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respectthepetty · 12 days

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Pride Petty Watch (The Untamed) 1/?

I let the crowd pick which two blacklisted shows I would watch from my Petty List, so I flew through the first one knowing I had this 50-episode beast waiting for me. People have warned me that the first two episodes wouldn't make sense, there are a ton of characters to keep track of, I need to watch it at normal speed, and I need to keep the sound on. Therefore, I was already mad before I hit play, yet somehow I started the first episode, blacked out, and emerged five episodes later.

Which means I like it so far, and here's some quick reasons why:

Before I start, these two better be an item because they are my favorite BTS song aka "🔥" and since I haven't seen them in the present yet, I'm fearing something happened to them in that great battle in the past, and if so, I'M GOING TO BE BE LIVID! I've had them for three whole minutes, and they are everything to me, so I feel this story is going to fuck me over.

Everyone is chasing after this golden black snitch, yet nobody is catching it, so although there is a lot of death happening, I'm laughing.

If you squint, My Stand-In and The Untamed are the same. Boys who fell off a cliff come back in another body only to live the same life with the same people and make the same bad decisions. Cool cool cool.

This current lecturer is stating nobody could find the body but he fell into fire/lava, so what body were they thinking they would find?! Also, don't think I didn't catch homeboy getting in trouble in the past for asking in class what happens when a spirit demands revenge and the instructor got upset because look where we are now! Possession of a body for the sake of revenge. Should've entertained the question, professor, because sixteen years later, it will come back to haunt you, literally.

And homeboy applied his own theory of making the possessed bodies work for him to fight the other body. He is a smart cookie, and that's why the original Moo Moo person gave his body up to him.

@dribs-and-drabbles, if this is why you told me I needed the sound on, I'm confident I'm not going to remember this melody. And how is he playing a leaf right now?

I can't take this seriously. This feels like an 80s music video, and he is about to hit me with the hottest synthesizer intro.

And the sword has the golden black snitch in it. *Pikachu face*

I can't play an instrument but for a DIY flute made out of bamboo on the spot, I thought his playing was excellent. For people being saved from being squashed, they are some haters, and I would have stopped playing just so they could suffer.

I picked up that sister is dead in the future, but her kid is a brat, and I would've been mean to him too.

And did the brother really kill him in that battle on the hill because when the entire crowd was like "you killed him, right?", he was looking like . . .

So this is the brat's daddy? It would make sense that a man who shut down an entire hotel for his party would have a son who sets 400 traps so nobody else can catch anything. The privilege is genetic.

I like him AND I respect him. He has priorities and they are to drink and party because even when he came back in that other body, he snatched the liquor. As the opening showed, he's here for a good time, not a long time.

I don't like Fuddy Duddy. He can remember 3,500 rules (this place is where fun goes to die), but couldn't remember to tell my party bro that his sister and brother were inside? Everybody just left homeboy without a note saying where they are, and Fuddy Duddy had the information, yet was too busy lecturing about rules. AND committed the ultimate party foul and wasted the liquor. Make that the 3,501th rule! He's lucky he can lay the synthesizer so well.

This is where the big battle is/was (Nightvale, Nightshade, NightWhatever), and I hope this man died in it because he is doing TOO MUCH! "I don't fear death; I fear boredom" YOU'RE boring! Shut up and go collect the pieces of that dumb rock, Thanos Jr., so we can get this battle going.

HE BROUGHT A BIRD INTO CLASS! This is the everyday American high school class.

Why is everyone in the Fire Nation so pissed? Is it because it's hot there? All of y'all are doing too much except for that sister and her brother. I know that brother was the zombie guy from the statue fight, so that means the main homeboy was talking to Fire Nation sister at the graves. That was her family's grave, and she must be a good person, who is probably dead now too.

So they can all play magical instruments? They're like Josie and the Pussycats, playing gigs between fighting crime.

The brat's dad is gold, the Cloud Recesses (what is this name about because they should be a lot more fun with a name like that?) are white and blue, and the Fire Nation is red, so it's odd that homeboy had the dark blue robes with red underneath before coming to school, and keeps getting really friendly with the fire people. Plus the cloud people's power is blue, but his comes out in bursts of red. Is his daddy really Fire Nation? Get Maury on the line.

So his bird buddy gave him porn, which he gave to Fuddy Duddy, who then ripped it up. No wonder why he is so good at school and remembers 3,500 rules. Got nothing but time on his hands since he isn't using his hands doing anything else by being so repressed.

Fuddy Duddy just said he doesn't touch people, yet in the very beginning he snatched homeboy's hand without hesitation, so he wouldn't fall to his death. Then, he snatched that premium liquor for him. I see you and your heart on your sleeve, my man! Just like this water demon, the feelings are sneaking up on you and snatching you up!

Should've bought her the comb, bro, because she's going to be dead after that big battle since she was sent to snoop for the Fire Nation. Even though she is trying to help her brother, I feel this will be y'alls Romeo and Juliet moment.

So the brother was always going to come back from the dead since he already was cursed(?), and my homeboy is once again proving to be a friend to all. I like you, and I will learn your name, hopefully by episode 28.

Only three marks healed in the present, so whoever is the last mark has to be one of these hoochies, and the more backstory I get, the more I think it's going to hurt when I find out who the last mark is.

Half these people have already died leading up to that big battle and the other half will die as homeboy sets out on his Kill Bill journey, so like . . .

"You and I have unfinished business"

*slams on the 'next' button*

#pride petty watch #the untamed #that was a quick five episodes #I'm not confused #but I am making my Velma from Scooby Doo face a lot #jinkies #I'm not getting attached to any of these people #because they are either already dead or going to die #but I want the first born son of the cloud people and the illegitimate son of the other folks to have a long life together #AND I KNOW THIS PLOT WILL SCREW ME OVER!#I don't like Fuddy Duddy so far #He is Killjoy and a Vibe Killer #But I think homeboy is the best #so I should probably learn his name

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softestnatalie · 10 months

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Abandoned corridors of the heart

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x female!reader

Timing: Season 1

Summary: You were on your own when the apocalypse started, not having much family or friends. That, however, changed when you met a grumpy redneck in the woods. In desperate need for help and a group, you chose to trust him just the slightest bit. You didn't expect him to change your life the way he did.

Warnings: large age gap, mild language, swear words, daryl being an ass, violence, blood and gore, character death, sexual content, just basic TWD stuff, topics like sexual assault and self harm

Autor's note: Hi! This is my first The Walking Dead fanfiction. It will start in season 1 and end in season 11 so this chapter will play in the first episode of TWD. Of course I will put in my own plot as well. The female character is supposed to be the reader, not an original character, so I won't describe her looks and you can imagine her however you want. She does have a backstory tho. The warnings above are for the story in general but I will try to put warnings for each chapter. That being said; have fun reading babes! <3

Chapter 1: The home you lost

You didn't know how it started or when exactly it started, but you knew it was spreading quickly. They were talking about the unknown illness on TV, playing it on the radio, warning as many people as they could. That's how you first heard about it - the terrifying sickness - you just didn't take it as seriously as you should have. You were living with your mother to that time - only being 19 - so you told her about it in hopes she would ease the little worry you were feeling.

She didn't - couldn't. You remember the look on her face when you told her - the slight widening of her eyes, the raise of her eyebrows, and the way her mouth parted the smallest bit in shock - and you knew she wouldn't be able to comfort you even if she wanted to because she was even more worried than you.

It was only a few hours later when you saw a weird figure on the street while you were walking home. It made you squint your eyes in order to see the walking sillouette a bit better, not that it helped in any way. You realised quickly that it wasn't a person - not a living person at least because, really, no living person could look like that and it made you shiver nervously. The groaning was getting louder the closer that 'thing' got to you and only then did you decide to continue moving and get home as soon as possible. You were lucky that day.

You decided against telling your mother about the incident. Not only because you weren't able to process what you saw yourself, but because you didn't want to cause her any more fear than she already had, so you kept quiet.

Everything was still pretty much normal - people went to work, friends were being met, and places were being visited. A few things did change though. Everyone was being more careful when they were outside, almost like they had a third eye on the back of their head. What scared you a little more were the people walking through your city - definitely too many to count and the masses only got bigger as days passed. Some of them were covered in blood while others were completely clean. It was clear to you why these people left their home and what their goal was and it made you question how long it would take until you would be one of them, deperately looking for a new home.

You and your mother decided to stay at home from that point on because it was simply too dangerous to step a foot outside. Both of you called in sick for work, making sure you wouldn't have any problems when all of this was over. It only took a few days until stores and businesses had to shut down or were run over by 'them'. Things got even worse when your food was starting to run out, barely getting you through these few days, and your mother offered to go out and get more from a nearby grocery store, but you declined. The last thing you wanted was your mother getting hurt.

Only another two days later did you change your mind. The food was officially out and you had to rationate the little bit of water that you had left. You knew someone had to go out and get supplies in order for you to survive. Your mother shook her head almost angrily when you asked her if you should accompany her on her way, telling you it was important for you to stay as safe as possible and that she would never allow you to put yourself in that kind of danger. A mother is supposed to protect her child.

So you waited inside your shared apartment, biting your nails in nervousness - a habit you just couldn't seem to overcome. You glanced at the old clock hanging on your wall - 5 minutes had passed. Under normal circumstances she would only need half an hour to come back with what you needed but given the current situation she would definitely need longer. That's why you weren't suspisious when your mother wasn't back after an hour had passed. But when the two hour mark was reached and there was sill no knock on your door, you felt your fingers twitch nervously.

You thought for a moment, not knowing what to do. But you knew rather quickly that you should go and look for her. So you put on your shoes and a jacket, grabbing the keys for your house before shutting the door behind you. Your heart was starting to beat quickier the more steps you took. It was your first time going outside since all of this - whatever 'this' was - started and only now could you see what kind of impact it had on your city; whole buildings were destroyed, the otherwise busy streets were empty - not a single moving car - and where couples and families were once walking together was now an empty sidewalk.

The only noises being heard were the wind blowing softly around you and disgusting groans in the distance. You kept your pace steady and fast as you looked for your parent but you quickly lost all the hope you had when you reached the little shop and there still wasn't a single sign of your mother. You opened the glass doors slowly, carfully stepping inside and your mouth opened in shock at the condition the shop was in. Shelves were pushed to the ground and almost all of them were empty.

You called the name of your mother softly but when you didn't get an answer and the store remained silent, your shoulders dropped in disappointment. You decided to take a few of the suppplies with you before you left the store again. 2 bottles of water - not much but enough for a few days - and a few packs of sliced bread. It was all you could carry since you didn't take a bag with you.

Your heart made a big jump inside your chest and a little squeal left your lips when you saw a head between two fallen shelves. It was rotten and somehow a light shade of gray, it's teeth yellow. You would have covered your nose if your hands wouldn't have been holding the things you needed to live because the smell was just so disgusting, leaving a bitter taste in your mouth.

It was time to go back, you decided. You looked around once more before you turned around and pushed trough the doors, leaving the body behind. You kept your eyes open on your way home, hoping you would catch a sight of your mother - without success. Still, you were trying to think positive; maybe she would already be home by now, waiting and worrying for you.

You were wrong. The house was empty and the only thing that had been waiting for you was silence. A deep breath left your mouth as you walked into your kitchen, not even bothering to take off your shoes, and put down the food and water. You lowered your head, putting your hands on the kitchen counter for stability. You felt alone - so utterly alone - and you missed your parent more than words could describe. Guilt was bubbling up inside you because you let her leave. You should have gone with her, helped her.

Only when you opened your eyes again did you realise you were crying, soft tears running down your face and making your head ache. Another shaky breath left you as you sat down on your couch. You left the front door unlocked because there was still a chance of your mother coming back and you wanted her to be able to get inside at any time of the day. The chance was slim but it was there.

It was slowly starting to get dark outside when you got up to eat some of the bread you found, taking the water with you as you sat on the couch again. You thought it would be the best to stay on the couch for the night since it was close to the front door and you wanted to be here if your mother came back and you knew you wouldn't be able to get any sleep anyway.

That's what you did for the next few days. Eat, wait on the couch, sleep for a few hours, and wait again. But she didn't come back and at this point you started to understand that it would probably stay that way - that you wouldn't get to see her again - and it made you cry harder than you thought was possible. Still, you didn't dare to lock the door because maybe, just maybe, she would come one day.

Things were going okay until you woke up one night with noises coming from your door. It was dark outside and your clock proved that it was way past midnight. Your were frozen for a moment but you moved quickly when the door opened, a smile forming on your lips. It faded as quickly as it came when you realised that whoever was in your house definitely wasn't your mother. And before you could think of what to do, the figure was standing right in front of you, a clicking sound filling the air before he pointed something at you. It was too dark to recognize it but you could imagine what it was.

"Stop," the voice spoke and you were pretty sure it was a male talking to you. You didn't dare to say anything in fear of saying the wrong thing. "Don't move," he spoke again.

It was quiet for a few moments before you heard his voice once again, "Do you have food?" He asked you in a rather harsh tone. You nodded your head as slow as possible, lifting your hand and pointing in the direction of your kitchen, "Just bread," you whispered, "You can take it - you can take it all - just leave again, please."

The man started walking backwards in small, heavy steps but still kept the gun pointed at you. He grabbed a pack of sliced bread and looked at it before he put it down again and chuckled quietly, "Oh, baby, this is my home now. Feels safe enough here."

He shushed you when you started to talk, pleading for him to just leave you alone. "You can choose how you want this to end," he walked closer again, stepping right in front of you and pressing the cold end of the pistol against your forehead. "Option one: you're gonna put on your shoes and walk straight out that door," he nodded is head into the directon of your front door, "You won't come back and everything will be fine. No one has to get hurt."

You winced slightly when he pressed the gun even harder against you and you shook your head silently. You didn't want to leave - you had nowhere else to go and you would never survive out there - especially on your own.

"Option two: you will refuse to leave and well," his voice got quieter towards the end and he trailed the gun down the side of your face, "There won't be enough space for the both of us."

You sayed still as you thought about his words and you felt the need to cry again because you knew that either option would mean your death. That man would kill you if you decided against going and if you decided to go and try your luck out there, you would probably die within the first day. Staying inside your home - which held some of your most important memories - would be the easier death. Definitely less painful.

Still, you went to put on your shoes in slow steps, signaling the man before you that you wouldn't do anything stupid and were planning on leaving. Why did you think option one was the better one? Because it gave you hope and at least the smallest bit of a chance to survive.

The intruder chuckled again, "Good choice."

Your shaking hands made you fumble with your shoelaces before you walked towards the still open door, giving the person one last look before leaving the house you've been living in for the past 19 years behind. As soon as you could hear him close the door you let your tears fall, allowing yourself to be weak for the millionth time this week because how could everything go so wrong so damn quickly.

You didn't know where to go or what to do because you didn't even get the chance to take a bag or anything similar with you. You were alone - lost the only person you were still close with and now even your home. It made your heart squeeze painfully in your chest and you just wished it would end - wished that your life how it was just a few weeks ago would return.

The first place you visited was the shop from a few days ago in hopes of finding food once again. You weren't so lucky this time - the shop was completely empty, not even a single pack of anything left. So you went to a few other shops but the only thing you could catch at the end of the day was one can of coke. Obviously, other people were just as desperate and needed food and water just as much as you did.

A few days later you found yourself in the woods a few miles away from your home town and you were honestly suprised you were still alive. You hadn't eaten since you got kicked out of your own house and the coke ran out after a few nights. The weather was good for the most part but the nights were really cold and not having a jacket with you wasn't making it easier.

Luckily for you, you didn't really have many enounters with those 'rotten people'. You saw a few but you always managed to hide successfully before they could cause you any harm. You wouldn't have known how to defend yourself if one of them would've attacked you - you wouldn't have known what to do. You didn't know a lot about them in general. You knew they were spreading the illness by biting still living people but other than that you were completely clueless.

Your clothes were drenched in dirt just as well as your exposed skin and not having any way to shower just made you feel worse about the whole situation. A few cuts were decorating your left arm caused by your stupidity when you tripped over your own feet and scratched your arm against a tree when you tried to catch yourself.

Your feet were screaming in pain after hours of walking and looking for something - anything. A place to stay, something edible or something to drink or maybe even your mother. By now, you were sure she was dead - or one of the 'walking deads' - and you slowly started to come to terms with it. Still, the uncertainty was killing you. You needed to see her - needed to say goodbye to the person who had raised you for the past 19 years.

You decided to take a break and took a seat at a nearby tree, leaning your back against the hard surface when you felt like your feet wouldn't carry you for much longer. You leaned your head back in exhaustion, letting yourself relax for at least a few minutes. God, how you wished to be home in your bed right now, your mother sitting in the living room and watching her typical shows. You missed those times. So much.

Thinking about your mother was always hard. Losing her was the biggest loss you ever had to face in your life. She was always a very loving and caring person and you were so incredibly thankful for the good life she was able to give to you. Not having a father figure made you both grow really close, making her not just your mother but also your best friend.

It was truly-

Your thoughts got interrupted when you heard a loud grunt echoing through the woods and your first reflex was to jump up from the sitting position you were in and look around you in quick motions. You couldn't see anything near you - no danger or somthing that could cause you any harm. You were about to continue walking when you heard yet another grunt.

You pondered for a moment before you decided to walk into the direction the noises were coming from. You had no idea why you did what you did but something inside you told you it was the right thing. You picked up a stick from the ground just in case you had to defend yourself.

It only took you a few seconds to find the source of the noises and your mouth opened in pure shock as you watched to scene in front of you. Right there, on the ground in a forest, was a man lying on his back with his arms high above him, trying to hold a dead person away from him. Its head was dangerously close to the strangers face, its teeth making a loud sound as it tried to take a bite.

You were frozen for a moment, not knowing what exactly you should do - not that there was much you could do. You were weakened because of the days you had to get thorugh without having any food. You thought about turning around and hide once again but you quickly decided against it. Instead, you thightened the grip you had on the stick in your hand because you had to at least try and help the man.

So you took all the braveness you had left inside of you together and moved as fast as you possibly could, raising your arm and smacking the stick against the creatures head with force. Your hit forced the dead person to let go of the man and roll over the tiniest bit. It wasn't much but it was enough for the man to get back on his feet and grab the crossbow - which was leaning against a tree a few meters away - and pointed it at the creature. One of his arrows pierced through its head right when it started to walk into your direction.

You winced slightly in fear and shock, staring at the body that was lying right in front of your feet, blood oozing out of the wound. Your hands were shaking as both, you and the man, were breathing heavily. Swallowing once, you slowly raised your eyes to look at the man you just saved and your heart started beating even more wildly when you saw that the crossbow was now directed at you.

"Drop it," the man spoke and the gruffness his voice was holding sent a shiver down your spine. You were confused for a second until you realised that he was talking about your stick. You found it quite weird - funny almost - how he seemed to feel threatened by a simple stick while he was holding a damn crossbow. Still, you had no wish to die so you dropped the stick slowly, letting it fall to the ground with a quiet thump.

It was quiet between the both of you and only after a minute of silence did you decide to speak to him, "I don't mean any harm."

He didn't answer but his eyes stayed on you, studying you for a few more seconds before he finally decided to lower his weapon as he seemed to realise that you had saved him and that you definitely weren't armed besides that pathetic little stick. He looked around in hopes of seeing the squirrel he had been hunting but when he didn't, he turned around and started walking away.

Your body reacted before your mind could even catch up as you took a few quick and fast steps after him, "Wait- wait a second." And once again you didn't know why you did it but you hadn't had a conversation with another living person in days and it made you desperate. You didn't want him to go - didn't want to be all alone again, just waiting for one of those things to catch you.

He stopped abruptly and turned around in one swift movement. The words seemed to die in your throat at the look he gave you. His eyes were glaring at you and they seemed so distant - almost cold - and they were intimidating you to no beyond.

"Ya gonna talk or what?"

His southern accent was thick and filled your ears, causing you to stay silent for a few more seconds, just staring at him before you finally found your voice again, "Sorry I-," you paused for a moment beacuse you didn't even know what exactly you wanted to say to him, you just knew that you didn't want him to leave you alone, "Where are you going?"

He furrowed his eyebrows into an even harder glare and let out a small scoff as if he couldn't believe that you had actually asked him such a thing. It made you shrink back even more, rocking on your feet in nervousness.

"None of yer damn business," he grumbled quietly and you honestly didn't know what you expected since it only made sense that he wouldn't tell a complete stranger anything about himself. Still, you didn't give up and once he turned around and started walking once again, you spoke up for a third time.

"Please, don't leave me here," you felt ridiculous begging him like that but he was the only chance you had. It had been days since you last saw a living person - another human being - and you just weren't ready to let go of the situation beacuse who knew when you were going to meet somebody else - if you would meet somebody else, "It has been days since I've last eaten or had something to drink. If you have a safe place to stay, please, take me with you."

He looked at you again and was suprised to see tears forming in your eyes. He continued walking as a another scoff left his lips, "Ya don' really think I'd take a stranger with me, do ya?"

His quiestion made you shrug to which he gave you a side glance, "Please," was all you could say even though you knew that it probably wouldn't do much to convince him but you still tried because, what else were you supposed to do?

Your pleading made him think about it more than he would have liked because as much as he didn't want to admit it, he woul've been dead if you wouldn't have saved him and you actually didn't seem that bad. He wasn't sure if he was even allowed to bring people back to the camp since he and his brother were pretty new there as well and big, mighty Shane was the 'leader' - at least that's what he liked to call himself - making all the decisions. He had to roll his eyes at the mere thought of that guy.

Then again, he really didn't care about Shane's opinions since he and his brother would leave them soon anyway. So whatever impact you could or would have on the group wouldn't be his problem. That's what convinced him.

He gave you one last look before he nodded, "If ya even think 'bout doin' somethin' stupid-"

He didn't have to finsish his sentence as you nodded your head, "I won't."

He gave you another nod before he continued walking and you took that as your clue to follow him. His steps were big and fast, making it quite hard for you to follow him. Other than your heavy breathing and loud steps, everything was quiet, giving you time to actually think about your current situation. The realisation that you wouldn't be alone anymore almost brought a smile to your face. Almost.

"So, what's your name?"

The man walking in front of you looked behind him at the sound of your voice, an annyoed expression forming on his face, almost making you feel bad for speaking up.

"Daryl," he answered eventually, his voice only a quiet grumble. You nodded and waited for him to ask about you but when he didn't, you told him your name on your own accord.

"I'm (y/n)," your voice was almost as quiet as a whisper and when he didn't show any reaction at all, you thought that he didn't hear you but he did nod eventually. You quickly understood that he was a man of very few words or maybe it was just because it was you. Either way, the walk was quiet and neither of you said another word.

It took about an hour until you finally reached a bigger group of people. You were walking up a small hill before you stopped in your tracks at the amount of humans in front of you. 14 - you could count 14 faces - 15 with Daryl and 16 with you. It took you a moment to get out of the trance you were in because you really didn't expect to ever see such a large group of living people again.

Your eyes widened when you saw a man walking towards you and Daryl in fast steps and by the look on his face, you could only assume he wasn't happy.

"What the fuck?" the man raised his voice, shaking his head in disbelief as he eyed you before he looked at Daryl, "What the fuck is this?"

Daryl shook his head in annoyance and rolled his eyes at the man because, really, who did he think he was? He walked past Shane as a scowl formed on his lips, "Found 'er in the woods," was all he answered with a small shrug of his shoulders.

You felt incredibly out of place as you watched to two men arguing with each other and the lingering looks of the rest of the group made you feel even worse. They were looking at you as if you were some kind of enemy - an outsider - and you knew that nobody really wanted you here. So you lowered your head until all you could see was the dirty ground - the only escape you had.

How could you bring her with you?

She's a stranger!

You're putting us all in danger!

The male voices got louder and if the world wouldn't have been so fucked up, you would've turned around and left as fast as your feet could've carried you. You lifted your head in shock when you felt someone standing in front of you, hiding the sun from you.

"Make yourself useful if you wanna stay here," the man spoke harshly, staring you down, "And don't even try anything stupid, understood?"

Your mouth opened and closed a few times as you tried to find your words but after a few seconds of silence you simply nodded instead of saying something.

He nodded as well and placed one and on his hip, lifting the other to point into the direction of a few women, "Go and help them do the laundry."

You would have given him a piece of your mind if you weren't so damn desperate for a place to stay, so instead of telling him how disrespecful he was being and that you were far more useful, you gave him a slight smile and nodded once again before walking away. You could feel their eyes burning holes into your body as your feet carried you to the pair of women.

You waved softly and murmured a quiet 'hey' as you reached them. They stared at you with a look you couldn't fully describe but you would say it was something between fear and uncertainty before one of them spoke up.

"I'm Carol," the woman spoke while she looked anywhere but your eyes and you thought that she seemed just as shy as you, which kinda comforted you. She had really short hair, most of it being gray already, her eyes blue, and her very thin lips were formed into a very slim smile.

"Lori," the other woman said with a small nod. She was beautiful. Long, wavy, brown hair that matched the color of her eyes and her lips were also formed into a smile.

The fact that they were being nice and pretty much friendly to you eased your discomfort a little more, so you let your own smile play on your lips, "(y/n)."

You walked closer until you were standing next to Carol and you decided to follow the mans instructions, copying the womens actions and hanging the soaked pieces of cloth on the clothes line. It almost felt good because it gave you a sense of the life you had been living just a few weeks ago. The three of you made slight conversation - basic smalltalk, them mostly trying to get to know you a little bit better - and before you knew it, the work was done - the laundry basket empty.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" you asked the two women you were hoping would become your friends soon but before one of them could answer your quiestion, there was a much deeper voice sounding from behind you.

"Hey there," you turned around and were greeted by a man looking at you with kind eyes. He was pretty old you would guess, his beard and hair painted gray and white, "I'm Dale," he offered you his hand to shake, which you accepted a bit hesitantly, "Thought I'd give you a tent so you have a place to sleep in. You're lucky, I had a spare one in the back of my RV," he gave you a bag that he had been holding in his other hand.

The smile that showed on your lips was the most genuine one in a long time, your tensed shoulders relaxing at the kindness he was showing you, "Thank you, Dale." He grinned before walking away again, leaving you with Carol and Lori.

"Go and set it up," Lori said, "We're going to cook in the mean time."

You didn't argue much, they managed to do it without you before so they'll definetily manage now. With a nod you searched for an empty spot and quickly found one. It took you a while until you were finally finished, it being harder than you thought it would be. It was pretty dark by the time you were done and when you looked around you could see the group starting to eat.

You opened the zipper of your tent, sitting down softly and watching them from afar. After all it wasn't your food to eat and you didn't feel like you had a right to sit with them as if you were one of them. You were sure most of them still didn't like nor trust you. Carol walked by after a few minutes, holding a bowl of something to eat and stopping once she saw you alone, "You don't wanna sit with us?"

You shrugged, "I just- I don't wanna intrude."

She scoffed a bit, it almost sounded like a chuckle, "You're not. Come on, I'm sure you're hungry."

She was right, you really were hungry and as if your stomach heard Carol as well, it decided to grumble right in that moment. You blushed a bit when her smile widened but stood up and nodded with an 'okay'. You followed her as she brought you to the rest of the group and once again their eyes were on you - some kind, others not so kind - but you tried to ignore it as best as you could as Carol gave you a bowl of food. Your eyes locked with Daryl's for a second but the glare he gave you made you look away only a second later.

And you actually felt quite okay because even though you had lost a home, you felt like you just found a home.

Chapter 2

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comicaurora · 6 months

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YOU WATCHED CENTAURWORLD?!

YOU USED IT AS AN EXAMPLE IN THE TROPE TALK!!!!

It is my favorite and I require to know your thoughts on it.

It's. Hm

So I think it absolutely accomplished what it set out to do, which means it is a successful work of art. But I think what it was aiming for didn't work for me?

In its efforts to play with centaurworld's ridiculousness versus the gritty nightmare of the "real world", it tonally undercuts almost all of its profound moments and then tries to get profound character moments out of squeeky-toy inflatable cartoon characters. Of the main cast, Horse and Wammawink are basically the only ones who get sufficient development to feel like real characters capable of carrying impactful moments, and the rest of the crew are basically walking punchlines - even speedrunning their respective Tragic Backstories doesn't do much to strengthen them, because in the present of the show they're fundamentally joke characters incapable of emotional subtlety. It kinda feels like if a Looney Tunes episode randomly dropped a flashback to baby Daffy Duck being moses'd into the bullrushes as if that mattered to how he functioned now. Plus, once we start jumping back to the Real World again, it turns out all those characters are also wacky in their own way - lots of very quippy dialogue and self-referential humor. Instead of Horse feeling broadly representative of her world's tone, she feels like the most serious character in the entire show - at least until season 2 where her dialogue starts being 50% fart jokes by volume.

Overall I think I loved what they set up in season 1, but not how they paid it off in season 2. There's the themes they establish in season 1 of how centaurworld has a cartoonifying effect on everyone who comes there, and the way this plays to Horse early on is full on cartoon body horror - a realistic horse slowly and inexorably transforming into a parody of itself. I thought that was a fascinating way to frame it, and it was nightmarish to contemplate! It comes to a really strong head in the Whaletaur Shaman episode when her friends seem to finally realize how much she's been struggling and suffering and how, despite it looking like a big joke to everyone, it's profoundly unfunny to her. But while she gets a nice emotional resolution at the end of that episode, the underlying horror is never addressed again. She still seems unhappy with her new cartoon body, but the transformations are from this point forward framed as uncomplicated positives that everybody thinks are funny.

It's purposefully blending comedy and horror together, but the execution feels like the disparate ingredients are hindering each other's effectiveness. The horror stuff rarely gets sufficient gravity and is just left as Hey Look Horrifying Implications, and the jokes are often undermined by all the seriousness left lying around. It's a flavor combination that doesn't work for me.

And then the stuff with the Deertaur and the Princess is incredibly interesting and profound and tragic, and I don't understand why it's happening in the same show as everything else?

Also, this is a minor nitpick, but the musical numbers were astounding in the first season but seemed to experience some sort of weird categorical downgrade in season 2. All the solid numbers were reprises from season 1.

Centaurworld was doing something very much on purpose, and I just don't think I got what that something was.

#asks #not aurora #media recs

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blitzor0de0 · 2 months

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That Saint Peter fic was so cute! Like really, REALLY cute! Maybe you should consider continuing it? With Reader being redeemed and going to heaven? Maybe they die like Sir Pentious when fighting against Adam and spawn in heaven?

this one kinda flopped in my mind, but I hope it's bearable to read !! enjoy!

cw: gn reader, spoilers of episode 8, a little gore to the reader (reader death),,, uhhh lmk if there's something I missed, not proof-read at ALLL!!

word count: 1.8k

part 1 part 3 part 4

Daylight (Saint Peter x Redeemed!Reader)

The final battle was upon you, flurries of executioners surrounded the hotel. But thankfully due to Alastor’s shield, you alongside your fellow residents were able to kill them, one after one after one.

Your heart was racing, adrenaline pumping through your veins, the stench of the angel’s golden ichor singed your nostrils.

But before you knew it, Sir Pentious had sacrificed himself, immediately being blown to smithereens by Adam’s power. You couldn't stand to watch it, your weaknesses bubbling up as you choked back a sob.. The remaining Egg Boiz, would they be okay? Were they okay? You snuck off to see if any reminder of Sir Pentious was still around, allowing a few stray tears to fall.

Unbeknownst to you, alongside everyone else at the battle site, there was one stray angel, grasping onto their last moments of life, as you called out for the Egg Boiz, you found none of them, cracked eggshells seemed to be everywhere you looked. It grew harder to swallow, there had to be at least one..Right?

Dashing through some rubble your search was about to continue but you felt a sharp pain. You froze in place, looking down, breathing stuttering. Piercing your chest was one of the angel's tridents…Straight through the heart.

“What…?” You weakly spoke, turning with whatever energy you had left to face the angel, a dark smile on their face before they succumbed to their injuries.

It didn't take long for you to fall to your knees, gasping for whatever breath you could find. Your mind was in a panic. This couldn't be it. You can't die alone, you never even got to tell Charlie or the others goodbye.

Silent tears streamed down your cheeks. At least you tried your best. Right?

People in life always lied when they said death was painless, your first one sure as Hell wasn't, and neither was this one. You guess it's just their way of dwelling the fear of inevitable death, if only they knew.

A warm heat overtook your senses as brightness enveloped your vision.

What?

Looking around you saw the two Serafim you met a few months back and…Sir Pentious?

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit it worked!

Redemption worked! Charlie's a fucking genius.

Sir Pentious called your name in surprise, “You're here too? Oh no, that must mean.. Did Adam get you too?”

“I.. Pentious..” You were utterly speechless, but so were Sera and Emily. Not one but two sinners redeemed in such a small period of time. Perhaps they really did underestimate Charlie’s ability to fulfil her dream.

After relaying what happened to you after Pentious died, the Serafim discussed how to assimilate to your new lives, Emily in particular helped the two of you get situated.

And within enough time, you were ready to start your second afterlife.

It took you a few days to get yourself situated, too busy dwelling and moping about, lost in thought about your old life. You wondered how long it took everyone down in Hell to notice you had died, if they even felt sad, or even remorse. But you couldn't live in this rut for the rest of your afterlife, you were in Heaven now, everything screamed optimism and positivity. You had to get out there and mingle, make new friends. With a huff, you made yourself presentable before leaving your new home.

Wandering the streets, you heard whispers,

“Has anyone seen Adam recently?”

“No seriously, it's been a little too quiet around here.”

“Forget him, did you see how battered up Lute was? Missing an arm and everything!”

Well that was certainly interesting information, it filled you with a sense of pride. Charlie must've won! Adam had to be dead, but Lute survived? Probably at the hands of Vaggie, you thought.

Before you knew it, you were somewhere familiar, the plaza. Not only that, the ice cream parlour you went to with Saint Peter was just across the street.

Your eyes widened. Wait.. Saint Peter! You hadn't seen him yet since your arrival, a fault on your behalf but still, you had to find him. Would he be pissed that you were here, or happy?

Approaching some friendly looking angels you asked, “Excuse me! Have you seen Saint Peter around?” Voice wavering in anxiousness.

“Hmm? Oh Peter? Oh about this time he should still be at his post but should be taking a break in liiiike five mins or something so if you wanna wait for him by the gates, go ahead!” One angel replied, grinning.

“Thank you so much!” You quickly turned on your heel, heading in the direction of the gates, hearing a small comment from the other angel,

“I woulda thought they would've been looking for a loved one, not Peter of all people. Weird. OW! Hey, I'm just saying!!”

That angel was correct, by the time you made it to the gates -a little out of breath from the speed you were walking- Peter was heading inside for his break.

He was humming to himself but halted as he set eyes upon your new form.

He called out your name, “What.. What are you doing here? If you were visiting you should've come through the gates like you did last time. Besides what's with this new outfit? Looks gorgeous on you, but it looks as though you're cosplaying an angel!....Ooohhh” The realisation of the situation just slapped him in the face. Hard.

Approaching you and holding your face in his hands, he took a real good look at you, causing a blush to spread across your cheeks from the sudden contact.

“Haha.. Hi Peter. Um, guess it happened I got redeemed..? All it took was me dying..again.”

He releases his grasp on your face, eyebrow quirked. You pouted from the loss of contact before meeting his concerned gaze. “But!! It's nothing to worry about! Haha.. Just.. A surprise attack from an exterminator. I guess all that hard work in the hotel came in handy, huh?”

Peter's look of concern refused to falter throughout your explanation, his eyebrows furrowed, almost as if he was lost in thought.

“Y’know, once you left last time there were all sorts of rumours about exterminations and Adam being heavily involved. I refused to believe they were true, why would my fellow angels do such a thing but… I suppose it was true all along. Oh, dear I'm so sorry..” His peppy attitude seemed to completely fade as he spoke, you felt guilty for even unloading it at him, seeing the angel upset made your heart pang.

“But,” He continued, a hand coming up to caress your cheek, “at least that redemption worked, I knew I could believe in you. I'm so proud!” You leaned into his touch, who knows how long it had been since you were treated as if you were a porcelain doll, so fragile, so tender.

“Thank you.. Really. I think your belief in me when we first met really helped.. In fact, the thought of you brought me great guidance in rough times, but that's embarrassing to admit..” You nervously laughed. The stars in Peter's eyes as you spoke didn't go unnoticed.

You had gathered from your initial meeting that Peter wasn't typically the one to be on the receiving end of attention, let alone compliments. After all, you were the first being to have asked his name at the gates.

“Also,” You continued, “It probably looks pretty strange to others just seeing us chat just outside your post, c’mon, let's go get some ice cream like last time, my treat this time okay?” With that you took his hand and started heading back towards the plaza.

Peter stared at where your hands connected, uncharacteristically quiet.

Truth was, ever since your meeting, he had hoped and wished for you to show up at the gate again, for another meeting, being redeemed or even just to see him. Logistically, he knew it was impossible for that last option, you didn't have the ability to open the portals between the two worlds, but a part of him hoped that you would just appear before him one day.

And you finally did, despite his earlier ramblings, Peter felt almost shell shocked, he dreamt of the two of you meeting again, but now it was finally happening, all rational thinking had left his mind.

After you had left the ice cream parlour to go to the Serafim meeting, some angels approached Peter with demeaning questions.

'Why were you being so friendly to a sinner? You know they're down in Hell for a reason.'

'They were probably feeding you lies and sob stories weren't they?'

'Don't let them get to you, Saint Peter, we can't have you falling.'

But falling he did, not in the sense of turning to a life of sin, how could he ever? Without your knowledge, you had the Keeper of the Key wrapped around your finger.

Before he even realised, the two of you had made it to the parlour, feeling a small sense of déjà vu.

The two of you ordered and took your seats, everything seemed to be identical to your first meeting, and your conversations were as fluid as thought, almost as if the two had known one another for your entire existence(s).

What you found was that Saint Peter’s life seemed rather monotonous, yet he still managed to keep such a peppy attitude, guess that's how he became an angel in the first place, a lust for life.

Saint Peter’s break came and went in the blink of an eye. It almost disappointed you when he spoke about heading back to work. Did this moment ever have to end? You wondered to yourself.

Being the kindred spirit you were, you walked him back to the gates, fingertips occasionally brushing one another, but it didn't feel awkward. No, in fact it felt natural, as if there was some sort of invisible string pulling the two of you together.

“Do you have to go?” You spoke softly once the two of you reached the gates.

“You know I have to, besides, it's not like it's our presumed last meeting like last time, right?” He chuckled.

“Yeah.. I suppose so, we could see each other every day if we so wanted.” You smiled, not noticing the gap between the two of you closing.

Tentatively, he pressed his lips to yours. You could feel your heart flutter, it felt like one of those romantic kisses in a fairytale despite only lasting a few seconds. The kiss was filled with the warmth of a thousand suns embracing you in a tender hug.

"Peter.." You gasped out, face growing red as he pulled away.

"That wasn't too much was it? Ahhh sorry!" He panicked, but before he could sputter any more apologies, you pressed your lips to his, a chaste one, just to quiet him down.

“I'll see you once your shift is finished, okay?”

Peter’s mind was spinning, he could only nod pathetically, causing you to giggle. If his pupils could turn to hearts they would.

You turned on your heel, waving a little goodbye to him. “See you soon, Peter!”

“See you…”

Needless to say, Saint Peter’s mind was quite occupied for the rest of the day, causing many frustrations amongst the newcomers.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #hh x reader #saint peter #hazbin hotel saint peter x reader #hazbin saint peter #hazbin hotel saint peter #saint peter x reader #saint peter x you #saint peter x yn #hazbin hotel x you #blitzor0de0

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cienie-isengardu · 2 months

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Sokka's sexism

Sokka’s sexism from the earliest episodes is an interesting case, because the Southern Water Tribe, at least from what was presented to us on screen, doesn’t seem to operate that much on gender roles? Especially when compared to the Northern Water Tribe?

I mean, yeah, warriors (men) went to war, while women, children and the elders stayed at home. But as Hama’s story shows, when Fire Nation attacked Southern Water Tribe, both female and male benders were fighting against invaders arm to arm and it seems like they were the actual first line of defense there, not the non-bender warriors.

In contrast, during siege of North Pole, in the final of Book 1: Water, we don’t see any female bender helping defend their home except Katara, who was involved in protecting Aang when he was in Spirit World.

Since all the waterbenders were captured from the Southern Tribe, it makes sense that non-bender warriors stepped in and got involved with war, while the kids and elders were left under women’s care.

Another example comes from “a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery and trust”, known as ice dodging. As Bato explained, it is a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members and in their village “done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs.” When a child turns 14, their father was supposed to take them to ice dodging, so they could earn their mark. Though the episode itself was focused on Sokka’s ceremony, Bato never specified it as something that boys alone should do and not only Katara (girl) but also Aang (outsider) is allowed to take part in the ritual. Once Sokka proved himself, everyone of their group got a mark, as a sign they passed the test. Interesting thing to note, since Bato did not specify it is a rite of passage for boys alone, it suggests girls were expected to know how to sail in boats of the Southern Water Tribe. Of course, again, war didn’t allow to continue this tradition as men (Hakoda, in case of Sokka & Katara) left to fight against Fire Nation.

Later, when Sokka and Katara reunited with their father, Hakoda did not try to send away Katara nor relegate her to just a medic job during the invasion. In Northern Water Tribe episodes, we learned that teaching for waterbenders there was defined by gender - women were allowed to learn only how to heal, while men how to use their bending in fight. Hakoda, nor Bato nor other of their warriors even for a moment questioned Katara’s presence on the battlefield nor the presence of women in the ranks of their allies like a blind, 12 years old Toph or the female water benders from Swamps or female(?) soldier from Earth Kingdom

And during battle, Katara did not fight in rank with other soldiers, she first alone secured Appa during submarine attack, then alongside her brother and father took down guardhouses - Hakoda himself told her and Sokka to attack one when he took down the other one

showing how much he trusted his 15 years old son and 14 years old daughter while ordering them attack on Fire Nation adult soldiers hidden in well guarder place.

Later, when Hakoda got seriously injured and Sokka temporary took the command of their forces, we could see that Hakoda relied on Katara to follow his troops and not ever once tried to send her back “to safety” or argued she should leave him behind, as often it happens with heroic (male) figures. Quite the opposite. When Katara offered him to “wait here if you want”, Hakoda firmly said “I want to press forward with the others”, which meant his daughter needed to come with him directly into an already ongoing fight (even if they stayed more at the rear of their army, they were still on battlefield).

She and her brother, alongside with the youngest members of Invasion, were forced to flee on Appa once the battle was lost, but no other adult woman was included. During Zuko’s coronation, when all war prisoners were released, in the background we could again see the female character(s) from Swamps.

And let's not forget how impressive Hakoda was by Suki when she single-handedly captured the warden at Boiling Rock prison and did not try to stop her from fighting against Ty Lee alongside Zuko and Sokka against Azula.

Understandably, we have no idea how the Southern Water Tribe and its culture looked like before the war, even arguably, the characters themselves may not have a clear idea due to growing up in dire times. But my point is, Hakoda and Bato, the two main adult Southern Water Tribe’s warriors that Avatar: The Last Airbender allowed us to know more about, have never shown any direct sexism toward Katara or other female characters. And though Sokka was the oldest boy at their village, there is no reason to think women did not hunt in absence of men, because one person would not be able to provide for a whole community 24/7. Also, as Hama proved, the Southern Water Tribe’s waterbenders were capable of fighting and their gender did not play any vital role the way it happened in their sister tribe at North Pole.

Of course, Fire Nation’s repeated attacks affected residents of South Pole and their living conditions but from the little bits the show gave us, I think it is correct to assume if Sokka grew up with Hakoda around to guide him as he should, his behavior would be different from the sexism and dismissive attitude toward Katara or Kyoshi Warriors. For one, logically thinking Southern Water Tribe’s warriors need to do all the cooking, sewing and keeping their camp clean all on their own during war so it is not a “girly job” but a vital part of a warriors skills to survive and ensure their equipment is in the best condition. But Sokka doesn’t know it, because there is no one to teach him the importance of those skills. All Sokka had was father’s farewell words to cling to - and I’m not sure if Hakoda truly expected his son to be able to protect Katara and the village in his absence, or he just tried to make Sokka feel a bit less depressed about being left behind. You know, by giving him purpose and a Big Important Job to focus on and to feel needed and trusted.

Which leads me to think that Sokka’s sexism is not rooted in Southern Water Tribe’s culture itself, but in his own insecurity and pressure of being the oldest boy in the village. If girls could be warriors - and be better than him - it would put into question all his self-worth, purpose and the trust given by father. Once Sokka met Kyoshi Warriors and later all the skilled girls, it challenged him on a very personal level, but he accepted the truth and moved on and alongside, finally became a true warrior and a man.

And I find it indeed an interesting case, as Sokka’s sexism and dismissal of girls is not necessarily stemming from the culture he is part of, but rather is the effect of not knowing said culture & pre-war history of his Tribe. And of course, from his own insecurity.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #sokka #hakoda #just some thoughts #because bato and hakoda seems pretty okay toward katara and include her in rite of passage for sokka and invasion battle #like her age and gender doesn't matter #with dad and dad's friend (bato) like that where comes sokka's dismissal?#so i guess this is about sokka's insecurity and growing up without father to guide him #good suki straighten sokka up pretty quickly #i'm pretty sure SWT has some sense of gender roles but not so strict take like northern water tribe #no arranged marriages and no true aristocracy and waterbenders being fighters and so on #sokka though lives in destroyed by war tribe to understand yet what was done to his community i guess?

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yellowbunnydreams · 7 months

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Mechanised Devotion (Part 1) ~Steve Raglan/William Afton x Female Reader~

~ Please be nice to me, this is my first time writing fanfiction in a while and honestly have just been experiencing the phenomena that is Matthew Lillard as William Afton. Also, first time posting on tumblr! Also thinking of making this a multi-part series, so feedback is really appreciated!~

CW: Minors DNI, (18+ ONLY), afab reader, legal age gap (Reader- 20's, William - 40's), mention of crimes and violence, blood, mentions of child death (it's FNAF, what did you expect?), past trauma; abusive relationships.

When it had been suggested by your previous manager that you should see a career counsellor, you had thought it was a funny joke. You had laughed at the idea of something such as going to see another human being who's job was solely to tell you what jobs you were good and qualified for.

Until the paperwork had been handed over in an unsealed manila envelope letting you know that you had been terminated.

Unemployment had hit you like a truck, but without the pay-out that might have come from the trucking company. Filing paperwork to try and get even a few dollars a week to survive and contribute towards your house-share whilst already struggling to try and push through college had fallen by the wayside and you had been hitting the pavement both physically and online to try and find your next job.

That perfect one that was sure to turn up the next day, or maybe the next week.

But as somewhat expected, that moment had never arrived and neither did that job. So it was with great reluctance that you found yourself in a drab beige building with the occasional sound of human misery making the area feel like anybody was left alive in the room despite the faint clicking of the keyboard from the receptionist.

'Would it have killed them to put a small plant or something in the room?' You found yourself thinking as you looked around, almost missing the gesture from the receptionist lady who scowled over her glasses at you and handed you a slip of paper.

"Your councillor will see you down the hall, third door on the left."

"Thanks ma'am." your voice was quiet, and the woman scoffed before shooing you away with her somewhat ridiculously long nails. You wondered how she managed to do anything with them, but your thoughts quickly turned to the office you were supposed to find as you set off quickly down the hall.

The walls were beige, the floors were beige and you were minorly impressed that they had found somewhat beige doors as you moved down the hall cautiously. But the door you needed seemed almost comically like an old episode of Scooby-Doo where it was easy to tell what object was going to be interacted with due to the significantly different colours and quality of drawing. For some reason, the one door you needed was a nice deep wooden colour, although you seriously doubted it was real wood in a place like this. It took you a moment to breathe deeply, steeling your nerves and running your hand through your hair to tidy it up a bit, hand smoothing down your skirt before reaching up and knocking.

There was sound of shuffling from inside before a smooth, warm voice that came from inside though slightly muffled. "Come on in!"

Entering slowly, you blinked as you spotted a man sat at the desk infront of you, his hair peppered with greys despite being a cool brown colour and his slightly gaunt face adorned with greying stubble. Glasses perched on the end of his nose, which he looked over the rim of to see you before reaching up and pushing them back onto his face with his index finger, standing up with a warm, lopsided smile. What surprised you next was how tall he was. The guy was easily over six feet tall, and you felt dwarfed by his sheer size, broad shoulders accentuated by a neat by rumpled beige plaid shirt and a neatly knotted tie.

"You're my new client right? Come on in! Sit, sit!" he gestured to the cracked plastic chair opposite the desk with a large hand before extending it to shake your own, hand engulfing yours and allowing you to feel how rough and calloused they were compared to your own.

'How does an office worker get such rough hands?' you wondered as you took a seat, hands automatically tucking your skirt underneath you as you sat in the hard plastic chair. Blushing as you felt the man's grey eyes wandering over your appearance with something akin to disinterested amusement before he opened a folder and made a humming noise as he scanned it.

It allowed you to look around his office, noticing several framed diplomas on the walls, surprised by the amount of colour in the room with the warm wooden bookcase and even the occasional muted purplish-blue folder dotted amongst the shelves. You noted his room smelt like coffee, both freshly brewed and stale grounds somehow, a faint smell of smoke and cologne. Sniffing quietly, you wondered if perhaps the person who had sat there before you had been a smoker and worn some cologne to try and impress. But you supposed that you had gotten dressed up yourself despite your scuffed up converse ruining the somewhat ill-fitting blouse and skirt giving some illusion of professionalism.

"So, what are we going to do with you?" His voice made you jump as you suddenly snapped your attention back to him. Heart pounding as you blushed, realising as he tilted his head slightly to one side that he had caught you off-guard and slightly snooping.

"Pardon sir?" You asked, swallowing softly as you met his gaze for a moment before you looked down at your hands again. Picking slightly at your nails and more specifically the pale blush nail polish you had hastily tried to apply yourself that morning to hide the fact that you bit your nails. He paused before sighing and leaning forwards onto his elbows, chin resting on his hands as he gave you a somewhat lazy smile.

"I asked, miss..." he glanced at the paperwork before letting your name roll off his tongue in a way that made your heart pound slightly. You weren't sure why it did, but some tiny part of your brain was eager to hear him say it again. "what I was going to do with you. You have a clean employment record...aside from all the dismissals due to.." He paused and pulled his glasses down to peer over them to stare the text, his lips moving silently as he read before putting his attention back onto you. "it says here 'staffing issues and personal life interferance'?" Raising a quizzical eyebrow

"I um... I had some issues at home at that time Mr..." Glancing down at the nameplate on his desk, you realised he had never formally introduced himself to you apart from the handshake. "Raglan. I'd rather not talk about it."

"Well, I can't help you find a job if you don't help me help you." The man you now knew as Steve Raglan sighed, giving you another one of those lopsided smiles that made you feel like you were talking to a sweet, disappointed but supportive dad and gave you a pang in your chest that you might be letting this total stranger down.

"You don't have to tell me today, but I want to see you next week and I want you try to open up, tell me about what was going on and I might be able to offer something." Steve offered, gesturing to his pile of potential job prospects. You weren't aware that he was looking at you again, wondering if you purposely had chosen something that obscured your body-type and meant you weren't confident in yourself, or whether financially you had chosen what option was available.

The way you sat there meekly and picking at your nails was somewhat infuriating as he wanted to demand you looked at him when he spoke, but he remained calm. You were probably his most interesting client to date, hunching in on yourself and avoidant of filling in the blanks that your open ended statement had left. He decided he would lay on the charm slightly, see what got you to cave in and perhaps provide some amusement as his mind whirled with too many ideas and desire to move, do something and be far more active than his life as Steve Raglan allowed.

"I guess I'll see you next week then, thank you having me Mr. Raglan." you spoke softly and stood up. Watching as the hulking man stood too and opened the door with a somewhat sad smile, like he was watching a bright student walk down the wrong path in life.

"Of course, please, take this and give me a call if you would like to talk about this matter sooner. I hate to see a young woman like yourself go to waste because of one little hiccup." Another pang went through your chest as he spoke. He really did seem dissapointed in you, and some how, you found that you wanted to please the man you had met barely half an hour before.

As you walked down the corridoor, his eyes lingered on your smaller retreating form and tilted his head to one side, licking his lips to wet them for a moment in thought. He hoped whatever you were hiding from his was worth his time, and would perhaps find him another fun thing to play with.

#william afton x reader #steve raglan #steve raglan x reader #fnaf movie #fnaf x reader #william afton #springtrap #springtrap x reader #purple guy #william afton x you #william afton smut

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twinkrundgren · 2 months

Text

a weeks worth of work... for a show i love to hate, and hate to love.

over the course of getting stockholmed into enjoying the setting of hazbin hotel, i ended up liking angel dust the most. even if he's an annoying gay stereotype with the most cliche'd backstory possible, at its heart i still like him and see potential for a three dimensional character if he was just written better. i think he's a fan favorite for a reason, despite his cliches: he's charismatic, funny, and pathetic with probably the only backstory taken seriously by the story.

he's also the only one to go through real character development in a breezy 8 episodes, being probably the only upstanding member of the hazbin hotel by the end of season 1 but my critiques on pacing and writing are better left to my friend robin who's a lot better versed in analysing *why* hazbin's writing is so bad.

anyway, here's a portfolio-worthy turnaround of my angel dust redesign. a lot of it was just making him more spider like, for the most part aside from all the random spots on his body i think his design is pretty well done but it could be stockholm again. read more cause its an essay on all the design choices i made

one of the main things i did was flesh out his head shape: for a long time angel dust's head shape felt like the worst of drawing for 2d, his hair and tufts are so entirely cheated to the side no matter the angle that it was impossible to understand what he'd look like at every angle, so i simplified it to a half circle shape where his big hair tuft is just overlayed on top, cheated to the side no matter the angle unless he's looking up/down, where i drew what i think those angles would look like.

he also now has spider fangs at the sides of his mouth, with one gold to match valentino's gold tooth. since spiders don't have teeth, he doesn't either, but can be drawn with some if the expression needs it (though i noticed that stolas is never drawn with teeth no matter his expression, so maybe that's not needed.)

instead of a bowtie he has a choker with a cock ring on it. you know what its referencing.

the spider thorax is attached a bit higher up than a tail would be, not only because of actual spider anatomy but to give him enough room to get dirty as his career requires him to do. it can flip up as well, i imagine its very manipulable.

leg designs were mostly to specify the sort of rhythm and curving i want his legs to work at. it's not perfect, but i think if someone was drawing from this reference they'd have a good understanding of how i want his legs to be drawn. they're one of my favorite aspects of his design and i think specifying how they'd bend is very important.

fun fact: i thought i made his legs too long, but comparatively to the canonical design he's a LOT more leggy. i even think you could get away with giving him more leg and the design still feels proportional.

#hazbin hotel redesign #angel dust redesign

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olderthannetfic · 1 year

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i was listening to the fanficmaverick podcast episode you did on fanfiction history, in which you mentioned (~55 min in) that you were one of the main people writing the terms of service for AO3 and bringing up the types of "would this be allowed" test cases, that these were not "oh it's a slightly problematic kink" but "violent snuff porn of gillian anderson, not scully, but gillian anderson" — and that you all eventually landed on "kinda gross, but legal in the US, and therefore would host." question: was this the most contentious case? any other memorable/notable test cases, or other interesting discussions you can remember?

i'd also love to hear more about how the major archive warnings were decided on — on what basis were these chosen? which others were considered? — if you happen to know!

sincerest thank you for all the work you've done for fandom and the preservation of fandom history. ❤️ seriously, such a feat, and so interesting!

I think even then my personal level of wallowing in annoying wank or looking at horrifying fic was vastly higher than everyone else's, so this was pretty much the example we looked at.

Though, if you want to laugh, astolat's original post is still up on LJ with the comments, and there were totally people going "I'd be interested in this new archive project, but not if it includes RPF!" or "Not if it includes any underage fic at all!" etc.

On usenet in the 90s, there was somebody or somebodies who were reaaaaally into that specific type of snuff story. I remember noticing how many of them involved not only hangings but very specific imagery of one high heel falling off. I was 13, so I really couldn't tell you if it was one dude with a specific fetish or genuinely super widespread. But it made an impression.

The alt.sex.stories hierarchy was a wild time.

Anyway, in practice, badwrong RPF of female celebs that sounds like it's aimed at straight dudes ends up on fetish sites for whatever the fetish is, not on fic archives for the most part, but I thought it was a useful example because it was so far into actually offensive to AO3y types. We're not talking the weaksauce shit people are always asking me about on here like "Oooh, what if someone posted [bog standard slash trope] to AO3?" as though it's a gotcha.

Man... were there other test cases? I'm trying to remember. This was all in like 2008, and of course, I didn't keep internal documents when I left OTW. Not that half of this was stuff I'd have had documented on my computer anyway.

My memory is that the general shape of the content policy had been decided by the founding Board before Content Policy started up. I don't think we were actually making the ruling on RPF ourselves.

I'm pretty sure most of what we were up to was looking at wank and trying to determine how to head off shitty behavior with the ToS. Trying to define harassment is a mega pain in the ass, let me tell you.

One major internal wank there was was deciding whether to allow Original Work. I was the one who'd been in anime fandom, and I was very used to archives that have an original section, often for the "original slash" and "original yaoi" that had nowhere else to go at the time. (These days, you'd just become a "m/m romance" author, as I in fact have.) Fanfiction.net had spun off its original years ago at that point, but a lot of the non-English archives and a lot of the archives in other parts of English-speaking fandom found fannish-but-original to be a normal thing.

I am a grudgy bitch, and I am still not over how much pushback I got on this.

AO3 went live with a ban on original work, but the policy never ended up being heavily enforced. We waited to see what would happen with posting, and it was predictably that people from those backgrounds outside of US Media Fandom posted some original without even thinking it might be banned, but they didn't post so much it overwhelmed the archive.

The big fears had been that #1 people would flood AO3 and drown out the fic. This was predicated on the idiotic notion that original = inherently not fannish, so there's no dividing line. In reality, the people who were used to posting original to fic archives had an internal sense of what belongs and what doesn't. Fear #2 was that people would try to post chapter 1 of a commercial story and then go "See here to buy the rest". Little did we know that this would soon be a problem with fucking fan fiction itself. (Also, commercial spam was always against the rules and needed no extra anti-original work rule.)

People didn't just disagree with me: they looked at me blankly.

Pretty sure I vented about this on that podcast too though. Anyway, most of the shit people find contentious now was already decided before we started writing the ToS, I think... though I don't really remember clearly. We were more looking to plug up holes in the rules that nitpicking trolls could use to harass.

The kinds of things we were deciding were often like the policy that AO3 doesn't necessarily tell you if someone reported you. If they need info, they'll contact you, and if they decide you broke the ToS, you'll hear about it, but obviously bogus reports don't get passed on. This is to remove the temptation to use the team as a proxy to harass a target. An official e-mail, even if it's "You're fine, actually", can be disturbing.

Re the warnings themselves, I know I'd done a survey of what archives were out there at the time and had come up with a list of a few dozen. This was early on in OTW's development process, not just for Content Policy. You can still find the list somewhere on that LJ group. Anyway, for the ToS writing, we looked at the commonplace warnings from archives past, which were basically character death, character death, and also character death.

It always cracks me up when people are like "Um, rape makes sense, but how dare they downplay these other bad things with a character death warning?" Old fandom places were full of unwarned for rape, but woe betide the person who posted surprise character death of a main ship!

We needed an under-18 warning because we had a lot of Australian fans who were like "Dude, my government is a bitch, and I cannot use this archive at all if I can't filter that out". Past archives had mostly just banned it entirely or been full of death eaters raping teenage Harry Potter characters with nary an underage warning in sight.

I don't remember why we picked the violence one. It really wasn't common, but maybe we wanted to make a philosophical point that sex doesn't have more cooties than violence.

CNTW was a compromise with older fandom standards where people objected to literally any warnings existing. A lot of the really oldschool warnings debates aren't about which ones you should have but about whether you should have them at all.

I think people around here miss how non-universal warnings are and how many other communities and spaces even today don't think you need all that.

I don't recall if we seriously considered any specific others. I don't think we had a big list, then ruled them out. It's more like we accreted a few must-haves as we went along. We probably looked at the metadata for the eFiction archives that actually had ticky boxes for search (as opposed to the very low-metadata norm on many archives). But a lot of those filters would have been fandom-specific or redundant or hella vague.

One thing to keep in mind is that this was an Era of Archives, so there were fucktons of examples to look at, though only a few flavors of example since a bunch used eFiction or otherwise copied each other's design. It was possible to make some judgements about past norms on archives, not just go "Are we copying FFN or not?" A lot of fans now see fic hosting as the big three or see AO3 as the only option, but we were used to having many archives with many designs.

I know we wanted a short and manageable list of warnings, and we wanted unambiguous things that could be effectively enforced. If I'm populating my hard-coded 90s website with other people's fics, I can go through each for dubcon before I post it (not that you'd ever have warned for dubcon in the 90s). On a big fic archive, making judgement calls on vague ass categories like dubcon is a nightmare.

We did do some focus groups where other interested fans came in and critiqued our work. I can't recall how much was about our ToS wording and how much was about the actual policies. But we did workshop this shit extensively with people who were around at the time. I think many of the whiners now assume it wasn't enough of a community effort (since we didn't decide things they like). But actually, a bunch of people weighed in. Maybe elf remembers what we actually asked them. I think she was in a focus group.

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undermine-the-instinct · 1 year

Text

Stop looking at me with those eyes!! Pt l | Pt ll | Pt lll

Characters: Itadori, Megumi, Nobara, Toge, Maki, Todo, Miwa.

Characters are aged up, early to mid twenties!!

Warnings: Reader is GN but could be read as more feminine leaning, i.e wearing dresses, having painted nails. Spicy times are alluded to, directly insinuated in Miwa's part. Use of vibrators/edging. Minors DNI.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Forget doe eyes. This boy {Yuuji} has these beautiful, wide, wet eyes like a newborn baby cow and it makes you soo angry. He's too freaking cute like get out of here with that!!

Your #1 simp. Cheerleader. Hype man. The type to run in front of you to get the door and announce your arrival like you're a monarch (in his eyes you are). Whether or not it's pre or after Sukuna he is sick over you. You're just so hot and pretty and amazing and he's the one who gets to be with you and he's just so grateful.

The eyes are out all the time and Nobara always makes a 'bleh' face. (she secretly fangirls over you two though in private, megumi told you).

He will carry you so your feet don't touch the ground ever. He will fluff your pillows and refill and watch your drinks and give actual advice when you want him to critique your looks. You're always beautiful but he'll tell you what enhances your beauty.

"I think this one is too short."

"Yeah. It's gonna ride up your ass when you walk. Not that one." You strip off the dress in front of him and smile when his eyes immediately turn to stare.

"The blue one then? Or the purple one?"

"...Which purple one again?"

You try to stifle your smile. "The one without sleeves, love."

"Why not the red, shiny one? That one is good."

"Red is kinda stereotypical, right? I don't wanna look too slutty and have guys keep approaching me."

Yuuji is pouting when you look at him, but his eyes haven't left your form.

"Wear it. You look so good in it, I'll be with you."

"That's more trouble for you then when people assume I'm free."

"It's fine." He whines. "It's okay, you can dress slutty, I can fight." You burst out into laughter. Yuuji perks up, and soon his laughter is joined in with yours.

There are tears in your eyes and you try to make sure they don't fall, you don't want the makeup to run. Yuuji's eyes are shining, he's looking at you like it's the first time all over again, and he gets up from his seat and practically floats over to you.

"Hey~ Stop looking at me with those eyes, Yuuji," you tease. He doesn't say anything though and just picks you up with a squeal from you. He rests his chin on your chest and fixes you with that stare, his heart in his eyes.

You run your hands through his hair, soft and pink. His roots were starting to show, he needs a touch up soon. You'll help him, of course. "You're such a sap, Yuuji."

He grins, and presses a kiss to your skin. "Only for you, love."

* ☆ * ☆ * ☆ *

Pretty, pretty eyes. You could get jealous over those lashes, but for however shy he is, {Megumi} always calls you beautiful. He doesn't want you to think he thinks of you as any less than that. And, seriously, you and Megumi are that one couple you see in the street that are just too pretty to believe.

Secret starer. Much like Itadori, he likes to look at you, you're just so amazing and kind and sweet and capable and you're his and– Oh fuck you caught him look away.

Remember in the last episode where Nobara was beating up Yuuji and he pulled his collar to cover his face? Yeah, that's him every time you catch him. His face gets all red and cute and it's too adorable for you not to mess with him.

"Caught you lookin'." Megumi just pulls his collar up higher, but doesn't quite hide how even his ears are red.

"I was just glancing. I don't know why you're making a big deal out of this."

You grin. "I'm not, but you seem pretty defensive. It's okay if you like what you see."

"I wasn't looking."

"You just said you were glancing."

"In your direction. Not at you."

"You're such a liar, Megumi!!" You slap his arm, and press up to him, so that no matter what, he is all you see and hear.

"You're too close."

"I'm not close enough." Your arms wrap around his shoulders and you can count every lash in his eyes, his pores (kinda big. Stress, you two need to do masks), and the twitch of his mouth. He's so cute you can't help pressing a kiss to his mouth.

"Stop looking at me with those eyes." He's pouting when you move back, and you're sure your eyes are shining, that he could see his reflection in them.

"Oh? I'm just returning the favor? You were checking me out." He clicks his tongue and tries to move away, flustered, but you tighten your hold, lower your voice.

"It's okay, Megumi, you can look. I don't mind."

His face is soo red, but he finally looks at you, pretty eyes fluttering like butterfly wings.

"I look at you all the time you know. You're so hot and your eyes are so pretty, even with your spiky sonic the hedgehog hair. I just keep thinking about just pulling you somewhere and doing something to you." His eyes widen as you continue on, and you see him struggling but he doesn't look away.

"Is that what you think of when you look at me? Is that why you get so embarrassed? It's okay, you don't need to, even if you look so cute all shy and stuff. You've already seen everything so–"

"Oh shut up already." Megumi sighs hard, breath washing over your face. His hands wrap around your waist, tight, secure, and pull you out of his space. You wiggle to get back but he holds you in place.

Ooh. He's in a mood.

"Stop playing with me. You like to tease too much."

"But I don't see you denying what I said? I'm right, aren't I?"

Still glaring at you, and stilled faced, he speaks.

"Thats it. I'm canceling date night."

Your eyes blow open.

"Wait, what, no! We planned this a week ago, we can't-"

"We're staying inside tonight."

Oh?

Oh.

"Oh. Oh. Okay!" Megumi snorts at how quickly you perk up, happy and glowing in his hands. He only has time to smile back and squeeze before you both snap into attention, pulling back from each other.

"You don't have time for lovey-dovey when you're in a life-or-death situation!" Megumi has a spear in his hand, the blade would have gone between, or through, both of you with how close you two were.

You turn, and Maki is wearing a frown, hands on her hips. Panda is currently using Nobara like a baseball bat against Toge.

"Get back to training!"

You snap to salute, which doesn't help Maki's frown.

"Yes ma'am!" You sneak a glance back to Megumi, to see him already looking at you.

"Later?"

He nods. "Later."

* ☆ * ☆ * ☆ *

{Nobara} can act like she's annoyed with how often you stare but she's secretly loving it.

She's a prideful girl, and she's still a bit shy about showing exactly how much she loves you in public. She still throws herself into your arms whenever she sees you, and she holds your hands and kisses your cheek and wears matching nails and jewelry (yes, nails. She needs to see how the design looks first so you're her test subject).

But when you're giving her those wide, adoring eyes? Suddenly she gets all squirmy and blushy amd she has to force herself to meet your eyes! You love her! Obviously! Very, very much, and she won't be embarrassed about that.

But damn, you're shameless.

"Hey. Hey. Stop looking at me with those eyes."

"But I love you, I can't help it."

You're out on a group date with Megumi, Itadori, and their partners, and of course, you're currently at a karaoke bar. It's funny seeing Itadori metaphorically break down into tears during a love song, but you'd rather watch how the lights turn your girlfriend more into the effervescent goddess she is.

She tries not to squirm, but you see it, and grab her hand, and the lights still can't hide how her face flushes.

Suddenly, Itadori is at the table, and is pulling Nobara to get on stage, and you suspect she doesn't fight that hard.

You happily sit and watch her on stage, Itadori chose another love song, of course. She melts and gets into character as the song goes on, twirling and swaying, and around the second chorus, she catches your eyes again.

It suddenly all hits her, the situation, your lovesick eyes, but she continues on with hardly a hitch. And hey, if you're gonna look, she's gonna put on a show.

It's like a k-drama. She's singing on stage with Yuuji, who is serenading his own love, meanwhile every time she looks at you your eyes are on her with a smile on your lips. Shoujo eyes, she thinks, before she turns it up, sings louder, and points you out in the crowd.

The crowd jeers. And now it's your turn to blush as the crowd laughs and cheers and awws, and when Nobara finishes she fixes you with her own lovesick stare, just for you, and only for you.

* ☆ * ☆ * ☆ *

You and {Toge} are little shits together and the only reason why you mostly get away with it is because you've been blessed, with the true doe eyed gaze.

Any snide remarks or mishaps or pranks, you just turn the eyes towards your victims and they fold. Usually. Gojo-sensei always folds, but you only think it's because he thinks it's funny, your pranks and how he folds, and not because they actually work.

Of course, you use it in moderation, but Toge has mastered the look. He can't really speak, so he has to have other modes of communication. And he has levels for this.

First, he always has this soft boy look on his face, that just lowers your guard. Didn't work well when he had his hair up, but it's better nowadays. Then, it's the pleading eyes. If you want to resist, close your eyes, and run away.

Then it's the true doe eyes. The ones you often use together. 85% success rate, though there's ones these never work on. I.e Maki, Nanami-sensei, the principal. But then, and only Toge has this, there is the last level.

"Toge, no."

He doesn't speak, of course, but not because he can't. There are soft, sweet, innocent words he can use with you, but that's for special occasions, like anniversaries, or pillow talk, or shared baths.

You know he is looking at you with those eyes.

"Don't do this to me, Toge. Don't. Please. I need this." You close the fridge, and hold your pudding to your chest, grab a spoon.

"Please. You know I can't resist. I've been saving this. Please." He can't speak but you feel the silence, the expectation, he knows you will fold and he doesn't fill the air at all. The anticipation kills you.

"It's the last one, Toge." And, despite your common sense, you look.

Immediately, you're done, your back hits the fridge (something fell. You hope it doesn't spill) and you clutch the pudding tighter but it's too late.

The doe eyes have been turned up to eleven, you don't know how but his pupils are dilated, and there's a wet sheen to his eyes. The light reflects and makes them even shinier, and you have to resist. You have to be strong–

"Please?" Oh, God, no. He spoke, he spoke. He opens his eyes wider, and of course the devil looks so cute and innocent when he wants something.

"No!!! Stop looking at me with those eyes!!"

He just cocks his head all cute, the bastard, and takes a step closer. Defeat is imminent.

"..."

"No…" his mouth quirks like he wants to laugh but he holds on.

"...Please?"

"UGH!!" You scream. You bang your head back against the fridge (another thing fell) and hold it out to him. He snatches it in a millisecond, an impish grin on his face when you look back at him.

"You devil. You monster. Seducing me, exploiting me for your own sick desires–" a spoon is popped into your mouth, and you taste the pudding spread on your tongue.

"Share." He smiles, sweet again, and damn it. You love this gremlin.

He still ate most of the pudding later though.

* ☆ * ☆ * ☆ *

THIS GIRL COULD NOT HANDLE AFFECTION. {Maki} would fold and run the minute you got a little too sappy with her, in the beginnings of your relationship.

You've been together for a while, but she still gets loud and huffy whenever you get too sweet on her. Much like Nobara, only she's waaayy worse at handling it.

Of course, it's easier in private, she lets you gaze adoringly and pepper her in hugs and squeezes and kisses, and she returns them. Her love language though is more acts of service, and words of affirmation, which is great in the bedroom, and if you have mommy issues, but we digress.

But when Maki looks at you now? And when she's feeling frisky?

Oh My God, you've never seen siren eyes till you've seen Maki do them. Sharp and sultry and melting and fuuucck, your heart is beating so fast.

She's still much too shy to say it in public, but she's very much the 'come sit in my lap' type. You know what she wants when she has that look, so you spare her some dignity and plant yourself down.

"You could've come dancing with me."

"You know I'm not the type. I like watching you though." She joined you at this nightclub, even if she can't get drunk (crazy metabolism), and sports some fruity drink she holds to your lips. She wipes a drop from your mouth when she takes it away.

"You don't mind when I dance with other people?"

"No. You can dance, but I know you won't cross the line and go too far." She plays with the edge of your sleeve, and when she looks up at you her eyes are so dark.

You lean in.

"Little liar. I see the way you look at me, it's making everyone too scared to approach."

"Well, good then."

"Not good. You won't dance with me so I have to find someone else. But you keep scaring everyone away. Stop looking at me with those eyes."

"Oh? Fine then. Give me something else to look at then." She smooths a hand up your thigh, squeezes your waist and brings you in closer.

"...I still wanna dance." Her hands toy with the edge of your clothing, lifting it a few inches.

"Really? You sure?" She nips at your jaw and grins when you jolt. You sigh hard, annoyed (not really).

"I get all dolled up to go clubbing, what's the point if we go back early?"

"Hm." Maki pretends to think, tapping a finger against your hip. "You're right, you're right. We'd still have our fun no matter what time we got home." You blush, but don't object.

She guides you off her lap gently, so she can stand up, your hand still in hers. She starts pulling you off to the dance floor. She grins, eyes all sultry and lovely.

"So come on, like I said. Give me something to look at."

* ☆ * ☆ * ☆ *

{Todo} is another #1 simp. I honestly think that if you don't check this man, he will go fully yandere on you so, keep an eye out people.

If Itadori worships you like his sovereign, Todo worships you as his God. His religion. The only faith he would ever bind himself to. This man would easily make merch of you, even if you're just a nobody and he will wear it in public, proudly.

When I tell you this man stares at you like you hung all the stars in the night sky, believe it. When I tell you this man would serve on you, hand and foot, believe it. Baby, you are the breath in his lungs and the beat of his heart, this man is obsessed with you. Good if you have abandonment issues or insecurity, but I understand if you feel it's too much.

But he is a himbo so…

"Baby. Stop looking at me with those eyes."

"Eyes? What eyes?"

"You know what you're doing! You need to look ahead!" If it weren't for his amazing senses and situational awareness, you think he would have tripped over his feet by now.

It's not too crowded, and you're just taking a walk together, hand in hand, but his eyes haven't left your face.

"Stop it!!"

"You're so beautiful today!" He looks like he's about to burst out in joy.

"You say that everyday." You huff, and brush a stray hair out of place.

"You're wearing a new outfit today though, and it really brings out your eyes."

You smile at him, and you see him melt, like chocolate.

"You always notice the little things. Thank you honey." For good measure you reach up and kiss his cheek, and only a squeeze from your hand keeps him upright. This man is swooning.

But suddenly, Todo straightens, and grasps your hands in his own. His eyes look battle ready, and are focused entirely on you. "I would give my life for you."

"...I know, baby."

"No, listen." He suddenly falls to his knees, but he's so tall you can still easily make eye contact. "I will give up my life for you. I will spend the rest of my life serving you."

"But you're my man, what am I supposed to do for you?"

"Allow me to always gaze upon your splendor, and stay your beautiful self. Forever."

"Hmm," You pull a hand back to put on your chin teasingly.

"I can assure you I'll stay amazing and glamorous forever, though I am a piece of art. I am forever changing shape and form, so I can't ever stay the same. Would you still love me then?"

"If you still love me, then yes. Whatever form you take, I will love and honor whatever emerges. If you will have me, of course." It's strange, and cute, to see such a strong, intimidating man look so blushy and sheepish, and your heart flutters, full. You're sure you have your own heart pupils now.

"Of course I will. I love you, and how you love me and take care of me. Of course I'll have you. I'll always want you."

You both are staring into each others souls, when suddenly, the people around you break out into applause, and you both look up to see a crowd has formed around you two, sharing 'awws' and other exclamations.

It dawns on you two quickly, and your faces both explode into red. Some people even have their phones out for goodness' sake!

"Let's get out of here." Todo stands, and in one fell swoop scoops you up, and you're off.

"These people dont deserve to even look at you!" You can't help laughing at the situation, and wrap your arms around his neck.

"When you actually propose you're going to have to beat that!"

"Of course," he grins. "I've been practicing since our first month anniversary. You'll love it, I know it."

* ☆ * ☆ * ☆ *

I know we probably all classify our girl mascot {Miwa} as sweet and shy and awkward and I agree with those headcanons, to an extent.

See, when Miwa is in a relationship, a stable loving relationship, she changes. She gets more comfortable, more open, more loose. More confident.

Of course, she's still bashful, shy sometimes. But when she doesn't have to fear rejection or backlash is when she really shines.

Seriously don't know how, but she's got this blend of Siren and Doe eyes. Somehow, she's found a way to blend them into this cocktail that you can't ever resist, and maybe she abuses it.

Just a little though.

She wants to leave this restaurant already. She knows you made a reservation and she's been having an absolutely lovely time, she loves her new dress and the food and how good you look, but this vibrator is driving her crazy, and she's gonna leave a wet stain on the cushion if this goes on any longer.

How are you so calm? You have your own vibrator, and somehow fiddled with the things so they both work with one remote, which you still have. You look cool as a cucumber, and only her training and willpower has kept her still with a pleasant face. A red one, but relatively relaxed.

Relatively.

"The eyes, darling." You cut up your food, and the lights make you look so soft and lovely.

"Stop giving me those eyes darling." She didn't know she was staring, but she can guess what look she has on her face. She tucks a lock behind her ear and doesn't drop her gaze.

You turn up the intensity, and Miwa has to bite her lips and lower her head to stifle any sign of what's going on. Her thighs squeeze together tight, trembling. You just laugh, low, dark and smooth that makes her gut warm.

Minutes past, and you lower it, but it just makes her hyperaware to what she's not getting. Slowly, covertly, she slips a foot out her heel. She traces it up you calf, past your knee. You give her a look as she rests it on your upper thigh. You don't react when she nudges closer, closer to where she knows you're aching to, but suddenly you swat her foot away.

"Okay, that's enough." She hears you say, under your breath, almost imperceptibly, and you stand. She slips her heel back on.

"Stand up, and drop your glass on the seat as you do it." She's almost too out of her mind to question you, but she does as you say, and even adds a gasp as the glass slips from her grasp. She did leave a spot, how embarrassing. Oh well.

Immediately a waiter comes over and you step forward to speak to him.

"I'm so sorry, I think my wife isn't feeling too well. I'll pay for this, is there any way we can take this to go?" Things are sorted out, and she leans against your arm as you tip your server, and you kiss her forehead, guide her to the car.

As soon as the door closes she sighs, leans back against the seat and lets her expression fall into pleasure, shoulders dropping. You laugh, and press your mouth to her jaw.

"Yeah, I couldn't handle the way you were looking at me."

"How are you so calm? I was dying back there." Before you can answer she's grabbing onto you, moving to straddle your lap.

"Fuck it, I'm dying right now." You laugh again, press a kiss to her shoulder.

"We're still in the parking space love, it's not long till we get home, you can wait." She groans, and gives you those eyes, a mix of pretty please and hurry the hell up then when she looks at you, trailing her hands down, down. Your tummy jolts under her hands, you groan.

You grab her hands before they go down further, a tremble in your sigh. You're just as worked up. "Wait, love. We have time." She pouts, but slides back into her seat, fixing her dress. It is a nice dress.

"Can we have the leftovers afterwards?" You chuckle, and start the car.

"Of course, honey."

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myluvrrhea · 4 months

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Hey, can you write about damian x reader reader going through a horrible depressive episode where her friends left her out, her mom passed away and he broke up with her, after finn and dom gave him their thoughts he went to her home to make things right for her and found her in a horrible state that made him take care of her like, prepare a bath and cook her dinner

Moonlight on the river | 1/2

Gif Creds

Pairings - Damian Priest x Reader

Word count - 1.1k

Warnings - Angst , Damian breaking up with you , Reader have the worst day tbh, Mentions of parent death , Just over all angst :((

NOT PROOFREAD

You sat in the bathroom stall. Tears quickly falling as you tried wiping them with your hands. Your breathing was out of control at this point and you couldn’t even control the tears that would fall onto your cheeks. You had been on a girls day with your friends , but it felt like you were the only one being left out. This was supposed to be something to distract you from the problems that had been going on. But today , you felt like a burden instead of a friend.

You tried brushing it off , thinking you had just been overthinking. But after a couple time of them ignoring you and eventually walking off in the middle of you talking. Which is how you ending up here. In a bathroom stall. Letting the tears that were begging to be released, falling onto your cheeks.

You eventually got the strength to open the bathroom stall, splashing you’re face with water. As you walked to your car , you saw a text ping on your phone. You felt a smile form onto your face as you saw Damian , you boyfriend had texted you. A smile that quickly faded when reading the seriousness of the text.

“We need to talk.” It read

Your face morphed into confusion as you realized what this text could mean. Did he want to break up with you? Did something happen to him? The seriousness of his text was unbelievable as he had never been like this before. But nonetheless, you drove your car to the house you and Damian shared.

Pulling up in the driveway, you saw the light to the bedroom was turned on. You got out of your car , walking over to the door. You unlocked the door and immediately walked upstairs to the bedroom you and Damian shared. Where you found Damian sitting in the front of it. He was fidgeting with his hands. What was he so nervous about? You thought.

“Hey whats up,” you asked seeing his nervousness.

“I think we should break up,” he spoke up. After a couple minutes of silence he finally spoke up again.

“We’re too different. And I feel like I cant love you if you cant love yourself. I mean , there’s other people that understad me in a million ways that I just think aren’t possible for you,” He finally looked up at me. He had a cold stare. You felt yourself shiver from the atmosphere of the room.

You were confused. Although You had always been insecure , you thought that Damian didn’t care that much about it. You thought he wanted to help you through these insecurities not slander you for them. But you were wrong.

“I-I,” You tried speaking , but Damian cut you off.

“I just think I cant be together with someone so insecure. Someone who cant bare to love themselves and cant love me the way I want to be loved.” He spoke. His voice was cold. Unfazed. He had no remorse for the things he was saying. And that made break.

Once he saw the tears shine in your eyes, he got up grabbing his bags and heading for the door. How could he be so cruel? You thought. All you could do was stand in the doorway as you felt him brush past you. Giving you one more looked he went downstairs. You soon heard the front door slam shut as his car unlocked. You felt like you were going to throw up your insides. No way your day could get shittier than this. But atlas, it did.

Your POV —

I took a shower feeling the tears threatening to fall. I tried to hold in my emotions. But thinking about the day and how I had been treated by someone I lived most , it was hard to say the least. I heard my phone buzz on the counter as I stepped put the shower. With shaky hands I picked up my phone and answered it. But I wasn’t prepared for what was said on the other side.

“Hello is this Y/N?” The person asked

“Yes this is she.. what do you need?” You began feeling worried.

“We are sad to inform you but , your mom (Moms Government name) has been hit by a drunk driver. She unfortunately passed away this morning. Im sorry we couldn’t get to you at that time—“ as she continued to speak, I felt myself getting dizzy. This couldn’t be happening. Not today. You thought.

Damians POV —

I walked into The Judgment Day’s locker room, getting ready for my match. But I noticed the atmosphere felt different. Dom and Finn were mostly quiet. They were never this way before?

“Guys tell me whats up why are you two so quiet?” I asked.

Dominik scratched his head as Finn opened his mouth to answer me.

“Look man we’ll talk after the promo,” Finn and Dominik both walked past me as I stared at them in shock.

After the promo , me , Finn , and Dominik walked back stage. Back to our locker room. I tried not to let my confusion get into the way of the promo, but I ofter found myself zoning out whole thinking about it. They had never acted this way towards me , so what made their feelings change?

I sat down on the locker room bench as I waited for Finn and Dominik to talk.

“Look we know about the Y/N situation..,” Dominik spoke first.

“And we dont think what you did was valid man , I mean did you know what happened to her mom that day, and the fact you put the weight of a breakup on her is just cruel..” Finn chimed in.

I felt confused.

“What happened with her mom?” I asked.

Dominik sighed as he began to speak.

“She got into a car crash — A drunk driver is what she said.”

“Look the only reason we know this is because Rhea told us about. After she texted Rhea about the breakup, and she repeated what you said— she just broke down man,” Dominik had a sour look on his face , meanwhile Finn turned away from them both.

Then the realization hit me. Thats why her eyes were so red. She had been carrying a hard weight in her shoulder. And when I broke up with her , that was just the cherry in top. A heavy weight of guild filled my mind as Finn and Damian told me what had happened. By the end , I knew I had to talk to her. Make things right. That was the least I could do, I thought to myself.

A/N 💬 - Yall please bare with me 😭 Im fr trying to get these requests done I have like 8 left so just be patient 💕

#damian priest imagine #damian priest x reader #damian priest #damian priest x finn balor #damian priest x y/n

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mrpuzzlessimp420 · 29 days

Text

Mario Simulator (Joke Fic)

Chapter 2

Warnings: Mention of Lobotomy, Blackmailing, Kidnapping, Plotting Murder (none of these are taken seriously)

Ships: Marware, SMG34, BatteryAcid (Mr Puzzles x Orange Juice)-Mentioned

An idea popped into Mario's head, quite surprising as he probably didn't have any braincells left.

A very... unique idea.

You see, there was something actually... unnormal about Mario.

He was what you would call...

A yandere.

Now Mario wasn't your Ayano Aishi "I've never felt ANY emotions before Senpai!" yandere, he was your "though emotionally stunted still had emotions" yandere.

His entire life he had never felt strong emotions before which wasn't questioned by literally anyone as they just thought it was just because he was you know Mario or because he had been implied to be lobotomized in that one episode.

It also wasn't questioned when he started acting coo-coo crazy over Mr Puzzles as they just cracked it up to just be Mario being Mario.

So hiding this fact about himself from others was as easy as forcing your friends to kiss for a tiktok trend.

But like any yandere (insert-literally-any-character) fanfic, Mario had some roadblocks that stopped him from being with his one and only true loves...

Rivals.

Now Mario was used to having rivals, love related or not but Orange Juice was a special case.

Unlike the others, Orange Juice was actually dating Mr Puzzles which meant that if he just straight up murdered him, Mr Puzzles would be depressed, wear grey/black hoodies all the time and be emo and Mario couldn't have that! Being emo was the greatest sin of humanity!

He'd had to think of a plan to get Orange Juice and Mr Puzzles to break up or for Orange Juice to be extremely toxic so when he goes to kill him, Puzzles wouldn't be a sad depressed babygirl!

Unluckily for him, Mario was a number 1 lazy boy and didn't want to go through all the effort of figuring something out so he thought of the next best option: get someone to figure it out for him!

Now how would be his unwilling victim?

Saiko?

No she has had to much character development that she would drop kick him into the sun if he asked her to revert back to the days she was crazily obsessing over Boopkins (really though, Boopkins??)

Luigi?

No he was weird in his own way that Mario didn't want to deal with.

SMG3?

Maybe.

He'd probably need some sort of blackmail though.

Luckily for Mario, he always kept a copy of SMG3's gay little diary on hand, just in case.

A loud rigging bell went that snapped Mario out of his thoughts, it was the end of break!

And he didn't get to eat his spaghetti-flavoured apple :(.

Moving on from that, Mario knew what his next move was. At lunch he would kidnap SMG3, blackmail him to make a plan that would get Orange Juice and Mr Puzzles to break up, force him to help in the actual plan himself and make him promise to never tell anyone about the situation ever.

Yeah that seemed like a solid plan, what could possibly go wrong?

The next two lessons went by like SMG4 and SMG3's will-they-won't-they relationship that will probably never be canonized because of half of the fandom's homophobicness and their insistence that their brothers.

Right as Mario was considering drowning a random girl in a bucket of full of acid because of how clingy she was being, the bell went signalling it was lunch.

He ran out of the classroom with no time to lose, not even caring that the teacher yelled at him that "the bell doesn't dismiss him, she does" or whatever that crap was.

After searching for what felt like weeks, he finally found SMG3 packing up his stuff in a classroom that was now empty. His face slightly smiling at a image on his emo skull phone.

It was now his chance!

Mario grabbed a black bag out of thin air and, without SMG3 noticing, put it on SMG3's head and tightened it.

Now all he needed to do was find a dark, empty room that no-one would dare walk near to.

The broom closet! (DID YOU GET THE BROOM CLOSET ENDING? THE BROOM CLOSET- The author is then choked to death because they referenced another piece of media)

Dragging SMG3's lifeless body that definitely was losing oxygen by the second and not at all trying to hide himself, waving to others whenever they passed who just chalked it up to be Mario being Mario. When he finally reached the broom closet, he dumped the poor man in it, locking himself and SMG3 inside.

After finding a chair that definitely looked out of place in a broom closet that only held brooms, he placed SMG3 on it and tied his hands behind the chair with some spare rope.

Realising he needed SMG3 to talk during this blackmailing, Mario finally took the black bag off of SMG3's head.

"What the hell Mario?" SMG3 shouted after panting for oxygen for 4 minutes straight, his voice not being heard from the outside as the closet was noise cancelling.

"Mario wants you do to something for him." Mario said sinisterly, which was hard to tell due to his voice only being voice clips.

"Hell no I'll do something for you! Last time I did so I was humiliated on the internet!" SMG3 argued, not wanting anything to do with Mario.

"Well.. Mario has your gay diary sooo.. :D" Mario said, grabbing the copy of SMG3's notebook out of his skirt that has pockets.

SMG3 immediately freezed up, a pink blush spreading around his checks.

"Y-you wouldn't leak that would you?" SMG3 asked, sounding extremely nervous. No one could see his deepest and darkest thoughts and know about his massive crush on SMG4.

"I won't if you do this for me.." Mario stated as menacingly as he could, leaning down to SMG3.

The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife...

"Fine... I'll do it..." He said, giving in to Mario's demands.

"Yippeee!!" Mario squeaked, though he was sad he didn't get to use his brand new cringe memes machine to torture SMG3 with but he could use it at another time.

"What do you want me to do then? Make spaghetti for you? Force me to a dumb challenge? Humiliate myself on camera?" SMG3 asked.

"Help me commit murder." Mario said blankly.

"Yeah sure why not." SMG3 stated, he selled bombs on the black market for a living, murder wasn't that extreme that he wouldn't do it. "Who is it and what's the plan?"

"Actually I wanted you to make a plan for me" Mario rubbed the back of his head, pulling a silly face while doing so.

"Of course you did.." He said, not surprised at all.

"Well to be honest, I need your help to get Orange Juice and Mr Puzzles to break up so I can go kill Orange Juice." Mario stated, extremely casually.

"Honestly wouldn't take you for a yandere type of guy"

"The author's friend thought it be funny."

"Well, I've already thought of some ideas so let's plan this!"

30 minutes later and they had already made a Plan A, a Plan B for if it goes wrong, a Plan C etc. Now all they needed to do was set it into motion...

(part 3 coming whenever I feel like it babieee-)

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cocogum · 3 months

Text

Let’s TALK about episodes 9 and 10 people… (part 2)

PART 1 : HERE

(‼️SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4‼️)

And of course, we got Qilby who’s finally got the eliatrope dofus back and left the chat. I liked how he was talking to Shinonome tho even if she was still in their shared dofus. This taught me that even if one sibling is alive, they can still communicate with their twin in their dofus.

And here we go again with Qilby wanting to make A NEW ELIACUBE. Only this time, he’ll name that one the “Eliasphere”.

Because of this, it was finally confirmed that Lokus was a mechasm. And it all makes perfect sense now.

When Qilby finally reached Lokus’ heart, we get flashes and quick imageries of those very same mechasms. When we pause on every single one of them, we get to see these:

(I love how these mechasms kinda look like biblical angels tho lol)

Yeah, we’re screwed.

And then we’re back with Yugo and my god he keeps convulsing so much I’m so confused as to how he can keep talking so normally after all this.

I didn’t even try to screenshot this at a good angle, this is exactly what happened when I just took it. It’s perfect.

ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS SHOT?!? I know how some of us have seen this scene as a preview for the episode but I just LOVE how good this looks. The colors and the vibe are sending me!! I still also remember how people used to theorize on who this could have been lying down in front of Toross back when we didn’t know it was Yugo. I heard things like Amalia, Nora, Yugo obviously, and even Efrim. Those were some fun times…

Bro. I can’t stop staring.

I know he’s going through hell right now but like….damn he’s built. He’s such a slut.

*clears throat*

😩❤️‍🔥💖🎶DADDY’S HOME🎶💖❤️‍🔥😩‼️‼️‼️

I believe his growth and powers should get elevated to fight stronger opponents which is why I am happy that he grew 🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢 I only want the best for him after all 🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢

Yugo just accepted death when you think about it. When Oropo explained to him what the necromes would do and what would become of him, Yugo was lost yes but he accepted it. He welcomed it even. Right after that, we see him fighting with Bouillon and smiling. He’s smiling when he shouldn’t be. But because Oropo told him he’d make him stop thinking about the outside world, he’s smiling. The slow process of his death was currently happening and Yugo couldn’t do a thing.

That’s what frustrates me but makes me admire Yugo. It’s the fact that he always gets so close to death but when he learns that there’s finally nothing he can do about it, he just accepts it.

I think that’s pretty respectable but….

WHY DO U THINK LIKE THAT?!?!?

Honestly he can be even dumber than Dally sometimes.

He’s such a dummy THAT HE’S SMILING LIKE A DUMBASS CHILD WHILE FIGHTING BOUILLON

I just-

I can’t handle his smugness stop.

STOP!!!

But in all seriousness tho I gotta address Nora.

Because omg Nora.

I genuinely feel so horrible for her.

She spent thousands of years searching for her mother with Efrim. She spent so many years of her life looking for her mother and never gave up. She almost lost the connection and then got it back and when she finally found her, she lost Efrim, then went with her mother and has done nothing else but listen to her mother, give out orders for her, and try to be the center of the family circle so she could keep its balance.

She has realized that she will no longer be able to be reborn like her other siblings and will eventually stay stuck in her dofus for all eternity. She is aware that when she dies, she won’t be remembered by her other siblings and her place in the council of six will fade away as if all those thousands of years spent with them happened for nothing. The only one who will remember her will be Qilby who will think of her as the long-lost sister none of the others remember and will ever get to meet her. She will disappear in the face of the krosmoz and will never come back.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, she gets tricked by Efrim and gets statufied so that her powers can be used by Toross whenever he wants to. Her situation became ironic, even laughable too. Because now, instead of dying and not being able to go back to her dofus, she is physically incapable of moving and will forever be used by Toross. No matter the outcome, Nora can’t come back to her dofus. Compared to Yugo, Toross doesn’t let out a tear at his action inflicted on Nora and instead thanks her. Nora’s last memory of all of this is Toross telling her how the world will have nothing but hunger.

“You can't do this! Have mercy! Don’t make me responsible for the end of the world!”

In the end, her last word was her brother’s name.

Nora deserved more.

All she had done as of now was help others and try to fix what she could. She never stopped to think about what she could’ve done for herself.

That Qilby vs Lokus fight is just *chef’s kiss*

“My brother, my king.”

Qilby is a real legend.

Now some people might wonder why his death was considered a sad one when he can just die, get reborn, and not lose any of his memories. While that is technically true, he’s not losing anything. And that’s exactly why it’s sad. Qilby can’t lose anything no matter what he does. Which is why he had no trouble dying. If dying meant helping Yugo find some way to obtain Lokus’ heart, then he’d do it. Unlike his siblings, he’s the only one able to confidently have that mindset and say it’s nothing to worry about. He did it for his king so that like he told Yugo:

“I hope that when we wake up, the planets will still be here.”

And this is why Yugo cried for him.

Despite being rejected over and over again, despite being called a traitor, despite being called a monster and a killer, Qilby stayed true to himself even until the end. Qilby’s sense of wonder and curiosity, the very same things that had made him look like a freak to Yugo, is what saved his king.

#wakfu #ankama #krosmoz #wakfu yugo #wakfu season 4 #wakfu s4 #wakfu review #wakfu reviews #wakfu season 4 episodes 9 and 10 #yugo wakfu #yugo #wakfu season 4 episodes 9 and 10 review #wakfu nora #wakfu qilby

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welcometothejianghu · 4 months

Text

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 民国奇探/My Roommate is a Detective.

My Roommate is a Detective is a 2020 drama about the Jazz Age shenanigans of a terrible OT3: a useless noodle boy, a spoiled journalist girl, and a handsome thug-turned-cop, who together solve Agatha Christie mysteries in 1920s Shanghai.

I mean, seriously, have you ever wondered what Hercule Poirot would be like if he were a 6'2" Chinese rubber man? If he had a long-suffering sugar daddy from the wrong side of the tracks and a spunky sugar mommy who owned their shared apartment? The answer is, it would be a laugh-out-loud-funny series about a ridiculous and charming assortment of weirdos solving only slightly believable murder mysteries in charming period clothing.

This is another one of those shows where I'm kind of shocked at how not well-known it is, except I'm not, because I can see exactly the problems that keep fandom from descending on it like horny little vultures. Nonetheless, I think it's a good time that more people would enjoy if they gave it the chance. Here's five reasons why you should:

1. Equal parts smart as heck and dumb as butts

On the one hand, especially given its tone and tenor, this show has many surprisingly clever turns and thoughtful moments, carried along by some talented actors. On the other hand, [.gif of a guinea pig in a rollerskate being pushed merrily down a hallway]

This show is not a complicated intellectual exercise. It's an action comedy about a goofy sleuth, a rich-girl reporter, and the cop who should be the straight man in this trio, except he's as much of a goober as the other two are. If the promotional tableaus are giving you real "cover of a Clue box" vibes, you've understood the kind of pastiche it's pulling off.

The mysteries are preposterous. They're all the kind of thing that exemplify the Doyle line about how, when you've eliminated the impossible, whatever's left has got to be the answer, no matter how ding-dang improbable it may be. You know the type: tons of overly elaborate setups, unbelievably perfect timing, coincidental long-lost relatives, people hallucinating right and left. They're also very short -- most full cases take only 2-3 episodes to introduce, investigate, and resolve, even when interspersed with the larger goings-on in these weirdos' lives. The DramaWiki page for the show lists 23 separate arcs over 36 episodes, so you do the math.

And yet, it's way more thoughtful and clever than its doofy little setup would indicate. Its attention to detail surprised me on more than one occasion. Add to that a bunch of solid performances from an ensemble of real characters, and what you get is definitely more substantive than a junk-food waste of time. You can't turn your brain off while watching it, but you sure can turn it down, and that's great.

It also doesn't hurt that everyone is super attractive and wearing great outfits. The whole show's worth it for the wardrobes.

2. THE GIRL

Fuck the haters, fuck everyone, I am going to climb right up on my little soapbox and tell you all why Bai Youning is awesome.

She is insane. She's a troll. She's a clever little monster. Every other character's response to her is, oh my god, you are literally the worst. And she is! She has been spoiled beyond belief by her incredibly rich Crime Dad, and she has learned to leverage her uwu just a widdle girl status to get her whatever the hell she wants. She simply cannot hear it when someone says the word "no." She will look her future sister-in-law in the eye and point a loaded gun at her own head without blinking. Every ball she has is made of brass.

She's hardly perfect. During the course of the show, there are some times where her entitlement runs face-first into the brick wall of reality. She's not nearly as good at her chosen career path as she's been told (mostly by the people who get paid to tell her she's good). She's rarely prepared to deal with the consequences of her actions, especially when she can't just throw money at the problem.

So she learns, and grows, and changes. She's always going to be a stubborn bitch, but she can become a stubborn bitch with a more accurate conception of her relationship to the world around her.

She's actually a really good romantic foil for Lu Yao, who is equally stubborn and spoiled and obnoxious as hell. It is a pure brat4brat relationship, where each one thrives on comically enraging the other. What this means, though, is that when they actually start showing one another some vulnerability, it's really sweet.

Now: I'm pretty sure that you could not have made a female character in her position that everyone did not hate, no matter how cool you made her, because that is the fate of all girls who theoretically keep the two boys from kissing. (More on that next point.) If she were less outgoing and friendly, she would've been hated for being too cold. If she were less headstrong, she would've been hated for being a pushover. If she weren't as into the boy, she would've been hated for being frigid. I know the "god forbid a woman do anything" meme is a joke, but ... man, god forbid this girl do anything. She gets a level of hate entirely disproportionate to what she's actually like. As I said with Eom Dada, it's not always sexism, but sometimes, yeah, it's sexism.

(Real talk: Her character is also fighting both how she's definitely not written as well as the boys are and how the plot sometimes needs her to be artificially stupid and jealous for Straightness Drama Reasons, so that's a legit problem on a structural level. Also, she's dubbed by someone else and the boys aren't, which gives her voice an annoying not-quite-there quality that's hard to ignore. The deck is stacked against her real hard even before she steps onscreen.)

So here's my advice: Go into this show wanting to like her. Embrace her terribleness as a positive, intentional quality. Don't be mad at her for straightening up an endgame that was never going to be gay, even without her. Welcome her contributions to the chaos. Realize that she is exactly as entertainingly irritating as her boys are.

Truly, this is a story of three terrible people in love. They're all just awful, and you wouldn't want to be in a room with any of them for longer than you had to. Left to right up there, Bai Youning is spoiled and self-absorbed, Lu Yao is arrogant and lazy, and Qiao Chusheng is suuuuuch a fucking cop. If you're into the kind of dynamic that can only be described OT3: You All Deserve One Another, then this one's perfect for you.

3. Do you really miss '00s queerbaiting?

Like, really? Are you just super-nostalgic for being able to see the showrunners go, ha ha, girls, we know you're watching and we know you want these cute boys to kiss, which they never will -- but what if we pretended for just this one scene??? Do you just carnally ache for that with every fiber of your being?

Yep.

Now, why am I calling the occasional really gay moments between these two gentlemen "queerbaiting" and not "bromance"? Because these moments are a) obviously intentional, b) completely sporadic, and c) never spoken of again.

For example: There's a scene (which you can see a gifset of here) where the two of them are at a restaurant frequented by the cop, who brings a lot of ladies there on dates. When the waiter points this out, useless noodle boy says, I'm his date. The waiter looks mildly surprised by this, the cop says not to listen to his bullshit, and that's the end of it. The scene moves on. There is no further discussion of this comment. It does not affect their relationship.

That's the essence of queerbaiting: that little on-purpose nod to the homoerotic tension between the two, in a way that isn't a joke but also isn't not a joke, and either way is never going to happen. (In fact, the show is going to go out of its way to make sure that ship gets sunk, so, uh, get your fanfiction lifeboats ready for that.)

A true queerbaiting move is something that should make a difference in a relationship, but doesn't. It should make a difference that our cop is so comfortable in the noodle boy's personal space that he invades it at will. It doesn't. It should make a difference that noodle boy keeps getting real weird every time the cop has a date with a girl. It doesn't. Those are some real romantic moves the two of them keep pulling, and then nothing comes of them.

I had this show sold to me as being incredibly shippy, to the point of being even more so than its censored-BL contemporaries. And ... well, it is and it isn't. It has textually gayer individual moments, but it is much less pervasively gay. It's clear from the start that it's going to throw all its actual relationship points into its canon het romance. When it comes to these boys, the show is toying with you. It knows you want to see those boys smooch, just as much as it knows (and it knows you know) they're never gonna.

How you feel about this is entirely up to you -- and indeed, it may be a dealbreaker on the whole drama for you. If you are inclined to pitch a fit when your ship does not become canon, you'll be happier somewhere else. If, however, you see this as a delightful opportunity to do whatever the hell you want with the situation as it is presented, all the while enjoying little moments of startlingly blatant homoeroticism between two handsome dudes, well, here you are!

(I mean, if you want my take on it, what needs to happen is that the cop and the girl need to fuck while the useless noodle boy watches with asexual bisexual interest, and then they all need to snuggle with the noodle boy in the middle so they can both annoy him appropriately, but your mileage may vary.)

4. The multicultural extravaganza!

1920s Shanghai had a lot going on in terms of cultures and languages, and this show actually does a fair job of representing that.

By now, I've seen a number of shows set during this era, and they all at least acknowledge the international nature of the city -- usually by mentioning the French Concession and having a handful of evil Japanese characters. However, this is the first time I've seen a show go to such lengths to actually show so many non-Chinese characters onscreen, even to the point of making one a recurring character supporting the main squad.

Salim is the best. Whatever he is being paid, it's not enough. He's Qiao Chusheng's right-hand man, which means he is also the dude who most often has to put up the main trio's bullshit. (The actor himself is also a dude with a pretty cool backstory, which is another great layer.) He's sharp, he's loyal, he's patient, and he looks great with his shirt off. He's got it all!

Other non-Chinese characters include a white Jewish art collector (I'd issue a warning for period-typical antisemitism, except … honestly, it's mostly just confused), a sadistic priest who maybe is supposed to be Italian, a completely different priest who [last episode spoiler], and three whole sinister white dudes behind it all.

It's not just the world coming to China, though! A large number of the Chinese characters are said to have spent significant time outside of China, whether for business or for schooling. Near the end, when some characters are discussing moving away from Shanghai, they consider a number of foreign cities as potential destinations.

Here's a delightful detail: When Lu Yao and his sister speak English, they're dubbed by actors with posh British accents who sound like native (or near-native) English-speakers. This makes perfect sense, because both of the siblings did a lot of their schooling in the UK. When Bai Youning speaks English, she's dubbed by someone who speaks English very well but also has a noticeable Chinese accent, which makes perfect sense for her character's background. And Qiao Chusheng never speaks English at all, because he's a street tough who has no reason to know more than three words.

...This is also kind of weird to say about something literally made in China, but go with me on it: Everything's kind of got that Art Deco Orientalist vibe to it. It looks like China's idea of what Britain's idea of China during that period would have looked like. The result comes across less like what 1920s Shanghai would actually have looked like, and more what an ad for 1920s Shanghai would have looked like. It's a fascinating aesthetic, and more so for how it's mostly pretty subtle. The show isn't some visual extravaganza, but it's always very nice to look at, and I appreciate that in a show.

5. A wonderful horrible protagonist

A lot of mystery-themed prestige television involves an asshole genius detective who gets away with being a dick to everyone because he's sooooo smart, while all his long-suffering friends and colleagues spend a lot of time doing damage control for him because, sigh, he's an asshole but we need him, genius excuses all dickhead behavior, we'll always make exceptions for him because he's just ever so special. (Watch histrionic sage hbomberguy's video on Sherlock if you're unfamiliar with the trope.)

Lu Yao is an asshole genius detective, but one who winds up spending most of his time being an asshole to a) people who deserve it, or b) his horrible friends who will be assholes right back at him. When he is awful to the people who don't deserve it, the show smacks him pretty hard on the nose for it and makes him apologize.

This is a show where you'll figure out pretty quckly if you'll love it or hate it, because if you love Lu Yao, you'll love it, and vice versa. He carries most of the show himself, with his goofy charm and his incredibly bendy slenderman body and his ability to make the one competent person he knows both protect him and give him money.

Like so.

For my own part, I find him intensely charming, and I think a lot of this has to do with Hu Yitian's ability to play him as an affectionately bullyable weenie who needs to get shoved in a locker for his own good. He's the worst, and it's comically endearing instead of offputting because at the end of the day, he really does have a good heart. He's just also lazy as heck and disinclined to do anything that he does not want to be doing, and really, aren't we all?

As I alluded to in point 3, he comes across as real asexual. He's just not that interested in sex, and he is in fact pretty uncomfortable in situations where he finds himself the subject of someone else's sexual desires. He's perfectly capable of romantic feelings! I mean, not only does he get Bai Youning as a love interest, we actually meet one of his ex-girlfriends. He's just not partciularly horny about them -- which is even more noticeable as a sharp contrast to how extremely horny Qiao Chusheng is for just about everyone, but this exasperating little dork in particular.

(Like seriously, 90% of the time, Chusheng is about to explode with sexual frustration at Lu Yao's skinny oblivious ass.)

This isn't to say you couldn't get Lu Yao into bed, because you absolutely could, and he'd probably have a good time. You'd just have to remove all distractions from the room, lest his ADHD ass wind up running off to solve a crime mid-coitus.

Twiggy little nightmare man. Garbage-animal boy. Love him.

sidebar: A word about the ending

I'm going to be vague and talk about general vibes instead of specific events, but you should still skip this section if you want to remain completely unspoiled. Jump to the picture of Chusheng holding the sledgehammer.

Okay, so, a lot of people do not like the ending, and I'm including myself in that number. I honestly don't know if they got rushed and had to wrap everything pretty last-minute, or if they thought they might get a second season out of it and were leaving things open-ended accordingly. Either way, it's incredibly unsatisfying.

I think there's a clue that the show didn't actually want to end this way, and it's not actually in the text of the show itself. Every episode, between the last scene and the start of the credits, you get to see a couple still frames from the episode (usually some of the queerbaity ones). After the very final shot of the series, you get two images: the boys hugging goodbye, and Chusheng's upset face. That's not a resolution! That is at best a "to be continued..." ending!

But no, that's it. That's all, folks.

It's not quite an ending so bad it ruins the rest of the show, mostly because it doesn't feel finished, so it's less like you're watching a car being deliberately driven into a wall because someone thought that was the best route to take, and more like you're watching someone leave a car on the railroad tracks because they figured they'd have time to move it later.

As far as I know, there has been no noise made about a second season. These 36 episodes are the entirety of the narrative. It had the distinct misfortune to start airing in March 2020, which wasn't exactly prime time for planning sequels, and that seems to have been that. (There is a 2022 show called Checkmate that stars the two main guys in extremely similar roles, also adapting Agatha Christie stories, but it's apparently pretty meh? Somebody else who's actually seen it, go ahead and weigh in here.)

I'll say that if you turn off the episode right after Lu Yao gets out the handcuffs, you'll save yourself the worst of it the awkward and unsatisfying moments (though I'm impressed at your willpower to stop watching something five minutes from the end). That's not all of it, though. Structurally, there are several situations rushed to a resolution and loose threads left flapping untied in the breeze. I guess stopping before the last five minutes simply saves you the hope that it'll pull a good ending out of the fire, because it won't.

And let's be real: The more you hate Bai Youning and her romance with Lu Yao, the more you'll hate the ending. (Not that liking those elements will necessarily make you like the ending, of course, because I'm a fan of hers and I still think the ending is butts.) The ending is already like a pair of uncomfortable shoes; if the het romance especially makes you grind your teeth, the ending becomes a pair of uncomfortable shoes that also have a rock in them. A lot of the comments online indicate plenty of people dropped the show when they learned the het romance would be endgame. It's a pretty common dealbreaker.

Oh well. Bring on the fanfic, I say! Those of us who are used to taking a sledgehammer to canon are unafraid.

Smash it, baby.

Still want to see some of these mysteries?

Both iQiyi and Viki have the answer to your sleuthing!

It's not a perfect show -- as evidenced by my digression about the ending -- but it's a lot of fun. If you can handle the occasional foible and some eyebrow-raising moments, you're in for a good time with some attractive people that occasionally tastes very gay.

Every roommate crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man

#my roommate is a detective #民国奇探 #rec post #i made this

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