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afterglowsainz · 6 months ago

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guilty as sin? | oscar piastri

summary: you and oscar can't be together, but that doesn't stop either of you from wanting each other

warnings: drinking, mentions of masturbation

word count: 2k

a/n: this song is my hyperfixation rn! also, i don't write smut (which is not what this is) but i had to include the last part of the fic, the nature of the song forced me to!

the tortured athletes department series

everyone and their mother knew that you and oscar liked each other, but things were never that simple between the two of you.

oscar being an f1 driver for mclaren in his second year and you being a pr manager for f1, dating within the workplace was a complete no; besides the fact that it just made things more complicated than they had to be, it was also forbidden by your boss. that and also the fact that the two of you were too proud to be the first one to give in, so neither of you did. it was a bit immature, sure, but it was what it was.

so since you couldn’t be together, the only way to fight the feeling was simply date other people, and you both did that well. for oscar it was easy because he usually just went back to his ex, which made you extremely jealous because she was the only woman you thought you couldn’t compare to, they had years of history, and you were the relatively new girl, how could you stand up against her? easy, you couldn’t, or so you thought. finding someone for you wasn’t hard either, unlike oscar, you didn’t date the same person the whole time because you didn’t have an ex, so you just picked a boy of the month and made oscar jealous, which was quite easy because oscar got jealous of every guy who even looked at your direction.

at this moment, at the after-party of the miami grand prix, it was one of those rare moments where none of you were dating and you were both single, but still, not together. you had to admit you’ve been drinking shots of vodka since you arrived at the place and haven’t stopped since, which made you a bit tipsy but not drunk. you were on your way out of the bathroom when you accidentally slipped on a wet patch at the club’s floor and you had to lean on the person closest to avoid falling.

“oh.” a small shocked sound came out of you. “sorry, i’m sorry.” you apologized to the person next to you, who put his arms around your waist to avoid you from falling.

“it’s okay.” you hear your favorite voice in the world and look up to see his face close to you.

“hey.” you smile.

“hello.” he answers with his beloved australian accent.

“didn’t see you there.” you look at your surroundings, the bathroom was in the dark side of the club and not many people were around

“yeah, i was hiding.” he admits. you nod in understanding.

“alone?” you arch your brow after not seeing any of his friends nearby.

“i just need a second.”

you nod again. oscar can get overwhelmed very easily so you knew what he needed.

“have you been drinking?” he asks now. you avoid his eyes, focusing on the people dancing in front of you.

“yeah.” you admit. “that’s not why i almost fell though, the floor is wet.” he chuckles and nods with a smile. “have you?”

“just a little, not much.” you turn to look at him and it was now him who was avoiding your gaze. “where’s your boyfriend?” he asks.

right. you forgot to tell oscar that you broke up with the last guy you were seeing. it was stupid, really, you just didn’t like the way he dressed, he wore skinny jeans and hoodies most of the time and that irritated you for some reason. he was also not oscar.

“we’re not together anymore.” you say waiting for a reaction which you get.

“oh?” he asks, arching his brow and looking back at you. his expression however, stays the same.

a scary thought crosses your mind and you feel sick almost thinking of it, but now that you thought of it you can’t forget it, so you just ask.

“did you get back with lily?” you wait for what it feels like an eternity for his answer, but it only really takes him about three seconds to respond.

“no, we’re not together.”

you felt like breathing out all the air in your lungs in relief, but you didn’t out of respect.

“nice.” you say instead, which earns oscar another chuckle.

“yeah.” he says simply.

you stand by each other in silence, just watching the people around you not having a single care in the world. like it was a gravitational force pulling you to him, you started getting closer and closer until your hands were touching each other. you were feeling bold that night, bold enough to maybe make the first move. when you felt his finger rubbing against your hands you snap your head to look at him, but before you could talk you hear a male voice interrupting you.

“y/n”. they called you.

at lightning speed, oscar gets away from you and you feel like punching the person who interrupted you. when you turn you see the face of one of your best friends who also happens to work in formula 1.

“just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” he says. “you left a few minutes ago.”

you smile at him like you internally didn’t want to kill him.

“all good.” you answer. “just catching up with oscar here.” you tilted your head towards the australian until your friend finally noticed him.

he looks a bit shocked when he realizes he interrupted you.

“hi mate, how are you?” he asks him, a bit shy, trying to play it cool. oscar just smiles slightly at him.

“all good.” he looks at your friend and then back to you. “well i should get back with them.” he tilts his head towards lando and some of the other drivers.

you couldn’t think of anything fast enough to make him stay, so you just nodded. he said his goodbyes and left you two alone.

“mate!” you finally recriminate your friend and playfully slapped his arm.

the laugh that erupted from him was a mix between amusement and regret.

“i’m sorry!” he apologized, taking you back towards your other friends through the club. “i didn’t know you were together, we were actually worried.”

“that’s fine.” you respond while rolling your eyes. “let’s just drink.”

you spent the next hour forgetting about the world around you and just drinking and dancing with your friends like it was the last night on earth. it was also pretty fair to say that you were already drunk at this point. not embarrassingly drunk, you could still stand on your feet and have a conversation without dragging your words, but you were definitely beyond the point of being sober.

“i have to go to the bathroom again.” you screamed at the ear of your friend and she nodded in understanding.

“do you want me to go with you?” she screamed back at you. you shook your head.

“i won’t take long.” she just nodded and let you go.

this time you weren’t planning on taking as long as it took you last time, you just wanted to go back to your friends as soon as possible to continue having fun. but just like the first time, the only person in the world that you wanted to be with was right there again, next to the bathroom exit and somehow hiding in the shadows, but this time you saw him.

“oscar!” you screamed over the music.

he snaps his head towards your face, always finding you in a room full of people. a smirk appears on his face as you approach him and you can tell by the look of him that he has also been drinking more.

“thought i wouldn’t see you for the rest of the night.” he whispers once you’re close enough.

you take your time to answer, just taking him in.

“hiding again?” you ask.

“too many shots.” he says. “needed to take a minute.”

you bite your lip shamelessly and he notices it, immediately wishing it was his instead.

“oscar.” you smile and whisper his name.

“y/n.” he whispers back, his eyes fixated on your lips.

you mimic him and lower your eyes to his lips as well. since you were drunk and every ounce of shame left your body long ago, you’re bold enough to touch his chest, your hands traveling all the way to the back of his neck, pulling yourself closer to him.

“oscar.” you whisper again, touching his cheeks, just wanting to feel him. “oscar.”

you felt his arms wrapping around your waist, bringing you as close to him as possible. your face inches away from his.

“y/n.” he whispers again.

you think that is gonna happen, it’s definitely gonna happen right here right now, but everything comes crumbling down when you feel a different pair of arms pulling you away from your waist.

“hey, there you are!” someone exclaims and the connection between you and oscar immediately breaks. “sorry mate, she gets touchy when she’s drunk.” the voice says and you instantly recognize it as one of the friends you came with.

“i’m not drunk!” you defend yourself, facing him with a frown on your face for ruining the moment.

“right.” he says incredulously. “she’s touchy all the time.” this was now directed at oscar.

you felt like screaming at the top of your lungs for having your moment with oscar ruined for the second time in the night, but you controlled yourself, allowing your friend to grab your back and direct you to your friends.

“bye, oscar.” you whisper, waving your hand slightly.

he doesn’t answer back, but you can see the strained smile on his face and the nod he gives you. when you’re far enough, you look at your friend with impotence.

“what the hell was that?” you yell. “didn’t you see i was busy?”

“that was me saving your ass.” he says without major emotion. “you were about to kiss oscar drunk and you and i both know that’s impossible.”

you sighed and crossed your arms like a little girl throwing a tantrum. working in formula 1 was hard, and trying to date in it was even harder, almost impossible.

“is it ever going to be easy?” you ask no one in particular, but your friend answers anyway.

“well, it’s you and oscar, so probably not.” you think about it for a few seconds until he interrupts your train of thought. “come on, we were leaving already.” he says.

you follow your friends to the exit of the club and get into the first uber that’s taking you back to the hotel. the trip doesn’t take long and you just chat with your friend for most of it. once in the hotel you say goodbye to everyone and go up to your room, trying to catch some sleep.

it shouldn’t be hard to fall asleep considering that you’ve been working all day and you just spend hours at the club, however, there was one thing at the back of your mind that didn’t let you rest. you couldn’t shake the feeling of oscar’s hands in your body back at the club, almost cornering him into the wall, the two of you just feeling each other. you were frustrated for sure, tossing and turning in bed for an hour straight until you couldn’t fight the feeling anymore.

you bit your lip for a moment, thinking if this was actually appropriate, but soon enough the intrusive thoughts took over your mind and you just think fuck it.

you touch yourself that night with only one person in your mind, wishing it was him that was making you feel good, knowing that he would make you feel even better; you screamed his name when you climaxed. before you can think of what you just did you decide to go to bed as soon as possible, finally feeling tired enough to sleep.

ten minutes after you went to bed, you missed oscar’s text asking you if you were still awake, which he deleted five minutes after you didn’t answer him.

#oscar piastri #oscar piastri x reader #oscar piastri one shot #oscar piastri imagine #oscar piastri angst #f1 x reader #f1 #formula one #formula one x reader #oscar piastri x y/n #oscar piastri x you #oscar piastri fanfic #taylor swift #the tortured poets department #op81 #the tortured athletes department #guilty as sin #guilty as sin?#oscar piastri gif

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totowlff · 2 months ago

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many fade, but i'm still here

➝ you kept your side of the street clean. they will never know what it means.

➝ word count: 2,2k

➝ warnings: mentions of health issues.

➝ author’s note: you can read the part one here.

The young man sitting in front of the reporters looked uncomfortable. Watching him from a corner of the Mercedes motorhome common area, you could tell he wasn’t at ease in that position. However, he needed to get used to the flashes, the clicks, and especially the attention directed at him.

After all, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was now a Formula 1 driver.

— Kimi, how do you feel being officially a Mercedes driver? — a journalist asked.

— It’s an incredible feeling to be announced as a Mercedes driver alongside George in 2025 — the young man replied in a measured tone — It’s a dream I’ve had since I was little, and even though I’m still learning a lot, I feel ready for this opportunity.

“Of course you do”, you thought to yourself, crossing your arms over your chest. The tests with Kimi had been numerous, with various types of single-seaters, all to make sure of what you had known since the day you first saw him in Lonato del Garda, back in 2018.

— I want to thank the team for the support they've given me in my career so far and for the faith they’ve shown in me — the young man added, scanning the crowd of people present. His eyes finally landed on you — If it wasn’t for the trust Y/N and Toto placed in me, I wouldn’t be here, living this dream.

Your lips curled into a smile as you nodded in acknowledgment of the new driver’s words. Handing him over to Mercedes had been a desperate move on your part, made in the face of Ferrari’s stunning refusal to bring Kimi onboard, contradicting everything discussed in the previous meetings before his visit to Maranello.

However, you couldn’t live with yourself knowing you had crushed the dreams of such a talented boy like Kimi. He deserved that chance, and if you couldn’t give it to him, let Mercedes be the team to do so.

— Toto, what are your impressions of this new duo, which we could say is the first composed of athletes from the Mercedes academy? — a blonde woman asked.

— Our new pairing is perfect to open the next chapter of our history. It’s also proof of the strength of our junior driver program and our belief in homegrown talent — the team principal replied, turning to the young man next to him with a smile — Kimi has consistently demonstrated the talent and speed necessary to compete at a high level in our sport.

Placing a hand on the driver’s shoulder, you noticed there was a certain pride in Toto’s voice, as well as in his expression. And, in a way, it was justified, considering all the energy and resources invested in Kimi’s development. Toto was seeing, right there in that room, that he had made the right choice once again.

— George, could you share your thoughts on your new teammate? — an older journalist asked, hand raised — What can we expect from this partnership?

— I’m excited to have him as my teammate. His results in junior competitions are impressive, and his promotion is completely deserved — the Brit responded — He’s a fantastic young talent and has also been part of our driver academy. I hope I can use my own experience to help him in this step into Formula 1.

“I have no doubt you will”, you thought, searching for Kimi with your eyes. It was impossible not to notice how anxious he seemed. His attention shifted between the two men beside him and the beaded bracelet on his wrist, almost tiny compared to the team watch. It was easy to forget that he was just an 18-year-old boy — newly turned 18, in fact — taking his first steps into adulthood.

The press conference continued smoothly, with the occasional light-hearted comment from Toto, clearly trying to help Kimi relax in front of all those people. But you knew it wasn’t easy, even for someone older and more seasoned in these environments, like yourself.

When Bradley wrapped up the press conference, you noticed Kimi exhale in relief, as if trying to release all the tension. As the journalists left the motorhome, you approached the young man, who was listening attentively to Toto.

— Nice answers, kid — you said, placing a hand on his shoulder. When he realized it was you, he smiled.

— Did I do well?

— Really well. A true Mercedes driver.

A little chuckle escaped his lips.

— I’m glad you liked it, Mrs. Wolff — Kimi replied, making your cheeks warm up.

— For you, it’s Y/N, okay? No ‘Mrs. Wolff’.

— Is there something wrong with my last name, Mrs. Wolff? — Toto asked, raising an eyebrow.

— No, I just think he should call me the same as always.

— Kimi’s just being respectful to my wife — he retorted, moving closer to you and slipping a hand around your waist.

It was still surreal to you. The night after the unexpected meeting you’d had at the hotel bar, you two had gone out for dinner. But, unlike what you had expected, Toto had turned the supposed negotiation for a position in the driver academy management into something more intimate and personal. The exchanged glances and suggestive comments had eventually turned into a kiss at the end of the night, as well as an invitation for another dinner, this time in Monaco.

It didn’t take long before you ended up in his bed, as well as on the Mercedes payroll. Maurizio had tried, but Toto had already convinced you to leave Ferrari behind and dive headfirst into his project, both for the young drivers and for your lives together.

The marriage was a natural step, taking place in an intimate ceremony in Sardinia two years later. Before Toto and a dozen guests, you became Y/N Wolff to the world. But that didn’t mean you had stopped being responsible for the boys and girls in the junior categories.

— Before that, I’m the development advisor for this team’s young drivers.

— Well, it was more or less at the same time — Toto muttered, making you shake your head.

— You’re not helping, Torger.

— Damn — he replied, causing everyone around to burst into laughter.

The conversation went on for a few more minutes before Bradley invited the four of you to head up to the terrace of the motorhome to take some more pictures and record a few interviews for the company’s official channels. However, while Toto was being photographed talking to Kimi, you felt your phone vibrate.

"Your results are available," read the subject of the email you had just received.

Pressing your lips together, you unlocked your phone and clicked on the envelope icon on the screen. There was a strange tension building in your shoulders, a sense of anticipation you knew you shouldn’t have, especially considering what the tests you’d taken were about.

The discomfort you had been feeling over the last few weeks had led you to schedule an appointment with your general practitioner before leaving for Monza. It seemed to be just a severe cold, likely due to the sudden temperature changes during your travels. However, he had you take some basic blood tests to ensure there was nothing wrong.

As you read through the sequence of complicated names, "normal levels" and "negative," one title made you roll your eyes. "Why a pregnancy test?", you wondered as you scrolled down. It was obvious that would never happen — the malformation in your uterus, discovered when you were a teenager, had ended any possibility of you having your own family.

Until a single underlined word made your heart skip.

You felt the blood drain from your head, leaving only the echo of your pulse pounding in your ears. Air seemed not to reach your lungs, no matter how hard you tried to breathe. Your legs felt weak, as did the rest of your body.

— Y/N! — you heard someone shout before everything went dark.

When you opened your eyes again, there was no sun or clouds above you, only a gray ceiling and a fluorescent light. On your left side, a man in a white coat, apparently a circuit doctor, was checking your blood pressure with a serious expression, while someone outside your line of sight was stroking your head.

— Where... I — you mumbled, trying to get your bearings.

— I’m here, my love, I’m here — Toto said, leaning in to look at you. His eyes were filled with concern.

You blinked a few times as your husband murmured something you didn’t pay attention to. The words you had read on your phone’s screen were burned into your mind, echoing back and forth in your head.

The doctor removed the blood pressure cuff and slung it around his neck.

— It seems to be due to the heat — he said, looking first at the team principal and then at you — It’s important to stay hydrated and avoid being outside during the hottest hours.

You opened your mouth to respond, but Toto was quicker.

— Yes, we’ll be more careful about that, won’t we, my love?

You couldn’t speak. You just nodded, still a bit dazed. The doctor also recommended getting you something to eat to help you recover, which Toto assured would be done right away.

After the doctor left the room, you stared at the ceiling for several long seconds in silence, trying to process everything that had just happened. Sitting beside you, your husband brushed a strand of hair away from your face, his worry still evident.

— Are you feeling better? — Toto asked softly.

— Yes — you replied — Did I faint?

He nodded.

— Everyone was scared. No one realized you weren’t feeling well before — the team principal said — If it hadn’t been for Rosa, you might’ve hit your head on the ground, and it could’ve been much worse, but the doctor said it was the heat...

Toto’s words were lost in the whirlwind of thoughts swirling in your head. Seeing him talk about what had happened, the care he was taking with the situation, filled your chest with something warm and familiar.

— It wasn’t the heat — you murmured.

— What? But the doctor said...

— Toto, I got the results from those tests I took on Monday.

He blinked, processing the information for a few seconds.

— Is it serious?

You smiled gently.

— We’ll find out in nine months.

The concern on Toto’s face turned to shock. His mouth dropped open, and he hesitated for a few moments before asking the question you had been waiting so long to answer.

— Are you... Pregnant?

— Yes — you finally said, with tears streaming down your temples.

A disbelieving laugh escaped his lips, his brown eyes shining with emotion.

— But how? You told me about your malformation, the nearly zero chance of conceiving naturally, the whole issue with treatment and risk...

— I know, I know, but I did the test and... Oh my God — you paused, trying to take in the enormity of the moment. After years of dreaming about something you could never have, trying to heal that pain with your work in junior categories, you were going to fulfill the desire that had so often brought you to tears before sleep.

— We’re going to have a baby, Y/N — Toto said, as if he knew the affirmation that was repeating itself in your mind.

Nodding, you placed your hands on your husband’s face and pulled him into a sweet kiss, just like everything that was about to come into your lives. A life of diapers, toys, and a love you had never stopped wishing for, not even for a second.

You were still hugging when you heard a knock on the door. After being invited in, a pair of familiar brown eyes peeked through the gap.

— Toto — Kimi said quietly. When the team principal looked at him, the young man hesitated — Are you crying? Did something happen? Is Y/N okay?

You smiled, sitting up slowly on the sofa.

— Yes, I’m fine — you replied, wiping your nose, sniffling.

— You’re both crying — he noted.

— It’s just that we got some news — Toto began, sitting beside you.

You noticed Kimi’s expression shift to something resembling concern, his lips pressed into a thin line.

— And what is it?

You and Toto exchanged glances with a shadow of a smile on your lips.

— Well, we weren’t supposed to say anything just yet, but I guess it’s okay if it’s you...

Kimi moved closer and crouched in front of you, resting an arm on the side of the sofa.

— Is it bad?

— No, dear, it’s not — you replied, looking to the team principal, giving him a cue to continue.

— It’s just that Y/N is expecting a baby.

His eyes widened.

— Sei serio? — he asked in Italian.

Nodding, you confirmed the news.

— Cazzo, that’s amazing! — Kimi exclaimed, breaking into a wide grin before pulling you into a tight hug.

— No swearing, Kimi — you said, pulling away from him — You know you can’t say things like that, especially now.

— Sorry, mamma — he replied playfully. Your nurturing attitude toward the junior drivers had never gone unnoticed by them. Your care and attention, even off the track, had made you a safe harbor, not to mention a maternal figure. It wasn’t unusual for one of them to be at your house, whether for a quick visit or a weekend before competing at a nearby track.

— She’s right, Kimi, you need to watch your language. You have to be a good example for the younger ones — Toto said, placing a hand on your belly — Especially now.

— I will, you can count on it — the young man replied, with the enthusiasm of someone who had just found out he was going to have a younger sibling.

And you couldn’t wait to see him embrace that role.

#toto wolff #wlffog #formula 1 fic #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #formula 1 fanfic #f1 x reader #formula 1 x reader #toto wolff x reader #toto wolff fluff #toto wolff fanfic #formula 1 one shot #f1 one shot #formula one fic #formula one fanfic

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maoam · 5 months ago

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I guess I'll tag @sasukesun since this post is addressed to her as well. Anyway, how are you addressing me yet not tagging me (I assume I'm still blocked) and I only got this through another person? You're just being hostile.

I have said multiple times Sasuke isn't girly. Neither is Naruto. You put words in my mouth. His feminity comes from his looks (because that's Kishi's type) and the yin/yang. Sasuke is very neutral in the way he dresses, rather rude in the way he speaks to people (compared to how Japanese generally speak) and definitely not a weak doormat like Hinata. I have addressed all these things multiple times.

Sarada and Boruto's relationship doesn't parallel NaruSasu, if you read Boruto manga you would know that. Sarada is very passive when compared to Naruto. She just asks Sasuke to help Boruto. Can you imagine Naruto doing that? Naruto would help Sasuke by himself, that's how Kishi would write it. He wouldn't write Naruto to sat on his ass and wait for things to happen like he is writing both Sarada and Sumire do. People constantly complain about Sarada being rather irrelevant and it's true.

When I say "dynamic" I'm referring to the fact Minato is the only one who bothered to try to save Kushina and the only one who didn't give up on her. My point was about TROPES Kishimoto likes [link]. And why are you ignoring I pointed out Kishimoto paralleld Boruto to young Naruto, Sasuke to Kushina, and Naruto to Minato in the Boruto movie where they were coparenting Boruto? And again, it's about a trope. It's not complicated. Here is another post I made about similar tropes in both ships [link].

Same with Mario/Saori. Funny how you keep ignoring the latter despite me writing posts about that as well. [link] Can you seriously look me in the eyes and deny the similar tropes? Oh hey here's another [link].

I also made a post pointing out the similarities in how Hinata feels towards Naruto and how Naruto feels towards Sasuke but of course you ignore that because it doesn't fit your narrative about me. [link] If it was like you said, I would have ignored this as well. I also made another in reverse, about similarities in how Hinata feels towards Naruto and how Sasuke feels towards Naruto. [link]

The examples of Oro, Obito and Kabuto, are all about them making Sasuke their possession. And when you add the weird imagery, which Kishi never uses anywhere else, and Oro's comments about Sasuke's beautiful face and body, it's not rocket science to understand what's going on. Notice how I didn't mention Itachi, because despite Itachi wanting to control Sasuke, I never saw 'that type' of thing there. And trust me, I would point it out if there was, it wouldn't make me uncomfortable.

You call me a weirdo and stupid so I feel I have to reply to all this.

"I just express my opinion and if you don't agree you can always block me" I guess this is more directed at sasukesun but can't this apply to you as well? I mean you block and unblock me because you don't want me to see your replies and respond, but you still want to call me stupid and other names. It's just not cool dude...

Also this is you so I'm pretty sure you are the one mad that I'm not raving about girly twink Naruto and masculine buff alpha Sasuke aren't you? Lol. I'm sure my posts about Naruto being a rascal punk who gives people the middle finger and farts in his opponent's face kill that little princess image for you.

#sns #narusasu #sasunaru #if you are gonna tag your hate post in the tags #I'll do it too

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 5 months ago

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HI RAVEN!!!! 🤔 kinda a random thought not really but would you consider ace and sebek to be like? RIVALS? or to have a strong dislike towards eachother compared to other first years/students? 🤔🤔 haven’t read much sebek stuff or book 7 so maybe it’s just the way I interpret things……..

🤔🤔 for me at least I feel like ace brings up sebek especially a handful of times? and to bash on him too or at least poke fun at him. can’t think of a lot off the top of my head but in ace’s birthday jacket vignette he picks at sebek specifically when going thru dorm choices. WHICH LIKE……. I DUNNO ITS GIVING VERY “I BEEF W HIM” VIBES. I figured it could just be because he’s a fellow first year but ?? jack or epel don’t get mentioned when he was talking about their dorms so i’m not sure 🤔

👁️👁️ but I wanna hear your take on it!!! are ace and sebek ACTUALLY beefing or was it all just a headcanon??? 😭😭 hopefully I didn’t yap too much. btw

Sorry for the lack of screenshots; I don’t own all the relevant cards in EN and didn’t want to include screenshots sporadically 💦

But!! I did my best to cite where I’m pulling my information from (main story, vignettes, etc.) and directly quote from the official localization. Hope that’s okay!

I mean… Sebek is pretty much always pissing off his peers because of the condescending way he talks to them. It’s no wonder why he rubs people the wrong way. As for Ace, he has indicated that he finds Sebek to be a pain in the ass. I don’t know if I would personally call it “beefing” though?? I see it more as Ace just wants Sebek to shut up and chill out (though Sebek would definitely shout at Ace and fight him) 😂

Point is, I don’t see Sebek having a particular disdain for Ace (he is abrasive toward everyone), but I do see Ace having a particular dislike for Sebek. They aren’t “rivals” in the same way that Ace and Deuce are, as Ace and Sebek don’t really compete for anything or get into many instances of bickering—at least not from what we see. That might just be a product of Sebek being formally introduced later than the other first years, but even counting vignettes and event interactions, it’s still pretty one-sided; often we see Ace commenting on Sebek but not the other way around.

According to Ace in 7-11, he knows Sebek because they’re in the same Magic Analysis/Enigmics (EN writes this class as both of these so it can get confusing) elective. He also implies (in 7-34) sharing other electives with Sebek. This means Ace has regular direct experience with Sebek compared to the other first years (except maybe Deuce?)… ie more opporunities to be annoyed by Sebek’s arrogant loner attitude.

Ace reports (again, in 7-34) that “[Sebek] insults people like, all the time. He even says stuff right to my face when we're in the same group, like, 'Don't you dare slow me down, human!' And he always finds some way to make every subject about Malleus, then drones on and on about how great he is." In regards to those intense feelings about Malleus, Ace says "[Sebek] takes it to a whole other level [...] I can see why people would idolize [Malleus]. But, like, you don't have to make it your entire personality, y'know?" Ace repeats these ideas in his Birthday Boy vignettes. “[Sebek]’s always yelling something or other about his precious Malleus. Oh yeah, and he talks down to us for being human. Dude's a total fae fanboy.”

In Sebek's School Uniform vignette, Sebek yells at Ace for running in the halls. Ace responds by calling him an "uptight nag" whose yelling will disturb other students. Ace also points out how pathetic Sebek comes across as after witnessing him trip over himself to apologize to Malleus. “Dude, nothing you say's gonna impress anyone after that sorry sight.” When Ace tries to leave the scene to make it to class, Sebek shouts at him. “You wait just a minute! I'm not finished! COME BACK HERE!” It should be noted that Ace is someone who always tries to find shortcuts or ways to get out of work whereas Sebek is strict and diligent. Their mindsets and values naturally clash.

This, I think, is a very good summary of most people's problems with Sebek. Ace is just saying what's on everyone's mind--and this makes sense for Ace's character, as he has consistently been the type of guy to call others out. He also encourages Yuu to do the same (in his Birthday Boy vignettes). This detail at least implies Ace finds it amusing on occasion to tease Sebek for his shortcomings.

We see Sebek’s behavior in class for ourselves in his Dorm Uniform vignettes. Ace actually appears in them too, remarking that Sebek is a “loudmouth”. This is something he echoes in his Birthday Boy vignettes; “Loudmouth doesn't even begin to describe him.” When Sebek starts arguing with his group members (some mobs) and refusing to work with them while simultaneously extolling Malleus, Ace says “Here we go again with Sebek and his ‘liege’… Man, imagine being grouped with that guy who […] All he had to do was play nice and let [the mob students] help. He CHOSE to make things harder. How does that guy even function in society?” Side note: In Ace’s Suitor Suit vignettes, he calls Sebek the “number-one worst contender” for a groom. Ace clearly thinks Sebek is unfriendly and annoying in areas extending beyond academics or school life. This is, of course, in addition to Ace finding his loud voice grating.

Later in the same vignettes, Ace and Deuce are forced to sit close to Sebek in the crowded cafeteria. Sebek insists to Lilia that his classes are going well, to which Ace starts snickering and reveals the truth: “Dude... No problems whatsoever? You've got nothing BUT problems, bro! Haha!” Deuce pitches in: “He got into a loud argument with some classmates during our defensive magic lesson. He called his groupmates ‘burdens’ and insisted on doing their entire project by himself.” Ace then says Sebek must think highly of himself and gets annoyed when his words are taken literally. “Do you not understand sarcasm either?” He tells Sebek to fix his attitude, but it doesn’t seem to work. Ace sighs and says he’s just wasting his breath on this.

Sebek’s Dorm Uniform vignettes illustrate Sebek’s general struggles to get along with all of his classmates, not just Ace or Ace specifically. Deuce notably also calls Sebek out for causing trouble for his peers, even stating “[…] as an aspiring honor student, I can't condone your behavior. Having confidence is fine and all, but you shouldn't make things harder for others. That's just being obnoxious.” Sebek pisses off the other first years in 7-34 too, calling them “shallow” and making a terrible first impression. Ace, who is also present, says that no one wants to be chummy with him anyway—not if he’s going to act like that.

In conclusion, Ace has explained his rationale for disliking Sebek many times over. Rather than saying Ace has a problem with Sebek, I think it would be more accurate to say that Ace has a problem with Sebek and is simply relaying the opinions that everyone else holds directly to Sebek’s face. (He gets annoyed that Sebek takes none of it to heart though.) As for the other party, Sebek chides Ace no differently than he would anyone else stepping out of line, not appreciating Malleus, or… just existing as a human 💀 He doesn’t seem to have issues with Ace other than his lax attitude (which could also apply to many other characters such as Leona).

In my opinion, Ace and Sebek are not rivals (at least not major ones), nor do they have specific beef with each other outside of one-off instances or whenever Ace is in the mood to lay down The Truth and embarrass Sebek. I see Ace and Deuce as your classic rivals and Sebek as like… a villain of the week who cameos here and there after his first appearance to cause shenanigans.

#twisted wonderland #twst #Ace Trappola #Deuce Spade #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #notes from the writing raven #question #Yuu #Malleus Draconia #Lilia Vanrouge #book 7 spoilers #Sebek Zigvolt

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hirayaea · 2 months ago

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what is your opinion about queen mc?

hello anonie ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

ohhh thank you for such a nice question! I am sure that I have mentioned several times that I love the Astria Knyght era, and it goes without saying that queen mc’s story is definitely one of the most interesting plot lines for me as a seiya main

all seiya-mc-incarnations are products of their time— their personalities, mannerisms and the way they make decisions shift a bit based on their circumstance + which era they were born in. they’re also all heavily influenced by how xavier treats them

let me expound by comparing shooting stars mc and queen mc:

1) shooting stars mc was born in a recently-made-post-earth Philos. she mentions her teachers still lived on earth and the way they do school is still quite similar to how education was done in earth. immortality is known to the human race but not everyone is blessed with it—there are still illnesses modern medicine cannot cure, and she has been told that she will not live as long as everyone else. at the point that we meet her, she’s already accepted her fate; this makes her very headstrong—a go-getter so to speak—choosing to live out her dreams the way she wants because she knows she’s on borrowed time. when she develops a crush on xavier, she doesn’t hesitate—she confidently takes a leap of faith and asks him out, barging into his life like a whirlwind, literally taking his hand and whisking him away. she’s smitten and she knows it! her happiness is her hands and she doesn’t want any regrets in her short life. she’s young and free and unashamed, and this works on her xavier because he’s the exact opposite—caged and restrained, bound by duty and family he didn’t even choose. she’s a breath of fresh air for him, and you can see he looks to her with awe and adoration, which only makes her braver. until the end, she wasn’t afraid to show xavier her feelings, and even after they were separated, all she wanted was to tell him that she wanted to be with him again, because despite their time together only being fleeting, he made her happy.

2) queen mc, on the other hand, was taken in as a child* by her swordsmaster and mentor, and was told from a young age that she would train to become xavier’s grandis knight. i’m assuming they met in this circumstance—with their roles already being known to each other—xavier as future king and mc as his protector. duty was always a prominent factor in their relationship. it explains why queen mc takes her role so seriously; she wants to perform well in school, be good at swordsmanship, and she scolds xavier for abandoning his duties when he avoids his family and plays hooky. yet she still covers for him when push comes to shove. it is quite obvious she is in love with him; they are childhood friends, sparring partners, and are probably are always together—likely it’s a love that grew over time, something that bloomed without her even realizing it. but the thing is, this love of hers conflicts with her duty, and since she grew up wanting to excel at her role, it makes her confused and insecure. not to mention, xavier is never direct enough with her when it comes to his own feelings. she senses he is in love with someone but she doesn’t know who, and it adds to her doubts—in the end the two of them never have a straight conversation about how they feel. queen mc always feels like xavier is talking about someone else because her insecurities don’t lead her to believe he could mean her, while xavier is too focused on the bigger picture + saving her life (without her knowing) to elaborate. because xavier also knows how focused she is on achieving her goals, he’s chosen to take a more supportive role with regards to romance—he gives her hints that he wants to whisk her away, but only if she wants to run. in the end the choice is up to her, but because she’s also uncertain of xavier’s feelings, she doesn’t quite grasp the depth of what he means and instead chooses to respond with what she knows—that she’s focused on being a grandis knight. xavier takes this in stride and continues to wait for her while trying to achieve his own agenda. in the end, though, they both choose to fulfill their duties; xavier ends up choosing to do operation backtrack to save philos (and her), while mc chooses to become queen of philos to protect the kingdom she swore to serve.

what is interesting for me regarding the decisions they made is that it is xavier that initiates it; sometime in the 200 year gap they were separated, he figures out that there is no way to save mc in the current timeline and he must go back to the beginning to save her life. he actually tells mc this but mc assumes he’s talking about a different girl, and you can see that she tries to give up on him right then and there. her insecurities eat her up and her defense mechanism is to put up a wall and tell him “okay, you do your duty and i’ll do mine”. essentially instead of confessing her love (which she has awkwardly tried to convey) she assumes xavier doesn’t choose her, so she also doesn’t choose him, and they both choose the greater powers they serve. at the end of the anecdote we know she is extremely heartbroken about this, as she makes that extremely sad monologue about her star leaving her.

i point this out because given that mc felt like xavier had a different beloved, i wonder how things might have been if xavier was more direct with her? honestly he was giving enough hints but our girl was so deep in her belief that he loved someone else that she just kept on falling down that rabbit hole and never got out of it. but i still blame xavier because i strongly sense he knew he wasn’t being clear enough and the vagueness was intentional for his own goals (to protect her and philos from the truth)

the lightseeker era could honestly have its own drama show and I’d be there for it 100%

sorry I rambled a lot, feel free ask more questions for clarification :)

thank you ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

#LIGHTSEEKER ERA HNGHHH #honestly the political intrigue of this time is something I really want more of #love and deepspace #love and deepspace xavier #lads xavier #xavier #shen xinghui #my guiding star #our little planet #seiya continues to ruin my life #aya writes #aya answers asks!

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kiweegamez · 13 hours ago

Text

Twyla Cachée (Part 2/2 of the Amber Virus!)

CW: BODY HORROR, also really bad animatic as I had to use my damn finger. So I’ve been holding this one back for a bit. And I will never finish this choppy as animatic lol.

(Rip poorly drawn and designed Lust)

Twyla Cachée is an anomaly originating from the UnderLust Au! She was a very up there performer, usually dancing in highly regarded venues. Along with being allusive, she is rather sly and cunning. She usually catches onto bullshit quickly and will just play along to reveal it at the worst time possible for the other person, so in other words she likes ‘toying’ with manipulative people. However now with the infection she tends to lash out more and becomes spaced out from bright lights (moth much?).

Twyla had broken through into the anti-void by accident one day through a secret rift in an alley way, wandering the anti-void they had found a rift revealing a secluded forest, with a distant ionic featured temple. Slowly wandering towards it from curiosity wandering if it was a sanctum of sorts, given there were creatures running around freely. Entering the temple they had come across Iliad, thinking it was strange at first as she had seemed awfully expectant for a visitor. Giving Twyla a tour through the rather looked after temple, despite the beautiful vegetation blooming in some areas. Seeing the drape over Iliad’s eye sockets they had questioned it only to be responded with that ‘it was part of her culture’ so they didn’t push further, since they didn’t know when or where they were. Yet the more they were around Iliad the more they noticed something was off, still playing along for their safety eventually the sun was starting to set. As Twyla mentioned this to Iliad, she seemed disheartened her overall demeanour dampening. Yet Twyla wanted to confirm one last thing, quickly lifting the drape, revealing her usual face, the sunlight hitting her eye sockets resulting in her infection to go rampant in the moment. Quickly batting Twyla down like a wild animal, getting toyed with like they were nothing. Eventually knocking their soul out, slowly piercing it as Iliad sunk her teeth into the bottom, their soul turning from white to a tainted yellow.

Twyla struggles with the infection at first, often giving them ‘head-splitting’ headaches. Transfiguring their horns into mandibles, and splitting their skull. However, this doesn’t stop Twyla returning to UnderLust, still performing until they were found out. (Animatic) Twyla seems mostly annoyed or stuck to their phone now, hiding in different au’s where they deem suitable for themselves. Twyla’s tail can easily hook and drag things, being surprisingly sturdy, and given their claws are thicker on their hands than their feet they can do a reasonable amount of damage. (Also similar to Iliad, Twyla only walks on the front of their feet, but this is caused from excessive wearing of high heel boots or using their feet to push more.)

how act when triggered + how it’s triggered:

Twyla’s main infection probably has the worst spot, the centre of their rib cage, resulting in the eye at the front. (It remains inside their ecto-body) Twyla will often wear accessories over this area but cannot cover it as not only can they feel it, but they also partially see through it, so the accessories are to not only disguise it, but also to deflect attention. The virus caused their eye-sockets to turn amber colour, the pale yellow ombré seems to faintly resemble their ‘pupils’. Their vision is affected by this, yet compared to Iliad their infection is much more insect like.

To trigger their infection direct prolonged eye contact must be made with the hidden eye in their chest. Resulting in the immediate opening of their skull and neck vertebrae, dropping to all fours, their belly up, as they get ready to snatch you with their mandible horns, which can decapitate. In the neck vertebrae there is a stinger (don’t ask how it fits because I don’t know) this will lodge into the victim, also acting like hook if they are eating, (it looks seriously fucked up when they eat when the virus is triggered.) the teeth along the mouth are retractable to disguise better, also if provoked emotionally the skull will slightly split so the eye inside the skull can see more clearly. A warning sign can usually be Twyla starting to tap their foot, their tail lashes towards itself, or their skull starts to creak. Also for funnies, their eye sockets glow. Twyla cannot handle the cold at all, and has a irrational fear of nutcrackers.

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thatguythatdrawsalot · 1 month ago

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Since you said your Rwby Redesign Critiques are still open here are some of mine!:

At first it was supposed to be a simple recolor to make Yang’s browns to yellows, but then I wanted to change more.

Replaced Yang's bandana/scarf around her neck with her necklace from her Volume 2 outfit (because I think I hate the bandanna/scarf around her neck).

I kinda love the idea of putting Yang in yellow pants, that way it won’t overlap with her yellow hair.

Made an effort not to put Yang in black or other dark colors so Weiss wouldn’t look like the odd one out. This way Yang can match Weiss and Ruby can match Blake. It gives everyone connections outside of their partners.

I’ll send the rest in other asks since I made them during different periods of time. (Also all of these are on my Tumblr account.)

Sorry I didn’t answer sooner, saw all your asks and wanted to respond to them on a day off from work and college! I’ll get to all them within tomorrow!

Yang Xiao Long.

I did the same thing with Yang when it came to her neck. I replaced the lump of fabric with something that matched her eyes to make them pop more; similar to Emerald’s Atlas look in which I gave her a mood necklace so that way it can both match her lilac eyes and red eyes when activating her semblance. You chose to have it be her Volume 2 necklace and that’s great! I think Yang works best with jewelry to push the party girl vibe.

Now for the yellows, I know you want her to be more similar to Weiss given she’s so bright compared to Blake and Ruby who are more consumed in black. Two dim appearance characters with two vibrant appearance characters. It’s swell! But here’s the thing, yellow is hard to work with, if you put too much it’s gonna hurt and clutter your eyes since it’s so bright. It works for Weiss since they have her hair to the side than acting like a large cape compared to Yang’s. I know from experience because…

Old Cringe Art-

I thought Yang could work best in yellow pants too- which I think she can so long as she isn’t in different shades of yellow like brown to make her blend.

If Yang’s hair was in a ponytail and maybe the brown in your design was instead replaced by black or just a darker shade of brown, the design can work than to look blended together. RWBY is an action series, so you gotta try to see the characters limbs as easy as possible whether it’s how they fight or how they look.

Overall a good step in the right direction in what to keep in mind if you want to change Yang’s appearance such as ditching random fabrics and having the girl represent her assigned color!

#rwby #ruby rose #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #rwby redesign

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riant-draws · 4 months ago

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You're so big brain yes yes yes moon and younger pebbles thoughts yes I'm eating up your art

First, thank you!! Sorry I took so long to respond ;-; been pretty tired lately and had to give this a lot of thought… perhaps too much… eheheh buckle up, anon, you’re in for an essay~ (also, I know you asked about Moon and younger Pebbles but this is like, 90% an analysis about Pebbles, oops-)

^ excuse me what happened here

also please in mind that these are just my headcanons (although some of them are very closely tied to canon, which is why I’ll be referencing some pearls) sooo uhh yeah! rambles under the cut!

To talk about Pebbles as a “kid” (in quotes because I don’t believe iterators have a childhood or developmental period that can effectively be compared to humans), I first have to talk about his construction—mostly because it was so unique.

When reading the pale green pearl (exterior) to Artificer, Pebbles mentions that his construction was very controversial among the council. And, when given to Moon, one of the white pearls reads:

“‘We, of the Five-hundred-and-ninety-second High Convocation of the True Anointed Citadel, do hereby demand, with full force of Law and Religious doctrine, an Immediate end to construction of the Apostate Superstructure Abomination. To place shadow upon the Divine Body of the True Anointed Citadel is outrageous blasphemy and cannot be tolerated, no matter the circumstances...’ Clearly this was ignored.”

As we can see in the game, Pebbles was built mostly on top of what’s now Shaded Citadel—which really pissed off the monks and religious leaders of the True Anointed Citadel, a very holy site. While talking to Artificer, he speaks casually and plainly, so you can assume that he didn’t mind their disdain for him. Granted, by the time of Arti’s campaign, all his citizens are long gone, so perhaps he just doesn’t care about their opinions anymore (if he ever did to begin with). But. When he was still brand new, he would have had to listen to so much hate directed at him, all for simply existing. While I did say earlier that I don’t think iterators have developmental stages like humans do, they definitely still mature and develop. Just because you’re created with an adult brain doesn’t mean that you’re automatically mature and experienced. Even Pebbles reflects on how he’s changed while reading the viridian pearl (garbage wastes):

“[…] much of my early work was encrypted before storage. Though my younger self has done a very poor job. […] now I can just see all of the holes in it. Created from a youthful and reticent mentality.”

So, clearly, iterators do learn and grow. But getting back on topic, I imagine that especially since Pebbles was very young when all that hate was piled on him, it would’ve been traumatic. Additionally, it’s implied (again, mainly in the pale green pearl) that he’s not exclusively hated. The pearl’s author clearly doesn’t want to piss Pebbles off, and they also state that one problematic House “[has] less than forty members on the Council, but still Tilt the spiritual Discourse with Our Iterator in a direction that most obviously Displeases him, and is hardly High Held by anyone in the Community either! We can not Risk this!”

(Of course, the pearl’s author is probably biased so who knows if they’re a reliable source of info or not, but there’s no way to verify that and hey it’s in the game after all so I’m just gonna roll with it.) This means that there are citizens (possibly even the majority) who actually like him, or at least want to remain in his good graces. With him. Y’know. Being responsible for their livelihoods and all. And you might think: great! Pebbles isn’t being universally hated! Well. The outpourings of both love and hate from his creators would create such a toxic environment and cause a lot of cognitive dissonance in him: he’s adored, even worshiped, a proud iterator revered as a godlike figure. But on the other hand, he’s despised, called horrible things like “Apostate Superstructure Abomination,” generally told he has no right to exist, etc etc. And this probably went on for years and years (or whatever the in-universe equivalent is). That would wear down anybody’s self-esteem. Which, in canon, you can see echoes of those thought patterns when the storyline takes place, who knows how long later. This stuff has affected him deeply.

All of this to say, I think his arrogance and god complex (that he displays in canon) are coping mechanisms—whether he’s aware of it or not. He tells himself that he’s “godlike in comparison” to everything that walks this forsaken world, that he’s so much better. In doing so, he runs from his mistakes and doesn’t process his emotions and traumas, generally making a bigger mess of himself. Because to admit the truth would be to admit that he’s broken, that he’s lonely, that he hates himself, I could go on but this isn’t getting any shorter aha…

Moooooving on, not to state the obvious, but it’s heavily implied throughout various pearls and bits of dialogue that Pebbles was one of the last iterators ever built. Given that he was constructed far closer (relatively speaking) to the time of public mass ascension and the fact that Moon was struggling to care for them, his creators would’ve likely been desperate (and perhaps a bit sloppy) while building him. As a result, the parts of him responsible for regulating his emotions and decision-making (his equivalent of a prefrontal cortex) are stunted, as that would’ve been one of the last things to develop. All of this just contributes to his, well, susceptibility to mental health issues/instability. Yaaaay.

side note: I also headcanon that iterator cans are more grown than built. When reading the light pink pearl (outskirts), Moon mentions that structures are infused with microbes that initiate healing cycles that gradually heal and waterproof broken structures. While she’s likely referring to structures on the ground, it would make sense that at least all parts of an iterator below the rain layer would be made in the same fashion. And if you take the bronze pearl (Metropolis), for instance, Moon tells the player that “It’s a blueprint for a type of large immobile purposed organism. This one seems to be specifically for the cities built on top of our structures. […] newer designs began to use a mass-produced cellular build called living blocks,” she’s basically saying that the buildings on top of Pebbles and other newer iterators are primarily organic. So why not grow large parts of their superstructures as well? We already know that iterators are partly biological, and also, growing them certainly would make a lot of the construction process at least semi-autonomous. And this way, the ancients wouldn’t have to risk their lives to go below the rain layer and work on his legs, underhang, etc.

Time for one of my favorite headcanons! And one that’s much more headcanon-y than the others lol, that is, Pebbles’ puppet being child-sized. Big head, big eyes, sorta stubby limbs, rounder features (except his antennae, those are triangles for some reason ffs lol idk what I’m doing) etc. First (and more boring) reason is that if Moore’s law applies in some form in-universe (not an all-important Law of Science or anything, just an observed trend meaning that as time goes on and developments improve, tech gets both smaller/more space-efficient and better), that means Pebbles shouldbe both one of the most powerful iterators and one of the smallest. But if the whole reason e was built was to provide a home to Moon’s citizens because she couldn’t care for them very well anymore (deep green pearl, Metropolis—this is Moon’s reading, but Pebbles’ is interesting, too), why would they make his can smaller? Simple: they didn’t. Instead, his can has more empty space inside it as components are smaller, and his puppet is tiny. Like. Waist-high on an ancient.

Another reason he was designed to look childlike was to try to make him look as appealing & likeable to the public as possible. With how controversial his construction was, his creators and whatever equivalent of a marketing team they employed would’ve hoped to sway the monks and everybody who strongly opposed his construction, like, “look! he’s just a little guy! look at those pink cheeks! you wouldn’t hate a ‘kid’, would you?!?” (spoiler alert: they would)

But as consequence, his image was very marketable soooooooo

yeah idk man pebbles plushie canon

On the more angsty side of things, unfortunately for Pebbles, many ancients and even other iterators (looking at you, Sig and Suns) didn’t take him very seriously since he permanently looks like a kid. This just added fuel to the fire, making him even more frustrated and feeling unheard. Just. All of it is such a bad situation.

Moon, of course, sees how he’s being treated by his citizens (who used to be hers, and she wasn’t fond of them anyway) and her own peers, she knows it’s so harmful to him, but what can she do? She may be the local group senior and his administrator, but he strikes me as having such an independent personality (yay more stuff caused by trauma) that he feels like he’s caught in her shadow, perhaps. “Looks to the Moon’s little brother.” So he probably isn’t… very receptive to her attempts to build him up, but man, she still tries. And it’s worth mentioning that he’s also a workaholic, so he always thinks that he has “better things to do” than, say, spending time with his sister.

I bet she’d still try to play games with Pebbles (and he’d probably indulge her on occasion), show him cool things, engage him in conversation, try to get him to talk about his interests, etc., all to bond with him and get to know him better. And he’s a stubborn little piece of work, sure, but he genuinely does care for her (it’s in canon and shows up in several places).

I could say more but this has gone on long enough, but I do wanna clarify that while I don’t support his decisions or actions, his motivations are understandable. my guy is a dude who was put into a horrible situation and screwed over from the beginning. sure, all the stuff he’s been through doesn’t excuse his garbage, sometimes immature behavior in canon, but it certainly explains it. (good lord, I could write an essay on how he’s changed by the time of Rivulet’s campaign alone) uh anyway he’s a fascinating character who I spend too much time thinking about thank you for reading if you made it this far lol

(also, gotta say that a lot of these apply to my fic, too, shameless plug and some of them have already been mentioned or alluded to in it—it’s a time-travel fix-it that starts waaay back in the past so if that’s your thing, hey XD)

#long post #a literal essay #ramblings #rain world #five pebbles #rw five pebbles #looks to the moon #rw looks to the moon #headcanon time #iterating fate #because all of this is relevant to my fic lol #who would've guessed #ask

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mmkin · 9 months ago

Text

Shark Bait ch 3 (Arlong x Reader)

Shark Bait fans will delight to know the next chapter is up. AO3 link is here, also under the cut in this post. All past warnings apply - NSFW, 18+, rape/noncon, dubcon, trigger warnings ahoy.

III

o0o0o0o

The crew visits a few other villages that have been in Arlong's control for a while, and you see how defeated or stoic the people look as they hand over their tribute. This time you do nothing to try to intervene for anybody, and all you can do is simply keep your eyes averted while the Lord of the East Blue extracts Berries from the inferior beings that he sneers at. At times like these, you wonder if you could swim away and make your way to your island and take your mother elsewhere. She's no stranger to a fresh start, after all.

And that's what you try to do one night after Arlong falls asleep after a particularly rough session. Your nether region feels like it's on fire and there are several new marks on your body from his teeth and sawnose.

During your chores on the ship, you’d managed to pick up something here and there about ship maintenance and operation, but you also gleaned a bit of navigation and seen the maps on Arlong’s walls, and figured that you could just aim yourself in the general direction of your island and be on your way.

Oh, how wrong you were. You might be a better swimmer than any human, but you're still only half fishman. Arlong goes after you, and because you're freshly marked, it makes it much easier for him to track you down. He calls you a clownfish in a far angrier tone than you'd ever heard him utter in your direction. You are dragged back to the ship, shivering and crying as you feel wracked with guilt, wondering if you just signed your mother's death warrant or your own. His angry roars fill the air as he drags you across the deck to his cabin.

You tremble in the corner of his bedroom, expecting him to beat you or rape you or both, or to declare that he will find your mother and drag her here to kill her in front of you. He had stormed out after dumping you into the corner, telling you to stay right where you fucking are. The door slams open, and Arlong enters the room, followed by Chew.

A beating it is, then? With Chew holding you while Arlong delivers his blows, perhaps? What the captain declares turns your blood to ice.

Since you have the energy to try to escape, you certainly have the energy to offer more support to your crew. However, it's not chores that are asked of you. Arlong unceremoniously hands you to Chew, telling you in no unclear terms to be a good girl for the smelt-whiting fishman. Arlong sneers at you triumphantly as Chew drags you out of the room.

At least Chew has just one cock, and he doesn't bite. You lie there stiffly at first but learn to relax as he sways his hips against you, and he seems inclined to take it easy on you as long as you cooperate. When he leans down to kiss you, you're surprised at how pleasing his lips feel, and you even start to respond to him.

You give him small, encouraging noises when he runs his hands along your body, and return the favor. He’s still a large man, but more lanky compared to the captain, and more lightweight, which makes it easier to be under him. He spoons against you after he’s done for the night, which is oddly nice. It’s almost impossible to believe what just happened, but there’s no disguising the fact that your captain handed you out to one of his crewmates as if you were a toy to be lent out. Would this be the consequence every time you disobeyed him?

Hah. A night with Chew wasn’t too bad, all things considered, and it was interesting to contrast between the two men who now had intimate knowledge of you. This time, you were not allowed to sleep in, and Arlong ordered you to get up and help make breakfast despite how tired and sore you were. You were practically falling asleep at the counter while chopping vegetables while Hatchan was grilling some beef. Arlong loved beef, you’d learned that quickly. You’d never had beef before Arlong put you on his crew – mostly there was fish, oysters, or other seafood to be fished along with a few chickens when you were growing up, and the beef is so tasty you can see why Arlong enjoys it so much.

Not for the first time are you told to bring Arlong’s breakfast to him, and you hoist up a platter that’s loaded with savory pieces before approaching him at the table, setting it down in front of him, keeping your eyes averted to the ground. You remember the freedom you felt as you darted through the water, placing as much distance between yourself and Arlong as possible.

“Were you a good girl for Chew?” Arlong asks as he glances at his breakfast. You nod, blushing in embarrassment because you know that the fishmen nearby are listening to this. And they would doubtless know about you and Chew. And there’s not a single fucking thing you can do about it.

Since that time, Arlong’s claim on you remains clear, but you see other eyes lingering on you sometimes when you’re at your chores or out swimming. It’s confusing. You’ve come to enjoy Arlong’s roughness at times. You even crave it, despite it leaving you pretty sore when he’s in a fierce mood. But sometimes you wish you could spend another night with Chew, and experience these lovely lips of his.

As Arlong always does, he returns to his beloved Arlong Park. You have to admit you're impressed by the sight of it. And you meet Nami, who you're curious about because after hearing how much vitriol Arlong had towards humans, it's almost a miracle the girl is in such a prized position on his crew instead of being crushed underfoot as has been done to so many other humans who live in Arlong's territory. She stares at you as Arlong introduces you as the newest member of his crew, and you see the tattoo on her shoulder that confirms her membership. She's not much younger than you, maybe a year or two, is your estimate.

The two of you are naturally wary of one another. To Nami, you're a fishwoman – even if just half – so she assumes you're firmly on Arlong's side as a willing accomplice in all this. And even though she's human, you wonder if that's what she is, too because how else could she move around freely – more freely than you, you notice when she leaves the island to steal from pirates as well as spy for Arlong. You treat her with respect but also a healthy sense of caution as you continue to acclimate to your new life.

Arlong finds a minor reason to discipline you. Most would overlook it, but he seems to be in a mood and tells you to be a good girl for Kuroobi. You've always been intimidated by the ray fishman, and you give serious consideration to trying another escape attempt when you contemplate intimacy with a man who has shown the ability to tear parts off a ship.

Unlike Chew, Kuroobi is more to the point, but he’s still easier to handle than Arlong (will Arlong be the example that you use to compare all other men with?) and boy, he knows how to pound that pussy. He goes at you with the same focus he does his martial arts, so you almost feel like you’re facing a warrior on a battlefield – a warrior you have virtually no chance against, so all you can do is surrender and pray for mercy.

You're a trembling mess when he's done with you, and it is several hours before you can actually walk, having been dragging yourself or crawling around as you tried to take care of yourself, your thigh and back muscles feeling like over-stretched rubber bands.

Arlong chortles at the sight and watches as you struggle when he comes upon you after Kuroobi leaves. It's humiliating writhing on the floor as you try to pull yourself upright only to collapse when your legs give way, your body marked with several bruises from Kuroobi’s handling on top of a couple of fading bite marks from Arlong.

The third time Arlong hands you over to someone for the night, he doesn’t even come up with some pretext of discipline. You’re simply told to be a good girl for Hatchan that night, and that was all there was to it.

Out of the fishmen that you work with, Hatchan would be the closest thing you have to a friend. You've tried to keep a wall around yourself, but your need for a friend had you responding to Hatchan's friendliness. After having sex with three different fishmen, you find that you're not that nervous, not anymore. You still wish that Arlong wouldn't hand you out like you're a party favor, but it could be worse. It could always be worse, you muse as you ponder the fact that your attempt to escape had not resulted in harm to your mother.

You blink and shake your head as you look around at the fishmen having a good time at Arlong Park before taking a long swig from your bottle of rum. Arlong bought you new clothes and shoes, but then, he did the same thing for Nami.

Sometimes you envy Nami, and sometimes you pity her. She doesn’t have to fuck Arlong or anybody else, and she has more freedom to move around than you. But your mother is still alive, and from what you were told, her mother had been killed in front of her and her sister. And even though she has no mother that can be held against her as leverage, her village was the first to be taken by Arlong, and that is his leverage against her.

He really is a bastard, isn’t he?

You finish off the bottle, feeling a good buzz going on. You were certain Hatchan would be nice to you, so you would make the most of it and hope that friendly face didn’t hide a sadistic streak. You’ve already dealt with plenty enough mean streaks elsewhere. And here the octopus man is, coming toward you, looking at you with a glint of eagerness and something else you’re not quite able to identify in his gaze.

When he holds out his hand to you, you take it and let him lead you away so you two can be alone. But to your surprise, he tells you that if you don’t want to do anything, you don’t have to. You can just sleep in his bed if you want. He sees the surprise on your face and looks chagrined.

“I’ve heard you crying and screaming,” he whispers. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He twiddles his index fingers together, which is quite the sight on a six-handed man.

You simply sit there for a while, basking in your alcohol-induced buzz as you hear his words. The warmth you feel in your heart is not entirely from the alcohol, and you look at him. You might be drunk, but you see a golden opportunity here.

“If you're gentle, I won't cry or scream." You squeeze the hand that is closest to you. The only noises he hears from you for the rest of the night are ones of enjoyment after he asks you if there's anything you like. After your experiences with Arlong, Chew, and Kuroobi you have a few ideas of what you respond favorably to, and with all these extra hands, he can do some of them simultaneously.

You could almost thank Arlong for granting you to the octopus man for the night. Compared to how you were before all this happened, the current situation seems almost unthinkable. You had some ideas of what being married might be like, what having a partner and children could be like. You’d seen enough happy couples around the village of varying ages. You hoped that perhaps one day, a man would fall in love with you, and not care about your mixed heritage, and want to make you his blushing bride.

You'd have been incredulous at the idea of being taken by a saw-nosed pirate captain with two cocks, but here you are, his subordinate and his plaything.

You were certainly more than human – you were exempt from tribute, you got a cut of the booty just like the rest of the crew, you were kept fed and clothed, and participated in many of the leisure activities that the crew enjoyed.

But as it's been made clear at various times, you're not quite equal to your so-called brothers, much less your captain. You still hear snide comments about humans, despite the crew knowing that you're half-human.

You have less freedom than even Nami, for despite the chores you do outside of bed, you are still Arlong's pet and toy, his little clownfish that keeps him entertained and sated so you are always kept close to him. Your captain's pleasure is your top priority – other people can cook or clean or do maintenance and repairs, but you are the only one who enters Arlong's bed. And let's be real, with a bastard like Arlong, that's a huge fucking job.

#writing #one piece #strawberrycatbeans #villain gets the girl #arlong #fanfiction #opla #arlong pirates #arlong x reader #arlong pirates x reader #one piece x reader #smut

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blackstarchanx3new · 1 year ago

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FSR Rambles 13 reasons why Dark is the best character

I need to make a follow up to that "Blue's 13th reason comic" lmfao.

Dark is just a master at obliterating people I love him.

Vaati still has a lingering piece of Zelda's soul from Minish Cap...Makes his seemingly infinite life make more sense. Also why he survived a blast from our current Zelda.

And again: Dark isn't saying this from a place of "This is what Dark Link thinks of Vaati"

He's just saying what Vaati FEELS about himself already. X'D

Vaati is insecure as HELL.

What Dark ACTUALLY feels: He finds Vaati sporadically interesting but overwelmingly boring as hell.

"I wonder what Vio's up too..." Dark you simping freak

and as if on que his hair gets more purple as he ponders if he should make it such. XDDDD

Vaati's gotta come to terms with the idea he made a huge mistake with this curse.

Vaati, please stop physically abusing Dark.

Dark might have ACTUALLY gotten angry at Vaati with that 2nd panel.

Dark can just...poof. Assumably into the headspace.

Vaati reveals a horrifying truth about Dark: He's not SUPOSED to be able to read HIS OWN emotions. But can.

Oops.

Mistakes were made. UwU

...Uh Dark...Having a moment of self reflection?

Like it's pretty obvious he's speaking how he feels about himself to some degree through Vio's emotions.

Dark also casually forgets he has all the context he could ever want via everyone's emotions he can read's memories...

He's talking to Vio here without directly speaking to him which is...funny.

It's funny he continues to label Vio as "Smart" and wishes Vio would give him answers to things.

Dark cuts himself off before he expresses how he feels about Vaati's behavior. Most of what you glen about Dark's feelings on stuff is through context clues.

On some level he WANTS Vaati to be happy but he just can't achieve it and it's making Dark feel...a certain type of way, considering he calls Vaati "Annoying" it seems Dark is feeling annoyed and exasperated with Vaati at this point.

He even compares Vaati to Blue but justifies Blue's anger with "At least he can't control it".

And then he ponders on who's having those thoughts about Blue. XD

It must be very confusing to be an entity constantly scanning and feeling other's emotions to fully understand your own.

His reaction to Green is very funny because he's 100% copying how Blue responded to Green's behavior towards him...Also we know Vio and Green are CLOSE so his response to blush at the deeper thinking about Green isn't surprising. XD

Him whining and kicking that he "Wants to get hugs in bed too" is a direct reference to Green comforting Vio after the Shadow Link debacle while in bed together lmfao. Who's position he wants to be in exactly, Green or Vio's is left open.

I swear the further we got into this comic the more people got utterly confused by Dark's character.

He's complicated.

I think a question to ask: Why is Dark eating flowers?

For a few reasons: Him eating the flower here is meant to be funny, it's such a bad choice that results in him coughing up pollen and crying.

Alt answer: Flowers are beautiful symbols of innocence, purity.

And our villain for the evening is EATING them. literally consuming, destroying and in general just not caring about them. XD

Him eating something he's not supposed to also just shows he doesn't have the understanding some of the other characters do.

He remembers he has smth to do.

He mildly wonders if Shadow and Vio are gonna kiss and then gets...angry...at the hug that's happening.

Sitting back down and sighing.

Which, his breath is still got pollen in it. XD

Our boy got jealousy DLC.

Symbolism~

GO BRRRRRR

The cloak Shadow is wearing to shield himself from the sun has a Greudo pattern on it.

You can either take this as a flashback to him looking around the area he dropped Green in or a Gannon memory take your pick.

"Shadow, your Gannon is showing." sums up this entire page.

Dark's also sitting over there, seething. Lmfao. You can tell he's pissed.

Heheehhehehhe

Okay reason the flashback was shown to Vio not saying sorry:

Makes his apology mean way more here with context.

Rewriting Shadow's death meant a few things:

I could make it feel more "unfinished" because...The sequel is right here lmfao.

It wraps up in a nice pretty bow because: Holy shit we have two volumes and we can't make the audience feel TOO bad lmfao. We got Gannon to fight still.

Lol Vio's so emotionally constipated.

Fun note about Vio: he hasn't cried at all in this comic despite getting very close. XD

in OG FS He only cried when he got his foot almost broke. I just like to think it's hard to get him to cry.

Shadow was not expecting an apology.

Hah. He was mad at the fire temple...OBVIOUSLY after the attempted murder lmao. But he's over it Vio. Totally. It doesn't bother him at allllllll-

Shadow's question's a fair one to ask lol.

HONESTY FINALLY. VIO FUCK. IT'S TAKEN YOU THIS LONG!

Things to note: Vio's method of "I can only rely on myself" lined up with Link's original ideals at the start of the manga TILL he literally couldn't do it by himself anymore.

Which...Was interrupted because of stupid reasons lol.

I really wish Vio's plan of working alone and how that ultimately FAILED was centered on Vio's fucking up. But he was messed up by TINGLE. And Vio's response to him being ANGER. Impatience isn't exactly a character trait Vio needed to grapple with before that point, and ironically: Someone ELSE fucked up Vio's plan.

Which still feeds back into "Other people fuck up what I'm doing"

Which had nothing to do with Vio's arc of learning he can't work alone. Vio would have killed Vaati and Shadow if TINGLE hasn't shown up. Like...Idk I wish somehow Vio would have messed up revealing he needs the other 3.

Idk how to describe Tingle being the thing that fucks up Vio's plan feeling cheap to me. Like I can't quite articulate why that annoys me to the degree I'd like to. It feels so "Comedic" and out of place for what the tone and vibe we were going for, doesn't feed back into his arc of learning to work with others, (Vio is the MOST stubborn in this area story wise.)

Anyway back to FSR and the dialogue in it:

Vio just vents his frustrations working with the other 3.

Vio's "I'll give us a 50/50 chance" is a sign of his pessimism (At least in the translation lol.)

He just wanted to save Zelda, which is a goal they all inherently shared and was the thing that brought all four together.

...Zelda's fine...so they don't HAVE THAT anymore as a motivator lol. Like in general they don't have a REASON to be the four heroes and not just Link right now. So their unifying goal doesn't exist at present.

Haha okay we as humans who DON'T split into four people wouldn't understand this struggle...But

"Who the hell is Vio actually" is a reasonable question.

I stand by he's a character you gotta make a LOT of assumtions about.

He lies most of the manga or just doesn't state how he feels.

The four being so removed from Link after their journey as people is smth else I like the idea of.

Like at what point do they stop being Link and their new personalities begin? How much of Link is in all of them?

For Vio I surmise: Not much.

Art wise: Vio's bug eyes were a request to keep in from @james-p-sullivan who reads these in advanced often. XD

In the 3rd panel: You can actually see Dark's hand on Vio's shoulder hehehe.

Freakin' the goopy ass face is representivie of a few things:

Vio's identity is literally suphocating and non existent at the same time.

He has, NO FUCKING CLUE WHO HE IS.

But also, the identity of Link weighs so heavily on him and he cannot escape that he doesn't line up with it.

...This panel lines up REALLY WELL with what Shadow saw Vio as in the mirror.

They reflect on this moment in a very similar way considering all the context they BOTH have.

Vio would have KILLED HIM there.

Anyways, Shadow laughing his ass of at Vio being genuine was smth I was gonna implement way earlier in the conversation.

I don't see it as Shadow being mean on purpose. Their entire situation is ludicrous and insane.

They're both stressed out and emotional.

Shadow cracked in the way of laughing.

Lol Shadow could never be sure Vio just wasn't being cruel to him. Ouch.

Tho considering his relationships with Vaati and Gannon: He's used to being treated this way.

Hehehehe. Song quote go BRRRR.

It's from:

"I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME - From The Gallows"

Because I defy you to listen to that and not hear Shadow singing to Vio.

If you're curious:

Band wise I associate FSR with songs from Artic Monkeys, IDKHOW, The Hoosiers, Conan Gray, Gorllaz, and Hozier just to name a few.

Dark Link specifically here's some recommendations:

Christmas Kids, Haunted House, and Digital silence.

Anyway, Shadow's promise. It's nice.

Shadow's comment about hurling them both in lava is so awful but it gets Vio to make THAT FACE.

That face is hilarious.

Shadow just wants to move on, to his detriment lol.

Buddy there's a lot you guys still need to work on.

Vio you're gonna get kisses.

His response here to just vigorously pat Shadow's face is hilarious.

Vio...gasps...Acknowledges his mistakes.

Not so subtly admits he was running from his issues by being Link for so long...which just caused MORE issues...

Shadow comforting him is just nice. I like them.

Hah. He still wants to be Link...

Smth to consider: It's not like Shadow could TELL Link there was no Gannon in that sword lol.

The Master sword being brought up is just funny. Because the CHANCE they had to pull a different sword and not free Vaati was an option...Lol.

Shadow's obvious nervous face at the idea of the Master Sword is pretty telling imo.

Shadow asking what Link/Vio would do after they're whole again just to conform:

Yes Vio 100% still wants to be Link rn. He just accepts putting off splitting was a bad idea.

Hey he's learning.

Vio acknowledges trying to just shove the sword back at this point is stupid as hell, also that he needs to apologize to the other 3.

Shadow being in Vio's court for his emotional turmoil is just nice. Vio can actually rely on him, and as we've pointed out they have similarities.

Hehehe...He's BOTHERED.

Vio hasn't been alone, like TRUELY ALONE in 7 years so his hesitance to let Shadow leave for a sec makes sense.

Huh so he DOES remember he has the triforce of power and just isn't saying anything...Alright.

He's got a friend waiting for him outside.

Idk what he EXPECTED this night to be like but, considering how fucked everything has been who really knew how this would all go.

I just wanna point out how fun dialogue wise Dark can be.

Bro just starts this conversation in a way that makes no sense.

Like, no introduction no sense of them not knowing each other is given cause HE knows who Shadow Link is.

Shadow Link has no fucking clue who Dark is and has never seen him before but Dark knows Shadow pretty well at this point so doesn't really act like they've never met.

Also: Dark sat outside picking flowers because Vaati's vague instructions of "Go away" wasn't very specific.

Dark continuing to eat flowers despite choking on pollen shows he really just does not care about his own safetey lmfao.

Reasonably: Shadow's fucking flabbergasted by this weirdo.

One of my favorite visual details is how Dark put a flower in his hair which I'll get more into in a moment.

Dark continues to let his actual personality slip a little through his dialogue: he says Shadow Link "has so much" but "So much" in comparason to who?

Reasonable answer: It's Dark.

Showing Dark's jealous of what Shadow's obtained in terms of life/character development.

Dark's already becoming unsatisfied with his life and situation it seems seeing what Shadow and the Links have.

Dialogue wise: Dark says a LOT here that he REASONABLY shouldn't know if he were normal so from Shadow's perspective here's things Dark shouldn't know but does:

He states he knows Shadow Link is "The Demon King" and considers Shadow a liar for not saying anything about it.

He seems to have further knowledge on the dynamics between everyone with how he describes Shadow "Taking" Vio from everyone.

Shadow instantly recognizes this guy as a demon, which is all he knows about this dude at the moment. The imbalance of information is staggering.

Okay visual motif to keep in mind: Dark's physically mimicking Shadow Link in these pages.

His hair turns a diffrent shade of Purple, one matching Shadow's way more than Vio's.

Vio's being more blue undertoned and Shadow's being red undertoned respectively.

Smth I've stated about Dark before: His teeth are flat typically but they are sharp in panels 1-2 here.

Talk about the flower time:

Dark looked very cute and sweet with the flower in his hair, but it drops off his head the second he states with full certainty Shadow Link is NOT fine.

Dark's childish mocking of Shadow's insistence everything's fine really cements the dude as seeing through everyone.

Dark's creepypasta expressions seem to jar Shadow cause he takes a step back from him lmao.

Smth I've seen people bring up "Is Dark making creepy faces on purpose or is that just his face"

Is a hilarious question to me to think about.

Personally: I just think it makes him more visually distinct from the others. In a comic where everyone's a Link and therefor have very similar faces having a character who has no bounds to how "unattractive" their face can look is really fun. Shadow gets to do this as well but to a lesser degree I feel.

Design notes for Dark's creepy expressions:

Mouth needs to be waaaaay to wide if he smiles. Teeth typically need to be human with too much detail. Human teeth are uncanny and uncomfortable to most. A similar creepy vibe can be used if his teeth are just, not there. Pitch black mouth looks creepy depending on how you use it. Pupils: Blown the fuck out. The white being in the center gives a "Camera" look that personally creeps me out lmao.

His features in general can just contort in a way that are unnatural. His eyes going way to large, squinting like in panel 4 here being weirdly squished.

My personal brand of Dark Link face horror: Uncanny valley.

Back to the comic itself:

Dark laughing at Shadow questioning who he is is pretty funny since you can almost assume Dark assumes Shadow knows who he is already since he doesn't answer the question.

Dark often talks like the person he's talking too isn't even responding or their responses don't matter.

Since he doesn't bother letting Shadow respond to HIS question "Why'd you lie"

instead making up his own idea why Shadow isn't telling the truth which...isn't fully off. XD

Dark's assumption Shadow wants people to like him is pretty on the money.

Visual wise:

Dark hugs himself here and then makes a face very reminiscent of the one Shadow made after he flung that sword at Blue.

Dark lets his jealousy slip once again. He says "other people" but you know he's talking about himself when he says "Other people want to hang out with Vio too"

Shadow takes great offence to him stating very plainly "I like him too you know..."

Shadow tries to stay focused but considering this entire nonsensical interaction it's hard to pick what to focus on XDDD

Dark not so subtly eats a flower while staring directly at Shadow Link while blushing.

What I intended from these two panels is that Dark is gauging Shadow's response to him eating the flower since Vaati responded very poorly to him doing that lmfao.

Shadow doesn't respond at all to him eating the flower (Likely not knowing what the fuck you do with those either X'D)

Smth to note: Dark Link doesn't look QUITE like Link. He's different enough for Shadow to just say he "Kind of" looks like Link. This is a comic with same face syndrome everywhere so if you're thinking from an IRL situation:

If they were live actors Dark would be played by a completely different actor than Link if you catch my drift. Vaguely look alike but not quite.

Since Shadow's not responding to his crap, Dark switches to focusing on his hands. Which he changes his nails to match Shadow Link's.

Shadow's figured Dark out at this point, asking point blank if Dark was the entity Vio spoke too.

At the time Shadow assumed Vio wasn't talking to anyone/anything in particular but since Dark's made his presence known the ability to assume is there.

Okay I don't remember if I've gone into this on tumblr at all:

Dark tends to use honorifics to fuck with people.

If you've ever wondered why he sometimes calls Vaati "Master" it's because that's what Vaati called Elzo.

Here, he's calling Shadow Link "Your highness" and "King" because he knows it bothers the absolute fuck out of him.

Because despite being mostly blank slate: Dark has a personality and it shines through in how he has no TRUE respect for ANYONE.

Sticking his tongue out while making THAT FACE at Shadows prodding about Vio.

Dark continues to let his true personality show: HE LAZY.

Okay not really, but he doesn't WANT to be doing work right now and chastises Shadow for not doing his job while Dark has to work. Showing he's jealous of Shadow's ability just to do fuck all.

Dark visually circling Shadow Link like an orca matches with how he's the meanest most sadistic behavioral wise fucker in the comic at the moment. He even matches orcas in color scheme sooo-

Motifs motifs: Dark touches people way to much lmao. He has no personal space boundaries.

This whole interaction makes me laugh because it's so silly.

Dark just, hugs Shadow Link no warning and Shadow has no idea how to begin responding to that shit.

He always initiated hugs and physical touch in the flashbacks with Vio, to an extent, that's STILL how it is. So Dark initiating hugs while saying incredibly mind fuck shit is just the kind of dichotomy between Dark's words and actions that make him a fun character.

Smth to note: The "ineffectual" line Dark's referring too is smth the ORIGINAL PIG GANNON said. Not Shadow Link. Dark seems to think they are 100% the same person with no separation.

Which either implies Dark would act this way around Gannon, or just knows he can mostly get away with this behavior around Shadow Link due to what he's seen of him.

His line about Shadow "Wearing the skin of Link" really pisses Shadow off since: This is just Shadow's identity lmfao.

Dark is objectively wrong in his assumptions as Shadow lived his whole life assuming he WAS just Link's shadow.

More mimic fuckery:

Shadow's pissed off so Dark mimics his pissed off nature.

The punch was so ineffective that Shadow's not even sure if it hurt by the "?!?" after his "OW!" XD

He threw that punch by the way BECAUSE Shadow pushed him. Dark just made him hurt the same way he hurt him.

Dark throws a temper tantrum and the aftermath of said temper tantrum is one of my favorite shows of his character so stay tuned for that.

Freakin' reached the image limit on this post.

#four swords returns #four swords adventures #four swords returns au #loz fsr au #loz #four swords manga #four swords #fsr rambles

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milacandless77 · 5 months ago

Text

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐔 | 𝐉𝐔𝐉𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐔 𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐍

ηαηαмι кєηтσ/ яєαɗєя ѕυgυяυ gєтσυ/яєαɗєя gσנσ ѕαтσяυ/ яєαɗєя

IMPECCABLE— NANAMI KENTO

cнαρтєя 5: Aη UηcσмfσятαвƖє Sєѕѕιση

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

His gentle smile kept you hypnotized; the act of having him kneeling in front of you, touching your upper thigh, had lasted only a few minutes, but it stretched like an eternity in your mind. Having him so close was a suffocating torture compared to the agony of watching him from afar. Every light touch of his fingers seemed to ignite a spark on your skin, leaving a mark that burned like fire.

You couldn't shake the image of his blonde hair, perfectly styled but with a few rebellious strands falling like delicate threads of gold. His honey-colored eyes, chiseled jaw, and high cheekbones; everything about him was a moving work of art. His imposing presence and well-built physique made your desire uncontrollable. You found yourself in a whirlwind of emotions, unable to concentrate clearly while watching him.

When he finally stood up, your gaze followed him captive as you remained seated, feeling vulnerable and completely at the mercy of his dominant presence. Although you knew his touch had been professional and meant to calm you, you deeply longed for him to become the catalyst that would complicate things even more. Why did you wish for someone whose mission was to help you professionally to end up worsening your mental and physical state so much?

You shook off those lascivious thoughts forcefully, remembering the need to maintain composure and professionalism. He was your psychiatrist, and you were simply his patient. However, the complications didn't stop there; you were also the best friend of his non-biological son, a connection whose formation remained a mystery to you and one about which you lacked the confidence to ask him.

His throat clearing abruptly pulled you out of your thoughts. The intensity of his gaze made it clear he had noticed your fixation on him, which made you feel a mixture of discomfort and attraction. Without giving you any time to recover, he continued speaking firmly, moving towards the door and opening it with determination.

You felt dizzy, but in a good way; like a moth attracted to light, so captivated by his presence that you barely caught his words. It was his calling your name that made you react, turning first to him and then to the psychologist before finally responding.

"Ah, yes, I'm coming," you muttered, beginning to follow him like an obedient dog to its master.

Meanwhile, Shoko, the psychologist, observed the scene with interest and approval. It was evident she trusted Nanami to handle the situation with great delicacy and skill. However, for you, the internal conflict intensified. You were trapped in an emotional whirlwind, torn between the imperative need to accept his professional help and the overwhelming confusion of the sensations he stirred in you.

"Ah, Shoko, I forgot to mention that you can take some time off, as I'll be taking over the session with the young lady," Nanami commented, returning to the office for a few seconds and leaning against the door frame.

He didn't need to say it twice. The psychologist quickly got up from her seat and left the office with a pack of cigarettes, probably heading outside to smoke.

"Alright, now you can start following me," he directed his gaze back at you, his eyes fixed on yours with an intensity that made you feel slightly intimidated, although that impression seemed unintentional due to the significant height difference between the two of you.

"Ah, uh..." you stammered, trying to find the right words while he arched an intrigued eyebrow, pressing the elevator button. "Excuse me, where are we going?"

"Nanami," he responded, seeing your extremely confused face. "You can call me Nanami," he sighed, exhausted. "I usually prefer to be called by my last name, but since I know Itadori, I know young people aren't interested in formalities anymore."

You were about to articulate a response but fell silent when you saw that the elevator had arrived. Both of you entered, and he himself pressed the button for the top floor.

"We're heading to the top floor, where my office is," he said, pulling something out of his suit pocket. It was a card with his name and photo, which he passed through a scanner next to the elevator buttons, emitting a beep. "Normally, you need to be senior staff to access this floor. So, on the days you have appointments, I'll come to pick you up at the reception. Is that alright?"

"Eh? Yes, yes, that's fine," you automatically nodded just as the elevator stopped and a bell rang, indicating you had reached your destination.

You waited for him to step out first when the doors opened, but Nanami stepped aside, giving you a path. You were still confused until he vocalized it.

"Go ahead," he said, nodding for you to exit the elevator.

"Oh, of course," you responded, realizing his intention as he stepped aside. "Thank you, Nanami," you said timidly as you exited the elevator, feeling his presence right behind you.

In the few minutes you had known him, you knew that Nanami was quite the gentleman. Each of his gestures showed respect and formality. However, that same courtesy made you imagine all the ways he could break the rules and completely disrespect you.

The tension in the air intensified when you realized how close he was now; the smell of his cologne filled the space between you. You stopped for a moment, letting the sound of your own thoughts echo in the hallway's silence. You felt a surge of emotions as certain thoughts stood out more than others. You knew he was a professional, and the idea of trying to deceive him seemed impossible. Could he notice any lie, right? However, you had to try. It was enough that a certain black-haired person knew; being alone with Nanami worried you, and he probably noticed just by looking at your body language or expressions.

You were so uncomfortable, fearing what might happen. What if he found out the truth? But the most annoying thing wasn't that, but your appearance. You were going to be alone in his office, looking like this. You knew you looked terrible: your hair smelled of yesterday's tobacco, and the smudged mascara refused to come off even with water. You needed to find a bathroom quickly to calm down and, more importantly, fix yourself.

As you walked alongside him, you felt his gaze on you, a mix of curiosity and something deeper. Every step you took seemed to echo on the floor, amplifying your nervousness. Finally, you stopped in front of a door, and Nanami leaned in to open it, his proximity causing your pulse to quicken.

"Go ahead," he said softly, noticing your discomfort. "What's wrong?"

"Could I go to the bathroom first?" you mentioned timidly, partly because you wanted to see yourself in a mirror to fix how disheveled you felt. You also urgently needed to go to the bathroom.

"Of course," he commented as he turned to input a code and open the door to his office. When he opened it, he made the same gesture as in the elevator, and you again looked at him puzzled. "You can go in; the bathroom is to the right of the office."

You entered with curiosity. What kind of office was this that seemed so large from the outside and also had its own bathroom? Upon entering, you felt like an intruder. The space was enormous, almost like a penthouse. If his office was like this, you didn't want to imagine what his house would be like. The place was filled with books on a wall that reached the ceiling and a giant oak desk. Everything in the room screamed dark academia style, with a medieval and modern touch at the same time. On his desk, a nameplate and several certificates hung on the wall. The environment exuded masculinity and elegance, making you feel increasingly out of place.

You admired your surroundings for a moment before heading towards where you assumed the bathroom was. The atmosphere was dense; the mix of your nervousness and Nanami's imposing presence heightened the tension in the air. Each step made you feel more vulnerable, more aware of your own thoughts and the proximity of that man who seemed to observe your every move with an almost palpable intensity.

Finally, you found the bathroom door and hurried inside, closing the door behind you. You took a deep breath, trying to calm your nerves. You looked at yourself in the mirror, seeing the smudged mascara and disheveled hair. As you tilted your head to start fixing yourself, you noticed how the turtleneck sweater Satoru had lent you had slipped, exposing part of your neck with purple marks. Could life hate you more?

You pulled the sweater's neck down further, folding it with your fingers to see how far the hickeys went, discovering they reached your collarbone. You sighed in frustration and, with trembling hands, began to tidy up, knowing that every second you spent in there only increased the tension of the encounter waiting for you outside. Now you would have to be very careful with your movements to ensure Nanami didn't see the marks on your neck with any wrong move.

After attending to your needs and fixing the smudged mascara along with your hair by running your fingers through it, you finally left the bathroom. You found Nanami, who was once again reviewing the papers you had filled out earlier. When he noticed your presence, he quickly put the documents down and met your gaze again. He didn't even have to ask; you were already seated in front of the desk, in the chair designated for visitors.

Nanami observed you for a moment, his analytical gaze studying your expressions. Being alone with him in that room was making you feel anxious, but you tried to maintain your composure as he settled into his chair behind the imposing oak desk.

"Alright, let's begin," Nanami said firmly, breaking the silence that had filled the room. "Would you like to start by telling your story from the beginning? Tell me about your family, how was your childhood?"

His tone was serene yet penetrating, as if he were examining each word and gesture for deeper answers. You felt the weight of his gaze on you, a subtle but insistent pressure that heightened your nervousness.

You took a long breath before responding, trying to organize your memories as you nervously adjusted in the seat in front of him.

"My family? You could say I had a turbulent childhood," you began, looking at your hands before gathering the courage to continue. "I lived in a house where my parents seemed destined for divorce from the start, though they never separated until things exploded. They constantly fought and yelled at each other, always about the same issues, and then took out their frustration on us, the children."

Nanami listened intently, his eyes still fixed on yours, not interrupting but showing a palpable interest in every detail you shared.

"I was relieved the day my parents finally separated, no offense to them. They were a disaster together," you continued, feeling each word come from deep within you. "I thought my peace would come with their separation, but everything got more complicated. Being the intermediary between them, listening to their shouts and reproaches, was emotionally exhausting. My brother and father left home almost simultaneously, and I haven't seen them in over a year. Although my father used to visit occasionally, his presence became increasingly scarce over time, as if he no longer had a place in our lives."

Nanami listened attentively, his serious expression reflecting a deep understanding of your words. There was a brief silence as he processed what you had shared before continuing the conversation.

"Dealing with such a situation from a young age can leave deep scars," Nanami said calmly, his voice resonating in the quiet room. "And your relationship with your mother, how is it?"

The question hit you like a punch to the stomach. You swallowed hard before answering, a nervous laugh escaping your lips.

"Well, it's quite complicated actually. When I was a child, my mother used to put a lot of pressure on me. She wanted me to be the best in every aspect, demanding high grades and skills... I couldn't make any mistakes. We constantly argued because I didn't want to be perfect, and sometimes she got violent. Over time, her obsessive-compulsive behavior towards me diminished, but it marked my life. If she wasn't pressuring me, I was pressuring myself."

Nanami nodded, listening intently to every word. His serious expression indicated he understood the complexity of your situation.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, his tone calm but expectant, as if he were seeking to understand beyond your words.

"I became more anxious, much more demanding of myself," you continued, looking at your hands playing nervously with a handkerchief. "I didn't allow myself any mistakes, my nails started to bleed from biting them so much. I always felt the need to be in motion, not allowing myself to rest because... I felt... useless?"

Nanami frowned slightly, his eyes fixed on yours with understanding.

"I understand. It's difficult to live under that constant pressure," Nanami replied, his voice remaining calm as he watched you intently. "Can you identify any specific reason why you feel so pressured these days and before?"

"I study at a prestigious university that I could never afford on my own. I maintain a scholarship for my academic performance, which makes me feel like I have no right to rest even for a minute."

As you said this, you didn't know, but he felt reflected in you. He understood that feeling of not having the right to rest even for a second. Despite this, he maintained his serious expression.

"Everyone needs to rest, miss," Nanami said, using your name with a calmness that contrasted with your anxiety. "There's nothing wrong with it. If we don't, we would never function efficiently." In truth, he felt bad for lying to you that way, as even he didn't allow himself to rest completely. In some way, he understood you.

"I know, but what do you do when that pressure is the only thing that seems to keep you alive? It's the only thing you've been taught to contain since childhood," you asked, seeking understanding in his eyes.

A fleeting glimmer crossed Nanami's eyes. You didn't know if it was curiosity or something else, but you felt he identified in some way with your struggle. It was as if he were looking at his past self, someone who had also hated living under pressure but had been trapped in that lifestyle for years and no longer knew how to live without it. However, now he seemed mesmerized by you, full of curiosity about what kind of friend you were to Itadori and what kind of woman you were in general.

"What are you studying at the moment?" he asked with genuine curiosity, shifting the focus to your academic career.

"I'm studying architecture," you replied, a bit calmer now that you were touching on a less sensitive topic for you.

Nanami nodded with interest. "How do you feel about studying that? Do you feel that such a demanding career as architecture, in addition to the scholarship, has made you feel more pressured than usual?"

As he diligently wrote in his notebook, he then fixed his gaze on you again, increasing the discomfort invading your body.

"I like studying something related to design, but I must admit that sometimes I wish I had chosen another field. Yes, I've felt much more pressured studying architecture," you admitted. "But even so, I don't plan to give it up."

"What field really interested you?"

"Interior or fashion design. Sometimes thinking about my true dream makes me feel lacking in vocation, but on the other hand, I remember that the pay..." you tried to continue, but Nanami interrupted you.

"The pay is not so good, I understand," he commented, while continuing to jot something down in his notebook, which kept you uneasy from the start of the session.

You felt as if Nanami understood every word and feeling you expressed, as if he could empathize instantly with each of your gestures. His presence began to instill a strange sense of tranquility in you. He stopped observing you so intensely, relaxing his gaze, and began to speak again.

"Now then," he said, moving his chair away from the desk to close his notebook and focus entirely on you. "You might feel uncomfortable talking about these topics we're about to discuss, but I want you to know that this is a safe space for you and everything we talk about will be confidential. Can you start telling me about your past romantic relationships, including the incident?"

All the security you were beginning to feel with him vanished as quickly as it came, as you began to pale just remembering what you had done. A blow of reality struck you, making you feel guilty, and your stomach started generating unbearable discomfort, just like your chest. You decided to calm down with the determination to finish this session once and for all.

"Sure, actually I've only had two partners in my life," you admitted nervously, starting to scratch your arm, stopping quickly when you noticed his attention on that act.

"Could you tell me more in detail about how your relationships were with each of them?" you wished you had the audacity to say no and run out of the room, but you held back.

"Well, my first partner was a passive-aggressive person. He was a good person until his friends were around, and then he turned into someone completely different, making hurtful comments. In the end, we broke up because he admitted being interested in someone else," you laughed ironically, but Nanami maintained his serious expression, making you quickly return to seriousness. "My second partner was completely violent. He liked obedience and compared me to people from his past. He didn't mind yelling at me in front of others or raising his hand against me. Sometimes he hit me and said I 'deserved it.' Even on the day of the incident, he was violent with me."

Recalling during therapy all the times you had been hurt and humiliated by your ex-boyfriend made your regret turn into pure anger, as it had before. You dug your nails into your thigh with rage. Nanami's gaze, though understanding, made you feel analyzed and judged.

"If these people hurt you and you knew it, why did you want to keep relating to them?" he asked with some intrigue, narrowing his eyes.

"I guess I was afraid of being alone again. I had never felt anyone's support other than my mother's, not even from my own father or brother. I needed someone else besides myself, even if it meant enduring their abuse."

Admitting this made you feel vulnerable. You had never felt pure male affection; your father and brother had always been absent, and you didn't know your grandparents. You never understood what it was like to be properly loved by a man, but you couldn't admit that to Nanami; it would be too embarrassing.

"I understand," he nodded. "Would you mind starting to tell me about the incident from your perspective? Itadori told me, but I would like to hear it from your own feelings and thoughts."

"Sure," you nodded, swallowing hard and wiping the sweat from your hands on your pants. "Well, I...," you began to stammer.

"It can be just a part, you don't need to give explicit details if you don't feel safe with it yet," he said, writing again in his notebook, which fueled the situation and made you feel even more insecure.

"Okay. I was at the university with my friend Nobara, leaving class, when my phone started vibrating non-stop. I decided to turn it on and that's when I saw that he wanted to meet at the mall, so I went to where he asked, but... he..."

You paused to gather air. You were starting to hyperventilate like in the hospital. The environment became blurry, breathing became shallow, as if the memories were forcing you to relive the trauma over and over.

"He started yelling at me, saying he wanted to end the relationship. I told him I was in a hurry and that it could wait. Then he got violent, started saying demeaning things to me. One thing led to another, and I ended up near the street... and so did he. We fell like dominoes.”

You didn't know where you found the determination to speak with such confidence and speed, but you were grateful for it. Nanami looked at you with narrowed eyes, analyzing every move and word. His suspicious gaze made you squirm in your seat, engaging in a staring contest you knew you couldn't win.

“Do you think you could have done something about it? How do you feel as the days go by? Do you blame yourself?” he inundated you with questions, his penetrating gaze stripping you of your soul.

You began to dig your nails into your thigh and bite your lip anxiously, wishing you could escape the situation. You felt like you were drowning; his gaze made you feel smaller and smaller. You could only hear the clock ticking in sync with your own internal madness.

Suddenly, the door burst open, causing both of you to turn toward the loud noise. Someone had barged into the room, and you let out a sigh of relief. You had been saved from the oppressive situation. Nanami noticed your sigh but ignored it immediately, leaning in to see who had entered and then letting out a sigh of his own in response to the intruder.

“Itadori, how many times have I told you to knock before entering?” he commented irritably. “You're taking advantage of knowing the door code.”

Nanami spoke as he adjusted his glasses and stood up to approach the intruder. You remained frozen, unsure if it was because of seeing him stand up and dominate the situation again—sitting down had made him seem much bigger in front of you—or because of the uncomfortable situation you had just been saved from by Itadori. Now, you appreciated your friend more than ever.

“Oh, right, Nanami, I'm sorry. It's been a while since I last came” Itadori said, scratching the back of his neck apologetically.

“Literally, you haven't been here for three days” Nanami responded with a mix of slight laughter and fatigue.

“Well, 72 hours is a lot for me, Nanamin” Itadori said with too much confidence, pointing at the older man, who slapped his finger away in annoyance.

Finally, you stood up to enter Itadori's field of vision since Nanami had been blocking you while standing in front of you. The moment Itadori saw you, he flew toward you, positioning himself by your side and almost shouting your name while bombarding you with questions. It seemed you hadn't been entirely saved from being interrogated.

“Huh? What are you doing here? Isn't your appointment tomorrow? I'm confused” Itadori said, putting a finger to his chin. “Hey, what happened with you last night? You owe Nobara and me a lot of explanations. Since when are you friends with those libertines?”

You started laughing nervously, covering Itadori's mouth as you glanced at Nanami, who just looked at both of you in confusion. However, you soon felt Itadori's tongue and saliva on your hand.

“Itadori, gross!” you wiped his saliva on the boy's sweater, who laughed at what he had done.

“Anyway, you have to tell me, where did you go last night with those two after such a dance? Nobara and I almost had a heart attack from the shock, we didn't know you were like that” Itadori said with a face full of astonishment. You kept signaling him to be quiet, aware of how inappropriate the moment was, especially in front of your psychiatrist, who was painfully attractive.

But Itadori didn't give up and started shaking you as if you were a coin purse he wanted answers from. You tried to get him to stop shaking you, but it was too late. Itadori screamed a high-pitched “WHAT!” as Nanami, in shock, observed the hickeys on your neck.

Hello, I have two chapters ready. It's a really strange anecdote because I felt completely blocked when trying to write, but I just decided to go with the flow, and in the end, I realized I had written over 9,000 words. I was left with my mouth wide open and said, "WHAT!" just like Itadori in my script, lol.

This chapter might seem a bit boring, but everything is perfectly calculated and is part of the plot, so don't regret it and please read the next one, my lovely readers. Since I wrote nine thousand words, I had to split the chapter in two. In my opinion, the most intense part is in the next one. Expect more attraction, violence, and many confessions!

—⋆mila 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

The next chapter:

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kindestegg · 2 years ago

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Analyzing all the differences in the storyboards posted by Yasmin Khudari and the final product! - Part 2: Collector Edition!

And so here we are! If you haven't seen part 1, I urge you to do so, as we looked into some pretty interesting and lore rich boards that were cut or done differently compared to their final episodes!

This post will cover all the boards for For the Future, and as always I'll try to be mindful with how many pictures I add for the image limit!

While chronologically the sequence with King and Collector playing pretend comes first, that one gives us a LOT more ground to cover, so I'll start with the Bedtime Story sequence, which is frankly easier to get through!

First of all: minor change, Collector used to get big sparkly eyes when asking King to read them a story!

And there also used to be dialogue by Collector after he drops the huge book down, stating that this book usually takes 300 years to get through, but assuring King they usually fall asleep midway. I think this is kind of a funny line and it would make sense with the way King responds "easy..." afterwards, which did make it in the final cut. Of course we still get that impression without this dialogue, but it was kind of funny. The book also appears to have paper pages here, rather than stone slabs.

Minor visual thing that I think is very cute: the scribbles over the "bad" part Collector did used to have little angry faces! I'm so sad they didn't make it in! Look at them! One is sticking its tongue out!

Small but super interesting dialogue change also: King used to read aloud the part Collector scratched out anyway, and go "yikes" as a response to it (fun! and accessible for viewers who may not be able to read it when it comes up for some reason!) and as a result, Collector doesn't say "don't read the NEXT part, skip to where I fixed it", but rather just "don't read the BAD part", confirming he does view it as bad. He also would say "right..." when finishing reading! I like how talkative he used to be here... sad it got lost.

Minor thing! King also used to tilt his head when telling Collector he only lets one other person hold François. This little movement is absent from the final cut!

There's also a dialogue change with Collector, he doesn't refer to Luz as "that human", but rather by name, going "your old best friend, Luz". I wonder if this was changed because the crew thought Collector might not want to admit this about Luz, or if maybe it felt inaccurate since Luz is more specifically King's sister figure.

And finally... oh these boards have gone viral baby. Excited to talk about them!

Instead of saying "I don't like being alone" after asking King at least leave François to watch over them, Collector says they promise not to touch it which... oh myyyyy God, this is so cute.

But I am conflicted about it! I think the inclusion of the line about loneliness makes a lot of thematic sense considering how this is brought up again by King to Eda and Lilith, as a reminder of the pivotal part of Collector's trauma dealing with his imprisonment, but on the other hand! This original line would have driven home the point of how good Collector is trying to be for King, specially with the divergence that comes next.

This! This feels so important! This is a call back to the moment where King tells Collector they can trust him (and this is present in both the roughs and cleans AND the final episode!) and make a pinky promise! This right here is a direct parallel that has King decide that if he tells Collector they can trust him, he should trust them too! This is decisive in portraying them as two kids who are trying to see each other as equals and just have immensely unhelpful circumstances all around them!

I can understand why it was reworked though, again, I feel like they might not want to let the audience forget about The Collector's loneliness because it is such a pivotal part of their arc and it constitutes the very important theming of how wrongful imprisoning someone is, and how punishing children through methods that border on or are straight up torture do nothing to help them grow. If this wasn't brought up again at least once, I can see the crew feeling this section of his character was neglected, and he was made into just a playmate for King to hang out with that'll inevitably turn good by the end.

I just... wish I could have them both, lol but well, other fans also had some pretty big losses in other storyboard changes, so I guess I'll settle for what we have now! I did speculate the theming of trust and telling the truth and striving to see each other as equals will come back next special, so here's hoping this won't be dropped completely!

Anyway, now for the big event! The roughs AND cleans for the playing pretend sequence! For this one, since there are sometimes differences happening between each of the board sets AND the final episode, I'll be adding those simultaneously as things happen.

First of all! Immediate punch to the gut: In the roughs, Willow used to run at her dad and get close to him and try to talk to him, not just wait until the puppets started running and screaming! I can only imagine they took this out because this would just be really sad?? But this show also revels in sadness and they do want to make us feel for Willow so I do not get it... maybe time save? Either way. I cry.

Oh yeah also! As you can see here! The puppets used to, for the most part, have stars for eyes instead of just stylized eyes? It's more subtle in the clean version but their eyes still turn into stars when they're "activated". I'm not sure why this was changed other than to maybe make it easier to animate.

Willow seems to have no dialogue when running after her dad both in the roughs and cleans, though in the cleans she does only run after him when he starts running and screaming, just like the final episode.

Also! There is a small scene not present in the final episode but both in the roughs and cleans: When Terra is running around as the owl beast, there is a close up of her obscured face with mouth open looking like a big monster mouth. I can see that they probably cut this due to it probably being weird to get such a close up without giving away it's not Eda, or maybe it was just for some extra time.

Another minor change, when she sees her dad getting attacked, in the roughs, Willow doesn't bring out her staff, instead just covering her mouth. In the cleans, she does the final episode motion normally. I think they may have changed this to reflect her personality better: we do know Willow is the type to want to jump into action to protect those she cares for.

Also minor detail: after Collector says "stop right there, beast" there used to be no frame showing Willow being surprised by this and hesitating, cutting directly to Collector's star descending with him and King on it.

Minor dialogue difference as well! Both in cleans and roughs, Collector did not address the "citizens of Bonesborough", but rather declares "I'm here to stop your mad rampage!" at the beast! I feel like it may have been changed to better reflect his view of playing the hero of the story here, instead of just playing the role of hunting the beast as he may have done before.

However the identification of his role as Luz came in the form of something else, as King used to have added dialogue in both the roughs and cleans, going "Use the spell I helped you find, Collector!" This is very cute, and I kind of wish they kept it in, it solidifies that King is playing along as an important part in the story, just like the actual episode they are referencing! I wonder if it was cut for time or if it was redundant or something...

And then King goes "I believe in you!" with your usual "Thanks, best friend" reply from Collector.

We also have this short little cut moment where you can see them looking at each other happily and there's a weird divergence between the roughs and cleans here. See, they're nearly identical, but in the roughs, King appears to be blushing for some reason?

Granted, we have seen characters blush in non-romantic settings before, even cut blushes in storyboards such as Luz blushing when being happy about Philip being impressed by her (I still feel so bad for her!) ...but it is at least notable here because a lot of people debate whether King actually enjoyed Collector's company and would like to be friends in the future or not, but I feel like moments like these in the storyboards (the bit about trusting each other from earlier on comes to mind) help solidify that they were always meant to befriend each other, King isn't just a miserable participant with no agency whatsoever! His little blush could indicate he feels happy by now to play with them! And there are further boards I will show that further prove this!

In the final cut, this bit is of course, absent, instead just cutting to Luz's eyes widening. This also leads to a funny little divergence in the roughs and cleans, where what I think happened here is that the reaction Luz used to have at Terra coming out of the Owl Beast costume was instead at first going to be her reaction to King and Collector playing together and seemingly enjoying each other's company... which is very funny to me. I think they may have changed this because it may have seemed a little too mean spirited to have Luz react so badly at King being happy around Collector.

Look... I made a GIF to show how they're one to one the same frame... This literally is just funny to me.

Another small cut moment, there used to be an overview shot of the puppets cheering for Collector! This one is very cute. Look at them with their little hands on their hips!!

And because Luz's reaction to Collector and King being besties got switched around, this caused another set of fun divergences in the roughs, cleans, and final storyboards.

In the roughs, Luz has a moment where she looks attentively at the Owl Beast costume as the camera holds on it, likely doing a kind of suspense zoom and then bait and switch. In the cleans, the zoom doesn't happen. However in both the roughs and cleans, there is a close up of Luz reacting with a weirded out face at the same time as Terra says "back to normal" offscreen.

I imagine what happened here is that these expressions from the boards were then re-tooled to be the close up shot we see of Luz reacting to King and Collector, her eyes just widening as she stares in shock.

Further on, Terra also has some cut dialogue and actions, which are the same in both the roughs and cleans:

While kicking off a bit of the costume, she then throws her "hair" back and goes "Bad girls and so on". This is a funny little bit that I can only think was maybe but for time!

And then! We actually have a case of added content! In the roughs and cleans, Collector didn't give Terra any descriptions about Eda being "like a cool aunt" who "actually cares a lot". I do think it was clever to include this, it helps show a little better that Collector actually respects and likes Eda despite how things are at the moment.

After that, both in the cleans and roughs, Terra's dialogue changes a little bit, instead of calling King a "stupid little" dog, she calls him a "little freak" dog, which does sound like a kind of harsher insult.

Another minor change that is barely noticeable, the roughs and cleans call for Terra clearing her throat before going "Ooh, I like musicians", and you can see a BIT of this motion in the final cut, but she doesn't actually do it, just sort of inhales.

Similarly, there's another cut bit in both the roughs and cleans where Terra would cough and gag right after this line, indicating she would maybe be disgusted by Eda and Raine's relationship. I think this could've been a funny bit but I understand if it was cut for time or maybe the VA couldn't cough at that moment due to complications for any reason.

This next scene is also slightly different! And contains also small differences between both the roughs and cleans! Collector, instead of saying, "You're not being very nice right now", goes "I never pinky swore to THAT."

In the roughs, he assumes more of a frowny expression, just looking kinda angry at Terra like in the final cut, but in the cleans, he gives this sinister ass smile that I love love love! Oh, my little son named warcrimes who commits atrocities and I adore it.

Minor change: Terra used to plead "no no no no" before getting turned into a puppet in both the roughs and cleans, but this is absent in the final cut.

Alright, this next part gets REAL complicated with the divergences not just towards the final cut, but with both versions - rough and clean - between each other. There's a ton of dialogue changing and even action/expression changing, and I'm very excited to talk about it.

First, in both the roughs and cleans, after going "Collector, buddy, you gotta stop doing that." King doesn't plead "Think about what you're doing to these people", but instead says "You're running out of people to play with." I imagine they may have changed this to make King seem more sympathetic to the plight of the people getting turned into puppets, whereas the first one showed more of his practical side knowing just what to say to Collector to get them to question things, as Collector would probably respond better to being reminded this is less people to play with. Another reason why this may have been cut is because one could argue Collector can still play with the puppets, just that they won't be sentient.

Here is where we run into our first divergence: present only in the cleans, King also adds "plus, you could've really hurt someone!" I imagine this bit was added in the cleans to make up for that need of showing King's compassion, but I think the reason this was also changed is that it doesn't make sense? We know the puppets aren't getting hurt, sure it's terrifying to lose control of your own body and be forced to be a doll and sleep within that wooden carcass, but they're not at risking of being actively hurt and can be easily fixed if anything happens. This is of course still bad, but the threat of physical harm doesn't make sense in this case particularly.

Because of this divergence, here's where the roughs, cleans, and final cut split into three different versions:

In the roughs, Collector responds by continuing to seem sad and going "But we'll NEVER be able to play Owl House right without an Owl Lady." He then pleads: "Maybe if you let me talk to Eda myself-" which... certainly seems a lot different than the chipper "maybe if I ask her real nice, I won't have to turn her into a puppet" from the final cut. This reads even more like Collector wants to connect to Eda and talk to her, but is being actively kept from it by King. I can see why maybe this was cut as it would make King look a little bad for barring Collector so much from seeing Eda if he is so well meaning, whereas the final version actually seems more threatening and like King has a reason to not want them interacting yet.

In the cleans, however, because King added that comment about maybe hurting people, Collector responds in a really interesting way: "You said this game was pretend, why do I gotta worry about stuff like that?" Both the roughs and cleans as you've probably already picked up lack that malicious "you're so boring" jab at King, but this one is definitely the one with the most striking contrast, as this one directly implies Collector WOULD worry about hurting people, and is just confused as to how this could happen in their game.

This makes King go into his little speech about playing pretend having consequences, but this one is also slightly altered: Instead of saying "playing pretend", King says "living in a fantasy has consequences, too. Real ones". And ohhh! I would like to bite my fucking arm off at this!! Do you see this shit! Not only is this perfect fodder for the theory Collector is trying to shut himself away from the grief he feels over the titans and refusing to confront his past trauma and generally repressing his emotions, but! It is even more of a DIRECTLY DRAWN parallel to King, by HIMSELF, at King's season 1 self and his backstory of having once believed he was the King of Demons.

But of course, I can see reasons why this may have been changed. Namely, "living in a fantasy" may have confused audiences while "playing pretend" is more of a direct description of what is happening. Also "real ones" may have just been cut for extra seconds. Lord knows they need those.

After King says that, Collector launches into his usual excited talk of Eda, though he doesn't say "no substitutes allowed". However, just like in the roughs, how he refers to talking to Eda here is pretty different. Here, he says "Maybe if you'd let me talk to her, she'd wanna play-"

Again, no mention of turning her into a puppet. Hmmm.

So, I have some theories. First is pretty straight-forward, they added the threat of her maybe getting turned into a puppet to keep the stakes high and give a reason for King to really object Collector talking to her. The second one... well, it involves a lot about Collector's arc in this episode and how it may have changed over time, but I want to talk more about it once we finish looking at all the boards for differences, and believe me, we aren't done yet.

After this, the roughs and cleans meet again, and both of them feature King going "n-no", but unlike the final cut, his dialogue is slightly different here again: he doesn't say "Her curse is still in effect." He says "She's still... not feeling well... y'know. The curse and all that." It's a subtle difference, and it does use more words and pauses, so I think they may have just changed this for time.

The roughs and cleans and final all diverge again here: In the roughs, King reassures Collector by saying "I'll talk to her about joining the game, don't you worry." In the cleans, it switches to "D-don't worry! I'll talk to her for you". In the finals, we have the known "But I can check if she's feeling better." Here we have a progression that I think shows us the difference between King promising Collector something we really aren't going to see- which is Eda joining the game, to say he'll talk to her for him which is similar but vaguer, and then, just saying he'll check on her. I feel this change may have occurred so his promise is mostly kept here.

Slight divergence: Collector goes "you promise?" as a response in all versions, but only in the cleans and final version does he do that little lean while smiling. In the roughs, he used to remain kind of sad looking. I wonder if initially they were going for Collector initially doubting King, but discarded that in favor of his more confident behavior.

And hoo boy, this next divergence is another that makes me kind of insane. You see, while King says the same thing in all three versions, "You can trust me, Collector" and offers a pinky promise, his expressions and motions! They are so different in storyboards!

In the final version, you'll recall King has his gaze averted while offering the pinky and looks kinda sad while doing it. In both the roughs and cleans though...

Look at how happy he seems doing it! He looks at Collector the whole time, only looking away at their pinkies for a second, then they have a moment where they just look at each other happily!

So this is that further implication I was talking about, that King and Collector, at least in some iteration of the story, were written to actively be friends, and not just have a one-sided thing.

Again, I have a few theories about why this was changed. Another straightforward one is just that they wanted to show King was still worried about things and not just nonchalant about the misery around him. Another possible, less straightforward one is that they really wanted to keep the thing about King actually caring about the Collector and not wanting to hurt him a surprise. In a way, that makes sense, younger people may fall for this, hell, I've seen at least one or two people online confess they really thought King wanted to kill Collector with that line from him. So to show them being so indisputably intimate would kind of spoil that.

That being said though... I have another theory, the very same that connects as to why other things have been changed, but again, it's kind of big so I wanna talk about it after we're done.

Only in the roughs now, there's a small bit where we see Camila scoot over to Luz's side to ask "Is that the little guy you've been telling me about?" (Notice in the final cut she also says little King, not just little guy. I feel like this was done to avoid confusion on who she referred to.) In the cleans, it just cuts instead of showing her getting there.

There's also a big divergence in the roughs, cleans, and final result here. First of all, in the roughs and cleans, there's no zoom in on Camila's face.

Then, in the roughs, after Camila comments "ay, que lindo", Luz gives out a giggle and goes "Verdad?" which means "True", like she was saying "true, right", like!! It's like ikr for spanish basically. However, she looks sad right after, and so does Camila upon realizing Luz still feels bad. I think they probably cut this for time, really, as well as maybe they thought Luz wouldn't be in the mood to laugh at her mom reacting the same way she did when she first met King.

In the cleans, however, this scene is way more depressing. Camila still gushes over King like normal, but here, Luz's reaction is just sighing and giving an eerily blank looking dejected expression. My god girl. You are not doing well. And of course, Camila does get sad seeing her this way.

Minor change, Collector used to not say Archive House, just the Archives!

Another minor but fun change: Amity used to reply to Camila's question about the eyeballs being normal but not Collector, by going "Yeah, that's basically it."

Some pretty heartbreaking cut dialogue here as well, in both the roughs and cleans, after Hunter says they should follow Collector and King as Belos is probably trying to get back to the Collector, Willow points out they're flying too fast.

The roughs and cleans diverge here a bit, but Hunter's reaction is more or less similar.

In the roughs, Hunter goes "Flap would be able to-" before cutting himself off and storming off.

But in the cleans, this is made further more upsetting, as he says "Flap could-" then pauses for a moment, entirely silent, realizing what he just said. Then he announces "It's fine." and walks off, stating that "there's more than one way to find him."

I! Really mourn these losses! These are such neat little moments that solidify Hunter's grieving and I wish we could've kept them! I can only think they may have been cut for time, the crew felt they didn't need to add more, or they didn't want to rub it in.

Minor dialogue changes ahead, Gus doesn't say "it looked like they were playing a game", but specifically focuses on The Collector, saying it looked like (they) were playing pretend (hmmm, possible Gus role with the Collector foreshadow?) Similarly, Luz doesn't described it as a "messed up version" of her life, only HER life. Gus also doesn't refer to them as puppets in roughs and cleans, but rather as toys.

Before climbing up the debri to look at the Archives, Luz would say "The Archives..." dramatically, in both the roughs and cleans. Also, may just be the nature of the roughs being roughs, but in the rough storyboards the Archives look way more like a bunch of floating debri strung together rather than a full on circular castle.

And... that's it basically! Whew! That was... quite a lot as you can tell, just these two scenes had so much material they practically overshadow the sheer amount of content the first part of this little analysis project had.

Okay, so. Again, as the guy who usually goes cuckoo crazy theorizing on every little thing related to the Collector, this was a feast for me, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't very intrigued by how much Collector's characterization -specially in relation to King- changed from the storyboards to the final product.

One thing you may have already clocked just from this is that The Collector and King used to seem much more like close friends, as well as there was less of an emphasis on Collector's loneliness and implied trauma rather than on the issue of trust between King and Collector- can they really call each other best friends if they don't take the steps to trust each other and be honest with each other?

Hell, there's even ANOTHER modified detail from the storyboards where King used to SMILE while beaming up with Collector after meeting Odalia.

So... what happened? Why did they change this? I've given you my reasons before but have been teasing one big theory all along, so I will say it now: I think they were pretty confident up to a certain point in diving into the themes of friendship and trust and telling the truth with Collector and King that I've already kinda identified as remaining in this episode, but that got kinda built up for the next episode, but then they realized "oh shit, we are barely touching on Collector's own trauma from being put in hardcore solitary for hundreds of years and having his psyche shattered into pieces from that we should probably. Focus on that huh."

And so was born a revised version of the episode that focused on King feeling a lot more general pity and sadness for the Collector, and the Collector in turn also being allowed to show more sadness that wasn't just related to not getting why his games are going wrong or why King won't let him talk to Eda. One where a more young and/or impressionable audience may be excused to think King didn't like Collector that much, but the twist is that he does, in fact he feels bad for them and relates to them.

Put simply, these earlier versions were nice, but they lacked the drive back to focus on the metanarrative Collector brings to the table of how terrible it is to punish a kid- or anyone- with extended solitary imprisonment, even if they did do bad things or are still doing them. And honestly, I'm still conflicted! I still like both of these a lot, I really think I would have enjoyed this earlier version with them being clearly besties maybe even more, but I also can't say I wouldn't have been frustrated if they never brought up Collector's trauma and issues ever again, specially after setting that up through Season 2B.

But well... I still will hold these storyboards near and dear to my heart, and I hope this post will reach many more people and spread the good word of the King and Collector endgame besties agenda being real!

#the owl house #toh analysis #the collector #toh collector #king clawthorne #commander's orders

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lunar-years · 1 year ago

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Holy shit, reading that anon (Jamie is son-shaped to Ted, but Ted is not father-shaped to Jamie) and your answer (how and why Ted fails Jamie every single time) I realized just how much, on the other hand, Jamie and Roy GET each other.

Roy gives Jamie direct instructions on how to become better and win his praise, not only with the training and diet regimen in S3, but back in S2 when Roy comes up with a literal signal, to tell Jamie exactly what to do and when. That's what Jamie responds best to, what he'd been seeking all throughout S2, and somehow Roy just knew.

And Jamie, he never pushes Roy to speak when he senses something is wrong. What he does is, he offers himself up first, honestly and openly, expecting nothing in return, but creating such a supportive environment that Roy naturally starts to open up (ironically, very similar to Ted's approach to Roy lmao).

In Amsterdam he knew that Roy was just taking his negative emotions out on him, and instead of challenging him, Jamie just went along with it, apologizing for being a dick first, sharing his memories of Amsterdam (good and bad), and finally calling Roy out lightly ("you're just taking it out on me"), in passing. And it did not make Roy defensive because until that point Jamie had offered Roy so much of himself, that instead of closing up, Roy naturally let go and was finally honest, with himself and with Jamie (if briefly).

I mean, Jamie taught Roy to ride a bike "for grandad!" but that wasn't enough, he still apologized for being a dick when he made fun of him. Our boy has become so emotionally mature 😭 (ep 12 doesn't exist, thank you very much)

These bitches get each other in a way no other character does. Even Keeley, as much as the fandom likes to ignore all her flaws and paint her as perfect, had serious communication issues with Roy, where she did not respect his privacy (airing dirty laundry in front of his literal boss and colleagues), and pushed him to talk when it came to something very delicate (the funeral and death in general). And Roy was the one to apologize, which made me very upset (particularly in the first instance).

I honestly can't see something like that happening with Roy and Jamie.

Fingers crossed for a spinoff, but even if it never becomes a canon romantic ship, Roy & Jamie would work extremely well in a Ted & Beard dynamic.

They just belong with each other.

(again, ep 12 where Beard leaves Ted's side and Ted doesn't even attend Beard's wedding doesn't exist ☺)

you're sooo correct. Jamie and Roy innately understand one another <3 Amsterdam is the perfect example of this because Jamie absolutely knows Roy is using him to air out his negative emotions, but Roy also knows Jamie's hyper-positivity is masking something else. They both have the right read on one another there, I think, and they both have the patience to draw the other out until they're ready to talk!

And the scene where they finally open up to one another is just soooo good from start to finish. Like, not only does Roy handle Jamie's tragic backstory reveal perfectly (i cannot say that enough, because god he does a really great job there), but then he finally opens up about what's bothering him, too! And I think because we focus so much on how majorly vulnerable it was of Jamie to tell Roy his red light district story, we don't ever talk enough about how majorly vulnerable Roy let himself be afterwards, too. Like, I think after Jamie dropped something so traumatic, it would have been particularly easy for Roy to have dismissed his own stuff as like, 'well I can't hardly say what's bothering me is just that the ex I broke up with has moved on and it's upsetting me. Not after he just dropped that, can I?' Like, especially given Roy's personality, I think his first instinct there was probably to minimize his own feelings and to dismiss his problems with Keeley as being so trivial and irrelevant compared to Jamie's Real Problems, and then to not talk about it at all and quietly simmer. So it's a true sign of just how much he trusts Jamie (as well as feels bad for using him as his punching bag all day) that he doesn't do any of that but instead properly opens up to him for the first time. And then Jamie realizes how monumental that is right away, and he's not dismissive either!!

Another scene I've been thinking about is the one where Jamie tells Phoebe that Isaac is his best friend and not Roy. Because like, on the one hand it's obviously mostly playful ribbing meant to rile up Roy (because Roy is quite obviously his actual best friend at that point). But I think there's also that underlying understanding from Jamie that Roy struggles with admitting how much he cares and loves people and he struggles to put a name to his feelings, etc. Jamie understands that, and he's okay with that, so I think his joke there is also his way of saying like, it's okay if you can't label this quite yet, whatever's between us - best friends or something else - it's okay if you're not ready for that. It's his way of giving Roy an out if he needs it. (this could also be bogus and me reading too much into everything lmao but like!!! something to consider)

Everything to me <33

#Roy absolutely needed to apologize to Keeley at the funeral though he was definitely being a dick #also i don't think royjamie would be like miraculously devoid of problems because they definitely would have plenty of their own #but i do agree that roy's problems with jamie would look different than the problems he had with keeley #royjamie #ted lasso #asks #roy kent #jamie tartt

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the-single-element · 28 days ago

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Good morning.

Last year, we heard a lot about the nature of the Kingdom of God. In particular, both on the shore of Galilee and the synagogue in Jerusalem, Jesus used a whole flotilla of parables to describe the necessity of readiness. That if we are to enter into the Kingdom, we must be on a hair-trigger to recognize, and take, whatever opportunities to touch it that we can get.

Two weeks ago, we discussed how earthly luxury can get in the way of that readiness. But outside the context of James's startlingly direct preaching… Jesus encouraged us to look around for whatever is making us unready – whatever will prevent us from acting on the insistent urging of the Kingdom. He didn't single out money, at least not yet; the same principle applies much more broadly, even to things we don't buy.

But today, when we read about Jesus talking with a rich and zealous stranger, whose zeal stumbles on the stumbling block of wealth specifically… when Jesus responds by specifically pointing to wealth as hazardous… what's going on?

Why is this, in particular, so hard for us, that even someone as zealous as the man in today's story can't get past it?

Why, in particular, is Jesus so fixated on warning us against it, that he uses this famous imagery of trying to thread a needle with a camel? That his go-to response, his suggestion to this stranger, after being struck with love for him in today's Good News, is to tell him he ought to stop being rich?

Well… why do we want to be rich in the first place?

Money's weird, isn't it? It doesn't do anything on its own. There's only two things you can use it for: spend it on something you actually want, or invest it so it turns into more money.

But that means it's also a kind of mental chameleon. If you want comfort, money is comfort. If you want safety, money is safety. If you want control, money is control. And even when our goals are kind and just and noble… if we see a way to achieve those goals by using money, "getting money" takes on all the shine of the goals we plan to achieve by spending it.

And when we go to invest money, to make money at interest… the same thing happens, except that its chameleon nature becomes more like camoflauge. For the lender, what the borrower does to repay their debt is hidden from sight, forgotten and irrelevant. For the borrower, what the lender would prefer they do is hidden, and all they can think of is, "well, I have to pay my debts, right?"

In both cases, money's strange, unique property is its ability to hide the complexity of life behind a single, numerical value: easy to compare, easy to equate, easy to treat interchangeably with itself… and with many other things in this world.

So why do we want to be rich? Why do we want to have riches? For the fruits of riches. For the things that riches can buy.

Because you can buy food and clothes and a roof over your head. Good medical care. Locks on your doors. In short, you can buy safety – a freedom from the fear of death.

You can buy the nicer things in life – fun, intellectual stimulation. In short, you can buy comfort – an escape from suffering.

And you can even pay people to do and act as you would prefer – to defer to you, to do things your way. You can buy control.

Which of these attracts you most? You can have it, if you want. But that also means giving up money means giving up what you value most. Better to save it, right? Better to keep it aside as extra protection, so you don't lose your treasures later.

In short, there's an internal logic to riches, and to money in particular. And that logic is compelling. And we get practice at thinking by that logic every day of our lives.

And nearly every part of it is at odds with the logic of the Kingdom of Heaven. The simplification of being able to think of human relations in terms of credit and debit is a deathtrap, and attempting to do math with our virtue produces meaningless results. The Kingdom's way of thinking fights tenaciously against the idea that we can use abstractions to ignore the people behind them, and has rejected the basic idea of "interest on loans" – at least within one's own community – even as early as Sinai.

And even beyond all these examples… there's the example of Jesus tempted in the desert. Think back to that moment. Try to remember: what was he tempted with?

Aren't you hungry? Don't you want to be comfortable? Pick back up the power you set aside, and turn these stones into bread. You could do it easily, if you want to.

Aren't you scared of death? Don't you want to be safe? Reclaim the power you relinquished, and summon the angels to protect you from harm. You could do it easily, if you want to.

Aren't you about to spend three years ridiculed and misunderstood? Don't you want to be in charge, in control? Draw forth the power you sheathed to be born in that barn, and conquer the world. You could do it easily, if you want to.

Every single underlying form of bait which leads us to favor Mammon over God… which dulls our response time to those moments where we have to give it all up to buy the Pearl of Great Price… is bait that Jesus, too, had to face. Bait that he had to reject in favor of his mission, there at the very beginning, when he chose to live as a human being… that is, when he chose to feel the same hungers any human knows, rather than sate those hungers by renouncing his humanity.

There's a reason that the Wisdom poet today compares "wisdom" – that is, internalizing and living by God's word, God's logic – against riches and gold.

Jesus understands this. He experienced it himself: both the dreadful allures that riches can dangle in front of us, and the deeper concerns to which they can blind us. So he warns us against even having to face that temptation, cautioning us that it's better to stop being rich than to keep the riches around and risk getting tricked into reasoning by money's logic. At the same time, given his own experience, he admits that if we didn't have God's grace backing us up, if we didn't have the Kingdom of God and its justice to ground ourselves in, then the temptation to defect to something that promises exactly the thing we want would be too great.

But he also gives us good news, today, in the form of a promise of his own: you buy the Pearl of Great Price because you're getting something worth more than everything you gave up. By Mammon's own logic can Mammon be defeated, even if it may bring us controversy and unpopularity until the job is done. And people who are able to take their opportunities and let go of their earthly wealth to store up treasure in Heaven will see their investment pay off.

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