#rather than write them and have people judge them for being Asshole Characters
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
tatortart · 8 months ago
Text
Just me being me and thinking about OC stuff.
I really want to share more of my OCs, but they also touch on like…more mundane tragedies, stuff that people can experience in day to day life. There’s nothing really fun about it, it’s just sad.
Moriko faces domestic violence that ramps up when her husband realizes she’s carrying Takumi. And her coping skills are absolute shit because of it, which leaves her struggling to perform up to the standards of motherhood.
Gordy struggles with alcoholism that only gets more out of hand when his father passes, and maintaining his sobriety when he mutates is fuckin’ hell when his depression veers wildly out of control.
Geraldine is just a bundle of religious trauma and what happens when women are seen as disposable. And Slash is what happens when you let your family’s expectations control you.
I reblog posts about how you need to write the stories you want to tell and there are so many stories I do want to tell, like, so so badly. I love my OCs and I work hard to portray their hardships with care and the like, so like…what’s stopping me? The vulnerability, maybe? It’s not like I’m shy about showing them off, but writing them out for people to read, oof.
5 notes · View notes
flower-boi16 · 1 year ago
Note
the thing is with viv's fat "rep" she could've actually done something good with it if she put THOUGHT behind as to WHY these characters act that way. she has such a large audience she could've impacted them in a meaningful way but as we all always say, it's viv. so that dream goes down the drain.
as someone who is overweight *because* of eating disorder issues, someone who fits the stereotype of "eating too much" and thus being heavier, i am the punching bag for people and "jokes" and harassment because of that. i remember watching the beezlebub episode, being excited for the design, and maybe just a LITTLE representation - and then boom! It's just furry bait 2.0 with lava lamp hair and the same build like every female character in the hellaverse. you can make asmodeus horny, you can make mammon greedy, but you can't make beezlebub a glutton? she literally summons FOOD. if you're gonna represent nothing but stereotypes, why not stick to it?? same went for mimzy. only character i was excited for and she's just another asshole and hated for it, even though the main cast isn't better in any way, but that's H*H and H*B for you, hypocrisy.
maybe adam got severely depressed when lilith left, and thus, he started stress eating, or that mammon does it because he feels like he never has enough (greed). just a half-assed explanation would've sufficed.
anyways, much much love to the beezlebub redesigns out there.
All of what you said would require Viv to actually put effort into her fat rep, which she clearly doesn't care about. She'd rather make all of her fat characters one-dimensional stereotypes than have actual depth, while she tries to put effort into her skinny-ass characters and give them depth, the fat ones are all just one-dimensional assholes with little depth.
I don't hate Beezlebulb's design as much as others do but the fact that Viv made a GLUTTON look skinny af is very weird, but then again, that's probably because then Viv would be forced to make a fat character that's more than just a one-dimensional asshole, so she made her skinny instead.
Also, the fact that Adam is apparently supposed to be fat despite STILL LOOKING SKINNY AF. Like, if you want to make a character fat, do the bare fucking minimum and ACTUALLY MAKE HIM LOOK FAT!!!!! But that would take effort, now would it? And that's the thing, Viv doesn't put effort into her fat characters; she always makes them one-dimensional assholes with no depth, none of them are actual characters, they all have the same fucking personality.
Oh, and I'll also never forget the fact that Viv had a fat character, Mammon, fat shame fucking FIZZAROLLI OF ALL CHARACTERS. Fizz looks skinny as hell! Yes, fat people can be fatphobic but like wouldn't it make more sense for Mammon to fat shame an actual FAT CHARACTER? But again, doing that would take effort, and Viv clearly doesn't want to do that.
I used to think that Viv can't be fatphobic because she herself is fat - until someone in my replies pointed out that fat people can still be fatphobic so...
...ya, judging by Viv's writing, she's very fatphobic. Until Viv actually makes a fat character with actual effort put into them, my mind is not going to change. Honestly, when I become a writer when I grow older I'll look at Hellaverse as a clear lesson of what NOT TO DO when making a fat character.
70 notes · View notes
gaylittlemans · 10 months ago
Text
I am so inexplicably tired and vessel!Dazai has been haunting me so I will info dump about this dumb little AU because I can
This probably will not make sense, will make it seem like I don’t understand his character (who actually does? Besides his creator, obviously. Probably), or won’t have proper grammar but in the world of this shit, he will become a part of my personality if I do not write him down. So!
First, little stuffs about this AU because I can:
Dazai is trans here (FtM) because I kin him inexplicably and so am I, but he doesn’t experience that much gender dysphoria (mostly because he feels just a little disconnected from his body) and honestly what is the point of worrying about what body you have when the embodiment of the allure of death is currently using your body as her host? Exactly. There isn’t one. Also because I want to give this man a break on hating himself.
Basically everything about this AU is the exact same as the original, but Dazai is the vessel of a god, similarly to Chuuya. Some people do know about the whole kinda being a god thing, but not everyone. When he was Demon Prodigy, Mori kept and convinced Dazai to keep the vessel thing mostly a secret because it was better to keep as much information about him shrouded in mystery and basically make speaking his title mean the invitation of death, rather than let Dazai go and murder everyone as a vessel. I will sort of expand on this later. Probably.
Chuuya still has Arahabaki. He gets called ‘Baki’ in the rare times his name is mentioned in their world because I refuse to respect the god of destruction (Dazai started calling Arahabaki ‘Baki’ and Chuuya eventually found himself calling him that too). Dazai’s possessor’s ‘Machiko’, but might sometimes be called ‘Chiko’ or some other nickname instead.
Dazai is just slightly cannibalistic.
I ship Soukoku, which will probably be obvious by the way I write them. Neither revolves around the other, but they are both permanently drawn to one another.
Dazai struggles with skin picking in this au because he kinda craves the taste of blood thanks to Chiko so he does care a little bit more about his hygiene in this au so he doesn’t have anything to pick. His hands are very soft in his world. My man is moisturized 😚
So, Dazai.
He’s around seven years old. His life has been nothing but dehumanizing and cruel and cold. He’s being raised in a neighborhood of rich assholes who think they’re all better than one another because of meaningless, materialistic means. (Death will claim all of them in the end, so it doesn’t matter what they do, anyhow. He won’t say anything about them, though. If they need to hide from Her gaze, he won’t judge.) His parents are controlling and overbearing and want him to grow up to be some rich asshole’s trophy wife. He doesn’t want that to happen, but his body will not let him say anything to disappoint them. He can’t afford their ire; he’s seen what they do to people who think they can and the least he can say is that it looks painful.
He’s been raised by nannies and caretakers his entire life thus far and some of them were nice, but most of them just followed his parents orders to make him behave.
Modest, pretty, demure.
Modest, pretty, demure.
Those were the most important things for a little girl his age to learn. Of course. He is nothing, he is not human, if he doesn’t behave. If he doesn’t act modestly and polite. If the boys in the neighborhood tug on his skirt, he is to hold it still so they cannot expose him. If the girls in his private school pick on him for his doe eyes and thousand yard stare, he is to be reserved and accept their insults graciously and not respond to their taunts.
He is a monster if he raises his voice, or disobeys his parents or caretakers or teachers, or acts out of line—acts like a child. His purpose of being brought into the world is to grow up to serve his future husband and children and be pretty.
So he kills them.
The voice of death herself whispers in his ears at night, when the moon is full and bright, that they do not deserve their gifts, they do not deserve their gifts of breath and life.
So he takes them away like she says to.
He stands in the woods beyond the gated mansions in a white, blood splattered nightgown and a pair of what are probably Mary Jane’s, but he’s not for certain and white, just as blood splattered, socks. He doesn’t remember much of what he did, but he does not mind. The cool night, late summer breeze reaches his skin through the minuscule layers he wears. He has always run cold, kind of like what you would expect a corpse to feel like (they’re actually room temperature), and has yet to build the habit of halfway mummifying himself. Bad circulation, doctors had told him. How fun.
Here is where he sees her for the first time, the woman—the God—who changes his life forever, with the handle of one of his father’s expensive kitchen knives grasped in his right hand as the left toys with the seam of his dress. She’s beautiful. She speaks to him, but he does not remember all of what she says. He remembers “Machiko”. It must be her name. He also remembers her permitting him to call her a nickname, as he’s young and he deserves to choose what he calls his friend.
Chiko offers him her hand and Dazai’s left hand goes numb. As if puppeteered, he moves to take her hand and she smiles at him. For only the second or so time in his life, he feels warm.
Dazai learns a lot from her. He would kill without her influence, but she tells him to embrace death and its endless, inescapable dance and he does.
Perhaps too much.
Mori Ougai was a man, a doctor, whom was highly praised by rich folks he’d grown up around (and consequently been raised by after the murder of his parents). He had met the man before, who had said he was interesting and reminded him of himself. In his adulthood, Dazai was ashamed to have felt pride at the fact Mori found him intriguing, or that the man saw himself reflected in the shattered, blank soul of his.
At fourteen, his adoptive parents rushed him to the doctor another attempt at death. He woke up, hazy and exhausted, and strapped to a bed with an oxygen mask, IV in his arm, and a heart monitor. Machiko screamed at him, for his safety and his body, to not listen to the man in the white coat who offered him a reason to live, a purpose to life outside of being a vessel. Just like he’d subconsciously been searching for.
He did not listen to her.
Dazai would say he was built to be a mafioso. And it was easy enough to sever ties with his adoptive family—they weren’t too attached, anyways—and old life.
When he was fifteen years old, he met the most annoying person on earth; Chuuya Nakahara.
Every move the boy makes is so completely full of life and energy. Dazai would say he was envious, but he was not. Machiko was drawn to the boy, though, or—as he truly found out—she was drawn to Arahabaki. Death and destruction go hand in hand, he supposed. And it seems Dazai wasn’t the only one who felt that pull towards the other.
Boo. Feelings sucked. He wouldn’t say he had a crush on Chuuya, no, never, but he was drawn to the redhead like the pull of gravity said redhead controlled.
But the first time he had seen Corruption, seen the final form of Upon The Tainted Sorrow, Dazai had been mesmerized. For all his wit and bravado, he still had no explanation as to why he found this redheaded slug so enchanting, even seven years later.
Machiko still hailed over him, but she was not his puppeteer. She guided him and attempted to help him through inexplicably human issues, but she did not attempt to forcibly take control of him. If she was in charge of his body, it was entirely because he had allowed her too. He spoke with her on the regular—she was a mentor who hadn’t forced herself into that roll exactly as Mori had.
Machiko was the god of death, yet also the god of allure, of temptation, of beauty, and of yearning. Some called her the moon. Others simply didn’t know of her existence. It didn’t matter to Dazai. His mentor knew how to be merciful, despite the blood and desolation she craved.
Chuuya clearly remembered the day he’d discovered Dazai was also a vessel.
Things had been dangerous and he had still been injured from a mission Mori had sent them out on previously. He had been occupied by a horde of enemies when he’d lost track of Dazai amongst the commotion. Grunts were incapacitated or dead at his feet before he knew it.
Now, he would never admit it, but looking around and not finding the dark, sullen eye of his partner watching him from a safe distance had scared him. Made him anxious.
He pushed his way into a corridor that had been blocked by debris during the fight that he could almost sense Dazai’s shenanigans coming from and walked—maybe just a bit quicker than normal—until he saw bodies scattered and crimson pooling. In the center of this crop circle of cadaver was his partner, small, white, star-like marks twinkling across what very little skin was exposed to the open air, ripping out the throat of one of their enemies with his teeth. Blood soaked his clothes and his bandages.
Chuuya felt unreasonably calm, and oddly awestruck, at the sight.
And that’s all I can write 😚 ‘cause I am so tired. I dunno what else to say, ‘cause this is just about all my smooth little brain has let me know about the blorbos of today, but yeah. Thank you if you actually read all of this. :3333
Have a good day/night/morning/afternoon/evening!! Remember to drink water, eat, take your meds, all that.
Byeeeeee <3333
26 notes · View notes
deadbydangit · 1 year ago
Note
Ah! I’m obsessed with your writing!! If you don’t mind, I would like to make a request! 🩷
A killer!reader who is very quiet due to shyness, so they have a difficult time trying to get along with others 😔 (characters of your choice! but I’d like to see Wesker because I like him very much haha)
If there are any struggles, don’t feel pressured !! Take care and Thank you!
I think I can do that. I'm going to tweak it a little so it's easier to write about. Please enjoy.
With a shy reader: Mastermind, Nightmare, Onryo
Mastermind
Wesker doesn't mind that you're shy.
He isn't the most talkative person himself.
He can be, if he has to be.
But he would otherwise prefer to remain quiet.
It isn't that he shy, he just rather not talk to the others.
He finds them annoying and not worth conversing with.
Having a super outgoing partner wouldn't work well for him.
He's the type who would prefer to stay home rather than go out.
So if you don't want to go out?
That's fine by him.
Besides, he finds your coy nature to be charming.
And, he won't say it out loud, but he thinks it's adorable.
Though he will poke fun of you from time to time.
"Speak up dearheart. I won't know what you want unless you tell me."
"Ah, you're blushing. How adorable."
He'll even pinch your cheeks.
Part of all this is him just being a tease.
The other part is him trying to get you to stand up for yourself.
He may not vocalize it, but he is worried about you.
He knows he won't always be around to protect you.
And you're going to have to confront others eventually.
He may seem like he's being mean, but it's really his way of showing he cares.
But he isn't like that all the time.
If you're in a situation you're uncomfortable with, just tug on his jacket.
"Hmm? Oh, yes. We can leave."
And it doesn't matter what he's doing either.
If you want to leave, then he'll help you.
Nightmare
Shy?
With this guy?
Good luck.
This asshole is going to tease you till you're close to tears.
Freddy does that with everybody so don't take it too personally.
That's one of the reasons that most of the other killers and survivors don't like him.
He doesn't like them either. Which is why having you shy is nice because he doesn't have to deal with them around.
It could just be the two of you. He's fine with that.
But having you so shy, and so unwilling to stand up for yourself, it's prime gold for him.
What, you expect him not to take advantage of this opportunity?
In your dreams.
Which is where he often is.
Teasing you and poking at you.
Just seeing how red your face gets when you get so worked up.
He can't get enough of it.
If you actually start crying you will stop though.
But only if you start crying.
Otherwise he won't put on the brakes just because you're his significant other.
But, if you say something, he'll stop.
"Come on baby. I can't hear you. What do you want?"
While he's laughing in your face.
Don't get too mad at him though.
It's just how this idiot shows his love.
Onryo
You two could be shy together.
It isn't so much that Sadako is shy.
She just doesn't talk.
And, nearly all her experience with people is bad.
So the less people around, the better for her.
Unlike the others, she won't taunt or tease you.
She likes that you're quiet.
It's peaceful that way.
Most of her life was filled with sadness and hate, so the silence is a welcome change.
You two could sit in silence for hours, not saying a thing.
And she would be perfectly fine with that.
But, if you do want to talk, she'll listen.
She enjoys hearing you speak.
The sound of your voice is relaxing and comforting.
And she'd never judge you.
So don't ever feel embarrassed about speaking.
You won't ever have to worry about someone taunting you either.
Because Sadako we'll take care of them in a matter of seconds.
Can't bully somebody if your neck is broken.
She'll make a gruesome show of torturing the person who was bothering you to others.
It's her way of saying that you are under her protection.
And God help anyone who decides to mess with you now.
64 notes · View notes
trothplighted · 4 months ago
Text
I saw a series of tags on another post that contained a derisive comment about “(current or former) HP fans who refuse to see that the books share the views of the author” (paraphrased, because I don’t want to call out one specific person), and I guess I wanted to talk about it, because… yes and no
in an earlier post I talked about how I don’t trust JKR’s ability to accurately identify good and evil, and how I work around her thumb on the scale when it comes to how I’m supposed to think of a character (so, for example, every good character suddenly deciding Sirius is a bad and dangerous person for Harry to be around in OotP is not an indication that this is true, it’s because they’re homophobic either implicitly or explicitly or if they’re gay they’re being influenced by a homophobic society to judge him more intensely. another example would be James’s bullying - I make the conscious choice to integrate both his early characterization as a good and principled and noble and morally sound person and his tendency for violence, and I look at the normalized culture of violence at Hogwarts and the pranks that good characters play and the dismissal of harassment or abuse or stalking from teachers and the administration, and I examine the accuracy and limitations of Pensieve memories and how the Worst Memory differs from others we’ve seen, and I ask myself about Snape’s motivations in the moment and his cultural background and personal prejudices, and somewhere in all of that is the truth about how bad James was objectively + how bad James was in the context of Wizarding Britain school culture. those things are two different things) and I guess I’m mostly annoyed that there’s a lot of people on this site who seem to think that no one who likes these books has ever been critical of Joanne, that no one who spends time in this world is unaware of how fucked up it is, etc.
and yet her path to radicalization is well-documented! we know when she pivoted to TERFdom. we can see her early attempts to diversify HP and make it more global and try and appeal to a progressive crowd in the early/mid 2010s to stay relevant, and we can see how after the progressive part of fandom pretty firmly rejected and mocked her (for both valid AND invalid reasons; I do think that there were a lot of trolls and assholes in between the real serious criticism) she went running to the right wing for validation and support, and they sucked her in. she’s a largely-failed author whose non-HP books do not manage to live up to HP’s legacy, and who will be forever associated with this project that ended 18 years ago, and she’s been desperate to remain relevant rather than content to rest on her laurels. (Or to write again intermittently when inspiration strikes, like Suzanne Collins has done)
so - there IS a lot of fucked up stuff in the books, ideologically, in how the characters act. it’s just stuff that was fucked up before she turned into a TERF, and as a result it’s a lot less obviously evil and more ideologically thorny. ignoring her declarations of who is or isn’t Good will reveal a whole cast of morally grey people trying to figure out what the right moves are, and living in a horribly fucked up world that nonetheless deserves to be saved. and I think that seeing her flaws as they are preserved in ink and paper, and arguing against them, and finding reasons to oppose them - this is the backbone of the more analytical parts of what’s left of the fandom.
(I’d argue going further to interpret her prejudices against “Evil” characters Watsonianly as in-universe prejudices against deviation from the norm has brought me to an observation of a sort of four-sided debate on the subject of how to run the world (authoritarian right/Voldemort, authoritarian left/Grindelwald, libertarian-ish right/the Ministry, libertarian-ish left/Dumbledore) where all sides kind of have at least a few good points and the real measure of how bad a movement or system is is “how many real people are helped or hurt by this? how protected are vulnerable innocents?”) but that’s the subject of another post. I’ll spread the “the greatest evil is fascism” agenda elsewhere.)
In an ideal world, HP would have faded into relative obscurity fairly quickly. The books were never perfect but the engagement with those flaws has been ongoing forever; there’s much less hero-worship of Joanne in serious fan spaces than in casual ones, and her issues are ones we’ve been wrestling with for decades. but they weren’t TERFery, and I think that’s important to remember, because we can criticize her for things that she’s done wrong 18 years ago and 22 years ago and not have to bend over backwards excoriating ourselves because she metamorphosed into something worse than she already was. she’s a writer. no more, no less. and she’s one of many who’ve written some great art with some horrible bigotries underneath. I don’t apologize for liking Shakespeare, and he’s a way better writer who was much more explicit in his prejudices than she was in 2003 or 1998 or 2007. The woman who exists now grew out of the woman who wrote all this, frustratingly so, but they aren’t identical.
9 notes · View notes
doberbutts · 1 year ago
Text
The other thing I liked about Being Human (US) is that the core cast are all incredibly flawed and damaged people who still love each other at their core and genuinely want things to work even though they make spectacularly stupid choices at times along the way.
Aiden is incredibly easy to trigger due to his laundry list of past and present issues and when he's triggered he doesn't shut down or go quiet. He gets ANGRY. He gets *violent*. There was a joke between my friend and I when we watched over the summer and holidays that he was a big fan of using neck snaps to solve his problems but was startlingly bad at dealing with the fallout except by continuing to kill people to cover up his problems. When he fights with Josh he gets personal, he's so combative and confrontational, and he wears that prickly exterior whenever someone sees through the stone mask and pokes at a fleshy bit a little too hard.
But we also see Aiden break down and cry. We see him sobbing uncontrollably as he loses control again and again and again. Every time he manages to scrape together a bit of happiness before either he or someone else fucks it all up and it blows up in his face. He wants to stop. He doesn't want to hurt people anymore. And he can't figure out how to do it because it's like hurting people and driving them away or killing them is the only thing he really knows how to do.
So many times while watching I would yell "talk to your fucking friends asshole" and he would continue to either shut them out or get close but lose his nerve halfway through and remain silent. He wanted that connection very badly and simply couldn't make it happen. The few times he did open up to Josh or Sally he was well received, which I think was really a bright point in the writing because it showed the audience that the problem was that Aiden couldn't figure out how to be vulnerable due to [redacted plot things] rather than because his friends were jerks.
And overall I think that balanced well with Sally, who's various exploits *also* usually blew up in her face, and Josh, who oscillates wildly between "sad and more than a little afraid of himself" and "picks weird hills to die on because it's literally the only way he manages to feel any amount of control in his life". Josh and Sally both frequently vent about things to Aiden, but he almost never reciprocated until pretty close to the end of the series. He hides things from them, he dodges questions, he finds convenient excuses to not talk about stuff, even when they prod and pry to get something out of him.
He only explains after things hit the fan and everything goes to shit. Usually, because his friends have been there to catch him when he falls, and he has to tell them *something* about why there's so much blood on his hands (sometimes literally) yet again. And they get mad at him, but ultimately they forgive him, because fuck, a werewolf and a ghost aren't really in any place to judge now are they. Even then, it's not usually the whole truth.
(And it's interesting, in the what-if scenario where they weren't there to catch him as he fell, just how bad things got)
But then he's afraid he's going to lose Josh, and he's afraid he's going to lose Sally, and he's afraid he's going to die, and he goes to Josh, and he says "I'm scared, and I don't know what to do".
And Josh stops, and realizes that Aiden has never asked him for help, not really, and has never actually been vulnerable with him, and has always worn the brave and stoic face even as things are melting down at catastrophic levels. And he says, I'm here.
Aiden is such a bad victim and he makes some real stinkers of bad choices along the way but they make sense for his character once you learn about all the shit that's happened since he became a vampire and how fucked up things got for him before he realized he needed out. And he backslides and he backslides and he backslides but he keeps trying because what's the point if he doesn't at least try.
Anyway the hill I will die on is that this show would have done numbers on tumblr if it came out slightly later. Ah well.
37 notes · View notes
inthehead-shootmedead · 8 months ago
Text
I'm watching Arcane right now for the first time ( I know I'm late to the party, but like with Game of Thrones everyone just wouldn't shut up about it and I got sick of it so I put it off out of spite okay) and I have some Thoughts, but right now I have to write this down before I forget about it
Mel is (in my eyes at least, and I'm still not done with season 1) such a weird - in a good way - character in the system of Piltover
She's complex and her actions and reactions are, like pretty much everyone else in this story, fundamentally a product of her upbringing
The thing is, her upbringing is also fundamentally different from that of most people in the show. She's privileged yes, but unlike most privileged people in Piltover, her privilege didn't in any way protect her from the violence inherent to said privilege existing (or rather, her knowledge of it, not the violence itself)
Most of the Piltover characters are just so far removed from the undercity (despite it not being all that separate, like it's literally right there) that they can abstract the undercity's suffering from their prosperity. They either refuse to believe that the undercity could be anything other than animals rightfully below them, repress and deny the consequences of their actions to the point they don't even see it, or just straight up never even think about it, like the stark economic and social differences between them are just a natural phenomena as uncontrollable as rain and stroms. "You don't hate the clouds for thunder, so why are these people blaming us for their misfortune?" sorta thinking
Mel doesn't have this view, because her mother, as much of an asshole as she is, made sure, in one of the most direct ways she could, that Mel couldn't abstract power and the powerful from the suffering of the powerless
However, while I believe that Mel is not like her mother in her belief that the most utilitarian solution is the best one (kill one now, save thousands later) she does believe, at least to some extent that there should be the powerful and the powerless, but she also believes that it is the duty of the powerful to minimize the suffering of the powerless as much as possible (while maintaining their position at the top)
It's why I think she's devoted to maintaining peaceful negotiations for as long as she can. Not only because it is the least damaging option for both sides, but because she believes this is the duty for a person in her position to do so
The thing is, her childhood has also made her hesitant I think. She speaks her mind, but most of her actions are done in the "background", so to speak. She doesn't start a conversation, she directs it. She doesn't bring forth ideas, but she does find people with hopes and dreams and uses them, like in the very first scene she's in, she is judging the inventions of other people to see which ones would better serve her goals. She isn't a coward, she isn't afraid, necessarily, but I think that her mother's brutal efficiency has made it so that she's cautious to make a decision strictly her own, for which the blame would be solely her own as well, like her mother's decision to behead that girl even tho she couldn't really do anything to them
And this isn't the only way we see her being impacted by her past. The undercity and Piltover characters are very easy to draw contrast with because this is their beginning and their end, this is where it starts and ends for them, but not for Mel
I started thinking about this not when we saw her childhood flashback, which probably would have been the obvious moment for reflecting on her character, but I did when we see her mother, in front of the painting we saw her working on when Jayce comes back from visiting Viktor
It clicked for me then, that in a show of brilliance, the writers decided to make Mel's character beats match with her art (although we only saw two so far, so who knows I might be wrong)
When she wakes up from her nightmare, we see the girl's necklace depicted in the background in one of her paintings. In her moments of fear, even though it is just a nightmare, we see in the background her very first moment of true helplessness. When her mother tries to convince her to help her get the weapons she needs, she's standing in front of the ships of her new painting, and this could have two meanings I think
First, very directly, it represents her mother's (and by extension her homeland's) warmongering and bloody traditions. The red sails and quick, abrupt brush strokes, different from the necklace's more flowing, curving lines, gives kind of the feeling of stabbing, like someone used a knife to make the canvas bleed until they got the painting right. It represents the type of person her mother is, and the type of person she doesn't want to be, which is why she goes to paint it when she's mad
The other option (that I'm partial to but only because I'm a sucker for broken characters) is that it actually represents her exile. She paints it not because she's mad, but because Jayce just left her (abandoned her you could say) like her mother did. Because yes, they have their disagreements, but you can see that being cast out cut her deep - it's the one thing she brings up pretty much every time she talks to her mother. Also, unlike the necklace painting, in the boats painting only the sails are red, which could be because the necklace scene was a much bloodier scene than her arriving at Piltover, but I think the sails are still meant to represent her mother or her homeland, but in this way it represents her leaving her much bloodier childhood for the more "diplomatic" place she came to. Of course, this is not really true, so much as Piltover hides its violence better, but from Mel's perspective, this would likely be the one good thing about her exile: she gets to do things her way now. And she does.
Which is why she's so enraged, and trying to hide it (although maybe less hide, and more control her anger), when her mother arrives. It's not just that she's come to Mel's new home and stomped all over her methods and treats her like a naive child. It's that she's also trying to turn Piltover, Mel's prison and safe heaven all at once, into her playground just like back home.
It's her childhood all over again, and she hates it
2 notes · View notes
kvetchinglyneurotic · 2 years ago
Note
Hi! I, evidently like so many others, absolutely loved THD!! I am spinning it in my hands, bouncing it up and down, examining the fractals it throws off when held to light... it's just SO GOOD! I wandered over here when you posted the final chapter, read your plan of attack post for the series and am now stuck on this somehow being the first fandom fic you've written?? If you're happy to answer, I would love to know what it is about TL and Jamie Tartt specifically that inspired you to jump from original work (which I will definitely be checking out later!! Your prose demands no less!!) and into fan fiction, any why this particular AU gripped you to the point of delivering 80k words of brilliance? Thank you for the story and (hopefully) thank you in advance for the response!
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! My venture into fanfic is the result of a confluence of a few different factors. I finally got around to watching TL maybe a month before season 3 aired, having already osmosed some of the major plot points from Tumblr at large — most notably the Wembley scene, which was the main reason I decided to watch it and probably gave Jamie an edge going in. The show falls into the sweet spot between "bad but I had a good time" and "this is a beautiful work of art" that made me want to dig my fingers in and pick it apart: it has defined themes and character arcs and is overall well-crafted, but also has a number of flaws and bits that didn't quite work, particularly when it comes resolution of Jamie's arc with his dad — which annoyed me so much that it's the origin of this sideblog.
Jamie falls into the category of like. characters alchemically created for me to like them. As in, the first time I heard a description of the show, they got to Jamie and I was like "if I ever watch this, he's going to be my favourite." And I was right! I have a real soft spot for what I lovingly refer to as "narrative problem children": if there's one member of the main group who causes problems for everyone else and is an asshole that no one likes, they're probably my special little guy (think season 1 Izzy Hands, Catra from She-Ra, Thomas Barrow from Downton Abbey who was the only reason I watched that show), which of course means I want to put them through the emotional blender. Bonus points if they're either very talented/good at whatever they do (especially if it comes from hard work rather than natural affinity), a schemer (I love me a schemer), have a tragic backstory, and/or have autism vibes.
My reasons for getting into fanfic are maybe surprisingly pragmatic: I'd finished part 1 of my original fic series and wanted to write something else before I started editing so I wouldn't be thinking about that universe and would be able to judge the world-building more accurately. I'd also spent enough time in my academic life defending my ideas and having my writing critiqued that I stopped being as nervous about having an audience and became curious about how people would respond to my fiction writing, which I figured would be a lot easier to find out with fanfic. (Was it also a bit of a guerrilla marketing campaign for my original fic? Maybe a little).
As for this AU in particular, I was really interested in how the relationship that we see between Georgie and Jamie in 3x11 fits in with everything we'd previously learned (or could deduce) about his past, as well as how Jamie might respond to being made vulnerable the way he is in 2x08 at the height of his prick era. I fully did not intend for it to be 80k (it was supposed to be a one-shot) but the story kept expanding and sometime around chapter 3 or 4, it got upgraded from "quick break from the original fic" to "long-term project."
7 notes · View notes
wvrlock · 2 years ago
Note
How would fallahan try to charm/change their behavior in front of each "canon" companion? In what ways would they try to appeal to each? Are they a good judge of character in the ways they try to appeal to people? How successful are they, usually?
I always joke that he has better deception than insight so he can lie to himself, but the fact is that he also has very high insight, numerically and factually. He doesn't include his own feats in his songs all that much (for his own safety, but he'd gladly brag about them) but he is so extraordinarily good at reading people that he was the one to orchestrate Zariel's redemption, he gave the paladin the words he had to say to move her. He also persuaded Tiamat's champions to help them out, and Bel to aid them in their search for Zariel's sword.
He asks himself "what are they feeling?", "what do I have that they need?", "what is their weakness?", and changes his words and behavior depending on the answers. He can improvise, but ideally he would gather the information he needs before an encounter, rather than during.
It usually works if he wants it to work, and even if he encounters someone who employs similar techniques he likes playing the "I know that you know" card, confidently displaying false friendliness and openness. And he doesn't mind downplaying himself to flatter the other party, which is precisely why he excelled at dealing with devils. At worst, he doesn't come off as trying to deceive, just trying to please.
"If he wants it to work" essentially means that he doesn't bother trying if he doesn't have something to gain, he'll just show his usual arrogant, playful personality that some people find fun and others irritating.
(Companions under the cut because boy this got LONG)
He likes Astarion, and honestly he wouldn't need to change a thing to be liked back. They share a sense of humor, many of their tastes and their signature sassy personalities. He would be 100% genuine to him.
She doesn't care much for Shadowheart, or so he says. There's this running gag about how Fallahan always ends up surrounded by very religious people being an agnostic himself, and he would be in his most brutally honest behavior about her religious trauma, but he doesn't really need anything from her.
Same goes for Gale... Fallahan is always intrigued by things he doesn't know and the arcane, and would love to have someone ramble about it for hours, but something in his personality kinda irks him. He's a romantic nerd, but like... the wrong kind of romantic, and the wrong kind of nerd. He'll bite his tongue on his opinions about the whole Mystra situation because he KNOWS he'd come off as the asshole he deep down still is.
Now, Wyll. Wyll IS the right kind of romantic nerd. Fallahan would be soooo nice and charming. He likes heroes, he likes stories, he likes drama, he could listen to him talk forever. He would share opinions on literature they both enjoy, and write about him, and be playful and flirty. I think he would totally try to get into his bed (Fal does have a habit of collecting lovers as 'trophies') while masterfully avoiding every one of Wyll's romantic advances, if they happen. He's interested in flings, not romance (that's what he says).
Lae'zel is. Uh. She's too straightforward to fall or even care about his charms. Not only he wouldn't try but he would keep a very careful distance.
Same goes for Minthara, who's even worse because she's used to sycophantic diplomats, she would be unimpressed and unamused. Not to mention that he's a very high elvish elf, and the kind of arrogant male she would despise. Nope. Not happening.
Halsin is... nice, but the most they'll have in common is that in some verses Fal's partner (@stagsworn) and he would be friends. But that's the extent of it. He doesn't need any tree-hugging dilf to psychoanalyze him, thank you very much.
Jaehira is just. No.
Minsc is the wrong kind of brute. His opinion on big dumb men is that they're either fuckable, or not worth his time. He'd be sassy to him, but also very careful not to anger him, which means holding his tongue most of the time.
Karlach is fine. Kind of a slow-burn thing because he'd take longer to understand where she's coming from, but he'd be genuine... genuinely nice. Not because he doesn't want to get on her bad side, but because he does find her quite entertaining.
2 notes · View notes
clairedelune-13 · 2 months ago
Text
This might be a controversial opinion, but considering that Rook was always meant to be a person that Solas saw himself in, I actually don’t think them fitting into the Hero archetype was the original intention for them as a protagonist.
No, I think them becoming that was a product of the vision changing. (Epler)
I actually think the Rook we see during the Solas Convos and Inquisitor Convos is the Rook we would’ve gotten had the development been more stable. i.e the Rook we may have gotten in Joplin.
Maybe this is just me and my personal experiences, but Rook is kind of a judgmental asshole in this conversation.
Mostly because they reminded me of a lot of people I’ve come across that I don’t particularly care for. 🤣 Those kinds of people that you know are silently judging you and they think they’re being slick by acting nice, but you know the tone.
Kind of like Solas.
We know he can be a judgmental prick.
And a hypocrite.
That’s another thing I noticed. Is the hypocrisy in Rook.
And that’s only if your Inky romanced him. Which is why I think the game was intended for you to play it that way, rather than an Inquisitor who romanced someone else.
He’s the god of lies, Inquisitor.
Pay attention to their tone and how they say this.
They sound almost flippant, like you can basically hear them rolling their eyes and judging Lavellan for daring to fall for the Dread Wolf.
Its almost as if they are taking the moral high ground. Despite the fact that the Inquisitor hasn’t actually done anything to warrant this type of reaction. Rook isn’t morally superior to the Inquisitor.
In fact, they are inferior. In every way.
It actually made me a little angry, because that’s the impression I got. That my own character was judging my own character.
Which is great, because I actually felt a flicker of emotion whereas everywhere else in the game, I barely paid attention.
I would’ve loved to see more of this Rook.
Having a judgmental asshole as a protagonist would’ve been kind of interesting.
If Rook were just a judgmental, hypocritical Solas clone the entire run, while the entire time denying the hell out of it…?
Sure, that would’ve made them super controversial. Not everybody wants to play a judgmental asshole meant to be a reflection. of Solas. 🤣
But it would’ve made them at least interesting.
The problem with Rook is that they don’t have a personality.
And it doesn’t help that the game doesn’t let you make one for them.
They are simultaneously a predetermined character, but also extremely undercooked.
Which is really bad writing, because it means you can’t really see them as your character.
And you can’t even see them as Bioware’s character, either.
They are quite literally nothing.
1 note · View note
some-beans · 3 years ago
Note
Howdy! i was wondering if I could request twisted wonderland x gyomei!reader(gender doesn’t matter). Cause that man is the definition of gentle giant and I feel like he needs more love.
YES YES AND YES !! HE IS MY FAV HASHIRA I LOVE HIM !! also sorry if it took a hot minute, life do be crazy
Tumblr media
✎...pairing: twisted wonderland x gyoumei!reader ✎...themes: chaos, gentle giant reader, can be seen as platonic or romantic, ace slander [ affectionately ] ✎...notes: can you tell which characters are easier to write for, male implied reader !! ✎...enjoy !!
Tumblr media
𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐘𝐔𝐋
𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄
iー
first, he has floyd's lanky ass to worry about aND NOW YOUR GAINT ASS??
riddle cannot catch a break from these tall ass people
but he'd much rather have you around considering you're not trying to squeeze the ever-loving shit out of him
also, you're very gentle and respectful about the queen of heart's rules, which riddle appreciates greatly
he may or may not had ー what cater calls a 'moe moment' ー when he saw you being so cautious and gentle with the hedgehogs
riddles heart = doki doki
however, very much a tsundere about it
𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐘
trey is bamboozled
first of all, how can someone be that tall??
second, how can you be so gentle and considerate of others??
cuz yk. . . nrc is full of assholes
now because you're built like a goddamn semi-truck, you eat a lot and with trey always baking something new, you kinda get stuck with tasting whatever he makes
not that you mind, obviously
this is trey's baking we're talking about
𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑
did a double take ngl
100% gets meme-worthy pictures of you from interacting with other students who are short ー especially, riddle, ortho and epel
pls don't tell riddle that
or epel
ortho doesn't mind tho cuz idia loves them
but those photos came at a price
what?? cater was not gonna let the opportunity ー with your consent and cut ー to make a profit when he discovered how popular you became from a selfie he took with you
yes, there was a struggle
and yes it was funny
did try to get to join the light music club when he found you playing the shakuhachi, which is a type of flute
𝐀𝐂𝐄
a high-pitched scream left his mouth as soon as your giant shadow covered him
almost pissed himself too
definitely uses you as a shield whenever he bites off more than he can chew when fighting someone
pussy
anyway
sometimes you allow him to do that, but when you're not in a good mood, you will be making sure ace learns his lessons
almost had his head beat into the ground because of stupid shit he did
may or may not have pissed himself a little
𝐃𝐄𝐔𝐂𝐄
a nervous wreck
but plays cool cuz he knows not to judge a person by their looks, even though you like the type of dude to easily smash his skull in
easily sees you as someone who should be respected
also
would do any errand or favour you ask of him
no if's, and's or buts, or questions asked
homeboy really out here being a
Tumblr media
𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐖
𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐀
look
leona isn't really gonna bother with you unless you bother him
but then again, you do slightly put this lion on edge
you're 7'2 tall and 130kgs of muscle
leona was not gonna fuck with that
however
despite the muscle you have, you make a fantastic pillow/cuddle buddy
but don't tell anyone that, got it??
𝐑𝐔𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐄
almost shat himself
why??
cuz he tried to snag something from grim and you quickly intervened by grabbing his arm
lowkey almost snapped it clean in half
ruggie swears that you're blind but ig he underestimated your other senses
is very cautious around you
but overtime ー and with the gifting of food ー ruggie slowly warmed up to you
i mean, you're a b i g guy and ruggie is definitely going to use that to his advantage if he finds himself in any trouble
straight up bolting to you
𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊
what's this??
a new training buddy??
of course, jack doesn't show how he really feels about seeing your stature, however, his tail betrays him greatly
*cue tsundere wolf noises*
considering his the oldest sibling in the family, he felt a weird sense of comfort from you
which was like he was being protected, leading him to ask his siblings who said that's how they felt around him
Tumblr media
𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄
𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐋
nope
just nope
even tho you're human, azul can't help but imagine you as a big ass shark or orca merfolk, and scares the shit out of him
however
once he saw you cry over something small ー which was simply stepping on grim [ which was the greatest crime ever ] ー he knew you were kinda like a crybaby just like him
this did lead him to try and make a contract with you
. . .
that didn't work
and almost got his ass scrambled
maybe don't try to make a deal with a dude that can easily crush your skull
. . . jk unless?? 👀👀
𝐉𝐀𝐃𝐄
finds you to be an anomaly
you have this intimidating height, bulky muscle and strength greater than most non-humans on sage island
and yet, you cry
at everything??
fascinating
he does also try to get you to eat his. . . food ー more like hazardous concoctions ー and tries to pull you along to go hiking
emphasis on tries
you won't fucking budge
great seven
𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐃
you're his jungle gym
sorry not sorry
whenever you're around his focus is on you and trying to climb you
you're his favourite thing to squeeze because you don't really get affected by it
however, he did try to nom on you and quickly learnt his lesson
he got his ass handed to him
so don't tell jade
or azul
or anyone for that matter
Tumblr media
𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐀
𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐌
sure, was kalim initially terrified of you?? yes
but did that change when he saw you happily crying while surrounded by cats?? yes, yes it did
kalim tends to buy you a lot of cat-themed items and such
definitely cried a waterfall when he found out he couldn't really help with your blindness
you also cried but that was from how sad kalim was about not being able to help you with your sight
jamil definitely had to calm both of you down ー though it was mostly kalim
𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋
finally, someone who he doesn't have to babysit
is secretly grateful when you take kalim off his hands so he can get other shit done
he kinda suspects that you've taken care of kids before but you deny it every time
he gets angry-flustered when you're the one taking care of him or kalim, and doing his chores out of the goodness of your heart
he's not used to it, at all
he kind of wonders if his unique magic would on you cuz yk you're blind
but seeing as rumours went around about someone seeing you easily push a boulder around for strength training
jamil would rather not face any consequences of involving his unique magic
Tumblr media
𝐏𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐅𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐄
𝐕𝐈𝐋
vil was initially indifferent towards you ー because he saw you sitting down at first ー but that very much changed
seeing your height and. . . muscles, vil knew you'd be a hit amongst a certain group of fans
he definitely does try to find lotions and whatnot to help with your scar along your forehead and to help with how rough your hands are
not that vil actually minds how rough they were
also when you two end up going shopping somehow, you are most definitely holding all the bags
every. single. one.
but you don't really mind as you're more of a minimalistic person compared to vil's standard
𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐊
rook was vibrating with excitement
you'll be his biggest hunt yet !!
and even though you're blind you could easily sense him, and rook enjoyed that thrill of being caught
he was having a field day
tbh he really sees you as a challenge
and a beautiful soul, no less
you most definitely cry at any poems rook spouts and rook swears cupid repeatedly hits him with his arrows at the sight
𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐋
epel = jealous
like how dare you take all the height and muscle, and yet cry at just about everything??
man's angy
however
that does not stop epel from trying to train with you and jack
*cue an angry vil*
of course, you don't anyone to be upset, so you came to a compromise that you'd teach epel total concentrating breathing help with being faster and such without 'ruining his adorable demeanour' as vil put it
epel grumbled but complied after he noticed he could run a little longer and lift slightly heavier things
Tumblr media
𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐇𝐘𝐃𝐄
𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐀
listen
ngl he fainted when he first saw you
both you and ortho panicked
and you, well, you cried
after the whole fainting fiasco, idia very much kept an eye out on you through various cameras and ortho
look, with a dude, your size, of course, idia was going to be suspicious ー he may have faltered a little when found out you were blind, but he wasn't going to take any chances
however
that all changed when he found you surrounded by cats ー grim and lucius included
idia was fuming with jealously
*arthur fist*
but overall, i feel like idia would still have some hesitancy around just because of your height alone
don't get him started on your muscles
got him reminding him that you're like an anime character or something
Tumblr media
𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐍𝐈𝐀
𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐔𝐒
quite frankly thrilled to have someone like you that was taller than him and probably just as feared ー even if you were a magicless human
you two would 100% go on nightly walks with malleus spitting facts about gargoyles and grotesques, and their differences
once malleus really warms up to you, much like leona, you are his pillow and cuddle buddy
but only when he manages to escape the watchful eyes of sebek, sliver and lilia
his tail has managed to pop out whenever he receives any level of praise from you
he's like a giant puppy
𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀
being as old as lilia has been, it's been a rare sight to see someone even remotely close to your stature ー let alone a human of this height
but does that stop him from being the chaotic lil shit he is??
no, absolutely not
he loves to teleport behind and gauge your reaction
fyi it always ends with you swinging a fist
have you almost knocked lilia out before?? on multiple occasions
but over time you got used to lilia's jumpscares
*cue sulky bat fae noises*
but doesn't stop lilia from inviting himself over to where ever you are and chatting up a storm
you two also trade stories, from raising kids ー which only lilia knows about ー to various battles you two have respectfully fought
𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑
he was startled out of his nap when you sat next to him
was so ready to through a punch but stopped
why??
cuz you wanted to pet the animals that surrounded him
and seeing your figure softly smiling as you gently pat all of the animals made silver's heart just warm
a.k.a doki doki
like sebek, he would love to train with you but is more confident to say so
even if he's a little shy
doesn't really try total concentration breathing after seeing what happened to sebek, instead focuses on becoming physically stronger
𝐒𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐊
sebek being sebek, shouted obviously
may have tried to fight you
backed down when he saw you fold floyd like an omelette
you now have some of sebek's respect
good job !!
100% asks to train with you, especially strength training ー but is a tsundere about it
also wants you to teach him this stone breathing of yours, which he believes is magic and you're lying about being magicless
that thought comes crashing down when he dies from trying to copy total concentration breathing
swear he hack up a lung
though he's persistent and tries again and again
you praise him for it and he has to physically will himself not to blush and have a squiggly, dopey smile on his face
Tumblr media
413 notes · View notes
onceuponastory · 3 years ago
Text
want your bad romance - lance tucker x reader
Tumblr media
Plot: Lance likes Y/N’s fire...but he also likes to tease, and show who’s really in control. Pairing: Lance Tucker x Female!Reader (if you squint) Warnings: There’s some light smut, so 18+ Please! Just a few mentions of masturbation and the reader being h*rny over Lance, but even so. Also, reader is of age in this, but Lance is her coach, so there’s a power imbalance between them. Please use your own discretion if that kinda thing makes you uncomfortable. There’s also a few mentions of violence (nothing actually happens though). Finally, Lance Tucker being the cocky asshole he is, because he’s a warning all on his own. If I miss any triggers, please let me know. Notes: Lance Tucker is one of my fave Sebastian characters (mostly because he’s such an arse), so I knew I had to write something for him. And here we are! Not beta’d, so all mistakes are my own.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
“Come on Y/N! This isn’t good enough! Again.” Lance shouts across the gym to her. Huffing, Y/N climbs back up, working her way through her routine once more. As she does so, she curses Lance under her breath, hoping he won’t hear her.
When the Olympic medallist Lance Tucker agreed to take her under his wing as one of his students, Y/N Y/L/N was so excited. After all, as a gold and silver Olympic medallist, she was sure that Lance knew all there was to know about gymnastics. So training under him would be a surefire way to ensure success, and some medals of her own. However, the bubble burst pretty soon after she started training with him. Or actually…as soon as she met him. 
Because despite all his accomplishments and his fucking gorgeous, sculpted from marble body… Lance Tucker is just an arrogant arsehole who hides behind his bravado and his medals, using them as a justification to treat people like shit. And Y/N is no different. Of course, as someone who’s been in gymnastics training for most of her life, she’s well aware of how mean and demanding gymnastic coaches can be, especially ones training potential Olympic hopefuls. She’s already had enough to last her a lifetime. But Lance…Lance is different. He seems to pick on her for every little thing she does, judging everything from his ivory tower, yet doing nothing to help her actually correct her mistakes.
“Back straighter!”
“That landing was shit! Do it again.”
“Goddammit, point with your fucking toes, too! Come on Y/N, this is basic stuff!” 
Sometimes Y/N swears Lance just likes public humiliation. Especially when it’s against her. Maybe it’s his kink or something. And most frustratingly, there’s nothing she can do about it. She just has to climb back up onto the bars or the vault and try again…whilst making a few comments under her breath, of course. If Lance can do it, so can she. She would say them to his face. It’s just that she’s too scared to, because she’d rather not attract his ire any more than she already is.
And yet, despite how cruel Lance is to her, he is really fucking attractive, and Y/N would be lying if she said that she hasn’t ever thought about seeing just how flexible he can be outside of their training sessions, feeling his hot breath against her-
“Come ON! I know a girl who could do this routine in her sleep when she was five!” He shouts across the gym at her as soon as her feet touch the matt, interrupting her thoughts. “Again.” He angrily gestures to the bars. “I shouldn’t have to expect to tell you to keep doing this routine, Y/N! You should know it.” Grumbling, Y/N powders her hands again, ready to tackle the bars once more.
Mostly though, she wants to wring his neck.
“Sure you do. Why don’t you get her to do it then, instead of fucking bitching to me?” She mutters under her breath. “And I do know it. I’ve practised it enough times. Dickhead.” When she’s sure she’s ready, Y/N jumps, catching the bars and pulling herself up into the air. She performs the routine once again, twisting and moving her body throughout the air. As she finishes, she lands on the mat, not even stumbling. The adrenaline still pumping through her veins, Y/N throws her hands up in the air in a triumphant pose…to be greeted by pure silence from Lance for once. Y/N grins. Maybe she’s finally stunned him into silence? She looks over at Lance, expecting to see him watching her, with his mouth open and his eyes wide. To her shock, he’s on his phone, absorbed in scrolling through it. Rage fills her body, and she storms over to him.
“Hey! I just aced my landing, and you weren’t even looking!” She shouts, causing him to look up from his phone. 
“What, you nailed one landing out of two hundred shitty ones? That’s nothing special, sweetheart.” He scoffs. The angry and perplexed look on her face makes him roll his eyes. “I don’t want you nailing your landings, I want you to win a gold fucking medal, like I did-”
“Oh my god, I KNOW!” Y/N snaps as the pressure Lance has put her under for the past few weeks reaches a pressure point. “We’ve all heard the story about how you won the gold, and how pissed off you are that nobody is giving you any recognition for it anymore. It’s because nobody cares, Lance! You know what? Maybe the reason none of your students are doing well is because you’re too obsessed with your career and your medals to help us win some.” Lance doesn’t reply, and Y/N steps closer, continuing her verbal onslaught. “Is that it, Lance? Are you so pathetic, so unwilling to admit that you’re washed up and don’t want someone to be better than you? So desperate to cling to your crown?” She demands. “You need to realise that you aren't as good as you think you are.” When she’s finished shouting at him, she pants a little, trying to calm herself down.
And as she does, the realisation of what she just did begins to sink in. “Oh god.” She murmurs. Lance may be a total asshole, but he is the Olympic Team Coordinator. There goes her chances of even making it to the opening ceremony, let alone being an Olympic hopeful. Bracing herself for Lance’s inevitable outburst, she gulps. Lance does not help alleviate her worries either, as he keeps staring at her in silence, his eyes wandering low as he bites his lip ever so slightly. Even though she’s still worried about what’s going to happen, the sight of Lance looking at her like that makes her heart rate rise, and a familiar warm feeling begins to grow within her. Surprisingly though, Lance simply smirks.
“Oh, you have some fire in you, don’t you?” He grins. “I like that in a woman.” 
“You-you do?” She squeaks, immediately embarrassed at the tone of her voice. Lance nods, a smug grin displayed on his face. With Lance Tucker, a smile like that always means trouble.
“Yep.” He nods, popping the p. She never noticed how pink Lance’s lips were. Her mind soon fills with ideas on what he could do with them, only causing the warm feeling to spread even further, this time going between her thighs. Shit. This can’t be happening. Of course, there were plenty of times she’d thought about her coach and had to relieve herself, but that was always at home in bed. Not here, and not now. And especially not right in front of Lance. She has to get out of here quickly. 
“You know, despite how much of a pain in my ass you are, I actually like a lot of things about you, Y/N.” He winks, and Y/N suppresses a moan. Thankfully, though, Lance doesn’t seem to notice, or if he does, he doesn’t mention it. “And you can use that fire in your routines. Make everyone believe you want to win, that you want it.” He steps ever so slightly forward, and Y/N’s breath hitches in her throat. If he comes any closer to her, she might explode. “You do want it, don’t you Y/N?” He whispers, his voice ever so slightly deeper. Y/N has a funny feeling that he’s not talking about gymnastics anymore. She nods quickly, biting her tongue to prevent whatever unholy thoughts or sayings she has from escaping. As her pussy starts to tingle, Y/N tries not to squirm. Lance opens his mouth again, and she hopes he’s going to let her have a break. That way, she can run to the bathrooms and get this over with before she loses it. Instead, though, Lance only makes it worse.
“See, I don’t believe you. I think I need more convincing.” Y/N tries desperately to think of something, anything to say. But she can’t think of anything. “Cat got your tongue? That’s funny, because you had no issue talking shit about me a few minutes ago.” Lance watches her as she starts to fidget. With the smirk rapidly growing on his face, she can tell that Lance knows how she’s feeling, and that he’s enjoying teasing her until she reaches her breaking point. After this, she’s definitely going to kill him. First, though, she needs to get the hell out of here and deal with this problem. Lance keeps a trained eye on her the whole time, staring as she writhes and winces as the pleasure continues to build, close to reaching a breaking point. 
“Lance…I really need the-” she gasps, but Lance cuts her off by pressing his arms against the wall, trapping her.
“What? Oh, you need to go to the bathroom, don’t you?” He hisses. “Because even though you like to pretend that you hate me, I know how you really feel about me. And that you’re desperately close to coming over me once again.” He laughs at the confused look on her face. “Yeah, sweetheart, I know. You’re not exactly subtle.” He still doesn’t let her go, continuing to watch as she writhes between his arms. “God, your pussy is practically dripping through that leotard.” When she doesn’t reply, he smirks. “Now who’s pathetic?” He whispers, the sensation of his hot breath on her skin making things even worse. 
“Fuck you.” 
“Nope. That’s not going to cut it. Try again.” God, one of these days, she really is going to punch his stupid, beautiful face. But now, though, she’s choosing to survive.  
“Lance, please.” She begs. “I’m sorry, alright? Please, just let me go now.” Lance gives her one last look, grinning. 
“That’s better. On you go.” He smirks. Y/N breathes a sigh of relief. As she heads towards the bathroom, Lance calls after her.
“Hopefully this is a lesson to you, Y/N. Don’t cause anymore trouble, because next time…I won’t be so nice.” Y/N suppresses the urge to flip him off, and instead hurries off to the bathrooms.
“Bastard.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Please follow @onceuponastory-library​ and turn on notifications to 
112 notes · View notes
birbliophile · 19 days ago
Text
Waaah hi everyone! This sounds fun!
The name of your art/au/fic you’re creating right now and where to find it:
I have a lot of projects I hop around between, but the biggest one right now that I would consider active is Etymologically Identical, a Dr. Stone genderbend AU featuring Ishigami Chisora, aka Sora, a female version of Senku. It’s currently locked to users only on ao3, but I’ve posted some of the chapters to my Dr. Stone sideblog, and you can find the masterpost here.
💙 Which of your favorite characters you’ve created by accident and how?
In Etymologically Identical? Artemis the horse, for sure. When I started plotting out EI  I didn’t really intend on having any OCs, much less an animal companion OC, but I wanted to give Sora a friend during a very stressful arc who she could open up to without any emotional baggage associated with Artemis herself. Like how animals can be the best listeners because they’re incapable of judging you. Also I might have been thinking about the scene in Pixar’s Brave where Merida is ranting about her mom and her horse Angus is just chillin. 
❤️ How would your characters react if you switched the background of the last two fanfics / art you’ve made around?
Uh let’s see…last two things I posted were for a Miraculous Ladybug Sentibug Lives AU and a Dr. Stone Stardew Valley AU. Marinette and company would probably appreciate taking a break from it all to farm, honestly. As for the Dr. Stone cast, being embroiled in a war between magical henshin heroes in Paris would probably be rather stressful lol. 
🧡 Which of the characters you’ve created are an absolute asshole to work with?
I don’t have any OCs that I would say I dislike writing, but I often find it difficult to write characters who are very straightforward people that wouldn’t be inclined to use complex words to describe things. I’m naturally a wordy person so to go the opposite is hard haha.
For a character who would literally be hard to work with, Airi. She’s gotten better but her condescending attitude would be hell to have to deal with in person XD.
💛 Do you have a soundtrack for your fic/story? (And do you link it anywhere?)
Etymologically Identical does have a soundtrack, and I’ve been sharing it in bits and pieces in the author’s notes on ao3. 
💚 What is your favorite trope you keep coming back to?
The trope I would personally say is my favorite is more of a theme? Grief as an exploration of love, in short. I really enjoy making characters confront what’s most important to them through the lens of loss. But if you ask some of my friends what my favorite trope is, they would point out how I have a funny tendency to throw characters off of great heights in my stories. Like it’s not even intentional, I just keep writing characters falling to their uncertain doom in dramatic moments.  
🩵 If your fic/art was a meal, what/how would it be? Salty? Sweet? Dinner, breakfast? Comfort food?
Etymologically Identical is like…a savory stew, I feel. I want it to be filling and satisfying, with lots of interesting flavors and some brightness to it. Maybe not necessarily comfort food (it’s a bit too dramatic for that at times), but definitely a tasty meal that you can return to now and again.  
💜Did you ever lost control over your fic/art?
All the time XD it feels more like the story is trying to tear itself out of my body than me directing it lol.
🖤 What small thing in your story could trigger a literal worst outcome? (Like, character tripping over something leads to the end of the world)
In four chapters, a certain character will get on a boat. If this character does not get on the boat, everything is doomed. I will not elaborate further. 
🩶 which grey character started out as villain and you made them likable cause of reasons? Or if you have such character at all?
A lot of people said they liked how I gave Magma some character development for the better, so that was cool! Hoping to do that with some other antagonists too. 
💔 what is your main character’s worst nightmare? (Favourite horror story)
That she’ll end up abandoning her own principles to become a dictator and hurt the people she swore she would protect. 
❤️‍🩹 How would your character comfort someone?
If it’s Taiju, Yuzuriha, or a kid, Sora would let them hug her. If it’s anyone else, gently patting their shoulder with the end of a broom from six feet away. 
💝 If you could give your character a happy ending right here and there, how would they react?
Well, the struggles are part of the story so I wouldn’t really want to end it with a happy conclusion as of now, but if it did happen the emotional whiplash would be insane lol. Sora would need a while to process what’s happening. 
Hmm…I’ll tag @mexicancat-girl, @dragoninthelabratory, @amethystsoda, and @charmspoint while I’m at it! Anyone is welcome to take a stab at it though ^_^
Okay so I have bunch of stupid questions I’ve been meaning to ask my fellow creators and I hope I can make a tumblr game out of it.
Feel free to answer some or none, or ask me these as well (I’m trying to beat writing block)
…and it’s free advertisement
The name of your art/au/fic you’re creating right now and where to find it:
💙 Which of your favorite characters you’ve created by accident and how?
❤️ How would your characters react if you switched the background of the last two fanfics / art you’ve made around?
🧡 Which of the characters you’ve created are an absolute asshole to work with?
💛 Do you have a soundtrack for your fic/story? (And do you link it anywhere?)
💚 What is your favorite trope you keep coming back to?
🩵 If your fic/art was a meal, what/how would it be? Salty? Sweet? Dinner, breakfast? Comfort food?
💜Did you ever lost control over your fic/art?
🖤 What small thing in your story could trigger a literal worst outcome? (Like, character tripping over something leads to the end of the world)
🩶 which grey character started out as villain and you made them likable cause of reasons? Or if you have such character at all?
💔 what is your main character’s worst nightmare? (Favourite horror story)
❤️‍🩹 How would your character comfort someone?
💝 If you could give your character a happy ending right here and there, how would they react?
26 notes · View notes
thequiver · 3 years ago
Note
How'd you cope with Oliver's character being both an asshole and also a great guy? Honestly took me a while to get into GA comics because I was introduced through Roy and Dinah, meaning I've seen the worst before I got to understand what was happening. Tbh with Bruce, I just either focus on his solo detective stuff or i pretend I do not see them lol
I mean…… I like it when he’s an asshole that’s part of the appeal? Is that he’s gruff and moody but still gentle and kind despite the attitude. He’s kind of the blueprint for the asshole with a heart of gold thing. That’s one of his biggest selling points imo - is that he is an asshole but he very very rarely takes it out on people who don’t deserve it.
But also, I started reading Green Arrow comics with the golden age comics, I started with the first ever appearance of Green Arrow- I read Golden and Silver Age and had context for their relationship pre-Snowbirds, I read all of Snowbirds before I ever heard someone who hadn’t read it make definitive statements about it. I read Ollie and Dinah’s first meetings in JLA (1969) before I ever got to them breaking up. I knew what the original story was before reading it from a writer who has admitted on record that he doesn’t like Oliver Queen and that he let that affect his work, and I knew what the original story was before touching the racist work of someone who would write an incredibly mischaracterized Oliver Queen. I didn’t go in ready to judge him for “cheating” to find out he was assaulted and I didn’t get ready to think of him as a horrible father who kicked out his son when his son wasn’t even living with him at the time. I find that for as much as he is an asshole and I like him that way- that the extent to which Ollie is an asshole and the how and to who he’s an asshole is seriously exaggerated or just straight up fabricated.
He’s an asshole, but he’s not cruel. When he hurts people he takes accountability for it and changes. He’s remembered as gentle and kind, his kids will say that all the love he has to give can be overbearing. But his character is all about change- and Ollie changes, when he makes a mistake he grows and doesn’t repeat it.
Unlike Bruce, Ollie quite notably doesn’t really take out his issues on his loved ones- there’s not really anything to excuse away- because when Ollie does bad shit the narrative addresses it and paints it as bad and we have to see him atone for it on page - we see Ollie earn rather than expect forgiveness. The narrative is set up to show us that Ollie is fallible but that the mark of a good man is to take accountability for your actions and change and keep going- so that’s what happens.
It’s honestly not that hard imo.
58 notes · View notes
etheriadearie · 3 years ago
Note
Read your big Entrapta post. It was very interesting, and over 6000 words long, LMAO. You should use plain text more though, the heavily reformatted bold/italicised/etc text made it difficult to read.
So, a few things:
1. I absolutely agree that the characters are continuing the historical trauma of the first ones. Entrapta is a truth seeker trying to get to the heart of the issue and basically discovers the Heart of Etheria with the minimal amount of investigation in season 1, with nobody else questioning what the First Ones did because it would mean they have to question their entire power structure.
2. However, Entrapta is still a villain that the Princesses need to stop. Especially as the Black Garnet Experiment was hurting so many people, and she didn't even know what sort of dangerous weapon was lurking under the surface yet! Unfortunately I think the lack of communication with her in s1 is attributed to time - she only got a single episode to deal with them and just when they were warming up to each other they were separated. I like to think if this separation never happened, the other characters would've started to understand Entrapta better and let her do her thing. On the other hand, they probably wouldn't have let her mess with a runestone. A full Rebellion! Entrapta would face prejudice against tampering with tech, as you said. Only the Horde would be willing to fully embrace it, which is why Bow's tech is nowhere close to Entrapta's - hell, people tease him for it rather than ask him about it!
(This presumably changes after s5 where suddenly tech is a vital part of society and Entrapta carried the Rebellion through the transition.)
3. I do think you're right when you say, all the other characters are caught up in their anger and hurt, but Entrapta lets it pass through, and she can see most clearly the value in other people, and treats them better than she gets treated. She does carry and push down some hurt especially around getting rejected so many times no matter how hard she tries, and sometimes she questions her own philosophies of "imperfections are beautiful" because how can she believe that when her own imperfections keep leading to her pushing people away? But she has a strong heart, and pushes through that doubt and becomes a powerful force for individuality across the show. She is unabashedly herself, and transfers that positive energy onto other characters when de-chipping them, breaking up tension for other characters on the space ship, and helping Hordak figure out who he is.
Hi! Sounds like we agree on a lot, let me see if I can respond to a few things...
Tumblr media
Thanks! My Promise discussion is over 17,000 hah 💜😜💜✌️. And I think you're right about the text, thx for saying. I've been thinking about switching to all bold, an example of that here.
Tumblr media
Okay to this, I think we need to deal with the outdated and blasé boring 80s villain concept..
::metadiscuss She-ra and ND Stevenson's take on villains 🦹‍♀️
To be clear, my writing is never done to condone anyone's actions. What's happening is that they're all bad (until s5). SPOP is a waking disaster for pretty much every character, good guys and bad, they are all being hurtful and those decisions are bouncing off each other in a disastrous chaotic echo chamber. And Entrapta’s story, while messy, shows the truest line of good intentions towards others and to finding the truth.
Which is why I think judging Entrapta (or Catra and Hordak) as 'villains who need to be stopped’ isn't what ND wants us to do.
Catra and Hordak are absolutely being total assholes, but, there's only a couple really evil people in SPOP, who cause so much hurt and destruction in the story, and to which we can trace back all the other characters' actions to. What makes Catra and Hordak different from these evil people is that they aren't sociopaths. For example, one such sociopath villain- Shadow Weaver- gets away with the most terrible bullshit for the longest time. She abused Catra and Adora from an early age- and Adora and Catra only manage to stop her at the very end. This is a much more realistic storyline, as irl abusers fly under the radar, some never even face consequences for their actions.
But, this complexity is how ND Stevenson set out to give us a better story than the old 80s boring blasé “villains are evil and only exist to be stopped by the heroes”. Those stories lack any creativity, making 1 dimensional badguys to be knocked over by the heroes shooting gallery style.
The biggest clue that SPOP rejects such a blasé villain take is the plot itself- do the Princesses EVER even really stop them? Anything they try to do backfires- they didn't stop the portal from opening, they never regained control of the Black Garnet- and yet did the Horde ever use it again?
They could have, right? So, the Princesses struggle to even do the most basic thing of stopping the Horde. Stopping the villains isn't something we see them do until the end. The Princesses don't work together, before Adora showed up they all hid in their kingdoms and abandoned Etheria’s populace (and often their own people) to war. (see Bow’s dad George in s2ep7). But, by making unbalanced emotional decisions that are out of control they do make things worse for themselves, and for everyone on Etheria. This is because while the Horde is wrong, their own decisions add to the trauma of the other side, particularly Catra, perpetuating and increasing the violence.
For example, about one of the most villainous moments- Catra pulling the switch- we can see how Glimmer’s own actions of empowering Shadow Weaver in s3ep4 sends things out of control.
Tumblr media
That's the moment Catra's actions are solidified, before then she's not angry enough to do what she does. And from then on Glimmer continues to give Shadow Weaver even more power in s4, she falls for her deceptions, which contributes to Glimmer’s mistake of linking Scorpia to the Heart, looking to win by any option. The world almost ends; it's chaos.
To elaborate about the portal incident: I say confidently that what we're suppose to understand within the plot that the portal wouldn't have happened without Glimmer bringing Shadow Weaver to the Fight Zone.
Entrapta actually had that under control, she had convinced Hordak to wait to try the portal, so they could perfect it (more really, for romance). And Adora did a good job warning Entrapta about the dangers, changing her mind. So, even though Catra wanted to do it, it wouldn't have happened. She wasn't the uncontrollably enraged person we see when she shocks Entrapta and then lies to Hordak.
Tumblr media
That all comes down to Catra being brought within an inch of her life by her abuser yet again. Catra has been powerless to stop her abuser all of her life. Seeing the Princesses enable her abuser is a bridge too far. She has to win, even if there's a chance the world will end.
Imho what Catra did to Entrapta is what she hates herself for the most. It wasn't supposed to happen, we see that on her face afterwards. Catra is (predictably) driven by fear, that no matter what she does her abuser will be enabled by others.
Even at that point in the story, Adora is an enabler of their abuser in Catra's eyes. She's wrong, Adora has no control- and feels as unsafe as she does.
Tumblr media
This is the kind of evidence that's there if you look for it, and Glimmer's decision to enable their abuser leaves both Adora and Catra unnerved and they begin to spiral during s4. What's also true is that Glimmer is partially responsible for her own pain in s4 and the loss of her mother. (I can talk in more detail about this cascade of events, lmk.)
In fact, Shadow Weaver switching sides is nothing- she's not trying to help the Princesses win, there's nothing left for her at the Horde and she uses it as a new opportunity to manipulate for power. In s4 she drives Glimmer towards releasing the power, for her own gain. It doesn't end like she intends when the Heart is set off instead.
But, as usual Shadow Weaver is getting away with it. She only faces consequences in s5 when Catra (‘a villain who needs to be stopped') helps Adora past all the manipulations with her love confession. Why is it Catra that has to bring the knowledge of love, why is she the wise one? It's literally the story of the series, her saving Adora with The Kiss.
So the story of the series isn't that Catra is a redeeming villain- it's why she has this special knowledge. Nor is Adora some miraculous hero- she can't be a real hero until she learns to accept that love.
Tumblr media
So Catra can't really be called a villain, she does act the part but it's more complicated than that. Hordak isn't one either- he is a trauma machine, but he helps them win in the end, too. And Entrapta is one of the least villainous people in her intentions- lead than the Princesses who try to use a horrific super weapon to win (obvious similarities to choosing the nuclear option). Instead, we should focus on the real villains- sociopathic manipulators who like to hurt others- Shadow Weaver, Horde Prime, and somewhat Light Hope.
They lack the ability to feel love or empathy, they want to hurt others, like many of the worst abusers in our societies (looking at you, capitalism). That emotional difference is where the root of evil actually lies, because it lets them hurt people indefinitely. And just like Shadow Weaver, Horde Prime got away with it for the longest time, he hurt Hordak and murdered many innocent worlds before being stopped. And what did it take to stop him? An act of love. Gay love. 🏳️‍🌈 That's a pretty great rejection of the blasé troupes if you ask me.
So, I don't agree with the 80s villain view of Entrapta and most other characters. Is Scorpia a villain? How about Kyle, Rogelio, and Lonnie? They're treated as such. It's so much better that we're shown both sides, to understand how their choices are affected by the Princesses own actions. So that way we can think about why they make the decisions that they do. It's chaos until they all agree to stop and understand each other. Meanwhile the sociopaths were getting away with manipulating them all.
Oh an Entrapta? She doesn't stop to placate anyone's fragile feelings, such as with the Princesses, because ignorance is worse than not knowing what's really going on and the deeper plot that threatens the entire universe.
Anyways... I am not worthy to speak for ND but I suspect that he'd say calling Entrapta a villain wasn't what he wanted us to see. Or with many of the other characters. Entrapta is always doing her best, she's also kind to others. Calling her villain is so surface, it's meh.
Hope that makes sense.
p.s I know my posts are long, but its because I'm trying to answer all of the questions and misconstrued comebacks I've seen all at once, every question all at once. I do wish my writings could be shorter, but then I'd leave too many things open to confusion. Also, many questions are answered in my hyperlinks- more good meta to read with a hot cuppa somethin'☕️☺️ (all hyperlinks are on tumblr)
Tumblr media
In a show where Catra and Adora struggle so much with becoming their true selves, Entrapta is always in touch with her most authentic self. She gives me all of the happy feelings 🥰
Tumblr media
I know, it hurts to see her suffer. 😥 She shouldn't be made to doubt. Then again, what's being alive more than doubting? Each major character in SPOP does it. Her story has so much humanity 😌
Tumblr media
Well said!! This is what I'm really saying when I talk about how the Princesses are privileged. Like, many privileged people accept the current economic order and that's wrong- it's destroying our environment and makes 3rd world counties impoverished. I see a real similarity in how the Princesses just accept their world order. Like irl, just because they don't know it's wrong doesn't make it any less wrong.
Thanks to anybody who hung out through this long post. If you like it, let me know. But reblogg if you can, because reblogs make the tumblr world go round ☺️💫🌍✨. Thanks for writing in op, I'm glad we agree on many things (some which I didn't have time to cover).
Happy Pride everybody!! ✨✨🏳️‍🌈✨✨!!!!
p.s if you have an ama pending I have received it and will respond just as soon as it's ready. Feel free to keep sending me asks my peoples!!
-Etheriadearie
41 notes · View notes
quirklessidiot · 5 years ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Title: filthy rich [1/3] Pairing: millionare!sakusa kiyoomi x y/n [filthy capitalist au] Genre: romance, major angst ahead ,fluff, yandere!au-ish 
Synopsis: Your luck had just run out when you realized that you flirted with danger. [400 followers special]
Warnings: language and none...yet….[although i will put a trigger warning that is a controlling, abusive, and kind of a yandere relationship] Notes: 
Happy 460 followers i- look, i know i promised a long kita fanfic but i got more inspired to finish this and write this one because djjdjdjd ,,, anyways this was originally a kpop fanfic i wrote years ago and i switched it up to an omi fanfic. I don’t condone this type of relationship, if ya see this shit on your partner, please run (i beg of you)
also eheh the remaining two requests will be posted soon so uwu
next  ||  series masterlist || taglist 
Tumblr media
“Hey Y/N.”
You look up from your medical textbook to find your aunt standing there with an expensive freshly pressed suit on her hand wrapped in plastic, you had been living with her along with her two younger kids in Tokyo after your parents decided to become humanitarian doctors. Wanting to explore and get out of your comfort zone, you ended up living in the big city along with your mother’s closest friend.
“Oh, hey obaasan.” you greeted, “What’s up?”
“Ah, you see, Shoyo is out now and no one will be able to deliver the suit to Sakusa-san, would you mind doing me a favor and delivering it for me?”
You shut your textbook and stood up from your chair, “Sure, uh- could I have his address?” you ask as you took the suit in plastic carefully from her hands, not wanting to damage something that cost as expensive as your tuition in med school. After saying goodbye to your aunt and carefully placing the suit at the back of your car, you drove your way to the upstate part of the city.
Your second hand car stood out like a sore thumb in the lane of expensive and flashy cars, you wanted to waltz in and out of here quickly. Following your aunt’s instruction’s, you march up to the front desk to hand the suit over to the receptionist, “I’m here to drop the laundry for Sakusa-sa-”
Before you could even finish your sentence, she snatched it away from your grasp. You narrow your eyes at her rather uncouth attitude, “Oh, cool...thanks…” you murmur, not wanting to cause a scene or pick a fight with the rude woman, you made a b-line towards the exit. Away from the judging and prying eyes of the people who were very much above you in terms of class and wealth.
The moment you step out though, you watch in horror as your car is being towed away, “Hey!” you exclaimed, hurriedly going to the worker who was writing something down on his clipboard, “Hey, wait! Please, excuse me?”
The worker turned to you with a questioning gaze as you immediately started to explain that you were in and out of the place and that you were just delivering some laundry but all you got was a shake in the head and the words, “It’s not up to me, that guy called us in.” He points his ballpen towards the man in a suit and paired with a surgical white mask on the phone, “...The parking here is for residents only and clearly you’re not one of them.” 
Your eyes almost widened at his explanation, just what was wrong with people who lived here?
You fumingly grab the piece of paper he hands to you and stuff it in your pocket as you march up to the stranger on the phone, “Hey, excuse me!” you proclaimed, there were a few on-lookers but you ignored them, you were seeing red with the treatment you’ve been receiving here. The raven-haired stranger ignores you, still on his phone so you call him out again and when you do, the darkest pair of obsidian eyes are on you.
You clenched your fists tightly as the quote ‘eat the rich’ comes into your head.
“There must be some mistake.” You began slowly, trying to put your anger at bay because you didn’t want the whole thing to escalate in public, “I’m in and out here, all i did was deliver and I didn't know-”
“Your ignorance doesn’t excuse you.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ignorance of the law excuses no one.” He simply states, “Also the car was on the way in my space and not even a parking spot.”
You let out a loud, sardonic laugh, “I’d be gone in two minutes if you waited.”
“You would’ve wasted my two minutes.” 
You clenched your fist tightly and as you were about to bite back on his snide remark, the receptionist from before intervenes, “Excuse me, he’s right. You aren’t allowed to park here.” she tries to look professional but you know she’s just siding with this idiot since he had the money.
“Right.” you nod, “You know what, fuck it, this blows. All I did was my job and I have to be shitted on because I don’t have money like Mr.fancy-pants over here.” You bellowed,your glare was intense as you turned around, stomping away before you would do anything you’d regret.
The stranger’s eyes towards you do not waver though, how interesting, he thought.
You never wanted to return to that place again, not only did you lose a lot of money to pay your toll fee for your car but you needed to buy a bunch of new books for the new semester. You groan out loud as you also realize that you needed to do a grocery run since all you had were empty packets of instant Ramen and water in your apartment.
Chunking the cue cards to the side, you made your way to the convenience store, the city was definitely alive tonight and amidst that, you look absolutely dead tired. Your eye bags were getting thicker, a few zits had popped out, and you had grown thin in an unhealthy way because of your food consumption.
Man, being in med school and being dumb wasn’t a very good combination.
Your thoughts are interrupted when your aunt calls you again and says you have to do deliveries tonight, “You remember Sakusa-san?” your aunt says on the other line.
You couldn’t help but grimace at the mention of the man and the memories of where he lived.
Man, did this Sakusa-san needed new neighbors.
“What does he need a suit for in this unholy hour?” You mentally groaned.
“He needs it for laundry, you can have the money when you pick it up.”
Your ears immediately perk up at the mention of cash, you decided to take public transportation since you didn’t want to risk getting your car toll away by that Sakusa guy’s wretched fancy-pants neighbor. Grocery shopping could wait another time, “Stupid rich people.” You muttered under your breath as you pushed open the entrance to find the same man who you despised, sitting there with a laundry basket next to him.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” You mumbled, sucking in a deep breath, you say, “Sakusa-san?”
“So I was right.” he says, pulling down his mask to reveal his sharp features, “You were the one who delivered my suit that day. It’s usually a young boy with a bike.”
Boy, this man was definitely at his prime, he was probably a good few years older than you and you bet he had the ladies swinging left and right with that face. Too bad he had a shitty attitude though.
“Well, that doesn’t give you an excuse to tow my car away.” you deadpan.
“How much do I owe you for the unfortunate accident then?” his tone was rich and low but you detected no remorse in it, it was as if waving huge chunks of money would help tremendously. The asshole couldn’t even properly say sorry to you because of the hard time you had to go through that time.
“None,” you scoffed, “Just hand me your laundry and pay the fee, we’ll call it even.”
The raven-haired man tilts his head and carefully hands you the laundry bag along with a wad of cash, your eyes immediately widen out of character, “Woah, wait-”
“For the troubles.” He simply replies, “Goodnight.”
You later found out that his full name was Sakusa Kiyoomi and not only was he rich, he was filthy rich. The man used to be a big volleyball player back or something when he was in high school and college but instead of becoming a pro player, he had inherited the family business.
“Huh, so he was a capitalist.” You stare at his picture at the morning paper which was coincidentally an article about him. You decided to forget about it, expecting to not see him after that night since Hinata had no classes or practices these upcoming weeks yet weirdly enough, he started to ask for you to pick up his laundry instead.
So you both fell into a strange routine, you’d pick up his laundry and return it the next day. He was also there to pick up his things and you no longer needed to talk to the rude receptionist. You were suspicious of him yet you decided to just overlook it, he gave good tips and he wasn’t as rude as the first time you met him, in fact, he made small conversations now and you sort of got to know the man.
You had a weird dynamic but strangely enough, it worked.
“L/N-san.” 
“Good evening,” You greeted per usual, holding out your hand yet his eyes squinted at the bandage on your hand.
“What happened.” the raven-haired man asked, his gaze zeroing on the wound that you got in one of your classes.
“I’m a med student...I cut myself instead of the cadaver in class.” you shrug nonchalantly as you wiggle your fingers, “It’s alright though, I’m not going to stain your suit that you keep putting back to the laundry for some odd reason.”
“You got hurt.”
“Happens to the best of us.”
Sakusa mutters something incoherent under his breath before saying, “I’ll take you to your car.”
“Woah there-”
The man ignores you as he walks ahead of you, this was certainly getting out of character, even for him who always asked for you, “Open it.” He orders as he points to the car door, you begrudgingly obliged and did as he said. He places the laundry inside and turns to you to give you his usual pay, “Take care of yourself next time, L/N-san.”
The very next day, your aunt hands you an expensive package of ointments on your doorstep. Your brows are furrowed together in confusion as she says that they’re from the millionaire himself. You pointedly look at the package in front of you, completely lost as to why someone like him would send something like this to the person who he wasn’t exactly close with.
“Y/N-saaaaan…” Hinata drowns, you snap your gaze from your notes to the young orange-haired boy, “I’ve got news!”
You had stopped working for your aunt since you found a job at your university’s library, not only were the hours more lax but they even minus some of the tuition as long as you worked there. It was definitely a win-win situation for you.
“What’s up, orange?” You asked.
“Remember Sakusa-san?”
You hum a reply, “What about him?”
“I think he likes you.”
You almost choke on your saliva when you heard that, this little brat, why you ought to-
“He looked really disappointed when I said that you didn’t work for us anymore.” Hinata explains, cutting your thoughts short, 
“Right.” You drawl, shaking your head, “Maybe you were just hard to look at, that’s why.”
“Hey!” He clenched his fists together and pouted at your tone, “I don’t even know why he likes you!”
You feel a vein pop in his forehead as you hear his insult,  you proceeded to chunk a pillow to his direction in which he successfully dodged, “Get your facts straight and I assure you, he doesn’t like me.” you grumbled, returning to your books.
Ultimately, you thought that you’d never see Sakusa Kiyoomi ever again. It was fairly obvious that outside your job, someone of high caliber as him was someone you’d never see again yet you're immediately thrown off guard when you find him standing there around your campus.
Your eyes widen in surprise, well what do you know? it was the devil himself.
“Sakusa-san.”
“L/N-san.”
Man, you may not have seen him for a month or two but despite wearing the mask, you could tell that  e still sported the same blank and basic bitch face behind it. Hinata was wrong in all ways, this guy wouldn’t like you, he’d probably deem you too low class for him, “What a surprise, it’s been a while.” You stiffly bowed down.
“You’re acting weird.” 
You raise your gaze to meet his and you could see the glint of amusement in his eyes.
“You’re most likely a guest in the university.” You mumbled, scratching your head, “People might come at me if I treated you as casually as before.”
Sakusa raises his brow, “That’s funny coming from someone who was this close to punching me during our first meeting.”
“You were being a dick that time.”
“How you have guts to say that to my face amazes me every time.”
“Oh yeah?” You chortled, amused by his statement, “I’m starting to think you’ve taken a liking on me.”
“Was it not obvious when I kept asking for you from Hinata-san?”
You immediately choke on the coffee you were sipping, burning your tongue in the process, “Okay what the hell, sakusa-san-” you said in between coughs.
Your freeze up when you look at him dead in the eye, his eyes crinkling, was he smiling behind the mask? No way, the Sakusa Kiyoomi was smiling at you? He pulls down his mask and bends down, making you retract your steps and your cheeks flush to a brightly red color, “You’re turning red.” he points out loud and that makes you turn even redder.
“You’re acting weird.”
“You were getting dense.” 
“How was I supposed to know...to know that…” You try to stutter out, completely embarrassed.
“To know what?” 
“You know what.” You grumbled, standing up a bit straighter and ignoring his teasing tone, “I’m not interested in you.”
“Your red cheeks say otherwise.”
“It’s the cold weather.” You harshly replied, looking away again, trying to avoid his gaze, “I’m not interested in a boyfriend, a flirting partner, or whatever that is. So good day!” 
You immediately stomp away, leaving Sakusa Kiyoomi with an amused smirk. How entertaining and adorable, you looked like a bunny. His cute bunny.
A few days had passed from that little interaction and you wanted to hurl yourself out the window whenever you thought about it. Sakusa Kiyoomi? The filthy rich capitalist Sakusa Kiyoomi? Interested in you? What kind of k-drama was this?
You tried to avoid going out much in the campus, Apparently he was around after he donated half a million to the medicine department.
You immediately groaned out loud at the thought, there was in no way that all this was possible!
“L/N-san.”
You immediately jump on the spot and drop your keys, “Holy fucking-” You pause, biting back your tongue, there he stood sporting a casual attire instead of a business suit and his usual face mask,  “Sakusa-san?”
“Kiyoomi.” He smoothly corrects.
“Nice. Very nice.” You dryly replied, “Heard you donated half a million and some new equipment to our department. Sweet.”
“You don’t look that happy.”
“I mean you basically confessed that you were interested then decided to donate to my department only.” You narrow your eyes suspiciously, “You remind me of a sugar daddy.”
“Well,” He shrugged, “You didn’t exactly deny that you wanted one.”
Your brain immediately short-circuits as you try to stutter out a reply, Sakusa looked like he’d been having a field day. Gone was the fiery girl he met a few months ago, he really knew what to say to reduce you to a stuttering mess.
“I’m kidding, L/N-san.” he deadpanned when he realized that you weren’t giving him a straight answer since your mind was jumbled up, “It was purely coincidental, we’ve been eyeing certain medicine departments and yours was performing top-notch. It doesn’t mean that I’m any less interested in taking you out.”
“You do know I’m poor right…” You sweatdrop, “I could easily take advantage of you-”
“One date, L/N-san…” he says, ignoring your very weak argument, “Just one then I’ll let you go.”
You don’t know why but you ended up saying yes that day.
You didn’t know what to expect on your first date and you had your fingers cross the whole time that he wouldn’t take you to an expensive michelin star restaurant since you didn’t have the clothes for the place.
Thankfully, the date was more casual than you expected, it was in his home and he had  cooked the meal himself.
“You’re looking oddly relieved.”
“I can’t function well in expensive restaurants.” You sweatdrop, covering your awkwardness with a laugh. You’ve never gone on dates before, the idea of being intimate with someone had made you feel awkward and bothered. 
“I’m not a big fan of public areas so I assure you we're not going on those anytime soon.” 
“Well aren’t you getting confident.” You raise a brow, teasing him a bit as you start to pick on the beef with your chopsticks.
“Call it a gut feeling, L/N-san.”
“Y/N.”
“What?”
“You asked me to call you Kiyoomi and well,” you turn red once again, “Well it would be awkward if you were all formal with me.”
You saw the small twinkle in his eyes, “Y/N.” your name rolls out of his tongue smoothly and you feel your heart hammering on your chest, “I like that, Y/N…” 
It was in that little moment that you realized that you liked it when he called your name.
The dinner went by without a hitch, Sakusa Kiyoomi was not the same arrogant man that the media portrayed him to be. He was quiet, understanding, and soft. Completely the opposite of the first day you met him. He urged you to talk more about yourself, saying how boring and open his life was since the media tailed him a lot.
“Why Tokyo?” 
“Why not?” You shrug, swishing the wine before taking a small sip, “It’s a great place, it’s new, and I had someone I knew here. My mom and Obaasan were good friends so I was allowed to move here on my own.”
“Are you coming back to your country if you’re done with your studies?”
You were silent for a moment, “I don’t think so. I wanna be like my parents.”
“A humanitarian doctor, huh?”
“Yeah.” You smile, “A humanitarian doctor. How about you? What’s your story?”
“Nothing interesting.” He glazed, “I’m an open book, Y/N.”
“Open book?” You tilt your head to the side, “You’re usually painted as an asshole by the media…”
“But you don’t believe it.”
“You kinda were when we first met.”
For the first time, you hear his soft chuckle and your heart starts beating fast. You liked that sound, you wanted to hear something like that again, “You always know how to amuse me, Y/N.” he shakes his head, “And for the record, just because I’m not comfortable with touches, public places and whatnot does not make me an asshole...I just am a very private person with interests…”
“What’s your interest now?”
“You.” He replied nonchalantly, making you look away..
“Stop.”
“What?”
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Flirting with me with a straight face like you mean it!” You choke out, turning red.
“Because I do mean it, Y/N.” He shrugs. “I am interested in you.”
It seemed like that little date you had turned out more successful than you thought, one date led to another and another. This went on for a few months until he asked you to be his partner one night at a very random place, you usually pictured Sakusa Kiyoomi to be the smooth type     you were, after all, always the stuttering mess between you two     but when he asks you to be his officially, outside the public restroom of all places with his ear tips turning red, your reduced to a heaping pile of giggles.
With men like him, you didn’t exactly expect anything more than the dates.
You should’ve known better that he was too good to be true.
general taglist for the next part is open aye
1K notes · View notes