#even when i’m actively saying the opposite of what they think i’m lying about?? like ‘ur pretending to be poor!!!’ but never were they able

[menalez]

why is everyone so obsessed with picking you apart??? I've never seen any of the other blogs I follow get so many asks saying they're lying about things. do people not have anything better to do with their lives???

people have ridiculous conspiracy theories about my life where they pretend i must be lying about random aspects of my life bc they intentionally choose to fixate on certain things ive said while ignoring other things ive also said. idk why besides the fact that ppl on here already think it’s super impossible to be anything other than american, canadian, or european + poc + gay.

[h0neylevi]

This is from my old account, but I was just looking through my old writing in search of something else, and I'm really happy with the way this turned out.

tw: mentions of canon-typical violence, fem!reader, pregnancy.

It was supposed to be a simple scouting mission.

In and out, Erwin had said. Titan activity had reportedly dwindled in the region, so there was no reason to be concerned.

And yet, here you were, sitting in the stuffy field medic tent in the middle of titan territory.

The inside of your head feels so foggy you don’t even notice the hand that falls on your shoulder.

In fact, you haven’t noticed much of anything in the last few hours aside from the boy laid in front of you. He’s a newer recruit to your squad. A bright young boy with lofty hopes and dreams who never seems to let anything get him down. As his superior, he always seems to look up to you, but as you watch the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he sleeps, you think he could teach you a thing or two about staying positive.

Half of his face is obscured by a layer of thick bandages, covering a grisly scar that he received not eight hours prior. The sweat on his brow still glistens in the soft light of the lantern, but he’s alive. You can see that, right here with your own two eyes, but your heart refuses to stop pounding as if you’re still waiting for your luck to sour.

“You look like shit.”

The sound of Levi’s voice brings everything back into focus. The murmur of low voices and movement outside. The way your legs and hips ache from sitting in one place for so long. The exhaustion weighing your eyelids down.

You turn to give him a weary glance and find him standing at your shoulder, watching you. There’s a thinly veiled look of concern in his eyes that he doesn’t bother to hide once your gazes meet. It’s just the two of you and a sleeping soldier, after all.

His eyes briefly flick to the boy. “Have you eaten?”

You think for a moment and shake your head, lifting a hand to wave his question away.

“I’ll get something in a moment—“

But Levi’s already lifting one side of the tent entrance, his posture stiff and uncompromising. He’s still in captain mode.

“Come walk with me,” he says. “Let’s get some air.”

You contemplate turning him down, eyes still glued to the sleeping form in front of you. He looks so small swaddled in the thick cotton blankets. They’re no different from the ones they wrap the dead in to transport back home. It reminds you of how fleeting life really is.

It’s cold and dark when you finally step outside. Most of the other soldiers have pitched their tents and turned in for the night, but a few stragglers linger around a low fire, huddled close. 

You expect Levi to lead the way toward the field kitchen, but instead he starts off in the opposite direction towards the edge of camp. You fall into step beside him.

The silence seems to drag and you wonder idly what Levi is thinking. You know the events from earlier have left him a little rattled. There weren't supposed to be three abnormals lying in wait at the edge of the forest. Whatever intel had been passed down had been wrong, and you nearly paid the ultimate price for it.

There’s a rigidity to his posture as he walks, his eyes downcast, and in the glint of the moonlight you see a wrinkle of worry that’s formed between his brows.

“The report says there was no permanent damage,” he finally says. “Watching over him like that and ignoring your own needs is just going to cause you unnecessary stress.”

A tightness forms in your throat. “I’m the reason he’s in there, Levi.”

“He made a choice, just like any of your squad would have done.” His gait slows and his voice drops lower, more insistent. “If they knew—“

“If they knew, I wouldn’t have been allowed to come along,” you reply. “The doctor said I’m not required to take leave for several more weeks.”

“That doesn’t mean you should be here,” he hisses. “There’s plenty you can do back at headquarters that doesn’t require you to leave the walls.”

You snort, the noise entirely devoid of humor. “If I do that, I may as well be an MP, Levi.”

Suddenly, he stops and the muscle of his jaw feathers as he thinks. He’s anxious. You both are. If he had the authority to send you back tonight with a team, he’d probably do it. Today was too close of a call for comfort.

Several seconds pass before he finally sighs.

“This stop has already put us behind schedule,” he says, seemingly resigned at least for now. “So no more stupid stunts like today.”

His mouth forms into a thin line, and in his eyes you see what he doesn’t have the strength to say. I need you to be safe. For all three of us.

He takes a step back and you finally notice what’s behind him. A tent–his tent judging by the way he approaches it. The warm glow of a lantern illuminates the structure from the inside and he parts the entrance for you to walk in.

Inside you find a low table already set with two steaming bowls of stew. The legs of two cots that have been pushed together peek out from under a large blanket on your left.

You spin around with raised brows. Usually you spend expeditions in separate tents, but perhaps you’d underestimated just how much the day had affected him. The gesture warms you from the inside out.

“I assembled your tent next door,” Levi says, still hovering by the entrance. “But if you want to stay in here, there’s extra–mmph–!”

His sentence is cut short when you tug him forward for a kiss. On instinct, his palms find your waist, gently stroking the area over your shirt with his thumbs. When you pull away, his ears are a faint shade of pink.

You smile. “Of course I want to stay here.”

“Hm,” he grunts. “Well… good.”

You take a moment to appreciate his features, sweeping a thumb across the smooth skin of his cheek. His lips threaten to curl into a smile, and you hope briefly that your child inherits their full, enigmatic shape. You could look at him forever and never grow tired.

Just that thought alone withers your resolve to his concerns. What you’d witnessed today–the despair you felt–was something you’d never want to put Levi through.

“Fine, you win,” you groan before pressing your forehead to his shoulder. “I’ll talk to Erwin as soon as we get back.”

Levi’s hand comes to rest over your nape, cradling and kneading into the tight muscles at the junction of your spine and shoulders. 

He doesn’t say anything, but it feels a lot like ‘thank you’.

[lonelywitchv2]

Strawberries

summary: it’s safe to say you didn’t expect company when you snuck out for a picnic with Regulus, your relationship more forbidden than the forest itself.

content: the marauders basically being your older brothers after you grew up next door to the Potters, protective and angry James and Sirius, Sirius and Regulus still being on bad terms, fluff turned slight angst, short, food, teasing, mentions of Sirius and Regulus’ parents 

wc: 587 (just a little blurb)

part ii part iii

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“So you’ve never read Pride and Prejudice?” You asked, almost offended by your discovery.

“No. Do you happen to remember that my parents are blood supremacists who forbade me from reading muggle literature?” Regulus responded.

“Okay, maybe I forgot. Either way, this is unacceptable. Reggie, it appears we have found our next book to read.” You announced, picking up a strawberry that Regulus had been reaching for.

“Oi! I was gonna grab that one!” He exclaimed, trying to reach for the red fruit, only to have you pull your arm away from him.

“You snooze, you lose,” You said with a shake of your head.

However, right as you went to bite into the sweet berry, Regulus tackled you, his body hovering over yours and your wrists pinned against the picnic blanket laid on the grass.

Throughout being tackled, you somehow managed to continue your hold on the strawberry, refusing to yield to him.

“You could’ve just asked to split it and I would’ve done it, love,” You pointed out, cocking your eyebrow.

“Well, this is much more fun. Isn’t it?” Regulus’s voice dropped to a whisper, his face lowering closer and closer to yours.

“It is…” You breathed out, lifting your head up until Regulus’s lips were pressed against yours, his hair brushing against your forehead.

The blissful silence was broken by a loud shout.

“What the hell is this?!” Sirius yelled, causing the two sixteen-year-olds to quickly break apart, scrambling to opposite sides of the blanket with their eyes wide in horror, the strawberry long forgotten.

You opened your mouth to respond but faltered at the rage burning in Sirius’s eyes.

“What is it Padfo- what in Merlin’s name is going on here?!” James’s eyes fell upon the sight of Regulus and you, his big brother mode immediately activating.

All words of defense and explanation quickly disappeared from your tongue, unsure of how to respond to the obvious rage emitting from the two boys.

“James, Sirius, I... I can explain- we can explain, please-” You stuttered out, struggling to get any words out of your mouth as your panic set in.

“No. No, c’mon Y/N, we’re leaving,” James said, his voice as firm as his grip on your arm as he pulled you off of the blanket, glaring at Regulus and dragging you away from the Black brothers- one of which was frozen in horror, the other seething with rage.

“Y/N-!” Regulus called out, going to stand before falling back from a shove from Sirius.

“What the fuck, Regulus?!” Sirius exclaimed, “Why her? Out of every girl in this school, you chose the one who’s like a little sister to me- is it to get back at me for leaving?”

“It’s not that, Sirius- I…” Regulus faltered.

“What? Spit it out!”

"Listen, I... I really like Y/N- really like her. Please, I'm not doing this out of vengeance, Sirius. I wouldn't even think about hurting Y/N! Siri… I’m not lying to you, I swear," Regulus stuttered out, the childhood nickname accidentally slipping off his tongue, "It's... real and I've never experienced anything like it before.”

“Godric… I just don’t…” Sirius paused, chewing on his lip, “I can’t do this right now.”

Sirius turned around for a moment, but turned to face his brother once more, “We aren’t done, Regulus. But this? This is.”

Regulus sat there speechless as his brother jogged to catch up to James and you, looking down to see the red strawberry sitting on the blanket, miraculously untouched.

[judesmoonbeauty]

Only Look At Me CE: Nica Schwartz

*Nica is calling Kate “robin” in German. Hence, each time he uses German, I will use quotation marks to denote that going forward in the story.

** Nica is calling Kate (robin) in English for this specific line. In other words, he is using the normal (komadori).

***The translation says "opposite" of him, but context suggests Kate is sitting next to him. That's how I interpreted it anyway.

This is a fan translation only. Not 100% accurate, so please expect grammatical errors. Cybird owns everything. Re-blogs are appreciated, but please do not post my translations elsewhere. Dividers: @/adornedwithlight. Thank you for your support! ☾.

On my way home from submitting my report, I was stopped by an unexpected person.

Nica: Hey there, Miss.

One of the Vogel twins stood in front of me.

Kate: Is something wrong?

Nica: Actually, I got lost, would you mind showing me around?

As I nodded in surprise, his almond-shaped eyes narrowed.

Nica: Thanks. 

Kate: No problem, so where are you headed?

Nica: The chambers we’re staying in, you know the way right?

Kate: Of course, it’s this way!

I pointed down the hallway and started walking, with him chuckling as he followed from behind.

Nica: Meeting you here, seems like I’ve still got it. 

(I’m little wary because of what Harrison said.)

(He’s easy to talk and doesn’t seem like a bad person.)

Even though I know they’re lying somehow, I still don’t know if it’s a bad lie.

(It’s not good to judge someone before you know them.)

We arrived in no time as I walked and thought this.

Nica: Thank you for your help, “Robin.”*

Kate: “Robin”?

Nica: It means “Robin” in German.

Nica: Doesn’t Crown call you, robin?**

Nica: Hence, “robin”.

He sat down and looked at the empty seat opposite to him.***

Nica: Won’t you have a seat?

Kate: Huh?

Nica: Let’s have a chat while you’re here. I’d like to ask you about work and other things.

Despite my being nervous that we were alone, he propped his chin on his hand.

Nica: Besides, I’m interested in you.

Even though he was smiling, his eyes pierced me like someone who’d caught his prey.

As I slowly sat down, he smiled in satisfaction while calling a maid for some tea.

Nica: Well then, should I introduce myself again?

Kate: Oh, please do.

Nica: I’m Nica Schwartz, the staff officer of Vogel, an organization under the direct command of the Emperor of Germany. 

Kate: What exactly does a staff officer do?

Nica: I gather information, and support Dari in various ways by using my brains.

Nica: Details are a confidential.

Nica: Oh, by the way. You can call me Nica. There’s no need to call me ‘Mister’.

Kate: Okay then, Nica.

His smile deepened as I called his name, and then he pointed at me.

Nica: Right, now it’s your turn.

Kate: I’m Kate, a Fairytale Keeper. There’s several reasons why I got this job, but I used to work as a postwoman.

Nica: Hmm, then you’re well-informed about the roadways?

Kate: That’s right! We delivered all over London, so I could even guide you.

Nica: That’s great, next time I’ll ask you to show me around the city.

His words interrupted me as I reached for my teacup.

Nica: What kinds of things do you do as a Fairytale Keeper?

Kate: My job entails accompanying Crown activities and recording what happens.

(In reality, there’s a lot more to it than that…..)

I don’t want to say anymore than that because I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk in detail.

Nica: But you’re just an ordinary person aren’t you? Isn’t it dangerous?

Kate: The Crown members have promised to protect me.

Nica: Really….

He seemed to be thinking about something while listening to me speak, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but that feeling disappeared when his expression suddenly brightened.

Nica: You’re the verrry cute “robin” of Crown.

Nica: You’re cherished.

Kate: That’s n….

(It’s true that they treat me with respect but……)

It all started only because I witnessed them conquering evil with evil,

(I desperately didn’t want to die, which led me to where I am now.)

If I hadn’t said anything then, I might not be in this world now.

Nica: Dari probably wouldn’t like it, but it might be fun if Vogel had a Fairytale Keeper back home.

Nica: Oh, but Ring wouldn’t do well.

Kate: Wouldn’t do well?

Nica: Ring’s my twin brother, but unlike me, he’s doesn’t socialize with others too well.

(It’s true, the first time we met, he gave off a cold impression….)

While I was thinking of our first encounter, Nica looked into my face.

Nica: What, are you curious about Ring?

Kate: No, that’s not it…..

Nica: My - that’s. Don’t do that.

He put his finger to my lips, and he smiled with extreme charm. 

Then we talked about trivial everyday life, and before I knew it, the sky had turned deep red.

(It’s already that time….)

When he looked at the clock, his eyes widened in exaggeration.

Nica: Wow, it’s already this late. I guess it’s time to part ways.

Kate: Well, it’s was nice chatting with you.

Nica: Same here, let’s do it again.

I stood up, thanked him for opening the door, and was about to leave the room.

Kate: What?

He grabs a lock of my hair and places his lips upon its tips.

Nica: Until next time.

Even when my lips parted I was speechless.

Nica: Oh, did you forget your way home? 

Or do you want to stay locked up with me and not go home?

His inciting tone made me realize that I had been taken lightly.

(For Nica, this conversation was a wait-and-see thing, and if he got serious -)

-Then he could easily steal my heart.

Kate: Please, excuse me.

With my cheeks suddenly becoming hot, I started to run not caring if there were other people around.

Nica: Bis Dann (Later), “Robin”.

Before my heart is stolen by him.

As I lay on the sofa, my younger brother entered with a gaunt face.

Nica: What is it, did you get lost again?

Ring: Yeah….it’s so large that I couldn’t tell where I was.

Ring sat on a chair and sighed.

Ring: I wish I could memorize the layouts of buildings as quickly as you do Nica……

I laugh at his words.

Nica: It’s possible to get lost on “purpose.”

Tag List: @theimaginativelyreticent @sapphire-323 @sh0jun @letter-from-afar

Dividers: @/natimiles [Master List]

Can't wait to tear this MF up /aff. GIMME!

[k-n0-x]

༺ ♱✮♱ ¨:·Something Stupid-Chapter 3·:¨ ♱✮♱ ༻

A/N: Hii everyone! Sorry this chapter is a little later than usual, burnout happened, school happened, the whole shebang! This chapter is a doozy though, hope you all will love it <3

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꧁🥀☽💫✶♛🦢♕✶💫☾🥀꧂

The sun rays peek through your window and the birds’ chirps awake you from your slumber.

Or maybe it’s the snoring of a drowsy Adam, who was lying beside you, though you’ve inured yourself to his unconscious noises for ages.

You get up from your bed, just to almost have your legs give way under you, thanks to the fact that you had to be pounded by your husband, as you promised to him.

Last night felt like a chore. You feel really bad for thinking it, but it really did. 

You’re not an expert, but sex should feel enjoyable, by all sides involved, but with Adam, it feels like an obligatory activity.

You spend the next 25 minutes brushing your teeth, showering and getting ready for the day. Since there’s nothing to do at home (well, there’s nothing to do at home) you decide that this is a good time to be productive.

You head into the kitchen and scrutinise each and every ingredient that graces your pantry.

“Hmm, maybe this would work…”  You grab flour, eggs, milk and a frying pan…

꧁ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ꧂

The smell of buttery pancakes drifts throughout the kitchen. You sit down in your chair and take a bite of your breakfast.

The pancakes themselves were lovely; the consistency was just right and the flavour was something to die again for, courtesy of Heaven’s always perfect ingredients.

Heaven…. 

‘Perfect’ Heaven.

Up until a few weeks ago, you would have believed that sentimental saying that you hear being thrown around on multiple occasions, but now, those words seem like direct opposites of each other, an oxymoron even.

The mere thought of it sets an uneasy feeling in your stomach.

You shakily finish one pancake, and neatly leave the rest in the microwave. 

You have more pressing matters to get on about today, and pancakes aren’t one of them, though you want it to be. 

꧁ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ꧂

“Welcome to Heaven, how can I help?” The Saint looks up from his logbook with a face coloured with surprise when he recognises you.

“Y/N! How’ve ya been?” 

“I’m doing good,” you smile up at the angel behind the pedestal.

“So, what can I do for the wonderful wife of Adam, hm?” St. Peter clicks his tongue and finger guns.

“Well, Peter, is there a chance you could show me the list of Heaven’s recent residents? There’s a certain person I’m looking for…” Realisation hits you like a truck. Would this information be classified? You wouldn’t know until-

“Yeah sure, here!” The Saint passes you a page with written names and dates.

“This is a list of  Heaven’s newest angels from up to a month ago. I hope you find who you’re looking for!” 

“Thanks Pete, you’re a Saint,” 

“Well, I am Saint Peter after all, ah bye-bye!” 

Well that was easier than anticipated. 

Now you need a private place to mull it over…

You walk through the brightly lit heavenly streets and bump into someone, sending you and your papers flying.

“Oh my, misss, I am ssssso ssssorry,” The person bends down to collect the papers.

“No, no it’s fine, sorry-” your voice gets stuck in your throat. You take a close look at the person collecting your papers.

The person, or, you should say snake, was sporting a smart coat, top hat, and eyes in his hair?

He was familiar. Where have you seen him before?

Your eyes dilate in recognition.

He was pixel perfect to the mural that Charlie showed you the other day.

“Excuse me for asking, but are you Sir Pentious?” 

The snake demon, or angel, looks around before leaning in. 

“Depends on who’sssss asssking,”

“Oh uh,” you think for a moment. How do you explain that you know he was a demon, without seeming like a stalker of sorts. 

Clearly, this isn’t the subject to have casually in the street.

“Here, let me explain over tea and cookies, hm? My treat!” You grab the hand of Pentious gently and head to the nearest café.

꧁ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ꧂

“And ssso, thisss Adam guy just sssnapped me out of existence, and now I’m here, but without my egg boisss,” Pentious explains while indulging himself with a Pain un Chocolat, eyes welling while doing so.

“Huh, I see. So Charlie’s plan does work,” you mumble to yourself. “And I apologise for my husband, by the way,”

The snake pales, his skin now ashy.  “He’ssss, your husssband?” he instinctively pushes away from you in his seat.

“Yes, but don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you. I just promised Charlie that I would help her with the hotel and redemption and all that…”

“Oh I sssee. Here’ss my card if you need anything more,” He produces a card and hands it to you, and you accept it graciously, despite it having a slimy residue on it. 

“Great! I have to go now but it was nice meeting you,”  you shake his hand and leave the café.

꧁ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ꧂

“So, what’s it like having sex with the first man? What are your orgasms like?”

“Angel, don’t torment the poor girl,” 

“Whaat? Just askin’” Angel groans and puts his phone on the countertop of the bar.

Apparently, Charlie has gone AWOL, along with Vaggie and Lucifer, the three people that deserve to be the first people aware of the gratifying information you are holding.  

This tension is getting you antsy, but you answer your newfound bestie’s question.

“Overrated to be honest. Not meaningful in the slightest,” Your blunt answer stuns Angel and Husk for a moment.

“What’s this about orgasms?” You turn back to the entrance of the hotel.

Shit. 

The one person whom you didn’t want to hear you say that, was standing in front of you, holding about 10 shopping bags, his daughter and his daughter’s partner  following suit.

God, what must he think? You want to slam your head into the table, but you refrain yourself.

“Uh Dad?” Charlie taps her dad’s shoulder.

“Maybe let’s refrain from talking your way into the sex life of guests? Anyway, how are you, Y/N? I hope everything’s alright?” Charlie inadvertently snapping you out of your apparent embarrassment.

“Oh yes! Not just alright; absolutely amazing actually. I have important information to tell you so forgive me for my impromptu visit, but it clearly cannot wait,” you practically jump out of your chair, bursting with energy. 

My, you haven’t felt this emotion since…

Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

“Well, I did some digging and…” you grab the crusted card from your bag.

“Well, congratulations to you, Miss Charlie Morningstar, Princess of Hell, because your dream is a reality!” You flourish the card to Charlie, and she takes it.

She blinks. 

Everyone else blinks.

“Uh, what is this exactly?”

You groan. Fun police much? 

“Sinners can be redeemed, I found Sir Pentious in Heaven just this morning,” you concede, impatiently tapping the card.

“Wait really? You aren’t just messing with me?” Charlie’s eyes practically shone with stars.

“Angels aren’t known for that darling.” 

As soon as you say that Charlie squeals and jumps up and down, ecstatic.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyooouuuuuu!” She gushes and hugs you extremely tight, constraining your lungs, but you really don’t care.

“This is a pleasant surprise,” You pull away to have Alastor behind you, with that ever-so-familiar-yet-unpleasant grin. 

When did he get here?

“Seems like out little Morningstar is becoming quite the entrepreneur,” Alastor places a hand on Charlie’s shoulder, as though they are father-daughter.

Father-daughter, where the daughter’s biological dad is directly beside them. 

“Hey, hey now, get your slimy claws off of my daughter, would ya?” Lucifer asks the Radio demon, half laughing.

“Oh? The same daughter you’ve abandoned for countless years on end? The same daughter who had to build this establishment by herself, with no support. The same daughter I’ve been faithful to, in comparison to you? I’ve stuck through thick and thin with her. Hell, I probably fit the Dad position by definition,” 

The room is loud with silence; you could probably hear a pin drop.

Alastor’s voice carries those words in a seemingly defensive manner, but you can tell that those words don’t hold any meaning to him.

It seems like you’re the only person to realise that, because with the slam of a door, Lucifer exits the room, leaving an aura of pure anger and jealousy behind.

“Dad!” 

“Charlie, maybe you should give him a breath of fresh air-” Vaggie tries pulling her back.

“No! Vaggie, he needs someone to be there with him. God knows what he will do and what if-” Charlie is in a craze to get to the door. 

“I’ll go,” you say abruptly. Without question, you go through the door.

꧁ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ꧂

“Hey, it’s really hot out here, you know,” you stand at the garden door, as the king gazes out on Hell’s not-so-perfect landscape depressingly.

Silence. 

“Alastor was just pulling your leg back there, he just wanted to piss you off,” you stand beside him, keeping an appropriate distance.

“I know. That’s not the problem. The problem is that-” his voice hitches.

“Go on,”

“The problem is, is the fact he’s not even wrong; I left Charlie with nothing, she had to support herself before help came along, I barely was there for her throughout all of this, until the very last moment, when she didn’t even need me anymore,” The King of Hell rambles, and fidgets with a small yellow thing in his hand. A bird of some sorts.

A duck? 

“I can’t do anything right,” he continues.

Okay, you have to stop getting sidetracked by meagre things. 

“Lucifer, listen. Yes, you may not have been there for her before, but you’re here now, and you are ready to help. Yes, I know it’s scary, yes I know it’s hard, but I have an inkling that Charlie would love to start having a bond with her father again. Also, you know her and how she is; she isn’t the type to shut you out. Just try to put some work into it, okay?” 

That felt like more of a ramble, than advice, but it seems to suffice for the King of Hell. 

“Thank you. I really know why Charlie has taken a liking to you…” he trails off, continuing to fidget with the rubber duck. He squeezes it, and it plays a short, spunky tune. 

“And see? Atleast you’re doing something small for now, you should take it easy. By the way, that’s the most adorable rubber duck!” You gush at the plastic fellow, earning a smirk from Lucifer.

“Oh? Changing the subject are we?” The fallen angel teases.

Well, that was out of nowhere, but you just go with the flow.

“Yeah, and what? That’s a fuckin’ cool duck, so I apologise for acknowledging that fact,”

“Ah well, I have better. By the way, why are you talking about orgasms to that porn star- I mean Angel, back there?” 

Oh yeah. That happened. 

“Gee, why does everyone want to know the juicy details of my life? But really,he was just interested in my sex life, that’s all,” 

“Interesting. You know I slept with 2 of Adam’s previous wives?”

“Don’t even try,” you give him a playful shove.

“Eh, worth a shot,” 

꧁ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ❂♕☻☹☻♕❂ꕥ꧂

You and the blond-haired demon go back inside, giggling about some disastrous function you went to when you were younger, and how you may or may not have been the leading cause.

Thankfully, the only person in the lobby was Charlie, who jumped to hug her father the second she saw the two of you, making them both cry and profusely apologise to one another.

Yeah, maybe it’s a good time to go. Maybe quietly too this time. 

You open the portal, and you are back in Heaven again, in front of the pearly gates of the place you call home. 

As you open the door and turn into the living room, you nearly jump out of your skin.

“Hey,” The sound of your husband’s voice rings through your ears.

“I ate your pancakes from this morning,” 

“Alright. I’ll make dinner soon, but I’m tired right now,” you pave your way to your bedroom, when Adam pulls you back.

“Where were you even?”

“Places,” you try to pull away, but the First Man doesn’t relent.

“Where? You weren’t in Heaven, were you?” 

“Alright fine. I was in Hell, cleaning up the mess you and your little play soldiers made by the way,” 

“Were you not there the other day? Why are you so attached to this-” Cogs turn in Adam’s head.

“You were with him, weren’t you? You fucking slut,” Adam’s hand swiftly slaps you across the face. A small cut of golden blood streaks down your face.

“What the fuck? Of course Lucifer is gonna be there, you dumbass?! Why do you think I’m gonna sleep with-” You dodge a flying porcelain jug that was headed in your general direction.

“That fucking demon, thinking he’s hot shit and- and all, just fucking whoever he wants-” The Angel starts storming around the living room, just throwing random shit about, like a kid having a tantrum, making colourful insults while doing so.

You sigh and go into the kitchen to make dinner; hopefully Adam would have blown off enough steam by then.

“Oh and- You better not go back there again, you got it?” 

“…Fine,” You slam the door behind you.

Clearly, you have to be more furtive about your visits to the underworld.

For now, maybe you should cook some dinner, and a warm bath.

Your back really hurts.

꧁🥀☽💫✶♛🐣♕✶💫☾🥀꧂

Word count- 2264

Taglist:

@dionysusismypatrongod

[inuiiwonderland]

I’m sorry….

A/n: Take this as an apology for me not being active on here😔

Word:678

Warnings: mentions of toxic relationships, slight hint of abuse, and angst (tell me if I forgot anything!)

Mitsuya x fem reader

-

Another knock on the door caused you to sigh as you got up from your bed to go answer it.

Walking down the stairs you could feel your heart pound with every step you took, knowing who is behind that door in the late hours of the night. You finally made it to the door, taking a deep breath and opening it to see your best friend. Mitsuya.

"Y/n…" You could see the dried up tears and how puffy his eyes were. Probably from all the crying he did before coming to your place.

"Just come in" You said as you stepped aside for him to enter your home. He quietly did as you said and walked in. You closed the door and walked to the living room where he was.

"So what happened this time?" He let out a sigh and sat down on the couch.

"She said I wasn't giving her much attention. I already told her how packed my schedule is because of the next fashion show for next month. But then she started saying how I'm lying and that I just don't want to spend time with her." You sat quietly on the opposite end of the couch as you listened.

"She also said that I don't love her anymore and that I'm losing feelings, which I'm not because I truly love her!" Your heart aches hearing those words but you tried not to show it.

"Last night she went out and emma sent me a picture of her going to a hotel with some guy. I confronted her about it today which caused an argument about me not having any trust in her. And I trust her! But then she said that she was going to break up with me because I'm always busy.." Your heart broke seeing him all stressed and scared of losing the one girl he loves. It wasn't anything new for Mitsuya to run to you every week after a fight with his girlfriend. You started growing used to it as time went by, but it made you even more sad and annoyed seeing him still be with her after everything that she has put him through.

You noticed earlier on that the relationship those two have wasn't healthy. More like toxic. She loves to control, lie and use him for almost everything. Even after he caught her cheating one time he still forgave her and stayed by her side. Which caught you off guard since you didn't expect that from him.

But what could you do? He has been in love with her since high school and was thrilled when she accepted his confession on graduation day. Which caused you to cry that night.

"Mitsuya…this isn't normal you know, she has put you through a lot and caused you so much stress! She cheated on you multiple times so why?! Why are you still hurting yourself like this?”

The boy stayed silent. His hands were shaking and he closed his eyes as he looked away.

“Y/n…she’s my girlfriend. The love of my life and I think people deserve second-“

“Bullshit. She already cheated on you gods know how much and lied to you on multiple occasions! Hell she even put her hands on you mitsuya! That’s not love takashi…”

“But…I know…I know she’s going to change. She’ll stop”

No she won’t

“Takashi…”

“I-“ He was cut off by the sound of his phone going off. Text after text and soon a call made Mitsuya stand up as he grabbed his phone.

“It’s her” He says. As he was about to accept the call, you gently took a hold of his hand.

“Mitsuya…” You pleaded.

“This isn’t Healthy and you know it. You can’t continue staying with her. So please…don’t” The phone continued ringing as his phone blew up with texts. His eyes went from the phone to you and then to his phone before finally going back to you.

“M’sorry…”

Your heart shattered as he picked up the phone and made his way towards the door.

-

This was an old draft from last year😭 so sorry if it’s ooc😓

[saintescuderia]

welcome to the mini series of the random, mindless thoughts had by a poet disguised in an orange jumpsuit watching cars speed by all weekend. enjoy!

--- note: 5am starts, 7pm finishes. all four days. gotta love formula 1!

thursday: media day!

i want the ferrari jacket

there are school kids here?

i don’t want the ferrari jacket

$7 for a small can of red bull is THEFT

especially since they broke the cost cap

me walking through the “accredited personnel” gate and tapping my special lanyard is a CORE memory

i think my uber driver dropped me off on the opposite side of the track

*stressing about being unable to admire the sights of albert park bc i’m stress-running from the opposite end of the track to my station*

pls don’t be a dick and say i’m late - i know

how is a 5am wake up not early enough HOW?

“last year i was stationed at the corner where charles spun out.”

sole thought = 💀💀💀💀

i. fucking. love. cars.

the whole SENSORY experience of a race ffffffffffffuuuuuck

“be careful taking pictures because that security camera is on us and is straight to race control and the FIA.” is such a cool sentence to hear

a porsche gtr should not be covered with branding idc

i’m definitely going to abuse caffeine this weekend

friday: FP1 / FP2

the sun is rising over the lake as i walk on the albert park track and i’m happy to be alive

especially as i found a toilet that isn’t a port-a-loo

ah, a cafe that does good decent coffee thank GOD

am i going to pay $10 for a croissant?

i'm going to pay $10 for a croissant.

i lived in paris but this one fresh lune choc croissant has topped it all

no like there will never be another croissant experience to beat me eating a fresh pain au chocolat on a f1 circuit as the sun rises over the water with the melbourne skyline in the background

aramco engineers are walking behind me as i shit talk about f1, nice

“it is an increasingly unique experience peeing in a port-a-loo beside a formula one track as cars race by.”

120’000 is a LOT of people

how has the float not broken yet?

metro boomin has released an album as i stand before live formula one. life has PEAKED

fernando alonso is the first F1 driver i ever saw live

there is a shift in formula one as the heritage fans of motor racing are on the out as the next generation of fans absorbed in driver hype and social media takes over and we see this in how F1 has created the new US tracks and made them all into spectacles and fans are here because of it being “cool” instead of caring about cars

… maybe i should buy the redbull jacket instead?

bonus: sole thought during the pitlane walk for the marshals

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

saturday: FP3 / qualifying

the relief of thinking you’re late and then seeing someone you know HA

commentators are now contractually obligated to bring up saudi arabia every time they talk about ollie bearman

jesus they’re as bad as the f1 girlies

i have to watch the grand prix replay after all of this i have no idea what’s actually going on

CHARLES GOES FASTER THAN MAX HA

kimi spinning out has me actively wanting to cry

a safety car FROM THE PIT EXIT

welcome to F2 everyone 👏👏👏

not me lying to the cute irish guy hitting on me about @saintescuderia

a big fat ha at the eshays holding their puffer jackets - even they can’t stand the heat

don’t flex on me that you’re here at F1 when you don’t even know what’s going on yourself bruhhhh

to the red bull fan telling me i’m “dramatic” for rolling under the fence (it’s how marshals have to do it) pls get help

$7 for a calispo is a JOKE

recording F1 quali isn’t even worth it bc they're TOO FAST

JOKES I GOT A PHOTO WITH ALBONO

i’m very lucky for my team of marshals :))))))))))

i’m only going to eat half my muffin

*finishes the whole thing*

sunday: race!

KIMI ANTONELLI!

do i ask for a photo?

*every photo of charles leclerc being abused flashes through my mind*

nah leave him be

five minutes later: i regret not asking him

the group of aussies dressed as lance stroll drunk at 9am have my heart and my respect

i need a coffee

seeing kimi walk right by me has now made so much invested for f2

i really need a coffee

yep they screwed kimi with all those safety cars

i really, really need a coffee

we get to go ON TRACK? for the DRIVERS PARADE

*starts practicing “get well soon” in spanish*

my heart is BEATING

lol jokes carlos didn’t even look at us

*checks footage to see that i accidentally just recorded guanyu zhou next to carlos the whole time :))))*

lol are they putting lewis and charles together all the time?

every marshal: “that was the shittest parade ever.”

i need a drink

pls don’t talk to me for the next two hours

don't meet your heroes kids

but also why the fuck did they do the float in one big car? and do INTERVIEWS? this is legit the one time the drivers can be there JUST for the FANS

F1 can PISS OFF

race start = okay it's happening

waitwaitwaitwaitWAITDIDIJUSTSEECARLOSOVERTAKEMAX?!

nevermind i love him

"race control has asked that you calm down, marshals are supposed to be neutral."

lol at the entirety of albert cheering that max is slowly coming to a DNF

mclaren swapping oscar for lando is DISGUSTING fuck zak brown

somehow, i've forgotten that charles is just there

SEND IT CARLOS VAmos

(this is all because i told you que te mejores pronto!)

daniel ricciardo....man..... aus gp can't market you like this.......

damn yuki got HANDS

ferrari and mclaren having the top 4 places is just *chefs kiss*

lewis just had to stall just pass my sector like i hope ur okay but couldn't u not be ok in front of me?

red bull deserves this after all the FLACK i've copped from red bulls fans ("dramatic" MY ASS)

wait george russell ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

singapore all over again. i can already see the memes.

somehow marshalling a gp has you closer and more removed from the whole thing i have no idea what's going on

(literally the only time i used my F1TV live timing)

finishing after the safety car means i can't stick my head out and clap for carlos FUCK OFF

wait, he came up right UP TO MY SIDE OF THE TRACK TO WAVE

... do you think he noticed me?

[gunsandspaceships]

Review of some anti-Tony comments from Ao3. Part 6

Let’s talk more about things from Part 1 today:

 “Tony was actively attacking someone from behind, who was just trying to leave.”

Eh? So how did that happen that he only attacked from behind ONCE? Semi-behind, to be exact - see my post with Part 1. Why Bucky tried to leave if he was innocent? Just like he did before with T’Challa. “Why did you run?”.

I’ll add the extension of that statement here so we could figure the whole thing out: “Steve was actively defending said person in any way, even if that meant attacking Tony from behind.

And before you get on me about how I'm being hypocritical - it's been done - it isn't the action that's being criticized, it's the WHY behind the action. Tony repeatedly attacked someone from behind who was only trying to flee the scene vs Steve repeatedly attacked someone from behind to protect his best friend from being killed. That's the difference between the two. You can't hold them to the same standard when their reasons for doing the same action are complete opposites. It isn't the action; it's the reasons BEHIND the action.”

Let’s think about the most appropriate thing Bucky could do in the scene instead. Well, first he could say “I’m sorry”. That would be a good start. Doesn’t matter if he was brainwashed or not – his hands were used. “Sorry” is always good in such situations. He didn’t do that.

Instead he raised his gun at Tony and was ready to fire at his face (CA:CW 2:03:15). Yes, Tony hit Cap there. But it was for a reason. And you simply don’t point a gun at a guy who just watched his parents die by your hands, if you are innocent and truly regret this. It was so wrong to attack him that it just showed Bucky’s position “there’s nothing to explain and nothing to apologies for”, if the best thing Bucky could do is to raise his gun and run. Low and cowardly.

But we should actually take a closer look at that scene (starting from 2:02:17), because it’s even more complicated if we watch the scene frame by frame.

2:01:33 – Tony is watching the video of his parents’ death. Steve looks at him with a very interesting expression. At him, not at the video. He already knows what’s going on there. He is looking at Tony for his reaction.

2:01:38 – focus on Bucky who looks a bit regretful, looking at the floor first, but then raising his eyes to Tony.

2:01:53 – Tony hears his father saying “Sergeant Barnes” and his mother calling “Howard!”. Tony glances at Bucky.

2:02:05 – Winter Soldier hits Howard in the head and kills him. Tony’s expression tells us he is enraged.

2:02:25 – Winter Soldier kills Maria, strangling her with his biological hand.

2:02:33 – video ends with Winter Soldier shooting at the camera. Tony is in shock. Steve is looking at him, saying nothing. He had enough time to say something.

2:02:40 – Tony turns to Bucky and makes a step towards him. Not putting his helmet on. He is not attacking yet. Most probably he just wanted to grab him by his jacket and ask some questions or something like that. What Bucky does? He raised his gun at him. We can see tears in his eyes. Why did he do that then?

2:02:42 – Steve says “No, Tony. Tony”. He says that to calm him down, and that would be a good start. But then he does some “stupid-ass decisions”, how Fury would put that.

2:02:45 – Tony turns to him. He is devastated. He just realized something. “Did you know?”. Steve’s eyes are shifting rapidly, and after a long pause (when he was thinking of what to say, I guess), he says “I didn’t know it was him”. By his behavior here we can infer that he is lying. Tony sees it “Don’t bullshit, me Rogers. Did you know?”. Steve looks Tony in the eyes and swallows hard. “Yes”.

Let’s make a digression to show Steve really knew that Bucky killed Tony’s parents.

CA:WS 1:04:50 – Zola is explaining how Hydra eliminated unwanted individuals. Chronicle footage shows Bucky with a sniper rifle and then next frame with news article about Starks’ death. Zola says “Accidents will happen”. Next few frames show Howard in the car in the same position Bucky left him in the CA:CW 2:02:10 scene.  Then Fury’s file is shown, “deceased” – another victim of the Winter Soldier. No need to be a genius to put two and two together. Especially when you don’t know that there were other Winter Soldiers yet. There were no other options – Steve and Nat knew that Howard was killed by Bucky from that exact moment. But let’s add more evidence, shall we?

CA:WS 2:05:28 – Natasha gives Bucky’s case files to Steve. Logic tells us that they should contain his targets. Including Howard and Maria.

CA:CW 2:15:52 – Steve’s letter says “I know I hurt you, Tony. I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents I was sparing you, but I can see now that I was really sparing myself. And I’m sorry…”

Conclusion is pretty clear, isn’t it?

Let’s get back to the pre-fight situation:

So Steve admitted that he knew who killed Tony’s parents (and his own old friend btw).

2:03:05 – Steve’s “Yes” hits Tony. Rogers is just looking at him there. No sorrow or regret in his eyes. Tony loses it.

He is the victim in this scene. He came to help and was betrayed again.

2:03:12 – he hits Rogers with back of his hand. Cap is thrown a couple of steps back.

2:03:15 - Tony puts his helmet on. Now he is going to attack.

Put yourself on his place and answer the question “wouldn’t you act the same way?”. If your answer is “nope, I wouldn’t” - try to pass a CAPTCHA, because you are most probably a robot.

Same moment – Bucky points his gun at Tony. He almost opens fire, but Tony shoots the gun with a repulsor, knocking the weapon out of Bucky's hands. Back to the beginning of this essay – why would you shoot at a victim? Tony, most probably, would just hit him couple of times using his hands, if he had not faced counter aggression.

 Bucky is not running here. He wasn’t trying to run until Steve told him to at 2:04:02. He is attacking Tony. Look at his face (2:03:17). This is not the face of regret or sorrow.

[daegu-based-terrorist]

hi! i was about to say i'm from russia but then remembered my username lol. anyway i saw someone reblogged one of your posts of photos from dprk and you have the best username ever! i love dprk and never believed the propaganda bc i know it's all the same shit that was said about ussr (minus the racism bc westerners think everyone in russia is white). plus seeing dprk is like very warm and nostalgic to me bc it makes me think of ussr (i was born at the very end of its existence alas, like less than a month before the end). anyway sorry long introduction! i am wondering, esp since you've lived in both dprk and rok, what is the attitude of rok people about the country being divided? do they believe in the same type of western propaganda? do many/most have family there? i have wanted to ask some friends (from south korea) about it but i don't want it to be taken wrong. also i hope to visit korea next year! do you think it is good for tourists to visit?

sorry this was so long, hope it is not weird.

No not to long or too weird don’t worry. Sorry I took so long answering this I was working and I have no paid breaks (kill all small businesses owners istg)

Thank you!!! I actually love your user name I came across it in reblogs I think a couple of days ago and was like “damn I wish my username was that cool.” I’ve actually been fighting with myself as to whether or not my user name is too clunky and should be gotten rid off so nice to have an outside opinion.

Also weird but I had the same situation but opposite. When I was like 7 and 8 and in my first years of South Korean schooling we would do trips to museums and those museum trips ALWAYS had a communism = bad section and they talked about the dprk and the Soviet Union back to back and since they were lying about what happens in the dprk I assumed they were also lying about what happened in the Soviet Union (unfortunately also past tense, I’m a 2004 child) and whenever we did class debates about the history of Europe and got to Eastern Europe I was always the annoying person on the other side of the classroom defending the USSR with my LIFE.

Anyway on to the meat of your message: the majority of people want the dprk and the rok to be united under the rok, a minority (lets go communists!) want the rok and dprk to be united under a reformed dprk or a entirely new communist Korea. There are some stragglers also believe in an entirely new Korea but capitalist… God knows why. And then there is like roughly 20-30% of the population who are heavily against reunification and either want a deescalation of this weird Cold War thing we have going on or just don’t particularly care for politics but are super pessimist about the situation.

Yes unfortunately most believe in the same western propaganda and I’d argue it’s worse here. North Korean voices are actively silenced if they don’t agree with the established narrative (funfact the reason people are so familiar with “defectors” is because they are the ones that are the most pushed by South Korean and western media, the majority of us left not for political but totally mundane reasons like poverty. My family left because the North Korean health system sucks ass and I’m genetically predisposed to the illness that killed my father <3) the Korean Wikipedia is so biased you wouldn’t even believe it, like if you thought English Wikipedia was biased talking about North Korea just wait until you see Korean Wikipedia. People will generally believe all sorts of bullshit and talking positively about North Korea at all is either punished legally or socially pretty severely. Today I had the reruns of the mixed table tennis on the TV at the store I worked at and was harassed into turning it off because people didn’t want to watch North Korean athletes… exist? Idk

There is a lot of discrimination against North Korean refugees and our children in the south. I think it was polled that like 50% of us have experienced some sort of discrimination but I think it’s higher. A lot of other North Koreans I speak to are, like me, planning on moving to China or going to the west. A lot of us plan to go to China because with Chinese citizenship you can regularly and easily visit North Korea. I think it’s getting worse as the years go on, North Koreans are becoming even more “other” to South Koreans and they don’t even really see us as one ethnic people anymore. I have pretty brown skin, even for your average North Korean and alot of my childhood bullying involved people asking me if I hadn’t taken a bath since I crawled across the mud border (alot of South Koreans have this weird view of the border as trench warfare for some reason) and other things that tied my features to my skin colour. Like big lips weren’t popular in Korea when I was growing up but in the north people do usually have bigger lips and people would ask stupid questions like if the puffiness of my lips came from eating rat poison 💀 but that’s all mostly (physically) harmless childhood bullying, but employment and housing discrimination towards North Koreans is a big problem here. It’s very hard to leave the house that is assigned to you by the South Korean government because nobody wants to house North Koreans and nobody wants to employ us either. My mum has a very strong Hamgyŏng accent and people would be excited to interview and probably hire her until they heard her accent and realised where she was from.

Older people definitely still have family across the border, personally all of my family are in North Korea or China but alot of people fled in either direction north or south during the end months of the Korean War or due to occupation by either military force. So folks that were young during the Korean War tend to have cousins across the border but there has been two, three generations since the end of the war and a apathy has developed among people my age. I knew a girl who’s grandma had left her brothers behind in the city I was from, Hamhung, but she personally believed that North Korea should be bombed to oblivion and taken by force.

And on a much lighter note: yes! South Korea (I’m assuming you mean South) is amazing to visit. People are friendly and the food is good and there is times of attractions for tourists. No matter where you go you’ll have a good time. Of course I personally recommend Daegu, it’s a really good city if you want to escape the tourist overcrowding of Souel and see how us everyday Koreans live without getting lost in the rural Chungcheongbuk-do or something. https://tour.daegu.go.kr/eng/index.do

Also if you get the chance, VISIT THE NATIONAL PARKS!! You will have the absolute best time and it’s such a nice escape from how overcrowded and overstimulating urban South Korea is. Seoraksan National Park is always full of tourists but still worth it. Biseulsan Provincial Park is my personal haunt because I live somewhat nearby and it has amazing views. There is also Palgongsan mountain and the Palgongsan Olleh-gil trail which is a really great place to go hiking.

Anyway you should definitely visit South Korea

[chalicedefinite]

I have been on this tag since day one and the majority of the posts and blogs I've seen adore Louis. Pointing out canonical traits like him actively lying in Canon books and now the show as well is not being hateful or disrespectful. Saying episode 5 and the whole tale infact being revisited is Not fans of lestat being apologists. It is what Anne Rice canonically did with the Vampire Lestat and the books that followed. Louis is loved widely in this tag. Lestat is being hated on as a result of the villainous portrayal in season 1 which again Canonically is a tale (not a true one) being told both in books and in the show. A lot of people however took it too far with the lestat hate and started calling anyone who liked him names and then people starting to fight back and the rest is how we got to here. If there is no understanding to fans of both characters the two most loved characters in the show -who at the end of the series canonically end up together- then what the hell is the point of being in this Fandom in the first place? Please don't take this as a personal attack it wasn't meant as one but as another person's experience and thoughts of the fandom so far.

I’m going to be honest I find this very hard to believe that it was only just about liking Lestat.

I’ve gotten more hate and vitriol from Lestat fans ever since I’ve joined this fandom. I’ve never talked bad about his character and I make it very clear on my blog that I love him and that he’s my favorite character both in the show and in the books. And yet, because I calmly engaged with a popular blog’s theory about episode 5; everyday I wake up to hate in my inbox that I have to delete. Lestat fans have been nothing but disrespectful to me for no reason.

Im a Lestat fan myself and I talk about how much I love him all the time it seems and I haven’t been once called a racist. I’ve had anons accusing me of hating Lestat but never ones accusing me of racism. This is the second time someone has told me that Lestat fans are bullied for liking him when all I’ve seen and experienced thus far is the exact opposite which begs the question: Is it really because you like Lestat or is it something deeper that other people picked up on but not you yourself? 3. How is anyone’s rational response as a human to someone calling them racist for liking Lestat is to deny the systemic oppression of black people? This is the main thing that doesn’t make a lick of sense to me. How did we go from, “Users were attacked for liking Lestat” to “So a bunch of blogs are now starting to agree with and talk about how reverse racism is real.” I’ve gotten attacked for liking characters before and my reaction to that is blocking whoever is causing trouble and ignoring them. I got harassed to hell and back in the Voltron fandom for defending and liking Allura and never at any point was I thinking about how affirmative action is the real systematic evil plaguing society. If this kind of thinking was always in the back of certain people’s head as they were analyzing the show then it’s safe to say that people weren’t mad at them just because they liked Lestat. You can not properly analyze a show where a black man talks about how he was systematically oppressed for being black when you don’t even believe in systemic oppression yourself. How can you sit down and watch this show where Louis is constantly being put down by the white people around him, where he has to pretend to be his husband’s chauffeur, where you see white people burning a black neighborhood, where Louis and Claudia cant even sit next to Lestat and have to sit at the back of the bus and come out of it thinking that reverse racism exists in our society? Louis is the age of a lot of black people’s great grandfather, what he went through was not that long ago and the society he lives is still alive today.

4. What purpose would it serve narratively to have Louis and Claudia lie about episode 5? I’m leaving this question here because the last time I tried to have this discussion it led to anons hounding me.

[classpect-navelgazing]

do you have an analysis where you talk about why you disagree with what canon has to say about classpects anywhere? i looked but tumble isn’t exactly the greatest at searching for stuff. i’m just curious to know what the issues are with what was said in canon

Sure. Though I don't know if I'd say I "disagree with canon" so much as I think the more someone tries to give us a straight up, clean answer on it, they're probably an unreliable source. My source is canon, but more holistically.

For me I think this started two places. First: I just..... don't really buy the idea of Pages being the Slow Burn class. I never bought it, honestly? As soon as I figured out how Jake English manages people and their expectations of him to get what he wants, it threw into question the whole concept of the class. Because Jake is the second most emotionally intelligent character in HS after Karkat, but he uses it for himself rather selfishly instead of for a greater cause. When Jake subtly or subconsciously tries to bend the story to his will, he's remarkably effective.

So, of course, I looked at Tavros. What does Tavros Nitram want? Well, he wants to have fun, to progress at his own pace, and to kind of do his own thing. I found it very interesting how the people around him sort of bent to what he wanted. No one stopped Tavros from dreaming on Prospit. He didn't do anything to get those mechanical legs, which he textually wanted, other folks took care of that for him. No one really stopped Tavros from playing the game (both FLARP and SGRUB) the way he wanted to. Aradia enables his allegedly bad class choice, Karkat orders Vriska to save his life, and when Vriska wants to force Tavros to play her way, Kanaya interferes. It's all very cohesive to me in a way that I genuinely do not know if the creator intended, but the pattern is absolutely there.

So, whoop, Pages Are A Slow Burn gets tossed into the garbage where it belongs.

The other one that really made me go "huh" is Calliope's Active/Passive thing. From the moment I read it the first time, I was like "i'm........ not sure that's a thing" and on every subsequent reread and relisten, I became even more certain she's just theorycrafting and its not borne out in the actual text. Which, frankly, fits into Calliope's whole thing of being a proxy for fans, particularly their speculation. She outright says to Dirk she gets carried away with her theorizing.

Like... for me its the Prince thing. I flat out don't think Princes are "The Most Active Class," at all, full stop. The idea is kind of silly to me. Eridan wasn't fucking Super Active, he just became extremely potent when he finally went off. And Dirk, similarly, is the king of Hurry Up And Wait. When shit pops off, he acts with incredible effectiveness, but the rest of the time he's zoning the fuck out, white lying about how cool he is, and fishing.

Same with Seers on the opposite end. Am I meant to take seriously the idea that Rose Lalonde and Terezi fucking Pyrope are the most passive class, nah. No sell. I literally and actually think I could make a better argument that Witches are more passive than Seers.

And then I just... don't agree with Calliope's verbiage of the classes. Dirk was not a destroyer of heart/soul, his most dramatic and effective moments in the story are harnessing his aspect, and in the conversation where Calliope tells Roxy her verbiage, even she says its a little esoteric and hard to grasp.

Calliope's trying to apply very firm wording and delineation to something that Terezi much earlier calls a "hyperflexible mythology." That reading of classpect frankly bears out a lot more, imo.

Which just led me to the conclusion that: all the stuff Calliope says, its her opinion. What I am interested in is action. What do these people do, what do they think of their aspect, how does it manifest.

My conclusion was basically: fuck passive/active, this is all about your role in the narrative. Which, in my opinion, fits very well into the two ways HS is structured: as a video game (the vernacular, the commands, the literalization of abstractions like inventory and leveling up), and as a stage play (the acts, the curtains, the intermissions).

[wondersofspite]

What makes me tenfold depressed of the current episode is another loss of potential. I haven’t watched it-  even afraid at this point - but by reading other critics' comments, it seems like another episode wiping the bird dad’s ass.

If the writers actually explored Loona’s and Octavia’s conversation instead of using it to polish up Stolas’s (very much immature) parenting, they could actually expand on lots of things. Not many, certainly not the entire pacing and sloppy flaws, but at least, something.

Like. Look.

Octavia is a royal born and Loona grew up in abusive pseudo-dog care. Octavia has a father who is willing to spend and pamper her but does not truly try to listen to her, while Loona’s dad is very much willing but lives an incredibly poor status. Loona lived most of her childhood in an environment that deprived her of basic needs while Octavia ate on silver plate. Loona is literally a glorified pet and Octavia is an heir to a throne.

The potential, dude. The potential.

Imagine. This could have humanized both Loona's and Octavia’s situations. Share both their thoughts and feeling about the situation. Now, I’m going to go down some speculative routes and write up what else they could have shown with the scene.

Say, what if Octavia didn’t know that Loona was the daughter of Blitzo, and vented all the misery and pressure she is feeling cause her dad changed overnight “just for some imp”? Have Loona react to this with guilt, a bit of horror, and pity while as well some equal part of envy, bitterness and defensive protection. Where while she tries to console Octavia, now instead of praising the owl pervert, she indirectly defends her dad. Have her show that to some extent, she cares about Blitzo.

And with this, I think it would also be a nice reminder of the social difference between races. Perhaps, say, those two get into an argument cause Loona defended the guy who very much ruined Octavia’s household and her family. While she is much justified in her anger, Loona snaps back with something that stuns her.

“Who to say your own goddamn father didn’t force himself on the imp?”

Cause so far, none of the IMP crew talks about Stolas’s harassment. Despite him literally doing it publicly, more than once, Blitzo’s discomfort with it is louder than that is. Let that be to some extent why she kinda hates working: Not the fact that she has to work, but working on something that actively prospers from something Blitzo hates doing.

This could even be a sudden bomb for Octavia, who likely didn’t think (more or less, realize) that her dad, a royal, having affair with a less socially powerful figure could imply in context.

Heck, this could go in the total opposite direction where Loona actively tries to manipulate her.

Where that while yes, the IMP business fosters Blitzo’s suffering, it’s also something he wanted to do. Dreamed of. And main of all: She’s scared that once Blitzo can’t afford to keep her, she’ll be kicked to the streets. Have a little montage where right before she opens her mouth to call out how shit Stolas is, she slowly shuts it, then moves to look down the street. Have her look at, say, a stray dog, who’s following and desperately yelping at the feet of someone, till they are kicked away. Of bankrupt businesses begin shut down, of life on the street, of life as a discriminated group. I am far from a clever environment storyteller, and this is much trickier to do on paper than simply write it, but to point, some metaphor that shows her anxiety about her and Blitzo's future living conditions.

And when Octavia asks her what’s wrong, have her take a deep breath before saying the lines she said in the episode.

“...Your dad is trying his best.”

But make her actively look sick saying it, that she’s lying, that she very much thinks the opposite. But she lies: Cause what else can she do? If Octavia is given guidance in her confusion about her feeling towards her dad, she may actually direct her word right at him, whereas Stolas might actually pull back and cut his ties with Blitzo. Cut Blitzo and Loona off the only business they have.

That she’d lie to a teenage girl stuck in an abusive household for it.

Signify just how desperate they really are.

[octopusoptimusprime]

mike wheeler & queercoding

aka why i believe the show has been setting him up as gay (rather than bi)

repeated disinterest in women

over the course of the show, mike has been presented as having a lack of (or exclusively performative) level of interest in women

when dustin describes suzie as ‘hotter than pheobe cates’ lucas exclaims in shock/interest, while mike rolls his eyes and seems thoroughly bored/annoyed by the conversation

the s1 scene where they dress el up and mike says ‘pretty’, but he doesn’t seem very invested in it - he could just be echoing el’s words from earlier when she sees the picture of nancy

not showing any interest in girls/dating until lucas and dustin did - feeling pressured to keep up?

his anxiety over being ‘left behind’ in a sense is shown when he argues with lucas in 0401 over lucas wanting to be popular

obviously the opposite of this is his relationship with will, where he clearly views will as the most important person in his life, but also considers himself as caring more than everyone else in will’s life - ‘i’m the only one that cares about will!’ + literally every wheelclair argument in s1

mike & homophobia

there are a few homophobic interactions/characters within the show, & while most of them are directed at will, mike always seems to have the most personal response

take troy’s comment about will in s1 - where lucas and dustin look afraid/slightly uncomfortable, mike looks downright tearful. this is understandable if he’s protecting his best friend, but makes even more sense when considering that it applies to him

while i don’t think there’s any scenes of b*lly being overtly homophobic (correct me if i’m wrong), i think he’s worth mentioning as arguably the most bigoted character in the show, & when he gets flayed in s3, a previously at odds madwheeler bond over their common dislike for him

i might be reaching here, as obviously everyone disliked him (he was flayed), i just think it’s a plausible explanation considering the comments he made about lucas, so i don’t think it's much of a reach to assume this included homophobia (of course, b*lly’s dad did call him the f-slur, so…)

relationship with el

i’ve talked about this before in my autistic mike post, so go read that one if you want more info on this specifically, but essentially i don’t believe mike likes el romantically (or ever did)

the scene where they ‘get together’ in s1 is rushed, awkward, and uncomfortable - we’re not meant to enjoy it. he was trying to ask her to move in with him, whilst implying they’d be like siblings, and then he kisses her straight after? we’re 100% meant to feel weird about this

especially considering this scene comes shortly after mike’s talks with both lucas and nancy, because they assume he has a crush on el - showing he was feeling outside pressure to reconsider their relationship and/or recontextualise it as romantic (when he clearly thought of them as sibling-like)

following on from this the consistent posing of elmike as a familial dynamic is meant to show that THAT is actually a better descriptor of their relationship - & meant to show the GA that their relationship is not romantic

the fact that the season where they spend the most time together (s3) they do. absolutely nothing but make out. something which is immediately picked up on by jopper and lumax (good, healthy ships that milkvan is often posed against) shows neither el nor mike know what they’re ‘meant’ to be doing/they’re both only participating in this to keep up appearances

they seem to like each other less and less as the seasons go on - of course in s1 at the beginning mike is only using her to get to will (otherwise he would’ve given her to his mum like he originally planned) and el latches onto him as the first person (apart from benny rip </3) she forms a connection with outside of the lab, then in s2 el is barely there, and s3 … we talked about that travesty of a relationship situation. only making out or fighting. yeah. then we get s4, they’re actively lying to each other about the most mundane things, having arguments/disagreements constantly, and do not support one another at all. i do think they have great promise as a friendship, but i think that’ll take a while because they literally don’t know each other - shown both in s3 (mike has NO idea about anything she likes when trying to buy her a gift) and in s4 (the monologue. he has virtually nothing to say about her as a person other than the fact that she has powers) this is also the first feature he brings up about her in most situations (his and dustin’s whose-girlfriend-is-the-best fight, the milkvan ILY fight)

i also think he’s holding on so tightly to a relationship that’s clearly failing because he doesn’t want to lose the stability/excuse he has in el. ie if he's in a relationship with a girl, no one will accuse him of being gay (& he doesn’t have to really face it himself? even though he knows already)

and then there’s the obvious one - he can’t be around el and will at the same time because he views them in similar ways - el as the girlfriend-but-not-really and will as the friend-but-almost-more. they’re both in that in between category, which is why mike clashes a lot with the people in his life (specifically el & will) over this

mike is emotionally cheating on el with will. he doesn’t (& never once has) turned to el for comfort, or chased her down in the rain after a fight. he’s at most looked vaguely inconvenienced by their arguments. will on the other hand is ALL of these. mike finds comfort and advice in will, especially concerning his relationship, and is significantly more impacted when will is upset with him rather than el

to this point, mike has shouted at both el and will (i’m thinking of rink o’ mania and rain fight here specifically), but after ro’m he was passive-aggressive and annoyed with el (for interrupting his fight with will? because he’s blaming her for the fact that he’s using her to replace will?) whereas after the rain fight like i said before he literally drags lucas to the byers’ house in the rain desperately to apologise

imagery/parallels

milkvan are consistently paralleled to st*ncy, aka a couple the show has made VERY clear are toxic & unhealthy. conversely byler are then paralleled to jancy, lumax, etc - the healthy, likely endgame ships

everyone’s aware of the robin/vickie/vickie’s boyfriend and mike/el/will parallel, and i know in this example will is in the same position as robin, but mike is paralleled to robin more often. even down to the composition of rockie shots vs byler shots, mike is always in robin’s position - the observer, wishing for a relationship with the other person who they believe is disinterested (vickie’s boyfriend, will’s very not real ‘painting girl’). the best one here, though, is in music. the song that plays in the scene when robin comes out to steve (‘being different’) is also the song that plays when el kisses mike at the end of s3. and both times it start off soft and then pick up when the kiss happens/robin comes out

this follows on to my next point: set decor especially re closets. that end of s3 kiss happens in front of an open closet (in a room with yellow walls), and mike has a ‘one way’ sign pointing into his closet in his s4 bedroom (which has a yellow shirt visible). i think this is pretty obvious imagery, closets and will’s colour present in ‘milkvan moments’ - in s3 obviously there’s the uncomfortable kiss, and in s4 he’s reading el’s letter - show he’s using his relationship with el as a way to hide, and his true thoughts/feelings are about will hence the presence of his colour in their scenes. also in the s3 scene he keeps his eyes open and looks visibly uncomfortable with the situation, and in s4 el is blatantly lying to him, all presenting a very flawed/untruthful relationship

this is kind of a minor one but all the posters in mike’s room are of extremely buff men - not a woman in sight lmfao

also in s4 it’s been said mike is trying to emulate eddie in his outfits, but i also believe he was being encouraged by eddie to be more himself. since (via handkerchief coding, joe quinn’s very homosexual acting, and general context clues) i believe eddie is also gay, i think mike being somewhat influenced by eddie to be more authentic is why s4 is the first season we see him really allow himself his feelings towards will. even to openly check him out in front of other people and to flirt with him

el, mike, and will as a trio are often staged as a three, with mike in the middle (classically obvious love triangle set up) but also ST adores love triangles. like. adores them. steve/nancy/jonathan, dustin/max/lucas, hopper/joyce/bob. and every single time, person A realises they don’t reciprocate (or not as much) person B’s feelings, and form a deeper more emotional connection to person C. also what love triangle ever has ever been resolved by person A staying with their original love interest??

finally, the lighting/framing of byler shots. now i know very little about filmmaking, so if you’re interested in this in depth i suggest you check out @dinitride-art ‘s excellent series of analysis posts. I do just want to point out that mike POV shots (over his shoulder) when he’s looking at will are often filled with light, will is framed beautifully, and overall they’re the most stunning shots

———

okay that’s all for now! i really enjoyed writing a long mike post again lol

btw i’d just like to say - the reason i don’t believe mike is bi is because i think it would invalidate both his and el’s storylines. the reason milkvan don’t work as a couple is because they’re not compatible in that way and also they don’t like each other romantically (or at least mike doesn’t). if he did like her, and was just deliberately inconsiderate/emotionally cheating/etc, that would just make him a mean character, and make byler endgame less satisfying if the milkvan breakup is presented as will’s fault and not the fault of mike just. not liking el like that. ofc the way they treat each other still isn’t okay, but like i said before i think without that romantic pressure, they’d have a great relationship as friends. :)

[sasukesun]

Can I ask your opinions on a few things about Gojou and Getoh?

-So, is he (Gojou) really not feel anything with Amanai and Haibara's death?

-How can Gojou not realizing Getou's depression (is it because he always sent on solo missions)?

- I read somewhere that Getou's act to that village is really because Yuki's words (as if to blame her), and I was like wtf (?)

- If Getou not become a curse user, can he become like Yuki (just do what they like and not listening to the elders)?

- Do you think adult Getou can win against Toji?

- NaruSasu is like Sun and Moon, do you think SatoSugu is also Sun and Moon?

- I also read somewhere that Gojou = Naruto and Getou = Sasuke, but I kinda disagree.. (I don't think Naruto can kill Sasuke, right). What abou you?

Sorry if my ask is too long, hope you don't mind....

1. the manga doesn’t even show gojou’s reaction to haibara’s death, especially since this part is through getou’s pov, it’s focused on showing getou’s depression, so i don’t think it’s fair to say that gojou didn’t feel anything when it’s nowhere to be seen. this writing choice could also be used to portray the distancing between getou and gojou, how gojou got so busy with his missions. in amanai’s case, gojou pretty much says he isn’t sad for her, but it doesn’t necessarily means he is cold or didn’t care about her, you have to consider the entire context. gojou had just learned reverse cursed technique and almost came back from the dead, he got severely traumatised by toji, but that’s exactly it, that’s how gojou deals with his trauma, by distancing himself, quite literally when you consider that he focuses on improving his infinity after it, and this metaphor is well portrayed in the anime too. gojou dealing with his trauma that way also adds to the idea of getou struggling with the distance between them.

2. the same way that gojou deals with trauma by creating a distance from humanity, getou deals with trauma by keeping everything to himself. gojou notices getou has lost weight, but getou himself brushes that off, maybe because he doesn’t want to worry gojou, maybe because he doesn’t want to show his vulnerability, afraid of gojou looking at him differently, who knows.

i feel like getou doesn’t like lying to gojou, so he just acts avoidant (and that also contributes to the distance between them).

3. getou’s actions weren’t solely due to what yuki said to him, he was already seeing humans as “monkeys” before their talk. of course her talk about genocide influenced his decisions, but she couldn’t possibly know how much he was affected by humans’ treatment towards sorcerers and by the cycle of exorcising/ingesting for the same humans. she didn’t know what was going on with his mind, it’s not her fault, but it is a bit insane to me how casually she mentions genocide. still, getou chose that path himself, there’s even a panel of him saying that.

4. yeah? i don’t see why not, the exorcising lifestyle was clearly unsustainable to him, there are other alternatives.

5. i think those kind of discussions are pointless tbh? i can’t give you an answer.

6. i do think satosugu is sun/moon coded, but in a different way than narusasu and, contrary to what some people think, getou is the sun while gojou is the moon, i’m linking a couple of posts to explain why i see it that way (1) (2), plus will have to mention that getou’s name contains the summer kanji (夏). narusasu are written to represent yin and yang from chinese philosophy, they are complementary opposites, in which yin means many things such as moon, dark, cold, earth, passive, while yang means sun, light, heat, heaven, active etc. those words are present in each of their characters, sasuke encompass all of yin’s characteristics, while naruto does the same with yang, they embody yin and yang perfectly.

satosugu are also written to be complementary opposites, in a lot of ways besides their names or their looks, but i don’t think gojou and getou encompass only yin or only yang characteristics each. dark goes clearly for getou, while light clearly goes for gojou, whose name literally means enlightenment, but i would say active is more matching to getou’s character in their relationship, while passive matches more with gojou’s, if you think about it, it’s always getou’s actions that change gojou, his defection, his declaration of war… i would say that gojou, who gets his enlightenment, is closer to heaven, while getou is grounded by his afflictions, closer to earth. another natural duality i read about yin and yang was contracting and expanding respectively, to which contracting matches getou’s technique, while expanding matches gojou’s. so my point is, gojou and getou are surely written to be complementary opposites, and even though those complementary opposites encompass yin and yang, i don’t think each are necessarily purely yin or yang.

7. i don’t think satosugu resemble narusasu, i don’t think either naruto or sasuke are gojou or getou. i also get what you’re saying about naruto being unable to kill sasuke, but i don’t like applying the same logic to different stories, i don’t think satosugu is less than narusasu because gojou killed getou, narusasu’s logic doesn’t apply to satosugu and vice versa. there is something about not being able to kill someone, even though that’s expected of you, because you love them, but there is also something about killing the one you love because it has to be you, and neither of those things are better or deeper than the other, the big picture matters, context matters.

[nobodysdaydreams]

I have to comment on the subtle way TMBS uses Curtain’s father relationship with SQ to show the contrast between him and Curtain in the books.

I love the books and the tv show, and I think both sets of characters are fantastic. However, in some cases, they are different characters and Curtain is a great example (from a character writing standpoint and also literally, Nathaniel Benedict and his backstory with Nicholas are not in the books). But what really sells it for me is how Curtain treats his son in the few scenes we do see and the few things we know about their relationship. 1) Show Curtain actually adopts SQ. In the books he comes to care about him, but he would never take the step of openly considering him family, even though it would have almost guaranteed book SQ’s loyalty. This version of Curtain does adopt SQ despite his vulnerability trigger. (I won’t get too into my “Curtain/Garrison/Milligan/SQ’s dad were friends that fell apart theory” cause that’s a whole other thing but click here to start that rabbit hole). 2) Show Curtain doesn’t involve SQ in his work. Book Curtain uses SQ as an executive/messenger, puts him in the whisperer and repeatedly wipes his memory to keep him by his side. Show SQ was not an executive or messenger (in fact he has no idea what his dad does) and so far has shown no signs of being brain swept. Even in season 2, when Marlon asks if SQ can come back for the next stage and Curtain says no, we as the audience assume this implies SQ has already been given the “happiness” but what if Curtain’s refusal to bring SQ back was actually him preventing SQ from taking the artificial happiness? (They didn’t get the actor back so I guess we’ll never know).

3) Show Curtain encourages SQ’s artistic talent. I’ve seen a lot of fics where Curtain resents that SQ is artistic and wishes he were “smart”, but if you watch the show, Curtain doesn’t do that. He does art projects with his son, he has rules about him going to the forest to paint but he still lets him go, and when Garrison interrupts Curtain, he doesn’t snap at SQ to do his homework, he suggests his son sketch, an activity he knows SQ enjoys. It would be easy to have a scene of Curtain admonishing SQ for his grades or not appreciating his art, but instead the writers chose to put in scenes showing the opposite.

4) When Reynie gives Curtain a narcoleptic seizure in the season 1 finale, it’s SQ that really sets him off. At first Curtain tries to mock what Reynie says: “I don’t think I’m a bad person either who thinks that?/“ok this is embarrassing”, but once he mentions SQ, Curtain gets visibly uncomfortable like “oh he went there oh no” and goes “okay, that’s enough that’s enough”, and realizes that he is losing this fight.

5) Finally, yes, we do see that Curtain is a bad father to SQ. I’m not denying that. The man deserves to be nailed by a golf cart. But: the main times when we see Curtain being a bad parent have a pattern: they occur when SQ is in danger of discovering who Curtain really is. The first is when he asks to bring Reynie to the forest. Curtain panics, realizing Reynie might be working for Nicholas, and now he’s forming a friendship with his son. Telling SQ that Reynie is using him was cruel and SQ is clearly devastated. SQ shows an awareness that his father speaks to others that way (he sees how his father speaks to Garrison) but might not be used to his father speaking to him that way which is why he takes it so badly. Then there’s when Curtain interrogates SQ, asking if he took a friend to the forest/if Reynie is really his friend, and SQ throws back in his face the “right cause who’d be friends with me” line and openly lies to him. Book Curtain would have at least called him out, or much worse. Show Curtain doesn’t, even though he knows his son is lying. Whether it’s because he’s scared his son is turning against him or because he’s ashamed of what he said to SQ earlier (��how many friends have you had”?) or because he doesn't want his son to be more suspicious, we can only speculate. Finally, SQ confronts Curtain about the antennas after finding Reynie’s letter and refuses to tell his dad about his conversation with Reynie. At this point, Curtain doesn’t know how much his son knows or what he will do. He could brain-sweep him. He could yell and tell SQ to never disrespect him again. Instead, he handles it in kind of a weird way where he admits to being under stress and having clouded judgment (which is a very rare moment of vulnerability and emotional awareness not just from Curtain, but from any abusive parent) and asks his son to please leave, though rather forcefully. Obviously, comparing him to book Curtain puts the bar on the floor and show Curtain was still horrible and should have told the truth, but the other negative alternative ways to handle that situation (Book Curtain’s torture and brain sweeping) would have been so much worse.

One of the most interesting aspects is how Show Curtain compartmentalized his son and his work so much that they became totally separate and how little SQ knows since he’s not working as a messenger or executive. SQ, on his end, has likely seen the way his father treats others, but work stresses out a lot of people, some people are ruthless in their careers but are good parents, he probably wishes his dad was different so he could have friends (because every other kid at the institute has to be controlled by Curtain, or at least is striving to please him at all times, which prevents genuine friendships), but his dad never does those things to him or at least not to that extent. So as long as SQ never talks to his dad about work (in his mind: “because it stresses him out”), his dad will never treat him the way he treats everyone else and since SQ has never know anything else, life seems alright to him. It’s only when Reynie starts pointing out Curtain’s flaws that SQ questions him and starts to see that maybe there’s more going on.

This could also explain SQ’s season 2 absence. SQ was on the boat, he knows how his dad screwed Garrison over. His biological father used to work for his dad. And SQ will never know whether Curtain screwed his biological dad over like he did Garrison, because Curtain will never be vulnerable enough to tell him the truth. Meanwhile, Curtain also realizes that his son is now curious about his work, and keeping his double life and his son would involve going a step beyond lies/gaslighting and doing the things book Curtain did to his SQ and show Curtain so far has been unwilling to do that. So SQ now has a motivation to leave and Curtain has a motivation to let him go: SQ can’t trust his father after what Reynie told him/what he did to Garrison and the only way Curtain can make SQ stay is by forcing him or messing with his free will/memories and so far he has refused to do that, at least that we know of (granted Curtain could have also told SQ the truth and voluntarily changed his ways, but after lying for so long, SQ might have chosen to leave anyway).

Curious to hear people’s thoughts on this, I really hope they work it into the season 3 plot. (Currently pulling for the “sister kidnaps SQ at art college” theory)

Ok rant over.

[narugen]

my brain started cooking up narumina high school au and now i kinda have to write it

au where mina is part of a shooting club (don’t know if this is a Thing or sport in japan but it is in some places so) and she’s the Only Member. the only other member (kafka) graduated before they could do it together so . it’s just her now and Has been her ever since her first year (she’s a second year now)

cue: narumi. annoyed. frustrated. angry. at some stupid shit the teacher said about him skipping classes or playing games in class and the baseball club doesn’t want to let him use their bat and he’s not a member bc they have practice and he doesn’t have any other outlet so he’s trudging along the school compounds walking further and further away from the main buildings when he hears a loud Bang

he doesn’t know what it is, but he plays enough games to recognize a gun going off. he doesn’t run, just finds his aimless walking a bit more pointed. more motivated. as he walks in the direction of the noise

there he finds. to his surprise. a shooting range. there are targets placed on the opposite stretch of the …?? grass?? idk i’m visualising a setup similar to archery rn but once i do more research this is subject to change the MAIN part is that the targets all have bullet holes in them and they’re ALL bullseye

he drags his eyes away from the targets and finds the source of the damage.

a girl with short hair he feels like he’s seen before Somewhere and she’s in her pe uniform the jacket sleeves rolled up to her elbows with the little googles and headphones on and narumi watches in (he hates to admit it) admiration as she loads up the gun with such precise accuracy he can’t follow with his eyes and the next moment he hears another resounding bang

“holy shit.” he finds himself saying and in the next moment the pin drop silence as she aims at the next target is broken because she turns to him immediately.

thankfully the gun isnt pointed at him, and she’s kept her arms in position. the only thing that’s moved is her head and narumi sees the pure confusion on her face and wonders if he’s somehow walked so much he isn’t on the school grounds anymore

“oh.” she says, and puts the gun down and pulls the headphones off her head and keeps them resting around her neck. “it’s you.”

and narumi knows what that tone means. she knows him. he doesn’t know her though.

narumi hates to think about how his face must scream confusion because she follows up before he can say anything with: “we’re in the same class.”

he doesn’t attend classes often. or at all really. so that’s why she seemed a bit familiar. like a blurry after image.

“what is this place,” he says, not a question because narumi doesn’t ask questions, he simply gets answers.

“a shooting range.”

“i’ve never heard of a shooting club in this school.”

“because it doesn’t exist.”

he waits for an explanation. because a building so obviously made to host students or whoever with all this equipment and yet there’s no club?? narumi doesn’t believe it. but he doesn’t think she’s lying to him either.

she takes a painfully long time to find her words, or maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to him, because she keeps her eyes trained on the targets far away.

“i’m the only member. so it doesn’t exist.”

narumi thinks he’s heard somewhere that school clubs need a minimum number of members. he never really cared though. since his after school activities consisted of doing what he does during school hours - play games, pick fights, etc. he doesn’t go to school in the first place. so he doesn’t need an after school club.

he looks at the guns lined up. they’re all clean. he looks around him. everything is spotless. no indication of abandonment.

“well. i don’t care about your circumstances,” he says, and points at the gun she was holding. “i want to shoot too.”

he recalls the image of his form teacher, or maybe it was his science teacher, narumi doesn’t know - he doesn’t even know why he came to school today

(but he does. it’s because they kept begging him to attend at least once a week and narumi can’t say no to family)

but that teacher. with his bald head and smoker breath just kept on saying he should be more responsible blah blah he’s almost a third year god what does narumi care? he shouldn’t even have lived this long but here he is! and just thinking about it has narumi balling his fists up in anger.

“you need to be a club member.”

“does that really matter.”

“yes.”

she’s finally looking at him again. and narumi observes how she has really round eyes. a mole under each one. despite looking pretty innocent, she seems to be serious about this, mouth drawn into a frown and eyebrows furrowed.

narumi can’t really be bothered but he has so much pent up energy. and shooting a gun sounds really fucking awesome.

“okay. whatever. just let me shoot.”

she hurries off somewhere, through a door narumi hadn’t really noticed before and he takes off his school jacket, rolling his sleeves up.

he observes the equipment on the table, and then sees there’s spares in a nearby box. those will have to do.

as he puts on the goggles, he looks around for headphones, ear muffs, whatever, narumi knows their purpose - doesn’t need to know what they’re called but can’t find any.

the girl. he doesn’t know her name still. not that it matters. returns with a piece of paper and he almost barks out a laugh

“fill it in.”

“you’re not gonna tell me to wait until it’s approved before i get to shoot, are you.” he glares at her, because narumi seriously doesn’t want to wait any longer. he wants to let out all these restless energy now.

“i’m the one approving new members.”

“you’re not a teacher.”

“i’m a good student.”

he doesn’t know what the fuck that means but it manages to piss him off a bit more so he scribbles his details into the damn form and shoves it at her.

“approve it.”

“say please.”

he feels himself snap.

“are you trying to piss me off?”

she’s not the least bit intimidated. in fact she doesn’t look away from his glare. most people in the orphanage would have run away by now. and she repeats herself, “say please.”

he takes one look at the gun on the table. the guns on display. the painstaking effort of keeping all these equipment clean despite no one using them. the painstaking effort of keeping a club no one cares about alive.

“please approve the fucking form.”

if she has a single thing to say about it, she doesn’t. she doesn’t say anything. takes a stamp out from her jacket pocket and stamps his club registration.

it takes him a bit later to realize he’s joined a fucking after school club.

he’s being handed a gun, similar to the one she was holding and he grabs it. she doesn’t tell him to watch and follow when she starts loading it up. he got the memo the moment she side eyed him and started preparing, much slower than she had earlier when she was alone.

that annoys narumi a bit.

but he follows everything to a tee. commits the steps to his memory. doesn’t know why. doesn’t think he’ll be back. but he makes sure to remember anyway.

she looks around the area for a bit, as narumi feels the weight of the gun in his hands.

while he’s distracted, he doesn’t realize she’s in his personal space until she is, and he has to hold back from throwing a punch.

their heights aren’t that different, which adds to narumi’s list of annoyances from today, and he takes the split second to calculate how tall the girl must be. above 165cm that’s for sure.

how surprising, she’s got a baby face, so narumi had expected her to be shorter.

when her face is finally drawn away from his, he feels the weight of something around his neck and understands what had happened. she could’ve just passed the ear muffs to him though.

what a weirdo.

she puts her own earmuffs on, and narumi mirrors her actions.

she shifts her stance, and he follows.

she shoots and narumi forgets how to breathe.

the atmosphere around her changes for the split second she releases the trigger, and for once - narumi feels fear.

everything seems to move in slow motion, as he watches her. her face. her eyes narrowed. concentration the only thing there and time resumes as the bullet pierces through the air.

narumi doesn’t have to look to know she’s hit bullseye again.

it’s a challenge. to him, at least. he knows she probably doesn’t care about him. but narumi wants to shoot like that too. so he takes a deep breath and steadies himself and pulls the trigger.

“you’re surprisingly bad.”

not a single bullet hit even remotely close to the center of the target.

“aren’t you just absurdly good?! who the fuck hits bullseye consecutively? look at all your targets!” he screeches, tugging the ear muffs off.

“kafka-kun did say i was weirdly accurate…” she muses, has to think about it- as if she wasn’t aware. as if she only had this realisation.

narumi wants to sock her in the eye or something.

he lets out a deep sigh. at least he released his pent up anger. although he’s kind of angry at a whole other thing now.

“so? what the hell are you doing here if you’re this good. there are competitions aren’t there.”

he doesn’t know why he’s making conversation

“i’m just taking care of the club.”

“the club that doesn’t exist.” he points out.

“i made a promise.”

and narumi remembers he’s not the type of person to give a shit. so he shrugs, ending the conversation.

he refuses to ask for help. for advice. so he keeps his eyes on her as she shoots, and narumi thinks there’s no need for her to train at all. her. accuracy is crazy. he doesn’t know why she even bothers coming here.

by the end of the day, two hours later, he’s managed to get a bit better. or so he likes to think.

he can’t believe he stayed until the sun is about to set. in school.

as she starts cleaning up, narumi finds himself mimicking her actions, the same way he has been doing the entire time.

to his own surprise, his back is sweating, and it must’ve taken a bit more effort than he’d considered.

“ashiro!” somebody calls, and narumi nearly jumps out of his skin. he doesn’t get surprised though. so he pretends he isn’t.

ashiro. he says the name in his head. so that’s who she is.

doesn’t ring a bell.

“hoshina.” she says, and despite a friend (?) - narumi presumes, showing up to this side of the school - she doesn’t smile.

in fact, narumi doesn’t think she’s seen her make any sort of expression that wasn’t a straight face or brief concentration.

well. not that he cares.

“who’s that?”

she looks over to him.

and he looks back at her.

“narumi. from my class.”

so she does know his name.

“ahhh the problem child?”

this guy is pissing him off.

“and who the hell are you? club activities ended ten minutes ago, for your information.”

he doesn’t know if they did end ten minutes ago. but it’s when ashiro started packing up. so he assumes that’s the case

the guy laughs - loud and annoying and narumi held back against punching ashiro but he won’t back against this guy.

“you bastard-,” he growls, walking up to him and glares at ashiro who stops him.

she doesn’t stop him. per say. doesn’t say anything really. but she’s moved closer to him. and she has one eyebrow raised.

“whatever.”

he doesn’t know why he stops.

narumi gen doesn’t stop for anyone.

and that annoys him even more. his list is pretty long now.

longer than it should’ve been.

“so you managed to increase your club numbers? good for you.”

it sounds so sarcastic, but narumi knows it’s not. everything just kind of sounds like shit when it comes from that guy.

“i’m not-,” narumi starts, and then stops. that’s twice now. “i’m not.”

ashiro holds the piece of paper up. the fucking club form and points at the stamp in red. “he is.”

“i’m not coming back here.”

“you probably should though? your aim doesn’t seem to be the best.”

the guy says, and damn this fucking bowlcut guy because the next time he speaks narumi will definitely slam this guy face’s into the wood floor.

“hoshina.” she says, and the tone is a warning. narumi doesn’t need somebody else giving out warnings for him. “your aim is just as terrible.”

“but i’m not a member of the club.”

“he’s new.”

narumi doesn’t know if she’s insulting him or defending him. doesn’t think he’d like either option.

the guy shrugs. before looking at ashiro. “are you done? let’s go.”

she nods and turns to him. they walk out together.

ashiro locks up, and narumi leans a little away from her to take one last glance at the shooting range.

“see you tomorrow, narumi.” it’s the first time she’s addressed him by name. even though she knew it.

“i’m not coming to school.”

“you’ll be here though.”

she doesn’t have to specify for him to know she means here - as in the shooting range.

“i’m not coming to school.” he repeats.

she shrugs, like she already knows.

narumi watches as the two leave, talking about something he can’t hear from where he is, still standing by the door of the shooting range.

he’s not coming back tomorrow.

“you’re here.”

“took you long enough. unlock the door.”

“i told you so.”

“shut up.”