#anyway gotta. tag every 1 else

[marigoldbaker]

a visual introduction to the most perfect little bakery wizard in the entire world, and quite a lot of her favorite people.

[chibishortdeath]

Alright I’ve thought about, I’m gonna actually start posting some of my criticisms of Netflixvania starting with the first season. I actually have a notepad document on my computer somewhere that’s just various rants about it that I’m gonna take from lol

Rant under a cut cause it’s long, spoilers, and also cause uh tldr I do not like the show 💀

Ok let’s start from the beginning of the show, episode one.

The first episode isn’t terrible, it’s a bit rocky, some red flags here and there for what was to come, but that’s kinda expected of animations like this. It usually takes them a couple episodes to pick up and grow into their own, so I was skeptical, but not gonna knock it entirely when I first saw it.

My biggest criticism of this episode was the complete missed opportunity to introduce certain characters from this section of the series’s story. Imagine if they had shown Isaac and Hector in the background of the castle or something at this point for foreshadowing later, as they would’ve already been studying under Dracula at that time. Imagine if that old woman Lisa helped ended up being one of Lyudmil’s family members, cementing them as friends of her for later. Alas, Netflix just decided not to use most of the already written backstories for most characters. But eh, that’s getting into nitpick territory.

And then the second episode happens… I honestly genuinely hate the concept of the Speakers and it’s because they completely replace a much more interesting (especially for the tone and themes they were going for) group for Sypha to be a part of: The Church. In the game, Sypha is a witch, something that’s currently not very good to be at this time, however the church employs a bunch of male wizard soldiers. This is already a perfect opportunity set up and ready to go for them to make their points of the church being hypocritical, add some intense dramatic irony with maybe the audience getting to know Sypha is a witch before anyone else does and seeing her interact with a bunch of people who would have her dead if they knew, and create a super conflicted situation where these church soldiers all die during their encounter with the cyclops, but yet they scrapped it for uh random group of magic users that kinda exist entirely for a plot that didn’t need a new device to work. And Sypha just being all hood down and no hiding just takes away something interesting about her character, making her kinda bland in the process. Like it’s one thing to have the Girl™️ who owns the braincell trope and another to have a character with some actual immediate conflicts. They totally could’ve played up the “oh no if Trevor knew would he kill me” dynamic, especially with witches being commonly lumped in with ‘monsters’ in a lot of other media and Trevor being ya know a monster hunter. And already just from this one design choice she completely loses her symbolic putting the hood down scene for much later in the story to show that she actually trusts people and feels safe enough to not need to hide anymore because she’s got people on her side now.

Also the lack of Grant is just a crime in itself. Grant could’ve worked perfectly as like the everyman of the group. Hell, with his background of being a former noble turned thief presumably after hard times to straight up losing his entire hometown to flames and leading a revolution about it, Grant literally has like almost every common not magical vampire hunter person experience. He could’ve given the group any of those perspectives and been told the perspectives of the vampire hunting life he hasn’t had, ya know? And he’d help differentiate the personalities and humors of the group in general. I literally can’t think of a negative to having Grant in the group.

So we were robbed of character development for Sypha and the existence of Grant, what’s next—

The Bishop character is someone that could’ve been interesting if he was written with any kind of nuance, but instead he’s extremely on the nose and blatantly laughably evil. Otherwise this guy is pretty forgettable besides how lame it was that they used Blue Fangs to kill him instead of ya know an actually recognizable enemy. Like the Blue Fangs design wouldn’t be bad if it was in literally anything else, but compared to the designs of most Castlevania monsters it’s just really lame. I’d’ve even accepted a Warg or something, idk. Personally I think having Death walk in taking the form of Zead and going through that speech while eventually turning into the skeleton form we know him as woulda gone hard but for some reason Death isn’t a thing until seasons later which sucks.

I also absolutely hate Alucard and the Cyclops being in the catacombs! Hate it! The Cyclops kinda had like a courtyard area for it and made sense being there since it was standing guard on the way to the castle. Literally what it is even doing in the catacombs 💀💀💀. Standing guard for… eepy Alucard? Why??? And the whole sleeping soldier thing or whatever they called him is just so obviously an excuse to have him appear faster and make it seem like it tied into the plot. Alucard absolutely should not have been introduced to the main group this early on because again that robs him of a bunch of opportunities for background and character development. He got maybe the one oh no dad don’t commit mass death that’s bad scene and nothing else when they had plenty of time to show him initially following his fathers orders and eventually growing to stand against him. And again??? Missed opportunity for anything radio drama related??? Like if there’s any opportunity to get any of that story more known it’s in an animation? And besides, it’s less work to just use whatever materials and supplemental materials already existed for the game!

Dracula’s Curse and CoD have:

Two games

Two manuals

Three manga (TokyoPop and Preorder)

A couple game guides

Flashback sequences in a radio drama

Flashback sequences in SotN AKA: the game everyone knows

A ton of references in later games cause IGA is a big Dracula’s Curse fanboy

Pachinkos

That is plenty of material to make an animation based on, especially because most games don’t get half of that, especially not NES games. They were literally handed like the NES game to adapt lottery and decided not to scratch like half the ticket 💀💀💀.

Alucard also being able to levitate kinda negates a lot of things. Like what the hell is the point of having a bat/mist form and a double jump then? If he can just be flying vampire Jesus immediately or whatever people call him idk. And you can’t tell me Alucard wouldn’t be painfully embarrassed if someone ever saw him shirtless come on this is the guy that wears like 5 layers of clothing in every game he’s in to the point that even in the modern era he’s choosing a suit over casual clothes. Every action he makes in this introduction to him is obviously fanservice for the sake of fanservice with very little thought behind it, except I’m not feeling very served right now. And having Trevor kinda lose that fight is a reoccurring problem this show ends up having: putting down other characters just to make certain ones get the cool fanservice moment. Contrary to what the writers of this show may believe, it actually doesn’t make me go “oh wow, Alucard is so cool and much badas”, it just feels weird and uncomfortable that Trevor is getting cheated out of one of his canon achievements because the writers preferred one character’s tits more than him.

So, basically, the show starts out with missed opportunities, concepts and characters getting cut out, watered down versions of characters that did make it in, cheap fanservice, poor explanations for things, etc etc. this all culminates into a resounding m e h + dread for later seasons being worse (boy was I correct on that fear lol).

Here’s some other things for the first season I didn’t know where else to fit:

None of the humor hit for me at all, like not a single joke. The humor was either a no response at best, but definitely a physically wincing from secondhand embarrassment at worst. Related to this, I feel like most of the dialogue reads like either someone who just learned what swear words are and thinks they’re really cool and funny or genuinely forced. At times most of the characters talk with the same delivery, cadence, personality, etc, it’s really obvious they were all written by the same person or group. And that even goes for background and side characters, too. This is a criticism I’ve never seen said: I really don’t like the voice acting in this show. I’m sure it’s no fault of the voice actors at all, but there were times in this where I either could not hear characters properly or could not understand characters properly and I had to watch it with closed captions on. The clearness and volume of the characters voices varies A LOT even just between scenes sometimes. And that combined with all the characters having really similar speech patterns, there were a lot of times where if I looked away from the screen, I genuinely could not tell if it was Alucard or Trevor speaking cause it sounded like it could reasonably have been either of them (and in some cases it literally didn’t even matter that much which character was saying what). It’s an absolute tragedy that the color schemes in this show are not remotely similar to Dracula’s Curse too. I understand why some color combos wouldn’t make it for eyestrain reasons, but the pixel artwork in all the NES titles is beautiful. Same goes for music, like I am never going to forgive this series for using Bloody Tears for a Dracula’s Curse ‘adaptation’ and not Beginning or Aquarius or Dead Beat or Ghost Ship or Clockwork or— ya know? These are two things that the series are really known for so you’d think with some of the fanservice they did they’d be all kinds of ready to use stuff like that for more of it.

Anyway, past season one is when I started watching the series primarily through clips/episodes reposted on YouTube or elsewhere cause I had completely lost any interest in it. I’ll probably go through synopsises online again for season 2 just to try to better remember what happened in that one because I do remember having very little good to say about season 2 as well and I gotta do that research so I can hate things properly :3.

There’s a certain part of this where I just kinda blanked on things to even say, partially because Season one is kinda bland in general, but partially because I started getting sleepy while typing. So if I feel like I missed anything season one specific I’ll just put it in the beginning of the season two post. d(_ _ )

[formula-ghost]

Read Your Diary (FC43 x fem!reader)

Chapter 2: Own My Mind

CHAPTER SUMMARY: You might have finally admitted to yourself that you have feelings for Franco, but that doesn’t make the deep longing you feel for him any easier. And he's starting to make you question if he might feel the same longing for you, too.

WORD COUNT: 5.2k

WARNINGS: SEXUAL CONTENT 18+ ONLY MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. Reader is a lil freak, use of YN, mentions of anxiety disorders/therapy, reader has self esteem issues

TAGLIST: @scopeiguess

A/N: Thank you so much for all the love on part one! I never expected my first chapter to get any notes let alone over 200 notes in just a few days. Seriously every single note has me kicking my feet and turning my eyes into little heart emojis lol. I’m already about 2k words into ch 3 so I am hoping I’ll finish it before I have to travel for the holidays (I will not be able to write at all while I’m gone). Also, I had a request for someone to be tagged in this chapter, so let me know if you all would like me to start a permanent tag list. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Oh it’s automatic, you know I just gotta have it

I’ll make your body a habit

You know there’s some kind of magic, uh huh

Do you wanna, do you wanna, own my mind, own my mind?

The Singapore Grand Prix was later that night. Franco did really well considering the circumstances. It was disgustingly humid, and when he was done you could tell he felt awful. You were so angry at everyone at Williams for letting him race like that. Yes, it was his job, but that was your friend out there suffering—your friend who you had just admitted to yourself yesterday that you were in love with.

You watched him from afar when he spoke to the media afterwards. His curls were plastered down to his forehead with sweat, and his skin was pale and clammy. You just wanted to hold him and tell him that you were proud of him. Instead you had to settle for keeping an eye on him in the chaos of the paddock post-race, and helping him back to the hotel with his mother.

She had to get on an early flight, so she left and you promised her you’d stay until he was okay. She was worried about him, and you were too. God, seeing him so sick broke your heart. You helped pack up his things while he took a cold shower and he emerged in just a towel wrapped around his waist. He seemed to be feeling much better thankfully, and his more playful mood reflected it.

Of course, you snuck a glance or two at his sculpted form. Just a peek at his wet curls, the water droplets running down his chest—even the scar on his collarbone that he always tries to hide. He thinks it’s ugly. You think there isn’t a single part of him that’s ugly.

You tried to ignore him and continued tidying up. “I hope you don’t expect me to tip you,” he joked.

You playfully rolled your eyes. “What else are you going to do with all your stripper money?”

“Well, if we’re stripping…” he said, slowly lowering his hand down to his hips, palming the towel. You stomped to the bathroom, out of view of whatever joke he was making. “Get dressed, you man whore,” you instructed.

You lived for the banter you all had—at times, it felt like your own language separate from the rest of the world. The audience could hear Franco’s humor, but they’d never understand it like you did.

When you left the bathroom he was thankfully (or, unfortunately) fully clothed, lying on the bed and lazily scrolling through his phone.

“I’m glad you seem to be feeling better,” you said.

“Well, better than I was, but still kind of like shit,” he responded with a sigh.

“Well, you can get some rest, I’ve got you pretty much all packed up so you’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

He put his phone down and gave you a soft smile. “Thank you.” He paused for a moment, as if he was readying himself to say something, and looked at the floor away from you. “YN, would you… stay? Just in case I get worse, you know.”

You could tell by the color in his face that he was feeling better, but how could you deny him this small comfort, when his eyes met yours through his long eyelashes, a sliver of light from the street lamps outside cutting through the drawn curtains and resting on his face? He was so beautiful. And he wanted you to stay.

“Of course,” you said. You were going to get up from the corner of the bed where you now sat and move to the chair until he fell asleep, but instead he motioned for you to lay down on the bed next to him. Tentatively, you did, heart racing as he laid his head on your shoulder and curled his body into you.

His playful flirting was normal, but this was… different, a closeness beyond what was usual between you two. You could feel the warmth of his skin, his breath steady against you. Yes, your heart was beating, but you felt strangely calm. Peaceful. In this moment all that mattered was you and your best friend, quietly sharing a moment in each other’s presence.

Your hand, trembling, reached down to smooth a piece of his hair. He hummed in response, to which you quickly moved your hand, mumbling, “Oh, sorry.”

He just grabbed your hand and wordlessly placed it back on his head. Slowly, you began to run your fingers through his beautiful curls. You got lost in the moment, and soon enough, you felt his breath even out as he fell into a peaceful sleep. Soon enough, the stillness of the moment and the soft rise and fall of his breathing lulled you to sleep too.

You woke just as the sun was beginning to illuminate the sky outside. You had an unfortunate habit of waking up in the middle of the night—a common symptom of anxiety, your therapist had told you—but for the first time in a long time, you slept through the night soundly.

You and Franco had shifted, and he know had his arm lazily wrapped around you. You remembered the previous night and felt your heartbeat increase. It wasn’t just the feeling of his arm draped across your waist, but the feeling of…. something else. A little… morning problem.

Of course, you knew Franco couldn’t help it. He wasn’t even awake, and from your years of friendship you knew how much of a heavy sleeper he was. It was just an uncontrollable biological phenomenon. Nothing more.

But you couldn’t stay, feeling him pressed against you like that. It felt wrong and you were so nervous you could hardly breathe. So you carefully wiggled your way out of his grasp and quietly left his room, returning to your own.

Returning to your hotel room, all you knew to do to calm yourself down was to write. So you opened your journal and wrote all about the scene; the dinner, the banter, waking up next to him in the morning sunlight.

You wrote until your hand started to cramp. Then you went back to read what you had written, skimming over it, your mind only picking up on little snippets.

Lily thought I was Franco’s girlfriend, and I guess I can’t blame her. He’s such a flirt, I love and hate it. I just wonder if it ever means anything to him. I mean, he treats random reporters the same way he treats his girlfriends. What does he do when he actually wants someone?

He asked me to stay. I thought he must still be sick, but he just wanted me to… cuddle? I ran my fingers through his hair until he fell asleep. He looked like an angel, so soft and innocent, resting next to me. I wanted to kiss him so badly.

But when I woke up, I could feel his morning wood pressing against me. God, it was so awkward. But I can’t stop thinking about it, what he would do if he really wanted me.

Oh no. Oh no no no. You shouldn’t write that kind of stuff. Having a crush was one thing, but thinking about him like that? It was…wrong. Franco was your best friend. Your best friend who was absolutely perfect—yes, physically as well.

You threw your journal on the bed with a grunt of frustration.

You were fucked.

Your heart beat nervously as you walked into the waiting room before your next therapy session. It had been a week or so since Singapore when you had finally admitted the truth to yourself.

Yes, you had feelings for Franco. Emotional and… physical. No, you had no idea what to do with them.

Waiting for the clock to strike the hour, you reached down into your bag to run your fingertips along the spine of your leather journal. You had been writing incessantly in it since that night.

And if you thought that your fantasies were bad then, oh, it had gotten so much worse.

You told yourself you couldn’t help it. You were ovulating. You’d been single for a while. You were a girl with needs. But you felt disgusted, basically writing porn about your best friend.

I keep imagining that night at the hotel in Singapore, when he came out of the bathroom with just his towel on. In my mind, he sits on the edge of the bed like always, hand carefully placed at the top of his towel. His hair is dripping and his skin is still dotted with water droplets.

He doesn’t even have to say anything. The way he looks at me—eyes looking up through his gorgeous lashes, his pouty lips looking so lonely—I know exactly what he wants. So I get on the bed and straddle him, the only thing between us being my skirt, panties, and the thin fabric of the towel. I can feel him, how badly he wants me.

Then I’m in control, kissing his neck, leaving love bites up and down so that everyone knows he’s mine. He moans softly into my ear, bucking up his hips into me for just a bit of friction. “No,” I tell him, “I didn’t give you permission for that.” He whines in protest, but I just smile at his frustration. “My sweet boy…”

Even remembering what you wrote felt filthy. You wanted him—all of him.

I had a dream last night that Franco dominated me. We are in his apartment, arguing about something stupid, and he pushed me against the wall, kissing me roughly, like he couldn’t get enough of me. He holds me waist with his strong hands as his kisses get deeper.

“I need to taste you,” he growls into my mouth, picking me up and throwing me on the bed. Before I can react he’s on top of me, one hand holding my chin and the other fumbling with the zipper of my jeans. “Are you going to be good for me?” he asks, and I frantically nod.

“That’s what I thought,” he said, smirking, as he pulls off my jeans and my panties with it—

“YN? You can come in now.” You’re pulled from your daydreaming by the voice of your therapist. You close the journal, embarrassed, but not without her seeing it in your hands.

“I hope you’re doing well. I see you’ve got a journal, you’ve been writing in it, I take it?” she asked as you sat down in the familiar office.

“Yeah, I have,” you answered, clutching it tightly in your folded hands.

“Well, that’s great! Has it been helping you?”

“Um… I guess?”

“Explain more.”

You paused, unable to think. All you could do was blurt out the truth.

“I’m in love with my best friend.”

“…Okay.” Your therapist also paused. “Did your writing bring about this revelation?”

You tumbled through the rest of the session, trying to explain what happened without revealing too many intimate details.

“I just feel… horrible I guess. It’s so dumb. It’s not like he’ll ever feel the same way about me.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, he’s so… perfect. And I’m an anxious mess,” you laughed.

“Is anxiety that much of a barrier to being loved?”

You laughed, considering the gravity of her question. You couldn’t truly answer it. “It shouldn’t be. But I just know he’d never choose me and that’s okay. He doesn’t even know how I feel, and even if I had the courage to tell him, I wouldn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“Does it bother you, not being able to tell him about all of this?”

“….yeah, it does, actually,” you admitted. "I'll never do it but... I just wish I could, you know?"

"I understand. Why not start with expressing your feelings platonically? Telling him what he means to you as a friend?"

"I guess I could do that." You didn't quite know how you'd accomplish that, but you weren't in therapy just to refuse to try anything. You wanted to do hard things. You needed to do them.

So you made it your mission, next time you saw Franco, to tell him something meaningful. You weren't sure what it would be or how it would come out, but you'd at least try.

Unfortunately, it was a while before you'd see Franco again. There were a few weeks between Singapore and Austin, and between race prep with Williams and sponsorship deals, Franco was up to his ears in work. You still talked, of course—you texted back and forth every day—but it just wasn't the same, and you missed him horribly.

You'd felt this before, the ache in your stomach that longed for his presence when you'd gone too long without seeing him. You figured it would be different now that you had finally admitted to yourself what this feeling was. You didn't expect it to be worse.

Because now that feeling in your stomach was sharper. You didn't just yearn for the mere concept of him—you wanted everything. You missed his smile. You missed hearing his voice rise and fall in intonation as you bantered back and forth. You missed his perfect curls smoothed across his forehead. You missed the feeling of his arm wrapped around you, whether in a friendly embrace or something more intimate, like you'd had in Singapore. And in the back of your mind, you missed the feeling of Franco's hardness pressing against your back, a sign of what you fantasized was a deep wanting for you, both physical and emotional.

You tried, and failed, to rein in these fantasies. But with the more days that passed, the more Franco began to feel less and less like your best friend, and more and more like the version of him you'd created in your head, desperate for you more than anything else in the world.

You wrote all of this down, of course. If you hadn't you would have lost your mind with lust. Romantic pining was nothing new to you—you'd had a boyfriend before, although what you felt for him paled in comparison to Franco—but this intense physical desire you felt was new.

You had never been satisfied by anyone, anything, before. You smiled to yourself as you thought, well, I guess it's true what they say about the quiet, shy ones.

And Franco, unbeknownst to him, wasn't making it any easier. He called you one day, the first phone call you'd had in a while, a few days before you'd be flying out to Austin for the grand prix.

"I'm sorry I've been so busy," he explained, "but the stuff we're doing is so cool."

"Am I allowed to know, or is it top secret?" You smiled through the phone.

"Well... I can't tell you everything just yet, but I can give you a sneak peek. Check your messages."

You felt your phone vibrate, receiving a notification from Franco. You tapped on the text and nearly dropped your phone. He had sent you unedited pictures from a photoshoot, and he looked fucking amazing.

His voice on the other end of the line explained, "I'm gonna be on the cover of Forbes Mexico for the race. What do you think?"

At first, you were quite literally speechless. "Franco, you look..."

"Gorgeous? Sexy? Like the most fuckable Formula 1 driver?" he teased. For a split second, you wondered if it was possible to hear a blush through the phone.

His banter inspired your own. "... not bad. I mean, you certainly give them a lot of work to do to make you look good, but they did pretty decent."

If human beings could hear a blush through a phone, you were sure the noise that Franco made would be indicative of one. "Oh, shut up and tell me I'm pretty."

A million potential responses went through your head. Make me. Beg for it. My pretty boy.

Instead you just laughed and said, "No, really, you look great. This is amazing. You know the entire internet is going to lose their minds after this drops?"

He smiled. "That's the plan."

It still hadn't been released by the time you made it to Austin, but you weren't complaining. A part of you liked having this piece of Franco all to yourself. You kept going back to the photos again and again—his glare at the camera, his arm draped over a steering wheel—you couldn't get enough.

And when he met you at the airport in Austin (even though you told him it wasn't necessary), all that want came rushing back the instant he wrapped you in a hug that lasted a little too long to be considered platonic.

You couldn’t let your thoughts go that far. You’d already crossed a line by allowing yourself to feel such… intimate emotions for him. But to even imagine that he really wanted you to? No. That was where you actually drew the line.

But unfortunately, Franco’s confusing behavior made it far too easy for you to believe that he didn’t feel the same.

You all didn’t talk about that night in Singapore, or the fact that he must have woken up alone. You’d rather throw yourself into a pit of knives than talk about it and have to bear the embarrassment, and Franco didn’t seem bothered at all, so you let it go to the back of your head, acting as if it never happened at all. Your first day in Austin was fine, mainly spent recovering from jet lag and exploring the city on your own while Franco did his media duties. You had dinner with him that night and it was like no time had passed. The banter was the same, the atmosphere was great, and you were so happy to be back in his presence again.

As he walked you to your hotel room, you remembered your promise you had made to yourself, that you’d try to practice being vulnerable. For some reason, you didn’t have it in you today. You were tired, in a good way, but all you wanted was to curl up next to Franco and wake up in his arms the next morning.

And of course, you assumed Franco would want to stay. Why else would he walk you back to your room? Maybe it was the nervousness of the implication—you and Franco, alone in your hotel room—that prevented you from saying anything, or maybe you just knew that now wasn’t the right time.

Either way, there was no moment. Franco just bid you goodnight with a wave and left to his own room.

You didn’t know what you were expecting. He just didn’t like you like that, and it was okay. You didn’t want to ruin the friendship.

But you also couldn't help but feel a bit...disappointed. You cursed yourself for letting your fantasies become too real. It would be weirder if he had tried something.

Still, you dealt with these complicated emotions the only way you knew how: writing. You opened the journal and began to write away, not even stopping to think, just vomiting words on the page.

We're in Austin right now. It's been...normal. Good. Which is weird, considering that last time we were at a grand prix we spent the night together. It's not like that, but I can't help but think that something is just...different. I keep thinking about what my therapist asked, about anxiety being a barrier to love. Franco has always supported me, or tried to at least. I haven't exactly made it easy for him, or anyone else, since I bottle things up so much.

But he doesn't love me, not like that, anyways. He dates models—I mean, God, he is a model now—and I'm just me. I'm not exceptionally pretty or smart or funny. I'm nobody.

I can't help but fantasize about how things could be different. I imagine us going on a fancy date. He's wearing that suit he did the Mexico photoshoot in, with the top shirt buttons undone to tease me. He picks me up from my apartment at 8 with a bouquet of pink roses (not red, red is too cliche; but I guess I can't complain, no man has ever bought me flowers). I'm wearing that dress I got the last time we visited Argentina together—the one that hugs all my curves just right, and it's his favorite color. The dinner is sweet. We savor the time together, since it's more scarce now that he's a permanent driver in F1. We've had a few glasses of wine, just enough to get us slightly giggly and blushed, our inhibitions long abandoned. In the back of the Uber he traces his hand up and down my thigh, each time teasing scandalously closer and closer to the place I need him the most. 

The ride is torturously long, but when we arrive back at his apartment, he wastes no time in getting me alone so he can have his way with me. He picks me up bridal style and kisses me through my drunken laughter, a smile on his face, too. He lovingly tosses me on the bed before taking off his jacket. I just look at him in awe. He’s so fucking perfect. And he’s all mine. He gets on top of me, kissing me gently, and no words need to be exchanged between us. I can feel the tenderness of his lips against mine, and he pauses, looking me directly in the eyes. The moment is quiet and I feel so safe and loved with him, until our lips crash together and his hand finds its place on my thigh again. It trails up and

There was a knock at your door. 

You jumped, startled. Getting up and looking through the peephole in the door, you saw it was just, of course, Franco, so you hurried to open the door.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“You left your lipstick in my pocket,” he smirked, holding out the tube to you.

“Oh!” you exclaimed, having forgotten about asking him to hold it earlier at dinner since your outfit didn’t have pockets. 

“You didn’t even notice that I stole it.” It was true. You had completely forgotten about it with all your journaling. 

“Well, the shade would look good on you,” you teased. 

He playfully rolled his eyes. “It’s no fun pranking you when you don’t even notice. Keep up, hm?” Franco loved to play little tricks on you like this, and usually you played right into them, knowing that the fun of his taunting outweighed whatever consequence the prank itself would bring. 

“You’re impossible,” you said, smiling regardless. “Now, if you’re done stealing my stuff, I’m exhausted.” You went to close the door, assuming this to be the natural end of the exchange, until Franco took a step into your room and rested his weight on the doorframe.

“Not exhausted enough to skip your… journaling?” he said, looking over your shoulder.

Shit. Shit shit shit. You hadn’t closed your journal. 

“Since when do you journal?” he asked, leaning forward as if he was trying to make out the words from across the room.

If you had been smarter, smoother with it, you probably could have lied and said it was for work, then proceeded to rant about your remote corporate job which would have bored Franco to tears. But smart and smooth with it are two things that you are not.

You swiftly turned around to grab the journal and slam it closed, holding it in a death grip. Your absence from the door, however, had been interpreted by Franco as an invitation to come in. And it was clear by the urgency of your actions that whatever was in that journal was something you did NOT want him knowing.

You answered him, “I haven't been doing it very long.” There was a brief moment where you considered ending the conversation there. It was too late to formulate a good lie, anyway. But on the other hand, you wanted to do hard things and be honest with yourself and others. So you did. At least your therapist would be proud.

So you continued, “It was a suggestion from my therapist. Just helps you get your thoughts out so they aren’t all stuck in your head.” Simple enough. It was the truth, after all. He didn’t need to know what those thoughts were.

“Can I read it?”

You paused in bewilderment. “Um, no? Franco, what the fuck?”

“What?”

“You don’t just… ask to read someone’s personal journal.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s personal, you muppet!”

“Really? Stole that one from Lando?”

“It fits." You snorted. "But seriously, why would you ask to read my journal?” 

“Because I never know what you’re thinking. You’re impossible to figure out.”

“... I am?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Well why don’t you just, I don’t know, ask me what I’m thinking?”

“... I know you did not just say that.”  He made a face at you. Yeah, he was right. If you were skilled enough at communicating your emotions you wouldn’t have needed to start the journal in the first place. He continued, “You were literally dying in Singapore and when I asked you what was wrong you said you were fine.”

“Hey, I made it to quali alive,” you replied. 

“Look, I just… It would be nice to understand where you’re coming from a bit more, like… actually nevermind, forget I ever said anything.” Your confusion only lingered as Franco clearly struggled to find the words. You guess that this was how he felt communicating with you sometimes—it sucked.

“Whatever, you weirdo,” you said, your joking tone an indicator to him that you were willing to act as if this horribly embarrassing exchange had never happened. 

“Goodnight, YN,” he said as he left the room, ending the conversation like that. Now it was your turn to be confused by his actions. There was something he clearly wanted to say but couldn’t, and you let yourself wonder, just for a second, if what was happening to you wasn’t so different from whatever was going on in his head.

You let your fantasies lull you into sleep.

Again, you let… whatever was happening between you and Franco go unsaid and focused on supporting him for the grand prix. 

From the Williams garage, you cheered him on as he got another point, overtaking Alonso so skillfully. When he came back to the garage, you met him as you always did, with a smile that stretched across your entire face. Your hug this time was different, as he picked you up and twirled you around. You laughed into his shoulder, holding on to him as he spun you.

He put you down and was immediately assailed by hugs all around from the Williams team. Lily, who had been in the garage by your side the whole race, elbowed you in the side. 

“So, you and Franco are just friends, huh?” she teased. You all had become friendly enough that a little bit of banter was acceptable. 

You inhaled with a soft smile, watching him celebrate in the distance. Once again, you chose vulnerable honesty. 

“Yes, we’re just friends. But it’s…complicated.”

Her eyes widened and she turned to you, shielding you off from the celebratory scene. In a lowered voice, she muttered, “You have feelings for him?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Unfortunately, yeah. But c’mon, he just spun you around like a Disney princess. He obviously has feelings too. And have you seen what the fans are saying about you all?”

“No?” You were surprised the fans even knew you existed. You had cut down on social media a long time ago, knowing how much it contributed to your anxiety and self-esteem issues. You still had accounts, but all were private and hardly used, and you didn’t interact much with fans at the races, preferring to stay in the garage or in Williams hospitality to enjoy the races without worrying about what people were thinking of you.

“They love you two. Seriously, I think there’s gotta be a million teenage girls living vicariously through you.”

You laughed at her comment, not in a mocking way, but because of the absurdity of it all. None of these people really knew you, or Franco, for that matter. It just proved your point that social media wasn’t real.

So if people on social media were shipping you and Franco, then it couldn’t be true. At least, that’s the confusing logic you held yourself to. A line had to be drawn somewhere.

Your conversion with Lily was cut short by Franco approaching. “Celebratory dinner later?” he asked, still beaming. You agreed.

If you could have bottled the energy that Franco exuded all day after the race, you would have had yourself a very lucrative energy drink company. As he was packing up his things to leave the circuit, you all passed by barriers where fans were practically crawling their way to get to him, screaming his name and waving Argentine flags in the air. He tilted his head to them as you passed, and asked, “Can I?”

You were in no rush, and of course you could never deny him this moment to enjoy what he had built with all his hard work. He stopped to sign shirts and caps while you stood behind. Everyone had their phones out, filming Franco, but you knew you’d inevitably end up in the background. You just hoped you didn’t look too awkward. 

Franco turned his head back to you as the crowd behind the barrier just grew more and more excited. “You see this, YN? This is insane!” his smile stretched from ear to ear, and you just smiled in response. He climbed up the fence, eliciting a small giggle from you, and filmed the crowd below him chanting his name.

You had never been more proud of him. And you had to say it. 

So you did, after dinner when you all somehow ended up in his hotel room together again. The atmosphere was…calm. Familiar. Warm.

The conversation had reached a natural pause, and the night had gotten to that point where that space between you and him felt simultaneously infinite and nonexistent. 

He sat crossed legged on the bed, fiddling with something in his suitcase next to him. You sat on the chair only a few feet away.

“I’m so proud of you, Franco. I don’t tell you enough.”

He looked up and your eyes met. And he blushed. You had made Franco Colapinto blush.

“When did you get all sappy on me?” he asked. There was still a bit of a wall up. It was unusual for you all to be this vulnerable with each other.

“Since my best friend in the entire world is achieving all his dreams! I mean, we’re celebrating points now, but one day we’ll be celebrating podiums. And then race wins. And then championships. I believe it.”

The room was draped in a thick silence. Franco knew you didn’t throw these words around carelessly. And the unspoken implication, that you’d be there for all of it.

“I believe it too,” he said quietly. There was no ego in his statement. Only true hope.

[hanglimi]

are we just friends? - chaewon

5 times y/n and chaewon were "just friends" and the one time they weren't.

TAGS - non-idol! chaewon x non-idol! reader, friends to lovers, fluff, f!reader

WORDCOUNT - 2000~

WARNINGS - like two swears or something

A/N - not proofread, ending kinda rushed

(1)

“isn’t that chaewon’s sweater?” yunjin mentioned in passing as she sat down your bed, looking around and observing the walls.

you threw a quick glance to where she was, noting the baby blue sweater draped on the back of your chair. you hummed absentmindedly in response and ushered your roommate off your bed, swiping at the sheets.

“can you please get out of my room and go clean up yours instead,” you muttered while continuing to fix every nook and cranny. you turned to look behind you, and groaned at yunjin’s slow pace, pushing her through the doorway of your room.

“chaewon’s coming over in like,” you checked the watch on your wrist and your eyes widened at the sight. “she’s coming over in 10 minutes!” you exclaimed shocked, rushing around your apartment trying to organise everything.

yunjin simply let out a chuckle as she inched towards her room, “you act like she doesn’t come over every day. i’m sure she won’t mind the sight of people actually living here.”

“fuck off!” you said in response and continued to wipe down the counters of your small kitchen.

-

“y/nnie!” chaewon exclaimed in joy as you opened the door for her, widening your arms for a hug. she slipped into your hold, fitting into place exactly like how she always did. your body untensed during the hug and you held her tight, smelling her hair.

you pulled away after a short time, noting the slight look of disappointment on your friend's face.

“i forgot to give it to you yesterday before you left, but I’ll wash the sweater you gave me and give it back to you as soon as possible.” you said, leading chaewon into the living room.

“don’t worry about it. you can keep it.”

“really? I thought it was your favourite one,” you raised your eyebrow in pleasant shock and sat down on the couch, chaewon following suite, grabbing the remote to the tv.

“it’s fine, really. i like how it looks on you anyways.” her smile grew as she leaned her head on your shoulder. your face felt warm at the comment and you quickly switched the topic, snatching the remote, and scrolling through movies to watch.

you swore you could hear yunjin cackling through the thin walls of your apartment.

(2)

“would you be interested in coming with me to sakura’s party?” chaewon said, preheating the oven as you whisked together the ingredients in the bowl in front of you. “she mentioned that I needed to bring a plus one, and you're obviously my go to,” she finished. you could feel her eyes on the back of your head as you continued moving your wrist.

“i’d love to, but isn’t a plus one supposed to be someone you're interested in?” you stopped whisking to turn to look chaewon in her eyes. “i think I’d feel weird if I came along.” at the sound of your subtle rejection, the glimmer in chaewon’s eyes dimmed and she faced the other way again, putting the ingredients away.

“it’s just,” chaewon started, gripping the edge of the counter, “we’ve been going to events together for such a long time– even things that were usually for couples. it’d be so weird if I were to suddenly stop bringing my closest friend because this time it's a little more serious.” she vaguely bent her fingers at the word serious, deepening her voice for the effect.

you nodded along to her words in silence, testing your response in your head before replying.

“i’ll go.” she cheered in response before you could finish, and jumped up and down, fully turning around again to grab onto your arms.

“but,” you drawled, rolling your eyes at her actions. “next time one of these things happens you’re bringing someone else. you gotta talk to other people these days, chaewon. i won’t be here forever.” you smiled slightly at your words, but quickly frowned at the sight of chaewon’s shoulders slumping down, even as she tried to fake her own laugh.

you quickly grabbed a handful of flour and threw it at her face, causing her to slap you on the arm.

“yah! what was that for!” she growled, ready to retaliate.

“you just looked like an angry puppy. whenever you have that face i can’t help but swoon.”

the pink of her neck rose to her cheeks and her ears, so she continued to hit your body, muttering random things.

you had always hated making chaewon sad.

(3)

you checked the time on your phone before glancing back up at your friends. the three of you had been eating for two hours, and the time felt right to leave and go home.

“i gotta go guys, but it’s been really fun catching up again!” you wrapped the conversation up, gathering your things.

“aww. is grown up y/n gonna go to her girlfriend now?” aeri imitated a child’s voice as minjeong giggled alongside her, hitting her shoulder urging her to stop.

you raised your brow in annoyance at her voice and confusion of the statement, “who’s my girlfriend?”

“chaewon, duh.” aeri stuck her tongue out at you, saying it as if it was common knowledge as she continued packing up her things.

“when have you guys ever even met her?” you were totally confused now, trying to recall a past date where the two friend groups had collided.

“never. but you talk about her enough that we could practically write a whole biography on her.” minjeong grinned at her words.

you pinched your nose at your two friends' antics. there was no way that you talked about chaewon enough for them to fabricate her being your girlfriend. it was obviously an over exaggeration on their part.

“you guys are literally liars. there’s no way you even know who she is.” you leaned back in your chair and crossed your arms. “you probably know her name because I’ve mentioned her before.”

“call us all the names you can construct in that little brain of yours, but we know her like the back of our hands.” aeri said, continuing to rile you up.

you soon left the restaurant with a throbbing headache because of aeri’s annoying self.

you’d need to ask your other friends if you really did talk about chaewon that often.

(4)

“why’d you bring me here again?” chaewon asked, grabbing onto your outstretched hand as you led her up the hill.

“can’t a girl just bring her best friend somewhere special?” you said lightly, continuing up and dragging chaewon along.

the both of you reached the peak of the hill, and you brought out a soft blanket from your backpack, laying it down on the grass.

“so this is what you prepare instead of studying for final exams.” chaewon stated, hands on her hips as she analysed the get up.

you chuckled and gestured down towards the blanket, “i took the time out of my studying to set this up. you can at least appreciate me and my efforts a little bit.”

“oh I definitely appreciate it. i think it’s cute.”

you laid down on the blanket, interlocking your fingers onto your stomach, gazing at the dark sky above as chaewon lowered herself down to the ground. her shoulders brushed against yours as she got comfortable, fidgeting with her feet.

the two of you stared up at the night, watching and searching for the stars. minutes passed, and chaewon’s breathing evened out, her body relaxing. the bright lights from the city drowned out the twinkling of the stars anyways, so you turned your whole body towards your friends, roving your eyes up and down her face. You propped up an elbow and laid upright onto your side, taking in chaewon’s features.

“why’re you looking at me like that,” a mumble fell from the girl’s lips, and she slowly opened her eyes, her words piercing the silence.

“no reason.” you fell back down onto your back, going back to staring upwards.

“y/n.”

“mmm.” you let out, trying to fuse into the blanket underneath you for warmth. chaewon noticed this and shifted closer, letting her arms wrap familiarly around your body.

“thanks for this.”

“of course chaewon. anything for you.”

you really would do anything to make chaewon happy.

(5)

“i wonder how it’d sound if it went like this.” your friend’s voice drifted from one side of the room to the other. you looked up from your schoolwork and directed your attention to the girl on the other side of the room. her brows were furrowed deep in concentration, and she tapped a pen to her lips, a pouty look to them

she continued to sing unknowingly, stopping to make tweaks, and continuing from where she left off. it was a ritual – you would bring the work you needed to catch up on to chaewon’s little studio room while she would practise her singing. something easy to fall into, somewhat of a tradition really. all your friends knew when it was “y/n and chaewon” time – or whatever they liked to call it, so they’d leave the both of you to your devices.

chaewon’s smooth voice brought you back to where you were, and you glanced back at the schoolwork you were doing not too long ago, to see scribbles and words relating to chaewon on your paper. a groan escaped your lips as you erased the illegible comments.

“you alright?” chaewon asked, pausing her melodies to push her glasses up her nose and glance in your direction.

“just fine.” you whispered back, throwing a thumbs up in her direction.

“we can leave early if you’d like-”

“no!” you shouted, covering your mouth in shock at your outburst. “no thank you, i like the quiet of this room.” in reality, you just wanted to stay with her alone a little longer.

she laughed a little and went back to her own work, fully in the zone again.

you dropped your pencil, and quietly turned in your chair to look at her. her hair seemed to be shining in the light of the room, and her whole body posture was loose, showcasing her love for what she was doing. it felt as though her aura was pulling you in. the thought of looking away from her– looking away from her when she was doing what she loved, looking so entranced, was not a thought that stayed in your mind. you’d rarely seen her this focused on what she was doing, and you selfishly wished for just a second, that all that attention was on you.

“are you sure you’re okay?” she looked back up to you, your eyes burning a hole into the side of her face.

“yep. just enjoying the view.”

she giggled and told you to shut up.

you are definitely going to watch her do this again.

(+1)

“y/n?” chaewon called to you as you held the door open for her, her music and notes in her hands. “i hope that wasn’t too boring for you. i wasn’t really talking to you that much this time.”

“oh no it’s alright! i quite enjoyed the peace and quiet.”

“are you trying to say i talk too much,” chaewon glared sarcastically, a slight smirk playing on her lips.

“who knows what i’m trying to say.” you shrug, falling into step with chaewon as you walked her to her apartment.

the evening sun was setting, but you were still able to feel its warm rays hit your face and body as you stepped forward. the comfortable silence enveloped you two, and you didn’t think much of it.

halfway through the walk, chaewon stopped walking and turned to face you, “look over here.”

so you turned, and the girl in front of you seemed to be looking more ethereal than ever. the sun was framing her face perfectly, her eyes were glimmering, and her mouth was wide with a smile. she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and just stood there, looking at you.

the thought that this was your best friend – someone who you had known for years – didn’t cross your mind as you closed the gap between you two, your lips connecting. you shut your eyes and leaned into the kiss, letting her take the lead. her papers were pressed between you guys, the sound of the rustling entered your ears, but it didn’t stay long as chaewon slowly moved back, opening her eyes slowly.

and as you reached an arm out to pull her back in, you thought that maybe, just maybe, you were a little bit in love with her.

A/N - this is so jank im so so rusty, please forgive me. I hope you enjoyed it though!

[rory-multifandom-mess]

IT’S TIME FOR THE in-depth scene-by-scene character analysis on No Way

THIS POST IS HEAVILY INSPIRED BY @skythealmighty 'S WHEEL ANALYSIS!!!! GO READ IT RIGHT NEOW ITS REALLY GOOD

TL;DR: No Way has one of the most prominent character development arcs in this show, from starting off as naive and overly trusting of Clock to being paranoid and distrusting of anyone new, a lot like Wheel was from the very beginning. Oh and also Tile is a BITCH-

WARNING: Long ass post with 11 THOUSAND words and exactly two pictures so have fun and good luck LMAOOO

Ok, alright, so. The analysis isn’t going to be very serious up until 4:00, since that’s when things started to get really bad for them. But I’ll still do all the other episodes because I’m . incredibly normal! This will get updated once 8:00 releases on the 22nd so umm. Yeah ANYWAYS

IT’S TIME FOR THE [1:00] - Who’s Jason??

0:19 - “I don’t think I had anything in particular planned for today but I am content” “Wow! That’s nice.” “NO! That’s boring, there’s nothing to do!!” “I don’t think they were talking to you..” “Uh- Wha-” [glass shattering noise]

There isn’t much to point out here, other than No Way being a supportive friend to 57-ball, but I would like to note No Way’s expressions when Refill Station does their whole. Thing. They get startled from the shatter, so much so that they take a step back, and just look at RF all confused and kind of concerned as they walk away. 57-ball doesn’t even look confused, he kinda just looks. Done LMAO

2:24 - “Compete in my competition show!!” “Oh!! Uhh…” “Okay I’m in!”

Note No Way’s immediate compliance and almost clear excitement in the way they move their arms, a very clear contrast from everyone else’s blank stares (and Vase’s hesitancy. And Wheel’s >:|). This will be important later on methinks.

4:39 - “Okay, street sign, car tire, and… pool ball. Dang!! If only you were like a street lamp or crossing signal or something, would have had a cool team name idea for that.”

Nothing too notable here, I just like that they immediately started talking and took a page out of Polka Dot’s book with her thought process. The two have a few things in common, one of which being that they’re both kinda immediately into the competition when it starts. I also want to point out the expression shifts, especially with 57-ball. He looks almost offended at what No Way said and I don’t think they even realize that. It’s a nice touch!

I also want to note the way No Way looks at Wheel during the team name jingle. They almost look sympathetic? Like an “aw man, that sucks.” 

6:56 - “Ok, well, we gotta get this card as far away from here as possible if we don’t want the host to hear it.” “Ok.” [Wheel kicks the card] “N- NO WAY.” [win sound]

Nothing to note here. I just like how this is the only thing No Way says in this entire sequence and it's some really dumb pun about their name. Makes me laugh every time

I also really like how the same win sound plays when Vase says “no way” even though it had nothing to do with them

10:39 - [After credits scene]

This is just silly to me because at the bottom of the screen you can see No Way and Wheel run by. Like. Why is Wheel chasing them. Why are they running. What happened here LMFAO

(UPDATE AFTER HAVING A FEW PEOPLE READ THIS: THEY ARE CANONICALLY PLAYING TAG I’M GOING TO SCREAM THAT'S SO CUTE)

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: This episode mostly acts as an introduction to the characters, so there isn’t much to say here. Other than, like, No Way’s basic personality traits; good friend, kind, supportive, excitable, doesn’t always realize what they’re saying can be seen as offensive. Maybe has ADHD but I might just be projecting because they’re my favorite. That’s not a personality trait but . shut up

IT’S TIME FOR THE [2:00] - Best Source For Weather Information

0:29 - “I NOMINATE NO WAY!” “I’m already out man… anyways, it says next up is Words With Friends Tile.”

I want to point out the fact No Way is holding a clipboard and paper. I think this just shows they’re pretty smart, despite some moments where it would seem the opposite. I think, as of now, they’re pretty naive, especially when it comes to Clock. As if to contrast Wheel’s paranoia about Clock, they seem to immediately trust them. Though so does like, everyone else except for Wheel so I might just be looking too deep into things. 

I also want to note their tone of voice when they say next up was WWFT because they also sound kind of confused and slightly surprised. They were likely thinking the same thing as Wheel (“He doesn’t have any eyes!”) but didn’t say anything, probably because them and Tile are friends

I also like how they look very slightly surprised when Tile and Wheel start fighting. Maybe not surprised, but more just like “Oh! Okay!”

0:51 - “Okay then, how about instead of Tile we put The Sun up there?” “Yayyy!!” “Okay. Three, two, one, go!!”

I really like No Way’s voice. Anyway, this is another point to them being pretty smart; it seems like they’re the one who organized this whole staring contest game, given the clipboard and them doing the countdown. Granted I don’t think they realized having 57-ball stare directly into the sun would be a bad idea.

3:56 - “Oohhh yeaaa, we’re so back!!” “Ooohh! Where did you go?” “You just don’t get it dude.” [Gasp] “Wooaaoowwww!!” [Clock claps their hands]

Another moment of No Way being naive. I also think their reaction to WWTF is a mix of them just being fairly excited for the next challenge and also just being friends with Tile in general. I like to think they think everything Tile does is cool. Writing wise, this is likely just to play into Tile’s whole cool guy bit. This scene also somewhat confuses me because, like No Way, I also don’t get it. (Come to think of it I wonder if this was meant to be like a fourth wall break from Tile?)

4:23 - “The first HALF of you will be safe, while the rest of you will be up for elimination.” “Seems simple enou- wait a second, there’s only 9 of uhhhhhh UUUAAAAA–” [enter: no ways] “what is happening….”

Ah yes, what I think is the start of No Way’s … iffyness? I guess? The way they say “what is happening” almost makes it sound like the process of being split into two people made them feel sick, and this is aided by their expression. Also, their face as it was happening makes me think that it was painful, which isn’t much of a surprise. They did not like this.

4:37 - “Get your good pal to the finish line and you’ll be safe!” “This doesn’t seem very fair…” “Sure it is!” “Oh ok!”

This feels like another point to them being naive and very trusting of Clock. At first they still seem very affected by the being split in two bit, going through the logic in their head, but then when Clock says it's definitely fair, the logic shifts. They’re likely thinking “Well, they are the host, so they must know what’s best for their challenges!”

As a side note, I like 57-balls “what” before he gets interrupted by Wheel. He’s probably thinking, “how is their opinion so easily swayed. What.”

6:03 - [Pretty much just No Way struggling to get No Ways to move, punching it, trying to throw it only to find its too heavy and hurting themself, and then trying to hit it with their sign pole and going FLYING]

No Way is quick to get frustrated and resorts to getting physical when No Ways doesn’t budge. Though it is likely that they spent some time just yelling at it before they tried punching, just off-screen. This could also possibly be showing us that No Way is kind of weak and uncoordinated, given how easily they fell backward trying to pick No Ways up and the way they hadn’t even swung the sign pole before getting flung over the railing. Of course, the frustration could also come from being stressed about the fact No Ways even exists, as they aren’t shown to get particularly frustrated fast when things don’t go their way later on.

6:30 - “aaaaAAAAAA OUGH- That was awful…” “Welcome to being a winner, Octagon!! Because you just won th-” “Wai- I wo- I won the???” “I didn’t finish my sentence, w-what are you doing here Octagon?” “I’m not an octagon, I’m No Way!! See?- uuhh…” “You’ll need your friend here too to be safe as well reme-” [Slowed Down Win Sound] “No Way is safe!” “Woohoo!” “Now that’s cool brah.”

Ok a lot happens here so I’ll try to break it down. 

Despite likely knowing better, No Way gets very excited at the prospect of winning The   , and even stims a little bit, despite the fact it’s impossible for them to have won the whole competition right then and there. 

When Clock doesn’t recognize them, they almost look offended, and their tone while explaining that they aren’t just an octagon reflects that. The way they try to grab their sign pole without realizing it isn’t there anymore makes me think that they’re forgetful, since they just forgot they took it off not even a minute ago. I’m not sure how to explain the way they reacted to realizing it wasn’t there anymore, but the noise they make is really funny to me.

No Way gets startled by No Ways just sorta Sliding In, though this fear is immediately left behind and replaced with excitement upon learning they were safe.

Important mention: The little dance they do with Tile. Friendship! Yaay!

7:05 - “...and now both No Ways and No Way are safe.”

No Way almost looks at No Ways with a very unsure look on their face, like they still aren’t sure of what to make of it. They know that they don’t exactly like it, but they also know it’s almost like… a part of them? They are very confused and conflicted about the existence of this creature.

8:01 - “AYGHAGHUUSHASAAH-” [No Way and No Ways become one again] “Ughh, Clock please never do that again.”

This shit is PAINFUL for them, judging by their expressions as they’re being merged (though they are very fast). They sound sick to their stomach again when they ask Clock to never do that again. Like I said before, the start of their iffyness about this. They are still naive though, that’s for sure.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: This episode mostly highlights two traits; their naivety and that they are actually fairly smart and shouldn’t be written off as dumb just because they’re naive, since being naive doesn’t always mean the person is stupid. I also just want to say that them being naive and excitable in this episode is important for later. Oh also, sprinkling in a little bit of mind fuckery too. For fun.

IT’S TIME FOR THE [3:00] - Next

1:18 - [Clock typing away on a keyboard] “Go ahead, do it!!! Just do it al-” [Blue screen] “What is that thing?” “I don’t know??”

No Way (and 57-ball) look so extremely concerned and afraid for Wheel, especially with the way they have their hands positioned, their expression (with the tiny dot eyes for a second and exaggerated D:), and how they’re the first person to ask what the blue screen and selection box around Wheel is. This is a clear representation of how much they really do care about their friends, which is backed by their concern for Refill Station back in the first episode and other moments in episodes further ahead.

4:27 - “Oh! Sounds like it’s time for the challenge, wanna come with?” “Sure!” “Alright, hold on!” [Music]

POLKAWAY FRIENDSHIP YAAAY. I feel like these two are also synonymous with each other but I’ll get into that later. I’m noting this not only because it's a favorite scene of mine, but also this shows how “go with the flow” No Way is. They grab onto the polka dot and as they’re flying, they look scared to fall off or something. And then two seconds before this sequence ends, they start to look sick. This, along with how sick they sounded last episode when it came to No Ways, leads me to believe that they might have a weak stomach or just get motion sick easily

4:41 - “Where’s Refill Station?” “Oh I forgot about him. He’ll make his way over eventually I’m sure.”

Very small moment but important to me. They are the first person to realize Refill Station was missing and ask about them, and Polka Dot even states she straight up just forgot about him. Yet another instance of No Way caring for their friends.

5:09 - “Also, you should be happy I don’t have to cut any of you in half this time…..” (fear)

Oh Boy Oh Boy! I don’t know why Clock said this– whether it was out of malice or just a statement since, y’know, they aren’t exactly wrong– but No Way’s reaction of pure fear is a sign (heh) that they were likely somewhat traumatized by the experience. Oh yeah, now we’re finally getting somewhere with this.

5:54 - ”Sure was nice of clock to give us these cups right Tile?” “Mhm.” “...uhhh you doin alright?” “I had this really good fruit earlier brah, it tasted really good and it was super juicy, and tasted really good man!” “Uhmm okay.” “AND it was full of water, dude! Bro, I think Clock would like it a lot.” “Are you sure? It seems like people are already on their way to that lake over there, we gotta be quick!” “Don’t worry man, it’s right next to the lake anyway!” “Alright…”

I think No Way commenting on it being nice that Clock gave them cups could be them trying to convince themselves of that, given how almost awkward it sounds, and especially with the way they ask Tile for feedback. Or maybe I’m just straight up wrong and they’re just looking on the bright side. (most likely the latter)

Once again with No Way caring about their friends! They immediately think something might be wrong with Tile because he gives a response that isn’t typical for him. 

As Tile is describing the fruit he had earlier, No Way looks at their cup like they’re considering something, likely about using the fruit instead of just getting water. They look and sound preoccupied when they give the response of just “uhmm, okay.”

When they ask if Tile is sure and mentions the others going to the lake, it's pretty obvious how much they want to actually win the challenge, probably because they’ve been on a pretty good winning streak. 

This isn’t fully related to No Way but this is my 4th time watching this and I’m noticing how lowkey manipulative Tile sounds here, like he’s trying to keep No Way from being safe by pulling them away from the lake to get this fruit he’s talking about. Mostly saying this because of how he adds the bit about Clock (putting emphasis on the “AND”) after No Way doesn’t show interest in the fruit at first. 

7:39 - “Thank you for telling me about this juicy snack! I think I’ll be on my way to take this over to Clock now, and- AAGHHHHH- oughh!” “Aww yeaahh!! Green can’t say we’re not cool now!” (music) “Tile. TILE.” “Bro what is it.” “The fruit…!!” “Yeah bro I………oh. Okay! You wanna jump in the water and get it?” “No way!! You’re the one who…”

I want to focus on No Way’s expression here- specifically when Tile shoves Green out of the tree. They look so surprised and I feel like there’s at least a hint of concern in there. Surprised because oh my god, Tile, how could you do that?? And concerned because that impact sounded really bad for Green. The way they stare for a little drives this home too. (say it with me now: NO WAY CARES A LOT ABOUT THEIR FRIENDS)

When they start trying to get Tile’s attention, they sound and look frustrated, obviously partially because Tile was just sorta dancing and took a moment to respond, but also because he just shoved their friend out of a tree.

For like, a millisecond before No Way reminds Tile of the fruit, they seem to be trying to think about something. At first glance, I’d assume they forgot about what they were supposed to be doing, but now I think this is a moment of them thinking about whether or not to bring up what Tile just did, ultimately deciding to just bring up the fruit again.

No Way instantly refuses to jump into the water themself, and proceeds to almost tell Tile that he should do it instead because… Well, because he shoved Green and the fruit out of the tree. Though they backtrack on this to instead suggest they do Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide. I think they backtrack and suggest RPS entirely because they know Tile so well, and they know he won’t just do it if they tell him to. Also, I think them almost bringing up the shoving incident would’ve been one of those “take accountability of your actions” type things

Also I like their face when Tile says “you’re on.” smug little shit

8:37 - “What?? Where’d the lake go?” “eeughhh….. I don’t feel so good.” “Yaa bro, Green looks like he’s seen better days. I say we just take the fruit back and dip.”

No Way being the first to question when weird shit happens ….

IMPORTANT POINT HERE. I want to specifically point out the way No Way looks at Green with a sad/sympathetic look on their face. Well– okay. If you look close enough, No Way isn’t actually looking at Green, and is instead looking at the spot in front of him. From the look on their face, it’s like they’re thinking about if this is really ethical. They care about Green, that much is obvious, and they also care about Tile. While yes, Green did technically try to steal the fruit from them, that didn’t give Tile the right to seriously injure him. It’s like a moral dilemma. Of course their thought process gets interrupted by the MASS AMOUNT OF WATER FALLING TOWARDS THEM-

…Also more of Tile being kind of an asshole

9:10 - “WAAAIITTTT!! HERE HERE I HAVE SOME!” “Yeaa, The Sun and Vase are good.” “Rrrgh-” (Music)

Ah, their final desperate attempt to be safe despite knowing it’s probably over. Also, their frustration boiling over in the form of them yelling into the sky like an anime protag. This is likely mostly frustration due to losing the challenge, but I imagine it’s also because they had wasted so much time with Tile.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: Man, the sudden realization I had about Tile midway through this is crazy. He almost seems unsympathetic to, like, everyone, and this even happens throughout the show too. Anyways, No Way gets a little more frustrated this episode! Especially with Tile. The fall of NoTile friendship….

IT’S TIME FOR THE [4:00] - Do NOT Use The Popcorn Button

0:30 - “Soo! What are we doin here?” “Not being in the water? I can only swim for so long, I’m made out of metal y’know??” “Yaahh I don’t know what they’re talking about, I just like this tree.” “Okay!” “WOAH BRO, WHAAAA” “Wh- WHAT why did you do that?!”

No Way is so frustrated here bro. Completely fair too. They’re exhausted from trying to swim, finally made it to the tree to rest, and then Clock comes and interrupts it. They looked so relaxed before Clock landed in the tree and startled them so bad they almost fell out of it. Also the way No Way deadpans when Tile flings himself over is funny.

No Way immediately asks Clock why they knocked Tile out of the tree, offended and upset about it for him. It’s like they’re slowly starting to be done with Clock’s shenanigans.

0:46 - “It’s ti- *ringnti* It’s 4 o’clock, meaning that it is time-” “For the elimina-” “The challenge!�� “Huh?-” “Yea, I meant the elimination.”

No Way looks so sad here, and from the way their voice shakes slightly, they were definitely dreading it. They hadn’t been through a single elimination yet, having been on a winning streak until now. From what we can tell, they have no idea what even happens at an elimination, only that afterwards, they’re missing a group member. Their confusion, and the way they look at Clock when their ringer just sorta… floats back onto their head drives home this feeling that they’re starting to distrust Clock a little more, or at least just be extremely confused at them. Rightfully so.

1:45 - [No Way fucking drowning] “Okay…. I can’t understand you. Here, how about this.” “Thank goodness… I-I’m breathing underwater??” 

No Way being the only one to question when things don’t make sense again. Not even Wheel says anything, and Green is just . okay with this.

1:58 - “Woah, what’s wrong with you?” “I shouldn’t BE here, I didn’t even lose the last challenge!” “Why don’t you just leave then?-” “You don’t WANT me here??” “No! No! I didn’t say tha-”

Say it with me guys! NO WAY CARES A LOT ABOUT THEIR FRIENDS!!! They immediately notice that Wheel is absolutely fuming and asks what’s wrong, tries to provide a solution, but when Wheel takes it the wrong way, they instantly backpedal, trying to reassure him that they didn’t mean it that way. And then Tile interrupts by telling Wheel he’s a loser (BEING AN ASSHOLE AGAI-)

2:26 - “Fantastic, now there’s only 3 of us here again.” “Three?? Who’s missing?” “I don’t know, don’t ask me.” “I wasn’t.” “You just did.” “I- D- Clock, we’re missing Refill Station.”

Frustration at Green because of the misunderstanding.

First to point out Refill Station being missing. Again. Say it with me g- ok I’m done with that bit

Honorable mention to No Way falling backwards when Refill Station slams into the ground, suggesting they’re pretty clumsy I think.

I’m not time stamping this as a point since it doesn't really feel significant enough but when Clock mistakenly says Wheel got 0 votes at 3:57, No Way’s brow raises and they frown a little more, like they’re surprised at the 0 votes and possibly even worried. Y’all know what I’m gonna say at this point

4:25 - “The only one to not make it over 1,000 votes this time was Green, who only got 843” “Oh nooo.. I wasn’t expecting to get out so soon :(“ “Oh.. Hey! Maybe you might be able to come back later on.” “I-I don’t know.. That’s why I’ve been so worried, a part of me feels l-” “Huh? Green?-” 

OH BOY OH BOY. I think this is the first time where we haven’t had a moment of the last safe contestant going “yay! I mean-” and I think that says something about No Way’s character. They’re most likely relieved they aren’t out of the game, but they know Green, their friend, is eliminated. So instead of celebrating their safety, they immediately try to reassure Green that maybe he can rejoin the show! It’s very obvious here that No Way has no idea what happens to eliminated contestants up until Green’s disappearance. They even call out for him, looking around as if he was still there. That is, until the radio catches their attention. Also the weird distorted music coming from the Radio is really off putting.

4:49 - “..Clock, what happened to Green?” “I already said earlier, I have no idea! Quite convenient that the eliminated contestants just disappear though!” “Just disap- You have no idea what’s going on here?!-”

Green’s elimination is a monumental part of No Way’s character development. 4 episodes in and they have finally learned what happens when someone is eliminated, and it’s terrifying in such a subtle way. Just like that, everything No Way assumed about the eliminations - about this contest - was swept away. Green just disappeared. Not a trace of him was left behind– nothing but that creepy vintage radio. And when they go to Clock, someone who they think is completely in control of this elimination, they’re met with an answer no one wants to hear. They don’t know. The contestants just disappear. And it’s here where No Way finally realizes that Clock isn’t as trustworthy as they originally thought. The start of the horrors for them, if you will.

5:35 - [Loud clattering sound] “What… just happened?”

No Way being the first to question the weird shit again. That’s all really

5:53 - “Hold on… teams?? But, Clock, what ever happened to-” “There’s no more teams! There’s no more teams.” “Yeah! Here are your teams for the challenge, and only this challenge!!”

Ok this might seem like nothing but hear me out. Look at No Way’s face during the ‘flashback’ part. They look curious, intrigued. Interested. Now look at their face during the more recent scene. They look sadder. Less energetic. Exhausted. It almost looks like they’re not even paying attention, still stuck on what happened with Green.

6:05 - “Nonono! This team will get a special visitor!” [GASP] “Please please plea-” [Samsung ringtone] “Aww man- Can I switch teams??” 

They hate this guy (No Ways) (added this entirely because I like the way No Way says that last line. Scratches my brain good)

6:17 - “Okay!! You all have 30 seconds! “This again, I ended up coming up with the team name by accident last time, do you have any ideas?” “Uhhhh, Vase… Star…. Street sign….. …. Eheh…-” “It’s alright, we can come back to you. How about you?” “.......” “..Who is that?” 

No Way’s head is no longer in the game. Before Vase starts talking, you can see No Way staring into the distance. Whether or not they’re staring specifically at something or not we don’t know, but they certainly are not paying attention. All of their energy and effort to compete from episode 1 is gone, and judging by the way they hang their head when Vase says they’ll come back to them, they feel bad about it. Like, they feel like they should put more effort in, if not just for the competition but for their team too.

Also I never noticed it but Vase rolls her eyes at them. That’s kinda mean ma’am :( 

6:32 - “Here are your team names!” “Hm??” “Meet team [buzzing sound]” “This the best!” “That was not 30 seconds.”

No Way, again, sounds and looks so done here. They may have not been completely paying attention, but they know that absolutely wasn’t enough time and they are frustrated. Hashtag done with Clock fr. I’m so sorry

8:16 - [The Sun telling them a recipe. I am NOT typing allat] “Ohhnono, we’re overthinking it, we can just make some nice simple toast for Clock!” “We don’t really have a toaster around her- oh- ohhhh!”

Ok so two bits. No Way has the clipboard and paper again and is actively writing down the recipe The Sun is giving them. But then not even a second later, they didn't realize they could just use The Sun as a toaster. This is a good reminder of their intelligence, while also letting us know that, again, they aren’t completely in the moment. That or they were just so focused on the recipe that they actually didn’t even think of that. ADHD havin’ a-

9:33 - “I know for a fact I saw a store or something nearby, but whatever, we’ll just have to be quick, clock’s starting to look bore- Where Is The Bread.” “So like, I've heard that you needed your bread toasted and I uhhh sort of put it in that sun right there… sorry.” “Yea.” “AAGH-!! Nnoo! I am not gonna be losing a second time in a row like that, one second!” “Uhm..”

NO WAY HATES THIS GUY!! (No Ways). Their frustration grows, which sort of morphs its way into determination. Now that I really think about it, No Way has been a bit of a “challenge beast,” as Wheel would say. Also I think it’s kind of cute how every time No Way gets overly frustrated they put their hands on their head. I don’t know what you would call that but it’s something I’ve noticed.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: Y’know before I started writing this, I always thought No Way’s character development started in 5:00 after Wheel’s elimination. Now I know I was extremely wrong actually. From here I think it’s very clear how their development is going. They aren’t as naive as before and they’ve lost a lot of that previous motivation and excitement for the show.

IT’S TIME FOR THE [5:00] - Fifty-Seven Tears Of The Star

0:39 - “Welp… Tile’s dead again..” “What?! Tile’s gone??” “Let’s go get ‘em back.” “I’ll do it!” “Huh?” [Refill Station slaps down a random fucking door] “Refill Station.”

Ok I know I keep saying this but No Way is so done. Normally I think they would still be worried about Tile, but they’ve either been desensitized to all the dying or they’re just too exhausted to care. I feel like this is further proven by the moment with Refill Station– the way they say his name in such an exasperated way before just turning and walking away.

1:02 - “NO! No… I just think.. We should look for Tile!” “...” “NO YOU’RE JUST SAYING THAT ‘CUZ YOU’RE SAFE!” “...”

Notice how No Way looks so disinterested during the first frame switch to them and Vase. They look like they aren’t even paying attention again, staring at the ground all exhausted. But then after Wheel yells at them, their attention is grabbed and they look concerned and confused, sharing a glance with Vase. I think this is once again them caring about their friend. I mean, Wheel is essentially yelling at nothing since neither No Way nor Vase even said anything in response. Is bro okay? (bro was not ok)

1:14 - “Hey Polka Dot, you didn’t tell me about this. What’s going on here?” “It popped up like 20 minutes ago. Why is everyone expecting me to know anyways??” “B-because… come on.”

The sass on this guy. 

Jokes aside though, I think their friendship with Polka Dot is very important. In this moment, they don’t seem as eugh as before, and before they give her a little bit of sass, they try to find a good way to say it nicely. Also, they sound genuinely concerned in the first sentence here.

1:22 - “Fair point, but I seriously don’t know what this thing is.” “Have you tried- OUGH-”

Ok. This is a funny scene and makes me laugh every time. But I want to focus on No Way’s reaction here. And I’ll actually add a picture this time 

At first, No Way jumps a little, probably because a piano just came flying out of that thing and nearly hit them. But then they get this over exaggerated look of fear and concern on their face. I’ve said this a kajillion times before, but No Way genuinely cares a lot about their friends, no matter how uninterested and demotivated they might be. They are scared for Vase because they know how fragile she is and she just got hit with a grand piano. Though they somewhat immediately relax again when they find Vase is perfectly fine.

1:26 - “OWWHH?? Wh- who’s piano is this???” “Not mine, but hey! This is pretty cool, have you ever wanted to play piano?”

This is really important to me because this is almost like how No Way was with Green right before he was eliminated. Instead of thinking about the negative implications behind this piano just… appearing out of this weird portal, they think on the bright side of things. I notice they tend to do that a lot, almost like they’re the optimist in the group, almost like how Polka Dot is. There it is again- Polka Dot and No Way being similar to one another. 

2:02 - “Clock brought me back, duh.” “Where IS Clock?” 

This has nothing to do with No Way’s character development but on my rewatch before this one I realized you can see them fix themself in the background of this scene and I thought I’d share that.

2:24 - “I’m not even gonna ask.” “Clock! What happened???” “What?” “You’re green-” “Oh! I just took a little nap!!” 

Once Again! No Way Is Being Caring And Friendly! Even though they’re kind of done with Clock’s shenaniganry they still act caring towards them! Though it is likely that they’ve kind of gotten over their doneness. Maybe spending time with friends (like Polka Dot and Vase) has helped them regain their footing again. I also think this is one of those “first to question when things are weird” moments, which I think is even more noticeable when you pair it with Vase’s “I’m not even gonna ask.”

6:02 - “You are the FINAL member left on our original team and I want you to know that I wish you luck!” “Oh! Thanks…”

I’ll get to Wheel’s actual elimination in a second, but I want to focus on No Way’s expressions as Wheel is talking to them. At first when Wheel comes up to them, they look a little surprised, like they weren’t expecting him to talk to them. And then when they realize what Wheel is saying is positive, they smile and thank him, with a little nervous hand behind their head. I like the detail of the little brow furrow as they thank Wheel, it makes it feel very sincere and genuine and like its genuinely special to them. 

6:07 - “Soo, what now?” [Wheel starts to crack and cries out in pain] “What… is.. This?!-” “That’s not cool bruh.” “nonono… GO GO GO GO!!-”

Ah yes. The elimination. I’ve seen lots of people talk about this, specifically No Way’s reaction, but I’m going to do it again because I want to.

When Wheel starts to crack, No Way cringes and flinches back slightly. This is painful to watch- visceral and horrible in every way. Mind you, this is only the second elimination No Way has seen. This is just bad in every way, so much more aggressive than Green’s elimination just last episode. They are scared and worried for Wheel, and it’s fairly obvious that they hate seeing their friends hurt. Then, right before Wheel explodes, they reach out for him. They try to help, to find a way to console him despite the blistering pain shooting through him. Despite the fact they are scared, they still try to help. They care so much about their friends. While the others trying to run away, they stick by him until the end. But then they realize Wheel is about to literally explode and they back up a little, covering their face to prepare for the impact.

This is so subtle yet so impactful for them and their character development. It’s such a clear view into who they are just by the way they try to help their friend, even though there is nothing within their power that they could have done. 

Also I know this isn’t about Tile but this is also more of Tile being EVIL because of the L he gives Wheel. Wtf bro

7:14 - “I’m not teaming with any of these randos.” “Really?”

I wanna note No Way’s expressions here (again). At first, before Tile says he isn’t gonna team with any of the original ITFT members, No Way almost looks like they were going to call out to him, probably to be like “hey! Since we can choose our teams this time, maybe we can team up!” But then after Tile says what he does, they look sad and maybe even a little bit surprised. Their expression makes me think that they might be wondering what they did wrong for Tile to randomly decide not to team with them. (this is somewhat influenced by the wiki implying that No Way still thinks they’re friends with Tile)

I also want to note something a little more silly: Refill Station literally falling to their knees at Tile’s remark and looking like he just killed their entire family

7:26 - “THERE ARE 34 OF US IN TOTAL, THAT SIMPLY DOES NOT ADD UP, AS 6x6, IT EQUALS 36.” “Wait, you’re right! You must be great at math!” “I AM A   CALCULATOR.” 

I like this scene because it kind of contradicts what happens immediately after TI-30 comes up to them. When talking to TI-30, they’re smiling, probably because they think he’s cool. Them pointing out that he’s great at math leads me to believe they have a hard time with it (same). This scene also makes me think they have ADHD even more because they pointed out something obvious and then TI-30 gave a sarcastic (i don’t think that’s the right word, but it's similar to that) response and No Way did NOT pick up on it.

7:39 - “Mathematics?? I LOVE mathematics! That’s when I can collect friends!” “You collect friends in math class?” “No? What’s math class?” “Are you a FAKE MATH FAN???” “Pff, of course not! Check this out! One times one is one! One times two is two! One times three is three-”

Okay now this part- I know in the subtitles it doesn’t have any of what No Way “said” in it, but they do make a few sounds. I’ll get to those in a second, but I want to point out their expression when Whiteberry pulled them closer to herself; They look scared. I’m not entirely sure why, but to me it seems like it was because of the sudden and unwanted physical touch. Their face always confused me here though.

Anyway, moving on to the point I actually wanted to make- when Strawberry Milk asks Whiteberry if she is a fake math fan, you can hear No Way go “uh…” in the background. And then, when Whiteberry is listing off the timetables, you can hear them go “hm..” again and they furrow their brow a little. They are extremely unsure about Whiteberry and Strawberry Milk joining their team. They’re either assessing whether or not they will be useful (not likely, considering their character), or the two are generally just off putting to them. I think there is also the chance that they aren’t sure about teaming with people they haven’t met before, like they still really wish they could team up with their actual friends for some normalcy.

11:05 - “Hey… hey!” “huh?-” “You doin alright?” “Yeaa… it’s been a long day, this felt like the longest two minutes of my life. Mh- so… we just need one more person here?” “I’m… going to be here.” “Oh.”

ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT. This scene with Lava Cake is a culmination of everything that has happened to No Way, this moment of getting to just chill for a moment causing all of that exhaustion to creep up on them again, so much so that they fall asleep standing up. They even sound exhausted (props to Derpadon for the amazing voice acting btw), speaking slowly and yawning in the middle of their sentence. Writing wise, this is a perfect way to remind the viewers that all of this is happening in a SINGULAR DAY. I also like how Lava Cake wakes them up by just ramming into them considering his lack of arms. Also. The sound effect. Smile. And finally, their very minimal reaction to Xiru joining their team randomly. I don’t know what this means other than “they are exhausted” but it is funny to me

13:23 - [Lava Cake, Whiteberry, and Strawberry Milk get electrocuted] “AAAAAAAA!!” “NOOOO” “OHH MYY GOODNESS!! AAAAAaaaa!!” “Ohno!” “Keep climbing, stop sign. They. Will. Be fine.” “Ugh, right…”

THIS!!! This scene. No Way’s concern for people they barely even know and someone who isn’t even on their team– this is another one of those clear representations of who No Way is as a person, reaching out for the three of them even though they clearly couldn’t even reach them. And even when TI-30 tells them to keep climbing, they still look worried and maybe even a little conflicted about continuing to climb when they’re missing two of their teammates. Their tone even reflects this, and there’s almost a sense of urgency underneath too. I reckon they might be a little scared of being up for elimination now, especially with what they saw with Wheel.

16:15 - “Team Refill is on their way, I can throw you from here.” “wwOOAHH CALCULATOR- NO!” “It must be done.” “But-” “It must be done-” (cough) “It must be done. Trust me.” [gimmie that baby and I yeet it off the tower /ref]

This will get really long if I include the next part so I’m separating it. Anyways, No Way’s reaction to being thrown here is really important to me here. The way they tell TI-30 to not throw them makes it clear they don’t trust him, a STARK contrast to the way they were immediately trusting of Clock when she first showed up. Also, TI-30’s ambition here and the way he doesn’t even give No Way a chance to protest any further is almost like foreshadowing that he would be/is a “challenge beast.”

16:30 - “aaaaaaAAAAAAAAA- OUGH!” “wwwoahhhWOOAAHH woah… ooh.. Wh- what is this…??”

THE HORRORS! The existentialism! All bundled up in one little stop sign. I don’t really have any notes on this other than this being a catalyst for the way they act in 6:00 up until they Fucking Die. Seeing this weird, giant green thing in the sky, seeing Clock’s tail plugged into something that should not even exist is mindbreaking to them. It doesn’t make any sense– it should be literally impossible. But it’s there. It’s there and it shouldn’t be. And then when it comes unplugged? It just… disappears. Fades out of existence. “What the fuck did I just see??” - No Way, probably.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: DETRIMENTAL EPISODE!!!! I think this is my favorite episode so far actually. It’s just so interesting?? And when the LORE really starts to kick up. Also it made me like No Way a lot more so !!! yippee. Smiles

IT’S TIME FOR THE [6:00] - Will You Ever Know?

5:27 - “You’ll need at least one of your team members to get to the other side of the planet to complete the challenge. The three teams that DON’T make-” “But I have to get back to the… Ughh… wait-” “No Way!! Hello!” “Uh.. Hi?”

Yeah so, No Way is 100% stuck on that Fucking Thing Up There. But they’ve known Clock for 6 hours now and know that they aren’t going to listen to them or even know what it is if they ask. And, once again, being unsure about Whiteberry. I also get the impression that they didn’t fully .. focus? On Whiteberry, because immediately after their short “uh.. Hi?” they turn to Clock to ask questions; getting to that now.

5:38 - “Uh- Clock, didn’t you say the challenge was to get to the other side of the planet?” “Yes!” “Aand we have how much time?” “17 minutes!” “What.” “Happy Valentine's Day!! You’re not REALLY gonna have to go that far at all! Check this out!” “Valentines Day..?-” “You ask WAY too many questions dude.”

No Way asking the right questions again. This is where them questioning everything becomes very important, and I think Tile commenting on it brings its importance to the viewers attention.

Honorary mention: funny flat “What” moment. These will never not make me laugh dawg

5:58 - “What… Are they doing…” “Looks like some sort of funny dance, I can do that too you know!” 

Very minimal thing but No Way’s expressions are very telling of how they feel. First, with watching Clock literally fold the Fucking PLANET, they look. EXTREMELY confused and even a little bit disturbed. Nothing is making sense to them anymore, and I think they’re finally realizing that nothing ever made sense in the first place, ever since Clock showed up at least. And then when Refill Station starts dancing, I think it’s good to compare their expression with Polka Dot’s. Polka Dot looks at RF with like a… “Why are you like this?” look. Words are hard and I don’t exactly know how to describe her expression, but it’s mostly like a “What. Why. What is wrong with you.” Meanwhile, No Way looks at him with more confusion and a hint of worry compared to Polka Dot. To me, No Way looks like they’re thinking “How can you act like this when Clock is literally reforming the planet right in front of us. How can you just stand there and dance when all of this is happening?” Almost like how 57-Ball questioned their naivety.

6:33 - “WAIT! NO WAY!” “What??” “Hey it’s- it’s me, uh- Shrimpy, I think you should let me come along!” “Oh… Uh.. Why’s that?” “Because I remember you getting the farthest up Clock’s wire!” “Right. That… sure was strange.” 

Splitting up this scene because it’s kinda long

The quick way No Way says “what?” almost sounds exasperated and surprised, almost like they were distracted or just not paying attention before Shrimpy called their name.

Their voice is very soft when they ask why Shrimpy thinks that, and they’re almost hesitant.

Focus on the way No Way responds when Shrimpy brings up the last challenge. Instead of being happy about winning, they say it was strange. And I don’t think they were talking about the fact they won was strange, though it is easy to think that at first glance. I believe they were referring to the fact that Clock's tail was plugged into the sky in the first place. Getting to the top of that wire was so mind-bending to them that they don’t even care enough to remember that it was even a challenge, judging by the way they say “right” at the start of their sentence. And even though this is affecting them so badly, they can’t even think of how to explain. More on that later.

6:45 - “So… maybe your prize for winning should be to have an extra team member!” “But.. you weren’t even on my team.. And uh.. Xiru got more votes than you.. If I remember correctly.” “Oh Xiru… he wouldn’t even want to go, right buddy?” “Bye.” “See?” “Ok fair point, let’s go.”

I think the more No Way loses that naivety from the beginning of the show, the more we see their more intelligent side. If this was still No Way from 1:00, They would have immediately agreed to letting Shrimpy join their team. But they didn’t. They asked Shrimpy to explain why twice, and they only finally agreed when Shrimpy gave them actual, proper reasons and even proved the second reason. There’s a few reasons why I think this change happened, but the biggest one is because they didn’t do that with Clock. They didn’t ask questions, and now their friends are disappearing and Wheel fucking exploded and they’re traumatized. Nothing is good anymore. They can’t afford to trust the wrong person again- they can’t afford to not question things anymore.

Honorary mention: Whiteberry making weird ass faces in the background of both of these timestamps. ITFT crew fr doing a little bit of anything

9:35 - “You could buy a zoo with all the doctor bills he paaaid!~” “Whiteberry, please! STOP- STOP SINGING. Stop singing, please.” “Why are you so stressed out anyways? What’s been going on?” “During the last challenge I… saw something. Something that- like- I- I don’t know, I- I can’t describe it, it feels like one of those things that like- you feel like you’re not supposed to see… y’know?” 

Splitting this up again because it’s long.

Before I get to my main point with this quote, this is another moment of all the stress and exhaustion of the past 5 hours catching up with them. Whiteberry’s singing is grating to them because it’s making it hard to think. Reminder, they’ve likely been dead for a while, since Clock only brought them back when they announced the challenge. They haven’t had any time at all to even think about what they saw, and Whiteberry is making it even harder to think and that is frustrating to them. They need to understand- they want to understand whatever the hell that was because maybe it could explain all the weird stuff that’s been going on– maybe it would explain why Clock is even there in the first place.

This is where I elaborate more on my point of “And even though this is affecting them so badly, they can’t even think of how to explain,” because they say it themselves. They start their explanation off with a good foundation, but when they get to the part where they have to actually describe it, they can’t. They say something extremely vague, which Shrimpy takes completely wrong (or just doesn't take seriously because she’s stupid). So No Way has this… thing that they saw, that they don’t understand, but they can’t talk to anyone about it because they don’t even know how to explain it, no one they trust is around, and the two they are with are … kinda dumb. Looking at you Shrimpy.

Also, side note, I LOVE the surreal, almost ethereal yet foreboding music that plays as No Way explains what they saw, accompanied with the flashback of them falling being shrouded in green haze. It really adds a lot to the scene. The crew always has such great music choices

9:55 - “Well, yea, I get it. I see things like that all the time! Like that rock. Ooh, and that rock too! And… Ooh, this right here is the ultra rare SHINY rock! You only see them in…”

Ok, nothing too big here, but No Way’s deadpan look while Shrimpy is going off about rocks is very funny to me. I can feel the “Bruh.” from here.

12:46 - “I wonder what the others are up to?” [Oil Pastel goes flying over No Way, Shrimpy, and Whiteberry’s heads] “Oh– what was that?” …13:40 - [Forky screaming as he and Oil Pastel fly back over No Way, Shrimpy and Whiteberry’s heads] “No way, again?” “I think it was just a bird!” “Okay…”

Used two timestamps for this because I’m making the same point with them.

Focus on No Way’s tone and expression here, especially in their first little quote. They sound and look a little scared, so it’s probably safe to assume they’re on edge now. And then when Forky and Oil Pastel go flying past again, No Way is surprised again and a little concerned since that time there was screaming. And then when Shrimpy says they think it was a bird, they squint at her suspiciously, and also like “Are You Stupid?” I imagine they don’t say anything about it though because they just don’t have the energy.

14:49 - “Hey, woah! The Sun, what’s going on??” “I’m trying to find Oi- Toys… TOY STORY!!” “I mean… we might still have enough time, we can help you find them really quick.” “EEK!” “Should we follow you? Or…”

No Way is such a good friend, immediately offering to help The Sun look for OP and Forky the moment they can tell something is wrong despite the challenge. And when The Sun hides in the ground, they ask if they should just follow him. Granted, they didn’t realize The Sun was actually scared, but it happened so fast so I don’t blame them.

The point I’m trying to make here is that despite the challenge, despite the stress they’re under, they are still trying to care for their friends and help them where they can. Another very good representation of their character.

15:03 - “No Way…” “Huh? Yeah, what-” [GASP!] [Distorted noises] “DANCE TO THE MUSIC!” [No Way Go Bye Bye]

YET ANOTHER DETRIMENTAL MOMENT FOR NO WAY’S CHARACTER!!! YAAAY MORE TRAUMA– this is really all I have to say. Other than the fact they were completely distracted by The Sun to even remember they were hearing weird, creepy ass music earlier. Their head is so not in the game.

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: I REALIZED SO MANY PAINFUL THINGS THIS EPISODE. By so many I mean exactly one. In the Wheel analysis I mentioned earlier, Rocket mentioned how Wheel was constantly on edge and untrusting of Clock and paranoid about that day. Something bad was going to happen and holy fuck was he right. Here’s why I’m bringing this up. NO WAY IS DEALING WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT LISTENING TO WHEEL. At the start, Wheel was untrusting, scared, and defensive. No Way was naive, trusted Clock right off the bat, and happily obliged with whatever they said. They didn’t listen to Wheel’s warnings, to Wheel’s protests and fear. And now they are paying the price. They are experiencing what Wheel was warning them about in its entirety. They’ve lost their whimsy, their passion, their excitement for this competition. Now they don’t know who to trust other than the original contestants, and their numbers are dwindling by the episode. They have no one to talk to, no one to turn to. Just like how Wheel was from the beginning. I Am In Active Pain. Anyway, next up: I finally explain why I think No Way and Polka Dot are so similar after about like 9,000 words.

IT’S TIME FOR THE [7:00] - Stop and Look. Realize.

3:07 - [Clock finally brings everyone who died last episode back]

Not much to add here other than this screenshot

Yeah they felt that shit

3:14 - “Where’s Vase…?” “The elimination already happened, she got out.” 

Part of this is something I didn’t notice until now, but anyway. Pay extremely close attention to No Way here. When they get revived, their immediate thought- the first thing they notice- is that Vase is missing, another person they were close with. They have one of those little stress lines under their eye and the tone they have is very clearly worry with a hint of dread. Like they know what the answer is, but they don’t want it to be true. And when Inky confirms it, their face drops slightly. First their brows raise in mild surprise when Inky says the elimination has already happened, and when he says Vase is gone, their brow furrows and their mouth hangs open slightly. They’re devastated. Another one of their friends, gone.

3:17 - “I don’t understand, we were walking through the tunnels in the challenge an-” [Fridge DJ plays music] “YOU. Am I the only one… who thinks he shouldn’t be here?” “Press the music button, or turn the dial to another station! [Fridge DJ plays music]

No Way’s mind is not only not in the game, but it’s also just. Scrambled, considering how fast they change topics here (from Vase to the last challenge). Fridge DJ literally murdering them has added yet another layer of stress to their already growing pile, and the fact Fridge DJ is still there makes it even worse. No Way's hesitance to even ask their question makes me think they’re scared to even ask it, like Fridge DJ might not like it and attack. It’s a fair assumption to make, given they don’t know Fridge DJ for anything other than the mindless killing spree he went on earlier. This is backed by the way they back away and tense up when FDJ comes right up to them, only to then look uncomfortable and confused as he does his little dance. 

Some side notes about voice acting and sound design: I really like the way No Way says “YOU.” here, really shows how much they are affected by what Fridge DJ did. I also really like how you can hear a very faint and muffled “DANCE TO THE MUSIC!” before the week song starts and No Way turns around. Whether this is Fridge DJ actually saying that again or it’s just a representation of the trauma No Way endured is unsure, but it’s such a cool detail that I never noticed before. The more I think about it, the more I realize it is definitely the latter. The last thing they heard before being ripped in half is FDJ’s “DANCE TO THE MUSIC!” and it’s clear from their pose when Clock brings them back that it was a painful, agonizing experience. That’s why they’re so much more affected by this death compared to the previous two. 

3:31 - “No Way, what do you mean? This is our… BEST FRIEND!” “I am so confused.” “Confused? I think it's time to shake up the game a little bit then!”

The expression work on No Way here is just amazing. They look so, so tired when they put their hand to their hand and close their eyes, a gesture which makes me think they have a headache. Or maybe they just do that because I have noticed they tend to touch their face a lot, who knows. Then when Clock pops up next to them, they get startled again before looking at Clock with such a nervous look. They’re tired, they miss their friends, it’s been 7 hours of non-stop challenge after challenge, they’re likely still processing and trying to figure out what that giant green thing in the sky was, and now they have to deal with Fridge DJ existing and Shrimpy and Whiteberry somehow not remembering anything he did??? It’s almost too much. And yet they feel trapped. Like they have to keep participating because they don’t know what Clock is actually capable of. Maybe they’re scared of making Clock mad.

3:57 - “Why… did they do that?” “Alright breh! Final five!” “Tile tha-” “Shut up, dude.”

I’M SHOOTING TILE IN THE DENNY’S PARKING LOT. I mean who said that

Jokes aside though, now that I’ve done this whole thing, this scene hits a lot harder. The look No Way had on their face before looking at Tile– I don’t know how to describe it. It almost feels like a silent “I don’t know” in response to Snapped Skateboard’s question. And then they get upset at what Tile says, about to correct him by saying that whatever the fuck Clock just did to Refill Station wasn’t an elimination. But then Tile interrupts them by blatantly telling them to shut up.

But No Way doesn’t get mad. They don’t even look that devastated. They just stare and watch Tile walk off. They get such a sad yet… reserved look on their face. It’s silent. Not a sound is made. And I think those 4 seconds of silence after Tile tells them to shut up is so impactful. It forces you to focus on the only movement on screen; the way No Way lets their arms fall to their sides again, the way their expression shifts into a look of resignation. I think they finally realized here that Tile isn’t friends with them anymore. Why this even happened, they don’t know. But it did. And it’s right in their face.

AND IT MAKES ME SO MAD BECAUSE WHAT THE FUCK TILE. THEY ALREADY HAVE SO MUCH GOING ON AND YOU JUST HAD TO TELL THEM TO SHUT UP LIKE THAT??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU WHY ARE YOU EVIL. IM EXECUTING YOU NEXT TUESDAY WATCH YOUR FUCKING BACK YOU LITTLE YELLOW SHI

4:27 - “Whoever opens the box first will be the winner.” [accordion noise] “of the challenge.” “Okay, I mean, this should be easy, just give us the box, Clock.” [Clock starts to back away] “Clock…” [Cartoony aah running] “Clock- NO. COME BACK, CLOCK NO!-” [No Way sighs.] “1.5 meters of elevation. Great. er-” [Fridge DJ playing music] “You know what. I have something else I gotta take care of first.”

I love this scene. A lot. When Clock runs into the tree and No Way sighs in exasperation, the expression on their face is just … beautiful in the way that it displays so much emotion. Like, this is truly their boiling point. They are so exhausted. At first they look at TI-30 as he’s talking, but then they hear Fridge DJ’s music and now that is all they can hear. They look pissed now. They are so done with this damn toy and finally decide they need to do something about it. Fuck the challenge, that isn’t even the worst of their problems at this point.

Also, as a side note, I really love the way Oil Pastel encourages them here. It’s very sweet. I like to think this is partly because she’s like “yeah go get that murderer away from my partner”

5:50 - [Fridge DJ playing music] “Hey! Fridge DJ!” “I… Um… sorry, I mean Shrimpy, Whiteberry, how could just party with them like this? They killed all of us like an hour ago!” “I don’t remember that, I just think you’re just a party pooper!” “Yeah! Fridge DJ wouldn’t hurt a fly, he’s just so joyous!!” “That is correct!” “JOYOUUUUS!”

Ok a few things here. At first when I watched this scene, I thought No Way genuinely made the mistake of getting Fridge DJ’s attention first. But upon watching closer, I realize that’s not right at all. As they approach FDJ, they are PISSED and are clearly glaring right at them. That expression carries over to them yelling its name. But then when FDJ abruptly stops the music and looks at them, they freeze, and if you pause on time, they look scared, then uncomfortable, then they apologize and go to Shrimpy and Whiteberry. This isn’t an accidental mistake, this is No Way backing down last second because they are scared of Fridge DJ. Terrified, even. They had so much confidence when going up to her, but when she actually stopped and they had to actually face her, they froze. They chose to beat around the bush and try to talk some sense into Whiteberry and Shrimpy. They are TRAUMATIZED.

Also y’know it kind of makes sense that Shrimpy wouldn’t remember what happened BUT WHITEBERRY HAS GOT TO REMEMBER. SHE LITERALLY WITNESSED NO WAY GET RIPPED IN HALF and probably saw what remained of Shrimpy. But nah that didn’t happen what are you talking about. Yet No Way and Oil Pastel remember?? I mean I get No Way remembering, but that’s probably gotta do with trauma. I think I just don’t know enough about Oil Pastel to think of a reason why she would also remember.

EDIT AFTER AVICON READ THIS: Shrimpy is just stupid and Whiteberry doesn’t care. That’s why they’re gaslighting No Way. Oil Pastel is actually smart, that’s why he remembers LMAO.

6:09 - “Of course they would say that, they’re CLEARLY lying, but why?” [Oil Pastel nudges them. They gasp.] “I get it now! He’s gonna drown them in the river!” “Ohhh! A river! Let’s cross it!” “Yeah!” “THREE! Little birdies, sitting way up high,” “haha, nice!” “We gotta see Fridge DJ cross!” “No!” [No Way grabs onto Fridge DJ’s back] “Bye bye! Birdie bye bye!” “Woah… WOAH” “YAY!” “All right!”

Ok I know these quotes are getting REALLY long but BEAR WITH ME.

No Way DOES NOT UNDERSTAND. They don’t understand why Fridge DJ is doing this, they don’t understand why Fridge DJ did any of that stuff last episode, they don’t understand why Whiteberry and Shrimpy are just so totally okay with this dude– and at this point their mind is filling in blanks. Like I mentioned before, all they know about Fridge DJ is from its random murder spree from the water damage, but they don’t know that was just water damage, so they jump to conclusions. And when they make the conclusion about the river, they immediately try to drag Fridge DJ into the river themself in a desperate act to try and “save” Whiteberry and Shrimpy. They’re paranoid. They are paranoid that people are going to get hurt again because of FDJ. Y’know who else was paranoid? Wheel. FULL FUCKING CIRCLE IM GONNA THROW U-

6:31 - “Hide and seek!” “I see you!” “Aww, I’ll find a better hiding spot next time!” “I was hiding here too!” [Fridge DJ laughs and then honks] “Can you name 57 vegetables that start with the letter J? We can!” “wuh- NO NO AA-”

This is really important to me. Before FDJ shows up in the bush No Way and Oil Pastel are hiding in, No Way is glaring HARD, angrily, almost confidently. But then the moment FDJ starts speaking directly next to them, their expression immediately shifts to FEAR. And then they panic and literally run away. It’s a really funny scene if you’re watching it surface level, but when you dive deep, this is literally trauma at its finest. Notice how No Way is hiding in the bush, yet I bet they’ve somehow convinced themself that it’s doing something. Finding excuses to hide away from FDJ. They feel very non-confrontational, or maybe it’s just fueled by fear. (I would say cowardice but that’s mean)

6:43 - “Let’s play tag!” “Yeah!!” “Agh, no… They’re gonna get away!” “No.” [What the fuck john wick bullshit is this– WHY DID NO WAY GET HIT WITH A BASEBALL] “Oh.. that was weird… Why’d you do that?” [Whiteberry and Shrimpy laughing] “This is so pointless.”

No Way is so over this. They’re So Fucking Over This. After everything that happened, Shrimpy and Whiteberry just do not care, no matter what they or Oil Pastel do, they Do Not Care. And the crazy part is, after this scene, we just. Don’t see them again. They literally gave up. They just stopped. That was it. Their “this is so pointless” was literally an admission of defeat. The very culmination of the past 6, 7 hours of stress has finally got to them. And mind you, all of the really bad trauma happened within like. 2 hours if we’re excluding witnessing Green’s elimination. That’s. That’s a lot to go through in that short amount of time.

7:12 - “Hey Polka Dot, did you hear the challenge?” “Yep.” “So, are we gonna do it?” “Nnnnno. Because I can’t stand this thing Clock is doing! It was fun at first but it’s been nonstop hours of these “challenges.” My friends are disappearing one-by-one, I’m just… upset! That I can’t do anything about it and I have nowhere else to go.”

FINALLY. I HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN TO WHERE I WILL ELABORATE ON THIS. Throughout the series, Polka Dot has gone through the same development just a little bit later and a little bit differently. She went from using her polkadot portals willy-nilly, to warning Wind Up Toy that going in them is dangerous. She went from opting to using her abstracted form on challenges where it’s technically cheating to not even trying, and she even remarks “I had a feeling this was gonna happen” when Clock pulls their “No Flyers Allowed!” thing with The Sun. She’s clearly had less energy as the episodes went on– from naive and excitable to mellow and quiet, questioning things sometimes – just like No Way. And when things came to a head in 6:00 and 7:00, she became jaded, done with the games. She rushes along the elimination and doesn’t even care that Vase just. Exploded, even if she was friends with her or not. 

While she and No Way are very similar, they have one very important difference. Polka Dot actually had someone to talk to. She had someone in her corner, even when all of her original friends were gone. No Way has no one. They tried to talk to Shrimpy, but Shrimpy just … was Shrimpy. Shrimpy and Whiteberry wouldn’t even listen to them. Tile hates them for some fucking reason. Vase is gone. 57-Ball is gone. Wheel is gone. 

15:59 - [Voting screen]

Ok this isn’t important but look at No Way’s sad little face on the voting screen. Now compare it to their intrigued, curious, and a little bit surprised face on 3:00’s voting screen. I feel like this is such a good comparison to make when you’re thinking about their character development. 

END OF EPISODE THOUGHTS: No Way is really well written this episode. They don’t have any Funny Haha moments (other than deadpan faces at comedic times.) and are just. Serious. Their interactions with Fridge DJ and the way they acted around Shrimpy and Whiteberry were great ways to show how a traumatic event like getting Ripped In Half can affect a person.

CONCLUSION:

No Way arguably has gone through the most amount of character development in the series. They start it off in a good place; friendly, trusting, seeing the good in others, caring about their friends. But as time goes on, more and more things start to happen. And now, they are completely different. They’re paranoid and scared and worried, and their mind is a mess. They have no one to turn to or talk to, so they have to deal with all of this stress on their own. And that’s.. That’s not great. Especially with all of this happening in a SINGULAR DAY.

Ok. That’s all I had to say. This whole thing made me even less normal about No Way than when I started. Thank you for reading this fucking thing ??? hope you liked it. Goodbye forever(/j)

[caramel1mochi]

ㅤㅤPlasma [ Yoru x F! Reader ] [1] [ part 1 / part 2 ] words: 5k / TW: blood, fighting / Please refrain from stealing my work.

ㅤIt's known that earning Yoru's attention is a futile struggle. Still, the first to achieve it is you — a woman who plans for nothing beyond the optimal spot to doze off.ㅤ

note: Mum said it's my turn to wish you all a happy Halloween!!ㅤ Anyway I watched the cinematics 50 times and still mistook the Scions' clothes for robes. But now it's too late to change it so yay.ㅤ Also, this story is pretty lore-heavy so it takes place after the Abyss cinematic. I'd start there hahaㅤ

Dividers by @saradika! Future credits will be in tags.

It all started with one gentle assassin.

An assassin who possessed eyes so innocently bright, a build so friendly and personality so amiable that his recruitment prompted the bosses to question their decision.

'What started?' I hear you ask. And to that, the answer would be a little organisation dubbed the 'Scions of Hourglass'. An organisation with power and control so vast, they managed to hide the discovery of radianite for an undisclosable amount of time. Presumably millennia. As naturally as the planets orbit the sun, every member of this group was brainwashed by their adept commanders. So much so, to entertain the very concept of their underlings having autonomy — or even a sound state of mind — would be beyond laughable.

And Iso was a lovely example of that.

Nevertheless, it led to a rabbit hole. And it was a rabbit hole that proved just how much damage the Scions of Hourglass could do. Indirectly or not, many agents were still affected by it even if they were no longer associated with it — whether it be Omen, Iso, Viper, Reyna… But Clove was one of the few who found it very fun. Mostly because it involved them killing these guys left and right.

Emerging from a smoked off corner, the wee Scot held up their Spectre and immediately began spraying down the one masked soldier in front of them.

Given that he was caught off guard, it didn't take long for the man to fall to his death.

ㅤ

"Agh, that's gotta hurt." They scoffed as they began reloading. "These lads are helpless."

ㅤ

Clove jumped once another soldier appeared. However, before he could take the shot, a few bullets from behind dug through his back. Just as he sank to the ground, it revealed their friend, Iso, who appeared from the darkness. His gaze followed the butterflies that previously burst from Clove as they travelled upwards.

For a moment, he was mesmerised by them, but he was quick to meet their gaze once more.

ㅤ

"Maybe we should go easy on them."

ㅤ

His tone was too monotone to register as sarcasm to anyone who didn't know him. Thankfully, Clove wasn't a part of that crowd. They took their time to reload as they approached him, and the two began slowly walking off towards one of the doorways.

ㅤ

"Ya reckon we jump off and make this fair?"

ㅤ

Iso lightly smiled, though it was more of an awkward acknowledgement than anything else.

ㅤ

"What is it with you and jumping off things?"

ㅤ

"Dinnae make it sound weird, Iso−"

ㅤ

Gunfire suddenly rang out from behind them.

Caught off-guard, Iso instinctively put up a wall of hexagons to shield them from the storm of bullets that emerged. For a moment, the barrier swallowed every bullet, and the ones that were spared flew past them.

The duo readied their weapons just as it stopped.

When Iso's wall came down, however, the two noticed Omen standing over the corpse of one of the soldiers. They could tell that, by his tense posture, he was angrily glaring at them.

ㅤ

"Focus."

ㅤ

Omen growled, causing Clove to stiffen up as several more butterflies escaped them in anxiety.

Satisfied with their non-verbal apology, Omen took a step away from the doorway they were headed towards. There, he unwittingly approached the sharp rays of the sun, now bathed in the light coming in from the opening above. They could see the particles of dust as they fell.

ㅤ

"I sense something…"

ㅤ

He noticed how the particles shifted towards one direction. But before another word could be exchanged, the three heard the awry static in their radio, moments before a familiar and gentle voice took over their ears.

ㅤ

"Team, I need an update. How are you all holding up?"

ㅤ

Amidst the chaos that had only slightly lessened by now, her voice felt like a much needed break for Iso and Omen.

ㅤ

"I'm detecting an unfamiliar presence."

ㅤ

"Of course, I'll run a quick scan."

ㅤ

Silence promptly befell them.

Clove was about to speak, but they shut themselves up once they heard a hum in the distance. The tense quiet amongst them helped them isolate the noise with ease. But it was so quiet considering how far away it was.

ㅤ

“I’m picking up an… abnormal presence of radiancy in the area.”

ㅤ

Sage noted.

Omen noticed something cut off the sunlight that previously illuminated him. And just as he was about to look up, the answer to his question deafened all three of them. If the unbearably loud whirring accentuated by the enclosed cavern wasn’t enough, the shadow that engulfed them from above forced the rest of the team to also glance up.

There, they finally saw the number of helicopters that were entering the area from above.

Omen brought up a hand and unmuted the radio.

ㅤ

“They’ve brought backup.”

ㅤ

One of the helicopters’ doors swung open, revealing a peculiar soldier who stood at the edge of the vehicle.

This one seemed to be dressed in different apparel; as opposed to the previous soldiers who donned simple brown armour, these ones wore midnight blue robes with silver patterns across, and an unfamiliar marking on the black mask that covered their face. The soldier lifted his hand, and there was a misplaced glow emerging from his palm. It almost mimicked Sage’s.

Only one second passed before the trio were forced to jump out of the way. They narrowly dodged an attack of what seemed to be a massive mound of… ice? Snow? No, it wasn’t either. But it was solid and pure white.

Particles of cyan emerged from the massive shards. It began suffocating them, the massive influx of it creating a burning fog that irritated their lungs with every inhale. Only Omen seemed unharmed by this.

ㅤ

“Team, report! What happened?”

ㅤ

Sage cried out, her voice barely audible in the sudden ruckus.

ㅤ

“They’ve brought radiants this time. Weapons ready.”

ㅤ

He cocked his gun as he explained.

And unlike the two of them, who continuously cleared their throats in a vain attempt to clear their airways, Omen peeked and began shooting the first thing he saw. The thick cyan 'smoke' successfully obscured anything that could be seen. Due to this, he had to rely on his hearing to infer whether or not he hit anything, and the bullets from each side made sure to make that even more difficult.

With one more cough, Clove readied their own Spectre and fixed their posture in preparation for the upcoming rematch… as they called it.

ㅤ

“These people have radiants working for them?!”

ㅤ

“Do they really?”

ㅤ

Clove rolled their eyes at Iso’s cheeky remark.

ㅤ

“Agh, whisht. I’m nae keeping track of yer backstory.”

ㅤ

Clove promptly revealed themselves once more. And although they began rapidly shooting at whatever they could see, they made use of the thick haze to reposition themselves and cover more area. Nonetheless, Compared to Omen's, their voices were dangerously gravelly and weak. Something Sage quickly noticed due to them forgetting to mute their radios earlier.

ㅤ

“All of you must get out as fast as you can! We’re sending backup to–“

ㅤ

“There’s no need for backup−!” He peeked once more and shot, gunning down a soldier just as he noticed him. “What difference do radiants make? We can take care of this ourselves!”

ㅤ

His words were now laden with the fury he lugged around the moment he discovered who he really was. It lacked the serenity he was attributed with mere weeks ago. There was no way to reason with him currently.

However, Iso’s thought process was interrupted once the ground rumbled beneath him, and he looked down to see the area he stood on violently cracking, almost like a mini-earthquake. A massive spike of concrete shot out from under him, but he quickly jumped out of the way.

Thankfully, he landed beside Clove behind a massive pillar.

He only had a few seconds to catch his breath and regain his balance. There, he saw the spike revert back underground, having defiled the exact part of the concrete Iso stood on. He knew he'd be dead if he were a second too late.

ㅤ

“Careful,” he started, “some of them could detect our locations, as well.”

ㅤ

“Ya know them?”

ㅤ

He muted his earpiece. Since he attempted to steal a glance once more, he didn't note the curious glimmer in Clove's eyes behind him. Not when he was too busy struggling not to reveal himself to the enemies by accident.

ㅤ

“I know of them.”

ㅤ

Clove laughed, almost amused. In conjunction with them pulling out a smoke from their dimension, a small glow promptly emitted from their hand; its pale complexion now shifting to a purple, pink and white hue.

ㅤ

“It's fine, Iso. I’ve nae problem killing yer loved ones for you!”

ㅤ

“No, that’s not, uh… that’s not necessary; I can do it myself.”

ㅤ

He wasn’t that soft, was he? Besides, they weren't his loved ones.

ㅤ

“If ya say so. Well then, I’ll be out killing these numpties.”

ㅤ

Iso turned to meet Clove's gaze to nod, but he was caught off guard by the massive cloud behind them.

Clove, clearly happy with his reaction, saluted him with a wide grin and disappeared into the dome of colourful smoke they proudly formed behind his back. It felt like his mind was slightly contorting. Iso would attribute it to anxiety if he weren't surrounded by radiants who worked under this cursed organisation.

He had to act fast.

ㅤ

“Iso, you seem to know them, what can we expect?”

ㅤ

Sage’s voice perked up over the radio.

He peeked and surveyed the area. But for now, there was nothing. He still had to watch out for any misplaced shadows. Some of them can turn invisible, right?

ㅤ

“Uh… Well, violent radiancy.”

ㅤ

“Violent?”

ㅤ

“My bosses have a tendency to search for the… the dangerous radiants.” He quickly shot, killing one blue-robed soldier. “If my memory serves me right, one of them can control our minds if we’re exposed to them long enough.”

ㅤ

Iso immediately hid back behind the pillar when another soldier emerged. The misplaced confusion in his mind slipped just as he shot. So, hopefully it was that one, he mused. But he was too overwhelmed by anxiety and adrenaline to think about anyone else.

ㅤ

“This is worse than I thought. I have to send back-up. Try to stay alive until we’re there, okay?”

ㅤ

Clove’s voice emerged in the radio after that. However, in the midst of all the chaos, he deprioritised their conversation and peeked once more.

But then, Iso saw it.

He saw a soldier, also wearing those blue robes, pull his own blood out from his left hand with a twist of his fingers and… He promptly used it to heal the other one he’d just shot, the fluid entering their gaping wound with relative ease.

Now that he saw this from far away, the sight was macabre.

However, Iso was swiftly caught off guard when a soldier emerged from what he assumed was a locked door behind him.

Though he took aim and shot, his enemy was significantly quicker; the bullets missed no thanks to him being stripped of his ability to move.

He wasn’t too concerned with someone sneaking up on him since he had his shield up, but this man, weaponless, only needed one hand to completely disarm Iso. The clatter of his Vandal as it fell on the ground grew to a mere muffle. It only took a few seconds for Iso to begin losing all control of himself.

For a moment, it was blank. All he could hear were the rapid beats of his own heart.

The enemy in front of him became a lump of midnight blue and vague patterns of silver. Time became slower, his pulsations grew weaker, and breathing devolved into a repetitive task he was urged to drop by whatever remnants of cognitive coherence remained in his decaying mind.

It felt like his blood stopped travelling across his body, and the connection between his nerves grew weaker and weaker. So much so, all sensations were no longer being processed.

Thirty seconds before his brain activity finally ceased. With that over with, the soldier promptly worked away at his brain stem.

Then, there was a flash, and Iso fell to the ground. All of his nerves reconnected within the span of a picosecond.

ㅤ

“Iso, are you with me?”

ㅤ

A voice called out, but he couldn’t respond.

He forgot how to speak. Heck, everything he was used to mere seconds ago felt like an assault to his senses. Light, sound, even the sensation of his clothes as they wrapped around his skin, each cloth harbouring a vastly different texture compared to the last.

Omen placed a hand on his back in an attempt to catch his attention. But in the face of the incomprehensible stabbing pain in his abdomen, it did nothing.

ㅤ

“Iso!”

ㅤ

Omen growled once another soldier presumably appeared, quickly rushing in front of Iso to cover him and gun the enemy down as soon as he could. The fight was easy to slip his mind. Nevertheless, he sat up and sighed, finally catching up.

ㅤ

“I’m, uh…” he wiped the sweat from his forehead, “I’m here, I’m here.”

ㅤ

“What did he do to you?”

ㅤ

Omen asked as he reloaded.

But, for a moment, there was only silence on Iso’s end. It felt like many of his systems were shifting inside of him, mainly his digestive and respiratory system. Almost like they were…

Well, he wasn’t a bloody doctor.

ㅤ

“I– I don’t know.”

ㅤ

“I’ll give you time to recollect yourself.”

ㅤ

A smoke of purple suddenly enveloped Iso, but Omen himself stepped out and continued down towards a doorway. Iso heeded his words; he took his time and let his body catch up.

He had forgotten why he was here, or where he even was. All he knew was that there was something they wanted. Worst of all, there was this peculiar... thing he could control, but he just couldn’t remember what it exactly was.

Although he sat there for a bit, an unfamiliar shout from outside of the smoke caught his attention. The distortion of the voice let him know that it was nobody from his team. Right, right. The mission. He and Clove and… uh, someone else, they all came here for something…

He promptly clutched his weapon, stood up and followed without second thought.

His body felt heavier than usual. Each step required an exponential amount of effort to lift every part of his foot, and holding his heavy Vandal was unbearable. But that didn’t matter.

Not now.

Iso turned the corner and mindlessly gunned down the first thing he’d seen.

One soldier fell, revealing another. But Iso wasn’t quick enough to release the trigger; this led to a bullet piercing his target’s thigh and forcing him to tumble to the ground. His weapon escaped his grip, as well.

Iso's thoughtlessly brought him in front of the soldier he'd just injured. He stopped in front of him, aiming his Vandal right on the centre of his concealed face.

His index finger rapidly tapped on the trigger, almost begging him to shoot already. But… something was wrong.

Iso's eyes were firmly locked on the soldier's sash. His brain wracked itself, desperately attempting to understand why this little detail shut his mind down when it could mean life and death. But the way it was tied was different.

ㅤ

“I know you.”

ㅤ

He muttered.

Decades of training pushed Iso to never hesitate. He didn’t even know why he was killing these people, his instincts told him to. Yet, for some reason, he kept scrutinising the midnight blue sash.

It hung loosely around the soldier's waist. As opposed to the others, who meticulously tied it to make it look both elegant and efficient, this one was simply haphazardly tied together.

With a shake of his head, Iso snapped himself out it and firmly held his gun once more.

ㅤ

“Take the mask off.”

ㅤ

There was naught of a response from the soldier. Impatient, Iso shot inches away from his head.

ㅤ

“I said take it off!”

ㅤ

He shouted, his typically soft voice echoing harshly within the walls that surrounded them. Hearing something like this was so awry coming from Iso. It seems that the soldier also knew this, given the sudden tension that coursed through him.

So, he slowly lifted both hands and used one to push off the hood, letting his platinum-blonde hair loose. Then he clutched the black mask and slid it off, revealing… a very familiar face.

Iso’s eyes widened once he was finally allowed to observe your features. And nothing’s changed. You looked just as tired as the last time he saw you.

Sickly pale skin, droopy eyes, and…

Looking at you made it feel like all of those months never passed. It was as if he just came back from another assassination and went to see you like usual. It took Iso a few seconds before he could even form an appropriate response.

ㅤ

“…Y/N?”

ㅤ

“Hey, Zhao Yu. How's grandma?”

ㅤ

Instinctively, he dropped his weapon and rushed to your side.

ㅤ

“My God, you’re alive! I– I thought I’d never see you again… Why didn’t you say anything? I could’ve killed you!”

ㅤ

“We don’t die that easily, remember?”

ㅤ

“But I– I shot you. I shot your leg.”

ㅤ

He lifted a hand, as if he himself was going to tend to your wound, but you were quick to gently push it away.

ㅤ

“I can take care of it, Zhao Yu.”

ㅤ

He faintly nodded, taking his time to observe you. Looks like he forgot.

ㅤ

“It’s been so long. I’m… I’m sorry I never got back to you. Everything happened so fast, and I just–”

ㅤ

“Hey, be glad you left. The new regulations would drive you insane.”

ㅤ

He averted his gaze as he wiped his forehead. It took him a moment to comprehend you were still here, or how things worked at the organisation before he left.

One month… felt like a decade.

ㅤ

“But you could’ve left… We could’ve left this place together.”

ㅤ

“No hard feelings.”

ㅤ

Using your index finger, you began to heal the injury on your thigh with some sort of radiancy Iso just couldn’t remember. He sounded a bit woozy, now that you thought about it.

ㅤ

“It’s surreal seeing you on the job.”

ㅤ

…

He awkwardly smiled and met your gaze.

ㅤ

“Really? I hope my… my performance wasn’t too bad.”

ㅤ

“Fine at first. It got sloppy fast.”

ㅤ

“Oh… That’s– I’m glad it didn’t– I’m glad it didn’t go… uh…” he shook his head. “What’re we talking about?”

ㅤ

You glanced at him.

ㅤ

“You alright?”

ㅤ

Iso stared at you for a few seconds. Then, a crooked smile painted his lips.

ㅤ

“Huh?”

ㅤ

You lifted a hand and stroked his cheek, collecting a few droplets of sweat that were rapidly dripping down his chin. His skin felt hot and he looked weak. That wasn’t to mention how deathly pale he was becoming.

ㅤ

“You’re ill.”

ㅤ

Iso chuckled awkwardly, almost as if he were drunk.

ㅤ

“Am I really? That doesn’t, uh, That sounds…”

ㅤ

The rest of his words were incomprehensible gibberish even you couldn’t decipher. You clutched his shoulder and shifted his blood to inspect all of the surrounding organs.

This inspection, however, was quickly interrupted when you detected multiple unknown particles floating around in his bloodstream. Worst part is that their erratic structure wasn’t anything you could recognise.

And a healthy body wouldn’t have cluttered blood like this.

Great.

You placed your finger on his neck, gradually moving it down to detect where all of these foreign bodies were coming from. The lower you got, the closer you were to the source.

And it was mostly around the upper abdomen.

ㅤ

“Your organs aren’t working, Zhao Yu; you’re dying.”

ㅤ

You averted your gaze to the healed wound in your thigh. Reactivating whichever organ that was shut down would take more blood than one measly shot to the thigh could ever hope to produce.

ㅤ

“I can fix this. I can fix you."

ㅤ

You clutched the handle of the knife he had concealed on his hip, taking it out. But just as you aimed at your thigh again, an unfamiliar voice rung out from down the hallway, accompanied by rapid sets of footsteps.

ㅤ

“Get your hands off of him!”

ㅤ

You jumped at this order.

But you were quick to react; the blade was tossed away in favour of Iso’s Vandal. You clutched it and stood up, aiming it at the group. More specifically, their leader, who seemed to be a woman with a large ponytail. All you needed was a split second to take aim. Then, without hesitation, you promptly pulled the trigger.

However, the bullets were eaten up by a wall of lilac hexagons formed by your former co-worker. It blocked both your line of sight and any hope of self defence.

You promptly shot Iso a glare.

ㅤ

“What’re you doing?”

ㅤ

For a moment, he stared at the wall he’d created, almost as if he was mesmerised by it. Then, he stood up, peering through the wall and watching the weirdly familiar-looking group grow closer and closer.

Everything was so…

ㅤ

“I, uh… I don’t know.”

ㅤ

The hexagons suddenly came apart.

The group of two you were ordered to kill now morphed onto a group of three, that same phantom man now accompanied by many other faces you hadn’t seen in the briefing. All of their guns were pointed directly at you.

ㅤ

“Hands up, drop the weapon!”

ㅤ

“Make me.”

ㅤ

You hissed in response to a very short Scot. And your reply evidently ruffled their feathers. Or their scales. But another was quick to speak before either of you could shoot.

ㅤ

“This doesn’t have to end violently, okay? Just put the gun down, and we won’t hurt you.”

ㅤ

The one with the ponytail said, holding up one hand towards you as a peaceful gesture. This statement felt like such a slap in the face. So much so, you couldn’t help but cock your rifle specifically in the face of the lady who said it, even when the contingency of death was dangerously probable.

ㅤ

“You don’t get to have peace after what you’ve done.”

ㅤ

“You can’t comprehend what atrocities your superiors committed! They must be dealt with.”

ㅤ

Omen replied... and the sight of him stopped you from being able to respond. But during this conversation, the one with the ponytail began moving towards Iso, and it swiftly caught your attention. She approached Iso with one hand outstretched, and a glow of serene yet saturated shade of teal began forming in the palm of that hand.

Before she could touch Iso, however, a shriek escaped her when an immense amount of pressure suddenly overtook her wrist and forced her away just as you waved your hand.

This allowed you to stand between the two of them and force space.

ㅤ

“Don’t touch him!”

ㅤ

You spat out.

The woman clutched her wrist in an attempt to soothe the pain; her two partners seemed like they were just one nod away from gunning you down then and there. But she only stood there, staring at you in surprise.

ㅤ

“Do you… know him?”

ㅤ

The question caught you off guard. And for a moment, you hesitated, narrowing your eyes.

ㅤ

“…Do you?”

ㅤ

“Yes! We’re the ones who took him in!”

ㅤ

You stared at her. And given his silence as he stood behind you, you knew that Iso wasn’t capable of confirming anything at the moment. He must be seconds away from death, you’re sure of it.

ㅤ

“We’re not against you, okay? We’re with you. Let us help.“

ㅤ

As much as you wanted to kill them all then and there, you weren’t capable of doing such a thing given your measly role. And you knew it would probably upset Iso. He did stop you a minute ago, didn’t he?

So… you had no choice but to take her word for it.

ㅤ

“Zhao Yu’s dying.”

ㅤ

“What?”

ㅤ

You dropped the gun and rushed to his side. This also allowed her to move to him and start healing him alongside you.

ㅤ

“My partner shut down his organs. I think one hasn’t recovered.” You pushed your hand against his chest once more. “Check his abdomen.”

ㅤ

She complied. And there, she felt the same heaviness that tipped you off earlier.

ㅤ

“It’s a large organ… I– I’m not sure, but it could be either his lungs, or his liver… or spleen?”

ㅤ

The phantom stepped up just as you moved elsewhere, accompanied by the tired-looking Scot. They slid their gun back in their holster and held Iso’s left arm.

ㅤ

“Iso! Can you hear me?!”

ㅤ

“We need to get him back on the aircraft.”

ㅤ

The phantom started, but the healer shook her head.

ㅤ

“He could die if we wait for too long. His blood is already full of toxins. We must stay until he’s in a functional state, at the very least.”

ㅤ

“You have to go. Now. The others will kill you.” You called out, holding the mask you left on the ground moments prior. “I’ll tell them you escaped.”

ㅤ

“Yer lads cannae do nothing! We can take them all.”

ㅤ

“We have a different execution procedure. It’s why you have holes forming in your bones.”

ㅤ

You tied the mask back on and lifted your hood, oblivious to how the Scot’s face blanched.

ㅤ

"Aye, maybe we should, er…" they awkwardly chuckled, a few butterflies escaping them, "we should go."

ㅤ

You lifted your hand and went to unmute the radio.

ㅤ

“Wait…” The healer spoke. “Why don’t you come with us? We could use someone with your expertise.”

ㅤ

…

You glanced at her in confusion.

ㅤ

“Are you suggesting I quit?”

ㅤ

“Yes, just like Iso! Whatever abuse you’ve endured, it’ll all end if you decide to join us.”

ㅤ

You paused. The offer sounded seductive, but only to a lower rank like Iso. You were in a much worse position being in a higher one.

ㅤ

“I… won’t live if they catch me.”

ㅤ

“We’ll keep you safe from them. I assure you, they won’t lay a finger on you if you come with us.”

ㅤ

You stared at her for a few seconds, weighing this decision. And you weren’t really sure if it was worth it, even though you knew she wasn’t lying.

On one hand, you’d be freed of the shackles of the Scions of Hourglass, and you probably wouldn’t be indoctrinated every day. And you’d also reconnect with Iso. On the other, you’d have to live in constant anxiety of the contingency of being caught again.

You went to reject her offer… until you glanced at the half-dead Iso.

The kid would never survive without you, would he? He could barely navigate being both a student and a hitman without you or his grandmother’s help. Actually, his grandma probably missed you, huh?

You smiled fondly at the thought. So, you sighed, ripped off the mask, and threw it it on the ground. This allowed the screen to pitifully shatter to a dozen pieces.

ㅤ

“Let’s go.”

ㅤ

Just doing that cemented your path with these new people. The penalty for letting your mask break was severe, especially from Jess. But you weren’t here to endure it.

Not anymore.

With that confirmation, all of you left the base through an exit you were sure nobody was guarding. Unlike Iso, you yourself had enough information on this place to navigate it.

All of you boarded what you presumed was their aircraft and disappeared into the sky.

You were impressed with the speed of the vehicle… for a few seconds until you had to tend to the spaced-out Iso once more. The other healer, Sage, was now working on freeing Clove from whatever hold one of your colleagues had on them.

Apparently you weren’t lying about their bones.

ㅤ

“This is horrible. I’ve never heard of radiants who can manipulate the human body like this. How could such a thing possibly exist?”

ㅤ

Among your efforts to heal him, you were also gently guiding the circulation of Iso’s blood. Not fully controlling it, but instead pushing it to move to encourage his pancreas to start fully functioning again. Or spleen, you didn’t know.

But you could tell that it was working. His blood felt much cleaner than before.

ㅤ

“Our bosses take powerful radiants and brainwash them. They teach them the most effective ways to kill.”

ㅤ

You remembered Luca, and how he acted when he was first being trained. It was hard not to laugh at his face when he discovered his ability could be utilised in such a way; that he himself was capable of rendering someone brain dead so fast.

But it ceased to be funny when your friend was now on the other end of it.

ㅤ

“…Is that what happened to you and Iso?”

ㅤ

You opened your mouth to answer, but Iso’s face slightly shifting at this question made your voice falter. It wasn’t hard to tell he was very uncomfortable at this topic, despite his state.

So you opted to leave him out of the conversation.

ㅤ

“Happened to me.”

ㅤ

“That’s horrible.” Sage averted her gaze. “These people are horrible.”

ㅤ

You contemplated her words for a second, and promptly began to question whether or not Iso told them everything.

Sure, you were a much higher rank than him and thus had more information, but surely he remembered their ritual when it came to recruiting specific radiants? Oh, his memory was shoddy. You couldn’t expect much from it.

You sighed and continued your work. But then, a deep voice interrupted you from your thoughts.

ㅤ

“Your bosses…” Omen started, “what do you know about them? Can you name who’s at the top?”

ㅤ

Your heart skipped a beat.

For a moment, you assumed that Omen wasn't speaking to you, but given the fact that he was looking right at you… You braced yourself before finally responding.

ㅤ

“I… only know those way below them.”

ㅤ

“How does that work?”

ㅤ

You stopped and leaned back, stretching your fingers in an attempt to ease the soreness, a vain attempt to take your mind off of the fact you were talking to Omen.

ㅤ

“It’s a hierarchical structure; information gets lost the further down you go. Nobody knows who’s at the top.”

ㅤ

Omen faintly nodded.

And yet, he seemed incredibly unsatisfied with this answer. Your words seemed concordant with Iso’s, albeit a bit more detailed. He himself never mentioned the hierarchical structure of this organisation. But now that they thought about it, it made sense…

So, that meant that Iso was a low rank? Sage mused to herself. But another question took priority in her mind.

ㅤ

“I presume you’re a healer as well?”

ㅤ

“I am.”

ㅤ

“Wonderful! How do your powers work, exactly?”

ㅤ

“I control blood.”

ㅤ

Sage went to reply, but she paused at your response. Control blood? That didn’t seem to match what she was seeing.

ㅤ

“Ah, but, wouldn’t that make you just as capable of manipulating the body as your… um, your former partners?”

ㅤ

“No. It’s suppressed. I can only heal.”

ㅤ

“Really? How–”

ㅤ

“Can we save this conversation for when we land?”

ㅤ

Iso suddenly interrupted. His voice, though monotone, still caught everyone in the aircraft off guard. To the rest, it was incredibly surprising. Clove and Sage’s concerned expressions gave it away.

But to you? You knew that he loathed these questions; combined with your presence, they were digging up too many unbearable memories. This particular aspect of the legendary and feared hitman must be new for them.

Sage promptly cleared her throat.

ㅤ

“Your recruitment should yield… very fruitful results. On both sides.”

ㅤ

Sage said with a smile. Though friendly, you could tell she was just as taken aback as everyone else in the room. You couldn’t help but stare at her blankly for a few minutes.

Then, you turned back to Iso and continued healing him, all while Sage focused on Clove.

[itsablueberrycow]

jegulus band AU concept

recently been listening to the song "Mystical Magical" by Benson Boone, and all I can hear is James writing it about Regulus, so I gotta brain dump.

IF ANYONE WHO CAN WRITE WANTS TO TURN THIS INTO AN ACTUAL FIC PLSSSS TAG ME BECAUSE I REALLY WANNA READ IT

⭐James is the lead singer of the Marauders, and his guitarist/best friend has a very off-limits younger brother who James has been sneaking around with

⭐Regulus is super guarded, so he constantly is mean to James and then super demanding of affection out of the blue

⭐Reg comes on tour with his brother, and while Sirius and Remus are on a date, James and Reg explore the city and find a cute little ice cream shop where they try 'moon beam' ice cream, and it instantly becomes Reg's favorite

⭐ Reg usually wears all black, but he once wore blue jeans to one of their shows, and James was OBSESSED(down bad fr). So now, whenever Reg wants to get his way, he wears them.

⭐ James wants more than anything to be Regulus's boyfriend and not just his FWB, so he writes a song about it(because he doesn't know how to express emotions. Very Camp Rock 2 of him)

⭐ The rest of the band loves the song, especially Sirius, who has no idea it's about his brother

⭐at the next show, James sings it and everyone loves it (especially Reg, but he wouldn't say that)

⭐ james finds him after the set to see how he felt about the song, and regulus calls him a "cocky bastard" before kissing him

⭐ Sirius walks in and freaks out super dramatic.

⭐ Regulus tells him to stop being so dramatic and says, "I have to watch you snogging Remus all the bloody time, so I can kiss my boyfriend whenever I bloody well want to".

⭐which makes James deliriously happy because Reg called him his boyfriend

⭐ Sirius then starts gagging once he realizes he just sang a song about James wanting his baby brother.

Actual lyrics for reference if you haven't heard it.

[Verse 1] There's nothing colder than your shoulder When you're dragging me along like you do, like you do And then you switch up with no warnin' And you kiss me like you want it, how rude, how rude

[Refrain] But I kinda like it anyways I don't mind if this is gonna take a million days I know you'll come around to me eventually If you sit back, relax, and join my company, my company

[Pre-Chorus] Once you know what my love's gonna feel like Nothing else will feel right, you can feel like Moonbeam ice cream, taking off your blue jeans Dancing at the movies, 'cause it feels so

[Chorus] Mystical, magical Oh, baby, 'cause once you know, once you know My love is so mystical, magical Oh, baby, 'cause once you know, once you know

[Verse 2] My little hard-to-get baby I wanna give you the world Not saying you gotta chase me But I wouldn't mind it If you gave me just a little bit Of something we can work it with But all you do is push me out (Ha)

[Refrain] But I like it anyways 'Cause I think I'm getting closer to you every day I know you'll come around to me eventually Just sit back, relax, and join my company Oh, baby, trust me

[Pre-Chorus] Once you know what my love's gonna feel like Nothing else will feel right, you can feel like Moonbeam ice cream, taking off your blue jeans Dancing at the movies, 'cause it feels so

[Chorus] Mystical, magical Oh, baby, 'cause once you know, once you know My love is so mystical, magical Oh, baby, 'cause once you know, once you know

[Outro] Ooh, ooh (Once you know what my love's gonna feel like) Ooh, ooh (Moonbeam ice cream, nothing else will feel right) Mystical, magical Oh, baby, it's mystical, magical

[holmesianlove]

First Sentence Game

Thanks @lisbeth-kk for the tag!

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tags ten people. If you have written less than ten, don't be shy and share anyway!

I've included links in the titles if you want to keep reading - except for the WIPS! You gotta be patient!

Yet to be titled - FTH fic (current WIP) #johnlock

For the first time in nearly ten months, John Watson had finally lost the sense of dread in his gut when he woke up. It had been a long journey to get to this point. After failing at everything else in his life, it felt encouraging to be slightly calmer about today, at least.

An Unexpected Meeting #mystrade

The call had come through well after work hours, even by Mycroft’s standards. Still, he was always one to answer a call – regardless of the time of day. One of the benefits of being an enduring bachelor with a steep career trajectory and no hobbies, was that work became every aspect of your life. You gained a reputation for being reliable – the one to call at any time of the livelong day it seemed. All that lay waiting for him at home was a glass of fine whisky and the BBC newscast. So really, it was no different to being in the office – only that home had a more comfortable sofa and better glassware. 

Summer Lovin' (also a current WIP - part 4 of Seasons of Love series)

Molly stood on the street jiggling nervously up and down on the spot, which was utterly ridiculous. Harriet Watson had been to her flat last night after the wedding, where she had met Toby.

(don't want to give away too many spoilers - coming soon!)

New Year, New Us - part 3 Seasons of Love series #johnlock #mystrade

Greg kissed Mycroft gently, still half asleep himself. They were still in that strange space between Christmas and New Year where no one really knows what day it is. “Morning,” he mumbled, not even sure if it was morning. 

Ever since the incident with his siblings, Mycroft hadn’t wanted Greg to stay at his own flat. So here he was, in Mycroft's large, plush bed enjoying being wrapped around his gorgeous redhead. 

Christmas Time in London (part 2 - Seasons of Love) #johnlock #mystrade

John looked around the apartment and fussed with final details. He had surprised Mrs Hudson and Sherlock by fully cleaning the flat, top to bottom until it sparkled. The tree was laden with decorations and coloured lights. The roast was cooking in the oven, heavenly scents wafted through the flat. It hadn’t had a good cleaning since Halloween – since Sherlock’s clever ploy to get him to participate in a costume party and John wanted to make sure he put in a top effort too. Now that they were together. 

Trick or Treat - Part 1 Seasons of Love with @fuck-off-watson-rp #johnlock

Sherlock’s brain was about ready to crawl out of his skull. It had been two weeks since their last case. Actually it had been fourteen days, sixteen hours, forty two minutes, and eleven… twelve… thirteen seconds… since their last case. If you could call it a case even. A bird had flown in through an open window and scared an elderly woman as she was carving a pumpkin. She tripped and the large knife was subsequently impaled in her chest. Then the bird flew out the same open window it had flown in from. 

So no. Not really a case. No real murderer to chase after. Just an unlucky woman and a perhaps marginally homicidal bird but nothing more. 

Once Upon a December #johnlock

“Sherlock!”

The screech came from the bathroom, piercing the peaceful surrounds of Baker Street. Sherlock had been waiting, his supine position on the couch absolutely and entirely for this purpose. He had intentionally opened the newspaper to cover his gleeful smirk.

“Sorry, John. I didn’t hear you. Do you need something?” he asked sweetly. He waited behind his newspaper as he heard the sound of John padding angrily across the apartment, his bare feet slapping along the floorboards. Sherlock remained steadfast in his nonchalance.

The silence extended between them for too long, as Sherlock waited in eager anticipation, until John finally cleared his throat deliberately. Sherlock dropped a corner of the paper, just long enough to see what John was angry about, and then chose to return his paper to its original position.

“Sherlock!” John yelled again, more angrily this time.

Sherlock finally conceded and dropped the paper to his stomach. “What is it John?” he asked, trying his best to sound annoyed. He had waited hours for this, after all, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch.

“I’m green!” John shrieked.

Homecoming #1895 #johnlock

As I stood, waiting quietly in the familiar entryway, I took a moment to observe the man who had, for a number of years, consumed me. He was lost in thought, leaning against the mantel as he stared into the well-stoked fire, seemingly unaware of my presence. Being the middle of the night, there was a chill, the first signs of the approaching winter temperatures, fresh in the air. It felt strange returning here and yet, there was something comforting, though unsettling about it, the recognisable scent of home assaulting my nostrils, harking back to a time I had struggled to leave behind.

Show Me Your Flaws #johnlock

There was something about the sickly-sweet smell of heated soy milk which made John’s stomach turn. He had survived the blood-soaked, sweat drenched battlefields of the punishing Afghanistan desert and the unrelenting, stressful mad pace of surgical internship. Yet, here he was with burns on the insides of his wrists and aching feet, resisting the urge to gag from the bloody smell of that god awful soy milk everyone was so obsessed with here, as if it was his biggest hardship. Almond milk wasn’t much better. What was wrong with just ordinary milk from a cow anyway? It had already served humans well for centuries.

A Christmas Surprise #johnlock

The phone rang for far too long, which only made John angrier. Fortunately, Sherlock finally answered, or he had been prepared to leave a tirade on his flatmate’s voicemail.

“Sherlock, it’s John,” he said through the phone with a firm tone. He realised how it sounded, but his mood was stormy and it was the best he could do for the moment.

“Yes, John. I’m aware. I don’t know if you know this, but mobile phones actually recognise other peoples’ numbers and display the name on the screen now,” Sherlock said with his usual smugness.

Entanglement (Part 4 of Extraction Series) #johnlock

John leapt out of the cab, before the wheels had even stopped turning, throwing a twenty-pound note at the front seat and flying out without a word. Slamming the door unforgivingly as he hit the pavement, he kept running, thankful for the automated hospital doors. He knew he wouldn’t have stopped for them either way. His heart raced, thumping against his chest in a painful rhythm but it didn’t deter him. He was jolted by the freezing air conditioning hitting his face first, then the familiar scent of over-sanitisation, despite their attempts to make the foyer welcoming with plants and stylised furniture. John pushed the sensations aside as he flew right past the reception desk. He knew this hospital well, so he headed straight for the emergency department. As he rounded the corner though, he was brought up short, his legs almost buckling from under him at the sight. His breath caught in his throat as he froze, and his stomach dropped.

There he was, in all his glory, standing tall and strong and beautiful. Sherlock Holmes in his coat, collar up, curls wild. How dare he show his face here looking like that. 

@bluebuell33 @khorazir @jbaillier @a-victorian-girl @chriscalledmesweetie @writingloud @vulpesmellifera @totallysilvergirl

[clegfly]

Woo, it’s about time I made one of these… *cracks knuckles*

MORE ABOUT ME!!!!

HIIII!!!! My name is clegfly, or just cleg!!!! I’m an artist/ writer / professional paint drying critic/j. I’m just a silly person doing silly things, don’t mind me. I use they/them pronouns and I am aroace!!!

LIKES

BULLET POINTS BULLET POINTS BULLET POI

Pancakes. All day. All the time. Everywhere, anywhere. Pancakes

That goes for bacon too

JELLYYYYYYYYYY!!!!1!1!1!

Why are these all foods what else do I like uhhhh

Warm. And cosy bed. And fire. And all that stuff

OLD COMPUTER AESTHETIC!!!!!! N64!!! WINDOWS XP!!!! ALL THAT SHIT

Bugs in theory

PLANTS

MUSICAL THEATRE

Graphic novels

Video games… ough my beloveds

Books

Okay now this is too long

Oops

Sorry

JELLYFISH JELLYFISH JELLYFISH

The ocean full stop actually

In theory

CHINCHILLAS

Uh

Yapping

Analysis

IS BREA LIOM GAEILGE!!!1!1!2!!1

Law

History

Drama (as in like. Theatre)

DISLIKES

anything on my DNI >:((((

Bugs in practice

Sport

Exercise

I’m literally hero omori

Commitment

Stress

Internet drama

Anyone who gatekeeps like. Anything.

INTERESTS???

All day every day, baby.

MAINS

OMORI- main interest as apparent by one peek at my blog… The brainrot is immeasurable and everlasting. Send help. It’s been almost four years. I love this game, its characters, story, EVERYTHING so fucking much. I’m like a billion pounds in debt to it also. I will be homeless but at least I will have my big ass heromari collection.

PMMM/ Madoka Magica- my favourite show! Consisting purely of sparkles and sunshine!!!! Why are you crying??? I’m sure not!!!!

DDLC/ Doki Doki Literature Club- another favourite of mine!!! I see a well-written cast of characters I deeply relate to go through extreme horrific horror beyond any of their comprehensions and I’m SOLD!!!

Coraline- the horrors are all consuming, but at least it’s both a visual and extremely well-written treat!!!!

TADC/ the amazing digital circus- won’t lie, watched this show when the pilot dropped and LOVED it, but forgot about it after a while as it didn’t stick with me. Then episode three came out and I’m now reduced to a blubbering mess whose brain is now significantly comprised of two fictional chess pieces. What happened? I don’t know. Send even more help.

LITTLE GUYS THAT HURT MY BRAIN SOMETIMES

Petscop

Fnaf

BATIM/ bendy and the ink machine

BSD

Deltarune

Undertale

Hawaii: Part II

SUBJECT TO CHANGE BECAUSE IM PROBABLY FORGETTING LIKE 20 AND ALSO HAVE LIKE 20 STILL TO DISCOVER

HOBBIES?!2!2!

Ya!!!! :D

Art

The main thing I do on my silly little page!!

…in which the art is mostly unfinished doodles… but that’s okay!!!! We ball anyway

YOU CAN SEND THE CLEG REQUESTS!!!!! ALL DAY ANY DAY UNLESS I SAY OTHERWISE!!!! Do not expect premium quality though lmao. (And also nothing related to DNI. Shouldn’t have to say this but. Uh. Yeah)

You cannot yet commission the cleg :(

you can view all of my art via the my art tag on my blog!!!!! most of it should be there :)

Writing

Currently on a writing hiatus and have been for a little while (5 MONRHS WHAT) but… i do!!!! That!!!! Aka I write fan fiction AGH

Mostly. Heromari stuff. Actually all heromari stuff. I think I have one fic that isn’t heromari and it’s one I co-authored I love them your honour…

Yeah

DNI

Bit of a bummer, but I gotta set my boundaries to keep the riff-raff out!! That being said, do NOT interact with my blog whatsoever if you:

Are a shotacon, lolicon, pedo, etc etc etc. (yucky. Yuck yuck yuck. Fuck off)

Are a proshipper

Are homophobic

Are transphobic

Are aphobic/ arophobic (why. Why are you even still here)

Queerphobic in general actually get OUT!!!!

Actively shit on any of my main interests. Like ACTIVELY go out of your way to tell me how bad it is (what. What is the point. Just go)

NSFW is on thin ice but I will likely just block the tag if you post about it so it doesn’t really bother me!!... however PLEASE keep it away from me I am very sex repulsed and WILL block you ON SIGHT!!!

Are racist/ xenophobic

There is likely LOTS more I’m forgetting so I will update this later… also just saying I reserve the right to block ANYONE no matter if you fit into this criteria or not. If I don’t vibe with you I will politely block you and look the other way!!! No theatrics required, I just want to curate my experience and NOT cause needless conflict hsjshshsh…

Anyway with all the negative stuff out of the way… I really hope you enjoy my blog!!! I’m just here to have fun honestly and express my ideas and passions and work on a little page of the internet so!!!! Hope you have fun too!!!! :D

[sixeyescurseuser]

part 1

Geto is slowing down. He begins engaging in conversation with Gojo, allowing the sorcerer to get within arms length of him. 

Geto works up the nerve to ask, “How do you know where I am all the time?”

Gojo shrugs.  “I can smell you.”

“EH?” Geto raises an arm and smells his armpit. "But I’m a curse. I don’t...produce a scent.”

Gojo shrugs again. “You do to me.”

Geto’s eye twitches.

“Okay, well. I gotta go - nice talking to you BYE!” he says while fleeing once again.

Not even a week later, they meet again during night time, in an open field, where the moon hangs high up in the air. 

Geto perches on a tree branch while Gojo sits on the ground, laying against the tree. Strangely enough, Gojo hasn’t struck up another conversation since joining Geto in his peaceful spot to rest. 

Geto decides to be social this time around. 

“The moon is beautiful tonight,” he quietly comments. 

“Oh, is it?”

Geto glares down at Gojo, the sorcerer obviously noticing the heated look from his companion. Sure, Gojo is blindfolded, but he stated that his six eyes are still powerful enough to perceive his surroundings in great detail.

Shouldn’t he be able to see how bright the moon is?

“Yes, it’s a full moon,” Geto says. “I usually don’t slow down enough to appreciate it.”

Gojo hums, as if in agreement. He tilts his chin up to face towards the curse above him. 

“I see something else that’s beautiful tonight too, but it’s certainly not the moon,” Gojo murmurs softly.

Geto sighs. “Why are you still following me?” In lieu of an answer, Gojo goes from sitting at the base of the tree to sitting on the branch next to Geto’s in the blink of an eye. Geto gasps, turning his gaze away in fear of unleashing his powers on the sorcerer, even though Gojo still wears his blindfold. 

“I follow you because I enjoy your company,” Gojo responds, lacking the usually teasing tone he has when pursuing Geto in their game of tag. “It’s less lonely, isn’t it?”

Somehow, Geto’s cheeks heat up. First, being indirectly complimented for his beauty (whether Gojo could truly see him or not), and second, acknowledging they’ve been sharing a sense of companionship for the past few weeks. 

Gojo Satoru is certainly a force to be reckoned with. 

Geto just hopes he doesn’t get burned in the process. 

***

Gojo finds Geto beyond endearing. The drawings of Geto in history books depict him to be much scarier and violent. 

But he was human too. And Gojo feels this every time he manages to cross paths with the tired curse. Frankly, Gojo wouldn’t be surprised if most of the information in history books are mere rumors that conceal the truth. 

Making Geto out to be something he really is not. 

Well, if he plays his cards right, Gojo will hopefully be able to uncover that truth, and see Geto in the way Gojo himself wishes to be seen. 

When Gojo reveals who exactly the strong and resilient partner he’s taken a liking to, Shoko can only sigh while lighting a new cigarette.

Shoko: “I can't say I’m surprised.”

***

The first time they kiss, they’re sitting together on a bench in the quiet section of a park surrounded by flowers in bloom. This is the first touch of affection Geto has ever experienced, always used and abused when he lived as a sorcerer and hated as a curse. 

However, Gojo’s hand tenderly cups his jaw, guiding their lips together in languid kisses that part with wet smacking noises-

“Fuck! That hurt!” Gojo yelps while pulling away. 

Geto’s snakes, being the biggest haters of their budding relationship, keep biting Gojo’s forehead. Geto scolds his snakes in an angry whisper. 

“Stop it! This is a good thing! Don’t ruin this for me,” Geto says. The snakes respond in their own unique ways. 

“Sorcerer, show us your eyes - just one peek!”

“KILL HIM.”

“Geto-san, I’m hungry~~”

One lone snake actually takes a liking to Gojo and scents his cheek with a flick of the tongue. 

Despite Geto’s occasional embarrassment of his snakes’ behavior, Gojo finds them cute anyway.

***

Gojo and Geto decide on a secluded cottage for Geto to live in. With money and status not being an issue, Gojo took care of furnishing the cottage and land ownership. 

Gojo also has barriers in place so no one - non-sorcerers OR sorcerers - will bother Geto. Gojo insists it’s the least Geto deserves considering the circumstances in how they met. 

Geto wants to cry because he hasn’t even told Gojo half of the shit he’s been through. Yet, Gojo is offering the peace Geto has so desperately craved all his life, right here on a silver platter. 

Better yet, a peace without eternal loneliness. 

Geto is still scared of wandering out by himself because of his powers, so Geto keeps himself busy inside the cottage.

Gojo visits when he can, usually every couple of days. Like a cat who’s been waiting for its owner to come home, Geto greets Gojo with a long kiss. Over time, Geto’s snakes have also come to love Gojo, and they too will place kisses all over Gojo’s face when the lovers are close. 

Gojo makes sure to bring back dozens of treats for Geto to try. Geto’s tastebuds are nowhere near what they used to be, but he giddily accepts the bland food that’s been provided with love and care.

Geto versus technology is an entertaining phenomenon. He’s a curse from the ancient times, and there hasn’t been an opportunity to learn the new ways of mobile devices or the internet. 

Geto picks up texting the quickest, though he uses formal grammar in dense paragraphs and puts a period after each sentence. 

Gojo sends Geto lots of funny videos, to which Geto responds with: “Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.”

Gojo types back :“so harsh, suguru!🥹”

Geto: “I laughed though.”

Gojo: “yes you did, my dear🥰”

***

w/ @no-one-says-hi

***

part 3

[daffi-990]

WIP Wednesday 📝

Me: oh yeah the Eddie breakdown fic will probably only be about 5k

Also me: is 6K into said fic with the end not even in sight 😅

Gotta love when a fic gets away from you haha. Anyways, I was going to share this snippet yesterday but opted for the Buck/Taylor one instead cos it felt more of a tease. This one … I really like the dog metaphors I used in the fourth paragraph and really want to share it with you. Enjoy!

“You planning on moving in?” Eddie jokes as Buck walks into the lounge room with his stuff.

Buck laughs but there’s not much humour behind it. “Uh maybe?” Buck dumps his suitcase on the couch and turns back to Eddie. “Taylor and I we- we broke up.” He spreads his arms to the side in a what can you do way, huffing when he drops them, the sound of his hands hitting his jean clad thighs loud in the silence that his news has brought.

Eddie’s face remains neutral, but his eyes flicker with emotion, the briefest flash of hope lighting up his irises and Buck wants to pause time, to take a moment and ask Eddie what it means. Is it the same hope that beats inside Buck’s own heart? Clawing at the cage of his own making every time Eddie’s touch or gaze lingers for too long to be brushed under the veil of friendship. But just as fast as the hope appeared it’s gone again, concern now etched all over Eddie’s face, his eyes also holding a small sentiment of relief.

Buck knows Eddie has never been a fan of Taylor’s. From the day she sauntered into the firehouse after they’d rescued her, Eddie’s hackles were up, like a dog when someone is unwelcome in their territory. He’d bared his teeth but Taylor had claws and wasn’t so easily deterred. At Buck’s insistence, Eddie had pulled back, grumbling and growling, and when Buck had announced they were dating, Eddie’s growling died down and he became impassive, making sure to be polite to Taylor when she was around. Buck has always suspected though that Eddie took his issues and dislikes about Taylor to someone else, needing to snarl and gnash about the interloper but not wanting to upset Buck.

Eddie has none of that reservation anymore, the news of Buck’s breakup unlatching the muzzle that’s kept his best friends bark quiet for too long.

“I’d say I’m sorry you guys broke up, but I’d be lying.” Buck snorts at Eddie’s honesty, the other man grinning sheepishly before his expression turns more sincere. “I am sorry you’re hurting though. I know you loved her. God knows why.” An incredulous look crosses Eddie’s face that Buck doesn’t think he meant to make and for some reason it sets Buck off, laughter bubbling out of him.

It doesn’t take long for Eddie to follow, his laugh such a wonderful and welcomed sound after last night. It’s a light among the darkness, a sign that Eddie is still here and fighting, not lost to him in the pain of his past.

No pressure tagging: @jamespearce9-1-1 @hippolotamus @thewolvesof1998 @steadfastsaturnsrings @wildlife4life @watchyourbuck @wikiangela @exhuastedpigeon @elvensorceress @eddiebabygirldiaz @evanbegins @rainbow-nerdss @rewritetheending @the-likesofus @try-set-me-on-fire @theotherbuckley @princessfbi @puppyboybuckley @athenagranted @sibylsleaves @shortsighted-owl @shitouttabuck @spotsandsocks @devirnis @disasterbuckdiaz @donationwayne @fortheloveofbuddie @fiona-fififi @giddyupbuck @hoodie-buck @honestlydarkprincess @homerforsure @nmcggg @jesuisici33 @jeeyuns @loserdiaz @ladydorian05 @lover-of-mine @captain-hen @bekkachaos @monsterrae1 @malewifediaz @spagheddiediaz @mellaithwen and anyone else wanting to share something, be it fic, art, gif, music .. whatever you want ❤️

[happy-chaotic-purple-gal]

AHHHH!!! FIRST...

thanks to @itsa-thing @eliunderscore @kiki-y-geno @half-moon-draws and everyone else who thought i should post my story.

Now, here's my unedited first chapter of one of my books. This one has a long name so I just call it marshmallow (dont ask why you'll find out) ill tag it with #amihp if that helps finding it. Tell me what you think, don't mind my grammar, its not usually good.

Anyways... here's something to read and pass the time...

Chapter 1:

I remember the night when the world spun and flames shot from every corner of my vision. 

And they never made it.

It was too real to be reality. And so I grew up as a different person who escapes the pain by performing illusions. But every illusion is still too real to bear. 

“Hey!”

A sound erupts into my space, making me blink for the first time in the last few minutes.

Ebony walks into the small room, the twinkle lights shining off her dark blue dress, matching her sea-blue eyes. Her dark brown hair was in tight curls, bouncing as she moved towards me, hand on my chair. I look up to match her gaze in the light-encircled mirror. My long, straight, black hair looks odd against her brown spirals of life. 

Ebony looks at me, right in the eyes. “Ace, come on! We have to get the show started. Stop staring at yourself in the mirror. Let's go!” Her voice isn't angry, not yet. I consider it a warning. 

She pulls me out of the trailer and into the building, gripping my wrist. Through the back doors and a few hallways, she still pulls me on. Behind the curtain, we find ourselves in front of Lux. Her wavy, blonde hair complements her pale skin, sprinkled with freckles. Worry had stretched across her face, a huge contrast to the smiling expression I was so used to seeing. 

“Ace!” she says, a mix of relief and urging. “We gotta go on!”

“Right! Right.” I snap out of it, straightening my face, ready to go on stage. These performances kept the three of us intact and together. Without them, we wouldn’t have enough money to stay together. 

To think that people pay for illusions.

After the incident, I ran before the police or the doctors could get me. Met Lux and Ebony on the streets one night. Lux was older than me, Ebony was younger. None of us are related, but we pretend we are sometimes. To me, they’re more sisters than friends. 

I grabbed the ace of hearts and pressed it to my cheek, a little trick I figured out myself. After a few minutes and details, I let go of the card. It stuck to my face, as it always does.

I’m not called Ace for nothing.

A black business suit, for some reason, looks good against my hair in a bun and my tan skin. Walking onto the stage, I keep a straight face and bow, then smile and wave. Lux and Ebony step out on either side of me, bowing as well. I grab the mic and wait for the audience to calm down. And then I begin to speak. In front of crowds is oddly the only time I like talking. Maybe it’s because I don't have to look at one person. I don’t have a single pair of souls to look into and think about their life. It’s just lots of people I’ve never met.

My talking continues. I barely remember what I said. Then Ebony rolls up the table and stands beside me. It’s time for the real show to start. 

Being a magician is simple. Just learn a few tricks and talk to the audience. I’ve been doing it ever since I met Lux and Ebony, after… 

No.

I perform simple acts that keep the audience entertained. I've gotten used to the deck of cards. They’re like a friend.

I take a card from the deck and slide it over to Lux as I talk to the audience. 

“Is there anyone who would like to volunteer?” I never liked other people coming onto the stage, but it was a normal and fun little thing to do. A few hands came up, and I decided to choose one in the back for a change. 

“You! In the back with the blue shirt.” I smiled as the girl walked up onto the stage. “Here.” I placed the entire deck in her hand and told her to shuffle. She was actually pretty good, and as I watched, Lux slipped the card into my hand. I flipped it upside down and asked for the deck again. Slipping the card on top, I ask her to pull out her phone and go somewhere she can write something down. While she's distracted and Ebony starts talking, I take the top five cards and flip their position to the back, face down. It's a simple trick, really. I asked to write something on her phone. It's the card I gave to Lux. Before I show anyone what I wrote, I close her phone, sending it back to the homescreen before anyone could change it. I tell her when to stop as I go through the pile slowly, purposely dragging the time along with me. She’ll stop sooner rather than later. 

I was right. 

The trick continues, and in the end, I pick the card I wanted her to have —the one I had written down on her phone. And when she picks it up, then reads what I wrote, she’s surprised. They’re all surprised. They clap and we bow, I go first, and then Lux and Ebony together. 

We thank them all and end our show there, a full 2 hours of little planned-out routines. They thought it was magic. 

But we were just tricking their brains, distracting them from reality.

We created an illusion.

And that's all it was.

And yes, thing, this is the one I've already shown you.

Please tell me what you guys think!!

-Cam/purple/what ever name you call me

[henshin-reborn]

Sooo I'm back... hi :)

I recently deleted my old account, henshin-4. Why? Yeah... lets just keep it to I kinda wanted to disappear. Depression episodes apparently hit harder when you've been feeling fine for a while, especially if it gets triggered by the one asshole who has been ruining your life for over 20 years and who you sadly have to share a house with in combination with, somehow, everything going wrong at the moment. I really thought my depression was gone, but Idk anymore. Maybe it is, maybe these last few weeks have just been extremely bad and unlucky but... it's been hard. I also left home which brings a little peace but where I am now isn't great either.

But anyway... you know, it didn't take long before I started to miss Tumblr so here I am again. A new account will have pros and cons. A pro would be that I am now hopefully rid of all those spam accounts that bothered me daily that I kept having to block, but a con would be that I will definitely miss my boop war badges, plus I lost all my mutuals, and my posts... I do hope to find you all again but I will be combing through the BUCK-TICK tag. I do hope you'll all recognize me (and that no one's mad at me 💀) as I had to find a new username, but at least it is similar to my old one (not using the same pics tho).

I may also be known for having a certain hatred for the BT fandom, but 95% of the BUCK-TICK fans I have found here on Tumblr in the recent past have been great. Of course, every fandom has it's trash, but on this site you'll also find treasure, and you all are that treasure.

Anyway, for those who don't know me, which will surely be the vast majority, let me re-introduce myself.

My name, well feel free to call me Rae.

I am 27 years old.

My favorite band is BUCK-TICK and once I will be posting and reblogging regularly again, you WILL be able to tell ;) I might even repost some of my old account's posts cause why not, they are my posts after all :P

I also love other bands, such as Der Zibet, Dead End, Creature Creature and Vaniru.

I also really really REALLY enjoy side and solo works of my favorites, such as Sakurai Atsushi's solo album, The Mortal, Schwein, ISSAY's solo album, PhI, Hamlet Machine, ISSAY meets DOLLY, even KA.F.KA's few songs, MORRIE's solo work and his recently started new band with 2 songs, Godland, and I also really love Masami Tsuchiya's solo work. I still have to properly check out his old band, Ippu-Do. Other than them I also occasionally listen to Soft Ballet, who I really have to get into again.

My top 3 favorite vocalists, which you may also recognize me by, is:

1. Sakurai Atsushi.

2. Hoshino Hidehiko.

3. ISSAY.

I am also a gamer, some of my fave game (series) are: Saints Row, Payday, Phasmophobia, Ghost Exile, This Is A Ghost, Demonologist, GTA 4, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Baldur's Gate 3, and a lot more games of similar genres. I can't even remember them all as I barely play anything lately (no PC since a while)

Anyway, let me also do some self advertisement cause no one else will do it hehe. So I am also a fanfic author, I mainly write BUCK-TICK/Der Zibet fics but may eventually expand to more fandoms.

For now, you can find my BT+ fics here:

https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nameless_Me/works

I mainly write Atsushi x Issay but have also done Atsushi x Imai, Atsushi x reader and Atsushi x Toshiya (on request) and for the future I also plan to write Atsushi x Hide(hiko), Issay x reader, maybe a threesome somewhere, and all BT members (separately) x reader (since I'm also working on a BT dating simulator, but I will also need a PC to finish that)

I also run a Discord server for all J-Rock related things which also functions as an archive for many bands which you can add to if you want to (just gotta ask for access first so I can give you a channel to work in). The archive so far is mostly links for quick access.

Activity is not required, but it is appreciated. We can also host events here where we can watch tours together. The server isn't very active, but maybe you'll find something here anyway.

It also contains my music drive folder which has edited music files of many artists to keep consistency so all songs are the same volume and quality. I work with 128 kbps (small files, won't take much space), 44100 hz (high quality), and 91.5 db (overall more quiet than newly ripped files BUT this matches Spotify's normal volume so they match well as local Spotify files.)

Of course, you can also join to just talk about music and meet people. Racism, sexism, homo/transphobia, ableism etc NOT allowed, but that should be the norm anyway.

Anyway, glad to be back and I will try to stay positive. As long as I have BT, there is something to be happy about. I almost gave up on them too, but that's not their fault, everything was just going to shit for me and still is tbh but I'll do anything for BT.

Also I've been clearing out my gallery since it was a mess so I barely have any BT pics anymore, but I'll just use the pics I used to decorate my new account to decorate this post a bit as well :)

Well, as I said, I hope to find all my old mutuals again and that you all recognize me. Sorry for the sudden deactivation :(... and that I said BT wouldn't give a shit about me, cause they would, they care about all their fans, and that's why I care about them. They are such great people :)

[theotherbuckley]

Seven Sentence Sunday ✨

Except it’s way more than that but too bad

Tagged by: @jamespearce9-1-1 @wikiangela @daffi-990 <3

Haven’t posted in a while because I haven’t written much and I don’t even have an excuse I haven’t been doing anything except read fanfic but both the fics I’m working on are really heavy so I gotta be in the right frame of mind to write them yk? Anyway here’s a snippet of the healing fic

And then it’s Christmas, and Eddie is leaving too. And it’s just another reminder that everyone leaves him eventually. Every damn time.

And there’s that familiar ache in his stomach, like everyone’s leaving and it all just hurts too much and it’s all just his fault. Buck wonders what he did to make the universe so pissed off that he can’t ever catch a break.

The thing is, Buck gets it, he does. It’s for Christopher. Eddie would do anything for his son, and Buck gets that. It’s just that Eddie didn’t even take him aside and give him the heads up. He just announces it at fucking Christmas, says that he’s leaving like it’s no big deal. He just left, just like everyone else, without any acknowledgement, any regard for how he would feel. All. Just. Gone.

And Buck hates that he feels bad about that. Because it’s selfish. It’s so selfish, it's Christopher, god damn it. And Buck knows what it’s like because he is Christopher; feeling like everyone is leaving and not being able to stop it. Except Eddie can change that. He can show Christopher what real love means. He can be there for him in the way that nobody was there for Buck. He can show Christopher that he’s doing everything he can to stay. Buck understands that. But he feels like shit anyway.

Tagging <3 @disasterbuckdiaz @fortheloveofbuddie @jeeyuns @wildlife4life @honestlydarkprincess @eddiebabygirldiaz @spagheddiediaz @jesuisici33 @your-catfish-friend @ladydorian05 @giddyupbuck @eowon @elvensorceress @watchyourbuck @steadfastsaturnsrings @housewifebuck @thewolvesof1998 @king-buckley @rainbow-nerdss @cal-daisies-and-briars @crowleywasagryffindor @malewifediaz @evanbegins @bucksbirthmark  @callmenewbie @underwater-ninja-13 @buckdefencesquad @incorrect9-1-1 @hermscat and anyone else who wants to share

[pegasusdrawnchariots]

I was tagged by the fantastically fantastic @ninadove to answer the following questions! 💜

Three ships: 1. MSR, i.e. Mulder × Scully (The X-Files) 2. Penelope & Odysseus (The Odyssey) 3. Les Bear-geracs, i.e. Cyrano × Roxane × Le Bret (Cyrano de Bergerac)

First ship: Indy & Marion from Raiders of the Lost Ark & they set the template for p much every other ship I would come to have & u can quote me on that 🗣 look I already said I'm sorry- well say it again anyway! that'll get me back but not in style!! at least you haven't forgotten how to show a lady a good time- boy you're something!!! well goddamn it Indy where doesn't it hurt!!!!

Last song: primadonna girl ... yeah

Last film: SURPRISE you've triggered an unskippable cutscene. May's chronological film history be upon ye (half of which was comfort rewatches it turns out lol) • Le Cercle Rouge • The Little Shop of Horrors (the ORIGINAL, not the musical) • Cyrano de Bergerac (2008, Kevin Kline) • Bullet Train • Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny • Emma (2019)

Currently reading: Don Quixote & also a book of assorted works of the 4 haiku masters whose title escapes me :) It had Issa in it & u know I gotta have me some Issa

Currently watching: I just finished Astérix & Obélix: Le combat des chefs, so I've moved from one star to a whole bunch & resumed my course through Star Trek TNG season 1 🌌⭐️

Currently consuming: as I am about to go to sleep, I am resisting the urge to put my teeth on the line & have chocolate...

Currently craving: something cool & fresh, like an aloe vera drink 🪴

Thank u for the tag, beloved!! I'm tagging @oatflatwhite @dying-suffering-french-stalkers @theimpossiblescheme @longagoitwastuesday @swamp--girl & a free pass to whoever else wants to play! Enjoy ✨️

[tombstuck-writes]

Knucklehead: Part 1, Chapter 1

Genre: Midwest Contemporary Young Adult Romance.

Word count: 27,615. Chapter 1/27.

Summary: “There was only one queer kid in town. That’s what he thought anyway, because it was him. If only his online almost-boyfriend lived nearby, things might be a little more tolerable.”

Content warnings: Graphic child abuse (it's not until part 2, and part 1 can be read stand-alone.)

Author's note:

This story is my baby! I've been writing it for almost 6 years, and it's finally seeing the light of day! A big thank you to anyone who reads it. I'll be posting one chapter every Saturday until it's done. Chapters will be under the #tombstuck-knucklehead tag, and I will also link them on the "Read Knucklehead" page on the header of my tumblr site.

Brandon Campbell got out of his car to start another shift at the grocery store. Brandon lived in Cohocton, Missouri, but the grocery store he worked at wasn’t in Cohocton, because nothing was in Cohocton. Nothing except homophobes and Baptist churches. 

And a high school. The very one that Brandon had graduated from earlier that month. He had done nothing since then except do his part-time job at the grocery store.

He went to clock in and saw a familiar face.

“Rodney, hey,” he said, a few different emotions running through his head. Rodney had been his best friend while he was still in school, and they were even on the basketball team together. But he was a year younger than Brandon.

Rodney looked up at him, nodding in greeting. “What’s up, Bran?”

“Oh, not much. Just making some money. You work here now?” He asked.

“Yeah, I just wanted to make some extra money. I’m saving to move out.” Rodney hesitated. “Um, you been pretty absent since you graduated. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, man. Sorry about that. I’ve just been hanging with Nat and she can get kinda…” He trailed off. In reality, he had been doing absolutely nothing except working and isolating himself.

“Yeah, I get it. Hey, at least you’re starting college in August, right?”

“Uhhhh, no.”

“Oh,” Rodney answered. “My bad, I assumed. Sorry.” 

“No worries, man. Anyway, we better clock in.”

He bought Rodney a coke on their lunch break to try to make up for not hanging out that month. He also received a text, from someone he wasn’t expecting.

Hey. Wanna hang out? It was from Norm, another one of Brandon’s friends from school. He had graduated at the same time as Brandon.

I’m at work. Later tonite? Brandon answered.

Hell yeah.

It was strange that Norm had texted him. Hearing from two of his old basketball friends on the same day a month after graduation was a big coincidence. He hadn’t been that close with Norm when they were in school, either. Well, close enough to have exchanged phone numbers, but still.

Norm texted Brandon his address, and after work, he headed over to Norm’s house.

He lived in Green Meadows, which was a small trailer park in Cohocton. He parked in front of Norm’s house after checking the number, then got out. A dog barked at him. He knocked on the door.

“Bran!” Norm yelled after answering the door, smiling. He looked about the same as he had a month ago. He was wearing an old Zelda t-shirt with a million holes in it, and sporting his same old mullet and septum ring. Brandon had kind of forgotten that he was attracted to Norm, but the feeling came back as he smiled at the greeting, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“Hey, man. What’s up?” he said.

“Dude, I watched this movie. Come in, come in— I watched this movie where these people went on a picnic,” He walked into the house, and saw who he assumed was Norm’s mom asleep on the couch. Norm was slurring his words a bit and his gait was uneven. “And I just had this real bad hankering to just like, eat a sandwich on a blanket outside.”

“Oh, wow,” Brandon said. He didn’t really know what else to say. He remembered Norm always getting drunk after basketball games, whether they would win or not. It seemed it had become a habit now.

“Bran, you gotta have a picnic with me,” Norm insisted. 

Brandon laughed. “A picnic? I guess so. That’s so random.”

Norm was running around his kitchen gathering items to make sandwiches. “No, it’ll be amazing, seriously.”

He made two bologna sandwiches and put them in sandwich bags. He dashed messily into the living room, and grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch where his mom still slept. “Come on!”

Brandon drove them and their picnic supplies to the nearest park. The day was extremely nice, with a light breeze blowing and the sun shining, and big puffy clouds floating through the sky. Brandon guessed he was happier to be here with Norm outside on a nice day than cramped up in his room at home.

Norm seemed to deliberate on the best spot for their picnic, before finally laying the blanket out on a nice patch of grass. He plopped unceremoniously down onto the blanket and Brandon sat next to him. The blanket wasn’t very big, so they were sitting pretty close.

Brandon ate his sandwich pretty quickly because he was hungry from work, but Norm didn’t seem too interested in his. He would take a little nibble now and then but mostly he was looking at the sky. 

“Not hungry?” Brandon asked.

“Oh, nah, not really. I just had to bring it to really evoke the feeling of a picnic.” He answered. “When I drink I don’t really get that hungry. I drink too much these days. That’s why I’m getting so skinny.” He felt at his ribs, no doubt feeling the bones underneath his skin.

“Have you ever thought about quitting?” Brandon asked.

“Oh, nah. I don’t really have any other way to cope with stuff, you know?” Norm answered, looking over at Brandon and shrugging.

Norm put his sandwich back in its baggie and laid down with his head on the blanket and his legs in the grass.

“Dude, you gotta see this!” Norm said and pulled Brandon down on the ground with him. He laughed and landed next to Norm with their heads together. Norm pointed upwards. “It’s a mermaid!”

Cloud gazing, Brandon thought with a rush. I’m cloud gazing with Norm while we’re on a picnic. What has my life become?

“I see a dog, I think,” Brandon said.

“What? No that’s definitely a mermaid. And look over there! It’s a little guy running,” Norm exclaimed.

Brandon was enjoying himself, for once lately. He didn’t want their picnic to end, but eventually they mutually decided to get up and pack up the picnic blanket and Norm’s uneaten sandwich and head back to Norm’s house. 

Norm was headed up the front steps of his house, but hesitated at the door and turned around. “I had a lot of fun today, Bran. Thanks for taking me.”

That’s similar to what Natalie said to me after our first date, Brandon thought, but didn’t say. 

“Yeah, man. Me too. No sweat. We should hang out again soon.” Brandon said, smiling. Norm waved cutely and smiled brightly. Brandon waved back.

Driving home, Brandon felt at once excited and uncomfortable about the time he had just spent with Norm. On the one hand, it was his first human contact besides his parents and coworkers for 2 weeks. On the other hand, he did have a beautiful girlfriend — Natalie— and spending time with someone else he found attractive felt a bit wrong.

He wondered, though. Is Norm still thinking about me too?

_____________________________________________________

Author's Note: Thank you so much if you read this far! I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Please consider following the #tombstuck-knucklehead tag if you want to read next week's installment, and follow my blog for various writing-related reblogs, as well as behind the scenes stuff about my stories.