#(except. maybe. for the very end of her own story. i still think she'd go back one final time. i think then it would be permissible.) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ilovewriting06 · 1 day

Text

Mischief and Angel- Part 6

A/N- I hope you remember Mrs. Mitchel (she's the one that spreads the rumors, Beacon Hills' very own Karen) because she's making a comeback in this part, and I have never hated writing a character so much in my life. I hope you like it!

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

I narrow my eyes at the woman standing in front of me in the local Target, "Hello, Mrs. Mitchel."

She raises an eyebrow before smiling like she didn't accuse me of keeping Stiles from his child and that I was a prostitute that had an Only Fans.

"Hello, Y/n"

I scowl before humming, "I've been meaning to talk to you."

She nods and goes to speak but I cut her off, "What the hell made you think it was okay to make up lies about Stiles and I? I'll have you know that I'm not pregnant and I also don't have an Only Fans. Stiles and I have been together since we were 14 and got engaged because we love each other, not because I blackmailed him. Your gossiping has to stop! Ms. Richards still gets asked if she's still married to some random dude in Bora Bora. She literally went there for a week for vacation, with her best friend and now she can't escape the rumors."

I take a second to catch my breath before I'm going off again, "You're a lonely old woman that takes pleasure in making up lies about others and it's appalling. I have enough going on and I don't need your lies making it any worse. I'm planning a wedding, I'm looking at houses, I'm trying to finish high school with good grades, not to mention all the other stuff going on in my life that you don't even know about. I'm just warning you that if you make another story up about my life, or Stiles' life, or anyone's life for that matter, you're going to end up with no one. You screw people over one too many times and before you know it you won't have anyone, and there will be no one to blame except you."

Mrs. Mitchel stares at me with wide eyes as a small group of people that had gathered during my rant nod in agreement with what I said. She clears her throat, "Well then, no need to be rude. It's very unbecoming for a young lady. How you're engaged I'll never know. He must have brain damage."

My jaw drops as I watch her with wide eyes, "He has brain-what?! I'll have you know that he maintains a 4.0 GPA, currently stands as the valedictorian, and I'm damn proud of him too. I get that you're lonely and miserable and have no friends but that doesn't give you a right to be so rude to others. Maybe if you stopped being a bitch you'd be able to make some friends!"

Mrs. Mitchel's face turns red as the group of people grows and they all murmur agreements at what I said. I go to say something else when Stiles appears around the corner holding up a fluffy blanket, "I know you said we didn't need anymore blankets but this thing feels like a cloud. Can we plea-..." He stops mid sentence when he looks up to see the group of people and an angry Mrs. Mitchel. He looks at me before sighing, "Lord, what did you do?"

I scoff, "Me?! I didn't do anything she's the one that started all those stupid rumors! I was just telling her how it was."

Stiles lets out a deep breath before throwing the blanket in the cart, "Well, carry on, just don't touch her. She'd try and charge you with assault."

Mrs. Mitchel takes that as her queue to start talking, and dear God does she use her words to hurt, "You are the nastiest, rudest, most crass young lady I have ever met. I hope your marriage fails and he runs off with someone who is far better than you. It shouldn't be hard he can probably go to the nearest pet store and pick up a rat."

I go to take a step towards her but an arm grabs me by the waist and pulls me back so I can't touch her, but it doesn't stop me from trying, "That's it! Stiles, let me go!"

Stiles shakes his head and I know he won't let me go so I turn my deadly glare up to 1000 and aim it at Mrs. Mitchel, "You say I'm crass and rude but you are the literal definition of both of those words!"

She scoffs and her hand tightens on the handle of her cart, "You're very overdramatic and you have no care or sympathy for others."

My mouth drops as my eyes widen but I don't get a chance to speak because she cuts in again with the sharpest, most painful words she could possibly say, "God, I hope you never have any kids, you'd probably manage to kill them within a month because of your lack of care!"

At those words it feels like a knife just stabbed into my heart and was then twisted. I deflate in Stiles' hold remembering how I lost our baby at approximately one month. I fight back tears and the look of triumph on Mrs. Mitchel's face makes me feel like I'm going to be sick.

I swallow around the lump in my throat as Stiles spins me around and pulls me into his chest trying to cradle me from the harsh words and wishes of an angry and cruel woman. Stiles holds me tight as he looks at Mrs. Mitchel, "You are one evil woman. You have no idea how personal that was you angry old witch! Why can't you just let people be happy? You know I could have you arrested for a public disturbance."

"Don't worry Stiles, that's exactly what's going to happen."

I glance over to see the crowd of people parting like the red sea before Parrish appears. He glares at Mrs. Mitchel before walking forward and slapping on the cuffs, "Gladys Mitchel, you are under arrest for disturbing the peace in a public setting. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

As Mrs. Mitchel pales Parrish shakes his head, "For a sixty year old woman you sure are a jerk."

After Parrish and Mrs. Mitchel leave, the group scatters for the most part except a couple stragglers who send us looks of sympathy. One little old woman, no younger than 70 steps forward with a small frown, "Don't listen to old Gladys, she's wrong. You will make a fantastic mother."

She pats my back before hobbling away with her cane and I can't help but smile a little bit.

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

I curl up around Stiles in our bed as he turns on a random movie before pulling me even closer, "I am so sorry, Angel. I know how much that hurt but Angel, it wasn't your fault."

I know he's telling me the miscarriage wasn't my fault and it causes me to melt into him because I know he's right. I did everything right when I found out I was pregnant but it doesn't stop the pain and what ifs.

Stiles must know what I'm thinking because he rubs my back and whispers, "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anybody's fault."

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

The next day at school the pack surrounds us like it's their duty to protect us and the other students keep praising us like we stopped a demon from hell from burning the town down. True story, it was just last week that, that had happened.

At first it was comforting to have at least one member of the pack around me but now it's starting to get claustrophobic. I sigh as Scott slides in the chair beside me and officially squishes me between him and Isaac. I groan and glare down at my notebook before wiggling, "Okay, that's it."

Both boys look at me and I frown, "Look, I love you guys and I love that you're trying to make me feel better but I'm okay now. Yeah I know what she said was harsh but I'm over it. Does it still hurt? Yes, but I also know that she's wrong and was just saying something in the heat of the moment. I love you guys but I need some breathing room."

Isaac nods and scooches over slightly so he's not pressed right against me but Scott cocks his head to the side like the puppy he is and says, "But you're still sad. I can smell it."

I snort, "I miss Stiles, I haven't seen him in like two hours and Lily is pacing right now and acting like a mopey puppy."

His eyebrows furrow, "Lily?"

I muffle a laugh at the look on his face before answering him, "That's what Stiles and I decided to name the wolf. You guys say that I smell like lilies so we started calling her Lily."

Scott nods and finally moves so he isn't touching me, "Well, you only have like one more period before school is over and you can go find Stiles."

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

I dart down the hall to Stiles' locker to see him putting his books away. I smile as Lily's tail starts wagging and she rolls over as the smell of our mate fills our senses. I blink back into the moment and the next thing I know I'm wrapped around Stiles.

"Woah! Someone's feeling cuddly."

I whine into his neck, "Missed you."

He presses a kiss to my temple and rubs my back, "I missed you too, Angel."

I nuzzle his neck before pulling back and pulling him into a kiss. He groans into the kiss and pulls me closer by the hips which causes me to wrap my arms around his neck. We get lost in the kiss before pulling apart as someone groans, "Really?! You couldn't wait until you got home?"

I turn to see a grumpy Scott who's holding Kira's hand. Kira elbows him with a soft smile, "Be nice, they haven't seen each other in a couple hours and we already know how hard that is for both of them."

I smile at Kira as Stiles turns back to his locker and Scott huffs, "Yeah, fine."

Kira shakes her head slightly before she looks at me, "Hey! How are you doing now?"

I shrug, "Meh, it doesn't really bother me anymore I've just been planning a wedding in my head, looking up houses for sale in the area, and figuring out where the hell Amelia and her pack are going to be staying, so I'm full of excited nervousness."

Kira doesn't get a chance to answer because Lydia, Allison, and Erica join our little group and Lydia raises an eyebrow, "Have you decided what you want for your bachelorette party yet? As maid of honor I need to know these things. Plus we need to decide when to get a dress fitting and what styles you want. Not to mention we need to find a venue and color scheme."

Stiles slams his locker shut before spinning around with a raised eyebrow, "Y/n/n, already decided on a few of those things."

I nod and shrug, "Yeah, Stiles and I found a venue we like and I decided on the colors a few weeks ago too."

Lydia smiles and loops her arm with mine, "Great! We need to hang out and plan the rest of the wedding."

I open my mouth before closing it again and looking at Stiles. He smiles and shakes his head, "Already told you Angel, you can do whatever you want. You don't need to have me there and I personally don't feel like sitting there and listen to you guys talk about dress styles and fabric choices."

I frown as Lydia nods with a bright smile, "Good, fantastic, what do you say we get together tonight and work on it."

I whine slightly at that which causes Lydia to look at me in concern, "What's wrong?"

I look at Stiles with sad eyes and Lydia hums, "Okay, got it. You need some Stiles time."

I nod and Lydia shrugs, "What about this weekend? We can do a sleepover on Friday and plan on Saturday, maybe a little on Friday night too."

Stiles is surprisingly the one to answer, "I think it's a good idea. We need to get used to being apart for long periods of time and the boys and I can have a boys night or something."

I sigh knowing he's right before nodding, "Yeah, he's right but no promises I won't be a buzzkill for a little while."

Lydia scoffs, "Please, Erica will be there and from what I hear she has some updates about her and Boyd. You'll be too occupied to be a buzzkill."

My eyes widen and I look up to see a blushing Erica who refuses to make eye contact. I look at Stiles and see that he's thinking the same thing as me, about fucking time.

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

A/N- If everything goes to plan there is two (possibly three) parts before things get angsty and sad. I'll give a warning at the beginning of the sad one!

Tag List: @ah-blossom

#stiles stilinski #teen wolf #dylan o’brien #scott mccall #stiles stilinksi x reader #dylan o’brien x reader #stiles x reader #allison argent #lydia martin #erica reyes #isaac lahey #vernon boyd #kira yukimura #mischief and angel

19 notes · View notes

george-weasleys-girl · 2 months

Text

Begin Again - Pt.1

Season of Love Event

Friends to Lovers to Friends to Lovers Again

*I didn't intend on this turning out as long as it did, but here we are. I'm not certain when the next part will be out. I'd like to say it'll be before the end of the week, but it'll more likely be a couple of weeks. Or possibly in March.

George Weasley x fem!reader

Summary: Six years after the war, a familiar face shows up on Diagon Alley

Warnings: mention of underage sex

~•~

Y/N sank back into the oversized, velvety chair. It'd been a long time since she had traversed the cobblestones of Diagon Alley. Not since before the second Wizarding War.

So much had changed. The little coffee shop she sat in used to be... what was it? A shoe shop? She couldn't quite remember. Well, whatever it had been, it certainly wasn't this cozy little place. She sighed and glanced out the window, her eyes drifting back over to the now world-famous joke shop, debating for the umpteenth time since she set foot back in London two days ago, whether or not to pay a visit.

"Here you go, ma'am," the server's voice broke through her ruminations.

Y/N turned and smiled, happy to see that her order of a double shot of espresso and a giant cinnamon roll had arrived. It wasn't the healthiest of breakfasts, she had to admit, but she needed something to jolt her awake.

"Anything else I can get you?" The server asked, eyeballing the stack of muggle tabloids with a mixture of curiosity and disdain.

"Nothing at the moment, thank you," Y/N smiled, ignoring the way he looked down his nose at her. Let him think whatever he wants. She was long past the point of caring what other people thought of her. She had far more important things to occupy her mind.

Like this absolutely divine cup of espresso sitting before her.

She enhaled the heavenly aroma before taking a sip. "Mmm, caffeine, my friend," she mumbled, smirking at her own silliness.

The coffee hit her veins almost immediately. Y/N pulled the Weekly World News from the top of her pile and dug into her morning routine. She scanned the pages, snorting at a couple of the more ridiculous stories. She knew, just as much as any rational person (magical or not), that only the very gullible believed this nonsense.

Except... as she'd come to learn long ago, it wasn't all nonsense. In amongst all the batboys and alien love slaves there was hidden a sliver of truth. And if you knew what you were looking for, you'd find it.

~•~

George shuffled into the coffee shop. He hadn't had a decent night's rest in weeks. April 1 had only just passed, and May was barreling toward him like a rogue bludger. As it did every year since the war.

"Morning, Mr. Weasley."

The redhead pasted on a smile. "How are ya, Albert?" He greeted the barista.

"Oh, fine, fine," Albert grinned. "What'll you have?"

"The usual," George leaned over to look at the pastries. "And a cherry danish."

The barista nodded. "Comin' right up."

"Thanks," the redhead sighed. He didn't particularly like cherry danishes, but Fred loved them. Every year he was gone, his lost twin seemed to drift further and further away from him. George hoped the pastry, as small a thing as it was, would bring a little of Fred back to him.

He turned around to take in the busy cafe, debating whether to eat here or take his meager breakfast back to the shop when he spotted a familiar face. George's heart skipped a beat. Could it be? After all this time? It was a face that once lit up his life, that he once loved to kiss, that he once sought out in every crowd.

And, admittedly, still did.

Y/N Y/L/N. Beautiful, funny, intelligent, and, once upon a time, his.

She was his first everything.

First best friend outside of Fred.

First crush.

First girlfriend.

First kiss.

And after the Yule Ball, his first lover.

He'd intended to propose to her once they'd graduated, but something happened in their seventh year. Maybe it was because of all the stress from everything that was happening then, or maybe they were just too immature, but they started drifting apart. Arguing more. Lots more. They soon realized that they were fighting more than not and decided to take a break and try going back to being friends.

And they did try. But everyone knows how those things go. By the time he and Fred made their dramatic exit from Hogwarts, they were barely speaking.

Not because they were angry. They just didn't know what to say to each other anymore. Everything had become weird.

After that, she visited the shop a few times. The last he saw her, she'd stopped by the store to say goodbye. She'd taken a new job and was moving to Italy.

He'd wished her well, kissed her cheek, and then she was gone.

"Here ya go, Mr. Weasley," Albert's cheerful voice shook George from his reverie. "That'll be three galleons even."

George paid and then made his way to her table. "Y/N?"

Y/N looked up, and the smile that spread across her face lit up the whole room. She saw the boy she once loved in the man standing before her. A boy she once thought she might've eventually married.

Her pulse quickened in spite of herself. "George!"

The years suddenly fell away, and without thinking, she stood to embrace him. He met her halfway, his long arms wrapping around her, pulling her in close.

~•~

"Believe it or not, I use them for work." She admitted when George asked about the stack of tabloids. "And, they're good for a few laughs."

George eyed the stack. "Looks like you need a lot of laughs."

Y/N shrugged. "Life hasn't always been kind."

"I know what you mean," George looked down. "My brother, my twin, Fred, you remember him? He, um, he ...

Six years on, and he still couldn't say the words.

She reached out and touched his hand. "I know. I-I heard. I'm so sorry, George." Y/N said. "I wanted to write, but I... " Words failed her.

"It's alright," he gave her a sad smile. "It's not like I was in any shape to read letters. Truthfully, I wasn't in shape to do much of anything for a while."

Y/N squeezed his hand. She didn't have any siblings, much less a twin. So, she could only imagine the pain he must've endured. "All the same, I should've..."

"No, love, please," he interrupted, taking her hand in both of his. "Don't torture yourself with 'should'ves.' Godric knows I've done enough of that these past few years. And it won't change the past. It only makes things... hurt more." George looked away for a few moments. When he turned back, his smile had returned. "So tell me about this job that requires you to read this crazy stuff." George nodded toward the tabloids.

~•~

"So, your telling me there are other worlds?" George looked incredulous. "And things sometimes travel here through holes in the... membrane between the worlds?"

Y/N nodded.

"And these tabloids occasionally report it."

"Surprisingly often, actually," Y/N grinned.

George opened his mouth, then closed it again. "What's your job in all this?" He said after a few moments. "Do you hunt down whatever comes through?"

"Oh, no," Y/N took a nibble from her cinnamon roll. "I'm a seamstress."

"A seamstress?" George was about to take a sip of coffee but froze at her words.

"I mend the holes," she clarified. "Sew them back together. With magic, of course."

George stared at her for several seconds before speaking again.

"So... um..." he began, still trying to wrap his brain around the whole concept. "Do these holes just appear randomly or what?"

Y/N took a deep breath. "Ok, so... there are three types of openings between the worlds. Holes, gateways, and rips. Holes are where reality got too thin, and things wander through, usually unintentionally. The second are gateways. A hole formed, and instead of repairing it, structures were built to allow easier passage and communication. These are heavily guarded and highly regulated." She paused to take a sip of her espresso. "And then there are rips," she continued. "This is when something decides it wants to get through right now. Damn the rules."

"Wow..." George leaned back in his chair. "What happens when something rips through?"

"There are people whose job is to, well, put things back where they belong."

George nodded, thoughtful. Then something occurred to him. "Why haven't I heard about this before?"

"Used to be top-secret," she shrugged. "Only the highest echelons of the government knew. But then a rip opened in the US president's oval office. No one was there at the time, thank Godric. But, long story short, word of our organization leaked, and then, after a fair bit of chaos, a bunch of stuff got declassified. Now here I am telling you about it."

"Oh, that's good then, you know, that things worked out, and you're, you know, here," George stammered. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too," Y/N smiled, reaching for his hand again.

"So, um, how long are you back for?" George asked.

"Permanently."

George's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yep," Y/N smiled wide, matching his enthusiasm. "They're expanding the London headquarters. I'll be retiring from the field next month to head the new training program."

"That's fantastic!" George was practically bouncing in his seat. "I guess we'll be seeing more of each other then?"

"I certainly hope so."

~•~

That night, George poured himself a shot of whiskey as he always did after work. But rather than settling down for the night, he paced the apartment, trying to rid himself of his restless energy.

He'd been bouncing around the store all day like a giddy schoolgirl. It was a far cry from his usual fake smiles and general mopiness this time of year, and, of course, Ron noticed.

He finally cornered his older brother during the afternoon lull. "Mate, are you alright? You've been acting... odd." Ron looked genuinely worried.

George bristled at the question at first, but then he remembered the date.

Oh.

The reminder deflated him a little. "Yeah. Surprisingly, I am okay. I-I ran into Y/N at breakfast."

Ron blinked. Of all the things his brother might've said, that was the last thing he expected. "Y/N? Y/N Y/L/N?"

"The one and only."

"Ok, wow," Ron mused. "Haven't seen her in forever. How long's it been?"

"Too long," George said, walking back to the sales floor.

Ron eyed him warily. He'd lost count as to how many ill-fated whirlwind romances his brother had had since Fred's passing. He hoped this wouldn't lead to another one. "So, um, how is she?"

"She's great," George said. "Moving back to London, actually."

"Oh, yeah? So, I take it you guys are meeting up again?" Ron probed.

"Of course. We're meeting up in a couple of days to go apartment hunting."

Ron screeched to a halt. "You're WHAT?!"

George stopped, eyebrows scrunched together. "Apartment hunting... she's just moved back and needs a place to live. I know the area better than her and thought I'd help her out. W-was that wrong?" He finished, suddenly uncertain of himself.

His younger brother's shoulders relaxed. "No, no. Not at all. I just thought for a second you two were... you know... moving in together."

"What? No, it's nothing like that. Yet," George said, keeping the last bit silent.

"Well, that's good," Ron replied, relief evident in his voice. "Just... take it slow, ok? Get to know each other again before you jump into anything."

George only nodded.

~•~

A disgruntled rumble from his stomach alerted George that he hadn't eaten since lunch. He glanced out the window to the warm glow emanating from The Leaky Cauldron. Dinner out, he decided and grabbed his coat. Maybe a walk would do him good. And he could chat with the bartender while he ate.

George had never gotten used to being alone. Not for very long anyway. It was why he jumped from one woman to the next. Anything to keep his loneliness at bay.

Most of them were friends with benefits, though there was the occasional girlfriend here and there. But in the end, he ended up feeling lonelier with them than without. And so he'd move on to the next one, endlessly searching for that deep, soulful connection.

Like he'd had with Fred.

Like he'd had with Y/N.

George froze mid-step, a thought suddenly occurring to him. Maybe the reason he'd never had a successful relationship was because somewhere in the dark crevices of his heart, he was still holding out for the one he'd never stopped loving.

He was holding out for Y/N.

~•~

@milivanili99 @fancy-pantaloons @turvi @zvummyummy @xmjthewitchx @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @georgie-weasley @samberriejams @nighttimemoonlover @jsjcue @wzrd-wheezes @mrsgweasley @hufflepuffie @morally-grey-obsessed @fredweasleyyyyy @anvaaryn @samshifts @asuperconfusedgirl @hmisa11 @superduckmilkshake @mysticsheepsoul @gemofthenight @1Lellykins @junerprsh @wolfkill16 @kaysau2510 @qmylovexoxo @planetkt @costheticbabe

@smallsweetvanillabean @hanne-montana @greenapplegrass @el-de-phi @lizzytrees @spididerman @yoursarahg @marvelgirlstories @theimpossible-girl-whowaited @ceehance @Havenater1920 @jelloangela @charmedfandomgal @loca4moony @whotfskai @netflix-addict

@moonatician @lunacurlclaw @sierraluvzz @min-aaa @now-that-we-dontalk @lillisummers @lovesanimals0000

#george weasley #season of love event #george weasley x fem!reader #george weasley x reader #george weasley x y/n #george weasley x you

168 notes · View notes

sunshine-jesse · 3 months

Text

In defense of Andrew Graves: Facing Yourself

Alt title: Andrew Graves: The Will to Plow Her

I think my analysis of Andrew is one of the best essays I've written so far. But since then, I think I've expanded my understanding of his character in a way that urges me to add on to my prior essay. What I intend on doing is further fleshing out my reading of Burial, and going deeper in detail on why I think Decay ends up panning out the way it does. This essay will end up sharing a lot of text with my prior one, but will add enough scattered throughout that I think it merits a complete reread instead of just scrolling down and seeing what's new.

I've focused a lot on Ashley in my past writings. She's my favorite character in the story (and depending on how episode 3 pans out, maybe ever) and I'm pretty mortified by how some parts of the fandom have reacted towards her, so I pretty much made it my life's mission to push back against that. From highlighting the ways Andrew mistreats her, to coming up with justifications for her behavior that aren't just being a manipulative bitch, I really wanted to prove that a more favorable picture of her could be painted than most were willing to.

But in doing so, I've left Andrew in the dust.

In highlighting his flaws and the ways he mistreats Ashley, I think I've implied a level of intentionality to his actions that I don't believe he has. When I say that Ashley did nothing wrong, it's in direct response to the idea that she holds the most responsibility and agency in how their dynamic plays out, when in reality, I believe she has very little. Most of her actions in-story are in reaction to a variety of stimuli that come directly from Andrew, that he has control over and are aware of how Ashley feels about. His refusal to use clear and direct language to deny her most toxic tendencies causes her more and more stress as time goes on, and instead of giving her clear answers he opts to be catty, passive-aggressive, or, at his worst, threatening. Never direct and never clear, except when establishing boundaries over his name after the choking scene. Andrew fails to help Ashley be better in some frankly depressing ways throughout the whole story, especially in their childhoods, so we never get to see where she'd fall short if given a better influence.

...

Kind of. More on that later!

In mentioning his thing about preferring to be called Andrew instead of Andy, I also implicitly mention one of the places where Ashley falls short in their dynamic and could stand to do better: recognition.

This scene says a lot. It's the most heartbreaking scene in the game, if you ask me, and probably the single most profound and well-written moment in the entire story. I could write a whole 2000 word essay on it alone, but I've already said most of what I have to say about it through what I've said in other essays, so I'll spare you all that. Instead, I'll use it to highlight something:

"I had fun."

Their dysfunction is fun to her. She's so used to abuse and alienation that even the most awful, stressful (as far as we know) route of the game is still fun to her. And that's not a sign of her being a secret evil sociopath or whatever; that's actually not abnormal behavior to develop for a lifelong victim of abuse. Those highs and lows, those strong emotional highs and lows are -addicting-. They're -fun.- Part of why abuse victims get into so many abusive relationships is because it's easy to pick up on those patterns of thought and take advantage of them, and the cycle of abuse is often furthered when a victim of abuse tries to draw out mutually abusive behaviors in someone with no interest in having that kind of dynamic.

This is where I'm willing to acknowledge Ashley's manipulative tendencies. Not just as a matter of controlling Andrew for its own sake, purely out of jealousy or possessiveness, but as a matter of trying to further the only dynamic she's ever known in her life. Better the devil you know, right?

That push and pull- that emotional rollercoaster- is all many of us know. And it's all Ashley knows. This dynamic is something she's so used to that she reacts incredibly harshly to any attempt to change it, because she doesn't know that things can be better. Because of this, she refuses to engage with who Andrew really is, and tells herself- and him- that she *hates* Andrew:

This scene is almost as heartbreaking as the above one in a lot of ways.

Andrew putting his foot down about the Andy/Andrew name dichotomy wasn't arbitrary and it wasn't just about his comfort. It was about Andrew giving a clear indication about what needs to happen for their relationship to improve. He's recognizing the cycle between them and wants to put a stop to it, because he's confident that things between them CAN get better and evolve into something healthier. Ashley, not understanding that their dynamic can get better, because their "fun" little push and pull of abuse is all she knows, rejects that. She rejects the unknown, and says- in Andrew's mind at least- that she'll never accept that new dynamic, nor will she accept who he really is.

Ouch. No wonder he looks so sad in that screenshot.

They have a conflict of understanding here, and I think it's fair to pin most of the responsibility on Ashley. Andrew was clear in what he wanted, and Ashley just... Didn't. She didn't see the importance of it ("...whatever that means in practice") and didn't really ask. This gap in communication, perfectly displayed in this scene, is likely what causes the Decay ending. He wants things to be better, and wants to treat Ashley better, and whether or not he understands the ways in which she communicates with him is in part what determines what he sees her as.

But there's a lot of evidence that he always wanted things to be better, that he always wanted to treat her better. But external factors have made it very, very difficult, and I think there are two key points in which he started to shed the importance of those external factors and seek that better relationship, both of which happening in the apartment: The killing of the warden and the 302 lady. In the first case, he was forced to do it to protect Ashley in a way he hadn't done before, or depending on how you look at it, since the death of Nina. But the intentionality was the key point here. After this point, he calls Ashley Leyley, which may or may not seem important at this point, but it's something I'll draw attention to later, so keep that in mind.

Next is the killing of the 302 lady, which is the much, much bigger point. We don't learn much about it until later on- as at first he just gives an excuse about the nail gun that doesn't line up with what we see on the map- but during the dream, it's revealed it was a calculated, intentional killing that he did to make sure there was no evidence left behind, and because Ashley (supposedly) would've wanted him to do it anyway. I say supposedly because Ashley herself doesn't seem to ever want Andrew to kill for her past Nina's death, because he only ever kills for her to defend one or both of them. If you want more evidence that violence for violence's sake isn't something she wants, look at this part in the final dream:

A knife isn't what opens the door, despite it being placed on the ground in that very map. While it seems obvious that the knife (violence) would be the key to solving the puzzle, it's put there explicitly to show you that it isn't. It's not what she wants; what she wants is a flower.

So, why is this important? Why am I centering Ashley- again- when this essay is supposed to be about Andrew?

It's because these two killings are when Andrew's self-delusion over who he really is starts to break down. It's still there, mind, as he still relies upon Ashley as an excuse to justify it, but, as well as what I've said before, the name ultimatum is an implicit confession that the normalcy he finds comfort in is starting to lose its grasp on him. There's a lot that's been said about Andy being something close to a "moral impulse" for Andrew, given his child self's reaction to Nina's death being the only thing he does that approximates a normal moral response to his and Ashley's actions, but if you do think that- which I think is a reasonable thing to think even if I don't necessarily agree- there's something you must also keep in mind:

-He- is the one who doesn't want to be called that anymore. -He- is the one who wants to let that moral impulse go, and Ashley is the one making it difficult.

That reading is assuming that Andy is a moral impulse, which I think is... either wrong or too simplistic. Every time I see that reading, it's from someone who's trying to paint him too sympathetically and absolve him of most moral responsibility. I also find it infantilizing to equate morality with childhood in such a way? But that's another tangent that I didn't sign up to talk about. What I do think, however, is that it's a useful framing device to display his own relationship with morality; the allegory to his child self doesn't have to be there for the general pattern to exist.

When Ashley starts to grill Andrew over the killing of the 302 lady, he gets mad. Very mad. Ashley sees it as pointless, as him covering his own ass, but he genuinely did it for her sake, because he thought that's what she wanted, and that it'd make her happy. But what makes her happy isn't violence- or any similarly extreme action for that matter- it's attention and validation. Something he's always reluctant to give her, despite the fact that he always chose her over the alternatives. But despite making that choice, it's always empty and meaningless, because in Ashley's mind, he never did it for her sake.

And hoo boy, does he not like it being framed like this.

He is perfectly willing to do whatever it takes to keep them happy and safe... but only for her sake. It has to be for her sake. He still needs that traditional role, and he still needs to have a narrative in which he's the good guy- a protector. Because it can't be for his sake. It can't be because that's what he wants. He has to uphold that romantic (in the literary tradition sense) ideal. His darkly romantic idealistic streak colors many of his actions and beliefs. This is most plainly visible in his quip about a double suicide being romantic, but it's also visible within the symbolism present within his dream, such as how he can only pave his own path in blood unless Ashley lights the way. It's visible within his appreciation for poetry, and it's visible with how the cultist within the dream speaks in Shakespearean English.

But the transient nature of this ideal is also revealed within this dream, because there's never a cohesive, guided path, even with Ashley there to light it up. Contrary to Ashley's dream, where you literally have maps showing you where to go, Andrew's dream has many more dead ends and no map to guide him. The symbolic role he acts out gives him no clarity, and there's no overarching narrative; merely a bunch of disconnected symbols.

This is contrasted with Ashley's dream, which has narratives so clear that the story literally gives the dream an episode title.

In a sense, he wants to view himself as an actor acting out a role in a story. He wants his life to be poetic, to represent something greater, and to have a cohesive narrative. This is why he's so disconnected from his true desires: He's more concerned with acting as a representative of an ideal than a person with agency. But every time the mask drops, every time he stops acting, his true self becomes visible. He naturally settles into being comfortable around Ashley, in treating her with warmth and kindness, and their banter becomes much less toxic. As intent as he is on acting out his role, it does nothing for him, and as his dream sequence shows, it doesn't even form a cohesive narrative, because he can't act one out. It's too contrary to who he really is, and what he really wants. But that idealization doesn't just apply to himself, it also applies to Ashley. Specifically, who Ashley is, vs who he wants her to be.

In his unique dream sequence, he sees two versions of Ashley; the child version of her- Leyley- and the adult version of her- Ashley. And the differences in the ways he interacts with the two of them are stunning. Leyley is an obstinate, annoying child. She's the one he NEEDS to take care of, and he hates that. He hates Leyley for what she did for his childhood. He hates that he needs to provide for her. He has the option of trying to kill her, even, over something as small as a candle!

But in the room with all the murders, the gilded cage, he sees Ashley as an adult. This version of Ashley is stuck in a closet that he himself has to open- and to choose to see. Their interactions are calm and friendly. She teases him a bit, sure, but she's still helpful, and they have fun together. He doesn't need her, and she doesn't need him. He needed Leyley- needed the candle- but here, there are other limbs strewn about for him to take. And, crucially, he doesn't even have the option to kill this Ashley for one of the limbs.

And during the choking scene, he lets her go the moment she acknowledges that he doesn't need her anymore. This is the first time we know of that he seems comfortable enough to set a clear boundary, which is acknowledging that their prior dynamic is dead and that they're now Andrew and Ashley, not Andy and Leyley. It's a bit late to express a clear boundary -after- literally acting like he was going to kill someone, but it's the first time we know of that he sets a clear standard for what, in his mind, would improve his relationship with Ashley.

After all, what he wants is to want her, not need her. He wants Ashley for Ashley's sake. Not for what she can provide him. He doesn't even need her for sleep, he just wants her. But Ashley has trouble acknowledging this, because he's never before shown that WANT. Only a NEED. She keeps trying to find ways to make him need her, because she's never seen what his desire for her is really like. She's only ever seen him desiring someone else, someone other than her.

She's only ever seen him as Andy, because she's never truly seen Andrew, only the violence he can inflict on others. But Andrew can see both:

He can see Leyley, the needy, bratty child who always needs his attention, that he needs to provide for. The one he hates and wants to get rid of. The one he kills for to protect.

And he can see Ashley, the one who engages in friendly and cute banter with him. Who comforts and shows him physical affection. The one he loves. The one he kills for to make happy.

He just can't choose which one he wants to see. Every outside influence- from his parents, to Julia, to Nina- makes him see her as Leyley. Ashley herself makes him see her as Leyley too, whenever she brings up all the things he did for her, and calls him Andy, his child self, instead of Andrew, his current self. And as long as he sees that child, he feels like one too, and can never give Ashley anything that comes from the heart.

But he really, really wants to see Ashley as an adult. He wants to take pride in her, how much she's grown, and how driven and competent she really is.

But god damn, does that bitch ever make it hard, because there IS no real difference between Ashley and Leyley. She's grown and changed over time, taking more adult (and stereotypically feminine) responsibility upon herself, but the fact that her temperament and personality hasn't changed much obfuscates that growth. When you talk to Ashley in the closet during the dream after getting the limb, Andrew asks Ashley to come out of the closet, but she refuses to come out because he won't invite Leyley over to play, which is a pretty strong metaphor for how he interfaces with different aspects of Ashley's personality and refuses to accept others. But the reality is that he needs to accept both, or rather, see her whole self as Ashley, rather than just the parts he likes.

In the end, it's him who has to make the choice how to see her. Ashley can only see what she's been shown, but Andrew can choose.

And in the basement scene, he makes that choice.

If Ashley refuses to leave him alone with their parents, that's it. In one of the most critical and important moments of his life, she couldn't give him the space needed to make up his own mind. She couldn't treat him as an adult. She couldn't see him as Andrew. If she does give him that choice, she chooses to acknowledge that Andrew is an adult who can be trusted to make his own decisions, even though she (perhaps foolishly) believes that this choice lines up with her own interests. And frankly it does either way, but in accepting their mom's offer, her chooses to see her as Leyley once and for all. He chooses not to reciprocate what Ashley showed him. He does it because he needs to, not because he wants to. Because it's his duty, not his desire.

This is what results in the Decay ending. Through his inability to see Ashley as an adult, he surrenders his agency and views all of his actions as an extension of his responsibilities, his role, which he no longer wishes to uphold. He dissociates fully from who he really is, acting in accordance with that disconnected, barely-cohesive narrative that exists only within his mind. The game starts to resemble the heartwrenching tragedy that many seem to take for granted that it is, as their dynamic fully doubles down on its painful toxicity. And, in an example of a poetic book end, Ashley's dream shows a double suicide, closing the book on their tragic tale.

It's tragic. It's heartwrenching. It's poetic. It's beautiful.

...Except it's not. Not at all.

It's actually fucking stupid, pointless, and brutal, and Burial shows us that. When we view their spiral as beautiful, we project the same darkly romantic ideal that Andrew possesses onto the story.

But the actual reality is horrifying.

Ashley spends most of Decay terrified of Andrew, the one person she found comfort in. He acts cold, distant, and aggressive towards her, showing pointless cruelty instead of any warmth. All she wants is comfort; all she wants is to not die. She doesn't want to engage in this death spiral at all, and, in her dream sequence, shows none of the same willingness to die alongside Andrew that Andrew does with her. The moment we stop focusing on the end of the Decay dream sequence, which has very striking imagery, and if you choose not to shoot, one of the most beautiful scenes in the game, we can see it for what it really is:

A scared animal running away from a predator.

The moment you see Decay through Ashley's eyes, and not the perspective of some romantic ideal, Decay becomes terrifying, tense, and painful. There is no catharsis to be had in this tragedy. It's easily avoidable as long as Andrew chooses to engage with reality, and not the empty promises of his mother and incoherent narrative of his ideal.

Finding beauty and meaning in tragedy is how we cope with the harshness of reality. But there is no coherent narrative to the tragedies we experience, just like there's no coherent narrative to the ideal Andrew wishes to uphold. It's something we create- that he creates- but it's not something that actually exists.

And when Andrew casts aside his desire for that ideal, and the responsibilities it shackles him to, it grants him clarity that he never had before. He sees the world for how it really is, and acknowledges that nobody- the least of which their mother- is as different from Ashley as they pretend to be.

They're no better than her, and he's tired of people pretending that they are. People are all the same, no matter what ideals they try to uphold and represent. They still sacrifice others in the name of advancing themselves, still punch down whenever they can, and still lay blame on those beneath them rather than try to take control of their lives. They just use those ideals to justify themselves, but Ashley, and now Andrew, reject even the need for that justification.

This is why I believe the story is nihilistic. Not in that it asserts the inherent meaninglessness of life, but in that it grapples with the ideals we uphold and how they obfuscate the reality of the world we live in. The story, intentionally or not, highlights how ideals are often but a pretense we use to justify what we were likely going to do regardless, and how holding to them too strongly can lead to our ruin- and how monstrous they make us look to those who do not share them.

Consequently, this is how I view the part of the fanbase who thinks Decay is a good ending.

(the characters themselves represent existentialism rather than nihilism but i couldn't really fit that analysis in here without it feeling forced so i might cover that another time)

From that point on, their relationship becomes a lot more friendly, lighthearted, and playful. They ironically start acting more like children, but to quote CS Lewis:

"Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence."

He's not ashamed of being playful with Ashley, or showing affection towards her. He's grown up. He finally sees her, and himself, as an adult- although he still doesn't show that in full until much later on (more or that later). But in Decay, he still sees her as a child, and to an extent, probably himself. Let's compare the ways in which he reacts to being called Andy. In Decay, he lashes out at Ashley and gets angry, even threatening her. But in Questionable Burial, he calmly says that Andy is dead and doesn't need Ashley's comfort, but still tries to reassure her that she's still needed. He's not ashamed of or hostile towards their prior dynamic, because he's grown past it. He still acknowledges Ashley's need to feel needed, but here, he recognizes its importance to her, whereas he was hostile towards it before.

It's a display of respect towards her feelings.

This interaction doesn't happen in the Sane ending, however. He doesn't play games with her and is just a lot less fun to be around all together. Why is that? Because he still hasn't yet shaken viewing Ashley as Leyley there. He still views her as a burden, as someone who needs taking care of. He's calmly accepted that, too, mind you, but he lacks respect for her because she's still a child, in his mind. But in Questionable?

The vision did more than just make him extremely embarrassed and lay his deepest desires bare. It forced him to recognize Ashley as an adult. When choosing between "Never" and "Never say never," if Never is chosen, the burden of thought is lifted off of him. But if Ashley chooses "Never say never!", he has to reckon with the fact that Ashley is an adult, someone who can consent to those kinds of things. Someone who MIGHT. Someone who has agency, and can make her own decisions. And more importantly… someone who can trust him to make his own.

Whether he desires sex or not is secondary; he's always had those feelings and has always been ashamed of them. But now that the part of him where that shame came from is dead and buried, there's no childish impulse to grow up. There's no attachment to the hate and bitterness he had before. Look at what he worries about when he picks up that she's uncertain or confused about who he is now:

It's her feelings.

He wants to be fun to be around. He wants to make Ashley happy. He loves her, and not as a romantic interest or even as a sibling. He loves her independent of all that baggage.

He loves her as a person.

Their relationship runs contrary to societal ideals in some pretty huge ways. So contrary, in fact, that it's hard for some to accept it as anything good, that it can ever be best for the people involved. It's incestuous. It involves them killing and eating their parents. It involves them distancing themselves so much from society that it's hard to believe they'll ever fit in it again. It's chaotic, it's messy, it's codependent, and maybe even toxic. And yet, here they are. They're coexisting. They're happy. They're healing. They're navigating the world in the only way they can: together.

Meanwhile, in Decay, Andrew refuses to allow himself to get closer to Ashley. He surrenders all agency to her, buys into his own narrative, drinks his own Kool-Aid, and may or may not condemn one or both of them to death in the process. Like it or not, the only path where Andrew takes ownership of his life is the one where he's closest to his sister. It's the one where he decides where they will go next, the one where he decides his own feelings matter, and acts in accordance with what he wants instead of how he thinks he should act.

His agency, his freedom, and his growth don't happen in spite of his codependency; they're happen because of it. They can't grow alone. They can't heal alone.

In reading the story, one must interrogate how important those societal ideals are in the face of the realities of what makes people happy. Are those ideals worth upholding in spite of this? Can we really allow people to fall through the cracks in the name of social norms? Can we blame people for taking rash actions when the social contract has failed them?

Or are we so blinded by those ideals that we can't see that people can be happy while blatantly disregarding them?

All I know is that in Burial, Andrew, having cast aside normalcy, now appears to be truly happy for the first time in his life.

Who are we to take that from him?

#the coffin of andy and leyley #andrew graves #ashley graves #tcoaal #gaming #gravecest #tcoaal essay

167 notes · View notes

wolfclaire · 2 months

Note

How would you think the story would've played out if a different Gem got transported into the games, and I'm not limiting it to just the Afterlife Gems. Like if either Empires Season Gems met Pearl instead of Spider, especially Season 2 Esmp Gem, considering she's essentially the opposite of Pearl in a way?? Sun imagery with butterfly wings and the pointed ears on her skin implies she'd look/be something like a sun elf yet also unlike Pearl she's in almost complete control of her own fate and what 'games' she plays by hopping different universes and LARPing as whatever character she wants. Season one Gem can also be interesting, especially if it's near the end of the season or after the end of the season. Season one Gem getting transported into a death game where her people who look like her friends who are either missing or dead in her eyes messed up in ways they weren't before and one of your closest friends aka Pearl seems so sad and gone from the cheerful queen you knew her as. Also I choose to believe that S1!Gem is at least passively or actively aware of differing timelines cause of her reaction from when she met S2!Sausage and I think she was aware that she basically just three Evil Sausage into a little mirror of her own universe which would be like an alternate ones, I'm kinda reaching, especially since I haven't rewatched Empires S1 yet, but still I can't resist the angst of Gem knowing that these aren't her friends but still desperately trying to hold onto them like they are because the rapture happened so suddenly and abruptly when things were finally looking better and she doesn't wanna accept things. I also can't resist what would be the DL cast's reaction to these two, especially Pearl and maybe Grian

Ngl I really wonder what would be Pearl's and Grian's opinion/impression of them if it were either of them transferred and not Spider Gem

Sorry for rambling I've just been thinking about this a lot and sorry if it doesn't make sense or if it's even in character-

-Sun anon, still happy birthday also <3

Okay...let me just put this into seperated questions...cause this got potential. So ES1 and ES2 Gems would be probably totally different with the reaction to Pearl and everything happening.

ES1 Gem, post rapture (or during rapture), has basically nothing left. No kingdom, no friends, she only has her magic, Violet and fWhip. She didn't "roleplay", she isn't "LARPing", everything happening to her is real, and hurtful. If she was the one transported into the games, she would find familiarity with Pearl, but she would know something is wrong. She is The Headmistres of Crystal Cliffs, she is The Grand Wizard, she would notice Pearl's acting strange (Red stuff) and her and others memories being off.

ES2 Gem, however, wouldn't think of this "transportation" as a big deal at first. I don't think she would take it seriously at the start, as "it's just a game" or "it's just LARPing". She couldn't understand in canon why nobody else (except Pixlriffs and Oli) didn't think of anything as a big deal...she only thought they were good actors in a way. It would take Pearl's death for her to realize that this "game" is not as innocent as she might have thought...

As for Grians and Pearl's reaction? Well...

Grian wouldn't mind ES2 Gem, she looks like a guilable little princess that he can wrap around his finger... But ES1 Gem? Oh, that would be dissaster. He can tell this one is smart, he can tell she has powers on her side... He would try to get rid of her asap, even going as far as killing her himself.

Pearl, on the other hand, would feel a little weirded out by any of those two. ES1 Gem is nice....strangely overly nice, for some reason... And ES2 Gem doesn't seem to take anything seriously...she is very carefree for someone who shouldn't have unlimited lives (Grey names don't work with the same rules as those in from the specific world)

There is a lot of Angst potential, just in a different favour than what my version with Spider Gem has to offer :)

#alone together #alone together ask #anon ask #sun anon #geminitay #pearlescentmoon #grian #spider gem #wizard gem #princess gem #empires smp

32 notes · View notes

fizzingwizard · 1 year

Text

Now I've finished reading Mansfield Park, which I expected to slog through, but instead it held my interest nearly the entire time. The one exception was the long exchange of letters after Fanny goes to Portsmouth. Then I was taking longer to get through each chapter, and the ending, of course, is as Austenian as I could expect.

Mansfield Park doesn't have the charm or wit of other Austen novels. I had put it off because I read that "no one is likable," and I don't usually have a taste for stories where everyone is just bad and miserable. But having read it, I don't think those critics were justified. Mansfield Park isn't about an unlikable group of characters. It's just that they are very flawed. And a lot of real life is hard to like, but you don't have many friends if you will only approve of paragons of virtue.

Is Fanny meant to be the paragon of virtue? was the question running through my mind. Most Austen heroines are not as perfect as they're accused of being - the only one who really fits that description, in my opinion, is Anne Elliot. (And I could go on about why that doesn't bother me at all and that the world of literature deserves an Anne Elliot or two, but back to Fanny.) Fanny confused me for the longest time. I couldn't tell if she was virtuous and pure, or naive and pathetic. I think for most of the novel she's something of both, and what really kept me gripped was feeling desperate to know whether she'd turn out as awful as the rest. It's an Austen novel, I figured there was no way she wouldn't turn out okay, but honestly I was in suspense sometimes lol, as much suspense as you can be when instead of the threat of an ax murderer hiding under the stairs, the threat is winding up rich and bitter.

My final opinion of Fanny is that I like her in a similar way that I like Anne Elliot. There are a couple lines, about the importance of "knowing your mind," and "being guided by what's in your own self," that made me see more strength in Fanny. She is essentially friendless. And she's much younger than Anne, and she's so criticized and taken advantage of, and so without warmth. So many times I thought "if only she had a backbone," and my fear was that Austen would validate her timidity and loneliness as the virtue of "female abnegation" :P But although there are the usual Austen morals, she doesn't do that - instead she gives us Susan, who does have pluck and backbone, and makes Fanny admire her for it and wish she'd had some too when she was first sent to Mansfield. And contrasting Mary Crawford with Fanny is what made me like Mary, and worry that Fanny might be the first Austen heroine to really be disappointed in love. If Fanny had some of Mary's liveliness and confidence, maybe Edmund would have noticed her. And if Mary had Fanny's good judgment, maybe she would have had Edmund in the end. I think the contrasting traits in Fanny and Mary Crawford are some of my favorites in Austen novels, because they're so real and developed that I couldn't tell for a while who was going to come out ahead.

Fanny is everything "good" in an Austen heroine, but her flaws are still real. And Mansfield Park doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to how easily she could have wound up a villain instead of a heroine. If Edmund had married Mary, Fanny would probably have married Henry and been miserable, because despite all the blabber about "she would have fixed him," I think he would have gone right on cheating and breaking her heart. Austen had more faith in Henry Crawford than I do, lol.

As for the rest of the cast, apart from Mrs Norris, I don't think anyone is hateful. But they don't have warmth, they don't have real affection. That is palpable in the novel and reminded me over and over how much I wished Fanny had a friend. When William appeared, I braced myself for his betrayal - but although he's not around much, he ended up being her true friend. I could almost wish he wasn't her brother because he treated her much better than Edmund did. William knew how to show love. If he had been brought to Mansfield Park when Fanny was, maybe Fanny would not have fallen in love with Edmund, because she would have already had a best friend who could definitely never become a romantic option.

But although the lack of warmth is so terrible, that's what I mean when I say the novel is real. I think the lack of concern for their so-called loved ones the characters show, as well as the biases and prejudices that are inconvenient for them to shed, are exactly how many families really are. Taking each other for granted, seeing each other how you wish to, and being mostly concerned about whether or not someone is useful to you personally. It sounds cynical, and there are many loving, caring families who are nowhere near as selfish as the Bertrams or the Crawfords or even the Prices. But there are many which are. And I like the way the novel made it felt. Rather than make the abuse obvious through violence and threats, the coldness is covered up by decorum, which makes it even more insidious and long-lasting. I was really sad, just deeply sad for Fanny in many places, every time I wished she had someone who would listen to her and side with her the way everyone else expected her to do for them. I'm nowhere near as virtuous as Fanny, but I know how much it sucks to bite your tongue over and over, and when you finally tell the truth, to be told that you don't know your own feelings, or you're just too ignorant to understand what you should feel, or that your judgments are wrong because it's currently convenient to the other person that they should be wrong. Sometimes I was identifying so much with Fanny that I had to stop reading. It's not gaslighting - that term is too strong. But it is inconsiderate. I was lucky because I always had a listener in my mom. She may not always understand me, but she listens and respects me. I never have to worry that what I say may set her off the way I did with my dad and brother. Lately my dad's been much better with me, which I truly appreciate - but I also can't forget him telling me that I shouldn't be insulted that he thinks opinions like mine are "stupid, because "I know you're smart enough to one day agree with me!"

Which, weirdly, brings me to Edmund... I was on the fence about him the whole time. At first he seemed like he WAS Fanny's friend, the kind older brother figure who cared about her happiness. After a while I started to suspect that he was more about the appearance of charity than about really being kind. I suspected him of betraying me and becoming exactly the kind of clergyman Mary denigrated. But other times he would do or say something that made me change my mind, and decide that he's not fake, he's just flawed. Being flawed is much better than being fake. My number one issue with him was when Fanny turned down Henry's proposal, and Edmund, despite saying he wouldn't try to sway Fanny's feelings, winds up doing just that - because it's convenient for him to think of the Crawfords as good people, because the theater debacle was embarrassing to think back on, and because he admires Fanny's judgment, so if she judges Henry Crawford good enough to marry, he'd no longer need to have scruples about marrying Mary. It was the most selfish he ever was with regard to Fanny. It really made me feel he could never love her, and even opened me up to the idea that Henry might, actually, be Fanny's endgame match, lol. Because Henry seemed to notice all the things no one else did about how lonely and uncared for Fanny was, and even to encourage her to find her voice. It was literally Fanny pointed out that how could she trust a man who had taken advantage of the feelings of not one but two of her cousins before immediately redirecting his flirting on her to make me realize "no way, it's definitely going to be Edmund, lol."

Henry's better than Wickham, but not by a lot. Edmund, however, is a far cry from Mr Darcy. I wish very much that Mansfield Park ended in some way to make me like Edmund better, because right now the best I can say about him is that he's not as silly as his siblings, and he is at least capable of real love. It's hard to hear the wedding bells because as far as I can see, the Edmund Fanny loves is his childhood self, and the grown up version hasn't really done much to deserve her. He's more commendable for not doing things to not deserve her, lol. Their relationship is probably the least romantic of any in Austen's novels, imo. Fanny really loved him, and there was a lot of romantic pain in watching him fall for someone else. But by the time he finally sees Fanny, the novel is over... xD This is not a criticism though... I was really intrigued to find out how each character would turn out in the end. And the only thing I'll say which is sort of disappointing is that everything turned out how I predicted it in the beginning, aka like an Austen novel. But even though the Crawfords and Edmund didn't develop more as characters, I still appreciate how much complexity they add. Like, they made me guess about an Austen novel, haha. And in retrospect I shouldn't have, because I knew the finale from the curtain rise. But still. They made me guess. They almost, almost made me believe Mary would be rehabilitated and Fanny would give in to poor judgment. Hehe.

If anything, I appreciate this novel for food for thought, ie imagining all the different stories it could have been. I like that one way of life, the rich, performative lifestyles of Mansfield Park, is shown warts and all - and then we're taken down to Portsmouth only to find it's warty in similar ways, just with less polish. It makes you a little more sympathetic to mercenary marriage vows. Like, if I'm going to be miserable, I might as well be miserable in comfort, haha. But of course the novel doesn't posit that either. If Fanny had gone to Portsmouth and found her family humble but full of love and wisdom, there'd be a completely different outcome. Or if she went to Portsmouth, realized how much better things were at Mansfield, went back and informed readers that she had been overly sensitive thus far and actually everyone in Mansfield was so kind, and Mrs Norris just misunderstood - then again we'd have a totally different outcome. We get neither. It's just the world the way it is. Being poor comes with challenges and being rich comes with advantages. But happiness isn't a guarantee either way.

Well, I liked Mansfield Park much more than I was expecting to. I'm really shocked by how invested I got when at first I really thought Fanny might be the Austen heroine to finally make me say "enough is enough!" But Austen is too good, I can't hate her characters at all. She's able to give so much depth, or at least familiarity, to every one of them that they're just too human for something as base as hate. I even gave up wishing Fanny would find her voice and just wished she'd find a friend. And in the end, I'd say that IS what she got, even more than a husband - the friendship of her brother and sister and even Sir Thomas, as well as the loss of the anti-friend Mrs Norris. If any Austen heroine ever suffered so much for being alone, it's Fanny Price. That to me is the real source of her final happiness. And since Austen nearly always gives her heroines a sister or a best friend or some trusted confidante, the lack of one in Mansfield Park has to be intentional, and so I don't think Austen would disagree with me.

#literature #jane austen #mansfield park

119 notes · View notes

a-student-out-of-time · 8 months

Text

Talking about the Eden Killer Theory (Again)

//Hey there, so...it kinda seems like my blog has officially just become a DT theory blog at this point, so here's some more of my thoughts on a particular one I've touched on before.

//This is something of a response to this defense of the Eden Killer Theory, written by @venus-is-thinking, who is a proponent of the theory along with many others. And having read it, I can't help but feel that a lot of the points raised here are in response to many of my own criticisms, from the motivation issues to how it would play a role in the narrative.

//Now, as I've said my previous posts about this, even if I don't agree with this theory, this isn't meant to belittle anyone who does. I also have to admit that there are a lot of good points raised here. What I'd like to do is, instead of just trying to debunk them, I'd like to offer some counterpoints and alternatives, as well as address the points that make this theory not work for me.

//I'm also not going to push my own theory here, just stick to what I feel are some equally plausible explanations.

//So Venus, if you read this, know that I'm impressed by the time and effort you put into this, and I just want to offer some feedback:

I'll start by saying, thank you for not perpetuating this idea that Eden is somehow secretly some evil genius mastermind, because a lot of Eden Killer Theory posts really have that vibe to them and it bothers me to no end.

My first big question is why Eden would kill Arei and not Arturo, the guy who has actively threatened her. Nobody but Arei knew about that and thus would never suspect her of doing it. Arei herself really seems like she'd have Eden's back in that regard.

I will say, just because we have multiple LGBTQ+ characters, it doesn't equate to "sapphic girl betrays everyone to be with her GF" not being problematic. The quantity doesn't matter, the presentation does.

I do appreciate the focus on her motivation as having more to do with her family and people she wants to reunite with. My issue is that the same argument could be applied to others who we know have friends and family, like Rose, Veronika, Hu, even Ace. What makes Eden the exception here?

The hidden quote is definitely interesting, and it could apply to this case, but it could also apply at a later date. I've also looked thoroughly into the hidden quotes and wondered about their meanings, so I'll admit there's an argument to be made in your favor here.

Eden being the primary force trying to end the killing game does feel to me like it's meant to be more of a long-term thing. Maybe the idea isn't that she's running out of time, but the longer she spends in this game, the more it wears away at her attempts? That doesn't necessarily mean she'll be a killer, now or later, but maybe it takes a toll on her motivation?

"Every single second killer commits their crime due to previous attachments that go beyond the killing game." Now, this is something I've had people who disagree with my theories argue with me about, how we can't predict where the story will go, yet they'll still use the same formulaic tropes and archetypes in defense of their own points. We can't have it both ways, and it sounds to me like you do believe this will follow a fairly similar route to the previous games. Fair enough. As a counterpoint, I want to address that, while this is largely true, one could also make the same argument about my primary candidate for the Killer (though not necessarily the Blackened): Hu. After all, we've had some insights on Hu's past, how proud she is of her name and how she didn't want to go with her old one just because it was something English-speakers made fun of. Combined with her very motherly attitude, her dialogue with David after his reveal, her own secret quote and the like, it also makes her seem like a pretty good candidate in my eyes.

"Wouldn’t it only be proving Teruko right if Eden were to become a killer? Yeah. It would. And that’s the point at the story we’re at." I have to completely disagree with you there, but we'll get to that shortly.

"I don’t think it would make any sense for Teruko’s beliefs to be strongly challenged in Chapter 2." Counterpoint: Teruko's beliefs should challenged here, at least in a way that makes her reconsider them. Not necessarily throw them out completely, as even I don't think she would, but maybe open up a little to the idea of trust. Namely that trusting nobody at all means that she also can't trust people who claim they're innocent but have no proof. Maybe going with enlightened self-interest as a starting point. I don't like this idea that Teruko is going to double down this chapter, because it would otherwise feel largely pointless. We already covered this perspective in chapter 1, we had her be betrayed by two people she was close to, we've had her explain this and beat the point in throughout the entire thing, from her life before the game to the many scars across her body. If we end on "Well, looks like I was right not to trust any of you," what changes? What's there to be gained? How has this done anything for her character if she hasn't learned anything or changed at all? I'm not saying she's going to join the friendship club, but just that I think the story is better served by her being willing to trust somebody and having it not blow up in her face for once, despite her experiences and expectations. That feels like actual setup and payoff, you know?

The Monocredits thing feels like pure speculation to me, so I don't really see that as evidence of anything.

"Chapter 2 is typically a chapter in the canon Danganronpa games where things get worse, not better." I've gone through the entire canon series and a few fangans that have reached Chapter 3, and I have to say, this is untrue. Chapter 2 is where the seriousness of the Killing Game sets in further, but you still get moments of character development, revelation, and new developments in their favor. Chapter 3 is typically the low point where things hit their zenith of severity, since that's also where two people die and the killer is really fucked up, and the group also often learns just how bad things really are. Yes, it's still a rough time, but it's also where we get things like Toko, Fuyuhiko and Maki starting their gradual rises to prominence and development, the reveal of Alter Ego, and it was SDRA2 Chapter 2 that made Hibiki Otonokoji into one of my favorites in that game because she grew so much in such a short amount of time. Chapter 2 is really not where tragedy overwhelms growth and development...that's Chapter 3's job ^^;

"Eden is one of the most heavily featured characters, and to me, it feels more like one being set up for immediate payoff rather than long-term." What makes you so sure? Kyoko, Nagito, Shuichi, Himiko, Toko, Chiaki, Kaito, Akane Taira, Yuki Maeda, all of them were prominent early on but they didn't really play big roles until much later in their story lines.

"If she’s already spent two chapters being nice, happy and supportive, where does she go from there that’s narratively interesting and different? The only answer I can really come up with is “becoming less nice, happy, and/or supportive.” I gotta be honest here and say this does a major disservice to Eden as a character, and feels you're saying nice characters are boring or static. I won't put words in your mouth, that's just how it sounds here. For some alternative ideas, Eden could be more proactive in trying to help others, and maybe if Teruko starts to come out of her shell, she could be there to try and help her forward. If we go back to your point about her secret quote, maybe the two of them end up switching roles so that Eden starts to feel lost and Teruko is the one to try and support her. Eden's point that she's not naive or stupid, that she knows that the world can be a cruel place and chooses to be kind regardless, is a powerful moment that strikes a chord with Teruko, even if she doesn't want to admit it. That's already proof that there's more to her than just "nice and friendly support girl," as maybe someone who's seen how harsh life can be and might be able to relate to Teruko even more than she's letting on. For me personally, this is actually why I see David as the Blackened of this chapter. After that reveal, where he's admitted he's a manipulative nihilistic shitlord, what else can you do with his character? Nobody's going to trust him, he doesn't really contrast Teruko's perspective so he's not really a rival, and he's got a very doomerist mindset about everything so I don't see him being a chaos gremlin. I think he instead works as a warning for Teruko. He is what she could be if she sticks on this path of self-serving fatalism, and as the Blackened, his death would be a wake-up call for her to change.

Once again, credit where it's due, I had no idea this was there and that's a pretty good point. My counterpoint here is that it's such a broad statement that you could just as easily apply it to anyone: it works just as well for David, for instance. It could also apply to Hu, Levi and even Arei in this chapter. It also doesn't really scream "Eden is the killer" to me, just the idea that being a good person isn't easy or glamorous.

"Hu is someone who hasn’t gotten that much character arc focus, so I think she’ll probably be a bit more of a spotlighted character in the next daily life." Counterpoint: Hu is the killer and this is what "A Good Person" is referring to. Think about how much Hu has tried to be the Team Mom, stand up for Nico, work with David, be a nice person and everything, even if she did fight frequently with Ace in this chapter. While she didn't share her secret, David actually called her out and suggested she's not as upstanding as she claims to be. Her secret quote- "I want to pay for what I’ve done. But even then, I still want to live."- would also fit very well there if it turned out she was the killer. It could even be both of our ideas; having followed David's orders to kill, she has to grapple with that fact and regain everyone's trust, especially Eden's.

"This is pretty much the entirety of Arei’s character arc." And it's very unsatisfying if we just leave it off there, so I don't buy that's all there is to it.

"Chapter 2 frequently deals with the concept of bullying." Having seen the canon games and fangans that have passed Chapter 2, I can say that this is only sometimes true. DR1, SDR2, and DRA did, but V3, SDRA2, Antebellum and Blowback were tangentially related or completely distinct. As you point out, even sticking to canon, this is true just 66.6% of the time.

"Ace bullied Nico, and eventually they snapped and tried to kill him in revenge." Counterpoint: Nico didn't snap, it was David's fault. Keep in mind, the last time we saw Nico before that scene, they were with Hu and David in the Relaxation Room. Now that we know David manipulated the hell out of Hu, is it really a stretch to suggest that, after all their fights, David also might've pushed Nico into trying to kill Ace? It would guarantee someone would die and David's secret would be preserved.

"Eden simply didn’t believe her relationship with Arei actually changed." Counterpoint: Eden is friendly but she's not blindly trusting. She had no idea why Arei saved her from Arturo, so maybe she thought that this was Arei trying to mess with her? It isn't until she has proper context that she sees it as a potential friendship. Personally, I think the statement that "you don't know how much this means to me" lends credence to the idea that Eden has had some hard knocks in her life as well, much like Teruko, but she's chosen to be kind instead of recoiling into cynicism. And again, even if we wanted to say she didn't actually buy that they were friends, why would she kill the person who was trying to be friendly with her and promised to protect her instead of the guy who was actively threatening her just minutes earlier? Bullying is one thing, but someone pulling a knife on you over a secret is quite another. As we see in Episode 7, she's still skittish that he's following her. Why Arei and not him?

I believe that moment with Charles and Whit has less to do with their feelings on Eden and more to do with the idea that something more is going on with Arei than we've been assuming.

"They did pair up Xander and Min though, so it’s not like it’s impossible that they paired a victim with their killer." Maybe, but we've only had one full chapter so far. Seems a little preemptive to decide that this is all foreshadowing.

"However, it’s possible that the message the creator wants to send us is that the cast isn’t currently capable of being entirely positive and friendly." I agree that's a possibility, but it's just as possible that they're saying they can, but the cast needs to address the issues plaguing them. If Chapter 1 is about the breaking of trust, Chapter 2 could be about rebuilding it and Chapter 3 about forging it or seeing it break again while trying.

"I believe the motive of getting back to her previous life, in combination with the constant fighting, Arturo's threats against her and her apparent inability to actually make a meaningful change in those around her, would be enough to get her to break and kill in this Chapter 2 position." Okay, fair. Again though, what sense is there in killing Arei to achieve these goals? Like you say here, Arturo actively threatened her, and that seems much more pressing than a girl who bullied her but who since apologized. Why kill Arei and not him? I don't see the logic behind any of it. If it's because Arei is an easier target, that really just makes Eden look selfish and opportunistic, especially when Arei promised to protect her.

You don't get genuine breakdown scenes like this in the first half of the chapter, when there's still so much to learn about the ins and outs of the murder. Not unless there's going to be some kind of reveal, and that reveal isn't necessarily going to be that she's the killer.

While DRDT is full of hidden meanings and foreshadowing, sometimes I feel like the fandom takes things too literally. Like, if Whit said "Dead at 6," would people assume he or Charles is the mastermind?

David is saying a lot of cruel, guilt-trippy, misanthropic things by design, and Eden is grieving. It doesn't seem strange that she's going to start blaming herself. My counterpoint here is that he's trying to shift blame onto her because this is HIS fault.

"I think it makes more sense if it’s her coping with the fact that Arei did want to be her friend, and she killed her." Counterpoint: Eden is grieving someone who she did want to consider a friend who she believes is dead, and which she personally blames herself for because she wanted to include Arei in her activities earlier. She wanted them to be friends, and now she thinks her efforts lead to Arei's death. I don't really get why this needs to be anything more insidious or emotionally loaded.

Why it doesn't work for me:

While it's clear that you've put a lot of thought into Eden's motivations, what kills this theory for me is HOW Eden could be the killer. Any effort to reconcile the events of Chapter 2 with her presence, character, motivations and the time elapsed either require her to be insanely fast or genuinely malicious, manipulative and evil. Especially considering Eden would've had to set up a trap or something to break Arei's neck and then set her body up to look like she hanged herself.

Charles' statement that they fucked up, which I'm sure is in reference to the time and alibis, is also not really evidence because he's yet to elaborate on it. We don't know what he's going to say or who was where at any time. We can't make any snap judgements about it and will just have to wait for part 2 to see what it's about.

None of this explains the purpose of Teruko's prosopagnosia. If we're going to accept that small bits of dialogue and sprites are foreshadowing, then we also need to accept that a minute-long conversation and name-dropping of Teurko's condition is even more important. Nothing about this theory explains why that's there other than ignoring it or saying it's for later, and those are very weak arguments to me.

Why did Arei appear in the cafeteria after Ace's attack but say nothing? What purpose did that serve in the story? I've seen some people suggest that, to explain the prosopagnosia, it's actually meant to be Eden in disguise, but that makes no sense on multiple levels. Even if we wanted to say that she's an evil mastermind, why would she disguise herself as Arei and not just let everyone think she's still locked in her room? I know that's not part of your defense, but I just wanted to bring it up.

What's the significance of Arei having the secret "You're a murderer and you hold no remorse" if Eden is the one who killed her? We know Eden's secret and she's not a murderer.

How does David figure into the Eden Killer Theory at all? It seems like his role was mostly skimmed over.

What's the significance of Teruko's momentary flashback right after Arei's breakdown, where her crying reminds Teruko of someone? We never got follow-up on that, but the screen went black and time was devoted to her internal dialogue, which leads me to believe it's meant to be important.

//Again, these are just my thoughts on this theory and why they don't work for me. Even taking the narrative and thematic relevance out, the actual mechanics and character motivations just don't really work for me to see Eden as the one behind this.

//As I've made clear, my thinking is that David is the true blackened of this case, but Hu is the one who carried it out for him. He got her to kill for him, trying and failing with Nico at first, only to learn that the Blackened and the Killer can be different people in this game. His mindset and attitude, made pretty clear by the MV and Tally5, are that he's a fatalist who represents the logical extreme of Teruko's thinking, and what she could end up as if she continues or doubles down.

//His death would do a lot to serve the narrative and develop Teruko's character, while Hu's survival but status as a murderer could be the focus of her arc in Chapter 3, and Eden would then have to contend with all of this while trying to mend the group. I have my own theory as to why all this is the case, but that's a story for another time.

//Once again, while I disagreed a lot with this theory, I appreciate the thinking put into examining everything and trying to analyze every potential scenario behind who the killer may be.

//Credit to Venus and all the other writers for also getting me to think more critically about small details I either didn't see before or didn't think much about at first. I hope my points here can do the same.

#mod talks #a student out of time #drdt #danganronpa despair time #eden tobisa #eden killer theory

41 notes · View notes

coraniaid · 7 months

Note

58 "I made a mistake" or 95 "I'm a mess" Fuffy?

Thanks! Tough choice but I went with 95 in the end.

This is another canon-divergent Season 3 AU, but it's not set in the same world as anything else of mine. (Actually, I guess it's fully canon-compliant up until the very end of Homecoming.) It's also, I think, the least angsty thing I've ever written.

It's safe to say that this isn't exactly how Faith saw her night going.

She'd been promised a limo ride, for a start. And, okay, she'd guessed that the whole school-sanctioned dance party thing would turn out to be a drag -- it's not like she has much experience of this sort of thing, but she definitely still remembers enough about high school to know that it sucked -- but she'd still been sort of hoping that somebody would've smuggled some alcohol in; that she wouldn't have been the only person there who knew how to have some fun. And, of course, she was supposed to have had somebody to talk to all night. That had been the whole reason she'd invited herself to Homecoming, hadn't it? To spend a bit more time with Buffy?

But none of that had panned out. Things never did seem to go the way Faith wanted. Instead of a limo there'd just been a short and weirdly uncomfortable trip over here in somebody's crowded van. The only entertainment on offer was a mediocre high school band and some free food so terrible even she hadn't felt like eating much of it. She hadn't even known anyone at the party all night, except for Red and Xander (who had both been too busy acting even weirder than usual to spare more than a few words for her), Buffy's stuffy old Watcher (who hadn't even bothered to say hello) and that sleazebag Scott Hope (whose own night she'd maybe managed to ruin, at least). She sure hadn't had anyone to dance with. And Buffy herself had been hours late to the whole thing because of some sort of demon ambush that sounded a hell of a lot more fun than anything Faith had gotten up to all night.

Plus, it turns out that the kids who go to Buffy's school have kind of terrible taste -- which would at least explain the music and the finger food -- so she hadn't even had the chance to see Buffy Summers up on stage in a tiara.

At least now it's just the two of them. The way she'd hoped it would be, months ago, when she'd set off across the country to find her way to Sunnydale, alone and desperate and not sure who else she could run to. When she’d had nothing in the world to cling on to except for her dead Watcher's stories of another, better Slayer living somewhere out in California. For an awful minute, after the results were read out, Faith had thought Buffy was just going to storm out of the building without even stopping to say goodbye. She isn't sure what she'd have done if that happened. Slunk off into the night herself, she supposes. Found something lurking in the shadows with too many eyes or teeth and punched it and stabbed it until it stopped moving.

But Buffy hadn't abandoned her. Hadn't forgotten about her. They're sitting side by side outside the building now, feet up in front of them, backs against the wall, staring out into the silent darkness that surrounds the town. Buffy's been filling her in all the stuff she missed -- Slayerfest, Lyle Gorch, Trick -- while Faith's been mostly quiet. Just offering the occasional comment to keep the other Slayer talking, trying not to sound too bitter that she missed out on all this. That Cordelia Chase, of all people, had had the chance to see this part of Buffy's life too.

"I really should be heading back home," Buffy says, for at least the third time tonight.

Faith mutters something non-committal, just like she had the other times. Home isn't really an option for her. Never has been. At the end of the day, when Buffy finally tires of her, she's just going to creep back to the motel like she does every other night. Maybe find something to kill along the way if she's lucky. Hope she doesn't run into the management until she's had a chance to catch some sleep. Not worry about where tomorrow's rent is coming from until tomorrow.

"Tomorrow I'm going to have to explain to my mom why I spent a year's allowance on this dress," Buffy says forlornly.

Faith doesn't know what to say to that either. It's a nice enough dress, she guesses, or it was before all the mud and the demons and the explosions. Pretty, in an old-fashioned kind of way. She can't say she'd want to wear it herself, but that doesn't mean Buffy doesn't make it work. She hasn't got the first idea how much it costs though, and not just because it's been a while since she paid for any of her clothes.

She doesn't know what the asking price was for her own outfit tonight, though she knows how much it cost her. A few hours earlier that afternoon spent wandering alone around unfamiliar stores on the wealthy side of town, convinced that everyone was staring at her, that they knew she didn't belong there. A moment of crisis; a sudden mad dash towards the exit which nobody was expecting, stolen dress clasped tightly in her hands; shouts and raised voices behind her; the lingering but distant threat of jail.

(Faith had always figured she'd end up in prison one day, with or without her powers, ever since she was old enough to know that that was where people like her belonged. But not today. Not tonight. Not until she slows down enough that they can catch her.)

How much is Buffy's allowance, anyway? Joyce is obviously doing pretty well with the art gallery, if the big fancy house they live in is any clue, and she seems pretty cool -- seems like she cares about her daughter in a way that Faith can only envy -- but what does that mean Buffy gets as a weekly allowance, exactly? Ten dollars? A hundred? More?

"I mean, look at me," Buffy says ruefully. "I'm a mess."

Faith's been looking for a while, at this point. Ever since that night outside the Bronze a few weeks ago. Really, the way she sees it, the mystery is why nobody else is looking. Why Buffy ever had to settle for the likes of Scott Hope, when by all rights she should've had her pick of any guy in her school. Hell, Buffy had screwed the undead, hadn't she? Why did she have to limit herself to guys from her high school anyway? She could have anyone she wanted. Even--

Too late, she realizes that Buffy's giving her a strange look. Shit. She's been staring for a little too long, hasn't she?

"Nah, the blood spatter looks kind of cute on you," she says, as breezily as she can. "Really, uh. Brings out your eyes."

She thinks Buffy looks at her a little strangely when she says that. She guesses it was a pretty strange thing to say. It's true though. Ruined dress or not, Buffy looks stunning. Always has done.

"You ... your dress looks good, too," Buffy tells her, almost shyly. "It's really pretty."

Faith really doesn't know what to say to that. Shrugs, suddenly self-conscious. She settles for clearing her throat.

"Wanna hit the Bronze?" she asks. "Still got time to find a couple of guys and have some fun with them, you know?"

The strange look on the other Slayer's face hasn't quite gone away. Doesn't go away even when Faith mimes exactly the sort of fun they could be having, faking an enthusiasm she certainly doesn't feel.

"I think I'm happy to skip the stud-using part of the night," Buffy says drily. "At least, if that's okay with you?"

Faith nods, maybe a little too quickly. Hopes her relief isn't too obvious. She didn't really want to share Buffy with anybody else tonight. Or ever, if she's being honest with herself. She hadn't come all this way to California to be an afterthought or a third wheel.

"Whatever you want," she says, almost casually. Like they're only words.

Neither of them says anything more for a few minutes. They're just looking out into the horizon, watching the stars in the sky peeping out from behind the clouds, feeling the refreshingly cold air against their skins. So Faith's not ready for the ambush; doesn't see it coming.

"So, uh." Buffy says. "I was thinking and ... well, this is sort of a date, isn't it? I mean, that's what's going on here, right?"

That word 'date' comes out as almost a squeak; the rest of the question after it tumbling out faster and faster. Faith tenses. Has to fight a sudden urge to curl in on herself; to make herself small. Risks a surreptitious glance to her right, a quick denial already waiting on her tongue. She'd rather turn this into a fight than have Buffy repulsed by her or, even worse, have her feel sorry for her.

But Buffy doesn't look disgusted or dismayed. She doesn't seem mad either. More ... embarrassed, maybe? A little pinker in the cheeks than usual. Faith might even say curious, if she didn't know she was just kidding herself. After all, Buffy's got a type and she's already told Faith exactly what it is. Buffy likes guys who are nice and normal and funny: not exactly things people have ever accused Faith of being. Buffy likes guys who are fundamentally, alive or undead, guys.

"It's just, most girls don't ask their friends out to homecoming, you know?" Buffy continues, sounding oddly nervous for somebody who just kicked a whole bunch of demonic ass all evening in heels without breaking a sweat. "That's not something that happens very often."

Faith wouldn't really know about that. Doesn't say anything. She guesses she was pushing her luck a little the other day in the library.

("You've got the tickets already," she'd said, trying to sound casual, seizing the sudden unlooked-for opportunity. "Why don't we go together?")

"I mean, none of my other friends would have offered to replace my recently ex-boyfriend, anyway." Buffy pauses. "Well, except for Xander, and he ... you know".

Faith knows. She's known plenty of guys like Xander. World's full of them, as far as she can tell. Dude somehow lucked out into dating a popular, gorgeous girl like Cordelia and he's still out there leering at any pretty girl he sees. She wasn't surprised at all to find out he used to be even more pathetic over Buffy. But she doesn't want to be like Xander. Hates the thought of being compared to him, actually. Of being told she's just some stupid kid, harboring a ridiculous and hopeless--

"But you're not like my other friends, are you?" Buffy says, mercifully cutting off that train of thought. "You're like me. You're the only one who I can ..."

Buffy shakes her head. Doesn't finish the sentence.

"And if it is a date," she continues, voice still going a little high-pitched and breathless when she hits that final word, "Can we skip past the awkward figuring-things-out part too? And jump right to the part where you kiss me?"

Faith blinks. For a second or two she's too shocked to say a word.

"You sure you want that, B?" she manages.

Her own voice sounds strange in her ears. Much lower and huskier than usual. Frankly, she's just impressed she was able to speak.

The other Slayer nods, almost imperceptibly, cheeks flushed and pale green eyes open wide, locked on her. And Faith still doesn't know what to do. She hadn't ever thought that--

"I know I've not been on an actual date for a while," Buffy says slowly, frowning slightly, "But I'm guessing it's still a bad sign if you have to ask the other person to kiss you tw-"

Faith kisses her.

Maybe this isn't how she saw the night going, but it's a lot closer to how she hoped it would go than she'd dared to think. She isn't going to screw things up this time.

So the kiss is soft, almost painfully soft. As gentle as Faith can manage. She kisses Buffy like the other girl is something fragile, something delicate: like she's made out of glass or spun sugar. She kisses her like she's somebody who needs to be taken care of. She kisses her the way nobody's ever kissed Faith before. Like this is something important; like it matters. Like she matters.

Because this does matter. She's kissing Buffy Summers and for a moment -- even if this is just going to turn out to be a mistake or a moment of temporary madness -- Buffy's into it. She's kissing her too.

Faith isn't sure exactly when she closed her eyes, but when she opens them again -- when she pulls away, still gently, tentatively -- Buffy's own eyes are half-closed as well. She's got this kind of glazed expression on her face that Faith doesn't think she's ever seen before. She wonders for a moment if she looks anything like that herself.

"Huh," Buffy says slowly, breaking the silence. A short, contented sound, like she's just figured something out.

And before Faith can ask herself what that means, Buffy leans in and kisses her right back.

When Buffy kisses her she presses into her slightly, pushing her back against the brick wall behind her. She puts her weight on her, straddling her, legs resting on her until she's all but sitting in Faith's lap. Cups her face in her hands possessively, like she's taking charge, the sort of move Faith would never have put up with if any of her loser boyfriends back in Boston had tried it.

With Buffy though, Faith guesses she doesn't mind so much. That, actually, she doesn't mind at all. Maybe the other Slayer isn't the only one figuring some things out tonight.

Buffy tastes like earth and sweat and flowers and scented soap. Like running for your life through a dark forest. She tastes like something achingly real, something better than Faith's ever known before. Something she hasn't got the words to describe.

An eternity later, when the world starts moving again, Buffy asks her a question. Has to repeat it before Faith remembers how to talk.

"I said, what have you got lined up for the next part of the date?" Buffy asks, half-smiling the way she does when she's in control. "A movie, maybe, or ..."

"Whatever you want, B," Faith tells her hoarsely. Meaning every word this time. Meaning it like a promise. Like an oath. Meaning whatever Faith can give her, whatever she can take.

Buffy frowns.

"Honestly, after how the whole Homecoming Queen thing went, I'd really, really like to hit something."

Faith nods. She gets that. Hell, up until tonight she'd have probably said that hitting demons was the best thing she'd ever done in Sunnydale.

"I think I spotted a vamp nest on the way over here," she offers. "Out by Shady Hill Cemetery. Not too far to go if we hurry."

The other Slayer smiles at her, and Faith can't help grinning back.

"That has potential," Buffy says, nodding approvingly. "Come on."

She springs to her feet, offers Faith a hand up. And Faith doesn't hesitate.

Buffy's fingers curl around hers as she pulls her up to her level. Then they're both running, as fast as they can, suddenly neither one of them wanting the night to end. It's just the two of them, the way it was always meant to be. Two girls in the dark against a world full of demons. Laughing as they run because they know they're going to win; that they've already won the only prize that matters. Laughing because they're young enough to tell themselves they're indestructible, and that tonight's going to last forever.

The Chosen Two, Faith tries out in her head. She thinks she likes the sound of it.

Buffy's hand is still holding on to hers, pulling her onward, radiating warmth and strength and somehow, impossibly, real. Gripping her tight, like Buffy's almost afraid to let her go. Almost like Faith's the delicate one, the one who needs to be taken care of. Like Faith's a valuable prize that the other girl's determined not to let slip away.

Faith doesn't let go either.

#asks #fanfiction #btvs #fuffy #buffy x faith #thanks again!

34 notes · View notes

nakanotamu · 1 year

Note

What's Kairi been like since she returned to Stardom?

When she first came back, she said "I was Kairi Hojo, then I was Kairi Sane, and now I'm just KAIRI" and honestly I think that's proved to be a rather good encapsulation of who she's been since she came back.

She doesn't shy away from her past at all, referencing past relationships and events, and frequently drawing on parts of her character that are very identifiably what she was like before. Sometimes she's very visibly Kairi Hojo, an overwhelmed underdog babyface pushing herself past the limits of reason. More frequently she's visibly still Kairi Sane, a bit of a weirdo and a huge dickhead who loves getting under people's skin, not seemingly out of maliciousness but bc she finds it entertaining, particularly when she's teaming with Nanae Takahashi. But there's a new, added element on top of it it too.

She's experienced now, and she's ~world travelled~, to be frank, she knows she's a big deal. She's a little aloof, and seems to see herself as a lot above everyone. (Except for maybe Mayu, but that's a more specific relationship than this post needs to get into.) She uses the suffix -kun for nearly everyone, which is extremely overly familiar to the point of rudeness. It's like when someone goes around calling everyone "buddy" in a way that makes it clear they are certainly not actually buddies.

And then, more recently, she started losing. (She only lost like 2 matches but, given she only wrestles infrequently and kind of assumes she can take everyone, that had her rattled.) Stardom is progressing and she looks around at an increasingly unfamiliar landscape that is catching up with her. The more she gets involved, the more clear it is how disconnected she actually is. When she first came back she quickly buddied up with Mayu, who was happy to team with her for a big return pop. But later last year, once they were set to actually face each other, Mayu was like, to paraphrase, "Yeah I can't fucking stand her. I think she's a bigshot who doesn't work for it anymore and picks and chooses her spots to look good and doesn't deserve the hype." So that's certainly not someone she can rely on to have her back. Her biggest ally so far had been Nanae Takahashi, based on a return to their tag team from like 8 years ago, and Nanae seems genuinely very fond of her, but also has her own stuff going on, and Kairi lost with her, so she's prioritizing that relationship a bit less after that.

So she reaches out to basically her only remaining connections at this point - Natsupoi, who is obsessed with her, and Saori Anou, who along with Natsumipoi showed up to save her from being shortstaffed years ago, when they first established their connections to Stardom, to challenge for the Artist belts. And sidenote, but even the connections she draws on sort of show how out of the loop she is. Like, this is stuff going back 6, 7, 8 years. Ancient history in joshi time.

They both agree to team together, obviously, but it's not just some perfect team that immediately comes together with everyone loving each other. Poi likes Anou, but is sceptical about teaming with such a major rival of hers, about even having her around. And, what's more, Kairi is her idol, but once she gets this opportunity, she needs to sit and think a little bit, because she realizes she's kind of just sad she's not teaming with Tam for it. And Saori seems perfectly content to team with them, but pretty quickly, the way I see it, tips her hand that she's actually there to be beside Tam again, and Kairi is almost more a means to an end for her, with how quickly she stepped up and told Tam she would join Cosmic Angels, before she'd even had her first match back in Stardom. (There's plenty of room for her to reveal herself to be much more selfishly motivated than that but this is how the story reads to me so far and I'm going to stick with that until they tear that interpretation from my hands.)

So anyway, bringing it back around to Kairi that is the most recent development of her story. REstart did win the Artist titles, so Kairi got the win she was looking for, but she also finds herself much, much more closely tied to Cosmic Angels than she perhaps intended or expected, and that's after herself admitting an interest in and similarity to Tam when she first came back. She pulled a team around her out of probably the last two people she figured would be totally devoted to her, only to immediately find they're actually more devoted to someone else. They're happy to be Kairi's teammates, but they already have a leader. So the question now is if after so many years away, and so much time seeing herself as kind of above the day-to-day goings on of Stardom, if she can make herself treat her teammates as equals and learn how to play nice again as a member of a team.

#Stardom #Kairi #Tam Nakano #Natsupoi #Saori Anou #long post

35 notes · View notes

razzmothazz · 2 months

Note

I can't, I wanted to finish coloring everyone first, but. I just can't NOT yap about at least one of them. So um. Matsu. He's my favorite I think?

(his necklace and nail polish are the colors of the unit members! I haven't come up with a unit name yet tho,,)

On the left there is Toshiro's (they/he) hand (they're the unit's leader) and on the right is Fumi (she/they) (who's kinda Matsu's friend from middle school)

I love him soooooo much, I may have projected onto him a little with the whole sea autism thing but uhm. I'm not going to give any of them canon labels (except for pronouns) (I want it to be kinda like pjsk itself, but I also just want to be able to play around with ships and their identities), but!!! More about Matsu. Despite not REALLY giving him any labels, he's very much intended to be autistic. He's insane abt marine life (the projecting part lmao) and especially sharks and ESPECIALLY thresher sharks (which is the shark I doodled there beside him with uh other stuff!). Currently he's geberally pretty cheerful and excitable, actually never shuts up, he starts talking and then it's just. Forever. (Not neg I love him so so so so much). He used to kinda get bullied in middle school and Fumi was a very timid child back then and was afraid she'd also get bullied, so she just coudknr bring herself to help, and she kinda blames herself for that right now, she grew to be very confrontational and a bit overprotective of Matsu, and I have like a whole part of the story planned about them coming to terms with everything and learning to not treat Matsu almost as a child as they kinda tenda to do, and I just love these two so much. Am I making sense? Idk this is just a stream of whatever I have going on). By the way!!! The fourth character Seina (she/her) who's completely out of frame in this cropped pic usually keeps Fumi's confrontational and slightly aggressive nature in check, she's overall very caring BUT of course I put some sad story there ue ue whatever (not whatever, I'm insane about her, but I'll talk about Seina more when I finish her part of the reference).

I haven't thought THAT much about these guys' relationships with canon characters, but since we're on the topic of Matsu (are we?? idk at this pojnt), I think at some point he met Emu and they got along pretty well! Maybe even became friends!!! I think they match each other's energy pretty well, even if with all his excitableness (is that a word in english idk) Matsu is still calmer than her, they definitely have some autism to autism comunication going on. Oh!!! Also. I started thinking about the characters' habits and quirks, and I think Matsu would make EXCESSIVE eye contact. This is partially from the impact left not only by ppl bullying him, but just yknow ppl around him as he was growing up. He's learning to be comfortable with not restricting himself around his friends, but *because* he learned that it's pretty much one of the only ways to at least somewhat fit in growing up, it's hard for him. But they care about each other so so so much and I love them. I just started talking about everyone somewhere along the uhh this whole ramble, so Toshiro!!! I haven't said much about them yet. They're actually partially inspired by my super cool and awesome aunt in some aspects of appearance and behavior, but I still piled a bunch of my own stuff to not just copy a real person,,,, anyways. He's the group leader, he pretty much brought everyone together? They all kinda had some sort of connection to each other previously to forming the unit, but uh. I haven't come up with exactly *how* they're gonna end up as a. Group? Band? Ehatever they are. I think I focused way more on their personalities so far, woops. But I'll get there eventually. Anyways. Right, Toshiro. I haven't developed them as much YET, but geneeal appearance stuff: they have vitiligo, pink-ish hair? Overall mostly a pink colorscheme (they're all color-coded yay). He's pretty into crystals and spirituality in general, also has some physical stuff going on (but I haven't exactly figured out what yet), he can't do a lot of physical activity, has kinda weak bones (Seina helps him out a lot when he needs it!!!), Toshiro is overall pretty energetic and tries his best in everything, tho tends to overwork himself a lot bc he's dead set on getting better at everything and making people around him proud and just being reliable. I also plan on expanding on this in the later story, I think so far the themes I put in their unit have a lot to do with letting go of the past (they ALL have that in common), not letting others' expectations ruin you, accepting yourself, all that. I was kinda worried they were walking too close to N25 at first, but I think it's all good actually, esp when I later expand on their story,,,, oh right also Seina. I think she's my second favorite, she's. I love her. ik I said I'm bot giving them any canon labels, but Seina and Fumi are so lesbians and so I love to me. And also I get arospec vibes from Seina BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I SHOUDL BE TALKING ABOUT. She's kinds the mom friend of the group, always taking care of everyone. As i mentioned, she helps Toshiro with physical tasks when he needs it, keeps Funi out of trouble and also helps Matsu in socially overwhelming situations MY CAT JUST FELL OH MY GOD ok ok she's okay, anyways. But Seina had "failed" to helo a friend in the past, so now she's a bit obsessed with being helpful to everyone as much as she possibly could, or else she feels useless and worthless. And guess what I also plan a whole arc expanding on it and eventually the other members comfort her and they all work on it and the others try to also take care of her, and of course it takes a lot of time, but I like the idea of her uhh healing? Development idk, THIS bring shown slowly and over time. Okay. I think I finished yapping *for now*

I haven't come up with their virtual singers, name of the unit, sekai and A LOOOOTT of other stuff yet, but uhm. I have so many ideas oh god

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE RAMBLE OH MY GOD THEY ALL SOUND SO CUTE SJDJHDNDNDNBFN I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!! this ask feels like were on a voicechat or smthn KSHDNDJD GLAD UR CAT IS OKAY IM

wow thats a lot and you thought abt their stories way more than i did for mine so far like even future developments and stuffs KSHDHDJDKCNFNNF but I LOVE THEIR DYNAMICS!!!!! Matsu has simiar vibes to my 1st pjsk oc Yuno!! theyre both energetic and full of autism so i think they would get along skdjdhbrnf IM ALREADY THINKING ABT MAKING THEM ALL FRIENDS SORRY- SJDNJCNFJD this just makes me so happy i love hearing about others ocs UR MIND!! U MADE THEM ALL SO !!!!

and id LOVE to see all of their designs when youre done with them and THE COLOR CODING!!! I LOVE COLOR CODING SJDHHFJD this is just. awesome i dont even have words just pure excitement at this point

OH ALSO BTW!!! if u wanna do relationships with canon characters i found this chart that might be helpful :3

i have no idea who originally made it cause its been reposted like a shit ton of times but!! its great and helpful in figuring stuff out :3

#VERY AWESOME!!!!!!!#pjsk #pjsk oc

8 notes · View notes

theroyalsims · 9 months

Text

SIMBLEDON APPEARANCE WITH ANYA HAS "LEGITIMISED" ALISTAIR AND MARGEAUX'S RELATIONSHIP

There's officially a new royal "It Couple" in town!

With today's Simbledon appearance, royal fans and royal watchers everywhere got a first "official" glimpse of Alistair and his new girl, Margeaux. And apparently, the simple tennis date is much bigger than it seems. One royal expert suggests:

"This was more than just going out to watch tennis. This was Al saying 'look, I'm taken, this is my girl and we're happy together.' The move is a slap on the face to all his detractors and for everyone criticising Margeaux.

For weeks now, since they were first spotted together, the two have been hounded by negative publicity and some even gave Margeaux the cruel monicker 'Princess Rebound.' But with this outing, the message is loud and clear: this is not just a fling. They're legit. Plus, you take into consideration that it came with Anya's mark of approval, you can say Margeaux's very much fitting in quite nicely with the royal bunch."

(Above: Prince Al and Margeaux, with the Prince's security detail, were photographed leaving Simbledon Arena.)

The difference between the Prince's latest relationship is said to be night and day compared to his previous romance with Ximena Kalarmy. A source close to the Prince shares:

"Al and Ximena were together for years, but we actually never got to see them 'out' except maybe for her restaurant opening. Everything else, they were all paparazzi shots of their private dates. But now, we see Al and he's really happy to be out with Margeaux.

With Ximena, there was a point when all the nasty stuff spewed by the press got to her and she was really insecure. That's despite the fact that Al never let her feel inferior. He made sure she knew he loved her. But that was never enough. Ximena got into her own head and eventually, that caused Alistair to call it quits with her. I think in the end, he got tired of having to tell her again and again that she's enough. A man can only take so much."

(Above: Chatting like old pals - Anya has welcomed Margeaux into the royal fold.)

Ximena's fear of not fitting in with the royals was reportedly an issue with the couple as well. The source further reveals:

"Whenever Al invites her to family outings and dinners, she'd shrink back and put up her walls again. It was a never-ending case of 'what-ifs': what if Anya doesn't like me? What if I use the wrong fork? What if I forget to curtsy? Do I have to curtsy? In the beginning it was normal, we don't all get to meet royals and there are certain formalities and protocols, but they were together for over three years, and she never got past that. It was clear to Al that it was always going to be an issue. But still, he loved her, and he was ready to marry her. When he got shot down because of those same issues, he just had it.

The sad part? The royals seemed to genuinely like her for Alistair. Even Prince Jacques thought that she was 'sweet.' All those stories about Anya and Ingrid snubbing her was not at all true. For starters, Anya is incredibly busy and isn't at all that invested with her sibling's love lives. It was Ximena and her walls that kept her distant from Al's family. Ingrid is arguably the nicest of the bunch and even she had to ask Alistair if she'd offended Ximena in any way because Ximena wasn't talking to her."

These revelations seem to clarify the whole Alistair+Ximena break-up, but we feel that it's a tad bit unfair to keep talking about the young lady, especially now that she's no longer with Prince Al. How about we appreciate Al's newest relationship and finally leave poor Ximena alone. Not all break-ups need a villain. Sometimes things just don't work between two people despite both of them loving each other.

#ts4 #theroyalsims #ts4 story #simblr #ts4 simblr #ts4 royals #ts4 royal family #ts4 royal story #ts4 royalty #alistair #margeaux #ximena #mystory

43 notes · View notes

your-old-sins-tournament · 4 months

Text

12 YEAR OLD OCS; SIDE A

Aldara [@kozzax]

I've carried her with me as long as she's existed. Even just doodling her in the corner of a notebook has gotten me through some of my roughest days. She's everything to me. Her story and world have developed so incredibly far from her original creation-- which, for the record, was for a school assignment --but she's always, always been here for me. Yeah, she's changed over the years as I've grown as a storyteller and artist, but the thing about change is that it's not always bad. She's still Aldara, she'll always still be Aldara at her core. When I draw her as a comfort for myself, it's like a piece of me from a time when everything was just that little bit easier has come up to the present and told me that everything's going to be alright. When I work on developing her story, it's a gift to that younger version of myself. A promise that we can grow and develop and change and yet we can still keep the parts of ourselves that are the most important. She means the world to me.

As for propaganda about her, on her own-- she was originally meant to be a "little sister" sort of character. Kind and caring and bubbly and happy, with a naivety that followed everything she did. Her original story had her simultaneously being the protagonist of the story who couldn't read, when everyone else could, and being old enough to have had kids that were stolen from her by her ex-husband. She's never been an active player in the plot, which is now an intentional choice but in my childhood was very much not.

Back when I was twelve, she'd been part of a group trying to free a bunch of cats who had been experimented on by humans, except her group just kind of naturally had magic powers as well. While her powers were never overly powerful, she was always good enough to stand alongside people with far more training than her and who were objectively more powerful than her without much, if any, consequence.

I've refocused her, now. She's kind, still, and she cares about people in a way that a lot of my other characters just don't quite reach. She's still naive, and still a sweet person who lights up any room she walks into. At her core, she hasn't changed. All that's changed is that the world she exists in suits her better, and the role she fills in it makes more sense for her.

I don't think she'll ever change, at her core. Her design changes on a regular basis, but the core concept will always remain the same. Her personality has never changed, not as long as I've had her, besides fleshing it out further. She'll always be Aldara. She'll always have the bits of myself that I put into her when I was twelve, and I'll always love her for that. She's maybe the best thing I ever started creating, and I will always consider her and her story to be a love letter to my childhood self and the way the creativity that poured out of me at that age let me develop into who I am today.

Description: No matter how long I've had her, she's always kept the same set of colors. She's always kept the way her tailtip is colored, and the arrows on her forehead and chest. She's always kept the colors on her wings, though they have changed locations over the years, and she's always kept her ear tufts. While her design may have grown more complex over the years, I've fought hard to keep the essence of what makes her recognizable as herself. I don't want to erase the character that I created when I was twelve. I never want to erase that character. She holds the shards of my twelve-year-old heart, and I will never let myself forget that.

Dan (Hanson Ōkami) [@cabincryptid51]

My trans awakening. I played as him in a Maximum Ride Amino even though I didn't know anything about it! My friend made me join so I could play their love interest and Dan is who I made. He already had a name in the lore but I didn't like it so he ended up having about 20+ secret identities. At some point his evil brother kidnapped, making everyone believe that he was dead and then the role play group stopped. But my friend and I had lore that continued because we wanted to have an arc were he died then came back to life where he would loose his arm and get dragon wings (I have a picture of this but I literally have no idea where it went). Anyway, I love him <3 My silly goofy himbo boy!

#oc #ocs #bracket tournament #polls #side a #old sins #ocs you made when you were 12 tournament #dan #hanson ōkami #aldara

8 notes · View notes

spookyprime · 10 months

Note

I for one would like to know more about your MJ (Martha Junior) headcanons!!

I have a little story for her!!

So gem powers are only passed down through royal lineage. Basically the idea is that her birth father was actually the king/prince of the emerald kingdom, and Lophi was an elopement. They loved each other dearly but she is just a farm girl and got the very brief chance to live with her prince charming, basically. But when Opal took over the kingdom the prince/king (whatever he was) of the Emeralds was dispatched. All lophi says is that he died.

But if she's actually the lover of the king/prince would make sense why she doesn't have any papers/ID/passport. If they knew who she was and who her child was (the next rightful heir)- they would kill her.

So she goes back to the farm and just does her thing with Conner. Except then, kon leaves, and she's alone with her baby- who has royal blood and starts exhibiting the ability to use gems to have magic.

So Martha has to leave. Even with the takedown of opal it's very well established all is not well politically on genworld. The Emeralds have no political power and having the heir to the emerald kingdom is a death sentence- especially while Martha is still learning to use her powers. So she gets sent to earth. Idk how I haven't worked that out yet- maybe political sympathies with the amethyst kingdom give them transport.

In some versions of this au Martha comes alone, and in some Lophi comes with her. Regardless- she meets back up with kon when she's like... 7-8 and he's just SO OVERJOYED to see her again. He never thought he would. She was his little girl- he didn't want to leave but he had to.

And Martha is very mixed. She's mad he left her. She's mad she has to leave her home. She's mad all the politics is happening in the first place. But kon loves her all the same.

I'm thinking she uses her magic to sort of emulate kryptonian powers+the ttk like Kon has. Yes she can theoretically do anything but I like the idea she tries to fit in with the supers. But she has different strengths and weaknesses. Obviously she's not invulnerable- but also kryptonite wouldn't affect her. She'd be better able to counter magic as well. But her magic is filtered through an emerald gem necklace- and if that gets taken or destroyed she has no magic.

For her outfit I mostly have her wearing one of Kon's old t shirts since he thinks she isn't old enough to have her own supersuit (he does not know she's fighting)

But her end goal is to go back and free the emerald people. That's what she's training for- and that's what she's going to do. She has no interest in taking the throne for herself - just getting rid of the tyranny that's keeping her people oppressed.

24 notes · View notes

whisperingrockandroll · 11 months

Text

WR&R MYSTERY KIDS LORE & WORLDBUILD MASTER POST

Gear up, kids, because this will be a long one.

It's been a while since I posted a new comic. Pretty soon there'll be a bunch, because I've been sitting on a mountain of scripts and just started making progress on actually making them into comics. I wanna build up a nice little backlog that I can queue up and not worry about for a long while. In the meantime though, I have something I hope will tide you guys over.

There's been a problem with my comic from the very beginning I've never really thought to address for years, and until now, I never found a good place for it. That problem is "worldbuilding." Originally when this comic started out, it was just a Psychonauts comic. Then I got into Mystery Kids, and the MKs just showed up out of nowhere.

If you're still interested, click under the cut. If you already find this post boring and kind of long, just skip it.

We never got any information on how the Mystery Kids club started or how they all met. For the longest time, I kind of just defered to the collective fandom's various disorganized headcanons and ideas and stuff. But I think enough time has passed that those ideas have all changed, been forgotten about, or branched off into their own individual works.

So, it's finally time for me to fix that by giving this comic its own set of lore and backstory. In this post I'm going to explain how everything happened, how the kids came together and what order everything happened in. This is kind of written for my own personal amusement, but also as a guide to keep in mind when I'm writing new stories in this setting, to keep things consistent.

PART ONE: THE CANON HISTORY

The first step for this little exercise is to figure out when all the stuff in the original "canon" happened. This is where things get a little messy, because we have to figure out a proper order for everything so all the pieces can fit into place.

First, we have to come up with a system for naming the different eras and phases where things happen, so we can more easily compartmentalize the different events. So we'll call the first year the Mystery Kids are together "Year One." Anything before that we'll call Year -1 or -2.

Year -2 is where we'll put the events of Paranorman. They happen in Fall, around Halloween probably. Nearly the end of the year. It's important to set this part the furthest back for reasons we'll get into later.

Year -1 is where we'll put Coraline and Psychonauts. Dipper and Mabel are still in Pidemont. There are a few references in the comic to Raz still having a water problem due to "the curse." But in PN2 he conquers the curse. We'll chock that up to lingering after-effects and him trying to get past the mental block.

Near the end of Year -1, Aggie returns and reunites with Norman in events identical to how they played out in Ask-Norgatha. A lot of things that happen are very similar to that old blog, with the exception being Norman and Aggie don't get together. That comes later.

Year 1 is when Gravity Falls happens. Coraline and Norman are family friends (or cousins? I haven't decided, maybe not. Maybe 'honoary cousins'?) Anyway, so: things play out pretty much how they did in that fan episode people made. Doctor Loboto (during a villainous relapse, or a manic episode) comes to Gravity Falls, Raz and Lili chase after him, Coraline and Wybie come with Norman's family on a vacation to Gravity Falls. Aggie stays behind because Norman doesn't want her to get lost. At this point, her Poltergeist powers haven't kicked in yet and other people can't see her, meaning she'd have no way to get home.

So, during Loboto's shennanigans, the kids all come together to stop him. That's when we move into…

PART TWO: THE FANON HISTORY

Note: in this period, my comic has a lot of Holiday specials. We're operating on Peanuts rules here, where the time-scaling slides around to keep the characters from aging. But we'll say in the "real" canon, the stuff that happens on Holidays actually happen on regular days, for the most part. If things "have to" happen on a Holiday, they'll all happen on the same one, just at different times. We'll try not to think too hard about this, because it's just a cartoon. We're out to make a consistent world, but not to arbitrarily restrict ourselves. None of this stuff happened in the "real" world anyway.

Anyway, moving right along to the rest of "Year 1." This is for the comics I made while the show was still airing, so things all kind of click together.

This is where the first Mystery Kids Adventure happens. The kids are all united and save the day. All of this happens right in the middle of the events of Gravity Falls. From then on out, the kids have adventures together on and off, but its a little hard because they have to travel a pretty great distance to hang out together. They keep in touch on social media and stuff, occasionally finding ways to fake excuses to go out and travel together. But mostly, the group is pretty disorganized.

Dib is also a mindless fanboy of the group and wants to join, but everybody thinks he's weird and annoying, so they try their best to politely blow him off. Then he builds a teleporter that lets the kids get together easier, but the thing just barely works. Dib is made a "junior member" and just sort of hangs around.

The kids have a "clubhouse", but it's just a shanty shack built by Soos, half a mile away from the Mystery Shack.

At some point during this period, the Bedlam returns and the kids have to team up to stop her. Aggie helps somehow with her newly-emerging poltergiest powers. The Bedlam is defeated, and that's the last "real" adventure they have for a little while. They don't have a reliable way to meet up anymore, so they only get together for parties and stuff. This is where the Season 3 Finale happens, if you've read my archives.

PART THREE: THE CURRENT SITUATION

From Season 4 and onwards, everything that happens to the Mystery Kids happens in Year 2. That's where we are now.

It starts with Dib on one of his own little adventures. Somehow, he ends up stumbling on an abandoned treehouse that used to belong to the Kids Next Door. It hasn't been populated in years, but its full of still-functional tech that just got left behind. With it, Dib's able to power-up the teleporter technology and now the Mystery Kids can come together whenever they want. You need to stand perfectly still for like five minutes for the teleporter to work, so it isn't a "get out of danger free" plot device.

Seems like a REALLY important development to happen offscreen and go totally unmentioned, right? Well… I thought of it retroactively, so, whoops! But it's fine. We'll just have to make a flashback comic later where the kids find it.

So, from now on, everything that happens in the comic happens here, in Year 2.

If you've read this far, I'd like to thank you for humoring my nonsensical fanfiction ramblings for my silly mspaint webcomic. I hope you had fun and got as much out of that as I did. I'm really happy I was finally able to put it all together in one coherent place.

#Mystery Kids #Psychonauts #Gravity Falls #Coraline #Paranorman #Invader Zim #Long Post #Lore Dump

24 notes · View notes