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odoraful · 1 month

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Somnium pt1

zayne's last dream has left him shaken and he hopes to meet you again to reconcile his fears

content: dawnbreaker!zayne x reader; a direct continuation from zayne’s anecdote 'still in the dark'; 917 words a/n: spoilers for ‘still in dark’ so if you haven’t read it yet be warned! read part 2 here reading bgm ♫ Prologue V - The Weight of History's Presence

Though it had been days since that last dream, the shocked expression on your face has since haunted Zayne.

You aren’t Dr. Zayne. Who are you?

He’d been afraid to fall back asleep again since. Those dreams he once coveted so much, desperately hoping for your warm embrace, now became a source of fear for him. In every fleeting moment you shared, he thought he’d done everything right. He played the role of that smart and reliable partner just for you.

It had all been perfect until that last dream.

The days from then on stretched endlessly like taffy. Zayne filled in his time doing anything he could to silence his fears. He thought often about activities Georgie would have enjoyed and made himself plans with the young boy in mind. Trying new sweets at the dessert shop, reading beside the jasmine flower field in the plaza, watching the sun set from his apartment window. Detective Ivan seemed to have kept his promise, and the public whispers of Dawnbreaker fizzled away, leaving Zayne free to carry out his duties in complete anonymity. He’d sometimes finish his day off with a visit to Georgie and his mother’s graves. During the night, he’d stay awake for as long as his body could handle until he was overcome with fatigue, passing out wherever he sat.

He found that no dreams would come if he slept this way.

The impracticality of this type of living did not faze Zayne until he stared at his own reflection in the mirror one day. He had heavy bags under his eyes and a pallor to his face that made him almost unrecognisable to himself. He gripped the edge of the sink, a sudden nausea making his head spin.

It was foolish to continue like this. He needed to see you again.

Perhaps he should try and talk to you without the guise of this doctor. If the dream had allowed you to speak out, then surely it would give him the same ability. He would explain himself to you, prove that he was the person you loved. These dreams he had since he was a child had shaped his entire worldview. He moulded himself to be yours. Surely, with your presence in these dreams also, they must mean something to you too.

Yes, that would be the most sensible course of action.

For the first time in a while, Zayne gave himself a proper night routine. Though, the flavourless nutritional liquid he downed for dinner did little to quell the anxiety in his stomach, and washing his face with cool water could not banish the heat from his cheeks.

His mind was filled with rehearsals of what he would say to you as he laid in bed. In his periphery, he made out the dim, red glow the numbers of his alarm clock casted across the dark room. Zayne read in a medical fact sheet that it took a person around fifteen to twenty minutes to fall asleep. Turning to look at the clock, the numbers that read 23:18 dazzled his vision.

He closed his eyes, the afterimage of the red numbers remaining behind his eyelids. His final thoughts were a plea to the stars above to let him visit you again, before he let his subconscious pull him deeper.

Zayne did not know how he arrived here, but he now stood on a gravel path beneath archways of curling shrubbery. The greenery was well manicured with small white flowers. As he inhaled, he was surprised to find the light scent of jasmine in the air. A small piece of familiarity that calmed his senses.

Stepping out from the shade and onto grass, he realised the dream was set in a garden. Benches were scattered around to provide viewing seats for the flowers, which, Zayne noticed, seemed to only be variations of different types of white flowers. Close by, there was a river dotted with clusters of lily pads and white petals that gently drifted along the surface. A bridge over the river led to a green roofed pavilion suspended atop the water. Zayne was so accustomed to his own drab and dark world that it almost hurt his eyes to gaze around this idyllic scene. The sound of indistinct chatter surrounded him, however, there were no signs of other people around no matter where he turned, save for one person he spotted standing on the grass.

Zayne exhaled a shaky breath.

A pale blue dress that stood out against the flowering white buds flitted around your legs, though his own clothes did not rustle against any breeze. Sunlight illuminated your skin, though he could not feel any warmth from its rays. His dreams had strange ways of carefully crafting his desires. You had an expectant expression on your face, glancing about in search of somebody. Zayne’s feet felt like dragging weights as he forced himself to walk, fighting off his fear of closing the distance.

Your expression turned to delight when you saw him approaching. You waved at him, grinning. Something twisted inside him. How long had it been since he’d seen that smile?

He put up a hand hesitantly in greeting.

You began to walk, almost skipping towards him. Zayne almost backed away, startled by your enthusiasm.

Only metres apart now, you suddenly froze, eyes going wide. Zayne didn’t move a muscle, feeling his own body lock up. The background chatter dissipated, as you opened your mouth to speak. The world turned silent as if in anticipation for the words you were about to say.

“It’s- it’s you again.”

#this anecdote has burrowed its way into my brain ever since first reading it !!#✏️〰odorawrites #love and deepspace #l&ds #lads #love and deepspace zayne #zayne love and deepspace #l&ds zayne #lads zayne #zayne #love and deepspace x reader #lads x reader #zayne x reader #zayne x mc #zayne x you #dawnbreaker

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wntrsnat · 8 months

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Was Natasha a kid when she met Bucky?

It’s a widespread misconception outside of winterwidow fandom that Bucky and Natasha have known each other since she was a kid. I’ve seen a handful of people object to their relationship for this reason or (sometimes in a humorous manner) comment on how weird it is. And I'd have to agree with them. Bucky dating Natasha despite having trained her since she was a child would have been utterly inappropriate, if not immoral and disgusting. However, the assumption is not only incorrect but also fundamentally impossible.

Let’s go back to the beginning to clarify why that assumption is fundamentally impossible. Different universes equal different realities, and different realities equal different characters. Sometimes characters' counterparts across multiple realities only differ in details, not the basics. MCU characters have a similar correlation with their What If counterparts but not comics’ ones, which is a grave mistake cinematic fans make. I believe that’s why we have this absurd assumption as well, from someone thinking that 616 Black Widow and Winter Soldier are the same age as their more famous counterparts.

MCU’s Natasha Romanoff was born in 1984, and Bucky – 1917. Thus, an adult-kid dynamic is plausible. If we consider cryostasis, Bucky was still pushing 30 when Natasha was born. The situation, however, is significantly different for their 616 counterparts. Let’s start with Earth 616’s Bucky Barnes, who was born in 1925, making him nearly a decade younger than the cinematic one. But that isn’t what disproves the aforementioned belief. What disproves it is that Earth 616’s Natasha Romanoff was born around 1928, making her 56 years older than her cinematic counterpart and just 3 years younger than 616 Bucky. You will find this information on the following page from Black Widow: Deadly Origin, a 2009–2010 graphic novel (which I will be using as a basis today):

This alone debunks the adult/child misconception, but I want to go one step further and discuss the timeline of Natasha's time in the Red Room and the early years of the Winter Soldier.

At the young age of 20, Bucky Barnes "died" alongside Captain America in late 1945, in last days of the war. The Russian submarine discovered Bucky's preserved body after the war while hoping to retrieve Captain America’s remains. And with that, the Winter Soldier story began, along with his role as a super soldier trainer at the Red Room for Department X.

Now, one might say, "Ana, if he was 20, Natasha was 17, which is still kind of wrong, no?". My answer is yes; it would’ve been rather inappropriate. "Would’ve been" because there’s a catch: Natasha wasn’t part of the Red Room when he joined.

I know what you’re thinking: What the fuck, wasn’t she...? Didn’t she…? So let me explain that one from the beginning.

Natasha Romanoff, then 10 years old, was brought to the Red Room in 1938 by her father figure, Ivan Petrovich (a terrible piece of shit about whom I'll write a blog), Taras Romanov, and Joseph Stalin himself. After her trainer, Wolverine, killed Taras in 1940, she let Wolverine go, fled into the woods, and was found three months later by Ivan, possibly going back under his care, which can be seen below:

She returned to the Red Room only at the age of 28, ironically enough, becauseof Ivan, which is depicted on the following page:

There, we find a collapsed building with a bleeding Ivan and a sobbing Natasha, who have been approached by …. *DRUM ROLL* …. the Winter Soldier, who has been sent by his superiors. They were both offered the super soldier serum that would save Ivan in exchange for their newfound loyalty, which Natasha accepted despite Ivan's protests.

Here we are, then: Natasha, 28, meets the Winter Soldier, roughly 31, who’ll soon be her lover and her trainer. Two adult people who met when they were both adults. And with that, we conclude our blog, disproving the infamous “she was a kid when they met!” argument.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you have questions or have found a mistake, let me know. I'll be happy to answer and discuss <3

#winterwidow #buckynat #natasha romanoff #bucky barnes #marvel comics #earth 616 #616 #MCU #marvel cinematic universe #anti winterwidow #anti buckynat #nerd talks #blog #explore #tumblr #lore

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aleksanderscult · 3 months

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Was the Darkling that much of a liar as the fandom makes him to be?

Because it's literally one thing for a character to truly lie every other page and another for the reader to have been tricked by the narrative that he's a compulsive liar.

If we thoroughly search and find his lying moments in the Grisha trilogy then it would be these:

“I don’t want to answer you.”

“Oh.”

Then he sighed and said, “One hundred and twenty. Give or take.”

After a moment, the Darkling said, “My great-great-great-grandfather was the Black Heretic, the Darkling who created the Shadow Fold.”

“How?” I pleaded. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“By helping me destroy the Shadow Fold.”

“What’s Baghra’s power, anyway?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I think she was a Tidemaker.”

“Because every day we don’t find the sea whip, I’ll peel away a piece of her skin. Slowly. Then Ivan will heal her, and the next day, we’ll do it all over again.”

“Where are they? ” I screamed.

“They are safe. For now. They will be on my skiff when I enter the Fold again.”

“As hostages,” I said dully.

He nodded.

So in the whole trilogy the Darkling lied six times. Four if you count the scenes before he was revealed as the "evil guy".

His first real conversation with Alina is considered both by the protagonist and the fandom as manipulative and shady. He lied about his identity, age and true goal. Now let's take it from the beginning.

The fact that he lied about his age and identity wasn't something personal against Alina. This is the exact same lie he had been telling the world for four hundred years as a means of survival and staying as head of the Grisha. Also, did we really expect him to say "Yeah, I was the one who created the Fold. Hehe what can you do?☺️". We would be lying too if we were in his place.

Another thing that needs to be understood here is that the Darkling was testing her. He was trying to see what her personality is like, how does she feel about her newfound powers and, most importantly, what has she heard and how does she feel about him. I'm pretty sure that he was kinda sure that Alina would have been influenced by the people's views about him. And he was right. Alina was afraid of him thanks to the rumors and superstitions that surround him. If she also knew who he truly was then she would run from that barn ASAP.

Now let's see the next lie that the Darkling spat out. The one where he told her that he needs her to destroy the Fold. This was another test. Trying to see how she would react if she knew her true purpose as the Sun Summoner that everybody expected.

Apparently she failed that test as well:

Alina panicked when she heard that the realm's future lies on her shoulders, when she understood that she would be the one to destroy the Shadow Fold. Imagine how she would react if the Darkling said "Okay look. I need you so I can use the Fold against some nations, not destroy it". Yup, she would scream and run.

There's no way the Darkling would say the truth to her, especially since he saw how frightened and prejudiced she was about him and how clueless she was about the whole economical and political situation Ravka was at this point.

He was waiting for the Sun Summoner to be born and emerge for centuries. He would never risk losing her now because of her narrow views and some brutal truths. It was a matter of life and death for him in order to protect his country. And this girl was too young, too naive to understand.

So no. He didn't do it because he had something personal against her or to seduce her. He did it for the good of his country so this girl would stay no matter what.

Sadly, it's evident that in the end the Darkling's suspicions proved to be right. She run away. And when he found her he chastised her about her selfishness and her inability to see the bigger picture.

“Did you deserve my trust? Baghra whispers a few accusations in your ear, and off you go. Did you ever stop to think of what it would mean for me, for all of Ravka, if you just disappeared?”

“You didn’t give me much choice.”

“Of course you had a choice. And you chose to turn your back on your country, on everything that you are.”

“That isn’t fair.”

“Fairness!” he laughed. “Still she talks of fairness. What does fairness have to do with any of this? The people curse my name and pray for you, but you’re the one who was ready to abandon them. I’m the one who will give them power over their enemies. I’m the one who will free them from the tyranny of the King.”

The Darkling was right, she did have a choice. I once heard a line from a show that said "In life we always have a choice. But sometimes it's easier to think that you don't" and it applies to Alina here perfectly. She had a choice but she said to herself that she didn't. And by doing so, she only proved Aleksander right. She can't handle the truth.

Now the next lie is when he lied about his mother's powers. Don't have to dwell here because it's the same thing as before. It's the same lie he tells everyone "I don't know. I'm not sure". The Darkling (publicly) has distanced himself from his mother and keeps that relationship a secret. It's just part of his persona (just like his age, his identity etc.). Again nothing personal against Alina.

The next one is just some clever emotional manipulation. When he made clear to Mal that he would curve Alina's skin he knew that the threat was just enough. He has seen them act all cutie-cutie and being sacrificial for the sake of each other to a disgusting point so he took advantage of that (I say good for him).

And the last one is just my personal favourite if you ask me. That strategy he displayed there was my most favourite that he ever showed. Since he knew again how the threat would be enough for Alina to come to him like fish on a bait. He embraced his villainous persona and pretended that he would hurt those children if she didn't surrender to him. But he knew better. Mindless heroism would just bring her right into his net and again he was proved right until everything fucked up and died.

In his own words:

“I know what you thought, what you’ve always thought of me. It’s so much easier that way, isn’t it? To puff yourself up with your own righteousness.”

Just some delicious shit actually.

So, in conclusion, no. He wasn't a compulsive liar. But when he needed to lie he did and only for (as he saw it) selfless reasons. In fact, he mostly either evaded the truth or spoke truth. So misinformation just spilled that man's reputation lmao.

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imaginesmai · 1 year

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Once upon a fairy tale - Ubbe Ragnarson

Enemies to lovers, forced-marriage and based on the Disney movie The Swan princess. Here is what is probably the work I’m proudest of. Things you need to know before reading:

- As a medieval fic, there will be typical misoginist behaviours, racisims at some points and stereotypes.

- In this fic, Ubbe is from Mercia, not a viking, but a prince. His whole family is ruling that country, while yours rules over Wessex.

- Ivan doesn’t exist. I had to erase a brother for the plot I’M SORRY.

- It hasn’t been proof-read. So, if you find any mistake, please let me know!

Ubbe Ragnarson knew three things: that he would inherit the throne when his father died, that he should get married soon to assure that throne, and that he hated Y/N Ealhmunding. And those three facts were related. Because your hand had been promised to him since you were young kids, and now it’s time to fulfill that promise.

As princess of king Ecbert Ealhmunding, you also knew three things: that the laws for a kingdom ruler weren’t fair, that your father had done everything he could for you and your future, and that you hated Ubbe Ragnarson. Not only you hated that they had decided your future without you, or that you were expected to leave every braincell behind once you married, but also that the same boy who you had hated since childhood would be your husband.

Every summer, Mercia and Wessex try to make you both fall in love. And they fail.

But this summer is different, because a series of tragic and unfortunate events brings you closer to Ubbe than ever.

You’re no longer mischievous kids pulling pranks on each other, but responsible adults looking for what’s best for your country. And trying to survive in the meantime.

Preface: Ubbe and you meet for the first time, foreshadowing what your relationship is going to be like.

1st part: Just like any other summer, you have to leave your country. Just like any other summer, Ubbe has to open his to your annoying presence.

2nd part: your sixteenth-first encounter goes as good as planned.

3rd part: Aslaug tries to push you closer to Ubbe, leaving you in a vulnerable situation. When faced with a group of soldiers, they don't hesitate to make their opinion about you crystal clear.

4rd part: The soldiers’ attitude forces your father to make a decision, and you finally see an end to your engagement. Only that, when presented with the chance, you’re not so sure.

5th part: No longer under the pressure of an arranged marriage and with the hunting raid around the corner, you can almost taste your freedom. But something new awakens and neither Ubbe and you know how to deal with it.

6th part: The morning of the hunting raid arrives, and new feelings are revealed.

7th part: Ubbe and you take important decisions, about your future and the future of your kingdoms, not knowing that something bigger than you is happening outside the castle’s walls.

8th part: tragedy strikes when you least expect it.

Want to read more? Check out my side blog @imaginesmaimasterlists, where I keep all the masterlists! Feedback is always appreciated

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atom-writings · 7 months

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Can I request Russia x reader? Ivan loves PDA and his S/O looks small and not dangerous. But one day S/O beats the shit out of Alfred because he made fun of Ivan's PDA.

hetalia with a small s/o who stands up for him

1.0k words ~ gender neutral headcanons + scenario

tw: swearing, alfred is a dick

a/n: ivan i vlove you sosososoosos much . did u guys know that hes my favouritest boy in all the lands????

A small and adorable S/O is exactly what Ivan wants in a partner!

He's very aware of how ironic it is that you two are together, and he can't help but find it a little entertaining at least. Normally, he pretends he doesn't though. He'd never admit it unless it was in a completely concealed joke.

You always come with him everywhere. Sometimes it's because he wants to show you off, sometimes it's because he wants you to lose it and go off on people. Every time you defend him, his heart nearly bursts out of his chest (It has done that before. Physically. It was horrifying) with love and adoration.

It just means the world to him that you think he's worth standing up for. Almost no one has ever done that for him before.

So obviously, he's very protective of you in return. Especially considering how people treat you as well, he's thrown a couple of people out of places (Again, physically) for you before.

He knows that you can defend yourself, but you're just so small and delicate! Like an adorable woodland critter! And if you got hurt under his watch, he could never forgive himself.

Also, yes, Ivan would LOOOVE PDA.

Even at the most inappropriate of times. He doesn't have any social awareness at the best of times, but when he sees you, his single shred of shame goes flying out the window.

As shy as he may be, he's not shy with you. Besides, when he’s affectionate, he gets to show the rest of his friends how much his S/O loves him <3 which is always a priority.

As soon as you two arrived at the G8 afterparty, you knew it was going to turn bad. A bunch of thousand-year-old men with a million issues with each other, getting drunk at some random American bar? Well, what could go wrong? That's what Ivan asked, at least. But really you were asking yourself, what could go right?

Yao wasted no time in calling you over, and Alfred wasted no time getting shitfaced. How they let him drink that much when he looked barely 21 and had an ID with a moustache drawn on it, you'll never know.

As you watched him begin hounding the bartender to play something more “patriotic,” Francis nudged you in the side.

”Just like his father, eh?“ He commented, causing you and Ivan to chuckle lightly.

That chaos continued for hours, with the two of you eventually joining in on the drinking. The tab that the 9 of you racked up must've been the budget of all of New York, but that's what government pensions are for, right? Besides, it's not often the group could get along without tearing each other apart. Might as well enjoy yourselves.

Well, enjoy yourselves for the most part. Because the moment Alfred dared to say a single thing about holding down his drink, Ivan of course had to challenge him. Despite the pleas of everyone around them, their boyish pride was not swayed in the slightest.

Alfred didn't last long. To everyone else that was inevitable, but it seems the young man didn't appreciate being outdone.

”Well, of course, you won! All you people do is drink!“ He slurred, holding onto the table for support as he approached Ivan, who didn't seem to care about the American's taunts.

”I do plenty of things, Alfred.“

”Yeah, like make your entire family hate you?“ Ivan's smile didn't falter, but he visibly tensed.

”Funny, I believe I could say the same thing to you!“

”I don't need my family, that's why I don't hang out with those weird Europeans! But you? Ever since your sisters abandoned you, your- your life has been a trainwreck!” He exclaims, breaking into laughter.

Ivan's smile faltered, and the air in the room became cold. The other nations turned to face the two, fearing the worst already.

“Don't say these things, you know they are not true,” His eyes flicker to you for a moment.

“If that's true, name a single thing that's gone well for you in the last 10- no, fuck, 30 years!”

“Simple, my lovely partner-”

“Yeah, your partner who you spend every waking moment being gross with!”

Ivan failed to respond to that, his cheeks turning just the slightest bit pink.

“It’s almost like you’re trying to prove that they love you. Which like-” He started laughing again, “We all know you’re just paying them to date y-”

Alfred's speech was cut off as you launched your fist directly into his face.

He pulled back, looking at you in absolute disbelief. When he held a hand to his face again, he found it wet with blood leaking from his nose.

“You-” He started to say.

“Stop being an ass to my boyfriend”

Alfred's drunken face contorted in rage, standing up and immediately towering over you.

“How- You’re so little- Wh-”

“OK! That's enough everyone! Let's go home now!” Ludwig forced both of you to step back, frantically trying to diffuse the situation.

“Yeah- I- I have to go as well...” Francis added, looking between you and Alfred in panic.

“M-Me too…” Japan sputtered out, already packing his bags.

As you and Ivan rode the metro to return to your shared hotel room, you sat in silence. At first, you thought it was because he was upset. With you? With Alfred's comments? You'd learned it was better not to ask.

At least, that's what you thought until you noticed the smile plastered on his face. Despite that, he failed to say barely anything the entire time.

That was until you two stepped onto the station platform, when he turned to you and said softly, “Thank you, my dear.”

“For... punching your friend?”

”Of course. What else?“

#heta tag #hetalia imagines #hetalia x reader #ivan tag <3 #aph russia x reader #hws russia x reader

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moody4world · 2 years

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Got my twin with me like the parent trap (pt.1)

A/N: This is the first part of the series im writing based off of the movie, parent trap!! I’ve had this idea for months now and i’m so excited to finally have the first part done. its longer than anything i’ve written and i’m very proud of it so i hope you guys enjoy it too!🤍 if you guys have any questions feel free to send them in and i will gladly answer.

A big shout out to the anon that sent me the link for the movie🫶🏾

The reader will have a british accent in the fic for the sake of the storyline but no ethnicity or physical feature is really described except for maybe curly hair but everyone can read this.

Andy is Andre’s nickname

y/ln= your last name

You never thought that you’d be having the wedding of your dreams with the love of your life at the young age of 23. You had met Urban since very young and the two of you have been inseparable since. Your wedding was huge, beautiful decorations all over the cruise ship’s ball room. Yes cruise ship. You were never one to brag but you could admit that you came from a quite rich family. Every expense of your huge beautiful wedding was courtesy of your generous parents who always supported your relationship. Everything was wonderful but as they say. Everything must come to an end. And so it did.

16 years later

The loud chatter of young boys fills the camp ground as parents drop their kids off for summer camp. Big yellow school busses full of loud teenage boys. Hayden walked towards where the baggages have all been piled. He tries to pull his out but has no luck when more baggages are dumped on top. A shorter guy with dark brown short hair approaches him and tries to help but still no luck. “First year?” He asks Hayden. “How could you tell?” “You’re dressed different than most of us.” “Oh..i always dress like this. Kinda get it from my dad.” “Its cool. i like the hat by the way“ “Thanks” As they’re talking, a chubby guy about the same height as Hayden walks over and easily pulls his own handbag out of the tall pile. Hayden decides to call him over for some help and he gets his baggage as well. “Attention campers! Hayden Wyatt, Ivan Torres and Mikey Wu, the bear cabin.” “Oh that’s me.” Hayden says. To his surprise the two boys were in the same cabin as him. They took off to their assigned cabin for the next eight weeks ready to settle in.

“Oh come on Martin don’t cry, it’s only eight weeks i’ll be back home before we know it.” “You’re right, it’s just that i’ll miss you dearly. Remember if you wan’t to come home i’m only a phone call away.” “I know Martin, don’t worry i’ll miss you guys too.” The two of them do their special handshake and give each other a goodbye hug. Andrew sighs as he watches Martin gets back into the limo. “Chauffeur, to the airport!”

Lunch time rolls around and the cafeteria is full of loud chatters from the boys. Hayden is standing at the right side of the fruit buffet table meanwhile Andre is on the left. In between them stood mr. Marvey, the head counselor of the camp. He was putting some orange slices on his plate and he turns to Hayden offering him some. “Would you like some orange slices buddy?” to which Hayden replies “Oh no thanks Marvey i’m allergic” “Oh okay.” Marvey decides to ask the boy on his left while still looking down. “How about you, would you like some orange slices?” Andre answers “Oh no thanks Marvey i’m allergic.” “Oh i know you just told-“ Marvey looks up noticing that the boy he just spoke to was now on his left. “me over here…how did you get on this side so fast? you know what, excuse your old man, its been alot of years working at this camp” Andre gives him an awkward smile and walks away.

After lunch the boys were quickly allowed to go participate in whichever one of the activities they wished. Hayden was doing very well at fencing. He was winning round after round. “Looks like we have our remaining champion, Hayden Wyatt!!” the counselor announces. “Anybody else wanna test their luck?” he asks. Andre and his friends had just came from their intense game of tennis and he decided why not give it a go. “I’ll take a whack at it.” He says. “Okay! looks like we’ve got ourselves a challenger.” The two boys put their masks on while facing away from each other. Once their masks are on they take position and salute each other.

The counselor blows his whistle and yells “Allez!” indicating the start of the match. It’s intense and everyone watching was invested. At one point Hayden almost got Andre but he was quick enough to dodge it smoothly. The clinging of the épéés against each other was fast and constant until Andre has Hayden cornered on a small balcony of a nearby cabin with nowhere to go. Hayden takes a step back when Andre tries to touch him with the point of his épéé causing him to fall backwards into a tub of water. Andre immediately sticks his hand out offering Hayden his help. “Oh shoot, here, let me help you.” “No, let me help YOU.” Hayden grabs his hand and pulls him into the the large water tub with him.

They step out keeping their backs faced towards eachother. “Alright everyone looks like we have a new winner, Andre Y/ln!!” the counselor announces.“Come on guys, make up. It was a fair and square game.” They both sigh in annoyance and turn around. The two boys let out a synchronized gasp when they finally face each other. Hayden feels like he’s looking into a mirror and vice versa. This boy who he has never met before happens to look exactly like him. Same eyes, same nose, same lips. Different haircut and accessories. They shake hands confusingly and let go immediately. The group of campers dispersed but Andy’s friends come stand next to him hurriedly.

“Why is everyone staring?” Hayden asks. “Dont you see it?” “See what?” he says again acting clueless. “The resemblance between us!” “The resemblance? between you and me?” Andy nods “Hmm i don’t really see it, your eyes seem closer together than mine and..your ears..well i hope you can still grow into them.” “Who do you think you are?” One of Andys friends asks. “No its fine, clearly i was raised with manners and good sportsmanship unlike this guy.” Hayden steps up to Andy getting defensive and Andy puffs his chest out ready to fight back. “Woah woah woah boys break it up, come on. Hayden, Andy. I mean Andy. Hayden. I mean Andy? Oh jesus” the counselor could not tell the two apart.

Later that night, Andy’s group cabin was packed. Everyone surrounded the small table watching him beat everyone that went up against him in a game of cards. Hayden and his group walks in and decides to challenge him. “I’ll take a whack at it” he says imitating Andre.

“Loser has to jump in the lake.” Hayden proposes.

“Fine by me.” “Actually no, skinny dip in the lake.” “Also fine by me because im gonna win.” Andre says. He’s confident until he sees Haydens smirk once he put his cards down first. He had lost and now he had to skinny dip in the freezing cold lake. He’s never done something like this before. He strips and walks quickly across the deck to get to the lake. He takes a deep breath to prepare himself and takes a dive. Once he comes back up all he could see was the last few of the boys running away. And by the time he got out all that was left of his clothes were his sneakers. his underwear, his t-shirt, his pajama pants, all gone. He takes a deep breath to calm his nerves. “Fine. Two can play this game. Hayden wyatt.” He says while his teeth were chattering from the cold.

The next morning Hayden and his friends are walking back to their cabin after playing some football. “Bro that match was so good their keeper was ass. We scored so easy on them.” “Yeah but honestly you’re a beast at football man you gotta teach me that one trick you did.” “Sure man i’ll teach you but i’m so tired right now i’m gonna take a nap till lunch time.” Mikey stops abruptly in shock causing hayden and Ivan to stop as well. They look at him confused and he goes “I dont think thats possible man.” Hayden looks at Mikey questioningly “Why not?” He points at their cabin and Hayden is more than surprised to see all three of their beds, night tables and bags on the roof. And to top it all off a british flag flapping in the wind. All that Hayden could say was “No way”

That same night Hayden and his two friends were ready to get revenge. They took their flashlights and a bags full of the materials necessary to carry out their prank perfectly. Multiple strings connected all throughout the cabin, whipped cream painted over one of Andre’s friends with a ginger bread man design. The other friend they covered in honey and Andy himself had a bunch of honey on the floor near his bed and balloons filled with water ready to drop on him as soon as he stepped on a string near his bed.

The next morning Andy wakes up in confusion and alarmed. He sits up immediately in bed, careful not to touch anything. “What the fuck” his roommates however were not able to be as calm as him and both screamed much louder “Bro what the hell is this shit” said the one covered in sticky honey. “Who the hell did this?” asks the one covered in whipped cream. Andy tries to step out of bed carefully but because he was trying to avoid stepping in honey he stepped on the forbidden string. Three small water filled balloons drop down but he manages to dodge each one. “Ha! missed me dumbass.”

Or so he thought… less than 5 seconds later a giant water balloon comes straight down onto him. Wetting his pajamas and everything close to him. He was so frustrated and annoyed. But most importantly he was ready to get back at Hayden more than ever.

Meanwhile Andy and his roommates’ bloods were boiling. Hayden and his friends were watching through the window trying to laugh as quietly as possible as their prank played out exactly how they wanted. Right as their high-fiving each other the head counselor walks by with his giant microphone. “Goodmorning boys.” “Goodmorning Marvey” they reply in unison until realization hits them like a brick. “MARVEY?!” they say all scared. Mr. Marvey raises his microphone and announces that they will be doing a surprise inspection on all cabins.

And just for Haydens luck, the pranked cabin was up first. He runs to the door blocking it from Marvey’s view. “Marvey i don’t think you should go in there sir. One of the guys got sick and it’s reaally and i mean really disgusting in there, trust me.” he tries to say as convincing as possible. “Oh well if one of the guys are sick then i should definitely go in there and check on him Hayden.” “No you can’t. He’s really really contagious.” Andre watches amusingly through the window as Hayden is struggling to change mr Marvey’s mind. So ofcourse he decides to help Hayden out. Not.

“Actually mr Marvey we’re all perfectly fine in here. Unless Hayden Wyatt knows something we dont. Open the door and come see for yourself Marvey.” And that he does. Marvey tells Hayden to step aside and he opens the cabin door. Before he was able to set one foot in the cabin a bucket full of chocolate came pouring down straight onto him. He yells in disgust and shock. The younger counselor tries to push him out of the way but this only made it worse. He slipped into the cabin, sliding through the honey and the web of strings until the opposite end of the room and the younger counselor was quick to meet the same predicament. The counselor was trying to regain his footing but the floor was too slippery. He had the brilliant idea to hold on to a doll that was hanging on one of the strings.

This causes Hayden to scream “NO” but it was much too late. The fan starts to spin and a bunch of white feathers come flowing down. Sticking everywhere and i mean everywhere. Hayden felt extremely nervous about the consequences he would have to deal with. “I told you it was a mess in here” he says nervously as the counselors look at him. Andy looks over to the counselors angrily saying “He should know, he did it”

Mr. Marvey angrily points at the two boys “YOU and YOU pack your bags right now!”

After three hours of constant cleaning every camper was told to march along to the isolation cabins. By now everyone had heard about what happened in the cabin. During the march all you could hear were the synchronized stomps and chatters. Once they reached the cabins, Marvey once again picked up his microphone. “The rest of you, get back to your activities.” All the boys cheered and wooed and wasted no time getting back to what they were previously up to. Once the cheering calmed down Marvey turned to the two boys. “The two of you, the isolation cabin.”

The boys stood there looking at Marvey expecting him to say something else. “NOW” he says unexpectedly and both the boys and the younger counselor flinch in surprise while Andre and Hayden hurry to the cabin.

Hayden and Andre make a deal to simply stay out of each other’s way. Later that night Hayden was having a hard time falling asleep because the lights were on. Why doesn’t he just turn them off, you ask? Well Andre was journaling and there was no bedside lamp for him to use. Hayden was fed up and flipped the light switch on his side of the room, causing the cabin to go completely dark. Andre immediately flips the switch on his side turning the light back on. They go back and forth with the light until Hayden gives up, pushing his cover over his head and tries to fall asleep.

The next morning Andre was playing with his deck of cards while Hayden was sticking up posters of his favorite designers’ pieces, dogs he found cute and his favorite football players. A huge gust of wind unexpectedly rose causing a bunch of his posters and photos to fly off of the wall and onto the cabin floor. He rushes to close the window but quickly notices that he needs help. Andre runs to the window helping him and together they manage to close it.

They sit down together collecting the photos and posters off of the floor. Until a few photos caught Andres attention. The first photo had a beautiful white building with teal green ceilings, it almost looked like a castle of some sort. Andre had never seen it before. “What is this place?” He turns the picture to Hayden when he asks. “Oh thats churchill downs. Its where the annual kentucky derby takes place.” “What exactly is the kentucky derby? i’ve never been there before.” Hayden looks at Andre in shock. “I don’t know if i should be offended right now or honored that i get to explain this to you. But the derby is basically a horse race that people bet money on. And kentucky is where i grew up.” He looks over and coincidentally finds a photo of the house he grew up in. “Oh here’s a photo of the house actually. Pretty cool huh?”

Andre really does find the house pretty cool. It wasn’t bigger than his ,not that it mattered but it seemed nice and homey. The other one that caught his attention was a photo of a man with long hair photographing some type of artist during a performance with a very large crowd. “Who’s this?” “Oh thats my dad taking a photo of my uncle while he’s performing. He didn’t know i was taking his picture until after the show” Hayden says with a proud smile on his face “They’re like my best friend, we do everything together.” Hayden grabs another photo, this one was taken by his dad.

“Oh look at this one, its me eating a mcchicken but with barbecue sauce.” He was laughing at his face in the photo and Andre found it hard not to laugh as well. “Thats so weird, i do that too!” He says to Hayden. “Thats so strange, most people think it’s disgusting but i learned it from my dad and now its the only way i eat it.” Andre smiles at the fact that they have that preference in common but he cant help but feel some type of way about the topic. Hayden notices this and tries to include him a bit more. “So uh what’s your dad like? Is he one of those chill ones you can talk about everything to or is he strict and lame? I hate those type of dads.”

Andre looks at him and goes “I don’t have a dad.” He laughs a little and continues “Well obviously i had one at some point but my mom got divorced a long time ago and she never even mentions him at all. Its like he disappeared into thin air.” He shrugs as if it was any other normal conversation. “Scary how nobody stays together anymore.” Hayden says while shaking his head. Andre nods along saying “Tell me about it.” Out of curiosity Hayden decides to ask Andre for his age.

“How old are you by the way?” Andre replies “I’ll be seventeen on october eleventh” This caught Hayden by surprise causing him to choke on his own spit leading him into a coughing fit. He bumps his fist to his chest regaining his breath and replies excitingly “So do I.” to which Andre adds “Really? your birthday is on october eleventh? how weird is that?” and Hayden says “Extremely.”

A small silence reigns in the cabin for a short time before Andre asks Another question. “Hayden?” “Yeah?” “What’s your mother like?” “I haven’t met her, her and my dad split up when i was a baby or maybe even before that. But i do know for sure that she was very pretty.” “How do you know that?” “Well my dad used to have this photo of her in his drawer and he looked at it all the time until he gave it to me to keep.” A lightbulb goes on in Andre’s brain but Hayden seems as clueless as always. “Hayden do you not realize what’s going on?” “No? What’s going on?” “I mean think about it. I only have a Mother and you only have a father.” “You know you can just say mom and dad right?” “Let me finish my sentence please.” “My bad.” “As i was saying. You only have a..dad and I only have a mum.” Hayden rolls his eyes at Andre’s british pronunciation. “You’ve never seen your mum and i’ve never seen my dad.

You have one old picture of your mum and i have one old picture of my dad. But at least yours is probably a whole picture. Mine’s a pathetic ripped half of a photo.Right down the middle too-” Andre’s last sentences makes Hayden’s eyebrows go up and he rushes to his baggage and starts rummaging through it. “What are you digging in there for?” Hayden find the photo of his mom and holds it to his chest. Andre looks at him confused and asks “What is that?” “It’s the photo of my mom… mine is ripped too.” “Right down the middle?” Hayden nods. “Right down the middle.” At that very moment Andre rushes to his drawer grabbing his half of a photo and holds it to his chest like Hayden did.

They stand facing each other. Both holding their half of a picture to their chest. They each take a deep breath and decide to turn the photos towards each other at the count of three. “One” Andre says, taking a step closer towards Hayden. “Two” Hayden continues the countdown taking a step closer towards Andre. “Three” they say in unison turning the photos towards each other. Just as expected they were a perfect match. Neither of them could contain their shock yet also excitement. “Thats my dad.” Hayden says while still in shock. Meanwhile Andre is much more on the excited end of the spectrum. “That’s my mum!” Hayden felt himself tearing up from the huge wave of emotions. He wipes his eyes and points at Andre. “So if your mom is my mom. And my dad is your dad and we’re both born on october eleventh then you and i are like…brothers.” At this point he was smiling so hard he could feel his cheeks starting to hurt. “Like brothers? Hayden we’re twins!”

Andre jumps up and down in excitement, causing a small locket to fall from his pocket. He quickly picks it up holding it tight. “What are you holding?” Hayden asks him. “Its a locket. I’ve had it since i was born. It has an A on it.” “I have the exact same one except mine has an H on it.” They both laugh in disbelief. “Oh my god i’m not an only child, i’m a twin!” Hayden says. “And there’s two of me. I mean us! Its like-“ “Mind boggling.” Andre adds. “Totally!” “Completely!” “Oh my god.” “Oh my god!” They say as they pull each other in for a hug.

They spend that entire night telling each other about their parents. “So tell me, what’s mom like?” “Well she’s a wedding gown designer.” “Really?” “She’s becoming quite famous actually, a princess in Greece just bought one of her gowns.” Andre tells him. “Wow” “You know what’s interesting? Neither of our parents ever got married again. Has dad ever gotten close to marrying?” to which Hayden snorts and says “Never. He always says bitches come and go.” They both laugh a little at that. “Yeah mum has never gotten close either.” The room falls silent as the both of them get comfortable in their bed ready to sleep. That is until Hayden jumps up with a face thats says ‘i am an absolute genius’ and he goes “I have the brilliant most brilliant idea! i’m a total genius!”

He turns to look at his brother. “You want to know dad right?” to which Andre sits up and replies “ Right.” “And i’m dying to know mom. So what i’m thinking is.. don’t freak out okay?” Andre nods. “I think we should switch places!” Andres eyes widen at his brother’s crazy idea but Hayden just keeps going. “When camp is over i’ll go back to London as you and you’ll go back to Louisville as me!” “WHAT?!” “Andre we can pull it off, we’re twins aren’t we?” “Hayden, we’re totally and completely one hundred percent different.” “So? what’s the problem? You can teach me how to be you and i’ll teach you how to be me. Look I can be you already.” Hayden says pulling his long curly hair in a ponytail to make it seem shorter like Hayden’s and says in his best british accent “No it’s fine, clearly i was raised with manners and good sportsmanship unlike this guy.” Andre wouldn’t admit it but that was a quite good impression of him.

“Come on Andy, i gotta meet my ma.” Hayden begs him with a pout trying to win him over. “Okay…the problem is you know, if we switch…sooner or later they’ll have to unswitch us.” To which Hayden adds “And if they do they’ll have to meet again…face to face!” And Andre continues, “After all these years..” He says excitingly. Hayden laughs, proud of his brilliant plan. “Thank you.” He says smugly as they both lay back down in their bed. “Told you i was a total genius.”

#moody4world #moody fics #parent trap au #parent trap #urban wyatt x reader #urban wyatt x you #urban wyatt #urban wyatt imagine #jack harlow

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forever-eternal · 1 month

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hi!! I was wondering if there was any random headcannons you had about either states or Adam and Robin

I have a few off the top of my head :D

__________________________________

-- Adam and Robin are both Very Asexual, and only attracted to each other. Trying to be a Homewrecker with these two will end horribly.

-- Greg is an undead. As a human child, he met Adam and Robin a few times. When he died in a horrific accident as a young preteen, they brought him back and adopted him.

-- Greg is mute!

-- Boe (WV) has a pet rosy maple moth named Rosie

-- Boe is Best Friends with all the WV cryptids.

-- Boe is dating John Deere! Boe is the Jack Hoffmen of States and I will die on this hill.

-- Ivan and Gabriel (Alaska and Texas) are really nice guys, and kinda shy, but they have epic mean faces and can make themselves appear very intimidating.

-- John (Georgia), despite being Gabriel’s height, is too nice and Teddy Bear to intimidate people unless he’s angry. Then people remember that a Teddy Bear is still a bear.

-- Ivan and Gabriel learned to be scary from Adam. Man is Dad To The Max, but he is still the Personification of the United States, and he can be terrifying when he wants to be.

-- Adam and Robin make all their kids stuffed animals, with the animals name sewn on one of the limbs

-- Ian (Florida) and Robin have a running tally of who had football-tackled more police officers. It’s currently a tie.

-- Adam has met Santa Claus.

-- Countries being on good terms does not mean the Personifications are! Several Government and Assistant Personifications are not allowed to be in the same room as Adam or Robin, it’s attack on sight.

-- Adam and Robin can replace people they erase! I implied it in ‘Must Be Mistaken’

-- Robin eats people. It’s not cannibalism, since she’s not human, but she does eat people. Adam too, but only sometimes.

-- The basement of the Jones Residence, where only Adam and Robin are allowed to enter, is full of trophies from people and personifications they’ve killed. The walls look like the French catacombs with all the skulls.

-- Adam and Robin also engage in human experimentation from time to time! Remember the chimeras from Full Metal Alchemist? That type of stuff. They only do it to bad people, and they also just don’t care. The only humans Adam and Robin care about are their family members.

-- If Adam and Robin ever die, they can never be reformed. Getting the exact same fragment from Eternity or Infinity is impossible. Other personifications can reform as the same people, Governments can not.

-- Robin represents in small parts of the Government; the interns, cubicle workers, receptionists, all the little pieces that make everything run. Adam is the big pieces; the President, the Senate, the HoR.

-- Adam’s immune system is trash and it has always been trash 👍 that will never change.

-- The OG’s had to teach Adam and Robin how to act human, blinking, chewing, breathing and all.

-- No one knows that Adam and Robin are fragments. Only other Fragments know. All the Politicians know is that they’re terrifying and Will Eat Them.

-- Adam and Robin are petty as hell and have a ‘Petty Schedule’ to determine who messes with which politician this time. This is reserved for the people who annoy them, but they aren’t annoyed enough to hurt them.

-- Adam has been torn in half by a cannonball before. He has also been shot, stabbed, blown up, burned, and I’m sure there are other things he has yet to talk about. Only Robin knows about most of these.

-- Adam and Robin can regrow limbs! If they break a bone, and manage to get away for a few hours, they’ll just cut it off and let it grow back good as new.

-- Adam and Robin can either have no organs or too many of one specific organ. Or whatever they think is funnier at the time.

-- In Verse, ‘The Thing’ is based on a witness that saw Robin eat someone. She looked freaky as hell and had the time of her life.

-- Adam and Robin have multiple forms, which I have talked about already in a previous post.

-- Adam and Robin are so in love it gives me a toothache

#welcome to the table #wttt #welcome to the table au #family ties au #wttt gov #wttt assistant #wttt oc #wttt georgia #wttt greg #wttt alaska #wttt texas #wttt west virginia #wttt florida #ask and answered

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thirdleagueheroes · 1 year

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Trying to catch up on things and I'm a little confused - how many manga series does Tiger & Bunny have?

I have 7/8 volumes of Tiger & Bunny in English, but your recent ask mentions you're working on volume 7 of what you're translating as well, which from what I gather *has* no english release(?) so I assume it's a different series??

Plus the Anthologies exist, and the The Beginning sides A and B... are there more? What is happening I'm so lost, why is this so underappreciated in the US and hard to learn about lol

YEAH SO. Here's what's officially available in English, to the best of my knowledge:

Tiger & Bunny by Mizuki Sakakibara (9 volumes)

Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning by Tsutomu Oono (2 volumes)

Tiger & Bunny Comic Anthology 2-in-1 (2 volumes) — These are compilations of unofficial 4-komas and short stories that were originally published in Japan by Asuka Comics DX as 4 individual volumes; to this day I'm baffled (although pleased) that this got brought over while Ueda's series was apparently passed over

Aaaaaand...yeah. That's it.

The manga series we're currently failing at translating is by Hiroshi Ueda. Officially it's called Tiger & Bunny: The Comic, but since it once ran in the Miracle Jump magazine you'll often see me refer to it as just "MJ" series" or some variation thereof. (This has fucked me over now that Tiger & Bunny: The Comic 2 runs online for a different publication.**) Whereas Sakakibara's series retells the story of season 1's first cour (albeit with some changes/additions that were apparently discarded ideas from the anime), Ueda's has completely original stories written by Erika Yoshida (one of the anime's screenwriters) that jump around in the series chronology. Frex, one of the earliest stories (both in terms of this comic series and the anime's storyline) explains why Ivan and Pao-Lin aren't around in episode 5 for Barnaby's birthday surprise (with the rest of the chapter showing them trying to make up for it), and then there's also one that's set a month or so before The Rising. Stuff like that.

**Or maybe it's still kinda the same but under a different name? Miracle Jump was previously known as Monthly Young Jump before its rebrand in 2011, and then the website that The Comic 2 runs on is Tonari no Young Jump, soooo.

Regarding Sakakibara's series, there are 4 supplementary volumes that were released collecting the bonus content that ran alongside that series when it was initially running in Newtype Ace, both published by Kadokawa Comics A:

Tiger & Bunny-Chan by Kotoni Shiroishi (2 volumes) — Features primarily 4-komas with a few short stories. And the birth of the entity known as Kittyface Pao-Lin.

Tiger & Bunny Sky High by Virginia Nitouhei (1 volume) — Four short stories featuring Sky High.

Tiger & Bunny Origami by Yanagi Yukisuke (1 volume) — Six short stories featuring Origami Cyclone.

No clue what's been going on with Sakakibara's serialization of the second season, though — haven't been following it.

For the more general unofficial-but-also-official anthologies, BOY HOWDY THERE SURE ARE A LOT... Aside from the 4 that got localized, I currently have 9 in my collection:

Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning Comic Anthology published by DNA Media Comics (1 volume)

Tiger & Bunny Comic Anthology published by DNA Media Comics (3 volumes; missing volume 1)

Tiger & Bunny 4-Koma Kings published by DNA Media Comics (3 volumes)

Tiger & Bunny Official Comic Anthology published by Frontier Works (1 volume; "official" here is written as 公式)

Tiger & Bunny Anthology Comic Go! Go!! Tiger & Bunny published by Movic (3 volumes; missing volumes 1 & 2)

Tiger & Bunny Official Anthology Extra published by Asuka Comics DX (1 volume)

I do have some scattered scanslations on hand from one or two of these volumes (from back in the T&B LiveJournal community days, ha), but before I potentially share them I need to sort out which volumes they actually belong to and make sure that any appropriate credit is retained.

Hope this is helpful!

#ask

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blueboyluca · 1 year

Text

As you all know, I’m not a professional dog trainer, but it’s my hobby so I have a great interest in the profession. I’ve been thinking about the whole “two sides” thing that seems to be the defining mode in which the industry operates – “balanced” or punishment-reliant trainers and “force free” or reinforcement-reliant trainers.

I’ve been thinking about that bicycle guy on Twitter (I cannot find the tweet for the life of me) who theorised that his position as anti-car is a deradicalised position, as it is more radical to fundamentally structure society around vehicles over people and the environment. I’ve been thinking about this for months and how it applies to most (all?) of my progressive positions, including dog training. In my view, it is more radical to use punishment as a foundation for interactions with animals; it is a deradicalised position to attempt to minimise use of aversives.

I’ve been thinking about how demoralised I personally feel about encountering punishment-reliant modes of operation both online and in person, for example, my forays into reddit and utter dismay at the breadth of punishment-first mentality. And I’ve been thinking about how people like Michael Shikashio strongly believe in building and maintaining bridges with people “on the other side”.

Part of me is sympathetic to the chronically online “force free” crowd who think that any crossing of the bridge is an endorsement. I don’t actually agree with this sentiment, but the visceral reaction I have is distaste, so I understand where they are coming from.

I struggle more with understanding where punishment-reliant trainers like Ivan are coming from, especially when they are educated. This commenter on Michael’s post helped me understand a little better:

As a crossover trainer myself, I keep trying to imagine how I would have responded to this culture war as a young trainer. I don’t remember ever having a bright line moment where I said, “from this point forward I will be force-free.” That’s not how it worked for me, and I imagine that’s not how it works for most trainers. It’s more of a subtle shift over time. Since then, the science has only gotten more and more clear about the fact that humane, force free training is best for results, best for animals, and best for humans. I’ve been puzzled and sad that instead of everyone gently moving toward the obvious solution, some have really dug in their heels and gotten louder about their ideas that using force on dogs is absolutely necessary. The only real difference these days, from my perspective, is that the younger force free trainers have gotten equally loud. I’ve been deeply curious about what keeps trainers like Ivan, who have been training and learning for decades, and who’ve had access to all the same information I did, so firmly in the “aversives are necessary” camp. Why would an experienced, successful trainer who has dedicated their life to these animals be so hellbent on continuing to hurt them in the name of training? My answer can be found at about 1:00:20 in. Because he truly believes that if we can’t “control” dogs we can’t have dogs. And that moment in the interview made him human for me. Because if I truly believed as he does, that we can’t love dogs, and welcome them into our lives the way we do, without aversives, then I too would be desperate to preserve aversives in dog training.

This is where I will always butt heads with punishment-reliant trainers. I fundamentally do not agree with this position centred around "control". (It's a nuanced discussion, including my thoughts around dog culture today, my understanding of the partnership between humans and dogs historically, and my acceptance of the very real threat dogs can pose to people on a basic predatory level. I think it's also why I struggle to accept "slippery slope" arguments as they feel in the same vein.)

Michael’s approach to this issue is the activism approach – you use these high profile names to cast a wide net. You’re not going to catch the smallest fish that have no interest in being deradicalised, they'll swim right out of the net. You probably won’t catch the slightly bigger fish either, who need more time in the primordial soup. But there are two categories you could catch, the second biggest fish who are open to change and the biggest fish who are already halfway there. It’s these people I assume Michael is actually targeting, and not Ivan or his most devoted followers.

To people in the shit, this feels wrong. Because you see the bad stuff all the time. You see any open hand as a capitulation to the other side. But in the world we live in, I think it’s the only way. Think of parenting, right? There are so many shitty parents. But there’s no way to just outright stop shitty parents being shitty, they’re only going to get slightly less shitty over time. But you can’t just… give up. Because humans will keep having babies and babies are also humans and so we need to keep trudging along trying always to deradicalise shitty parents.

I mean, it’s the same for any progressive movement: fix your heart or die. You’ve got three categories of “the other side” that have the potential to fix their hearts, and you’ve got one category that will eventually die out.

I think that Dr Susan Friedman’s discussion of this topic on their recent appearance on Enrichment for the Real World helped me formulate this understanding, while also allowing for the feelings of anger in the deradicalised camp.

I don’t hold the value that people shouldn’t be angry. And I mean, I’m angry about many, many things and they’re righteous angers. But I can say for me, from my point of view, I can remember the previous generation. And when you come from that generation’s force and coercion, to my parents that turned down that dial, at least mine did, and then my generation that turned it further down. We know better now, but part of the reason why we know better, or we’re moving in that ongoing, always improving direction, part of the impetus of those changes is the righteous anger. So, I never want to forget that without the righteous anger that I read about, and hear about, and the information it holds for us. About what it was like to be in those situations, and so forth. That is our, our best source of change. I remind people that we didn’t know what we know now, and that each person will experience that effect in their lives. That they look back and think, how could I have missed this? That's just a very natural part of growing. But at the same time, this information is very precious because it’s part of the impetus we need for change. If we don’t get that feedback, what would be the reason for changing what we do?

I struggled with this segment because on the one hand I agree that progress has been made and can only be made incrementally like this, but also it’s troubling to present this to anyone who has suffered under previous regimes. But then I think, as exhausting as it is to consider, the answer is to keep the open hand and keep the open dialogue – and keep the anger. As Emily Strong said on the same episode:

I think it’s really important, and much appreciated, that you don’t tone police people and that you give them the space to have and express those emotions. Because I see that happening so much with people who are pushing for change in general, everywhere. I think that tone policing happens, like you’re not going to be as effective as if you’re angry. And that’s simply not true, as you pointed out.

But it’s not a singular effort. The weight of the world isn’t on individual shoulders. It needs to be a collective effort from all those in the deradicalised basket. To take your turn to try, and tap out when you need a break – but never stop. A lot of the time, the Michael Shikashio approach is going to be the most effective for starting the deradicalisation, but the righteous anger Susan and Emily are talking about is the impetus for even trying.

I don’t have any grand conclusion here, just that I think I am understanding things a bit more clearly at the moment.

#dog thoughts #a caveat here is I do not agree with platforming #some people suggested talking to Ivan is akin to talking to a white supremacist #I don't think it's 1:1 #there is not 'open hand' with positions such as white supremacy #platforming is a real issue and dangerous #I do not think that is analogous in dog training #because broadly speaking everyone in this sphere likes dogs to some degree #it's just not the same discussion

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lassieposting · 1 year

Text

God though

There are multiple references to "the General" building the Little Palace as a safe haven for Grisha. As in this General, General Kirigan, not a previous persona of Aleksander's from a long time ago.

So the Little Palace must be fairly recent? Within Kirigan's believable lifetime. So it hasn't really been that long since Grisha were living in hiding, or in tiny hidden villages, or whatever. Outside of his time in the army - throughout various lives - this is probably the most people he's ever had living and working and learning around him at one time.

And. If the Little Palace is where all the new baby Grisha are brought to grow up and study, and it's also where he lives and works most of the time, he's going to cross paths with the children a lot.

I love the idea that sometimes he's just. Accosted, by small Grisha. In the hallways or the gardens. Because the Little Palace is safe, and they're too young to remember how it was before, how dangerous it would've been for them. And the Black General is feared and respected and hated in equal measure at court and across the borders, but these children, growing up under his protection, have no fear of him at all, even as a near-stranger. To them anyone in a kefta is part of their family.

And like. This is bizarre beyond belief for him - for all the adult Grisha who grew up before he made a deal with the King - at first. Baghra beat it into him young that he should never trust anyone, not even other Grisha, for desperate men will do terrible things to survive. Always a litany of rules to keep him safe, to stay one step ahead of the otkazatsya. Don't tell them your name. Don't summon where they might see you. Don't wander too far or the Druskelle will snatch you. Don't let anyone touch you, or they'll kill you for your bones. Love no one, boy, it makes you weak.

And now, suddenly, that is over. These children will never know that fear, will never understand what it is to be hunted for existing, with nowhere safe to turn. They will always have a bolt hole to return to, in the Little Palace. And he finds that he doesn't really know how to deal with that - with how much more trusting it makes them.

A procession of small children passes him in the corridor as he's talking to Ivan, and a little girl at the end of the line stops to tug at the sleeve of his jacket. When he looks down, she holds up a tiny flame cupped in her hand like she wants to give it to him to hold. Her front teeth are missing. I can make it by myself now, she announces through a thick lisp. Every instinct he has is screaming at him to close his hand over hers, quash that flame and hiss at her the same reproach he'd always get when he used his abilities somewhere he could be seen, where he could've put them both at risk. He has to remind himself that that was a different world, and a fear this girl will never truly understand. He blinks, and his throat feels dry and scratchy when he manages to choke out, Well...well done. Keep, uh. Practicing. As the child darts away after her classmates, he meets Ivan's eyes, as wary and mistrustful as his own, and can tell he's thinking the same thing.

He loses count, over the decades, of the number of children who shyly sidle up to him to ask him questions. He's used to being the subject of curiosity, at court. He's used to being feared, too. Hated. But these young Grisha, their curiosity is untainted, friendly even. You're General Kirigan, aren't you? Is it true you can summon shadows? What's your horse's name? How many battles have you won? My pa's First Army, an' he says he would'a never come back from Ryevost if you didn't come help 'em, so...thank you. Do you really get to go to the Grand Palace and see the king?

Alina finds a drawing hidden among a stack of papers in the top drawer of Kirigan's desk - a smiling boy surrounded by a sea of happy people in blue and red and purple, and a single figure in black. The words My Famlee have been painstakingly scrawled in a top corner in a very young child's shaky hand. The parchment is yellowed with age and battered around the edges, the colours have faded - this picture is old, certainly old enough that the child who made it must be a child no longer. She's never thought of Aleksander as someone sentimental enough to keep a child's picture; she's far too young to have any idea how it twisted up his insides, a bittersweet kind of grief, to see young Grisha feeling safe and happy and valued as he never had. The precious result of a lifetime of struggle and sacrifice. A reminder of what he'd achieved for his people, made for him by a boy with no idea of the trauma he'd been spared.

Fedyor tells Alina a story over drinks one evening, about the time a misplaced toddler from the creche wandered into the war room, and Kirigan conducted half of a morning briefing while valiantly trying to ignore their attempts to climb onto his lap, before giving in and spending the other half stiff-backed and tense with the little wretch on his knee, happily colouring in a map of Ravka so messily it had made the muscle in Kirigan's jaw twitch. Does him good to get pushed out of his comfort zone once in a while, he tells her. Reminds him he's human.

A kid falls over in the courtyard and starts to cry, and Alina goes over to pick them up and dust them off and give them a hug, because she's done her share of helping out with the younger kids back at the orphanage. She's no stranger to a scuffed knee. Aleksander follows behind her to hover at her shoulder, like he doesn't know what he ought to do, while the child sniffles into their sleeve and Alina tidies their hair. She feels him move behind her, and the child suddenly bleats out a laugh, high and delighted. He's crouched down like she is, his hand outstretched, and a little horse figure made of shadows is gambolling in the air inches above his palm. The child is transfixed, scraped knee forgotten. He glances over at her, eyebrow raised, and she gets the strangest feeling he's looking for her approval, confirmation that he reacted correctly.

You make me a better man, he told her once, as though she was the only person ever to have that effect on him.

She isn't. She sees it, even if he doesn't. The Grisha he's protecting make him a better man, too.

Just. Local scary shadow-summoner army general completely bewildered by friendly kids, more at 11

#sab headcanons #aleksander kirigan #like? everything he does he does for the grisha he's protecting #and it wouldve been nice to see him actually interact with them #ivan is child-avoidant #kirigan has no idea how to deal with them but he's trying his best #and fedyor has like 12 younger siblings and hes just 'wow you guys suck'#anyway yeah give me kirigan learning to be a person and also to live with other people #after a lifetime of being a hunted prey animal #sab

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mytly4 · 1 year

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I’ve been writing a Vorkosigan Saga fanfic about Miles’s children’s lives and the general socio-political situation on Barrayar after Miles’s death. The entire fic is far from complete, and maybe never will be complete, but at least I have written a few scenes I’m happy with. I’m particularly happy with a chapter in which Gregor contemplates retiring from being emperor and handing over the reins to his eldest son (named Xav in this fic). So I have decided to post the following scene, which is an outtake from that chapter, since it’s fairly standalone and can be understood even without most of the context from the rest of the fic.

For some brief context, though: As the books imply that Miles will die (permanently) fairly young, considering his multiple health problems, in this fic, Miles dies at the age of 56. This scene takes place a few weeks later. Gregor (who is 62) has asked some of the women in his life – Cordelia, Alys, Drou, and Ekaterin – for tea to discuss the possibility of retirement with them. Laisa is present as well. Ekaterin is the POV character (though in this scene, she’s mostly just there as an observer). Btw, Simon is also already dead. Ivan is on his second career, as a diplomat.

‘I wish Aral were here, so I could talk to him about this. Or Simon. Or Miles,’ Gregor sighed and held his head.

‘Did you talk to Ivan about this?’ asked Ekaterin slowly. Alys raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

‘Yes, actually I did. I managed to get a chance to talk to him after the funeral. Just about half an hour, since he had to leave immediately to get back to Rho Ceta, given the delicate political situation there. But he did give me some fairly straightforward advice.’

‘Which was…?’ asked Alys.

Gregor smiled. ‘He told me bluntly that I was a fool for not considering retirement sooner. He said that I should hand over the reins to Xav as soon as possible, and then take Laisa on a long and very leisurely jaunt through the Nexus, visiting all sorts of touristy spots and lying on as many beaches as possible. He particularly recommended the beaches of Ylla. I’m not entirely certain he was sincere about that last part, since I once sent him and Tej to Ylla as a punishment. But the rest of his advice seemed solid.’

Alys nodded in approval. ‘Now if only he’d take that advice himself and retire. And bring himself and his daughters back home to their grandmother who misses them so much,’ she added with a sniff.

Ekaterin, Cordelia, and Drou shared a look, while Gregor tried to come up with a diplomatic response to this. Laisa, a practised diplomat and familiar with Alys’s moods, put in smoothly, ‘We really couldn’t spare him right now, Alys, what with the continuing crisis with the Cetagandans. After all, Ivan is currently our foremost expert on relations with the Cetas.’

Alys looked slightly mollified at this undeniably true fact.

Cordelia tried to get the conversation back on track. ‘Do you think Xav is ready to be emperor?’

‘He’s twenty-five; he’ll be twenty-eight by the time this is a done deal. Surely he is old enough,’ said Laisa, a little maternal anxiety underlying her positive words.

‘I was five when I became emperor. Twenty-eight is certainly old enough,’ said Gregor with a snort.

‘Surely you don’t want his experience as a new emperor to be anything like yours?’ said Cordelia, raising her eyebrow.

‘No, my god, not at all,’ replied Gregor, with a shudder. After a few moments of contemplative silence, he resumed, ‘I suppose I’m not the most objective person to gauge this. After all, I’ve been emperor nearly my whole life. Being emperor is completely intertwined with my identity. I have genuinely no idea how anyone else – even my son – would handle the same responsibilities. But that’s also one of the reasons that I want to retire. Not just to hand over my responsibilities, I mean, but to find out who I am when I am not emperor. Who is Gregor Vorbarra? There are times when I’m really not sure. And I’d really like to know before I die.’

‘I know who Gregor Vorbarra is. After all, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with him, or married him, if I didn’t know that,’ said Laisa, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek gently. ‘But if you need to find out, then I’m happy to support you in that, darling.’

#vorkosigan saga #vorkosigan #fanfic #gregor vorbarra #cordelia naismith vorkosigan #ekaterin vorsoisson vorkosigan #alys vorpatril #laisa toscane vorbarra #drou koudelka

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calypso707 · 11 months

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Chapter 5 : False hope.

Erina was pushed against the stone wall in front of her and she winced at the shock. Leon soon ended up at her side, with JD pressing the blade of his knife against the American agent's lower back. JD had dragged them into an alleyway at the back of the cathedral. Erina watched the two men out of the corner of her eye, JD looking disturbed: "Buddy told me to get rid of you, but I need you”

He used the knife to undo Leon's restraints, and as soon as he was free, Leon pinned JD against the wall and blocked his arm to disarm him. He sent the weapon to Erina, who managed to catch it without difficulty, freeing herself in turn before attaching the weapon to her belt. Leon kept JD blocked against the stone wall, his arm pressed to his throat. "When you want to play hardball, learn how to use your weapons, it'll be child's play to disarm you" spat Leon. "After the stunt you pulled, I'm not helping you, understand?”

The young woman didn't dwell on what the two men were saying to each other and started to take a few steps away, with Leon beginning to follow. JD's voice behind them, calling out to them, echoed through the alleyway: "Help us! Buddy's planning to inject himself with the virus!"

The two agents stopped and Erina turned to look at the blond man. He looked genuinely upset and continued: "I tried to dissuade him, but he doesn't care. If he ever injects himself with the virus, he'll become one of them, he'll end up like Ivan and I'll..." he paused. "Since the death of his fiancée, he's changed completely and has nothing but revenge on his mind. Even if it means becoming a monster himself, but there has to be another way!”

Erina considered him for a long time, remaining silent at first. For Leon, his hero side probably wanted to take over and accede to JD's request to prevent Buddy from taking the virus. The young woman took a step towards him: "Why are you telling us this?" she finally asked. "I work for Belikova, my orders are to stop you, so why do you think for a second that I'm going to help you?"

"Because I know where your brother is," announced JD, "Isaak, he's the one who was in contact with Ivan's supplier. He arranged to meet Buddy a couple hours ago to give him the last vial of the virus".

Erina flinched at JD's words as he approached the two agents to hand the machine gun back to Leon, who fastened the strap around his torso. Just as she wanted to ask him a question, Leon beat her to it: "Where is he?" asked the American.

"In the underground car park at the town centre, where we found you" announced JD.

"If this is a lie, I swear I'll kill you with my bare hands" snapped Erina.

She didn't wait for a reply from JD and went on her way through the alley, ignoring Leon who was hurrying to catch up with her. She felt a hand grab her wrist to make her stop and she turned abruptly to look at Leon, flustered: "What do you want?"

"What's your plan, uh?" asked Leon, staring at her. "You're going to barge in there unarmed? Think about it”

"Think about what? The only thing I care about is finding my brother. You want to be a hero and stop Sasha from injecting himself with the virus? Fine, I don't care," replied Erina. "When my brother is safe, I'll inform Belikova of the situation”

“You seem to know Buddy personally, so how can you not care about him?”

“Worry about him? He's the reason my brother joined them. Sure, we used to live in the same village and if it hadn't been for all that, I might have wanted to save him, but no. My parents died for their stupid cause, my brother joined them and risks his life because of them. So Sasha can die for all I care” said Erina.

"So what? Everyone does as they please?" Leon seemed to be getting irritated, he hadn't let go of Erina's wrist for all that, on the contrary, he seemed to be tightening his embrace to keep her close to him. "I'm not your enemy, okay? So stop being so stubborn and take the time to assess the situation, we're both in the same boat, the slightest false move and we're dead".

Erina considered him for a long moment before finally making a movement with her arm to get him to let her go. Leon was right, when she had an objective in mind, she would rush headlong into it, but she couldn't afford to do that, not when she knew these creatures were roaming around. Her brother's survival was making her completely reckless, and she was letting her emotions get the better of her, something she would never have allowed on any other mission. But what could she do? Her only weapon was a knife, she had no mobile phone, nothing. Even if she agreed to team up with Léon for the time being, how was she going to be able to assist him without a weapon? The two agents had finally set off again through the city, which had been completely ransacked by the attacks from the partisans and the army. She was even surprised to see how things had degenerated. The streets looked completely empty; if the news of a bioterrorist attack had reached Belikova's ears, she would probably already have ordered the evacuation of the surviving civilians. However, some units were still patrolling the streets of the old town.

They reached the underground car park fairly quickly, Erina holding the knife firmly in her right hand, Leon armed with his machine gun, ready to fire at the slightest danger. With his flashlight, he scanned the area to see if anyone was there. They arrived near the hole that had been caused by the explosion a few hours earlier and which had led to Leon's capture. Erina scanned the area: nothing, her brother wasn't here. She squinted as she saw an open briefcase on the ground in the distance. She approached it quickly and crouched down to examine the contents. It was empty and it was already too late; Alexander had already taken the last dose. But where had her brother gone? She felt Leon's gaze on her as he approached, also taking a look at the contents of the case.

"Are you looking for something?" asked a female voice from behind them.

Leon suddenly turned around and found himself attacked as Erina scrambled to her feet. A brief struggle ensued between Leon and his assailant, who managed to push her back and she raised her weapon. She was a woman with Asian features, short black hair, dark eyes, dressed in a suit and skirt and red heels. Practical for fighting, Erina thought. Leon seemed to know her and was confused: "Ada? What are you doing here? Are you here for the virus?"

Bingo.

"Questions, always questions" replied Ada. "You can be sure I'm not going to answer. I see you've already replaced me," she added, glancing in Erina's direction, who was rather annoyed by this absurd exchange.

"I thought it was time to draw a line under you, so I set my sights on her," admitted Leon.

"What a shame, I was hoping we'd pick up where we left off the other night" she grinned.

"Sorry, it's not going to happen," replied Leon.

Erina pinched the bridge of her nose before crossing her arms under her chest in annoyance. They were wasting their time and her brother wasn't there. Just as she was about to intervene, Ada raised her arm, the weapon in her hand actually appearing to be a sort of grappling hook: "I'll be you, I'll go. They're planning to wipe the city off the map, the bombardment's about to start" she winked at Leon. "See you next time, handsome".

Before he could reply, she sent her grappling hook up in the air and climbed out of the car park through the hole left by the explosion. Erina took a few steps to watch her run away, disconcerted by her words. A bombing? Impossible, Belikova wouldn't have ordered such a thing if she knew that civilians might still be alive, knowing that there was a hope that she might still be alive. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as panic overcame her. She had to find a way to contact her. She turned to Leon: "Have you finished, Don Juan? We need to-"

"Jealous, sweetheart?" asked Leon, raising an eyebrow.

"Screw you"

At the same moment, the cathedral bells began to ring out, and the two agents looked at each other before running back towards the cathedral. Erina had a bad feeling about this; it was probably not a good sign. With a bit of luck, her brother had returned to the building to join his comrades-in-arms. But what if JD had rung the bells to call them back because he was under attack?

#resident evil #romance #resident evil fanfiction #resident evil leon #leon scott kennedy #leon resident evil #leon x oc #leon kennedy #leon s kennedy #resident evil damnation #original character #reisdent evil

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msweebyness · 1 year

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Class of Heroes AU: Worst Fears

I come to you with more HC’s, this time about what frightens our heroic kiddies the most! As always, credit to @imsparky2002 and @artzychic27! Thanks to Sparky again for helping with these ideas! Once again, keep an eye out for a matching post with the villains!

Marinette: One of Marinette’s greatest fears is that she will fail to accomplish her goals, and in doing so bring dishonor upon her family, made worse by the fact that she’s technically disobeying them being here. She also carries the dread that she will one day fail as a warrior and be unable to protect those she holds dear.

Adrien: Drilled into him by his father since he was a child, Adrien harbors a deep fear of the thugs and ruffians of the world. But perhaps what he dreads most is that someday he will be forced back into his tower, away from Marinette, Kagami and all his friends. He also fears that one day his power will be unable to heal a friend when they need it most.

Alya: Like her best friend, Alya carries a paralyzing fear of failure and not reaching the goals she sets for herself. She’s worked too hard to not get what she’s after! She also dreads failing to provide for her family and friends, as well as people who practice dark magic and hoodoo. (She doesn’t mind general voodoo. She grew up near the bayou, and heck, Mama Odie practically helped raise her!)

Nino: Like all Fairy Godfolk, Nino fears that his wand will someday end up in the wrong hands. (The wands have magical safeguards, of course, but cunning villains have managed to break them before!) He also dreads letting people down and failing to make their dreams come true, as is his purpose.

Rose: Rose loves her older brother, Ali, with all her heart, but unfortunately, most of her village doesn’t feel the same, seeing him as a crackpot lunatic for his eccentric ways. Due to this, she fears that he will be taken to the town asylum in her absence. And due to a terrible experience in the woods around the time she first met Juleka, she is terrified of wolves.

Juleka: Stemming from traumatic past experiences, Juleka has a deep terror of angry mobs, especially of the pitchforks-and-torches variety! She also fears being unable to break the curse, not so much for remaining a beast, but for losing her family and other loved ones as they are left inanimate, dormant household objects.

Max: Max doesn’t talk much about the time before he came to FPA, and with good reason. At his previous school, a terrible fire broke out and his cousin Terrance was unable to make it out due to trying to save one of their teachers. Since then, Max has had a haunting fear of flames and burning buildings.

Kim: The young demigod desires nothing more than to be a true hero, and because of this he deals with the constant fear that his strength won’t be enough and he will fail to save someone, especially someone he cares about. Additionally, due to his experiences with the people in his hometown, he fears accidentally harming his friends with his lack of control over his strength.

Ivan: Stemming from a traumatic childhood experience at the famed ‘Festival of Fools’, Ivan has a terrible fear of being tied up or bound in chains. (When some of the Royals, who saw the event on television, tied him up in the amphitheater as a prank, he had a panic attack.) Being unable to run or say anything as people laughed and jeered at him has stuck with him for years.

Mylene: With everything that the woman has attempted to do to her, it should come as no surprise that Mylene is terrified of her stepmother and anything related to her. She also has a deep fear of being poisoned, and refuses to touch red delicious apples due to a traumatic experience.

Alix: Having been forced to grow up as a thief and urchin in the streets, Alix fears that one day she will no longer have a place to call home and have to fight to survive again. She also has a deep fear of being imprisoned for her tendency to steal due to a childhood trauma.

Nathaniel: Given the circumstances of his curse, Nathaniel harbors a deep hatred and terror for needles of any kind, especially those of a spinning wheel! But running even deeper than that is his fear of being alone, rooted in the fear of failing to break his curse and waking up having long outlived all of his loved ones.

Sabrina: Obviously, Sabrina fears the things you would expect of a wooden girl: fire, axes, saws, the works. But one thing she fears the most is being forced to act as a plaything to entertain people again, being tied up with strings. (She also had a fear of whales, due to a frightening encounter with the terrible Monstro, but meeting some of Ondine’s whale friends has helped her begin to get over it!)

Chloé: Before she started to turn her life around, Chloé always feared that one day she would lose her wealth and be left as a pathetic peasant. Nowadays, she fears being deemed unworthy of forgiveness and ending up loved by no one. (She doesn’t really have to worry though!)

Marc: The heir of Arendelle’s greatest fear is accidentally harming or even killing someone with his ice magic, especially Nathaniel or one of his friends. While he is coming around to embracing his powers, there will always be that belief that he’s dangerous that was drilled into him for so long.

Zoé: With the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of the cruel woman, it’s almost inevitable that Zoé would fear her mother as well anything that reminds her of Audrey even slightly. She also has extreme claustrophobia, stemming from being locked in a small closet as punishment for being “disobedient”.

Ondine: The loss of her beloved mother has given Ondine a deeply-rooted fear of both pirates and storms at sea. She’ll never forget that terrible day when Queen Elsie met her demise amongst the jagged rocks of their favorite grotto. She also is not fond of fisherman or anyone who cooks fish, for obvious reasons…

Kagami: Kagami would never admit it to anyone, but she fears bears as much as her mother despises them! She was just four years old when she came face to face with Yamikuma, the demon bear’s gaping maw and jagged teeth just inches away from her. She may not let on, but that moment haunts her nightmares.

Aurore: Aurore sets incredibly high standards for herself, so it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that she deeply fears that she will let people, especially Sabrina, down as the fairy that is meant to guide them through life. In addition to this, related to the preservation of her kind, she also fears people losing faith in the power of wishing stars.

Mireille: Mireille carries a deep-seated fear of stampedes, stemming from the memory of seeing her mother being ran over by wildebeests as a young cub. Feeling the ground shake will trigger these terrible memories for the poor princess. She also has a long-standing fear of hyenas, and of failing to make her late mother proud.

Jean: Jean harbors a deeply-rooted fear of being rejected and unloved by his people and his friends, which manifests as a dread of being rendered ugly. (Such as when he was transformed into a llama!) Deep down, he just wants to be liked, though he may not let on outwardly.

Denise: If there’s one thing that Denise knows, it’s that a steady arcade game is nothing to sneeze at! They are very lucky to have remained in operation, and seeing the homeless game characters in Game Central Station has left them with the fear of seeing their own game unplugged. They also fear rejection from their loved ones over their status as a ‘bad guy’.

Simon: Unlike the original Boy Who Never Grew Up, Simon ended up in Neverland, raised by the fairies when he was abandoned at no more than seven years old. This left him with a deep fear of being discarded and left behind again, and is why he tries so hard to be fun to be around and well-liked. He also dreads growing up, though his friends and, of course, Denise are helping him get over this!

Ismael: Unsurprisingly, being a freed genie, Ismael harbors a deep dread that one day he will somehow be forced back into servitude. (Not that his friends would ever let that happen!) Having had experiences with this in the past, he also fears being forced to serve the hand of evil.

Reshma: Having been held up as the ‘Golden Child’ of her family since she was very young, Reshma fears that she will fail to meet the high expectations on her and let everyone down. She also, like most of her family, fears one day losing her gift and being of no use to anyone.

Robette: One of Cosette’s most terrifying memories is when a fan riot broke out at a public appearance by their band. One of the boys had his leg broken and several spectators were badly injured. It stuck with Cosette for a long time and ever since, it’s feared a repeat of the incident!

Lacey: Having been something of an outsider back in Pixie Hollow for her ‘outlandish’ ideas, Lacey greatly fears that one day the people she cares about will decide she isn’t worth their time. (Despite frequent reassurance from Simon) She’s also a bit afraid of being captured by pirates, due to bad past experiences…

And there it was folks! These are the kids’ worst fears! As always, leave thoughts in the comments and reblogs! Keep an eye out for Sparky with the villains’ fears!

(Fun fact: Ondine’s fear is a reference to The Little Mermaid 3: Ariel’s Beginning! Go give it a watch, it’s a fun prequel!)

#miraculous ladybug #class of heroes #disney au #mlb ocs #fears

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denimbex1986 · 3 months

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'There is a moment in NT Live’s Vanya – a one-man version of Anton Chekhov’s 1898 classic Uncle Vanya – where it feels fully possible that Andrew Scott could have cloned himself, and that three versions of him are on stage at once. He’s chameleonic enough that you’d believe it.

Vanya shows how life on a rural estate is completely upended when famous filmmaker Alexander, and his young, glamorous second wife Helena, visit. During this time, estate manager Ivan (Vanya) and country doctor Michael both fall for Helena, and consequently reevaluate their lives. The play stars Andrew Scott portraying all seven characters – including Ivan’s niece Sonya, housekeeper Maureen and local boy Liam – in a powerhouse, multipronged performance. The production enjoyed a sell-out run on the West End last year, alongside a spate of five-star reviews.

In a way, it feels like Scott’s career has been building towards Vanya, so varied are his most celebrated roles. Starting out on the stages of his native Ireland, the West End and Broadway, Scott burst onto our television screens in 2010 as the delightfully unhinged villain Jim Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock. He gave a playful, terrifying edge to a character who is usually dull and professorial in his ruthlessness. Since then, Scott has been a mainstay of stage and screen, his characters running the gamut from Hamlet to Bond antagonist (Spectre), fantasy hero (His Dark Materials) to droll matinée idol (Present Laughter), the latter of which earned him an Olivier. With every part, Scott conveys a sense of something deeper going on under the surface – unsaid, but clearly legible on his face.

With his beloved ‘Hot Priest’, hired to officiate a family wedding in series two of Fleabag (2019), Scott further demonstrated this facility for internal performances. His clergyman forms a tentative, transgressive romantic relationship with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s titular tearaway, which simultaneously heals and serves as rock bottom for both of them. Scott brings a quiet confidence to the priest as he flirts with abandoning his vows, trying to do the right thing no matter how much it hurts. It’s terrifically subtle, deeply felt work.

Scott is uniquely adept at holding space for emotion, as seen with Adam, a man dealing with the impact of a lifetime of loneliness in Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers. He brings a guardedness to the character, who discovers that his late parents are alive and waiting for him in the house he grew up in. His visits home become the key to opening himself up to a romantic relationship with his neighbour (Paul Mescal). Throughout the film, we feel Adam’s gratitude and grief as he discovers the love and support he’s denied himself for so long. Scott is a master of smiles that never quite make it to the eyes, of lit-up eyes downplayed with hesitant smiles. His emotions are fluid, never vacillating, never overwrought.

He takes his considerable skills to new heights in Vanya, where he showcases his immense versatility as an actor. One minute, he’s a beleaguered and gossipy housekeeper, and the next – literally, the very next – he’s a bored and depressed doctor. Another moment, and he’s a young woman filled with hope and energy, and, almost in the same breath, he’s transformed into her uncle, whose decline from cringey jokester to an utterly lost man has happened before our eyes.

Scott introduces us to each of his characters slowly: establishing their physicality, their voices, their mannerisms. His transitions between them are more marked at the beginning, when he uses props and leaves space for us to register his change in posture, or physically moves from one side of the room to another. He accustoms us to the characters’ different voices – Helena’s is cold, reserved and posh; Alexander’s slow and scatterbrained; Ivan’s jovial and tense, like something could imminently break. Some characters are linked with certain props: Sonya with her tea towel, Michael with his tennis ball, Ivan, again, with his comedy sound-effects box.

But eventually these visual clues fall away, and we know everyone by their sound and posture. Soon, Scott is setting one character down and picking another up as he rises. He is both the person being blocked and the one doing the blocking, the person being comforted and the one tenderly stroking their head. Even the scenes of sexual intimacy between two characters are made believable, handled in a way so focused and naturalistic they don’t seem contrived or actorly. By the play’s end, Scott is throwing his voice as one character and reacting as another, and we know who is who by the arc of his brow, the curve of his smile or the movement of his hand.

These smaller movements, which would be felt more than seen from anywhere other than the front rows of a theatre, are what give this cinematic version of Vanya its magic. It’s in the way Sonya can handle a tea towel both nervously and with resolve, the way Michael’s slumped posture goes from listless to lustful and the way Ivan slowly crumbles, sloughing off layer upon layer of coping mechanisms. All of the decisions Scott makes as an actor are clearly rooted in a deep empathy for each of these characters. Quite a feat, then, to maintain this dedication for more characters than can be counted on one hand over the course of two hours.

Vanya is an acting masterclass, a beautiful unfurling of Scott’s multifacetedness. It’s a culmination of what we love about him as an actor: his constant, daring shapeshifting. If he was at the top of his game before, then now he is absolutely stratospheric.'

#Andrew Scott #Vanya #All of Us Strangers #Anton Chekhov #Jim Moriarty #Sherlock #Hot Priest #Fleabag #Hamlet #Spectre #His Dark Materials #Present Laughter #Olivier Award #Phoebe Waller-Bridge #Paul Mescal #Andrew Haigh #NT Live

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maleyanderecafe · 1 year

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Saccharine (Visual Novel)

Created by: Amiralo

Genre: Tragedy

This is a very old game, but it's made by A ITYH: Horror Otome, which I was pleasantly surprised by. The game is only on Newgrounds and even has a webtoon made of it that mixes the different paths together, but it is very good and tragic, much like ITYH. I actually really like the reveal and story of this game as well as all of the characters as they're written really well.

The game is written in a way where you have to play in a specific order: Ivan, Dominicus and then Isador, each being unlocked at the ending of each route. I think the most cannon route is probably Isador's route, but even then in Amrialo style it ends on a fairly bittersweet route.

The story is about a pale girl named Branwen who goes into the city of Sacchrine to stay at an inn. She forces the innkeeper girl to make an oath so that she won't go into her rented room before renting the room. Upon settling in, she reveals that the suitcase that she has been carrying around as a man named Isador, whom is Branwen's father figure. She has been running away with Isador as he has a bounty on him and was attacked by a knight. Branwen wants to find a way to wake Isador and keep him safe. At this time, there is an event where the prince of the town, Ivan, rejected his initial fiance and is trying to find a new queen from the people in the town. Branwen decides that she will try to woo the prince so that Isador would be able to be safe. During this route, as Branwen tries to woo Ivan as best she can. We find out that Ivan is very proper and a big neat freak, even mentioning that he hates children because of their "grubby hands" as they grow closer, Ivan seems to take a strong liking towards Branwen, however, Branwen seems to find him unsettling and it's very obvious she's only trying to use him for the sake of Isador. Eventually, she is invited inside of the castle and toured around by a maid. She sees, with surprise, that there is a painting of her on the wall. It seems that Ivan developed his germaphobic tendencies after seeing his family die from a plague, and eventually dreamed of the perfect women, whom he had painted from his dreams. Branwen is chosen as the next queen and is brought to the party where they step out for a bit in the garden. There, Ivan's knight comes to talk to him and he's killed Isador, bringing him his head. Branwen is completely distraught and Ivan kills his knight with what seems like a curse that he had. After this event, Branwen is completely broken spiritually and we get a timeskip. Branwen and Ivan have a kid, and the kid really doesn't like Ivan and Ivan doesn't like him. Branwen, who seems to be in a loveless marriage, tells her child to not interact with their dad.

Dominicus's route starts out by meeting him after the first date with Ivan and the two then after hang out in the town square. The relationship between the two is almost like an old bickering couple, though the two clearly are not fond of each other’s company. Dominicus tries time and time again to get rid of Branwin even attempting to pay her to go away, but she always comes back. We learn that Dominicus’s sister was killed by Isador and thus it became his duty to seek vengeance for her and even notes once while he’s drunk that Branwin as the same eyes as her. We also find out that he’s trained as a knight ever since he was young developing such a strong tolerance to poisons that he has a hard time getting drunk. Branwin even attempts to drug him at some point which fails because of his high tolerance. Despite this all he really wants to do is drink and leave the town. At some point, Branwin attempts to leave the town with Isador only to be caught by Dominicus. Branwin is able to stop him by causing blunt force trauma with a bolder. After this, becomes a run away again, taking Isador with him as Ivan’s troops attempt to find her for attacking Dominicus. Dominicus is actually alive, however, and seems to believe that Branwin is her deceased sister. No matter how much she tries to abandon him, he always finds her, forcing her to use him as a bodyguard as he runs away with Isador.

The last route is Isador, and after unlocking this route, Branwin feeds him 10 medical cakes to get him to wake up. He disapproves of Branwin's plan of trying to woo Ivan and most of his interacts are related to him resting and worrying over Branwin. We get a backstory of how to two of them met, with Branwin thrown around and shunned by the people around her, complaining that she smells disgusting or is very creepy. Isador saves Branwin after she passes out on the street, even going so far as feeding and educating her despite being aloof towards her. Branwin is eternally grateful for Isador, even drawing a picture of the two of them, which Isador rips apart and tells her to focus on her studies. Even despite this, Branwin holds Isador dearly and even states that despite how aloof he acted that he truly does care for her. Branwin and Isador take a trip to the desert to watch a metor shower, where Isador reveals about his past. It seems that he used to be a very esteemed student at the highest universities, though he had a bit of a rebellious streak. He had done some sort of project with Ivan that resulted in him being expelled and forced to be a run away, a project that he greatly regrets. Once properly rested, Isador brings Branwin into the forest where he sets up some sort of magic spell. He tells Branwin to stand in the center, but before she can protest, she passes out. Upon waking up, she find that the whole town of Saccharine has fallen under a sleeping spell, and runs towards the castle. Upon reaching the castle, she sees the portrait of herself before going into Ivan's room. There she sees a wounded Isador and the floor filled with paper of missing women, including Dominicus's sister. Ivan comes with his curse affecting his face, revealing that she is actually made of parts of the women that have disappeared (hence why Dominicus notes that her eyes remind him of his sister) and that he created her to match the girl she had seen in his dream. Isador is able to attack Ivan and kill him before he too dies in Branwin's arms. Fast forward about 10 years, and Branwin is punished for the murder of the two, getting her faced burned as a punishment. Dominicus comes to visit her, stating that Isador had left her something that couldn't be destroyed as it was protected by a strong spell. It's the picture that Branwin drew for Isador.

Amiralo is very good at writing melancholy stories with good characters and bittersweet endings and they nailed it with this one as well. Despite the implications of being a romantic story, there's nothing particularly romantic about it at all, even down to the side characters. While the story is rather sad (the happiest ending is running away indefinitely from Ivan, and that's only because everyone is alive), I do think it does a really good job of foreshadowing what actually happens. For one, it does explain why in the first route, Ivan was so attached to Branwin so early and why he makes the strange decision to suddenly cut off his engagement. It also explains why Dominicus would mistaken her as his sister in his ending because she literally has a part of her sister in her. Finally, it explains why the people around her shunned her before she was taken in by Isador, as she was literally a sewn together corpse, explaining her pale appearance and her apparent smell. It's one of those things that you are able to piece together after playing everything, and I think it was a real eureka moment, at least for me.

Ivan as a yandere is a sort of mix of a purity and dollmaker yandere considering his germaphobia and the fact that he created Branwin. His germaphobia comes from the plague that occurs and leads to the dream of Branwin, which leads to the portrait getting drawn and eventually the murder and reanimation of various women to make the love of his life. He's actually rather manipulative too, since he sent out an arrest for Isador not only to silence him about the project but also to force Branwin to go into Saccharine and attend the ball to save Isador. He is able to slowly gain Branwin's attention (though it never appears that Branwin ever grows any affection for him) even dismissing all of the other women at some point just so he can get some alone time with her. He then of course ends up killing Isador and the innmaker indirectly before killing Dominicus, and marries Branwin after her mind is broken. In Isador's route, we also find out that he wasn't planning on revealing the secrets of her origins (for reasons) and that he wasn't planning it this way. As a yandere, I do think it's a very good twist to have these two traits together especially since he poses as the big bad of the game. He's always trying to get Branwin to be his, whether it be chasing Dominicus or attempting to kill Isador, though he always has another motive to cover it up. I am curious how his curse mark (powers?) came to fruition in the first place. I think it might have been because of the experiment that made Branwin in the first place, though I don't actually remember if that was the case or not. As a villain, he is very good, as his power and his brains are able to constantly put Branwin on her toes.

Branwin as a main character is pretty entertaining as well. She comes off as pretty aloof to pretty much all characters with the exception of Isador, which makes sense considering that at the moment she's currently trying to figure out how to save him. She has pretty funny encounters with Dominicus (always squabbling with him and her reaction to Dominicus eating 12 poisoned medicine cakes without batting an eye is pretty hilarious) and a genuinely heartwarming backstory with Isador, which makes it more tragic when he meets his end on various routes. She also just does some pretty strange things in encounters like lugging Isador around in a briefcase and attempting to woo Ivan by pretending to fall. I always found it funny that the general gameplay with Branwin was to talk to the person's route we were on, immediately get too tired to talk to them anymore and then go home to sleep. Which besides being really funny, also matches with Branwin's personality too well, which I'm not sure was intentional or not. Her reaction to unintentionally getting the innkeeper and baker together or not together is also pretty funny since she doesn't really intend to do it. She also is in a pretty unfortunate situation in most of the game and I find her at least amusing and qualified personality wise.

On a side note, I think it's sort of funny that we can decide to get the innkeeper and baker together or not. When they are together, the baker is incredibly happy about it, wanting to travel with her and take her on dates while the innkeeper seems pretty nonchalant and doesn't really care, stating that he seems alright but that she would rather have a prince (and also increases the amount you can earn there). On the other hand, if you keep them apart, the innkeeper seems pretty unchanged, while the baker is so distraught, that he basically will just give away his cakes for free. It's both kind of sad and kind of funny at the same time. It is very fitting for this game.

The artwork itself is a bit on the weak side, at least in terms of backgrounds, but considering that this game is pretty old, it's not really something I can fault with. The characters themselves are pretty unique (at least in my opinion) but I am glad to see their art has improved in ITYH and that the creator is still making games.

Overall, I really do like this game. It's unique, written well and has a good yandere that you can play through. I would highly recommend playing this game, especially if you liked ITYH.

#saccharine #male yandere #yandere #yandere boy #recommendations #completed #video game

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