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apocalypticvalraven · 1 year ago

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Delicious in Dungeon in The Kitchen

So... I was struck by the thought that I kinda wish some food nerd would go through the Dungeon Meshi dishes and analyze them and sort of give a "this is the real world thing they're making" run down.

And then I realized I'm a food nerd that can do research.

So.

We're gonna try this out, starting with Volume 1. I don't promise that I know everything about cooking. I don't promise I'll always be able to make the thing I'm looking at (I am broke, and I don't have my own kitchen). But I can at least look at a dish and figure out what they're doing and how to replicate it, at least sorta.

Dungeon Meshi Volume 1-- Huge Scorpion and Walking Mushroom Hot Pot

The two main components of this dish are the Huge Scorpion and Walking Mushroom.

Walking Mushroom

Looking at the images in the manga, Walking Mushroom seems to just... be a mushroom that can walk around. There are no organs, the interior seems pretty uniform in substance...

Like, literally, that's exactly what sliced mushrooms look like. Senshi cuts the mushroom into ~4" strips (judging by their size next to the small cabbage-like vegetable, and comparing those plants to his hand in the image of him gathering them. I am assuming dwarf hands are roughly the same size as human hands).

There's a variety of edible mushroom that is probably as close as we're going to get to the size of a Walking Mushroom, growing a cap up to 3' wide, but it seems to only grow in termite mounds in a very specific part of the African continent (please forgive my USAmerican, White education leading me to not being able to identify the specific region), so... if you can get that at all, it's probably crazy expensive (as it should be, unless you're literally getting it from the mounds or local markets yourself). Portobello or similar large culinary mushrooms are probably just fine. The Mushroom Feet are literally just mushrooms, so no worries there.

Huge Scorpion

Ok, so... there is a difference between arachnids and crustaceans. As a start, arachnids have book lungs and crustaceans have gills. Arachnid guts are different from crustacean guts, just because of environment. Hell, crustacean limbs grow differently from arachnid limbs.

That said, everything I see in Dungeon Meshi implies that, from a culinary standpoint, Huge Scorpion is a crustacean-

So, really, it's just a big lobster. Take a lobster, cut off its legs, antennae, and the tail fluke, and you're going to see something that looks pretty similar to the huge scorpion in Dungeon Meshi.

Seaweed

Next is seaweed, which... is just a thing, but also kind of an imprecise term, I think. Basically, "seaweed" just refers to any marine algae that is multicellular and macroscopic (big enough to see). Arctic Moss seems to be a real thing which refers to a couple things- the aquatic moss Calliergon giganteum and the terrestrial lichen in the genus of Cladonia, which includes Reindeer Lichen.

Reindeer lichen is edible, in a number of ways, but it's also not seaweed. So we look at Calliergon giganteum. I cannot get an answer as to whether this particular variety of moss is edible. So... fuck it, say Senshi used Reindeer Lichen, at least we know that's edible.

"Star Jelly" is... I don't know. The main result I find when googling it is that it's the sort of general term for various slimes that show up on lawns and other vegetation, etc. Which means it could be anything from amphibian spawning jelly to who the fuck knows what.

However, one thing it could be is a cyanobacteria known as Fat Choy, a commonly used "vegetable" in Chinese Cuisine:

Looks like jelly? Yep. Looks weird enough that you might imagine it comes from a star? Yep. Edible? Yes!

(I mean, maybe don't eat a ton of it, or get it from irreputable sources. At least some Fat Choy contains a toxic amino acid which may or may not have negative health effects, but I'm not a doctor, so all I'm saying is "be aware of this." It's an expensive delicacy, which means that it is a particularly lucrative target for counterfeiters, and China does not have strong, or strongly enforced, food safety laws).

The Hard Stuff

So that leaves "Invertatoes" and "Dried Slime."

Neither of which seem to have a good direct analogue to the real world. Well... sorta.

Invertatoes seems to refer to the plants. The name calls to mind potatoes, and potatoes do indeed grow in the ground and are starchy. It's probably fair to just use any kind of starchy tuber as the "invertatoes." Maybe cassava, since those are large enough that it's at least somewhat believable that "Fantasy Land Cassava" could look like that (although that doesn't fit the "these are normal plants that grow upside down" unless we're being really generous).

The problem is that it's sort of implied that the cabbage-like vegetable seen in the hot pot comes from the same plant, and everything from a potato plant other than the potato itself is toxic. They also don't look like that.

I literally don't know what those cabbage/lettuce-like leafy vegetables are. They're not seaweed, because the two varieties called out definitely don't look like that. They're not, so far as I can tell, the greens of any kind of starchy tuber--

EXCEPT.

So, I was taking one last look at tubers to see if I could find something that seemed to match, and I think Invertatoes could be likened to something similar to chicory. Particularly endives. I never knew endives were related to chicory (ie, "that thing that I'm aware is popular as a coffee substitute in the South, but I don't have much desire to try it, and I wonder if it even has caffeine..."), but, apparently, yeah. Endives are a member of the chicory genus.

So, yeah, lets say that Invertatoes are a sort of fantasy plant similar to the various members of the chicory genus. The trunk can be replicated with chicory root, and the leaves with endives.

That leaves Dried Slime. Dried Slime makes up the noodles in the hot pot, which implies that the noodles are gelatinous, and probably low in gluten. Senshi's explanation of the slime makes me want to think of it as a macro-unicellular lifeform, but... I'm not sure that's accurate.

While it's definitely not an accurate way to describe a jellyfish, I could definitely see a non-biologist describing jellyfish in a way similar to the way Senshi describes the slime. I could also see some fantasy terrestrial jellyfish thing hunting in a similar manner to the slime. Moreover, there are edible varieties of jellyfish, and they're processed in a manner very similar to what Senshi describes for processing slimes. And one way of preparing edible jellyfish is to thinly slice it into noodles.

Hot Pots

I... think this is using a very specifically Japanese sense of "hot pot" (which makes sense), because in Japan, hot pot can refer to a dish called nabemono, while in general, hot pot refers to a particular kind of dining in China where you get a pot full of boiling stock/broth and a bunch of raw ingredients, and you put the stuff you want into the broth at the table. Nabemono is more of "put a bunch of stuff in a pot, and cook it. Serve it boiling." Which is to say, it's soup.

Senshi puts the scorpion meat and mushroom into a pot on its own, and lets it start boiling-

Then, while it's boiling, he goes and finds other ingredients, coming back with the invertatoes and the slime. The two are prepared simply-

Seasoning isn't included in the ingredients, but I can understand this as a choice for presentation. We do see Senshi add something to the broth after tasting it, and I think it's fair to assume it's one of soy sauce, mirin, fish sauce, or similar. I think it's actually really interesting that we see Senshi add seasoning, but we're not told what it is-

Because... that's cooking. You can follow a recipe, but ultimately, you need to taste your cooking and make your own decisions. Senshi lets the soup cook, tastes the broth, decides it needs something, and gives it a bit of time to let the flavors meld before serving it up.

Dungeon Meshi Lobster and Mushroom Hot Pot

So, we're looking at something like this for the "Huge Scorpion and Walking Mushroom Hot Pot"--

Lobster- ~5 lbs or more (a 1 lb lobster yields about 4 oz of actual meat, which is a single serving), cut into large slices

Portobello- 2 mushrooms large diced, 2 left whole with the caps scored

Reindeer Lichen and Fat Choy- to taste

Chicory Roots- ~1 cup, diced

Endive greens- ~2 cups

Jellyfish, thin sliced- as much as you like

Add lobster and mushrooms to water, and allow to boil. While it comes to a boil, prepare the other ingredients, then add to the water. Let the soup come to a full boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes to an hour (can simmer longer, but this will affect the texture of the ingredients. Longer simmering will result in more melding of flavors, but also degraded solid parts).

Taste the broth. It will likely need salt and acid, which could come in a variety of forms, such as kosher salt and lemon juice, soy sauce and mirin/rice vinegar, oyster/fish sauce, or something else. Go with your gut and your taste buds..

#Dungeon Meshi #Defictionalization #Cooking #Food #Huge Scorpion and Walking Mushroom Hot Pot #Lobster and Portobello Hot Pot #This actually isn't really my thing due to the mushrooms but hell #Cashapp: $ValravenApocalypse #Paypal.me/Korbl #Ko-fi.com/valravenapocalypse #If this gets 100 notes and people like it I'll do the carnivorous plant fruit tart #Delicious in Dungeon

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morimakesfanart · 9 months ago

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Sindria's Prophet #40

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [Intermission] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39]

[AO3] [wattpad]

*Sinbad goes yandere off and on *Sinbad goes to horny jail *Major spoilers for the Adventures manga ~POV Mori~ The King left with the first few fate scrolls and I dropped onto my new sofa. Even after the curtain covering my doorway stopped moving I couldn't look away. 'Does he mean it? ...Actually, what was "it" in that question? His willingness to change his path, or what he pressed me on before that? ... But Sinbad never falls in love or gets married.' I could try to deny which part was hitting harder all I wanted until those feelings made themselves into words I couldn't look away from.

There was no way I was going to get any meaningful progress done for the rest of the day, but I also couldn't bring myself to move. Only the ringing of the Great Bell was able to break the looping conversation in my head. ---

During the meeting the next morning I couldn't stop myself from watching Sinbad. 'How much of the scrolls did he read?' There wouldn't be anything actually useful for him for a few scrolls so that could be why he looked the same. Regardless, my heart couldn't stop racing every time I remember everything else that happened around his request to take the scrolls.

Eventually I couldn't hold back my curiosity and a few days later I asked him what he thought of the scrolls at lunch. He got a nostalgic expression, and put down his food. "I was surprised to see you wrote that much about my parents. I don't have many memories of my father so it was... nice to read about him."

"I see." I wasn't sure how else to respond.

The nostalgic look in his eyes left but I couldn't tell what it was replaced with. It reminded me of when he was analyzing new information to make some type of plan. He moved the conversation along the timeline and eventually asked, "Is what you wrote about Yunan true? He really has the memories of multiple lifetimes?"

I nodded with my answer, "Yes. Having to experience the continuous ups and downs of history first hand is what made him so jaded."

"I see." Sinbad immediately switched topics to the adventures recorded in the scrolls and talked of feeling nostalgic but it didn't touch his features like it did earlier. At least his laugh seemed genuine. "Reading about how I handled Sassan and Artemyra made me realize just how little I cared about the basic rules of nobility. It's no wonder Ja'far was always so stressed."

I almost had a spit take. "That's putting it lightly." He used force to back their leaders into a corner and then said 'Join me in the name of peace.' --- ~POV Sinbad~ The King had hoped for more detailed answers. It was clear that the section about Yunan had been rewritten to remove something important. But that wasn't the only reason. In a later scroll, he read about his own experience in learning what Magi are. When he realized Yunan, a Magi, had chosen him it only made him more certain that he was chosen by Fate, and his gift of the waves was undeniable proof that he was special. His Beautiful Prophet did not hold back when she wrote: 'his illusions of grandeur reached a new height and were undeniably why he would fall into traps made by his own greed just as much as by those wishing for his downfall.' Knowing what would be covered in the next few scrolls made those words hit harder. It also made him hesitate to retrieve them from the Prophet.

Mori was getting better at hiding the aspects of Fate she didn't want anyone to know. If he pushed, it would become obvious what he was actually looking for: clues about the 2nd Calamity as well as his own death. At least Mori's answers confirmed the thoughts he had reading the scrolls. As soon as lunch was over, Sinbad instructed Ja'far to gather as much information as possible on Yunan and, more importantly, any information about the past Kings chosen by magi. There was an important clue there; he could feel it. ---

~POV Sharrkan~ The King dismissed all but the first generation of Household Members from the meeting room. Spartos dutifully left to return to his post, and Yam returned to the Magician's Tower with Mori. Meanwhile, Sharrkan and Pisti roped Masrur into staying back with them to eavesdrop. Ja'far was the first to speak. "We've narrowed down the options to 3 rooms for Mori," he sighed, "but I have a feeling you won't pick any of them." A pit formed in Shar's stomach, 'Wait. Doesn't Mori already had an office?' Their King laughed. "I'm sure they're all good options, but I still say the rooms next to mine would be the best." "Right." Hina teased, "Because Mori's going to be real happy when they realize you put them in the Queen's Suite after they rejected you." 'Nonononono!' Pisti and Masrur both gave Sharrkon pity pats. The shorter of the 2 struggled to suppress her giggles.

When the Palace was made, Sinbad said he didn't want a Queen's Tower or Harem built because he'd never want either. The lack of a Harem was eventually accepted, but Sin couldn't deny that the Kingdom would someday need an official heir so the Queen's Suite was made to placate the voices he couldn't convince. However, nothing short of the threat of war had a chance of putting someone in those rooms, until now. "They confessed their feelings for me first. It'll be fine." Sinbad defended his decision. "In time, Mori will realize that my feelings aren't going to change and all of this will be a thing of the past, won't it? I just want to make sure they're safe and comfortable while I'm out of the country." 'Damnit! If Mori actually likes Sin, then repeatedly coming on to her would definitely prove that his feelings weren't changing.' ((Boy no... (⁠ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ⁠)⁠>⁠⌐⁠■⁠-⁠■)) Shar was about to lose the last bet and there was nothing he could do about it. The only bright side was that this could give him the answer of how to finally get Yamuraiha to turn his way. Drakon countered Sinbad's enthusiasm. "While constancy is important, so is respecting consent." The Generals hiding outside pictured his serious expression in their heads. "Forcing them to fill the position in all but name will only make them hate you." "Augh." Sinbad groaned in time with Sharrkon. "I know, but what am I suppose to do then?" The Womanizer of the Seven Seas asked with not even a fraction of the despair his protegee was feeling. "Well, for one thing," Ja'far gave the first recommendation, "you really need to stop asking for call girls and flirting all the time." "I know. That's-" Sinbad started. "A decade and a half of cleaning up your messes is reason enough, Sin." Ja'far continued. "I don't know what Mori told you, but did you forget what they said back in Balbadd? How they'd never fall in love with a womanizer? They might not care while they're just flirting with you, but that's very different from being in a relationship." No wonder the Prophet had brought up Yam saying the same thing to Sharrkan... Sin tried again. "I know. That's-" Drakon agreed with his fellow General. "For a man to prove his character, he must show what type of partner he will be before he ever enters a relationship." "Which is why I-" Hinahoho added for good measure, "Think of it this way Sin: which of us here have actually had happy marriages?" "JUST WHAT TYPE OF MAN DO YoU TaKe Me for?!" Sinbad's voice booming was followed by a thump of him crashing back into his chair. "Don't answer that!" He paused. "I never wanted to get married before so it wasn't a problem until now!" He sighed loud enough to be heard outside the room. "Mori told me directly that they don't believe my advances because of reading my Fate, so I've already been working on it! Ja'far!" He was probably pointing at him. "How many complaints have you gotten about me in the weeks since the Announcement? I know I haven't been requesting any call girls recently either." There was a short silence. "Now that you mention it..." Ja'far mumbled something that Masrur explained was counting under his breath. "There were a few in the days right after, but those were about things that happen at or before the Announcement." Sharrkon wanted to cry. Or at least get a drink. Hina and Rurumu were really happy together while she was alive, and Drakon and Sahel are really happy now. Sin had gotten married by accident a few times and would always flee the morning after, but now that he wanted to get married for real, the object of his affections repeatedly turned him down. Womanizing was the problem all along. This was all Sinbad's fault! ---

~POV Sinbad~ Sinbad talked a big game to his Generals, and he meant every word. He had to completely shake those habits if he really wanted Mori to view him as an option. His original plan was to ween himself off of that vice by the time he came back from the Kou Empire. However, Fate had other plans and made him quit cold turkey early. ~flashback~ After seeing Mori recovered, the King struggled with his new intense emotions. He drank himself into a stupor, and only sobered up when the woman leaving his room said, "So... 'Mori' is the Prophet, right? You seemed really close during the festival." She giggled. "Will you just be calling us when she's on her period from now on?" The memory of his actions attacked him viciously. He had called out Mori's name multiple times. In fact, his memory told him that he thought it was his Beautiful Prophet under him in those moments thanks to the alcohol. "N-no." He shrugged her off with a smile. "This will be the last time actually." Why hadn't anyone warned him that this could happen?? "Aw~ that's a shame. I'll let the others know." Sinbad sighed in relief when she left. He knew the fear of death and injury from his adventures. He had even experienced guilt, and regret due to the weight of others' lives on his shoulders. But love was teaching him the hell of humiliation and shame. He knew that his thoughts were turning to Mori more and more at the mere idea of satisfying his libido no matter how he got there, but how could he call out their name when they weren't the one with him? Even worse, how could he mistaken anyone else for his Beautiful Prophet??? Between alcohol and sex, he knew which would be easier to quit -especially since the later would only be until he got his partner of choice to join him.

~flashback over~ At least he had the Fate scrolls to fill his suddenly empty nights for the time being. They weren't nearly as fun, but he'd rather think about the scrolls than why he had more free time. The King cleared his throat. "There shouldn't be any problem with preparing the Queen's Suite for Mori. But if you really think it will be a problem, prepare one of the rooms you've picked as a back up as well." All 3 Generals showed their disappointment, but this was one decision Sinbad wouldn't back down from. He didn't want Mori questioning the sincerity of his feelings if they were given anything less than the Queen's Suite. They were already insecure because of their ex fiancé and Sinbad's own reputation, so he would do whatever he could to remove any shadow of doubt in their mind. ---

~POV Sharrkan~ Sharrkan hit the Prophet's desk and the sound echoed in her office. She looked up shaken and stirred.

"I'll take you!" Sinbad sabotaged Sharrkan's relationship, so fuck 'im! "But I want you to fix something for me in return." If Sinbad does anything because of this it will only drive a wedge between him and 'his Beautiful Prophet.' "You gotta clear up this thing between Yam and me!" She blinked up at him a few times before jumping up. "What- Is this about the- Can we go right now??" "Yeah! Let's go!" ---

~POV Ja'far~ The General walked towards the Prophet's office only to catch a glimpse of them passing between a few book shelves in the opposite direction. "Mori! Do you have a minute?"

"Ah! Um." Mori's voice called back. They mumbled something and then appeared before him. "Yeah. What's up?"

"I wanted to read the Fate scrolls. It seems like they have been enlightening to Sin so far."

"Of course! They're your Fate too." They started to turn away. "Feel free to take them from my office. I'm on my way to a meeting, so I'm sorry I can't show you this time."

Ja'far thanked them before parting ways. It was actually better that the Prophet couldn't be there. Sinbad had mentioned that the scrolls he grabbed went up to their return to Riem which meant that the ones that remained might include the secret Sinbad was hiding -how he truly knew the risks of siding with Parthevia but agreed but agreed to buy the island anyway. The King might have admitted to that mistake, but he still refused to give details.

The scrolls had notes on the outside to explained what they covered, so Ja'far was easily able to find what he was looking for. He brought them to the guest table to unroll.

Before reading, the illustrations caught his attention. The first was of a teen Sinbad standing in front of a cage full of monsters that Ja'far recognized as victims of Parthavia's experiments. In the second, Sinbad was shocked with drawings behind him -they seemed to be depicting what Sinbad was thinking about in that moment. The biggest showed Ja'far beating sense into Sinbad under him. It looked to be around the time Sinbad was freed from slavery. Even before reading, Ja'far was getting an idea of what this was about.

What was written confirmed what Sinbad had admitted that night a month ago. He knew full well what type of person Barbarossa was, and how he treated his own people. But there was one thing Sinbad was very wrong about: his ability to read the waves had nothing to do with his decision to side with Barbarossa.

...Sinbad was desperate to reach the next step towards his dream after all of his recent failures, but he couldn't ignore the horrible truth starring him in the face. If he denied this opportunity to become King there was no telling if he'd ever get another. But if he accepted, he'd be putting everyone that trusted him at risk to the same treatment as the villagers he had left behind when he was 14. In that moment his mind was sent to the only other time he faced something similar. That time he had made the decision to accept the opportunity -risking the lives of the slave children. When he was freed before his plan even finished, he was finally safe enough to be able to see how needless their sacrifice was. There was only so much he could do to make up for his mistake though. While he struggled with the guilt of that decision he was told "Did you think you could realize your dream while keeping your hands completely clean? This is the path you chose." Ja'far had said more in the moment, but that was the line that stuck with Sinbad. If the avoidable deaths of children were something he needed to accept, than surely siding with a violent fascist was also necessary even if it would definitely lead to more victims...

"What is this??" Ja'far was shaken. He grabbed the scroll that would have the full version of the memory that apparently haunted Sinbad. The illustration that had been behind Sinbad in the previous scroll was drawn bigger in this one. He skimmed the surrounding text until he found what he was looking for.

...Sinbad had done all he could to correct his mistake. Making Madaar sign the agreement she had already promised to the Sindria Company only saved the few slaves that somehow survived the massacre. He turned to the one person present that he could rely on. Ja'far looked at him with obvious disdain. The guilt poured over into Sinbad's words, "I knew this would happen if I caused a rebellion..."

Mori wrote out Sinbad's whole self deprecating rant. He struggled to cope with the guilt that he learned from watching Madaar manipulate the vulnerable and became willing to use the exact same techniques. He lamented the irony of his actions and his goals for the future. The rant ended with Sinbad quoting to Ja'far the exact thing he said when he swore his loyalty to him.

"'If you disappoint me, I'll kill you'... I guess it'll turn out like that, huh? As I am now, I have nothing to say about it..." Ja'far had had enough of Sinbad's pitty party and punched him in the face as hard as he could (which was actually kinda impressive with their height difference at the time). "NO... THIS ISN'T A FUCKING JOKE!! SINBAD!!" It wasn't punishment enough to quell his guilt. "But I disappointed you, didn't I?" The person Sinbad disappointed the most was himself. Ja'far beat him until he lay on the ground bloodied and bruised. "What a fucking joke. Disappointed me? Yeah, you disappointed me. You'll take responsibility for everything? You're not taking responsibility for anything are you? You're letting yourself sink into despair, giving up, and, on top of that, having the nerve to act like it's all over..." Ja'far called out his bullshit. "Listen up!! IT'S YOUR NAIVETY THAT DISAPPOINTED ME THE MOST!!"

This was more like what the present Ja'far remembered. Mori wrote his full rant back at Sinbad. Why didn't Sin understand that his point was that he needed to be responsible for the survivors? Ja'far was what? 13 at the time. His wording of things wasn't great, but he had to pull Sinbad back together -Sin could have his breakdown later. Of course dirtying his hands is unavoidable sometimes. But that-

...Sinbad relented and apologized, and would never admit to the pain and guilt he held from this event ever again. He couldn't afford to disappoint everyone relying on him. He was the one chosen by 'the Magi' to become King. Sinbad grew up having to be the rock of his small village since all the men died in war, and the remaining adults were too sickly or burdened. He had long forgotten how to ask for emotional support and the the first person he tried opening up to shut down his expressions of guilt. Sinbad was unable to understand that the timing and choice of person was the problem. Those feelings would fester every time he made another mistake until he was able to fully replace his guilt with the acceptance of 'Fate' as inevitable. He wouldn't be able to acknowledge his own potential for evil for another 15~ years... If Sinbad hadn't admitted to struggling with this directly then Ja'far wouldn't have believed the opinionated portions of what the Prophet wrote. This was what Sinbad was hiding. This was why he refused to explain anything that had happened back then in detail. That last line hinted at the future they were afraid of. If Sinbad was unable to view himself as human until 15 years after that incident, it would line up perfectly with when the 2nd Calamity happens and he dies. These 2 scrolls gave more credibility to that dreaded theory. It would also explain why Mori would agree to be Sindria's Prophet and help Sinbad. Because he refused to ask for help. Because he hid his pain from the very people that swore to support him. Mori offered the help Sinbad no longer knew how to ask for because she already knew he needed it. Mori was the only one able to get Sinbad to defend that he wanted to change a part of how he did things because she was the only one that knew what parts he meant and what not changing would lead to. He needed to talk to Sinbad. Ja'far grabbed all of the remaining Fate scrolls and headed to out to have a very important conversation with the man he had sworn his life to. ((HiHi!! This past round was pretty okay for me :D I only had a small disability ep! Here's hoping this stays the pattern for a while :3 But even better than that is: While working on the next arc (specifically ch42) I hit a new level of healing from my PTSD with my ex. :D I literally felt my brain rewiring when it happened and recognized it from past times it's happened. For the week afterward I was unable to stop being stupid levels of happy. And now I'm frustrate with Mori because they aren't past it yet XD At least I know what I needed so I can write it))

#magi prophet fanfic #sinbad x oc #sinbadxoc #magi fanfiction #king sinbad #sinbad magi #magi sinbad #magi fanart

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destinationtoast · 11 months ago

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Hello there! I'm currently combing thru various Hetalia character tags and counting the ships that appear for any individual character, and I'm considering doing a write-up like how I see you make them! I'd like to ask you how do you go about formatting/presenting the information? I made a pie chart n everything!

Hi -- that sounds like an awesome project! Very cool. :)

I'll share what I do for data visualization, but I'll also say that there are other ways to do all of this, and depending on your goals, other ways may be better. So this isn't a recommendation -- just insight into my own process.

I use Google Sheets (similar to Excel) to gather/analyze data and to make graphs. (Many other programs/methods would work and have various pros & cons, so if you have a different favorite/you've already made your graphs, no problem! I use Sheets in part because it's easy to share to make my data broadly accessible.)

To get the unified look of my fandom stats -- and because I often want to add additional notes on top of/next to my graphs -- I copy/paste the graphs into Google Slides and add notes/titles/etc there. I have a slide theme that I use to made to get my particular Toastystats look; here's a more generic template of it that you can edit/use yourself, if that's helpful. I like to use it to put a border around my slides (so that if it's on a white background you can still see the edges) and to put my blog credit and the date at the bottom (useful in case someone stumbles across it years later and doesn't realize the data is old, or wants to ask you questions). If you want to change any of the defaults in these template slides (e.g., change the colors or fill in the footer text), you'll need to use the menus to go to "Slide -> Edit theme".

After that, I export each slide as a PNG image ("File -> Download").

---

I will also make a quick unsolicited suggestion about pie charts, which you can feel free to ignore: I use bar charts most of the time. I only use pie charts only when I have a bunch of different mutually exclusive categories that add up to 100% -- basically when I can think of the data as creating a "sensible whole pie."

So, for instance, imagine a possible pie here as "Fanworks where Character X is tagged." And I want to show how many of those fanworks have different ship tags. Well, multiple ship tags probably sometimes get used together, which means that actually some of the pie slices (i.e., the ships) should be overlapping, not separate -- and overlapping slices make for weird pie. :) Also, there are probably a large number of Character X tags that don't use any of the ship tags (which at minimum should mean I would also want a large "Other fanworks" slice of pie, if I did use a pie chart). Because of all this, I would probably choose to use a bar chart for that data.

---

Feel free to ask more questions if you have them (I recognize that many parts of this could be be confusing, depending on your particular background), and good luck! :)

#toastystats #fandom stats #data science #data visualization #tutorial #slide template #pie charts #and my philosophy thereof #op #asks #toasty replies #to archive

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that-within · 2 years ago

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That’s not how Jane Austen works…

There’s something deeply amusing to me about how fundamentally wrong Aziraphale is regarding the function of balls in Jane Austen’s novels:

“People would gather and do some formal dancing and then realize they had misunderstood each other and were actually deeply in love.”

No ball in any Austen novel works like this. Not one. You know how they actually work? They build tension (dramatic, romantic, sexual, and/or other). But in all of her six novels, there is not a single ball where everything suddenly clicks between two characters, all misunderstandings are cleared up with just a glance and a touch of a gloved hand, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Since Pride and Prejudice is the novel repeatedly cited in the show, let’s analyze the functions of its two main balls:

The first ball is where our protagonists meet. They lock eyes, they get introduced—and almost immediately he calls her a 5/10 and she runs off to drag him with her gal pals. Rough start. We haven’t even gotten to the plot’s true misunderstandings yet (“I meant you were tolerable in a nice way!”), but this ball is the crucial setup for how those misunderstandings will develop throughout their relationship. Tension established.

So far we’re 0/3 for dancing, clearing up misunderstandings, and deep love realizations. Bummer.

The second ball is The Big One. So how do our protagonists come together to reconcile in the candlelight? Spoiler: they don't. Instead, Darcy musters up all his introverted mettle to grind out a dance proposal and Lizzy only says yes because she can't think of a polite way to say “I’d rather eat glass.”

And not only does the dance itself not clear up their misunderstandings, it actually cements those misunderstandings through a series of progressively passive aggressive barbs. It’s wonderfully charged, but in a HIGH-VOLTAGE FENCE: DO NOT TOUCH kind of way.

(For those keeping score, we’re 1/6 because they did actually manage to dance this time. Woot)

And that’s it. No, literally. There are no more balls in the whole novel (at least attended by our protagonists). So how doth our heroes fall in love without the eldritch horrors making them do it delicate pluck of a fiddle in a crowded room?

Well, first there’s the catastrophic marriage proposal where Darcy basically negs Lizzy for a solid minute before Lizzy spends a solid five minutes telling him where to stick it. Divine.

Crucially though, this is where the “realize they had misunderstood each other” stuff actually begins. It’s only when one of them is pouring their heart out to the other that the giant gaps in information, misinterpreted actions, and fundamental differences in worldviews start to make themselves known (anything here ringing a cathedral-sized bell?).

And of course, this still doesn’t magically make everything better. They both go off to lick their respective wounds for a while, but, slowly, they begin to process this paradigm shift and change their thoughts and actions accordingly.

There are many reasons why Pride and Prejudice has lasted the test of time, and a big one is that it never pulled a “ball” deus ex machina. Lizzy and Darcy both put in actual work to improve themselves and to reconcile their differences. It’s slow, it’s imperfect, it’s messy. And, very importantly, it takes them being brutally honest with themselves and each other.

It's only after all of this that they finally get to the "were actually deeply in love" part.

Aziraphale must know this. He’s read Austen. Hell, he probably read Pride and Prejudice the year it was published. So where is he getting this bizarre idea about balls being a magical cure-all for everything?

Maybe it's as simple as an angel who's spent 6000 years teetering on the edge of something with a demon devising a cunning plan to teeter them just a little bit closer.

Maybe it’s as complicated as an angel who can convince himself that if a human relationship might be “fixed” by a ball, maybe a cosmic relationship might be “fixed” by undoing a fall.

And, to quote Crowley, “now, that’s unbelievable."

#good omens #good omens season two #aziraphale #crowley #ineffible husbands #this is not an aziraphale bash post so get thee behind me with that shit #bleh I hate that the last paragraph rhymes but I’m too lazy to change it

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riteshmoza · 8 months ago

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The Joy of Tennis: Why Everyone Should Play

Tennis is more than just a sport; it's an exhilarating experience that blends physical endurance, mental sharpness, and a sense of achievement. Whether you're a seasoned athlete or a beginner, tennis offers a world of joy and benefits for people of all ages and skill levels. It’s a game that anyone can pick up and play, and its rewards go beyond just fitness. Let’s explore why tennis is a game for everyone and why you should consider picking up a racket today.

A Game for All Ages and Skill Levels

One of the most appealing aspects of tennis is that it’s accessible to everyone, regardless of age or experience. Young children can start learning the basics through fun activities, while older adults can enjoy the game at a slower, more leisurely pace. Tennis courts are scattered throughout cities and suburbs, making it easy for families, friends, or individuals to find a spot and enjoy the game.

The sport is highly adaptable. Beginners can focus on just getting the ball over the net, while advanced players work on spin, placement, and strategy. No matter where you are in your tennis journey, you can play at your own pace and enjoy the process. This accessibility makes tennis a perfect lifelong activity for anyone seeking fun, exercise, and personal growth.

A Great Way to Stay Fit

Tennis is a full-body workout that engages various muscle groups, providing excellent cardiovascular benefits. The constant movement during a match—whether you're sprinting to the net, backpedaling to catch a lob, or lunging to return a serve—keeps your heart rate elevated and your body in motion. This leads to improved stamina, endurance, and overall fitness.

In addition to cardio, tennis improves coordination and balance. The act of hitting the ball requires precision, timing, and the ability to react to an opponent’s moves quickly. These actions strengthen muscles and improve agility, flexibility, and coordination. Best of all, because tennis is enjoyable, players often don’t realize they are getting such an intense workout.

Mental Benefits of Tennis

Tennis doesn’t just offer physical rewards; it’s also an excellent exercise for the mind. The game requires quick thinking, strategic planning, and problem-solving skills. During a match, players must analyze their opponent's weaknesses, make split-second decisions, and adjust their strategy based on how the game unfolds. This mental agility translates into real-world benefits, such as improved focus, sharper cognitive abilities, and better decision-making skills.

In fact, tennis has been shown to have long-term mental health benefits. Studies suggest that engaging in regular physical activity, like playing tennis, can reduce the risk of depression, anxiety, and stress. The competitive yet friendly nature of tennis can also enhance self-esteem and boost confidence as players hone their skills and improve over time.

Social Interaction and Community Building

Tennis is a social sport that fosters connections and builds friendships. Whether you’re playing doubles with friends or participating in local tournaments, tennis provides an opportunity to meet new people, engage in friendly competition, and enjoy the camaraderie that comes with being part of a community.

Playing tennis can also strengthen family bonds. Parents can play with their children, helping them develop a love for the game while spending quality time together. Many tennis clubs and organizations offer classes and events, creating a space where families, friends, and neighbors can gather and play. These social connections make tennis not only a healthy physical activity but also a way to build lasting relationships.

A Stress-Reliever and Mood Booster

Life can be stressful, and everyone needs a way to unwind and relax. Tennis provides a fantastic outlet for releasing tension and boosting your mood. The physical exertion combined with the joy of hitting the ball and engaging in a fun, competitive activity helps release endorphins, the body's natural mood elevators.

Tennis allows you to focus on the moment, distracting you from the stresses of daily life. Whether you’re playing a casual game or engaged in a more competitive match, the concentration required to track the ball and execute your shots helps clear your mind. Many players find that they leave the court feeling rejuvenated, more relaxed, and in a better frame of mind.

The Fun and Challenge of Tennis

One of the reasons tennis is so enjoyable is that it’s both fun and challenging. The game offers endless opportunities for improvement, whether you’re working on perfecting your serve, mastering a tricky volley, or strategizing how to outsmart your opponent. The sense of progress and accomplishment that comes with learning new skills keeps the game exciting and engaging.

For those who enjoy competition, tennis provides the thrill of testing yourself against others. The balance of offense and defense, the mix of power and finesse, and the mental chess match between players create an exhilarating experience. Winning a hard-fought match or executing a perfect shot is incredibly rewarding, and it’s this blend of challenge and enjoyment that keeps players coming back to the court time and time again.

Tennis as a Lifelong Sport

Unlike many other sports, tennis can be played well into your later years. The low-impact nature of the game means it’s easy on the joints compared to high-impact sports like running or basketball. This makes tennis an excellent choice for people looking for long-term physical activity that promotes health without putting too much strain on the body.

Many tennis players continue playing well into their senior years, reaping the benefits of an active lifestyle while enjoying the social and mental perks of the game. Whether you’re in your 20s or your 70s, tennis offers a sustainable way to stay fit, healthy, and happy.

Tennis and Family Fun

Tennis is one of the few sports that the entire family can enjoy together. With adaptable playing styles and levels of competition, everyone from young kids to grandparents can participate. Tennis provides a unique way for families to bond, stay active, and create cherished memories together.

Family tournaments, casual games, or even practicing together can help strengthen familial ties. Teaching children to play tennis not only imparts valuable physical skills but also encourages discipline, patience, and teamwork. These are essential life skills that can be cultivated through regular play.

Building Discipline and Character

Tennis is a sport that demands practice, focus, and patience. Players quickly learn that improvement comes through dedication and hard work. The self-discipline required to master a particular stroke or serve fosters a strong sense of determination and resilience. These qualities are transferable to many areas of life, including school, work, and personal development.

Moreover, tennis teaches good sportsmanship. Whether you win or lose, tennis emphasizes respect for your opponent and the rules of the game. This fosters humility in victory and grace in defeat, building character in players of all ages.

Why Everyone Should Play Tennis

Tennis is more than just a sport; it’s a fulfilling, enriching activity that provides countless benefits. From physical fitness and mental sharpness to social connections and character-building, tennis offers something for everyone. Whether you’re a casual player looking to stay active or an aspiring competitor aiming to sharpen your skills, tennis has a place in your life. So why not grab a racket, head to the nearest court, and experience the joy of tennis for yourself?

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codesandprograms · 2 years ago

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The Future of UI UX Designers and Their Evolving Role in Building Robust Websites

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, the sustainability and positioning of your brand on online platforms depend upon the competence of UI UX designers to a great extent. To create websites that not only look visually appealing but also offer a seamless and intuitive user experience you need to hire UI designer. In this article let's explore how the role of UI/UX designers is set to undergo significant transformations.

How UI UX Designers Contribute to Building Robust Websites

About 75% of consumers form an opinion about a website’s credibility based solely on its aesthetics. This is the result of the persistent efforts put in by UI UX designers and henceforth they seem to have a promising future. If you want to develop robust websites for your business, these professionals can contribute in the following ways:

Comprehending the Evolving User Behavior

The online user community has diverse demands that keep advancing with the changes in the digital age. If you want to be relevant to the current trends and address the specific needs of your niche for enhanced customer satisfaction and engagement, a UI UX designer can be your priceless asset. They can stay attuned to user preferences and trends by embracing research-driven methodologies that can help gather valuable insights.

Embracing AI and Automation

Artificial intelligence and automation have created a buzz and revolutionized the digital landscape. When you hire UX developers they streamline the repetitive tasks in a manner that allows them to focus on more creative and strategic aspects of website development. Additionally, with AI’s ability to analyze user behavior patterns, designers can draw data-driven conclusions for optimized user experience.

Personalization and Customization

Off-the-shelf web solutions no longer please and appeal to the online community. Every business needs to make its offering in a way that is tailored to the specific needs of the audience. To cater to the unique preferences and needs of the users, UI UX designers implement dynamic features that offer personalized content and features. By leveraging user feedback designers can enhance brand loyalty and a stronger user connection by creating relevant and intuitive websites.

Inclusive Design and Accessibility

Inclusive design and accessibility will be imperative with an exponential demand in the near future. Therefore, when you hire UI designer ensure they have the competence to develop websites that are inclusive and accessible to all users. This aligns with ethical practices as well as ensures compliance with accessibility regulations.

Collaboration and InterDisciplinary Skills

Cross-functional norms will gradually become a necessity for the designers where they will have to collaborate with developers, data scientists, content creators, and other stakeholders. UX designers need to understand the technical aspects and work alongside the developers to realize their vision. Additionally, interdisciplinary skills such as basic coding and data analysis enhance the problem-solving abilities of the designers with effective communication among the teammates.

Wrapping Up

The role of UI/UX designers is set to evolve as technology continues to advance from mere aesthetics to strategic problem solvers. If you want to build robust websites with a streamlined user experience hire a UI designer from Uplers.

At the forefront of the recruitment industry is Uplers a renowned one-stop hiring partner. It takes complete accountability of your hiring funnel from sourcing to onboarding qualified matches. In a 4-step vetting process, Uplers will curate a pre-vetted network of the top 3.5% of Indian remote talent at up to 40% cost-saving. In less than 2 weeks you can have top-rated talent working on your website development with zero hassle.

#Hire UI designer #Hire UX developers #UX designer for Hire #UI designer for Hire #Hire user experience designer #Hire user interface designers

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fandom-imagines-stories · 4 years ago

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Notice Me

Dr. Spencer Reid x Reader

Words: 3843

Summary: A killer leaves Reid’s girlfriend on the steps of the BAU with a message for Hotchner and the team. Spencer’s judgement is clouded and it seems that the killer isn’t finished with you.

Notes: This is a dark one guys, so please be wary of that. I wanted to do an imagine that kinda felt like a case, but also had the reader involved and everything. This is another one that I needed to split into two parts because I got a little carried away (whoops). As always, please let me know what you think!

Warnings: Trauma, gore, assault, mentions of rape and sexual assault.

Find Reid and more crime drama imagines: HERE

It was late. Later than anyone should have still been at the office and yet J.J. sat in front of a pile of files on her desk. Of course, Hotch was in his office too, both having already tried to convince the other to go home. Feeling like the piles would never end, J.J.’s attention shifted from a case to the flicker of movement just outside her door. At first, the figure standing by Spence’s desk startled her, but she quickly realized that it was you.

“Y/N?” She smiled to greet you, though her confusion was clear.

“Agent Jareau, I didn’t know you’d be here.” It was dark, so she couldn’t quite see how strained your smile really was.

“Please, call me J.J.” She said lightly. Ever since you’d started seeing Dr. Reid, she liked to think the two of you had become friends. You liked to think that too, which was why you had hoped she wouldn’t be here. “Spence went home a couple of hours ago.”

“Is SSA Hotchner here?” You blurted. You didn’t have much longer. Her brows furrowed.

“Um, yeah. He basically lives here, unfortunately.” She couldn’t get another word in before you rushed past her towards Hotch’s office. It wasn’t until then that she saw how pale you looked.

It took every ounce of strength you had not to stumble as you walked. You kept your coat closed, partially out of embarrassment and partially because you were afraid that, even now, he was watching. Hotchner was working at his desk, just like he’d predicted. You had to knock to get him to look up.

“Agent Hotchner?”

“Dr. Y/L/N,” He set down the notes he was looking over and stared at you with surprise. “What can I help you with?”

“I know it’s late, but he told me I had to find you.” You leaned against one of his chairs for support.

“Reid sent you here?”

“No. Spencer doesn’t know I’m here. He doesn’t know anything.” You winced at the thought. Spencer had no idea. He was probably worried out of his mind. You were supposed to be at his place watching a movie. Everything had changed in the span of one evening.

You felt something drip off of the tip of your finger. Hotchner’s eyes followed the dark liquid until it splattered on his carpet.

“Y/N are you okay?” Hotch stood up, noticing the way you seemed to sway slightly.

“He said I had to come here. If I didn’t, he said that whatever he did next would be my fault. He said he has a message for you.”

“Y/N, who said this?”

“I didn’t know what else to do.” You undid the button keeping your coat closed. It was getting harder to speak. “He said that this is for you. For all of you.”

You let your coat fall off of your shoulders, revealing your bloody chest and arms. Hotch lunged towards you as you collapsed, finally succumbing to your injuries.

“J.J. get an ambulance here now!” He screamed, desperately trying to catch you before you hit the ground. The blonde appeared in the doorway to see what was going on.

“Oh my god.” She gasped, rushing to the nearest phone.

Hotch’s stomach dropped, taking a closer look at the bloody gashes on your chest. Each slash was deliberately carved into the flesh, forming two words; Notice Me.

“J.J.!” He called out again. She rushed back into the room.

“The paramedics are on their way.”

Hotchner’s panicked face looked up at her.

“Call the team.”

“Y-yes sir.” Her eyes widened, taking in the entirety of your wounds. Hotch’s jaw clenched.

“And J.J.”

“Sir?”

“Let me call Reid.”

He checked his watch for the hundredth time and blew out a long breath. On the table in front of him sat the box. The box. The box that had the potential to change absolutely everything. And you weren’t here to open it. He looked at his phone for missed messages, but the last text still read ‘On my way. See you soon.’

Spencer nearly jumped out of his chair when his phone suddenly started to ring. He felt his body tense when he saw the number.

“Hotch?” He answered. Part of him already knew.

“Reid…” Hotch sighed. “Spencer, you need to get down to the hospital.” Reid closed his eyes, hoping that he was wrong.

“It’s her, isn’t it?”

“Something’s happened.”

“I should have known. I should have looked for her. She’s never late, Hotch. Ever. She’s actually early for pretty much everything. I should have had Garcia track her phone or have her-” In his ranting, he forgot to breathe.

“Reid, I need you to calm down.” Hotchner instructed. He listened to Spencer take a few deep breaths.

“Is she…”

“The doctor said that she’s lost a lot of blood, but she’s going to be okay.” He paused, making Spencer even more panicked. “Unfortunately, that’s not all we have to worry about. I’ll be able to explain more when you get here. The team is on their way.”

“Wait, the team is coming?” The turning in his stomach got worse. There’s only one reason Hotch would have called in the team.

“Like I said, I’ll explain when you get here.”

“Hotch-”

“I’ll see you soon.” Hotch wanted to be supportive, but they were on a time crunch now. This message meant there would be more bodies and soon.

It took a moment for Spencer to make his feet move. Once he did, he was running. Before he knew it, he was already outside and what he saw made him stop in his tracks. Parked in front of him was your car. Five feet and you would have been inside.

Morgan was the first to meet him. Normally, Spencer would have found his presence comforting, but he knew that he wasn’t just here for support. Hotchner called the team in for a reason. By the look on his face, Morgan already had an idea.

“What happened?” Reid demanded, trying to look over his shoulder. He tried to push passed him, but Morgan held him in place.

“We don’t know a lot. But Reid, you’re going to want to prepare yourself.”

“I don’t need a pep talk, I need to see Y/N.” His attempts to dodge around him were unsuccessful.

“He carved a message into her chest with a knife, Reid.” Morgan sighed. Spencer stopped.

“What?”

“Come on, Hotch can tell you more than I can.” He led Reid back to a waiting area where a few other members of the team had gathered. Rossi was still on his way, and so was Prentiss., but Garcia, J.J., and Hotch were grouped together in the far corner. Garcia and J.J. were looking at something on her computer while Hotch sat with his eyes closed.

He was trying to remember every last detail from when you walked in to when you collapsed. He knew something was wrong and he should have acted sooner. He analyzed every single word that you said, trying to piece everything together.

“He said that this is for you. For all of you.”

Notice me.

“Hotch.” Morgan called to get his attention. Everybody looked up and saw that he was joined by Reid.

“Oh my god.” Penelope immediately stood and rushed over to them. She had definitely been crying. Spencer had forgotten that the two of you were friends. You were friends with the whole team, really. She enveloped Spencer in a tight hug. “When J.J. called, I couldn’t believe it.” She took a deep breath to compose herself. “We are going to figure this out and everything is going to be okay.”

“Babygirl, let the kid breathe.” Morgan gently pulled her way from him. Spencer just stared off into nothing.

“Her car is outside my apartment building.” He said blankly. “She was coming over to watch…” His gaze fell to the floor. “She was there. She was at my apartment and he took her.”

“Spence, this isn’t your fault.” J.J. put a hand on his shoulder. “You couldn’t have known that he was out there.”

Before he could respond, Garcia’s computer made a sound. She seemed almost afraid to look. When she did, her face dropped.

“Is there a pattern?” Hotch sighed. She nodded, trying to keep calm.

“Four bodies have been found in Maryland and Virginia. All of them were bound with duct tape, their necks were slashed and they were all raped.” She could barely say all of it without getting sick. She looked up at Spencer frantically. “But none of them had any messages or anything like that so maybe this isn’t the same guy. If it was the same guy, why would he…”

“Why would he leave her alive.” Spencer finished, closing his eyes. He couldn’t stop his brain from picturing every scenario, manifesting every scream.

“I’m going to go see if the doctors can tell us anything.” J.J. said, giving Spencer a reassuring look. Reid finally looked at Hotch. He couldn’t help but stare at the blood that stained the front of his superior’s shirt.

“What happened?” He didn’t think anything could be worse than what he already imagined. Hotch motioned for him to have a seat.

“Whoever did this wanted to send us all a message. He told her that if she didn’t get to my office, that whatever he did afterwards would be her fault. He wanted to make sure I saw what he did.”

“Morgan said that he-” Spencer took a sharp breath but was able to keep calm, distracting himself by picking at his nails. “He said that she had something carved into her chest?”

“Like I said, he wanted to make sure that I saw.” Hotch sighed. “He wrote ‘Notice Me’.” Everyone fell silent, each trying to wrap their heads around the situation.

“Hotch,” J.J. returned, her expression betraying her concern, “She said she’s ready for questions.”

“Can you handle it?” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I should stay here and look over the cases Garcia found.”

“Of course.” J.J. paused before looking at Spencer. “She said she would like you to be there, Spence.”

“O-okay.” He rose slowly, his nerves barely allowing him to move. Morgan gave him a supportive pat on the back before Spencer followed J.J. to your room. Every step he took made his heart pound harder. He’d heard countless statements from victims, analyzed the most gruesome crime scenes imaginable, but he had never been this paralyzed before.

The two agents opened the door to find you struggling out of the hospital bed while a nurse tried to get you to lay back down.

“I appreciate everything, really, but I’m not going to sit here all night. I need to find-” Your argument with your nurse quickly came to a halt. “Spencer.”

“The doctor said you were ready to answer a couple of questions.” J.J. gave you a small smile, pulling a chair up next to your bed. “He told me you wanted Spencer with you.” She looked back at Reid, who was still standing in the doorway.

He just stood there and stared. Your face was bruised and a bandage covered an injury on your forehead- probably the blow that your attacker used to overtake you. Bandages covered your arms and he could see more under the collar of the hospital gown. You were shaking, the color from your skin faded and cold. Seeing him made your eyes water.

“Spencer, I-”

“You were late.” He blurted. He started to fidget with his nails. “I mean, I thought you were late. Even though you are never late for anything. You didn’t call or text me or anything and I still didn’t look for you. I should have looked for you. I-” His words caught in his throat.

You shrugged off the nurses hands and walked towards him, trying not to wince as you raised a hand to rest on his cheek. He had tears in his eyes and you could tell he was desperately trying to keep them back.

“Spencer, this isn’t your fault.” You said softly. He leaned into your touch and closed his eyes, trying to stop imagining what happened in that goddamn hour that that man would have had you.

“Dr. Y/L/N, you really need to be laying down.” The nurse insisted. Spencer opened his eyes and placed a gentle kiss on your forehead.

“She’s right. Come on.” He took your hand and led you back to the bed, helping to tuck you in under the blanket. He sat in a chair across from J.J. and kept your hand in his.

“Are you ready?” J.J. asked patiently. You nodded nervously. J.J. smiled reassuringly. “If you want to stop at any point, just let me know, okay?”

“Okay.”

“What were you doing before you were attacked?”

“I was driving to Spencer’s apartment.to watch a movie and have dinner.” You glanced over at your boyfriend. “I parked in front and walked towards the door, but I didn’t get there.”

“Were there cars already parked when you got there?”

“I-I think so.” You closed your eyes, trying to envision the scene, but all you could see was his face and with his face came the pain and the terror. “Oh god, I see him.”

“Stay with me, Y/N.” J.J. kept her voice as calm as possible when inside her heart was breaking for you and for the anguished Reid across from her. “Do you remember the cars?”

“Breathe with me, Y/N.” Spence instructed, kissing the palm of your hand. You calmed down enough and focused on the sound of his voice. “Breathe in. Breathe out.” You exhaled slowly and nodded.

“There was a van.”

“What color was it?”

“It was dark, but not black. Blue maybe? I don’t know, I only saw it for a second.”

“That’s okay.” J.J. said. She exchanged a look with Spencer. Now came the hard part. “What did you do when you got out of your car? Did you see anyone?”

“No, it was just me. I walked towards the door, but something hit me. Someone was dragging me away from the door. The next thing I knew, I was in a van.”

“Do you see anything?”

“There’s something on the walls. Some kind of padding. A-and on the back of the seat, there’s this jacket. A women’s jacket. It was red.”

“What else can you see?”

“I see him.” A tear escaped your eye and fell silently down your cheek. “He-he’s leaning over me and he’s-” You paused and listened to the sound of Spencer’s breathing. You wanted to open your eyes and look at him. You wanted to see his face instead of the creature that did this to you. But you needed to do this. “He’s unbuttoning my shirt.”

“Do you remember feeling the van move at all before he did this?”

“No. No, he didn’t drive until after.” You felt Spence’s grip on your hand tighten. J.J. watched him carefully, reading the pain on his face. “He said something while he was taking it off. He said he ‘didn’t have enough time’ and he ‘couldn’t do it now.’ He said he wanted it to be special. That I was special.”

“Was he wearing a mask or a hood?”

“No, I could see his face. That face…” You held back a cry. Spencer held back the urge to wrap his arms around you. “That’s when he took out the knife and started carving this.” You put a hand on your chest. “He said I was his messenger.” Your heart was starting to race and you started to hyperventilate. “He… he kissed each cut as he made them and then he would kiss me.”

You finally opened your eyes and almost wished that you hadn’t. Spencer was crushed. There were tears on his face and utter horror in his eyes. You had to look away.

“Well… you know the rest.”

“You did great, Y/N.” J.J. reassured you. “Do you think you’d be able to give a description to a sketch artist?” Despite your efforts to keep it still, your lip started to tremble.

“D-do you think I can sleep first? I’m so tired.” You hadn’t realized how exhausted you were until now.

“Of course. Just let me know whenever you’re ready, okay?” She glanced over at Spencer with a supportive smile before she left to join the others in the waiting room. You couldn’t bear to look at the pain you had caused him.

“Maybe you should go with her.” You muttered, staring blankly at your lap, more tears threatening to spill onto your cheeks. You had brought him in here because you knew you needed him to get through this, but you hadn’t thought about what it would do to him.

Spencer tried not to show the hurt on his face, but he wasn’t successful. He let go of your hand and stood up.

“Let me know if you need anything.” His voice barely came out above a whisper. Any louder and he was sure it would have cracked. You watched the way his shoulders sagged as he walked, like he was carrying the weight of what had happened over his shoulder. You grabbed his hand before he got far.

“Spence, wait.” You motioned for him to come closer and held his hand against your heart. When his skin grazed against the cuts in your chest, it didn’t hurt. If anything, it eased the sting. “I love you.”

A small, lopsided smile appeared on his lips. Suddenly the box in his jacket pocket weighed more.

“I love you too.”

Once Rossi and Prentiss arrived, Hotchner briefed the team on what their next step should be. Reid, however, was nowhere to be found, which had made everybody worry. He sent Morgan and Prentiss to the latest murder crime scene to see if this really was the same unsub. Garcia went back to the BAU, but Rossi and J.J. stayed

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Rossi asked, setting down a cup of terrible hospital coffee. It was almost morning now and no one had gotten any sleep.

“From what she told us, it isn’t over yet.” J.J. sighed. “He told her that she’s special. He’s going to come back for her.”

“And we will be here when he does.” Hotch stared down at the array of photos from the previous crime scenes. He was usually good about separating his emotions from a case, but this was an attack against his team. This was made to be personal.

Hotch started down the hall, turning the corner and stopping. He noticed movement in the corner of his eye and turned around. Reid sat on the floor with his back pressed against the side of a vending machine and legs crossed in front of him. His face was sullen and tear stained.

“Hey,” He greeted, immediately stiffening and whipping his face with his sleeve. He stood and brushed off. Hotch noticed the way his hands shook. “Have you guys found anything yet?”

“Morgan and Prentiss are heading to the latest crime scene. Based on what Y/N told you and J.J. about the attack, it could be the same unsub, but we don’t want to make any conclusions yet.”

Reid nodded quickly, keeping his gaze trained on the floor.

“Maybe I should go with them. I might get a better-”

“This isn’t your fault, Reid.” Hotch interrupted. He knew exactly where the younger agent’s mind was. “That is what he wants you to believe, but it isn’t your fault.”

“I…” Spencer knew that arguing with him was pointless. He just looked defeated. “I have to do something, Hotch.”

“The doctors will likely release Y/N in a couple of hours. We’ll need to get her somewhere safe. You should stay with her.” Hotch knew how the guilt was weighing down on him. He put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re all here for you, Reid. You and Y/N. We aren’t going to stop until we catch this man.”

“Thanks, Hotch.” Spencer sniffed. More than anything, he wanted to take you home and never let you leave his embrace. Reid leaned down to pick up his jacket from the floor, wincing when a small velvet box clattered to the tile. Hotch picked it up for him.

“Reid…” He proceeded with caution, but there was a warmhearted tone in his voice. “Is what I think it is?” He handed it to Spencer who hurriedly stuffed it back into his pocket.

“Actually it’s a-” He stopped and gave him his awkward lop-sided smile. “I was going to ask her tonight.”

“I didn’t know you were ready to take that step.”

“Neither did I.” Spencer laughed nervously. “But ever since I met her, I just knew. I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.” He put his hand in his pocket, feeling the box in his fingers. Tonight was supposed to be so different. Hotch’s usually serious expression broke into a small, proud smile.

Hotch’s mind returned to the case and he started back down the hallway. Spencer walked towards your room, pausing when his phone rang.

“Dr. Reid.” He answered. For a moment, there was just breathing on the other end. Before he hung up, a low, raspy voice spoke.

“I won’t be ignored anymore, Dr. Reid. You all notice me now.”

Reid took off running. He found Garcia in the waiting area and pointed urgently at his cell phone before continuing the call.

“You’re right. You have our full attention.”

“I know that little trick. Make me think I’m in control so your pretty little tech can trace this call. I learned from the best.” He chuckled deeply. “You won’t find me until I want you to.” There was a brief pause, like he was stopping for effect. “I was just calling to ask you some questions, Dr. Reid.”

“I’m not nearly as interesting as you are.” Reid tried to keep his tone even as he watched Garcia scramble to trace the call.

“Could you hear her screaming?” His voice was like nails on a chalkboard. “I want to make sure that those soundproofing panels worked. She kept calling out for you over and over and over…”

“You want us to know who you are, why don’t you tell me your name?”

“Tell me, have you had her yet, Dr. Reid?” His suggestive voice made Spencer’s blood boil. “I’m dying to know what it’s going to be like when I have enough time with Y/N.”

“You won’t get that chance.” He finally spat, losing control.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take better care of her than I did those other girls. I look forward to meeting you, Spencer.” Just like that, the line went dead.

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination; @mylovegoesto; @yellowbadgergirl; @itmejado; @suckmyapplejacks

#dr. spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #aaron hotchner #criminal minds imagines #jennifer jereau #criminal minds #crime show #Matthew Grey Gubler

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adoringhaikyuu · 4 years ago

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fighting with the boys

characters: hinata, kageyama, tanaka, tsukishima, yamaguchi

summary: how the boys would react during + after a fight with you

notes: you can request more characters if you’d like! this is my first hq writing :) tagging some blogs that inspired me to start: @kageyuji @seita @katsushimaa @sugawaraxo @shoyokuns @keishinslove @pokk1pok @oreosmama

hinata

i literally cannot even imagine why you would get into a fight with this pure boi

but he would 100% take the blame

it would most likely be a misunderstanding or you two are joking around and he takes it too far and he’s laughing until he notices that you’re unusually quiet

so he opens his eyes and looks at you, wide-eyed, analyzing you, getting more and more concerned

“what––what’s wrong?”

and you’d just give him the silent treatment and he’d only get more worried

“y/n?...”

and he just steps closer to you and tries to catch your eye but you look down, averting your gaze every time he almost catches you

and you can’t help but drag this out a little bit because it’s a little amusing (you’ll make it up to him afterwards)

but with the way he’s literally running around you as if he’s on the court, trying to get a good look at you and figure out what’s going on, you can’t stop yourself from laughing

and he realizes you’re just teasing him and just gasps before tackling you in a hug

he tucked his head into the crook of your shoulder and your neck, burying his cheeks into your soft skin. his arms were holding you tight, pressing you into him as he swayed you side to side. “don’t do that to me, y/n. you really had me scared!”

you laugh, your hands coming up to play with his hair the way he likes and he sighs. “i’m sorry baby you just looked really cute all worried like that. i couldn’t help but tease you.”

at that, he pulls away slightly to look at you, his eyes wide and innocent, and oh so cute. you see his eyes flicker from yours to your lips quickly. “okay then you’re forgiven.”

you smile and he reciprocates it, his eyes focused on your lips, almost like he’s in a trance. “can i have a kiss now? really wanna kiss you.”

and how can you say no to that?

kageyama

this absolute buffoon would most definitely say something he didn’t mean to you in the spur of the moment

he’s been overworking himself of course, focusing on volleyball a little too much and he doesn’t even realize how frustrated he is

but you’re talking to him and the more and more and you speak, the more concentrated he is on his moves, he’s literally playing things out in his head, not even listening to you

just as he figures something out, you get his attention again, only annoying him further

he snaps and says something rude and you stand there in disbelief for a moment before storming off

you know he didn’t mean it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting

and this boy would freeze up and just watch you go

because he has no idea what to do

and part of him feels really bad but he knows that he just pissed you off so you probably want nothing to do with him

but after a while he goes after you

it didn’t take long for kageyama to find you. he knew you better than you knew yourself, after all. you were sitting under your favorite tree outside the gym, picking at the grass mindlessly. you noticed when he came and stood in front of you, but you didn’t dare to look up.

he sighed after a moment and sat down next you. he waits for a moment before handing you your favorite drink. his eyes were practically piercing your face as he analyzed you, trying to gage your response. you looked up at his hand after a few seconds, biting your lip before deciding to take the drink. it was your favorite after all.

he physically deflates for a second in relief once you take the drink from him but then sits up properly again, taking a sip from his milk as he gathers the courage to say something. he places the carton down next to him and scoots a little closer to you. “i––i’m sorry y/n. i––it was rude of me to act like that. i didn’t realize how frustrated i was and i just...i shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

you pause for a moment, swallowing before setting your drink aside and looking up at him hesitantly. his blue eyes are watching you like a hawk but you can tell that he’s genuinely sorry, not only because of his apology but because of the way he’s looking at you, like he’s afraid to do something wrong again.

you give him a small smile and reach for his hand which he eagerly gives to you, gaze still stuck on you. “you’re right, you shouldn’t have. but i forgive you tobio. but we need to make sure you’re taking care of yourself, okay? i don’t like seeing you so stressed.”

he just nods after every word, anxious to make things right, to not disappoint you. “of course. anything.”

you place a hand on his cheek and kiss him softly and you can tell as your lips connect and move in synchronization that you’re both so grateful for each other and glad that you’ve settled this fight.

tanaka

so tanaka absolutely adores you

like he’d do anything for you

but sometimes he just didn’t do his best at his games,

he felt like everything was going wrong and he couldn’t help but let the frustrations get to him

so instead of being his cuddly and affectionate self with you like he normally is after games, he’s agitated and visibly frustrated

you can practically see the tension around his body

this leads to him shouting unintentionally and the two of you getting into a very unnecessary fight

there’s a lot of random childish things being yelled between the two of you, your voices loud and overlapping until you both just pause and the silence is overwhelmingly loud

he’s basically panting, looking at you with a fierce look in his eyes

and soon you scoff in disbelief at the ridiculousness of the situation and turn around to try and leave, deciding you both need to cool off

and that’s when he snaps out of it

you really think he’s going to let you get away? absolutely not

he needs to make up for it immediately

you gasped as tanaka grabbed your arm and yanked you back to face him. before you could protest, he pulled you into his embrace, making you huff. yeah, he felt warm (and a little sweaty) but you were still upset.

your face was smushed into his chest as he wrapped his arms around you, his limbs tightening like a vice. his cheek was pressed against your head, almost as if he were stuck to you.

“baby i’m so sorry!” ever so dramatic, he starts yelling as if he’s proclaiming his love to you. “i was just so frustrated but i never meant to take it out on you babygirl, i didn’t mean it! please forgive me!”

slowly, your arms go up and hold him back and you could feel and hear him release a breath of relief. “alright, you idiot. i forgive you.”

“thank you darling.” he mumbles against you, still not letting you go, even holding you tighter. “can we go cuddle now?”

tsukki

tsukishima can be very ruthless and very blunt

even with you, unfortunately

and while sometimes you love that about him, especially when he tells people off (it’s kinda hot, okay.)

sometimes you really hate it

he’d say something really out of pocket

but the thing is, he doesn’t even realize, he just thinks he’s being honest

(which doesn’t help his case, but––)

you’d just pause and look at him, letting out a small whisper of his name

and he’s not even looking at you, so he doesn’t realize you’re upset

he just shrugs, a smirk on his face

“what? it’s true.”

and when you don’t reply with a snarky comeback (like he loves), he looks up at you and his brows furrow when he notices your eyes watering

you just close your mouth and sit there, eyes focused on the floor in front of you as you cross your arms, too hurt to even move

and he pauses as well, in shock because it was absolutely not his intention to make you feel bad

but he soon clears his throat and apologizes

“i––i’m sorry y/n.” he’d step closer to you and when you don’t move away, he closes the distance, looking down at you in concern. “i didn’t mean to hurt you. i was just––joking around.”

you’d still be looking down, swallowing harshly when he places a gentle large hand on your cheek, wiping your tears and lifting your head up softly. “look at me please?”

you look up and bite your lip nervously, feeling exposed. he debates with himself for a bit and you can physically see him contemplating in his head. about what? you have no idea. but then it all clicks when he leans down and plants a lingering kiss on your forehead. you know he’s not an affectionate person easily, especially when there’s tension between the two of you so it brings a small smile to your face.

you look into his eyes and you can see the concern and the love for you in them. “i truly am sorry.”

you smile up at him before pulling him in for a hug. he wraps his arms around you immediately and all the tension leaves his body. “it’s okay tsukki.”

he holds you tight and leaves a kiss on your forehead again. “love you pretty girl.”

yamaguchi

so let’s say this were to happen while he was trying to learn how to perfect the jump float serve

he would be spending so much time focusing on perfecting his technique, that he lost track of time

which unfortunately meant that he forgot that he promised to have a movie night with you while your parents were out of town for the weekend

now when tadashi trains, he takes it very seriously, not stopping until his limbs hurt and until he’s too tired to move

which means that he also did not check his phone

so when he finally finished after hours of practice and checked his phone, seeing all the messages from you, his heart sank

his eyes widened and his breath hitched

he could feel the tears rising up, blurring his vision

he felt terrible

he knew he absolutely had to make it up to you

he stopped by the store and picked up all of your favorite snacks and then by your favorite takeout place and made his way over to your place

now you knew he most likely didn’t mean to skip your date, he would never do that to you, he was too sweet

but that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt when he didn’t show up after hours of you waiting for him

so when you saw his frantic messages of him apologizing and explaining everything, you weren’t too surprised, but still a little sad

when he rang the doorbell about forty-five minutes later, you let him in and stepped aside, your eyes not looking up at him

he pouted but thanked you and stepped inside

it was then that you noticed the things in his hands

“princess i’m so sorry.” his voice was trembling and when you looked up, you could see the redness in his eyes, the flush in his cheeks. he was really worked up over this. “i lost track of time and i––i hadn’t checked my phone because i was practicing i didn’t mean to ditch you––”

you stepped closer to him and took the things out of his hands, placing them on the counter before putting your hands on his cheeks and looking into his eyes. his eyes were wide as he looked at you, an undeniably guilty look in them.

“it’s okay tadashi. i knew you didn’t mean to.” you gave him a kiss to stop his rambling and he sighed, almost as if he felt he didn’t deserve it, but you deepened it, pulling him closer. you pulled away and looked up at him pointedly. “i forgive you, okay?” you look over to the bags he brought. “plus how can i not when you spoil me like this?”

his cheeks get even more pink as he laughs nervously. “it’s only what you deserve.”

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hyunjilicious · 4 years ago

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the set up [chris evans]

A/n: this is the reworked version of an older fic that I wrote!!! I loved the vibe so I didn’t want to allow it to get lost in the void!!

Summary: Some mutual friends decide you and Chris would make a cute couple and decide to set you two up!! (SMUT) 6.4k

Warmings: smut, unprotected sex and they also just met so I strongly advise you to not follow their example, oral (both), brief mentions of spanking, hair pulling and dirty talk. It’s chill y’all.

This is a standalone fic, and not part of any series!

“If this girl-”

“She’s great!” Scott cut Chris off harshly, already above tired of his brother’s endless flow of nasty comments.

“I feel uncomfortable doing this!” Chris protested again from the passenger’s seat, shifting around, eyes fixed on the road ahead, “At least tell me what she’s like!”

“Gorgeous” Scott belted, nodding his head to accentuate his point, “Smart as fuck so you better control yourself” he said so sternly, not even a drop of sarcasm escaping his lips, “She’s also into old music so you can talk to her about that? Kind of-”

“So then- God this is still weird” Chris sighed, rubbing his hands across his face, not used to the idea of being set up with a girl. Maybe he wouldn’t be as terrified and nervous if all his friends hadn’t been constantly going off about how great you were, because considering their history, Chris was sure there was something horrible Scott forgot to mention.

“God what the- oh no!” you managed to exclaim as your feet ran laps around your bedroom, “How the fuck do you forget to mention he’s Chris Evans?”

“Calm down” Anne sighed burying her face into the scattered pillows around your bed, “Seriously, that doesn’t change anything, we’re all meeting in a pub, I promise you, it will be fine” she added, giving you a reassuring smile.

“Like I’m not awkward enough around idiots...” you complained again, walking to your friend to zip up your short dark blue dress. “I got this” you said as you felt the material tighten around your body, giving you a well-deserved boost in confidence.

Seated at the round table, you were so absorbed by the conversation that was being held that you failed to realize the two tall boys that approached your booth. Chris’s presence made something inside of you shift; and it wasn’t only the tingly sensation in your stomach at the sight of him, you also felt your walls build up, blocking all the confidence you ever had.

“Hi, (Y/n), right?” he greeted you, extending his arm.

With a shy smile on your lips, you stood up to shake his hand. As if your already existent butterflies didn’t exhaust you enough, his liquid touch managed to send shivers in waves, propagating across your whole body, reaching places you didn’t know could buzz like that. Chris sat down next to you, and after every time you told him something, you mentally scolded yourself for not participating more; for letting the shy side of you take control tonight.

“OK guys, next round, what would you like?” Dan, a friend of yours, raised his voice in order to get your attention as a waiter made his way to your table again.

“Vodka rocks please” you said when it came your turn, and your cheeks couldn’t help but burst into flames when Chris’s head snapped in your direction. That’s what you always had, your always go-to and everyone knew it, but to him it was new, and it certainly didn’t fit the appearance you put on.

The first part of the night flew by smoothly, at least in your opinion. If before Chris arrived you were leaning over the table trying to make a point to one of your friends, now you barely managed to gather enough courage to express your point of view in a completely trivial discussion. Maybe it was the alcohol you had ingested but you were pretty sure Chris’s eyes lingered on your bare shoulders or your lips as you talked, more than once and more than just for a second. All these thoughts, that maybe he found you attractive, maybe he cared what you had to say, everything that roamed through your head made you even more self-conscious, afraid your next action or words would let him down.

“Everybody up, I love this song” Anne commanded jumping to her feet. When you shook your head and explained that you’d rather sit through the first few songs she was quick to object. “Come on!”

“I swear, I’ll be there in 5 minutes” you promised your friend, but you were sure that what made her let you have your way was the fact that her favorite song was approaching its end and she was wasting her time at the table.

After everyone stood up and moved to the dance floor, you realized Chris hadn’t; he was on his phone, making the situation even more awkward than it had to be. You took another long sip of your drink, looking around the carefully decorated rustic pub you were in, before finally turning to him, and taping his forearm.

“Don’t you wanna dance?” you asked

“Yeah I do-” he muttered looking back and forth between you and the screen of his phone, “Just a second”

You tucked your hands under your legs, shamelessly studying his side profile. You could tell his eyebrows were slightly furrowed and the moment one of his hands traveled up to scratch the bridge of his nose, you unconsciously tilted your head to get a better view.

“Aren’t you going?” he chuckled after realizing you’ve been staring, pulling you out of your thoughts; everything about his attitude making your insides turn in embarrassment.

“I was wait- No, I’ll go-” you mumbled, preparing to stand up before his hand flew to your knee to stop you.

“No, actually don’t go, just a second” Chris said, still concentrated on his phone, apparently trying to get rid of the distraction as soon as possible. Your eyes worked their way up from his long fingers that were pressed flush against your skin, to his silver watch, further up his forearm, studying the thick veins that were protruding through his skin, to the halfway rolled up sleeve of the black shirt that wrapped itself so perfectly around his frame. You nodded when he told you to wait for him, but he had already turned his head and now you wondered if you seemed off, but before you managed to over analyze everything, he let go of your leg and tucked his phone in his back pocket.

“I’m so sorry about that” he said leaving his seat and turning, “After you”

You happily followed his actions, stepping beside him, as he placed his hand on your back, bringing you closer as you made your way to your group. After joining the small circle your friends created, you distanced yourself from Chris a little in order to have more room to dance, even if all you were actually doing was swaying and waving your hands around your body. Chris turned out to be as inexperienced as you were, his moves basically consisting of shifting his weight from one leg to the other to the beat of the unfamiliar song that was playing. The atmosphere changed soon enough, as “I got my mind set on you” started echoing through the speakers, bringing a well awaited smile on your lips. As the first lyric repeated itself a few times, you filled yourself with all the good energy of the song, your feet elegantly dancing, as if they had a mind of their own.

“Hey” you heard Chris call softly moments before he grabbed your hand to turn you around. You welcomed him with a giggle, wrapping your arms around his neck, careful to keep a decent amount of space between your bodies.

“Whole lotta spendin’ money” you mouthed the words, as his own hands sneaked behind you to pull you closer.

“You like George Harrison?” Chris asked smugly, remembering what Brian said about your love for old music.

“Isn’t he everyone’s favorite beatle?” you answered, extracting yourself from his hold and doing a childish pirouette before coming back against his chest.

“George Harrison is no one’s favorite Beatle” Chris retorted confused.

“That’s Ringo” you corrected him, “But I have no idea what everyone has against him”

With a shrug of his shoulders signaling his lack of an answer, he sighed heavily, his hot breath reaching your lips, before he spoke again, “Then who’s your favorite?”

“Who do you think?” you played, tilting your head to the side.

“McCartney?” Chris asked hopeful, biting his lower lip as he waited for your answer.

“Nah, Lennon” you chuckled, “Actually no- I don’t even know, I’m not even that big of a Beatles fan”. Your honest answer was as unexpected as it could be and judging by the smirk that made its way across Chris’s lips, you knew he appreciated the way you played it. “Do you like them?”

“They’re alright I guess-” Chris trailed off feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. You smiled kindly taking a step back in order to give him privacy, just in case he needed it. However, you didn’t get to distance yourself too much before he wrapped one of his arms around you from behind, and settled his chin on your shoulder. You were taken aback by his gesture, as from this position you could easily see everything displayed on his screen, but he didn’t seem to care.

“I’m really sorry about this but I wouldn’t answer if I didn't absolutely have to,” Chris explained as his thumb worked its way around the screen. His hot breath hit the bare skin of your neck and shoulder, and you just turned your head, pressing your forehead against his temple; the fire between your legs not allowing you to stay still anymore.

You felt his cheeks gather up a smile under your touch, and you remained like that for a few more seconds as he finished typing. Once he was done, Chris locked his phone and secured his arm around you, turning his head slowly to meet your gaze. You welcomed him with a smile of your own, but in contrast with the sweetness that was plastered on his features, yours held a more fervid kind of feeling. He was the one to close the distance, his strong hold around your frame tightening as his mouth pressed softly against yours. You felt delight bubble inside you under the careful weight of his touch, and you soon felt his tongue trace slowly along your bottom lip, begging. Doing your best not to break the kiss, you turned around in his hold and planted yourself against his chest, this time not waiting for him anymore, diving in directly, going after what was yours. Soon, one of his hands traveled up your spine to grab the back of your head, his actions growing more and more rapturous with every single grunt that escaped his throat.

Judging by the fact that three hours later your dance moves were just as elegant as they were before, you decided to grab one last drink before making your way home. With your arms folded and elbows rested on the bar, you were waiting for an employer to notice you when you felt Chris’s hands on your waist as he placed a quick peck on your cheek before plopping down on the stool to your left. He spread his knees wide apart and pulled you between his legs.

“Vodka, rocks” he said before gesturing with his hand to the waiter to bring two drinks, “How long would you have waited?” he asked, turning his attention back to you. Sarcasm was dripping off his lips, as his lazy eyes didn’t miss any detail of your features.

“It wasn’t my turn yet” you protested

“You know it doesn’t work like that, don’t you?”

“I think it does”

A tight-lipped grin appeared on his features helping his cheekbones stick out ever more under the warm, dim lights of the bar. His boyish charm may have been amplified by the way his chest hair peaked through the open buttons of his shirt, and you were all for it. You pressed your lips to his and he didn’t wait a second to reciprocate your actions, the kiss feeling as natural as if you had known each other for ages.

“Copying me?” you giggled after the bartender brought your drinks, interrupting the two of you.

“Inspired? I’m inspired!” Chris chuckled before taking a sip.

“Drunk, that’s what you are,” you answered, mocking his state, a state you weren’t far from either.

“Nah” he countered, “I’m just feeling good!”. Belting the words he threw his head back, confirming your assumption, and also giving you perfect access to the skin of his neck, which you didn’t hesitate to attack with rough kisses and soft bites. His attitude changed in an instant, becoming a weak mess under you, “Oh god, (Y/n)” you heard him moan into your ear as you worked your magic along his jugular.

Realization hit you suddenly, and remembering you were still in a public place you detached yourself from Chris and grabbed his hand to pull him back to your group.

“Are you seriously doing me like that?” Chris complained following you, fingers intertwined.

“Sorry, I got carried away”

Your night out didn’t last much longer after that, as the tension between you and Chris reached the point where none of you was willing to deny it anymore. After saying your goodbyes, you headed out through the front door and made your way to the main street in search of a cab. Despite having gathered up the courage to go to his place, the whole car ride was perfectly silent as your head quietly rested on his shoulder.

Once inside the apartment, his lips found yours faster than he had found his keys less than 5 seconds before. With your back pressed against the door while Chris sucked mercilessly on the skin of your neck, you managed to get a quick glimpse of the city lights poking through his huge window, setting an even more intoxicating atmosphere than before. You lost yourself under his touch, feeling his hot body wrapped around yours as his hands roamed shamelessly over the thin material of your dress.

Sighing, you pushed him off of you, “Bedroom” you whispered and after giving you a quick nod, Chris dived back in for a kiss, grabbing your waist and guiding you through his dark home and into his room. You sat down on the bed, as he knelt in front of you on the floor, taking your feet into his lap to undo your sandals.

“God” he muttered annoyed, as the strap refused to come undone. Giggling, you leaned forward to take them off yourself, appreciating the gesture and loving his cuteness. After getting rid of your high heels, you grabbed Chris’s collar as you leaned on your back, pulling him on top of you. This time his hands didn’t hesitate as they found their way to your ass in no time.

“You have no idea what you did to me in that dress” Chris grunted against your lips as his fingers dug roughly into your skin. He traveled down your body, peppering kisses down your chest, before resuming his position on his knees on the floor.

“Spread your legs for me” he commanded and you obliged, crawling to the end of the bed, settling your legs on each side of his frame. His hands caressed your thighs passionately, inching closer to your heat causing your breath to fasten. Chris lifted up your dress, and pushed you to lay on your back.

“Oh god” you whimpered, feeling exposed and completely vulnerable. As you leaned your head to the side and closed your eyes, the feeling of Chris’s wet lips centimeters away from your core caused you to buck your hips in surprise as he started paving his way along your thigh with soft kisses.

“You want this?”

“Please” you begged suggestively

“Look at me” he demanded in a new harsh deep tone that sent shivers down your spine. You raised your head and looked down at Chris, who upon making eye contact, tapped your hips twice. You took the hint and propped your feet on the wooden edge of the bed as he circled his fingers around the sides of your underwear, pulling it down your legs in one swift motion.

After settling back into his position, Chris probed your folds with his thumb, smiling, more to himself, pride most likely pumping through his veins at the sight of his effect on you. He finally leaned down, his mouth volunteering to take his fingers spot, as he teased his way to your clit.

“Chris-!” you hissed at the feeling of his wet tongue working carefully on your bundle of nerves.

“Mmm..mm” he hummed lowly against your sensitive spot, the vibrations of his lips adding to your pleasure, “So fucking sweet”. His voice was hurried, as he lifted his head only for a second in order to look at you. His hands came around your thighs, as he released some of his own tension by vehemently slapping and gripping your skin.

With every lap Chris worked on your clit, a painful need inside of you to spill out profanity after profanity only grew bigger, but you managed to control yourself.

“Are you gonna cum for me?” he asked smugly, and before managing to give a decent answer, you felt one of his fingers enter you slowly.

“I- Uh, god” you cried out, arching your back as your left hand flew down so you could curl your fingers around and pull on the elegant collar of his shirt. Feeling every muscle in your body tense as your hips quivered uncontrollably, you secured Chris in his place by bringing your other hand too into his hair. Realizing how on the edge you were, he added another finger, swirling them against your wall, as his lips maintained the same avid pace around your clit. Impossible to tell how much longer it took, but most likely in a matter of seconds your orgasm came thundering down on you, curling your toes as the muscles of your legs trembled furiously. Chris kept going until you let your body fall flush against his bed, when he came up to your level.

Your eyes were closed, still enjoying the last waves of bliss that traveled along your legs as he teasingly caressed your cheeks with his lips and the tip of his nose.

Coming back to your senses, you gripped his neck, wrapping your legs around his middle, pressing him down against you. His mouth slowly met yours, igniting sparkles in your chest as he tugged on your lower lip before allowing your tongue to meet his’.

After pulling away, Chris straightened up at the edge of the bed and started working on undressing himself. The metal clicking of his belt buckle prompted you to suck in a long breath, smiling to yourself at how this man could make you feel so much, as you were already craving more.

You steadied yourself on your knees and crawled over to Chris, turning your back at him and getting your hair out of the way. He didn’t waste a second before getting back to you and pulling down your zipper of your dress, which allowed his hands to roam freely under the thin material. His fingers softly caressed your sides before sneaking to the front and cupping your breasts as his lips found your neck again. He lowered himself forward, pushing you down on the bed on your stomach and climbed on top of you.

Feeling his lips burn icy tracks along your shoulders, you pushed yourself up, flipping the two of you over. You slipped out of your dress fast and straddled his hips, not caring the slightest bit about being in any way seductive; you already had him. Under you, panting in anticipation, long fingers digging mercilessly into the smooth skin of your thighs.

Your lips were again on his’, working slowly, doing your best to tease him and push his buttons. Your hands traced his sides, making their way up his body,

“Yes, fuck” Chris whined. He had managed to take off his dark shirt before you distracted him, so he was now laying on the bed, half naked with his jeans undone, waiting for you.

You slowly lifted yourself off of him and tugged at his pants, pulling them down with a little bit of help from him.

“Tell me Chris” you teased looking up at him, your face inches away from his erect cock, “You want this?”. Following your question, you licked your lips as they fell into a one sided grin.

Squeezing his eyes shut as his head went from side to side, Chris chuckled bitterly at the taste of his own medicine, “Show me what you can do”

You placed one of your hands at the top of his thigh and lowered yourself even more, maintaining the eye contact as you carefully lifted him up. With your fingers wrapped around his cock, your lips barely brushed his base before you made your way lower.

“Fuck- fuck, (Y/n)” Chris hissed, bucking his hips violently at the way you kept pushing him. He brought his hand to the top of your head, his thumb softly caressing your hair as you worked on his balls.

At an agonizingly slow pace, your hand made its way up his length and when you reached his tip, your fingers continued teasing.

“Fu- take me in your mouth, baby” he tried to demand but under your burning stare, his words came out more as a plea, a struggling moan.

You gave him a false approving nod before you licked your way up his dick, wrapped your puckered lips around his end and sucked harshly a few, short times. When his head flew black as he white knuckled the sheets, you took it as your cue to stop.

“Hey Chris” you whispered as you let his cock fall against his stomach and you climbed on top of him.

A weak chuckle escaped his lips as he tried to smile when he realized the way you were going to play this. You leaned down to his level and slipped two fingers into his mouth before gripping his chin tightly and engulfing his lips in a fervid kiss. After caressing their way up and down your thighs, his hands settled on your ass, gripping tightly as he pushed himself up to meet your core.

You lowered yourself to add to his pleasure, your tongues not parting as you started pressing down on his cock.

“Please?” you teased, your hot breath hitting his damp lips.

“You’re not going there” he stated, his dominant side starting to show as his expression darkened.

“No?” you asked guiding one of your hands between your bodies, against his hard abdomen, wrapping your fingers around his dick. You nodded your head ‘no’ as you pumped him slowly, his squinted eyes prompting a smirk to appear on your lips. You had him; no matter what he said, you could go anywhere you wanted, “No, I’m not”

You guided his tip to your folds, slipping around him without any kind of warning. Straightening your back and supporting your weight by gluing your hands to his stomach, your hips started working in circular motions along his cock. You let your head fall forward before you pushed all your hair to one side, in order to be able to look him in the eyes. His body was responding to your actions, as he kept pushing himself up in sync with your movements.

It didn’t take long before you felt your second orgasm approach, and lost in the moment, you didn’t realize Chris took notice of the choked back whimpers that escaped your throat.

“Hey gorgeous” he grunted, his big hands digging holes into your waist, “As much as I love this-” he tried to speak but ended up concentrating all his energy into picking you up and flipping the both of you over, “-this is what I want right now”. He finished his sentence with a harsh whisper in your year from behind, as you struggled to maintain your balance on your elbows under his weight.

You smiled to yourself feeling his wet, hot chest against your naked back, before he rapidly guided himself inside of you.

“Mmh- Chris-” you moaned feeling his hands roam around your body as he maintained his avid pace.

“Taking me so well, hm?” he hummed in your ear. After caressing your cheek clumsily, Chris trailed his hand on the side of your head, his fingers losing themselves in your hair as he tugged back, forming a makeshift ponytail. The forcefulness of his touch caused you to tilt your head, eyes gluing to the ceiling as he grunted in your ear.

“Hell ugh-” you screamed as your body rocked back and forth under his’.

“Who would’ve thought?” he growled, exploring the skin of your neck with his lips as he kept your head back, “The way you act- so sweet and innocent, but then you down vodkas and take my cock like a good little slut”. Chris’s words were carelessly spilling out of his mouth, the pleasure of each thrust giving him more and more trouble forming coherent sentences, “Fuck, (Y/n)-”.

He let go of your hair in order to steady himself, as his movements became sloppier and angrier by the second, “Sh- Chris!-” you yelled gripping the sheets into your fists to keep yourself up, even though one of his arms was wrapped around your abdomen. “I’m so close, fuck, Chris!” you exclaimed again, letting your head fall against your shoulder.

He moved his hand to grip your ass tightly, before detaching it and then sending it to connect forcefully with your butt cheek again, causing a loud slap to accompany both your moans.

It’s all a blur what happened after that; his fingers kept digging into your skin hard as he was enjoying his high, the loud profanities he screamed sending you over the horizon. You soon went limp in his hold, but he didn’t pull out until he placed a loving kiss between your shoulder blades. Your whole body was trembling, from your lower lip to the tip of your toes, but the way he was still inside you as his lips carefully treated your skin, still managed to electrify your mind.

After that your night didn’t last much longer. A fragile amount of comfortable small talk emerged as you both settled under the covers but your mind was somewhere else. You had a lot of fun with him and your heart ached when you thought that this was a only one night stand after all. With your gaze getting lost in the darkness of his room, you found yourself fighting the urge to snuggle into him. As much as you wanted it, as bad of an idea you thought it was. Chris was laying on his stomach with his head in your direction, as you rested on your back. Honestly, you hoped he’d make the first move and pull you closer but he didn’t so you pushed your thoughts away. Or at least you tried. After saying your 'good night’s, much to your surprise, Chris’s hand found yours under the covers as he started to lazily play with your fingers. You smiled to yourself a little even though you knew he couldn’t see it. Your palm was against the sheets as he softly rubbed your thumb with his own. This didn’t help, all it managed to do was make you want to cuddle into his side even more, to rest your head in the crook of his neck and to fall asleep listening to his heart beat. Though none of those things happened, you managed to fall asleep on your own, despite the fact that the few inches of space between your bodies was killing you.

Surprisingly, at one point during the night you woke up. This time you were laying on your side, and it took you a couple of seconds to realise what it was that disrupted your sleep. You turned your head slowly to peak over your shoulder, and you physically felt your soul break. Chris was cuddled into your back, his whole body pressed against yours as his face was tucked into the back of your neck. You didn’t mind it, but the simple fact that his arms were gathered around himself and not around you, made it all clear. He was shivering in his sleep as the night breeze made its way in through the window that somehow was left open, and as you apparently had hogged all the covers, his pair of boxers failed to keep him warm.

“Shit” you muttered to yourself, turning around and doing your best to wrap the blanket around him. Your warm hand connected to his freezing shoulder in a pathetic attempt to warm him up, and instinctively, moments later, Chris wrapped his arms around you, pulling you even closer. You didn’t fight him this time, you just helped him cuddle into your chest before you fell back asleep.

Ironically enough, in the morning, you woke up to Chris pulling the blanket higher up your body. You didn’t open your eyes immediately as it took you a moment to come back to reality. Right now, you were facing him but not one inch of your body was touching his. When you finally looked at Chris, he was resting against the headboard, typing away on his phone. You wondered how long he must’ve been awake for but judging by his squinted eyes, you figured that not for too long.

“What time is it?” you finally mumbled

“Shit, I’m sorry I woke you up,” he said. He turned to look at you apologetically, but a smile still made its way to his lips as soon as his eyes landed on your figure, “It’s 10:12”

“Why are you awake?” you asked, not moving a muscle.

“My phone kept ringing, I have no idea how that didn’t wake you up”

You just shrugged your shoulders and crawled a bit closer to him before closing your eyes again.

“You can go back to sleep” he whispered, lowering himself to be at the same level as you.

“No, it’s ok” you protested, bringing your arms over your head to stretch, “I just need a minute”

He settled under the covers mirroring your position. His tired eyes matched his tired smile, and his cheek squished against the pillow made him all the more adorable, “I could make you breakfast, do you want some?”

Your stomach was begging for food, but this wasn’t an offer you expected. The dudes you’ve had hook ups with like this one, usually woke up horny and then that was it.

“Oh, yees, thank you”

“I could make you pancakes, like they do in movies” he offered chuckling in his groggy morning voice.

“Pancakes…” you repeated content, mouth starting to water at the thought.

“You can sleep some more while I make them,” he suggested.

“No” you argued, rolling into your back, “I’m coming with you, the girl makes breakfast in movies”

Chris raised himself up, prompting his weight on his elbow as he hovered over you with a bitter smirk on his lips, “The girl usually leaves before the boy wakes up”

His words stung a bit, “Are you trying to kick me out?”

“God, no!” he exclaimed, grabbing your waist and pulling you closer. Finally something. “That’s just what usually happens”. He was weirdly right, that was what you did most of the time too, but apparently not today.

“I guess” you agreed, looking into his big brown eyes. Before allowing the situation to slip into a direction you weren’t too fond of, you stood up on the bed, “Can you give me a shirt, please?”

“Of course” he said in an instant, jumping up from the bed and running to his closet. “This one ok?” he asked, showing you a navy blue one with long sleeves.

“Yeah” you smiled, extending your arm to grab it.

“Or this one?” he suggested again, this time a black t-shirt in his hands.

“Chris, give me the black one” you laughed before he had the opportunity to offer you another one to choose from.

You hurried to pull it over your head as he put on some gray sweatpants, and then you both left for the kitchen.

“Is this the bathroom?” you asked, pointing to a door right next to the one just came from.

“Yeah, but no” he laughed grabbing your shoulders and turning you in a different direction, “Go to that one” he gestured towards another door on the opposite side of the hallway, “This one is messy”

You wanted to protest for a second, as you were curious and maybe you wanted to snoop a little, but eventually nodded and went where he told you.

“Do you have Nutella or some kind of chocolate?” you asked, eyeing the pancakes.

“Um, no..” he mumbled, “But I can go grab some”

“What? No!”

“It’s just around the corner, I’ll be back in like 5 minutes”

“I was just asking” you giggled, grabbing his wrist, pulling him towards the table.

“It would take me-”

“Chris, no” you laughed, this time your tone was more serious.

He eventually caved, and you sat down to eat. The conversation picked up instantly and not for one second did it feel forced or uncomfortable. The awkwardness of getting too close to him disappeared immediately, as when you were halfway done, he pulled you into his lap, to demonstrate how a proper pancake should be eaten. Maple syrup and strawberry jam got everywhere but it wasn’t like any of you cared. Unlike last night, his lips were now sweet, kinda sticky even but it was perfect.

“So, like, last night you came with Anne, right? How do you know her?” he asked as he struggled to pour some more syrup on his pancakes with his left hand, as his right arm was locked around your hips.

“She’s my best friend” you answered smiling, “We actually met at the gym a few years ago”, you paused to shake your head, “God, I hate gyms”

“Why?” he asked curious

“I’m an embarrassment, I’d much rather work out at home”

“Oh god” he laughed dropping his pancake and throwing his head back, “I can make you feel better about that if you want to”

“Sure.. go ahead” you hesitated, afraid of what might come out of his mouth

“So like I was at the gym a few days ago, and there was this lady lifting some weights that, by the way, looked way too heavy for her but who am I to judge. Anyway so as she’s squatting, you know, when she tries to straighten her legs and go back up, this loud fart comes out, and I swear to god it echoed through the whole room-”

“Oh god, no!” you exclaimed, covering your eyes with your palms, “I feel so sorry for her”

“That’s not even the best part” he laughed tapping your tight to get your attention.

“We’re eating Chris, please tell me she didn’t-”

“She didn’t don’t worry” he chuckled, “So like after it comes out, she starts rummaging like crazy through her stuff, pulls out her phone and goes - I’m sorry I didn’t answer faster, it was on vibrate-”

“I’m so embarrassed for her” you whined

“Yeah, like a part of me wanted to reassure her that it’s ok but I’m sure that would’ve made everything worse” he said laughing.

“Definitely”

“And like she left for the locker room but when she came back she was still pretending to be on the phone and headed straight to the door and didn’t look back”

“I can’t” you managed to say between your giggles

“Now I’m so afraid I’ll fart in the middle of the gym” he confessed

With your pancake still in your hand, you felt your eyes start to water, trying to picture him all flustered and embarrassed and you couldn’t help but laugh even louder.

“It’s ok, you won’t” you tried to reassure him, but he was just as amused as you were

“I hope” he sighed

After you were done eating, and then done arguing about Chris not allowing you to help him clean up the mess, it was time for you to leave.

“Do you want me to drive you?” he asked, most likely sure you were going to agree, so probably that’s why his face fell when you declined.

“No, it’s ok, but have you seen my jacket?”

“You didn’t have one”

“Yes, I did, a long maroon one” you explained thinking about where you could’ve left it.

“Trust me, I know what you were wearing last night” he said smirking

“Then I must have left it at the bar, I hope someone saw it and took it”

“Wait, let me give you something to wear” he said, sprinting to his bedroom. You waited patiently for him in the hallway, realizing that this meant you had to see each other again. But you had mutual friends, someone could give it back to him for you, right? This was usually the time you blew the guy off, but this time, something inside of you simply didn’t let you.

“What about this one?” he asks, handing you an army green hoodie.

“It’s perfect, thank you”

“I don’t have your number, and I kinda want it back,” he joked, pointing to the jacket.

“Give me your phone” you laughed, and after he gave it to you, you added the number quickly and handed it back to him.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you, I feel bad for letting you walk home”

“No, it’s ok, it’s not that far, I’m gonna cut through the park and listen to music, it’s ok” you reassured him, stepping away from the door so he could unlock it.

Once you passed the threshold, you turned around wanting to kiss him one last time, but the moment his hands caught your waist, the teasing side of you awakened, so you just placed a long peck to his cheek.

“Bye” he laughed at your antics, before closing the door after you.

As you were walking home, you wrapped your arms around yourself, causing the smell of his hoodie to reach your nose. You were happy he didn’t give you a clean one, this one smelled like him, and maybe he chose this one on purpose. Your mind drifted back to the events of the last 15 hours and unconsciously, they put a smile on your lips. You had so much fun with Chris, and grew so fond of his sweetness, that you almost felt bad for giving him the number of your 50 year old laundromat lady.

#chris evans #chris evans x reader #chris evans smut #chris evans imagine #chris evans drabble #chris evans writing #chris evans blurb #chris evans fanfiction #andy barber x reader #ransom drysdale x reader #andy barber smut #ransom drysdale smut #chris evans one shot

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tempenensis · 4 years ago

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the dancing elephants

Special-grade, as its name implies, is at the peak of the power pyramid. Each of them pack a power equal to, as Ijichi said, a cluster bomb. The clash of several special-grades cause Shibuya and Tokyo in extension to be rendered into ruin. And among the few special-grades or similarly leveled, no one is more mysterious than these two; the Brain and Tsukumo Yuki.

“The next stage of humanity lies in breaking away from cursed energy.” “Wrong. It’s the optimization of cursed energy.”

From these panels alone, we know that these two are designed to be on the opposite side. Not to mention the visual given to them; Yuki with lighter color and background, standing opposing the Brain in Getou’s body with his dark color and background. Looking deeper to their respective characters along the story, they are comparable to two sides of the same coin, as they have the same interest in the connection of curses and cursed energy to not one or few people, but to humanity in general, but has vastly different opinion of what has to happen.

1. the Cause

Curse spirits appear because of leaked cursed energy, a concentration of negative human emotion escapes out of the population which then gathers to be strong enough to take form. Yuki explained this to Getou who was at the verge of spiraling down during the Hidden Inventory arc, and subsequently caused Getou to be “inspired”.

How this cursed energy gathers and takes form is still a mysterious matter, since apparently human can also become curse, like Sukuna. But the more interesting thing is this leak is specifically happens in non-sorcerer alone and sorcerer does not leak as much cursed energy as normal people, making normal people is to blame for the existence of curse spirits in general.

So fundamentally, how cursed energy flows within the body of sorcerer is genetically encoded, especially determined by how one’s brain is built. That’s why being a sorcerer is largely decided by bloodline, with exception of few people coming from non-sorcerer family - which can be chalked to something akin to genetic mutation.

Further, it is explained that Tengen’s barrier is necessary for the purpose of concentrating cursed energy; another reason fundamentals for the making of both sorcerers and curse spirits alike.

And so, sorcerers are then tasked to protect the normal people, to exorcise curse in secrecy. Curses comes from human, curses exorcised by sorcerers, but as long as there’s normal people, curses will never cease to exist, making this an endless cycle of suffering for the sorcerer who has to exorcise them.

2. the View

Same with all other species, there’s force of nature that makes human evolve, even if it is not very prominent because of our ability to make our surrounding fits to our existence, and not the opposite like in other species. Some races have developed superior physical aspect in effort to adapt to their lifestyle; like a race who has custom to dive long in the water for food adapts by evolving higher lungs capacity. In jjk, this apparent in sorcerers; basically Tengen is a force of evolution that made sorcerers happens among human in Japan.

Both Yuki and the Brain’s interest lie in the connection of cursed energy to human, and in extension to curse spirit. Yuki wants to free them from the life of exorcising curse, so she’s looking into the root that cause curse spirits to appear.

“Causal therapy?” “It’s not hunting curse spirit. I want to make a world where curse spirit can’t be born.”

Different from her, the Brain has more mysterious objective. On surface, it is similar to original Getou who wanted to realize a world where sorcerer have more power than being forced to exorcise curses in shadow; a world where sorcerers is superior to normal human.

However, what The Brain does and says doesn’t really align with that objective. His interest lies deeper than simply makes a world where sorcerers reign, especially since he’s also disassociate himself from sorcerer society. In fact, the existence of Gojou who is hailed as the peak of sorcerers is a thorn at his side, so whatever it is that he planned can’t be done unless Gojou is gone. The most obvious answer is like what Yuki also said; the change of humanity as a whole.

3. the Method

As with their different view, what they want and do are also different. Yuki who wants a society where there’s no more curse spirits suggest these two methods;

She took Touji as the example of the first method.

If every human have zero cursed energy, then there will be no energy leaked, so curse spirits won’t come to be. If people gets to Touji’s level, then any curses still linger can be exorcised without the appearance of new curse; which makes Touji a perfect model for her. The second one is obvious.

And after 11 years, she comes back to her original conclusion; human being should break away from cursed energy as a whole. But in the story, Yuki herself does not do as much to actively realize the objective she wants. She’s seems to be more heavy on exploring, observing, and analyzing, searching the perfect answer that will stumble to her - contrasting to the Brain who actively perform experiment to obtain the answer that he wants.

In a thousand years of his life, what does he seek? What kind of deed he has done to achieve what he seek? The Kusouzu seems only one of his experiments to reach better understanding on the nature of curse energy connection to human being, for human to optimize cursed energy. And now he creates a situation where survival depends on the use of curse energy; essentially the only thing that guarantee their survival is to be a sorcerer.

What the Culling game is actually addresses before in Yuki and Getou’s discussion.

Evolution in large is a chaotic event, where changes happens one after another to all species ever walked in the face of this earth. A lot of things can be driving force of evolution, but mainly it’s due to change of surroundings. Species who can adapt to things will survive, but for the ones who can��t, they’ll only be left as fossils. Same case as in the culling game; with a huge chaos like the Culling Game, human beings will be forced to adapt to use cursed energy -- essentially forced all human, at least in Japan, to evolve into sorcerers; human who has better grasp and connection to the cursed energy; which actually aligned to the second solution that Yuki offers, but in risk of making human the malicious one instead of curse spirits.

4. the Confliction

The conflict of Yuki and the Brain is still subtle, as we’re still at the beginning of new arc. But I think there’s a reason why Gege brings Yuki and Yuuta at this point and makes them play more active role, now that Gojo is gone. We know what Yuuta is doing; to substitute Gojo in protecting the students, but Yuki’s role is still not explained clearly. The obvious thing is that she does not see eyes to eyes with the Brain, to the point of suggesting the students to get answer from Tengen himself.

They want different things for human society; one wants for sorcerer to be non-sorcerer, while other wants non-sorcerer to be sorcerer. But what about human society? What does human society want?

All in all, if two special grades are fighting, literally or metaphorically, it will be like two elephants dancing.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk manga spoilers #the brain #yuki tsukumo #brain vomit #jjk meta #i'm sorry there's too much biology going on here ;;

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melodiesofblueroses · 4 years ago

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𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴

♡ ━ Obey me, Headcanons

»»————————-　♡　————————-««

𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: Lucifer x reader, Mammon x reader, Leviathan x reader

𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦: Fluff

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: the older brothers find a love letter addressed to them

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱: gn!reader

»»————-　♡　————-««

✦ Lucifer

he finds the letter on his desk one day, although he doesn’t pay much mind to it given that his desk is always swamped with paperwork

figures that it’s just another form to fill out and hand in to Diavolo, so he sorta just brushes it off to the side until he can make time to get to it

when he finally gets to opening it, however, Lucifer is taken aback

he didn’t think anything could surprise him after having lived thousands of years, but he certainly is shocked to see a handwritten confession (he didn’t like the feeling and tries to deny it)

immediately recognizes your handwriting since he had to read your RAD homework and other forms given to the human exchange students

plus, you did live with them now, so Lucifer got pretty used to your way of speaking, which was undeniably yours given the letter

skims over the letter multiple times, not because of the disbelief of being confessed to, but because he just loved the surge of pride he felt after reading it

i mean, here was this human confessing that they were in love with him

of course they were in love with him, the one and only avatar of pride, strongest demon second only to the prince and king themselves

Lucifer was practically the only choice given the other contenders (he really did love his brothers, but they were just a bit much at times)

smugly smiles to himself and stores it in a drawer as a keepsake, although it was mainly because he wanted to get the chance to reread it whenever he liked

when you two cross paths again, he’d pull you to the side

“by the way y/n, I quite enjoyed your letter”

he kept his cool, or rather he couldn’t hide the smirk on his face, which would only fluster you since you had no idea what he was thinking

was he going to reciprocate your feelings? reject you? make you grovel and beg for him to never tell anyone of it? how did you fall for him again?

“o-oh”

“I accept”

with those two words, Lucifer would walk out of the House of Lamentation as he made his way to RAD, leaving you behind at the house as you tried to process what had just occurred,

you mentally cursed yourself once you broke out into a stupid grin, knowing full well that the demon had wanted to fluster you, and you had fallen straight into his plot

»»————-　♡　————-««

✧ Mammon

the letter is sitting on the hood of his car that was in his room (you still have no idea how he managed to bring one indoors) but it takes him a few days to realize it’s even there

he doesn’t really have the best perception, so even if he does eye the letter, it won’t register in his mind that there’s a letter sitting atop his car

(you start to worry that you may have given it to the wrong brother or not given it at all)

when he finally does realize that it’s there, Mammon will most likely think it’s some note from the witches he still owed money though

just the thought of them makes him shudder

so he’d put it to the side once again, until he sees the little heart sticker on the opening, which makes him automatically flustered

and the next thing he knew, Mammon was ripping open the letter and reading its contents, turning redder by the minute

someone loved him? like not in a friendly way too??

well, I mean, of course. he was THE great Mammon after all. the one and only

Mammon doesn’t even notice that it’s your handwriting, so he’s just hanging on to this letter that he thinks is from a secret admirer and doesn’t bring it up to anyone

meaning that you don’t even know if he saw or even received the letter, and the waiting was eating you up on the inside

confessing was already stressful enough, and now you don’t even get a response?? this was practically a nightmare

one day, you get too anxious from waiting so you decide to confront him about it directly

he tries to say that he has no idea what you’re talking about, but the blush on his face says it all

“w-what love letter? I dunno what yer talking about...”

“Mammon, I see the letter sticking out of your pocket”

tries to brush it off all as if this was a daily occurrence for him, but he was basically a stuttering mess so you knew better

“soo, do you accept?”

“of cour-I mean, if that’s what ya want then sure. I am THE great Mammon, and of course ya would fall for me, so I’ll be generous and play along”

that was one of his qualities that made you fall for him

»»————-　♡　————-««

✰ Leviathan

when he first finds the letter at the bottom of his bathtub, Levi is convinced that it’s a cruel prank at first

there was no way that someone would even like Levi, the nasty, yucky otaku who spends all his time trapped in his room playing games or watching anime

forget that he’s one of the strongest demons and grand admiral of hell’s navy, he was a good-for-nothing freeloader and-

“ugh, let’s just get this over with,” he mumbled to himself as he tore open the envelope and quickly scanned over the letter

although he was convinced it was a prank, Levi held a tiny bit of hope, just the tiniest bit, that maybe it was genuine. he just didn’t want to get his hopes up to have them viciously crushed in the end

the letter, to his surprise, seemed rather genuine?

although Levi didn’t interact with others much, he could still tell when a person (or demon) was telling the truth

he did live thousands of years after all and experienced so much

immediately, Levi would get flustered and start shaking a bit from all the excitement

someone actually loved him?? this was a scene ripped straight out of a romance manga no doubt about it

him, the social recluse that never interacted with others much, finally having a s/o. gosh, it didn’t sound right at all, but oh did it feel so good

Levi would reread it over and over again, each time his heart beating faster and louder than before as his cheeks got progressively warmer

he never wanted this feeling to end. if this was a dream, he wanted to stay and revel in it

it takes a good few minutes of thinking and analyzing, but Levi is able to figure out that it’s you who wrote the letter

and he’s over the moon, especially because you were his crush, and his feelings were reciprocated

this truly would make for a great romance manga

immediately goes to you in order to confirm that you were, in fact, not lying and trying to pull a cruel prank on him

“um...y/n? so, uh, about the letter, were you, uh, ya know, being serious?”

poor guy, he was he nervous

“of course I was,” you reassure him. “I poured my feelings out into that letter. I’d never lie about something like that.”

once he got your confirmation, he’d go red once more and try, keyword try, to say that he felt the same

although it came out as an incoherent jumble, you perfectly understood him and smiled, happy to know that he felt the same

when you kissed him in response, Levi swore he felt his soul (do demons even have souls?) leave his body, and he practically malfunctioned, although he did gather up the courage to kiss you back in response

he was just too cute

#obey me shall we date #obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #fluff #headcanons #might do a part two with the other bros or the undateables #lucifer x reader #mammon x reader #leviathan x reader

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yunkiwii · 4 years ago

Text

—potions gone wrong—

☆ hogwarts au ☆

pairing: bsf!hyunjin x gn!reader | ft. jeongin and mentions of minho

supportive oc: angela, female

genre: sfw. comedic and chaotic, may be considered fluff by some people

wc: 2.4k

warnings: hints of jealousy, mentions of illegal (magical world wise) actions, potion-induced obsession

a/n: i'm pretty sure that in the harry potter series amortentia doesn't work the way i described here, but let's just ignore that shall we? ♡

summary: two boys decide to make a love potion to conquer the crush of one of them. unfortunately, something seems to have gone wrong and y/n needs to step in..

shout out to: ficscafe prompt dialogue event ♡

↳ "I'll give you 20 bucks if you kiss me."

↳ "I don't think that's legal, but we can work around it."

↳ "Shut up, this isn't a wattpad fanfic"

Completely imersed in the pile of books you gathered in the library in order to try and understand more about potions, you get startled when a boy throws himself into the chair next to you, a yellow stripped tie hitting your head in the process.

"I'll give you 20 bucks if you kiss me."

"What? No!", you give him a disgusted and confused look before digging your head into the old dusty pages again.

"Come on!! Angela keeps coming to me trying to snuggle and kiss me and-", as dramatic as he is, Hyunjin pretends he is going to be sick, exaggerating on the nasty sounds way too close to your ear.

"What? Why?", your bestfriend finally caught your full attention as you turn to face him, "Wait, Angela as in like, Angela your major crush perfect-Angela? Weren't you supposed to like, I don't know, enjoy the attention?" But then the face he makes, his cheeks turning shades of pink as his gaze drifts away from you and he sinks down in his chair in embarrassment, realization hits you, "No! No you did not! Are you like what, dumb?", you flick is head inducing a loud squeal to come out his mouth.

"It was Jeongin's idea!", his voice three pitches higher than before, "And I can't be that dumb if I managed to make that stupid love potion work. But that's beside the point, will you do it or not?"

"Do what? Kiss you? And how will that help you dimwit?", you went to flick his head again because, to be fair, he deserved it, but Hyunjin knew you too well and held your hand in time to stop you from hurting his pretty face, as he likes to state.

"To break the curse! Make her give up on me by making her think we're together or something!"

"What curse? There is no curse! And she isn't even thinking right now, she might just kill me out of jealousy!", at this point you're pratically yelling at each other and are forced to leave the library, resuming this odd conversation on your way to Ravenclaw's common room.

"I still can't believe you let yourself go with what Jeongin tells you. He's evil you know?"

"Should've guessed by the green scarf huh?", you slap his arm lightly, not very fond of the jokes made regarding the fact your other best friend is a Slytherin.

"So, how do I solve this?", he basically pleas at you as you sit down on the desk next to the fireplace, as far away as possible from your housemates. Every two in three students has made, or attempted to make, some sort of potion or spell to have something in their advantage. However, amortentia wasn't just "some potion", and if some were to find out that Hwang - head in space - Hyunjin succeded at his attempt they would never leave his poor ass alone, so for now your plan was to keep this subject as low-key as possible.

"Marry her." you say nonchalantly while, without his knowledge, already looking up all about amortentia, its possible side effects and how long it would take to wear off - if ever-, receiving a whine in return.

"It was really fun at first, you know? The flirting was cute, the smooches were great," and boy he put some emphasis on that adjective,"but now it's like she's obsessed with me! She's clingy and talks with that annoying voice and I can't seem to get rid of her!" Hyunjin throws himself face down into the old couch and whines again, words muffled by the pillow where he burried his face. "She's probably standing right outside the door just now!"

"Wait, what do you mean it was fun at first? How long has this been going on Hwang Hyunjin? And why am I only knowing of this now?", you turn around in your chair way too fast, hitting with your knee on the other chair next to you before facing the mop of brown hair all spread around the blue pillow.

"Well, I barely ever saw you all week!", the boy turns his head just the minimum amount to look at you, "You're either with your nose buried in those old books, or with your hands all over Lee Minho! Not my fault you no longer have time for your friends..."

"First of all," you pull out the pillow he's laying on, his face falling on the black cushion as a few curses leave his lips, "lower your tone! I did not spend the week with my hands all over Minho, I am tutoring him in potions!"

"Which you're not that good at, that's why you walk everywhere with those fat books..." Hyunjin rolls his eyes at you as he recovers the pillow from your hands again, "Don't deny it (y/n), you've got the hots for him!"

"Oh sweetie, I sense jealousy in your tone... is that why you gave Angela a poorly made potion?", you show him the page you've been reading between the backs and forths of your not so relevent argument, only for him to realize the potion should've worn off two days ago. Instead, it only got worse. "Perhaps you could use some reading too huh?"

The boy rips the book from your hands, grunting between his teeth sounds you doubted to be words as he makes his way out, only to shut the door as soon as he opens it, squealing loudly when his eyes meet the ones from the Gryffindor's brunette standing right in the middle of the hallway.

"I'm telling you (y/n), she won't leave me alone! It's like she's obsessed!", Hyunjin keeps his back against the door, afraid the girl could open it by some miracle driven by her potion induced feelings, hence she doesn't have the password.

"Well, you see Hyunjin... that's because she is! And it's your fault, you should simply face it..."

"Oh I'm going the kill Jeongin...", the boy grunts ignoring your words completely as the whines coming from the other side of the door overlapped them, "Can you go get him? Or get rid of her?"

You make your way to the door Hyunjin refuses to unblock and, when words and pushes didn't make the tall boy move, you had to resort to your wand, although the simple threat was more than enough for him to make way for you. He stayed hidden in the corner as you parted the door slightly to tell the girl her beloved had disapparated from there, and she should probably look at the quidditch court. The fact she believed you only proved how strongly she was affected by the potion, since everyone knew Hyunjin would never go to a sports court by his free will and disapparating into and out Hogwarts wasn't possible at all.

As soon as the path got clear you both made your way to the shrieking shack through the whomping willow everyone was so afraid of, but that was exactly why the three of you claimed it as your secret meeting place.

Jeongin was already waiting as you sent him a message through your magic notepad when you got rid of Angela, and you had to secure Hyunjin to not throw the book at the Slytherin boy who only laughed in return. The laughter didn't last long though, because you only stopped Hyunjin so you would be the one scolding the younger one, flicking his head the same way you did to the lover boy earlier.

"Hey! What did you do that for?", the boy frowned at you rubbing his forehead.

"To bring you back to reality, so you can both fix the mess you made!"

"But what's the problem?" Jeongin looked at you with honest confusion on his face, "Is this about the potion? You know that thing wears off in like a week or so right?"

"Exactly... do the math now genius..." Hyunjin rolls his eyes before leaning his back against the spiderweb covered walls.

The three of you spent the whole afternoon trying to figure out what went wrong in the first place, you analyzing every single detail of the procedure, and the boys trying to recreate every step they took to reach the final product. But, after hours of research and theories nothing seemed to have gone wrong, well except for the exaggerated and long-lasting effect of the potion.

"We should just obliviate the poor girl..." suggested Jeongin at one point, head in his hands as a sing of withdrawal.

“I don’t think that’s legal, but we can work around it...” You agree with him closing the book you were now reading for the fifth time.

"Are you guys serious? Because that sounds great! Can we get away with it?" Hyunjin's eyes were sparkling in hope as he shifted in his seat to a more straight up position, ready to do whatever it took to get to walk in peace around the school, without being unexpectedly smooched in the cheek and squezeed into a hug every time the girl spotted him.

"No, it's a joke!" You both sigh at your friend's desperation before calling it a day, deciding to resume your research first thing in the morning.

As per usual, you met with the boys for breakfast at the dining hall, though this time they weren't alone and you couldn't help out a giggle when Angela, as glued to Hyunjin as possible while feeding him something funny looking with a spoon, winked at you as soon as you sat in front of her and next to Jeongin. The latter looked almost as horrified as the pampered boy, and you had to focus to try and keep yourself from bursting into laughter before the scene that was unfolding in front of you.

Hyunjin looked like an annoyed pouty baby slumped in his chair - as an attempt to go unnoticed -, while the smiley girl, - one that seemed to have way too much energy in the morning -, pulled some strands of the boy's hair behind his ear before kissing his cheek, "You're so pretty Hyunnie-jin, and I hate to leave you," the girl pouts as she pinches his cheeks rather aggressively, "but don't worry sugarplum, I'll be waiting for you in the astronomy tower when you leave class." This time the kiss is aimed at his lips, but Hyunjin antecipates her intentions and dodges his head with a slick move, just not fast enough to be fully free of her, ending up with her lips awkwardly attached half to his jaw, half to the corner of his lip.

"So you decided to give in?" You couldn't help the grin that was forming on your face, finding it hilarious how the universe always had a way to keep things balanced.

"Shut up. I had to if I didn't want to starve myself, it was one sacrafice I was willing to take." Hyunjin furiously rubs his face with a napkin, as if it would erase the memory of the previous demonstration of affection.

"I say it's the karma, you were basically playing and manipulating her the moment you gave her the potion, now you face the consequences."

"It's like she's taking revenge..." Jeongin mumbles more to himself than to his friends, but he was still heard, and had now two pairs of eyes locked on him waiting for a further explanation to what seemed to be a pretty plausable theory. "We already concluded we didn't do anything wrong, right?"

"Yes, it's still hard to believe though..." you take a sip of your pumpking juice with a raise eybrow, honestly still impressed at how they pulled that off.

"So what if she got aware that Hyunjin gave-"

"We, Jeongin, we!! This wasn't just me okay? I just got the, uh, benefits?"

"Ok, sure, whatever... What if she became aware that we," emphasis on the pronoun as he glanced at Hyunjin, "gave her a potion and now that it wore off she is pulling this act as a pay back? Because, according to our lover boy, if it was nice at first then why would she suddenly start acting all obsessively?"

Both you and Hyunjin took a moment to reflect on this new theory, one Jeongin was really proud of as showed by his smug grin when he crossed his arms and relaxed back in his chair.

"I hate to admit it, but that makes a lot of sense... and explains why she winked at me when I got here..."

"Okay yes, she is faking it... why else would she wink at (y/n) when I'm the one she's supposed to be focused on?", the boy threw his arms up with a questionting - and slightly offended - look.

"Time for confrontation!" you were already standing up with Hyunjin following the lead, but you held yourselves back when you realized Jeongin wasn't moving, looking between the both of you still grinning.

"I've got a better idea..."

It was a terrible idea, you thought, and wanted no part in it at all so you let the boys discuss the details while you just sat there judging their poor life decisions.

The plan was for Hyunjin, instead of confronting her and get it over with as you suggested, to play along as if he too was deeply in love with her, and see who would break out of character first. As much as you tried to explain how childish and stupid the plan was, the boys simply wouldn't listen to you, convinced this was the best idea they've ever had.

Hyunjin got oddly excited about this and ran to astronomy class, already antecipating the act he would pull off when he'd see the girl waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs when he'd get out, leaving you and Jeongin alone in the dining all. The contrast of your opinions on this was pretty clear in your faces, Jeongin laughing loudly, you furrowing your brows and shaking your head in disapproval.

Then, all of a sudden, the boy stops laughing and looks at you, "What if they actually end up falling in love after all this?"

He sounded seriously concerned yet amused at the same time, while you only rolled your eyes at him before collecting your books and leaving for class as well.

"Shut up, this isn't a wattpad fanfic."

networks: @ficscafe @k-library @k-dinernet @districtninewriters

taglist: @dreamwrld @su-lix @bobateastay @leihey @serialee @hyunsluvv

⇢ let me know if you want to be added to the taglist ♡

#ficscafe dpe #klibrary #kdiner #districtninewriters #hyunjin imagine #hyunjin fluff #hyunjin x reader #stray kids scenarios #lovestaynet #hyunjin fanfic #hyunjin sfw #hyunjin crack #hyunjin hogwarts au #stray kids hogwarts au

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eyrieofsynapses · 4 years ago

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Alright, YJ peeps, listen up, because I’m sick and tired of seeing constant criticism lobbed at YJ for making Wally slower than his comic canon version, Barry and Bart. There’s a very good reason to do this—and it’s completely in Wally’s favor.

Let me preface this by saying that I sincerely love Wally’s comics. I am one hundred percent on board that Wally deserves to be recognized for the badass he is. His 90s comics established the most important elements of the Flash today. We wouldn’t have the Speedforce if it weren’t for him! It’s been defining the Flash for decades! He gets the short stick over and over. It only rubs salt in the wound that people believe Barry’s faster when it’s been stated repeatedly that Wally’s the fastest person in the DC universe. (There are few faster ways to piss me off than to say Barry’s a better Flash than Wally.)

But. But. YJ was incredibly clever when they made him slower. Why? Wally has to be more creative than Barry because he’s slower, showing his intelligence and building him up to be a better Flash. Don’t believe me? Take a close look at Bloodlines.

Barry and Impulse figure out how to foil Neutron’s first blast of energy on their own. But it’s Wally who figures out that Neutron’s about to release an even more deadly wave with the help of his goggles, which Barry immediately borrows. Wally hand-made his goggles to compensate for his lack of speed. He wouldn’t have had them if he were as fast as the other two. Nobody would’ve realized how much danger they were in, and everyone would have died.

While comic!Wally is definitely smart, he’s so powerful that as the Flash, he can often solve problems just with sheer power. He doesn’t have to be super clever about it most of the time. In YJ, this is true of both Barry and Bart. They can be clever, but they’re heavily reliant on their powers. YJ!Wally has to compensate for lack of power with intelligence. He diversifies his skillset, using a mixture of science, strategy, and superpowers to solve problems instead of relying on sheer force.

Wally isn’t just slower; he also can’t control his momentum. Barry and Bart can dissipate kinetic energy at will, while he has to find ways to get rid of it. But he turns it to his advantage.

Pay attention to how he fights. You’ll notice he often cannonballs into people and uses acrobatics instead of flat-out running. He can’t bombard someone with a rain of blows the same way, so he dodges and avoids close combat.

There’s a lot more to that, but in a nutshell: Wally’s fighting style is significantly more complex than Barry’s. I’m not saying Barry never uses those skills, but I can’t remember any time we saw him do it. Wally learned to do that on his own, and he figured out how to incorporate other people’s fighting styles into his repertoire. Remember the acrobatics? Who wants to bet he picked that up from Dick?

Which brings me to my next point: Wally works better with the Team not just because he grew up with them, but because he has to cooperate with others to make the best of his skills. Wally can’t just blaze through things. He has to conserve his energy and make the best of his speed. In the Team, they have to piece together where he’ll be the most effective. It forces him to stop and consider what he’s doing and how it’ll impact the overall picture, taming his impulsive behavior.

Think about his attitude in the pilot. He races on ahead, alerting the enemy to their presence and nearly getting himself killed. Over the course of the season, he learns stealth and patience, which we see repeatedly demonstrated in the last few episodes.

Back to Bloodlines for a moment. When Wally, Barry, and Bart initially show up to the disaster scene, Barry runs headlong into the danger. Bart follows him. Wally, however, stops to talk to the police captain and gather information about the situation. Barry and Bart join them afterward. They proceed to speed-talk at each other, coming up with a plan… and then instead of explaining it to Wally, they just tell him to follow their lead.

Barry and Bart were impulsive while he stopped to think. Wally was a better team player: the other two didn’t include him in their planning, thus missing crucial details and potentially putting him in danger.

Their plan works in the short-term. But when they think they’ve solved it, Wally takes a second look, analyzing the situation and double-checking that they’re finished. If they stopped ahead of time and took a moment to consider what was happening, they might’ve noticed the energy problem sooner and come up with a better solution.

Worst of all, Barry rushes in again to pull Neutron out the second time. He only survives because of Bart. Yes, it’s because they’re short on time, but again: this might’ve been prevented sooner if they thought things through.

What does it say that Wally patiently paid attention to detail and was more thoughtful than his experienced mentor?

Yes, some of this is stuff he might have learned with advanced speed. But would he really have to be so thoughtful about how he uses his abilities? Not likely.

Nor would he have incorporated science and gear into his skillset. Among other things, he knows how to make an EMP and recognizes where to apply it in Homefront. Dick’s their tech whiz, but Wally comes up with technological and scientific solutions that he can’t.

But Wally doesn’t only use science and technology in ways his uncle and cousin can’t or won’t. He thinks differently about problems.

In Bloodlines, Barry and Bart assume the coast is clear after they take down Neutron the first time. They only consider things within the vast range of their powers, assuming that covers everything. Wally thinks about what they can’t see. He’s more limited, so he’s learned to take every piece of a situation into account.

Basically: Wally is much more flexible than his faster counterparts. He adapts far better to adverse situations because he’s forced to make small-scale accommodations on a daily basis. Because of that, he’s able to come up with better solutions, work better in a team, and solve problems without his powers.

And may I remind all of you: YJ Wally GAVE HIMSELF HIS POWERS, but his comic version got them without effort! The Speedforce bestowed them on him without his involvement!

People, YJ!Wally is a goddamn genius prodigy. We forget it sometimes because of his early-on immaturity and his jokes, but seriously, Wally’s far and away one of the smartest people in the YJ universe. YJ Wally is a distinctively unique Flash character because of his wit and intelligence!

But guess what? Guess what the real cherry on top is? If they bring Wally back in the fourth season at a full speed, he’ll be the fastest and the wisest Flash. He’ll know how to apply his new powers in ways that the others would never think of. Because he’s spent so much time applying science to his abilities, he’ll know how to use his new powers in sync with it, whereas Bart and Barry won’t think on those levels.

Best of all, Wally’s the best team player. He’ll be incredible with both the original Team and anyone else he has to work with.

Think about it. A full-speed Flash with Wally’s technological brilliance, intelligence, observance, and teamwork skills? He’ll be unstoppable.

So please shut up about how YJ did Wally dirty. It’s a thousand times more interesting to watch him work out how to solve a problem rather than just solve it in a snap with his powers. If anything, YJ improved his character and made him better.

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wynsnerdyrambles · 4 years ago

Note

What do you think is the focal point of each breath? Like how thunder breathing seems to focus on speed, what are the focuses of the other known breaths? Love breathing seems to rely on the user's flexibility and insect breathing seems to rely on agility.

Oooohhhh the Breathing Techniques. I'm a sucker for sword stuff, and one of my favorite details in any story that makes prominent use of swords is the various forms of swordplay that exist in said world. So, of course the Breathing techniques in KNY were one of my favorite elements. So, we're gonna talk about them all.

Sun Breathing:

Sun Breathing, as the original form of the breathing techniques seemed a very logical place to start in our analysis of the focus points of each technique. Honestly though, Sun Breathing might be the easiest to identify. All other forms of breathing were derived from Sun Breathing, and as each of them focuses on more singular attributes, it would make sense that Sun Breathing is in general, a more holistic approach to swordplay. It relies on Yoriichi's Zen like state to function at its best, and is shown to feature a variety of techniques within its wheelhouse. It is the whole body, mind, and spirit, perfectly aligning into the sword strikes of someone in a Zen state.

Moon Breathing:

Moon Breathing is the only one of the original derivatives of Sun Breathing to not pass down into the repertoire of the Demon Slayer Corps in the form that we see it in, as it was only practiced by Michikatsu, who defected to the other side, becoming the demon Kokushibou. This one is a tricky one to pinpoint what's going on, as in the only form we see it in, the form has been tampered with so much by Kokushibou's Blood Demon Art so greatly, it shows very little resemblance to its former self. So, instead of analyzing the direct techniques to determine a focus, we'll instead take the thematic approach. Michikatsu was one of the first Demon Slayers to begin using Total Concentration Breathing after Yoriichi introduced it to them, and given the name of the style referencing the moon, which more dimly reflects the light of the sun, we can perhaps infer something along these lines: Moon Breathing requires much of the precise swordplay that Sun Breathing does, yet is lacking in the Zen that a true wielder of Sun Breathing must possess. It is a dimmer reflection of Sun Breathing's capabilities. In fact, given that there was some decay of the true forms of Sun Breathing as it was learned by the Kamado family, I would say that Michikatsu's original Moon Breathing might resemble the Hinokami Kagura.

Water Breathing:

Water Breathing seems to focus on the basics of swordplay, with a distinct emphasis on curved strikes and slashes. We know that Water Breathing is one of the more widely practiced styles in the Demon Slayer Corps as of the main story, with many different cultivators, as it is noted to be easy to learn. However, despite the relative ease of learning this style, I believe it is likely one of the more difficult styles to master, and I believe that the only true masters of the style that we observe in the story are Urokodaki and Tomioka, though I believe both Sabito and Makomo could have mastered the style had they lived.

Thunder Breathing:

Thunder Breathing emphasizes finishing off your opponent with a single strike, and because of this, places a heavy focus on both the art of drawing the sword, (Iaijutsu) and placing a lot of focus on the legs. (not me just barely realizing that Jigoro lost his leg, and therefore could no longer practice the forms effectively, hence his retirement). There is a lot of layering to the techniques of Thunder Breathing, as we know that mastery of the first form is key to mastery of all further forms. We also can see through Zenitsu that the first form is easily modifiable, accounting for both the sixfold, eightfold, and Godspeed variations, which I believe he developed himself, before using that base ground to develop the seventh form.

Stone Breathing:

Stone Breathing seems tailor made for intense physical strength and unconventional weapon choices. None of the five known forms of Stone Breathing seem like they would work at all for a traditional swordsman, and unlike many of the other forms, seem like they would require the user to be pretty physically powerful to pull off. So the focus here seems to be on pure physical power, alongside unique weapons.

Wind Breathing:

Wind Breathing is incredibly reminiscent of a real life sword style, namely Jigen Ryu. This style holds a high focus on high stances, as well as delivering an intense first strike, with teachings of the practice dictating that a second strike is not even to be considered. As far as things specific to Wind Breathing, the intensity and frequency of attacks should be noted. There seems to be a certain rough aggression to the style, and while that may merely be Sanemi's own personal take on the style, given we have no other sources, I would say that rough aggression is one of the focuses of the style, alongside its common ground with Jigen Ryu.

Flame Breathing:

Flame Breathing seems to focus on the energetic, passionate motion of a flame. However, that energy is channeled in a very precise manner, almost akin to the singular flicker of a candle's flame. Kyojuro's movements are energetic, but also incredibly precise. The movements are tight and controlled, but also have that passion and momentum of a fire burning. We see that the style must be incredibly precise by the way Kyojuro is able to use his sword just perfectly to deflect some of Akaza's punches, without damaging the blade at all. Flame breathing also features incredible variety in the types of strikes it employs, from the more straightforward slash of Unknowing Fire, to the almost defensive circular movement employed in Blooming Flame Undulation. Just like how a fire can be completely unpredictable, Flame Breathing seems to have a technique for every combat situation, rendering the user unpredictable in their own right.

Now we move on to the breathing styles that aren't directly derived from Sun Breathing.

Flower Breathing:

Flower Breathing was derived from Water Breathing at some point in the past long enough ago that a Sakura tree planted by the first wielder of the style is quite large in the main story. Flower Breathing places a heavy emphasis on observational skills, knowing your opponent, obvserving them and their environment to maximize chances of defeating them. Because of this focus on the gathering of information, Flower Breathing's techniques seem to be dual-purpose, serving as both methods of attack, and of evasion. The eyes are an important body focus for users of this style, as masters of the style tend to have very naturally good eyesight, as well as the final form, Equinoctial Vermillion Eye, raising the user's vision to such a high level that the world around them seems to move in slow motion.

Insect Breathing:

Insect Breathing is directly derived from Flower Breathing, and was the personal creation of Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira. This style is quite unique among the Breathing Forms, as it is the only 3rd tier derivation from Sun Breathing that we know of, as well as focusing on an entirely different style of fighting than any other style. Given Shinobu's inability to cut off a demon's head, she has a uniquely designed sword, tailor made for piercing movements, rather than the traditional slashing movements. Speed is huge here, as well as taking the evasion elements of Flower Breathing and cranking it up to 11. After all, Shinobu's unique sword likely deals with additional fragility concerns, given it's function is essentially as a giant sword-shaped syringe. So, if Shinobu can inject her foe as quickly as possible, without risking a prolonged fight risking her sword's durability, that would be an ideal focus point for her unique fighting style.

Serpent Breathing:

Yet another derivative of Water Breathing, this style also seems to be the personal creation of one of the Hashira, namely Iguro Obanai. Serpent Breathing takes the 'flow' elements of Water Breathing and makes them the emphasis of the style. Obanai's sword is unique in that it's unique, but even Gotouge (who loves telling us the reasons why trivial details are the way they are) hasn't given us a reason why Obanai wields this unique blade. The blade is most similar in structure to an Indonesian Kris Blade, although with a much larger size. While there is no confirmed correlation, it seems to me that this style of sword would be at the very least, the optimal blade for Serpent Breathing. Serpent Breathing also likely incorporates Kaburamaru's role as a seeing-eye snake, likely avoiding making strikes too close to the body so as to avoid any accidental beheadings, as well as forms with very instinctual cues. In fact, of the derivatives, Serpent Breathing seems to be the closest related to its inspiration, likely only optimizing Water Breathing's styles to work best for Obanai.

Sound Breathing:

Somehow, this style is related to Thunder Breathing, although the styles seem completely different. This style makes heavy use of Uzui's njinja background, taking elements of that fighting style, and integrating them with the more conventional needs of the Corps' general fighting style. Mimicking the disorienting nature of sound and noise, Uzui makes use of small grenades, as well as his unique nunchuck swords, which notably have much larger blades than most standard Nichirin swords. This style is explosive and bombastic, and relies heavily on Tengen's unique ability to read the flow of a battle like a sheet of music. This style is pure chaos incarnate, and focuses on bringing the best out of Tengen's ninja training, as well as explosions.

Beast Breathing:

A personal style invented by Inosuke Hashibira, Beast Breathing is a distant relative of Wind Breathing. Making use of Inosuke's two jagged katana, excellent flexibility, and animal instinct, this breathing style is all rough edges and agression just barely channeled. Inosuke's excellent, animal-like sense of environmental awareness allows him to go full ham on aggression without needing to put much thought into an ambush, while also rendering him able to directly pinpoint a target in a large, chaotic crowd. None of these forms seem possible with only one sword, so it is necessary for any pupil of Inosuke-sama's to become a dual wielder like himself.

Mist Breathing:

Mist Breathing is a derivative of Wind Breathing, but seems more polished, making use of well refined swordplay, and streamlining the rough edges so key to Wind Breathing's identity. This is all for a good reason of course, for like the mist it evokes, this style is all about obscuring your movements and intent with your blade. In order to pull off feints, and other deceptive ploys with a blade, intense skill must be required to shift into the intended form with giving very few cues. Mist Breathing appears to be quite difficult to master, as the only known user of the style, Muichiro Tokito, is a literal genius with the sword. Mastery of Deceptive techniques as well as a refined grasp of swordplay is the focus of this style.

Love Breathing:

The personal creation of Mitsuri Kanroji, Love Breathing is derived from Flame Breathing, which she learned during her study with Kyojuro Rengoku. This style is incredibly personal, and it would take a miracle for someone to recreate it, given the perfect storm of Mitsuri's skillset. It takes the basics of energetic momentum focused on in Flame Breathing and multiplies it with Mitsuri's own flexibility, strength, and unique sword. It can be inferred through the flexibility of her sword that energetic momentum combined with intense flexibility is the key to this style.

And that about wraps up the breathing forms. Much like many real life fighting styles, these forms are very complex, and difficult to pin down to a single focus element. By giving a more holistic analysis of each style, I hope I was able to give you a sense of the essences of these fighting styles.

#an excuse to research sword stuff #probably more in depth than the ask really needed #kimetsu no yaiba #total concentration breathing #nichirin sword #kny meta

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