#ARGUABLY sure in the first instance they don't know each other that well

[theyonapodcast]

I love the first time Soo-Won supports Lili.

It feels like an overreaction to burst into tears over, essentially, "Go for it," but makes sense when you realize no one takes her seriously.

Her father, Tetora, and even Yona view her as someone in need of protection. They coddle her.

And then here comes Soo-Won, telling her she's capable of making a difference.

That she did make a difference. He acknowledges her strength and believes in her with ease while people closer to her struggle to accept that she's useful.

#yona of the dawn #lili #soo won #don't come at me with 'well sure he supports her. he doesn't care if she lives or dies like the others' #ARGUABLY sure in the first instance they don't know each other that well #and his only main reason to keep her alive (aside from being a human being) is that she's a general's daughter #but i do think there's a real connection in that moment #he sees a bit of himself in her #someone with big dreams of making a difference but just not being there yet #he watched king il run the country poorly for many years as he grew up #also he saves her MULTIPLE times over the course of the series #yeah he's going to step in if someone's coming at her with a sword #but maybe she has everything covered before it gets to that point #he'll let her handle things until she can't #and i think that means a lot to lili #lili: let me try and if i fail i fail #joon gi/tetora/ayura/yona: what if i took on the scary stuff for you? #soo won (pulling up a seat): yeah go for it. i know first aid. #i may be way off base or ineloquent with all this #i just think it's fascinating that soo won supports her without hesitation twice #and she bursts into tears each time #she needs to be told she's a good gi- *gunshots*

[rabbitsrants]

PROOF THAT SHINRAN IS ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN ROMANCES OF ALL TIME - PART 3

if you haven't already read the posts i've linked down below, please make sure to do so before you proceed, cause they're important for context. thank you so much in advance!

CLICK HERE FOR PART 1

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

as i've already explained in my disclaimer, my ultimate goal with this masterlist is to prove how well written shinran is - it's to demonstrate that they're unquestionably each other's half and the heart of the dcmk universe.

people often minimize the importance that shinichi and ran have in each other's lives by labeling them as boring, predictable "childhood sweethearts" which couldn't be further from the truth.

so far we've established that

1) shinichi doesn't fall for ran gradually, which is what usually happens with dcmk childhood friends, he knows right away that ran's something special.

2) even though they share the same core values, their personalities are very different, which has a positive effect on them individually: ran gets shinichi to come out of his shell and contributes to his emotional growth, while shinichi grounds ran and helps her articulate her feelings.

now it's time to analyze the part i teased in part two already:

they share a soul

god, where do i even begin? this post is probably going to be ridiculously long but it's by far the most crucial part of my analysis, so please bear with me. cause as far as i'm concerned? this is the main reason why shinichi and ran belong together.

don't get me wrong, love at first sight is a beautiful concept and i deeply appreciate the fact that shinichi and ran complement each other, however, they aren't the only dcmk duo that brings out the best in each other.

what sets them apart from other dcmk dynamics in the most meaningful way is the undeniable fact that their hearts are one and the same. but what is that even supposed to mean? let's break it down, shall we?

their intuition

this segment of the break-down deserves its own post, because there are countless instances of shinichi and ran showcasing incredible instincts, but i'll try to keep it concise for now. both shin and ran arguably have a sixth sense. that's already fascinating on its own, but what i'm really trying to home in on is that their intuition offers them great insight into other people's souls. sometimes i get the impression they carry a compass that points at people and tells them who's trustworthy and who's not.

chapter 22

chapter 892

ran has so many reasons to doubt takeshi and shinichi has so many reasons to doubt amuro, but they instinctively know they can trust them. shinichi even feels safe enough to confront amuro, which is incredible, cause my boy takes a huge risk by directly questioning his allegiance.

idk about y'all but i think that's beautiful. it reminds me of an amazing quote from a famous philosopher:

their souls are pure. which is why they're able to recognize that quality in other people and each other.

their optimism

despite all the darkness that shinichi and ran face every single day, they have a really optimistic outlook on life. ngl, their unwavering positivity makes me extremely emotional.

chapter 252

shinichi gets shot by criminals and he's slowly bleeding to death. the detective boys feel like it's their fault that shin got hurt, they blame themselves and feel hopeless. my boy is in pain, he's fighting for his life, he's probably even scared, it'd be more than understandable if he saw their point and regretted the unfortunate situation they found themselves in. but he doesn't:

he chooses to look on the bright side. even in death.

which, fortunately, gets the detective boys out of their dark way of thinking. shin helps them understand that, yes, they're on a bumpy road, but at least it's leading somewhere.

chapter 780

shinichi gets a culprit to reveal he's from the kansai region by successfully provoking him with a fake accent, but shin doesn't just piss off the culprit, he also pisses off kazuha and heiji, so kazuha begins to wonder whether people from the kansai region are narrow-minded and ran's perspective is something i did NOT see coming:

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE THIS ADORABLE AND WISE?!

just like shinichi ran's able to offer kazuha a surprisingly positive outlook on her concerns, which genuinely makes her feel better.

there are many instances of their unshakable optimism and the effect it has on others, it's really beautiful to examine.

i recommend y'all look into it on your own, cause in this part of my masterlist i merely have the space to touch on shared traits like their great intuition and firm optimism, but now it's time to get into the biggest and most important portion of this analysis!

their idealism

i hope y'all read the disclaimer i've linked at the beginning! if you haven't, i urge you to read it before you continue with this post!

shinrans shared idealism is something i've already mentioned in part two of my masterlist, but there's so much more to say about it:

i'd argue that it's the main thing that connects them. not to shade my own children, but they value justice and human life so much, for most people, including me, it sometimes borders on stupidity.

but that's the thing, shinichi kudo and ran mouri aren't most people.

cause most dcmk characters 1) don't initially share their virtues and 2) question their admittedly heroic but also terribly reckless actions, whereas shinichi and ran support and admire each other because of it. because they're the same.

i'm about to give a few examples of shinichi and ran being the most idealistic characters in the manga and for the purpose of full context, i have to showcase the contrast between shinran's morals and the values of other characters. i appreciate and care about every single character who's brought up in the next part of my essay, so don't take this post as an invitation for hostility towards them, that's not my goal, okay? okay. let's proceed.

a) sense of justice and heroism

chapter 239-240

shinichi impulsively investigates the black organization. haibara repeatedly reminds him that he's being reckless and putting himself in danger, she even mocks his strong sense of justice and initially refuses to join his investigation because she's smart and values self preservation. haibara ends up joining him after all, but keeps urging him to drop his investigation and leave with her.

i don't blame her one bit for her approach to the situation... truth be told, her reaction makes a lot more sense to me than shinichi's 😂 but that's because i share her pragmatism.

at this point in the manga shinichi and haibara have zero support. neither the fbi, nor the cia is helping them. it's incredibly dangerous for them to go after the black organization completely alone and it's not just unsafe for them individually either, it's risky for everyone they care about. their exposure would endanger a lot of people, including agasa, ran, kogoro, the detective boys, etc...

and safety concerns aside, why would she care about justice in that situation anyway? how could she, a teen who's trapped in a child's body, possibly hold the black organization accountable without any help?

so yeah, i strongly believe that if you look at the situation logically, haibara's point of view makes a lot more sense than shinichi's and it's fair of her to choose safety over justice, especially when the latter seems so impossible achieve.

too bad that shinichi doesn't give a flying fuck about things like common sense or self preservation. he's completely driven by idealism, it's what defines him as a person, in more ways than one. the only person in the dcmk universe who accurately mirrors his righteousness is ran mouri and it expresses itself through countless parallels that completely contrast haibara's position in chapter 239-240

chapter 44

shinichi pretty much lashes out at the murderer for personal reasons which i dive into here. on top of that, he's passionately opposed to the culprit's idea of using justice as a reason for murder and guess what? ran unsurprisingly feels the same way:

chapter 313

the obvious observation here is that their speeches are remarkably alike, but what i find even more fascinating is the fact that the killers react so similarly. shinran's sense of justice is so powerful, it doesn't just guide their own actions, it even moves morally corrupt people and holds them accountable.

furthermore, the concept of personal safety is completely lost on both shinichi and ran lol.

they constantly risk their lives for other people, including haibara, who, as we already established, initially disregards heroism.

chapter 289

chapter 434

AHHHHH!!! THE PARALLELS ARE KILLING ME

anyway, i'm not trying to undermine the beauty and complexity of haibara's character, she's incredibly well written and i think it's important to emphasize that she's actually attempting to sacrifice herself in both of these chapters.

i actually really appreciate the fact that haibara is this complicated person with a rough background who slowly figures out her values with the help of her friends, imo it gives her layers.

i'm simply pointing out that upon her initial introduction her virtues instinctively differ from shinran's, it takes her some time to grow into the same kind of heroism that shinichi and ran display from the get-go. because they inspire her. but i'll go over that in a minute.

b) they value human life

one of shinichi's main attributes has always been his profound interest in human life. it's a quality that i never questioned until recently because i always figured it was due to his work as a detective.

but the more i think about it, the less it works as an explanation because we know a lot of detectives in the dcmk universe who don't share his interest in protecting people at all costs.

interestingly enough, there is a character who shares his passion but it's not someone who professionally deals with human life - it's just a compassionate, tenderhearted girl who instinctively wants to keep others safe no matter what.

chapter 1026

ran saves a murderer from suicide

which reminds me of shinichi attempting to do the same in another chapter:

chapter 67

he tries so hard... but unlike ran he ultimately fails.

and who's there to comfort him? who's the only person in the whole world who naturally understands his sorrow, who truly knows how valuable human life is and wants to protect it just as much as he does? ran. of course it's ran.

and it will always be ran.

having said that, analyzing shinran's idealism is beyond fascinating to me because i rarely share their virtues or courage. my values are more aligned with the rest of the dcmk universe:

chapter 153

shinichi notices that a culprit is about to kill herself and gets in the way of her plans. heiji's response resonates with me a lot.

CAUSE YEAH, what's the point of keeping someone alive against their will? isn't that infinitely crueler than just letting them die? maybe.

but shinichi and ran don't give a fuck lol. they don't stop the murderers suicide attempts because they're heartless though. it's the opposite, really.

as we already established, both shinichi and ran are optimists at heart, so they believe or least hope that people can always better themselves. i think that's the main reason why the interfere.

besides, shinichi and ran simply care too much about justice - they need culprits to be held accountable and they respect human life too much to allow suicide.

again, do i share their passionate interest in human life? LOL, hell no. i think very few people are capable of being that idealistic. most people, including me, value innocent life but shinichi and ran? they value life regardless of innocence and on top of that, they even value the lives of people who ARE ACTIVELY TRYING TO KILL THEM

chapter 773

a man is threatening to bomb the detective agency, he could kill ran, kogoro and sera within SECONDS and what does my girl ran do? yeah, she saves his life, LOL!

she's already in immense danger and she's seconds away from being saved, but she goes out of her way and puts herself even more at risk, just to save a guy who's threatening her life. WHY?!

because that's just who she is.

understandably, sera is baffled. she doesn't get it.

which makes sense, cause, again, there's only one character in the entire manga who truly understands ran and passionately agrees with her principles and that's shinichi kudo:

their idealism never wavers. it's perplexing for characters like haibra, heiji, sera and even for me as a reader. it's also extremely inspiring though. which brings me to my next point!

c) they inspire others

chapter 239

remember how haibara initially refuses to join shinichi during his investigation? guess what changes her mind...

even though haibara mocks shinichi's idealism and admittedly doesn't understand it in the beginning, it does get her thinking.

she grows up under terrible circumstances which force her to prioritize her safety over human life, but after watching shinichi for a while, she comes to the realization that she no longer has to live that way.

his unshakable idealism fascinates and encourages her, she's reminded that she has choices now and suddenly she finds herself wanting to do better.

but shinichi isn't the only person who helps her evolve in a pretty significant way:

chapter 313

ran's speech about justice and courage deeply moves haibara in the same way it affects the culprit.

her speech doesn't just give haibra the courage to finally introduce herself to ran after months of avoiding her (for reasons i'll get into in part four of my masterlist) i'd argue it also contributes to her finally facing the black organization in chapter 434

while shinichi helps haibara understand that she has choices now and urges her not to run from her fate, ran motivates haibara to be courageous and face her fate. it's actually incredible how much they help haibara, just by being themselves.

chapter 398-400

check out the blog of my wonderful friend aracaeli who recently brought attention to an extremely underrated chapter which emphasizes that ran doesn't just affect characters like haibara, she even inspires her other half shinichi, which is a remarkable accomplishment, considering their morals are generally completely aligned.

ran's idealism knows no bounds. how could it not move people? especially someone like haibara who's just starting to get familiar with the concept of friendship.

in this chapter ran's idealism inspires countless people (shinichi, haibara, the detective boys, the murderer) it says so much about her character and it's such a touching reading experience.

chapter 153

remember how heiji understandably regrets saving the murderer from suicide after seeing her devastating reaction? shinichi knows exactly what to say:

AGAIN, personally, i don't even blame heiji for his initial views. frankly, i agree with them! but it's really hard not to be affected by shinichi's powerful words. i can see how they could completely change the mindset of a passionate detective like heiji. and they do.

chapter 188

to the point that heiji's willing to risk his life because of them...

chapter 774

even sera, who can be a bit morally corrupt at times, is impressed with ran's strong virtues:

but that's to be expected, considering that shinichi and ran even had an impact on vermouth who's an established, ruthless serial killer.

i know, i already extensively talked about the new york case in part two, but it's such an important chapter for shinran that i feel the need to bring it up again, especially if it's going to continue the wonderful discourse i've been having about it with amazing bloggers like sakublogs who i urge you to check out!

chapter 353

this case is so, so special to me because it fundamentally captures the essence of shinran.

vermouth is about to take ran's life but the railing she is leaning on breaks and she's about fall to her impending doom... until ran intuitively grabs her arm and tries to save her:

you'd think that shinichi would urge ran to let go, cause that's what any rational person would do, right? but he doesn't. instead he assists ran. again, WHY?

because... they can't fucking help themselves. because THAT'S JUST WHO THEY ARE.

shinichi and ran are completely led by their intuition, optimism and idealism. nobody values justice, courage and human life the way do, it's in their bones and hearts, it's not something they grow into, it's in their nature.

their spiritual connection is their most defining quality as a couple and it's the reason why i'm convinced that shinran is gosho's best written ship and beyond that, one of the most brilliantly written romances of all time.

it's difficult to do shinran justice in condensed essays like this, but i hope i was able to illustrate their amazing personalities and offer some insight into their captivating bond.

it's why i've been closely following their story since my early childhood. they have the same effect on me they have on other dcmk characters. shinichi and ran inspire me, they touch my soul and restore my faith in people. they're not just a cute couple - they're a symbol of hope.

vermouth puts it best:

visit the shinran library for more

#angels are not mystical creatures from another realm #they are the manifestations of love and kindness in our lives #deepak chopra #a life changing ship indeed #i love them so so much #part four is going to be my favorite part of the series #hint #it's going to be about my best girl ran #i'm so excited! #shinran #shinichi kudo #ran mouri #dcmk #detective conan #case closed #ship analysis

[spockandawe]

Another Ianthe thought! It's idly bothered me since reading Nona the Ninth that she would so willingly board the immortality train without Coronabeth. Not in a this-is-bad-writing way, but like I'm missing a little puzzle piece. If Ianthe actually wanted to escape Coronabeth, it would make sense, but if the codependence cuts both ways, then I was missing something critical. But that post about whether Ianthe modded Corona to be extra extra beautiful has stuck with me, and it shook something loose.

Now I'm wondering if Ianthe wasn't planning to be immortal alone, and instead she was planning to manually drag Corona along for the ride as well. All the other necromancer/cavalier pairs we see, it's a massive emotional deal to consume someone you were so close to, we get hints that Augustine and Mercymorn were trapped into it via suicide pact, it's so strange that Ianthe was so much more READY than any of the other necromancers to eat her cavalier.

And you know how this idea does make sense? It makes sense if Ianthe was already willing to do the work of two powerful necromancers to keep Coronabeth with her as they were growing up. Clearly Ianthe could have been terrifyingly competent on her own and only slightly less Aesthetic, and it would have just taken one instance of leaving Corona hanging out to dry and outing her as a non-necromancer, and instead, they kept up the act even to the point of arguing their way into the first house together.

Corona is crying as she asks why Ianthe didn't eat her, and I was with her at first, my best guess for why Ianthe was so eager to bail was resentment (and I still think that's an ingredient in the codependence soup, just not the key one here). But I'm forgetting someone! Yes, he comes in last place in that three-way dynamic, as well as the third house narrative, in a way that is fascinating to me, but the two of them are as intimately tied to Naberius as any necromancer is tied to their cavalier. More than most, arguably, Judith is pretty harsh on the cradle cavalier dynamic the third house apparently leans into, and he's been helping all along to hide that Corona isn't a necromancer.

I've fairly well convinced myself at this point that Ianthe was so ready to devour Naberius not just for the sake of ambition (though, again, I think that is an element). But once she's solved the mystery of lyctorhood, then she's confirmed for herself that Teacher was right, there's no path forward for both of them... as lyctors. I would have expected anyone else in the cast to agonize much harder over killing their cavalier, so does that mean Ianthe and Naberius don't have that particular relationship? No, I don't think that's it, I think they are attached in an alarmingly intense way (her guest to her birthdays was always who would annoy him the most), just like a typical necromancer and cavalier. It's just that this degree of attachment is dwarfed by how much Ianthe and Corona revolve around each other. What's really key is her ability to keep Coronabeth intact, and like, sure, it would be nice to keep Babs with them in SOME capacity, but there's a clear priority order here, and eating him means he's still technically around.

In summary, Ianthe became a lyctor without Coronabeth because she intended to bring her sister along manually if necessary. Consuming Babs is an incredibly easy decision if it means Corona won't be able to die and leave her, and he's still here, kind of, which is close enough. Obviously I could be off base and I will be delighted to read whatever character notes taz muir lays in front of me in the next book, but in the space of writing this post I took myself from 'hm, I wonder if this makes sense' to a pretty firm headcanon, so here we are.

#the locked tomb #nona the ninth #ianthe tridentarius #coronabeth tridentarius #naberius tern

[bowlofmeat]

Sasha and Marcy’s (and Anne’s) relationship: the lines THE LINES

...

First off, there is very little interaction in the show between Sasha and Marcy that isn't about Anne.

I can pinpoint exactly one instance in which they interact with each other without considering Anne, and that is in episode "The Third Temple". You know, after they haven't seen each other in months.

Marcy: "Ah! Sasha! Sasha! Sasha! Sasha!"

Sasha: *laughs* "Hey, Marmar! Whoa! Check out your new threads!"

Marcy: "Speak for yourself, look at that armor! How did you find us?!"

One instance in the entire show, though I'm sure there are similar moments scattered about. But that's all they are - moments. Are Marcy and Sasha ever focused on each other? If not, do they even interact outside of Anne, or is Anne the glue that holds them together because they wouldn't have a reason to hang out otherwise?

Mind you, this could be because the show is about Anne, Anne is the protagonist of Amphibia and not Marcy and Sasha. But you could at least imply a relationship outside of Anne if such a relationship existed. I for one would like to see Sasha and Marcy interact without Anne in the picture at all.

Anyway, in "Scavenger Hunt" Marcy does not pick up on Anne thinking she herself is dumb compared to Marcy. Because if Marcy did she'd show symptoms of having already picked up on that instead of being surprised by it at the end of the episode! If they were on the same page, the same line, the episode could still work with Marcy picking up on that and thinking "well, it's probably not that bad, I might be good at maths but she's so good with people," dismissing her problems As Marcy Is Wont To Do.

Same thing in "Commander Anne"! Where Sasha throws Anne into a leadership position in a rebellion she doesn't know in a land that's changed drastically since she's been gone! Naturally Anne cracks under pressure  at the end: "I'm drowning out here dude! Do you want me to fail? *small gasp* Is that what this is? some kind of new manipulation?"

And in both cases when Anne fesses up or explains herself Sasha and Marcy might go: "No, I don't think that at all!" or: "That wasn't my intent!"

That is true, but that would be out of character for Sasha and Marcy to do to each other. At least, my subconscious tells me that's the case. Why? Well, consider that there has never been any miscommunication between Marcy and Sasha in the show.

In season 2 finale "True Colors" Marcy texts Sasha with an image of the calamity box. We don't see what exactly she texts before she sends the image, but Marcy says this out loud while she's texting: "I think I just found the perfect birthday present for Anne." And in season 1 finale "Reunion" Sasha says this: "Oh my gosh. Marcy says she found the perfect gift for you downtown! Haha! A frog music box for the frog lover." A pause. "I wonder if those gems are real."

What I'm getting from this is that they're immediately on the same page regarding Anne's birthday gift. Sasha might not know exactly what Marcy is thinking, but they are on the same line of thought!

This is shown in "The Hardest Thing", too! When Anne goes to use the power of all three stones and maybe die in the process (Anne you have issues), they practically join thought processes after that.

And Anne ... is not on their line. Anne has a hard time communicating with their line, as shown in almost every episode where they interact, and Marcy and Sasha have a hard time communicating with Anne's line.

Extrapolating from this, I'd imagine that Sasha thinks her line is best, and she is the leader so she gets to decide that her line is best, and Marcy is part of that line and Anne is not.

Do you get what I'm putting down? Please do not attack me for this, but if Sasha's line is best, then Anne is on an inferior line in the eyes of Sasha and arguably(???) Marcy.

In season 2 Marcy and Anne are almost never on the same line and you can see it in the episodes, but throughout season 2 they actually take steps to be on the same line, like in "Marcy At The Gates" and "The First Temple". Steps to improve their relationship!

And then True Colors happens, where we discover that Marcy wasn't being honest and is just as messed up as Sasha. Yeah ....

Point being, both Marcy and Sasha have always been dishonest to Anne and each other up to this point, and in season 3 that changes but you have to wonder if this is a common thing, even before Amphibia.

Speaking of "True Colors", something that's always stuck with me is that during Sasha's toad rebellion there's a lot of focus on Anne and Sasha with the whole "I am done being friends with you" thing, but Marcy is there too! She's literally experiencing Sasha's betrayal at the same time as Anne, and yet she isn't getting focused on at all!

And the same thing happens in reverse! Marcy says her whole "I gave you this, I gave you everything" spiel to convince herself and the girls but when Sasha backs away Marcy stops focusing on her, directing her full attention to Anne. Why?

I don't know???

I feel like ... Marcy and Sasha are always focused on Anne. They're never focused on each other.

Come to think of it, Marcy and Sasha don't seem to like each other very much?

Sasha: "She got us stuck here on purpose, Anne. I know she was freaking out about moving, but it's still super messed up."

Sasha: "Ok, so let's say you're right, and we've been taking Marcy for granted, that doesn't change what she's done." Anne: "It's not about what she did, Sash. It's about why she did it." Sasha: "So, I'm supposed to forgive her? Like it's easy?"

Between the dialogue above and Darcy saying "Marcy always thought you were kind of a brute," (Darcy's being manipulative, but still.) they don't really ... seem to have a high opinion of each other? I know that Sasha calls Marcy her "lovable little nerd", but she wouldn't have said that without Anne's prompting of "I mean, just look at what you and I have now." (Gayest moment in Amphibia, by the way.)

The following is a big assumption, but assuming I'm right and they don't like each other (though they obviously do care about each other make no mistake about that), do you think they'd be more geniune? To each other, I mean. Because they don't care about the other's opinion as much, not like with Anne who they want to project a certain image to. (Which is why Marcy doesn't direct her True Colors spiel at Sasha as much, by the way.)

Expanding on that, do you think they talk behind Anne's back about things they can't talk about with Anne, because they want to project the image of their best selves to her?

(EDIT: Actually, Sasha and Marcy are more similar than might be apparent when you boil them down. Their slightly condescending love of Anne (which goes two ways in Anne&Marcy's relationship but not in Anne&Sasha's), their same brand of abandonment issues and the same lengths they'll go to to not be left behind, them both being content with staying in Amphibia if it meant their girls stayed with them. Like I dunno, there's something about looking at another person and seeing the same kind of damage reflected back. I don't think they would like it.)

Again, we don't see much of their relationship in the show. I'm sort of limited by that fact, so I can only make informed guesses.

I just find it interesting that in the epilogue, after catching up with each other because I'm assuming they haven't seen each other in months at this point (and the audience needs their exposition after all), they immediately segue into talking about Anne 💀💀💀

#amphibia #anne boonchuy #sasha waybright #marcy wu #to be clear I don't think the 'inferior line' thing is a bad person thing necessarily #it's really not ... a friendship ender #it's just ... everyone thinks their line is best c'mon. #I can't decide if this analysis dispels sasharcy or adds fuel to sasharcy #their relationship has the capacity to be *so* messed up!! #why do I have a feeling this analysis is going to be controversial? #hmm no it's probably fine #analysis tag #flesh post

[faejilly]

1/2) I was wondering what you thought of the Malec sparring scene in 3b. I wanted to like it, thought I would cause I'm really kinda into that sort of thing, but instead it just, I don't know, upset me. I couldn't help but see it as just another instance of the show undermining Alec to makes another character look good and I hate when they do that. Not just because Alec's character is basically tailor made for me to take one look at and go "MINE" at (which it absolutely, 100% is) but also

2/2) it’s just really shitty writing to constantly diminish one character to prop up another. But I see so many people seemed to love it and am I being oversensitive?  

Hey, if you don’t like it, you don’t like it, there’s no oversensitive. AND I HAPPEN TO AGREE WITH YOU, so. There is that. 😅

I dislike the Magnus training scene on about three (four?) different levels, tbqh, and I can headcanon all of them away, but it’s not… it does not, imo, work as is, and if you can enjoy the pretty regardless, that’s fine, but if you can’t… that’s fine too.

First: the scene at the end of the previous episode, where Magnus asks for help, is one of the most beautifully done Malec scenes in the show, imo, because Magnus is bad at asking for help, and here he does, and Alec is so gentle with him, and has one hell of a clunker of a terribly written line but he makes it work anyways because that’s what Alec does and the way Magnus pulls him in by the waist when they’re kissing there in the apothecary (in what is arguably the one place in the world that is most Magnus’, but he wants Alec there too) is just. Sublime.

But the training scene doesn’t follow on that note at all, so even if it was flawless I wouldn’t like it just because it’s ignoring how we got there. Especially since I liked how we got there. It was so lovely! And then. Completely different tone.

SECOND: The stated point of Alec training Magnus was, based on what we saw previously, to help him retrain his instincts. That is, if he’s in trouble, that he would react physically, so there’s not a stutter as he reaches for magic that’s not there, because that delay in reaction time is dangerous. THIS MEANS… that sparring isn’t actually much help for that, not initially. They need to be training the reaction, which is like katas, or a tai chi routine, or the damn heavy bag Alec likes so much. You pick the reaction you need to have and you practice it over and over and over again until your body does it without you having to think about it. (And then you practice fighting to make sure you’ve got it.) That’s what Magnus needs. There’s no argument that he knows how to move, that he probably knows how to fight, how to spar, but he needs to change his instinctive reaction.

Third disconnect! Magnus has spent 400 years learning things, sure, but he doesn’t train and practice and physically fight every single damn day like Alec does, so… there shouldn’t be any question who would win in a purely physical confrontation, even without runes. Sure, when Magnus had his magic it’d be a different story, (but tbqh Shadowhunters are trained how to fight magical creatures so it still shouldn’t be easy) but HE DOESN’T HAVE HIS MAGIC, AND HE SAID HE NEEDED HELP, THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT. LET HIM NEED HELP. LET ALEC HELP HIM.

aCTUALLy, this is 3rd & 4th, because let Magnus ask for help, that’s a very good character note and a very mature thing that he needs to be able to do, and doesn’t make him weak as a person or a character or something, come on show…

and also FOURTH: let Alec be good at the only things you’ve said he’s good at! LET HIM BE PHYSICALLY COMPETENT at fighting AND ALSO EMOTIONALLY/MENTALLY COMPETENT AT TRAINING. Like. This is a thing it is strongly implied he’d be good at? He’s good with kids, he practically raised his siblings, he’s in charge of an Institute and has been half-running things since he was a freaking teenager LET HIM BE GOOD AT KEEPING HIS PEOPLE UP TO SPEED?!?!!!

Now. ERM. Where was I?

Right. The actually training. Showing a guy stabbing a mannequin fifty times is probably not as entertaining as some sparring, I guess, but that’s lazy thinking because, honestly, Alec’s hands all over Magnus adjusting his stance and pushing him to do it over and over ‘til they’re both all sweaty is golden, wtf show, the tension build-up would be glorious, because each time they’d get a little closer to breaking form, but they wouldn’t do it.

Gah.

And then! Then you could have a legitimately fun switch to sparring because they already did the work and you wouldn’t have this jarring disconnect between Alec trying to be serious and Magnus (despite being the one who asked for help!) just playing. They could both be playing! It would actually be them obviously pushing each others buttons! Because what we got was more Magnus giving up after one exchange and then dismissing Alec’s help and then Alec eventually going, ah well, wtf, guess I can’t actually train him, let’s kiss. Which, tbf, he clearly always wants to kiss Magnus, but it’s still a really weird dynamic, because that’s not at all where he seemed to be during the sparring, he really wanted to help and Magnus wouldn’t let him and Alec shouldn’t have been okay with that dismissal. 

So, honestly, wow, my italics abuse is off the charts today, sorry. Um. I don’t like the scene because it undermines Magnus, makes him look petty and disrespectful (ymmv! obviously!) in a way that I feel is out of character, and it also undermines one of the few chances the show gave Alec to be good at what he does. Like, it says he’s good at what he does, but then it only ever shows him failing and that’s… depressing and distressing on a couple different levels.

And it’s especially distressing, because a lot (not all, but a fair bit) of the training and fight scenes they’ve done for other characters/plots have been very in character, so the fact that this isn’t is, much like the other stuff I talked about in 3b earlier, even MORE annoying because they almost got there. They set it up so well, they’ve done emotional compelling choreography before, it should have been better.

NOW. If you ignore the context and are just watching them dance around the training room, yes it’s pretty, but it doesn’t (for me) fit the set-up the previous episode gave it, and it doesn’t do justice to either of the characters.

#shadowhunters #malec #alec lightwood #magnus bane #my sh rambling #sh critical #sh meta #Anonymous #jilly answers

[bow-woahh]

If you’re still doing the game, chapter 6 from the grocery store onward?

Send me your favorite scene/chapter from one of my works and I’ll post a DVD commentary on it.

ask and you shall receive!

Little bit of background info, this chapter is obviously part one of two, chapter six being it's better if I calm down, and chapter 7 being the rest of the line: it's better if I lash out. If you listened to the song full stop, you might have already known that lmao

I felt like these two chapters worked well being split into two parts (I mean imagine how long it would have been if it wasn't ... like no thank you) because of the overarching themes across them and most importantly, the plot line with her mom and the readers not knowing what's putting her on edge in chapter 6. It was so much fun to play around with and hint that there was clearly something bothering her. I think in my outline, before I found the official title this chapter was called "calm before the storm" because that truly is what it is, there's a lot of nice, fun moments, but it's clear there is something bad on the way.

Anyway, tangent over, commentary time!

They caught a bus to get to the closest grocery store, which was still a twenty minute journey away, so Catra ignored Diego for most of the ride, listening to music and texting Adora.

When I was originally outlining chapters and everything, the grocery scene wasn't planned in to this chapter (I just love giving myself more to do). I have a section in my outline document where it's kinda just a thought dump of things I want to happen possibly at some point, because I think it'd be cool or cute or whatever. This was one of those instances, and because this chapter felt a bit bare bones at first (the final product was not in the slightest) I added this in as it felt like a great way to introduce Adora and Diego and since Catra and Adora are still fairly early in their relationship here, it just worked so well, because they truly didn't expect to see each other.

“Hey, hi! I knew you said you were going shopping, but I didn’t think—well I guess it does make sense since you live in Alwyn but—”

Okay, time for context no one asked for! Bright Moon is the city they are in (obviously) and Frighton (the Fright Zone) is the neighbouring city. Bright Moon is kinda split into lower city, upper city and mid/center city (guess which kinda classes live where). Alwyn and Elberon (where Catra and Adora live respectively) are more lower city, so they are typically where poorer people live, though there are some nice places there I'm sure. Just not many.

Adora said, “Loser? Nah, Catra’s actually super cool, trust me.” She looked at Adora, properly, for the first time in a few minutes, and found her staring back at her with a fond smile.

Adora's piss poor attempt at flirting. Jk, but I do think this moment is v cute and I just love how Adora defended Catra, even though it's just her younger cousin being stupid. We love to see it.

Once again Diego beat her to it, opening the door and saying, “Sure!” before jumping out and slamming it shut.

[Context for this line: Adora asked if they needed help taking the bags out of her truck.] Honestly, Diego's really cute here. He really admires Adora and looks up to her so he's taking every possible opportunity to talk to her, and be around her.

“You know you could've left, like, ages ago, right Grayskull?"

“Yeah well,” Adora did that little shrug she always did. “I didn't mind.”

Narrowing her eyes for a moment, Catra said slowly, “Alright. Well, you can go now. And I should probably head in.”

She turned to go inside, when Adora grabbed her wrist. “Wait.”

Ahhh I love this whole section of dialogue so I had to talk about it. These two are just... useless. What I love about them, and writing them in specifically this, is the constant push and pull with them, how they can never just explicitly say whar they want, either in fear they'll be judged and rejected or because they don't even fully understand what they want to begin with. With Catra and Adora, as much as one can say something like "You should go" the other will always hesitate to, will always have something at the tip of their tongue that they're not quite saying, or like here, will literally tell them to stay, using words or otherwise. They want each other but aren't quite ready to admit it yet. And I just think that's beautiful.

Also the grabbing of the wrist and the "Wait"? Pretty sure that was an accidental reference to the "stay" scene in Taking Control but it's so ingrained into my brain I'm sure it was subconscious.

“Do you wanna get out of here?”

This line is just so... teenage romance vibes and I love it

Even though they had been talking nonstop for days now, and had seen each other just the other day, there was a palpable tension in the air, one that Catra wasn’t exactly sure how to deal with.

The said tension was definitely more on Adora's end than Catra's, because obviously, Catra is still hiding things (or more accurately, just not sharing them) and although Adora wants to pretend to be fine with it, the closer she gets, the more she wants to know what the truth is, she doesn't want to listen to the lies and rumours anymore.

Adora studied her face for a moment, before saying carefully, “Well, I, uh, have a ton of old gear I’ve been meaning to get rid of, but maybe you could ask him if he wants it? It’d be a good start.”

Catra hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “I'm sure he'd like that. I'll, uh, see what he says and get back to you.”

“Great!” Adora beamed.

Another little moment I love because Adora is just so considerate here and understands that Catra doesn't want to delve into things like money issues. She also gets Catra isn't one to accept handouts but the way she puts it isn't ‘let me help you out’ but more ‘you'd be doing me a favour’. Adora understands how she feels. She gets it.

“Why did he think you were texting your ‘boyfriend’ by the way?” Adora asked, and Catra felt her heart drop to her stomach. She hadn’t thought Adora had been paying attention to what Diego said (arguably nobody should ever pay attention to anything he says, ever) but of course she had, because once again, Catra had underestimated Adora’s observational skills.

“Because he's a stupid kid who doesn't know what he's talking about.”

Honestly Diego isn't that far from the truth he just needs to turn that 'boy' in boyfriend to girl.

Also the fact Adora is asking about this.... interesting. Catra's answer.....very defensive and also interesting. Once again they're so many unspoken words and subtext layered in all of this. It's like a tiered cake.

“That? Oh, nah. I don't—it's not really any of her business, y'know?” Catra replied, staring just past Adora’s shoulder.

Catra is replying to Adora asking whether or not Serenia knows she's a lesbian and, well, obviously what she said wasn't true. Well it was, technically, but she's ommiting the real reason. As I've already at least slightly portrayed, Catra has a complicated relationship with her sexuality, and I don't want to spoil it but that will definitely be explored more in the future, and Serenia definitely plays a part in it, being her guardian after all.

“I guess it was always kind of obvious. I never looked at guys the same way I look at girls—my first crush was some girl in like elementary, although I didn't realise at the time, and they just continued from there. I thought all girls had crushes on other girls at some point, that wishing I was a guy so I could be with them was what everyone did. When I realised they didn't, that it was weird, I spent all my time convincing myself I just wanted to be my celebrity crush and not be with them, until I actually kissed a girl for the first time. Then I couldn't exactly ignore it. I still tried to though. Especially when—well yeah, I tried to deny it for a while. But then, I guess I got tired. Of lying to myself.”

This whole paragraph is just... yes. No one has ever asked Catra how she knew, but more importantly, Catra has never wanted to answer this question, and if it were anyone else asking, she would have definitely shut it down, or answered with something short and simple. It's because it's Adora, and because she's growing more comfortable with her, to the point where she doesn't mind, even wants to share these types of details about herself. That vulnerability is even more important in chapter 7, so this was a stepping stone of sorts for her.

“So, uh, how about you? Not that I’m saying that you’re—but since you asked…” She cursed at herself internally when Adora's expression morphed into one of surprise, eyes slightly widening. 

“Oh, me? I, um—I don't really know. Is that weird? I just haven't ever really thought too much about it. I guess my main priorities are school, lacrosse, and work.”

God, it's in moments like these where I wish I wrote from Adora's perspective as well. Because there's a lot to unpack here. She's not lying when she says this, I do think this is partially how she feels. But, some could argue it's so obvious how much she likes Catra, and she's definitely admired some women before. So. I'll leave it at that because otherwise I'll say too much.

Quickly though, back to the what I said about writing in Adora's perspective... saying this here and here only because I don't know if it'll happen but I did have an idea to make a sequel of sorts, from her perspective. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The smooth stream had been interrupted once Adora had asked if Catra's had any plans next week, with Halloween coming up. The relaxed, open demeanor that Adora had seen for the past few hours had almost instantly closed up again, and she could hardly focus on what Adora was saying anymore.

Now that Chapter 7 is out, why she reacted this way obviously makes a lot of sense, but to add more of a commentary to it, as we saw throughout this chapter she was trying her best to ignore her emotions about her mom's death anniversary because for once things were going well and therefore she had other things to focus on. Adora mentioning Halloween forced Catra to acknowledge it, along with the memories that come with her mothers death.

“Promise you won't ditch me?”

“I, Adora Grayskull, promise not to ditch you,” she said, hand on heart.

We love a good promise cameo.

“Did you really get kicked out? Of Horde High?”

Catra should have been expecting this to come up once again. It was bound to. With all the rumours. Especially when Sparkles seemed to be a fan with how she brought it up on Sunday.

I've already talked a bit about the rumours and how they arose in my chap 1 commentary, but really I wanted to talk about Glimmer here, since her scene was before the grocery scene and I have a lot to say about this one. Initially when I wrote it, the scene was a fairly quick altercation that kinda lacked a real punch, but after spending a little more time on it after my beta pointed some things out...it hit hard. I know there is a fuck Glimmer train at the moment because, yeah, Glimmer is pretty mean in that scene. And other scenes. I don't know why I love writing Glimmer as her S4 self so much, but it's fun to play around with okay? I like how she can take on an almost antagonistic role at times.

Glimmer thinks what she is doing is to the benefit of her own friend, by pointing out all of Catra's faults and the fact that she's from the Horde, but I also think there's a little jealousy there. No Glimmer doesn't like Adora, but she is quite a possessive friend, so I can't imagine she likes the fact Adora is spending so much time with someone she doesn't know, and to add to it, she's got the worst reputation in the school. So.

Catra thought back to the moment, and remembered what had provoked it, all the way back in eighth grade. “Yeah. I'd say they did.”

Exclusive for Tumblr gang only, but yes they did on fact deserve it because they called Catra the d-slur. This was during a time where she was really struggling with her sexuality so at the time, this cut deep.

As Catra lay in bed that night, she found her mind wandering back to Adora's handshake, how they had held on for just a little too long, mismatched eyes staring into blue ones. How such a casual touch had brought back that burning sensation, that need to be closer.

Ah...the handshake. There is literally no other reason for this other than the fact they are gay. This chapter along with the next are especially important for their development physically—they get a lot more comfortable touching each other in passing but at the same time they still have to find a reason to touch each other (hence the handshake). Either way, it helps break another barrier in their relationship, and this is even moreso the case in chapter 7. I don't know if you noticed, but that chapter is full of small touches and more, but they couldn't have gotten there if it wasn't for the little steps along the way.

Boy that was a long one! I hope you guys enjoyed this, I know I said chap 8 would be out soon but schools really kicking my ass, trying to find a balance is hard. Nevertheless, it will be out asap, I appreciate your patience! (:

#spop #catradora #micah answering asks #bloom #bloom asks #asks and answers #send anons #ty anon #again #this was fun

[arethereanyoriginalusernames]

Zp character stuff for other people

Hey kids! I decided since I haven't poked this fandom with a stick in a while, I decided to get back into the swing of things with another series (I'm sure you're all excited *cue sarcasm sign*). This series actually goes out to the fanfic writers out there. This series is basically a dump where I discuss some misconceptions about the characters of zp, and some fun little tidbits that you can toy with. You don't need to use this. Consider this just a bunch of suggestions.

Be sure to tell me what you think! Now onto the.... post, I guess. And big surprise, guess who I'm doing first?

Ok, hear me on. Somebody would request this guy anyway, he's an easy character for me to talk about, and it can help me show people what kind of series this is. So, strap in, because we're talking about this little shit again.

-------------------------------

He ain't Billie Eilish

Get it? Because Billie sung a song called "(I'm the) Bad Guy" and Dame's not the bad guy? Get it? Ok, I'm sorry....

But anyway, I've mentioned this before, but I find that people write Damian differently, and it mostly depends on how they feel about him. In some cases, Dame is written as this completely unlikable dick with little to no redeeming qualities. This is usually done by people who don't like him, and to those people, I ask "Why would you make this character worse? He's a little shit already, we don't need to crank it up to eleven."

I think the best way to sum up Damian is like this: he is a good person at heart, and when he cares about someone, he downright loves them. But when it comes to people he doesn't so much care for, well... that, and he's a massive brat. He doesn't deal well as problems, and he will basically do anything short of having a temper tantrum. He'll get angry, he'll give attitude, he'll cheat, anything to make something turn out the way he wants it to. Then he'll probably forget about it because he has the attention span of a goldfish. And then he'll go do something along the lines of singing songs about rainbows or something.

He's not a downright despicable person, but to people other than his friends and family, he can be a real piece of work.

------------------------------

Prince of darkness = Angsty pretty-boy?

Ok, so I have said that I like Dame's male human design. I think that he looks like he just walked out of a hot topic, and I just find that funny. Like, in a strange way, it just fits the character? But not because I think Dame's an angsty emo.

Remember how I said that people write this character very differently depending on how they feel about him? Another reoccurring thing I see is people writing Dame as someone who is broken inside and who holds all his pain inside himself, which he'll only share with.... whoever the writer is shipping him with.

While I suppose that's one way to interpret the character, let me just put something out there. Yeah, Dame clearly has problems canonically which he may not like talking about, but it's pretty obvious to everyone that he has them. Damian isn't a character who really hides his emotions, and he often makes it quite clear to everyone how he's feeling. True, he doesn't usually like to discuss his issues, but this is mainly due to him wanting to keep up a cool exterior. Examples of this can be found in the comic and in other artworks involving Dame.

The only times that I've seen this character discuss his issues is with specific characters, such as Addi and Autumn. The reason for this could perhaps be because he trusts those characters enough to be fully honest with them.

------------------------

He a player or nah?

Something I see a lot of people not include, oddly enough, is how flirty Dame is. This is a little surprising, because it's a fairly large part of his character. Due to being influenced by Tentadora, Dame is the guy spouting the cheesy pick up lines and doing this such as dramatically leaning against people. And this isn't just with Kayla. He's actually flirtatious with almost everybody. Flirtation appears to be worked into how he interacts with others on a regular basis. He hits on his friends so they all can be like "lol, we hitting on each other, funny joke." and he'll even hit on people he doesn't like, such as Rusty, just to unnerve them. Strangely enough, Vivz has once said that Dame actually gets nervous around people he is romantically interested in and only flirts with people he isn't interested in. While we haven't gotten a chance to see this with, say, Kayla, we might see this in scenes with the two of them alone.

-----------------------

There's more than just a banjo...

So, a lot of people know about this hell spawn and his beloved banjo. But have you ever asked yourself why this guy is in drama, and not in, say, the music class? Damian is apparently skilled at more than just the banjo. He can play the guitar and the ukelele. There was also a sketch of him walking beside his mum, singing from a thing of sheet music, so it's possible that he may have some vocal training as well. Overall, he is said to be "musically gifted". But it seems as though he doesn't just enjoy playing music. He enjoys preforming. He enjoys getting up in front of people and entertaining them. Which is probably why he's in drama.

--------------------------

Beware the minions!

Damian actually has what are arguably three little side kicks that I rarely see be mentioned in any fan works. Remember those three little hell spawns, Verin, Vespa and Vetis? While it's not clear what purpose they serve in the palace, they apparently follow Damian around and are quite fond of him. They're based off the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil concept (Vespa, for instance, is mute). To put it simply, there is much chaotic energy when these three are present.

--------------------

Creepy dudes be creepy

Another character heavily involved with Damian that rarely gets utilized is Bozzwick. Bozz pretends to be bffs with Damian, but he has more sinister motives. To put it simply, he wants to have sex with Damian. But not only that, Bozz also finds Dame's dark side smexy and tries to bring it out whenever he can. In the few drawings I could find of the two together, Bozz enjoys taunting Damian about his insecurities, Damian is somewhat creeped out by Bozzwick, and Bozz will fo things like, y'know, stretch out his tongue to lick the back of Dame's neck or something.

-----------------------

That's all for now! If you want to request another character, go ahead. Or, if you think I missed some stuff with Damian, you can request a part 2. Yes, if I miss some stuff on a character, or you just want more info, you can request a character I've already done.

I apologize for wasting your time

- ATOUN

#zoophobia #zoophobia damian #zp Damian

[crmediagal]

I hope you don't mind the random ask and I'm sure you've been asked this before, so I'm sorry if it's repetitive. But what is it about Hermione and Severus that makes them such a good pairing for you? What is that special something about them that makes you want to write their lives?

I never mind a random ask from you, hon! ❤ And I actually haven’t been asked this before, and I’m sorry it took me a while to respond but I wanted to do the pairing justice because SSHG is Love. :’) 

I adore so many similarities–and differences–between these two characters that make them mesh together beautifully. 

Firstly, there’s the obvious: they’re both highly intelligent. I believe Hermione would absolutely require an older man as a romantic partner, someone who’s on the same brain wavelength as her. They would stimulate one another on an intellectual basis for sure, and both are obvious bibliophiles with an intense drive for knowledge that surpasses most others in the HPverse. They would easily connect on this level. (And the banter and arguments between these two! #OMG #TheyAreInAClassByThemselves). 

They’re both outsiders, fairly introverted (Severus arguably more so), and emotionally stunted in certain respects. They would relate to one another’s social struggles, for instance, and understand each other’s flaws deeper than most other characters, I think. i.e. Severus is vindictive and angry at the world, and Hermione can be manipulative and overly swotty. They’re each capable of being quite terrible (Severus’s role as a Death Eater makes his actions more overtly harrowing, but have people forgotten that Hermione actually disfigured a student’s face for snitching on the D.A. in her fifth year?), and yet, at the end of the day, they have such redeeming qualities that they would bring these out in each other because of this shared, deeper connection/understanding of each other. They would play on each other’s strengths more than their weaknesses and that’s such a beauty within this ship. 

Hermione illustrates in canon how she can be an aggressive rooter for the ‘underdog’, even if she’s, perhaps, one of them in a sense–at least, for part of her first year–and plagued by her own set of insecurities. Severus is definitely that underdog. In canon, Severus doesn’t show himself to be threatened by his female colleagues or by intelligent, independent women in general, and that’s exactly the sort of person Hermione needs in a partner. This makes them well-matched, too, in my opinion. 

To me, Hermione’s capable of bringing out Severus’s underlying gentleness. (Yes, gentleness. For him to have loved so hard and to have sacrificed so much for Lily, he does possess a gentleness). She would bring out that fierce love and protectiveness he canonically illustrated. She would make him want to better himself. She would nurture and love him back to life, and this would be fairly easy for her to do seeing as she comes from a much healthier, stable upbringing in which she was well-loved and supported. She would help him to understand his worth (even if he remains convinced, at times, that he doesn’t deserve her). She gives him the will and The Reason to live again because, once more, she understands him and can empathize with his struggles.

Severus would wield and improve Hermione’s self-confidence which has often been undermined by her crippling fears of failure. He would appreciate and take pride in her accomplishments rather than feel at all threatened or reduced by them as a male. He would encourage her in her ideas and in her career choices and be the fully supportive partner she deserves. Because, again, they are well-matched intellectually and he would value her brilliant mind. With this growing self-confidence in her abilities would also come, from Severus’s love and support, a greater sense of pride in herself as a woman. He would help her to realise that she is attractive and beautiful in her own right. 

Neither character is exactly considered conventionally ‘attractive’ either, so looks would not be a major component in their attraction towards one another. Neither takes pride in making themselves appealing to the masses, and yet, that, in itself, makes them desirable to each other. It’s a trait they share. Hermione sees a beauty in Severus no one else gets. Severus sees a beauty in Hermione that others don’t appreciate and overlook. 

For all of the aforementioned reasons (and I know I’m leaving out more bits and bobs I could add but this is getting too long-winded!) I love and adore this unique pairing. They fit together imperfectly emotionally, mentally, and physically. They’re both terribly flawed, human, and messy. And when a story about them highlights these things, it becomes a gorgeous romance. :)  

#snamione #snanger #sshg #sevmione #snermione #snager #hgss #jensteed #this is long #i'm sorry? lol #but i just LOVE THEM SO MUCH #crmediagal writes #crmediagal rambles