#the Aligned continuity seemed to have more impact

[taylorman2274]

Today Is Where Your Book Begins (Chapter I)

With the final chapter having concluded, the entirety of Teyvat has come to realize that everything in their life has been one massive storybook. Now they have broken free from their predetermined endings and wish to write their own story. While some remain content with their lives, others recall the reader of their story offering them many a helping hand in the past, and wish for them to witness their future.

Content Warning(s): An Attempt was Made to Guess Genshin Impact's Ending as of Version 5.3.

Notes: SAGAU, GN!Reader, Aether!Traveler, Lumine!Sibling

Word Count: 1k

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Genshin Impact's story is over.

...Well to be more precise, the Teyvat arc of Genshin Impact's story is over.

The Traveler, Aether, was finally able to reunite with their sibling, Lumine; and after a long heart-to-heart conversation, they were able to hug it out in the end. To be honest, it left you a bit teary-eyed.

Now, nearly all of the playable (and yet-to-be-released) characters were gathered in an undisclosed location with Aether, Lumine, and Paimon taking center stage.

The crowd was cheering, whooping, and hollering. They praised the Traveler for all of his deeds, for he had become their hero from another world. He had spared them all from their predetermined fate.

Soon enough, a 'Speech! Speech! Speech!' chant began to grow from the crowd. You couldn't help yourself but join along with the chant as well. Aether could only chuckle and scratch the back of his head, a subtle blush forming on his cheeks. Eventually, he urged the crowd to quiet down and began to give an endearing speech.

The speech was truly one of the best things that the Genshin writing team had ever conjured up, and that was saying something! It involved a lot of heart-touching tributes, nostalgic memories, and kindhearted thanks to many of their friends.

Aether thanked the people from the eight nations for accepting them into their capital city. He thanked the Archons for helping them learn more about Teyvat as a whole. He thanked Paimon for being the best guide in the whole world. He thanked Lumine for finally coming back to him.

"...And thank you, Benefactor from Beyond the Stars, for bestowing upon me the strength needed to complete my journey. I hope that fate allows us to meet in the future."

...

...?

'Benefactor from Beyond the Stars?' you questioned yourself. 'Are they talking about me? I don't know anyone else who would fit that description.'

As the game let you gain control of your character and gave you the rewards for completing the Archon Quest, more thoughts continued to rummage in your mind. This chaotic mess that was your brain continued to clutter your mind until only a single thought was left more prominent than the rest.

...

'Holy shit Genshin just made me canon.'

...

...

...

'Probably one of my greatest achievements to be honest.'

Looking at the time, you see that it's approaching midnight. Given that your day tomorrow is packed to the brim with various tasks and activities, you decide to log off and get some sleep.

"Alright, Genshin," you spoke to your computer with a fond gaze. "It was fun while it lasted. Y'all have fun without me."

You exited the game, closed the launcher, and shut off your computer.

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"You don't know what you have until it's gone."

Aether has heard this quote many times before, but he's never liked it that much. He's always known what he's had:

Lumine.

Lumine is everything to Aether just as Aether is to Lumine. That's how it has always been throughout their lives. They were inseparable up until their encounter with the Unknown God. How can you not know something inseparable from you?

It wasn't until recently that Aether heard another version of this quote that seemed to align with his point of view better.

"Appreciate what you have before time makes you appreciate what you had."

500 years had come and gone before the two siblings were able to reunite again. They are always constantly worried for each other, that something fatal might happen to them, permanently separating the two forever.

But they don't need to worry about that anymore. They are finally back together.

But this time, it's not just them! Now they have Paimon! They have plenty of friends on Teyvat!

...

And one friend off Teyvat.

The Benefactor from Beyond the Stars.

Although Aether was aware of them since that fated day on the beach underneath Stormbearer Point, he was powerless to push them away without his former strength.

At first, he was afraid. He could not control any part of his body. Not when he was only a puppet in the eyes of this being.

He hated not being in control. It reminded him of what it felt like to be weak.

Then, he became curious, the being didn't seem to wish him harm. Instead, it appeared as if the being was wishing him to succeed. Slowly but steadily, the being helped him regain his former strength. All the while not asking for anything in return.

'What could they possibly want from me?' Aether pondered.

Then, he became content. Eventually, he began to learn the being's tendencies when fighting and what they wanted to expect out of him. They became two minds in one body, flawlessly traversing the environment and slaying any opponents that stood in their path.

This feeling of always knowing somebody's got your back. Somebody who is on your power level and can match your fighting prowess.

...They haven't had this feeling since they lost Lumine.

Then, he understood. Teyvat is a storybook. The ley lines are the words on the page. The people are characters. Their destinies are just endings written down by the Primordial One, the author. They have never had a choice in their lifetime. Everything has followed according to the words on the pages time and time again.

This being, the one who has been with them since the beginning of their journey, is a reader.

A reader who wishes to change the storybook so that its ending is incomplete. That way, the people within the book will be able to write as many pages of their own destiny as they want until they sign off on their own ending.

When Alice first told them this, he and Paimon were more shocked than they had ever been before. This was the secret that the Hexenzirkel had been secretly guarding throughout their entire existence?

It was honestly hard to believe.

Nevertheless, he is extremely thankful to the reader for helping him throughout his journey. Just as he is towards Paimon and their friends across Teyvat.

In all honesty, words may not be enough to describe how thankful he is. Paimon and all of his friends can probably see that.

But for the reader. For the Benefactor from Beyond the Stars.

"I hope that fate allows us to meet in the future."

He absolutely meant it when he said it.

They deserve everything in the world. And by the Archons is he going to find a way to do it.

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Author's Notes: Ta-da! A new series has arrived!

I hope that the way I've portrayed Teyvat was easy to understand, it's unlike anything that's been written in the SAGAU fandom to my knowledge.

I'll be going back through this over the next couple of days for any errors or misspellings I may have written. Probably gonna be a bunch of POV mistakes. But otherwise, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of this new series!

[quibbs126]

You know, I do like how Transformers Animated really put their own spin on the series and characters

Yes, some of this is due to it being a bit before a number of now established plot points in the general lore, but still

Like I like this Optimus, he’s pretty different from the others and I think he’s neat. And it’s not just him, but the other characters and also how they deal with Cybertron and the Autobot-Decepticon War

Granted I’m not that far in, I haven’t even finished the pilot three parter and I never got farther than I think the Soundwave episode prior, but still

[divinesangel]

— 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮?

i felt called to do one of these today, enjoy!

— 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞!

— 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝟏

your future lover will absolutely adore how authentic you are. they will feel a great curiosity about your energy and how you navigate through life. they will be able to see through you and sense that your wisdom and personality are deeply influenced by your past or the experiences you've endured throughout your life. they will admire your resilience and emotional strength, while also appreciating how mindful you are about the things that truly matter and important issues. you are someone who, despite facing many difficulties and conflicts, continues to see the positive side of every situation and sets boundaries in your personal relationships. your energy will become something quite special for them, as you will be able to help them see things from a different perspective and progress in life. you tend to do this unconsciously, so it's very likely that you won't even notice how much you'll impact this person.

your person will always want to make you happy, and they will put in whatever effort is necessary to do so. they'll have plenty of love to give you, and you'll undoubtedly feel their affection. you won't have to worry about anything or question whether they truly care about you or things like that, because they'll always make it clear through their actions. i see them working day by day to make you happy and doing everything possible to make things work.

— 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝟐

you will become this person's rock.

this person seems to have spent a great deal of their life juggling numerous tasks without allowing themselves a moment to breathe. they feel like they must always be doing something and cannot pause to reflect on their feelings or internal conflicts. your arrival in their life is going to open their eyes, and they will see you as someone to trust, as that light at the end of the tunnel.

up until now, they have been feeling very lonely, and i sense that this is due to their lack of communication about their feelings. there is something preventing them from speaking about how they feel, and this only causes that pain to intensify further. however, i see that with you, they will begin to consider giving that much-needed inner change a chance.

they will adore that you are someone so stable and with such clear ideas. they will see you as a person with an organized mind who knows how to maintain composure in the most difficult moments and find a solution.

— 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝟑

this person will want to be with you on the spot!

they will see you as marriage material. it's highly likely that this person will want to move very quickly or that certain things will happen faster than expected. at first, it might seem a bit suspicious to you, but it's simply how this person operates. i sense that they act swiftly due to their emotions, allowing themselves to be carried away by them, which might lead them to want to marry you or commit rather quickly. they'll want to give you the world and more, although at times, they may have some doubts about whether their love is reciprocated or if you truly enjoy being with them.

this person will admire your character. you earnestly fight for what interests you and for the people you love. you have no problem defending what you believe in and anything that aligns with your values. they'll be aware that sometimes you may struggle to trust others due to past experiences, but they won't hesitate to show you their true intentions and anything else in order to be with you.

[alistarascendance]

❝𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨, 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧—𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧?❞

— in which, fabled legend Alistar returns from the Chasm decades after their descent, only to find themself faced with an issue: humanity, in their absence, has created a world of suffering, dilapidated by greed, and Alistar’s presence only continues to fuel their selfishness, as a living legend must kill… or be killed.

Alistar: Ascendance is a cyberpunk, dystopian romance interactive fiction that was originally intended to simply be a story, before its writer (me) decided to be impulsive and turn it into an IF.

DISCLAIMERS

this story will contain depictions of alcohol, smoking, blood, violence, profanity, mild gore, yandere behavior, toxic relationships, suggestive themes, discrimination, self-hatred, mentions of emotional and physical abuse, suicidal thoughts, an oppressive government, fictional languages and religions, real world philosophies/religions including but not limited to: cynicism, nihilism and atheism; a corrupt world, discussion of morals and human conscience, as well as other mature themes. this list will be updated as the story is written.

please keep all of this in mind while reading!

A gender-selectable MC, who you choose the name, personality, sexuality, appearance, and morals of.

A wide variety of choices to choose from that will impact your story, and the need to keep your MC sane (or just go batshit insane. That works, too).

5 male love interests + 1 secret RO, all of whom you can maintain a simply platonic relationship with if you wish, or you can just continue to flirt with them endlessly (+ a FWB relationship for some).

An enriching world and story, set in a cyberpunk dystopia (we know all of you are here for the romance though).

A powerful MC 😔😔

ROs (romance options, also referred to as LIs or love interests).

THE SURFACE DWELLER:

Seven. 21, Chaotic Good. Mechanic.

“The HIVE needs to fall. There are no exceptions—not even for you.”

The first person you meet once you arrive on the Surface, you and Seven have a unique bond. He’s got a reputation in the slums and Neon for being great at parties, but his friendliness can easily be read as something more.

Is it something more? Further observations will have to be made…

THE SURVIVOR

Saturn. 23, Lawful Evil. Bartender.

“Keep your head down, and you’ll survive.”

The quiet bartender has a curious perspective on things. He seems to have no problem with the HIVE members patrolling his bar, even serving them drinks like they’re normal customers, despite their heavy armor and edges that are too sharp to be humane.

He also doesn’t seem to be particularly interested in you in the slightest. Why’s that?

THE DIPLOMAT

“Is it better to live in quiet solitude, your voice stripped and taken—or would you rather have died, knowing your voice was the loudest amongst them all?”

Chain. 23, alignment unclear. Current occupation unknown.

He’s someone to keep an eye out for. While he hasn’t practiced his craft in years, he may still prove to be dangerous. Just as friendly as Seven, but far more difficult to truly befriend.

Obtain new information as soon as possible…

THE PUPPET

Judge me if you must. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m up here, and you’re down there.

Orion. 25, Lawful Neutral. HIVE operative.

The HIVE member patrolling Saturn’s bar. Part of something greater than he is, but he’s a part of it, regardless. Keep him around…

OTHER ENTITIES

Argos: Neutral Good. Age unknown. The deity whose spear you brandished, after his passing. He was a good man, but the fact only makes your sins rest heavier in your heart.

Teacher: True Neutral. Around ~200 years old. The chasm-dwelling shadow who taught you all you know of the Chasm and its residents.

Alistar: alignment unknown. Around ~200 years old. That’s you! You’re Alistar. At least, that’s what the world has been calling you ever since you ended the war and revitalized humanity, so that is what you will be referred to as throughout the entirety of the story. However, if you’d like to change your name (as Alistar is the default) you may!

As I am primarily an author (as in I literally have done nothing else with my life) I am new to coding (I took ONE coding club in fourth grade) and am trying to write out and perfect a chapter before converting it into typical IF form.

Once I manage to get things situated, I’ll started to code. I’m currently almost done writing chapter 4, so I’ll start working on coding once I finish it.

If anyone wants to read the chapters I’ve written until now, just shoot me an ask or message :)) I’d be happy to show you. otherwise, here are the ones I’ve posted so far:

CHAPTERS

CHAPTER ONE: COURTING DEATH CHAPTER TWO: THOSE WHO REMAIN CHAPTER THREE: TARNISHED DREAMS

asked to be tagged for new chapters!

[novlr]

I've read your post on manipulative characters, and it helped a lot! Could you explain how to write manipulated characters?

Creating a character who is under the influence or control of another is a challenging feat for any writer. To effectively portray this dynamic, it’s crucial to understand the manipulator’s goals and the methods they use to exert their influence. Let’s explore how a character’s dynamics might change when they are being manipulated.

Behaviour

Behave inconsistently with the decisions they would usually make.

Second-guess themselves or hesitate before acting.

Gradually change their behaviours to align more with the manipulator’s interests.

Show confusion or self-doubt.

Rationalise or defend the manipulator’s actions even when they are harmful.

Suppress their true desires to please the manipulator.

A declining interest in hobbies or activities that they once loved.

Signs of stress or anxiety, especially when the character is around the manipulator.

Increasingly isolating from their support network.

Making excuses for the manipulator’s behaviour to others.

Interactions

Unequal power dynamics, with the manipulator often interrupting or speaking over them.

A lack of reciprocal communication – the manipulator talks, the character listens.

Physical touch that seems controlling or guiding rather than comforting.

They are asked to keep secrets or lie on behalf of the manipulator.

Receive subtle threats or backhanded compliments from the manipulator.

Show an obligation to tend to the manipulator’s needs.

Are willing to compromise their morals under manipulative influence.

The manipulator may use personal information against them to keep them in line.

Have other characters note changes or express concern about their changed behaviour.

Have moments of realisation or clarity that are quickly squashed by the manipulator.

Body language

Closed off, with crossed arms or averted gaze.

Physical withdrawal or flinching.

Display nervous habits, like nail-biting, or fidgeting.

Make themselves smaller or trying to go unnoticed.

Have trouble maintaining eye contact.

Forced smiles or laughter to mask their true feelings.

Physical tension that doesn’t ease, even in supposedly relaxing environments.

Mimicking the manipulator’s body language subconsciously.

Physical exhaustion due to emotional strain.

Contrast in how they act around the manipulator versus others.

Attitude

A gradual erosion of the character’s optimism or hope.

Displays unwarranted hostility towards others.

Is overly apologetic, especially for things not their fault.

A shift from self-assuredness to self-deprecation over time.

A sense of helplessness that they struggle to overcome.

A fatalistic or defeatist outlook on their future.

A growing reluctance to make decisions independently.

Show internal conflict between their beliefs and the influence of the manipulator.

Repetition of the manipulator’s opinions as if they were their own.

A lost sense of identity through a disinterested or detached demeanor.

Positive story outcomes

An eventual recognition of manipulation as a moment of empowerment.

A journey towards reclaiming agency and self-worth.

Forming new, healthy relationships that contrast with the manipulator’s treatment.

Using their experience with manipulation to help others in similar situations.

The development of stronger personal boundaries and assertiveness.

Creative or professional achievements as they break free from manipulation.

Gaining insight and wisdom from their experiences.

Finding support systems that validate and uplift them.

A renewed sense of hope and direction in life post-manipulation.

Finds resilience and new strengths.

Negative story outcomes

Continued struggles with self-esteem and trust issues.

Setbacks and challenges in the aftermath of manipulation.

Potential for downward spirals as a result of the manipulative relationship.

A lasting impact of manipulation on the character’s relationships with others.

A psychological toll, such as anxiety or depression, that may linger.

Becomes wary of future relationships, romantic or otherwise.

Inadvertently emulates manipulative behaviours learned from the manipulator.

Might sabotage their own success due to ingrained beliefs planted by the manipulator.

Struggling to regain autonomy and make independent choices.

Increased tendency to isolate themselves to avoid being hurt again.

Helpful vocabulary

Coercion

Gaslighting

Subjugation

Compliance

Devious

Subtle

Undermine

Exploit

Domineering

Manipulate

Discredit

Influence

Contrived

Obedience

Suppression

Dependency

Guilt-trip

Intimidation

Passive-aggressive

Psychological warfare

[futbol16]

Never Say Die² •  Steph Catley

Part 2 to I Miss you and Never Say Die¹

Word count: 3,8k

On the morning of the semi finals you’re found dancing around in the common room of base camp, a spiderman mask on your face as you attempt to moonwalk.

“Yeah, Harps! Shake that booty, shake it, shake it!” you exclaim to the small girl next to you who’s decked out in the rest of the spiderman costume.

The costume was gifted to the birthday girl but she left the mask laying there as she got up to do a happy dance and you pulled it on right away, with Mini’s okay.

 The now two year old is squealing excitedly as the two of you dance to the music in the background and you take her small hands into yours and fool around with the limited dance moves you know. 

Charli is giggling at the two of you from her place on one of the beanbags, a phone in her hand recording the two of you while Kyra and Mini are close to wheezing at your moves. 

“Go Harps, go Harps!” Charli cheers from behind the phone and you shoot her a cheeky wink as you level up your moves, though not like she can see that under your mask.

Kyra can no longer take it as she rolls off her beanbag, wheezing into the floor as your shoes squeak. You look absolutely ridiculous with your sister’s goalkeeper shirt and your Matildas shorts on and the spiderman mask on your head. At this point even Katrina isn’t trying to hold back her laughs and you eventually stop, dropping your hands to your sides as you lean your head to the side, looking at them defeatedly- more like attempting to see through the small holes on the mask.

Harper doesn’t seem to care much as she continues dancing in front of you and the three can only watch on with giggles. 

You end up reposting the video Charli has posted on her own story, wishing the mini Mini a happy 2nd birthday. By the time the rest of your teammates make it down to have their breakfasts you’ve already tired out the toddler and the two of you lay on the carpet at the back of the cafeteria.

Harper has crawled on top of you and her head is tucked under your chin with her small hands gripping your shirt. It isn’t only Katrina’s heart that melts at the sight but also Steph’s who smiles dreamily, momentarily forgetting about the toast on her plate. 

Kyra throws herself onto the ground next to you and then tucks herself into your side, your best friend laughing as you groan at the impact. The dreamy look is immediately wiped off Steph’s face as she stares on, trying to be subtle about the way she glares when Kyra’s nose brushes against your cheek. Just a moment later the three of you are joined by a blonde and Charli grins at Harper on top of you, the defender placing her head on your shoulder. 

“I’ve never seen you look jealous before” Emily breaks her out of her staring and her voice makes the brunette jump.

“I am not jealous” Steph is met with raised eyebrows, clearly Eve wasn’t buying a word she said.

“I’ve got nothing to be jealous of. She’s always been very close with them.” It sounds more like she’s telling herself and the blonde next to her chuckles at her tone.

“Exactly. And at the end of the day, she’s yours” Emily shrugs as Steph smiles, truthfully not worried about the situation at all. Before she gets to open her mouth a voice cuts in from the other end of the table, the goalkeeper’s voice loud and clear.

“Are you two talking about my sister?”

“What, no!”

Heavy breaths leave your mouth as you pant and you lean over with your hands on your knees to get more oxygen into your lungs. You had just sprinted the length of the field but before you could align yourself with the ball, it had been cleared by Alex Greenwood. 

Sam pats you on the back as the two of you make your way back to your side and you give her a grateful look. 

It was only the 50th minute of the game and with Ella Toone’s goal in the first half, England were currently leading. Both teams are very strong and although your legs are still somewhat sore from the quarter finals, you wanted to be ready for your team.

The Matildas have had their chances with Caitlin and Mary making amazing crosses but neither you or Sam have been very successful with your attempts, only two on target. But you knew this would never be easy, it was a world cup semi-final after all, the Matildas’ first one at that. 

You know Sam has it in her to turn the tables and clearly the fans want to see her world class skills as well. There’s a split second when you get the ball passed to you that you notice the space the English have left for you and you dribble the ball just closer to the halfway line.

You know your team has been relying too much on Sam in this game but she’s your best chance and frankly, the only one you see near you as you move away from Alex Greenwood.

Two defenders follow you close by and it gives Sam the opportunity to break free from her own defenders. You send the ball right in front of her and she takes off with it. When she gets just close enough she looks up at Mary Earps’ positioning one last time before the ball sails past Bright and Carter, Greenwood already hot on her trails. 

The fans celebrate as it goes above Mary’s hand and into the goal, Sam is running around and she cups her ear, shouting something about how the Tillies never give up and then she’s brought into a group celebration.

“There you go Sammy!”

The score is 1-1 at the 63’ minute and it is clear both teams are starving for a goal to give them the lead, perhaps the game winning goal.

England’s defense is crazy good and it takes one mistake from your team to give them the lead. Lauren Hemp had gotten herself on the ball and you knew how fast she was. You kept up with her for a good while but it wasn’t enough for you to actually get the ball away from her. When you see Ellie coming in hot from the corner of your eye you suddenly slow down and let her take over. The lack of your presence confuses Lauren who visibly stutters in her movements and Ellie attacks in this moment.

She goes for the ball, jumping from Hemp’s left side to the right but her feet just graze the ball and it doesn’t affect Lauren one bit as she slides to push the ball through the goal line. 2-1 to England in the 71’ minute.

 You groan into your shirt as the English run around in celebration but you make sure to get to Ellie and pull her off the ground. The blonde is wearing a dejected look, disappointed in her miscalculated moves and you clutch her bicep as the other team calms down.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it, it was a good try” she reluctantly nods at you and you add one last bit that has her nodding more confidently. “You’ll get her back”

And she does. Many times. You’re in awe of the way her and Steph seem to be connecting at the moment despite being on two different sides of the field. It is the third try England have at the goal but Ellie sweeps the ball away from Alessia before the other blonde can even think about scoring. 

You’re only following Tony’s orders, just like the rest of your teammates and so nearly every time you get the ball you try to set it up for Sam, you try to make space for her and you cross it to her each time.

It is clearly exhausting her out as well, the raven haired girl getting passes from everyone, all of you waiting for her to just equalize. You knew it wasn’t right to rely on her so much but you felt like time was running out and the girls were in slight panic. Your heart skipped a beat each time Sam was just a step away from scoring, each time Earps made a save. 

You can see how frustrated your friend is and you can’t blame her. Poor Sam had the whole world waiting for her to change the game. Her eyes connect with yours, they’re upset and slightly tired eyes and your heartbeat slows just a little. She had too much pressure on her, with three defenders on her at all times it was a miracle that she was even able to move away from them and receive each cross. 

“We should try it from the other side” the two of you walk side by side as you’re given a moment to breathe, Sarina subbing in Laura Coombs for Ella Toone. 

Sam seems to instantly understand what you’re trying to say and her face lights up just a little, more than open to any ideas that didn’t all end with her facing Earps one on one and three defenders glued to her side.

“Like in training yesterday? The Thach weave or whatever?” the forward replies enthusiastically, recalling how the set piece you named after an aerial formation had worked so well in the scrimmage you played. 

“Yeah, you on the left me on the right” you explain and nod to her rapidly as you part ways and jog back to your position. Sam raises a thumbs up into the air and a smirk plays at your lips, your game face back on. 

Just a few minutes after Coombs’ substitution, Kyra manages to rid the ball of her and she hands it over to Courtnee. Like every time before, she passes it to Sam and Carter is immediately on her. Millie Bright is on her way too however they’re both utterly confused when instead of moving forward Sam goes across the pitch and to towards the other sideline.

They follow her close by though and when you run by the three, yourself making your way to where Sam was just moments ago, the English players don’t realize Sam had slid the ball over to you and they follow her until she stops running. The cheeky smile on Sam’s face is everything as she watches you dive down on the side of the pitch, no one in sight, all of them having been focused on her and the rest of the England players were only trying to catch up to you. 

You force Mary off her line and you fake a shot as she gets closer. She drops to the floor to deflect it but the ball never comes and she can’t do anything as you instead chip it over her and into the goal. You’re buzzing as you jump into Sam’s arms and the girls in the dugout are up on their feet and celebrating your equalizer. 

“I fucking told you!” Sam is beyond ecstatic and you bask in her happiness for a moment as the pair of you get praised by your teammates. 2-2 in the 85’ minute of the match and you were close to the end. You could only pray that your team would manage to pull off another goal.

Nothing changes. Once again Sam is left alone at the front, yourself having to fall back a little and play a defensive role as well and your midfield are struggling with creating something. England are constantly attacking and you have subconsciously drifted back a bit to help out your defensive line which meant you were hopping around between Ellie and Emily, trying to block the opposition as much as possible.

Tension is rising and you’re all getting more aggressive though careful enough to not get carded. England aren’t playing nice either because they have started to be more pushy, shoving Caitlin and Sam any time they’re close. In the 90+3 minutes the match is called to an end and extra time is announced. As long as we don’t go into penalties, you thought, knowing how good England were at that.

You hang back a little, walking slower as you join the girls near Tony and take a drink. You squeeze yourself in under Alanna’s arm and listen to what the coach has to say.

Tony however, doesn’t change much in terms of tactics and he nods towards Sam, telling her she’s been doing good and to continue the way she has and that he’s counting on her. Your captain sighs heavily as she drops her head. It has been an exhausting match and you all have been relying almost solely on her, all the while she had defenders targeting her every second. 

Clapping each other on the back, you go back out onto the battlefield and squareup your shoulders, ready to fight.

Tony’s tactics aren’t doing good. England keep good possession of the ball and although Steph and Emily as well as Alex do a good job at chasing them down, the Matildas are struggling to make a move. 

Sam has been caged between Bright and Carter, Bronze hanging close by just in case but the Aussie captain is constantly sandwiched between them. 

By whatever miracle, the first half of extra time goes by relatively eventless. 

You take Kyra under your arm as you make a team huddle, Tony scratching his head in thought. 

Looking around at your teammates' exhausted faces, you feel a sense of disappointment shoot through your body, disappointed that you guys haven’t been able to change the scoreline. 

You usually wouldn’t butt into the coaches and captain’s tactical talks but the sudden rush of blood in your fingertips, the beads of sweat running down your forehead and the deep breaths let out from the girls around you prompts you to speak up.

You clear your throat, more in thought than asking for attention but Tony doesn’t hesitate to look towards you hopefully and you straighten up as you begin.

“I know it’s not looking too good for us right now and we’re all in our heads, but it's real simple. You got 15 more mins and that's it. And most of you have been playing this game for more than ten years. You got 15 more mins and that's it. After that we are going to the final and we won't leave until we win this world cup.” you start, making sure to hold eye contact with each and every one of your teammates, whether they still had influence on the game or they were subbed off and would most likely remain on the bench.

Your gaze connects with Sam’s again and you halt your speech for a moment. 

“I don’t care what we do as long as we win” it’s spoken with much determination from her and her eyes have a seemingly livelier look in them, ready for a change of tactics.

“Good. We need you in the middle, they are targeting you too much. We need the ball to go through you and they’ll be caught off guard when you don't immediately shoot. We need you to play an attacking midfielder role here. When the ball goes through you, and you pass it off to someone, they won't know what to do, they’ve got three players on you which means when you won’t have the ball they’ll basically be useless. Which then means the rest of us have 3 players less to worry about." Sam seems to be loving the idea and she enthusiastically nods along.

You’re pleased to find the rest of your team with expressions of similar determination and when you glance at Tony he shrugs with a smile, this could work. Steph swears she’s never felt more proud in her life and your passion for the game and for the team only made her fall deeper in love.

You add a few more points on where you think the team could improve for the following 15 minutes and then you end your speech with words so motivating, it would get anyone out of bed.

“I want you to take a moment and I want you to look each other in the eyes. I want you to put each other in your hearts forever, because forever is about to happen here in just a few minutes!” the shouts you receive are more than rewarding and your talk seems to reignite that last bit of fire left in everyone’s soul.

“NEVER SAY DIE!” 

You’re much more clinical in the second half of extra time, your defense is like the great wall of china and if that wasn’t enough, your sister was impersonating a brick wall in the goal. Sam had initially gotten back into her previous position, but that was good, you wanted to fool the English.

The time is ticking and you have got four minutes left, four minutes to change the score, to turn this game around, to not go into penalties, to continue your world cup dream. Everything would break or blossom from these last few minutes.

And fool them you did. 

Alex dives for the ball as it rolls from under Daly’s foot and she sends it towards Kyra. With a good play between Kyra and Caitlin, the ball gets to Sam and instantly Bright and Carter start to sprint with her, once again towards the goal. And Sam goes towards the goal but then the Australian lobs the ball out to the side, confusion setting in as seemingly she just passed the ball to no one.

No one is the someone who comes running like her life depends on it. The ball hasn’t even touched the ground yet and you half jump in your run, striking the ball hard, your laces connecting with it and it soars through the air.

A collective intake of breath is heard around the stadium, the Matildas fans rising to their feet in anticipation and Mary jumps after the ball.

She doesn’t reach it! She doesn’t reach it and it goes in just under the crossbar! 3-2 to Australia in the 117' minute.

Screaming and screeching you run towards Sam and she motions to you with a come hither motion. You understand what she’s hinting at and the two of you run together before hitting Sam’s favorite celebration in sync. The backflips make the crowd go even more insane and the girls surround the two of you in their own yells of joy. 

“We did it!” chants of your name makes you crumble to the ground and into Sam’s and Caitlin’s arms in the overwhelming feeling and they pull you into them, yourself clinging to the brunettes as it all sets in. Australia was going to the final. 

When you’re back on your feet a hand cups the back of your neck and pulls you into a bone crushing hug. You reciprocate it as you hold Steph close to you, the brunette’s tears wetting your shoulder.

“I’m so proud of you, Stephy baby! 

“That was such a beautiful goal, puddin’!” both are spoken at the same time and it makes the two of you laugh as you separate. The smiles on your faces are bright and you resist from intertwining your fingers with your girlfriends.

“I could literally kiss you right now” the defender breathes out with a chuckle and you bite your lip at the thought.

“Me too” but not yet, not here with the whole world watching.

You eventually find yourself making your rounds with the fans, a Bronze jersey hanging over your bare shoulder, having swapped with the England player. The two of you knew each other well from your time in Lyon and you comforted her while she expressed her joy for you. 

Kyra barrels into you with a laugh and the two of you hug once again before Kyra presses a sloppy kiss to your cheek. Clearly your best friend was overjoyed by the team’s win.

“You’re being obvious”

“She’s practically making out with Y/N’s cheek” Steph huffs out, arms crossing over her chest as she watches Kyra hug your shirtless body. Caitlin and Alanna laugh next to her and she rolls her eyes at the two.

You’re only slightly surprised when later you are cornered in the shower rooms by Steph.  She immediately latches onto you and kisses you hotly, the bruising kiss taking your breath away and making your world spin as you grip onto her waist. Her hands are all over you, her mouth claiming you as hers and you push yourself more into her.

The brunette tugs on your lip gently and then she sucks on it lightly to ease the slight stinging, your breathing picks up and you’re just about to reach under her shirt when you hear a voice just outside the door.

“Stephanie Catley, you better not be getting it on with my little sister in there!” Mackenzie shouts, making the girls in the changing room burst out in laughs. Steph groans and you give her an apologetic look, giving her another peck in exchange for your sister’s behavior. 

You almost forget about the media duties Sam and Tony have but you pay attention to the TV in the locker room as you pull on a clean shirt.

“They’re talking about you” your sister takes a seat next to you and she turns up the volume so you could hear what Tony was saying.

“I like it when Y/n takes control of a situation because the outcome is always good. These players have it in them, they know they can win but sometimes they need someone to unite them, and to remind them of what they are capable of, maybe to get their heads back in the game.  And Y/n is there to step up and take the lead” Tony’s words have you flushing as the girls cheer you on and you lean your head on Mackenzie’s shoulder.

“Do you think Y/n Arnold could be captain?”

“Oh most definitely-”

“One day” Sam intervenes, a good-naturedly teasing tone to remind you that she’s captain for now, and of course Steph. You wouldn’t have it any other way though.

With your hand grasped tightly in your girlfriend’s and her lips kissing your cheek, you fall into a peaceful slumber on the bus back to camp, too tired from today’s semi final to keep your eyes open for any longer.

“I love you” it’s whispered into your hair and you smile to yourself, leaning up slightly to kiss Steph lightly.

“I love you more”

And you couldn’t wait to smash Spain in the finals. Australia was going to win their first world cup on home soil, and the Matildas would make sure of that.

[luniviravosshipper]

Oh my gosh, we’re going to see Aaravos shapeshift? Hell yeah!

We better get to see some funny references back to Human Rayla with Human Aaravos.

Also, I’m very excited about this little thing.

Not only does this make my little Viravos shipping heart happy to see Aaravos continue to talk so much to Claudia about Viren, but also there’s a lot of questions that this is raising for me.

Like, it’s really interesting that Viren is supposedly still not fully dead yet.

Last time when he was in that state, where we saw him in the Through The Moon graphic novel after he was pushed off the Storm Spire, I thought it was out of the result of unfinished business or something along those lines. And, looking at how much people are talking about how this episode basically confirmes the notion that Aaravos is unable or unwilling to lie, there isn’t really a reason I can see here for Aaravos to make this information up. Even if this is a simple ploy to get Claudia to trust in him more and that he will be doing something to help bring back her dad, Aaravos apparently confirms prior to sharing this that he actually isn’t even able to bring him back another time anyways. Or at least, from what I can assume, not until his entire plan is completed to bring the rest of the dead back to the living. But maybe Viren not being fully dead is the whole reason he can’t bring him back, even though that doesn’t seem to align with earlier with how he was able to revive him because he sounded like he was in a similar state to the one he’s in now.

Anyways, I’m mainly just really interested in what all of this means on a thematic level. What is the purpose in keeping Viren so close in distance to the characters in the series, quite literally by having him in between life and death, after everything the show runners have said about Viren’s arc being concluded back in season 6?

I mean, I don’t think they’re trying to extend Viren’s story more than they already have. There might be an ulterior purpose behind this writing choice here, like wanting to explore more of Aaravos and Claudia’s relationship and its progression by using Viren’s death as a tool. But I don’t see why he can’t be written to be fully dead in order for the writers to still be able to do that.

If Viren’s arc has already been concluded, shouldn’t he be allowed to finally rest in peace? He chose to sacrifice himself, he reached the revelation of his life that his purpose is to serve others, so why is he still bearing the burden of what happened in death?

And surely, the traumatic impact of this death isn’t comparable to the first one which happened so suddenly.

So… what does this all mean?

[theroseredreaper]

Afternoon Tranquility

Genshin Impact

One afternoon, during your usual study session together, you fall asleep.

Word Count: 991 Words ✯ AO3 Version

Character(s): Wanderer x Reader

Tags: Gender Neutral Reader, Reader is an Akademiya student, Nameless Wanderer, Plotless Fluff, Unedited

You weren’t truly sure when your friendship began with the elusive young man that everyone in the Akademiya referred to as ‘Hat Guy.’ Was it after he’d been volunteered to give you a tour of the city by your professor during your first week of classes? Or maybe it was after the first paper you’d worked on together, when you first got a glimpse into the kindhearted person he was behind that antisocial demeanor of his? Whenever it was, the turning point in your relationship with him truly came on the day after you’d begun your newest semester at the Akademiya.

Now one semester into living in Sumeru City, with no shared classes, there was no real reason for the two of you to see each other again. You’d enjoyed his company, but didn’t know him well enough to know if he’d even be interested in continuing a friendship with you now that you no longer shared any classes together. It had felt weird to walk to your classes and not see him around, but it was something you’d have to get used to. Your professors expected more of you this semester, now that you were settled into life here, and all the class introductions you had just sat through were almost too much to keep track of. You were busy juggling all the different syllabi and lecture notes from your second day of classes when a voice calling out to you had you turning around. He didn’t really do smiling, unless it was to smirk derisively at something, yet you could’ve sworn you saw a ghost of a smile on his lips as he waved you over.

He’d asked you if you’d be up for studying together that afternoon, if your schedule was free. Neither of you shared classes together anymore, and yet…

It’s been a year since that day.

Today, the two of you were spending the afternoon together, as you usually did when your schedules aligned for a study session. It had become a routine the two of you shared, to seek out the other in the House of Daena after classes to find a table to work at together, or to walk outside to seek out a pavilion in the shade of the great tree to work together when the weather was fair.

It was business as usual for you, looking forward to getting ahead on your project while in his company.

But for him…he’d come to a realization recently, as sudden as a clap of thunder during a rainstorm.

Sometime during the past year, in between the motions of his everyday life of attending classes, studying with you, and running tasks for Nahida…he’d somehow gone from ‘not minding’ your company to being…fond of it.

Sitting side by side in companionable silence as you two worked on your respective assignments during your study sessions was something he’d…begun to look forward to, even.

Of course, today was the same. The day was pleasantly warm, not a single cloud in the sky - so the two of you found yourselves in the shade of a pavilion as always when the day was this beautiful. It was perfect for getting work done, the breeze pleasant enough to keep cool but not so obnoxious that it risked being a nuisance to your work materials. He’d made great headway on his essay, but you, it seemed, had been lulled right to sleep instead. He couldn’t help the smile that slipped through as he watched you from the corner of his eye, chuckling at how at peace you were. You truly don’t know what you did to him, resting blissfully unaware on his shoulder as if it were your personal pillow.

Huffing softly to himself, his smile turned wry.

Would you laugh at him if you were to hear every sappy thought in his head? If he exposed his inner heart to you, would you treasure it? Or would you become his fourth betrayal? Would you find it weird that he’d been so focused on mapping out the details of your face, trying to commit every inch of it to memory, for the day he’d inevitably outlive? Would you be put off by how he’d been so distracted by you, that he’d stopped working on his essay entirely the moment he’d noticed your weight settle onto his shoulder?

Clicking his tongue in self-admonishment, he forced himself to clear his mind to return to work, eyes going back to his paper, when the feeling of you moving gave him pause. He glanced back at you, mouth opening with full intent to tease you for falling asleep, when the sensation of your arms wrapping around him left him frozen. He stared in disbelief, mouth snapping shut when you grumbled and shifted against him in an attempt to get comfortable.

And you were still asleep, too!

The audacity, too, for a human who’d happened to walk into his life on that day Kaveh volunteered him to give you a tour of the city. How, exactly, did he arrive here at this moment with you…? Slowly, the slowest he could ever remember moving, he wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you closer. Adjusts your head so it tucks into his neck, so your own head wasn’t so awkwardly stretched in what must’ve been such a comfortable position, not for any other reason. He looked you over for a moment, his other arm awkwardly hovering with his essay still in it.

“…”

Putting his essay down, he wrapped both arms around you now, tucking you under his chin. The content smile on your face as you cuddled into him with a sleepy mumble had him squeezing his eyes shut, utterly overwhelmed. If he had any actual need for air, he’s sure he’d be breathless.

Just…just when…

“Just how…did I get so lucky…?”

And if you heard him or not…well, that was a conversation to be had another day.

(A/N): This was basically born from my friend asking me, "How do you think Wanderer would react if I hugged him in my sleep?" Instant inspiration right there! Funnily enough, my first genshin fic is of Wanderer instead of Thoma lol.

Whether this is romantic or platonic is up to your personal interpretation! I also left Wanderer nameless, since the game lets you as the player decide what his name is.

I hope you enjoyed! Likes and reblogs are always appreciated and loved. <3

[sugar-grigri]

Hello! With the discussion of Yoshida with your recent analysis, what's your perspective on Yoshida offering Denji the choice before: of being chainsaw man or having his family and how much of that was Yoshida enforcing his own ideas of what's good for denji vs his efforts to help denji in the limited scope of his position? I feel like this could have been talked about before on the blog but with added context from csm 156 interested in how this develops too

Denji is Yoshida's reflection that he refuses to see

The answer might be easy if I aligned myself with my own position, the one I established in my analysis 156, which attempts to theorize that Yoshida is on Denji's side

But you know I know I haven't convinced everyone with my blindness around Yoshida's hidden goodness. So I'm going to answer your question, but from the opposite position: let's explain Yoshida's reactions, whether as a non-ally of Denji or as an enemy. I know this may confuse you because you'd like me to analyze chapter 133 in relation to what I analyzed about chapter 156. But even if I assumed the opposite, I would have come to the same conclusion.

I love Yoshida, and even though I seem to have left him out of my analyses, I've always reflected on every one of his interventions. And something strikes me, Yoshida often seems to be talking to himself, even deluding himself almost as if to hold on.

In chapters 120/121, Yoshida invites Asa. Now fans (like me!!!) are fantasizing about rivals, a fake love triangle and a date. But in reality, it all falls depressingly flat.

But this chapter remains interesting for two reasons: two people share their experience of solitude as the only way to avoid disappointment and be happy. However, Asa projects herself into a possible love with Yoshida.

It's like reciting something to convince yourself but secretly wishing for the opposite…

But what's interesting is that we take the position of thinking that everything Yoshida said was linear.

Let's review. Yoshida knows that Asa was leering, that she looked depressed, and since he's watching Denji, he must have known about the date, hence the warning that comes later. So why get involved? As Asa's Nayuta-altered memory made him the executioner, why make her pain worse?

Because Yoshida must have had a childish reaction. It's as if, for once, he hadn't quite accepted his role as a spectator of events. I think Yoshida must have seen himself in Asa in some way. In chapter 121, Asa is all silence and Yoshida is for once almost in monologue. It was as if everything he said would convince him a little more out loud. Whether it was his theory of happiness up to........ "stay away from Denji". That point. Part of the points that concern him as much as they concern Asa.

I think and I'm convinced that even by not interpreting Yoshida as an ally, he became more sensitive and involved with Denji's plight and didn't always know how to place an emotional wall between them. Because Denji catches him off guard, makes Yoshida's smiling mask fall off. And this is something I've never verbalized before, but it's a pillar in my interpretation:

Being with Denji pushes you to be yourself.

Because Denji refuses the social game, doesn't tend to judge as teenagers of this age usually would, and has extremely sincere reactions that are so unpredictable that they don't allow for calculated responses, responses that form the shell of other characters like Asa and Yoshida.

What Asa liked about Denji, above all, was that he was able to give her confidence and make her proud when everyone else was putting her down. You don't like fish, so what? Eat starfish. Because yes, even if it was boring, I saw you, I listened to you and you made an impact on me. Because you're not insignificant.

Denji has that effect on Yoshida. Very symbolically, during their new interaction in part 2, the protagonist doesn't remember Yoshida. Of course, it's quite funny, because it can be interpreted in all sorts of ways, like the fact that Denji is so uninterested in guys that he forgets them so easily. But it's symbolic for Yoshida's character. He's so fake and so in control that Denji doesn't perceive anything in him.

And it's when he becomes more and more desperate as a result of these reactions, and when his mask gradually breaks, that Denji finally remembers his name. Because Yoshida acts less like a public hunter and more like himself, like Yoshida.

I think in chapter 133, it's really a way of trying to wake Denji up and help him. But then again, it helps to weaken Yoshida's mask. When Yoshida repeats that Denji has only two choices, that of his family or Chainsaw Man, Denji repeats that he has two. From Yoshida's point of view, this is fundamental.

The system offers only one choice, only one possible path. But Denji opposes both. In a chapter about protest, we also talk about his position towards the system. Oppose it, protest as if in the background, claim the symbol of Chainsaw Man or oppose it, see it as a societal evil, a danger of undermining the system. For I repeat, Yoshida has decided to believe in the system when Denji distrusts it.

So Yoshida gets angry, belittling Denji as if he can't see the absurdity of this dilemma imposed on a boy who has been given a choice. Who was only told there were only two choices when there were three. Rehearsing allows Yoshida to convince himself, but we see that this controlled mask has completely disappeared, giving way to anger and a kind of panic. Because Yoshida's ideals are unravelling.

Denji is a reflection.

Reflecting the cruelty of the mafia that Katana doesn't want to admit, the dream of going to school that Reze is trying to forget, allowing the trust that Asa thought impossible and the reflection of Yoshida: a teenager, who will trace a third path to the two that will be reserved for him.

If Chainsaw Man allows you to project what you want, have or be in him, hence the pandemic of CSM wannabe. Denji, hidden behind it, is doing something far more unbearable: showing us who we are.

Aki's vengeance gives way to a desire to be surrounded by loved ones, loved ones he may not be able to protect. Thinking only of oneself shows Power, through her sacrifice for Denji, that she is capable of love even if it goes against her survival.

So chapter 156 takes on a softer version. I repeat: why did you wake Denji up just to tell him he'd lost?

That Yoshida had warned him? Once again, through a strategy of self-conviction and self-protection, what Yoshida is doing is reminding us that complete alienation from the system is better than individual affirmation (which is what Denji is punished for, having repeated that he is Chainsaw Man). This identical public hunter's costume is the symbol of this submission. Yoshida is no longer even a fake high-school student. He's just a public hunter.

But I find this chapter takes on an air of funeral and goodbye. Yoshida's costume, taking on that of someone in mourning in a symbolic way.

Because saying goodbye to Denji.

It means saying goodbye to yourself.

So I ask you, Anon, and you, the reader, does Yoshida really want to continue refusing to see his reflection ?

[the-cosmic-cauldron]

𝒫𝒾𝒸𝓀 𝒜 𝒫𝒾𝓁ℯ: 𝒲𝒽𝓎 𝒯𝒽ℯ𝓎 𝒢𝒽ℴ𝓈𝓉ℯ𝒹 𝒴ℴ𝓊 & 𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒯𝒷ℯ𝓎 ℛℯ𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 👻

Welcome to 10 Days, 10 Posts from The Cosmic Cauldron! Over the next ten days, I’ll be sharing a blend of astrology and tarot posts, each designed to spark your curiosity and guide your journey. If you find my content interesting, fascinating, or engaging, be sure to click the follow button for more! Ready to dive deeper into your personal journey? Head to my homepage and book a reading — you won’t regret it.

ᑭIᒪᗴ 1

The person ghosted you because they did not want to continue on the path you were pursuing. They wanted to divert and follow a different direction, one that doesn’t align with your desires. They are emotionally closed off and not truly invested in the situation.

Something you said or did likely overwhelmed them, causing them to take several steps back. They feel that moving forward with you is too much of a risk. They worry that continuing to engage with you could lead to recklessness, immaturity, or toxicity. They believe the relationship would become too volatile and that maintaining civility between you both would be difficult.

Despite this, they want to preserve a positive relationship with you. Because of that, they feel it’s best to step away and follow their own path. They believe that pursuing a deeper connection with you would place them in an unhealthy situation, which they are not willing to risk.

Additionally, they are not in a place to be emotionally vulnerable. They are not ready to open up or invest themselves emotionally. They need time to process what you said or did, as it had a significant impact on them. For now, they prefer not to communicate because they want to avoid saying the wrong thing or coming across as mean or harsh.

Ultimately, they feel that pursuing this relationship would lead to a dead end, and they are not willing to entertain that outcome at this point in their life.

Although they ghosted you, I believe they will go through a period of overthinking the situation. They’ll be in their head, feeling nervous and afraid to approach you. It’s possible that they ghosted you and are aware that this period of silence affected you emotionally. As a result, they’re overthinking how to reach out to you.

However, they will eventually come back. They’ll emerge from that nervous, overwhelmed state and calm down. When they do, they will be in a better emotional space and actually want to pursue something with you. They’ll return, more emotionally available and ready to engage in something deeper. They’ll be in a happier, more balanced place, where they feel capable of talking to you, pursuing you, and reciprocating some of the emotions you’ve shared with them.

ᑭIᒪᗴ 2

It seems for this pile that some of you may have been in a relationship with the person who ghosted you. You could have had a relationship that you perceived as healthy and happy. This person may have seen it that way too, up until a certain point. Then, things changed, and that’s when they cut contact with you.

I strongly feel that this person does have feelings for you. They care about you and have a tenderness towards you, but they’re indecisive. They don’t really know if they want to fully commit to you, and that’s a big reason why they ghosted you. They may have been talking to or entertaining other people, and when it came down to choosing you, they froze. They became uncertain and couldn’t decide if they wanted the same level of commitment you were seeking. They thought the commitment was good until they started considering other ways they could live their life, and now they’re unsure if they want to be fully committed.

If you’re already in a commitment with this person, they could still be indecisive, unsure of how they want to proceed. They have a lot going on in their mind, and it’s making it hard for them to gain clarity about you. They’re conflict-avoidant and didn’t want to argue or create tension. This could indicate that they are a Libra, or they may exhibit passive, docile traits and dislike getting involved in drama. They didn’t know how to approach you in a way that aligned with what they thought you wanted, so they became hesitant.

This person may have focused on themselves because they didn’t see a clear future with you, at least not one that felt certain and decisive. If they did envision a future, you may have just been one of many options, a potential person they thought could be a future partner, but they weren’t fully committed to pursuing it. The situation was ambiguous for them, up in the air.

Despite this, they likely felt that you made a good pair, admired your independence, and appreciated how you held your own. They liked your goals and how you lived your life. They saw potential in the connection and felt a lot of positivity coming from it. However, they struggled with balancing the pros and cons and couldn’t make up their mind. They weren’t sure about fully committing, and that’s when they started to drift away. They became less present, and you may have noticed this shift. As you tried to engage and talk to them, they couldn’t bring themselves to respond. They were afraid and insecure, unsure of what they wanted, and that led to them cutting contact.

Although they think highly of you, this person just didn’t know how to decide on what they wanted with you. They overthought everything, feeling like there were other options they could explore, and they didn’t want to focus all their energy on just one thing. Ultimately, they pulled away because they’re conflict-avoidant and unsure of how to move forward.

I don’t really see this person coming back. I generally feel like they don’t know what they want, and that uncertainty is likely to persist. Because they don’t know what they want, they aren’t going to put in the effort to come forward, talk to you, or discuss where things left off. Since they ghosted you, they won’t want to address why they did so. They won’t want to have a conversation about it or work through the lingering issues. I think they might hope that things will somehow resolve on their own without them having to say anything or fix anything, believing that things will just blossom naturally.

However, I still feel that they will be mentally conflicted. They will continue to deal with mental strain, preventing them from jumping right back in or moving on quickly. If they do return, I see them trying to move past the issues quickly, but I’m not sure they’ll offer much clarity. Instead, they might try to push forward with an overly optimistic attitude, using positivity to block out what you perceive as unresolved issues. I don’t see them coming back in a respectful or clear way, but rather in a way that glosses over the problems, as if everything is fine and we can just move forward without addressing the past.

ᑭIᒪᗴ 3

Pile 3, you were ghosted because the situation became too intense and overwhelming. By that, I mean there was a lack of a strong foundation in the connection. I feel like this person felt like you two got along well and worked well together when things were good. However, they also felt like you weren’t the person who could help them move forward. They may have felt that being with you led them into bad habits or distracted them from focusing on their own life. They became preoccupied with you and what you were doing, and possibly there was a lot of jealousy and possessiveness in the situation.

This created insecurity between the two of you, and things started to feel strained. You both had a tendency to fall into arguments and disagreements quickly, as one person tried to control things while the other didn’t, or both of you were being overly controlling with one another. Neither of you gave the other enough space to breathe or simply exist in peace. There were ego games at play, with one person trying to one-up the other, or making the other person mad, and the other feeling attacked.

While you did have moments when you worked well together, these were often overshadowed by difficult times when neither of you was willing to compromise or be on the same page. Insecurity, jealousy, and possessiveness played a big role in these struggles. There was also an imbalance, where both of you were focused on the connection at the expense of other aspects of your lives, like self-care and responsibilities. This neglect eventually led to burnout, making the situation feel overwhelming.

I feel like this person walked away because they were exhausted. They were frustrated and felt like it was too much to keep engaging with you or maintaining the connection. For their own well-being, they needed to step away and focus on their own life and health.

I don’t really see this person coming back. I feel like they just needed a period of rest and time away from you, and they’re still struggling with direction and decisiveness in their life. They’re very unclear about how to approach you, and they don’t feel confident in doing so. They lack confidence in both the situation and themselves. I believe they need to work on certain aspects of their life, particularly material, physical, and responsible matters, before they feel ready to re-enter your life. So, I feel like this connection is at a standstill, and they’re not coming back anytime soon. They need time to sort things out and are dealing with insecurity and a lack of confidence in the situation.

ᑭIᒪᗴ 4

I feel like the person who ghosted you did so because they didn’t like the way you were acting. They felt like you were being petty and had too much pride. They also thought you were boring and didn’t reciprocate the energy they brought to the table. They felt like they brought cheerful, joyful, fun energy, ready to have a good time, and they emotionally invested in you and cared deeply for you. However, they felt like you were immature and that it was hard to have a conversation with you. Because of this, they decided to ghost you instead. They believed you wouldn’t admit to anything and didn’t see the problematic behaviors you had. It also felt like they weren’t getting the same energy in return, so they started seeking what they wanted from someone else.

It seems like this person will try to come back, but they have a lot going on in their life and are dealing with personal issues. They’re trying to manage a lot and get through their own hardships. When they do come back, they’ll still be frustrated and overwhelmed. It might be too much for them, and they could withdraw again. They’re very defensive now and have their walls up, so they won’t be easy to talk to. If they do come back, they’ll still be dealing with their personal issues and trying to organize their life. They will likely be frustrated and uncertain about keeping the relationship in their life. Their return could be brief, just checking in or trying to talk to you. But if you say something they don’t like, they’ll probably quickly become defensive and may try to attack your character. So be prepared for that.

[vex-jb]

Reading for ♒️♓️♐️♐️♌️♈️♏️♊️ Jan 2025 current energy at play

Aquarius - learning the hard way

Aquarius, in the past a quick decision or a snap judgment, likely tied to communication occurred . You acted swiftly, providing or receiving clarity. It involved a person or situation where you expressed your feelings or delivered a final judgment.

In the present, the Queen of Pentacles reversed and the Six of Swords reversed indicate financial instability or disorganization. You may feel stuck or realize that certain investments—of time, energy, or money—are draining rather than supporting you. This is a moment of clarity where you must prioritize yourself, cut ties with situations causing stagnation, and focus on regaining balance. Communication feels off, and you may sense frustration from one-sided efforts in relationships or collaborations.

Looking at the future, a significant belief system is being dismantled. This could relate to generational or self-imposed values that no longer align with your growth. The process may feel isolating, as it challenges your foundation and pushes you toward independence. This is a call to embrace the unknown, let go of limiting beliefs, and commit to a new path. The journey won’t be easy—you may lose support or connections—but it’s necessary for reaching a personal peak and financial stability. Delays persist as long as you hold onto old patterns, so it’s time to take initiative and move forward.

Sagittarius messy acting up for what

In the recent past, it seems you made an offer to a person, situation, or entity—something that may have taken you time to present. However, this offer was not rooted in honesty. There was deception on your end, whether intentional or unintentional, and it led to a tangled situation full of manipulation, self-sabotage, and confusion.

You may have involved multiple people or acted out of selfishness, seeking gratification at the expense of integrity. This choice not only hurt others but ultimately backfired, leaving you trapped in feelings of guilt, regret, and emotional grief. While it’s unclear why you acted this way, the consequences have been heavy

For some, this situation might have been tied to a love triangle or third-party involvement, but the overarching message is clear: you betrayed both others and yourself. There was an opportunity for something genuine, something fruitful, but it was overshadowed by dishonesty and poor judgment.

Now, as you reflect on your actions, you may feel the weight of guilt. Whether you acted out of revenge, insecurity, or impulsiveness, the result has left you in a state of emotional imprisonment. When you are alone, the consequences of your choices replay in your mind, and the regret is undeniable.This reading highlights the importance of integrity, accountability, and learning from past mistakes. While the past cannot be changed, there is always an opportunity to make amends, grow, and approach future situations with honesty and clarity.

Pisces drama karma getting u ur not untouchable

For the Pisces collective, there’s a strong energy of chaos, drama, and gossip surrounding you. Many of you are dealing with addictions—whether to a person, a substance, or a behavior you know is unhealthy but continue to indulge in. This energy is heavy, and for some, the chaos stems from the attachments you’ve built, either to someone else or to a self-destructive habit.

If this involves another person, trying to restart the relationship or dabbling in this connection again will lead to a significant fallout. For others, it’s about a destructive pattern you can’t seem to break. You know this behavior isn’t serving you, yet you stubbornly hold onto it. However, continuing down this path is setting the stage for a harsh wake-up call. If you tamper with this one more time, the consequences will hit hard, causing a shake-up that impacts you deeply, leaving you feeling isolated and regretful.

For some, this involves a toxic relationship—a karmic connection that cycles through manipulation, emotional coercion, and imbalance. There’s a lot of fiery energy here, signaling passion but also volatility. One person may be clinging to the connection while the other has moved on, creating unrequited feelings and more toxicity. If you attempt to rekindle this, it’s unlikely to succeed because the other party may no longer want it.

The overarching message here is to let go. Whether it’s a toxic person, habit, or behavior, holding on is causing more harm than good. This is karmic energy at play, and the universe is stepping in to end the cycle. Your guides or ancestors are watching, allowing this negative energy to unfold so you can learn the lesson.

For some, this behavior stems from childhood patterns or wounds, but the time for change is now. Pretending to be something you’re not, while indulging in your lower nature, will only lead to destruction. The universe is preparing to forcibly stop whatever temptation or behavior is holding you back. This will be a transformative moment—clear as day—that leaves no room for denial.

Gemini - playing games for fun and drama

Lolllllllllllllllll Gemini you’re about to be served a very large slice of humble pie. There’s a situation here, and you’re at the center of it lol Whether it’s you not minding your business or jumping into drama that doesn’t concern you, things are about to get messy.

For many of you, this involves a third-party situation. Whether you’re aware of it or not (and let’s be honest, you probably are), there’s some love triangle energy here or at least some drama in a romantic context. You’re likely entangling yourself with multiple people or with someone who is tied up elsewhere. Despite your intelligence and intuition—because we all know you’re sharp—you’re diving headfirst into a situation that screams self-sabotage.

After all the drama unfolds, you’re going to be left alone, reflecting on your choices, scratching your head, and thinking, Why did I even do that? It’s not that you didn’t know better—you did. But there’s this wild, chaotic streak in you that sometimes can’t resist testing the limits. Are you a mad scientist experimenting with emotional chaos?This situation is one-sided, messy, and not nearly as exciting or fulfilling as you might think. If you’re juggling people, they might both catch on, and when the dust settles, neither of them will want to stick around. It’s going to leave you feeling left out, maybe even hurt, but you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.

lol Stop playing games—especially with yourself.

Scorpio- sad violin 🎻

Scorpio, it seems like you’ve recently gone through something a bit disheartening—not exactly earth-shattering, but disappointing nonetheless. Perhaps a situation didn’t play out the way you’d hoped, especially if it involved a choice between two people. For some of you, there was an element of ego in the mix, where the decision felt more like a matter of pride or curiosity rather than something deeply emotional.

If this resonates, you may have chosen to walk away from the chaos and focus on yourself instead. You’re juggling your own emotions and daily responsibilities with a growing sense that keeping things simple is the better path for now. While there might be lingering disappointment about what could’ve been, you’re not devastated. Instead, you’re redirecting your energy toward nurturing your independence, finances, and stability.

For others, there was a crossroads involving two people: one from your past, with whom you shared good memories and perhaps wanted to rekindle something; and another person, someone strikingly attractive and magnetic, who seemed to draw people in effortlessly. This second person may have had a mysterious, intuitive side—perhaps even dabbling in spiritual or esoteric practices—but their motivations may not have felt entirely pure or positive.

If you chose the past person, it might not have gone as planned. Whether the connection fizzled out or simply didn’t align with what you needed, it left you feeling emotionally neutral—disappointed, but not devastated. Now, you seem to be stepping into a phase of focusing on what truly matters: your career, your stability, and your own personal growth.

The overall message for you, Scorpio, is one of quiet resilience. It’s not the end of the world that a relationship or potential connection didn’t work out. You’re learning to prioritize yourself and your goals, and that shift is paving the way for a stronger, more secure foundation. You’re not seeking commitment right now, and that’s perfectly fine. Keep nurturing yourself���it’s your time to focus inward.

Aries Standing in Your Power

Aries, the overarching theme for you is enlightenment and confidence as you embrace a fresh approach to life, particularly in matters involving family or long-term relationships. You’re stepping into your power, fully recognizing your worth and asserting boundaries like never before. You’ve developed a stronger, more resolute attitude—one where you refuse to be swayed, manipulated, or taken for granted.

You’ve made a clear judgment call, both internally and externally, that if someone doesn’t approach you with respect, intention, and alignment with your vision for the future, they no longer have a place in your life. This serious, determined energy is fueling your growth, and you’re actively manifesting a new identity, lifestyle, and way of handling relationships.

Gone are the days of tolerating chaos, imbalance, or relationships that drain you without giving anything in return. You’ve come to the realization that you deserve better and are fully capable of creating a life that reflects your true worth. Whether it’s friendships, partnerships, or even career investments, you’re releasing anything that doesn’t serve your higher purpose.

This epiphany has been powerful—almost like a wake-up call. You’re molding a future built on authenticity, self-respect, and alignment with your goals. No longer defined by past circumstances or limited by old patterns, you’re fully stepping into your own.

The message here is clear: you’re done with the drama, done with the chaos, and done with anything or anyone that doesn’t honor who you are. You’re not just walking away—you’re actively transforming. Keep standing firm in this energy, Aries; it’s taking you exactly where you need to go.

Leo Reading: Peaceful Connections and Inner Harmony

Leo, this message is for those currently in or about to enter a meaningful and harmonious relationship. This is a healthy connection, free of drama or unnecessary complications. Whether you’re in it now or it’s on the horizon, the energy surrounding this partnership is grounded in peace and emotional stability.

This person feels like home to you. They provide a deep sense of comfort, healing, and emotional understanding. They truly see you—not just the surface, but your heart, your inner child, and all the parts of you that long to be nurtured and accepted. This connection is one where you feel understood, valued, and genuinely supported, sparking a strong desire to cherish and treasure them. For some, the roles could be reversed, with your partner feeling this way about you, but the mutual energy is one of respect, care, and a shared commitment to maintaining harmony.

For Leos in this dynamic, it’s important to stay grounded. Take time to meditate, pray, or simply reflect on what brings you joy and balance. By staying emotionally regulated, you’ll keep this connection flourishing and create a space where happiness can continue to grow.

If this message resonates more with your personal journey, this could indicate a time of deep self-healing. You’re reconnecting with your inner child, pursuing activities that uplift and inspire you, and nurturing your own peace. This is about creating a space of emotional stability for yourself, which in turn attracts positive opportunities and relationships.

For those unsure about the motives or nature of their current connection, this serves as confirmation: there is nothing to fear. The energy here is overwhelmingly positive. If you’ve been overthinking or doubting, let go of those worries—this is a safe and fulfilling partnership where your needs will be met.

Leo, whether it’s a connection with another or with yourself, this is a time of emotional ease, deep healing, and long-term happiness. Good days are ahead, and this is just the beginning of a truly fulfilling chapter.

[machiavelli]

You know…speaking English with friends in real life has been an immense help in achieving fluency. I still remember the summer I turned sixteen—my two friends and I decided we would only speak English whenever we got together. By the end of August, our accents had improved drastically. Nowadays, I don’t really care much about how I sound. Although I do enjoy imitating accents for fun, I’m content knowing that whatever accent I have now is understandable. Still, two years ago, I found myself at a crossroads. It might sound extremely silly, but those were my personal limits, and I hope they’re respected, even if they seem odd. That summer at sixteen left me with the habit of constantly thinking in English. It got to a rather embarrassing point where I struggled to recall certain Italian words. I particularly had trouble with “dipendente” (= addicted), for instance. I also began speaking Italian in a way that felt like I was directly translating from English—not just sentence structures, but even the subtleties in phrasing, which don’t naturally align with Italian. Therefore I forced myself to stop thinking or speaking English aloud wherever possible (I do like talking to myself when I’m alone, judge me if you want, but I don’t care). I was genuinely scared that I was losing fluency in my own language. Thankfully, I got better. Looking back, I suppose that phase came from spending so much time immersed in English-speaking spaces.

It was also then that I started noticing just how much English has permeated the Italian language. While some of these borrowed terms aren’t officially part of our dictionary yet, it’s surprising how often people use words like “droppare” or “reschedulare”. All. The. Time. (There are SO MANY of those but I can’t think any other examples right now, I’m sorry). In my opinion, this trend is diminishing the richness of our language. I understand that no language is static—we are constantly evolving, and linguistic dynamism is inevitable—but is this the direction we truly want to go? Personally, I don’t want English to become “the new Latin”.

This little scribble doesn’t really have a central point, other than highlighting how much the English-centric world has shaped me—and continues to shape everyone else’s lives. It’s just a passing thought I had while reading a moot’s post and in light of today being the so-called “TikTok ban day” (or so I’ve been told). Even if this doesn’t mark the actual end of TikTok (allegedly?), its eventual decline feels inevitable. And when that time comes, I’m certain that lurking just around the corner, ready to take its place, is yet another short-term dopamine machine. Still, this event got me reflecting on the enormous impact TikTok has had over nearly half a decade—on what we consume, how it has propelled countless individuals into prominence across various industries, and the ripple effects it’s left behind. Now, as the era of TikTok’s hegemony begins to wane, the real question is: who or what will rise to fill the void? And, perhaps more importantly, how will this shift affect us all?

— Discorso che poteva essere fatto tranquillamente in italiano.

[drdemonprince]

Just chiming in to agree that that person is not a selfish bitch. I'm also really put off by moralistic performances of emotion, and I know in my case it's because it was part of a pattern of abusive behaviour that my mother did.

Anytime you expressed to her that there was a problem with her behaviour, she seemed to genuinely believe that if she put enough effort into weeping and crying on her children's shoulders, and verbally denigrating herself for being an inherently bad an immoral person, and stressing so much that she developed physical illnesses from it, then she could follow that up by asking for forgiveness - as if it would be cruel for us to continue her suffering by denying her that forgiveness. Except that to her, "forgiveness" meant "it's all swept under the rug, I have Atoned By Suffering Guilt, so now it doesn't matter and I can keep doing it again." (I really wonder how much the religious background of her parents' generation came into the formation of this worldview.) And at the same time, she refuses to read news that's "too upsetting" and never engages with literature or media about dark themes "because there's enough of that in real life."

It might be cynical of me to read this pattern into the way people talk online about genocide. But I keep seeing parallels. My perspective is that a) if you're not regulating your emotions well enough to function, then you have less capacity to offer practical help; and b) people who are actually trying to survive genocide want unnecessary human suffering to END, so you're not aligning yourself with that hope by engaging in rumination etc that compounds suffering with not practical benefit to anyone.

But also, watching my mother's behaviour has led me to add perspective c) that a lot of people (in Christian cultures?) haven't developed enough understanding of the complexity of the world and how to relate to it, and genuinely believe that an overblown emotionally affected reaction, followed by helplessness and thereby inaction, is the only possible way for them to respond when they're confronted with upsetting information that demands action from them. Being raised to think in a black-and-white "good vs evil" dichotomy, and thinking about people as "either morally good or morally bad" rather than thinking about people as neutral and behaviours as either ethically helpful or harmful... it doesn't give them a conceptual framework to integrate upsetting information and then carry on getting things done, it's like their moral anxiety gets them stuck and that keeps the emotions escalating.

I see people discussing this pattern in the context of religious trauma, and in the context of the cultural construct of "whiteness" - the discovery of something morally bad has to be followed by an extreme emotional reaction that basically amounts to protesting your own innocence and helplessness to deny responsibility for your direct behaviours (in my mother's case) or complicity in a corrupt system (in the case of overwhelmed average people learning about genocide).

Maybe I'm rambling more than I'm analysing here, but the comparison stands out a lot to me and it's troubling to watch.

yo anon no this is gold, thank you for sharing. This is remarkably astute.

I will add the quick caveat that hyperempathic people who are debilitated by their sensitivity exist, of course, and have very real struggles and none of this is intended to denigrate them. In practice, their behavior can have the impact of silencing criticism or distracting from the issue at hand but being wired that way certainly does not doom a person to behaving in a counterproductive, manipulative manner.

This critique is more about performative over the top empathy as a tactic (conscious or not) of offloading responsibility, and as a pseudo-religious ideology that makes predominately white western cultures particularly ill-equipped to deal with the consequences of their global plundering. almost certainly by design. Most moral teachings that we encounter in the west promote this tactic and ideology, and it gets very deeply ingrained in most us if we don't devote a ton of attention to uprooting it.

thanks for this great response.

[goinghostie]

Hoshiai no sola / Stars Align Ep. 13 Teaser - English Fan Sub

Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming credit for Hoshiai no Sola or Stars Align/Hoshiai no Sora. I put this fansub together because the original video did not include English subtitles, and many overseas fans do not realize it exists. If English subs are added to the original video, I will remove it.

There was no official English translation for the Hoshiai no Sora tribute video that was posted by the animation team to thank fans for supporting the series. As such, I am sharing a fan sub that I have translated (apologies for any mistakes!).

The first half of the original video includes a montage of scenes from the first half of the series and is available to watch on TBS' anime Youtube account. The second half includes this teaser portion, which confirms that there is more to the story than we were able to see. This is because the series, which was originally greenlit for a full 24 episode cour, had the second half cut last minute.

The creator, Akane Kazuki, didn't want to rush anything or alter the story, and so the abrupt cliffhanger we were left with in episode 12 was meant to show there is more to the series. As of February 2023, Akane-san shared that he still wants to bring the second half to life, it just doesn't seem likely since he has exhausted his options within Japan. He has thanked fans for their support and urges us to continue showing support - with enough voices, it is possible that a studio may pick up the second half in the future!

Stars Align delves into topics that aren't typically covered in anime, for example, Yuu's exploration of their gender identity and Maki's respectful explanation on Shou being a trans man. In addition to this, the series also shows harmful partening styles and the effect they have on children.

It approaches each situation carefully and never shows the abusive side of situations in a positive light. Each scene is raw, emotional, and incredibly realistic. I have respect for Akane-san and the production team for tackling issues kids don't typically see in a series - ones that may be struggling with themselves and aren't aware just how negative an impact they have on their lives since that is all they know.

Stars Align is a series you could say was ahead of its time. One that resonates with many who can relate to the issues and struggles presented. It isn't a show for escapism, like most anime. It is a series that faces real struggles head-on.

To some, this is a weakness. But to me (and the many other fans who resonated with a kindred spirit in the series), Stars Align is a series that makes us feel seen. It shows that anyone can be struggling, even if they might not openly show it.

Stars Align's premature halting of production fits all too well with an overarching theme on the show - the boy's soft tennis team was threatened to be shut down, and it took a LOT of hard work and dedication for the kids to grow and save their team.

As fans, we need to come together and show support for a beloved series that was cast aside, just like our favorite soft tennis team. To join together and show support so that the second half of the story can be made, as intended.

How can we show support?

1. Spread the word - the more people who legally stream the series will show streaming platforms that the anime means something to subscribers. Stars Align is available to watch on Crunchyroll!*

2. Start conversations about the topics presented and the impact the series has!

3. Create content - art, fanfics, edits, theories...posting content about the series helps spread the word and introduce others to the series. To this day, new fans are discovering the series and love it just as much as the original fans back in 2019!

skyofstarsalign is a Twitter/X account dedicated to sharing fan support of Stars Align - it documents all support or mentioning of the series on the platform.

*While it can be difficult to keep talking about a series years after it premiered, the tendency to move on is exactly what makes support dwindle and fade. The support needs to continue - shows can be brought back years later, as was recently seen by Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits. A second season was announced due to support shown by overseas fans. Crunchyroll urged the studio to make a second season based on the high viewership numbers on the platform.

Please join us in showing support for Stars Align by introducing more people to the series and sharing what you loved most about the first half. Together, we can help Akane-san make the second half a reality!

[mayiwritesomething]

Love is An Unfamiliar Name (Pt. 1)

You’re a sucessful and methodic award winner music composer and producer, that after working on a few movies got invited to coordinate the sound department on a TV series, by your busy and controlled schedule, it will be just another project on your portifolio… but life sometimes has a funny way to surprise you.

Wordcount: 1,6k

A/N: guys just be nice to me since this is my first fic haha, that i decided to write just for fun. I apologize if there is any mistakes since english is not my first language. In this first chapter i tried to give a little bit of our main caracter background (she may seem a little stupid at first, but she’s got a big heart and is just scared of showing too much affection). And since this is a real person celebrity fic i tried just to write a fun story. Hope you like it :)

—————————————————————————

Dinner

"Goodbye, boss! Could you please brief me on how the meeting will unfold?" Jennifer says with a smile.

"Stop calling me that! Jesus!" you respond with a less than welcoming expression, that might scare those unaware of your kind nature.

Jennifer continues to laugh, saying, "Oh, come on! I'm just getting into the spirit. I've already gathered the entire team for the project and sent you the email with the details. I heard this guy Craig is as methodical as you."

She takes another sip of a drink, the contents of which are unclear due to the image quality, but you assume it's some kind of energy-boosting juice. "I also discovered he's a fan of your work, so you're all set! The brainstorming session you organized for the plot is fantastic", she adds, concluding with a laugh, "Bye, good luck, bossy!"

“Bye Jenny!”

Jennifer, has been your assistant of nearly a decade and a friend for much longer, understood your aversion to titles. Despite this, for the next ten months at least, you were going to assume the role of a boss. Coordinating an entire sound team was no easy feat; having experience on both sides, you were well aware of the challenges ahead. However, in this case, you were not just a regular composer working on a typical project. You were a fan adapting one of your favorite games for the big screen, something that filled you with anxiety.

As Jenny had predicted, the meeting was a success. Time seemed to fly by as you delved into your passion for music and its transformative impact on a serie. This phase of your career gave you the freedom to choose your collaborators, and Craig was someone you wanted work with for some time. Over the course of a three-hour Zoom call, you found that you connected well, not only with Craig but also with the rest of the team. Together, you had a productive briefing, establishing the desired atmosphere that would align with both the essence of the game and the script you held in your hands.

As life began to regain its rhythm post-lockdown, you still felt a hint of anxiety about going out and mingling with more than four people. However, this evening called for celebration with your friends, primarily because Jenny wouldn't let you be, insisting that you only pretended to enjoy being by yourself. She believed you needed "some drinks, good food, laughter, tears, and maybe getting laid."

Following your last breakup, you had made a promise to yourself to not date anyone for a year, a vow you upheld not just for one year but for the following one as well. Suddenly, all the men and women you encountered seemed uninteresting, but you still had some fun in one night standings, which by the way made some of the people you met quite angry, as you would just leave without saying anything.

As soon as you arrived at the bistro booked by Jenny for you and the girls, Maria said out loud, “Here comes THE GOAT!!”

'”Shhhhh, Maria! This is a private place,' you whispered, glancing over your shoulder, although people were emerged in their own worlds and conversations, allowing you and your friends to enjoy a pleasant girl night.

“Come on, girl, you're the award winner here, not to mention THE SOUND COORDINATOR! Aren't you thrilled?” Jenny attempted to lighten the mood.

“Of all the episodes, by the way” Amy chimed in.

“Yes, girls, of course, I'm happy”, you replied with a smile. “I am a bit nervous and overwhelmed. It's going to be a year-long project, surrounded by a considerable number of people, that might include some famous individuals whose crazy egos I definitely don't enjoy working with.'

“But hey, you’re not a jane doe honey” Jenny added.

You went on to explain the challenges of dealing with ego driven actors. 'I don't even know what the Game of Thrones guy is like in real life, we only spoke via Zoom. He's an actor; he could portray niceness on screen and be difficult in real life. We all know that's a possibility.'

Jenny and Maria appeared surprised or apprehensive you couldn’t understand the reason, so you kept going, 'He's an actor; he can pretend to be nice and be a dick off-screen; we all know this can happen.'

“Girl… just…” Amy interjected, her expression showing concern.

“What?!” You interrupted her “ Amy, I'm not lying... I'll have to talk to him a lot,' you retorted, visibly frustrated by the thought.

"Stop!”, she continued.

“Why?” Judging by the expression on the girls' faces, you knew you had messed something up. Were the HBO executives present? Where anyone that shouldn’t be there listening to you? Damn it.

Resignation.

This time, Jenny spoke in a hushed tone, “By the 'Game of Thrones' guy, you mean the one sitting right behind you?” She attempted to maintain calm so you would’t crack. She said something else, but you were so flustered that you couldn't make out her words or anyone else's. Should you turn around to face the person behind you? Should you chuckle and say you were joking? Should you just...

“Well, I assure you I'm not a dick, even if someone who doesn't know me may think so,” a male voice behind you interjected. Damn the Game of Thrones guy.

You turned to face him, and he continued, “Hi, pleased to meet you in person, award winner sound coordinator. Well… I'm the Game of Thrones guy, or Pedro, whichever you prefer.” His words made you reflect on how snob you must have sounded. He had heard everything. You felt awful.

“Oh, well, pleased to meet you in person too, Pedro! I didn’t…” You struggled to form a coherent sentence in your head. Damn, he smelled good. “My name is... um… I am…” Nothing seemed to make sense in your mind anymore. Why say your name when you had spoken to him before?

“Never mind,” he said, smiling. “I know your name and who you are. We met before. By the way, I'm a huge fan of your work.” He knew how to be cirurgical yet polite, which made you chuckle, even though you just wanted to vanish.

Pedro was undeniably good-looking, not exactly your cup of tea, but you couldn't deny his charm. The way he responded to your stupid remarks made him seem more intriguing. You felt a bit woozy. What had you gotten yourself into?

“Pedro, I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m sorry,” you apologized, attempting to clarify. “I'm terrible with names.” You were being honest. Now he appeared more serious, and your voice began to tremble. “I mean... I'm only making things worse, aren't I?”

“A little bit,” he chuckled softly, sounding genuine. Glancing over his shoulder, you noticed a beautiful brunette lady at the other end of the table. You waved, receiving a forced smile in return. Back to Pedro. Stop behaving like a teenager. Pull yourself together. Jenny said something, but you didn't catch it. Keep. It. Together.

"I guess I'm the one who came off as a jerk... I know I sounded pretentious, and I apologize," you began, finding your voice. "I've had some really bad experiences with certain actors and their egos, so I was worried you might be like them… so i…" All those therapy sessions seemed to be paying off; he was listening to you, paying attention not only to your words but also to your uncomfortable gestures. You pushed past the discomfort and continued, "I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." Your voice dropped to almost a whisper in the last sentence.

"So you might want to think twice before mentioning someone’s name in a private restaurant in Los Angeles, don't you think?" He spoke with a hint of irony, almost provocatively. You took the bait.

"Not tha-" You were about to respond when Jenny interjected, "Hey! I believe Pedro here has a date to attend to, right buddy?" He nodded smiling, and Maria chimed in, "And you, girl, promised us a night out and turned it into a work-related gathering." Those girls were true diplomats.

"I don’t want to take up any more of your time, Pedro," you said, maintaining a serious expression as you locked eyes with his dark gaze, your usual impenetrable poker face firmly in place.

"Never mind," he replied. "By the way-"

"Hey babe, do you want to call your friends to join us?" the attractive lady accompanying him interjected, her tone dripping with irony.

"It won't be necessary," Maria retorted, clearly annoyed. She was hungry, and anyone who knew her understood how irritable she could get when hunger struck. You KNEW she was on the verge of losing her cool.

"I'm sorry for this disruption; we didn't mean to interrupt your date, guys."

"Sorry... you do seem to like that word, don't you?" The pretty brunette girl knew how to be ironical.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up," you responded, laughing almost manically and subtly holding Maria back, knowing she was on the brink of saying something that could have gotten all four of you kicked out of the restaurant. Jenny steered you to another table far away from them, while Amy engaged the waiter in conversation. Your hands felt as cold as ice.

"See you soon, sound coordinator... oops, AWARD-winning sound coordinator," he said with a chuckle as he returned to his table. "Hopefully, we can prove to each other that we're nice people."

"I'm looking forward to it... Game of Thrones guy." You waved and smiled more than necessary as you both returned to your respective dinner conversations.

You replayed this encounter in your mind all the way home. How could he not be angry with you? There were still a few months until filming begins, and yet you felt an unfamiliar sense of anxiety creeping in. Opening your door, you continued to mull over his ironic parting words: "Hopefully, we can prove to each other that we're nice people," you repeated with a grin.

"Well, I suppose we'll have to wait and see.” You said.

Wait. And. See.

[yonkokraven]

Am I the only one who thinks Ida does the "saving heroes" thing better than ochako?

Yes his role throughout the series lessened but it stayed consistent. After the stain arc we always see him helping his classmates . We don't see that with ochako tho. It doesn't feel like apart of her character but apart of her relationship with deku. I mean in the rooftop scene shoto was standing outside of ua and couldn't enter she didn't say anything then. She didn't say anything later when he said his presence would've caused problems, she didn't say anything abut ayoma she didn't even think about any of the heroes that got severely injured or died. She's never even had a thought about allmight (isn't it weird how little 1a interacted with AM) Nothing

Just deku thats it.

Which is why I prefer iida even if just in the background he's constantly checking up on his classmates and making sure their okay

(unrelated but hori def didn't make izuchako Canon to not displease bkdk shippers)

Well, honestly Uraraka works in this "saving heroes" thing because it more or less coincides with the core of her character which is essentially to make those around her happy, but that doesn't mean that yes, you're right and that Iida could have been part of that plot with Uraraka and Midoriya

Iida is the first Legacy Kid that is presented to us and he already has the concepts of heroism deeply rooted in his education, the main problem is that those concepts are completely aligned with the limits of the rules, that is, for a good part of the manga he is regal and incorruptible before the typical ideals of a hero in society, and on two occasions he deviates from this

-Selfishly: wanting to kill (not imprison or detain) Stain

-In a supportive way: Accompanying his classmates to save Bakugo.

After that Horikoshi could continue evolving Iida, but he doesn't, and we see him in action again in the Vigilant Deku arc and in the final war, where his job is to reach Midoriya, and then help Shoto reach his family.

I could start a rant here about how Horikoshi threw away the development of several characters just to give Gary Stu (Bakugo) of this manga his thousandth moment to shine.

But I can criticize him for other inconsistencies that you have pointed out:

-Shoto was able to enter the UA before and after the speech, people's biggest fear was that Midoriya would enter the academy

-Aoyama's scene and overall plot have no impact because we didn't have any focus prior to it (aside from the arc before the provisional exams). There's only an glimpse of an impact because it's revealed that he was quirkless, and we don't get a focus on class A in those types of plots and class A barely has any evolution outside of comic gags.

-Something to note on the subject of injured or dead heroes, is that the only considerable reaction we get from the class to this, is when Midnight dies, and a couple of chapters later they're in uniforms again, it feels like I missed out on about 90 therapy sessions here, but there's no acknowledgement of the deaths surrounding them or adverse consequences like heroes or students quitting.

-Uraraka and All Might... I seem to remember that there was an interaction between her, Iida, Tsuyu and Mineta between the rounds of the sports festival tournament, but I don't know if it is added to the anime only or also in the manga. There is a huge problem with this and that is that All Might was in skeletal form, the same form with which he begins to teach after his fight against AFO, could a plot arise here of how Uraraka or Iida discover the OFA on their own? If so, Hori did not do it because, surprise! Bakugo.

And as for the ships, I have to say, I much prefer Izuocha even though I'm more of a rarepairs fan.

I could make a post later about both ships, but responding to what you said, Horikoshi moves according to who is at the top of popularity, and this doesn't happen in stories with a gram of narrative stability (for example, One Piece).

Although the lack of confirmation doesn't mean that it hasn't happened, Uraraka wearing the Deku mask and focusing on Midoriya's hands (except the ring finger of his left hand) already gives enough of a clue, although I think Hori will leave those important details for the sequel or when volume 42 comes out in December.