I want you to bruise my cervix,” you babble loudly as you shove two fingers in your pussy and use your thumb to press on your clit.
“Yeah, you fucking whore, you like that? You like knowing that a shitty nerd like him’s prolly getting off to you calling my name like a slut? I bet you do, keep fucking yourself to my voice, do it otherwise I’ll bruise your ass black and blue when this month’s over.”
“Kat-Katsuki please fuck meeee dadddyyyyy oh fuck-Kacchan!” You cry out and cum violently around squelching fingers.
You put the phone down for a moment to catch your breath, but hear nothing from the other room.
Your face falls as Bakugo rambles on the other end. You hang up with him mid-sentence and remove your fingers from your legs, licking it off absentmindedly and thinking of your next move.
The next morning, you don the tiniest pairs of shorts you have in your closet that accentuates the shape of your ass and the skimpiest bra you can find that shows a peek of the top of your nipples.
You tie your hair up and amble out into the kitchen where he already is, reading something on his his phone and sipping form a black mug.
He barely darts his eyes and lifts the corners of his mouth in a hesitant greeting when he sees what you’re wearing.
He chokes on his drink and does a massive double take, juice spilling from his open mouth.
You raise an eyebrow and smooth your baby hairs, rolling your eyes and walking behind him to grab your own cup.
“See something you like?” Water trickling is the only sound in the room apart from your quip.
“Uh, n-no. Just swallowed wrong I guess.”
“Wonder why,” you drawl with a bored voice and edge closer to his back.
He’s hunched over, mindlessly scrolling too-fast on his phone to be deemed as actually reading anything. You recognize this form of coping from people like yourself who try to find distractions at parties where you don’t know people, just flipping through tabs to look like you’re actually doing something.
As you walk around him again, you make sure to train your eyes on his own, hounding he out for the moment he slips.
And slip he does, but only after you pretend to stretch and lift your self on your tippy toes in front of him, your shorts hiking up to show some cheek.
It’s only for a moment, but while the cup is against his mouth and his phone in his hand, his eyes dart to the exposed skin, then back up to your triumphant eyes.
“I knew it.”
He sighs and puts his cup down. “Knew what?”
“That you were a sick little virgin who gets off on staring at girls.”
“Y/N, I wasn’t-“
“I also know,” you raise your voice above his and slowly walk over to the table on the other side across from him, leaning forward and making sure that your tits squish together as you drop them on the countertop, “that last night you were totally listening to me on the phone with Bakugo. I heard your grunts and disgusting fapping noises. You don’t have to make it so obvious that you don’t get any.”
And this time, regardless of his indignation and frustration, he can’t stop himself from watching your hands trail up the sides of your bra and slowly drag the material down, down, down until your perfect breasts spill out and embrace the cold granite.
You honestly have no idea if he jacked off to last night’s call or not, but he doesn’t seem to be denying anything.
His mouth opens the widest you’ve even seen it. His face is beet red, and he visibly starts to perspire.
Your hands mold the soft skin and squeeze until your nipples swell and peek out from between your ruthless fingers, but you still look as bored and slightly curious as ever.
“This is all you’re ever gonna get, you sad incel. Take a good long look at them since I know this is what you’ve been wanting this entire time now.”
His mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out.
When he groans and starts to bring his down down between his legs, you strike.
“I guess I really was right. You’re not some nice guy, it was all a facade. Can’t wait to tell everyone how fucked in the head you are.” His vision starts to clear as you sneer at him again and start packing your tits back where they belong.
As you turn around, you call out over your shoulder, “Oh, and by the way? You whimper like a little bitch.”
It’s silent as you walk with your head held high back to your room, sure that you had broken him and that he was going to take his loss with his own held low.
You don’t really expect to hear the thunderous sounds of someone dragging their chair away and positively sprinting towards you.
You turn halfway and your eyes widen as you see him barreling towards you with the most terrifying expression you’ve ever seen on him.
“What the fu-“
But you don’t get a chance to finish your exclamation, because Deku body slams you onto your bed and immediately seized your wrists above your head. You can feel his hard-on rub against your mound as he straddles your flailing body and keeps you pinned between his muscles calves.
“Get off of me, are you fucking crazy?” You scream and toss your head side to side, trying to arch your back to throw him off of you-which only succeeds in pressing your mound against his.
“You teasing slut. All I’ve done is try to play nice with you, but you just had to fucking push it, didn’t you?” He rages quietly, his arms shaking in effort not to snap your wrists in half. You still as his jaw clenches and trembles, his green hair hanging over his eyes that reflect nothing but malice and hate.
You’re scared. For the first time this entire month with him, you want him away from you and off of you.
“Look, I-I messed up, I know, I’m sorry-“
“-You’re sorry?” He laughs high pitched and you cringe when he thrusts his face towards yours, practically brushing noses and seeing his bloodshot crazed eyes.
“Yeah, you will be sorry. After today, you won’t ever fuck with me again. Or at least want to. I’ll do whatever the hell I want with you though since that’s what you’ve been so hellbent on achieving, right?”
His scarred hands waste no time in yanking down your bra the same way you did before, except much less gentler than you did by yourself.
“No, no, Deku please, I’m really sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.” You whimper and struggle again beneath him, which is promptly stopped with a loud squeal when he pinches your nipple.
“Shut up. Wanton bitches like you don’t get to beg for mercy.”
He smirks and lets his tongue flop onto your strained neck, slobbering like a dog all over you.
“This is what you wanted right? For me to put you in your place and fuck your needy hole? And you had the audacity to call me disgusting,” he laughs and draws back, mocking your wobbling lips.
“Oh, oh baby don’t cry,” he holds both your wrists in one hand and uses the other to caress your cheek, slapping it hard when you turn away from his touch. “You’re just gonna get what’s coming to you.”
He indicates what he means by grinding his hips against the front of your shorts, snickering as you whimper and dipping his fingers below the hem, teasing you cruelly.
“Whose whimpering like the bitch now, huh?”
493 notes · View notes
shotorozu · 4 years
Note
hello! i love ur writings <3
wanted to request a hc of todoroki, deku, and bakugou and their reactions to the tiktok trend where those two girls are laughing and ppl put their friends/family members in the camera thinking it’s their friend or something 💀 (here’s a link to one of the videos https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMe6oFVx5/ )
once again, love ur work and hopefully i did this request correctly 😩🙏🏽
s/o’s friends laugh at them
character(s) : bakugou katsuki, midoriya izuku, todoroki shouto (bnha)
legend : [Y/N = your name] they/them pronouns used, quirk’s not specific
headcanon type : crack, fluff (x reader)
note(s) : i always say that i’m going to upload more, since i haven’t in a day but i’m going to keep my promises this time. and maybe after my content dump, that’s when i’ll fix my masterlists
»»————- ♡ ————-««
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bakugou katsuki
this prank was very risky just like the other pranks you’ve pulled on him but that doesn’t stop you at all
you decided to do this prank after seeing it on the fyp— and also because of the prank’s simplicity since all you needed to do was download the tiktok
you called katsuki over when he finishes working out, and it all seems innocent “katsuki! come over here.”
katsuki, irritated— as he had just finished his exercise, he marches over to where you’re seated “what now, dumbass?”
“i want you to meet my friends!” katsuki only raises a brow, because he’s PRETTY sure that he’s met all of your friends
“now??” he sighs, “i thought i met all of your stupid friends.”
“not all of them,” you grin “c’mon please, katsuki?” and it’s over when your eyes twinkle, and he can only sigh— sitting next to you
“okay, let me meet them” he asks, and you pull up with your phone (that’s now filming, and with the video playing) and show him your ‘friends’
“this is katsuki! my boyfriend,” you introduce him to your ‘friends’
and he’s SO offended when your friends burst into laughter, “WHAT THE HELL’S SO FUNNY, EXTRAS??”
man was really about to explode your phone into pieces— and i’m serious about that part 🧎‍♂️ his hands were creating mini sparks out of anger
you had to coax him that it was just a prank, and they weren’t actually your friends
katsuki’s just 😐 “what did i expect from you?”
promise him that the video won’t go viral, and it won’t be seen by thousands and thousands of people.
you were wrong, and the video AND the audio ended up going viral. and katsuki had to hear his voice on tiktok for WEEKS.
“YOU TOLD ME IT WOULDN’T GO VIRAL DUMBASS” he fumes, red irises zeroing in on you.
“WELL SORRY— I DONT CONTROL THE ALGORITHM, but at least you’re famous!”
“fuck off,” he doesn’t mean that. but he just needs to learn how to not fall for your shit again, despite being really whipped for you
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midoriya izuku
you’d feel bad because izuku’s ALWAYS at the receiving end of your pranks 💀
similar to bakugou, you decided to prank him because of the simplicity of the prank— and he wouldn’t get TOO offended by the prank’s nature, right? wrong 💀
izuku swings the door open, a couple of snacks held in his arms, “hey Y/N! i brought some snacks— what did you need me for?”
“oh, i want you to meet my cousins!”
he immediately goes red, setting down the snacks he brought to your room “your c-cousins? oh no no no, Y/N why didn’t you tell me? i could’ve showered before hand— i could’ve fixed my face and wore something different—”
poor izuku. he’s gesturing to his post workout state, since he was in such a hurry to get to your room with snacks.
but you brush his concern off “don’t worry, izuku! it’s through call. they won’t be able to smell you anyway.”
he calms down, and this when you decide to start the tiktok. “i’m going to call them,” he only nods, quickly hurrying over to your side— to meet your ‘cousins’
“say hi, izuku!” he nervously smiles, showing his face to the camera and waving his hand— totally oblivious of the intentions
he’s stammering on the introduction, and that’s when the rather hysterical laughing starts
he blinks, the feeling of defeat courses through his entire body— the green haired boy immediately moves away from the view
why exactly is izuku genuinely sad from your ‘cousins’ laughing at him? well,, it was always a thing for him to try his very best to be likeable to your relatives
your parent(s)/guardian? they adore him. siblings (if there’s any) they’re also very fond of him. so while you say that they’re your cousins— it still means a lot if he made a good impression
“i,, should’ve changed!” he sulks, the fact that the laugh was quite hysterical didn’t aid the issue, “your cousins will never like me,,”
his mind is put at ease when you tell him it’s a prank— and they’re not actually your cousins. so he doesn’t need to do any redeeming, regardless of the fact that he ‘just met’ them
he sighs in relief, actually glad that it was all just another innocent tiktok prank (that did make his heart race 10x faster)
the video blows up, his distraught reaction being splayed across the fyp, it eventually getting onto twitter— his face being used as an reaction video
“you’re viral, izuku!”
he’s content, despite his distraught reaction being spread across the internet. but he just wishes that your actual cousins don’t see it 💀
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todoroki shouto
is most likely aware of your tiktok pranks— but please 💀 this one looked realistic to him, so how was he supposed to tell??
anyways, you decided to do this prank because you wanted to see how he’d react to your ‘family members’ laughing at him. his reactions are golden though
it’s harmless, in a way— it’s mostly a harmless prank. shouto knows how to not take things too seriously, but you just wanted to see his reactions.
“shouto, could you please come over here?” you call for him to sit right next to you, patting his usual spot next to you.
“what is it?” he asks, getting comfortable next to you, kissing your temple— and that’s when you pull out your phone
“i want you to meet my siblings!”
shouto’s puzzled, because one— he always prefers to meet your family members in person, and two— he didn’t know you had siblings (or more siblings)
“we’re not meeting them in person?”
“oh wait! i forgot to mention that they’re working abroad. so we can’t really schedule a meeting in person.”
shouto’s skeptical, but you reassure him further “it’ll be quick!”
the dual haired boy chooses to believe you which was honestly really wrong of him, “alright, i’ll meet them.”
he moves next to you, peaking at the screen “say hi to shouto!”
he was expecting a few things but,, them breaking out into hysterical laughter was just something else
shouto’s so confused 💀✋ someone please help him, it’s like you spoke to him in simlish. that’s what his reaction would be like.
and he’s just thinking things like— why are you guys laughing? is there dirt on my face? i didn’t even say anything funny??
“why are they laughing? love, i didn’t even say anything funny??”
oblivious shouto. he’s not even aware that it’s all just a tiktok prank. but he must say— he’s a little bit disappointed that he already has a bad impression on your ‘siblings’
it’s your turn to laugh, making his thinking at a vague state— shouto’s trying to think of pieces of dialogue he might’ve missed
“it’s a prank, shouto— look,” you replay the tiktok of the girls laughing, and it comes clearly to him now
“oh.” 🧍 honestly, why is he so shocked? it wasn’t the first time you managed to prank him in such a similar nature.
he’s not mad though— rather, shouto’s impressed. “love, i adore you— but i’m not sure on why i got surprised.”
“right? i’d think that you’re used to this but i guess you’re not!” nah, he just believes you a little bit too easily.
but that doesn’t mean he WON’T be suspicious when he actually has to meet your siblings.
“these,, are actually your siblings? no pranks this time, right?” he just wants to make sure. he won’t fall for your potential pranks again!
also, the video does well, the comments being filled with “LMAO HE LOOKED GENUINELY CONFUSED” “shouto todoroki being confused for 20 seconds straight 🤠❓❓”
shouto is very confused on why the girls were just laughing, putting everything aside— he just doesn’t know the context of that tiktok 🧎‍♂️
»»————- ♡ ————-««
likes and reblogs are appreciated, thanks for reading!
i do not own bnha/mha and it’s characters. boku no hero academia/my hero academia belongs to horikoshi kohei, i only own the writing and i do not profit off of my hobby
do not plagiarize, reupload, translate, or use my works for audio readings without permission
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anythingforspence · 4 years
Text
the capstone - chapter one
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Summary: Reader is a semester away from getting her masters in Psychology and duringher last semester she has to complete her capstone, or passion project if you will. This year, the professors decided that each student will be personally mentored by a psycologyst in distinct fields. When Y/N meets hers, she can’t decide whether she is lucky or if it will be a long 5 months.
Pairing: Female reader x Spencer Reid
Word Count: 1.8 k
Chapter warning: harsh language, sexy talk, no smut yet
A/N: omg tysm for all of the love on the teaser post. i hope i dont dissapoint.
Although I’m wide awake, I let my alarm clock keep beeping and beeping and beeping as I stare up at the white ceiling of my cheap studio apartment. My neighbor woke me up bright and early this morning by doing what sounded like lugging a dead body throughout his apartment. I lifted my head slightly just to slam it back against my bed, whining about being awake at 5:30 am. I’m probably just nervous. I have to complete this passion project for my psychology class by being mentored by a famous psychologist and write a paper about their career and their wisdom I guess. I have a meeting with my mentor today and I don’t know what to expect. My professor kept the identity of our mentors a secret. For the “excitement” and whatnot.
With a sigh, I swing my legs over the side of my bed and bend over to switch off the alarm. Resting my elbows on my knees, I run my hands down my face, basically prepping myself for the fact that I have to stand up soon. The moment I stand, I stretch all throughout my body, ending with my hands high above my head, stretching into the ceiling. My mouth getting ready to yawn when a bang was heard next door, like a book being chucked against the wall ajoined with my neighbors apartment causing me to yelp. I’m pretty sure I heard a chuckle in response to my scream. I glared at the wall, thinking of all the ways I could storm in there and punch my neighbor. I had two choices. I could storm in there and do all the things I wish I could do, or I could mind my business and get ready for the day.
Rolling my eyes I decided to just get ready. I still wanted payback, however, I blasted Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by The Smiths as I head into the showe. I grab brown trousers, a white button up, and a sage green set of lace undergarments. Not that anyone would see them, unfortunately there has been a drought of sorts in my pants. I just wear them for the aesthetic. Getting undressed, I put on my favorite playlist with all of the songs that make me feel like I’m the main character in an indie film. I heard a light tapping at my door, like some wanted my attention but at the same time wished I never paid attention to them. I decided to ignore it and step under the stream of water in my shower.
Once I was all finished with my shower, I stepped out into my foggy bathroom. Singing along to Bug Collector by Haley Heynderickx, I start drying off and slip on my outfit for the day. I keep my hair in a towel to help it dry some so I don’t have to use any heat on my hair. For my makeup I decided to go for a red lip, neutral blush, mascara, and brows today. Something simple and professional. I let my hair out of the towel and brush it out, not doing too much to it. Blowing myself a kiss in the mirror, I grab my purse and wrap my student ID around my neck, letting it fall next to the golden flower chained to my neck.When I open the door, I laugh in shock at the note my neighbor left for me.“nice taste in music”
I felt something against my leg and knew exactly who it was. “Hi, Payton,” I sweetly spoke to the Sphynx cat at my feet. I named her Payton even though she’s not technically mine and just wanders through the apartment complex. I bend down to give her scratches at her neck. “How’s my cutie patootie. Did you see the asshole who left this not?” She just tilted her head more into my hand, telling me to keep on scratching. “Guess not.” I stand back up and check the time on my watch, “Shit”. I had five minutes to get there.
-----
A bell rang as I entered the coffee shop I was supposed to meet my mentor at, of course with my favorite mask on. My eyes scan the place a little before I walk up to the counter to order my favorite drink. “Hi can I just get a 16 ounce Earl Grey, please?” The barista said something along the lines of yes of course and how my total was 2.16. “Alrighty, thank you.” It didn’t take too long for it to be done. They weren’t very busy and it’s just a tea bag and hot water.
“Excuse me, are you Y/F/N Y/L/N?” 
Woah. His voice sent a tingle down my spine. Probably just because I haven’t had much human contact or the fact that I haven’t been laid in a while but, my god, what I would give for him to say my name again. But that was nothing compared to what I saw when I turned around. I’m just glad I was wearing a mask so he didn’t the way my lips parted when my eyes met his. He had curly brown hair and he dressed like an old man, doesn’t sound like much but for me, that’s everything. Oh my gosh, and he had nerdy little cute glasses? When I realized I was staring I averted my eyes and started blushing.
“Um, yes, hi, that’s my name. I’m so sorry, but what’s your name?” The tremor in my voice made me want to just drop dead. I’m a woman of science but if the Earth knew how to open up and swallow people, now would be the time to prove it.
“Oh hi. I’m Doctor Spencer Reid. I’m your psychology mentor. Did your professor not tell you?” He seemed so confused, oh my god he’s so cute.
“Oh. Oh my God I’m so sorry! My professor didn’t let us know who was mentoring us, just in case we did prior research or something. I’m sorry. But yes um I’m Y/N. It’s very nice to meet you, sir,” I kept on rambling, looking anywhere but his eyes. Unfortunately, it made me look like I was checking him out. Oh fuck.
Chuckling a bit, he goes, “Oh no your fine. No need to apalogize. It’s a pleasure to meet you miss Y/N.” Not going to lie, the way he said my name sent tingles to my pussy. Oh my god what is wrong with me! I can’t be thinking these things about the person who is going to mentor me! Stop being so horny.
I started to blush and I cleared my throat and gestured towards the window. “Um, should we go sit out there?”
“Oh yes of course. Please after you,” he said, his hand finding the small of my back, hitching my breath and making me nervously mess with the rings on my fingers. We sat at the iron tables outside of the coffee shop, he pulled my chair open for me, finally his hands off of me. I felt like I could breathe again but at the same time I felt sad, empty. He took off his mask to take a sip of what he was drinking and holy shit. He had some scruff and his lips just looked so inviting. I wanted to distract from the silence that was biting at me. “So, uh, what do you do?” My voice trailing off, making everything so much heavier with awkwardness and the sexual tension that was just coming from me.
“What do you mean what do I do?” Fuck. I looked so stupid of course he does something in pschology. That’s the whole reason you’re here.
“W-well, um, like what specific area do you work in?”
“I do criminal profiling with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI.” My eyebrows bunch together in confusion. What does that have to do with psychology? Almost as if he’s reading my mind he continues, “We psycho analyze crime scenes, victims, bodies to understand why a criminal would do what they did, which helps us to understand the type of person they are, their background, and it leads us to the criminal, or unsub.”
“Wow that’s actually really cool. But, like, how does that all work?”
“Tell me, Y/N, when was the last time you had sex?” I didn’t say anything. I was so shocked. First off, how inappropriate, but also how did he know? “When I first walked in, you kept on looking me up and down as if you’ve never seen a man before. You keep fidgeting with your rings. Usually new jewelry makes people fidget but the stains on your fingers suggest you wear rings frequently which means you're nervous. Also ever since I’ve taken my mask offyou haven’t stopped staring at my lips. So, sweet girl, tell me when was the last time you were satisfied?”
I just sat there, gapping at him like a fish out of water. What was I supposed to say? Why thank you for asking, although the last time I’ve had sex was a year ago but the last time I’ve orgasmed has been longer? Before I could come up with an answer he got a phone call. Someone named Morgan needed him or something. Whatever it was, it seemed urgent.“Sorry our meeting got cut short, Y/N. Very important FBI business came up. Here is my card, has my name, email and phone number. I recommend calling me because I don’t usually check my emails or my texts. Your professor already gave me your contact information so I know how to find you. I am very excited for the upcoming months.”
“Oh- uh, thank you,” I whispered, still shocked. He grabs my hand so that he can hand me my card since I haven’t moved a muscle. 
“Oh and Y/N?” My head wips up at him and I let out a “hmm?” that could be mistaken for a moan. “Green is a nice color on you.” Confused, I looked down to see my button up shirt had popped open, letting my green covered tits be seen by the world. Eyes blown open, I immediately cover myself and say a thank you that sounded so embarrassing because my voice cracked. He just chucked and told me he would contact me soon. Before he left, I could’ve sworn he looked at me as if I was a sexy hollywood actress or something. But I brushed it off. Maybe he was concerned for me. After all, I had my tits out and made it obvious that I was desperately horny. God these five months will be awful if I keep thinking about Dr. Reid as a sex partner than a mentor. Then again the concept of having sex with your mentor can be hot. Nope. No. I should stop there.
138 notes · View notes
lloydskywalkers · 4 years
Text
any port in a storm
Pixal and Lloyd and the evolving nature of friendship, as highlighted by the regular burning down of your city. 
(desperately trying to break through writer’s block and classes again, this was supposed to be under 2k and it is...very much not hdfjkgh but! i’ve been meaning to write for Pixal and Lloyd for a while so here are a whole bunch of feelings about the two of them and s8)
Pixal meets — truly meets — Lloyd Garmadon shortly after his brother’s been blown to pieces.
She says truly, because if you ask her, Pixal will tell you she met Lloyd Garmadon at exactly 8:48 in the evening outside his father’s monastery, moments before a horde of nindroids led there by Pixal herself descended upon them.
But Lloyd argues that since they said about two words total to each other, it doesn’t really count as meeting, and by the time Pixal’s spending the better part of her day with him running high and low around Ninjago City, she’s learned that it’s easier not to press the point.
Lloyd can be stubborn, like that.
She’d first learned that when she’d met him, just after they’d lost Zane. That loss hadn’t lasted long, especially for Pixal, but the immediate aftermath of it had been devastating. She’d watched with blank eyes as the team had fractured, splitting at the seams as they all fled their separate ways, too heartsore and dizzy with grief to do much otherwise.
All of them had fled, save Lloyd. She hadn’t paid him much attention before that point, the surprisingly small bearer of the Golden Power. Of course, he wasn’t the bearer of that power anymore, but his eyes alone had shown the experience of it. There’d been a brief, lost look that had crossed his face as the others had mentioned leaving, before it had been swept under a mask of stubborn, determined blankness. He wouldn’t be leaving. Someone had to stay behind and watch out for things, he’d claimed, even as the loss had bled through his voice.
Pixal hadn’t quite grasped the concept of empathy at that point, but she’d felt something dangerously close to it.
At any rate, the only interaction they’d had alone was brief. In fact, the only one Pixal can truly remember — and her memory never fails — is the quick exchange they’d had in the hospital lobby directly after the battle. The hospital was for Mr. Borg, and for the ninja’s minor injuries.
There was nothing any hospital on earth could do for Zane.
Pixal had found herself next to Lloyd in the waiting room, trying to distract herself from those thoughts while Lloyd stared at the stark white tiling with dull eyes.
“They never mentioned what your power was,” she’d asked him, almost absently. Collecting data, processing information — anything she could do to distract from the crushing grief.
“Oh.” Lloyd had blinked, startling back into awareness. He’d suddenly looked painfully young. “It’s, ah, I guess it’s just green, now.”
It had been Pixal’s turn to blink. “Green.”
“Yeah.” Lloyd had bit his lip, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, two habits he’ll never quite lose. “I mean — it’s more than that, but it’s like — energy, I guess, is the best way to put it?”
“Interesting,” Pixal had remarked.
“Yeah.”
They’d stared at each other in silence after that, before they’d both been called off to other errands — and then they were having Zane’s funeral and then Pixal was making realizations she never got to tell anyone, and that had been that in her early introductions to Lloyd Garmadon. Quiet, awkward, and possessing an incredible power he hardly even knew the name of.
Looking back, Pixal figures her introduction hadn’t gone much better.
They’d continued as passing acquaintances as time went on, separated by danger and the confines of Zane’s head, and Pixal had figured that’s all they’d ever be. But then their Sensei goes missing and, despite Pixal’s increasing disappearances on Zane as she rebuilds her own body, she’s been given the role of watching out for Ninjago city along with Lloyd.
She quickly learns that quiet is not a term fit for Lloyd Garmadon when you’re trapped alone with him.
************
“How is there not a single station playing actual music?” Lloyd seethes, flicking through the channels almost manically. “It’s two am, who’s gonna be listening to your stupid commercial for toothpaste now, are you kidding me?”
“Statistically speaking, this is the prime time for long-distance driving near Ninjago City,” Pixal supplies, her voice a hint scratchy where it comes through the his car’s radio speakers. “Or, if you factor in the construction in the east district, there could still be traffic from late-night bars.”
Lloyd groans, thunking his head against the steering wheel as another ad screeches through the small space. “Wonderful.”
“Your vocal tones suggest you find it otherwise.”
“Dont trust ‘em, my vocal tones are traitors.” As if to solidify his point, Lloyd’s voice cracks in the middle of his sentence, shooting up an octave higher. Lloyd goes bright red, and thunks his head against the steering wheel again.
Taking pity on him, Pixal aims for reassurance. “It is normal for your voice to break, Lloyd. It shouldn’t last too long.” She pauses, momentarily scanning through another article. “On second thought, this one suggests it could also take two to three years for your voice to stabilize.”
Lloyd gives a strangled moan. “End me.”
“Unfortunately, that would defeat the purpose of why I’m here in the first place.”
Lloyd tilts his head, cracking an eye open as he glances at the camera feed he knows she’s watching him from. “Unfortunately, huh,” he muses. “So you’re saying if Zane hadn’t made you promise to look out for me, you would end me?”
“That — no, that is not — of course I wouldn’t end you,” Pixal backtracks. An odd feeling flickers through her, almost as if she’s lost her place, floundering.
Or embarrassed might be more accurate, she thinks wryly. She briefly considers projecting a a glaring face at Lloyd from the monitor. This is his fault. She rarely stuttered before Lloyd started teasing her at all hours of the morning.
“I mean, you wouldn’t be the first,” Lloyd continues, conversationally. “And if we’re being honest, I’d definitely rather you be the one to off me, instead of like, random bad guy number eighty-five—”
“I know you think you are funny,” Pixal cuts over him. “But casually planning for your death is something Kai listed I was not to let you do. Also, it is not nearly as funny as you think it is.”
“Ouch,” Lloyd mutters, though he looks chastised. “Never mind, you just took me out in one sentence.”
Chastised might be the wrong term.
Pixal studies him through the monitor, then sighs. “I am, however, honored you think highly enough of me to offer the right to murder you,” she gives in.
She’s rewarded as Lloyd breaks into a bright grin.
He still looks painfully young these days, but it’s less obvious. His voice is pitching lower and he wears his hair different, and he’s gained a whip-like tendency to quip at people, as Pixal’s experienced firsthand. Kai calls it sass in grumbling but fond tones, and Nya calls it snark somewhere between the fourth book series she’s sent for Pixal to try.
The ninja have been kind like that, sharing the interests they have in an attempt to make her feel…well, more human, she supposes. Less confined to a voice in a computer. Of course, Pixal isn’t confined to a voice in a computer anymore, but they don’t know that yet. She’ll tell them someday soon, she promises herself. Any day now.
In the meantime, it’s easy enough to keep up with Lloyd by lurking in his car radio, as he spends half his time in there anyways.
************
“You’d think we’d have found their hideout by now,” Lloyd notes, as they wait in a darkened alleyway again. It gives them an excellent view of the major highways, so if the rumored biker gang does show up, they won’t miss it.
If they show up being the key point.
“Whoever their leader is, they certainly know how to keep a low profile,” Pixal answers, closing out another dead end police report in frustration.
“It’s weird,” Lloyd says, propping the notebook he’s sketching in on his knee as he squints at the paper. “Normally the boss types aren’t this quiet. They like to show off, y’know? Make a big scene, dramatic speeches and all.”
“Are you referring to the villains, or yourselves?”
“Touché,” Lloyd snorts. “But still, you gotta admit it’s weird they haven’t even made any demands. What’s their end game here, elaborate advertising for motorcycle design?”
“I would hope not,” Pixal says. “Their color coordination is lacking.”
Lloyd fights back a smile, his pencil scratching as he shifts his notebook again. “I don’t know, I kinda like the punk look.”
“I noticed that, when you tried to redecorate the car.”
“Hey, skulls are cool.”
“They are also conspicuous, especially when they come in acid green colors.”
“Everyone’s a critic,” Lloyd sighs, making a face as he scrubs the eraser across the paper. Pixal tries to tilt the camera further, to see what he’s drawing tonight, but the angle he’s holding it at remains just out of sight.
She could probably guess what he’s drawing, if she tried. The notebook is one they’ve been steadily working their way through on these late-night patrols, the pages filled with little hangman games and Lloyd’s sketches of animals and his teammates. He’s drawn her a few times from memory, and she’s been tempted to ask him to draw her in the new Samurai X armor more than once.
Soon, she tells herself.
“What are you drawing?” she finally asks, curiosity getting the better of her.
Lloyd’s cheeks tinge pink, and he quickly plasters the notebook to his chest, hiding it entirely from view. “Nothing.”
Pixal waits, letting the silence fill with her judgement. “Lloyd, I have seen your drawings before.”
He doesn’t reply, and Pixal tries again. “It gets boring, being stuck with the car monitors for eyes.”
“I know you can hack other cameras,” Lloyd mutters, but he sighs, relenting as he turns the notebook over. Pixal’s eyes rake over the detailed sketch — it’s a comical little thing of her and Lloyd, jammed together on a tiny lifeboat in the middle of a darkening ocean. She can spot the smudges where he’s redrawn her head several times, and the numerous attempts he’s made at his own hair. Pixal studies Lloyd’s portrayal of himself, which is noticeably lacking in facial features. While Lloyd draws the others plenty, it’s a rare occasion that he draws himself, and she can’t help but be curious.
“I thought you were drawing the others again,” she admits.
“They’re on the ship,” Lloyd says, absently. “I’ll draw them when they remember to pull us back in.”
There’s nothing bitter in his tone to suggest it has any bearing on their actual lives, but the lost expressions Lloyd ends up giving their tiny caricatures feel familiar nonetheless.
“Zane has assured me they will be back as soon as they can,” Pixal speaks ups quietly.
Lloyd finally looks up fully, and flashes the monitor a smile. “I know,” he says. “So we better have this thing busted by the time they do, or they’ll never let us run a city on our own again.”
“If only we were truly running the city,” Pixal grumbles. “I could do a better job in two days than the current leaders could do in a year.”
“I’d vote for you,” Lloyd says, sincerely.
It’s a sweet gesture, but Pixal is unable to resist. “You don’t know how to vote.”
“Yes I do, it’s not hard!”
“Really? Then why are you not currently registered in the Ninjago voting system?”
Lloyd makes a strangled noise. “That’s a thing?”
She’s unable to keep the smugness from her voice. “I make my point.” Lloyd scowls, and scribbles a mustache on his drawing of her in revenge.
Pixal thinks it looks nice nonetheless.
************
She can’t really hold it against Lloyd for talking as much as he does, considering she does the same. It gets dull, sitting on patrol for hours on end, and there are only so many hours of light reading they can do before the silence begins to drive them both insane.
Pixal finds herself talking about more useless things with Lloyd than she has in her existence, pointless conversations in circles with each other. She also finds she doesn’t entirely mind. She’s become quite good at quipping back and forth with him, at least. It’s different than the kind of talk she has with Zane, lacking in the depth of feeling with the love they share. Her exchanges with Lloyd are lighter, though that’s not to say they’re less sincere.
For example, Zane hasn’t tried to teach her how to redesign a gi in poor lighting in the early hours of the morning because he’s bored out of his mind, that’s for sure.
“I’m teaching you how to sew,” Lloyd corrects, wincing as he accidentally stabs himself with the needle. “And I’m not redesigning the whole thing, I’m just adding some designs to spice it up.”
“I did not know you were allowed to wear colors other than green,” Pixal comments.
Lloyd pauses, squinting at the monitor. “You’re teasing me,” he finally says. “You’re making fun of how much green this gi has in it.”
“I would never,” Pixal replies, her tone flat and even. “The intricacies of your human humor evade me—”
“Human humor, nice—”
“—unlike the unusually bright shade of green you’ve chosen will fail to evade any eyes of your enemies.”
“I knew you were making fun of me!” Lloyd accuses, then flinches as he stabs his finger again trying to point at her. “And bright colors are our thing. Being subtle is, uh…not. Usually.”
Pixal is losing the battle to laugh at his expression by the minute. “I am shocked.”
Lloyd glares at the monitor, shifting his sewing to rest on his knees as he slouches in the car seat. “How’d you even get so good at sarcasm, anyways,” he mutters. “Zane still doesn’t get it half the time.”
“Perhaps it is part of my glowing personality,” Pixal says. Lloyd gives a huff of laughter, relenting.
“Fair enough,” he says, shifting in his seat again. “Fine, you win. The green is probably too bright, but that’s not the point. I’m gonna show you how to do a backstitch."
Pixal falls quiet, letting Lloyd gesture with the needle as he explains. There are a hundred, a thousand tutorials she could pull up online, digitized knowledge instantly learned on all the countless types of stitches she could use, sorted and categorized in neat columns of use and effectiveness. All of them more detailed, more easily understood than Lloyd’s absent rambling and unsteady hands as he struggles with the end of a knot.
Not one of them will care whether or not Pixal learns the odd way Zane likes to loop his stitches, or will quietly add which stitches knit skin back together quickest.
So Pixal ignores her programming, and does her best to follow Lloyd’s rambling instructions, watching as his scarred fingers tug another thread of dull gold through the green mess of fabric, the city quiet around them.
“You never did tell me where you learned how to sew,” Pixal says, as Lloyd starts up a new thread of black on the other side of the gi. “Was that something the others taught you in training?”
“They’d have to know how to be able to teach it,” Lloyd snickers. “And, uh, no. I taught myself to back at Darkley’s.”
“Oh,” Pixal falters. She’s heard about Darkley’s, both from Zane and the legal reports she’s read online. Neither gave a positive impression of the place. Her mind is suddenly filled with images of a younger Lloyd trying to give himself stitches, and her heart twists.
Lloyd starts, seemingly having picked up on her train of thought. “I mean, I did it for fun, mostly. I like sewing,” he explains. “It’s useful. You can pull things back together, and fix ‘em.”
Pixal is quiet, but she hopes Lloyd takes her silence as agreement with his motive. She likes to think he knows her well enough for that, by now.
************
Pixal finds, somewhere during their fourth month alone, that she’s glad the team elected to stick her and Lloyd together. Not because she doesn’t want to be with Zane — there’s never a moment she doesn’t miss him, and with every day that passes her resolve to keep her secret from him grows weaker, as the longing for actual connection grows stronger.
But there are conversations she can have with Lloyd that she can never have with Zane, and the dangerous thing about spending time with Lloyd, Pixal finds, is that they’re more similar than she’s realized.
“Sometimes I think I’m jealous,” Lloyd whispers to her one night. It’s one of the bad ones, the ones where their enemies struck too sudden to stop, and the mission ends in the hospital. “I think I’m jealous of Zane, and I hate myself for it.”
Pixal is quiet, trying to pick apart the tone of his voice in the words he’s just spoken, and factors in the victims they’ve just left behind at the hospital. She finds herself no closer to an answer.
“Is it the metal skin part?” she finally asks, though she knows that’s wrong. “The, what was it, technical immortality?”
“No,” Lloyd shakes his head. “I’m not afraid of dying,” he says emphatically, his fingers fluttering at over the steering wheel, tapping incessantly with unspent energy. “I don’t want to, but that’s — it’s not what I’m scared of. I’m more scared of how I go out.”
He swallows, and his fingers move to dance over the woven bracelet on his wrist instead, twisting at the tiny beads and tracing senseless designs in constant, steady movement. It’s a motion he does often, and it had puzzled Pixal at first. She’d decided to write it off as an odd tick, a way to spend excess energy.
Now, she recognizes the desperate kind of reassurance that movement gives. She understands too well the need to remind yourself that you can move — that your body will obey you and you alone.
Pixal thinks back to the other factors in tonight’s accident, of the way the drugged man’s eyes had cleared when they’d finally turned him over to the police, the way he’d sworn he’d never do such a thing in his right mind. She thinks of the way the first victim had thrown themselves over their companion.
That victim hadn’t made it to the hospital.
“Ah,” Pixal says, quietly.
She’s silent again, and she thinks back to when she’d met him, the very first time. She recalls the way her programming had rebelled against her in favor of the Overlord, corrupting her body and forcing it against her, twisting everything she was and wanted to be into something different.
She thinks back again, to the searing-hot anger, the terror, the despair as she was torn apart, piece by piece like a machine, burning out at the whims of another. Her end purposeless, her demise belonging to someone else, just like every other part of her.
She thinks of the last glimpse she’d caught of Zane, bright and beautiful as a supernova. Burning with the terrible brilliance of his own, determined choice. Terrible, because the death of something always is. Beautiful, because it was his own. Zane died, not a machine, not a weapon, not a tool of anyone or anything, but as himself. Zane died to save the ones he loves. Pixal could’ve died for spare parts.
Never again, she promises herself. If she goes out, she goes out on her own terms. This time, they choose the end of their own destiny themselves.
In hindsight, it’s the kind of promise they’re both too young to make, but neither of them have ever seen themselves as such, and promises like that are easy.
“Love can be terrible, sometimes,” Lloyd murmurs. Pixal watches him scrub at the blood on his uniform, and thinks how ironically well-timed it is that he finished the stitching on his new gi this morning. “Sometimes I forget how ugly it can be.”
************
The end of their nighttime stakeouts begins with a break-in at Mr. Borg’s tower. Lloyd argues that she should get to call it her father’s tower, if she wants, but the ninja aren’t the only ones Pixal’s hiding herself from.
And then Lloyd gets very tense at the thought of fathers very fast, and they never finish the conversation.
They stay at the edge of the bridge long after the parachute, emblazoned with the unmistakable visage of Lloyd’s father, disappears from sight. Pixal wonders if it’s burned into Lloyd’s eyes, like the way she’s read black spots linger in humans’ vision after they’ve looked at something too bright. The way Lloyd stares at the river, his shoulders tense and his teeth worrying at his lip, she thinks she might be right.
They’re waiting on the report from the commissioner —they’re waiting for anything, anyone who can offer them any explanation of what’s going on. Pixal’s reminded of how much she loathes this kind of waiting.
“It could be—” Lloyd begins, then breaks off, his voice wavering. He swallows, and Pixal can see the way his fists clench tightly from the cameras they’ve put in his car. There’s a fierce part of her that longs to reveal herself, to meet his eyes herself and offer some semblance of comfort. But there’s a time and place for things, and Pixal isn’t ready.
“It could be anything,” Lloyd finally continues, his voice small. “It could — it doesn’t mean anything. It could mean nothing, right?”
Pixal is silent, her mind racing. She’s run the calculations over and over in her head already, scouring the internet for anything related to the bikers. She’s been foolish, she realizes — they both have. Letting the gang go unnamed for so long, thinking nothing of it. Now, with the name flashing vibrant across Pixal’s vision, a part of her wants to let them go nameless just a bit longer.
Before she can answer, Lloyds phone goes off with a sharp ping, just as Pixal’s sensors alert her to the message from the commissioner. Lloyd snatches for his phone like it’s on fire, and Pixal’s already scanning the message frantically, as if she can salvage this if she’s fast enough, save Lloyd from this one pain.
Lloyd’s gotten much better at reading quickly though, these days.
She can pinpoint the moment he reaches the last paragraph, because his breath hitches. There’s a long, pressing pause of silence, Lloyd’s hands trembling as they clutch weakly at his phone. Then it’s punctured by a reedy, wheezing gasp, and Pixal’s suddenly wishing she’d revealed herself after all.
Instead, all she has is her voice as Lloyd crumples, crouching over in visible distress. Pixal’s mind races, recalling everything Zane’s ever told her about his team, the way their panic manifests in different shades. Lloyd’s is quiet but desperate, rapid breathes that stutter as his eyes slide more and more into a frightening kind of blankness.
“Lloyd, please, listen to my voice,” she begs, trying to reach him in the only way she can. “Please, you have to breathe—”
“He’s gone,” Lloyd rasps, unhearing of her words. “He’s s’posed to be gone, it’s supposed to be over, I’m supposed to be done—”
Pixal fights back the sense of overwhelming helplessness. She knows loss. She knows how to finish his sentence. He’s supposed to be done grieving, done mourning, done clinging to false scraps of hope that his father isn’t lost forever only to be met with heartbreak.
And now, to be met with the possibility of something so much worse.
“We’ll stop them,” she tells him, unflinching. “We won’t let it happen.”
Lloyd’s eyes are a vivid green where they stare at her through the monitor, almost ghostly in the misting light reflecting from the river.
He’s silent, but Pixal is, too.
Pixal remembers the way her head had spun when she’d first picked up the traces of Zane in the system, how the world had rushed then steadied, flooding with color as she’d realized he might not be lost after all. She remembers the surging, overwhelming flood of joy, that someone she’d thought she lost might live after all. She remembers being so happy, at even the smallest chance to get him back, because the voice was Zane’s, without a doubt.
She watches the color seep from Lloyd’s expression as his shoulders shudder, the words from the commissioner’s message almost echoing through the air. Watches the terror as the both of them fill the silence.
Will we?  
The radio scratches, as if echoing Pixal’s anxiety. Love can be terrible, sometimes. She’s underestimated how it also be so cruel.
************
She’s also, apparently, underestimated how the universe on the whole could be so cruel.
She should’ve revealed herself to them from day one. That way, when Harumi’s corrupted programming suddenly ravages through her like an electric shock, she could be reassured they’d at least be familiar with the person they were fighting.
Instead, she doesn’t even get to scream. Pixal’s only able to force out a desperate, broken warning before she’s lost again, drowning in her own body as she’s forced under. Furious panic grips her as she screams without lungs, bashing herself against the overwhelming helplessness that’s taken over her.
Not again, not again, not again—
Her limbs creak and jolt against her will, lashing out at the people she cares most about, and Pixal can’t even rage back in her own voice. She’s sworn, she’s promised herself she’d never let anyone do this to her again — she’s sworn she’d die before she let someone reach into her head and snatch control away, and yet here she is, frozen as her body’s used to target her friends.
If she could cry, she might.
There’s not much more to say than that. She breaks free, her body her own once again, but by then it’s too late.
************
If Pixal had the same gift of foresight that Zane did, maybe she would have seen it coming. Maybe she’d have remembered how similar her and Lloyd are, and that this kind of pained desperation always yields impulsiveness and mistakes.
She doesn’t, though. She barely even manages to do what she’s trying to, which is convincing Lloyd to join the others while they celebrate their victory. Their off-key singing is something he normally wouldn’t hesitate to join in on, she thinks, and she hates Harumi a little more.
Maybe she’ll try his mother next. The expression on Lloyd’s face screams unapproachable, and remains fixedly sullen.
Almost to her surprise, he meets her eyes as she draws near— it’s odd, being able to meet his back — and his own eyes are dark, from despair over Harumi or despair over his father, Pixal isn’t sure. She’s thinking it might be both, when his eyebrows crease, and a flicker of concern cuts through them instead.
“You good?”
It takes her a moment to realize why he’s asking, but the answer is obvious. Her head tilts downward, and she watches as her fingers curl and uncurl. Her movements, her choices. She lets out an even breath.
“As I can be,” she replies. Lloyd nods, and his eyes are understanding. His lips twist in a scowl.
“She shouldn’t have done that to you. That was a low blow.”
Pixal’s mouth curves into a humorless smile. “That it was. She’s rather good at those, isn’t she.”
Lloyd’s eyes shadow again, and he looks away, crossing his arms. “This isn’t supposed to be about me,” he mutters.
“Yes, it is,” Pixal counters. “It is why I came over here, in the first place. She hurt—”
“All of us, and who’s fault is that,” Lloyd snaps, his arms crossing tighter.
“I would hope you know it’s hers,” she says, holding firm.
Lloyd looks away again, biting his lip, and Pixal shifts anxiously, rolling her wrists. The sensation of control sliding away still haunts her, worse than it had the first time. She should be better than this, she tells herself hotly. She’s lived without a body long enough that losing it so briefly shouldn’t effect her this much.
Curse her programming, she thinks, tapping agitatedly at the banister. She knew she should have reinforce it sooner.
“Hey, um.” Lloyd is looking at her again, hesitant. He twists at his bracelet, and his eyes lose a fraction of that darkness. “Kai made this for me, after Morro,” he says. “I kept shredding the sleeves of my uniform, so he told me to mess with this instead, when I needed to remember that…that I was in control.”
He shrugs, hesitant. “We could make you one too, if you wanted. It helps, having something.”
Pixal lets out a steady breath, despite not actually needing to. The action is grounding, she’s found. “I would like that.”
Lloyd gives her a ghost of a smile in return. “Soon as this is over, then.”
There’s a heavy weight to his words, and Pixal’s eyes narrow.
“Lloyd,” she says. He looks at her, his eyes dark. “Don’t do anything foolish.”
He’s quiet, not meeting her eyes, and this is where Pixal should stop him. This is when she should see the end of the road they’ve been on since they started this, and force him to turn before it’s too late.
“I know what I’m doing.”
She doesn’t.
************
Lloyd is battered and bleeding by the time they drag him onto the ship, a gruesome portrait of cruelty. Pixal is frozen as she watches him writhe in Kai’s hold, his screams cracked and wet as he thrashes erratically like a broken thing.
Nya is already barking orders before they’ve even gotten Lloyd fully on the ship, and Zane is running scans with a horrified, wavering focus. Pixal follows Cole as he carries Lloyd to the medbay with a blank numbness, the rush of wind streaming past the Bounty sails thunderously loud in her ears.
This isn’t Lloyd, she thinks, staring at his crumpled form. Lloyd isn’t this battered, broken shell of a person. Lloyd isn’t hazy eyes that fail to recognize them and frantic murmuring through bloody lips. Lloyd is bright-eyed and gentle and would rather die before he screams the way he does when Cole moves him to the table.
Lloyd is her friend, and this is where that promise they made has led them. She knows why Lloyd set out for the prison, hot on the collapse of his own star. She also knows he wouldn’t have chosen to burn out like this.
Cole calls out for Zane, his voice ringing in panic as Lloyd screeches in pain again. Pixal thinks of quiet words in the safety of his car, and she feels sick. This is the ugliness of love, the terrible, hideous side of it.
And Lloyd would hate it, if he could see himself, if he were any semblance of lucid. He’d hate to know just how much better he was at breaking himself than Morro ever was.
Zane is gentle as he pushes past her, but Pixal can feel the tremble in his hands. He’s every bit as rattled as she is, if not more so — Zane’s heart is larger and softer than hers has ever been, and he cares about each and every one of them with a painful intensity. It’s a cruel thing, to have to pull those same people back together with your own hands.
Kai’s eyes are streaming as he clutches at Lloyd’s wrists, pinning him in place. Zane’s hands waver again over one of the jagged wounds near Lloyd’s ribcage, the green of his uniform already dyed dark in blood, soaking over the careful stitches Pixal watched him put in himself.
Pixal finally finds her footing, reminding herself of the solid wood beneath her feet. She recalls the steady, smooth stitch Lloyd’s scarred fingers traced out for her.
“Here.” She takes the needle from Zane’s hands, squeezing his briefly before letting go. “I can do it.”
She sets the needle against Lloyd’s skin and wonders what kind of stitch it’d take to pull your heart back together.  
************
Pixal cannot cry. It’s one of the features Mr. Borg spent hours debating, weighing the pros and cons of giving her the ability before he was truly sure how rust-proof she was. He’d never gotten the chance to, as the Overlord had interrupted him, then Pixal had lost any body to give the ability to cry to, which had eliminated the need entirely.
She cannot cry, but she can hurt, and the rain that streams through her hair, dripping down her forehead spotting raindrops on her cheeks, could be tears if she pretended.
She doesn’t, though, because tears are a waste of water and overall useless in the grand scheme of things. She doubts they’d have helped her fare any better in the battle with Colossi, either.
Tears won’t bring anyone back.
Lloyd cries anyways. She can’t see him, but she can hear it in his voice, the way it wavers and breaks over the radio, nasally tones pronounced.
He’s barely able to gasp a few coordinates to her before he cuts the radio off abruptly. Pixal’s spent enough time with him to envision his scarred fingers snapping it off with a particular desperation, green sparking from his hands in distress.
She reminds herself those sparks are gone, now, bled away into nothing like the vivid green of Lloyd’s eyes had. The thought makes her sadder than she’d expected. She had a joke, about his eyes, she had wanted to make. Now that she has a body, and her own set of glowing green eyes, she’d — there was something he would’ve laughed at, she thought —
It doesn’t matter, now. Neither of them are likely to laugh anytime soon.
The coordinates blink brightly in her vision, and she’s almost surprised she managed to key them in. She’s running on autopilot, she supposes. It could be ironic — she’s been so desperate for control, it’s been so important that she’s the one feeling. Now, she’d give anything not to feel at all.
She lets out a shaky breath, dispelling the mist in her vision left from the rain. She leans forward, just over the edge of the building she’s crouched on, and her loose hair falls forward, silvery and synthetic and horribly tangled. Irritated, she reaches for another hair tie, and her hands falter around her wrist.
Lloyd had promised her a bracelet there. But he’d promised Kai would make the bracelet, hadn’t he, and Kai couldn’t make the bracelet if he was dead, could he.
Pixal blinks, her breath hitching. She’s been so numb to the pain of Zane’s loss, it hasn’t yet occurred to her that she’s losing Kai, too. And Jay, and Cole, and—
She sucks in the same shuddery kind of breath she’s seen Lloyd do, and carefully fists her hand in the area of her uniform above her chest. Her fingers dig in tightly, clutching in a hopeless attempt to feel some sort of comfort she knows she’ll never find.
But perhaps, for these few seconds, she can pretend the action is holding her together.
************
“It was inevitable,” Pixal tells Lloyd blankly, as he rasps out his third apology in the dark cover of their small hideout. “That one of us would fall, eventually. It had nothing to do with you.”
Lloyd swallows thickly. “It could’ve — it should’ve been—”
He doesn’t finish, but he doesn’t need to. Pixal’s hand shoots out, clamping tightly around his wrist, and there’s a beat of gratitude that she doesn’t need to rely on her voice alone anymore.
“Don’t.” Her voice is strung tighter than the tension in their shoulders. “You cannot change anything. You can’t, Lloyd, and you should not wish to — to change it that way.”
Lloyd jerks his hand free, wiping miserably at his eyes. He sets it back down within her reach, though, and if Pixal were any different, she’d take it.
But Pixal isn’t that different from Lloyd at all in the end, and neither of them reach for the other’s hand, no matter how desperately they crave the contact. Fear is more familiar, and it’s easier to give into it than it is the clawing need for comfort in your chest, after all.
“Still,” Lloyd finally whispers. “Still.”
Pixal swallows. She doesn’t disagree. If one of them had to fall, she knows she gladly would have taken it upon herself. She knows the others care for her, certainly, but she also knows her place in the grand scheme of things. They were six before she came along, and even now she’s kept far too many secrets to be fully counted among them.
She listens to Lloyd’s quiet, cracked voice, and she wonders if he’s thinking that they were five before he came along, younger than Pixal got to know him as.
Now they’re three, hollow and heartbroken. Though counting herself as one whole feels like cheating, right now.
Pixal squeezes her eyes shut, and wonders what it’s like to cry. Perhaps it helps, though Lloyd doesn’t look any less miserable.
************
“I was thinking,” Lloyd tells her, during one of the precious few quiet moments they have while trying to overthrow Garmadon and Harumi. Pixal’s turning the tiny tea flower he’d given her over in her hands, a part of her mind already marking articles about flower-pressing, another part wondering if it’s already too late to save the blossom. “About that promise we made, before all this.”
Pixal finally tucks the flower into the pocket of her uniform, pressed close to her chest. If anything, it can be a reminder of the lives that are safe — the life that’s coming back to her, if she has to drag him back from another realm herself. “And?”
Lloyd’s hands twist together. “Maybe we should focus more on staying alive.”
Pixal coughs out a laugh, breathless and startled. Lloyd wrinkles his nose at her, but his eyes are amused, even with their light lost. “I mean, the emphasis would be on keeping everyone else alive, but it’s kinda hard to do that if we’re dead, so…yeah. Priorities.”
“Staying alive should always be a priority,” Pixal corrects him, but she tugs the edge of his armor out of place with a smile.
“Why didn’t you teach me how to graffiti?” she nods at the designs on the green leather. “Or was this another Darkley’s tradition.”
“This is a refined art, called whatever I had on me that showed up on dark green,” Lloyd grumbles, fixing his armor. “I’ll teach it to you when we get out of this.”
“Another reason why staying alive would be a more productive focus,” Pixal points out. “I’ve heard teaching is easier when you’re alive.”
“And I’ve heard you’re a real riot,” Lloyd mutters. “It’s a promise, okay? I promise to teach you how to do cool armor design if you promise not to disappear into another realm on me.”
Pixal nods, adjusting her own armor tighter as screams ring out from a street nearby. “A promise, then.”
She keeps both the promise and the flower, the tiny blossom dried and faded by the time she’s escaped from the prison, heart racing with leftover adrenaline as Zane sweeps her into his arms. She clutches back every bit as tight, listening to his breathless laughter as cheers rise from the streets behind them, the smoke drifting across the early morning sky above them pale against the lightening blue. Pixal buries her face in his shoulder and breathes, tucking the moment away in her heart where it won’t fade. There’s a future stretching out before her, and she’s got the limbs to walk her path on her own, but all she wants right now is the steady ground beneath her feet and the bright laughter of what she’s managed to keep.  
Lloyd meets them shortly after, his own promise kept as he tears his gaze from his father, handing him off to the authorities before sprinting for the others. Pixal barely snags a moment alone with him, and even then no one’s particularly keen on letting him out of their sights.
He meets her eyes as they pick their way through the wrecked streets, the city more alive around them than it’s been in weeks. In the dark of the early morning, Pixal’s eyes glow a bright green, reflecting oddly in the windows they pass. It’s always been her preferred color, in contrast to Zane’s bright blue. Lloyd glances at her, his own eerily green eyes glowing back. He bites his lip, but it’s to hold back real laughter this time.
“My eyes were green first,” she tells him.
“Sue me,” he shoots back, before Kai’s throwing an arm over his shoulders again, tucking Lloyd neatly in between him and Nya. Pixal smothers a laugh at the look on his face, and tightens her own arm further where it’s linked firmly in Zane’s.  
It’s going to be an easy promise to keep, she thinks.  
342 notes · View notes
random-fandom1 · 3 years
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Lights were blaring, music blasting, sweaty bodies grinding against eachother. A hand touches Peter waist, lips attach themselves to his neck. A man, his name is James? What a strange name. A hot name. A perfect name for such a hot man. Moans escape him. Lips continue to assault his neck, a hand pulls him towards the exit
"Is this okay?"
That voice. If you could fall in love with voices, Peter would be walking down the aisle.
"yes"
-
8 years later
“Olly James Parker! Hurry up, you don't want to be late for your aunts! You know what MJ did last time.” Peter shudders remembering about how MJ purposely put sand in his salad the last time they were late. The quick patter of soft feet can be heard from the landing upstairs and suddenly a small boy dressed in overalls appears at the top of the stairs, a mop of brown curls covering his left eye.
"Where are we going daddy? Are we going to that fancy place Auntie Shuri took us last week? I didn't like that place, the big red things had strange eyes and the plates. They were, they were too big," The boy made huge over the top circles with his arms. Peter had to agree though, the plates were bloody huge, "I like the cafe Auntie MJ takes us too. I like Kath. She's nice. The pink doughnuts are my favourite" Peter listened to his son rant on about how pink doughnuts are his favourite from Cafe Asgard for about 5 minutes before speaking up. 
"There's no need to worry babe, Auntie MJ is picking the place I think. Shuri and MJ had bet on who stole more of the others clothes, turns out it was Shuri and then Shuri, being the competitive bitch she is decided to try and seduce -" Realising he was wandering off appropriate topics for a 7 year old, and that he'd slipped up twice in that story. He looks down to realise he's probably safe as the boy is still going on about how the sprinkles are the right amount of hard. "Go get your shoes on bud"
"Ok" and with that Olly ran down the hall, curls bouncing with every step. 
Peter couldn't help but admire his son. About how he was an exact copy of him, from the hair to the freckles scattered across his body. Olly carried his and his dad's intelligence and needed to figure out how stuff works. He was a total clone. Well, almost. He had his eyes. Those beautiful steel blue eyes, the ones that looked at him with so much passion that night. Peter cried when Olly opened his eyes for the first time, realising that he's going to have to be reminded of the man he fell in love with, the man who left him alone and pregnant in his bed, everyday for the rest of his life. He's going to be reminded of James.
Peter is pulled out of his thoughts by a small hand tugging his jacket. 
"Come on daddy, I hear a horn honking outside. I don't want Aunties MJ & Shuri to be mad at me" Olly says, looking at his father with huge eyes, genuinely scared of angering his impatient aunts. Resisting the urge to coo, He crouches down in front of his son and wraps him in a hug.
"Oh buddy, they'd never be mad at you...me though, that's a different story. So on that note, chop chop, I'm quite fond of my head" Peter stands up from his crouched position, takes Olly's hand and walks out the front door
-
"-and the dinosaur was big and green with spik-" 
"Ok Olls, I think that's enough of that story. Why don't we head inside" Peter said, holding a tight smile on his face. He unbuckled Olly and headed inside, followed closely by MJ and Shuri. MJ instantly headed towards their usual table beside the window while Shuri made her way into the queue where she instantly started talking to a brown haired man. 'Must be a friend from work' Peter thought. He crouched down to Olly’s level, "Why don't you go get a table with Auntie MJ and Auntie Shuri and I will order the food? You want a pink doughnut and a strawberry and banana milkshake, right?" Olly nodded and ran off towards MJ.
Peter took a moment to think about how he got to this very moment, about how he ended up having Olly. He thought back to the morning after. He woke up alone. James just slept with him, got up early in the morning and left without a word. Peter had to show himself out of his house. There was no note, no contact number, no nothing. All there was was a growing fetus and Peter who couldn't get the man with steel blue eyes and godlike voice out of his head. It was clear that he wanted nothing to do with Peter so in return, Peter decided that he didn't need him. That he can raise Olly by himself without another person. It helped that he had a big family and money was never an issue, seeing as his dad owns the biggest tech company in the world and his pops is a captain in the army. Sure he thought about going back to the flat, seeing if James felt the same way about him as he did. He wondered if Bucky would raise Olly with him, if they could be a family. He's shaken from his thoughts by his phone binging in his pocket. 
Pulling it out of his pocket, he sees a message from his pops. 
‘hey pete, do you know how to activate that protocol you used to wake us up with? Monster ear or something? dads fell asleep in his locked lab again. thanks, have a good day petey. love you x’ 
Peter lets out a chuckle when he reads the message. Trust his dad to forget to unlock the lab door. He starts to make his way over to where Shuri is holding their place in the line, typing back a reply to his pops. 
“-and then glenn tried to make me take out her copies, like who does she think i am - oh, Pete there you are. I thought you got lost on your way over. Here meet my boss, Bucky, he knows all about yo - get off your phone it's rude” Shuri says, getting annoyed by his ignorance. 
“Yeah, yeah. My pops is asking about commands again. I swear he never stops” he says, putting his phone into his back pocket and looking at Shuri. Peter was yet to look at the man in front of him, too busy giving Shuri a death glare.
“It's a pleasure to meet you Peter, Shuris told me a lot about you. She tells me almost daily about your latest mix up, I must say you have a lot.”
Peter freezes
Time stops
It's that voice, the voice he fell in love with. That deep and gruff voice with the right amount of softness on the edges. It's like music, the voice of angels.
He slowly turns his head to look at the man in front of him, watches as his eyes widen upon getting a full view of his face, realising washing over him. 
Everything around them become background noise
The only people left in the cosy cafe are them, scrap that actually, the only people in the whole world are them.
They must be zoned out for a while because suddenly Shuris snapping her fingers in between them. Peter's cheeks flush a dark scarlet and he closes his mouth which must have fallen open. 
“Peter, you have no idea how much I - fuck, Ive thought about this moment for so long, and I - god, I dont know what to say” Peters eyes snap back up to meet those eyes, those pools of steel blue. They haven't left his mind for years, haunted him around any corner he tried to turn. 
Thats when he realised, he was in love with him. He loved James, he hasn't seen him for years, met him once before that, but fuck, he loved him. 
“I-uh - I…”
“Daddy, whos this? His eyes look like mine. Isn’t that funny?” Olly comes over and stands next to his father, looking up at, well, his other father. Bucky looks down at Olly, then back up to Peter, then back down to Olly. You can practically see the gears turning in his head, probably trying to figure out who this is, probably piecing it together slowly. Peter gulps and then looks down at Olly.
“Olly, I told you to stay with Auntie MJ. You know what happened last ti -” Peters cut off for what feels like the 50th time today. 
“How old are you kid?” His voice is shaking 
“Don’t answer that”
“Whos your other daddy?”
“Don't answer that either, go back to Aun-”
“Answer me, how old are you kid?”
Olly is slightly hiding behind Shuris leg, not quite sure what to do. 
“You can’t just go around asking people you've slept with and then left alone to clean up the pieces with not even a contact number or note or anything’s kids how old they are, what is wrong with you?!”
Something flashes across Buckys face, regret and hurt, but they quickly go back to rage. Steel blue eyes turning into a stormy grey, like a storm at sea.
“I can if they may be my child!”
“That doesn't make it right!”
“For god's sake, stop being so difficult-”
“I’m being difficult? Do you hear yours-”
“I do funnily enough -”
They’re interrupted by a small voice
“Im almost eight…”
Both they’re heads snap round, looking at the source of the voice. There they see Olly holding up 8 fingers. Tears well up in James’ eyes, the final piece clicking into the jigsaw
“Hes my son..” Its barely above a whisper. Peter lets out a defeated sigh
“Yeah, he's your son” 
Slowly James crouches down to Olly's level. Olly looks him over, analyses him as if he's trying to figure out what's inside this man. It's scary that Bucky has the exact same look on his face. Eyebrows furrowed, steel eyes cloudy. It makes Peter's heart let out small flutters.
“Hey there kiddo, Im, well im your papa.” Olly takes a second to process what's just been said before running into his papas arms. Tears are streaming down his face. Both their faces. Scrap that, tears are running down most of the people in the cafe’s faces. 
“I've always wanted a papa, daddy always used to say that you went on a mission to space and that its taking a while. But he always said you’ll be back.” 
“Did he now?” Bucky looks into his eyes and all is said in that look. 
He was going to do whatever it takes to be a part of this family, to be with the man he loves and their son.
And Peter wouldn't have it any other way.
“Whats a bitch papa?”
Shuri cackles, an old lady gasps and Bucky's eyes widen comically
fuck.
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kdramachitchat · 3 years
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Yumi’s Cells Episode 2 Recap - Woong is finally introduced & goes on a blind date with Yumi
The cells booing when Ugi was taking so long to answer and when he finally said yes they all cheered! Ruby is shocked and Yumi seemed so relaxed looking forward to the fireworks, then enjoys her cup of coffee. She's in such a good mood!
Since this is a date, fashion cell is another cell and yet she's stuck at the Cell Town's prison. This is so dramatic! Cells that ruin Yumi gets locked up in prison for 2 years now.
The beginning of the fashion cell tragedy was the 1 piece dress Yumi planned on buying. The green dress looks good on Yumi but she has nowhere to go. Fashion cell made her go travel abroad so that she could wear the dress!
She also bought a pair of shoes to go with the dress but i doubt she was ever going to use them! She added pedi and got her hair permed just for the trip. Too much additional expense. No wonder.
Trip to Phuket caused additional expenses and it all began bec of the 70k won dress, oh my. She blew her salary away for 3 months. WHOA. Ok no wonder Fashion Cell was put in jail. Overspending.
Fashion Cell suggested a "effortless look" for Yumi's first date with Ugi. It's subtle makeup w/ a delicate touch. Her clothes are simple but was carefully matched together. Cells are not impressed, they say it's like her natural look. That's the point.
Ugi went ahead at the festival. He's at the flower garden area and Yumi hasn't left! Yumi asked how he'd knew her number and he said that he memorizes it. Oh. Cells are freaking out and its a green light for them. They're betting too on the results too.
Yumi arrived at the festival and Rubi called. Omg she's such a mood breaker, her name alone irritates you. Cells think she's calling to check up on the date & Yumi doesn't want to answer but had a bad feeling, she turned around and Rubi is there. Rubi wore a flowery dress and yet when the cells suggested for Yumi to wear one too they were pissed to find Rubi wearing one, you see fashion cell slowly trying escape. Yumi arrived and is in a hurry to go the other way with Ugi so that they won't catch Rubi. She doesn't want to go back & took a taxi to eat a famous Ilsan restaurant. Rubi keeps calling her. Can she take a hint? She don't want to see you.
Ugi at the resto asked Yumi what kind of guy she likes and she answered that she doesnt know. Ugi says that he's always been curious about her and her personal preferences. OMG. Ugi asked her if she's willing to go on a blind date. The heart balloon popped and it started to rain on the cell world like Yumi's mood. Ugi wanted to introduce her to someone. This is a 1-sided love. The friend lives in Ilsan. She's down. Yumi asked him why her out of all people & Ugi tells her that she has a great personality and that she's pretty. Love Cell doesn't believe his words. Yumi repeat what Love Cell said that he should've dated her instead. Ugi likes someone else. Yumi is totally crushed at this time and you just want to give her a hug. The cell town now is covered in flood and love cell is idle about to be covered by the ocean. Yumi asked the person who Ugi's interested in. Ugi tells her that he's not into woman & asks her if she could keep his secret. He thinks that she's trustworthy & that make her happy. She then agrees for the blind date. Ugi also tells her that he memorizes # quickly & started crying! Flood continues.
Saeyi and Woong are introduced! Saeyi answered Ugi's phone call on Woong's phone. I'm too excited seeing Bohyun as Woong! Ugi called him abt the blind date. Woong mentioned it, Saeyi and Louis turned around. He knows it's Yumi & they're the same age. Saeyi talks about the misconception of women who date around Yumi's age. She tells Woong that women date to get married and advice him to take the date lightly. Saeyi tells him to take her out for tea & Woong disagrees. Determined to do what he wants.
Then at cell land, white blood cells reporting the cells missing. Saying this is the worst flood they ever had in 3 yrs. Love Cell and True Feelings Cells are stuck together in a island. Love Cell looks so down bec she keeps disappointing Yumi.
Yumi's at work even on Sundays. Chief Nam decided to take his 2 co-workers for lunch. Yet, Yumi looks so down & bailed on the outing, tells them that she has plans. Chief noticed that she looks mad. At Cell land, the facial expression meter is broken! The cells are worried that she'll have the same expression with her first blind date with Woong. Emotion Cell thinks of the possibility that Yumi might cancel on Woong & what would Ugi think. So frustrated on her rushing things when it comes to love. The mechanic cell suggested cell dolls that reacts automatically. The doll reacts according to the situation. I wonder if this will ever work out. I have a feeling it's not going to end well. Emotion cell & another cell gave it a go. Chief Nam and her coworker are surprised that she really is going on a blind-date and wished her good luck. Yumi's mood instantly changed from her previous dampened mood. So i guess it works. Its better than looking down like the cell suggested. There's side effects though on the cell doll...overreacting and pretentiousness. Oh no. Who else is nervous with this blind date of Yumi and Woong? The cells started to worry too but still willing to use the doll.
Woong is about to leave & we finally get to see him in the famous Space Rabbit outfit! Woong tells Saeyi that he's going on a blind date. Saeyi doesnt approve on what he's wearing.
Flashback, Woong finds Saeyi odd & has many diff instances. Woong's used to it and thinks its just the way she is. Woong & Ugi hanging out. Ugi tells him that Saeyi thinks he's a pushover & talks to him about Yumi. Woong isnt into blind dates.
Their meetup place is at the Bonjour Fountain and Woong is early! Woong decides to tune in for some music, looks quite engrossed on his phone when Yumi arrives & Woong didnt notice her arrival. Until he did! OMG. Woong had the "love at first sight" look to Yumi. Can't wait for their date! You think Yumi's the only one who got cells? Woong got cells too! Woong's got cells though lack of that is...Yumi's cells are not impressed at least fashion cell is. The rest of the cells dont like him & didnt want to be rude so they used the reaction doll. Woong is just lost for words. This is so embarrassing. Date hasnt started & its not going well. Woong acts lost & dumb then he bumped his head. Oh dear me. Yumi looks so shocked. We don't know what's wrong with him either. Yumi's cells thinks he's an idiot. Humor Cell appears. NO. Woong made a dad joke. I died. Im not suppose to laugh at the joke but the joke is so embarrassing you can't help but do!
Then the episode ends with the awkward lame jokes at the cafe. I wonder how this date will turn out.
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shinymooncolor · 4 years
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Sweater weather chat #12 part 2
Hi all!!! 
As promised - here’s part two to chat #12!
First of all - massive thanks to @lumosinlove for giving us this world! 
Also thanks to @frombeauxbatons for giving me ideas, support and just generally letting me vent and rant <3 
the amazing @paulian03 cleverly came up with Sirius giving the boys the nickname O’Knutzy in the story and that features both in this chat and the next. :) 
link to part 1 here :) 
So, 
Sirius is hiding in a closet. Remus is sarcastic. Kris is worried. So much love for single dad Kris <3. Dumo wants to call PETA. Blizzard doesn't judge. Olli has opinions. Olli is the best. Timmy is offended. Alice is a boss. Finn has ideas. They involve glitter and rainbows. Mental health awareness is important! Natalie is precious. We establish that consent is EVERYTHING! 
Sweater weather chat #12 part 2
--
Tuesday 2.54 pm 
Sirius <3: re!!!!!! Help. I’m in the green closet. 
Remus ❤️: I’m not gonna make a joke. But. It’s right there. Which green closet? I lost you around the beds. Thought you were behind me. How’re you sneaking away so quietly? 
Sirius <3: someone put it on Twitter. That I’m here. These ladies followed me. Hat to throw my hat down on the floor as a way to distract them. Never seeing that again 😭 
Remus ❤️: sneaky....... you could just sign their bras and get on with your life.
Sirius <3: really? Sarcasm. I was being hunted by cougars re. It’s scary. Help me.
Remus ❤️: alright. Send me a pic. 
Sirius <3: *pic* 
Remus ❤️: I sent you to get a lamp. You ended up on the first floor somehow? In the kids section. And no we’re not buying that massive shark. 
Sirius <3: it’s for Ava. 🥺
Remus ❤️: really? 
Sirius <3: she told me Jackie is her favorite (I assume Jackie is Nado?) and I need to be the favorite. Logan already beat me with the Dumais’ kids. I need to win somewhere. 
Remus ❤️: and bribing her is the way?
Sirius <3: of course it is. How else? Can’t dazzle her with my hockey or money or fame. Need some real firepower and a big shark is a winner. 
Remus ❤️: I’m here now. Which closet are you in? 
——
Tuesday 4.31 pm
Nadotheman: guess who’s trending on twitter for hooking up in Ikea.
Blizzard: my first guess is always you? But as you’re texting you’re either oddly proud or it’s not you. Kuny? 
RussianGod: not me 
Timmyforrealz: @blizzard you’re not even thinking about me? Could totally have been me. Nado not the only one who’s got crazy girl skills. 
Ollibear: skills? Buddy you’ve had a three month drought. 
Timmyforrealz: DONT listen to Olli. He’s a baby. He’s still a little virgin. 
Ollibear: first of all. There’s nothing wrong with not being into sex. Asexuality is a valid thing. Also I’m not a Virgin. I just prefer a partner who either has no idea who I am or likes me for me. 
Ollibear: also, the three of you are easy @russiangod @nadotheman @timmyforrealz. You literally sell out for a pat on the ass and a wink. I could get with either of you with very little effort. 
Nadotheman: oi! I’m not easy. I have an acquired taste. 
Talkiewalkie: acquired taste = anything human with a pulse and the ability to consent. Literally. I’ve watched you pick up. 
RussianGod: as long as consent. What’s big deal? They say yes it’s ok. 
Prongstar: I JUST SAW THE PIC WTF?????
Prongstar: also, Olli? That’s the spirit. 
LeWilliam: cap?!!???? 
Logantremblayzzz: whattttt 
Talkiewalkie: HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA WELL YOU CERTAINLY CAME OUT THE CLOSET..... LITERALLY
CarbO’Hara: damn!!! I was gonna say that 
Newt-leo: I said it first. You just type like a madman.
Krisvolley: is that the shark you dropped off for Ava? 
DumoDad: better call peta. Poor shark. 
Siriusly: it’s not whAt it looks like. Someone tweeted I was in there and the cougars descended upon me. I had to hide. Someone actually ripped my shirt and Remus was gone to look at pillows. I had to hide. It was scary. 
Blizzard: so you didn’t do a quickie in Ikea with a plushie shark watching? 
Siriusly: no. We didn’t, also, sirius had to put his shirt back on in a Hurry. Someone did rip it (re here) 
Blizzard: I’m not judging. Whatever makes your skates fly cap. Never had Re as an exhibitionist tho . 
Siriusly: he’s not. We didn’t do anything. Some lady ripped my shirt and I hid in the closet while the nice Ikea girl distracted them with some sort of family offer I think or free ice cream whatever. But they’d actually ripped my shirt. Re helped me put it back on... you guys are idiots. 
Logantremblayzzz: heheheh whatever you say. 
Krisvolley: so you didn’t do nasty things to or near the shark my daughter is now refusing to give up? She’s named it fluffy. I’m worried. She said it’s just smiling? Should I be worried? 
Siriusly: ew no of course not. Promise. 
Nadotheman: sure. Also I see what you’re doing cap. I’m favorite. Back off.😫
Siriusly: no idea what you mean. JACKIE 
Blizzard: Jackie? That’s cute. How’re you today Jackie? 😘
Nadotheman: shut up kasey. Or I’m gonna spank youuuu 
Krisvolley: you guys do realize she’s literally calling whoever gives in to her whims and tantrums her favorite right? Also I’m her dad. I’ll always be her number 1! ❤️
Nadotheman: awww we know. Best single dad!!! 
Siriusly: we’re not trying to steal her kris! You’re doing amazing! 
Ollibear: yeah man she’s so lucky she’s got you!!! 
Blizzard: we love you kris 💖💖💖
—-
Wednesday 1.33
Alice: alright. Ikea confirmed that there was a situation involving fans and we were able to mostly control the narrative. You have to prepare for some chirps and a few memes. 
Sirius: what’s a meme? 
Alice: I swear to god sometimes you’re a grandpa stuck in a young man’s body. Ask the rookies. 
Sirius: you’re really mean. 
Alice: I’m also really good at my job. So suck it up captain. You’re a hockey god. I’m a PR god. We work together and magic happens.
Sirius: I’d think that was flirting but I’ve seen you make heart eyes at frank. So. We’re good right? I swear I won’t roll my eyes for the next, like, three interviews 
Alice: you better not love. And yes, frank is rather into me, isn’t he? Time I put him out of his misery, I think. 
Sirius: good luck! (To frank) 
Alice: I’ll tell him 😜
—- 
Finn: hey Alice!! 
Alice: O’Hara, how can I help? 
Finn: I just had an idea ok? 
Alice: I hope it’s better than take your dog to work day. 
Finn: that was a great idea. Not my fault that skates and jersey are easily confused for chew toys. 
Finn: but I thought we could do a charity skate or something? (Need your brain here) so all Star was a massive success so maybe we could do like a charity thing soon and get money for like lgbt+ mental health awareness right? Like. Cap is of course new to this but I can speak up, my brother is happy to support too and I bet the team would too! We could invite young people on the ice and do like a you can play thing? I know it’s not pride but like. We could wear rainbows and glitttee and????  I really wanna support cap!! 
Alice: I like your enthusiasm and the idea. Give me a few days with my team and we can work on something? I also believe congratulations are in order? For your and your boys? 
Alice: also. you typed about 100 “like” in there. I’m worried about the state of the American school system. You're a Harvard graduate.... 
Finn: I love you! I’m terrified of you but I also love you and thanks. I want to get us jerseys saying O’Knutzy? That’s cute right. 
Alice: it’s easy to make happen but Finn, maybe sit down with your boys and heather first ok? Maybe cap too. Coming out is a lot and I want to make sure you’re okay with the consequences. There’s a lot of bigoted people out there and it breaks my heart I can’t protect you better than I do! 
Finn; hey we know you’ve got our back! 
Alice: I’ll see what I can do. Is the team ok with this? 
Finn: yeah most of them I’ve asked and the rest will follow I’m sure. 😀
Alice: you’re a good kid! I’ll do my best! 
Finn: 😘😘😘
Alice: I’d say that’s inappropriate but I know you mean well! 
——
Finn: NAT!!! She said she’ll look into it! 
Nat: I love you finn and we’re gonna make this event explode in a shower of glitter, love and rainbows. 
Finn: 💖🏳️‍🌈💖🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈
Nat: 😘 also sent you some stuff on email about poly. 
Finn: wait? You and kasey???
Nat: No but I’m a musician baby, me being in a het relationship is the weird thing in our community 😜
Finn: maybe I hang with the wrong crowds. 
Nat: hopeless hockey boys ❤️
Finn: you’re dating one. 
Nat: I know. And I ship your poly arrangement harder than fangirls on tumblr. If anyone says anything tell me and I’ll relieve them of their knee caps
Finn: I get why you and kasey works. His threats are also oddly specific. He made the Boston rat cry when he detailed his imminent death via goalie pads. It was eerie. 
Nat: that’s my man 😍
Finn: weirdos. I’ll let you know when Alice is back ❤️
Nat: 😜🏳️‍🌈💖🙏🏻🌍😇
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littlefoxwithbighat · 4 years
Text
Hi! This is talking about the plot of the dream smp in a meta sense and its a bit negative. The person behind this blog wants to remind you that you can skip if it's not for you and they still love the SMP. :)
ALL DISCUSSION IS ABOUT CHARACTERS. DON'T ATTACK CCS OR I WILL STEAL YOUR KNEECAPS.
I can't lie; I'm really annoyed and worried at the way the writers are handling Tommys character at the moment, and am increasingly concerned about it messing up the plot.
I wasn't very happy with the finale. I don't think that means all is lost, I think they can pull it back but it's going to take some work. I was worried about the way that things were handled before but the green festival was actually very well handled, so my worries were mostly assuaged. But yesterday? I don't know.
The fact nobody lost a cannon death is kind of disappointing. The weight of blowing up an entire city/ (country?) brutally is somewhat lost if there is no human loss. Nobody was hurt physically and the only people this had a big mental impact on was Tommy and Tubbo, everyone else wasn't very attached to L'manburg or had gone rogue, or were detatched from the while situation. And maybe it's the fact it's happened to them before or that they still have each other or that it seems odd/ frustrating that they still care so much about this place or that it was always a losing battle and they knew it, but I dont find myself really pitying them like I probably should. And I think that comes down to character growth or lack thereof, which I'll discuss later.
Niki and Fundy have started a villain arc, or at least a violent nihilism arc, and I actually don't mind it, in fact I'm a fan but it wasnt really foreshadowed, or really just showing them cracking as much as it should have been. I would guess this has mostly been started for both of them to tie Niki into the plot and I can't blame her for wanting that. Fundys acting is very good, and I REALLY hope the writers handle this well. For Fundy, regarding the fact that his father is going to be resurrected and that Fundy is following in his footsteps... If the writers don't realise that connection and make this a big step in Fundys narrative I will scream. Also Funboo bros are very interesting character foils and I hope their relationship is maintained so that they can play of off each other and also man I just really want them to keep being friends, it's a generally positive healthy relationship that makes both characters sympathetic and we need that right now. As for Niki, her character motivations seem to be mostly centered around Tommy and on the one hand I'm like ehhhh, because Tommy's character already gets a disproportionate amount of attention in terms of narrative, and I get it, but recently he's been a bit TOO much of the protagonist for a multi-person POV improve server... and I'm apprehensive. However on the other hand this has potential for a nice confrontation between Tommy and Niki. If that happens I want Tommy to be aware that this is going to happen and not talk over Niki, and I don't want it to be brushed over. I think it would be best if it was just the two of them. This also gives a nice chance for Tommy to examine his trauma with Dream and explain his motivations and Niki to get her anger out. I also want it to end positively, because it absolutely can and lack of communication when the viewer knows how to fix it is OK as a plot device sometimes but incredibly frustrating if it keeps happening (cough, Tommy and Techno).
Ranboo is reacting to the plot amazingly and I have as usual only praise for him, go, you funky enderman boy, go.
Wilbur is getting resurrected which is a thousand percent because Will wants the plot back and honestly I don't really mind, I think he'll do a good job. However I really hope he speaks to everybody about their characters, particularly Fundy, Ranboo and Niki because I don't want their characterisation and arcs to be thrown away.
Tubbo is doing very well, and I don't have many complaints to be honest. I hope he continues to get in with the acting with no shame, because he's an amazing VA when he wants to be, but sometimes he undercuts serious moments a little too much by laughing. Same criticism for Phil actually. But both are doing good.
On the theme of that, while I don't mind tension relievers or humour in serious moments there are sometimes too many. It was a lot worse about a month back and it was improving, but it seems to be creeping back in and ehhh. It's kind of Marvel-esque and not in a good way? I think it has a lot to do with bloopers and for some reason there are loads at the moment? Like Wilburs arc had almost none and this arc there's at least 2 every moment. Which isn't always their fault but maybe they need to take more steps to prevent them.
Techno is doing OK, he's quite a meta character so I'm not too mad about him undercutting serious moments but sometimes he does do it too much or in the wrong place. Like making jokes about Connor completely over the top of Tommy and Tubbos reunion, you know an event which has been foreshadowed for yoinks, prevented them from getting a proper flow going and kind of ruined it. And that made the reunion really dissapointing, which is a shame because it could have been so cool. However his characterisation is consistent and dedicated, his goals and relationships are clear and he's getting humanised more which is nice, and his monologues are great. I'm curious to see what he does now NL'M is gone but I have total faith in him.
Now Tommy. Oh Tommy. His character is such a mess at the moment, which is a shame because there were moments I saw people doubting his character choices and I was behind him.
Firstly the relationship with Techno fell apart. That was inevitable. Tommy didn't care about anarchy and Techno didn't care about the discs and both of their goals would impede the others. But the way Tommy talks about Techno is so... No? And now I understand that Tommy is going to have a biased perspective on the whole situation, and that's fine and good, but his character is so wrong about Techno it feels weird and painful? Like even from his perspective it went down differently to how he talks about it. They don't listen to each other and it's like watching two people scream at a wall.
The issue is the relationship was fairly well developed. I struggle to see Tommy saying he saw Techno as a friend but Techno never saw him as a friend because hold on, what? Techno, here's a respiration helmet because of that one of thing you told me about your trauma, a disc because those make you happy, plus top tier armour and weaponry, plus I'm going to spend time with you, calm you down from panic attacks, hide you and protect you from Dream, let you wander around L'manburg and achieve your own goals and help you plan things out Techno and Tommy didn't get ANYTHING from that? Plus after Techno opens up about his goals and his trauma, do the one thing that would hurt him the most, (use and then betray him) and then directly oppose his goals after he helped me? Ugh. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I know he would never let Tubbo get hurt and thats fine, but there were ways around that. If you're framing this character as the protagonist, then he needs to be sympathetic or at least grow and Tommy using Techno again without remorse and then refusing to listen to his perspective or show any gratitude for anything makes it difficult for viewers to empathise with him in my opinion. Have him betray Techno and then listen to Techno when he explains why Tommys betrayal hurt him and apologise, fine. Have him listen to Techno and try and find a way to keep Tubbo safe regardless, fine. Have him betray Techno but apologetically and still trying to avoid Techo getting crushed or killed, fine. But THIS? Im sympathetic towards Tommys character but this throws away so much potential character development for Tommy, where at least he saw Techno as a person, and not only that but a nice person who despite everything has set aside everything to help him? And then for him to be exactly where he was at the end of season 1, both literally, and emotionally ? I understand this is a child soldier with trauma but this is supposed to be our protagonist and if he doesn't grow, and isn't sympathetic and destroys someone we care about, how can we root for him?
Now all of this could be forgivable, not great, but forgivable, if Tommy had moved on from the discs. The Goddamn Discs™. And the worse part is all the dominoes were lined up to suggest he had! We had his moment of "he watched me" where he realised Dream was the villain and controlling him, "I've become worse than everyone I hated" good, amazing, I see where this is going, "The discs were worth more than you ever were!" and then he retracts and apologises and you think horray! Tommy has realised the discs were being used to control him and if he doesn't care about them, they hold no value! Now he's going to realise that his friends are more important and he's going to stop going after the discs. His new character motivation can be killing Dream and protecting his friends, especially Tubbo. It's clearly angled this way, and this way the plot progresses and Tommy with it. What marvellous character development. Look at him go.
And THEN, after everything that's happened he says the most important thing is the disc and I want them back!?!? EH !!? Why... Who... Who gave the OK on that writing decision? That's so static and boring and unsympathetic! And then he's back to asking people do fight for L'manburg? What?
I'll be honest I was kind go hoping either Tommy or Tubbo would die with L'manburg. I didn't mind it they didn't, there are a thousand ways to make the plot work without them dying, but this was not a great one.
PLEASE let Tommy have some growth. Yes he's had some from not caring about L'manburg to fighting for it in season one, but that was ages ago and he doesnt seem to have changed since then in any way that really counts. And I know this is harsh and he's traumatised but you have to understand I am talking about this in a sense of characters and narrative and NOT in terms of real life. Tommy needs to be better and dynamic because he is a charcacter and I want him to be a good one.
Having said all that, here are my thoughts on the future of the SMP.
Firstly, I am worried that becuse it is such a good source of content, especially for Tommy that they will never ever kill his character and leave him fighting with Dream for eternity. And I love the Dream SMP but I've seen stories that get dragged out for plot or content, and however much you think you want it to never end, let me tell you, yes you do. It will get stale and repetitive and I want the dream smp, or at least Tommys arc to go out with a beautiful and brilliant and fabulous plot ending instead of being dragged into the dirt. And then maybe new characters take the spotlight. Just please god give it a goode ending.
I also really hope they don't throw other things away to make Tommy the centre of attention, especially if it's destructive to the plot, or kind of weird and obnoxious.
Secondly, I am intrigued about the prison and Schlatts book to Dream and Technos favour and the egg and what that entails and I hope they really think through those plot points carefully and make them work, and don't forget them or throw them away.
Thirdly, I am intrigued for Wilburs return and hope that he manages to fix it cohesively without too crazy a change of pace and style and keeping characters (especially Ranboo and Fundy and Niki) consistent.
I hope they prep for the future and think things thought and communicate with each other.
It might be interesting to see other countries finally discussed but I don't know how much that would intefere with other plot points so we'll see.
That's all! Reminder that this is about characters and plot and this is just a few criticisms. I love the dream smp, but there are somethings I wanted to get of my chest. Please be respectful and feel free to discuss in the notes. Also, again, no hate to any CCs!
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h0neyjaehyun · 4 years
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☁︎ 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 ☁︎
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Summary // Tali finally meets dream outside of training, in the first day of school.
Characters // Tali Flores + Haechan Lee + Jeno Lee + Mark Lee + Na Jaemin + Bang Chan ( ft. Allen, Song-ho, Karma )
Era / Year // August 2014
Word Count //
⚠️ Warning ⚠️ //mention of Drunk, and Slight suggestion of bullying
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"TALIA WAKE UP!" Chan yelled knocking at her door vigorously.
"IM AWAKE IM ALMOST DONE CHRISTOPHER WAIT!" She yelled putting her notebook in her bag and going through the door. Her brother went out of town for a photoshoot and Chan was left to pick her up her brother not wanting her to go on the bus alone with a bunch of creeps.
"Im here im here lets go." She said grabbing Chans arm and dragging him out the door while Chan was trying to grab his sandwich he was making for himself.
"Okay okay." He said getting in the drivers seat, and Tali got in the other side. He drove them to school.
"So how is training going?" He asked while waiting for the red light to turn green
"Its going okay so far, I've made some friends." She said, looking out the window, she's only really made guy friends and can't really relate to the shopping and gossip the girls have but has made a couple. But she has had made friends in Jyp girls because of Chan like Sana, which she was glad. But mostly guys.
"Thats good, no one is picking on you right?" Chan said sensing something off.
"No, no one." She said, which was true but not? Many girls like Jaemin and Jeno and wanted Tali to stay away since there's not doubt she is pretty, so they would make side comments but nothing much so far.
"Yeah, in that case I'm going to visit and pick you up...." Chan then looked at her straight in the eye.
"Personally." He said in a monotone voice.
"Nooooo-"
"Yessss, Butterfly, I care for you, and want you safe. And I know how you are with telling me this stuff." He said parking, she smiled at the nickname she has picked up. He turned to her and huffed.
"And you may be good at lying...but not to me." He said ruffling her hair. She sighed.
"You are to good Christopher...to good." She continued while steping out the car.
"Yeah yeah go, I have an early class, see you later." He said running off, she shook her head at him while walking to the library to grab a book and go to the roof to read.
She went to the library smiling to the people she makes eye contact with. She got to the library but not before catching a familiar guy's eye. Tali walked down the isle looking at fantasy books, when she felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned around making eye contact with a cute boy with an eye smile.
"Oh- hi Jeno." She whispered, since it is a library. He giggled now realizing he is in a library.
"Hi Talia, how are you?" He smiled at her.
"Im doing good, but uh what brings you to the library? No offense its just...you don't seem like the reader." Shs said turning slightly looking over at the books still on her goal it grab a book.
"Well, you're not wrong totally wrong, but I saw you and I haven't seen you outside of training much so I thought we could start hanging out more?" He said scratching the back of his head. Tali smiled at him.
"Of course...wait are the other guys here?" She asked realizing he is probably not alone. He nodded and grabbed her hand about to take her to them.
"Ah wait-"
"Hm?"
She grabbed a book she like, jogged to the check out section with Jeno slowly following her, chuckling.
"Okay, now we can go." She said, he nodded and walked ahead of her and she followed with her book close to her chest.
They turned a corner to see Mark, Jaemin, Haechan hanging out on the window.
"Hey guys look who I found." Jeno said getting everyone's attention. Jaemin reacted first.
"HI Taliii." He said with a big smile on his face going for a hug which she recuperated.
"Hi Jaemin... Hi guys." She giggled.
"Hi Talia." The other two smiled at her.
"Your a first year right?" Mark asked. Talia nodded.
"Ah so you are with us, Haechan said bringing his arm around Jeno."
"What class do you have?" Jaemin asked.
"Mr.Gwon" She said looking at her phone.
"Oh nice I have Mr.Gwon too." Haechan said smiling at her.
"Thats good."
"Hey Tali do you want to have lunch with us?" Jaemin asked.
"Ah sorry I-"
"TALIIII" They turned to the loud voice to see couple quite popular students which are Allen, Karma, and Hyunjin. They were surprised at the calling of her name while she winced at the sound.
"Sorry, I'm gonna eat with a couple of friends, but how about tomorrow?" She asked trying to make a compromise.
"No yeah thats fine." Mark smiled at her .
"Ah ok-"
"TALI HURRY UP.!"
"IM GOING!" She smiled apologetically and ran to the group while waving bye at the boys.
"Hyung she knows them?" Jeno asked Mark, and Mark shrugged.
"Yeah she does." A voice said coming out of no where, they turned to see Daehwi. They smiled at him and he smiled back.
"How so?" Haechan asked, he knew those 3 were popular but how do they know Talia since she seems so reserved and doesn't have that much confidence to talk to people, how would she talk to the popular students.
"You know Aruem?" He asked them, they all nodded.
"Well thats Talia." All their eyes widen.
"Wait so you are telling me, Tali is Aruem...like the girl who can charm many guys without even trying?" Haechan asked in disbelief, yeah sure Talia was pretty but he didn't think Talia was popular, or the girl the students named Aruem. Aruem is like a Korean name that the males in the school picked for her since she is pretty.
Daehwi nodded.
"But I heard rumors that she was stuck up and stuff but then the guys are like she is such a sweetheart?" Mark said confused.
"No she is a sweetheart, its just some girls are jealous." Daehwi clarified. The made :0 faces, thinking it did make sense since they do see Tali helping people so why would she be stuck up.
Time pasted and it was now lunch time, they saw Tali walk over to some of the popular students with some older guys that messed up her hair.
"Hyung?" Mark looked at Haechan and hummed.
"Do you think we will be that close to Tali?" He asked in wonder. Marked looked at Tali then him.
"I hope so." After awhile they talked amongst themselves, while with Tali she excused herself wanting to talk to the boys so they know she does want to be friends and also to show Chan she has friends. She walked over and sat next to Mark, he looked at her with a surprise look.
"What? Is there something on my face?" She asked. He shook his head no.
"I just wasnt expecting you to come over since you are quite popular." He said with a matter a fact tone. She shook her head.
"I personally don't care if I'm popular, I'm only popular because of my looks I acknowledge that but doesn't mean I dont want to hang out with my friends." She said softly putting her head on her crossed arms on the table. Everyone in that table went soft for her since her cheeks were squished like a she was a little puppy.
"We are your friends?" Jaemin asked.
"Well, I hope so." Talis said with a little fear they didn'twant to be. Thats until they smiled with glee, she felt relief wash over her.
"Looks like Aruem over here made herself some friends." She froze at the voice and groaned.
Allen came up from behind and wrapped his arm around her shoulder looking at the boys observing. He came over because he just wanted to see if the boys wanted be her friends, or just because she is pretty since many guys do and want to take advantage of her kindness.
"Hello my name is Allen very nice to meet you guys, but I have to take this beauty away and pick up our friend from middle school." He said slowly dragging taking Talia to the exit, she waved bye at them smiling apologetically as they waved bye back.
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"How can you be friends with her, oppa?" Heejin asked as she walked up to the boys with her four minions friends in the hallway. Heejin was always a bully and tried to bring Tali down since she was popular for her looks. The girl was jealous, but most people in the school / grade knew Tali as a sweet person, so they took what she said like a grain of salt.
"Who?" Jeno asked raising an eyebrow at her knowing her reputation.
"Talia, the girl who sat next to Mark oppa." She said, disarmingly sweet. Mark grimaced at the act.
"What do you mean by why we are friends with her?" Haechan asked, observing her and remembering what Daewhi said about girls being jealous.
"Well she is such a bitch outside of school, especially in practice room. She is so stuck up." She said with a matter of fact tone, but with a high pitched voice. Jaemin looked at her with a grimace face getting annoyed at her nice act.
"Really?" Mark asked knowing damn well thats not true since some girls that are not jealous of her and befriended her told the guys she is really shy and sweet.
"Yes, she always made rumors about me and-" was cut off when Chan and Song-ho turned the corner raise their eyebrows at them.
"Would you like to finish that?" Chan asked.
"Oppa, its not what it looks like I would never-"
"Shut up, please you always talk bad about her but most of the students that know her know its not true, and you are just telling them because they don't come to school a lot because of training and don't know her." Song-ho glared at her. She was speechless, embarrassment filled her. She made a fist and glared at Song-ho and walked away with her minions friends.
"Sorry you had to hear that." Chan said changing up his whole demeanor walking up to them.
"Its fine we know its not true." Haechan smiled at them.
"Good, Talia is a sweet girl, she likes to talk about you guys and how she hopes to be good friends." Song-ho said with a reassuring smile.
"Really?" Jaemin asked surprised.
"Yeah, but we gotta go, see yea." Chan said quickly looking at his phone, they walked away quickly. Song-ho looked at him weird.
"Aye,whats wrong?" He said worried.
"It's Talia's dad." He said getting in his car.
"He's drunk again."
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sanstropfremir · 3 years
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it’s the episode 8 review!!! how many episodes is this show supposed to even be?
the stages from the episode feel like such a grab bag.... i still don’t understand why they didn’t put all the skill stages together, and then did the normal two episodes of the third round. i guess it makes sense that they didn’t want to have six stages in one episode and then three in the other two, but eh. 
feeling kinda average on these as a whole, there’s a lot of good elements going on here but probably because of my own preferences (i don’t listen to ballads or blackpink) none of them really hit all the buttons. hopefully this will be a shorter review because i'm only going to do a quick rundown of the vocal stages; i dont really have that much to say about them because they are (intentionally) not very stage picture focused. i'll do the normal stage breakdowns for the other two though, even though i won’t rank them because we still need to see the other four!
vocal stages
sf9 + tbz + ikon
not much to say here other than wow, that’s RED. glad to see some more specific use of spotlighting and i always love when they light things on fire. i do wish they had fill lit with a brighter amber so we could actually get a bit more detail on their faces, especially because there’s six of them. i appreciated the simple blocking and only using one of the ‘stages,’ this stage didn’t need to be anything complicated and it wasn’t. i don’t love spinning camera shots because they make me a bit ill, and i'll forgive the constant cutting because it's a vocal stage and there isn’t any other real movement that we should be paying attention to. not my favourite of the two, i found it visually a bit too repetitive and complex at the same time. always love a crushed velvet suit though, so bonus points for that.
atz + skz + btob
i was braced for the worst and i dont know what kind of miracle happened but it was listenable! like i said, not a ballad fan but i could listen to eunkwang all day. i love a good plinth for a ballad stage, they’re one of my favourite devices in kpop design and i especially love it with a good groundlevel fog. glad they kept it black and white for the first half of the stage, it was in line with the blooming flower projections, and it made a very clear colour arc. they kept the visuals clean and simple with very little blocking at all, a very smart choice for this stage. not sure why they decided it would be the chanel time stage, which i disapprove of because i don’t like chanel, but i do love eunkwang’s shirt with the cameo buttons and the massive turnback cuffs, very 17th and also 19th century. i know they never do it because they dont read on stage normally but yes absolutely more thin chain pendant chokers on men, thank you! i also liked that there was emphasis on a more traditional lighting scheme, there weren't any crazy concert effects, just some good directional beam spotlights and the rear stacks in the climax. 
third round stages
ikon
costume
the first look for them is definitely my fabourite of theirs so far. there’s enough variation in the jackets that the base layer of tshirt and jeans don’t look too repetitive. and i do love a good statement jacket. my favourite is probably donghyuk’s because i'm a sucker for fringe always.
i don’t like the backup dancers costumes, but given the way i’ve reacted to every other all black outfit for this entire show i don’t think anyone was surprised about that. these ones particularly irk me because they’re very matte; there's pretty much no texture or pattern differentials to define the shape of the limb, which makes them disappear when theyre all grouped together (mostly on the women). i think they probably were intending to make a statement/emphasis on the hands because of the sleeve cutoff point, but there were so many arm movements that were just totally missed because the costumes were just black voids. most egregious parts are here, with the female dancers up center. i can barely tell what the movements are unless i’m paying specific attention to them because there's so many black shapes. maybe it was the point for it to be an indiscernable writhing mass, but it wasn’t my vibe.
don’t love this styling on lisa. i hate peeptoe shoes in general but peeptoe boots are the worst offenders. they make you look like you have duck feet, no matter who you are. especially with a flat cutout like that. a universally unflattering shoe, and i would know, i worked in a shoe store for two years. this whole look is just pg-13 rihanna cfda awards 2014 and really nobody should try to run up against rihanna.
also i have to mention this because it’s actually really bothering me, but lisa’s backup dancers are serving very allgemeine ss looks and i do not like it. generally when we see ‘military’ uniforms in kpop theyre usually modelled off older styles (pre wwii) of western uniforms that usually aren’t in circulation, and they’re usually non-matching and embellished in ways that are deliberately not military. i know logically that it's a budget constraint+they’re backup dancers+current trend thing but the clean lines with only button detailing and the all black and that specific harness shape? it hit my brain the wrong way. i mean, technically those uniforms are designer because hugo boss did them, but the uh..... girlboss move didn’t land for me.
this is my PERSONAL OPINION please for the love of all that is holy do not come yelling at me about this. it’s all under a cut, you chose to read the post.
set
very glad to see some busy kitschy sets! this is a massive build, since there’s essentially three full sets here: the temple, the jungle, and the first tiny room. and all of them are very heavily decorated. 
the starting room is just five walls on casters (wheels), that have been set into place with the cameraman and ikon inside at the start, and then once they exit the walls can be easily struck and rolled off set. simple, smart, and convenient!
i missed it the first couple times around but glitching out the projections in the temple for a split second was a neat little trick.
the silver and polygonal nature of the tiger/panther/cat(?) head is a bit disconnected from the gold and the aesthetic of the rest of the stage for me. the difference between the original room set and the jungle tracks, but the cat head isnt able to make the same leap for me. i'm also not a fan of mixing metals so maybe that’s why.
the tiger/panther/cat(?) head is a fun physical transitional device; i'm a big fan of tunnels and small transitory spaces like that and if they’re well dressed like this one they do so much for establishing place and mood.
i'm very sure i’ve seen this style of polygonal animal head with laser eyes before....i cannot for the life of me remember where or for what. i know wang yibo did a panther stage for sdc3 that had a human formation panther with green laser eyes, i wonder if i'm just crossing wires.
OH nevermind it’s because it looks like the witcher medallion. wires were definitely crossed.
lighting
using purple/teal lighting for the jungle was a smart choice because purple is the direct compliment to the gold and also is much more flattering on humans than green. green is one of the colours that humans can see the most variations in, so when something is green when it's not supposed to be (like human skin), we register that very quickly and associate it with unease and sickness. you know how old fluorescent lights have that greenish tinge that kinda makes you feel ill? it's your cone cells and your brain recognizing that you’re looking at things that are not supposed to be green.
very clean colour arc, i love to see it.
sound
it’s.....fine? i don’t listen to blackpink and have no opinions on their music other than it's not my type. i dont really know what the thematic connection to the visuals is, which is not strictly necessary in a lot of cases, but i don’t particularly care for the conflation of ‘savage’ and a (presumably) precolonial religion that’s assembled from stereotypes of real colonized cultures. you can come at me about how ‘it's not that deep’ all you want but i am here specifically doing an in depth analysis, and i gotta point it out. i'm not here to pass judgement on you if you didn’t realize or don’t care or whatever, i'm just saying that it's important to consume content with a critical eye. what you do with that information is your own personal choice, but you should be aware of it at least. 
staging
they took a big risk eating popcorn right before singing, and we definitely got some residual mouth noises of them trying to clean out their teeth. eating on stage is difficult in general because you have to make sure it's not going to dry out the performers mouths, because they dont have access to water and it takes WAY longer to chew and swallow something than you would expect. there’s a LOT of testing that goes into making stage food and guaranteed it’s not made out of what it looks like or what its supposed to be; i worked on a production of amadeus were we did literal weeks of testing amalgams of different desserts to make sure that salieri could actually eat the ones onstage without totally drying him out, because fun fact about that show, salieri doesnt leave stage like, at all, so there was no way to get him water. poor bloke.
i thought the blocking of this was really smart. the long take from the ‘normal’ room and transition into the jungle was super slick, even if that weird circle the camera did while pointed up at the ceiling was unnecessary and pointless.
bobby’s ‘acting’ was extremely funny and that’s the only way people are allowed to act surprised now. edvard munsch scream style only.
the pacing is a bit off and this time it wasn’t mnet’s editing that fucked it up. as fun as it is to have a feature, clearly she wasn’t allowed within proximity of the rest of them for covid or other yg related reasons, but it made for some extremely long transitions, especially the one out of her verse. it kills the momentum of the stage in that beat, even though they manage to pick it up after.
this is a very simple little narrative arc that’s easy to follow and doesn’t require any extra explaining. which is exactly the kind of arc that groups should be doing at this stage in the game. this is a good formic step up for ikon!
i thought the turning off of the monitor at the end was fun and a good callback to them watching the videos at the beginning of the stage. a nice clean way to make it circular.
skz
costume
FINALLY something different on the skz boys! these were mostly fun eboy looks for them, and i like it on the basis that it's not the same as the last set of costumes.
bang chan out there with his thigh OUT and a (fake) bridge piercing? LOVE to see it. great work.
(copy-paste every thing i’ve said about backup dancers wearing all black)
the backup dancers that were dressed as bystanders/extras were great! they should have kept that with all of them because it would have given a little more shape to the choreography and establishing what function the backup dancers were supposed to have.
set
that is meant to be a giant rice cooker on stage, right? i think so because it's a god’s menu mashup? if that's not a rice cooker i have NO idea what its supposed to be
there’s only two large setpieces here, which was a smart way to go. i LOVE the subway car doubling as the truck, even if the truck itself makes no narrative sense. what a fun way to double the use of a single big piece. you’ll be able to see the way it moves in the full cam but it splits down the centre and there entrance doors at the back with attached stairs that bang chan and the dancers use to climb up.
lighting
not a whole lot happening here. i like the cool white leds in the subway car and the contrast with the more warm tones of the outside, which is good atmospheric establishment, but i can't discern a visible arc. 
not a fan of these projections; they’re in line with what we’ve seen from skz so far, which is: extremely literal. i dont think they’re that distracting, but they’re not to my personal taste. they really should have kept the comic panel theme that they did for changbin’s first verse, because that was inventive and fun to watch! and a great atmospheric indicator! i would love to see a bit more experimental projection use but it's hard when they don’t have a lot of time to build these stages and the lighting team is definitely working remotely.
sound
i love that they made the choice to do some actual talking, it’s a good gimmick and it works for the deadpool/comic book/fourth wall break theme, but australian accents take me the fuck out i am so sorry i cannot listen to either felix or bang chan speak english without laughing uncontrollably. 
i don’t like this arrangement but i'm not surprised about that, given my predilections. i'm also tired of skz shouting STRAY KIDS in every performance they do. i know on music shows it's probably more relevant and yea producers tags are a thing but we’ve been watching this show for nearly two months at this point. we know who you are, you can stop yelling. be more creative with it!
staging
my biggest issue with this stage is that it doesn’t have a payoff. there is an arc here: they’re stealing the truck, but why are they stealing the truck? who are they stealing it from? who are they fighting against? it's kind of important in a stage where the theme is stealing and fighting someone that you tell us who that is. in both of ateez’s previous stages were they were both stealing (rhythm ta) and fighting (wonderland), they made sure to show us who the villain was. there needs to be tension for a big blowup climax to actually pay off. whether it be against a a balloon arm kraken or a fascist government. this stage could have reached that next step if they’d just done a little bit more exposition. 
there were a lot of fun choreo moments here, and this is probably my favourite choreo of theirs so far. i thought the whole first bit in the subway car was excellent and a very fun play on those viral videos that we used to see roll around every so often of dancers doing routines in subway cars.
did it need the guns? not in the slightest. more on this point later. i could talk more about weapons and weight here, but i’ve done that several times already.
like with the tbz game of thrones stages, theyre relying a little too much on the audience's preconceptions of the source material in order to carry the theme. the guns are there because deadpool likes guns, but they don’t actually use the guns for anything? the most we get of the stealing segment is felix and the safe, which admittedly is a great bit with him leaping over and under the ‘laser’ lines (theyre likely led strips). because comic books are by nature procedural and deeply tied to narrative, it's unsatisfying when there’s no tension and no payoff.
HOW did we manage to get two stages that are blackpink covers with remote/tv static gimmick and durags? i know the slot machine of kpop tropes is not very big but surely the probability of hitting triple sevens on this one was pretty low. i’m pretty meh on both of these stages overall. skz was unsatisfying but i loved the choreo in the subway bit so that bumped it up a little ahead of ikon’s in my personal preferences, but i'm reserving my actual rankings for next week. assuming we get the other four stages next week and they dont do something stupid and only show two. which they very well might. i’ve stopped trying to understand why mnet does things the way that they do. 
as always the ask box is open, drop your comments/questions/personal opinions, i love to hear ‘em! but don’t be rude just because some of this is touchier subject material.
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