#but limited was definitely my least favourite unfortunately and i can say that for sure since i watched it semi recently | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

elizabethshaw · 1 year

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need to get this all out somehow, so - thoughts and general ramblings on the new eight-liv-helen audios! under the cut for spoiler purposes:

so! general overview - this boxset was. so so good. i really enjoyed last month’s release as well, but this was on another level for me entirely and despite listening to most of it past midnight (i was busy from about 8am until 11.30 at night. tuesdays are just like that every week unfortunately) and so probably not being in the best state of... anything, really, for it, i genuinely enjoyed this set so much and am in all honesty going slightly mad not being able to talk about it to anyone irl. anyway

episode-by-episode thoughts:

here lies drax

- this was a very fun one! now i’ve listened to the full set it does feel a little out of place tonally (this was very much a comedy and the other two. weren’t), but it was definitely enjoyable and had a clever plot

- i did actually do my homework for this one and listened to “the trouble with drax” the other week in preparation! (it was the first time i’d listened to one of four’s audios, actually, which was an interesting experience.) i feel like having that context definitely helped understanding a lot of the references going on, but i do wonder if i’d gone into this cold i would’ve enjoyed it a little more because it did feel at some points like it was retreading “trouble”’s beats a bit. hmm

- i did enjoy it overall though (it was very very funny), and i did like the way it all eventually panned out with all the guest characters being drax except the one character actually credited as drax. definitely appealed to my sense of humour

- there was something so deeply funny to me about the entire funeral scene, but especially the part with eight, whose experience of it up to that point had been all the guests turning up late and one of them straight up shooting the corpse, turning to liv and helen and going “this is exactly how i want my funeral to go”. what is going on in his head <3

- also shoutout to “can you legally shoot a corpse?” i have been wanting to make an out of context clips compilation for this era for ages now and if i ever do get round to doing it that line is definitely going in there

- “i think i want to scream” helen being a mood once again. this is how i have felt for the past 5 weeks at least

the love vampires

- this is currently very closely tied with “albie’s angels” for my favourite episode of both this boxset and this era of standalone stories with the team so far. it’s SO GOOD

- while i do definitely like the more fun, adventure-based episodes, i feel like my real niche with dr who stories is ones that really dig into the characters and this is a great example of the latter category. i was optimistic for this one anyway because, from my limited experience with his big finish work, james kettle seems like a really good writer for character-based stories, but it really exceeded my expectations for it. the character work (especially for helen) was absolutely brilliant!

- CANON QUEER HELEN FINALLY!!!!!!! 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

- i listened to the bit where that was confirmed when i was in public and let me tell you it was an absolutely huge effort to not completely lose my shit. i’m fairly sure i was grinning like an idiot the whole way through though

- honestly this whole episode was just fantastic for helen content generally. i am biased because she’s one of my all-time favourite characters, but that 100% drove the whole thing up in my estimation

- hattie morahan’s performance in this (and the next episode) was absolutely brilliant, some of her best in dw imo

- “great. van helsing in space” i don’t particularly have anything to add here i just think this line was fun

- liv’s first love as revealed by this episode is called petko. i looked the name up and apparently it’s bulgarian, and all i’m saying is that this is definitely adding to my “kaldor and slavic languages theory” 😌

- also like. liv’s scene with her respective vampire was so sad??? like i just got this feeling of overwhelming loneliness from it, and... yeah. someone get that woman a hug

- LOTS of thoughts about the scene between eight and liv where he gets her to promise to kill him if things go wrong. it’s actually shorter than i thought it was (went back and relistened for the purposes of making this bullet point), but there is a Lot to unpack there and i think it does highlight some of the stuff that makes their dynamic so interesting. i just don’t see that same scene happening with many other doctor-companion dynamics and, well... many thoughts

- “we’ll go out together. blaze of glory.” undescribable emotions™

- cutting away from the character stuff for a brief moment to discuss a) the atmosphere. the whole vibe of this story was so well-done, including the sound design, it felt really claustrophobic and creepy in the best way, really effective. and b) i thought the becoming were neat. i just think that’s a super cool name for an alien race :)

- “i sometimes think i can be a bit too... buttoned-up... emotionally.” “no... i- i wouldn’t say that.” “why? it’s obviously true.” eight my friend you are not helping here At All <3

albie’s angels

- okay so i’ve somehow got into a mindset where every time a new audio with this tardis team comes out i am absolutely convinced that helen is going to die in it. i thought this was going to be the episode where it happens and let me tell you i am so relieved that i was wrong!!!

- (i still reckon she’s doomed by the narrative though. this is a line of thought that’s really enough for a post of its own so i won’t elaborate here, but yeah. i am still not convinced her ending is going to be a happy one)

- this episode did however utterly wreck me emotionally (affectionate)

- really enjoyed the intro scene! i just like them getting to be silly together, even if it wasn’t for long :’)

- “didn’t we do enough damage to this decade already? put it another way, didn’t it do enough damage to us?” yeah :/

- albie was absolutely lovely :’) he was so sweet and kind and had so much love to give?? he may only be in one episode but i’d die for him

- also interesting to note how genuinely similar he seemed to helen? like they obviously have fairly distinct and different personalities but there were a lot of like, small mannerisms and stuff that they shared and it just really added something to their dynamic. they actually felt like siblings, really makes me wish that dw would do sibling duos like this more often tbh

- “helen chenka” i am trying so hard to be normal about liv/helen and keep my expectations for what’ll happen with them in check and every day i am tested. what the fuck.

- actually you know what this entire episode had a LOT of liv/helen moments??? like i kinda just assumed the whole thing was dead in the water after stranded but now... i’m having a lot of thoughts. maybe that big finish tweet from august or whenever it was was right

- the snowball fight scene. i will actually be thinking about this forever.

- the revelation that albie had been a few miles away from helen at most the entire time she was still on earth but neither of them had known and got to see each other totally wrecked me ngl

- and also the fact that his arrest was so close in time to the events of helen’s first episode! before this i’d assumed it had happened when helen was still fairly young, but now thinking about how her grief for him would have been so new and raw during “the red lady”... god this is actually destroying me

- (given that “absent friends” probably takes place a maximum of about two weeks after “the red lady” as well, the implication there that helen basically loses her entire family in the space of a few months is heartbreaking)

- “what else did helen tell you?” “not much. i don’t know if she couldn’t or wouldn’t. but after that conversation...” “yes?” “that was pretty much it, she... shut down.” “that’s our helen.” “she means a lot to me, you know.” “to both of us.” this whole scene was a Lot in general, but the way that both liv and eight genuinely care about helen so much?? the way that they’re recognising and acknowledging the fact that she’s not okay and in a good place mentally and hasn’t been for a long time?? the bond this team have means so much to me istg

- this episode said the real villains are homophobia and capitalism and it was right

- i was not expecting the lesbian weeping angels at all but you know what? good for them. i hope they’re living their best lives now

- roy gill really just went and almost single-handedly gave helen one of her best arcs in the entire show and i respect him so much for that. i hope he comes back as a writer for this tardis team at some point because he just absolutely gets what they’re all about.

- the tragedy of it all combined with the ray of light in that albie and bailey got to be happy together, and that helen got to see her brother one last time... it was such a bittersweet ending and i feel like it was absolutely perfect for the story and for this arc as a whole

- song for helen broke me completely. i was sobbing at it in a dark room at 2.30 am and honestly i feel like that says everything.

so yeah. overall really really loved these three episodes!!! genuinely looking forward to where they’re going to go next with these characters, i feel like there’s some real potential for amazing stuff down the line :)

#bethan talks about dw #bethan listens to big finish #dw spoilers #feels like it's been a long time since i've actually posted any thoughts (or just. any original content oops) on here!#rest assured i have been thinking about dr who all the time though :)#(although admittedly it has been recently sharing brain space with the pleasant green universe audios bc i've been relistening)#anyway hope you're all having a good day!! sorry for rambling so much haha

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ufonaut · 2 years

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What comic has most ripped the wind out of your sails? Like you thought you liked it, but it dropped the ball last minute and ruined the whole thing?

hi! i think there's definitely a couple but i find it mostly to be an epidemic among modern comics, which is so odd because there's 90s ongoings cancelled halfway through that are well written enough you'd swear they'd been intended as miniseries all along (see: everything keith giffen has ever written) and then there's modern minis with the exact number of issues they were intended to have and they read like cancelled ongoings.

the worst offender is probably green lantern 2021, which i actually adore as a whole and even agree with geoffrey thorne's opinions by and large but it sure does spend its first five issues standing perfectly still only to wrap things up at the speed of light in its final sixth issue with absolutely zero emotional stakes or narratively satisfying changes. finding out he's been hired specifically for six issues and it's not a case of a longer arc forced to fit a limited space has certainly... changed how i feel about it, to say the least.

other modern books that don't quite manage to land their ending are unfortunately tom king's batman/catwoman and batman: killing time. the former is a definite case of bad timing, covid shipping delays meant a year-long series stretched into two years and became harder to remain invested in as time went by (not to mention the annual being the 'real' ending diminishes the impact of the actual final issue of the series); the latter is a victim of what i'd diagnose as batman fatigue. we all know tom king's my favourite writer, but frankly that's the main reason i'm criticizing him -- he can do better than this and is actively doing better than this (the human target, love everlasting, danger street, supergirl: woman of tomorrow) so it's only his batman work that's suffered.

that's pretty much all i can think of just now, thank you!!!!

#asks #tebbytime #<33333

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baeshijima · 3 years

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𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫!𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫!𝐲/𝐧

MASTERLIST

now, childe as a general streamer,,, he’s a whale in every sense of the word

…

poggers—

so childe as a streamer in general would be one word ;

✨chaotic✨

he would definitely be a variety streamer, but more so for games !!

especially pvp and/or pve games

competitive meta mf—

probably plays LoL, overwatch, apex legends, valorant and minecraft

don’t question the minecraft

he likes mining but has a personal vendetta against the creepers bc once they blew up his mansion

yes, a mansion

ask any of his community and they’ll tell u he spent a full-blown month and a half playing just minecraft to build it, only for it to go down just like that ;-;

his chat loved it tho <//3

he’s played honkai too !! mainly for the pve and grinding bc he’s a whale but uh,,, shhh

his community,,, his community are just a bunch of trolls at this point i cant even lie

they just KEKW, SADGE & COPIUM spam everything and the newer viewers get intimidated until they realise he deserves them all HJGKJHF

especially when he starts getting annoyed by the game,,, his reactions are too good to pass up on gn

typically when he does mario kart streams 👩‍🦯 that shit’s wild when it happens oh my

when he falls in rainbow road 🤡

and especially bc he has his webcam on, his viewers just see him internally dying or wanting to scream

also gets passive aggressive

shit talks everything and everyone when in that mood <//3

for what’s left of his dignity i won’t disclose what happens

definitely gets jebaited a lot too <//3 unfortunately he’s too easy for his chat ;-;

another mf with a massive community except he has a lot of friends (sorry not sorry albedo)

ppl have a love-hate relationship with him tbh; u either love him or hate him

no inbetween

unless u show ur love through bullying him then go off ig

his discord server, twt + yt are also really big too !! also verified on insta

also !!

he has lots of plushies :(( esp whale plushies from his community bc he’s the biggest whale they know <//3

but if u look at his setup, there’s a mini whale plushie on the top of his main monitor (he has 3), one big one (like,,, up to his chin) behind him, a smol on the top of his chair so u can see it above his head, and just more off screen HKJSDHL

they asked for a room tour once and half of it was just whale plushies

the rest were LED lights + shelves of merch & gifts from his community !!

he even has some fanmail (actual wholesome ones that aren’t cursed) pinned on a board too 🥺

also has an ensuite—

when he was eating on stream one time, his chat was sent into an absolute outrage

u know why?

bc he was eating noodles with a fork

bby ;-;

so sometimes he’ll get sent those beginner chopsticks with the finger guides to help him 👩‍🦯

he’s actually made sure to eat with them on stream tho bc he was sent one with a narwhal on top and he thinks it’s cute JHGJKH

nOW ONTO THIS MAN BEING WHIPPED FOR U AS A GENSHIN STREAMER !!!!

herkekle

now, his (also) AR56 ass has been playing since genshin first came out

an og if u will

this man,,, he’s been in love with u even before the game’s official release 🐥

not only were u in the promotional art and trailers, but he was also one of the beta testers so he got to try out ur character first hand in the early stages !!

and when i say he fell hard for u,

i mean it

when the game wasn’t released publicly yet, he wasn’t allowed to disclose any information and ngl, it killed him that he couldn’t talk abt u :((

so all he could do was say this upcoming was really nice so far and subtly brag abt u to everyone JHGKJSDFHLK

when the official ads & promotional art were finally released 🥺🥺 when i tell u he immediately went live talking abt the game and u HKGJHFDK

he didn’t care that he streamed at an ungodly hour bc he’s been waiting for the reveal for so long he needs to let everyone know </3

he retweeted everything from their official twt straightaway, made a yt video based off his spontaneous stream promoting the game + pinged his entire server abt it

yes

his nearly 200k server all got pinged abt this one game bc he’s in love with a character from it

and he has no regrets abt it <33

the day the game was available for download, he stREAMED THE ENTIRE DOWNLOAD PROCESS

while he and his chat were waiting, they decided to watch the trailers and character showcases to get a feel for the game, and played some mario kart to pass the time !!

as soon as the game loaded, he threw mario kart behind him and went on 🐥

he typed his name (ajax) for the when he chose aether and literally everyone was appreciating the aesthetics HKJFS

but childe,,, he was waiting for it to be over so he could see u ;-;

he appreciated the aesthetics, fighting mechanics & voice acting a lot tho !!

now he had gotten through all the tutorials, got all the chests he could he was finally in mond

and there u were 🥺 after the dvalin encounter u arrived before kaeya did

and boy did he show u off sm to his viewers HKJHKLF

they knew he was down bad before but now?? they know it’s hopeless to save him and if he ever falls out of love that’s when the world ends

luckily that’ll never happen tho <33

but he took !! so many !! screenshots !!

oh, and did i mention he changed his wallpapers to u? and his twt + discord pfps are also some very aesthetic screenshots of u from that first scene ;-;

he just appreciates u sm okay 🥺

he even clutched his chest where his heart is and sunk down his chair when he heard u speak 😩

his chat just spammed his downbad + y/nlove + SHRIMP emotes and he accepted them all with grace <33

now when he unlocks the wishing feature,,, u already know he’s wishing for u as soon as possible

ur in the standard banner so ur always there which he appreciates but he would’ve wanted u to be limited so he can rub it in ppl’s faces ;-;

and since it was the first release rewards, he had tons of wishes right off the bat !!

he was gonna roll for venti after he gets u bc,,, well does he need a reason??

also he doesn’t do well with archer characters in general ;;; but if ur an archer then ur obv an exception sooo

bUT he got a 5 star in his first 20 pulls !!

tho it was diluc 👩‍🦯

while he was happy bc he got an incredibly meta character right off the bat,

he wasn’t interested in diluc,,, (even now his diluc is barely looked after, and only used for spiral abyss, *sweats*)

the next 5 star he got was around the 60 mark, and he got a weapon,,,

i mean,,, he got the weapon that was most suited for u so that’s smth at least (ˉ▽ˉ；)

after he used all his remaining primos and fates, he finally got u 🥺

he just went “fuck the storyline” and immediately put u in his party and just

admired u as a whole

went through all the voice lines available, ur character story, ur idle animations (he had a heart attack from u and his chat clipped it) and took many, many screenshots

his favourite voice lines would have to be the night + about us + (y/n)’s hobbies

and then he equipped u with ur weapon and damnnn did u look so good with it 😩

he changed u to be his avatar, with his signature as :

“(y/n)’s whale <3”

and now the whaling process begins 👩‍🦯

after at least £2k, he got u to c6, along with at least 1 copy of all the standard 5 stars,,

then he went for venti’s banner—

his chat were just too focused on how he’s gonna play u to even think of anything else tbh HKJAH

with ur kit, u were honestly seen to be a dps or even a sub dps if ppl don’t want u on the field all the time

so definitely a perfect character for mr meta strimmer tartaglia (his twitch name btw ;;; childe is just smth he prefers his community to call him as but they also call him ajax too HKJSD) here

so he went through the archon quests with u as his carry and i won’t lie, ur name card is smth he has printed and framed behind him after he got it 🥺

he later finds out ur part of the fatui in the liyue archon quest tho and has to fight u with,,,

well, u ;;;

he finds it hot tho so it’s okay—

i won’t lie tho, his zhongli after he got him is his second strongest after u

he just builds all his characters in the most broken way he can so he can show his viewers that everyone can be a dps in their own right, not just the ones meant to be since there’s no right or wrong in this game !!

but now ur weapon is r5, ur lvl 90 and u have lvl 20 5 star artifacts that make u the most broken (y/n) seen

ppl who co op with him are honestly baffled,,, especially when the feature of them being able to view other players’ character stats become available,,,

u with ur nearly 3k atk,,,

he’s hit over 600k with u tho and he’ll always flex that

no one can top him as a (y/n) main and that’s honestly just a fact at this point 😩

when he saw that the dating sim hangouts was official, his immediate and iconic response was simply ;

“so when will (y/n) become a dateable, huh 🤨”

to this day he’s still waiting to be able to date u in-game <//3

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact fluff #genshin impact childe #genshin childe #childe #childe x reader #genshin childe x reader #genshin impact childe x reader #childe headcanons #childe scenarios #childe fluff #hsdkjfhklsdfs childe pls come hom on main ;-;#streaming dreams

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moonlit-reveriee · 3 years

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NSFW Alphabet

ft. technoblade

concept: a collection of my own personal nsfw headcanons for techno, one for each letter of the alphabet

@saturnsstufff ‘s discord saw it first ;)

A = Aftercare

I like the idea that techno actually gets very clingy after sex. He’ll get up and grab a glass of water or a towel if either of you need it, but if he’s able to, he’ll stay glued to your side the whole time. Even if he won’t admit it, he needs to have that intimacy after sex. He loves the feeling of your body pressed against his as you both cool down. Usually, his hands will be absentmindedly drawing patterns over your skin

B = Body part

Kind of an oddly specific one, but he loves your shoulders. He loves to casually rest his chin on them as he holds you from behind, and bury his face in the crook of your neck as he presses heated kisses on your pulse point. He also considers the way a person carries their shoulders to be an indication of their strength, and how could he see anything but strength in you.

He hadn’t put much thought into his own body before meeting you. He’s learned to love parts of himself because of you. Particularly his scars. They way you gently run your fingers across the rough surface of them, in both intimate and casual settings, made him crave the touch. Now when he looks at them, he thinks of your hands moving across his skin

C = Cum

Fun fact: pigs have 30 minute orgasms

Early on in your sexual relationship, he was very embarrassed by just how much of it there always was. But once you started praising him for it, that became a very different story. He started to take pride in how well he could completely fill you up without even trying

D = Dirty Secret

He would probably never admit it to you, but it’s become a habit of his to think about the last time he had sex with you during battles. He starts to make sure you two always have sex the night before a big fight, so his mind can wander back to it during the haze of battle. He’s not sure if it’s a coping mechanism or what but it certainly helps

E = Experience

You are his first ever sexual partner, but somehow he just.... already knows what he’s doing?? He’s very nervous and considerate the first time, but he does everything perfectly. Once you tell him that, he’s very happy and secretly a bit proud of himself

F = Favourite Position

He loooves to have you in his lap. Either facing him, back to chest, it doesn’t matter. He’ll do everything with you in his lap. Cockwarming, fingering, thigh riding, anything you and him are physically able to do in that position

G = Goofy

He’s usually a bit more on the serious side. Sometimes the two of you will quip at each other during foreplay, but once he gets going, it’s all business. In the moment, he likes to treat is as something special (doesn’t mean he won’t tease you about things after the fact)

H = Hair

He likes to keep himself clean-shaven most of the time. When he’s relaxed and doesn’t have to go to any public events for a long period of time, he’ll let a small amount of stubble grow on his chin. You can always tell when he slacks off on it, cause the stubble on his face brushes roughly against your skin as he kisses down your body...

he doesn’t really shave much below the neck, but he keeps it clean and trims occasionally

I = Intimacy

He’s surprisingly romantic when he wants to be. It’s definitely a side of him only you’re allowed to see. Alone together in his bed, he’ll whisper sweet nothings to you as he slowly draws you to your climax. Even when he’s speaking the most lewd and naughty things to you, he somehow makes them sound affectionate and full of love

J = Jack Off

He loves to watch you masturbate. The first time was a complete accident. He came home late one night to find you curled up with his blankets, breathing heavily as you massaged yourself over your underwear. It wasn’t long before you noticed him in the doorway and jumped, worthlessly attempting to hide what you were doing. He wasn’t sure if it was the blush on your face or the fact that the blanket you chose to cover yourself in was his cape but something urged him to sit on the edge of the bed, still in his armor, and ask you to continue. It was beautiful to simply sit there and watch

K = Kink

He’s a little bit possessive. He loves to mark you in subtle ways so you always remember that you’re his. Especially if you’re going on a trip without him. He’ll drape you in gold jewelry and leave a hickey just out of sight on your neck for good measure. The part that he loves the most about it though, is that you know exactly what he’s doing and show off his signs of possession with pride

L = Location

He prefers to keep most of your sexual acts to the area in and around his cottage. Other than in bed, he loves to press you up against a wall. Sometimes you two get distracted while tending to the farms and end up heatedly making out in the snow. One time, you decide you wanted to lay out some blankets on the floor and do it right in front of the fireplace. He adored the way the firelight danced across your skin. (He’s thought about taking you down to the syndicate room and laying you out across the table. But he came to the unfortunate conclusion that during meetings, he’d never be able to look anyone straight in the eyes ever again. So he’s shelved that idea for the time being. Maybe once the group has disbanded...)

M = Motivation

He loves to be praised by you. During regular day-to-day life, he doesn’t like to accept any compliments from you, usually just brushing them off or responding with a joke. But when you two are alone together and intimate, he drinks that shit up. How can he not believe it when you look up and him with lidded eyes and tell him just how good he makes you feel. Just moaning against his lips as he kisses you is enough to keep him going for a while

N = NO

He will never do anything that involves seeing your own blood. It sets off the voices too much. One day, you randomly got a nosebleed while cooking dinner together. He could smell it before he even saw it. When the voices recognized the deep red color dripping down your face, they wouldn’t stop chanting. He tried to help you clean up, but it became too much to ignore. He had to go out back and slaughter at least a dozen zombies before they shut up. And even then, he was left with a pounding headache. You were extra gentle and sweet with him when you cuddled up in bed together that night

O = Oral

If you’re on the receiving end, be prepared for him to be down there a looooong time. Once he gets his mouth on you, it’s hard for him to pull away. He loves your smell and taste too much. He tries not to get too carried away, but there was one time he made you come 5 times in a row with just his mouth. He was very thorough with his aftercare that night.

He isn’t the one receiving very often. He only really likes it when he’s tired. He loves to sit back in a chair and watch you gently suck him of on your knees in front of him, one hand gently weaving it’s way through your hair

P = Pace

I always imagine him on the slower side. He likes to savor every moment, making sure that every thrust or movement of his hand is intentional and perfectly placed. He takes time to watch you carefully to make sure you’re getting exactly what you need. He’ll go harder before he goes faster

Q = Quickie

As much as he loves to treasure your intimate time together, there are times where he just needs it. Every once and awhile, he’ll be desperate for it and quickly have you against the wall before heading out to run some errands. Sometimes he’ll pull you in, make you cum, and head out the door without saying a single word. He usually feels the need to make up for it when he returns, but you’ve assured him many times that you love sex with him at any pace

R = Risk

Since he’s still fairly inexperienced despite his skills, he’s not super adventurous himself. More often than not, you’re the one bringing new ideas to the relationship. He’s willing to try the new things you suggest. You’ve had a discussion about your limits, and you both understand what goes too far for each other

S = Stamina

He can go multiple times in a row if he wants to, and for a long time. He lowkey loves it when you tire out before him, and you let him keep going while you lie there sleepily in his arms

T = Toy

He doesn’t own any sex toys, but he likes to make sex toys out of everyday objects (as long as they’re safe and properly cleaned of course). He likes the idea of never being able to look at that object the same way again, especially if it’s something either of you use around the house frequently. He would get his hands on some actual toys if you wanted him to. If toys are involved, he prefers them to be used on you, not on him

U = Unfair

He likes to randomly tease you during moments that are absolutely not sexual. Maybe you’re brushing out his hair, complaining about the knots in it. He’ll suddenly respond with “that’s not what you told me in the bedroom last night” leaving you to sit there in shock while he laughs. Or he’ll quote things you said to him during sex completely deadpan and watch as the blush rises to your cheeks

V = Volume

He’s not extremely loud. When he is loud though, he growls. You’ll be able to feels his chest vibrating when you lean into him. Sometimes you can even feel the vibrations through his lips as he pleasures you with his mouth, which is an absolutely crazy and wonderful feeling.

During very domestic moments, he likes to talk a lot during sex. If he comes home from working all day, and he’s missing you greatly, he loves to tell you all about his day while his cock gently rocks inside of you

W = Wild Card

This part is definitely just gonna be me fulfilling one of my personal kinks, but I love the idea of techno going through a heat since he’s part piglin. Maybe it only happens like once a year, but when it’s that time, his senses are kicked into high gear and he’s desperate for you. The two of you have a routine for it by now. You prepare the bedroom by gathering every blanket in the house, and prepping a week’s worth of food & water that can be eaten quickly during the moments when techno’s haze of arousal drops. Once he feels it start to set in, he locks the bedroom door and allows his senses to become completely enveloped by you

X = X-Ray

I like to believe that a lot of the hybrid races are PACKING. It’s one of the many things he’s nervous about on your first time, but seeing the way your able to take him so well every time is such a turn on

Y = Yearning

Both you and him can be too tired to have sex at times, but if he’s able to have you, he’ll take everything he can get. He loves to take care of you if you’ve had a long day, and he knows you’ll do the same for him

Z = ZZZ

If it’s nighttime sex, he can pass out as soon as aftercare is over. But if it’s morning or midday, he can have sex and go about the rest of his day no problem. Since his orgasms are so long, he likes to make you cum more often than he does, and watching you cum invigorates him

#mcyt x reader #techno x reader #technoblade x reader #mcyt smut #techno smut #red:moon #c!techno

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animeomegas · 3 years

Text

Omega!Obey Me characters forgetting a mating anniversary

Anon: reactions to their alpha missing an anniversary? or you could switch it and do reactions to realizing they forgot an anniversary. either or !

Anon part 2: hi! i’m the anon from the anniversary request. i was thinking maybe the obey me! fandom? whichever characters you like. my exams are coming to an end so i’m looking forward to spending hours on that app during the summer 😤😤 i hope you’re doing well ! 💕

(Hey hey!! I’m going to do their reactions to forgetting a mating anniversary, because they’ve been alive a long time, I imagine it would happen at least one hehe. Let’s see~)

Warnings: Mention of sex in Asmo’s section

Lucifer – He denies it at first. He can’t have forgotten, he would never forget something so important, you must have the date wrong. His response is very likely to make his alpha either more angry or more upset, and he inadvertently blows the whole thing out of proportion because he struggles to admit that he’s wrong. But when he realises that he is wrong? That he was so caught up in paperwork for Diavolo he did forget? It’s a hard pill to swallow. He would probably buy his alpha some expensive flowers as an apology of sorts, but unless he’s been in a relationship with his alpha for several hundred years, I don’t see him directly apologising. He does feel guilty, but he really finds it hard to articulate. The upside is that it’s extremely unlikely that he’ll ever do it again. He’s checking four times every week at least now that he hasn’t missed any important dates by mistake.

“Our anniversary is next week, my beloved, you must have confused the dates.”

Mammon – Mammon metaphorically shits himself when he realises he forgot an anniversary. His scent is pure, unadulterated panic. His first instinct is to plan an anniversary event that moment. Hell’s Kitchen must still be open right? He tries to pull his alpha with him right that second. If that doesn’t work, he starts to panic that he’s ruined the most important thing in his life. This is when the begging starts. He says sorry about a hundred times, will get on his knees, offer whatever you want as long as you forgive him. Mammon is actually a very compassionate person who doesn’t like upsetting his loved ones, so it’s very hard to stay mad at him. Unfortunately, he’s not great at keeping track of dates, so it might happen again. The best thing to do is organise something together and give him a few reminders when that date’s coming up.

“Oh shit! Er, Hell’s Kitchen is still open right?? I’ll buy you whatever you want, we’ll order one of everything, does that work?”

Leviathan – He almost certainly forgets because of some game event or new releases. And to make everything worse, at first he acts like the game and event was more important than the anniversary and he thinks it’s a legitimate excuse that you can’t argue with. He realises pretty quickly after the event finishes that he’s completely alone because you’re mad at him. He turns to tell you everything about the game but you don’t want to listen to him?? He sulks in his room for a while. What pushes him to apologise is when he sees you hanging out with other people instead of him. He growls away the other person, pulling you into his room and sobbing angrily against you, asking why you love other people more than him. He apologises then, desperate to have his best friend and lover back with him. He might do it again, but he learns pretty quickly to just communicate when he wants to partake in a special gaming event and then he never forgets again.

“W-Why don’t you love m-me, like you l-love him?! I’m sorry, p-please don’t leave!”

Satan – He feels guilty, but he handles it well. He is phenomenal at apology dates. He organises the perfect romantic date, taking into consideration his alpha’s likes and integrating them. If you have a favourite romantic novel, you know he’s going to recreate a date scene with you. If you have a favourite restaurant, he’s booked the best table and ordered a bouquet of your favourite flowers for the centrepiece. It’s very hard to stay mad at Satan, especially because it’s very out of character for him to forget a date so important.

“If you want any more drinks, just let me know. I want you to enjoy this evening as much as possible.”

Asmodeus – He also deals with it fairly well, even if he can’t believe that he forgot! He’s honest and upfront about forgetting and expresses regret. He will definitely try to seduce you as an apology though, offering to let you do whatever you want to him. If that doesn’t work, next step is a joint pampering session! He’s pretty good at conveying a genuine apology without making anything too dramatic. I think it’s unlikely that he would do it again, because he loves, loves, loves anniversaries!!! He genuinely can’t believe that he forgot because he normally plans everything months in advance.

“Oh! I can’t believe that I… Oh dear, here come to my room and let me make it up to you…”

Beelzebub – He’s heartbroken that he forgot! He is so upset. He apologises immediately, looking like he’s on the verge of tears, and he asks you to tell him what he needs to do to make it up to you. He doesn’t offer up solutions, he wants his alpha to pick something, so he knows they’ll enjoy it. The only thing he definitely does immediately, is offer whatever food he’s been saving for them to share with him while they discuss. He will likely ask for advice from some of his brothers, probably Belphie (who doesn’t help) and Asmo (who’s slightly more helpful). He may do it again, but he always tries his hardest to make your anniversaries as special as he can.

“Here, you can have my ice cream… I’m really sorry… What can I do?”

Belphegor – He doesn’t think it’s a big deal that he forgot, because you can both just rearrange it, right? I think it’s pretty unlikely that his alpha takes kindly to that opinion. It takes Belphie a little while to realise that a) he’s in the wrong and b) he needs to apologise. He’s not good at planning, but when he genuinely puts his mind to it, he’s actually pretty good at giving gifts. He buys something you’ve been wanting for a while, he might even put a sticky bow on top if you’re upset enough. He gives you the gift while mumbling apologies. The second you forgive him, he drags you to take a nap with him because he hasn’t been sleeping well since you’ve been mad at him. He’s pretty likely to do it again at least a few times, but he learns not to be such a dick about it eventually.

“Oh, I guess I must have forgot… We can just go tomorrow; I want to take a nap.”

Diavolo – He is gutted that he forgot. He organises the most extravagant apology dinner possible (which is pretty extravagant, because he’s a king, very dramatic, and very in love all at once). He gives a dramatic speech about how there’s no excuse, how he never wants you to think he doesn’t value your relationship etc. At this point, I imagine most people would be begging him to chill out and promising that they already forgave him. Either way, I don’t think it would ever happen again, especially because he tells all of his staff to remember your anniversary and always remind him the week before. He isn’t going to let this happen again.

“My love, I will never forgive myself for hurting you in this way. I will never stop trying to make it up to you, even if it takes me a millennium.”

Barbatos – This would never happen. He is amazing at keeping organisational data in his brain, especially data that means so much to him. Also, he can see the future, so, even if by some miracle he did forget, he would see your future reaction and know in advance that he forgot. Barbatos isn’t perfect, but he’s not one to forget important dates.

Simeon – Simeon is another one who is heartbroken that he’s treated his most beloved one this way. He feels awful. He does tear up a little bit if the relationship is old enough. Simeon makes a huge effort to create some adorable picnic date, cooking baskets and baskets of food and picking the most beautiful park. He brings flowers and bunting and a little cake that he ices with an apology in an unbelievably cute handwriting style. It’s very, very hard not to forgive him when he’s so apologetic and good at making you smile. He goes out of his way to make sure he never upsets his alpha in this way again.

“My beloved, I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I will seek to make it up to you for as long as you’ll let me.”

Solomon – He doesn’t care that much about anniversaries but he’s not dumb enough (like some other people on this list *cough*) to think that saying that to your face is a good idea. He definitely tries to play it off as though he had something planned all along and that making you think he forgot was part of the plan. He then scrambles to plan things last minute, and he’s quite good at covering up his mistake. If his alpha doesn’t believe him, he makes up for his mistake with expensive and rare gifts. He will find something special for his alpha. A first edition copy of your favourite book or limited edition merchandising of your favourite media, something like that. He knows the excitement will help dull any negative emotions you have towards him. I could definitely see him doing it multiple times, but if his alpha ever expressed genuine hurt long-term about that particular habit, he would readjust his priorities. He’s not a complete asshole after all, he just sometimes has a hard time pulling his head out of said asshole.

“Here, it took me three days to track down someone who had a copy, but I finally found a first edition for you. I hope you will accept this as a token of my apology, my dearest.”

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funtimebunnyblog · 3 years

Text

Sureynot is back at it again with some fun requests 😂🤩🥰 Please enjoy!

The Pillarmen with an s/o who's an adrenaline junkie...

(Under the cut for length...)

Kars:

• Kars seriously disapproves of this hobby of yours.

• Mostly because when he met you he was under the impression that you were smarter than to even attempt half of the things you do for "fun".

• Once he found out that your idea of a good time was riding a bike down a rocky mountain at full speed or dangling from the edge of a cliff from a rope like a spider, he was sure you were crazy.

• Perhaps Humans really have regressed after all...

• Just because he could vault himself off a cliff without a care in the world or thought of bodily harm doesn't mean that you, a fragile little Human, should as well.

• If you insist that you're fine because of all the precautions you take when going out to do something risky, it does little to ease him.

• Initially, he tries to forbid you from going out and doing such dangerous things but you offered for him to come along anytime and supervise; which he ended up accepting.

• He'll admit that he feels a little better when he's at least with you just in case anything happens.

• "Isn't this great?" You laugh, peering back to glance at your mate (whom you were strapped to) as you dangled from the base of the cliff by your abs. "Just look at that view!"

• Kars couldn't be bothered to even try to enjoy the sunset scene far, far below when he was laying parallel in the air like this.

• If you wanted to watch the sunset, why not just stand upright ON the cliff?

• "When do we get to the fun part?" He sighed, his underlying bitterness only making you laugh. "This IS the fun part!"

• Should you happen to hurt yourself on any of your solo excursions you can at least always count on him to patch you up when you get Home.

• Showing up with a few scrapes and bruises here and there doesn't bother him very much but if you ever end up breaking a bone, prepare for a scolding of a lifetime.

• He will not let you do anything even close to risky until you are fully healed and from that moment on he makes it clear that he's accompanying you on ALL of your trips and supervising the scene.

• It's kind of funny, in a way he has fallen right into your trap; spending more quality time with you rather than staying cooped up in his office doing work all the time.

Esidisi:

• It takes Esidisi as a surprise when he finds out about your little hobbies.

• He never realized that doing such risky, heart palpatiating stunts was considered enjoyable to some Humans.

• His curiosity piqued, you'll find yourself dragging him along to one of your most favourite activities so he can watch and maybe try his hand at it.

• You've created a monster.

• An adrenaline pumped, 7ft tall, inhuman, older than dirt monster.

• He LOVES this sport. The sights, heights, the high-speed action, the spine tingling, the rushing going to his head; HE LOVES IT.

• It all puts a much hotter fire burning in his blood.

• Soon, he starts dragging YOU along to watch HIM do extremely risky activities and stunts.

• Like watching him bungee jump off the tallest building in the country while chugging 2 energy drinks at the same time as he records the whole thing for YouTube.

• Despite his newfound love for the most extreme of extreme, he's also content to just spend some time doing simpler risky activities like white-water rafting or rock climbing with you.

• If he ever gets injured (no matter how bad) it doesn't bother him in the slightest of course.

• However, if you get seriously hurt on the other hand, it sends all kinds of alarm bells off for him.

• He thinks that maybe he's to blame and that he's been a bad influence on you and your mortality.

• "IT'S MY FAULT!!! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!!" Esidisi sobbed loud enough that his voice rang off the Hospital walls. Endless rivulets of hot tears left your shirt absolutely soaked where he clung to you like a limplet in the bed.

• You could only sigh, your gaze peering past the dense curls of the floof of his hair blocking your vision to your propped up leg and the clean white cast that had just been put on it.

• "Esidisi, this is NOT your fault." You told him, hands instinctively going to rub his back as the tears kept coming and coming. "I should've checked the tire on my bike before driving it down that hillside, it was just an accident. It's just a broken leg."

• (*bike crash* Fred voice: MY LEG!!!)

• Thankfully, his tears ebb when you tell him that he can sign your cast.

• He might even offer to take you across the world to sight see and do some more thrilling activities to make up for it when you're all healed if you're up for the adventure.

Wamuu:

• All of this started when Wamuu noticed that you had a bunch of strange gear in storage.

• When he asked you why you needed so many helmets and ropes and knee and elbow pads, you happily indulged him about your adrenaline seeking hobbies and how you liked to jump off cliffs.

• You definitely have some more explaining to do.

• Admittedly it takes Wamuu a good few minutes to wrap his head around it all.

• "So... you do all of these dangerous things... for a thrill?" He questioned, eyebrows knitted together. "To prove yourself?"

• As you nodded, grinning hugely, he realizes that he shares a similar trait by fighting worthy opponents in the arena.

• The most brutal, sweat inducing, heart pounding fights gave him great tenacity and you experienced the very same when climbing somewhere high or going fast.

• He wants to try this with you.

• Next thing he knows he's all geared up with a helmet and a harness and a rope, standing at the bottom of a HUGE Rockwall.

• "First one to the top wins," was all you said before starting to climb as fast as you could with the Warrior right behind you, a fierce gleam in his eye and a fang revealing grin.

• Though keeping mindful of your safety, he likes to challenge you and both of you find yourselves often pushing each other's limits.

• Who could climb the fastest? Row the fastest? Bike the fastest? Set up camp the fastest?

• If you happen to hurt yourself while playing your thrill little games together he's always prepared and will most definitely put a bandage on you when needed.

• Even Wamuu knows that the Hello Kitty ones heal the best.

• If you're ever unfortunate enough to do yourself enough damage to break something, that care shown for you doesn't change.

• In fact, he commends you for being so strong and will praise you even more when you talk about jumping right back into it when you're properly healed again.

• He won't let you go anywhere until that day comes though, no matter how up to the challenge you think you are.

• All in all, your determination and your fiery spirit is what makes him absolutely adore you afterall.

Santana:

• Like many things he faces, Santana is quite indifferent to heart-stopping stunts.

• It was no surprise really, he was an apex lifeform; there was nothing that could do him harm and he had faced many dangerous things in his life alone so there wasn't much that got his heart pounding.

• However his curiosity is piqued when he learns that you deliberately partook in risky activities just for the fun of it all.

• Be prepared for many questions as to what exactly you enjoyed doing and the benefit of doing it for you.

• If you should ask him to accompany you on an activity, he won't say no but he prefers to observe you rather than partake himself.

• He views every outing with you as a learning experience.

• He gets to learn all about the activity, its History and any gear you happen to bring along and then watch the ins and outs of it all first hand as you and maybe a few other Humans do it.

• He finds it interesting that Humans would take such risks when they are already the most fragile and flawed race in existence.

• He wasn't sure whether it was carelessness or maybe just plain not realizing your own mortality.

• If you happen to coax him into actually gearing up and doing an activity with you, don't expect any major reaction on his part when you get there.

• Whether it's skydiving, rock-climbing, white water rafting, poking a sleeping bear with a stick, you name it; you can't quite piece together what's going on in that head of his.

• He just looks almost bored the entirety of the time.

• "YEAHHHHH!!!" You squealed with glee, the air whistling in your ears as wind all around you whipped and whirled, plummeting straight from the sky.

• Santana was dead silent, arms folded and practically glaring at the ground where it sat miles upon miles away below you both.

• The only thing he was looking forward to after the parachute chord was pulled and his feet was on solid ground again was going to grab a bite to eat...

• However, while the activity doesn't, any injuries you happen to sustain from doing them spark a reaction in Santana.

• He doesn't like seeing you hurt, no matter how minor it is.

• That being said, the chances of you getting seriously hurt are very, very low with Santana always on watch while you're off having fun.

• If he has to, he'll throw himself under you and let his body go to rubber to give you a soft landing and prevent you from breaking something.

• All in all, he doesn't really mind your extreme hobbies. You alone give him a thrill by teaching him much new things.

#funnybunny #pillarmen #kars #esidisi #wamuu #santana #kars x reader #esidisi x reader #wamuu x reader #santana x reader #my writing

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kirain · 2 years

Text

So I finally played True Colors and a while back I got some anons asking for my opinion. Here it is, spoiler free:

The Game

Overall, I think True Colors is better than LiS2. The story is more consistent, the characters are interesting and multidimensional, and the plot is far more realistic/sensible. Is it better than LiS? It's a good contender. Personally I would say no, but if someone told me it was their favourite game in the franchise, I would understand. The setting is gorgeous, artistic, relaxing, and you can tell the devs put a lot of love and care into the backgrounds. The music is nice, though there isn't a huge variety and there's no track that's overly memorable, in my opinion. The acting is, for the most part, exceptional. I think the decision to use mo-cap was nothing short of genius, as the game relies heavily on the facial expressions of the characters to really emphasize each scene. Alex's power of empathy is also brilliantly portrayed and far surpassed my expectations. Like Max's power, it grows as the story progresses.

Choices

Disappointingly, and in true Square Enix/Deck Nine fashion, your choices don't really matter. The story is definitely more of a narrative adventure, which is perfectly fine, but if that's the case I wish these companies would stop advertising their games as "choice-based". No matter what choices you make throughout the game, the outcome will be the same. At least the most crucial element, anyway. Only a few details change based on your choices, but they're of very little consequence. Moreover, unless you play as a total asshole and do zero exploring, I'm not sure how you could possibly get the bad ending, which is really just the good ending with less positive relationships. The main dilemma is solved either way.

Price

Is this game worth $80 (or $60 for my American friends)? No. It really isn't. That is a AAA price tag, and regardless of the attempt, True Colors is not a AAA experience. You're very limited in what you can do/effect and even with all my exploring and reading I beat the game in 8 hours and 24 minutes. I got the game for $40 and I'd say that's more than fair, especially when you compare it to other AAA (and even some indie) games. If I've learned anything from the LiS Remaster, it's that Square Enix is getting very greedy and jacking up their prices when it's not deserved. I definitely recommend True Colors, but I also recommend buying it on sale.

Story

I didn't have high hopes for this game, but I was pleasantly surprised. Without spoiling anything, I want to say that the plot is a gripping, emotional ride. I never felt bored or lost, and while I found the main character somewhat bland (though likable), the personality that bursts from the other characters made me look forward to every interaction. The twist at the end is, at least to me, painfully predictable, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the journey. The gameplay is fun and flawlessly encourages exploration, conversation, and investigation. With such high praise, I have to say that True Colors almost nailed it. The final chapter, unfortunately, asked me to suspend my disbelief a bit too much in one instance, while another instance felt way too convenient and tacky. I could also tell the conclusion was spliced together based on my choices, making it seem like the actors were reading from a high school script, which broke my immersion; however, it didn't ruin the game in its entirety. I'm still glad I played it. 7/10.

#life is strange #true colors #lis #lis2 #alex chen #gabe chen #max caulfield #sean diaz #square enix #deck nine #video games

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twstdreams · 4 years

Note

I've loved your non-romantic/platonic content that you've done so far! Adding on to that list, could I please request a short story surrounding MC, Ace, and Deuce? An accident occurs which ends in MC turning into a little kid and now it's up to the two boys to put their differences aside and babysit their friend until she's back to normal. Girl pronouns plz! Lol I can only imagine the chaos that would ensue. If you don't feel comfortable with this ask you can skip it! Thx for reading :)

I am always up for platonic content and shenanigans! Long story, so the rest is under the cut!

Warning: Minor spoilers for side stories (briefly alluded to)

Length: ~2.3K

“It’s this one!” Deuce declares with unfounded confidence.

“No, it’s not!” Ace rebuttals despite not making it past page 10 in his textbook.

“It’s mine!” Grimm shouts even though he most definitely does not understand the experiment at hand.

The magicless student can only sigh. Deuce and Ace suck at potions. So when the two bicker about what to add to their cauldron, the prefect doesn’t even blink an eye. Deuce mispronounces an ingredient, Ace corrects him, but neither are even talking about the right thing. She can practically sense Crewel’s glare despite her eyes remaining on the cauldron, cautiously waiting for bubbles to appear so she could add the indigo milk cap mushroom.

What is added next to her cauldron is not the mushroom in her hand but a random root Grimm throws in. In Deuce’s haste to catch the gremlin, he spills over his own cauldron and some of their potion spills into hers.

“What are you doing?” she asks, but it’s too late. The mixture in her cauldron is boiling profusely and suddenly envelopes her in a cloud of smoke.

“Funya! MC, are you okay?” Grim inquires. Deuce and Ace also call out her name but there is no response. When the smoke clears, everyone in the room is left speechless.

The potential beast tamer hasn’t moved but an inch but she’s at least two feet shorter and with rounder cheeks and wide eyes.

“WHAT?” she screeches in disbelief, suddenly too short to even reach the cauldron, “Fix this!”

And this is how the group’s long catastrophic day begins.

Adventure 1: The beginning

“What?!” Grim shouts. If looks could kill, Crewel’s glare would have toasted the monster.

“Yes, it is hard to predict when MC will return to normal because you carelessly threw together that potion. It should wear off in a day, but there’s no guarantee,” the teacher explains through gritted teeth. The bell rings but the quartet barely registers it.

“Go to the headmaster! It’s not my problem anymore,” Crewel declares.

Unfortunately, as most meetings with the headmaster are, the conversation is fruitless.

“Hah? We’re supposed to babysit her?” Ace asks.

“Yes! It’s your fault, is it not? Take care of her until the spell wears off,” Crowley declares.

“Isn’t there any way to break the spell?” Deuce inquires while nervously glancing towards MC.

“It’s hard to tell because you added in unknown amounts of various ingredients,” Crowley answers before muttering, “It takes too much time! I need to know what happens next in my novel.”

“Tch, what a lazy adult,” MC comments with a bored expression. She figured this would happen. She can’t even recall a moment when the headmaster had actually been helpful.

“What did you say?” Crowley demands. Deuce immediately picks up MC and heads for the door.

“Nothing! We’ll take care of her! See you later headmaster!” Ace explains while the two boys dash out of the office. They book it out of the hallway and then set her down on the ground.

“Hey! What was that about? It’s usually Grim saying stuff that gets us in trouble, not you,” Ace comments.

“Don’t tell me…Now she acts like a little kid too?” Deuce wonders.

Adventure 2: Stranger Danger

“Oh? Ramshackle prefect, you seem to be caught in quite the predicament.” MC glares at the Octavinelle dorm leader in return. Ace and Deuce are in the midst of calling Cater and Trey to ask for advice, giving Azul the perfect opportunity to approach her.

“I have an offer for you,” the second year begins.

“No.” MC is firm in her answer and has no intention of making any deals.

“Are you sure? I treat children well,” Azul adds but it only results in her frowning. There’s suddenly a glimmer in her eyes but before Azul can deduce what it means, MC begins shouting.

“STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!”

“Stop that!” Azul insists but his wide eyes give away his flustered state. With a smile that looks a little too much like Chenya’s, MC continues her call for help. Soon enough, Deuce and Ace rush to her side.

“Stranger? That’s Prefect Azul! Have you forgotten him?” Deuce inquires with a look of concern. MC decides this is the perfect time to practice her puppy eyes and simply looks up at Deuce, wide eyes and with a pout.

Azul silently admits defeat as he forms a tight-lipped smile accompanied by some false pleasantries before exiting the area.

“I’m hungry!” she announces before anyone can question her further.

“Yes! Let’s go eat!” Grim agrees.

Adventure 3: Sweet Dreams

Getting lunch is a surprisingly painless affair. Though Night Raven College students could be quite self-centred, even they balked at harming a little girl. MC easily orders her favourites before sitting with her friends, though she has to sit on her knees to be at a comfortable height compared to the table.

“Wow! It’s true!~” Cater chimes while taking a seat at the table.

“How are you feeling?” Trey asks.

“Okay! It’s kinda weird but at least it was easy to get lunch,” she replies while taking a bite of her food.

“Now you really look like my minion!” Grim declares. MC shoots the monster a glare but doesn’t give him a response.

“You’re actually a little kid, huh? So, what do you wanna do when you grow up?” Ace teases.

“I want to control all the ghosts and have an army,” MC answers nonchalantly as if she had been discussing the weather.

“What?” Trey asks, slightly taken aback. Wasn’t this the person who was gullible enough to think that oyster sauce went in tarts?

“A ghost army,” she repeats confidently.

“Anyway! Aren’t you lucky? You get all these handsome guys to help you today!” Cater interjects, not wanting to unpack why the prefect wanted an army of the dead.

Her gaze scans the table before looking up at Cater, eyes wide and expression void of malice, and asks, “Where?”

Grim howls with laughter while the four Heartslabyul students try to recover from the blow to their ego. It’s definitely going to be a long day for them.

Adventure 4: Smiles and stares

“Hey wait!” MC whines. One disadvantage of becoming short is that her stride decreased accordingly, thus her struggles to keep up with her classmate’s pace.

“Just walk faster or we’ll be late for class!” Ace retorts, glancing up ahead to see how far away the next building is.

“AHH!” Ace turns around to see MC a couple of meters behind him face-first in a patch of grass.

“Uwah! Are you okay?” Grim asks while flying above the fallen girl. Ace groans at the predicament. Deuce ran ahead to warn the other teachers of MC’s unfortunate condition so the redhead was the only babysitter at the moment.

The situation only worsens when MC begins to sit up, knees scraped, eyes glistening with tears, brows furrowed, and lips pressed tightly together. Ace’s eyes widen at the sight.

“Please don’t cry,” he mutters under his breath before trying to think about how to soothe kids.

“Oh my, that was quite a fall. You’re okay now though, right?” Jade asks while extending a gloved hand. His face is calm, showing no signs of concerns or worry with only a placid smile to demonstrate any emotion. MC stares at his face, analyzing his expression for a few moments. After finding the answer to her unsaid question, she accepts his hand and quickly sniffles before nodding.

Ace watches in amazement as all signs of pain and panic vanish from her expression. He decides not to question her mood change before ushering the prefect to their next class.

Adventure 5: What came first? The egg or the chicken?

“You have to!” Deuce insists.

“NO!” MC shouts back, sitting firmly on the ground. Deuce is startled by the force of her words but stands his ground.

“It’s for your own good! Kids need exercise!” Or at least that’s what Cater told him before going to light music club.

“You can’t move me an inch!” MC retorts.

“I’m older, you should respect your seniors,” Deuce adds, doing his best to retain some level of patience.

“At least I know where chickens come from!” she rebuttals and Deuce feels at a loss for words. It is certainly not honour student behaviour to yell at a young girl but the first year is at his limits. He came to NRC to learn about magic, not dealing with children!

“Let’s play tag,” Jack suggests. Being the only one with little siblings, he is quickly enlisted to help. While disappointed in Deuce and Ace’s carelessness, he didn’t want to risk MC’s safety by leaving her in their care. Thus making him a reluctant member of the babysitting team.

“Tag?” MC echoes before a bright smile forms on her face. “Can it be teams?”

“Sure,” Jack agrees nonchalantly.

“Jack and I are on the same team! We get to chase Deuce and Ace!” she declares gleefully.

“Huh? I didn’t agree to this,” Ace interjects.

“We need even teams!” MC responds with puffed cheeks.

“Too bad, so sad!” Ace replies without remorse.

“This is our fault Ace. Plus we promised the headmaster to take care of her. As Heartslabyul students and men, we can’t go back on our words!” Deuce declares. Jack’s firm gaze and Deuce’s blazing spirit give little room for negotiation and Ace sighs in defeat. Ace really does hate alchemy class from the bottom of his heart.

Adventure 6: Idiots, all of them

MC closes her eyes and enjoys the breeze while resting. Deuce and Jack had gone to the cafeteria to get drinks for everyone after several rounds of tag while Ace lay on the ground to catch his breath. It was quite entertaining to see the fastest first years engage in a game of tag and even more fun to watch Ace try to avoid his inevitable fate. Agile as he was, Ace couldn’t run fast enough to outdo Jack with his insane stamina and speed. She giggles at the memory.

“Bonjour petite princesse!” Rook looks down at the little girl with a shining smile. Her eyes snap open and follow the source of the cheerful voice.

“Isn’t it delightful to see a new side to your friends? Like escorting someone on their first dance, like watching a lazy lion transform into a beast for the sake of the hunt, like observing night flox bloom under a full moon!” Rook beams but MC merely shrugs in response.

“Yeah but I’ve also seen Ace fall off his broom, Deuce compliment plants, and Jack mistake onions for a chemical leak.”

“Oh? Is it not like having several princes tend to you?” he inquires.

She scrunches her nose in thought before replying, “If my prince got stuck in a tree and I had to go save him.”

“Dear me, and I thought you were une petite princesse mignonne [1]! Perhaps that was a misunderstanding,” Rook remarks though he doesn’t seem displeased with the discovery.

Adventure 7: Mandatory nap

“Let’s go to the infirmary,” Ace suggests, “MC needs a nap and it’s the closest building with beds.”

“I’m the one that needs a nap?” she asks while side-eyeing her tired friend.

“She hasn’t even run for 3 hours,” Jack comments.

“Kids need naps! Plus, who knows what the side-effects of the potion are?” Ace adds, “We shouldn’t take any chances with her health.”

“You do need proper sleep to grow strong!” Deuce concurs.

“Sure, sure,” she concedes. When they arrive at the infirmary, there is no staff in sight. Ace guides her to a bed with an expectant smile.

“Well, go to sleep now!” Ace announces.

“It doesn’t work like that. I’m not sleepy,” she responds.

“Just lie in bed and close your eyes!” Ace insists with a huff.

“Shut up. You’re so noisy,” a voice growls. Leona appears on the other side of a room divider. Jack lets out a sigh, disappointed but not surprised by his dorm leader.

“I was having such a nice nap and now I’m… hah?” His sentence trails off as he eyes the little girl before him.

“Well,” you launch into an explanation of what happened, Leona shooting a judgemental look towards Deuce and Ace midway, before concluding, “It should wear off by the end of the day.”

“Tch, what an annoyance. I’m going back to sleep, don’t be loud,” Leona warns before flopping back onto the bed.

“How do you fall asleep so fast?” MC inquires. Leona glares at her, lips pressed together to form a thin line, but he lets any threats die in his throat.

“It’s nap time. Count sheep like a good herbivore until you fall asleep,” he instructs before turning his back towards the group. More than she’d like to admit, her small body requires rest and what better excuse than this? Besides, it’s not like magical history homework was particularly appealing, so she plops onto the bed to rest.

“I’m exhausted. Taking care of kids is tiring,” Ace says before falling onto another bed.

“It’s been a long day. I’m glad MC is okay, though. Haaah…I’m sleepy,” Deuce murmurs before resting on a different bed. Jack doesn’t comment but quietly begins his homework while keeping watchful eye on the little girl, not that he’d admit it if asked.

Adventure 8: The End. For now, anyway

She stretches after waking up, pleased to find her body back to its normal size. Ace snores lightly, Deuce’s mouth is agape, and Leona is nowhere to be found.

“Are you feeling okay?” Jack asks.

“Yeah, I actually feel pretty good!” Their conversation awakens their friends.

“You’re finally back to normal! I’m relieved,” Deuce interjects.

“You’re a lot of work for a minion, ya know? You’re lucky I’m so great,” Grim comments.

“That was a pain! You owe me big time!” Ace adds. MC shakes her head and wonders if she has the greatest or most chaotic friends.

[1] une petite princesse mignonne = a cute little princess

#writing Rook and Deuce are hard #Rook is so extra #and Deuce's speech pattern is something I'm not used to #hope you enjoy #twisted wonderland #twst #disney twisted wonderland #twst x reader #deuce spade #ace trappola #leona kingscholar #jack howl #rook hunt #cater diamond #trey clover #wow I cannot believe this is 2K

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xiyao-feels · 3 years

Note

new tu and xiyao fan from earlier. i searched ao3 as per your suggestion and there's only 500 or so fics for them. :( however, i do have a legit question - what are the differences between mdzs and tu (i've never read the latter). and if you want expand on nieyao (or xiyao) please feel free! i love reading meta! one of the few reasons i miss old school fandom spaces lol. thank you!! :D

Hmmm, I see about eight hundred if I limit to English? But I take your point! But that was just as a way to start; once you do find an author you like, you can look at their bookmarks, for example. (Also I'm not sure if you're familiar with the AO3, but if not, sorting by kudos when doing a general search is a way to get stuff that at least lots of people thought was good. I'm not saying it's perfect, but when you're starting in a fandom it can be better than the default by-date-updated.)

Also I'll take the opportunity to plug my absolute favourite xiyao author, roquen. I didn't mention them last time because they haven't I believe written a post-canon fixit, and you should know that they're mostly sticking to MDZS instead of CQL canon, although with some sprinkling of CQL elements and characterization. Some particular favourites of mine include their AtLA AU and their Sunshot/on the run fics (both series with a couple of short fics), their what you might call a mid-temple hopeful fix-it (divergence where LWJ strikes to kill and LXC takes the blow), the baby LXC fic ("Lan Xichen reverts to being a fifteen-year-old junior, and immediately gets an epic crush on Lianfang-zun"; disclaimer that I was fairly involved with the creation of this one but it's GREAT) and, of course, above all, their gigantic canon fix-it verse, it's worth it every time. It's SO GOOD and the characterization is fantastic and the prose is excellent and UGH. It's so good!!!!! Disclaimer that the second fic in the series, which is the main work, is still WIP, but roquen updates regularly and there are only a couple of chapters left; if you're still wary of WIPs, I'd at least recommend the first fic, which stands alone and is brilliant in its own right.

As to the differences between MDZS and CQL…ho boy. There are quite a few, both major and minor, and I'm by no means familar with all of them—especially the ones that don't involve 3zun, lol. I tried to google around but unfortunately the ones I found tended to be either short or, if more in-depth, contain inaccuracies about JGY/LXC—I think people tend to be more interested in the Wangxian, and then this stuff goes by the wayside. The wiki can be a good source for differences for specific incidents, and although I think it's not always accurate it /does/ usually cite chapter or episode, which can be pretty helpful.

This, by hualiann, looks like a good overview, though I'd add that JYL, WQ and WN didn't study at Cloud Recesses in the novel and that more generally MDZS has a lot of actual undead.

In general my advice is to take things people say about the novel with a large grain of salt, myself included. And about CQL, too! I have no idea if this is you but when I joined the fandom, if people asserted stuff about CQL I tended to just kind of take it as fact—oh, I thought, I must have misremembered! My memory is pretty terrible, and honestly there was absolutely stuff I did misremember. But also sometimes other people misremember, or fanon gets taken as canon, and then there's stuff like—I mean, I'm certainly not going to blame people for not realizing that "JGY conspired with XY at the Unclean Realm" is a lot more uncertain than you might guess at first, especially if they're more Wangxian focused which most people in the fandom are, but I'm still not going to present it as straight-up fact. (veliseraptor has a recent post examining this here which I would very much recommend).

Honestly I think I'd recommend reading the MDZS NMJ Empathy flashback—chapters 48, 49, and the beginning of 50. That gets you a lot of the JGY, LXC and NMJ backstory, and then you can compare for yourself! I'm also going to recommend Mercy's thread, here, listing common fanons about MDZS (I will add to the list, since it's a bugbear of mine, the idea that LXC recognized NMJ's fierce corpse by his abs).

Okay with all that out of the way, and in no particular order, Sun's extremely idiosyncratic and particularly- aka mostly JGY-focused differences list:

-In MDZS, LXC doesn't become Sect Leader until the burning of Cloud Recesses by the Wen, when his father is injured and then succumbs to his wounds. In CQL, he's Sect Leader from the beginning of the show, his father having apparently died not too long before the show started.

-In MDZS, MY wasn't working for the Nie at all before the beginning of Sunshot; he joined the Nie forces just after Sunshot began. NMJ didn't instantly promote him to be his deputy when he's telling at the Nie men for bad-mouthing him; it takes a few more encounters and/or battles with the Wen (after which MY clears the battlefield and helps the commoners).

-In MDZS, xiyao's first meeting happens when LXC is on the run with the Lan books after the burning of Cloud Recesses. We don't see it happen on the page, and we don't know any details of that time beyond, like, MY helped LXC.

-NMJ willingly sends MY away from the Nie, with a letter of recommendation for JGS, after, uh, an extended overhearing of a conversation between MY and LXC wherein MY's desire to be recognized by his father and gain a proper place in the Jin, the opportunity offered for that by JGS recruiting talent at Langya, and the possible difficulty of obtaining permission from NMJ are all established.

-NMJ sees MY stabbing a /Jin/ captain, at Langya, after he goes looking for MY. Rather than taking a blow for NMJ, MY stabs himself, faking suicide, then immobilizes NMJ (who's trying to save his life) and flees. This is because NMJ wants MY to go turn himself in for killing the captain; MY thinks they'll kill him, while NMJ says that if the captain has actually been mistreating MY as MY said, MY won't be killed. Personally I think that all the evidence suggests that MY is right, and NMJ is blind to the effects of his position to the extent it's a not insignificant moral failure.

-Okay, so, you know how in CQL MY stabs WRH while he's distracted with WWX, outside on the steps with the Sunshot alliance right outside? In /MDZS/, they're in the Sun Palace, WWX isn't anywhere near the place, he does it to save NMJ's life, and then he starts lugging NMJ's unconscious body out of the palace. And then NMJ comes to consciousness amd demands his sabre and tries to kill him. He likely only survives because of NMJ's wounds, and if LXC hadn't shown up (responding to a message MY sent for aid for NMJ) NMJ might easily have killed him. If you want a more in-depth analysis, I take a close look here in my response to someone's, er, imaginative interpretation of NMJ and JGY's relationship in MDZS.

-In CQL, NMJ's qi deviation happens at the stairs incident. In MDZS, it happens later, when he overhears JGY being upset to LXC about how NMJ treated him at the stairs, and, overcome with rage that JGY would dare (arguably in combination with being polite and pleasant to NMJ's face, although the last time he was confrontational to NMJ's face NMJ kicked him down the stairs and tried to kill him so), he kicks open the door and tries to kill him. He also kills several people as he's qi deviating (seeing them as JGY—while in CQL he also sees several JGYs they seem to be just illusions), and injures NHS.

-In MDZS, NMJ sets fire to all of NHS' nice things. I don't think we're told either way in CQL, although it's worth noting that in MDZS this happens after the stairs (and before JGY starts playing for him again). (I think they do something in FJ?? But I don't take FJ as canon for CQL; see confusion-and-more's post here).

-In CQL, JGY suggests to NMJ that he's always played the corrupted Clarity for him (though granted this is in Empathy, so it's hard to say for sure if this is what he actually said, but in any case it's the only version we're given). In MDZS, it's strongly indicated that JGY only started playing Turmoil for NMJ /after/ the stairs—there's a variety of evidence, but I think the most objective is that WWX, who in MDZS Empathy can literally feel NMJ's anger, actually observes it working beforehand:

Since [JGY started playing for NMJ], Jin GuangYao would travel from Lanling to Qinghe every few days, playing Sound of Lucidity to help quell Nie MingJue rage. He tried his hardest, without speaking even a single word of complaint. Sound of Lucidity was indeed effective. Wei WuXian could clearly feel that the hostile energy within Nie MingJue was being suppressed.

(Exiled Rebels translation, ch. 49)

And then the next scene is the stairs incident, so.

-In general, the degree to which JGY's position is completely awful is played down in CQL. confusion-and-more talks about it a bit here; I'd also note that some of JGY's dialogue defending himself is removed ( “Some trivial achievements?” He spoke in a shaking voice, “…What do you mean, some trivial achievements? ChiFeng-Zun, do you know how much work I put into such trivial achievements? How much I suffered? Glory? Without the handful of glory I have nothing!”, for example), we don't hear about his mother at the guqin scene, the temple flashback where his mother is dragged naked outside by a client and he's kicked down the brothel stairs is eliminated, etc etc.

-There is absolutely no second flutist in MDZS; also JGY tells us in the temple that QS was already pregnant before he found out about the incest. I think even in CQL it's questionable whether he actually intended to kill Zixuan (see this whole conversation), and significant unveiling or no CQL never actually says QS wasn't pregnant before their marriage so I tend to go with that too, but certainly it's easy to walk away with the impression that he definitely did both deliberately, especially if you aren't familiar with the novel.

-(In general, I think CQL JGY is a lot more sympathetic than most people think once you look closely, but he's also very much set up to look upon a more casual watching as Villain, so.)

-In CQL it's All A-Yao All The Time but in MDZS we see LXC calling him san-di after the sworn brotherhood, and then it's back to A-Yao in the present day (see my last addition on this chain here).

-In MDZS, JGY doesn't shove JL out of the way of the incoming attack.

-The LXC lifting JGY out of his bow thing is from CQL

-The watchtowers! Oh /man/ the watchtowers. God the watchtowers are so much. Uh, confusion-and-more has a post about how much they're mentioned in MDZS vs CQL here, and see my last addition to this thread for an argument that the watchtowers were indeed a force for good. God. Twelve hundred watchtowers. He must have saved so many lives...

-confusion-and-more's watchtower post also reminds me that CQL has the Guanyin temple giving out medicine, while MDZS does not

-The episode 23 scene where Sect Leaders Jin, Nie, and Lan agree to spare some of the Wen doesn't exist in MDZS (though I'll take the opportunity to observe that I disagree with popular interpretations of that scene, see point three here).

-In MDZS NMJ's fierce corpse is literally trying to kill JGY, there's no saber spirit. And like, it's been trying to kill JGY for a long damn time, that's why JGY dismembered him.

-The XY plotline—in MDZS, JGY recommends a young XY (who at thay point has a reputation but is not known to have committed any massacres) as a Jin cultivator, as part of an effort by JGS to recreate the Yin Tiger Seal. JGS has multiple people trying, but most of them aren't getting anywhere and XY is getting furthest. It's during this time that XY kills the Chang clan, and is discovered as guilty by XXC, who brings up the evidence at a conference happening in Lanling; the Jin are stalling, MMJ gets angry and shows up, he almost kills XY on the spot and gives JGS a lecture such that he's forced to relent and sentence XY to death (and incidentally scares JGY, imho quite seriously, while he's at it). Then JGS turns it into life imprisonment once NMJ has left, and then NMJ is extremely angry and attacks JGY at the stairs. (Ch. 30 and 118)

-I mentioned before but I'll add it here too: in CQL JGY asks LXC to stay and die with him, and LXC agrees.

-The CQL ending in general is...hmmm. Despite having most of the elements which complicate MDZS' ending (JL is in a terrible position!), it kind of presents as...happy ending all is fixed now? In MDZS I think it's presented as—more complicated, even though Wangxian do very much get their happy ending.

-Also LWJ is a lot less. uh. Okay, so in CQL he's more Mr Morality, and in MDZS it's much more Wei Ying Right Or Wrong. Also, he doesn't become Chief Cultivator in MDZS! I think that's my least favourite change, because it's like...LWJ hates politics, hates compromise, and never attends the cultivation conferences. At least one of 'this is going to be a major diisaster' and 'LWJ is going to have to go through some significant shifts in his worldview and approach' are going to have to happen, but that's not the vibe CQL gives off at all, and I think it really works against some of the major themes of the text :/

-OH RIGHT I knew I was forgetting something—in MDZS MXY's revenge is focused solely on the Mo; JGY is not part of the curse.

Okay I don't want to go too much on about xiyao or nieyao, because this is already quite long and I don't want you to be waiting forever, but broadly although I certainly think NMJ cares about JGY a great deal it seems to be about his competence and potential; he doesn't really seem to, like, actually like who he is as a person. JGY, meanwhile, is at first very grateful to and then increasingly exasperated by and very much fucking terrified of NMJ, but...well, he doesn't seem to be into him or interested in spending time with him for the sake of it or etc etc.

On the other hand—xiyao. Man, xiyao!!!! They just—they get each other so fast, they're /partners/, they work together so well, they like and they respect each other, they're both like—LXC and MS are on their own tier for JGY, LWJ and JGY are on their own tier for LXC, they're for each other in a way neither is for anyone else, they care a lot about the same things—it's not perfect overlap, obviously, but it's more overlap I think than either has with anyone else, they—invest, they're builders, JGY was planning the watchtowers project from way back and although I have no doubt he was driving it LXC was with him and!!!! ugh!!!!! xiyao are REALLY GREAT, okay.

#the best of men #more than one tag could contain #a gentle warmth filling the deepest of needs #anger burned in his heart #long meta #sort of #we can't change places #j #mostly jgy-focused discussion of differences between mdzs and cql under the cut

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iffeelscouldkill · 3 years

Text

TSCOSI Week Day 1: Violet / Nature

A/N: I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE A WHOLE DAY LATE FOR THIS AND THEN IT TURNED OUT THAT THE WEEK STARTS ON THE 25TH! Made it with 35 minutes to spare in my timezone dfsgghshshjs

(Watch me now be late for every single other day because I spent all my time on this one fic and have nothing else written for the other days xD)

Anyway, this is Day 1, prompt: Violet/Nature! It’s set kind of ambiguously around season 2, i.e. they’re on the Iris II, but there’s no other specific references to events of season 2, so this is spoiler-free!

Enjoy!

Violet sneaked as quietly as she could through the corridors of the ship, doing her best to conceal the bundle under her arm. The seller at the market stall had been nice enough to wrap it up in extra paper for her to disguise its shape, though he’d cautioned that she should be sure to unwrap it as soon as she had the opportunity.

She just needed to avoid bumping into anyone on her way to her room who might ask what she-

“Did you get what you needed?”

“Gah!” Violet jumped and whirled around, then relaxed when she saw who it was. “Uh, sorry, Captain, I thought you were – yes, I did, thank you.”

Sana eyed the bundle under her arm with interest. “Am I allowed to know what you doubled back for?”

“It’s uh…” Violet hesitated. It wasn’t Sana she was trying to keep it a secret from – if anything, Sana was the ideal person to confide in, but she felt suddenly embarrassed, wondering if she’d misjudged her spur-of-the-moment decision. “It’s something for Thursday.”

“Oh!” Sana’s face lit up. “Violet, that’s great. I’ve bought some ingredients to make one of her favourite dishes for dinner, but she’ll definitely love your… mystery gift. And if you need any help getting her in place for the surprise, just let me know!”

Violet smiled at her. “I will, Captain. Thank you. And thanks for… telling me, as well.”

“Of course!” Sana replied, beaming and dimpling at her.

Back in the safety of her room, Violet was finally able to unwrap her purchase. Her room had a kind of desk that folded down from the wall, and Violet unfolded it so that she could set the little terracotta pot with its seedling occupant on its surface. Then she studied it.

To say that Violet was not naturally green-fingered would be an understatement; if anything, she had a flair for killing off plant life, and her friends and roommates had learned very quickly not to trust her with anything green and growing. People had a tendency to gift her with pot plants (the joys of having a flower name), and Violet had taken to lying through her teeth when asked about how they were faring. She’d once had a cactus that had survived for a record six months before dying of what was either neglect or possibly a lack of sunlight.

So the fact that Violet needed to take care of this plant until she could give it to Arkady on her birthday in a week’s time wasn’t ideal. Sana had been the one who’d told her about Arkady’s approaching birthday, explaining that it had taken her years of friendship to even pry the date out of Arkady. “She says that she hates people making a fuss,” Sana explained. “But I think it’s because she could never… do much for it, growing up. I’ve tried to make up for that where I can.” She’d given Violet a significant look at that point.

Violet also didn’t think it was a coincidence that Sana had told her this right before they were due to land and resupply near a harbour town with an extensive marketplace.

Violet had only caught sight of the little stall with its rows of pots and tiny green shoots as they were leaving the market. She’d waved the others on ahead, and then covertly made her way over to the stall to inspect the range of plants and their prices.

It was a shame that they hadn't had any fully-grown varieties, but the stallholder had assured her that it would be much more rewarding to grow and take care of from a seedling. “You don't have the bother of germinating it, but you get to watch it grow," he said. “Just make sure you water it regularly, and keep it in a semi well-lit spot.”

Violet hadn’t liked to ask what that would look like on a spaceship. She hadn’t been prepared to rehearse too much of a cover story for buying a plant. But it was only for a week, right? She could take care of one little plant for a week, and then it would be in Arkady’s expert hands.

Right.

---

Three days later, Violet was definitely panicking a little bit.

She still hadn't figured out how to get a plant the equivalent of natural daylight on a spaceship, and the seedling is definitely starting to look a little droopier than before. She watered it the other day - even though it maybe didn't really need watering - so it's definitely not drying out. Of course, there could be any number of other things wrong with it, and Violet wouldn't know, because she had only ever owned plants involuntarily and did not know how to take care of them.

Okay, Vi, don't overthink this, she instructed herself. You're a biologist - you understand living things in principle. They need shelter, they need water and nutrition. And when you're in an environment where you can't get all your nutrients naturally - say, space - you have to find artificial substitutes. After all, it wasn't like humans could get sunlight in space either, but over decades of space travel, they'd found ways to adapt. Vitamin D supplements were a staple on long-haul ships, as were Vitamin D-rich foods, as there was a limit to how much your body would absorb from pure supplements. As a state-of-the-art vessel, the Iris (one, not two) had also been equipped with sun lamps that the crew could sit under for short periods to stimulate their skin's Vitamin D production. But Violet hadn't found anything of the sort on the Iris II. Except-

Violet sat up abruptly on her bed. The Iris II’s medbay was pretty state-of-the-art compared with the Rumor (okay, her medicine cabinet in undergrad had been state-of-the-art compared to the Rumor’s medbay, but still) and she still hadn’t finished exploring all its various fittings, but she distinctly remembered that the lamp over the examination table had an ultraviolet setting.

What was more, Violet didn’t think that she’d have any trouble keeping Arkady away from the medbay for the rest of the week (since she only ever went in there under duress).

Delighted with her revelation, Violet opened the door to her room, intending to go straight to the medbay and test out the lamp – and found Arkady standing on the other side, fist raised to knock.

“Arkady!” Violet exclaimed, quickly re-angling herself so that she was blocking the view of the table with its plant occupant (and thanking every single one of her stars that she hadn’t picked up the seedling to bring with her to the medbay). “Hi!”

“Uh, hi,” said Arkady, smiling a little quizzically. “I was just coming to ask- well, it’s more like the Captain told me to come and ask-”

“Is your leg hurting again?” Violet asked, quickly catching on.

“Not- excessively,” Arkady hedged. “But uh, more than yesterday?”

“I should definitely check it over,” said Violet firmly. “And I can give you more of that Zaletenol to help with the pain for the rest of the afternoon.”

So much for easily being able to keep Arkady out of the medbay – though, at least Arkady had picked now to ask for a checkup and not after Violet had installed the plant somewhere visible. Her leg had been bothering her a lot less recently, or maybe it was just that Arkady had stopped mentioning it. Violet tried to keep a close eye on Arkady as she moved around the ship, watching for any minute signs of pain or discomfort. Unfortunately, Arkady was very good at masking injuries.

“Thanks,” Arkady said, falling into step alongside Violet as they walked towards the medbay. “Also – hi.”

“Hi yourself,” Violet said, smiling at her. Arkady’s cheeks went a little pink.

“Are you sure you didn’t just come by because you missed me?” Violet asked, because she could never resist leaning into the flirting. RJ, whenever they were within earshot of it, called their flirtation “distracting”, but Violet was more than okay with that.

Sure enough, Arkady’s blush darkened. “I… did, actually,” she said. “I was going to come by anyway after my shift ended to see if you wanted to make something in the kitchen together. Jeeter’s promised to leave it alone for the evening.”

Violet, who had been expecting a quip in return, was temporarily lost for words at Arkady’s shy honesty – not to mention the implication that she’d gone to lengths to secure the kitchen so that they could spend some time together. “I – yeah, I’d love that,” she said, knowing she was definitely blushing as well.

Arkady stopped walking, and Violet stopped too, a little puzzled. “What?”

“We’re…” Arkady gestured at the door opposite them. “We’re at the medbay, Liu.”

“-Oh!” Violet couldn’t help snorting with laughter at her own inattentiveness as she hit the door release button. Now who was the one being distracted?

Arkady’s wound was still healing, but showed some signs of swelling that suggested she hadn’t been staying off it like Violet had told her to. “You know what I’m going to say,” Violet told her as she rolled off the biodegradable plastic gloves that she’d been wearing as she gently probed the edges of Arkady’s leg wound, and dropped them into the waste basket.

Arkady rolled her eyes and leaned back on her elbows. “Keep my weight off my leg; I know, I know. It’s just- hard.”

“I get it,” Violet said sympathetically as she dug out a gel pack and squeezed it to activate the cooling crystals. It expanded and inflated slightly as it began to work, which was always equal parts unnerving and satisfying to watch. She handed the pack to Arkady, who laid it against her leg, wincing slightly as it came into contact with her skin. “Sitting around isn’t your style. But the alternative-”

“-Is worse,” Arkady finished for her. “Yeah. I believe you, I guess I just… thought I’d be able to use it again by now.”

“You can use it,” Violet told her. “But go gently. And no running. Not even small amounts.”

Arkady grimaced guiltily, and Violet hid a smile, her hunch proven correct. “I’m going to relay these instructions to the Captain as well, so that she knows what to keep an eye out for,” she said. Arkady huffed indignantly.

“I don’t need monitoring.”

“I didn’t say you did,” Violet said mildly. “But she needs to know how your recovery is progressing so that she can account for it when she gives you jobs to do.” The fact that she didn’t expect Arkady to give Sana this information of her own accord went unsaid. “You need to hold that on your leg for ten minutes,” she added.

As Arkady sat there with the cooling pack held against her thigh, Violet fiddled with the settings on the overhead lamp – making a soft noise of triumph when the lamp switched to an ultraviolet setting.

“Uh-” Arkady said as the two of them were suddenly bathed in an odd black-violet glow, the white floral designs on Violet’s green top shining with unnatural brightness. “Is that the ‘tanning bed’ setting?”

Violet laughed and switched the lamp back to its regular mode. “Sorry, I was just testing – a lot of these more state-of-the-art long-haul ships are equipped with ultraviolet lamps, to counteract Vitamin D deficiency. It can also be a useful treatment for skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.”

“Huh,” said Arkady, sounding interested. “So, the supplements we take-”

“Don’t account for all of what you need, though if we make landing often enough on planets with a nearby star, you can generally stave off a more serious Vitamin D deficiency,” Violet finished for her.

“Generally?”

“It helps to have one of these on board, just in case,” said Violet. Then, hoping she sounded convincingly casual enough, she added,

“You must have rigged up something similar on the Rumor, right? For the plants in the greenhouse, at least. They’d need some kind of imitation of sunlight in order to grow properly.”

To Violet’s relief, Arkady immediately nodded. “Don’t ask me about the engineering ins and outs of it, but Sana was able to incorporate a couple of ultraviolet bulbs into the greenhouse’s lighting system. Pure ultraviolet light is generally not a good idea, at least long-term – the plants need a balance of ultraviolet and white light to grow properly. So we had a mixture of both.”

Violet nodded in understanding, hoping it didn’t show that she was mentally filing away that detail. “That makes sense,” she said. “I guess I never thought too hard about the practicalities of growing plants in the middle of space.”

“It’s not as hard as it sounds,” Arkady said, and Violet almost laughed. “You just have to have a few key things. Light, water, drainage, enough nutrients in the soil… Well, okay, some types of plants are more picky, but the ones we grew on the Rumor were pretty hard to kill.”

Violet snorted a little, figuring it was safe enough to offer up this one detail. “In my experience, no plant is too hard for me to kill. I’m… not particularly good at taking care of them.”

Arkady laughed, and Violet eyed her, a little bit offended. “Sorry, it’s just – you’re a biologist. But you can’t keep a houseplant alive?”

Violet smiled ruefully. “Sad but true. I guess I’d better stick to taking care of people.”

“You, uh…” Arkady looked down at the cooling pack on her leg, gently pressing down on its edges. “You’re pretty good at that one. I mean, not pretty good- well, you are, but- very. You’re very good at it.” The cooling pack was really getting flattened now. Violet smiled, and reached out to gently touch Arkady’s hand and still it.

“Thanks,” she said simply, but tried to show in her expression everything she was feeling. “Shall we go make dinner? You can take the cooling pack off now.”

---

There was still something wrong with the plant.

After managing to persuade Arkady to divulge the secrets of plant care in outer space, Violet had snuck her gift into the medbay for a few hours each day under the guise of ‘inventorying the supplies’, and sat it under the ultraviolet lamp. The rest of the time, the plant lived in her room under a regular white light.

The system had seemed to work at first - the plant visibly perked up, and Violet was now thoroughly familiar with the range of equipment and supplies in the new medbay, which was a big bonus. But now that Violet was studying the plant under the ultraviolet light again, the evening before she was due to give the plant to Arkady, she could tell something was wrong. The plant’s leaves – which had become bigger and more numerous in the short time she’d been taking care of it – were drooping more than they had been, and some of them looked yellow. Frustrated, Violet mentally ran through what Arkady had mentioned you needed to grow plants. Water; she’d watered it twice. The man at the stall had said to water the plant “regularly”, but how often was that? The soil didn’t seem dried out, at least. She’d been giving it light, and as for nutrients in the soil, well, Violet had no idea how to check for that. But it wasn't like she could do anything about the soil if it was no good; they didn't exactly have fertiliser stocked on the ship. Squinting at the plant more closely, Violet was more convinced that something was off. There were these little... bumps on the stem and the underside of the plant's leaves. Bumps that were...

...moving. Violet reared back, clapping a hand over her mouth. Insects. Her – Arkady's – plant had an insect infestation. What was she going to do?? Mentally, she cursed the stallholder for selling her a bug-infested plant. But she realised that was uncharitable. Insects were a part of nature; you couldn't avoid that. He probably hadn't known about the bugs, and it wasn't as if she'd been checking for them anyway. But she couldn't give the plant to Arkady now. What kind of a present would that be? “Happy birthday; here's a sickly, bug-infested plant. Good luck!” She hated the idea of just throwing it out, though – of having to admit failure (again) after she'd tried so hard do things right this time. And she wouldn't have a present for Arkady's birthday. Obviously plant owners dealt with insects all the time, but Violet couldn't ask Arkady about what to do without arousing suspicion and ruining the surprise. Still, which was worse - giving the game away, or letting things get worse because she had no idea how to treat an insect infestation? That was when Violet had an idea. Banking on the fact that no-one was likely to enter the medbay without her there, Violet left Arkady's plant under the UV lamp and closed the door behind her. Looking up and down the corridor, she picked a direction and speed-walked, blowing past a confused RJ, who said, “Uh-” and almost bumping into Brian. “Hey, dude, everything all right?” “Have you seen the Captain?” Violet asked him. “Think she's up in the cockpit,” he replied. “Great, thank you,” said Violet, relieved. If Sana was up in the cockpit, that meant she was with Krejjh, which was... better than her being with Arkady. Not by a lot, because Krejjh was not renowned for their subtlety, but Violet would take what she could get. Coming to a halt in front of the cockpit door, Violet had just realised that she had yet to memorise the entry code for the new ship when the door opened. “Violet!” said Sana in surprise. “Are you okay, is something wrong?” “Not exactly,” Violet admitted as Krejjh, seated at the controls, craned their head around in interest. “I uh, needed your help with something.”

Sana’s expression immediately turned interested. “Okay. Do you wanna talk in here, or...” “Uh, just somewhere-” Violet didn’t want to hurt Krejjh’s feelings by saying ‘somewhere private’, but privacy would be ideal. “-else? It’s about...” Sana’s eyes widened in comprehension. “Oh! Don’t worry, Arkady’s busy with something in the engine room at the moment.” Krejjh fully twisted their body around. “Are you avoiding First Mate Patel?” they demanded with glee. Violet cringed slightly, wishing the Captain could have been a bit more discreet. “Not... permanently, just at the moment.” “We’ll fill you in later, Krejjh,” Sana promised. “Shall we talk in the kitchen, Violet?” Violet nodded, and the two of them made their way through the still jarringly shiny and unfamiliar corridors of the Iris II until they reached the kitchen. Once inside, Sana said, “So, what can I help you with?” “Uh, so this is going to sound like a weird question,” Violet hedged. “But... when you guys were growing food and plants on Cresswin, what did you use for pesticides?” Sana blinked twice and then frowned a little. “Gotta say, I wasn’t really involved in any of the growing – I’m not very good with plants,” she admitted, and Violet almost burst out laughing at the irony. “That’s more Arkady’s domain. But I do happen to know what Campbell uses on his tomato plants, and I think he mixes...” She turned to the cupboards and began pulling out bottles: vegetable oil, baking soda, dish soap. “Depending on how much you need, you want to use twice as much oil as baking soda, and just a little bit of the dish soap,” Sana explained. “And then you want to dilute it with a couple of quarts of water. You can put it in...” She produced an empty spray bottle from yet another cupboard. “This! I was going to make a cleaning spray, but your need is greater.” “Oh God, thank you so much,” Violet said, picking up the bottles. “Did Campbell really tell you all the quantities?” She tried to think when this might have come up over moonshine. Sana smiled, one of her dimples showing. “I helped him make it once. He was having a bit of a crisis.” Violet laughed. “So, a plant, huh?” Sana asked her, her expression knowing. Violet’s shoulders sagged slightly. “I’m not very good with them either,” she said. Sana smiled at her. “Luckily for both of us, Arkady is. And she will love it,” she said, and headed for the door. “Bugs and all.” Violet put one hand over her face and groaned, but she was laughing. She unscrewed the top of the spray bottle and got to work.

---

De-contaminating the plant was harder work than Violet had bargained for. Violet supposed that most people treating their plants with bug spray weren’t so concerned with appearances, but she really wanted it to look good for Arkady. (And dead bugs were not a good gift). So after spritzing the plant carefully but thoroughly with her homemade spray and then leaving it for a couple of hours to take effect, she used a cotton swab to dust the tiny stalks and leaves and carefully remove any traces of the bugs and the spray.

By the time she was done, it was well after midnight. Violet stretched her arms over her head and breathed a sigh of relief. The plant looked okay. Not in peak health, but okay, and maybe by the morning it would have perked up fully.

Even after midnight, there was always someone awake on the ship, but that someone was usually Krejjh, Sana or Park in the cockpit, which was why Violet deemed it safe to carry the plant with her from the medbay back to her room.

She realised that had been a mistake when, after taking just a few steps away from the medbay, she rounded the corner and came face-to-face with Arkady.

“Liu!” said Arkady, her expression lighting up in a way that Violet was slowly coming to realise might actually be just for her. It quickly gave way to confusion as Arkady spotted the plant. “Oh hey, that’s – cool, where did you…? I didn’t realise you had a plant.”

Violet briefly tried to think of a way to explain away the plant, before realising it would just create more confusion and giving in to the inevitable. At least it was after midnight.

“Um, I’ve been keeping it secret because it’s… for you,” she said, proffering the plant. “I was actually planning to present it in a much nicer way, maybe with a ribbon around it? Which is my fault for carrying it openly around the ship, but I thought you’d be asleep, and you’re not and now you’ve seen me, so uh… Happy birthday!”

A dumbfounded silence greeted her words. Violet waited, breath coming quicker as she nervously started to second-guess herself. Oh god, she hates it! The leaves look really yellow under this light, I didn’t realise – or did Captain Tripathi get the date wrong? Maybe it’s not her birthday after all? “I-if you don’t like it, though, I can just-”

“No!” Arkady said, her arms shooting out to take the plant quickly. “I mean yes! It’s great! I was just trying to think when you – when did you buy this? We haven’t made any stops for a week.”

Violet nodded, feeling giddy with relief. “I bought it at a market on Rodinia,” she said. “I’ve been hiding it in the medbay pretty much since then.”

“The ultraviolet light,” Arkady said with dawning realisation. “But you – hate taking care of plants. Right? Or did you just say that to throw me off?”

“No, that was true,” Violet said ruefully. “It’s a miracle this one is still alive.”

Arkady stared down at the plant with a complicated expression, but fortunately Violet was familiar enough with Arkady’s ‘I’m-coming-to-terms-with-someone-doing-a-nice-thing-for-me’ expression not to panic this time. “It’s a bonsai tree,” she said gently, to fill the silence as Arkady processed. “Well, one of several varieties – I know bonsai is actually about how you take care of the tree, and not the variety. This one’s a Japanese maple. Captain Tripathi said you liked trees, and I thought… you can keep this one in your room and grow it yourself.”

“You got me a tree,” Arkady said softly, and Violet could detect a tiny tremor in her voice. “My own… tree.”

“I hope it wasn’t too much, I-”

“No,” Arkady interrupted her quickly. “No, Liu, it’s… perfect. Really.”

Violet knew she was blushing, and smiling so widely it was almost painful, but she couldn’t care too much about either of those things – even though they were still standing in the middle of the corridor. “Happy birthday,” she said again. “I’m really glad you like it.”

Arkady looked up at her, holding the plant pot close to her chest, almost cradling it. “How did you know it was my birthday, anyway?”

“The Captain told me,” Violet admitted. “I hope that’s okay. She said you don’t really like… fuss around your birthday, and we don’t have to do anything else for it or even mention it at all if you don’t want to, but – I think she wanted you to have something nice. And so did I.”

Arkady’s face did something complicated again, her mouth twisting into a half-smile. “She’s too perceptive for her own good,” she grumbled. “She’s cooking dinner for me, isn’t she?”

“She is,” Violet confirmed.

Arkady sighed, but it was the sigh of someone who was secretly pleased and trying to hide it. “Just so long as there’s no singing.” She lifted the plant slightly. “I’m gonna go put this in my room. Want to… come with? You can tell me all about how to take care of it.”

Violet snorted, bumping her shoulder lightly with Arkady’s as they walked towards Arkady’s room. “I can tell you about all the ways I nearly killed it before your birthday.”

“That works, too.”

#Violet Liu #TSCOSI #TSCOSI week #Arkady Patel #Sana Tripathi #Krejjh #I got really into the headcanon that Violet sucks at taking care of plants #because 1) it's hilarious #and 2) it makes a kind of sense with her 'you make plants grow in the middle of cold empty space' line #like she's extra in love with Arkady for that talent because she just can't do plants #I like plants a lot myself although I've never had to treat one with homemade bug spray so Google provided the details on that #ditto the UV light stuff #and I mean in canon they probably just have sun lamps installed throughout the ship so that no-one has to worry about Vitamin D deficiency #but that wouldn't be nearly as fun!

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sophielovesbooks · 2 years

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End of year reading tag

I was tagged by @hrimceald - thanks, love! 🤗

Did you reach your reading goal for the year (if you had one)?

I set my goodreads reading goal to 50 books. I thought this would be easy to reach, since I read ~75 books in 2020 and 2019. Somehow, though, I just barely made it, ending up with, I think, 54 books. So yeah, I reached my goal! But kind of just barely. (My final reads were a lot of medium-length audiobooks.)

What are your top 3 books you read this year?

Ooh, 3 is hard. If I really had to choose, I guess I might go with:

- Conversations with Friends (Sally Rooney)

- As Good as Dead (Holly Jackson)

- Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir)

What’s a book that you didn’t expect to enjoy quite so much going in?

- The Mother (Tess Stimson) was a lot more moving that I had expected.

- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (Holly Jackson) was also more... mature than I had been expecting, considering it’s YA. It was also so suspenseful and brilliantly plotted!

Were there any books that didn’t live up to your expectations?

- Witches of Ash and Ruin (E. Latimer) was one of my least favourite books this year. I just thought it was kind of badly written, the magic system was never really explained, the mental health representation was not good, and just overall, it read really... amateurish. Unfortunately.

Did you reread any old faves? If so, which one was your favourite?

I’m afraid not. I suck at rereading.

Did you dnf any books?

To my shame... I dnf’ed All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr). My boyfriend’s sister lend me her copy and I forced myself to read ~50% of it. Although the writing was really beautiful, the plot moved sooo slowly. And I usually have little interest in historical fiction, unfortunately, so ultimately decided to give up reading this one.

Did you read any books outside your usual preferred genre(s)?

Project Hail Mary is sci-fi, which I NEVER normally read! (Also... All the Light We Cannot See, with historical fiction, but that one kind of confirmed for me that that genre just sort of isn’t for me.)

What was your predominant format this year?

An almost 50-50 mix of physical books and audiobooks, with a few ebooks mixed in.

What’s the longest book you read this year?

I honestly don’t know. Maybe Project Hail Mary? Maybe These Violent Delights (Micah Nemerever)?

What are your top 3 anticipated 2022 releases?

Hm, not sure. Is the sequel to Ninth House (Leigh Bardugo) finally coming out??

What books from your tbr did you not get to this year, but are excited to read in 2022?

Oh, sooo many! Including but definitely not limited to:

- The Winters (Lisa Gabriele)

- They Never Learn (Layne Fargo)

- They’ll Never Catch Us (Jessica Goodman)

- If I Disappear (Eliza Jane Brazier)

- A Lesson in Vengeance (Victoria Lee)

Tagging anybody who quickly wants to answer these on the final day of 2021! You can say I tagged you :)

#tag games #end of year reading tag #books #booklr #reading

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sixties-doctor-who-stan · 3 years

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Tomb of the Cybermen is Trash

So a story I’m NOT a fan of is Tomb of the Cybermen. Like… why is this considered at all good? I know it’s reputation isn’t as high as it was before it was actually found, but it’s still considered pretty good.

Like, I get it. It’s Troughton’s first surviving story, and I even made my partner watch it on the basis of ‘it’s a surviving Troughton story!’ which I did NOT do for Talons of Weng Chiang* since Tom Baker has plenty of surviving stories (all of them).

*Which I will not be writing a blog about, because that would mean I would have to watch it again.

Before I trash this story though, here’s the good parts:

The first scene is a nice quick introduction to the show, a good thing to do after five years since many of the children watching by that point would have likely been too young in 1963. Plus Jamie and Victoria’s faces when the Doctor tells them how old he is are really funny.

The Doctor and Jamie have some really funny moments! The three that stood out the most were the hand holding part, the ‘complete metal breakdown’ part and the ‘remind me to give you lessons in tying knots’ those were very funny

Honestly, this episode has one of my favourite scenes from Doctor Who ever. (Which was literally added last minute because the episode was under running, which says it all really). The lovely conversation between the Doctor and Victoria where he talks about his family. It’s so sweet and lovely and hey! It’s on YouTube! So you can just watch that and nothing else from the episode!

youtube

The bad parts:

The limited sets feel really obvious in this story. They go to and from the same three sets throughout the entire story! It gets very repetitive very fast

Hopper is really annoying, and not just his terrible accent but his rather brazen misogyny towards Victoria. Not very endearing, and he’s a good guy!

So the Cybermen emerge from their tombs, cool! Then… they go back into their tombs to ‘recharge’. There sure is a lot of padding for a four parter isn’t there?

Also, the Doctor is literally responsible for almost all the deaths in this story. The only reason that the tomb is opened and subsequently the power is restored is because of the Doctor. Klieg wouldn’t have worked it out on his own! And the Doctor knew that Klieg was up to no good! He could have just waited for them all to leave and then opened up the tomb. This would be an interesting point to consider, but it’s never dwelled up at all!

The Cybermen are pretty dull here, but they’re pretty dull in all of the stories they’re in (except for the Tenth Planet) so whatever.

Now for the ugly (i.e. the racism):

The ‘bad people’ are the two vaguely not white and clearly foreign characters and the mostly mute big black man. Ugh…

So Klieg is a brilliant logician but not as good as the Doctor! (A common thing in Doctor Who, but seems more iffy when you consider the other racism in the story). And he’s the one who is most convinced that he can ally with the Cybermen, getting people killed. Oh that bad foreigner!

Not sure why, but Kaftan came across as rather creepy/sinister. Particularly towards the pretty young white girl Victoria. She does drug Victoria at one point!

The person who played Klieg was Cyprian and seemed to have had quite dark skin but I think Kaftan was in brownface, since other photos of the actress who played her show that her skin was lighter. So… yay.

(Unfortunately, this is very common in 1960s Doctor Who)

Last, but definitely not least. Toberman.

I suppose I should give the story the teensiest bit of credit that he’s played by a black actor, and not someone in blackface?

Except no, that’s the literal bare minimum and he is written as every lazy, racist stereotype there is.

He’s very big and strong, and Troughton plays on that physicality intentionally

The Doctor plays on his pride to get him to open the doors (which, the reason he can open them is he does one at a time which doesn’t occur to the Doctor or Jamie!)

(Both Toberman and Klieg are very easily manipulated by the Doctor, moreso than the others)

‘Oh but the reason he’s mostly mute is because he was originally deaf’, that just makes him a racist and ableist character!

The Doctor has to verbally tell the black man about his humanity

He is cyber converted, so great. The black man is literally dehumanised, I sure hope this never happens again(!)

He is completely loyal and deferential to his non-black mistress, which… yeah…

He dies saving everyone else, in a pretty horrid way. He’s electrocuted!

When he dies, everyone is pretty indifferent about it.

No, this sort of stuff was not ‘acceptable for the time’. Racism has and will never be acceptable. End of.

So yeah, basically these are my issues with the worst Troughton story (yes, I dislike it far more than the Krotons or the Dominators).

#doctor who #classic who #second doctor #jamie mccrimmon #victoria waterfield #cybermen #racism #tw racism #trash talk

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danwhobrowses · 3 years

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One Piece 1000 - 10 Confessions as a One Piece Fan

Although we did the Initial Thoughts a week ago (a long week ago, damn) which you can read here I wanted to do something for the official release of One Piece’s 1000th Chapter At first it started out to be ‘10 things I wanna ask Oda that I don’t think we’ll ever know’ but I couldn’t think of 10, then I was gonna do a General opinion post about it, but didn’t want it to come off too negative. So I am settling on a confessions post, which will have elements of these anyway.

So as we have a happy 1000, let’s talk about some stuff I usually don’t get to talk about in One Piece

Note: There will probably be spoilers so make sure you’re up to date

10. Late Beginnings I think the first confession I have to have is that despite being older than One Piece I am unfortunately not a ‘Day One’ fan. In fact I think I mainly got into One Piece around mid-Whole Cake Island arc, before I had of course known about One Piece, it was a ‘Big Three’ anime after all but the most I knew about it was that they had a guy named Luff-y and another called Zorro, and it was about ‘Pirates who can’t swim’. My curiosity only developed when in a youtube deep-dive of anime clips I kept being recommended One Piece clips, and decided to give a couple a go. Most of them were Paradise arc stuff from the anime, the dub voices were mostly atrocious so I stuck to sub. I was happily surprised about the amount of fun and emotional weight these clips gave me, which led me to check where One Piece was as of current and backtrack from there (Ironically I did the same with Beastars). I did eventually get caught up around the time of the Mafia Meeting and I’ve kept up with each chapter since.

9. I mostly still prefer the Pre-Timeskip looks When I first felt this I thought it to be pretty controversial, nowadays not so much. I understand that Oda wanted to change the look for many characters but some of them did feel like a downgrade. I think the ones who got it worst was Franky, I think it’s the bulbous shoulders, Franky was no stranger to body horror from Enies Lobby to Sabaody but I kinda preferred that he still had a lot of his humanity rather than looking like an action figure. Otherwise I think Robin, Nami and Chopper had it bad, maybe Brook too but his was more fashion than design; the women in general took heavy hits by Oda’s proportion design - I mean I get it boobs are nice but proportions are what make them better - but Robin also underwent a skin color change in the anime, who pre-timeskip shaded her skin darker than in the manga and corrected it to match the manga, I think most of us would’ve preferred Robin to have kept the darker skin tone and possibly even the fringe, Robin’s hairstyle (and her fashion in general) can be hit and miss. I go to and fro about Nami, other than the general waist and bust adjustments I think it fits her character to use her sexuality a bit, she was no stranger to that pre-Timeskip, sometimes though I can’t tell whether I preferred her with short or long hair (Short was definitely better on Nojiko), I do think though that Oda could have her show less skin, she is still very pretty in outfits such as Water 7, Thriller Bark and even her fake pirate disguise in the early chapters/episodes. Finally with Chopper I think it was a bad move to alter the hat, that was a memento from his father figure Hiriluk, it’d be like if Luffy altered his straw hat or Zoro replacing Wado Ichimonji, I do also feel that the design for Chopper’s points while easier to draw don’t look as good, I think a lot of it is the scruff, or lack thereof in favour of smoothness, Walk Point is fine but Heavy Point, Guard Point and Horn Point seem less threatening, Monster Point especially too, in Enies Lobby he looked like a cave painting of menace and destruction, now he’s smoother and his scruff lighter so it’s not as good. The rest of the designs I’m quite fine with though.

8. I wish some markings stuck as well Tattoos and Scars seem to be optional in the One Piece world sometimes, unless it’s branded in molten heat like the Dragon’s hoof, Sun Pirates logo or an attack from Sakazuki. While Nami’s redesigned tattoo has stuck around and Luffy and Zoro’s scars persist, they are mainly character reminders/mysteries for huge moments in the story, and I kinda wish that some of the Straw Hats had littler markings, not just scars either. For instance, the Alabasta X on the arm, I really wish that stayed on each of the Alabasta characters’ arms since it was a symbol of friendship with Vivi, I also wish that Luffy kept the 3D2Y mark on his arm. In terms of scars though it would’ve been nice to see the characters a bit more battle-worn; Zoro’s ankle scars from Mr. 3 have faded and frankly he should be covered in little and long scratches given his fights with Mr. 1 and 2 years of Mihawk Training, Nami’s shoulder scar is hidden completely by her tattoo and she has no scars on her hand (from fake stabbing Usopp) or foot (from blocking Miss Doublefinger), Usopp himself could’ve used some small scratches because lord knows how there’s even still bones in his nose plus he was in murder island for 2 years, Chopper could at least have a small bald patch from when his shoulder was impaled and burned by Shura’s fire lance too, other than that there’s just Jimbei’s potentially missing shoulder scar from Marineford, though Oda has kept it obscured a lot so maybe that is still there. I understand why Oda doesn’t or forgets to, but it would’ve been nice if we lived in a vacuum of no time limits and whatnot.

7. Dead End Adventure is my favourite One Piece film I don’t know what it is, but Dead End Adventure just gives me the most fun out of the One Piece films. It has a good side plot and the side character Shuraiya was a blast of a character. Granted, Gaspard wasn’t too good of a villain side for actually harming the straw hat and his defeat was a bit underwhelming but the race, the settings it was all fun. It is not to say I don’t enjoy any other One Piece movies, I delight in the horror fuel of Baron Omatsuri - and that killer final punch - and Z’s tragic tale of a fallen marine, Strong World has that epic entrance to the party and Stampede also had some great team up moments and fantastic writing for Usopp and Smoker but Dead End Adventure always feels like the movie I could watch in any mood.

6. Skypeia and Fishman Island are some of my favourite arcs While I can understand the criticism of the Long Ring Long Land arc (especially since the anime dragged out the Davy Back Fight) it surprised me that people found Skypeia and Fishman Island arcs to be boring or less entertaining than previous arcs. Everyone has their preferences of course but I felt that Skypeia and Fishman Island were very powerful arcs especially with the theme of racism. Both had glorious setting design different to the common customs of the world we had seen, Oda made both Skypeia and Fishman Island feel very much lived in with its own budding culture and prejudices, with a villain who was dead set on destroying everything just to have their way. With Enel and his priests we were able to push several characters to newer limits, with Robin showing her fighting capabilities, Zoro learning his projectile slashes, Chopper having to endure fighting 3 priests and even Usopp growing all the more braver in the face of seemingly indestructible opponents and later gaining access to the dials. With Fishman Island it was different because it was basically a ‘flex arc’: where the main villain is meant to be a stepping stone rather than a threat but even then the symbolism of the enemy is what’s significant with them, the inherited hatred of humans. But at the same time we do learn new strengths from the crew; Red Hawk, the use of armament Haki, Skywalk, Hell Memories, Franky Shogun, Usopp’s pop greens, Nami’s weather eggs, Brook’s Soul Solid and his new DF power (which is possibly an awakening), as well as the first true steps of Jimbei joining the crew. The biggest strength of both arcs is the flashback as well, like Wano would in present time both arcs demonstrated that Oda can carry a story without his main characters and still keep it as captivating as ever, be it the friendship of Noland and Calgara, the tragedies of Otohime and Fisher Tiger or the life of Kozuki Oden and the man who would be Pirate King. And the impact of Fishman Island and Skypeia’s flashbacks both come back around in Dressrosa with the dwarves and Koala, and Fishman Island really does kick off the whole Yonko saga with Luffy challenging Big Mom, these arcs were definitely significant as they were entertaining with silly faces, strong fights, challenging themes, lorebuilding, good side characters and unique twists. And the overall message of healing from the past is still significant to this day. Through Wyper’s sacrifice and the Bell ringing to Jimbei giving blood and the Ryugu royals wanting to attend the Reverie, it is all very powerful stuff and while the arcs are similar in nature its their similarities that make me love them. Also the cover stories with Enel and Gedatsu on their own mini adventures are fun

5. I really want to know where Ghin is Ghin/Gin was such an interesting character in Baratie. Given that this was right before Arlong Park too so we had not seen a character conflict with different loyalties in One Piece until then, his gratitude to Sanji against his loyalty to Krieg created a fantastically complex character, but then he left and we didn’t hear about him ever since. Did he survive Krieg’s poison gas? Is he still with Krieg? One reactor of the episode said “maybe he’ll become the next Don” which was a concept I kinda really liked. The guy was pretty strong given that he had bested Sanji at that time, and since he didn’t appear in a cover story my mind does wonder. It’s not just Ghin either, a lot of the early East Blue characters kinda fell off the map; where is Morgan? Last we saw he was sleeping as he sailed past Jango, where is Kuro? For someone wanting to resume piracy after some years off he has been very quiet, where is Krieg? Only Arlong and Morgan were arrested and the latter escaped so the rest of these characters are a mystery. Recently in Wano I am still wondering where Law’s crew that he brought to Onigashima went, as well as Caribou - where is that slippery bugger?

4. Basil Hawkins is probably one of my Top 5 Supernova There’s something about that dude I gravitate towards, which makes it quite frustrating when the anime decides to add extra malice and creepy faces to him. Hawkins in Wano is still a victim, if anything he is simply a prisoner with better working conditions, if he thought he could survive escaping Kaido he would but he doesn’t so he won’t, he’s also gonna feel sore about Drake betraying him and letting Law cut him up, so it annoys me that Hawkins is seen like a villain. Not only does he have an extremely interesting Devil Fruit and creativity with it but he’s also audaciously confident in his fortunetelling, even Luffy ran from Kizaru at Sabaody while Hawkins looked at his cards while Kizaru was about to boot him to holy hell and said ‘nah I’m not dying today’, you gotta respect that moxie. At the same time though as a pirate he has that shades of grey element, he’s okay with letting some of his crew be disposable and we don’t even know to what end, he doesn’t look like a guy too concerned about being Pirate King or having riches. I also get a good laugh in that his hobbies are interior design, it makes me really want to see what the inside of his ship looks like. I think as a top 5, I have Luffy, Zoro, Law, Hawkins and then Kid, Bege, Killer and Bonney are not far behind with Apoo dead last because fuck Apoo. Kid and Killer are cool but I do feel like they need a bit more character, Bege earned some points in being funny and his care for his family in WCI and then there’s Bonney - I really hope we dig into Bonney’s significance, she feels really important and that mystery keeps her fresh whenever we see her. Drake too has only really started to become interesting because of SWORD, we could still see more fleshing but for now he is like bottom 3. It’s a shame Urouge has to be so low, he’s not bad but he’s not spectacular either, gotta admire his hobby of lovemaking though, you do you Urouge.

3. I don’t think that either of the ‘Most Beautiful Women in the World’ are the Most Beautiful Women in One Piece The in-world consensus seems to be that the Most Beautiful Women in the World are Boa Hancock, Komurasaki and Shirahoshi, and granted they are very pretty, but the most? Not for me. I mean, y’all know that Nico Robin, Nami and Vinsmoke Reiju exist right? Makino as well is stunning, as are Tashigi, Bonney, Margaret, Ishilly, Nojiko, Vivi, Rebecca, Pudding, Perona, Cosette and I’m sure a few others, realistically I think they could all give them a run for their money. I get how for those three their beauty is a plot point (Boa it’s drilling home Luffy’s obliviousness to it, Komurasaki it’s the swerve of her not being awful and for Shirahoshi it’s due to Vander Decken IX pulling the creep factor on her) but it would’ve worked the same way without the ‘world’ hyperbole I think. As much as Oda is iffy with proportions and rarely writes women with as much attention as the boys he sure knows how to make them attractive.

2. Some of my favourite individual Straw Hat scenes aren’t in Canon If I were to have a top 5 moments of each character, it may surprise you that some of it comes from movies or filler episodes, particularly Sanji’s flexing on Jessica in the G8 Arc (in fact, Jonathon is one of my favourite marines, T-Bone is in there too, but I don’t have room to fit that). Some are of course obvious because of how iconic they are but it does go to show that sometimes filler isn’t all bad. Since you’re probably curious: As a Group Goodbye Merry [Enies Lobby] Entering Shiki’s Palace [Strong World] Walk to Arlong Park [Arlong Park] Entering the Grand Line [Reverse Mountain] vs a Stuck Oars [Thriller Bark] Jimbei Giving Luffy Blood [FMI] Vagabond Drill on Big Mom [WCI] Leaving the Big Mom Pirates [WCI] Returning in Wano [Wano] Trying to argue with Luffy [FMI] Brook vs Chess Soldiers & Big Mom [WCI] Flashback [Thriller Bark] Breaking Mother Carmel’s Picture [WCI] Baron Corpse vs Dog Minks [Zou] Hysterically laughing at seeing Duval [Sabaody] Franky vs Senor Pink [Dressrosa] Playing with the Kids [Punk Hazard] vs Fukurou [Enies Lobby] Freedom Roller [Wano] Trapping Caribou in the Barrel [FMI] Robin I Want to Live [Enies Lobby] Clutching Spandam [Enies Lobby] Throwing Usopp under the bus [G8] vs Yama [Skypeia] Clutching Tequila Wolf guards [Amazon Lily] Chopper Monster Point [Enies Lobby] Flashback [Drum Island] Chopper Man (& Minoru Kazeno) vs Usobada [Chopper Man Special] Don’t blow the whistle: Immediately blows whistle [Skypeia] Dr Chopper the definitely Human Doctor not wearing fake glasses [G8] Vivi w/ Karoo (she counts okay!) Goodbye speech [Alabasta] Escaping Bon Clay [Alabasta] Karoo Digging Luffy Out [Little Garden] Luffy Fan Club Meeting [Reverie] Slapping Usopp awake [Drum Island] Nami vs Kalifa [Enies Lobby] Standing by the kids [Punk Hazard] Saying goodbye to Bell-mere [Arlong Park] Helping Luffy vs Cracker via Lola’s Vivre Card [WCI] Luffy WILL be Pirate King [Wano] Sanji ‘I needed a light’ [Skypeia] Flexing on Jessica [G8] Saving the Vinsmokes [WCI] O-Soba Mask [Wano] vs Doflamingo [Dressrosa] Usopp Alabasta speech [Alabasta] Awakening Observation Haki [Dressrosa] Sogeking Theme Song [Enies Lobby] vs Perona [Thriller Bark] Saving Luffy from the fire [Stampede] Zoro Nothing Happened [Thriller Bark] vs Ryuma [Thriller Bark] vs Mr. 1 [Alabasta] vs Gyukimaru & Kamazo [Wano] “He’s sweeping our floors that fiend!” Test of Luck [Loguetown] Luffy ‘On the Sea, you fight Pirates’ [Wano] Red Roc [Wano] vs Katakuri [WCI] Haki clash with Doflamingo [Dressrosa] Punching Saint Charloss [Sabaody] I will have to say that for some characters I could go to 20 so if one’s missing it may’ve just missed the mark, such as Usopp and Nami vs Enel or Luffy putting back a Zombie or Stealth Luffy, I mean it is 1000 chapters as well as movies and filler episodes/specials...

1. I’ve learned quite a lot due to One Piece Since my fascination started with a deep dive of checks, I did start to learn a hell of a lot more not just about the franchise itself (you know it’s almost catching up BATMAN on total sales, which has been around more than 3 times longer?) but I also learned a lot about stuff Oda has used as a reference key; folklore, actual pirates, actual practices, the amount of detail Oda puts in is astounding. Which does lean into another thing I’ve learned, One Piece has changed the way I approach some of my ideas for writings and whatnot, before I would be afraid of either spoonfeeding or being too vague, Oda’s mastery not only in storytelling but character development, character quality and pacing has both helped and intimidated me a lot of times, I mean consider this: it took hundreds of chapters to get a proper backstory on Luffy, the main character, how unprecedented is that? Often I could fall into the trap of making sure you knew everything about the main character from day one but now I wonder about what’s necessary for the now and what can I work on. Another thing that both inspires and intimidates me is his drawing, I suck at colours and still do, and a lot of Oda’s attention to detail is incredible considering he’s gotta whip that out on the weekly, but at the same time you see some of his rough sketches and they’re pretty similar to a rough sketch of my own, so in a way it’s a ‘there’s still hope for you’ moment seeing those. I can’t say I’ve learned Japanese from listening to One Piece, but I have picked up on some stuff, some hiragana there, some phonetics here, I also appreciated some of the stuff kaizokuou-ni-naru does (I won’t tag them in case that’s a bit rude to do it out of the blue but check out their tumblr) when it came to deciphering the Japanese of chapters and the little puns and hints Oda puts in his native tongue. And of course any One Piece fan has learned one thing above all else: Patience. Oda himself included, it took over 20 years to get to 1000 chapters and we still have plenty of questions to ask, plenty of islands to see and thus plenty of chapters to go. So Straw Hats off to you Oda, and a happy 1000th!

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maluminspace · 4 years

Text

Genre: Soulmate au/fluff/smut

Pairings: Michael Clifford/Female Reader

Word Count: 5.6k

Dedicated to: @h0tsos and @5-secondsofcolor

Trigger Warnings: strong language, moderate sexual content

Content: male masturbation, references to blowobs, references to anal sex

A/N: I’ve been wanting to write a soulmate au for a long time. It took me a while to figure out what tropes and stuff I wanted to use but I hope you enjoy what I ended up with! 💕 special thanks to Steff and Alma for helping me with this and putting up with my long rambling plans for it 😂 I love you both 🥰

***

“What the fuck, Luke?” Michael grumbles, pulling his duvet over his head to block out the sunlight. “I don’t have work today… Fuck off!”

He’s been talking about how excited he was to sped his Saturday in bed, all fucking week. There’s not a chance in hell that Luke could be confused. He has no excuse at all to be waking Michael up.

“It’s almost noon, Mike.” Luke huffs defiantly. “You promised you’d help me tidy up the apartment and then disappear so that I can bring that girl home.” He yanks the duvet cover off of Michael mercilessly before dropping it on the ground at the foot of his roommate’s bed.

Letting out an annoyed and frustrated growl, Michael kicks his legs like a stroppy toddler for a moment before finally forcing one of his pretty green eyes open. “I said fuck off!” He repeats, “I swear to god, with the week I’ve had, I would not rule out murdering you today, Hemmings.”

The younger roommate rolls his eyes impatiently, which only annoys Michael even more. “If you murdered me, you’d have no friends.” He states, a tiny smirk playing at the corners of his lips before he turns towards the door. “If you’re not in the kitchen in ten minutes, I’m gonna come back with a jug of freezing cold water.”

Unfortunately, Michael knows that’s not an empty threat. He’d made the mistake of believing his best friend wouldn’t douse him ice water once before… It’d taken him all day to warm up after that incident. He definitely doesn’t want a repeat of it, even if he’d like nothing more than to grab his duvet from the ground and go back to sleep.

It takes at least half of Luke’s stated time limit for Michael to roll out of bed. He wasn’t lying when he said it’d been a tough week for him. After spending the majority of it working with a band he can’t stand, the idea of his ‘duvet day’ had been the entire motivation to get him through.

Needless to say, Michael’s not in the best of moods when he finally sloped into the kitchen a few minutes later. The tiled floor is cold on his bare feet and he growls miserably as he throws open a cupboard in search of some form of sustenance.

“I made you a fruit tea.” Luke offers, gesturing towards a steaming mug on the countertop near the sink. “You can take it into the sitting room if you want, I’ll make you some toast or something.”

Michael scoffs at the kind gestures. “I don’t want your fucking toast. I want something sweet and I want to sleep, but you made damn sure that wasn’t happening.”

“Mate…” Luke sighs, already showing signs of exasperation. “It’s almost midday and the apartment is a dump! I can’t bring my date back here if it stays like this.”

Deciding that a sugary cereal is the only hope to lighten his mood, Michael pulls the half empty box of fruit loops from the cupboard and swings the door hard enough to result in an almost satisfyingly loud bang. “So what?” He asks, grabbing a bowl from the drying rack next to the sink. “I don’t even know why you bother ‘dating’. We’re all assigned a soulmate at birth, right? So what’s the point in trying to make a relationship work with someone you know you’re not ‘meant’ to be with?”

Michael knows that there’s an obvious answer to that question. No one ever knows when they’ll meet their soulmate, there’s no magical clock counting down to that life altering moment. There’s no mysterious tattoos or markings to help you find them either. You just have to wait until you hear that stranger’s voice in your own head and there’s no way on earth of knowing when it’ll happen. The unpredictability of the system means that an individual could spend a hefty portion of their life as a singleton. For this reason, many people choose to ignore the fact that their ‘one’ is waiting for them somewhere, focusing on their own sexual and companionship needs instead.

Michael has never been one of those people. Sure, he’d jump into bed with a random stranger from time to time. He never once pretended that the connection would be anything more than physical, though. Most adults have sexual needs and he’s only ever seeked out like-minded people that wanted a quick fuck just to satisfy their urges. His emotions are always locked up and buried deep within him, there’s only one person out there who he’ll ever share them with and he’s still yet to meet them.

“I’m not having this conversation with you again, Michael.” Luke grumbles, handing his roommate a carton of milk from the fridge. “Especially when you’re in such a foul mood.”

Snatching the milk from his friend, Michael pours it over his cereal and grabs a spoon from the cutlery drawer. “Well, who’s fault is that?” The slightly older man snipes. “I’d still be asleep if it wasn’t for you. The least you can do is answer my fucking question.”

Luke’s broad shoulders slump, a dejected gesture that almost makes Michael feel guilty for pushing the subject. He knows full well that he’s being a dick on purpose. Michael has always known that his friend hates the soulmate system. He loathes the waiting and most of all he just can’t stand being alone. Luke’s never been able to keep his feelings in check, it’s like he’s not capable of keeping things casual, he needs a deeper connection. “You know why, Mike.” Luke sighs, “I’ve read plenty of news articles about people that have never found their soulmate for one reason or another. With every day that goes by, I feel like my chances of having a decent amount of time with them, or meeting them at all get smaller and smaller.”

Part of Michael sympathies with his roommate. He’d be lying if he said he’d never lay awake at night worrying that he’d never meet his ‘one’. As much as he’d like to set his bad mood aside and offer Luke some words of comfort, he’s still incredibly sleep deprived and angry. His less than kind words spill from his lips before the better side of him can stop them. “You’re 24, Luke! Get a grip… it’s far too early to assume you’ll never meet your soulmate.”

A hint of rare anger burns in Luke’s eyes for a second before it’s replaced by an all-too-familiar sadness. “I’ve always had this feeling that I’ll never find them, Mike.” He admits, tapping his chest to emphasise his point. “I don’t have the same faith in the system as you do. Dating randomers might not be ideal, but I need more than just sex to get by. I need to feel close to someone.”

The pained expression on Luke’s face finally pulls out a shred of Michael’s decency. No amount of anger or lack of sleep is worth making Luke feel this way. He places his cereal down on the counter before reaching out to place his hand in his friend’s shoulder. “You will find them, Luke.” He reassures gently. “There's no way that I can promise you when it’ll happen but I just know that it will. No one deserves to find their soulmate young as much as you do.”

A humourless laugh escapes Luke as he pulls his friend into a hug. “I wish I shared that certainty with you, buddy.”

***

In an attempt to make up for his earlier behaviour. Michael spends the next two hours working through every chore that Luke asks him to do and more besides. By the time he’s finally ready to take a well deserved shower, he’s pretty sure that Luke’s feeling a bit better about everything. Of course Michael has been sure to drop as many reassuring comments as possible to help dispel his friend’s lingering doubt about finding his soulmate.

Before heading to the bathroom, Michael picks up his phone from his bedside table to check his emails. Even on his days off, he can’t fully disengage his brain from his work. Music has always been his biggest passion, so working in a recording studio is ideal for him. Most of the time he enjoys being locked up in his little room, helping all kinds of musicians accomplish their visions.

This week has been pretty tough, though. A bunch of primadonnas in leather waistcoats and bandannas have spent every day trying to make his life a misery. Luckily, the email that Michael had been hoping for is waiting in his inbox when he opens the app on his phone. His colleague, Ashton Irwin, had messaged to let him know that ‘the fucking band of shitheads’ had fallen out with each other and stormed off, forfeiting the rest of their studio time.

It’s with a lighter heart and a tiny smile that Michael steps into the shower a few moments later. It doesn’t take too long though, for Michael to start thinking over the whole soulmate thing. He’s always had complete faith in the system but that ache that Luke sometimes talks about, the constant weight of doubt in his chest, has started to resonate with the slightly older man.

Maybe I just need to get laid

As soon as the thought pops into his head, Michael convinces himself that’s all he needs. Whenever loneliness starts to show it’s ugly face, jumping into bed with the next hot person he comes into contact with is always the perfect solution.

After making his mind up to head to his favourite bar as soon as possible, Michael attempts to empty his head, allowing the warm water washing over his skin to soothe his mind.

One of his favourite ways to distract himself is, of course jerking off, and it doesn’t take long for his body to start reacting in the typical way once the idea pops into his mind. His neglected cock hardens as he strokes it gently, conjuring up thoughts of some of his favourite recent sexual encounters. The first thing that enters his head is the incredibly pretty girl that had sucked him off in the bathroom of the club he’d ventured to last week, the way her painted red lips wrapped around his long, thick length as he gripped her hair needily. Michael bites his bottom lip in an attempt to stifle his moans as his mind drifts to the hot, muscular guy that had fucked him senseless in his apartment a month or so ago, they hadn’t even made it to the bedroom, both of them too desperate to satisfy their sexual needs to spare the extra seconds it would have taken to reach the comfort of the stranger’s bed. Luckily the man had condoms and lube in the pocket of his leather jacket, meaning that they had everything they needed right there on the couch in his living room. It’s impossible for Michael to hold in the gasp that escapes him as he steadies himself with one hand pressed against the cold tiled walls of the shower cubicle, whilst the other picks up speed, causing all the friction he needs on his achingly hard cock. He knows it won’t take long to reach his climax now as his mind flicks between the girl in the bathroom and muscular stranger, remembering every sensation and every sound from both occasions. The way ‘red lips’ had moaned around his cock as it hit the back of her throat, the way ‘muscles’ had groaned “so tight babe” as he’d rocked his sinful hips into Michael at a relentless speed. A quiet “fuck” escapes Michael’s lips as his finger tips press harder into the tiles. His orgasm is fast approaching when he remembers the way red lips had pulled off of him just long enough to tell him to cum down her throat, her voice scratchy and weak. Her face is instantly replaced with the sensation of muscles’ tongue dragging over the most sensitive spot of his neck.

Why can’t you keep the fucking noise down, asshole, I don’t care about how much you love getting fucked by hot guys…

The voice in his head isn’t the one that usually berates him for being a slut. It’s a female voice, and an unfamiliar one at that. He’s too caught up in the moment to think too hard on the intrusion and by the time he realises that the voice in his head doesn’t belong to him at all, it’s too late to stop. His orgasm crashes over him in the same moment that the new voice adopts a distraught tone.

Holy Shit

Michael spills all over his hand with the fresh realisation that his soulmate is nearby, echoing through his foggy mind.

Did you just… Oh my god!

“I’m sorry!” Michael whimpers out loud, hastily turning off the shower with a shaking hand. “Can’t you get out of my fucking head, while I try to process this and possibly die of embarrassment?”

I don’t know how to, genius! I never expected this to happen today, I… holy fuck, this is so messed up! I just heard you cum and I don’t even know your name, I haven’t even seen your face and you’re my fucking soulmate…

This is all too much. Michael can’t even begin to think about everything that just happened in the last few moments. His soulmate is in his building. The person he was always meant to be with is somewhere very close by and she appeared in his head at the very moment he climaxed thinking about being fucked by the hottest guy he’d ever met. Of all the ways to meet your soulmate…

His head is still spinning as he staggers out of the shower and grabs the fluffy bath towel from the rail on the wall. How on earth is he meant to set this situation right?

I guess you can start by meeting me face to face? We should start getting to know each other if we have to spend the rest of our lives together.

But you just heard me… Michael babbles silently, unable to keep his thoughts in his head. I’m the fucking worst soulmate you could have ever imagined, I…

You weren’t to know. Neither of us were. It’ll make a funny story for your wedding speech, at least!

Michael feels the blood drain from his face as the reality of the situation crashes down around him. His casual, carefree lifestyle has ended, just like that, no warning, no preamble. He’s found his soulmate and his life just changed forever. I can’t meet you face to face now… Michael sighs. Fuck, I wish the earth would just swallow me up right now.

A soft laugh echoes through his mind. It’s not a mocking one or anything, in fact it’s probably the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard.

So what if I popped into your head when you were jerking off? We all do it… I just want to see you! I’ve been waiting my whole life for this, aren’t you curious to see me too?

Of course I am! Michael groans, padding out of the bathroom and down the hallway to his bedroom. I just… how am I meant to look you in the eye now?

That musical laugh rings through his mind once more as he perches on the end of his bed.

Hey, at least I already know a couple of things you’re into!

Michael knows that it’s meant to be a joke but he groans, still feeling utterly embarrassed. I just wish this had happened differently.

I don’t. I always hoped that when I heard my soulmate’s thoughts for the first time, that they’d be thinking something fun or sexy. You really delivered!

Michael lets out a tiny laugh, still aware that his cheeks are burning. And here I was thinking that was the worst ‘first bonding’ of all time.

It’s embarrassing for you, but hilarious for me! I promise I won’t tease you about it for the rest of your life if you just get your ass to apartment 309 ASAP so I can see what you look like!

You’re lying. Michael laughs, suddenly aware that the bond between his own mind and his soulmate’s is deeper than he first realised. He could hear her faintest thoughts, those ‘barely there’ little wisps of memories, plans or realisations. You fully plan to bring this up once a day for the rest of our lives.

Fuck! I hate that you can hear everything that goes on in my head! I guess we need to do some research on how to control this thing, huh?

Michael couldn’t agree more. He’s been waiting his whole life to find his soulmate, but knowing that this person can get into his mind whenever they’re within a certain radius, is a scary thought. There’s certain things he doesn’t want his soulmate to know too much about, especially so early on in their relationship. Fuck, we don’t even have a relationship yet…

We’ve been assigned to each other from birth, this is destiny. Let’s get this first meeting over with, yeah? I’ll be in apartment..

309? Yeah you said! Michael chuckles, his nerves making it hard for him to control how his words take form. Just let me get dressed and I’ll be right there.

***

“Are you okay?” Georgia, your best friend, asks timidly when she opens the front door of her apartment. It’s an open-plan layout and the living area is still filled with unopened boxes of her belongings and flat-packed furniture. You’re meant to be helping her move into this new apartment but your plans seem to have suddenly changed. “You look pale as fuck…” Your best friend’s grey-blue eyes sparkle with concern as she regards you carefully.

“Yeah… I uh…” you stammer, still trying to wrap your head around what’s just happened. “I just… My soulmate’s coming over here in a minute, as soon as I walked in the building I heard him in my head...”

“WHAT?” Georgia’s eyes suddenly resemble saucers as she leads you over to the sofa in the centre of the room. “Your soulmate lives in this building?”

You nod your head uncertainly. “I guess so, yeah.”

Georgia pulls you down onto the sofa next to her before taking your hand excitedly. “So what do you know about him? When is he getting here? Shit, you need to change your outfit.” She rambles, leaping to her feet. “Come on, I haven’t unpacked most of my clothes yet but I have a couple of suitcases that we can ransack.”

Before you even have a chance to answer any of her questions, your best friend whisks you off the sofa towards one of the doors set into the wall opposite the kitchenette. She’s still muttering under her breath even when the two of you stumble into her bedroom.

“Georgie…” You groan. “He’s my soulmate, I want him to know the real me from the start, he’s in my head anyway, he’ll know that your pretty clothes aren’t my real style.”

So you’re not into pretty clothes then?

“Shit.” You curse, feeling a blush rise in your cheeks. “I hate that he’s still in my head! I cannot wait to figure out how we can control this shit…”

“He’s in your head right now?” Georgia asks, dropping the crop top she’d just pulled from a suitcase onto her bed. “That’s fucking weird and creepy, can he go away?”

You shake your head. “You have no idea…” the very recent memory of your soulmate’s sexual fantasies pop into your brain as you cover your face with your hands. “Wait ‘til I tell you about the moment I burst into his mind.”

Georgia eyes you curiously, perching in the foot of her bed, all of her intentions of finding you a new outfit seemingly forgotten. “What happened?”

As much as you want to share the horrific story, you know that there’s not enough time. Your soulmate will be here any moment and you can’t even panic properly because he knows everything you’re fucking thinking and feeling.

Oh god! Please don’t tell your friend what just happened…

The pleading in your soulmate’s psychic voice is too adorable to ignore or disobey. He’s genuinely mortified by the whole experience, you can feel his embarrassment deep within your own bones as though it’s your own. You really had no idea how fast and deep the soulmate connection would happen, nothing could have ever prepared you for this and you know that your soulmate feels the same, his emotions are finely tuned into yours now. “I’ll have to tell you another time, Georgie, he’ll be here any minute.”

Your best friend nods understandingly, although there’s a definite note of disappointment in her tone when she speaks again. “So are the two of you gonna go somewhere together? If you wanna stay here, I can stay in my room, it’ll give me an excuse to unpack my clothes instead of putting together that ikea furniture…”

“That’s sweet of you, Georgie but I think we’ll probably go out somewhere. I guess this will be my last first date ever…” You smile, although the fear that stirs up in you is undeniable. You can feel the emotion that it conjures up in your soulmate too, but it’s not quite fear or sadness.

He’s trying hard to hide the real reason for his ambiguous emotion and you don’t want to pry. Being in his head is strange enough as it is, you don’t want to learn things about him now that he’s not ready to share. Despite your psychic bond, you need to earn each other’s trust and the rights to any secrets you both may be hiding.

“Wow that’s got to feel really weird.” Georgia huffs, becoming lost in her own thoughts for a moment.

You nod, wrapping your arms around yourself for a little comfort.

Can I meet you in the lobby instead of at your friend’s place? I’d kinda like our first meeting to be on neutral ground, y’know?

“Whenever I imagined meeting my soulmate for the first time, it was always somewhere beautiful or fun.” You mutter out loud. “Not in the tired old lobby of an apartment building my best friend just moved in to.”

“Hey, this is a nice place!” Georgia argues, her pretty face twisting into a defiant expression.

There’s no reason why we can’t do that. Just pick a time and a place and I’ll be there...

Knowing that your soulmate is in the same building as you right now is so tempting. You want to meet him in person more than anything. Yet, the thought of waiting just a little linger in order to make it perfect, wins you over.

There’s a park a few blocks away, do you know it? You ask, instinctively wondering back into the main living area of the apartment. It’s got a little lake surrounded by blossom trees, it’s always really pretty at this time of year. Could we meet there?

Sure, what time?

Umm, I can be there in a half hour or so, does that work for you?

That’s perfect, should we exchange phone numbers just in case?

You agree and tell him your name and number. The thudding of his heart and the joy he feels deep within him, resonates with you as you take your own phone from the pocket of your jeans. His text pings through just a second later, it’s a simple message consisting of a tree, a sparkly heart and a boy/girl couple emoji. What’s your name, you big sap? You chuckle, the growing fondness in your chest becoming more undeniable by the second.

Oh I didn’t tell you already?

His tone is mocking but it’s entirely clear that his feelings for you match the ones you’re developing for him.

It’s Michael… See you in a half hour, blossom.

***

You’ve been fighting a constant battle against your never since the second you’d walked out of Georgia’s apartment building. Now that you’re free from your soulmate’s unintentional intrusion, you start to allow all of your fears and insecurities about the whole situation into your mind.

Visions of how badly you are likely to fuck this up run through your brain unhindered, during your fifteen minute walk to the park. You’re so caught up in your scary thoughts that you arrive at your destination on autopilot, dropping into the first free bench you find, luckily it’s beneath one of your beloved blossom trees.

You’re only sitting there with your own thoughts for a few minutes before your soulmate’s psychic, nervous blabbering fills your mind. “Michael?” You whisper, your tone a perfect mixture of fear and excitement.

Fuck, you’re here already, blossom?

Yeah, I guess my nerves made me walk faster than I usually would. You’re early too, though!

Yeah… I kinda wanted to beat you here so that I could have a few minutes to think about what to say to you. The least I can do is give you a good first impression when we meet in person, seeing as our first psychic bond was such a disaster.

The embarrassment in his tone is obvious and it almost makes you feel a little sorry for him. It could have been worse. You giggle, your urge to tease him a tiny bit more winning out.

Yeah, for you maybe…You giggle a little bit longer before taking a deep breath. Okay, I’m on a bench under one of the blossom trees. I’m wearing blue skinny jeans and a leather jacket, can you see me?

Shit… Yeah, I see you blossom. I… fuck, how do you wanna do this? Should I walk over and sit next to you or…

Before he has a chance to finish his sentence you scan all of the faces of the people on other benches and those walking along the path in front of you beside the lake. None of them seem to be paying any attention to you but you can tell by the nervousness in your soulmate’s thoughts that he can see you. Without another second’s hesitation, you turn your head towards the little expanse of grass behind your bench.

Your heart stammers in your chest as your gaze is met with a pair of beautiful, albeit startled, green eyes. Some deep, almost primal instinct tells you that this is him. This is your soulmate.

He’s not at all what you’d ever expected. In fact, part of you had always believed you were an exception to the rule, that you didn’t have a soulmate. Yet here is a beautiful, slightly awkward angel of a man who you’re deeply bonded with in every way. “Michael?” Your voice is barely a whisper and there’s no way he’d hear it over the rustling of the leaves above his head and the excited laughter of the children playing near the lake. But he hears you in his head as a bright smile curls the corners of his impossibly pink lips.

Michael nods as he tucks a loose strand of his bleached blonde hair behind his ear. His cheeks heat up under your gaze and he looks much shier than you had expected him to be, especially given the thoughts that you’d intruded upon a little while ago.

A flashback of the horrific moment that you’d burst into his brain earlier, runs through his mind as his cheeks burn even brighter.

Before Michael can apologise, you slowly rise to your feet and force your legs to step closer to him. “You don’t have to be sorry, our first interaction was just bad timing.”

A tiny chuckle escapes Michael as he awkwardly scratches the back of his neck. “I just hate that that’s the first thing you knew about me.”

“That you like blowjobs and getting fucked?” You reply, giggling again. “I’d have known those things the second I laid eyes on you anyway.”

A shocked laugh bursts out of your soulmate as he frantically tries to think of the best way to respond to your blunt words.

“Don’t worry I’ve filed them away for future reference.” You smirk, loving the way that Michael squirms needily. “We should probably get to know each other a bit better first, though.”

Michael agrees easily, regarding you with a degree of admiration that you’d never experienced before. “Sounds like a good idea, blossom. How about I buy you an ice cream and we exchange childhood stories before we head to the library and start looking into this mind reading stuff?”

Humming your agreement, you make the bold decision to reach for his hand. It’s odd that a part of your dynamic has developed so quickly, but there’s no denying that Michael’s shyness and awkwardness far outweighs your own. That’s not a problem, though, you’re happy to take the lead for now.

Michael gives you a lopsided grin as he accepts your hand, suppressing the trembles that threaten to overcome him as your skin touches his for the first time.

Of course you share the intense emotions and physical effects, but you seem to be able to control them a bit better than he can. You can’t help but find him utterly adorable.

***

Michael still can’t believe this is happening. Less than an hour ago, he never would have believed that today would be the day he’d meet his soulmate. Here you are, though, walking beside him, attempting to eat an ice cream cone before it melts all over your hand.

It’s amazing to him, just how perfect for him you are. Sure, he’s always known that soulmates are chosen for each other based on their compatibility in many different areas, but he’d never thought that it was possible to fall for you as hard and fast as he has done.

“So your roommate, Luke…” You ponder our lout. “He’s your best friend?”

Michael nods distractedly as he focuses on the way that you drag your tongue over the soft ice cream in your hand. “We’ve known each other for years.”

Even if you haven’t noticed the way that Michael’s been staring at you, there’s not a single chance that you can’t hear his increasingly lustful thoughts. He’s faintly aware of that fact but it’s impossible for him to stop thinking about how much he wants to feel your mouth against his.

“Did you tell him about me before you came out to meet me?” You ask curiously, your cheeks turning pink as your gaze drifts to Michael's lips.

The blonde man shakes his head. “He was busy getting ready for a date, I didn’t want to overshadow his moment.”

Your silent awww echoes through Michael’s brain for a moment as he tries to distract himself by eating his own ice cream. He can’t stop the smile that curls his lips as your subconscious yearning to feel his tongue on your skin reaches his mind. It’s closely followed by your embarrassment as you clearly realise that he knows what you're thinking about.

“This being in each other’s head thing is absolutely the worst idea in the world.” You groan, trying to hide your face behind your ice cream as best you can.

Michael’s heart kind of melts at how adorable you look and his urge to kiss you is more overwhelming than ever. It’s clear by the way you hesitantly meet his gaze that you can feel how much he wants it, just as he can sense how much you want it to happen as well. “I dunno…” he smiles gently. “It’s embarrassing and it feels a bit weird, but you have to admit how incredible it feels to be so deeply connected to someone. It’s like… I’ve never felt less alone, y’know?”

You nod thoughtfully as you take another lick of your ice cream. “Yeah… it’s nice to know that we communicate on a whole different level. I’m excited to learn how to control it, though! There are still things I don’t want you to learn about me just yet.”

It feels strange to Michael that there are things you want to withhold from him, albeit temporarily, because he already sort of feels like he knows you better than he’s ever known anyone else. In the hour or so since you’d popped into his brain, it’s like two of you have formed a deep, unbreakable bond, like there’s an invisible force connecting him to you and it’s simultaneously the most exciting and the most terrifying feeling he’s ever experienced.

Maybe it’s that moment of confusion and vulnerability that leads you to take the step that Michael’s been too shy to take since the two of you first met in person. His breath hitches in his throat as you stop walking and cup his cheek gently in your free hand. He knows what's about to happen, he’d have known even he couldn’t hear your thoughts. The intensity in your eyes and the slight tremble in your fingers make it obvious and Michael’s nervous anticipation reaches an all time high in the seconds before you close the gap between your lips and his.

***

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