#found families going their own way isn't a sign of 'we don't actually care about each other'

[essektheylyss]

I have a theory that a lot of the dissatisfaction with the end of campaign 2 stem from a lack of functional acknowledgement, in society and in narratives, that healing does not have an end and is more about learning to discern what can be changed (and what you want to put the energy in to change) compared with what you can learn to live with (and keep deciding to live with)—and that a narrative about healing isn't inherently about working through everything you can change, but instead reaching a place where you are able to make those decisions with confidence and grace.

This is not to say that this is the only reason for dissatisfaction, and you can also fully understand this and still feel like you would've preferred different courses of action! It's possible to say that you would've wanted to see Trent killed, or watched Fjord kill Uk'otoa, or any number of other endings for a given character.

But all of that is immaterial to the question of whether the narrative is complete or not—because it doesn't matter what the characters each individually choose to do going forward. What matters is that they're able to make those choices and feel confident enough to do so on their own terms, which every member of the Nein does feel capable of doing by the time of their epilogues.

#like it's not like getting to that point precludes a person from making bad choices or even choices that other people would disagree with #imo it's also the biggest misunderstanding with found family narratives (which are often about healing) in general #found families going their own way isn't a sign of 'we don't actually care about each other' #it's a sign of 'we feel capable of living confidently without relying on each other 24/7 but are there for each other when it's needed' #ANYWAY I'm going back to work but I did have this thought #cr meta #critical role

[rorschachisgay]

i wish there was some nuance between "everyone has to love the word queer" and "if you don't like it you are a terf automatically". because the reality is i don't identify with the word queer and i never have. as a kid i was aware of it as a slur and as a teenager i started to understand it in an academic concept first (as in Queer Theory) but i didn't identify with it because in my mind it was like, a clinical, academic word. and then later as i got older it became an increasingly prevalent point of conflict around me.

im not arguing that terfs dont dislike queer as a group term, though speaking from a british perspective the majority of them here are very focused on removing the T from LGBT over arguing about queer as a term at all, so it doesnt really feel like a particularly important form of conflict over what is a very targeted erasure of trans identity Specifically.

and thats kind of partially why i struggle to identify with the term Queer. it is not specific. it does not describe or capture my identity. lately i have found much more identity in words like fag, faggot, transexual, which do relate directly to my specific identities and have a very long history in the community. and additionally, won't get fuckin sold back to me by coke.

like that's really all Queer feels like to me now, something that has now been packaged up as an easily marketable buzzword to be printed on t-shirts at Primark or used meaninglessly by Disney to pretend they care. it does not refer to the aspects of my identity that matter to me, it's not something that i ever claimed for myself, and now i am continually getting told that if i don't identify with it im bigoted against myself and my siblings.

"queer was reclaimed by everyone, it was reclaimed in the 80s". i actually don't feel like someone else gets to decide this for me? im not going to lie and pretend it was never used as part of the campaign for equality for decades and decades, it obviously has a crucial place in history, but now in popular culture it has become like. ubiquitous.

like ive said before i think words like fag and dyke can be used in a way that reflects our communal family and is a sign of camaraderie and that's also true of queer, but with those words it's extremely understandable when someone isn't comfortable with them and when someone doesn't want to identify with queer it's treated as a sign they're in the wrong.

idk this is so far from being a crucial issue it's barely worth talking about but i just really struggle with being told that i am in the wrong because i have my own complicated feelings about a word with a complicated history. in the grand scheme of things it's NOT that important but it does grate on my nerves to be told that theres zero room for any kind of debate or alternate opinion in this. like i just wish we didn't have to be so black and white as if the issue has no grey area or room for personal expression at all.

[aoki553]

'bpd makoto teruhashi??'- a character analysis/yapping session because no one understands the siblings like i do

Time to turn the capslock on for this one! The writing might be incoherent, but I want to focus on getting my thoughts out with this one, so be aware. Let me start this post by clarifying - I am not a psychologist. This is for fun, done used resources I've found online. This is about an anime character, not about a real person's struggles.

Trigger warning for obvious sibling marriage romanticization mention sighhh like we aren't talking about it constantly when it comes to him apparently.

We all know the way Makoto has been protrayed in the series - a comically overexaggerated siscon. His portrayal makes many people uncomfortable due to his perverted obsessive behavior.

Except, I'm going to throw it all out the window cuz in this post I meant to take a look at his behavior from a fan's perspective without any biases like 'eww yucky siscon make me uncomfy'. NONE of that here.

I'll start by addressing the elephant in the room and the main reason i'm making this post: Makoto's obsession. Both of the Teruhashi siblings have obvious superiority complexes, however, Makoto is overshadowed by his little sister's charm, whom he idealizes and has an unhealthy attachment to. He's aware of his own charm and beauty, but only takes it to account to point out how he's the only one worthy of Kokomi's love and attention.

Kokomi has clearly been his whole world ever since she was born. A life-long fascination and attachment that went unnoticed. His perfect little sister is able to change his mood drastically whenever she's getting attention from anyone other than him or is even slightly dissatisfied with him.

He lacks a sense of self - only Kokomi matters for him. He's able to ditch his responsibilities in an instant, only to be with her. He's depicted as a cherub to Kokomi's goddess appearance in the mobile game and as a chauffeur in the Duet Shite KudaPsi anime end credits. Always below her, as her servant.

He becomes severely distressed and panics over even something so simple as a her getting a cold. (Just like everyone else at her school, but he's there for her.)

At all times he needs to make sure she isn't surrounded by men that are 'unworthy' of her, even to the point of stalking her to get some piece of mind. He craves her approval and cares for her like no one else in the entirety of the manga. (Example: Taking her to movie theatres and watch every movie he has ever starred in to show her.) These are signs of Kokomi being Makoto's 'favorite person'.

Awesome, but does it explain Makoto seeing her not as his sister, but as a future wife? Is it just him making things way creepier in his mind than they need? Yes, actually.

Makoto's overprotective and obsessive behavior is comically exaggerated, duh, but if we think about it for a second... Kokomi is a person he's been there for her whole life, he provides and protects her from unwanted attention. He dedicated his whole life to her and knowing there is an unavoidable future of his whole world collapsing because someone will take his place. Not as a siblings, but as a lover - something more important than family. How can he avoid this? By being the one to marry her, of course. No one but him is worthy of her anyway, right? Why should she need anyone else? No matter how messed up that sounds, it's his way of thinking.

Now let's go over some of the diagnostic criteria for BPD. I'll be using this site and infographic as my resource, just to give a few simple (but appropiate in my opinion) examples.

Fear of abandonment, rejection - while it's not explicitly stated, I believe his 'marriage' thing is just that. Not wanting to be abandonned and forgotten by the only person he loves and cares about. I don't believe he has any perverted motive behind it. Just fear and wanting her only for himself.

Idealization and devaluation - both extremes show up in his behavior. Most notably towards Kokomi or Kusuo. He's hostile and outright rude to Kusuo, but the moment Kokomi shows up he becomes all sunshine and rainbows. Another example of it is his indifference towards Kokomi's friends, compared to the excessive attention he gives to his sister. My theory is that Makoto doesn't have relationships due to a predisposition to making his relations with other people unstable, or never even bothering to try in the first place. (Like he is towards Ruchi, for example.)

Impulsivity and inappropiate anger - he rushes to anger the moment his love is threatened. A simple thought of Kokomi getting romantic advances enrages him. Even if it could cost him his career or his public image - something Kokomi cares about the most for herself, the opposite to her brother.

Emotional instability - we've only been shown his mood swings like the one below. If we got to see more of his personal life, this one would be much clearer, but it's something a siscon pun character doesn't get to have in a comedy manga, so I'll leave it at that.

Paranoia - Let the image below speak for itself... His delusions can be interpreted as a symptom on its own, too.

But what could've caused this? Since we never see what the Teruhashi siblings' parents are like, it's easy to assume Makoto has a role of her caretaker or a provider, due to only these two being ever shown living in the wealthy Teruhashi residency. The only time we ever see their parents being acknowledged is when Saiko spread a fake rumor of Mugami Tooru having an affair. Note: We never actually see them, we don't know if they're even there.

My personal theory is simple - Kokomi's charm and absent parental figures must've affected Makoto's development and made him emotionally dependent solely on Kokomi's well being. I'm taking his idol career into an account as well, since he must've been scouted into show business in his teens, or earlier. (He was already famous by 17.)

Conclusion: I think Makoto is an interesting example of a person with BPD in media, but I'm often disappointed how little we talk about it. Or maybe I'm just too obsessed with him to see him only as what he is on the surface. :3

PHEW. So after like 4 hours of trying to put my words into one big post I think that's all I had to say for now about this topic~! I have a lot of love for this boy and I really needed to get my thoughts out about this theory of mine. Sorry for unnecessary rambling and incoherence at times. Thanks for reading!

#even if you held me at gun point and asked me why am i so obsessed with this siscon i would just preferred to get shot cuz i dont know #genuinely #alex rambles #saiki kusuo no psi nan #saiki kusuo no ψ nan #saiki k #teruhashi makoto #kusuo saiki #makoto teruhashi #saiki kusuo #teruhashi kokomi #kokomi teruhashi #teruhashi siblings #teruhashi #the disastrous life of saiki k #borderline personality disorder #bpd

[dearshelby]

3:00 a.m in Birmingham | T.S.

Summary: Tommy's wife has trouble sleeping and resorts to a method he disapproves of. As usual, he tries to solve this issue in his own ways, even if it's only for tonight.

Warnings: Self medication and english isn't my first language.

A/N: I really like the way this fic turned out and I hope you like it too, although the gif being from season 2 I imagined this being set between season 4 and 5, you can imagine whatever suits you best though :)

Tommy sighed in relief as he found her car parked in front of their old house at Watery Lane. He's been looking for her for hours and although her whereabouts weren't exactly mysterious, Tommy couldn't stop his hands from trembling with the possibility of her being gone.

The house was dark when Tommy got in, even with the clear signs someone is there, this person didn't bother in turning the lights on, letting the house count with the lights from streets that shined through the windows.

Thomas walked from each to each room looking for his wife until he finally got to their old shared bedroom. She was sitting on the bed staring at the wall, arms resting on her knees while her hands played with a bottle of something he couldn't identify.

"I thought you didn't like this bedroom." Tommy drawles, holding himself from scolding her, she might not be physically injured, but he knew she wouldn't run away like this if she was alright.

"I don't, it's too small."

"Yeah, I don't like it either." Tommy agrees and sits by her side, "So we shouldn't be here."

She peeks at him by the side of her eye and brings her hands near her chest, trying to hide the label of the bottle. "I needed a place to relax."

"Oh, why didn't you try a spa?"

"Because in case you haven't noticed, it's three in the morning, we must be the only people awake in Birmingham," she humorlessly chuckles, "well, perhaps, with exception of the night shift workers."

"Right, but why here in all the places?"

"...It was our home for many years, I thought the feeling of familiarity would help me relax, help me sleep."

Tommy raises his eyebrows at his wife's answer, she had problems sleeping for some time since the business started to grow and brought some consequences, but for the last few years he could swear she's been sleeping well, she's been even able to convince him to try to rest as well.

"You should see a doctor." he spoke softly with a bit of humour, usually, she's the one suggesting that.

"Nah, all doctors are children of rich people who want to follow the family's career and don't actually care about people." she bitterly spits, it's an honest belief of her, however, there's another reason why she refuses to see a doctor.

It's because she already did, during the busy weeks Tommy is barely home, she managed to sneak a doctor into the house and the diagnosis wasn't pleasant, stress was keeping her from a well-deserved night of sleep and the recommendation was to absent herself from any stressful situation. Well, being married to Thomas Shelby is very stressful.

She thought of taking a break, perhaps going on holiday with the children, every time Tommy got home though, he seemed to need her more, business related papers, loneliness, a stress relief, she filled all the gaps Tommy turned a blind eye through the day, because he was always sure she'd effortlessly fill them for him.

He needed her, he told her that many times, mostly not verbally, but the way his tired eyes bored into hers when he got home from work, the way his hands pulled her close to him and how he seemed lost when she waited for him in some other room instead of greeting him at the door left no doubts, together with whiskey, opium and cigarettes, she kept the broken pieces of him tightly tied.

Hell, she knew the best she could do for herself was to leave him, Tommy was unstoppable, he had no limitations or limits, he'd never rest and he lived something near fine with it. She was different, she didn't mind doing paperwork or looking after the broken man she called husband, but she needed assurance things wouldn't fall apart at any moment, she needed to sleep knowing her empire wasn't built on unstable land and that was something Tommy couldn't offer.

Trying to solve this impasse, she bought sleeping pills, the strongest she could find. They worked well for the first two years, eventually she became immune to the effect, increasing the dose wasn't an option anymore either, it'd probably make her overdose instead of sleep.

Now, she's sitting near the cause of her insomnia in the old bedroom they shared, refusing to confess the true reason for her sleepless nights.

"What 's that?" Tommy suddenly asks, eyeing the bottle in her hands.

"Nothing."

"Show me." he offers his hand for her to give him the flask.

"No."

"What is it? A secret? Show me." he tries to take it from her hands and she pushes him away, "What the fuck are you hiding?"

"It's none of your business, did you come here only to bother me?" she complains.

"Worrying about you it's a bother now, ey? Give me that fucking thing." he forcefully takes the bottle from her.

She presses her lips together as Tommy reads the label, "Did the doctor give them to you?" he asks.

"No."

"Who did?"

"I bought them."

"With whose prescription?"

"Nobody's, Tommy! I just take them to sleep."

"These are fucking strong, did you take all of them?"

"Yeah."

"How long have you been taking these things?" he frowns.

"..."

"Hm?"

"Two years."

"Two fucking years? Does a doctor know about it?"

"What right do you have to scold me, Tom? Do you think I can't smell opium on you?"

"It's not the fucking same, these can be dangerous."

"Oh, and yours are not?"

"For fuck's sake," he sighs and stands up, adopting a scolding posture, "why didn't you see a doctor?"

"I don't like doctors, Tommy."

"Neither do I, but I'd see one if you asked, I know what I'm doing, it's what I always did, you got these pills out of nowhere and hid them from me."

"I never hid them from you, if you got to bed a bit earlier you'd have seen me taking them!"

"Argh, sorry for not keeping an eye on you, you know I have so much free time," he says ironically, "Why don't you go around saying how much of a bad husband I am?!"

"Well, I wouldn't be lying, would I?" she snaps, "I went to a doctor, Tommy! Do you wanna know what he told me?! To stay away from stressful things, but guess what? You stress me out, being by your side is stressful!"

Tommy gulps, assimilating the words his wife just told him, he's not by any means surprised by them, he knows it's all true, it's just that he never expected her to throw them on his face like this.

"... You're with me by choice, if you're not happy, leave." his tone of voice is calm, but there's a dangerous challenge in it. After so long together, she doubts Tommy would accept a divorce, it's certain that when she dies, the name Shelby will be in her grave.

Besides, leaving Tommy is not her true wish, except for the lack of sleep, her life is comfortable, her children go to the best school, she wears the best clothes, drives the fastest cars and drinks the best wine. Also, it's undeniable she still loves Tommy.

"I don't want to leave you, love." she mumbles, watching Tommy's tense expression change to relief, "But I need to sleep, I need to be alright so I can help you to be alright."

"I don't want you to be with me for pity." he sits back down.

"It's not for pity, I wouldn't be here if it was," she hesitates for a second before saying, "I love you."

He weakly smiles, still looking shaken by her previous harsh statement, Tommy always thought of himself as a not good enough husband, now she just crossed all the lines and defined him as a bad one.

"Tommy," she whispers, "nothing in this world would make me leave you, you won't get rid of me so easily."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing, not even my sleep craving body."

Tommy nods, humorlessly chuckling, he stands up and takes the car's keys from his pocket. "Let's go then." he drawles.

"I came with my own car."

"I'll tell the driver to bring it home tomorrow, c'mon."

As Tommy makes his way to his car, she follows after him. It takes a few minutes until they get on the road.

Tommy drives slowly, at this hour there's no one in the streets but them. The darkness of the night would have consumed the scenario if it wasn't for the car's headlights.

Despite the engine's noise, she is relaxing, the car smells of cigarettes and Tommy's cologne, it's a familiar smell and she feels safe sitting beside her husband. However, the unknown road Tommy is taking strikes an alert light in her head.

"This is not the way home." she says.

"I know, I've thought of going somewhere else first." Tommy answers, secretly with no idea of where he's driving to, he only knew it wasn't home.

"Where?"

"You'll see when you get there."

"I can't keep secrets from you but you can keep secrets from me?"

"It's not a secret, it's a surprise."

"Tsk, I don't believe you set up a surprise at three in the morning."

"Better believe, love."

As the world gets silent, she rests her head on his shoulder, allowing her eyes to close and her arms to wrap around his.

"You know, only this time I'll let you put your feet on the seat." Tommy speaks softly.

"Oh, such a gentleman," she takes her heels off, "Where are we going, Tom?" she peeks the road through her heavy eyelids.

"Right now I'm trying to find a rotary on the way home."

"Tsk, where the fuck are we going anyway?"

"Just wait and see."

"Go on, Tommy, quit the mystery."

"Be patient, love."

She sighs in frustration and makes herself even more comfortable in the car seat. The shakes caused by the bumpy road work almost like a motherly lulling.

Soon, Tommy's plan goes exactly like he expected, his wife falls into deep slumber, this time without the need of any pills.

#tommy shelby x reader #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #female!reader

[imakemywings]

for the character bingo: Maglor/Elros/Finduilas? (no pressure to do all of them!)

Maglor:

Maglor oh Maglor...you fetid dead shrimp of an Elf. I actually like Maglor a lot, I think he's a very interesting character. He's both an artist and a deadly warrior. He's the only Feanorian we see really push back against the Oath and the only one who ever suggests they just stop. He doesn't hang onto that, but there is an effort and there are other signs late in the First Age that he has regrets about the path he's taken and I think he's genuine about those. However, I am exhausted with how the fandom handwaves his crimes, acts like he's somehow less culpable than his family in their war crimes, lambasts his victims as authors of their own suffering, acts like his victims are obliged to forgive him because he feels bad, and act like his relationship with Elrond and Elros was some fluffy sweet found family story. Maglor's fucked-up-ness, as with all the Feanorians, is a huge part of what makes him interesting.

I think Maglor, for most of his life, was an incredibly selfish person. That exhibits in different ways. In Tirion, it was because he was an Artist and he did not have time for his stupid brothers and cousins' issues, he was Creating Art that was going to last a Thousand Years and he was above petty nonsense like caring about other people's problems. Maglor, like Feanor, feels a lot, and he is very willing to subordinate other people's needs to his feelings. Maglor's feelings >>> everything else. (The drama in Tirion was never-ending!)

When we see him start wavering after the Third Kinslaying, I think a few things were going on, but one of those things was I think Maglor was starting to panic. He was looking at what they had done and realizing that actually, he's a pretty shitty person when everything is tallied up. Nobody is going to remember him for his art--they're going to remember him for the ruthless slaughter in pursuit of his father's property and the total extinguishing of an entire culture out of Middle-earth. This is where we see him start to push back against Maedhros and the Oath--he isn't upset about the one Silmaril lost to Earendil, he argues against pursuing the two held by the host of Aman, he suggests they go and repent to the Valar and accept whatever punishment might be due them.

"Fostering" Elrond and Elros was, to me, a desperate Hail Mary effort at self-redemption by Maglor. It was also, again, a deeply selfish act. He took two traumatized children whose family and people he butchered, whose home he had destroyed, and whose culture he had erased, and tried to make them the vessel of his salvation. Which is not to say he didn't genuinely love them! I think he did and I think they were perhaps the only source of joy for him at that time in his life. And I think he realized somewhere on the front end that this was fucked up, but by then he was attached to them, and it took him years to reach the point of being selfless enough to let go of them and let them leave.

Maglor's journey to regret is complete, to me, when he rejects the Silmaril. At this point, he openly acknowledges to himself and others that what they did was wrong, it was in vain, and he regrets. If he could do it over, he would do things differently. But it's too late now--and there's no one left to hear him say it.

The interesting thing about "Maglor lives" AUs to me is that it gives him the chance he lacked in canon to make good on his claims of regret and actually do better. Because I think he is capable of it, it's just that he never quite gets there in canon, not before it's too late.

Finduilas:

Most of what I have to say about Finduilas is based on headcanon, because alas, we don't get a ton out of her in canon.

Finduilas is someone I see as aggressively optimistic. Not the kind of dewy-eyed optimism where she thinks things will just ~work out~ but more of a determination to do everything she can to make things work out and a commitment to avoiding self-defeating pessimism. She will not despair until there is absolutely no avenue left to her; I think she does a great job of maintaining estel. This is why she held out hope that Gwindor would come back from Angband.

But I think the Gwindor who returned from Angband was naturally a very different person than the one who had ridden out from Nargothrond. He would have necessarily come back extremely traumatized after twelve years as a slave of Melkor and while I think Finduilas was committed to helping him recover, I think his newly cynical and harsh outlook on life cooled the ardor of their earlier relationship.

I also think she was drawn to Turin because he has a similar kind of hopeful outlook. In a perverse sense, despite his pessimism about himself, Turin keeps trying to make things better and keeps believing he can make things better even when everything goes wrong for him again and again. I think Finduilas was drawn to this attitude and that's a big part of what made her fall in love with him.

I also like to think Finduilas was a healer! She was interested in medicine and made a personal study of it for many years and even delivered babies in Nargothrond.

I don't think she and Gil-galad were especially close but I do think she looked up to him a lot and would have been proud to see him take the crown of the high king of the Noldor.

Sorry Elros, I don't really have enough thoughts about you to share ╯︿╰ I do like the headcanon though that part of the reason he chose to be a Man was because of his disgust with how the Elves had behaved in the First Age and that he never fully forgave the Feanorians for their actions. I also see him as a rather adventurous person--he has to be, to willingly take the path with the unknown end!

#tolkien bingo #maglor #finduilas

[cookinguptales]

Hello lovely! What a night you’re having. I hope you’re sleeping, but if not I’d love a reading!

I was not sleeping, actually, when you first sent me this! But I have slept twice since then! I got... a lot of requests this time. lmao

(The Hierophant (reversed), The Ten of Cups, The Ace of Swords)

A fun and nice spread!!! These are all encouraging cards.

I'm going to do these a little out of order again, so bear with me.

The Hierophant is a card that's all about established knowledge. You know, higher education, the church, community elders, etc. It's a card about listening to them and gleaning wisdom from their experience. Reversed, though, this is a card about throwing established knowledge to the wind and making your own way.

This isn't to say that you need to completely throw out the baby with the bathwater. Please don't go full antivaxxer or flat earther on me. I promise you the moon landing actually happened. But this card should be taken as a sign that it's okay to rebel against what you've been told all your life. It's okay to develop new ideas and flirt with new perspectives. In fact, it'll bring you a great amount of joy if you're able to free yourself from prior expectations and find your own path.

And you're very close to finding it. The Ace of Swords is a card that indicates that you're about to have a revelation. It's a card that teases enlightenment and new perspectives. The sword will open your mind, but it will also help you cut away lies and half-truths so you can find your way. You have to be careful that the sword isn't allowed to get too destructive -- sometimes there are happy mistruths that we all live with -- but it's a sign that you will soon be able to approach new ideas with a clear and open eyes.

Finally, we have one of the loveliest cards in the whole deck. The Ten of Cups is a card of joyous emotional fulfillment, and one that you can share with those around you. Earlier in the cups journey, self-satisfaction can be found. But the Ten of Cups is a card of wholesome relationships and satisfaction in the arms of others. It can be a card that speaks to happy familial relations, biological or otherwise, or it can be a card that speaks to a wonderful friends group. At any rate, it's a card that's all about being happy, fulfilled, and surrounded by people who love you.

If I had to guess, this spread is all about making new choices, finding new paths, listening to new perspectives, and finding happiness with those who love you at the end of your journey. Maybe you'll find a new group in which you find acceptance, or maybe your new experiences will help you foster better relationships with the people who already love you. Either way, this is a very positive sign. 💜

#tarot shenanigans #just three more to go after this! haha #replies

[dimdiamond]

Hey I just found some interviews of herge's team and close people to him which they talked about tintin in it and boy many of them said that herge near the end of his life had problems with tintin and although he called him his son he didn't like him that much anymore just because he thought tintin character stole his fame and popularity and he felt that tintin is way more popular and loved than himself so he kinda started hating him lol,it's just funny man one of them even said that he didn't write any character development for tintin like him not wanting to include with action or criminals anymore was more about herge wanting to change him and writing him untrue to his nature to kinda take a revenge from him ,if you think about it he kinda did his characters dirty at the end like tintin not behaving like himself or even haddock not being able to drink whisky lol,they said that he didn't think the tintin character could be this iconic or become even more popular than himself and didn't want people to at the end just remembering tintin not herge,it's kinda sad to think he became paranoid of his own character and so called son,they just said he didn't know what to write of his last adventure himself and he unfortunately died befor compeleting it so if you ask me it could've been a strong chance to kill tintin at the end of Alph_Art,I wrote it because I thought it would be interesting to you either .

Adding this here too:

Thank you for all these information! I have to confess that, although big fan of Tintin, I haven't read or searched many things about Herge himself or behind production what was happening.

I tend to not give much attention to the creator but to the creation itself. It's not because I think they don't have any connection or it isn't interesting or important to know about the creator. It's because simply I don't care much. Yeah, very unpopular opinion I know but I can't put too much faith on someone's thoughts and rumours, especially when they're not alive anymore. Comparing to creators who actually did or still doing harm, in cases like Herge (or Tolkien or any other writer and artist that, in one way, were products of their time) I try not to let them affect my experience in "consuming" their works. We can know that much about what was truly happening, and even if Herge said himself "I hate Tintin" I can't know what was going through his mind when he said that.

Anyway back to the topic. Yeah I know that Herge soon felt trapped in his own creation and its popularity. I do understand that from the perspective of not having the artistic freedom to write or draw whatever he was pleased with or wanted to experiment with- Tintin was HUGE as long as he lived and no way they would let him stop publishing it. Naturally he would be fed up and exhausted with that and lash out to his own creation. However, the fact that he didn't want anyone else to take over the comic shows at least that he still cared for it. Was it selfishness or true worry about how his work would be handled? I don't know and I don't care honestly. Herge was just a man with talents and flaws, not a master, not a genius, not a saint. No one is and ever was.

Tintin and Haddock in the last books are way different than the first ones together and that's a fact. I disagree however with the belief that they're out of character. These are their characters. I feel people tend to forget or be blind on the natural slow change the characters had from the first time they appeared. Take Tintin from Cigars of Pharaoh, from Seven Crystal Balls and from Calculus Affair. No way they're all the same and they were written a long time before Alph Art. Tintin in Calculus Affair is already shown to like the peaceful life and he goes to adventure only because Professor Calculus, now his family, is in danger. How can someone say that Tintin in Picaros or Alph Art is done dirty because he wants to stay home when he had already shown signs of that way before? And let's not forget Tintin in Tibet, one of the stories that changed Tintin as a character and as a series fundamentally. How could Tintin after this peril want to put himself and following naturally his closed ones more in danger? He had almost lost not just his life, for which he barely cared when it was for other people's sakes, but also his best friends' lives and that time he could not blame any bad guy. I am referring a lot to this story because we know it was huge for Herge too and its effect was evident to the rest of the series. And Haddock with alcohol?! He had been reducing alcohol more and more, to the point not making him have it had become a running gag! Calculus giving him the anti alcohol pills was a natural exaggeration to the joke already.

In a few words I think it's dirty to reduce their characters only to action addicted Tintin and alcohol addicted Haddock. They are far more than that and they had shown many other sides of their characters throughout the whole series. Is Tintin Tintin when he's not in danger? Is Haddock Haddock when he doesn't drink? These are questions that we're dealing with for many stories, especially after Explorers on the Moon. If someone sees them only like that I'm afraid to tell them they have fallen victims of the first impression.

It's also dirty to believe that after committing all his life to a project, and one that was beloved by so many, the creator would want to sabotage it and destroy it. It makes a good story for the tortured artist but I never believed in that myth. Maybe if we had the chance to talk to him we could see why he did what he did but we can't do that. We can only make our own readings from his work itself.

Sorry if my language was too strong, no way I intended to attack on you or anyone with different opinions. I am expressing my own thoughts on the matter. Herge might have been jealous or tired or simply unsatisfied or all of these or none. Tintin and Haddock changed as their creator changed and that's only natural to happen. If we like that or not it's up to each one of us. Personally, I like a lot that the characters and the stories changed too. It makes it feel alive and real than a still character that is never allowed to change. If you don't adapt you die as they say.

By the way I highly doubt Tintin would be killed in the end. Not because he's Herge's "son" or whatever. Neither just because the publisher wouldn't allow it. Simply because if Herge wanted him dead he would have done it way before.

#thank you for the asks again! #i am sorry if my answer offended you or made you feel like i am attacking you #i have strong opinions on this and i sometimes come out too strong #tintin #captain haddock #archibald haddock #the adventures of tintin

[badassbutterfly1987]

So the thing about Lucian (Spoilers)

We as readers (and writer) know he's going to become Lord Raith, we know the monster he will turn into.

But that isn't Lucian because Lucian is a child. His father isn't really around but he doesn't really notice because he has a cool aunt and great-uncle around. He has a petty rivalry with his cousin. He has two older siblings. He has a best friend, a relationship with the potential to turn into something more.

But then the inevitable happens. The Hunger awakens and his best friend dies. He becomes both victim and monster, and the only option is to move forward. The alternative is fighting it or running away, and then what will he have left? All he has is family.

So he tries to be a good member of the Court. He takes care of his little brother, supports the family's ambitions. He does as he is told, tolerating his father's disregard. Because his father won't live forever (a long life does not mean eternity), all he has to do is wait.

But then he has a child of his own. Something he created, a sign of his legacy, separate from what he's done for his father. A child he chooses to keep hidden, because he just wants a little more time, because he knows parents don't raise their children in this family. So he keeps it secret, just to give himself a bit more time.

But his brother had noticed his sneaking and feared rebellion, went to tell their father before something actually treasonous happened. So Glaucus went looking for an act of rebellion and found a newborn in its cradle instead. Glaucus never could handle being made to feel foolish, and what need does he have for a grandson?

Despite everything, Lucian tried to be a good son. His reward was to have his own son slaughtered. Denied a legacy and family of his own.

So he decides to give his father what he went looking for: a rebellion. And he does it the White Court way, manipulating others to ruin his target, killing whoever he needs to kill, even if they've never wronged him. Atrocity in exchange for atrocity. Becoming a monster to kill a monster. Fair is fair.

But they struck the first blow, see? He has to kill them, not only to win this battle but every future battle, so they won't be able to hurt him, make him feel weak and helpless, like prey.

He kills Caecilius, to cause political trouble and manipulate Galatea into blaming Glaucus. He kills Glaucus with her blessing, using his brother as a weapon, just like he always wanted. He kills Quintus, because he's competition and because he needs a sacrifice to make a deal with an Outsider. All necessary, you see?

Step by step, he becomes a monster, always with that justification.

This is how he becomes Lord Raith.

#cras es noster #lucian raith #lord raith #behind the scenes #thoughts #forgot i had this in my drafts

[drbtinglecannon]

I have such mixed feelings on dalador

Cuz on the one hand

it's really funny

I feel like it could happen canonically, though hopefully years down the line rather than anytime soon

they were once so close as kids/teens but something happened and it led to bitterness and pain for decades that maybe can't ever be fully healed but can be remade into something new which has the potential to be sweet

But on the other hand

I think Darius' found family relationship with Eber & Hunter (and also Raine & Eda but not as close) is a billion times more important to his character and more compelling to me as a fan than dalador could ever be to the point I don't really care for it in comparison

it'd probably be plain unhealthy to even attempt dating for years given the amount of bitterness they had festering for decades

both Darius and Alador have the far more important task of fatherhood coming up (newly for Darius but Alador has been failing at it for years cuz of his neglect from his own abuse)

it's unfair to Em, Ed, and Amity for Alador to immediately hop into a new romantic relationship after all his years of neglect. Also Em & Ed weren't even around for the falling out between Alador and Odalia so they don't have that extra layer of understanding/acceptance that Amity does

it's unfair to Hunter too, like I imagine he'd unintentionally take that as a sign he's not actually wanted around if Darius was focused on a new relationship, and Hunter deserves all of Darius' attention

while Alador did ultimately choose the right side in the end, he actively helped make the rebellion more difficult all the way up until the end which almost got everyone Darius loves killed and that's uh, probably gonna be an issue for a while on top of the decades of bitterness. Add on he was the last to see the kids & now everyone's extra pissed at him. Like if Eda doesn't kill him Darius might himself

we don't know what caused their falling out and it could be extremely justified, so the lack of knowing for sure makes me a bit iffy

I feel like they're kinda fundamentally incompatible on bigger moral issues, the ways they approach magic, and personal ideologies. This isn't unchangeable but idk, I'm thinking about how Dana talked about Darius as a char and wonder how well that would mesh with Alador for a long term romantic situation

I know it's not really popular but after OTWAT I think daraeda is a way more interesting dynamic if I'm gonna ship Darius at all (tho under specific circumstances i.e. it's Raeda & Darius is very casually involved cuz I don't really see him as the type to settle down himself & Raeda is the OTP they're getting married it's non-negotiable it is happening in canon I am manifesting it... but anyway he occasionally goes on dates with them and such but for the most part he's doing his own thing which includes being Hunter's dad & Eber's bestie/brother & just his own personal time cuz he's a man that highly values his me time & I love that for him)

I still have mixed feelings on Alador after how he was acting in King's Tide (like dude... You're the adult be more mature? Also don't threaten a clearly abused child with sending him back to his abuser???? The fuck you were abused too dude you should have more compassion in such a situation. His moments with Amity were sweet but also I'm still mad they didn't go get the twins. All in all he's not off to a great start here)

I was vehemently opposed to it prior to COTH so I'm still not fully convinced

dalador being funny is the main reason I enjoy it which isn't a great reason imo lmao

out of the ships I think will happen/are canon, easily the one I care the least about by a wide margin

See found family point again cuz my god that reason is everything to me

#not gonna tag the ship cuz i dont wanna be that asshole adding negativity to a ship tag. but yeah idk its very mixed #ive made some anti posts about it before coth & ive made some pro posts about it since but. idk after kt im way more focused #on darius' found family relationships with eber & hunter than i could ever be on his romance with alador lol #toh #discourse #kind of #long post #no one needs to read this I'm writing this for me #cuz i have so many damn thoughts on my owl show that i need to bloat my stupid blog with them or I'll die #daraeda is just that ot3 meme to me. both the 'my bf & his bf' one & the throuple rant from the gay & wondrous life of caleb gallo one #i guess i was expecting dalador to interact by now but they havent & given the time restraints i dont really care to see it if it means #losing out on family stuff instead. for both of them they have way more important family stuff (tho alador i just dont care about as much) #tc posts

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Season 1, Episode 2

Episode 2 picks up the morning day after the initiation party, the girls are having breakfast lunch at their dorm, the boys at theirs, and everyone wants the juicy details about what happened at the party...

Culture: Tell me more, tell me more, did you get very far? Although, it's pretty funny how the roles are reversed, Maddie is all "meh" about it, while Nils tells a different story. Then again, since when do you get together after a blowjob?

Culture: I actually have no idea why Simon is having breakfast at Skogsbacken, since regular schools only cover lunch for students, everyone eats breakfast at home, and then goes to school. Then again, it allows a scene where (Never mind, they're having lunch, thanks @kamand !) Blink and you miss it: Wilhelm casts some nervous glances at Simon after having been called out for disappearing at the party and almost forced to confess to making out with someone.

Culture: I know Felice is trying to put August down, but don't knock a proper Swedish pizza! As much as I like living in the US, they can't fucking make pizzas here, and the first thing I eat every time I go back to Sweden is always a real pizza. With pineapple and shrimp as God intended pizza to be made!

Culture: August is namedropping ski resorts in the Alps, which is where you go skiing in Europe if you have money, although Saint-Martin-de-Belleville is actually near Val Thorens in France, while Verbier is in Switzerland. It does have a three-star restaurant, though. Sweden and Norway have a couple of decent ski resorts, but the Scandinavian mountain chain is simply not as impressive as the Alps.

Subtext: Remember Wilhelm getting up and hurrying to math class in the beginning of the scene? It was so he could grab the other seat next to Simon, because he knows Simon is gonna sit next to Sara, since no-one else does.

Culture: Formally greeting your teacher before class is very uncommon in Sweden, but since Hillerska is all about discipline and tradition, of course they do it. Note that they're again using the formal Swedish title for male teachers, Magister, which in a regular school would be kind of a joke, since teachers and students are on a first-name basis with each other.

Subtext: Wilhelm is exposing how the world works if you have money. At Simon's old school, studying alone would result in good grades, but Hillerska is slightly corrupt and almost expects the students to essentially pay for getting a good grade.

Subtext: Simon is lying to his teacher, he absolutely hasn't talked to his parents about paying for private lessons.

Subtext: No, Sara absolutely does care about what other people think about her, and when she directly tells Felice that she would actually like some friends, that's when Felice gets it and starts making an effort to become real friends with her.

Culture: They're all bilingual at Simon's home, they're all speaking Spanish and Swedish, although Linda has a very noticeable accent to her Swedish. Based on demographics and statistics, the most likely scenario is that Linda immigrated to Sweden from Chile, met Micke, and started a family. In real life, Omar Rudberg was born in Venezuela and grew up in Sweden, while Carmen Gloria Pérez was born in New York, and grew up in Puerto Rico.

Subtext: Remember how I talked in the intro post about how distant social classes know nothing of each other? Ayub and Rosh are either working class or lower middle class like Simon, and since rowing is a typical upper class sport, they know nothing of it, they don't even think of it as a real sport. Unlike football, which is a proper working class sport, they know all about that!

Subtext: Scandinavia has Jantelagen, and everyone there thinks it's uniquely Scandinavian, but all countries have some form of Tall Poppy Syndrome. In this scene, Simon is starting to make a class journey, he started rowing, he started trying to fit in with the other upper-class kids, and getting into a relationship with someone as upper-class as Wilhelm would definitely move him all the way. But going on a journey means leaving things behind, which is why Rosh and Ayub are cutting him down and literally turning their backs on him. They like it in the small town of Bjärstad, why can't he be happy there too? Why is he betraying his roots?

Subtext: This comment from August nicely foreshadows a later episode when August does something traceable on a School computer...

Subtext: What August means is that he's not sure Wilhelm has the same desire to be accultured into the upper class, to play the part of a proper prince, in the same way that he and Erik have accepted their roles and are even enjoying them.

Culture: Although it's impossible to read the name of the medicine, the paper tag on the bottle indicates that it's some kind of prescription medicine. From the conversation with Vincent, we learn that it's some kind of ADHD medication, probably some kind of Dextroamphetamine since those improve athletic ability and cognitive functions in healthy people.

Culture: Birkenstock sandals are associated with hippies in Sweden as well as in many parts of the world, so August is actually saying that the school counselor isn't really part of the same upper-class society as the rest of the staff. And again, his use of the word sosse drives the point home.

Subtext: Consequently, the counselor sees right through August and refuses to immediately prescribe him the medication that he wants...

Subtext: ...even though August tries to both bribe him and threaten him into giving him the medication he wants.

Subtext: A big theme of this episode is class journeys, and in this scene and a previous exercise scene, August gushes about how good a thing that is, how proud he is of Simon for going on one, and spouts some crap about how everyone can make it if they really want to.

Subtext: Thankfully, Madison says what we're all thinking: August is full of shit, life isn't fair, and they're only at the school because they were born into privilege.

Blink and you miss it: After Wilhelm has nervously texted his crush for the first time, he starts to bite his fingernails, but quickly stops himself, because why would he be nervous? He's just texting another boy about rowing practice, there's nothing more to it!

Subtext: Simon's texting game is on point though, he knows exactly what he should write to get Wilhelm to go on a totally-not-a-date with him.

Subtext: In the same way that August couldn't convince the counselor about being sick, I don't think Wilhelm's atrocious acting here convinces August that he's sick either.

Culture: Public transport in the greater Stockholm area - or wherever we're supposed to be - is of course cash-less, and you pay by either charging a special card, or by signing up in their app and buying tickets through there. The point of this scene though is to drive home how Wilhelm has never ever had to take the bus before in his life, and therefore has no idea how it works.

Culture: The totally-not-a-date starts at a Circle K, which in Sweden is just another gas station, but it is actually a Canadian multi-national convenience store corporation. The price of gas is of course posted in kr/l, and 13.98kr/l corresponds to roughly $6/gal.

Subtext: Throughout the totally-not-a-date, Wilhelm is trying to reach for common ground with Simon, trying to show him how he's just a regular guy...

Subtext: ...but then real life intrudes, Wilhelm is recognized by some local girls, who call out to him and run away giggling, which shows how he's not a regular guy, he's going to get recognized wherever he goes.

Culture: Kokt eller grillat, boiled or grilled, are the two ways you can get your hot-dog at pretty much any hot-dog place in Sweden, and ketchup and mustard is always offered. The correct answer to this question is of course grilled, with ketchup and mustard, and this just shows that Wilhelm is a man of culture and good taste. Unfortunately, they were out grilled ones, so they all got boring soggy boiled hot-dogs instead. Is there a metaphor here? I don't know.

Subtext: Again, the show drives home the point that absolutely no-one has a problem with people being gay. Simon is clearly out to Ayub and the rest of his friends, and Ayub immediately picks up on the fact that this is totally a date.

Blink and you miss it: Ayub nudges Simon with his elbow to tell him that he should make a move on Wilhelm.

Culture: What we're looking at is just the local junior/high school football team, Bjärstad, playing a match against some other unnamed junior football team. Since the stakes are super low, the audience basically consists of whichever parents and friends of the players that could be bothered showing up.

Culture: Driving age is 18 in Sweden, and even then getting your own car at that age is extremely uncommon. However, you can easily get a license for a moped when you turn 15, so these are the vehicles of choice for teenagers to get around.

Subtext: August found out about Wilhelm's trip to town, but his main problem with it is that he wants Wilhelm to stop slumming it with lower class people, and to start hanging out with everyone at school instead, so that he can be properly accultured into the upper class. Again, sosse in this context means working class, not socialist.

Subtext: Although Simon felt really great about his first date with Wilhelm, the text message reminds him that Wilhelm isn't a regular person, and that even this innocent little trip generates interest and scrutiny, and can't be posted publicly.

Culture: As everyone should have noticed by now, Madison keeps speaking English, while everyone speaks to her in Swedish, so clearly she understands it. But here she gives her motivation for sticking to English, and that is that she doesn't feel she's good enough at speaking Swedish. Boarding schools like Hillerska attracts international students that have some kind of connection to the country, so a likely scenario is that Madison grew up in the US with a Swedish parent, and she's being sent here to experience Swedish culture and get immersed in the language to learn it better.

Cinematography: This shot of August drives really home all the pressure he is under, he's out of drugs, the headmistress just hinted that he's out of money, and he's literally being weighed down by books and work-out weights.

Subtext: Simon has kept his visits to Micke a secret from Sara, so here he has to intervene to make sure August doesn't accidentally reveal this to her. He also wants to protect his sister, so he's redirecting August's search for drugs onto himself.

Subtext: And on the flipside, Simon isn't really telling his dad that Sara still hates him and really doesn't want to see him, so he's vague when Micke asks about Sara and Linda.

Culture: Finally a bottle of medicine where we can read the label! Unfortunately for Simon, this is Tramadol, an opiate prescribed for pain relief, which is the complete opposite of the kind of drugs August wants.

Subtext: If you haven't figured out yet that this episode is about class journeys, August spells it out for us here. However, the reason he's "congratulating" Simon in front of everybody is because Simon just supplied him with more drugs, so this is his way of thanking him, since he can't really pay him.

Blink and you miss it: For a split second, Wilhelm grabs Simon's leg during the scary scene.

Subtext: The entire dialogue of the movie works as subtext for what's actually going on between Wilhelm and Simon at this point, and Wilhelm is getting a little freaked out by this sneaky display of affection.

Subtext: The movie also puts words on the implications of Wilhelm getting together with a boy, what about having kids in the future? Can you carry on your family name and traditions, or will they die with you?

Lost in translation: The plaque actually says "FEEL YOUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE HERITAGE". Even though the plaque means the heritage and legacy of the school itself, Wilhelm is thinking about his legacy, his heritage, and how getting together with Simon would threaten that.

Lost in translation: Wilhelm actually says "jag är inte en..." - "I'm not a..." before he stops himself. So it's not possible that he was trying to say "I'm not gay", because that doesn't work grammatically in Swedish either. He could be trying to say "I'm not a guy like that" or "I'm not a guy who likes guys", that would work.

Cinematography: The framing and silhouetting of this shot is just chef's kiss. The outline of their hair allows us to see who is who, and we can see from their poses that Simon is welcoming a kiss, while Wilhelm is still hesitating.

#young royals #young royals subtext #young royals analysis

[helloalycia]

The Wrong Lifetime – Seven // Wanda Maximoff

chapter six | story masterlist | main masterlist | wattpad | chapter eight

author’s note: hope y’all like this one 👀

The Maximoffs were just as a good at throwing a party as my own parents were.

Celebrating a new book that was published at Pietro's business, they threw a party in their back garden big enough to host half the town if they wanted to. Actually, now that I thought about, half the town was probably there.

We were invited to celebrate along with them because we were 'family' now, as Oleg and Iryna pointed out, so I found myself standing in their garden getting a drink under the night sky and trying to blend in with the snacks table so I wouldn't have to mingle. Parties still weren't my thing, clearly.

People-watching was more my forte. It was amazing the things people did when they thought nobody was looking. One guy coughed into his hand and wiped it on his pants – I reminded myself not to shake his hand – whilst some woman checked if her teeth were clean on the back of a serving tray.

My gaze raked the garden, indifferent to the men who attempted to get women's attention with a boyish grin and terrible pick-up lines, or the women who lifted their dresses a little higher than necessary to steal a man's attention. I spotted my parents talking to some guests whom I'd never see before, then there was Wanda's parents laughing alongside Pietro as he told a joke to some important looking people.

Eventually, my eyes fell to the remaining Maximoff, who was looking especially beautiful tonight. A deep lilac gown adorned her figure and she wore it like it was uniquely made just for her. She probably didn't even realise, but all eyes were definitely on her; a simple stride around the garden had people turning heads to see who the lilac beauty was. Y/B/N was the most envied man of the evening, with every guy here wishing they could have Wanda on their arm.

I'd wanted to tell her just how truly stunning she looked tonight, but I hadn't been able to pull her away from my brother's side for even a second. Everywhere he went, she went, too. I'd caught her eyes maybe three times tonight since she was so involved with whatever she spoke about with the people who worked for Pietro. I didn't take it personally of course, but it didn't make me feel any better.

Y/B/N had his hands all over her, probably suspecting just how many people were checking her out tonight, and I hated the way it made me feel. Envy and jealousy came over me and it wasn't pleasant. His hand was permanently fixed on her waist, at times moving suspiciously lower and making me roll my eyes. Occasionally, he'd lean over and whisper something in her ear making her flush – involuntarily or not, I didn't know. Wanda was a good actress, appearing as the perfect fiancé to him and couple to everybody else. Or, at least, I hoped it was acting.

"Pretty ladies shouldn't be standing by their lonesome," said someone with a Sokovian accent, but sadly not the one I wanted to hear.

"Pietro," I said with an amused smile, turning to face the man of the evening. "Congratulations on the new published book!"

He smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, Y/N. How are you finding the party?"

I glanced around, disguising my discomfort with a nod. "It's great."

He chuckled, as if suspecting that was a lie, before changing the subject. "So, the book. Have you read it?"

Glad that this was something I could actually talk about, my shoulders relaxed and I nodded. "Yes! I bought it yesterday as soon as it was published. I've only read the first six chapters, but what I've read is beautifully written."

Pietro snickered, raising his brows. "Only? That's further than anyone here has read."

I smiled bashfully, eyes veering elsewhere with embarrassment. "I guess I just have a lot of free time."

He hummed with amusement. "And you must really like reading... Wanda mentioned you write, too. It's nice to know it runs in the family."

Certain my cheeks were flushed, I nodded. "Yeah, our dad, he taught Y/B/N and I how to write when we were kids. That's where my love of literature began."

"And what do you like to write?" he asked, intrigued.

I shrugged, the grip on my glass of champagne loosening as I grew comfortable. "I don't know... short stories, drabbles, novels. I mainly deal with themes of love and romanticism. We're so intent on leading our lives with what other people want that we rarely take time to think about we want... I write about that."

Swallowing, I looked to Pietro, hoping I wasn't boring him. He was a publisher after all, besides my soon-to-be brother-in-law. His opinion was important to me.

"I must admit, Y/N, my interest is piqued," he admitted, watching me with an inquisitive gaze. "Do you have anything I could read?"

"It's probably better than it sounds," I said dismissively, knowing this was just small talk.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "I doubt that. You shouldn't say such things. You never know, you could be my next signed author."

I tried not to laugh. "Nice try, Pietro."

He smiled widely. "What? I'm serious!"

Tilting my head towards him knowingly, I sighed. "We both know that can't happen."

He was grinning now, clearly entertained by my unamused expression. "Says who?"

I motioned around us with my drink. "Says everyone? The world we live in?"

He began to list authors on his fingers as he said, "Jane Austen. Emily Bronte. Mary Shelley. Louisa May Alcott. Dare I name more?"

"Okay, okay, I get it," I said, pushing his hand down and rolling my eyes at his smug expression. "But I can promise you that all of those women fought tooth and nail to get published. Their families probably weren't as accepting as they wanted them to be. There's still people now who talk about how unprofessional and lacklustre their works are. They didn't have it easy. Still don't. And don't even get me started on the reputation side of things for you... d'you know how much backlash you'd get for signing a woman?"

Pietro shrugged, sipping his drink, before saying casually, "I only care about talent, Y/N. And if you have even a quarter of the talent your brother does, then I'm happy to go from there."

I quirked a brow, trying to gauge if he was pulling my leg or not. But the kind eyes looking back at me suggested he may not have been. Either way, the idea of actually being published – something I'd been dreaming of since I was a kid – was enough to raise my suspicions and make me shake my head.

"Thanks for listening, Pietro," I said conclusively, hoping he got the hint.

He nodded, accepting my word, thankfully. "Anytime. Hopefully this isn't the end of this conversation, though."

I cracked a smile, knowing it was but giving him the benefit of the doubt. He pursed his lips, glancing around briefly before attempting to hide an amused smile.

"What are you smiling at?" I teased, nudging him in the arm slightly.

His eyes met mine, sparkling with mischief. "You've probably not noticed, but as we've been speaking, almost everyone in this garden has looked our way."

I cocked my head with confusion, smile still present. He nodded subtly, eyes flickering to the right, so I followed his gaze and inconspicuously looked around. He was right, as murmurs of gossip escaped people's lips, their eyes trying to get a good look at the two of us. Even our parents were looking our way, no doubt discussing our future wedding affair.

"Wow," I breathed out, trying not to laugh as I looked back to him. "You'd think they'd have something better to do."

He leaned in, muttering, "Wanna give them a show?"

My eyes flickered between his, seeing that roguish charm of his come to life. I couldn't resist his mischievous attempt to piss off our parents, so of course I nodded with a stifled laugh.

"Care to dance, Miss Y/L/N?" he asked, a little louder than he needed to, attracting more attention.

I grinned, grateful for the idiot that was Pietro. He was already making my evening ten times better than it was.

Resting my hand in his outstretched one, I nodded. "Thank you, Mr Maximoff."

I barely had chance to put my glass down before he led me to the area before the live band that was strumming a lovely upbeat ballad. We joined the other couples that were also having a dance, unbothered by their nosey stares.

Bowing dramatically, he smiled and I curtsied before resting a hand on his shoulder and the other in his. He rested a hand on my waist respectfully before a grin spread across his lips and he began to dance me around everybody else, way too fast for me to keep up.

"Pietro!" I exclaimed between fits of laughter, trying not to trip over my feet or his.

"You said we could dance," he answered simply, before spinning me around.

My eyes went dizzy as he dipped me, making me laugh joyfully. For the first time all night, I was having fun. When he pulled me up, his eyes motioned to the left of us.

"D'you think our parents have already picked the wedding venue?" he teased.

"Definitely," I said with a nod, before shoving him back slightly. "But you, mister, need to slow down. You're like a speedster with the dancing. We should call you Quicksilver."

He laughed, continued to dance me around but much more slower this time. "I like that. You're clever. I can see why Wanda has taken a liking to you."

I knew he didn't mean it like that, but my heart dropped to my stomach anyway. A hearty chuckle escaped his lips as he noticed my expression. Thankfully, he didn't question it and we continued to make a fool of ourselves for a few more songs before taking a break by the snacks table.

"You're an idiot," I told Pietro as we caught our breath, but a delighted smile was on my lips. "You know you've probably convinced our parents that we're a couple now, right?"

"Hey, you're the one who started to fluff my hair like you loved me!" he retorted with humoured eyes.

"Because you're just so darn cute!" I mocked him, before moving forward and going in to fluff his hair yet again.

He attempted to smack my hand away as he said, "Hands off the hair, Y/L/N! I styled it perfectly!"

Grabbing my wrists, he held me back and I tried not to cry with laughter at the expression on his face.

"Such a child," I decided, pulling my hands away. "Whatever happens from here on out is definitely your fault."

He scoffed, as if ready to refute that fact, but before he could say anything, my brother's voice was heard.

"It's nice to see you actually conversing with people for a change, but maybe not my publisher."

Pietro and I turned and saw Y/B/N and Wanda approaching us. My brother seemed entertained by Pietro and I, looking between us with pre-conceived ideas that we may have already fancied each other, just like everyone else had tonight. Wanda, meanwhile, was watching me with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"He's good company, what can I say?" I joked, returning my brother's smile.

"Oh?" He raised a brow, knowing look in his eyes.

I rolled my own, trying not to laugh at his insinuation. There was no point trying to convince him otherwise.

"I was just giving Y/N here the best evening ever since she was moping around in the corner," Pietro explained nonchalantly, making me smack his arm.

"I was not moping!" I defended myself.

He shrugged, ghost of a smile on his lips. "Whatever you say."

I gave him a playful glare before focusing my attention to the couple before us.

"As lovely as it is to see whatever this is," my brother continued to make things awkward as he motioned between us, "I came to get Pietro. Someone from the press is here and has questions about the book."

At the mention of this, Pietro straightened up and neatened his bow tie, flashing my brother his most confident smile. "Lead the way, Y/B/N."

After assuring Wanda he'd be back in a second, Y/B/N let go of her waist and guided Pietro to the members of the press. Glad that he'd finally left her side, I looked to Wanda with a soft smile.

"Hey," I said quietly, glancing around before saying what I'd wanted to say all night. "You look radiant tonight, Wanda." 

Unexpectedly, she crossed her arms and pressed her lips together firmly. "How was your dance with Pietro?"

Her green eyes, literally green with envy, watched me with distaste. It didn't take long for me to recognise that familiar jealousy entwined in her expression because it was probably the same way I looked when she was with my brother. For some reason, this made me smile with amusement.

"He's a very good dancer," I said, half truthful and half trying to poke fun.

She wasn't amused. "Yeah, everybody saw. You've been all over him."

I covered my mouth, trying very hard not to laugh. "I mean, he's pretty funny to be around. I can totally see why everybody wants us to get married."

Her jaw clenched as she narrowed her eyes at me.

"C'mon, it's a joke," I said lightheartedly, nudging her in the arm. "You know that."

After internally debating whether or not to believe me, she relaxed her shoulders and unclenched her jaw. "I know."

"So, what's the problem?" I asked, raising a brow and smiling playfully.

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing."

My smile faded as I searched her eyes. "C'mon. What is it? You know you can tell me."

"Forget it, Y/N," she muttered, avoiding my eyes.

Realising she was still clearly bothered, I sighed dramatically, hoping to lighten the mood. Making sure my voice was low enough for only her to hear, I said, "I only danced with him to annoy our parents. Same with him. He's clearly not interested in me and neither I with him. That's why we get along so well." Teasing her once more, I added, "If circumstances were different, I'd like to think we'd be good friends. He's quite handsome, though I think the good looks are a Maximoff twin thing. Maybe if–"

"I'm in love with you!"

I paused, blinking, unsure if I'd heard correctly. Her cheeks were flushed as she looked to me with exasperation.

Glancing around to make sure nobody was attracted by her outburst, I swallowed hard. My heart was pounding in my ears as she said what I'd been struggling to accept for the past two months.

"What?" I breathed out, raising my brows with surprise.

She licked her lips, realisation replacing her look of admission. Opening her mouth to say something, she stepped forward, but my brother returned with an oblivious smile on his face and interrupted the moment.

"Wanda, the journalists want a picture of us for their article," he said enthusiastically, returning his arm around her waist and tugging her close, making my skin crawl.

Her gaze lingered on me for as long as she could before looking up to my brother with a halfhearted smile.

"Sure," she agreed reluctantly.

My brother nodded at me before leading Wanda away. She gave me one last look, her eyes trapped with unsaid words, before leaving with him. My mouth went dry as Wanda's words echoed in my mind. She was in love with me. And I knew I was in love with her, too. I had been for a while.

But wouldn't admitting that make this whole thing a lot more complicated?

—

"Will you stop shaking your hand? It's very distracting."

I stopped shaking my hand and gave my mum an apologetic glance before facing the door again. I was extremely eager and nervous to see Wanda again, as I hadn't been able to see her for the rest of the party last night.

Her words were permanently resounding in my mind all night, making it difficult to fall asleep. The reality of our situation had dawned on me and I knew that even though everything would become more difficult between us, I had to tell her that I felt the same way. The last thing I wanted was her panicking that I didn't. Because these last two months loving her in secret were better than anything I'd experienced in my life.

Iryna and my mum had made plans to hang out today, including Wanda and I in the plans without actually telling me until this morning. I didn't mind though as I was hoping it could be an opportunity for us both to finally speak.

The front door opened to reveal Iryna with a bright, inviting smile. She exchanged greetings with us both and ushered us inside instantly. There, waiting, was Wanda, looking as gorgeous as ever. A calm suddenly enveloped me as I looked to her, my heart fluttering in my chest more so than usual. She loved me and that thought alone made me feel giddy inside.

"You must come upstairs to the closet with me," Iryna insisted before I could utter a word to the brunette. "I've been very silly and impulse-ordered a bunch of new dresses. Of course, the only way to fix that is to try them on."

My mother laughed alongside her and the two of them looked to Wanda and I questioningly. I smiled their way, glancing at Wanda, before following them upstairs. Maybe later.

I spent the next hour trying on clothes against my own will, modelling them for Wanda and our mothers awkwardly. Ecstatic, our mothers threw their opinions out at me, but I was barely listening because all I could seem to focus on was a quiet Wanda. I couldn't read her mind for the life of me – she was getting better at hiding how she truly felt.

Wanda also tried some dresses on, still not as enthused as she usually was, but neither of our mothers seemed to take notice. I sat on the lounge sofa alongside them, eyes unable to look away from Wanda as she modelled the dresses. I had no words, my mind hazy and tongue tied as she stole my breath away for the millionth time. She was ethereal.

"...what do you think, Y/N?" Iryna asked, forcing me to look away from Wanda and to her. "She should keep this one, shouldn't she?"

I hummed in agreement, looking back to Wanda, who was avoiding my eyes. "She should. I don't think I've ever seen a dress so perfect for someone before."

Our mothers didn't seem to think much of my comment, but Wanda finally looked up, not ignoring me for the first time since I got here. I offered her a small smile, hoping she could see what I'd been wanting to say to her since last night. But she looked away, chewing on her lip and looking down.

"I'm gonna change," she mumbled, before turning to go back behind the curtain.

A sigh escaped my lips as I leaned back against the seat. I'd just have to find a spare moment.

Iryna and my mum proceeded to try on a bunch of dresses before we called it a day and were ready to eat lunch.

"I want you to have these, Y/N," Iryna told me as we all stood up, motioning to the pile of dresses on the arm of the sofa. "It's my gift to you."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, Iryna, you don't need to give–"

"Don't be ridiculous," she cut me off with a wave of her hand. "You're family now. Anything for my daughter-in-law."

I smiled awkwardly, not missing the eye roll from Wanda, before nodding. "Thanks..."

She looked to her daughter. "Wanda, medovyy (honey), can you help her pack them away and meet Y/M/N and I outside on the patio for some lunch?"

Wanda, having no other choice but to say yes, nodded and forced a smile in her mum's direction. "Sure, mum."

Our mothers fell into conversation as they left the room, finally leaving Wanda and I alone. I released a breath, grateful for the privacy, and looked to the Sokovian in question.

"You okay?" I asked slowly, wanting to find a start before erupting straight into my feelings.

She nodded, nibbling on her lip. She looked like she wanted to say something more, so I watched her patiently.

After a pause, when I thought she may just stay quiet forever, she spoke. "If what I said last night was out of line, I'm sorry."

I shook my head, a smile curling on my lips. "It wasn't. I'm in love with you, too."

Surprised, she finally met my gaze, eyes swirling with confusion. "You are?"

"Of course I am," I said quietly, stepping forward and taking her hands in mine. "I didn't mean to make you jealous last night. Pietro and I were genuinely just hanging out as friends."

She shook her head, eyes flickering between mine. "It doesn't matter about that. Forget it."

I still felt guilty, adding, "I know, but it does matter. I don't want to–"

She pressed her lips to mine quickly, cutting me off. Her fingers tangled in my hair as she tugged me closer with her other hand, making me gasp when my body touched hers. I kissed back, closing my eyes and moving my lips against hers in perfect sync.

I probably could have kissed her all afternoon, but the sound of the door opening made us both jump apart, startled. It was just a servant who was coming in to clean up the room. When she saw us, she gave us a small smile before moving around the room carefully. My eyes fell to Wanda's excited ones, and I smiled at her before nodding to the dresses.

"We should sort this out before they wonder what's taking so long," I told her, moving to pack them.

She nodded, grabbing my hand and squeezing it gently before helping me. We packed the dresses in no time before joining our mums out on the patio where they were sat with our lunch. I tried to keep my eyes off Wanda as our mothers spoke to us about God knew what, but it was hard when all I wanted to do was kiss her over and over, telling her just how much I loved her.

"...nice to see you both getting along lately," Iryna was talking, and I only zoned back in when I realised she was looking at me.

I blinked. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Wanda stifled a smile as my mum gave me a disapproving look from across the table.

Iryna didn't seem to mind as she chuckled. "You and Pietro," she continued. "You both seemed very comfortable at the party last night."

I settled on a polite smile. "He's a gentleman. Very nice to be around, I guess."

Iryna smiled knowingly, exchanging glances with my mum before patting Wanda on the forearm, getting her attention. "How does that sound, dear? Your brother and Y/N together?"

I shook my head instantly, realising how she'd taken my words. "That's not what I meant."

Humming in response, Iryna continued to look to her daughter. "You may have to start sharing your new best friend with Pietro."

Remembering Wanda's jealousy last night, I spared her a glance of concern, hoping she wouldn't let this get to her. She was smiling, but her eyes were dimmed with dismay.

"Uh-huh," she played along with her mother's words, before using her fork to pick at her food.

As our mums began to talk about it, I found Wanda's hand under the table and laced my fingers in hers, hoping she'd know I only cared about one person and it was her. Though she didn't look up, her hand tightened around mine and she didn't let go.

The rest of the lunch went by as expected, though the more Iryna and my mother mentioned the wedding, the more Wanda and I grew uncomfortable. It was so much harder to hear about it when I knew my feelings were growing stronger for the brunette every day. By the end of the meal, my mother was happy to go back home and said I could stay to hang out with Wanda, which of course I did.

After bidding her a goodbye, I let Wanda drag me upstairs and to her bedroom, though the door closed when she spun around and pushed me against it, immediately kissing me. Before I could even question what was happening, she pulled away and looked at me through a half-lidded gaze.

"I don't want to share you with my brother, ever," she rasped out lowly, before licking her lips. "I don't want to share you with anyone."

She breathed out, her breath mingling with mine. Her hands rested on my waist before she reattached our lips, moving hers slower and more thoughtfully against mine.

I closed my eyes, grabbing her face and holding her gently, letting her slip her tongue between my lips and play with mine. Then she sucked on my lower lip, teeth nibbling gently at the sensitive skin, and made my insides go warm and fuzzy.

When she let go, she trailed kisses down my jaw and to my neck, having me at her mercy.

"Wanda," I moaned, hand moving to the back of her neck as I tried to regain some control of the situation, but the longer she sucked at the exposed skin, the more my knees wanted to buckle.

Already lowering my dress to my shoulders, her hand untied the back of it and I flushed at the contact of her fingers against me, not used to the feeling but also not opposed.

"Wanda, are you sure?" I asked between bated breaths, attempting to get her attention by tugging at her dress.

She pulled back, hand rising to my jaw and caressing it with her thumb as she looked between my eyes. Hers were dark, clouded with an arousal I hadn't seen before.

"I am," she said with certainty, before asking, "Are you?"

I swallowed hard, the warmth in my core growing hotter as she stared at me with lustful eyes and swollen lips. "Yes."

She gave me a slight smile before pressing her lips to mine again, allowing me to wrap my arms around her neck. I heard her lock the door behind me as I undid the top of her dress, struggling to do so without breaking contact from her. We moved to the bed clumsily, trying not to stumble over our discarded dresses, before I laid her down and straddled her.

Leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses down her neck, I felt her fingers grip my waist, keeping ahold of my body on hers. I shivered as her nails scratched gently against the skin and grew warm when she lifted herself up gently to get more comfortable, her clothed centre rubbing against mine.

Taking a breath, I pulled away and hovered over her, revelling in the beauty that was Wanda Maximoff. Her cheeks were dusted pink as she opened her eyes, green eyes sparkling desperately as they flickered between mine.

"I love you," I told her softly, leaning on my elbow and caressing her forehead.

She smiled, nails trailing up my back and sending shivers down my spine. "Ya tozhe tebya lyublyu."

I tried not to laugh as I tilted my head with confusion. She smiled a little wider, hand reaching for the back of my bra.

"I love you, too," she translated in English, hint of amusement in her eyes, before she managed to undo the bra strap.

I rolled my eyes at her attempt of mockery before chasing down her lips once more. Everything about the woman before me was absolute perfection and I was glad I could finally share how I felt about her without having to hide it anymore.

The potential consequences of our actions was not my concern right now... all I cared about was treating her with the respect and care she deserved.

#wanda maximoff au #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #scarlet witch imagine #marvel #mcu #marvel imagine #elizabeth olsen #elizabeth olsen imagine

[imatechbummerliketomholland]

A Holland brunch is not a Holland brunch without a twist - S.H

hello there! This is my first request. I hope you all will like it, i want to say thank you to the beautiful and lovely @petersasteria, without her, my text would be such a mess. Word count: 1489 Warning: mention of car accident, a little angst. But it's fluffy at the end! Pairing : sam holland Request: yes! ღღღ

Since the pandemic, the Holland family could count on their fingers the times they were all together, in full. When it wasn't Sam who was in Scotland, it was Tom who had a filming project, often accompanied by Harry. And when Harry couldn't go with Tom, he had his own life, his own plans. Tom's birthday was therefore a good excuse for a family reunion. As Sam's girlfriend for a few months, you haven't had a chance to meet everyone yet. However, you were not unknown in the eyes of the family. Although discreet about his personal life, which you fully understood, Sam had left some clues on his social media, about you and your romantic relationship with him.

The man had taken a long time to get into this relationship. You were college friends. You attempted a move that he had initially refused the first time. Sam just wanted to live out his last days as a culinary student, finish his internship at this lavish hotel that he hoped would end up hiring him, and enjoy a few beers with friends. Having a love interest was, therefore, not in his priorities. But a simple evening changed his perspective. The rest is history.

Your schedule had not allowed you to go to London at the same time as Sam. Your boyfriend was already with his family the day before yesterday and you had only just arrived at the Airbnb you had rented— despite Sam's protests that you stay at his parents' or Tom's-. You liked your independence. Plus, you found it a bit opportunistic to stay with your boyfriend's family when they didn't officially know you.

On this Sunday morning, you put on an outfit that you felt comfortable in and that was still good enough for a family meal. You grabbed the keys to your rental car, quickly texted your boyfriend: "on my way. See you soon, babe". Then you're directed to the address Sam sent you.

☙♥❧

On the Holland side, Sam put his phone back in his pocket and put his glasses on his nose. He was wearing a white, short-sleeved shirt, a small miracle since the last time he actually put one on was for the shoot of Roses for Lily. But he had wanted to please you and hoped you would enjoy the effort. Harry was setting the table and Nikki walked out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron.

"So, sweetheart?"

"She's on her way. She shouldn't be late."

Nikki gave him a big smile. She had had the opportunity to speak to you once or twice on the phone, when Sam asked you to pick up when he was busy. She already found you so sweet and kind, she couldn't wait to meet you in person.

☙♥❧

You weren't particularly dangerous behind the wheel, but you had to admit you were a little over the speed limit. Yet you have been extremely careful. You were a few yards from the Hollands' residential area. You were on the A308 London Road when a driver left you right of way at the Station Road intersection. The impact was pretty harsh and you were pretty shaken up. When the paramedics arrived, they asked you who the emergency contact person was. And although they were your parents, you gave Sam's number. He was the closest after all.

☙♥❧

At Holland’s place, several minutes have passed without hearing from you. Sam was really starting to wonder what you were doing. It was sunny, maybe there was more traffic than usual? But the answer to his questions fell when his phone buzzed again in his pocket. The name of the caller indicated that it was you. But, when he picked up, a male voice stunned him. His face instantly paled as he took in the information. Harry immediately noticed the condition of his twin. And as soon as the apprentice cook hung up, Harry put a hand on his shoulder, looking worried.

"What is it, mate?"

"I need to go to Kingston Hospital now."

Nikki's eyes, who was not far from her sons, widened in shock. What had happened then?

"What? What's going on honey?" she asked

"y/n was in a car accident. I'm sorry, I'm going to have to go."

"Don't be stupid Sam, we're coming with you." Tom said, grabbing his keys.

Tom did this for a number of reasons: one, because he wasn't planning on letting his little brother drive in this state of shock; and two, y/n was, in a way, part of the family. Once you bond with a Holland boy, expect to be bonded with the rest of the group, even if it's only been a few months, and even if you haven't met them yet. You had a connection to them and you were important to Sam.

☙♥❧

You were now in a hospital bed with a slight bruise on your head and your arm in a cast. You really didn't expect to end up here on a Sunday over brunch time. What you even less expected was seeing your boyfriend tumble into the emergency room with a supportive platoon behind him. The whole family was there, or almost, after all, pets weren't allowed in the hospitals, so Tessa Holland was the little forgotten one in the procession. Sam walked over to you and inspected you from every angle, as if he were a doctor.

"You’re alright, love?"

You didn't know if you were still in shock from the accident or if it was the embarrassment to find yourself in the hospital in front of your boyfriend's whole family. But you just nodded. Sam then kissed your forehead under the tender gaze of those close to him.

“I have to say,” Harry began, "That for a first impression, you typed in a gigantic way."

It immediately relaxed the atmosphere. You let out a chuckle as Sam glared at his twin in a disapproving way. Tom, smirking, decided it was an honor to add a layer.

"You know, there were many other ways than getting a plaster to ask me for an autograph" joked the actor.

Dom held the bridge of his nose, cursing a little while muttering under his breath, "Such a movie star." Sam moaned as he hugged you while the others laughed, finding themselves extremely funny. You, yourself, found this rather a picturesque situation and let out several laughs. Nikki shakes her head, resigned to the idea that she raised such idiots. She walked over to you, flicking the back of Harry's head and giving Tom a disapproving look. Harry frowned, noticing the difference between him and his brother.

"We know who’s the favorite child." he said ironically.

The redhead turned to her son and gave one last look, a warning look. Sometimes you have to learn to be more serious. Plus, Nikki hated it when her kids implied that she loved one more than the other. She loved them equally and did anything to make them happy. The curly boy raised his hands in redemption as his mother finally turned to you.

"Nice to meet you my dear. You scared us pretty much." She finally said.

"Nice to meet you too, mrs. Holland. I'm sorry I ruined the brunch."

"Oh please, darling, call me Nikki. And you haven't ruined anything at all. A Holland brunch without a twist isn't a brunch." she joked, trying to make you as comfortable as possible.

You gave her a smile as the doctor who had been taking care of you walked into the room. He looked at the crowd in the room with a puzzled look.

"Okay, I didn't know we had a famous person here."

Tom opened his mouth and Sam interrupted him unprecedentedly

"Don't even dare to make that joke or I swear I'm going back to Scotland straight away!"

The rest of the family laughed at the exchange. The doctor then asked to clear the room and only Sam stayed with you.

"So from the x-rays and the pretty cast you already have. I can tell you that you don't have anything too bad considering the car crash. You can go home, just check for any symptoms of concussion. I'm leaving some papers here to sign and return to reception and you can go. "

You thanked the doctor. When he left the room, you turned your gaze to Sam.

"I'm so sorry I ruined this brunch."

"Hey ... you didn't. As my mom told you, brunch at the Holland's without a twist is not brunch."

"I know, but—"

" Furthermore..." Sam interrupted you

"What?" You asked

"I told you they would love you ..."

You couldn't help but offer a loving smile to Sam. He puts his lips gently on yours and you kiss him back. What had you done to deserve such a perfect boyfriend?

"I love you, Sam Holland."

"And me, even more."

#sam holland #sam holland x reader #tom holland #harry holland #tom holland x reader #harry holland x reader #holland family x reader

[dhaaruni]

No offense, but I believe the Founding Fathers could only write all that liberty and justice for all stuff with a straight face specifically because they knew there'd always be a permanent underclass they could deprive of those rights whenever it was economically/infrastructurally convenient. In the 18th-19th century it was mostly Black slaves; today... it's still racial/ethnic minorities (with maybe some more poor white people than before). Past the pretty words, it's still a feudal monarchy.

Lol first of all, America is absolutely not a feudal monarchy in any sense because our taxes do not pay for Joe Biden's designer clothes and his house on Rehoboth Beach the way modern Great Britain's taxes pay for whatever the fuck the BRF does. You can criticize capitalism without labeling it equivalent to feudal monarchy where almost nobody could have any wealth of their own.

Also, no one normal really cares about the Founding Fathers' rationale for writing the Constitution/Declaration including me quite frankly. The audience for that stupid New Republic piece about how Hamilton is a sign of neoliberalism and Obama/Hillary Clinton being evil is like, overeducated white people with too much free time. Obviously the founding fathers were all wealthy white men and therefore hypocritical in their assessments of freedom and justice, but the average person doesn't think about that when they think about the Constitution lol.

I hate Ryan Grim with a burning passion but Ro Khanna's framing of patriotism is exactly what I'm talking about. The vast majority of Americans, ESPECIALLY immigrants, agree with Khanna, who's actually a great messenger like put him on MSNBC more and Cori Bush less!!

The Lincoln Project is grifterish but this is the kind of messaging the Democratic Party needs to be using. America good, we'll make it better for ALL Americans is a whole lot more appealing than America bad, Americans evil, let's punish people who don't deserve what they have. Also, the cheerful patriotic music and pretty scenery helps! Voters vote on vibes, and people like to ~believe in America even if you personally don’t.

Republicans have a loud and sneering contempt for everything about this country outside of their tribe and meanwhile, liberals just don't take the lay-up of "We love America which is why we want to make it better for all Americans" because Dem consultants and all the academics don't let us, and it's killing us at the ballot box because voters think we don't share their values when we literally do! Democrats care just as much about family and God and community and supporting our troops (or whatever) as Republicans do but our loudest members don't actually give a shit whether Democrats keep or lose our majorities since they're in safe seats so they don't care to abide by that messaging.

Like my point is, you don't have to believe in the patriotism stuff even if I do, but the Democratic Party apparatus (and not just 80% of elected officials) needs to do a much better job of acting like we believe in it and care about what voters care about (even if we personally think it's stupid) or we're going to keep on losing winnable races like we did in Virginia. Like, losing Virginia by 2.5% is really bad when Biden won it by 10% and it doesn't matter that it was closer than in 2009 and therefore 2022 won't be as bad as 2010 because in both cases, the Democratic candidate lost and the people of the state are going to suffer. Politics isn't about some grand intellectual exercise, it's literally a matter of life and death a lot of the time (just look at how Florida vs. Washington state did with COVID-19), and people need to get that like, now.

#answered #anonymous #politics

[elia-de-silentio]

Seriously, what's up with Jeanne?

While this particular arc seems to be focused on everyone else, I'd like to make a little recap about a character who, even if the narration has not focused on it as much as for other characters, is one of the most sorrounded by mysteries: Jeanne.

This is her 'birth'. Her parents had been mentioned a few chapter earlier, but as we can see here, they are the ones who adopted her after finding her completely on her own. Jeanne herself is confused by the memory, and can't locate it well.

But we see her in what looks like some sort of water tank, with a reassuring figure practicing Pedagogy 101: always favor the child search for an identity and self-esteem!

But still, returning to the tanks: here's a figure who, from the vague details we can see of her, looks a lot like a young Jeanne in a tank ... but in the present time.

We see that now Ruthven is in front of it, but it's very unlikely that he was the Candle Holder: back when Jeanne was a child, he was still a moderate, his change didn't incur until Louise and Eric betrayed him. In fact, he seems very nice and encouraging to a recently-adopted Jeanne.

So, her childhood in the care of her parents goes swimmingly: she is loved, she meets Chloé who becomes like an older sister to her. To Candle Holder's face, she becomes an outgoing, mischievous child, with a warm and cheerful personality.

Then something terrible happens. Her parents betray Ruthven for ... nobody bothered to explain why, a lot of vampires are killed and Ruthven loses his eye as a consequence. The ever-so-progressive vampire culture informs Jeanne that children pay for their parents's sins, and from now on, she's a bourreau, a tool, exactly like Candle Holder told her.

Moreover, she convinces herself that it's her fault, that she disobeyed; from that moment onward, she dedicates herself to mindlessly obeying the Senate's orders, slaughtering without mercy her own kind on opposite factions.

That is, until Chloé. Faced with the order to kill the one she was so close to as a child, Jeanne can't be a tool anymore; she fails her mission, and has a breakdown, killing all the people who were with her. Appearently, it's something that happens often to bourreaus (e grazie al cazzo).

After this, the Senate nonchalantly talk about getting her 'destroyed' (not 'killed', notice the choice of words), but Ruthven intervenes on her behalf, pretty much saying that if the rest of the Senate isn't using their toy anymore then there are no problems if he takes it.

The immediately following panels are estremely interesting and, I think, the most important for what is going on right now. We see Jeanne laying on a bed, next to a table with some food; Naenia appears and hoovers over her, laughing creepily, but we don't see the Parade of Charlatan, or a conversation that implies Naenia stole her real name.

There is a blank in Jeanne's memories, and next thing we know, Ruthven is there, the room is completely trashed, and both him and Jeanne have signs of a fight. The only thing certain is that Ruthven drank Jeanne's blood, as shown by the stains on her neck and him ordering her to remember her oath. Then, he puts her into an induced slumber, something that was mentioned right in her introductory chapter, from which she will wake up to become Luca's chevalier.

Now, we get to the present times. We know that, on occasion, Jeanne suffers from the uncontrollable impulse to drink blood; she is on medicine, but it doesn't seem to be very effective, and given Vanitas's surprise at finding out something like that exist, I half-suspect it of being more of a placebo.

Still, it is not clear if she is a curse-bearer or simply addicted to blood, as Vanitas futilely tries to ask: Ruthven's command forbids her from speaking. Personally, I think she is neither.

We have seen time and time again that curse-bearers have an intense craving for blood, so much that they can't stop from draining completely their victims; but Jeanne always managed to stop herself before really harming Vanitas.

As for the 'addicted to blood' theory ... well, she showed no signs of being so before, especially since she was a bourreau under constant surveillance, and she wouldn't have had the opportunity to become it; neither she had it as Luca's bodyguard, a position of extreme responsibility.

But there are a few little hints that, at least to me, paint a very interesting picture.

As we have seen, Jeanne was 'born' in a water tank. But she isn't the only one: another very similar figure is being watched over by Ruthven. This led to two fandom theories: that the one we see is not the real Jeanne, currently still asleep, or that she is some sort of clone.

We see that this figure is not completely unaware: she flinches, in consequence of something that happened when the whole group was caught in the parade of Charlatan. Was it Noé calling Naenia, since the panels were shown immediately after? Or was it because Jeanne was having a vision of a distorted form of her parents?

Now, the first of these possibilities led others on this site to speculate that that was actually the true form of Naenia, that is, the vampire queen. An interesting theory, because when Chloé forces her into a physical form, she looks ...

Now, it might be just Mochizuki's style, but aside from the sheer volume of hair and the huge eyes, it seems to me that Faustina looks quite a lot like a young Jeanne.

Moreover, there is a shot of Ruthven's hand that is very similar to the one in Jeanne's scene above. Here is Faustina having flashbacks to when Ruthven ... eh, boh? Killed her? Destroyed her in some other way? It still isn't clear. Again, it could be just a representation of Ruthven extending his powers, but until confirmed otherwise I'll keep that into consideration.

Now, the very first image we got of the Vampire Queen was a frame of her hand, dark-skinned and extremely thin. But when she manifested as Faustina, she had fair skin. So maybe it was a result of her near-death condition, like she was a mummy?

Moreover, in that flashback, Ruthven said something about having her 'vanish', and Loki comments about smashing the queen's corpse. But for what we see, it looks pretty whole, even if in a not-so-great state. And both Loki and Veronica - there is a silhouette that looks a lot like her - seem to be fairly young for vampire standards, so whatever happened, it likely wasn't a long time ago.

But we know that her malnomen Naenia was around from before Ruthven was betrayed and corrupted, and likely before he got himself adopted into the Oriflamme's family and got his position of power. We see her trying to sway Chloé and do something that hurts Ruthven himself.

The point I'm trying to explore is: Jeanne was born in a tank, and Candle Holder called her a vessel, something that should not have had a will of her own. What is both the 'Jeanne is in the tank' and 'Faustina is in the tank' theories are correct? What if Jeanne is Faustina's clone?

Besides the resemblance, there is what little we see of Candle Holder. A sleeve; but to me, it looks quite similar to the Senate's formal wear.

If there is some cloning of the vampire queen going about, the Senate would definitely not only know, but also be the one to arrange the whole thing.

So, here's my tentative theory: Faustina's true name gets corrupted by as of now unknown means, and the nature of her malnomen is taking away other vampires's names. This has repercussions on her physical state as well, the Senate notices, and does something about that; to her body only, which does squat to actually stop the cursebearers spread. Besides this failure, they don't want to throw the vampire world in a major political crisis; so they made up some clone of the Queen, perhaps in the hopes to transmit to them the original's memories and personality, thus making them 'vessels'. Perhaps this works for a while, but eventually, even the new bodies start to manifest something wrong, and get discarded for other clones.

At some point, due to some accident, one of the clones escapes, wanders off, is found by Eric and Louise, and developes a personality of her own: Jeanne.

But after some time, she starts to develope strange symptoms too, namely her compulsion to drink blood, which manifested itself after she met Naenia. We know that she fears she'll stop being herself; maybe she risks to become a part of Charlatan in her own right?

As for why, if this theory is correct, the Queen hasn't been seen in public in a long time ... well, maybe there was some accident, and are waiting for the next clone to be ready? They can't exactly bring in a Queen that looks like a young girl if she was an adult woman in her last public appearence.

I realize that, as it is, it's a pretty shaky theory, but I wanted to share it, while waiting for anything to confirm or debunk it.

Thanks to anyone who bothered to read my ramblings!

#vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #vanitas no shuki #vnc meta #vnc analysis #vnc theory #vnc jeanne #vnc ruthven #vnc naenia #elia's recaps

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen (chapt. 3 PART 1)

[Donnie x reader]

sfw, part 2 here

"Leo?" 

Donnie froze. Leo stood firm where he was. The atmosphere of the lab fell still and Donnie got up from his chair, slipping his phone into his pocket. 

"I was getting ready," Donnie almost stammered out, though he managed to get through it barely. "Just…" 

He couldn't think of anything to say. No excuses; he knew he was caught. Why would he have been smiling, chuckling at his phone? Why would he have been that distracted as to not detect his brother? There was no explanation to give. He was far less acute than their leader in his senses—less intuitive—to have been able to know that. He berated himself as Leo folded his arms and gave him a look of knowing. Always with that look. You knew you were busted when Leo deployed that one. 

"You can either tell me what's going on now or you can do it out there, where everyone can hear," said Leo sternly, body partially blocking the exit anyway. 

Donnie scratched on the same spot on the back of his neck that he'd always picked at when he felt uncomfortable. "I can explain," he finally said in a low tone. "Just let me. And please don't alert everyone else immediately. Promise?" 

Pausing, Leo contemplated on his response, coming to the decision that he'd at least give him that. He nodded and motioned for him to start, "Go ahead."

"I, um…" 

Donnie's heart rate picked up a bit as he began to feel a wash of embarrassment seep in. He'd never been very open to his brothers about how he sometimes wanted connection with the outside world. He hadn't thought much about love or romance given their situation, either, but it did crop up from time to time—he still never mentioned it. 

Releasing a deep breath, he explained, "I met someone. Over a game. She wanted to text, and I figured that, since the possibility of—" 

Leo halted him. "Time out, what? You met someone on a game, they wanted to text, and you just...agreed?" he asked, surprised himself by Donnie's actions. Before he would hear his brother's response, he continued, cutting him off once again, "Did you forget that there's a reason why we don't just go around talking to whoever?"

Donnie felt a spark of anger and he stood up straighter, stepping forward toward Leo. He hated nothing more than being implied he was stupid or naive. But he still kept his distance, and still tried to keep his voice low so that prying ears couldn't hear. 

"Trust me, Leo! I've been talking to her for a few weeks. We only started officially texting recently. You know I've fixed up our phones so they aren't traceable; what is the issue? Am I not allowed to have my own life?" 

Leo scoffed lightly, shaking his head. "Don, come on, dude," he reasoned, "can you even be sure that's a girl?" 

Donnie's lip twitched in annoyance and he scoffed, himself. Of course he was sure! If he'd ever had any inkling he was being baited by an older man, he never would have played with them, or even agreed to text. But Leo didn't seem to listen to anyone's intuition but his own and Splinter's, and so he wouldn't hear out that argument. Donnie suddenly wished she'd sent a picture of herself so he could prove to his brother that he was not, in fact, that empty-headed. 

"Also, you do have your own life, it's with us. Which means I have to look out for both you and the rest of the family. I mean it when I say this is risky. Don't be a fool, Donnie. Plus, what were you planning on doing when she eventually wants to know more about you? Lie your way through it? Even if she is who you say she is, it still doesn't change the fact that she's a human girl and you're a mutant. And you can't keep up the charade forever." 

Donnie's heart panged at his last words. He wanted so badly to say that he was wrong, but really, he knew that Leo was painfully correct. He couldn't keep up the act forever. Not unless he wanted a friendship built upon lies and deceit by omission. As much as he hated to admit it, Leo was right; it was foolish to have thought it would somehow work out. 

Silence befell them, and even though he spoke the truth, Leo felt bad upon seeing his face fall like that. He reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know it gets lonely. We all do. But you have to face it, Don. That up there? It isn't for us," he told him gently, trying hard to lift the tension from the room. "Let's just stick to what we know best, okay?" 

The shadows. 

Eyes averted at the ground, Donnie swept the hand on his shoulder off. He walked right past his brother and grabbed some gear on his way out. "Yeah. Let's go." His reply was quiet and curt, steady as he could make it. Though on the inside, he was frustrated. Frustrated that he'd dug himself into a hole that he'd now have to not only dig himself out of, but let down someone else while he was at it. He'd have to let her go. Less angry was he with himself as he was his situation, and Leo knew that feeling well. He wanted to protect his brother—he just hoped Donnie would see that. 

Out on patrol, they went about their routine as usual, but everyone noticed the mood-shift. Raph and Mikey were excitable as ever, but the other two were more reserved that night, not talking much to each other. 

They leaped from one rooftop to another where they decided to stop for a quick rest, Mikey racing ahead of all of them as he vaulted from the roof and onto the next. "You guys are slow!" he called from the other side. He grinned and jumped up onto the scaffold of a water tower while Raph  barrelled across the gap with a roll on impact, Leo choosing to take a flip. Donnie trailed behind and simply jumped the ledge. 

"Yo, what's up, D?" Mikey asked through heavy breaths, picking up on his standoffishness. "You been quiet all night!"

"And you're slow as hell," Raph commented. While not as perceptive as Mikey, he had noticed the odd tension and was beginning to get suspicious as well. He knew someone wasn't saying something; he just didn't know what. 

Leo and Donnie exchanged looks. He silently hoped that Leo would take the hint, but when Leo sighed and glanced back at the other two, he knew it was hopeless. He'd get chastised at for being ignorant all over again. At least by Raph, he judged. Mikey couldn't really talk because he'd been in a similar boat before, and now, he knew how he'd felt all those times they got onto Mikey for trying to make contact with humans. 

"Well?" demanded Raph, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "You gonna tell us or what?" His eyes were on Leo rather than Donnie, because he already had an idea that they both knew something that he and Mikey didn't, but everyone turned to Leo when something like this came up.

Leo chewed on his lower lip for a second, conflicted as to whether he would come out with it or save Donnie's pride. They were brothers, family—he couldn't feel truthful keeping them in the dark. But he also recognized that it wasn't his place to say it. He instead turned to Donnie himself, looking for any sign of what they were gonna do. It was up to him, he concluded; if he wanted to stay quiet about it, he could. 

Mikey was confused. Raph was growing more impatient. Donnie felt pressured to blurt it out. And he did. 

Breaking, Donnie strung out, "I met someone online and we started talking and Leo found out and I didn't want you guys to know because it was stupid and...and...oh, just let me finish this now!"

Leo awkwardly stood back in silence while Raph looked at Mikey, then back at Donnie and him, and soon enough everyone was just staring at one another, all waiting for someone to say something, but no one did. Done, Donnie took his phone out and opened up the messages shared between him and her, holding it out for his brothers to see. 

Without warning Raph snatched the phone from his hand and started scrolling, Mikey peering around his shoulder and trying to push him out of the way to see. 

"You actually talked to a girl," Mikey awed. He was excited at first, but it faded when he thought about the fact that Donnie had kept a secret from them. They didn't keep secrets. 

"Yeah, one named [y/n], who lives in New York City," Raph emphasized, "and works at wherever this is…and...how did you even meet this girl, Don? Is that even a girl?" he questioned Donnie accusingly, waving the phone around as he spoke. He almost dropped it and Donnie quickly took it from him, telling him to be careful as he slipped it back into the strap on his bicep. 

Leo kept vigilant watch around them while the conversation played out, being the only one truly paying attention. His eye caught some erratic movement in a tucked-away alley down below them. 

"For the last time, yes! She is a girl! And I met her on a game," Donnie answered, throwing his hands down. 

"Save it for later, guys, we got company," Leo interjected. He pointed down at the alleyway adjacent to the building they were on and motioned for them to get moving, dropping down onto the fire escape of an apartment complex. 

Raph bumped Donnie in the arm purposefully as they approached the edge of the roof, "We ain't done yet," he said, dropping onto the fire escape. 

"Yeah, not done yet," Mikey added whimsically. 

Groaning under his breath, Donnie whipped out his staff, and leaped down. 

Mikey followed behind him, jumping the ledge and launching himself to the opposite balcony. They came upon the scene of a couple of men each carrying a sack out of a backdoor in a building, what was assumed to be the ringleader overseeing it from a car parked next to them. 

They turtles were silent, perfectly hidden and moved within the black of night as they descended. Raph pulled out his sai and was about to drop down on one of the unsuspecting men when Leo shoved him back. "Hold on," Leo told him. Begrudgingly, Raph stood down. Donnie peered around the corner from ground level while Mikey clinged to a wall in the shadows. Above, Leo and Raph took the high ground, watching them from a balcony nearby. 

"Hurry up and get this shit loaded into the car, I don't wanna get caught back here," a rough voice ordered from the vehicle. Donnie spotted another person in the passenger's seat. 

"We're goin' as fast as we can!" one of the men spat back. All were beefed up, tattooed, and based on the scars, no strangers to a fight. 

Raph looked at Leo with a smirk. Leo gave the signal and everyone closed in, red and blue dropping from the balcony onto the two completely unaware men, while Donnie and Mikey went to take care of those in the car. 

"What the fuck?!" a man shouted, stumbling back as the duo dropped heavily in front of them. He tossed the sack away and Raph saw he was going to pull out a gun, which Raph went for immediately with his sai. He charged into the man before he could even try to aim and stuck the arm holding the pistol with his three-pronged weapon, forcing his wrist down and the gun to fall out of his hand. Leo took the other and barely had to use any force in pinning the man against the wall with his blade and forearm, but had to duck out of the way when Mikey came through swinging his nunchucks at one of the men who had tried to flee the scene. 

"Watch where you're going with those things, Mikey!" Leo yelled, grunting as a crowbar collided with the side of his head. He spun around and threw his fist at whoever was behind him, an incapacitating blow to a human, but barely his full strength. 

Mikey easily caught his target and gave his legs a mighty sweep to sent him tumbling down. "You thought!" he bellowed with a laugh. "Can't outrun M.C. Mikey." 

Donnie caught the driver on the far end of the fight scurrying to pick up the sacks before making his getaway, and quickly he forcefully jabbed his staff into the solar plexus of the man, sending him onto his back. He was winded, coughing and struggling for air. 

"Donatello! You good over there?" Raph called out, delivering one final kick to the stomach of the man he was on. Donnie heard the skid of a shoe on the pavement behind him and didn't even have to look as he whirled around with a swing of his staff, hitting the man in the head with near-devastating force. It was a knockout blow—the guy dropped, and the fight was over as quickly as it had started. 

Donnie looked around and collapsed his staff, "All good," he answered curtly. 

All five of the men lay on the ground, a couple flat-out unconscious while the rest hissed and groaned in pain. While Donnie inspected the sacks strewn around, Raph chuffed and kicked the gun that had fallen away from the hand that was slowly reaching for it, looking down at the pathetic criminal as he instead stepped on his wrist. The burly man let out a whimper, like a baby, and Raph chuckled. 

"Just money," Donnie announced. All of them heard the sirens of police cars approaching. "Let's get out of here, guys." 

"Those morons weren't even a warm-up," Raph gloated, fist-bumping Mikey. Leo and Donnie were already scaling up to the roof. "Guess if I want to be bored outta my mind, I'll find these guys again." 

"Oh, we'll find 'em again," Mikey added, pulling himself up onto the fire escape. He glanced back and saw the red and blue flashing lights starting to round the corner. "But, uh, not before the cops do." 

The four made their way back up to the roof and left the area. They still had some time left on patrol, so for a minute, they lingered around, Raph keen to reignite their earlier conversation. Donnie already saw it coming and mentally prepared to answer all of the questions that were about to be thrown his way—which he was correct about, as Raph proceeded to open with, "So, what, you're keepin' secrets from us now? Anything else ya been doing behind all our backs?" 

"Cut it, Raph," Leo said, stepping between him and Donnie, "you know that's not it. Don?"

"We're your pals, man, you should have told us," frowned Mikey. 

"I just didn't want anyone to freak out," Donnie explained, "and I didn't know I was going to meet anyone I liked that much, I was only planning on playing the—" 

Both Raph and Mikey asked in unison, "'Like'?" 

He scrambled to fix his wording. He cursed his nervous chatter; he couldn't help himself, he was uncomfortable. Maybe even anxious, because he knew he was going to have to face reality and break it off with his new friend.

"No, not—not 'like'. Like, not like that. I mean in general, as a person," he stuttered, floundering with himself. 

Mikey knew he was lying. He knew it well. Though gullible at times, when it came to the heart, Mikey truly was the most in-tune out of the four. As for the other two, he couldn't say as to whether they saw the lie here, because sometimes, Donnie stuttered just because he was excited or frazzled. Other times, it was definitely because he was lying. The entire time he felt a little bad for his brother. He imagined himself in his shoes and it made him sad, thinking about having to let go of a friend right after having them in his life. 

Putting a hand on his shell, Mikey shook him a bit, "You like her, bro," he whispered. 

Donnie lightly pushed him away. "She's a friend," he clarified, eyeing Mikey. 

Raph was silent for a moment while he thought about everything. He wasn't mad about the fact that Donnie has found someone as much as he was that he never said anything, kept a secret from his brothers. The four of them had a rule that went without saying; they didn't keep secrets from one another. Not about anything major, at least—which this was. He didn't even contemplate on what he thought Donnie should do about it, just that he'd hidden something significant from all of them.  

"Still doesn't change the fact that you didn't seem like you were plannin' on coming clean with any of us," Raph huffed. "Not if he didn't catch ya." He pointed at Leo. 

Donnie suddenly felt his temper flare, and he bit back, "What about you, Raphael? You constantly hide your feelings! How is it not the same thing?" 

"Except for his anger, he's pretty upfront about that," Mikey quickly added in before sinking away from the two. Leo sighed and flicked his head. Donnie was right. Raph was a hypocrite and they were getting nowhere. 

"My feelings don't endanger people around me," growled Raph, stepping in toward Donnie. They met each other half-way as Donnie wasn't about to back down from his brother, who he was not scared of. "That is absolutely different from what you're doing!"

"Guys, we need to get going," Leo stated, seeing how the moon was far its descent. "Splinter's clear about when he wants us back." 

"I'm finishing this right now," Donnie said, pulling out his phone. He opened up the messages and began typing.

Hey. Sorry for the sudden message and I apologise, but I can't do this anymore

He hadn't noticed yet, but the last text he'd received was only twenty minutes prior, right before they dipped from the crime scene they'd just handled. It read: 

Damn, I hear all this racket outside my apartment and it's kind of making me nervous

Like guys yelling and stuff getting banged

Nvm someone called the cops, I guess it's good now 

Everyone was gathered around Donnie watching the screen as he typed. Raph and Leo both caught that last message. He pressed send and it was only then he saw it, too, and everyone slowly looked at each other in recognition. Everyone was thinking the same thing. 

"Awkward," Mikey drew out. 

All were at a loss for words. When a new message pinged, they all shoved at each other to get a good look. Raph accidentally stepped on someone's foot. "Ouch! Give me some space, guys," Donnie snapped. 

What? 

What's wrong? 

Donnie looked sadly at the screen. He started typing his response, something skin to "it's complicated" followed by an apology, but Mikey stopped him. "Dude, you can't tell her that, it's gonna hurt her feelings!" Mikey exclaimed, "this is totally unfair! To both of you."

"Look, I ain't tryna be petty, but last time I checked, the rest of us aren't allowed to have human friends," grumbled Raph.

A new message popped up and it read:

Well...I won't question your decision. Bye Bo, I guess

Sighing, Donnie turned off his phone and put it away. He turned to everyone. "Happy?"

"Of course not, bro," Mikey responded. He looked around, as if expecting agreement. There was none; Raph stood away and Leo was watching Donnie's face go from annoyed to dejected. "Guys?"

Leo patted Donnie on the shoulder. "You did the right thing," he said. Donnie didn't say anything. "Alright, let's get going."

Chapter 3, part 2

#tmnt #tmnt donnie #donatello #donatello x reader #tmnt fanfiction #fanfiction #romance #sfw fanfiction #leonardo #raphael #michaelangelo #tmnt leo #tmnt raph #tmnt mikey #tmnt x reader #teenage mutant ninja turtles

[writing-for-me-at-this-point]

The Missing Guardian | Prologue: Act I Scene II | Mondstadt: The Outlander Who Caught The Wind

A.N. yay! second chapter! hope you guys enjoy and sorry for any typos! this chapter is also a day late :/ sorry again about that. im currently going through a lot family wise, but i wanted this to come out as soon as i could get it out. in compensation, you guys have another birthday character coming out and hopefully the first i love you prompt :D anyways, enjoy!

Word Count. 2,213 words

Page Count. 6.5 pages

TWarnings. cursing 

Synopsis. When you’ve finally found a home in a set of twins who travel across worlds, setting out to enjoy your time with them; learning everything you could while traveling from world to world. But this time was different, because this time, someone stood in your way from continuing forward, from going home. You watched as your family was torn from you once again, leaving you stuck in a world alone with only a guide, the memories of a life long left behind, and the hope of finding them once again.

[ Series Masterlist: The Missing Guardian Mini Masterlist ]

[ previous ] [ Act I Scene II ] [ next scene ]

        You smiled as your gaze looked out the window, the eternal abyss staring back as it was littered with the misty colors of turquoise, lavender, and many shades of rose- stars littering the rest of the scene in front of you. You leaned your head against the metal framing of the window, your hair cushioning you comfortably as thoughts sat still in your mind, your body calm as well.

        How long has it been since you were on the ship?

        "Hey kid, don't sleep with your neck like that- you'll mess it up" Quills voice rang out, but it sounded far away, muffled. You didn't know if it was cause of your tiredness or your spaced out state, but you couldn't seem to care by that point. You felt thick gloves move around your neck, the other moving under your knees, before a huff and some grumbling.

        "I don't know what you'll do without us, but even then," He sighed, carrying your body to the closest area where you could rest properly under his gaze, on the plush rest area in the cabin, allowing him to navigate the stars while keeping you near- though he'd vehemently denied it at any and every comment about it, the Guardian had grown attached to you, finding a child in you where you found a father in him.

        "I don't think I want you leaving the nest so soon."

        "As we all know, poetry and language flow like the wind. There'll definitely be someone there who knows about your friends. At least, that's what Paimon thinks!" Your guide chimed, hovering in front of you as you both made your way down the side of the hill, the vibrant and thick greens of the grass and trees were only further complimented by the sun- this place definitely was beautiful. You didn't feel warm, or overheated, which surprised you, especially with how bright the sun was. The cool breeze was constant in this place, giving an Autumn chill to a Spring setting, at this rate you'd think you'd need your body suit to warm you up.

        "Whether the gods actually answer you is a different story. You never know unless you try. So let's hop to it!" You can practically feel her smile, her small head turning back to you, Paimon's small body bouncing up at how you were listening to her so intently. By the time you reached the statue, she started to cross again, having the privilege of floating while you... did not.

        "You can swim right over! Don't push yourself though!" 

        "Let's just hope I don't sink with all the gear I have... or get electrocuted." You joked, walking into the water till your hot waist level, deciding at that point swimming was best.

        "W-what? Don't just jump in then!" She shouted, still loud as ever in that tiny body of hers, floating above you with a worried look on her face.

        "I'm fine, I'm fine. My gear is all waterproof, so there isn't an issue there." You huffed, climbing onto the shore of the tiny island before shaking off the water and straining what you could, lightening your load as much as allowed. 

        "See? All good."

        "Well don't joke like that! Paimon doesn't know what she'll do if anything happens to you... Paimon doesn't even wanna think about it!" She exclaims, a hand to her head, her face still concerned. You sighed, a small smile coming to your face before you took a small hand into your own, rubbing the soft skin to soothe her.

        "Alright. I'm sorry about that joke, I won't make any of those types again, alright? I'm not going anywhere. Not without you, Paimon." You smiled, sincerity in your voice, making her smile and nod her head.

        "Good! Paimon’ll make sure to keep that in mind for the future."

        "I'll hold you to it." You smirked, walking up to the statue, finding interest in the large golden plate. You reached out, taking the glove off your hand to get a proper feel of the metal, before taking a step back in shock. The statues' indentations lit up and aquamarine, the one you were so used to seeing outside of terrestrial planes, before a deep thump resounded in your head- much like a heartbeat. A small swirl of wind danced around the statue before the orb held in place started to glow, small particles combing in the center before forming a small sigil with wings that flew straight towards your chest.

        You felt a rush of cool air through your veins, like an excitement you couldn't explain, whips of teal surrounding your body as you could only take another step back and look to your uncovered hand to see for any physical changes as well- to which there were none. But you felt something. In your chest, your heart, something that was stirring and it didn't seem to slow down.

        "Ooh! Did you just feel the elements of the world?" Paimon asked, allowing you to turn and face her, your face still showing a stunned expression from... whatever that was.

        "Seems all you had to do was just touch the statue and you got the power of Anemo! As much as they may want it, people in this world can never get a hold of powers as easily as you..." She explained, crossing her arms over the matter, an idea popping into your head at the same time.

        "I think I might know why-"

        "Ah-ha, it's because you're not from this world to begin with. If we keep heading West from here, we'll eventually reach Mondstadt, the City of Freedom. Mondstadt is the city of wind because they worship the God of Anemo." She cuts you off, making you only hum at the action, allowing her to continue.

        "So perhaps, because you got the power from the God of Anemo, you can find some clues there. There are also lots of bards there, so perhaps one of them has heard news of your friends." 

        "That isn't a bad idea, Paimon." You smiled, thankful she was so serious and straightforward with helping you find the twins, something that seemed to be floating around in your head as you took in everything from this new world. She was like an anchor to keep you grounded, and for that, you were extremely thankful to her- beyond words.

        "Let's move then!" Obviously happy with your praise at her deduction and planning, though simple, it was a good and steady start- and that's what you needed at this moment.

        "The elements in this world responded to your prayers and Paimon thinks that's a lovely sign." She finished, her gaze reaching behind you as some Slimes approached, eyes wide at the intrusion by the elemental mutants. You followed her gaze, finding the flaming creatures to be bouncing right in your direction, your surprise evident on your face.

        "Ah, shit." You grumbled, taking a few steps back, your arm starting to stir up with energy. It felt like when you drank too much coffee, to the point where even your limbs were vibrating, wisps of turquoise enveloping your palm on instinct. The small slime soon was sucked into the vortex you had made, swirling around before getting blasted away, back onto the land- over the lake and away from you.

        "Ugh, gross." You winced, noticing the slime that coated the land in front of you, and your dominant hand. Wiping your hand, you decided it was best to swim to the other side of the lake, following Paimon as you escaped the burning grasses. You could only laugh as she huffed about wanting "cool fighting powers" as well, reaching the end of the lake and making your way further in.

        "You know, it may not be a blessing. Usually powers like these have consequences..." You said, wringing out your hair as the wind started to pick up, but this time it wasn’t by your own hand.

        "You shouldn't say that! These powers are a blessing from the Archons and for that you should be grateful! They'd never allow anything bad to happen to the people they've blessed with their own two hands." A low rumble started to echo through the area, making you turn your body and look around for what was causing it as you continued your talk with Paimon.

        "I get that... but still, usually the Gods and whatever powerful beings there are have some type of plan along with it- at least that's how it worked in my world."

        "Then maybe you should consider our world works differently?" She quips her head.

        "A god is a god." You huffed, the rumbling becoming louder before a dragon caught your vision, making you gasp in awe. Six wings, four limbs, a large tail, and decorated in patterns of blues that made it almost blend with the sky if its wings didn't hold an ethereal glow, a white underbelly contrasted with the rest of its body.

        "Wow! What is that? There's something huge in the sky!"

        "You guys have dragons here?" You exclaimed, walking in its direction to where it flew, making sure to lower your output of noise due to the camps that were littered nearby with humanoid creatures.

        "It's heading to the heart of the forest, where we're going, so make sure to be careful." Paimon notes, keeping up with your pace as you jogged into the forest, collected some things along the way that could help in the future. By the time you had reached the forest, you slowed your pace to a comfortable walk, looking around and making sure not to run into anything aggressive- or the dragon you two had just seen.

        Maybe it continued flying anyways?

        "Huh? Look at that." Paimon pointed in front of the both of you, the grumbling appearing once again.

        You were wrong.

        Moving to hide behind one of the larger trees, you pressed your back against it before slowly turning your head to look at the scene in front of you, still making sure to keep your noise at the bare minimum. The dragon from before was standing before you, almost cautious of the person that stood before them, a short man dressed in turquoise and white, holding his hands outward to the dragon before him.

        "Don't be afraid. It's alright now, I'm back." He spoke gently, ignoring the dangerous growls coming from the beast in front of him. It made you worry at the sight and activate the mask that was embedded into your earpiece, still watching as Paimon spoke up.

        "Is he talking... to a dragon?" She questioned, right as your palms lit up with the Anemo power you had just gained, a glowing pattern forming as it burst with life, alerting the dragon and scaring it away with a scream of displeasure. 

        "Who's there?" The man questioned as he jumped back, his gaze in your direction before taking a few steps back, disappearing in a glow of light. Your hair felt like it was about to be yanked out as the dragon flapped its wings before taking off, leaving you dazed at what had just happened, and headache from the harsh tug. You stood there in shock for a bit, not saying anything as your hand buzzed and fizzled out, focusing on calming down your heart rate- deactivating your mask to breathe better as well.

        "That was close! Paimon almost got blown away!" Your guide yelped. "Luckily Paimon managed to grab a hold of your hair! Thanks." She smiled, handed over her heart, and you felt your energy drain immensely in the moment.

        "Good thing you didn't pull my hair out." You sighed, rubbing the aching spot to soothe your head as Paimon continued to speak, you following closely behind.

        "This definitely has something to do with that weirdo who was talking to the dragon..." She trailed off.

        "Is... that normal? Talking to dragons?" You asked, confusion written on your face, wanting to know if this was a common occurrence in this world.

        "Of course not. But what's that? There's some kind of shiny red thingy on the rock over there." She pointed out. You both walked over to look at the glowing item, her warnings falling on deaf ears as Paimon spoke about never seeing anything like this before, making unable to help in this specific situation. 

        "Let's keep this, just in case." You mumbled, your bare hands picking up the gem(?) with ease before packing it into your belt, tucked away safely and unable to escape.

        "Good idea, now let's get out of here." 

        "Agreed." You nodded, deciding to stroll through the forest for a bit, both to rest and catch up on your thoughts, maybe ask Paimon more about this world and how it worked- so you don't seem like a bumbling idiot to the locals. But before you could do any of that, a yell came from behind you, rushed footsteps following at the same time.

        "You there! Stop right there!" A girl yelled, jumping across your field of vision off the small pass, dressed in red and white with long brown hair, rolling as she hit the ground before coming back up to a stand. 

        "..."

        "Are you fucking kidding me?"

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