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praisetheaxolotl · 11 months ago

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The Arsonist Theory, Part 2: We Get It, The Billboard Was A Metaphor

Part 1: Mandibles!

First off, I want to say thank you all for giving the first part of my theory such love! I appreciate each and every one of you and I'm so happy that you all like my theories so much!

For those who are new here, the Arsonist Theory proposes that Bill wasn't alone in destroying his dimension- rather, he was used by a third party. This is part two of four, with the remaining two parts coming out very, very soon.

Also, same as before:

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK OF BILL, INCLUDING SOLUTIONS TO CIPHERS

Let's get into it, shall we?

In The Great Gatsby, certain motifs have more than one symbolic meani-- no, really, stay with me here!!

...Okay, fine. Let's back up.

In the Book Of Bill, you'll find a webpage called thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com. Go there, and you'll be prompted to enter a password. Go back to the Book of Bill, and hidden in a stretched-text section, you'll see the phrase NEED A PASSWORD? FINE, I'LL TALK / IT'S THE NAME OF THE EYEBALL DOC.

"The eyeball doc" is from the excerpts of The Great Gatsby further back in the book-- T.J. Eckleburg.

(Honestly, this explanation is moreso that context doesn't get lost to time.)

So... Gatsby. T.J. Eckleburg.

Hirsch could have chosen any number of public domain novels for that gag in the book... so why this one? Why tie it in by making it the password?

I believe it has some significance to the greater plot. Furthermore, eye doctors in general are a large point of Bill's early life in Euclidia. Take the silly straws- the red one has a numeric cipher, while the other three use a Caesar cipher.

In the order of RGBY, they read as follows:

TWISTED OUT OF SHAPE AFTER THE KILL / THE GHOSTS OF HIS FAMILY ARE HAUNTING HIM STILL Eye doctor of a different kind / Who wants to make his patients blind The doctor says / Three sips a day / Will make the visions / Go away Fussy eater / Baby Billy / Wouldn't drink / Unless it's silly

These ciphers refer to a certain couple of tidbits Bill tells us about his home.

One- He could see the third dimension. A rare mutation.

Two- Talking about it at all was illegal.

So, what were his parents to do when their son started talking about nonsense that was illegal to even mention? Well, if your child started acting strange and seeing things that weren't there... you would take them to the doctor.

It's clear to me that Bill's parents were concerned about the "visions" their son was experiencing, and took him to the doctor to cure them- an eye doctor that wants to make his patients blind. The blue straw explains how the medicine is supposed to work. The yellow straw explains why Bill has such a fondness for silly straws- he was a picky little kid, and hated his medicine, so his parents got him silly straws to drink it out of.

I wonder if that's why he collects them- because they remind him of home, of his mother urging him to take his medicine, of his life before all of this happened.

But never mind all that.

The thing is, an eye doctor is crucial to Bill's past, which of course brings me back to T.J. Eckleburg.

In The Great Gatsby, certain motifs have more than one symbolic meaning, and the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg are no exception.

(Okay full disclosure, I have not actually read Gatsby and I'm Sparknotes-ing this shit. But, so did all of you when you were assigned this in high school, so we're even.)

They appear on a billboard in a place called the Valley Of Ashes, and at first, they seem to symbolize God. But as the scenes continue, they take on a different meaning.

See, our POV character, Nick, is going on this journey to meet the mistress of his friend. Nick is aware that this is an immoral action, yet does it anyway. Now, the eyes of Eckleburg cast judgement... along with issue a warning.

They now take on a new meaning-- a foreboding omen about the tragedy that lies in wait, inching ever closer. The tragedy in Gatsby being the death of Myrtle, the mistress, and subsequent string of deaths that follow it-- and, curiously, Nick states that the eyes of Eckleburg almost supernaturally draw him someplace... which ends up being where Myrtle is.

Both a higher being, and a warning of a horrible tragedy that ends in death upon death upon death... curious!

What's more curious is when Bill is admonishing the story and Un-Gatsby-ing us, he says this:

The billboard is a metaphor? Why mention that? Out of all the symbolism in this book, why the billboard? Is it because it was mentioned in the preceding pages? Then why mention the theme of the American Dream being a myth? That wasn't on those pages! If you had to mention symbolism, the green light would have been the most iconic example of it from the book.

So why the billboard?

Is, perhaps, the image of some sort of higher power watching you, admonishing you of the tragedy you will have a hand in causing, supernaturally pulling you to someone that will be the catalyst for it all.... relevant somehow, to Bill?

(And, as a sidenote- the theme of the American Dream being hollow could also apply here, as Bill got what he wanted- freedom into the third dimension, Weirdmageddon, all of it. But he's still not happy and still wracked with guilt over Euclidia, ultimately an interloper in a place he doesn't belong in, just as Nick says at the end of the novel that he is a Midwesterner unsuited to life in the East Coast city.)

Let's talk about Flatland.

It's interesting to note that in the original novel, A. Square does have help witnessing the third dimension-- a Sphere contacts him, and tells him about the third dimension, intending to use the Square as a conduit to educating the rest of Flatland.

This, of course, leads to mass imprisonments and executions, one of said imprisonments being of the Square's own brother, with the Square being imprisoned himself at the end of the book.

Point being... in the original story of Flatland, the two-dimensional outsider was visited by a higher being, one that used him to alter Flatland and only ended up causing chaos and ruining lives.

All I'm saying is, the Book of Bill and Bill's story in general draws parallels to two existing books-- Flatland, and now The Great Gatsby. It would be foolish to write this off as a random occurrence when the game of Gravity Falls has always been analyzing the smallest of details. I believe the choice in book was on purpose, and moreso, that it was specifically used to hint that maybe Bill wasn't alone in all this. There was some kind of higher being that influenced him, just as the Square was influenced. That looked down upon him with impossibly wide eyes, pulling him closer and closer to ruin.

Oh, by the way-- Bill up there mentions being touchy about his weaknesses ever since... something. This is clearly his death, but... is that all he means? But that's gonna be in part four.

Next time, it's all about the many cycles and the distinct breaking of them present in Gravity Falls itself, and what that means for Bill as the villain and foil to them.

Part 3: Journey To The Vicious Spiral Nebula

Part 4: Blame The Arson, Not The Fire

#bill cipher #gravity falls #bob spoilers #gravity falls theory #tbob spoilers #the book of bill

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lucyandthepen · 1 year ago

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last young renegade | jjh

summary: your valentine’s day plans with jaehyun may have gone down the drain just a little. (okay — a lot.)

pairing: jaehyun x reader verse: canon, idol!verse rating: t warnings&tags: reader & jaehyun are in an established relationship, quite frankly there is nothing too out of the ordinary in this fic which is a shocker, it’s a rewritten fic so pls excuse any errors I may not have caught! word count: 5.02k

a/n: happy 2024 friends and family !!!!!! and advanced happy birthday to the man who created valentine’s day, he who is perhaps my first love in nct, jaehyun! this is actually just a fic I’ve been hoping to re-write a bit from before, and since it’s valentine’s themed, what better time to post it!! Enjoy enjoy, and may this year bring more fun, laughs, love (and debauchery) to this blog!

Yᴏᴜ sᴀɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ sɪᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛɪʀᴇᴅ ᴏғ ɪᴛ, ʙᴜᴛ ɪ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ, ɴɪɢʜᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴀʏ.

♡ jaehyunnie ♡ I know I said birthday dinner but practice is running so late ㅠㅠ ♡ jaehyunnie ♡ Can we meet after? I’m sorry ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ How about I call you when we’re done? Maybe 11:30?

At times like this, you often wonder if it’s all worth it.

You know thinking that way is counterproductive, not to mention a little unfair. You knew exactly what to expect, getting into an under-wraps relationship with an idol, and so far, it’s lived up to most of your assumptions, and then some. It doesn’t help that Jaehyun, even just by name, tends to attract an unbelievable amount of attention. You know you can’t blame him; it’s not like he wants to be high on the radar every time, either. For some reason, though, you seem to be looking for something or someone to blame, which you also know is a dead end. You have no one to pin the blame onto apart from yourself by frequently generating doubts that keep your mind running around in circles.

It’s not even the sneaking around that gets tiring; it’s the waiting — waiting on calls, waiting on free time, waiting on a good opportunity to do something that doesn’t involve him suddenly getting pulled out to attend to one of many of his celebrity responsibilities. Over the last few years that you’ve dated, NCT has only ever gotten more popular; with that popularity came the fact that the public eye was trained on them, focusing on every microscopic detail of their lives. Jaehyun hates that more than anything, which is why he’s given up on trying to avoid it by practically escaping it altogether, locking himself up in the dorm with you when he has his precious few days off.

While it’s true that you definitely don’t miss having to play espionage when going out for a cup of coffee with him, you’ve also managed to memorize every single inch of Jaehyun’s room, which isn’t good for your mentality, you’re pretty sure. You have to keep reminding him to open the window whenever the both of you are in there, because all you do is stay in and watch English movies without subtitles to see who can understand the most without asking questions (obviously, he always wins) while eating food he runs up and down the stairs to get every other hour. And while him trying to imitate the British accents on these shows is genuinely funny, you’re starting to suspect even he’s starting to get tired of watching Harry Potter over and over again. Twenty hours sounds like a long time unless you spend every twenty-hour period you have together marathoning the exact same films. Much to both of your disappointment, your suggestion to watch it totally out of order did not make it cooler.

Still, you suppose it’s not all bad. Jaehyun also taught you how to play Fortnite on a couple of his days off back to back, and while you hadn’t been as good a player as you both had hoped, he’d still patiently waited for you every time you got lost on the map. He’d even given you his account’s password with the sentiment that this was him ‘taking things to the next level with you,’ and you get to log into his account and play whenever you want; he doesn’t even get mad when you’ve wasted all the stuff he’s farmed on your subpar gaming skills. And, well, the bigger picture was that you loved him. Based on how much effort he put into the relationship, plus the bonus of his trust in you when it came to his Fortnite account, you could at least be confident in that he returned the sentiment.

Except, sometimes, you still wonder if it would be easier for the both of you if he flew solo and didn’t have a girlfriend that tanked all of his player’s ammo and health kits and generally made a fool out of his cute little avatar while he was out breaking his back onstage.

You aren’t sure if Jaehyun’s been noticing the turmoil in you; you’re not that good at hiding how you feel, anyway, but if he has, he hasn’t said anything thus far. You do observe how much more he texts you when he has free time, which makes you feel doubly bad, because you know that he’s spending precious minutes he could be resting with on talking to you instead, which isn’t the best trade-off for someone who’s constantly busy — and thereby constantly tired — like him.

♡ jaehyunnie♡ ___________ I’m going to practice again, okay? Wait for my call ㅠㅠ You I’ll wait for your call ♡ ♡ jaehyunnie♡ I love you ㅠㅠㅠㅠ ♡ jaehyunnie♡ You love me too — a lot, right? I’ll keep my phone now, but I’ll make sure to check that you said so. ㅋㅋㅋ You Right! ㅎ I love you a lot! ♡

When the clock hits 12:01, and your phone is silent, your mind starts working on overtime again. It’s only when the special ringtone you’ve set for him comes to life at half-past midnight that you break your train of thought and put on your socks so you can meet Jaehyun at your front door.

You’ve made a rule — sort of like a deal — between the two of you that apologies aren’t necessary when work holds you up. You’ve cashed in on that deal a couple of times, but you’re both aware that it’s more for Jaehyun’s sake than anything else, and he keeps to his word on that much when you open the door and duck into his car. All he does is smile at you, and you smile back, and for the rest of the car ride, everything seems okay.

He always asks you about your day — unfailingly, at any chance he can. It’s never an off-handed question, either; Jaehyun takes great pride in his memory, and the sweetest thing about him is that he’s dedicated a good deal of it to knowing almost everything about you. Right now is no different. He asks you about your team manager, what you had for lunch; he grills you on if you took your vitamins today and if you got to break in the new shoes you bought online — the ones you’d been pining over for the last three months. He even asks you about the guy from the neighboring department who keeps asking you out for after-work drinks.

“He wanted to go to Hongdae tonight,” you tell him as he slows for a red light. “There’s some new pub of his friend’s doing a soft opening there tonight.”

“You could have gone.” He keeps his eyes on the road. “I wouldn’t have minded.”

“I didn’t want to.”

“Good.” He glances at you, a grin slowly spreading on his lips. “Because I lied. I might have minded a little. Or, you know, a lot.”

“Don’t tell me after all these years, you’ve turned into the kind of boyfriend that doesn’t let his girlfriend go out without him.”

“That’s impossible for me, and you know that,” he chuckles. “You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Just not with that guy from the other department.”

“Don’t worry.” You tinker with the little charm dangling on your phone — half of a flat, metal heart dangling from a gold chain that Jaehyun had given you two years back on your birthday. He keeps the other half, but since he can’t freely attach it to any of his belongings, he keeps it wedged between the back of his phone and its case. You like watching him change the backing because he does it so carefully, like he’s worried the other half of the heart is going to break if he rips off the case willy nilly. “I told him my boyfriend and I were going out on a date tonight, so he backed off. Although he did wonder why I keep talking about a boyfriend he’s never seen.”

“And? What did you say?”

“I said it was none of his damn business.”

Jaehyun laughs loudly, and you go along with him, but you don’t miss how tired he looks when he sobers down, the green light illuminating all the shadows on his face as he steps on the gas again.

Nothing good is open this late at night — that is, nothing you haven’t seen before. You hadn’t even expected to go out at all, but since it was the day before Valentine’s Day as well as his birthday (or it would have been, if you hadn’t waited until midnight), Jaehyun had wanted to do something special without having to run into a huge crowd of couples on the day itself. Your only option is this from-out-of-town carnival that’s set up in tents and even has a medium-sized ferris wheel by the edge of the metal barricade. The parking lot is practically empty when Jaehyun pulls into a slot; you joke that he should break one rule and park in two slots, which he smugly replies to by saying he couldn’t park badly even if he tried.

He tucks your hair back behind your ears as he loops the strings of a face mask around them, using another one for himself. Between that and the brim of his cap, you can barely see his eyes. The only knowledge that you have that you’re walking next to the man you love is that he takes your hand in his, slender fingers finding their way between yours.

The carnival is half-closed when you get to the middle of it; there are still a few stragglers, but half the kiosks have their lights off already. There’s a woman dressed in flashy clothes standing on a patch of dead grass a few feet away, and she’s holding a hoop that a ginger cat is jumping through. Jaehyun steers you to them, and you stand there for a good five minute watching the cat roll on the ground and stand on its hind legs, but you can tell it’s been going it at for most of the day because at one point, it just ignores the lady, opting to weave its way between Jaehyun’s and your legs instead. You do have a pretty good time when he picks it up and cradles it in his arms so you can pet it for a second, but it just hisses when its owner approaches and jumps out of his hold, disappearing behind a row of trash bins.

Jaehyun doesn’t have anything in his wallet apart from his credit cards and 50,000 won, and the coin machine operator says he only has enough coins left to break down 5,000 won for the games, so you end up having to jog back to his car so you can fish out some coins from inside his glove compartment. You come up with a grand total of 1,500 won, and you have to sheepishly go back to the coin machine operator to change four 100 coins and a couple of 50s just to get the last 500. Jaehyun tells you to hold onto the three coins so he doesn’t run off with them entirely and leave you destitute.

You learn you can only do three things at most — you dedicate 500 won for the Ferris wheel entry tickets, which leaves you with 500 won each. The both of you agree on choosing one kiosk to play in, and with only about five left that are open, you don’t really have that many options. You end up dragging Jaehyun over to a stall with a pond filled with those magnetic toy fish, but 500 won only gets you one fishing rod. Since it’s your choice, Jaehyun lets you play, but you feel kind of stupid doing it on your own with him just watching you. In the end, he decides to stand behind you, his arms around your waist like he thinks closer contact isn’t even more distracting. You do manage to fish out 10 fish and win a small bear on a keychain. It doesn’t even pass through your hands as Jaehyun takes it from the stall operator immediately.

“That’s mine!” You whine, reaching out in vain to take it from him; he just holds it high over his head. His eyes are twinkling under the shadow his cap casts over his face. “I worked hard for that.”

“Let me keep this one,” he mimics the pleading lilt in your voice. “I’ll put it on my bag.”

“You know you can’t! Give it back.”

“I’ll win you a bigger one,” he promises. “Let me keep this one. It’s cute. It reminds me of you. I’ll kiss it goodnight before I sleep.” He starts to laugh softly. “And then you’ll feel this weird spirit kissing you at like two in the morning, and you’ll know it’s me.”

Your arms aren’t long enough to retrieve it, and you don’t really want to, so you settle with twisting his ear. He takes it in stride even if he over-acts, making pained noises while leading you to the kiosk he wants to go to. It’s a shooting range stall, and he pays his own precious 500 won for a dart gun. He’s barely paying attention when the guy starts explaining how many points are assigned to each balloon color, more concerned with talking to the bear keychain in his hand and pretending like he’s cooing at you. You have to hit him across the shoulder to get him to focus.

“You need to start picking out what prize you want,” he tells you — the actual you, not the animal keychain version — as he lifts the dart gun.

“I’ll wait for you to finish first.”

“No way.” He tilts his head, closing one eye to steady his line of sight. “Pick already. Or just go for the biggest one.”

“You know that Fortnite and dart guns aren’t the same thing, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m well-motivated.” He grins at you, one eye still shut. He looks like a baby pirate. “Go ahead. Pick the biggest one.”

“Why don’t you just shoot, and we’ll see.”

“Pick it,” he insists. “Tell me you have faith in me. Tell me you love me.”

“Okay, I love you,” you agree. “But I have no faith in you when it comes to this.”

“One out of two is fine,” he concedes, taking aim.

All three of you, including the stall operator, let out a disappointed groan when he misses his first shot. His comes with a sheepish laugh as he reloads, suddenly telling you to pick the second biggest prize instead. You can’t even watch him miss over and over, so you pretend to be interested in a bunch of teenage boys playing a game of cups one stall over, trying not to giggle when you hear him get increasingly more frustrated at himself. When you turn back around, you notice he’s holding two small pieces of gummy candy, offering one to you like a kindergartener. He helps you tug your face mask down so you can eat it.

There’s a food stall nearby that, thankfully, accepts credit and debit; Jaehyun fishes out his card to get you a corndog — only one because he’s watching his weight for the upcoming concert, apparently. This is information you hate hearing but have no say in, and he knows this; you know he does because he says ‘don’t worry about me’ totally out of the blue, like five minutes after the conversation ceases to be relevant.

His phone starts ringing when the food comes out, and he takes a tiny bite of it — more bread than hotdog — before he answers. You know it’s Taeyong by the way he answers.

“Hyung, sorry — can we talk later? I’m out with ____________.”

Taeyong says something loud but indiscernible on the other end. You piece together that it’s about tomorrow’s schedule when Jaehyun speaks again.

“I know. I’ll be home in a bit; don’t worry about it. I haven’t forgotten.”

There’s more garbled speech on the other line; Jaehyun gestures for you to keep eating, and you do, but you more concerned with the morphing expressions on his face than you are with the act of chewing. He’s making noncommittal noises in response to what seem to be commands and reminders. You’re pretty much done with the corndog by the time he says ‘Okay, hyung. Hyung — I’ll see you later, okay?’

“Taeyong hyung says hi,” he tells you once he’s hung up the phone. “He says you still need to give back that book you borrowed from him last year.”

“Oh yeah,” you finish off the last of the food. “I’ll drop it off within the week.”

“Don’t worry about it. He doesn’t actually mean it.”

Jaehyun watches you snap the stick in half and toss it in the trash bag.

“We can go home,” you say finally. His eyebrows shoot up. “You’re busy tomorrow. I forgot.”

“I didn’t forget, and it’s fine.”

“It’s almost two in the morning.” You check your phone to verify. “You probably have to be up in a few hours. You need to sleep, or you’ll die, Jaehyun. I’m too young to be a grieving widow.”

“Let’s at least ride the Ferris wheel,” he suggests. Before you can protest, he tugs you towards the rickety contraption, digging the 500 won out of your pocket and handing it to the bemused operator. He lets you choose what carriage you want because literally no one is on it anymore, and Jaehyun asks for the best carriage. You’re not sure how it differs from the rest, but he makes a show out of guiding you into it, and you don’t miss the corny ‘my lady,’ he mutters under his breath.

It’s small, clearly meant for either a tiny group of children or couples who want to be as close together as possible. It’s also not air-conditioned, and only one of the windows is open, so you end up sticking to Jaehyun’s arm on the way up. The view is still great, though, and you feel his hand settle on your knee as the carriage makes it slow ascent.

The ride up is quiet, and you press your face as close to the glass of the carriage as you dare, but Jaehyun doesn’t move an inch. His hand is still heavy on your thigh, but it doesn’t do anything but lay there. When you’re close to the top, you’re hit with the urge to do something romantic — kiss, maybe, tell him happy birthday, or say ‘I love you’ to him in the most sickening way possible — but when you turn to look at him, you have to hold your tongue.

Jaehyun is asleep, leaning against the corner of the carriage, head tilted down a little. His shoulders are rising and falling slowly, and he’s pulled down his face mask a little so he can breathe better; his lips are slightly parted by the slackening of his jaw. His left hand is shoved in his pocket, like he’d passed out halfway through reaching for something in there.

He doesn’t wake even when you move slightly so you can lean back next to him, rocking the carriage a little — not even when you reach up and adjust his head so he can rest on your shoulder. He breathes deeply, evenly, and you wonder if his ear against your shoulder allows him to hear your heart plummet unfairly to the bottom of your stomach.

You have to shake him to rouse him when the ride comes to an end; when he opens his eyes and realizes what happened, he looks mortified. Instinctively, he opens his mouth, but you fling the carriage door open and step out before he can apologize.

You have a deal, and he knows what he shouldn’t be doing.

His grip on your hand is much tighter as you walk back to the parking lot, and he doesn’t let go, even on the road. The trip back is quieter, maybe because it’s late, or maybe because there are a ton of things the both of you want to say but can’t.

He slows down when he gets to your street, but when he stops in front of your building, he doesn’t immediately unlock the doors to let you out. Instead, he turns to you, licking his lips a little nervously.

“Can you…” he clears his throat because his voice cracks a little on the first attempt. “Can you come back with me? To the dorm?”

“I have work tomorrow, Jaehyun.”

“It’s still at eleven, isn’t it? I can bring you home before that. You still have some stuff in my room. You can get ready there.”

“Won’t you be too busy?”

“Just—” he sighs softly. “Can you? Please?”

You don’t know how to say no to Jaehyun, and tonight isn’t a night you’re willing to try. It’s why fifteen minutes later, you’re walking through the front door of his dorm. Donghyuck, sitting at his computer in his room with the door ajar, greets you sleepily as you pass by.

Jaehyun steps in the shower with you; you don’t talk, maybe because you’re worried you might wake the others up if you start a full-blown conversation in a bathroom surrounded by other bedrooms. He just passes you what you need, and you do the same for him, and somewhere in between, he kisses you under the spray of the water.

Later, he falls asleep with a face mask on, and you have to peel it off for him and toss it into the trash. The tip of his nose is shiny, and you want to kiss it, but you know it’ll wake him, and you noticed he’d set his alarm to go off two hours from now. He’s set out a couple of earplugs for you so that you don’t hear it, but you don’t put them in. You want to see him before he leaves, even if it’s in the deadest hours of morning, so you just crawl into bed with him. A minute before you doze off, you feel his damp skin press against your neck, his form curled up against your back.

The alarm never wakes you; the sun is out when you open your eyes, and when you check your phone, you see that it’s already half-past nine. You also notice that there’s nothing from Jaehyun on your screen, but you try not to dwell on that, considering that you’d been expecting to wake up to an empty bed. His side of the mattress is cold, which means that he’s been gone for some time.

You don’t know if it’s just because you’re groggy, but your insides still feel like lead when you sit up. The part of you that nags about this relationship is back at full force when you start thinking about Jaehyun going to a pre-recording two hours after spending the last of his energy on you. You start wondering if you’re doing the right thing if it feels like you’re just dragging him down. Your heart clenches tightly when the worst thought hits — maybe, just maybe, he’s tired of you, too.

But you won’t let him go. More to the point — you can’t. He’s the best part of your life; it’d be a cold day in hell if you decided to leave him.

Even the thought of it makes you feel like dying.

Then again, this isn’t all up to you.

You’re rubbing the sleep out of your eyes — and maybe a couple of frustrated tears — when the door creaks open. You see two mugs and his hands before you see the rest of him come through the doorway. Jaehyun whispers a careful good morning as he sets the coffee down on his table, making sure to push his keyboard away to avoid accidents, before sitting down next to you. You notice that there’s an envelope next to one of the mugs; the flap is slightly open, and from under it, a flash of red peeks out.

His hand finds its way back to your knee — it’s his favorite resting place, he’s told you once. Your lap feels like home, he’d joked. Maybe he touches it every so often because it’s like a reset button for him.

He doesn’t ask if you slept well, or if you want to get ready before having your coffee, or if you’re okay. He just squeezes your knee a little tighter. It’s you that has to start the conversation this time.

“How did it go?”

“It went great. You’ll see it on TV later tonight,” he starts rubbing your thigh idly. “You’ll watch it later, right?”

“Of course. I’ll call you and tell you how cool you look.”

He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. When you lapse into silence again, it’s because you’re expecting him to say something, but he doesn’t come out with it directly. You try not to let it show that you’re worried, that you’re skeptical, that you’re wondering if he thinks he’s too tired, too busy for this, too.

You’re expecting him to start how most break-ups start. You know I love you, right? And then the telltale but… would come, and you would have to hold back your tears and smile for him, and tell him you know, and that you understand it isn’t the right time, but maybe one day, someday, when he isn’t everyone’s Jung Jaehyun anymore — only yours.

“You love me, right?”

It’s not what you’d been expecting. Nor is it the playful little text he’d sent — no laughs, no jokes. His expression is somber, mouth pressed into a thin line.

“You know I do.”

“A lot, right?”

“A lot,” you confirm softly.

“Then whatever it is that you’re thinking about us,” he says quietly. “Don’t. Don’t think it. Don’t do it.”

“Jaehyun—”

“I know it’s hard,” his fingers dig into your skin a little. “I know I put you through a lot. I know you think that I’m suffering because of this relationship too. I know everything. But whatever you think I’m going to do, I won’t do it — not ever. So if you’re thinking of it too, I’m begging you. Don’t. Please.”

Maybe he had noticed all this time. A wave of guilt washes over you when you see the pained look on his face; perhaps you were even more transparent than you’d originally thought. You nod slowly to show your understanding, and he continues.

“I know yesterday wasn’t the best you could have hoped for,” he carefully avoids apologizing, although it’s written all over his features. “For me, too. I… I wanted something different. It’ll be better next time. Do you believe me?”

You hear him swallow — his nails are biting into your thigh a little, so you have to gently peel his hand off. Your fingers replace it, tightening around his palm as you nod.

“I believe you.”

“And you trust me, right?”

“With my life.”

“Then can you put your faith in me right now?” He asks. “Don’t panic. Just — just say yes.”

He pats around his pants, finally deciding to slip his hand into his left-hand pocket. Unlike on the Ferris wheel, he manages to extract something, but he keeps it closed in his fist. It’s shaking a little as he takes your hand in his other one, pressing something small and hard into your palm before he curls your fingers over it. His hold keeps your fist closed as he starts talking.

“It’s not immediate. We’ll figure it out. We’ll tell the right people, and they’ll help us tell everyone else — the public, the press. It doesn’t have to happen right now, or any time soon either— not if you don’t want it to. We can take it slow, or whatever. Anything you want — just as long as it’s with me.”

“Jaehyun,” you shake your head, a little dizzy. “What are you talking about?”

He slowly loosens his hold on your fingers, his hand dropping to the same spot on your knee. You’re free to open your fist, and when you do, you can’t help but feel a little stumped.

“I don’t mean now,” he repeats, now sounding doubly worried. “It’s not — It’s just…”

“You’ll get in trouble. We can’t.”

“I won’t. Not if we do this right. Like I said, we can do it slowly. Months — years, however long it takes to do it well. What it is — it’s just… a promise.”

“A promise,” you echo. It does have a nice ring to it.

“That I’m not leaving you. Not ever. And… if you say yes, that you won’t either.”

Your coffee has probably turned cold. Jaehyun is watching you carefully, looking like he’s trying hard not to bite his lip. You look back down at your hand, and he speaks up again.

“You know I love you, right?”

You smile slightly. “No but?”

“No but,” he agrees.

The ring fits nicely on your finger; maybe it’s well-measured from the amount of times he’s held your hand tightly in his.

“Okay, Jaehyun,” you whisper. “I promise.”

When you place your hand on his, he twists his palm, slender fingers gently twirling the ring around the base of your finger.

Minutes later, he hands you your coffee. It’s sweet and milky, the way he knows you like it best. When he settles back down on the bed, you notice his eyes travel to your finger again, a small smile playing on his lips.

Perhaps, in this moment, you finally learn to ask the right questions — not about if it’s worth it, but if he is.

And in this moment, where he sits in silence with you, the sunlight pouring in from his window hitting the tips of his hair and the end of his nose, with the knowledge that his heart is as full as yours, you come to realize that there can — and never will be — any doubt of that.

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holymolyyikes · 2 months ago

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House md 2025 reboot (cw: houseian bigotry)

house: patient is an otherkin they/them

chase: i thought the vet was a few blocks away

house: why do you hate queers chase

chase: i was just making a joke

house: no there's something deeper going on here

cameron: house why have you switched your vicodin for cocaine

house: i am *bumping that* like charli xcx

chase: holy moly

cameron: that's bad

foreman: erm we have a patient. also i too am here

[scene break]

cuddy: no way hose house. you cannot classify being otherkin as an example of delusion. we'd get sued

house: well in med school they only taught me to operate on humans

cuddy: do your job. clinic hours

house: boobies

[scene break]

patient: who are you

house: i am doctor house. you're a queer

patient: hey

house: you know those meds my team put you on

patient: i suppose

house: i'm removing them

*patient's hair suddenly turns blue*

house: crash cart!

*nurses come in*

house: are the nurses otherkin too. because we here at princeton-plainboro treat them like they're three-fifths human

patient: i'm tiktokking about this

[scene break]

cuddy: have you seen the patient's tiktok. do you know the PR storm this will generate

house: blast these mobile phones

cuddy: you need to apologise

house: no. hey can i fucking kill this patient

cuddy: yes. i mean no

[scene break]

wilson: when are you going to apologise house

house: how come you didn't give me your personal snap

wilson: how do you know about that

house: i stole your phone and bought your password on a black market site online

wilson: i didn't give you my snap because you are a neer do well house. i don't see why it matters to you though, it's not like you don't know everything about me

*house leaves the room*

[scene break]

*house pushes a polygamist couple in wheelchairs out of the way and enters the patient's room*

house: i've solved the riddle

foreman: you took the patient off the meds and he got worse. hmm.

house: i wish you were queer so i could unjustly fire you. anyhoo, the answer was simpler than it seemed. the patient is right.

cameron: whatever do you mean

house: the human self, for all it's flaws, is very good at one thing - narcissism. we're hardwired that way, especially women. the illness *wacky graphic zoom in* was attacking his chromosomes. the patient was, in a sense, not human. bad news champ - your sense of otherkin identity is a medical mishap that will be fixed

patient: but i derive my sense of identity from my otherkinness

house: don't care

patient: leave it in! my identity is my choice, and even if it is medical it's still who i am

house: but look at your tiktok comments. you see, i stole your phone and posted this conundrum as a story or whatever and asked the comments for their recommendation, and they agreed. ed sheeran duetted it too

patient: zoo wee mama. can i have some coke

house: skibidi rizz

[scene break]

chase: because they/themming killed my grandma, okay?

#house md fan episodes #house md #Duplicated from a post I made in the ‘your daily dose of mouse bites community

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hoshinasblade · 1 year ago

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hoshina soshiro boyfriend nsfw headcanons

having a hard time completing my fic so distracting myself with thinking of hoshina headcanons. this man is in my head 24/7, good lord. everything under the cut is nsfw, minors please do not interact.

sfw part one is here

a certified yapper during the entire thing - he never shuts up. hoshina does not have qualms about being loud; he enjoys feeling good, and letting you know that he does feel good. his moans are hot, and he dirty talks SO much especially if you're into it. you would know when he's close because he will let out a whole sentence with the nastiest swear words.

hoshina enjoys receiving more than giving oral. he also prefers sloppy blowjob more than any other foreplay methods. this does not mean that he hates taking care of you - quite the opposite, it's just that if he's given the choice, he would choose to have his cock in your mouth more than anything else.

when it's his turn though, hoshina does not disappoint in eating you out. he'll definitely make you cum more than once just to prove a point sometimes.

this won't require elaboration but hoshina is a fan of love marks and hickies on their significant other. it doesn't have to be on exposed skin, he cares more about the fact that he's marked you and you would be reminded that you are his.

KING OF AFTERCARE. hoshina never disappoints after sex too. he engages in pillowtalk, and will talk your ear off until you guys fall asleep. if you need him to fetch you something - water, snacks, a towel - let him know and he'll do it, no questions asked. when you have to put on clothes already, it does something to him if you wear his shirt.

again, his love languages are words of affirmation and physical touch and this translates to the bedroom too. hoshina has a huge praise kink which goes both ways - he would praise you for being such a good girl, and he would definitely get more turned on if you praise him for fucking you so well. physical touch is self-explanatory - hoshina has to be touching a part of your body all the time. if you guys are making out, his hands are roaming upward your thighs. when you guys are having sex, his hands are on your hips or playing with your tits.

hoshina is very visual so he appreciates nudes very much. the more candid and innocent you look, the better. he definitely has a folder in his phone that's password protected containing all the pictures you have sent him. for safe-keeping, he told you.

very good with sexting and although he has not outright sent a nude picture back - he would send you topless photos at most - he compensates by sending audio files of him being naughty. when he's feeling more generous, he would send a video recording of him stroking himself while he's moaning and saying your name.

having said that, hoshina is also very good at phone sex. his instructions will be very clear and he would sound very bossy - take your undies off, spread your legs farther apart. he would also always make sure you finish first before him. he may be horny, but he's also a gentleman.

#hoshina soshiro #soshiro hoshina #hoshina soshiro x reader #soshiro hoshina x reader #hoshina soshiro fic #hoshina soshiro boyfriend headcanons #GOD I NEED HIM

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canmom · 10 months ago

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i feel a little careless about talking about the more esoteric end of computer security because in practice, keeping your devices up to date, using a password manager, not clicking sussy links and taking care what executables you run will protect you pretty well! 'throw up your hands and give up' is very much not the message here.

like here's an analogy. you could at any moment be killed by a meteorite. but it's happened so rarely that there are no modern recorded examples of someone being killed by a meteorite and historical reports are kind of dubious. you could invest in lining the roof of your house with steel and always go out in a suit of medieval armour. it would lower your chance of getting meteorite'd... but it would also cause all sorts of other problems, which probably aren't worth the tradeoff.

silly example, but all security is the same sort of tradeoff between risk and inconvenience. for example, I don't like being tracked by advertisers (it just makes my skin crawl), so I run a bunch of anti-tracking browser extensions like NoScript, PrivacyPossum and Decentraleyes and always opt out in the gdpr popups. I wouldn't generally recommend this because often this breaks the functionality of websites and I have to spend some time figuring out which scripts to enable to get them to work, and it's hard to say the annoyance is worth the benefits. on the other hand, I would pretty generally recommend blocking ads with uBlock Origin.

another example: I don't make much of a secret of my IRL name, or separate my online presence from my IRL stuff. this is a risk - e.g. if I ran afoul of some social media hate mob it could lead to trouble. but I decided the effort it would take to keep that secret is not worth it. on the other hand, if I was, say, a famous vtuber who had to worry about being stalked by fans or haters, or even aspired to be one, this would be a big secret that I'd go to great pains to maintain.

certain rituals like the activist phone bowl are arguably 'security theatre': they're not really aligned with what is a realistic threat. sure, some really weird attacks exist out there, but you really need to be realistic about who's attacking you and how they're likely to go about it, or you'll just become so paranoid that you never do anything.

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lyrashifts · 1 year ago

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─ 𝓘NTRODUCING MY ⋆ MARAUDERS DR.

𝓢. this dr is set in the 70s, and begins during my first year at hogwarts. it strays quite far from the actual events of the marauders era, and instead merges with the plot of the lighting era. in this dr, me and my friends work against prejudices and an upcoming war, as well as a very dangerous voldemort on the rise.

𝒜BOUT ME

◞ name : lyra a. lavigne

◞ nationality : english-french

◞ birthplace : cambridge, england

◞ languages : english, french

◞ blood status : pureblood

◞ house : gryffindor

◞ moodboard

𝒫ERSONALITY

◞ likes : writing, playing the guitar, drawing, reading, theater, cookies, poetry, magical creatures and animals, going on long walks, baking, being better dressed than everyone else, jumpers, rainy days, shopping (especially for music and clothes), hozier, queen, david bowie, the smiths, little women, lemon iced tea, stealing james's invisibility cloak, pranking (and actually getting away with it)

◞ known for : converse, cherry red, loving 90s muggle movies, being best friends with remus, reading at social events when bored, drinking too much coffee, having cool hair, my style, quoting dead poets society daily, leather jackets, liking hozier and the smiths way too much, being an amazing gift giver, having a new hairstyle every day, being nice to everyone unless they cross me, smelling like cinnamon, coffee, and books, being amazing at school and magic, somehow getting every lead role in plays, wearing jumpers and leather jackets in the dead of summer and not somehow overheating to the point of death

ℬACKSTORY

◞ backstory : i grew up in england where a lot of my family was but by the time i turned 13 we moved to scotland, partially to attend hogwarts and partially because my parents wanted to get away from some of our pureblood family members. my parents, though from a notable pureblood family, don't agree with the views of pureblood culture. because my parents' reputation for their last name still upheld, when we moved we were invited to an event that ended up just being a pureblood society ball. we only stayed out of politeness, but it was there that i met sirius and promised to be best friends with him when we got to hogwarts since we both hated the party.

𝒲ARDROBE

◞ description : my style in this dr can change a lot, especially taking into consideration the weather or location i'm in. in terms of colors, i wear a lot of neutrals but tend to have a specific color pop (which oftentimes a cherry red). during winter and autumn months, i am often wearing oversized jumpers (whether mine or stolen from remus). i also almost always wear flared or baggy pants. some of my iconic pieces include leather jackets, doc martens, band tees, baker boy hats, plaid skirts, and more. during the summer i tend to wear baby tees and babydoll tops, along with skirts. with my uniform, i pair many accessories to make it look as appealing as possible, and use magic to have different nails every day.

ℒIFE AT HOGWARTS

◞ general : students start first year at 14, so it is a sort of hybrid between highschool and university, where students have much more freedom once 18. school uniforms are only required during classes from monday - thursday, and on friday you may wear your desired outfit underneath your robes.

◞ dorms : students are allocated private dorms that have within them a bed, a desk, a private bathroom, and more. once a student is assigned to a dorm, the dorm changes to accommodate that student's taste. once you are given your dorm number, you must choose a password and it is your responsibility to ensure students you do not want to come in cannot. in the case that a student knows your password and you do not want them to, you can ask a professor to change it and they will do so. alohomora will not unlock dorm rooms. dorms are organized by house, but boy's and girl's dorms are not separated - everything is instead organized by house and name.

◞ extra-curriculars : the clubs i am part of include music club (which later inspires me and my friends to make a band), theater club, art club, care of magical creatures club, and in later years, the quidditch team

◞ houses : the animosity between houses (especially slytherin and gryffindor) is not nearly as prevalent as depicted in the books. it is known that not all students in one house are the same, and so, while some friendly competition is encouraged, it is not uncommon to have friends from every house. students of every house are allowed into the common rooms and dorms (with permission of at least one person from that house).

◞ events : all the events featured in this post are included in this dr

𝒜BOUT THIS DR

◞ worldbuilding : not a lot changes about the war except for the fact that it's toned down and ends during my seventh year (which we redo since it would be similar to the last year in the harry potter books - looking for horcruxes without actually being at hogwarts). of course, none of my friends die. i haven't accounted for how the war will end exactly, so i suppose i'll let that work itself out organically.

◞ main friends : remus lupin, sirius black, james potter, lily evans, regulus black, marlene mckinnon, mary macdonald.

◞ relationships : i am a formal part of both the marauders and the valkyries. i became friends with the marauders at the start of the school year, and we were consequently established as a friend group before me and the girls. i tend to spend more time with the marauders but our groups often mingle since everyone gets along (except maybe lily and james at the beginning). i also have some friends in slytherin, such as andromeda and regulus, but i tend to stay away from the anti-muggleborn students.

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professional-spectator · 3 months ago

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Hey there, it's IDK! I usually stick to writing in the third person, but I thought I'd try something a little different this time. If you want to imagine yourself as the reader, go right ahead! Though, fair warning, I've never been the best at those kinds of stories, haha.

I'm a huge Cyno fan and proudly main him in the game, so of course, he's going to be a part of this story!

Okay, here's the little disclaimer and a heads-up: I don't own Hoyoverse, Genshin Impact, or anything related to them.

And a big thank you to @arn9tails for letting me use their Genshin size difference AU as the basis for this fanfic. The idea that Teyvat isn't scaled to Earth but is actually much, much larger really fascinated me—it's a pretty scary thought, isn't it? I also really liked the idea that people from Earth aren't resistant to it, which is what sparked this whole thing.

Also, just a quick heads-up: this story touches on some serious and sensitive subjects. It's inspired by SAGAU (Self-Aware Genshin Impact Alternative Universe), isekai themes, different isekai worlds, creation myths, and fanfiction in general.

Alright, let's dive into chapter 4 and see what adventures await our dear Oc! Sadly our last chapter....

Chapter 4 - The Marketplace

I watched, anticipation bubbling in my chest, as Cyno prepared his disguise. When he finally emerged, the transformation was uncanny. He could have passed for a seasoned Eremite. A flicker of admiration sparked within me if I were a different situation, I might have been swooning.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my arms crossed, a knot of worry tightening in my stomach. Lottie and Jamie… where were they? Had they been brought to? Were they, like me, simply trying to survive? I had a sinking feeling I would find out soon enough.

Cyno's voice, grave and unwavering, cut through my thoughts. "You're not going to like this, Mao…"

"With words like that… you're right," I muttered, my gaze fixed on his. He held out something that made my blood run cold a collar, complete with a jingling bell.

"No," I said, the word a sharp, instinctive rejection.

"It's necessary for this investigation, Mao… We're going somewhere where you might need to… act like a pet, or an animal…" Cyno's bluntness stung. "I need to scope this place out. I need your assistance, and your cooperation, Mao."

"No! This whole week, these days, these hours… I don't even know how long it's been… it's all been so degrading!" I shouted, my voice echoing slightly in the space between us. Being so small, so powerless, only amplified my frustration.

"I will not wear a collar!" I hissed, stubbornly crossing my arms.

But, despite my defiance, I knew I was fighting a losing battle. Cyno's expression was so earnest, so utterly devoid of guile, that a wave of reluctant pity washed over me. How could I refuse him when he looked so… lost?

"Okay, fine…" I snatched the collar from his hand, my fingers curling around the cold leather. "I hate this. I hate this and everything it stands for."

The journey back was mostly spent safely in Cyno's pocket. I could sense when he paused, engaging in hushed conversations, presumably using the password gleaned from the scholar. Then, he carefully extracted me, settling me on his shoulder before descending a narrow, winding staircase.

"Where are we?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"Under the Grand Bazaar..." he replied, a hint of uncertainty coloring his tone. It was a new place to him as well; an area not present in the game.

Nothing could have prepared us for the sight that unfolded before our eyes. It was reminiscent of the Grand Bazaar above, yet bathed in a dim, muted light, casting long, eerie shadows.

Here, a clandestine market thrived, filled with vendors peddling contraband. Goods from faraway lands were on display: saurians from Natlan, Bake-danuki from Inazuma. But it was the sight of miniature humans, earthlings like myself, trapped in cages that truly chilled me. They resembled those I had seen in the crate, their eyes vacant and strangely serene, a state that hinted at something deeply amiss. Was this the "nonverbal" state Cyno had alluded to earlier?

One whimpered softly, like a lost dog, while another pathetically begged for treats. A wave of nausea washed over me. Why were they behaving this way? I remained silent, but I'm sure the horror and disgust I felt were plain on my face.

Balanced precariously on Cyno's shoulders, I murmured, "What's wrong with them?" My question was a fragile whisper, barely audible. Cyno maintained his unwavering pace, a silent protector guiding us through the dangerous terrain. He walked for what seemed like an age, carefully considering his response, ensuring his words wouldn't attract unwanted attention.

At last, he spoke, his tone somber and low. "That's simply their nature now. It's why many scholars consider them indistinguishable from animals. But you... you're different. I refuse to accept that you're abnormal. Something occurred to your people upon their arrival here... it robbed them of their humanity, reducing them to the level of a cat or dog..."

The injustice of his statement threatened to explode within me, a furious eruption of denial. However, I suppressed the scream that fought to escape my throat, forcing myself to remain quiet. We continued deeper into the heart of the chaos, and with each step, the scene became more disturbing. We came across what appeared to be a food court, a frenzied center of brightly lit stalls and deafening noise. Earthlings were dancing wildly, their movements erratic and unnatural. It was a horrifying sight, reminiscent of that unsettling scene from Disney's Pinocchio, where he dances on stage, a puppet manipulated by unseen forces. Then, I spotted her. Lottie—no, Jamie with her.

Her eyes were blank, lacking the intelligence and individuality I knew so well. She was wearing a gaudy outfit resembling a ballet costume, a grotesque parody of grace and artistry.

"Oh my God..." I gasped, my hand instinctively covering my mouth to stifle the rising wave of horror. The sound, however faint, was enough to attract attention. A head turned in my direction, its eyes glazed and vacant. Cyno, ever watchful, remained concealed in the shadows, a silent guardian in a world consumed by madness.

"Sorry... that's my friend Lottie..." I managed to stammer, the words laden with sorrow and disbelief.

Cyno's reply was a simple, "I see." From my perch atop his broad shoulder, I risked a glance around, the swirling chaos of the desert encampment a dizzying sight.

"I need to speak with her..." The words tumbled out, laced with a desperate urgency. "She'll recognize me, won't she? We've been best friends since high school..." The last part trailed off, a silent acknowledgment that the concept of "high school" would be utterly foreign to him.

Hope, fragile yet persistent, fluttered within me. "I'm sure if she sees me, she'll return to normal..."

"Please, let me try..." I pleaded, my voice barely a whisper. Cyno sighed, the sound heavy with unspoken reservations.

"I will try to get you close enough," he conceded, his voice a low rumble. A surge of determination coursed through me. "I'm coming, Lottie," I vowed silently, the promise echoing in the chambers of my heart.

Lottie is, and always will be, my best friend. Our story began during our freshman year of high school. There was no grand introduction, no orchestrated meeting. I was just a somewhat intelligent, mostly geeky kid, and Lottie, with her beautiful hair, was, unfortunately, also on the geeky side. Our paths converged in the hallowed halls of the school library during lunch, where we both sought refuge in the vibrant pages of comic books and manga. Initially, silence reigned between us. Not a single word was exchanged. Then, my stomach betrayed me with a loud rumble, and Lottie, in an act of unexpected kindness, offered to share half of her sandwich. It was a simple gesture, but from that moment on, we were inseparable, bound together as best friends.

Now, my current reality was grim, a stark contrast to the comforting memories of my friendship with Lottie. I was trapped inside my favorite video game, a predicament made infinitely worse by the fact that I was doll-sized. Cyno, a character from the game, held me in his arms. I clung to his forearm, desperately trying not to fall as he walked toward a seated man. Cyno was surprisingly good at acting; his voice was completely different, a nuance I didn't recall from the game. He sat down with a man who was also dressed in the garb of an Eremite.

"Hmmm, what an adorable miniature you have there," the Eremite said, immediately reaching out to pat my head as if I were some kind of animal. I think I played my part well, maintaining my silence, though I'm sure my face conveyed my true thoughts.

"Are you looking for a companion for it?"

Cyno seemed taken aback by the question.

"A companion?" Cyno asked, his voice laced with surprise.

"Yes, it's a good thing they only have one at a time..." the Eremite continued, talking about me as if I were a dog. Was there some sort of puppy mill, but for humans? Cyno, perhaps sensing my discomfort, set me down as he continued his conversation with the man. I seized the opportunity, slipping away to embark on my own quest: to find Lottie.

I moved like a shadow, a tiny spy navigating a treacherous landscape of towering tables, looming chairs, and a sea of oblivious people. My heart hammered against my ribs with each furtive step, until finally, I reached the stage. There it was: the pen. Inside, they were kept, the earthlings. But it wasn't the enclosure itself that sent a shiver down my spine; it was their eyes. Vacant, empty, devoid of any spark.

"Lottie..." I whispered, my voice barely audible above a whisper. Lottie was there, her gaze fixed on some unseen point, her eyes mirroring the same unsettling emptiness as the others.

"Lottie," I repeated, my hand trembling as I reached through the bars, desperate to make a connection. My fingers closed around her arm. She didn't speak, didn't acknowledge me with a word or a glance. Instead, her gaze flickered towards something behind me: the large cube of sugar. Understanding dawned, cold and sharp. I snapped off a piece from the pen's bar, and she snatched it from my hand with a desperate eagerness that chilled me to the bone. In that moment, I felt like I was trapped in that haunting scene from Planet of the Apes, the one where Commander Taylor finds Dodge, only to discover he'd been lobotomized, his humanity stolen.

"Lottie, it's me...." The words caught in my throat. I couldn't even remember my real name, not anymore. But Lottie didn't respond, her vacant eyes offering no flicker of recognition, no hint of the person I once knew.

Traumatized, I stumbled back towards Cyno. Whether he noticed my distress or not, he didn't comment, but he did scoop me up into his arms. Enfolded there, I felt acutely aware of my own smallness, a fragile thing amidst something vast and terrible. I remained silent, clinging to him as we finally left that bizarre, suffocating place behind.

"Mao, are you okay?" Cyno asked, his voice cutting through the fog in my mind, once we'd put some distance between ourselves and the underground market.

"No, I'm not, no..." I exclaimed, the words tumbling out in a rush.

"This is crazy... what the hell did I just witness..." I muttered, more to myself than to him, the images still flashing behind my eyelids.

His voice, when he responded, was grave, a low rumble that seemed to vibrate through me. "Crime of the underworld..."

Exhaustion clung to my face as I stared at him, the weight of sleepless nights pressing down. Was he truly serious? Did the man ever think about anything beyond the relentless pursuit of justice? I watched him, a chilling certainty creeping into my mind: he was contemplating it. He was actually considering deploying what amounted to a Matra SWAT team to shut down this illicit underground market. The thought hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.

His voice, laced with a gentle curiosity, cut through my swirling thoughts. "Were you able to reach your friend?" he inquired, his embrace still a comforting anchor as I clung to his forearm.

"No..." The word escaped me, a whisper haunted by the memory of Lottie's vacant stare. "It's as if she's lost all sense of her humanity."

A flicker of understanding, tinged with concern, softened his usually stern features. He simply said, "I understand." Back in what I assumed were his personal quarters, he asked me to wait while he assembled a team to dismantle the market. Left alone in the quiet of his room, I found myself drawn to the window, my gaze lost in the distance. My mind, a whirlwind of anxieties, conjured images of my parents, my friends, and the uncertain path that lay before me. I couldn't help but recall a time when I yearned for the world of Genshin to be real, a fantastical escape. Now, it was more real than life itself, a stark and unsettling reality.

Sleep overtook me swiftly, the exact moment of surrender lost within the recesses of my thoughts. I didn't even register Cyno's arrival back. The persistent Sumeru sun, however, was far more insistent, its rays slicing through the window and pulling me back to wakefulness.

"Mao, you're awake..." Cyno's voice, a deep murmur, cut through the mental haze. A wave of mortification washed over me as I realized I was drooling – an embarrassing side effect of sleep I'd hoped to avoid. My only desire was to disappear from this humiliating situation.

"I'm awake..." I mumbled, surreptitiously wiping away the trace of my slumber. I must have looked awful. How long had it been since I'd been thrown into this larger-than-life version of Teyvat? Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I finally managed to focus on Cyno.

"What is it?" I asked, suppressing a yawn.

The morning routine complete, I was met with a breakfast spread fit for a king – a surprising contrast to Cyno's usual stoicism. With a full stomach and a sigh, we embarked on our journey once more. Cyno, true to form, remained a man of few words, and before I knew it, I was hoisted onto his shoulder, feeling rather like a disgruntled parrot.

"Hey!" I finally exclaimed, the novelty of this mode of transport wearing thin. "Where are we going, anyway? I told you I don't appreciate being manhandled–"

My complaints were cut short by another one of his infuriating head pats. I swatted his enormous finger away, earning a low chuckle from the General Mahamatra.

"To see Lord Kusanali," he stated, his voice unusually grave. "I've been telling her everything... and she expressed a desire to meet you."

The weight of his words crashed down on me. He looked so serious, so… official. I wanted to strangle him, to curse the sheer scale of this world and my place within it. Meeting any kind of ruler, a deity no less, was a monumental event, a terrifying prospect I hadn't signed up for.

The Sanctuary of Surasthana. Even back when this was just a game, I'd always loved exploring its hidden corners. Now, it was the stage for my meeting with Nahida, who sat perched upon Cyno's broad shoulder.

She reminded me of the Childlike Empress from "The NeverEnding Story," a figure of immense power cloaked in innocence. A strange mix of excitement and dread churned within me.

"Lord Kusanali, this is Mao..." Cyno's voice, usually so stern, held a hint of formality as he presented me. Of course, I recognized her. Nahida's features were unforgettable: fair skin that seemed to glow, delicately pointed ears, large, intelligent green eyes, and white hair tipped with the vibrant green of Dendro.

"Your Highness, or Queen..." I stammered, feeling like a complete idiot for not knowing the proper form of address. My tongue felt thick and clumsy.

"Hmm, how interesting, you're different?" she observed, her gaze intense. Before I could process her words, Cyno gently set me down on some sort of intricate console.

"May I take a look?" the childlike goddess asked, her voice soft but laced with an undeniable authority. Before I could answer, a wave of energy washed over me, and darkness claimed my consciousness.

When I finally awoke, a sound pierced through the fog in my mind. Crying. Nahida was weeping, her small frame shaking with each sob.

"It's my fault..." she repeated, over and over, her voice thick with anguish. Cyno, standing stiffly beside her, clearly wasn't equipped to handle such raw emotion. And I, well, I've always hated seeing children cry.

"Look, sweetie, it's not your fault..." I managed to say, my voice still thick with sleep and a lingering disorientation.

Nahida's youthful gaze met mine. "Yes it is" she replied, her voice carrying the weight of her ancient responsibility.

"After the Traveler and I faced the corruption together, I put safeguards in place, measures to shield Irminsul from future problems. My intention was to prevent external forces, beings not native to Teyvat, from tainting it with forbidden knowledge. Never did I imagine," she confessed, a hint of regret in her tone, "that those precautions would extend to you… to your people."

I had always suspected Irminsul was akin to a vast, intricate computer. The game's lore painted Nahida's consciousness as inextricably linked to it, the very source of Dendro's power. It wasn't a stretch to see her as a programmer, safeguarding the world's very code.

The realization struck me like a physical blow. "So, if I'm understanding this correctly…" I began, my voice barely a whisper, "the reason people from Earth, myself included, are acting…like animals is is because you're inadvertently using Irminsul to block the spread of forbidden knowledge?" The implications were terrifying.

Nahida's voice, though calm, carried the weight of a grim reality. "It rids them of the forbidden knowledge that's leaking," she explained, her gaze distant, "essentially reverting them to a primal state."

My heart clenched. The humans, these earthlings, like myself, had been hauled here against their will. And now? They were being rebooted, their minds wiped clean, their very essence stripped away.

A wave of fury washed over me, choking the air from my lungs. "Can you fix it?!" I screamed, the question ripped from my throat, far louder than I intended.

Nahida nodded, her expression confirming what felt like an eternity—three weeks, to be exact. Scholars from every corner of the Akademiya were lending their expertise, a flurry of activity that both reassured and frustrated me. Frankly, it astonished me that it had taken them this long to pinpoint the flaw in the earthing process. Then again, I mused, most of them had been blissfully unaware of Nahida's five-century-long confinement, a secret only Alhaitham had pierced through during the archon quest.

Lottie and James were safe, for now, a fragile comfort in the grand scheme of things. Cyno, ever the unwavering General Mahamatra, had finally apprehended Dori. Yet, even with these victories, a shadow lingered. The demand for "mini-Humans," or earthlings, persisted throughout Teyvat, a chilling reminder that this nightmare could easily repeat itself.

"Ready to go home, Mao?" Cyno's voice cut through my thoughts. I was perched on his shoulder, a tiny parrot seeking solace in his presence.

"Yes...more than anything..." I replied, the longing for Earth a physical ache. I yearned to leave this chapter behind, to erase the horrors I had witnessed. Nahida had explained that the return journey would involve a portal, a gateway that would gently erase our memories of Teyvat, if we even retained them. Lottie and Jamie, poor things, were still trapped in that vacant, unresponsive state.

I wished I could have shared a deeper connection with Cyno, a heartfelt goodbye that truly conveyed my gratitude. He was, without a doubt, a good person, someone I genuinely respected.

"Thanks for everything..." I managed, the words feeling inadequate. The idealized image I once held of him had faded, replaced by a more grounded appreciation.

"You're welcome, Mao," he replied, his large hand gently patting my head. I sighed, a wave of frustration washing over me. I desperately wanted to tell him my real name, to leave him with a piece of my true self, but the memory remained elusive, lost in the chaos of my experiences.

The moment to leave arrived, and I didn't dare glance back, hoping that oblivion would claim the memories. Two months had passed since Lottie, James, I, and a handful of others vanished from the anime convention. Then, as abruptly as it began, we reappeared outside the mall. They were… themselves again.

The news spread like wildfire, yet a collective amnesia seemed to grip everyone regarding our whereabouts during that time. Everyone except me. I remained silent. How could I possibly articulate the truth? How could I explain that we had been abducted, essentially sold as pets to giants in a world ripped straight from a popular video game? Perhaps the most crucial thing was that everyone had returned to their normal lives.

I write this now, a record of my account, my experience. Despite the sheer terror of it all, I refuse to let the memories fade. A voice calls out, my dad asking if I'd like to join them for a movie.

"Sure..." I replied.

I closed my laptop, the screen fading to black. I still play Genshin Impact, but most of my merchandise has been packed away, relegated to a box in the attic. However, a Cyno plushie remains on my desk, a constant reminder to appreciate the life I have now. It's not perfect, and there's no magic, but I don't need that anymore. I've had enough adventure to last a lifetime.

As I descended the stairs, I found only my parents on the couch, bathed in the soft glow of the television. It was then that I noticed it – the water pitcher on the coffee table. The water within vibrated, tiny ripples dancing across its surface.

The end?????

#genshin impact #cyno #genshin #genshin theories #genshin cyno #general mahamatra #sdrgau #size difference #size difference reverse isekai genshin #size difference genshin #size different reverse isekai genshin #size difference reverse isekai genshin alternate universe #cyno x reader #cynoxoc #cyno x y/n #cyno x you #size different

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bloopitynoot · 6 months ago

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Reading TGCF: Chapter One

For those who don't know, I am reading TGCF for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag Bloopitynoot reads TGCF. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read BUT if you followed along with my SVSSS read, the rules and vibe are the same.

We begin chapter one with a blueberry jasmine tea!

I will say that tomorrow I probably wont be posting a chapter. My mom and sister are visiting my partner and I for the holidays tonight and staying until Sunday afternoon, so I likely won't be able to read until Sunday.

Anyways, send good luck my way because we are likely going to play a vicious game of monopoly.

Let's go chapter 1!!

okay, my assumptions going in was that this was a very serious series about tough trials and hardships but here we are starting this chapter with XIe Lian taking "first place on the chart of Heavenly Officials Most Hoped to be Banished Down to the Mortal Realm". This is kind of camp. is this the series energy??? p23

omg they literally made the chart for him p24

RIP that bell. had a good run. pp24-25

I can't lol. this poor guy. If things are there that shouldn't be- Xie Lian's fault. If there are things missing that should be there- also Xie LIan's fault. How does a single guy cause so much damage? p25

Okay this is an open question to anyone. I am confused about this merit system. I totally understand that gods get merits based on worships/offerings/beliefs/temples whatever. What I do not understand is how a god gets points from a martial god kicking his ass? p26

This is so real. Bro forgot the password p27

not them placing bets on how long he'll last this time. This is so funny p27

these deities are so rude to him! He's just trying to apologize and they are so condescending. I love an underdog though so I'm rooting for this man. p29

Oh shit okay. I take back my previous contempt. This was the guy hit by the bell. p29

aaaaand we have the added salt that these two know each other previously. Xuan Zhen/Mu Qing being from Xianle Palace as well. pp30-31

Bless Ling Wen for keeping this man in check. Honestly best Heavenly Handler p32

Jesus. It's as though Xie Lian is in a room talking to all his exes. This is so awkward! Nan Yang/Feng Xin also being from Xianle Palace p33

Why am I so nervous about Xie Lian going on this mission??? Bro has 0 power, 0 respect, and attracts bad luck like nobody's business. p38

omg. even the clouds are against this man; causing a three day delay in his travels for blowing him the wrong way basically. Truly the god of misfortune. p39

Well. At least he has some help now? Nan Feng and Fu Yao. Also I am curious about the butterflies? Do we find out more? Is it a heavenly official thing? because if it is, that's cute. pp41-42

The name change from Lower Court to Middle Court is so funny to me. This is some pure bureaucratic drama, like 10/10 would see this in an office. Honestly this realm would make such a solid office/workplace au. pp42-43

Oop. Nothing like your support being from the palaces that absolutely hate you. p43

Well at least they are both here as "willing" volunteers and their generals don't know they are actually there. I do however sense some shenanigans due to this pp43-45

Oh Wait! This mission sounds so rad! A bride eating monster?!?!?!? I can't wait p45

Strong start!

I already have so many questions that I am going to assume will be answered somewhere between now and the other seven books BUT I am so ready. We already got a workplace drama, an exciting mission, and this adorably useless little man trying his best. I cannot wait for chapter two!

#bloopitynoot reads tgcf #tgcf #mxtx tgcf #mxtx #xie lian #my poor poor boy #I feel this is only going to get real bad for him #but im here for the mission

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inspector-finebeak · 1 month ago

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Good morning, gamers. I’m making a post-Forsaken AU that’s also a crossover fic involving The Robloxia: Until Dawn. As such, I’m writing down some general notes on the characters present in both games and how they differ.

Edit: This is only some of them. I will add more in another post.

Jane Doe Forsaken

-Early 40s

-She/her

-Married to John Doe

-Horrible sleep schedule, doesn’t sleep as much as she should

-Getting more sleep now that John Doe is back

-Accountant for Roblox

Jane Doe TRUD

-Early to mid 20s

-She/her

-Siblings with John Doe

-Will be very freaked out when she realizes Forsaken John and Jane are married

-Then very confused when she finds out they’re not siblings

-Was a paramedic before the Xploit stuff

-Has done a little bit of exploiting with her brother

-Uses that exploiting to heal people from a distance

John Doe Forsaken

-Early 40s

-He/him

-Married to Jane Doe

-Likes cuddling with Jane

-Has been de-corrupted

-The arm that had the spike is less flexible but maybe stronger

John Doe TRUD

-Early to mid 20s (older than Jane)

-He/him

-Siblings with Jane Doe

-Created the Xploit with help from some kind of Faustian bargain

-Got drunk on power and attempted a coup of Robloxia (killed a bunch of the admins and moderators)

-Nobody respected his rule and the coup quickly turned into a war between the TRUD killers and Robloxia

-The war, dubbed the Xploit War, went on for two or three years and decimated most of Robloxia’s population

-Long after things went apocalyptic, the TRUD survivors managed to steal John’s laptop

-Jane remembered his passwords and tampered with the Xploit, allowing the survivors to kill John Doe (who had made himself and the other killers invincible before the tampering)

-Dead

-Will not be coming back

Guest 666 Forsaken

-Mid to late 20s

-He/him

-Noob doesn’t talk about them much, if at all

-Dead (?)

Guest 666 TRUD

-Late 20s to early 30s

-She/her

-Created when John Doe tried to force the Xploit onto Guest

-Has existed for less than five years despite being mentally the same age as Guest

-Figured out how to make use of the massive body count of the war by turning the corpses into minions

-Disappeared shortly before John Doe was killed

-Current status and location unknown

-The corpse minions are still here, still extremely numerous, and still attacking people

c00lkidd Forsaken

-10

-He/him

-Feels extremely guilty about the whole purgatory thing

-Generally tries to ignore the problem and pretend he’s fine

c00lkidd TRUD

-20

-He/him

-Real name is Koolaid (c00lkidd was a username and later an alias)

-Got involved with the Xploit before John Doe got super ambitious

-Did some grunt work for John Doe, such as stealing things from the admins which John needed to develop the Xploit

-Has a massive garden

-Used the Xploit to build the garden and enchant it with magical properties

-Built the garden without telling the other killers (long history of bullying for his interest in plants)

-Hid in the garden when John Doe attempted his coup

-Did not come out until the survivors found him by accident 2-3 years later and asked him for help killing John Doe

-Grows a lot of food and seasonings in the garden

-Gives them to the survivors for free

-Feels extremely guilty about being involved with the Xploit, definitely has self hate issues

-Wears a flower crown enchanted to not wilt

Noob Forsaken

-Mid to late 20s

-They/them

-Big on snacks

-Is slowly becoming less fearful post-purgatory

-Might get back into scene

Noob TRUD

-He/him

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lunar-years · 8 months ago

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I know the general fandom consensus is that Roy Kent hates social media and therefore never posts apart from official work stuff, and like sure I do tend to agree with that I guess. HOWEVER, I'm also deeply attached to the idea that Keeley had to secretly change all his passwords one day so he'd get so frustrated trying to log in again he'd give it up. This is because every time he gets on socials he gets himself into an online argument, sends tweet on the most unhinged, foul, and targeted hate responses of a bullying nature, and then dips again. Also the disparity in the types of posts he's doing this on is insane. Like, one's an inane football take he doesn't agree with, one's sexist tabloid fodder about Keeley being pictured outside her office building in a tube top, one's a spoiler for who got sent home on last week's Bake Off, one's blatant homophobia, and one's a news announcement that Tesco is discontinuing it's 3 for 2 deal on chicken...and Roy's responding to all five in ways that quite nearly get him permanently banned from the platform.

#roy kent #ted lasso #hello. mr kent? yes you can't say THAT.

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tiger-moran · 13 days ago

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Sherlock & Co spoilers

Sorry but nobody thought that Daisy would take her place again even though multiple times before they've mistaken Daisy for Irene or commented on how alike they are? It was so obviously going to be Daisy on stage. That felt kind of like 'making everyone else stupid to make Irene look really smart'.

I still don't actually understand why Irene wanted the drive so badly, I don't... get it? Or who she thought was a real threat and would have the information? Sure Milverton might have been able to threaten her but he wasn't actually trying to blackmail her over that when she stabbed him and stole the drive, so... why was she so intent on stealing it then? (IDK maybe if they hadn't dragged this story out for 5 weeks I'd follow it better but I just don't follow any of that at all)

I'm sorry, she's another character in general I adore and I wanted to love her in this so much but I still do not like her characterisation and storyline in this and I hate that they just totally erased a relationship I really love in the canon and that they really did replace a character I love with an OC who probably is nothing more than a few stock sound effects and not even a proper character (and Daisy is clearly not a Godfrey character, they literally just tacked his surname and half of his first name onto two totally original characters). And she still sounds so insincere all the time, she never sounds genuine to me, it makes it so hard to believe she's not done something else underhand at the end and just switched the drive with a different one or something. At the very least I wish they'd got someone else to voice her who could actually make her sound sincere when she's supposed to be being sincere.

"And there will be no Milverton or Ormstein or even Holmes to jeopardise that" Yeah but there's someone else of huge significance isn't there. Whether she really did wipe the drive or not, Moriarty knows she stole it, Moriarty knows she knew the password for it, Moriarty knows she could well have seen some of the other information on there, information he would not want her to see. They've set this situation up where it makes so much sense for him to just kill her. Sure she's won and that was pretty much inevitable I think, I never expected this version to let her get beaten by being caught by Sherlock or anything because however else they've screwed up certain things I didn't think they'd screw this up in that way but... is she actually safe? She does not seem actually safe to me. The baby might be, perhaps, but is she? Moriarty is not the king of Bohemia and he's not Sherlock Holmes, i.e. the two main people who are after Adler in the canon. And remember how canonically Watson calls her the late Irene Adler at the end of the story and how almost everyone seems to be desperate to act like that can't possibly mean anything other than that she dies soon after the story took place? I really don't like that they've set up this Moriarty and Adler situation here where it seems very likely he wants to kill her, whether or not she has the drive still, and that hasn't actually come to anything in this story even though they even mentioned "James M" which means that part is still open-ended. And how, realistically, is she meant to have got away undetected anyway? By herself would be hard enough in this day and age but with a baby as well? (And sure canonically I love the idea that Moriarty helped Irene and Godfrey get away but I don't see how him helping her would work in this version if he even so much as suspects she had access to loads of compromising information and he has already apparently executed Milverton). I don't want yet another version where it ends up with Moriarty killing Adler but this just looks more and more likely to be where this is going to end up.

(Also I still don't like how they've brought Mary up repeatedly in recent episodes. Why are we getting all these reminders, including from Milverton, about another woman's death? They almost seemed to forget about her much of the time a couple of episodes after she died but now lately we're getting all these Moriarty references and references to Mary's death at the same time. What is that about?)

#Sherlock and Co #Sherlock and Co spoilers #Sherlock & Co spoilers #James Moriarty #Irene Adler #also I mean... it's a digital drive she stole #you can copy the info from it to something else in a couple of minutes LOL #even if she did wipe it that doesn't guarantee she didn't copy anything from it

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taylortruther · 1 year ago

Note

Who do we think The Black Dog is about? It could be Joe but that would go against the popular theory that both major Joe songs on TTPD are the track 5s on the main album and anthology.

Also the "you said I needed a brave man, then proceeded to play him until I believed it too" is VERY "the coward claimed he was a lion" and "you didn't measure up to any measure of a man" coded.

Also she seems to go easier on Joe in songs...so the whole bitter and scathing "I hope it's shitty in the black dog" sticks out like a sore thumb. But if it's Matty then why does the song reference a long term relationship with password sharing and old habits (if Taylor and Matty were mostly on and off).

What about the "six weeks of breathing clean air, I still miss the smoke" parallel with Daylight? TBD is my favorite off of TTPD but I can't for the life of me interpret who it's about.

idk! i go back and forth and generally land on the idea that, like other songs, joe being the cause and matty being the effect, mean they're both swirled together. i had a big brain thought about this that i'll explain what i mean at the end of this post. but first, here are my thoughts:

agree that the bitter scathing songs feel very matty-coded - but the thing is, she's clearly angry about joe, it's just more in the background. she's said in other songs that she was angry about joe wasting her youth, claiming he loved her but not showing it. it stands to reason she'd be in disbelief, and hurt, that he just... moved on, post break-up.

long-term relationship habits: tbh, i don't think location-sharing and showering together are a smoking gun for a ltr. you can easily do those things with someone you're down bad for, no matter how little time has passed. could go either way.

the starting line is, apparently, a matty thing?

i don't think "i still miss the smoke" is necessarily a daylight parallel. it could be! it bring to mind lavender haze, missing the "haze" that clouded your judgment, but it also harkens back to clean, and not wanting to fall into a harmful addiction again, which then leads me to, "one slip and falling back into the hedge maze" where you're lost and out of control. the hedge maze could be matty, but it could also be a habit of, idk, love ending.

the line that pops out to me at each listen is "all of those best laid plans" though - it reminds me so much of "my best laid plan, your sleight of hand" in hoax, and "i'm begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans" in willow.

and "do you hate me?" feels like something you might wonder about an ex you left. but "was it hazing for a cruel fraternity" feels like the smallest man, was it a joke? a game? were you a spy? was it hazing?

but then you think about the meaning of the rest of the line: "was it hazing for a cruel fraternity? i pledged and i still mean it, old habits die screaming."

she pledged herself to the relationship, and maybe it was a sick joke. but imo this is also a broader statement: if love is a joke, i still pledged, i still believe(d) in it. if all these men played a trick on me, if i am cursed to be alone forever, i want to change the prophecy. which, again, leads me to the explanation that - if the top story is about matty, it's still about all those experiences, primarily joe, that brought her to that choice.

#the black dog #hoax #willow #parallels #tsmwel #guilty as sin?#gas?

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malecdiscordserver · 1 year ago

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Welcome to the Shadowhunters Reverse Bang 2024: Presented by the Malec Discord Server

We are so excited to bring back another year of artists taking the reins, and writers finding inspiration with their incredible works.

You might be asking yourself, what is a reverse bang? The Shadowhunters Reverse Bang is a collaborative fandom event that combines fandom talents! Artists create never-before-seen art that writers will find inspiration in and create an entirely new story based off of, and together, they create magic.

Who can participate? In order to participate in this reverse bang, you must be a part of the Malec Discord Server. You must be over 16 to participate and over 18 to create explicit works.

All other rules and FAQs can be found here or underneath the cut!

The schedule as it currently stands is below. This schedule is subject to change depending on the situation. You will be notified of any changes.

Artists Sign-ups Open - March 9 Artist Sign-ups Closed - April 6 Writer Sign-ups Open - April 7 Artist Check-in #1 - Due May 1 Writer Sign-ups Closed - May 16 Art Submissions Due - May 16 Art Claims Open - May 18 Art Claims Closed - May 20 Matches Revealed - May 25 Writer & Artist Check-in - Due July 1 Writer & Artist Check-in - Due August 1 Final Check-in (Fics & Art Due) - August 25 Posting Begins - August 31

Artist sign-ups will open on Saturday, March 9th. Join the Malec Discord Server for an immediate reminder, or keep an eye on @malecdiscordserver!

General Rules:

You must be part of the Malec Discord Server to participate in this event.

You must be over 16 to participate and over 18 to create explicit works.

All content must be brand new and never before posted to any forum. All content must be polished and finished. No unfinished works or WIPs that you plan on continuing later will be accepted. Works that are added chapters/continuations of previously published works are not permitted unless they can be viewed/read as a standalone.

All AI content is prohibited.

Artists are asked not to talk about their projects until after claims with anyone participating in this event to keep writer claims fair.

All content must focus on Shadowhunters universe characters.

All Shadowhunters characters/ships are accepted. OCs/borrowed characters will be accepted as minor characters.

AUs and crossovers are accepted as long as the Shadowhunters characters are the main focus.

Content of any rating and subject matter is accepted, but participants must make sure to include any relevant warnings and properly tag their work.

No blatantly hateful content of any kind.

Artists must communicate readily with their assigned writer and vice versa. This is a collaborative effort and writers must be open to the ideas the artists have. The same courtesy is asked of artists.

When you sign up for this event you are making a commitment to yourself, the Mods, and your future partner(s) to meet all posted deadlines and to communicate with the Mods and your partner(s) regularly. Please don’t sign up for the event unless you are confident that you can fully participate and be honest with yourself about what you can commit to.

Please respect the Mods and anyone working with you throughout this event. Certain complaints may disqualify you from this event.

The password to make sure you understand all rules is SHRB24. Remember this when you sign up.

Artist Specific Rules:

Artists must create at least one finished project and no more than two finished projects for this event.

Accepted forms of submitted art include:

Digital/physical art: 1 piece, 500px minimum

Photomanipulation: 1 piece with significant editing

Gifsets: 4 gifs (without watermarks)

Moodboards: 6 graphics

Video: 1 minute

Playlists: 10 songs and a graphic

Abstract art/line art, original songs, and poems will also be accepted as long as the prompt given to accompany it gives a clear picture for the writer.

Artists are expected to be respectful of the writer’s ideas. Artists are expected to be in contact with their writers about specific changes/ideas they might have along the way.

Artists will need somewhere to host their work so that it can be embedded on AO3.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you are in need of stock images for your project please make sure that they are open source and that you provide the proper credits and sources. For gif creators using online gif makers, please remove watermarks before posting.

AI art is strictly prohibited.

Writer Specific Rules:

Writers must write a minimum of 4,000 words to participate in this event. There is no maximum limit but please keep in mind the time constraints of this event.

Writers are expected to be respectful of the artists’ ideas, likes, dislikes, and rating preferences. Writers are expected to be in contact with their artist about specific changes/ideas they might have along the way.

Writers must base their fics off of the art prompt they claim. For example, if the art features Clary as an art student, the fic should not be Malec-focused with Clary attending an art school in the background. The fic should be primarily about Clary being an art student.

Writers signing up for the event may not get their first pick when assigned art. Please be mindful of this! Ending your commitment because of this is not permitted and if you feel this will be an issue you should not sign up for the event.

Plagiarism and AI content will not be tolerated. All content must be the writer’s own original work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I have to be a part of the Malec Discord Server to participate? All continuous communication for this event will be provided in a special category in the MDS. This includes all announcements, reminders, and ongoing requirements. If you want to join but don’t want access to the entire server, you can be given a Discord role based on your role in this event so the rest of the server is not accessible to you.

Sign-ups haven’t closed yet but I’m so excited about this challenge and really want to begin. Can I start working now? Artists are free to begin their piece(s) as soon as they read through the rules and requirements! Writers, unfortunately, will have to until they are matched with an artist, but we appreciate your enthusiasm for this event!

Can I sign up for more than one role? Absolutely. Many bang participants sign up for multiple roles as long as you believe you can complete all pieces before the assigned deadline(s).

What if someone doesn’t have a match? In the event that the art prompts outnumber writers, we will do several rounds of claiming so that every art prompt has a writer. If writers outnumber art prompts, we will open up the art prompts so that more than one writer is assigned to the same artist or ask artists if they are interested in completing more art. Every artist will be matched with at least one writer and vice versa.

What if I’m matched with an art prompt/partner I don’t want? The Mods (and most artists) would never want someone to create something that makes them uncomfortable, so if there is an art prompt that you don’t want to be matched with, don’t choose it during claims.

If you have any legitimate concerns about a partner (i.e. harassment or rude behavior), we ask that you please notify the Mods. Intervention by the Mods will not occur simply because of disliking story/design choices or the content they’re producing. Mods will not allow any rude or dismissive behavior by any participant. Please just be nice and work hard to help each other.

Can I repost old art or reuse/add to a WIP? No, All content must be brand new and never before posted to any forum. More on this in the rules.

What if I’m not around when claims occur? Claims will span three days and will not be on a first come first serve basis so as long as you are able to submit your interest in those three days, chances are you’ll be matched with one of your top three choices.

What if I’m not positive I can finish within the deadline? When you sign up for this event you are making a commitment to yourself, the Mods, and your future partner(s) to meet all posted deadlines and to communicate with the Mods and your partner(s) regularly. Please don’t sign up for the event unless you are confident that you can fully participate and be honest with yourself about what you can commit to.

What if something comes up after claims and I need to drop out? We understand that dropping out due to unforeseen circumstances can and will happen. We are/have always been very understanding when this happens and are willing to work with you. The quicker you let us know, the more options the Mods have.

How can I contact the Mods? Send us an ask on here or join the Discord server where we are more accessible.

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