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spacedikut · 4 years

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“i want to love someone and be loved” ; spencer reid - part 2

pairing: spencer reid (criminal minds) x f!reader

summary: spencer decides it’s time to tell you, but he needs some help. 3887 words. part 1

a/n: THIS is the longest fic ive ever written but im actually kinda proud of how it turned out? i hope this is a good sequel :)

Spencer chickens out of telling you the next day.

He avoids you all weekend, actually. You resisted texting him the day after Rossi’s because you assumed he’d be busy – with his big plan involving a girl that isn’t you. You’re not bitter – but Sunday comes around and you message him not long after you wake up and six hours later there’s no response.

Twelve hours later - there’s no response.

Monday, you don’t have time to say hello to anyone – there’s a case waiting for you, somewhere in Florida.

Reid avoids your eyes. His body language tells you something is wrong, so you assume whoever he confessed to didn’t reciprocate (they’re insane) and he’s dealing with it. So you don’t press.

Spencer pretends to sleep the entire jet ride. He’s avoiding everyone, not just you.

He spent the whole weekend beating himself up. He drove to your apartment on Saturday, sat outside for so long a neighbour knocked on his window and asked if he was lost, but couldn’t bring himself to step foot out of his car.

So he locked himself in his room, away from you and your loveliness and away from his phone because he knew you texted him and he knew you’d send some soft message about being there for him if he needs anything and he didn’t need to be reminded of how beautiful and out of reach you are.

Derek seemed to be waiting for him Monday morning, arms crossed as he held a cup of coffee. It was weird seeing him in before Spencer.

“How’d it go?” He immediately asked.

“How’d what go?” Spencer mumbles, flinging his bag on the floor by his desk. He slumps in his seat.

Derek raises a dark eyebrow, “You know what, pretty boy. You had a big thing? Big plan?”

“Didn’t work out.”

It doesn’t take a profiler to realise Spencer is very clearly saying leave me alone. Leave it alone.

Derek isn’t one to leave it alone. Especially when it comes to Spencer.

He sighs and moves a little closer to Spencer’s desk, just in case someone overhears them.

“What happened?”

“That’s exactly it,” Spencer slams open a file, “Nothing happened.”

“And why did nothing happen?”

“Because I’m an idiot that can’t even tell a girl how I feel.”

“Whoa- hey!”

Derek spins Spencer’s chair so they’re face to face. Derek takes one look in Spencer’s eyes and knows what’s going on – he got too into his head and backed out at the last minute.

“You’re not an idiot. Why didn’t you do it?”

Spencer shrugs, “I got to her apartment. I had flowers, too. I don’t know.”

Derek’s evidently concerned – Spencer’s beaten up over this, over whoever this girl is, and he deserves the chance to experience love. Spencer deserves a lot more than he himself thinks he does.

“You seemed really excited, man. You can still do it. Just cause you try once and it doesn’t work out doesn’t mean you can’t ever try again.”

Spencer stares off into the distance, accidentally ignoring Derek as his thoughts slip out of his mouth, “Yeah, it probably wouldn’t have worked anyway – I was stupid to think I could get someone like her.”

“Hey, no.” Derek nudges Spencer’s shoulder so he looks at him again, “Don’t talk like that. You’re one hell of a guy, Reid. All you gotta do is get that confidence that you had Friday night back, and you’re all set. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Spencer gives a feeble nod. Derek moves back to his desk, knowing he isn’t convinced, but he isn’t done yet.

+++

Later, in Florida, Spencer’s making a coffee in the precinct’s kitchen after waiting twenty minutes for you to leave. Luck’s on his side, for once, and you’ve been working non-stop with Prentiss going crime scene to crime scene so he hasn’t had to actively avoid you. You smile at him every chance you get, though, and it distracts him.

Someone clears their throat behind him. It’s Penelope, whom Spencer didn’t realise was invited on this case.

She looks guilty. Spencer recognises that face; the face she has when she’s done something she shouldn’t have or knows something she isn’t really supposed to. Given current circumstances, Spencer bets it’s the latter reason.

“Morgan told me something he shouldn’t have.”

Bingo.

He leans against the kitchen counter, stirring his coffee absentmindedly.

“What did he tell you?” He asks, feigning tranquillity. Inside he’s screaming non-stop.

She’s got her hands clasped together in front of her, almost innocently, and fiddles with her fingers, “He told me you needed assistance in the love department.” Before he can object, she continues, “And I am willing to do anything if it means our resident weirdo-slash-genius falls in love and gets to experience some much needed cuteness.”

There’s no point in lying to her. There’s also no point in being mad that Morgan told her about his situation – they’re kind of a package deal. And, who knows, Garcia might be able to help.

“So…” She sways, trying (and failing) to appear nonchalant, “Who’s the lucky lady?”

Spencer shuffles on the spot, scuffing his shoes against the floor. He debates whether he should tell her, since, you know, you’re in the next room over, but Spencer worries that Garcia is so good at her job she’d somehow find out through hacking Spencer’s phone, or maybe somehow hacking his dreams. His subconscious. He’s terrified of Garcia and her abilities.

“You can tell me.” She insists, “I’m much better at keeping secrets than Morgan.”

Spencer turns away from her, she steps closer, and he mumbles your name.

“What?”

“Y/N.”

“WHAT?!”

Spencer spins, hands coming up to tell Garcia to shut up and Garcia immediately covers her mouth in both shock and hopefully so she doesn’t shout again.

“Since when?!” She screeches. “How could I not have known?! Oh God, almighty Doctor Reid, I feel like I’ve failed you by not realising earlier.”

Her enthusiasm makes him smile, for the first time in far too long. Garcia has that power – this innate skill to comfort those around her and make them feel special, make them smile when the world feels like its collapsing.

“Let me help!” She requests.

Spencer’s clearly hesitant. He knows it’s a bad idea.

“Please!” She begs, “I just- I have so many ideas of how you can go about this. Let me brainstorm, get back to you, and if I’m too over-the-top you can tell me no and we’ll pretend it never happened!”

He takes a deep breath. Yes, Garcia is the definition of over-the-top, but that’s one of his favourite things about her. It’s your favourite thing, too. And he did tell Morgan he had big plans. Anything involving Garcia is a big plan with big payoff.

“This is between us.”

“I’ll take it to the grave. Unless you realise how amazing my ideas are and use one to tell Y/N how you feel and then years later I get to commend myself during my maid of honour speech at your wedding.”

She looks ecstatic, hands now together under her jaw as her eyes twinkle. Spencer can’t help but laugh at her eagerness.

+++

The next day, the team returns to Quantico after a semi-successful case. The general mood is good and Morgan invites everyone out for drinks – Spencer declines, but you have your first full conversation since last Friday.

“C’mon, Spence,” Your head rests against the jet seat and you blink sleepily at him, “I feel like I haven’t spoken to you for years!”

Spencer gives you a small smile, “I promised my mom I’d call her tonight. Sorry, Y/N.”

You nod in understanding, “Will you tell her I say hi?”

“Of course. She loves you.”

You grin at eachother, immediately lost in your own world. You’ve missed him more than you realised, and you have no idea what’s going through his head, but you’re happy that you’ve had this – a Spencer Reid smile that makes you feel at home and on top of the world simultaneously.

Spencer has to tear his eyes away before he blurts something stupid, like she’s not the only one that loves you.

+++

“Spencer!” Garcia greets, Cheshire cat grin on her face. “I need to see you in my dungeon, please. Immediately.”

Spencer drops the file he’s holding. Unfortunately, Penelope’s request caught the attention of the whole team.

“What business do you have in the villain’s lair, Reid?” Derek asks. You’ve looked up from your computer, Emily smirking and leaning back in her chair in expectation.

“Uh…”

“Important nerd business. Go away.” Garcia says, eyes narrow as she tugs Spencer’s hand. He’s whisked away from any further questioning, leaving the befuddled team behind.

He isn’t sure what to expect when he stumbles into Penelope’s second home, but the display in front of him explains why he overheard a conversation about missing evidence boards earlier. Penelope’s obviously been using the new printer in her cave to her advantage – there’s at least twenty different pictures printed out on one board titled “date ideas”, then the board on the right has a picture of Spencer and you in the centre with a perfectly drawn heart around it. Under and around that is a mixture of love quotes, including song lyrics and quotes directly from romantic movies. He notices “The Parliament of Fowls” on there – Garcia remembers that he mentioned it’s considered the first Valentines poem?

“Whoa,” Is all he can say.

“I know it’s a little intense,” Garcia squirms, “But! I started scrolling through Pinterest and couldn’t stop. I don’t know what came over me, maybe some type of love deity, but I started thinking about you and Y/N in a classic love film in, like, black and white and I…”

She’s out of breath from animatedly explaining.

Spencer laughs through his nose, almost a scoff, but he’s impressed. He shouldn’t have expected anything else from the Penelope Garcia.

As Spencer wanders towards the first board, Garcia follows him like a shadow, “My personal favourite is-“ She points to a picture of chocolate fondue with faceless people in very little clothing, “-this one.”

Spencer awkwardly clears his throat when he begins to think of you and him like that.

“A little much for your declaration of love, though, I get it,” Garcia nods.

He scans the board – heart speeding up when he moves from idea to idea and picturing you and him in each one. He can’t help but think no, that one would be good for our anniversary – ah, she’d love to do that one for her birthday.

“What’re you thinking?” Garcia asks quietly. She knows his brain is whirring like her computer drive, so she approaches him gently.

“This one.” He says. “Where should we do it?”

Garcia grins behind him. The one he’s referring to shows a dinner table set up outside, brown wooded table with white wooden chairs opposite eachother. There’s flowers at the centre, a bottle of wine already poured in each glass in front of a basket of cookies, and the area around is shrouded by shrubbery, fairy lights hanging delicately from every-which-way.

It’s perfect. You love fairy lights, Spencer loves cookies, and the set-up looks private enough for Spencer to feel confident when he empties his heart and soul to you.

“The roof.” Garcia says wistfully.

“We have access to that?”

“Yes.” They both know they don’t. “Leave it to me. Oh… one more thing.” She adds, hesitantly, “Can Morgan help? I’m a lot of things, including emotionally strong and your love guru, but physically I’m gonna need some assistance.”

Spencer doesn’t even need to agree – Morgan’s gonna involve himself no matter what.

+++

Five o’clock is quickly approaching and you’re slumped over your desk, lost in your work. You need to be lost in it, because ever since Garcia released Spencer from her office right after lunch he’s been sneaking glances at you (he’s not sneaky) and has made several attempts to approach you but decided against it, sharply turning and pretending he meant to go another way instead.

You are beyond confused. You assume it’s to do with the girl he’s been trying to get over – you hope he’s been trying to build the confidence to tell you exactly what happened and maybe, you really hope, he’ll invite you over for the weekend so you can slip back into your old routine.

“Psst.”

You assume they’re not trying to get your attention, so you don’t move.

“Psst!”

You still don’t move.

“Y/N!”

Your head snaps up to Spencer leaning over the divider between your desks. He looks alarmed – which is odd, given he’s the one who called you – and he opens and closes his mouth a few times before he finally speaks.

“Are you busy tonight?” He sits back and, if he wasn’t so goddamn tall, all you’d be able to see would be his eyes. His added height means you can see his eyes and his nose. You wanna kiss it.

You smile – this is an olive branch, “I am completely available for whatever it is you might need.”

You sound incredibly eager, which you are. You miss him.

His cheeks move upwards, a smile, “Can I talk to you, later, on the roof? Uh-“ He clears his throat, “-I need to tell you something.”

You raise an eyebrow, “You’re not gonna push me off, right?”

“No,” He laughs.

“Promise me.”

Now he guffaws, “I would never, Y/N!”

“Promise me, Reid!”

“Alright, alright! I promise!” He’s jokingly raising his hands in a form of surrender.

You give him another smile and turn back to your work. You feel at ease, now, thinking he’s finally gonna tell you what happened on the weekend – finally you’ll be able to help him and go back to normal.

Spencer, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of ease. He’s about to pour his heart out to you.

He takes a deep breath and looks back to his computer, which is open on a tab titled “How to Tell Someone You Like Them.”

Step 3: Be Confident.

Spencer opens a new tab and searches, “How to be confident.”

+++

Garcia hacks into Spencer’s computer to open a document and type that the roof is ready. She wishes him luck, tells him she loves him, and calls dibs on being the godmother of your future children. As if she doesn’t have enough godchildren as it is.

He clears his throat and your head snaps towards him. You’ve been done for a while, playing Tetris on your phone, waiting for Spencer to take you to the roof where he swears he won’t kill you – you’re not entirely convinced.

“Um-“ He scratches his neck, “You ready to go?”

You nod and give him a weak smile in hopes it gives him some type of reassurance.

“Whatever happened, it’s okay, Spence.”

All he does is nod in return, gathering his coat and bag. He doesn’t really register what you say, or he would’ve been very confused.

You follow him up to the roof. The elevator ride is silent and Spencer is jittery; his hands twitch and tap against his legs, he’s bouncing on his toes and he keeps looking at you through the corner of his eye. You’ve taken several deep breaths to calm your racing heart – you hate heights, and this is the closest you’ve been to Spencer in a week. This will be the longest conversation you’ve had with him in a week, too.

The second the doors open, Spencer leaps in front of you.

“Wait!”

You jump back in surprise, “What? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Completely fine. Just… when we get there, let me explain first, okay? Before you say anything.” He’s pleading, as if you’ve already told him no. You look at him with furrowed brows and mumble an ‘okay’.

You’re visibly confused as you trek up the flight of stairs to the roof. Spencer pushes open the fire door and the first thing you notice is how bright the roof is – you always assumed it’d be dark, little light, especially at night like this.

Wait.

There’s fairy lights… everywhere. You’re pretty sure this isn’t the norm for the FBI roof.

Spencer is equally as awed at what he sees before him - it’s exactly the photo he saw in Garcia’s cave brought to life, but he’s too distracted by you to fully appreciate it. You look like a child on Christmas; eyes wide, pupils blown, mouth slightly agape. You’re gorgeous.

“What…is this, Spence?” You wonder, noticing the set table, fingers grazing the roses that sit in a vase in the middle. They’re fresh and smell wonderful.

He stands a little behind you, fiddling with his hands, and clears his throat, “Would you like to take a seat?”

You do. When he finally sits, he pours you a glass of wine and you immediately take an anxious sip. Although Rossi is a big fan of wine, you rarely take interest in it only when Spencer’s involved. You’ve come to associate wine with him – a smile peeks out from your glass as you stare at the man opposite you.

“I need to get something off my chest. But there’s cookies, if you want one,” He picks one up from his plate, breaking it in half and giving it to you. He’s stalling, but you seem to take the bait and bite into it.

“Are these from the bakery two blocks away?”

“Yeah,” He replies, but he isn’t really paying attention. He doesn’t know where to begin.

You wait patiently for him to open up. You’re still unsure of what to make of all of this – the beautiful setting, the wine, the flowers, the lights. God, the lights are dazzling in the Virginia night sky. You need context, and you need it now.

“Spence-“

“Listen.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry, I just…” He trails off, “I need to say what I need to say before I back out again.”

You fold your hands in your lap. You’re ready for whatever’s to come.

“Do you know how long we’ve known eachother?” He asks. His head tilts like a puppy.

“Nearly five years. Our friendaversary is coming up, you know.”

You realise, then, that this must be a celebration for that – that explains the… typically romantic setting. Before you can open your mouth to ask if that what’s this is, Spencer speaks.

“Four years, three-hundred and sixty days. That’s how long we’ve known eachother.”

“If we were dating, we would’ve been my longest relationship the second we passed a year.”

You don’t know why you said it, but it flusters him. He has to pause to take a breath and collect his thoughts.

“I’ve been in love with you for four years and three hundred and fifty-eight days, Y/N.”

It’s silent as you process and he figures out how to continue.

“I knew you were special when you were introduced to us. Hotch already had such a soft spot for you, and you had this way about you that made us all fall in love instantly. I remember Garcia did a background check the second she found out your name and she said you remind her of me and I… that freaked me out, to be honest. I thought you’d try to replace me.” He huffs a laugh, but can’t bring himself to look you in the eye, “I realised I was in love with you when you drunkenly defended me. Do you remember that?” His eyes flicker to yours for half a second – you’re wide-eyed, “You’d known me for two days at that point, but we’d already done a case together so we were celebrating. And these guys at the bar were whispering about me, acting like I couldn’t hear them, and the second you realised what was happening you stood up, stormed towards them and gave them a piece of your mind. It was incredible.

“You barely knew me, at least personally, but you thought so highly of me you scolded a group of drunk bodybuilders without a second thought. You made them apologise – it was hysterical watching someone half their size force them into submission like that – and when you were done you asked if I wanted to leave and go get ice cream. We couldn’t, cause you vomited on the way there, but I knew in that moment I loved you and I feel so hard, so quickly, I didn’t know what to do. And you never… you never indicated you thought of me as anything other than a friend so I didn’t try. Then you dated Greg who, in my opinion, sucked on his best days, and you encouraged me to date Abigail and I…”

He’s run out of breath and of things to say.

“I just love you, Y/N. I’m in love with you.” He adds, “I hope that’s okay.”

He finally looks at you, then. You’re just staring and he panics when he can’t make out what you’re feeling. He’s always been able to read you, you’ve always hated the saying that eyes are the windows to the soul because your eyes are always your tell, but now they’re… glassy.

You’re crying.

“Spencer…” You gasp, throat tight.

“It’s okay.” Spencer gives a tight-lipped smile. He knows what’s coming. He should’ve expected it. He has been expecting it.

“I love you too, Spence.”

Spencer chokes on air. He takes a gulp of wine.

You give him a teary smile in disbelief, “I’ve always loved you, Spence. I thought you knew that – I thought that big brain of yours knew exactly how I felt and… you didn’t do anything about it so I thought you didn’t feel the same. Spencer…”

He slowly moves a hand to place it palm-up on the table. Immediately you place your hand in his, your grip tight as you lovingly stare at him. This feels unreal.

“I’m in love with you too, you idiot.” You half laugh, half cry, “If you’ve really loved me this long, we’ve wasted so much time! God, we’re both idiots.”

Spencer’s crying too, now, and he starts laughing with you.

You’re two idiots in love, sitting opposite eachother on the roof of your place of work in a dream-like surrounding filled with fairy lights and flowers, and you could’ve been doing this for years.

Spencer sniffles, looking at you through his wet eyelashes, “Would you like to be my girlfriend?”

“If I say yes, will I get more dates like this?” You tease.

“Well, Garcia has a whole evidence board of date ideas she stole from Pinterest. We have enough ideas to last a lifetime.” He giggles.

“Penny was in on this?!”

Spencer gives a heh, “This is all thanks to her, so yeah.”

“She’s always had our backs.”

“She’s also now going to be convinced she’s cupid.”

You laugh again, and can’t help yourself when you lean across the table, still gripping Spencer’s hand, and letting your lips fall on his. Spencer leans into you, lips moving against yours as you both try to suppress grins.

You pull back slightly, Spencer’s lips following you, and whisper, “I would love to be your girlfriend.”

He kisses you again. And again. And again, just cause he can.

Big plan, big payoff. You’re worth every little stress and more.

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds fanfic #mine #garcia is watching everything through the security cameras btw #you think she'd do all this and NOT watch her hard work flourish?#think AGAIN

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mudzdale · 3 years

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u kno what screw it. nuzleaf supermysterydungeon hc timeline

-seedot leaves home and evolves into nuzleaf (around 18 yrs old equivalent). home is where he picked up his southern mannerisms and upbringing, which stick to him like glue despite the extensive travels and experiences he accumulates through his life

-spends ~15 years travelling the world

-encounters dark matter in an evil forest. details unclear but it’s because he opted to delve deeper into what was already a pretty ill-advised exploration to begin with

-agrees to partnership (read: yields to possession) with dark matter, having been promised power, influence, and respect, and they begin to travel the world with nuzleaf as a vessel

-dm already has a few full vessels, including yveltal, but dm and nuzleaf vibe the best. nuzleaf is given responsibility for many of dm's errands

-they encounter and recruit the beheeyem at some point, who become favored vessels due to their preexisting teamwork and psychic power. they were also a voluntary possession, although theyre not as ambitious. they prioritize the safety of their trio

-when a vessel is possessed by dm, they experience the voidlands for themselves--not sent there through being turned to stone, but thru visions such as nightmares, etc. dm uses this as leverage, to threaten its vessels with what will happen if they step out of line, but also to just. make em upset. fuel the stone-making rampage with bad vibes

-anyways. dm at this point is aware of mew having been reborn ~10 years ago, and with more of its plans coming into place, it wants to start tracking down the child heroes. it has nothing on the status of the human hero at this point

-nuzleaf tracks mew to serene village relatively quickly, but doesnt make his presence known

-having ‘secured’ mew’s location, the vessels of dm begin a globetrotting search for the human child, who they assume to be reincarnated as an infant the same way mew was

-dm eventually connects the dots and figures if mew ~just happened~ to wind up next to the sacred spring, the human likely will as well

-about 2 years have passed since dm came into the picture? it has also been recruiting a few more vessels during this time

-nuzleaf returns to serene village and sets up shop, establishing his presence as a villager, while the beheeyem orbit nearby, selecting a mountain cave to settle in (much like their old home)

-nuzleaf and the beheeyem begin to roll out on extensive forays, scouting the world around serene village for signs of the human hero

-it is on one of these scouting trips that they encounter a young pokemon, far from civilization and indeed any other living creatures, close to a small waterfall

-the human child has only partial amnesia at the time, and knows about the purpose to their reincarnation--they have only been recently recreated as a pokemon, at the top of a nearby mountain, and experienced no childhood like mew did. they retain much knowledge and maturity from their past life

-when approached by nuzleaf and co, they all kind of recognize one another--nuzleaf knows this is their missing puzzle piece, and the human can pretty quickly attribute the group’s suspicious behavior to dark matter

-dm/nuzleaf's intentions are to overpower the hero and schlep them up to revelation mountain asap, securing the goods for a fast and hard takeover. the dm gang and hero get into a scuffle over this

-beheeyem's psychic blast renders the hero truly amnesiac this time (although their personality remains largely untouched)

-nuzleaf's mind has been largely overshadowed by dm through this entire process, but upon the beheeyem’s report of amnesia, a moment of "good" nuzleaf shines through, and he decides to take the hero under his wing instead. dm is amenable to this plan, because drawing out its takeover over a length of time will generate more negative emotion from across the world, adding to its collective power

-end scene. script continues on as usual, nuzleaf gets left by dm to largely keep living pretty normally. nuzleaf is willfully ignorant of his growing attachment to the child, believing he is just secure in the knowledge on having an important asset in hand (when in fact hes happy to have this new family member. hes Soft)

-sometimes dm's presence grows heavy in his mind, affecting his mood and opinion of the child sourly (not that they ever know, he is very good at hiding this). "good” nuzleaf is largely content with this lifestyle however

-although hero and partner's departure to lively town was not met with utmost delight on his part, nuzleaf ultimately welcomed their absence as it made his errands for dm MUCH easier. less sneaking around to do, and allowed him to lay a trap at revelation mountain

-at this stage, different vessels were tending to turning to stone various pokemon across the world, especially the big hundos like legendaries (latias and latios, for instance, were attacked by fast-flying vessels). nuzleaf is set on the very precise tasks of setting up their fall guy(s) and ensuring hero stays within reach

-although nuzleaf orchestrated that krookodile's rampage to serene village would attract the attention of the expedition society, it was a coincidence that hero/partner were on the pursuit team. he intended to run to lively town and fetch them himself if necessary, crying havoc

-after the pursuit team get stone'd, nuzleaf and yveltal storm serene village, before collecting the beheeyem and moving on to lively town. they continue to work and hit established communities while hero and partner are in the voidlands, although yveltal takes its leave sometime during that to start attacking more big hundos

-espurr is caught right before nuzleaf and co storm the village, hiding in the bushes atop the mountain. nuzleaf doesnt initially expect to recruit her, but dm suggested her powers might be of benefit, given that the other beheeyem might have their hands full. he doesnt have to do much threatening before espurr keys in and agrees

-espurr and the "manipulation" of the expedition society are nuzleaf's jurisdiction as well, assisted by the beheeyem

-its during this period that the turncoat beheeyem starts showing hesitation. nuzleaf is on it like a fly on doodoo but obv hides it perfectly. starts laying the prehistoric ruins trap

-its not just dm speaking when they spring the prehistoric ruins trap--nuzleaf is exposing how he’s the kind of person who might agree to a partnership with dark matter in the first place. that said, hes not intrinsically THAT mean, and his evil factor is REALLY amped up by the possession. but its still largely nuzleaf in the driver’s seat at this point

-again back to the script. dm tosses its vessels around where they need to be, up until it fully takes over their minds and has them fight hero and co. after their defeat, dm is (temporarily) kicked out of their brains. its PIIIISSED about this and whisks the vessels into the tree of life for what essentially will be a slow and painful death, which is of course subverted by the heroes

-yveltal warps the vessel crew to the bottom of the tree of life, seeking oxygen, where the group stops to decide whether to take action or just give up. most are inclined to the latter, but nuzleaf is determined to go back and help the heroes until dm stops him directly. the others come around to his point of view, and yveltal returns them to the top of the tree

-with dm fully out of his mind now, nuzleaf is real sorry :( distracting the enemy from his kid for even one moment was worth a thousand ends in the voidlands to him

-after dm’s defeat, nuzleaf and co find themselves returning to consciousness in the forest, not far from where the heroes are similarly recovering. before they can get their bearings, arceus slips quietly out of the woods, escorting yveltal away with it for a Very Long Talk. the rest of the crew are scared out of their minds, but in an act of forgiveness, arceus refrains from passing Judgement on them

-with yveltal indisposed, the vessels are again left to follow nuzleaf’s guidance. they find the restored turncoat beheeyem and make up with one another, and decide to quietly withdraw and see what they can do to make up for their sins

-after apologizing to serene village and associated victims, nuzleaf roughs it in the wilderness for a bit, declining the beheeyem’s invitation to their mountain cave. he wants some time to himself (in fact the first he’s had since he encountered dm in the woods, so long ago). he orbits close to the village, however, seeking a glimpse of the hero

-after learning of the partner/mew’s disappearance through the serene village grapevine, nuzleaf vows to do whatever is necessary to help his kid, however he can. the beheeyem are of a similar mind. they get in touch with the expedition society asap

-follow script, etc etc. nuzleaf’s natural stealthiness is of benefit when it becomes necessary to track the hero’s movements

-after the partner is restored, the beheeyem return to their mountain home again, deciding amongst themselves what their next move will be. nuzleaf tries to leave serene village for good, having done his bit, and wanting to spare the hero any further angst regarding his presence. however, the hero stops him and convinces him to stay and recreate their little family home, which nuzleaf accepts

-partner and the hero return to the expedition society for a couple of years, conducting explorations and making frequent visits home. mawile comes up with the idea to plant an expedition society branch on revelation mountain, after she discovers that not only has the sacred spring not lost its power, but that the luminous water there is slowly returning. the site is marked a protected location, and the child heroes are put in charge of the new branch

-the beheeyem, the other village children, and the heroes’ parents are among those recruited to the new branch. the beheeyem handle most of the admin work, and the schoolchildren embark on a variety of explorations as they grow up, travelling between the city and village locations

-hero and partner more often than not form an exploration team with their dads, making a four-person expedition group that goes out for long expeditions. the kids are able to experience more quality time with their parents, carracosta can spend time protecting his child, and nuzleaf can sate his wanderlust without abandoning the ones he loves. its a solution that keeps everybody happy

-and they all live happily ever after :)

#oh my gosh. bullet point essay... mortifying #golly gabs #long post (under the cut)#pokemon #psmd #nuzleaf #its. i dont often create hcs for fictional little men so this starts off based on the original text and then strays wayyyy into self ind #ulgence territory. srry

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forevercloudnine · 3 years

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batman forever riddlebat ship meme

(This one was inevitable. God, do I love this movie. @heroes-etc gave me questions from this ship meme.)

2. Who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?

The obvious answer here is Edward because he is... clearly and pathologically insecure in his identity and requiring outside approval. You could argue he gets over this once he adopts his flamboyant supervillain identity, but as soon as he steps out of it to be Edward Nygma again he’s as self-conscious as ever. On some level his Bruce cosplay at the Nygmatech party is probably supposed to be a dig at his former idol, but it’s pretty transparent that he’s paranoid about not measuring up, especially once Bruce actually walks in.

As for what makes him feel better, two obvious high points of his self-esteem right off the bat (lol) are when Bruce is giving him positive attention in his intro scene, and directly afterwards when he’s murdering his boss for ragging on him.

Of course, neither external validation or murder is, like, a permanent solution to insecurity. Obviously. If they ever got together Bruce would probably make him go to therapy, which would be incredibly hypocritical because, as Dr. Meridian points out in this movie, that’s not exactly something Bruce is doing. Although in Bruce’s defense, if you count the novelizations as canon for this continuity, the psychiatrist Alfred hired for him as a child basically wrote him off as a lost cause that was going to inevitably self-destruct at some point in adulthood. So I can see why he’d think therapy isn’t for him.

"Young Bruce may seem quite the stalwart, but there’s still a child beneath that veneer of calm acceptance [...] The day will come when that veneer crumbles, and the boy reacts to the memory of his ordeal. Such matters may be postponed, but not indefinitely. And the longer this one is delayed, the greater the damage will be to his psyche.”

“Still,” Alfred pressed. “How do you think this will all come out? Off the record, if you prefer.”

Another pause. “I am not terribly optimistic,” the stout man admitted. “But I assure you, I will do my best.”

Alternatively, Bruce just lets Edward borrow his clothes and calls it a day. It’s less time consuming than therapy and both the movie and novelization demonstrate how into that Edward is.

He was murmuring to himself, “We’ll probably be dining at Wayne Manor together.” He envisioned Bruce sitting across from him, and began to launch into a narrative [...] “Yes. Yes. A Party in my honor? I should have rented a tuxedo. What?” he couldn’t believe it, “One of yours, Bruce?” He gave it a moment’s thought and then shrugged. “Why not? We are the same size.”

3. Who is the most romantic?

Uh, not Bruce! Batman Forever is the most thoughtfully romantic he gets in the entire series, and even here his only two dates ideas are “whatever Gotham social event my secretary tells me I need a date for” and “coming on to my date in my alternate identity to see if she loves me enough not to cheat on me with Batman.” Also, he vacillates between staunchly refusing to do any flirting at all and dishing out the least romantic pick-up lines possible.

You say “bad writing,” I say “totally in character for a hot rich guy who knows that this is as hard as he has to try to get into someone’s pants.” Bruce might love his partner with the intensity of a thousand dying suns, but he’s still sending Alfred to buy all their Valentine’s Day presents. His idea of a romantic evening for two is finally trusting someone enough to tell them his secret identity. If he’s done that already, or they already figured it out, then his playbook is over. That’s clearly the only romantic fantasy he’s ever allowed himself.

(I was going to say he does this once every movie, but he actually never does this in Batman & Robin specifically because he doesn’t actually care about Julie Madison. She proposes to him and he gets her name wrong while shooting her down. Add that to the “Bruce Wayne isn’t romantic” box.)

The ridiculous amount of magazine cut-outs populating Edward’s apartment indicates that he probably has a very vibrant and extensive set of fantasies involving Bruce, which is hinted at a couple times in the novelization.

Edward would certainly know him when he saw him. He’d spent enough time anticipating the moment, after all [...] Finally he was going to be meeting Bruce Wayne face-to-face, and he had every moment of the encounter scripted [...] He’d rehearsed it to perfection in his mind for weeks upon months.

In the grand scheme of things... in the fabulous, sweeping, intertwining destinies of Bruce Wayne and Edward Nygma, such a slip would not even rate a footnote.

He becomes suddenly and painfully aware that if Bruce Wayne walked away without Edward Nygma by his side, then that would be it. It would be finished. All these weeks, months... indeed, a lifetime of planning... and it was crumbling under him just like that.

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean his fantasies are all romantic in the traditional sense of the word. This is a man who was charmed by Harvey holding a charity circus hostage with some kind of graffitied missile warhead. Tonally, there’s not even that much of a difference between his crush collages and his riddle death threats.

What’s weirder, using a magazine cutout of someone you hate to make a pop-up card of their face, or using a magazine cutout of someone you love to replace the anatomically correct heart in the cardiovascular system diagram you keep in your apartment/arcade/makeshift laboratory? Probably the former, since it was made with the express purpose of Bruce actually seeing it. Although presumably Edward was planning on taking Bruce to his apartment at some point? And in the novelization, he actually drags Bruce into his cubicle to look at his Wayne Shrine.

He grabbed Bruce’s arms and shouted “No, don’t leave me! I need you!” [...] Bruce was thunderstruck as he was pulled partway into Edward’s office... and then he caught sight of the shrine.

Edwards’s head bobbed eagerly. Now, finally, Bruce would understand the depth of Nygma’s devotion to his idol. He would see how important he was to Nygma.

Notably, the only thing that upsets Bruce about the fact that one of his employees has a serial killer wall dedicated to him at their work station (@heroes-etc: realistically.... IS this the first time this has happened? i doubt it.) is the fact that the shrine includes a picture of him taken directly after his parents’ death, which is obviously a huge trigger for Bruce’s PTSD.

Wayne’s gaze zeroed in on the picture of himself as a young man.

The eyes of Wayne the elder locked with Wayne the younger, and when he slowly turned his scrutiny back to Edward Nygma, Edward could feel the temperature in the cubicle drop to subzero.

Later, once Bruce isn’t being actively reminded of the most traumatizing day of his life, he reflects that he could probably relate to Edward’s specific brand of crazy, and hopes that it’s not too late to try again (it is).

He paused momentarily at Edward Nygma’s cubicle, thinking about the intensity he’d seen in the man’s eyes the other day. Nygma’s ideas might have been a bit odd, but that sort of passion—if properly channeled—could accomplish miracles. That was something Bruce Wayne certainly knew better than anyone else. Perhaps after this fiasco was the time to take Nygma aside under less-pressured circumstances. Start again...

With any other character, I would call bull on their being this unphased by someone being obsessed enough with them to build a stalker shrine, but, like. It’s Batman. He probably has a stalker shrine to Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman in his cave somewhere. When they start dating, Edward mails the weirdest magazine cutout valentines to his office on the regular, and every time Bruce has to assure his staff that it’s not a ransom letter and it’s just “his boyfriend being romantic.”

9. What is the most embarrassing thing they have done in front of each other?

I mean, by most people’s standards, any one of the things that Edward does in front of Bruce could easily be the most embarrassing thing to happen to them in their lifetime. But for the most part, Edward seems blissfully free of that kind of self-consciousness. He accidentally introduces himself to Bruce as “[extended moaning sound] Bruce Wayne” and shakes it off without even registering his mistake. Even when he feels like Bruce has rejected him and his project, his emotional state is more shocked, saddened, and angry than it is ashamed. He does apologize to Bruce, during the scene where they first meet, for holding on to his hand too long during their handshake. And by “handshake” I mean that Bruce extends his hand to be shaken, and Edward just grabs on and holds it without any motion whatsoever for the entire first half of their conversation. Which might be the only time he ever apologizes in the entire movie. So I’ll say that was his moment of embarrassment.

Bruce only really embarrasses himself in front of Alfred, but Edward does manage to trick Bruce into getting scanned by his mind reading device at the Nygmatech party. Being tricked in general would be pretty awkward for Bruce, since this movie goes out of its way to show the audience how SMART and CLEVER and KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT BRAINWAVES Bruce is at every opportunity. But being tricked into getting your mind read is about a million times more embarrassing than just running into a wall like some kind of Looney Tune. Obviously having access to Bruce’s mind allows Edward to figure out that his former boss/current obsessee is Batman, but also it’s just got to be super weird in there. Bruce is a bizarre man.

12. What first changes when it starts getting serious?

Whether he’s idolizing Bruce or plotting his destruction, Edward is still seeing the subject of his lifelong obsession as a larger than life exaggeration of the real man. Some of that pedestal would probably survive into the beginning of a romantic relationship, but by the time they got serious Edward would have had to recognize that Bruce has both positive and negative traits. He would also have had to grapple with the fact that the man he once assumed would make everything in his life better is a lot of work to be around, especially in this movie’s continuity where the trauma of his family’s death and his guilt over allowing enemies like Joker to die are genuinely affecting Bruce’s day-to-day functionality.

(A lot of things, Chase.)

Edward’s introduction scene demonstrates that he doesn’t see Bruce as having these kinds of problems. His Escapism Wish Fulfillment Device TM is clearly a very personal project for him, since he, you know. Is kind of already living in a Bruce-centric fantasy world.

When he’s pitching it to Bruce, however, he states that he doesn’t think someone like Bruce would ever need to escape reality (which could just be ingratiating flattery, but he barely seems aware of what he’s saying at the time because he’s too busy staring with his mouth open at Bruce putting on glasses).

(Side note: an interjection from @heroes-etc

Anyway, moving on.)

Obviously we know he’s wrong, since Bruce escapes his reality every night by dressing up like a bat and scaring people. Normally that’s just subtext (or me being cynical and creating subtext), but Batman Forever introduced a hot psychiatrist who is constantly poking at Batman for being a power fantasy created by a traumatized mind to cope with intense feelings of helplessness in childhood.

The novelization makes it clear that it’s not the illusion of perfection that Edward is attracted to, however. The picture of Bruce in Crime Alley is what kickstarts Edward’s obsession, not because Bruce seemed flawless but because he seemed to be going through similar pain as Edward (whatever Edward’s pain even IS in this continuity). So I think recognizing Bruce’s issues would be less of a dealbreaker and more of a point of connection, were they to get serious.

He saw, there in Bruce Wayne’s face, an intensity that mirrored his own. An anger, a frustration at the hand that fate had dealt him. There were no tears on Bruce’s face. Instead there was a smoldering intelligence that Edward intuitively sensed was on par with his own.

There was something in Bruce’s eyes, something in that gaze. There was Bruce, in a moment of raw emotion, his parents just having been cruelly taken from him. And there was no self-pity. Just cold, hard anger.

[...] Ed still had the newspaper with him when he was walking home from school. Not that he needed it to read; the contents were safely locked away in his skull, thanks to his photographic memory. But he wanted to clip out the articles and pictures about Bruce Wayne. He found the young man fascinating, as if he had discovered a soulmate of sorts.

For Bruce, on the other hand, getting serious presumably just means attempting to include Edward more and more in the found family he builds in the latter half of the 90’s Batman movies. Alfred approving a love interest is not quite as tantamount in this continuity as it is sometimes (Micheal Gough Alfred is pretty laid back), but Bruce is still spending all of his non-Batman, non-socialite time with his butler. So if Edward wants to hang out with Bruce, he has to either get on Alfred’s good side or prepare for a lot of “romantic quality time” where his boyfriend’s dad is glaring at him from the background.

Dick is less important to get on the good side of, since he and Bruce argue all the time in these movies (apparently one of the proposed scripts for Batman & Robin was Bruce kicking Dick out of the house and making him go to college, where Dick would cope with his dad-related anger by bullying his psychology professor Dr. Crane into becoming a supervillain. I personally feel like I deserved to see that Scarecrow origin). So if Dick doesn’t like Bruce’s new boyfriend, it’s just one more thing for them to be catty to each other about.

Alfred’s niece Barbara Wilson on the other hand (who is adorable as a fusion of Barbara Gordon and Julia Pennyworth, do not @ me) would be absolutely vital for Edward to win over, because her opinion could easily either make or break his standing with her uncle. Also Bruce decided to adopt her within five minutes of meeting her, so he’s obviously fond.

19. Where do they go on their first date?

Edward’s fantasy sequence in the novelization makes it obvious enough that he would really, really like to have dinner at Wayne Manor. Hanging out at someone’s house isn’t really a traditional first date, especially if one of you is a billionaire who could have taken you literally anywhere, but clearly none of that matters to Bruce, because that’s exactly the first date he invites Vicki Vale on in Batman (1989).

It’s pretty painfully awkward (“You want to know the truth? I don’t think I’ve ever been in this room before”) until Bruce gives up on the formality and takes her down to eat the rest of their courses with Alfred in the kitchen.

I feel like his first date with Edward could probably go the same way, with a few major differences. One, Edward would have been super enthused about eating in the fancy dining hall, and Bruce would have only suggested finishing their meal in the kitchen because Edward clearly wanted to see As Much Of The Manor As Possible. Two, when Alfred offers to stop embarrassing Bruce and leave them alone for the end of their date, Edward would have insisted he stay and break out the baby albums. You cannot convince me that Alfred is not a scrapbooker. Actually, does what Edward’s doing count as scrapbooking? Maybe they could compare notes.

#riddlebat #batman forever #edward nygma #riddler #bruce wayne #batman #ship meme #i do not actually recommend reading the novelization because it did chase so dirty i still seethe about it sometimes #but it did make edward pretty fucking gay #now the batman & robin novelization i recommend wholeheartedly #because for some reason bruce has a huge crush on mr. freeze #like literally bruce stalked him for a while in his 20's #and his internal narration is constantly monologueing about how handsome victor is #truly george clooney batman is canon gay

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baldrambo · 4 years

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On Jim Hopper....

After reading a myriad of analyses and meta on Hopper’s character in S3 on Tumblr/Reddit/Twitter/everywhere, I've come to realize that my understanding of his character and his arc is very different than most interpretations I've seen. And it frustrates me because i think ultimately, the criticism of him is unfairly harsh and misses the point of his arc.

I will make a few bold assertions (bold=likely unpopular) and address them under the cut because the more I’ve thought about this the longer it got and I want to appropriately address each point.

Assertion 1: S1 Hopper is NOT the Hopper we want, in fact, this is regressive! Hopper and we should be glad he’s gone

Assertion 2: S1/S2 Hopper is inappropriately romanticized and it created unrealistic expectations for Hopper’s characterization in S3

Assertion 3: The circumstances in S3 are dramatically different than S1-S2 and drive the changes we see in Hopper’s characterization in S3

Assertion 4: Hopper and Joyce’s arguing in S3 was a symptom of a shift in their relationship dynamic, and not OOC

Assertion 5: Hopper's negative character traits were intentionally amplified in S3 as a juxtaposition for his redemption arc coming in S4

Assertion 1:

When we are introduced to Hopper in S1 he is a pill-popping womanizer. He is a jerk. In episode 1, he shows up to work hungover cracking "your mom" jokes and when Flo tells him that Joyce is worried about her missing kid he dismisses her and says "I’m gonna get on that." A frantic Joyce has to beg him to look for her son and during the conversation, he's throwing in interjections about screwing Chrissy as a teen in the back of his dad's Oldsmobile and somewhat snidely inquiring about whether Will is gay. Not a very nice dude.

It's not until later in the episode when we learn that he had a daughter who is now dead, and begin to suspect that perhaps there is more to him than the jerk-off cop from a small town. And then the first real introduction we get to Hopper, the real Hopper, is in 1x2 when an agitated Joyce asks him "wouldn't you know your own daughter's [breathing]?" He nearly caves then, caves under the weight of his grief, the pressure of dealing with a case of a missing kid, feeling empathy for what Joyce is going through. So what does he do? He retreats to his cruiser as soon as possible and pops a pill. Why? Because he cannot handle the grief and emotion. So he medicates it away.

For anyone who has ever been on Xanax (or see i.e. Benzos in general) they are typically prescribed to dull intense emotions, such as a anxiety attack. You can be in the middle of an anxiety attack (shaking, crying, unable to breathe), and a Xanax kicks in and it halts the entire thing. You feel nothing. When you're in pain, physical or emotional, it kills that pain almost instantly, too. And that’s what makes it so addictive. And it's not just pain that it kills, but pretty much all emotion with it.

Hopper in S1 is popping Benzos because he is at the lowest point in his life. He lost his daughter and his purpose in life. He is merely existing. He feels like a curse. Part of him even seems to feel responsible for Will's disappearance for no other reason than his own misery. Think about 1x1-1x7 Hopper for a second: can you remember a scene when he smiles? Laughs? Gets angry? Cries? Shows really any emotion at all? I've watched s1 multiple times and I don't remember one. He's so heavily medicated that he isn't feeling ANYTHING.

But then in 1x8, we finally get a glimpse of the real Hopper in glimpses of his backstory. A man laughing and playfully throwing around his daughter. We see a broken man crying in a hallway. We see a tender man reading to his daughter. This is the real Hopper who isn't just existing as Hopper is in S1, but living.

Hopper saving Will, this is the very beginning of his redemption. In that moment, he is able to bring Will back. Save him in a way he couldn't with his own daughter. That wall he’s built, quite artfully, is finally cracking.

So you see. S1 Hopper isn't what we want. S1 Hopper was in a deep dark cave. Sure, he was kind to Joyce. Helpful. He listened. He didn't lose his temper. But it's easy not to lose your temper when you're not feeling anything. It's easy to be calm and rational when you’re emotionally detached. But what kind of life is that?

Assertion 2:

In S2, Hopper is already different. In 2x1 our first introduction to Hopper is positioned similarly to S1. He pulls into the station in his police car. He's still grouchy, he's still joking around about dumb shit (dating Bob Derek) but we see a real smile from him. He goes with Joyce and Will to Will’s appointments at Hawkins Lab (we don't know how often but it's obviously frequent enough that Owens jokingly refers to Hopper as Will’s “Pop”). Hopper has a purpose again. To protect Will and Joyce, keep them safe. These are externalities. And as someone as riddled with trauma as Hopper is, externalities make it easier to function. Hyper-vigilance and overprotective/controlling behavior aren’t exactly admirable qualities, but they come in handy when the people close to you are threatened by inter-dimensional shadow monsters.

It’s at the end of 2x1 when we are introduced to the biggest change for Hopper: he has El. Someone to “feed, protect, teach.” And love. Turns out, love is a feeling. And with one feeling comes many feelings. She brought him out of that deep dark cave so now Hopper smiles. Laughs. Cries. Loses his temper. And with those feelings come all of his own insecurities, imperfections, fears. He confides in El at the end of the season about some of these fears: he believes himself to be a black hole. A black hole that took Sara. Almost took Will. And could take El too and he is terrified that will happen. He apologizes for some of his bad behavior. And we see El forgive him because she not only loves him, but recognizes that his anger and fear come from a different place than Brenner’s did. Hopper isn’t exhibiting controlling behavior to manipulate her. It’s because he loves her.

But here’s the thing. His apology and his and El’s recognition of his toxic behavior doesn’t make it okay, and it doesn’t magically make it disappear moving forward.

The 2 year gap between S2 and S3, I think, gave us a lot of time as a fandom to create the Hopper we wanted in our minds. A Hopper that moved past his trauma at the end of S2. A Hopper that didn’t lose his temper anymore because he apologized to El. A temper he can shut off now because the Gate is closed. A Hopper who would patiently wait around for years until Joyce was ready for him and had moved on from Bob. A Hopper who would be fine with sharing El with Mike because love conquers all. A Hopper viewed through rose-colored glasses.

But this isn’t realistic. Trauma can often be complex and in Hopper’s case, compartmentalized, making it easy to burst forth at any given moment and often inappropriately so. It can make you act badly, irrationally. It can be 2 steps forward and 3 steps back. And as an audience, I think a lot of us didn’t expect this to be a part of his storyline in S3. The expectation was that there would be continuous upward growth from his arc in S2 and when that didn’t happen, it was the subverted expectations that led to the disappointment in how his arc was handled in S3. But this disappointment doesn’t mean his arc didn’t make sense.

Assertion 3:

The Hopper we see at the end of S2 seems content. He has El. He has Joyce’s friendship. Things are at peace, the gate is closed. All is well. Or so we think. The Hopper we see at the beginning of S3 is miserable, lonely, sad, fat, and angry. It’s kind of jarring. But so are the circumstances at the beginning of S3. In S3, there is no longer an active threat. Everyone is starting to move on from the events of S1-S2. Joyce and El don’t need his protection anymore because there is no active threat. His hyper-vigilance leads him to almost shooting Betsy Payne’s dog, not shooting inter-dimensional demodogs. His overprotective/ controlling instincts are no longer useful they’re annoying, over the top, and just plain toxic.

In short, there are no longer externalities for Hopper to focus on, so all he has to focus on is himself. And he is not good at doing that, because that means focusing on his fears, insecurities, and imperfections. And the circumstances at the beginning of s3 give him plenty to personally angst about The two major ones:

1) El is growing up. This is normal, of course. Little girls become teenagers who become adults. But El isn’t a normal girl, and Hopper is not a normal Dad. El has superpowers, and she is not a kid anymore. She is a teenager with a boyfriend, she doesn’t need him the same way she used to, and Hopper cannot protect her the way he used to. Hopper lost his daughter when she was ~6 years old and he didn’t get to raise El for the first 12 years of her life. They’ve missed out on so much together.

And here’s the tragic thing: eventually, she will become an adult, and she will no longer need him at all, theoretically. Hopper isn’t her biological father. So what ties El to him, other than her need for him to protect her? In his mind, nothing. In his mind, her growing up means turning 18 and leaving him. Permanently. He can’t lose another daughter. That would break him. So what does he do? “Try to stop the change. Turn back the clock. Make things go back to the way things were.” When she was his little girl he was not in danger of losing her. And because he has trauma, because he is unable to handle his emotions, he takes it out on Mike and Mike/El’s relationship. He takes it out on their closeness. This symbol of her becoming an adult.

2) Joyce is moving away. Understandable, of course. Her youngest son was snatched by the Demogorgon and she had to venture into another dimension to bring him back from near death, he was possessed in S2, and her boyfriend was brutally murdered in front of her. I would want out of there, too. But doing so means leaving Hopper behind. Joyce, the one other constant in his life, who he can talk to about anything, who he relies on for parenting advice for El, who he can trust completely, who is always there for him, who he loves (who perhaps he’s always loved). And she’s leaving him behind.

So he thinks maybe, maybe, if he make her feel safe, if he gives her a reason to stay (him)...that she will. But she stands him up and she doesn’t just stand him up, it turns out it’s because the threat was back and he not only didn’t realize it but wasn’t able to keep them all safe from it, despite that being his sole driving force. He had one job. And he failed.

So, you see, Hopper’s character arc in S3 is about him, and not the externalities in S1-S2. He cannot hide behind the danger anymore. He can’t hide behind “feeding, protecting, teaching.” His flaws and imperfections are on full display and it’s more difficult for us, and Hopper, to sweep them under the rug. They’re amplified by the circumstances and his arc.

Assertion 4:

This is sort of an aside? But something I still wanted to address because I see it come up a lot. Namely, that Hopper and Joyce’s dynamic in S3 didn’t make sense, was out of character, and/or that Hopper’s behavior was abusive. I think that this particular point is important to review not only for Hopper but for Joyce as well, who is integral to Hopper’s character arc, and who I think the fandom often handles with kid gloves. Full disclosure, I AM a Jopper shipper, and have been since 1x1. That being said, I was not bothered by their dynamic in S3 because I think it was an important bridge in the structure of the show as as well as their relationship.

We still at this point in time don’t know what Jopper’s backstory is, although I suspect we are going to finally get that in S4 based on some of the spoilers/casting calls we’ve gotten over the course of the last few months. What we do know is at the beginning of S1 there is a familiarity between them (she calls him Hop), there are rumors around town that they fucked, and they seem to trust each other on a level that is not shared with other adult characters.

I hear a lot of people say S2 was “peak Jopper.” Their relationship is pretty stable. They are friends, he goes with her to Hawkins Lab, she relies on him for safety and protection, they are gentle with each other. It’s nice. But it’s also not very personal. Joyce is with Bob. Hopper doesn’t tell Joyce that he’s been hiding El. They obviously care about each other (and it seems like Hopper has some feelings there) but they hold each other at arm’s length.

This isn’t the case anymore in S3. In S3, there is no more arm’s length. They’re co-parenting. He shows up at Melvald’s at the beginning of 3x1 (reminiscent of Bob appearing at the beginning of 2x1) for advice, which it appears he’s been doing for months. They really have no one else but each other to confide in, which they clearly do a lot. There are feelings there now on both sides (I don’t subscribe to the theory that Joyce doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, but that is a discussion for another thread.)

These new (old?) feelings interrupted the S2 relationship dynamic. They’re not just comfortable friends anymore reminiscing about high school. Hopper wants to be close to her, but doesn’t quite know how and blunders through attempt after attempt and the more she rejects him the more upset he gets and the worse he handles it. Joyce is still struggling to move on from Bob and (imo) is confused about her feelings for Hopper because he is a little bit like Bob, a little bit like Lonnie (and yet nothing like either of them at the same time) and I don’t think she quite knows what to do with that except to fight her feelings and hold Hopper at arm’s length. The end result is bickering and Hopper losing his temper, because neither of them are able to really discuss their feelings for various reasons.

Most significantly, when they’re bickering and when Hopper loses his temper, Joyce is not afraid of Hopper. She is never afraid of him. She holds her own, she argues back, she stands her ground. When he refuses to believe her about the magnets, she steamrolls him into following her to the Lab. When he shouts at her, she shouts back. When he digs at her, she digs back. The problem with characterizing Hopper’s behavior in S3 as abusive is it fails to grasp the intent behind the bickering. They’re attempting to find a new normal, a new relationship dynamic. The way people refer to them throughout the season is heavily coded in language that describes a “team” a “couple.” Because despite the bickering they do respect each other and care about each other and in 3x8 they start to come to that realization together.

(My other issue with calling Hopper abusive is that it makes Joyce a victim. And Joyce isn’t a victim. She’s own her independent entity with needs and wants and desires. After 2 seasons of being “mom,” shoving her into another archetype reliant on another male character’s actions sorta sucks, doesn’t it? I really do not think this what the Duffers were going for here.)

Assertion 5:

Finally, I wanted to touch on the 3 biggest Hopper blunders in S3:

1) Constantly losing his temper. I italicized this further up because I wanted to emphasize the fact that this was not something new in S3. It’s always been there. In S1 the benzo’s were masking it. In S2, he was screaming at a 12 year old girl about how she cannot do anything right. It’s unacceptable behavior. It got worse in S3 because it is also a symptom of a hurting man who is losing control of everything around him. In S1-S2 attempting to control everything worked, in S3 it didn’t work anymore.

2) Breaking up Mike and El. After nearly a year of it just being El and Hopper, he has to share her with Mike. Combine this with El growing up and Mike and El’s co-dependent behavior, it’s a recipe for disaster. He tries and fails at a heart to heart and starts shouting and carrying on instead. Slipping into cop mode is easier than Dad mode. It was also the wrong way to handle it.

3) Trying to push Joyce into a date before she was ready. I already touched a bit on this above in #3, but his eagerness to make her stay leads him to try to push her into something she is not ready for. The end result is more misery for him when she fails to show up, and him being a jerk about it for the duration of the season (”You know he reminds me a little bit of a Russian Scott Clarke.”)

Here’s the thing though, he makes these blunders because he’s flawed. He’s always been flawed. And the combination of his prior trauma, the circumstances leading up to S3, the shift in relationship dynamics between him and Joyce, and the shift of the narrative from externalities to hhis internalities, make S3 very different than S1-S2. And it showed us that Hopper really is more of an anti-hero than a “good guy” and has been this entire time.

And if you wanted him to be the good guy because he had soft moments in S1-S2, S3 was just a set-up for a let-down because Hopper isn’t the good guy. He’s a jerk. And jerks don’t get the girl. Jerks don’t get happy endings. Jerks die. Unless they survive, and get a chance at redemption.

Being trapped in a frozen Russian gulag can kill you, or it can make you stronger. It can make you re-evaluate what you took for granted, how you handled situations, how you interact with those you love, what really matters. And for someone like Hopper, who loves deeply despite his issues, this is the opportunity to turn all of that around and truly start over. And if you are the Duffer brothers, you want to ying and yang that shit so the yang is that much more noticeable and emotional when it happens. This whole journey for Hopper is just as important as the outcome and as someone who loves his character, I want to be with him for that entire journey, not just the “good” parts.

So I guess, in sum, Hopper is a flawed jerk who loves El and Joyce. Who makes mistakes, but usually has good intentions. Who had a lot of bad shit happen to him. Who made a lot of missteps and mistakes, particularly in S3, but deserves empathy and a chance at redemption. Who should come back a changed man and get the girl and the happy ending. And I think S3 needs to be viewed through this vacuum in order to fully appreciate his character and the arc.

And if you read all the way through this, God Bless you.

#Jim Hopper #Joyce Byers #El Hopper #Stranger Things #Jopper #meta #not sure what else to tag this or if should even be tagging this at all?#anyway thank you for coming to my long winded ted talk #please feel free to discuss and add your thoughts if you so desire

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jheslyn-d-uclusin · 3 years

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Sure! ILOCOS asSURes relaxation😌💖

Let's take a tour and go back and forth to this pleasant place!

Good day tourists! I am Jheslyn D. Uclusin, a member of Department of Tourism assigned to promote tourist spots in Ilocos Sur that assures happiness, greatness, refreshment, felicity and relaxation. I will make sure that you might encounter the best travel experienced here in Ilocos Sur. What are we waiting for? Come on, join me to enjoy the beautiful places here in Ilocos Sur😉.

The province is known for its rich culture, arts and history, the heritage sites, adventure parks, and of course, the food. But this time, we'll be putting the highlight on the beautiful places to visit here in Ilocos Sur.

Vigan is the capital of the province. Vigan is famous for its well-preserved Spanish Colonial town, historical Vigan tourist spots, and delicious food and delicacies. Because of its charm, it has been inscribed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Joining a day to trip to Vigan is a good idea if you want to explore other tourist spots as well.

1. Calle Crisologo

Calle Crisologo is Vigan’s most popular tourist attraction. The grounds and pavements of this preserved street are made of cobblestones, and both sides are lined with ancestral houses that are reminiscent of old Spanish towns.

During the daytime, the street is a busy commercial district, with most shops selling quality antiques, furniture, and jewelry pieces.

You can indulge yourself in souvenir shopping, including native food products and delicacies, or snag world-class hand-woven clothing, blankets, and other accessories at Rowilda’s Weaving.

You can ride a kalesa (horse-drawn carriage), which is the only vehicle plying Calle Crisologo.

A kalesa ride is good for an hour and can take you around Calle Crisologo and the rest of the Vigan Heritage Village, including the Vigan Cathedral and Plaza Burgos.

It’s a totally different scene at night, as Calle Crisologo transforms into a dining strip where loads of people eat alfresco and enjoy drinks to cap the night off.

There are a lot of Calle Crisologo tours to try from, make sure to choose the one that fits your budget, schedule, and type of experience.

2. Pagburnayan Jar Factory

The address is Liberation Blvd, Vigan City. One good thing about touring Vigan is that you get to learn a lot about its history, culture, and way of life through the town’s homegrown establishments.

Take for example Pagburnayan Jar Factory, one of the very few remaining jar factories around Vigan. It’s a popular must-try cultural activity in Vigan.

In order to help people appreciate the industry of jar-making, the factory is open for tourists who want to see and experience pottery making first hand, from simple, basic designs to more artistic earthen jars.

The staff will also tell you an interesting background about the origins of pagburnayan, the art of producing jars, which was inspired by Chinese traders who came to settle in Vigan and then later intermarried with Ilocanos and Ilocanas.

Located within a good walking distance from Plaza Salcedo, this plaza is named after Padre Jose Burgos, whose statue stands as a reminder of the priest’s martyrdom in fighting the Spanish regime.

Here, you can take pictures, go people watching, or simply give your tired legs some resting time after a long walk around the area.

If you’re feeling hungry, you can grab a quick bite of the best-selling empanada, a kind of pastry turnover filled with minced meat, vegetables, and egg, which is one of Ilocos’ specialty food products on this side of the town.

It’s best to come here in the late afternoon or just before the sun sets since it can get pretty hot in this open space.

If you want to visit more tourist spots in Vigan, City just click this link:

3. Kaparkan Falls

Kaparkan falls located at the Tineg, Abra. Abra’s falls come alive during the rainy season which is sometime from August to September. The rest of the year it stays dry leaving the limestone terraces empty. Even if you want to visit during the dry season, you won’t be able to because the area is closed off.

As mentioned, Kaparkan Falls is regulated by the local government. The max carrying capacity of the falls is 100 people at a time so visitors are only allowed in batches. Three hours are allotted per batch so maximize your stay at this natural wonder! Keep in mind that you might have to wait for your turn if a group arrives before you.

You can further climb down the pools to explore the area more. The limestone steps are not slippery despite being wet, but exercise caution anyway. Please be advised that there is no rest room in the area.

4. Sangbay ni Ragsak (Falls of Happiness)

Sangbay ni Ragsak is located at the Suyo. It was first named as Burayok and named Sangbay ni Ragsak by Barangay Captain of Patoc-ao August of 2007. It is approximately 30 m in height. Its natural formation is inherent to mountain terrain. It attracts local and foreign tourists seeking ecological and natural surroundings to enjoy. Its pool area is not deep for diving. Nevertheless, it’s good for dipping with its cool waters.

5. Banaue Rice Terraces (Filipino: Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe)

The Banaue Rice Terraces are terraces that were carved into the mountains of Banaue, Ifugao, in the Philippines, by the ancestors of the indigenous people. The terraces are occasionally called the "Eighth Wonder of the World". It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The whole address is Nueva Vizcaya - Ifugao - Mountain Province Rd, Banaue, Ifugao.

8. Yamashita Cave

Yamashita Cave is located at the Cervantes. Yamashita cave was the barracks of General Yamashita during the World War II wherein he and his soldiers executed their last stand in the war. The cave was found in the depths of the mountains. Rumors said that treasures are found beneath the cave which has the range of 64 meters.

9. Skyline

The whole address of this skyline is Santiago - Banayoyo - Lidlidda - San Emilio - Quirino Rd, Quirino, Ilocos Sur. Visitors planning to visit the place would have to travel roads that could remind them of their Baguio City trips with all the long, winding and steep roads. As visitors traverse the twisty mountain road, they would surely feel the temperature getting much cooler. Drivers really need to be more defensive as visibility sometimes gets reduced due to fogs.

So you can witness for yourself the unfolding of the breath-taking yet sometimes rare sea of clouds, it is advised to travel early so you can arrive at around 5 AM. If you are lucky as we were, the clouds will be there for your enjoyment.

Skyline has a view deck and they are currently constructing a new one. When it is clear and it’s not foggy, the view deck offers a bird’s eye view of Quirino, Ilocos Sur, Tubo mountains and the Abra river. Often in late afternoons, fogs would descend and there won’t be much of a view. Your only consolation would be the teeth-clattering wind.

The place is gaining popularity here in Ilocos Sur and in our neighboring provinces like Abra and La Union. Some riders from Baguio and Manila even take a detour to Quirino just to avail themselves of the sea of clouds without having to see one in Mt. Pulag.

For the hungry visitors, there’s a nearby store that offers hot water and cup noodles. But of course, you can always bring your own coffee and snacks. Just be sure to leave nothing but your footprints. For a better outdoor experience, some visitors would even bring their camping tents and stay there overnight.

10. Hidden Garden

The address is 008 Katipunan St, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. Hidden Garden features a restaurant and a cafe in a relaxing setting filled with tropical plants and flowers, carved wooden sculptures, and lots of clay pots. Taste some local delicacies at the restaurant or just walk around the garden past a bonsai corner, an artificial grotto, and a large birdcage housing white cockatoos. You can also buy some plants and burnay jars--unglazed traditional pots typical for Vigan. So you must bring money and personal hygiene etc.

Ilocos Sur Province Vacation Packages

Want to book a vacation to Ilocos Sur Province? Whether you're off for a romantic vacation, family trip, or an all-inclusive holiday, Ilocos Sur Province vacation packages on Tripadvisor make planning your trip simple and affordable.

Find the perfect vacation package for Ilocos Sur Province on Tripadvisor by comparing Ilocos Sur Province hotel and flight prices. Travelers like you have written 3,514 reviews and posted 43 candid photos for Ilocos Sur Province hotels. Book your Ilocos Sur Province vacation today!

Now that you already know the example tourist spots I mentioned or discussed a while ago, it’s time for you to book a flight or ferry trip. Enjoy at sure Ilocos asSURes fecility!

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shibalen · 3 years

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H-hi I would like to request for Haikyuu and Yona of the dawn and um music box and jewellery box. I'm female, 18 y/o. My height is 172 cm. My hair is black and a bit below my shoulders. My skin is somewhat fair/yellowish. My eyes are dark brown and i wear glasses. My zodiac sign is Gemini and my MTBI test is ISFP-T. I'm still very confused about my sexuality so I'm okay with either and i never were in a relationship before. My hobbies are listening to music and watching anime. (1/2)🌼

Other than that, my hobbies change from time to time. I'm very kind and am very good at comforting. I'm very shy but open up very slowly to someone. I'm not that talkative. I'm very protective towards my friends. I'm very anxious, oversensitive and very insecure. I also lack a lot of self esteem. But even if i have flaws i try my best amd know that my friends are always there for me. I also get easily embarrassed. Thank you *bows* (2/2) 🌼

♡︎ matchup for 🌼anon

hi there! thanks for your patience, and i hope you enjoy your matches!

haikyuu: i match you with . . .

hinata shoyo !!

• isfp-t's tend to be sensitive and gentle as well as intense and experimental. i think you're a good balance for Hinata because you'd keep his feet on the ground while he would help you be more confident about yourself. believe me, this ray of sunshine would adore you to the moon and back !!

• he becomes more observant thanks to you as he learns better how to keep his voice down and excitability under control so you wouldn't get overwhelmed. he loves you and only wishes for your comfort ♡︎

• you came to cheer on Kenma and Kuroo actually for a Nekoma vs Karasuno practice match the first time you two met. After the match Hinata was looking for his friend when he spotted you being surrounded by tall strangers and looking rather anxious.

• his instincts made him jump in and try to get them to stop bothering you, trying to be as intimidating as possible. but then you reached out and said they were first years just asking for directions (・∀・)

• it was an honest mistake, you assured him and found his kindness touching despite the truth. your mutual friends helped you feel more comfortable around this ball of energy, and, though you had already graduated by then, he was able to confess his feelings.

• he's talkative enough for the both of you and will happily do speaking in your stead if that's what you want until you become accustomed to the situation. always encourages and supports you no matter what!

• doesn't understand why you'd feel insecure because he's in love with you for who you are, but can relate to the feeling of inferiority nevertheless. he's your biggest cheerleader and admires your determination to keep doing your best! honestly, you're his inspiration.

• he's delighted to say the least when you begin opening up to him. knows better than to pressure you but sometimes he can't help but to cheer you on "uwah, your laugh is so pretty, y/n! i wanna hear it more!" – "i like this artist too! you have such a great taste in music!"

• thinks it's awesome sauce that you switch between hobbies. you get to try out new things all the time, and whenever you show/tell him about what you started you can see stars in his eyes. it comes as no surprise he's tried getting you into volleyball too.

• you'd think with all the volleyball going on in his head Hinata's never been in a relationship before either. well, you are absolutely correct. you're just two awkward dorks in love trying your best.

• Hinata would be a stuttering mess at first, his hands sweating buckets as he tries to take hold of yours. however, once he understands you're also shy he makes an effort to appear more confident.

• brags about you to everyone because he needs them to know how incredible you are.

• one time when he was showing you volleyball he praised you for an amazing receive so many times that your face overheated and you hid in the corner from embarrassment. bby was so worried he'd said something wrong that he went crying to Suga. "i broke y/n!!" ｡ﾟ(*´□`)ﾟ｡

• tol girlfriend makes his heart go doki doki. loves that you accept his height as well (pre-timeskip at least). will give you piggybacks to train but to also have fun with you. post-timeskip you're the same height which means he lifts you up and carries you a lot more to make up for lost time (•̀ᴗ•́)و

• for dates you'd have, for example, anime marathons (his favorites are shounen, sports, and comedy, surprise!), go to adventure parks and conventions and shopping at music stores.

♫︎ music box

— Someone To You by BANNERS

— Sunkissed by khai dreams

— Talk Too Much by COIN

— Appreciated by Rixton

— Magic Shop by BTS

♡︎ runner up: Tadashi Yamaguchi

⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

akatsuki no yona: i match you with . . .

kija !!

• all right, i have my reasons! Kija may be quite headstrong and startle you with that trait sometimes but he is also extremely caring and attentive—it goes well with your kind and shy personality, he finds those traits the absolute cutest. it also squeezes his heart how protective you are of your loved ones ♡︎

• this dear boy invests all of his emotions into everything he does so it's easy for him to get hurt. during times like these your presence and advice are the best remedies he could wish for. he seeks you out sometimes even not registering it himself.

• you'd known each other for a long time, having grown up in the same village, but hardly interacted due to Kija always being secluded and treated as a god. once he was escaping the women who were trying to get to him, and met you at the edge of the village. you offered to hide him despite knowing better.

• you stayed on his mind ever since and whenever he'd see you he called your name for attention. the word about you two got around fast but you weren't liking the attention. Kija just wanted to be with you without everyone poking their nosees into it.

• so when Yona, Hak and Yoon arrived at last Kija insisted you'd come with them, swearing to protect you from all harm!

• it saddens him that you don't have a lot of self-esteem. he easily goes into rants whenever someone else says something even slightly bad about you. will throw hands with that person regardless of who they are, don't test him. you might want to step in though if starts turning into a scene.

• anyway, he won't let you forget how much potential you have. he'll stop you the moment you try to put yourself down and lists all the great things you've done. he remembers your smallest actions and words of kindness and makes sure you do as well.

• Kija seeks your approval like a puppy. whenever he wins a competition against Hak or does anything even slightly praiseworthy he turns to you with sparkling eyes. lighting a fire? yep. cooking? uh-uh. waking up earlier than Hak? most definitely. "did you see that, y/n? amazing, right??"

• very blushy about anything publically affectionate, but if you're feeling anxious any situation at all he will gently make sure you know he's there for you. tenderly touching you or whispering "it's all right. you'll be okay", anything to help put your mind at ease.

• not to be nsfw or anything but please run your fingers through his hair and over his scars and tell him how proud you are of him. he will melt into your touch ｡ﾟ°(❁ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)

• it's so adorable though that you can compliment each other like there's no tomorrow but the moment you recieve one ever you'll turn into flustered little bundles ♡︎ it's quite fun for the rest of the gang to watch as you lowkey argue over who has prettier eyes.

• your dates include exploring around towns and villages, picnics by lakes and rivers, dancing to the music in city centres and studying new things such as a place or language—anything new that you're curious about!

𑁍 jewellery box

— favourite memory with you:

the time both of you got lost in a cave and separated from others. you were scared and worried whether or not you'd make it out yet still put on a strong appearance for Kija's sake. admittedly, he tried acting tough too although there were bugs everywhere and he was freaking out. you, on the other hand, were so gentle with him and joked around lightly to ease his mind. it wasn't a particularly the happiest memory but it's his favourite because it always reminds him what a loyal, kind spirit you are.

— favourite activity to do together:

he loves going exploring with you! it teaches him new things about the world but also you, what you're facinated or repulsed by, what are things that make you laugh or sad. overall Kija is very big on quality time so don't be surprised when he asks if you'd like to go on a walk or teach him how to do something.

— favourite place to kiss you:

forehead, forehead, forehead, maybe cheeks too. a kiss doesn't come the most naturally for Kija, and you both prefer to show your affections through other actions. but a forehead kiss is sweet and innocent. he likes giving them to you when you're parting or saying goodnight/morning ♡︎

— favourite nicknames for you:

hmm, i think he'd be too shy to use anything but your name. BUT in the spur of the moment of complimenting you he easily describes you as cute, lovely, beautiful, enchanting, to name a few (・ωｰ)

— favourite thing about you:

if it comes down to it, it's your protectiveness and how much you care for others that makes Kija head-over-heels smitten with you. he's the same, so knowing you two share the same values makes him incredibly happy as it brings you even closer together ♡︎ though if you're too nice to anyone he'll get jelly like a little doggy and whine

♡︎ runner up: Yoon

thank you for requesting, dear! i had fun finding songs for the music box ( ^ω^) stay well and healthy, you are important ♡︎

#len's matches #matchups #anime matchups #🌼anon #haikyuu matchups #any matchups

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the-devil-herself · 4 years

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Never Enough - Chapter 2

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 2 DESCRIPTION: Certain mates of Jotuns receive soulmate marks on their bodies. What happens when Loki’s mark is found on a girl with immense power? RATING: M NOTES/WARNINGS: Also available on AO3! The link is here as requested. Please give me some feedback if you can, I love the inspiration it gives me. Also let me know if you want to be tagged! I’m going to post the first 22 chapters of this story over the next few days, and, hopefully, I will find my muse to write more.

TAGGED: @kneel-before-queen-loki

Present Day

Bang! Bang!

I let out a frustrated groan. I knew who it was. "I'll be out in a minute!" I yelled back. The banging only stopped for a minute before it began again.

Tony had been trying to get me out of my room all morning. He started this obnoxious banging since 5 am, and there was no way in hell I was actually waking up that early. The only thing I was told was that there was a "family meeting" happening soon. A lot of the Avengers would be back from missions so we needed to be prepared to start as soon as they returned. They still hadn't shown up, but I could tell they would be here soon.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Tony's knocks were getting louder. I quickly put on a pair of pants and opened the door to a very agitated billionaire. "What the hell Tony?" I exclaimed, walking right past him. I checked the clock in the kitchen and saw it was 7 am. "Tony," I groaned as I started making myself breakfast, "it is a weekend, and I had perfectly relaxing plans for sleeping all morning. What is so damn important?"

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and simply stood there. He maintained an annoyed and frustrated glare at me as I pulled out the bowls and spoons. I finally stopped what I was doing and stared back, but he wasn't moving. I threw my arms up. "Alright!" I gave up. "What is it?"

"Thank you for finally crawling out of your cave to join us, Dana," he snarked back. I ignored him, though, and focused on my cereal.

However, when I turned around and looked at the living room behind the kitchen counter, I saw why he was so pissed. All the Avengers were sitting on the couches, looking straight at me. I couldn't tell if they had been waiting for a while, but I prayed it wasn't long. Thor was seated by himself in one of Tony's comfortable chairs, grinning at me like always. No one else looked amused.

"Dana! We've been waiting for you," Thor greeted me. He was oblivious to the annoyance of the other members at my tardiness and came up to me for a huge hug. I held him tight, having missed him for all these years.

"What are you doing here?" I inquired incredulously.

Thor laughed and walked me over to the couches where the rest of the team sat. Everyone seemed to relax a bit more at seeing my reunion with Thor. "I'm here to see old friends, of course!"

I didn't believe him. "But I haven't seen you since..," I drifted off, knowing mentions of that day were probably still too raw for him,"..since New York."

Thor's eyes clouded for a moment. Regret, pain, mourning, and anger all passed through his face in a matter of seconds, but I still saw it. He caught himself and returned to his usual friendly smile. He responded, "It indeed has been way too long, but now it seems there are things we need to discuss. All of us."

I turned to the others, but they too seemed confused about what he was talking about. All except Tony. He just continued looking pissed, and I had a reason to suspect it wasn't just because of my stubborn behavior earlier. He refused to sit down, choosing to stand by the couch were Natasha and Steve sat quietly. He had been uncharacteristically silent during the whole interaction as well, which was always a cause for concern.

Bruce was the first to break the silence. "Thor, what's going on here?" he asked the question on all our minds.

Thor sighed and smiled at me one more time before beginning. "My... brother," he started, causing everyone to tense up, "has spent years in Asgardian prison."

"Where he belongs," Clint piped up. He was sitting on the floor at Nat's feet, exhausted from having just returned from a mission.

I shot Clint a glance warning him to be nice. Yes, Loki destroyed half of the city, but Thor still cared for him deeply.

Truth be told, I wasn't around when the battle was fought. I was tucked up with my family in a completely different state. We watched it all happen on TV like most others did, staying up all through the night to make sure the enemies were defeated. However, I did experience something weird then. Days before the battle, my secret mark began to burn again. Gradually, but enough to gain my attention. Then, when I saw Loki on the TV, my wrist began to burn again like it had in New Mexico. I had to excuse myself and place my arm in cold water for half an hour before it faded.

My mark hasn't burned like that since.

Thor gulped, dragging our attention back to him. "Yes, I understand, but it seems my mother has pleaded with the Allfather for these past years to give Loki a chance to... rehabilitate." Multiple scoffs were given from around the room. "Odin has agreed."

"You can't be serious?" Steve demanded. "He killed hundreds, destroyed half the city, and brought about an alien invasion that we're still cleaning up after!"

"Steve," Thor said quietly. "I know. But I cannot defy an order from Odin." Steve backed down. It had been clear since we met him that Thor's father was a king that was not to be disobeyed. With Thor's former banishing, we knew he meant business. "And he is also my brother. He got sucked in to evils beyond our understanding, but I can get him back. I can bring him back again."

"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" Nat questioned.

All eyes were on Thor.

He couldn't look at us back. Instead he gazed at the carpet. "Thor?" I pushed. "Where is Loki?"

Thor eyes turned soft when they found mine again. I could see that same sadness in him that I saw seven years ago. His life was completely different to what he had planned, and his family was torn apart. Finding out your parents lied to you about your brother's heritage for your whole life along with realizing that same brother wanted to kill you was probably taxing.

"It has been requested that he is sent here."

That's when the screaming started. Clint started shouting about how Loki should be dead for his crimes. Steve and Tony argued about whether this was even a plausible idea. Nat tried to calm Bruce down before he had an anxiety attack. Thor stayed silent.

As did I. I continued to sit there and look at Thor. He looked so resigned. His eyes were shut, not wanting to witness the scene before him. The stress had taken a toll on him, and he had no support left. I grabbed his hand and held it between mine, but he didn't move.

"He's a murderer!"

"He'll be dead the minute he steps foot on Earth anyways..."

"... Fury would never agree..."

The fights weren't stopping.

"Tony," I spoke firmly. Everyone stopped to peer at me. "Tony, we have to help Thor."

No response.

"Guys, we can't leave this for Thor to handle alone. The Avengers have a responsibility to protect this world, and maybe, giving Loki a chance to redeem himself is a way of protection. I mean look at what he did in New York. It took six of you to defeat him! He's powerful, he's clever, he has allies and enemies across the galaxy. We don't really want another attack coming from him, do we?"

Thor finally cracked a smile again, silently thanking me by holding my hand a bit tighter. He had needed help all these years, but he never asked. He was always helping us, but now it was time to help him.

Tony considered what I had said for a moment. Although, Clint did not budge. "Dana, you don't know this guy. He's pure evil. I killed friends because of him!"

I released Thor's hand and stood up from my seat. "Do not dare to assume I don't know this man," I snarled, "because you would be wrong. I have met him- in New Mexico. And I saw it all. He's a powerful being, and, guys, we need him as our ally now more than ever. We've been experiencing increases in alien attacks and supernatural occurrences ever since. We could use a magic-wielder like Loki on our team."

Clint and Nat still thought it was all nonsense, but it appeared that I had gotten through to Tony and Steve. Bruce was still cautious.

"She's right," Steve spoke up. "We need more help. Each day new alien tech is invented, and people are now getting access to advanced weapons that we can't outgun."

The whole team silently agreed with what he was saying, but Clint still looked furious. It was expected though, since Clint was the only team member to have been made to kill other agents by Loki's scepter. He had moved on and recovered, but we all knew how hard it was for him to even think about that day and what he did.

"Clint, my dear friend," Thor uttered. "Would you believe me if I said that you were not the only victim of manipulation that day?"

This was news to us. Clint's eyes softened a bit, but his muscles were still tense.

Thor continued, "Loki has admitted to us that he was not in control that day... that a mad Titan had tortured and exploited him for about a year before New York. The monster, Thanos, found him when he fell from the Bifrost."

I sat back down next to Thor, processing all this new information. Everybody was taught that Loki was a bad guy and nothing more, but now... this changes everything. He was being used.

Before anyone could respond, Thor muttered, "I've seen the scars.... He tells the truth."

Scars. I could only imagine what kind of physical and mental pain Loki must have been through to have been convinced to invade Earth. Especially when Loki was no mortal man, but a god who had been raised to endure massive amounts of pain.

"It's decided then," Steve said, getting a supportive nod from Tony. "He may come here."

"But!" Tony interrupted. "He gets one chance, Big Guy. He does something, says something, even thinks of something that harms or jeopardizes others, he is gone."

I could see Thor let out a big sigh of relief. A big portion of his tension and stress rolled off his body now that he finally had help in supporting his brother. No one else looked very happy about it, but we could all see it was what needed to be done. And that was that.

Loki was coming.

#loki #Loki Laufeyson #loki odinson #loki fanfic #loki marvel #never enough #never enough chapter 2 #loki x reader #thor #marvel #soulmates #imagine loki #marvel cinematic universe #The Avengers

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razberryyum · 5 years

Video

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 13, Part 2 of 2

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

[covers MDZS chapters 52, 53 and 54]

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰+🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

Continued from Part 1...

Xuanwu Cave Comparison

Between the novel, audio drama, donghua, and live action depictions of the Xuanwu cave event, there are marked differences that determine my preference for each version, so here’s how I would rank them (and this is only applicable to the Xuanwu cave adaptation):

novel > live action > audio drama > donghua

Since the novel is the og source, its depiction should naturally rank above all versions of MDZS, but if I’m going to be honest, I debated a bit whether the The Untamed’s adaptation should fall beneath it, or actually be equivalent to it. The primary reason for my momentary indecision is because the relationship dynamics between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan in the show were different going into the Xuanwu cave than how they were in the novel. Because they had gone through more experiences together—the Yin metal hunt and their defiance against Wen Chao, for example, which wasn’t in the novel of course—their interactions during this just this whole conversation scene in the cave is somehow warmer and more amicable. The difference is most noticeable with Wei Ying: in the novel he actually gets a little annoyed and then straight up angry with Lan Zhan, going so far as yelling at him and moving away from him. Even though it’s admittedly for a valid reason since Lan Zhan did bite him, the distance between their hearts felt farther apart. It did feel more like two people who didn’t like each other much, forced to work together. And since the audio drama follows the novel pretty closely for this event, the same sentiments applied there as well. But here in CQL, Wei Ying is mostly just teasing, considerate and sweet. He’s almost affectionate with Lan Zhan, like they’ve been friends for a while, which in Wei Ying’s mind they have been, so there’s no sense of animosity whatsoever. Wei Ying never stops to wonder if Lan Zhan actually hates him like he did in the book. Lan Zhan, in turn, was also generally more blatantly irritated with Wei Ying in the book, a fact that was clearly brought to life in the audio drama since he was rather short with him many times. Whereas here in the live action, while he’s exasperated with Wei Ying (because he’s being dense AF)…

...overall he’s more...soft? Like, even if we didn’t know he was in love with Wei Ying, or that Wei Ying thinks they’re good friends, there’s still no sense that they don’t get along at all.

Still, at the end of the day, because the novel is the well from which the Xuanwu cave event sprung forth, it has of course more precious and crucial elements that the show lacked, which helped finalize my decision on ranking the novel’s version of the Xuanwu cave above The Untamed instead of putting it on the same level. In addition to the previously mentioned piggyback ride, Lan Zhan making his permanent mark on Wei Ying by biting him and then breaking down over what befell his family and Cloud Recesses, were left out of the show as well. The stripping scene was also longer in the book, with Wei Ying straight out threatening to jump Lan Zhan’s bones while half-naked. Although a slight downer to that moment was how Wei Ying ended his prank: by assuring Lan Zhan he’s not into men. That one line actually still bothers me to this day because I can’t shake off its implications: basically, it’s really lucky for Lan Zhan that Wei Ying was revived in a gay man’s body. The thought of how their ending would have been otherwise makes my heart ache. For sure, I don’t think we would’ve gotten “everyday means everyday”. But that’s a longer and more involved discussion for another time. I’ll shelve it until we get to the episode later on when Team CQL changes Mo Xuanyu’s sexuality completely.

Back to the differences in the novel that was absent from CQL: Lan Zhan ended up wearing Wei Ying’s undergarments, and the satchel of medicine was from Mian Mian, not Wen Qing (who hadn’t even appeared yet in the story), which is important since later on when it’s revealed that Lan Zhan secretly pocketed that satchel and turned it into his coin purse because he’s such a sweet romantic. Of course the satchel never made an appearance against in The Untamed. Lastly, in the novel, Wei Ying ends up sleeping on Lan Zhan’s legs because Lan Zhan finally obliges his request after he passed out from the fever. The most we got in the show was them sleeping next to each other.

Aside from the differences in the degree of WangXian, there’s also general story differences as well: in the novel, Su She was the one who tried throwing Mian Mian to the Wens and pretty much got bitch slapped by Lan Zhan for it (in the show, it was just some random Jin disciple betraying his own kind). Su She also was the one that caused the Xuanwu’s blood lust to be riled up because he accidentally shot Wei Ying with an arrow while trying to make amends for his cowardice with Mian Mian. It’s actually a shame that Team CQL decided to leave Su She out of the Xuanwu proceedings entirely in the show because his inclusion would have made his hatred of Lan Zhan and his actions against Wei Ying make more sense. Petty jealousy and an overblown inferiority complex just seemed a bit of a reach in light of how much he despised Lan Zhan and the lengths he went through to essentially destroy Wei Ying. They really should have included Su She in the Xuanwu cave, was the actor not available, I wonder.

As for the audio drama, even though it follows the novel pretty closely and I absolutely love it and most of the performances by the voice actors—in particular our two leads, Lu Zhixing-laoshi as Wei Ying and Wei Chao-laoshi as Lan Zhan, who are absolutely beyond superb...seriously my knees turned to freaking jelly in some scenes because of them—not to mention, it is probably the most faithful adaptation of the novel we will EVER get, the reason I ranked it below The Untamed in terms of the Xuanwu cave events is because of the mere fact that some scenes just are better brought to life in a visual medium. That’s really it. Therefore, it’s not the fault of the audio drama, per se, but the nature of audio dramas that makes me prefer the live action’s depiction of the Xuanwu cave scenes over it.

As for the donghua, at least in terms of these particular sequence of events, I absolutely think it has to fall to last place because it omitted so much from the novel in terms of WangXian. Even though Wei Ying showed some upper body nudity for a brief moment and Lan Zhan rubbed medicine on his brand directly, they changed the disrobing to Wei Ying pulling on Lan Zhan’s head ribbon as the reason for Lan Zhan spitting up blood. He did smack Wei Ying for doing that, which I thought was cute and funny, but that’s still a far cry from what was supposed to be. Even the talk about Mian Mian was truncated and just didn’t have the same sentiments involved. Lan Zhan did get emotional over his family, but not to the degree that he did in the novel/audio drama. Also to be honest, most of the cave sequence in the donghua was just a little too dark. Like, I do appreciate the fact that they were trying to go for realism in a cave setting; I mean, at least they didn’t light up the cave at 9 pm (aka the time the Lans fall asleep like narcoleptic zombies...how do they even go on night hunts???) like it was Alaska during the summer:

But my poor eyes would have appreciated it even more if the donghua abandoned reality and simply lit up the surroundings more. They could have easily thrown in some glowing stalactites as the explanation for the unrealistic lighting. I was so happy whenever cultivation magic happened since those were the moments my eyes no longer had to strain.

Also, while the Xuanwu tortoise wasn’t much to write home about in The Untamed:

I did like the fact that I could see every CGI wrinkle on him. Actually, I’m being harsh, he really wasn’t too bad as CGI effects go in the show, and he’s definitely much better stationary than in action.

There was one thing that the donghua included that wasn’t in the novel, audio drama or the show, and that was Nie Huaisang. I actually don’t know why he was included...not that I’m complaining about it since I welcome more NHS in any version, but I thought that was a curious change and I would actually like to know the reason for why Team Donghua decided to add him in. Although, I can understand why The Untamed didn’t include him: first of all, he wasn’t meant to be there to begin with since he wasn’t in the novel but also perhaps they realized they didn’t need yet another damsel in distress who had to be constantly protected. One Mian Mian in the cave was enough.

With Apologies to Mian Mian

I know the Mian Mian in the cave was actually closer to the way she was portrayed in the novel, but I really didn’t like this version of Mian Mian since she isn’t the same one we’ve been living with in the show up until that point. In terms or The Untamed, the Mian Mian we know is much stronger, braver and smarter than that. I mean, this is the girl who diffused the tension between Wen Chao and Jin Zixuan at Qishan while casually side-stepping Wen Chao’s attempt at harassment at the same time. While I understand she was without her weapon in the cave and there had been no indication she was even that strong of a fighter to begin with, I’d still like to believe that had she been in character, she would’ve picked up one of the Wen’s swords and fought alongside everyone else against the Wen dogs. I don’t know why Team CQL decided to damsel her down in this instance, but I found it rather irritating. Her being the one to induce the Xuanwu’s bloodlust because she fucking tripped and hurt herself makes me cringe every single time I see this scene. That’s like a bimbo in a bad horror movie type of move and totally not worthy of the Mian Mian we’ve been blessed with up until then. This is the woman who will one day take off her sect robes and renounce her secthood in front of a roomful of sect leaders and her seniors due to her sense of righteousness, and then more than a decade later draw her sword to protect her family against two intruders hiding in her backyard....not to mention protect her husband and daughter against freaking ghost puppets while voluntarily going on night hunts. This Mian Mian isn’t one to cower behind anyone helplessly or carelessly tripping over her own feet, dammit. At least in the Xuanwu cave, Team CQL really did Mian Mian wrong.

Wei Wuxian is awesome

Again, a given as usual, but I still want to especially restate that fact because his recitation of the Wen Sect rules back to Wen Chao’s dumbass face is still one of my favorite Wei Ying moments. Not like I even have a non-favorite Wei Ying moment, but this definitely ranks at the top of the list. What made the moment even better was Wen Zhuliu’s reaction to Wen Chao’s ignorance.

I will never stop asking this: what the hell kind of debt does Wen Zhuliu owe Wen Ruohan that he would be willing to saddle himself with someone who is clearly very very much his intellectual and cultivational inferior? I know it’s a life debt, maybe his own life was saved, but that still hardly seems worth the trouble he has to put up with for all these years.

WangMian?? (j/k)

Even though Wei Ying was just teasing Lan Zhan about liking Mian Mian, I can kind of see why someone would mistakenly think Lan Zhan might have some interest in her based on this moment alone. The way the scene was constructed was rather interesting because of how Lan Zhan quickly rushes to Mian Mian’s side as soon as he notices she might be in danger. First time I watched this I thought, oh, he’s just doing that to block Wei Ying from getting into trouble and also to protect him from Wen Chao, but after reviewing the scene a few times since then, I realized his position isn’t quite right for that purpose. Or perhaps, Lan Zhan was protecting Mian Mian because in that instance she was someone who is weak and he was just acting on his principles. I can accept that explanation. After all, I don’t seriously think there was anything between Lan Zhan and Mian Mian, nor do I think Team CQL ever intended there to be, but that was still a rather motivationally vague way to execute that scene.

A Jealous Lan Zhan is Cute

I just love how over he is with Wei Ying flirting with Mian Mian. Lan Zhan was really chugging the vinegar there.

Wang Lingjiao is a Real Evil C-word

Speaking of people who downs vinegar like water, I have to take a moment to marvel at just how truly evil and petty a woman Wang Lingjiao is. The fact that in the middle of a highly dangerous, life or death battle with an ancient monster, she still found the time and mood to try to brand some poor girl her stupid sugar daddy showed just a teeny tiny bit of interest in is pretty astounding. She is really an unbelievably vile character. However, as much as I hate the character, and I will only hate her more in future episodes, I have nothing but praise for the casting choice for WLJ. Lu Enjie really nailed that role, not only in terms of performance but she had the perfect look and body language as well. And then, Qiu Qiu-laoshi’s voice acting made what was already perfect even more sublime. It was as if Wang Lingjiao literally stepped out of the pages of the novel and onto the screen.

Questions I Still Have

- Even now I actually don’t know how Wei Ying’s paperman trick works cuz there doesn’t seem to be much consistency in how it operates. Sometimes it seems like he’s just commanding it to do things, while other times he’s like putting his own consciousness in it. But even the degree of consciousness he is able to insert into the paperman seems to vary. What gives? And man, could Wei Ying have been more obvious with his little messenger in that moment?? That paperman flew to Wen Qing and clung to her in full view of everybody right behind her. Good thing the Wens obviously employ a bunch of blind dummies who are completely oblivious to their surroundings, otherwise both Wen Qing and Wei Ying would’ve been in deep shit.

- Did Wen Ruohan ever tell his son the game plan for keeping all the major sect’s kids? Cuz if the point was to hold the next generation of sect leaders hostage so that their parents won’t revolt against the Wens, KILLING them all in a cave is probably the LAST thing Daddy Wen would want Wen Chao to do. I mean, I would imagine nothing would incite a collective mutiny more than if everyone’s most precious heirs mysteriously died during a night hunt held by the Wens. Honestly, what the hell was Wen Chao thinking with that stunt? I guess the answer is he wasn’t thinking since he is kind of stupid, but then that begs the question why would Wen Ruohan let his idiot younger son be in charge of something so important in the first place? I wouldn’t trade the hostage situation in for anything since it did lead to important events in the story, but I guess I wish it wasn’t so flimsy-seeming in the logic department?

Overall Episode Rating: 9.5 Lil Apples out of 10

Disclaimer: The Untamed would not be possible without Mo Dao Zu Shi and Mo Xiang Tong Xiu-laoshi. I mean no disrespect whatsover when at times I may favor the shwo over the MDZS bible that is the novel. All hail MDZS and MXTX-laoshi, always and forever!

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otomates-a · 5 years

Note

🌹/🌺 with Selphy? if we wanna indulge the game or maybe with Sofia if we wanna do the crossover times 👀

LET ME KNOW YOUR SHIP IDEAS, I’LL RAMBLE ABOUT THEM.

↪ accepting / @rcguna.

🌺 — platonic ship & 🌹 — romantic ship inputs !

ah rune factory my one tru love & bias… if anything strikes ur fancy feel free to let me know… time to rant for 983475983475 years ok,

SELPHY & RAGUNA

RAGUNA’S RELATIONSHIP AND INTERACTIONS WITH SELPHY ARE SO PURE AND GOOD. selphy has really low self esteem and sort of (unintentionally) has a super low opinion of herself in general bc she knows she’s really ditzy and spacey… raguna really helps lift her up because he’s such a good person. i can imagine if she’s ever putting herself down too much, he’d be the type of person to either gently call her out on it and remind her she has a lot of good character traits or jokingly meet her in the middle and be like “well ur spacey sure but have u seen how ____ i am.” raguna softly helping her raise her confidence… bless

raguna would probably get stood up a lot by her… i’m sobbing… not in the “she intentionally did not meet me when we planned to meet way” but rather in the “oh my god selphy hasn’t eaten or slept in 3 days and she’s literally passed out in the middle of a forest under a tree again time to go scour the area and make sure she’s okay” way KJNHKJHNM i can imagine she’d actually spook him a lot because she takes such … bad care of herself … can’t even take her on adventures because halfway through the cave she’ll keel over and it’s like “SELPHY WTF” “i’m sorry raguna i just realized i have not had a sip of water in 2 days haha it be like that”

honestly tfw the local librarian’s life is in more danger from herself than urs is from monsters, i can see her probably pushing raguna to the point of having to be quite stern sometimes over her putting reading before taking care of herself

selphy thinks about other people more than herself tho so she’d absolutely be a worry-wart over raguna even from the moment they’ve just newly become friends. catch her occasionally sending him care kits full of herbs or materials he needs, medicine, etc, so he can take care of himself if he gets hurt.

she’d also try to give him a good luck protection charm at some point and it’d probably be handmade and also the ugliest thing he’s ever seen in his life but raguna is a good boy so u know he’d take it anyways jknmKJNM

despite everything selphy is extremely intelligent because of all her reading, though. there are times she reads very serious books & gathers info from them, so any time he needs ??? help ??? learning something new about the area or monsters or whatever he doesn’t even need to ask he can just barge into the library like “HEY,,”

selphy being a runaway princess tho i’m sobbing …. she wouldn’t really… ever bring that up until the two of them are extremely close, about how her country is in an uproar because she YEETED out of there and how she doesn’t trust knights or people who “treat her like a princess” …. and that’s why she likes raguna bc… he always just treated her like a person

selphy is??? super extra??? and loves communicating serious things via very fancy handwritten letters? any time she has something of major importance to tell raguna she’d totally send him a letter… and want him to respond back via letter… her literally just stopping anette each morning like “haha take this to raguna thanks!” game mechanics aside on an expressly #romantic note if feelings were ever confessed, it would mean more to her written on paper and u could bet the moment one of them sent that letter the other would probably come running and bust down their door to then Verbally Discuss It KJHNMKHJNM

she’s tol at 5′9″ she can look u directly in the eyes raguna … if she wears heels that day she’ll end up slightly taller than him so u better be ready to stand on some stairs buddy

the real danger to their relationship would be her passing out while reading in the bath and drowning. inb4 raguna begs melody to keep an eye on her any time she’s at the bathhouse 😂

bonus romance exclusive concept : selphy kissing raguna’s palm and saying it’s a spell to keep him safe during his daily adventures. she knows, she’s an expert.

SOFIA & RAGUNA

OH GOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS WITH SOFIA ARE ALWAYS…. they’re special. i feel like raguna would probably catch on a lot quicker than most, though. he seems like one of the few people who wouldn’t need it explained to him, he’d just pick up on it early on?? bc sofia’s expressions and actions never match how cruel her words are and raguna generally sees the best in people, so he’d likely be perceptive enough to notice that and be like “????????? are you speaking in opposites wtf weird but okay!”

that being said WOW SOFIA WOULD NOT KNOW HOW TO REACT TO RAGUNA AT FIRST because people “getting her” and being kind towards her (or, at least, accepting her as she is without making it weird, rather) is something she’s never really experienced. she would think he’s super weird and just messing with her… which would foster the doubt in the back of her mind that he actually hates her and is just being nice bc he’s nice to everyone, which is something he’d have to convince her she’s wrong about

after she adjusts to him though she’d love tagging along with him on adventures and would always be up for helping him out any time he leaves town, whether it be to just gather materials or battle monsters.

sofia doesn’t have many friends in the sense that she feels she annoys most people, so raguna being as sweet & outgoing as he is would catch her off guard most times … even small gestures of friendship fluster her because she doesn’t know what to make of it. hanging out with her would definitely feel special even if they’re doing something stupid, because just seeing him ??? would brighten her day ??? like she can’t believe someone as great as him would want to spend time with a liar like her

she will gift him garbage. it will be the worst gifts he ever gets, but she will hope he likes it… if he actually keeps any of it and she visits his house or anything and sees it, she will absolutely get teary eyed.

she will also absolutely keep anything he gifts her and display it in her room bc “raguna is (not special at all) and she (will always immediately throw away any useless give he gives her)”

she would have some insecurities ofc… she already thinks that the way she speaks causes people to dislike her, so even after convincing her that he doesn’t hate her, whether it be a strong friendship or romance that blossomed between them, he’d have to let her know that he’s okay with who she is. she’d undoubtedly go through a period of time where she tries to change herself to speak normally, then psyche herself out doing it. that scene where she says “i love you!” normally and the protag thinks she’s saying she hates him is canon no matter the relationship, #growingpains KJNHMKHJNM

but also eventually if raguna ever told her he loves her (either platonically or romantically, she’s struck through the kokoro by both) she’ll cry. a lot. but like happy cry. bonus points she’d cling to him if he threw in a point that he likes her BECAUSE of who she is

she’s literally never even held a hand before tbh so if their hands even accidentally brushed against each other she’d get so flustered raguna might have to worry she’s going to die

she’s only 5′0″, if raguna wants to kiss or hug or whatever, he’s either got to lean all the way hecking down or lift her up and that’s aesthetic

bonus romance exclusive concept : raguna having to slowly work his way up to showing his affection bc she’s so shy. first he has to just link pinkies with her. then eventually he can hold her hand. then lace their fingers. then link their arms. then he can kiss her knuckles. then her hand, then her cheek, etc, etc… he has to take Smol Steps and it’s cute.

WILL SMITH POSES. THERE U GO I #TRIEDMYBEST.

#rcguna #when i say i'll ramble ideas i'm not playin KJNMHKJHNMKJNM #THESE WERE CUTE BLESS #* . °◞ ❤ ooc.#anyways hi i love raguna... best rf protag i'll fight god for him

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vestirkano · 5 years

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CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE PROMPT

01. Tell us about your character’s name. Was it given to them or chosen? Does it hold any special meaning? If your character has aliases or nicknames, how did they get them and what do they mean?

CONTENT WARNING: kidnap mention /// his real name is vaestkyrn nakos tenua. when he was kidnapped, nobody wanted to pronounce his name vaestkyrn. everybody called him by a bastardized version of it. his real name meant radiant and gentle. over time, he adopted the name vestir which resembles most closely to the zelosian name that means radiant and victory. he doesn’t actually know this fact. he did intentionally pick the surname of his mentor on the pirate crew because she was the only one who showed him kindness and warmth. possibly even more so than his parents who never came to rescue him.

02. What is your character’s relationship to their homeworld? Do they hold fond memories of it, or do they hate it? Are they still here, and if not, do they miss it?

vestir has not gone back and refuses to go. no matter how much money may be offered, he will not return to zelos ii. despite any fond memories he may recall, there is a caustic taste left in his mouth. he holds a deep resentment towards his “big and powerful” senator parents.

03. Describe your character’s relationship with those who raised them. Was it positive? Negative? Neutral? What sorts of ideologies were they raised with, and do they still stand by them now?

his birth parents are dead to him (his father is actually dead). they were very active in the politics scene. they were excellent economists. they wanted to reinvigorate zelos ii’s economy by pushing for less strict trade regulations but were unsuccessful in putting their foot down in other matters. their military forces were often sent to follow plans proposing by other neighboring planets’ senators to “benefit” the republic as a whole. their gaping hole in security allowed pirates to infest the planet. vestir still remembers a variety of their capitalist driven values. he doesn’t care much for their teachings about integrity and service though.

his mentor, mykana, was a middle-aged woman who wasn’t a conventional maternal figure. but she did do her best to keep vestir alive, even going so far as getting hit in vestir’s place by the captain. he did pick up his temper from her but he also retained her work ethic, selective & fierce protectiveness, and tendency to be emotionally distanced.

04. What is your character’s relationship with the Force? Is your character Force-sensitive? Whether or not they are, do they believe in it? Do they lean more towards the dark or the light or are they somewhere in between?

it’s like vestir has a chronic disease that isn’t properly diagnosed. the force tries to speak to him but he was never taught to decipher it so it feels like a pressure building in his mind. he describes it as a cross of a migraine pain and white noise that he can ignore for the most part. sometimes it’s much worse than others. if he was any more sensitive to the force, maybe on the same level as his baby brother, he might’ve gone completely lost to the pain.

05. What three word would you use to describe your character? What three words would your character use to describe themselves? What three words would someone close to them use?

i would use: stubborn, selfish, arrogant

vestir would say: strong-willed, opportunistic, handsome

he has exactly one person who’s close to him... and that person says: “late for dinner”

06. Describe your character’s aesthetic. Do they tend towards fashion or function? Do they like to accessorize? How does this extend into their own personal spaces, such as their home or their workspace?

vestir's way of dressing himself is borderline homeless chic (it is a real thing, and yes, high fashion really found a way to commodify this) and actually looking homeless. it’s almost genius the way he always looks like he has nothing valuable on him at all times. but in almost every pocket is a mf KNIFE or something. his ship looks the same way on the inside. it’s all pretty neat and modest looking, and it’s because he’s hidden stuff everywhere.

07. What are your character’s vices? Guilty pleasures? Bad habits? Weak spots?

he’s hot tempered. his indoor voice is still him yelling. he wakes up and sits in bed, frowning for a good 30 minutes. he cuts his own hair. pick ass eater. he thinks white lies are fine. he shoplifts; not because he has to but because he can. sometimes he steals from his paying clients too. fights any mandalorian on sight.

he has a weak spot for sugar water. it’s the only thing that gets him drunk. alcohol has no effect on him so he does tend to hustle people into drinking contests. naturally money is a huge weak spot as well.

08. Tell us about your character’s relationship with food. What are their favorites? Do they enjoy cooking? Are they adventurous? Will they eat absolutely anything or are they hard to please?

he photosynthesizes. it cuts down on expenses so that he has more money for weapons and ship parts. he does not have a refined palette but he is picky once he finds something he really likes

09. How does your character feel about engaging in relationships—romantic and / or sexual—with others? What is their history like? Do they fall in love easily? Are they constantly in and out of relationships?

um WELL. he absolutely has no interest. there were a few people who have come onto him with sexual intent in the past. he indulged them but he has this incredible way of losing interest 2 minutes into whatever activity they start engaging in. he doesn’t develop feelings easily. he doesn’t like being that close to people because he’s allergic to the spectrum of human emotions and vulnerability. so it comes as a surprise any time someone develops a crush on him. he’s self aware enough to know he always disappoints those people when they realize his cool-guy-devil-may-care attitude is just him being a genuine asshole.

10. What is your character’s pain tolerance like? Can they hold their own in a fight, despite injury? If someone hurts them with the aim of gaining information, how much can they take before they cave?

he’s not super smart but he is tough and stubborn. he learned early on that if he shows people he’s feeling the pain, they’ll think they got control over him. he’ll grit his teeth and bleed out from biting his tongue before he admits that anybody’s got the best of him.

11. What is your character’s weapon of choice? Are they more skilled as a melee fighter or do they have more skill with ranged weapons? What’s their fighting style like? What sort of training do they have behind them?

you know how krav maga’s philosophy is really based on instinct-based movements and using “weapons of opportunity” (if there is a lolipop nearby, he will stab you in the trachea with it) to attack your opponents? that’s how he fights. he’s scrappy and his “””instincts””” are pretty sharp. when you’re a pirate who isn’t given any weapons or even told where all the nearest exits are, you start getting creative so you don’t get your ass handed to you during a raid. he is skilled with blasters but he’s more of a friend-fire on type of person.

12. Does your character have any words or catchphrases that they say frequently? Tell us about how they picked them up.

he still says “crink” a lot which is the “fuck” equivalent for outer rim pirates. but don’t get him wrong he still says fuck a lot. he has a lot of stupid yet vulgar hutt imagery that he defaults to when he’s mad. like, “DEEPTHROAT A HUTT’S TAIL” or “choke on hutt slime.” there was a gunner back in his bounty guild who had a deep bias against hutts and vestir picked up on it. at first he thought it was just funny but now he can’t stop. so he played himself

13. Tell us about a negative experience your character has had with either the Jedi or the Sith, and how this has affected their standing. Whether currently aligned or unaligned with either faction, if forced to choose, how would they side?

well the sith empire withheld his pay a few times because he didn’t do a “good enough” job so he thinks they can deepthroat a hutt’s tail. a jedi once lectured him on his life’s choices. he generally just doesn’t like the jedis because he thinks they’re pompous and doesn’t get involved nearly as much even with their holier-than-thou attitudes. if he had to choose a side, he’d choose one that offers a longer life expectancy for himself

14. How would your character react to seeing a relative or friend on the opposing side of a battle or mission?

easy. they’re getting ONE warning shot so they can get a head start and then all bets are off.

15. Describe a memory that your character finds embarrassing.

vestir and aerith were shipwrecked on a deserted area with nobody around for miles. the temperature dropped to frigid conditions. they made an executive decision to share a bed and huddle for warmth. vestir “never cuddled anybody” kano knee’d aerith in the ass. at some point he sneezed on the back of aerith’s neck.

16. What goals does your character hold for themself and what steps have they taken towards achieving them? How far are they willing to go to reach them? What is their be-all and end-all?

he is always surprised that he’s able to live for another year. he has no long term goal. he has no idea what that is. he stays alive out of spite honestly. his captain told him he’d never live past 15 with that mouth of his so he never stopped mouthing off at everything since then. although there is a side of him that finds a certain sense of fulfillment from keeping his travel partner safe

17. What is the one thing your character would change about their life if they were given the chance? What other lives could they have lived as a result?

CONTENT WARNING: human trafficking //// nothing. he feels like everything helped open his eyes to all the ugly truth under the gilded illusions he used to live in. his jaded outlook and “carefree” lifestyle gives him control of his life. also if it wasn’t him, it’d be some other kid. he knows he was hard headed enough to survive this life. he made himself useful and avoided being sold off at several points while he was with the crew. others may not be as fortunate.

18. Living in such a high-conflict time, how does your character feel about doing what they must to survive? Will they hurt or kill others—either directly or indirectly—to protect themselves and / or those close to them? If so, do they regret it when all is said and done?

No ragrets. he lowkey has stole someone’s bounty after they put in all the hardwork, which is a cardinal sin in bounty hunting. but he didn’t have a way to repair the engine and make sure aerith had enough food to last the upcoming long journey. he does what he has to. if he deems it necessary, he’ll do it

19. What is the biggest problem your character is currently dealing with?

finding aerith

20. Give us 3+ headcanons of any length or subject matter.

he cannot stand pets or animals in general. same with babies, really

surprisingly, he can dance. there’s literally nobody living who knows this fact though

every once in 120 years, all the moons of zelos ii are visible at once. he actually misses the moon festivals from his childhood

bonus. Give us a list of any length telling us why our “fave is problematic.”

stop playing we don’t have time for this. but to name a few:

he would pour milk first before the cereal

doesn’t know how to whistle

“i need a new gun” “there is no why” “I SAID I NEED A NEW GUN, AERITH” “I KNOW I HAVE PLENTY” “BECAUSE I LIKE THAT ONE”

will stop smiling if you look at him and remind him he’s showing an emotion

has made aerith cry

will sell you for a single cornchip and the pocket change in someone’s pockets

blames you for farting when it was literally his fault

does not want to better himself

pretends he was listening to you then interrupts you just to hit you with a “damn that’s crazy”

that one time (plus 40 more times) where he ran off without his teammates during a gig

#( headcanons )#sidereal prompt 01 #trauma but make it meme !

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imagine-loki · 6 years

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Never Enough

TITLE: Never Enough CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 2 AUTHOR: the-devil-herself ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine finding out that your soulmate is Loki and your very first kiss is interrupted by Thor shouting “Yeeessss” RATING: M NOTES/WARNINGS: Also on AO3 here

Present Day

Bang! Bang!

I let out a frustrated groan. I knew who it was. “I’ll be out in a minute!” I yelled back. The banging only stopped for a minute before it began again.

Tony had been trying to get me out of my room all morning. He started this obnoxious banging since 5 am, and there was no way in hell I was actually waking up that early. The only thing I was told was that there was a “family meeting” happening soon. A lot of the Avengers would be back from missions so we needed to be prepared to start as soon as they returned. They still hadn’t shown up, but I could tell they would be here soon.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Tony’s knocks were getting louder. I quickly put on a pair of pants and opened the door to a very agitated billionaire. “What the hell Tony?” I exclaimed, walking right past him. I checked the clock in the kitchen and saw it was 7 am. “Tony,” I groaned as I started making myself breakfast, “it is a weekend, and I had perfectly relaxing plans for sleeping all morning. What is so damn important?”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and simply stood there. He maintained an annoyed and frustrated glare at me as I pulled out the bowls and spoons. I finally stopped what I was doing and stared back, but he wasn’t moving. I threw my arms up. “Alright!” I gave up. “What is it?”

“Thank you for finally crawling out of your cave to join us, Dana,” he snarked back. I ignored him, though, and focused on my cereal.

However, when I turned around and looked at the living room behind the kitchen counter, I saw why he was so pissed. All the Avengers were sitting on the couches, looking straight at me. I couldn’t tell if they had been waiting for a while, but I prayed it wasn’t long. Thor was seated by himself in one of Tony’s comfortable chairs, grinning at me like always. No one else looked amused.

“Dana! We’ve been waiting for you,” Thor greeted me. He was oblivious to the annoyance of the other members at my tardiness and came up to me for a huge hug. I held him tight, having missed him for all these years.

“What are you doing here?” I inquired incredulously.

Thor laughed and walked me over to the couches where the rest of the team sat. Everyone seemed to relax a bit more at seeing my reunion with Thor. “I’m here to see old friends, of course!”

I didn’t believe him. “But I haven’t seen you since..,” I drifted off, knowing mentions of that day were probably still too raw for him,“..since New York.”

Thor’s eyes clouded for a moment. Regret, pain, mourning, and anger all passed through his face in a matter of seconds, but I still saw it. He caught himself and returned to his usual friendly smile. He responded, “It indeed has been way too long, but now it seems there are things we need to discuss. All of us.”

I turned to the others, but they too seemed confused about what he was talking about. All except Tony. He just continued looking pissed, and I had a reason to suspect it wasn’t just because of my stubborn behavior earlier. He refused to sit down, choosing to stand by the couch were Natasha and Steve sat quietly. He had been uncharacteristically silent during the whole interaction as well, which was always a cause for concern.

Bruce was the first to break the silence. “Thor, what’s going on here?” he asked the question on all our minds.

Thor sighed and smiled at me one more time before beginning. “My… brother,” he started, causing everyone to tense up, “has spent years in Asgardian prison.”

“Where he belongs,” Clint piped up. He was sitting on the floor at Nat’s feet, exhausted from having just returned from a mission.

I shot Clint a glance warning him to be nice. Yes, Loki destroyed half of the city, but Thor still cared for him deeply.

Truth be told, I wasn’t around when the battle was fought. I was tucked up with my family in a completely different state. We watched it all happen on TV like most others did, staying up all through the night to make sure the enemies were defeated. However, I did experience something weird then. Days before the battle, my secret mark began to burn again. Gradually, but enough to gain my attention. Then, when I saw Loki on the TV, my wrist began to burn again like it had in New Mexico. I had to excuse myself and place my arm in cold water for half an hour before it faded.

My mark hasn’t burned like that since.

Thor gulped, dragging our attention back to him. “Yes, I understand, but it seems my mother has pleaded with the Allfather for these past years to give Loki a chance to… rehabilitate.” Multiple scoffs were given from around the room. “Odin has agreed.”

“You can’t be serious?” Steve demanded. “He killed hundreds, destroyed half the city, and brought about an alien invasion that we’re still cleaning up after!”

“Steve,” Thor said quietly. “I know. But I cannot defy an order from Odin.” Steve backed down. It had been clear since we met him that Thor’s father was a king that was not to be disobeyed. With Thor’s former banishing, we knew he meant business. “And he is also my brother. He got sucked in to evils beyond our understanding, but I can get him back. I can bring him back again.”

“How exactly do you plan on doing that?” Nat questioned.

All eyes were on Thor.

He couldn’t look at us back. Instead he gazed at the carpet. “Thor?” I pushed. “Where is Loki?”

Thor eyes turned soft when they found mine again. I could see that same sadness in him that I saw seven years ago. His life was completely different to what he had planned, and his family was torn apart. Finding out your parents lied to you about your brother’s heritage for your whole life along with realizing that same brother wanted to kill you was probably taxing.

“It has been requested that he is sent here."

That’s when the screaming started. Clint started shouting about how Loki should be dead for his crimes. Steve and Tony argued about whether this was even a plausible idea. Nat tried to calm Bruce down before he had an anxiety attack. Thor stayed silent.

"He’s a murderer!”

“He’ll be dead the minute he steps foot on Earth anyways…”

“… Fury would never agree…”

The fights weren’t stopping.

“Tony,” I spoke firmly. Everyone stopped to peer at me. “Tony, we have to help Thor.”

No response.

“Guys, we can’t leave this for Thor to handle alone. The Avengers have a responsibility to protect this world, and maybe, giving Loki a chance to redeem himself is a way of protection. I mean look at what he did in New York. It took six of you to defeat him! He’s powerful, he’s clever, he has allies and enemies across the galaxy. We don’t really want another attack coming from him, do we?”

Tony considered what I had said for a moment. Although, Clint did not budge. “Dana, you don’t know this guy. He’s pure evil. I killed friends because of him!”

I released Thor’s hand and stood up from my seat. “Do not dare to assume I don’t know this man,” I snarled, “because you would be wrong. I have met him- in New Mexico. And I saw it all. He’s a powerful being, and, guys, we need him as our ally now more than ever. We’ve been experiencing increases in alien attacks and supernatural occurrences ever since. We could use a magic-wielder like Loki on our team.”

Clint and Nat still thought it was all nonsense, but it appeared that I had gotten through to Tony and Steve. Bruce was still cautious.

“She’s right,” Steve spoke up. “We need more help. Each day new alien tech is invented, and people are now getting access to advanced weapons that we can’t outgun.”

The whole team silently agreed with what he was saying, but Clint still looked furious. It was expected though, since Clint was the only team member to have been made to kill other agents by Loki’s scepter. He had moved on and recovered, but we all knew how hard it was for him to even think about that day and what he did.

“Clint, my dear friend,” Thor uttered. “Would you believe me if I said that you were not the only victim of manipulation that day?”

This was news to us. Clint’s eyes softened a bit, but his muscles were still tense.

Thor continued, “Loki has admitted to us that he was not in control that day… that a mad Titan had tortured and exploited him for about a year before New York. The monster, Thanos, found him when he fell from the Bifrost.”

I sat back down next to Thor, processing all this new information. Everybody was taught that Loki was a bad guy and nothing more, but now… this changes everything. He was being used.

Before anyone could respond, Thor muttered, “I’ve seen the scars…. He tells the truth."

"It’s decided then,” Steve said, getting a supportive nod from Tony. “He may come here.”

“But!” Tony interrupted. “He gets one chance, Big Guy. He does something, says something, even thinks of something that harms or jeopardizes others, he is gone.”

Loki was coming.

#Loki #Lover #Angst #God of Mischief #Others #Imagine #Submitted fic #submission #never enough #chapter 2 #the-devil-herself #soul mate #first kiss #interrupted #thor #shouting

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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What If…? Episode 6 Review: Killmonger to the Rescue

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This review contains spoilers for Marvel’s What If…? episode 6.

Episode 6 of Marvel’s What If…?, entitled “What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?”, might be the flattest episode to come out of the series so far, but it at least works in the way the other Disney+ Marvel shows work. It takes a character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe who didn’t get quite enough time in the spotlight and gives us more. In this case, it’s the charismatic Black Panther villain Erik “Killmonger” Stevens.

As he was only relevant to the Black Panther movie, we get to see the character step out of that bubble and interact with some other MCU mainstays. His connection with Tony Stark cheats the world out of Iron Man, but there’s the question of whether the situation might have a positive effect on Killmonger’s soul, like how his cousin T’Challa inspired Thanos and Yondu to be better people in a different alternate reality. Once that question is answered, the episode meanders until abruptly ending.

If you regularly read our weekly What If…? reviews (try saying that three times fast) you may already know that these pieces have their own unique format. It’s more of a breakdown that we hope will satisfy die-hard Marvel fans but help bring those less familiar with the MCU up to speed.

Alright, let’s get into “What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?”…

Required viewing

The two main movies you need to see are Iron Man and Black Panther. The whole nexus event of the episode revolves around Tony Stark’s superhero origin, but you don’t need to check out his sequels (even if the Stark drones resemble Whiplash’s handiwork from Iron Man 2). The scene where we meet Ulysses Klaue is an alternate take on his introduction in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but watching that movie is not a necessity for this story.

Voice cast

As always, Uatu the Watcher is Jeffrey Wright. In the Black Panther corner, we get plenty of returning voices like Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger, the late Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, John Kani as King T’Chaka, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, and Danai Gurira as Okoye. On the Iron Man side, Don Cheadle is James Rhodes, Jon Favreau is Happy Hogan, Paul Bettany is JARVIS, and Leslie Bibb is Christine Everhart.

For those replacing the original actors, Mick Wingert is Tony Stark, Beth Hoyt is Pepper Potts, Ozioma Akagha is Shuri, Mike McGuill is General Thaddeus Ross, and Kiff Vandenheuvel is Obadiah Stane. I mean, I guess Don Cheadle as James Rhodes also sort of counts here, but that’s just splitting hairs.

What’s different?

The military career of Navy Seal Erik Stevens, codename Killmonger, brings him to infiltrating the Ten Rings and uncovering a plan to capture Tony Stark and use him to arm the terrorist organization. Acting on this information, Killmonger appears during the Ten Rings’ violent attempt to grab Stark. When the Stark-branded bomb lands near its creator, Stark is saved at the last second by Killmonger, who throws the bomb into the distance and outguns the would-be kidnappers.

In this reality, Stark’s heart is never pierced with shrapnel and he never finds himself having to build a robot suit…in a CAVE! With a BOX OF SCRAPS! He also doesn’t learn his lesson as he chooses to continue making weapons and even doubles down on it. Killmonger earns his trust further by exposing Obadiah Stane as being part of the kidnapping plot. Stark chooses to promote Killmonger to Stane’s old position (fitting, since Stane’s villain name is Warmonger) and he invests in an old idea of Killmonger’s to create mech-like drones.

Pepper Potts is uneasy with all of this, feeling that Killmonger is hiding his true intentions.

The drones can’t be completed due to the lack of a viable power source. Stark considers Arc Reactor technology, but discards the idea as a pipe dream. Killmonger talks up how vibranium could do it and sacrifices his necklace heirloom to make it work. Inspired, Stark decides to set up a meeting with Ulysses Klaue to buy more vibranium off the black market. James Rhodes acts on Stark’s behalf and that’s when things break down.

Black Panther interrupts the meeting to take back his country’s vibranium. Killmonger appears, subdues both Black Panther and Rhodes, and kills them both. Though not before he chastises Rhodey for working for a broken system that oppresses people like them. He makes it appear that the two killed each other, visits Stark (who is aware of the truth), kills him, and spells it out that the two never truly shared the same vision. As Stark dies from a vibranium spear, the Dora Milaje is blamed and war begins to brew between the United States and Wakanda.

Killmonger kills Klaue and uses his corpse to enter Wakanda and earn the trust of his estranged royal family. He sets up a battle against the Stark drones and leads the Wakandans to victory.

How does it work out?

It’s very open-ended, but it’s a dour situation. King T’Chaka makes Killmonger the new Black Panther. It’s only a matter of time before Killmonger betrays his uncle and gets his long-awaited revenge, showing that even in this reality, Tony Stark inadvertently sets things in motion for T’Chaka getting assassinated. T’Challa confronts Killmonger in the Panther spirit realm and warns him that his actions will have dire consequences.

Meanwhile, Shuri is not fooled by Killmonger’s charms and works with Pepper Potts in hoping to expose Killmonger and prevent the war from escalating.

Standout moments

One of the absolute highlights is the moment of Stark looking over Killmonger’s schematics for his drone idea, which look very Gundam-like. Killmonger sheepishly admits that he likes anime, which is a subtle, in-universe way for the character to admit that his blue, armored uniform is absolutely him trying to steal Vegeta’s look.

The press conference is incredibly satisfying, just in the sense that Killmonger shuts down Stane’s schemes with receipts and confidence, easily nipping that problem in the bud. Happy punching Stane out cold is the icing on the cake. It makes me think about how the plot of Iron Man is incredibly obvious for those who speak Urdu as the Ten Rings terrorists straight-up tell the viewer that Obadiah Stane is behind the kidnapping.

Speaking of the Ten Rings, their involvement certainly feels like it has more weight to it after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. How fitting that Killmonger would make such a strong foil to the Ten Rings’ leader Wenwu, who is also obsessed with a secretive and fantastic utopian society that considers him an outsider despite a familial connection.

We get our third Chadwick Boseman performance in this series and once again, it hits hard in its own way. The Star-Lord episode was like a celebration of T’Challa that talked up his potential to make the universe a better place. The zombie episode had him give a meaningful speech about remembering the dead and keeping their memories in your heart. Now we see T’Challa’s casket and see him appear as a spirit.

Also, man, for someone who is the key to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man has not been doing so good on this show. He’s made three appearances so far and he’s died each time. The comic version of What If…? was never too kind to the likes of Magneto, Loki, Kingpin, or Beast, and now it looks like Stark is their television counterpart.

I think there’s supposed to be an episode coming up about him ending up on Sakaar, so let’s hope he does better that time around.

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See you next week! Same Watcher time! Same Watcher streaming service! In the meantime, if you want to dig deeper into What If…?, subscribe to Marvel Standom on the Den of Geek YouTube channel, where we dish out weekly episodes on all the new Marvel TV series, trailers and movie releases. Can’t stand our faces? That’s fair! You can listen to Marvel Standom on Spotify and Apple, too.

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lightsandlostbells · 6 years

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SkamFr Episode 6 reaction

For some reason the read-more keeps getting removed from my long-ass posts even though I make an effort to put it in, I apologize for that.

This episode contained some really great things (Alex 💖💖!) and also made me able to articulate something about the remake that is part of why, despite having things I’ve enjoyed, I don’t feel it is that emotionally resonant. It lacks fragility.

Clip 1: Lucas gets the dirt from Emma

You know I don't have a problem with Yann being a skateboarder or whatever, that's where they're going with his character, but it low-key exasperates me because (as we just heard this week) Jonas was into skateboarding because Marlon Langeland was. Similar example, Sana played basketball because Iman Meskini plays basketball in real life. I believe Eva’s Black Swan costume was a nod to Lisa Teige being a dancer. Is Yann’s actor into skateboarding IRL? I don't know. Maybe he is. But by sticking to the original characters so slavishly, they're missing on opportunities to personalize them and play to the actors’ strengths. Like these are really simple things they could do to differentiate the characters to make it more of a personalized production.

I mean it’s totally fine and even a little charming if Yann is kind of a crappy skateboarder, lmao (I am not an expert).

I forgot how much Isak leads into this conversation with Eva, trying to get the details. But that actually makes more sense to me because in this version, Lucas just sits down, asks if everything is okay, and then Emma confesses right away. If this has been weighing on her (which it has), she could have told one of her girls, who would have been a “safer” choice to tell? Maybe not Daphne, but Manon wouldn’t have cared and wouldn’t have any reason to tell Yann - ignoring Lucas’ real motivation at this point, he is also Yann’s BFF and might feel a sense of loyalty to him. Any way you look at it, not a great person to confess to. Isak was at least leading Eva a bit and encouraging her to open up, so it makes sense that she would cave and share with him in that moment.

I never noticed before but at the beginning of the original clip you can see Isak and Eva walking together, cute.

No offense to these actors but Lisa and Tarjei are the ones from the original I miss most. For all of the social media for Lucas and Emma that makes them seem like good friends, within the clips themselves I don't really feel like they're close.

Clip 2 - girls at lunch

On the one hand, I get why they picked episodes 7 and 8 to merge, gossip travels fast and I could see these events unfolding rapidly. On the other hand, there’s a lot of really weighty material in these episodes so it’s unfortunate.

So the big thing here is obviously that Alex hooked up with a girl! I saw the post about the actress confirming her as bi, so that’s terrific. What would be great is if this was integrated into future seasons - what if Kasper was a girl??? A deeply weird girl. I would be all kinds of into it. Or just keeping up the trend of her casually talking about girls, having her chime in to correct Vilde/Daphne’s ill-advised comments about lesbians, etc.

This is also pretty big because she’s apparently out, at least to her friends? There’s not going to be a coming out season for her unless it’s for her family or something. So should they decide to do an Alex season or involve her sexuality in a future storyline, it would be from the perspective of someone who is already open and seemingly comfortable in her sexuality. I seriously hope they do some exciting stories with this piece of information.

Poor Daphne clinging to her delusions. Her enthusiasm about double dating with Emma, Alex, and Charles is so sad.

Were the jerseys in the previous episode at all? Manon being like “I can’t stand seeing you in this jersey” when it’s the first time Daphne’s worn it (though I agree, once is enough). I checked and Daphne wasn’t wearing one, she had on some cute sweaters. Did Charles have to like ... order one in her size ... and the shipping took a week ... because that was a big thing to overlook, costuming wise.

I was going to say that they could have shot the rest of the scene in the cafeteria, with Manon pointing out girls in there wearing the jerseys, but we got Manon taking Daphne by the hand so that was nice. And I guess it might be awkward for Daphne to realize this at the lunch table.

OK, Emma launching herself at Yann for a makeout session during this heartfelt moment where Manon is trying to make Daphne feel better about a boy not liking her is rather insensitive. Read the room, Emma. (I know she’s trying to alleviate her guilt. It’s still pretty WTF.)

I know that a lot of criticism has been directed at the remake sticking to closely to the original, and I’ve certainly done my share of this, but I’m really disappointed they choose to cut Vilde’s line about feeling like there was something wrong with her. It was so raw and heartbreaking and real and it’s too bad that of all the things they’ve been keeping the same, they got rid of that part. For example, the Alex and Lucas “flirting” could have been cut to make room for that line; that moment felt forced and stilted anyway, and it’s the exact thing they should be cutting if they’re having to compress the story for time.

Clip 3 - confronting Charles

I thought the whole bit about Vilde not having dignity was one of the less excusable Sana moments from S1 since it’s not directed at something Vilde did wrong or said to help her, but Alex snorting after Imane says it is probably an added sting for Daphne.

Charles is the fucking worst. I feel like he’s even worse than William at this point, tbh. He just seems smarmier and sleazier. I’m not saying the actor’s bad or anything, I just find this dude to have an extra layer of creep. William seemed kind of checked out of the Vilde confrontation, what is this interrupting my day, Charles seems more deliberately trying to twist the knife.

Uhhhh I guess it’s nice that Charles and Alex have more of a friendship and Alex can tease him about getting verbally shredded by Manon and all but he was also cool with standing there as his best bro told a girl that he fucked that she wasn’t pretty enough for him so frankly, Raptor Alex is the worst, too.

I will go into Manon at the end but this moment was fine, it wasn’t my favorite thing she did this episode but I thought she showed more fire this week than in previous ones.

I also missed the moment where Vilde called Sana out on throwing water in Ingrid‘s face and Sana replies that she had a good reason for that because it was a little reminder of that incident and foreshadowing to the reveal of why she did it. I get why they cut it but it might’ve been nice since I’ve seen more divided opinions on Imane and whether, in making Daphne less offensive and less willing to speak up for herself, they’ve made Imane seem unnecessarily rude.

But also, in watching the original clip, I think Vilde was inspired or bolstered by Sana’s comments not to confront William (who are you to tell me what to do, you just put me down, you’re telling me not to ruin things when you also caused a scene) and Noora‘s encouragement (Noora had previously comforted her and given her the idea to confront him).

Clip 4 - The fight

Depending on your POV, the fourth wall breakage about a Norwegian tv show was either groan-worthy or cute. I thought it was sweet.

What kind of books do you think Daphne reads? I assume, much like Vilde, she reads exclusively The Secret, The Game and other self-help/relationship manuals.

I also liked Emma calling Manon “Booba” and giving her that little shoulder squeeze.

You know I never realized quite how much this would’ve been embarrassing for Vilde. Not just because of what William said, but because that was supposed to be her moment. Confronting William was supposed to be her proving to be a badass. Instead William cruelly put her down in public, and instead it was Noora who got to be the badass. You know, Noora, who in Vilde’s eyes is prettier, thinner, and cooler than she is, and who William instantly has an attraction to (not that Vilde got to see this). Vilde’s words didn’t land a blow to William at all, but Noora managed to leave William speechless. He didn’t put Noora down, it was Noora he was impressed with. So even when the girls are like good job, Noora, about this epic moment that Vilde didn’t see because she had to walk off in shame and hurt, Vilde’s empowering moment was snatched away from her. Ouch.

Manon was a boss in this fight. I kind of hate the term “mama bear” but that’s what came to mind here.

The fight itself went on for too long, Manon’s excellence aside. It also made me think that a physical fight inside the school would be a more serious deal than a fight outside of it, in the sense that teachers/adults are definitely going to notice. IDK how French school works but at my high school everyone involved would be hauled off to the principal’s office right away.

Clip 5 - Emma on the steps

The bit with Emma being called a whore on Facebook - I wouldn’t say that’s a NICE touch, but it adds to the aspect of social media being used for bullying.

Yeah Ingrid is straight up intimidating. Manon is like a little mouse beside her. But lmao at Sarah immediately folding when Manon stood up.

I did like Ingrid stepping in front of Sarah. That’s her girl.

THEIR INSTAGRAM POSTS ARE SO DRAMATIC. JESUS.

Clip 6 - Manon comforting Emma

The scene was cute, especially Emma starting to sing along.

I legit do not care what anyone ships but I’m so ????? at how people could ship Manon and Charles at this point except by already being a Noorhelm fan and having the knowledge that they are a future couple. Because like ... if you were watching this not having seen the original show, Charles’ role has to been to be a jerk to a girl he slept with and spoil this lovely moment between two friends in order to deliver some rapey as fuck dialogue about how No is a Yes in waiting. WTF. I don’t want to get into the discourse but he is deeply creepy here!

I would not be surprised if Blurred Lines is Charles’ cheer-up song of choice.

I kind of laughed about Manon watching House of Cards because isn’t House of Cards considered a prestige show, Spacey scandal aside? I watched several seasons of it; although it is like a political soap opera, I thought it was supposed to be kind of an award bait. It doesn’t seem that weird that Manon would watch it even if she’s not a TV person, lol. But maybe it is, I don’t know! I thought Suits was more of a sort of guilty pleasure procedural but I’ve never seen that show, so maybe my perception is all wrong.

Clip 7 - Daphne’s extraordinary meeting

Alex’s hair is indeed very pretty. Nice job.

Soooo this scene.

In the original, while Vilde tells the story about Ingrid and Jonas, the camera stays on a close-up of Eva’s miserable, guilty face while memories of what happened flash by in her mind. In the remake the camera focuses a lot on Daphne as she’s telling the story, with some shots of the group, and only cuts to Emma for a few short moments. The result is that this scene is much less emotionally effective. Yes, I already know the story, I know the twist, perhaps that matters. But I’m not deep in Emma’s pain. You really feel it with Eva, how her past is coming back to haunt her and how her mistakes are being exposed in front of her new friends against her will, and she probably feels like she deserves it. When I watched the original scene, I felt gutted for her. Here the emphasis is on Daphne’s judgmental face as she tells a story that she’s not personally involved in. That creates an emotional disconnect. This is the moment that should make us understand Eva’s behavior over the season even further, this is the moment that should explain the mysterious feud with Ingrid, this is a defining moment for Emma’s character and it’s not hers.

I do like that Daphne seem almost like she’s appealing to Manon by saying that people should know not to steal boyfriends, because that is the kind of thing that feminist Manon would be strictly against. Although obviously the attempt backfired.

Also lol at them working on the party “for months” it’s been one month since you even formed the squad! Though I do think it’s implied Daphne has been working on it for longer, and that she doesn’t want her pet project to be ruined.

The bit about Imane saying you stand for your friends “even when they don’t deserve it" was added from what I can tell; I think that’s a decent part though it might kind of be unnecessary, like sometimes less is more, the point is still there even without it, we get that Daphne just messed up. It’s not a huge sin or anything but there are a few occasions where I think the dialogue has been too on the nose (like Yann being all WOW SO MUCH TRUST BETWEEN US right after Emma cheated).

I do like Alex comforting Emma. I think Alex is a little more OK with confrontation then Chris was. Chris was a little flustered and didn’t know quite how to respond in the original, and we later saw that sometimes she struggled with how to be there for her friends, and Alex seems a little more chill with open displays of supporting her friends. She’s a very chill character in general.

Clip 8 - Yann and Emma in the skatepark

Time to talk about fragility.

When I think of Skam at its best, that is something which comes to mind. Not fragility of storytelling, but fragility in its emotions. Stripping away all the bullshit that you encounter in everyday life that leads you to put on a mask and say hollow words, as well as cutting out all the bullshit that you see in 90% of teen dramas and TV shows that go for noise and overblown, nonsensical emotions in order to produce drama, and just letting the characters say something real to each other. It’s not just about characters being sad, but being vulnerable. To be vulnerable means you can be easily broken. Fragile.

Not just Noora in the wake of her assault, but Noora telling Vilde about the nutritional benefits of potatoes as a way of talking about Vilde’s eating disorder, because to address the subject outright is too much. Not just Isak falling to the ground in tears, but Isak trying to talk around and delay his coming out to Jonas, turning it into a guessing game, because if Jonas rejects him or says the wrong thing, it would shatter him. Not just Sana crying alone in her room, but Sana writing a text to her friends explaining how much she feels she doesn’t fit in and asking her friends to forgive her.

And I heavily associate that concept with Eva’s season in particular. Every moment with her feels like we are with someone whose vulnerability is right there on the surface. Her old friends now hate her, her boyfriend seems to be keeping secrets from her, she’s struggling in school, her mom isn’t there and doesn’t know about her life, she just doesn’t know who she is. Think about how delicate a moment is the end of episode 2, when Eva is upset and can hear the boys laughing from another room, not caring, and she sees that Noora has accepted her friend request. A tiny, tiny gesture like that feels enormous. This really mundane thing because powerful because the show has demonstrated how Eva’s fragility, how much this friend request means to her.

The best scenes of Skam France, IMO, and the aspect has been working for me personally, is Daphne. And in a lot of ways, that is because she is fragile. We can see her hurt coming a mile away even if we hadn’t seen S1 before - because we can tell how much Charles means to her and how she is nothing to him. She is really, really fucking vulnerable when she puts herself out there for someone to love only to get rejected. She is vulnerable when she sends Charles a topless picture and when she tries to win back his attention. She is vulnerable when she tries to stand up for herself only to get put in her place. The show has done a good job with the actress and with demonstrating that raw, realistic pain.

Where I don’t feel that fragility is with Emma. Or Yann. Who knows if we’ll feel it with Lucas, with his upcoming parental woes and confession to Emma. But Emma is the focus of the season, and that’s a problem.

Some of it is in the acting, personally, and some of it is the writing. I know a lot of people like Emma and even prefer her to Eva because of her self-confidence, but I’m not a big fan and I think part of it is that her attitude and essence don’t work as well with the material. Like it feels less like a teenage girl having all her insecurities and mistakes bared. Again, it’s not just about Emma being sad. We have seen her sad. I don’t find her as fragile.

Another example from this episode: not focusing on Emma when hearing the true story of what happened with Ingrid. Eva’s vulnerability was the focus of that scene. We could not get away from her haunted face as she had to relive her past regrets. We missed a chance to follow how much the Ingrid incident has broken Emma.

Another non-Emma example: omitting Vilde’s line about feeling something is wrong with her and knowing she shouldn’t feel that way, an incredibly raw, wounded line we didn’t hear from Daphne.

There are several other key scenes where I think some aspect of the production has undermined a potentially vulnerable moment - what sometimes seems like the overuse of music, condensed conversations with less room for silences to speak for themselves, camera work that keeps us at a distance. Also some times where it has worked, too, I’m not saying there are no emotional moments like this, and I’m not saying that it needs to follow the original in these exact ways. But it’s a repeat issue.

This is not to say every character has to be troubled and vulnerable, by the way. But - this is a show about being young and dealing with problems. Vulnerability is vital in our ability to empathize with these characters. These are kids getting their first taste of adult problems and not knowing how to deal with them, they should be fragile. Almost all of the best coming of age films, books, and TV shows excel at depicting vulnerability. It doesn’t matter whether it’s French or Norwegian, youthful fragility is universal (and if not then why the fuck are you making a show about teenagers and their feelings).

Anyway, this scene.

This is an angry conversation. Sure I know Yann is upset. But I don’t feel that personal fragility coming from him. I have seen it before at time - like when Emma came over while he was playing video games with the boys, she made to leave, and he asked her several times to stay. Other times we’ve missed that vulnerability from him - for instance, when Jonas asked if Eva wanted a break, he genuinely seemed kind of fearful that she would say yes. When Yann asked Emma, he was throwing it in her face, and didn’t really seem afraid until she walked away and he gave her a dramatic speech.

Like Yann just skateboards up to her and doesn’t have much patience for what she says. He seems pissed. And hey, maybe that is how he expresses vulnerability, you could certainly make a case for it. But the acting and directing didn’t really make me feel it at all. It just feels like he’s angry (understandably).

However, Yann is also such a jackass here, jeeeeez. Obviously I can’t know for sure because I don’t speak French, but even his tone of voice to me sounds like he’s making fun of her. And of course he has to go on about her stupid parties and her friends, when I think Jonas seemed to mostly go for the idea that she doesn’t know what she wants. It wasn’t that Eva’s friends were dumb, it was that she changed who she was and what she wanted based on who she was with. But Yann seems to be mocking her specifically for trying to throw those parties and making fun of her friends. He's really aggravating and almost seems to resent that she’s no longer fitting into the image of what he wants his girlfriend to be. I do think Jonas did say something that cut Eva to the bone, but I don’t think he was trying to make fun of her. He was angry but he did seem vulnerable himself, not as much as Eva, but it was evident.

I do think Emma is being vulnerable here, moreso than we’ve seen her in some other scenes, but overall she doesn’t really have that vibe for me. It’s probably more effective for people who are fans of her character.

The last shot of Yann smashing his skateboard into the ground is a dramatic TV moment. The last shot of Eva sitting by herself, tiny against the skate park murals, is a fragile moment.

General Comments:

This was a really big week for Manon. The scenes were a little hit and miss for me. I think Manon lacks the withering disdain to really nail scenes like telling off Charles, but is stronger when she’s in full on angry protector mode, like during the fight or standing up to Sarah and Ingrid. She did finally make a much stronger impression with all of her big moments.

The moments where Alex ogles Lucas don’t really work for me and I wish they’d be cut to make room for other things, but you know how it could work? If Alex and Lucas form some kind of friendship later on, gay dude/bi girl solidarity.

There was a lot of social media this week after the big events, like Manon telling off Charles, the fight, etc. and it was like a flurry of vagueposting and flinging shade all over the place. I kinda feel like it’s too much, lmao? But I also kinda think teenagers are overly dramatic on Instagram.

Because they combined episodes seven and eight, several scenes are missing from the original, for example Jonas and Eva in her bedroom while Eva texts P-Chris, Eva and Isak in her room after Jonas finds out, and Eva arguing with her mom. It’s possible some of these moments like the Isak or mom scenes could come in later, like I guess they could have Emma and Lucas hugging it out this week. I did miss that scene because it was an important moment for their friendship (also fragile...) and more painful when we learned what Isak did. I’m not feeling the friendship between Lucas and Emma that much on screen and that could have helped. However, I do understand why these where the scenes they cut.

Personally I think having time limits to the French episodes is a strong case for doing more comprehensive rewrites, but blah blah it’s in the contract blah blah.

I was pretty nitpicky this time around but it was not a bad episode, there was a lot going on.

I sure hope someone did a parody of Yann spiking his skateboard to this song.

#skamfr reactions

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iswearitoneverything · 7 years

Text

Reunited And It Feels So Good | Jake x MC

This request goes out to @endless-jake. Who would like to see Jake and MC reunited after the ending of book 2. So here it goes! EDIT BEFORE POSTING: I feel this is not what was to be expected, lol, but I hope it is enjoyed all the same.

Warnings: some feels of some kind or another, fluff I am sure, some violence but I will try to keep it mild.

Plot: Okay, so the plot for this request is going to run along the lines of Jake’s idol scene, only during all that technical stuff that Zahra did, she also caused a power surge and thus caused those pods that the hotel guest (And our MC) was in to open and free them from their slumber. This will give MC the opportunity to save herself before Jake gets the chance to. But eventually they will be reunited. :) So this will tie into what @endless-jake is asking. : D Hope that’s alright?

—————

The sound of your bare feet slapping against the tile floors was loud enough to wake the dead, or so you believed. Hopefully, this would not draw any unwanted attention. You did not run into anyone as you ran, which you thought was honestly quite strange, but getting out of this place was your main concern. How you had even managed to escape your pod, you did not really know, nor did you care at this point. After you woke up you found all the pods, that once held the hotel guests, completely empty, every single one of them. You were completely alone. You grabbed some clothing that you had found and threw them on, and that was when you ran. And you were still running, turning corner after corner trying your best to remember the way out of the facility. You finally come to a stop, only because there was no way to continue further. The way was blocked by the ceiling and walls having caved in on each other. But from the looks of it, this cave in happened a long time ago. You stood there staring at the blocked hall, wondering just how long you were in that pod…

Finally you are in the open air, breathing it in, letting it fill your lungs that felt deprived of its freshness for so long. You had made it to the edge of the frozen forest, where you had the run in with the Guardian before. Your feet were still bare as you stumbled through the snow, which was becoming increasingly difficult with each step. It felt like you didnt even have feet anymore and you cursed yourself for not having taken the time to look for some shoes. As you continued to trudge through the ankle deep snow, you hugged your arms across your chest to keep yourself warm and almost did not notice the scene you were coming up on. Perhaps it was the fact that it felt like your eyeballs were beginning to freeze, or maybe you simply ignored the fact you were walking passed giant spots of blood upon the snow. It wasnt until you heard the sound of a gunshot that you snapped out it, finally taking notice of the scene before you.

You were surrounded by bodies, all lying in the snow. Stopping in your tracks you lowered your arms and looked around, examining each body as it lay crumpled upon the now crimson stained snow. From what you could tell, each and every person had been shot, whether it was in the back, chest or even right between the eyes. You could feel panic begin to grow inside you, your eyes darting from victim to victim and you realize now that these were the missing hotel guests. Clearly they too had escaped from their pods, but only to meet this horrific death. Hearing the sound of crunching snow underfoot, along with the reloading of a pistol, caused your frozen feet to move you behind a thick tree. You were sucking in ragged breaths that you knew were not the least bit quiet as you pressed yourself back against the tree. Still all around you the ground was strewn with bodies and that’s when the sound of the crunching snow began to grow louder; closer.

“There’s no use hiding. Didn’t do them any good.”

You recognized that voice, it was Lundgren. Carefully you peered around the tree, catching sight of him a few yards away, non-chalantly sliding bullets into his weapon as he walked around, his eyes searching the area. Every once in awhile he would nudge one of the bodies with his foot as he passed. BANG! You jumped, clinging to the tree for support, your heart beat quickening. BANG! BANG! This was clearly a tactic to flush you out of hiding, but you pressed yourself more against the tree, leaning your head back and closed your eyes. If Lundgren had killed all these innocent hotel guests, there was no telling what he has done to your friends. What he had done to Jake… BANG! The gunshot rang to your left and your eyes snapped open, your hand shooting up to cover your mouth to contain your shriek. This sudden movement allowed Lundgren to catch sight of you and a wicked grin formed on his lips as he began heading your way.

“Ah, it’s you. I was hoping to catch you soon, Rourke specifically wanted you dead.”

As he approached with his gun raised, you quickly got to your feet and stumbled out of the way as he pulled the trigger, the shot hitting the tree you had been leaning against. He cursed and you scrambled to your feet and kept dodging behind tree after tree, eventually coming to a rocky ravine. Lundgren cursed louder, his voice bouncing off the rocks toward you as you stood between two large boulders, a large limb in your hands at the ready.

“I see Wolf has taught you a few tricks about stealth. That will only work for so long, I’ve got a few tricks of my own.”

He knew better than to fire a shot randomly while in this ravine, there was too much chance of a ricochet. You stood hidden, shivering from the cold, almost sure that your rugged gasps for breath were going to reveal your location. You looked by your feet and saw a large broken limb lying there, it was thick enough to do some damage. You picked it up and held it like a bat as you listened carefully to his movements. His footsteps seemed closer, finally when you saw the hand holding his pistol come into view, you waited until his head came into view and the moment it did you brought the thick tree limb you had been holding, crashing down upon it. The impact cause the limb to snap in two with a deafening crack and the moment Lundgren fell to his knees and dropped his gun, you lunged for it.

You felt a sharp pain in your fore arm as you reached for the gun and looked down to see a long knife had gone almost straight thru it, Lundgren’s hand was on the hilt. You let out a shriek and fell backwards, your other hand holding your arm just above where the knife was. Lundgren pushed himself to his feet, blood trickling down the side of his head from where you hit him. He then reached for the knife in your arm and pulled it out roughly, causing you to let out a loud scream. He then brought the knife up over his head with both hands on the hilt as he towered over you.

“I’ll give you that one, it was a solid effort. But clearly not enough.”

He reared back a bit and as he was about to bring the knife down upon you, you noticed he was not wearing that exo-suit that he had been before. He was more vulnerable. You then remembered that you had basically fried him and it, clearly he had survived. Your mind raced on how to defend yourself, what had Jake and Estela taught you that day on the beach? Without wasting another second, you kicked his legs out from under him, rolling out of the way as he fell forward to where you had once been lying. The pain in your arm intensified after you had rolled out of the way, and thus your retreat was slowed. Lundgren growled in anger, the knife lodging inbetween two rocks and the blade snapped from its hilt from the pressure of his fall. His other hand shot out and grabbed a handful if your hair and yanked you back to the ground, his hands went to your throat and wrapped around it. He glared down at you as he squeezed harder and harder, crushing your windpipe. You clawed at his hands, gasping for breath as everything began to fade.

“For once, McKenzie isnt here to save you.”

His grip tightened and now you were no longer able to even gasp, everything was going black. This was it, this was how you were going to die. Of all the life endangering moments you have had on this island, you were going to die this way. Just as you closed your eyes, prepared for your life to leave you, you heard hurried footsteps coming toward you. You opened your eyes in time to see something tackle Lundgren hard, knocking him off of you and your hands went to your throat as you coughed and gasped air back into your lungs. You managed to roll onto your side and saw Lundgren fighting to get free of…you heard the familiar clinking of the dog tags and your eyes focused on the green jacket.

“Jake…”

You croaked as you watched him unleash punch after punch to Lundgren’s face. Never wavering nor slowing his pace or showing signs of mercy. You pushed yourself to a sitting position, still with your hand clasped around your throat, taking in as many painful breaths as you could to make up for those you had been denied moments ago. Your eyes widened as Lundgren managed to kick Jake off, sending him flying backwards into the snow. He then unleashed his own assault, landing a swift kick in Jake’s stomach. Jake crouched there, an arm wrapped around his stomach as he coughed and groaned and you watched as Lundgren then came marching over to you. You began to scramble backwards expecting his hands to be on your throat again, but he passed you, coming to where the knife had been, he grabbed the blade, uncaring of the fact it was slicing into his own hand from his grip.

He then went back over to Jake, who had pushed himself to his feet and blocked Lundgren’s arm as he brought it down with the blade. Jake punched him hard in the stomach and continued to block every attempt his assailant made. A thought crossed your mind and you began to crawl over to the ravine where you knew Lundgren’s pistol was waiting. Finally summoning enough energy to get to your feet you searched along the ground until you finally found it. You quickly picked it up and turned to see Lundgren clocking Jake across the face with his fist, also sending a gash across his cheek with the blade. Jake was defenseless except for when it came to his own brute strength and fighting skills. You moved closer with the gun, but knew that with your lacking marksman skills it was a risk of shooting Jake instead.

Helpless, you watched the two grapple, Jake finally managing to knock the blade from Lundgren’s hand, but this freed him up for a sucker punch to Jake’s jaw with his other hand. Jake was hurled backwards, against a tree and then he fell to his knees where Lundgren reared back with his foot, kicking Jake hard in the chest, you were sure you heard a few ribs crack. Lundgren grabbed a fist full of Jake’s hair, pulling him up to his feet and slammed him against the tree, pinning him there. He had managed to grab the blade and while he had Jake’s hair in his hand, he yanked it back so that his neck was more fully exposed. He then pressed the blade against his throat.

“You never learn, do you boy?”

Jake let out a breathy laugh, one that you could hear was painful for him to do. Even in the face of death, your Top Gun was still smirking.

“MC has that effect on me. If it means I’d have to die for her over and over again…then let me die an idiot.”

Lundgren scoffed, about to slice Jake’s throat when a gunshot rang through the air. He stopped, his body tense as he then looked down at the blood beginning to pour from a hole in his chest. He reluctantly dropped the knife and turned to look at you as you stood behind him pointing his own gun at him. He glared at you, not before slamming Jake's head against the tree, causing him to fall to his knees with a grunt. Then Lundgren began toward you, but he stopped when Jake had launched himself at his knees, trying to bring him to the ground. Somehow he got out of it, stomping on Jake’s thigh where you had just noticed had a bullet hole through it. Jake yelled in pain and fell back down, his hands clutching his thigh. You continued to point the gun at Lundgren as he came at you. BANG! Another bullet in his chest, which slowed him down a bit but he was still coming at you. BANG! BANG! He staggered a few times but he was still coming, how was this possible?

“MC don’t just stand there! RUN!”

You could only manage to take a few steps backwards as you took a couple more shots at him. You gasped as his hand found your throat and hoisted you up into the air a bit, and that was when you pulled the trigger once more. The barrel was pointed against his stomach, you watched as his face contorted with pain and felt his fingers loosen their grip on your neck as you both began to collapse to the ground. Lundgren’s now lifeless body completely on top of yours as you lay there quaking, not from the cold, but from the fact you had almost died once again, and you had just killed someone. You didnt move, too exhausted from everything you just lay there until Lundgren’s body was shoved off you and Jake took your face in his hands, riddled with bloody knuckles. You were in shock, your eyes staring off into space as he shook you ever so slightly, his hands still caressing your face.

“MC? MC, look at me! Baby, please!”

You finally meet his gaze and the moment you do, your eyes swell with tears and you wrap your arms around Jake’s neck and you pull yourself close. You sobbed hysterically into the crook of his neck and listened as he calmed you, stroking your hair and rocking you a bit. As you listened to him, you could tell that he was holding back tears.

“I was so afraid. So afraid they had killed you…”

Apparently after the power surge, Jake came to find you only to find some of the pods empty, and some of them still held their occupants, a bullet in their forehead. He had searched every pod, fearing that the next one he would look into he would find you there, just as dead as the others. When he didnt find you, he knew you had escaped and from that point he followed the trail of where most of the footprints lead, out into the snow. He also had come across something else, the remains of a smoked cigar, Havana brand. He knew Lundgren was after the others and as he ran he heard gun shots, fearing he wouldnt get there in time. He came across all the bodies of the hotel guests and was about to search through them for a sign of you, when he heard Lundgren’s voice. Using the code name ‘Wolf’ was all he needed to know; you were the target, and he ran as fast as he could to find where you were. He cursed himself for not getting there sooner.

He pulled back and looked down at you, wiping your tears from your face with his thumbs. His eyes looked down at your neck at the bruises that had formed from when Lundgren had almost strangled the life out of you and you could see the hurt in his eyes, even the hint of some tears forming.

“That bastard. If I could kill him over and over again, I would in a heart beat. Please forgive me for not getting there sooner. I dont know what I would have done if I had been too late… I-”

His voice cracked as he brought your forehead to his lips and pressed them against it and then moved his forehead to press against it after. You managed to give a little smile and then softly spoke as you took a strand of his hair and twisted it around your finger affectionately.

“Just take me to Costa Rica so we can forget that this happened…all of it. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

Jake managed to chuckle and he nodded as he looked into your eyes.

“You got it, Princess. But maybe we should get some first aid before hand.”

You nodded in agreement. The two of you were bruised, bloodied and battered and looked like hell. You were just now beginning to feel your injuries again now that your adrenaline levels were returning to normal.

“I vote we find some whiskey first though.”

“Amen to that, Princess. Amen to that. But first…”

Jake leaned down and pressed his lips against yours, pulling you closer despite his broken ribs. He deepend the kiss for a few moments and then pulled away.

“Sorry, usually I get to do that before the danger.”

You smirked and kissed him again softly, taking the time to bite his bottom lip slightly.

“You can make it up to me at the Lodge.”

“Heh, I’ll try my best to. Just go easy on me?“

“I’ll try my best to.”

You helped each other to your feet and the two of you put an arm around the others’ waist and walked off toward the Lodge, hoping against hope that your friends were all there, safe and sound.

-Fin

(Enjoy, or not to enjoy, I trust you will decide?)

(*I do NOT own any of the Pixleberry Choices characters or plot lines, I merely love (some of) them. Please don’t sue me, I am broke.*)

#jake mckenzie #jake x mc #endless summer #chocies #jacob lucas mckenzie

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glowrioustrash · 7 years

Text

New Rules 2

Summary: Elena is back on the dating scene, whether she likes it or not. When she’s stuck on an awful date, she calls in the reinforcements.

Pairing: Eventual Dean Ambrose x OC

Word Count: 3500+

Warnings: Swearing

Author’s Note: We’re back at it again! Thanks to everyone who sent messages saying they’d like to see more Dean and Elena. I have plans for 5 parts so far, so we’ll see where that gets us.

Tagging: @castielscamander / @therealfivefeetoffuckingfury

Part 1

[To: Lexa Bear] 911!

Elena texted discretely under the table, not taking her eyes off the man in front of her. She smiled and nodded at the appropriate times but was hardly listening. Dale had been going on and on all night, rarely letting her participate in the conversation or asking for her input. When she had tried to comment, he seemed put out by her interruption. Even when the waiter came over to take their order, he’d ordered her a salad without asking what she wanted. Her patience was plummeting faster than a stripper’s bra during fleet week.

At the moment, Dale was recounting his “glory years” of being an “athlete.” He started out sounding like he’d been some star basketball playing on the amateur circuit, but it eventually dissolved into the truth: he was a glorified bench warmer that only made the team because of daddy’s generous cheques made out to the athletic department.

She kept her phone in her hand, hidden in her lap, waiting anxiously for it to ring with the saving call. Alexa should be calling any minute, faking an emergency so she could leave. It was girl code.

She felt her phone buzz, signaling an incoming text instead of ringing with a call. She itched to read it, but didn’t want to draw Dale’s attention to the fact that she was texting. Another text came in, followed quickly by a third. She gave it another minute and no phone call came through. She discretely slipped her phone back into her clutch.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she really wasn’t but she smiled politely, placing her free hand over his on the table. “But I need to duck into the washroom. I’ll be right back.”

“Sure thing, baby.” He answered, making Elena want to roll her eyes. Instead she nodded and got up from the table, taking her purse with her.

She leaned against the counter in the ladies’ room, trying to keep the pressure off her feet in their too-high heels. She regretted the effort she put into this outfit, only to have it wasted on this jerk. She pulled her phone out, checking the texts.

[From: Lexa Bear] Oh hell no [From: Lexa Bear] You can’t keep ducking out of every date we send you on [From: Lexa Bear] Give him a chance and don’t even try to get a hold of the other girls

Elena groaned, throwing her head back in frustration. Her friends had been setting her up on dates left and right, saying it was about time to get “back on the horse.” She wasn’t actively avoiding dating – they were on the road too much to start dating and she was focusing on her career – but the men her friends kept setting her up on blind dates with were all duds. Worse than duds.

[To: BAWSE] Sasha my love

She was partway through composing the second text, asking Sasha to give her the escape call when Sasha beat her to the punch.

[From: BAWSE] Nope

She was getting ready to try her chance with Bayley - surely sweet Bayley wouldn’t leave her hanging - when her phone buzzed again.

[From: Lexa Bear] I told you not to try we all agreed you’re seeing this date thru!!

Alexa had attached a screenshot from a group chat with the girls. Alexa, Nia, Sasha, Bayley all agreeing that they wouldn’t pull her out of this date. Elena resisted the urge to throw her phone, but just barely. What good were girlfriends if they wouldn’t bail you out of an awful date? Then again, without them she wouldn’t be going on 2 hours of listening to Dale’s athletic “career.”

She racked her brain for someone, anyone that would help her out that wouldn’t cave to Alexa’s imposed ban. She scrolled through her contacts, sighing in relief as she realized who would be willing to save her, Alexa’s wrath be damned.

[To: Ambrose] Dean [To: Ambrose] Babe [To: Ambrose] Deanie baby, sweetie pie.

She was ready to keep spamming him until he replied. She didn’t know what his plans were for the evening, so who knows how long that would take.

[To: Ambrose] Light of my life [To: Ambrose] Honey bunches of oats [To: Ambrose] Snuggle bunny [From: Ambrose] Dear god woman what??? [To: Ambrose] THANK GOD YOU ANSWERED [To: Ambrose] I need your help [From: Ambrose] Kinda hard to ignore 6 texts in a row [From: Ambrose] Whats wrong [To: Ambrose] You need to save me from this date [To: Ambrose] Wait 7 minutes and call me [From: Ambrose] Date where [To: Ambrose] Italian place on Seventh. Paul and Frankie’s [From: Ambrose] Ok [From: Ambrose] Why 7

Elena didn’t respond. She’d already been in the bathroom for quite a while and had to get back to the table. She wasn’t surprised to see Dale had ordered them each another drink. He seemed pretty set on getting her drunk, or at least tipsy. He’d been ordering her glass after glass of wine all night. Paired with the pitiful salad he’d ordered her, if she wasn’t careful the alcohol could definitely affect her more than usual.

“Sorry about that. There was a bit of a line.” She apologized, sliding back into her chair.

“You ladies certainly do travel in flocks, don’t you?” He laughed, an obnoxious fake laughter that made her think of country clubs and the stock market.

“I suppose sometimes we do.” She shrugged, thinking back to her flock that was abandoning her at this very moment.

“So, are you a chocolate kind of girl? We could split a desert.” He picked up the menu between them, looking it over. Elena was a chocolate girl, but she had no intention of splitting anything with Dale except for the cheque.

“You know I would love to, but I really shouldn’t. Gotta watch my figure to be on TV every week.”

“Yes, I remember the days of an athlete’s diet, although I’m sure our diets were drastically different. I had to intake so much protein-“ Elena stopped listening again, smiling and nodding.

Dale was even worse than Stephen, the angry blogger, who was slightly worse than Evan, the philosophy loving contrarian, who was worse than Greg, who had been wonderful but painfully gay. How Bayley had managed to set that one up, she’ll never understand.

She anxiously checked the clock on the wall. It had to have been at least 10 minutes since Dean agreed to call. What the hell was taking so long?

15 minutes and Dale was explaining the play he’d invented. Elena didn’t know much about basketball, but it didn’t sound that ground breaking.

20 minutes and he was explaining how he’d led the team to victory in the state championships – led in the sense that he’d given them a pep talk she was sure no one cared about, and refilled their water bottles.

25 minutes after texting Dean, Elena was ready to give up waiting on Dean. She was trying to come up with something she could say to get out as painlessly as possible.

A seat was pulled noisily from the table next to them, making Elena snap out of her thoughts. The chair was dragged to their table and spun backwards. Elena watched with wide eyes as Dean dropped himself into the chair, looking sorely out of place in his jeans and leather jacket.

“Dean?” She questioned. “What are you doing here?”

“In the neighborhood.” He shrugged, reaching across the table for her glass of wine, taking a good swig of it before pulling a face.

“Can I help you?” Dale scoffed.

“Nah, I’m good.” Dean waved him off before flagging down a waiter. “Hey! Yeah, can I get some whiskey over here? Jack if you got it.” He turned back to the two at the table, setting the wine glass down with distaste. “This shit’s awful.”

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Dale all but squawked. Elena bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at his face.

“Dean Ambrose. Elena’s friend. You guys already eat? I could eat.” He looked around for the waiter he’d ordered the whiskey from.

“Well I’m sorry Mr. Ambrose, but this is a bit of a private affair.” Dale narrowed his eyes at Dean.

“Mr. Ambrose.” Dean snorted. “Have you ever heard anyone call me Mr. Ambrose, darlin’?”

“Can’t say that I have.” Elena grinned, finding it harder and harder to stop from laughing.

“You’re interrupting our date, Dean.” Dale pointed out, his face turning red.

“A date? Is this a date?” Dean faked dumb, pointing between the two of them. Even if Elena hadn’t asked for his help out of the date, anyone could have guessed what it was. The restaurant was dimly lit and full of couples talking quietly to each other. “Shit, that explains the jacket.” Dean reached over, flicking at Dale’s sports coat.

Elena couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out laughing at Dale’s reaction. He looked repulsed Dean had touched him.

“Elena, let’s go.” He stood, pulling out his wallet and tossing some bills on the table.

“Excuse me?” She quirked an eyebrow at his tone of voice.

“Shit man. Abort mission. Abort!” Dean stage whispered.

“Your friend is ruining our evening. I said let’s go.” He held his hand out for her and she just glared at it.

“I’m sorry, I missed the part of this evening where you became my father. You could try asking nicely.” She replied coldly.

“We were having a perfectly lovely evening before he showed up,” Dale sighed, making Elena roll her eyes. “Don’t let him ruin it. Let’s go somewhere else.”

“I think I’d rather not.”

The waiter brought over Dean’s whiskey, making the trio fall silent until he had stepped away.

“Whatever.” Dale scoffed, storming out of the restaurant. Dean held his glass in Dale’s direction, saluting him before taking a drink.

“Seems like a real charmer.” He drawled.

“You wouldn’t know charm if it bit you on the ass.” Elena shot back. “You didn’t have to be such a prick.”

“Am I doing you a favor right now or not?” He rolled his eyes.

“I asked you to call me, not show up.”

“More fun this way.” He smirked. “Got a drink out of it too.”

“Well hurry up and finish so we can leave. I’m dying for a burger.” She groaned.

“Didn’t you just eat?”

“He ordered me a salad! Wouldn’t hear anything different. I saved calories all day to eat something good tonight so I’m getting my damn burger.” She ranted.

“Yes m’am.” Dean mock saluted before tossing back the rest of his drink.

“Where did you park?” Elena asked as they got outside.

“Took a cab. Figured you drove.”

“No, Dale picked me up at the hotel.” She groaned.

“Well, let’s go then.” Dean shrugged, walking down the sidewalk.

“Dean.” Elena huffed, following him at a slower pace due to her shoes. “Can’t we catch a cab back?”

“We’re not that far.”

“I don’t have a jacket.” She pointed out. The dress she was wearing was thin with spaghetti straps. It wasn’t too cold out, but the fall air held a bite to it. She could tell she would be cold by the time they made it to the hotel. Dean took off his jacket, tossing it at her. Once he was sure she’d caught it and was starting to put it on, he kept walking.

“Dean.” She whined again.

“What now?” He laughed.

“Slow down. Do you see the size of my heels?” She pouted. He stopped walking again, turning to look at her shoes. The stilettos accentuated her legs, but were making her walk at almost half her usual pace.

“Darlin’, NASA can see those things from space.” He teased.

“Rude.” She scoffed.

“Why you wear those if they’re so hard to walk in?”

“They make my ass look great.” She shrugged.

“I’ve seen you in your ring gear. You don’t need ‘em.” He grinned as she caught up to him.

“Aww, that might be the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” She joked. He rolled his eyes and started walking again, this time trying to match her pace. His patience didn’t last very long.

“That’s it! Hop on.” He turned around, taking a knee in front of her.

“What?”

“It’s gonna take us all year at this rate. Climb on.”

“My dress is gonna ride up.”

“Well it’s a good thing you’re wearing my jacket then, isn’t it? Get on.”

Elena huffed but wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He stood, lifting her easily and holding onto her legs. She released one arm to make sure the jacket was covering her.

“Hold on, would ya?” Dean grumbled.

“I’m sorry, would you rather my ass be hanging out for the world to see?” She shot back, wrapping her arm back around him.

“Honestly?” He teased and she swatted him on the shoulder. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to, El.”

“Did you eat yet?” Elena asked after they’d walked for a minute.

“Nah.” Dean shook his head.

“Well, I kinda owe you for saving me.”

“And carryin’ your ass.”

“And carrying my ass.” She laughed. “Wanna hang out in my room? We’ll order room service and see what shitty movies are playing?”

“Sounds like a plan.” He agreed.

“I’m gonna get the biggest burger they have.” She groaned at the thought, nearly drooling.

“Make it two, and don’t forget the fries.”

“Well duh.” She smirked.

Dean carried her all the way to her room, both of them laughing through the strange looks they were getting in the hotel lobby.

Elena opened the door, letting Dean in before kicking off her heels with a groan. She flexed her feet, leaning against the dresser for a minute.

“You act like you just walked a mile in those.” Dean teased.

“I did.” She smirked.

“Were you carryin’ me or was I carryin’ you? I did all the walking here.”

“I have no recollection of this.” She shook her head, moving to her suitcase.

“You’re such a brat. See if I help you outta a shit date again.” He threatened.

“I don’t plan on having anymore shit dates. I’m not letting the girls send me on another blind date ever again.” She huffed, pulling out sweatpants and a tank top. “I’m gonna get changed, you order the food.”

Dean mock saluted and picked up the menu next to the phone as she closed the bathroom door. He ordered them each a burger and a side of fries before kicking off his own shoes and getting comfortable on one of the beds. He flipped on the TV and started browsing through what was on.

Elena came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, her face clear of make-up and hair in a messy bun. She launched herself onto the bed beside Dean.

“Food’ll be about 20 minutes.” He told her.

“Ugh, too long.” She groaned, flopping onto her side.

“You’ll survive.” He chuckled.

“You don’t know that.”

“Mmm, pretty sure I do.”

“What’s on?” She asked, sitting back up to look at the TV. He shrugged and handed her the remote. She started flipping through the channels herself.

“Beer?” Dean asked, heading to the in room minibar.

“Yes please.” She replied, not looking from the screen. Dean nodded, grabbing them each a bottle.

“Oooh!” She squealed, making Dean look to the TV. The screen was showing some old black and white movie.

“What is it?” He asked, sitting back down and handing her one of the bottles.

“The original House on Haunted Hill with Vincent Price.” She set the remote down, taking the beer instead.

“Ugh, horror movie?” He groaned.

“Oh hush. It’s so old it’s not even scary anymore. Trust me, it’s funnier now than it is scary.” She pouted exaggeratedly at him.

“Fuckin’ fine.” He huffed, getting comfortable.

Dean couldn’t help but laugh at the movie. She was right, this might have been scary when it was originally released but by today’s standards it was just funny. The food arrived shortly and they dug in, Elena devouring her burger while Dean went for the fries.

“This is so good.” She moaned around a mouthful of food. Dean shook his head with a grin. “Fuck salad.”

“Fuck salad.” Dean agreed, munching on the fries.

“Who even does that? Orders for someone, but not anything they actually want.” She huffed.

“He’s a tool, don’t even think about ‘im.” Dean dismissed.

“I have no idea why Sasha set me up with him.” She rolled her eyes. “They’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel.”

“What’d I just say?” He scolded, throwing a fry at her.

“Hey!” She glared. “Don’t get crumbs in my bed.” She picked the fry up and ate it. Dean just threw another in response.

“You’re lucky we’re in my bed or I would absolutely retaliate.” She grumbled. “I don’t wanna wind up sleeping in food.”

“Steal the other bed.” He shrugged, throwing another fry.

“Stop!” She threw the fry back. “That’s Bayley’s bed.”

“And she’s where, exactly?”

Elena paused, thinking about it. She pulled her phone over to check on her. It was getting fairly late, late enough that Bayley was usually relaxing in their room by now. She hadn’t heard her phone go off, but there was a text waiting. It must have come through while she was changing.

“Apparently she’s giving me the room for the night in case I wanted to bring my date back.” She grimaced. “Like I’d ever bring Dale-“ A fry hit her in the face and she stopped, growling before taking the pickle she’d picked off her burger and throwing it at him.

“Hey!” Dean shouted, wiping the pickle juice and condiments off his face with his hand. “You tryin’ to blind me?”

“You started it.”

“Yeah, with harmless fries. Not a pickle, you damn animal.” He huffed.

“Aww, muffin.” She cooed sarcastically.

“Damn straight, muffin.”

She shook her head at him and handed him a napkin. They fell back into a companionable silence, watching the shitty effects of the movie. Once they were finished eating, Dean moved the dishes out to the hallway to be picked up. When he got back to the bed, Elena curled up with her head on his legs.

“Thanks for saving the night, Dean.” She smiled.

“Yeah, it was nothin’.” He shrugged.

“No really. Not just saving me from the date, but hanging out. Watching a cheesy movie with me and all that. Beats sitting in my room alone.”

“Anytime.”

They watched the movie through to the end, Frederick Loren explaining what he knew all along. Dean scoffed at the ending, looking down to find Elena half asleep in his lap.

“El, I should probably get going.”

“No, stay.” She whined sleepily, snuggling into his thigh. “Have a sleepover with me. We haven’t had one in a while.”

“A sleepover?” He questioned.

“Mmhmm.”

“You’re pretty much asleep already.”

“Mmhmm.”

“So what am I s’posed to do?”

“Be warm.”

“Use a blanket.”

“Nu-uh. Not the same. You’re cuddlier.”

“I swear to god if you start tellin’ people I’m cuddly-“

“Shhh, won’t tell.” She cut him off, blindly reaching up to try to hold a finger to his lips but just ended up poking him in the face.

“Alright, alright. Jesus… Can we at least switch beds? I don’t think we found all the fries.”

Elena shook her head in response, not intending to move anytime soon. Dean sighed and carefully lifted her head, moving out from under her to stand. She huffed and pouted at the movement. He pulled back the covers on the opposite bed before picking her up.

“I coulda done that.” She huffed, curling into his chest.

“Yeah, sure you could. You were chompin’ at the bit to move.” He rolled his eyes, setting her into the bed.

“Where you going?” She asked as he moved to leave instead of getting into the bed.

“Relax, I’m just getting the light.” He told her, flipping the switch. He grabbed the remote and brought it over, setting it on the night stand next to his phone and wallet. After checking his alarm was set for his morning workout, he climbed into the bed. Elena rolled into him, snuggling into his chest as soon as he settled.

“G’night Dean.” She murmured.

“G’night El.” He answered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He didn’t know if she fell asleep immediately, but that was the last thing she said to him. He wasn’t tired yet, so he turned the TV volume low and channel surfed for a bit.

He looked down at Elena when she snuffled in her sleep. That Dale guy had been a prick and he was glad she hadn’t stayed on the date with him. She deserved better than Dale or her scumbag ex. He didn’t even understand how that guy could have left her for another woman. She was witty and could hold her own in an argument. She’d looked just as good tonight in her sweats as she had dressed up at the restaurant. Elena was caring but tough as nails when she had to be. She didn’t need anyone to take care of her, but damn if she didn’t deserve someone who would. Someone like-

Dean froze. He could practically feel his train of thought crash into a brick wall in a ball of fire.

Well fuck.

Part 3

#dean ambrose imagine #dean ambrose fic #dean ambrose fan fic #dean ambrose fan fiction #dean ambrose x oc #Glowrious writings #Glow: New Rules

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