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jarofstyles · 1 year

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Sugar Sugar 11

they are back 😜 next part is the smut I promise don’t yell at me.

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Wc- 3.9k

Warnings- mention of cheating, witchcraft, relationship traumas

Series Masterlist

—-

Y/N was still thinking about the woman the next day. She hadn’t mentioned it to Harry yet, wanting to gauge his reaction in person. It had unsettled something, made her wonder why the hell she needed to contact him. It also made her realize that Harry really didn’t tell her too much about himself.

It wasn’t that she was necessarily suspicious- though her gut was urging her to ask questions- it was that she realized she had given him a lot of information and he hadn’t done it back. She was a pretty rational person, and figured it was probably because he hadn’t wanted to overshadow her sharing. It probably was. But something made her think Harry was hiding something he didn’t want anyone to know yet.

It wasn’t something horrid. That would have made her senses alert when she met him- but it was something that she wanted to know. She was patient but also a little nosy.

Y/N was broken out of her thoughts when warm hands wrapped around her body, making her squeal as soft, cool lips connected to her neck. As soon as she realized who it was her body relaxed, melting into his own as he let out a deep sigh. “Missed my Sugar today.” His voice vibrated against her skin, raising chills over it. “Long fucking day.” It was 7 right now and she had been closing up shop when he had snuck inside. It was a sort of a routine now, her smoky pink cloud of infatuation swirling around and engulfing the two as soon as his presence braced her.

“A long day?” She placed the swiffer duster down on the table, turning in his arms to look at his face. He looked tired. Slight dark circles under his eyes, hair flopped over on his face and more stubble than usual, she felt her bottom lip slope out in a bit of a pout as she rose a hand to cup his cheek. “What’s the matter?” She could feel he was tired. Just being around him, she could feel his energy was off. Murky instead of the normal crystalline pool of soft blue green she was used to sensing around his aura.

He leaned into her warm hand, visibly relaxing as he rubbed his scratchy cheek against the smooth skin. Y/N had an ability to soothe just with her touch, he was positive about that. Any time she got her hands on him he felt like he could melt. Sighing, he debated on telling her.

It wasn’t something he fully felt ready to talk about. As much confidence as he had in the fact that she was definitely not at all like the people he had walked away from in his old life, he was still paranoid. Nervous that at some point she would look at him differently, in a bad way. The circle he used to run in wasn’t known for the things he had tried to implement in his personality now, with her. He had effectively gotten away without a trace, and he didn’t need that to ruin the carefully cultivated dream world he was living in now.

“S’just… you know when old thoughts haunt you?” He asked, eyes closing when her fingers continued their soothing. “Couldn’t sleep well. Missed you. And I just can’t get some thoughts out of my head. It’s a bit ridiculous too, cause it’s irrational. Doesn’t mean my head got the memo.” The weak laugh was supposed to make her giggle as well, but it didn’t. His eyes opened to see the concern on her face, the rings on her fingers cooling his skin as she inspected him.

“I understand that.” Boy, did she fucking ever. Y/N had struggled with her own personal demons herself, things she wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy, and sometimes they still found little cracks and crevices to hide in. They popped out of the dark to taunt her, to try and ruin her moods but she had worked hard to protect her energy. “Doesn’t mean I like seeing you upset. Your energy is off.” She murmured, sighing as she went to remove her hand from his face. Harry’s palm stopped it, pulling it back.

“Wasn’t done.” He tried to lighten the mood slightly. “Dunno how you can read energy like that, but I trust you in saying it’s off. I just… don’t know how to fix it. All day I’ve been waiting to see you.” There was a pause as he decided to just speak how he wanted, not worrying about being too much in their little bubble. “You always seem to make it better. Make me forget a lot of the bad shit.”

Y/N had a feeling that Harry was struggling with some things. It’s partially why she was waiting to question Claire's appearance. Something told her that he would know, and selfishly she wanted to ignore that for a little bit. Her gut was usually never wrong. How he knew her was a mystery, but her inky, cloudy energy had been radiating possessiveness. Something Y/N didn’t do well with.

Not when this pretty, tired man was hers.

“I’m glad.” She felt the heated tingle in her stomach, leaning up to catch his lips in a kiss. A supposed chaste kiss that he followed when she went to pull away, opposite hand curling around the back of her neck and dragging her back in. Warm and sweet and slightly chapped, his lips pressed against hers harder and made her forget why she had even wanted to pull back.

She gave in. Harry wanted to kiss her and she didn’t see why not, the firm hold on the back of her neck and the thumb brushing her wrist as he held her hand to his face making her shiver slightly. Every kiss with him, she could feel his attraction and fondness for her. Feel how he was holding himself back a little because he didn’t want to scare her. They’d been taking it somewhat slow but Y/N wasn’t sure she wanted to wait too much longer to get intimate with him.

A startled squeak left her mouth as her back hit the counter, his slow steps backing her up having been ignored until right now when she succeeded in pulling back. With a laugh, she pressed her hand to his chest and craned her neck back, smiling at his pout. The man wanted more of her, the greediness evident in his grip on her and how close he had pressed his body to hers, but she didn’t want to do this here.

“Hi.” She peeped, looking up at him. His soft hair that had fallen from its usual pushed back state, evident that it was the end of his day and he had worked hard. He was beautiful, this man.

“Hello.” He replies, his voice grittier than it had been before. “Too much?” His tone didn’t give away much, but a flash of nervousness had gone through his face when she had stopped him. It was always a learning curve, as he reminded himself. Every relationship was different but there was something so familiar about her. Like he knew her soul. The comfort was so natural that sometimes he felt like had known each other their whole lives.

“Not at all.” The girl’s breathy tone made her want to wince. “I just… I was thinking that maybe we can go to your place. We can get food delivered or… we don’t have to.” She peeled up at him, looking away from his chest where her hand was resting on his thundering heart. “Probably more comfortable than the shop.” And if Delilah knew they did anything in the front she would hex her.

“Oh. Oh.” He blinked at her suggestion. “Yeah. Course. Did you want to like… stay over? Cause we have the day off tomorrow?” They were going to see one another anyways. It made sense, and he really, really wanted to wake up to her. He wanted his sheets to smell of her, he wanted to see her in his kitchen with messy hair and sleepy eyes.

“If that’s okay.” Her smile was shy, excitement blooming in her chest. “I’m just gonna run home and grab some stuff, some clothes for tomorrow and I’ve got t’feed the cats. Then I’ll be over.”

“Well, don’t be too long. Or M’gonna come and drag you over to mine. Or worse.” He teased. “I’ll set up camp there. You’ll never get rid of me.” It was a slight joke. Harry was obsessed. He didn’t think she could do much to have him leave her at this point. It would be scary if he didn’t like the feeling so much.

“I wouldn’t want to, but okay, pretty boy.” She shook her head at his antics. “I’ll be 30 minutes at most. Go home and decide what you’d like to eat.”

—-

Harry was panicking slightly.

After a quick shower, he realized that he needed to change his sheets. And his laundry basket was full. So he struggled with the fitted sheet, cursing to himself as he changed the pillow cases, lighting an incense stick Y/N had left and pulled on loose gym shorts. He had thought about dressing in jeans again, but Y/N would want him to be comfortable at home.

“Fucks sake.” He groaned, dragging his hand down his face. Why he was this level of nervous; he didn’t know. It was just the crippling need to impress her. She had helped put together his place, she knew what it looked like and what his bed felt like, but his mind was racing as he walked around to pick up the clutter that had accumulated and put it in its rightful spot- stuffed into the hall closet.

The food had been delivered and sat hot on his kitchen counter, Chinese food being the choice. She had texted him her usuals that he could choose from to surprise her and he had gone with his veggie lo mein, vegetable dumplings and fried rice. He wasn’t a full vegetarian, but he limited his consumption. Taking out two plates, he set them on the counter neatly before he shook his head. “Get a grip, mate.”

Harry had been dying to get his hands on her. When she had gone down on him and sucked his cock into her soft mouth, he was pretty sure he had his soul sucked out of him and she had held it in her soft palms ever since. His hands were greedy and grabby all the time, feeling her softness against his hands and he had been itching to uncover her in any way he could- but now he was nervous.

Y/N wasn’t just a hookup. This was his girlfriend. This was the first time he had done things properly, the first time it had been fully his choice to do so and he wanted it to be as perfect. As understanding as Sugar was, he would die of embarrassment if he fucked this up. The need to make her happy, to make her know that he was the one for her was so strong. All he wanted to do was prove it.

But he couldn’t deny the idea of finally getting to be inside of her, being truly intimate wasn’t making his body hot. He wanted to see her soft body exposed for him, see her laid out on his bed without a stitch of clothing hiding the body he had come to drool over. He wanted to feel her plush thighs against his face and squeeze her waist, watch her as ripple as he fucked into her- he wanted every bit of her raw and vulnerable so he could return it.

The knock at the door broke up his horny daydream, a thick swallow taken before he nearly jogged to the door.

There she stood. His pretty girl, soft gray cotton shorts hugging her hips and a flowing tank top with her shop’s logo on it on her body. It was disgusting, how his body was so unhinged that he felt the twitch in his cock as soon as his eyes dipped down to see a peek of cleavage. He felt like a mere boy getting his first glance of tits. God damn it.

“There she is.” He cooed despite his obvious check out of her body. “Come in. Do y’want me to put your bag away?”

Her smiling face was his reward for all the panic he had been feeling prior to her calmness walking through the door. “Course. Sorry it took me a minute, I grabbed a quick shower.” Her hair was still slightly damp, a sunflower shaped claw clip holding it back with two tendrils in her face that were seemingly too short to be held back. “I brought some dessert. I had this at home and thought I’d bring it.” From the plastic bag she pulled two cartons of Ben n’ Jerry’s. “I realized on the drive here that I wasn’t sure it was smart to bring sweets to your house since you’re always making them, but ice cream is different, right?” She had to laugh.

“Oh! Yes, I actually love this flavor.” He saw the name written on the tub, the swirly writing declaring it as ‘Half Baked.’ Mayhaps ironic, but he really did enjoy it. The fact that Y/N had thought to bring it over was only a plus. “You can put it in the freezer if y’want, I’m going to go tuck your bag away. I’ll be right back.”

Harry left her in his somewhat familiar kitchen, Y/N doing as requested by placing the softening treat into the freezer so it wouldn’t be soup by the time they got to it. Turning around, she got to observing how he had changed the place up. It hadn’t been much, but she saw that he had finally filled the frames that they’d gotten on their excursion. Walking into the living room, she went to the mantle over the fireplace and smiled as she saw that he had, indeed, been using the incense. The ceramic cup that held the incense sticks had far fewer than had started there, ash from the burning on the bottom of the holder still. It made her feel good that he hadn’t used it just to humor her- Harry actually liked it.

Eyes dragged back to the main event, the photos in the frames. One held him in a suit along with a younger woman that resembled him quite a bit in a blue gown. It had to be his sister. He didn’t often speak of his family but he had mentioned her in passing. He was smiling in the photo, just barely. Looking at it made her a little sad. It wasn’t the dimpled grin she had come to adore, the one that would rise right before he said a terrible joke. It was lackluster. Something she had never known the man to be.

The others held other men, a bigger smile on his face as a younger Harry looked back at her. The theme ran along them, Harry being younger and with the same group of boys.What surprised her was some of the locations. One looked to be a beach, the other in Paris in front of the tower, another in a lush looking pool. All places that didn’t look cheap in the slightest. She didn’t want to judge at all, but she had to wonder if he had money- why had he gone for a bare bones place? Y/N loved it, don’t get it wrong. It was comfortable and open, someplace she could be very comfortable living if she had the choice- it just wasn’t the type that had that air.

Maybe it was just some budget vacations? He had wealthy friends? Who knew. She was going to worry about it later. Even with the slight tug in her belly, she turned to look at how he kept the rest of the room. She had set it up a certain way when they’d come back to fix it up and he hadn’t strayed from it. If anything? It was just more clean. A tad more personal. The couch had a new throw pillow, an ornately beaded cartoon tiger that was very cute. She hadn’t thrifted that with him so he must have had it or ordered it later. Her eyes did a sweep, impressed on how the floor was spotless and he managed to keep clutter away when his footsteps interrupted her train of thought.

“I need to know…” She crossed her arms over her chest, startling Harry as he entered the kitchen to hear her voice coming from across the living room. “Have you always been this tidy? It looks immaculate in here.”

“I regret to inform you that I unfortunately have not been.” Tha man sighed, brushing a hand through his hair while he made his way over to her. “I tend to kick my ass into gear when I’ve got pretty girls coming over to spend the night.” Greedy hands reached for her, his fingers digging into her waist as he tugged her into his body to feel some of her warmth. It was obsessive and maybe a bit gross but the man was clingy. Clingy with a capital C.

“Oh?” Y/N’s brow rose on her face as she uncrossed her arms to rest her hands on his chest. “You have lots of pretty girls here to spend the night?” It was a tease, knowing what he meant, but she could see the flash of panic in his eyes as he blinked down at her.

“No! No- not here, not since meeting you. I promise-” His words were interrupted by her laugh, head falling back with a trill of her giggle. Her hands clutched his shirt, a shake of her head given as she righted herself.

“H, m’just joking.” She soothed, gently scratching over his shirt to smooth out where she had grabbed. “I know. I would know if you were cheating.” It was a reassurance but also a warning. Y/N always knew. Most women did. “A woman’s intuition is sharp and precise, darling.” Fingers gently pinched his blushing cheek, leaning up to peck the opposite one.

Y/N had felt it in the past. When her partners would pull away, when they’d avoid subjects. Even people she wasn’t in real relationships with. She could feel that deep rooted icky smoke billowing up from her stomach to her chest, making it squeeze. Harry had never once made her feel like she had to worry- even if her insecurities tried to suffocate her at night when they’d sometime slip through her confident wall’s cracks.

“I would never.” His face was serious despite her joking tone. “I promise. That’s… I know how that feels. I would never cheat. I think it’s one of the worst things you can do to a person.” A thick swallow was followed by sweeter words. “I haven’t looked at anyone since I met you. I wasn’t… I had actually told myself not to date or hook up or do anything as soon as I moved here. Then you came into my bakery and that idea smashed to bits. I couldn’t… Not pursue you once I’d met you.” Strawberry tongue swiped over petal pink lips, hand fiddling with the clasp of her necklace. “I wouldn’t do anything to risk that. I know you were joking but I really never want to joke about that. Hurts to think about.”

Y/N felt bad immediately. Granted, she hadn’t known that would be a touchy subject with him, but she still didn’t like how tight his brows were knit and how he had seemed nervous about her not believing him. For once, she had a feeling a man was being honest. He wasn’t afraid of her knowing, it was a fear of losing her.

“I’m sorry.” She sobered up quickly, lifting her hand to cup his cheek. “I didn’t know it would upset you. I never thought you would. I won’t joke about it again.” Eyes gazed into his, a sad smile raising on her lips as her thumb brushed over the slight scruff on his jaw.

“S’okay. I know you were joking. I just hate that people do that to one another. Y’know? I’d never be stupid enough to put this at risk for something dumb like that. Besides, you’re the only one I want.” He leaned into her soothing touch. “It’s why I've been so.. Maybe weird? I dunno. Sometimes I feel clingy and it’s not normal for me. I’ve never been like this in a relationship but I just want to be around you all the time.”

The admission had taken her by surprise. “Hey… I really don’t think that’s weird considering I feel the same way.” Thank god she hadn’t been alone in this. “Had to stop myself some days from telling you to come over because I wanted to give you space and not crowd you. I was told a lot uh….” Her throat tightened as she went to speak. “When I was in my first relationship, he told me I was really clingy and he needed a break from listening to me talk. From being around me. It hurt my feelings a lot and even though I’ve healed a lot from that, It makes me feel really good that my urges aren’t one sided.” She paused. “But it was never as intense as this. It’s way worse with you. I was a puppy following him around because I wanted any attention I could get back then. I really enjoy just your attention now.”

That was the difference that Harry could relate to. He had been similar when he was younger, but as he got older he was much more picky with who got his time. Now? He hand picked every single person in his life to avoid any sort of conflicts, any betrayals the best he could.

“Well.. I’m glad that you only want my attention, cause if there was someone else I’d have to take up witchcraft and curse them for it.” He joked, watching her roll her eyes before pushing out of his grip. “Hey! Come back here. I wasn’t done holding you yet.” She could hear the pout in his voice as she walked to his kitchen.

“Mhm. You can hold me later. We can do all sorts of things later.” She shot him a look over her shoulder, finding exactly what she had felt. His eyes had been on her ass. Blatantly. He didn't even have the decency to pretend he wasn’t looking, eyes dragging up her body. As if the slight insinuation had rewired his brain.

“And god, am I looking forward to that.” He muttered, running a hand over his face before following after her.

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xuchiya · 27 days

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"CHAPTER FIVE: Receiving Gifts" || kim hongjoong || [a mini-series]

| genre: non!idol hongjoong. ceo! reader. angst. fluff. slice of life | mentions: different language. Korean (Hangul). Tagalog. unfair treatment. love language list

Hongjoong bit the end of the pencil as his eyes skimmed over the sentence in the book. The lamp on his desk cast a soft glow across half of his dark bedroom, illuminating the worksheet beside it as he carefully answered the questions.

“Titanic is about… a story where or were… the ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean?” Hongjoong tilted his head, trying to remember the difference between the words. He was working on an assignment from the language program at the company, which he had requested to take home for the weekend. Balancing his studies with the paperwork he brought back from work was proving to be a challenge.

Bumjoong had been standing by the door for a few minutes, about to head back to his room, when he noticed Hongjoong's light still on. Arms folded, he watched his younger brother focused on the worksheet. “Are you back in grade school?”

Hongjoong spun in his chair, scoffing. “It’s part of the company.” Bumjoong pushed himself off the doorframe and sat on the bed. “It’s a program? About what?”

“Language.” Bumjoong leaned over Hongjoong’s shoulder to see the assignment. He noticed the multiple thin layers of eraser shavings scattered across the book and the sharpened pencils discarded to the side. The book was in both English and Tagalog. Being a secretary wasn’t just about assisting; it involved handling the CEO’s side tasks, updating reports, and being constantly available for phone calls and sudden visits to other companies.

As Bumjoong observed his brother, he noticed the deep concentration etched into Hongjoong’s furrowed brow as he fiddled with the pencil before finally writing down an answer. It dawned on Bumjoong why his brother had seemed so down over the past month.

The language barrier—it must have been causing him so much stress. Bumjoong’s heart ached at the thought of his brother struggling in silence, carrying the burden until it became too much to bear. That had always been Hongjoong’s way. Even when they were younger, he would avoid speaking up, letting things pass in silence or finding ways to sidestep difficult conversations.

“Whose idea was it?” Bumjoong asked.

“My boss.”

“Ms. Ae-Chan?”

Hongjoong looked up, shocked. “You know Ma’am Ae-Chan?”

Bumjoong chuckled, nodding. “Mr. Jackson Wang is my boss, and they’ve been collaborating since the start of her career.”

“Ms. Ae-Chan made this program.”

“Really?!”

Nodding toward the textbooks, Bumjoong explained, “Mr. Wang initiated this program to address the same issue—his staff faced criticism due to the language barrier. So, he offered this program to the entire company. Ms. Ae-Chan faced similar challenges throughout her career. Did you know she spoke Korean before she learned Tagalog?”

Hongjoong shook his head, curiosity piqued. He recalled how hearing her speak Korean during his interview had nearly brought him to tears. It had been a struggle to navigate the company’s language policies, and he hadn’t been sure if speaking Korean was even acceptable there.

“She faced criticism for not using her country’s language, too,” Bumjoong continued, “so she implemented this program to help her staff. But it wasn’t well received, and she faced backlash for it. We never fully understood why, but it took a toll on her mentally.”

There was a long pause. Hongjoong looked up and saw the contemplation on Bumjoong’s face. He raised an eyebrow. “You know more, don’t you?”

Bumjoong sighed, leaning back. “Being Mr. Wang’s second secretary has its perks.”

Sitting up straight, he added, “Your boss received backlash because of her mother.” Hongjoong knew bits and pieces about your family issues. He had heard rumors from his colleagues—about your father being a businessman and your mother, a housewife, who had cast you out. While he wasn’t one to indulge in gossip, the intrigue had always been there, wondering why you had been left alone.

“She did?” Hongjoong asked.

Bumjoong nodded. “Her mother criticized her for speaking a different language, calling it unprofessional. She also resented her for hiring foreigners instead of her own people. One day, she even showed up at the office, causing a scene, accusing her of abandoning the family for work. Afterward, she started spreading negative reviews about how your boss abused her power, forcing her staff to work overtime. Her mother never supported her decision to pursue business, especially after her father left them and never tried to rebuild the family.”

“Her own mother?” Hongjoong repeated in disbelief.

“Yes,” Bumjoong confirmed. Learning these details about you, without hearing it directly from you, made Hongjoong feel guilty. He knew Bumjoong didn’t mean any harm by sharing, especially since he had been helped in his early days as Jackson’s secretary. But still, discussing you behind your back felt wrong.

“I’m quite fascinated by your boss,” Bumjoong admitted, still amazed at your mental resilience despite everything. “She probably started to heal and learn to love again because of her former secretary. But considering her past and complicated family situation, she’s incredibly strong. She puts the company and her staff first, always trying to patch the wrongs and fill the emptiness.”

Hongjoong tilted his head in curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“She does all of this because she knows no one can truly fill the emptiness in her heart,” Bumjoong said softly, poking Hongjoong’s chest near his heart. “She’s hard to love, yet so soft on the outside.”

Hongjoong stared at him in amazement. “She went through all of that alone?”

Bumjoong nodded. Without saying much more, he ruffled Hongjoong’s hair. “Don’t stay up too late,” he said before leaving the room, a swell of pride warming his chest as he glanced back at his brother before heading to his own room.

On Saturday afternoon, Hongjoong decided to visit the mall to buy himself a new suit, coat, and shoes. After putting the last piece of his warm clothes on, his mother hurriedly tied a scarf around him.

Patting his shoulders gently, “Stay warm baby.” He chuckles, kissing his mother on her temple before bidding goodbye.

Despite having enough money in his bank account, the prices made him reconsider, so he settled on buying just a new pair of socks, underwear, and sneakers.As he looked at the newly purchased shoes in his hand, his mind drifted back to four days ago when he had given you sneakers. It didn’t matter now—seeing you working comfortably made him less anxious and brought a silly little smile to his face as he worked.

Hongjoong strolled through the mall, a smile still on his lips. The festive decorations of the season cast a warm glow on the bustling crowd, and for a moment, he allowed himself to be carried by the flow of people. The soft jingle of holiday music echoed in the background, mingling with the chatter of shoppers. Despite the cheerful atmosphere, his mind kept circling back to the conversation he had with Bumjoong. The weight of it all settled in his chest, making him feel distant, even amidst the holiday cheer. It falters but with a puff of his strong breath, he pushes the thought away.

As he walked past a jewelry store, something caught his eye. He slowed down, drawn to the window display where a variety of delicate pieces sparkled under the soft lights. Amidst the necklaces, rings, and bracelets, one pendant stood out to him. It was simple, yet captivating—a small, crystal-clear pendant that seemed almost ordinary at first glance.

But then, as Hongjoong watched, it shifted. The color of the crystal changed subtly, from a cool blue to a soft, warm pink. He leaned closer, intrigued by the transformation. A small card beside the pendant read: "Temperature-sensitive crystal—changes color with your body heat."

Hongjoong’s eyes lingered on the pendant as it continued to shift colors. The idea that this little piece of jewelry could reflect something so personal—one's own warmth—felt oddly comforting. He imagined the pendant resting against someone’s skin, its color shifting with every rise and fall of their emotions, like a hidden connection between them and the crystal.

He thought of you—your strength despite the weight of your past, the burdens you carried alone. The pendant seemed to embody that hidden resilience, the way you adapted to your surroundings while still holding onto your core self.

But he couldn’t help blushing uncontrollably when he remembered feeding you. His hands flew to his face with a small yelp, drawing odd glances from passersby. His face was indeed red from the thought of you—blushing. You looked so pretty when you got flustered, sometimes stuttering when Seonghwa teased you or when your staff noticed your new hair color or style.

Nevertheless, his heart seemed to be freely expressing its love for you. His eyes softened whenever he saw you being considerate and courteous to others, outside of work. He admired how you let others speak first, translated words for those who struggled to understand—just like you did for him. Hongjoong would never forget the time when, in the rain, you had given your umbrella to a lady whose own hand had broken. You had waited under the rain for Yunho, your clothes half-soaked, yet you still had a smile on your face.

To Hongjoong, you were a humble woman.

“Ah– I’m sorry, sir... I do not understand... Yes, yes.” Hongjoong’s head shot up when he heard a familiar voice nearby. When he looked, he saw you talking to an aged man who seemed to be growing impatient. You were fiddling with your phone, but the man shook his head and spoke in another language—Japanese.

He saw you struggling to understand the man, and he knew he had to step in. Hongjoong quickly approached, placing a reassuring hand on your lower back as he stepped between you and the man, offering the man a polite smile.

(“何かお手伝いしましょうか？”)(“Is there anything I can help with, sir?”) Hongjoong asked in fluent Japanese. The man sighed in relief, glancing at you with a hint of disappointment before responding, (“ああ、この女性とずっと話していたのに、何も分かっていなかった！”) (“Ah, you don’t know how long I’ve been talking to this woman! She doesn’t understand anything!”)

Anger flared within Hongjoong, it is not your fault nor anybody’s fault that no one can speak the same language. Speaking in another language had its disadvantages—people wouldn’t know they were being insulted. He glances at you, “Are you okay?” You shake your head, placing a meek hand on his arm, to which you retreat your hand immediately, awkwardly placing them on your side whilst you feel uncomfortable under the stare of the aged man in front of you.

Hongjoong took notice and moved gently so that you were totally out of the prying eyes of the man, “Yeah … I am.”

The man continued, [“英語でラーメン屋の場所を尋ねたのに、彼女は理解せず、他の場所を勧めてきたんだ。私はただそこに行きたいだけなんだ。”] (“I asked her in English where the nearest ramen place was, but she didn’t understand and insisted on going somewhere else. I just want to go there.”)

Hongjoong took a breath, calming himself. [“ 彼女は混乱していただけで、助けようとしたんだと思います。ラーメン屋の場所ですが、ここからは…”] (“I believe she was confused and only wanted to help. To answer your question, the ramen place is just…”) Hongjoong gave the man directions to the ramen shop. The man thanked Hongjoong, even shaking his hand before giving you one last look and parting ways. You bowed to the man, unable to meet Hongjoong’s gaze.

When Hongjoong looked at you, his heart sank. Despite your usual fierce and confident demeanor that you show inside the office, this was the first time he had seen you look so small and timid. You were fiddling with your oversized sweater, clearing your throat, you raised your head, eyes shaking, “Uhm .. thank you Hongjoong.”

He smiles at you gently, “No problem ma’am.” You shake your head, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear, “Please we are outside of work, you can call me by my name.” He moves, facing you as his eyes soften, holding a short gaze at your sweaty forehead and anxious hands, Hongjoong looks around and sighs in relief when he sees a lady ringing a bell.

Nodding his head to the side, a smile on his lips, “Come with me then, Ae-chan-ah.” You stare at his back, confused yet intrigued at his sudden invite. He spuns, thumbing at the ice-cream car, a boyish-smirk on his lips, “Ice-cream is the best medicine.” Realization dawns at you, your shoulders relaxing before shaking your head yet a smile is on your face. You could feel your heart leap from the inside of your ribs.

You and Hongjoong sat on an empty bench just beside the ice-cream car. You spoon enough of the ice-cream yet it makes your head experience an intense brain freeze. You squeal, holding your head in your hand, Hongjoong glancing at you worriedly, thinking you got hurt, realizing that you were just cursing yourself for having brain-freeze.

He laughed, making you pout playfully before you lightly smacked his bicep out of habit, quickly apologizing afterward. Hongjoong watched as you kept the spoon in your mouth, your legs stretched out and relaxed. To others, it might seem odd that he was hanging out with his boss, but to him, that title was just a formality—a name you earned, but one that didn’t define the way you connected with those around you.

“Hongjoong-ah,” you said, startling him out of his thoughts. He realized he had been staring, caught gazing at you as if you were the universe itself, just within reach. Your eyes widened, trying to ignore the pounding in your chest, but it was nearly impossible to tear your gaze away from him as you took in his features.

You could feel the heat rising in your neck, and your cheeks burned even hotter. It all felt so real, too overwhelming for your heart to handle, leaving you breathless every time your eyes settled on Hongjoong.

Hongjoong wished the seat beneath him would open up and swallow him whole out of sheer embarrassment. His insides twisted with panic; he had been caught. His breath hitched as he looked at you, the soft glow of the mall lights above creating a faint halo around your head. You were ethereal, so delicate.

It was not your fault that you forgot to say the words in your head whenever you look at Hongjoong. You hummed, looking down on your melting ice-cream. You wanted to thank him for saving you. Not for a while ago but for how things are turning out for you in the greater good.

You hummed, looking down at your melting ice cream, the sweetness a comfort against the day’s awkward moments. You wanted to thank him, not just for stepping in a while ago but for how things were turning out in your life, all for the better. How you have started to open your heart to the possibilities, reality and most especially, in love.

As the two of you sat in a comfortable silence, your mind drifted back to a few weeks ago when you visited your former secretary. She had dropped by your office to pay you a quick visit but you were out of the office that time and left a note on your desk.

“I’m proud of you, anak.” You chuckle, feeling your heart flutter from the nickname. Being called ‘anak’ or ‘my child’ by someone so dear to you is the same thing as winning a stuffed toy in a claw machine. You hum, playing with the teaspoon, twirling it around the cup before taking a sip. Everything about the visit had been wonderful—meeting her family, her kind husband, and their two beautiful daughters. You both had spent the afternoon catching up over tea, the warmth of her home a stark contrast to the cold, sterile environment of the office.

“How are you doing, really?” Mrs. Han had asked, her voice gentle but probing, as if she could see the weight you were carrying beneath your composed exterior. You waved her off as she pouted at your long silence, chuckling at her, “I’m managing,” you replied, smiling softly. “But things have been… different since you left.”

Mrs. Han nodded knowingly, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Have they found someone to fill my spot yet? I hope they’re treating you well.”

The question had caught you off guard. You’d paused, your mind immediately conjuring up an image of Hongjoong, his determined gaze as he worked late into the night, the way he always seemed to anticipate your needs before you even voiced them.

Or those times where you caught both yourselves tangled in a intense or intimate moment inside your office, holding such soft gazes across the meeting room or even when he covers your bottom when he notice a spot and uses his coat and lead you to the bathroom; ignoring the stares and gave you a spare pants (called Yunho for emergency purposes).

And then, without warning, you had felt a warmth creeping up your cheeks, your heart fluttering at the mere thought of him. Mrs. Han had noticed, of course. She had always been perceptive, and her teasing laugh had filled the room as she leaned in closer. “Oh, I see… someone’s got your attention, huh?”

You had quickly brushed off her comment with a laugh, but the blush remained on your face, and even now, as you sat next to Hongjoong, you could feel it returning. You glanced at him from the corner of your eye, the way his lips curled into a soft smile as he savored his ice cream, the way his eyes sparkled with kindness whenever he looked at you.

“Thank you, Hongjoong-ah,” you said, your voice barely above a whisper, but he heard you. He turned his head slightly, his eyes meeting yours with a questioning look. “For what?” he asked, his tone gentle, as if he was ready to comfort you if needed.

“For being here,” you replied, offering him a small smile. “And for… everything.”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head as if to dismiss your words. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m just doing my job.”

But you knew it was more than that. There was a sincerity in his actions, a quiet dedication that went beyond the boundaries of a mere professional relationship. And as you both sat there, enjoying the last bits of your ice cream, you couldn’t help but feel a warmth spreading through your chest, realizing that maybe, just maybe, you were beginning to see Hongjoong as more than just your secretary.

After finishing your ice cream, you both decided to take a walk around the mall's outdoor garden. The air was crisp, and the glow of Christmas lights bathed the area in a warm, festive hue. Candy cane lights lined the pathway, and children ran around, laughing and playing, their cheeks flushed from the cold. The garden was decorated with oversized ornaments, sparkling tinsel, and wreaths that filled the air with the scent of pine.

As you and Hongjoong strolled through the festive scene, the soft hum of Christmas carols filled the air, blending with the sound of joyful chatter from families and couples enjoying the holiday atmosphere. The twinkling lights overhead mirrored the stars in the sky, casting a magical glow over everything. You couldn't help but smile at the sight of a young couple taking pictures near a large Christmas tree, their happiness infectious.

You and Hongjoong walked in comfortable silence, taking in the beauty of the moment, until something soft brushed the top of your head. You blinked, looking up to see tiny white flakes falling from the sky—the first snow of the season. The cold breeze carried the snowflakes around you, and you instinctively pulled your arms tighter around yourself, shivering as the chill seeped through your clothes.

Hongjoong noticed immediately. Without a word, he slipped off his scarf and gently draped it over your shoulders, making sure to wrap it securely around you. The thick fabric covered not just your shoulders but also your ears, the ends hanging down to your chest. The scarf almost covers half of your face, nuzzling on the soft cotton of the material, your body relaxes. The scent of mint and strong perfume made your heart skip a beat. You blushed, the warmth of the scarf mingling with the fluttering in your heart.

"There," he said softly, his voice filled with warmth. "That should help." Patting your shoulders gently, giving it a soft squeeze before his eyes gazes on yours. You looked up at him, your eyes meeting him in a quiet exchange of gratitude and something more. The snow continued to fall around you, dusting your hair and the ground beneath your feet. For a moment, it felt like the rest of the world faded away, leaving just the two of you standing there in the gentle snowfall. The way the snow falls gently on top of your heads made the whole scenery out of the dramas.

In that stillness, you realized that the greatest gift you were receiving wasn't wrapped in paper or placed under a tree. It was love—unspoken, but felt in every gesture, every glance, every moment you shared with Hongjoong.

That night, you drove Hongjoong home after a quiet meal at a familiar restaurant. The familiar comfort of the place had become a tradition, one that both soothed and reminded you of the constancy in your busy life. As you pulled into the driveway of his house, your gaze was drawn to the Christmas decorations that adorned the place—a few garlands hung neatly along the porch, soft lights twinkling, and a gentle dusting of snow already covering the rooftops. The sight brought a smile to your face, though a bittersweet tug gnawed at your heart. The realization settled in that, once again, you would likely be spending the holiday season in the solitude of your office.

Yunho had extended his open invitation for you to join his family’s Christmas celebration again this year. For the past two years, you had shared warm, joyful moments with his grandparents, feeling like a welcomed guest in their home. But despite the sincerity of Yunho's offer, you hesitated. Christmas, for you, held a deeper significance—one rooted in the ideal of family. You wanted those you cared about to celebrate with their loved ones, their families whole and complete, without feeling like an outsider intruding on their cherished traditions.

Then there was Seonghwa—your half-brother. The discovery of your shared bloodline had come unexpectedly, revealed by a family doctor, and Seonghwa, determined to be a part of your life, had sought you out. He had been a steady presence during the peak of your career, offering guidance and care. But despite the bond you had formed, you couldn't shake the feeling of being on the fringes. His mother, though polite, still kept you at arm’s length, loved and accepted you like her own daughter, and your heart ached, for the closure you had longed for with your father.

The desire to celebrate with a family of your own never faded, even if it seemed like a distant dream. A quiet wish you whispered to yourself each night—a hope that, someday, the holidays wouldn’t just be spent at a desk, or as a guest, but as someone who truly belonged.

A family you would never have, a family you wish you had.

As you watch Hongjoong step out of the car and walk toward his front door, you can’t help but feel the weight of the season pressing down on you. The twinkling lights, the festive garlands, and the snow-covered rooftops should bring joy, but all they do is remind you of the solitude that awaits you back at your office.

Hongjoong pauses at the door, glancing back at you with a soft smile. “Are you sure you don’t want to come inside? Mom always makes hot chocolate after dinner this time of year.”

You return his smile, though it doesn’t quite reach your eyes. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on your family’s time together. But thank you, Hongjoong. Maybe another time.”

He nods, though there’s a flicker of something in his eyes—concern, maybe. “I won’t push you but alright. Drive safely, and… take care of yourself, okay?”

You offer a reassuring wave as he disappears inside. With a sigh, you turn your car back toward the road. You drive back towards your place, halting on the red light. Your ears picking up the faint music of carols blasting on your speaker. You sigh, leaning back as you glance around the city. It is now fully covered with Christmas lights. Decorating the entire place with vibrant colors and cheers while it makes you bitter and lonely. Like resembling the Grinch himself.

Just the thought of the green bitter guy made you chuckle. With a shake of your head, you release your foot from the brake only to step down gently. You catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye. Across the street, nestled among the shops in the town square, a small jewelry store catches your attention.

Curiosity piqued, you park your car and make your way toward the shop. The soft glow from its display window illuminates the delicate pieces inside, but one, in particular, stands out—a simple pendant with a crystal-clear stone. Its beauty lies in its subtlety, but what makes it even more unique is the way the stone changes color, reflecting the warmth of its wearer’s body temperature.

The bell above the door chimes softly as you enter, and the warmth of the store contrasts with the chilly night air. Your eyes are drawn back to the pendant, and as you step closer to the display, you can see the delicate craftsmanship. The stone, though clear, seems to shimmer faintly with potential—a small, almost magical detail that makes it stand out from the other pieces.

The store-keeper, a kind-looking woman with a warm smile, notices your interest. “Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s one of our most unique pieces. The stone changes color depending on the warmth of the person wearing it. Some say it reflects the emotions of the heart.”

You glance at her, then back at the pendant, feeling an inexplicable pull toward it. “Does it… have any significance?”

The store-keeper nods thoughtfully. “It’s said that the pendant symbolizes connection—a bond between people that changes and grows, just like the colors in the stone. Some buy it as a gift for someone they care about, others as a reminder of something special they’ve shared.”

Her words linger in your mind as you continue to stare at the pendant. You think of Hongjoong—his gentle smile, his quiet determination, and the warmth he’s brought into your life, even when you’ve tried to keep your distance. The bond you share is growing, shifting in ways you hadn’t expected. Perhaps this pendant could be a way to acknowledge that, to give something tangible to represent the connection that’s blossoming between you.

It was the season of giving and taking. Christmas. Winter. The first snow had already fallen a week ago, the night Hongjoong wrapped his scarf around your neck. You still hadn’t returned it and made a mental note to do so once you finished the paperwork scattered across your desk. A soft jingle echoed through your office from the ceiling, where a built-in speaker played the familiar tune of EXO’s "첫 눈 (The First Snow)."

You chuckled, shaking your head knowingly. Jongho had likely set up the playlist—he always left a selection of Christmas songs on repeat until you paused it, almost as if forcing you to take a break and go home. Christmas had always been your favorite season: snow, cheerful songs, choirs singing carols, gifts exchanged between loved ones, the warmth of family. But now, that joy seemed distant, overshadowed by your responsibilities as CEO.

Sighing, you returned your focus to the paperwork. Despite giving your staff the week off to enjoy the holidays with their families, you couldn’t afford to rest. For someone in your position, work never truly stopped. The dim glow of your desk lamp was the only light in the room as you pushed forward, the stack of reports on your desk reminding you of the unending responsibilities you bore.

A knock at your door broke the silence. You glanced at the clock—10:35 PM. To your surprise, Hongjoong entered your office, looking both hesitant and determined, his usual cheerfulness tinged with concern.

“Hongjoong? I thought you had already gone home,” you said, setting a folder aside as your fingers hovered over the keyboard.

“I was finishing some paperwork before heading off for the holiday,” he replied softly. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he asked, “Why are you still here? You gave us all a break… but you’re still working.”

You were taken aback by his question. “Hongjoong, I have to finish these reports. If I don’t, we won’t have work lined up for the new year. This is important for all of us. The work doesn’t stop just because it’s Christmas. There are responsibilities—”

“But we all have responsibilities too, and you still gave us time to rest,” he gently interrupted. “Don’t you deserve that too?”

His words hung in the air, and you couldn’t deny the truth in them. You had told yourself countless times that this was part of the job, that being at the helm required constant vigilance. But seeing Hongjoong standing there, with the soft glow of your desk lamp reflecting in his eyes, made you realize how much you had sacrificed. And for what?

After a long pause, you sighed. “Maybe you’re right.”

Hongjoong’s face brightened with a sense of accomplishment, a charming smile spreading across his lips. He glanced at his watch, then at his phone. “Yunho is still here. Let’s go, Ae-Chan.”

You chuckled, pushing your chair back as you turned off your computer screen. “Are you that eager to bring me home?”

“N-No!” he stammered, though his enthusiasm was clear.

Later that evening, you found yourself at home. You placed your bag by the coffee table and lit the fireplace. The flames cast a warm glow across the room, illuminating the side of your face. When you turned around, you noticed Hongjoong standing by the front door, staring at you.

“Hongjoong, for heaven’s sake, sit down,” you said with a chuckle. “I’m not the witch from ‘Hansel and Gretel.”

Hongjoong hesitated, clearly lost in thought. He looked around your living room, taking in the simplicity of the decor—a white Christmas tree near the fireplace, twinkling lights dancing around it, but nothing else. His heart ached as he realized that you must be spending Christmas alone. It reminded him of the favor Seonghwa had asked of him earlier that day when he visited the office.

‘Please make sure she celebrates Christmas,’ Seonghwa had said.

It was a simple request, yet it felt complicated. But Hongjoong wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. As you prepared tea, you suddenly felt his presence behind you. When you turned around, your hands were suddenly clasped in his.

“Hongjoong?” you asked, startled. “Are you okay—”

“Celebrate Christmas with me!” he blurted out, his declaration catching you completely off guard. You stared at him, searching his eyes for any sign of hesitation, but all you saw was hope and excitement, like a child eagerly waiting to open gifts on Christmas morning.

You had already mentioned your thoughts on the true essence of Christmas, but Hongjoong only shook his head, a smile playing on his lips as he leaned in closer. Your faces were so near that you could feel the warmth radiating from him. Your breath hitched in your throat.

“I’ll show you the true essence of Christmas,” he whispered.

And that’s how you found yourself packing for a week away. With a suitcase in one hand and a satchel bag filled with your laptop and gadgets in the other, you arrived at Hongjoong’s family home. After a night of contemplation, you were finally convinced—partly by Hongjoong’s persistence and partly by Seonghwa’s encouraging messages. You parked your car in their driveway, letting out a puff of air as you rolled down your window.

“I hope I’m not intruding,” you said nervously.

Hongjoong shook his head with a smile, opening your car door as you finished turning off the engine. “Not at all. Come on, they’re excited to meet you.”

As you entered the house, you were immediately enveloped by warmth and the comforting smell of home-cooked food. Hongjoong helped you remove your coat as he introduced you to his family. “Mom’s cooking right now. Let me introduce you to Dad and Bumjoong.”

Your eyes widened in recognition. “Bumjoong? As in Kim Bumjoong, Jackson Wang’s secretary?”

As soon as you stepped into the living room, Bumjoong greeted you with a wave and a slight bow. “No need for introductions—I see you at the office now and then,” he said with a chuckle. “But it’s good to finally meet you properly. I’m Bumjoong, Hongjoong’s older brother.”

You extended your hand to shake his, but he pulled you into a warm hug instead. “No need to be formal! We’re family here.”

You blushed deeply, taken aback by the affectionate gesture. It was rare for you to be this close to anyone outside of Yunho or Seonghwa. Hongjoong was still in the process of becoming someone you were comfortable with in more intimate moments, but this hug left you a flustered mess. Hongjoong had to intervene, gently pulling you away from his brother’s hold.

“Yah! She’s not used to being hugged like that,” Hongjoong scolded playfully.

Bumjoong laughed, teasing both of you. “Oh? And you’re allowed to hug her?”

You and Hongjoong both squeaked in surprise, faces flushed with embarrassment, as Bumjoong’s playful remark echoed through the room. As soon as you were released from the teasing embrace, you noticed a tall figure approaching from the kitchen. Hongjoong’s father stepped forward with a wide smile, his eyes crinkling with warmth. His presence was commanding yet kind, and you immediately felt a sense of comfort around him.

“Ae-Chan-ah, welcome!” His voice boomed with joy as he held out his hand, shaking yours firmly before pulling you into a gentle hug. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you. Hongjoong’s been telling us so much about you.”

You smiled shyly, “Thank you for inviting me. Don’t worry, I brought something for all of you … for letting me celebrate Christmas with you and your family.”

Won-Chul chuckles, giving your hand a squeeze, “You shouldn’t have trouble for the gifts, darling. Your presence and your kindness is already enough for me and for all the opportunities you gave to my son.” You feel your cheeks redden, not used to such open displays of affection, but you felt the sincerity in his greeting. His warmth and kindness enveloped you like a soft blanket, easing the tension in your shoulders.

As soon as he stepped back, you heard hurried footsteps coming from the hallway. Hongjoong’s mother— Hyerin, entered the room, her face lighting up with delight when she saw you. She didn’t hesitate for a second before rushing over, cupping your cheeks in her hands with a soft, almost maternal touch. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she took in every detail of your face.

“Oh, you’re even more beautiful than I imagined!” she exclaimed, her voice filled with genuine affection. She placed a quick kiss on each of your cheeks, causing you to blush. Then, without warning, she pulled you into a tight embrace, her arms wrapping around you with a tenderness that made your heart swell.

“I’ve been waiting to meet you, Ae-Chan-ah,” she said softly, her voice muffled by the hug. “I knew from the moment Hongjoong mentioned you that you were special.” You were taken aback by the overwhelming love and warmth she radiated. It wasn’t just a polite greeting—it was a deep, genuine affection, the kind that only a mother could give. You found yourself melting into her embrace, your heart softening with each passing moment.

When she finally released you, her eyes were shining with tears of joy. “Wait right here!” she said excitedly before hurrying off towards her room. Hongjoong chuckled beside you, clearly used to his mother’s exuberance.

“She’s been looking forward to this for weeks,” he whispered with a smile.You place a warm hand on his shoulder, “She is so sweet.”

“That’s her love language.”

Moments later, she returned, holding a soft sweater in her hands. The fabric was thick and cozy, a light pastel color that seemed to glow in the warmth of the room. She placed it gently into your hands, her expression filled with pride. “This belonged to me, but I’ve never had the chance to wear it,” she explained, her voice filled with emotion. “I’ve always wanted a daughter to share these things with, and now that you’re here… I hope you’ll accept this as a gift, from mother to daughter.”

Your breath caught in your throat as you looked at the sweater. It was more than just an article of clothing—it was a symbol of the love she was offering you, a piece of herself that she was giving with open arms. You could feel the warmth of her love radiating from the fabric, and it touched something deep inside of you. Tears welled up in your eyes as you looked at her. “Thank you,” you whispered, your voice thick with emotion. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

She smiled, wiping away a stray tear from your cheek. “You don’t have to say anything, dear. Just know that you’re always welcome here. You’re part of our family now.”

Hongjoong watched the exchange with a soft smile, his heart swelling with pride and affection. He had hoped for this—for you to feel the love and warmth of his family, to experience the kind of care and attention that only a mother could give.

You eyed the sweater in your hand. Evening had already rolled in and you were already settled in your room, just beside Hong joong’s room. You got up and had a quick shower before dinner started. As you slipped on the soft sweater, it felt like a warm embrace wrapping around you, comforting and reassuring. You stared at the full body length mirror, twirling as you examined the cotton and how it fits you nicely. It reaches over your fingertips and around your mid thigh, it feels warm and comforting.

You smile, a genuine smile. It wasn’t just a gift—it was a piece of love, a mother’s love, and it reminded you that gifts weren’t always about material things. Sometimes, the most precious gifts were the ones that came from the heart.

Hyerin continued to pamper you throughout the evening, offering you more food than you could ever eat, making sure you were comfortable, and constantly checking in to see if you needed anything. She even fussed over your hair, smoothing it down, “You took care of yourself. So pretty my baby.”

At first, you were overwhelmed by the attention, but slowly, you began to relax into it. You realized that this was her way of expressing love—through acts of care and kindness, through the little things that made you feel seen and cherished. It was a kind of love you hadn’t felt in a long time, and it made your heart ache with gratitude.

By the end of the evening, you were filled with a warmth that had nothing to do with the fireplace or the cozy sweater you were wearing. It was the warmth of family, of love freely given and gratefully received. As you sat around the dinner table, listening to Won-Chul tell stories, and watching Hyerin smile at you with such fondness, you realized that this—this was the true essence of Christmas. And materials are not just a gift you receive but love and family.

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kay-then-i-guess · 5 months

Text

This redesign page of my Roleshuffle AU Techno has been sitting in my drafts for a while, so let's talk my Techno design! I already have a post discussing why I made him based off an overworld pig, so check that out first if you haven't seen it. I can't really summarize it.

Something I'm doing to show "the voices" getting louder without having to use text is making his pupils get bigger, and potentially have little red glints. I know normally the more insane a character gets, the smaller their pupils gets, but I wanted him to appear a little more animalistic. While the small pupils give a very manic, crazed look, I wanted Techno to look completely focused--almost too focused. As aforementioned, animalistic. I probably won't get to the point of what actual pig eyes look like (fully black with the whites in the back), but I do want to get a similar idea across. This choice also makes him look less aware of any dialogue going on, which I is something I've been trying to do with "the voices". No thoughts, only Blood For the Blood God.

Also! I swear during a Techno stream he had a skin with a blue sweater. Maybe I dreamed it, because I couldn't find it anywhere, but I distinctly remember his chat teasing him for it, with him responding "It's a sweater!" But I digress. Perhaps I just imagined that.

Below is the original design I had for him, and was one of the first design sheets I did (if not the first ever; I don't particularly remember). I was originally not leaning into such a cartoon-y style, but I really got into that style as I started actually making the comic. (His mildly realistic teeth in that top left image haunts me.) In other notes, I think either because of the way I did his legs originally or the way I did his head originally (both were a bit elongated), he didn't look short. Part of that is because if you measure out his full-body shot, every portion of him is roughly the same length. I.E. his head is the same length as his torso, and his torso is the same length as the legs. If you take any character design course, one of the things they'll probably note is that for unique character designs, it's a good idea to mess around with proportions (both length and width). It's tough to figure out, but once you have that idea in, you can make your characters look more unique. For instance, while Techno's longest bit is his torso, in width, he has smaller legs and a bit smaller head. On the other hand, Ranboo's longest bit is his legs, and in width, the widest part is his head (if you count his little floppy-ear-thingamajigs). I really struggled implementing this tip for a while, but woooo, once I did, my designs got a lot better. I still could stand to put it in more, to be honest haha.

Also, personal note: I didn't mean to go on such a long break, but finals have been rough (3 essays, all at least seven pages...yikes). Anyways, I'm going to have a lot to catch up on, but I AM NOT DEAD. The comic will go on! It just might take a bit, and I thank all of you for your patience! :) (Also, I'm still running character asks if you're interested!)

#dsmp #dream smp #dsmp au #artists on tumblr #dsmp comic #dsmp roleshuffle #dsmp fanart #mcytblr #mcyt #mcytbr #mcyt tag #mcyt fanart #dsmp techno #dsmp technoblade #technoblade #mcyt art #mcyt technoblade

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smallnico · 2 months

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I gotta know because I'm having a blast with her in my party: would Minthara and Esper get along well or would they hate each other?

🥺💕

asking me about esper.. on a random weekday..... oh i am so blessed thank u so much

to answer your question though!! it's complicated. i've played 2 full games as esper, one before you could save minthara without killing the tieflings and one after, because i wanted to find out the answer to this very question (among other things).

the short answer is that they hate each other, lol. but there's nuance to that, so! under the cut bc it's long!

from a character perspective, the most in-character thing for esper to do is kill her -- they're half-drow, so the first thing she said to them was a comment about their impure blood, which they did NOT care for, and then she immediately started talking about slaughtering those druids and putting those tieflings that our new allies wyll and karlach care about in harm's way. she gave them basically nothing but green lights that it was okay to kill her, and generally speaking, esper doesn't need much of an excuse (they struggled with recruiting karlach for a bit and they were disappointed they didn't get to kill kagha, for instance), so not only were they forced to kill her, they were pretty excited to kill her.

(sidenote: part of that excitement is a pavlovian response from their childhood. one thing their matron did to help esper channel their urges while she was training them to be an assassin was fully endorse them practicing their skills on anyone they caught questioning their half-human parentage or gender, so long as they could do it well enough to get away with it. this means they react to people being racist toward them with excitement, because it means This Is An Acceptable Murder And I Am Going To Do It Fuck Yes. they racked up a pretty extensive kill count after they got to baldur's gate for this reason, too.)

all this to say, the first time around i didn't get to know minthara and her dynamic with esper much. the second time around, she was a bit glitchy, since the ability to save her had only just been implemented -- a lot of her banter with other party members wouldn't trigger, she was completely naked for the entire span of time between meeting ketheric and rescuing her from the prison, and i think i only got to ask her like 2 questions to get to know her? -- so that didn't help much, but from what i did learn about her dynamic with esper was that oh my god they both hate each other so fucking much. they just cannot stand each other. they have so much in common but the things that are different are enormous dealbreakers for both of them and it's almost hilarious. esper couldn't get through one in character conversation with minthara without her disapproving of Something they said. she wants so badly to enable the behaviours they're actively working to stop cycling through. the funniest fucking glitch i got with her was after we saved her from orin, the narrator demanded on her behalf that i literally pay her so she wouldn't walk away, that was how bad their relationship was. i'm Sure that was a glitch but it was wild.

zooming out from the game though, i mean it when i say esper and minthara have a lot in common (even if esper doesn't quite remember a lot of it). they both grew up in menzoberranzan, both of their earliest childhood memories are of surviving murder attempts, they both trained in combat academies (minth in tier breche, probably melee-magthere, and esper in the hidden academy at house auvy'rae), they were both forced to abandon lolth and the underdark by the dead three, they were both mutilated by orin, they were both forced to live for a period committing atrocities on behalf of a quasi-deity who sapped them both of their will to resist. esper and minthara have similar approaches to violence -- seeing it as necessary and enjoyable, but something to be used sparingly to best effect -- though they disagree on when it should be used. they even have similar senses of humour -- minthara likes a bit of cruel irony, and we all know the line about the man who married a drider, while esper is deadpan with a secret love for stupid jokes and mischief.

where they differ the most is on the matter of power. minthara, as we all know, is a properly power-hungry person who takes great joy in accruing and showing off power. she's completely on board with using the tadpoles, she wants her allies to have the most power they could have, whatever the fallout is for them personally (thinking specifically about astarion's ascension, which she's totally on board with, and dj shadowheart, where she says something to the effect of "shadowheart absolutely shouldn't go through with this ritual, shar is a poisonous influence, but it would be better for Us if she did"). she encourages esper to take over the cult of the absolute -- something i know for a fact astarion does too, but for some reason that line never triggered for either esper game -- and she wants them to take back the cult of bhaal, too. all that runs pretty completely contrary to the way that esper wants to live. esper rejects the tadpoles outright because they find the idea of injecting another squirming alien consciousness into their brain (when they already have the urges and the voice of bhaal and the incomprehensible flashes of emotions and memories from a past they can't remember), especially one that lets other people poke around in their thoughts, completely revolting and terrifying. the power is Not worth it to them, they just want to be left alone for once in their life. they didn't even want to run the cult of bhaal when they actually were in charge of it -- they liked the menial aspects of it, things like bookkeeping and arranging rituals and planning murders and getting their hands dirty, but they hated being the center of attention. weird for a bard, but they were trained to work unseen and listen and manipulate subtly more than anything, so they're extremely out of their comfort zone when a lot of emphasis is put on them. as far as they're concerned, visible and showy power makes a person helpless and a target (one of the other reasons i decided to play again was because i accidentally let gale ascend in the first run, and esper also hated that and thought he was an idiot. and tara got mad at me and that made me sad. sorry tara i'll do anything for you).

minthara seeks power and esper rejects power. she respects shows of power, and they only show off their actual power to people who are about to die, so they can keep the element of surprise wherever possible. so many of their core conflicts would occur because she thinks they're weak-willed and they think she's foolish, and because she thinks they're weak, she tries to control them, which makes esper start snarling and biting, and the game didn't really let me resolve that. it only gets worse when you start getting into things like drow race and gender politics -- bhaal created esper to have as bad of a time as possible in menzoberranzan as both a half-human and a redundant male child that killed their mother in childbirth -- and especially class politics -- since minthara is a baenre, she is (or was) a member of menzo's top house, and esper is an auvy'rae, a member (born into, disowned, and adopted back into) of a house known for purposefully cultivating an uncompetitive and nonthreatening public reputation (so they can focus on hidden intrigue, information brokering, and pulling the strings away from public scrutiny). minthara may not be aligned with lolth anymore, but 300 years of drow politics is hard as fuck to unlearn, and every time she addresses esper like they're a surfacer (which she does, because in-game that's how half-drow are classified -- surfacer by underdark races, underdark by surfacer races) they feel the urge to kill her again, even though they don't have their Concrete memories to contradict her.

then of course there's the fact that they're trying so hard to resist the urge to do violence. esper has no problem with normal violence, but they try to manage their internal drive toward Cruelty by focusing those impulses on people who really deserve it. bhaal's influence makes them feel a deep and disorienting loss of control during moments of violence and cruelty, so they go from "yes violence good let's do violence" at the beginning of the game to "i'm really good at killing and it feels so fucking good to do but i can't, i don't want to be ruled by the drive to do harm just because i can justify my focus on it because i'm good at it, i want to learn how to be something else, something that hasn't been tainted by my terrible past. so i'll try very hard to kill only when it's appropriate and i'll try to rely on my friends to tell me when that is". smash cut to minthara telling them to cut off a child's hand for pickpocketing lmao,

so, yeah. i love minthara, but esper really doesn't lol. i think she just provokes the Old Esper to come out of them way too often for their comfort -- they want their memories back, but they'd like to be in control of the process. i've tried to write party banter between esper and minthara and it always comes out extremely hostile and unpleasant. unfortunately, the most in-character thing for esper to do is kill her and really enjoy doing it. if they had the ability to understand each other's core approaches to power and violence, though, i think they could be pretty good friends, especially seeing as astarion has a lot of the same issues as minthara does vis a vis power and violence in contrast to esper, and esper is closer to astarion than anyone else in the party.

i have another durge run going where i'm going to try and be evil to get to know a different side of minthara, though! i might change the answer depending on what i can learn there.

#the askbox #esper #neku-morne #not tagging minthara here bc i don't want to clog her tag

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divinesangel · 2 months

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how does jyp view itzy overall, their music direction and will he give them more age appropriate songs?

— how does jyp view itzy, their music direction, and will he give them more age appropriate songs?

when it comes to itzy, it seems that his feelings towards them have changed significantly since their debut. the initial vision he had for itzy has shifted, and he no longer seems attached to those original plans or concepts. this is quite disheartening. he appears to be confused about how to move forward with them or what new concepts to introduce. although he recognizes that this confusion is affecting the girls, it seems like he is reluctant to fully confront the issue, perhaps because he doesn’t know how to address it. it might also feel like the girls are less invested than they were before. as a result, they could sometimes feel a bit isolated or unsupported. there are still many potential ideas he could explore for itzy; it’s just that he’s currently struggling to see or implement them.

he realizes that the current music direction isn’t ideal. he’s quite disappointed that the recent songs haven’t been well-received, as he initially believed they were strong. however, he’s encountered a range of opinions that didn’t align with what he expected, leading to his disappointment. he appears to be weighing various concepts and sounds, still trying to find the right fit because he’s not satisfied with any of them at the moment. it seems he will focus on developing a particular track or sound, potentially introducing something new for itzy. while there is uncertainty, it looks like he’s prepared to take a risk with this new direction, hoping to bring a fresh sound to the group. i just hope i'm right. i'm also seeing that he's still working on the tracks. it appears there’s something specific about the ep or mini-album they’re planning to release that he’s still fine-tuning, and it’s unclear when exactly it will be completed. however, once this particular aspect is finished, they are expected to announce the comeback immediately. it doesn’t seem like there will be any significant delay beyond that.

i'm uncertain whether he will decide to give itzy more age-appropriate songs. it seems he has considered this possibility but is hesitant because he's worried that it might negatively impact them. while there’s a chance that new, more mature-sounding songs could slightly shift their image towards a more mature vibe, it’s unlikely to be a dramatic change. right now, he seems uncomfortable with the idea of moving towards more age-appropriate music, fearing it might disrupt the current concept or alter itzy's established image. he appears to be cautious about changing their direction because he’s targeting a specific demographic, and altering their sound might affect this. this situation is reminiscent of twice’s earlier transition, where they initially had a cute concept and saw a shift in their fanbase when they evolved to a more mature image. it feels like he’s trying to avoid a similar outcome. he doesn’t want to stray too far from the sound they are currently making.

this is the energy right now, so HOPEFULLY he will have some kind of epiphany and changes his mind.

#itzy #jyp #kpop tarot #kpop readings #itzy readings #ryujin #yeji #yuna #chaeryeong #lia #tarot #tarot reading #psychic #psychic readings #kpop reading

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youremyheaven · 4 months

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I'm the mantra purusha anon 💫

To detail a little bit on the practice, it is recommended by David Frawley in his book Mantra yoga and the primal sound. Claire insists a lot in her course to implement the practice in a daily routine as it is supposed to bring awareness about yourself, your false limitations, etc.

So as it presents, mantra purusha consists in decorating your body with mantra sounds. For each part of your body, you recite a beej mantra associated with the mantra of a deity that you choose/Claire recommended for you. In her lesson, Claire says that doing mantra purusha is the best way to gain in magnetism and beauty as it generates an healthy astral body that improves your physical one (if that's make sense 🤔). I've been doing mantra purusha for several weeks now and tbh I've seen great results.

As an ashlesha girl, I struggle A LOT to feel abundant and secure when sharing my energy with others and sometimes it's dangerous mindset to have because I tend to be a bit vampiric and this tendency can turn a healthy relationship into a toxic one😬 Since Claire's course is focused on accumulating sexual energy to build a strong spiritual foundation, it has really helped me to feel more "grounded". I know you have your thoughts concerning her course 😭 but really, it depends on your goals (beauty, spirituality, or anything else).

From my experience, I would recommend it !

If you have other questions I'm happy to help 🩵

TYSM for replying!! <33 love u<33

i have worked with mantras but the concept of chanting a beej mantra for each part of the body is entirely new to me. i'm assuming deities are assigned on the basis of our moon nakshatra? but how does one pick several deities for different body parts?? could you elaborate? 🥺

wait, how do you accumulate sexual energy? through chanting or has she suggested other practices??

i mean the only thing that irks me is her appropriation of hinduism and the male centricity of her videos. i dont think a course that helps one cultivate beauty or magnetism is problematic tho<3

that's sooo great!!! im happy you're seeing changes<33 esp the Ashlesha nature of being energetically restrictive, you have fully sold me on the course by saying it helps you feel grounded bc ik how hard that can be as an Ashlesha native.

if you don't mind👀 what are other practices that claire recommends?? claire's beauty journey is sooo magical to me, im dying to know more 😩🥺

thank you so much for taking the time out to let me and the others know about mantra purusha<333 hope you have a good day<333

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call-me-copycat · 2 years

Text

I'm so mad! I saved the ask sent to me, but it disappeared when I went to check on it! I do hope they know that I finished it, but now I'll make sure to screenshot every ask when I get them so this doesn't happen again!

Hello and thank you for your request! Please don't ever worry about being too much, I love writing complex stories, they're my favorite!

I'm very sorry this is so late, I've been rather busy for awhile, but lately I've been cranking out as much writing as I can! I sat down and wrote for 4 straight hours, so I'm sorry if it feels a little rushed!

Also, I don't know if it's okay with you or not, but I made it a little horror themed, it's not the main theme, but it's still there in case you didn't want that (๑////๑)

Please feel free to pop by and request whenever you'd like! It makes my day! (ृ´͈ ᵕ `͈ ृ )

♡ ••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈•• ♡°°°♡ ••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈•• ♡

Declaration of Distortion

Welcome! - Introduction and request rules (if you want me to write for you, or if you want to know who I am)

▶ Characters: Mentor Aizawa & Gender-Neutral Reader (platonic) + Shinso & GN Reader (platonic)

▶Genre: A little bit of horror+ some fluff sprinkled around

▶ Summary: A courageous reader with striking white wings and a powerful quirk falls victim to a malicious mushroom spore quirk. Along with many others, they are ruthlessly mind controlled and forced to battle numerous heroes, and their own mentor Aizawa, a formidable hero in his own right.

▶ Warnings:

- Some body horror if you think about it

- Unconsented Mind Control (Not Shinso)

- Decay/Rotting flesh (for a moment at the end)

- Blood/Wounds (Not too graphic)

- Paranoia/Mental Instability

- Infection due to process of a quirk

- Per the request, the reader has wings

- While there is no romance, there is still platonic love

▶ Word Count: 15,420

(The Mother of all my stories. My phone/Tumblr crashed a total of 13 times while trying to post this. In case you didn't know I only have a budget phone that works similar to a brick)

"Ready... Start!"

Upon hearing Eraserhead's signal, both you and Shinso lunged forward at the same time, fully content with the goal to bring the other down.

It was a muggy day, the clouds always filling the sky and casting their shadows over the little seaside town. Wet droplets of the previous night's rain still clung to the blades of grass that you all were training on.

Aizawa had recently taken you under his wing alongside Shinso, and had been training the both of you excessively for the past few weeks in order to prepare the two of you to join alongside him during patrol. He was being extra cautious, as he knew that underground hero work was much more hazardous and unpredictable compared to regular hero work, and he wasn't going to lose either of his students.

Worried for the both of your guy's safety, Aizawa wanted to implement extra training and taught you many techniques in case things were to ever go south, too filled with paranoia to recognize the signs of exhaustion the two of you were dealing with due to the extra work.

Watching the both of you train with stern eyes, Aizawa was beginning to notice large improvements, not just in one but in the both of you. Shinso no longer went straight ahead when fighting or throwing a punch, and you no longer tripped over your wings nearly as much as when you first began.

The wings were your entire quirk, and oddly enough you didn't really use them to fly (no matter how much you trained, you struggled to stay aloft), but they were rather a mix of offense and defense. Large and white, they had the ability to solidify into metal, creating a sort of shield to protect you and others if needed, and- in a similar manner to Hawk's quirk- the individual feathers had the ability to shoot off as projectiles. Although they weren't nearly as sharp at his, they still gave a nasty sting as they flew with the speed and force similar to that of a bullet.

Currently, Aizawa was having you both train on hand to hand combat without the use of quirks (although you didn't believe it was all that fair at Shinso was allowed to use his metal staff). The reason being Aizawa wanted to check up on the progress the two of you were making, wanting to determine the place you were at so he could adjust future training lessons accordingly.

As soon as Aizawa gave his order, Shinso lunged and swung his staff at you immediately, trying to catch you off guard. It was in vain however as you tilted your head to the side which made him miss, combined with the fact that you had to swerve your body to the side as well to dodge his additional kicks.

Frustrated, he swung his leg up at your head, and in an act of panic you grabbed onto his ankle to keep it from making contact. This in turn caused you to fall to the ground on your stomach as he lowered his foot, and you nearly got jabbed with his staff as he stabbed it down at you like he did earlier.

You went to attempt to stand up again, as it was commonly known that whoever was on the ground was most vulnerable. Shinso knew this as well, and fought to keep you down by putting his staff under your leg and flipping you over and onto your back so he could gain the upper hand, since if you were on your stomach then your wings would protect you and only serve to get in the way. Irritated, you tried jumping up onto your legs, only for your jump to be interrupted by him swinging his staff at your head, which kept your upper torso on the ground as you needed to dodge, while your legs were bent in a sort of crab-walk pose.

*Kind of like this (this is what I went off of)

Contorting your body so the staff wouldn't make contact (you knew from personal experiences that it hurt severely), you moved to the side as he lunged at you again with the staff, and this time you grabbed it to keep him from moving it. When he went to pull it out of your grasp, you clung on and used it to your avantage to get up from the ground again, the extra weight on the end of the staff causing Shinso to lose his grip. Throwing away the staff so Shinso couldn't get it, you looked directly at him (trying not to laugh at his exasperated expression), and the two of you went to lunge at each other again, but right before the either of you could get a hit in you both instantly halted as Aizawa blew his whistle, indicating he had seen enough and that the exercise was over.

You had both succeeded Aizawa's expectations, and so he decided that you two were ready to accompany him on his patrol. Although paranoia still clung to his thoughts, Aizawa knew that you were well trained enough to protect yourselves in case of an accident. He had seen the effort that you two put in when it came to surpassing his training checkpoints he made when it came to teaching the both of you, and he certainly wasn't going to turn a blind eye to the sheer exhaustion that you suffered since you were pushing yourselves.

On the walk back to the dorms, Aizawa began to explain what things you and Shinso should expect when it came time for the mission. As he listed off the numerous precautions and emergency procedures, you couldn't help but get lost inside your own mind, the beauty of the post-storm environment radiating a calm tone.

The sun was beginning to set as it was late in the evening, you all had been training together as soon as school was let out, and in a way you were grateful that the weekend was tomorrow (although you knew chances were you might end up training even more).

The golden rays of the lowering sun were making their way through the numerous plants and buildings that filled the UA campus, everything glittering with a lovely shine from surfaces that were still wet with drops that were caused from the recent storms that had been going on lately. Birds made their way overhead every now and then, and the air was quiet and calm, the only sounds filling the air being Eraserhead's monotonous voice and the light steps the each of you took.

You were currently balancing on the slightly higher edge of the sidewalk, hanging your arms out to the side in the shape of a "T" to help you balance further as you walked and listened intently to Aizawa speak. Shinso was walking beside you, grumbling to himself everytime your wings got in his face (you knew he didn't mean any harm- besides, you liked messing with the guy).

As Aizawa continued the mundane speech about hero safety and villain techniques to look out for, something he said caught your attention.

"- of course, a student isn't expected to completely fix the situation themselves, but it is worth noting that all student interns are given high expectations. Now that that's out of the way, let me explain the mission that we're going to be looking for."

Aizawa turned to look behind him at the two of you, face hardened and serious. The once light-hearted mood plummeted and took a more solemn face instead, and you hopped down from where you were standing, going beside Shinso.

"This case is more of a serious one compared to what the others are working on. Lately, I'm sure you've heard from the news about the numerous missing people, yes?"

Upon reviving two silent nods, Aizawa continued, arms crossed and fatigue pressuring him persistently.

"Now, we don't know anything about what these missing people have in common, only that they were by themselves and didn't arrive back where they were heading. Another thing they all had in common was the fact that they disappeared away from any witnesses and cameras, meaning that whoever is behind this knows what they're doing and is actively planning it out."

Shinso raised his hand, speaking right after Aizawa paused.

"When I saw that case on the news, didn't they say that all the victims had some kind of strong quirk? Maybe-"

Aizawa cut him off, shaking his head.

"Sorry, but that's just a rumor. Looking over each of their files showed that most had weak quirks, with only a small handful having semi-useful quirks. Some were even quirkless, so that crosses out that idea."

When you thought back on it, you realized that you had indeed saw a news report on this particular case, but it was so vaguely described that you didn't really see any difference in it from the other numerous cases that had happened in the past. Nothing really stood out to you, and you were surprised that Shinso had even paid attention enough to remember it.

"We thought it was a lost cause, with cases popping up randomly without pattern and without a targeted victim, it was nearly impossible to try and get close to solving it. But recently, a woman that had fallen victim to this mystery fortunately had a tracker implanted behind her ear since she was prone to wandering off because of her unstable mental state." Aizawa paused, letting you both take in the info since he was worried he was coming off too fast.

"So that means... We can track down the woman.." you began.

"And possibly find out where the others might be as well." Shinso finished for you.

"Bingo. Tomorrow, get plenty of rest during the day because we'll be starting as soon as the sun sets, and my work schedule is often unpredictable and can leave us working throughout the night and until the sun rises again. I'll explain what we'll be doing beforehand, and feel free to ask any questions if you have them. Better safe than sorry."

When you made you way back to the dorms, it finally hit you. You were finally going on your first mission tomorrow! Too filled with nerves and excitement, dinner was one of the last things crossing your mind as you went up to your room instead, politely greeting your classmates beforehand.

You stayed up most of the night contemplating on what might happen, and what things you might run into. Sleep was non-existent, and you wanted to make sure that you were mentally prepared and to especially make sure you wouldn't slow everyone down. Shinso and Aizawa were rather talented at keeping themselves hidden in the shadows, but you struggled to keep of up with their abilities at times, your wings that normally held you up high being the thing that slowed you down and limited your abilities.

With newfound determination, you took to the internet to look up how others in the world delt with their wings, as it was pretty common to run into someone with some type of them, always a little different from each other. You found a few online blogs that helped you understand the limits and anatomy of wings, but none that specifically stated how to sneak around with them. Regardless, you still were going to help in any way you could, and so all night you stayed up preparing.

It wasn't until an alarm went off on your phone that you realized it was morning, and when you went to open your curtains a bright stream of sunlight hit you directly in the eyes, cementing your realization. Since you spent all night awake, your body and mind were both exhausted from the intense training and lack of rest. After eating a quick meal and greeting your classmates once more, you finally succumbed to sleep, allowing yourself to fly away in the dark depths of your mind.

"Bzzt..."

Grumbling, you opened your eyes to be greeted with nothing but pitch black darkness. For a quick second, you almost went back to sleep as you thought you set your alarm incorrectly, only to immediately jump up at the realization.

A quick knock on your door further helped you remember what was planned, and Shinso's voice spoke up right after.

"Turn off your damn alarm, it's been going off for ages. Also Sensei said he wants you to get ready 'cause we're leaving in an hour."

And with that you concluded that he must have left, before scrambling for your phone to turn off the repeating tune coming out of it.

After getting into your hero outfit and grabbing your duffle bag full of supplies, you left your room and went down to the common room in search of Shinso. Once you made your way down there, you instantly saw Shinso and Aizawa both already there, Aizawa sitting on the couch and Shinso standing in front of him, both holding a conversation that came to a slow when you came into the picture.

Embarrassment rushed through you as you began to think that you were the last one finished and that they were both waiting on you this whole time.

"Sorry if I'm late, I didn't know we were supposed to get up earlier. It won't happen again."

Aizawa cocked an eyebrow, "You're not late? You and Shinso are both on time. That gives us enough time to prepare and possibly get some breakfast in the both of you since you're still children who don't just run on a stale cup of coffee like me."

Ah, that made a little more sense, Shinso must've just finished up a bit earlier than you did. You blamed your awkward conversation on your nerves, not knowing how to get them to calm down.

"I know a good shop around here that's still open, it's run by an old friend of mine, so he'd know why we're there since I've been going there before going on patrol or on a mission since I first started."

You and Shinso nodded again, and as you all walked out of the dorms Aizawa began to catch on to your nervousness. Leaning over so he could get closer to you, you noticed this and listened.

"You know, Shinso's just as nervous as you are. He just doesn't show it since he's worried about coming off as weak." Aizawa whispered to you in an attempt to reassure you. Your eyes widened at this and looked at Shinso who was walking ahead of you two, completely oblivious to the conversation.

"Don't worry about a thing, kid. I've seen you train, you'll be okay", Aizawa reassured, patting a firm hand on your shoulder before walking off to lead you all.

This news helped you understand that you weren't the odd one out, and your nervous thoughts calmed down a little upon realizing this.

After waking for a bit, you and Shinso were brought to a little food stand, being run by only a single elderly man. Upon noticing Aizawa and the two of you behind him, you noticed his face light up.

"Shota! How are you, my old friend?", Turning to look behind Aizawa, the man took a glance at you and Shinso standing behind him. "And who are these little ones that follow you like a duckling would to their mother?"

He had a warm, friendly smile, and didn't seem the slightest bit tired when compared to the dark night sky. Though he spoke with a bit of an accent, you found that he was still easy to understand.

"They're students of mine. We're going on a mission soon and they needed something to eat."

Once again, slight embarrassment caused you to warm as it sounded like Aizawa was referring to little children when speaking about the two of you even though he's seen the work you put in to train. Turning to Shinso, you noticed that he was unbothered, simply scanning the little sign that advertised all the foods that the man made with a look of disinterest.

"Oh, yes! Young ones need to eat, it's very important! I'll make something for them, know anything you'd like?"

"I'm good."

And with that, you followed Shinso and sat down next to him on a bench that was placed behind the food stand.

After getting some warm soup to fill your stomaches, Aizawa led you to his office at a special institute for underground heroes, seeing as he never bothered in getting an agency of his own even though he's been offered many times in the past.

Once you both arrived, Aizawa went over the plan with you and Shinso, trying to get you both as used to how things ran over there as a real underground hero as possible.

After about 20 minutes of going over the plan, the hour of prep time you had initially started with was almost up, and things had to be started soon.

The plan was set. Since missions normally don't get solved in a day (especially mystery ones such as the one you were assigned), the first day would typically be a simple search for any clues and witnesses, just gathering as much information on the topic as you can. The 2-5 days after will typically be when things start getting put together, and any days after that would be when direct action will take place.

This was a rough template to go off of as every mission is different than the other, but Aizawa needed to give you guys something to go off of for reference.

Aizawa had pinpointed the target's location of the lady that had the tracker implant, and found that she was in a cave of some sort, possibly since it would be a smart hiding place seeing as that cave in particular was deep and had been infamous in the past for getting people sick due to the mold and mushroom spores that filled it.

With this newfound information, you three geared up and trecked to the forest, minds sharp and clear, ready for anything that was thrown at you.

It was quite a walk there, and by the time you reached the forest your legs were starting to feel a bit sore, but nevertheless you continued on, pushing past overgrowth that tickled and scratched at your legs.

Aizawa was walking in front of you with the tracker in his hand and was focusing intently on it while his other hand pushed the meddlesome plants to the side as he walked. Shinso walked to the side of him, trying to do what he can and show off any skills of his, although all that the two of you could do at the moment was simply walk and follow.

Watching Aizawa for any signs of being near the location, you both came to a stop when he did, looking around for any signs of a cave. Despite looking around, all you saw was lots of plants and other undergrowth, and not the slightest sight of any cave nearby.

You saw Aizawa do the same thing, look around and shake his head in confusion. He turned around and walked back to see if he missed anything, you and Shinso following obediently. Aizawa shook his head again, muttering to himself as he turned around as walked back again, this time Shinso spoke up.

"What's the matter?"

Aizawa stopped and sighed, turning the tracker towards the two of you. Looking at the blinking dot and the one that indicated you three, it seemed as though you had already reached the cave. Looking up, you still didn't see any signs of a cave nearby, and now worry was starting to eat away at you.

Aizawa grumbled, "I don't know if it's bugged or if someone purposely messed with it. If we don't find anything then we'll have to go back."

Your stomach dropped when he said that. You had been looking forward for this mission for the longest time, and now there was a possibility for it to end before it even started?

Seeing the other two begin to make their way back, you panicked and tried catching up to them. However, your wings weren't fit for the forest as it was dense with growth from the recent storms that had been happening lately.

Your wing got caught up on a vine, and the thorns caught onto it further as you tried pulling it away. Tugging with all your might, you ripped your wing free, only to fall flat on your face, sliding a bit from the tugging.

Aizawa and Shinso heard the commotion and turned to see you fall, rushing to go help. Trying to stand up and not get any further entangled, you stepped back from a cluster of sticky plants, only to feel a dip behind you, sending you falling backwards as you were on the top of a slope.

A little like that ⁠(⁠･⁠◡⁠･⁠)⁠/

You heard Aizawa and Shinso shout your name, sliding down skillfully after you so they can help. You slid on your back, hardening your wings so they'd protect you as you continued down the slope. The ground was still damp, and the wet soil and plants made a perfect mixture for sliding a long ways down without stopping.

You finally slid all the way down into a sort of ditch that had stagnant water sitting on the bottom, but luckily for you the numerous plants that swallowed the bottom of it protected you from the water and provided a soft cushion for you to fall onto.

Landing upside down, you struggled to get back up onto your feet as your hardened wings stuck into the wall of the trench. Tugging them out, you finally managed to sit up into a crouch. You heard Aizawa and Shinso calling out to you, and just as you were about to call after them, something in the trench caught your eye.

There was an oddly shaped cluster of plants on the wall of dirt, and nowhere else. You would've brushed this away normally, but maybe since the adrenaline was still coursing through you it made you extra alert.

Standing up and patting the dirt and crushed plants off of you, the reached over and hesitantly pulled at the plants, only to see that they were purposely tied and braided together to create a net or mesh to cover something when you took a closer look.

Now confident that something was up, you pulled off the net cover, and found the entrance to a large opening in the wall. You had found the cave.

Looking behind you, you shouted to the other two, "Guys! I found it!". You wanted to run towards them, but stayed since you didn't want to lose track of the cave.

Aizawa was the first to shout, "Found what?!"

Behind him, Shinso was panting as he slid down the rest of the slope next to Aizawa, careful to not accidentally fall into the ditch like you.

They made their way to where you were, and Aizawa skidded into the ditch where you were without hesitation, immediately going over to you and checking you over for injury. Shinso slid in a little more hesitantly after Aizawa, and went over to you to flick you on the forehead.

"Idiot. Only you can slide down a hill and into a wet ditch."

You rubbed your forehead, then remembered and gestured to the opening you found.

"Look! "

"What is it?" Shinso asked jeeringly.

You huffed a bit, not in the mood to deal with his teasing.

"It's the cave! I found it, so we don't have to go back!"

Aizawa silently approached the entrance, and looked down at the tracker to see that the dots perfectly aligned this time. He rubbed the back of his neck, still a little apprehensive due to the glitch out that happened earlier.

"I don't know... How would we know that this is the right cave? We don't have any proof..."

You picked up the tied plant mesh and gestured for Aizawa to take it from you.

"I found this covering the front so it would be better hidden.."

Aizawa looked closer at the plants, and found truth in your words. He handed it to Shinso so he could learn from it, to which he just muttered "Huh, you did find it".

Aizawa grabbed the small bag he had brought along with him, and pulled out three different sized respiratory masks that had facial guards, as well as three headlights that went on the top of the masks.

You each took a mask and put it on, along with attaching the flashlight to your heads and walkie talkies to your waists. Gloves were also given to protect your hands anything dangerous in the cave, and so if the police needed evidence then your DNA wouldn't be on the scene.

Taking a deep breath to calm your nerves, you looked at the entrance of the cave, dark and menacing, as though it was an open mouth waiting to swallow you down it's throat.

Aizawa patted your shoulder, and when he saw that it didn't calm you down very much he did something he normally wouldn't do; he held out his hand and let you hold it for comfort. He didn't want to baby the either of you, but something about the look of fear and panic across your face made him feel a little bad and made him worry that he was starting you both off a little fast.

With Shinso on one side and you on the other, the three of you turned on your lights and began to descend into the open cave.

As you delved deeper into the cave, you noticed your worry went away bit by bit as you began to see how pretty the cave looked on the inside. Glowing bugs sat across the roof of the cave and shimmered as each bug would flicker their light, and you took notice of the numerous glowing mushrooms that lit up the cave in a hazy purple glow.

You tried letting go of Aizawa's hand as you felt a little more confident, only to immediately grab it back as you worried you had lost them for a second. He squeezed your hand in response to let you know you were okay, and you tried your best to be as useful as you could, just like you wanted to earlier yesterday.

You all eventually walked into a rather open area of the cave, filled with the glowing purple mushrooms that made it nearly useless to have your flashlights. With the light helping him see everyone, Aizawa let you and Shinso walk around to look for any clues you could find. Unbeknownst to the two of you, he was on high alert as he sensed something felt extremely off. He couldn't scrape away the feeling from his mind that something wasn't right, and so he wanted to make sure you were safe.

You walked around, marvelling at the little puddles of water and stalactites, making sure not to touch anything that wasn't a clue. You walked around and looked behind the edge of another opening in the open area, trying not to walk too far off so Aizawa could still see you.

You looked around and shined your flashlight wherever you could, and upon seeing a ripped green sweater your blood ran cold. Shaking, you ran the flashlight up the sweater and saw other pieces of ripped clothing and small drops of glowing purple liquid surrounding the whole thing.

You felt nothing but fear as you stood there, chilled to the bone as the thought of an actual threat made its presence. With trembling arms and frozen blood, you still moved the light further over the scene, and what you saw made your breath hitch and every thought in your mind stilled. For a split second, time was non-existent, frozen just like the blood that ran through your veins. You felt weak, like a small child. You forgot everything. Where you were. Your quirk. Your training.

Everything was forgotten in the frozen second as true fear hit you for the first time. Because what you saw was the woman, unconscious and bruised, but alive. And next to her, a man with glowing purple mushrooms clinging to his skull, eyes devoid of emotion and pupils, instead the only thing in his eyes was a bright glowing purple that seemed like nothing but two empty holes that sat on his face. His clothes were tattered, much more than the lady's, and he stood with a crouch, like a beast of sorts. His mouth was agape, constantly in motion of slight opening and closing, as if an internal hunger always gnawed at his mind, even when he was resting.

And when you made eye contact with him (it?), that seemingly empty head of his bursted with action as he lunged at you with a likeness of that of a loaded spring, as if he was waiting for his next victim to come across his territory. He had moved faster than your mind could comprehend, and still it didn't help that your legs were frozen and your mind was full of fog.

It was only when his chilled fingers scraped against your mask that you began to move. You threw yourself back and tried to scream for help, only for the man to grab your throat and throw your head against the wall, letting go only to let you slide down as warm pulsing pain shot throughout your head.

You clutched your head in pain, and the man lunged for you again, grabbing your ankle and sliding you towards him, hungry mouth still moving and empty purple eyes looking for another pair to join his. Fear moved you this time, and although you were too panicked to think properly, you still had the energy to try to move yourself back and away from the thing antagonizing you.

Everytime you tried to get up he would just try to grab your mask, so you stayed on the ground and tried scooting back to where Aizawa and Shinso were. You couldn't use your wings on the ground, as that was one major downsides of your quirk.

Deciding that you needed to get out of there, you tried to throw yourself up and run out, but as you attempted to jump up the man threw his weight at you, slamming you down again, this time coming at you with a large rock in his hands.

Seeing his empty eyes and dead emotions, you looked up in pure terror as tears ran down your face, the thought of death consuming you. He slammed down the rock on your mask, cracking and breaking it, and you snapped. If you were going to die, then you'd take the risk. You screamed out as loud as you could, screaming with your throat until it was raw and sore, begging for help with all you had in your lungs.

Aizawa and Shinso weren't too far away, and so when they heard you scream they immediately thought of nothing else but getting to where you were. Every part in their bodies was on high alert, and Aizawa noticed you weren't in the same open area anymore, cursing himself out for not paying better attention to you. Every thought coursing through his mind was only you, you, you.

He thought back to earlier, about the scared student who had to hold his hand in order to make it into the cave, about the student he had been training and worrying about for so long.. Now, all his fears and worries were coming to life, much to his horror.

Aizawa heard you scream again and followed where it was coming from, giving a quick signal to Shinso to follow. He ran behind one of the turns and came across a sight that would most likely burn into his head for a long time.

He saw a man crushing a large rock into your mask, and knew that once the mask was gone then that would be your skull. Rage filled his mind, and he saw nothing but red as he lunged his scarf at the man with more violence than needed.

Aizawa completely wrapped the man in his scarf and swung him into the cave walls with crushing force, before tugging the man towards him and landing a solid punch directly to his face then harshly kneeing him in the gut. The man was beyond unconscious after this, and the largest glowing mushrooms atop his head had fallen off in combat while the smaller ones were still clinging to him. His nose was definitely broken, and Aizawa was sure he might've accidentally broken his ankle when swinging him, but he didn't care as he believed it was well deserved.

Wasting no time, Shinso ran over to you after the man was taken down, and Aizawa joined him. Aizawa pulled out his first-aid kit, wiping down and bandaging a deep gash across your arm, and pulled out a smaller temporary respiratory mask, replacing the mangled one immediately.

You were conscious at least, but you were still stuck in a state of shock, not comprehending what was happening. Shinso laid your head in his lap as Aizawa cleaned a cut on your head, wiping some tears as the medicine stung.

"You did good, kid. You did so very good. Let's get you out of here, okay? "

Aizawa looked to you for a response, worry filling his mind as he mentally beat himself for taking his eyes off of you. It wouldn't happen again, ever.

"C'mon kid... I need a response.. something, even a nod.."

You were still trembling in Shinso's arms, but this time you attempted a nod, immediately regretting it as a burning pain shot through your head. Still, Aizawa got it and took it as a signal to get you two out of there. He wrapped the man up with extra rope that he had on hand so he could have his scarf back, and checked the lady for a pulse, relieved upon finding a steady one and minimal bruises.

He marked the coordinates of where the two were, and called the police so they can handle the rest. For now, Aizawa was only concerned about you, and carried you out with Shinso walking by his side.

The police quickly made their way to the coordinates given to them, and as Aizawa tended to you on the slope above the cave, Shinso let him know that he saw police officers arriving. They apprehended the man, and decided to send him to the hospital for treatment for his broken nose and ankle. As they were dragging him out of the cave, you noticed that his eyes weren't purple anymore, probably since he had a quirk cancelling bracelet on.

He was awake again, and this time he yelled in anger and desperation that he didn't do anything as the police tied him up for the hospital. It disgusted Aizawa, to have seen him try to murder his timid student right in front of him and then try to claim innocent.

Yes, Aizawa was used to villains and criminals doing this all the time, trying to say they didn't do something they very clearly did before, but this time was different since it was a direct attack on someone he cared about.

As you watched the man get taken away, you couldn't help but notice how heavy your eyelids seemed, as though they were weighted drapes trying to close. This was accompanied by a warm and painful throbbing that seemed to push against your skull, the adrenaline wearing off and letting all the pain you endured loose.

Eventually your world went dark, although you couldn't tell exactly when it did, as it just happened at some point in time. While asleep, you felt warm and fuzzy, as though the darkness surrounding you was a hug that enveloped you entirely in its kindness.

Simply drifting through the darkness, you let it's familiarity carry you wherever it wished without care. The edges of your sleep began to fade, and as your slumber began to deteriorate you heard an unknown voice ring out from the vast darkness.

"Please... p-please.. I w-want to go home..."

It was an unfamiliar voice, one that sounded timid and scared, and upon hearing you wanted nothing more than to help whoever was attached to it.

As you turned and tried to reach out your hand to help, the final borders of your sleep wore off and you woke up.

Blinking open your eyes, the first thing you noticed was the light. When you passed out it was still pitch black. The light was muted and soft on the eyes, coming from a single window to your left that was covered with curtains.

I hope that helps, I'll be using this setup a lot for future stories! (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

Your brain was still rather foggy from waking up, and your whole body ached from overwork and the attack.

Right... The attack...

You started remembering things little by little, struggling a bit extra for some reason as your mind was refusing to cooperate with you. Blinking a bit more, you looked around to distract yourself from the pain, nearly jumping out of bed upon seeing Aizawa's sleeping form sitting in an uncomfortable-looking chair that was placed right next to your bed.

Seeing all the machines in between you two and the white walls, you decided that you must be in a hospital or at least something similar. Looking down, you realized that you were in a hospital, as instead of seeing your hero outfit you saw it was replaced by mint green hospital gown.

Now that you knew you were in a hospital, you started to wonder why you were there. Was it the hit to the head you took? The gash on your arm? You hadn't the slightest clue.

"Oh, you're awake now?" Startled, you turned around upon hearing Aizawa's classic fatigued voice, and saw that he was awake- albeit looking a little tired (since when had Aizawa ever looked completely awake?).

"How're you feeling, kid? That was a nasty hit you took.." Aizawa gestured towards your head with his eyes, and you felt around your head in confusion, wincing when your hand came in contact with the bandages that were wrapped around your still sore wound.

"Maybe.. don't touch it.", Aizawa offered, gently grabbing your hand to lead it away from your wound. "It's still healing, but Recovery Girl can come over and speed it up for you."

Feeling a little nauseous and sore, you still asked "how long have I been asleep?"

"You passed out in my arms last night. You were brought over to this hospital by ambulance, and I rode with you to make sure you be okay. I guess I fell asleep alongside you."

Looking at nothing in particular, you squinted your eyes at the blank white sheets in front of you, pain beginning to rush through your system just as it had done the night before.

"You need me to get a nurse?"

You simply shook your head a little, the warm throbbing degrading your thought processing from taking place, the only thought in the head being that you wanted nothing but the pain to go away.

Soon enough, a nurse came by and administered you some pain medication and the pain was quickly soothed away, finally allowing you to rest.

Sighing in content, you leaned back in your bed, body and mind still exhausted from the weeks of intense training and the attack on the mission.

A knock brought both of your attention to the door, and a nurse opened the door to allow Shinso in, shutting it once he was fully in the room.

He walked over to where you were laying, you having went back to closing your eyes after seeing who it was due to the fatigue taking control of your worn-out body. You heard him sigh and some rustling as well.

Curious, you opened your eyes the best you could to see Shinso reaching into his backpack and bringing out a plastic bag that looked like the one you'd get from a convenience store, before wearily placing it on the table next to your bed.

It seemed that Shinso was just as tired as you were, the mission having taken up most of his energy and worry taking up his night as well, making it a fight just to get to the hospital to check up on you.

"I thought I told you to stay home for the day, why're you here?" Aizawa asked Shinso, with no real bite to his tone.

"I wanted to check up on them... Also got some snacks for while they're here.." Shinso replied while motioning to you laying in your hospital bed, fatigue and exhaustion resonating through his voice. As you looked at him it seemed as though he was struggling to purely stand up, swaying lightly from side to side.

Aizawa huffed out a bit, "you're exhausted, kid. You can talk a bit but I'm sending you home right after, okay?"

Upon receiving a curt nod from Shinso, Aizawa excused himself so he could go get a coffee from the vending machine down the hall, still tired himself.

So many worries flew across his mind, what was supposed to be a simple learning mission turned into an unpredicted attack and with one of his students ending up in the hospital, even though they were under his watch.

Aizawa had checked with the police to see if they got any info out of the suspect, but they just reported he was stubborn and denied everything that was asked of him. Regardless, he was put in prison after a quick trial deemed him guilty. Although... Aizawa couldn't help but believe that the mission went a little too fast, that it was almost a little too easy (minus your condition).

Upon making his way back to your hospital room, he noticed you and Shinso both fast asleep, with you slouching down from where you previously sat, and Shinso who was seated on the only chair that Aizawa had been sitting on earlier, resting his head in your lap on his crossed arms.

Chuckling to himself, Aizawa went over to the window and peeked out over the city for a second, just for the view, before going over the small couch that sat in front of your hospital bed, folding his arms and resting similar to the two of you.

• • • • •

After that, Recovery Girl made her way to the hospital that you were situated at and used her quirk on you to speed up your healing. After another day of rest, you were finally released from the hospital at the end of the same day you were healed.

Although it was the end of the weekend and school was to start the next day, Aizawa instructed you to stay at the dorms and rest until you felt fine enough to go back to school. With all the rest and recovery you had gotten to do in the hospital, you attempted to head to class as soon as the week started. However, you were promptly stopped by Shinso, who had been sent by Aizawa to make sure you stayed and rested for at least a day, especially since it'd be beneficial for Shinso to stay for a rest day as well to get his energy back up.

"Look, I don't want to be here, either."

Shinso had told you while you crossed your arms and refused to look at him, slightly bitter that your friend would go against you. You didn't mean anything serious as it was all mainly for show, and Shinso knew this, it showed by the smirk that he had on his face.

"Then why're you here? Why bother stopping me?" You rebutted.

He just smiled further, leaning back into the common room's couch cushions as he answered.

" 'Cause... First of all; I'm tired as hell, there's no way I'd make it through a school day, even if I wanted to or not."

Looking over at you this time, he continued.

"And second; free day. Even better that it's Aizawa Sensei that gave it to us, he rarely does stuff like that. "

You grumbled, but didn't argue back as you had nothing to state. You supposed he was right, but still, you wanted to be back in class.

After waiting patiently, your perseverance was rewarded with finally being able to go back to school again, and you were a little relived that things were finally getting back to normal.

You went through your day like normal, going to classes, doing your work, eating lunch, talking with your little friend group, and so on.

Only, something felt... Off.

You couldn't put your finger on it no matter how hard you tried to trace where the source of the feeling was coming from, but you knew it was there.

It started the same day you were allowed to go back to school, now at night, as you and Tokoyami did the dishes for your classmates, Mina trying out one of her "foolproof" dishes of hers in the background. It was a calm, quiet night, one that normally was something you'd look back on to calm yourself when doing something nerve-wracking.

That's when you heard it.

"ple-please... light... I can-cant't take it anymore..any-anymore.. "

Startled, you paused your washing and looked around at your friends to see if anyone had said anything. You just saw Mina whining over her spilled food, Iida helping out Ojiro with his notes, Denki and Sero playing a racing game in the common room... Everything looked fine, but you couldn't shake off what you had heard.

"Everything alright? You look a little pale.", Your friend, Tokoyami stated, now also having paused his washing to look at you with concern. He had seen you stop washing and swivel around without warning, eyes darting around your classmates rapidly- liked a crazed animal.

"O-oh, yeah, I'm just feeling a little tired. I-I think I should head to bed soon.", you lied. You didn't know how to tell Tokoyami your concerns without sounding like a maniac.

He looked at you once again, not fully believing you, still giving you a polite nod regardless as you caught on to his disbelief.

"Well... You had better rest up then. Have a nice night.."

You gave a nod of understanding as you caught on to his doubt, and went to the elevator to go up to your room. As you watched the doors close, you suddenly felt a chill going up your spine, and tremors shook your body. You couldn't for the life of you find out what was wrong. Cold chills wracked your body, climbing from your fingers and toes up to your torso and eventually claiming the rest of your body, and nausea made itself known even though you knew you hadn't eaten anything odd.

Paranoia began to claw at your thoughts. Was it an infection from the wound on your head? Or the one on your arm? Did you overwork yourself, should you have stayed at the dorms for another rest day?

As these thoughts and worries began to distract you and cause you extra anxiety, you were caught off guard by another voice again. This time it caused you to completely black out as it spoke, and your mind seemed to fill with fog.

"I... can't... breath... I-I don't... I can't... I n-need to... to..."

To?

"My-my... daughter... please...she's sick..."

You don't have a daughter though, so who is this?

"I'm sorry I ... couldn't help... I-I'm sorry I.. l-lost..."

Who lost? What'd they lose?

"I... I-I wanna... go home..."

...

So many crying, broken voices tore their way into your mind. Drilling through the little cracks they caused, they ripped apart your very being with their sorrow, all the voices blending together to create a somber harmony of the broken that cried for their freedom, that grieved for their losses, that worried for their loved ones.

It hurt, hearing these voices cry out and plead for help, just as you had done when you got caught up in the attack. These were the kind of voices that had nothing to offer, but everything to lose. The kind to cry out when pushed into something they didn't wish to be a part of. The kind that was actively losing their energy, but still begged in hopes of getting a response.

And you wanted to be that response. But you couldn't move, your body was frozen in place as the voices begged for action, and you were chained in place of you subconscious as they each bombarded you with their melancholy and pain.

You don't know when, eventually the voices stopped when you felt a tapping sensation on your head. Finally being able to open your eyes, you were relieved to be in control of your own body again. You met eyes with a worried Shinso who was standing in front of you, and you realized that you had at one point gotten off the elevator on your floor right before zoning out. He was shaking you slightly, left hand holding your shoulder, the right gently tapping your head.

Once you moved your eyes, Shinso let out a sigh, his panic alleviated now that you were back again. You turned to him, still a little foggy about what had just happened.

"Geez!... What on Earth were you daydreaming about?! You were standing there for like a solid 10 minutes, not moving an inch." He was exhausted and exasperated, confused as to why you weren't acting yourself.

You felt frozen all around, but still worked up enough energy to force yourself to muster a simple yet stiff "sorry.."

Shinso rubbed the back of his neck, still a bit freaked out, but now feeling a little guilty over his freakout once your pathetic response hit him. "It was kinda freaky if I'm being honest .. but I'm glad your back. Just, don't pull that again, okay?"

You attempted to give a nod, but seeing how stiff and frozen you felt it was barely noticable. Shinso noticed something off with you, and his suspicion rose again at your weird behavior.

"Something wrong? You're not really acting yourself.."

For some reason, the fog in your brain clouded the thought of telling Shinso about the weird event that had just taken place, and you only recited what you had told Tokoyami earlier, before stiffly walking off to your room.

He knew something was wrong, but Shinso decided to chalk it up to just you being anxious after the attack, as HoundDog had told him that students normally act odd for awhile after their first missions and attacks, as they're still preparing themselves and aren't used to the daily amounts of stress that heroes typically go through. As much as his inner conscious screamed at him to not ignore it, Shinso didn't want to make matters worse by trying to fix something he knew almost nothing about, so he decided to let you have your own space for some time.

That night you struggled to grasp even the tiniest threads of sleep, an intense battle between mind and body. Your head grew foggier with time, and you would constantly switch between feeling cold and numb to hot and burning. Not a single scrap of peace and recollection graced you with its presence, no matter how much you fought to collect it.

You were always in a state of motion, flipping and floundering in your bed, trying to make yourself comfortable enough so you could possibly go to sleep. As more time passed your mental state began to crumble, coherent thoughts and logical beliefs disappearing as the heavy fog claimed more and more of your mind. Until eventually you were just a cold, empty-headed version of yourself, still confused and now scared for what small remains of your mentality remained.

You made a silent promise to yourself that you would definitely get Aizawa's help in the morning, as you eventually passed out from sheer exhaustion.

The morning sunlight that hit your eyes and the singing of birds that met your ears seemed a little... too calm. At least when compared to what you went through last night. Speaking of, as much as you tried to remember everything that went on last night it just wouldn't come to you. You fought and struggled, eventually going out with a sigh before you went to get ready for the day. Bits and pieces still clung to your memory, but you could only recall tiny fragments at a time. Still, you held onto those pieces with as much mental strength as you held so you could reassure yourself in the future.

Sitting in bed, you braced yourself when you slid out and stood up, only to become confused in the process when nothing came at you. No dizziness, or numbness, or heat flashes. Nothing. Well, nothing but the mind fog that still gripped your mind with an iron fist. It felt odd, because on one hand you felt great, no random back pains or headaches or morning fatigue, nothing. But that's the other hand, as you didn't feel yourself in the process. You moved simply because your muscle memory of your morning routine kept you going, and you felt as though you couldn't force a single new thought to appear in your own head.

For once, your mind was silent. Empty and vast, with little bits of your personality desperately holding on to what they can.

Of course your classmates noticed something was wrong, as you wouldn't just go silent on them so abruptly and without a meaning behind it. But, they understood your kind nature, and they understood that you most likely needed some time to yourself after the attack. Shinso could only describe the situation to the best of his ability, and even then, that was enough to invoke a sense of horror to your normally upbeat classmates.

And so that's why nobody said a thing. That's why not a word was said when you didn't fill in your notes during class, that's why nobody went to check on you when you didn't grab your lunch and instead sat at a table zoning out, and that's why nobody tried to interfere with you when you hadn't spoken a single word all day.

Except for a few, that is.

Shinso had gone up to you during lunch, and attempted to get you to eat.

Gently pushing his lunch tray so it was a little closer to you, he motioned for you to take something.

"You not hungry?.."

You sat there, eyes wide and soulless, and gave him nothing but a simple shrug before letting your shoulders sag down again. You wanted to say something, but you didn't know what. You couldn't know, it was like trying to come up with an answer in math class to a problem you couldn't solve. You hadn't even the slightest clue as to what to say, mind too heavy and foggy.

"C'mon..." He nudged you with his elbow, trying to cheer you up with a little smile of his. It quickly fell from a lack of response.

Sighing, he just scooted closer to you and ate his lunch in silence, getting increasingly worried about your abstract behavior.

After that, Present Mic tried to entertain a smile onto you after English class, telling some of his favorite jokes and stories, often laughing at himself (though it was mostly to try to help crack a smile out of you).

He just smiled a with a saddened expression in his eyes and patted you on the shoulder as you walked off to your next class, his smile dropping and turning to a gloomy sigh when you were out of view. Truly, he was worried when any of his students were down in the dumps or just plain sad, and it was a natural instinct of his for him to try to get them to cheer up again.

The whole day seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye for you, going from waking up to hearing the last bell ring for the day. You felt even foggier than normal and now it seemed as if your head was actually the same weight at a chunk of lead, struggling to stay awake, let alone keep up with everything going on.

Everyone filed out of the class, calmly chattering to their friends, while you still sat calmly at your desk. That's when you felt it. A similar snap that felt like the one from earlier when you were about to lose everything in the attack.

You knew you couldn't go on like this, and so you forced your way through the thick and heavy fog, standing up on wobbly legs and stiffly made your way to Aizawa's desk. It felt almost as if you could collapse any second, but you weren't going down without a fight.

You knew it had something to do with the cave. It felt like a puzzle left uncompleted, the photo never making itself known. Something somewhere was screaming in the depths of your head with all its might to go back to the cave. That the answer was there.

Aizawa looked up from the papers he was grading, noticing you stop next to his desk and just look at him with large, blank eyes. Aizawa's an observant man, of course he knew you weren't acting yourself. He was actually going to question you about it at the end of the day when he was finished with everything just to make sure nothing behind the scenes was going on. He understood the difference between being sick, being in shock, and then being whatever it is you were dealing with. But, to his surprise, you beat him to it.

"I...", You started, voice timid and airy, a stark contrast to how it normally was. You grew frustrated, not realizing why it was so difficult to get your words out. It was like trying to run underwater, as if you were forcing yourself though something thick and vicious holding you back, forcing you to struggle against it. How did it get to this?

You met eyes with Aizawa, and instantly you knew that he somehow understood. He may not have known what was going on exactly, but somehow he understood you were struggling with your words, with your mind and so on.

"I... ", You started again. "I... feel.. funny. " After a quick pause, and a nod from Aizawa, you continued. "The... Cave. We need... To go again..." This time his eyes widened slightly, and you knew you probably caught him in surprise with that.

"The cave?" He asked, voice gentle on comparison to his stern monotonous tone that he normally uses with everyone that. "Why? To check again?"

"Yes... The... Cave. The cave. I can't- just... please..."

That's all you could muster, all the energy seemingly evaporating right from you. Nothing more would come out no matter how much you fought, and so you just hoped that he agreed.

Aizawa looked down to the ground at nothing in particular, seemingly thinking about his decision. He looked around, then back at you before sighing and leaning back in his chair. The cave... Why'd you have to want to go back to the cave? There had to be a reason, you were terrified of it...

After much mental deliberation, Aizawa nodded his head a bit, looking back at you again, deciding on just trusting your word. You were an honorable student, you got good grades, were kind to everyone, and never really went out of your way to break the rules.

"The cave... Alright. " As much as the fog consumed your mind, you still had enough energy to have your eyes widen in surprise. "We'll go back, check and do some inspections, but I can't promise we'll find anything, kid. If we don't then we'll just have to call it a day, alright?"

Giving a stiff nod, your hope grew.

Later that night, Aizawa couldn't help but feel that something for horribly off with the whole situation. Nothing seemed to add up, and if anything it just made him ask more questions rather than answering any of the ones he had beforehand. He was worried, not only for him and his students, but also for you. Especially for you. He almost had half a mind to send you back to the dorms for more rest, but he noticed that during training you were at the top of your game, just as you always had been. He just realized that you must've been stuck in your mind all day, noticing your dazed looks during class and empty eyes during training.

Something didn't add up... It was nothing but a mess he wanted to be done with. But when it involved the safety and sanity of one of his students, he knew he had to get dirty to clean it up.

It was impulsive, but at that moment he felt that he had to go now. When you asked to check the cave again, he saw something in your eyes. Something like a ticking clock, counting down the inevitable moment something happens. Something that certainly wasn't good. A timer of sorts, he supposed. No... Aizawa felt that he was going insane over the whole thing. There was nothing to read in between the lines of something that didn't exist.

He had told you and Shinso that you would be going to the cave again for a check over in two nights, but nevertheless he still decided to change it to that night instead. The confusion wouldn't stop until he knew he wasn't crazy and wasn't worth worrying over nothing, so moving it earlier wouldn't hurt anything but your sleep schedules.

And so, that's how you found yourself walking alongside Shinso and Aizawa through the same forest that you all had done earlier. The same chopped up plants were there, luckily they hadn't had much time to grow again and block the path so you ask could walk without stumbling, and this time the walk was easier as you all knew what to expect now. The same tree stumps that stuck out and tripped your feet earlier were now skillfully avoided, the rabbits that would dart out in a blur no longer spooked you, and you all walked with more confidence in each step.

It was darker this time though, as last time the full moon was out and lit everything up, it now having disappeared behind the thick layer of clouds that filled the chilly night sky. The ground was still damp, and the air was cool against your already chilled skin, but you didn't notice either, as your full focus was simply trying to put one foot in front of the other, mind still heavy and clouded.

You were gripping onto Aizawa's jacket for support and so you wouldn't get lost, and he let you only under the fact that he was also concerned about you in your foggy state. As you walked through the forest, the you noticed that the voices head gotten louder. Each step lead to an increase in their cry, and as much as you hated hearing the horrible cruelty, it seemed to draw you in. Almost as if something was pulling you towards the direction... Each step made your mind foggier and your body colder despite the cool wind, and with each step it felt as though there was something tugging on your mind, trying to bring it down into something soft and warm.

It seemed so hard to resist, but you still continued your fight against the temptations through nothing but sheer will. The warmth was so kind and inviting to your frozen and stiff body, but you still attempted to tear away from the claws that tried to drag you down.

You don't know when, but during your internal battle you all had reached the cave in no time. What snapped you out was Aizawa placing a respiratory mask over your face for you, and you tried to reach your hand up to put it on yourself, only to panic as it didn't move despite your intentions.

This was unnoticed by both Aizawa and Shinso, and you didn't have much time to worry about it before the temptations came back and the struggle continued. Still fazed, you groggily grabbed Aizawa's hand before you all descended into the cave, and he looked over at you to make sure you were okay before you all stepped in, armed with your lights and masks.

"Listen because I'm not going to explain it twice; we're just here to double check everything. If something's wrong, let me know ASAP, and in case something really bad happens there's numerous of heroes patrolling around here that I can call for help"

Aizawa quickly explained as you all made your way through the dangerously familiar dark cave. The voices were practically screaming right next to your ears, so you missed what Aizawa said entirely. Nothing felt right. Everything spun in circles as you let go of Aizawa's hand, trying to make sense of what was going on.

"Alright, but is there anything specific we're looking for, or is it just anything at all?" Shinso questioned, also going alongside Aizawa when it came to wanting to find the reason behind your life behavior.

"No, nothing specific, just anything you happen to run into... " Aizawa answered, looking around to his side.

"Also, I want you to keep an eye on [Name], they've been really out of it lately, so we can't afford another attack."

Shinso's eyes widened. "I thought you were watching them.."

Aizawa's eyes shot open as he quickly spun around to where you were once standing behind him, now nowhere to be seen in the large, dark cave.

"Shit! I really am an idiot!" He exclaimed in worry as horrible memories of the first attack remained fresh in his mind.

Immediately turning back to Shinso, Aizawa shouted, "listen, you can look around but stay in the area! I'm going to look for her since she couldn't have gotten far. And please, for the love of god, don't wander off, and yell if you need anything!"

Aizawa was already running down the tunnels before he even finished his sentence, leaving Shinso to himself while Aizawa focused on finding you before you got you lost.

As he ran throughout the tunnels, something clicked on his head. Your hero in training tag. All students had one, and they all had trackers in case the student got lost or kidnapped during a mission. Perfect.

Thanking whatever higher beings that were out there, Aizawa practically ripped out his tracker from his pocket, seeing two different color dots on it, one for Shinso and one for you. He was so focused on finding you that Aizawa didn't notice Shinso's blinking dot rapidly chasing after him.

Looking up, Aizawa was initially relieved when it said you were just around the corner, but it quickly dropped and turned to alarm when he actually saw you.

Unconscious and mask ripped off and broken into pieces on the ground next to you, Aizawa couldn't help but panic and his senses all heightened as he looked you over. However, that was the least of his concerns. What he really was focusing on was the glowing purple mushrooms that clung to your head, glowing with a beat that seemed to match the pulse of your heart.

Nausea made its way to his system, but Aizawa remained stone faced as he tensed himself for attack.

Crack

A cracking of something behind him gave him all he needed before turning around only to come face-to-face with another person, glowing mushrooms also growing atop their head. It looked like an average man you'd see walking the streets, having on nothing but a tattered white T-shirt with blue basketball shorts and one sandal, the other seemingly missing. His eyes glowed a hazy purple, but Aizawa's heart dropped as he looked behind the man.

There were more of them. Lots of them, all average-looking people with glowing eyes and mushrooms on their head. His heart dropped even further and his blood ran cold as Aizawa realized that these were all the missing people, and that they couldn't have been coincidentally waiting there for him at that exact moment. Then it hit him.

It was a trap.

Mine fully alert and panic now fueling his legs, he promised himself that he'd come back for you as he side-jumped onto the wall and over the crowd that was grabbing and lunging at every bit of him. Aizawa cursed, as he had to leave his scarf back at the dorms due to the tight tunnels.

He dashed through the thin tunnels, throwing himself around as he searched for Shinso to make sure was was okay. Feeling a hand grab his shoulder, he ripped it off of him and swung them from behind, slamming them into the ground without as much force as Aizawa had liked due to his panic.

Shinso wheezed, hitting the ground hard with a thud, landing on his back.

"Kid! You know you can't surprise me like that! I thought I told you!" Aizawa growled a bit, although his tone didn't match his elated expression.

He pulled Shinso back up with ease, the boy in turn staggering a bit after the hard hit, but stabilizing quickly after from having taken many similar hits during training.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you or anything. It's just, I was looking for you because I think I found something." Shinso was still out of breath, but he breathed and then started again. "I think we fell for a trap!"

Aizawa turned behind him and Shinso followed, a look mixed of fear and surprise on his face as they both saw the huge crowd of mushroom people chasing after them.

Aizawa pushed Shinso in front of him, giving him the single command that beared the weight of their lives: run.

With that being said, the duo stormed out of there, there being just too many to fight. Swerving left and right to dodge the incoming attacks, they took turns with one leading and the other pushing back the hoard. The tunnels grew wider as they pushed on, and it seemed the entrance was coming up, but they were once again ambushed.

Coming from the other side of the cave, another hoard came barging in and blocked the way, crushing their hopes of getting out of there. But what shocked them most of all was seeing you among the group. Your eyes were a little lighter purple than the others, but you still had the all too common mushrooms clinging onto your head just as well.

Shinso could only look at in shock, refusing to look into your terrible empty eyes where there should've had their original shine to them. It was awful, really. The dead weight settling into their stomachs as they were blocked from all around. The absolute loss of any hope of escaping. The snuffed flame of their still disappearing predictions and being replaced with a sense of hopelessness as they realized that soon they'd be a part of that crowd.

Aizawa was still, a single thought in his head.

"Shinso... This is my fault. I should've done a better job at looking out for the both of you. Now, because of me one of you is gone and the other is soon to be the same.."

Shinso shook his head, tears of frustration growing in his eyes as he refused to admit defeat.

"It's not your fault! None of this is... It's someone else's doing! You did all you could, right?! You called for help and we still ended up like this! We tried, we got this far, we can't give-"

Aizawa cut him off, a heavy expression gnawing at his features as a shadow covered his face.

"No, I haven't done all I can yet. I'm going to get you out of here, whether that be at my expense or not."

Shinso shook his head at his teacher's words, still denying the fate that awaited them. In an act of desperation and anger, he looked to all the empty-eyed people, shouting at them while trying to use his quirk so he could have something, anything.

"You can hear me, right?!" The empty faces didn't flinch.

"What do you want from us?! What could you possibly gain from taking my friend away?!" He cried out, fear and desperation now beginning to settle on his mind as the crowd looked at him while getting closer, empty and stiff.

"GIVE THEM BACK!" Shinso yelled out one last time in a fit of rage while looking at your blank face, sparking you to lunge at him without warning.

It felt as though time was frozen again. The air felt thick and jellylike as your cold fingers grasped the edges of Shinso's mask, purple eyes mirroring his as he could only look in shock.

Without a single moment of hesitation, Aizawa launched himself in-between you and Shinso instead, and you took the bait, hands clawing at his face and tearing the mask off him instead, scratching him in the process.

It was over for Aizawa now. He knew that. He inhaled the spores, now he lost the game, and it was only a matter of time. A matter of time.

Time...That's right. The clock was still ticking, he had time.

Without sparring so much as a single second, he grabbed your collar and pushed you out of the way without any harm, and quickly did the same to all the grasping hands that ached to infect the fresh faces. Grabbing Shinso by the arm, Aizawa led him through the crowd without much care for himself now that his cards have been dealt. These were regular people, people who never trained a day in their life besides maybe going to the gym, people who never thought of fights and violence, but rather just living their lives. Aizawa was a trained and hardened pro, he understood he had a good hand dealt to him.

But there was power in numbers, that was certainly true. He never understood a saying more than that one as he struggled to guide Shinso out to safety, using himself as a human shield against the hands that aimed to infect. Time was ticking...

It was a sea of people, pushing and shoving at all sides around. Purple eyes and glowing mushrooms crowded the tunnels, and Aizawa could only hope the entrance was near. It was hard to tell because as he pushed through the people would only follow.

With Aizawa giving one last shove that ended with a couple people falling to the ground, Shinso pointed out an opening that Aizawa practically threw them both into. There was no sigh of relief, because the crowd surged forward, catching them both off guard with the unpredictable mass movements.

A million hungry hands reached in their direction, like a wave of flesh coming to crash down upon them. The constant loss of hope and fear of infection was beginning to get exhausting.

Aizawa's muscles were sore and burned with white hot agony, but he still needed to give his all while he still could. Before he eventually would join the crowd. It was the least he could do, ensure that at least one of you three made it out and spread the word.

Purple eyes, glowing mushrooms, a million hands... It all seemed inescapable...

"BANG!"

A sudden sound shot through the air, and the man closest to the two immediately crumpled to the ground as red flew through the air from his ankle. A few more shots were heard and an opening was made wide enough for the duo to pass through as several more people crumpled to the ground like the first.

Aizawa led Shinso, and they found standing at the entrance of the cave the hope that they had been losing all night. Because there stood a large group of a random assortment of heroes that came to their aid. And finally, the thought of loss was lifted from their minds.

They made their way out, still tense as the battle was far from over. The infected had followed Shinso and Aizawa all the way outside, and now in a grassy opening in the dimly lit forest, a battle was being held by the heroes in an attempt to restrain as many people as they could.

As Snipe ran over to check on Shinso (the only student there), Aizawa collapsed, weak and without any energy due to the fight and the spores that were quickly taking over from how long he was breathing them in.

He rushed to check on Aizawa after finding Shinso to be okay, but Snipe and Shinso both panicked when a hero next to them also collapsed, along with another further away, and then two more to the opposite side.

As more and more heroes collapsed, most having coughing fits, Aizawa came to a dreadful realization. Each hero that collapsed didn't have some kind of mask, while the few left to help did. And he understood.

That they were fighting a losing battle.

Because of his mistake. Again, he ruined more and more with his recklessness.

Hero after hero collapsed, some catching on to the pattern and masking early, others catching on too late and falling to the ground in a coughing fit while they attempted to protect themselves with pieces of cloth from their costumes or spare masks they had on hand.

It was an appalling sight, to see the empty eyed win so easily by simply existing, while the heroes that had trained for so long and hard lost while fighting with all they had in them.

So few were left standing as the sun's rays began to peak overhead, a painful irony that life kept going despite the losses and wins of those that lived it. Everyone that could move called in for more backup while trying to help the fallen and also attempted to restrain weak alongside all that. It was too much for too little people.

Things only kept getting messier as Aizawa had kept trying to fix it, and now he wasn't the only one paying the price, but also many, many others were as well. Aizawa refused to give in to the infection until he had fixed what he had done. It was the least he could do.

However, something took a turn. As the sun rose, everyone who was infected lost their mushrooms and thus they got their mind back once the sunlight reached them. This was only discovered as an infected woman who was pushing back a struggling and weak hero suddenly went still before falling to the floor, unconscious.

Once this was discovered, those that still had the energy and their abilities led or pushed the infected people into the spots where the sun shone, causing the tables to turn in the battle with the newfound information. Better yet, those that were fighting the infection had it removed from their system as soon as the sun met their head.

Aizawa attempted to stand after the sun sunlight reached his body, but he had to quickly catch himself as his knees almost buckled, and he found that although he was no longer infected, he was still dealing with the after effects such as what he was dealing with currently; all his energy seemed to have seeped straight out of him, leaving him weak and vulnerable.

Still, he fought the exhaustion and forced his legs to stand. He had to find you, wherever you were. He knew you were outside, and he knew Snipe was watching Shinso. Goodness, he just hoped you were okay. After looking around through the chaos and clumps of people, Aizawa finally spotted you, unfortunately hiding away under the shade of the trees and still very much infected.

There were almost no infected people left, and so most heroes turned to you upon noticing this. However, everything went still and silent upon noticing a large shadowy figure standing behind you. The figure stepped out and into the light, causing several gasps as people finally got a look at who was behind this whole thing.

It was a lady who had long dark hair and was covered all over in different kinds of mushrooms. She had a horrible expression on her rotting face, and it was discovered that the mushrooms were growing only where she was decaying. Aizawa felt no fear when he saw this lady, only pure, unadulterated, rage. He had no clue who this lady was, only that she was the one responsible for this whole mess, and that she currently was the one controlling you right in front of Aizawa.

It was quickly discovered that her control was stronger when there were less people being controlled, and as you were the last one, that meant you were at her bidding no matter what it was, sunlight or not.

She looked over to Shinso and scowled upon seeing him fine and untouched.

"I recall earlier... You were asking what I could possibly gain by taking your friend from you?... " She spoke to Shinso, who wasn't that far away from her. Her voice was deep and raspy, and as a result it barely understandable, but it still resonated with everyone around. All was still and everyone was silent and on edge as she was basically holding not only a student hostage, but also everyone around as she had complete control over you and now your quirk as well.

Shinso shot a sharp glare at the lady. Seeing an actual villain with a quirk similar to his... All the bullying and relentless stereotypes that were forced onto him growing up... It was all because of people like her...

And now she was holding his friend under her control. He couldn't stand the sight. Unheroic thoughts plagued his mind at the moment, as he couldn't help but feel a deep seated rage beginning to boil in him. But he was stuck. He couldn't move and risk you getting hurt, or anyone else either.

Aizawa watched the interaction, wondering if he could sneak in with using his quirk and end the whole thing. Some heroes around him caught on to this while still staying silent.

"I'd like to know!" A man, a new and young hero stated from far away, a telepath spreading the message.

"You're nothing but evil, using innocent people to your bidding! Doesn't it make you sick? To act in such a manner?" He declared confidently.

"Nice try. " She simply stated, eyes slanted and an expression that was tainted with an evil sense of joy and merriment. Everyone froze as she turned and looked Aizawa straight in the eye.

"I can hear all of your little friend's thoughts. Erasure? Sorry, but that won't stop my spores..."

She looked at Aizawa with a gloating expression that was mixed with her own rage.

"How does it feel?!" She exclaimed, causing the alert heroes to tense.

"To have lost control of those that you love?!" She asked, and at that moment Aizawa noticed that the victims weren't chosen at random. They each were related to a hero somehow, but weren't directly one themselves. This was an attack on the heroes the whole time. From the inside out...

All over, many heroes were still weak and recovering from the infection, and those that were masked had little energy left from being the sole protectors and fighters. She knew what she was doing this whole time.

"Lemme tell you this... When my friend was sick and dying from a burglar's quirk, did any hero come to save her day?" No one spoke a word.

"No. And so all was up to me... I didn't know... My quirk would just speed things up... I didn't know... " She looked down at her hands, trembling sightly as if she was still remembering the day she lost her closest friend.

"I know what it's like to lose control! To lose someone you love... But you heroes don't! You never did! You never attempted to help, you didn't even try to save her!" She shouted, voice growing more raspy with volume.

She grew quiet, and heroes all around looked at each other. No one had the energy left in them to fight anymore, and backup was still too far away. Aizawa looked up at you with worry, your eyes still empty and mushrooms still glowing atop your head. He needed to get you to safety.

"That's why...", She looked up, face now devoid of any earlier emotion, just like her puppets.

"I need to show you what it's like."

And with that, she raised her hand towards Aizawa, and in the blink of an eye, you were shooting forward at him.

His eyes grew in surprise, not predicting a direct attack being sent on him. He could barely stand, let alone fight. Shinso attempted to throw himself in your way, but you hardened you wings and closed them around yourself like a cocoon, before shooting them open again with enough force to send him flying.

Snipe, although reluctant to shoot one of his students, still knew what he had to do. Looking down, he saw he had two bullets left, enough for each ankle or arm if he could make it.

He aimed in between the crevice of your wings and shot once. The bullet sped through the air, but before it could reach you, it fell to the ground in between the two of you after a sharp "clink" was heard, and he realized it was your hardened feathers. He tried again but the same thing happened, and this time you sent a speeding feather at him, hitting his sleeve and pinning him to a tree with several more.

Following this, Aizawa could only attempt to use his quirk as you expanded your metal wings, them glowing a beautiful pure white that radiated a deadly beauty. It did nothing, but he stayed strong and held on as he watched you raise several fatal feathers in the air.

He closed his eyes awaiting a sharp pain, but never felt anything. Aizawa tensed, and opened his eyes upon hearing a vulgar curse coming from the mushroom lady who once stood triumphantly, now clutching her bleeding arm and abdomen.

He saw you, also clutching your bleeding head, standing tall and no longer infected.

You turned to him, eyes now their original color and mushrooms gone from your hair, and gave him a large, joyful smile. He could only stay frozen in surprise, but before he could say anything you turned back to the lady who was attempting to escape.

She brushed her hands on the trees in an attempt to colonize more of her mushrooms, but it was too bright for them to grow and they could only get to about a hair's width before shrivelling and dying. It was pointless for her to do, and you steeled your wings once again and sent out more feathers at her departing figure. She got hit in the backs of her knees, her Achilles tendons, and the back of the neck before getting pinned and retained by surrounding heroes after she crumpled.

While that was going on, Aizawa forced his burning muscles to cooperate and limped over to you, and when you noticed you ran over to him to meet him halfway. Shinso jogged over to the two of you as well, disappointed in himself for not configuring l contributing more, but relieved you were okay.

Aizawa grabbed you before your could speak and just held you in a tight hug for a solid second of silence, to which you didn't mind. After letting go, he had to ask, "how?"

You chuckled a bit, knowing exactly what he was asking.

"Your quirk helped snap me out for just enough time to send one my feathers at my head which helped to give me more time free from her control which I used to send at her ". You rubbed the back of your neck, not used to all the attention. "I guess her quirk lost control when I hit her. I can't explain it, though. I suppose I just got lucky.."

After that, several ambulances and an armored criminal hospital truck showed up, and everyone got a check up. Those in the worst conditions were given first treatment, and you were one of these people with the opened wound on your head. Shinso was alongside you, as he broke his right wrist when he got flung by your wings, but other than that, the two of you were okay. Aizawa didn't have any major injury, but was still given plenty of pain relief and sent on his way.

The whole event had involved so many people that it got put in the news. That's an understatement, it was all over the news. Your classmates thought it was the coolest thing, and were glad you ended up being okay.

The cave was inspected by a team of crime-scene containment and contamination experts, and they were able to remove every single trace of the lady's quirk, down to the smallest spore. Still, the cave was filled so no one would be able to go in it ever again.

The man accused earlier was apparently the first to be controlled, and he was sent as bait for the heroes so they'd lose track of her. He was given a formal apology of the court and proper payment for the whole incident. The innocent victims were also given payments as well, and they were hospitalized and sent under a strict quarantine for a month. This was too ensure that no missed spores had the chance to grow and spread.

Since you and Aizawa were infected at some point, you both were put under quarantine as well, although you simply weren't allowed to leave the dorms for a month, however your classmates happily entertained you (much to Aizawa's dismay).

During that month, you and Aizawa got to learn a lot about each other, and it drastically boosted your confidence when it came to fighting. Aizawa was glad for your successes, and he definitely looked forward to seeing you grow up.

Shinso wasn't placed under mandatory quarantine, so he was able to go back to school when he was finished resting (properly). Although he was a bit jealous that you got a whole month to yourself.

The mushroom lady was healed by prison doctors and sent over to Tartarus where she'd stay permanently with all the other villains. Since she had a powerful quirk if used right, she had to have a constant surveillance and checks to make sure her quirk cancelling bracelet was working properly.

• • • • •

Some time had passed since the incident, and before you knew it you were starting your second year of upper secondary school (highschool) with your classmates.

It was the first day of school, and waiting for you and Shinso at the gates was none other than Aizawa no himself. He saw your expression and chuckled a bit, asking "Nervous?".

You shrugged your shoulders. You weren't scared like you always were in the past, but you didn't know what the future was going to hold. It was out of your control.

And so Aizawa did something he had only done once before. He offered you his hand.

Smiling, you accepted it and all three of you walked together, beginning another year.

A/N:

Ahh! That took so long! But I enjoyed writing it very much!

(🎀ơ ᎑ ơ)

This is to make up for the small breaks I've been taking (I apologize for that, exams are here, I've been looking for a job, and my mental health hasn't been the best..)

NOTE: I don't think I specified this, but the voices reader heard was due to the mushroom lady's quirk, which created a sort of hive mind. That's also how she was able to read your mind when infected.

One last thing, please request if you want! I don't judge, and I promise I see them all! I just ask for patience is all ꒰˶ฅ̀•ᗜ•ฅ́˶꒱おけ〇

Thank you for being here, I hope you have a fantastic day!

年2023/月03/日08

Reblogs and any feedback are very much appreciated! (Seriously, it's the only thing keeping me going sometimes)

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galedekarios · 11 months

Note

Just saw your drow post about Gale and I didn't even knew that that scene had a follow up, since it didn't happen when I did it ;;

Sad that there seems to be a lot of scenes missing with Gale

yes, i think gale's scenes and the attention that was paid to him really take an extreme nosedive once act i ends and act ii begins, and it's honestly a bit depressing to think about overall.

his unique scenes in act i are:

-first night convo by the fire -mirror image convo -scenes for the three artefacts you can give him -weave scene / romance scene 1

(cut convos that were in early access but were partially or fully cut: loss scene + the deer stew scene)

act ii:

-elminster coming to camp to deliver mystra's message -romance scene 2

act iii:

-stormshore tabernacle -romance scene 3

especially in the context of the romance in act ii re-using a lot of dialogue that was there already in early access, so the only really "new" scenes are parts of that act ii romance scene, the elminster visit, the act iii romance scene, and the stormshore tabernacle scene - and it really leads to his overall story, character arc and romance feeling rushed, barren and unfinished. it's probably even worse if you don't romance him tbh. or hit a few bugs along the way that have been present for a while now.

and this isn't even addressing the massive shift in tone from act i + ii vs act iii in gale's quest / narrative / values, the way his personal struggle is downgraded by being able to feed him any old item now, or persuading the problem away entirely, his pain+struggle with the orb never being addressed and ending entirely with deus ex elminster, etc., the way this scene with the drows just throws everything that has been set up by gale & about how he views relationships overboard for... what exactly?

i don't know. all of this is just me rambling again about how i wish all companions had given equal care in their writing / implementation in the final product.

#also yes i don't count the tara cameo in act iii because it's just copypasted content from his origin playthrough that makes no sense #in a custom protag pt #ch: gale dekarios #vg: baldur's gate 3 #series: baldur's gate #text: asks #text: personal #larian critical #bg3 critical #just to be safe

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stargazerbibi · 6 months

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[ 23rd march, 2024 • DAY 41/145 ]

back home. i am exhausted.

-> ES project (badly implemented a vue dialog box)

[ 24th march, 2024 • DAY 42/145 ]

-> had lunch with my brother, my aunt and my grandma

-> SD project put()*

-> ES project, tried to fix a bug and was partially successful but it's driving me crazy that it still doesn't fully work and how much time it's taking and i hate everything

[ 25th march, 2024 • DAY 43/145 ]

-> continued working on ES

-> forgot my learning permit so instead of having a driving lesson, i got to walk to the car park and then back home

[ 26th march, 2024 • DAY 44/145 ]

working on 1h of sleep today and it's pretty bad ngl! my aunt offered to buy me the Danish book i've been thinking about so.. once i have some time.. there will probably be something about that. still learning on Duolingo for now, but i'm struggling a bit with the pronunciation and idk if it's just the audios being weird or if it's my ears haha,, we'll see! soon!

-> classes (total: 2h00)

-> fixed ES project bugs on the dialog box (everything works! everything works! and it only required not sleeping!! 😤)

-> ES project (implemented button disable condition)

-> SD project (fixed a few bugs on server side)

-> SD project (implemented put on client side)

-> dinner with my family to celebrate a birthday

-> ES project (e2e test pt.2)

-> ES project final reviews and tests 🎉

[ HOPEFULLY THE NEXT DAYS WILL BE BETTER AND I'LL HAVE THE TIME TO SLEEP AND POST AGAIN <33 ]

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terminatorbuns · 2 years

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Understanding Puss in Boot: The Last Wish through its villains (but mostly just Jack Horner)

By @terminatorbuns, with special thanks to my wife @da-manta-ray

We don't talk enough about the villains of Puss in Boots, the Last Wish. I mean we do, I just want to talk about it MORE.

It's been a while since this movie was released and I'm glad to see all the discussion and discourse around all the ways that this movie has excelled in all technical and writing aspects. I love discourse and analysis and I've been dying to share some of my own thoughts about this movie since release. There's so much to talk about, but for now let's talk a little bit about the very impressive way this movie handles villains.

To be clear, I use "villain" to mean antagonist, people who oppose the main characters. In this movie, the villains are Goldilocks (plus bears), Death, and Jack Horner respectively. I'm not particular about semantics, villain is a cooler word to say, and they all commit crimes anyways, so whatever. Having said that, Puss in Boots has one of the most impressive uses of villains I've ever seen in a movie, delivering three extremely compelling villains in a two hour window when many longer films struggle to even deliver a single good villain. Not only that, but each villain in Puss in Boots represents a completely different villain archetype, each with a different role to play in the story, and each one executed to perfection for their respective roles. I think everyone who has watched the movie has come away with a favorite villain, and so the intention of this essay is to explore in depth the archetypes that each villain represents, their implementation, and the significance of each fairy tale chosen (yeah, it's important). As an analysis nerd, maybe I can bring to your attention some things about your favorite villain that you had not considered, maybe give you something to think about the next time you get into a friendly debate about who is the best Puss in Boots villain.

Because it's JACK HORNER. HOLY SHIT is it Jack Horner. This is THE Jack Horner essay, I need people to understand how big brained the execution on this narrative behemoth is, this is the ONLY reason this essay exists. Jack Horner is on an entirely different level of writing to the other two, LET ME SELL YOU ON THIS. The team at DreamWorks poured liquid narrative gold into this titan of a villain and this essay does not stop until I fully explain how much narrative genius is on display here, they have worked TOO hard for their work to go unappreciated. You can actually just skip to the Jack Horner section that's where the hot, hot analysis is. We have to talk about 18th century political discourse, galaxy brained narrative framing devices, and Jack's significance to the core themes of the Shrek franchise. I have lost sleep researching Jack Horner, this rabbit hole is DEEP. I'll talk about each villain in depth, but we stan Jack Horner in this house.

1. Goldilocks, the sympathetic villain

Goldilocks and her supporting bear family is the sympathetic villain archetype, villains who oppose the hero's goals but who otherwise have understandable, likable motivations that make an audience want to see them win. The strength of this style of villain is to serve as secondary protagonists: when the audience likes a villain, the audience wants to see them complete an emotional journey just as much as the main hero characters. Sympathetic villains are exceptionally strong when they are working towards the same goals as the heroes, because their motivations are inherently relatable. It's the same motivation that the good guys have, after all.

Goldilocks is one of the more well known fairy tale properties of the three villains and that lends itself well to her villain archetype. The fact that audiences are already familiar with the Goldilocks story, combined with the fact that she gets the most screen time of the three villains, gives the audience a lot of context and backstory to understand Goldilocks as a character, and relate to her more easily. Her supporting bear family is written to be lovably goofy and it's easy to get attached to this lovable family. They fulfill the sympathetic villain archetype by being as lovable as they are.

The recontextualization of the original Goldilocks fairy tale as a found family story is also a very clever choice. The repeated line "too big, too small, just right" is used in the original fairy tale to describe Goldilocks trying beds until she finds one that fits her, but is cleverly reframed in this movie as a metaphor for Goldilocks trying to find a FAMILY that fits her. The bear family that adopted her is "just right" as a permanent family for Goldilocks, yet she must struggle with different ideas of family before she is able to settle on her "just right".

The Goldilocks subplot easily parallels the journey of Puss, Kitty, and Perrito. Goldilocks and our main heroes are all in conflict over the wishing star, but ultimately both parties end up discovering that their needs are met by embracing their respective found families, no wish required. Puss, Kitty, and Perrito all suffer from loneliness and require each other's company to be truly happy, just like Goldilocks needs the company of the bears to be happy. And so, Goldilocks ends the movie not as enemies to Puss' party, but as allies, sitting next to Puss' party, celebrating their similar victories together. A classic and clean execution of a sympathetic villain.

2. Death, the symbolic villain

Death is an example of a symbolic villain, which is a villain designed specifically to symbolically challenge specific traits or beliefs held by the protagonists. Symbolic villains may have personal motivations but their primary narrative significance is the effect they have on the hero, and their job is to highlight the fears and anxieties of the hero and to force the hero to face their fears. To this end, symbolic villains can often have little or no personal motivations, at which point they are also known as force-of-nature villains, villains that function more as a threatening force than as a person with needs and wants. Force of nature villains don't even have to be people, a tornado can fill the role of a force of nature antagonist.

Death is a very obvious choice for this role, one of Puss' primary anxieties is his fear of death, and there's no better symbolic villain to challenge this than "Death, straight up". He qualifies as a force of nature villain in a very direct way by being a literal embodiment of a concept, threatening and unavoidable. The choice of depicting Death as an incarnation of the big bad wolf also has some significance. He doesn't have any narrative ties to the original incarnation of the big bad wolf (or the wolf from Shrek), but the big bad wolf is a well understood cultural shorthand for "fairy tale bad guy". Indeed, that's what Death represents for this movie, he plays the role of a fairy tale bad guy, and his depiction as the big bad wolf hides his true identity until later into the story.

It should be noted that the personal motivations of a symbolic villain barely matters, and that's very true of Death. He has minimal screen time to explain his motivations, because it's not particularly important. More interestingly, what little we know about his motivations are not particularly likable or relatable. Many have made the mistake of understanding Death as a neutral, noble party just doing his job as death, but that's not true of this movie. It's NOT Death's job to kill Puss in Boots, his job is to take Puss' life when Puss dies of normal causes. Death isn't supposed to stab people personally with a knife, he just wanted to kill Puss for fun. It's fine because Death isn't meant to be sympathetic, Death is a dick in this movie, straight up.

Since symbolic villains have everything to do with the hero, they are most effective when they force the hero into action. Death's presence forces Puss into retirement, then it forces him on the journey to find the wishing star, and shows up along the way to pressure him further. He forces Puss into a very sincerely depicted panic attack scene, and that's what symbolic villains do, they push our heroes to reveal things about themselves, their needs and wants and anxieties, so our heroes can then confront those things. The visual execution on his threatening presence also must be commended, since everyone knows how dangerous DreamWorks made him look. I have no notes, he's just cool as fuck.

3. Jack Horner is the unsympathetic villain

Alright we're starting to wade into the Jack Horner waters here, but we'll start with the baby surface level analysis of Jack's villain archetype. Jack is the unsympathetic villain, a particularly monstrous one, who no one likes because he's a dick. His motivations are surprisingly fleshed out more than that of Death since Jack at least explains his backstory, but his motivations are trash because he's trash. The heroes barely interact with him and his motivations add very little to the journey of the heroes. Unsympathetic villains are often like this because their role in the story is to simply be unlikeable, to be such a shitty person that their eventual failure delights the audience with a sense of catharsis. That in and of itself has its own kind of narrative strength, entertainment is still the ultimate goal of any piece of media, after all.

He's reminiscent of classic Disney villains such as Jafar and Scar in a number of ways: he's petty and power hungry despite having minimal backstory reasons to be so, and his depiction is not conventionally attractive (although those are some BROAD shoulders). He's also partially queer-coded in the same way as the classic Disney villains through his very unconventional masculinity: he's temperamentally flamboyant, and he's even got the pink hair to boot. Queer coding in villains is a complicated discussion I'm not qualified to discuss in depth, but it can be surprisingly enjoyable to see joyful unconventional masculinity on screen even if the context is an evil villain. We want to see him scheme, and we want to see him fail; The audience just wants to see him do stuff because he's so fun.

Jack embodies the unsympathetic villain well in his simplicity, all his actions are motivated by petty greed and he approaches every situation with uncomplicated evil. I would ask you, is this really all there is to this incarnation of Jack Horner though? YUP, turns out that's it. However, like the other two villains, Jack Horner is inspired by an existing cultural text that influences the development of his narrative. I have explained the motivations behind the other two, I will do the same for Jack.

THIS is where the fun starts.

4. Welcome to 18th century political discourse

Jack Horner's original text is the least well known property out of the three villain origins. "Little Jack Horner" is an 18th century nursery rhyme that's short enough to be read word for word in the film, and short enough to be included in this essay:

Little Jack Horner

Sat in the corner,

Eating his Christmas pie;

He put in his thumb,

And pulled out a plum,

And said, "What a good boy am I!"

That's the whole thing, some kid eats a plum out of a pie. However, even in its early days the Jack Horner rhyme became (somehow) associated with the themes of greed and opportunism. Let's try to follow the logic: we have some kid, CLEARLY financially privileged enough to receive a pie for Christmas, decides to steal a plum out of the center of the pie, ruining it with his dirty kid fingers before anyone could cut the pie to share, then he has the gall to declare "what a good boy am I"! THIS FUCKER. The pie is the wealth of the common man, or something, and the plum is, like, the fruits of their labor, and this BOURGEOIS child is reveling in his destruction of the economy with his hunger for profit (and plums).

It sounds stupid because it IS stupid, but the association stuck and found use in a surprising amount of historical literature and political writings. I can just rattle off examples from the Wikipedia article: English poet Samuel Bishop uses Jack Horner as a critique of the Civil service bureaucracy, the satirical novel Melincourt (1817) has 5 people sing a song describing how they misuse their trades to fleece the public that compares themselves to Jack Horner, etc, etc, there's like 6 more examples. Also fun is the fact that educators in the 1800's have made attempts to sanitize the Jack Horner rhyme by adding verses that describe Jack Horner totally sharing his pie afterwards because it's the good ethical thing for little boys to do. Jack Horner shows up in war propaganda, it's absolutely wild.

This is the historical context behind the little Jack Horner rhyme, the reason why Jack Horner represents capitalistic greed and cruelty in the movie. I had to look this stuff up after the movie, who even knows about this stuff, but the writers have seriously done their homework to find a nursery rhyme with a historyc this interesting, and it's fascinating to see how they worked to recontextualize this rhyme into a movie villain for Puss in Boots. I say this, because the next layer of Jack Horner's narrative construction is even more interesting.

5. Jack the Anti-Pinocchio

Drew like a dark, fucked up version of Pinocchio, haha. Just a glimpse into my dark reality. A full stare into my twisted perspective would make most go simply insane, lmao.

Jack Horner's screen time is punctuated with references to the story of Pinocchio, who I'm sure we are all familiar with. Jack's intro flashback features Pinocchio and he spends a lot of time with "ethical bug", the very shameless clone of Pinocchio's cricket. On one hand, this is a very clever way to contextualize Jack Horner using a better known media property, but on the other hand, the choice of Pinocchio is very deliberate because Jack Horner is used in this movie specifically as a dark, villainous reflection of Pinocchio. 2022 is truly the year of Pinocchio for bringing us three Pinocchio movies and ending the year on the Anti-Pinnochio: Jack Horner.

Pinocchio is the story of a little puppet boy, naive to the ways of the world, learning how to be a "good boy" through trials and tribulations. He fails to listen to his father and his companion cricket sometimes but he ultimately learns a sense of morality and kindness. Compare and contrast this to the use of "good boy" in the Jack Horner rhyme, where Jack ruins a pie then ironically declares himself a good boy. This is where the parallels start: Jack Horner at multiple points calls himself a "good boy", but he has done nothing good to earn such a title. Everytime he says "good boy" it is not only a reference to his own rhyme, but as an ironic allusion to the story of Pinocchio as well.

Consider the appearance of Pinocchio early on in Jack's introduction scene, where Jack is upstaged by Pinocchio's magic puppet show and becomes jealously possessive of magic. The significance of that scene comes from the fact that Pinocchio's magic body is NOT a net positive advantage for Pinocchio: as a puppet Pinocchio struggles to fit in with human children, but the only advantage to his magic body is his ability to entertain crowds for stage shows, if he offers his only asset up for commercial exploitation. Not only that, but Pinocchio's magic forces his nose to grow when he lies, so it's as much a liability as it is an asset. Jack is jealous of a socially underprivileged child for the ONLY advantage Pinocchio has, planting the seeds of Jack's characterization mere moments after his introduction.

Jack's journey with off brand cricket completes his characterization. We see him abuse his men against the advice of cricket, but we also see that he perfectly understands cricket's advice, he just has no interest in being good. Contrast this with Pinocchio, who also fails to heed cricket's advice, but only because he is naive and fails to understand the nuances of the advice. We also learn how he was overwhelmingly privileged in life but still wishes for magic, the only privilege he's ever been denied, and his intention to hoard it from everyone else. Jack is written with the intention of filling the role of the monstrous, unsympathetic villain, and so it was a very deliberate and intelligent decision to frame him as the moral antithesis of a "good boy", the moral antithesis of Pinocchio. What morality Pinocchio has to learn, Jack disregards completely and declares himself a "good boy" anyways. Each of the three villains in this movie is designed around their respective archetypes, but Jack Horner takes his design prompt and fucking SOARS.

6. The Shrek Cinematic Universe

Let's take a brief detour through the history of the Shrek franchise.

In 1994, Jeffrey Katsenberg was ousted from a chairman role from Walt Disney and went on to co found DreamWorks Studios. The original Shrek movie started development the year after in 1995, as a very loose adaptation of a now very obscure children's picture book of the same name. It is often said that Shrek was written as a cynical parody of the fairy tale films of Disney as a form of revenge from Katsenberg. Disney films at the time were known for being family friendly and moralistically pure and full of beautiful, wholesome heroes on noble quests, and Shrek sought to subvert those expectations deliberately. At release Shrek had become an amalgamation of various fairy tale stories, featuring many parodies of Disney properties such as Pinocchio and Snow White. The humor was crass and irreverent to contrast with the properties of Disney, with a story focused on the uglier, dirtier ogre Shrek learning to become an unconventional hero to a fairytale kingdom.

It turns out the market was indeed craving the kind of off beat fairy tale that Shrek had become, as an alternative to Disney's clean, beautiful properties. Shrek's celebration of unconventional beauty and its clever parodies of classic fairy tales both struck a chord with audiences, and the Shrek franchise has been a DreamWorks classic ever since. The two Puss in boots movies are spin-offs of the Shrek franchise. Both Puss in Boots movies differ from Shrek in the way that they use fairy tales: the fairy tales are still different from their original contexts, but they are much closer to their original meanings rather than fully comedic comedies. The first Puss in Boots was a moderate success while the second Puss in Boots is critically acclaimed and seems to be on track to revive the entire Shrek franchise.

I want to highlight the strategy Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has found for handling its fairy tale properties, and how it contributed to this film's current success. Puss in Boots has figured out the storytelling potential of becoming a sort of cross over film for multiple fairy tale stories, recontextualized for a modern audience, but with more faithfulness and sincerity to the original text than the Shrek franchise before it. It's reminiscent of the very popular Marvel Cinematic Universe, but for even older public domain stories. In a way this is still within the spirit of Shrek, it still makes use of an ensemble cast of reimagined public domain fairy tale stories to construct a new, modern narrative. It even has some parallels to the original Disney properties that led to the creation of Shrek, as Disney also built its brand off the adaptation of the same public domain fairy tales that make guest appearances in Shrek.

This style of storytelling has the unique power of reviving older, forgotten media properties into fresh new narratives, made even more complex by blending multiple stories into a single movie and forcing them to develop new meaning through interacting with one another. This approach does an incredible job of capturing the essence of Shrek: Shrek himself is a lesser known property elevated to the status of a cultural icon through his interactions with an exciting ensemble cast of comedic fairy tale imaginings, and the Shrek franchise is responsible for bringing attention and meaning to even more fairy tales and nursery rhymes, some well known, some not. Might I remind you, Puss in Boots himself was not amongst the most popular fairy tales such as Pinocchio and Cinderella, the properties that were themselves brought to fame by being associated with the Disney brand. Shrek is often praised for its celebration of unconventional beauty, and while this is true for its celebration of literal unconventional beauty features, it's also a celebration of the revival of the unconventional, forgotten stories of the past that have the potential for new life.

I say to you that Jack Horner is the perfect encapsulation of this, the spirit of the Shrek franchise. This excruciatingly simple 6 line nursery rhyme, kept alive throughout centuries through artists extracting a comical amount of political meaning from it, now revived once more by the talented team at DreamWorks. Jack Horner had the least well known origins of the three villains, many people didn't even know the nursery rhyme going into the theater, but the amount of care put into his narrative construction is a monumental testament to the power of narrative reinvention. All this, at a time when the Shrek franchise itself was in decline and required its own reinvention to survive. This, when Puss in Boots 2 required bold new changes after the lukewarm reception to the first Puss in Boots. A daunting task, but if a property as obscure as Jack Horner can be revitalized with such vigor, then so can the Shrek franchise.

I'm tearing up about Jack Horner why the fuck is this happening.

#puss in boots #jack horner #goldilocks #death #long post

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dailycharacteroption · 1 year

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Ghost (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)

(art by Denny Ibnu on Artstation)

I’ve had mixed feelings about the universal archetype system of Starfinder and Pathfinder Second Edition since it’s inception. On the one hand, having archetypes be available to usually all classes makes for some interesting creativity when it comes to characters. On the other hand, it does mean the death of archetypes that are integrated with the class they are attached to. No more blood elementalist, no more mad scientist alchemist, et cetera. Sure, Starfinder gave us alternate class feature options which preserved some of the old archetype feel, but it’s definitely an end of an era.

Today’s subject, however, I have no mixed feelings about at all. I LOVE this idea, and it makes perfect sense for it to be available to all classes because every character runs the risk of becoming this in the right circumstances. I present to you, the ghost archetype!

The ghost name is not metaphorical here. This archetype is meant specifically for playing a bona fide undead ghost, an unquiet spirit, a tormented soul bound by their desires and unfinished business.

This archetype is one of a series from Second Edition’s Book of the Dead supplement, which in addition to the skeleton ancestry, provide ways to play a balanced undead character by having various abilities associated with that particular type of undead replace class feats as you level up!

Having the powers of a monstrous transformation be part of your class power set is such a good idea, and honestly reminds me a bit of the old savage species book (and also the playable undead monster classes that followed in libris mortis) from 3.5, and it’s kinda shocking that it hasn’t been implemented in more modern games before then. Certainly First Edition had the corruptions, which were fine for portraying a character struggling with their transformation, but this is a whole other beast.

Having the monstrous abilities be tied to level progression also thematically makes sense as the character grows and learns to better understand what they have become and reliably implement those powers.

Additionally, like certain spellcasting archetypes, it is possible to start at level 1 with this archetype, but of course like those you are required to officially take the dedication at 2nd level.

But we’ve gone a long time just describing this particular class of archetype and how neat it is, but we haven’t actually talked about playing as a ghost!

Stuck on the edge of the material and ethereal planes, ghost are disquiet souls that are burdened with desires and emotions, being unable and unwilling to move on, but not tangled up in the darker emotions and traumas that would give rise to other forms of incorporeal undead. Ghosts can tend to have a variety of powers (a selection of which are available in this archetype) related to what it is they want.

Most ghosts are bound to a location, unable to travel too far without losing substance, and many may struggle to be fully cognizant and realize that they are dead. Not so with these ghostly adventurers. Whether by some fluke or the nature of their determination, these spectral beings are not content to wait for the opportunity to be freed to reveal itself, and venture out into the world, albeit barely able to interact with it, and seek to free themselves from that which pains them… or perhaps refuse to move on at all, depending on the person and the nature of what holds them back.

The dedication to the ghost archetype, if you can call it that, reflects the character’s transformation into and undead being. Much like other undead archetypes, they gain the various benefits of being undead, but also are incorporeal, which has it’s advantages and disadvantages, however they also do not immediately gain the ability to pass through objects, fly, or supernatural resistances to damage from being incorporeal. Instead, those abilities are locked behind other feats, similar to how fly speed is limited for certain ancestries that by rights should already be flying. Your GM can choose to allow you to have a fly speed and phasing early, replacing those feats with ones that make them better, though you should probably keep the ghost damage resistance locked behind a feat. Additionally, when you take this archetype, you must choose a location that you are bound to (for the purposes of rejuvenation if you take that feat) and the nature of the business that binds you to the material world. It is possible to fulfill that business and pass on, but you can also choose to resist the pull of the afterlife, finding something new that needs doing or another bit of unresolved business. It’s also worth noting that these ghosts can spend 10 minutes pulling objects into the ethereal plane to make them effectively enchanted with ghost touch, able to interact with both corporeal and incorporeal friends and foes.

Many ghosts can unleash a frightful moan which chills their foes to the bone, weaponizing their anguish against foes.

Many also develop the resistances being bodiless would normally bring as well. However, doing so truly pushes them into an incorporeal state, which brings with it a somewhat more frail spirit.

Plenty further develop their powers to gain greater undead resistances, as well as gain the ability to sometimes move objects by focusing their will into their incorporeal forms, however, doing so always requires focus.

Those ghosts anchored to the ground can also learn to fly for a few moments at a time.

Others learn to properly phase through solid matter, though they must successfully approach them to do so.

Particularly powerful ghosts truly bind themselves to the location they are bound to, becoming able to rejuvenate their if destroyed as a true ghost would. In this way, only passing on or having their soul destroyed can bring a true end to these beings.

The most powerful among them are fully unrestricted by gravity and may fly wherever they wish, and do so faster than before as well.

Perhaps the most dramatic of the undead transformation archetypes, utterly lacking a body, ghost offers lots of defensive and utility abilities, as well as unique challenges. You might be a terrifying all-too-physical warrior, a spectral thief able to get in almost anywhere, or a ghostly mage bringing torment to their foes. You may not get some of the more nasty ghost abilities like possession, but this is still a fun playable option.

The fun part about this particular undead archetype is that it has a built-in personal plot hook. Resolving your final business, or rejecting that pursuit are integral parts of the character. Whether you start the campaign as a ghost or die and the gm gives you the option to use the next level up you would have had to come back, your character has business to attend to which drives them forward. Also, as a final aside, the art for this archetype is that of a ghostly dwarven warrior arising from their old clan dagger, which lays imbedded in the ground, which I think is a quite evocative image.

Despite being dead, Mikos is on borrowed time, the ghostly man must find his murderer and bring him to justice before the duskwalker that is hunting him catches up, for the spirit-hunter has no concern for justice, only that the cycle of life and death be preserved.

Ripped apart far from home by monstrous quoppopaks, beasts that glide over water on jets of pressurized water, Vokus just wants to see his remains returned home. However, he no longer has the body to see even his skull returned home. As such, he secured them as best he could on an island and made the long quest to the shore to ask someone, anyone to help him find rest.

Bound to her favorite music box, which she now carries with her, Lady Alixia of Vennesburg now wanders the world, though she will not say why, only that she is searching for someone. In truth, she seeks her elvish lover who left for unknown lands and never returned, so that she can say one last proclamation of love… to her grave if necessary.

#pathfinder second edition #archetype #ghost #duskwalker #quoppopak #elf #Book of the dead

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metawatts · 1 year

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Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen Part One

I've been workshopping this review for a week it is 9 fucking pages but anyway: It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!

Table of Contents

#1. Introduction: Not for DC Fans

#2. Starting off: “The Good-

#3. Propping Up RWBY over the Justice League

#4. The Texas Character Massacre

#5. Oh boy lets talk about the writing

#6. Other General Notes: -The Bad, and The Ugly”

#7. Final Scores!!

TL:DR- They better not make the 'part 2'. Let's get into it.

#1. Introduction: Not for DC Fans

Let’s get this out of the way: this is a movie made for RWBY fans. It’s made for people who are familiar with RWBY, with the characters, with the worldbuilding, and it’s made with the idea that the people watching are RWBY fans, with DC fans as the backburner. The first reason why I think this? The DC characters get a lot more exposition on who and what they are, while the RWBY characters get to exist and be ‘cool’.

The second reason? This movie is, lets face it, mean-spirited towards DC. And yeah whatever, a DC comic writer wrote this, but to be fair with the state of comics nowadays that says absolutely nothing about respect given to the characters that are popular and well-known (hint: it’s not RWBY). This movie is drenched in schoolyard meanness. It’s all about pointing and laughing at the DC characters. Our introductory scene to this film involves Superman being systematically humiliated in his first scene (unable to use his powers, having his hero codename be mocked, etc.), and that sets the tone.

Meanwhile, the RWBY characters are introduced with action set pieces and knowing about the world they are in. The DC characters are the ones who are comedic relief, who need to be ‘taken down a peg’, who must struggle and prove themselves to RWBY to get the ‘honour’ of working with them, while RWBY doesn’t have to struggle and instead gets to just be ‘cool’. And that’s detrimental to the RWBY characters as well too, by the way, so don’t think I’m being unfair. No one in this film has a character arc, except Jessica, supposedly, and Batman, unfortunately, and you would think that coming off the back of volume 9, often called the ‘character development’ volume, people would be complaining that RWBY and JNR are quite flat, in how they progress through the film.

Basically: The RWBY characters are set dressing; the Justice League are punching bags. With that as our thesis, let’s review this movie. (warning for spoilers)

#2. Starting Off: “The Good-

Now, I won’t pretend this movie was enjoyable for me by any means, but I’m not unreasonable, it had its positives. Four, specifically.

The first one is obvious: the Spectacle Fight Scenes. This movie had a bunch of fights packed away in it, and the overall quality of them was on the whole, in the higher tier of rwby’s Maya fight scenes. Bar a few bits of wonkiness and the general writing surrounding the fights, they were fun. A particular shout-out to my favourite one at the end, Hacked!Flash vs Everyone, that one was fun and fast and highly enjoyable.

Number 2: Batman’s semblance. I’ll fully admit that I’m pretty sure my enjoyment of this power implementation was purely because I like Batman: Arkham Asylum, and this is literally just ripped right from that down to the aesthetics, but, well- I like Batman: Arkham Asylum, and therefore I like Bruce’s Detective Vision semblance and how it was used pretty creatively compared to most other semblances.

Third times the charm: Superman was my shining light, my beacon of hope in this film. He was kind, he was polite, he was supportive and brave and friendly and also, surprisingly for RWBY, managed to do all this without being spineless, he was willing to stand up for himself when he thought he was being treated unfairly (at least, 80% of the time). I wouldn’t even normally consider myself a massive Superman fan, I like when he’s well-written and I notice when he isn’t, but this movie had me actively rooting for any time where he was on screen, he was my absolute highlight in this film, love him even if his fit is fuckin ATROCIOUS. (and his voice acting was, by and large, one of the strongest performances, beyond Kilg%re and Hacked!Barry, who were just clearly having a delightful time villain monologuing)

Number four: the idea of Grimm absorbing dust. It’s a brilliant idea that really ups the stakes in RWBY fights, considering dust is their go-to offensive weapon and literally powers all their bullets, and, amazingly, it was also a cool idea that was carried throughout most of the film. Every Grimm in this film had the ability, more or less, and they used it often and to great effect. Very nicely implemented.

(Final tiny shout-out: the Justice League’s superhero outfits in their own world, that we regrettably only see in a few flashback images, looked GOOD. I wish they kept them instead of getting the outfits in the film proper)

But alas, this film really did have a lot more negatives than positives, so lets get into the first big flaw, and the one I would consider the movie’s biggest failing:

#3. Propping Up RWBY over the Justice League

I mentioned it in the intro, but this movie is consistent in how it utterly devalues the Justice League characters and does everything in its power to showcase RWBY and JNR as ‘better’ in every way. Now, the argument is that this is intentional, seeing as the villain deliberately nerfed the JL characters into being teenagers to weaken them. To which case I point at probably what is probably the most referenced episode of the Justice League cartoon in regards to this movie, the one where they’re turned into literal children, appropriately named ‘Kid Stuff’, and I’ll also point out the lesser known episode of Justice League Action called ‘Trick or Threat’, which had the added bonus of wiping the JL character’s memories of being superheroes.

Now, why am I bringing these up? Its because both of these episodes had the same villain idea as this movie: de-age the Justice League to weaken them, and both of these episodes also did something that the movie failed to do: keep the characters in-character and acting their age, and treat them with respect. I’ll get to the character issues in the next section, but the idea of treating characters respectfully is not done in this film.

Superman, as stated prior, is nerfed, his name is made fun of, he’s talked down to constantly, he’s insulted, he’s distrusted, and not just by team RWBY. But he is not the only one. Wonder Woman has a mishap when trying to get the hang of her new abilities and Blake and Yang laugh at her. Flash, Vixen, Cyborg, and Green Lantern spar against JNR and despite still maintaining most of their adult memories beyond the immediate, and supposedly their skills minus powers, end up on the defensive. Against JNR, not even against the main team RWBY or against Pyrrha. They are outclassed by the side-character team. Batman, the hand-to-hand specialist, is outclassed by Weiss in close-quarters and then a few random SDC guards, Wonder Woman and Superman mostly escape unscathed, beyond the new drawbacks of their semblances, but it’s telling that most of the fight scenes are more focused on the cool things RWBY and JNR do instead of the JL characters (bar the Big Three). Cyborg’s biggest combat moment that’s given any narrative weight is him powering up Nora. Vixen doesn’t even get a moment, and Flash’s only moments come when he’s being the Villain and not Flash. The JL characters are supporting characters in a movie that’s supposed to be about teamwork.

Second point: they really hype Grimm up as scary, even stating ‘Grimm aren’t like your normal monsters, they’re soulless beings that only care about destroying and killing’. And it’s treated as a big moment of internal revelation and horror for the Justice League. Let me say that again, the fact that monsters only care about destroying things, is played as horrifying. For the Justice League. The guys who faced down, canonically in this film: Vandal Savage, an immortal sadistic genius who literally just wants to destroy the world consistently, and Brainiac, a hyper-intelligent alien android who’s goals range from ‘destroyed krypton in some continuities’ to ‘hobbies include horrifically mind controlling people to do evil and shrinking Actual Cities for his snow-globe collection’.

But yes. Grimm are scary now. These are the same Grimm that basically act as cannon fodder in all of RWBY’s actual run time, bar one-offs, and exist just to give the protagonists something they can guilt-free rip their way through to show off. Those Grimm. Those are the scary ones now, supposedly. Despite this artificial attempt to make RWBY seem more badass then the league for fighting monsters, the Grimm are still cannon fodder, the movie doesn’t stray that far from RWBY’s conventions.

Finally, there’s a consistent running theme that ties into the leadership qualities of Ruby vs Clark, but mostly ends up as ‘the Justice League try to come up with ideas and plans, and team RWBY and JNR yell at them for daring to tell them what to do’. Most particularly, it’s Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman who actually spark Team RWBY into realising that there’s a problem that needs solving. It’s them that comes up with 90% of the plans, and its them that put their money where their mouth is on being not only a good team and smart heroes, but also as friends (more on that later). But instead, whenever they come up with good ideas, it’s shut down, mostly by Nora, and also Yang, as ‘I’m not going to listen to you/don’t tell us what to do/you’re not the boss of me’.

There’s a very big sense of undeserved ego there, especially since the RWBY characters haven’t actually given a reason why they shouldn’t listen beyond general contrariness. But also, it’s a sentiment that does not work on a battlefield, and it does not work in a movie that tries to have a theme of ‘coming together’. Mostly because in a standard plotline about ‘working together’, the disagreements usually require resolving, or meeting in the middle. There is none of that here. The Justice League just bends the knee and goes with being mistreated by teenagers who have not shown their chops as heroes, but it’s still given the ending of ‘we’re all friends now’. The first of many character assassinations throughout this film.

#4. The Texas Character Massacre

This one’s a doozy. No one escapes. Not even Superman, who is almost entirely spared, even he gets a dose of a ‘RWBY Heroic Speech that is just Empty Token Hero Stuff’ (AKA the thing that’s been plaguing Ruby since vol4). But I’ve used Superman already a lot, and he’s probably the least egregious of what happens here, so let’s get into the meat of this topic.

Everyone and their mom on twitter has been commenting about how Batman does not feel like Batman in this. And it’s true. Batman, the self-admitted ‘I haven’t been a kid since I was eight’, the man who is so obsessed with Gotham City it will one day kill him, the man who, even if in this continuity is not a father of 4-8+ adopted children, still has Alfred who he would die for and would die for him, the man who in the current comics run of RWBY in the DC universe says with his mouth ‘I don’t want this semblance, relying on it is detrimental in the long-term’. This Batman. Wants to ditch Gotham because he has wings and powers now.

‘Batman getting powers’ is not new ground, by the way, but the absolute moping this version of Batman does is not only annoying and actively unlikable, it also makes no sense. In the span of ten seconds, in the same conversation, he goes from ‘I want to go home’ to ‘I want to stay where I have powers’. This isn’t presented as a conflict of interest either, by the way. He just completely switches his mind because Weiss said ‘hey stay here’. There’s no consistency, there’s no internal character motivation, it felt like they just wanted to have one character conflicted about leaving HoloRemnant and decided just to throw a dart at a board without caring who it fit. So yes, Batman? Massacred.

Wonder Woman also got severely screwed over too. I had this in my notes that Wonder Woman only acted in character when she was reuniting with the rest of the Justice League and was allowed to show kindness and compassion. The rest of the time, Wonder Woman, a character defined by her love for the world (and was created to showcase feminine power, btw), is a Strong Female Character, and I do mean that in the Negative Way. She’s literally got a Batman Growl on her voice for 99% of her lines, she talks about how tough she is, about the ‘warrior’s life’, and she’s the first character to get violent in a situation. Yes, even beating out Yang ‘punch first, talk later’ Xiao Long. This feels like a parody of Wonder Woman written by someone who read the Whedon Wonder Woman script and took ‘some crazy strong bitch in a tiara’ as their entire central concept for the character. It’s not a Wonder Woman who believes in anything, she’s just a sidekick for the bees to prop themselves up with as ‘warriors’. I could write a million thinkpieces on what makes Wonder Woman an excellent hero character, but all I’ll say is this film’s Wonder Woman would not count.

Green Lantern will get her own post on how this movie handled her so fucking badly because that would balloon this review to a massive size when it’s already a Longk Boi, but suffice to say: she was whitewashed, her anxiety was mishandled, and fucking HELL I miss Simon Baz, why are we erasing Jessica’s friendship with Simon for some screentime-sucking white boy. (Racism and islamophobia, the answer is racism and islamophobia)

Cyborg, Flash, and Vixen all aren’t really characters in this movie as much as they are there to fill out the cast, but suffice to say, they were handled badly. Flash was at his most interesting when being visibly possessed by the villain because beyond that he was just entirely forgettable to the point that you will not notice he has been written out of a fight scene until Vixen goes ‘where’s Flash’. Vixen herself literally is the most sidelined of all the characters in this film, she doesn’t even get a Cool Action Moment, and has just two character traits: Sassy and Vaguely Animalistic Sometimes, not just because she’s a faunus, but her first scene we’re introduced to her sniffing a paper plane for what is literally the only ‘plot point’ she’s involved in, namely, that Flash ‘smells wrong’. And Cyborg. Man, Cyborg. They literally handed the hacking plotline to Weiss with the excuse of ‘the tech here is weird’ and instead shoved Cyborg into some weird jealousy triangle where he was so disrespected by Ren and Nora that even his goodbye to them is met with disdain. Cyborg and Vixen deserve so much better, guys.

Now, onto team RWBY and JNR. Remember how I said they were flat characters? Yeah, this bit’s gonna be a bit shorter. Ruby had probably the most ‘characterisation’ in the film, in that they literally just took volume 9’s idea of ‘Ruby has self-doubts’, slapped it on her, explored nothing, and then Clark gave her a quick Friendship Speech and she’s all smiley again. Weiss has a bit of flirting with Batman, suddenly gained hacking abilities out of nowhere, and is mainly the ‘nice but snobby’ archetype she’s been in main RWBY for ages. Actually, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Jaune all mainly exist to serve plot points in some way. Weiss and her little storyline with Batman is just designed to reveal the villain, Jaune is there to push Jessica’s storyline of getting her powers back by Literally Curing Her Panic Attacks, and Blake and Yang? Well, they get Wonder Woman to the places she needs to visit, first Beacon, then Atlas, and then Vale again. Oh, and they have Moments. Your mileage may vary on if that’s good or not, it’s mainly superfluous to the film overall. Ren and Nora don’t actually contribute anything, beyond Ren being jealous of Cyborg and Nora, and Nora getting mad at both of them for being overly protective (I think it’s meant to be pushback against misogyny but. It’s poorly handled).

Actually, I lie. Blake does have at least one big thing of characterisation. But I’m going to put it in the next section, because it’s more of a writing problem. The final other characters in the film are Kilg%re, our villain, who is laughable, and the simulated versions of Glynda, Kali, Jacques, Ozpin/Oscar, and Pyrrha. All of whom are there just to… show that it’s a simulation, or something. They don’t do anything beyond Pyrrha being so obviously a trap for Jaune and Jessica that of course only Jaune ignoring Jessica’s common sense could have made it worse. Now, Onwards!!

#5. Oh boy lets talk about the writing

So. The Faunus racism plotline. Listen. It’s bad. We all know its bad. I’m not going into it because there are a million people smarter then me who already have done elaborate and well-thought analyses on why its bad. Can we just accept the Faunus plotline is horrendous and go from there? Okay? Okay.

So: Blake introduces the concept of faunus by describing her own race as ‘humans with ears or a tail’. As I saw someone else put it when the movie dropped, ‘people don’t describe themselves as a white person with darker skin’. Anyway, the faunus plotline. It’s not really touched on in this film beyond Jacques being racist towards Bruce and Blake being generally weird about it, and the idea that ‘the animal-themed superheroes are faunus now’, but it’s a plotline that RWBY will never escape and therefore must be mentioned as having some impact.

So lets talk about the actual racism in the movie and mention how the black woman is a Sassy Side Character, the two men of colour are shoved into a jealousy plotline over a white girl (again, reiterating: Weiss and Bruce have the hacking plotline), and the Latina girl has a white boy solve her mental illness for her after her character design was whitewashed. While I don’t think it’s intentionally racist, it is a bit of a pattern for all of RWBY’s stuff that characters of colour are either written off, villainised, or sidelined. I also want to mention: Oscar shows up in this literally just to get slammed hard into a pillar by Wonder Woman. They really can’t go five minutes without beating up this kid). This movie is not kind to the characters of colour, whether its by Actively Fucking Whitewashing Them or by just making them non-characters, and it’s just, unfortunately, exactly what was expected from a piece of RWBY media.

The mention of Oscar above reminded me: the simulation characters are… handled oddly. Ozpin is the most obviously fake, even before he starts glitching between his old self and Ozpin. But what’s strange is that out of all the simulations, Jacques of all characters has the most personality of them. Kali was always a side character, Glynda just creates exposition and sets up a fight scene, Ozpin isn’t even given a character he’s just Creepy Hologram, and Pyrrha has about one minute of ‘no wait its totally me’ before she goes The Most Evil (sidenote, they keep bringing Pyrrha back just to be evil, I hope that’s not another pattern). It’s just… strange. The way the whole villain thing in this film works is strange. Which leads me to:

Kilg%re. When I found out who the villain of this film was I went on the mother of all rants on discord. And I will post it here for posterity, just so you know exactly what the gut reaction was.

As for why this reveal sucks: well. I mean, first of all, if you introduce the concept of your surprise villain as a joke earlier in the film, which they did, then it doesn’t really make them feel all that villainous. Sure enough, it gave Kilg%re a chip on the shoulder in his villain monologue, where he was whining about being ‘the one who finally trapped the Justice League’ (bestie they’re a superhero team from comics, they get trapped once a week and twice on Sundays, you’re not special, babe, sorry). And a character desperately yelling at the screen that ‘no I’m really cool trust me’ is not… fun. It’s just sort of awkward. Sorry, Kilg%re, they treated you badly. Also, they didn’t reveal the second villain on Remnant’s side beyond saying ‘he’, even when setting this during the Vol7 Montage, so I guess that’s a mystery for the next movie, if it’s ever made (personally I’m hoping for Dr Merlot, why not).

On the flipside of villains being written badly, this film also has romance written badly. It’s just jealousy and love triangles, jealousy and love triangles. Not even interesting love triangles either, just ‘character A shows interest in character B, which makes character C get really possessive and (in all but one case) mean to B’. The As: Cyborg, Yang, Bruce. The Bs: Nora, Diana, Weiss. The Cs: Ren, Blake, Diana (again). It’s not cute, and it’s especially not cute when it’s repeated three times in the same film. It’s just boring.

Finally: and this is the thing that truly, genuinely, made me want to write this whole thing because of how rage inducing it is, is this monologue given to us by Blake:

"They sound lucky. They've never had to worry they were gonna die just from going to school. To train like your life, or worse, your friends' lives depend on it. To have to live with the fact that there's a real chance you're gonna lose them. They had a childhood."

Lets count it down, people!!

Superman: literally an allegory for illegal immigrants, refugee orphans (an alien who was adopted and raised in America after his home was made unsafe) and in many case Jewish people, what with all the Moses Allegory. Had to hide the fact that he was an alien all his life, starting from childhood.

Batman: watched his parents get gunned down in front of him at age 8. This is so integral an event that it is a fulcrum point not only of his character, but also of most of the main Dc Universe that Bruce’s Parents Die.

Flash: his mother was murdered in front of him by a time-travelling speedster and his father was arrested for it. Barry grew up with the stigma of having a murderer for a father who he is generally seen as visiting constantly in jail.

Cyborg: he is a disabled black man whose father fused him with alien technology to keep him alive after a near-death experience that also completely replaced 90% of his body and meant he had to give up on his dreams of being a sports star. Usually also has a dead mom around there too.

Green Lantern: a Latina woman who had a decent childhood by most accounts in the comics, but had the unfortunate luck of witnessing gangsters hiding a body while out hiking with her friends. Watched her friends get gunned down around her, spent the next four years extremely agoraphobic to the point of never leaving her apartment because of her trauma and the fear that the gangsters would finish the job. Family’s alive, but that was only the start of the ‘Jessica Has A Bad Time’ train.

Vixen: Mari’s backstory is a bit more nebulous as long as the main points of ‘was born in an African village, got the tantu totem, moved to America and became a superhero and usually also a model’ is met, but she also tends to have a dead mom or dead parents floating around too most of the time, whether that’s by poachers, warlords, or some other awful human-caused tragedy.

Wonder Woman: raised on an island that was in comics literally called 'Paradise Island' by her loving mother, trained with all her Amazon family to become a warrior, the island is explicitly protected from all of the evil of Man’s World by magic, and willingly chose to leave to go do good and protect people.

So we have one princess raised on a paradisal island ethnostate with loving, caring parents telling another princess raised on a paradisal island ethnostate with loving caring parents that ‘yeah your friends have horrific backstories, but they were lucky because they didn’t do what we did and WILLINGLY sign up for a job as a monster killer where we get four years of training and preparation and also are paid well for our actions instead of freelance vigilante work for charity, so if you think about it, us RWBY kids are the real victims/warriors here’.

Just in case anyone was wondering why I think Wonder Woman’s OOC in this film.

Oh also this monologue is an allegory for gun violence and school shootings, as confirmed by the writer in this article and I am including the quote for posterity and also so people can’t say I made it up: https://animemojo.com/other/exclusive-interview-with-justice-league-x-rwby-super-heroes-huntsmen-writer-meghan-fitzmartin-a14773#gs.w1iou8

“These kids are warriors and these RWBY kids are a really good look at what we’re putting a lot of kids through today. There’s a statistic I saw recently that said 1-in-5 kids will die in gun violence in America. That sucks. That’s the level of warrior stuff we’re putting our kids through and it’s a good example of what’s happening to this current generation. I wanted to make a point of saying, ‘What does that do to us?’ Looking into the leadership or what these characters go through, it’s interesting to see what they have to give up to give future generations a chance. I think that resonates a lot with kids today.” - Meghan Fitzmartin

Just. In case anyone else wants to be angry about this with me. Hey, RWBY, you can’t have the actual tagline of your show be ‘it’s also a gun’ and then go ‘gun violence is bad tho’ because oh man then your main characters look like real monsters for all the times they pull guns on people (such as all the unarmed civilians or people who they pulled guns on first who then pulled out their own guns in self-defence). Also, if this is one of the themes of the movie, then this is also the only time it’s touched on. The concept of ‘being a warrior’ becomes instantly watered down to mean ‘badass fighter’ and not ‘person carrying constant fear of death by rising gun violence’, so it’s also a really shallow use of an actually serious theme, which is par for the course with RWBY but is also still very annoying when it happens.

#6. Other General Notes: - the Bad, and the Ugly”

The music in this film was very weak. No hate to the composer but it’s barely noticeable and doesn’t really have anything of note. Normally I find a lot of DC stuff has decent music and RWBY in particular is praised for it. This was disappointing, audio-wise

The designs: Listen, RWY and JNR were fine, the Beacon designs are serviceable even if they aren’t my favourites overall. But anyway, lets rank the Justice League, best to worst!

#1. Vixen: even, somehow, in the world that is RWBY modelling, Vixen slays. She simply cannot look bad, ever. The focus on black and orange contrast instead of a million eye-searing colours, the sleekness of the jumpsuit, the fact that it’s not overly complicated, and that she actually has hair with curls in it? If not for the tail and the fact that it is literally just Harriet’s model, top points. You cannot keep a bad bitch down.

#2. Cyborg: Listen. It could have been worse. It could have been. So much worse.

#3. Wonder Woman: girlypop’s gonna cut someone on that chin, and her arm muscles look like braided bread. The ponytail would be passable if not for the way they modelled her hair tendrils, and the outfit… also could have been worse.

#4. Superman: The babyface and the way his hair is plastered to his head does not work, but I like how expressive his eyes are. The outfit is an atrocity to god but they all are from this point so at least his boots are cute and the whole denim jeans and denim jacket would work if they didn’t have that massive gold S on the shirt or the Fake Cape.

#5. Batman: ugly as sin. He has No Hood, Cowl, or Mask, his hair is bad, the scar on the eyebrow is the one cool thing, his outfit is awful, and when it’s folded up it looks like Weiss is swinging around an empty pizza box. Gotta say, at least the ears in the comic were kinda cute, the bat wings are just bland in comparison.

#6. Flash: Sir your zipper is in the shape of a zigzag and it’s very cringefail of you. The one redeeming feature is the visor but like, the hair? No. The scarf? No. The way they placed the colours on his outfit? Yikes. Throw the whole man out, Kilg%re did.

#7. Green Lantern: they put her in a blender with Ben 10 and hit ‘emulsify’ (this is insulting to Ben 10 which I am very sorry for, Ben 10 didn’t deserve this but then again neither did Jess). Her long curly hair is gone, her melanin is gone, her cute jumpsuit is gone, her brown eyes are GONE like I had my issues with the comic designs but at least it was a design and not just Ugly Bad Wrong.

Final note: they really want us to believe that Batman beat up a guy and stole his tuxedo to blend in but during the entire time he was changing out of his hero costume and into a suit he somehow didn’t notice a pair of big honking WINGS on his back. Yeah right.

#7. Final Scores!!!

Plot: 2/10

Characters: -100/10

Spectacle Fights: 4/10

Themes: 1/10

Overall score, not including the points for ‘characters’: 2.5/10

Do NOT make another fucking movie with this premise. (I will write up Jessica's personal meta in the future, keep an eye out).

#rwby #rwde #rwby x justice league #rwby spoilers #justice league x rwby #jl x rwby #rwby x jl #justice league rwby #rwby-meta #mod watts

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