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planetsano · 1 year ago

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Hey guys!

I don’t think I’ve ever made a post like this before but unfortunately someone has forced my hand to do so. I really wanted my next post to be a new fic but it looks like it’ll have to wait until I address this.

I don’t like having issues with people especially if the issues aren’t even on my own issues— even more so in a space that I created for fun.

As some of you guys may know, I recently made a public server called Boba Pop. Anyone is free to join as long as you’re 18+ and enjoy anime men’s penis an almost grotesque amount. But that’s neither here nor there!

There was an issue that arose today between two members in my server over a theme divider. User @/sluttsumu and user @/miguelism (now @/startitties)are the parties involved.

Unfortunately, Stella felt as though Kierra stole her theme. I completely understand how frustrating that feeling is because I’ve had it done to me in the past. It especially puts salt in the wound because I used to really put hours into editing videos, banners, and gifs for my layouts. So, I can emphasize how it could feel.

I should also preface that in my server’s rules, it states to keep any drama at bay. More specifically, stating keep any issues in private conversations, limited but not limited to speaking to said person or a mod!

My server has an “open door” policy meaning if anyone feels unsafe, or like they’re being bullied/attacked, or then threatened/harassed, not hesitate to come to a mod if you aren’t sure how to approach the situation or even if you’re not much of a confrontational person and need one of us to break the ice. Communication is highly encouraged for better relationships and a more open atmosphere for the server.

It becomes an issue when there’s a lack of communication, on top of taking an issue that could certainly be handled privately, to tumblr. A platform that isn’t the safest for things like discourse and silly little online drama because of how easily accessible anonymity is, and the thousands of eyes that could potentially see said private situation between two people.

Stella did that exact thing and unfortunately, someone was uncomfortable with the situation.

The situation goes as follows:

Kierra mentioned Stella, letting her know that her theme was beautiful. Then said she hoped she didn’t mind that she used the glitter header she was currently using.

Stella said that it was fine.

Stella said that she noticed Kierra “also” took inspiration from the heart gif header she was using.

Kierra let's Stella know that she’s been using that header for years. (Since 2021.)

Stella acknowledges this and Kierra says that pink themes are very popular.

That’s not the issue, the issue is when someone takes to tumblr to sub post about the situation instead of speaking to the person you have an issue with like an adult or even speaking to someone on the mod team. That then makes said person feel uncomfortable and like they’re feeling attacked in the space, making them turn to a mod for advice on how to navigate the situation.

If you were uncomfortable at any point within the situation, you could’ve either reached out to the person you have this issue with or a mod so there wouldn’t be any communication issues. No one can read your mind on how you’re feeling unless it is said directly to someone. You acknowledged Kierra and you moved on, realistically, how is that person supposed to know how you feel? The mods and myself really encourage open communication so there aren’t any misunderstandings.

Making private situations public without the person you have an issue with aware of said issue, is not the way to go about things no matter how you look at things.

Can you imagine speaking to someone you believe is a friend then going online to see them sub posting about you in a negative light, being incredibly passive aggressive? I would really believe that anyone would be at a loss.

All this is to say, I was spoken to by my mod team who analyzed the situation (I was working) after it was brought up to them. To which, I then spoke to Stella about it to be the middleman.

I’ll attach the screenshots of our conversation so nothing is lost in translation.

I don’t appreciate and I will not accept being called out of my name for doing my job as an admin. I was very polite, respectful and tried my best to navigate the situation.

Stella, there weren’t any “bad” vibes. You were genuinely such a pleasure to speak to and interact with. You’re extremely funny and I found so many of the members in the server laughing at the jokes you would crack. And even being some of the first to read the works you would post in the promotions channel. You were welcomed and celebrated, as everyone is in Boba Pop.

This isn’t about “big blogs” and whatnot either. You want to avoid discourse but again, you take to tumblr to make this situation even bigger than it needed to be instead of communicating like an adult.

You were not ganged up on either. You were only spoken to by myself (the admin) then Kierra (the person you actually have the issue with). You said that I “blamed” you but there was no blaming. I came to you as an administrator with an ongoing issue that dealt with you and another member because my mod team notified me of the situation.

Your behaviors online do have consequences, as all of ours do. This situation could have absolutely been avoided but instead you took to playing victim on tumblr and spreading a false narrative that favors yourself.

I really do wish you the best but you don’t get to bad mouth me online, indirectly or directly, and expect me not to address the situation.

#┊ ➶ ｡˚ ° updates!#tw.discourse #tw.rant

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dragonsbone · 2 years ago

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So what is Joanna's story?

this ask got insanely long so i put it under the cut! but i hope you don’t mind the info dump eheheehe

a simple explanation: it’s a story about betrayal, revenge, and love.

a more detailed explanation: josana lannister was raised to be tywin’s prized pupil. he took note of her sharp mind and cunning tongue at a young age, and wanted to exploit it, to transform her into his ultimate weapon. she was taught to be extremely well-read, to lie as easily as speaking the truth, and to manipulate her surroundings and the people beside her to achieve her goal by any means necessary. and josana in a quick leaner, easy to adapt to please her lord uncle to become a true lioness of the south. and when the time came to show her usefulness, josana did little to object.

tywin wants to control the world. he had cersei the queen of the seven kingdoms, planned to have jaime become the warden of the east after the death of jon arryn, and now, he would send his beloved niece to winterfell to wed ned stark’s eldest son to control the north. she is to marry robb stark, provide heirs, and raise them as lions rather than wolves. she is also to spy on the starks, to gather information and inform her uncle with anything of importance.

when she arrives in winterfell along with the king and her cousins, it initially starts out pretty well. she and robb get along well enough as they are newly betrothed and the rest of the starks like her enough to have conversations, but mainly sansa and bran ( bran bc josana’s younger brother is a knight of the kingsguard and he keeps begging her to tell him more since it’s his dream to become one as well ).

but her civil relationships with the starks dwindle away once everything happens between them and the lannisters. the wedding between her and robb keeps getting pushed back, she starts to receive pointed looks and rude remarks every where she turns, and she feels completely and utterly alone with no one to turn to except her lady-in-waiting, sarra snow, roose bolton’s bastard.

regardless, her circumstances don’t halt her from her schemes. she continues to send letters to her uncle, with the help of sarra so it’s less suspicious, and try her best to survive in a castle full of wolves. when robb calls the banners and means to march south, he takes josana with him on the campaign. a campaign is no place for a high-born lady, but robb would rather have eyes on her at all times than to have her remain in winterfell with his younger brothers.

in the campaign, josana feels trapped in a corner. and it only gets worse once they capture her cousin, jaime, and her family kills lord eddard stark. she can’t reach out to her uncle without anyone knowing, she can’t return back to casterly rock as she is now a prisoner in all but name, and the safety of a betrothal is now gone thanks to the alliance with house frey. it is truly rough out there for my girl.

but things slowly start to turn around now that josana has been with the starks for so long to have seen who they truly are: honorable, noble, and loyal. the starks could’ve had her shackled to a post and leave her to rot, but they didn’t. they could’ve left her to the hands of the north men to do with her as they please, but they didn’t. they showed her kindness as their hostage, something she knew her family would never do. and that plants the seed of doubt in josana’s allegiance. was her family as glorious and righteous as she remembered? or were they dishonorable, fearsome, and treacherous as everyone says they were?

ultimately, she becomes devoted to robb when she kills a lannister informant posed as a notherner. now, there are two reasons behind her killing him. 1.) because she no longer wants to be a spy for her uncle and doesn’t want to betray the starks anymore. 2.) survival. if this spy were to out her treason, her death would be imminent. so she had to choose: tywin or robb. and she chose the latter, which truly begins their romantic arc.

and what’s important to remember is that josana will never, ever, tell the truth about formally being a spy. it is important because it plays a HUGE factor into the rest of this story. she will have to live with that guilt and betrayal until the end of her days. and all actions have consequences in this story.

anyways, there’s so much more to this story, but i figured this ask is already long enough lol! if you’d like to know more, feel free to ask !!

#asks #oc asks #josana asks #darkwolf76 #i apologize for the rambling eheheehe

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theimperialnuisance · 1 year ago

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FFXIV Write 2023 || FFXIV Write info\\Prompt list\\Character info \\Master post ||

Prompt 25: Call it a day

end a period of activity, especially resting content that enough has been done

Character(s): Atticus Wolfram (aged 10) Cw: none Word count: 613 Notes: Just a little intro to who Atticus’s first love was (the childhood friend referenced on day 11) Just a note that Atticus’s last name used to be Vendelin (hence the reference to 'Ven' on day 2) before he fled Garlemald. Figured I’d get that out of the way now so as to not cause any confusion! I am taking some liberties here with some stuff--personal hc on how I figured training worked before someone joined the Legion. First draft for now to get my thoughts out but I’ll clean it up after work! Readmore in place of a banner!

“Again,”

A swing of his blade in timed rhythm with the other blades around him cut through the air.

“Not fast enough, again!”

The blade swung to the left, just barely missing the boy’s hand next to him as he turned to swing his blade to the left a tick late.

“Norbanus! That delay could’ve cost you a hand!”

The boy next to Atticus—Norbanus, faltered a little, the exhaustion clearly beginning to set in. “Sorry sir, I just need a moment.”

“If you want to join any of the Legion’s boy, you won’t have many moments to rest. Again!”

And again, the boy–Norbanus faltered, this time stumbling forward, his blade sliding across the ground causing everyone else nearby to stop and stare.

The man heaved a sigh, placing his hands on his hips. “Alright, let’s call it a day. Get some rest recruits–I want you all in tip top shape before sunrise tomorrow. We’ll be running extra drills no thanks to your friend Norbanus over here.” A collective groan but one sharp look from their trainer and they all quieted down. “Good. Dismissed!”

A collective “Sir!” was chorused throughout the small group as they all saluted and disbanded the moment their trainer left the room. Most of the others whispered and snickered at Norbanus as they passed but Atticus stayed behind to help retrieve his practice sword and offer a hand up. Norbanus looked embarrassed at the thought of being helped up and stubbornly decided to heave himself up on his own to save himself from even further remarks from any lingering people.

“It was bound to happen to one of us,” Atticus muttered nonchalantly. He was glad it wasn’t him as he got enough stares and push back from the others for being half-Garlean but he’d never admit that outloud to the other. “The guy’s got a stick up his arse. We’re not even part of the military yet, it’s just pre-training for Legionaries, what’s his deal anyways?”

“My dad said he used to be a Legionary for the first Legion before he was formally dismissed for one reason or another but then the brute came back on his own…I think that makes him an Evocatus or something…”

Atticus scoffed lightly. “Well that makes sense why he’s been so hard on us when it’s only been a week…I wonder why he rather deal with amateurs like us instead of going back to his Legion.”

“Who knows? But I guess he’s just better preparing us for the real thing.” Norbanus paused, scuffling his feet. “I’ve got to get better too. I want to prove to my family my worth for the Empire.”

“You have time,” Atticus hummed as he tossed water to the other who easily caught it. “We can train together if you’d like, take it at your own pace.”

The other cracked a small smile, holding his hand out. “We’ve not formally met. Norbanus. Jullus Norbanus. Thanks for sticking around.” He added shyly.

“I know what it’s like to be the odd one out, figured it would be easier if you weren’t alone.” Atticus accepted his hand and shook it, mirroring his smile. “Vendelin. Atticus Vendelin.”

“Has anyone just called you Ven?”

“You’d be the first.”

“Well then that’s what I’ll call you from now on!” Jullus pulled out his sword and gestured to the practice dummy in the corner of the room. “Come on, let’s get to work! He may have told us to call it for today but I don’t think I’m quite ready to go home yet, you?”

“Not one bit!” Atticus laughed, pulling out his own sword, giving it a few good swings. “Let’s get started!”

#ffxivwrite2023 #ffxivwrite #ffxiv writing #ffxiv fanfiction #ffxiv #Atticus wolfram #jullus pyr norbanus #pre-arr #Garlean oc #Garlemald hc #nico writes #things are stating to come together for Atticus's backstory I hope!#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv elezen

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tsukai22 · 2 years ago

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What a crappy day in FEH for me...

- Bernadetta narrowly missed out on a Brave alt - this was probably her last chance to get one.

- The leak about the upcoming seasonal banner being all Fates but no Soleil was true. I did make a post about why this annoyed me to no end, but I deleted it when I saw some logical reasoning about the leak probably being fake. The gist of it was about how Soleil’s outscored Hana in every CYL event but we’re getting Hana #3 before Soleil #2.

...actually it’s just those two points. Could’ve been a lot worse. It might’ve just felt worse for me than it actually was given that I woke up after a 15 hour sleep and have been feeling a bit off or funky or something all day. As for the positives:

- Soleil’s managed to retain her streak of top 100s which is good, but position 92 and being the 9th most popular Fates character isn’t really enough to stand out.

- I like Male Robin and Female Corrin a lot, and Soren a bit. Gullveig... has a nice design I suppose.

- FEH finally gave us a Leo that doesn’t suck*! He and his fans very much deserve this.

- The Arena changes are nice. I just have to hope I have enough Legendaries to make frequent use of them.

- Focus Charges are nice as well. I remember the time I was trying to get Lethe on her debut banner but got pitybroken by 7 other red units (2 Horse Chroms, 2 F!Celicas, 2 Floras, 1 B!Celica I think) before getting her. Good thing that can’t happen anymore. No idea why seasonal Focus Charges are FEH Pass exclusive but oh well.

- I have 5 Thrasir combat manuals, so her getting one of my favourite A skills in Atk/Spd Ideal 4 is excellent for me. The normal one I have will benefit a lot from Killing Intent+

*presumably

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liliesinrequiem · 2 years ago

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Caught

A/N: I was supposed to post this during Cyno’s banner....but I took forever and now it’s here. I hope that y’all enjoy!

Pairing: Cyno x Reader

Summary: Reader, a student in the Akademiya, has grown bored with studies and started seeking out different ways to get caught by the General Mahamatra. Culminating in the latest chase.

CW: None

The sun blazed down on you as you ran through the desert. If you didn’t know the desert as well as you did, you would’ve probably already been lost in the sands like countless other people. While you couldn’t hear footsteps just yet, you were keenly aware that you were being followed. Well, less followed and more like you were being hunted. You just didn’t know from what direction he would appear. It was always a surprise.

When you finally did hear footsteps fast approaching, you turned around and tripped. You stumbled into the sand with a mouthful of it and the burns of the grains slicing through your skin as you rolled down a small hill. You looked up with a frown and saw him sliding down, with zero issue, and a frown on his face. The one hunting you down. For a brief moment, you thought that he looked so beautiful in the sunlight.

His polearm immediately stopped at your throat. You made no effort to move. You knew how fast he was with it and you weren’t trying to test his limits today to that extreme. At least, for right now. “Found you,” he said. Shivers went down your spine due to his tone. You supposed that your more recent actions had been a problem.

“I must be lucky to receive a personal visit from the General Mahamatra himself,” you said. Faux innocence was laced in your voice. You knew why Cyno had chased you down. Feeling bored in your academic year, you had decided to start doing more elaborate things. What better way to relieve your boredom than to try and get the attention of Cyno? You smiled up at him. How much punishment would you be receiving today?

“Don’t play innocent. You know what you’ve done,” he said. You pouted at him.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” you said. It’s not like you had planned out and meticulously laid out a paper trail through various different people that would ultimately lead back to you. It seemed that your biggest project so far had finally paid off.

“You purposefully left that trail for me to find,” he said. It wasn’t a question and there was no hesitation in his words. He’d unraveled the long thread you had left for him.

“Is it so wrong to want to get your attention?” you asked. His polearm pressed a bit closer to your skin and you flinched from it slightly. You doubted that he would actually use it on you, but you were already pushing your luck. You just couldn’t help it. There was something about the way that his eyebrows furrowed when he was angry and how his eyes flashed when you so much as moved a little. You never told anyone else, but you really enjoyed riling him up. It was the only fun you had at the Akademiya. You’d received so many verbal warnings from him, threats of expulsion, and other things over rule breaking. But it was worth it to witness him in this state. You wanted to push him over the edge.

“You waste your time and most importantly, you waste mine,” he said.

“If it was such a waste of time, why did you come looking for me? Couldn’t you have sent any ol’ matra?” you asked him. Part of you, a more irrational part, believed that he did want to waste his time with you. There was truly little reason to have gotten involved in the smaller punishments you had received over time when a matra could’ve been the one to carry them out. Instead, he had always been the one to do it.

“It’s my duty,” he answered. Duty. It was always his response to everything. But that’s what you liked about him. He was dedicated. Dedicated enough to follow false leads and reach conclusions that all led back to you because he felt that he had to do it.

“What’s my punishment this time?” you asked. You tried sounding uninterested. You didn’t want to let him know how much of a rush all of this gave you.

“I’ll inform you when we get back. But it’ll include time wasted, resources wasted, forgery of documentation, and involving innocent parties in your little stunts,” he answered. “But first, are you alright? You seemed to have fallen hard.” He pulled his polearm away from you and you strangely missed the close contact.

“I think I’m fine,” you answered as you shakily got up and shook some sand off. The stinging pain of the sand that had rolled with you flooded back and the taste of sand in your mouth wasn’t pleasant. But it was worth it. He nodded as you finished swiping away at your clothes. He held out a water flask and you took it and swished water around to spit out the sand in your mouth.

“Thank you,” you said as you handed it back. You looked at him uneasily. He hadn’t specified what he would do to punish you and you weren’t sure what the Akademiya would want done in response to your actions. How far was too far?

“Are you ready?” he asked. You nodded and he turned around. He knew that you wouldn’t try to run off from him with his back turned. Though, you would be lying if you said that you hadn’t considered running away just to see what he’d do. But for now, you had decided to just quietly follow him and accept whatever punishment you got. Instead, you would just focus on what to do after the punishment. “You better not be thinking of more ways to cause problems,” he said suddenly.

You nearly stumbled again at his words. Could he read minds? “Of course not,” you nervously said. You certainly didn’t have an idea in mind.

#cyno x reader #cyno x you #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x you #cyno genshin impact

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deceitfuldevil · 3 years ago

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Truth Serum

Pietro Maximoff X Reader

Summary: While working with Tony and Bruce in the lab you accidentally drink some very experimental truth serum, leading to some unwanted confessions with your coworkers.

Warnings: use of y/n, swearing, lots of dialogue, barely proofread, etc.

Word Count: 1.7K

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You were busy working with Tony and Bruce in the lab and jokingly Tony placed his latest concoction next to your drink but you didn’t realize until it was too late and you drank Bruce’s experimental truth serum.

“Jesus Tony can you turn down that obnoxious music? I’m so sick of that stupid 70s rock music you’re always playing.”

Tony stopped what he was doing are looked over at you in shock.

“L/n, what the hell are you talking about? You told me you loved my music.”

“Well I lied, I lie to you a lot actually.” You looked up eyes blown wide with dear as you covered your mouth after saying that.

“I did NOT mean to say that.”

“Y/n… did you just take a sip of that beaker Tony so stupidly placed right next to your drink?” Bruce asked pinching the small space in between his eyebrows

You looked down as remorse filled your gut, noticing a small dribble of blue liquid slowly falling down the side of the beaker you obviously just took a drink from. Your eyes life to meet Bruce’s as you slowly nodded a small yes.

“Well, no thanks to Tony now we get to find out if my very experimental truth serum actually works.”

“TRUTH SERUM?!” You shouted, the last thing you wanted was for your team to have unrestricted access to your secrets.

“No thanks to me? Are you kidding Banner? This might be the most fun we have with Y/n all year!” Tony said with a cheeky grin

Your groaned and let your head fall onto the desk you were sitting at. “How long will this last?” You asked muffled

“Best case scenario for you? It could wear off within the next 30 minutes. Worst case scenario? You could be highly responsive and overly truthful for the two days.”

Tony broke out with a loud cackle as he got up from his desk and exited the lab “Good luck kid!”

“And theres no antidote?” You pleaded

“Sorry, but we were barely in the trial phases of creating this and we don’t try to make an antidote unless we know for sure that it works.”

“So how the hell am I supposed to deal with this in the meantime?”

“My best advice? Lock yourself away in your quarters for the next day or so to avoid saying anything unsavory to the rest of the team. Because I don’t have a doubt in my mind Tony left to go and tell the whole team about your little predicament.”

But before you could reply Sam, Rhodey, and Bucky all came running into the lab practically running over each other.

“Okay, I’ve wanted wanted to know. How do you feel really about Redwing?” Sam asked pushing Rhodey and Bucky aside.

“I think you should find a girlfriend so you stop obsessing over a high tech piece of metal.” You said with an unholy amount of sass, already sick of this treatment. Bucky burst out laughing but you sent a pissed off glare his way.

“Don’t think you’re safe either beefcake. You’re 106 years old and still can’t take a joke, not to mention that you’re forgetful as fuck. I mean who the hell just forgets that they have a vibrium arm? I’m not even going to get started on that staring problem you have that you think is so intimidating.” You snapped, shutting everyone in the room up. Before leaving you locked eyes with Rhodey.

“Oh hi Ego Machine! Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you. I mean who could when you tell that story of how you dropped a tank at the generals feet every single party? I mean, BOOM were you looking to be interesting?”

After shutting every one in that room down you stormed out and locked yourself in your room. You really could tell if you had taken truth serum or just a liquid curse. You never left your room for the rest of the night, not wanting to risk dinner with the team. But you woke up around 5:30 in the morning to. Very strong feeling of hunger, and prayed no one else would be up this early as you snaked down into the kitchen. You walked past Wanda sleeping quietly on the couch as Vision floated peacefully in the corner.

“Creepy motherfucker…” you whispered as you stepped into the kitchen

“What was that you said about my husband?” Wanda said, suddenly on the other side of the counter looking at you with a tilted head. You jumped almost spilling your cereal

“Jesus Christ Wanda! A warning!” You said clutching your head with one hand and the cereal box with the other. But she only looked at you and smiled mischievously

“You can ask anything you want but you’re not allowed to be upset by the answer” you stated plaining, pouring some milk into your bowl.

“Are you talking about the truth serum you took yesterday?” Wanda asked, tilting her head at you.

“Yeah, it might not wear off for another 24 hours. Everyones been dying to find how I ‘really’ feel about them since Tony ran his big mouth and told everyone about this stupid serum I drank.”

“You do remember I can read minds, right? I always know when someone’s telling the truth or lying, I just don’t always call them on it.”

“Right.” You said quietly as you stuffed your face with cereal so you could go back to your quarters as soon as possible.

You sat alone in your room unbothered for the next few hours, until you heard a rock at your door.

“Don’t come in! Go away!” You shouted turning the page of your book assuming whoever was on the other side of your door would kindly fuck off. But as a tall man with a mop of silver hair entered your room you sighed dramatically and threw your book at him, missing spectacularly.

“I could’ve sworn I said to NOT come in.” you said as you crossed your arms over your chest, looking at the ever so muscular man making his way over to your bed.

“And when’s the last time I took orders from you?” Pietro said with a smile.

“You never take orders from anyone, I’m surprised you haven’t been kicked off the team yet honestly.” You spat, bitter that he wasn’t respecting your wishes to be left alone. A pit of nerves also started to grow in your stomach the closer he came to you knowing how you really felt about him, and that if he asked there’d be nothing stopping you from telling him the truth.

“Ah, you wound me dragâ.” Pietro says as he mockingly clasps his hands over his heart as if you’d shot him. You just rolled your eyes in response.

“The team tells me you’ve become somewhat of a bitch since yesterday, is that true?” He asked, sitting down at the foot of your bed.

“I’m not a bitch, Tony just tricked me into drinking some of Banner’s experimental truth serum. But you already knew that didn’t you? Either way, spoiler alert. The stupid serum works and probably won’t wear off for another 12 hours. Besides, I’m only a bitch to the team members I don’t like.” Your eyes widened realizing what you just admitted to Pietro

“I suppose that’s true, Wanda did tell me you weren’t too bad when she ran into you this morning.” Pietro said scooting up next to you in bed, normally you’d tell him to fuck off before he got too close so he would know how much you loved being in his arms but when he asked

“Is this okay?” As he stretched his arms over your shoulders pulling you into his chest

“Yeah, I love it when you hold me. Or just touch me in general, always makes me feel like I’m on cloud nine.” The confession just spilled right out of your mouth, causing you to once again to clasp a hand over your lips to prevent you from saying anything else.

Pietro looked down at you with a shocked eyes but a smug smile, deciding to push his luck he asked “Then why do you always push me away and tell me to fuck off anytime I hug you?”

“Becwagh wi dwomt vhmnf to nmfh…” you said, keeping your hand over your mouth to muffle your answer. Pietro shook his head light at you as he took your hand off your lips and held it, gently caressing your knuckles with his thumb

“What was that darling?” He said as he cobalt blue eyes poured into yours. It’s like he already knew how you felt but just needed to hear you say it to confirm his suspicions. Months of pinning after you, and now here was his chance. He had no other choice but to act on it. You swallowed the last bit of pride and fear held in your chest and said

“Because I don’t want you to know how I really feel about you.” The last of your walls came crashing down as you smiled gently at the handsome man before you, he gently tucked a strand of hair behind your ear as his faced inched closer to yours.

“And how do you feel about me dragosté?”

“Like you’re the only person in the world I could ever fall in love with.” That was all Pietro needed to push aside his ego hearing how you really felt about him as he leaned down and closed the gap in between the two of you pressing his soft lips to yours. Moving gently with you as his lips slotted perfectly over yours, you breathe in his musky scent as you ran your hand across his chest pulling him closer to you. Sadly it wasn’t long before you both ran out of air and had to pull away

“So how do you feel now?” Pietro asked with a cheeky grin plastered on his lovestruck face

“Like I could kiss your stupid face all day.” You said grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him back in for a much more heated kiss.

The rest of your afternoon and week into the evening was spent in Pietros arms sharing soft kisses and fleeting touches. Although admittedly he was sad when the truth serum wore off and he couldn’t ask you any and everything under the sun about how you felt about him.

But you’d end up showing him how you felt in other ways later on ;)

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A/N

Ahhh here’s my 4th post that will be published while I’m away at camp! Found this little bit in my notes as well and just fleshed it out enough to post! Hope this was enjoyable!

Much Love,

—Skyler

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dramaticvhs · 3 years ago

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part two of my favorite teen wolf fics in no particular order

please read tags! some things on this list will not be for everyone.

part one here part three here

( fics with ⭐️ beside them are some I reread constantly )

Untangled by silentdescant

(stetopher, explicit, 31k) ⭐️

Before heading to college, Stiles gets a summer job as a deckhand on the Hale family yacht, and he has a burning desire to embrace his new adulthood and lose his virginity. He’s disappointed to find that the two most attractive and unattached men on the yacht, Captain Chris Argent and rich lawyer Peter Hale, are already in a secret relationship with each other, and he doesn’t want to come between them. Luckily for him, they’re more than happy to have Stiles between them, and they introduce him to their kinky dynamic and invite him to explore his own sexual interests with them.

Written/finished for WIP Big Bang 2021. Banner and chapter headers by Tarvera.

Evenly Matched by alocalband

(sterek, mature, 3.1k)

Stiles gets turned into a fox. Somehow this impacts Derek's life just as much as his own. (post 3b)

choke me like you hate me, but you love me by ash_mcj

(sterek, explicit, 8.7k)

“How long do you think I have to live?” Stiles whispered urgently.

“Ten,” Derek’s voice said, his voice lethally composed.

Stiles jumped and turned to see him standing at the top of the spiral staircase. “Ten what?”

“Nine,” Derek replied.

“You should probably run,” Erica advised.

[or: Stiles scratches Derek's Camaro and it leads to an impromptu run for his life through the Preserve - but it ends with him pinned to Derek's mattress, so Stiles calls it a win]

(Teen Wolf Bingo Square: Beta Shift Sex)

To Feel Your Heart as It's Keeping Mine by Vendelin

(sterek, teen and up, 8.5k)

Stiles and Derek have been dating for four months, when Derek gets in an accident and loses all his memories from the past year and a half. Now, he’s once again the Derek Stiles used to despise, and even worse, Derek thinks that he still hates Stiles’ guts.

I've Got it Bad, Got it Bad, Got it Bad by RedRidingStiles

(sterek, mature, 47k)

“Woah are those real?” Stiles found himself saying as he reached out and squeezed the man’s (it was a man and not a brick wall Stiles’ brain supplies) bicep which was bulging under the guy’s shirt. Stiles hasn’t even looked at the man’s face too preoccupied gasping at the tone muscles in front of him.

“Something tells me you’re the infamous Stiles.”

“Stiles, yes that’s my name, well it’s not really my name that’s too hard for anyone to pronounce so it’s just Stiles. Or you know, some colorful names the lower IQs of this place like to make up. But Stiles, you can call me Stiles.” Stiles rambles on, watching the man try to suppress a grin and failing. He has a gorgeous smile that made his bunny teeth present and his eyes crinkle and Stiles thinks he might be a little bit in love.

“Nice to meet you Stiles, why don’t you take a seat.” The man, Stiles doesn’t even know his name and he’s already starting to plan their wedding, says with a nod to the already full classroom. Stiles hasn’t even heard the bell ring. Huh.

“But I didn’t get your name,” Stiles replies.

“Mr. Hale, I’m your new English teacher.”

Fuck.

Words Cannot Espresso How Much You Bean to Me by isthatbloodonhisshirt

(sterek, teen and up, 68k) ⭐️

“You’re late,” Derek informed him coldly, jaw clenched. He barely even moved his mouth to speak. This guy was seriously scary.

And because Stiles was suicidal, he said, “No, I’m Stiles.”

The look he got could’ve curdled milk. Stiles even noticed that Derek’s muscles were tensing, arms bulging even more and wow this guy was scary and hot but mostly scary holy shit.

“You’re not funny,” Derek informed him coldly.

Stiles shrugged. “I think that’s a matter of opinion.” so

Bare My Soul for the Taking by anonymous

(chris/stiles, teen and up, 4k)

When Stiles Stilinski showed up on his doorstep, proof of his family's wrongdoing clear on her face, he considered slamming the door in her face.

He didn't though, and he both hated and loved his decision to let her in.

5 times stiles kissed the wrong hale and the one time he got it right by bilinskibutt

(stiles/hales [endgame sterek], teen and up, 11k)

The titles says it all.

5 times Stiles kisses the wrong Hale, and the one time he gets it right.

You’re a Dream (You’re my Nightmare) by emsmittens

(steter, teen and up, 5.7k)

Nightmares were no fun things and Stiles knew that personally. After the nogitsune, the spark believed that he would only have normal, human nightmares for the rest of his life.

That wasn't the case. Now he had to go to the one werewolf he didn't know if he trusted: Peter.

Written in Red by gryvon

(steter, mature, 5.4k) ⭐️

Peter had given up hope of ever finding his soulmate until the red string on his finger leads him to a four-year-old. He's going to Hell. Or jail. Or both.

Exemplary Behavior by Triangulum

(steter, teen and up, 2.1k)

“Dude,” Stiles hisses, kicking Scott in the shin, as if they both aren’t watching the scene unfold in front of them. “That’s Peter Hale!”

“Peter?” Scott asks, brows furrowed in confusion.

“Peter,” Stiles hisses. “The one who killed those people like six years ago! God, he’s hot.” Stiles cranes his neck to get a better view of Peter’s face. Peter glances over their way with a smirk, winking at Stiles, before turning back to Derek.

“He’s a serial killer!” Scott hisses.

“...Think he takes requests?”

“Stiles!”

Derek's shady uncle gets out of prison.

life's for the living by pprfaith

(stetopher, teen and up, 21k) ⭐️

Chris doesn’t know what to do.

Considering the life he’s lived, it’s certainly not the first time he’s felt that way, but that doesn’t help him one lick right now because he absolutely does not have the first fucking clue what to do.

He shoots a look into the passenger side footwell of his truck and hopes for inspiration.

Or: Chris saves a baby werewolf and tries desperately not to move on. One of these things is doomed to fail.

Secrets by allfandoms93

(sterek, explicit, 37k)

Stiles is just a high school junior crushing on the senior Derek Hale. But they're both keeping secrets.

Just You and Me by Triangulum

(steter, mature, 2.5k)

Stiles is less than amused. College was supposed to be a mix of frantic studying, taking 8:00 a.m. classes and regretting it, and driving back to Beacon Hills every other weekend to see his dad and Peter. He was supposed to be pulling all-nighters fueled on candy and energy drinks, making new friends, and flying through his prerequisites as fast as humanly possible. He'd planned for that, he'd been ready.

He hadn't been ready for Peter to dump him.

From TFLN, "FYI telling a guy you're glad his dick isn't big after giving him a bj is NOT a compliment"

This Is Going To Be A Three 'Dude' Conversation by Dusk

(stanny, mature, 1.8k)

"Dude," Jackson said, and Danny stopped what he was doing, because when Jackson started sentences with 'dude', he was either about to share something deeply personal or about to try and get them expelled for excessive pussy jokes, and Danny had problems with both of those options.

You Taste Like Glitter by dizzzylu

(stanny, teen and up, 4.2k)

There was a time in Danny's life when he'd have sworn he had better things to do than sit in a club and check out the latest guy his ex is trying to hook up with. That is not the case tonight.

(written for the prompt: Danny sees Stiles at a gay bar and asks him to dance to make his ex jealous, only things get a little out of hand when he realizes Stiles is really into it and is not so straight as Danny thoughtat the Everybody Loves Danny Fanworks Fest)

Give to me your leather by decideophobia

(sterek, teen and up, 6.4k)

“I didn’t drive the car,” Derek answers with a faint smirk. Stiles is about to start ranting when Derek hands him a black helmet that’s dangling from his arm. Frowning Stiles takes the helmet and it’s only then that he notices that they’re standing next to a big black motorcycle.

bigger, longer and uncut by drunktuesdays

(sterek, explicit, 4.9k)

Derek walks away, because he’s learned that sometimes he’s never going to be able to join in on the joke, and this conversation is just making him have more questions. Like, why is Stiles so obsessed? Is he grossed out by uncut cocks or does he like them? Is Stiles cut? His face starts heating up the way it always does when he starts thinking about Stiles like that and he ducks into the shower, manfully ignoring the new round of laughter from downstairs.

weak knees and sweaty palms by kim47

(stanny, teen and up, 3.3k) ⭐️

Okay, so it's possible Stiles has never been on a real date. One where both parties were aware of and agreeable to the fact.

It's also possible he's a little nervous.

Roadside Assistance by autoschediastic

(sciles, explicit, 3.7k)

"Ow, okay, what part of ow are you not getting? God, is this how you cuddle?"

"I'm not trying to cuddle you," Scott says, rooting determinedly around. "I'm trying to keep you warm."

Stiles gives him a long look. A really, really long one, because sometimes Scott needs the time to chug his way around to a conclusion.

"Oh," he says.

Begin As You Mean to Go on by tryslora

(stiles/derek/jackson, teen and up, 2.6k)

Jackson should be glad to be back in Beacon Hills. Yeah, he's still dealing with the aftermath of his breakup, but the pack is back together (even some he didn't think would be possible to be there). He's surrounded by pack (are they really his) and has a place to stay (with Derek & Stiles, who are Together). But he's also touch-starved and feeling like he's just one extra person that's not really needed. Listening to Derek and Stiles, and dealing with Stiles's innuendo, isn't helping anything. Because they don't mean it, right?

The Mending That You Need by torakowalski

(sterek, explicit, 3.8k)

“He’s not my boyfriend, Stiles. He’s a man from a club. I couldn’t call him, if I wanted to.”

#stetopher #sterek #steter #stargent #chris/stiles #stanny #sciles #scott/stiles #derek/stiles/jackson #teen wolf #fic recs #teen wolf fic

264 notes · View notes

tobesoquiet · 2 years ago

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The Great War Song Analysis

Below you will find my 2k+ word analysis of the first 3am track on Taylor Swift’s most recent album Midnights (3am edition). I did utilize Genius, but most of this stuff was just from my own mind and Genius happened to have the same info, lol.

“My knuckles were bruised like violets” This opening line seems to be a clear callback to Lavender haze, a song all about the honeymoon phase of a relationship where there is little to no conflict. But, as we will learn, The Great War is somewhat the antithesis of Lavender Haze as it tells the story of Taylor and her partner’s first colossal fight and how it almost ended their relationship. Personally, I like the symbolism of Lavender Haze being the first track while The Great War is the first of the 3am tracks.

“Sucker-punching walls, cursed you as I sleep-talked” Taylor mentions dreams and nightmares several times across this album and in her previous work. Instances of this in other Midnights tracks specifically would be in Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve, and Anti-Hero where she sings “I can’t let this go, I fight with you in my sleep”, and “I wake up screaming from dreaming one day I’ll watch as you’re leaving”. She also mentions sleep talking specifically in Long Story Short; “Misery, like the war of words I shouted in my sleep”.

“Spineless in my tomb of silence” This lyric reminds me of the line “I lived like an island, punished you with silence, went off like sirens, just crying” from Afterglow, a song that could very well have been written about the same fight Taylor and her partner had. It sounds like she’s depicting herself shutting down emotionally during this fight.

“Tore your banners down, took the battle underground” Appears to be a straightforward reference to Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve where there’s a lyric quite similar; “Years of tearing down our banners, you and I”. I feel as though this could represent Taylor trying, or at least wanting to end the relationship this song is about.

“And maybe it was ego swinging, maybe it was her” In any argument, egos can get bruised. It becomes an issue when the reason you’re still arguing is that you don’t want to admit your faults or wrongdoing and thus the fight continues. As for who “her” is, we aren’t privy to that information, however, I do wonder if this woman could be the character in the Anti-Hero music video who represents Taylor’s self-loathing thoughts and actively tries to sabotage her, and in this case, her relationship.

“Flashes of the battle come back to me in a blur” It’s not unusual for veterans to suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and for those who do have it, flashbacks of their trauma isn’t uncommon. Taylor could be experiencing flashbacks of this nuclear argument, or “battle”, with her partner during current fights.

“All that bloodshed, crimson clover” In 1986, Tommy James and the Shondells released a song called Crimson and Clover. The song is about the narrator seeing a woman and instantly falling for her and thinking there’s a possibility he could love her. In the context of this song, though, I feel like this could be a reference to the amount of figurative blood that was spilled, hence the ground, and the clover growing there, being stained a crimson red.

“Uh-huh sweet dream was over” The honeymoon phase that Taylor sang about in Lavender Haze has most definitely ended. This also reminds me of the line “Flying in a dream, stars by the pocketful” from Snow On The Beach, where she’s singing about falling for someone and being shocked that they like her back.

“My hand was the one you reached for, all throughout the Great War” Taylor is saying that despite how tumultuous her relationship was at the time, her partner was still setting it aside and comforting them both. As for the term “the Great War”, before WWII, WWI was referred to as the Great War. The use of this term is Taylor trying to express how volatile this fight was for both parties involved.

“Always remember, uh-huh tears on the letter” “Always remember, never forget” Is a phrase usually used in reference to a significant tragedy that will go down in history. Thus, in the context of this song and how Taylor is using the metaphor of war to describe this period of her relationship, she is expressing that the fight was so monumental that it will go down in the history of their romance.

“I vowed not to cry anymore, if we survived the Great War” This reminds me of how in some of our more desperate moments, we pray to a god we may or may not believe in with the promise of “If you get me out of this situation/help me in some way, I promise I’ll never do x bad thing again”. Taylor is saying that if by some miracle she and her partner make it through this, she’ll be so grateful that she’ll never allow herself to show her unhappiness again.

“You drew up some good faith treaties” “Good faith” is considered to be one’s honor and integrity when drawing up an agreement between more than one party and how they conduct themselves after said agreement. This hints at Taylor’s partner being very active in trying to come up with solutions and/or compromises to their problem.

“I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone” As I said, Taylor is isolating herself, which she expressed having a problem within the #TSAntiHeroChallenge video she posted, as well as drowning her sorrows in what could be alcohol, which is sometimes referred to as poison. It reminds me of the saying “holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die”.

“You said I have to trust more freely” There have been multiple instances in this era alone where Taylor has hinted towards her trust issues, such as in the Anti-Hero music video where the character who acts as a manifestation of her self-loathing and intrusive thoughts is shown giving her a lesson in a school like setting where “Everyone will betray you” is written on the blackboard in large lettering. She also does this in Dear Reader with the lines “Dear reader, you don’t have to answer just ‘cause they asked you” and “Dear reader, the greatest of luxuries is your secrets”. It should also be noted that songs from Reputation, such as Look What You Made Me Do and This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, both touch on a betrayal she’s faced.

“But diesel is desire, you were playing with fire” A very clear (to me) parallel to the Ivy bridge where she also sings about fire and war in the context of a relationship; “So yeah, it’s a fire, it’s a goddamn blaze in the dark, and you started it. So yeah, it’s a war, it’s the goddamn fight of my life and you started it”.

“And maybe it’s the past that’s talking, screaming from the crypt” Taylor has used the imagery of death to describe her ended relationships in her previous work and in another song on Midnights. In All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s version) she sings “He’s gonna say it’s ‘love’, you never called it what it was. ‘Til we were dead and gone and buried, check the pulse and come back swearing. It’s the same, after three months in the grave.” and in Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve “If clarity’s in death, then why won’t this die?” as well as “The tomb won’t close, I miss who I used to be”. Both relationships seem to have greatly impacted her and there’s a strong possibility that the toll they took on her affects how she handles relationships to this day.

“Telling me to punish you for things you never did, so I justified it” Another lyric that reminds me of Afterglow, specifically the lyrics “I blew things out of proportion, now you’re blue. Put you in jail for something you didn’t do. I pinned your hands behind your back, oh. Thought I had reason to attack, no.” and “Hey, it’s all me, in my head. I’m the one who burned us down, but it’s not what I meant. I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

“It turned into something bigger” An argument that might have started smaller and about something that wasn’t super important, but now it’d been blown out of proportion and Taylor is possibly realizing that this really could end their relationship.

“Somewhere in the haze, got a sense I’d been betrayed” Perhaps another callback to Lavender Haze, which as we know was written about the blissful honeymoon phase. It sounds, to me, like the metaphorical bubble of peace and calm has been burst by her momentarily thinking that her partner has done something unforgivable. Betrayal isn’t an uncommon theme during times of war, in fact, American general Benedict Arnold became synonymous with the word after he betrayed America during the Revolutionary War.

“Your finger on my hairpin triggers” She’s on the brink of losing it/exploding in a way and how her partner acts will determine her reaction and whether or not she does, in fact, lose it.

“Soldier down on that icy ground” “Soldier down” or “man down” is a phrase meant to signify that a soldier on the battlefield/in action has been injured or taken down, most likely by a bullet or other weapon. In this case, the soldier is Taylor's partner who might have been emotionally wounded by her words or actions. The use of “icy ground” could be a reference back to The Lakes, where Taylor sings, “A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground, with no one around to tweet it”, and while The Lakes might not be a fully autobiographical song, it gives me the imagery of the one sacred space Taylor and her partner had, being marred due to being turned into the battlefield of this metaphorical war.

“Looked up at me with honor and truth, broken and blue, so I called off the troops” Describing her partner as having honor and being truthful is very reminiscent of the lyrics “your integrity makes me seem small” and “it’s like I’m wasting your honor” from Peace. The lyric about them being broken and bruised reminds me of two other lines from two different songs, both from Lover. “I blew things out of proportion, now you’re blue” from Afterglow and “My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue, alls well that ends well to end up with you” from the song Lover. Taylor saying she’s calling off the troops is her coming to her senses and waving the white flag after seeing how hurt her partner is, but also how they are still the person she fell in love with.

“That was the night I nearly lost you, I really thought I’d lost you” In the context of the war metaphor, Taylor is using “lost you” as a metaphor of her partner succumbing to their injuries and dying, another casualty of war, but in all actuality she means she thought they’d left her and ended their relationship.

“We can plant a memory garden, say a solemn prayer, place a poppy in my hair” Memory gardens, or memorial gardens, are places often created to remember and honor the tragedy/death of a person(s). As for the reference to poppies, they are seen as a remembrance of WWI. they were most common on the western front, and they actually thrived in the conditions due to the soil that was turned up as a result of the combat taking place. There’s also a poem titled “In Flanders Fields” by John Mccrae, published in 1915 about war, specifically, the death caused by it, that references poppies twice. In a poem written by Moina Michael (a humanitarian) in 1918, which was a response to Mccrae’s poem, poppies are also heavily mentioned. Moina then campaigned for poppies to be a symbol of remembrance.

“There’s no morning glory, it was war it wasn’t fair” Could just be me, but this very much reminds me of the saying “all is fair in love and war” with the lyric kind of being the antithesis of that. In reality, war isn’t at all fair.

“Always remember, uh-huh, we’re burned for better” Reminds me of the lyric, “and if I get burned, at least we were electrified” from Reputation’s Dress. The implication is that despite the fact that they went through this hardship and very difficult period, they’ll be able to use what they learned in future arguments which will also better themselves as people.

“I vowed I will always be yours, ‘cause we survived the Great War” While this does have the tone of wedding vows/marriage, I think it’s important to keep in mind that relationships don’t need to the title of marriage in order to make them just as serious as a couple who is married. I think this could reference a more personal promise/covenant that Taylor made to herself and to her partner.

#taylor swift #music #midnights #song analysis #the great war #3am tracks #swifties

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usergreenpixel · 3 years ago

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JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 10: BANNER OF THE MAID (2019)

1. The Introduction

Hey, Citizens! I’m back and this is the anniversary review! Yay, we’re 10 reviews young!

Anyway, in order to celebrate the special occasion, I really wanted to pick a special topic that wouldn’t be laced with propaganda and is obscure enough so as not to be well-known in our Revolutionary community!

“Banner of the Maid” fits both categories. It’s a relatively obscure Chinese Strategy RPG game made by Azure Flame Studio. It also mixes characters from the Napoleonic era and the French Revolution (or rather, a lot of historical figures were in both of those) so the Neighbors are once again welcome to join the Convention!

It first appeared on my radar thanks to a fellow Revolutionary and a good friend of mine, @idieonthishill , who has a review of her own! Check it out and show her some appreciation!

https://idieonthishill.tumblr.com/post/659391065047154688/i-recently-completed-another-playthrough-of-banner

The game is available on Steam if you’re using a PC, and that’s where I purchased it, but I heard it can be purchased for some consoles too so it’s fairly easy to get a hold of.

I was hoping to be able to complete this game by today but only managed to beat half of it by now due to some projects piling up at my college so I ended up cheating a bit and caught up on everything via YouTube walkthroughs.

Sorry about that, guys...

Anyway, let’s proceed to the actual review! @idieonthishill , this one is dedicated to you!

2. The Summary

The game begins in 1792, when the Royal Family attempts to flee to Varennes, but then takes a sharp turn into the alternative history because, unlike their real counterparts, here the king and the queen are still somewhat in power due to their PR boosting move of allowing women to be in the military.

In this universe, some women, called Maids, possess certain powers (unique from user to user) and are destined to save France. Our main character, Pauline Bonaparte, is a Maid with the power to inspire troops (in the gameplay this translates to impressive attack boosts) who has recently graduated from military school and, after a baptism by fire during which most of her troops got slaughtered, she travels to Toulon to reunite with her older brother (Napoleon) and help him fight in the War of the First Coalition. In the meantime, she also has to navigate the tricky politics of France of the Frev era...

3. The Story

So far, the story is actually pretty exciting. I must admit that the concept of the Maids is a narrative choice that I haven’t seen before, at least not in Frev media, so the premise alone got my attention.

As you might have deduced by now, this game shows us alternative history and, to the credit of the devs, they’re open and honest about this from the start.

What’s more, they don’t use alternative history as an excuse to spew propaganda left and right and the conflicts of the plot are actually in the gray area in terms of morality.

We meet revolutionaries, royalists, civillians and foreign enemies and they all have something sympathetic about them, which makes for a truly mature and interesting conflict.

Not something people usually expect from an animesque RPG game, but the surprise is welcome nonetheless precisely thanks to its rarity.

The story also an achievement of featuring a romantic subplot that I not only buy, but really enjoy, which is amazing considering how easy it is to screw up romantic subplots and my usual apathy towards those. More on the subplot later though.

Okay, let’s move on and look at the characters.

4. The Characters

Most of the characters are based on historical people and, surprisingly, they are much more accurate than they could’ve been.

Here are a few examples:

Pauline Bonaparte, or rather her version in the game, is a big part of the reason why I’m so hooked on the story thanks to her realistic portrayal.

She is kind, socially awkward, suffering from survivor’s guilt due to the death of her troops in the backstory but also idealistic, naïve and genuinely strong both physically and mentally.

Her protective streak is especially evident in her interactions with her (implied) love interest but so is her awkwardness, probably because it’s supposed to be her first love.

Basically, she is exactly what one would expect from a naïve newcomer thrown into the fires of war but she matured and learns to use her powers as the story progresses.

She is incredibly loyal to Napoleon (which is accurate) and their interactions are just really adorable, especially the one from the first part of the game where he cheers her up during a moment of insecurity by reminding her that she snatched 20 victories from him in snowball fights. Aww...

Another major character I’d like to talk about is Napoleon Bonaparte himself.

Here Naps is an incredibly talented and ambitious soldier (accurate!) and he is always ready to help Pauline, be it via a pep talk or via directly aiding her in battle. He also occasionally transfers new troops to Pauline so his help can be more indirect too.

Unfortunately, like Pauline, here he is bad at social interactions outside the military, which causes issues for his romance with Josephine de Beauharnais (who runs a salon/coffee shop called Malmaison in the game) and in some other cases.

Then there’s General Louis Desaix.

A nobleman who supports the Revolution (accurate!), he was a comrade of Napoleon’s before joining Pauline. He is Pauline’s love interest in the game, but their romance is quite subtle and it’s more of a subtext than anything.

For example, he saves Pauline twice and after the first time the two dance while flying over Paris on a hot air balloon. To me, this is clearly supposed to be romantic, especially with the way Pauline blushes the entire time.

Desaix is also a big protective cinnamon roll in the game but a brave and formidable opponent on the battlefield. He never hesitates to fight for his loved ones and for what he believes in, even at the cost of his life.

(Spoiler alert!)

Sadly, the canon version of the game has him die from an injury after he shields Pauline from an Austrian sniper (Bridget) but there’s a way to save him so don’t worry about it! More on that later though.

There’s also Joachim Murat. Womanizer, braggart, daredevil, dandy and a loyal friend, he has a big ego and a big heart to match (accurate!).

For example, when Desaix is dying, Murat carries him to the camp and keeps telling him to hang on the entire time, which I find really sweet.

Murat also has a unique character ability that had me laughing my ass off the first time I saw it. In the game he wears outrageously bright clothes (accurate!) and this gives him a handy ability to distract enemies and have much higher chances of dodging an attack than most of the cast has.

Way to make use of your clothes!

Also, contrary to popular belief, he is neither stupid nor spineless here, just reckless.

Another character, Jean Lannes, though apparently not as historically accurate as the aforementioned people, can be pretty blunt and rude (accurate!) and, according to the game, those traits frequently get him demoted but he is still loyal and a good friend. In fact, he keeps encouraging Desaix to hang in there too! Aww...

The game also features Josephine de Beauharnais, who is not a bitch and actually quite sympathetic, sketchy and corrupt Mirabeau and Robespierre, who doesn’t support the idea of executing everyone and simply wants a better life for the people.

These three are quite important as characters and I’m glad that most of the pitfalls of writing them aren’t present here.

Unfortunately, at least two characters based on real people are female while historically they were male. Arthur Wellesley (aka Wellington) becomes Anne Wellesley while Nicolas Oudinot is turned into a cute girl called Nicolette.

Honestly, these creative choices were a miss for me but it’s not a major complaint and can be justified by the fact that it’s alternative history.

Another complaint I have is that Anne doesn’t get enough screen time to make her potential as an antagonist truly shine, which is a shame. The same problem shows up with the characters from later chapters as some of them don’t have enough time to develop properly

Otherwise, though, the cast is full of genuinely interesting and somewhat accurate characters, most of whom are walking references and some are more obvious than others.

For example, there’s a possible reference to a Frev manga called “Rose of Versailles” as one of the female characters is called Oscar, which is the name of the female protagonist who was raised as a man.

Another character, a Maid who can talk to animals, is called Cosette, which is most likely a Les Mis reference.

However, some references to real people are more subtle and easy to miss unless you’re an expert in history of the French Revolution and/or Napoleonic Wars.

Let’s take a look at some examples, dear readers!

5. The References

For example, early on in the game, Pauline is shielded from attackers in Toulon by a character called Leclerc, which is the surname of the real Pauline’s first husband.

Leclerc’s sister, Aimée, who is in the military band of Pauline’s army, is also a reference to a real person. For the Neighbors, you probably know her better as Aimée Davout, future wife of Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout.

Paulette Méric, a friend of Lannes’s in the game, is a reference to his first wife.

D’Eon, a retired spy and one of Pauline’s former instructors, was a real spy who was famous for cross dressing and lived as a woman after retiring. His gender is male in the game but it mentions that, while disguised as a woman, he had quite a few suitors (accurate!).

One of the antagonists, Leonore, is a reference to Eleonore Prochaska, a real Prussian soldier who fought against Napoleon.

A more subtle reference comes in the form of two journals that are instrumental in saving Desaix.

They’re called “Larrey’s Notes” and reference the chief surgeon of Napoleon’s army who was thought of as the best of the best.

He doesn’t appear in the game personally but, according to the Neighbors, he was good friends with Desaix in real life so, in a sweet way, he works a miracle in the game and helps the player save one of his friends! Aww.

There are many more references, of course, but I don’t want to bore anyone by listing all of them so we’ll have to stop here but, since I just mentioned the notes that are an important part of the gameplay, let’s talk about said gameplay.

6. The Gameplay

If you ever played “Rock Paper Scissors”, you’ll notice that the basics are somewhat similar to that game and, even if you don’t remember which unit type beats which, there’s a handy pictogramme on the screen during campaigns that will remind you of it.

Unfortunately, while learning how the game works is easy, the campaigns get progressively harder and harder along the way and, in my case at least, later campaigns can require a lot of trial and error before victory is achieved but it’s rewarding nonetheless.

Occasionally, you will get side missions that, when completed, give you reputation boosts, funds to purchase supplies and help you level up the troops.

In addition, both the main story and the side quests occasionally come with challenges that, if completed, give you some really important bonuses.

The gameplay, like the story and the characters, is also full of easter eggs and most of them are subtle.

But, unfortunately, one crucial part of the gameplay is too subtle, to the point that rookie players might not be able to even find out about it unless they stumble upon instructions or achieve it accidentally.

Remember how Desaix is potentially killed? Well, he is injured in Chapter 16 of the game (thanks, Bridget) and will die unless necessary measures are taken.

To save him, you will need two parts of Larrey’s Notes.

The first part can be obtained if you complete the challenge in the side mission of Chapter 7. The second one is found if the challenge in Chapter 15 is completed. You need to put both journals into Desaix’s inventory and then you need to prevent him from taking any damage in Chapter 16.

This is possible if you avoid being attacked by Heavy Cavalry and the Boss Enemy (Bridget) who pursues Desaix and Pauline to finish them off.

Meeting those requirements is tricky but to me it was all the more rewarding because he did survive during my walkthrough and I got so emotional that I was grinning and giggling like an idiot after realizing that I had just succeeded.

(We, the Revolutionaries, never abandon our own, fictional or otherwise!)

But, if you’re a rookie, it’s easy to think that Desaix’s death isn’t preventable because the game gives no indication of the purpose of the notes or the fact that he shouldn’t take damage, which, if you ask me, is extremely unfair to the players.

(Spoiler alert!)

There are also no indications that he will die, aside from the emphasis on his frail state during that campaign, so the “canon” death itself ends up coming out of the left field. Someone on the dev team must really hate Desaix for some reason...

Heck, I only found out about the death and the way to prevent it by browsing forums on Steam, so I know how hard it is and I really wish that the hints were in the actual game, especially since Desaix is a major character! Not cool, guys, not cool...

A more minor issue pops up in the language. The game was made by a Chinese studio and is therefore only available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and English.

The English version, the one I’m playing because I don’t speak Chinese, has some typos and other translation errors, but, unlike my previous complaint, this one isn’t really annoying and at least the English is good enough to make the game comprehensible.

7. The Visuals

The backgrounds of the game are truly stunning so I don’t have issues with those.

What I do have an issue with, are some of the character designs.

Anime style aside (because I’m not complaining about that per se), quite a few designs for female characters show their breasts (not entirely though, mostly it’s just that the cleavages are too deep), especially in the cases of the Queen and Paulette.

I have no idea why and how the devs decided on this, but it makes it hard for me to take the characters suffering from this seriously because lewd designs in a game that’s not about lewd stuff really annoy me and the game couldn’t been better if none of the female characters were designed that way.

As for the male characters, none of them are lewd (thank Supreme Being!) but they’re inconsistent.

Some men (Napoleon and Murat) are drawn accurately, almost like their designs are stylized portraits, while others (like Lannes and Desaix) are basically anime pretty boys, which is odd and makes me wish that the creators made up their minds and picked only one style for everyone. Oh well.

8. The Conclusion

All in all, the game isn’t without flaws, but I’m really enjoying it so far and I still recommend it.

After all, despite the questionable designs, the typos and so on, the creators clearly did their homework and genuinely did their best to make a good game, which has to be appreciated considering how low the bar is for Frev and Napoleonic media due to all the propaganda our respective communities deal with.

If you’re curious about the game, be sure to check it out on Steam as I believe that projects like this should be supported by our communities.

Well, that’s it for today’s meeting, Citizens and Neighbors! Hope you had a happy Halloween and I hope you have a happy Jacobin Fiction Convention anniversary!

More updates on the next review are coming soon so stay tuned!

Love,

- Citizen Green Pixel

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no--envies · 3 years ago

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I've seen people suggest LXC is as guilty as everyone else for WWX's downfall and the murder of the Wen remnants, either because he knew they were just a bunch of weak and old people and didn't care, or because he was too naive and he should have gone to the Burial Mounds to investigate for himself.

With this post I aim to analyse the events leading to WWX's downfall from the point of view of characters who acted in good faith without having all the necessary information. I'm bringing LXC as an example because he's one of the less culpable in the whole matter, but similar considerations could be made about several other characters.

First of all, as far as we know LXC didn't personally take part in the first siege of the Burial Mounds, since the novel states that the Lan Sect was led by LQR.

Back then, during the first siege of Burial Mound, Jin GuangShan led the LanlingJin Sect, while Jiang Cheng led the YunmengJiang Sect; Lan QiRen led the GusuLan Sect, while Nie MingJue led the QingheNie Sect. The former two were the main forces, the latter two could’ve gone without.

(Chapter 68)

The other three main sects were led by their respective leaders, so why was the Lan Sect the only one that was led by someone else? My own interpretation is that LXC wanted to stay with his brother while he was recovering from his injuries and he didn't want to be an active participant in the siege that would kill his brother's beloved, despite personally disapproving of WWX's actions. One could argue that letting LQR lead the Lan Sect in the siege still meant giving his tacit approval, which is not wrong, but what should be considered is that the cultivation world didn't plan a siege against WWX because he had taken a bunch of prisoners of war and sheltered them in the Burial Mounds, but because he had killed hundreds of cultivators at Qiongqi Path and a lot more at Nightless City.

Before WN lost control and killed thirty people at Koi Tower - the time he and WQ had gone to turn themselves in - the situation wasn't so dire for WWX yet. The Wen siblings' sentence was still being discussed by the sects. WN mentions that LWJ spoke up for him and his sister back then (chapter 89), which suggests the Lan Sect as a whole hadn't taken an antagonistic stance against WWX yet. LWJ probably tried to bring what he had seen of the Wen remnants and their peaceful settlement as proof that they hadn't done anything to deserve being sentenced to death.

Unfortunately, after that WN lost control of himself and attacked the cultivators who were present at the discussion, which gave even the Lan and Nie Sects a reason to hold a grudge against WWX, since some of the victims were from their Sects as well.

“The Ghost General really is fierce… Said he was there to give himself in, but then he suddenly flipped out. He slaughtered again, this time in Koi Tower.”

[...]

“Wei Ying, though, he shouldn’t have made him if he can’t control it. Created a mad dog and he didn’t leash it. Sooner or later, he’s gonna be faced with a qi deviation. With the way things have been, I doubt the day is that far away.”

[...]

“How unfortunate for the LanlingJin Sect.”

“Things were even worse for the GusuLan Sect! Over half of the thirty-or-so people were from their sect. They were clearly only there to help calm things down.”

(Chapter 77)

A few of the QingheNie Sect’s disciples died in the hands of Wen Ning as well. Nie MingJue spoke coldly, “What arrogance.”

(Chapter 78)

The text explicitly states that the cultivators from the Lan Sect who were present at Koi Tower were only there to "help calm things down", which means they weren't trying to accuse WWX and the Wen remnants. At the time, the Lan Sect's general stance about WWX appeared to be mostly neutral (the same could be said of the Nie Sect). LWJ's own attitude toward the Burial Mounds settlement could be considered mostly neutral as well, at least until WN and WQ (and then WWX) really needed his help.

An argument I’ve seen brought up often is that, if everyone had known the Wen remnants were just farming and living as ordinary peasants, a lot more people would have chosen to help them. However, the main issue wasn't how they were living in the Burial Mounds (which nobody knew except JC, LWJ and maybe LXC), but their role in the war. Not only were they all cultivators from the Wen Clan, despite being very weak, but WQ was favored by WRH, which made her involvement in her sect's crimes even more likely despite her good reputation. Nobody had heard of her killing anyone, but how could they be sure? Besides, the Lan Sect didn't owe any debt of gratitude to the Wen siblings. The Wen Sect had burned the Cloud Recesses and killed LXC and LWJ's father. NMJ held a personal grudge against the Wen Sect because WRH had killed his father, plus his own black-and-white morality made him judge WQ for not opposing WRH in any way. LXC and NMJ had no reason to go out of their way to help WWX and the Wen remnants, but before the bloodbath of Nightless City they didn't do anything to harm them, either.

We also have to take into consideration the world MDZS is set in; that is, a fantasy version of ancient China where revenge is absolutely justified and is considered an act of justice. Even wiping out entire Sects in revenge isn't necessarily condemned, since JGY did that for the alleged murder of his son and nobody criticized him for it until they learned of all the crimes he had commited and realized those people had most likely been framed by him. Xue Yang was obviously despised by everyone for what he did to the Chang Clan because his revenge was considered exceedingly disproportionate to Chang Cian's offense. Xiao Xingchen illustrates society's point of view on the matter very well when he says cutting Chang Cian's finger or even his entire arm would have been entirely reasonable.

So, as long as it was deemed proportionate to the offense, revenge was justified. Putting all the Wen survivors who had taken part in the war into a labor camp was considered a justified punishment in universe. The sects refused to admit the guards had actually abused the prisoners, suggesting that was going too far, but taking revenge against them by putting them in labor camps was totally accepted. Even WWX - who the novel portrays as morally correct most of the time - doesn’t condemn it. He himself used very cruel and ruthless methods to take revenge against his enemies during the Sunshot Campaign, so it would be kind of hypocritical if he opposed their punishment post-war. He does point out that people consider every Wen cultivator guilty by association just for being part of the Wen Clan, without really caring about the actual crimes they have committed, but he only rescues the cultivators from WN's branch, who he knows didn't take part in the atrocities committed by the Wen Sect.

Murdering the Wen remnants settled in the Burial Mounds was wrong even in universe because they were innocent. They hadn't killed anyone during the war and the Wen siblings' help was absolutely essential for WWX and JC when they were on the run. Without them the Jiang Sect wouldn't even exist anymore. This was a huge deal considering the importance of debts in universe and could have swayed public opinion in their favor. NMJ criticized WQ for not doing anything to actively oppose WRH during the war, but the thing is that she had. She had sheltered the Jiang Sect's heir and head disciple, the same people who contributed to the Sunshot Campaign as one of the main forces.

The problem is that no one knew about this except WWX and JC themselves. JC, who had the authority and credibility to defend what WWX had done in the prison camp, didn't show much conviction the one time he tried to speak up for him, so the other sects probably assumed he was just trying to excuse his right-hand man's inexcusable actions and that WWX had become too corrupted by his demonic cultivation and was too unpredictable and dangerous. When JC went to investigate what WWX was actually doing in the Burial Mounds, he came back saying WWX had defected from the Jiang Sect and was an enemy to the cultivation world (chapter 73), apparently confirming WWX had finally lost it because of all the resentful energies he used and was a potential threat to them all.

However, a really important thing to consider is that the cultivation world waited two years to besiege WWX. They didn't immediately charge to attack him or believe all the rumors about WWX. The sects definitely behaved like sheep, but they weren't that stupid. They knew most of the things that were said were probably exaggerated rumors, so they were just observing the situation and waiting to see what he would do. LXC, NMJ and the other cultivators who weren't in bad faith (those who weren't driven by their greed, ambition, resentment or jealousy) were all part of this general category. They had no reason to doubt JC's words, who was a fellow sect leader and WWX's close friend, and many of them had seen for themselves how threatening WWX had acted during the banquet at Koi Tower, when he said nobody could stop him if he wanted to kill someone, so they had no reason to believe WWX's reputation was being unfairly tarnished.

During the two years WWX spent in the Burial Mounds and nobody really knew what he was up to, a lot of rumors were spread about him. Some people thought he was trying to build an army of fierce corpses with their consciousness awakened like WN; others suggested he wanted to found his own sect of demonic cultivators and even took disciples, like the banners in Yiling seemed to indicate. They considered WWX a potential threat, but not enough to actually take action against him. The fact that LWJ waited months before going to check the situation in the Burial Mounds is very telling. He knew the cultivation world was at a standstill with WWX, so despite being worried for WWX he knew there wasn't any immediate danger for him. He might have been too busy with his own sect matters and going wherever the chaos was, but we've seen how LWJ behaves when he thinks WWX is in grave and immediate danger. The way he acted during the night of the bloodbath of Nightless City shows it very well: LWJ did his best to help as many people as he could, but WWX was his priority.

Of course, having only partial information doesn't excuse the sects for everything. They definitely had their faults regardless of how much they knew. They should have given WWX a chance to explain himself about the ambush at Qiongqi Path and the incident at Koi Tower instead of deciding to besiege him. They didn't even care if he was actually guilty or not of cursing Jin Zixun, or that he was the one who had been ambushed on the way to his nephew's full-month celebration. All that mattered to them was that he had lost control and killed hundreds of cultivators, including the Jin heir. They took this as proof of how dangerous and uncontrollable he was, which wasn't completely unfounded. He was dangerous when he wanted to be and he did lose control. Taking this information without all the context we as an audience are aware of - that he was only trying to repay a debt and didn't want to harm anyone, that Jin Zixun provoked him so much it was almost inevitable for him to lose control - doesn't look good at all.

Again, the sects did behave like sheep. The novel portrays WWX as the hero and his decision to rescue the Wen remnants as morally correct. Most of the cultivators who contributed to WWX's downfall were a bunch of hypocrites who couldn't see past their own self-righteousness. But characters like NMJ and LQR are portrayed as generally righteous people, so the fact that they took part in the siege proves not everyone was in bad faith. Nobody really knew why WWX had rescued the Wen remnants and his reasons for wanting to protect them, or why he had invented demonic cultivation in the first place. They just knew he did very questionable things like digging up graves during the war, that he acted arrogantly all the time and even started killing their own people. We as an audience know why he did all these things, but they didn't.

Also, after the bloodbath of Nightless City it was objectively hard to defend WWX's actions. He wasn't clear-headed at all that night and when he activated the Tiger Seal he was already in a half-unconscious state. His overall situation was too much for anyone to be able to stand it, but this doesn't mean what he did was right. The fact that he destroyed the Tiger Seal after returning to the Burial Mounds suggests not even he was proud of all the people he killed that night. WWX isn't infallible and makes mistakes because he's human like anyone else, despite being an overall heroic and selfless person. Even LWJ, who was the only one that still trusted WWX's heart and morals, couldn't really justify what he did at Nightless City. He only told LXC that no matter right or wrong, he was willing to face all the consequences with WWX anyway (chapter 99), because he understood his true nature and knew his outlook and values were the same as his own. But most people didn't know him as well as LWJ did. From the sects’ point of view, the bloodbath of Nightless City was the ultimate proof that WWX was the scourge of the cultivation world.

I'm not trying to say LXC is perfect or that he couldn't have done more, but we should take his own point of view into consideration when we judge his actions (or non-actions). LWJ didn't do much more than him during WWX's first life and what he did ultimately wasn't enough to save WWX (I don’t think it’s his fault, he was in an objectively difficult position), but the fandom doesn’t criticize him as much as they do with LXC, because after WWX came back LWJ's support for him was flawless. But LXC wasn't in love with WWX. He hadn't observed him since he was a teenager like LWJ had done because of his huge crush on him. We shouldn't underestimate the importance of debts in universe and how information in general can affect people's perceptions. Even LWJ stayed mostly still during WWX’s first life because he didn't have all the information and didn't know why WWX had left the bright broad road to start cultivating with resentful energies.

WWX is the protagonist, the hero of the story and the character whose point of view most of the novel is narrated from, so it's easy for the audience to empathize with him and understand his perspective. It's really interesting that even WWX has a good opinion of LXC and NMJ (and mostly respects LQR) despite their role in his downfall. It's not just because of his forgiving nature, since we see him criticize the hypocrisy of the sects a lot of times, but because he recognizes they were in good faith and they had their reasons for behaving like they did, despite the mistakes they might have made.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #wei wuxian #lan xichen #nie mingjue #lan wangji

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cupidmybeloved · 4 years ago

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valentine's day│georgenotfound

summary: if there's one thing george hates, it's valentines day. this year, y/n decided against being alone and set up a surprise movie night for her and her dateless neighbour. when the day ends george comes to the conclusion that maybe valentines day isn't so bad after all.

warnings: none

a/n: ngl i kinda really hate this post but oh well i'm posting it anyways. also oops valentine’s day post in april

wc: 1k

george let out a sigh as he read the date in the bottom right corner of his laptop. february 14th. the day known best for stuffed animals, hard heart-shaped candies and, most importantly, love. the majority of people looked forward to the 14th, wondering if they had received any chocolates from secret admirers. george however, despised it. every year red hearts were plastered wherever he looked. unfortunately for george, instead of the bright red and pretty pink, all he saw was an ugly and unpleasant shade of brown. not to mention, he was lonely every year as well.

a buzz from his phone caught his attention. a text message from you. come over was all it read. george cocked an eyebrow in confusion but nonetheless, he complied. after all, anything would’ve been better than moping all day in his dim-lit room. as george made his way to your door he pondered about why you, his next-door neighbour whom he may have a teensy tiny crush on, wanted him to pay a visit.

just as george’s knuckles were about to knock onto the wooden door that stood before him, it abruptly opened, slightly startling him. george was instantly met with your charismatic smile (one of the reasons you were his favourite neighbor, unbeknownst to you).

“hey! you’re finally here” you greeted, excitement lighting up your eyes.

“calm down, it was only what? five minutes? what did you need me here for? i could’ve been on a date for all you know.” joked george.

“oh don’t be silly, you and i both know that the day one of us gets a date is the day pigs fly. which is why i invited you over. together we’re going to celebrate loneliness!” you exclaimed.

“celebrating loneliness without being lonely? sounds legit to me” he replied, a witty smirk etched into his face.

“oh shut up, you know what i meant. now close your eyes and follow my lead so i can show you the surprise. don’t peak or i’ll make sure both sides of your pillow are warm.” you giggled as you grabbed onto his pale, slender hands and cautiously dragged him inside.

your short journey didn’t end up being so cautious after all, as george had managed to bump his head into almost every piece of tall furniture and decor you owned. in your opinion, it was just his fault for being so lanky.

“you can open your eyes now” you said.

george didn’t waste any time opening his eyes, head filled with anticipation. george’s eyes finally adjusting to the brightness of your living room, noticed different shades of blue littering the space. there were heart shaped balloons, bunting banners, streamer garlands and even blue flower petals laid across the floor. this was completely different to the disgusting colour he had grown accustomed to seeing annually on valentine’s day.

“do you like it?” you squeaked out, eyes trailing down towards the ground.

without warning, you were swiftly encased in a suffocating hug, large hands wrapped around you. looking up you noticed how big george was smiling, in the three years of being his next-door neighbour, you’ve never seen him this joyous before and it filled you with triumph knowing that you could make him so happy.

“how did you find all these valentine’s day decorations in blue? did you get them custom-made? that would’ve cost you a fortune. oh please tell me you didn’t get the custom made for me-“ his worrisome rambling was cut short with your giggles.

“no no don’t worry i got them for almost nothing, party city got shipped a misprint and had them in the clearance section, i saw them and instantly thought of you. oh and some of the decorations are for gender reveals” you answered sheepishly as you pointed towards the tablecloth with it’s a boy! written all over it in fancy gold lettering.

he bursted out into laughter, you joined in chuckling. george’s knees felt weak from all the laughter and he almost fell to the floor thinking about how only you would even think about using gender reveal decorations for valentine’s day.

as georges dark brown eyes trailed across the tablecloth they stopped at the giant load of treats and chocolates carefully arranged on the table.

“come on, let’s grab some snacks and watch a movie together” he suggested, still in hysterics from the gender reveal decor.

and so the two of you spent the night cuddling against one another whilst discussing theories and watching films. your favourite theory to talk about was that giants had once existed. you enjoyed rambling on about it as much as george enjoyed listening to you go on and on about it.

the netflix show was playing quietly as your eyelids fought to stay open, not so you could keep watching the show but so you could continue admiring george and little details that you adored oh so much, like how his mouth would twitch on the left every time a character would say something snarky or how he would clench his fists in anticipation for a jump-scare.

“george?” you whispered.

“yea?” he mumbled.

“thanks for keeping me company today, i appreciate it” you drowsily muttered as you let sleep win you over and fell asleep on top of him, head huddled into his neck and arms sprawled across his chest.

george glanced down and smiled at your sleeping figure.

“those pigs must’ve touched the moon by now” george hummed to no one in particular.

aha get it? bc earlier on she said the day they would get date is when pigs fly? no? mkay i’ll leave

#georgenotfound x reader #georgenotfound #fluff #gnf #gnf x reader #dsmp x reader #dsmp x y/n #georgenotfound x y/n #mcyt x y/n #mcyt x reader

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alonfic · 4 years ago

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in conclusion (i love you)

pairing: tsukishima kei x reader genre: college + fwb to lovers au | fluff, suggestive wc: 3,742 description: In which Tsukishima discovers that love can bloom in inconspicuous ways, even when you and him are supposed to be conducting a (not so) simple experiment. author’s note: cross-posted onto my ao3. still not sure if i’ll be posting here frequently, but i thought i’d see how i like it first.

Tsukishima doesn’t understand romantic relationships.

He thinks they’re illogical, impossible, and most of all, irrelevant. They seem like too much hassle when it comes to the ordeal of courting. From the hours spent preparing complicated banners for asking significant others out to the extensive search for gifts that are supposed to appease pointless “monthiversaries,” Tsukishima finds it all to be a waste of time.

Just acts for appearances. Sure, they’re cute, heartwarming even, but what does all of that show for anyway? What happened to qualitative experiences?

He ascertains that he may never truly understand what it means to love another person by modern day standards; for those standards are all full of overhyped bullshit trying to make a trending post on Twitter and Instagram. If avoiding those things means saving himself from love, then so be it. (Irrationality and heartache be damned!)

Tsukishima decides in his first year of university that he won’t do any of those things.

How? His friends ask, guffaws in tow.

He simply tells them that he won’t fall in love.

Not many people share in this same ideal, Tsukishima finds.

He can’t say he’s very surprised or disappointed to have his philosophy rejected, especially by those same friends who have questioned his goal, Yamaguchi and Hinata. They’re fools who deem love as something akin to fate’s gift.

Love is a choice, Tsukishima tells them, and this is his decision.

They think he’s being a little silly for not wanting to fall in love. They say he’ll get bit in the ass when he least expects it and he’ll go back on his word, but he hardly thinks that’s true.

If he doesn’t want to fall in love, then he won’t, and that’s perfectly okay. At the very least, you agree with him.

You have always understood him on wavelengths that others simply could not. You have always stood by his side when it came to debates on this matter, and even more so when he really thinks about it.

Tsukishima has been able to lean on you even in high school. Him being so introverted has made things difficult, and what he needed then was patience, something many people lacked, but unlike those people, you took the time to understand him and his struggles.

It’s made him grateful to you. Even now. Scratch that, especially now.

These days he isn’t just shooting you texts about how he could’ve let someone down easier. Sometimes it’s checking out hot pot places at 8PM on a Tuesday; other times, it’s going to the library until 5 AM because statistics midterms suck at an unbearable level, but you take the 8AM class with him anyway, just because it’s him, and General Education requirements may suck but they’re mandatory.

It’s also sharing jokes that no one else gets, and teaming up against the rest of the group when they heckle you two about being the only ones who sees love as the bane of both your existences.

Tsukishima has heard plenty of love advice and received Cosmopolitan articles on how to woo a friend from those same punks who think that love is given by chance. He has seen the knowing stares exchanged at kickbacks. Hell, he’s heard all the whispers, too. But it means nothing.

This is friendship. No matter what anyone else tries to insinuate, you both know it means nothing for either of you.

What you are together is simply platonic.

Friends, that’s all.

Somewhere along the way benefits become a factor for you two.

These are the sort of benefits that forgo late night convenience store runs for ramen and other delicious, overly processed foods that Yamagchi and Sugawara blanch at the two of you over. Instead it’s the kind that means heated kisses in one another’s bedroom and wandering hands in places very few people have become privy to in both your two-decades long reign on this planet.

And, it all starts over a simple experiment.

At least that’s what you and Tsukishima like to call it.

“Isn’t it stupid that Ennoshita would say that?” Tsukishima asks, glancing at you from the corner of his eye. “We can be friends. How can he say it’s impossible for us to be just friends? I mean there’s nothing wrong with being attracted to one another, right? You’re good looking. I’m good looking. We’re acknowledging each other’s attractiveness.”

He pats the open space beside him on his bed, feeling it dip a little soon afterwards. You’re visiting him after he blew off the post-kickback get together. He shouldn’t be surprised that you came by to check on him.

You smile at him as one of your fingers pokes his cheek. “You sound awfully bothered over something that shouldn’t matter.”

He frowns at your nonchalant tone, even if you are messing with him.

Tsukishima has never been that particularly fond of other people telling him that his friendship with you is only the stepping stone to something more, that it would only be a matter of time before you two were calling one another cutesy pet names and holding hands for other reasons than as a precaution from getting lost in crowds, and that if he didn’t step up to the plate now, then he would lose you to someone else.

But how could he? If anything, you’ve been more against love than him. Seeing you with someone else is as impossible as seeing Hinata at Aone’s height. Possibly with some help, but still highly unlikely.

“I mean, aren’t you? So what if we’re attracted to each other? That doesn’t mean we’re going to start dating because of that.”

You hum in affirmation.

You know he has a point. It’s silly to expect two friends to date when both your admissions came as a result from a simple game of “truth or dare.” While it comes from a place of truth, it isn’t like either of you admitted to harboring deep-seated feelings for one another or anything. It’s simply an admission of truth.

He thinks you’re attractive, beautiful even, and it helps that you share the same opinion as him when it comes to love. And, you think he’s attractive, handsome even, and it’s because you both share the same opinion on love that he doesn’t have to worry about frivolous things like falling in love with you. Or you with him. Your dynamics just work like that.

“You know, there are other alternatives to relationships anyway, right?” you ask him, watching as he turns to face you on the bed.

“Like what? Hooking up?” He feels a little dumbfounded. The idea of hooking up with you never really occurred to him. Clearly not because he wasn’t attracted to you, but didn’t those end up… badly?

You nod.

Seeing the instant confusion wash over his face, you explain, “Yeah, hook-ups aren’t so bad. It’s like a one and done. It doesn’t even have to lead to anything more. It’s like a preliminary thing. Trial or whatever. We give it a go and if it doesn’t work out, then we can just go back to being friends.”

“And if it does? Work out, I mean,” he gulps. He doesn’t want to think of an option that means losing you or this friendship. But he’s intrigued, he wouldn’t have asked if he wasn’t, and you know it.

“Then we have one of two options.”

He blinks. “Which are?”

“Well, if it does, then we can continue and enjoy the fun. Or, we really fuck ourselves over and do exactly what our friends have been betting on for years.” You lean in closer, eyes alight with mischief and interest.

He feels a tug within him to concede, as if his own body knows its answer, while his mind’s doubts seem to lower in volume the longer he’s under your gaze.

“What do you say? Up for an experiment?”

He still has to ask: “And, what if we can’t go back from this?”

“I don’t know,” you whisper, eyes softening as you note his hesitancy. “Even that’s something I can’t answer. This is just a risk we both have to be willing to take. Truthfully, I’m in. But, are you? I-it’s okay if you aren’t, though, Kei. This was just a suggestion, of course—”

He doesn’t take a second longer to tell you his decision.

“I’m in.”

After all, it couldn’t hurt… right?

Tsukishima discovers many things in this time.

Things that he never really gave a second thought on. Somewhere between how you look bathed in moonlight with the curtains half-open to the just-right way you feel beside him, he realizes how soft your skin is, how low and husky your voice can get when you’re feeling a particular way, and how powerful you are.

There’s something enticing about you. Not just in the way you look bare, but the way you can make him feel even without the lack of clothing. He realizes that he enjoys the lingering taste of your lips against his, the heat that your fingertips leave behind, and the small voice you use when you call his name.

It’s normal, he tries to convince himself. This is how it should be.

It would be ridiculous to hate the way you feel or sound when it comes to him. And while that is true, that becomes a whole different matter when it bleeds into everyday life outside of the bedroom.

He swears there are moments where he can hear you say his name and you aren’t even in the room. His eyes catch sight of something familiar, at least enough to remind him of you, and suddenly you’re popping up front and center in his mind. He can’t help but smile, of course.

Even just the taste of last night’s kiss rears its head when he’s doing homework, suddenly taking him right back to that night you two shared talking about the latest fantastical escapade in his reading arsenal.

He believes the simplicity of these exchanges is the best part of this entire experiment.

Being able to switch between friendship and, well, sex. And he isn’t sure if the consistent exposure to your presence has brought him to think of you constantly or if it’s some other seed blooming in the vestiges of his chest. He can’t say. Partially because he’s scared to. Because admitting to the second possibility means changing something good, something normal. And change, in this regard, often means a relationship. One that he isn’t sure if such feelings will truck through or crash and burn the moment he mentions it.

Instead when you call out his name, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows and a fingertip tapping his cheek, he flashes one of his heartwarming smiles your way and brushes aside the concern.

“It’s nothing,” he tells you. “I’m fine. Everything is perfect.”

And while you aren’t convinced, you simply nod and take note to ask another day.

The thing that bothers Tsukishima most is being fickle.

He doesn’t like being fickle. He knows it is transcribed in the stars that he is a fickle being. And it doesn’t help that everyone is constantly telling him that he is indecisive. He knows already. He knows it well. He hates it, but only when it comes to you.

He is never indecisive with you. Well, only because you’re the assurance he needs when it comes to decision-making. Maybe it’s your influence. You’re bullheaded and more self-assured than Patrick Verona from “Ten Things I Hate About You.” (Mind you, you’re the one who forced him to watch it. And, fortunately, he wound up loving it.)

He constantly thinks about how opposed those two main leads are about love, simply because it is exactly against what everyone else expects from high school teenagers. They don’t conform to the status quo. They make their own status quo. Perhaps that is where Tsukishima garnered such a strong stance against love from. Partially from the movie and mostly from you.

While everyone is banking on your relationship to become more than just friends, he truly can’t help but consider the possibility of a ‘more’ with you anymore. He realizes this when he sees you underneath the incandescent fairy lights hanging around your room.

Your tranquil visage, how effortless you look sporting one of his T-shirts with a giant crescent moon on the back, and the way your limbs so effortlessly remain entangled. This is comfortable. This is… right.

He doesn’t stop himself from brushing aside the stray locks covering your face. Normally, he might like to turn over and occupy another part of the bed, but he prefers to remain where he is with you in his arms, just so he can listen for your soft and steady breathing like his own personal lullaby. If he was brave enough, he probably would’ve kissed your cheek.

Truthfully, if he were in a relationship with you, he truly wouldn’t mind. Not even a little bit.

Realization strikes him then. A simple, yet vital question crosses his mind, one that he hadn’t thought needed to be asked before—could you feel the same way about him?

Tsukishima doesn’t have any other answer besides I don’t know.

When Tsukishima said he could never be as irrational as any other lovestruck fool, he never imagined what it would be like to see you in the arms of another man.

Given, this is a man he knows well. Trusts, even. He can’t help but feel a large pang in his chest when Kuroo spins you around on the dancefloor. It’s a drunken habit that everyone either loves or hates depending on their sobriety levels, but even while sober, you seem to bask in this treatment with glee.

It makes Tsukishima grumble under his breath, “What’s so good about him anyway?”

He doesn’t ask anyone in particular and expects no one to answer him back, but a nudge and a pointed look from Sugawara tells him that his ruminations have not gone unnoticed.

Sugawara nods his head in your direction. “You finally realize you’re in love with her?”

“W-what? I am not in love… with her,” he says. It’s all weak and unconvincing.

The smirk on the silver-haired man’s face says it all, much to Tsukishima’s annoyance.

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re thinking about it.” He doesn’t want to say it aloud. He hardly feels right feeling what he does when you probably don’t even feel the same way anyway.

“What am I thinking that has you so peeved, Tsukishima?” Sugawara raises his eyebrow. “The truth?”

The tone elicits a wince from Tsukishima, making him frown. Not that he’s unhappy, he’s just frustrated that the proverbial cat is now out of the bag.

Tsukishima simply shakes his head, wanting nothing more than to escape from the scene. Maybe go home and burrow away into his bed, away from all of this. Afterparty milk tea trip with the rest of the group be damned. Did he really have to go when he was this emotionally compromised? Stewing right here just spells trouble, and not just for him, but for your friendship with him as well.

“You should just be honest, dude. None of this ‘experiment’ bullshit. You both lost. Own up to the results.”

Tsukishima raises an eyebrow at Sugawara. The rest of the party seems to cease with more drinks getting passed around, which he receives one quite graciously. “What are you talking about ‘both?’ It’s just me. I fell first.”

Sugawara snorts.

Tsukishima shoots him an accusatory glare, but when he receives nothing in response, he chugs down the red Solo cup without thinking of what’s inside.

The mixture kind of tastes like shit, and it makes him feel even worse, because now his mind won’t stop fixating on you and Kuroo. A match that could be made in heaven.

The dark-haired man has always been handsome, adorable at times, funny without trying particularly hard, caring, and worst of all, certain. God, was Kuroo a certain bastard. He always seemed to know what he wanted. He did as he pleased and got whatever he set his heart on too.

It’s cruel, really. The way fate has metaphorically bit him in the ass like Yamaguchi and Hinata predicted.

Tsukishima can’t stand the thought that maybe you would choose Kuroo’s sauve side tonight. He particularly dislikes that he really did lose his chance thinking that this experiment would last forever. A few months should’ve sufficed. Should’ve. But only an idiot would let something as good as you be a temporary fling.

“Maybe I’m the idiot,” he mutters, shutting his eyes.

Sugawara doesn’t respond immediately, in fact, he doesn’t respond at all. Instead a voice he swears is yours does.

“Who’s an idiot?” Fingertips digging into his sides are unlike Yamaguchi or even Sugawara. In fact, these ones are all too familiar, even with two layers of clothing blocking access to his bare flesh. “Kei?”

When he looks at the perpetrator, he nearly tumbles over to see you in Sugawara’s place.

You immediately steady him by interlocking one of his arms with yours, and it’s only you. No Kuroo trailing behind you. No Sugawara in sight either. It’s just you and him walking toward an empty section of the house. Milk tea trip really be damned, you seemed to tell him.

“Are you alright?” He notices you make eye contact with Yamaguchi before you two round the corner into the surprisingly unoccupied hallway.

Tsukishima’s begrudgingly grateful that Kageyama’s place is a lot spacier than he remembers. It’s enough that he’s been granted some relief—no trip or an audience to bear witness to his major crash and burn.

He sighs. “N—yeah. Er, no.”

“Yes or no? Which it is.” You flash him a half-smile as he sways inside the empty guest bedroom.

He looks around after noting just how quiet it is without the thumping bass of music or the chatter of others drowning out just about everything else. It feels bare here somehow.

He shakes his head.

“Why?” Your eyebrows screw together. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“I fucked up,” he whispers. Looking from the beige walls covered bare of any sentiments, he meets your softened gaze. “I fucked up the experiment.”

“How did you do that?”

“T-the results are inconclusive. I can’t continue, because,” he rubs the back of his head, “well, I caught feelings.”

The surprise is evident on your visage, even from the weak lighting created by the moon and street lamp outside. But he can’t deny seeing the sight of a smile beginning to grace your features either. Amusement, he can discern with absolute certainty. Relief, dare he say? All of the things he never imagined in any of his scenarios about this moment.

“Leave it to you to be able to use big words when you’re buzzed.”

“It’s true. We can’t continue this. I mean I’d love to have something with you, but this isn’t a one and done for me. Not anymore. Maybe not ever.”

“Really? You mean that?” Even though you won’t say it directly, he knows there’s a huge burden of thoughts on your mind from the way your bottom lip gets captured by your teeth.

“Yeah, I mean it. I—I can’t pretend that I don’t love you anymore. I just can’t. I don’t think I ever expected to feel this way for anyone, but spending so much time with you in and out of bed has shown me that whatever shit I said before has gone completely out of the window. I mean I’m not asking you to be with me if that’s not what you want, but if at all, you feel something too, then…” He can’t help but fiddle with his fingers. Why is his heart beating so loudly? Can’t you hear it?

“You love me?”

He swears then that you probably can.

Slowly, he nods. “I don’t know how I came to love you exactly, but it just struck me when you were sleeping. It felt right that you were beside me. Easy and comfortable, even. I debated so hard about what these feelings were when it came to you. I didn’t think I could like someone this much. But I just do. I just love you for you, for being there... for existing.”

The last part has his cheeks burning, and Tsukishima can’t help but look away to save himself the humiliation of looking like a fresh tomato. You laugh when he does this, and he can’t even help himself from trying to catch a glimpse.

He loves your soft exhale, it’s one that he relishes in. Somehow you don’t look as perturbed or aghast as he expects. If anything, you look quite content. It makes him wonder if Sugawara was right, if everyone else was right all along.

He asks, “Well, what do you say?”

This time you laugh again. A much louder, but he can’t help but break out into a broad grin, because the atmosphere feels lighter than any tension breaking to grip the room. He knows without being told.

“Only you, Kei. Of course, I love you too.”

His heart swells, and a greedy part of him wants to hear you say it again. “Really?”

You nod and look at him as if there couldn’t possibly be any other answer out there. “There’s no one else in this world that could understand me the way you do. No one could touch me like you, make me laugh like you, and certainly not watch ‘Ten Things I Hate About You’ five million times with me like you.”

“Five million and one times,” he corrects.

His fingers shyly brush away the hair threatening to cover your face, and he refuses to be denied that luxury. Not when he can’t seem to get enough of you. He can’t even bear to move his hand away after he’s done it. “And I’d watch it over and over again with you, by the way.”

“Good.” You smile at him, cupping your hand over his. “I’m glad we finally came to a conclusion on this.”

“Even if it means getting ‘I-told-you-so’s’ and teased to all hell?” He smiles when you nod. “Good, ‘cuz I don’t think I’d have it any other way.”

“Yeah, me either,” you say, leaning in to peck his lips. Of course, he returns the gesture (and then some).

(The room is empty, after all.)

#tsukishima scenarios #tsukishima imagines #tsukshima fanfic #tsukishima fluff #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu fanfic #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu x reader #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima x you #emwrites #title: in conclusion (i love you)

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