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seulgiwifeee · 8 months

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Secret Admirer || Seulgi

pt. 2 here <<<

♡ Member: Classmate*Seulgi x Loser*Femreader

♡ Theme: slight angst and fluff at some point kinda?.. Idk just please read lol

♡ Warning: None

♡ Description: For months you've communicated with Seulgi by sending her secret admirer letters, but one day you decide to try taking things further between the two of you.

Word count: 4.2k ???

(Sorry if the time stamps might seem a little messy)

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It was like love at first sight.

At the beginning of the school year when your eyes spotted Kang Seulgi walking the busy hallways after exiting your pre-calculus class.

That silky jet black hair, those dangerously sharp monolids that tried to mask her dark yet alluringly soft eyes, her peachy pink lips, the seductive sway of her hips, the confidence in each stride she took, walking the halls as if she owned the school..

And you will never forget those long three seconds of eye contact you two shared that moment, she was so beautiful, your mind couldn't fathom that she was even real! And to top everything off, her shoulder slightly brushed against yours when you walked past each other, cold chills instantly being driven up your spine, your breath hitching and goosebumps rising upon your sensitive skin.

You paused right there in the middle of the moving hallways and flipped your head around, adjusting your big glasses as you curiously watched the girl approach her friends, hearing them all cheerfully call out for her. "Seulgi!"

"Seulgi.." The word melted off your tongue like ice cream, repeating and savoring the taste of the sweet name under your breath to lock it in memory. "Seulgi."

At first, you were intimidated by her mysterious allure, but with the bright smile she flashed spotting out her friends and hearing the warming tone she spoke in when greeting them, you realized she was just a fluffy bunny in disguise as a black cat. You turned your head back around with flushed cheeks, the girl's name echoing throughout your mind, and walked off to your next class with a satisfied heart. Just everything about those amazing fifteen seconds instantly locked you in, and soon after that, each day whenever Seulgi would walk out from her second period, you'd make sure to always stay near the lockers in time just so you could see her beautiful face passing by you and hear her tender voice when chatting with her friends.

Now you, Y/N L/N, have had plenty of minor crushes before, and you obviously knew you deeply admired Seulgi's beauty and charismatic personality, but after a few weeks passing by, you started to realize that this wasn't just an innocent hallway crush, you were becoming obsessed over Seulgi. Every time you looked at her it was like seeing her for the first time over and over again, giving you the same comforting and content feeling, you cherishing those strong feelings you didn't even know you could hold for someone!

You were catching feelings.

Deep feelings.

And you loved it.

For you, you felt like you had an advantage at crushing on Seulgi knowing that she wasn't really a popular student, so that meant there was less of a competition for you and it made you feel like you weren't too far down from her level.

The only downside of falling for Seulgi was that the two of you had no classes together, zero, nothing, nada, so other than walking past each other once or twice a day during the five-minute time period of switching between classes or possibly at lunch if you weren't sitting in the far corner, then there honestly wasn't any other way to see her.

But even if the two of you did have any classes together, there was no way in hell your wimpy, shy, introverted self could start any sort of clear conversation with Seulgi without freaking out and ending up making an absolute fool of yourself! That was the reason alone on why you hadn’t made any friends yet, so how would you had even expected to freely talk to someone you had feelings for?

Lucky you, you came up with a solution and your solution to this problem was to start writing secret admirer letters to Seulgi and slip them into her locker when she wasn't around. Trying to be cute, the nickname you came up with to use as your anonymous signature was "Candy."

Your first attempt at sending the letters was of a cheesy poem you had written about Seulgi's eyes. That entire day you had discreetly walked past her locker multiple times, hoping to catch her in the act of reading it, but either you missed her or she just ignored the letter, both thoughts as equally leaving you disappointed.

Fortunately, during your second attempt at sending a new poem the next day, you caught Seulgi with one of her friends hanging at her locker. You quickly hid and stood around the corner of the hallways, secretly observing the scene as your eyes only gave interest in to where Seulgi's hands were leading to next.

When Seulgi opened her locker, she was immediately startled from the envelope flying out past her, landing in the center of the non-crowded hallway. While she picked it up her friend peaked her head over, nosily asking Seulgi what it was. You watched closely as Seulgi carefully opened the envelope, making sure not to rip your heart sticker seal, and pulled out the note to which both of the girls instantly starting reading out loud. When done reading, Seulgi blushed, covering her mouth in bewilderment while her friend stared at her with her jaw lowered in shock.

You watched intensely, your heart booming in your chest, anxiously trying to read Seulgi's features to figure out whether or not she was feeling the letter, but seeing her bubble a coy laugh with her friend, holding the note tightly to her heart like it was her most prized possession, a wave of relief finally washed over you, confident in knowing that Seulgi was flattered by your poem. But your smile quickly faltered hearing Seulgi and her friend trying to guess who "Candy" was, all the names mentioned only being random guys from the athletic teams.

You were offended, honestly. All that effort and thought you put in just for them to think that any of the boys mentioned were capable of spending any time out of their day to write something as sweet and romantic as your poem?

Those boys wouldn't even buy a girl roses on the first date!

But their words also struck you like a knife to the chest, stinging you in the most sensitive place of your heart. It pained you that the only people in her thoughts were boys.

Boys..

Would Seulgi ever consider being with a girl?

Did the thought ever cross her mind?..

That upsetting question lingered in the back of your mind for a while, but even though the doubt wanted to take over you, it didn't stop you one bit. You were going to let your admiration for her be known no matter what! So ever since then, you'd consistently send Seulgi the admirer letters you'd spend all night working on, never daring to miss or skip a day.

What started from poems went to you asking questions about herself and her daily life, trying to get to know her better, to eventually just having casual conversations. At the bottom of the letters, you would tell Seulgi to write her response on the backside and place it on top of her locker so that you were able to access the letter again to respond back to her; Lunchtime would always be the time you'd check for her responses since you knew Seulgi and any of the people she hung out with would be too far away to spot you near her locker giving and responding to the notes.

In the span of just two months after starting these letters, you and Seulgi were pretty much like best friends. You were so confident in responding to her, it seemed like you knew so much about her now, like you were actually a known person in her life. Each new fact you learned about her only made you fall for her harder.

You were so comfortable, having already accepted to yourself that this was the only way you would continue to communicate with Seulgi, that you weren't at all prepared for what the upcoming second semester had in store for you when you got moved to gym class.

—

You walked into the gym awkwardly and uncomfortably cladded in the skintight gym uniform that you were positive had to have been a size too small. Your arms hugged your body tightly as you sat on the far end of the bleachers, trying your best to keep yourself hidden while you spectated the classmates around you, impatiently waiting for your coach to hurry and start class.

While your eyes glanced around the spacious gym, something, or someone, caught your attention almost immediately. You swiftly pulled your glasses off, cleaned them, and placed them back on to make sure your eyes weren't deceiving you, and surely enough as the gym doors closed you saw the raven head mark her entrance in.

Your hand flew to your mouth to hide your gasp when you saw the tall girl walk to the center of the gym with her friends alongside her. Your first-ever class with Seulgi and it had to be gym? You couldn't tell if this was a blessing or a curse because, on one hand, this would give you a better opportunity to interact with and finally get to see a new side of Seulgi, athletic Seulgi, but that also meant that Seulgi's first impression of you would most likely be as the embarrassingly unfit girl who fails miserably to do even the simplest of stretches, but that's only if she'd even care to spare a glance your way.

Your mouth was quivering and your legs shaking ogling at her slim figure in the fitted gym uniform from afar. And when class had started, you guys running laps and doing basic stretches, all you could do was stay distracted staring at Seulgi the entire time. You never realized how much more attractive Seulgi could get, so now athletic Seulgi was the only image invading your mind for the next couple of weeks when writing your next few letters.

You so badly wanted to write to her about how amazing you thought she looked each time you saw her in class, but you wondered if that would expose too much to her about who you truly were, so you ended up never mentioning it. You weren't confident enough to reveal yourself to her just yet..

—

During one class as everyone was running laps, you were weakly running behind Seulgi and her friends who were jogging with ease, all chatting with one another.

Your eyes were too focused on her lower half, distracting you from the untied shoelace that caused you to trip momentarily, you yelping and falling face-first into the freshly polished wood flooring, causing a dramatically loud thud.

You laid on ground in defeat like a stupid starfish for a few seconds before weakly lifting your head, scanning the area around you to notice everyone paused in their tracks to stare down at you with their confused eyes. Your eyes narrowed over to Seulgi and her friends who were only a few feet ahead of you, all turned around to look at you too. Some of her friends covered their mouths in shock while others were clearly trying to hide their laughs.

To say you were embarrassed was completely an understatement, but as your gaze averted to Seulgi's you noticed something that put you at ease. Although your vision was blurry from the lost of your glasses, you could clearly she wasn't laughing at you.

In fact, it seemed as if she looked genuinely concerned, like she wanted to help you up. But unfortunately, if that was her intention, a random guy had already beat her to it—him stepping in front of you, blocking her completely from your view and holding out his hand to help you. You reluctantly accepted his offer, pulling yourself up to your feet.

Some classmates tried to ask if you were okay, one of them giving you back your fallen glasses while you brushed dirt off your shirt, but you quickly dismissed them, placing your glasses back on and hurriedly ran off finishing your laps in embarrassment, your brain continuously repeating to yourself about how much of a loser you are.

At the end of class, you sat on the locker room bench, mindlessly sinking alone into your thoughts, blankly staring at the floor, but the light tap of a finger on your shoulder snapped you back to reality. "Hi!"

You clocked your head to the side, immediately recognizing that silky voice, and felt your heart drop to the pit of your stomach when you made eye contact with the one and only Kang Seulgi. "H-Hi!" You stuttered, your cheeks burning red, trying your best to keep your focus away from Seulgi's abs poking through the cheap white cotton.

Seulgi sat down in the space beside you, keeping a fair distance between the two of you. "You know, that was a pretty hard fall earlier. I just wanted to know if you were okay," Seulgi said, her head tilted as she stared at you, her eyes full of wonder.

You fidgeted with your fingers, keeping your hands close to your chest while trying your best not to break eye contact even though your legs were starting to get equivalent to the feeling of jelly. You were very much still flustered from the earlier incident, so talking about it with Seulgi who watched the whole thing in 4K play out was embarrassing. "Oh.. uh, y-yeah! I guess it kinda hurt then, but I'm okay now, really!" You glanced down at your legs, discovering scraped-up knees you somehow didn't notice or feel earlier.

Seulgi smiled at you, her eyes turning to crescents and the corners of her lips reaching her cheekbones. "Well, that's nice to hear!

By the way, what's your name? I'm Seulgi!" Seulgi held her hand out, waiting for yours. You nervously lifted your shaken hand and joined it with her’s. Your nerves melted at her touch. "I'm Y/N.."

"Oh, yeah, Y/N, that's right! I remember now!" Right after when it looked like Seulgi was going to say something else, her friends walked up to her and told her to hurry with them so they could make it in time to their next class. Seulgi slightly frowned, but then looked at you one more time with a smile, waving bye, and exited the locker room leaving your awkward self all alone again.

Wow.

The first time you spoke to Seulgi, and it didn't end up terrible?

Unfortunately, you and Seulgi didn't go any further than that, that day being the last time you had made real-life conversation with her, but Seulgi fully acknowledging your existence alone is a huge step up for you, and now whenever you two make eye contact, whether it's in gym or the hallways, almost every time she blesses your shy soul with a warm smile to which you reciprocate back an awkward half smile.

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It's now the current date, February 12th, two days until Valentine's Day.

There's a plan you have in mind, but it's so far out of your comfort zone that you don't know if you'll be able to pull yourself to go through with it.

You look down at the note in your hands, rereading it, soaking in the words, pondering it, hoping that you can bring yourself to a conclusion quickly.

Tomorrow morning could we meet at that one tree near the entrance of the tennis court? I feel like it's about time you should know who I truly am!

— Candy ♡

Because it's been months of you and Seulgi hitting it off with the letters and since it's so close to Valentine's Day, you thought why not try to ask her to be your Valentine? You know that if you don't reveal yourself now, then you most likely never will, so why waste this perfect opportunity than to make your reveal to her even more special?

And besides, after a while, Seulgi will surely lose interest in talking with and responding back to basically an invisible person who's leading her on to nowhere.

You let in a deep breath to calm yourself down before sliding the note inside the envelope and sealing it closed with your signature heart sticker. The note is held close to you as you lie under the covers of your bed and turn off your lamp, trying your best to comfortably sleep through the night. You will go through with this.

—

When making your entrance into school the next morning, your mind is full of uncontrollable doubt. For some reason, you now think you're taking things too quickly.. maybe it's too soon? But you've already come this far, there's no way you can back out now.

You walk up to Seulgi's locker, making sure beforehand that no one's around, and hurriedly slip the envelope through the slot, quickly running away to your first class.

Class periods go by and soon it's lunchtime. You walk back to Seulgi's locker to check on the note, hoping to arrive back to a response, but when you search the top of her locker you frown.

There's nothing.

Quickly you're starting to get nervous again, imagining the worst, thinking that Seulgi's ignoring Candy now. Maybe she even threw away the note! You knew this was all just a mistake to do from the start!..

You grip your arm awkwardly, walking away from the lockers with your head held down in shame and dreadfully enter the cafeteria, grab a lunch tray, and look around in search of an open seat. You normally sit alone in the far corner of the cafeteria, but a random friend group for some reason stole your table today so now you're forced to actually be seen out in the open. You groan, looking around for empty tables with fail until you notice an open section at an occupied table. There's at least a two-seat distance from the other person sitting on that side of the bench so that's okay enough for your introverted comfort.

But what you didn't realize when sitting down at the table was that Seulgi and her friends were sitting at the other end. You froze as your eyes locked on her figure, stopping yourself mid-chewing with the fork still sitting in your mouth.

You could hear them speaking on the topic of Valentine's Day which instantly opened your ears to eavesdrop.

"So Seulgi, has anyone asked you to be their valentine yet?" One of her friends asks. Seulgi laughs shyly. "Actually, a lot of guys have asked me!"

Your heart sinks at the excitement in her words.

"But.. I haven't accepted any of their offers."

You're suddenly confused. You never saw any of the guys' said attempts, but you're so sure she would've accepted one of them by now since it seems like so many people have asked, right?

"Then who are you gonna go out with? Are you seriously going to ride single again this year?" Another one of Seulgi's friends chimes in, rolling their eyes as if they're disappointed in her.

Seulgi quickly shakes her head at them in protest and pulls out her backpack, digging deeply through it. You can see something poking out as she pulls something out, your letter, but then she hesitates and pushes it back down, zipping her bag closed. "I think I'll have a Valentine tomorrow.. You know, I know I haven't really updated you guys about anything, but I've still been receiving those letters from my secret admirer and honestly, it seems like he's been hinting at me that he'll ask me!"

All of her friends squeal, now starting to bombard her with questions. "What—Why haven't you told us? Can you show us a letter? Did he send you another one today?" Someone tries to reach for her backpack but Seulgi's quick to slap their hand away. "No! Move!"

You listen to the conversation in disbelief, slowly chewing on your lunch. Seulgi saw the letter, but she didn't write you a response to it, but she also basically just admitted she'll be your Valentine if you ask her out tomorrow, right?

Also, it's clear she's been keeping you a secret from her friends, but in a way, it flatters you because it makes this thing feel so much more personal. No friends with her to laugh at your conversations, just genuine bonding. It really seems like she's looking forward to you..

..But her words sting at you once again once she speaks the words "He."

You've never asked her if she likes girls or given her any hints you even are one, which is stupid, you know, but every time you thought about writing it you'd freak out and crumble up the note.

You almost feel bad. You're the mole amongst the table while the girls continue to wonder and guess who the admirer is, obviously expecting a hot football player, not someone like you. You bet she rejected all of the guys asking her out just so she could wait to be asked out by you, and now once she meets you she's probably going to be faced with disappointment..

In the deep corner of your mind, there was always a thought knowing that rejection for simply being a girl was a huge possibility, but you never fully registered how you would react, the embarrassment and shame that would come from it. You knew you weren’t ready to handle that.

On the detour back to your locker at the end of the day to grab your backpack, passing by Seulgi's locker, you spot a piece of paper sticking out from the top of her locker. Looking around to make sure no one's paying attention to you, you slickly grab the paper and quickly walk away to your locker trying not to look suspicious.

As you approach your locker you look down and read the note you sent Seulgi, flipping it over, reading over her response, and see her confirming she'll meet up with you tomorrow.

You want to smile at this, but nothing can distract you from the ongoing fear you have.

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You want to throw up.

After your long night of anticipation, it's finally the day you'll be asking Seulgi to be your Valentine.

There's no way you can back down now, she's already agreed to meet and if you don't and try to write her an excuse instead on why you didn't show up then she'll for sure never respond to your notes again!

You look at yourself in the bathroom mirror, taking in deep breaths as you examine your curled pigtails. You never thought you would see yourself wearing your hair in anything other than down, but while you and Seulgi were talking a few months back she had mentioned her favorite hairstyle was pigtails, so why not do that? You already knew you weren't the most attractive person out there, so maybe she'd find you more appealing this way?

You walk out of the bathroom with your mind finally formed at some sort of peace, grab your bag, and pick up your gifts for Seulgi before finally gaining the courage to walk out of the house.

The wind is chilly as it swishes past your bare legs while you walk down the sidewalk. Soon, you reach the school grounds, being greeted with an unnerving chill up your spine upon entrance.

You so badly want to turn around to go back home and just forget about all of this—it's terrifying, really.

But you inhale one final breath, breathing in slowly and exhaling all of your worries and doubts away. You return on your walk through the school campus, the couples around you punching at your heart as you walk past them being all up and close on each other, the girls blushing as their boyfriends gift them roses, tiny teddy bears, and boxes of chocolates. You know, the stereotypical things.

You approach closer to the tennis court, your heart booming in your chest as the calm thoughts you thought you managed are overrun with fear. What if Seulgi's not even waiting there? What if this is just a waste of time?

You squeeze your eyes shut when turning the corner leading to the tennis court, not bearing to watch your failed plan. Your eyes slowly opening, your body tenses seeing Seulgi standing by the tree just like you had asked her, her scrolling on her phone as she waits patiently.

She actually listened to you. Well, to Candy.

You hold Seulgi's gifts behind your back and slowly but surely make your approach to her, your legs shaking in fear after each step.

Quickly, in the corner of her eye, Seulgi notices you and lifts her head, beaming a joyful smile your way. You gulp and smile awkwardly at her, stepping closer until the two of you are a good three feet apart. "What are you doing here, Y/N?" Seulgi innocently asks.

Your lips quiver, looking into her oblivious eyes, preparing your words. "I-I.. I wanted to give you something important.." You somehow manage out past your shaky breath. You hesitate your actions, but pull yourself together and hold one of your hands out, a note held tightly between your fingers as you offer it to Seulgi.

There really is no turning back now.

— Seulgiwifee ໒꒰ྀི♡˵ᴗ͈ . ᴗ͈ ꒱ྀི১

#red velvet #kpop imagines #red velvet imagines #seulgi #kang seulgi #seulgi imagines #kpop #wlw #seulgi x reader #seulgi red velvet #kpop fanfic #kpop gg #fem reader #fluff

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sebs-out-of-spoons · 2 days

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disabled and chronically ill peeps, gather please for just a second and listen to me ramble

last night, after my seemingly incredibly long shift at work (about 5 hours long), i asked my sibling (He/She) what her pain was at on the pain scale (going from 0 to 10, 0 meaning none and 10 meaning the worst).

his response “about a 2”

i wanted to cry

mine was around a 7, leaning on 8, and had been all day cuz my body has been hating me extra lately for zero reason

my BASELINE, what i am at when i’m chilling and relaxing, literally just where i start from, is at a 4

i told her this and we laughed and i cried some cuz i cannot believe that his pain is at a 2, not even at my baseline, after 5 hours of running around and doing tons of jackshit

and i then asked what his pain is at just normally, just her baseline

GUESS THE FUCK WHAT?!!?

it’s a 0

ZERO, PEOPLE, ZERO

so people really are just existing without pain? so people really can do 5 hours of work and feel barely any pain? so people don’t become more in pain drastically when we walk a lot, or when we do literally anything??

my brain honestly is in denial that her pain was only a 2

and i then asked him how long he was gonna be at a 2, annnnd guessss what? she says it’ll be at a 2 until after she’s rested a bit, then it’ll go back down to a 0 again

it’s the next day, i’m at a 5, leaning towards 6, who knows if that’ll change, and i am absolutely fatigued and exhausted

he’s going out on a date with her boyfriend, and they’re going to a bunch of places

i just want to sleep all day long and literally do nothing

i want to cry so much, but yeah, just so we’re all clear, literally able-bodied people were not lying, their baseline is at a 0

*lays on floor and sobs*

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brineoffire · 1 month

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Part 2 of The Right Price!

Riled Up

You had none. Zero. Absolutely no idea how you got here. Laswell introduced you again to them man you saved. The Captain. You saved. You babble on about how it was a fluke, how it was absolutely dumb luck but there's no insisting with Price. There's no damn way a rookie could take out four hostiles on his own on luck alone. He knows it and you sure as hell better start focusing on it because you CAN NOT turn down the pay raise.

You'd definitely never planned to be flying with a Captain to join his task force. And you definitely didn't plan to have the shit scared out of you by the huge Lieutenant waiting at the helipad to meet the two of you when you touched down. The guy was huge! He saw a little over eye to eye with Price and damn if you didn't stare at that skull mask a little too long. It wasn't your fault. Tall, dark, and secretive was everyone's thing. That's what you tell yourself when you realize the guy, Ghost, is eyeing you suspiciously.

"Easy there Ghost. New recruit."

"H-howdy, good to meet you sir. Roland Haven, sir." You stumble over your own words as he stands there unamused, your hand out awkwardly before you give up and let it fall to your side. You suck in an embarrassed puff of air through your teeth.

"Don't take it personal, kid." Is all Price gives you as he claps you on the shoulder, pulling you forward with him past Ghost and into the base. You still feel his eyes burning into your spine but you don't let yourself look back again and focus on the direction your pushed in. You get shown to a small barren room, a simple bed, dresser, desk, and chair as Price nods you in.

"This'll be your room from now on lad. Get cozy, proper intros start in thirty." Giving him a nod he heads off as you set your small bag on the bed. You didn't have much with you but you do take a little time to throw your clothes in the dresser and drop your laptop and headphones on the desk. A deep sigh leaves your lips as you look around again and wonder how you got yourself this fucking deep. It doesn't really matter how anymore though, you definitely need the money, and you're not one to turn down a fast track past dealing with other shitty recruits like in your last two teams.

Before long you find yourself heading down the hall following after where Price went to the meeting room. You didn't have anything else to do so heading here ten minutes early was fine by you. Looking around the room you make a note of the layout, wandering around and glancing at maps and a few images of what you can guess is the entirety of the 141. Your skin nearly falls off your bones when you hear a gruff voice call out loud and clear somewhere behind you and you thank your horror game conditioning for keeping you from physically flinching.

"Someone's early ay?" You glance over your shoulder towards the opposite side of the room and notice Ghost once again. He stands by the back wall, arms crossed over his chest, the sockets of the skull baklava on his face look empty with how dark that end of the room is. There's a chill that runs up your spine as you turn to give him a salute, unsure of how to proceed.

"Uh. Yes sir. Wasn't really sure what else ta do." He stares at you as he steps forward, you can see the glint of the lights on his eyes now at least. Makes him look less like death but it means he's that much closer to you. Out of the frying pan you think to yourself. He stares for a long while before nodding and moving to lean on the large rectangular table.

"Right well now you wait with me then." He gestures a hand over to one of the seats opposite him and you hesitate before you get yourself stepping towards it.

"So, uh. Ghost huh? How'd you get that name?" His eyes narrow at you as you sit and you can't help but swallow air.

"Listen 'ere recruit. I ain't in the mood to lead a green'orn around 'ere, an' I sure as shite ain't gun'na let you get anyone on this team killed. You best keep up or you will be lef' behind." Another gulp as his dark eyes bore into yours. You raise your hands in a mock surrender as you nod.

"Understood sir. I ain't looking to ruffle any feathers." He scoffs but doesn't add anything else to his rant so you lower your hands to your lap and sit in a silence so loud you feel like your breath is annoying him. You know better then to piss off a giant you couldn't even hear so you keep any snark behind your lips, rare for you to keep quiet but Ghost didn't know that yet. It's a long ten minutes before you hear footfalls getting closer to the room, time to meet the team.

#141 x male reader #141 x trans male reader #poly 141 x male reader #141 #141 x reader #task force 141 #tf 141 #poly 141 #cod 141 #captain john price #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #kyle gaz garrick

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cozy-mp3 · 2 years

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over and out

ellie x female!reader

being assigned night patrol sucks, ellie agrees

word count: 1.2k(ish)

warnings: sfw, probably an inaccurate depiction of how walkie talkies work, ellie calls reader honey because i'm predictable, men dni please and ty :)

a/n: tysm for 200 followers!!! i'm gonna open my requests up again soon as a thank you! this is my 'trying to grasp how to write ellie again' fic in between writing other stuff which is why it's short. also, i honestly do not know if this scenario is logistically possible but it is what it is.

you hate night watch at the best of times. it’s almost mind numbingly boring and since there’s so little to report you often find yourself alone until whoever is taking over your post for the first day shift arrives in the morning. it’s particularly bad in the winter due to the cold, the past few days had brought snow and you can feel it chilling your toes even though you’d tugged several pairs of socks on before you’d left home.

the sound of the radio crackling to life makes you jump after such a long stretch of silence, not even the sound of people stumbling out of the tipsy bison had interrupted the quiet this late at night, it’d been balanced in your lap beside your rifle which you decide to set on the ground beside you before you startle again and accidentally blow your foot off.

“this is williams to honey,” ellie says, her voice distorted over the radio but still warm and familiar, “this better be you, i’ve been hopping frequencies for the past fifteen minutes, maria’s gonna kill me when she finds out,” she adds and you can practically see her rolling her eyes, though you’re sure she won’t have the same bravado once maria’s done with her.

“how did you get hold of a radio?,” you ask in response, you should probably be frustrated with her, the radios are strictly for patrolling the walls and communicating potential danger and she’s absolutely going to get in trouble, but you can’t help but let a smile stretch across your lips at the sound of her voice.

“jesse owed me a favor,” she explains, only sounding a little sheepish about it, “i can’t sleep without you, this is totally necessary if they want me on patrol tomorrow,” she insists and really, it’s impossible to be mad when you feel the same way, even if it’s the kind of argument that maria will complain is making her go gray. you can imagine her tucked into bed, the duvet pulled beneath her chin and her cheek pressed into her pillow, the soft light of the lamp on the bedside table casting a warm yellow glow over her skin.

“i miss sleeping with you, too,” you sigh, it must come out crackly because ellie makes a frustrated sound and the radio beeps meaning the settings are being fiddled with, “don’t bother messing with it, el,” you hum and you’re pretty sure that comes out distorted by static too, but ellie seems resigned to it and doesn’t attempt to fix it again, instead producing shuffling sounds like she’s repositioning in bed.

“how much longer are you assigned nights?,” she asks and it’s a testament to how well you know her that you can imagine her face, her brows tugged together in a frown that wrinkles her forehead and her lips tugged downwards, you wish you were there to smooth the creases from her face and kiss away her pout, but you’re stuck in what you’re beginning to believe is the most uncomfortable lawn chair left in the world watching for infected that stumble too close to the walls, so none of that is possible.

“three more days, then i’ve got mornings for a month,” you tell her with an unhappy exhale that she mirrors, you could probably get your shifts changed if you kicked up enough of a fuss but it doesn’t feel right when you know everyone else hates the job as much as you, no one is particularly willing to switch to nights in summer, let alone now when it’s sub zero.

“this is, like, top five worst things that have ever happened to me,” ellie grumbles, her voice is even more muffled and you can imagine how she’s turned her face into her pillow to hide her frustrated face, “and don’t correct me on that, honey, i’m being serious,” she sighs and you wish you were there to tug her into your chest and stroke your hands through her hair because she sounds tired, exhausted even, and it’s almost torture to know there isn’t anything you can do to soothe her to sleep.

“you wanna talk until you fall asleep?,” you ask as gently as you can, hoping that your change in tone is noticeable over the radio, your toes are so cold you’re beginning to think they’re going to fall off before you’re able to get home and practice your current ritual of sticking them between ellie’s calves to steal her warmth for the hour or so you’re in bed together before she has to get up for patrol.

“please,” she responds, her tone matching yours all syrupy sweet and rough with sleep in a way that makes your stomach warm, “i’m hugging your pillow,” she admits quietly, “smells like you,” she adds and you don’t know if you want to beam or cry because there’s almost nothing you wouldn’t do to be there with her where it’s warm and safe and your girl is there to hold you instead.

“i’ll be back soon,” you say before you can say something embarrassing, like that you’ve been missing her every second you’ve been apart or that just tonight you’ve caught yourself daydreaming about her so many times you’d stopped counting, “only a couple more hours,” you murmur, glancing down at your watch to check again. ellie had gotten you new batteries for it the last time she’d been on a supply run and having it functional again was useful despite it giving you the ability to agonize over how slowly each minute of your watch seems to pass.

“i’ll stay up,” ellie replies with a firm edge to her voice that you know better than to argue with, though she yawns soon afterwards and you’re almost certain that she’ll be asleep when you arrive home. it’s not a problem though, it’s just as nice to curl up behind her when she’s sleeping as it is for her to tug you against her chest and rub your back until you fall asleep together.

“i love you,” you tell her, having to stifle your responding yawn against your palm.

“i love you too, honey,” she says and you can hear the smile in her voice, “make sure you’re safe walking home, ok? it’ll still be dark when they switch over,” she hums, her voice sounding a little closer, like she’s tucked the radio beside her in bed.

“i’ll be safe, els,” you reassure her and you will, because you know she worries and you don’t want to give her cause to worry more, “now, what do you want to talk about?,” you ask, tucking your chin into the warmth of your coat and pulling your rifle back into your lap as you settle in for the last stretch of your watch.

ellie’s already started talking about the deer she saw on patrol and the fancy charcoal pencils joel had gotten her from a trader. you wiggle your toes just to make sure they’re still there just as she begins to complain about how they’ve served broccoli for dinner for almost a week straight, which is bullshit because she’s seen carrots in the pantry with her own eyes and you hope selfishly that she doesn’t fall asleep too soon because the time passes so much faster when she’s there.

#ellie x reader #ellie williams x reader #tlou2 x reader

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corviids · 11 months

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if, for some reason, they had to marry, how’d these cursed marriages between the siblings work?

mae and aenys

rhaella and gaemon

saera and valerion

maegelle and aenys: wouldn’t be horrible but aenys probably wouldn’t be great at helping mae manage her anxiety and other stuff because he himself is a bit emotionally dense. mae would lose her mind at the realization her and aenys are allowed to do THAT. all around they’d have an awkward marriage that’s more platonic than anything. mae needs a person that is patient and not intense

rhaella and gaemon: they’d be a decent match because gaemon is chill while rhaella has none. but they’d probably butt heads a lot however cuz gaemon is more traditional knight energy while rhaella would bully him to give her his armor and sword. overall not a nightmare but still awkward

saera and valerion: an absolute nightmare. saera treats valerion like a bug in an observation tank. she shows him off to make people jealous. there is zero romantic love there but she acts like they are in love just to mess with people. valerion has accepted his fate as his older sister’s dress up doll.

#asks

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luminetti · 9 months

Text

𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝑨𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚 ༺♡༻ Chapter 2

༘⋆Notes: sorry for the wait! This chapter turned out a lot longer than expected and I had more I wanted to include but it was too difficult to fit in. Ch3 will have more conflict, so until then, enjoy some fluff and pure idiocy at the end.

༘⋆ Chapters: ┆[1] ┆[2]┆[3]┆[4]┆[5]┆[6] ┆[7] ┆

ao3

It goes without saying that you had absolutely zero plan for taking in a near-corpse. Amongst the various other oversights, you were particularly struggling with finding a way to sneak breakfast into your room every morning. Despite Gale’s remarks, you thought yourself to be fairly crafty. The good ol’ ‘stuff-a-pancake-in-your-pocket’ trick was one of your proudest ideas, even if your company refused to see the ingenuity of your ways. You thought it worked well enough for the time being, but with Gale’s slow healing and several pockets worth of maple syrup, you reluctantly decided to look for other options.

Unfortunately, your search was ultimately cut short one night in the kitchen by none other than Sebastian Neredras, your eldest sibling.

“Put the bread down.” Sebastian spoke from the doorway, arms crossed. Ever since your father had died, Sebastian had taken on a more authoritative role with you and Euphemia. Though you would assume that he had more important things to worry about than interrogating you at eleven at night.

Turning slowly to face him, you slipped the thick piece of focaccia into your dress pocket. “What bread?”

He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Tav Neredras,” he began, hauntingly calm.

Yikes. Full name.

“What is it for?” Sebastian continued, sternly.

From behind him, you could see Euphemia watching from the foyer, distraught.

“Don’t look at her. Look at me.” He shifted his weight, blocking Euphemia with his body. “Bread. Explain. Now.”

You tore off a piece of the focaccia in your pocket and popped it into your mouth. “Midnight snack?”

Sebastian’s fingers tightened into a fist and he took another slow breath in. Turning around, he diverted his attention to your sister. “Phemie, by Jove, my fist will–lovingly–be through this wall if you don’t tell me this instant.

You focused all your efforts into burning a stare into your poor sister’s eyes. Out of everyone you’ve ever met, she had the loosest tongue by far.

She apologetically met your stare as she blurted out, “He’s a Viscount!”

From the doorway, you watched as Sebastian’s posture visibly stiffened and he turned with bone-chilling fluidity. “And who, exactly, is ‘he?’”

Mustering up your best innocent smile, you cleared your throat. “Gale Dekarios.”

“–of Waterdeep.” Euphemia chimed quietly.

Sebastian hastily strode towards the guest room with Euphemia in tow. He had just barely placed one hand on the door knob when your sister cleared her throat, eyes flashing towards your bedroom door.

In disbelief, Sebastian slowly crouched to his knees as if all energy had finally left his body. His eyes closed and his chest heaved with several drawn out breaths. “Tell me you didn’t.”

You silently teetered on your heels. “I, uh, I think we both know.”

His breath came out all at once in a shaky exhale. “Phemie, please offer the Viscount a proper dinner.” Sebastian slumped against the wall, utterly defeated. “I will set up the guest room.”

“What about-

Sebastian held up a hand, cutting you off with his eyes still closed. “I can’t- I don’t- I’m not even going to start with you.” Pointing to the corner of the dining room, he waved you away. “Just sit. Sit and think about your actions.”

✣ ✣ ✣

To your surprise, a fortnight passed by fairly smoothly. Sebastian most definitely not gotten used to Gale’s presence, but he was handling it… well. Gale was more like a house pet than anything else. You and your siblings each took on different roles when it came to caring for the Viscount. Euphemia started to cook larger portions for each meal while you managed his healing process. Sebastian probably helped in some way as well, though he was quite adamant that it was not his issue to deal with.

Gale seemed to be faring well, despite his situation. You had been routinely checking up on his wound, changing the bandages when needed, and tracking the medication that he was on. Despite your consistent encounters, you knew almost nothing about the Viscount and vice versa. Well, that was until about a couple days after he was ‘accepted’ by Sebastian and moved into the guest room.

It began slowly.

Every so often when you came to check on Gale or bring him dinner, he somehow found a way to slip in a question about your personal life. Your favorite colors, foods, flowers, all of which he managed to slowly pluck out of you, night after night. Honestly, you were pretty astonished at his perseverance. However, you were perhaps even more astonished at your own reciprocity, easily relinquishing facts and anecdotes about yourself each time he asked. You were fond of most colors with the exception for certain shades of orange, you could not stand tomatoes, and you were particularly fond of eglantine flowers.

Occasionally you even found yourself asking questions back to him. After only a week you learned that he prefers the color violet, enjoys fancy wine, and his favorite flower is–appropriately–the violet.

“I never did ask,” you began one night, sitting down for the routine bandage change. “How did you manage to get this?” With the wound exposed you could see the ripples where the bullet tore his skin alongside the taut scarring that covered the edges.

Gale bristled as you pressed a cold cloth dipped in medicine against his abdomen. “It was a duel,” he explained. “I had received a letter from someone, requesting to meet on the outskirts of Waterdeep.”

You removed the cloth to apply more ointment. “Sounds like quite some havey-cavey business.”

He chuckled, humorlessly. “I’d have realized it sooner had the letter been adequately labeled with the true correspondent.” Sitting up, Gale leaned towards you, allowing for easier access to his wound. “In place of the woman I was expecting was a man who demanded an affair of honor–a duel, in her name.”

For some reason you couldn’t fight back a sharp pain in your chest at the mention of his old flame. Well… you assumed it was old. “I suppose tabletop games are more your style,” you offered, attempting to liven the gloomy atmosphere.

Gale let out a heavy breath, his body easing at your change of subject, seemingly relieved. He placed a hand on the new white gauze covering his abdomen, thanking you quietly as you collected the old bandages and exited his room.

As you walked down the hallway, you found yourself heading towards the withdrawing room. Adorning the walls were your paintings from over the years, a variety of several still life subjects and a couple portraits of your siblings. The soft glow of moonlight beamed into the room, illuminating the thin layer of dust on each surface, appropriate for the lack of usage in the past couple months. You had been so occupied with Gale’s condition that you hadn’t had the chance to even think about painting. The more you examined your surroundings, bittersweet nostalgia festered in your gut, tugging you towards your abandoned easel.

A quick paint wouldn’t do any harm, you thought to yourself, placing a fresh canvas on the platform and settling into the stool. You stared at the large white cloth for a couple minutes, considering your subjects. There was still life of course, but you had painted pretty much everything in the room already. Well, everything except the old chessboard. For as long as you remember, that chessboard had never moved from the small table in the corner. Sebastian had spent hours in your youth attempting to teach you the most popular openings, despite your inability to remember which way the ‘horse’ piece moved. A subject for another time, you decided, looking for something else.

A faint glow of purple caught your eye through the window. Looking closer, you spotted a small patch of violets in the garden, accompanied by various other colorful flowers.That’s right, Euphemia loved floriography and had taken an interest in gardening several years ago. Before your father’s death, she had several flora related projects. One of which being an attempt at a rainbow garden with ombre flowers packed neatly in the dirt.

Instinctively, you felt your hand rise, placing quick strokes along the canvas and blocking out the basic shapes of the garden. Once you were satisfied with the sketch, you fished around for your palette and paints, blowing off the dust and flicking away dried pieces stuck to the tubes. It didn’t take long for you to fall into a rhythm, painting like you had years ago. Maybe it was the way your mind quietly wandered, or the soft scratch of bristles on canvas, but you found yourself drifting off as you worked. Your movements slowed until finally, you let your head rest in your arms beside the abandoned paint palette.

The next thing you knew, a warm palm gently nudged you awake. The moonlight from before had been replaced with bright morning sunbeams that bore down onto you and your painting as you awoke.

“A bit of an odd place to sleep, but whatever suits your fancy,” a warm voice resounded in your ear, startling away your grogginess.

You jolted awake to see Gale observing your unfinished painting, looking it over.

“Oh, good morning.” You yawned, stretching your aching back.

Gale’s attention turned back to you, standing quietly off to the side.

Gale?

Standing?

Snapping upright in your stool you stared at him, standing right in front of you as if perfectly fine. “What are you doing up?” You rushed to your feet, placing a hand underneath his arm and hustling him into the chair beside the old chessboard.

“There’s no need for this,” he complained, but sat anyway despite his protests.

Surely it hadn’t healed that fast?

You hesitantly nudged the bandage covering his stitches, waiting for a response. To your surprise, he made no move to flinch or push you away.

“Nothing?”

He shrugged in reply.

“How bizarre..” you pondered out loud. What could have possibly quickened the process so much? You certainly weren’t that good at medicine.

If Gale was surprised, he didn’t show it. In fact, he looked quite bored of the topic, as if his good health was old news. Instead, his focus turned to the dusty chess board.

“Do you play?” he asked, instinctively setting up the board.

It had certainly been a while. You barely remembered what the pieces did. You knew the pawn and King can one square per turn, but that’s about where your memory left off.

“Of course I play,” you confidently countered, scooting your chair to sit across from him. “Quite masterfully, actually.”

Gale’s brows rose in disbelief. “”Really now? Well, I’ll be sure to perform at my highest.”

In a matter of about four turns, he had your King completely pinned in checkmate. From across the table, you glowered at the board.

“Yes, quite masterfully,” he chuckled, amused at your bewildered expression.

“These things are useless.” You toyed with the pawn between your fingers, tossing it back onto the board where it rolled miserably in a circle before coming to a pitiful stop. “What even is this?” You picked up a strange paintbrush-looking piece.

Gale stifled a laugh, watching you scowl at the small piece of wood like it killed your entire family. “That would be a bishop,” he spoke as he gently took it from you. Placing it on the board, he slid the piece diagonally across the squares.

“As far as it wants?”

“As far as it wants.”

You hummed, absently watching as he deftly reset the board. Gale seemed brighter today. Gone was his sickly hue, replaced with a much warmer liveliness.

He made two moves, starting by moving one of his pawns two spaces forward, then pushing out his bishop several paces diagonally.

“This is an opening. Bishop’s opening, if you want to get technical,” he told you, gesturing to the board. “It’s a specific series of moves to set up for a specific strategy.”

You stared as he deftly played against himself, taking pieces back and forth until he had won. And well, lost.

There was a sense of expertise in the way he moved around the board, as if years had been spent practicing. You found yourself wondering if he taught himself everything he knew, or if it was learned from someone else. Either way it was certainly impressive.

“So you’re an egghead?”

Gale shuddered dramatically, clutching his heart. “Harsh words! I’ll have you know, I prefer ‘well-read.’”

Alright, sure. You admit he was charismatic. The way he looked at you through eyes creased by a smile never failed to elicit a strange uplifted atmosphere. You couldn’t help but feel a bit lighter than air whenever he was around.

“My brother used to be really interested in chess,” you started. The ambience of warm sunlight and good company left you relaxed enough to begin rambling about whatever came to mind. “He tried to teach me but I didn’t get it at all so he gave up and tried to teach Euphemia, but that didn’t work out cause she felt bad about ‘getting her soldiers killed’ so he gave up again.”

You told him about your attachment to the knight piece, which you only recently learned was actually called a ‘knight’ and not a ‘horse’ like you originally thought.

On the subject of horses, you had one as a stuffed animal, actually. Bought from a local vendor and gifted to you by Sebastian for your tenth birthday. He had suggested horse-like names, like Chestnut, or Horace. But in childlike fashion, you settled on the name ‘Horse.’

“How creative,” Gale spoke, snapping you back into reality.

You stared at him puzzled for several seconds until coming to the mortifiying realization that you had bombarded him with tales of your childhood stuffed animal.

“Don’t stop on my account,” he grinned, a glint of mirth in his eyes.

The room felt significantly warmer than before, making you squirm in your seat. “You should’ve said something sooner.”

Gale chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled, almost too earnestly to be genuine. “On the contrary, I’m a bit disappointed that I said anything at all. You showed no signs of stopping.”

“Please, don’t remind me.”

He waved you off, leaning back in his seat. “You listened to my chess talk. It’s only fair.”

You pursed your lips, still a bit mortified. “It’s your turn in that case. Drone on.”

“Drone?” He dramatically gasped, placing a hand over his heart. “I’m offended, I was under the impression you were interested. Is chess not riveting to you?”

“What can I say? As a chess master, I need something more mentally stimulating.”

Something glinted behind Gale’s eyes as you spoke, breathing slowly out his nose as he watched you. As he leaned forward his earring swung lightly, catching your attention. You hadn’t noticed the little metal piece before. Circular in shape but adorned with a small purple gemstone, shining brighter than the average jewel. It seemed far more ostentatious than jewelry you expected Gale to wear. Somehow, the gaudy earring never seemed to catch your attention over the man who bore it.

“Something more stimulating?” He repeated, thoughtfully. “What do you know about mages?”

The sudden change in topic startled you back into attention. Mages were certainly uncommon, only few known people being able to wield such a power. Some thought that mages were too dangerous to live amongst the Ton. Others thought mages were nothing more than an old wives tale until a high ranking noble had revealed their innate abilities, but you had been busy in your painting phase while it happened. You hardly remembered how it ended. You silently chided yourself for not paying more attention to the happenings of the Ton. Perhaps Euphemia would remember. You made a mental note to ask her eventually.

Between nonbelievers and

“I know they exist,” you started, raking your brain for any helpful bits of information. “I know they are quite rare. I’ve never met one if that’s what you were asking.”

Gale inhaled shortly, shoulders rigid and tense. He fidgeted with the fabric of his shirt, gently rolling it between his fingers. “And if you met one, what would you think of them?”

“Did I know them prior to knowing they were a mage?” You asked, unsure of where he was headed.

He nodded.

With hesitation, you continued. “Then they would still be the same person, would they not? I don’t think it would change my impression of them.”

Gale exhaled a breath you hadn’t realized he was holding, shoulders easing slightly as he relaxed back into his chair. “Yes, I agree,” he replied, letting his hand return to the tabletop and releasing the fabric he was toying with. “Are you busy tonight?”

Your mind spun in confusion at another quick change in topic. “I believe so? Why do you ask all this?”

He waved you off, earring twinkling as he abruptly stood from the table. The air felt lighter than before and Gale now wore a bright smile, eagerly putting the chair back in its place. “I’d like to see you back here tonight after dinner. I have something to show you that I think you’d like.”

Feeling your cheeks redden, you sputtered. Meeting you late at night? Has he always been so forward? “But we aren’t even courting yet.”

Gale paused in shock as he failed to stop his smile from growing, his own ears beginning to bloom with pink. “Courting?” He repeated, voice soft and honeyed, the world pleasantly rolling off his tongue.

The feelings of mortification rushed back to you and all of a sudden you felt transparent in front of him. “I have greatly misunderstood, haven’t I?”

Blinking, he seemed to startle himself back into reality, clearing his throat. “My apologies, I hadn’t intended to imply… Not that I wouldn’t- I mean, only if you wanted- I just-” Gale stuttered, nervously cutting himself off and refusing to meet your gaze.

“I’ll be there.”

Gale’s eyes caught yours and he took a deep breath. “I promise I’ll make it worth your time.” He gave you one last look before withdrawing from the room, leaving you alone as the door swung closed.

taglist:

@vhaldren

#gale dekarios x reader #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 gale #bg3 x tav #bg3 x reader #gale dekarios x tav #gale of waterdeep #gale x reader #alternate universe #bg3 #gale dekarios #wizard of waterdeep #regency #tav bg3 #gale x tav #gale romance #regency au

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quincywillows · 8 months

Text

a scattered and overall supportive review of percy jackson season 1

let me just say first of all, it's extremely fun to be enthused about a tv show like this again. the adaptation isn't perfect, but it's a lot of fun, and you can tell there's plenty of heart and good intention behind what they're doing. i'm very much enjoying tuning in every couple of episodes and catching up -- and avoiding the relentless commentary of the internet while i do so lol.

but now it's time for MY commentary!! to preface, i was a huge fan of the books when i was younger, am a stalwart long-term advocate of the original five books as some of the best children's lit of our lifetime, but i also enjoyed the films a decade ago for what they were and think people (including cough rick cough) are way too harsh about them. justice for logan lerman. anyway

i'm not going to do like a play-by-play, but in summary, here are my takeaways from the first season -- what i thought worked, what did not, and things i'm optimistic about going into the future seasons.

the good

for an adaptation of the original series (which, to be fair, i have not reread in years), i felt this was honest and faithful. there were tweaks, obviously, but none that took me too out of it or felt irredeemable. there was a lot to like about this show, so i want to start right from the top with my highest highs.

the worldbuilding / production design. i absolutely loved getting to see how they imagined certain iconic characters, locations, and sequences from the books. it was so exciting to get to see camp halfblood for the first time on screen (at least, in this adaption) -- that moment in episode two definitely felt like a turning point where we picked up from the somewhat laggy pilot episode. i especially loved the design of mount olympus, aspects of the underworld (hades and his upside down castle were baller, though how did percy and grover get up there lol; and i absolutely loved the choice for asphodel and the ghosts being rooted like trees, i never would've thought of that myself but it was so chilling and unique... just wish i could see it better through the terrible lighting, but we'll come back to that), and of course, camp. even down to the small details, like the camp beads... it's just very cool to see it come to life.

the casting. i wasn't sure about some of the casting when the news was breaking, but i'm very happy to have been pleasantly surprised all around (and have majorly avoided people bitching about every single thing). there wasn't any role where i felt like someone was horribly miscast, and you could tell that everyone involved really wanted to be there and committed. i thought the casting of the gods was especially inspired at times. some of the highlights for me personally:

adam copeland as ares. i had no idea he was apparently a wrestler turned actor until my sister told me, but i thought he was absolutely spectacular. very charismatic, with just the right amount of cringefail that ares needed. i found him thoroughly enjoyable in all his scenes.

lance reddick as zeus. having just played horizon zero dawn recently, oh my lorde was this an inspired choice. he was absolutely brilliant. i'm so so sad about his passing, i don't know how they're going to recapture his performance, but i have faith now that they'll find a way.

timothy omundson as hephaestus. i love that they took a softer, more mad scientist approach to his role than like ugly basement blacksmith vibes... i just thought it was really refreshing. his scene with annabeth, where we got so much humanity from him in such a short span of time, was one of my favorite scenes of the season.

jason mantzoukas as dionysus. i mean. what else can be said. obvious choice, but he was so fun lol. i hope they give him more to do next season.

other standouts beyond the main youth cast for me were jay duplass as hades (his brief appearance in 107 was thoroughly enjoyable) and dior goodjohn as clarisse (she was by far the acting standout of the first couple episodes to me). also very happy to see jessica kennedy parker and sinclair from the 100 get work, lol.

walker as percy jackson. it was really wonderful watching walker grow as an actor even just through the first eight episodes. the difference from 101 to 108 is almost night and day. you can tell how much he cares about the project and percy as a character, and he upped his game with every episode. i cannot wait to see what he turns out in the coming seasons. to be fair, i thought all of the youth cast did a decent job, and i'm giving them a lot of leeway and room to grow since they are literally child actors -- it takes time to hone your craft, and im optimistic they're all going to do a great job as the series goes on. but walker was, definitively and thankfully as the protagonist, the standout.

charlie bushnell as luke. i was so excited when i heard he got cast because i loved him in diary of a future president, and he did not disappoint. i kind of wish he had more to do, but all of that was forgiven in the finale when he had his final confrontation with percy. oh, the acting popped off then -- i can't wait for him to get to chew up the scenery more in the coming seasons.

grover and percy's friendship. it was so sweet to see this come alive, and i thought walker and aryan had excellent natural chemistry together. they were so endearing, and i really believed their friendship basically from the start (them swapping their sandwich fillings is a tiny detail from the pilot that has stuck with me since; i just loved that choice so much). they definitely provided a lot of my favorite moments in the season, and i think evoked the most genuine "aw wow" moments from me.

percy's relationship with sally. since sally was, understandably, absent from the original novel, it was awesome to get the flashbacks here that allowed us to more deeply understand their bond. i thought walker and virginia did a great job with this, and the young actor who played little percy also did a surprisingly great job (he was actually one of the stronger youth actors in the pilot imo lol). you totally understood why percy was doing everything he was, because that mother-son bond felt believable. big shout-out to the absolutely baller line "i am sally jackson's son." one of the first writing moments where i was like oh snap!

the music. a good score really can't be understated, and this one did not disappoint. did just what it needed to do. i also loved the closing title sequence and the art direction there with the epic music -- just such a nice touch that i'm so glad they included.

some of the writing. i'll get more into some of my qualms with the writing below, but there were definitely some great moments that deserve their flowers. i thought they did a great job weaving in some early themes without being heavy-handed about it (percy having to define who he is for himself, mostly). there were some genuinely funny moments that made me laugh out loud, including "i am impertinent," annabeth's "i'm multitalented," and the entire exchange on the road side when the trio to ares are like no... we're fine... ahaha bye... oh and percy trying to drive the taxi out of the garage at the casino was absolutely hysterical.

pivotal scenes hitting their mark. when the show needed to deliver, i thought they really delivered. i absolutely loved the staging and acting in the final luke and percy confrontation -- the lighting of the fireworks was such a cinematic touch. percy's arrival at olympus and scene with zeus was also a big standout. i loved a lot of the st. louis arch episode, and thought the hephaestus golden chair sequence was really well done. overall, the episodes i thought were strongest were without a doubt 104, 105, and 108.

expansion where expansion was welcome. one of my favorite aspects of the series is how it's giving more nuance to the monsters and "villains" of the books. i loved that we got a little more motivation for alecto beyond evil -- that she clearly wanted to accomplish her own mission and retrieve the helm, whether out of loyalty or fear. i loved how medusa got much more depth and humanity, that we're sort of reexamining the fairness of how myths are told rather than just taking it all at face value. i'm really looking forward to seeing how that continues in the next seasons.

the decent

percy and annabeth. to be fair, i think my issue with this is more on the fan reaction than the show itself. i think the show is doing a decent, if somewhat awkwardly paced job, of building their friendship and offering small little hints of what could blossom in the future in classic youth awkward ways -- unexpected hugs, banter, etc. i think walker and leah are both doing a good job, and i look forward to seeing how it develops. but my god, people on the internet are really jumping the shark so hard here. i can't handle seeing more "uwu percy is in love" posts when it's like. y'all. THEY ARE 12. THEY JUST MET. LET THEM ORGANICALLY BECOME FRIENDS FIRST... i just hope the creators don't feed into that and also jump the shark. like yes, we all know where this is going, but can't we enjoy the actual journey to get there instead of forcing what isn't there yet? in any case, on the positive side, some of the moments between them i really enjoyed: the conversation on the train when grover was asleep, the hephaestus chair sequence, annabeth giving him her camp beads before going to olympus (that was a slay... that was a legendary slow burn start moment worth hyping up), the way percy smiled at her in their last scene... that's the good stuff. let's not rush through what we're getting folks. the water is fine.

lin manuel as hermes. here is the thing. i thought lin did a good job. i thought his casting was apt, and fun, and he did a great balance of hermes charisma and like, a darker edge. it's just... the thing about lin manuel is that he's lin manuel. and this is coming from someone who likes him, but it's like he shows up on screen and i'm just like. hey it's lin manuel. it's a bit of a "takes you out of the moment" stunt casting, but i'm not mad about it. i wouldn't call it a bad thing. hopefully it'll wear off (though i doubt it). i guess i'm just deciding that hermes is just lin manuel, which honestly, would kind of track.

the youth acting. mentioned this above, but again, some of that early delivery was rough. but i am giving a lot of grace, and i think they've already improved plenty in the first eight episodes. i felt the same way about shadowhunters back in the day when i thought kat mcnmara was hard to watch in season 1, but by season 3 she was my absolute favorite cast member and came so far. i have no doubt these kiddos will do the same. so very much looking forward to that.

the not so great

the pacing. this was definitely the weakest part of the story writing wise. it wasn't irredeemable, but it did hinder the first half of the show (which didn't lock in for me until about 104, when the stakes truly shot up at st. louis). and that also affected how dynamics and plot points were able to unravel. the biggest victim of this...

the luke reveal. from the start, i was worried about this. since luke was only really in episode 2, i had doubts about whether the reveal of his betrayal would be at all satisfying or earned. i don't know that i can speak on it for sure, since i knew what was going to happen as someone who read the books, but i still feel we should have gotten more of those luke-and-percy-bonding scenes and convos earlier in the series rather than tacked onto the finale as flashbacks. it worked there, but i think it could've been better. thankfully, all of that didn't hinder the delivery of the finale confrontation, which as i said, was a standout moment for me.

the fight scenes. with rare exception, i was pretty underwhelmed with many of the monster battles and confrontations this season. given that's such a huge gimmick of the novels, i hope they're able to revisit and polish up the pacing of these in the future... i just felt that scenes like the museum clash with dodds were so rushed and anticlimactic. or not even confrontations at all, like the scene with crusty. we got a bit more of this at the back half of the season, in the sword fights with ares and luke, but i wanted more of that epic feeling throughout. i'm hoping it's maybe just a budget concern and that it'll improve in the coming seasons -- especially as the bosses get bigger and the stakes get higher -- but i'm not sure i'm optimistic just yet.

some of the dialogue. it was... wooden, to say the least. i think the worst moments of this were when they were trying to force Kid Bants -- which just felt stilted in the earlier episodes -- and whenever they were explaining greek myths point blank to the audience. there were moments it worked, but many where it didn't, and i hope they flesh out how to better info dump in the future episodes. i didn't mind the change of having percy be more familiar with the myths and thus more aware, but they could afford to finesse how they relay that information to us in the audience without basically reading from wikipedia in percy's voice.

the ugly

oh my god i can't see. i can't SEE. this show went to the teen wolf academy of employing one lightbulb and it's actually criminal. there were so many scenes where i really wanted to see what was happening because the stakes were high or the scenery was so pivotal -- the entry into the underworld for the first time, the vastness of medusa's basement of stone, THE FIELDS OF ASPHODEL -- but the lighting was so god awful i legitimately couldn't see a thing. in asphodel i literally could barely see the trio's expressions, it was that bad / flat. the audience is smart, we understand it's dark out. we can suspend our disbelief so you can add some visibility to this thing. i was turning up my brightness constantly but it wouldn't go any higher. please, disney execs, rick, anyone -- GET ANOTHER LIGHTBULB. i'm losing key immersive aspects of the show to this and it's a bummer. when they were walking through waterland for the first time and annabeth was like "wow can you believe this craftsmanship" i was like i don't know, girl, I CAN'T SEE ANY OF IT. begging on my knees that they fix this next season.

well, that ended up longer than expected, but oh my gods it is so nice to be writing paragraphs about a tv show again. all in all, i'd say 7.5/10 from me in this first season. there's so much to be keen for here, and i'm really happy with how it's going so far.

friends and fellow demigods, what did we all think?

#percy jackson #pjo tv #pjo tv show #pjo series #pjo #idk what y'all are tagging with lol #maggie watches tv #maggie.txt

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animentality · 9 months

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Can I just say as a lesbian with a lesbian Durge - when it comes to Gortash I imagine that she and him were absolutely inseparable besties. They absolutely meant the world to each other and loved each other, but platonically. I still love them and the insane ride or die bestfriendship dynamic I imagine for them. And then I also have a gay dude Durge, the default dragonborn, and I ship him with Gortash. So, two Durges, two timelines, two perfectly valid interpretations of the relationship based on in-game evidence, and zero issues. It is really not that difficult!

(People might as well complain “what about my lesbian Tav” in response to all the Astarion/Tav shipping like. Lol. So I don’t understand how anyone is trying to make the relative popularity of Durgetash amongst people with gay or bi Durges a point of general contention tbh. More likely someone is just annoyed by the ship but couldn’t just say that and had to make up discourse about it.)

Anyway, the elephant in the room is this. Won’t someone PLEASE think of the poor straight man Durges? Forced into homosexuality with Gortash, by all 10 Durgetash shippers on the internet??? How will they ever recover?????

ANON, you hit the nail on the head.

They just don't like Gortash. And I don't CARE. I know most people DON'T.

None of my friends get it at ALL. But they're still my friends.

I think Dark Urge fans are just in smaller supply than regular Tavs, so you take Dark Urge content wherever you can...and it just so happens, that Durgetash fans are highly active.

And they're just disgruntled because they want us to obsess with THEIR OCs, like bro, come on now.

We all get to play with our own OCs here. The Dark Urge is just an origin.

No one said your lesbian Durge had to do anything. No one ever put a gun to your head and said, love Enver.

Imagine your OC kissing him.

Ugh. I hate Twitter discourse.

It's a bunch of "unpopular take but-" and then followed by the most popular take in existence.

No one but a small fringe group of lunatics likes Gortash.

Just leave us alone and chill the fuck out.

Go attack Astarion girlies for making tav a straight woman every time.

Also, anon, about your lesbian durge...that's the beauty of durgetash.

It's subtle in the game, so if you want to pretend they weren't hooking up...then they weren't hooking up.

It's literally so subtle, most people just don't notice it.

All you have to acknowledge is, they once worked together.

You don't have to imagine them banging if you don't want to.

They could, simply be, simply roommates.

So I don't get the hand wringing and the pearl clutching.

The game is soooo milquetoast on confirming canon behaviors from both the dark urge and tav anyway, that you could straight up headcanon just about anything, and have it make sense.

in fact, i wish durgetash WAS more prominent, so as you said, the majority straight male audience of bg3 who plays the dark urge would be forced to confront their character being a little bicurious, lmao.

#baldurs gate 3 #dark urge #enver gortash #writing #durgetash

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songbirdsingingthings · 2 years

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Lavender Haze - Shoto Todoroki x Reader

❀ Back to Navigation ❀

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Kohei Horikoshi

MHA Masterlist - Main Masterlist

WARNINGS: none

A/N: lol hi this is inspired by queen TS

Word Count: 1.4K

Your body was cold, but your hand was warm as snow began to lightly fall. It was December in Musutafu, one of your favorite times of the year. The city just seemed to hold an all encompassing sort of glow – while the days became shorter, the lights burned brighter. Children all around were cradling carefully crafted snowballs in their hands, all the while ducking behind bushes and trees in order to get the jump on their friends. Garlands filled with ruby red ornaments adorned the streetlamps, menorahs were displayed in window sills, and holiday cheer was in full swing. And, holding your hand, your boyfriend.

Turning your head to the right, you find Shoto Todoroki keeping perfect pace with you. He looked perfectly content – his lapel jacket and scarf providing the little warmth he needed. He wasn’t even wearing gloves, but you knew that was because he was holding your hand. Using his quirk, he was able to keep your right hand nice and toasty, relieving the chill that tended to creep down your spine every time you exited your apartment.

He squeezed your hand. “I can feel your eyes on me, what’s up?” He asks, drawing a roll from your eyes.

“I’m not looking at you.” Shoto huffs a light laugh and sends an extra flicker of warmth through your palm.

“You’re right, you’re not looking at me. You’re staring.” His comment makes you laugh, leaning your body into his further.

“Fine. I’m staring.”

“Any reason why?” You frown, slightly, at his question and wiggle your left hand further into the pocket of your down jacket.

“I guess I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Your admission was fair. For the past few months, a frenzy had descended upon you and Shoto. All of the tabloids wanted every detail of your relationship. It was bad enough that you were both Pro-Heroes, but due to Shoto’s standing in the rankings, he was a hot topic. Ever since a picture of the two of you at a fundraising gala went viral, the conversation regarding your relationship became public gossip. Sure, your relationship has been public since the very beginning. Shoto asked you for a first date in the mid to latter half of your third year at UA, and since then, he has been yours ever since.

It was peculiar – no pictures of the two of you had sparked this much popularity previously. There had been plenty of pictures before, ones much more “scandalizing” than this one, however the public seemed to zero in on one tiny detail; a delicate band of silver resting on your left ring finger.

That damn ring caused an absolute frenzy to occur at every news station and magazine publishing house. You and Shoto could not catch a break. No matter how many times the question was masterfully avoided in interviews, it always seemed to work its way back into fruition.

“I am too.” Shoto’s response was solemn and understanding. This was the first time in quite a while that you weren’t bombarded on the street with fans asking when the wedding was. It didn’t matter that it was your grandmother’s ring that you were wearing in her memory, or the fact that people wouldn’t care to hear your genuine explanations – all they heard were excuses. “But,” he continued, swinging your hands back and forth a little, “let’s try and be in the moment.” He leans down a bit and presses a whisper of a kiss to your cheek, keeping you pendulum of hands going. You smile and nod, letting a timid flush creep onto your face.

“Okay. Holiday shopping it is then.”

It took only five minutes of you and Shoto being in a store for a crowd to descend upon you two.

“Shoto, is it true you popped the question?!” A young fan asked, their eyes boring into the center of your boyfriend’s skull.

“Y/H/N, please show me what your dress will look like! Is it a custom design?” A teenage girl demanded, clinging onto your arm.

“Please televise the whole wedding! It’s basically the closest thing we’ll get to a royal wedding.” Another begged.

You laughed awkwardly as the bombarding questions continued, stepping closer to Shoto, whose arm snaked around your waist almost instantly.

“Um, look guys, we appreciate the, uh… support. But we’re not engaged.” You explain, gripping onto the cashmere sweater you were fawning over earlier tighter. Out of the corner of his eye, Shoto noted that small movement and drew you impossibly closer to him.

“Come on, we can’t wait around forever. Get married or move on so the next person can get in line.” You could hear a pin drop, the room became so silent. Eyes flicked around to find whoever said it, but whoever the perpetrator was didn’t matter. The comment struck the both of you so hard that you were gobsmacked. In a flash, Shoto took the hanger that the sweater was on from your hands and hung back on the clothing rack.

“Okay, we’re done here.” He murmured, shuffling the two of you through the throng of people.

The cold now, as you exited the store, was much harsher than before.

“I told you, I’m fine. I was just surprised at the comment. You were too!” You say, cradling a mug of hot chocolate in your hands. Beneath a chunky knit blanket and lounging on the plush couch of your apartment, you watched Shoto walk towards you. He himself held a steaming mug, green tea in place of molten chocolate, and tugged some of the blanket over his legs.

“I’m not saying I wasn’t, I’m just saying that the comment was ridiculously out of line.” He paused to take a sip of the tea. “And, I know you’re upset that we didn’t get to finish looking at that store.” A small smile spread across your face but you kept your eyes on your mug. “Y/N?” His voice is softer now, much more cautious.

“I… I-yes, I’m bummed that we couldn’t really spend a normal day out, but I guess I sort of signed up for that when becoming a Pro-Hero.” You say as Shoto laid an arm over your shoulder. “I just wonder when it’s all gonna stop.” Shoto hummed in acknowledgement, massaging a knot in your neck gently.

“I think that all this frenzy will never completely disappear,” he says, keeping his eyes on yours. “But as long as we’re here,” he kisses your cheek, “together,” a peck to your other cheek, “and we just enjoy each other,” a lulling kiss to your lips, “then we’ll be okay.” You sigh in comfort, curling into Shoto’s boy as his hand moves from your neck to playing lightly with your hair. You bite your lip, suddenly, to suppress a laugh. Shoto, of course, notices and raises his brows. “Something funny?”

“No,” you admit, nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck. “Just thought a nice plan B was to get married.” His body shakes in laughter.

“Oh, I plan on proposing to you. Just not for the sake of the public.”

“Yeah?”

“Of course.” A smirk spreads across your face.

“Then the rock on that ring better be huge. You know, so everybody can see it when they watch the live broadcast.” You laugh as Shoto leans his head back over the edge of the couch, releasing a fake groan of annoyance.

“And the flowers?” He asks, egging you on.

“No flowers. I want lavender, dripping from every corner.” You answer earnestly.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Shoto contemplates your answer before pressing a smacker of a kiss to your lips, making you shy away in laughter.

“Lavender it is.”

“So, are you gonna propose to me or not? I mean, we’re deciding our wedding before I have a ring on my finger. It’s counting your chickens before they hatch.”

“I suppose so. But, the difference is, I’m telling you – I will propose.” You smile and settle back into his arms.

“Alright then. That’s good enough for me. Is it good enough for you?” You ask.

“It’s good enough for me.”

“Good. That’s all that matters anyways. That we’re both happy.” One final kiss seals the conversation with a wax stamp, putting it out of the way. Off your desk and off of your chest. And now, you two can just stay in that lavender haze.

Taglist:

@luluwiie ~ All-Flora Florist

@maiacroson ~ All-Flora Florist

@nerdypuppytimemachine ~ All-Flora Florist

@softvanlla All-Flora Florist

@catguinsstuff ~ All-Flora Florist

@smallxbunny ~ All-Flora Florist

@the-emo-asgardian ~ Snowbell Florist

@lovers-liability ~ Snowbell Florist

@palenightmarepersona ~ All-Flora Florist, All-Tree Arborist

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hollow-dweller · 6 months

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5-10 🤭

it's always you at the scene of the crime

5. worst discord server and why

the answer to this is actually not in spidey, it's this one klance server i was in back in ye old voltron days that was absolutely horrible to exist in as an Allura lover/Allurance shipper. when she died, and klance didn't become canon (because it was never going to), things got nasty and i will freely admit i am still bitter about it! nothing made me dislike klance faster or more thoroughly than klance fans.

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

anyone with a Tony Stark ship, really, though obviously the one I see the most nonsense from is irondad. Tony fans are, 90% of the time, there for Tony, and really focus on him to the exclusion of any of the other characters, including the one that he is partnered/shipped with. as someone who writes for and interacts with irondad because i love both Tony and Peter, who wants to explore them and their extended universes, it fucking sucks to have to wade through post after post that grossly misrepresents or misinterprets Tony, and treats Peter as a prop more than a character.

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

having said the above: Tony Stark you will always be famous! none of these people who pretend you're a soft uwu dad who's never done anything wrong could make me hate you, because that's NOT you!

i don't know there are any characters i "hate" per se, but certainly there are ones i will AVOID because the fandom is so terrible. in Spidey, though he's not a Spidey character, that's Harley Keener. i have zero feelings toward his canon character because he was a child and then an easter egg, and basically has no canon character. but i will avoid him at all costs in fic/tumblr tags, because his fans use him to completely supplant and erase actual Spider-Man characters, like Ned and MJ and Flash.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

MJ WATSON WOULD NOT WORSHIP PEPPER POTTS ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

MJ "i want to get a little light protesting in before lunch" Watson, MJ "so really this is all your fault" Watson, MJ "i don't want to tour a building made by slaves" Watson would NOT be falling over herself to talk about how "cool" Pepper Potts is.

fandom loves to drop MJ into interactions with Tony where she's snarky and rude and makes "eat the rich" jokes. but then they'll turn around and also make her look up to Pepper as a girl boss.

and it's because people's aren't representing her as anti-billionaire or anti-establishment as a genuine reflection on her character and how she might behave meeting Tony Stark or Pepper Potts. she's an audience avatar to spout a couple memes and jokes, then is unceremoniously shuffled off stage left so that Tony and Peter can cuddle on the couch or whatever. it's about making Tony look cool and chill for "putting up" with her, and to make Peter embarrassed so that Tony can reassure him.

9. worst part of canon

Far From Home, beloathed. its sins are innumerable but to sum them up in as concise of terms as possible: it represents so much wasted potential. we could have had post-blip meta! we could have had the FOS as more than a joke! we could have had actual development of the petermj relationship! and yes we could have had an actual examination of the impact of Tony Stark and his legacy on Peter and his life!

WE COULD HAVE HAD MAY PARKER

instead we got a kidz bop european road trip movie and only head fakes to anything deeper going on between any of the characters

10. worst part of fanon

here's the thing: the idea of a community of people coming together to collaboratively fill in the blanks of a piece of art is, conceptually, beautiful, and exactly what fandom should be about. doing collaborative, generative creative work is genuinely valuable, and an important part of community building in creative spaces.

but the relationship that people have to fanon, is, frankly, completely fucking whack. modern fandom doesn't use fanon to generate collaborative and creative elaborations, variations, and interpretations of canon: they use it to supplant canon. popular fanon goes beyond being just an idea that a lot of people like; it starts being treated as law. people start interpreting canon through the lens of fanon, and in doing so treat the canonical text not as a work of art that deserves consideration and interpretation, but as a static and authoritative source whose purpose is to be excavated for "proof" of fanon, and anything that exists outside of fanon or in opposition to it is to be dismissed, ignored, and denied.

there are plenty of people who will happily admit they don't pay attention to canon and prefer fanon, and while that isn't my preferred way to engage with art, i have way less of a problem with that. people who engage with the original work through a fanon lens first, in an attempt to "prove" fanon, aren't seeking alternative interpretations or elaborating on the art. they're not even picking and choosing the things they like and the things they don't. what they are doing is working backwards from a foregone conclusion to pretend like art has one fixed, immutable interpretation, and that interpretation is the only correct or acceptable one.

the only proof you need of this tendency is the way people lose their fucking minds when you question popular fanon, or, god forbid, point out how it is directly contradicted or disproven by canon. it's a shitty way to engage with fandom as a community, and it's a shitty way to engage with art, and i have no patience for it.

choose violence ask game

#asks #ask games #hope this is violent enough for you

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angorwhosebabyisthis · 9 months

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[cws: starvation/food insecurity, fantasy racism, psychiatric abuse, ableism, and Upsetting Pictures.]

one thing that fucks me up immensely about pericles before and after the asylum is how fucking skinny he is.

like. as much as obviously the two designs are Very Inconsistent in general which annoys me, look at him pre-timeskip. look at how he's shaped.

his head and face are way smoother and rounder, both in front and back, and the space between his cheekbones and his eyebrow ridge is filled in; his body is rounder in general and his belly is noticeably between his thighs when he's standing up; he has kind of a chubby butt; his chin and neck are softer and wider around, which you can really see with the width of the scarf compared to his shoulders and the angle where it meets his head. it comes up in front of his face more because there's not as much of an angle with his chin to hold it down.

now. compare all those things to this.

christ.

and like, you could argue some of these design differences are tiny things to zero in on in a show that's as loose with its models as sdmi is. but present-day pericles' design is pretty obviously supposed to be unsettling because he's physically built to be a Cute Roumb Little Mascot Creature--so much so that the framework has managed to stick around a little in spite of everything--and has become gaunt and haggard anyway. and you could also argue that the body type changes are just thanks to aging twenty years (and i don't doubt that's contributed).

except. he spent those twenty years in an asylum where the other inmates we see look like this.

christ.

(fun little fact that @thecottageinthedark pointed out also: remember how he literally got caught at one point because he couldn't stop eating sunflower seeds, even during a heist? a high-fat, high-calorie snack for birds? you know, exactly the kind of thing a starving person who finally has proper access to food would be wolfing down?)

(yeah.)

did i mention that this happened in a (fantasy) racially segregated prison, which is technically an asylum so the inmates can be kept there indefinitely, because in an actual prison you're required to have a sentence? did i mention that none of the human characters we see in human prison look any less healthy during or afterward, and on top of that are allowed to move around and socialize? did i mention the absolutely horrific treatment of the asylum inmates is implied to be despite the fact that the (physically abusive!) guard is playing up how dangerous and malicious they are? (you know. except for pericles 🙃)

did i mention the man who got pericles imprisoned--who he had not only done nothing to beforehand, but had helped--says he was there to 'live out the rest of his miserable parrot life in a cage, where he belonged,' and not only do none of the characters we're supposed to side with have anything to say about that, but the audience is clearly supposed to agree with him too?

(did i mention said man--who was in on the crime, singular, that pericles went to prison for!--spends those twenty years living a life of luxury in power while abusing the child he kidnapped as a baby and held hostage his entire life, and when we see him in prison he is not only chilling out and helping the authorities but reading a newspaper?)

did i mention the part where by the time we meet pericles he hasn't spoken in years?

like. man the 'ooooo scary evil abused asylum crazies' trope is bad enough, even when they pretend to lampshade it for a minute before playing it straight; i don't know how they added in All That and made him emaciated and expected no one to find it heartbreaking or even sympathetic. i don't care how bad he was before the asylum (and dear god was he ever), that is horrifying and no one deserves it. god damn.

#sdmi #professor pericles #scooby doo: mystery incorporated #the worldbuilding re: the talking animals in this universe is already really fucked up and awful #but everything to do with the asylum is one of the biggest things for me that shoves it over the edge from #'this aspect of the show is really disasteful and uncomfortable and i Don't Like It'#to 'wow this is actually really fucking upsetting i am straight up having to skip past scenes and/or take breaks when a detail comes up'#anyway pericles is a colossal piece of shit and also incredibly fucking tragic and i need more content that acknowledges and goes into that #and also due to Recent and Ongoing Life Experiences i am especially pissed these days about #'character loses a ton of weight and looks Haggard compared to before; because of that and in general' being associated with Evil Scary #especially when it's done to them in some way as *punishment* for being Evil #same energy as how badly it fucked me up as a kid to grow up constantly seeing #'villain has a horrifying spiraling mental breakdown because they're Pathetic and Evil'#in every fucking piece of media i engaged with!#anyway lol #the crit files #SDMItag #cws in post

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