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virusinfected-memes · 2 years

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COFFEE TALK SENTENCE STARTERS, PT. 2 OF ? ;

75 starters. CW: cussing, sexual themes. Coffee Talk is a visual novel game developed by Toge Productions. Feel free to change words and pronouns as needed! [PART 1]

"Different isn't always good."

"It's a neat concept, but you need to handle it carefully and gracefully."

"He needs to learn how to communicate his thoughts nicely though."

"Let's not make the mountain even higher."

"What we have here now is more than enough for me."

"I'm taking a break from work. I need to work on a few personal matters."

"I'm curious... How did you guys meet? If you don't mind me asking..."

"Now, will you let me continue without interruptions?"

"And without even thinking about it, I punched _____ in the face."

"Yeah, I landed that one punch... And he beat me to a pulp. Easily."

"How was she doing? She hasn't returned any of my calls or texts..."

"I'm sick and tired of my family."

"Why would you say that?"

"Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be an artist. I love drawing and creating art."

"_____ is the only person that can make me feel alive."

"I have no problem leaving my family, you know. I would happily leave them for the both of us."

"I never thought of it that way before."

"There's nothing to feel bad about!"

"It's easy for you to say that now, but you don't know what the future holds."

"You know... Love is like a flame. It might burn fiercely at first, but over time it will die down, if you don't maintain it."

"Life is full of storms."

"Marriage, it will not survive on love alone."

"There are consequences... It shouldn't be taken lightly."

"Perhaps a hot drink will give you some inspiration."

"Aren't vampires supposed to be... you know... tough?"

"Just because I'm a vampire, it doesn't mean I know kung-fu."

"Thanks for not leaving me on the street, _____."

"He might be an annoying asshole, but he's not a thief."

"What a stroke of luck, the universe sending me a guardian angel in my time of need."

"Hey, I took you to breakfast! Don't tell me that counted for nothing."

"I have to say, it wasn't my proudest moment."

"_____... I'd prefer if we skipped that part. I'm sorry, but I don't want to go into any details about it."

"Thank you for sharing your story with me. I didn't expect such a tale from you."

"I've no interest in flirting with you. I've got high standards, you know."

"Please don't forget to take a break. It's easy to get carried away by work when you're on a roll."

"That's not even a word, _____."

"Are you trying to squeeze the story from me?"

"I saw you from afar when you left the coffee shop a few days ago. So, hello! My name is _____. You could say I'm a regular here."

"Wow... It turns out pervs exist everywhere in the universe."

"You're quite dense, aren't you?"

"People often mistake me for someone who gets around a lot."

"All this information is too much to process in one evening..."

"Oh, showing some concern now, are you?"

"My, my... You really have a knack for starting trouble..."

"That sounds dangerous, liking someone without knowing the reason..."

"You really need to be more careful, _____..."

"So... Umm... How are things going in the office?"

"I want to say please don't forget to rest, but I'm sure it won't be easy for you and the team."

"I wish I could help you. Or at least say something to boost your morale. Sadly, I'm not the right person to give you advice about that."

"Getting used to unhealthy working conditions shouldn't be a norm."

"Every game has its own market, you know."

"You shouldn't waste your time on me! Relax, or something!"

"I'm coming with you! Whether you like it or not!"

"I think I should celebrate with a special drink. Something sweet."

"You are sorry... I don't have anything to be sorry for."

"Please just go home after you finish your drink."

"I know _____! He's not a good person!"

"He hasn't changed much... And even if he has, it wasn't for the better."

"You're just being paranoid!"

"What's next?! You'll lock me in the house because you're afraid of the air I'm breathing?!"

"You're just too young to understand!"

"Then make me understand! Because this is definitely not helping. There are better ways."

"TRY HARDER! Because right now, you're not helping anyone! Not me, not you, no one!"

"It will take time for me to learn. But I am learning."

"_____, are you out of your mind? You've been out of touch for so long."

"If I take things slow, I'll lose all my momentum."

"Of course I heard them. I just chose to ignore most of it. It's none of my business, is it?"

"Sometimes we don't even realize what we're capable of doing."

"And I thought I was the only one who brought bad news..."

"You've never looked like someone who needs help."

"I'm sorry, _____. I'm not really in the mood for this sort of conversation."

"You're still trying to get laid?"

"That sounds like the best plan you've had since you got here."

"It's nothing. We're just friends, you know?"

"It was a slip of the tongue, okay! I'm sorry!"

#ask meme #inbox meme #roleplay meme #rp meme #rp sentence starters #sentence starters #coffee talk #* mine

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my-little-loverboy · 10 months

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TWs: Talk of pedophillia, child abuse, and my frustration with the internet, purity culture, and stigma.

Please do me a favour also, and read the post to the end before saying anything to me about it. For our mutual sanity.

I am going to combust if I see another kill all pedophiles post.

Pedophile is a diagnosis that requires you to experience significant distress about your attraction. Or to have actively found a child desirable and acted on that desire. (The latter is extremely likely to be a minority but due to the stigma few are willing to voluntarily come forward to be studied)

If you think it is okay to find fictional minors attractive, but do not have interest in them irl, (ie people who consume loli/sho) you would not classify as a pedophile.

Assaulting a child you do not find attractive does not make someone a pedophile, it makes them an abuser.

Alas, purity culture has once again moved the focus away from the actual abusers and onto predominantly innocent people who genuinely do not want to harm anyone.

If you’re queer or poc or mentally ill or marginalized in any way that should sound horribly familiar.

Please for the love of god, if you’re someone who says all pedophiles deserve to die. Read the diagnostic criteria and if you still think that after you have, block me, please. Because at that point you are knowingly saying a lot of innocent people should die, as the actual abusers rarely turn out to be pedophiles.

Here, I’ll even save you the effort of finding it. This article cites the DSM directly and saves skimming the incredibly dense book that is the DSM

I can’t link it directly because that’s illegal but there’s a full copy of the DSM-5 if you search “DSM-5 Reddit” and use the top link. As of posting this the link works, if that changes let me know and I’ll update this accordingly.

Pages 697-700 for those interested in reading the full piece.

I’m not typically one to talk about my opinion of this in public because I know for a fact there’s going to be a mass of people who will do exactly what they’ve been trained by purity culture to do. React with outright disgust and horror without being willing to consider that they’ve been manipulated so that child abusers can continue to abuse children while their victims burn anyone who dares question them.

But I’m tired.

I have a lot of experience with heavily stigmatized disorders. I’m schizophrenic, autistic, and have SCPD. I’m also visibly queer + trans in a heavily conservative area. So the the idea that person with X disorder is a threat to children is very, very familiar.

I’m also a CSA victim, and it’s… Sad, watching other victims allow abusers to continue existing in the shadows while perpetuating the stigma that keeps said abusers hidden. I’m aware of my privilege as someone who is educated on the manner and as someone with the resources at my disposal along with the knowledge of how to take advantage of said resources.

I suppose that’s why I decided to actually write this out publicly. That way people who may not have otherwise known can educate themselves and form a stronger community that evicts actual abusers and not predominantly innocent people trying to recover from one of the most stigmatized disorders someone can have, or people with questionable taste in porn when more often than not said porn is harmless.

Here’s another article, this one talks in depth about whether or not fictional loli/sho nsfw actually encourages pedophillic behaviour and urges from a sociology perspective. With papers and stats to back up it’s points.

It also talks about whether or not loli/sho can even be considered pedophillic at all, along with the general impact of porn on sexual violence. It’s a very good and informative read if you have the time.

It ALSO acknowledges bias in the studies it cites, and how that makes the opinion drawn from the study less valuable.

Gods this is long, take a snack, and have the day you deserve /neutral

🍮🍪🍩🍎🍟

#tw pedophila mention #tw abuse #tw child abuse #tw csa #proship #anti proship #anti proshitter

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justalexisfine · 3 months

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🍄-(how did you get your system name?)

👾(funniest out of context system quote?)

🔦(how did you discover your system?)

🪐(what is headspace like for you?)

also we feel so bad yall had to scroll so far down bc we have the link to the ask game saved in our notes and coulda gave it 2 yall ;A;/gen/lh

-Izu,Link+mirage(it is l u r k i n g)

ahhh it's fine! we didn't have to scroll down that far, really /gen, pos, lh

🍄- how did you get your system name?

Well, one of our most prominent memories as a wolf/monster was in a court, and it was a traumatizing memory, I think (so basically we're retaliating against the trauma [I think]). also, we love the stars, and we all agreed that we are stars/take care of stars in some way, shape, or form!

👾- funniest out of context system quote?

Jinx: "Hey, I can flirt! Watch this: hey baby, are you- I. wha. hm. lemme try that again. hey baby, are you a. wait a minute uh"

Jace, while Jinx is still trying to 'flirt' in the background: "Good job 👍"

🔦- how did you discover your system?

well, it was more like a realization than anything. faint voices in my head telling me what to do and fighting over critical choices? not normal (but I thought it was). feeling like I was being controlled sometimes (we've come to the conclusion that im always stuck in front or co-front)? not normal. that's when I started interacting with the system community, and it just kinda clicked. they just showed up one day, and since my experience wasn't like everyone else's (and the possibility that our median has formed out of something "bad" or "not valid"), I kept quiet.

🪐- what is the headspace like for you?

okay, so since we've come to the conclusion that I'm always stuck in front and/or co-front, Sonne decided to explain what it's like for all of them. so let me break it down under the cut:

Front room: a cluttered space that's more like an office/extra room/art studio. there are bookshelves to store the latest retained information and a computer (on a desk) that we think my inner body is connected to. There are multiple blankets strewn about and an overall cozy vibe to it. There's a window with a wonderful view of The Forest, as well as a few plants hung on the ceiling right in front of the window. Sometimes it's raining. Sometimes, it's sunny. Sometimes, it's storming. But we think the weather is connected to my mental state at the time. There's a dark wood door leading out into the hallway.

Hallway/Rooms: There's a hallway leading to more rooms and such. The hallway is connected to more hallways and a few staircases, as well as a basement. There's a living room (at the end of the hall. It doesn't have a door and just opens up to the living room), a closet, a soundproof closet (for medianmates to just scream into the void. it's dark in there, but calming), and a kitchen that opens to a dining room. A staircase, which leads to everyone's rooms, is straight across from the front room's door. There's a garden in which Yarrow likes to reside, and it's also part of the forest.

The Forest: a foggy forest that seems to be infinite. It surrounds the mind (which is apparently some sort of victorian house thing that's fluid in appearance) and is supposedly dangerous. Medianmates go there when they want to be dormant, in which Yarrow leads them through to the ruins, which is where the medianmate is left to be at peace. It's thick and dense with both fog and nature.

The memory room: a void that changes its appearance daily and is Jace's 'room'. He sorts our memories by holographic panels that float around him (think of Miguel oharas screens but portable and always stay near him). He doesn't let anyone in his room unless he wants to show them a memory.

The Abyss: a void-like detention that's just black and provides peace and stability for the medianmate who was sent there to unwind and calm down. The Abyss is controlled by Yarrow.

The rest is foggy since Sonne didn't explain the rest, but that's kinda all I know about it. /gen, lh

Thanks for asking btw:] /gen, pos

#al speaks #jinx speaks #sonne speaks

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creamyberries-lovely · 11 months

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The opening shot of Mermen (OFMD, S2E8). When I saw this shot, I immediately connected it to another shot in season one, which introduces us to Izzy.

I don't know why I connected these two shots. The obvious connector here is the zoom, but surely these aren't the only two shots in the entire series that have a zoom.

Anyway, it got me thinking about what the camera is trying to tell us:

The meaning of the zoom featuring Izzy is quite clear to me. We start on Buttons, who is inanely doing his own thing, completely unaware to his surroundings (emphasized by the fact that he didn't notice Lucius leave about 2 seconds before this and is still listing off sea creatures). Over Buttons shoulder, we zoom in on 3 approaching figures. We can't see their faces. The camera is communicating to the audience: "look, look over here. see what the character doesn't notice." the lighting is telling the audience that the newcomers are ominous. They are an unknown presence. The three newcomers are looking down on the camera, and as we zoom in, they physically become larger. We zoom in until these characters take up about 2/3rds of the height of the screen. These 3 unknowns are a threatening presence. They are a larger force than Buttons, who doesn't even notice them. This is how we meet Izzy.

On the other hand, the zoom featuring Ed is quite unclear. The shot starts looking directly up at some trees, and then pans across until we see Ed, at which point we zoom in. We don't zoom in quite as much as we do in the Izzy shot. The zoom stops and settles in an extreme long shot, where Ed is very much still a dot on the screen. This whole sequence could be a couple of things. The immediate thought is that it is setting up the scene for the joke (which happens a few minutes later, where it's revealed (unshockingly) that Ed is not a good fisherman), the second thought we will address in a bit.

Now it could just be a set up for the joke. Let's go into a little more detail to discuss how excellent a set up it is. We open the episode with a shot of some trees, and the camera pans showing us more trees for a few seconds until we finally see Ed. The camera is physically tucked away into these trees and the lighting is dark, both facts are used to show us how dense the nature is. Then, we zoom in on Ed, but only a little bit. In the background we see a large hill covered in (guess what) more trees and we see a little cove (or bay) of water. Ed, a small figure in the long shot, stands alone on a small dingy in the water. Ed is completely surrounded by nature and he is alone. Now, it's already been established that Ed hates nature and we know from watching him throughout two seasons that Ed loves comradery. Immediately, little bells of "this is out of character" go off in our minds.

This sequence leads into a montage of Ed talking about how peaceful and at one with himself he is. Now, ordinarily we wouldn't question narration from Ed, who, in season 2 at least, has been very upfront with his feelings and wants. However, after our pan and zoom that told us Ed is a small dot surrounded by nature and seemingly alone, we might be calling bs on everything he is saying. Sure, he may enjoy some parts of this lifestyle (especially if it were being shared with Stede), but is this life he really wants? Is he really at peace? Of course, all of this is a set up for the joke of Ed being terrible at being a fisherman, and he walks away (and back to pirate's cove) pretty easily.

That's already a pretty good amount of information that we gathered from the pan and zoom. We could honestly reach our final conclusion (yet to come) without the aid of Izzy's zoom. Additionally, we probably shouldn't be rely too heavily on comparing the two because they came from two different cinematographers in two different seasons but that doesn't mean we can't draw any connection or shared meaning. That being saaid, when we think about Izzy's zoom and take into consideration that zoom shots have been using to introduce a new character before, and have relied on camera angle/lighting to communicate character traits to us, we can reasonably assume that this pan and zoom also does that.

This entire season has been Ed's journey. We go from heartbroken and angry Ed to an Ed that has given up and then Ed that is not giving up and is also reinvigorated to express his hurt towards Stede. Then, we get the Ed who believes in change and can accept magic. This Ed doesn't know how to reconcile Blackbeard and Ed, and he turns to his beloved tactic of running away when he is hurt or confused. That's the last Ed we saw. Until our pan and zoom. This Ed is a new Ed. He's Ed who tried to run away from Stede again. An Ed who tried the simple life in nature. He's an Ed who is already ready to go back to Stede. He left his fisherman life so easily. And he went straight back to Pirate's Cove to find Stede. This pan and zoom introduced the Ed who we've been waiting for all season. He's the Ed who is truly ready to love and be loved.

We might have gathered all of this from the fact that Ed (who hates nature) is completely surround by nature and clearing bs-ing himself into loving this life. But I like the parallels between this shot and Izzy's shot and I like that in the episode that Izzy left Ed, the camera (who introduced us to Izzy) was able to tell us that Ed was ready for the next chapter in his life.

#ofmd spoilers #ofmd 2 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd s2 #ofmd #our flag means death

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rmkenvs3000w23 · 2 years

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Unit 2: My Ideal Role as an Environmental Interpreter

It’s taken me longer than I thought it would to write this post. I think this could be because I consider myself to be much more of a generalist than a specialist. I like to say that I can talk a little bit about a lot, which makes imagining my ideal role as an environmental interpreter difficult. When thinking about the things that are important to consider for the role of an environmental interpreter - setting, intended audience, learning and teaching strategies, the story I want to tell - I immediately think about those interpreters and communicators who have most influenced me.

I’ve already mentioned Steve Irwin, David Attenborough, the Kratt Brothers, but I would add to that list people like Bill Nye, the Mythbusters, Jane Goodall, Carl Sagan, Jay Ingram, Ziya Tong, Dan Riskin, Richard Feynman, Hank Green, people who wear their enthusiasm for the world around us on their sleeves, and who share that enthusiasm with all of us. Not all of them are strictly speaking ‘naturalists’, or what you would think of first when asked to describe an environmental interpreter, but in unabashedly showing us that enthusiasm, they have all engaged and inspired millions of people, including me.

By showing us the farthest reaches of our world, zooming in on tiny micro-organisms, giving us sweeping shots of vast savannah plains, dense rain forests, and frigid tundras most humans will never see, inviting us to look up as they peel back the curtain that lines the night sky and give us with a peak at the cosmos, and by taking the time to explain all of the invisible forces at play so that we can have a more complete understanding of how all of it works, they are all natural interpreters. My proclivity for drawing from many different fields can be a great asset to my role as an environmental interpreter, but the idea of trying to transfer all of that understanding to the intended audience is slightly daunting, and I will have to be conscious of getting across a good mix of vital information and interesting, but maybe less related facts.

I also think of people like my Uncle Tom. Tom Browne is my Mom’s older brother, who has been a constant role model for me since I was little. Because I don’t think he’ll ever read this, I will describe him like this: I think deep down inside, a part would have loved to have been born two hundred years ago so he could have lived on the plains, able to take all the time would ever need to appreciate the natural world for what it is. He is one of the kindest and most giving people I have known, and he is also one of the biggest reasons for my love of the natural world. Over the years, he has rescued or helped to rescue dozens of animals that he happens upon. Turtles from the side of the road, racoons and opossums in neighbour’s backyards or chimneys, birds caught in fishing line, he goes out of his way to help whenever he can.

He also tries his best to learn as much as he can. Many times as he has been telling me a story of finding a gull with a lure tangled around its legs, or a turtle that’s been hit by a car, he’s suddenly gone off on an excited tangent about what he had learned in researching whatever it is that he was dealing with. This constant desire to learn and share that new knowledge is another aspect of being an environmental interpreter that is extremely important, and one I want to make sure I do effectively.

The role of environmental interpreter is linked very closely to the role of teacher. As my plan after my undergrad is to pursue teacher’s college and then eventually become a teacher, I can’t help but picture myself taking a group of student’s on an interpretive walk, sharing my love for the world around me and helping students appreciate the greatest and most important resource we have, our planet. In order to be an effective environmental interpreter or a teacher, an understanding of the diverse theories surrounding learning and teaching styles is vital. Beck et al. (2018) describes a variety of these in some detail, and I would be interested to try different interpretative activities in order to determine which strategies I am most comfortable with, and which ones I may need to put more effort into using effectively.

Works Cited:

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. Sagamore Venture.

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blindrapture · 4 months

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TUESDAY MAY 24TH, 2011 (The Pillar)

2:34 AM TV still works, DVD player still works. Beavis and Butt-Head Do America still w

5:28 AM Donnivan came in. She said she couldn’t sleep. I put Inception on, asked her to watch it with me. She did. She’s sleeping now. .w. I guess I will too.

11:42 AM spdiedserjfjdasdsjspidercat spidercat spidercat spidercat

11:45 AM Donnie got it out the door. I don’t think those barricades are gonna hold up. Let’s.. get breakfast.

1:04 AM “Jordan, I think we should talk about.. things. The red sky.” Alright. Yeah, that’d be a good idea. “You’ve heard the rumours, right? That this is Rapture? There was that American man who had predicted this, and it can’t just be a coincidence that this started on the very day he had predicted. ..can it?” No. I don’t think it’s just a coincidence. But at the same time, I’m.. I dunno. This doesn’t feel like the Christian depictions of.. well, anything! This feels too modern. Or something, I can’t quite put a name to it, but it really doesn’t feel right. “Nothing seems to.” No. “So what else could it be? If this isn’t the apocalypse, what is it?” I.. well, like I said, I can’t put a name to it. But I do have a theory. I think, whatever the hell “Rapture” is, it’s not here yet. It’s coming, just not here yet. For one thing, we’re all clearly pretty much alive. So it’s most likely not here. “I think that it’s a place, and we have to go to it. Like.. like Mordor or Pohjola or something.” Had to get her to spell that last one for me. That would explain why that Cockroach Jesus thing was trying to take me somewhere the other day. But this still leaves the questions of where Rapture is and how we get there. I guess, either way, there’s no way of knowing for sure. “And neither of our theories say much to explain the.. outside.” The red skies, yeah, that’s gotta be something. But whether or not we’ll find out depends entirely on how good we are at survival.

3:11 PM We’ve been doing random things. We have confirmation, journal: she likes prog. I can’t believe it. She’s so perfect. She wishes I had more albums. I told her I do too. “If only we could, like.. go to HMV or something.” Haha, yeah, that’d be rad. I’d love to just.. I dunno, browse a music shop with you. Like the huge one in Piccadilly Circus, you ever been to that one? “I went there at one point, yeah. That place would be ideal.” Come to think of it, might it be ideal for other things too? “‘Other things?’” Like. Could it be barricaded, would we be able to live there if it were, say, abandoned? We’d be pretty close to all kinds of food places. “But it’s in London, there’d be tons of people everywhere. Or monsters. Plus the walk…” So you’re getting my idea. “I am.” She’s crossing her arms. Just imagine it! You and me, thousands of CDs and probably some kind of way to play them, surrounded by a megalopolis where we’d be safe and easily be able to communicate with the rest of the world, we’d be kept much more informed on the state of things there than here! “I guess there are advantages to going somewhere more densely populated… but what if HMV’s already occupied? Which it’s likely to be.” Well, then we politely ask if we can join them, or we look for somewhere else! “And what if there’s nowhere else?” It’ll be a lot easier to think of a plan when we’re in a big city, believe me. She sighed. “Alright, but we need a solid backup before we even try something as big as this.” Alright, I’ll think of something.

4:23 PM Holy fuck. Amazingly enough, some people on TVTropes— a troper couple— were rather enthusiastic about the possibility of us going to stay with them. They’re up in Blackpool, which is.. quite a bit further than London, but I’ll talk to Donnie about it!

4:25 PM “Are you sure about this? Aren’t these basically strangers?” With all due respect, ma’am, I have a lot of trust in TVTropes. These guys have collectively saved my life. It’s.. a long story. “…alright. I suppose there’s not much choice. I could leave, but I really don’t like the idea of wandering those streets alone. It seems pretty common sense to stick together. And if you trust these people, I’ll take your word for it. I guess.” It’ll be fine. :3

5:39 PM I realize that there’s still a problem we haven’t discussed: The rabbit holes. That strange staircase that took me down the shapeless lands and into the file cabinet maze. Donnie hasn’t mentioned experiencing anything like that, but maybe someone online has. I’m looking it up.

8:19 PM Nothing regarding the rabbit holes yet. I mean, I’m not looking for “rabbit holes;” I just have no better name for it.

10:51 PM Donnie came in to tell me I should make sure I’m all ready for setting off tomorrow. So I’ll do that.

10:55 PM ..where’s Tiger Stripes?

11:06 PM I’ve been looking all over the house. I can’t find it.

11:10 PM HOW CAN I MISPLACE A BIG PLASTIC GUITAR Unless it’s.. outside. o____o;; I don’t want to go out there.

11:11 PM I WISH THIS WAS EASY I WISH THIS WAS EASY I WISH THIS WAS EASY I WISH THIS WAS EASY

11:12 PM Okay. I think I’m ready. I’ve got my big book. Got it gripped firmly. Donnie’s coming.

11:15 PM Checked all around the house, where could it be “What is that?” what WHAT IN THE IN THE DISTANCE IT’S LIKE A SOARING PILLAR OF RED COMING FROM THE where would you call that the east THE SOUTH-WEST ASCENDING INTO THE CLOUDS HURTING TO LOOK AT Is that a person over there floating in the sky raising their arms Wait whoh mY GOD BIG ONES A WHOLE HORDE OF BIG ONES CRAWLING AWAY FROM THE PILLAR THEY’RE COMING THIS WAY FUCK THIS SHIT LET’S GO BACK INSIfdisijgf ow what did I trip over I can’t fucking a fucking spidercat that has Tiger Stripes GIVE IT HERE GODDAMMIT OKAY NOW SHOO NOW LET’S GET THE FUCK BACK INSIDE

11:28 PM These barricades seriously aren’t gonna hold, they can’t even hold a spidercat let alone a Big One let alone alone a stampede of them Donnie’s retreating to the bathroom. I don’t know what to do. ..god.

(Attached, from one of my rare conversations with the Archangel: “I remember the pillar in the sky, though I can hardly say I remember raising my arms, and it must have been me because there weren’t exactly any other floating people at the scene of the crime. I had just had a meeting with a bitter study in despair and given her a red head, and I was probably on my way to see all this Genera garbage for myself when the pillar came. I don’t know what that pillar could possibly signify. In fact, I think this is one of the clearest cases where a really flashy event of extreme symbolic potential falls flat in the grand scheme of things and withers, never to be referenced again. Such is life, o felix culpa. I am Death, and who are you?”)

[PREV LOG] [TABLE OF CONTENTS] [NEXT LOG]

#ogtrib #ogtrib act 1 #oh god the rapture is burning

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frankterranella · 1 year

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Understanding Jim Croce's famous phone call with an AT&T employee

It was recorded just a little over 50 years ago, but Jim Croce's song "Operator" may today be puzzling to many Americans. When was the last time you spoke to an "operator"? Does anyone under the age of 30 even know what an "operator" is? Such is the peril of technology-involved art. Remember the number one hit song in 1962 called "Telstar"? It's a pretty obscure reference today to the first telecommunication satellite that revolutionized long distance communications. But in 1972, when Jim Croce wrote "Operator," the person who you could talk to on any telephone by simply hitting the "O" button, was very familiar. They were almost exclusively women and had been employed by the telephone company for many decades. There was just one phone company in 1972. AT&T had a monopoly that continued into the 1980s. And they employed thousands of "operators." Their job was to facilitate Alexander Graham Bell's communications gadget. People would talk to an operator to place person-to-person calls, for information such as a person's telephone number, and for a host of other telephone-related services. In most parts of the country people were still using operators to place long distance calls in 1972. And that is exactly what the character in Jim Croce's song is doing. It's a story song similar to Harry Chapin's "Taxi," which was on the radio at the same time as "Operator." Both songs involve former girlfriends. "Operator" opens with after a wonderful guitar intro played on two acoustic guitars by Jim Croce and Maurice “Maury” Muehleisen. After the eight-bar riff, the story begins: Operator, well could you help me place this call? See, the number on the match book is old and faded She's living in L.A. with my best old ex-friend Ray A guy she said she knew well and sometimes hated There's a lot to unpack in that first dense exposition verse. A character we'll call Jim has his girlfriend's number written on an old matchbook (remember matchbooks?). He needs an operator to help him place a call. This old girlfriend is living across the country in Los Angeles with Ray, who used to be Jim's best friend. It seems that Jim, Ray and this unnamed girl had some history together. Jim most likely introduced his girlfriend to Ray, and the girl did not always get along with Ray. I'm sure that from the operator's standpoint, this is too much information. She just wants to do her job. But the song gives us only Jim's side of the conversation. So probably prompted by the operator's polite "how can I help you sir?" Jim continues: But isn't that the way they say it goes? Well let's forget all that And give me the number if you can find it So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show I've overcome the blow I've learned to take it well I only wish my words could just convince myself That it just wasn't real But that's not the way it feels Jim is trying hard to be philosophical about what has happened between his girlfriend and Ray and explains to the operator/bartender that he just wants to call to say he's OK with how things turned out. But no sooner are the words out of his mouth than he admits that he's lying to himself and he still has strong feelings for the girl. As he's saying this, the operator is dutifully looking up the telephone number he needs and relaying it to Jim, expecting Jim to now dial the number. But Jim is now too upset to proceed. So he continues: Operator, well could you help me place this call? Cause I can't read the number that you just gave me There's something in my eyes You know it happens every time I think about the love that I thought would save me The operator is probably touched by now and saying some comforting words to the obviously distraught Jim. But he's gotten cold feet and changed his mind about the whole thing. So he politely recognizes the operator's kindness and tries to offer her a tip for her service: Operator, well let's forget about this call There's no one there I really wanted to talk to Thank you for your time Ah, you've been so much more than kind You can keep the dime The song then repeats the chorus, ending: I've overcome the blow I've learned to take it well I only wish my words could just convince myself That it just wasn't real But that's not the way it feels We can imagine Jim hanging up the phone at a telephone booth (remember them?), listening to the coin drop, opening the door and walking outside brushing away tears as he did. My bet is that Ray broke up with Jim's girlfriend soon afterwards. Unfortunately, Croce never got the chance to write a sequel. Thirteen months after "Operator" was released and hit the Top 20, Croce died in a plane crash. He was just 30 years old. "Operator" demonstrates Croce's master songwriting talents with its brilliant melody, its virtuoso acoustic guitar playing and its poignant lyrics. Jim Croce is gone as are almost all "Operators." Both remind us of a different time before politics became war, when people were more courteous, and a guy could spill his heart out to a stranger on the telephone just by dialing "O."

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chocolatedonutdream · 2 years

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greysfall · 3 years

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My 4444-word review of NEO TWEWY (with personal illustration + heavy spoilers)

My overall critical score for the game is 7.5/10, while my personal enjoyment score is 8.5/10. This review is posted as I have 80% completed the game, got the secret ending and achieved the Angel psychic rank. I’ll first start with the main pros and cons as follows.

PROS:

- Enjoyable as a whole, still upholding the first game’s spirit in world building and sharing the same backbone - which was mostly revealed in the Secret Reports, it’s impossible to grasp the story without reading them.

- The new cast and new game is charming in their own way

- The old cast’s return is one of the biggest highlights for sure, it was fun and impactful. Everyone stays true to themselves and also had their own stories wrapped up nicely.

- Boss designs are cool, new pins are fun to use and collect

- The connection between the old and new cast is well written and executed, including but are not limited to the tension between the old and new protagonist, the weird but fun interaction between the 2 Composers, the new friendships revealed and formed

- Sho being in the main cast is something so uniquely TWEWY and uniquely Sho

- Still good music

- Still many fun side quests, some of them really uphold the same quirky spirit of the old game and some are surprisingly touching

- Many new nice stores and yummy looking foods to explore

- The map is really easy to memorize for me, it’s fun to travel around the “current” Shibuya to see all the differences compared to the past

- The social network is crazy and interesting to read through

- Has an anti-frustration system to help 100% complete the game more easily and earn money faster, so post-game is relatively managable.

- Overall, I really feel the efforts the team poured into making this as their passion project, not just during the development process but for all the last 14 years. They showed the vision of what they wanted to make, at the same time giving something to both the old as well as new fans.

CONS:

- The biggest problem with the game is scenario writing. The story is so heavily back-loaded. The director himself thought it would be better to balance out the tension flow by adding more at the beginning but gave in to the scenario writer in the end, probably due to time pressure. This results in an underwhelming execution of characterization and lots of wasted potentials for the first half of the game.

- I struggle to view it as a stand-alone game, since the backstory and the old cast both play such an important role in the core of the game. If someone plays this game without having played the OG, they can only enjoy it on surface value at best.

- The new cast is nice but most of them aren’t quite as intriguing as the old cast, maybe it’s cuz they’re all too nice deep down that they lack a little bit of an edge, of that batshit craziness that everyone in the OG used to have? I think some characters (Fret, Nagi) ended up weaker in terms of characterization because the writer is too afraid of making them unlikeable – which kind of backlashed cuz they only became likable in the most expectable way to cater for a specific group of fans. I would have wished for the other team leaders to be more crazy too, had they not suffered 30+ loops of the Game…

- The CAMERAWORK IS HELL.

- Gameplay does get tedious at certain points with all the time travels.

- Shiba is so badly written as a villain, some Shinjuku characters should be given more screentime cutting into Shiba’s– like Hishima or Kaie or even, Hazuki (though his limited presence also solidified his importance).

- Some of the main character designs, for example Beat’s hairstyle and his food reactions are hilariously bad. What’s the point of covering up most of his unique facial features?

- Some of the minor/side characters’ design are too cool for them to have such a small role (eg: Ayano, Eiru). Ryoji did get much screentime but is nowhere as fun as Makoto was.

- Overall the scope of this game is made a little too big for the team to handle as perfectly as the last game that was very compact, it felt somewhat rushed in development too so the missing pieces are clearly there in the final picture

The entry fee versus paying for it all in the end

An important difference between the Neo game and the original Shibuya game was that the Shibuya rule asked for an entry fee that is the Player’s most important asset, stated as a chance the Composer gives them to reexamine themselves. Meanwhile, the Shinjuku rule neither encourages nor allows personal growth and ultimately aims to erase as many Players as possible. It’s a pity we were never introduced to the full Shinjuku rulebook, as it seems like the system there focuses more on building up power and a grand government to compare with the individuality-driven system of Shibuya.

When you have to compare the new game and the original game (OG), this is an important factor to consider. Also, the OG has a serious storyline running through and through, locked with a different partner/GM creating unique atmosphere for each week and you don’t get to see your old partners again until the end. NEO’s team system does not allow such deep insight and communication between the Players. All of your teammates are always there throughout, the dynamic does change with each new addition but it is not as prominent as a partner change.

Another important factor is how the OG was built from scratch for a new platform as “something no one has ever seen before”, while Neo recycled a lot of old unused ideas from the previous development (check out this interview for more details). The development team for NEO lacks 2 key members and had a change of writer so the final product is not as strongly bound together as the last game.

The new cast is definitely inspired by today’s teenagers (from the view of creators), compared to the old cast they’re more sociable and always seem to take whatever works for them despite feeling unstable inside. They are all innocent and genuinely nice kids, avoiding to hurt each other to a degree that they end up keeping some sort of distance. They’re also unable to communicate at deeper levels, always stagnant at this half-baked stage of equilibrium without any motivation to get to the core of things. That is the cost of entering the game without an entry fee, without even dying or having a reason to be there/to fight seriously. These kids were stolen from the RG into a Game that was decidedly the worst environment for them to change or develop, just wandering around cluelessly to find a way “out” until tragedies started to unfold one by one and they ended up being charged the total sum of the price for their actions – ultimately losing everything in the end.

That is, I believe, a story arc which can resonate more to the youth of today rather than of my generation. If the message of the old game was to “listen”, enjoy life to the fullest and accept to trust others, the message of the new game is to “speak up” from the inside, trying to understand yourself and take actions instead of just going with the flow and finally, to take responsibility for such actions.

If Neku was handpicked by the Composer for being the special one with an all-dense soul to ensure victory of the game then Rindo was just a normal kid chosen out of random by Kubo to be his back-up plan, who just happened to have a high enough imagination to awaken the incredible power from his pin. Rindo was then officially chosen by the Composer as Josh picked up and handed the pin to him again, this time not as Josh’s personal Proxy – but as the Proxy to represent the normal people of Shibuya and via whom he could gamble if humans can fight for their own fate.

The underworld heroine and the hero with little of his own

Shoka is for me a refreshing and layered heroine. She’s the kind of character that took at least 3 trials of creators to form as a complete individual – that included Nomura who gave her the base design and Reaper background, Gen who gave a more cunning touch and the writers who made her English dialogues more punchy. Dishonesty equals “tsundere” is such a cliché, so the English writers tried really hard to avoid that trope in my opinion, while still letting her good intention come through.

She serves as the character who is informed of everything the players should have known, and there was almost nothing she could do about it. Almost. Until she met Rindo.

They were drawn to each other by sharing a state of “not having anything of their own”. They both started out with not being able to truly know themselves, Shoka even hated her RG life but also managed to mature from that stage before Rindo. She must have vibed with Shiki’s love and passion in the Gatto Nero threads, initiating her connection with Shibuya and understanding herself more. With Shoka as Swallow, they were able to open up to each other and offer mental support… but was still not getting to the centre of their problems because for all this time, Shoka could not tell Rindo the most important things about herself.

How did Shoka feel when she met Rindo at the UG? She probably didn’t want to hope that he would live the day until she witnessed the Twisters’ potentials. From the very beginning, they were both incredibly conscious of each other and also constantly frustrated that the person they happened to “notice” was such a condescending bitch/a clueless loser. The Shinjuku Reapers are overall quite drunk in power and uncompassionate to Players, Shoka included. She is also a master of dissociation, which results in her constant boredom, tone swings, haughtiness and subconsciously distancing herself from the friend – the boy she cares about – from false hope, as she judged from facts that it was a hopeless situation where nothing could ever be. Maybe she is naturally a bit of a chameleon just like her name suggests (Shoka 紫陽花 = hydrangea, the color-changing flower), so putting on an act and always dissociating herself from what’s important was easy, while hiding her contradiction was impossible. It was the ex-Reaper Beat who broke it out to her, that she should decide whether she really cared and wanted to do something for a change. He knew how it felt like to cross that line, and knew she wanted to too.

Shoka is endeared by many of the Shinjuku Reapers and has shown independent acts of kindness (the Shinjuku ghost), proving that her kind and truthful side is as real as her harsh and dishonest side – which makes her a nice mirror to the previous heroine Shiki, who also embraced a dichotomy of self-complex and self-love within her character. In the end, she was the first of the new cast to ultimately accept all that is important to her and independently made the decision to help save Shibuya despite all costs.

She was jealous at Rindo’s interaction with Tsugumi and Kanon but remained silent cuz she wasn’t at a place to have any say about it. She also didn’t reveal about Swallow because that would only add an awkward irrelevance to their current situation, as she was too ready to face erasure at the end of the Game. She only wished to “play a game” with him, be it FanGo or the Reapers’ Game. The tension that the team could only feel at the end, she’s felt it the entire time. The song “DIVIDE” is applicable to not just one bond in the game, but it always makes me think of theirs. There is always a “divide” between her and Rindo throughout the course of their journey, as the living and the dead, as a Player and Reaper, as someone who has a place to return to and someone who doesn’t, someone who knows little but wields too much power and someone who knows a lot despite not being able to do much.

“If only I had the chance to connect with you on the other side

But time goes on, and without us realizing it

The battle is getting heated

Time goes on, and without us realiazing it

Divided again”

To be honest, maybe I didn’t grow any affection for the new main cast from Rindo’s perspective but from Shoka’s. Since I started to sympathize with Shoka, I started to see the boy in a more “real” way. The real Rindo, behind his peaceful façade with others, would lash out on Shoka for her unfairly harsh attitude while none of the others cared. He could also subtly feel that mantle of unspoken secrets from her, her own contradictions, the unresolved chemistry between themselves – and not knowing what to do with it rather than to feel angry with all the unfairness he could not process. (As a Libra too, he’s triggered the most by unfairness!)

It is actually a positive development as he’s at least “reacting” to something strongly now rather than to keep evading his problems. During my replay, I clearly saw the difficult situation Shoka was in, her remaining harshness after the Motoi incident was due to her internal struggle with a mission to save her own life, versus a chance to really be with the team. Her decision was to do both at the risk of losing favour from both sides. Rindo started to accept her layer by layer, as the person who resonated the most to her contradicting nature from the start and knew that via learning her resolve, he has learnt his too.

Later into the game, she even got too much of his attention. Maybe even without knowing she’s Swallow, he’s familiar with her thinking direction and Swallow had always been closer to him than any other friend. It was only after she had to betray her important ones twice that she could start being truly honest. The scene when she died a 2nd time left a strong impression in me, the little reveal let Rindo know that he is also losing Swallow as he’s losing Shoka – and that only death could drive the last secret out of her. Her final “Later, loser” echoed through Rindo as it was the final truth, with only him remaining to hear it: they had actually, already lost everything.

Rindo was the boy who never dared to face all that matters to him until he lost it all, fighting an unfair battle in the faith that they would somehow still win. Shoka was the girl who always knew what was dear to her, but never dared to think she could be together with them ever after and still threw her all into a battle she knew was losing. I think they stir each other on naturally to fill out their gaps, similar to what the Shibuya game partner systerm would have aimed for. The end reward was a little divine intervention to help close up the divide between them once and for all.

During the game there was not enough space to process anything personal so at the ending when they officially became “friends”, it was an important affirmation of their bond. Some people complained it was friendzoning but it’s not, they just have arrived at the perfect place to start something more. “From now on, we will truly be together” – I read it as that kind of message.

The heroine from a lost battle, with her story taken away

After reading the secret reports and playing the game to be surprised of how small a role Tsugumi had in the main game despite being the “Hype-chan” thought to be a major character of the next TWEWY installment, many fans would feel sad at a missed opportunity to see the Shinjuku arc in full depiction.

It was shown clearly that, a Shinjuku arc was very carefully planned out and is a vital part of the whole story, yet it could not be made due to various circumstances behind the development scene. I would assume, that the team were not able to make a TWEWY game that ended on a despairing note, but it already happened in their mind, thus becoming a mental burden that forced them to break away from it and started the game anew with NEO. A significant part of NEO became the healing arc for the Shinjuku characters, especially for Tsugumi though I really wished more emphasis should have been placed on her rather than Shiba. We didn’t even get to see her brother – Shinjuku’s Conductor who had a vital role and instead was given the clueless Shiba, who had absolutely no idea what’s going on all the way until the last day in NEO. It’s as if Tsugumi has had her story stolen away from her, because her own battle ended with a saddening loss.

I think every time the game creators look at Tsugumi, they would feel that sadness too. Maybe to them, she is a bigger character than what is seen by the fans, as despite their failed effort to depict her story, she’s lived in their mind for all these years through periods of destruction, healing and rebuild. Though it is a pity we could not get to experience the full scope of the Shinjuku story, the creators was clear about the place they wished for it to arrive at.

Individuality, connection and the social network

The team system adapted from Shinjuku rulebook does not allow much room for personal development, as the team dynamic is closer to a work relationship forced to bear results, than a spiritual bond to max out all corners of understanding as found in the partnership system. The old Shibuya system allowed only 1 winner and 1 week limit per game, while the new rule declares for a 1 winning team and only the team at last place will be erased – the other teams will enter another loop. Furthermore, whichever team to challenge the unwinnable Ruinbringers will face the risk of ending up dead last followed by erasure. As a result, the longest-standing teams are most likely not the strongest ever recorded, but the ones who have figured out a strategy to simply survive until something changes, enjoying their newly found social constructs while they are at it. Basically, it is a system to hypnotise players into the illusion that they are still “living”.

Therefore, we as players would not get to the core of each Player individually as fast and directly as we did in the last game. The Twisters were able to stand out not because they’re powerful, they only started to have a real chance after growing enough to each form a meaningful and personal connection to another teammate. It did not come as a team, nor did it intiate from the existing friendship between Rindo and Fret. In fact, I did not find much solidity or anything truly note-worthy about the main team and new characters within themselves until they started clashing with other team members, Reapers and new recruits from week 2 onwards. Rindo found his personal development with Shoka (via a clash with Motoi and pretty much a mini dating sim between them), then via the confrontation of his role with Neku; Fret found his with Kanon then Nagi, the team learned about the real Neku via Beat, Neku entered the UG via Coco’s wish to save Tsugumi… it was not the team but their personal links that empowered them to fight and solve each of their problems.

The other team leaders may have failed because they did not form such personal links, after 30+ hopeless loops Fuya’s team all fell apart to pursue their own interest even at the cost of erasure, Motoi quit his KOL façade to work like a dog for the Reapers (probably to save just his own ass not his team), while Kanon dropped her tricks to find changes via honest cooperation in acceptance of a fair loss. The despairing note in that is huge without making much of a scene because their failure didn’t happen at their best effort to “win”, but in their last attempt to find a way “out”. Even Shiba got his way “out” in the end thanked to his personal friendship with Hishima and Tsugumi.

Something has shifted in the mindset of the game creators in the last 14 years, as both games are about “connection vs individuality” but the last game focuses more on connection between just individuals and this one on the overall network that is formed out of those individual connections.

The introduction of Beat into the main cast was truly the bridge between old and new, they helped each other out in several turns before officially recruiting him. Beat is a character whom a lot of fans including myself have felt somewhat concerned about after Neku disappeared from the RG, so when the new kids welcomed Beat with warm and organic interaction and Beat seemed happy, I started to feel like I wanted to help them out too! I think the overall team chemistry is enjoyable enough for new players, but I could warm up to the new kids more from the pov of a returning character – whom I’m glad to be Beat, as the older brother figure who is genuinely kind, fun, serious and upbeat at the same time; who is needed and needs the kids in return.

The social network is a fun and refreshing feature. You can read all of the crazy tidbits about Shibuya and the links each character have formed with the town people, it’s also fun to visualize how the characters act off screen. Characters’ profiles provide extra insight into their background too, like how it reveals Tsugumi has been friend with Coco during her time in the RG. During the game when not all characters have showed up, you can sometimes guess which empty spot will belong to whom. For example there is a 1 character linking to Neky that is not linked to anyone else, so I could guess that was Joshua, and that another character linking only to Joshua was probably Hazuki, hinting that the 2 Composers are related before either of them even showed up.

Hazuki only showed up for 5 minutes, but his presence is so vital and true to the game that I think he is the most memorable out of the new cast. The two Composers have such an intriguing bond, with their yin/yang or phoenix/dragon themes, opposite color design, the sempai/kouhai tone and the way they keep some sort of distance/work relationship as if it’s mandatory between Higher beings, yet at the same time they can talk so casually because they are truly equal – and different from one another. I have written a separate meta on them here.

Some people pointed out, that all Shinjuku characters’ names and themes are based off Hanafuda cards and the Phoenix in Hanafuda belongs to the Paulownia suit – which is Joshua’s name flower. This is so interesting because it feels like the creators somehow saw it as a sign to interweave the Shibuya and Shinjuku storylines together. Though it doesn’t come out much on the surface, it’s fascinating nonetheless considering both Josh and Haz had at some point interfered with the other town’s affairs.

“Shibuya tour with Haz” was such a special scene, as it happened between 2 characters who do not/no longer have a reason to care about Shibuya, on the subject of what is worth saving about Shibuya. Hazuki carried out the purification of Shinjuku and stepped in to restore Shibuya just as part of his job and unlike Hanekoma or Joshua who both possess profound understanding of humanity, he really didn’t know humans at all. Rindo’s irrational wish invoked in him a sense of curiosity, to try gambling on something irrationally and learning a bit of what his senior have experienced. With all the pieces put together, it provides an overview on Higher beings as a whole, and that Joshua and Hanekoma are really the odd ones out with Hazuki being somewhere in between them and the rest.

The old friends

It’s easy to have returning characters overshadow the new cast as they have already matured out of their personal story arc and stayed in our hearts for all this time. In the end, I have managed to enjoy both the old and new cast separately and altogether, and they will both find their own place in our memory of this game for the long term.

Sho is truly as crazy as ever, the game wouldn’t be the same if Sho is any less of what he is. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like Neky or Beat is younger than Nagi at all, with moments when it seems like Neky has aged 14 years instead of 3 years. His friendship with Coco surprised me pleasantly, and their interaction together with Beat was fun to watch. Rhyme’s found a new dream and her friendship with Kaie is precious too, especially considering that she can still talk to him online after the game ended. Josh and Neku’s interaction suggested that they have resolved the past and are on equal terms now, they even parted ways in good spirit and I don’t feel any worry about them like I did before.

Neku and Shiki’s reunion scene was beautiful, theirs is such a special bond that it has grown and supported them even without being able to see each other. I am so happy to see them all again and that they stay true to who they are, albeit looking more grown up, cooler and happier than ever before.

Overall, NEO can’t become a classic on par with the OG, but is definitely a good sequel and a good game in its own rights. I’m happy with whether or not there will be a 3rd game to complete the 3 monkeys theme, but if there will be – I hope the creators can really find the time to learn from the last 2 games and start over with a fresh mindset and strong core.

#neotwewy #neotwewyspoilers #ntwewy #ntwewy spoilers #neo the world ends with you #twewy #review #meta #neo twewy #shoka sakurane #rindo kanade #tsugumi matsunae

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punkgrogg · 3 years

Text

Doorway Duo pt.4

Pairing: Hybrid!Taehyung x Reader, Hybrid!Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Hybrid!BTS, Non idol AU, fluff

Warnings: Pregnancy

Summary: Y/n was abandoned by her long time boyfriend and moves back home to help prepare for the baby. She’s surprised to find two unfamiliar hybrids at her house.

Length: 2,884

Notes: Okay I got a new laptop :) and I started a new job so I've been a bit busy but I should have a new chapter out sometime next week

Date Posted: 9/13/2021

“Come on, we don’t have all night. Let’s talk this out, communication is key.” That only caused them to meander their way in, softly shutting the door behind them with an audible click in this silence. Jungkook settled in at the foot of my bed but Taehyung stood next to him, his form rigid. The room had a tense air about it, the two refusing to speak. “Okay, fine, You don’t want to start then I will. Taehyung, how long have you been scenting me without me knowing ?”

“We both have,” Jungkook interjected. His face was resigned into one that expected only the worst outcome.

Well, that didn’t answer my question. “How long?”

“The second week after I met you. I’ve been scenting you since then, Jungkook has only scented you since we ran into that asshole at the grocery store.” Tae spoke up finally but kept his eyes trained on the floor.

That did make sense but I was confused why Hobi never noticed.“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you knew since Hoseok scents you constantly so after a few days I joined in and started to scent you too. I didn’t know you were oblivious until about a month ago when Hoseok noticed I was on you and you laughed him off. I realized I should probably talk to you about it since you’re dense when it comes to hybrids. But I didn't stop, I kept the pheromones low so I could keep you claimed in between then and now.”His body language was stiff, his eyes trained on the hardwood floors while he clenched his hands at his sides. He looked both defiant and scared, a combination that I would never have expected from the snow leopard.

The possessiveness that permeated the word ‘claimed’ ruffled a few of my feathers and I couldn’t help exclaiming: “You claimed me? What the fuck Tae?”

Taehyung finally looked up, his eyes much softer than I expected, he reached out for me and gently held my hand. “No, it's not what you think. It helps me know you’re okay. I knew something was wrong earlier because the pheromones soured all of a sudden so I ran down to you. Jungkook can attest! With both of our scents entwined with yours, it's easy to know when you’re not okay.”

“It’s why I noticed your pheromones changed with the babies.” Jungkook chimed in once again, he was letting Taehung do all the talking, typical Kookie.

I pulled my hands away to rub my forehead, frustrated a bit at how it just wasn’t clicking for me. A lot of useful information that means jack-shit to me when beating around the bush. “But what does this all mean? You mentioned pack earlier, what does that mean?”

“Well, a pack is a group of individuals who care for each other. It was more common among our grandparents but hybrids our age are bringing the idea back since the laws are changing for us to have more freedoms. By the time the babies are born, I think we’ll be fully independent and we were going to wait until then to tell you about our pack.” Jungkook explained, his hands knotting together under the stress of explaining it to me. I appreciated that he was trying and I knew somehow he was only speaking because of how stressed I looked.

I nodded, that could make sense. “So, we’re all in a pack? Then why did Hobi look so angry when you said that?”

“No, just You, Kook, and I. We are a pack, we claimed you together.” Taehyung finally sat down on the bed with us, his body coiling on the edge as if he was prepared to run at any second.

“Claiming you means we love you Y/n. We want every other hybrid to know that you are loved by us both- so we scent you. It took me a while to do it too but it’s this burning itch under my skin that won't go away until I can smell myself on you. Like Tae said before, when we scent you it helps us keep track of your pheromones so we’re more attuned to if something happens to you.” Jungkook stared deeply into my eyes, his sincere expression willed me to finally understand what they were saying.

Only one thing caught my attention. “It hurts you when you don’t scent me?”

“It drives me crazy, I hate when you don’t smell like me, it’s all I can think about,” Tae explained, his face contrite as he once again reached for my wrist. I let him this time and he lightly rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb. Something he’s done a million times but this felt different.

I swallowed hard at the other major point in Kook’s explanation. “And you think you love me?”

Tae scoffed at that. “We don’t think, We know. You don’t have to love us back but you should at least know how we feel before you send us off.”

“Who said you’re being sent off? So what I reek of you two? It’s not hurting me but we’ll have to set some boundaries if you guys are going to keep doing this.” Both men perked up at that, both coming in closer as if we were huddling on my queen-sized mattress. The change in their moods was soothing to the tension that has bubbled up in my chest. ”First of all, we’ll have to talk about this loving me thing. Then we’ll have to figure out what's going to happen when the shelter is fixed because I'm not too sure when the government is going to get its shit together. Then we’ll have to discuss this whole pack thing a little more- why can’t hobi be a part of it?”

“Whatever you want. We’ll do whatever, but can I scent you now? Since you know, I can do it now right?” I’ve never seen Taehyung so excited, his eyes animated like he was a kid at Christmas. He leaned forward while bracing himself lightly against my shoulders while I nodded apprehensively. “I can do it fully right? No light scents?

At my second nod, Jungkook appeared to my left as he too broached my bubble. “Dammit Tae, you’re stinking up the whole room.”

Jungkook took to rubbing his head and neck against my own while Taehyung was butting me with his head seemingly everywhere- my shoulder, forehead, and a hand held my own close to his chest. Tae dragged his forehead from the right side of my neck down my shoulder and arm to my inner wrist. Once there he delicately kissed my pulse point. Jungkook had my right side occupied, pinning me into place, his shoulders crowding most of my frame. Our necks were pressed firmly together as he started to run his lips along the skin behind my ear before firmly pressing a kiss there.

The feeling of Jungkook kissing behind my ear made me shiver at the sudden affection. Taehyung groaned. “She smells so good now, smell her Kookie, she smells like us both. Like she’s finally part of our pack.”

Jungkook merely grunted in response as he pressed his face into my shoulder while taking in a deep breath. Tae reversed his process and traced his way back up to my neck where he decided to rest his head against my clavicle. I took a steadying breath to calm the tingles erupting across my body.

“Okay, that’s what you guys have been holding back? I’m alright with this happening more regularly, but not in front of others since Joonie looked so offended and I assume it’s a more private thing.” They finally pulled away after what seemed like forever and I could feel the raging blush covering both my cheeks as I tried to calm down at the intimacy. “ Now, onto the love part.”

“I don’t have much else to say, it’s a simple fact for me.” Jungkook shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. He stayed glued to my right side and pulled my arm into his embrace as he played with my fingers idly.

“It’s been three months, you barely know me.” playing with my hand was distracting and there was barely any strength in my argument. It was nice to feel loved but I felt somewhat guilty over this- they deserved much more than I could give them.

“You were meant for us both but if you want us to wait then I’ll hold off on saying it until you’re ready to hear it.” Taehyung raised on his knees and kissed my forehead gingerly.

“You guys can’t be serious.” I shook my head at them both but a quick look at them both showed they had earnest expressions. “Guys what about the shel-”

“Adopt us, as tough as it is right now they’ll allow it especially because you’re living with certified fosters. Then we can’t be separated.” Taehyung spoke matter-of-factly, he reached out and traced lazy patterns on my knee while I stared at him in disbelief.

“I’m not going to adopt you if you guys want to be with me, it’d be a weird dynamic if we went to the doctors and I’d have to sign as your owner .” The thought of them being my property made an acrid taste form in the back of my throat.

“But that’s exactly why you should, we know you’d never see us as lesser and we’ll take good care of not only you but the babies as well.” Jungkook reasoned as he rubbed his cheek against the palm of my hand that he stole.

Another wave of guilty unease at this evolving relationship hit. I was okay with the affection and care that they’ve been supplying but was I okay with the relationship? Those cuddle sessions and tender moments that we’ve had so far now felt much more real and intimate than before. How had I convinced myself that it was platonic? “That’s another reason you guys should reconsider this whole ordeal, it’d be easier for me than you two. Do you want to commit to babies that aren’t even yours.”

A low growl sounded from Kookie’s chest- something I had never heard before. He usually kept his more animalistic traits under a tight leash. He sat up abruptly and reached for my face to make sure my eyes were trained on him while he spoke with a soft gruffness. “They are ours, don’t you even think about saying that again. We are the ones who’ve been supporting you throughout this pregnancy- not that asshole from the store. We tell them stories at night and bring you the food you’re craving. Hell, I rub your feet because of the swelling every time your feet are near me, and Taehyung rubs out the knots in your back when you’ve stood too long. We’ve been here for you the whole time and I know I love them as my babies. I am their dad, more than he would ever be.”

“I guess if you’re dad then I’ll be papa. It has a nice ring to it.” Tae butted in with a smile as Jungkook released me. His smile was so warm it ebbed away any lingering dregs of guilt.

“You guys can’t be serious,” I repeated once again but they were unaffected by whatever I had thrown at them. They were serious.

“Y/n, I’ve been planning this out since I’ve met you, it was love at first sight.” Tae took to holding my face this time, his hands were warm as he stroked my cheek lightly. The love was tangible in how he stared down at me, something I couldn’t ignore any longer.

“Okay, I get it, but what does this mean for us now?” I could hear the fearful hesitation in my voice.

“Nothing has to change sweetheart. We can act just how we always have and the only difference is that you know we love you.” Jungkook nodded along to the ashy-haired man’s assurances.

“Would you be happy with that though? To pretend that nothing has changed even though something has.” My heated tone kept them silent as I collected my thoughts. “Since you’ve claimed me- does that mean you see me as your girlfriend?”

“Well, to be honest, it’s a bit more than that. Girlfriend is a bit fleeting. It's more like you are ours and we are yours- for forever ideally but we don’t want to force that onto you.” Taehyung smiled bashfully as he stuttered through the clarification.

“If it’s more than a girlfriend- do you mean you see me as your wife?” Wow, with just a question I think I broke Taehyung. While he looked like he was blue-screening, Jungkook tried to hide a chuckle.

“For the sake of Taehyung’s face let’s just leave it as girlfriend for now. We can expand on that more later.” Jungkook explained, his smile evident through his words.

“So I'm a girlfriend to both of you and you guys are my boyfriends?” they nodded eagerly at my questioning tone. “Are you also each other’s boyfriends?”

“Uh, while Jungkook is gorgeous, that’s a no. we’re each other's packmates and there is a certain level of love and trust that goes into it but in the end, it's just enough for us to trust each other with you. If that makes sense?” Taehyung trailed off, his face twisted into one of confusion at the word vomit he just spewed.

“I think what Taehyung is trying to say is that we aren’t dating each other. Not that it is impossible for packmates to also get romantically involved with each other - we just haven’t. we’d prefer to share your love and protect each other.” Jungkook tried to salvage the half-baked clarification.

“I am not protecting you Kookie, you are the one with a police background- you’re supposed to protect me while I protect her.” Taehyung suddenly pointed out.

“First of all, how rude. You’re my Packmate, you’re supposed to protect me too asshole.`` Jungkook playfully glared and by the twitching around his chin, I could tell he was fighting back a smile.

“I can’t protect someone who doesn’t need protecting. You are a one-man army, especially when it comes to the pack.”

Jungkook smiled at that and retorted with a: “You tried to fight Hoseok when he tried to separate our rooms at the shelter.”

“He was putting you with that bitch that growled at you when you first joined the group. How else was I supposed to react?” Taehyung had a beautiful blush rush across his face. He was so affectionate usually; so why was he arguing that he wouldn’t protect him?

“He was moving me because you complained about sharing a room with me for two weeks straight.'' Jungkook's exasperation was tangible; maybe they have this argument often?

“You get up before the sun to work out. How else was I supposed to get my beauty rest?” Tae’s argument was a paper-thin excuse. He was absolutely glowing red with his growing blush.

“Admit it in the end, you protect me just as much as I protect you.” Jungkook smiled at him with no mirth, he was done teasing him about it I guess.

That didn’t stop the flat-out refusal of: “I do not.”

“Y/n, wouldn’t you say Taehyung is just as protective of me as I am of him?” asked as he kissed the back of my hand, drawing all my attention to him.

“Tae, honey, you make his plate every night at dinner.” I sheepishly pointed out, a little unsure of how I'd place in this so-called argument. It was more flirting than anything if I was being asked but I guess I'm not the best person to ask since I did not comprehend them coming onto me in the first place.

Pseudo-shock flashed across his face at my statement.“That's because this idiot will only eat carbs and meat if we let him! I make your plate too.”

“That’s only proving my point. You are protective over your packmates.” Jungkook pushed at his shoulder playfully. A way they only ever acted when it was just us three, damn, maybe I should have noticed it sooner. There were definite lines drawn early on when it came to how our dynamic worked and they often showed me sides of themselves that my parents or brothers had never seen.

“That’s it, I'm going downstairs and giving myself over to Namjoon. His torture would be a mercy compared to this.” The drama queen stalked his way to my door and opened it with a flourish while Kookie and I both giggled.

“Tae are you not going to tell the baby a bedtime story?” My question stopped him in his tracks. He froze for just a second before gently swinging the door shut and marching his way back over to the bed with a smile that eclipsed the rest of his face.

“Babies. And of course, I am, tonight we’ll tell them the story of Hansel and Gretel.” He climbed back onto the bed and sprawled across the bottom of the bed and my extended legs. He settled in with his head resting slightly on my left hip before starting on his fairytale. Jungkook was curled up on my right side, still holding my hand captive, and he traced swirls across my forearm with a content smile. There was a warmth in my chest that I had been ignoring for a while, a warmth they only seemed to bring out and I realized I would be devastated if this warmth was to ever disappear.

Sorry, I forgot about my taglist last chapter! here's it as of right now and if you want to be added or taken off let me know!

@jelly-fishy-babie @nomimits7 @littlewolfieposts @fangirl125reader @xeirisarax @ghostkat23 @gayitachiuchiha @forever1313 @nellaphine @kooky-mysterious @rainbow-realm @xanny91 @demonslover @inumorph @uraveragefangirlsposts@alex--awesome--22 @akacamiworld @fangirling-all-the-way-tbh

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weirdcultstuff · 3 years

Text

I took a class today about how to respond to and help people with mental illnesses, because that’s part of my job as a caregiver.

A lot of the information was stuff I already knew because I’ve spent a lot of time researching mental illnesses, and talking to therapists and psychologists, and I also have mental illnesses, as do several people that I really love. It was easy to just zone out, doodling on my notebook, and then answering the quizzes quickly whenever they came up.

There was a whole section on PTSD.

They set up like five sample scenarios. “How would you respond to someone with ptsd in xyz scenario? Write four things you’d do.” We all wrote down our responses and the teacher called on us to read them aloud.

A lot of good things, like using grounding techniques for dissociation. Using active listening if the person wants to talk. Trying to look around and make a note of environmental factors to identify possible triggers, especially if the person is nonverbal. I noticed that all of my answers included one thing that the others didn’t: giving (or not removing) agency to the person with ptsd.

My experience with ptsd has been colored completely by a sense of total lack of control. Triggers, especially before I learned what they are and ways to cope with them, were completely overwhelming and seemed to come out of the blue. I struggled-and still struggle-to maintain relationships, to take showers, to sit in open places like mall food courts or parks, to throw away coffee grounds, to change my schedule. I had nightmares and nothing stopped them, I avoided sleep, and then I’d crash and I was always sleep deprived or dissociated, I felt like I was in a dense fog with no sense of direction. I felt like everything I had to do was impossible. It felt like walking across a 300 tile floor knowing that 200 random tiles would collapse if I stepped on them and send me straight into the hell of a past scenario or emotional state.

It was incredibly frustrating.

I tried to force myself to just stop. Stop being scared. Stop with the not-talking, just make words, any words. Stop staying up until six am afraid to go to bed. Stop being so out of control. Stop worrying. Stop checking the door. Stop thinking those thoughts. Stop stop stop. And I couldn’t. I had no way to make any of it stop. It just rushed over me like a tidal wave and there was nothing I could do about it.

My responses to the scenarios were things like “if doing xyz necessary activity may be a trigger for the person with ptsd, try clearly communicating exactly how the activity will happen and when. Give the person time to adjust to the idea. Let them know that you are there to help if there are any reasonable adjustments that would make it easier.” Or “if the person with ptsd is strongly avoidant of something, for example the dining room or the outdoors, give them the option to have controlled exposure to those things. Maybe a timer they can carry, displaying how many minutes they have to spend in the dining room, start with two minutes and work your way up to a full meal.”

My recovery process so far as been characterized by a reclaiming of agency.

#actually ptsd #ptsd #go to therapy kids

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cafecourage · 3 years

Text

The moment they realized they loved you. (Isekai Au Edition) Part 2

If you want more information on this AU here is the Link!

Sky:

- It started slow and very sweet.

- He took a long time realizing who you were. But he still believed in the others when they started to recognize you.

- When your behind him cheering you on, he feels invincible. Since during his adventure Impa tore into him pretty badly when he was late to save Zelda.

- Your presence is comforting to him. It feels like home despite being on the ground.

___________________________________

Being back in Skyloft was a small blessing for the chain. The tight knit community had already welcomed the travelers with little to no questions about their origins. It was a stroke of luck that they landed in front of the bazaar in the early morning when no one else was up yet. Their first day there was a resting day in attempt to gather information on the black blood monsters and inventory checks.

Sky took his time catching up with everyone. Letting the Headmaster and Sun know about the situation that had the hero hopping around in the timeline. Then he needed to go down to the small settlement on the surface to check on them. Sun did already tell him that things where still safe down there and that he should take a break. But he still would rather check it out himself just in case something did happen it better to be safe than sorry.

Despite being able to jump off from any of the decks in Skyloft. He automatically went towards the plaza near the tower of light. During his adventure it was the quickest way to the opening above Faron Woods. Sky was just turning the bend when he saw his Loftwing was already there on the docks and under its wing was You. You were trying to put a small amount of distance between you and the bird but the creature kept bring you closer to hold.

“(Y/n)!” Sky was baffled at his Loftwings reactions to you. He dashes to your side. “I’m so sorry. He isn’t normally like this.”

“It’s fine.” Your uncontrollable laughter the was full with childlike glee finally reached him. “In fact, I think he recognizes me!” You whispered smiling. The Crimson Loftwing cooed now leaning into his masters touch as Sky softly pet the side of his necks. Sky wondered if what you said was the truth. Since a Loftwing and its rider do share a special connection, it’s fully possible that his also felt and heard you. “Hey Link?” Suddenly your demeanor changed. “Can I ask something?”

Your bashful and embarrassed expression made Sky feel soft inside. “Of course.”

“One of these days can you show me around the sky or the surface?” You shifted awkwardly from him. He actually forgot that you haven’t physically been to his era before. That for the longest time you only saw things from his point of view without the ability to truly explore anything. “You don’t need to- “

“Are you free now?” He quickly cut you off. “I was actually heading down there now to check on the settlement.”

“Really?” Your face seems to brighten but then you remembered something and leaned closer to him whispering again “I don’t have a Loftwing though.”

He gently takes your hand “my Loftwing is strong enough for both of us.” He guided you to his side. You eyed the bird with uncertainty but you let him help you up onto the harness. Sky got on behind you reaching around you to get the reins. “Hold on to me if you get scared.” He teasingly warned and before you could question him. His Loftwing took off nose diving off of the deck.

You let out a small squeak as you latched onto his tunic. Sky almost felt bad that he actually scared you. But once in the air and on a steady path you finally opened your eyes again. “Woah!” The sight was nothing special but it was still just as beautiful. The clouds below them created an endless sea of white. “It’s so pretty.” Pride bubbled up as Sky watch you taken in the beauty of his home. This was just the start of what he wanted to show you as different locations came into his mind. “Hey.” You looking over your shoulder with hope in your eyes. ”Next time can we go to the Lumpy Pumpkin? I remember you singing high praises about their pumpkin soup.”

Sky tried to think of what he wanted to do tomorrow, right now there wasn’t anything that needed his attention. “If we have time tomorrow, I can take you there for lunch or dinner.” Maybe he could take a break from being a hero for a bit.

“Great! It’s a date then.” You sent a wink his way that sent his brain into a haywire before looking back into the endless sky. He was lucky his Loftwing is able to steer himself. As dot’s where finally connecting in Sky’s head. Pure love and affection bubble up as he embraces his new found feelings.

- He will be the one to uno reverse card on you. All love and affection will drown you instead. There was so much he wanted to tell you before to thank you for being by his side and encouraging him.

- Cuddle time will start here because of his need to make sure you know your loved too.

- He would be the one to confess first, but it would probably be played off as friends telling each other that they love each other.

- You’re not dense but overly affectionate. He might just need to spell out how you make him feel on a daily basis. Maybe then you’ll understand what you’re doing to him.

___________________________________

Legend:

- It hit him like a freight train.

- He isn’t mad at you. He is mad at himself. He had made his dues with what the people he had lost. Yet here he is. Already going too far.

- Your ability to make the situation brighter slowly eroded the walls he put up years ago.

- It might be all in his head, but he swears that you always make sure his needs are met even if he is trying to hide them.

___________________________________

“Link!!!” You barreled towards him ignoring the questioning stares the people of Windfall Island. “Link! Link! Link! LOOK!!!” You hold up a pink rabbit stuffed animal that you bought. “It you!”

The veteran in question huffed, “seriously of all things.” He turned on his heels “I’m going back on the ship.” He didn’t know why he was still entertaining your antics at that point.

“Wha- Hey! I was joking!” They were stocking up in Windfall and Legend was not happy to be on a boat nor in the ocean again. He wouldn’t say that he afraid.

Just… cautious…

You on the other hand looked like you were having the time of your life on the ship talking the it’s Captain and crew member’s. Yet most of the time you would stay by his side. The reason was obvious but nether wanted to talk about it.

Which is why you dragged him out to the port island. ‘An easy distraction.’ You told him, ‘I can show you around so we won’t get lost!’ He wasn’t worried about that. Legend trusted you. A fact he will never say out loud. However, he would rather hole up somewhere and escape the world then be here.

A soft hand took his when Legend reached the docks. He already knew who it was since you’ve been following him like a lost puppy all day. “One more place please?” You looked at him expectingly. “Then you can go back.”

“What are you a child? Why can’t you just go alone?” Legend snapped back, “you don’t have to be around me.”

“Legend I like being with you.” You pointed out like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “However.” You let go of his hand. “I also understand if you don’t want to hang out anymore and want to go rest.” There was no fighting back. No offense to his words. Nothing. Just a warm smile that filled him with warmth, that was accompanied by words fueled by unlimited care and understanding which made his heart beat faster. The silence between you two seemed to give you an answer. You turned around. A panicked feeling shot through. Legend was surprised with himself when he almost reached out to you when you walked away.

Instead, he watched you go. In the wake of his own emotions, he realized what had been happening. How he has been acting around you was starting to get familiar. “Not again.” He whispered disappointed in himself.

___________________________________

- Legend is going to be bitter about it. He isn’t going to take it out on you, but his mannerisms are going to be different after this.

- Not quite closed off, but it’s almost like he is mourning another loss.

- You would need to drown him in love and affection before he realizes you like him back. But like Twilight, he is going to be heartbroken if you decide to leave him to go back home.

___________________________________

Wild:

- Its progression was as natural as breathing.

- He just got off of his adventure so he always had you by his side. Just being near you is second nature.

- If anything, he was more than excited to actually have you physically be here alongside him.

- It rare to see ether of you not near each other when traveling together you two are inseparable.

___________________________________

The only upside of being in Wild’s Era is that the champion knew what to expect, it’s chaotic was normal for him and actually brought him a bit of peace. You came with that peace of mind. Having you join the chain to him was almost like you never left his side in the first place. From the moment he woke up after being told his name and what he needed to from Zelda, he was aware of your presence. You were the one to encourage him to explore the ruin kingdom. You were the one to recognize structures that the people in his world didn’t know about. The weird part was that you didn’t know how he was before the calamity, but he didn’t question that fact too much. He was more than happy to have someone treat him as a different person from before.

Now having you physically with him. Wild wanted to bring you to all of your favorite locations that you vocally told him about.

But that had to wait for now, because the downside to Wild’s Hyrule was the amount of things that wanted him dead. Moblins? Bokablins? Those guys are fine to fight they were push overs unless infected with the black blood. Actually, most of Wild’s monsters were like that. Once you get a hang of fighting them and recognize their patterns. They are a breeze.

A common threat that was annoy to deal with however, was the Yiga Clan. Which leads to the situation Wild and the others found themselves getting in while on the road to Hateno. He should of figured that they were going to strike when he got back to his Era. But he honestly didn’t think it would be in this quantity they were out number but thanks to Warriors taking control of the situation where managing. He was trying to make sure everyone was accounted for and was alive when he heard a string of curses coming from his right.

You had been knocked on the ground by a Blade Master. Your sword was near the clan member. Wild felt his world freeze in that moment as he bolted towards your body. With a falcon bow in hand. Wild side jumped. Locked in an ancient arrow and let it go.

The arrow sped towards the Blade Master. Hitting him directly. Turning the Yiga member into a bunch of Sheikah blue ribbons before collapsing into an orb where the arrow hit.

Wild slide towards your body. A pulse he needed to feel a pulse. Placing the tips of his index and middle finger on the base of your thumb and wrist. He pressed lightly to feel the blood pulsing beneath his fingers. A sigh of relief escaped him. Wild was lucky that the battle had come to an end. As the other Yiga members ether retreated in horror of what happened to one of their own or cut down quickly.

Hyrule join him soon after shooing him out of the way gently. Wild didn’t move from your side all that much. He didn’t want to. Just in case you left him too. He doesn’t know a life without you in it. A world like that just doesn’t exist.

Wild knows the name of the cause of his feelings. It’s the same thing that drives him to share his experience with you. He wants to be by your side and to make you happy.

___________________________________

- He is protective but not controlling. If anything, he wants to spar with you more. So, you can get better at fighting.

- You can bet he is going to start making you taste the different foods he had discovered, or sneak out to visit areas in his world more often. He doesn’t want you to miss a thing.

- There is so much he wants to do with you. So much he wants to share. So many things to say. That he just wants to do it all at once so there can be new things you both can discover together.

(Part 1)

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #Lu Wild #Lu Sky #Lu Legend #Linked universe x reader #SKY AND LEG GAVE ME SO MUCH TROUBLE #London Fog Tea

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ellitx · 4 years

Text

Chapter 13: Fidelity

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁

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art belongs to _suucrose

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In sun and clouds, the church spire reached into that every stretching blue. It was as if it spoke of the love of the community towards their god, that it too lasted in any weather and called on them to join and put their faith in him.

When Aether and Paimon walked along the nave, the church choir was different compared to the other choirs that didn’t sing hymns. Their voice was almost like angels, high notes soaring over the clouds, graceful notes dancing on the staves, and they sang for the Anemo Archon only.

The two waited to finish their practice before looking for a certain deaconess that might help them gather more information they needed. It wasn’t long before Barbara noticed them and approached the two with a welcoming smile.

“Hello, Honorary Knight. What brings you here today?”

Paimon flew over her and leaned closer for a much better closeness to ask.

“We would like to ask you something about Barbatos!” She exclaimed fervently whilst she placed her small arms in front of her chest. A bright smile was then donned on the deaconess’s face, her blue eyes sparkling in delight at her words.

“Oh! Are you two perhaps interested in serving Mondstadt’s very own Anemo archon as well?” Her tone had an obvious enthusiasm in it. Aether already felt bad that’s not what they were here for, and be that as it may, he still has to prioritize in searching for his lost sibling.

“That’s not the case. We wanted to ask if by any chance the Anemo archon has a lover.”

Barbara’s small pink lips parted trying to utter a single word however a short chuckle was what came from her mouth. It surprised them and was confused if they said something odd. Her delicate hands were now placed on her mouth to stifle her laughs, apologizing in between them, as small tears form from the corner of her eyes.

“Sorry for suddenly laughing. I wasn’t expecting that’ll be your question. But to answer that, there are no stories or mentions if Barbatos had a lover or not in the past. If he did, it would’ve already been written in the books and be sung by the bards everywhere. You celebrated the Windblume Festival, right?"

The two gestured their heads as a yes. "Since you already know it's a festival about love and freedom, wouldn't the Windblume Festival be celebrated for both of them instead of Barbatos only? But just as I have said before, there were no tales about the God of Freedom having a lover.”

Something clicked inside his head though it didn’t last for long as it suddenly fades away like a speckle of dust.

“That’s true…” He turned to look at Paimon who was all troubled and disturbed.

He continued to listen further if there’ll be more clues but it seems like that’s the only information he’ll get for now. His companion looked at him then held her aching head to alleviate the small ringing echoing in her ears.

“Paimon’s running out of brain juice and my head is hurting the more Paimon thinks about this…” The throbbing in her head told her it was time to rest someplace quiet, to ride out the pile of confusion within her brain.

Aether nodded and massaged his forehead in hopes to ease the pain. Why does he suddenly feel so lightheaded? He shook his head and pushed himself forward to carry out his plan on giving the pendant back to you. Words of gratitude were what Barbara received from the blonde and she waved them a goodbye to continue her choir practice with the other members of the Favonius Church.

“Are we going back to the lair?” Paimon asked. Aether hummed in affirmation as they stepped outside of the parish. The harsh sunlight caused him to squint his eyes and cover his face with his arm. Was it always this hot for this season? The sudden change of the climate made him so lightheaded than ever.

Paimon detected how pale he looks as if he’d been painted with white-wash— even his lips were barely there. It was as if his heart had suddenly stopped beating and all the blood had run down into his boots. He swayed just for a moment, then with one step backward, he crumpled like a puppet suddenly released of their strings.

—

Birds trill, sweetly high, the chorus as playful as the birds themselves. With closed eyes, Venti imagined their music to color, painting stairs in the same way grapevines grow - this way and that, in a beautiful harmony that isn't quite random.

Along with your soft humming, it made the ambiance much more relaxing and calm for him. In the calm of the day, his heartbeat is the steady drum to your melody and he seeps into the moment, allowing himself to drown in your beautiful voice.

You rubbed the petals of the red flower between your fingers, watching your skin take on the sunny hue. Venti had spent the entire afternoon lying down on your lap and listening to your canorous tunes that made him forget about everything— as if you two were the only ones in this world with no one to intervene in such a peaceful moment he has with you.

You watched the petal rotate and awed in admiration as a flower’s petal is able to spin like wind wheels.

“Hey, Venti,” You called out to him and peered down to peek at his sleeping face. Your lover hummed in drowsiness before opening one of his eyes to look at you. Dragging the flower close to him, he shifted to get a proper look at what you’re holding.

“What flower is this?”

You’ve always been a curious one. Even before you were in a coma. It’s like you have a passion in you to know every single thing about this world. From small creatures to rare species of beings in the wildlife, anything that catches your interest and you're eager to know more about it.

Your drive to find answers is one of your unique traits he’s grown to love the more he’s with you. You create yourself in that fire of ongoing need that focuses everything that you are. And you do it because it feels as if the finding of the answer is your personal mission, your reason for being, your way of belonging and giving.

It came to him if your curiosity will cross the line. Will it come to you that he’s been hiding his identity from you? Or will you still continue to live life with him in pure denseness? Either way, if you managed to find out he’ll find a way to have you forget what you witness.

For now, he has to be cautious and prevent you from exploring the outside world. Especially if that traveler is around in his land. It’s no good if you meet him. With the help of the humming winds to let him know what’s happening, it occurred to him that he has to just patiently wait and prevent you and Aether from crossing paths.

Venti held your soft hands in his palms and took the flower from you. A small and gentle smile appeared on his face as he leaned forward and pressed his temple against yours, placing the plant close to your chest.

“It’s Windwheel Asters.” He answered and observed how your eyes sparkled in joy when you watched the petals continue to spin.

“I haven’t seen these before.”

Venti lightly chuckled and placed the flower between your hands as he returned to resting himself against you, but this time his head was now on your shoulder. “Windwheel Asters cannot grow in places with no wind nor plagued by strong storms, only where the wind is gentle and nourishing.”

“Really?” You laid your head against his and fiddled with the stem. If these floras are really unable to grow in harsh winds, then it means Old Mondstadt’s storms have truly vanished without any traces left.

Peace and harmony at last.

Freedom is finally with you.

You lifted your hand up against the sunlight and marvel at how simple it is. It may not look as fancy as the cecilias nor does it resemble feathered wings of a dandelion when blown away, but you found yourself liking this more than what Venti had given you.

It’s not like you don’t appreciate his efforts for collecting every cecilias and dandelions in this region to create a wonderful garden for your eyes to fancy with, you still are grateful for it though you do wonder why did he not include these asters in the collection?

“I kind of like this. It reminds me of you.”

Now that made him fully awake.

“Me?”

The color-infused cheeks dimpled with the blossoming smile, your eyes shone in a way that only deep happiness can bring. It was the blush of roses, that peek of champagne pink. Nodding your head to him, you brought the flower close to your face to cover your flushing features.

“You were always fighting for freedom. If it weren’t for you, we won’t be able to see the skies and birds you’ve always wished for. I really admire your perseverance and passion to fight against my father to have the city liberated from his hands. Thank you. Thank you for revolting against him. Thank you for giving everyone freedom they’ve longed for.”

You suddenly felt your throat tightened and your breath hitching every now and then. With your shoulders shaking and chin trembling, you fear he might see you in such a vulnerable state. You lowered your head even more and let your hair cover your face. Even if you hide it from him, Venti can still see small drops of liquid falling from you until it turns into a small puddle on the back of your hand.

“[Name]…?”

“Even though I’m Decarabian’s daughter, you never looked or treated me differently. Even after the war has ended, you never leave me. And now father, mother, and the knight… they’re all gone and y-you survived. You still stayed with me until I woke up… I… I was so scared that once I awoke, I won’t be able to see you.”

You were wiping your cheeks every few seconds and gulping down the lump sitting on your throat. Sniffling quietly, the tears still threatened to spill from your eyes. Your lover gently clutched your hand and used his other hand to lift your chin up to look at him.

Your eyes were red and swollen. It shatters his heart seeing you like this as your tears split over and flowed down your face like a river escaping a dam. Using his finger to dry your damp face, he brushed his lips on your temple and laced your fingers together.

“I should be the one thanking you.” He muttered and brought your intertwined fingers up to his lips to kiss the back of your hand. “Without your support, I don’t know how things would end up. If he— if I hadn’t saved you back then, you’d be locked up in that tower. Things would go differently, wouldn’t they? I can’t bring myself the idea of leaving you there when they were chasing after you.”

He pushed you until your back was leaning against the rough trunk of the tree. His other arm was propped beside your face before he rested his head on your shoulder and nuzzled closely.

“Thank you. Thank you for always being here with me.” Even though his voice was muffled, you can hear him loud and clear through your teary state. A shaky smile came from you as you caressed his hair lovingly before leaning forward and wrapping your arms around him.

“I love you. I love you so much, Venti.”

He has lived long enough to know that what you share he can’t replicate it with another. This love, this feeling, is just you and him. He could travel the world and the seven regions to create new ballads; he’d still come right back at you if he wanted true love.

He has protected you for years, he’s your confidant, a true friend, and even a lover. The trust he gave you, you gave him, is what keeps both of you safe in this world, in this life. So whether his heart beats another day or another hundred years— it’s always yours.

Meeting Venti was more of a coincidence than a fate. Yet it was the first time in your life you felt like you could be yourself around him. Memories of meeting him have become the same as the dream you play time and time again. You felt good with him in a way you haven’t been before or since.

Hearing those three eternal words from you is surreal for him. His heart would beat madly and his stomach churn in such a way excitement and happiness is filling his entire system. He wants to hear from you again.

Just once more so he can finally have you all to himself.

His chest was burning hot and so was his heart that rapidly beats in great euphoria. He can sense your emotions when you cry but this feeling… it’s much more different than he had felt before. A burning desire. He’s so smitten of your entire existence. All words coming from you were all his, he grasps each phrase and corresponds with his own loving and affectionate words.

He was brought out from his trance when he felt how warm his palm is, and it’s when he became aware his hand was now placed on your cheek just like how he brings your hand to cup his face.

Venti felt his face heat up at such a simple gesture and when you give a short and quick chaste kiss on his lips, he recognized the first brightest and sweet smile for this day was painted on your graceful visage.

“I love you.”

His wish was heard when you repeated your confession at him. Is it finally working? Were his efforts finally paid off? Before Ludi Harpastum was the Windblume, a festival where they offer windblumes to their loved ones and to the Anemo Archon. Every year, every time Mondstadt celebrates Windblume, his first priority is to give you cecilias.

He collected them for you every year. He tends them very well until they bloom— until your eyes opened. For him, windblumes are the cecilias. A symbol of elegance, purity, and just as ethereal as your gentle heart. It may be different from what that really means as interpreted by the people of Mond, but for Venti, he feels freedom when he’s with you, he feels loved when he’s with you and it’s the reason why he gathered so many flowers for you while you were asleep.

The arrangement given to him by the former Dendro Archon— she proposed the idea to him to gather flowers for you every time they feast Windblume. He can still clearly remember her words, her voice echoing in his head saying that even she may part from this world.

Her predictions for her own life were accurate. As if she already expected this to happen to her and that’s why she’s planning ahead to list all the preconditions to him to keep you safe and harmless. Barbatos can’t keep relying on her on everything and that is why he put a lot of effort into maintaining the garden.

Yesterday night was the time of the ceremony. Venti prepped everything to make it perfect, he wanted it to be successful. A mimic of a dance he once saw when he and you were together ages ago, it was a secret you both hid but he knows this. Barbatos knows what happened during that time and pretended as if he weren't there.

But now that he was able to dance it with you, one would call him shameless for stealing you from him. The heavy weight on his shoulder was now lifted away, finally free from the guilt he’s been feeling for centuries. His inner battle with himself is fully resolved, inner conflicts vanished, a conflict between his love and longing for you.

Your words eased Venti and made him assured you love him back as well. If you haven’t said a single word about your own feelings, he’d be living in an illusory fantasy that you were only shy to tell him you love him very much. But ever since the bond has been created, all he hears is I love you’s from you for his ears to delight in.

“I love you,”

You repeated once, a faint brush of your lips against his made him shudder. Soft, gentle, and shy just like your personality. Twice when you parted away, grasping how he tastes like apples before meekly leaning on him once more for a kiss but with more vigor. Your hand clutched the front of his shirt when you felt him hold you the small of your waist to pull you against him.

“I love you.”

Thrice was words of tenderness and desire from you to him. At that moment, you felt your body flushed warm. This was a person you wanted to be with than you’d ever felt before.

Venti has always been the one you could love forever.

@trust-the-oxygen

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact venti x reader #venti x reader #genshin impact venti #yandere genshin impact #yandere genshin impact x reader #yandere venti x reader #yandere venti #yandere #Illusory Sense #elliwrites

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