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scrawnytreedemon · 3 years

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Victor Frankenstein and Frustration: a Not-Essay, because I can’t structure for shit.

Alright, I’ll try to keep it as clean and concise as I can, but at the end of the day this is a sorta-heat-in-the-moment thing I’m writing while all the ideas and motivation are in me yet. I will be jumping around alot of topics, as this covers alot of ground, but I can’t say I’ll do it with grace: for this, I apologise.

I’ve noticed a trend in online lit fandom, not just on Tumblr, to condense Victor’s character to something roughly following “arrogant, ineffectual and selfish weenie who failed horribly at parenting, who ought not to be taken seriously in any significant way, largely in-due to his constant whining“ --In other words, a right twat.

And here’s the thing: largely, I agree.

However, what I take issue with, I suppose, is largely how this is all framed.

See, fandom has a tendency to sort characters into boxes, and then pick favourites or bête noires from that selection; this is helpful for the largely memetic(as in, shareable,) nature of online spaces; but where I think this thinking falls short is that it tends to divide casts into More Good or More Evil, with little room for nuance.

I think you can see where I’m going with this.

Victor Frankenstein, by all accounts, is an incredibly frustrating character to witness; he gets way in over his head, isolates himself from his loved ones, leaving them worried, deems those ambitions failed, hides from them, then when shit starts hitting the fan, he takes initial actions to try and mitigate the consequence, hits a roadblock, either stops their or chooses an even worse option, someone else gets hurt, he whines, rinse and repeat until the final act of the book, as the stakes get higher and higher and his mental state deteriorates more, and more, and more. If you look at this entirely from an outsiders’ perspective, as you, the audience, being subjected to his moaning time and time again, it can wear on you and your sympathies-- Needless to say, I Get It™.

I think, however, it needs be remarked that Victor is also just some guy.

What I feel is often missed, is that even before Victor goes to university, he has just suffered the loss of his mother, with little time to recover, and that all of this is being told in hindsight, on his deathbed.

When Victor took on, all by himself, at twenty-two years old, not even letting anyone else know what he was up to, the monumental task of creating life, and then finding that life horribly botched, he did not have the perspective that what he created was equivalent to a newborn child-- For all he knew, he might have animated an actual demon. It isn’t until two years later, after the death of his little brother at the hands of said demon, the he’s even remotely made aware of this.

Victor had worn himself out over the course of several months, physically and mentally, to this one task. He was not equipped to deal witht he consequences. I do not say this to downplay the weight of his actions, or the horrible mess of events that come afterwards, but to state perspective. Victor does not have the hindsight we have at the time of this act. I cannot stress this enough. As much as I enjoy Deadbeat Dad Vick jokes, I get the feeling many people actually view the story from this lens, and hold Victor up to that standard.

Then there’s the trial of Justine: a horrible, useless, unneeded and avoidable affair that ends in even more senseless death. This is where alot of people’s sympathy for Victor runs out-- For more than understandable reasons. He failed to act accordingly, to share the information he had, deeming it to be either dismissed instantly or for himself to be put under scrutiny; it’s clear he’s passionate about Justine’s innocence, but he cannot push himself past his fear and doubt, and ultimately, it ends in her death.

It is a horrible, horrible moment, and one that cements the tone of the story from there on out.

These are two key events that largely colour this image of Victor so prevelant online; and it certainly doesn’t help, what with fandom being almost aggressively left-leaning at times, that Victor comes from a place of privilege; he is almost tailor-made to push all the buttons of fandom sensitivities.

Let me elaborate.

A key feature of Victor’s character is his complete and utter inability to ask for help; no matter how dire the situation. Victor feels, that, despite and even because of his incompetence, that it is his cross and his cross alone to bear. Any inolvement from others, such as Clerval when he heads to England, is hesitant and highly discouraged, even when he wants nothing more than to partake in the company of his loved ones, after all he’s been through. While it is also heavily coloured by the anguished sentiment that borders on self-absorption so much of the time, I think it is also worthy to examine this too.

Victor’s tendency to indulge in self-pity and self-loathing is nigh, if not entirely, all-consuming; it pervades the narrative to a painful degree, particularly as it comes from his recollections; it is often exhausting to read through, and nigh unbearable if you already hold a disdane from his previous actions; but here’s the thing I think most people miss,

Victor is depressed.

I don’t mean “ooh, he’s so sad, leave him alone 🥺,“ I mean the guy is fucking depressed, stuck in a constant cycle of attempting to make do but failing, hating himself even more, letting it consume him because he at once feels like he deserves to be consumed and it’s the only thing he can do then and there to soothe to pain as shit gets worse and worse.

Victor Frankenstein’s internal monolgue is a prime example of deep-seated, far-gone depression, and I say this because I myself have experienced and do experience this. Depression is fucking soul-sucking, man; it turns you in on yourself, makes you feel entirely undeserving of love and compassion, leaves you feeling like you must, have to, deal with this entirely by yourself because it is your cross to bear.

Depression is so often self-flagellating and pointless, leaving the subject drained and often largely unable to experience the world outside their own miserable little bubble.

Victor is so wrapped up in this soul-sucking guilt, attempting to fight his own ineffectuality and in doing so only furthering his own ineffectuality, refusing to ask for help, that he ends up putting the ones he’s trying to protect in further danger as he tries to scramble a hodge-podge solution to the problem he created and couldn’t have even begun to forsee its consequences at twenty-two years old. It is a painful, painful example of how if only he reached out, if only he told someone, was honest, all of this could have been avoided, or at least mitigated.

And I think that’s the thing with Victor.

He’s a kind of banal evil-- If such continuous stumbling can even be considered so --He is an example of every day self-isolation and refusal to let anyone else in ballooning to such a degree it ends in distaster.

People are far, far more willing to forgive Adam for his transgressions-- And I say this as someone far more sympathetic to his plight, what with the absolute abandonment he faced at the hands of humanity --Despite their far more horrific consequences; in many ways, they’re attributed to Victor’s failing; which isn’t entirely untrue,

But I have to wonder, if alot of this also comes down to the fact that Victor’s wrongdoings are so human; leaving someone in your care behind; not speaking up in cases of injustice; being self-involved; again, the constant whining. In a way, it’s the sentiment that in stories a horrible person is often far more bearable than an annoying one.

That doesn’t even begin to touch on how much of the bemoaning might largely be and often is directly post-hoc regret colouring all his previous actions. This, above all else, is a cautionary tale to a fellow idealist in the hopes that Robert Walton doesn’t Fuck Up the way he did. Victor stresses his regret and his failings and his misery time and time again because he wants to protect Robert from a similar fate; a fate that ultimately ends in his death.

Victor Frankenstein is a study in frustration; in audience frustration, self-frustration, narrative frustration; it seeps into every corner of the story.

I am not trying to defend Victor Frankenstein as a person; he is flawed; and he’s meant to be flawed. Victor, at the end of the day, is a deconstruction of the Byronic hero-- Of Great and Powerful Men on the Fronteers of History™-- And most importantly, I think, a deconstruction he himself undergoes. Victor eventually alerts someone, a Genevan magistrate, is doubted just as he feared, and then runs off to take revenge into his own hands.

It takes the death of Elizabeth Lavenza to do so.

Victor is a flawed, miserable man, but not an evil one. That doesn’t mean he deserved to have his life crumble around him.

He could have done better. Should have done better.

And he knows this.

His entire arc is about how he knows this.

Victor dies knowing this.

Him being unlikable doesn’t make him a bad character. Him being unlikable is part of the character; and in a meaningful way.

God, I don’t know how to end this. I’ll probably come back and edit this many, many times.

I guess I’m just tired of people flattening characters just because they’re not particularly endearing.

#frankenstein #scrawny speaks #scrawny rambles #analysis #victor frankenstein #there's probably even more i want to say and will regret failing to touch on #and believe me i do see the irony in a thinkpiece about victor frankenstein so laser-focusing on him #i really do #but it's kinda all the energy i have for #point is i don't think victor is a particularly good person #or admirable in any way shape or form #but that doesn't mean his character doesn't have worth #and i guess i'm tired about all of this just getting... tossed out the window #fandom is fun but also exhausting #he's a weenie yes but he isn't j us t a weenie can we please acknowledge that?#he's a guy. some fucking guy who fucked up. like alot of fucking guys who fucked up.#i wonder how much of this is also The Protagonist Complex #wherein we insert ourselves and go 'i would have done this better!'#because BELIEVE ME i hope i'd be far more empathetic and far more... Less That #but i don't know and i won't pretend to know #and i do wonder if some of this comes down to people not wanting to sympathise with a Bad Person because then it means they could be Bad #spoiler alert: yes. all of us have the potential to be miserable weenies.#none of us are safe.#i want to stress *potential*#please don't leap down my throat #ughghjg i'll stop. hopefully this was... Okay. i guess.#long post

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kachulein · 5 years

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Dear Han Jisung,

It has reached my ears how you're feeling about yourself. In all honesty, I've feared all along you might have a low self-esteem and many insecurities despite the confident appearance you always make.

That's why I've decided to write down everything I can think of that makes you a wonderful and beautiful human being, in order to show you my unconditional love and affection, in hopes it might reach your ears and make you feel loved.

Dear Han Jisung, this is For You❤

Let me start with your appearance first. Even if you do not believe it, you're beautiful beyond measure, not just in my eyes, but in the eyes of every STAY. You know I've realized you rarely post selfies on your Instagram account and it makes me sad, thinking you might feel too insecure or bad about yourself to bless us with your pretty face.

Take a look at your eyes. I've never seen a pair of eyes that reflected so many emotions in such a strong sense and they're sparkling as if they're holding whole galaxies within them. Your eyes are truly beautiful and I could get lost in them in no time.

Solely from the look in your eyes, I can feel the emotions you are conveying.

But not only do your eyes contribute to your beauty, it's your whole face, your whole being, that makes you as beautiful as can be.

You have the fluffiest hair and I'd love to run my hands through it.

You have the cutest frame and I'd love to hug you.

You have the cutest nose and I'd love to boop it.

You have the cutest cheeks and I'd love to squish it.

You have the cutest smile and it's so contagious I can't help but break out into a smile myself whenever I see yours.

Your smile has helped me through so many hardships already. When I see your smile, it makes me feel warm on the inside. I catch myself thinking of you, wondering how you're doing and if you're taking good care of yourself. I keep wondering whether you have people surrounding you who make you feel loved and appreciated because that's what you deserve and so much more.

Your smile has made my day so many times and no matter how sad and broken I may be, your smile is so powerful that it makes me smile as well. And I'm truly thankful to you for pulling me up when I've fallen down with as much as a simple yet genuine smile.

Have you noticed how your lips always break into a heart-shaped form whenever you smile? It's as if even your smile wants to tell us STAYs how much you love us.

Your lips are beautiful and I love seeing them curve into a smile because I want to see you happy, I want to see you enjoying life because that's what you deserve.

You are so precious with the most precious smile.

I hope you will continue to bless us with your beautiful and loving smile, in hopes you'll never lose it.

Even though I love your appearance wholeheartedly, I must admit your personality is even more beautiful and shines brighter than all the stars in the universe combined.

At first glance, you seem like a fun person and a happy-virus, the one member that talks the most and is the loudest, the one member that never fails to draw attention to himself by being cheerful or screaming. Some may think this is an immature and silly behaviour but those people don't know what else you got up your sleeve.

You can be loud and talkative, but this includes being supportive and funny as well. You are the happiness in my life and I miss your screaming every day I don't get to hear it.

Your aegyo and your jokes are also underappreciated. In my opinion you are the cutest little bean and I honestly love your acrostic poems, they aren't just random, funny sentences, they make sense and are sweet.

Not only are you a moodmaker but you are also a very caring, helpful, kind and sweet human being.

You are always there when another member needs your help.

You are very attentive and notice when another member is struggling

You are quick to help and stay by their side

You are very empathetic and caring towards your brothers

Your whole being is just so loving and caring that I can only say, everyone needs a Han Jisung in their lives❤

Here's a gifset of you noticing Hyunjin is shivering and warming him up to visualize how much of a caring and sweet human being you are.

And now let's talk about your talents and your position in the music industry because you genuinely blow my mind.

You are only 18 years old and yet you've come so far and I'm so incredibly proud of you (and you should be proud, too💞).

First of all, you are an insanely talented rapper who can spit fire

Your raps are either very powerful and aggressive

or sweet and comforting, with your lyrical rap style

Not only are you a great rapper but you're also a very talented vocalist

You are able to reach high notes and your vocals are stable and either powerful or sweet and dreamy

Your voice is beautiful, so so so beautiful (and I don't want to discredit vocal line here, I just want to point out how much I love his singing voice)

You have a certain tone in your voice that makes me feel safe and happy, I could listen to you sing all day long and I'd never get tired of it.

Apart from your singing and rapping voice I also want to point out that I love your speaking voice as well.

And this might get overlooked but wow, you are such a great dancer? or is it just me?

(again, no shame to the dance line ofc)

But I'll never get bored of watching you dance

There's something about your moves that captivates my attention and it's hard for me to tear my gaze away

Your dancing is so smooth and you're doing it with such ease, I can only admire you

And as if it couldn't get any better, here you are, at 18 years, producing bops after bops with your fellow 3RACHA mates.

Apart from your incredible producing skills, you're also a very talented lyricist and you touch my heart with the lyrics you write

Following up on you writing deep and comforting lyrics, I'll come to my next point, which is pointing out how mature you actually are.

Yes, your happy-virus, loud and fun-loving personality may make you seem a bit immature, though that is not the point at all. You've proven to us over and over how thoughtful, mature, serious, sincere and considerate you are.

With your 18 years of age, you are already so knowledgeable and deep, seemingly understanding the complexity of life and giving us advice on how to overcome hardships and deal with them.

Every time, you surprise me all over again with how wholesome you are and I honestly couldn't be prouder.❤

Please don't let the hate get to you. It's only a reflection of the character of those who sent it your way and not of you, yourself.

Please know, that even if you feel like you're lacking or not good enough, you are so much more than enough for the entirety of the STAY fandom.

You are a blessing to us and we don't deserve such an angel like you.

You've set your own expectations so high, to a point where you can't reach them anymore, but the thing is, you don't have to.

You are enough as you are. And nothing less.

I know, I shouldn't say someone is perfect because no human being is, but you are very close to it, my love.

Dear Han Jisung,

I love you with all my heart and I wouldn't know what I'd do without you in my life.

Thank you for being a wonderful and amazing human being.

Thank you for giving us love and stay by our side when we need you.

Thank you for existing and blessing us with your music and messages.

Thank you, simply for being YOU.

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harry-leroy · 5 years

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This isn't a writer's ask but I've been thinking about how much I love all of TEP but especially the backstory elements, I'm really curious what your current timeline for the Gloucester boys' childhood looks like. No pressure if it's not solid or if that's too many spoilers but I'd love to know more about how it's all laid out! Hope you're doing great!

Thank you so much for this, Macy! (This is gonna help me with some of it, just being able to write it out somewhere instead of just having it in my head... which is where it is right now). That being said, it’s not totally solid yet, just because I’m not entirely set on how I want this whole thing structured. I have somewhat of a general idea, but it’s not 100% there yet, so I’ll give you what I have (because these boys absolutely wreck me too so I completely understand). [And I don’t even care about spoilers anymore, I’m just going to tell all because it’s all still in the planning stages, so all subject to complete change hehehe].

- So Edgar’s mother, Margaret, was in her late teens when she married Gloucester, who was in his mid-twenties. They eventually had a son a few years later, Edgar, although he had no name for a year. Lear was off fighting in France and they wanted him to name the child (or at least Gloucester did). I’m feeling (and this might be too clean-cut) that Margaret started calling the boy “Thomas” in private. She didn’t want Lear to name the child, but eventually Gloucester got his way.

- In the meantime, Gloucester and Kent were sent off to France to help aid in the war effort. They both find themselves in a rough area one night, both of them sleeping with women they found on the street. One of those women is Edmund’s mother, Celine. Gloucester impregnates her and essentially leaves her to deal with this child that she has no money to raise. Celine, being a clever politician and knowing exactly who she slept with, persists in getting Gloucester to acknowledge the child and bring the boy back with him to England, much to his shame.

- Once Margaret finds that Gloucester has slept with this woman, and got a child out of her, and brought this child back to England. She is beyond heartbroken (this is when the naming for Edgar takes place, so it’s even worse for her). She becomes violently ill and Edgar is taken in by Christine, Albany’s governess, as is Edmund. She dies not long afterwards.

- The boys are raised together, becoming one another’s best friend as they are raised under Christine’s guidance, and she becomes a mother to them. Gloucester is only slightly involved in their upbringing until the boys get a little older, but he always seems to favor Edgar, and for a long time appears ashamed that Edmund’s in the picture at all. And you can bet that it reaches Edmund in a highly negative way, which makes Edgar upset. Edgar was always protective of his little brother, and would always call him ‘brother’ and nothing less.

- Edgar grows up wildly imaginative, somewhat theatrical, highly empathetic (which causes him to be sensitive beyond belief), kind, poetic, artistic, and eager to please. Edmund grows up somewhat advanced for his age (both of these boys did honestly, just in different ways), smart, also eager to please, also kind when he wants to be, stubborn, but highly capable.

- When the boys reach their teenage years, their duties start splitting. Edgar is taken under his father’s wing, schooled in military tactics, in law, in violence, in leadership (all things Edmund would love to learn). At first, being eager to please, Edgar is perceptible to all of this, wanting to be the man his father was. So he becomes very well read in law and in warfare. He basically has the whole world figured out by the time he’s sixteen. Then he starts seeing all the cracks in the wall, all the horribleness, everything that’s wrong with Lear’s awful regime. He starts spending more time on his own, only doing his duties because he’s afraid of the consequences of refusing. Edmund, in the meantime, is also being educated, but only as far as to join the army when he’s eighteen. It’s not the kind of attention he wants to be getting. Edmund would kill to be in his brother’s position.

- By the time Edgar’s eighteen, he’s anxious, misanthropic, losing faith in God, and when Christine dies, he becomes terrified of the idea of death. He is forced to join the army by his father. Albany promises Gloucester to look after Edgar, but Albany can see that Edgar is terribly unhappy. Edgar proves a terrible soldier, and even though he’s made ‘friends’ in the army, he loathes all of them for some reason or other. It’s also at the time that Lear and Gloucester agree that Edgar should marry Cordelia (the two of them are friends, but have never considered themselves lovers. They agree to go through with it for the sake of convenience).

- One night, around when Edgar’s nineteen, a group of Lear’s soldiers around Edgar’s age are all drunk, they make a petition to kill Lear and overthrow him at his jubilee parade, tired of all of the war and oppression that he’s been inflicting on the world outside. Edgar also signs the petition, but he’s completely sober. The petition ends up in Edgar’s coat pocket, and then it sits on his desk until the thought of this suicide mission drives him into a guilt-driven psychotic break. He spills ink all over his name, and also over his letters to Cordelia. Edmund catches him and calms him down enough to get him to a doctor, although Edgar has long since lost contact with reality. However, Edmund also sees Edgar’s treason, half-blotted out. He decides to save his brother by rewriting the petition without his brother’s name on it. He burns the other one. He hands the note back to one of the soldiers, hoping that they succeed because Edmund too strongly dislikes Lear.

- While Edmund saves his brother, he also betrays him. Jealous that his brother is to be married to Cordelia (and not believing that sickness to be as bad as it was), Edmund takes the ink-blotted letters and shows them to Lear, advising the king against the marriage as his brother is mad and clearly not in love with Cordelia, therefore completely ill-suited to be her husband. Lear agrees. Edmund joins the English army upon his eighteenth birthday. Cornwall takes him under his wing. Edmund enjoys the army, because everyone starts out on the same level and people only move up in the world through merit. He takes a nine-year tour in France, hoping to become a Major by the end (which he does).

- Edgar, meanwhile, recovers in Albany’s care. The jubilee plot falls through, but the group of knights on the new petition that Edmund drew up are all still executed. Edgar is removed from service due to his health. He eventually goes into public relations once he is well enough, working closely with Goneril. She is intensely jealous of Albany’s love for Edgar (which is going to play out in some way, but I’m not set on it yet). Edgar writes to Edmund during those nine years, never completely recovering, but he’s well enough to be on his feet. Edmund never reveals that he saved his brother, nor does he reveal that he was the one who destroyed Edgar’s possible marriage with Cordelia (although it probably would have fallen through on its own).

That’s what I’ve got so far! (Or at least these are ideas- they all need fleshing out and reorganizing, but here they are!) Thank you so much for this wonderful ask, Macy! (And for your constant support on this project - it means more than I can say!) Much love :)

#thank you so much for this macy!#much love #tep #the edgar project #edgar + edmund #my boys #the gloucester boys #my writing #writing #friends!#this was a joy to answer #and it helped me shuffle my ideas around a bit #so thank you so much!#:)

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fadedtoblue · 7 years

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I'd normally just message you about this, but I think it'd make some good meta. What do you think when folks say "Matt belongs with Karen and Daredevil with Elektra" ?

Sorry it took me so long to finish this, as you know with me…I ALWAYS HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS. I appreciate the question though and I enjoy the chance to think about this concept more deeply…I certainly made a lot of effort to make sure my reasoning felt logical? Disclaimer: this is going to focus more on DDS2 Elektra than post-TD Elektra because there’s a lot that isn’t entirely clear about where her characterization is meant to go from that storyline. I don’t want to muddy the waters up too much so I’m just drawing the line here now. I might write something separate regarding the end of The Defenders b/c I’m seeing some conversation popping up here and there around the motivations behind that ending but, yeah, not super relevant here. I also apologize in advance b/c I think I’m going to go off on a couple of meta tangents regarding both Karen and Elektra before I get back to addressing the crux of the concept so…bear with me!

Let’s start out by quoting some words from Mr. Cox himself, who was fairly consistent in falling back on some variation of this hypothesis in almost all the interviews I’ve read / watched with him during press for DDS2 – this quote isn’t quite exact to the question, but it’s close…I’m also sure there are better ones, but this was just the first one I had accessible:

With Karen, he’s Matt Murdock. He’s the kind of man he’s always wanted to be. She brings out of him a kindness and a generosity and a belief in law and order, and right and wrong. She taps into something that is the kind of person he’s always seen himself – the kind of person his father wanted him to be. But Karen doesn’t know about Daredevil, and that’s undeniably a huge part of his life.

With Elektra, it’s the opposite. She knows all about Daredevil. She accepts that, and encourages him in a way that no one else does. But she also sees a dark side, or she tries to draw out of him a disregard for law and order, a disregard for people and property, and those things which isn’t who he is.

On a super simplistic, superficial level, yeah – it makes sense. Karen and Elektra were already involved, in very different ways, with the two sides of Matt’s hyper-compartmentalized lifestyle. As a result, I understand why there’s this intrinsic pull to connect Karen with Matt’s ‘day’ life and Elektra with Matt’s ‘night’ life, and then draw the line from that to, “Matt loves Karen, Daredevil loves Elektra” and vice versa. I disagree, however, with the basic premise of Charlie’s statement / this kind of statement in general, mainly because while Karen and Elektra both make very useful props to further illustrate the trials and tribulations of one very confused and conflicted Matt Murdock, you can easily remove both of them from the equation and come to exactly the same answer: which is that Matt Murdock was already a kind, generous man, with a belief in law and order and right and wrong, coupled with an absolutely hypocritical flagrant disregard for law, order, people and property every time he runs out and pulls on that mask. If you look up the word denial in the dictionary, it might as well have Matt Murdock’s pretty face filling up the page. My point is…Karen didn’t make Matt better and Elektra didn’t make Matt worse. Matt was already the man he had chosen to be, and for some reason it seems easier to credit / blame either one of these women for his inherent character traits when in fact, this was the person he already was before either of them came into the picture.

Now, I think a better way to phrase this concept is that Karen is attracted to what Matt Murdock represents, and likewise, Elektra is attracted to Daredevil represents, and that is why Matt belongs with Karen / Daredevil belongs with Elektra. And to this I say….mmmm maybe, maybe not. Based on what we’ve been given so far on the show, one could argue that neither Karen or Elektra have yet had the opportunity to fully experience both sides of Matt Murdock and maybe neither of them ever will. But I think there is enough here to try to figure out whether the Karen –> Matt / Elektra –> DD line of thinking holds water, and whether either of them have a better shot of being the right fit for both sides.

Let’s tackle Karen first.

On paper, there’s a lot that should work between Karen and Matt. It’s sweet and innocent in a way that so many things aren’t in Daredevil’s world. They share a lot of similar qualities – real go-getters for truth and justice and light, stubborn and quite headstrong, but still caring and empathetic individuals. I can see why they get categorized as the nice / healthy / safe option. But the primary problem with all of that lies in the fact that the foundation of their apparent relationship might as well be built on sand – almost everything they think they know and love about the other are at best half-truths, at worse, straight up lies: Matt, a blind, super stand-up handsome attorney with a genuine heart for justice, lives quite the secret double life as Daredevil, crime fighting vigilante with a not-talked-about-enough rage problem, and Karen, sweet, strong, spunky secretary with a heart of gold, has a secret murder on her conscience and an as-yet-to-be-determined dark and tragic backstory that may completely turn our opinions of her on its head. My issue with this is less that they keep secrets – who doesn’t keep secrets in this universe? – but that the image they’ve built up of each other and have become attracted to are very incomplete versions of themselves, and thus renders their relationship sadly superficial in a way they weren’t even aware. Which means the ironic thing about them being the conventional, safe romantic option is that nothing about them is actually that conventional or healthy or safe at all. Their relationship can be summed up by them lying to each other and to themselves about almost…everything, which isn’t a judgement of either character, it’s simply facts.

Now to be fair, from a storytelling perspective, this doesn’t mean there isn’t some hope of salvaging a meaningful relationship even with the deceit (one could argue this is exactly what they managed to do with Matt and Elektra). It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a television show deploys that old trope: two people who thought they knew each other realize they didn’t actually know anything about each other, harshly re-examine everything they’ve built up about each other so they can knock it all down and start from the beginning, etc. But I think the show has laid some interesting track with Karen’s character development, and I question whether pursuing a romantic relationship with Matt would honor that development in a positive way. My interpretation is that Karen, despite her propensity to get herself into very questionable situations, doesn’t actually want the danger. Yes, she finds herself more often than not running toward it, and she has an incredible amount of empathy for those who do not operate fully in the light, but that doesn’t mean she enjoys being in these dark and dangerous situations. She doesn’t want to see people she cares about get hurt. She doesn’t want to see herself get hurt. I do think she accepts that danger is oftentimes an unavoidable part of the process toward uncovering the truth (something that she learned from Ben and I think a huge reason why she worked as hard as she did to get as far as she did with Frank) – that danger in service of that truth can be tolerable, sometimes even bearable to live with. I’m not sure the way Matt goes about it, however, is compatible with her newfound tendency toward self-preservation.

As poorly as the post-DDS2 revelations were handled in The Defenders, I can still appreciate the little character nuggets they did throw out at us to better flesh out Karen’s headspace and motivations. I know the way it played out frustrated a lot of people – it frustrated me too. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that her stance on Matt as DD was not really that far outside the realm of believability. She’s not an idiot or a wet blanket or whatever negative descriptor you want to throw in here. She’s someone who has gone through a shit ton of trauma and wants to feel like she has some control over her life. She wants to be doing something that gives her purpose and fuels her passion (which she has found, through investigative journalism). And here’s the kicker: she wants to survive long enough to do these things. I know, I know, she still gets herself into some pretty crazy situations but I think to her, these situations are worth it if they can fix the things about her that are broken? If they can right the wrongs that lurk in her past, and if they can give her life a sense of meaning and purpose. I just really and truly don’t know what a relationship with Matt would offer her except all of the danger without any of the personal payoff. To constantly wonder about his health and safety and what her proximity to him does for her own chances of survival. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that their relationship only gains positive momentum when there’s nothing else is happening to fuck shit up. But the second any sort of outside stressor gets thrown into the situation, it might as well be like throwing a grenade into their personal growth. And the big reason for the constant imploding of progress always boils down to Matt and his secret identity. Which is such a salient reminder to me that when Karen fell for Matt, she didn’t know about Daredevil and thus was never afforded the choice in whether she wanted to be involved in Daredevil’s shenanigans. Honestly, it’s also not like she knew him long enough or well enough to have him consider her in that part of his life anyway. But this only highlights to me just how damaging these lies and omissions have been and how confusing they are to untangle after the fact, especially in light of all she’s been through personally. This is why I don’t really blame Karen for being wary and self-protective post-identity reveal and why I have to wonder about what positives this could hold for her as a character other than to check off the canon love interest box for Matt Murdock*.

* A point that is interesting to me when compared to someone like Claire, who while not a comics canon relationship, was still meant to fill in that love interest role in DDS1. People have complained about her not getting her fair share of exploration as Matt’s love interest (a complaint I certainly shared back in S1) but regardless, once Claire had the information she needed to evaluate Matt and what this potentially could mean for the two of them, I think she made the very healthy choice to nope the hell out of there.

Karen may be “better” for Matt…but is Matt “better” for Karen?

And what about Elektra?

At first blush, Elektra represents every violent, id-driven impulse Matt Murdock tries to hide from the world and only chooses to unleash when he dons the Daredevil costume. Her introduction to Matt’s world is of a woman who exists as unfettered passion, of caution thrown to the wind, no thinking – just doing. It’s not surprising that this sort of encouragement leads to stolen cars, breaking and entering, damage of property, and almost-murder. Fast forward ten years later, and it seems that not much has initially changed, that present day Elektra still embodies so much of the young woman who first gave him the taste of pleasure through pain, and conveniently presents as an avatar for Matt’s darkest desires, the one who validates Daredevil’s actions and very existence. The fact that she comes to Matt looking specifically for Daredevil’s help, and ropes him into a crime-centered mission whilst unintentionally undermining the work that he does as Matt Murdock, lawyer, makes it easier to put Elektra in the “wants DD, not Matt Murdock” column. Some would probably take it farther and argue that nothing about Elektra is worth redeeming and that her influence should be kept away from Matt at all costs.

As with almost everything about Elektra, it’s not that simple of course!

I think the first step is looking past the bullshit storyline Elektra got saddled with regarding the Hand and the more superficial backlash toward her character because she had the balls to not only represent but encourage the other equally valid part of Matt’s life as Daredevil (and this can’t be said enough, but Elektra deserves ZERO culpability for Matt’s inability to balance and prioritize his own shit). When you do you’ll find there are quite a few fascinating insights into her character that develop over the course of DDS2, which may not serve to make her relationship with Matt any more “normal” or “healthy” (both terms that are laughable when used in relation to Matt Murdock anyway), but do provide a really crucial prism through which to examine what they could be together.

In my opinion, the thinking that Elektra is good for DD and not Matt is short sighted. Yes, she is an incredibly skilled fighter and appears to have a higher level of respect for Matt’s activities as Daredevil than she does for Matt’s work in law. But is this actually true? We know that Elektra likes to conveniently play up the femme fatale role, throwing in a bit of the enabler / bad influence for good measure. We also know she views the world with much more disdain than Matthew, and has a less stringent moral compass than…well, almost everyone. But as this wonderful post by @xtltokio highlights, at the heart of it (and I’m focusing on DDS2 here) Elektra is actually one of the good guys. And I quote:

Elektra was fighting a war, a bloody, messy and complicated war. But most of all she was fighting for the right side. In addition to being raise to be a Assassin, a weapon, she was also a soldier in a war she believed in. She hated and was terrified of turning a weapon to The Hand.

As a valued soldier in the Chaste army, Elektra is literally all about taking out the bad guys (yes, by killing them), rooting out evil and dispensing justice against the Hand. She’s just quite a bit more pragmatic about it than Matt. And it’s funny – we all know and acknowledge that Stick is an obnoxious asshole but no one ever questions whether he’s on the right side of the war while he’s cutting down ninjas left and right, do they? But I digress. Now, the flashback sequence in TD 1x07 in particular does a lot to put some of Elektra’s actions from 10 years ago into further context, especially this quote from Stick: “[Not killing] doesn’t make him good, Ellie…it just makes him weak.” What is it that makes Elektra’s moral code so much worse than Matt’s? That she has no hesitation in dispatching people she perceives to be her enemies so that she can keep the people on her side of the war safe? Is her sin that she sometimes enjoys the thrill of the kill (honestly, I still find this assessment to be a little questionable). And what does that say about Matt, who has a strict moral code about not killing, but most certainly derives a certain level of pleasure and willingness to embrace a lack of self-restraint when it comes to violently injuring his opponents?

When it comes down to it, Matt and Elektra are two people cut from the same cloth, coming of age in the wake of trauma and violence, trained by Stick to harness their anger into something deeper and darker and we know one of the only reasons Matt didn’t descend down to the same darkness was because his training was cut short. So we have to realize this is some absolutely crucial context to judge her character by. When we do, we know that for as much as Elektra exhibited unhealthy, and yes, sometimes toxic behaviors in her early relationship with Matt (though it was also in service of a mission and not necessarily indicative of what she would have done on her own), we also know that Matt changed a core part of her being, or if you don’t think it went that far, can at least admit he planted a seed of change within her. And the fact that this inherent goodness within her has been brought up so many times in show canon that I honestly don’t believe it’s incidental. I really believe that even in the wake of The Defenders, making sense of that potential goodness will be a core part of Elektra’s story should she reappear again in the future. And it is within this potential for light that I find possibilities for a successful Daredevil and Elektra pairing, and even more so in one for Matt and Elektra.

It’s funny to me when people say Elektra loves Daredevil and not Matt Murdock because she fell in love with Matt Murdock before Daredevil ever existed. She was the first one to know and embrace the duality in him. She also knows that Daredevil isn’t a separate part of Matt – Daredevil is Matt. Admittedly, it took him longer to understand the duality within Elektra, but for all of his self-righteousness, he never lost his belief in her. Even with the lies, they have never been anything other than themselves with each other. The way they viewed the world, their personalities, their abilities, everything was out there for each other to see and explore. The biggest thing Elektra hid from Matt was her work with the Chaste and relationship with Stick yet even that is the kind of lie that ultimately Matt would 100% understand because of own his history and familiarity with Stick and his causes. And I don’t think this can be said enough, but does anyone remember when Elektra actually develops as a character over the course of DDS2? Like how by 2x08 she has genuinely accepted Matt’s desire for the light, no strings attached? She is GLAD that she didn’t snuff out his darkness? And when Matt asks her to leave, she DOES. She is willing to walk out of his life because he believes they are corrupting each other and as hurt as she must have been in that moment, she does exactly what he asks of her. And remember how she is willing to be convinced by Matt that she doesn’t have to be a weapon for the Hand, and she makes the choice to fight on his side? And how she is absolutely frustrated with his desire to save the Hand hostages because she rightfully identifies it as a trap, but she knows how he is and she helps him anyway. Even Father Lanthom directly rebuts Matt’s statements at the beginning of Defenders, when Matt questions whether Elektra would be disappointed in him for abandoning Daredevil. Because he’s clearly heard enough about Elektra from Matt’s many visits to be able to piece together an image of this mysterious, damaged woman that isn’t just the coldhearted monster people seem to think she is, but the feeling woman who actually cares about Matt’s desires and wellbeing that exists underneath. It’s odd that all of these things seem so casually discarded in favor of highlighting Elektra’s darker tendencies, huh?

If you ask me, there seems to be quite more going for Elektra than initially meets the eye. I fall back on this Elodie on Elektra quote a lot, but I think it sums it up so nicely:

They seem to be very different, but maybe deep down, they are quite similar and that’s where their bond comes from. She comes across as being the bad girl and he comes across as being the good guy, but maybe they’re both somewhere in the middle. Maybe Matthew isn’t that good and maybe Elektra isn’t that bad. They complete each other.

So it all boils down to a few key factors for me.

Let me preface this conclusion by saying that I honestly don’t think Daredevil’s story, at least if they continue to follow the blueprint set up by his very long and robust comics history, includes any sort of Happily Ever After. The closest thing he’s got to any sort of safe and stable relationship is with Foggy and I do think in the end, Foggy will (probably) be the one left standing. But the question is whether there’s any truth / logic / weight in the concept of Matt belongs with Karen and DD belongs with Elektra. And ultimately, I say: no. I believe that just as Karen and Elektra both deserve someone who can fully appreciate them for who they are, Matt also deserves someone who can appreciate him for who he is, for both sides. If you were able to break Matt into two halves, then sure, each of these women would probably be more appropriately matched with one half over the other. But Matt isn’t two people. Matt is one. So if I have to consider which person would actually work best with Matt as Matt Murdock and Matt as Daredevil, Elektra will have the edge for me.

I don’t doubt that they’ll take Matt and Karen back down that road in S3 but as someone who may not ever love this character, but can still respect the changes they’ve done with her, I just can’t see how this is going to work without making Matt into a completely different person, or sacrificing a lot of the strides they’ve made with Karen’s characterization. They’ve done such a stellar job giving Karen stories that allow her to stand on her own, even when she stumbles and makes mistakes and forces me to curse under my breath for the umpteenth time. And it’s not that I feel like she doesn’t deserve to also have romance and softness and love, it’s just that based on all of the things we know about her, I’m not sure Matt can ever give her what she needs, or vice versa. Time and time again, Matt had demonstrated that Karen just isn’t that high of a priority in his life – given the choice between Elektra and Karen, 9 out of 10, he’s going with Elektra. And the sad thing is that I’m pretty sure there was absolutely zero active intent to abandon and belittle Karen, but his actions and his words were always in character, and the message was crystal clear. Sure, there are ways that Matt can certainly be a better person and friend and boyfriend, but there will be limits to that growth because Matt Murdock still has to be Matt Murdock. As long as Daredevil exists and Matt lives his life on the edge of some unpredictable danger, I think that’s just going to be one edge too much for Karen Page. I don’t think they’ll ever be able to eliminate that fundamental disconnect between the sweet Matt and Karen they hypothetically want to be based on the fronts they put on for each other – the one that seems so nice and healthy and safe – and the one that is reality, the frustrating and messy and confusing one where you acknowledge that maybe although they’re two people who have enough in common to be good friends and care deeply for one another, but the future just isn’t there, much like how it ended with Matt and Claire.

Most Mattelektra shippers will be the first to confess that this is no model relationship. We know it’s not healthy. We know it’s messed up. These two clearly have a bond that seems to defy reason or logic and sometimes, even sanity. But even so, at its core, their emotional connection is still rooted in a foundation of unconditional love, understanding, and belief in one another. It’s the sort of thing that leads them to give more to each other than they’d ever been able to give to other people. And because they know each other just that well, and believe in one another to such a degree, they are willing to run headlong into danger and death for it. This bond hasn’t always been used in the best way, nor have they ever had the chance truly be their best within it (I would say that Elektra’s death in DDS2 cut that potential tragically short for now), but I do think this quality gives them a very unique potential to bring out more from each other and to eventually become the best possible people they could be, within the context of their existing flaws and shortcomings. I think it’s more realistic (within the world of the show) to see Matt change himself enough to be a better partner for Elektra without sacrificing the things that make him who he is. And in turn, I can see a similar trajectory for Elektra, where she can also figure herself out and find a purpose for her life with a freedom that she was never afforded before, but also have someone who is supporting her and encouraging her along the way (mostly) without judging her.

*goes back to see what the ask was about* SO YEAH. Does this answer your question? Who the hell even knows.

But now you get to read my very long thoughts and you (and anyone else) can feel free to tell me what you think…I’m even open to some respectful discourse and disagreement as long as it doesn’t devolve into trashing my ship. I know I’m not as emotionally invested in Karen’s journey so maybe my reading on her is off…if I am, I’d love to hear some other takes. I’m just glad I’m done writing this thing :D.

#mattelektra #matt murdock #elektra natchios #karen page #matt x karen #matt x elektra #marvel's daredevil #daredevil meta #thegunlady #asks #answers #meta #my thoughts #text #lots of text #p talks about stuff #like i said #i tried to be somewhat objective even though my bias is obvious and i know i wasn't entirely successful #open to respectful replies / discourse :)

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writeyouin · 7 years

Note

If you don't mind I would really like a newtxreader where the reader is a really short(5') sytherin who stood up to bullies for newt even though she's really insecure for newts feelings for her. Really fluffy and sweet with some of newts children (fantastic beasts). I understand if you don't have time or you don't like the prompt but I'd really appreciate a pick me up. Thank you so much for your time I think your a fantastic writer.

Newt Scamander X Reader – An Unlikely Friend

A/N – Sorry this took so long, major block. Also, since we’re in troubling times right now hopefully this will help people cheer up a bit ; )

Warnings – None.

Rating – T

@nadinedimples

“-and that’s how we brew a Confusing Concoction.” Professor Spraydel, a greying lady with more hair than she could contain, concluded after a brief introduction to the lesson. “Now, everyone into pairs please, you’ll be working together to make the potion. Mr Scamander, I’m afraid we have an odd number in class today so you’re with me dear.”

The class snickered as Newt sloped to the front of the class; this was a weekly occurrence since the class was always an uneven number yet Professor Spraydel always presented it like it was something new.

You glanced at the empty seat next to you where Olive Perplinski usually sat. Apparently, she was still in the hospital wing after being incorrectly hexed during the previous Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson; the spell had been mispronounced, resulting in toxic purple smoke escaping Olive’s mouth whenever she spoke.

You raised your hand, “Excuse me Professor, Olive hasn’t come back from the hospital wing yet.”

“Oh.” Professor Spraydel perked up, eagerly taking the opportunity to put Newt with somebody his own age. “In that case, Mr Scamander will pair up with you for today. Go on now dear,” she ushered him to the back of the class, “that’s it.”

Somehow, Newt looked even more embarrassed to be working with another student rather than the teacher. You wondered momentarily whether it was because the two of you were the only Slytherin/ Hufflepuff pairing or if he was just afraid of you like he was the other students.

“Now everyone, you have 45 minutes to complete the concoctions and five minutes to test them at the end; antidotes will be provided afterwards. Begin.”

“Hi.” You said over various sounds of bubbling cauldrons, chopping boards, and clinking vials.

Newt hunched over his potions book, hiding his face with a mumbled, “Hello,” back.

“I’m (Y/N).” You continued, undiscouraged by his shy nature.

“Yes, I k-know.”

You smiled empathetically. If you had been as ostracised as Newt had been during his time at Hogwarts, you would have probably acted the same way. You’d often observed Newt from afar during the years because Slytherin and Hufflepuff were usually put together for shared classes; it gave you time to admire his gentle manner and patience, even if he tended to get a little distracted. You also appreciated that he never fought or snapped back when bullied, which was the majority of the time, nor did he become bitter as some others may have done; it complimented his shy nature.

In the past, you’d desired the opportunity to speak with Newt and extend your hand in friendship but on the few occasions that you’d attempted to he was nowhere to be found; today’s potion lesson would be your first real chance.

“So, I think if we start with dried sage-” You picked the wrong ingredient on purpose, hoping that it would help bring him out of his shell.

“(Y/N), NO!” He grabbed your wrist from the cauldron which was bubbling away with pre-gathered blob fish mucus.

“Something wrong?”

“It’ll uh- It’ll explode.”

“Oh? Well, I best put this down then. Alright, where do we start?”

“It um- it’s actually dried rosemary so uh, you weren’t far off.”

“Right, I’ll chop that up and you can tell me what I need to get next.” You placed him in charge of the situation, deciding to take over if he got too anxious later on.

“Um I- I d-don’t think that’s a good i-idea.”

“Nonsense, if it weren’t for you, this pot would be up in smoke. So, I’ll get to chopping.”

With ten minutes to spare, the two of you had what looked to be an exquisite potion and as suspected, once Newt new what he was talking about in regards to the concoction, he had become much more confident, talking more to himself than you; you didn’t mind, so long as he wasn’t distressed.

“You did great Newt.” You praised excitedly, “You ever thought of being a potioneer?”

Newt blinked rapidly, taken aback by the comment, then once again bent over pages of his notebook, clamming up completely.

“Awh, don’t tell me you’re shy now, seriously, I think ours may be the best in the class and-”

“Can you just stop?” Newt murmured shakily.

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t have to pretend to be my friend anymore, the lesson’s almost over.”

A stray tear escaped him, you looked around to see that nobody was watching, leaning against the book to shield him from view in case he should cry some more. “Hey, it’s okay, I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just… I thought we were doing really well together and you’re real’ nice so-”

“That’s enough.” He whispered more harshly this time, a finality to his voice. “It’s bad enough that people hate me, I don’t need you setting up some elaborately cruel prank and pretending to like me to make it hurt more.”

“Newt, I didn’t- That’s not-”

“Ooh, this looks promising.” Professor Spraydel interrupted, cutting you off.

You didn’t get a chance to explain to Newt, he hurtled out the classroom as soon as the class was dismissed.

“Oy (Y/N).” Michael Bowspark called over. “Pity you had to work with such a freak innit.”

The group around him howled madly with laughter, clearly waiting for you to join in. You bristled, and yelled, “SHUT UP MICHAEL.”

You ran out in search of Newt, leaving the group in stunned silence for a few seconds before more raucous laughter followed you out.

In the following weeks, Newt avoided you completely, even in lessons. It wasn’t like before though because snapping at Michael lost you the few friends you had within your own house. Although you knew it meant they weren’t real friends and you should be glad to be rid of them, you’d never felt so utterly alone; Olive only stayed with you for lessons because she had to.

Unbeknownst to you, Newt kept an eye out, waiting to see how long it would take for you to admit the game was over and regroup with your friends; as each day dwindled on, it became less and less likely that you would, and more obvious that this may not be a game or trick of some form. Still, he kept his defences up, staying away from you just in case, disappearing as he always had after lessons in case you got the urge to search for him.

You gave up hope of companionship for a while after a nasty argument in the common room. Various snippets of unimportant conversation surrounded you as you trudged flights of complicated moving staircases to the library where you hoped you’d find peace.

“-and the nurse couldn’t fix her boils-”

“-It’s true, the slugs really ate my herbology homework-”

“-So, I can’t go home for Christmas now cos’ me pa hates muggles-”

“-P-p-please, let me -d-down-”

You came to a halt, searching for the source of the last voice which was unmistakably Newt’s terrified squeak. It didn’t take long as a small crowd gathered at an unmoving area of the staircase where a lanky, sneering Ravenclaw girl had just begun levitating Newt for all to see; she was flanked by two burly Gryffindors, who you supposed were her bodyguards. Without hesitating, you ran up the last few steps, pushing forcefully to the front of the crowd.

“What’s your bets lads?” The girl jeered through her incredibly nasally voice. “How many spins before he vomits?”

You stood behind the taller, more built guy, though it was hard to call him a guy as opposed to a walking slab of beef with a face. Despite the fact that he was leagues taller than you, as most people were, you reached up, yanking his hair back sharply and pulling him closer to your level. He screamed in agony, turning everyone’s attention to you. The Ravenclaw turned to you, casually slinging her wand over her shoulder, keeping Newt suspended as he watched with streaming, embarrassed tears.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The Ravenclaw demanded casually.

“YOU. PUT. HIM. DOWN. RIGHT. NOW.” You spoke through gritted teeth, unable to contain your seething fury.

“I think you’ll find that I have extra muscle.”

“YEAH? WELL, I THINK YOU’LL FIND THAT I’D ONLY HAVE TO SMASH THIS IDIOT’S FACE ONCE AGAINST THIS FLOOR TO BREAK HIS NOSE, AND HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT?”

The girl’s lip curled, making her face look more like that of a rat’s, “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.” You raised the boy’s head slightly, showing your full intention and capability.

“Urgh, fine.” She huffed, lowering Newt slowly to the floor, where he scrambled up, getting behind you for further protection. “It’s not like he was much fun anyway, come on boys.” She parted the crowd, who were dispersing at your savage gaze as fast as they could manage to get a staircase.

“You alright?” Your tone took a worried edge on as you turned to Newt, craning your neck to face him properly.

He was wiping his tears away whilst staring at you in disbelief, constantly wondering how something so small could be such a threat, “Y-you were r-really going to h-hurt him.”

“Actually, he was really heavy, I doubt I could’ve done much.”

“T-then how-”

“You make a scary face and keep a confident voice, it’ll fool most people. Though, come to think of it, you should learn some defence spells or something, then you’d be okay.”

“I k-know the spells, I just d-d-don’t like to use t-them.”

You exhaled tiredly, leaning your head against the wall to laugh almost silently. Newt watched as if you’d gone mad.

“(Y/N)? Are you a-alright? If you need h-help-”

You waved his offer away weakly, gasping for air between more desperate giggles, “You’re- really- something- Can’t- believe- you- know- how- but-”

Newt caught your drift, laughing a little himself, though often checking to see that you were okay for him to join in.

When you finally regained control, you asked in all seriousness, “What were they even doing it for?”

“I uh- I wouldn’t tell them where I go after classes, they thought it would be a good place to bunk off lessons.”

“Ahh, your super, secret hiding place, got’cha.”

“Y-Yes quite. Um, actually, (Y/N), I’m afraid I o-owe you a bit of an apology about that p-potions lesson.”

“Forget it.” You smiled, relaxed.

Newt tensed up, stating formally, “I will do no such thing. You were being polite and I made a rather rude assumption against your good name. I swear, I’ll not rest until I make it up to you.”

“Oh yeah? And how’re you gonna do that?”

“I’ll… I’ll…” He paused, the sudden bravado disappearing as quickly as it had come until he looked a little hopeful, “Do um, do you like magical creatures?”

You chuckled quizzically, “Sure, I think they’re unique.”

“Then I’ll… I’ll show you my hiding place, come on.”

He walked past you, gesturing for you to follow down the many steps you’d just travelled up. You followed eagerly, curious to see how the magical creatures and his secret place interlinked.

To say you were out of breath was an understatement. You were used to long walks through the Hogwarts grounds but you didn’t usually have to trek through the thick wood of the Forbidden Forest in full uniform. At first sight of the forest you had been hesitant to proceed, knowing of some of the dangerous creatures that lurked within but at Newt’s first real smile at you, you knew that it would be okay somehow, like he knew what lay ahead.

After trekking further on, until you could only see the towers of Hogwarts above the treeline, Newt stopped in front of a large thorn bush. He pushed a few of the branches aside, leaving a small opening for you to enter. You looked from the opening to Newt, seeing how it was too small for any person.

“Don’t worry, it’s safe, I promise.” He reassured you, nodding back at the gap.

You sighed, hunching up as small as you could to avoid the thorns but you quickly realised that each one you hit turned to smoke then rematerialized as though it had never been touched.

“It’s just an illusion.” Newt explained, following you in and putting the real thorn branches back where they belonged.

You came to the end of the illusion tunnel until you were in a rounded hut, made entirely of weaved willow. Piles of cushions and muddy blankets covered the floor, acting like a thin carpet, and animals the likes of which you’d never seen had nests and sets in various spots of the room.

You were awe-struck as you watched a small, green, leaf-like creature climb up Newt’s trouser leg.

Newt looked down, “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about him, this is just Pickett, he has some attachment issues.”

“And Pickett is a…?”

“A Bowtruckle. He was my first rescue, it seems his family tree suffered lightning damage but he was the only one who stayed to protect it, I imagine that’s why he has issues with others of his kind.”

The confidence faded from Newt’s voice momentarily as he gazed at you apprehensively, “Do you… do you like him?”

By now Pickett had stubbornly made his way up to the crook of Newt’s elbow, you bent down to the creature’s level, “Hello Pickett, it’s very nice to meet you.”

Pickett paused, not used to being addressed by anyone other than Newt. He turned to glare at you, sticking his tongue out in obvious disdain.

“Now Pickett,” Newt reprimanded, “that’s not how we treat guests, be nice to (Y/N), (s)he was nice to me.”

Pickett ignored the request and continued his climb.

You were about to speak again but you were interrupted by a mournful warbling, you felt the sudden urge to cry at the terrible sound, like something dreadful had just happened but you couldn’t remember what.

Newt bent to see four small, murky green chicks, residing on a bright yellow pillow, “Ahh, Audrey, now is not the time for that, see, your sisters are being nice and quiet, aren’t they?”

“What’s wrong with her?” You asked sadly. “Is she sick?”

“No, Augurey’s simply chirp when it’s about to rain but she tends to do so at any given time, it’s why she can’t be reintroduced with the others when they grow a little more.”

You raised your eyebrows at his use of the word chirp, “So she doesn’t get the weather right, how come that means she can’t go back out there?”

“Augurey’s only fly in the rain, and since Audrey can’t get it right it would make her survival increasingly difficult.”

You nodded, feeling a little better now that the wailing had stopped. “So this place, you made it?”

“With magic.”

“And you rescue animals?”

“Yes, I want them to be understood as something more than potion parts… I-is that okay?”

You looked back to Newt, who was towering nervously nearby, much closer than he was before, “Just tell me one more thing.”

Newt gulped apprehensively, waiting for you to run out and tell the headmaster.

“How can I help?”

“W-what?”

“This is a great cause.” You stopped to admire a fairy that had just appeared in front of you. “I want to be part of it.”

Newt’s heart skipped a beat at your apparent enthusiasm, “F-forgive me for saying it but… I’ve never met a… a Slytherin like you.”

You smiled, shaking your head slightly, “Yeah well… we’re not as bad as you’d think. So, can I help then? Am I in?”

“Y-yes, of course. C-come on, I’ll t-teach you about kneazles.”

You moved to a small pile of books, kept safely behind a fireguard away from the creatures. Throughout the remainder of the day, Newt taught you all about the creature’s he kept, pointing out why he kept them and why the needed him. Even though it was a lot to take in, you felt confident that with Newt to teach you, you’d be able to remember it all in no time.

#newt scamander #newt scamander x reader #Harry Potter #fantastic beasts and where to find them #fbawtft #fanfiction #fanfic #reader #reader insert #hogwarts #fantastic beasts imagine #fbawtft imagine #an unlikely friend #nadinedimples

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