#This is quite literally the worst thing for his character if they make him grow so much snd become loved | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ilys00ga · 4 months

Note

hellooo, ur blog is such a comfort for me <3 ! can i request yoongi meeting reader who’s quite literally the same person as him. he could’ve met the reader through one of the members trying to hook them up. “you two are so alike it’s scary, i think you’d be a match made in heaven”. so yoongi agrees..eventually. but when he meets the reader, it’s horrible! their similar personalities clash in the worst way possible. it’s pretty funny to everyone, because they totally thought they were in matchmaker mode?? the two constantly talk about how they couldn’t stand each other, so it surprised everyone when yoongi just admitted that he’d and the reader had been dating for a few months after their first meeting. loll

A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN.

pairing: yoongi x reader.

genre: fluff, i tried to make it funny loool, best friends to lovers, non idol au (?), non idol!yoongi, non idol!jimin, non idol!namjoon, jimin is the dramatic bestie and namjoon is just the very supportive friend that's happy to be there.

warnings: this is pure fiction and English is not my first language.

A/N: okay so, there was also this one ask I got from @parkjennykim that says: "Hiiii ❤️ hope this finds you well. Could you write a fluffy bsf to lovers with yoongi? Theres hardly any of those out there 😭 i need some fluff ive been too deprived and depressed".

I thought these two were similar so I decided to merge them, I hope that's ok for both of u :). thank u sm for sending these reqs, I really appreciate it and I hope u enjoy this read. do not hesitate to send more if u want to !

ᵎᵎ 𖦹彡⋆｡˚・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

“I'm sorry, WHAT?!” Jimin, who’d been slouched on the couch with his head leaning against its rolled arm, sat up straight and goggle-eyed as soon as he heard what Yoongi had said.

The latter only rolled his eyes, not surprised one bit at his friend’s dramatic reaction. In fact, he expected it to be so much worse, but he guessed the younger one was just too tired that day for all of that. “don’t be loud.�� he hissed and crossed his arms.

“hyung, are you serious?” Namjoon asked from where he was sitting with his chopsticks hanging in the air near his mouth as he too was stunned by the eldest’s statement.

“why the hell would i lie and say that me and __ have been dating for almost two months now?” Yoongi muttered through narrowed his eyes. "TWO MONTHS- woah, this is crazy. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” The youngest of the three covered his face with his hands and heaved a big, disappointed sigh.

“Seriously, why is he so annoying today?”

Namjoon chuckled as the older continued side eyeing their dongsaeng, “hyung, he’s just really happy for you. I too am.”

“I’m very happy, yes, but, hyung, how could you hide such a thing from me? I literally helped you grow the balls to ask her out.” Jimin whined and slouched back down on the couch with a growing pout, “I've been waiting for you two to get together for months.”

It's true, Jimin was a man on a mission ever since he’d noticed the insanely similar character traits when you and your (now) boyfriend met for the very first time. two individual human beings but the exact same patterns and edges. on a large scale, talking to you always felt like talking to Yoongi and vice versa.

It was like a game to him. It made him buzz with excitement, reminding himself every now and then to keep a close eye and count all the similarities you two shared. not that it was hard to notice to begin with: having almso the exact same taste (especially in music), always sitting silently when being around other people and speaking little amounts of words when necessary, getting flustered and smiling shyly when being complimented, being chill and too soft to scold or yell at anyone (most of the time), having that same slow tone in your voices whenever you talk, having random bursts of energy or playful teasing despite the cold facade both of you display, getting so talkative when it comes to topics and things you’re so passionate about, being very honest but never too rude or offensive about it, being the most hardworking people jimin has probably ever met in his entire life—something that nevers fails to admire about the two of you.

You and Yoongi were so similar, even your bad habits and red flags matched. When setting your mind on finishing a task—say a project for example—you’d wear your bodies out for the sake of completing it, even if it meant you’d stay up several hours late during the night. and when mad or during intense clashes and arguments, you would put thick walls between you and the other person, ignoring and shutting them out until you're human enough to confront them. sometimes it’s too hard to even apologize, instead, you’d slowly start approaching them as if nothing had happened at all.

“No wonder you two ended up together, you’re basically a match made in heaven.” Namjoon nodded his head as he munched on his food, as if approving of his own statement.

“i know! and the way you wasted your time pinning on each other was killing me.” being the biggest shipper of your pair, Jimin huffed as he spoke with a very serious tone.

“how did you guys even make it?” namjoon asked.

“We hit it off right after the first date.” Yoongi answered with a shrug, acting as nonchalant as ever.

“you mean the date i had set for you?” it was jimin who asked this time, and when Yoongi nodded in confirmation, the younger groaned and buried his face into the couch, “hyung, you are seriously the worst.”

“hyung, you both are coffee addicts, take her to a new café this time!” Jimin suggested with a huge grin on his face. after finding out that you two secretly liked each other, he spent weeks pressuring Yoongi to confess his feelings for you. He couldn’t believe that his hyung finally obliged after many “no”s and “I don’t like __ that way.”s and “we’re just friends.”s. it was getting really annoying.

YG: “Can we hang out tomorrow? as two people wanting to know each other.”

ME: “Are you asking me on a date?”

YG: “yeah?”

ME: “okay :)”

that was the conversation you had with him the day before he took you on a cute café date. The place was impressively good, but the date was the complete opposite of that. Nothing bad happened, yet sitting down with someone you’ve known for a good period of time and have shared good amounts of vulnerability with in that intimate context was too unpleasant. Both of you struggled to find comfort and normality in the heavy awkward silence that fell on the table. and everytime he would try to play it off and throw some joke or normal piece of conversation that he found appropriate for a date, you two ended up laughing int your sweaty palms because of how ridiculous the whole situation was.

“stop laughing!” Yoongi exclaimed while his shoulders shook, giggling.

“I'm sorry, I'm trying!” you wiped at the corners of your eyes.

"Just act like this is a normal hangout.." he had said after a short moment.

"We're literally on a date." you reminded him.

“right..”

The “date” didn’t last long, and the two of you ended up at his house. eating popcorn on his couch and watching your favorite series of movies together.

Later that night, he asked, “so, what are we?”

“whatever you want us to be.” you answered with flushed cheeks.

“I like you..” he whispered, eyes never leaving the TV screen acroos the couch, "more than friends should like one another."

“Great, ‘cause I'd be sad if you didn’t like me back.” you whispered back, never daring to glance his way even for a split of a second.

“Wait, does that mean I won the bet?” Namjoon suddenly spoke, making Jimin kick him lightly on the shoulder from where he was still lying with a sour frown, and toss a few dollars he had grabbed from his wallet at the smiling man's extended palm.

“Did you two seriously make a bet on my relationship?” came a sharp question from Yoongi.

#yoongi #yoongi scenarios #bts #yoongi drabble #yoongi fluff #yoongi x reader #bts scenarios #bts imagines #bts fic #bts army #bts yoongi #min yoongi #yoongi fic #friends to lovers

135 notes · View notes

kaylatoonz · 11 days

Text

Amelia Rose Thorndyke (movie Amy Rose)

I know there’s a slim chance of this happening but I think it would be interesting if they gave the human characters from Sonic X another chance, the Thorndyke to be more specific.

Context: (probably take place in movie 3)

Backstory- Just like in the show, Chris is a pretty lonely kid until Amy Rose crashes into his life 6-7 years ago (literally crashing into their family pool). After a late-night rescue, Chris takes in the small pink hedgehog to make sure it’s OK. Chris originally wanted to keep Amy a secret but those plans ruined the very next morning when Chuck, Ella, and Mr. Tanaka discovered her when Chris was trying to find food suitable for the little pink hedgehog. They were a bit skeptical at first, but after some convincing from Chris’s end was allowed to stay until he could confront his parents about it. Chris was concerned that their growing friendship would be cut short once his parents returned, luckily Amy managed to warm her way into the hearts of everyone in the household, even his parents and uncle. Years later Amy Rose is considered a part of the family and is spoiled with love thanks to Lindsey and Ella. Over the years Amy was able to chase away Chris’s loneliness but unfortunately not her own. Although Amy spends much of her time with Chris and her family, she feels isolated from the outside world. She understands the rules set by Mr. And Mrs.Thorndyke to never go outside to keep her safe, but she still can’t help but feel sad that she can’t meet anyone new or someone like her.

Those feelings come to an end when a shocking new cast reveals three beings that were like her, the blue hedgehog the most. The second the story was over Amy rushed over to her parents begging them to take her to green hikes to meet these heroes. They immediately shoot down the idea, saying it’s too dangerous, and it could be a trap. This leads to a heated argument between the three ending with Amy being grounded until further notice. Feeling defeated Amy goes to her room as told. Left alone with her thoughts once again she came to one conclusion, she was going to take things into her own hands. That night she runs away to find the three heroes and hopefully go on an adventure to remember.

Sonic and Amy- unlike other iterations of Amy and Sonic's don’t see eye to eye as much at least at the start. Before Amy met the gang she built this image of the heroes that don’t quite compare to who they are. Despite this she gets along with knuckles and tails (though they are nothing like she imagined) it’s Sonic she has a problem with. Not only did he fail to meet every expectation she had for him, he’s also a jerky, reckless idiot in Amy's eyes. Sonic was always doing or saying something stupid getting them into trouble. Not to mention he always left her behind and never took her seriously (that is no way to treat a lady). This prompts her to prove him wrong by jumping head-first into danger that she believes she can handle (she is a bit of a hypocrite). On Sonic’s end, he sees Amy as a spoiled reckless brat who doesn’t understand anything. It’s a bit harsh but it's hard not to think that she is constantly getting into trouble when she can barely control her powers and keep making things difficult when he tries to leave her somewhere safe (sonic is also a hypocrite). Worst of all she left behind a perfectly good family to go on an “adventure”. Sonic would have done anything to have Tom and Maddie as a family on day one, so Amy's drives frustrated him. These frustrations grow during the adventure eventually leading to a heated argument between the two hedgehogs (similar to the argument Sonic had with Tom in the first film). Amy leaves the team hurt and conflicted by her original hope and goal.

“Was she selfish for running away in hopes of meeting others like her? Should just return home where she’d be safe and out of their way?” She couldn’t help but feel guilty for her behavior towards the team (specifically Sonic) and her parents. She had come all this way to meet them only to show how much of a burden she was and she probably had her family worried sick. Wanting to set things right she decided to head back to the team to give them a proper apology before returning home where she would be out of their hair (quills) for good. Before she can do anything she gets kidnapped by Eggman or Shadow.

Back with team Sonic, Knuckles and Tails are disappointed by how Sonic handled things. They agree that Amy can be a bit of a handful at times but she has also proven to have her strengths (though there’s room for improvement). Tails even insisted that they have a lot in common if they BOTH take the time to get to know each other. Sonic disagrees that he’s anything like her until he crosses paths with Chris.

It turns out that as soon as the Thorndykes found out Amy Rose was missing Mr and Mrs Thorndyke heard straight to green hills while Chuck and Chris followed their trail to find Amy ( behind Nelson and Lindsey's back of course). This leads to them eventually catching up with Sonic and the gang but still no sight of Amy.

Upon meeting with the humans, they both learn that Amy has been kidnapped. Like everyone else, Sonic shares concerns for Amy's safety, though he lets slip an offhanded comment about her getting into trouble again which Chris and Chuck don’t take lightly.

On the way to rescue Amy, the team gets to know the new humans leading to a heart-to-heart between Sonic and Chris (this could work with Chuck but I think Chris needs some redemption after his Sonic X iteration). Chris let Sonic know that there’s more to Amy than her sometimes feisty nature. She’s always proven to be the most kind and compassionate person he has ever known and is always doing something amazing when no one‘s around to appreciate it (foreshadowing of the scene with Shadow and Amy). He also laments his mistake of not noticing sooner how lonely and isolated Amy felt which caught Sonic’s attention. As Chris continues he reveals to Sonic how having a family from the beginning Amy never had as much freedom to explore or had any friends of her own. She didn’t even know there were others like her a couple of weeks ago. Knowing this Sonic felt he owed Amy a second chance and maybe an apology.

Fast forward after rescuing Amy, Shadow, and Amy’s scene, the team saves the world (this going on long enough)

With the day bringing save and families reunited Sonic and Amy meet face to face once again. Before Sonic can voice his apology Amy starts to tearfully apologize to Sonic about her behavior. To comfort her, Sonic hugs Amy telling her he’s sorry he wasn’t the nicest guy either. Sonic even suggests that they could start over and she can join the team. Amy agrees to start over but suggests that she hold off on joining the team for a bit. She doesn’t believe she’s ready to team due to her lack of control over her abilities (at the time sonic and Amy didn’t know about the impact Amy had on shadow and how it helped a lot in the long run. Amy also feels she needs a lot of self-reflection after their adventure (she’s still guilty for causing so much trouble for the team and possibly being responsible for Shadow's sacrifice himself).

After some parting banter (less rough compared to their first meeting) Amy promises when they meet again for their next adventure she’ll be stronger than ever.

First thing when the hedgehogs arrive home both get teased by their siblings/family about their new friend).

Bonus content:

Chris and Amy have a sibling relationship, so like siblings, they can get on each other's nerves from time to time.

Nelson and Lindsey both help fund the Wachowski’s expenses that the government won’t help cover for Sonic, tails, and knuckles. Chuck also helps fund tails projects cause he has taken a liking to the little fox (though the project Chuck and Tail work on together can get a bit wild).

Chris, Chuck, and Tails whenever they visit each other work on new inventions together. This may include an explosion or two, much to the concern of the adults (between the Wachowskis and the Thorndyke).

Although Sonic and Amy are on better terms they often have a hard time complimenting each other face to face stating that it would “go to their head”. Occasionally a compliment sometimes does slip out from one of them which causes both of them to become flustered whenever it happens.

Sonic and Amy, both still share banter, though it comes out a bit flirtatious to onlookers which knuckles, tails, and Chris happily teased them about.

After their adventure, Amy loses a bit of confidence in herself and holds a lot of guilt for nearly costing Sonic his life (when Sonic got shot into space trying to rescue Amy) and the loss of shadow. This is one of the many reasons Amy is hesitant to join the team even when she gets better control of her powers. When Sonic learns of this, he isn’t having it, giving Amy a heart-to-heart talk about how she should give herself more credit ( and maybe mentioning how he’s been through something similar).

Sonic eventually learns about what Amy did for Shadow and other “small” deeds that helped the team a lot more than Amy thinks. Sonic gained a lot of respect and admiration for her after that. (He’ll let her know that whenever Amy is being too hard on herself with her shortcomings).

Whenever Sonic and Amy go on their “not date” dates Sonic offers to pay for the expenses despite Amy being loaded. (Amy’s not sure if he's just being a gentleman or he forgot she’s rich but she’ll take it).

Despite having a rough introduction with Ella(Amy nearly gave Ella a heart attack when she first arrived), Amy and Ella have the strongest bond, especially in the kitchen. They both enjoy cooking delicious meals and baked goods for the whole family to enjoy. And whenever Sonic and the gang come to visit she always appreciates the extra hands she gets in the kitchen. The boys also appreciate the food Amy and Ella make for them when they visit.

Mr. Tanaka serves as a butler and bodyguard to the Thorndyke household. He gives both Amy and Chris self-defense lessons to show that he cares about his own and to keep them safe. Mr. Tanaka was originally on the fence with Sonic due to Amy losing so much of her confidence in herself the last time she interacted with Sonic. Once he gets both sides of the story, he’s more understanding, though he is still protective of Miss Rose when Sonic is around.

Sam Speed and Amy often have a hard time seeing eye to eye with each other due to Sam’s blunt and overconfident nature. Similar to Sonic x Sam developed a rivalry with Sonic once learned of Sonic's super speed.

#amy rose #sonamy #sonic movie 3 #movie amy rose #sonic the hedgehog #procreate #shadow the hedgehog #miles tails prower #knuckles the series #knuckles the echidna #sorry if there’s errors #sonic X #chris thorndyke

55 notes · View notes

aleksanderscult · 3 months

Text

Today I will rant because I want to about that character and how he's treated by some

Lately the rapist comments about him and how he was selfish are getting multiplied which makes me both angry and sad.

When you have the author itself say that she saw the King and Queen as the real villains and that we can make a case about the Darkling's worst crimes then how do some people indirectly call him the worst thing that happened to Ravka and to Alina?

They only treat Aleksander as a villain, emphasizing his sexually creepy moments and selfish motivations and completely disregard the human side of him or his traumatic past.

The Darkling did not spend 500 (and possibly more) years of his life to protect his people and stop the wars for you to call him a selfish evil man. If you want to call someone selfish then look at Baghra that stays warm in her hearth and not giving a single fuck for Ravka. If you want to call someone selfish then take a look at the King and Queen who grow fat and rich while their people and starving and think that being orphaned is "marvelous". If you want to call someone selfish then look at Mal who wanted to leave Ravka and never look back (and in the meantime, it was his country that was in danger) or even Alina.

The Darkling was quite literally the only person that decided to take action for a persecuted group of people without wavering once.

You don't give a single glimpse at his tragic elements. You ignore them. But his isolated and traumatic childhood, abusive mother figure, near-immortality that made him witness people he loved die, rare powers that have isolated him further and desperation to see the Grisha being respected and accepted says hello 🙋.

You call us fans of the category "The Darkling did nothing wrong". Well, just because we don't talk about his crimes every day does not mean we don't know about them. We just decide to talk about the Darkling in our blogs as a human, tragic figure that was much more complex than his "evil" actions. If we wanted to read about the Darkling and his evilness we would read KoS and RoW everyday. Zoya, Tolya and Genya were orators of that. But maybe we just decided to look deeper than this. To cast light to the parts he kept hidden and were so human and still valid.

Some call us even misogynistic for judging Alina. I didn't know that just because we judge one fictional, female character means that we hate all women. Wow. For your information, most of the times we judge the way she was handled by the author more than the character herself.

But having people making the Darkling a simple villain with no humanity is probably one of the worst butchering of a character I've ever seen.

Some people literally took an intriguing, complex character with selfless motivations and turned him into a power-hungry tyrant. Bye guys 💀

I don't know. If you expect from me at least to post about how the Darkling was evil, a tyrant and a rapist then you are on the wrong page. I only write about the Darkling as human most of all. With tragic elements and human emotions and vulnerabilities that were actually there. But some people cannot read past the word "villain".

#“But...but...what he did to Alina...”#What he *really* did to Alina was to open her eyes to the truth and she only kept them closed until the very end #The fact that you are stuck only in his “sexually abusive” ways is stupid and childish #the darkling #pro darkling #aleksander morozova #pro aleksander morozova #alina starkov #darklina #pro darklina #shadow and bone #grishaverse trilogy #grishaverse

84 notes · View notes

svnriseblvdd · 2 years

Text

Family Reunion | Steve Harrington

Author: @svnriseblvdd

Word count: 2353

Warnings: bitchy relatives (an aunt and a cousin only) but none apart from that

Summary: In which you're sick of the judgmental questions from your aunt about boyfriends, and you enlist Steve to be your fake boyfriend for a family reunion

Steve is literally so cute in that GIF I can't -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a beautiful summer day, decently warm, but a nice breeze blew through the air. The perfect day, really. Except today was the family reunion.

You were dreading it with every ounce of yourself. Every single one of these brought new rounds of hurtful jokes and teasing from your family. Not always aimed at you, but quite often. And aunt Violet was probably the worst for it. She was almost always picking at your lack of a boyfriend, always comparing you to her daughter, who each time showed up with a boyfriend on her arm. Said boyfriends had two out of three times turned out to be complete assholes, but that didn't matter. Keira had a boyfriend, that was what mattered.

Today, though, would be different.

You'd employed Steve Harrington to act as your boyfriend for the day. Steve was one of your best friends, so you trusted him absolutely. You'd first met through mutual friends, because he'd been enlisted as help when tracking down Dustin's adopted baby Demo-dog, and you, as a friend of Dustin's, had also been called upon.

Together, you and Steve had parented and protected the children and undergone heavy levels of parental stress which was, quite frankly, unnecessary and unappreciated.

He'd rung your doorbell at eleven thirty, a smile growing on his face as he looked up at you, elbow on the doorframe as he leaned against it. He was dressed in jeans and a blue button up, hair sat perfectly atop his head - so very Steve.

You were wearing a pretty blue dress with a neckline across your shoulders, some white shoes, and a belt sat around your waist.

"Hey," he greeted. "You look gorgeous."

"You clean up pretty good yourself, Steve," you chuckled. He held out an arm for you, and you took it, smiling, closing the door behind you. He led you to his car, opening the passenger door for you. "Such a gentleman."

"Only the best for you."

He closed the door, crossing around the front of the car and getting into the driver's seat, beginning to drive to your grandma's lake house.

"Okay, you remember the cover story?" You checked. Everything had to be perfect. If there were any holes in your story, someone (probably aunt Violet) would gauge at them and sink that ship before it reached the harbour.

Steve nodded. "We met at a costume party. We started dancing together because you were making eyes at me from across the room because you dug my attempt at Tim Curry's outfit from Rocky Horror Picture Show. Next thing we know, we're dancing together and then I'm asking you out and boom... Now we're dating."

You looked over at him, deadpanning. "Why didn't I ask someone else to do this?"

"What other guys do you know?" Steve asked. "Aside from Jonathon, because he hates everyone, and he's with Nancy."

"I would've found someone. Maybe someone who would've acted like a mature, responsible person and take this seriously."

"Okay! Okay! I'm trying to be the best boyfriend I can here, I can only do so much seriousness. We were paired together on an English project, and you were super into Macbeth and I wasn't really until I heard you talking about it with so much passion that I kind of instantly fell in love with you and the play."

You nodded. "Thank God. Maybe there's actually some hope for this after all."

Steve stopped outside the lake house, which had many cars parked outside already. He turned the engine off, and got out of the car, running around the front and opening your door for you, taking your hand as you stepped out.

"We're not even in there yet," you reminded him with a small laugh. "You don't have to be all chivalrous yet."

"I know. I'm... Getting into character."

You laughed. "You sound like a real actor."

You pushed open the front door, Steve's hand slipping into your own. "You've got this," he reassured her. "If anything happens, I'm fully ready to throw some punches at Aunt Violet."

You grinned at him. "Hopefully it won't get that far."

The two of you walked inside, looking at the extended family all talking. And through the crowd comes your Aunt Violet, lightly pushing others aside to come greet you and judge your appearance first.

"Y/N, how lovely to see you," she greets, bright red lipstick forming a smile and huge dangling fake diamond earrings swaying. She gives you an airy hug, wherein she barely touches you, just enough for it to be called a hug. Her eyes catch Steve over your shoulder and her face twists into nothing other than blatant shock. "And you brought a friend, how nice."

Frankly, you're not surprised at her comment. The family's lost hope in your bringing a boyfriend, a boy friend would be a surprise certainly, and yet the tone she holds is odd. You know that some part of her doesn't quite want you to bring a boyfriend to one of these, it outshines her daughter. You bringing a boyfriend would be a huge shock to the family, you'd both totally steal Keira's thunder.

Steve placed a hand on your shoulder, noticing your slight nerves. You relaxed rather quickly, just the reassurance that he was there calming your nerves. "This is actually my boyfriend, Steve," you told her, smiling.

Steve's arm around your waist reinforced your confidence and you smiled, giddiness overcoming you like a massive wave. No more teasing about boyfriends, that was for sure.

"Boyfriend?" Aunt Violet splutters, shocked.

You nodded, Steve lightly squeezing your waist. "Do you want me to hang up your jacket, sweetheart?" You nodded, and he took your cardigan, hanging it alongside the rest of your family's jackets.

Steve was surprisingly... At ease. Despite the King Steve confidence he'd maintained throughout high school, he could be quite insecure at times, and honestly, he'd been quite... skittish around you lately. But yet here he was, with the calm confidence he'd had in high school, with the same sweet personality he'd developed since.

"Oh, well... It's lovely to meet you." She turned away, heading to talk to someone.

Steve leant down to whisper in your ear. "Personally, I think that was pretty successful. One point to us."

You turned to look at him, hands on his chest as he held your waist. "Her face was priceless."

"That was amazing, really. Come on, let's go grab some food, and then we'll go talk to whoever you want. If whoever you want to talk to is literally no one, that's fine. We can sit there eating and talking between us the entire time."

"I usually just wait for people to come up to me. They will eventually. Especially today."

The two of you grabbed some food from the kitchen and moved to sit on the deck outside, overlooking the lake. By now, Aunt Violet would've told practically everyone about the news.

This was proven rather quickly as Keira came outside, a tall, muscly guy following her out. "Oh my God, Y/N, it's so good to see you!" She, like her mother, gave an airy hug too. "And who's this? Is this your boyfriend? Mom was just telling me you'd brought someone. She failed to mention how handsome he was."

The guy behind her wasn't listening, clearly uninterested in the day.

"This is Steve," you introduced.

"So great to meet you, Steve. I don't - should we hug? I feel like we should hug." She placed a hand on his shoulder, your eyes landing on it and jealousy striking through you.

"Hello," Steve greeted simply, taking her hand off of his shoulder and sliding an arm around your waist.

Keira seemed a little taken aback, straightening herself up. "Anyways, I have to go talk to people. Love you, talk to you later."

"Of course. I'll see you later."

Keira led her boyfriend away, your eyes travelling down to your fumbling hands as they left. You were picking beneath your nails, Steve frowning as he noticed. He held your hand, meeting your eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. She just really gets on my nerves, that's all."

"Were you jealous?" You looked away from him, rubbing the back of your neck. "Oh my God, you were totally jealous."

"Shut up!"

"I promise, you had nothing to worry about."

You smiled at him, your gaze flicking down to his lips momentarily. It was then that your grandmother chose to come say hello, accompanied by another aunt, Aunt Beatrice, the two of them sitting down with you and Steve.

"Y/N! How wonderful to see you!" Your grandmother exclaimed happily. She was, unlike her daughter (Aunt Violet) a lovely person. "I assume this is Steve. Violet's been telling everyone. Between you and I, she's a little outraged. But ignore her. Tell me everything." She patted your knee.

"How did you meet?" Aunt Beatrice inquired.

"Last year, actually," Steve replied. "We were paired up for a project in English. I wasn't totally interested in it. I never understood Macbeth. But Y/N explained it so well and she was so passionate about it and I just kind of instantly fell in love. With her and the play."

"Oh, that is gorgeous," your grandmother commented, a hand on her chest.

You turned to look at Steve, finding his eyes already on you. And for a moment, you forget that it's all fake. The way he's looking at you, that damn smile, the love in his features as his hands find yours. But you have to remember. Of course it's fake. He's just really good at this whole boyfriend thing.

"Steve, what our your intentions with our Y/N? We can't have her getting hurt, of course." Your grandmother and Aunt Beatrice are the only blood relations (aside from immediate family) who don't suck on some level. They're genuinely nice people.

"Y/N is honestly one of the most, if not the most, incredible people I've ever met. She's changed my view on the world, and helped me change for the better. I feel like she's constantly surprising me, because I always wonder how on earth she could be so amazing, and then something comes up and I've learned something new about her. She's just so unbelievably awesome, I mean she totally rocks. She's turned my world upside down." You supressed a laugh at his words. "And I'm gonna be here as long as she wants me to be. And I'll try to make her as happy as she makes me, even happier."

Your grandmother and Aunt Beatrice were speechless, honestly. You turned to look at Steve, a look of almost shock on your face.

"This one's a keeper, Y/N. Better than any of the idiots Keira brings for us. All beauty and no brain, or personality for that matter. This one is sweet."

You could see Keira watching from just inside one of the doors that led out onto the deck, her anger clear in her eyes. The attention wasn't on her and she was pissed, clearly, but that was the least of your worries.

"So, Steve, tell us about yourself," Aunt Beatrice prompted.

You took the opportunity first, to show Steve the same love he'd shown to you just moments ago. "Steve is amazing. Really. I mean, was he a little bit of a jerk in high school, absolutely, but he's changed himself around totally. And don't let him fool you. He'll tell you I helped him change, except he never needed me. Because he was always a good person. He just needed the eye-opener to realise it. He's become so wonderful. He plays basketball, he's a great swimmer. He doesn't know movies, but that can be easily fixed, he has a good taste in music. Those kids I've told you about, he acts like a second mother to all of them. He's so protective over them and he cares so much for all of them. It's honestly one of the best things to see."

"Steve, you sound almost too good to be true," Beatrice chuckled.

"Yes, don't let this one go, Y/N," your grandmother agreed. "My camera! I need my camera. I need a picture of the two of you." She was up and away rather fast for an old woman, and she returned quickly with her camera, ready to take pictures.

You and Steve stood, finding a good place to stand, with the lake right behind you, leaning against the railing. His arm was round your waist, yours around his, bright smiles on both of your faces.

But then, he did something unexpected.

It had happened rather suddenly, and you had barely registered it before it was over, all too quickly.

Steve's lips, on your own. They were soft, and the kiss was even more so, gentle like the stroke of a feather against your skin.

He pulled away from you as the family outside cheered a little among themselves, grinning. His eyes searched yours for a moment, your tongue darting out to wet your lips, his eyes following the brief action.

"Oh, that is a lovely one. That is absolutely beautiful. Look at this one, Bea." Your grandmother showed Beatrice the picture, and her face lit up in a smile.

"That is gorgeous." And then the two of them walked away.

"That was..." You murmured.

"Yeah, it was."

"You should've picked drama, you're really good at this," you told him in a quiet voice.

He chuckled, looking down at his feet for a moment as a blush crept up his neck. "I don't have to pretend that you mean the world to me."

You paused, thinking his words over. Did Steve Harrington just admit to having a crush on you? Because it certainly sounded like he did. You looked up at him. "Did you just -"

"Yes. Probably. If you're thinking what I think you're thinking."

A huge smile grew on your face, your hands reaching up and grabbing his face, pulling him down to you, your lips meeting his an a kiss that lasted much longer than the first.

#steve harrington #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington imagine #stranger things #stranger things imagine #steve harrington x reader #stranger things fluff #sweetness

2K notes · View notes

ghostinthegallery · 4 months

Text

It should be no secret that I adore Oltyx. He's one of my favorite 40k characters. Which is amazing because let's be real, he's an insufferable little shit who spends most of the books consumed by entitlement, paranoia, or both. He's just so damn well written, the elements that make him awful (which also form the starting point for his character arc) don't quite overshadow his redeeming qualities (which prove he is a person worth giving the opportunity to grow).

Those early chapters do some serious heavy lifting, character-wise. Oltyx comes out the gate swinging for "worst protag of the Year award". He's bitter, he's convinced all of his problems are someone else's fault, he is needlessly cruel to his subordinate (ready to kill Neth just because one grot made it to the stairs). A real winner, right here. Except for two things:

1) he doesn't want his soldiers to die. Sure, he justifies this with facts and logic. Attrition will eventually diminish his forces, leaving him unable to defend his shitty planet, and he isn't getting reinforcements anytime soon. But still, he wants to preserve the lives under his command. He wants to create a "new way of war" which is surprisingly sympathetic for someone who acts like a surly teenager (more on THAT later). Bonus that he does not in fact kill Neth

2) his flashback where he sees Djoseras' first lesson to him. Where we see that Oltyx is not exactly a reliable narrator regarding his elder. And if he's wrong about Djoseras, what else is he wrong about? The narrative is doing something here.

That second point is super important. Because there's a huge difference between reading an asshole protag where the author knows they are an asshole vs. where the author doesn't. The former can be incredibly satisfying as you watch someone grow and change. The latter is annoying AF. That flashback (for me) is like a footnote from the author promising "hey, not all is as it seems, bear with me."

Oltyx's hints of compassion are the incentive.to.give him a chance. Which is then further cemented when we enter the tomb and get to see Oltyx's affection for Yenekh, the first character we see Oltyx caring about. Proof that he has relationships that matter. He doesn't actually hate everyone and everything. And as the narrative continues, we peel back the layers to see what Oltyx actually is.

While I reading those opening pages, I joked to my spouse that Oltyx sounded like a teenager who listens to too much emo music. Turns out that was not actually a joke, that was the entire character. As we get more of his interactions and flashbacks, we are shown someone trapped in perpetual adolescence. Who had the compassion beaten out of him by war, trauma, and neglect (or literally sliced out of him, fuck Hemiun). The more you see of Oltyx the more heartbreaking he becomes. Not because he isn't terrible (he is) but because he didn't have to be. Yet it is so understandable why he is. The lessons he was taught even by the people that loved him (life has no value, compassion is a weakness, lies will come from those closest to you) twisted a kind soul into a conflicted mess. It excuses nothing but explains everything.

But despite ALL OF THAT Oltyx still tries to do the right thing. He tries to save the dynasty that exiled him, he tries to fight beside the brother he taught himself to hate, he tries to resist the madness that he thinks will make him a monster. He literally has the mind of an eighteen year old, trapped in a metal body that is slowly destroying what little sanity he has left. That's a lot!

Crowley had a fine line to walk writing Oltyx, making him sympathetic but not dulling the impact of his darker traits. For my money he did it brilliantly. Oltyx is my precious son who has done everything wrong and I love him.

#necrons #wh40k #Oltyx #twice dead king #yes he is a little shit but considering that he is also perfect and precious and must be protected at all costs #what angsty music is oltyx listening to?#evanescence was my middle school go to #i think he'd appreciate MCR #he had a lot of time to fill tho #needs more music recs

73 notes · View notes

bibibbon · 4 months

Text

What fails in MHA: gags/jokes

As well all know gags and jokes are everywhere in shonen but they are rarely done well in my opinion especially in MHA. There isn't a problem with having a bit of comedy in your manga but when the gag or joke either harms the characters development or just is offensive it tends to just fall flat at best and ruin the story at worst.

There are many common and multiple gags hori uses which I HATE:

Izuku/the midoriya family are crybabies. This is one that was VERY PRESENT during the earlier seasons which in my opinion ruined the show and many peoples view of izuku as a character. It makes sense why izuku would cry more then a regular shonen type of MC considering that he is supposed to be a "normal" teenager and he shows some very clear signs of anxiety. I understand when people get annoyed at how much he cries especially because it's very over exaggerated a lot of the time and just depicts him crying a waterfall when you could of just shown him tearing up. It's a bit more excusable for inko but it really doesn't shine a good look on her especially knowing that she is quite emotionally dependent on her son .

Katsuki being mean towards literally anyone and anything. We know that bakugo is a character who is going through a redemption arc to change and become a better person so we shouldn't see him be so aggressive and angry if he is trying to change especially if it's a joke. A gag like that really ruins his development and to me its the reason why I don't think he really changed his attitude or way of thinking towards izuku as much as people like to believe he has ( CANON BAKUGO AND FANON BAKUGO AREN'T THE SAME )

Perverted characters like mineta or sir nighteye .Yes, this is definitely targeted towards mineta and night eye because Iam still very disgusted by the scene of bubble girl and night eye and mineta just gives me the absolute CREEPS. honestly, idk what it is with hori and giving us these type of stuff it's honestly disturbing and disgusting I don't think I would mind if it were done to criticise or lambast something about hero societies pedophilic undertones and the way it loves to sexualise female characters but it's just there as a horrible gag.

Dumbing down denki and making him seem stupid. This is more of making UA look bad because Denki could of been seriously hurt in the usj because of the whole dumbing him down gag and while it isn't the worst gag in the show it kinda falls flat in my opinion and just makes ua look bad. It's also double standards in my opinion because he would be useless in battle if he were to overuse his quirk just like izuku.

The interview scene with mount lady. I don't understand why izuku was ridiculed for his lack of control when it came to blackwhip and it doesn't help that some of the characters where DEFINITELY ACTING OUT OF CHARACTER when they all had the same reaction.

There are some 50/50 gags that still failed due to horikoshi not letting them go or not handling them well.

Izuku's everlasting fanboyism of heroes especially all might. Look this one isn't that bad but like I just don't like the fact that he never grew out of it. I personally like to think that izuku was a big all might fanboy is because he saw all might as the only person who actually believed in him and gave him words of encouragement even if it was through a screen and even if those words where directed towards anyone not only him. As the story progresses izuku should grow to realise that all might is a flawed individual who has cared for him but harmed him at the same time.

Horikoshis perception of izuku being "too intense". This could of easily been incorporated into Izuku's character as an actual character trait that could be used as a gag from time to time. For example we see izuku over think everything or hyper analyse so many small things like fuyumi's cooking. There are moments where izuku seems to come off as weird to other characters and I feel like that shouldn't happen or it should be handled in a better way. I mean how is it that someone doing something so simple as looking at a video intensely will freak/weird you out compared to someone who has a weird quirk or a passerby doing something weird

There are definitely A LOT MORE THAT IAM PROBABLY FORGETTING.

However, hori does have some good gags/ jokes in my opinion, yes they are rare but they do indeed exist like:

Kirishima's manliness. A lot of the time this actually promotes positive masculinity which is something that is definitely needed and it also helps develop kiris character a whole lot more

This one interaction between jiro and tokoyami. I really liked it, it didn't come out as sexual which is something I really enjoyed and you can clearly tell it's just two classmates vibing and trying not to die

Tokoyami and his whole darkness persona. Idk I guess this is me but I like it, it adds a lot to tokoyami while also not being overused .

This one Iam 50/50 with and it's yuuga and his whole I like cheese and I can't stop twinkling persona. I think it adds more depth to his character and foreshadows his role as the traitor to a certain extent but I also find it a bit stereotypical considering the fact that he is french and yuuga will just end up speaking in basic french words and then Japanese

Hawks favourite food ironically being chicken wings. It's simple but it also makes us closer to hawks and can make him a bit more relatable to people

Izuku, iida and shotos hand crusher joke. That has to be my favourite joke in the series it literally didn't end up mocking anyone and cemented one of the best MHA trios

Overall, hori sucks at making truly enjoyable gags and has a lot that harm characters developments especially surrounding his MC Izuku but he can sometimes actually provide enjoyable ones.

#bnha critical #izuku deserves better #mha critical #horikoshi critical #mha #bhna critical #bnha

60 notes · View notes

thethirdromana · 1 year

Text

A few people in the Dorian Gray Weekly tag have observed that Oscar Wilde doesn't make it clear what he wants us to think of Dorian. I'd like to dig into that a bit more, because I think it's true, and fascinating, and weird.

Because if you take everything so far at face value, then Wilde has made it abundantly clear that Dorian is a terrible person. His actions have resulted in a young woman's suicide. He has a visual record in his attic of his moral degradation and that record has become "evil". The picture is covered in "signs of sin", and it's pretty clear that Wilde means that literally. It's not just that Dorian is being spared the realistic physical consequences of his misdeeds, like bags under his eyes after a heavy night out. His sins, which he is unquestionably committing, are visibly altering the appearance of his portrait, like that Roald Dahl quote:

If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.

We don't know exactly what his sins are. But we know how they cause people to act around him:

It was remarked, however, that some of those who had been most intimate with him appeared, after a time, to shun him. Women who had wildly adored him, and for his sake had braved all social censure and set convention at defiance, were seen to grow pallid with shame or horror if Dorian Gray entered the room.

The only reason that there isn't more scandal around him is explicitly because he's rich and attractive. Not because there's any hint that he's sometimes a good person. While Wilde doesn't say "Dorian was evil and his portrait looked evil because he was an evil person who did evil things", he comes pretty damn close to it.

And yet...

Despite all that condemnation, it's hard to come away from reading this novel with the impression that Wilde is actually condemning Dorian's actions, as the commentary in the tag demonstrates. (Which is handy, because this is vibes-based analysis and tricky to prove otherwise).

I think there are two reasons for this. One is the lavish, indulgent descriptions of everything Dorian is doing. The details feel like they're shared in a spirit of appreciation, not judgement. Post-Sibyl, Dorian's crimes are presented in an innuendo-laden, nudge-nudge way that lets you imagine whatever level of debauchery you find titillating. (It's always fun to see where adaptations choose to draw the line here). Dorian's life is shallow, but it's vivid and luxurious - and more than a little enviable. And sometimes it's fun to read about rich people doing bad things!

(Of course, that means that the reader ignores Dorian's sins in favour of his wealth just like his acquaintances do).

The other reason is the weird relationship between Dorian's life and Oscar Wilde's own. Wilde puts what feels like an uncomfortable amount of himself into Dorian - the book that Dorian "could not free himself from", that contributes to his moral degradation, is one of Wilde's own favourite books. Wilde also lived an indulgent, hedonistic lifestyle that took him into sordid parts of London, where he did things that, once revealed, would see him shunned by society, some of which we would still judge harshly.

Wilde was writing for an audience who didn't know as much about his life as we do, but he was already an established celebrity when The Picture of Dorian Gray was published, so I think his readership would see an echo of Dorian's decadence in Wilde himself. Like Basil Hallward, he put a lot of himself into his art. Like Basil Hallward, it revealed more of him than he perhaps intended - but he did intend some of it.

I can't quite imagine writing a character who shares a lot of my interests and enthusiasms, plus some of the worst of my behaviour, and then explicitly describing that character as evil, but that's what Oscar Wilde did. Dorian Gray doesn't feel like it's written in a spirit of self-loathing, but nor does it feel like a demonstration of cognitive dissonance. So I'm no closer to figuring out what the hell is going on here. But for me, the chewy complexity of exactly how Wilde wants us to feel about Dorian - admiring, judgmental, condemnatory, detached - is a significant part of why I enjoy this novel so much.

#dorian gray weekly #oscar wilde #the picture of dorian gray #apologies to my followers for the tonal shift from beetleposting but this was taking up space in my brain and i needed to get it out #and i have an irrational dislike of queuing things

230 notes · View notes

calina12 · 3 months

Text

Also, holy FUCK, was episode 4 massive for Charlie's character!

Yes, she REALLY needed that reality check about how bad the lives of the sinners are she tries to help, but it also lead to Charlie taking her proper role for a solid second when she get angry at Valentino.

It's quite obvious to me that Vaggie will be the one to actually run the hotel, so it's Charlie's job to not only use her unique position as princess of hell to deal with heaven for her people's sake, she's also supposed to be protective mighty force her guests can find the save haven in they desperately need to escape their circumstances.

When any of their powerful abusers dare to enter the hotel it's HER job to put them in their place and away from their victims.

Her place isn't running the hotel, SHE'S supposed to be the hotel's and people's protector, and I'm so fucking hyped to see her growing into that role. To see her rip open that portal between hell and heaven for good to free her people herself if she fucking has to.

But episode 4 is also so important for Charlie because it showed us just how massive of a toll it took on her that her mother just up and left 7 years ago, and we were already told that Lucifer ain't the dad of the year either.

Angel forgiving her at the end of the episode meant so much to her because she feared so fucking badly that she ruined everything, he would hate her and leave forever, into a life she would have had had a hand in making worse.

Obviously she has massive abandonment issues and as Husker correctly stated: she's a bleeding heart who wants to solve everyone's problems except her own.

And she does that because very clearly she was highly neglected by her parents in her emotional needs, even if I don't put into question at all that they love her.

She desperately tries to help and find in others what she didn't get from her parents, to get a group of people she can finally trust and who won't abandone her, so she tries everything she can to solve everyone else's problems because that way she thinks she will "earn" being worthy of being loved and not abandoned.

So when she just showed up at Angel's work place to talk to Valentino without checking with Angel beforehand what she has to do to NOT cause him hell, and caused an absolute fucking disaster HE had to pay the whole price for and NOT her because of her privilege and immunity as Princess of Hell, that was literally one of the worst things for her she could have caused.

It hit all her insecurities in the worst ways possible. And I'm so glad that they had Angel say "thank you for caring about me" and not "thank you for trying" because that's not the same and what Charlie needed was indeed the former.

She really desperately needed to hear from him that the reason why he forgives her is that he understands that she did all of this because she CARES for him. That his reason for forgiving her has nothing to do with him prioritized anything else she can GIVE or provide over seeing HER.

Mind you, of course this whole disaster she caused can't be justified and it has no business ever happening again to such horrific degrees, she NEEDS to work through her own problems ASAP because the people who depend on her as the privileged and basically untouchable person in power who promised them protection can't continue paying the price for her actions

But this is a fictional story, so I'm talking about the narrative when I say that both Charlie's and Angel's characters needed this to happen for their development.

Just, good fucking God, let this have been the peak of Charlie's naivety and the incident she needed to start healing a deep scar in her heart. I love Charlie to pieces, please give us the pay-off now from the emotional development and what she learned by now so she can grow into the mighty mama bear she is meant to be without her unintentionally continuously hurting her adopted hurt cubs.

Because thats a factor I can't and won't ever ignore in her type of (main) character and in her leader role and privileged position/ status in all of this.

Fingers crossed, cause I'm so fucking ready to love this sweet broken girl with the heart of a lion, with every inch of my being.

#hazbin spoilers #hh spoilers #charlie morningstar #Hh episode 4 #Hazbin hotel

47 notes · View notes

granolawriting · 7 months

Text

New things ☆ ° *

pairing: Platonic Jedi!reader x Jedi Anakin

Summary: Anakin spent his young days as either a slave or "the chosen one". Never having the opportunity to really celebrate the holidays, you explain to him a celebration on your own planet for the fall season

word count: 1.8k

masterlist

A/N: This was literally so much fun to write, I really like writing anakins banter with the reader, and overall just the stupid things he'd say in my own interpritation of his character off the battle feild. I hope you enjoy!! This is the 3rd installment for my kinktober list, Make sure if you like my work to check out my requests/comissions or my ko-fi!!!

“I feel dumb. Are you sure you’re not pulling one over on me?”

Anakin stares with inquisitive intent at the pumpkin you laid before him. Sat upon a steel counter of the kitchen within your room in the Jedi temple. Tossed on a small ottoman in the middle of your home was a bag full of ingredients for baking, holodramas of sith legends, and most importantly, the means for cutting up the pumpkins that sat before you and Anakin.

“Dude, I lived it and you didn't. Either you can trust me and stab the pumpkin, or you can forever live in a non-holiday spirit.”

“I just can't imagine that this actually got popular. What’s the meaning behind this?”

“Yaknow, this was initially made to scare away the sith ghosts that would roam the halls at night on the night before halloween.”

“That's total bull. I don't think this would scare a 5 year old.”

“You haven't even cut into it yet!”

Anakin holds up the traceable mold that came with the package of serrated knives and spoons, triangle eyes and comically sharp teeth.

“I don't have to to know that if a youngling saw this, they would start laughing at me.”

You snatch it away from him teasingly, a melodramatic face of anger contorting upon you,

“Well then, it seems like they have no holiday spirit either! Pay them no mind. There are those who get it, and those who don't!”

“Whatever. Just hand me the knife.”

“You don't even know what to do!”

Thus the first activity begins, detailing the two of you slowly cutting into pumpkins while a music box softly plays soundtracks of scary films from your childhood. Demonstrating to Anakin exactly how to cut into a pumpkin with less than graceful precision,

“You don't know what you’re doing.”

“Shut up! It's been a while.”

And as the top finally pops off of the head of the pumpkin, you and him rejoice in quite a small victory. Though the excitement upon his face only lasts a moment, because as he watches you delve elbow deep within the inside of the pumpkin, horror shocks him stiff.

“What the fuck are you doing.”

Eyes widened at the prospect of having to do that himself.

“What? Big scary Jedi doesn't like getting his hands dirty?”

Teasing inflection coats your voice at the sight of his distress.

“This is just disgusting! I don't mind getting dirty if it's not slimy shit all over my body.”

“Well, I suggest you take off that fancy robe.”

Exasperated sigh exits him with great dramatic flair, as he walks over to the living room to slowly disrobe as to take in his last seconds of cleanliness before his agreeance to engage in your home planet festivities weighs more and more on him like one of the worst decisions he’s ever made in his whole life.

Slowly does he inch his fingers inside the pumpkin itself, and when he reaches the bottom eyes close and eyebrows contort upwards.

“Stop looking like you’re about to die. It's a pumpkin not a dead tooka.”

“Thanks for that image.”

And so the two of you slowly scrape pumpkin into a larger bowl of insides between the both of you, melodramatic whines by Anakin that really bring out the kid in him. Anakin, despite being such a great warrior and chosen one, was still quite young. He never really had the ability to do childish things, growing up as a slave and thrusted into the jedi temple thereafter there was no room to be a kid-- do kid things. So that's what you focused on in your time with him. It consisted of helping him get in touch with who he really is, not who people exactly wanted him to be. And you bore through it, even if sometimes it meant feilding his complaints like a whining child who has to share their toys with other kids. When Anakin wasn't in the line of fire he was a simple, silly person. A boy, really.

The moment his pumpkin was satisfactorily scraped, he runs to wash his arms under water and copious amounts of soap.

“Oh, did you know people can be allergic to pumpkin?”

“You’re kidding right.”

“Yeah well I just hope you’re not.”

“Could've told me that before I just violated it like that.”

“Slipped my mind.”

After a bit more carving within the eyes and mouth of the hollow pumpkin, you adorn the iconic face of a halloween grin upon yours, and Anakin opting for a more sinister look upon his.

“You said it was supposed to scare people, none of the designs has that effect.”

Well Anakin, I think the most scary thing about this is how you cut it. I can barely tell what's going on here.”

“You don't understand my vision. It's for the sith ghost, not you.”

As the first activity of pumpkin cutting comes to an end, a small glow emitting within the pumpkins as you place the small glowing orb that completes every carving inside its center, you and Anakin stand back impressed with one another's work.

“I guess it wasn't half bad.”

“Told you”

The next project you two had up against you was baking. Now, once again you were well convinced that Anakin had never cooked his own food his entire life. At least, anything complex. Whenever he had to make his own food it was often very simple, laced with struggle. The peak of his culinary journey was 5 years old, for reference.

“Why do we need to put so many things in here? Aren't we making cookies?”

“Yes, but to make it not taste like sand then we’re gonna have to add more flavors.”

“Sand, very funny. What's with the paste?”

“The icing?”

“Whatever.”

“It's for after the cookie. We’re going to decorate it.”

“This seems like a lot of work for 2 bites.”

“You eat them in 2 bites?”

“I’ve got things to do.”

And thus the teaching begins once more. You have to explain how to keep the wet from the dry until you’re willing to mix everything, teaching him how to crack an egg as he fails in the process getting residue all over your countertop. You show him how to whisk, watching him struggle with the thick batter as the automatic one you keep in your cabinet stays sadistically untouched. And as you two finally finish the batter, you show him how to put them on the sheets properly.

“When you roll them, you have to remember they’re going to flatten and expand. Don't make them the size of a cookie, make them like a third of the size.”

“But if I made it the size of a cookie, I could have a 3x cookie. Mathematically speaking.”

“Yes, but don't do that. They’ll all stick together.”

“To make one monster cookie?”

“Theoretically yeah.”

“Noted.”

As he grabbed huge chunks of dough within the bowl you both shared, you just chose to pick your battles.

Setting the timer for 40 minutes, there were now 40 minutes to kill before you were able to get to the next part of the process-- decorating. Looking within your bag of festivities you find the holodramas that lie at the bottom of the bag, reminiscent of your childhood. The exaggerated stories of siths and creatures of the outer rim that would haunt and stalk you, stories that scared you awake when you were younger. You allow Anakin to pick from a few of the titles.

“Frankensith? The uh.. Friday before 429. The ewok in the woods. These all sound a little corny.”

“Again, you don’t get it. But I promise you watching these things will freak you out. The ewok one scared me so much I couldn't sleep for days afterwards.”

“And how old were you when that happened?”

“...fifteen.”

“You’re joking. Put it on.”

Dimming the sights of your living room do the both of you sink into the couch as you pull out the final thing that will stave you from hunger until the cookies are completed.

“What's with the wrapping on these?”

He pointed at the chocolate you unveiled, wrapped in various depictions of horror legends over the years.

“Isn't it scary?”

“He looks like he has a lazy eye.”

“He’s supposed to be undead!”

“Yeah, and with all that reanimation they cut him a little short.”

“That's mean!”

“Nothing so far has scared me, and the candy definitely isn't much different.”

“Whatever.”

The bowl sat between the two of you held various kinds of candy from chocolate to sower, as the movie slowly came to a head. Laid back and judgemental, did Anakin lie unbothered upon the couch, expecting nothing to really catch his eye about this film more than dumb special effects and poor acting.

Though as time went on you watched as his body slowly straightened, eyes with greater focus on the projection as the story grew deeper. You saw his face contort from indifference, to morbid curiosity, to the well awaited fear.

BEEP!

The oven goes off, which makes Anakin jump.

“HAH! You’re scared shitless aren't you.”

“Are you kidding me? These things are freaky by nature. Their little swords.. Their agility. I couldn't live.”

“Uh huh. Well get up we need to decorate the cookies.”

After allowing them to cool for a moment you begin to teach him how to pipe the icing onto the cookies. However as you gaze upon his own tray, there seems to be about 3 discernable cookies to your 6 well shaped ones.

“All this means is that I have more room for artistic expression than you.”

“Right. Just watch what I do and you can make whatever you want.”

And as you draw cute ghosts, small faces decorating each of their eyes and little bats and pumpkins to match their theme, another glance at Anakin's tray once again reminds you you’re dealing with a 10 year old. Upon his cookies did he design quite crude depictions of the ewok’s with angry expressions on their face, forever immortalized- until eaten of course -a glare of small and furry anger upon the cookie.

“Nice Anakin.”

The night came to a close after that, finishing the ewok holo with greater ease as the fear inhabiting Anakin slowly dissipated in the ability to eat them at the same time they were eating others in their traps. A dark sky fell within your room and as you sat there with Anakin, pumpkins illuminated with silly faces and a growing pile of colorful foil piling on your coffee table as the candy bowl depleted, you felt complete. The feeling of having not only someone to celebrate the holidays with, but someone to share them with made you feel a little less alone. And you knew Anakin felt the same.

#star wars #anakin skywalker #fanfiction #fanfic #anakin x reader #anakin fanfiction #hayden christensen #sw anakin #platonic anakin #platonic #anakin x jedi reader #anakin x platonic jedi

72 notes · View notes

zvtara-was-never-canon · 9 days

Note

I found it. The worst Katara take.

https://www.tumblr.com/illycanary/748146862907867136/kataras-entire-arc-was-about-her-becoming-someone?source=share

Her entire arc was about becoming someone who could lead the Fire Nation!? The nation that GENOCIDED her people!?

Please… please I need to hear your take on this. It hurts my soul. Give me peace.

Zutarians: It's so disgusting how Kataang completely reduces Katara to just "The Avatar's girl."

Also zutarians: Katara's entire arc, trauma and struggles are not actually about herself, but about her Totally Real romance with Zuko and how she'll be great for his nation.

And she used to hate said nation because it was an elusive concept to project her insecurities onto. It was totally not because said nation had in place a socio-political AND military system that was hostile to her, her loved ones, and her culture by design.

It wasn't Zuko and the Fire Nation that had to understand that everyone else in the world was as human as they were, oh no. It was actually Katara and the rest of the world that had to understand that the Fire Nation ain't as bad as they thought - even though they WERE doing all the horrible things they thought they were doing, and ruining their lives by taking away everything and everyone they loved.

#UnhingedZutariansShutTheFuckUpChallenge

Also, can the fandom as a whole stop it with the bullshit "Characters like Jet and Hama existed to teach Katara and Sokka not to be racist against the Fire Nation"?

They were NEVER okay with killing, or even mistreating, someone just because they happened to be born in the Fire Nation or were under their control. Everyone they hated had done something to earn said hate: killed someone they loved, attacked their tribe, chased them around the world, held people prisoner and forced them into slave labor, etc.

You might think it was wrong of Katara and Sokka to do something like try to convince Aang to leave Zuko to die in the North Pole (and the show was very clearly saying that was the case) but you cannot act like that was based on some unearned hostility to anyone vaguely associated with a nation they "didn't understand" and not on, like Sokka said, not giving the guy that was trying to kill them a chance to try again and maybe succeed - hell, Katara gave Zuko a chance in Ba Sing Se, and look what fucking happened. Her best friend died right in front of her because Zuko jsut had to go help Azula take control of the city, and then he sent an assassin after them.

No one is fully good or evil - but people CHOOSE to do bad things, even if they have sympathetic reasons, and a political system CAN be inherently cruel, unfair and EVIL. And the Fire Nation under Sozin, Azulon and Ozai's rule very much was. And since Zuko went out of his way to keep that political system in place, he was doing something evil, and thus the people that were being victimized by him had every right to hate his guts for it.

Once again, let's hear it from Zuko himself:

"Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it! We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness."

The Fire Nation screwed up. Zuko screwed up. They need to get their shit together (and Zuko did), and the responsibility to do so is on THEM, not on the people that are quite literally fighting for their lives because the Fire Nation gave them no choice.

It's not Katara's job to make Zuko, and an entire country, see reason. And her arc was about HER journey, HER struggles, HER accomplishments, HER life, HER culture, and HER loved ones - just because Zuko would eventually be part of the last category, that doesn't mean that it secretly all about him the whole time.

And Zuko knows all this. That's why his arc, and his friendship with Katara, works. The show already gave you the perfect scenario to turn that friendship into a romance in fanfics and headcanons, you don't need to pretend the Fire Nation wasn't the obvious bad guy in the war THEY chose to start.

You can respect the beautiful arcs both Katara and Zuko went through, or you can make excuses for the Fire Nation's choice to commit genocide by saying "Well, EVERYONE had something to learn from it." You cannot possibly do both, because their arcs are all about showing this "both sides" thing is NOT TRUE.

#anti zutara #pro katara #pro zuko

38 notes · View notes

mrskokushibo · 6 months

Note

emergncy request I'm currently undergoing chemotherapy, and as expected, I've been experiencing significant hair loss. I had hoped it would stop after I completed the treatment cycle, but it seems to be getting worse, and I'm worried that I might lose all my hair soon. This is particularly devastating for me because my hair was a big part of my identity, like my personal signature. It's been hard because my friends and family don't quite understand how much this means to me. I understand that my fears might seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, as hair will eventually grow back, but it feels like I'm losing a part of myself.

With that being said, I'd like to request Bakugo, Shinsou, Enji Todoroki, and Dabi comforting their significant other and offering words of encouragement about her hair loss.

Emergency Request: MHA characters comforting their s/o who suffers from hairloss caused by chemotherapy.

A/N: Thank you, my dear @jellandbell for this request. I am honoured that you entrusted me with this. I wish you a quick return to health 💞

Warnings: None.

Bakugo

He is angry. Angry that someone like you, someone he loves and cares for so deeply, is suffering. The world is fucked if good people have to go through such ordeal. The complete and total inability to do anything of value to help you is eating him up. It's as if he was bursting at the seams. He wants to punch a wall, scream, swear, but he knows there is no point in being aggressive. It's just inappropriate right now. He walks up to you, hands in his pockets and his eyes initially fixated on the ground in front of him. He then looks you deep in the eyes, his voice almost shaky from all the emotions that rush through him.

You know I love you, right? No matter what, I will always be by your side. I don't care if you have lots of hair or if you are bald. Who cares? You are so fucking awesome. And if anyone makes a comment about your looks? I will mess them up. I promise you that. And the hair will be back. It just will. I know it. And you know...I'm pretty much almost always right.

Shinsou

At first, he is almost tempted to use his brainwashing quirk to manipulate you into not thinking about your problem. However, on a second thought, his honest nature doesn't allow him to pursue such an action. He genuinely feels for you and empathises from the bottom of his heart. He hugs you tight as he slowly gives you his words of comfort.

My love, I am so sorry to see you suffer, but please know that to me, you are the most beautiful woman on earth. Your hair is just a bonus, but I do not notice the difference in your looks. No matter if your hair comes back or not, you are my soulmate and the only one for me. Because looks fade anyway, but a beautiful soul lasts forever.

Enji Todoroki

He is feeling very apprehensive. A mix of anger, frustration, and helplessness is what he is experiencing right now. He is well aware that, in this case, his enormous strength and fire power are for nothing. It can not come to any use in helping you. He pretends like he is unmoved, but he can barely sleep at night since you got ill. When your hairloss is added to the suffering you have to endure, he sits down next to you and hugs you with his enormous arm.

You will be fine. You are a strong person. Hair will grow back, your health will be restored, and you will be out there showing the world that you never left.

Dabi

If anyone understands suffering, it's Dabi. He has literally caused his body to damage itself through hard training, and he knows very well what you are going through. When you break down crying as your hair starts to come out in bunches, he sits down in front of you and holds your hands. He looks you in the eye and decides to take a practical approach.

Look, your hair might just as well grow back. However, we should be prepared for any option. Ok? I did some research, and in the worst case, it can take a few years. I think you are beautiful; hair or no hair. But I get it. You do feel self-conscious. How about we go and look at wigs? I have seen some amazing ones. Only if you feel like you want to. As for me? Like I said before, you are gorgeous as you are.

Dividers by @saradika

77 notes · View notes

eroticwound · 2 months

Note

I love your thoughts on The Bear. Particularly the Berzatto siblings. I was wondering if you could talk about Mikey. And possibly his relationship with Richie. Outside of the internet when I talk to peers about the show people are quick to demonize or dislike Mikey. They cite his behavior with Lee and his taking part in ganging up on Carmy with Donna as reasons why. Also, how Richie was so desperate to get away from the beef.

I would love to hear your opinion about how this could be someone’s impression of Mikey. And how you would describe Mikey to someone who maybe isn’t seeing the whole picture? Or just how you would describe Mikey as a person in general.

And do you think his relationship with Richie was very one sided? Do you think it was always Mikey in the lead? I’ve read some fic that truly makes Mikey terrible to Richie.

Hi anon. Thanks for this incredibly thought out ask. Cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoy getting questions like this :)

Michael Berzatto is a complicated guy and he’s a guy we don’t get a lot of screen time with. That’s by design. He’s the character haunting this narrative. Mikey is the Laura Palmer of The Bear (I have that disease where I see everything through the prism of Twin Peaks), and as such we get to know him mostly through people’s grief. Through their imperfect memories. We’re left missing him just as much as any other character. And while I would love a feature length movie showing Mikey’s last days a la Fire Walk with Me, I very much doubt we will get that. So we’re left to figure out this complicated character with scraps.

For these reasons, I do get why people don't understand Mikey. As you mention, they are literally not given anything close to a whole picture. In fact the screen time we have most with him is during Fishes, when he is quite literally at his worst. If people only saw scenes where Carmen was yelling at people in the kitchen or where Richie was being sexist to Syd, I'm sure they'd have a poor opinion of them as well (in fact, being in this fandom after the first season, I can confirm that most of tumblr disliked Richie).

The healthiest we see Michael is in the Ceres flashback in season 1. He’s exactly how everyone describes him: loud, brash, funny. Both Carmy and Richie are just having the best time, completely immersed in the story he's telling. Even Nat’s having a great time, though both brothers stop her from adding raisins, which is Donna’s recipe for the dish they're making (side note, I find it so interesting that Nat is the one trying to follow their mom’s recipe. She's still trying to please Donna, to garner favor, whereas the boys, who Donna relies on in the kitchen and emotionally, feel fine deviating from Donna’s recipe). Even beyond the Ceres flashback, we do get flashes of what makes Mikey great in Fishes: the opening is him checking in on Natalie, he's really sweet and engaging with Carmen in the pantry, and even though Carmy doesn't take Mikey and Richie trying to set him up with Claire well, it's still proof that Mikey cares.

The thing is Mikey is mentally ill, like Donna and like Carmen. He’s dealing with some sort of chemical imbalance (depression or bipolar) on top of the severe parentification he got from Donna. I talk about it at length in my unfinished series delving into the partentification of the Berzatto siblings. As I point out in those posts, Mikey is actually the sibling getting the worst of the parentification, which is a form of abuse where there is a role-reversal between parent and child. Nat can't morph herself easily to accommodate Donna's dysfunction (she un-normalizes it), so she gets Donna's ire instead. Carmen was also parentified, especially when Mikey was out of the house growing up (they have such an age gap), but Mikey was the oldest. He has high EQ and can morph himself to accommodate Donna's dysfunction. It has in fact shaped him into the person he is. Which is someone who is trying to avoid all of the bad: bad outbursts from Donna, bad feelings from his siblings, bad reactions from outsiders to their family dynamic. He's also trying very hard to avoid the bad emotions he's feeling. Michael is looking to avoid all of this through any means necessary, which includes using alcohol and drugs. As I mention in that parentification meta series, using substances is quite literally the only way he's managing his distress.

I want to talk about each point you mention people citing as to why they don't like Michael. But first, I want to preface it by pointing out that Michael has been forced to move back in with Donna. His failed business ventures and poor mental health have forced him back into this scenario that is NOT GOOD FOR HIM. That scene where Cousin Michelle says to Carm that it's not good for him to be in this environment? Well, it's not good for any of the Berzatto siblings. And throughout the episode, you can tell how exhausted Mikey is by it. By having to fulfill his role as Donna's pseudo-partner.

So let's start with Michael and Donna ganging up on Carmen in the kitchen. When Donna and Mikey do this they are functioning as a parental unit. This is the perfect example of Mikey's parentification at work, of Michael acting as Donna's partner. It's what he's been trained to do to maintain the delicate ecosystem of that house. Donna's emotional state is given top priority. Everyone else's emotions fall to the wayside in light of what she's feeling, otherwise you get fallout like her crashing her car into the house. Mikey talks to Nat about this at the start of the episode:

What do you think she's at right now? A 4? A 5? She's not at a 6.

The siblings literally have a rating system for Donna's moods. They're all trying to avoid escalation above all else. Michael in particular. So in that scene with Carm in the kitchen, Mikey is trying to keep things from escalating. This is something Carmen knows too—hell, it's the first thing Carmen asks Mikey to do in Fishes:

Hey Mikey can you come inside and be you for a little bit, I don't know how to deal with these people.

Carmy needs Michael to come fill his role of buffer between guests and their family. Carmy, notably, gets Donna duty—a role I'm sure Mikey filled before Carmen came along. I say this based on Donna calling Carmen "Michael" when he's trying to coax her to the dinner table at the end of the episode. She's implying talking to her like this is what Michael does. When the people you know irl cite this moment, unfortunately this is the rebuttal: this is Mikey's role. Donna needs his emotional support. Otherwise she'd be more abusive towards Nat and Carm. Michael is doing it for the greater good.

As for Lee, that's another great example of soooo much being implied. Lee, along with Cicero, were best friends with their father, and it is heavily implied that Lee and Donna had a fling or two after their dad fucks off (whether Mr. Berzatto is dead or a deadbeat, who’s to say?). When Lee is helping Donna clean shit off the floor, Mikey grabs a beer from the fridge and asks if they are "doing this again." Basically, Lee and Donna have been romantic before. This means Lee would have been around erratically growing up. And it's clear Michael and Lee have a historic antagonism because of this. Lee's first interaction with Michael in the episode has him threatening to "lay [Michael] out." This screams to me that Lee stepped into the man of the house role, and that Mikey and him had altercations that got physically violent. That's why Mikey says at the dinner table, "I can throw forks cuz this is my father's house." That feels very much like something a kid would say to a man who is trying to replace a missing father. And it's especially heated, because it is Michael who has had to consistently step into the man of the house role for Donna and for his siblings! Michael couldn't leave like Lee when Donna and him broke up. Living with Donna and keeping his siblings ok is daily life for Michael.

So all through the episode, Lee is poking a bear (Mikey Bear to be exact). Lee calls him out about telling the same old stories, embarrasses him in front of everyone by revealing he's borrowed money from Cicero and had to move back in with Donna. Lee has been explicitly disrespecting him. And maybe if Mikey was in a better place, he would have been able to roll with it, but as I mentioned before, Mikey is not in a good place. He's depressed, he's been drinking and taking something (pain pills?) to manage the stress he's under. Him throwing forks is not a lucid reaction. Frankly, if people don't also blame Lee for that outburst, then they really weren't paying attention during the episode.

Finally, onto the Richie portion of your question. Richie’s family is something I would *love* to get more canon info about. All we know is that he's not Italian but Polish, his home life wasn’t great, his dad sucked, and Donna allowed him over so often that he’s practically her fourth child.

Richie and Michael grew up together. They're best friends, practically family. It's why Richie is "cousin." Michael's relationship with Richie is his closest relationship. Everyone says Mikey was their best friend, but Mikey's actual best friend was Richie. Period. And there's some complicated jealousy between Carmen and Richie because of what each is to Michael: Carmy's jealous of Richie and Michael's genuine closeness, and Richie is jealous that Mikey has special regard for Carmen as his actual brother. You see this jealousy in the very first episode of the show during that first walk-in fight: Richie was there for Mikey, buried Mikey and took care of Donna, and yet Mikey left the restaurant to Carmen. Left the money in cans for Carmen, so he could fulfill their dream restaurant together. There's honestly some great fic out there that goes into this jealousy. I'll come back to link it if I can find it.

Bottom line is that Richie was the closest person in Mikey's life. They have the same humor, the same life experiences. They had each other's backs. So when you ask if Richie and Michael's relationship was one-sided, I'm going to answer with a resounding no. They're literally besties. It's just by Fishes, Michael has deteriorated. His depression and drug abuse and failures have shrunk his life. Just compare where they're both at: Michael's moved back in with his mom, is single, and is telling the same old stories from their youth. Richie, on the other hand, might have anxiety (the xanax from Dogs <3), but he's in a stable and loving relationship and has a child on the way. That's why Richie asks Cicero for a job—not to get away from Mikey, but to make more money for his expanding family. And yes, he wants to amount to something more than working at a sandwich shop, but hell, so does Mikey. Neither of them want that for the rest of their lives. It's why Michael tried other business ventures. They fail, so he's stuck at The Beef. But it's a weight around his neck bringing him down. He says as much to Carmen when they're in the pantry:

Yeah but the place is no good, Carmy. It's a fucking nightmare. Like trust me I'm doing you a favor.

He even tries to set it on fire for the insurance money! Only Carmen sees the potential.

As for whether it was always Mikey taking the lead, I do think there's some merit to that. Mikey is talked about as more charming than Richie. You see it in Ceres when the edit compares Mikey telling the Bill Murray story to Richie telling the Bill Murray story to his date. Mikey is loud and funny and can "dial a room." Richie can too, but I think Mikey has more finesse. Still, they rely on each other. They back each other up. Michael would hook people with the stories, and Richie would embellish and inject at the right points or reel Mikey in when needed. They supported each other and worked together. I think any fic you might be reading that's demonizing Michael isn't accurate to his character and is actually falling into a pretty common fic trope: if the focus is Character A, then a fic author will cast Character B as the villain in order to serve whatever they're writing, twisting and embellishing the traits of Character B until they’re barely recognizable. Could Mikey be dismissive and hard to contain? Sure, but I don't think that means he didn't love Richie, or was undemonstrative with his affections. Even when Michael was out of it on drugs, they still had a very close relationship—Richie says so. In fact, everything Richie says about Michael supports this. I see zero support in canon for their relationship being one-sided. I'll say it again, they loved each other.

So this is how I would describe Mikey: loud, funny, obnoxious. He could dial a room. He cared deeply for his family, friends, and employees. He suffered parentification and has some sort of chemical imbalance. In fact, because he was charming and loud and funny, people could ignore his deterioration. Even Richie says, "he was Mikey Bear! I thought he'd come out of it," because he was able to come out of it up to that point. But after decades of not treating the problem, the only solution Michael could see was killing himself. He's a complicated character. He's a tragic character. He's the Laura Palmer of The Bear.

#michael berzatto #mikey berzatto #richie jerimovich #the bear #bear meta #carmen berzatto #carmy berzatto #donna berzatto #natalie berzatto #lee the bear #parentification #ask #anon #ok to reblog #obsessed with this question actually it's like a multi-part question i'd get on a test in school <3

27 notes · View notes

zhansww · 20 days

Text

The first ~28 episodes of War of Faith are so good. So fucking good. And definitely recommendable. But the drop in the quality of the writing after that is... jarring. The pacing runs wild, the plot gets ridiculously contrived and a good character turns evil for no reason. Basically, the best way I’d recommend this show is to watch until about episode 28 and after that, just skip to the finale. Spare yourself all the nonsense in between. Although I will say that the character of Wei Ruolai, at least, stayed pretty consistent and mostly well-written until the very end. He’s easily become my favorite of all the characters I’ve watched Yibo play. Oh and there is definitely potential for a second season. As long as it has the same quality as the first two acts of season one, I would totally welcome it.

spoilers under the cut

As much as I appreciated what they did to redeem Tunan at the end, my biggest issue is that Tunan should not have turned evil in the first place. He shouldn’t have fucking needed redemption. It (still) makes no sense. And it’s the worst mistake of the third act. I could literally condone anything else. The fact that Tunan turns into a warlord, even though he is banker. The fact that everyone suddenly knows how to wield guns and fight. The ridiculous plot armor for certain characters and how conveniently important things constantly happen at the same time. Like, I’m fine with all that. But changing characters to move the plot in a certain direction instead of having characters move the plot naturally... that’s where I draw the line. And I know what they did it for. To make it more angsty. To make us, viewers, feel some type of way. But nope, the only thing bad writing makes me feel is annoyance.

Even if I take my shipping glasses off for a moment, I think it’s safe to say that Tunan and Ruolai are the heart and soul of this story. Heck, this show literally starts off with Ruolai, trying to get a place at Central Bank, where his beloved Tunan works. That’s what kicks off the entire story. Honestly, their relationship is gayer than the only canonically gay c drama I watched. And even though the third act is a mess, their relationship is still probably what I liked the most on this show. And I’m glad that they, somehow, got a sort of happy ending. I assume the implication in the end is that Tunan is the comrade Ruolai was supposed to meet... And since they’re finally (belatedly) on the same side again, they get to work together again, too. It’s a bit bittersweet but oh well. Better than if Tunan had died, at least. Ruolai has this really endearing and whole-hearted devotion to Tunan. They very much have a master/servant dynamic at the beginning. But the more Ruolai grows into his own, the more he steps out of Tunan’s shadow and at the very end, they meet each other as equals. I really liked what Yibo himself said about their relationship, that they started as master and disciple but gradually came to consider each other family.

I’m really fucking glad that Yibo chose this role and that he played it the way that he did. I don’t even know how long it’s been since the last time I was this invested in a show (not counting the OP live action cuz I’ve been invested in the og for a decade lol) so I’m ultimately quite happy that I watched this which I wouldn’t have done if it weren’t for dd, tho. My man really chooses the best roles and his performances keep getting better. I’m super proud of him and to be his fan~

#war of faith #wang yibo #text

28 notes · View notes

bestworstcase · 2 years

Text

been thinking a lot lately on yang’s arc in v4 and specifically the advice tai gives regarding her semblance in 4.9 + its payoff during the fight with adam in v6

what strikes me about tai’s role throughout v4 is that he never quite gets it right. the porridge is too hot, the bed is too firm—and tai is too focused on the past to meet yang at the emotional level she needs. so while he does try his best to support her, what he accomplishes is really getting yang back to “functional” rather than facilitating genuine healing or emotional growth. i think tai does an okay job of getting yang over the immediate hurdle of acute post-traumatic depression but he does that in a way that actually inhibits her long-term recovery—

which is WHY the recovery yang made with tai’s guidance and his analysis of her weaknesses happens in “two steps forward, two steps back,” an episode whose title works on two levels: weiss and yang make important progress, ruby and blake run into serious unforeseen obstacles; but also all four of the girls begin their portion of the episode making progress toward their goals, and all four are interrupted by a symbolic or literal obstacle. weiss gets whitley; blake gets ilia and sun’s injury; ruby gets the fork in the road.

and yang gets tai’s advice.

now the interesting thing about the secondary meaning is that, while the two literal obstacles are confronted right away, the symbolic ones just get glossed over. they’re treated like fleeting annoyances at worst, and maybe even ultimately beneficial. weiss channels her irritation with whitley to bring her summoning ability to fruition at last; yang takes what her dad says to heart and becomes a better fighter for it—BUT THEN, much later, the narrative forces both of them to revisit these conclusions, to question the preconceived notions they once accepted.

take weiss, for example:

v1-3: establish that weiss wants to, in effect, rescue her family from her father; she enters the story as an arrogant, bigoted, sheltered perfectionist with no people skills, chooses to do better, and flourishes with the support of people who care about her.

v4: jacques forces weiss to return home and tries his damnedest to get her under control again, with whitley seeming to act as his loyal pawn; weiss sees her brother as a mere extension of jacques and reacts to everything he does with hostility and distrust until she escapes.

v5-6: weiss reunites with her team and again flourishes with their support, but can’t yet escape her father’s shadow; most of her character arc during this leg of the story is defined by the looming threat of returning to atlas again.

v7-8: weiss is able to confront her father with her friends at her side, breaking the last thread of emotional control he had over her; only then is she able to reconsider her perception of whitley, who she comes to see not as an extension of her father but as an abused thirteen-year-old boy whose nasty behavior is exactly the same as her own nasty behavior back when she arrived at beacon. this realization allows her to make an emotional connection with her brother, and by giving him the same grace she was given by her team, by offering him the same chance to get better, she’s able to save not just herself but her whole family from her father’s abuse.

leaving in v4 was the right thing for weiss to do and really the only option she had, but her incorrect perception of whitley is an emotional obstacle she needs to confront and overcome in order to truly heal and grow into the person she wants to be. yeah? so weiss’s portion of 4.9 involves her making important progress towards a necessary short-term goal and making a critical mistake, in treating whitley as a mini-jacques, that becomes the fulcrum of her emotional arc several volumes later.

so. back to yang:

there are, i think, three specific moments prior to the training scene whose primary narrative purpose is to illustrate that—despite his earnest effort—taiyang’s support is inadequate, and more importantly, how and why he’s falling short. these are:

#1: excitedly surprising her with the prosthetic arm.

this scene establishes a really significant piece of contextual information about yang’s recovery that i think tends to get overlooked, which is that yang had no idea that she was getting a state-of-the-art custom-engineered prosthetic until it was almost literally dropped into her lap by her dad, who DID know and has been eagerly anticipating her reaction for months without letting her know that getting a replacement arm in the near future was even a possibility.

think about this from yang’s perspective. she’s a fairly sheltered kid, grew up in a secluded corner of a small island, doesn’t know a lot of amputees. she must know, in the abstract, that advanced prosthetics are available, but she has little if any personal frame of reference for that knowledge. if she was hospitalized after the fall of beacon, it doesn’t seem to have been for very long—she’s home by the time ruby wakes up a few days later. most, if not the entirety of her recovery happens at home, marinating in the background radiation of global chaos and her own freshly-exacerbated abandonment issues. global comms are down, supply lines are under pressure, and physical mail is as unreliable as it has always been.

so... she’d better get used to having only one arm pronto, right? because that’s how it’s going to be for the indefinite future, right? all the adults in her life have bigger problems to deal with. maybe once things are less of a mess she can work on getting a replacement arm, but... who knows how long that will take.

hence: those months tai spent knowing she would get this amazing prosthetic and feeling so excited for her? yang spent those months concentrating on accepting the loss of her arm, figuring out how to live without it, focusing on being okay with not having a replacement. and... while that grieving process was emotionally necessary, the goal she had in mind was getting to “i have one arm and that’s okay”, so upon being gifted the prosthetic she didn’t feel excited or happy—she felt blindsided. it was confusing and contrary to what she thought her recovery would look like, and it was given to her with this clear unspoken expectation of enthusiasm for her that made it feel really scary.

yang says it herself in the next episode: she’s been working so hard to accept what she lost, but she feels like everyone else wants her to just be okay, and the arm being sprung on her felt like being asked to pop on a replacement and act like this horrible traumatic injury never happened. that’s why it’s so hard for her to try it on. she’s not ready, she’s not fine, and “surprise! here’s a new arm!” feels invalidating.

if taiyang had told her, months ago, hey, general ironwood says you fought admirably and he wants to honor that, so he asked some of his top scientists to design a prosthetic for you, what do you think?—if yang had been invited into this process of creating the new arm, if she’d been given time well in advance of it arriving to express the anxiety and mixed-up feelings she has about the idea of replacing what she lost, then actually putting the arm on wouldn’t have been the huge emotional stumbling block that it became.

#2: the dropped glass, and tai saying nothing

anyway, the prosthetic scene then becomes a montage of yang doing stuff around the house—showing some of the ways she’s adapted to normal day-to-day stuff with just one arm, underscoring the point outlined above—ending on a beat of yang having a flashback in the kitchen. a glass slips out of her hand and shatters, the sound triggers a flashback, she stumbles back into the cabinets in terror and freezes for a moment before pounding a fist on the counter in an effort to ground herself.

rwby makes a very deliberate point of showing that tai sees this happen and responds to it by quietly turning around and walking away before yang even realizes that he’s there. right? not because he doesn’t get that his daughter is hurting—he’s visibly distraught—but because either he doesn’t know how to help her or he thinks that giving her privacy and pretending he didn’t see anything is the best thing he can do for her.

to me that feels like it’s coming from a similar place as making a surprise gift out of the prosthetic, in that i think it speaks to a failure to engage with the emotional trauma of what yang went through. tai focuses on the missing arm, and on making sure that yang gets the tools and training she needs to bounce back from the physical injury, but he pretty consistently treats her emotional suffering like a minor side effect, something that is understandable and sympathetic while she’s missing her arm but which becomes “moping” once she’s got a viable replacement ready to go.

like... yang is right? i think tai did kind of have this idea in his head that yang was miserable because she didn’t have her arm and therefore once she got the replacement she’d bounce right back—when the emotional core of yang’s suffering was really the helplessness, the vulnerability, the fear of not being good enough and the pain of having been left behind, all engendered by the loss of her arm but in no way fixed by replacing it.

and i think this is the moment where the long-term harm starts to really crystallize, because—well, think about this: what is yang’s biggest emotional problem in v1-3? what anxieties does she articulate during the mountain glenn arc in v2? she feels rootless. she doesn’t really want anything, doesn’t really have a quantifiable goal for herself, and while she tries to deal with that by being carefree and going with the flow, deep down she worries that’s not enough.

is that still yang’s biggest emotional problem?

nope.

what’s the emotional turning point for yang in v4? what gets her over the emotional hurdle of trying on the prosthetic for the first time? she overhears tai implying that he’s not out looking for ruby because he has to stay home and take care of yang. and after that? yang is one hundred percent focused on getting back into fighting condition so she can go find ruby. she tracks down her mom not for her own sake, not to get the answers she’s craved all her life, but because raven can give her a shortcut to get to ruby faster. she white-knuckles her way back to “functional,” and then throws herself heart and soul into Being There For Ruby.

which is to say: her biggest emotional problem since v4 has been neglecting her own needs for the sake of people she loves. her arc in v4 isn’t a straightforward recovery arc; it’s an arc of both physical recovery and insidious emotional damage, wherein yang isn’t okay, but she gets it into her head that not being okay is actively endangering her sister, so she forces herself to “be okay” way before she’s ready. that’s a self-sacrificing tendency we saw some inklings of in v1-3, but it gets SO MUCH WORSE starting in v4—and while this certainly isn’t an outcome tai intended, his failure to engage with the emotional side of yang’s trauma absolutely enabled it, by fostering an environment where yang was encouraged, maybe even expected to sacrifice emotional healing in order to get back into fighting shape as fast as possible.

all of which is encapsulated perfectly in these two moments, of tai surprising yang with the arm and being taken aback when she’s not happy about it, then later seeing his daughter’s traumatic flashback and walking away.

bringing us to:

#3: “whenever you’re ready to stop moping”

this scene in 4.4, wherein tai evidently decides that what yang needs is some tough love to get her out of her weird little funk about the arm.

and—like, it’s a complicated scene, because tai adopts this harsh “tough love” tone in a really shocking departure from his previous treatment of yang, but on the other hand yang is given the space to articulate the emotional junk that is preventing her from trying on the arm, making this conversation something of an improvement over the festering silence we saw in 4.3.

what strikes me most about it, though, is that tai’s new “tough love” approach isn’t what ultimately makes this talk a positive experience for yang—it’s oobleck and port. tai and yang get into something of a spat about whether she’s old enough to be spoken to like an adult, tai insults her and makes a jab at her missing arm, shocking port and oobleck but also breaking the tension when yang takes it in the spirit he intended—and then! port asks her why she hasn’t tried on the arm yet, oobleck jumps in to emphasize the question, and yang answers that she’s scared, that she feels like she’s being pressured to be okay when she isn’t.

at which point taiyang says this: “you’re right. it’s not coming back. but that doesn’t have to stop you from becoming who you wanna be; you’re yang xiao long, my sunny little dragon. you can do whatever you put your mind to. so whenever you’re ready to stop moping and get back out there, i’ll be there for you.”—and yang doesn’t know how to answer that. she just stammers uncomfortably...

...until port tells her, “fear is like any other emotion; it comes and goes. it’s all in how you handle it. why, even i find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time,” and oobleck lets yang in on the “secret” that port’s scared of mice and yang relaxes as the conversation swings onto that subject instead.

see the difference? how yang’s teachers non-judgmentally raise the question of what’s holding her back, in contrast to the assumptions tai made about how yang would feel about getting the prosthetic, and how by asking they created the space for yang to express how she really felt, to show real emotional vulnerability she couldn’t before? and how tai’s answer—which acknowledged what she’d said but was ultimately dismissive of her feelings—made her emotionally lock up again, until port and oobleck jumped in to validate her fear, remind her that being afraid now doesn’t mean she’ll be afraid forever, and take the pressure off by going into this bit about port’s phobia of mice?

her professors succeed where tai has been stumbling. yang says she’s scared; tai’s answer is “that doesn’t matter, you can get back out there!” but port and oobleck’s answer is “it’s normal to feel afraid, and it’s important not to let our fears control us.” they meet yang on the level she really needs, accepting “i’m scared, i don’t feel ready” as a perfectly legitimate answer to the question they asked where tai recognizes that she feels that way but seems to see it more as yang just psyching herself out.

so yang gets these two contradictory messages—the harmful one from tai, the healthy one from from port and oobleck—and, although the healthy one sort of “wins” in the moment and she’s able to relax and enjoy herself for a while, ultimately it’s the harmful message that sticks with her and gets reinforced by all her subsequent training with tai.

OKAY. SO. WITH THAT CONTEXT,

yang’s portion of 4.9 largely involves tai imparting advice about what he sees as her biggest weakness: she’s predictable, stubborn, and relies too much on being able to tank her way through most of a fight before using her semblance as a finisher. and... while it’s not bad advice by any means—it boils down to “remember you’ve got more than just raw strength in your toolkit”—much like the way tai handles yang’s recovery, it’s not quite right for yang...

...because it’s not about yang, really. it’s about raven. what tai is responding to in this scene is SPECIFICALLY things he saw in the vytal tournament matches that reminded him of raven, and his advice comes from a place of fear that yang might get stuck in the same harmful patterns he watched raven fall into years ago—but he’s over-identifying yang with raven in a way that, i think, leads him to miss the mark on what yang’s weakness really is.

laying aside the fall of beacon and yang’s altercation with adam—because she made really the only possible choice in that situation and also that isn’t what tai is talking about in this scene anyway—and focusing only on the fights tai actually witnessed, i.e. the tournament matches: there is a problem, or it might be more accurate to say a danger? in the way yang utilizes her semblance throughout v1-3, somewhat exemplified in the tournament matches, but it’s not the problem tai thinks she has.

tai’s perspective is that yang, like raven, thinks “strength is all that matters in a fight” and doesn’t consider alternative strategies, leading to a fighting style that is over-reliant on using her semblance as a finisher.

but what we really see from yang throughout the beacon arc is that she’s pretty cavalier about taking hits, because she knows she can dish it back twice as hard. yang approaches combat with this underlying mindset that it doesn’t really matter if she gets her ass kicked a little—maybe even that it’s good if she gets her ass kicked a little—because then she can bait her opponent out into over-extending themself and decimate them once they think she’s down for the count. that’s the dangerous tendency that comes out during the tournament matches—the 2v2 and 1v1 in particular. beacon era yang has a fighting style oriented around tanking so much damage that she can convincingly trick her opponents into thinking they’ve beaten her, then punishing them for it when they drop their guard.

it’s cunning. it’s inventive. and it works!

it’s also really fucking dangerous, because it gets yang into the habit of not keeping her guard up, not fighting defensively, not treating her protective aura like the valuable resource it is.

so, while tai offers some good general advice, in the process he overlooks the truly important piece of, hey, you wouldn’t tolerate this level of recklessness from any of your teammates, so stop tolerating it in yourself. stop fighting like you’re expendable. you don’t have to take damage for your semblance to be valuable, and that shouldn’t be your first strategy in every fight.

yang takes the general advice tai gives her to heart, and that shows in how she handles herself in v5 and onwards: she fights more defensively, gets more deliberate in how and when she applies her semblance, and makes an effort to think before she punches when the situation calls for it, all of which makes her a better fighter than she used to be...

...but, crucially, she doesn’t address the underlying mindset, the emotional habits that led her to develop that beacon-era fighting style in the first place. she’s still not taking care of herself, still sacrificing herself—it’s just transmuted into neglecting her emotional needs for the sake of her friends.

(possibly worth noting, also, is that the altercation with adam during the fall of beacon is NOT an example of this strategy—it’s yang panicking and leaping to her partner’s defense because holy fuck that guy stabbed blake, and she’s defeated not because of a strategic error but because she’s simply outmatched. i think that’s part of what makes adam so terrifying afterwards—it’s not just the dismemberment, it’s that he cuts off her arm with his first swing, before yang can even touch him, before yang can soak up any damage while her semblance makes her stronger. like, a lot of yang’s identity is wrapped up in being this scrappy underdog who takes everything her opponent dishes out and then hurls it back in their face—this kind of retributive moment where they think she’s down and then she pops back up and proves them wrong. i think, in v1-3, that gives yang this sense of power, of security—the teenager-ish illusion of invincibility turned up to eleven—and adam strips that away from her specifically by ending the fight on the first swing. losing her arm is traumatic in and of itself, but it happening like this—in a way that also just shattered a core belief yang had about herself—i think really intensified the feelings of powerlessness and loss of identity that we see yang struggling with in v4.)

anyway,

so far we’ve gotten, i think, three major beats of payoff for all of this:

first: the talk weiss and yang have in v5, which on its face is about yang’s resentment of blake for running away but also offers a really important illustration of where yang’s head is at vis-a-vis the importance of her own feelings: she expresses anger at blake for leaving, for not letting yang be there for her—and then that anger twists inside out and becomes what if i needed her here for me?, and she just. crumples. and—well, throughout v5 and onwards, yang tries so hard to be there for her teammates. this conversation with weiss is the only time she’s able to admit that she really desperately needs them to be there for her, too, and it’s obvious that she really didn’t want to admit that, that it slipped out because she was too upset to hold it back.

that’s the narrative signal that all is not well, that the recovery arc isn’t done yet.

second: the fight against adam in v6, which yang wins by deploying her beacon-era strategy of baiting adam into over-extending and then demolishing him with her semblance—sort of. there are two differences from beacon-era yang’s style that i think are important to note: 1. she doesn’t start using this tactic until after blake tells her how adam’s semblance works, and 2. after that point, yang not only continues to fight defensively but becomes very careful about how she attacks adam, minimizing the amount of power he’s able to charge up by blocking her attacks. this is a much more careful, much more tactical, and much safer approach to the old strategy, which demonstrates how yang has grown and improved as a fighter...

...but it also involves yang blowing all of her remaining aura on that final punch, which underscores that “safer” does not mean safe and yang took a massive risk when she decided to handle the fight this way. it paid off because she took steps to mitigate the risks to herself, but... if she’d had just a little less aura, or if adam had been able to juice his semblance just a little bit more, she would’ve lost that fight and maybe gotten killed.

in other words, one purpose of the adam fight is to show that, while tai gave her useful advice that yang incorporated to improve as a fighter generally, because he couldn’t see her real problem clearly enough to speak to it directly, the problem is still there. yang is more judicious about when she uses this strategy and more careful and tactical about how, but she is very much still willing to fling herself into the line of fire and gamble on being able to tank her way through defeat to hit her opponents when they think she’s down.

her aura breaking after she tanked that hit and smashed adam is basically a narrative warning bell that says yeah this problem has gotten subtler but it hasn’t gone away.

and third: yang’s final act in v8 is throwing herself between ruby and neo, who one-shots her aura and flings her into the void to her apparent death. sacrificing yourself for someone else, using yourself as bait, gambling on your ability to tank things you have no right to survive—it doesn’t matter how smart or careful you are when you do it, sooner or later it’s going to catch up with you and you’ll get hit in a way you can’t just power through. that’s the crucial flaw that tai failed to speak to back in v4, the crucial flaw that yang was therefore never able to confront in v5-v8, and the crucial flaw that finally came due in v8.

given that v9 is going to revolve around the question of identity... well. yang’s always had this self-sacrificial streak; in v1-3 it manifested mainly in her fighting style, her neglected defense—and then she lost her arm and recovered in an environment that encouraged her to neglect her emotional healing in favor of getting back onto the battlefield, which led to an arc of yang growing as a fighter while the emotional trauma and dangerous self-sacrificial tendencies festered and got harder to see—until she hit critical mass and the act of self-sacrifice essentially got her killed, except instead of dying she got tossed into a bizarre magical land where she’s not going to be able to hide her feelings because the island responds to emotion.

basically, yang’s physical recovery/emotional damage arc in v4 is setup for the identity arc yang will have in v9, with her stuff in v5-8 quietly unfolding and revealing the long-term harm that was inadvertently done to her in v4; showing that the narratives she internalized about herself (that she’s too stubborn, that she relies too much on strength, that she needs to be smarter) weren’t really accurate, and that while the training she received from her dad truly did help her become a better fighter, it didn’t help her at all as a person, as someone who was suffering and needed emotional support, and in fact only exacerbated her real problem, which is that deep down she doesn’t think she’s as important or valuable or worthy of protection as the people she loves.

...

ALSO, i suspect that ultimately this is going to turn out to be another variation on the broader theme of the younger generation overcoming and learning from the mistakes of their predecessors—what little we know of tai suggests quite strongly that he is also a man who deals with his emotional problems by stuffing them into a little box and trying not to think about them, and while he appears to be the most functional member of team STRQ that is... not a high bar to clear. he passes this onto yang by handling her recovery the way he does, because that’s his normal, and he inadvertently enables her self-sacrificing tendencies in the process—

but unlike tai, yang has a team that isn’t falling apart, friends who love her and will be there for her when she finally accepts that she needs support and it’s okay for her to ask for support, so. the things she’s repressing are going to come out, and she’s going to heal instead of calcifying as she is now.

522 notes · View notes

icallhimjoey · 2 years

Note

could you do joseph quinn x actress!reader

you were practically nervous that you gonna have to do fake sex scene. You are in dressing room, walking back forth that you were bit nervous to do it, but then knock on door, it Joseph, he came to you that you were ready yet, you were quite nervous, he tells you that everything gonna be fine. He comfort you. So then you both ready, as director will get your places in scene, then ACTION, after that you were bit happy that it finally over yet, Joseph wanna to comfort you deeply that you feel bit safe

(hope you will write it, thanks and have a good day)

Yep yep yep yep yep Wordcount: 2K

----------

Going Off Script

You're in your dressing room. Nervous. Absolutely riddled with anxiety, but doing your very best to keep your breathing steady and remain somewhat calm. Ingrid, your intimacy coach, had just been in for a chat. You'd gone through some pages of the script, and had disected your spicy scene. You had mentioned your worries - nothing major, just, you'd never done this before and the prospect of having to do it in front of people? With Joe? Oof.

When you'd read the original script, you hadn't felt it. It was all beautifully written, and the names on the pages didn't have faces. None of them had been you yet, and none of them had been Joseph yet. When you had to do chemistry reads with a couple of actors up for the role during auditions, you had scanned the room beforehand and had silently thanked God that you found none of them attractive enough to make it weird. Imagine having to make direct eye-contact with someone you really fancied, with a long table of people boring their eyes into you. The worst.

But then they'd called in Joe. The charisma that had practically dripped off this man was almost too much, and your breath had hitched up into your throat.

It resulted in compliments for you. The director had "loved what you'd done with the character". You knew it was just Joe's doing, your whole performance literally a reaction to whatever he had done, but you had smiled and thanked him for the kind words.

There were a couple more actors you saw after Joe that day, but every other person you'd done the same scene with had lacked something. No sparkle in their eyes. The tension never built. It had resulted in you getting the part, and you knew Joe was going to get it too.

Ingrid had asked you if you'd be open to read lines with Joe now, a couple of hours ahead of you being expected on set. It was still early in the morning, you were fresh faced and ready for hair and make-up when they'd have the time for you. Your morning cappuccino hadn't helped, the caffeine and lack of other food in your system only fed the jitter. Of course you were okay reading lines with Joe. Giving it a run-through would obviously make you feel more at ease having to do it in front of a room full of people later.

A sex scene. Lots of kissing. Grinding. Hands on skin, all over. You had trained for this, you knew you'd be fine. But it was with Joe, and you had a growing crush you were trying to suppress. When Ingrid and Joe walked into your dressing room, you hugged Joe with one arm, bodies far removed, as you greeted him. Ingrid immediately picked up on it.

"I'm very nervous." you admitted before saying anything else, knowing it was the professional thing to do. Be up front. Let people know. Actually communicate.

"Oh, same." Joe furrowed his brow and nodded. It made you laugh, and you were sure he'd just said it to make you feel more comfortable.

You sat down and turned to a page in the script Ingrid instructed you to find. The two of you read lines back and forth from your safe spots on separate chairs, getting familiar with how each of you had interpreted the written lines, your innotations, his pauses. Joe had his eyes stuck to the pages the whole time, and you silently wondered if he had memorized them yet. He must have; you were filming this today. So maybe he had been nervous, and that comment wasn't just to ease your anxiety earlier.

Ingrid asked you to do a small bit of the scene again, but now include actions. She was basically saying, "okay now kiss and feel each other up in front of me.".

It was slightly weird, definitely awkward, it just being the three of you in a room, going through this. But it would've been weirder doing it without Ingrid there. At least now you had someone to turn your attention to if looking at Joe became too much.

Joe wasted no time, getting up and putting the script down, so you did the same. You started the scene again. This time, Joe grabbed hold of you, and it was electric. He must've felt it too. You ran through your lines, and this time it was Joe's eyecontact that shot hot anxiety straight into your veins. The script called for you to lay down on a bed, so Joe guided you back onto the sofa.

You know it's all ingenuine movements - it's cold and technical, Joe's following words on a script, but it still makes your stomach flutter. And then he kisses you. Open mouthed. Soft. It's hot. You let a moan escape your throat, and you feel Joe's grip on you tighten. You're acting, you have to remind yourself. Acting.

At some point, your coach stopped you, and called your attention to a direction in the script. She showed Joe, who read with raised eyebrows, then nodded. His hand should have been on your thigh - Ingrid had seen a shot of it on the storyboard and knew it'd be important to not forget. Joe placed it there without hesitation, but he could feel you shudder. "This okay?" he asked. You nodded. Obviously it was. You just needed to get over yourself. Ingrid fed you a line, and you shook yourself out of your brain and hoped you'd shaken yourself back into your character.

Whenever the scene asked for the two of you to kiss, Joe did it so expertly that you almost question if it's real. The way Joe looked at you, sly smiles, soft eyes - it wasn't helping this crush you were trying to ignore. You lost yourself for a second, until Ingrid interrupted you before the scene was over. "Okay." you broke your kiss. "You're over the hump." she stated, referencing your earlier mentioned nerves and you tried to stifle a giggle.

After some advice and some last tips and tricks, Ingrid said she'd find you later. She left the two of you alone in your dressing room, but Joe also stalked his way towards the door.

"We should do fine, yea?" Joe's face read concern. He was looking out for you, the bastard. "Yea, I think so." you found your eyes back on the pages and grabbed a pink highlighter from a table beside you. "Let's see how we do under pressure though." you added, knowing it'd be different with lights and cameras and people looking at you.

Joe waved your comment away. "Do half as good as what you did just now, you'd still be fine."

Time passes. It's much later in the day. You're on set and you're practically naked. You're in a bra you know will be taken off in the scene later. It'll be the only truly annoying thing, knowing it would have to be put back on several times as you'd probably do several takes. Joe's getting his make-up touched up and you sneak a look at his shoulders. Nice. Broad. Arms too. Big hands.

"You alright, Y/N?" a producer snaps you out of your thoughts from behind a camera. Ingrid's there too. You give a thumbs up. If anything you were too good, you think, eyes wandering back over to Joe. Maybe a bit cold. Why did film sets have to be fucking freezing all the time?

You breeze through your scene with Joe. You were right, multiple takes meant annoyingly having an assistant redress you in your bra every time you'd have to start over. You didn't mind covering back up, but the attention it called to your tits every single time someone had to scoop it up from the floor was a bit much. It's mostly technical things that make the director call cut; a light that needs a little turning, a camera not getting the exact shot they were after, one too many of Joe's curls escaping its way onto his forehead...

Every time you cut, you zone out a little. You notice Joe doing the same and you pick up how his hands never leave your body in between takes. After a few takes you understand it's so he doesn't have to reintroduce his touch to you and you feel your heart flutter. But there's no brain-space for chitchat or smalltalk; you're both focussed on getting this scene right, your concentration's aimed at the task at hand. And every time the word "Action!" echoes through the room, it's straight back in with hot and heavy pants, hands roaming, bodies pushed together, tongues, wet lips and flushed cheeks. It's a lot. You have to keep reminding yourself that none of it is real, picturing the letters on the pages of script inside your mind, thinking ahead and anticipating every next second.

It helped keep your heartbeat down, but it also numbed your mind a little to Joe's touch, which didn't go unnoticed. The director called cut, and called Joe over, leaving you alone in a bed with camera's pointing at you from three different angles. You saw them talk, serious faces, looking back at some of the filmed footage on screens you weren't able to glance at from your spot. And annoyingly they were just out of your earshot.

Ingrid pointed at something on a screen, and then used her hands to explain something to Joe, gesturing towards where you were, bare tits out.

"You've done it too much now," Ingrid told Joe. "That's great, you know what you're doing, you've got it down, but it's leaving some of the urgency within the earlier takes." Joe looked at the still of your face that the director had paused at. Your eyes had only slightly glossed over, it was barely noticeable. They then skipped back to one of your first takes, and Joe had seen the clear difference.

Joseph, ever the professional, didn't just take the direction, but asked questions and made suggestions. Then he'd asked if it was okay for him to try something, and he had gotten the go ahead.

"Alright, let's go one more time!" the director called out as Joe jogged back to where you were.

"Y/N, you're doing great, we're gonna run it a couple more times to be safe but we pretty much have it." a producer reassured you as Joe got back into the bed next to you. The director told you from where to take it, and you shuffled into position together. It's forced, but it's nice to have Joe's warm body on top of you again. "Action!"

It's the same steps. At first. Then, Joe surprises you and he does something different. Joe went off script. Your eyes widened in shock as he suddenly digs into your neck - lips and teeth scraping skin that hadn't been scraped by him before. Then hands found your ass and hitched you up a little, pushing your hips straight into Joe's crotch. It instantly turned you on, and to be honest, more so than you felt comfortable with. His breathing was heavy, but the groans you could hear loud in your ear made your eyes roll. The way your sex was ground up upon meant you were basically dry humping each other, and it had left you a moaning mess.

The people around you were fast forgotten and you were there, in the moment, reacting to whatever Joe was doing to you. You stumbled through your lines, hiccups and stutters, breaths getting stuck in your throat, moans and groans interrupting your words but it felt like you meant them.

"Cut! Thank you, we got it!"

You're harshly pulled back into reality as 11, maybe 12 people around the room clap. It's a weak applause, but it's nice anyway. Joe is still hovering over you, awaiting your reaction as a smile plays across his face. "Jesus Christ," you're genuinely out of breath, making Joe laugh.

A quick rhythm of knocks on your door made you look up from tying your shoes. Before you could invite them in, the door had already opened and Joe popped his head 'round the corner.

"Some of us are going for drinks," it wasn't a question, so you didn't answer.

"Will you come?"

"Oof," you hissed through your teeth. "After working me up like that, you want to get alcohol into this system?" you joked. There was no trace of nerves or anxiety left within you. Joe let his head fall forward, guilty as charged, and he scoffed out a laugh.

"I'll bet you a tenner it's the take they're going to use," Joe made a fair point.

"Well," you got up, shoes now tied, and you reached for your jacket. "I wouldn't have been so good had it been with anyone else."

Joe looked you up and down. Your body stretched as you swung your jacket 'round your shoulders to get it on. Joseph was still waiting for an answer to his earlier question when you stepped closer to him and reached for the door handle.

"Where we going?"

#joe quinn #joseph quinn #actress!reader #joe x reader #joseph x reader #stranger things 4 #going off script

354 notes · View notes