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murdockparker · 8 months ago

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Paralyzed

Steve Harrington x Reader

Summary: She walked in on a Friday afternoon. Steve needed nothing more than to get to know her--if only he could find it in himself to speak to her.

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: just pure fluff, mentions of murder (but not frfr)

A/N: no this isn't based on a big time rush song you're crazy anyway!! I think this is my first real Steve fic? The first real one I got around to posting I guess. Cheers!

It was a Friday afternoon.

Correction, it was a terribly busy Friday afternoon. Family Video was seemingly the place to be, people swarming the building in hopes of renting new releases for their perspective weekends. Steve usually loathed his Friday shifts for this exact reason, countless questions about the new tapes, a dozen or so mothers berating him when a certain movie is out of stock—as if Steve Harrington himself is the reason behind the madness.

But, this afternoon was different.

This afternoon she walked in.

He had enough of the madness, leaving Robin all alone to deal with the wolves for a mere five minutes—he needed to get out of there. With his head in his hands, he sat on an unopened box filled to the brim with different assortments of candy—candy he needed to stock sometime today, a fact he surely couldn’t have forgotten even if he tried. Only two minutes into his escape, Robin came bounding in the backroom, a wild look grazing her eyes.

“Steve,” she nearly panted. “You gotta take over for a minute. This woman is just—ugh—not taking no for an answer! I told her we don’t have The Breakfast Club in stock, but oh no, why trust the employee who rented all ten copies earlier today? Huh? How about we give the girl who makes a little over three bucks an hour a hard fucking time!” Robin was rambling at this point, the words falling deaf on Steve’s ears.

“Robs,” Steve groaned, finally looking up at his friend. “Give me another minute, I have a nasty headache—”

“Me too, Harrington,” Robin sighed, plopping down on the box next to him. “Her name’s probably Debra and she’s a beast in fake leopard print.”

Steve snorted with laughter. “Fine, I’ll head back out there,” he stood up, dramatically dusting off his jeans. “I just don’t know why the hell our help wanted sign hasn’t brought in more folks, we’re dying out here.”

“No one wants to work for Keith,” Robin said simply.

“Damn straight,” Steve pointed, pushing his way back onto the sales floor. The leopard printed demon was nowhere to be seen, much to Steve’s utter relief—he didn’t have the energy to fight her off anyway. Finding his way behind the counter, the doorbell rang out, a pavlovian response nearly spilled from Steve’s lips. “Welcome to Family Vid—”

His heart stopped.

She was gorgeous, like she just stepped out of a magazine ad—the one’s his mom bought, not the trashy shit they sell down at the gas station. Sunglasses adorned her temple like a crown, her hair perfectly falling around the pink lenses. Steve didn’t know what to say, it felt as if he simultaneously forgot all the words in the English language and stuffed seventeen Saltines in his mouth—he was tongue tied.

“Uh, hi,” the girl said softly, waving towards the frozen spectacle behind the counter. “I saw you have a help wanted sign outside?”

Steve could only nod, making a good effort to keep his jaw from falling on the floor.

“Well,” she smiled, the kind that would make babies giggle at the sight, “I just moved here and sorta need a job so…” A resume was placed on the counter before him. It looked professional—way more than what Family Video could ever hope to ask for from an applicant, anyway. Steve couldn’t stop reading it. She was literally an angel, an answer to his very prayers��every one of them. If he had the power to hire her on the spot, he’d be tossing her a green vest from the back without a second thought. Part of him was cursing the fact Keith wasn’t here to interview her this very second, he needed to get to know this girl.

“I-I…” Steve tried to speak, feeling his cheeks grow inflamed with embarrassment. He wasn’t used to being so… foolish around a girl.

“Steve, is it?”

She knew his name.

Of course he knew she read it off his name tag, he wasn’t that thick, but hearing it come straight from her lips? He could have melted directly into the floor and no one could have stopped him.

“Yeah, this doofus here’s Steve, I’m Robin,” Robin appeared by his side, seemingly in the knick of time. “Don’t worry about him, we’re getting him the help he needs.”

The mystery girl giggled. “Ah, I see.”

“You want to apply here?” Robin asked, prying the resume from Steve’s—reluctant—hands. “Oh thank God, we’re dying for more bodies around here.”

“I love movies,” she explained quickly, noting how intently Robin was reading over her simple paper. “A-and I used to work at a movie theater back home before moving here, so I know a lot about the recent releases—”

“I’m gonna be honest,” Robin said, leaning onto the counter, voice dripping with secrecy. “You’re probably too good for this place, I mean, way too good for this shit-hole—”

“I need a job,” she repeated, almost desperately. “My folks forced me to move here and I’m trying to save up to get my own place back in Chicago, I’m not built for this small-town bullshit.”

This made Robin explode with laughter and Steve shrivel in despair. She had an expiration date—a way out of Hawkins.

“Well, I’ll make sure to pass this off to our manager—with a glowing recommendation, of course,” Robin winked.

“I appreciate it!” She smiled again, the sight nearly had Steve wishing he had his own pair of sunglasses to wear—it was blinding. “Well, I hope to see you guys around?”

“We’ll be here!” Robin called out, watching the girl walk back towards the door and out towards her car. A hand smacked across Steve’s bicep.

“Hey!” He finally responded, rubbing the aforementioned spot. “What the hell?”

“I should bring that whiteboard out of retirement,” Robin arched her brow. “You’re positively hopeless, Steve Harrington. What the fuck was that all about?”

“I don’t know, Robs,” Steve sighed. “She was just—I didn’t even know what to say!”

“Clearly,” she snorted. “You looked like a gaping trout—”

“I did not—”

“This was worse than the girl who asked for a Mint-Choco Deluxe and you handed her a straight scoop of ice cream—no cone. I had to practically chase her out with a stack of napkins and a thousand apologies.”

Steve cringed at the memory. “Maybe…”

“When Keith hires her—and you know he’s gonna—you better get your act together. I don’t wanna deal with…this every day.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve waved. “Sure.”

And deal with it, she did.

(Y/N) was her name, Steve had the pleasure of unpacking her new name tag for her first day. He almost wanted to keep it, but figured it would make him look like a crazed lunatic. Patiently, he waited by the front door, hoping to see her pull up in her car, ready and rearing for her first day on the job. Steve begged Robin to allow him the pleasure of training her, given he could somehow speak in her presence, of course. She simply rolled her eyes and agreed to the shift exchange.

A shiny, cherry-red BMW peeled into the lot—Steve noted it looked awfully familiar to his own car, minus the color of course. It seemed a bit out of place in a small town like Hawkins, but the car had suited her just fine. Everything about her suited her kindly, Steve had noticed, especially the clothing she wore. Family Video was no place for a fashion show, Steve could attest to that himself, but with the way she was practically strutting towards the doors? The parking lot was her runway and he was begging to see more.

“Good morning!” (Y/N) greeted cheerfully, pushing the glass door open wide.

“Morning,” Steve managed to squeak out. He pushed the unflattering green vest towards her. “Your uniform.” She easily slipped the fabric over her own shirt, the stark whiteness of her blouse really made the green pop.

“Well?” She spun around, twirling like a princess. “Do I look the part?”

Steve could only nod.

“So what’s the first thing on the agenda? Do y’all have a time clock?”

Steve nodded again, pointing his thumb towards the break room.

“Ok..ay…” She said quietly, walking in the direction she was given.

He could cry—it was so pathetic. The way this girl had him so worked up? How was he expected to train her? No, forget training her, how was he supposed to even talk to her? Steve had been in pickles before, but this one took the cake.

“So you just… don’t speak then?”

She had managed to sneak up behind Steve, who had clearly been deep in thought. Her angelic voice alone made him jump.

“I-I speak,” Steve explained. “I just… have a lot on my plate currently, s’all.”

“I’m sure working at the Family Video is real hard work, superstar,” she giggled, jumping up onto the countertop. “But I’m glad I don’t have to understand your training through charades."

“I’m pretty good at charades,” Steve said, crossing his arms. “O-or so I’m told…”

“I’ll take your word for it,” she smiled. “But seriously, I really thought you just didn’t want to talk to me or something.”

That couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

“So… I should probably show you the computer system for rentals,” Steve tried changing the subject—poorly, but she graciously turned her attention to the computer she so-conveniently sat next to. “Y’know, because that’s like, the entire job.”

The girl leaned in, not daring to remove herself from the counter top, trying to see what Steve was clicking on.

“You seem tense,” she noticed.

“It takes me a while to get warmed up to new people,” he lied.

“What? Like a cat?”

“…exactly like a cat.”

“Well, Steve,” she hopped off the counter, “it’s a good thing I like cats.”

He tried his best to hide the redness flooding his cheeks.

She made Family Video more enjoyable, even after her first shift, Steve thought. He already liked the job enough, spending time with his best friend and getting paid for it was already a huge perk, but now that he got to know her? He might just keep this job forever.

Forever lasted only four months.

“Steve!”

He peeked his head over the horror aisle, finding (Y/N) staring at him expectantly from the front counter.

“Yes?”

“I’m dying over here,” she said dramatically, falling over on the countertop. “It’s so… boring.”

“It’s a Monday morning,” Steve said simply, commanding every fiber in his being to not shrug at the statement. “Mondays are usually boring around here.”

“Everything about Hawkins is boring,” she said, not lifting her face up from the counter. “How do you manage living in this God-forsaken town?”

“I don’t think everything is boring,” Steve scoffed, ignoring the rest of the tapes that needed to be put away. His feet were already leading him towards the counter, as if they had a mind of their own. “I mean, I doubt you’ve run through everything this town's got to offer?”

She lifted her head up from the counter, a red mark gracing her forehead. “In the last four months of living here? I think I have. Hell, the one cool place y’all could have had burned to the ground.”

Steve winced at the mention of StarCourt, the wounds still fresh. “It wasn’t that cool…”

“Fine,” (Y/N) propped herself up, head in her hands, “name one cool place in Hawkins.”

“Skull Rock.”

He doesn’t know why he said it.

“Skull Rock?”

“Uh, yeah,” Steve sheepishly said, hand finding the back of his neck quickly. “It’s the go-to for the coolest kids in Hawkins—made popular by yours truly.”

“And what exactly is Skull Rock?” Her arms were neatly crossed by the time he managed to look back at her.

A make-out spot.

“A-an… experience?” Steve squeaked, trying his best to sound cool. “It’s hard to explain, you just kinda gotta go and see for yourself.”

“Huh,” she tutted. “Why haven’t I heard of this Skull Rock until now? Certainly if it was as neat as you say it is I would’ve heard about it by now.”

“It’s underground,” Steve tried to convince her. “Not physically, I mean. It's above ground, I promise. Underground in the sense that only the cool kids know about it.”

She snorted. “Cool kids?”

“Y-yeah,” He tried to double down.

“As in, like, high schoolers?”

“Other people besides high schoolers can be cool kids, y’know,” Steve said, trying his best not to cough.

“Maybe I’ll ask Robin about it when she comes in—”

“I could take you?” Steve is quick to interject. “To Skull Rock, I mean. Tonight, if you’re free.”

A smile crept across her ruby red lips. “Like a date?”

“Pshht, no,” Steve waved. “Like a thing friends do! An activity of sorts.”

“Sounds like a date.”

“An activity,” Steve corrected, feeling queasy at the thought she may actually say yes.

As if mulling over her options for the evening, (Y/N) stared directly into Steve Harrington’s brown eyes, pinning him to the spot with such a glare. “Hm. Alright.”

“A-alright?”

“Do you think I have to change for this ‘activity’?” (Y/N) motioned her hands up and down her body, giving Steve actual permission to fully look at her. Her outfit was already sensible enough—she was here to work, after all—he didn’t ever see a reason for her to change.

“Maybe different shoes?” Steve offered, looking down at her feet, adorned with ruby red flats to match her lips.

“What sort of shoes do you recommend? These are my favorite flats.”

“Sneakers. Something you don’t mind getting dirty—”

“I don’t mind getting these dirty.”

“Something more suitable for the forest,” Steve amended. “Sticks, mud, poison ivy. Would hate for the tops of your feet to succumb to that bullshit.”

“Succumb,” (Y/N) repeated. “Big word.”

“Average word,” Steve mumbled, feeling only a tad bit embarrassed.

“Average is fine,” she shrugged. “I have sneakers in my car. We could go after work?”

—

Six o’clock couldn’t have come faster.

Steve had spent the last few hours of his shift trying to best plan his escape from Family Video—an escape that involved pulling (Y/N) into his car before Robin could tell her what Skull Rock really was. Thankfully, (Y/N) hadn’t had the mind to tell Robin what their plans were after work yet, but he knew it would come.

The minute hand finally ticked to the top of the clock. 6pm on the dot. Steve practically threw off his vest and ran to the wall clock to punch out.

“In a rush?” Robin asked.

“Something like that,” Steve said, not wanting to share much more.

“Well, enjoy yourself Rob!” (Y/N) nearly sang, now standing behind Steve waiting for her turn with the wall clock. “I left the counter nice and warm for you!”

“I know you meant that to sound endearing, but it just sounds gross,” Robin laughed, not even looking up from the book she had been reading. “Get out of here before Keith makes you both work overtime.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” (Y/N) said, pushing her pink sunglasses—which were housed in the tiny locker she used every day—onto her head. “Besides, we’ve got plans.”

“We?”

“Gotta go Robin!” Steve could only shout, pushing (Y/N) out of the small room in the back—it could hardly be called a break room. Containing a small T.V on the wall, a stack of lockers, a small fridge, quaint table and a broken microwave.

“Alright, weirdo,” (Y/N) laughed, “we made it outside.”

Steve hand only blinked, but she was right. Somehow he didn’t recall the jaunt from the break room to the front door, much less the fact they made it out to their cars. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” she laughed again, “oh.”

He was sure his face was the near same color as her lipstick—cherry red and probably emitting the heat of a thousand suns. “Are you gonna change your shoes?” Somehow he strung together a full sentence.

“Go start up your car, pretty boy,” (Y/N) said smoothly, “I’ll meet you in a second.”

Pretty boy.

Start up his car, he did. He fumbled through the few cassette tapes he stored in his glove box, eager to find one she’d like. Though a thought like this had crossed his mind a handful of times, he never thought she’d actually agree to go out with him. No, not go out, this wasn’t a date. Right?

She had called him pretty boy.

And he was planning on taking her to the unofficial make out spot of Hawkins.

Maybe it was a date.

“There!” (Y/N) exclaimed, sliding into his passenger seat, showing off her worn shoes. “My well-loved sneakers! Just like you requested. How I allowed you to talk me into going to a random forest is beyond me.”

Me too. Steve thought.

“You’re not going to murder me, right?”

“What!?” Steve had already begun driving to their destination, but her sudden question had him nearly swerving off the road. “No!”

“That’s what a murderer would say.”

“I—why would I…?” Steve was at a loss for words. “If I was going to murder you, don’t you think I’d admit to it at this point?”

“No,” she shrugged, crossing her legs. Her sneakers were red too—her favorite color, perhaps? “I assume you’d admit it right before you kill me, not in transit to the murder location.”

Steve could only laugh. “You confuse me.”

“You love me,” she admonished.

Maybe he did, and if he didn’t? He certainly could see himself, though, sooner than later.

It only took another fifteen minutes of driving to reach their destination, parking his beloved BMW in a spot he knew all too well—part of himself cringed that he could admit that, even to just himself. “We’re here.”

“I’m still not convinced you’re not going to murder me,” (Y/N) hummed, hopping out of the car, a spring in her step.

He couldn’t help but chuckle, popping his trunk to dig for a blanket he knew he had left behind for one reason or another. “Come on,” he ducked his head towards a clearing, “it’s this way.”

“You really have to start explaining the appeal, Harrington,” (Y/N) said, pushing past a rather suspicious looking bush, following closely behind Steve. “This trek is nothing to scoff at.”

“Do you trust me?”

“I thought the murder accusations already confirmed that I did not?”

“Yet you still got into a car with me,” Steve said.

“I still got into a car with you,” she repeated.

As if on cue, Skull Rock, in all of its glory, peeked through the brush and into view—thankfully with no one else around.

“We made it!” Steve exclaimed, nearly impressed he remembered how to get here. Quickly unfurling the blanket he grabbed, he sat on the ground. “Come on, I promise it’s clean.”

“Doubting that,” she said, still sitting beside him. “So, spill it, what makes this place so cool?”

Steve took a deep breath.

“I, uh, may have stretched the truth a bit?”

“How far?”

“Huh?”

“How far did you stretch the truth?”

“Not by much…”

“You’re sweating,” she pointed.

“No I’m not!” Steve said, trying his very best to not look down at his pits, afraid they were betraying him. Looking back up at the girl sitting beside him, her ruby lips were twisted in a wicked smirk. “You’re making fun of me.”

“Nah,” she said, almost sounding honest. “But I also know pretty well what goes on around this rock—sick as fuck, by the way, it really looks like a skull.”

“You know about Skull Rock?” He was nearly dejected, embarrassed, even.

“I do.”

“And you still came here with me?”

“If it meant I could spend some time with you outside of work? Sure,” she said with her brilliant smile. “Though, don’t expect any swapping of saliva.”

“Then why…?”

Her knees tucked under her chin, arms wrapped fully around them. “I don’t have many friends here. You and Robin kind of are it for me, at least, since I moved here. I figured I should try and spend time with y’all before I move again.”

Her big move. The one she was saving up for.

“Back to Chicago, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Though, it’s going to be a while until I do actually move. Who knew trying to rent your own apartment in a big city is stupid expensive? Wait—don’t answer that, that’s a stupid fucking observation.”

“It’s a bit silly,” he agreed, trying his best not to laugh. “But, yeah, way more expensive than Hawkins.”

The sun had begun to set, not that they could see it, through the trees and all, but the sky was now a warm orange. The kind of color that reminded Steve of summer, melted creamsicles and sweet memories.

“What’s in Chicago, anyway?” Steve finally asked, eyes glued to the sky. The question had been on the tip of his tongue since he met her. “I mean, I never really hear you talk much about it—only when you feel the need to dig at Hawkins.”

“It’s where I grew up,” she shrugged. “All of my friends are out there, my life is out there.”

“I mean, you did just say Robin and I were your friends?” He offered, leaning back on his hands.

She narrowed her gaze, pulling her head up from her knees ever-so-slightly. “Most of my friends are out there,” she corrected. “I just… my dad moved out here for work, a job he literally can’t tell us about—my mom is stuck being some bored housewife waiting every night for him to come home, slaving over a home cooked meal, and I’m just his failure of a daughter who works at a video store.”

Steve knows that feeling a bit too well.

“It doesn’t even have to be Chicago,” she chuckled, mostly to herself. “I just can’t stay here. My forward thinking mind is too big for this town. I figure, maybe in the city I can find myself, figure out what this planet has in store for me, you know?”

“I do.”

“You do?”

“I mean, I never had the thought to leave Hawkins,” Steve said, still looking up at the sky—darker now, but still orange. “Especially now with all of the…”

How does he explain the Upside Down? Does he explain the Upside Down? No. She doesn’t need to know. Not yet, anyway.

“…you know, the missing people,” he finally said, finding the right explanation. “But the idea of going to a big city, finding my way and maybe figuring out what this big head is good for?” His self deprecating laugh echoed from under the large rock formation. “I get it.”

“Y’know,” (Y/N) relaxed her grip on her knees, “my mom had hesitations about moving here because of the missing people—afraid I was going to go missing too.”

“And your dad still moved you here anyway?” Steve still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact people would move here willingly, especially all that’s been in the news about their small town.

“I told you, big secret job,” she said, as if that was the only answer. “My dad’s answer to the problem was buying my mom a new kitchen set and me a car.”

“The BMW?”

“Hell yeah,” she snorted. “Though I suppose once I get to the city—any of them, I’ve decided—I’ll sell it. No need for a car if you’ve got decent public transit. I wonder how much I can get for it?”

“Probably less than what you’re thinking.”

“You’re probably right.”

The sun had finally set, leaving a hazy, sort of mystical hue over the rock and clearing.

“You could come with me, you know,” (Y/N) finally spoke up.

“Huh?”

“Get out of Hawkins? Lord knows I’d need a roommate. Rent is gonna be insane regardless.”

He pondered the thought. Moving out of this God-forsaken town with practically the girl of his dreams? It sounded too good to be true. “Huh.”

“You obviously don’t have to answer right now,” she said, nearly flustered. Was she flustered? “It was just a dumb thought…”

“It’s not dumb,” he said steadily, truthfully. “Not dumb at all.”

“What? You’re actually considering it?”

“Don’t ask me things if you’re not serious about them,” Steve joked, pointing at her. “I mean, it sounds pretty perfect. Leaving Hawkins, making a way for myself, trying to not rely on my parents… I dunno. Something to think about.”

She only nodded.

“Of course, I can’t leave yet,” Steve corrected, mostly to himself. “I have… unfinished business.”

“Ominous,” she snorted.

“A man has his secrets,” he smirked, turning to look at her. “Not murder-y secrets, I really can’t stress that one enough.”

“Handsome, funny and mysterious, the full package,” she hummed.

“You think I’m handsome?”

“I don’t want to stroke your ego,” (Y/N) said. “Surely you know you’re handsome.”

“I didn’t know you thought I was handsome.”

“I think everyone thinks you’re handsome,” her eyebrow raised. “Especially all those girls who come in to rent movies I know for a fact they have no interest in. Robin says you had a similar effect back at the ice cream place.”

“You’ve talked to Robin about my handsomeness?”

“I’ve talked to Robin about your obliviousness,” she corrected, “I think there’s a difference.”

He felt like his brain was melting. If he had a mirror, he’d check his ears to make sure no pink matter was dripping out. “But you think I’m handsome?” If the lighting hadn’t been as low as it was, he’d probably be able to see just how dark her cheeks had become.

“Irrelevant.”

He found the courage to scoot a little closer to her. “I mean, I think it’s pretty relevant… considering I think you’re pretty handsome too.”

Her head couldn’t have turned faster.

“Beautiful! I meant beautiful! Not that you can’t be handsome,” Steve felt himself choking on his own foot, falling deeper into a hole he knew he couldn’t get out of. “If you’d rather be called handsome, that’s fine by me, but traditionally, you’re stunning—so so pretty and I—”

“Steve—”

“A-and I’m messing this up,” Steve deflates. The crickets around Skull Rock must have been paid actors at this point. Steve made a mental note to bring a can of Raid the next time he came here—revenge of some sorts. “I can’t believe I’m messing this up.”

Something slightly wet touched his cheek.

“I don’t think you’re messing anything up,” (Y/N) said, pulling away from his face. She kissed his cheek. “I think you’re a little silly and overthinking a lot, though.”

“You kissed me?”

“I kissed your cheek, no need to short-circuit,” she smiled softly. “I figured it was a good way to bring you back down to Earth. Did it work?”

He nodded, a bit too fast for his liking. “Uh, yeah. I think so.”

“Good,” she said, so sure of herself. “You were really spiraling there for a moment.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I was.”

More crickets.

“Would you have kissed Robin on the cheek? If she was spiraling like that?”

“No,” she said honestly. “Just you.”

“Oh.”

“You took me to the make-out spot of Hawkins,” (Y/N) gestured to the rock above them. “Did you expect me to not kiss you?”

“You kissed my cheek,” he clarified, feeling bolder. “I don’t think that counts.”

“Hm,” she tapped her chin in faux-thought. “It probably doesn’t.”

“I could let you try again?”

“Oh you’d let me?” She crossed her arms, voice airy, light.

“Or I could kiss you,” he shrugged. “Dealers choice.”

“Oh what endless options I have,” she laughed, getting up from the blanket. It was only a little scratchy. “Come on, pretty boy, it’s getting late. My mom is probably worried sick I haven’t made it home yet. Probably waiting by the front window with some terrible dinner in the oven, I assume.”

She offered her hand, helping Steve up off the ground. “You’re probably right.”

“This was nice,” she said, walking back to the car. “Thanks for taking me out here, Steve. I finally found the one good thing in Hawkins.”

“Skull Rock is just that impressive, huh?” Steve laughed, his smile reaching his eyes.

“Something like that,” her smile was just as big.

BONUS: “Pop your trunk, I’ll put this nasty blanket away,” (Y/N) said, circling to the back of Steve’s car.

“It’s not that nasty,” he snorted, fulfilling her request. Climbing into his car and starting up the engine, he waited for her to throw the scrap of fabric in the back. In the corner of his eye, he could see her through the mirror, staring intently at the contents of his trunk. “How long does it take to put a blanket away?” He sighed, hopping back out of the car to join her, realizing quickly why she was just staring in his trunk.

“Y’know,” she clicked, “this doesn’t really help the whole ‘I’m not gonna murder you’ thing.”

In her hands was his tried and true baseball bat—still outfitted with spiky nails and the very essence of dried blood.

“I-I can explain—”

“You probably can,” she said, throwing the bat back into the trunk, slamming it shut. “How about over dinner sometime?”

He’d be stupid to say no.

#Steve Harrington #Steve Harrington x Reader #Steve Harrington x You #Stranger Things #Steve Harrington Imagines #okay fine twist my arm this is loosely based on the btr song of the same name #can't blame a girl for finding inspiration everywhere #does it have a plot? no #do I like pining and love-sick steve? yes

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thecosmicmap · 11 months ago

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Strap in folks this is gonna be a long one.

So as we know Dean Deblois is the writer of HTTYD2 and 3. As a writer you have a list of rules you should follow. One such rule is “show don’t tell.”

Dean disregarded this rule and we mainly see it with Grimmel and the Night Fury genocide. In the movie he tells us “I hunted every last night fury except yours” yet Grimmel has nothing to show for it. No trophies, no night fury hide cloak, not even a claw. The most we get is a few “facts” about Night Furies that aren’t even true, or can’t be proven to be true because we’ve only ever seen one Night Fury.

“Night Furies can’t survive the cold.” Yet Hiccup tells us (in GOTNF which is canon) that winter in Berk lasts for most of the year.

“Night Furies can’t fly long distances” Yet Toothless’ wings are large and wide, which allows him to glide for long periods of time.

“Furies mate for life.” We would never know because we only see one Night Fury in the entire franchise. And if we take a look at other dragons, it seems they only see their mate during mating season.

And why would Grimmel know that if he’s trying to kill off the Night Furies forever? What’s the point in knowing their mating habits if there’s never going to be any Night Furies again? Did he just look at a Fury pair and go “yeup. They mate for life.”

Now another thing about Grimmel is that his hunting method is unreliable. One, he left his bait without any restraints. Imagine if the Light Fury woke up minutes before and just left? Boom! No more bait. What if Toothless wasn’t horny and was mad at the Light Fury for trying to kill Hiccup multiple times? Boom. He wouldn’t be trying to deal with her and the plan is ruined because the bait isn’t appealing to the target. What if Toothless didn’t smell her and never showed up?

Lots of plot conveniences. It happens in the entire movie. Dean also had to confirm that yes, Grimmel did kill all the Night Furies in an INTERVIEW because people didn’t believe that Grimmel genocide the Night Furies. And Dean only did this because he thinks Toothless is special because he’s the last Night Fury.

Now we could be here forever talking about how stupid grimmel is as a villain and how stupid it is to even entertain the thought that ONE man and his six, drugged dragons were able to commit genocide to a species of intelligent, elusive and fast dragons, but let’s just continue.

Another rule Dean disregarded is having good characterization. Or ANY characterization!

The Light Fury immediately comes to mind. Name one personality trait she has that we actually see in the movie. You can’t, can you? Because Dean actively wrote that out. There was a deleted scene of Light Fury and Toothless’ romantic flight which gave her much more personality, yet Dean wrote it out and gave us the boring one we have now.

Also, can we just talk about how she doesn’t have a name? Her name is literally “The Light Fury.” Which is the same as naming a Golden Retriever Golden Retriever.

I know Hiccup would’ve named her. Hell, anybody would’ve named her! But no, Dean decided that she didn’t need one because “how else would she be wild”?

Dean says this in an interview, “We intentionally try to keep her [The Light Fury] wild and elusive, to kind of represent something that is pure dragon, that hasn't been tainted by human beings by domestication.” Which just goes to show that Dean doesn’t know what domestication is.

(Dean also doesn’t know what a subspecies is because if he did, then he would know a Light Fury can’t possibly be a Night Fury subspecies because they have too many differences).

1. this means that Dean thinks all of the dragons that have benefited from human companionship (Toothless, Cloudjumper, Meatlug, Stormfly, etc) are tainted.

And 2, there is nothing “dragon” about the Light Fury. She has small feet (Hiccup’s head is literally bigger than her feet), small claws, a small mouth, her wings are weirdly shaped, she’s curved, she has no protective scales and her tailfin is in the shape of a heart, which would actually mess up her flight.

Many people have said this is because she’s semi-aquatic. But this is disproven by the fact that we’ve never seen her in the water and the art book.

Here’s two direct quotes: “We had to explore how the Light Fury would walk and make her feel like a female.” “We had to control all the shapes while keeping her both powerful and graceful so she didn’t fall too much into the reptilian category.”

The Light Fury is a plot device, a “agent of change” in Dean’s words.

Now while we’re on the topic of characterization, let’s talk about our main cast. We’ll start with Toothless.

Toothless is Hiccup’s best friend, who will do anything to protect him no matter the costs. He’s sassy, intelligent, curious, loyal, protective and playful.

Now take all of this, and throw it in the trash because this isn’t the toothless you’re going to see in THW. In THW Toothless’ playfulness is shot to the max, making him more like a slobbery puppy than the lethal panther he was in HTTYD1.

Toothless isn’t protective of Hiccup at all, his intelligence is below hell itself and we don’t see a lick of sass. Httyd3 Toothless is physically incapable of looking scary because his face has been deformed to to look blocky and smushed together. He lacks any aerodynamics and we can even see it in his flying. He looks like he’s struggling.

Toothless and Hiccup’s friendship is so watered down in this movie, just for the sake of romance. That’s not how it should be. Romance and friendship go hand in hand, one is not more valuable than the other.

Astrid is nothing but Hiccup’s emotional support, yet she also puts him down. “you gave him [Toothless] his freedom, what were you expecting?” This implies that the dragons are being held captive and Toothless doesn’t want to be with Hiccup.

Which he does, as we see in GOTNF. Toothless only left to get Hiccup’s helmet, then he broke the auto-tail. But why would Astrid even say that? Thats so insensitive 😭.

The twins are dumbed down (despite proving to actually being intelligent), Snotlout is flirting with a woman who’s 20 years older than him (and might be his aunt, depending if you see Hiccup and Snotlout as cousins) and Valka outright tells Hiccup that they can’t hide away from the world.

Which is true, they can’t. Because eventually they will be found. Now remember this, it’ll come back later.

Now, when writing a story it’s important to move the plot along in a way that doesn’t seemed forced. When I think of this, I think of Trollhunters: tales of Arcadia.

The protagonist (Jim) goes into the villain’s home in order to rescue his friend’s baby brother, yet he gets trapped there. His friends have to get him out of there, which allows the villain to be freed from the Darklands. This happening allows the story to move forward in a way that makes sense and isn’t forced.

Now back to HTTYD3. Let’s look at the scene where Toothless and the LF get captured. The Light Fury smells grimmel, she calls to toothless, runs towards Grimmel and gets shot.

Toothless runs over (ignoring Hiccup’s warnings) approaches Grimmel, takes forever loading a plasma blast while sloooowly walking towards Grimmel, allowing the man to shoot him and make him go night-night.

Hiccup runs over, also taking forever. And the next time we see grimmel he’s already tied up two dragons (BY HIMSELF) in these complicated straight jackets. The other dragons come around (finally) ready to attack, yet Grimmel threatens the light fury and tells Toothless to call of the dragons.

“But isn’t Toothless asleep?” I hear you ask, and to that I respond with “no, he’s not. He miraculously woke up in time to call the dragons off, despite the light fury still being knocked out cold.”

The dragons are called off and grimmel leaves on his quad-copter. The dragons follow them, even though Grimmel didn’t tell toothless to make them follow.

Do you see how forced this is? There’s many more forced plot points, but we’ll be here forever talking about it and this post is long enough already.

Next up on the broken rule list, Dean let the antagonist win. Now it’s okay for an antagonist to win, but never in the third act.

Grimmel’s ultimate goal was for dragons to disappear. Dean himself says “he does not want a world in which dragons roam free.” And what do we see at the end of HTTYD3?

The dragons disappearing into the Hidden World forever. Exactly what Grimmel wanted.

Finally, the last rule Dean broke is having a consistent plot. Now the plot of each movie is a bit different. Httyd1: Hiccup shows Vikings that while dangerous, dragons aren’t monsters. And it’s better to work together than working apart.

Httyd2: Dragons are being captured and enslaved, we need to save them and fight for our friends.

Httyd3: toothless needs to get a girlfriend. He HAS to, despite not ever showing to want one, but he’s horny right now so YES, he HAS to.

But the franchise has an overarching narrative about humans and dragons coming together. That no matter what, they will prevail because they’re working together.

Well in HTTYD3 yes, they prevail. But the dragons leave. Why, you may ask? Because no matter what they’ll always be bad humans so there’s no point fighting.

Hiccup sends the dragons to an underground glittery cave that doubles as a prison, and six years of friendship is thrown down the drain for a female Toothless met three days prior. Hiccup tells the audience that dragons will hide until humans learn how to get along (despite the many humans that already get along with them).

And that’s it. The end. No more.

“But wait!” I hear you ask, “Won’t the dragons eventually be found again?” And to that I say, “Oh, you remember!”

Because yes, the dragons will eventually be found out again. And because Hiccup gave up on fighting for change, these humans think dragons are dangerous monsters and will undoubtedly enslave/kill them.

We even see this with his own kids! Zephyr thought dragons were monsters and was ready to hurt them in order to “protect her family”. Humans of the future will no doubt act like this as well.

Humans and dragons will never learn to get along if they are never around each other. Change won’t just happen, you have to fight for it. Like the end of slavery, or the Women’s Rights Movement. Those things didn’t just happen, people had to fight for change and they had to keep fighting because if they gave up then nothing would change.

And when the dragons are inevitably found once again, it will be Hiccup’s fault when they’re either killed or enslaved.

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evolutionsvoid · 28 days ago

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As all should know by now, I am pretty passionate when it comes to flora and fauna. As a researcher, I've devoted my life to learning everything I can and seeing every creature I can. I find it all so fascinating, and I can't help but fall in love with the natural world over and over again. I don't know how to put it into words, or properly explain why I care so much about it. Well, actually, I can put it into words, but someone won't let me properly explain it! "Too long," she says! "An intro shouldn't be longer than a novella," she says! But wasn't she the one who told me to write about my passion?! It's lunacy, I tell you! To tell me to pour my heart out and put into words the love and energy that keeps me going, keeps me living, but then limit it to a measly few pages! I won't have it! I won't tolerate it! I will give her a piece of my mind when I see her again! Apparently the last five times didn't get through her thick cap!....Now what was I writing again?

YES, nature! Wonderful animals and plants! What I was getting at was my love for such things, and all the weird shapes, sizes and types they come in! It is perfection! Wonder! Beauty! Every creature adapted in such specific ways! Given such incredible traits! They are living pieces of art! SO WHY DOES SOME NOXIOUS WEED OF A KNOTHEAD THINK THEY CAN DO BETTER?! Magic and its wretched alterations! Bah! Don't get me wrong, magic is a wonderful thing in itself, and it has certainly made everyone's lives easier! Well, at least if you aren't on the receiving end of a magic bolt. Or belong to a poor village that is going to be demolished to have a fancy academy put in instead... But nothing drives me crazier than people using magic to alter and mutate perfectly good species into something else! Okay, well maybe stupid naming conventions are worse. And, perhaps idiots who introduce invasive species on purpose. Okay, so, actually one of the things that drives me absolutely mad is magic alterations of plants and animals.

Now, of course, changing flora and fauna used in agriculture is perfectly reasonable. We were doing it well before magic got so big. The knot in my side is when people mutate species purely for spectacle or to make them living weapons! And with no thought or care for the creature itself! A tool to be used and thrown out! Disgusting! We dryads may use our affinity to these things to cause changes, but we do so respectfully and ensure that the species is not seen as a disposable trinket. The Eyahs are a good example of magic mutations that were done in the worst way possible. A simple primate warped into a crazed, bloodthirsty killer, but then abandoned the second the war was over! Vile! Hateful! A putrid violation of life! But of course I didn't bring this stuff up purely to get my sap pumping, as it is relevant to the species I wanted to write about. The bolt spider is an arachnid that faced a similar fate, used as an experiment in magic.

Originally, the bolt spider was a relatively simple species. About the size of a dinner plate, found in places that had plenty of trees or high up vantage points. Like many of their relatives, they spun webs in order to trap passing prey. The difference here, though, was that the bolt spider was capable of producing a glowing webbing that had some shocking properties! By that I mean it could be electrified by a pulse from the spider's special organs. This was how it quickly dispatched large prey that flew into their web! And the glow of their silk attracted food and drew them closer to their doom! Wonderful stuff! What a neat little species! However, some folk saw these spiders and thought they could do better...

According to the tales, the original intent was to make these spiders larger and produce more silk. This was because their beautiful glowing silk was a prized material, and used in a variety of fancy clothing, potions and other such things. The wild spider populations were taking a hit from over harvesting, as their silk fetched a fair sum. So the idea was to make a captive breed that could fulfill the market's wants more easily. However, at some point, things went foul. It would seem that the bolstering of this species size and abilities through magic caught the attention of some nasty folk. And when they began to meddle with things, a new direction was taken in this program. What resulted was the bolt spiders we know today, a species that is the disgust of many. This is because they are now associated with a magic group that is very unpopular with the public: necromancers.

It would seem that an interesting thing was found with the bolt spider's electrical capabilities. When bolstered to a greater size, there was more power to their jolts, more danger. A full burst unleashed upon a person could fry them outright, but that wasn't the interesting part. What really caught folk's attention was how the electricity affected the dead. When dead flesh was exposed to this energy, it would seemingly come to life! The electricity would make the muscles and limbs go crazy! And that was when the experiments took their turn. They would cease to be silk spinners for fancy tapestries, and instead become undead monstrosities.

The resulting bolt spider was much larger, more potent and very deadly. Its electrical capabilities have been greatly enhanced, and its aggression has been increased as well. These arachnids now rarely hunt by waiting in shocking webs, and instead attack prey straight on. Their legs end in sharp points, which can easily pierce skin. Through this, they can pump a lethal amount of volts into victims. And when one of these large spiders jumps on to you and fully snares you in its steel trap grip, it is all over. For you at least, because with this new corpse, the bolt spider has a new task to complete. Time to take its new toy home...

When presented with a dead body, the bolt spider will position itself on the deceased's back. It aims to align its own body with the spine, where it will clamp down. Its legs will then pierce specific points of the corpse, going for limbs, shoulders and thighs. Its fangs will unsheathe and pierce into the neck, while its odd pedipalps will embed themselves into the neck. Now fully latched on, it will release its energy and the corpse will come to life! Well, not really. What actually happens is that the spider uses its electricity to control the deceased, turning them into an undead puppet. This is how they bring their food back to their nest, or use this new bulky body to fend off foes and capture new prey. But it doesn't end there! Trained by necromancers and enhanced by their foul magic, the bolt spider wants more than a simple human body. As they gather more carcasses, they will use their serrated chelicerae to gnaw through limbs and break them down into pieces. Then, their silk will be utilized to sew the desirable chunks back together, into a horrible amalgamation of flesh and death. Copious webbing will be used to patch it together and hold it all into one piece. And when the bolt spider latches on and uses its energy, the whole thing will come to life, powered by its piercing limbs and electrified webbing. This is where the horror stories begin, with monstrous brutes of undead flesh and glowing "veins," striking foes down with electric web whips and unnatural strength.

Thankfully, the original species can still be found in some remote forests, but they are incredibly rare. These monstrous versions are all people know now, and it is so unfair! A brilliant creature now turned into some undead nightmare! The gall of it all! It causes fear and hate towards the species, even the unaltered ones! Now anytime anyone even thinks of an electric spider, they think of these horrible electric terrors that kill and consume, stitching victims onto their growing mass. Vile! Disgusting! Oh how I would love to tear apart the necromancers responsible for this with may bare hands! Of course, Eucella is very adamant that I don't do this, and that I swear I won't go picking fight with necromancers. Hmph! Tell me what to do! She's still worried about that troll poaching incident. I was fine, I had everything under control! Yeah, so what if they were armed? So was I, with the power of justice and righteousness! Those who kill innocent beasts for no reason will hear from me! I WILL STRIKE THEM DOWN, even if it is only with my fists! Just ask those two poachers I beat to a pulp before Eucella dragged me off them! I could have done worse! (And they could have too, Chlora! There were FIVE poachers there! With spears! I stopped you from getting skewered like a vegetarian kebab, you ignorant weed! And also if you come to my office to rant about the intro again I swear I am locking you in the closet and going home for a long weekend. - E.R.)

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

----------------------------

"Bolt Spider"

Uh, it is actually called Frankenstein's Spider, thank you very much! Gosh, people!

#spider #arachnid #bug #monster #creature #art #drawing

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erisofc · 4 days ago

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#hxh rant

People who have seen and read how Hisoka describes himself and his pursuit and Still dare to call him 'pedo' and compare him to x y z antagonists/villains of hxh LIKE WHAT ELSE DO YOU ALL NEED??? there is no solution to this or them atp. just pure self-satisfactory non-existent interpretation.

hisoka is THE owner of reverse-innuendo, WHICH unlike with what is in real life known as innuendos of day-to-day non-sexual words that allude to romance/sex in out of context, hisoka uses it in opposite manner which means all sexual/romantic things he SAYS mean FIGHTS FIGHTING AND DEATH. It doesn't mean we/you all shouldn't get disgusted by the sheer audacity of this boundary-less perverseness that is thrown even at kids, but it really all ENDS AT THAT and all the characters, yes, even Gon and Killua know it! you don't need to make him more horrible.

and the obsession of 'hisoika will be going insane if he finds x y z'. Well, here it is folks! He literally said, what we have been saying for long now bcz duh this is his charachter writing, HE WAS NEVER INTERESTED IN FIGHTING PITOU!!!!! put it to rest! Neither he is excited about Tserriednich, now its been long since ive read the manga but that lunatic's hatsu has nothing to do with fighting so why would hisoka gaf about this rich madman prince who only got his nen through kakin's succession war rituals???

Not to mention the way people overestimate & exaggerate hisoka's evilness like the way they were comparing his love for fighting to fucking Tserriednich who was shown luring women in and killing them and washing in their blood in his prince-y suite LIKE WTF IS THIS SO OFFENSIVE TO HISOKA AND THE NEN FIGHTER HE IS!!!!!! or the fact that bonolov killed lynch but the reaction to that or the way he maimed her body isnt talked about in hxh antagonists fandom, god forbid if it were hisoka people would have singled him out again with how cruel evil cold blooded he is unlike the human spiders! Would have even brought up neon again!!! not to mention the lack of reaction or even just grabbing the fact it was chrollo who involved & killed the audience of heaven's arena, we have seen hisoka fighting diffetent times & he never did that but guess who is labeled as much more murderous? hisoka! not the troupe!!! its the fact that he has such standards for his pursuit that his kills arent as high as others so if you are a 'morality high ground upholder' thats a good thing!

You all are mad bcz hisoka probably has the lowest body-count from all the antagonists! mad that hisoka isnt as 'lawless' or as 'random' as you all want him to be the guy has his nen pursuit just like every one in hxh and it happens to be good death-sending fights with strong nen user opponents. Hisoka has standards & he pretty much stick to them, he won't be bloodlusting over every x y z and that lusting isnt his ONLY role or character writing GET USED TO IT

#hxh #hisoka morow #hisoka

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msmk11 · 3 months ago

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Wrapped Up In a Bow

Lucy Gray Baird x gn!reader

WC: 1.6k

CW: Very brief allusion to the covey struggling with money; mentions of food; but otherwise PURE FLUFF

Summary: While in town, you decide to buy Lucy Gray a thank you present. And it certainly has nothing to do with the fact that you have feelings for her.

(This was meant to be a blurb but 100% got away from me.)

Day 5 of mk’s mad dash

Being covey, you preferred to make a life out of the natural resources surrounding your home. You knew how to look for edible plants and differentiate them from poisonous ones, you could set simple snares and traps, and you drew your water from the streams nearby. It was a simple life, but not always sustainable with so many mouths to feed. Making a small amount of income from your performances at the Hob, you all had agreed to set some of it aside each week for going into town and buying the absolutely necessities from the market. And, on the rare occasion, if your week’s income had been a little more generous, you’d splurge on an indulgence.

All of the covey took turns going into town to shop, and this week it was yours. You’d gotten up extra early this morning because though the market was open until around one, you truly believed that the early bird always got the worm. You woke with the sun and set out shortly after, your old knapsack slung over your shoulder. The walk to town was about twenty minutes and you enjoyed how peaceful these early mornings were. The brooks babbled to life around you, bunnies and squirrels skittered across the forest floor, and the birds harmonized with your simple tunes. The town square was still fairly quiet at this time of the day, and only a few people milled about to the different vendors.

Though your list wasn’t long, you always joined chatting with the locals you’d slowly made friends with over the years. You playfully bargained over milk and cheese prices with Rhonda, you asked after old Joe’s kids while you sifted through his freshly baked bread, and you restocked on a few herbs while you talked with Lily about the covey’s most recent performance. Your knapsack was full in no time, but you still had a few coins jingling in your pocket. You decided to allow yourself the pleasure of visiting your favorite vendor- an older woman named Susan who sold the most beautiful trinkets. While you enjoyed the woman’s company, her goods were not ones you could often afford, so you’d only look on at them longingly as you made more responsible purchases. But with the little extra money on hand today, you figured it wouldn’t hurt to look.

Susan instantly greeted you with a warm smile, “Hello dear, it’s been a moment since I’ve seen you or your family.”

You returned her smile, “Yes, well, money’s been a little more tight recently, and we can’t bear to tempt ourselves with your beautiful things.”

You fingered the pretty ribbons, necklaces, and brooches with such a gentleness you’d think they were made of glass.

“Well you’re here today, so that gives me hope that things have been better for you,” she answered knowingly.

You smiled and nodded at her, “Yes, we’ve had a pretty good week or two. Might be ‘cos of Lucy Gray’s new songs. Quite popular with the young folk.”

“That girl sure can carry a tune, can hear it all the way from my house.”

You chuckled fondly and hoped your face didn’t betray the feelings you harbored for the songbird.

“It’s certainly a gift,” you agreed, “Think I wanna thank her for it too. Wouldn’t have this money if it weren’t for her.”

“Well I’ve got lots of pretty things for a pretty girl like her. Anything strike your interest?”

You eyed everything carefully. You wanted to find something that you truly felt embodied Lucy Gray. While she liked her floral patterns and pretty things, she was a humble girl at heart and you didn’t want to embarrass her with a gift that was too flashy.

While many may have overlooked it, a baby blue bow in the corner caught your eye.

You nodded toward it, “May I?”

With shaking hands Susan handed it to you. The bow was made of soft, smooth satin and was attached to a simple silver clip. You could already picture it resting prettily in Lucy Gray’s raven hair, pulling some of her front strands away from her face while she sang and danced on stage at The Hob. You knew it’d go just fine with that one long, blue skirt she favored that was decorated with tiny little flowers.

“I’ll take this, please.”

*****

When you arrived back home, the covey house was alive and bustlin’.

“Mornin’ all,” you greeted in a singsong tone.

Maude Ivory strayed from setting the table to run over and give you a hug.

“What’d you get in town today?” she asked excitedly.

“Well only the best for you, of course,” you answered sweetly.

You laid your knapsack out on the table and allowed her to dig through it, pulling out the bread, milk, and the likes. She held the loaf up to her nose and inhaled deeply, “Mhmm smells so fresh.”

“That’ll be real good for dinner later,” you told her, “so you best put it away so it doesn’t tempt you.”

The blonde grinned at you sheepishly and set it back on one of the counters. You walked over to Billy Taupe who was cooking at the skillet and leaned over his shoulder, “smells real good. Got my stomach grumbling already.”

“Breakfast should be ready here soon’s Tam Amber gets back from the creek.”

You nodded at him, “Thank you.”

Then, you hesitated, “Where’s Lucy Gray.”

He turned and looked at you with a knowing smirk, “Why’d you wanna know?”

You tried to act nonchalant, “‘Cos I have a present for ‘er.’”

Billy Taupe wiggled his eyebrows at you, “Whoo-whee? A present? Someone’s whipped.”

“Quit it, Billy Taupe,” you replied, slapping his arm, “Just wanted to say thanks for her songs bringing in a little extra money this week.”

“And you’re not hoping to get anything out of it in return?” A new voice added. You turned to find Barb Azure walking into the kitchen, a basket full of berries resting on her arm.

“No,” you groaned, crossing your arms, “Just wanted to be nice!”

The two only gave you more teasing looks and you huffed, “Would someone just tell me where she is, please?”

Finally, Barb Azure relented, “Out back, tending to the garden.”

You headed out to the back porch and spotted Lucy Gray in the distance instantly, crouched over some flower of hers. You traipsed down the hill with a pep in your step, excitement bubbling in your stomach. When you grew nearer, you could hear the girl humming a tune quietly.

“What’cha singing?” You asked her.

She startled a little, holding her hand to her chest, “You scared me, darling. Thought everyone was inside by now. But to answer your question, nothing in particular. Just been thinking about a melody recently.”

“Got any words yet?”

She shook her head and you swore she blushed a little, “Nah, just the tune.”

You nodded, “Well, I uh, got something for you at the market today.”

She looked up at you from her crouched position, big brown eyes shining with excitement, “For me? Whatever for?”

You looked down at your feet timidly, “Just felt like saying thank you for sharing your songs with the world. Did us some real good this week.”

Lucy Gray stood and wiped her hands on her dark brown skirt, “Well you know I’m glad people enjoyed ‘em, but I write ‘em for myself.”

“‘Course. But either way…” you hesitated and then reached into your pocket, pulling out the bow, “Here, for you.”

You thrust the pretty blue bow into her hands and she gasped softly.

“Sweetheart, this is just, beautiful. You get it from Susan’s?”

“Mhmm, the one and only. Reminded me of that pretty skirt you own. That blue one with the flowers?”

The raven-haired girl looked up at you with a beaming smile and whispered, “That’s my favorite skirt.”

You tried to hide your blush from her intense gaze, “I know. Thought this’d go nicely when you wear it.”

Her thumb swept gently over the soft fabric of the ribbon as she looked down at it, “Well thank you very much. I already love it dearly.”

You smiled happily at her and your heart fluttered in your chest.

Lucy Gray then looked at you sweetly, “Will you…put it in my hair?”

“Yes, yeah. Course.”

You took the bow from her hand gently, “Turn around.”

She obliged and you reached out, running your hands through her thick, raven hair. You’d dreamed of doing this countless times and it was even better than you imagined- even if it was only for the sake of putting the bow in her hair.

You pulled strands of hair from either side of her head and brought them together in the back. You popped the silver clip open and slid it amongst the strands, clasping them into place. Once it clicked shut, you took a second to admire how lovely it looked amongst her dark tresses.

“Well, how’s it look?” She asked you.

You paused, lost in a trance.

“Does it look bad?”

Lucy Gray turned around, and because you’d been close behind her to clip on her bow, her face came within inches of yours.

You shook yourself out of your trance, “No, no! It doesn’t look bad at all. You look like a real pretty package, all wrapped up in a bow.”

This time, Lucy Gray certainly blushed, “You think so?”

“I know so,” you told her confidently.

“Sweetheart, could I ask you something?” she asked quietly.

You nodded mutely.

“How would you feel if I kissed you right now?”

All of the air rushed out of your lungs.

“I’d be happy as a hummingbird singin’ a new tune.”

Then, before you’ve even processed what happened, Lucy Gray closed the gap between you, kissing you softly. You reciprocated quickly and placed your hands gently on her waist.

When she pulled away you’re breathless, and you rested your forehead on hers, “I need to get you gifts more often.”

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redthefortuneteller · 11 months ago

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Snake is not a human with snake genes. He's a snake with human genes.

𓆚 𓆚 𓆚 Edit: I've added at the bottom something else I had forgotten about. If you've read this post before, give it a read. Sorry about that! I've made other seperate posts related so that this one doesn't get so enormous. Here are the links: The Island of Queimada Grande The Snake Charming Flute A Pet Snake Feel free to give them a peek if you found this post interesting. These posts are much more brief than this one, I promise you! :D 𓆚 𓆚 𓆚 If you're at all familiar with the 1896 early science fiction novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau" by H. G. Wells, the tittle surely might've brought it to mind. Indeed, I am basing this theory on this novel. "The Island of Dr. Moreau reflects the ethical, philosophical, and scientific concerns and controversies raised by the themes and ideas of Darwinian evolution, which were so disruptive to social norms in the late 1800s."

In brief, Doctor Moreau was an eminent physiologist (read: mad scientist) in London who ended up fleeing Great Britain due to his experiments in vivisection being publicly exposed. Vivisection is, for all intents and purposes, experimentation on live animals. What he accomplished with his experimenting was human-animal hybrids. But it's not as one would assume at first glance (as did the main protagonist in the novel), that he'd turn humans into animals, as is often portrayed in this sort of fiction or even in real-world folklore (think werewolves or berserkers).

Instead, Doctor Moreau turned animals into humans. And unfortunately, through means of extremely painful surgery, which fits in quite well with a dark story such as Kuroshitsuji.

Almost all of the beast-folk are named after "what they're made of". For example: Leopard-Man, Hyena-Swine, Wolf-Man, Fox-Bear Woman, etc… And he refers to them as his children. Children he holds hostage on an island. You know, like an orphanage? The orphanage, which is mentioned in Chapter 192, could very well be "the island" where the Doctor's children were being held at. After all, an island is just like a building where one can be held in, only the walls are a vast ocean. Snake (or Oscar) refers to it as "… a terrible place." and remembering the painful surgery part, I think that's an understatement.

In a 1996 film adaptation that slightly deviated from the original work, the beast-folk as they're called, need to take a serum in order to keep them from turning back into their original form. All except for one hybrid in particular, which the doctor refers to almost perfect or the closest he's gotten to perfection. I feel inclined to mention that in the film someone confronts the protagonist with something along the lines of "What do you intend to do once you get her out of the island? Sell her to a circus?" referring to that almost perfect hybrid. I believe it to be the case that Snake could be the perfect hybrid. The doctor mentions the fact that in turning animals into humans, he could create the perfect human, devoid of its human flaws, devoid of malice. I firmly believe Snake is devoid of malice.

The whole incident with Phelps was nothing but a mistake, and Snake's paying dearly for that mistake as he got his neck sliced in the same place Phelps had the mamba bite.

Whichever the case, the plan was not very well thought through: he was going to kill Smile without knowing the circus troupe was dead and without so much as asking Smile about it. He was going to kill Sebastian too, were he not a demon. As Smile was telling him that he had infiltrated the circus in order to investigate, Snake kept flip-flopping between getting shocked with the revelation that the troupe were kidnapers and getting aggravated, insisting Smile was lying. Probably due to the snakes' chattering each of their opinions. He's confused, but he's not evil. It's clear from his reactions.

The reason I'm bringing this up is because he was acting purely on impulse. Not much thought. Or at least, the thought he put into it wasn't much. It wasn't malice guiding his actions, but a sort of instinct. Snakes don't think much about attacking when they feel threatened. If they feel inclined to do so, they just do. No questions asked. No thinking about consequences.

In the film mentioned earlier, the doctor's office looks like a small library. The doctor is obviously quite literate. However, his "children" aren't.

There seems to be quite a bit of focus on Snake not knowing how to read. First mentioned on Yana's personal blog and most recently brought up in Chapter 195. It was quite common for people to be illiterate at the time Kuro takes place, but there was a focus on Snake from Yana's part, which I only find interesting because of how his snakes were named. After famous writers.

Could the doctor have named the other snakes but not him, as he was the first snake? The Snake. Or could Snake have named the others because he himself didn't have a name? It's funny that among all his family, the one human is simply named "snake" while the ones that would be naturally referred to as snakes are named quite fancifully. It's also quite comical if you consider chapter 51, when Finnian thought Snake was "Mister Oscar" as he introduced himself with "I'm Snake…", "- Says Oscar."

If you'd like to consider going a little further and going a bit crazy on these what ifs: consider that his snakes are the others who didn't make it or reverted back to normal. The panel in chapter 195 (page 7) where Snake has himself a little dilemma (in space!) with all the snakes chiming in in his head? I know it might sound a little out there, but I think the reason those three Snakes are shown naked could be because they're not Snake, they really might be Keats, Emily, and Wilde. Either the Snake-Man hybrids all look the same, or this is how Snake visualizes them speaking, as he himself is a snake like them. The difference is that he can use human speech, so if they were to use it as well, they too would look like him… right?

In fact, he often makes little distinction. He's said this in chapter 202 when Arty asks if he's a snake charmer, to which he firmly responds, "No. Snake and us are family. - says Dan." and "We are all footmen. - Says Goethe." Before this, he says "We're all here. - says everyone." He refers to them as "us". He makes little separation between himself and the other snakes. He understands and talks to snakes because, naturally, he is a snake. And he's the only snake who can talk to humans—the only one who is also human. He's the spokesperson (spokesnake, lol) of the group. Edit: He makes different voices for different snakes. Each snake has their own voice. What if those were really their voices at some point in time? The first idea one gets from Snake is that the snakes are like parts of his personality that he's expressing through them. However, this isn't true (or entirely true) because they do really do communicate with him, as proven undeniably by Oscar sneaking into the castle basement in the Green Witch arc and bringing back information Snake had no way of knowing (and couldn't really explain very well when Bard asked for details).

In chapter 53, he's sneaked down to the cargo to share the food with "everyone" as he says. I always found it a little odd to share human food with snakes, who only eat whole animals. On the plate, there were some leaves. There are no herbivorous snakes; they're all exclusively carnivorous (insectivorous, too). Of course, the lettuce, or whatever it is, is intact. But still, snakes don't eat breaded chicken or liver pâté either… It's just odd that Snake, who's been seen feeding his snakes mice twice, suddenly thinks they'd be interested in this gourmet, first-class dish. I believe he thinks, since it's delicious to him, surely they might think so too. After all, they're all snakes. Could he get a little confused sometimes?

He's also never showed any fear of the werewolf forest while the other servants were scared as they made their way to the village in the Emerald Witch arc. He doesn't seem phased by the idea of wolf-men. He was freaked out by the torture instruments in the village though, meaning some things are scary, just not the werewolves.

Edit: I forgot to mention an interesting passage from the Kuroshitsuji Original Picture Drama live reading from 2015. As far as I know, the script was written by Yana Toboso. It's all done mainly for comedic purposes. However, there's a part where the characters are drinking and chatting and eventually some get a little tipsy. What Snake says in a drunken crying fit is "I'm a snake! I feel better if I drink a lot of sake!" Interesting, isn't it? ;) Go ahead and watch it yourself here if you feel like it: https://youtu.be/xMmrWsHLaqc?si=ozkAfssE_fLOOoaM&t=506

To end I'd also like to call attention to the cover art from Chapter 196. Him being confused about a lemon cake and a lemon tart being different snacks when they're both sweet and both cakes made it to the cover art. He's having trouble grasping how a lemon flavored dessert can be different from another lemon flavored dessert.

I think that sums it up nicely, although I might have forgotten some things. I do apologize if anyone has already made this correlation between this work by H. G. Wells and Snake's possible origins, I couldn't find anything related.

Of course it can all be explained easily by just saying he sees the snakes as family and as "us" because he has a connection to them. However, it's the "how he came to be" part that is my main motive behind the theory.

I put a lot of love and care into this theory and since Snake's flashbacks might be coming up soon, I thought I'd share it just so that it's out there for all it's worth.

Thank you so much for reading. Have a lovely day. Red

#kuroshitsuji #snake #black butler #theory #island of dr moreau theory #Snake is a snake #kuroshitsuji snake #black butler snake

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boredgirl2004 · 3 months ago

Text

Day 3: Bill and the Universe

The page immediately turned to a blank page that quickly formed letters from my blood, There was a sketch of the book that revealed a human spin inside, an ‘X’ with an arrow pointing at it that said Lick here which, is something I won’t do. There was a paragraph under the drawing that said :

“Congrats on your new book, The Book of Bill, Which will be your new guide of life forever! If you’re starting to have second thoughts about reading it, too bad! There’s no way to get rid of this book! Go ahead, throw it away! I DARE YOU! IT WILL FOLLOW YOU TO THE GRAVE.

The book contains:

A real human spine! I wonder who they stole it from?

“Paper” made from pressed, pureed human brain matter. I can invade anything with neurons, so you may already be a winner!

1,000 free paper cuts, to be awarded to 1,000 lucky readers at random! Check your fingers; you may already be a winner!

A whole secret that you probably won’t find.

A soul. If you burn this book, it WILL scream.

BEES!

Below the list of what the book contains, there was a verification tab that read “I am not Dipper Pines.” I don't know who that is but I might as well check it, I gently pressed my thumb on the tap, and once I pulled it off; it revealed my bloody thumbprint. I heard a distorted bing sound, I looked around the room only to see nothing, I was already losing my mind by imagining things…although nothing seemed to be real, I had to keep reminding myself of tha-

“Ah, the classic ‘I am not Dipper Pines’ verification! Nice touch, huh? It’s all part of the fun, the thrill, the… insanity? But let’s not kid ourselves here—this isn’t just your imagination. This is something far more interesting. You’re on the brink of discovering secrets that most people can only dream of! Sure, things might get a little bloody and a tad unnerving, but that’s the price of admission to the greatest show in the multiverse! Keep your cool, keep that book open, and let’s see where this wild ride takes you. Who knows, you might even enjoy it!” I looked down on the page for Bill and saw that my thumbprint was no longer there and all that remained was a checkmark in the verification box, On the next page showed the table of contents of the book, There were 5 chapters of this book, The introduction chapter that contained information of Bill. A guide to everything that Bill knows, his origin story, a chatper titled “Sixer” from what I could only assume was about Standford Pines and last, the final chapter that conveyed a plan- to what you may ask? I wasn’t sure at the time. I can see Bill in the bottom corner of the page in those tiny vintage bowls that would contain old hard candy but there were only deer teeth?

“Well, I hope you don’t disappoint me, Bill. I look forward to what that mind brings from these chapters, especially on the Parallel Dimensions and Urban dimensions page! Also don’t worry about my insanity, I’m already there with my crippling anxiety and many, many unresolved issues!” I said with laughter, bill laughed as well, his laughter was so loud that it began to echo along the walls,

“Oh, disappointment? Not in my vocabulary! You’re about to dive headfirst into the twisted realms of Parallel Dimensions and Urban Dimensions—where reality bends and logic breaks! Crippling anxiety and unresolved issues? Perfect! You’re already primed for the wildest ride of your life! Embrace the insanity, relish the chaos, and let’s tear down the walls of reality together! We’ll explore the unknown, defy the impossible, and dance on the edge of madness! Trust me, you haven’t seen anything yet!” He said with gleeful madness as I looked at my bedroom door anxiously, hoping no one in my house heard that. I could only assume Bill felt this quick change in my demeanor. His laughter is cut short, his tone shifts slightly; still sounding chipper but more calculated. “Oh, worried about dear old mom and dad busting in, huh? I hear ya, my folks were like that as well but as I always say! The thrill of secrets, the fear of getting caught—is delicious, isn’t it? But don’t worry, kiddo, they can’t hear me. This is our little adventure, just between you and me. Keep those fears close; they’ll make the journey even more exhilarating! Now, let's get back to those mind-bending chapters before anyone interrupts our fun. Remember, the best discoveries are made on the edge of fear!” I was kind of listening to Bill but my full attention was glued to my door, as a way to reassure myself, I could hear Bill sigh from the page.

“C’mon, kiddo! Don’t let the fear of Ma and Pops hold you back from greatness! This journey’s packed with mind-blowing wonders that’ll make you shine! My own family? Oh, they were a real piece of work, but we’ll save that juicy tidbit for later. For now, focus on what you truly want, and watch them beam with pride once you pull it off! I’ll be right here, your trusty guide through the chaos. Get comfortable! Eat some deer teeth—trust me, it’s a delicacy! Let’s dive into this wild ride together!” He said comfortingly as he tossed a single deer tooth from the page, causing it to pass through the brain matter page and into my hand. I smiled politely and gently placed the tooth on the side of the book. “Thanks but I’m not a teeth person but I appreciate the snack!” I said politely as Bill's eye turned into a mouth and chomped on the tooth he held in his hand. “How is he able to eat stuff with his eye? Is it an odd feeling?” I thought to myself as I watched him chew on his weird choice of a snack. I decided to turn the page and I saw a small biography page, “About me” it read, a picture of a beautifully sketched brain was below the words, I began to read the paragraph under it. To me, it reminded me of a dictionary:

“Bill, noun 1. The most important triangle in history; your new best friend, life coach, overlord, style consultant, mentor, mental case, mastermind, and mind master.

So you wanna know about me?

Well, folks, I’m just as rascal! A mischievous fella! A funny little guy! But no matter how loudly I try to scream my intentions, everyone seems to think I’m “evil” or “a sociopath” or “ruining this funeral by playing a slide whistle everytime someone says the name of the deceased.” But I’m not a bad guy! I just operate on my own frequency. Cosmically and morally! I’ve tried wearing I’ve tried wearing this shirt to explain.” There was an arrow that pointed at bill who, was now wearing a pink shirt that was too big on him, it read “ Umm… I’m a little Different get used to it” Different and get used to it were in two different fonts to express Bill intense and weird personality, and to top it off there was a kiss mark on the shirt. I continued to read the page

“Think of me as your friend who can never die. A bad idea and a good time. The guy pulling the strings behind the unknowable veil of perception. And I have a cute little bow tie. I’ve by many names. Network censors call me “A lawsuit waiting to happen.” Therapists call me “ A sign that the medication isn’t working.” Serial killers call me “Honestly surprisingly down to earth.” Wherever there’s a hand to shake and a deal to make, buddy, I’m there.” There was a centipede that had words on its back that read “Bill Cipher, dream demon. Screen to contact.” To me, this was very odd but then again, so far, Bill is showing himself to be a very odd person. Despite the weird bug on the page, I continued to read the page, looking at the bug to make sure it wouldn’t move on its own to scare me.

“Look I get it-you're probably craving the rare, never-before details about my life, huh? Well, I haven’t done an interview in a billion years or so, but just you I’ll go to the only unbiased source in the entire multiverse: Me!”

On the next page, it resembled those celebrity magazines on the latest gossip on Hollywood that you would see in Target or Walmart. Bill was the center on the picture, his hands held together while he sat at a table that had an arrangement of items for a day out for tea. The magazine was titled “The Bill Magazine” The page turned on its own to reveal two Bill Ciphers sitting on two couches across each other. Bill asked himself questions and Bill answered them like any other celebrity would. There would be personal questions, questions to rumors that are given a not-so-straightforward answer, and questions about the person's actions and how they took accountability with a video they posted on the internet. I marveled at the pictures that were taken of Bill from photographers and honestly, the one with Bill wearing pants the wrong way, cracked me up. (I didn’t feel like writing the whole thing because there are soooo many things that I’m gonna have to crack this chapter in separate parts but I can’t decide where to cut it off because I like to make my stories long. I always hated when people made fanfics and then they are cut short everytime which leaves a hangover or it isn’t ongoing anymore but I understand because life gets hella busy so might as well make mine hella long so you guys can have a huge chapter to read until the next one comes out! I apologize but I know what I must do. So If I cut off a page in the book that you liked, I am sorry!!)

As I turned to the next page, Bill was floating in the endless void of space, images of his “eyes” were all over the book that seemed to be pictures that were taken in real life. His presence seemed to be everywhere whether it would be his triangular shape or his eyes.

“I SEE ALL”

He said creepily.

“It’s time to tell you about my unholy powers! Like a potato grew too close to Chernobyl, I’ve got eyes everywhere. Any symbol of me that you draw, scratch, spray-paint, or burn into the human world creates a direct peephole from my reality to yours! The more I see, the more my power grows! The more my power grows, the more fun we can have when you and I finally meet! Wanna help Put me somewhere no one would ever expect! (Just keep me out of the shower, you freak!!)” I cringed at whoever could do something like that but people are people. They’ll do something like that cause you know, cringy crushes or as Ford put the other group of people “EDGY”. I turned the page once more and read Bill's powers which had ranged from Mind reading, possession, ciphervoyance, charisma, pyrokinesis, and…Looking amazing in formal wear? Also, Geometric perfection? I looked at the two of Bill's powers with confusion, I get charisma because I mean, it takes a lot to be smooth when most people are anxious and overthink like myself but everyone falls for it because charisma is a person's weakness. Speaking of weaknesses. I wonder what weaknesses Bill has. I read the other page or well tried to before Bill just lifted the page and spoke out in anger, his appearance taking a glowing red hue. “HOLD UP!! You really thought I was gonna give you step-by-step instructions to taking me down?” Here we were getting along, and you try to stab me in the back! You know what-because you tried to peek at this- I’M CANCELING THE BOOK! That's right, you drove me to this! From this point on, you’re reading The Great Gatsby, instead. BOOK OF BILL OVER!!!” Before I could react the page turned to a portion of The Great Gatsby. I sighed and spoke softly. “Bill, how I could I have stabbed you in the back when you had your weaknesses in the about you chapter of this book? After all, you made this book.” I get no response. Only for the page to be turned again. I roll my eyes at how petty he was trying to be, “Okay you sassy Dorito, be that salty. I would rather read The Great Gatsby and how it explains metaphors that corresponded with the world during that time!” I read the pages of The Great Gatsby until Bill burst through the last page, white out in his hand that he used to cover the end of the page to write what he wanted to say. “ OKAY OKAY ENOUGH!” I crossed my arms as he yelled his red hue remaining, my face was unfazed by his little outburst. “Yeesh, I get it, the billboard is a metaphor, the American Dream is bittersweet, yak, yak, yak! Look, I might have been a little hasty. Not even a meat pile like you deserves to experience “required reading.” I guess maybe I’m a little touchy about my weaknesses ever since…It’s not important, Let’s just say that none of the life-forms who have tried to figure out what my “weaknesses are” have lived long enough to compare notes.” I looked at him with a cold expression until it quickly faded. “Look I understand why you are upset but again, how was I supposed to know you’re sensitive about something like this? I know I have to get to know you and I appreciate that you are telling me things about yourself that no one will ever hear and see but me but please be if not fully but somewhat aware of your sensitivities.” Bill's yellow hue returned to his triangular form, he looked at me with a bit of respect and arrogance. Once he spoke, his voice was a mixture of a sardonic edge with an undertone of begrudging respect from my words.

“Oh, so you’re playing the understanding card, huh? I see you’re trying to navigate my labyrinth of quirks and sensitivities. Well, points for effort! Sure, I’ve got my share of touchy spots, but that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? A little sensitivity here, a little chaos there—it’s all part of the game. Just remember, in this world of mine, the unexpected is the norm. So buckle up and let’s keep this wild ride rolling. The more you get to know me, the crazier the adventure will be!” I sighed picked up the book and walked to my bed, I sat on my bed. My pillow was against my back, the book was now on my lap. “It’s less of understanding but it's more of letting you know that if you know good and well that I’m gonna get to know you, I’m also going to see the more sensitive parts of you that make you vulnerable If you can’t handle sharing certain information then maybe wait until you are ready to let me in on that personal level, until then, if you don’t like it, don't give me that sass for your actions” I said politely as I continued to stare at him.

He crackles mockingly and playfully speaks as a way to challenge my words. “Oh, so you’re laying down the law, huh? Fair enough, I get it—boundaries and all that jazz. But hey, this whole thing is a dance, and I didn’t think you’d be afraid of stepping on a few toes. If you’re gonna wade into my personal chaos, you’d better be ready for the mess that comes with it! I’ll dial back the sass if you promise to keep your curiosity sharp and your sense of adventure sharper. Deal?” I shake my head at Bill's response;

“Well, I mean, it's common sense and I’m placing a boundary because it seemed like you don’t like bringing it up so I might as well politely remind you that you don’t have to if you don’t want to speak about them. Take it as you will I don’t care unless you do care that I’m putting a boundary for your sake.” I say nonchalantly, showing my true intentions and speaking whatever words pop out of my brain but that's just how my mind works. I do not think things over but I say what comes into my mind because it's how I feel or see things. It’s just my honesty and it has gotten me in trouble a few times. Bill’s voice takes on a slightly defensive but playful tone. “Oh, boundaries and common sense—what a combo! I get it, you’re playing it safe and looking out for me. How very considerate! I’ll keep that in mind, no need to twist my eye into a pretzel over it. If it makes things smoother and keeps the fun rolling, who am I to complain? Boundaries, schmountaries—just don’t let it cramp your style too much. After all, a little chaos is what makes this adventure truly wild!”

I gave a witty response back to Bill “Well, if we must go through chaos then I might as well be respectful, no matter how crazy this book and its author is.” Bill only laughed and wiped the tear from his eye “Sure, Whatever ya say kiddo but I do have to say, I’m starting to like ya!” he said with amusement.

As I turned the page, it revealed another letter from Stanford Pines.

“STANDFORD PINES HERE

If you’ve reached this page, then you ignored my instructions and have begun to read The Book of Bill. You can’t hear the long disappointed sigh I’m making right now, but I assure you it's devastating. Yes, I’m judging you-you’re making a terrible mistake! I don’t know what ridiculous things Bill is telling you right now, but I assure you none of it is true, useful, or in good taste. I took a glimpse at the book myself, and it was mostly extremely complex and riddles- he’s trying to bait me into solving them because he knows my curiosity is my Achilles’ heel. And he’s counting on yours being the same! If you’re the type is ignore reason even when it’s staring you in the face, then I’m sure the last thing you want is to be scolded by some old man, wagging one of his 6 fingers at you. Chances are, you’re at some desperate point in life. Perhaps you have lost something dear to you, or you’re in the throes of some all-consuming monomaniacal ambition. Or perhaps you just are attracted to things that haunt you. As a cipherholic myself, I want you to know there is another way. Close this book right now. Go on with your life. Maybe take up an exciting hobby like cataloging the wing patterns of various types of various types of rare tree-bark-dwelling moths. I’ve pinned one of gravity falls, “Goth Moths” here. You’d probably be into that sort of thing. Or you can keep turning the pages to see what absurd thing he’s distracting you with next. What's going to be-a tantalizing glimpse of your future, perhaps? How to speak to trees? Something obviously impossible, like how to make a nuclear bomb out of ducklings? It’s not worth it. Trust me. YOU HAVE TO TRUST ME.” I take in his warnings but I can’t help but not really appreciate Ford's avoidance of confrontation. I’m not doubting his knowledge because he seems protective to whoever gets their hands on this book (despite being a complete stranger) but what if the only way to destroy the book was to find it on the inside rather than leaving it closed because what if the book tries to find another victim? How can we stop them when there will always be that one person who’d end up falling for it and letting him out? If Ford truly is trying to avoid Bill coming back, then I might as well find a way and if I don’t I’m gonna make sure this book stays with me until I bring it to the right person and the only person I could ever bring it do was Standford Pines. I looked at the moth that was pined on the page, it was pretty to me, I could see why they call it the “Goth Moth” I’m sure all the goth kids love this moth and would want to keep it as a beautiful pet of the night, the face on the wings remind me of that Halloween and Christmas movie I watched as a kid.

I turn the page, keeping Standford's warnings at the back of my head. I saw Bill looking into a keyhole of a large door that said atop the frame “The Secrets of the Universe”. On the right of the page. I hear Bill speak “Oh, hello there. You just caught me peeking at all the secrets of the universe! The meaning of life, what everyone’s saying about you behind your back, how to make s functioning atomic bomb out of ducklings, blah blah blah blah, boring stuff like that and my entire journey through history. You wouldn’t be interested! Hmm? What’s that? Okay, I can tell you by how comically wide your eyes are getting that you really wanna know what’s behind this door! Look…normally I only share my unholy knowledge with close personal henchmen…but you seem like the type of human who can keep infinite secrets. All right. I’ll consider letting you take a peek…IF YOU CAN PASS MY TEST. I need to know your mind is powerful enough to handle my deep, dark secrets without your brain melting out your ears and staining your shirt. Lucky for you I keep one of these brain-power tests with me at all times in case I come upon a potential new V̶i̶c̶t̶i̶m̶ best friend!” I was concerned about how he said the victim and quickly changed the word to best friend. I don’t know how badly I’m screwed but hey, I wanted to open the book with hope that I could destroy it and I accept that and my fate from how this all goes. I hear Bill's cheery voice, “Get that pencil sharpened buddy!-it’s time to see what you’re made of! (Aside from bile and dead skin flakes.)” He said as he, I guess smiled at me and then turned his attention back to the door and muttered to himself, “Oh-oh-OH! No kidding? Wow, they should NOT have published that…”

As I grabbed a pencil off my nightstand and turned the page, the test was confusing and seemed impossible to me, it was filled with images, puzzles, scenarios, and riddles that made little to no sense. I sat there heavily confused, I didn’t know how to answer them, even if I tried; so to make it easier on my brain because I began to have a headache from reading and trying to figure it out; I turned the pages until I got to the answer key page. There were two answers “You Failed” and “You passed” in all caps on the page. At first, I thought I had failed by not answering the questions but to my surprise, I didn’t fail. I looked at the page my brows furrowed with confusion. After that weirdly long and confusing test; not answering the question was the answer to this overly complicated test? I saw a picture of two figures, one was familiar and the other wasn’t. It was a drawing of Standford next to a little boy with the same lost expression. Was this boy his grandson? Nephew? I wasn’t too sure but you can see it from a mile away that they were related. Although the comment about them was distasteful to me. “Pictured guys who like homework. Not pictured girlfriends.” I mean I understand why no one likes homework but its there to make sure we understand the things we have learned and we continue to use this useful knowledge into our adulthood. (I wasn’t very good in school but it's still good to know things even when you know damn well you won’t use a majority of the things you learned but it's still necessary.) Bill appeared as a clay figure on the right of the page that had a cuckoo clock with other clay figures of himself.

Bill’s laughter crackles and echos throughout my room. “Well color me impressed, dollface! You’re not as dumb as I thought you were. Not many can navigate the twisted paths I lay out, but you? You’ve got that special spark. You’ve proven you’re not just some ordinary mind; you’ve got the guts, the brains, and just the right amount of crazy to keep up with me! Now that you’ve earned your place, the real fun begins. Get ready, because from here on out, things are only going to get weirder, wilder, and a whole lot more dangerous! Welcome to the next level, kid!” He said as he pulled on the straps of his lederhosen with an impressed look in his eye as he stared at me.

“Before we continue Bill, I have something to ask you about the test,” I said with a hint of curiosity. Bill propped his foot on a log as he put his hands on his….uh. I guess I’m gonna say his triangular form since he has no hips- and spoke in playful suspicion, he gives an intrigued stare. “Oh? A question, you say? Curiosity is a dangerous thing, but I like where this is going. What’s on your mind, kid? Ask away—but be careful, the answers might just be more than you bargained for!”

“Was the point of the test supposed to be that how to understand your knowledge of everything is that the universe is a weird, chaotic place that may seem complicated but it is as the test? It’s a thing that will confuse someone but you just have to turn a page and see that no matter whether you answer, there isn’t a correct answer at all, it's just all complicated and choatic either way?” I asked, my voice laced with confusion

Bill burst into laughter of amusement and approval, his voice practically oozing with his twisted satisfaction, “Bingo! You’ve hit the nail right on the head! The universe is a swirling mess of chaos and contradictions, and trying to make sense of it is like trying to solve a puzzle with no pieces! The test wasn’t about finding the ‘right’ answer—it was about embracing the madness, realizing that there isn’t a neat little solution waiting for you. The universe is weird, unpredictable, and gloriously chaotic, just like me! And the sooner you accept that, the more fun you’ll have playing the game. So, what do you say? Ready to dive deeper into the madness?”

Now…this was my first mistake, despite the previous warnings I had reminded myself from Ford's letters, I fell into Bill's trap and I can say this with genuine honesty; I wanted to know how Bill viewed everything. From life to death, and I even wanted to know his life, what made him the being he was-is? I felt genuine curiosity because if there was no right answer and we have to just accept the universe as it is then maybe the universe itself accepts you as you are, People's views on anything and everything is chaotic, confusing, and different just like how the universe is; yet we still continuously find answers when there isn’t one and it doesn’t matter if there was one, just be happy with whatever you got and accept that the universe is weird, and as Bill put it, “a whirling mess of chaos.” I felt like my overly complicated question that people, and even my own family would raise an eyebrow to was finally answered by someone who could answer it. I didn’t feel ashamed to ask these weird questions. I felt happy that my question was answered.

“Heck yeah, I am!! I wanna see all the weird views and knowledge you have on anything and EVERYTHING! Even about yourself!!” I say happily as I give Bill a genuine smile. Bill's eyes widened with delight, his voice laced with a manic excitement as he spoke, “Now that’s the spirit! I knew you had it in you! You’re diving headfirst into the unknown, eager to unravel every twisted secret, every bizarre truth! And trust me, kid, I’ve got plenty to share—about the universe, reality, and even a little about yours truly! You’re in for a wild ride, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner in chaos! So, buckle up, keep that smile wide, and let’s tear through the fabric of reality together! There’s no turning back now!” I turn the page to reveal the title of this new chapter.

(I will update this once I am fully done with the chapter since this will go over a lot of pages in the book! So, I am taking shortcuts and narrowing some making the important ones longer and giving more Bill interactions. Also, I changed the titles to days so I can make it really seem like it's a journal or crazy post from an insane person because it's not real and this writing is just for fun.)

#bill cipher #gravity falls #bill cipher x reader #the book of bill #fanfic #gravity falls bill

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hisui-dreamer · 1 year ago

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✧⁠𝕆𝕔𝕥𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕖✦

🌸→ headcanons

🌼→ fics

🪻→ blurbs

All 🐙🐬🦈

《captured melodies》 — you were their favorite siren, but they had to watch as you got taken away🌼

《at your service》 — how he is with an acts of service lover 🌸

《to the happiest place on earth》 — going on a date with them to Tokyo Disneyland 🌸

《slipped away》 — he took your affections for granted until you slipped away🪻

《definitely not prophetic!》— you keep having these incandescently happy dreams of him🪻

《tangled mers》 — they're just silly little mers🪻

《once upon a dream...?》 — you've been having dreams with a faceless man that treats you like you're his world🪻

《he's home》 — he's finally home after being away for so, so long🪻

《we're here together》 — dating him at school 🌸

《forgive me, love?》 — he can't really stay mad at you at all🪻

《not so secret》 — receiving a bouquet dedicated to you from a secret admirer🪻

Azul Ashengrotto🐙

❝Helping unfortunate folk like yourself—that’s what I live for.❞

《may i have your attention?》 — how does he react when you tickle him? 🌸

《attention, please?》 — he tickles you back in revenge for not paying attention 🌸

《wings of pure white but a devilish smile》 — you reveal to him that you're an angel, but you don't act like one at all 🌸

《the warmth of your arms》 — what are his sleeping habits with you? 🌸

《his unconditional acceptance》 — you're insecure about how skinny you are, but he'll love you regardless 🌸

《an exchange for a spark》 — sometimes you get more than what you asked for in an exchange🌼

《love will find a way》 — you had to raise your child without him, but it is your child, who brings you back to him 🌸

《this time》 — your cowardice cost you from confessing to him once, but maybe you can get a second chance this time🌼

《a letter never meant to be delivered》 — you find a letter left on his desk and find his feelings for you have overflowed onto it🌼

《the doodles that drew us together》 — he thought all his life he didn't have a soulmate 🌸

《rewrite the stars》 — if the stars say we're not meant to be, then why don't we just rewrite them 🌸

《i'm a mastermind》 — what if he told you none of it was accidental🪻

《clingy octopus》 — he's just a weak octopus in front of you🪻

Jade Leech🐬

❝If you’d like all your dreams to come true, then come here.❞

《amber and sea glass》 — how curious, a human child always by the shore but they don't fear him 🌼

《i'm wishing on a fallen star》 — it's your wedding day, but he's not the one next to you 🌼

《embers of loves's flames》 — his love was like a fire, but you never wavered in yours 🌼

《harveston's warmth》 — he notices you're shivering in the cold and helps you keep warm 🌸

《ensnared by the stars》 — you waltzed right into his trap, but maybe you had done so willingly 🌼

《cook your way to your man's heart!》 — the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! 🌸

《won't you focus on me?》 — he tickles you back in revenge for not paying attention 🌸

《the edge of adventure》 — anything would be thrilling if he's the one by your side🌼

《never too late》 — you had to raise your child without him, but it is your child, who brings you back to him 🌸

《a short break》 — a short break wouldn't do any harm after you've worked hard for so long🌼

《a fool's heartstrings》 — a fool in love can be so easily flustered🌼

《a letter never meant to be delivered》— you find a letter left on his desk and find his feelings for you have overflowed onto it🌼

《minds alike》 — you wanted to move forward in your relationship with him, and where else but a glowing mushroom cave?🌼

《rewrite the stars》 — if the stars say we're not meant to be, then why don't we just rewrite them 🌸

《unspoken pleas and hidden confessions》 — you can do nothing but say goodbye to him, but maybe there's someone waiting for you🌼

《moon and stars》 — the moon and stars could be yours if you simply asked🌼

《pay attention!》 — when they aren't paying attention to you, what better way to get their attention than a tickle attack? 🌸

《of scheming hearts》 — if you're born into the enemy family, you suppose the best solution would be to simply switch sides 🌼

《ode to the scheming eel》 — the world would never know how wonderful he is, but he was a treasure beyond compare🌼

《tipsy embers》 — when it feels like the two of you are the only ones left, a little liquid courage goes a long way🌼

《crafty spouse》 — you like embroidering little mushrooms in his clothes🪻

《tell me you love me》 — how could you even know if the person he fell in love with was real or not?🌼

《taisho jade》 — historical au thoughts🪻

《i'm a mastermind》 — what if he told you none of it was accidental🪻

《gathering suspicion》 — in which he convinces the entire school you're dating before he even confesses🪻

《hiking dates》 — in which you have too little stamina to keep up 🪻

《everlasting mementos》 — you've left twisted wonderland, leaving behind a simple bouquet of flowers for him as a parting gift 🌸

《is it love or just really nice flowers?》— jade likes giving you flowers, it probably doesn't mean anything special though… right?🌼

Floyd Leech 🦈

❝I’ll be gentle when I squeeze you, so come on over here.❞

《wouldn't mind》 — he hated monotony, but you always seemed to bring a spark of excitement 🌼

《he lives in you》 — you had to raise your child without him, but it is your child, who brings you back to him 🌸

《wooden charms》 — you kept avoiding him! what did he do wrong?🌼

《his cleaner shrimp》 — you had only meant to help him once, but he attached himself to you straight away🌼

《unspoken pleas and hidden confessions》 — you can do nothing but say goodbye to him, but maybe there's someone waiting for you🌼

《such lengths》 — if your fiancé is the one to kill you in an arranged marriage you can't refuse, then why not seduce said fiancé so he won't kill you?🌼

《ode to the spontaneous eel》 — though he came off as intimidating, you quickly learned how much warmth he held 🌼

《gone to madness》 — if doing the same thing over and over was madness, then you supposed you weren't far off from insanity 🌼

《grumpy eel》— he's surprisingly childish when he's mad🪻

《forgetful eel》 — he is not only forgetful, but also unpredictable 🌼

#masterlist #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #disney twisted wonderland #twst imagines #twst wonderland

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goldensunset · 3 months ago

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while I can't say I've encountered nearly as many Radiant Garden fans as you probably have in order for that to jump to mind, I actually did find myself really agreeing with your take on it. I totally thought I was missing some cutscenes for a while, like maybe I just hadn't seen something that was in the manga or in the DS version of 358/2 days, but no. people actually do just extrapolate off of nothing. and while that's fine for the most part, I never see this level of dedication being put in for female characters. as a huge Aqua fan it's frustrating that she has so many interesting qualities that I'd love to see explored but DON'T because most of the fandom would rather extrapolate from a guy with 4 seconds of screen time than even think about her. unless she's being shipped with Terra, I guess. I think the R.G. folks are just a microcosm of that bigger issue--they'd dig into the earth's fucking mantle looking for gold in an emo boy before digging six feet down for a woman

salt under the cut (i won’t make this a habit i promise)

adjdjcnsnxn that’s an incredible way to put it i might steal that phrasing… see like again i understand the ienzo thing purely from a life situation point of view. if a lil boy was an orphan raised by sketchy weirdos in a lab and then at the ripe old age of 8 had the whole losing-his-heart-and-growing-up-less-than-human-raised-in-a-cult thing. sure i’d want to explore that too! i’d read farther into it than canon. but literally where is the passion for aqua or kairi or skuld etc etc… i mean the girls have their fans but like no one is out here constructing an entire elaborate universe out of them. like i do my best but it’s hard work… but i mean that’s hardly surprising right. that’s how the story goes

honestly ienzo fans don’t even make me mad it’s more like i get annoyed when ppl obsess over like. aeleus and dilan.. because respectfully and i say this with love. there is *nothing* there. they didn’t even bother bringing back their vas in kh3. they are filler. why do all the shifty weirdo radiant garden men draw rabid fans but heaven forbid the ladies get love. hold on *approaches hornet’s nest with a baseball bat* i think there’s something about specifically adult fictional men that- ((i reconsider and stop myself))

but like. people are allowed to do whatever they want idk at worst it’s annoying when they start attacking others over alleged mischaracterization. yes i know in your fun and admittedly interesting fantasy he acts like this. but you cannot get mad when another fan portrays him the way we see him in canon lollllllllll

#but that’s enough negativity. lemme just say: shoutout to the people who DO extrapolate from the girls #kairi fans around these parts are so so cool. give her an inferiority complex!#give her loneliness and guilt so crushing she’ll jump headfirst into any insanity or danger to relieve herself of it!#it isn’t making stuff up it’s just exploring canon further!!#people who make fan works for kairi with genuine love in their hearts NEVERRRRR miss it’s so good #aqua benefitted immensely from 0.2 it’s basically just a character study #like that was exactly what she needed. all that latent crushing weight in bbs being brought up properly #now i wish they’d explore the implications of finally being back in normal reality after having been alone in darkness in warped time #and like the aftereffects of being anti-aqua and plus having had to fight her friends #and coming to terms with the reality that the world has aged 11 years around her but she hasn’t #basically like i want her to have ptsd and dysphoria of sorts #canon is probably too cowardly to take the time to do that so like ig it falls to fans. but i’m happy with what we’ve gotten so far #skuld as subject x fans. celestial trio fans. again they make such amazing work for something that technically isn’t even confirmed yet #asks #dj-of-the-coven

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posttexasstressdisorder · 2 months ago

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youtube

This is divine channelling here.

Ya got Lenny...ya got Glenn Gould.

Together they conjured Bach's essence here.

Their recording of the Bach Concerti (and Gould's other Bach Concerti w/Golschman) are pure magic.

And Glenn's recording of Bach's Italian Concerto (for solo keyboard) is unparalleled. The sheer energy of the first movement sweeps you off your feet and carries you along. The control Gould exhibits in the pensive second movement is uncanny. The finale is again, another rush of divine madness to the end. And you want to hear it again.

Gould was autistic and everyone thought him strange as fuck. And to "regular folk" in 1960, he WAS strange as fuck.

But when he stopped being strange as fuck long enough to play Bach, the results are nothing less than divine.

youtube

#Youtube

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mintywolf · 1 year ago

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A Long Road Home - Author Notes

Page 29

More well-meaning but terrible parenting! The little detail of her dad’s hand cradling her head to comfort her while she’s being DROWNED made me really sad.

I was on the “Dawnfather worshipers are kinda jerks” train before it was cool. ;) Although purely by chance! I noticed that Imogen seems to have an indifferent-to-hostile relationship with the gods, and Pelor seemed the most likely to have a strong following in Gelvaan because it’s an agricultural community, so I figured if she’d had a previous bad experience with religion it was probably with him. This incident was inspired by (and an intentional corruption of) the image of a Southern river baptism and also by the “ordeal by cold water” by which a suspected witch was submersed to determine guilt or innocence based on whether or not she sank.

The girl on the left, whom we have seen on a few pages, is until I am disproved by canon meant to be one of the Tildamere family, about whom we know almost nothing except that they’re one of Gelvaan’s prominent families and the kids of her own age were mean to Imogen.

Her hair being long here but shoulder-length at the same age on page 20 isn’t a continuity error — it used to be fairly common to cut a girl’s long hair in the event of a prolonged fever. (Experienced by Mary Ingalls in the Little House books, among others.) The reasons given for this vary — it was either for practicality to make it easier to care for while bedridden, or to keep the sufferer’s head cooler, or because of a folk belief that long hair taxed someone’s strength. So her dad cut her hair when she had pneumonia. I don’t expect anyone to have inferred this by comparing the pages, and it’ll be mentioned again by Imogen when it’s relevant later in the chapter, just clarifying that it isn’t a mistake. :)

(And yes, she’s still mad about it.)

#a long road home #author notes

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onaperduamedee · 1 year ago

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Notes on Crossroads of twilight

Gabrelle has some neat insights on bonding that show how different the warder bond is from every other bond forced on AS at this point. Also her relationship with Logain and the language used to talk about it are interesting: it’s an abusive relationship

For all the shit Logain did, I am fairly sure he is not a DF (and he saved Siuan), so I am rooting for him to catch onto Taim and rule the Black Tower in his place.

Oh shit, I didn't even think how the madness could affect Alanna, Elayne, Aviendha and Min. They dodged a bullet here

Still Iove RJ's thought experiment of the female fear of all men having the potential to kill and women just not knowing pushed to the extreme, resulting in male channelers destroying everything and needing gentling: A Concept

I say this completely unironically btw: I have reservations about the way gender is depicted in this universe and how power dynamics along the lines of gender works, but the concept truly is mesmerising and he clearly wove it into so many dynamics

“without the law, there was nothing” - I do appreciate the Tower's approach to accountability and sentencing, I really do. Also, I am still loving the BA hunters even if I am stressed as hell for all of them

Yukiri recalling Elaida had molested Siuan when Siuan was Elaida’s favourite, and then praising Siuan's skills... I LOVE SIUAN SO MUCH AND YEAH YOU BETTER FEEL A PANG OF SADNESS FOR HER

“Yukiri stopped and used both hands to turn the other woman to face her.” - I cackled. I have grumbled about the excessive use of gesture descriptions in the past but it can be used to the greatest comedic effect, truly

"Still, Captain-General was a ridiculous title, Battle Ajah or no Battle Ajah. At least Head Clerk really described what Serancha did, in a manner of speaking." - LOVE the AS's "workplace comedy set in an administration" energy

Seaine is onto the same thing about the Sitters as Siuan in Salidar... This is so exciting. One of the reasons I dig this plot is that it's fundamentally spy stuff. It's a conspiracy investigation wrapped in murder mystery

"Who thought about where cheese came from?" - Gawyn has many flaws but insulting me to my face about cheese is by far the greatest slight

Samitsu quickly suspects that being stilled breaks the Oaths unlike the Salidar sisters... It's very interesting to be in the POV of some of the more independent AS - if one could travel with Cadsuane and truly be independent

Loial trying to sneak out past the Aes Sedai with an Asha'man and landing in the middle of murder attempts left and right was pretty funny. I knew it was him and am so happy to see him again. I missed him

I was holding my breath during Dobraine's healing. I thought he was done, ooof. Well done, Samitsu

Outside of the Ituralde long day's journey into the snow, it honestly was one of the better prologues. It's promising!

On the Mat chapters:

-The Seanchan are beyond despicable. Of course they slaughtered the Sea Folk on top of slavery

-I would like to see Luca help kidnap the DO actually. For money, he would do it

-Egeanin is getting on my nerves and Mat should not trust her

-Noal is sneaking around and now I am suspicious

-The scene with Selucia taking the pot away from Tuon and Setalle handing her a cup they have in several versions to throw was pure screwball comedy

-it's so hazardous to have the former damane and sul'dam shacking up together, wth. Someone is bound to be killed

-Mat... Sensing Rand... That's gay

-I enjoy Mat and Tuon's dynamic, oddly. As relationship building goes, it works miles better than the others

- The white supremacy talking points and buzzwords in the Seanchan's mouths: to say I expect a lot from their depiction in the show is putting it mildly

- Tuon's doll with Karede echoes Mat's Birgitte scene from the show... Clever

I just really enjoy Mat's parts. He's tremendously entertaining, always having a scheme up his sleeve and his sense of loyalty, even to people he despises, makes him so sympathetic, even when he's being a jerk.

I gotta give it to Perrin, it takes a special kind of misogyny to go on paragraphs about not trusting Wise Ones and Aes Sedai, and then turning around and trusting Bawler who spent the entirety of the scene manipulating him. He acknowledges Bawler’s manipulation but it doesn’t make the double standard any more palatable.

“Moiraine had had to finish that pack, with balefire.” - hell yeah, I’ll take any mention of this unbreakable soul. I miss her. I am delighted the Darkhounds are back too. They are probably my favourite Shadowspawns.

Berelain is so smart. I love her and her relationship with Perrin is truly fascinating. Now that Faile is out of the picture, she has no reason to pursue Perrin as payback and she is genuinely invested in helping Perrin find her. In a queerer world, they are in a ménage à trois.

The Perrin chapters are whatever. I've made my peace with a moody description of the same spot in the woods every two pages; at least I get more Berelain to counter the moodiness and trying to figure out Masema is fun. It’s a promenade.

Faile's plot is actually quite gripping even if it's happening in the midst of some disturbing choices made in the depiction of servitude. Whether damane, gai'shain or even prisoners, I think it has something to do with the way slaves who aren’t main characters are presented in an oddly deterministic way, as if some temperament, always main characters’, will more naturally “resist” enslavement. It is obviously tied to the filtered POV, of Faile, of Mat, but I wish we got another perspective.

I am absolutely loving the delayed reactions to Rand and Nyn's cleansing. Everyone either wants to investigate or scram. Kudos to the Rebel AS for going “Time to be nerds.”

please tell me Nynaeve comes back from the war against an arc of her own soon. I am starving. It has been more than three books. Give her a plot of her own that’s not tacked to Elayne or Rand, come on!

Nynaeve healing saidin with Rand should have been the culmination of her arc about healing the incurable. From the start, her evolution has been rooted in learning to be able to heal, despite her hatred for the Aes Sedai, despite her lack of control in her own power, and yet she was little more than a conduit here and wasn't even consulted about the process. It feels like such a waste of an arc: I truly hope the show depicts Rand actively discussing the minutiae of the healing with Nynaeve prior to the cleansing and involve her more in the actual operation.

The thing about Elayne's mildness compared to other political animals like Egwene, Berelain and Siuan is that it kinda comes out as authorial unwillingness to depict her as unappealing, specifically to a male audience: it’s very iron fist in a velvet glove through a male gaze, and I don’t like that.

Elayne and Aviendha are very cute and gay together and not even the constant reminder that they are SISTERS together can erase that. I am daydreaming about Dyelin and Birgitte having hate sex too.

Between her manœuvring to have Rand's children and comparing Rand to a horse needing to be reigned in, Elayne is losing most of the sympathy I had for her faster than Lan and Moiraine lost ta'veren on their journey. But her chapters have Birgitte and I like their dynamic.

I do love the tragedy of Birgitte and Gaidal's love story, especially as life is what is drawing them apart. She is losing his memory and her ability to find him again.

Also, I need to go cry again about Vandene and Adeleas. I hope the show keeps how affected Vandene is. In general, there’s a glaring lack of empathy for Aes Sedai or women in power from the other characters, so it’s nice to have Elayne show solicitude to a grieving AS.

As satisfying as the BA hunt is to me, the DF and spy search in Caemlyn is just landing flat: if they cannot see Mellar is a Darkfriend, no way they are right about who killed Adeleas as well, and if they are, the lack of overall precautions is infuriating.

Essande frowning at Aviendha's choice of brooch because it clashes with the gown is deeply comical given the very garish colour combination RJ sometimes describes

As fun as the reveal is that Elayne's supporters are all children practically kidnapped by Dyelin, this only reinforces the impression that hereditary monarchies are impractical and nefarious, and that Elayne is herself little more than a child. Except it’s mostly okay because they are all of royal blood? It’s very interesting to see the difference in treatment between Egwene and Elayne.

I get it's the point of the scene: they are all very young but, the only ones willing to stand up for what's right, and will prove tougher and smarter than one suspects, but you know, it's still a fantasy nepo baby basket.

‘If you have any problems, I’ll lend you a pair of breeches and some boots, and you can walk for him.’ - I cackled. I adore Birgitte. And Dyelin. Also the books insistence that breeches are scandalous and too seductive makes the show’s decision to put Moiraine in pants all the more hilarious. Ah, yes, that slutty, slutty Moiraine Sedai.

Aviendha's view on spying is understandable: she did start as a spy for the Wise Ones against Rand. Light, they were also trying to push her in Rand’s bed to gain an edge on Rand too. Poor Avi.

Merillie rebelling and noping out with probably a Windfinder is the only thing that grabbed me these chapters.

Tbf, I am not opposed to a Princesse de Clèves-like approach to fantasy: it is fun! But I don't think it tonally fits here with the rest of the book.

A great deal of Elayne's intelligence is social baggage and knowing the norms & dynamics in a specific class. It doesn't mean she isn't smart, but it means part of her sharpness is social reproduction, and comes from social and symbolic capital. Not a criticism, but it’s another interesting contrast to Egwene, who went from AS training, to fucking around unsupervised, to Aiel training, to basically spy training with Siuan.

Between Myrdaal punishing women with rape, DF coercing disgraced BA members into sex and Shaido not respecting gai’shain immunity, I am getting tired.

Man, do I love Egwene’s chapters. I get so excited when I read about her and the Rebels that I actually need to pace myself. The reflections on reform in an institution are just so good and Egwene is such a layered character: her thinking of Tar Valon as her home despite everything that happened, recognizing the prime fuel for the military is poverty but depending on them, ever reminding herself she is the innkeeper's daughter. She has grown into such a keen-eyed and strong leader.

And speaking of incredible leaders, Siuan and Egwene's desire to let Elaida win if it means preserving the Tower makes me feral. Their devotion to the Tower and their fierce protectiveness of sometimes infuriating people with no sense at all are stunning.

So, the weather is turning, meat and grain are rotting, and pests proliferating. Nothing to see here.

Egwene's reflections on the difficulties to change the White Tower are one of my favourite aspects of her chapters - along with Siuan: it's such a modern subject that echoes many tensions in current society across institutions and governments.

Egwene rediscovering how to make cuendillar and selling it to feed the army and plot ahead??? This woman? Her mind? Siuan must be proud.

"A pity she had not allowed Siuan to arrange for two quiet deaths." - Oh Light, I love their relationship so much. It's delicious. They are the pillars of the White Tower at this point.

Egwene’s tolerance for Halima's behaviour, because she cannot help how she looks, is all the more frustrating that Berelain is right here, getting slut-shamed left and right. Halima must be using some sort of compulsion to influence Egwene. Come on Egwene, you're smarter than this.

"'Is that all you want?’ Siuan said dryly. ‘Before supper, or after?'" - As with Rand and Moiraine, their mentor/student/ruler/advisor relationship is one of the best in the books. It's layers upon layers of personal and societal baggage.

Egwene believes Rand uses compulsion on sisters and takes advice from DF: as wrong as the assumptions are, Rand hasn't done anything to discourage them. In his paranoia, he isn't planning with the people who could help the most, it's frustrating. He doesn’t have to trust them, just use them wisely.

It's also incredibly realistic: Egwene’s failure to assess the depth of his distrust makes a possible alliance even more delicate. She knows the boy he was 2 years ago, not the man he is now, although she has enough sense to see the difference. And Rand is following Moiraine’s advice, who probably would have changed her stance, as she often did in the past, had she been alive to watch this unfold.

The Hall scene was just INCREDIBLE:

Morvrin isn't wrong to point out you all need to know what happened before panicking

Sheriam's distress is darkly hilarious

Absolutely none of that mess in the Hall would have happened if Rand had informed Egwene of his plans, none

I am with Moria on this one: work with the Asha'man gdi

The Hall is basically a Roman Senate. I am howling with excitement. I cannot wait for the "quousque tandem abutere, Romanda" and the "Elaida delenda est" masterfully delivered on-screen.

I was on the edge of my seat during the whole chapter and ready to sick up from excitement. I LOVE TOWER POLITICS. Enough of this "AS are twisting the truth" nonsense, I see an occasion to engage in a battle of rhetorics. I need to dig out if fans have written meta on the rhetoric and literary devices used by AS when they talk.

Honestly, I am cross with Aviendha: she was Egwene's friend too and knows what happened with Rand. One word could have helped Egwene greatly, but no, it's hoes before bros apparently.

"make love to him until he cried for mercy." - I'm sorry, what. This is about Gawyn btw.

Egwene dreaming herself as Sisyphus, not Altas: I need a moment to scream.

And now Halima has killed Anaiya and her warder. Egwene wake up!

So there have been Darkfriends in the White Tower from the start: an interesting parallel to the Black Tower.

Alviarin bemoaning the absence of a lift in the White Tower had me cackling.

The Forsaken: we had machines that carried people in the sky!

BA: can you tell me more about those elevators?

So we have First Weaver, First Selector, Captain-General, First Reasoner, Head Clerk as heads of the Ajahs. Who am I missing?

Light, the Alviarin chapter. Between Elaida agreeing to talks with the Rebels, Elaida stripping her of the stole, Mesaana caught and Alviarin marked, Alviarin wanting to use Talene although Talene has been discovered, it was bloody intense. So good.

Although I am relieved the White Tower is seeing the sense in not gentling the Asha'man at last, bonding them is a little unwise? To their knowledge, the Asha’man are still losing their mind and are doomed to die.

I adore Cadsuane's description of Nynaeve in all her spontaneousness, but I am again extremely vexed by this Nynaeveless book and her overall lack of arc across these last 3 books. Is she being punished? What is going on?

Between the warders mourning and the talk of taint sliding down one's throat, it's clear the writers' room is paying attention.

Poor Loial: just because he loves Erith, doesn't mean he must marry her now. Leave him alone, Min!

You're telling me that not only Rand is still sick despite cleansing saidin, but no Asha'man or Aes Sedai is thanking him?!? And no one besides a couple of sisters knows what he did? That's a hollow victory.

I mean, it's Cadsuane: of course she sees bonding as basically compulsion. When it is consensual, it isn't, unless one suggests Elayne, Avi and Min are abusing Rand, and Nyn is actively working to coerce Lan. Like sex, it's all about consent.

Naturally, some characters do see bonding as a tool for dominance, Cadsuane included, but such use is frowned upon: it tells us what the norm is within this universe's frame of reference and is one of the thorny elements RJ is less ambiguous about.

Fascinating insight into what Rand sees as a disinterested Creator who abandoned their creations to move on to the next. The books don't dwell on religions and beliefs in general so getting Rand's view on this sheds a light on some of his choices.

If the conversation about the Seanchan adapting for hundreds of years to their enemies' tactics to the point that the sum of Bashere, Byrne, Ituralde and co. are not enough to defeat them doesn't foreshadow Mat crushing them I am going to eat his hat.

So Harbor, uh? It's the most curious I have been about a mystery in a while. The atmosphere is so creepy and unsettling and the choice not to get involved or investigate now adds to the tension. I really hope we learn at some point what happened.

Seonid offering to stay behind to help though ❤️

And Perrin refusing to intervene is a nice callback to Moiraine not staying to help in Baerlon and the kids being so shocked. He has responsibilities and people under his care now.

WTH Perrin. The interrogation scene was brutal but necessary to push Perrin to a breaking point. At last, he leaves his axe behind: his violence was far more the expression of anger and frustration than it was a tactical choice and he knew that.

I love Mat, but his inability to recognise that what happened to the Aes Sedai was traumatic and that he's letting their captors behave as if they were still in charge is making me more than a little bit queasy.

Did Noal suggest they should kill a former slave to keep her from talking? Oh now I am really suspicious of him.

Also Mat feeling more sympathy and trust for a slaver who enjoys training slaves in her spare time than for her actual victims is phew, A Lot. I do still greatly enjoy Mat and his ragtag company, but yeah.

And I still enjoy his weird courtship of Tuon? I'm not a fan of yet another viewing/telling/prophecy smushing together characters, but the oddness of their dynamic kinda works? Actually seeing them spending time together helps.

Mat bumping into people that aren't there, so soon after So Harbor... Yeah, something is very wrong with the fabric of the universe. I wonder if this has something to do with all the balefire that has been going on.

Oh right, Tuon can channel too. I do hope she changes her ways.

Renna stabbed Egeanin? I was betting on Teslyn gutting the sul'dam, but yep, this was bound to happen. The urgency to hunt Renna was excellent too, I didn’t even mind Mat’s fixation on not killing a woman.

Halima taking down people left and right under Egwene's nose. Were they DF? Too nosy? It's nerve-wracking.

Light, Leane and Siuan being the only ones Egwene trusts. She really is in a nest of vipers. Their relationship gives me such joy though, so much joy.

I wonder if the tale the Yellows investigate is that men can heal stilling in women completely instead of partially. This is going to upset Siuan and I don't want this.

So many things are shifting between the AS, their factions and rules, I am so excited to see this unfold.

The Egwene chapter is one of my favourite psychology-wise. The way it echoes Siuan as Amyrlin and how Egwene differs from her. And oh, the capture, the betrayal!

I am v disappointed Rand is working with the Seanchan though. I get it but if the slavery wasn’t enough, they have a male a’dam, which Rand doesn’t know but could suspect they possess. Nope, don't want.

That one was actually quite fun! Apart from Perrin and Elayne competing for the snailest chapters, it was enjoyable. I do like that the finale was less bombastic and more psychological. The arcs hinted at have me salivating ngl. It was very much a transitionary book though and will be condensed with Winter’s Heart for sure, maybe a third, so little happened in terms of plot. As such, I’ll see how the different plots evolve before casting judgment. I was expecting much worse, but the slower parts were no slower that others in TEotW or LoC, and it does some nice work with introspection in Egwene’s and Perrin’s chapters, even Elayne’s. You just have to accept this is fantasy Reveries of the Solitary Walker. Mat and Egwene’s chapters remain my favourite.

#wot book spoilers #crossroads of twilight #The wheel of time #wot book review #first time reader #wot book journéy #so pumped for the next #Wot review

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krowbby · 11 months ago

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Hogfather footnotes poll, Part 1!

Since it's Hogswatch season, I'm back with another footnote poll! Hogfather has a ton of footnotes, so this has to be split into 2 parts :P Part 2 linked here!

Full text of each footnote plus a little context for each is below the readmore so this post isn't a mile long. Enjoy!

Later on they took the blood out to make the stories more acceptable to children, or at least to the people who had to read them aloud to children rather than the children themselves (who, on the whole, are quite keen on blood provided it’s being shed by the deserving*) *That is to say, those who deserve to shed blood. Or possibly not. You never quite know with some kids.

"The sign which says ‘Do not, under any circumstances, open this door’?” “Of course I’ve read it,” said Ridcully. “Why d’yer think I want it opened?” “Er…why?” said the Lecturer in Recent Runes. “To see why they wanted it shut, of course.” * *This exchange contains almost all you need to know about human civilization. At least, those bits of it that are now under the sea, fenced off, or still smoking.

Downey stood up with some relief and walked over to his large drinks cabinet. His hand hovered over the Guild’s ancient and valuable tantalus, with its labeled decanters of Mur, Nig, Trop, and Yeksihw.* *It’s a sad and terrible thing that high-born folk really have thought that the servants would be totally fooled if spirits were put into decanters that were cunningly labeled backward. And also throughout history the more politically conscious butler has taken it on trust, and with rather more justification, that his employers will not notice if the whiskey is topped up with eniru.

He was called Peachy, although no one had ever found out why.* *Peachy was not someone you generally asked questions of, except the sort that go like: “If-if-if-if I give you all my money could you possibly not break the other leg, thank you so much?”

[…]but who were nevertheless inconveniently positioned where they were and could much better be located on, for example, a sea bed somewhere.* *Chickenwire had got his name from his own individual contribution to the science of this very specialized “concrete overshoe” form of waste disposal. An unfortunate drawback of the process was the tendency for bits of the client to eventually detach and float to the surface, causing much comment in the general population. Enough chicken wire, he’d pointed out, would solve that, while also allowing the ingress of crabs and fish going about their vital recycling activities.

[…]said his brother [Medium Dave].* *Ankh-Morpork's underworld, which was so big that the overworld floated around on top of it like a very small hen trying to mother a nest of ostrich chicks, already had Big Dave, Fat Dave, Mad Dave, Wee Davey, and Lanky Dai. Everyone had to find their niche.

MOST OF THE LETTERS… THEY DON’T REALLY BELIEVE. THEY PRETEND TO BELIEVE JUST IN CASE.* *This is very similar to the suggestion put forward by the Quirmian philosopher Ventre, who said, “Possible the gods exist, and possibly they do not. So why not believe in them in any case? If it’s all true you’ll go to a lovely place when you die, and if it isn’t then you’ve lost nothing, right?” When he died he woke up in a circle of gods holding nasty-looking sticks and one of them said, “We’re going to show you what we think of Mr. Clever Dick in these parts…”

Despite the decorations put up inexpertly by Igor the barman to show willing,* Biers was not a family place. *He’d done his best. But black and purple and vomit yellow weren’t a good color combination for paper chains, and no Hogswatch fairy doll should be nailed up by its head.

Fairies aren’t necessarily little twinkly creatures. It’s purely a job description, and the commonest ones aren’t even visible.* A fairy is simply any creature currently employed under supernatural laws to take things away[…] *Such as the Electric Drill Chuck Key Fairy.

Apparently he ran a fruit stall and was married to a girl called Angie.* *Who was (according to Sideney’s mother) a bit of a catch since her father owned a half-share in an eel pie shop in Gleam Street, you must know her, got all her own teeth and a wooden leg you’d hardly notice, got a sister called Continence, lovely girl, why didn’t she invite her along for tea next time he was over, not that she hardly saw her son the big wizard at all these days, but you never knew and if the magic thing didn’t work out then a quarter-share in a thriving eel pie business was not to be sneezed at…

He’d seen the way the others reacted around Teatime, and they were men who did things he’d only dreamed of.* *Not, that is, things that he wanted to do, or wanted done to him. Just things that he dreamed of, in the armpit of a bad night.

Juvenile teeth earned no less than a dollar each from her father, without argument.* *In fact, when she was eight she’d found a collection of animal skulls in an attic, relict of some former duke of an inquiring turn of mind. Her father had been a bit preoccupied with affairs of state and she’d made twenty-seven dollars before being found out. The hippopotamus molar had, with hindsight, been a mistake. Skulls never frightened her, even then.

#terry pratchett #discworld #hogfather #polls #gnu terry pratchett

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risingsouls · 8 months ago

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I mean, while the narrative by no means excuses them, they're shown as being desperate survivors, resorting to cruel acts to survive a universe that pm doomed them to extinction. And arguing for genocide is disgusting. And on Bulma, I agree, original material is not the friendliest to female characters, they hardly get to do anything before being married off and forgotten about. like how does someone forget that raditz/nappa/etc were only doing that to survive...? frieza drove them to it

[Part one here:]

[I saw this and thought the goons had come back to argue with me lmao. But I'm glad that isn't the case and it's someone else that saw how...uh...problematic the narrative of the other side of the argument was positing.

Under the cut for length and ~drama~.

As you said, the Saiyans were by no means good, but they didn't deserve to be wiped out (I mean...that's not even why they WERE wiped out...at least so long as we ignore implications of Beerus telling Frieza to do it which was dumb anyway so). No one does. I will say that, at least from what I understand (and accept; they seem to change the Saiyan's history every other saga), the Saiyans were always looking for a fight, and, according to at least the dub I know, they did go to other planets to do that and wreak havoc even before King Cold got his mitts on them. Whether that was to CONQUER said planets or not also depends on what part of the series you're watching it seems but you know. So they've definitely always had some questionable practices, but that doesn't mean they're evil by design and deserve total destruction.

And that's not even talking about basically ANYTHING we see of Saiyan culture/lifestyle IS post colonization by the Colds. We don't ACTUALLY get to see what their culture WAS without it being tainted by being ruled by another empire. We get some hints, most of which end up contradicted or something as I mentioned earlier, but we have no way of knowing what was purely from Saiyan culture and what got changed, adopted, or expunged.

The point I was trying to make with the Bulma and Vegeta stuff was that a lot of Bulma's behavior stifles or at least attempts to stifle even the most innocuous portions of Vegeta's Saiyan-ness he can practice and show like simply training/fighting (which is part of their culture and maybe even biology, despite what the arguers wanted to say). This is more headcanon-y, but that would probably extend to other aspects of his personality, practices, etc. that did come from his Saiyan heritage that didn't jive with how she wanted him to be or expected him to be. The folks in question unfortunately took that to mean I meant the worst parts of his old lifestyle which wasn't what I was talking about at all. Vegeta himself has no interest in conquest anymore, so their arguments were ridiculous from the get go. However, the things Bulma says and does on screen reveal that she wants him to be an Earthling husband. She wants him to act fully like an Earthling, and she has never been shown to care about his history or learning about it and his culture (i.e. Vegeta has had to inform her and the others of different aspects of Saiyan lifestyle and biology, stuff that she could have easily already known if she, imo, bothered to understand that part of him). And I'm not even saying that's REALLY a huge problem on the surface; you can't really blame her when that's all SHE knows and how her character is. Sexism aside, she is meant to be a spoiled, self-serving brat from the beginning. When it DOES become a problem is that, as I mentioned, she doesn't TRY to understand him on that level, and there are no hints that she has tried. She basically seems to pull exactly what the people that had a problem with what I said did in just assuming Saiyans are just genocidal killers with nothing else to them (and a note: I know Vegeta would probably be difficult to talk to about this but you get me I think).

Overall, I think they were just mad that I dared to call Bulma abusive and is a second Frieza for Vegeta based on this singular post where I didn't really get into the meat of why I think that because I've talked about it several times before. Yes, the writing for her is oftentimes sexist and awful like it is with pretty much every other woman in the series, but that...doesn't really play ball here. The point I was trying to make is that, while it's not on purpose or maliciously (another nuance of my post the people with a problem failed to even ask me about because they went immediately on the attack), is that Vegeta basically ended up in another relationship where he was being controlled by another person (again, perhaps not in a malicious way but she held a lot over him in terms of having a place to live and survive, especially when we know the dude was super depressed post Cell Saga; man was not about to have the wherewithal to fucking find a job and get a place of his own on a planet he knows so little about, so yeah...he's gonna take the easiest option available), something that I think is more apparent in Super than Z but it's still there. And yeah, I actually agree that he should just ignore her when he wants to train or leave or do something that isn't what she wants him to do at the time. But if we go by canon and how it's written (which I can say THIS would be where the sexism comes in), that's not what happens. Bulma does whatever she can to get what she wants from Vegeta in apparent and subtle ways that come off as pretty abusive.

And I'll say it now: Vegeta is fucking abusive and toxic, too. I've said it a million and three times, but since I didn't say it in the post in question, apparently I just don't think that. Which isn't true. Vegeta is shitty to Bulma from day fucking one. I really don't understand why they end up together as, again, I've said a million times. The choice is absolutely disrespectful to Bulma's character. Something else I've said ad nauseum. But again...this one post was the one they cherrypicked to get pissed over.

I got accused of not seeing nuance in any of this during this...debate. Thing is, this take is based on what happens in canon. This is my reading of the relationship based on canon events, and even then, it's just a SLIVER of what I think about their canon relationship. If I had my way? This relationship wouldn't exist or, at the very least, would be written VERY differently, from making Bulma be less of a sexist stereotype (in the relationships and in all aspects) to how Vegeta reacts to her always forcing him to do shit he doesn't want to or, perhaps, isn't even comfortable with (see: parties, huge get togethers for her work, vacations). I would actually write it more like we see in the Buu Saga and GT, where the two DO eventually seem to have an understanding of each others boundaries and have maybe actually gotten to know each other (something I really don't see in Super...at all). It would be more realistic for the two of them rather than this over the top ridiculousness we get from canon and fanon that doesn't fit the relationship. The post I made was about their CANON presentation, not what I would care to see or anything that would "fix" the ship.

Point is, people got in their feelings because I said canon sucks in handling Vegeta and Bulma, and I pointed out that their fave is problematic, all to base their accusations of me being sexist and unable to see nuance or understand the definition of culture on a single post that wasn't near as detailed as I've been in the past (and I've probably still missed thoughts here). They came off as super problematic because of that anger at my take and made comments that painted them as basically okay with the Saiyans being eradicated because of one aspect of their lifestyle which, in some regards, was something they had no choice in at the point of their demise (even if they might be doing similar anyway; problem is we can't know what they might have done if they had agency that wasn't marred by being ruled by the Cold Empire). But it is what it is.

I'll end saying this because, again, they missed every other post I've made about this. I don't hate Bulm, and I actually do hate how she's written. The biggest reason I criticize her and Vegeta in terms of this relationship is that most of the fandom and the ship's stans don't want to actually SEE that. They don't see how her writing is sexist a lot of the time and that her behavior doesn't make sense and IS actually toxic. The RELATIONSHIP is toxic on BOTH SIDES as it's WRITTEN (unfortunately, yeah, the writing makes Bulma MUCH WORSE than Vegeta in Super; I stand by that) and that's what I'm getting at. I point these things out because this fandom likes to paint Vegeta and Bulma as #couplesgoals and pretend they have no issues when that's just not true. It's red flag central up in there, but their rose-colored glasses are too thick for them to see it because they love the "beauty and the beast" "regular girl domesticates feral man" and "love conquers all" tropes and refuse to see the problems with the relationship.]

#.:ask:.#.:ooc:.#discourse cw #for those that have been around and have read my bs #this will be nothing new for you #but #.:long post:.

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