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swee7dream · 5 months ago

Note

how would the dreamies react to their s/o regressing for the first time in front of them after being super stressed and not being able to be a little ? ^^

it’s been a long time caregiver!nct dream x gender-neutral!regressor!reader

genres sfw age regression content, established relationship, hurt / comfort, angst in some, bits of fluff in all warnings involuntary / vent regression, regression block, negative self-talk, haechan's is long sry dni if you sexualize age regression. not only blocking but also reporting.

author’s note i'm SO sorry this took so long for me to get out. i promise i didn't forget about you, nonnie! i might've geared a little bit ( a lot ) off the prompt at times but i still hope you like it ! thx 4 requesting !

mark lee (ᓀ‸ᓂ) wc 642

With all your responsibilities lately, Mark finds it logical that you don’t regress as often as you used to. The last time he remembers was over three months ago. He misses taking care of you, hearing your sweet voice call out for your 'Mack!'. But he doesn’t want to burden you even more with any expectations to do anything you weren’t feeling up to do. He wasn’t planning to bring it up. Honest.

That was until you started coming home to avoid his kisses and go straight to bed. That moment left a pang in his heart.

In the silence and tension of your apartment, Mark finds himself in your little corner of tiny things, picking up your toys and dusting off your coloring books with longing. He misses his baby, so he’s going to get his baby back, he decides, no matter what it takes.

“Oh look, that new Disney movie came out you said you wanted to go see it, right?”

“I’m tired, Mark.”

“…okay.” He bites the inside of his cheek.

Just keep trying, Mark. You got this.

“Babe, I’m doing laundry. You want me to wash Cheese Doodle?” He knocks at your office door.

“Huh?” You raise your head as if you were a fish out of water. “Uh, yeah. That’s fine. Thank you.”

Hmph.

“What is that?” You give the box in Mark’s hand a look.

“It’s a game. Picked it up at the store. It’s like… Twister? But there’s something different about it. I dunno, I didn’t pay attention to the label and just bought it. Chenle asked that we bring some kind of board game for his party on Saturday.”

“Oh. Well, I have a thing on Saturday so tell him I can’t go but I hope everyone has fun.”

As the saying goes, the fourth time’s a charm.

“You’re not going to bed?” You rub your eyes, already in your night clothes and under the sheets.

“Not really tired,” he replies with a shrug as he makes his way out into the kitchen. “I think I’m gonna make myself some angel milk to get the sleeping juices going. That always worked for you. You want some?”

You’re already pretty tired, the events of the day had sucked every last drop of potential energy from you. Still, some angel milk in all its sweet, vanilla-tasting glory makes you lick your lips.

“…yeah. Please,” you answer.

When he comes back from the kitchen, he has your warm drink in one hand and Cheese Doodle—your orange puppy stuffie—in the other.

“Sit up for me, baby,” he says softly as he sits down on the edge of the bed, not wanting to spill anything from your favorite mug.

“Unicorn…!” You notice, taking the pink and rainbow cup in your two sleeve-clad hands. “Thank you.”

“Mhm.” Mark smiles. “and I just took cheese doodle out of the laundry too. Used the fabric softener that you like. Wanna feel?”

“Oh.” In a second, you’re like a cat rubbing your cheek against Cheese Doodle’s fur. “Smells good, Markie. Thank you.”

”Of course, baby. Feeling tiny?” He asks only now that he’s 95% sure you are.

”Little bit,” you admit into your mug, slurping quietly to not burn yourself.

”Aw.” He pouts. “That’s good. You know, Markie missed you, baby. I haven’t held my baby in such a long time.”

”Missed Markie too.” You blink at him with sleepy eyes and a milk mustache. “Lot.”

”Wanna cuddle for a little then?”

”Just for a lil' bit.” You nod, placing your angel milk on the bedside table.

Mark knows the mug will be forgotten by the morning but he'd rather make and waste a million angel milks than for you to forget him and Cheese Doodle again.

huang renjun ૮ ˙Ⱉ˙ ა wc 594

“Oh that’s a nice painting, Jun,” you praise, resting your chin on his shoulder as he sits on a stool. “Very pretty.”

“I feel like it’s missing something, though,” he says with a frown. “Here. You paint something.”

“On your canvas?” You look at him. “No way, love. I’ll ruin it.”

“You won’t. Now take the brush.”

“I won’t.” You step back and cross your arms. “I’m not gonna mess up this painting you’ve been working so hard on with my clumsiness.”

“What are you talking about? You always add something to my paintings.” Renjun gives you a look. The look that makes you want to roll your eyes.

“And they’re always so much better before me.”

“You don’t think that.”

“I do.”

“Why are you talking about yourself in this way all of a sudden?”

“Because it’s true!” You explode. There’s a burning in the backs of your eyes as you keep talking. “All I’ve been doing lately is messing up stuff for other people. I’m no good, Renjun.”

“…”

“My boss thinks it, my team members think it. I know you think it too!” You sob.

“Darling-”

“Stop it, Jun.”

“Darling,” he repeats, taking your hand in his. “come here.”

He pulls you in with one hand and wipes your tears with another, so careful he almost makes you think you are glass.

“What’s in that green binder in the bookshelf over there?” he asks.

“What?” You furrow your brows. “I don’t know.”

“Go check.”

You give him a look but make your way to the oak bookshelf; filled with sketchbooks, novels, and a singular green binder. You look at Renjun when your fingers touch the spine and take it out only after he nods. Your knees wobble as you flip through the pages so you let your bottom hit the floor.

In the binder are the handwritten notes from back before the two of you even started dating; flirtatious exchanges recorded on coffee shop napkins, gum wrappers, and ripped-up bits of college notes. The next stage of your relationship is at the flip of a page; rushed post-it notes of domestic living with 'I love you!'s and 'Don't forget to eat!'s kept safe in the plastic sheets.

You look up at him with surprise but he only nods his head for you to keep flipping pages. You flip through empty slips until you almost reach the back cover and find all the drawings you’ve made for Renjun over the years while in regression. Each and every one. Even the ones where you're mad at him and have him eaten by monsters.

“You kept them…” You pass a finger over a drawing you made of the two of you, your stickmen-selves holding hands and smiling in a rocket ship.

“Of course I did, baby. How could I throw away something so perfect?” You hear his voice next to you, having gotten up from his seat to crouch next to you on the floor. He gently pulls your head into his chest and his lips drop to kiss the top of your head. “I don’t think you mess up things, my love. Ever. You simply change their direction. My Lovebug is the most creative, innovative person in the whole wide world, didn’t you know?”

“Junnie…” You sob, the dam of pent-up emotions finally seeking release.

“Hi there, babybug.” He whispers. “I’m right here, lovey. Right here. Let it all out.”

lee jeno ૮ .◜◡◝ა wc 655

“Babe, the ice is melting and your coke is turning into gross, brown, sweet-tasting water,” Jeno warns.

“One second, baby. I just need to finish this assignment real quick,” you mutter with your bottom lip bit in place.

It seems you’re still in the same clothes from three days ago, the same amount of time Jeno’s seen you stay in bed studying. He’s beginning to think your butt might be attached permanently to the mattress at this point. When it comes to your bedside table, your 5-hour energy from lunchtime being the latest addition to the food trash and empty water bottle pile doesn’t fill him with any more positive thoughts.

“When’s it for?” He sighs. “Your assignment.”

“…what?” You turn your head to him but your eyes stay on the screen. “Oh, um, Friday.”

“It’s Monday. Come on.” Jeno pulls at your arm like a spoiled child. “I’m not even making you shower or anything. I just wanna hang out with my hermit, stinky, computer nerd. Will you grant me my wish please?”

You look up with a half-offended, half-amused expression and your jaw dropped.

“I’m not stinky!” You fail to shake off your arm from his hold. “I told you I’m coming! I just really need to finish this.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Ye- ah!” You squeal as Jeno pulls at your arm, throwing you over his shoulder. “Jeno! I’m serious!”

“I’m serious too. Monday to Friday is five days-”

“Four days!”

“-and that’s more than enough time to finish your assignment.” He refuses to acknowledge your interruption. “You are going to eat a proper dinner with me on the couch as we watch TV and you’re gonna like it, you got that?”

“Augh…!” You groan, going limp on him.

“Oh, I know.” Jeno pouts as he sets you on the couch, covering you in your train-print fleece blanket. “I’m so mean, aren’t I? Asking you to take a break when all you wanna do is work, work, work.”

You just stare at him, squinting your eyes as you fail to hide a smile.

“Well unfortunately for you, gumdrop, babies don’t work! So I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. The police will come after me if I do. Child labor laws or something like that.”

He leaves a quick kiss on your forehead right before speeding to the kitchen. Jeno’s eyebrows wiggle in a wave when he returns with your food; apple slices, chicken nuggets, and fries all in their respective spots in your divided plate.

The original pasta and movie date night plan being scrapped for a Nono-Gumdrop night doesn’t phase Jeno. In fact, it excites him. Your projects and exams and assignments and professors... he tries so hard not to hold resentment against them all as they pull his baby away from him. But tonight? Tonight is different, and for once in his life, caregiver Jeno is triumphant.

“Thank you…” Your fingers wrap around the blue silicone and Jeno engulfs you in a bear hug when he sits down. Tight but not so tight it obstructs your arms when eating. “What are we watching, Nono?”

“Max and Ruby.” He smiles when you gasp.

“Love Max and Ruby!” You gush with a mouthful of apples.

“Do you?” Jeno drops his head to the side. “You do? You do? Nuh-uh. I do. It’s my favorite show in the whole wide world.”

“Well, ’s my favorite show in the whole galaxy!”

“Yeah? Well-”

You squeal, feeling ticklish when he nuzzles his stubble on your face.

“Nono, stop!” You giggle.

“Eat up, gumdrop.” He sighs, the feeling of his baby in his arms and eating a proper meal for the first time in days is an incomparable joy. “Two episodes and then it’s bathtime.”

“Ah, boo, Nono!” you whine but it turns back to giggles when he compresses you in his arms.

lee donghyuck ʕ˙Ⱉ˙‧:ʔ wc 994

“You there, Angel?”

You shake your head.

It feels strange, like your body isn’t yours, as you hold on tight to your dolls in your hands and see none of the lively sparkle in their eyes you usually do when you’re small.

“I’m broken, Hyuck,” you say with such a lack of emotions that you can’t tell if it’s actually you who is speaking. “I did everything right. I got dressed, I put on the music box, I’m trying to play for God’s sake. And nothing is working still. I feel ridiculous. A grown adult trying to act like a child.” You scoff.

“Hey, stop.” Donghyuck’s firm tone sends a shiver down your spine and you pull away. His shoulders drop when he notices; you’re scared and he’s only making it worse.

“That’s my baby you’re talking about, you know?” He tries again, with a softer tone this time. “Don’t talk about yourself like that. You are not broken.” He holds your cheek.

“I’m just so tired, Hyuck.” Tears come up and blur your vision. “Everything has been going on for so long at the exact same time and I just- I can’t anymore. I need to just step away from reality for a little bit but I can’t even do that. My brain is just locking me in here in this state of suffering for who knows how long and I have no way of getting out. Not even for an hour.” You sob.

“I know, lovely.” He wraps his arms around you, letting you in turn wrap your arms around his legs from your seat on the floor. “It’s been so much for so long. You deserve a little break. Take a deep breath. Let’s try to let go of all these grownup worries, okay? We can pick them back up later. Come on, Angel, breathe.”

Angel.

Channie called you Angel and you still don’t feel small. The realization makes for more tears to come up but you refuse to let another defeated cry leave you. The denim of his jeans is rough on your face but not rough enough to make you stop using it as a tissue for your tears.

“…okay,” you creak out. “Breathe in. Breathing in…”

“There we go.” Haechan passes a hand over your head, the sensation soothing you somewhat. “And out. one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Good job, Angel. Nice long deep breaths.”

You repeat the action several times, following his counts and pushing yourself to feel his jeans under your fingertips and smell the woodsy notes of his cologne to ground yourself.

“Everything sucks,” you say after some moments of silence. “Everything sucks. I didn’t even ask for any of this. I just want to be small,” your voice breaks.

“And you will be.” Donghyuck’s touch is gentle, encouraging you without words to look up at him. The pad of his thumb is warm when it wipes the tears from your face, brushing against your damp lashes. “You will be. I promise.”

“I don’t know what to do, Hyuck. I’m all out of ideas at this point,” you admit.

“How about just trying to feel not sucky?” He scrunches his nose, the most tender of smiles painted on his face. “How about… just drawing a picture? Just one. Doesn’t have to be with crayon or marker like when you’re feeling tiny. It can be whatever you want it to be. Don’t think about being small, just about drawing.”

“…draw what?”

“Hm… what about your dolls?”

When you unwrap yourself from his legs to look at said dolls, it gives Donghyuck the chance to go grab your art supplies. Your dolls don’t have that lively aura you see them with when you’re small but you can almost feel a sort of pity and empathy from them. It reminds you of the type of support your friends give you in their messages despite the country lines separating you.

“And I’ll draw… a car. Jeno’s been getting me into Formula One.” Donghyuck pulls you out of your thoughts when his voice is so close it makes you turn to see he’s taken a seat next to you on the floor. He opens a pencil case right in front of you two and takes a black pencil for himself to begin sketching on some paper.

“Really?” You opt a red pencil.

“Yeah. It’s pretty interesting.” He shrugs.

“But ’s so boring.” You sniffle up some snot from your lightning-fast crying session. You didn’t even cry for that long, how come you can feel your eyes swelling? So annoying. “They just go around in circles.”

“It’s not just that though. There’s—pass me the red? Oh, you have it. No, it’s okay. I can wait—there’s like a ton of beef between them. I like watching the interviews and stuff. It’s like watching basketball or football.” Haechan lets out a groan as he lays on his stomach, resting a cheek on his fist. “That’s really pretty, baby.”

“Y’like it?” You move to mirror him, turning your drawing for him to see better. “Think I’m gonna add some other stuff too.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know yet,” you admit. “Probably you. I always like drawing you. And then… your red car. You can take me and the dollies on a road trip. I like it when we have fun together.”

Affection floods out of Donghyuck, letting out an adoring ‘aw’ as he hugs you, leaving kisses on all the spots he knows won’t lead to a tickle fight.

“So cute! I always have fun with you. My Angel...” he hums into your temple.

“My Channie…” you mutter under your breath, sketching his head four times bigger than the rest.

na jaemin ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭ wc 664

“I’m okay.” You rub your nose. “Just a couple sneezes, Jaem. It’s not a big deal. I can keep studying for a little while longer.”

“You sneezed four times in a row.” Jaemin stands next to your desk chair with his arms crossed. “Do you know what that means?”

“What?” You sigh, knowing he won’t leave until you entertain him.

“You have the plague.”

“The what?”

“The plague.”

“Baby, I don’t have the-” Achoo! “the-” Achoo! “the plague…”

You move your mouse around your screen and click away at it but it doesn’t hide the reflection of Jaemin’s intense stare into your skull. He’s not amused. You spin your chair around.

“I don’t have the plague,” you repeat with a clogged nose, not even convincing yourself this time. “…I just have a little cold.”

“I wonder where you could have gotten that from, hm?” He turns you toward him by the chair’s arms and traps you by holding onto both of them and leaning in until your foreheads almost touch. “Maybe from studying a little too much? From stretching yourself too thin? Pushing yourself past your limits? Hm? Hm? hm?” He turns his head at an angle with each question, being obnoxious about his accurate statements.

“Five minutes.”

“No.”

“I just need to email this professor.”

“No.”

“I have a group project.”

“Good thing you have groupmates, huh? Come on, get off your pretty little butt.” He grabs you from under the armpits, placing your feet on the ground as if you were merely a bag of rice. “We’re playing hospital.”

“No…” you whine with dragging feet the whole time Jaemin guides you to the kitchen, his gentlemanly hand giving you no chance to run as it rests on the small of your back.

“Yes…” He pouts at you as he fills up the syringe with orange medicinal syrup. “Babies need be good and take their medicine when they are sick, okay?”

“Jaemin-” You pull your head the other way, holding his wrist away from you.

“Baby…” he sings, dodging your attempts. “Say ‘ah’, pumpkin.”

Pressing your lips tight doesn’t do anything, the plastic tip of the syringe still slipping in and filling your mouth with bitter medicine that makes a lame attempt at orange flavoring. You shake your head, still rejecting the cold syrup as it goes down, but it does regardless, chilling your throat when it does.

“Bleh!”

“Drink some water, baby.” Jaemin holds up a cup (when did he fill that up?) and you take it as if it were the key to eternal life.

“Taste so icky,” you say with your face scrunched up like a raisin. “Hate it!”

You’re sick and suffering from forced consumption of medicine. Jaemin knows this. Jaemin shouldn’t smile. But he just can’t help it! His baby is finally back after such a long, long time. he thought he was gonna die from BWS (Baby Withdrawal Symptoms).

“Aw…” His hands reach out to hold your face and squish your cheeks together. “Baby doesn’t like medicine? Babies don’t like yucky bitter things. Babies like… sweet yummy things! How about some hot chocolate, lovey-dovey?”

“Chocwate?” you ask with raised eyebrows.

“Hot chocwate.” His nose scrunches as he pinches your cheeks. “Does that sound good?”

“Yeah!” You hop free of his crab claws. “Hot chocolate! Wanna, wanna, wanna!”

“Be careful, sugarplum!” Jaemin laughs, twirling you with such ease it feels as if you were in a dance. “Why don’t you go put something on the TV while I make us the chocolate? Whatever you want, baby,” he says, but you’re already out of the kitchen and looking under blankets and cushions for the remote.

“Spongebob!” You hold it up to the ceiling like it were the sword in the stone.

“Except Spongebob. You know that shrinks your brain.”

“Aw!” You slump but quickly straighten up like a ruler. “Ah- Ah- Achoo!”

zhong chenle (ᯟ︿ᯏ) wc 622

“I’m so proud of you.” Chenle pecks your head as you hold his waist from behind. The smells coming from the stove you two stand in front of are nothing if not heavenly. “Pretty, funny, kind, graduated. How’d I bag you?”

“Mmm, I dunno.” You shrug smugly, as you look out the window. A content sigh leaves you as your eyes follow the raindrops that slide down your window. “Must’ve done something good in your past life.”

“Must have,” he hums. “Set the table for me? I’m basically almost done.”

“You got it.” You peck his cheek. “Smells delicious. Jaemin give you cooking lessons while I was gone?”

“I’ll have you know I’m a great cook. I don’t need any cooking lessons. Never have.”

“Ah…” You roll out the placemats with a sarcastic nod.

“But if I did, I would go to Donghyuck.”

“If you did, I would approve. His soups are good.”

“Mine are better.”

“…”

“Right?”

“Sure.”

The music playing from the speakers and lights in the apartment all shut off at once, not even the hum of the refrigerator sounding in the silence, the darkness. The thunder is so close it feels like footsteps. Heavy, angry footsteps coming close. Closer and closer to you.

The power comes back as soon as it left but you can’t seem to recover as fast. You don’t even remember dropping down to hold your knees, and in the dark you didn’t see how many tears came up to overflow from your eyes. Chenle calls out your name but it sounds so distant it doesn’t even register. It feels like you’re running out of oxygen like a deep sea diver falling hopelessly down to the ocean floor.

“Hey,” you take a sharp inhale at Chenle’s warm hands holding your cheeks ground you back to reality. “Hey, the power went out. Everything’s fine. You’re okay. You’re home, you’re with me. Nothing is gonna hurt you here, you hear me? You are safe.”

You almost knock Chenle over from his crouching position when you throw yourself on him, but he reads your body language just in time to catch you. His lips press into your hair, your temples, your shoulders, the softest of touches as you wail into his shirt. His heart breaks at how fragile you seem in the moment, like a porcelain doll with a chip. You sob and babble to the point that Chenle can’t understand what you’re saying. All he can catch is one word.

“Daddy…”

There’s nothing for you to do but cry, Chenle’s learned with time, so he lets you do just that. He lets you cry in his arms there on the floor and when you’re finally willing he attaches you to his hip as he walks around. He wipes your tears with a paper towel and makes sure you get a bottle of water to drink from to rehydrate.

His eyebrows furrow when you turn your head to dodge his spoon, rejecting the meal you were so looking forward to less than twenty minutes ago. This meal which was meant to be a celebration of not just the end of your education but of all your life up to this point. Of your growth, your endurance; of all the stress you put yourself through to come out victorious in the end.

You’re still victorious, he thinks. Even now as you fill up the apartment with tears, he’s so proud of you. His partner, his baby, the strongest person he’s ever met.

“Come on, dollface. Just one spoonful, yeah? Need you to eat,” he tries again.

park jisung (∩˃o˂∩) wc 668

“What’s that giant box?”

“What giant box?” He looks at you on the couch. “...I thought you were napping.”

“I woke up. What’s with that giant box you’re pushing into our house?”

“Oh, this?” Jisung looks down. “It's… a box.”

You blink, irritation in your tight-lipped smile at your boyfriend’s lack of cooperation.

“I know it’s a box, Ji. I'm asking what’s inside the box?”

“Box… stuff…”

“Jisung!”

“That’s not my name!” He whines as he shuts the front door. “My name to you is Ji! Or Baby! Not Jisung! It’s so scary when you call me that...” He sighs. “It was supposed to come before you started your vacation time, while you were at work.”

“Why?” Your eyebrows come together into a questioning frown.

“Because- just- you’ll see soon. Pass me the scissors? Thanks.” He pecks your lips, taking the scissors from your hands and pushing your back away with little force. “Now go. Get! Your surprise will be ready in a minute. Go… brush your dolls’ hair or something. It’ll be super quick.”

“Doll hairs? is it a Little gift?”

“Shoot.” Jisung bites his fist. “...can you just go in the bedroom already? It’s not a Little gift. It’s not.”

The instructions that came in the box of the not-Little gift said construction would only take thirty minutes. Not to fear, with super handyman Park Jisung to the rescue it only took three hours and two people.

“We’re done!” You clap, looking in awe at your brand new play kitchen, pink and wooden and creaky and yours. “Jiji, finish!”

“Yeah.” He sits back on the floor, wiping the sweat from his brow. “We’re finished. D’you like it?”

“It’s so pretty, jiji!” You beam, hugging his head and squeezing the brains out of him.

“I’m glad you like it, bub.” He nods at his work in approval. “You deserve it. Worked so hard recently.”

“Thankie!” You get up quickly, running barefoot into the bedroom to come back with a box of play food in all colors and sizes.

“Make you a lenonade, bubby!” You begin adding ice to a cup and add a lemon to it. “Ice cold lenonade.”

“Oh, I love your lenonade. Thanks, baby.” He takes the cup, making gulping noises and finishing it off with a loud and satisfied ‘ah!’. “Actually, are we playing restaurant right now?”

“Um… yeah!” you decide. “Welcome to my rest’rant! What would you like to order?”

“I would kill for a good burger.” Jisung pats his stomach like a starved man. “I hear you guys have some good ones, is that true?”

“The truest!” You smile. “One burger, comin’ up!”

You turn back to your kitchen and hum to yourself as you place a burger patty on the stove.

“No pans for that?”

“No pans!” You shake your head. “Special burger.”

“Ah, must be.” He mutters behind you.

When it comes to building time, Jisung acts like a to-be-blacklisted customer.

“Could I have no onions in my burger? I’m allergic.”

“No, you’re not.”

“It’s just play pretend, honey.”

“Oh. Then, yes you can, sir! No onions.”

“And no tomatoes please. I don’t like how the seeds get stuck between my teeth.”

“No tomatoes!”

“And could you cut the cheese? It kind of sends me to the bathroom.”

“Ew… okay, no cheese, either!” You toss the slice of play cheese to the side.

“…could you also remove the meat? I’m vegetarian.”

That’s the final straw. No meat? You look down at his ‘burger’: bread, lettuce, bread.

“This is what you want?” You turn to show him his order.

“Oh yes.” He smiles, clasping his hands together in anticipation. “That’s my burger! So tasty. Thank you, shop owner.”

“You’re welcome…” You give him a look. “Ketchup?”

“No thanks.”

“Mayo?”

“Bleh! Pass.”

“…barbeque sauce?”

“Oh, that’s my favorite! Lettuce and barbeque sauce burger, my favorite.” He licks his lips.

“Jiji, ew!” you whine.

tag list ( ask / comment to join ! ) @mystarsohee @cupofwyn @iwontlettheselittlethingsslip @aeriaeri

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allelitewrites · 1 year ago

Text

(This is my first story and I honestly don't even know if I'm doing this whole thing right but...)

A Subtle Warning

Word Count: 1630

Relationship: Hangman Page x Reader

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

Tonight was just like any other Wednesday night. My boyfriend and I arrived to the venue a few hours before doors opened for the weekly episode of Dynamite. I thankfully wasn't booked to do anything for the night. I was only thankful because a rest was very much needed. Adam however was in the middle of a pretty personal feud with Swerve Strickland. Their whole thing wasn't supposed to be personal at first. The initial intention for it to just be apart of the wrestling business. One person wanting another's position. However, things changed when Swerve had brought up that Hangman was walking away from his issues. Walking away from his issues like he had from the Elite and I some years ago. It was a low point that he typically didn't like to talk about and that night, Swerve really struck a nerve.

Hangman and I found our way into The Elite's locker room. The EVP's temporarily absent due to a creative meeting. We set our things down before taking a seat next to each other on the cheap couch. He and I leaned into each other. With the way his calloused fingers were tracing along my skin, I could tell he was nervous. "I hate signing contracts on TV." Adam mumbles as he lets out a large sigh.

I turn my head and plant a firm kiss on his large shoulder before leaning my head against him again. "Just go out there and do your thing." I reassure him as I twist at one of the bracelets resting on my wrist. I can feel him nod as his hand finally starts to decrease the amount of shapes it was drawing. "Try not to let him get to you."

"Well, Y/n, it's kind of hard when he's sitting right across the table from me with a disgusting smirk as he mocks me."

I didn't even have a response. I hate contract signings just as much as he does. They were a stupid excuse to get publicity and a chance to manipulate your opponent on a golden platter. To me, you shouldn't need a set up situation for you to get to your opponent. Everything you do should be in the ring. Without a table and without chairs. Contracts should be signed in the back. A response came to mind but I wasn't able to share it as Kenny, Matt, and Nick came back into the room, instantly complaining about how long and boring their meeting was. Adam sat up straight and let his large hand rest on my thigh. We weren't huge on PDA, especially not around our friends.

A few hours later...

For whatever reason Tony Khan decided to give Adam and Swerve the main event. All for a contract signing that would probably end up with tables flipping and chairs being thrown. I was sitting anxiously next to Matt as the Elite watched the segment go down. Renee Paquette table side to officiate the signing.

Strickland was chewing Adam up, not even giving the blonde headed man a chance to speak his own words. Eventually, he started to talk about how different he and Hangman were from each other. Almost as if he was offended by being compared to the cowboy. "What's a farmer to a mogul, huh?" Swerve asks, making Adam furrow his eyebrows. "What's a cowboy to an outlaw? What's a buckshot to a kill shot?"

I chewed at the inside of my cheek. I could see Adam's gears in his brain moving at a hundred miles per minute just through the television screen in the locker room. He was keeping his cool, never breaking eye contact with the man across the table from him.

Finally, Swerve put his microphone down. For the first time tonight, Adam was given the opportunity to speak his thoughts. But, he didn't start the way I expected him to. First, Adam calmly mentioned the things Swerve had said to him in the weeks prior. However, the thing that caught all of us off guard as Nick and Kenny settled in their spots around the room was that Hangman thanked Swerve. Adam thanked him for reigniting a flame in his body that was long burnt out. He explained how something was up with him. Something that a person really couldn't explain.

The crowd was so invested in every single word that either man let slip from their lips. Letting every single sentence set in, expanding their thoughts to multiple different things. Things that hadn't even realized they didn't really notice at first. A slight stir could be heard as Adam spoke of a dark cloud that he'd felt was hovering over him every single time that he showed up to work.

"And then sure... sure. The sun would shine. I beat Jon Moxley in a Texas Death Match." Adam proudly brags. I caught him taking a pause to look at Renee, who drew her lips into a line at the thought of the brutal match her husband had gone through with my boyfriend. "I reunited with my friends in the Elite. I was able to rekindle my relationship with the absolute love of my life. And it felt like I should've been the happiest man in the world. But every time I started to smile. That little black cloud came back and it started to rain."

I couldn't help but smile at the fact of him calling me the love of his life on national television. Something I could never get used to him calling me. In the good way of course. He continued to speak before addressing how the fans who supported him so dearly deserved to see more from him. And when he decided that he spoke enough of his mind to get his point across, he picked up the pen and signed his name on the dotted line.

An evil laugh was heard. A laugh that echoed through the building. Adam was caught off guard. Looking up to see Swerve looking like he was having the time of his life. Looking like he was having a good time. Looking like this whole thing was a simple joke to him. The crowd quickly canceled him out, a chant of 'Cowboy Shit' echoing through the seats of the arena.

"That was beautiful. But, quite frankly, that was the most pathetic thing I've ever seen." Swerve chuckles before insulting the crowd's home team. Earning an array of boos. He continued on to speak about how he was fueled to take Adam's position in the company before Hangman had heard enough. Tired of hearing how Swerve believed Adam was handed everything in his career which couldn't of been more untrue.

Hangman stood up, the anger coursing through his veins finally reaching a boiling point. "If you think you have what it takes to fill my boots... you don't."

Swerve matched his energy also standing up across from him. But he didn't speak a single word. Instead he froze to look Adam in the eye once more. And just when Adam thought it was over, Swerve rose his and and slapped the cowboy across the face. Adam turned around and leaned on the ropes behind him as Swerve picked up a microphone yet again. "Hey. Hey, hey Hangman. You seem to not think of me as a threat. You sure as hell better watch your back... or maybe you should tell your friends... actually, no. You want to make this personal? Fine, we'll make it personal. You better tell your hot girlfriend to watch her back."

Adam didn't even hesitate, raising the microphone he still had in his hand to his mouth.

"If you touch her... I'll kill you."

Swerve let out a long sigh. Finally he got the hint that Hangman wasn't joking. Threatening me... someone Adam cared about so dearly was the final nerve that Swerve could've hit. He leaned over and signed the contract.

In that split second, I saw Adam clench his fist and I knew he was going to swing. However, I didn't expect what he actually did.

Using the pen Adam formerly used to sign the match contract, he stabbed Swerve's hand. I watched as Strickland screamed in pain. He pleaded as my boyfriend refused to let go. I booked it out of the room. Rushing to get into the guerrilla position. I intended on meeting Adam there. After that... I had no plan, I was left with whatever my first option would end up being.

He forcefully pushed his way back through the curtain not seeing me at first. But when I walked up to him and put my hand on his bicep. He spun around and I could see relief wash across his face. He pulls me into his chest and holds the back of my head. I can feel his heavy breathing and I can hear his heart beat at the speed of a thousand race horses.

He pulls away to kiss the top of my head before firmly grabbing my hand. Not even whispering a single word. He rushes me through the hallways before pushing me into an empty room that he surely scouted out before the show. As soon as I shut the door he crashes his lips into mine, his hands grabbing greedily at my top. I wrap my arms around my neck before tilting my head back to get a good look at his face.

"What?" He asks.

I smile and push a golden curl out of his face. "I just wanted to make sure that I heard you right. Did you say you would kill him?"

A smirk crawls onto his face. His ocean blue eyes staring directly into mine. "With my own two bare hands, sweetheart."

#hangman #hangman adam page #hangman page #adam page #the elite #matt jackson #nick jackson #kenny omega #swerve strickland #all elite writes #hangman page x reader #adam page x reader

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lizardperson · 5 months ago

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wildcards

[on ao3]

fandom: fallout new vegas characters: female courier & arcade gannon rating: m wc: 620 prompts: #fff259 house of cards for @flashfictionfridayofficial

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"...but anyway, Julie doesn't agree with me on that," Arcade concluded his tale as he sipped on his beer. "She might be on to something there," Gabriel conceded, much to the doctor's chagrin. Mika meanwhile was busy building a house of cards on the table with her caravan deck, apparently bored by the men's conversation. The three had met up for a drink at the Atomic Wrangler, as they often did when Mika and Gabriel were in Freeside. "Hey! No unsanctioned gambling in my establishment!" Francine yelled while passing their table, startling Mika and causing her to collapse the whole installation. "Does this look like gambling?" Mika yelled back, collecting the cards. "I am building something grand here!" "I have my eye on you!" the bartender threatened, unable to hide a grin. "You hitting on me, Francine?" Mika shot back and gave her a wink. The other woman just shook her head laughing and went her way, while Mika started her little construction project from scratch. "What are you guys up to tomorrow?" Arcade inquired, finishing his beer. Gabriel grimaced. "Gomorrah." Worst casino on the strip. Second-worst, maybe. "Apparently the Omertas are planning something, and House wants us to check it out," Mika divulged, still half-distracted by her cards. "I still don't get why you two are even working for him," Arcade sighed. "Is that fancy suite really worth it, putting the whole region into the hands of some Old World autocrat?" He gestured at Mika. "You of all people are the last person I would have taken for a hypercapitalist henchman! Woman. Whatever." "Mr. House is the best option if we all want the Mojave to prosper," Gabriel started his spiel, as if he was reading straight from some Lucky 38 marketing brochure. "He sees the bigger picture and has the region's best interests at heart." Next to him, Mika tried very hard not to laugh out loud at his attempt to sound sincere. "Oh come on, you can't be serious," Arcade objected, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know what else to tell you, man," Gabriel shrugged, while Mika just chuckled and continued building. This time she managed a third level on her little opus. "The house always wins..." she remarked, trying to put up a fourth level and making the whole thing collapse again. "Until it doesn't." She grinned mischievously at the doctor. "Mika..." Gabriel grumbled, in an attempt to shut her up. They had agreed to keep their little plan between themselves as long as possible as a precaution. Slightly baffled, Arcade looked back and forth between them, the figurative gears in his head visibly turning. Mika had another go at building her house of cards, this time with a different technique, and used a few of the beer bottles on the table as a stabilizing factor. "Sometimes you gotta introduce a few wildcards to change the game, so to speak." "You done with the gambling metaphors?" Gabriel chuckled, getting a stuck-out tongue as an answer. "...you guys are playing some kind of double game," Arcade deduced, not sure what to make of this. She wiggled her eyebrows at him. "If you have some aces up your sleeve, you might be able to break the bank." Gabriel grabbed the deck of cards out of her hands, ignoring her protests. "Enough with this now. And the bad metaphors!" Mika stuck out her tongue again and got up from the table to acquire some more beers, slapping Arcade's shoulder on the way. "Don't worry, buddy, the dice are not yet cast..."

#flash fiction friday #lizardwriting #fnv au #otp: a 1000 years #fallout #fnv #fallout new vegas #i WANTED to write something not-fnv this week i swear!#but the prompt......

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therummesoccupied · 3 months ago

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IDW'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, ISSUE #71 - THOUGHTS

I absolutely would have continued putting this off, but then I found out that the 2024 Annual releases tomorrow, so I'd better get my ass in gear.

Issue #71 marks the end of the Extreme Competition arc... sorta. Evan has stated that she sees Issues #69-#75 all as the Phantom Riders arc. The Trade Paperback titles, however, refer to #69-#71 under the Extreme Competition name, so I'll keep using that for the time being, just to keep consistent with the release titles.

#71, like #s 70 and 69 before it, is an absolute banger. We've got Min Ho Kim back for pencils, really giving us a nice look at what they're capable of when handling action scenes - with the bulk of this issue taking place during a sort of Extreme Gear Dodgeball Match.

While most of the action is very clear and readable, there was one scene that I did have to glance at couple times to figure out what was going on.

I'm sure part of it was due to my colorblindness (deutan gang rise up), but I did not realize at first that this was meant to show a second Phantom Rider entering the scene. I thought for a moment Sonic had just rushed the field and was wondering why he had Duo's scarf. As soon as I realized it was a different guy entirely, it wasn't hard to piece together that this was Duo... or rather, it was Mimic. Who is Duo. Tomato tomato.

This second Phantom Rider is the source of pretty much all of this issue's juicy drama.

Using his clever disguise, Mimic throws Sonic off his game while riling everybody else up - Surge, Jet, Lanolin, all of them are dead set on catching this guy. He even switches forms over to Surge for a moment to set Whisper off and get everyone fighting each other.

It actually kind of goes to show that Mimic is a lot better at being the Phantom Rider than Sonic ever was, with Sonic's intentions behind adopting the persona being to throw off everyone's focus and cause a distraction. With Mimic throwing everyone's actions into disarray, he gets Sonic distracted long enough to unmask him.

An unintended consequence of this is that, while he escapes without being spotted himself, Tangle, Whisper, Surge, Kit, Jet, Wave, and Storm all see Sonic without his helmet.

And all of them have pretty interesting reactions to the whole thing!

Surge broods about it a bit, but is quickly distracted by meeting an adoring young fan.

Now, some of the eagle-eyed among you may notice - the little girl's mother is the Conductor's wife from The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog! It's a little weird that she's here, as SEGA continues to be fairly insistent that TMoStH is non-canon, but Evan Stanley, when asked about the appearance of characters from said game in IDW, has said that she simply thinks a similar event occurred at some point in this world.

Personally, my theory is that SEGA is eventually gonna just... change their mind and canonize it, and when that time comes, we'll probably get some retroactive explanation that all of this happens before that.

Anyway, in terms of what the encounter means to this story, it's neat to see Surge, who has been so caught up in the Hero Worship she's been receiving this arc, receive a more innocent adoration from a child who genuinely looks up to her. It gets her thinking for the first time about whether she deserves the praise she's sought as long as she can remember. This drives her and Kit to resolve to go straight and become heroes for real.

This is really cool! I didn't think we'd ever get any form of redemption arc for Surge, especially since I believe Ian Flynn stated at one point that it wasn't in the cards, that she was intended to be a villain always. And, to be honest, I don't know if it'll work out even with her trying. Clutch has got her and Kit on a pretty tight leash, and he's bound to do whatever he has to in order to reel them in if they start to get out of line. If the next issue previews are any indication, anyway.

Tangle and Whisper have kept quiet about what they saw to Lanolin, which Mimic/Duo seems to have picked up on, and appears to be attempting to use this information to drive a wedge between the Diamond Cutters and their leader. Meanwhile Tangle and Whisper have been trying to sort through things on their own, with the two of them making a couple observations to realize that there were, in fact, two Phantom Riders.

With this in mind, it looks like the two of them will be quietly looking into the matter on their own. I'm pretty sure they've largely pieced together that the second Rider is Mimic. If not, they'll have it worked out before long.

The reaction I find most interesting, though, is that of the Babylon Rogues.

Barely any time passes before, just using their heads, they work out almost exactly what's going on. And, while their motivation is entirely ego-centric, they resolve to uncover the foul play (heh) at hand and expose whoever's behind it. It's surprisingly cogent for them!

Then there's Clutch.

He's... upset. But of course. He's spent a good deal of effort to stay off Sonic's radar so he could avoid dealing with him until he was ready to do so. Now the world's greatest hero, who had no idea until recently that his operation even existed, is on his trail. One might understand why he's a touch unhappy. And honestly, I think the anger he shows here might be the most vicious side of Clutch we've seen. He doesn't normally have this much trouble maintaining his composure. It's interesting to see how badly he loses his cool when the house of cards he's built begins to tremble. I'm excited to see what the depths of that ferocity are in the upcoming issues.

Once again, the art, the writing, the plot, the colors, every aspect of this issue firmly slaps. I really, really enjoyed this arc, and I've become even more excited for upcoming material after finding out that every issue from 69 onward has been helmed solely by Evan! Not that I don't adore Ian and his writing, but if this is the standard we can expect when Evan gets to work on her own, I can hardly wait to see what she's cooking next. She certainly sounds eager for it, so I am, too!

Last thing to note, once again the fan mail section caught my attention, when at the very end, I noticed something:

They say that, next time, a "certain journalist" will get involved. The thing is, I'm really not sure who this could be. It sounds like it'd be an established character but... do we know any journalists in the Sonic franchise?

Maybe Omochao? Or Nite? They both work in TV and radio, but neither is really a journalist, per se.

The only actual reporter I can think of is Brenda Hernandez from Sonic Unleashed, but... she's a human! IDW has always appeared to be strictly forbidden from using human characters outside of Eggman. Though, a couple of them have been mentioned recently. To date, however, none have actually appeared. Could this be IDW finally shaking off some of SEGA's restrictions to play around with the bigger world a little bit? One can hope!

That's all I have to say on Issue 71, though, so as always, thanks a ton for reading all the way through, and keep an eye open for my 2024 Annual Review, as I hope to have it written and posted before Issue 72 drops later this week!

#comics #review #sega #idw #idw publishing #sonic the hedgehog #idw sonic #issue 71 #idw sonic 71 #sonic 71 #video games #spoilers #idw sonic spoilers #sonic 71 spoilers

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meimi-haneoka · 1 year ago

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Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 74: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Here we are, welcome back everyone!! End of the month, time for another chapter leading us into this exciting finale for Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card!! I want to start this post with a little foreword before diving into the chapter itself and the eventual translation differences ✨ I just wanted to say that I write this post with a sense of pride but also with even more sense of responsability compared to the previous months. You've probably stumbled upon my recent report of the latest CLAMP Space, where the authors have talked about CCS Clear Card, and their support/blessing to "people addressing the translation differences in their monthly posts on their blog, because they felt uncomfortable about them". Although they never straight up gave names, I certainly feel like they were talking about blogs like mine. And so I'm humbled (and even a little nervous) to be able to keep doing this, since I've wondered multiple times if it was even proper for me to write these posts every month, as if I was leading a crusade against the official English translation. In fact, I'm not. And I hope that's clear enough. When the ENG translation respects the vibe and original intention coming out from sensei's words in the manga panels, like this time around, I always make sure to say positive things about it. But try to understand me, the irritation runs deep because these are years of translation differences accumulating and at times even changing the perception of the story. And then, you stumble upon English speaking fans on the internet who got the gist of the story wrong or disrespecting/failing to appreciate it because of such translation mistakes (we go from Sakura calling Syaoran "Li-kun" in one of the earliest volumes, to Kaito saying that he wanted to give magic to Akiho, wtf??). And I think it's such a pity. It's not fair. The fandom deserves to know what the script is trying to say with a meaning as closer as possible to the original one. I hope I'll be able to help in that regard, for what's in my possibility and with my limited skills, till Clear Card will be over. ✨

OKAY, now let's cut the chatter and see what happened in this chapter!! I'm happy to say that this time around, translation-wise, we don't have anything impairing the correct understanding of the plot, just nuances! As usual, before starting, we can't skip the gif of the month!!

The Color Page

Oh my gosh! Sakura! You look amazing here!!! Such a fierce stare!! She looks just like a powerful and respected magician and OMG THEY GAVE HER A BLACK OUTFIT!! JUST LIKE I'VE BEEN ASKING EVER SINCE THE BEGINNING! I don't know, maybe the veteran followers of this blog can remember, but I've always wished to see Sakura in a black costume/dress in Clear Card 😊 She looks stunning...and what's more, she's once again with the gears and clocks decorations, just like in the period of the Clockland play. But, heheh, this time the clock looks different. The big clocks that were featured during the Clockland chapters (with Sakura + Syaoran, Akiho and lastly Kaito) were often "strange". They all had the same design, the one with SyaoSaku was "regular", but the ones next to Akiho and Kaito had their numbers either in messed up order, or straight up wrong (what kind of clock got '0' as the only number?). I had already assumed by then that they had a significance we had to decode along the development of the finale. This one in this color page, however, really looks like the most classical clock with roman numerals. The order of the numbers and their position seems correct. So could this be a sign that Sakura is about to restore order into this mess that Kaito's desperate wish created? The text on the JP version is the classic incantation to release the Dream staff from the key (we haven't heard it in a looooong time because she manifests her staff immediately, by now!) I also want to point out that we *still* don't have any announcement of "Clear Card ending in next chapter" or "Clear Card ends in 2 chapters!" like it's custom in these serializations, so I can say with confidence that Sakura won't surely be over in chapter 75 (at the beginning of July) but probably not even in chapter 76 (at the beginning of August). Are they aiming at chapter 77 (beginning of September)? Double 7, it's a lucky number for CLAMP ✨ For those worried about "3 chapters aren't enough to finish this!!", please consider that it's not so much about the number of chapters, but the amount of pages. This chapter for example is already longer than usual, 35 pages. That's what really matters, and we could get even an epilogue or some additional pages in the volume version! And now onto to the actual chapter!

An Important Discussion

Yukito, Nakuru and Touya are leisurely spending time at Yukito's home, with a funny scene of Yukito feeding some mikan to Nakuru (and she seems delighted by the cozyness of Japanese kotatsu!). Suddenly, Touya announces that Sakura is coming over. Yukito worries about how it's getting dark and that maybe it'd be better to go pick her up along the way, but a grumpy Touya says there's no need for that: along with Sakura are also coming Syaoran, Akiho and even Tomoyo. Yukito and Nakuru can't help but being surprised, and Nakuru wonders "The all-stars are coming? What's going on?" 😂 I found so hilarious the use of the term "all-stars", which in Japanese usually indicates a whole cast of a performance composed of famous actors, and sometimes it's applied to sports team too. But the room temperature drops immediately when Yukito looks at Touya, with a very pensive face, and it's immediately clear that something serious happened and Sakura is coming to discuss that. Touya might not know exactly what, but as we can see, he's already got a feeling.

Sakura and the kids arrive, apologizing for coming so suddenly, and they sit down, all with very serious faces (save for Tomoyo. Tomoyo never loses her calm composure 😆). Sakura starts dropping the bomb immediately: "I want to talk to you about something very weird" and "I want everyone who knows about the Cards and magic to hear this". Sakura is dead serious, and she informs Syaoran (sitting at her left side) that she's just told everything to Akiho shortly ago. She also tells Kero and Suppy to come out of her purse, for the second time (since the first was halted by the rewriting of the forbidden magic) putting an end to the farce of Kero constantly needing to act like a plushie in front of Touya!! Remember when the fandom used to point out that it was weird that Kero kept hiding from Touya, despite saying himself at the end of the Sakura Card Arc (after Touya gave his powers to Yue/Yukito) that he was perfectly aware that Touya knew everything about them? That really felt like a "plot hole" (maybe at this point the only REAL plot hole) for the longest time, and I am honest when I say that I had already given up hoping to see an explanation for it, wanting to treat it like a "glitch" in the narrative and using suspension of disbelief to overcome it! Well well well, CLAMP surprised me again! Cause in this chapter they actually tried to give an explanation to that "discrepancy"! And of course, being this about Kero, the explanation is rather silly (confession - I didn't understand Kero's reasoning very well, but I'll give my interpretation of what he said): Kero saw that even after that event, Touya didn't try to interact with him and thought that maybe he didn't consider him a cute and gorgeous magical creature, but rather something else....(was he butt-hurt?) Suppy of course is spitting fire cause why the heck did we need to keep pretending to be plushies?? and Kero's reply is "Because I thought it'd be fun pretending to be plushies together when you came over!". Now, if you remember how difficult and taxing it was for Suppy to force himself to stay still, you can understand why he's so mad! 😂 Touya says, quite annoyed, that he simply didn't try to interact with him because he thought that Kero was getting a kick out of acting like a plushie! I feel like sensei have quite reached and almost broke the 4th wall with this scene, because Sakura here says something that I'm pretty sure many of us have thought in regard to this "discrepancy": "I did wonder at some point why you kept that up despite I was telling you multiple times that I had the feeling my brother was onto you". And it's true, we've seen that in volume 4! Well, to me it felt like a stretch, but eventually we got an explanation for that situation so I guess it's better to leave it behind us! 😂

Cause we have more important matters at hand. Sakura places her phone on the table, showing Eriol & Kaho in videocall!! NOW all the "stars" of this show are present! 😂 So Sakura starts her recount of the most recent events, saying "It's really weird...but I swear it happened". After everyone listened to Sakura, of course they're all surprised. Nakuru wonders if there's any magician who can really have the power to "rewrite" a world...Eriol says that as far as he's heard, there isn't any magician among the living ones who has that degree of power. However, if said magician had access to a "medium" able to use the "forbidden magic", then it's another story. And that's the Book Sakura told them about. Sakura confirms that the one who told her all of this is the Guardian of the book herself. And then, to Akiho: "The plushie shaped like a bunny that you cherished so much was the temporary form of that Guardian. You named her 'Momo' ". Here I have to point out that the way the ENG translated it infers that Akiho remembers about Momo ("You know that stuffed bunny you loved so much?"), but actually in the JP version it's mostly Sakura informing Akiho that she used to cherish a bunny-shaped plushie, cause Akiho has no recollection of it. In fact, right after, she answers "But that's the title of a book I really love so much!". THERE IT IS! I've mentioned this many times in my social media accounts, and even lately in my "literary references" post here on Tumblr, but it turns out this simple answer by Akiho kinda confirms that she might really have named Momo after that book. And it's not only a beloved book because of its story, but also the one she was reading when she met Kaito for the first time. I've always thought that having her most beloved plushie named that way, and having precisely that book when they met for the first time couldn't have been unrelated. So I'm really happy for this scene here and I hope it'll get eventually confirmed better later.

Sakura takes Akiho's hands (she'll do that a lot this chapter and I simply love it) and reassures her about something that I was SURE she was going to say:

JP: "The fact that we became twins is an effect of the rewritten (world), but the fact that you are an important person to me didn't change at all, Akiho-chan"

I've preferred putting the JP version here because once again we have the usual stuff that I complain about lately: Sakura in JP used 大切なひと (important person) to describe her relationship with Akiho, and this is absolutely coherent with all the previous times. In ENG they used "you're special to me", but the adjective "special" in Japanese (特別な) in relation to a person has been consistently used in the latest chapters to describe the person Sakura is in love with (and not only Sakura). So they shouldn't have used that adjective in particular. They should stick to the literal translation. Especially cause that "special person" will come up in a few pages. I know I sound pedantic with this separation between "important person" and "special person", but I mean, CLAMP sensei are consistently keeping that distinction so I'm convinced the translation should do its best to keep it, because it's a guide to lead the readers among the relationships of CCS. Which sometimes can be quite complex.

Touya teases Sakura again with the sis-con joke, and Yukito teases him back by saying "Are you talking about yourself now?" (I love how Yukito always teases the big and grumpy Touya 😂they're really made for eachother). Tomoyo comments that it's been "a sight for sore eyes" (the term used in JP is 眼福, ganpu, and it's used when you see something precious) to see Sakura in the role of the big sister and Akiho in the one of the little sister. Akiho is moved by the fact that, despite everyone knowing the truth now, nobody shunned her or rejected her presence, and exactly like I imagined, I'm 100% sure Sakura will keep thinking about her as a sister (not a blood-related sister maybe, but surely with the same importance of one) even after everything will be solved later. Cause the bond between her and Akiho was never a fabricated thing, but always been genuine from day 1. Even if they got close in such a short period of time, it's just what happens normally in real life too. Sometimes you bond very tightly with people over a short period of time, cause you feel you're so compatible.

So Sakura continues. She says that for this reason, she wants to bring (someone) back. She's convinced that what the Record Card showed to her is not everything. She feels like there is someone who is missing from both what the Record Card had shown to her and from this rewritten world as well. Syaoran is confused, "they're missing, and yet you're sure they're there?". Sakura understands that confusion and says "It's weird, right? I can't really explain how I know it, but I just do." And then, towards Akiho: "That person....is your special person, Akiho-chan". There it is, the infamous "special person" again. It's clear what Sakura is meaning here. "This is the person you're in love with, Akiho-chan". Of course Akiho's face cannot be any other than a dismayed one at hearing that. And then the pain comes, all at once, piercing her heart and leaving her speechless. Sakura says that the Record Card wasn't showing anyone with Akiho in one of the scenes, and yet she saw her extremely happy. That was enough for Sakura to know that someone was indeed there with Akiho.

I'm Always Searching For Someone

We're shown one of the most important scenes for anyone liking Akiho and Kaito (and their bond), the night that Akiho was so brave to confess her feelings to him through a covert (and very local) way, claiming that "the moon is really beautiful". And in the same occasion he accepted to spend some time strolling and talking to her. It was clear from the moment that scene happened that it would've become important later. And the readers who know what happened and what we lost are feeling probably the same pain Akiho is feeling right now, only that she's unaware of what is causing it. Akiho says "I'm really happy to live with you, Sakura, and everyone in the Kinomoto household, but...I've been in pain. Because I'm always looking for someone who's not there...". So Akiho did feel the effects of that void. The void that only your most important person can leave when they're gone. It's just that, we've seen her being so happy with her "new" family, and yet exactly like most of the fandom imagined, that didn't really work to fill the void Kaito left. It's impossible to fill that void because that person is just irreplaceable. This scene of course stabbed my heart but I had imagined that we would've seen it sooner or later. Sakura gets more confident with the confession of what Akiho's been feeling, and tells her that she thinks the one she didn't want to lose and the one who rewrote their world are the same person. "So I'm going to bring them back". Sakura announces with a smile, but Kero just wonders in dismay how she's going to do that. Sakura believes that the pocket watch in Akiho's possession will show her how. As if on cue, Akiho takes it out of her purse and places it on the table in front of Sakura's phone, where Eriol and Kaho can see it. They recognize it's a magical artifact specialized in time magic, but they also recognize that in order for a magician to be able to use it, they would need to have a tremendous amount of magical powers. Akiho suddenly panics. It dawns on her. I think the mental connection she's made is "if Sakura wants to use this to bring my special person back, she would need to achieve an amount of magical powers that could put her in harm's way". Aside, of course, from all the other dangers that a "mission" like that could pose to our heroine. And of course she'd never be okay with that. But Sakura reassures her. "You aren't making me. I want to." Sakura explains that both when she was dealing with the Clow Cards (and we see a scene of the Final Judgement, the one where Kaho gives her the Moon Bell) and when she was transforming them into her own Cards (they show us a scene from the last battle with Eriol), she was able to overcome her troubles thanks to all of the people who loved her and cared about her.

Sakura, JP: "Therefore I want to do what I can for my important person, too"

Again the use of 大切なひと (important person) in relation to Akiho. I think this panel in particular is pretty important (and the big font indeed suggests so). I feel like it's the core, the heart of Clear Card Arc. Sakura, whom until now was accustomed to be cherished and pampered in a protected environment by her loved ones, is starting to take the first steps towards self-assertiveness and maturity. Sometimes those loved ones would overdo it with the loving, and ended up depriving her of her own agency. Sakura is finding herself, she's starting to trust her instincts and capabilities more and more, and that leads inevitably to a question: "what do I want to do with these gifts life gave me and blessed me with? What can I do to give back to the Universe all this love I'm receiving?" Searching for her self-identity will inevitably make her step out of her comfort zone. She'll take risks. Even on herself. She'll need to assess situations, make decisions. And here she decided that she wants to use her natural gift (her magical powers) to help someone in need. Someone important to her. Someone dear who lost someone irreplaceable and lacks the means to bring him back. Sakura decides to step in, help her "sister", doing exactly what she herself told her during last chapter: if I happen to be good at something that you can't do, I'll help you out. That's the beauty of being all unique and different.

I've seen people often wondering what's the purpose of Clear Card Arc, if we really needed to this arc and such. Well, to me the answer was made manifest in this chapter. 🙂

But back to our story, Tomoyo understands that moment has finally come, so she says that maybe she can't use magic, but she felt it was best to bring along with her a certain big bag (that we all know what contains, right??). She also says that she had the feeling she had made an asymmetrical costume before, but when she went to check, she realized she hadn't made it yet...

Listen to me well, because this is the solution to the mystery of the cryptical thing Ohkawa sensei said in relation to one of Sakura's costumes, during the latest CLAMP Space! Basically, she hinted that there was a reason why we hadn't seen Sakura wearing officially (for a Card battle) this costume yet, and that we would find out why soon. I know the ENG translation here talks about "complementary outfits" (referring probably to how Tomoyo will later reveal complementary outfits for both Sakura and Syaoran), but that only shows that they misunderstood the word アシンメトリー (lit. Asymmetry). Tomoyo here was literally talking about asymmetry because the "costume she thought she had made, but didn't find in the end" was precisely the one Ohkawa was hinting at during the latest Space, the one Sakura was trying on in chapter 36 and 37! Tomoyo had a sense of deja vu, about having made an asymmetrical outfit before, but actually couldn't find it because...well, the forbidden magic had removed any reference to the Clear Cards! (including, apparently, the costumes!) So that goes to show that Tomoyo, despite not having a crumble of magic, was also subjected to the deja vu and weird feelings of "discrepancy" that such rewriting of the world would cause. But hold on tight, cause another reference is on the way!

Tomoyo continues saying that while she was sewing the sleeve of the outfit, she had the strong feeling that this costume would turn into a very special one. And what do we have here? OH YES, it's THAT sleeve, the one we've been waiting for so eagerly! The one that Sakura saw in a dream with MCF once! Sakura back then asked to MCF if they would meet outside the dream when she'd be wearing that outfit, and MCF only cryptically said that it would be "the beginning of the end". Considering now we know that MCF has been mostly a byproduct of Lilie trying to communicate with Sakura and inadvertently messing things up, I do wonder about that MCF. Was Sakura, by any chance, actually was supposed to see Kaito and she saw the robe instead, because of Lilie? Or is that an actual member of Akiho's clan? Only this finale can tell us the truth. Sakura will certainly meet someone, with that costume.

Sakura thanks Tomoyo, always so ready to show her support, and she does something very sweet, as a result of regaining all of her rewritten memories: she tells Tomoyo that she'll do her best to come back without getting the costume dirty, but if it eventually starts fraying, she knows that Tomoyo will be there to repair it.....yeah....doesn't it remind you of something?? Of course I bet any Tomoyo fan knows very well what scene Sakura is referencing with this line....

When Sakura told Tomoyo she repaired her torn costume with the Repair Card in chapter 40, Tomoyo expressed the wish to be her the one repairing those costumes, with her own hands. Because she had created them specifically for Sakura, so she would also want to be the one to repair them in case they'd get damaged. Basically telling her "I made these with all my love for you, and I'd prefer that a Card didn't take my place even when needing to repair them. I want the costumes that you wear to be made completely by my own hands". Always reminding us that making something with your own hands for your loved one is the greatest proof of love for any character in CCS (which is something I find truly wholesome and beautiful). Sakura here shows to have understood and accepted that wish fully, therefore acknowledging Tomoyo and her feelings. Tomoyo is uncharacteristically surprised for a second, and then with the happiest smile she confirms that of course she'll be there to repair it!

Sakura looks at her brother Touya, who only grumpily tells her to respect the curfew. Sakura is confused because they never had a curfew time at home, but her brother replies "Come back before dad gets worried. That's our curfew". (in ENG there's an additional part here, I guess to fill in a bubble that would be left empty) Sakura confidently replies "Got it".

Nakuru is all giddy, excitedly announcing that they decided to go to war and they need to decide the formation!! Suppy mocks her, telling her she's talking as if she were playing one of her warring states games (in JP the term used here is 戦国ゲー�� - sengoku game - and I've found there's a specific game called indeed Sengoku, but it seems the same term extended to indicate all the war games set in the Sengoku era), but that doesn't deter Nakuru, who says that if she gets chosen, she will certainly participate actively (here the ENG uses game language from what I can see - not an expert - but good job!)!!

Sakura's plan is different, though. She says that tonight she'll be going only with Syaoran. She knows that if everyone could go with her, she'd feel more confident and reassured, but...

Sakura, JP: "If I want to find Akiho-chan's most important person, I have the feeling that it'd be better for me to go with my most important person"

Here we go. We temporarily leave aside the "special person" terminology to go back to the more famous and loved "my most important person" term, to indicate THE ONE person someone loves the most. 一番大切なひと (ichiban taisetsuna hito). The term we all learned because it's been so crucial to indicate the person someone was in love with during the old arcs of the story. The term Sakura eventually used for Syaoran at the end of CCS volume 12 to finally give a "definition" to the love she felt for him. Now she uses it to define Akiho's feelings for Kaito. This is "the" term that takes precedence over all the other terminology used, and also goes to show how important and solemn the moment is. Sakura's intuition tells her that in order to find Kaito, Akiho's most important person, she should go with Syaoran, her own most important person. This is probably because her magical intuition (let's remember that Sakura got the power to see the future) grasped that her bond with Syaoran will be absolutely pivotal in order to have a positive outcome for the mission they're about to embark on. They will probably have to put that bond at work....maybe to explain, show, help someone understanding something that he still doesn't seem to grasp perfectly? Or rather, a stubborn refusal to understand it, which caused them all to be in this situation they're in right now? What's for sure is that if Sakura and Syaoran manage to find Kaito, and if they'll also manage to free him from the Seal of D. + the artifact with all the magical books that Akiho had engraved in herself, their job won't certainly be over like that. Kaito needs to talk to someone. He needs to understand many, many things. Some of those things, Sakura and Syaoran can at least try to introduce them to him. Because while it's true that Sakura wants to bring him back for Akiho, she also needs to make sure that coming back is also Kaito's wish. Because they can't force him if he isn't 100% convinced himself. I'm sure this is a very important thematic for CLAMP, respecting someone's self-determination. And since his state of mind, last time we saw him, was that he was perfectly expendable and that he was absolutely not necessary in Akiho's life, they need to change that perception. And there's also the fact that, despite being so different, Kaito and Syaoran are pretty similar in several aspects too. So maybe the role Syaoran can have in "communicating" with Kaito could be very important and impactful. Maybe that's what Sakura's intuition was trying to tell her.

Here, the ENG translation decided to translate that "most important person" with "favorite person". I have definitely turned up my nose at seeing that (why not leaving the iconic term?) but in the end I decided to relax because, at the end of the day, the result is similar. It indicates a person for whom your preference and importance is above everyone else. What really *mattered* in this scene - and lo and behold, it seems ONLY the English and Portuguese versions got it right (let me know about the Chinese one, cause I can't read that one) - is that Sakura used the same term to describe what Akiho feels for Kaito, and what SHE feels for Syaoran. "I am aware that this missing person is for Akiho an existence of the same importance Syaoran-kun has for me. Therefore, I will do everything in my power to bring them back, because I fully understand that kind of bond and I understand the void they leave in your life when they're not there" She knows, to some degree, what it feels like to miss your most beloved person, due to the period she had to spend apart from Syaoran. And they could still have phone calls and writing letters. Akiho's situation can only be worse. Sakura's understanding of that bond is also what causes her intuition to suggest her to go only with Syaoran. It's all connected. So it's of utmost importance that the translations use the same term when both talking about Akiho and Sakura. Then, about this scene, we could also say that it was a beautiful demonstration of how much Sakura (but also Syaoran) has grown up, now fully confident to declare in front of everyone that Syaoran is THE most important person in her life. Without blushing and without any drama. It's just a fact. After all they've been through, I think Sakura can feel confident enough in her relatinship with Syaoran, and there's no shame nor embarrassment in stating that aloud.

The people present here can only accept and show their support, and Eriol encourages Sakura to follow her intuition (remember the whole discussion about listening to the stirring of your heart, the so-called intuition? Yeah, a great lesson from Mama Yelan which will also be applied to another character soon). Sakura tells Kero that if she needs him, she will certainly call, and the guardian beast reassures her that he'll certainly hear his master's voice, same for Yue.

Then, lastly, Sakura takes Akiho's hands and holds them tightly. They share another sweet forehead touch (seriously, I love them so much ❤️). Akiho is worried, so worried, but also very resolute. She wants this as much as Sakura does. Sakura tells her that there'll surely be a moment when she'll request Akiho to do something only she can do, and asks her to please wait here with everyone till that time comes.

I'll admit it, I was really disappointed when I've read this scene the first time around. Not only because I had imagined all kinds of scenes in my head (included Akiho wearing one of Tomoyo's costumes) and they shattered that possibility (but oh well, I am prepared to that), but also because I feel like this isn't a good choice from a character development POV. I understand it, I really understand it, this is Sakura's story. She's the one who gets to shine in the finale. And we've talked about it before, there's no doubt that Sakura in this story goes through a journey to find her identity and what she wants to do. So now it's time to let her do that. But Akiho has been slandered for the whole manga, accused of all kind of things because of prejudice, and one of those was "she's weak and passive, she does nothing". Seeing her "on the sidelines" once again, when we're talking about rescuing her most important person, feels extremely off. Letting someone else do "the job for her" doesn't even feel like Akiho.

Then, as hours passed by, I thought...

Maybe Sakura wants to take care of the first part of the mission, because it'll certainly be the one where it's most likely to encounter some magical danger (dragon-chan???). And Akiho wouldn't be able to defend herself from that, devoid of magical powers as she is. She could potentially end up risking her own life. And then all of this would've been for nothing. And then I thought, wait, maybe Akiho knows that. She knows it very well, since she's a girl with a pretty good understanding of herself and her own limits. And this is certainly a limit she does have. So what she can do is to wait safely at home, as hard and painful as it can be, for the REAL, big moment when her presence will be absolutely necessary. Sakura said it with great confidence so it's 100% sure it will come. Therefore, as an Akiho fan, I will swallow this pill and wait together with her. 🫤

But the chapter isn't over yet, as Touya and Yukito go outside in the garden while Sakura and Syaoran get dressed for their departure! Yukito teases once again Touya, telling him that his face is scary and that Sakura's earlier statement ("most important person") must have caused him "damage" (still seemingly talking in game language). Touya of course doesn't reply, so Yukito continues, giving finally confirmation to the suspicion I've been having ever since this "rewritten world" started: Touya did notice something was off. He didn't know precisely what, but he knew it had something to do with Sakura. Yukito also gives us the opportunity to see just how kind and generous Touya is: he purposely didn't go back home often because he wanted to reduce his presence around Akiho as much as possible. Not because of negative feelings, quite the contrary: he was worried she'd get even more hurt if she established a bond with him, only to end up finding out that they weren't really brother and sister. (Meanwhile, we see a very cute panel of Akiho talking to Kero, Suppy and still in videocall with Eriol and Kaho!) And then, to follow the leit-motiv of this chapter, very centered on calling back stuff that had already happened in the original world, Touya says that he won't allow anyone to hurt his close ones (they used "family" in ENG, but the word 身内 can indicate also friends and such, the common characteristic is that they're very close). Got the feeling you've already heard these words, especially with the use of the word 身内 ? Yes, of course, it's vaguely the same threat he made to Kaito back in chapter 54, during the double date! 😂 Hmmmm, I have the feeling that if they manage to bring Kaito back (of course they will!), someone will want to have a word or two with him....let's hope he'll just stick to words! 😂 Jokes aside, it's very heartwarming to see how even Touya warmed up to Akiho, and took her under his protective big brother's wing! In fact, Yukito can't just miss the new opportunity to tease him (stop flirting so shamelessly in front of us, Yuki! 😂), telling him he's so overprotective for his sisters!!

The two lovebirds have finished changing their clothes, and we're all left staring at them agape, together with Nakuru: they look stunning, in their complementary outfits!! Sakura even got heels ❤️ And yes, dear readers, as already hinted when Tomoyo was speaking, this is IT, THE costume with THAT sleeve that appeared in Sakura's dream! It is the biggest indication that it's finally time for the last confrontation. Both Sakura and Syaoran look so resolute and ready to make a mess of space and time to bring Kaito back!! 😂 As many have noticed, Sakura got her Dream Staff with her, despite the Clear Cards have disappeared: my theory is that the Key was never removed by the forbidden magic, only the Cards, or maybe that the key came out now that Sakura got her memories back.

And this is where the chapter ends, with another huge cliffhanger!! Will we see Kaito, next time? Being a chapter number ending in -5, and being in the very last volume, I expect big things from it! Chapter 75 will be published on CLAMP's Youtube channel on July 1st, while the relative Nakayoshi magazine will be released on July 3rd (by the way, we'll have Sakura ONCE AGAIN on the cover and ANOTHER Sakura furoku!!). As usual, when I have less translation mistakes to talk about and more space for my feelings towards the chapter, I go overboard! Another freaking long post 😂😂 So I'll just leave you here, as usual I'll wait for your asks in my inbox! Bye Bye!!

#card captor sakura #cardcaptor sakura #clear card arc #ccsakura #ccs spoilers #translation differences #chapter 74 #Sakura Kinomoto #akiho shinomoto #Syaoran Li

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batsarebetterthanpeople · 2 years ago

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Something about the white heterosexual male gaze being so prolific (ie seeing white straight man characters as agents with active inner lives and motivations and seeing women, poc, and queers as unknowable things to be acted upon or events to advance the character development of those straight white guys)

Something about that perspective being so prolific and even enforced by things like the hayse code and also just by studios and publishing agencies deciding that other kinds of stories aren't marketable so there being a dearth of media for other kinds of people.

Something about mainstream media training us to see things from the perspective of white men who present themselves as masculine to the detriment of all other perspectives.

Something about OFMD going out of it's way to subvert those expectations.

Something about how in most media a man like Ed would only be there inform a man like Izzy's story but in this show Izzy is only there to inform Ed's story

Something about them keeping Izzy's queerness subtextual while explicitly confirming other character's sexualities so they can have their cake (give us a queer coded villain, make him jealously motivated and psychosexually obsessed with Ed and make jokes about that, make him a more sympathetic villain than the badminton twins for example, make all pirates gay by default) and eat it too (make him a villain in a story about overcoming toxic masculinity, make him the character we're used to relating too and then making him explicitly wrong in order to subvert that expectation)

Something about OFMD trying to subvert our expectations backfiring in some ways, at least as far as the fandom goes, because of , deeply ingrained those expectations are.

Something about the long history of queer coding to subvert obstacles to telling queer stories.

Something about BBC Sherlock and Supernatural and other shows of that description and queerbating specifically geared towards fandom

Something about those last two things combined with being starved for queer content completely destroying people's brains in terms of being able to tell the difference between headcannon, subtext, and text (three different things) when it comes to queerness in media.

Something about how the brilliance of Izzy Hands as a character, and a function of the narrative just flies over people's heads in favor of woobifying him.

Something about how I personally feel like a redemption arc (something that fandoms really enjoy) would be the wrong move for Izzy and that has nothing to do with me disliking him (I don't actually, love to hate? maybe. but actually hate? Definitely not)

Like I've connected the two dots, it could be that deep, ect.

Do you guys understand what I'm saying?

#also something about the Izzy is straight drama.#ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #izzy critical

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leviathiane · 1 month ago

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Selkie AU biology/culture

**These are my own headcannons for selkies that i use for my own works, not a take on the general selkie mythos.

selkies are considered the "cautionary tale" of many human hybrid ocean species. Mermaids and sirens especially raise their young on selkie stories to teach them not to go near humans, because otherwise they'll be stolen by a human.

It's actually more uncommon to find a selkie/selkie pairing than it is a human/selkie pairing.

Selkies are a migratory species and are largely meant to always be on the move, similar to how an albatross works-- they're at sea nearly all year and only come on land for the intent of children.

selkies are pretty solitary by nature and don't tend to travel in groups at all. This is true even in the event of a pup. Once the kid is weaned the parent disappears into the sea, and it is expected for the pup to do the same around 12-14 maybe 3-6 months after the parent has left. There is no real urge to find said parent. Gon is unique in this aspect as he is partially human and raised by humans, and thus socialized differently from typical selkie culture.

Selkies can only swim with their coat. its not that the water magically rejects them, but that their brains are geared with specific swimming instincts that dont cross over between bodies very well. As such, they try to swim like a seal as a human, and the human body just doesnt work that way so they drown. To reduce confusion in seal pups, young selkies are raised on the myth that they are simply unable to swim without their coat, to reduce the risk of wires getting crossed and accidental drownings. Learning to swim as a human could impair their abilities to swim as a seal. It's a bit like a language barrier, but in swimming.

selkies typically court with nipping, biting at the flippers and back of the neck

selkies, of course, find the return of a coat to be the highest form of romance, duty, and trust.

the idea of someone not just returning a coat but PUTTING IT BACK ON the selkie themselves goes BEYOND the height of romance and straight up into fantasy.

a selkie putting their skin on their partner is a massive show of trust and love: I trust you to return this to me, to keep me safe, and i love you so much that you are a part of me.

selkies Can actually wear things under their pelt, but its kind of uncomfortable. its best to have next to nothing between skin and fur. Think of it like the tag on the back of your shirt rubbing against your neck, or a bra strap digging into your shoulder.

selkies are very social, feeding and sharing food is an important gesture. hunting for a mate is an important gift. it shows a willingness to provide for their mate, as well as an attention to detail based on what foods they get-- how difficult to procure, how well they know their mates pallet, how many people (children) they can provide for. its a judge of character.

#this is just a way to consolidate all my notes from WSSW in one place asdkhbda #ill make a second post for sirens #depths' talks #AU notes #feel absolutely free to ignore this its for ME

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apureniallsource · 1 year ago

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When you’ve been in one of the biggest boybands in the world, figuring out what life looks like afterwards is no easy feat, especially when it encompassed some of your most formative years. For Niall Horan, though, it seems all too easy. He still lives the pop star life with a sold-out set of shows coming up next year, a whole host of festival performances lined up this summer, and an album that hit number one in the UK just a few weeks ago. Yet off-stage, he’s calm, carefree and so down to Earth that you might not even realise what he does for a living.

If Niall’s work life is about the biggest stages, biggest shows and biggest songs, Niall’s life at home is all about indulging in simple pleasures. Whether it’s bingeing a Netflix true crime series, lighting candles to make hotel rooms feel a bit more like home, or hopping from the gym to the golf course, he keeps himself grounded with a balanced routine and a low-maintenance lifestyle. It’s the perfect antithesis to celebrity life, and it’s helped him maintain the chilled-out vibe that he’s been known for since he was 16.

He might have just been about to fly to LA, but when we speak to Niall he’s as relaxed as they come. He’s still got yesterday’s hair (he proudly shows us how it’s still holding its volume), and he’s lounging in his living room in his gym clothes…

Let’s start with your dressing room. At this point in your career you’re used to being dressed, but how would you describe your own style when you’re at home?

I’d say I’ve got two different styles. One is very casual — I love street and sportswear — and then the other is very influenced by the 1950s and Sinatra. There’s a lot of collars, pressed trousers, penny loafers and that kind of thing. I like putting a modern twist on those old styles, whether that’s adding a more utilitarian jacket or whatever it might be. There’s a touch of ‘90s in there as well.

What about hero pieces?

I just got this vintage army green Gucci coat that’s very militaristic. I’m saving that for something good - can’t just walk to the shop in vintage Gucci, can you? I’m wearing this other, more casual coat at the moment, it’s a big green oversized bomber from Second/Layer. That’s been my go-to. Green goes with most things, so I’ve been wearing that a lot. I try and lean away from it, being Irish, but sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.

I’m big on Reebok Classics. I buy like three or four pairs at a time and just wear them until they get destroyed. They look better the worse they get but there’s a point where it’s like, okay, you might just need to get a new pair of shoes now…

Vintage Levi’s jeans are a big one. I get them online from a place called the 13 Club. Lots of straight-leg denim going on for me at the moment, 505s or 501s. I'm also big into — whether people agree with it or not — double denim. I have this vintage Ralph Lauren denim shirt and I like that with a white T-shirt and some matching jeans. The Canadian tuxedo! I’ve been doing a lot of that.

You’re very into golf. What does your golfwear looking like?

I’ve been trying to '50s up that a little bit too, wearing a slack rather than a golf trouser and a shirt with a bit of that old-school two-tone to it. I say that…I also have a lot of the classic gear that I just throw on because no one’s going to see me on the golf course. I often think that, I overthink what I’m going to wear and then I don’t see anyone for four hours.

For general workouts, I’m obviously a brand advisor and investor for the Irish brand Gym+Coffee. I’m a big fan of all their workout tops, I’m not good on materials but they’re easy to wear and nice and light. They just go with everything. All their shorts are really comfy too, really lightweight stuff that’s easy to wear in the gym. Nothing worse than some of that heavier stuff where you’re sweating out and it’s definitely not pleasant to feel in or to look at.

Moving onto the bathroom and grooming… what’s your routine there?

Yes! My forté! Firstly, I came across these things on Amazon. My groomer showed me them. The orbs that you put in the freezer and use with serum. I just love them! Genetically, I get dark [under]eyes and it’s crazy how good they are. I’ve never had anything work but ice is the answer, it turns out.

Sarah Chapman is the brand I’ve been buzzing about for a couple of years. I do an eye cream, a spray, an intense hydrating serum, moisturiser and SPF — the old Irish skin can’t handle any kind of ray, so that’s a must. I’ve got to watch myself even in the winter. For the evening I’m doing retinol, moisturiser and then a face oil. That keeps me glowing. I do a lot of face masks, I don’t even know if any of this stuff works I just love doing it.

Shampoo is Philip Kingsley. I’ve stopped using conditioner as much but I use a Redken clay to style and a matte paste. I use the Dyson hairdryer — make sure you put that in block capitals and tell them they can send me whatever they want — I absolutely love it. And for aftershaves, it’s Le Labo.

Moving into the kitchen, do you cook much when you’re at home. Do you have a go-to gadget?

I have a Nespresso coffee machine. I kick things off in the morning with an espresso, then the late afternoon coffee is an oat latte or an Americano, it depends on what buzz I need. I don’t get too LA on it. Out there you hear all sorts of stuff…“choco-loco-choco-mocho”. Just drink it, will you?

I do cook a lot. When I’m at home I try and cook for myself but keep it relatively healthy, so I end up doing a lot of Mediterranean-style stuff — salads, chicken, couscous, all that kind of stuff — nothing too complicated until the weekend. I’m no Stanley Tucci.

On a Sunday we’re always doing a Sunday roast. Roast chicken, parsnips, cheesy leeks, cauliflower cheese, potatoes. Love a Sunday roast, it’s my favourite thing. I also make this really simple Italian dish that’s just so good. It’s fried garlic, chilli, onion, squashed tomatoes, spaghetti, smoked bacon and a whole block of parmesan cheese. I don’t even know what it’s called but it’s just magic, it’s just what you want. If I’m in on a Saturday night, that’s what I’m making.

Let’s think about unwinding before bed. What helps you out there?

Candles, always. I always have a candle with me, particularly Diptyque Fig and Oud. I usually like softer fragrances: Le Labo Santal is also a favourite. I actually travel with candles - hotel rooms, dressing rooms, just to give them a homely feel. The only problem with that being that once you blow it out you have to sit around and wait for it to dry before shoving it back in your bag.

I always listen to green noise before bed. When I concentrate on that I can just doze right off, and I do a pre-bed face mask every two or three nights. And I do watch a lot of TV in bed… which is not good. It’s always ‘oh just one more episode’ and then before you know it it’s half one in the morning. I love ‘24 Hours in Police Custody’. We watch a lot of true crime and all those American Netflix series. Name it, we’ve seen it.

Thinking about your living room, what do you do to unwind there of an evening or afternoon?

There’s a piano in the living room and I spend a lot of time with that. That’s where I do a lot of writing. I wrote probably a third of my new album on that piano, sat at home during the lockdown. There’s a guitar on a stand next to it and sometimes I’ll wander over there when I’m half watching TV. I’ve got a Fender Telecaster and a Gibson 335 that I play a lot, a big old red thing. My acoustic is from an Irish brand called Lowden, myself and Lewis [Capaldi] went to their factory on our Amazon show, and I’ve been into them for eight or nine years. Maybe I need a green one…I’ll be a walking leprechaun in no time.

I listen to a lot of music; I’ve got this big JBL boombox, it’s class. It’s got a big handle on it and I take it everywhere. I’ve also got a vinyl player, I listen to a lot of vinyl. People are always asking me what I’m listening to at the moment and it’s never anything new. It’s always the old stuff that I just love…in fact, I just rotate the same fifteen or so vinyls. Old head, young shoulders, I suppose.

#niall horan #british gq #28june

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theoscout · 2 years ago

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So I finished reading all three of the Strahd stories written by PN Elrod and I have a lot of thoughts (btw I call her version 'Caretaker Strahd' and consider him a different character to 5e Strahd)

SPOILERS FOR THE STORIES UNDER THE CUT

strahd is so definitely a gamer, I could totally imagine him showing off his setup and pc if he lived in modern times

he'd have those cool ones that flash when you type on them and really expensive gear too, he's somehow found out how to play video games despite computers not even being invented in his time

That thing he does where he possess someone else is SO UNDERUSED omg, what are the limits? Can he possess wolves and bats if he turned into them first? Possess dire wolves?? Dragons???

since vampiric charm in 5e only works on humanoids I'd assume that his version of it also only works on humanoids, except that he was able to possess another vampire in the same way so maybe his works on undead too

WHICH MEANS HE CAN BUILD A FLESH GOLEM AND POSSESS IT

fanfic where Strahd builds a mecha and kicks ass

i'd imagine his first mecha would be a robotic version of himself that uses the weird potion as fuel so he can go to other domains (and also has a self destruct button to avoid another 'Azalin's ANGY' incident

his second one might be a giant wolf with him in wolf form piloting it with the magic ball, because a four legged mecha is easier to build than one with 2 legs

also I can't shake the thought of him asking for Barovians to pay taxes in the form of blood donations

I mean for one thing he wants to survive and not let people know he's a vampire but come on are you going to eat your townsfolk when you run out of prisoners?

it's slightly better when he says that he can use his mind control powers to make them forget that he drank from them but stillllllll :(

according to Azalin the most experimentation he's done about going into the mists is the thing with holding a string and running in, and tbh that's like the only thing I agree with Darcelus on

like dude you've been alive for hundreds of years and you're too horny about some redhead to investigate wtf is going on?

makes you wonder how much he knows about the sunlight burning him as well

if I were a vampire I would be testing this out every day and try to develop some kind of sunlight proof outfit to go outside with, and if people ask what I'm wearing I'll just say I have a skin condition

OH and since people are bound to take notice of his mechas he's building, maybe he can excuse this by saying he needs blood to power his mechas

so now he doesn't need to bite his villagers :D

and about the way he can make an outfit that sunlight proofs him- I have an experiment in mind. If he can metabolise, then he can cut pieces of his hair and put them under sunlight and look at them under a magnifying glass to see how they burn. And he can slot materials such as cloth etc between the sunlight and his hair to see if it blocks out the sun, and maybe he leaves it there for a few hours to see if it ACTUALLY blocks out the sun and isn't just burning there but slower

maybe the vision part will be harder to do since IDK if UV ray resistant glass even exists here, but maybe he just casts a spell on the costume so he can see out of it

and he can just put on an entire suit of armor over it assuming it's cloth and then he can go out in public in daylight- he doesn't need to breathe so suffocation isn't a problem

alternatively he can hide his ridiculous clothing by casting disguise self but he probably has already solved that problem

i sure hope vampires don't sweat

I don't think they do but if he does, I don't think he'll like it one bit

I lowkey headcanon him as autistic because he's good at keeping a straight face, hates being social (to the point where he will throw letters at people from the shadows rather than talking to them directly), once stared for ages at a wall because he was angy, identifies with animals more than people, and idk he probably has some sensory issues from how strongly he reacts to certain smells

or maybe I just can't feel pain idk lol

i wonder if Sergei and/or Tatyana were polyamorous, he sure as hell never asked them first

wonder how much it would explode his head if it turns out centuries later that they were poly all along and he killed Alek and Sergei for nothing

but also >:]

Strahd said that kissing women felt nice but he doesn't really want to do it because he hungers for blood and he has to repress it, why does he hunger for people aside from Tatyana it seems?

hmmmmmm I have never ever seen ANYONE react to a person irl like how Strahd reacts to Tatyana, and it seems like I'm not the only one who finds it sus. Not just like in 'gee you really shouldn't be this obsessed over a girl' kind of sus, sus to the point where people theorise that she's a succubus or something. SO I'm thinking, does Strahd look inside and wonder why he's so attracted to Tatyana? like... he's not very curious or scientific the way Azalin is, so he probably didn't investigate it and he isn't the introspective type AT ALL so there maybe isn't a lot of looking into it that he did

my headcanon is that something happened between him and Tatyana in another life, maybe he was already cursed from there or something

because his crime wasn't that bad in comparison to other darklords.... killing two people vs mass murder

crack theory- Tatyana is a darklord as well and stuck in the same domain as Strahd, in a past life she cast a spell on him that made him fall in love with her madly, but her curse is that he will never be able to be with her and that she won't recognise him from the past life

because ngl her situation seems worse than Strahd in some ways

still I would REALLY love to know if there was any more background to Strahd's obsession over her other than 'tatyana's hot'

just scrolled to the top and remembered that since Strahd has some sick writing skillz, he would make an amazing youtuber as well

he'd be able to write something like the DSMP for money and entertainment purposes

that is a cursed line why did i write that lmao

wonder how he'd do as a streamer

I don't think he'd be a streamer since he seems to love his privacy and his autobiographies seem reserved for meeting people he really trusts and showing them his life story without having to sit down and explain it through because he hates social stuff

so his autobiographies are partially propaganda but really it has a lot of secrets so it's possibly to get people to like him

Azalin said that Strahd had a weird/ random sense of humor so I would really like to see how he responds to memes or if he would make them

Strahd REALLY goes out of his way whenever possible in his autobiographies to be like "actually no I'm not that nice, I'm doing this semi nice thing because of xyz" to the point where I'm suspecting he's trying to cover up the fact that he cares about stuff more than he actually does but he's trying to be intimidating

he obviously feels emotions and is sad about Sergei and Alek but he's an emotional repression person and probably tries to hide ANY kind of pain that isn't Tatyana related

I really want to know what would happen if he met Sergei or Alek's ghost.................................................

I feel like a bunch of scenes in the books may have been for fanservice to some degree lol (cough cough strahd taking off his shirt cause he doesn't want it to get ruined by swords cough)

idk what Strahd has going on for Van Richten but it's funny how he just saw one random guy and went 'ok I trust you, here's my entire life story' twice

another user said Strahd was trying to seduce Van Richten because of how he let him go free after Van Richten read his first autobiography, then probably arranged an illiterate thief to carry his other autobiography to the exact bookstore where Van Richten likes to hang out so he could read it in the perfect time frame, and then send a minion to pick it up afterwards lol

TWAA was so full of cartoon physics it was funny to imagine lol

Why did Strahd imagine such oddly specific scenarios such as Azalin going mountain climbing while casting spells and himself trying to grab a carrot off Azalin while Azalin twirls it around on a fishing rod like Strahd's a minecraft pig

Strahd's so done with Azalin by the end he just lets Azalin bow his spectral form like a sockpuppet :sob emoji:

#strahd von zarovich #sergei von zarovich #tatyana federovna #i strahd #I strahd the war against azalin #pn elrod #books #my posts #azalin rex #caretaker strahd #that's my tag for anything elrod strahd related #one thing I've noticed about how much I think about the books now #is that I'm pretty sure that even Caretaker Strahd can't stand me #i mean a lot of people irl can't stand me and they aren't even aloof aristocratic vampires with ptsd #so being able to read his autobiographies and see a bit of his thought patterns is something I'd most likely never do even irl #Even If I Literally Met Someone Just Like HIm #rudolph van richten #ravenloft

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whenthechickencry · 1 year ago

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Umineko EP2. Replay Part 5

It is very funny to see all the different lying styles from the characters on reread - Gohda can barely keep liies straight and just stumbles, Kumasawa exaggerates like some tv drama.

Leaving out the one you already let die, I guess.

Battler gets it sometimes.

Got a script update from Shannon and Genji here I suppose. Also she was extremely tense in that scene so I guess she was told about Jessica and is feeling guilty and scared

Yeah Rosa definitely did not want to stay with Shannon and Genji here lmfao.Of all the accomplices she is the one that fucked around the least and would probably survive had there not been a bomb.

The fact Jess got shot on the back seems to imply Kanon just shot her in the back... I kind of hope it was instantaneous and she didn't figure out what was going on but it probably wasn't, just kind of hurts me to think she realized it was Kanon who shot her.

Rosa is a little pissed her Wolves and Sheep game didn't actually work out, huh? It's your fault as much as Gohda's, though.

Gohda not being sure what to say and Shannon setting up the mystery herself is pretty funny.

You can definitely see how much Rosa enjoys power tripping in this scene, and if you then connect the dots to how she likely treated Maria at home... Also trying to force Battler to acknowledge a servant as a culprit which he will again not want to do.

This scene is really interesting. From Battler imagining a ghost Jessica/Kanon to back up his theories to how he defended Kanon so hard... I imagine Yasu has mixed feelings about this haha. On one hand, him defending a part of them so hard probably feels good, though he's horribly off track and what he's arguing about doesn't matter at all. I am not sure if the key was left there or if Nanjo was just playacting as part of Team Yasu but either way, there's about 5 other master keys Yasu can easily get ahold of, or Gohda could have just pretended the door was locked when it wasn't, either way it's not a very tight locked. Also Gohda and Rosa both don't really know how to answer to Battler going completely off base, that definitely wasn't part of the script ahah.

Beatrice is trying to get him back on track here without much success though.

The first use of the red to deem Kanon or Shannon dead! I think some people were mad about that when the mystery was revealed but after episode 3 announcing everyone dead I couldn't imagine a solution that didn't require wordplay of some kind...

He's beggining to catch on to the fact he's thinking in an immature way, at least.

M-metal gear Beatrice?

For a total of 2 non accomplices/culprits uh uh

Seems Rosa isn't horribly sure of who the real wolves here are, she obviously knows they are all in cahoots but not the specifics, other than knowing Shannon is the mastermind, so she just sends them all. And Nanjo too a bit later, better safe than sorry after misjudging the Jessica situation by sending Gohda assuming he would be a safeguard, I guess.

Wew Rosa. A cycle of abuse is obviously a very big theme in Umineko in general but Rosa is super explicit about it on this chapter.

With Rosa being an obvious accomplice here you should really be listening to her about who the culprits are... but it's hard to trust the words of someone acting so heartless as a reader huh?

There's a lot of comparing Rosa to her siblings in this chapter, and the thing you are meant to be getting from that is about how all the abuse Rosa has received from them has been internalized and she is abusing others like she was abused. Also, Rosa saying she isn't a wolf because she has a gun obviously highlights a weakness of her wolf and sheep thinking, considering she is a wolf. At this point, the wolves will always outnumber the sheep but all the wolves have different motivations, so it isn't that simple.

Can't stop yourself from talking about how you hate Gohda even in this fantasy scene lmfao. What's probably happening here is they are discussing the next steps of the plan.

Kanon literally being Beatrice on this scene is kind of funny looking back. Also for how long-winded and scary this scene was all that happened was nothing was really happening in actuality lol. Considering they were no corpses Nanjo and Kumasawa were just told to hide for now and they'll get murdered later.

Yeah uh, Gohda isn't a very good actor lmfao.

She's freaking out after hearing other accomplices were murdered Battler.

Tbh I am kind of confused by the blood since I am pretty sure they aren't dead yet... I guess Yasu having prepared fake blood of some kind isn't too farfetched though. And Gohda's "the blood is theirs" seems confirmation the blood isn't theirs, otherwise it's a weird way to word that.

She's really trying to cut off his naive thinking since he isn't making effort on that on his own.

She's giving wiggle room to doubt Jessica by that not being in red though. Usually she passes suspicion on the servants.

He's breaking down about his theory being broken omg

Everything here is correct other than the word Jessica, though.

Sweet of you to think that, but no.

#umiepisode2 #umineko

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variousqueerthings · 2 years ago

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i have minor musings that arent based in anything outside of the anecdotal that transmascs who are/have been lesbians/involved in the lesbian community might be overall less interested in building spaces with cis men (non-homogenously, and also depending on whether they’ve been heavily involved in cis-male spaces in other contexts I think, like the “how to transition when your models of masculinity are macho biker dudes” essay) than transmascs who came to their trans-masculinity in other ways

(this isn’t technically about sports, but my main examples are sports, because I am doing a lot of sports-related research -- a little vague, but fill-in-yer-own-examples where you see them fit with a question)

this not as any kind of judgement of the first or the second very broad-strokes brushing groups, I was just thinking that I was having a lot of conversations with transmascs who were also lesbians, or had formerly id’d as lesbians, and we were talking about space-building in sports in particular (but not singularly), and most of them were thinking that the best scenario would be spaces inclusive of cis-women, trans people, nb people, but no cis men

they were thinking far more about keeping ties with their lesbian communities as a matter of priority, because that is their community, while I (and a few others who either were never in lesbian communities or were in heavily mixed communities) were thinking about what it would take for us to feel safe within spaces with a lot of cis men in them, because we want to be in those spaces, and so the access needs were different

it set up an interesting new complication for me about what is needed in both of these contexts -- can an acronym like “FLINTA” (female, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans, agender) hold enough space? do these spaces need to consider more how non-binary people can look and be, and what forms of behaviours do they require from everyone that needs to be learned, etc.

vs. what work do cis men need to do to make sure people/transmasc people feel safe (incl. spaces that are majority gay men), can a space majority made out of cis men create these foundations at this point in time, is there something transmasc people need to bring/learn about what that could entail, what does it mean for cis men to incorporate a trans philosophy into their masculinity, etc.

and how do trans women and transfemme and nb people have the ability to move fluidly between these spaces (a fair few gay sports spaces for men include trans women, who may prefer that to entering a “women and non-binary people” or FLINTA space, for all kinds of reasons), do we impose too many gendered limitations in order to try to create safer spaces? how do these affect all trans people?

and what a third version (heavily geared towards women, trans people, nb people, inclusive of cis men), fourth version (transmasc only), fifth version (lesbian-only, including trans men and trans women with ties to lesbianism, but not including straight women or cis men), sixth (queer of any stripes), seventh (a completely different main focus with some form of gendered component consciously included or not, ex. race, ethnicity, dis/ability, intersex identities, etc), potential eighth, ninth, etc. version of this might look like as well

and then finally, going back to that essay I linked above, what are our own limitations and assumptions and scar tissues doing to hinder our actual goals (gender liberation). are we approaching these questions intensely from our own experiences and has that made it difficult to be as open as we may need to be (yes, speaking for myself, but we’re trying!)

the TL;DR there is more between heaven and earth than an easy “this works better than that” and that is a feature and not a bug if we allow ourselves to look past ourselves without fear

#ramblerambleramble #queer stuff #trans stuff #transmasc stuff #a lot of this has to do with some research im doing into football/soccer inclusion #this is very surface-level but it's simply an acknowledgement of some questions #and also my continued poking at my own baby transmasculinity #(to be fair was there but i didnt acknowledge it because i needed to set myself at nothing first so i could explore on my own terms)#me

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protagonistheavy · 1 year ago

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Not that I ever expected greatness but the FNAF movie sucked on multiple levels. Even if you try to squint and give some generosity to the production, i feel like the direction itself is just flawed to its base.

Most importantly I feel like all the charm and appeal of FNAF is entirely lost here. The movie simple isnt scary at ANY point and leans more as a suspense-comedy than anything else. There's no horror of basically any magnitude. The restaurant quickly loses any sense of creepiness as we get so accustomed with the limited set and rarely get to see anything that made the original restaurant in FNAF so unsettling; the animatronics look way too good and function way more like a regular robots to actually scare anyone, way too much emotion from them -- on top of the fact that we get very familiar with them as characters. They don't use compelling angles enough to sell the creepy-animatronic factor, and we dont see them in regular action to ever get that feeling of "oh god, these corpse robots are interacting with people."

There's basically no gore except cuts, only one James Bond-style death trap, and a VERY campy silhouette death. There is so much potential in this factor, all the gears and machinery that could be used to create horrible situations... but none of that is properly utilized. Violent engagements with the animatronics are just a matter of a guy in a suit pushing other people around. The most violence you get is the fucking cupcake toy, which is just a straight up ghoulie I guess, it's the only competent threat in the movie and is way overused.

But then on top of all this........... get this, there really isn't enough jumpscares in this movie. Which is so fucked up! It's normally too easy for movies to include too many jumpscares... but here, there's such a disappointing lack of them. Jumpscares is so much what FNAF is, if any movie was gonna have too many jumpscares and get away with it, this is the one!! And yet we only get three in the entire movie, including a mid-credits scene, and they're ALL THE SAME GAG. Ugh! The animatronics are supposed to be surprising and hard to see, not henchmen for a Batman villain.

And then the comedy, of which there is too much of, just doesnt normally hit. I giggled more at just the fact that I was watching a FNAF movie than I did at any intentional gag. And this sucks so much too because humor is also a key part to the FNAF feeling, how so many times it can surprise you with such a good joke, or refresh you after a scare by providing something funny in between. That just isnt present here, you just get regular old Hollywood humor, at best it's a "so bad its funny" kind of humor.

Finally, the movie tries too hard to cram in every good idea FNAF ever had into one plotline, and the result is a plotline that makes no sense -- not with the FNAF lore, and not even with its own self. You will be left with so many dumb questions that have no good answers, and even more if youre a fan of the series. Characters are completely different from their inspirations, their motivations are even more whack as hell. It's like the director read a summary of deep FNAF lore and just figured shoving every idea into one plot would be spooky and cover all their bases, but it just makes a jumbled mess of a plot with characters you never give a shit about, in a world that makes little sense and does little to draw you in.

Funny enough, I happened to watch Willy's Wonderland in the background at a party the night before, and even though I wasnt even watching it completely, I have to admit that movie just seemed more compelling than FNAF. It had a protagonist I wanted to learn about, mysteries that keep you wondering, humor that was ridiculous enough to make me laugh more sincerely, and animatronics that frankly had a spookier appeal to them, in a premise that was much more engaging. In some ways, Willy's is even truer to the spirit of FNAF, albeit with Nic Cage action sequences; there's at least a better attempt at conveying a complete story, and it does more to create spooks and frights with the setting. I really loved in Willy's the scenes where Nic Cage is cleaning the place, I love the attention to detail -- which gets you engrossed with the setting, makes you feel like youre there, convinces you it was indeed a happy place once before becoming tarnished. Im definitely thinking waaay more of Willy's than I am of FNAF lol.

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rocicrew · 2 years ago

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WAIT I have another one “pulling away from a kiss, whispering words of love against each other’s lips” for naomi/holden 😭 and either fic or drawing!!

kissing prompts

After months of cramping up and sharing a crash couch that was not built for two people, a proper bed seemed like a luxury. The crash couch had its appeal, of course, it allowed them to hold each other every night and share an intimacy that lacked in their room on Tycho. Most of all, it was home. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to make the most of their, practically forced, vacation.

Although, Naomi had a mission, beyond enjoying the soft mattress under her.

Or rather, enjoying it differently.

She didn’t often tell him, but she loved the weight of Jim on top of her. He was always careful to not let go completely and let all his weight fall on top of her, even with Tycho’s low gravity, and the way he cradled her close made her feel safe. Now, she had an additional reason to enjoy it, the pressure, the feeling of his body on top of hers, was a constant reminder that he’d come back. Ilus hadn’t taken him from her while she helplessly watched, disaster after disaster threatening his life from orbit.

He was fairly occupied, kissing her languidly during their post-coital bliss when she pulled away with a soft sigh. Naomi pressed her forehead against his before he got confused by her gesture. Her hand, which was tangled in his hair, and had a tight grip not too long ago, was now gently petting the locks of his hair.

“Jim,” she sighed against his lips in a way that spoke of a love confession more than an actual love confession would’ve.

He was here, with her, and the overwhelming urge came to say every thing she couldn’t say over the distance.

I’m worried for you. I wish nothing more than for you to be with me right now. I wish I was there, so you wouldn’t have to go through it alone.

I love you.

All the words that were stuck in her throat and couldn’t come out, leaving them with a deafening silence over the distance. She knew it must upset him, even if he understood the reason. He was always mindful of her past and never tried to push her over things she wasn’t ready for. But he was human, needing to hear reassuring words from his partner was natural. And despite him never saying so, an ugly feeling settled in her gut every time something deep and instinctual kept those words close to her chest. They would never move forward if she didn’t try every now and then to push back against it.

He wasn’t Marco, he’d never use that. Jim treasured every word she told him like it was precious.

“You always make me feel amazing,” Naomi breathed out and felt him shiver from the praise. “I didn’t think I’d feel safe or loved again after…”

“Naomi,” he almost immediately protested. “You don’t have to do this, honey.”

Before she could reply that she wanted to, he was already trying to distract her with a kiss that made her toes curl.

But she wouldn't stray from her plan.

“Let me,” she argued softly.

“You're kind and loving. Patient and understanding with my past.” Naomi whispered, moving her hand to brush his cheekbone. “And most importantly, whenever you do screw up, you listen and admit your wrongs while trying to make up for them.”

She could see his brows furrowing, the gears in his head turning. He was always more critical of himself than she ever would be. Even when they argued. But he deserved to hear it.

It was both easier and harder than she thought. Naomi knew what words to say and how to say them but actually saying them out loud left her feeling barer than ever.

“And then, there are your other assets,” she huffed, a short breath of air, unable to keep a straight face as her other hand palmed at his ass.

Whatever thought he was thinking before vanished as his lips spread in a wide smile. Good.

“There's that smile I love so much,” Naomi cooed, scrunching up her nose to touch his.

She took a moment to look at him. His cheeks were wide and a brush colored his pale skin. His patchy stubble tickled her. His eyes, that always crinkled whenever he smiled, held so much affection for her that her heart couldn't help but flip at how endearing they were. She noticed the faint lines beside them that she hoped were the ones to grow more prominent instead of the ones between his eyebrows. To show a life that tipped towards happiness instead of worry. She'd always help with that if Jim let her.

“I love you,” she whispered lower than her previous words.

This time she had said it without thinking at all. That was her end goal, yes. The emotion that overwhelmed her and the reason behind her praise. What she wanted to say all those times and couldn't. It wasn’t an accident like the first time. But her heart had moved faster than her brain. And for the first time ever, that didn't scare her at all.

She could see the shock on his face. They both knew what each other felt, but usually, she found other ways to show it.

Anyway, that expression stayed only for a millisecond because as soon as the words sunk in, he pulled her back into a deep kiss. Naomi didn't pull back this time. Instead, she melted in his hold, feeling all the love she usually showed this way from him.

“I love you, too,” he whispered against her lips, before flopping onto the bed beside her. He kept the close proximity though, laying on his side and keeping contact at their hips.

It took a moment for either of them to say anything. That was all right by Naomi. She'd learned the hard way that there were a few moments you had to let sink in because they passed by quickly. There wasn't any need to further acknowledge them, except she was sure this would be one that she'd keep close to her heart.

“I like the ways that you show you love me,” Holden said after a while, so he wouldn't repeat himself that she didn't need to do this.

“I know. I just, there were so many moments I'd usually take your hand, or rub your shoulder or even look at you and you'd understand what I wanted to say. But the distance made it impossible, and when you needed me, I couldn't say any of it.”

Naomi had a lot of regrets in her life, and she couldn't let this become another one.

“I meant it when I said I felt better you weren't down there with me. Just hearing your voice, even your breathing, helped. You never have to do anything more.”

Oh, Jim and his careful approach to her feelings. She wanted to say it because she didn't have to. And she needed him to hear it.

Naomi paused for a moment and raised a hand to play with one of his stray curls. Enough with haves and don't have tos. There was a specific question she wanted to hear the answer to. “Did you enjoy it, though?”

The way Holden blushed a shade darker than before and ducked his head almost bashfully was all the answer she needed.

She let him ride out the battle inside himself of whether the praise was accurate or not. If it'd come from anyone else, Jim wouldn't have believed it. From her, though, even if he didn't fully believe it, he knew that Naomi said it because it was what she actually felt.

He also had a question, though. One that brought a blush to her face.

“So, did you really mean, you know... a sexathon?”

God, that wasn't exactly the word she'd used but it wasn't inaccurate.

When they had settled in their apartment on Tycho, she'd straddled his lap on the couch, had kissed him seductively, and told him very pointedly that he owed her a long weekend with lots of room service that he'd rejected a long time ago back when they'd first arrived on Tycho. It took nearly no further convincing for him to carry her on the bed and get a headstart.

“Amos and Alex know not to bother us for a couple of days,” was all the reply she gave him.

The surprise and heat were equally present on his face as his hand clumsily squeezed her hip.

Holden wasted no time, taking his place back between her legs and putting into action his different way of showing his love. His own kind of praise and worship that Naomi couldn't get enough of.

#the expanse #nolden #naomi nagata #james holden #mine : fics.#okay maybe this is a little more sappy than i originally intended but shh they deserve it

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claire-starsword · 2 years ago

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The Shining Series’ lost mobile games

so, apparently japanese company G-MODE has an archive of old mobile games for the Nintendo Switch (and maybe Steam as well? so I’ve heard but i’m having trouble finding it). If you don’t know, Japan had a lot of unique pre-smartphone technologies, and a lot of games produced specifically for these platforms as well. Because these services have finally shutdown in recent years, these games are now inaccessible for the public and in danger of being lost forever, which sucks big time, so it’s nice to know at least one company that cares to keep them around, and their archive apparently even includes some third-party games besides their own.

how did I find this out? They’re celebrating the archive’s third anniversary by asking people of games they’d like to see added. They’ll be taking replies until April 30th. I don’t put much stock in that kinda thing, since i know nothing of business so who knows what kinds of negotiations are required for that kind of thing to begin with, it’s not guaranteed any suggestions will be added. Besides, I’m of the feeling that if certain big companies (like say, Sega, hypothetically) wanted to preserve their stuff they’d already done it on their own.

am I still clowning out there asking for shining force stuff? You silly bean of course I am. And more people are asking for Sega stuff as well. So I’m inviting you to clown with us, or at the very least get to know what stuff was once out there to begin with, because the Shining series has quite a few of these games, including tactical RPG entries that classic fans have always wanted back, and it sucks that they’re simply lost and uncared for now.

(Note: should you really decide to reply the tweet, here’s a template if you don’t know japanese:

タイトル: [game’s name, preferably in japanese of course]

メーカー名: [name of the company that made the game]

#GMODEアーカイブス)

So let’s begin with the games that have already popped up in this blog:

Shining Force Chronicles I/II/III (シャイニング・フォースクロニクル I/II/III)

The Shining Force Chronicles trilogy were ports of the Game Gear’s Shining Force Gaiden games. As you can see above though, they had different graphics. They are also very weird in that they seem to have been vvvvvery briefly available on Play Store as well? And then removed? And then accessible only through a Sega subscription service that has also shutdown??? so yeah it’s weird, but Android versions seem to exist as well, despite being just as lost. I tried very hard to find apk files but got nothing. If you ever do,

please

Ahem. At the very least, sprite dumps of the games (SFCIII here) exist in the Shining Force Central forums, so we can enjoy the updated graphics to some extent. I’ve even posted some comparisons between them and the originals for Gaiden III - Final Conflict before, but while the battle sprites there are only resized versions of the game gear ones, I and II did better and straight up redrew some to make them distinct as opposed to palette swaps.

Here’s some examples, pretty cool right? Sadly the game’s animations were more limited so there aren’t as many frames, but I still appreciate the heck out of these.

Shining Road -to the force- (シャイニング・ロード　～トゥ･ザ･フォース～)

I sadly cannot find footage of this game at all, so all I know comes from the archived website. It seems to be a turn based dungeon crawling RPG where you and your party members move together tile by tile and must figure your way through the dungeon without getting separated. Each of the four playable characters has their own attack range, and depending of your formation around enemies, it is possible to unleash combo attacks.

It’s hard to judge without seeing the game in action, but it feels to me they were trying to mix up the tactical rpg roots of the series with the dungeon crawling and smaller parties of Shining Soul, and in fact, the game does lift assets straight up from the Soul games. The character sprites however have a lot more color and are very pretty in my opinion.

Story wise it takes place in the same world as Shining Tears, following the story of Affen, a treasure hunter who dreams of becoming the first human Beast King General of the kingdom of Bestia. I’m not too familiar with the Tears setting to comment on that, but I’ll note that two out of the other three party members are said to dislike humans. The game got a sequel, Shining Road 2 -Priestess of the Dark Dragon- (シャイニング・ロード２～黒き竜の巫女～) which seems to be essentially the same in terms of gameplay.

Shining Force EXA Mobile (シャイニング・フォースイクサモバイル)

Sadly I cannot find footage of this one either, but as you can see in the pictures, this one is a tactical RPG like the classics, but with the world and cast of Shining Force EXA. The archived website is poor in information compared to the other games here, but it mentions the Geo-Fort being playable and capable of upgrades like in the PS2 version, which might be this game’s distinctive feature in terms of gameplay.

Story wise, it seems to take place somewhere during the original game’s plot, with the characters being transported to another world by a mysterious gate, losing their memories in the process. It sounds like a very excuse-y filler plot, but according to the one liveblog i managed to find, it actually delves into Toma’s backstory quite a bit, and also introduces new characters related to Faulklin and Duga.

I didn’t play EXA but did enjoy the story quite a bit, so I’d love to see more of this characters. Out of all games in this list, this is the one I’m most curious about. Sadly I can’t even find pictures of its exclusive characters though... I’d love to see an older dog boy in the series.

Shining Wind X ~Weissritter War Chronicle~ (シャイニング・ウィンド・クロス　~ヴァイスリッター戦記~)

Ah, the classic japanese of putting letters in names and reading them however you want. That is meant to be read as “Shining Wind Cross”, and it’s a tactical RPG like the classics, with the world and characters of Shining Tears/Wind fighting a bunch of dark elves.

What little footage I could find of it sadly does not show battles, but it shows certain assets are lifted directly from Shining Force Chronicles, and the archived website confirms that yup, it plays very much like the Chronicles/Gaiden games, alternating between tactical battles with a party of up to 12 characters, and HQ stops where you manage your party, items and everything else. These HQ stops also allow you to talk with your party members, including choosing dialogue options that might deepen your bond with a character, unlocking extra story events. As a soulblader, the main character Soma also gets to select a partner each battle and do special link skills with them, whose strength also depends on your bond with them.

Thankfully this one also has a character page so we see the whole playable cast, which includes a bunch of centaurs, blind foxling monk, and, crow birdman ninja, which wields a staff?? for some reason??? i’m a bit confused at his class but he does look sick as hell and that’s mostly what i want of a shining game.

So yeah, this is mostly all I know about these mobile games, if anyone has more info please let me know, it sucks that they and so many others are stuck in limbo, and finding any information at all is hard, everybody say thank you Wayback Machine for what little i have here. Also, if anyone wants direct translations of certain pages here let me know, I did summaries only because i don’t want this post to get even bigger.

#lost media #shining force #shining force exa #shining wind #shining series #shining force chronicles #shining force chronicles 3 #shining force exa mobile #shining wind x #shining road #you don't know how much it hurts that exa and sfc3 are the only ones to have no website at all #direct attack on me as usual #and yeah yeah i did promise comparisons with the other sfcs as well i will do it eventually #but ripping sprites from sfcd in particular will be a pain in the ass so don't expect it soon #it's the reason i put it on pause #long post

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