#but i think it is pretty clear especially if anybody here has/had similar problems | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lo-frequency · 3 years

Note

Hi I love your blogand your writinh so much it's so good!

Could I request a shoto/denki and toga x chubby reader (if you're not comfortable writing with toga you can just to denki and shoto) thanks!

Fortunately for you, anon, I did them all! (and it's kinda long, so my bad lol) Also, there's mention of insecurity in Toga's, but it quickly turns to fluff. As always, please enjoy!

Denki

-Believe it or not, Denki was nervous to confess to you because he was afraid of being rejected. You’re so cute and cool and that he was sure there’s no way you actually returned his feelings. It was worth a shot, tho. So imagine his joy when you said you felt the same way :)

-Rants about you all the time to his friends, to the point where they feel like they know you personally before you’ve even met. They also get to hear all the tmi stories about what the two of you do alone, because he can’t help himself (if they don’t walk away first, lol).

-He knew you looked squishy before, but couldn’t believe how soft your skin was when he finally got to hold you. It was almost unfair. He often finds himself caressing your skin mindlessly whenever you’re close together, hand always ghosting across your arm or hand (or your thigh ;) ).

-Lays back on you to play video games, his head cushioned by your pillowy chest and the rest of his body situated between your legs as you watch him play. Play in his hair or rub his arms and he will fall asleep. The tingly feeling he gets when cuddling with you is his favorite kind of electricity.

-Zaps your butt “by accident”

-Easily flustered, but he tries to play it off with his cool act. Just kiss his cheek or tell him he’s handsome and watch him ramble about knowing he’s “irresistible” until he flushes red up to his ears.

-Denki can be pretty corny at times but he does have his serious moments, mostly when you two are alone together. He shows you what’s beneath his goofy facade, a boy with dreams and aspirations just like everyone else. After seeing this side of him, it’s a little irritating to hear people reduce him to an idiot (although he does have his moments 💀)

-Them thighs tho 😏 “Dang babe, you been working out?” “Not really, Kaminari” He clucks his tongue. “Sheesh, imagine being that thicc...naturally” he says, shaking his head as if it were a shame.

-Truly believes he has the best s/o in the whole school. Does not take offense to being called a simp 🤷🏾‍♀️.

-Wasn’t aware of it at first, but became super attracted to people with your same body type. His eyes always lingered on them in public, and he couldn’t help but think they were kinda hot (sorry, y/n)

-Very affectionate, but loves to receive as much as give, so please give this man plenty of kithes and hugs, he gets the shakes if he doesn’t get his daily dose of Y/n love.

-Y’all are so silly together, always cracking jokes or giggling about something. You eventually develop a similar sense of humor, and have so many inside jokes people can’t decipher your conversation. If anybody has anything negative to say about y’all: Denki puts his hand over his earpiece and says to you (from right next to him) “Pikachu to Big Sexy, I’m picking up some negative vibes on the radar, do you copy?” And you, holding your hand up to your own ear, say “Affirmative, doing a diagnostic scan...it’s a hater, confirmed.” Cue the obnoxious laughter, lmaoo

-Never forgets the anniversaries or relationship milestones. He even remembers the date of yall’s first kiss, and thinks about it every time the date passes (although he wouldn’t tell you that tho, that would be too sappy, even for him).

Shoto

-The way you and Shoto became acquainted was a little unorthodox. You fell on him during a training session one day, and the feeling of your soft body pressed against his was a new experience for him, to put it mildly. Shoto stood up from it a changed man. Call it an awakening, if you will.

-You were a little put off by all his staring since that incident, thinking he didn’t like you despite all your profuse apologies. But after Izuku dropped hints that it was probably fascination rather than contempt, your relationship progressed smoothly from there (thanks mostly to your efforts, since Shoto had no clue how to approach you).

-Shoto still had a staring problem once y’all became official, too. Whenever you asked him what he was looking at, he was not ashamed to tell you exactly why: you are too fine not to stare (ok, maybe he didn’t say it exactly like that)

-Not overly affectionate in public, but has a tendency to always stand or sit close to you whenever he can. Just sharing the same space is intimate to him.

-Sharing a bowl of soba noodles 💕

-Buys you expensive gifts all the time, and loves to see you using them. Especially if it’s clothes, it’s like a piece of him is always with you even when you’re not together (plus, it shows you’re all his ;) ).

-Now, I’m gonna tell y’all a little secret. It’s pretty shocking, so be warned: Shoto sometimes pretends to be oblivious when you hint at wanting affection, just to make you beg for it. Maybe you brush your hand against his, and he moves it. Or maybe he saw you lean for a kiss and he casually turns the other way just to hear you complain. He likes it, makes him feel wanted.

-Devious, I know, but just get even 😏

-When y’all are alone, he loves when you hold him close and just sit there, peacefully enjoying each other’s presence. He also likes to lay on your lap while reading a book or watching tv with you, slowly nodding off as you comb your fingers through his hair.

-Obsessed with you, but not in an unhealthy way, it’s just that you’ve become such a big part of his life that he kinda...thinks about you all the time. Shoto is canonically not very talkative, but I think that with you, he’d open up more about his true thoughts and feelings. So when he shoots you that blank stare when his classmates are up to some bull, you know exactly what it means.

-Also revels in knowing you that well, too. He’d flex how much he knows about you to the other people and sometimes unintentionally embarrasses you in the process

-For example: “Here Y/n, a cherry popsicle just for you!” Shoto immediately hands you some napkins before adding “Y/n doesn’t usually eat cherry popsicles, they always drop the red juice on their clothes.” Like gee, good looking out Shoto...thanks for telling the whole class I can’t eat without messing up my clothes 💀. He’s sweet tho, he has good intentions.

Toga

-She made it very clear from the beginning that she liked you, and with how smitten she was, who were you to refuse her (aggressive) advances?

- She thought your plump figure was just so cute, one of the cutest things she’d ever seen, and she quickly developed an unhealthy obsession with squeezing your chub.

-When you two are together, Toga is always attached to you in some way, whether she’s hanging off your arm or has her arms looped around your shoulders.

-Starts to eat the same foods you eat, borrow your clothes all the time, listen to your favorite artists, whatever way she could become closer to you

-Writes you love letters or sends you cute text messages all the time, you’re always on her mind, even when she’s on missions. “My Y/n is wayy cuter than you! Let’s get this over quick so I go back to them, ok? 🥰 🔪🔪”

-I know y’all were waiting for this...she most definitely uses her quirk on you. Toga loves you so much, she wants to become you. So one day, you finally allow her to give it a try.

-She tells you to close your eyes, and when she gives you permission to open them, you find yourself staring...yourself in the face. And you do not like it 🤢. There’s something so strange about seeing yourself in 3rd person, in all dimensions. Is this how you look to her, all the time? You quickly lose interest in this little charade, looking everywhere but at yourself as Toga prances around doing sexy poses in your body and giggling. However, when she sees your reaction, she stops.

- “Hm? What’s wrong, Y/n?” she asks with a tilt of (your) her head. You glance at yourself, then look away again. “This is so weird. I don’t like looking at myself” you say, grimacing at the slight bounce and jiggle of your body when she walks toward you.

-In Toga’s eyes, you were absolutely adorable. In fact, she was getting a little hot and bothered just taking peeks at herself (you) in the mirror. She’s used to feeling you up for sure, but being you was a whole other experience. Though, she can understand your insecurity. After all, it’s hard to live in a world that constantly tells you your true self is abnormal. She knows from experience.

-So, she comes up to you with a flirty grin on her face...and starts showering you with kisses, in your body! You start to protest, weirded out by the feeling of your own lips on your cheeks but she would not relent. Toga was determined to show you what being loved (by you) felt like from her perspective, with your irresistible “imperfections” and all 💕

Thanks for tuning in! :)

#bnha x chubby reader #chubby reader #x chubby reader #mha x chubby reader #todoroki x chubby reader #toga x chubby reader #denki x chubby reader #bnha x reader #bnha x gn!reader #plus size reader #todoroki x reader #toga x reader #himiko toga x reader #denki x reader #bnha x plus size reader #bnha headcanons

561 notes · View notes

i-write-boop-spoops · 3 years

Text

N Harmonia Fluff Alphabet

One anon asked for an N fluff alphabet and another asked for just any N content, so I hope this sates you both!

Not proof read so rip me

Enjoy!

A = Activities (what do they like to do with their s/o? how do they spend their free time?)

Rather expectantly, N loves looking after Pokemon with you! Whether you’re playing with, feeding or tending to them, he really enjoys seeing you being so sweet and kind to cute little mons and giant scary monsters alike.

He also loves just snuggling up with you and playing with each other’s’ hair. He really cherishes that kind of gentle, intimate affection.

Other than that, he really enjoys doing mundane things with you, stuff like going grocery shopping, cleaning the house, gardening etc, even before you live together. There’s something very comforting about it.

Oh, and he loves dancing with you!

B = Beauty (what do they admire about their s/o? what do they think is beautiful about them?)

He admires your kindness obviously, but also your determination and resilience! He thinks you’re so strong, and in turn, it emboldens him too!

As for physical beauty? He loves your smile, even just a little quirk of your lips makes him so happy. It’s just so precious!

C = Comfort (how do they help their s/o when they feel down? what makes them feel better?)

N isn’t the best at this kind of stuff, but he definitely tries his best to offer you support. Usually he just sits with you and lets you vent, or cry into his shoulder, often bringing a cute pokemon with him to cheer you up. He also likes bringing you on walks, hoping it might clear your head.

His words of affirmation, though few, are quite powerful, so you know he means them.

When he’s sad, he’d like to be treated in a similar fashion, just quiet support and cute Pokemon

D = Dreams (how do they picture their future with their s/o and in general?)

N doesn’t really know how he wants his life to go, the only thing he’s certain of is that he wants to continue improving the relationships between humans and Pokemon, and that he wants to be with you for the rest of time.

E = Equal (are they the dominant one in the relationship or are they rather passive?)

Due to his lack of experience, he’s definitely more on the passive side, preferring to let you take the lead when it comes to dates and stuff. Though he has no problem asserting himself (gently) if he wants to do something else instead.

F = Fight (how quick are they to forgive their s/o? what are they like in an argument? who says sorry first?)

N hates fighting with you, absolutely despises it, so he tends to avoid it when he can. Inevitably, like in all relationships, you end up in a few spats. He’s never mean to you, but he does try talk over you and has a habit of just walking out instead of working out the issue right away. Really he just goes for a walk to calm him down, and he’s usually back in an hour or two, but you probably don’t solve your disagreement until the next day.

He finds it quite easy to admit fault and apologise, so you don’t have to weasel a ‘sorry’ out of him. And due to his earnest nature, you know he means it.

G = Gifts (what kind of things do they gift to their s/o? are they spontaneous or do they stick to special events like anniversaries?)

When N gives a gift, most of the time, he doesn’t even realise it. He just sees something he thinks you’d like and just gives it to you without a second thought. Usually it’s pretty flora or candy, occasionally it’s a plush. Sometimes you get gifts very often, sometimes it’s weeks, maybe months, between each present.

H = Heart Eyes (what are they like in love? is it obvious to others? how do they express their love? do they brag about their s/o to others?)

N can be described as blissfully confused when in love. So soft and blushy and not totally sure what he’s feeling, but he sure does love it, and you. His Pokemon friends pick up on it immediately and root for the two of you.

Unintentionally brags. He just thinks you’re swell and tends to bring that up often, but he’s not trying to gloat.

I = Impression (what first attracted them to their s/o? how accurate was their first impression to how their s/o actually is?)

You seemed to handle that little joltik so carefully as you returned it to its mother galvantula, without an ounce of fear or malice in your eyes, and truly only kindness in your heart. It made him feel so at ease, like he had found a kindred spirit.

Not only was he right, he also found his soulmate too,

J = Jealousy (do they get jealous easily? how do they deal with it?)

N doesn’t quite understand jealousy. Like, you love each other, what does he have to worry about? He likes your friends a lot, and he finds anybody who tries to flirt with you more annoying than anything else

K = Kiss (are they a good kisser? what was their first kiss like? where do they kiss the most?)

At the beginning, N’s kisses are sweet but awkward, he’s so new to it, so he’s a bit afraid he might make a mistake. As your relationships progresses though, he becomes more comfortable and confident with it, and kisses reflect that, so soft and caring and full of meaning

I did a whole thing about N and kissing here

L = Little Things (what are the little things they love about their s/o? are they attentive?)

Really what doesn’t he love? It’s not that he puts you on a pedestal, he just genuinely finds you amazing and he loves you so much

M = Marriage (do they want to get married? how do they propose? what would the wedding be like?)

N doesn’t feel the need to marry you, as long as you’re in love, that’s what matters to him, a piece of paper doesn’t make it any more valid than it is in his eyes.

That being said, if you want to get married, he’s down for it, but don’t expect anything sappy or traditional. No proposal, no huge event, just the two of you exchanging heartfelt vows at the courthouse, with matching rings.

N = Nicknames (what do they call their s/o? what do they get called?)

He doesn’t really use nicknames, just the occasionally “Love” or “Dear”

On the flipside, he loves your nicknames for him. Some of his favourites are “Cutie”, “Sweetie”, “Greenie” and “Nat”

O = Open (do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? is it easy for them to share?)

While I wouldn’t say N is an open book, he doesn’t really hide things from you. He tells you how he feels without much fanfare, and you’re made aware of his past quite early on, even before you started dating.

P = Pancakes (are they a good cook? how often do they cook for their s/o? breakfast in bed or fancy dinner dates?)

N’s actually pretty good at cooking, and tends to cook pretty often, especially when you’re on the road together. His meals are simple and comforting, sometimes spicy, lots of soups and curries and rice.

Since he’s vegetarian, he prefers to cook for the two of you instead of going out, since most restaurants don’t have great options for him. That being said, if you find a place with a good menu, he’s totally down to take you there.

Q = Quirk (a random quality/ability that is beneficial to their relationship.)

N does not understand the concept of BS, so you don’t have to worry about playing weird mind games to find out what he really wants. As a result, your relationship is quite chill

R = Romance (how romantic are they? are they cliché or creative?)

Again, he’s not traditionally romantic, but he does care about you quite a lot and loves making you smile. And while it doesn’t say “I love you” very often, he means it, and that is a lot more valuable than any serenade or flower bouquet

S = Sleep (who falls asleep first? do they need their s/o close to them? do they have any bad habits?)

If you play with his hair, he’s out like a light. While he’s cuddles are lax and loose when he’s awake, he hugs you like a teddy when he’s fast asleep.

His sleep routine is shit though.

T = Thrill (do they need to spice up their relationship with new things or do they stick to a routine? how often do they do new things?)

N loves the cosiness of domestic mundanity, so it’s safe to say he likes to play it, well, safe. It gives him a sense of comfort and stability that he really appreciates.

U = Unity (did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? what traits do they share?)

Through being with you, N learns to be more attentive and emotional (in a healthy way), and to appreciate humans even more. He also feels more human too.

While you already loved Pokemon, he makes you see how truly amazing and special they are, and treat them even better than you did before.

V = Value (how important is their relationship to them? what is it worth compared to other things in their life?)

Your relationship is very important to him, but deep down, you know his love for Pokemon trumps his love for you. Though it never causes an issue with you

W = Wild Card (a random fluff headcanon.)

Likes to make matching flower crowns for the two of you and whatever Pokemon you’’re with at the time!

X = XOXO (do they like to kiss and cuddle? are they upfront about their relationship or rather shy when in public?)

N loves fluttery kisses and really tender hugs and cuddles, ones when you’re loosely tanged together and gently stroking each other’s skin.

He is not a PDA person at all, besides holding your hand and the occasional kiss. Some of it is shyness, but it’s mostly because he doesn’t feel the need to prove your relationship to anyone. He doesn’t use affection lightly.

Y = Yearning (how do they cope when they spend time away from their s/o? do they miss their s/o?)

He’s pretty okay on his own, since he’s quite used to it, but he does still miss you a lot. He finds comfort in things that remind you of him, a certain scent, a flower, a sound, even a Pokemon, it makes him feel like you’re with him

Z = Zoo (do they have pets? do they want some in the future?)

N doesn’t have any pets, mainly because he thinks Pokemon are friends. How many Poke-friends does he have? Too many for even him to count. My man radiates serious Disney Princess energy with the way Pokemon seem to flock to him.

That being said, he’s not against good people having Pokemon as pets, so if you have pokemon, you know he’ll be the best dad to them ever.

#n harmonia #n harmonia x reader #natural harmonia gropius x reader #natural harmonia gropius headcanons #natural harmonia gropius #n harmonia headcanon #n harmonia headcanons #fluff #request

228 notes · View notes

0aurelion-sol0 · 4 years

Text

SNK keeps on being amazing. ( A rant that is not really one. )

133.

Just this panel alone is able to confirm everything that I wanted from this manga.

Eren's condition has always been what I suspected.

Ever since he sided with his brother Zeke, who manipulated Marley in attacking Eldia to retrieve the founder and other titans. Something THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DO, because they were being pressured by many other countries and were not as powerful as before due to their lack of powerful weapons like the ones in the Middle Eastern Alliance which were able to PIERCE through the fucking Armored Titan.

THIS resulted in the fucking festival and we know what happened then. Dozens of people died including children continuing the cycle of hate that has been started for god knows how long. And Eren WILLINGLY took a part in it because he wanted his actions to be a little easier while he was going to genocide the whole fucking world.

INCLUDING his own island because let's be honest when Eren is done with the Rumbling, destroying every ecosystems. EVERYTHING that keeps a planet alive, his little island won't live for long.

"The ground... It's crying." CHAPTER 131 said by one of the goddamn kids he fucking killed.

Marley is now sure, let's fucking kill all Eldians.

He did his attack on Liberio, he betrayed everyone. Crushing Hange's every possibilities of finding a peaceful way of settling things down after having been hidden MANY useful informations by Eren, Zeke and his group but also the Azumabitos.

Sparking a civil war inside Eldia, leading to an Eldian supremacist group cause let's be honest when Floch killed that Marleyan and than gave his little first king Fritz speech, it was like seeing Hitler all over again and the Klux Klux Klan.

I MEAN... FLOCH OF ALL PEOPLE! A guy who has PTSD after seing dozens of his comrades died, their faces exploded by fucking thrown rocks. He bastardized Erwin's ideologies and no matter how good willing he was, he was just a dead man walking acting like a fool.

He also betrays his own party now, the Jeagerist by allowing the very people they tried to stop the power to stop him. By activating the Rumbling, he also caused the death of Eldians inside the walls as we've been shown with Hitch.

AND THE WORST... destroy every connection he has with his friends. Hurting them, putting them in danger by the very group he created and the Titans.

Oh but that's not all...

He uses the titan the same way Marley did it, with oppression and violence. He is not stopping the cycle of hate, he is continuing it. And it will have repercussions inside the very group of people he tried to defend.

People killed each other inside the walls and they will kill each other without it. Mikasa as shown us that when her parents got murdered and she almost became a slave.

And he killed Hange with these same titans. I don't care if they sacrificed themself. He didn't live up to what he preached. They died and Hange was someone close to him and was concerned with his well being. Maybe it was too late but they also had many other priorities as Hange was commander. They also fell into depression because of their position. One of his mentors and friends, one who tried to talk with him while he was in that cell planning to destroy the world...

talking to himself...

At this point, you know where I'm going with this. We've all suspected it, we all know it. Let's not be blind about it.

Eren is influenced by the Attack Titan. Not Ymir (at least I hope so and I think so), not Kruger and certainly not Grisha.

It's pretty clear now.

I mean Eren's change happens off screen, every time we see him he is completely different from what we used to know of him.

He barely cares about his friend and don't give me the bullcrap of (hE dOeS tHiS fOr tHeM.) If he was he would have secured them and put them in a place where they wouldn't interfere, he would have tried to convince them. HE WOULD HAVE COMMANDED FLOCH NOT TO HURT THEM.

He would have not commited genocide after knowing what it led to with Reiner, Annie and Bertholt.

That's not Eren. And the stupid argument of "hE's aLwAyS bEeN vIoLeNt". That's just bullcrap and it just destroy every bit of beautiful empathy we have seen of him. With Mikasa, Armin and Historia. Levi who he respected a lot.

It just isn't coherent. Every action he does is not coherent since the timeskip.

NOW HE'S CHALLENGING HIS FRIEND ? WTF ?

I mean is no one questionning this, doesn't it seem off from what we've seen of him.

Eren is no strategist BUT... he isn't stupid. Every sane person would know that these actions will not benefit anybody.

But... they still happened.

If we look back again, here is Eren being positive trying to put Armin in a good mood.

The outside world... endless possibilities. It's a man who wonders.

Yet, AT THE RIGHT MOMENT... he has a flashback of Faye. And his face just change.

Isn't it just weird ? Like at the right moment where he can have a positive outlook on thing. NOPE.

And this has been going and going and going...

Here:

Chapter 130.

Eren arrives in Liberio what does he see.

A flashback of his mother's death

I mean it's pretty clear now.

_________________________________________

Eren has been influenced and convinced by the Attack Titan that there's no way out. He's been reliving past memories of his and others, past memories that were traumatic. It put him in a state of depression and dread through 5 FUCKING YEARS. On top of that, he is able to see the future and what he saw will happen and has happened hence his reaction to Sasha's death.

A fucking mental breakdown.

Jesus Christ, I don't know if I've ever cursed that much in my life.

It's impossible to stop what is going to happen, because what is going to happen, needs to happen.

But as we know Sasha is in the afterlife with Erwin, Hange and the others. And we have been confirmed that this is the afterlife. So we have time-travelling, afterlife, 13 years curse, people who can turn into titans, parallel dimensions and Eren who can see through birds.

But the fandom said, no, the prospect of him being manipulated by the Attack Titan is impossible even after knowing it has special abilities.

I MEAN...

Umm... This has happened before. And I saw no one complain.

So why this ?

Is impossible ?

Especially when Eren's whole arc is about questionning his perspective of the world and becoming in control of his violence and rage. Having an agency. HELLOOOO!!!????

What better way of having the main threat of that being the very thing that causes all of his problems and his powers.

Doesn't this remind anyone of anything ?

Yep. The Uprising Arc. And who ? Historia, the girl whose all life, she couldn't act as herself or have any real agency.

Yes, you know the girl whose pregnant and decided to live the rest of her life Little House On The Prairie style. ( I mean I don't think it's her but... that's what it's looking right now. )

And who is a descendent of Ymir Fritz. With too much uncanney similarities between the two.

They could have said the Founder, Eren Jeager or something else but no they said... "It's the Attack Titan."

And it's not Ymir, if she was the one to control Eren. Why wouldn't she free herself on her own if she's able to do that ?

And in 131, she was clearly in a position where she was questionning her choice.

And perhaps she probably tried to stop Eren but the Attack Titan took over him and her. Using her powers as she is the founder.

And now just like Eren, she has no eyes. She is still a slave. Why ? I thought Eren freed her. So ? This is the only logical explanation right now.

I mean when is the last time we saw Eren.

He was sleeping inside his titan in 131. Having a dream about seeing his "sight" of freedom as a kid. And also potentially watching things with birds.

It's just weird. If he was fully in control, the characters wouldn't have questionned it and none of this weird shit would be happening.

He clearly doesn't have a free will.

This requires too much energy and Eren is a normal Eldian, not one of Royal Blood. Being both in Paths, watching this " sight ", communicating, watching with birds, moving his titan which is enormous and the thousands of colossal titans is clearly hard and too dangerous for only one person to do.

Isayama has fooled us all and me in the process.

All this time, it was that goddamn thing pulling the strings. And with the help of Isayama since he is the goddamn author of this series

In chapter 88, we learn the true meaning of Shingeki No Kyojin.

The beauty of the japanese language, as confusing as it is, can be translated by Attack On Titan, at least for us american and western audiences.

( yes because as someone pointed out in the comments, it's a mistranslation but since I don't understand how to give credit by linking because I don't understand how it works, i can't credit. So you can find the person in the comments. DO NOT JUDGE ME, tumblr is not the best place to post sometimes. )

But it's not the Attack on Titan anymore.

It's the Attack Titan.

( piece of shit is it's surname. )

#shingeki no kyojin #snk #attack on titan #eren jeager #snk eren #aot spoiler #snk spoilers #aot eren #the attack titan #I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK #THIS IS WHAT I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE #EUREKA #snk 133 #aot 133 #snk chapter 133 #ymir the first #ymir fritz

3K notes · View notes

bunnyywritings · 3 years

Text

a shy, goth s/o who goes by they/them pronouns

requested by anon; HIII!! I recently started watching soul eater and i finallyyy found someone who writes for them so im reallllly exited!! So i wanted to request something!! Can you do like how Crona, Kid, Soul and Stein would be like in a relationship with a shy goth s/o who uses they/tem prounons (sometimes she). Also when they talk about the things they like they get superrr extroverted and could talk for hourss about it! Also would it heart to ask if you could make cronas a lil longer, they are my comfort character🤧Also wanted to ask if you did emergency requests! If you dont that’s totally fine!!

[a/n: thank you for this request, my lovely anon! It gave me the way to get back into a writing flow again. I quite enjoyed writing for these characters since I don’t get very many Soul Eater requests, as for emergency requests...go ahead and send them in but I apologize if I don’t get it done quickly, seeing as I’m not quite that active on here like I was before. for now, enjoy! - yours truly, bunnyy -`ღ´-]

- truthfully, i think he'd be a little confused at first

- about the whole pronouns thing

- despite being friends with Crona

- so, he'd approach Maka, Crona, and Subaki about it

- he'd be a little embarrassed because he mistakenly exposed his HUGE crush on you

- Subaki coos at him and thinks it's sweet

- Crona is glad to help, knowing that using they/them pronouns is still a foreign concept for some people

- Maka would definitely tease him but ultimately, she's glad he had asked for help

- after realizing that it was a rather simple concept to understand

- he'd get SOOO cocky

- he absolutely loves your style

- obviously thinks you're the coolest person to ever exist

- now the only thing in his way??

- your shyness

- he's only interacted with you a few times but because he tends to be a bit abrasive, you usually keep your distance

- the few times that Stein had called on you in class to answer a question was the most he's really heard you talk

- you were good friends with Kid though

- so you ended up hanging out with the group a lot

- he's seen how passionate you could get whilst talking about your hobbies or about things you liked to Kid or Liz

and Patty

- it made him a gajillion times more attracted to you

- after FINALLY gaining the courage to ask you out (you can thank Black Star for telling him that it wasn't cool to be such

a wimp)

- he'd be on cloud nine

- being in a relationship with Soul would be fun

- he'd be a little awkward at first but he'd soon ease into it

- he's really good at respecting your pronouns

- in the case that he slips up, which i don't really think he would, but if he does he'd feel absolutely terrible

- like he'd beat himself up so hard

- he would do anything to make it up to you

- 100% would cook you a super nice dinner as an apology

- if anybody ever made fun of your style or your pronouns, it's over for that person

- they'd have, not only Soul and Maka on their ass, but they'd have Black Star and Tsubaki, AND the literal son of the grim

reaper and his twin pistols

- overall, Soul would be such a sweetheart

- you make him so, so soft

- gosh i love him so much

- okay

- Kid is definitely somebody who would be up front with his feelings

- he knows about your use of different pronouns and he really admires your bravery to be so open about it

- i feel like he's definitely thought about going by he/they pronouns

- thinks it's absolutely adorable how shy you are

- despite being shy and closed off, he never overlooked you like some students or other staff

- he knows how clever you are

- don't even get me started on your style

- he love love loves your goth style

- especially when you wear anything with skulls on it

- when it comes to his feelings, Liz gets fed up with how ridiculous he's being

- she's watched him break down crying because the stripes on his head aren't symmetrical and someone as precious as you

would think he's trash

- which obviously isn't true

- he sees you out on the balcony, sat on the ledge and book in hand

- he's noticed you with it a lot but it's only the 1st book of a series

- he figures that maybe you just haven't had the chance to find the rest of them

- after some research, he finds that the series had been completed but because of the lack of readers, it was put out of

production and copies were pulled out of libraries and bookstores

- but alas, he had found one of the only complete series in existence in somewhat excellent condition

- it was quite expensive but that was really no problem

- he had wrapped up the set and had gifted them to you with a note and as you read the note, your cheeks burned

- he confessed his feelings

- the next day, you had approached him and thanked him for the gift as well as confessing your own feelings for him

- he thought the stuttering and flushed cheeks was adorable

- 100% the power couple at the DWMA

- sorry i don't make the rules

- Liz and Patty are definitely in love with you, especially with how versatile your fashion is

- Patty has definitely volunteered to paint your nails before

- MATCHING RINGS

- Kid definitely gets you a et of skull rings, just like his

- will go beast mode on anyone who makes fun of your style and/or use of pronouns

he's be such a gentleman and he practically worships the ground you walk on

- as he should

- Stein would be quite used to the use of they/them pronouns since he has students who go by them

- when there's word of a new teacher at DWMA who goes by they/them, he's quite intrigued

- so much so that he would volunteer to show you around the enormous school

- 10/10 falls in love with you instantly

- your shy demeanor is such a contrast to your style

- definitely lives for teasing you

- anything to make you stutter

- but he'd be very blunt about his feelings

- he makes sure that you're being respected by students and staff alike

- threatens anybody who doesn't

- he gets you some screw earrings or a necklace (if you don't have piercings)

- it's his way of making sure people know that you're his

- Stein would be an excellent significant other

- he's a bit more on the playful side so just always be prepared for cheeky remarks

- he doesn't mind your shyness at all

- since he doesn't really favor going out too much so most of your dates are in doors, his place or yours

- probably with a cup of coffee and a book

- he can be sweet when he wants to

- isn't really into pda but i wouldn't be too surprised if he had a moment of spontaneity and pull you into his arms and

kiss you passionately

- some students think it's romantic and others definitely tease the both of you

- since your social battery probably runs out pretty quick, he loves that it gives him an out from tiring staff get

togethers

- Death Scythe thinks it's absolutely HYSTERICAL to make fun of Stein's moments of softness

- but ultimately, he thinks the way Stein looks at you is sweet and makes him happy that his friend has found someone like

you

- cause you're the best

- duh

- his wardrobe has infinitely improved since the both of you got together

- all thanks to you

- overall 15/10 a good significant other

- ahh Crona, sweet sweet Crona

- they're the freaking cutest

- now i know that in the anime and manga, it's written that he uses he/him pronouns but it seem like on tumblr everyone has

just settled on using they/them instead because of Crona's androgynous style and frankly it's a bit of an unclear area

- so uhhh yeah, let's get started

- Crona would have trouble admitting that they had feelings for you, so they tries to hide it but alas, Maka had caught on

- it took Soul a bit longer to realize but he eventually did

- the group had caught on and thought it was adorable

- all of them had tried to help in any way they could

- but Crona just couldn't muster up the courage to tell you

- the both of you were quite shy so it was nearly impossible to get some type of interaction between the two of you

- Crona also really loved your style

- the both of you were similar in so many ways

- Black Star had actually been the one to let it slip that Crona had harbored some kind of affection for you

- Tsubaki had smacked him upside the head and chastised him since it wasn't his place to say anything

- but now that it was out in the open, it had given you the slight confidence boost you needed to confess

- but when you did, Crona just stood frozen, almost mortified by your words

- you took it as rejection and ran off into the woods surrounding the school campus

- Ragnarok had then made an appearance and started tugging at Crona's cheeks and telling them that they should go after you

- but of course, they hadn't

- instead, turning to Maka and Tsubaki for help

- the two had taken it upon themselves to look for you and clear up any misunderstandings

- the next day, Crona had approached you and apologized

- even though they're words were stuttered, you appreciated the gesture and asked Crona on a proper date

- they accepted before panicking because it had dawned on them that they had never been on a date before

- overall, Crona is such a sweet partner

- sure, a bit unexperienced but sweet nonetheless

- they try their best

- both of you have similar styles and everyone thinks the both of you are just the most adorable couple on campus

- Crona loved hearing you talk about the things you loved

- your eyes would sparkle and you'd move your hands so animatedly

- it's almost like you're a different person in that moment

- they just adored you

- they'd get upset if someone had disrespected your pronouns

- Ragnorak would definitely rage if someone disrespected you

- as much as he hated to admit it, he really really liked you

- mainly because you always carried sweets around for him

- ugh I just love Crona

#soul eater #soul eater x reader #soul eater evans x reader #death the kid x reader #professor stein x reader #crona gorgon x reader #crona x reader #x gn!reader #anon request #lovely anon #anon ask

308 notes · View notes

didon · 3 years

Text

Rashta, Navier and the true villain of The Remarried Empress

Listen, I don’t like Rashta. I don’t think I really need to explain why as most people clearly don’t. I think that she’s using very underhanded techniques to get what she needs and more. Because we all need safety and she comes from a place and status where she clearly need reassurance and that’s understandable. I find her annoying though because of the way she act and how she manipulate people. That’s my opinion. Navier clearly isn’t the only one she has hurt though so we can maybe stop using a sexist term like “Mary Sue” to describe her. The same way we need to watch our language about Rashta.

Now, I do believe that most of the hate should go on the Emperor even though it won’t because fandom is always more willing to hate on a “handsome” man rather than on any woman no matter how beautiful they are. Especially if they uses that beauty like Rashta does which was very common and still is. Not only is he the one truly being an ass to his wife, but he could have easily had people teach Rashta how to behave from the get go. Instead, he enjoys her ignorance because it satisfy his idea that he is this great person that everybody would love if they met. He cannot understand why Navier hasn’t fallen for him, despite not loving her himself, and need someone to reassure him that he is the gift to humanity he was probably told he was a thousand times growing up. He’s the true villain because he hurts both of the women, uses them to get what he wants, etc. For those that have read to the right part, let’s remember what is divorce plan actually is and how ridiculous it is.

I don’t think though that people should blame Navier for being “cold” (not that I’m seeing it here but still). She’s a young woman who was raised with an immense amount of pressure on her and she was probably taught that every single one of her actions have consequences. They actually do because whoever she talks to can be seen as favored and therefore will probably boast about it. The clothes she wear have an influence, her hair, etc. She can’t even unburden herself on anybody because that would be seen as weakness and as the Emperess she’s not allowed to have any. She has “everything” but not really because she is alone and not allowed to truly want or need for anything. Heck, people would probably talk if she were to express anything because how dare she need/want for anything, her who already has everything. She’s not even allowed friends that don’t work for her per her husband driving them away. She’s a bird that’s locked in a cage at all time and yet isn’t allowed to sing because it would make the free birds outside cry. She didn’t choose her life either, she was forced into it by her family.

That wasn’t my point while starting this though. I wanted to ask since when did slavery = bad become a hot take? I get that this is fiction, etc. but what is fiction but a reflection of our world and our values. Yes there are places were men can have multiple wives and mistresses and the women can’t say anything about it, but that’s not the case in South Korea. We’re also not talking about adultery. We’re talking about the very fact that somebody can “own” another’s life and impose their will and desire onto them. No matter if it’s fantasy or anything like it, it’s never okay. I don’t know in which universe people live but seeing an abject crime against humanity done and go “but it’s fiction” isn’t a good reasoning. The same way pure racism isn’t okay because of “fiction” or abuse isn’t okay for the same reason. I get that Rashta isn’t the most pleasant character but still. Especially since we are told here that she might be paying for someone’s else crime. Imagine how ridiculous that is. Your ancestor stole a loaf of bread or flirted with the wrong woman and the leader of your country decided that generations after them must pay for them. I know we are told that only a true “horrible” crime result in slavery but that all depend on the leader and their view of what categorizes a horrible crime. For some historical leaders, being born was a crime. That’s not counting a mad leader deciding to make their enemies disappear by selling them into slavery. Does someone really deserve to be treated as less than human because they or their parents did not agree with the political leader?

Rashta is a victim of that and is a villain sure but at least we have actual reason for her doing what she does. She evolved from the naive and trustable person we met at first, but how can she not when she’s trust in a political world with no idea how to swim in it. She’s also very much aware that her origin make her less in everybody’s mind around her. Now, does everything she does is okay or the right course of action? Of course not it isn’t. She quickly loses her innocence and start playing the game just like everybody else but she doesn’t deserve hate for that. The same way she doesn’t deserve hate for trying to survive in a world of sharks. It’s not a question of not trusting the Emperor, which she is right to do by the way seeing how he’s treated his wife and how others are treated for doing less than she is, but a question of trying to come out of all of it with her head on her shoulders and enough to live on. Does she eventually get greedy? Maybe and in my actual opinion yes, but she didn’t start wanting to steal a husband and a kingdom from someone else. Men are constantly manipulating her and using her for their own wishes and she can’t turn toward any of the ladies either because she is very much aware of how precarious her situation is. Unlike Navier, she can’t rely on being raised for the role of mistress or even her losing her status causing a political problem. She’s a nobody being used by rich men as a plaything and trying to not come out as a loser. She might be going at it wrong, but she was never taught how to do it right and you have to remember all the men that are filling her with lies and mistrust. Because pretty much every single of her “schemes” have come from a man telling her a lie or giving her a bad advice.

What I think is very interesting in this webtoon is the duality of Rashta and Navier because in a way, they end up in similar situations. They are both women that have to survive court and nobles being faker than plastic while men are trying to use them for their own gains and who have nobody to truly be able to turn to. Eventually, Navier gains people like that, but the tragedy of Rashta is that she doesn’t. She might think she can trust some people, but none of the people around her truly have her best interest at heart. The best thing for her would have been for Navier to take her under her wing while Rashta refuses to be the Emperor’s mistress (I can never remember his name sorry). By having the very same position that grants her the “security” she so need and desire, Rashta put her best ally in an enemy position and that’s what’s going to be her downfall. She might be annoying and pushing it sometimes, but we know she will drown because she’s never been taught otherwise. That’s why the true villain will always have to be the Emperor because he’s not only the one who pitted the two women by taking one as a mistress while married to the other one, but he never took the time to truly help his mistress, expecting others and especially Navier to do so for him. He could have brought her back to the palace as a guest only and Navier would have probably taken Rashta under her wing like she does for many others, but by making her a rival to Navier, he destroyed any chances she had to be able to leave him and survive which I think was something he did deliberately. There’s no way he wouldn’t have known that this would be the actual ending. He wanted to keep Rashta bound to him until he was done with her otherwise he would have asked Navier to help set her up with housing and maybe even a job. Instead, he probably held her status and her gender against her and decided to use her beauty for himself.

The lesson of this story in my opinion isn’t that beautiful women shouldn’t be trusted or that you have to be pure of heart and your history a blank slate to be worthy or anything like that but instead a lesson for women on who to trust and that we are stronger together than separated. It’s also a very clear lesson on how appearances can be wrong and it asks us the reader to truly wonder what makes someone a villain. Does wanting to survive in a hostile world make you one? Does not wanting to let someone take what is yours and what you have worked for your entire life does? Or does wanting to use others for your advantage, control them and force them to need you make you a villain?

#the remarried empress #tw: slavery #cw: slavery #navier #rashta #emperor i can't remember #Rashta isn't being painted in a good light for sure #but she's not the true villain of the story #she's not the real antagonist here #she's just another one of his victims

121 notes · View notes

beca-mitchell · 3 years

Note

What do you think other ships between Beca/Chloe and the rest of the group would be like? Or how well would each relationship pan out? As in Beca+Aubrey, Beca+Emily, Beca+Stacie… and Chloe+Aubrey, Chloe+Cynthia, etc…

posting under read more because this got lengthy!!

Chloe’s Ships

Chloe/Aubrey: This is my favourite secondary ship. It’s such a good foundation for Bechloe in my opinion, especially in the angsty way. I love imagining that Chloe and Aubrey had some kind of relationship going on in the BBM (”before beca mitchell”) times. I think Chloe and Aubrey’s dynamic would have been stressful, but they cared for each other deeply. And they still do! I think Chloe loved Aubrey hard and loved her fast, while Aubrey’s love kind of built up over time, making the relationship feel very one-sided and eventually Chloe moved on when Aubrey finally figured out her feelings.

Chloe/Stacie: I envision this ship being primarily physical—something that starts off as FWB with the potential to be something more. I think Chloe and Stacie in fanon are typically written very similarly (both very physical and affectionate and forward). In canon, I think Chloe is more passionate and headstrong than Stacie. Stacie has a very laid-back personality (different from Beca’s personality) and I think that’s probably where Chloe and Stacie would clash a little in a relationship. I don’t see this being more than a fling if anything, especially during the Barden Years.

Chloe/Cynthia-Rose: I think there would definitely be mutual attraction. Chloe seems like she’s attracted to good energies and I think C-R would be good for Chloe in the sense that C-R probably wants a stable relationship. If she weren’t canonically married (???), I think I would explore Chloe/CR more because I think it would be interesting. And obviously CR thinks Chloe is hot because she’s a wlw with eyes. In fanon I love that CR might be a confidante for Chloe because I can see her doing that. I think most people think Chloe would talk to CR about any doubts she might have about her sexuality but I think CR seems to have had clear goals/directions in life (see PP2 and PP3) which is good for Chloe. If they actually dated though, I don’t think they’d necessarily last.

Chloe/Emily: I weirdly ship this a lot?? I know, it seems out of the blue, especially for me. It really does feel like cheating on Bechloe though lmao. But I think Chloe/Emily could be cute. It would never happen during Barden, but maybe years down the line. Even past PP3. Chloe working in NY and Emily finishing her MBA or PhD. I think they could use an opportunity to reconnect and maybe discover some attraction there. I think they’re both very optimistic and eager-to-please people so I think their honeymoon phase of a relationship would last a long time.

Chloe/Flo: Interesting, but I’ve never really considered this. I think Chloe would find Flo cute and would be curious about learning more about her. I don’t know if any attraction would move in both directions though. Flo seems more concerned with getting through school, then building her business.

Chloe/Lilly: I am sure it happened once in a dream. Both of them dreamt it at the same time.

Chloe/Jessica: I’ve seen a surprising amount of support for this on Twitter?? Like surprising being more than one person shipping this. Which probably has to do with Britt/Kelley if anything. I think Chloe probably showed Jessica affection once and Jessica had a crush for about three seconds.

Chloe/Ashley: Chloe remembered her name and her role in the Bellas a few times, but Ashley doesn’t delude herself into thinking that she has a shot with Chloe.

Beca’s Ships

Beca/Aubrey: This is such a classic UST ship. Like I absolutely understand why people ship this. There’s just so much tension and the sheer angst of breaking Chloe’s heart while we’re it...which leads me to my next point: I think Beca and Aubrey is a ship with a shelf life—it inevitably ends with Beca/Chloe getting together (perhaps similar to Chaubrey). I do think Beca and Aubrey won’t always see eye-to-eye, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad ship. It would make for a super interesting dynamic. They both do some growing up between PP1 and PP2 and I suppose even between PP2 and PP3. We see that Aubrey mellows out somewhat but barely, but Beca is doing her best to be chill. So if they did start dating beyond a drunken hook-up, they would still have a lot of work to do on nurturing their relationship. And no matter what AU, I still hc that Beca and Aubrey, at some point, harbored feelings for Chloe. So we’d have to deal with that too.

Beca/Stacie: I love how Beca and Stacie are typically written in fic, especially their dynamic. So I base a lot of my characterization of Stacie on fanon. I can see them being a hook-up, likely instigated by Beca. While Stacie flirts with pretty much everything, I think she’s more careful about letting it go further when it comes to her friends, but if Beca pushed I think Stacie would accept. This of course does not mean I think Beca would be a top in any way, I think she would find a reason to want to hook up with Stacie. Maybe frustration from work, her family life, Chloe, etc. In terms of this dynamic evolving into a relationship, I’m still unsure where I stand. I think I’ve read too many side Staubrey to really read Stacie as being compatible with anybody but Aubrey (which is unfortunate because the movies and the fandom did such a disservice to CR/Stacie).

Beca/Emily: Okay, I like Bemily to a certain extent, but I don’t actively ship them. I think a lot of the groundwork for this ship comes from Emily’s admiration of Beca and her cheerful, good-natured personality. This is typically seen as a good contrast to Beca’s serious, awkward nature. In terms how well this relationship would pan out if it happened, I think it could work. I think this relationship is a good base for angst, especially if you combine both Beca and Emily’s insecurities—both of them seem to stem from not feeling like they’re good enough. They a pairing that works because they have potential and room to grow, I think. And they’d be a pretty good musical super duo!

Beca/Cynthia-Rose: You know? I think this would be really stable? Like CR, apart from her gambling problem in PP1 and her literal wife in PP2, seems like she’s one of the calmer members of the group. And Beca needs that stability in her life. I feel like Beca would be nervous around CR though, especially if it came to a relationship between them.

Beca/Flo: I don’t recall them interacting much or at all, so I’m working with close to nothing here. I don’t think Beca and Flo would ever date.

Beca/Lilly: I think Beca likes the quiet she gets with Lilly. She’s seen as fairly affectionate towards Lilly in the movies (though that might be Anna Kendrick/Hana Mae Lee), and Beca is rarely affectionate. It’s hard to fully imagine a romantic dynamic between them but I think they’d both be really into bringing each other food and lil shoulder massages while studying. All without talking much.

Beca/Jessica (or Ashley): Beca could not tell them apart. I don’t think this works out.

#Anonymous #ask #pitch perfect #headcanon #text #long post #mine

44 notes · View notes

ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

Text

What I Thought About The Mitchells vs. the Machines

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is up there as one of the best installments of the MCU. Sure, the action and CGI sucks, and the season finale could use a bit more polish, but there is so much more of what it does right. It brings up an engaging discussion through Karli; the bromance between Bucky and Sam is incredible; Zemo's surprisingly a riot, and U.S. Agent is a character whose inner psychology is something I would like to study. Plus, the series really dives deep into the themes of race and the realistic hesitance that comes with making a black man Captain America. It's easily an 8/10 series that is worth an in-depth discussion.

But f**k that s**t, because I'm talking about The Mitchells vs. the Machines instead!

I know it might be questionable that reviewing a movie starring a predominantly white family of idiots saving the world instead of the TV series about the powerful journey of a black man taking the mantle of an American icon...but this movie is fun, alright? And yes, I'm going to spoil it to explain how. So if you still have a Netflix account, I highly suggest you check it out when you have time.

Because, random people on the internet who most likely won't read this, this Ordinary Schmuck who writes stories and reviews and draws comics and cartoons is going to explain why The Mitchells vs. the Machines might just be my favorite film of the year (steep contest, I know).

WHAT I LIKE

The Animation: Let's get this out of the way right here and right now: If a single person ever tells you that this movie has awful animation, or the worst animation they have ever seen, just go ahead and assume that person is an idiot. Because holy hot cheese sticks, does this movie look amazing!

Say what you want about most of Sony Pictures Animation's movies, but you have to admit that they nail making a CGI movie looking like it could be in 2D. And The Mitchells vs. The Machines is the peak of that style. Every character in nearly every frame looks like they could work well if the movie was hand-drawn, and I love it. I am addicted to seeing films that look 2D with a 3D makeover because there has to be ten times the amount of effort to get that look just right, what with modeling each character in unique ways to nail that style wherein a hand-drawn film, you could just, well, draw it. Not to mention that the cell-shading and certain hand-drawn elements also add to the aesthetic.

Plus, there is so much attention to details, such as most of Katie's character model being covered in sharpie, or how you can see a hint of Eric and Deborabot 3000's drawn on faces even though their black screens are showing something else. Seriously, you can listen to any criticism this movie gets, but don't you dare let someone get away with telling you that it looks awful. It doesn't. It's incredible, and I SO wish that I could have seen it all on the big screen.

The Comedy: On top of being incredibly well-animated, this movie is also incredibly funny. Like, really funny. I shouldn't be surprised since it's made by the same people responsible for Clone High and The Lego Movie, but yeah, I found myself laughing, chuckling, and snorting with nearly every joke in the film. Not every joke works, to be fair. But because of the fast-paced humor, the bad jokes are almost immediately followed up with better ones soon after. What's even better is that the writers know when to take a break with the humor and let some surprisingly compelling drama take over. And even then, when there are jokes during the dramatic moments, they add sincerity to the scene rather than take anything away. Looking at you, The Amazing World of Gumball...I mean, I love you, but sheesh, you need to learn to let a solemn moment play out.

Anyways, the comedy is hilarious. And while I won't spoil every joke, I will go over some bits that might have gotten to me the most.

Katie Mitchell: Let's just go ahead and add Katie Mitchell to the list of characters I highly relate to on a personal level (which is getting longer by the minute, hot damn). But jokes aside, I really like Katie. Her love and desire to make movies is something I identify with, and her goal to just go to a place where she feels like she belongs is easy to understand. Trust me, if I found out there was a group of weirdos who like the same things I do and enjoy the things I make, I’d be willing to pack everything I have and go to them as fast as possible too. Plus, I feel like a lot of us can relate to a character who lives in a household where people question if our career goal is something we can make a living with. I remember two years ago when I told my aunt that I wanted to make my own animated series, and her reaction is a little too similar to Rick's when Katie showed him her movie. They mean well, but sometimes it's for the best to have a cheerleader rather than a critic, especially if that person is family.

Now, Katie isn't perfect as her enthusiasm can get a little annoying at times, and her desire to leave can be conceived as a little too harsh as well. Still, she's pretty cool and serves her role as a protagonist pretty well...also, if the movie gets a sequel, let's hope she and Jude become cannon by then. GIVE KATIE A GIRLFRIEND, DAMN IT!

Aaron Mitchell: But as great as Katie is, it's this goober that earns the reward for my favorite character. At times it looks like Aaron is nothing more than a source of comedy, but he handles some dramatic moments really well. Partial credit goes to Michael Rianda for that one. Yeah, having a child actor would have made Aaron sound more like a kid, but no other voice could have fit him better than what Michael offers as he comes across as weird but never obnoxious.

Also, let's give the writer points for making a character who is clearly neurodivergent. Yet also refraining from having him be annoying or useless to the rest of the cast. No one ever really disrespects or belittles Aaron and instead chooses to work with him rather than against him. Especially Katie, who forms a solid sibling bond with Aaron as a fellow weirdo. It's genuinely sweet to see, and I loved every minute that the writers showed that just because someone acts on a different wavelength doesn't mean they shouldn't be treated any less because of it. You get that with Katie, a little bit, but I see it much more with Aaron, for some reason. And I love him every minute, so that’s a win.

(Plus, I may or may not have had a dinosaur phase when I was younger, so go ahead and add him to the list of relatable characters too.)

Rick Mitchell: This is probably a character you will either love or hate, and I can see both sides of that argument. Because on the one hand, I really like Rick Mitchell. His motivation is clear and understandable from the first set of home videos with him and Katie, both near the beginning and the end. Sure, he messes up a lot, but he is still a man who cares deeply about his daughter, as well as his entire family. He gets to the point where he would make great sacrifices for all of them, especially Katie. Plus, it's just pleasant seeing a cartoon dad who isn't a complete idiot or overprotective regarding his daughter's love life.

However, there are times when Rick comes across as an irresponsible d**k. When he does things like smash the family's phones without telling them or giving them screwdrivers for "presents," you're either gonna find that funny or you won't. Personally, I enjoy Rick and his antics, and I have no problem with irresponsible cartoon dads. As long as they don't cross the line toward Modern-Peter Griffin territory, I've got no problem with dads like Rick, who I believe has never even got that bad. Still, some people might think differently, and I can't blame them. Because after getting great cartoon dads like Greg Universe, I can understand if some people won't be interested in characters like Rick Mitchell.

Rick’s and Katie’s relationship: Alongside the top-notch animation and gut-busting comedy, Rick and Katie's relationship is what I consider the movie's most essential asset. These two are the main characters of the film, and as such, they develop through each other. And what's crazy is that they have very conflicting goals. Katie wants to escape and be with her people, where Rich just wants one last chance to have a good memory with Katie before she leaves. To do so, they first have to understand each other. Katie has to learn why Rick is so desperate to spend time with her, and Rick has to realize why Katie is, well, Katie. What I love most about it is that they try. These two don't spend the entire movie arguing and being at each other's throats until a sudden "Oh" moment in the end. No, there are actual moments when they genuinely try to understand one another and fix their relationship. It's nice to watch, and I especially love when it cuts to Linda and Aaron celebrating each time Katie and Rick get closer to each other. When recommending this movie, I'd say come for the animation and comedy, stay for the phenomenal relationship building.

Monchi: There are probably people already comparing Monchi to Mater or the Minions due to being a comic relief with nothing else to add...but gosh dangit, do I love this little gentleman. Maybe it's because I'm a dog person, but I find Monchie to be incredibly adorable, and I will fight anybody who disrespects this king of kings. Probably not physically, 'cause I'm a wuss, but I will verbally. So WATCH IT!

“HeLlO. i Am DoG.”: Have I mentioned that this movie is funny?

Rick’s videotapes of him and Katie: And right there. Rick's motivation for everything is set in stone through a solid case of visual storytelling.

PAL: The writers do almost everything they should have with this character. PAL might not have the most creative evil plan in the world, but to me, a villain can have a generic scheme as long as they're funny. Thankfully, PAL is funny. Not only is the idea of a smartphone ruling the planet hilarious in all the right ways, but Olivia Colman delivers such a great cynical energy that the character needs. The way PAL reacts to people explaining why humans are worth living is just the best, and her flopping around in a fit of rage successfully gets to me.

If I had to nitpick, I'd say that I wish PAL had more of a meaningful resolution to her character. The movie builds up that she makes a big deal about Mark dropping her, so it feels weird that neither of them really get any actual closure with each other. I'll get more into that in the dislikes, but I wish PAL had more of a fitting end than just dying after accidentally getting dropped in a glass of water. Other than that, she's a great comedic villain for a comedic movie.

PAL MAX Robots: These guys are the funniest characters in the movie. Half of it is the bits of visual humor, while the other half comes from the solid line delivery from Beck Bennett. Especially with Bennett's and Fred Armisen's Eric and Deborahbot 3000. These two are definitely the comedic highlights, as nearly every line they say is both hilarious and kind of adorable at times. And just like with Monchi, if you dare disrespect these characters, I will fight you. Because they are funny, and I will not hear otherwise.

PAL demonstrating what it’s like to be a phone: Have I mentioned that this movie is funny?

(Don't disrespect your phones, kids. Otherwise, they'll try to take over the world.)

PAL turning off the Wi-Fi: Again, have I mentioned this movie is funny?

“I love the dog. You love the dog. We all love the dog. But at some point, you’re gonna have to eat the dog.”: It's the sick jokes that get to me the most. Everyone booing Rick afterward is just the cherry on top.

Attack of the Furbies: Have I. Mentioned. That this movie. Is funny?

Seriously, if you haven't lost your s**t during every second of this scene, then you never had to deal with the demonic entity that is a Furby. In a way, I commend you. But you also don't get to appreciate the comedic genius of all of this. So I also weirdly feel bad for you.

The Mitchells deciding how to celebrate: You don't have a real family if you spend more time arguing about how to celebrate after saving the world than you do about how to save the world. I don't make the rules. I just abide by them.

The PAL MAX Primes: There's not much to say about them. The PAL MAX primes look and act pretty cool, are brilliantly animated, and raise the stakes while still being funny at times. I love 'em, but I don't have much to analyze with them either.

The origin of the moose: ...I'd make the "I didn't need my heart anyway" joke, but to be honest, it's still shattered after WandaVision.

(For real, though, this is a really effective scene that establishes why Rick makes a big deal with the moose and why he might feel hurt that Katie is willing to disregard it completely)

The Theme of Technology and Social Media: There's a theme about how family is important, and working hard on making things work is worth the effort. But that's a bit too generic for my tastes, so instead, I'm gonna talk about the equally important message this movie has about technology. Because as twisted as she is, PAL makes a great point. The technology we have today helps us in a variety of ways. It's especially useful with sites like YouTube, allowing content creators like Katie to reach out and share their voices. The only issue with technology is how people use it. Take note that the main reason why the Mitchells stand a chance against PAL is by using her own tech against her. Yes, over-relying on all the advancements around us can be dangerous, but if we're smart with how we use them, we can get by just fine. This movie isn't about purging all technology like most robot apocalypse stories are. Instead, it's about using it correctly and not being helpless sheep the second the Wi-Fi gets turned off. Which might just be the most unique thing this movie has going for it story-wise (more on that later).

The Climax: The Mitchells vs. The Machines has everything that I think I climax should have. First off, it utilizes callbacks and jokes that I wouldn't have thought twice on actually coming in handy for how the Mitchells win the day. But showing that Monchi causes the robots to malfunction turns a pretty "eh" joke into a solid case of foreshadowing.

Second, everyone does something. Some characters do more than others, sure, but the fact that every Mitchell, even Monchi, has a hand in beating PAL and her robots is a great sense of writing to me. It shows that you really can't cut anyone from the main cast, as they each add value to how they are essential to the plot. Even Aaron, who arguably does the least in the climax, still manages to be the catalyst to what is easily the best scene in the movie. Speaking of which...

Linda Kicks Ass: By the way, that's the actual name on the soundtrack. I'm not even kidding. Check it.

Anyways, for the most part, Linda seemed like a decent cartoon mom. She's insanely supportive but still has the common sense to keep her foot down, like agreeing with Rick to stay safe in the dino stop the second the apocalypse starts. A pretty fun character, for sure, but nothing too noteworthy...but the second she loses her s**t, Linda Mitchell frickin' SKYROCKETS to the best-cartoon-mom territory! Believe me when I tell you that seeing her slice and dice robots like a middle-aged female Samurai Jack is as awesome as it is hilarious. Does it make sense how she can suddenly do this? No, but at the same time, who gives a s**t about common sense?! Because this moment was epic, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching it over and over again.

Rick Learning How to Internet...Again: I consider this the funniest moment in the movie. Trust me, the Furby scene is a close, close, CLOSE, second...but I think this scene was funnier.

The final goodbye: This is what I'm talking about when I say humor adds to the dramatic moments. The Mitchells saying "I love you" in moose is pretty funny, but it's also a sweet moment given that this is absolutely how this family of weirdos would say goodbye to each other. And, yeah, I got a little misty-eyed during this scene. Especially when Rick saw Katie pocketing the moose. That s**t just cuts deep, man.

Alex Hirsch Voices a Character: ...That's it. I look up to Alex Hirsh as everything I want to be as a creator, and the fact that his name is on this movie fills me with joy. He's also a story consultant, so that can also explain why the movie turned out as great as it did...although there are some imperfections.

WHAT I DISLIKE

Katie-vision: What's Katie-vision? Well, throughout the movie, we get to see how Katie views the world as there are these hand-drawn elements that look like effects Katie would add if she was the one who made the movie. At times it can be subtle and cute, like when this little beating heart appears when Katie is talking with Jude and her other friends. It's when the movie is in your face with Katie-vision does it get annoying. Like showing how Katie is lying about being certain she can drive up a vertical ramp or signifying what is the Rick Mitchell Special. Even if you justify that this would be how Katie would edit the movie, it still doesn't change how obnoxious these moments can be. For instance, Monchi is justified to be essential for the plot, but that doesn't mean people won't hate him...I'll still fight them if they do, but that's beside the point.

I can totally accept this being a personal issue, as I'm sure some people enjoy it. As for me, I think Katie-vision works best when used subtly instead of crudely.

The Meme humor: It's something similar here. Because some people like meme humor...but I don't. To me, it just dates your story if you reference memes even once. Now, a show, movie, or book being partially dated is nothing new. We Bare Bears, a series that I love, reference memes, apps, and social media constantly. Yet, the show still has a timeless feel to it as it doesn't rely on those references too much. The Mitchells vs. the Machines doesn't rely on memes as much either. But even then, that doesn't make a difference about how annoying that gibbon monkey joke was. Seriously, what the f**k was that? And how is THAT the joke that gets used twice!?

Underutilizing Mark Bowman: It really bothers me how this guy barely does much. I mean, Mark Bowman is the main reason that anything happens in the movie. Because he mistreated PAL, Mark acts as the catalyst for events to come. So the fact that he could have been written out the second PAL takes control doesn't make sense to me. It's worse since I could see more potential with his character through his relationship with PAL. These two could be anti-Rick and Katie, as Mark and PAL show what happens when people disrespect their family. So separating them halfway through the story, and keeping them as such, is a huge mistake as it results in neither having a proper resolution to their arcs. Like I said, Rick and Katie develop through each other, and the same could have happened with Mark and PAL. It doesn't, making it something that I can't help but feel disappointed about.

The Poseys: These are characters I feel like work better with multiple appearances. Sure, they only have the one joke about being a perfect family, but at the same time, you can make a joke like that work. Look at Yvonne from Shaun of the Dead (Which might just be my favorite movie). That's a bit-character whose only purpose is showing how better she is than Shaun despite being in an eerily similar situation. But she works well as we constantly see how great she's doing in every instance we see her. The same could be done with the Poseys, as using a similar joke for one scene is underutilizing great potential to make an already good movie into a better one.

Plus, if you're gonna shoehorn in a romance between Aaron and Abby Posey, the least you could do is have more than one scene developing that...just saying.

Katie’s and Rick’s “Oh” Moments: I want to make it clear that I actually like these scenes. They're well written and effectively emotional. My problem is that they also happen two seconds apart. There's nothing wrong with having a character realize the error of their ways through a tear-jerking moment. It's a popular tactic for a reason. And given how both Rick and Katie are the protagonists, they both need their own "oh" moment. But you gotta space them out, as it makes things easier to see the emotional manipulation that you're clearly trying to pull on the audience. They work, but putting them back to back is an issue easily solved with at least two minutes of padding, not two seconds.

Katie’s Death Fakeout: This is one of the few instances that a joke doesn't work in the movie, made even more annoying with the fact that I could see the punchline a mile away and kept thinking, "Just get to it already." I'm pretty sure no one bought this, especially when Katie didn't look like she could have gotten killed in any way after throwing PAL. It's poorly handled and proof that even the funniest comedies have a stale joke every now and again.

Nothing New is really being done here: Keep in mind that in terms of style, this movie is incredibly innovative. And here's hoping future animated projects can take notes. But narratively speaking? Yeah, there's nothing really new that this movie is offering.

A story about how technology will be the death of us? Been there.

A story about a group of idiots miraculously saving the world? Done that.

A story about a father forcing their teenager on a road trip so they can spend quality time with each other, thus ruining the teen's chance of hanging out with their girlfriend? Believe it or not, I have seen A Goofy Movie...multiple times...both as a kid and as an adult.

Now, I have no issue with a movie's plot being a bit by-the-books, and in some cases, cliche. If done effectively, and if I still have a good time, I don't think there’s much to complain about. And there isn't with The Mitchells vs. The Machines. The problem lies with that I'll forget this movie along with the dozens of others like it in a couple years. Which might just be the biggest issue any film can have.

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

Overall, I'd give The Mitchells vs. the Machines a well-earned A-. It has nitpicks, sure, but it's still a blast to watch. It might not be innovative or groundbreaking as movies like the last Sony Pictures Animation movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. However, it is fun. And when the world is burning down around us, it's nice to have a fun movie that can distract us from all of it. So feel free to log in to Netflix the next time you're in the mood for a film that is great for the whole family. You won’t be disapointed

(And I will talk about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier pretty soon. I just needed to get this out of my system first.)

#the mitchells vs the machines #what i thought about

18 notes · View notes

omgrachwrites · 4 years

Text

Tell a Tale of You and Me - Chapter Six

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: You knew that making a bet with Sirius Black was like making a deal with the devil but you just couldn’t help yourself. You had never been a heavenly woman.

Warnings: fluff, soft angst, pining

Words: 2100

Disclaimer: This gif doesn’t belong to me!

A/N: How are we on chapter six already?! Hope you guys enjoy this part, please let me know what you think and let me know if you want to be tagged! I love you all very much! xxx

Chapter Six

Sighing, you held the blue autumn dress against your body, gazing at your reflection in the mirror, you didn’t like this shade of blue paired with your soft eyes, and the colour of the dress was cold in comparison. Closing your eyes you let out a deep breath, you didn’t want to have a fit on the morning of the first Hogsmeade visit, controlling your breathing unfortunately wasn’t as effective as you had hoped. You flung the garment onto your bed where it joined the other pieces of rejected clothing, leaving you shivering slightly in your underwear.

There came a giggle from behind you and you looked into the mirror rather than turning around. Lily was sitting up in bed, her red hair was slightly frizzy as she looked at you and you noticed that her eyes were alert rather than glazed over with sleep. You had a sneaking suspicion that she had been watching you for a while.

“I really like you in that blue dress and I thought you did too, I thought it was one of your favourites,” she pouted but smirked when you let out a non-committal noise. It was one of your favourites, “so, who are you getting all dressed up for?”

You frowned into the mirror at your best friend, “err, I’m getting dressed up for myself and myself only,” you told her and it was true. Sure, you wanted people to think that you looked nice but you didn’t want to impress anybody with the clothes that you wore nobody but yourself.

“Well, the fact that half of your suitcase is on your bed, I would say otherwise,” she giggled as she gestured over at your bed, “is it Sirius? Do you have a crush on him again?” she asked with an excited look and a hopeful tone.

“Nope, I haven’t had a crush on him since our fourth year,” you chuckled, turning around to face Lily, chewing your lip when her face fell, “look,” you smiled as you went over to sit on her bed, “Sirius is definitely one of the best looking guys that I know, no matter how much I hate to say it but I don’t have a crush on him again.”

“Why not? Would it be such a bad thing if you did Y/N?” you smiled at Lily, trying to think of the best way to explain it.

“Remember how I was when we first started Hogwarts, before I had a crush on Sirius? I was meek, scared of my own shadow, I never would have stood up for myself, not in a million years. I hated being that person, and then I got my heart broken by Sirius in our fourth year and for months all I did was mope about. It wasn’t until I took a step back, looked at myself and realised that I didn’t want to mope around forever, I couldn’t waste my life. So, here I am, trying to be the best version of myself.”

“Y/N,” Lily sighed as she took your hands in her own and nodded at you for you to continue.

“Don’t you see? If I let myself feel anything but friendship for Sirius, I’m scared that I’m gonna go right back to that meek, cowardly girl, and I don’t want to be her. Never again.”

“I understand, I did notice a change in you after the whole drama with Sirius, you’re like a little ray of sunshine Y/N,” she giggled, “but you do have a habit of building a wall around yourself.”

“I know, I’m still learning,” you smiled it seemed like an awfully deep conversation to be having before 8 in the morning. You looked over at your suitcase and realised that you still needed to find something to wear.

Lily must have seen you looking because she got up off her bed and started to rummage through your suitcase, you didn’t bother to ask her what she was doing, you just let her do her own thing. Finally, she pulled out another autumn dress in a similar style to the blue one, though it was in a different colour, that wouldn’t clash with your eyes.

“Pair this with some warm tights and boots,” Lily grinned at you as she handed you the clothes, “and also,” she paused as she ran her nimble fingers through your hair, breaking up the tangles, “leave it like that, it’s so pretty when it looks a little messy. And, when we’re both dressed we’ll have food, the boys smuggled some out of the kitchens. They wanted as much time as they could possibly get at Hogsmeade,” she rolled her eyes, making you laugh.

After you had both dressed – Lily looked as beautiful as ever, in a sea foam green top and stone washed jeans – you traipsed up to the boy’s dormitory, along with your friend Alice. Alice and her boyfriend Frank were also coming to Hogsmeade with you.

As soon as you opened the door to the boy’s dormitory, you were met with a shirtless, glistening Sirius who had obviously just got out of the shower. His long hair was damp and his jeans hung low on his hips. You averted your eyes, feeling your cheeks grow warm, you didn’t want to be caught staring at the handsome boy. Not that you wanted to stare anyway.

“Good morning Sirius, how are you?” you smirked, making light of the fact that he was half naked in front of you.

“Y/N,” he breathed, making you look back at him as his grey eyes widened as he drank in your appearance. Lily snickered behind you and almost immediately, Sirius’ eyes flashed over to her and he cleared his throat, almost as if he just realised where he was, “I’m all the better for seeing you, darlin’,” he sent you a cheeky wink and Lily shot you a knowing look.

After a quick breakfast, you along with your friends were on the way to Hogsmeade, the weather was bracing but sunny. As soon as you stepped foot in the beautiful village, the boys decided that they wanted to go to Zonkos and you, Alice and Lily wanted to go to Honeydukes. You decided to go your separate ways and meet up later on in The Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer.

As you entered the sweet shop, you inhaled the toffee scented air with a delighted grin, when you were at Honeydukes, you felt at home. Almost instantly, you walked over to find your favourite sweets, Sugar Quills and you saw with much delight that they were now selling deluxe ones. You turned around to tell your friends; instead you bumped into a handsome young man.

“By Salazar! I’m so sorry Y/N,” you glanced up and saw that it was Regulus, he beamed at you, his eyes lighting up as you smiled at him.

“No problem Reg,” you giggled when you saw mountains of Sugar Quills in his arms, “Sugar Quills are my favourite,” you told him, though you weren’t sure why he needed to know.

He grinned as he quirked an eyebrow, “mine too. Hey, I just wanted to congratulate you on winning the match yesterday, you played really well. The other teams better watch out with you as the Gryffindor seeker,” he chuckled and you thought back to the fond memory of the previous day, you could hardly wait to play the next match.

“Thank you so much Regulus, you played really well too,” you grinned at him.

Later on in the Three Broomsticks – right about when Alice and Frank were at the bar trying to get served for Firewhisky – Lily took a sip of her Butterbeer and looked at the marauders, “so how is little Finn getting on?” she directed the question at the boys because it was them who were helping your little brother through his werewolf transformations every month.

You wished that you could help but you knew it was too dangerous and you knew that the marauders wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

“Oh, he’s doing so well, much better than I am, even now,” Remus chuckled as he absent mindedly scratched at a scar on his cheek, “but it’s Sirius who should take the credit for helping him the most, isn’t that right James?”

James winked and grinned at you, “its true Y/N. Sirius has been great with Finn.”

At his best mate’s words, Sirius ducked his head, grinning bashfully as he ruffled his hair. Meanwhile, your heart swelled, you were so grateful to all of your friends for looking after your baby brother. You took Sirius’ hand from across the table, not caring that it was in front of everyone and he looked up at you with warm grey eyes.

“Thank you so much Sirius.”

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

Sirius chuckled as he wrinkled his nose when another pumpkin flavoured jelly bean hit him right between the eyes. He had lost count of how many failed attempts that was now, “I just don’t get it Y/N, you’re a pro athlete and you still can’t aim a jelly bean into my mouth.”

Y/N smirked at him as she threw another jelly bean at him, she was aiming for his forehead that time, “I know right honestly, how could I possibly miss a mouth that big? Winning one Quidditch match hardly makes me a pro athlete. Besides, I’m a seeker, I can’t throw things, I catch them. I can’t do both,” she giggled.

Unbeknownst to both Y/N and Sirius, their friends had been watching this whole exchange, it had been painful for them to watch. To them, it was clear that Sirius and Y/N had feelings for each other, it was clear to everyone. Everyone except Sirius and Y/N. Sirius cheered as finally, Y/N landed a jelly bean into his mouth, and unfortunately it wasn’t a pumpkin flavoured one as Sirius had originally thought. It was a Bertie Botts vomit flavoured one.

Sirius winced as he chewed it, “ew, that’s disgusting,” he swallowed it as quickly as he could and Y/N let out a musical giggle. Sirius was sure that she had known the true flavour of that jelly bean.

Grinning brightly, Sirius looked around The Great Hall, the Halloween feast was always an amazing night, it was his favourite time of year but this particular feast was one for the ages. Maybe because he knew it was the last Halloween feast any of them would ever have at Hogwarts and that thought made him sad. The food had been amazing, especially the mini cinnamon and pumpkin pies, the house elves had really outdone themselves. Then, the Hogwarts ghosts had entertained them all with a synchronised show.

Though, Sirius’ favourite part of the whole night wasn’t the incredible food or the dancing ghosts, it was the fact that he got to share this amazing night with all of his best friends. He wouldn’t want to share it with anybody else. Sirius smiled as he looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Finn, Y/N’s brother in deep conversation with Regulus. Finn was eating his way through a mountain of jelly and ice cream and he was grinning with excitement.

After the feast, Sirius and his best friends had drunk a bottle of Firewhisky between them in the common room and they had gorged themselves on the sweets they had brought back from Honeydukes earlier that day. Y/N had eventually fallen asleep with her head in Sirius’ lap; it was a warm comfortable weight. He smiled down at her as he ran his fingers through her pretty hair; she looked like she was at complete peace.

Lily sighed loudly and he glanced up to see her glaring at him, her eyes were slightly glazed over from the alcohol she had consumed, “when are you going to admit it Sirius? Because Y/N certainly won’t.”

“Admit what?” he asked, feigned innocence etched into his handsome face.

“Sirius,” Lily started in a warning voice and he knew that it wouldn’t be in his best interest to argue with her, “when are you going to tell her that you have feelings for her? When are you going to admit it to yourself? It doesn’t have to be a big deal, just ask her to Hogsmeade one time on her own and tell her,” Lily shrugged, “easy.”

Sirius sighed as he gazed down at the sleeping girl, her lips were slightly parted as she breathed in and out, “she could do so much better than a disowned nobody, she’d want to be with someone like Regulus,” he said bitterly. This was the reason why he only ever slept around; he didn’t want to burden anyone with his family problems and insecurities. He hid them so well, people thought he didn’t have them, “and I don’t have feelings for her,” he added and Lily scoffed.

“Lily’s right Sirius,” Remus started which surprised everyone, “if you don’t say anything then you’ll regret it in years to come. It’ll torture you because you’ll always think ‘what if?’”

Sirius shook his head as he looked down at Y/N, she was such a great girl and she deserved the world but that would never be Sirius.

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

@approved-by-dentists @thefuturelawyer @a-miserable-hufflepunk @firelordmillie @seriouslysiriuss @sleep-i-ness @play-morezeppelin @pregnant-piggy @sleepingalaska @smiithys @blisfvll @rexorangecouny

149 notes · View notes

akimmito · 4 years

Text

Heroes are made by the path they choose

First | Previous | AO3 | Next

Master List

Chapter 10

Richard Grayson never expected to meet someone who had an aura similar to Alfred's, but when he approached them after leaving the hotel and almost killed them with fright, he found that the existence of other like that was possible.

Hugo, as he presented himself, did them the favor of leading them to a house on the outskirts of Paris. Unlike Wayne Manor which is amazing to see, Lenoir Country House is like stepping into a magical garden worthy of being part of a movie set. Vines tangle in the wooden frames and arches forming a natural roof from which grapes hang, plus the rose bushes that cluster around. As they walk through what would be the totally green front garden, they begin to hear barking and, according to what they were seeing on social networks, Marie Lenoir's son has six dogs, two puppies and four adults, in addition to two cats (yes, they did their little research on the family and were able to see the only photograph of the boy, who has green eyes and a haunting resemblance to Bruce).

At the entrance of the house they are greeted by a gray-haired woman with a motherly gaze. She guides them through the small mansion to her employer's study, telling them some stories of the place's reform and how kind her boss is, letting the employees live in the house, in addition to informing them to be careful with the Animals that roam the house, can be very wild and are capable of knocking down adult men (he told the anecdote of Agatha rolling through the mud to Felix Graham de Vanily and Adrien Agreste at the same time).

Tim looks with interest at the scenery, everything is so… soft, warm and homey. The place is decently large, but it doesn't feel empty, not the way the mansion, even with everyone gathered, feels cold and lonely. In that house only three people are part of the Lenoir (if their observations are correct regarding Hugo).

As they walk down a hallway, they hear two different types of barking, but soon more join… until a black-haired boy pushes them aside as he runs, behind him come the four adult dogs and they manage to knock down Dick who had the unfortunate luck of not being moving in time, the two cubs pass over him.

A little subtly they hear the boyish childish laugh before crossing another hallway (although for Tim, it was more of an evil laugh).

"That boy, always doing his thing." The lady denies with a loving expression. "When I met him, he was very grumpy, he only gave us suspicious looks and observed us in everything we did, especially when we cooked. The first time he refused to eat something that had not been prepared by Miss Lenoir or Hugo, it was hard for him to trust us..."

"Looks like they had a rough start." Dick mentions curiously, wanting me to explain a little more about the boy. Marie has done a better job than Bruce keeping her son away from the media.

"I was, but I think it was worth it, he's a very special boy." She smiles and starts walking again, straight to the shrill noise of the dogs. They barely manage to hear the murmurs.

They enter the studio, a rather large and very elegant room in cream white and black. As they walk through the door, Marie looks up and drops the conversation she was having with her son, Damian turns and gives them a look of contempt, as if he really has something against them. Dick is openly confused by the boy's gaze.

"Welcome, Mr. Grayson and Mr. Drake." She smiles kindly and invites them to settle into the room, the dogs have already taken over a large part of the space. "Honey, why don't you take your friends out to play in the backyard?"

"They are very comfortable here, mother, besides, we have played all morning. We deserve a break. ”He responds politely and giving them another poisonous look, he sits on the black leather sofa (synthetic leather, of course) rising above them as the owner of the place.

Now Richard is much more confused, did they do something to offend the boy?

Tim is restless, the boy deliberately ran past his pack of dogs capable of taking down a Dick-sized man (maybe they could even knock someone like Jason or Bruce to the ground) and now he's subtly threatening them, maybe his older brother isn't I feel it as such, but Damian is drawing a line that if they cross, it will have consequences, and he doesn't want to imagine what that murderous-looking boy is capable of doing to them.

"Weren't you going to take measurements and ask what they want, mother?" Damian questions from her place, seeing that the three adults stood uneasily. Tim tries not to look in his direction, he has the feeling that he would smile darkly at him like a whole evil being.

"Sure..." She says and takes the tape measure from the desk and putting it on her shoulders, then picks up a pencil and her sketchbook. "So is it for an event or for everyday use?"

"Daily use, in my case". Dick responds as casually as he can, feeling the boy's gaze awkward. "Tim wants his suit for work."

"Comfort and elegance, I feel most of the time, but I need to be more than decent when executives decide to improvise a meeting." Tim looks around awkwardly. "It happens very frequently... and most are organized by Bruce"

Marie is aware of what Damian is doing, but doesn't understand the reasons, she has never had that behavior with a client and doubts that it's only because they are two men who border her age, there is something else and she's going to find out, these two men they mean something, her child only reacts to extremes when it comes to... his birth family. Well, mystery solved. Now, she will discover how to approach the issue.

She couldn't see the boy's reaction to his biological father's name, but ho gaze only intensified by throwing mental daggers at the younger of the two men, causing chills. Dick gives Damian a small look, yes, it's unsettling, but he's worried about the amount of contempt he has for them, he cannot even think about how sweet and pretty the designer is, because he's not blind and she's beautiful.

Damian takes out his phone and takes a subtle photograph that he sends to the chat he has with Felix, asking him to come help him intimidate those two men. She only receives a vague reply, but it's enough for him. Although his attention is slightly taken by the group chat, where he has the misfortune of being for being of all the members of the MT (official and unofficial) .. with a very subtle name and nobody don't want to tell him who was the genius who put it on, Although if he must guess, it must have been Kim. Between that and the ridiculous names, he's completely sure that it is his doing.

Marie spends the entire morning chatting with her two clients, Damian and her pack of dogs hang around the entire time. The two German Shepherds are very intimidating, especially Agatha whenever Richard leaned too closed to his mother.

Damian is not allowing his supposed brother to have even the slightest chance of becoming his alleged father. No, he prefers his mother's lover (whoever he is) a thousand times to anyone who is in any way related to his biological family.

----------

It's not the MT

The Antibiotic: Why wasn't told me the butterfly it was active?

Perfect Crime: Because, dear cousin, enough suffering is being married to the shrew.

Plasticine: Don’t invoke her, she’s worse than Satan.

Almost pretty: At least Satan is a good guy, he invited me for a few drinks when I went to Los Angeles with my mother.

Three balls: I signed him a comic, it's great.

Needle: I remember that day, he invited us to a trio

Dragon Tamer: I remind you that there is a child here.

Olive: Agreste, none warned you because they have the concentration capacity of a stick, that is, none.

Plasticine: And you?

Olive: I don't care enough to remember his existence.

The Antibiotic: At least you are sincere...

----------

At lunchtime, Felix arrives at the country house. The two clients are still there, after Damian left the room to go to the bathroom (he's still mad at his physiology for betraying him), Tim was more open about the details. Dick was also more relaxed and they even got into a little conversation around the stunts... until the boy returned.

Two things became clear to Dick: first, the boy has something against them, and second, he has a very heavy and intimidating presence. Very creepy if asked.

So, with everyone gathered in the dining room, it's almost a surprise to see Felix arrive carrying another puppy, Dick looks bitterly as the boy gets another dog, at least hde will not be there for when the puppy turns into a giant dog.

"Felix, what does this mean?"Marinette questions in dismay, none of her friends had given an animal to her son, most against her beacause allowing him to have so many pets (even though only Daphne lives in the apartment).

“A few nights ago I had an epiphany when I saw how a ridiculous suit was the solution to all our problems, so I decided to give Damian a Great Dane because… things can only be strange to a certain extent. "

"You're delusional." She wants to laugh at his logic, especially since he always seemed incredulous every time he saw a Lucky Charm, he always ended up talking to Tikki about it and ended the discussions regretting the loss of all logic (he gave up long ago time, but it seems that the last Akuma made him remember the strange things that it delivers).

"Anybody raves after that." Damian, take. ”The boy stands up to receive his new pet, showing a small and subtle smile when he takes the puppy in his arms. "I had a hard time getting it, I had to blackmail this friend of my mother who tried to sell it at exaggerated prices. "

Marinette gives him a warning look, refraining from saying what he did in front of her guests, can still save her family's reputation a bit after Damian nearly threatened them with kitchen knives (because the real weapons don't come out of the headquarters of the MT).

"Of course not, I made a deal, I can't reveal the circumstances of the deal." He smirks and his gaze on Marinette's clients. "I'm sorry for my rudeness, I'm Felix Graham de Vanily."

"No problem, Richard Grayson." He gets up to shake hands and shake them, giving him a nice smile, Tim stays in his place and just introduces himself, looking at the blond man without being able to avoid that many expressions of the boy are reflected in him. Does Damian see him as his father figure? He's pleasant around him, although he has not seen how he acts in front of other people.

"Do you have lunch with us?" Marinette already knows the answer, but still asks for the employees to prepare another dish.

"Of course. "

"Does he have a name?" Damian asks after he has been stroking the puppy whose fur is completely black, who is happy to be cared for.

"No, you can put whatever you want and, for the love of all that is good, never ask my cousin about it again." Mariette smiles with amusement and settles again, although she knows that Damian will take a little longer to return to sit down.

"Pictso seems happy with his name." Damian says amused to see Felix's face contract, he enjoys teasing the adults around him (except his mother).

"It just shows that any creature that comes from my cousin has the same lousy taste as him."

"I thought that was established since he didn't accept that Chloe will start the divorce process." Marinette says simply as Margaret, Hugo's equivalent in the country house, comes in with the extra plate and places it right in front of Tim, at Damian's side of the seat.

Felix only teases and adjusts himself in his seat, Damian imitates him without releasing the puppy, ignoring Marinette's gaze.

"Damian."

"Only this time, mother, then he will be with his brothers." He responds, facing his mother, feeling Richard's gaze on him, making him uncomfortable because it's too soft for his taste.

What does he need to does to get those people out of his life forever?

--------

Damian @DamianLenoir

Titus is added to the family, his brothers adore him.

[Attached photo]

Chloe B. @BourgeoisQueen

@DamianLenoir Another one? Where do you get dogs so fast?

Marie L. @MarieLenoir

@DamianLenoir @BourgeoisQueen It was a gift from Felix.

Chloe B. @BourgeoisQueen

@DamianLenoir @MarieLenoir Tell me it's not related to the bottle of Château Cheval Blanc that he gave us all

Marc @MarcAC_twt

@DamianLenoir @BourgeoisQueen @MarieLenoir I think it is.

Nath @NathanielKC_twt

@DamianLenoir @BourgeoisQueen @MarieLenoir @MarcAC_twt I don't even dare to touch the bottle, why did he give us a damn 5,000 euros wine? I shouldn't have investigated...

Felix @GrahamV_Felix

@BourgeoisQueen @MarieLenoir @MarcAC_twt @NathanielKC_twt Say thanks, or didn't they teach you manners?

Nath @NathanielKC_twt

@BourgeoisQueen @MarieLenoir @MarcAC_twt @GrahamV_Felix I would be more grateful if I didn't feel that wine is worth more than all my art supplies

#dickinette #dick x marinette #maribat #ml x dc #mominette #Damian & Marinette

59 notes · View notes

gamerwoo · 4 years

Text

[Tales from the Pack] Wonwoo: Protector (Part Four)

Characters: Wonwoo x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, angst, fluff at the end though!!

Word count: 5,471

Summary: If there’s one thing Wonwoo hates, it’s feeling helpless; like there’s nothing he can do to stop somebody he loves from getting hurts. It’s happened to him once before, and he swears it’ll never happen again. Especially not after he meets you.

Tag list: @choiminjae0325 @heolykpop @fullsun-donghyuck @yoonbabe-d @exuwu @lets-get-1t @sooooofrench @vintageot5 @sehunnies-hunnie96 @luvhannie @childfmoonn @wobwobkpop @henloimawierdobye @dirinast (if you wanna be added please send an ask or a dm!!)

Unable to tag: @uglyratlmao

Previous | Next | Protector Masterlist

Wonwoo set the bags on the table for you and helped you put everything away. It was a lot easier taking care of your groceries than the pack’s since you were just buying for the two of you, but that also meant less work, which meant his brain could wander. As always, it went straight to two things: you, and Danbi.

He was frustrated with himself. He’d been with you for two weeks now, and he figured he should’ve marked you already. You already knew how all of that worked, so you would be fine with it. But he also hadn’t asked and he didn’t want to do that without asking, but he didn’t know if he even should ask. Was two weeks too early?

He would always do this. He’d go round and round overthinking it, and then do nothing and continue to be frustrated. He wanted you marked as his already -- especially with the nightmares he’d been having, but that was another thing entirely.

But that did have something to do with why he was thinking of Danbi. Was she doing okay? Was she still angry at him? Did she run off again? It wasn’t like his pack mates who came to check up on him were much help in getting answers, either. He’d ask a question, to which they’d only reply “don’t worry too much”. But when he kept dreaming of that day with Lilly, and now started having nightmares of something similar happening to you or Danbi, how could he not worry? Something bad could happen, and he would completely blame himself.

You could easily tell when he was thinking about Danbi, though -- at least, you always assumed it was just Danbi. He would stare off into space as he did whatever task he was doing, and his nose would scrunch in the slightest as his eyebrows sat low over his eyes and made a crease between them. You didn’t mind that his focus was on his sister, you just wished you could help. He didn’t deserve to be this stressed out and worried but what could you do?

“Your face will freeze like that,” you chuckled as you and Wonwoo sat on the couch together, his face still scrunched up as he thought about Danbi. “Come on, love, you need to relax.”

“I’m trying,” he sighed, the look finally dropping from his face as he laid his head back against the couch. “My sister is probably at home safe and sound, but I still can’t focus on my mate… I’m the worst werewolf to exist.”

Wonwoo didn’t want to tell you how he worried about you because he didn’t want you to see him how he assumed Danbi did. He didn’t want you thinking he was overbearing or thinking he was an awful mate and wanting nothing to do with him. He didn’t want to mess things up with you, so he kept his worries about keeping you safe to himself.

“That’s not true,” you stated, turning to face him as you sat on your knees. “Wonwoo, the only problem you seem to have is that you think you can protect Danbi from everything, including her own life and choices. You need to learn how to relax a bit more.”

“Relax?” he asked as if it was a foreign word to him. He sat up and looked at you. “Have you met the pack? We don’t relax; we fight.”

“Well, you definitely can’t fight anybody here,” you chuckled, looking around to find some sort of outlet for his stress. “Uh…maybe go punch a tree or something?”

Wonwoo’s laugh was deep, his eyes lighting up at your comment, “We don’t punch trees, _____.”

“It’s called a joke, Woo,” you giggled as he rolled his eyes, flopping over to the side and laying his head in your lap. Hearing the sad sigh he let out, you knew he wouldn’t be getting his mind off of his stressful thoughts anytime soon. “Love, I know you’re worried about her, but you know you can’t always be there to protect her.”

“But I need to be,” he sighed again, this time more deeply. “If anything were to happen to her, it’s my fault, _____. I’m her big brother; I’m supposed to protect her from danger.”

You had a feeling this was stemming from something else. The way his eyes bore into yours with such heartbreak in them, you knew this came from something much, much more than just fearing Danbi would run away again. But you didn’t know if it was too far to pry just yet.

“Sweetheart, she has Mingyu, too,” you told him, running your hands through his soft hair. “Mingyu’s your brother, so you know he’ll take good care of her. You can’t always be there for her now that she’s grown up and has a family.”

“Yeah, but--”

There was a loud knock on the door, interrupting your conversation. It made you jump a bit considering the fact it wasn’t only getting pretty late – the sun was setting as the sky began to fade to warm oranges that transitioned to cool dark blues – but the knock sounded forceful.

You let out a soft sigh before calling out, “coming!” as you stood, forcing your mate to sit up with a pouty huff. Despite the fact you informed the guest at the door that you were on your way to open it, they continued to pound impatiently on your door. You did your best to not snap at them before opening the door and being met with the last person you expected to see.

“Hello, _____,” the boy at the door smiled a little too sweetly. “I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time.”

His name was Donghae and he was this average height and clean-cut boy, always dressing up in the best clothes he could as if he were some sort of royal. Had he not been such a brat, you would’ve thought maybe Donghae was handsome with the way he always slicked his short, dark hair back, and how he was always clean shaven to show off his sharp, squared jaw. His eyes were a little on the rounder side, but his square brows were always set low so you couldn’t really tell unless he raised them in amusement -- much like he currently was.

Donghae was also the town mayor’s son. That meant he was the son of possibly the most important person in town, and that was scary. He had power, and people with power made you nervous because you knew they had the most information. Beom always instructed you to keep to yourself when around people with a higher status because you never wanted to give them a reason to pry. That was what confused you about Donghae suddenly showing up at your doorstep. You always kept to yourself, even earlier that day in the market with Wonwoo. So what could’ve made him come here? You weren’t even aware that he was in the market -- unless he had been watching you from a distance.

On top of being powerful, Donghae was, to put it bluntly, an asshole. He used his power just because he could, and he always got his way. He was one of the worst people you had ever been aware of, and you always steered clear of him whenever you saw him.

As soon as Wonwoo heard his voice, he moved quickly and quietly to the kitchen to be closer to you, afraid of what Donghae was planning. Despite not being too familiar with the town, he was well aware of Donghae’s family because they were who the pack had to be cautious around. Wonwoo didn’t know why the snobby brat would be visiting you – and at such a late hour at that – but he didn’t sense anything good about his reasoning.

“Of course,” you replied, trying to stay polite even though your heart was beating out of your chest. You didn’t know what he could possibly want from you; you were a very quiet member of the town. “What can I do for you?”

“I’d like to speak to you about a…werewolf problem,” he smirked ever so slightly, cocking an eyebrow like he knew you knew something.

Wonwoo softly growled, but tried to keep himself under control. There was no way he could be suspicious of you, right? And if he was, Wonwoo already knew the consequences wouldn’t be good.

“Werewolves?” you chuckled nervously. “Werewolves aren’t real, Donghae.”

“Oh, but I think Beom thought so,” he said as he clicked his tongue. “She is the one who raised you, isn’t she?”

You gulped, “Y-yes… B-but Beom was always coming up with crazy tales. You know that very well.”

“_____, I did notice something very...different at the market today,” he continued, the amused smile never leaving his stupid face. “You were with a man. That’s very new for you, isn’t it? You’re always alone.”

It was true that you were hardly ever seen with anybody, much less a man. You’d been in town with Danbi only a few times, and Jooyeon even less than that, probably. But the wolves, you had never been spotted with for as long as you knew the pack.

“W-why were you watching me at the market?” you quickly tried to counter.

“Don’t avoid this, _____. Who is he?”

As Donghae continued to try to get you to slip up, Wonwoo heard the back door open. He was about to let out a warning growl until he sensed it was someone from the pack: Chan. The youngest wolf crept up the hallway and made his way to Wonwoo when he noticed him in the kitchen.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Wonwoo whispered to Chan who had his golden eyes glued on you.

“You need to get _____ out of here.” he told your mate. “I was on my way home from town, and I saw a bunch of guards lurking. There are some around the sides of the house; I think Donghae knows that _____ helps the pack. I can get her out but I don’t know how I can if Donghae keeps blabbing to her.”

Wonwoo eyed Chan, unsure of how this could work, but he knew he had to get you away from Donghae before something bad happened. He let out a sigh, running his hands through his hair as he tried to quickly think of a plan. He knew he’d have to do something now before Donghae either took you with him or worse – he refused to consider the second option.

Wonwoo bit his lip, closing his eyes with a soft groan in his throat, “I can only think of one way to do this…but you’re going to have to be involved. They’ll know you’re a werewolf.”

“I’m okay with anything if it keeps the pack safe,” Chan nodded, “but I don’t know how _____ will feel. This is her home.”

“It’s all we’ve got to keep her safe,” he said, his eyes watching your back.

You still had no clue the younger wolf was in your house. You were simply trying to answer Donghae’s questions, giving the little twerp as vague answers as you possibly could. He was two years younger than you and you felt like he shouldn’t be here scolding you, but he was the son of an important person in the town, so you had to listen to him.

Donghae made it clear you were suspected of being involved with the werewolf pack, but you were denying everything. You tried to convince him that you were innocent, but you already knew that Donghae wasn’t the type to listen to reason, even if you weren’t lying – which you definitely were, but he didn’t need to know that. You were fighting a losing battle.

“Well, _____, I’m afraid I--”

“Excuse me,” an unfamiliar voice was right by your ear, cutting off Donghae as the stranger scooped you off of the ground, making you gasp, “but I’ll be taking her.”

Before you could even scream, you were moving at a speed so fast that it felt like you weren’t even moving. In seconds, you were near the familiar tree with the large hole in it that had been there since you were a child, signaling you were going the correct way to the wolves’ den. The smaller wolf -- you only knew he was a werewolf because of the eyes and the fact he was incredibly fast -- wasn’t even winded as he grinned down at you.

“Sorry to have our first meeting be under these circumstances,” he chuckled awkwardly as he set you down. “I’m Chan, the youngest; I’m from Soonyoung’s pack.”

They had mentioned Chan before. He was the pup and he had the power of speed. You got to witness that firsthand, and you had to admit, it was impressive. However, you didn’t get to even introduce yourself because it was then that it hit you: Wonwoo wasn’t with you.

“Wonwoo!” you gasped, gripping his shoulders. “Chan, where’s Wonwoo?”

“He left before we did,” he promised with a soft smile, “everything will be fine. It was all part of my master plan -- well, his, but it was my idea that he leave first since he’s slower than me.”

“But…” you turned, looking back the way you came as tears filled your eyes. You already knew that they were going search your house for evidence, trashing it and confiscating everything. “All of my things…my memories…my home…”

Chan’s proud smile faded as he watched tears slip down your cheeks, your bottom lip quivering. He stepped toward you, wanting to somehow comfort you, but unsure what would be okay.

“It’ll be okay, _____,” he promised softly, deciding to place a warm hand on your shoulder. “We’ll go back in a few days to bring everything back. I’m sure the alphas will help, and Wonwoo too.”

“What about Wonwoo?” you sniffled, looking at the younger boy as you tried to control your tears. “Where is he now?”

“He said he’d meet us here. He should be-- Oh! There!”

Chan pointed to a sandy-colored wolf with dark paws, and a dark marking on it’s chest. You already knew it was your mate just by looking at him, and you ran to him, making him slow his pace before he ran straight into you. He was carrying something in his mouth, but you ignored it and threw your arms around him, cuddling into his fur as he hummed in content.

“Told you,” Chan smirked, resting his hands on his hips.

Wonwoo let out a tiny huff, so you pulled away. He held what looked like a frame out to you, and you took it in your hands carefully. You turned it over and saw that it was the picture of you, Beom, and the alphas – the last picture you took with her.

You wiped under your eyes, holding the frame with one hand as you looked at your mate, “Thank you.”

Wonwoo nudged your cheek with his nose before walking up a bit and lowering himself for you to get on his back. Before you could even climb up, Chan was helping you on and taking the picture so you could hang on to Wonwoo’s fur.

“Good thinking, Wonwoo,” he smiled as he studied the picture, beginning the walk back to the house.

Once inside the house, Chan began going through his bag from the market that he’d filled with your little pots, potions, and remedies before taking you. He placed the various items on the counter, and each new thing he pulled out seemed to raise you spirits just a little bit. You were delighted with what they got, but you knew you’d still need the rest of your stuff. However, you were grateful either way.

“I can’t believe Jihoon smiles,” Jun called from the living room where he was hanging your portrait up above the fireplace with a few other photos.

“Shut your mouth!” Jihoon huffed as he helped you and Jeonghan put your things away with the Jeon siblings’ things in the kitchen.

Honestly, between what you and the two siblings had, you didn’t have a bad stock. You could definitely add to it, but you’d have to wait a few days. You’d be fine waiting, though. You knew you wouldn’t want to see your house a wreck, but at least you could get your belongings.

“I know the circumstances are shitty,” Jeonghan began, “but I’m glad you’ll be moving in for a while, _____. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten to see you for long periods of time."

“I have to agree,” Jihoon admitted with the traces of a smile on his lips. “Plus, maybe you can keep these morons in line.”

“Hey, I’m not a moron!” Seungcheol whined.

“Don’t you have a mate to be keeping an eye on?” Jihoon quizzed, raising an eyebrow.

You let out an excited gasp, turning to the older wolf, “Oh, where’s Jooyeon?”

Seungcheol chuckled as he nodded toward the front yard, “She’s outside with Seokmin right now. I think they’re--”

“Uh, guys?” Seokmin called. You paused to go look out of the kitchen doorway and down the hall where the younger wolf was standing at the open front door. “You might want to see this…”

The wolves went to the door, piling outside onto the lawn. They looked up in the sky, one by one, their faces showing shock and horror. You made your way out and looked up, and then your jaw dropped, and your legs started to shake before your knees completely buckled and you dropped to the grass.

A pillar of thick, grey and black smoke was swirling in the sky. It looked like it was towards the outskirts of town.

Your house was right at the edge of town, and in the direction of the smoke.

“No!” you cried as tears formed and quickly began spilling over your eyes.

“_____...” Wonwoo knelt in the grass beside you, pulling you into his chest.

“Fuck…” Soonyoung sighed, looking from the smoke to you as you sobbed.

You didn’t even bother to cover your face or hide away in your mate’s chest. You couldn’t take your eyes off of the smoke. Every picture, potion, article of clothing, and most importantly, memory was now gone from that house. Your childhood, your memories of Beom, and every other beautiful memory that was contained in that house was now erased with the smoke as it rose higher and higher into the sky.

It felt like everything was taken from you. Everything you knew; everything Beom left behind for you was in that house. You only had a few things that Wonwoo and Chan managed to get, but it wasn’t enough. You were thankful, yes, but what about the rest of the things you needed? You could never get them back now. Everything was gone.

“That little brat isn’t playing around,” Joshua mumbled.

“I’ll kill him,” Wonwoo growled, angry with how upset Donghae had made his mate, hugging you tighter. “I’ll tear every limb from his body.”

Chan sighed, unable to look away from the smoke filling the sky, “_____…I’m sorry we couldn’t get everything. We didn’t know--”

You broke his apology with a sob so loud that the pack looked away from the sky and down at you. Wonwoo forced your face into his chest, not wanting you to continue looking at the grey smoke clouds that seemed to never end. He knew how much that house meant to you. Hell, he even considered moving in with you permanently instead of having you stay with the pack so you could keep all of your memories that were in that house. You lived close enough that he could visit when he needed to, and you would always be protected by the pack. It would’ve been perfect.

Anger bubbled inside of him. It was difficult for him to contain, but he managed while he had you in his arms. You were the only thing keeping him calm and grounded. If it were just him, he knew he would’ve shifted and would’ve been on his way to murder Donghae in an instant.

“Come on, _____,” Seungcheol’s voice was soft as his hand rested on your upper back. “Let’s get you back inside for now.”

“Seungcheol's right,” Wonwoo decided, bringing you to stand with him. “We shouldn’t stay out here for long.”

“You’re only torturing yourself,” Soonyoung nodded, gesturing for the pack to start heading in. “I’m also worried Donghae will send his men to look for the three of you, so it’s best if we all lay low for a bit.”

You knew that he was right, but you couldn’t find words. Whenever you opened your mouth, more sobs poured out, and it worried Wonwoo and the rest of the pack. They knew you’d be okay eventually, but it would take time. For now, though, it was clear you were far from okay.

The pack was determined to take your mind off of what happened. While Wonwoo, Chan, Mingyu, Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Seungkwan sat with you in the living room, the wolves were scouring the house in search of the old photo albums that they hadn’t seen in years.

“I found one!” Minghao called from one corner of the basement.

“How many are there again?” Hansol wondered as he searched another dust-covered box.

“Three…?” Seungcheol guessed slowly. “I don’t remember, I haven’t seen them since Beom would visit.”

Jihoon groaned softly, standing up on his toes to reach another box, “Why do we have so many photo albums? We never do anything together.”

“Beom made them,” Jeonghan stated, a slight bite to his tone. “She liked keeping memories, just like _____. That’s why we need to find all of them.”

“Got the second one!” Jun announced proudly, holding the dusty book in the air.

Seungcheol turned away from where he was looking to smile softly at the fourth oldest, “One more and we’re good.”

Meanwhile, you were in the living room with a handful of the pack as they tried to cheer you up. Wonwoo couldn’t help but feel a little bit happy that the pack flocked to you so easily, even if most of them barely knew you. Chan seemed to take an automatic liking to you ever since rescuing you from your house, and the rest of the younger wolves seemed to be following suit. Even Mingyu seemed to have his curiosity of you overpowering the constant attention he kept on his mate and 3-month-old daughter.

“Please don’t cry anymore, _____,” Soonyoung frowned, one arm around you as you sat between him and your mate on the couch.

Your head hurt from crying, but the tears wouldn’t stop no matter how hard you tried. Wonwoo was continuously drying your tears with his sweater sleeve, but they just kept flowing out of you. Your heart was completely broken, and you didn’t know how to fix it.

“We’ll avenge you, _____,” Seungkwan promised, offering a smile.

You sniffled, rubbing your eyes, “Th-thanks, Seungkwan.”

“We’ll make things okay again,” Wonwoo swore, his voice soft like velvet as he ran his fingers soothingly through your hair. “I know we can’t get your house back, but we can make sure you’re safe until we can figure out how to get back at him.”

You nodded, wanting to believe your mate, but Donghae had so much power. How were you supposed to go against him? He had resources that the pack didn’t, and he had way more people than you. The pack were going to walk into a battle that they couldn’t win.

If anything happened to Wonwoo or the pack, you would never forgive yourself.

“Beom would know what to do if she was here…” you mumbled.

Your words made tears start to pick up again, and Soonyoung was quick to shush you, being the only one in the room who knew your connection with the old woman.

You always looked up to her and always wanted to be like her. The truth was, you could never be her. You didn’t know nearly as much as her, and you clearly sucked at keeping the one secret that you had to keep. The town officials now knew there were werewolves nearby, and they knew that Wonwoo and Chan were two of them because they wanted to protect you. You were the reason they had to expose themselves.

“_____, don’t compare yourself to her,” the alpha told you. “I know you think you’re not as good as her, but even Beom would never be able to stop Donghae.”

“She wouldn’t have been careless,” you sobbed, your voice breaking.

“You weren’t careless, _____!” Chan insisted. “It wasn’t your fault. How would you know that Donghae would be in town?”

“Yeah, you can’t just hide inside your house all the time,” Seokmin agreed.

“But now we have to hide inside all the time,” you sighed as Wonwoo pulled his sleeve down over his hand and used it to wipe the moisture from your cheeks once again. “I don’t even know how he got tipped off. I’m really sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Seungkwan told you with a smile, “Jihoon and Jeonghan will be very pleased to not have to go outside.”

His lighthearted – but definitely true – comment made you laugh softly, which made the small group of wolves smile. Seungkwan was very proud of himself for that.

“Oh, _____,” Junhui sang as he appeared in the doorway of the living room, holding a dusty book in his hand, “we found some things that might make you feel better.”

When the rest of the pack crowded into the living room and set the three books on the table, you recognized them as the photo albums and let out a soft gasp. You thought all your pictures were gone – it was very difficult to get your hands on a camera, but Beom somehow managed – but here they were with the wolves. At least, copies Beom had given them.

“Ooh, let’s see this one first!” Seungkwan grinned as he reached over to grab the book from the table.

“Uh, I think this one goes first,” Joshua corrected, taking a new book and sliding it across the table toward you with a soft smile. “It’s mostly pictures from when _____ was younger.”

“Oh god…” you laughed shyly, making the pack chuckle.

You flipped the book open, smiling as you looked over the pictures and pointed out a few of your favorites. The pack had just gotten a house built back then, and Soonyoung’s pack had yet to even show up, so you only really saw Jihoon, Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Joshua, so they were the ones in most of the photos. The older wolves also took turns to laugh at memories that they were reminded of from the happy pictures.

“Is that Jihoon holding a baby?” Chan asked, pointing at a picture of Jihoon holding a 3-month-old you as far away from him as he possibly could.

He burst into a fit of giggles as the rest of the wolves curiously leaned over for a look before they were joining in on the laughter.

Jihoon just frowned, “I’d never held a baby, okay!”

Jeonghan pointed to a picture of Seungcheol, who was cradling you in his arms and smiling down at you, “That’s how you hold a baby, idiot.”

The book was filled with pictures of you up to the age of eleven, either of just you or you with the pack. There were even pictures of just the pack at their home, which still looked the same as it does now -- like the one of them all outside the house after Soonyoung and his three pack mates had finally joined. All the memories were happy ones that made you smile and laugh with everyone else.

There were pictures of you on Jun’s shoulders as you pointed up at the sky, and Joshua and Jeonghan braiding your hair while you played with dolls that Beom had made you. There were pictures of Minghao and a wolf you recently learned was Mingyu as they tried to cook a large dinner for their equally as large pack. Pictures of Jihoon sitting on the floor with you in his lap at age four while he read to you, a genuine smile on his face – which earned plenty of ‘aw’s from the pack.

And then you came across a picture of Wonwoo and his sister when she had just moved in – and boy, did he look different.

“_____, look!” Minghao laughed, pointing to the picture to get your attention.

You almost didn’t recognize him with the way his long, black fringe flopped in his face. You only knew it was him from the sharp features, and the fact that Danbi was smiling beside him with her arms around his neck.

You looked at your mate beside you, who was blushing profusely.

“Hey, shut up!” he whined at the pack who was laughing at how he looked back then.

“You were cute,” you giggled, kissing Wonwoo’s red cheek softly.

He pulled you closer to him as he sulked at his pack’s teasing.

The next book was you between the ages of twelve and eighteen from the looks of it, and you didn’t get to see the pack as often. You saw yourself slowly grow up between all the pictures, and each memory brought back more that weren’t captured in the books. Like the time Jihoon came to visit after not seeing you for a long time, and became grumpy because you were taller than him.

One picture that Wonwoo pointed out was of you with his sister, the two of you hugging and grinning at the camera in the middle of Beom’s kitchen. You could tell seeing pictures of you with his sister made him incredibly happy as his eyes became shiny like they were filling with tears.

You took the picture out of its place and handed it to him, “You should keep this.”

“Thanks, love,” he smiled, kissing your temple softly as he took the photo.

The final album wasn’t completely full yet. It was you from nineteen, up until Beom died, and it showed more of you and less of the wolves. You asleep on the couch with a potion you were working on left unfinished in front of you on the coffee table; you hugging Soonyoung when he came to visit after not seeing him for months; Joshua sitting across from you in the grass while you tried to teach him how to knit on a warm spring afternoon; even you on Christmas as you held the very picture that was hanging up in the living room. You’d forgotten it was a present from Beom, so it only made the picture that much more meaningful.

“We should find a camera somewhere,” Seungcheol suggested suddenly as you neared the end of the final book. “We could fill up this book and make more with pictures of the growing pack.”

Soonyoung’s smile widened, “Yeah! We’ll have to keep our eyes out for a camera.”

“I’m sure Jooyeon can steal one of given the chance,” Junhui scoffed, nudging the eldest alpha in the side.

“Speaking of our growing pack,” Mingyu said as he stood from the floor, “I should check on Jiwoo and Danbi.”

Seungcheol nodded, “Yeah, I should make sure Jooyeon is asleep in bed and not asleep out of it.”

As the two wolves went to check on their mates, the pack went back to teasing the older wolves for how they were with you -- specifically Jihoon. He did at least improve with holding you when you were a baby, able to cradle you in one arm while he did tasks with the other. Soonyoung, on the other hand, couldn’t be trusted holding you with only one arm.

"At least most of us were competent,” Joshua shrugged, “or at least became competent.”

“Yeah, the real fiend is Soonyoung,” Jihoon insisted. “Tell them, _____.”

You chuckled, but nodded, “Yeah, Soonyoung was a real menace but I thought it was hilarious as a kid.”

“Because I’m great with kids!” Soonyoung said.

“Great with almost killing them,” Junhui giggled.

Wonwoo sat back against the couch and smiled as he watched you go back and forth with the older wolves. He was happy that your tears had dried, and the streaks of them were no longer on your cheeks. Your mind seemed to be taken away from the events of today, and that was all he could ask for right now.

408 notes · View notes

harperhug · 3 years

Link

In case the article gets paywalled:

What Good Is 'Raising Awareness?'

Just being educated about diseases isn't enough to make people healthier.

In 2010, a strange meme spread across Facebook. People’s feeds were suddenly filled with one-word statuses saying the name of a color, nothing more. And most of these posts were from women.

The women had received messages from their Facebook friends that were some variation on this, according to The Washington Post: "Some fun is going on ... just write the color of your bra in your status. Just the color, nothing else. It will be neat to see if this will spread the wings of breast cancer awareness. It will be fun to see how long it takes before people wonder why all the girls have a color in their status. Haha."

Oh, okay. It was for breast cancer awareness. Except, no, wait—how? The Susan G. Komen Foundation had nothing to do with it, though it did get them some Facebook fans, according to the Post story. It wasn’t clear at all who started it. There was no fundraising component to the campaign. And the posts weren’t informative at all. In fact, their whole point was to be mysterious. Maybe people asked their friends what they meant by just posting “beige” or “green lace” and then they had a meaningful conversation about breast-cancer screenings and risk factors, but I’d guess that happened rarely, if at all.

This incident is just one example of the nebulous phenomenon of “raising awareness” for diseases. Days, weeks, months are dedicated to the awareness of different health conditions, often without a clear definition of what “awareness” means, or what, exactly, is supposed to come of it.

Recommended Reading

According to a commentary published this month in the American Journal of Public Health, the United States has almost 200 official “health awareness days.” (The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lists all national health observances on its website.) And that’s not counting all the unofficial ones, sponsored by organizations.

The paper was an attempt to begin to investigate whether awareness days actually improve people’s health. Jonathan Purtle, an assistant professor at Drexel University’s School of Public Health, teamed up with Leah Roman, a public-health consultant, to see whether awareness could even be quantified.

“We both kind of anecdotally observed that there seem to be more [awareness days] than ever,” Purtle says. “In public health, and in medicine, we’re putting more and more emphasis on evidence-based practices. Everything should be informed by science in some way. We asked ourselves, has anybody ever evaluated these things, do we know if they’re effective at all?”

The answer: Not many people have, and we really don’t.

Awareness days do seem to be on the rise, by at least a couple measures—the researchers found that more than 145 bills including the words “awareness day” have been introduced in U.S. Congress since 2005, a huge leap compared with previous years. Articles that reference "awareness day" in the PubMed database have followed a similar, but less extreme, upward trajectory.

Trends in Attention to Awareness Days in U.S. Congress and Health Science Literature

But most of the articles Purtle and Roman found in their search (which was just preliminary, not a systematic metareview) were editorials or commentaries announcing or discussing awareness days. Only five studies empirically evaluated the effects of an awareness day, “but the designs weren’t that rigorous,” Purtle says. The best one, according to Purtle, found that on “No Smoking Day” in the U.K., five times more people called a quit smoking hotline than the daily average. “But that was about it,” Purtle says.

So evidence really is lacking on what good these awareness days do.

Liz Feld, president of the nonprofit advocacy organization Autism Speaks, says she has seen results from World Autism Awareness Day, which was April 2, and Autism Awareness Month, which goes on for all of April. The organization has raised more than $10 million so far in April, more than 50,000 people registered on Autism Speaks’ website, and more than 18,000 buildings around the world illuminated with blue lights on April 2 as part of the “Light it Up Blue” campaign. A spokesperson also told me that “Light it Up Blue” was a trending topic on Facebook and Twitter on April 2.

The money is something concrete that came out of the awareness month, but what about the rest?

“One-third of people who live with autism are nonverbal,” Feld says. “The power of a global blue-light movement is very strong. On that day, that is the collective voice of the autism community. That’s a show of power. The blue lights are really a voice.”

Here, "awareness" seems to mean sending a message, getting attention, and getting people to talk about the issue, at the very least on social media. During the week of the most recent World AIDS Day, December 1, 2014, AIDS.gov got the most engagement and new followers of the entire year, Miguel Gomez, the director of AIDS.gov, told me in an email. Perhaps not coincidentally, the organization’s HIV Testing and Care Service Locator got nearly triple its average traffic on December 1.

Social-media activism gets a lot of criticism, some of it deserved, some of it less so. (There's even a somewhat pejorative term for it: slacktivism.) On one hand, it’s an easy way to reach a lot of people, and it often amplifies the voices of the marginalized. On the other hand, changing your profile picture for an awareness day (something Autism Speaks asked people to do for Light It Up Blue) might just be the smallest possible unit of support for a cause. If not backed up by money or deed, it’s little more than lip service. But lip service is not nothing—if enough people do it, it could help shift cultural norms, as Melanie Tannenbaum wrote in Scientific American, about people supporting marriage equality by making equals signs their profile pictures.

“Based on everything that we know about our brains and their bafflingly strong desires to fit in with the crowd, the best way to convince people that they should care about an issue and get involved in its advocacy isn’t to tell people what they should do—it’s to tell them what other people actually do,” Tannenbaum writes. “And you know what will accomplish that? That’s right. Everyone on Facebook making their opinions on the issue immediately, graphically, demonstrably obvious.”

With a controversial issue like marriage equality, enough equals signs on Facebook pages could send the message that this is a common cause to support, and just maybe, gather more support, in a snowball-rolling-down-a-hill sort of way. The thing is, though, that with diseases, everybody’s pretty much already on the same side. There aren’t pro-cancer people who need convincing to come around.

“The question I would ask Autism Speaks or someone who's doing some sort of initiative like ‘Make your picture blue,’ is how they think that will trickle down into some sort of positive outcome for people with autism,” Purtle says.

So I asked.

“First of all, anyone who takes the time to change their picture, they feel invested, like they’re part of something,” Feld says. “That’s the culture we live in now. It’s a way for them to participate. It creates a sense of a community, it really goes back to that. People like to be part of something, look at the ALS ice-bucket challenge. They wanted to be part of something that was bigger than themselves. It’s free, it makes you happy, it makes you feel like you're doing something.”

But Feld recognizes that this isn’t enough.

“You’ve got to follow it up with something else,” she says. “What comes with raising awareness is a responsibility to do something about what you’re aware of. I always say to people, ‘April 2nd is great but what happens April 3rd?’”

When so much is vying for people’s attention, especially online, including the couple hundred other awareness days, even if you get people to listen, how do you get them to do more than just post a status?

There is a sociological theory called narcotizing dysfunction, which proposes that the more people learn about an issue from the media, the less likely they are to do something about it. Purtle and Roman posit that this might be an unintended effect of awareness days, that people might “conflate being knowledgeable about a health issue with taking action to address it.” It’s not enough to just say “this is a problem, and we need to do something about it.” There are a lot of problems in the world that need doing something about.

So in addition to awareness-raising, to try to get people to do something, Autism Speaks fundraises and asks people to sign petitions. “[When we try] to get corporate sponsors, I always tell people here, you can’t just go pitch this as a moral imperative,” Feld says. “There are a lot of moral imperatives. An effective awareness day has got to give people a window into what a real person who's living with autism is going through. My goal is for people to see the face of someone with autism on Autism Awareness Day, so that they carry that with them on April 3rd, April 4th, April 5th.”

Awareness days wouldn’t be so popular if there weren’t an appetite to address health problems. “People want to do something, which is good,” Purtle says. What he worries is that awareness campaigns’ focus on the individual—what you need to know, what you can do—could reinforce existing troublesome ideas about the origins of health, especially with conditions like obesity and heart disease, where lifestyle is a big risk factor.

A lot of people believe, he says, that “it’s really people’s choices that determine their health outcomes and if they’re unhealthy it's either: 1. They made bad choices, or 2. They’re just unlucky and have some genetic thing. These awareness [days] seem to be reinforcing that if you’re aware of the health issue, it’s a good step, and it might be even sufficient to address the health issue. That really flies in the face of the complexity of the various forces that influence a person’s health and a population’s health.”

Those forces include environmental, societal, and economic factors—things that can’t be fixed with knowledge alone. “I think if more people understood that, perhaps we’d see awareness days looking a little bit different,” Purtle says. A better awareness day, he thinks, would spread information about the prevalence of a condition and its risk factors, as well as policy changes that could lessen disparities or help people living with the condition.

“Neither Leah nor I think awareness days are necessarily a bad thing, nor is awareness a bad thing,” Purtle says. “Awareness can be a first step toward changing behavior, but in my opinion, more importantly it would be a first step to positively address the policies that impact a population's health.”

#personal #important information #call to action

0 notes

dotthings · 5 years

Text

While usually I’d post my ep-watching notes, I’m skipping that this time because 15.03 is such a deep dive emotionally on multiple character points. Also I’d normally rewatch before going into more depth on any one point but the Dean and Cas part in particular is a raw wound I need to get my thoughts out before I lose what’s left of my mind because of this show. That was a LOT.

Disclaimer because fandom is how it is: I will block anybody who brings character hate onto this post. You will, especially, not reblog me just to screech I have no right to consider Dean’s pov seriously and treat him as a human being and that Dean has no right to feelings how dare u. Disagreement is fine, if you see the characters and story from a slightly different angle, so long as the discussion’s in good faith, we’re good.

I’ve talked here a few times about why Dean feels the way he does about recent events, why he has a right to anger, hurt, pain, and this is a little similar, as I’m definitely not going to stop treating Dean like the layered, sympathetic, complicated character that he is any time soon, and he has every right to the anger and the hurt and the pain, but in this specific scene, his words are in the wrong. It’s in the same zip code as “you’re dead to me” and Dean delivering ultimatums to Cas, both of which are things I’ve criticized. This doesn’t mean Dean doesn’t have a right to his feelings or I’m going to ignore why he might act the way he does instead of knee jerk simplifying, which does the character, the story, his relationship with Cas, and the entire show a disservice. He has a right to that anger, fear, pain, hurt. However there’s a distinction between things Cas actually did where I can see why Dean might still be upset with him—shutting Dean out, not trusting Dean enough, not trusting in THEM enough--and then there’s Dean saying things are are untrue and unfair.

In the final scene of 15.03 Dean pins every screw up onto Cas, he uses the word “always” and it is a shockingly unfair statement, and you could make a history reel of Team Free Will demonstrating how off-canon that statement is. Let’s not repeat that cyclical thing, because it’s a trap like a hamster wheel and maybe some infernal device of Chuck’s to get fandom to fight, but anyone with an ounce of sense, who pays attention to canon, can see that Sam, Dean, and Cas have set things in motion that make big messes, repeatedly.

What Dean says plays into all of Cas’s deepest insecurities and fears, and the intention of the episode is very very clear that even Dean doesn’t believe what he’s saying. He says it anyway, which is a whole mess right there and I’ll get into that, but the things Dean says to Cas aren’t Dean’s truth. Jensen’s incredible, beautiful acting makes it obvious immediately not only that Dean doesn’t truly believe what he’s saying, but that Dean deeply regrets it the second they come out of his mouth. Most people have at one time or another said stupid things in anger they don’t really believe, or give into the impulse to lash out. Dean’s tendency to do this isn’t constructive or positive behavior, it’s a character flaw, but he is also a sympathetically portrayed character, not an asshole or an abuser, and we are always shown the sources of the hurt and the pain that brings him to that point. That doesn’t mean he can do that to Cas and it’s perfectly okay. But it’s a deeply ugly, bad hot take to treat Dean as monstrous or abusive.

Understanding where the pain comes from that gets Dean to the point he’d lash out like this doesn’t mean that what comes out of his mouth on the other end is right.

There is no part of Dean that really thinks Cas ruined everything and is always what makes things go wrong. It’s actually laughable to suggest this—I will for reals laugh at anyone who tries to earnestly argue that as a reliable take on canon. That’s pretty much someone who has divorced the canon and isn’t paying attention to years and years of material. This line isn’t in fact actually about Cas ruining Team Free Will save the world plans. It’s something much deeper, about Dean’s fears and Cas’s. Which I’ll get to a sec.

Dean also is incredibly unfair in blaming Cas for Rowena’s death, and if Cas had just let Bel devour all those souls and become a Lucifer-level problem, TFW would again be completely screwed. And he is also uncharacteristically cold to Cas about sending him on the mission to Hell with Bel. These are all red flags and build-up to the final scene.

Fandom loves to yell about OOCness. This isn’t OOC, these things, this hurt, they are a part of Dean, but they aren’t how he really feels about things, they are purposefully crafted as red flags to show the audience something is wrong. Not that Dean isn’t himself, or possessed. It’s like a figurative, emotional possession. His deep sense of despair is eating him alive and his relationship with Cas is taking a hit from it.

It’s also interesting Dean voices what AU Michael said, which was AU Michael using Dean’s greatest fears about how Cas might perceive how Dean feels about him. This isn’t proof that AU Michael was speaking the truth about how Dean feels after all. It’s that Dean remembers witnessing AU Michael saying that to Cas, taunting Cas with it, and it’s still among Dean’s big fears—that Cas thinks he ruined Dean’s life, that Dean doesn’t love him back and blames him for all the troubles. Then there’s Dean’s fears that Cas doesn’t love him back, that Dean ruined an angel, Cas’s falling was his fault and so every bad thing that happens to Cas, deep down, Dean self-loathes himself for.

Dean has done a lot of growing but the vestiges of the Dean in S9 who said “I’m poison” are still there. That kind of thing doesn’t just magically go away never to return.

And here’s this huge chasm that has opened under Dean’s feet. Dean is doubting the meaning of his entire life right now, because of the revelation about Chuck. Because of Dean wondering if anything he’s gone through is “real” — if any of his actions and feelings and pain and struggling and losses and wins had any real meaning at all or was it all puppeted. It was good in this ep seeing Dean not giving up, determined to fend off or seal away the ghosts, and up yours, Chuck, but he isn’t over his sense of despair.

One of Dean’s fears here is that what’s between him and Cas isn’t real, that the things Cas did, for him, their closeness, none of that was authentic. Remember that their relationship started as *movie announcer voice* it was only supposed to be a mission...it became something more. Cas’s introduction into Dean’s life was Cas as a chess piece, sent as part of Heaven’s bigger clockwork plan.

Dean’s entire world is caving in, and he’s not ready to see that everything Cas feels for him, Cas's deep and genuine love for him, is in fact very, scarily, in your face real.

He’s shutting himself off, he’s shutting Cas out. The feelings he has for Cas aren’t gone, but Dean’s a mess.

Interesting how this ep shows a demon ripping Ketch’s heart out of his chest, because Dean figuratively rips his own heart out of his chest in the last scene with him and Cas. He hurts someone he really REALLY doesn’t want to hurt, who he loves so so much--you can insert here a sizzle reel of 11 seasons of Dean listening to Cas, defending Cas, offering Cas shelter and protection, saving Cas’s life, caring about Cas, being there for Cas, grieving for Cas, feeling insecure about Cas, showing fondness for Cas, in one way or the other. There is so much. That doesn’t mean the relationship doesn’t have problems or their own issues and poor coping mechanisms and circumstance and familial dynamics haven’t made things difficult at times. Dean hurts Cas on the most raw, biggest fear Cas has and interestingly, the biggest fear or criticism Cas fans have about the show.

And there’s Bel—demon of marital strife—playing on Cas’s fears all throughout the ep, taking little digs about how expendable Cas is, how unimportant he is to his friends. He’s like the angel in S11 who tells Cas he’s expendable and Sam and Dean “are the real heroes.” Maybe it was part of Bel’s plan all along to have Dean and Cas divided, along with his bigger take over Hell agenda.

I’ve been saying this and saying this--while it’s valid that Dean is still hurt over what happened with Cas, Jack, and Mary, and is still, remember, rawly grieving Mary’s death which was mere DAYS AGO—it’s also not actually what it’s about, and it’s not even entirely about Dean’s Chuck-induced despair, although that ground falling away is what’s pushing things to this point. What it’s actually about underneath is Dean and Cas and their relationship. Years of unresolved Dean and Cas issues. I sure called that one. Dean’s fears. Cas’s fears. Dean’s abandonment issues, Cas’s leaving, Dean’s fears of losing Cas, Cas’s fears of not being loved, Dean’s fears of Cas not loving him the way he loves Cas.

One thing that is so so tragic about Dean’s despair is that just last season, Dean reached a point of self-like. Liking who he is, who he’s becoming, the family he’s chosen. Being good with his life.

And then boo the crushing reveal that Chuck was manipulating their circumstances all this time. Which doesn’t mean Chuck was controlling them or their decisions or feelings. But Dean doesn’t feel that way.

Which, emotional horror that this is, also just serves to show just how much Cas actually means to him, how important Cas is. This big Destiel drama and hurt and pain rises from Dean and Cas loving each other and being in love and being complete and utter dumbasses. It hurts. It’s supposed to hurt. Their friendship has been mostly functional. Their love story is a car wreck. If Cas wasn’t so important, all this emotional horror wouldn’t be taking place. Dean and Cas’s relationship right now is a lightning rod for the fallout on pretty much everything.

And it’s really strong, and it’s going to endure this, but not without taking some hits to the bow.

On Cas’s part, Cas isn’t in a great headspace but he’s in a less self-destructive and harmful and despairing headspace than Dean. He has grown a lot and I think a few seasons ago, Cas would have endured, looked grim and said nothing, and stayed. He would stay doubting himself, or stay thinking Dean is really unfair, but he’d stoically take it. But not this time, and Cas did the only thing he could now. He had to leave. There’s only so much hurt he can take and Dean is shutting him out and not listening to him.

Here’s the twist about Cas. He both does and doesn’t believe Dean is speaking his truth. Cas’s gutted, shocked face at what Dean says brings Dean up short, it’s so raw. Dean’s realization of OH F*CK WHAT DID I JUST DO comes instantly, both from his own words ringing in his ears and from Cas’s reaction. The thing about Cas’s reaction, is that it has a bit of “oh you did not JUST” to it, where I think maybe Cas knows this is total BS and Dean is full of it but Cas also believes it. Cas feels like a failure. He feels like he has failed everyone. And now here’s Dean, his favorite person in the actual literal universe, telling him he is. Blaming him, when Cas knows intellectually that it isn’t actually all Cas’s fault, but nobody blames Cas for things more than Cas himself does.

This jacks right back into all of Cas’s deepest fears about not belonging. About being lonely. About being expendable and the afterthought in Team Free Will. One thing I’ve pointed out over and over is part of Cas’s drive to protect Jack is needing to be needed. Dean and Cas is not a parallel relationship to Sam and Dean, it wasn’t formed the same way, it doesn’t function the same way. They are very very close, but there also is no Sam to Cas’s Dean, until Jack. This is not about seeking or needing a codependent relationship. Putting it more baldly, while there’s a brothers-in-arms aspect to Dean and Cas, they are not sibling bonds/like-sibling bonds/parent-child like bonds, Dean and Cas are lovers, spouses, chosen not-actually-platonic life-mates, they are coded as a couple or as spousal over and over. Strip that layer out and trying to meta this becomes a lot of “but why??”

The answers are simple. Don’t strip out the subtext, and the by now textually-level implied nature of Dean and Cas’s relationship. Which doesn’t mean I am saying it’s been consummated, but it also is what it is.

I’ve also pointed out how Cas’s immortality offers him the emotional horror of being the survivor, of Sam and Dean dying and Cas losing them and living forever onward without them. Ironically, becoming so attached to Sam and Dean fed his loneliness, because now he has that fear of losing them and living on forever without them.

Cas too has done a lot of growing, and like Dean, just last season showed how far he’d come. In Cas’s case, when he voiced that he knew Sam and Dean were there for him, and that Cas realized that he was enough. But as with Dean, those deepest shadows and insecurities don’t just magically go away and Cas still fears that he doesn’t mean to Sam and Dean what they mean to him and Cas, right now, feels like a failure to everyone he loves. Shoulder tap from another Dean and Cas parallel—“you fight and you fight for this family, but they don’t need you, not like you need them” which the YED used to taunt Dean way back when.

No matter how much Cas might understand about what Dean really feels, or about his own actual culpability, I don’t see how Cas could do anything now but walk out. Cas has never left Dean because he needed to leave Dean, because staying with Dean hurt too much. Cas has had to leave Dean, or left Dean, at various points for various reasons and it was never because he personally needed to leave because of his Dean feelings. Cas has had to leave because of world-saving stakes angel business missions, or because he was captured, or brainwashed, or murdered, or because his own headstrong decisions resulted in events that separated them, or he was protecting their son Jack. It wasn’t because Cas wanted to leave. Cas doesn’t want to leave now but he also needs to, personally.

The fact that Cas so candidly stated those fears here startled me. I was hopeful for more emotional candidness, but this is even farther than I’d hoped. This is going to the root. And yes it is incredibly exciting. As emotionally horrifying as this storyline is, the purpose is to move things forward to an even better place. This arc isn’t here for destruction. Things are being shaken out big time and it’s only going to make the bonds stronger once things are worked out. There’s already been a string of big moments in the show’s history showing just how deeply Cas is loved, and how much Dean loves him. If you were waiting for even more verification, just wait for it.

What’s also leaving me SHOOK is how very very very SPECIFIC this is. There’s a reason my Dean individual meta and my Cas individual meta is all mashed together here in a post that veers into talk about how Destiel is real. It’s things like this that show me recent SPN is serious as a heart attack about Destiel. Even if they can’t make it overt. I think a distinction needs to be made between overt/not-overt vs canon/not-canon. Destiel being non-overt doesn’t make its intention and its presence in the story not-canon. But my main point, this final scene isn’t about Team Free Will or a collective “how Cas feels about humanity.” This is unambiguously about Dean, and about Cas, and about Dean & Cas and their long relationship, and SPN is really f*cking serious about how important this is to both of them and how important it is to the show’s story.

#Dean Winchester #Castiel #meta #destiel #spn #supernatural #supernatural spoilers

425 notes · View notes

santaclausdeadindian · 3 years

Text

Sorry for doing it this way, I think OP deleted their post or blocked me like a mature, balanced person would, so I have to tag you in

@mr-laugh

Oh boy, lot to unpack here.

So you didn’t even know there were that many subgenres of fantasy, one of the most popular classifications of fiction on the planet... And you think you know enough to tell ANYBODY what classic fantasy is?

And where exactly I attempted to do that, huh?

If you don’t even know the most common subgenres of this vast pool of fiction, why are you jumping into this discussion? You just admitted you don’t know anything!

There is no discussion, there is a stupid ass post. Don't flatter yourself, you don't know jack shit.

Me not knowing what exactly are the precize subgenres of a genre of literature, which, btw, are completely arbitrary and for your information, sword&magic is a legitimate category, has absolutely nothing to do with what that post you were so keen on agreeing with above. It was you who said pretty much any classic fantasy is like that: some poorly written, self-indulgent and borderline racist.

Did ya read the link, buddy? Howard talked about knowing what burning black man smelled like. He was quite approving of these things! And the books are pretty racist, it’s not hard to see, unless you ain’t looking.

Yes, I started reading and by the end of the first paragraph I was convinced he was ahorribly racist man. And? Still doesn't change the fact, that for my 12 year old self, there was nothing racist about it. I definetly wasn't looking for it, that much you got right. If I'd read it again, I'm sure I'd catch on to it now, that I know what kind of asshole he was. So the implied racism would be there. You got a point for that.

Rugged individualism? It always amuses me how that argument always pops out of the mouths of guys who are aping what they’ve heard their buddies say. If ten thousand mouths shout “rugged individualism”, how individualistic are they?

Then you should amuse yourself by looking up why this thing crops up as of late. It's coming from certain, supremely racist yet unaware of it publications that claim ridiculous shit like "rugged individualism" is a hallmark of white supremacy, among other, equally laughable things, like punctuality. It's a joke.

Again, I will give Howard to you, if someone that racist writes a black man saving the hero of the story, I bet there was something else still there to make it wrong.

Conan’s not some avatar of rugged individualism.

Uhm, yeah, he pretty much all that.

He’s as unreal and unrealistic as the dragons are,

It's called fantasy for a reason, buddy.

but more dangerous because White Men model their ideas of reality on Big Man Heroes like him;

Glad you are totally not racist, yo!!! It's such a relief that White Men are the only ones with this terrible behavior of looking up to larger than life, mythic superpeople and nobody else. Imagine what it would be like, if we would have some asshole from say, hindu indian literature massacering demons called Rakshassas, by the tens of thousands, or some bullshit japanese warlord would snatch out arrows from the air, or a chienese bodyguard would mow down hundreds of barbaric huns without dropping a sweat, or some middle eastern hero would fight literal gods and their magical beasts in some quest for eternal life.

it's a poison that weakens us, distracting us from actually trying to solve the world’s issues, or banding together to deal with shit.

This is what you just said. It's up to the white man, to get their shit together, be not racist and solve the world's problems, because those poor other people's just can't do it. If we would just not be oh, so racist, then China would surely stop with the genocides they are doing now, or blowing more than half the greenhouse emissions into the athmosphere, the muslims would stop throwing their gays from rooftops or ramming trucks into crowds and would just start treating women as equals, India's massive rape problem would be gone, subsaharan African would be magically bereft of the host of atrocities committed there on a daily, yeah, you sure have that nonracism down, buddy!

A rugged individualist would be smart enough to realize that even the most individualistic person needs others; no man’s an island, and a loner is easier to kill.

Individualism doesn't mean at all what you think it means, it's a cluster of widely differeing philosophies that puts the individual ahead of the group or state, it's ranging from anarchism to liberalism and is also has nothing to do with my point.

Central Europe? What, Germany? Because let me tell you, historically they are SUPER concerned about race!

Germany traditionally considered western european, central europe would be the people stuck between them and the russians, to put it very loosely. We are equally nonplussed by the self-flagellating white guilt complex and the woe me victim complex of the west. We did none of the shit those meanie white people did to the nonwhites and suffered everyting any poc ever did and then some. We don't give a shit about your color, we care about what culture you are from and if you respect our values.

I’m an American from a former Confederate state; trust me, race is everything. It always is.

No it really isn't. How old are you? Asking without condescension, genuinly curious, because if you are in your low twenties at most, it's understandable why you think like this.

See that hike? Do you know what happened at that time that made virtually all american media suddenly go all in with racism?

Occupy Wall Street, that's what. It's a brilliant way to sow victimhood and hate and desperation amongst the people who have one common enemy, the powers that be, the banking sector, the politicians, the megacorporations.

Can't really blame you if you are in your early 20's at most, you grew up with this bullshit hammered into you. If you are older, step out of your echochamber please!

If you actually believe, that mankind doesn't progress naturally towards a more accepting society purely on the merit of there being more good people than bad and sharing a similar living with all the hardships in life, seeing that our prejudices inherited by our parents are baseless, that's how we progress, not virtue signalling courses and regressive policies. I was raised as any other kid, I had a deep resentment towards the neighbouring nations, I said vile, racist shit against people who I actually share a lot of genes with, of which fact I was in deep denial about, and then as I gradually got exposed more and more actual people of these groups, I started to realize I was wrong and everybody should be judged by their individual merits. It works throughout the generations, my grandma was thought songs about Hitler and how all jews are evil in school, she legit thought all black people at least in Africa are cannibals and shit, my mother stillsays shit that would get her cancelled in the USA, and I will probably have a mixed race kid as we stand now.

This whole racism is an eternal problem is laughable and disingenuous and I am actually sorry for you that you feel like that.

Moving on. As for Dany, the “noble white girl sold to scary dark foreign man” is a very popular trope, especially in exploitation films, which Martin draws on much more heavily than most authors do.

No, he fucking doesn't. I already wrote a bunch of examples from the books you seeminly ignore willfully. First of all, she is sold to those olive skinned savages by a white man, who is a terrible, increadibly evil man. He want's to fuck the then 11-12 ish Dany so bad, she picks his slave most resembling her and rapes her repeatedly, "until the madness pass." He also maimes children and traines them as disposable slave spies by the hundreds. There is no boundaries colour here, GRRM prtrays all kinds of people as reprehensible, evil and disgusting. Just like you can find plenty of examples to the opposite.

What is he drawing from your exploitation movies exactly? He writes about the human anture, he writes about the human heart at war with itself, that's his central philosophy of writing.

ASOFAI is basically just a porn movie with complicated feudal politics obscuring it, which is probably why it worked so well as an HBO series (up until the last two seasons or so.)

There is no gratuitous sex scene in the books, the rapes are described as rapes, they are horrible, they are very shortly described and usually just alluded to.

The people commiting them are not put into generous lights and one of the single most harrowing stories hidden behind the grand happenings of the plot is a girl named Jeyne Poole, whose suffering although never shown, is very much pointed out, along with the hypocrisy of the people who only fight to try and save her, because they think her a different person.

Honestly, if you actually read the books and they came of to you as porn, you might want to do some soulsearching.Btw, the HBO series was a terrible adaptation, it immedietly started to go further and further from the books with every passing season and the showmakers made it very clear to everybody, that they didn't understand the very much pacifist and humanist themes of Martin. And neither did you.

We also get no indication Essos will eat it when Winter comes; hell, they seem to not know Winter exists, given the way people act, even though that is also unrealistic and weird. Essos was just super badly designed, and Dany is a terribly boring character.

to be continued

2 notes · View notes

razorblade180 · 4 years

Text

Twin Snowflakes pt19: Skill, Sickness, and Skirts

Four hours into the day and no incident at school. So far so good, Summer thought to herself. It was pretty weird to be at school knowing Nick wasn’t around. The two never really saw much of each other anyways, but it was weird nonetheless. Summer sat quietly in the nurse's office with papers on her lap and a text book in her hand; the typical set up. Classroom temperatures and an abundance of not so nice peers made for a very dreadful school environment most days. It wasn’t all bad. Quiet time for most of the day was nice. Nobody or no one to bug her. Until the door swung open and Veronica disrupted the vibe.

“Yo Princess.” The girl said in a good mood. Veronica actually didn’t sound insufferable right from the jump. That nickname was still annoying though. “Do I have to pay you to use my name regularly?”

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I don’t care about your money. It will never influence me. Eliza said I might find you in here. I thought she was joking but I should’ve known this is totally a thing you’d do.” Veronica looked around the sterile environment, devoid of anything interesting. “I’m supposed to be nice to you, but it’s shit like this that brings my opinion of you crashing down.”

“Whatever.” Summer groaned, rolling her eyes. “It’s not like it was high to begin with. Why are you even in here?”

Veronica took a seat on the bed next to her. She reached for one of those sticks nurses pressed down on people’s tongue and started scratching her nails along the edges. “For you obviously. I gotta be around a student council member and Eliza is taking a test. PE is your next class isn’t it?” The stick finally snapped from the friction. “Might as well try and be active and see the school. Being in one room all day is boring.”

Summer didn’t like anything she just heard. The worst class with Veronica? Why was life this cruel. She was a good girl, yet a trail came day after day to test her. “Umm you should rethink that. Valerie is in my class.Plus it can get annoyingly loud.” A cheap deterrent but Summer had to try something.

Veronica shrugged. “So? I’ll just stay away from that jock. Also I’m no stranger to crowds and microphones. That’s my life too, remember? I know how to adjust accordingly.

Summer frowned as she gathered her papers. “But-” Veronica put a finger over her lips to silence her. The girl slowly removed said finger and started putting Summer’s stuff away.

“We can make this suck, or we can make it tolerable. Let’s just both try not to step on each other’s toes and get through 90 minutes together, fair?” Veronica put Summer’s thing over the petite girl’s shoulder then got her on her feet. The slightly forceful push out the door made Summer yelp? “Why are we leaving now!?”

“Because I can phase us through the locker room door and get us changed before anybody shows up.”

“W...wait, you care about things like that? But you’re so….” Summer leaned further back to press against Veronica’s boobs. “Filled out.”

Veronica hit the girl on the head. Summer couldn’t help but notice the slight blush that appeared. “Don’t be so dense.” Veronica protested. “Just because I’m hot doesn’t mean I like stripping down to my underwear in front of others. And honestly, what’s with everyone and tits!?” She ranted, clearly passionate about the subject. “Nothing is fun about back pain. I also don’t need a bunch of entitled snobs staring at my ears and tails like I’m an exotic zoo animal. Changing early avoids most of that.”

“You eventually have to change again though.”

“I don’t have any classes so I’m not in a rush. I’ll just wait for everyone to leave or change someplace else.” Veronica looked at Summer annoyed. “Can you start actually walking or am I going to have to keep pushing?” Summer leaned forward and out of the way. She wasn’t expecting Veronica to hate changing almost as much as herself. They really did share a similar annoyance towards school. For different reasons of course. Kids looked at her scars and snickered. If Veronica felt like a zoo animal, then Summer felt like a freak show at a circus. That’s what those stares felt like anyways. Summer took Veronica by the hand and sped up.

Veronica jolted. Being grabbed like that was a pet peeve.“Hey! What’s with the pulling!?” Summer looked back at her and stuck her tongue out. “Don’t be pushy if you can’t take it. We’re gonna take a shortcut. It’s not like you really know where you’re going anyways.” Veronica mumbled under her breath. Admittedly she had this coming. Veronica had no choice but to listen.

xxxx

Back at home, Weiss was having her own set of problems in the form of her overzealous son. She had just walked in on him out of bed and reaching for his sword. Granted, he was looking leagues better than he was this morning, but that’s what medicine does! It didn’t mean he was actually better! Weiss put down the tray holding his lunch and medicine. “Am I going to have to get the black wig?” She crossed her arms and gave him the infamous mom look.

Nick gulped. Bleiss wasn’t a person to bargain with. “Let’s not be hasty hehehe.” His nervous laughter made his voice crack slightly. “I’m feeling so much better and staying in bed all day is boring, so I thought some light training…”

“That’s partly why you’re sick!” His mother exclaimed. “Your body needs proper rest.” Nick pumped his fist in the air and boasts, “My body has rested! I’m an Arc after all.”

Weiss remained unconvinced, giving him a look of judgement. Nick let out a defeated sigh. “Come on mom, I have to do something. I feel like I’m right at the cusp of a breakthrough. King of the Hill is mine this year, I can feel it.” Nick looked at his hands with excitement and frustration. He wiggled each finger before clenching his fist. “I just need to push a little more. Somehow.” He looked at his mother who was still judging him.

Weiss could tell he wasn’t bluffing, and neither was that video from the physical exam. What Nick did was beyond impressive and exceeded what she was doing at his age. It was also rocky as hell. There were multiple areas in his fighting style that needed severe ironing out. “It’s moments like these I think karma is playing with me. Winter had a difficult time reeling me in whenever I wanted to train too.” Weiss laughed a little, remembering those simpler times. They weren’t all fun and games but she cherished them wholeheartedly. “If you’re going to train then I’m going to be overseeing it and you’ll follow my rules.”

Nick’s eyes lit up like fireworks. “Seriously, the two of us!? Aren’t you busy?” Weiss shook her head. “I’m here taking care of you aren’t I? If we’re doing this then you should know swordplay isn’t the focus. You sir need to pay more attention to glyphs.” She pointed at him in shock. “I can’t have a son of mine slack off in a technique that’s built into his very DNA.”

It stung a bit to hear that but that’s because she wasn’t wrong. Nick knew compared to everyone else his glyphs were lackluster, especially to Summer. Her combinations and skill made him think she was constantly going through dust ratios in her head like an encyclopedia. “Well then, that took the wind out of my sails.” He slumped over.

“Practice makes perfect. Meet me in the garden in half an hour. Eat and take your meds before then.Also wear something warm.” Weiss said as she left.

“Yes ma’am.” Nicholas flopped onto his bed. At least it was better than doing nothing at all.

Thirty minutes went by in no time at all. Nicholas approached his mother wearing warmer clothes than his pajamas. He had chosen to wear some sleeping thermals over lounging sweatpants while his upper body was warmed by a thick gray hoodie. Normally the cold wasn’t a problem, but being sick made things a little harsher. The two stood on one of the four walkways that made the giant square garden. In the middle was a decently sized hedge maze that was surrounded by tea tables and various kinds of foliage. Apparently this was his grandmother’s favorite spot. Tea wasn’t her beverage of choice though. If it was then maybe she wouldn’t have drunken herself to an early grave.

Nick shook away the depressing thoughts. Weiss was doing the same by the way she briefly zoned out until Nick moved. He clapped his hands together. “So, what’s on the agenda?”

“Your video tells a lot about you. Constructing swords is a skill you don’t need to work on. It’s clear you got that down.”

Nick smiled proudly. “I didn’t get the nickname Gilgamesh for nothing.”

“That name also tells everyone just how bad you are at long distance and anything that isn’t directly connected to swordplay.” Weiss pointed out.

His smile turned sheepish, the pride snuffed out. “So I’m guessing that’s today’s lesson?”

“You’re half right.” Weiss grabbed his blade, Mort Froide, and placed it in his left hand. She was lucky her son was ambidextrous. His passion for dual wielding was to thank for that. She positioned his left foot forward and his right foot back; adding a slight bend to his left leg. “We’re going to put your body in positions that are normally opposite to what you’re used to. Do you know why?”

“Versatility? That way I can do sword and semblance skills with either hand?”

“Not only that, but to strengthen them and let you feel the difference in performance. Naturally you’re right handed, which means casting glyphs and swordplay is inherently going to be better on that side. Casting glyphs for you usually involves your left. It’s made it well trained, but it also means you’re rarely performing them as strong as you could be. Make a wall with your right and then with your left.”

Nick extended his middle and pointer finger while flicking his wrist up. A generic glyph formed in front of them in a second that was wide enough to cover both of them. He switched to his left to try the same. The delay was about a second longer and half of Weiss’s body was exposed. Not only that, the glyph looked slightly dimmer. He had never noticed the difference.

“Woah….who knew?”

“Your sister.” Weiss jabbed at him. “Not only is the size and speed different, but I guarantee that right handed casting can take and deal more damage. A helpful tip for Valerie. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a subconscious amount of effort and aura going more into the left one too, but you’ve done it for so long that I doubt the difference is hindering you. Just something to keep in mind.”

Weiss pulled out Myrtenaster and slipped in lightning dust. “Our swords, like any other weapon, are conduits for our aura. Using our semblance with them is second nature and having both hands to perform glyphs by having them on the sword provides more power behind it. It’s not always viable unfortunately.”

“I know. Making the quantity and quality of swords around me helps when I do the stance you taught me. The one where you kneel and stab into the ground.” He twirled his sword once before taking a knee, piercing the ground as a demonstration. “I have the fundamentals understood. It’s the concentration I’m lacking I guess.”

Weiss agreed. “Believe me, it’s challenging. You can get to the level of focus, but you take too long to reach that point. Which brings us back to our lesson today. She handed him vials of lightning and fire dust. “You’re going to practice a practical technique, and an impractical one. The first one is time dilation.” Weiss could see her son’s face turn to despair, making her laugh. “Haha don’t worry, I’ll help you through it.”

“Mom we’ve been down this road before. It ended with me constantly getting shocked. I didn’t even pull it off.”

Weiss remembered that day. Nick couldn’t touch anything with static cling for hours. “Hey you’re a little older now. Asking that much of you was definitely on me. If you can learn to use it, then your swordplay automatically becomes better. Quick attacks are already your forte. Having this without Summer’s help will elevate you. Especially if you’re dual wielding.”

Nick couldn’t deny any of that. Time dilation was a move that would be perfect. Too bad he sucked! It was one of the few things he had no progress in. It was essentially the beginning of deep diving of advanced glyphs. “What’s the second lesson?”

Weiss pointed to the maze. “The infamous candle test!” She said b like an announcer almost.

It was one rough reveal after another. “No! I’m going to burn everything!” Nick wasn’t being a defeatist, but realistic.

The candle test was the epitome of a fire hazard. It was a difficult way of working on control and concentration to an obsessive degree. The objective was to light the candles set up on the inside of the maze as fast as possible by using their semblance. At novice level, a person goes through the maze lighting them one by one. That way control was the main focus. A step above that is to stand in the center and send tiny embers to each candle. That requires more concentration on directing the fire while controlling the output from the very start. A level beyond that was to do it from the balcony. That way you can see all the candles, but now you have wind to worry about. The flames needed to be strong enough to reach the candle while being perfectly on course so plants burn. Finally, there was lighting all the candles from the ground level from the outside of the maze. Nick could only get through the first two levels. Summer does the fourth option for fun…

“Mom, there’s no way you’re expecting me to do option four well, right?” He cautioned. “You’ll be putting out a lot of fires.”

“That’s fine. That’s what practice is all about. Repetition will make it easier because I’ll keep the candles in the same area I always do. Even if you get marginally better at this, then you’ve progressed more than you will realize.” Weiss rested her hand on Nick's shoulder. It was relieving to know that her child could still act his age. She probably shouldn’t be happy to see him nervous, but she was. “Think of it like this. Let’s say you can get past level three of the candle test in about three minutes. A level of control and concentration that swift will make everything you can already do faster.” Weiss put her sword down and held her hand palm up. A glyph suddenly formed then burst into a flash of light.

Nick closed his eyes briefly. Only to open them again to see a Sphinx the size of himself standing next to his mother.

“It’ll also bring you steps closer to everything you can’t do yet.” Weiss petted her creation. “That thing you did with your gigas is really impressive. It would be a tragedy if you couldn’t pull it off in intense, solo combat.”

Now he was fired up. He still wasn’t entirely sure how he pulled off what he did during the fight with the Paladin, but he did know that it would be a game changer if he could call upon it at will. If he could even be a fourth of what he was that day then he’d have a useful crutch. If getting to that point meant doing what he was bad at, then there was no time for whining. Nick placed a vial of lightning dust into the hilt of Mort Froide. “Let’s get to work then! Valerie won’t know what hit her!”

xxxx

“Why am I so bad at this!” Nicholas shouted off of the balcony. He had been doing the candle test for about two hours now. Time dilation was tricky but the basis of it was something Nick had the hang of, so they switched gears to this. A thing he couldn’t handle even if he had extra arms.

Weiss finished putting out the flames on the slightest burnt maze. At least it was warm enough outside to not need a coat. Both of them had switched to tank tops. “Give it one more good try, then we’ll take another break.” She encouraged enthusiastically. “Don’t worry about speed right now. Focus on concentration and control.”

“Okay…” Nick took a deep breath and got back into position. This time with his sword in his right hand. He raised it to the sky to make a fire glyph then brought it down in front of him.

“Might want to angle it a little higher. Have it arch through the air.” Nick followed hire instructions accordingly. He had twelve candles he needed to light . All in separate spots. The middle of the glowed brighter as a flame ignited. It grew more and more in size before the flame wrapped around itself to make a fireball. Concentration. Nick pulled his sword back and assessed his targets. He split the fireball into twelve smaller ones that went to the edge of the glyph like a clock face. This was control.

Beads of sweat ran down his from the heat and training, that was more rigorous than he thought it would be. “Aim and….” Nick thrusts his blade forward to send them flying. All twelve were on track this time thanks to Weiss’s advice, but only eight of them landed on their targets sadly. The other four fizzled out half way there. The boy groaned, irritated with his progress. Weiss could understand that. Between her family and Jaune, there wasn’t a soul around who didn’t strive for perfection in training.Nick went to raid his sword again but it was quickly pushed down by Weiss’s.

“Uh uh, break time.” She tossed him a towel for him to wipe his face, and screamed if he needed to. She did i that sometimes in moments like these. On the bright side, nothing was on fire that shouldn’t be. “I know this won’t mean much coming from your mom and all, but I think you’re doing pretty well.”

“What are you talking about?” Nick said, wiping his face clean of sweat and ash. “That means a lot. You’re the best at this mom.” He smiled which made Weiss smile. “Maybe I can ask Summer for insight when she gets home.”

“While you’re at it you should probably ask for singing practice with her since she talked you into a duet.”

Nick shuddered at the thought. “Ugh, don’t remind me. I’m not well enough to deal with the critiques of an idol that loves the stage more than breathing.” Summer was a nice girl most of the time. Not to mention reserved, but that changed drastically when it came to singing, Veronica, Shiva, and the heat of battle. Maybe it had something to do with adrenaline? She did enjoy snowboarding after all. “I think I’ll practice singing with you instead. It’ll be less trouble.”

“You’re just afraid of greatness.” Called out at Sumner from behind them. Her folks turned around in shock to see her standing there. “What? Lose track of time? Schools over.” Her attention was brought to her tired twin. Summer did not expect him to be training on a sick day, nor did it make her feel good about how she spent her time. Yet again, Nick was slowly widening the gap between them. This time it was in something she was good at. “How many candles?” She asked, mainly to boost her own ego.

“Eight. Not nearly as good as you.” He said in earnest. “Mind showing me how it’s done?” Weiss handed Summer her sword hilt first.

Great, now she felt a little guilty. Here she was happy to have a leg up on him and he praised her without reason. Summer grabbed her mother’s sword. “No offense Nick, but I can’t put how to do this into words. I just...get it.” She peeked over the edge to see the candles, then stepped back far enough to not see them at all. A fire glyph formed in front of her and with a flick of her wrist, one huge fireball shot up into the sky. It reached over the middle of the maze before bursting into twelve flames that landed right on the candle. Summer gave back her mother’s sword and walked away feeling accomplished. “Just keep at it!” She shouted.

Nick grabbed the tip of his towel and grunted into it. “No effort at all. It’s like she waved it like wand and the rest worked itself out.”

“I hope you know that you don’t have to reach that level of fluidity? Summer has a knack for glyphs the same way you have one for swordplay. Not that either of you are particularly bad at either if I do say so myself.”

“Hard to say that after today.” Nick mumbled, looking at the lit candles. “Hey? If Summer is so good at this then why can’t she summon more than a limb or two?”

“Well to put it simply, summoning requires a lot more than skill. Passion, need, you gotta put your all into it. You’ve done it before. Both of you did at the exam. What were you feeling?”

“Good question.” He sat down and crossed his arms, reflecting on the moment. “Desperate? I stopped thinking about myself and the test for a moment. All I wanted to do was make sure Valerie and Summer were safe, then poof. Next think I know I’m in armor.”

“Anything else?” Weiss was intrigued. She must’ve rewatched the final five minutes of that video at least a dozen times by now.

“Well after they were safe I wanted to end the fight as fast as possible. Huh, I wanted to win no matter what. Then I blacked out.”

Weiss has done that before. She couldn’t count how many times it’s been her vs a grimm that had hurt a teammate and all she wanted to do was strike it down. “I want you to keep that feeling in mind for awhile. Try and understand those emotions so you can use them whenever.”

“I’ll try. Who knows, maybe one day I can win a match against you.”

“Ha! Graduate from an academy first and become a pro first.” Weiss ruffled her child’s wild hair, making him laugh. “Don’t expect me to hold back either. You’re getting everything. From dragons to behemoths!”

The two kept laughing and enjoying their time together that they didn’t even notice Veronica had entered the room. A piece of her didn’t want to interrupt. Not just before seeing Nick laugh was pretty freaking adorable, but because both of them were way more in shape than she realized. Nick was still growing so that made sense, but Weiss!? Veronica wasn’t sure if she paid attention to Weiss’s arms but. They were cut! No wonder her own parents gush over her. It was hard to believe she pushed out twins. Veronica also took note of the lingering embers and fire dust in the air that surrounded the mother and sun. She’ll try to remember it for her fire and ice clothing design. Could be useful.

Veronica finally spoke up. “I take it you’re feeling better?” Her voice finally catches their attention.

Both of them look at her then gasp. Veronica stood before them wearing a white and blue cheerleader outfit. The skirt altered colors while the half shirt was white with blue stitches and Nick’s school name on the chest. The girl swayed side to side with pompoms in her hands. A smug smile spread on her face as her ears and tail bounced to her little dance.

“Sup!” Veronica sang, enjoying the reaction. Weiss and Nick looked at each other, then back at her. “I was gone for a day!” Nick exclaimed. “How did all of this happen?”

Veronica snickered, thinking about gym class. “I’ll tell you about it later.” She spun around for fun.

“Having fun?” Weiss smiled. “I guess today wasn’t like yesterday?”

“Nope!” Veronica cheered. “Are you feeling better? I can tell your breathing is still a little shaky and your heart rate is off.”

Weiss went back into mom mode. “Nick, are you still exhaust- uhh Nick?” The boy didn’t respond. He had spaced out watching Veronica. It took a minute to realize but the moment Veronica noticed that his gaze was on the swaying skirt and torso, her face got a little more smug. Not to mention red. Weiss bopped her son in the head to snap him back to reality. “Whatcha looking at?” She said with a smirk.

Nick’s brain finally started working again and noticed the faces staring at him. He immediately turned red and looked at the ground. “Sorry, I totally didn’t mean to...ya know.” Their laughter only made him redder.

“Well what do you know? The knightly prince is just like any other high school boy. Honestly if it weren’t for Valerie I’d assume you swing the other way sometimes.” Veronica joked, catching Nick off guard.

“Hey! Who would think that?”

Weiss rubbed her chin. “You do complain and avoid so many other girls.”

“Don’t agree with her! You did the same with rich boys!” He countered. Nick then remembered his mother had told him that she’s flirted with her own teammates countless times. “Actually...forget what I just said.”

“Yeah you were about to set yourself up.” If Weiss had her black wig then she wouldn’t think twice of letting certain escapades with Yang and Blake slip. Just for a good laugh. “Seriously, you okay?”

“Totally, can we keep going? I wanna try just a little longer.”

Veronica spoke up again. “Actually I was hoping to steal you away for awhile. I still need actual measurements for your clothes. If that’s not a problem. Summer already did hers.” She added for extra effect.

Weiss thought that was a good day. “I don’t mind cutting the lesson short soon. Give him like another twenty minutes. In the meantime you can unwind for school.” Veronica’s eyes got big. “Okay!” She did a backflip and phased through the floor where she should’ve landed. Suddenly it made sense how she might’ve been put on the team. Harriet lives for flare. A confident gymnast that always lands on her feet and is pretty well known would add to the tournament festivities while potentially beating out the school cheer teams.

“That woman really likes winning.” Nick thought to himself. “Alright, back to the grindstone!” He stood up with renewed vigor. Or whatever you would call a second win whenever you had a cold. He had twenty minutes so he was going to make them count. “That outfit would go to waste if I lose. Can’t have that.” There was something about the way he thought that made Weiss happy. He might be her child, but phrases like that were very Ruby like. He was just so sweet and turning into a fine young man. She couldn’t help but wrap her arms around him and hold him close. “I love you so much.”

Nick’s face was turning red again as he hugged his mother. In truth he could spend the remainder of training time like this in complete satisfaction. “I love you too.”

xxxx

Across the manor, Yang was paying her daughter a visit. Or least she intended to, but somehow she wound up peeking through the crack door of Vee’s room as the girl admires herself in the cheerleader uniform; doing generic poses and the occasional giggle. That came to an end however when Yang was caught in the mirror reflection with a cheeky smile on her face.

“Gah! Ma!!” Veronica said flustered beyond belief. Yang could only let out a hardy laugh as she entered the room. “Sorry not sorry, I couldn’t resist.” She said, hugging her embarrassed daughter. Yang was actually surprised Veronica let her hug her on the first try. Usually Yang’s arms would pass right through her.

“Well well well, somebody is in a good mood, and for obvious reasons.” Yang tugged at the uniform. “And you said nothing good would come out of school.”

Veronica playfully rolled her eyes. “Okay fine, today was pretty alright. Happy now?”

“I’m happy you’re happy.” Yang kissed her cheek and stared into the mirror with her. “We didn’t talk much after you came home yesterday or this morning. Holding up? Careful not to eat too much meat.Not that I mind, but you’ll be upset with yourself if you do.”

“Yeah I know. I’ve been pacing myself today. I’ll probably have a salad or something for dinner. Haven’t figured it out.”

Yang took it upon herself to sit at the edge of Veronica’s bed while her daughter started putting school stuff away. “You know I bet Nick would find it interesting to see the difference between starved and apex.”

The comment made Veronica cringe. She wouldn’t know how to feel if anyone saw her like that again, let alone Nick. “Let’s not test that theory. Acting like that in Atlas of all places wouldn’t do well for human and faunus relations. Speaking of which…” She pulled out her scroll and tossed it to Yang with a tab of herself on it.

Yang read the headline. “Menagerie’s Favorite Daughter Spotted in Atlas.” The picture itself wasn’t recent. It was Veronica on top of a car with a megaphone during one of many protests. Yang liked this picture a lot. Veronica had a fist raised in the air as people chanted with her and waved signs against an intense sunset. She looked powerful. “I guess they know now. Not that they wouldn’t with all the help you’re providing for the twins.”

“That’s true. I just don’t want people hassling me. I’m here to do my own thing, focus on my designs. Spend time with Nick…” she mumbled that last part. Yang heard it anyways. You would think a faunus with amazing hearing would know how to whisper. “How much does Nick know about your situation?” She asked.

“Are you referring to my physical situation, or my social one?” She hated that she had to clarify. Technically Veronica could think of three, but mentioning the third one would be a long conversation she didn’t want to have with anyone. She had it handled anyways. “Socially, I haven’t said anything much. Physically, I clarified things you told him behind my back.”

Yang had managed to forget about the part where she did that. “Oh yeah? I guess that’s a decent amount.”

“Not even going to deny that last part?”

“Nope!” Yang put her hands behind her head and walked around a bit. This always helped her think. “I’m not gonna apologize either for being concerned either. My options were your crush or the girl you’ve argued with since you were four. You don’t confide in me with everything and gods know that I couldn’t ask you to tell someone. You’d throw a fit!”

To say her options were limited was an understatement. Veronica could see that. It still felt invasive.Then again, that’s what parents are. “Point taken, even if I don’t like it.”

“Glad you can see it my way. Letting Summer know would be nice too. Friends knowing your struggles can be therapeutic.”

“We’re not friends.” Veronica aggressively stated, a slight amount of attitude came. “Being friends with a girl like her would only piss me off. I’ll be civil and nothing more!” She scoffed. Yang threw up her arms in jest. “If that’s what you want. I suppose I’ll settle for Nick knowing.” A devious thought came into her mind. “Better hope he doesn’t ask about heat.” Yang wasted no time bolting out of the room as Veronica got a deep blush and started shouting, her mind flustered.

“He doesn’t have to know about that! And you better not bring it up!!” That conversation didn’t have to exist. Those answers will be kept to herself even if it meant gluing her mouth shut. After that remark, Veronica desperately needed to cool off. Time for a shower.

xxxx

Turns out twenty minutes wasn’t that much time for Nick to make any further improvements. Disappointed, he walked down the hallway towards Veronica. He hadn’t been in that room since she showed up. He assumed it had to look like a boutique by now. Nick turned the counter and bumped into his sister unexpectedly on the way there. Summer had ditched the uniform in favor of an oversized ‘Boop!” shirt and sweatpants. Her studio headphones hung around her neck while her hands held two journals and a pencil. Nick knew this attire. Summer was in what he called, ‘Lyrical Mode.’

“Writing a new song?” He tried to peek at the journals but Summer pulled them closer to her chest. “Yes, and so much more.” She stated defensively. “Oscar thought I should try expressing more of my, let’s say inner feelings. I’m not really sure how it will be received though when it’s done. Piecing it together lyrically has been rough.” Summer looked down to read what she had and sighed. “Fortunately this one is more for me. Tournament wise I have a few ideas of previous covers people might like.”

Nick could tell Summer was deep in thought about this. She wouldn’t win awards if her choices in music weren't meticulously planned. “Well if anyone can pull off this halftime show and make it amazing, it’s you. But I hope you remember that we’re still in the tournament; can’t burn before our matches.” He reminded her as he chuckled nervously.

Summer pursed her lips and studied that chuckle. “Don’t worry, I won’t wear you down. Just get healthy and work on relaxing your jaw when you hold a note.” Summer patted his shoulder and went on her way. “Dad and I will be in the music room.”

“Hold on!” Nick shouted. “How did Veronica get a cheerleader uniform?”

Summer laughed. “Haha! I’m sure she’ll want to tell the story.” Now Nick was even more interested and sped off to the room. Summer stopped and turned around. “Wait, Veronica just got out of-” Summer didn’t speak fast enough.

Nick didn’t stop to think about knocking first. He simply walked in on Veronica wearing a shirt, only a shirt. If Nick thought the skirt was distracting then this was a full blown diversion. The purple shirt stopped right around her thighs and showed off her toned legs. Any movement could easily start showing a bit too much. The two teens said nothing; they just stared right at each other in shock. Nick slowly backed away while closing the door, then started walking away.

Summer shook her head at her idiot brother. “I know it’s our house but how’d you forget to knock?” She didn’t get an answer. He waved her off in embarrassment of his foolish screw up.

Veronica came running out of the room, black shorts appropriately around her person. “Wait!” she got down all fours and pounced once across the hallway, diving right through Nick and blocking his path. His blush was as red as her own. “I walk around like that at home, but I’m not home, so… oops.”

Nick couldn’t believe it. Why was she apologizing!? “No no, that uhh, that one’s on me.” He stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Knocking was invented for a reason. Sorry.”

“It’s cool. Well I mean it’s not cool! But you know I uhh...it’s not like I’m…” Veronica had no idea what she was saying. “Mad, I’m not mad” her tail pointed back to her room. “Anyways, ready?”

“Y-Yeah hehe.” Step by step they eventually made their way through the hall again at a good pace. Summer could only write in her other journal, then one made for her feelings.

“Journal entry number 117: Some days it feels like I’m the least awkward person in the room. A very staggering feat to say the least.”

Part 18

#rwby #rwby au #rwby twin snowflakes #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #summer schnee #veronica belladonna #nicholas schnee

9 notes · View notes

lawbreaker13 · 5 years

Text

Why is everybody so upset with Stormy Weather 2? This was like a super important episode??

Seriously guys, I don’t know what the problem is. There are flashback episodes in basically every show, but this was a crazy important marker for Miraculous Ladybug. I’m gonna go into detail about everything that was learned, but I just want to start by saying that what this episode did for us indefinitely was set itself on a timeline. It explicitly stated that everything through Chris Master happened within a year-and-a-half timeframe before this episode. It also set Marinette in a place where she’s officially declared, in writing, that she and Adrien are “just friends.” Like, she used Adrien’s “just a friend” line. And we know how this show is with parallels, so I count that as a pretty big one.

I’m gonna get more into this now though, so here we go.

Right off the bat we have the idea of change. Chloe taunts Marinette with the idea that she’ll never change (and we all know how much Marinette likes to challenge Chloe’s words). The word “change” is something that is brought up throughout the whole episode, so watch out for that.

We have Marinette genuinely reflecting. Like not just thinking on her rooftop and complaining about how Chat Noir is a glutton and would drop his guard for a couple of macaroons, she’s really thinking over her life’s choices. It’s framed in such a different light than the way we normally get our characters thinking.

“Adrien has become a true friend.” “Adrien’s become a friend who I can talk to about anything.” “Can you still be in love with someone even after they become your friend? Do you think I’ll ever be able to tell him that he means much more to me than ‘just a friend?’” This is what Marinette thinks of relationships. She thinks that the friends-to-lovers trope is crap and that you have to dive straight into a relationship. And that’s why whenever Adrien talks about her as a friend she becomes so heartbroken. She doesn’t think it’s a step in the right direction, she thinks it’s completely on the opposite end of the spectrum.

I don’t know WHAT Gabriel is plotting with “Ms. Tsurugi” or whether that means Kagami or her mom, but I’m a little terrified.

"Things may not be going exactly as we had planned, but change can be a good thing.” Gabriel’s first line is about change. Hm.

Nathalie’s entire monologue gives us so much background I don’t even know where to start.

She’s starting to regret having taken the job in the first place

She really, genuinely cares about Adrien

She officially, canonically, is in love with Gabriel and it’s because his dedication to his wife is admirable which show how much of a detail-oriented person Nathalie is because WOW she’s missing the big picture here, and also that there is going to be some major love triangle stuff going on towards the end of this between Gabriel, Emilie, and Nathalie (but how might that work?? Redemption arc??? Prison marriage????)

Emilie’s condition is progressively getting worse

Nathalie is still getting sicker, despite only having used the peacock miraculous once (on-screen)

(Also, side-note, hearing Nathalie speak so much at once was like an out-of-body experience for me and her passionate voice about Gabriel was...something)

Adrien really just wants to talk to his dad about his day and their relationship is so screwed up that he can tell by LESS THAN a side glance that Gabriel doesn’t want to hear it from him. Like geez.

Gabriel can recognize familiar emotions. So...does an emotion from Chat Noir feel the same as emotion from Adrien??? Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Nooroo just wants to see Gabriel and Adrien happy together. Gabriel is a dick. This is not new information, just needed to be reiterated again.

Also, save Nooroo, please.

Gabriel does in fact have the ability to feel remorse. However, he chooses to ignore it, in his own words “at any price.” The only things worth changing his mind are his family, though he does care about Nathalie too. We’ll see how well that holds up.

“People don’t change, they only grow.” Huh. Episode themes from Gabriel Agreste.

“My father will never change.” YOU GUYS PICKING UP ON A THEME HERE????

Plagg’s “I like people who never change. You always know what to expect!” is first off, adorable, second, reverse psychology. He does this to Adrien consistently throughout the series. Considering he’s the one who keeps trying to change Adrien’s mind about Ladybug, he obviously knows what he’s saying isn’t entirely truthful. But Plagg is an adorable, cheese-loving psychopath. Whatcha gonna do?

On the complete other end of that, Plagg talking Adrien through all the ways he’s changed shows how much he cares about him again.

Why Plagg is defending Gabriel, I don’t know. But this is definitely something to note. Does he really think Gabriel is changing for the better? Is Gabriel supposedly changing for the better? (I vote no) Is he unintentionally setting Adrien up for disappointment in a later episode? Guess we’ll see!

Side note, Plagg pretending not to know Marinette’s name is one of my favorite things. It’s not like he can’t say it because Tikki can talk about Adrien, he just chooses not to. And he knows very well who she is. This was confirmed in Weredad.

The scarf has been brought up again. Everybody note this immediately.

ZAG does, in fact, have somewhat of a legitimate animation budget. That volcano is sick.

Of all the villains to use as a filler, Stormy Weather was a solid choice, you all have to admit. Especially when you contrast the repetition of a villain to the episode’s theme.

Ladybug puns. This has been confirmed.

“A little change is good, don’t you think?” HMMMMMMM. Just think about how this was followed by the line “I love that girl.” HMMMMMMM.

Nino and Alya chill on Alya’s bed. Nino never regrets meeting Alya. He loves his girlfriend. Alya loves her boyfriend. They are one of the sweetest canon couples ever to exist.

Nino has a flirty voice he uses on Alya. This is important information.

I don’t want to get into what would’ve happened had the twins not burst the door open, but I want this thought to be noted.

Nino has been adopted by the Cesaire family.

Chloe literally stands on her rooftop with a bat signal every time there’s an akuma. Obsessive much?

"There’s nobody nicer than me!” *cue reel of Chloe being the worst human in the country* is honestly one of the best jokes in this series.

“Once a villain, always a villain,” has an incredible amount of significance but it can pretty much be summed up into the idea that Chloe doesn’t understand change.

Ladybug knows that she and Chat Noir know each other really well now. She reflects on how much they trust each other, literally with their lives, and how their relationship is the reason they have new powers and fighting abilities.

Also, character development. Did anybody see that super soft look Ladybug gave Chat Noir when he said he always agrees with her? Would Ladybug have stopped to admire anything about Chat Noir 2 seasons ago? HMMMMMM.

I would like it to be noted that professional cinematography equipment is several thousands of dollars and it physically hurts me to think of that camera screen breaking in the cold.

Apparently you can take down a super villain with a photocopier and a pencil. Take notes, people.

Alya’s sisters have an akuma victory dance. More important info.

Marinette has gathered up enough courage to write Adrien a note. Last episode she tried to express her feelings. She very well had it in her to do that again, and what she chose to do was to make it clear that they were just friends. She wants Adrien to know that they’re on the same page. It’s in writing. And in Adrien’s hands.

“Good job, we’ve got ourselves a new and improved Marinette!” Change, anyone???

“She’s always been that way. She never changes.” HMMMMM.

Plagg wants Adrien to move on. He’s genuinely trying to convince him by reminding him of how Ladybug is not interested. But maybe there are other girls out there? Hint hint.

*Looks at valentine from Marinette* “You can’t just change your feelings just like that.” *conveniently timed note from Marinette arrives* GUYS. IT’S CALLED SYMBOLISM. Or something like that. Also foreshadowing.

Now this I need to explain super in-depth because there are so many complaints about this part. Adrien was just looking between the two notes. He knows how Marinette gets around him and he knows how it compares to when she’s talking to Chat Noir or Alya. He remembers things from Troublemaker. And he’s holding the two notes in his hands at that moment. Incredibly similar handwriting. He thinks. He remembers how she had pictures of him in her room. And he consciously knows that the valentine he got in response to his own is not from Ladybug. He knows it’s from someone at school. Doesn’t think, he knows. Adrien has figured it out. “No, Marinette couldn’t possibly be in love with me,” he says sadly with slight question in his voice. “She’s just a friend who loves fashion. Besides. There’s Luka.” *cue flashbacks of Adrien watching Marinette and Luka on a date, with the absolute saddest music I have ever heard play in this show playing in the background while he reflects* Guys. This is how Adrien thinks. This is what Adrien thinks of relationships. He believes that you can only like one person at a time. He can’t like Marinette, he likes Ladybug. And Marinette can’t like him, she likes Luka. He DID figure it out. The only reason he dismissed it is because he doesn’t understand her feelings. He doesn’t understand that love isn’t clear-cut, finite, one-and-done. He knows for a fact that she went out with Luka once, so how could she like both of them? That’s not possible...is it?

And are you telling me that “It’s just a person that has similar writing, that’s all,” wasn’t spoken in the most melancholic, disappointed tone of voice that Adrien has ever used on anyone other than his father?

Adrien’s 14. Marinette is 14. They don’t understand life. They don’t understand how complex feelings and relationships are. They think you fall in love with your soulmate and it’s golden from there. They’re dumb kids, but they’re not stupid. Adrien did figure it out. But he can’t bring himself to believe it. He doesn’t understand. And be honest. Did you understand when you were 14?

A couple side notes about the episode that didn’t fit directly into my play-by-play.

That valentine thing went full-circle. Dark Cupid was the first episode with any real lovesquare plot-progression and here we have the exact same setup, but this time with internal monologuing. We start with Marinette reading Adrien’s letter and end with Adrien reading Marinette’s letter. Just like we did in Dark Cupid, but this time it’s in reflection. It’s a parallel. I’m not fabulous at analysis, but I do know this much. Parallels.

This was a Valentine’s Day episode in the same way that Chris Master was a Christmas episode. Themed but not centered. It was a nice change of pace if you ask me.

The end card is always kind of a mini-synopsis of the episode. In this one, we see Marinette, confident and proud of herself for accepting Adrien’s friendship, and Adrien, staring longingly at a valentine that he knows isn’t from Ladybug, wondering if it could possibly, possibly be from Marinette. Huh. That feels a little backwards, doesn’t it?

And I’m just still so stuck on how sad that music was with the Luka flashback. Like, that kinda hurt to listen to??? Wow Adrien.

Side note, I just...I can't get over this. When you were a kid and you heard someone liked you (let alone was in love with you) did you believe it? I'm an adult and I wouldn't believe it if someone told me they liked me. When you feel as unloved as Adrien does every single day, the idea of a good friend of yours being completely in love with you sounds almost...too good to be true, doesn't it? Why should he think she likes him? Especially since he’s just drawing that conclusion on his own?

I personally would like to believe that the reason the rest of the episodes have been postponed is so that we can mull this over for a little while until the rest of them come out. Because from this point forward, there will be some changes. And speaking of which.

CHANGE. Can we all agree that that’s what this episode was about? Why would they place it on a timeline otherwise? Why would they explain to us what came before unless we’re supposed to know what comes after? IT’S THE CONTINUITY THAT WE’VE BEEN ASKING FOR. ACCEPT YOUR GIFTS.

This is the best continuity and information we’ve been given since episode one. And it’s set up in a way that my 6-year-old cousin could understand perfectly. It’s a show for everyone, guys. And this episode was the perfect example of it.

I personally think this is one of the best episodes thus far. In fact, if it weren’t for my Marichat-loving heart, it would be number one by a long-shot. Of COURSE they needed a recap episode. Because if they didn’t have one, do you know what we’d say? “Oh, but Thomas Astruc says there IS no continuity! Did he LIE???” Let the man win for once. We asked. It was delivered. This. Is. Continuity. This. Is. Character development. This. Is. Plot. This. Is. Miraculous.

Thank you for coming along on this journey with me.

4K notes · View notes