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#why do I have to follow standards set by someone else
popcornucopia · 1 year
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Why can’t I girl the way I want
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si3nn4 · 4 months
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"He can't love. He doesn't know how to,"
people would say whenever Katsuki's name came up. The whispers were a constant background noise, painting a picture of someone who was cold and unfeeling.
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"He's cute, but it's too bad he's so bad at relationships."
"How do you know?"
"He never dates. He's so mean, but so attractive."
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Katsuki was undeniably gorgeous. His chiseled features, intense eyes, and confident stride drew attention wherever he went. Yet, his personality immediately scared off any new campus girl brave enough to confess to him. His reputation for sending girls off in tears and heartbreak followed him from high school to university. Now, he was deemed 'off-limits' because of his unapproachable demeanour.
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"What about that girl he always talks to, the one he drives around?"
"Oh, her? She's nice. Her and Katsuki are really close. Are they related?"
"I heard they're childhood friends."
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Despite all these rumors, there was you, the calmer of dangerous storms. You were well-known around campus, someone everyone wanted to be friends with if they hoped to be noticed.
Gorgeous, kind, smart—these were the words used to describe you. The complete opposite of Katsuki, your supposed friend. As the university students stood aside, watching in confusion and intrigue, they couldn't help but be captivated by the sight before them.
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Katsuki looked at you with such fondness, a stark contrast to the look of irritation he gave everyone else, even his best friend Kenji. When you smiled, his eyes softened, his posture relaxed, and a small smile graced his lips. The transformation was mesmerizing.
They watched in awe, but you knew the softness behind Katsuki's tough exterior. You understood the high standards he set for himself and how hard he could be on himself.
You knew the child within him, how he hated the thought of having bad breath and always carried a pack of mints just in case. You knew he was secretly a nerd who never broke his habit of studying for an hour before bed. You knew his dreams, his fears, and the gentleness that he rarely showed to anyone else.
You had watched him grow, and he had watched you grow. You held that privilege with care, knowing the vulnerability he exposed, all in trust of your care.
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Katsuki knows how to love. But why would he waste such time and energy on anyone else when he had you? Your presence was his anchor, the one person who saw him for who he truly was and loved him all the same. And in a world full of misunderstandings and misconceptions, that love was the most real thing he had ever known.
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Alright. I came across someone saying that Rick "put Jason in a pedestal" and "overhyped" him by emphasizing how good looking he is and that Jason shouldn't have been so attractive looking. (Tbf tho that person made it sound like they seemed more mad bc their least favourite character was considered good looking lol) but I'll yap about the significance here anyways. Beware of a very long yapping session below.
I do understand their frustration though, because jason getting told that he looks good all the time makes it seem very shallow and unfair to the others.
And let me tell you, Jason is SUPPOSED to be gorgeous looking in everyone's eyes. He is supposed to be conventionally handsome, Rick didn't intend for his looks to be "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder " or something like Percy's (like how Piper didn't find him as impressive) Percy's is supposed to be more authentic. Percy's character isnt centred in people idolizing him, everyone can acknowledge that he's handsome looking, but it isn't in a "perfect" type of way, he's a carefree spirit and that reflects on his looks. While Jason is hardwired as this ethereal looking hero in people's eyes that not even ONE can deny that he looks good, bc ppl in Rome had set him as the "standard". Jason said this before in the lost hero, that him being a son of Jupiter, makes him feel like the support he gets is only because his dad is a very regal and intimidating figure.
That's kind of the whole point, he's supposed to look like this perfect man who can do no wrong. His "Golden noble boy" arc is literally the whole concept of his character. Why else do you think rick wrote Aphrodite approving of Jason's looks saying that he needed no improvement (which she rarely does) ?
Because Jason is supposed to be put like a statue to admire and idolize, that's ALSO why rick made sure to add that Jason looks like a Roman sculpture, bc that's like a metaphor for his inner conflicts. The guy was put like an artifact for people to ogle at in camp Jupiter ever since he was a kid of 4. That's part of the tragedy.
Annabeth said it perfectly “Annabeth tried to hide it, but she still didn’t completely trust the guy. He acted too perfect - always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even looked too perfect. In the back of her mind, she had a nagging thought. What if this is a trick and he betrayed us?” Mark of Athena, page 6.
His mother, whom he's supposed to look like, is also a literal world wide tv actress. So you can't expect anything less either.
Also, Jason is supposed to mirror Percy. And let's be real. Rick put Percy in a VERY high pedestal looks wise, aswell, Not just Jason. And that's okay.
Rick made Hazel mistake Percy for a literal god because he was just that good looking (tbf, in a way, when I was younger, I found this to be a little bit of an exaggeration, bro was covered in mud and seaweed and was compared to a god, it was rlly funny to a 10 year old me 😭 yeah but don't mind this though, this was just a younger me jealous that I couldn't be as pretty as Percy was in mud lol) If Percy can be "hyped" up so "unrealistically" in that particular situation then so can Jason. They are both literal half gods, so unrealistic praise is very normal) and rick also made sure to emphasize that almost all the teen characters had a crush on Percy. So apparently that isn't called putting a character in a pedestal but Jason's is? They are BOTH put in pedestals, because they're both heroes.
Jason and Percy are supposed to be equals, so both of them being in the top two when it comes to looks makes SENSE. Because people are supposed to argue about who is better looking, since they're written as foils.
You cannot expect rick to make Percy look like a god and Jason look like a rat 😭 then there's no point of having them as parallels if one has the upper hand in something. Rick did a good job by conveying that they are BOTH attractive, but in different ways. That's why the Percy/Jason looks debate always have mixed answers.
Jason getting complimented by Aphrodite, the GODDESS of beauty, for his looks and her saying that he didn't have anything to "fix" in his face BC it already looks gorgeous = Percy getting compared to a gorgeous Roman god by hazel. They are both equal comparisons in slightly different tones.
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wardenparker · 3 months
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Congrats on your milestone! Can you do a Marcus Moreno w/ “I’ll protect you”?
Marcus Moreno. 4,451 words. "I'll protect you." Co-written with @absurdthirst
Mentions of a stalker/reader in danger. A sprinkling of yearning. Some referenced nudity. Co-workers to lovers.
We loved this one so much we're planning a follow up!
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Getting called into Ms. Granada's office was never a very comforting thing. Most of the time, missions would be announced in the Heroic conference room. Open to all, but this is a meeting that the leader of the Heroics program had taken special pains to keep quiet. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Marcus Moreno taps on the heavy steel door and waits for permission to enter, feeling the draw of the metal to his palms and licking his lips as he concentrates on not moving it by mistake.
"Come in." The call comes from the speaker above the door of the soundproof office, crackling slightly from the effect of Marcus's powers on the machinery.
Inside the office is the standard furniture -- the large desk and supportive chair for Ms. Granada faced by two armchairs for visitors. Or for those she has summoned. In this case the summoning is more accurate, and the figure that had been nervously perched in one of the two chairs shoots up at attention when the door opens.
You've only worked at Heroics HQ for just over two months. Your position as communications officer for the team of beloved superheroes isn't without its challenges, but the one you're facing now has set in quickly and -- to you -- was rather unexpected.
Marcus frowns slightly at the presence of someone else, unsure of your name, but he knows how you are. "You wanted to see me?" He asks, directing the question to the always elegantly poised Ms. Granada who is standing behind her desk in a vivid fuchsia suit.
He glances back at you again, noticing that you are nervous. Unable to be still as you stand facing him. What is your name? He knows it but he can't quite recall it right now. Even if he's seen you on tv for the press briefings more than a few times. Always impressed by how poised you are.
"Please sit." Granada motions to the empty chair when Marcus Moreno shuts the door and resumes her seat at her desk. "We have something of an issue on our hands, Marcus. And as the leader of the Heroics I would like your input."
"Okay...." it's rare that someone asks his input for press releases, so it can't be that. He sits down and looks between the two women, your name instantly coming to mind, and he relaxes slightly, not feeling foolish anymore. "What's going on?"
"Our new communications officer is receiving some very overt and unwanted attention." Ms. Granada shuffles a stack of suspicious letters in evidence sleeves on her desk before sliding them closer to Marcus. "And not the sort that we can easily brush off. Or identify."
You're shuffling anxiously in your seat, folding and unfolding your legs, picking at your cuticles and fingernails compulsively. "I--" You open your mouth to speak and your voice breaks. The first time you've ever betrayed any nerves in front of any of the Heroics team and you hate it. "I knew there were dangers when I took this job," you say, after clearing your throat. "I suppose I underestimated how quickly it could happen or exactly how I would feel about it."
Taking the pages, Marcus scans them. At first they seem to be filled with admiration and star-struck wonder. Frowning when he sees the shift to obsession and he lifts a brow when he reads about following you home. "A stalker?" He is slightly confused about why this would be something to bring to the Heroics attention rather than the police. Until the next sentence talks about powers. "A....villain stalker?" He huffs, looking back up at Ms. Granada. "Do we know who it could be?"
"We have a few ideas." She nods gravely, not willing to admit in front of your face that they don't really have any good ideas. "But they're escalating. And very quickly."
"I went home on my lunch hour today," you explain, fingers twisting around each other in your lap. "And my apartment had been broken into."
"Shit." Marcus's frown deepens and he looks back down at the pages again. "You obviously can't go back there." He knows that it had to be scary for you and even though he has nothing to do with any of this, he feels guilty. He feels responsible for everyone in this building in some capacity. He rocks his jaw for a moment and shakes his head. "She needs to go to the safe house." He tells Granada, not liking how quickly the messages devolve into the manic ramblings of a mad man. "She's obviously targeted."
"I completely agree." Granada nods, turning her head slightly to type something into her computer. "What I wanted your input with is who her protection should be."
"Tech-No would probably not be the best option." Marcus flips through the potential list of candidates in his mind. "He's working on some new gadget and would get distracted." He shrugs and looks over at you. "Would you be bored to tears to have Miracle Guy talk about himself for hours on end and probably have you take photos for his social media?"
"I can't imagine posting social media photos from inside a safe house is a good idea," you point out gently. Although Miracle Guy is nice enough, being in that close of quarters with him does sound...tedious at best.
From the small smirk at seems to tug at the other woman's lips, Ms. Granada wasn't asking Marcus for his assessment of the team, she was asking him to volunteer. "Missy is at her grandmother's." He volunteers. "Since school is out."
"Oh, I--I couldn't possibly--" It's not that you couldn't. It's that you have a massive crush on Marcus Moreno and you're going to be so fucking distracted being in close quarters with him. Not that you would ever think anything could happen. But you'll be thinking about it.
“Perfect.” Ms. Granada smiles, deciding the matter is settled. “I will have some clothing sent over to the safe house. And groceries.” She nods. “Use the underground tunnels to leave today.”
"Yes, ma'am." That's it. That's your dismissal. And you'll swallow your stupidity and just try your best not to think about being closed up in an intentionally private space with the handsomest man you've ever seen in real life.
Marcus stands and puts the letters back on the desk and turns to you with a reassuring smile. “Come on, we will need to get settled.”
"I'm sorry to pull you away," you murmur as the two of you exit Ms. Granada's office together. He has a family and responsibilities, and he is having to step away from those in order to look after you. It's...well, it's more than mildly embarrassing. If you weren't actually afraid you would feel positively humiliated.
“You don’t have anything to apologize for.” Marcus promises. “You’ve done nothing wrong. You don’t deserve to be afraid.” He guides you towards the hallway where his office is located. “Let me get my stuff and we can go.”
"I have a go bag in my office, too." Situations like this were not unheard of, after all, and you had been told by your predecessor to be prepared for anything. That included a go bag and having coffee and snacks in your office.
“Good girl.” Marcus opens the door and moves over to the locker where his Heroics tac vest and his bag are located.
That should not be sexy. That should absolutely not be so damn sexy. Studiously ignoring any sort of natural reaction to those words coming out of his mouth, you wait in his office for him to gather his things and shift awkwardly in place while his words play over and over in your head in spite of yourself.
Marcus zips up his back and turns back to you. “Let’s go your office.” He tells you.
"It's upstairs from you." He has never had to go to your office for anything before, being typically the best behaved of the Heroics, and you doubt he ever had to visit any of your predecessors either. "This way."
Marcus dutifully follows you, feeling more secure in the Heroics headquarters than he would on the street, but he still glances around. Making sure that nothing is out of place. The security has been breached before. His eyes dip down to your ass on the stairs and he feels guilty, remembering that you’re scared and vulnerable as he pulls his eyes back up to your back.
"This way." You murmur, turning down the second-floor east hallway to your office which glows cheerily in the morning sun. All those windows have been unnerving these last few weeks. You can't help wondering if you're being watched at work as well as at home. "I'll grab my things quickly." Your go bag is a carryon bag to make it look less conspicuous, because you often travel for work, and you grab your purse along with it but stop to tuck some snacks from your bottom desk drawer into your purse. Anxiety makes you snackish. "Okay. That's everything."
Marcus can see that you are scared and he reaches out to take your bag off your shoulder. “Don’t worry.” He flashes you a small grin. “You’ll be safe. I’ll protect you.”
As scared as you are, as shaky as your hands are when he comes close enough for the two of you to brush against each other, you can't help but believe him. "Thank you." Soft. Relieved. And entirely honest. The words are too little, but they're all you have right now.
“Come on.” He opens the door for you. “We will get to the safe house and you can tell me what snacks you shoved in your purse so we can make sure we’ve got more ordered.” He chuckles. “I’m more of a Shark Fin cookies man, myself. What about you?”
Biting your lip sheepishly, you reach into your purse and pull out a little blue pack of the frosted shortbread cookies that your niece and nephew got you hooked on. "My sister's kids went through a phase of eating only these and nothing else. And then of course they got sick of them and haven't touched them since. So the Costco crate of cookie packs that she had left went to me. I love these things."
.”Missy likes those.” He chuckles. “And I have to admit they are good dunked in a cup of coffee.” Getting you to open up and relax slightly is a good thing as he guides you towards the elevators that lead to the sub levels.
"Frosted cookies shaped like sharks," you laugh at the simplicity of it. Laughing is good. It's...better than a panic attack, anyway. "What's not to like?"
“Exactly.” The elevator is quick to arrive and completely enclosed. “We won’t be coming into the office until they track this guy down, but they will. Don’t worry.”
"I just..." The elevator door closes swiftly and Marcus pushes the button for one of the subterranean levels, which makes your stomach flip all over again and you tuck away the cookie packet. "I don't know what I did to make this person think the advances are welcome..."
“A lot of times….no one does anything.” Marcus admits. “It’s- whoever it is, they are ill. You are just the unfortunate person they fixated on.”
"Thank you." Two words and yet they're all you can really think to say in the moment of quiet the falls between you. "I know that this...this is your job. But I appreciate it. Really."
He hums as the door open to the parking garage and he pulls his keys out of the jacket he is wearing. “It might be my job, but it’s more than that. You are a part of our team. Our family.”
"Ya know." He opens the car door for you and you're momentarily flabbergasted, but this is Marcus Moreno. He's the closest thing to an actual Superman that the world has. "Most of the time when a workplace says that, it's a corporate bullshit way of saying that people bicker and talk behind each other's backs but smile to each other's faces. This is the first place I've ever worked where it means that people take care of each other."
“We have to.” He flashes you a grin. “The work can be soul crushing, the hours suck, there’s no personal life and the coffee in the breakroom is terrible. We have to take care of each other.”
He rounds the car and gets behind the wheel, and you find yourself actually laughing again. For the first time since all of this got serious you don't feel alone or isolated, and it's bolstering your mood. "We could just get better coffee, you know. It's not hard."
“Every time we do, Tech-No adds his “special ingredient”.” Marcus rolls his eyes. “Shit tastes like motor oil.”
"Don't let Tech-No near the coffee pot. And don't drink coffee if he has been." You nod sagely at the inherent advice. "Got it."
The tunnel for the secret Heroics exit is only used for emergencies and special circumstances, needing an access card to open the gate to its entrance. Everyone had that access who works in the building, but the record will be logged and kept tract of. The window slides down and he presses his badge against the pad to allow the steel door to swing open. The tunnel will let you out five miles from the gates surrounding the headquarters.
"Is it a long drive?" It doesn't make any sense to ask him where you're going. It doesn't matter where the destination is, you're going somewhere safe. But if you need to pick out some driving music it's best to know if this is a pop album kind of drive or more of an occasion for lengthy rock anthems.
“Only about twenty-five minutes away.” Marcus tells you, the florescent lights of the tunnel bouncing off the narrow road.
“So not long enough for an entire rock opera, got it.” When he sort of half raises an eyebrow at you plugging in your phone, you shrug. “I never drive anywhere without music. Do you have a favorite? Or something you hate?”
Marcus chuckles and shakes his head. “I haven’t gotten to pick the music since Missy was about four years old.” He admits. “It’s on whatever she left it on.”
"Well..." You're fiddling with your phone, making sure anything that could broadcast your location is shut off, and look over at him. "I don't have a ton of music on my phone without an internet connection, but I have enough. Should I just put it on shuffle?"
“Nothing wrong with being surprised by the next song.” He reaches down and hands you the cord to plug into the car. “Here you go.”
The effort to distract yourself seems so small and insignificant but the irony of "Oh mama, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law..." coming out over the car speakers makes you visibly fluster. "I...really like Styx," you laugh, shrugging sheepishly.
He nods. “Although the lyrics are a little ill timed.” He admits with a snort. “Hopefully this guy isn’t law enforcement.”
"I feel like it could be anyone." And that fact alone makes you feel a little helpless.
“We won’t let him get close to you.” Marcus promises, aware that you have to be feeling nervous about everyone right now. “Granada will have him figured out soon and we’ll make sure that he’s taken care of.”
He's probably right. That is her reputation anyway, and you're just going to have to put aside whatever stupid adolescent crush you have bubbling under the surface to survive a safe house with him. "The only thing for us to do now is wait, I guess."
“Waiting is probably the toughest thing out of all of this.” Marcus admits, glancing over at you. “We’ll have to keep you distracted.”
"I hope you have some ideas." A sort of half-disbelieving laugh huffs from your lips. "Because I don't suppose the safe house is going to have a closet full of board games or a spacious home library for us to pick through."
“It’s a regular house.” Marcus explains. “With upgraded, state of the art security.” He shrugs slightly. “I know that there’s tv and a large kitchen?”
"Well, that's something." After all, you'll have to eat. So at least you'll have time to cook, which you never have time for in your daily life anymore.
“I can have some books sent.” He offers. “When they deliver fresh groceries.”
"Is reading enough to keep you distracted, too?" It occurs to you, that despite finding him handsome and having noticed a few little quirks about Marcus Moreno around the office, that you don't really know that much about him.
“The last time I read a book?” Marcus chuckles. “I swear it was ‘Goodnight Moon’.” He admits. “It might be a refreshing change from the reports that make my eyes cross in boredom.”
“We could be an odd little two-person book club.” It’s a sweet, harmless thing to say but it makes you laugh with nervous embarrassment nonetheless. “If we like the same sorts of books, I mean.”
“You’ll have to give me tips on what’s good.” He hums, slowing down as he reaches the exit of the tunnel and prepares to scan his badge again for the exit to open. “Really? The last book I read was probably one of my late wife’s romance novels. She was a sucker for them.”
“You read her romances?” That surprises you, mostly because you don’t really think of men as being big consumers of the romance genre. Sure your best friend does, but you’ve always considered him to be the except that proves the rule.
“Yeah.” He might be a little embarrassed to admit that, but it seems like the kind of information that you might like. Or at least make you feel a little easier about being cooped up with him in a strange place for some undetermined time. “She had a lot of them. Always said that while it was female porn, if you wanted to know what women really wanted, read their romance novels.”
“She’s completely right.” You agree immediately. “Although, some of my favorites are both.” Why are you telling him this? You really don’t have any idea yet you can’t seem to stop yourself. “Romance and porn in one.”
He scans his badge and rolls the window up. “Those are my favorites too.” He huffs shamelessly. “For obviously single reasons.”
When he lost his wife it was front page news all over the country. The world even. Not even superpowers could stop cancer. But something in you tells you to stay positive for him, and not let him descend into grief when it isn’t necessary. “Do you like fantasy settings? Otherworldly creatures, faeries, magic, that sort of thing? Or maybe historical fiction?”
“Pirates.” He tosses you a grin. “Arrrrrgh. Always wanted to be one when I was younger.”
Pirates. It could be such a sweet, unassuming answer. Or it could mean he likes spicy romances with reverse harems. Both are equal plausible. “Then we’ll have to find you some pirate romances to read.”
He smirks slightly and wonders if you are just being nice to him in a difficult situation or if you have some idea of how that could be taken. “We will have to exchange notes as we read.”
“The world’s smallest book club.” It sounds charming when you say it this time, instead of slightly damning, and you manage a smile. “We can make it fun.”
Merging onto the roads is smooth and Marcus makes sure no one is following. “Just think of it as a book retreat.” He jokes.
******
It’s well past sunrise when his phone rings, but with the curtains drawn it’s hard to tell. Sleep has been deeper for the last several weeks, and days more relaxed despite the obviously very tense reason for being in a safe house.
Almost six weeks, but this morning it’s the sound of a phone call that wakes him, from a private number on a secure line.
Marcus gropes blindly for the phone, groaning as he shuffles and nearly drops it before he squints and taps the button to answer. “Moreno.” He rasps out, voice thick with sleep.
“Good morning.” Ms. Granada’s voice chirps down the line. “Sorry to have woken you, but I think you’ll be pleased to hear that you are safe to return to civilization as of this morning. The stalker has been apprehended and is being held without bail.”
“That’s good.” His eyes focus and he shifts slightly, sitting halfway up and talking quietly. “I- I’ll let her know.”
“I’m requiring you both to take a week to reacclimate yourselves.” Granada adds, almost as if she is tacking it on at the end of a thought. “You’ve been in isolation for six weeks. You need some time with your families and to breathe.”
“I’m sure that will be appreciated.” He clears his throat gently. “Thank you.” He ends the call and sets the phone back on the nightstand, deciding that he will talk to you about it later. He turns back and curls around you, thankful you had turned over when the phone rang.
“What was that?” You half mumbled, curling backward into his arms the moment you feel him turn over to wrap around you. Air conditioning keeps the house cool and you feel asleep naked and sweaty again last night so his warmth is the perfect defense against the chilly air of the safe house. “Delivery day early this week?”
“No.” Kissing the expanse of bare shoulder available to him, he hums softly. “We are free to leave the safe house.” He tells you quietly. “He’s been caught.”
Such a small, simple announcement makes you pause for a moment before rolling over in his arms, searching Marcus’s face for any trace of hesitation or concern. A trace that might telling you he isn’t telling you the whole truth. But there is no such trace — only his soft and loving eyes taking in your features with as much concern as you feel. “They…really?”
“Really.” He leans in and presses his lips softly to yours. “We are to take a week to get used to being around other people, see our families.”
“You must be thrilled to see Missy again.” It’s been far too long, and you feel guilty admitting that you would be just fine staying cooped up in this little house with him. It took only a week of being each other’s constant companions for you to fall into bed together, and since then a part of you has feared what will happen to this bond when your time together was arguably over.
“It’s been a long time.” He admits, although he’s talked to her on the comms like and video chatted with his teenage daughter. “Anything special you want to do?”
“I should check in with my sister, probably.” It was imperative to keep your whereabouts unknown, so while Granada had contacted your sister on your behalf, you haven’t seen or spoken to her in weeks. “She’s probably out of her mind by now. She was worried about me taking this job.”
“Yeah.” He bites his lip, hating how his first reaction to this is disappointment. He hates that he’s disappointed that the stalker has been arrested, that you won’t be sequestered here with him. “Do you-“ he stops himself, knowing that it’s selfish to ask.
“Do I…?” You prompt, nervous from the look on his face that he might prefer to end things here. As much as you might have dreamed during these last few weeks, the reality may be that he doesn’t want to change his daughter’s life in that way.
“Do you want to maybe….” He gives a one shoulder shrug and smiles self consciously. “Go out on a date? Let me take you to a restaurant?”
The concerned pinch of your eyebrows smooths instantly and you nearly laugh, but he looks so worried. Like he actually thinks you might say no. “A little old fashioned isn’t it?” You tease, wrapping one arm around his waist. “To ask a girl out more than a month after you start sleeping together.”
“Haven’t exactly had an opportunity to be a gentleman.” He snorts. “Missy knows.” He admits softly. “She told me that I would be a ‘bone head’ if I didn’t take you out.”
“Missy knows?” That’s news to you, and your eyebrows shoot up in response. You really hadn’t thought that he would have told her yet. If at all.
“Are you okay with that?” His brow furrows in concern, worried that he had overstepped.
“Of course I am.” You surge up to kiss him, soothing away any concern he might have. “I just…I know I told my sister about you but I guess I never really expected that you would have told Missy already.”
“I figured it would important to let her get used to the idea.” Marcus admits, but he chuckles. “She told me it was about time.”
“That practically sounds like a ringing endorsement.” In a way that makes your stomach flip and flutter downright girlishly.
“It is.” He chuckles in relief and his fingers start to stroke your stomach from where he is curled around you. “And I’m not exactly happy about the idea of not sleeping next to you.”
“We’ve gotten used to it, haven’t we?” It’s been constant. Practically every second — sleeping or waking — has been spent together like a honeymooning couple instead of people hiding out for safety. “I don’t like the idea of it either, if I’m honest.”
“We will have to figure out a way to make sure everyone is happy.” Marcus muses.
“Everyone?” When you raise an eyebrow at him this time it’s playful, although there is an admitted note of worry underneath. “Even your formidable mother?”
“Are you scared?” He teases, knowing that despite her age, Anita Moreno was well respected and slightly feared at Heroics Headquarters.
“Honestly?” You’d be insane not to be, and you pride yourself on doing your best to make sense of most things. “I’d have to be out of my mind not to be at least a little scared.”
“Don’t worry sweetheart.” Marcus smiles as he leans in and kisses you again, struck by how he had said these words six weeks ago, and now they have a far more intimate meaning. “I’ll protect you.”
______
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ms-demeanor · 11 months
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Hi there! Firstly, wanna say a huge thank you: your blog has inspired me to become more educated about cybersecurity and nutrition, and it’s the reason my brother and I now use Firefox! I came across this article and… it seemed to raise a lot of valid points about Mozilla, but I have no idea if they are true or not since I’m not that knowledgeable about tech, and they go against everything I’ve ever heard about Firefox. Wanted to ask if you wouldn’t mind giving it a quick read, if that’s not too much trouble, and explaining why it’s false/true? If you can, ofc, I realise that is a weird request, and I promise it&: not something I’d usually ask someone. I just thought I’d ask since you’re the only sort of ‘tech’ person I can think of whom I’d trust to know stuff about this. https://digdeeper.neocities.org/articles/mozilla
So this is a great example of someone reading a ToS uncharitably and extracting the most paranoid bullshit possible.
Aside from the absolute classic "oh noes they are storing info about what devices you use" (if you use firefox logged in mozilla will collect information about what device and OS you use to connect; they do this for a lot of reasons like figuring out what stuff the bulk of their users are using but also because *they can't display on your device without that data*) I want to zoom in on this as an example:
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BTW, there is one really funny thing inside the account ToS (MozArchive) that I just have to mention: "We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time for any reason, including [...] our provision of the Services to you is no longer commercially viable." The fuck? If you stop bringing them profit, you're gone. They really said that! To me, this is a roundabout admission that your data is being sold. And if it's not worth much (for whatever reason), then you get kicked out.
This person is highlighting the idea that they may cut you off from services if the provision of those services is no longer commercially viable. This author is saying "FIREFOX WILL BOOT YOU WHEN YOU STOP BEING A PROFITABLE LITTLE PAYPIG FOR THEM"
But. Okay. Let's go look at that section of the ToS:
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These Terms will continue to apply until ended by either you or Mozilla. You can choose to end them at any time for any reason by deleting your Mozilla account, discontinuing your use of the Services, and if applicable, unsubscribing from our emails. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time for any reason, including, but not limited to, if we reasonably believe: (i) you have violated these Terms, (ii) you create risk or possible legal exposure for us; or (iii) our provision of the Services to you is no longer commercially viable. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you by the email address associated with your Mozilla account or the next time you attempt to access the Services. In all such cases, these Terms shall terminate, including, without limitation, your license to use the Services, except that the following sections shall continue to apply: Indemnification, Disclaimer; Limitation of Liability, Miscellaneous.
Bud. This says "we are not obligated to provide services to you and we may stop providing services that cost us more money to maintain than is viable." This isn't about selling your data, this is about backwards compatibility and sunsetting projects. They don't have to keep providing access to services they're no longer developing nor bend over backwards to make sure that you can keep running a version of the browser that uses the extensions they dropped support for ten years ago.
Ugh. I got to the section where they talk about cucking for manifest3 and jesus this asshole. Manifest 3 is a defacto set of web standards that are changing because google has so much market share as a browser that if they do something everybody else has to follow or they're going to break basic functionality; if they don't make these changes eventually a shitload of websites just will not work on firefox. WAY more than currently experience this problem. Nobody is happy about manifest 3 and the fact that mozilla put out a press release about coming manifest 3 changes (that was not positive!) doesn't mean they're happy about getting dragged along by the nose; this blogger would prefer something like them refusing to adopt those standards, but all that would happen is that they'd lose more users because less shit would work on firefox browsers since people write their sites for chrome first and anything else second if at all.
This writer also gripes a lot about things like "mozilla took away this functionality for the sake of security and SURE you can change that by going into the configurations but it should be an option right in the first panel of the settings what are they really trying to hide???" and they're not trying to hide anything bud they're trying to make a functional browser with intuitive menus for people who aren't power users.
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Like they want to be able to do everything they want and they want to be able to see the option in front of them at all times. It's a weird combination of "I know how to configure everything about this browser" and "if a setting is ever hidden behind a readmore it's a dark pattern and is an attack on user privacy." Like they gripe a lot about privacy and then link to a bunch of pages on mozilla where they explain their privacy settings and link to tutorials on how to hide the data that they just explained they collect.
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Yeah this is someone I would walk away from in order to avoid getting into a fistfight.
"FOSS licenses are nice but they don't ensure quality" nobody said they did.
"FOSS licensed softwares don't always accept user participation in development" nobody said they did
"I can't change the actual code of firefox to remove things that I don't like don't tell me to fork it it has to be all or nothing mozilla specifically has to do what I want or it's user hostile" I can see why it would be hostile to you as a user fuck you dude this is why forks *exist* (also the "spyware" discussed is basic browser tracking stuff, the realistic necessities of how email work that make it not private by default like the PROTOCOLS are not private you can't get around that, and a lot of the stuff is opt out but improves functionality for day to day users, AND a lot of the tracking is specifically for people with logged-in accounts which are not necessary to use firefox like if you hate pocket don't use it my friend! I also hate pocket it is quite simple to never use it thanks)
"There's no justification for making the source code unavailable" my dude. https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/
"If they really cared about an open internet they'd work toward killing capitalism." Friend. I think there's very little more that a web browser could do to undermine the capitalist nature of huge chunks of the web and maintain a broad userbase than what firefox is doing.
I'm reminded of the time that I saw someone losing their shit about a linux distro that included chrome as *a* browser - not the default browser, but *a* browser.
It is an unpleasant fact that a lot of firefox's funding comes from google. That's part of why google is still the default search engine in Firefox and I read some similar articles decrying mozilla's residence firmly in Google's pocket a few years ago. I don't think there's anyone at mozilla who is genuinely pleased that their cheques are signed by google, but there are a ton of people at mozilla who are happy they can keep the lights on because getting paid by google means that they can do as much as they possibly can to create a functional browser that has a significant interest in privacy by default and that can be made *VERY* private by a dedicated user.
Anyway a lot of the stuff on this post is things like "a certificate expired five years ago and broke extensions and that means that mozilla is incompetent and hates users" or "eleven years ago there was a slapfight in the bug reporting forums between a user and a mod and the fact that the user was kicked after repeatedly being told his fix wasn't going to get made is censorship."
The big beefs at the center of this post are:
Mozilla collects data on users
Mozilla limits functionality that should be up to the users
Mozilla takes money from google
and my refutations are:
it does, and it is less than any other mainstream browser and is much much more transparent about what data is collected and how to prevent that data from being collected
A lot of the functionality they're discussing is still there and the stuff that isn't is allowing unsigned extensions which, dude, put a fork in it. They're not going to budge on unsigned extensions but the bar you have to clear to get signed is really really low; like this guy is LITERALLY saying "allow the installation of malicious extensions."
Yep. They do. This point reminds me of a lot of the people on tumblr who hate ads but also hate it when people pay for tumblr. As it turns out making things costs money, and making things used by millions of people costs *A LOT* of money.
I mean FFS one of the things this writer complains about is that Mozilla has a YouTube page.
This isn't just letting perfect be the enemy of good, it's letting perfect be the enemy of *functionally existing as a large organization in the modern world.*
Anyway, I'm glad you enjoy my blog, thank you for letting me know!
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It was only supposed to be a one-night stand (Part 1)
TW: suicide attempt, mentions of self harm, smut (kinda), yandere shenanigans
okay i mayyy have made this after like seeing a bunch of hot construction workers around my campus doing tinkering and shit and my saviour complex is also kinda flaring up too
and also this is my first ever cringefail yandere, he's not rich and he barely has connections and mans was suicidal
enjouy
Part 2
Everyone doesn't know why you didn't just block him, call the cops on him, or just... anything! You don't either.
This man has been following you around for months now. Leaving you flowers on your office desk, dropping parcels of gifts in front of your door, and visiting your workplace to give you boxes of freshly made takeout.
He's not much of a talker. Maybe it's because he can't exactly speak English well. But that was the only language he had ever spoken or written in before, as far as you know.
He's definitely intimidating everyone around you. Standing at an imposing height of what you think is 6'5, his back alone is usually enough to block the sun from your eyes. With his shaggy, brown hair covering his eyes, unkempt stubble covering his face and scruffy clothes; he usually wears an olive green shirt under his very worn chore jacket and a pair of shabby khaki pants. The man wears a pair of mildly tattered combat boots. He isn't ugly, perse, but he definitely isn't the standard of beauty in society. Your stalker has this rugged and disheveled vibe to him that some may like and most look down upon.
You think he's homeless, living in his beaten car and going to public gyms to shower. You've never seen him eating something he cooked himself, it's either he's eating something out of a styrofoam box, or a package good from convenience stores.
But he isn't unemployed. You know he is a construction worker, you caught him many times staring at you longingly as you hasten your pace, fleeing the soon-to-be shopping complex near your office. He was carrying a heavy set of wooden planks on his shoulder effortlessly, the stranger wiped his sweat using the back of his hand before adjusting his hard hat.
You didn't know that he worked in this field when you first met him. You always had a good heart... or at least a heart that simply cannot handle bystander guilt.
You were walking towards the subway one day, and it was late because you agreed to work overtime. The sky was pitch black, and the only thing that illuminated the path ahead was the lamps swarmed by millions of moths.
Entering the tunnel, there were only a few people around; either waiting for the train, for someone, or for a miracle. Regardless of what they're there for, they're all occupied in their own little world.
You were about to be immersed in the world of social media too, but your blasted phone died. So you're forced to stand in silence and become aware of your surroundings, nothing to numb yourself from the daily mundaneness.
And it was this awareness that led you to notice the man in the first place. You were guarded, taking a few steps away from him as he seemed extremely intoxicated. He was swaying and stumbling, in his calloused hand, held a brown glass bottle with liquid sloshing in it. The man was mumbling something, but it was too soft and incoherent for you to hear. He kept wiping his face using the back of his knuckles.
He, just like everyone else except you, is in his own personal hell too. He spared no attention for you or anything else except his own drunken stupor, so you deem it relatively safe to watch him from where you're standing. The stranger is your only source of entertainment at the moment anyway, the train is coming soon, so why not watch him for a bit more and laugh at him internally for being at his lowest? Certainly, it would never happen to you.
You were snapped out of your own thoughts when you saw him going dangerously close to the ledge, crossing over the yellow line. At the same time, the sounds of wind rushing and rumbling reached your ears, if he falls onto the rails, he will definitely be done for. You looked behind your shoulder and saw bright lights coming from one end of the tunnel, calculating that you only have a couple seconds to make your decision.
You shouted for his attention, catching it and a few others around you. He stared at you with bloodshot, glassy eyes. However, he lost his footing and was about to fall to his ultimate demise.
The adrenaline rush amplified by the roar of the train wheels made you propel your feet toward him. You stretched your arm, grabbed him by the back of his jacket, and yanked him out of the danger zone with all your might. It definitely wasn't easy to move this hunky mass at all, but you did. And you saved him just at the nick of time, as the train rushed by, blasting a gust of wind against the two of you.
You must have underestimated your strength because he was flung back at high speeds. He grabbed your arm by instinct, trying to re-balance himself, and brought you down to the grimy subway floor with him.
You groan as you rush to sit up, cradling the arm that made contact with the ground. Scowling at the stranger for pulling such a stupid stunt in his inebriated state, upset that now you had a few pairs of judging eyes on you. You froze when you saw his eyes though, a unique glimmer made its way to his dark irises. His mouth is slightly ajar, he is staring at you with such intense reverence and adoration which you mistake as a mere alcoholic's intoxicated stare.
You screeched when he suddenly emptied the contents of his stomach on your work blouse. Shouting angry curses at him as his head was slumped to the ground and his eyelids shut.
You got up and tried to swipe as much puke away from you as you ran to the train. The last you saw him that night was in an extremely pathetic state, unconscious in his own puddle of vomit, a bottle of booze rolling away from him. People either crossed over him or walked over his body, sparing a few glances of pity or contempt before boarding the train themselves.
You thought that you were never going to see him again, with that much alcohol in his system, you would be surprised that he could even remember his own name. And you couldn't be more wrong.
A few days after that, you were in the same station, taking the same train because your boss needed you to finish the report by that day. This time, you're exhausted. Not sleeping, eating or enjoying your hobbies puts a toll on your energy levels, what a surprise.
You were nodding off in the train, struggling to keep yourself awake.
Maybe if you let yourself doze off, you'll wake up just in time for your stop. And so, you did, you let yourself drift into slumberland.
It was a mistake.
You were harshly woken up with a torch shining in your eyes and a booming voice telling you that the both of you have to leave, as this is the last stop. Lifting your head from a headrest, which actually was someone's broad shoulder. But you didn't realize that.
You were still half asleep, groggily and hastily gathering your things, not registering that the employee was also referring to another person in your proximity.
You muttered a small good night to the staff before exiting the train, yawning and stretching. Smacking your lips as you realized that your briefcase wasn't with you, must've left it back on your seat. So you turned around and walked forwards, only to ram yourself onto what you thought was an oddly shaped pillar. Cussing under your breath as you stumbled backwards, rubbing your head.
You let out a shocked yelp when you realized that it's the man instead. You were about to say something to him but your eyes landed on his side; he was holding the suitcase for you.
You stammered a quick thank you as you snatched it away from him, picking up the pace as you walked away. Howeever, you heard footfalls behind you.
Looking over your shoulder, you saw him following closely behind.
Perhaps he is also looking for an exit, so you silently lead the way to the nearest opening. But as you walk, you start to wonder; did he purposely stayed on the train with you? If he had to go somewhere he would have gotten off by then, if this was his stop, he would have left before the lights went out.
Finally, having to breath in fresh air once you exit the dusty station, you turned to look at him. Trying to discern which way is he heading.
He isn't moving. The man stood next to your side, staring straight ahead. As if he's waiting for you to take another step. After a few more seconds of idling, he turned his gaze to you.
Understandably being creeped out by this, you told him not to follow you. He blinked a couple times before continuing to stare.
Sighing, you asked him if he is lost. And you got no response.
You asked him if he is stupid. And you got no response.
Not giving a shit anymore, you picked a direction and walked. It's a long walk home and there will not be any trains left until the sun rises. As expected, he followed you all the way.
He is useful in warding off midnight catcallers and other seedy individuals that hang around alleys and empty streets. Who wouldn't be wary of him? He looks like he could easily pick them up by the scruff and fling them to the rooftops. But that means he could do that to you too, and that isn't comforting to know at all.
You reached home after an hour and a half of walking. The man is still on your trail, crowding you around the door as you unlocked it. You opened the door and immediately slipped in, he tried entering as well but you slammed it against his face. He watches you lock and latch your door through the window, he placed his hand on the glass and clawed at it a bit. You simply drew the curtains shut, praying hard that he isn't going to be there by sunrise.
Your prayers wasn't answered because you decided to check up on him an hour later. You saw him laying on the porch with his eyes closed and that tugged at your heartstrings a bit.
Maybe it's the sleep deprivation that is lowering your inhibitions, or you're just lonely and he doesn't look half bad. It could also be the cold one you cracked open that's screwing up with your soberness. Either way, you would have given yourself shit for opening the door and letting him in your house while the world is still asleep. If you get murdered, at least you won't need to go to work next week.
It was a blur, you remembered bits and pieces of his hands roaming your bare back, his cock impaling into you as he sloppily kissed you from the jaw to your neck. How his rough fingers fondled your genitals and how you were gripping your bedsheets as if your life depended on it.
Bouncing on him while you shoved your tongue down his throat was fun, especially when he wrapped his hand around the back of your head, preventing you from escaping him. Feeling the pleasant pressure on you as he pinned you to the firm bed. It was kind of him to shield your head with his hand from hitting the bedframe while he plows you from behind, iron gripping your hips with the other.
You remember starting it, demanding that he gives you something in exchange for staying a night here, you remembered pulling him into a deep, passionate, drunken kiss before he has a foot into the living room. You didn't give a shit about knowing his name or if he had any STDs, you just need to release a lot of frustrations.
You woke up hungover, with you being the small spoon while he held you tightly in his strong arms. They were littered in old scars, some clearly self inflicted.
You turned your head to see that he's still asleep, soft snores escaping his lips. Annoying to some.
Squinting as you let the sharp rays of light stab your eyes, you saw that your clothes and his were strewn all over the bedroom, the door wide open with a stray shoe resting next to it's hinges.
You looked at the clock and realized that you're going to be late. Being the workaholic you are, you shook the stranger in your bed awake. He was groaning and quietly whining about not wanting to get up, but shuts up as soon as you hurled his clothes at his face.
He shot up and cowered behind his arms as you continued throwing his articles of clothing at him, telling him that he has to leave because you need to go to work.
While he's composing himself, you rush to the bathroom to take a quick shower, pretending the cold stream of water is washing away all your sins from the night before. You lather up some soap before scrubbing your skin, internally beating yourself up for your irresponsible choices.
A familiar pair of arms snaked around your torso as you're pulled back into a strong chest, a pair of lips decided to flutter smooches on your temple and ear. His hands explored your naked body, utilizing the suds and the water to give you that electrically tingling sensation.
Of course, this intrusion wasn't taken lightly. You screamed and kicked him out of the shower, telling him to leave your house. You caught a glimpse of his confused and crestfallen look in his eyes, paired with his dripping wet hair and sopping wet body.
You finished your business, threw on a set of fresh clothes and rushed out of the door. And definitely dragging him out of there with you too, not giving a crap that he was in the middle of wearing his shirt.
You ran as fast as you could, wanting to catch the next train. And so did he, he chased after you and squeezed himself into the carriage.
Everyone was also rushing to work, there were no seats left nor were there any standing spots. Shoulders were bumping shoulders and the shorter passengers were at an all time disadvantage. You couldn't reach the handles; but he could.
As the door closes, the man held you close to him and rested his free hand on the small of your back. To outsiders, you and him looked like a run of the mill couple having each other. They couldn't be more wrong, you don't even know a single thing about him.
You just endured it, having no choice but to stick next to him. He yawned and frowned, looking quite displeased that he was not in your bed. Well, that's his fault, no one forced him to follow you back home, and no one forced him to stick himself inside of you.
Among the busy chatter in the train, you and him stayed silent. Gradually feeling comfortable in each other's embrace.
You mumbled curses under your breath, he knows where you live and he is going to know where you work. Couldn't this year get any worse?
As soon as the doors open, you make a mad dash out of the station. Running as fast as you could, not caring who you had to shove to clear your way.
You never looked back, but you made sure to take as many detours as possible to mess with his direction if he somehow managed to catch up to you. But your lungs and your out-of-shape-office-worker legs can only take you so far, you reach a nearby tree in a park next to your building.
You panted as you scanned your surroundings, only seeing the elderly, children, athletic adults, and their pets. No sign of that man you slept with last night.
You took a couple more minutes to catch your breath, knowing fully that your boss would chew you up for being close to an hour late. Whatever, you're here now. Let's earn your salary.
So you walked, it's just a couple minutes away. Nothing else should go wrong today-
You had an incredulous look on your face when you saw him loitering at the entrance. Your colleagues glance him up and down, some admiring the way his muscles slightly stick out of his shirt, some wondering what an unkempt hunk like him is doing in front of such a corporate, sanitized venue.
There was no way to sneak past him, you just had to face him. It was... cute that his eyes lit up as soon as he saw you. So you sighed as you marched up to him, requesting him to leave you alone as politely as you could. There was an edge to your tone, he must either be oblivious to it or he's simply choosing to ignore the fact that you're unhappy with him here.
During mid-sentence, he presented you with a paper plate that had a hotdog on it. You were speechless, it had everything on it: ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles, mayonnaise, cheese, Jalapeño slices, onions, beef chili, and other heaps of things that you couldn't identify. With the number of toppings, you couldn't tell that it was a hotdog in the first place, it was just a mountain of random savory foodstuffs. Your eyes darted to his other hand, it also had a hotdog wrapped in a napkin, except his one only had relish.
"I didn't know what you liked..." He mumbled, voice so deep that you could feel the vibrations in your own chest. The man looked at you with hope, wanting you to accept the plate of everything as breakfast.
You shook your head and said you were late to work. Pushing him away from the door before entering the building, some of the topping amalgamations spilled onto his shirt. Probably staining it forever with its oil content.
He stood there with a frown, he craned his head downwards to stare at the spill.
Then, he looked back up to see that you were out of sight. His shoulders sagged as he placed his own hotdog on top of your plate of horrors.
The man walked away as he pulled out a plastic spoon that he tucked in his pocket, it was given to him by the vendor because it is impossible to eat your order with hands.
He began digging in, throwing one last glance at the main door behind him.
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barelylivingscholar · 5 months
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Arlecchino with a daughter tw: unhealthy family relationships, manipulation, and gore(?), suicidal thoughts, unstable/mentally ill daughter. Not for the faint of heart, heavy angst, a somewhat positive ending in the last part(?) (Do not read if uncomfortable)
An: I am backkkkk, second semester and last semester’s finals kept me busyyyyyy but I’m here again to post some stufffffff!! Not hsr related but like I also write for Genshin now, apparently… Will post a part two, I guess? “Father. When am I able to hang around with the others? I have done everything that you’ve asked for.” A young girl asked, to which “Father” responds with, “You need to focus on the task in hand. I still have many more missions for you to do before I set you free.” The girl sighed, knowing very well that she may as well never be able to be allowed to play with the other kids… For a moment, the girl had wished that she wasn’t the only one to deal with this kind of burden. The burden being, the “successor” of “Father.” She wanted to play with the other kids as well, but alas, her father does not permit her to do so. Instead, excuses are made, and the standard Fatui discipline is instilled in her mind, always have to act proper and professional, not allowed to shed a tear, or to feel strong feelings regardless of what the matters are. I hate it here. I do not wish to stay here any longer. Every day feels like I am only made to be the person that “Father” wishes me to be. I am never truly happy. I am sinking. Father was not  family. This whole thing is and always was, a lie. Do I ever get to be free? Perhaps I can set myself free. There is a way.  ̶T̶̶h̶̶e̶ ̶q̶̶u̶̶e̶̶s̶̶t̶̶i̶̶o̶̶n̶ ̶i̶̶s̶, ̶a̶̶m̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶̶i̶̶l̶̶l̶̶i̶̶n̶̶g̶ ̶t̶̶o̶ ̶d̶̶o̶ ̶i̶̶t̶? --- After burning the corpse of their enemies, I return to the House of the Hearth, albeit bloody and face that is smudged of dirt, the smell of blood and gasoline lingers around me. With every passing servant, caretakers, and also children as well, unsettled and left shaken up at the sight of me. I stained the carpets red. I wonder if “Father” would notice as the carpet is in the same shade of the blood of her enemies…? Will she punish me and discipline me? Although words are exchanged, no form of physical harm done, I am still left isolated.  Like I am to be a monster kept away from people… I feel caged.
This time, I didn’t bother to clean up and went straight ahead to father’s office. Where I know I’ll be punished for such a careless mistake. “Father, I have returned.” I greet, looking to see her eyes staring straight at me. For once I don’t cower. I simply walk up to her and wait for her response. I have no reason to be scared, right? I don’t think I care anymore. Father’s eyes narrowed. The sight of blood that wasn’t mine, the smell of gasoline, in her eyes, I may as well be the filthiest child in the house. One that is simply, uncouth for the position of “successor.” “Why have you not followed protocol? Especially contingency 8? Have I not taught you well?” Her voice sharp, dissatisfied with my performance. It must be a surprise for her that her “successor” had become disobedient. What is she going to do to me, I wonder? Dispose of me? Or would she find someone else who is to succeed her as the “Father” of the House of the Hearth. “I… I have no other excuses.” I was unable to control my voice. It was shaky, wavering. I hate it. Father’s eyes seemed to had harden. I am interested with what is going to be the left of me once this is all over. I look forward to it. I want her to snap at me. Kill me. Foul words for a child like me, but this is what I planned. Maybe it is best that I sleep in eternal slumber instead rather than live a life full of misery. I have nothing to be grateful here. I am not thankful that I am still alive today. “…You are hereby stripped of the title “successor.” You are no longer worthy of the title. I am disappointed.” Is that it? No severe punishments? My mind raced; I was unable to comprehend why had she punished me in a way that is so… Little? Had she gone soft? I do not remember anything that made her want to punish me lightly. Don’t I deserve… More? My brows had furrowed. “Father” did not miss that. “Daughter… Are you, upset?” Her voice sounded confusing, to me. Why do you suddenly care? I don’t understand you at all. I do not feel safe at all. Are you really “family?” “…I’m fine.” I say, my voice a little tight. Unshed tears on my face, I am no fool. I do not need your love.
“You are now excused.” Never had I ever left her office so quickly after that. I had to get away…! I need to get out of here… I breathed heavily as I ran and ran… Until there is nowhere to go. The heavy snow had engulfed me. And soon… I was unconscious. I awoke to an unfamiliar place. This is not the House of the Hearth. I quickly got up, ignoring the sudden rush of blood shooting up due to how fast I went up. I ignore the throbbing pain on my forehead, I focused on my surroundings instead. Where am I? This place is… Different. I jolted as I felt a hand on my shoulder, immediately backing off and grabbing a hidden dagger in my boot. “Stay there! I will stab you!” I hissed. Glaring at the mysterious figure. They looked… Kind. I am not supposed to feel that way. There are no kind people in this world. Everyone I know will always lie to me, manipulate me for their gain. Just like “Father.” Just like them…
The stranger had knelt down and attempted to soothe me. I only responded with aggression and threats. They weren’t phased at all. “Who are you? I am no ordinary orphan! I am a murderer!” I shouted, clearly agitated. The man in a familiar coat had not reacted violently at all. I am confused. And angry. “I am Pantalone. “Regrator” from the Fatui. I assume you are one of the Knave’s lost children…” My eyes widened at the statement. He is no ordinary man… I should’ve known, I gritted my teeth and gripped my dagger tight. “I am not her orphan! I am no longer a part of that… I could care less if you are a part of the Fatui, I will die gladly in vain if I have to fight for my freedom!” I hissed. The man is amused. I can tell by the look in his eyes. “I have a better proposal for you, child.” “Regrator” inquired. I had not chosen to back down even at the prospect of an offer. “What makes you think I will take it?” I replied, gripping the dagger tight. “I will not surrender you to the Knave. Rather, I’ll take you in as my disciple.”
Disciple? Is this man sick in the head? Why would I agree to that? It seems “Regrator” had heard my thoughts, and so, he added, “Although, it is up to you if you would rather be surrendered back to the Knave… Or join me and I’ll give you a much better purpose, in life… Not that you have any choice on the matter if you decline my offer…” I had no sense of purpose to live for. I am merely an empty shell of what I was once. I have nothing to achieve… In the end, I don't have what it takes to truly end my life. So I will follow my new superior. “Fine. But don’t expect me to be easily obedient. I am rather mad.” And it was the start of something anew…  I had become, “Regrator’s disciple.” I wonder how “Knave” will react to such arrangements… An: Part two will include Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet. There will be other characters who will be included as well but, part one's story was set before Lyney became the sucessor of the House of the Hearth. I am thinking of interesting ideas to write for this story and some alternate routes as well... We'll see once I whip up part two.
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jensettermandu · 8 months
Text
maneater - lalisa manoban
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
genre; smut
pairing; g!p lisa x female reader
content; fingering, slight edging, semi public (they have sex in a public bathroom), p in v :D, idk i don't think i missed anything
wc; 6.7k+
masterlist
Expensive cars, luxury brands, trips worldwide, houses on every continent, and events for the elites. 
These were just some of the things in Lisa’s life. 
A long line of generational wealth. 
Sitting at a charity dinner wasn’t unusual for her despite only being 23. She was next in line to take over her family business once she would be suitable enough to do so. Those were years yet to come–five maybe seven before she would get to even touch that power. 
Of course, it all came with rival companies worth multiple billions who would always stand in the way, steal deals, and be competitive.
The ballroom was filled with chatter as everyone conversed and even if it was charity, for most it was just a chance for new business. She wasn’t invited as a plus one anymore but got her invites because her name would be important in the future. That was why she was sitting at another table, far from her father. 
Eight different people sat at the round table. 
There were so many different tables and close to 300 people at the charity. 
Out of all the seven different people she could have been seated with, right beside her was the 21-year-old Zhou Y/n who came from an even bigger line of generational wealth after being part of an old Chinese dynasty. 
The only heir of one of the biggest oil companies from a conservative family from China. 
Conservative media-wise until Y/n came along. 
The last headline Lisa could remember was the girl getting a DUI and she knew that there was so much more but her family covered every little trace, but driving a car into a pole right before the media would be hard to cover. 
Where Y/n went chaos followed.
What Lisa couldn’t phantom was how someone like her was set to start working by her father’s side in just four more years. Takeover in a couple more. Quicker than Lisa.
Smart. Y/n was incredibly smart despite everything else. 
She somehow balanced chaos and intelligence. 
Aside from that the girl was the daughter of Lisa’s father’s biggest competitor, arch-rival at this point as there was nothing but bad blood which automatically put a wall between her and Y/n. 
She hated the entitled and spoiled brat beside her, she was born to hate her and she would do so to carry on the legacy of hate as Y/n hated her just as much.
The only difference was that Y/n had a different approach to hatred. 
She made sure to make Lisa’s life miserable every time she had the chance while Lisa tried to hate her from her corner and not cause any trouble. 
It wasn’t like they saw each other often. 
Y/n was studying in a different state.
She knew these things because she simply did, it wasn’t like Y/n had somehow caught Lisa’s interest after she grew some boobs. Definitely not. 
Lisa had tried to keep her conversations going with the other five people at the table because the sixth was already being in Y/n’s trance which was Kim Jisoo. There didn’t seem to be a single person to fall for it.
Aside from that the rest of the table was filled with men and women in their early to late 40s.
However, she had found herself glancing over at the two girls now and then. Unfortunately for Lisa, the girl who smelled of sweet floral heaven beside her was sexy. Y/n was the definition of sex appeal. 
Everyone had something they liked, and Lisa liked women who were of the standard that Y/n was. Not many were but whatever was close enough. Now one that was of the highest standard was right beside her. One that was off limits to her which only made it that much more cravable.
Her glances had been subtle, only pretending to look around to maybe catch the girl’s exposed clavicles in the black dress and some of the cleavage. Or she would fix her chair to try and catch her legs in the black sheer tights. The way she would flip her hair back gently and only expose herself more all while having a conversation with Kim Jisoo who was just as lost in Y/n as Lisa was. 
Y/n was a big and seductive flirt is what Lisa had caught on to. 
She always led men and sometimes women on at these parties for fun. 
She had seen it herself and she had run into these victims who would ask Lisa if she had seen the girl who she would prior see leave the place with that resting bitch face.
Lisa had never fallen victim to Y/n’s misleading that she did for entertainment. These events could get boring at times. 
Although, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to fall victim either. 
Whatever subtle glances Lisa had thought she had gotten away with had all been obvious to the soul-sucking vampire beside her as she left everyone heartbroken with her games. 
Lisa jumped in her seat, getting startled in the middle of her conversation with the woman who was sitting on her left. She quickly put down the glass with champagne to not spill anything on her clothes after whatever brushed along her leg had made her flinch at how sudden it was. 
“I’m sorry, what was it that you said?” She apologised to the woman and leaned somewhat closer to hear her better, trying to play it off as if she hadn’t heard her. Lisa continued to listen to the woman, brushing it off as an accident despite the only possible culprit being the woman who had a husband beside her or the siren on her right. 
Whoever it was it had to be an accident–
Just a few seconds after she felt it right again but it startled her less. Lisa cleared her throat and leaned back in her chair, nodding to what the woman had said. She subtly glanced under the table and it had to be Y/n who was sitting with her right leg crossed over her left. 
Accident.
When she looked over at Y/n she was showing off that perfect smile to the man who sat across from her and Jisoo. 
She let out a sigh and reached for her champagne glass. It would get overwhelming way too quickly otherwise. The woman would have been able to take that sip of expensive bubbles if it hadn’t been for the foot that ran right up her shin and she forcefully gulped it down. The thin glass almost slipped from her hold and she placed it right back down. 
Just as Lisa turned to not glance at the entitled girl but actually look at her, the woman felt a heat run over her spine in the worst way possible considering this was Y/n. She did not need these reactions because of her.
“I’m so sorry–” Y/n apologised, her body was now turned to Lisa who widened her eyes as the vixen had placed her slender hand right on Lisa’s thigh to show her concern. “It’s just so tight here and I tried to make myself more comfortable, didn’t mean to startle you, Lisa.” Lisa clenched her jaw at the teasing in Y/n’s tone as the girl’s eyes were playing an innocent and apologetic look which was far from what her lips were releasing. 
Lisa huffed from her nose, nostrils flaring as the hand clasped on her thigh was warm and firm with the grip. “It’s fine.” Y/n gave her a smile at that, Lisa’s whole body tensing up at the squeeze she gave her before she let go. Her eyes watched Y/n for a few more seconds, seeing that glint in her eyes and smile that meant no good. 
“Mrs. Park, I have no idea how I missed you,” Y/n exclaimed and Lisa leaned back into her chair. The scent of the vixen was strong and it was running ideas in Lisa’s head from the sexual appeal it drove further. She was invading Lisa’s space on purpose, her hand holding onto the back of the woman’s chair, her modest chest just a mere inch from touching Lisa’s arm.
It left her trapped. 
“Oh God no, me and Chaeyoung have been studying day and night.” Lisa scoffed under her breath at the words she knew were lies. Her guy and girlfriends were obsessed with observing what the elite beside her was up to. It all included wild parties with booze that could fill pools. Her little group of friends were all taking part in it so Chaeyoung wasn’t studying day and night. 
Y/n hummed to what Mrs Park said while Lisa toyed with the knife on the table to not interrupt them by trying to talk with someone else. “Is that so?” Y/n questioned and Lisa was dying in her chair at the hand that moved from the backrest of the chair and onto her shoulder, the foot right back to brushing against her leg–it wasn’t even slightly subtle the way it went higher and higher up, dragging up her slacks before letting them fall back down. 
Lisa was trying to find a reason to excuse herself as she was starting to get overwhelmed by Y/n. All while trying not to do any abrupt movements. The girl was all over her and out of all the times now was the time she had no control over her cock that was starting to react to someone she despised. She cursed Y/n for her good genes. 
Her eyes trailed along her bare skin, hair in waves and falling over her shoulders, but Y/n moved it with her other hand. All that hair went from her left side and onto the right, it only showed off her smooth and slim body more to Lisa. The dress was accentuating her small chest, pushing her breasts together and Lisa moved her brown eyes up at her sharp collarbones, a diamond pendant resting between them. Her neck was slim and perfect and Lisa was growing harder the longer she looked at Y/n. 
“Oh this, ring?” There was a drop of mischievousness in her tone.
Lisa found out why it was there right away. 
Y/n’s hand ran down her shoulder and along her arm, until her left hand was planted right by her crotch, thumb merely brushing over the forming bulge as she leaned forward and stretched out her right hand that Mrs Park grabbed to look at the diamond ring. 
“Daddy bought it for my 21st birthday.” She happily replied, adding more pressure on Lisa’s thigh who was growing into a mess. 
“Excuse me.” Lisa excused herself, the chair dragged along the flooring louder than necessary and Y/n sat right back when she broke the contact between her and Mrs Park. Ultimately removing Y/n from herself before she disappeared. The girl excused herself from her conversation with the older woman before she looked at the one beside her.
“See, it doesn’t matter if they hate me, Jisoo…No one can resist my appeal.” Y/n said with a giggle and bit her lower lip as she looked back at Jisoo. “I won the bet, so…The number please.” The girl took her designer clutch purse and reached for her phone while Jisoo clicked her tongue.
“Do I have to give it to you?” Jisoo asked to make sure as the bet was her cousin’s number and the last thing she wanted was for Y/n to seduce poor Jennie too. 
“A deal is a deal.” She handed over her phone and leaned back into her seat before looking over her shoulder where Lisa had disappeared. Winning the bet she had made with the girl beside her. 
“I thought Lisa would be better than this.” Jisoo sighed and handed the girl her phone back, only hoping that Jennie wouldn’t be as stupid as Lisa and she had been. 
The bet?
Seduce Lisa and get Jennie’s number. 
Don’t succeed within five minutes, Jisoo gets Y/n’s number. 
God, Jisoo was pissed that she had to give her cousin's number to Y/n when she wanted it. She thought it would be an easy bet to win as she knew about the rivalry between the two families and how that created a feud between the heirs. It didn’t seem to matter as Y/n could get anyone to crumble before her. 
She watched Y/n who put the phone away and gently slid her chair back before excusing herself to leave as she stood up. “Where’re you going?” Jisoo asked and grabbed hold of her wrist. Not wanting the girl to leave her company.
Y/n gave her a little smile. “Finish what I started?” She said and Jisoo gave her a look. 
“What? She’s hot compared to the rest. Don’t be jealous.” Y/n defended and slipped out of Jisoo’s grip as she usually just left everyone right after, but Lisa was hot even if they were meant to despise each other. 
Jisoo sighed and leaned back in her seat as she watched Y/n walk away, realising that she had been played with just as much as Lisa tonight. The only difference was that Lisa got lucky this time and Jisoo didn’t.
Lisa unlocked the door after spending a good minute trying to tuck her erection right to hide it. She was both pissed at herself and even more pissed at Y/n while trying to grasp how she let the girl affect her. It just so happened that the girl she despised was utterly attractive. 
The woman pushed the door open while finishing to buckle her belt, but looked up at the voice.
“Everything alright, Lisa?” The voice came out angelic, with so much worry, concern, and innocence that Lisa would have almost believed it if it hadn’t been for the person behind that voice. Her eyes landed on Y/n who was sitting on top of the marble counter, one leg crossed over the other while leaning back against her palms. She did not look concerned, worried, innocent or angelic. 
She looked like the sexy she-devil herself.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” She tried to play it off because her ego was too big to feed into Y/n’s and admit that she had caused her an erection. Never. The woman could feel the siren eyes following her as she walked over to the black marble countertop and turned on the faucet to wash her hands. 
“Are you sure? You just ran off all flustered.” She hummed at that, keeping her gaze on her hands and avoiding looking at Y/n at all costs. 
Y/n watched how Lisa swallowed, her eyes trailing further down where she had done a poor job hiding her erection. With her lower lip trapped between her teeth, she leaned forward, gripping the edge of the countertop with her hands before letting go with one and reaching over to Lisa.
“Do you hate me, Lisa?” She mumbled, fingers dancing around Lisa’s shoulder who stopped washing her hands. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Y/n who was already looking back at her, grey eyes staring deep into hers, hypnotising her, distracting her fully from the haughty little smirk she was sporting. 
“What’s there to like?” Lisa asked back with a scoff, unflatteringly drying her hands on her slacks. Her eyes were hard yet still exploring whatever she could with them as Y/n was extremely close now.  
“There’s only so little you can see, but so much more to explore.” The words caught her off guard and she grabbed hold of the wandering hand that was running down her bicep. Lisa dropped Y/n’s slender hand and licked her lips as they stood in the empty restroom that was lit by a golden-like yellow, with black marble, accentuated by gold. Their bodies reflected in the big mirror that was on the wall and a second-long silence fell upon them. Lisa's dick twitched at those stupid words she was falling for because there was no way Y/n was offering herself to her. She probably wanted to make a fool out of Lisa for even thinking about it.
“I’m not falling for your games, Y/n.” Y/n smiled at that with a hum and Lisa took it as her queue to leave. 
She was stopped though, her eyes snapped up at Y/n with confusion. The girl stretched her long leg out and blocked the way. It sent a shiver over her whole body when her calf brushed over her hard cock and she stepped back when Y/n pushed more into it.
“Help me down? Wouldn’t want to break a heel.” With a deep inhale Lisa decided to assist the girl after she pointed with her head towards the black heels she had on. Her lips were pursed and she looked in the mirror behind Y/n instead while she gripped her waist and the girl held onto the lapels of her blazer. She was light as a feather as Lisa lifted the slim figure off of the counter.
Y/n giggled as she purposely lost balance and her hands grabbed hold of the hem of Lisa’s pants. Her body pressed into Lisa’s who strained a groan when her dick got rubbed at by accident and she angrily looked down at Y/n who looked as amused as ever. 
“Y/n.” She warned and pushed the girl up by her waist who was taller than her with heels on and without them she was just an inch taller. 
“Yes?” The vixen questioned, fingers teasing and hooking around the hem of Lisa’s pants. Looking at her through her lashes and still sporting that faux innocence that always got her out of trouble. The poor girl could cause no harm, could she? Not when she was playing a kitten that was kicked to the curb and standing in the pouring rain.
“Stop.” Lisa would only give her one last warning and then she knew that she would snap because of how sexually frustrated she was. 
“Or what?” Y/n challenged. 
“Or you will regret it.” She earned a breathless chuckle that fell from Y/n’s plump and glossy lips.
“I don’t think I will.” There was that deeper tone back, the one that was like a melody of sex and drew Lisa in further. Y/n’s normal voice and not the sweet one she did to play along in her games. That innocence washed away and everything Lisa should repent when it came to Y/n coming to light. Things that made her cock strain.
Lisa almost got lightheaded when a sneaky hand cupped her, squeezing at her erection enough to elicit a moan from the back of her throat. 
Y/n feigned a gasp, knowing very well what was coming when she got pinned against the counter. Her hands gripped Lisa’s blazer and she pulled her even closer to her while the older woman grabbed hold of her hips. Lisa’s eyes were hard on her as she stood pressed against the girl, staring her down while watching the way Y/n bit her lower lip to try and contain the haughty smirk that still broke out on her plump and glossy lips. 
“Do you always get what you want?” Lisa questioned, watching how Y/n ran her one hand down along her upper body, and down her stomach. The touch was slowly sending Lisa into a frenzy as she couldn’t deny the fact that Y/n was gorgeous and that many would pay to even be in this place that Lisa was, if not kill for it. 
This was the daughter of the elite of elites which meant that she stood above all too. 
“I’m daddy’s girl so yes.” 
And Y/n got what she wanted once again when she cupped Lisa through her pants, the woman groaning and muffling it by pressing her lips against Y/n’s. The older used her strength to raise Y/n back onto the counter, making her wrap her legs around Lisa’s waist and pulling her into her. Her grip tightened on Y/n’s slim waist while her other hand tangled in the silky hair at the back of the girl’s head, tilting her head and pushing her tongue between Y/n’s parted lips. 
The girl welcomed her into her mouth, swallowing Lisa’s tongue and sucking on it while her hands tugged onto the belt, blindly trying to unbuckle it. 
“God, you’re so eager,” Lisa grumbled after slowly pulling away with Y/n’s bottom lips between hers as she tugged on it before letting go. 
“I don’t have the whole night to waste on you.” Lisa could strangle the girl who knew how highly she stood above all. Lisa would always be a waste of time unless she would show her that she wasn’t. She was sure the girl had had her fair share of fun and that it would be hard to be the best, but Lisa always liked to prove herself. Her lips trailed Y/n’s smooth skin who tilted her head back, leaving her slim neck to be kissed along. 
“Waste?” Lisa questioned. Her words were a whisper in Y/n’s ear as she was right by her pulse point. Her tongue came out and the belt was undone, licking at the skin, being able to feel it pulse against her slick muscle before she wrapped her lips around the skin. It elicited a light sigh from Y/n who unzipped Lisa’s pants after undoing the button on them. 
“Unless you manage to impress me.” Y/n teased, teeth tugging Lisa’s ear who shivered at the gesture. Her hand came down from the back of her head to the back of her neck and she pulled Y/n away, making her look her in the eye. “Pretty eyes won’t work on me though.” Y/n continued, hand coming up to cup Lisa’s face, thumb running over her wet lips and tugging it down as she pulled her face closer to her. The two were a few mere inches away.
Anyone walking in and they both would be in trouble. 
Lisa would be in deep mud and her father’s business included if Y/n’s father found out that Lalisa Manoban had touched his princess. That the daughter of his biggest rival had touched his daughter. Lalisa Manoban would be dickless for the rest of her life. 
Too bad his daughter never followed the rules and was spoiled rotten.
Her thumb ran down to the woman’s chin and Lisa attached her lips right back onto Y/n’s. With that, her hands ran to the hem of the dress and she started to pull it up, bunching up its expensive material at the girl’s waist. Y/n’s fingers fiddled with the hem of the briefs, slowly inching inside them until her slender fingers wrapped around Lisa’s scalding cock that was warm and heavy in her hand. 
The small whimpers were muffled by Y/n’s mouth as the girl squeezed the length in her hand, stroking up and gathering precum that she smeared down the hard cock. It was followed by two thuds as she slipped off the designer heels to get off the sheer tights–Lisa had other plans. The material ripped when Lisa ran her hands between the girl’s thighs, tearing the thin black material apart.
“Not impressive,” Y/n mumbled as she pulled away from Lisa’s lips, the woman trying to chase for them but stopping at the way her tip got squeezed. The girl caught the way her eyelids almost fell closed and a moan pushed from the back of her throat. 
“Not everyone is here to please you.” Lisa rasped, gripping Y/n’s thigh and squeezing it in her hold while running the fingers of her other hand along the girl’s inner thigh. She could feel how she fought the way she wanted to close them at the teasing. It tugged at the corners of Lisa’s lips as the two stared at each other, Y/n slowly working the length in her hand while Lisa’s fingers brushed over the lace material. It worked a barely there sigh from the siren, Lisa being able to feel the slick slowly seep through the material of her underwear.
“Or maybe you just don’t know how to please me?” Y/n fueled a fire that grew in Lisa who slowly pushed the lace aside, her hips barely staying still as Y/n hadn’t stopped stroking her cock. The girl was making it hard for Lisa to stay nonchalant about this, making it hard to make it seem as if she wasn’t trying to impress her.
The girl caught how Lisa’s eyebrow twitched, fighting the dilemma she was in, but dismissed it for now. Her eyes focused on Y/n’s face when she ran her fingers through the girl's slit, parting her wet folds and smiling at the way her plump lips parted with a gasp. It made her hand movement stop as she removed her hand from Lisa’s briefs and grabbed hold of her forearm, the other clutched onto her shoulder.
The woman ran her slender fingers through the wet folds, slowly teasing the girl, wanting to put her through some suffering for what she had done. Lisa leaned in, pecking the parted lips, Y/n’s eyebrows creasing and her chest heaving at the way she was getting something, but not nearly enough. Lips pressed against hers, tracing to her cheek, and jaw before Lisa dipped her head and kissed along her neck all while taking in the small gasps that Y/n let out that were turning whiny.
“Fuck–” Y/n cursed, Lisa being stronger and not letting the girl guide her hand when she teased her two fingers over the swollen clit. She only nudged it and could feel nails dig into her forearm through the blazer. 
“What is it?” Lisa mocked, running her fingers down and circling the hole that was clenching as she gathered more of the slick. Y/n exhaled deeply through her nose and looked at Lisa who pulled away from her neck. There was a stupid smile on the woman’s lips, the younger unable to close her legs because Lisa was between them, the pressure growing and her clit only got circled again.
“Poor Y/n isn’t getting what she wants.” She said with a chuckle, hissing when the girl held onto the side of her neck and dug her nails into the skin. 
“Poor Lisa won’t get her dick wet if she doesn’t stop acting like an asshole.” 
Y/n was truly making it hard for Lisa to not obey her every word–
With a huff, Lisa dipped her hand down, two fingers intruding into the clenching hole and slowly pushing inside the heat that sucked her in and throbbed around her. 
Her eyes fell on the siren ones, it made her dick twitch at the look in her eyes, those parted lips glistening as each expression was so erotic that Lisa was ready to just pull her fingers out and replace them with her cock. Her fingers curled, being knuckles deep inside the girl’s pulsating cunt that tightened with each stroke and Y/n moaned as fingers pressed against the spongy spot.
“The daughter of an elite is having her pussy fingered in the middle of a charity event in a bathroom—You couldn’t get any hotter with how dirty you are.” Lisa caught Y/n’s lips right after, the kiss got sloppier as Y/n was doing a poor job of containing herself. Her moans bounced off the empty walls of the marble bathroom at the way Lisa was circling her clit with her thumb, rubbing against her wall and slowly the tension grew in her body. 
The girl was far from a saint, and Lisa was loving every second of it, especially since she was fucking thee Zhou Y/n. 
The squelching of her snug pussy mixed with her whimpering moans, Lisa doing scissoring motions to stretch and get her ready for her cock. “So good,” Y/n whined. She pulled away from Lisa’s mouth who licked her lips, collecting any saliva and getting another taste of what was left of the girl’s lip gloss. Her forehead fell on Lisa’s shoulder, scratching along her neck with each zap that ran across her spine and her hips merely bucked into the thumb that was playing with her aching nub. 
Lisa hummed at those words that were boosting her ego, but she wasn’t aware of the smile that tugged on Y/n’s lips. Her walls fluttered around the two fingers that were spreading her tight hole, caressing at her g-spot. Lisa looked in the mirror, mesmerised by the way Y/n’s back arched like a cat, her ridges perfect. 
“Shame that I’ve had better.” Y/n sighed, leaning into Lisa’s neck with her breath fanning the skin. She bit down and pulled, making Lisa groan at the pain as somewhere between the lines they still had to hate each other. “Fuck, you’re a bitch.” She sucked air through her teeth and grabbed Y/n’s shoulder, pulling her away from her neck. 
The girl let out a breathless giggle, the fingers still working her cunt and Lisa sped up her thrusts, watching the way it made Y/n’s press more into her.  The hand that gripped her forearm tightened around her and so did the walls as the girl let out whiny moans, being brought right to the edge with Lisa’s fingers deep within her walls.
“Oh–Oh fuck.” It started to wash over her, stomach tightening and Lisa slowed down her movement, removing some pressure from the girl’s clit. It made Y/n whine in frustration at the high that got disrupted, her snug walls now throbbing uncomfortably.
“You want to be a tease?” Y/n questioned, grabbing hold of Lisa’s blazer and pulling her into her, making Lisa stop fully. Her fingers pulled out of the snug confines of the slick pussy. The woman bit her lower lip, forehead pressed against Y/n’s while she ran the same hand down to her boxers.
“Who was teasing me under the table?” Lisa questioned, trying to catch Y/n’s lips again because they moved so smoothly against hers and the way the girl sucked on her tongue made her lightheaded. Y/n moved back though, leaving her to a chase that she lost when Y/n held her back. 
“I can’t help that everyone folds so easily for me, Lisa.” 
Y/n’s hand came over to Lisa’s helping her pull down the briefs as she closed the gap and caught Lisa’s upper lip between hers, having her lower one sucked by the older. It went smoothly as Lisa propped herself up by planting her palm against the mirror behind Y/n who led the swollen pinkish tip towards her sopping wet entrance. 
It made Lisa shudder and Y/n tugged on her lip at the stretch that came, thighs trying to close but were unable to with Lisa between them. 
“Can you take it all?” Lisa asked through a deep breath as she pushed her tip inside the walls that were squeezing hard enough to almost push her back out. The blazer bunched in Y/n’s fist by the woman’s frail shoulder and she wrapped her legs around Lisa’s waist.
“Don’t let it get into your head.” Y/n moaned at the way Lisa pushed everything in all at once at her answer. It shot a heat through her spine and she pulled her closer with her legs. The stretch came painfully yet it made her want more as Lisa slowly started to move her hips with a chuckle at the words. 
“Haven’t had anyone stretch you out good enough, fuck–I will make sure your pussy fits my cock perfectly.” Lisa groaned, wrapping her arm around the slim waist of the girl, holding her close and burying her face in the crook of her sweet neck as the scent drove that carnal desire further. 
Y/n’s moans grew louder within a few seconds as Lisa wasn’t waiting around. Her thrusts were slow and deep, going at a steady pace and the gasps were falling from Y/n’s lips. The girl’s back arched into her, pressing her chest against Lisa’s as her eyes closed. Each gasp and moan came right into Lisa’s ear. Grunts pushed through the back of her throat each time she fucked her cock right back into Y/n after pulling out as much as possible.
She rolled her hips in a perfect and hard rhythm, each time making the girl’s breath hitch. The walls were filled to the brim, her dick curved perfectly to rub at her g-spot and reach every single spot she needed to reach as her cock was stuffing Y/n perfectly. Lisa was losing her mind over how tight the girl was, fingertips pressing against the mirror as she groaned.
It was hard not to think about who exactly it was that Lisa was pounding her cock into. Y/n was moaning right under her, walls squeezing her cock, being able to feel the other throb with need after each stroke. The idea that this could end so badly drove Lisa even further, wanting to fuck Y/n good enough to want more of the thrill of fucking someone she shouldn’t.
“Fuck, Y/n, your pussy is so good, isn’t it—could fuck it right every day,” Lisa mumbled, her voice turning into a gruff one as she pulled away from the girl’s neck. 
“Have to make me come to fuck me again.” Y/n moaned out and it made Lisa run her hand away from her waist. Her fingers found back to the slick clit and Y/n leaned back, palms planted against the marble behind her. Her eyes were intense on Lisa’s who was still fucking her, each thrust making the girl move who unwrapped her legs and spread them further for the cock that was abusing her throbbing pussy. The eyes that looked in hers were in a full haze as Lisa was getting closer with each second.
“Gonna have you run back for more.” Lisa forced the word out with another grunt.
The eye contact broke as Y/n threw her head back, her back arched and heat covered her whole body. The cock inside her was throbbing, dragging along her snug walls, caressing them and the wetness was running down further with each of the thrusts.
Their moans grew louder, only hoping that no one would be heading towards the bathroom or walking past it as the event was in full force with the main part of it starting any second now. Yet it left them both curious about what would happen if someone did catch them. It only made them fuck that much better. The ruffling of their clothes mixed with the wet sounds of Y/n’s pussy and Lisa’s dick filling the clenching hole that was sucking her in. 
The woman leaned down, unable to keep herself away from the clavicle that was on full display for her and the little cleavage. Her lips wetly kissed along the skin, sucking gently to not leave any unwanted marks until she reached the soft cleavage of the girl. Gently she nipped at the skin, feeling the way it made Y/n squeeze her length and whine, her chest pressing more into Lisa’s face. 
“Close ‘m so close, Lisa.” Y/n cried, this time not wanting the high to end before it could peak. Lisa kept up the movement of her hips while sucking on the soft skin of Y/n’s chest. Probably leaving a hickey here and there after herself. 
“Fuck, come on squeeze my cock and come, Y/n.”
Her pussy clasped tightly around the hard cock, back arching and a train of moans slipping out of her mouth that grew in pitch. The tension grew hard enough to break and Y/n was right at the high before falling at such force that her eyes rolled back. Her thighs quivered around Lisa as they closed in on her again. She slowed down her movement, looking at Y/n who was heaving for air while coming undone before her.
Her stomach flexed to hold herself until Y/n gripped onto her to stop. The girl swallowed down her dry throat, whining at how Lisa was still fucking her through the uncomfortable aftershocks. 
“I’m gonna–” She was cut off, groaning when the girl pushed her back without a second thought. Her cock slipped out of the warmth of her and Lisa barely managed to grab hold of her dick before cum started to spurt out of her tip. Her hand balled into a fist as she planted it on the wall beside her after losing the leverage of the mirror. Y/n felt the warm cum splatter against her thigh, seeping through the sheer tights, staining more than them as Lisa had no aim whatsoever. 
“Great.” Y/n deadpanned, the woman was still lightheaded and trying to catch her breath when she got shoved back by the girl's foot against her thigh.
“What?” She breathed out, fingers gripping the wall to not fall as she looked down. The mess was on the girl’s black dress, covering the hem in her creamy and sticky cum–Lisa cringed at the amount she released, more than usual. It made her quickly tuck her cock back inside her pants, not having time to zip them up as she reached for the paper towels. The faucet turned on as she wet it before reaching over to the girl’s dress.
Y/n leaned back as she hadn’t been expecting it and rolled her eyes while waiting for Lisa to finish.
“Sorry.”
“Shut up,” Y/n said and clicked her tongue, looking at Lisa with a face that held disgust as she still didn’t like her despite the good orgasm she gave her. She pushed her back again and Lisa leaned against the wall while Y/n got down the counter to remove the sheer tights.
Lisa’s mind still trying to comprehend the fact that she had just fucked the girl everyone wanted to be or be with. She even ruined her dress. Lisa felt stupidly proud as she grinned.
Y/n discarded them in the trash and slipped her heels back on.
“You ruined my dress, time to cut the charity short so I can go home.” 
“What’re you doing?” She questioned the girl who walked over to the door and opened it. The big corridor was empty, but the loud chatter from the ballroom was still filling it as she followed right after Y/n who was looking through her clutch purse. Lisa’s eyes were glued to Y/n who was walking fine, more than fine as she looked like she was on a catwalk while Lisa’s legs felt numb. It made her lean against the door frame with a frown, unable to bring herself to walk much more just yet. Her hands quickly worked to button up her slacks before anyone would see her this messy.
Y/n turned to her with that devilish smile on her face as she stood by the wall opposite of Lisa.
Where Y/n went chaos followed. 
“It’s for a good cause, Lisa–here’s my card in case you ever need a job, I guess you could walk my dog or something.” Lisa’s eyes winded, a private business card being flicked at her chest before it fluttered onto the floor and she watched Y/n reach for the fire alarm. The blaring alarm went off, the chatter getting drowned out before it was followed by panicked voices, and fire sprinklers going off. Her eyes were on Y/n who was already walking away while Lisa subconsciously crouched down and reached for the card. People slowly starting to pile the corridor.
Lisa did text.
She just never got an answer.
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itsbenedict · 4 months
Note
How would you make mario a villain?
Huh! Tricky one. I mean, there's tons of Newgrounds parodies about how fucked up it is that Mario goes around crushing turts all day, and there's the obvious "silent scary henchman of the image-conscious dictator" angle. Tricky to cast him as the villain rather than the muscle, though...
There's only one thing that notably motivates Mario, and that's Princess Peach. Extreme devotion, there. For him to have agency, she needs to be removed from the picture- and I think that neatly answers the motive thing, too. Peach hasn't been kidnapped, this time- there's something more permanent. But what? "She's been killed and he's out for revenge" is a little 3edgy5me, and also if Mario sets out to get revenge I think he just gets it. His antagonists have rarely put up the kind of fight that would require him to concoct a villainous scheme.
Who's the protagonist, if not Mario? What is Mario doing that requires someone else to go on an adventure opposing him? How do we make this something that Nintendo would actually consider releasing?
...Okay, what's Mario's usual M.O.? How do we make that villainous? He... goes to dangerous places, nimbly circumvents all obstacles in his way, and claims powerful, usually star-shaped magical objects, in order to rescue the princess. This time... he isn't really concerning himself with who the rightful owners of said magical objects are.
It's a Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego situation. There's been a rash of heists committed by a strange masked phantom thief, and the protagonist's job is to find out how the relics were stolen and where the culprit hid them, and get them back before their clients suffer dire consequences as a result of missing-magic-item-itis. You investigate crime scenes, pick up the phantom thief's trail, chase him down, and bop him one but good to recover the relic and save the day.
This is complicated somewhat because this phantom thief is in league with Bowser, who keeps causing trouble in ways that the phantom thief takes advantage of to get past security. The Koopa Troop often assists the phantom thief in his getaways. Why are they working together???
Flash back. Mario standard plot- Bowser has kidnapped the princess. This time, he's done it using some magic item or invention doohickey whose provenance he doesn't quite understand, which has turned Princess Peach to stone. True to form, Mario goes through several another castles and thrashes Bowser and breaks his evil doohickey, and... uh. This fails to rescue the princess. She is still a statue.
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Bowser doesn't know why she's still a statue, and both of them panic. How do they fix this?! They need to try something- find some new magic thing that'll bring her back! They've heard of the Sacred Star of Healing in one of the neighboring Kingdoms (which exist in infinite supply in the Mario universe to be adventured through precisely once and then forgotten about forever), and agree to work together to steal it and use it to restore Peach.
It doesn't work. They ditch it somewhere. They follow up on another rumor- the Golden Coin Spirit in the Treasure Kingdom or whatever, and that's a bust too. And after a couple of these, the international community is forced to call in an expert to catch this thief and bring him to justice.
So who's our protagonist? Who in the Mario universe is a famous detective who specializes in guarding star-shaped magical relics from would-be burglars? WHAT IMPROBABLY LARGE-BRAINED PENGUIN COULD POSSIBLY THWART THIS MASTER CRIMINAL?!?
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eiloveir · 2 months
Text
→﹐naruto hc! <3
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‹𝟹 :: ⭑⭒  🗨 !!  naruto characters and their social media habits
warnings: rushed and out-of-character
note: this is just something I decided to create on a whim, though I was inspired by a post on a clock app. i imagined how these characters might use social media, so here it is.
characters: konoha 12
𓋭  ۫   ☔️ ﹒ ❊  ͚
uzumaki naruto
this guy’s the reigning king of shitposting. he’s got a knack for calling out anything he deems “overrated,” and he doesn’t hold back. his feed is a never-ending stream of complaints about everything from minor inconveniences to full-blown disasters. you might see posts about how his ramen was too hot or things like pineapple on pizza. he’s the kind of troll who wouldn’t hesitate to pick a fight with kids on roblox, turning every argument into a battle that leaves them in tears and scrambling to save face (konohamaru). he would also be the type to start internet beefs over the most mundane things. if you’re ever scrolling through your feed and see a heated argument about why a certain trend is lame, chances are he is behind it.
haruno sakura
the feminist and activist extraordinaire! she’s the type of woman who not only supports human rights in every way possible but also cheers on the LGBTQ+ community with gusto—because, spoiler alert, she’s part of it. she’s someone who’s fully aware of the impact social media can have and is determined to use it to amplify her voice and make a real difference. i also think she has multiple social media accounts like a pro—there’s her private twitter account where she rants about how messed up the government is, her ao3 account where she writes fan fiction with a side of social commentary, and of course, her tumblr where she’s a curator of memes, political discourse, and everything in between. (me)
uchiha sasuke
god, bruh. this dude is basically a social media ghost—he hardly ever posts anything, but when he does, it’s like the internet has just won the lottery. he’s that guy who seems to do absolutely nothing yet somehow manages to grab everyone’s attention. he’s not really into posting on social media, but when he does, it’s always so aesthetically pleasing that you’d think he has a personal stylist and a professional photographer on speed dial. he doesn’t even try to make his posts look good; he just rolls out of bed and somehow manages to be effortlessly cool. man could post a picture of his breakfast and it would still get more likes than your entire feed.
nara shikamaru
this lazy ass (me) would probably end up being a streamer, posting about his win streaks and achievements in every game he plays. despite barely lifting a finger to do anything else, he’d be all over social media, bragging about every victory and high score. he’s the kind of guy who’d stream his gaming marathons from the comfort of his bed, racking up followers while casually lounging around in sweatpants. If there’s a leaderboard, you can bet he’s at the top, and he’s not shy about letting everyone know it.
yamanaka ino
girlie is the famous influencer! she’s always buzzing with posts about the latest fashion trends, beauty tips, and social events. like, you know, the kind of Instagram girlie who’s always flaunting her ootd and setting style standards. she’s practically a fashion icon with every outfit she wears. she’s also the type to post inspirational messages like “wear whatever makes you feel good” or “your body, your choice.” she’s incredibly popular across all her social media platforms and has a tiktok account—she’s all about those thirst traps and dance covers.
akimichi choji
my boi would definitely be the type to either watch mukbangs obsessively or become a mukbanger himself. he’d spend hours trying to replicate recipes he’s seen online, turning his kitchen into a culinary experiment zone. and you can bet he’d be posting all about it—sharing his attempts, successes, and occasional fails. his feed would be full of mouthwatering food shots and videos of him devouring his creations, proving that he’s just as passionate about cooking and eating as he is about sharing it with the world.
tenten
she’d regularly post about her daily life, giving followers an inside look at her studies or work. her feed would be filled with a lot of photos showcasing her favorite books, snapshots of her workout routines, and candid moments with her for lifers. she’s all about fitness, making her social media a hub for health tips and personal growth. you’d see her posting everything from meal prep ideas to gym selfies. she’d be the type to inspire others with her discipline and positivity.
rock lee
lee would be the type to flood his feed with gym and fitness content, sharing everything from his daily workout routines to personal fitness goals. his posts would be packed with enthusiasm and motivational messages, like “don’t judge a person because of their appearance” and other self-improvement quotes. despite his positive energy, not everyone’s a fan—especially naruto and kiba, who might be more inclined to roll their eyes and make a shitty rant about his optimism.
hyuga neji
this dude, much like sasuke, is totally indifferent to social media. he doesn’t bother with frequent posts but when he does, they’re thoughtful and deliberate. you might see him sharing reflections on life, articles he’s stumbled upon, or insightful news about everyday occurrences. he avoids jumping into pointless online drama or trends, yet somehow, he’s always clued in. that’s thanks to lee and tenten, who can’t stop talking about the latest gossip and social media happenings. despite his apparent disinterest, he picks up on all the chatter and remains surprisingly well-informed about the buzz. so, even though he’s a low-key user, he’s never completely out of the loop.
inuzuka kiba
his socials would be about random rants and memes. he’d post exaggerated complaints about the most trivial matters. his feed would be a fucking mess of humorous and offbeat content—think sarcastic comments, goofy polls, and plenty of memes featuring akamaru. he’d frequently stir up controversies, posting impulsively and diving headfirst into debates. his online presence would be a whirlwind of arguments, especially with naruto, where they often argue over who’s the dumbest between them.
hyuga hinata
she’s the type to be a crocheter, the kind you see on tiktok with an account just for her yarn creations. her feed would be packed with posts showcasing her latest crocheting projects—everything from cozy blankets and stylish scarves to adorable amigurumi (crocheted plush toys). she’d share detailed photos and videos of her work. her account would also feature tutorials and tips for fellow crocheters, helping them improve their skills. she might post about her extensive yarn collection, offer free patterns, and give followers a peek into her crafting process. whether she’s showing off her latest masterpiece or sharing a behind-the-scenes look at her studio, her feed would be a inspiring hub for all things crochet.
aburame shino
the random entomologist on your feed. he would be all about his shit for insects and the natural world. his posts would feature photos of various bugs, often accompanied by educational captions about their behavior, ecology, and characteristics. his feed would include updates from his fieldwork, observations on insect behavior, and informative posts about conservation efforts. while he might occasionally share glimpses of his other interests or hobbies, the focus would remain firmly on nature and entomology. whether he’s showcasing a rare beetle he’s spotted or sharing insights on preserving insect habitats, his content would be a treasure trove of knowledge for fellow nature enthusiasts.
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hillbillyoracle · 1 year
Text
How to Have Better Conversations
I’m writing this at the request of my partner. She shared she’s really been struggling with making conversation more than usual lately. I shared some thoughts on how I navigate conversations she found useful and asked if I’d be willing to make a resource or write more about it. This is not meant to be a definitive expert guide, it’s built from my observations and experiences as someone who is autistic and has to navigate a lot of social situations completely manually. This is how I break down the individual components of conversation.
When I spelled this all out, one of her takeaways was that conversations actually involve a lot of microdecisions and that’s why they can be so tiring. And I think that’s totally correct. But I think it’s also why some people can thrive with them because it’s actually a lot of difficult decisions that are tricky to pull off well so when you can and do, there’s a real sense of accomplishment that can make talking more appealing.
I have a feeling this post will be overcomplicated and convoluted to a lot of folks but maybe there’s a handful of folks for whom it is helpful. Take what works, leave the rest. Summary at the end.
Types of Conversation
Topics of conversation are decently important in my experience. They ultimately let you know where the conversation will go - whether it’s likely to end in a dead end, what sorts of things it will allow you to learn about the person you’re discussing with. In my experience, just about all conversation topics fall into one of four camps.
While I talk about Best Use and Don’t Use here - most conversation in the following topics will fall somewhere in-between. They’re just sign posts, not rules.
Me
The focus is on you. Me topics are ultimately about telling a story about yourself with some amount of conscious intent.
Best Use
The best use of this is setting expectations and conveying preferences. This allows your talking about yourself to serve a purpose that ultimately assists the other person in knowing how to understand and interact with you best without necessarily demanding certain treatment front. They might change or not change how they interact with you and this can show how responsive you might expect them to be.
Examples:
“I’m a writer so I don’t work 9-5. If I reply at odd times, that’s probably what’s going on.”
“One of my favorite ways to get to know someone is to grab a hot drink and go for a walk with them.”
Don’t Use
The worst use of this is look a certain way - knowledgeable, impressive, interesting. Basically any use rooted in getting another person to like you. Genuine connection doesn’t start from a place of elevating one person over another. Plus honestly 90% of people just do not care about why you think you’re interesting, important, etc and hate feeling pressured to validate you.
Examples:
“My boss was even stumped by the issue but I figured it out on my own.”
“All my friends say I’m the best at baking.”
“I keep a bunch of tools in my car, I’m ready to fix anything anywhere.”
You
The focus is on the other person. You topics are ultimately about letting the other person share the story of themselves.
Best Use
The best use of You topics is to better understand how a person understands themselves. Open ended questions that invite them to show their thinking as well and shows you how they reason. The common acronym FORD (family, occupation/occupy time, recreation, dreams) is a decent
Example:
“So how did you find yourself in this city? What was that journey like?”
“Why did you take up [your hobby]? What drew you to it?”
Don’t Use
Don’t use you topics to actively try to find fault with someone else. It’s great to have standards and hard no’s for your friendships and relationships. But poking around for them upfront can alienate people who you’d otherwise like - suspicion is not a desirable quality in a friend or potential partner. Ultimately you have to let a person show you who they are and make a personal call. There’s no short cut.
Example:
“So why did you and your ex break up?”
“So you get angry easily then?”
Both
The focus is on a shared expertise/language, not on the story of either of you.
Best Use
The best use of both topics is to notice things about them they wouldn’t think to explicitly share necessarily and to connect in a way that only people with your shared interest or expertise allows.
Example:
My partner and I both have a background in academic medical research. However when we talk about it, it becomes apparent that my focus is on the practical and researcher side and hers is on the data and compliance side. It’s interesting to note where our similar interests compliment and diverge.
Don’t Use
Don’t use both topics to try one up or show you know more than the other person. The minute you do that the shared aspect - and therefore connection - is gone.
Example:
I once went on a date with a man who spent a half hour explaining how GIS systems work in a very “look at me” way after I mentioned I had used them when I was studying forestry in college. It was boring as hell.
Neither
The focus is on a topic without a shared expertise/language, not on the story of either of you.
Best Use
The best use of neither topics is a shared exploration/experience. One person will usually know a little more about a topic than the other person. The person who knows less benefits by learning about a topic they’re curious about. Their questions and observations invite the other to think about this topic in a new light so the experience winds up being somewhat shared.
Examples:
A woman in line at Lowes let me know I could overwinter mums in this area. I proceeded to ask her about how she’d taken such good care of hers and whether the effortwas worth it. She thoughtfully answered my questions and I learned a lot.
I mentioned to my partner a personal project I’m considering undertaking. She asks about my motivations for it and in doing so I have to further clarify them. She learned a little about what my project was about and I learned what I was really after, seeing it fresh.
Don’t Use
Don’t use neither topics to soapbox about things that are of solely personal interest. If someone makes it clear they’re not interested pivot to something more interesting. Even neither topics require at least a little bit of common ground.
Examples:
I regularly talk about group hypocrisies I’m trying to make sense of before realizing that people outside of that group don’t really care.
Ideal Ratio
In general, in reflecting on my own conversations, I think a ratio where more than half the conversation is on either both or neither topics are the most rewarding. It’s where neither party walks away feeling like they talked too much about themselves and when meaningful and interesting topics still have been discussed.
I think it’s a common mistake to try to get the conversation to be 50% you, 50% me. That’s where conversations feel like a job interview and get exhausting real quick. They also have an appearance of depth as people disclose more to keep the conversation going but with out a feeling of connection after because little time is spent on exploration and shared experience.
How to Respond
So knowing what topic you’re currently or want to talk about is one part of this, but the other is choosing a response. I generally let the other person’s response dictate some measure of my response.
Pivot
If someone seems negatively engaged - leaning back, looking around a lot, arms crossed, giving short answers - I pivot to a neutral topic. I find neutral topics work best because the focus is not on either of you - they don’t feel like they’re under pressure to disclose or act interested in you. Neutral topics also allow them to lead the pace - asking questions and making observations at the level they feel comfortable. If they continually seem negatively engaged, it’s usually best to bail from the conversation, especially if asking questions about the dynamic itself seems like it might not be welcome.
Matching
If someone seems neutrally engaged - mostly looking in your direction, not leaning toward or away, giving input on what you’re saying - I match and continue with the topic.
FOOL
Being a little like the Fool in the Major Arcana is actually a great way to be a good conversationalist - genuine, curious, brave, and receptive. Bellow are some concrete ways how.
Follow up questions - Good follow up questions come from a genuine place of curiousity. They also tend to either fill in gaps in your own understanding or encourage the speaker expand the discussion into a new but related area.
Observation - Observations on the topic itself are great but not your only option. You can oberve how a person seemed to feel when talking about the topic. You can observe that they’d touched on a related topic before. Comparison is a fruitful ground for observations as well - “That’s similar to…” and ”That’s very different than….”
Opinion - Offering an opinion or requesting their opinion is a good way to keep a conversation going. In general, it’s best to avoid generalizations, soften them a little to start with, and make sure there is some measure of compassion in the opinion you’re sharing. Rigidity leaves little room for discussion and exploration.
Levity - Where appropriate, make a joke, share a meme, craft a pun, tease them a little. Laughter is a shared experience that connects us.
Building
If someone seems positively engaged - leaning forward, making eye contact, coming closer to you for neurotypical people and actively engaging with the content of what you’re saying regardless of stims or eye contact for neurodivergent folks - I build on what we’re talking about. I self disclose my feelings and personal connections to the topic one step further than what the person I’m talking with has.
It’s important not to disclose a lot more than the person you’re talking with has. It leads to a vulnerability hangover for you and can be quite awkward and uncomfortable for them. If you disclose just a little more than the person you’re chatting with, then it’s much more easy to recover and match their level if they seem uncomfortable with what you shared.
Decision Tree
“What topic are we talking about currently?”
Me - Set expectations, share preferences; you focused
You - Understand you as you understand yourself; other person focused
Both - Connect over a shared language; idea focused
Neither - Connect over a shared exploration; idea focused
“What cues am I getting from the other person?”
If positive, build on current topic - be vulnerable
If neutral, match on current topic - be a FOOL*
If negative, pivot to a different topic - preferably neutral or in ratio**
*FOOL
Follow up questions - genuine curiousity - “I wonder…”
Observe - conversation, feelings, topic - “I noticed…”
Opinion - cautious, concise, compassionate - “I’ve often thought…”
Levity - make jokes, share memes - laughter connects
**Ratio
51% Both/Neither
<49% Me/You
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lightlycareless · 6 months
Note
Has Naoya and Y/N ever been caught during the deed lol?
😏 why would you want to know that, hm? hoped they have? hehehhe lmao ignore me.
Ok so this actually gave me the best excuse to write a small follow up of what happened after this one-shot heheh. Call it a… Naoya and Y/N aren’t as smooth as they thought.
(but you’ll find another answer at the end of the drabble too 😊)
warnings: none. just the slightest mentions of nsfw. also this is a continuation of another oneshot so as needed I have to say MINORS DNI. mentions of pregnancy. a jealous manager. naoya defends what's his.
Happy reading!
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It would happen just a few weeks later after that mission ended through a keenly attentive, not easily fooled manager who didn’t believe any of the words written down in the report.
They didn’t make sense, none of it did; but what was most infuriating is that everyone seemed to be ok with it!
And of course they would—the Zen’in heir probably paid his way out of it, just like he always does, and who would dare oppose him?!
Your manager, though, as if he wasn’t very much already, suspected there was something deeper going on. Far more than what the eye revealed between the two, which became nothing but clear for him when that transpired.
What did you even see in that wretched, egocentric, selfish, boring man? He’s done nothing but constantly belittle those around him with his grandiosity that wasn’t even his to being with! Given to him by those before!
It hurts him so much to see how hopelessly in love you are with Naoya, someone so kind and beautiful as you… that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to open your eyes to the truth, even if that were to greatly humiliate you.
And so, after slowly, diligently, for days and days on end, examining the report and place you both allegedly cleared of all curses, he comes to the shocking, albeit slightly disgusting conclusion that something more transpired there.
An insult to the protocol you both swore to abide as sorcerers, as well as a transgression to his yet-to-be disclosed feelings for you.
One that he did not hesitate to inform to the higher ups, those that initially didn’t care much for it, thinking it to be nothing but senseless gossip, until he reminded them that this could easily be used as a way to blackmail the Zen’in—imagine the outrage from the community if they were to hear of the unruly relationship between the heir, and you, though coming from a respected family, was still considered a lesser sorcerer to their standards?!
He wished to not cause you any pain, but it’s only through this method that you’ll understand why Naoya was not good for you. Nothing compared to what he can provide, if only you’d let him.
Something meant to happen when summoned by HQ to be interrogated, alongside relatives and fellow sorcerers that wished to see if the rumors circulating the two were true.
“Care to explain what truly happened in the mission?” One of the higher ups would speak, eyes directly set on you, the one firstly responsible for the job.
“I—I’ve written it in the report, there’s nothing else to say.” You quickly respond, doing your best to hide the tremor in your voice, well aware that your lies had been discovered yet hoping they truly hadn’t. “Unless you wished a detailed explanation of… something else…?”
“The truth.” Another insists. “Do not act like you don’t know what we’re talking about—we have enough evidence to dictate otherwise!”
“But—But nothing happened! I just miscalculated the presence of a curse, but I fixed it afterwards! The place is safe to be inhabited again!” you gasp. “I know there’s a discrepancy in the hours in between but it was nothing that—”
“There shouldn’t have been a discrepancy to begin with!” The first one adds. “What exactly were you two doing during the mission?!”
“She’s told you already, it was only a slight miscal—” Naoya interjects, only to be shot down immediately after.
“This is for her to answer!”
“I—I don’t have anything else to say—” you stammer, growing desperate at their relentless insistence, feeling like you were being effectively cornered with no foreseeable escape…
Which would have been almost true, if they hadn’t irked Naoya in more ways than one, beginning from this useless summon, their belittlement of you, and now, their interruption when he spoke.
Naoya was never one to accept offences towards himself or anything that pertained to him, regardless of who it came from…
Perhaps it was time to remind them of who truly held power here.
“But I do.” Naoya frowns, taking a step forward and looking them in the eye, preparing himself to state the new course of your and his life. “The reason why we took longer than anticipated was because I proposed to her. I’m going to marry Y/N.”
“What?!” Your manager is the first to squeak, followed by the gasps of those present at the meeting and confusion from the higher ups.
“We kept this relationship a secret because honestly, it is no one’s business to know of it.” Naoya proceeded, now taking your hand. He feels the uncertainty in your skin, the fear of disclosing an aspect kept secret until now…
Yet, his company reassures you that even though this was not the way either envisioned revealing their relationship, he is not ashamed to do so. Assert was his heart had been dreaming of… as well as offer a distraction from the lapsed that occurred during the mission.
Although for the last…  speckled with a bit of exaggeration.
“And she’s pregnant too. So, you’d do good to not refer to the mother, and my wife, of the future Zen’in heir in such crude manner!”
And with that, Naoya’s purpose becomes true, with the notion of the outrageous mission tossed out the window and effectively replaced with the unexpected news of your new civil status, what it meant for the L/N, the Zen’in, as well as the supposed pregnancy that officially united both.
Your manager was beyond enraged that his plan not only failed but paved the way for his worst nightmares to become real—though that is something he wouldn’t have to worry about anymore, Naoya having quickly labeled him as the responsible behind this ridiculous endeavor and promptly got… rid of him.
Besides, it’s not like you’ll have much use for him either way, for your attention will solely remain on him from that point forward.
And perhaps something else…
“Well, it’s a good thing we managed to get out of that one alive.” Naoya says, now that it’s not necessary to hide your relationship with him, he finds comfort in walking through the halls of his alma mater while holding your hand. “Though it’s a shame of how it came to be…”
“I suspected this might’ve happened, but that doesn’t mean I was expecting half of the jujutsu community to be there…” you silently admit, still battling through the shame and sorrow this situation brought you. “At least I won’t have to worry about how I’ll tell my family about it!”
“I’m more worried about the pregnancy I had to lie about so they’d leave us alone.” Naoya laments, a part of him… hoping it wasn’t the case. “However we proceed from here, it’s bound to have some… outrageous responses.”
Thankfully, his prayers might just be heard.
“Actually… it might’ve not been a total lie…”
Naoya stops on his tracks, eyes widening as he turns to see you.
“Y/N?” he murmurs, unwilling to be fooled on, unless…?
Your smile tells him everything.
“I fear that the pill might’ve not worked as properly as we hoped.” You continue. “So, you were not that far off when saying I was pregnant…”
“Are you being truthful right now?” Naoya breathes. “Or is this a ploy to—”
“Why would I do that?” you pout before giggling. “I want this baby as much as you do!”
“Then you’ve made me the happiest man in the world.” He immediately admits, taking you into his arms before lifting you for a kiss. “I can’t believe it, a baby of our own!”
“Well, believe it!” you grin. “But what are we going to do about the wedding…? I hoped to get married before getting pregnant…”
“We’ll have to do it quick. Preferably before your stomach begins to show.”
“…And before nothing fits me anymore.” You lament.
“You’ll look delectable either way.” He playfully incites, you pout once more. Naoya laughs as he pinches your cheek. “My wife.”
“Husband.” You smile back, leaning into his hand. “And soon, daddy.”
“Don’t say that, unless you don’t mind being caught here too.”
“Ugh no, let’s go home.” You say, not batting an eye as you pull him to the exit, hoping to leave all this behind and focus on the congratulations your family (and some of Naoya’s) have in order, as well as the preparations for your new, loving life next to your beloved husband.
And Naoya happily obliges, a bright, wide grin on his face caused by the satisfaction a home with you signifies.
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Ok so... I have to say, they hadn't been caught per say, because everyone knows when they're doing it. Like, it's not a secret—they're loud. Especially in paper thin walls as the ones at the Zen'in estate.
However, let's say that the innocent ones, the distracted, new members of the staff might've gotten quite the surprise the first time they heard about this. Maybe even stumbled upon them... who knows? 😏 Actually something just crossed my mind. I'll write about it later.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this small, nobody-asked sequel for that one particular oneshot! I've had this thing on my mind for a while, how everyone would eventually know of their relationship. Just as Y/N said, one less thing to worry about.
Thank you so much for sending in this ask!! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, take care, and hope to see you soon!!
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buffkitties · 10 days
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Please do the Komaeda's morals analysis
Okay, so first I think that I should explain something here. Everybody is morally grey, there’s no doubt about that. The terms “good” and “bad” person always bothered me because they’re unnecessary labels painting the world and our minds in black and white, while in reality it is all a spectrum of grey, varying from person to person based on how they had grown up perceiving the world. While adopting standards, many people (such as myself) will follow them, but they might not always feel right. Some people, instead, will stick to what feels right rather than agreeing with the majority because they’d rather stay honest to themselves, which most of the time goes against social norms.
We are shaped by everything in our environment, from the smallest things to the bigger ones, like the media. Our families, friends, peers, even strangers shape us. Observing the world around us, seeing how two people interact, seeing how people do not interact, etc. Not only people, but the lack of them is what shapes us, too.
Rules were set to be followed, but what are rules if not a thing to be broken? What truly makes a rule, if it can be bent and shaped however we please, anyway? Let’s take a simple one, for example: “Do not kill.”  That can be justified in many different ways, based on how the scenario played out, and many people do not consider that rule necessary. Why? It’s because by observing the world, their beliefs were shaped differently from yours, and they act and think different from you. Nobody is the same.
Deep down, we don’t have a path laid out in front of us. We make it ourselves and we do it by interacting with the world.
Now, a similar matter is at hand in Danganronpa—the plot is heavily surrounded around societal norms and standards, which we see every step of the way, from the very beginning even before Izuru Kamukura came to existence. It is a bit different from ours, so I will do my best to explain it. Talent is everything. People learn that talent is what makes the world great and what dominates everything else, worthless in comparison. Komaeda says so himself in his speech:
I’m sure we’ve all been taught this way. Even if we weren’t told directly, we should be able to see it for ourselves, from the world around us. The “messages overflowing with hope” that are shown on TV, the Internet and the news tell us this… People who can’t win…people who don’t do their best…and people who do their best but still can’t win…they’re all the same worthless trash.
From the moment they’re born, people are clearly divided into those who have value and those who don’t. Worthless people will never be able to become someone with value, no matter how hard they try… “Hard work leads to success”…what a misunderstanding! The world isn’t that simple. No matter how hard a small dog tries, it’ll never become a big dog… No matter how hard a penguin tries, it’ll never be able to fly… In other words…a worthless person will always be worthless, no matter what they do. You don’t “become” a talented person…you’re born with that potential. Yes…just like all of you. That’s why I look up to you. Unlike our world, Danganronpa’s universe heavily values hope and talent, or what they call ultimates, if you may. Even average people are considered worthless compared to that. Talent is important because it breeds and creates hope, which keeps their world going and holds great potential for the future, and for that hope, most people would do anything. Average people are a majority, which makes talent ever more precious because it’s something much greater than all of them combined.
To us, it might seem strange because we do not live in a world like that, but it would be just like any other problem we have. Those who have privilege (the talented) are often unmoved by the problems, do not notice them, or it is subconsciously engraved in their minds that they are superior in a way, or that they hold some sort of power, and even if they aren’t aware of that themselves, they still act on it the way they learned to by observing the world. The world is in their favour, and everybody is aware of that one way or another. Denying it simply doesn’t work, that’s just ignorant, or pointless.
The world was always corrupted, before Junko Enoshima even ever took her first step.
The Natsumi Kuzuryuu case, the deaths of the student council, The Kamukura Project, Komaeda’s suspension—they were all just examples of that corruption.
Why mention Komaeda’s suspension along all the other examples? That’s actually very simple. They expelled everybody who was involved except Komaeda, for his talent. It was something they didn’t understand, but found worthy of keeping because it was powerful and if utilised, could provide a great opportunity. Despite it being Komaeda’s plan, he was never directly involved due to his SHSL Luck excluding him from the situation and bringing out the plan through others, but in the end, his intentions came out just as he intended.
They found it worth keeping, so they excused Komaeda’s actions if not outright covered them up.
The Kamukura Project in itself is a very good example, too, although everybody knows of it by now (I assume). The reserve course at Hope’s Peak Academy was opened for the sake of creating the embodiment of talent. They created a scenario in which every student attending would pay a huge fee, which they would use for the project to then exploit a single person and turn their worthlessness into something of use. A tool for creating hope. In the process, they removed everything that would stand in the way of that (or so they thought), including memory, numbing Hinata’s feelings, and getting rid of his identity entirely to make him into a tool of their own—the ultimate hope. No regard for his life whatsoever, because he was worthless. He became the school's ideas, right to the rotten core, and he was used as intended, although not in a way they wanted to.
So where does Komaeda stand in all of this?
He views the world exactly as it was shown to him: People who have no talent are considered worthless, people who have talent hold all the potential.
So why does he view himself as worthless, despite being talented? That’s because his talent cannot be used for creating hope, and it does as it pleases, holding no potential whatsoever. His talent holds a pattern, but it cannot be controlled and wherever he goes, it will spread horrible misfortune to anybody it wants. There’s no hope in that scenario, not at all—there is nothing to look forward to, nothing to use for his future, nothing to give other people, nothing that would make something great. It’s just fate, luck and then misfortune, and that talent means nothing in that kind of world. I said this before, but Komaeda doesn’t insult himself because he loathes himself, but because “realistically” speaking, he is worthless. When people treat him horribly, he assumes that’s because of talent, because that is how worthless people are treated (that doesn’t mean he likes it), not because he says weird things, since he considers them perfectly normal and he’s surprised to think they don’t understand his beliefs. To him, they were obvious facts and he was simply following what the world told him, so it was weirder to see them think differently.
Komaeda doesn’t necessarily care about talent. He looks up to talented people because he could never be like them, just like anybody else would, but he still sees them as people, and he doesn’t even like most of them, just tolerates them and respects them like anybody else, while also remembering the fact that they’re superior to him. Again, he doesn’t blindly idolise them, and he expresses his distaste for their actions or even personalities. Many times, you can see him comment on the things they do, and he very clearly states that even if a talented person like them crosses the line, he will not hesitate to stop them, forcibly if he has to. Why? Because they’re still people, and the thought to excuse an action of theirs just because they’re talented doesn’t even come to his mind.
Actual important things to him are always about respecting others. Harassment, SA, homophobia, racism, misogyny, ableism, etc. Based on how he acts, you can easily tell that he would not tolerate those, and that he’s against them. Whenever he sees something like that, he intervenes, no questions asked. For example, Hanamura’s disgusting behaviour, or even smaller things, like when he says that he would rather consider somebody’s feelings than feed someone else’s curiosity.
When it comes to talent, like I said, he sees it just as the world does, but that doesn’t change the fact that he respects everybody, and that if someone goes against what he believes, he wouldn’t care about whether they’re talented or not. Many people write his interactions with Hinata as bullying or harassing him, but he would never—In fact, he would defend him if somebody was not giving him basic human respect.
That being said, respecting people might actually be the only thing where he draws the line, and the only strong standard that he holds for others.
Even as he speaks of things like hope, or despair, it all comes back to respect. Respect somebody’s life. Their death, use it for a greater cause to give it a meaning and do not let it go in vain. Put respect on their name, on their sacrifice.
Just doing things that cause pain and misery is disrespectful and meaningless, causing despair for the sake of despair, or for the sake of simply doing it, treats one’s life as if it meant nothing. Suicide, dying to a disease, or being murdered for nothing at all, all of those examples follow a simple rule:
Your life is disrespected.
Things like that should only be done for a reason, a good reason.
Also, many people think that Komaeda would blindly admire Hinata for having every talent, but it would be the opposite. He would feel disgusted to know how badly they disrespected his life for something like artificial talent, and it’s been proven already that Komaeda is the only one who respects him enough to see him completely as who he was, who he met before he turned into Izuru Kamukura, and that whatever talent they put into him didn’t matter, because he saw the person he was. He saw Hajime Hinata, not the life of a person they destroyed for their sick wants.
(which the DR3 anime portrayed really badly btw lmao)
He would detest the whole project and he would treat him like a normal person, and who he was, rather than what they made him.
Yeah, there are many things that could slip past Komaeda, but only as long as there’s a good reason and as long as it’s not disrespectful to someone.
With that, I think I’ve said enough. This is the only thing that truly matters to him and what guides his actions and behaviour. It links to everything he does and say.
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writingseaslugs · 1 year
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Pomefiore: When They're Sick
Did I have too much fun writing Rook, as per usual? The answer is yes. I think I finally get why I like him so much; we're the same dramatic hoe who will talk and hype our friends up. Also obsessive tendencies for the win. He stalks Neige like the fanboy he is, and I stalk several fictional men like the fanboy I am. We're not so different…oh look like I'm rambling again. Hahaha please enjoy the next part of the series!
Disclaimer: All characters in this series are aged up. For more information about my version of this world and the type of reader you can expect, please click the “Au Information” below!
Request Information | Masterlist | Au Information
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Pomefiore: When They’re Sick
Vil has always been meticulous when it comes to self-care, and holds everyone in his dorm to the same standards. This means getting sick in the dorm wasn’t a very common experience, since everyone took care of their health and took proper vitamins to ensure they don’t get ill. Sadly this doesn’t stop the beautiful thing known as the common cold from spreading around and getting a few sick. Normally it was a quarantine situation, keep the sick student at the nurse’s office until they can get better and keep them away from the other students. Sadly during the flu season, every bed in the nurse's office is oftentimes taken, and no Pomefiore members wants to risk getting sick just to take care of someone.
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Vil Schoenheit
Vil sees being sick as a major inconvenience on his end, and automatically goes into self care mode. If he even so much as sniffles he’s calling up a doctor. His health is very important, so he’s meticulous in taking care of things before it gets bad. Sadly some things can’t be prevented, and when flu season rolls around and it’s a new strain that his body isn’t used to, there’s only so much he can do. He’ll still be calling up a personal doctor though to help take care of him.
The moment you offer to help he’s turning you away. He already has a team on it in order to take care of him, so he doesn’t need a classmate to do anything for him. So why aren’t you leaving? You know you can get sick too, right? Not to mention he looks hideous like this! His poor skin is paler than normal and looks sickly, his nose and eyes are red and he has the sniffles. Honestly the only reason he doesn’t want you there is because he can’t stand you seeing him like this. Insist on staying though, because doctors are one thing but they aren’t there 24/7 to take care of him, and something domestic about taking care of someone while sick melts his heart.
Due to the doctor’s working with him, he has lots of prescribed medication and vitamins to take while recovering. The only thing he needs is for someone to bring them to him while he lays in bed and tries to feel better. This is where you come in, obviously, playing the role of nurse and making sure he takes all his medication. He’s anal about it being exactly on time, so have alarms set so he doesn’t have to even think about it.
Just like with medication, he has a team of nutritionists making him meal plans. Again, his health is closely connected with his career, so he needs to get better as soon as possible. If you make the meals you better follow the instructions perfectly, or get someone else to do it. He won’t admit it, but he’s happy if you make him the food yourself. He’ll comment that it tastes nice and that he appreciates the efforts you’re going through to take care of him.
Thanks to you, the doctors, and nutritionist, his flu lasts a solid three days. He’s going to be taking it easy for the next week or so just to make sure his body is fully recovered. He’ll of course be thanking you at that time, and letting you know how much your efforts mean to him. He even promises that if you ever fall ill, he’ll make sure to get you a team to help take care and nurse you back to health. Wait…you want him to assist? Oh honey, he can’t afford to get sick again.
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Rook Hunt
Rook has always been a wild child, eating things off the ground when he was a small boy and hiding in the foliage while hunting. His immune system is legendary at this point, so it’s no surprise that he rarely ever catches anything more than a slight head cold. When the flu season washes over Pomefiore and he gets sick though, it’s game over. He’s getting the man flu to the max, high fever and delirious to the max. He probably should be taken to the hospital because you’d think he was dying with how crummy he feels.
He’s not even going to remember you offering help, but he is going to remember you taking care of him. That high fever makes most of him being sick on the first day very fuzzy. He does recall Vil checking in on him and then getting a doctor, and then later you came over and saw his state. By the second day when he’s no longer suffering from his fever, he’ll be a lot happier to have you around. He’ll be calling you all sorts of pet names and adoring every moment he gets to see you, calling you the perfect spouse even if you’re not romantically involved in the slightest.
He will happily take anything you give him, even the most foul tasting liquids. He’ll say it tastes heavenly just because you prepared it for him, and be thanking you as he takes it. He won’t even make a reaction to visibly show disgust, just a smile as he puts it down. He’ll then be asking if you’d like to sit and stay for a while so he won’t be so lonesome. He does worry about you getting sick, but as long as you’re not sitting on the bed and are a safe distance away, he’ll love to have your company. He’ll be babbling away about stories from his childhood to help pass the time until he falls asleep.
Oh? You made him something? Perhaps getting sick every so often is worth it if it means he gets to have a come cooked meal delivered directly to his bed. Of course he’s going to adore whatever you make him and not think twice about what’s actually in it. He’ll be singing your praises to the moon and back, even if it’s not super tasty. Really it’s the thought and effort that you put into it that has him singing praise; if it happens to taste good that’s just a bonus.
Once he’s better you’ll be bombarded with compliments and small presents. Sitting in class is always interesting when random arrows impale themselves into your desk with a small poem about how heroic you were to save a damsel in distress like him while he was sick and dying. He’s dramatic, of course, but he’s truthful. He really appreciated all the time and effort you spent to help nurse him back to help, and he swears one day he’ll return the favor ten fold.
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Epel Felmier
Epel is the definition of “I’m fine” when he’s clearly not. As someone who grew up on a farm, he never sought medical treatment unless his grandma was dragging him in. Things were always too busy and he didn’t have time to take away from his chores. So unless he’s dying or someone he knows is dragging his ass to the nurse, he’ll just go about his day. Sadly for Epel, he lives in Pomefiore with Vil who notices every nuance. The moment he gets sick Vil is dragging him to the nurse and getting him on some medication and forcing him to rest in bed.
He doesn’t need help at all…or so he says. Really, it’s just a slight cough and a runny nose, nothing to worry about. He could still go to class like this actually, but sadly Vil won’t let him. If you insist enough he’ll allow it though, one thing he does remember growing up was how kind his grandma always was when taking care of him while sick. It’s going to warm his heart and he’ll be thanking you for taking care of him. He won’t be too fussy either, letting you do whatever you think he might need.
Okay now this is where he draws the line; he cannot stand medicine. Even at home he rarely ever took it since it was never serious, so having you telling him he has to is blasphemous. He’s going to try and negotiate so he doesn’t have to take it, but he knows it’s a losing battle. If he doesn’t take it from you, then Vil is going to be forcing it onto him one way or another. Better to just let you hand it to him so it’s more pleasant, right?
Now he can get behind this, nothing beats a good home cooked meal when you’re feeling sick. Hand him some chicken noodle soup and he’s a happy boy. Suddenly being sick and having you take care of him is all worth it. He won’t comment that it isn’t up to par with granny though, everyone knows that Grandma’s make the best soups when you’re sick. Something about it heals the mind and soul, but yours does come pretty close. If it’s from a can, just don’t say anything and ruin the illusion. Although honestly if Vil saw you bringing a canned soup to Epel while he’s sick, he'd grab it and force you to the kitchen for a cooking lesson.
Vil is making him go to your dorm with a handwritten thank you note; and his grandma probably sent him some apple juice to give to you as well. He’s a bit embarrassed when he comes in with all the things, but loosens up when you tell him all is good. He’ll insist that he’ll help you if you ever get sick though, and will probably stay over to enjoy a bottle of apple juice and maybe leave behind a perfectly carved apple. It’s the little things that make a difference. 
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david-talks-sw · 2 years
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An argument I hear from time to time is the following:
"I don't care that this novel is considered Legends, if it was canon when George Lucas was in charge of Lucasfilm, it's still canon to me now. Whatever George says is what counts, I don't care what Disney says."
Putting the Expanded Universe's Star Wars and George Lucas' Star Wars in the same basket. And that's, uh... inaccurate.
So without further ado, let's explore:
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George Lucas’ involvement in the Expanded Universe
Early years of the EU...
When the first bit of EU content came out in the form of the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye, Lucas was too busy working on the films, so Alan Dean Foster wrote it by himself (which explains why Luke and Leia's relationship plays out romantically).
After the movies came out, when new material was going to be created, George told Lucas Licensing and other authors that the Prequel era was off-limits to write about, because he might tell that story one day.
Beyond that, they could go to town and write sequels, for instance. After all, part of why Star Wars was created was to let people's imagination run wild and George was happy to let other artists play in the sandbox he created.
That said, things were very clear from the get-go.
These weren't his stories.
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The Thrawn books, Dark Empire, all this material was explicitly just Tom Veitch and Timothy Zahn and whoever else's creation. Not George's, who was described by Lucas Licensing's Lucy Autrey Wilson as "not very involved".
The most he did was answers "OK/Not OK" questionnaires about what the EU writers could or couldn't write.
Telling Yoda's backstory? Not OK.
Telling Han's backstory, between the Prequel and Ep. 4? OK.
Having someone wear Vader's suit after his death? Not OK.
The Emperor returning in a clone body? OK.
So that's it. That was his involvement in the 90s.
Him saying "don't write something set during this/that period".
"OK/Not OK" questionnaires.
It's also worth mentioning he didn't approve of Mara Jade, Luke's wife in the EU. In his mind, "Jedi don't marry".
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Rather, the character herself wasn't an issue... until she married Luke. When Timothy Zahn asked for Luke and Mara to be married or engaged, back in 1993, Lucasfilm initially vetoed the idea.
According to Brian Jay Jones (author of "A Life", George Lucas' biography), in 1995 George convened a 'Star Wars Summit' wherein he gathered licensees and international agents to Skywalker Ranch to reinforce "the need for him to maintain quality control, especially in the areas of publishing, where some characters—such as Luke Skywalker, who’d been given a love interest in a fiery smuggler named Mara Jade—were living lives far beyond the ones he had written for them in the original trilogy".
Sources:
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During the Prequels...
George Lucas was writing and directing three movies with large themes, shot almost back-to-back, commuting between Australia and California. That's hard enough as it is.
Also, in the 90s, most movies were still shot on film. During the making of Phantom Menace, Lucas shot parts of the film by combining prototype digital Sony cameras and using them in combination with videotapes, rather than shooting on film.
For Attack of the Clones, George worked with Panavision and Sony to develop fully digital cameras, which eventually became the standard.
As if that wasn't enough, by making the Prequels, Lucas and ILM were also creating fully-digitized worlds (Coruscant, Geonosis) and characters (Jar Jar, Yoda) and laying the groundwork for the CGI technology that has now become essential for today's blockbusters.
Having established all this...
Do you really think he had the time or the patience to read through a bunch of novels and guidebooks?!
Simply put: George Lucas was too busy revolutionizing cinema to be involved in the development of the EU.
So if you ask George who Tahl or Vitiate are, or what the Stark Hyperspace War or a vapor manifold are, if you ask him to recite you the Sith Code... he'll grumble and say "heck if I know".
He outright admitted that fans know more Star Wars lore than him.
Because SOMEBODY ELSE wrote that stuff.
And he let them do it because:
It made money. A lot of money, especially after TPM came out. Money that could fund his next films. You don't mess with licensing. Hell, it's why he was so cool with there being all those Star Wars parodies.
He didn't see those stories as canon anyway, so it couldn't hurt. He saw them as a separate universe, an alternate timeline wherein the films happened ALONG with all these other tales.
So associating the EU content with Lucas is unreasonable. He was too busy, so he just let Howard Roffman, Lucy Autrey Wilson, Sue Rostoni and Lucas Licensing do their thing and crank out new stories and transmedia content for the fans.
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It was a one-way relationship. The licensing parallel universe needed to have some internal consistency AND adhere to what Lucas established in the new films movies (which was difficult because they weren't involved in the production process), but he didn't need to be in line or consistent with anything they established.
Now, George did set some guidelines/boundaries and there were obviously do's and don'ts. But once those boundaries were set and the brief was established, the authors had a lot of freedom and, like, 99% of their interaction was with their editors from the respective publishing houses (Scholastic, Del Rey, Dark Horse) and the folks at Lucas Licensing.
George was only really brought in to sign off on, like, some of the major plot points only once in a blue moon. Stuff like:
"Let's make a Maul novel". George would go "fine, just keep him mysterious."
"What species should Plagueis be?" George: "he could be a Muun, here's concept art."
Nothing more than that. Again: the Expanded Universe was other storyteller's interpretation of what Lucas had created.
Sometimes, it was spot on and it aligned with George's vision.
Other times, this additional lore was created by writers who didn't know what he was doing with the Prequels, so they were in the dark regarding certain plot points.
And then you have the authors who absolutely disagreed with George's vision of the Prequels, or of Star Wars, in general, but wanted to engage with the material nonetheless.
Which is why, whilst sometimes the EU fixed some plot-holes, sometimes the EU had inconsistencies.
Inconsistencies such as Ki-Adi Mundi being a Knight on the Council, who is married and has kids (when the Jedi being prohibited from marrying is a major plot point in the Prequels)...
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… or the Jedi being essentially superhuman (when one of the narrative reasons Qui-Gon is killed is to show that the Jedi are mortals, not supermen)…
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... or other stuff like Mace having a blue lightsaber for a period (because who the hell knew purple was an option?!) or some Jedi having red lightsabers, or Sith Lords being able to become ghosts after death, when that's a feat you can only achieve by being selfless.
It's also why you get conflicting definitions of what the Jedi call "attachment" or conflicting narratives trying to reframe midi-chlorians as a cold, intentionally-flawed way of seeing the Force (when they're meant to be a beautiful metaphor for symbiosis and how the Force works).
And it makes sense that some of this stuff wouldn't track, considering how Lucas stated multiple times that he didn't have anything to do with it, that it was a separate universe from his own...
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Safe to say that if George had any involvement in the EU, it was so minimal that he, himself, didn't count it as "involvement".
Additional sources:
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Later years of the EU...
After the Prequels were over and done with, Lucas created The Clone Wars with Dave Filoni. At first, he'd just suggest a few storylines, but he quickly got VERY involved in the whole process. Far more involved than he ever was with EU content.
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And y'know... Dave Filoni is a massive Star Wars fan and an avid EU reader. So, from time to time, Filoni would bring up EU material for Lucas to consider during the story conferences, and they'd look at what was out there together.
But it's important to note that George's stance toward the EU didn't change and became a rule for everyone on the writing staff: the EU content was nothing more than a pool of "fun what-if ideas" that they could draw inspiration from.
If they could, they'd try to not mess with continuity... but if the story called for it, they could retcon anything without batting an eye. Because it wasn't canon to them.
It's why author Karen Traviss quit working with Lucasfilm after the Mandalorians were retconned into pacifists in The Clone Wars.
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The only things that were truly canon were:
George Lucas' own word.
The movies.
Previously established The Clone Wars lore.
And that's it.
Everything else was somebody's else's concern. Not George's.
Sources:
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This way of seeing the EU continued all the way to the time shortly before George sold the company to Disney as his drafts for the Sequels featured:
no Jacen, Jaina or Anakin Solo (Han and Leia's kids from the EU),
a still-alive Chewbacca (who died, later in the EU),
no "New Jedi Order".
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Every version of George's Sequels ignored the EU.
Which would explain why the EU reboot was planned in the summer of 2012 (when Lucas was in charge)!
I'll repeat: the EU reboot was planned months BEFORE George Lucas sold the company to Disney.
Because of course it was! It's a natural result of 30 years' worth of content that's so intermeshed that it would stop future artists - namely George himself - from creating anything else.
Sources:
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Exceptions to the rule:
1. Comics (kinda)
He did read the comics. Or at least, he gave them a glance.
Aside from the fact that he grew up reading comics, understand that George Lucas is a visual artist, first and foremost.
That's what he's about and that's what he loves, that's what speaks to him. There's a reason his upcoming Museum of Narrative Art will feature comic panels and pages of all kind.
During pre-production on Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Lucas had the art team draw concept art before a script had ever been written so he'd have ideas for set-pieces.
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Later on, J.W. Rinzler pitched him the idea of adapting his early drafts for Star Wars into comic form. Lucas' initial reaction was going "hell no". Rinzler had concept art made…
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… and George took one look and was on board.
So it's not a stretch to assume that a book telling a story through beautiful drawings would catch his attention more than a novel.
Case in point: He knew who Quinlan Vos was and was enamored with the character. He knew Aayla enough to put her in Attack of the Clones after seeing a cover of Republic by John Forster featuring her (below, left).
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(although, it's worth pointing out that he doesn't call her out by name a single time, in the director's commentary of the Attack of the Clones, she's just the "Twi'Lek Jedi" and her inclusion was done mainly to add more diversity to the Jedi fighting in the arena)
Over a decade later, when the comic Star Wars #7 came out in 2015, Lucasfilm acquired artist Simone Bianchi's original 20 pages and cover art for George, so he could feature it in his the Museum of Narrative Art:
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So at the very least, he looked at the comics and admired the visuals.
Whether he actually read the comics in detail or just skimmed through most of them because he liked the pretty pictures (likelier, imo) is an entirely different matter.
Sources:
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2. Video-Games (kinda)
Lucas would periodically check in on the status of LucasArts games, lending creative input and advice.
Sometimes, his advice ranged from "weird" to "he's gotta be fucking with us, right?"
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Apparently, he advised the team developing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed that they dub Starkiller "Darth Insanius" or "Darth Icky".
And you know what? I have no trouble believing it.
Firstly because if you're going by the idea that he gave no fucks about the EU, then of course he'll come up with "meh" names. But also, this is the same guy who created "Winkie" in 2012/2013, the character who'd go on to be named "Rey".
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He also told the team creating Star Wars: 1313 that he wanted a fresh face as the main character, then only weeks before the game was announced he went "let's make it Boba Fett".
Finally... the cancelled Darth Maul game by Red Fly.
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Codenamed “Damage”, then “Battle of the Sith Lords”. Think Batman: Arkham City meets Star Wars.
Red Fly pitched it as a coming of age story where we see Maul be kidnapped, tortured, eventually joining the Dark Side, and ending in TPM. Then they had interactions with LucasArts and found out Maul survived his fight with Obi-Wan.
The game went through several iterations, partly because the people at Red Fly were kept in the dark about the developments in The Clone Wars (Season 4 wasn't out yet), and even when some tidbits came out and they knew characters like Savage Oppress and Death Watch would be included, they didn't get more details.
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Whatever. They do their best to make something from what they're told. Then they have a meeting with George. As this GameInformer article explains:
“A friendly George Lucas entered the room and was eager to hear the pitch from Red Fly’s creatives. “Before they could finish their spiel, Lucas cut them off, stood up, walked over to [two Sideshow Collectibles statues of Darth Maul and Darth Talon], rotated them to be facing the same direction, pushed them together, and said ‘They’re friends!’” adds the source. “He wanted these characters to be friends, and to play off of each other. […] The problem with the idea of Maul and Talon teaming up for a buddy cop-like experience was that they were separated by over 170 years […] When this vast time divide was brought up to Lucas’ attention, he brushed off the notion of it not working, and said that it could instead be a descendant of Darth Maul or a clone of him.”
So now the game is about a descendant of Maul, guided by his ancestor and fighting a redesigned Darth Krayt, etc?
The game was eventually cancelled when George sold the company.
Worth pointing out that this was circa 2010/2011... around the time that George started working on his Sequels, according to Jett Lucas. And we know that the treatment for the Sequels that Lucas presented to Bob Iger featured old man Maul and Darth Talon as the villains of the trilogy... take from that what you will.
3. The Prequel novelizations (kinda)
They were all given a copy of Lucas' screenplay.
While most of their work was with Sue Rostoni, Lucy Autrey Wilson, and Howard Roffman on the Lucasfilm team (like some of the other authors), Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore and Matthew Stover all spent a bit of time with George before writing their respective novels.
George told Terry Brooks to write some additional material for Anakin Skywalker because there wasn't enough of that in the movie. He was shown rushes from the set, they "opened the safe" for him. When Terry had further questions re: midi-chlorians and the history of the Sith, George goes on a 30-minute monologue about all that.
R.A. Salvatore had a 45-minute interview with him that turned into a 3-hour chat. He was able to go back to the Ranch a few times during the writing process, and one of those times George chatted with him and his wife during lunch. He was shown various cuts of the film and concept art.
Matthew Stover and George talked for a whole afternoon (I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume he was also shown the other stuff like some cuts/deleted scenes, concept art, etc etc).
Was there a line-edit of the ROTS novel from Lucas? Regarding the Revenge of the Sith novelization, some people bring up the idea that George Lucas did a line-edit on the book because Stover wrote this statement on theforce.net:
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That said...
Stover, also stated that Lucas told him to write whatever he wanted as long as it was good,
he also said he didn't actually see Lucas type the edits,
an anonymous Del Rey editor stated on theforce.net that the notion that George edited the novel himself is "extremely incorrect".
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There's enough "reasonable doubt" for the argument to be made that the Revenge of the Sith novelization was edited the same way as any other Star Wars novel, rather than by George himself.
The fact remains, though, that it was a novel written by someone who understood the source material, as it was explained to him in detail by George Lucas himself (a luxury many SW authors never got).
Lucas' backstory for the Sith in the TPM novel: If Pablo Hidalgo is to be believed, the backstory of the Sith, as detailed in the Phantom Menace novelization, came from Lucas.
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(Obviously, I'd allow for the very likely possibility that there was some embellishment by Terry Brooks)
20 years later, however, it seems George decided to stick to the idea that there was no war between the Jedi and the Sith.
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Final thought:
A lot of people will insist that George was involved in spite of all the above-posted evidence. Saying stuff like:
"But [X person] said that it was canon..."
Sometimes, they’ll link you to this whole website collecting quotes of other people saying "the EU was canon" (never George Lucas except for, like, one/two quotes where he acknowledges the existence of Sequel books which MUST mean he saw them as canon, right?) and...
On the one hand... of course they'll all vaguely say he's "involved" and tip-toe around the subject; it's technically true and, again, they're trying to make money. It's a business, folks.
On the other... yeah? Duh. Of course it was canon to Lucas Licensing and the authors who wrote for the EU. But it wasn't canon to George. And I just gave you a whole bunch of quotes directly from him and/or the same people quoted on that website, all confirming that he didn't see them as canon and he wasn't involved (or barely was).
Other times, we're straight-up approaching "burying head in the sand/lalalala I'm not listening!" levels of justifications.
Like, we just talked about the Sith's origins, right?
I remember a while ago, this Star Wars YouTuber was reviewing this quote from Lucas, in The Star Wars Archives: 1999-1995:
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The YouTuber's reaction the second after reading the quote is saying:
"And of course, what George is referring to, here, is the Battle of Ruusan and the Brotherhood of Darkness using the Thought Bomb created by Lord Khan to kill the Jedi Lord Hoth and…"
My guy! You read a whole excerpt that started with "there was never a war between the Jedi and the Sith" and the words "Ruusan" or "Thought Bomb" never being mentioned once in the passage (or in the TPM novelization)... and concluded that George was referring to the Jedi/Sith Battle of Ruusan? And all that other EU stuff?
See what I mean, folks?
Now, look, I grew up with these stories (heck, I grew up with these stories in three different languages). So I get it. I know they're awesome.
And, yes, there is a difference between the kind of content we used to get and the content we're getting now (for one, lightsabers used to be lightsabers, in video-games, not baseball bats).
But if you're trying to prop up the EU, the facts show that the "George Lucas signed off on them" authority argument isn't a valid one. Because he clearly wasn't very interested or involved in it.
And why would you want to use this authority argument, anyway?
You shouldn't need to say "this came from Lucas" to like those stories. They don't need to be George Lucas Approved™ to matter and to be validated as "worthy of appreciation". They're valid on their own, they're great stories. And if you like them better than the Sequels, go to town. I know I do.
The only thing you can't do (with a straight face, at least) is hold them up as "the True Lucas-Approved Canon™ as opposed to the Disney Trash" in a rant, because you'd be wrong and/or lying. Neither had Lucas' hand in them in any meaningful way.
Finally... I was devastated when the EU was officially made non-canon, in 2014. And for a few years, I saw the new Star Wars continuity through this lens:
"Any EU content is still canon unless it's directly retconned...!"
Trust me, when I say that only pain lies that way. Because that's not how a lot of Star Wars creators, including the Flanelled One himself, see it. The way they saw/see it is:
"Unless it's been shown in a movie or TCW... it's a legend, it might have happened."
This line of thought seems to be increasingly applied to the new Disney canon too, by the way. "If it's not shown on a screen, then it's probably canon yet also up for grabs to be retconned."
And the sooner you accept that this is how it's being treated, the sooner you accept that the EU was never canon to Lucas or Filoni...
... the less painful it'll be when, I dunno, you watch The Acolyte and it's nothing like the Darth Plagueis novel or Plagueis himself is absent, or he's there, but as an Ithorian instead of a Muun.
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(note how I didn't use the word "painless")
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loveteruko · 26 days
Text
my predictions (bingo?) for drdt, chapter 2 culprit and also everything beyond, because i'm hyped, and why not!!
the original version of this post was too long and i was yapping. it felt like i was saying everything there is to say, but also nothing of real importance, so i decided to throw everything here, without all my overcomplicated rambling (some stayed though), and hope for the best that this will satisfy the fixated monster in me that needs to get my thoughts out there. also it will be fun to see in the future what was right or wrong.
so, for all of these predictions, please assume that my reasoning is either:
theorists made such well put together points that i checked the evidence on my own while also overanalysing the heck out of it and now i'm convinced
there's not much concrete proof but i think it would make narrative sense, or it would be a great direction for some character's development from what we've already seen of them
i don't even know but sometimes we just vibe and sometimes things are real in our hearts
funny thing is that i find drdt so interesting with how it handles its themes, how it foreshadows, establishes, and resolves, that i'm not actually certain about any of these. my mind wants to analyse it like it's a standard danganronpa game, like it's easy to predict smaller plot points because of the obvious bigger picture, but the special thing about drdt is that i have no idea what the whole bigger picture really is. all i know is that we're focused on trust and distrust, and we will surely follow that path, but i actually have no idea what else is in store. and i'm rambling again but bear with me. point is: i like the writing for drdt and i know i'm not prepared for whatever will be happening later down the line.
so now, for my small predictions bingo:
as most of the community on tumblr thinks, eden and levi are culprit and possible accomplice. that's the part i'm almost sure of, one of them is getting executed. i, however, am not sure who played which role. i'd like to think levi is the one who came up with most of the plan to help eden win the trial, and he's the one with the secret of killing before the killing game (which arei got), but i can't tell why exactly eden would kill arei. eden is not secretly evil. logically there should be some trick here, or it was an accident, but the eden thing to do would be to immediately admit she did it. unless that's where levi comes into play, and he's the one who pulled even more strings, not only setting up the crime scene, but also getting eden to play along. which makes me think eden would still be the one qualified as the blackened, then levi gets to blame himself and gets sick development or whatever. and maybe he lives to try to kill or at least beat the shit out of ace but ace will not die. let's say i'm going with that. eden is the culprit
whit has some special role. he's either the mastermind, or traitor, or key to ending the game, or whatever you want to call it. there's something off about whit with how he seems to know too much
rose sleeps a lot so i think there must be a point in time where someone uses that to accuse or even frame her for murder. although i don't think she will ever get killed when sleeping. i think she's going to be a survivor
ace won't be a victim, and he doesn't seem like a culprit either, so by process of elimination he needs to survive the game
david is not evil or malicious at heart, it's his depression talking. we're dealing with someone burnt out from keeping up his optimistic persona. all this act is self-sabotage and self-deprecation. he cared for arei and now he's spiraling. he will get better though, trust
i know i already talked about chapter 2 culprit but quick hu mention: she is not the culprit simply because i have no idea what her character really is yet. all i know is she is morally grey and she will not die yet because she needs to interact with nico, david, and others some more
arturo is not going to make friends with anyone other than maybe veronica, because everyone hates him, BUT he will not die that soon. i can feel him surviving at least one more chapter just out of spite. if he dies, it's not earlier than chapter four
j will not kill and she will not survive to the end. she will be a victim. my guess is chapter 3, for no particular reason.
contrary to the two points above, there's an alternate scenario i have in mind, with arturo dying next chapter and j being accused, but still innocent. and she would still become a victim later in the game, probably chapter four
veronica is too much of a wild card but if i were to predict something regarding her role... IF she was a blackened (and i can't tell if she will be), she wouldn't be all that happy or excited about it. there would be some reflection on her part. some subtle commentary on how enjoyment of darker media doesn't, or shouldn't, equal supporting or resorting to real violence. also basically everyone in the fandom agrees her secret is the one about harming herself just to feel something. this ties to what i said, i think. maybe she would kill to test herself, but taking a life will not bring her contentment
teruko will trust less before she learns to trust more (especially if eden really will die), but if there's someone she will learn to trust first, it's going to be charles. if she gets a "pep talk" about trust, it's somehow going to be from david. one asshole to another type of conversation where he's trying to help because he does genuinely care for his classmates
nico will not try to kill anyone again, but they also won't survive
this is probably all, i don't know because i wrote this at night and fell asleep. if anyone other than me stayed to read this, thank you for coming to my ted talk
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