#this has been in my drafts since August jfc

[thewizardingtoad]

Time, Chess, and the Tower of Magic

(novel: 29-35)

(manhwa: 44-45)

I just reread the scene in the novel, and I'm kind of obsessed with it, but also am in awe of how well it established the dynamic between Desir and Zod, something that I feel like the manhwa didn't really do, so, I'm doing a bit of comparing under the cut.

Also, if you like these characters in the manhwa, then you should 100% read at least these few chapters, because, as I said before, they are amazing.

So the manhwa starts us off with how Zod is an "odd fellow", he's always been that, and how he lead civilization into a new era of magic, he's achievements are endless, and is Desir's irreplaceable friend.

Now, in the novel, Desir says that Zod accepted his request because he was intrigued by it. (True) He says that Zod single-handedly renewed interest in magic.

(Also, fun-fact: someone wrote a book about all of his accomplishments, and it's thicker than most encyclopedias.)

(Also also, in the manhwa he looks like 40, in the novel that's 30)

The next scene plays out almost the same, except that we learn, in the novel, that Zod has an 'archaic feeling to his words'.

While in the manhwa he's all nice, and smiley etc. novel!Desir points out that until the North Sea's rules are mentioned, Zod's so impatient to get on with the match that it can almost be heard in his tone, which for this old man is VERY impatient.

And then of course Desir drops the bomb, that yeah, he wants to play the Rule set that originates from Zod's homeland and n!Desir immediately points out how much more relaxed Zod gets from hearing that.

The chess match starts, and in both mediums Zod's like, this kid is pretty good, but he's still just a kid, and "[He's] too hasty with [his] moves"

Desir, when he's on the verge of losing, makes the bet. It goes in the novel as it goes in the manhwa, except that a) Zod's like, 'I know that everything you did so far was to make this wager, and I hope you see how suspicious you are.' and b) At this Desir's just like, 'Wow, you're very interested, huh? Then I won't tell you until I win.'

And then the whole 'you play like a whole different person' thing happens in the manhwa, 'oh, well, I played against him in the future so of course I know how he plays', 'I've been the same person this entire time' etc. etc.

So. That does not happen in the novel.

What happens instead is we get the explanation as to why is Desir losing:

He's been playing with Zod for 6 years, yes,

However, this Zod plays differently than other Zod

In the future, his play style is more aggressive

Now he focuses on counter-play and he's more reserved

And Desir deduced this in the first few steps in their game, and been sacrificing pieces since then to analyze Zod's play style.

And also, yes, Desir did figure the greatest mage of all time out in what? 20 minutes?

And Desir might be losing, but because of the time limit Zod's going to make some stupid moves, which Desir deducted will happen, then he makes even worse moves, and the next thing Zod knows is that he got ripped to shreds in 3 minutes.

In the novel, Desir mentions that in the last minutes of the match, Zod's straight up panicking over how bad the situation has gotten for him.

Then, when Desir mentions the trade, Zod tries to calmly explain to him why that's not possible "You're asking to exchange a bar of gold for a peanut"

Desir of course doesn't budge and after a bit of "bartering" it's clear just how fed up with this "boy"'s bs Zod is and reading this scene after the manhwa is kind of shocking

Zod expressed disdain at the boy's choice. "I expected you to choose more wisely. You've rejected my offer, and I can't accept your deal. With that, the negotiations are over." The man rose to get up from his seat.

(...)

"So you think this is a fair deal." The Tower Master was audibly upset by Desir's words.

And I'm very sad that this scene in this form didn't make it to the manhwa, because while we see Zod being dismissive and uninterested in Desir's idea before he sees it to himself, we don't see him being, well, like this.

Prideful, kind of cocky, and straight up offended that a mere student would even dare to suggest that his idea worth as much as support from the Tower of Magic, upset to the point that Desir has to actively put out 'fires' during the conversation so that it can progress.

Which is a beautiful way of showing us how, yes, Desir does know this guy, he knows why he's upset he knows what to say to get him to calm down enough to listen and also how to say it.

What in the manhwa is essentially just 'Well if I show you that my idea is worth it then it will be fine, right? Let me show you then.' in the novel is Desir going on first about how of course what he's saying is outrageous, and Zod is right to be upset, but shouldn't Zod know that impossible things are sometimes real? And then he starts explaining how 20 years old Zod Exarion becoming the Tower Master was an impossible feat, or maybe, perhaps, even more impossible, a student defeating him in chess! Which happened just now, and That is when Zod tells him to show him his idea.

This scene alone reaffirms to the reader, that Desir doesn't just know Zod as a tactician, but as a person, he knows how to talk to him, he knows how to talk sense into him, and that Desir did this enough in the past that this comes like second nature to him.

Zod being stone headed and stuck to his ways until Desir reminds him that he's been just like this boy in the past is also one of the most Old Person Thing TM Zod does in the entire novel, showing and not just telling us that the G is not just for show in that GILF he is actually old.

After that the "reveal" scene plays out pretty similarly except that Zod gets a bit more info out of Desir, one of them is that he didn't necessarily discover the technic but he "knows of it", and Desir lets the reader know that the person who discovered it was in fact Zod, just 3 years into the labyrinth, and as he starts explaining the theory Zod catches up extremely quickly, actually taking over Desir's explanation of how resonance is better than the enchant method.

When Desir mentions that he has more ideas like this, Zod tells his secretary to cancel every plan he has until he says otherwise, which is a very entertaining turn of events in my opinion.

So to wrap it up, while I love how the manhwa did this scene, (this is probably my favorite two chapters from it) I'm kind of sad that most of the little tidbits of building up the relationship between Zod and Desir, that would be important later got lost in adaptation.

[where-is-francis]

Steve harrington x male reader fluff where steve is dating a flim nerd and they work together but in the breakroom they make out

𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩

𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙭 𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙚!𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

Before You Interact - Rules Of My Blog

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩: Clumsy beginnings can lead to happy endings. Even for a former-douchebag like Steve Harrington.

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙨: He/Him (fem aligned DNI, you have plenty of stuff)

𝙎𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚: Literally all fluff.

𝘼/𝙉: IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK AGES I NEVER CHECK MY DRAFTS AND I FORGOT JFC but I had this idea for meeting Steve for the first time (bc my first impressions are always awful) and decided I had to write it like this. So it’s not exactly like the request but still.

𝙏𝙒: Throwback to when Steve got drugged by the Russians, mentions of weed (he tries to convince you he doesn’t smoke/it was a one time thing), no use of Y/N, I think that’s it.

The mention of Steve Harrington’s name would’ve earned no reaction from you at one point. He wasn’t anybody special, just another name and face in the school hallway. You never really had any classes together, and the end of high school solidified the difference in interests. You’d be lying, however, if you said it didn’t surprise you to see the brunette sporting a gaudy sailor suit and taking employment at Starcourt.

It wasn’t unusual for you to be at the mall. You and a few friends would normally meet up to go see whatever was playing in the theater as an excuse to hang out. It was a mutually loved experience — though you’d lost count of how many popcorn kernel shells had gotten stuck in your teeth that summer. If you weren’t at the theater, you were probably at the video store. Your life revolved around movies.

Naturally, it wasn’t surprising that the theater was where Steve met you on a very specific night. But his first impression was anything but perfect. In actuality, you’d forgotten all about it until a few weeks after when he came in for his first shift during late August. It was surprising, to say the least — considering how Keith despised him — but the brunette seemed pretty happy to swap the ‘Ahoy!’ printed hat for an equally ugly green vest.

It was early on a Thursday when he had his first shift with you. In his mind, he had been dreading and simultaneously looking forward to the shift. It was inevitable that your schedules would line up, but it still seemed too soon. The most you’d seen of each other was in passing or payday, casual interactions that left the (taller/shorter) male silently thinking about you for the rest of the evening.

You dreaded the shift a bit as well. Not for any big reason, but Keith said Steve had a shitty taste in movies. And it would’ve broken your heart, just the tiniest bit, to see the look on his face when you shot down his trashy recommendation to fill the lobby.

Even for only being there a few weeks, he caught on quickly, but had to redo his work most of the time considering how clumsy he was when flirting — both verbally and literally. While attempting to woo a really nice brunette girl, his stack of returns fell and scattered along the floor. You watched, amused, as the two picked the tapes up.

She left without getting anything other than a laugh.

Steve glanced at one of the hanging clocks, squinting a bit to make out the time.

“Break time?”

Your (e/c) hues caught the time and you nodded, motioning towards the back room. Nobody was likely to come in, but you left the break room door propped open just in case. Steve walked over to the fridge and pulled out the leftover pasta you had stowed away. The beige walls and cheap folding furniture didn’t do much to add comfort to the room, but your smile definitely did. He moved slightly, giving you space to use the small microwave.

Since that night at the mall, something about you had the (taller/shorter) male hooked. He remembered knocking the drink into your chest and muttering apologies, before staring at you in his drugged haze. You weren’t mad and began laughing it off immediately, instead becoming concerned about the blood and bruises that hid his features. Something about the way those fluorescent lights in a multitude of colors made you look ethereal and otherworldly. He had never seen a guy like you.

With the pasta finished warming up, you made your way to the small table while Steve tried to hide how he looked at you. He grabbed a half-empty can of Pringles and moved to lean against the wall. The loud climactic score of Terminator rang through the empty lobby and provided ample ambience for you two.

Steve’s sneaker tapped anxiously in tune to the music, leaving him to figure out what to say.

“Hey, I just — wanted to apologize? For, like, when we first met and everything.”

You looked up and met his eyes. He was expecting a confused look or for you to be mad, but you rolled your eyes instead. “Oh please, don’t even worry about that.”

He took this as an invitation to pull up the chair across the table and offer you a chip — to which you declined — before he continued.

“You actually remember that?”

“Uh, how could I not? I was seeing Back To The Future on the Fourth of July and you ran into me so hard I spilled my Coke. Not to mention I’ve never seen anybody’s pupils so wide — what did you do that night?”

Steve groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose with embarrassment, but smiled underneath his palm. Something about the way his bushy brows furrowed was unexpectedly cute and endearing in your eyes.

Nobody could deny that Steve Harrington was attractive. No, he definitely was. But especially now — not being shadowed by Tommy or Carol or any of the other stuck-up assholes from school. Now he was best friends with an awkward band girl and gaggle of dorky freshman. He was different. Still handsome and confident, but more authentic.

Steve leaned back a bit in the folding chair. “Oh man. That was a trip, for sure. I had a, uh, special brownie after work and was going to meet somebody to see a movie. I definitely overdid it, though.”

A smile formed over your features as you leaned closer to keep the conversation quiet. Keith wasn’t supposed to come in, but if anybody found out about Steve and the brownie, the nerd would definitely use it to fire him.

“Holy shit. Did it kick in during the movie? Wait — what happened to your face? You were all… bloody and fucked up.”

The brunette laughed and tried to think of a convincing lie. You wouldn’t believe he was drugged by Russians, of course, but it wasn’t a good idea to blurt that out. He leaned back and stretched a bit, giving you a good view of his toned arms that perfectly filled out his striped shirt.

“It kicked in before the movie even started. But Billy had been messing with Max — stepsister, friends with Dustin — and I tried to get him to just go home. Needless to say, he wasn’t happy about it.”

“So you fought him again and lost?”

He somewhat faked offense. “Uh, no. I didn’t lose. For your information, he had a date and left. But I’m assuming you knew about the first time?”

Steve watched as you poked and prodded the lukewarm noodles in the Tupperware container. It was evident that you were enjoying the story, anybody could tell with how your eyes glinted mischievously in the humming light of the break room.

“Of course. Everybody knew. I mean, I always thought it was pretty cool how you watched out for Henderson and stuff. Even if it did mean getting your ass kicked.” You wiggled your eyebrows at him.

He couldn’t be mad. In all honesty, it made him giddy — the idea of you thinking he was cool or something. The titles and admiration from peers began to matter less and less since graduation, they were nothing more than grains of sand. You, however, were different. You didn’t have to try to be anything — it came naturally.

Steve’s eyes wandered over every detail of your appearance as you focused on the pasta. It was like he was back in the theater, staring wide eyed at some (h/c) haired God.

Though you couldn’t see it, you felt the warmth of his gaze. “You’re staring again, Harrington.”

A hint of red dusted over his freckled cheeks. In an attempt to avoid saying something stupid, he resorted to eating again. The silence wasn’t tense, but it wasn’t very comfortable either. You wanted to ask about that night at the mall, as well as why he still seemed to look at you like you were the most beautiful thing the world had to offer. At first, the mall situation could’ve been a fluke. He was high out of his mind — it would make perfect sense.

But now? He looked at you in the exact same way, nearly a year later, completely sober.

You rested your chin into the palm of your hand and met his gaze again. “I bet the movie was totally amazing in that state.”

Steve nodded and flashed you a grin. It reminded you of that night and how his smile still seemed perfect, even with his perfect white teeth contrasting greatly to the dried blood that had covered his face.

“It was… something, that’s for sure. Felt like my mind was just gonna—” he gestured and made a cheesy explosion noise, “—yannow?”

“And was that from the brownie, or the movie?”

The brunette laughed nervously and shifted in his seat. Your voice was enough to drive him insane in the best possible way; sweet, caring, but still teasing enough to keep him going. Robin had been telling him to just go for it — he didn’t want to get his hopes up at first, but she insisted her superpower was having ‘gaydar’. That, and you’d not so subtly flirted with a few guys that came into the store.

Unbeknownst to you, Steve’s heart picked up in pace like it was about to pop out of the confines of his chest. It almost beat in time to the ending credits of the long forgotten movie that played in the lobby, and left a rhythmic pulse going through his body. He shrugged a bit, trying — and failing — to stop the words before they could come out.

“It was the movie at first, but something changed. I just remember looking at the lights then I ran into you.”

You laughed. “You looked at me like a deer in the headlights. I was tempted to call an ambulance, if I’m being honest.”

“I don’t blame you. I feel like I stared for hours or something — you just looked really hot. I mean, besides being covered in Coke. Pretty sure I told Robin you were a Greek God, or an angel, or something. At first I thought it was just the drugs, but then I saw you again and just… it’s the same thing.” He rambled.

And there it was, out in the open, before he could even realize what he was doing. Steve’s motion came to a blunt pause while he registered what he just said aloud. The pace of his heartbeat picked up until its thumping was the only thing he could hear.

The words came out of his mouth so quickly, and clumsily, like they weren’t a combination of the most genuine thoughts and that anybody had ever had about you. It was like an earthquake had just spawned out of nowhere, and once the rumbling stopped, your mind was racing as fast as your heart.

Steve took the silence as a very polite rejection. Once his own earthquake settled, he would try and apologize — ask you to forget about it — and he, too, would try. Every word was genuine, but the timing was off. Even then, he didn’t want to look across the white plastic table and meet the disgust in your eyes.

It would’ve killed him.

You sat with Steve in the stillness for what felt like too long. When his pleading gaze finally met yours, clearly working out what to say, he was met with a smile. Red heat filled the high points of your cheeks and spread into a dusting at the tips of your ears; it wasn’t hot, just warm.

“Holy shit… that’s, like, the nicest thing anybody’s ever said about me. Do you mean it?” The words came out ever so breathy.

Just like that, the former king of Hawkins High let the rest of his composure slip. It was like being exposed for the first time in a while; he wasn’t some arrogant rich boy with his pick of the school. The boy in front of you was as clumsy as he was gorgeous.

“I mean, yeah.” A nervous laugh worked through his body. “This isn’t exactly how I pictured our first shift together — just so you know.”

You grinned at him from across the table. “Me either. But I wouldn’t change a thing.”

There was no rush, but the brunette still felt like he should say something. No words of substance circled his mind, however, so he sat in silence with you in the dull room. Everything about the (accidental) confession had him feeling giddy and like he would melt into a puddle at any moment. With your lunch finished, you put the lid back on and moved it out of the way. At the sound of the bell from the counter, you maneuvered out of the room, sending Steve one last smile before attending to the customer.

A few hours had passed until the moon replaced the sun in a navy blue sky. And though the confession wasn’t what he had planned, not in the slightest, Steve was just glad that you’d been willing to give him a chance. For the rest of the shift, he would inevitably try to think of a nice date for you two. Unfortunately, he didn’t know much of your other interests at the moment — would it be too cheesy to go to the movies? Hawkins wasn’t exactly known for its creative date spots.

Your not-so-secret admirer leaned on his elbows across the counter as you worked on shutting down the computers for the night. It was silent in the door, now filled with a bit of darkness, save for the clacking of keys and the slinky that Steve messed with. The computer screen finally dulled in color and fizzed a bit as it turned off. The brunette followed as you moved towards the door to lock up, trying desperately to figure out how to word things. He hovered beside you like a shadow while you spun the open sign around and tugged the door closed.

“Whatever you’re thinking, the answer is yes.” You eyed him carefully with a smug grin.

“Really?”

“Of course. On one condition, though.” Steve nodded a bit nervously as you began to trap him between your body and the window, “If it involves movies, I’m picking. You may be pretty, but your taste is… in need of work.”

He smiled again. The (taller/shorter) male moved his hand to yours, not quite holding it, just gently running a thumb over your lower knuckles. Such a small gesture, but one that had you weak in the knees again.

“I think I can live with that.”

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