#hmm. i could write about that but maybe leaving that to interpretation based on how it relates to me is much more interesting to do

[weirdmarioenemies]

Banjo-Kazooie Spotlight

Hello, all! Guest writer Bynine here with an article on my favorite game of all time! Despite the immense popularity of this beloved N64 classic, the enemies of Banjo-Kazooie are not something that often comes up in discussion. Well, I'm here to change that!! Or at least, write well too much about some choice picks from the bestiary. Let's go!

Topper

Topper is the first in a small collection of sentient, googly-eyed vegetables that live in Spiral Mountain, where heroes Banjo and Kazooie also reside. Get used to those googly eyes, by the way, because you'll be seeing them a lot. Anywho, I really like the name Topper. You know, like "carrot top"! Great names are another feature of this series.

Bawl

Speaking of which, here's Bawl. Bawl is a fun name! It's hard to say without a southern drawl - bawwwl. Besides that, I don't have much to say about this hopping onion, but I still appreciate you, Bawl.

Colliwobble

The finale of our vegetable trio, and I'll be honest, I've saved the best for last. Sorry, Topper and Bawl, but it's a flying cauliflower called Colliwobble! How can you not love that? It flaps around gently with its big leaves, sustaining flight in a physically improbable yet adorable manner. How come the real thing can't do that, huh? No amount of bourbon roasted, brown butter baked cauliflower can convince me that we didn't get the short end of the stick here.

Gruntlings

The henchmen of the villainous witch Gruntilda, these oafish ogres patrol the halls of her lair, running after Banjo in a stance I'm sure they think is very intimidating.

Or maybe they want a hug? C'mere, big fella.

The most striking thing about Gruntlings to me is their impeccable fashion sense. They come in a variety of colors, and each one has a rakishly charming cloak to match, emblazoned with a fetching skull emblem. Would you mind stretching your arms out, Mr. Black Gruntling?

Thank you. Did Gruntilda coordinate these outfits? I'd believe it - she has a great ensemble herself, replete with a gorgeous purple striped scarf. And this is the same lady who's decorated her entire lair with images of her own face, after all...

Shrapnel

These ornery armaments are in the tragic category of enemies whose only goal in life is to detonate directly next to you. It's fitting then that they're based on a naval mine, but they also (perhaps unintentionally?) resemble sea urchins! How fun!

Normally they look fairly docile, even cute with their little underbite, but when Banjo draws near they growl and do... this. You okay there, buddy?

They're also the only enemies that appear in every Banjo-Kazooie platformer game! Clearly Rare knew they had a winner on their hands. Look at their pretty colors in Banjo Tooie! Look, but don't touch, please. It won't end well for anybody.

Sir Slush

Anyone who's played Banjo-Kazooie will be familiar with these goons. Living snowmen are usually quite jolly, and Sir Slush is no exception, with his consistent and hearty laughter. However, instead of frolicking in the snow, all Sir Slush does is pelt our heroes with snowballs. Rude!

Similar to the platonic ideal of living snowman himself, Frosty the Snowman, the life force of Sir Slush seems to be concentrated in its hat. It's invulnerable to most forms of damage, but if Kazooie strikes its hat at high velocity, it will be blown into icy chunks. Is this a similar principle to the "aim-for-the-head" zombie-killing technique? Are snowmen not merely zombies, extra ice, hold the flesh? Human bodies are 70% water anyway! 

Slappa

Another classic bestiary staple, the living hand! Slappa are gargantuan mummified arm-hand combos that pop up without warning from the dusty sands of Gobi's Valley, the requisite desert level of Banjo-Kazooie. True to their name, their main method of attack is a slap, where they simply fall over, crushing anything in their path. The most confusing thing about Slappas is that they have the ability to speak - they laugh if they manage to land a hit, and groan in pain when defeated. How are you talking, Slappa? Do you have a mouth hidden under those bandages? Maybe a whole face?

Artist's interpretation

There also exists a single non-violent Slappa called Grabba, who clutches onto a Jiggy and hides underground with it if you get too close. Should you manage to grab it, they mention having had it for a thousand years, but then congratulate you on your technique. Of all the traits to be assigned to a mummified hand, "sportsmanlike" was not one I was expecting, but I'll gladly take it.

Tee-Hee

Another winner of a name! Tee-Hee! That's great! This design is great too, in my humble opinion. You wouldn't expect a ghost to have such a goblinoid appearance, but Tee-Hee delivers both flavors of common RPG monster at once in an elegant package. Naturally Tee-Hees can phase through walls and are invincible to most attacks, staples of any Game Ghost (TM), and their pursuit is marked with constant laughter. Admittedly their laugh is more of a "mua-ha-ha" than a "tee-hee", but I'm willing to forgive it.

There's also a purple version! This one ignores Banjo and Kazooie entirely, preferring to move around in square patterns. Don't worry, though, it still laughs a lot. What's so funny about squares? Only the purple Tee-Hee knows.

Grimlet

Appearing on a ship known as the Rusty Bucket, Grimlet will disguise themselves as ordinary pipes, only showing their eyes and fangs when Banjo and Kazooie draw near. Despite their metallic appearance, they can stretch their bodies way out to take a bite out of bears and birds alike. You know, I like this design, but I feel like it could be improved somehow. Hmm...

Ooh! The beta version of Grimlet has a really interesting twist- eyes in its own mouth! Of course, any monster is improved when it puts its peepers in its gullet, and Grimlet is no exception. Well, let's keep going! 

An even earlier screenshot shows them with white, human eyes... and with a fleshy inner maw... Nope, I don't like this one bit. Abort!

Ahhh... Much better. Now that's a sentient cowl ventilator that I'd let take a chunk out of me. No, I don't have a problem! Quiet, you!

Of course, there are many more denizens of the BK universe worthy of scrutiny - in a universe where even common collectibles will strike up a conversation with you, that's not surprising. In particular, a Banjo-Tooie showcase would be a lot of fun... But I have to stop myself somewhere. Until next time!

#banjo-kazooie #banjo kazooie #enemies #topper #bawl #colliwobble #gruntling #shrapnel #sir slush #slappa #grabba #tee-hee #grimlet #bynine #guest writer #mod orange shy guy

[anonymousfiction211]

Okay first off Hi!! I just found your Tumblr and I love your writing! So I wanted to request something. This may sound odd but a fic where the tesseract turns into a human? Lol... I was watching avengers and at the beggining Dr. Selvig referred to the tessrract as a her. (Reader doesn't have to be a female! Totally up to what your comfy with! But fluff or light smut. Maybe loki is possessive of them? Sorry if that was way to specific or not enough. I've never requested something before...So you totally can ignore this if it's bad. Thanks💓

A/N: Thank you so much for the compliments! I never thought about this scenario and I loved it! Your request can be as specific or vague as you want, depending on how much room for interpretation you want. Hope you like it :). I followed the Avengers plot, so Loki is in his underground base.

His Kjæreste 'Excuse me, WHAT?’ Loki roared. Are these midgardians going mad?

There was sweat breaking out on Dr. Selvig’s forehead. He trembled slightly when Loki raised his voice. ‘I- It’s.. We we’re done with building your weapon. And suddenly she changed’ Dr. Selvig tried to explain again.

‘She?’ Loki asked.

‘Yeah, the Tesseract suddenly changed into a woman’ Dr. Selvig answered.

Loki held his hand up, not interested in anything Dr. Selvig had to say. If Loki hadn’t put him under mind control he would have expected this to be a poorly executed plan. Now he wondered what chemical reaction in the lab had caused all his servants to imagine something ridiculous as this. He got up from his seat and quickly paced towards the lab. Dr. Selvig was stumbling behind him, trying to keep up.

The doors of the lab burst open right before Loki entered. What is magic for if not a dramatic entrance? he thought. Hoping it would remind his servants of the strength and power he holds. He scanned the lab with his eyes. There were two guards on either side of the door who visibly flinched, which made him smirk. Barton was in the middle of the lab, staring at the corner. She stood in the corner. A beautiful young woman, pushing herself against the wall in the hopes she would disappear. She tried to hide her facial expression under her wavy brown hair. When she looked at Loki he noticed her ocean blue eyes, eyes in which he could drown.

It took Loki a moment to realise the woman was naked. No wonder she is scared Loki thought. He saw that Barton had grabbed a lab coat from the chair and he was making his way over to the woman. Loki wasn’t having it. He practically sprinted towards Barton and pushed him aside. The woman watched this exchange curiously.

‘Everybody leave’ Loki growled. Without hesitation, every brainless servant quickly made their way outside. ‘Barton, close the door’ Loki added. When he heard the doors closing he turned his attention back to the woman, who was still cowering in the corner.

‘Relax, beautiful. I’m not going to hurt you’ Loki cooed as softly as he could. He slowly made his way over to the corner. The woman eyed him with slight fear, but he noticed the curious twinkle in her eyes. Loki let his eyes wander her body when he approached, not hiding that he liked what he saw. When he stood right before her he took off his leather jacket and helped her into it. She was hesitant but accepted. He zipped the jacked up, she was much smaller than him and it looked like a dress on her.

She flinched when Loki grabbed her chin. He made her look at him and he looked intensely in her eyes. Her eye colour was the bluest Loki had ever seen. It was hypnotizing. He didn’t question if this woman were the Tesseract, he could feel it. The amazing feeling of power that attracted Loki in the first place, was still emitting from her. He couldn’t help but inhale the scent of her hair. And he didn’t fail to notice that made her blush.

‘Interesting, I didn’t know you could change forms’ Loki said.

‘I don’t do it very often’ the beautiful woman whispered to him.

‘Hmm.. and do you have a name?’ Loki asked while his lips caressed her neck. The woman holds her head back, giving him better access. Her breathing has sped up and Loki could tell she was suppressing a moan.

‘No, just the Tesseract’ she answered.

‘That will not do, I’ll call you my Kjæreste for now’ Loki said.

With a snap of his fingers, the lab doors opened. Barton walked through but stopped halfway through the lab. ‘Sire?’ he asked.

‘Will you escort my Kjæreste to my room. After that I need you to find her some clothes and fetch her something to eat and drink’ he ordered Barton. ‘I will be with you shortly’ Loki told her and gave her a kiss on her cheek. When she giggled his whole face lit up, that was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. He reluctantly pulled himself away from her and walked towards the exit. Right before he left he turned around. He saw that Barton had exchanged his hand, not clear of his intention Loki wasn’t having it.

‘The first person who touches her dies a very painful death by my own hand. That is not a threat, but a promise. Make sure everyone knows’ he said. He smirked when Barton quickly put his hand back down his side and made his Kjæreste follow him to his room. As much as Loki had wanted to escort her himself, he unfortunately had some things to work out before he could make his move on this pathetic little planet.

After an hour Loki was done and he walked back to his room. He was excited to see his Kjæreste in a beautiful green gown reading a book on the couch. When he entered she put her book away and smiled brightly at her. Before he could go to her there was a knock on the door. Loki opened the door to see one of his guards standing with a plate of food and a variety of drinks. The guard tried to peek over Loki’s shoulder to get a look at the woman. Loki quickly grabbed the plate and shoved the door back in his face. Apparently, he wasn’t the only person in the building drawn to her, but he is damned to let anyone else have her.

He walked towards her with the plate. ‘You hungry?’ he asked.

She nodded and got up from the couch to accept the food, but Loki had different plants. He sat on the couch and pulled her onto his lap in one motion. She gasped but giggled when he kissed her neck. He sat the plate on her lap and started to feed her a variety of finger food and drinks.

‘Why did you change your form if I may ask?’ he asked in between feeding her.

‘I thought this form might be more appealing towards you’ she blushed.

‘Hmm, I do like you in this form. But why now?’ Loki purred.

‘I saw your plans for this planet. Now that you have build your weapon I thought I could help you in other ways’ she answered.

‘Other ways?’ Loki asked suggestively, liking where this was going.

She nodded ‘I still have all my powers in this form. Why stop at one planet? We could take them all’ she said.

That took Loki back a bit. ‘You want to concur all the nine realms with me?’

‘Of course, you’re very powerful. And a king’ she said.

The wheels in Loki’s head were spinning. If she were willing to help him, they could take all the nine realms. She is connected to the other stones, he could get them before Thanos and take everything he deserved. And this while having a beautiful queen by his side. She looked questioningly at him when he didn’t answer.

‘Unless this is not what you want? I can revert back if that is what you prefer’ she said while averting his gaze.

Loki pulled her closer against him and started to cover her neck in bite marks. ‘You do no such thing. You’re MINE and I’m keeping you’ he growled.

After she had eaten enough he showed her around his base. He loved the way her arm linked with his and how she put her head against his upper arm sometimes. The word that Loki would kill everyone who touched her had gotten around quickly. Almost every man immediately averted their gaze when they saw her. Despite that, Loki made sure to mark her neck clearly for everyone to see. She didn’t seem to mind. Apparently, she was as drawn to him as he was to her. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow when the two of them would start to plot their schemes.

By the end of the night, he escorted her back to his room. Their room. He loved how she blushed when he pulled her close against him. Then Loki did something he wanted to do the first time he saw her. He gave a deep kiss, making her knees go weak. He supported her with his arms and walked her towards their bed. ‘I’m going to make you scream my name so loud, everyone on this planet will know you belong to me’ he growled. And he meant it. Nothing and nobody would ever take her away from him. His Kjæreste.

Tags: @delightfulheartdream @the-best-phineas @theaudacitytowrite @pescadoavocado

#loki fic #loki fanfiction #loki marvel #loki god of mischief #loki god of lies #loki oneshot #loki of asgard #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #loki fluff #loki fanfic #mcu loki #loki story #loki sweet

[lavenderwhore444]

Heyyy bestie so I was listening to this song that reminded me of ur writing and shigaraki it’s called fix me by Cuco, I was wondering if I can make a request based of that song.

-🤡

Fix Me

Okay, I tried to interpret the song but seriously, tell me if I did it wrong /srs.

Warnings: y/n is desperate and clingy, not taken advantage of per se but definitely taken for granted, oral giving and receiving, cock warming.

InteractiveFics

Master List

It was another quiet day. Another quiet day that seemed so fucking loud. Shigaraki thought it would be nice to sit downstairs while Dabi and Toga were gone, but it was dumb and stupid. He felt the couch dip, and he looked over at you.

‘Why is she sitting so fucking close to me?’ he asked himself.

You eased the hand off his face.

“Hey, what the fu-”

“You're pretty, ” you murmured, putting father back on his face after admiring him for a moment.

“Excuse me?” he said, not knowing whether to blush or kill you.

“I said you're pretty Shigaraki. You should take the hand off more often so I can see your face, ” you said, smiling at the part of Shigaraki’s blush not covered by the hand.

“Don’t tell me what to do, ” he scoffed, going back to his game.

“Aw, don't act like that. I can see you blushing, Tomura. Can I call you Tomura? I'm gonna call you Tomura, ” you said, playing with his hair.

“Fucking stop it, ” he said, knocking your hand away. He saw a flash of hurt in your eyes and instantly regretted it.

“You're so mean to me, ” you sighed, getting up and dragging your feet up the stairs.

He cursed himself for pushing you away. Again. He was in love with you, and you were literally flirting with him, but you were right. He was so mean to you. He’d been rejected so many times that he just didn't see the point in having you when you'd leave him in a matter of months. It's better never to have you than to lose you.

Besides, when you did leave him, Shigaraki was worried he would hurt you. Everyone before had gotten a deadly high five when they hurt him. He was just too sensitive. It was pathetic. He was pathetic.

He spent the next four days holed up in his room. He just didn't want to see you or fuck up again. He didn't want to make you sad again. You were so wonderful, and he was just nothing. It was weak for the number one villain to cry over a girl, but you were really important to him. He couldn't help the tears that dripped down his face.

He was so sensitive, so stupid. Every time he loved someone, they hurt him. It wasn't even worth it. He wasn't even worth it. So no one was worried about him except for you. You waited patiently on the couch every day for him to come downstairs.

“Dabi, do you think he’s ok?” you asked, voice laced with worry.

“Y/n, he’s fine. Just give it up; he doesn't like us. He doesn't want to see us, ” he said.

“Oh, ” you whispered.

“Oh god, don't tell me you have a crush on handyman, ” he groaned.

You didn't answer the question, “I'm gonna go check on him, ”

“What flowers do you want at your funeral!” Dabi called.

You ignored him, knocking gently on his door, “tomura?” you called softly, “are you okay? I haven't seen you in days. I miss you, ”

“Go away, ” he snapped.

“I'm coming in, ” you said, easing the door open.

He was curled in his gaming chair, sniffling.

“I told you to go away, ” he muttered.

You sat across for him.

“Tell me what's wrong, please?” you whispered.

“No, ” he said, still crying.

You reached out to wipe away his tears, and to your surprise, he leaned into your touch.

“Y/n, ” he said, “what do you do if you love someone who will never love you back?”

You bit your lip, “I wish I knew. Maybe just tell them and get it out of the way? I don't know. I'm too scared to tell him, ”

You sat in silence for a minute.

“I think he likes you back. You're too god for him, though, ” Shigaraki said.

“What?” you asked, hoping you'd heard him right.

“I said I think Dabi likes you back, ” he repeated.

“Dabi?” you asked, confused.

He nodded, “well, that's who it is, right?”

You shook your head, “no, it’s um...nevermind, ”

He sighed, “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours, ” truthfully, the only reason Shigaraki wanted to know is so he could kill him.

You nodded hesitantly, “it’s um, it's you. You can fire me if you want. I won't be mad, ”

He cupped your face with four fingers and pressed his lips to yours. He gave you his first kiss. You smiled into the kiss, running your hands over the scars on his neck.

“I'm sorry, ” he said as he pulled away.

Your face fell, “what do you mean?”

“I know you don't really like me y/n. I shouldn't have kissed you. It probably grossed you out, ” Tomura said.

“No, that's not-”

“Hey, it's ok. You don't have to lie, ok? Just get out, ” he said, turning away again.

“No, ” you whispered, “I'm gonna stay. I like you a lot Tomura, ”

“Get out,” he said.

“No, I want to-”

“Get out!” he yelled, fists clenching.

When he finally looked at you, your eyes were filled with fear. He felt like shit. He always fucked this stuff up. He was so mean to you. Finally, you got up wordlessly and left.

“I'm so sorry, ” he whispered even though you were already in your room, crying silently.

Even after what happened that night, he found you sitting on the couch waiting for him. You had made up your mind to prove to him that you really had feelings for him. He sat on the far end of the couch, and you moved as close as you could to him. You laid your head on his shoulder.

“Good morning Tomura, ” you smiled, wrapping your arms around his waist.

He stayed silent, playing his game.

“You're so good at that, Shiggy. It's so cool, ” you said, looking up at him for approval.

His lips quirked up into a small smile, but he got rid of it just as quickly.

“I saw you smile!” you said happily, “that means I make you happy, just like you make me happy, ”

“Whatever, ” he muttered.

“You're so much nicer to me, ” you sighed, “you're so incredible, Shigaraki. You're such a good leader. You're so brave and strong, ”

He had to admit that the flattery was nice, but that didn't mean you liked him. Dabi probably dared you to do it. But maybe he’d hang on to the thought that you were honest, if only for a minute. That didn't mean he’d let you in, of course. Instead, he decided to throw you a bone.

“Maybe, but I'm not as pretty as you are y/n, ” he said, smirking.

You froze, and your eyes lit up, “Shiggy! Thank you!” you kissed him on the cheek.

He laughed, letting you lay on him for the rest of the day. Then, when you went on a mission the next day, you followed him around like a lost puppy, acting as a human shield before he pulled you out of the way, scolding you.

“But I don't want you to get hurt, ” you pouted as he bandaged up your arm back at the bar.

“I can't have you getting hurt either, ” he muttered.

You grinned from ear to ear, “you're so sweet, Shiggy, ”

“Get a room, ” Dabi yelled.

You looked up at Shigaraki, blushing.

He sighed, “you want to hang out in my room, don't you?”

You nodded eagerly.

“Fine, ” he muttered, “I’ll be up in a minute, ”

You ran upstairs happily.

“You can call her off now, Dabi. It’s getting annoying. Just let her win the bet, ” he said.

“A bet? Why the hell would I make a bet with y/n. She never loses. That'd be like trying to breathe water, ” he said, taking a drag from his cigarette.

“I’m serious. I’ll pay y/n or whatever but knock it off patchwork, ” Shigaraki said, losing his patience.

“Listen, creep; I didn't make any fucking bet with her. I don't even know what you're talking about, ” he said, walking out of the bar.

‘Maybe I was wrong. Maybe y/n really likes me, ” he thought.

He walked into his room to see you lying on the bed, reading the back of one of his games.

“Hey, don't touch that, ” he snapped, yanking the game from your hands.

You grabbed his hand and pulled him on top of you on the bed.

“What the hell are you doing, ” he said, rolling off of you.

You pulled yourself closer to him, “cuddle me, ”

He sighed and wrapped his arms around you. You gasped happily and snuggled into him.

“Y/n, ” Shigaraki said, “did Dabi dare you to do all of this?”

“Of course, ” you said.

His whole world shattered. He can't believe he fell for it. No one could love him. He was right all along. You could never love him. You would never love him.

“I wouldn't do my make-up like this unless he dared m- Shigaraki, are you ok?” You asked, seeing a tear roll down his cheek.

You gasped, “oh, you didn't mean the makeup. I'm so sorry, Shiggy. That's not what I meant. I really do like you, ”

“Get out, ” he muttered, more tears stinging his eyes.

“No, ” you said, “I'm not leaving. Not until you realize that none of this was a dare. I have real feelings for you, Shigaraki, ”

“Get out, ” he whispered, turning his back to you.

You tried to turn him back to you but weren't strong enough, so you climbed over him and shoved yourself into his chest.

“Dont cry, please, ” you whispered.

He tried to turn away again, but you held on too tightly, and he ended up turning both of you. After that, you just snuggled into him more.

“Look, ” he said, “I’ll pay you whatever he promised, ok?”

“No, ” you said, “no one's paying me anything, Shig. No one told me to do any of this. Actually, Dabi told me not to, ”

“Whatever, ” he mumbled.

“How can I prove it to you?” You said, kissing the mole under his lips.

“Hmm, ” he said, sure you would refuse his request, “well, if you're so sure you like me, there would be no problem with you giving me your virginity, right?”

You smiled, “no problem at all, Shiggy! I’d do anything to make you happy, ”

“Oh my god, you're serious, ” he whispered, looking down at you.

He smashed his lips into yours, grabbing at your hair. You groaned softly. He was finally kissing you. Shigaraki finally realized how you felt about him and felt the same way. You kissed back eagerly, wrapping your arms around his neck. When he finally pulled away, you were both out of breath.

You grinned, “told you I liked you, ”

He smiled, looking at you with loving eyes.

“So you're mine now, right?” he asked, kissing your forehead.

“Always was, ” you said, fiddling with the frayed strings of his hoodie.

He pulled you closer to him, “get some sleep, ok?”

“Ok, ” you whispered.

He fell asleep first, and his slow, steady breathing lulled you to sleep. The night passed peacefully. You were the first to wake up, stroking his hair.

“Good morning, ” you whispered as he woke up.

“Good morning, ” he mumbled, “you're still here?”

“Where else would I be?” you said.

“I dunno, ” he leaned down and kissed you.

You smiled as he kissed you. His chapped lips moved against yours. Days went by with you. You were always with him, content as long as you were in the same room as him. You could live without food or water but not without him. But he still felt so inadequate. Shigaraki just couldn't put his finger on why you liked him so much. He’d lie awake at night, watching you sleep on his chest. Sometimes you'd mutter things in your sleep, and almost all of them had to do with him. So why couldn't he just believe you? What was stopping him from seeing that you liked loved him?

“Tomu, are you okay?” you asked, sitting next to him on the bed.

“I’m not good enough for you y/n, ” he sighed.

“What? That's not true, ” you said, hugging him.

“I really like you y/n, ” he said.

It wasn't often Shigaraki said something like that. Instead, he showed his love through actions. Tomura would often pull you into his lap when you sat down, pull your hair back for you when it fell in front of your face, and even paused his game when you wanted a kiss.

You kissed him before saying, “I like you too, Tomura, obviously, ”

He shook his head, “I don't feel good enough for you y/n. How could you ever like someone like me? You're just so amazing and smart and pretty, and I'm-”

“You're perfect, Shiggy. You're everything I've ever wanted. I mean, you're gonna change the world. That's pretty fucking amazing, ” you interrupted.

He blushed, “promise? Promise you like me?”

“Promise, ” you said, kissing him.

When you pulled away, Shigaraki yanked you back by the hair, kissing you harder. You moaned into the kiss, and he smiled triumphantly. He pulled away to separate your lips with his thumb. He leaned back to kiss you and eased his tongue into your mouth. You accepted his affection eagerly, letting him kiss you with as much tongue as he wanted. You'd do anything to make him happy.

He pulled away, “I want to take off your shirt. Can I?”

You nodded, and he turned it into a pile of dust. Then, he stared hungrily at your tits.

“Are you sure? Y/n you should wait for someone you love-”

“I love you, Shiggy, ” you clapped a hand over your mouth.

After a moment, he whispered, “I love you too, ”

You grinned and hugged him, “oh, I’m so so glad!”

You pulled off your bra.

“Are you sure you want this?” he asked.

“Yes. Let me show you I want you. Then, just lie back, ” you said.

You ran your hands up and down his chest, pinching his nipples. He groaned softly.

“Oh god y/n, ” he whispered.

You leaned down and sucked on his right nipple while rubbing the other one.

“Fuck, ” he moaned.

He was so responsive, so sensitive in all the best ways. You kissed down to the hem of his pants slowly. He was panting the whole time, a tent forming in his pants. You unbuttoned his pants and pulled the zipper down. His erection was even more prominent in his grey boxers. You gulped at the idea of pushing him down your throat, but you still pulled them down with determination. Anything to make him happy. You licked up his shaft twice before taking as much as you could in your mouth.

“Oh, thank you y/n, ” he gasped, “thank you so much, ”

He felt awful but so good when he came. He felt awful because it had only been five minutes but great because your mouth was fucking magical. You pulled away with a mouth full of cum. You gulped it down, sighing happily.

“I'm so so sorry, ” he sputtered, “I didn't mean to cum so early. It's just your mouth felt so good, and I couldn't stop it, ”

“It's okay, baby, ” you assured him, “I'm just glad I made you feel good, sweetheart, ”

He flipped you over, “I need you to cum, ”

He got rid of your pants and underwear, leaving you completely naked. He shoved his face into your pussy immediately. You yelped, not expecting him to do anything like this.

“Oh god, ” you moaned, “ah fuck, ”

He lapped up everything you had to offer. Drowning himself in you, you are the best, you are perfect. Shigaraki was sucking and licking everywhere he could. When he found your clit he sucked harshly, causing you to grind against him.

“Oh god, ” you moaned, “more please, ”

Of course, he obliged, adding in two of his fingers. They wiggled around for a while before finding a soft spongy patch. That really got you going as you thrashed around on the bed, whimpering and moaning.

“So close, ” you whispered.

He increased his efforts tenfold, letting you grind and hump his face. He was moaning too. How could he not? You were so wet and sweet on his tongue. Everything you did was perfect. He's addicted to you.

“Fuck, your so amazing, Tomura, ” you gasped as he began to push you over the edge.

He moaned into you. That's exactly what he always dreamed of hearing. Even after all the times he’d been hurt and broken, he still trusted you with his whole heart. Shigaraki knew you'd never break it. The only thing that was breaking was the knot that had tightened inside of you as you released onto his face, and he drank your juices eagerly.

You were panting as you played there, entirely spent. Shigaraki eased his cock into you; it didn't matter that it was soft. He put his head next to yours as the two of you laid chest to chest.

“This, ” he said, pressing his hand to your left breast, “is mine, ”

“My boob?” you asked.

“No, your heart silly, ” he said, nuzzling into your neck.

“Um, tomura, your dick is still inside of me. Are you ready to-”

He cut you off, “I wanna be close to you. Just let me leave it there, ” he murmured, already half asleep.

“Okay, ” you whispered, falling asleep with him inside of you.

#tomura fluff #tomura smut #tenko smut #tomura x reader #mha tomura #tomura imagine #shigaraki tenko #tomura shiragaki #tomurashigaraki #shigaraki tomura #shigaraki fluff #shigaraki smut #mha shigaraki #shigaraki x reader

[demonslayedher]

Ramble on the Limitations of Looking for KnY Interpretation based on Japanese Mythology

One thing I notice a lot in the Japanese side of KnY fandom theories is a lot of deep dives into religious and mythological reasons behind Gotouge's creative choices. It is super interesting stuff, and Gotouge borrows enough and does homage to enough that there is a clearly a solid knowledge base there. While I find historical details handy for interpreting the characters, ultimately, I find that the canon of demons and Breaths can be interpreted in a vacuum without relying too heavily on the uncanny coincidences lurking in deep dives. This isn't going to be a well-supported essay, this is going to be a ramble that may include a bunch of interesting nuggets. (And then she went on to ramble for 3249 unedited words...)

First things first: I'm a nerd. I like to say I broke the weeb scale a long time ago, but I'm not exactly a university professor or anything like that. That said, I do read a lot of stuff from experts who have jumped on the KnY trends to talk about how elements in KnY are taken from, say, the sword making traditions of the Okuizumo region that results in black swords or simply making comparisons to famous swords, or local legends of supernatural encounters that resulted in split rocks, or comparing specific oni with and the heroes who slayed them or at least comparing elements of specific characters to other famous oni legends, or that Hinokami Kagura is based on a specific Shinto legend and has 12 forms based on existing Kagura traditions, etc. And I love reading this stuff, because I wouldn't had learned about some of it without my interest in KnY leading me to those articles, or as I read it I cheer because they're making references to things I already (as a nerd) really enjoy and therefore it strokes my inner echo chamber bias, or I nod along and think, "oh, yes, why of course, that makes total sense, Hinokami Kagura must be based on the dance Amenouzume performed to enticed the Sun Goddess Amaterasu out of the cave, how silly to think it could be based on anything else" but I then also take a step back to think, "...but it also doesn't have to be." For as many similarities as there to existing legends, it feels to me that Gotouge made it a point not to make specific reference to any particular mythological or religious elements. As an example, Gotouge considered titles with reference to a Shinto fire god named "Kagutsuchi" but never made actual reference to any fire god (or sun god) by name in the finalized direction canon took. Granted, a lot of fan theorists have read into that, going so far as to say because Nezuko's fire powers she represents Kagutsuchi, Yoriichi represents Amaterasu, etc., but while I find the idea of borrowed elements makes for highly interested interpretation of canon, one-to-one comparisons really don't work for this series. By not invoking a name like Kagutsuchi in the title or otherwise, Gotouge succeeded in not being boxed in by the canon of any particular deity. (Granted, "canon" for mythology can vary significantly by whatever historical writings you're looking at, with standard interpretations going through many big changes throughout the centuries. It can be as loose as it is limiting, depending on what sort of historical/mythological/religious figure you're talking about.) I feel there's more evidence of this avoidance by never invoking Amaterasu as a deity, despite the emphasis on the power of the sun in slaying demons. Even looking back and trying to figure out who Akeno placed so much faith, it was only called a "god of sunlight" as opposed to a "sun god." It's as though KnY works with a generic approach to religion. Even if the use of Buddhist element, the Nenbutsu prayer is called such, and Himejima's repeated phrases are legit Buddhist practice, but there is a huge variety of Buddhist sects and practices and theologies, and throughout history, many of them didn't get along. Going back to Akeno and wondering if she might had been Buddhist, I went so far as to suspect she was influenced by Nichirin sect philosophy based on its emphasis on the "Nichi" (sun) representing Japan and incorporating Shinto gods into its philosophy, and for its likely influence in the Kanto area in Akeno's time period, and for its encouragement for the salvation of women and therefore popularity among women. I felt pretty satisfied that it was all lining up, but also, none of this is necessary for a quality interpretation of canon. If Gotouge wanted to say specifically what informed her religious conviction, then it would had been said. But that's not what was important, was it? What was important, and therefore focused on, was Akeno's feelings toward her son and wishes for his sake.

While KnY's worldbuilding feels richer with all the clear religious influence, the details are not actually important. If anything, I feel like Gotouge dove into the heart of the elements of, say, Shinto mythology, and played those core elements up. It's different, yet still familiar, to take sun-associated elements and used them in a way that serves the story without being boxed into existing traditions. The sun is clearly important, and once you start looking for it, you find subtle recurring references to it. Like, Akeno's name? The "Ake" is one way of writing "red," and there are all sorts of uses of other ways of writing "red" throughout the series, in everything from the sand used for making Nichirin blades to the way that Haganezuka calls Tanjiro an auspicious "red" child with a very rarely used kanji. Our commoner main characters, though, just use regular old ways of saying "red" when referencing Tanjiro's appearance without thinking deeply into it, like there's something special right in front of them but they don't recognize it. Similar to how something as special as Sun Breathing was hidden right in front of them in Hinokami Kagura, with a name so generic and simple that it's entirely unsurprising that the Taisho era Kamado family would interpret it as "fire god." The very lack of limiting real-life details is what allows Gotouge to sprinkle these deep touches around, cover them up with branches and leaves, and then sit back and wait for readers to stroll through and invitingly pleasant looking field and then trip and fall down a rabbit hole. This is also what I think gives Gotouge the freedom and malleability to work with the sun in a way that serves the story, especially in ways that tie it to fire. While I don't think there's strong ties for this is general Japanese culture, the way canon is written implies a close tie between fire and the sun as being a very closely related element, hence the influence on the Kamado family, Tanjiro's appearance, his suitability for Sun Breathing based on a history of tending fire for careful charcoal burning, and Tanjiro and Nezuko capability as demons to overcome the sun. Here is where I go into a bit of a tangent about the purification element. This, again, is not strictly tied to any particular Shinto canon (and Shinto does place heavy emphasis on purification), but instead is an example of Gotouge getting to the underlying heart of a lot of common religious elements. Fire is associated with spiritual purification in everything from Buddhism to Catholicism, it's very easy to apply Nezuko's fire abilities as something which burns away something evil (demon poison) so as to purify something good (human flesh, or even other physical substances). Maybe lesser known, but very deeply entrenched in Japanese culture, is the purification element of charcoal. While it may be known around the world for soaking up undesirable elements and therefore used in everything from fish tank filters to treating food poisoning, in Japan, there's a bit of a spiritual side to it as well. For something so closely tied to the way of life for citizens throughout hundreds of years of history for everything from cooking to heating the home, it's unsurprising that quality charcoal would receive as much emphasis as good water and rice. Japanese charcoal is especially known for not producing undesirable smoke or odor, making it appropriate for use in a lot of settings. Charcoal farmers have often not just been that; they've been caretakers of the forest. Keeping the right trees, at the right sizes (both for use as charcoal and for how you pack it together when making charcoal), and in the right numbers to ensure you have stock for coming years, requires management of the forest. (Other tangent side note: many of the other names in the Kamado family are references to plants. Sumire both has the "sumi" sound of charcoal and is the word for violet, Kie is in reference to hollyhock, Nezuko is in reference to red beans (and the asanoha pattern of her kimono is in reference to hemp leaf, an

auspicious symbol of strong and quick growth), Takeo is in reference to bamboo (ironically bamboo can be a problematic plant for charcoal farmers, because it may spread too fast and take resources from other trees--stop stealing all the takuan pickles, Takeo!), Hanako is in general reference to flowers, Shigeru is in general reference to (plants) flourishing, and maybe by the time they got to Rokuta they gave up and said "he's our sixth child, let's just call him 'Six-Boy', lolz." BUT I DIGRESS.) That means the Kamado family not only had careful management of fire in the actual days of charcoal production, but of a wide variety of natural resources to ensure the trees were healthy. Natural weather phenomena, clean water, pest control, minerals from rocks getting into the soil, hmm, so many elements to pay attention to. Hmm. These sure sound a lot like other Breaths. And Breaths all stem from Sun Breathing. That means there may be certain elements of Sun Breathing that have been emphasized in each of them, but none of them encompass so many qualities of the natural world. The natural world which Yoriichi saw with such clarity than nature accepted him with open arms, practically, in how well animals took to him. Sun Breathing, while especially using that all-important purification aspect of sunlight which burns evil demons, is like an all encompassing embrace of nature. While being closely tied with fire is hugely important, there's more to it than just flames. While Shinto is very much so closely tied with nature (the extent to which this is emphasized may vary from shrine to shrine, scholar to scholar), what I see in KnY is a clever use of emphasis on spirituality in nature as opposed to emphasis on Shinto mythology. And I think that was a smart move. While stories based more directly on various theologies, mythologies, and religious ideologies often use those building blocks often wind up having very creative takes on them (even and especially with the confines of them), ultimately, the story of KnY is whatever Gotouge wants to do with it, and it does not seem guided by the specific conventions of more specific religious elements. But again, those deeper elements are still everywhere. You know what color Japanese charcoal burns? It's a gorgeous jewel tone red, spanning many of those rare shades of red Gotouge make reference to. And, in wider Japanese culture, red is the color of the sun (as opposed to how other cultures may represent it as yellow or orange or white or so on). (Not as exactly a KnY tangent, just personal: Japanese charcoal is so freaking pretty, I had no idea until I saw it used in the tea ceremony at parts when guests crowd around to enjoy the sight of it as the host prepares it for boiling the water. I can stare and stare and stare, it is so so so so so pretty, but also this element of the ceremony has gotten rarer both as many places have made a more practical switch to electricity, and tea ceremony quality has gotten more rare both due to fewer producers and due to beetle-related damages to the trees used, and I will always state HOW DISAPPOINTED I am that Kanata and Sumihiko are not out there raising charcoal, because charcoal is precious and I'm always so terrified of wasting charcoal in my practices because its so precious, but seeing the amazingly beautiful burn of the charcoal is absolutely one of my favorite elements of the ceremony and this of course gives me an extra soft spot for Kamado Tanjiro BUT I DIGRESS AGAIN, I TOLD you this was going to be a ramble, but SERIOUSLY IT IS SUCH A GORGEOUS RED).

So anyway. My point is, as interesting as incorporating outside elements may be, I don't find them necessary in interpreting KnY's canon. Even if it takes tons of Taisho Secrets to do so, Gotouge presents the details necessary, and that's more than enough to work with. After all, despite all the care taken in historical details in building the setting, KnY takes place in a fictional universe, it can make its own rules when it comes to things that don't actually exist in our universe. Demons, for example, follow a chronology and power system with sources and limits that is unique to a this universe, as tempting as it is due to general cultural familiarity, it does not call for a one-to-one comparison with existing demon legends. Breath as well, as a power system, is very interesting. Again, this is because it has a lot of basis in core concepts of real life physical and spiritual training. It's presented as a method available to anyone who can pick it up, not drawing on a mystical outside power or summoning the actual superhuman elements of nature. Other stories that present their power systems like that are well and fine, but when it comes down to it, this is a story about mere humans doing everything in their limited power to wave swords around and defeat creatures that seem so likely to outpower them. This is a common, relatable basis of stories throughout history, and a lot of analysis I've heard of KnY's success says that it shows how classic this story structure is. Many Japanese demon stories have their origin in epidemics, and some people suggest that the world looks for hope in stories like KnY in times of seemingly insurmountable crises like coronavirus. I think that's an oversimplification of KnY's success, but again, because of Gotouge's use of core cultural elements, it can be applied easily. OKAY BUT ON THAT NOTE we can do some really interesting digging if we want. : D Gotouge does make some highly specific references, included religious ones (granted, not in ways that impact the plot). The example coming to mind is the Seventh Form of Thunder Breathing, the "Flaming Thunder God." In Japanese, this is "Honoikazuchi-no-Kami," the name of a lightning deity who had a very, very brief mention in the Kojiki and who appeared among a handful of other lightning deities named in reference to other aspects/phenomena of lightning, like the sound or the rumble through the ground. Honoikazuchi is not so much the lightning itself, but the fires started by lightning. Stick with me a bit longer, I'm building up to something here. You've probably heard of the twelve animals of the Chinese (poorly translated as) Zodiac, right? Well, the system is way more complex than that, and really, if you want complexity, skip Japan and go dive straight into ancient China. I laugh and cry at myself for having a graduate degree in Chinese studies, the extent of my knowledge is is pitifully small, I know nothing, nothing. Suffice to say, China has its own five element system of water/wood/metal/fire/earth, it's more a philosophical application than a more physicality-based four element system popular in the west (fire/water/air/earth, why hello there, Avatar), with attributes of these elements assigned to every about anything through Chinese culture, from medicine to, you guessed it, the Zodiac animals. Japan saw all this and said "cool, we'll do that too" albeit their sort of mixed and matched a bit and made their own take on it in Onmyodo. An Onmyoji, who keeps track of, like, really any other-worldly matter you might have on your hands as a Heian noble, is someone who is paid to know all this stuff (it was very likely an Onmyoji who told the Ubuyashiki clan, "yeah, you got an evil family member to blame for your curse, squash him"). Yours Truly is not an Onmyoji and therefore will not attempt to go into more detail, save the one that a handful of Japanese theorists in the KnY fandom love to bring up: The Boar is a water sign. This means that, especially in Shinto practice, boars are considered an animal that protects against

fire, hence, a lot of practices to protect against fires were done on days of the Boar, in the month of the Boar, etc. So? So-o-o-o-o-o? You see it? You see it??? Boar = Water, Honoikazuchi = Fire, Inosuke and Zenitsu are basically foils to Tanjiro? Yes, yes, see it, yessss??? Deep dive Kamaboko theory, yes?????? Hahahaha. Naw. It's just a fun coincidence. ^_^ Again, I find these details completely unnecessary, for we are already given so many details in canon to work with on its own, and I think Inosuke and Zenitsu as foils to Tanjiro works entirely well simply based on their personalities, not because of any supernatural elements that require a high level of nerdery to have any hope of appreciating. Besides, once you start reaching too hard for cultural details Gotouge might have used and clinging too tightly to those ideas, there's likely something in canon to make it doubtful. For instance, Inosuke more widely presented as a king of the forest who wears deer and bear hide as well, and the fanbook state that Beast Breath is considered a likely offshoot of Wind Breathing. Even if we rely more strictly on historical detail, there's still the question of, say, what one of the basic Breaths, Thunder Breathing, even was when it was but a thunder inspired sword form not necessarily powered by Breath, you know, back when swords were longer and it would have been harder to make the fast draws katana would later be better suited for. Maybe they called it Thunder because it was practiced by swordsmen who stomped around really hard, and then when they added Breath technique, they figured out "oh dude, we can use our strong legs to go fast"??

Those are the kinds of things I find more fun to play around with in interpreting canon by bringing in little outside details, because as a work of fiction, there are already so many fun details to work with already even when treating it in a vacuum. But, giving Gotouge extensive and subtle use of cultural elements, especially core elements, it sure makes a lot of outside details applicable. Which is all to say, it's all super interesting, and I think the more people realize these things, the deeper they read into it, to an extent more than canon calls for. As much as I like it, and as much as I've enjoyed pulling outside elements in to fanfiction (like Kagutsuchi and lightning god tidbits), ultimately, if Gotouge thought these things were necessary, they'd have been included. Since they are not, I try to stick to canon details and Word of God-touge in answering Asks (lolz, I didn't plan on becoming a meta blog, it just kinda happened). BUT ALSO, JEEZ, I AM SO EXCITED IF PEOPLE TAKE A DEEPER INTEREST IN JAPANESE CULTURE BECAUSE THEY LIKE KIMETSU NO YAIBA, YOU CAN HAVE SO-O-O-O-O-O MUCH FUN PLANNING A TRIP TO JAPAN AROUND KNY THEMES, DO IT DO IT DO IT, GO TO YAGYU AND POSE IN A TANJIRO HAORI AND STICK YOUR SWORD IN A SPLIT ROCK, THE LOCALS THERE LOVE IT, DO IT but also like maybe learn about the tea ceremony and appreciate how beautiful the charcoal is with me k thx bye

#kny fandom theories and meta #sooooorta #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #am I a Pillar or a Demon? #neither #I am but a nerd

[durotoswrites]

Character breakdown!

Hmm, how about Dr Trent

Oh, I've got some thoughts on about our enigmatic Doctor! As usual, I rambled a bit, so it'll be under the cut below!

Thank you all for your patience as I continue with these. Asks are still open. It's taking a bit longer than I was anticipating, and, speaking of doctors, I've been feeling under the weather. I'm still awaiting the results of my test, but based on how I'm feeling I have a hunch that I'm gonna be wiped out for a while. Keep your fingers crossed for me and my husband <3. Please take care of yourself! Drink your fluids, wash your hands, get vaccinated, and wear your masks! <3

Character Breakdown Ask Game - Still Accepting! ;)

How I feel about this character

If you would've asked me after initially playing Mineral Town, “What do you think of Dr. Trent?” I'd probably reply, “I don't.” He just didn't leave the biggest impression on me while playing More Friends of Mineral Town. I wasn't exploring too deeply in the caves and didn't have gold to spend on lots of medicine, so I often forgot about the clinic. I played HMDS first, and he'd show up for the festivals. When I got MFoMT and linked the games, I'd talk to him when he visited the Valley because he hung out with Hardy and I like Hardy alright, plus he was a fresh face. HMDS doesn't really give the player the deepest interpretations of the Mineral Town visitors, though.

I'd say now, I'm learning to appreciate him more. After watching some of his heart events and experiencing the ones beyond “Drink this questionable potion”, he strikes me as a little dense, but well-meaning, lonely, and trying to fill that void with his work, as he has been conditioned to his whole life. It kinda makes me feel bad for him. As I've been writing him in later chapters of my longfic, I've found that writing that more sympathetic, lonely side of him has been really gratifying. I really especially love the special event that takes place with him by the pond where he talks about his childhood. I feel like it gives us a good insight into his character.

My feelings about him are much more positive than they initially were, but I am admittedly still a little intimidated writing him. I'm hoping to get more comfortable with writing him as I continue including him in future chapters. He really is a fun character to explore.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Trent x Pastor Carter: A rarepair, and honestly, my only pair for Trent. Both being confidants with so much on their shoulders, I feel like Carter's gentleness that draws in Cliff does the same for Doctor. They mention drinking wine at the church some nights, while having friendly debates – they see each other as equals and find something they enjoy together. I can easily see their wine and debate nights turning into dates <3

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Trent strikes me as a guy who prefers solitude – he rarely leaves the clinic, and when he does, he's off by himself. Outside of Elli, his patients, Stu and May when they're at the church, and Carter, I don't imagine him talking to many people. I don't picturing him interacting with Cliff all that much, as when Cliff's there a lot, he doesn't speak much anyway, and Trent's not the super social type himself.

Trent and Rick could be casual friends. I can imagine Rick bringing his mother to her appointments and maybe they could relate to the feeling of being overwhelmed by work. They might bump into each other at the inn on rare occasions, but I don't really headcanon Trent as drinking at the bar. I think he'd prefer to drink in his room upstairs at the clinic or over at Carter's.

Trent and Doug would be on polite terms. I can imagine him ordering a lunch or dinner here or there with his busy life. I'm sure he'd tell Doug to go easy on the oil and salt, and absolutely no bread because he doesn't want to overeat it. He might get some gentle ribbing from Doug and Ann about it (I can definitely see Ann biting into a giant croissant in front of him to coax him into buying one – quickly being scolded by Doug), but overall, I think they'd be respectful of his healthy choices. Maybe they'd even have a custom salad for him, with some milk on the side.

Trent and the farmer could get along well – I could see him tending to their bumps and scrapes while the farmer talks about how business is going and maybe they stop by to give some produce or milk as a thank you. I can imagine him scolding the farmer for working too hard, only to be told the same in reply. A good friendship could form as they both take their duties seriously. Of course, the farmer can have whatever personality you like, so this is just my headcanon. I could see Pete giving Trent the business about burning the candle at both ends despite doing the same thing himself.

Trent is on friendly but professional terms with the gossipy housewives of Mineral Town. They're always happy to greet him when they catch him out on his rare outings. They all agree that he's pretty dreamy and they often try to wheedle information out of him about whether or not he has a special person in his life. They do it in a roundabout way and Trent's completely oblivious to it.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I would be terrified to be treated by this doctor, to be honest. He got a patient's blood type wrong? If Jeff needed a transfusion before that was sorted out, that could end... badly.

I know this is a strong word, but I really hate that his name is just Doctor. I know his parents were both physicians, and likely pressured him into being one as well, and I know Doctor is a name, but... It just kinda strikes me as lazy from a game writer's standpoint. I know that HMDS is supposed to take place 100 years in the future from Friends of Mineral Town and Trent's supposed to be a different person than Doctor, but I'm still gonna call him Doctor Trent. The guy deserves a name, not just a title.

One more unpopular opinion for Trent – I really feel that Elli isn't the best match for him. This might be more of a gripe on the way they wrote Elli than Trent, but I feel that she spends so much time pining over someone who doesn't see her as more than a coworker for the longest time. This is the same woman that is working full time, helping take care of her grandmother and practically raising her younger brother. She's the one making things happen in her own life – taking care of her family and being a strong person, yet she's so passive and I can practically hear her sighing behind that medicine counter. She is written a bit differently in HM for Girl, but I don't know if it's for the better. She is determined to do whatever it makes to catch Trent's eye (taking up swimming to impress him, considering dying her hair if Claire takes Trent as her date for the Goddess Festival). May I add that Trent doesn't seem to really notice ANY of this? Perhaps she does this because there's a part of her that wants someone to rely on and not feel like she has to do it all by herself, but it feels like the wrong person...? I guess I got off on a tangent, but I guess I just feel like Elli and Trent aren't all that compatible. Just my opinion, though!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I really wish that two of his heart events weren't basically the same thing – the farmer drinking an experimental medicine. This might go into unpopular opinion category, but I felt like there was a lot of potential for writing better bonding experiences than that – namely more variety. Trent was a new character in Back to Nature, where in HM 64 for medical care we had Doga, the potion dealer and Zack's mother, Gaya, who was the midwife (thank you Ranch Story wiki for those names not mentioned in the game!).

With the families getting shuffled around between HM64 and BTN/FoMT and Jeff and Harris no longer being in the dating pool, Trent (along with Rick) filled those slots in Harvest Moon for Girl. This is the first we see of Doctor, and he is the new physician in town, this time Elli stepping into a nurse's role rather than a baker's. This replaced the roles that were filled with Doga and Gaya. I do wish that Doga and Gaya had still remained in the game, perhaps as mentors for Doctor. Maybe they knew his parents and that could have been expanded upon. I enjoyed that there were more older characters and several generations living together – it made the town feel more homey. Doga and Gaya could have provided Trent with a more natural approach, which he says he is trying to aim for, and I can imagine some development in all of their characters as they each push for their own ideas of finding that balance of holistic vs traditional medicine. Basically, I wish Trent's social network was a little bigger, or that more people talked about him so we could learn more about him.

Character Breakdown Ask Game - Still Accepting! ;)

#character breakdown ask game #character breakdown #ask box games #ask box replies #beck-a-leck #thank you for playing! #hm doctor #hm trent #hm doctor trent #sos doctor #sos trent #sosfomt doctor #hmds trent #btn doctor #fomt #mfomt #harvest moon #story of seasons

[masterhandss]

How would you describe the original Katarina’s personality?

Hmm, that's kinda hard to answer. I feel like I've read so much FL!Katarina fanfics that i'd be combining canon and fanon interpretations of her haha.

(I'll be calling Hamefura Katarina "Bakarina" and Fortune Lover Katarina "Catarina" so I don't have to write FL!Katarina lmao)

There's not really a lot we know about the Fortune Lover version of the characters except for the surface level stuff. People have come up with their own explanations and extensions to those incarnations of the cast based on what little we know, creating interpretations based on our own suspicions and understanding of the life they could have lived if Bakarina had never bumped her head.

Bakarina described herself as a spoiled, prideful and selfish wealthy lady. She is far too spoiled, to the point where her selfishness causes problems for others. She is catty and brat. She was raised like a princess during her childhood, which made her haughty, but is nonetheless well-mannered is aware of her station (probably not as perfect as Mary's, but is still prim and proper). Since she is so used to the spotlight being on herself, she bullied Keith who was a threat to her position and because of the influence of her dejected mother, Miri. She doesn't care about anybody who isn't on her radar (people like Alan and Mary, who even her own fiance is indifferent towards) but will visibly act hostile to people she does not like (people who either not of noble birth or those who don't deserve to be, like Maria and Sophia).

Being the haughty daughter of a duke, she has high regards towards the importance of ranks in high society, making her hate Maria the commoner. She would belittle and put her down at every opportunity she can get, in order to make sure that Maria does not forget her status as a commoner even as she continues to stay in the academy and interact with their peers. Her feelings of disgust and betrayal over being on equal grounds with a commoner in the academy, as well as being surpassed by her magically and academically, leads Catarina to bully and harass her to an extreme degree to destroy her self-esteem and eventually make her leave the academy entirely.

In Fortune Lover 2, she returns as a villain who is intent on making Maria pay for her downfall. It shows that she isn't remorseful, and still thinks that she had done nothing wrong. At this point, Catarina goes from a selfish and spoiled brat duchess to a vengeful (and kinda murderous) villainess.

That's kinda all that I got from skimming Volume 1 or the light novels at the moment; I'm sure there are still some insight on what Catarina was like in the other books, besides what we know of her relationships with the other volumes.

While Verge of Doom in mind, we see that Catarina's overconfidence in herself can become a positive as well. She is so sure of herself that she declared anyone by her side is excellent and worthy to a degree, which had helped Sienna feel comfortable being in the academy. Katarina always has her chin up high, even though she is intellectually and magically weak, because her upbringing has made her feel like she is naturally leagues above everyone due to her status.

Catarina is just your typical surface-level villainess character, who is prideful, selfish and mean to other people who isn't in her circle. That's pretty much it to be honest.

Anything beyond this is pretty much laced with analysis and interpretation. One of the reasons why I really like reading FL-verse fics is the different ways they interpret the personalities and motivations of the characters with the little amount of history that we know of. Some of it are pure interpretation, while some of them are good extensions to the stuff we already knew.

Since Catarina is implied to not being good at reading the room, it'd be no surprise to imagine that her growing love for Prince Geordo is the outcome of not being able to read beyond his princely facade, thinking that he genuinely is returning the feelings rather than just being polite since that is expected of him. She lives in this perfect world where everything is made for her, and anyone who threatens it or disturbs it is worthy of her malice.

Some interpretations of Catarina say that she never bothered to try academically because of her status, since she's a prince's fiancee and a duke's daughter, she already has everything so there's nothing she would gain from a good grade. She had probably used her time socializing and growing her circle of followers rather than reading and studying. Since Catarina and Bakarina share the same soul, some would say that maybe she is airheaded and socially dense as well which is why she can't tell that other people dislike her (and even if she did know, depending on who they are she'd be so full of herself that she wouldn't care). Some have said that her physical abuse towards Keith as a child is more than just arrogance about wanting to keep the spotlight on herself and rejecting the idea of having a brother, but a reaction towards feeling threatened and (initially) scared rather than pure jealousy and anger. Some have even made her an accidental seductress who is unknowingly using her charm, wealth and arrogance to gather people to her side. Miridiana from what we know is an insecure person growing up due to her face, so some people have said that Catarina's arrogance is encouraged by Miri, if it helps her be more confident in herself as a duchess, and that in her eyes Catarina had grown into a perfect noblewoman.

Whenever fic writers try to draw lines between Catarina and Bakarina makes me happy actually :DD I love the idea that two have some similar quirks in the same way Aachan and Sophia does. It's so fun when writers make Catarina dumb in the way Bakarina is, while still maintaining her air of arrogance and poise.

It really makes me wish we could have seen more of Catarina in Verge of Doom. Like, have more flashbacks to Catarina's original personality, or have more scenarios where she is forced to act like her villainous self in order to get through a situation. At this point even the main story has more instances of this qwq. I mean it's really good that VOD gives a more remorseful Katarina, and it is interesting to see Catarina and Bakarina react to situations in the exact opposite ways, but one can dream, ya know?

Catarina is as simple of a villainess as one can get, but it's nice to see people try to give more history, detail and nuance to that villainy. It's fun to see it in fanfics, but let's not forget that she's a simple character in canon.

There's still so much I could say, but it's been so long since i've read a hamefura fanfiction so my stock knowledge is dried out lmao. I'm not a writer, so I can only really describe what I remember from reading Fortune Lover-verse fics. I really like them, even if they can be out of character and too different from the source material at times.

If anyone wants to add with more details about Catarina, or their own interpretations of her character, that would be awesome! :DD

Thank you for the ask :DD

#mh ask #hamefura #my next life as a villainess #hamehura #bakarina #destruction flag otome #katarina claes #catarina claes

[bobathirstaccount]

I’m still alive... I’ve been writing but I just feel like everything sucks. Here’s something I hope doesn’t suck. 🧋🤎

**

Diamond in the Rough

Boba x fem!reader, just some plotty smut

TW: unprotected sex, recreational drug use (weed smoking)

***


It had been awhile since you’d had a home, but you were pretty sure you could call Slave 1 exactly that. The days had stretched to weeks to months, and still you stayed out in the desert. Your skin tanned and your hair bleached from the suns. You learned how to handle a blaster better, and a added using a cycler rifle to your knowledge base. You weren’t that great, but you were getting better. Boba was teaching you. You sat back to think about him teaching someone. It felt unlikely, but yet here you were, learning from him. You bent down and continued to clean the rifle. It had to be in good working order for your practice session later, and Boba had left the responsibility to you. You felt proud to be trusted with his things. You finished oiling the rifle and reassembled it, satisfied.

“Let’s go, if you’re ready.” You nodded your assent and the two of you headed outside to the other side of Slave 1. Here you were in the shade. Boba had already set up several targets for you. They were very far out for your skill level. You swallowed, not wanting to miss badly. You set up, laying down in the sand and propping the rifle up solidly. Boba crouched beside you, offering tips. You stilled and inhaled, sighting down the barrel. You followed his instructions and gently squeezed the tigger. You missed completely. You grunted, dissatisfied, but your attention quickly turned towards Boba. He had plopped down into the sand beside you and snuggled up.

“Like this,” he reached an arm around you to hold the rifle steady. Then he talked you through everything again, still holding the gun and by association, you. You did not hear what he was saying. You were too focused on the pressure of his body against yours. “Ready?” He asked. You nodded, dazed. You tried again, squeezing lightly on the trigger. The target made a satisfying ping! as you hit it square in the middle. Boba praised you, making you flush. Then he let go and sat up. 

“Go again.” He dusted some sand off himself. You bit your lip, everything he’d ever told you about guns going through your mind as you tried to line up the sight. You carefully followed the instructions your remembered and touched the trigger again. The shot pinged off the edge of the target.

“Better,” Boba commented. You set up to take aim again. Suddenly Boba stood, “Go inside.”

”Huh?” You looked up, about to take another shot.

“Visitors. Go inside until we know what they want. It’s not safe.”

You squinted, watching them appear out of the desert. Sand People. You shuddered and stood, passing the rifle to Boba. He looped it over his shoulder and strode out to meet the Tuskens. You rounded the ship and raced inside to watch from a window.

Boba stood, somehow looking like an imposing force despite being fairly outnumbered. You saw him sign a greeting, which was returned. You exhaled. That was a good sign.

Boba was in conversation with your guests for some time. You grew bored and picked at a spare thread on your boot. Something moved outside. You jolted upright. The Tuskens appeared to be leaving. Boba stood still, watching them go. You made your way to the cargo bay door and waited for Boba. He came around the corner looking unconcerned.

”Well?”

”They were just looking to trade information and goods.”

“And?”

“And?” He quirked an eyebrow at you.

You pursed your lips, “You were out there for a long time.”

He smiled mischievously, “And nothing.” He brushed past you, cycler rifle in hand.

***

That night you found Boba on Slave 1’s ramp. He was seated and hunched over, attending to something. You strolled up, “Whatcha doing?”

“Rolling us something.”

You grinned, “I knew you got something from the Tuskens.” He shrugged and finished rolling the joint. You smiled and snatched it from his hands, surprised that he let you. He passed you a lighter and you sparked the joint up.

Inhaling, you passed it back to Boba. He smiled softly. The mood was subdued. You felt supremely relaxed. You laid back, feeling the cool metal of the ship supporting you. Boba turned slightly towards you to pass you the joint. Then he laid down next to you. You took a hit and looked up at the stars. Boba reached across you to grab the joint, grazing your chest as he did it. A fire ignited in your pussy. You controlled your breathing and tried to think of something else. But the world was so still it was hard to be distracted by anything. You noticed Boba was lying against you. His side was flush to yours. He passed the joint back. You accepted it, licking your lips. “It’s so chill out here. I feel so relaxed.” You dropped the volume of your voice, adding, “With you.”

“Hmm, the desert is like that. Especially at night.”

You sighed and took a hit. “Did the Tuskens bring any news?”

“Nothing of interest to you. Some deaths. Some power changes.”

You shrugged, leaning into Boba a bit. He gestured for the joint and you handed it back. He turned to you, “What news are you looking to hear?”

”Oh, nothing in particular. Just curious.”

He hmmed again, “I can get you news from off world if you like.”

“No. I left that life behind,” you shook your head. “That’s very dramatic,” he said.

“Don’t you believe in living more than one life?”

He paused, thoughtful perhaps. Finally he said, “Yes.”

You shrugged, “I don’t miss that life.”

”You still need to start your new one.”

You turned on your side, pressing your tits into his upper arm. You rested your head in your palm and looked down at him. “Funny, I thought I had.”

He inhaled, then looked you in the eye. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that...” You waited, vaguely alarmed.

“You’ve been here quite a few months... almost a year.” You nodded. You could feel his body tense up. “I was wondering... if you planned to stay.” It was almost a question. You looked down, his gaze intense. You exhaled slowly, then said, “I mean, that’s really up to you... it’s your ship.”

“I’m asking you.”

“Oh, uh,” you were caught off guard. You decided to be succinct, “Yes.” You chewed on your lip nervously. His body relaxed a bit, “Is there anything you want that isn’t on the ship?”

You shrugged, relieved. “Not really. Maybe a cushier hammock.” The corners of his mouth turned up slightly in what you knew to interpret as an amused smile. A silence fell over you. You laid your head down on Boba’s shoulder and snaked your arms around his. He sighed. Sometimes the two of you would sit or lay like this, dangerously close to being intimate. Nothing was ever spoken, so you couldn’t be sure what he was thinking. You weren’t sure what you were thinking. You knew that you would say yes if he propositioned you. But was it reciprocal? You had just crossed a major milestone and you were scared to push it. It was your turn to sigh.

“What are you thinking, cyar’ika?”

“Oh, nuthin. Just enjoying our time out here,” you chose your words carefully. You wondered at the alien name, but were too shy to ask. Instead, you said, “What’re you thinking?” He inhaled, holding it. Then he slowly exhaled. “Same.”

“Aren’t we a pair?” You breathed, nervous.

He laughed, a soft, gravelly noise. “Suppose so.” He turned his head towards you and rested his chin on the top of your head. You snuggled into him, your eyes getting heavy.


You awoke to being placed in your hammock. ‘’Sorry, kinda hard to set someone down in a hammock,” Boba commented. You smiled to yourself sleepily.

***

You had woken late and lingered in your hammock. You didn’t want the feeling from last night to go away. The barrier between the two of you had never felt so thin. You sighed, the feeling dissipating into the day. You swung your legs out of the hammock and headed towards the fresher.

You walked the ship, eating a piece of fruit. You found Boba in the cargo hold. He was reorganizing parts. Items were strewn all over the floor in careful piles. You tip toed around them. “Good morning,” he spoke without turning around.

“Mornin,” you chimed.

“You seem quite cheerful.”

“Guess so,” you shrugged. You looked around again, “Can I help?”

“Mmm, I suppose so. That pile needs to be sorted.” He pointed to a greasy pile of nuts and bolts. You finished your apple and rolled up your sleeves. The two of you worked in comfortable silence. Once the bits and pieces were sorted, you helped Boba put them all away. It was tedious work. By the time the task was done, you were tired. “Time for a nap?” Boba stated, looking at you. You smiled, sleepy. “Yeah.”

“Me too.” He stood awkwardly. You gave him a confused look, but turned to leave.

“Perhaps.”

The word hung in the air. You turned around.

”Perhaps we could nap together.”
You snorted, “Why take a hammock when you have a bed?”

“Exactly.”

You blinked slowly. “You mean in your bed?” You felt vaguely embarrassed to be asking the obvious question. But you weren’t sure you interpreted him correctly. He nodded solemnly. You smiled nervously, “Okay.”

The two of you made your way to his quarters. He gestured for you to get in first, so you kicked your boots off and slid in. He sat on the edge and took his time taking his footwear off. You laid there on your back nervously. Then you decided to take off your sweater. You were getting hot with anxiety. You laid back down again, then rolled over onto your side. You rolled onto your back. Boba finally finished and was crawling into bed. He laid down on his side facing you. You rolled over again to face him, feeling silly. You rested your head on your hands and met his gaze. “Now what?” You whispered.

A vague smile flitted across his lips. “What do you want?”

The question was vague but specific at the same time. You blinked, trying to come up with a response. You bounced the question back at him, “You’re the one who wanted me in your bed.”

He hmmd, then said, “I don’t really want to sleep.”

You grinned, then became serious. “I don’t either.”

You stared at each other. He reached out and put your hair behind your ear with a finger. His hand lingered, then came to rest on your cheek, cupping it. He ran his thumb over your bottom lip. You licked your lips and stared at him, wide eyed. You scooted closer to him. And closer. His hand travelled down your upper arm to your waist. You kissed him lightly, barely touching his lips with yours. His grip on your waist increased and he pulled you forward into him. He kissed back gently but with an air of urgency.

You found yourself putting your hands on his chest, gripping his shirt. The kiss deepened. You snuggled in closer to him and slipped your leg over his hip, squeezing and rocking slightly. He exhaled heavily and his hand went to your ass, pulling you against him. He ground his already hard cock into your center, making you moan. He broke the kiss. You were out of breath and already thinking of him inside of you. He pulled back slightly, “This is what you want?” You leaned into him and kissed him in response. He groaned and rolled you over. His weight settled between your legs. You spread them wider and wrapped them around him. He bit your lip lightly and jerked his hips up into you. “Fuck me,” you said, shocking yourself at your boldness.

You felt his cock jump. He sat up on his haunches and undid your pants. You helped him as he pulled them off. He undid his pants and pulled himself out. You gasped at his size. He grinned at you and laid back down over you to kiss you. As he did, he nuzzled his cock into your slick folds. You both moaned at the sensation. He thrust up into you, grunting. You gave a small exclamation as he stretched your pussy. He grabbed your hip with a hand and stroked you shallowly, letting you get used to him. Your body buzzed and your chest heaved. The feeling of him inside of you after all the pining and anticipation was overwhelming. You gave soft cries as he slowly deepened his strokes. Your pussy was on fire, wet and ready for him. He bottomed out in you with one stroke, and paused, moaning your name. You breathlessly kissed him. He kissed you back desperately, his cock twitching in your cunt.

You rocked your hips and he started to fuck you into the mattress. Your pussy took the fucking and you pleaded with him for more as he pounded into you. He started to pant and moan, close to his climax. You moaned at the thought of him cumming in you. Your pussy’s fire spread to your entire body as you came, pulsing and pushing Boba to the edge. He grunted, “I have to pull out.”

”No, no,” you used your legs to keep him inside of you. He grunted, straining. “Are you sure?”

”Yes, yes I’m sure,” you cooed into his ear. He groaned and fucked you hard and deep. You spread your legs, taking him and moaning his name. His thrusts stuttered and he stilled in you, groaning your name again. You kissed the side of his head as he rolled off you. He pulled you close to him, wrapping you in a strong arm. You put your hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating quickly and his uneven breathing.

“I haven’t had sex since the Sarlacc,” Boba said, matter of fact. You smiled, “Hope I was worth the wait.”

“More than worth the wait,” he kissed your forehead. There was a silence, then he asked, “What does this mean... between us?”

Your breath caught. “I... like you, Boba.”

”In what way?”

”In... the romantic way?” Your voice went up at the end, making your statement a question. He kissed your head again. “Really? I don’t have a lot going for me right now.” You pursed your lips, smiling. “You have more than enough.”

“I have something for you,” Boba blurted out. You looked up at him. “I... bartered for it with the Tuskens. Along with the weed.” He sat up and grabbed a satchel on a shelf above the bed. Laying down, he opened it and pulled out a loosely wrapped package. He handed it to you. You took it nervously and began to open it, stopping to look at him. He was watching you.

You pulled the packaging back to reveal a woven necklace with a large clear gemstone in the center. It was cut and highly polished, and appeared flawless. You smiled shyly and looked up at him. “It’s gorgeous.”

”Not as much as you are, cyar’ika” he breathed, tracing your jawline. “What’s that mean?”

”Sweet heart.” You smiled again, blushing. You curled up into his embrace with a full heart. You were definitely home.

#boba fett smut #boba x reader #boba fett fanfiction #boba fett x you #boba x you #boba fett x f!reader

[twdmusicboxmystery]

99% Sure Leah is a Hallucination

Okay, I REALLY wasn’t going to post anything else. I know the two template posts I gave you yesterday were a lot to chew through. But something happened last night that made this come together for me and my buddies, and I just couldn’t sit on it. I promise I’ll keep this brief, though.

After watching the episode yet again last night, @frangipanilove found an article in which Norman says something interesting about this episode. Well, maybe interesting isn’t the right word. More like BOMBSHELL.

Remember how we at first thought she might be a hallucination? Well, we moved away from it because we learned that Carol knew about her. That, and I thought it was safer for us all to make our peace with the idea of Daryl having a relationship with this woman. Just accept it and move forward, you know?

But after watching the episode, yes, Carol knew about her, but only what Daryl seemingly told her. She never met Leah. Not a single soul in the world other than Daryl ever saw her. Hmm.

So, here’s the article @frangipanilove found:

I honestly wouldn’t have gone back to the hallucination theory, if not for reading this. But now Norman is saying that nothing in this episode is what it seems. And he’s specifically referencing Daryl’s relationship with Leah.

(P.S. I have to laugh that fans are asking him what’s wrong with him. Um...he’s not Daryl? He’s Norman. And he doesn’t write the show. The writers do. Lol. But also notice that he talks about staying true to Daryl, and we all know that this Leah thing is the opposite of that. Unless....)

So, let’s look at some weirdnesses in the episode. And @wdway deserves most of the credit for this. Once we started discussing the article and brainstorming, she came up with most of this.

1.  When he meets Leah. My fellow theorists and I were actually talking about this before the episode aired yesterday. Why does he just run into her cabin? He follows Dog, but the funny thing is, Dog doesn’t run into the cabin. Only Daryl does. How does he know there’s not 47 walkers in there? How does he know there aren’t a dozen armed people? You’d think he would stop and observe and evaluate. But he doesn’t. He just charges in. And that’s very unlike Daryl.

And of course we could come up with some sort of explanation. Like maybe he heard Leah yelling while fighting the walker in the back bedroom and thought she needed help. Maybe, but the show doesn’t actually suggest this. There aren’t any subtitles or anything that give us any clue as to what his thought process was for just charging in.

2.  When he brings Dog back to her, when his eye scar has appeared, if you listen to the dialogue between him and Leah, it’s a little bit odd. Maybe not quite as odd as him charging into her house at first, but still it leaves some questions. About the eye scar, she says, “looks like you got the raw end of the deal.” He just says, “yeah.” Well, that scar isn’t jagged or shaky at all. It’s very straight. Clearly made by a knife, not a walker. So, it’s a little strange that she doesn’t ask what happened. If she wants to be left alone, wouldn’t she be concerned that there might be someone else out there. Why doesn’t she just ask about it? Why doesn’t he just tell her about it? In a way, it almost sounds as if Leah knows more than she’s saying in this scene.

3. When she opens up to him about her family and her past, all the stories she tells are almost like amalgamations of Daryl and the characters on TWD. Obviously everyone noticed the similarities to Carol. That’s a big one. But the story of the blood and the running could be them running from the prison, or the deaths of a lot of different people Daryl has had to say goodbye to. When she talks about meeting and fighting with her squad and how they gave her hope? TF in a nutshell. And even that she hints at having an abusive family. Daryl. Carol, too. But mostly Daryl.

4. It’s still odd that no one else ever met Leah. Yeah, she said she wanted to live out there alone. And we talked about how this makes it an unhealthy relationship, because if she really loved him, she would want to go meet his friends and family and know about every part of his life. Into this, I’m going to lump the fact that she never seems to have gone with him to search for Rick. Once again, if you love someone, you participate in their lives. And she’s just alone at the cabin anyway. Why not go with him?

5. Outside the show Weirdness: Look at that top pic I used for when he met Leah. Remember when we discussed that there is someone kneeling behind her? I assumed it was her son, because spoilers didn’t reveal when or how he would die. But that’s not the case. This person looks to be a teenager or an adult (much older than Matthew was) and we never learn who it is. 

People have said it might be a set person or a mic guy who accidentally made it into the shot, but I don’t buy that. They scrutinize these pictures and could easily have fixed that with the computer if they’d wanted to. I don’t know if we’ll ever find who it is. It might just be a hint that there’s more going on here than meets the eye.

But then I found this pic:

There’s someone lying dead on the ground behind them, and we didn’t see this in the episode. @wdway thinks it’s just Leah. That she was dead when he arrived, but he made up this story about how she was this strong, survivor woman and could have become his companion. I think that’s a super-viable theory, but of course we won’t know the details until they actually show us.

There are more weirdnesses than this, but I’m sure you get the idea. The more we think about it, the more sure we are that she’s a hallucination. And obviously that would make more sense anyway from the “why would the writers handle Daryl’s love life this way and piss off the entire fandom” perspective.

One thing we also noticed was that on TTD, the writer emphasized that this story is told from Daryl’s perspective. We’re seeing his PERCEPTION of it, and that’s important. I heard her say that, and wasn’t quite sure of what to make of it. Before realizing the hallucination thing, I thought she might be hinting that there was more we hadn’t see, or Leah might not be who he thought she was. Something like that. But if she’s not real, that makes way more sense, doesn’t it.

So, some things to consider. The strong parallels to Carol. The exact ones, actually, like spear fishing and all the identical dialogue. That’s because he’s taking those things from his time with Carol and incorporating them directly into Leah’s story.

Everything I said yesterday still applies. Mostly because that’s the symbolic template and here, we’re talking about the reality of what’s happening, so the two don’t affect each other directly. But while Leah’s personality is based on Carol’s (probably because that’s who he spends the most time with these days) the romance element is definitely molded out of his time with Beth.

Real:

Hallucination:

The cross that represents the grave? The one Chris Hardwick said would make some people think Leah is dead? Yeah, we think that really is her grave. We do think she probably really existed, and he met her, but she died relatively quickly, and the rest of the relationship didn’t happen. It’s all in his head. I’ll give you some more possibilities on that in a minute.

We think she’s the one who gave him the eye scar. If we’re right about that, I’m sure they’ll show it to us eventually. I mean, if she’s a hallucination, they’ll have to tell us that eventually, but probably not until S11. Think about the dialogue. “Looks like you got the raw end of the deal.” Daryl: “Yeah.”

This is also why the ending makes little sense. His argument with her about where he belongs is really him arguing with himself. That’s why he cries when she asks where he belongs, and he says he doesn’t know. But then later, we see him charging off to look for Rick, and not seeming at all sad or conflicted about anything. It’s because there is Leah. There never was. He’s just looking for Rick.

@frangipanilove also said something insightful about Carol. I think I took most of my mentions of the Carol flashback scenes out of my meta yesterday. Only because it was already so long and I wanted to focus on laying out the symbolic template for you. But while watching the episode, I actually felt kinda bad for Carol. Every time she came to see him, she seemed so upset. Like she felt as abandoned by him as he does by her. And I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve a taste of her own medicine, but I guess that sadness from her kind of surprised me.

But what @frangipanilove said is that maybe her worry for him really was warranted. Because he’d been out there on his own so long, it started to mess with his head and he really was losing his sanity. Carol might have been starting to see that, and she really was terrified for his mental health, which is why she kept trying to get him to come back.

And you know, it creates an interesting sort of irony for Daryl and Carol’s fight at the end in present day. He says that when things get tough, she runs, and he’s sick of dragging her back. And that’s true. We’ve seen that he’s right and Carol does do this, so I was 100% behind what he said to her. Was it harsh? Sure. But it still needed to be said.

But the irony is that during these 6 years after Rick, Daryl was doing exactly the same thing. Him staying out there to look for Rick, when after years, it would have become clear that he wouldn’t find the body, was him running away from the pain of what happened. Carol kept trying to drag him back, but he wouldn’t go with her.

Also, the two of them on opposite sides of the river here could represent the divide between reality and Daryl’s hallucinations.

The note. It’s a little hard to know exactly how to interpret the note from a PTSD perspective. Symbolically, I’d say the note he left was for Beth. Maybe he doesn’t even realize that in the episode, but with all the Beth parallels, it’s just about him wanting to belong somewhere. He wants to belong with someone who loves and needs him.

But I talked yesterday about how the cabin was trashed, and the picture was gone, right? By the time he wrote that note, Leah was long gone. Dead, I mean. The fact that the picture wasn’t there is especially significant. Why would the picture have disappeared, unless it wasn’t real to begin with.

Another thing I noted was Carol’s somewhat bizarre reaction when Daryl suggested they go down toward the river to hunt. She looked worried about that, but agreed. At the time, I was thinking she was worried because he’d spent so much time down there before looking for Rick, and she didn’t want the obsession to resurface. And that’s probably still true, but it’s even more interesting now, isn’t it? And maybe that’s why she’s always wanting to go out with him when he goes hunting or looking for supplies or whatever. She just doesn’t want him falling back into that mindset and disappearing again.

And it will make what I said yesterday about what will happen in the spinoff—her wanting him to stop looking for Rick and come with her—make more sense, too, won’t it?

Okay, I’ll stop now. I really haven’t covered everything we could possibly talk about with this. I’m sure you’ll all think of tons more. But you get the idea. And remember, this isn’t just my theory or our theory. I wouldn’t have come back to this at all if I hadn’t read that article where Norman hinted at it. And he would know, right?

And hey, if this turns out to be incorrect, I’ll be okay with that. I’ll eat my words (not literally 😉). But Norman is referring to SOMETHING here, and given how few characters were in this episode, and that he was directly talking about Leah in that quote, there really aren’t many things he could actually mean.

Special thanks to both @frangipanilove​ and @wdway​. Honestly, they did way more work on this one than I did.

Thoughts?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

[iwriteforthetincanman]

Mandoctober Day 16: Tatooine

ALT TITLE: Stardust, The Force and one big beautiful mess

A/N: at first I wanted to continue the sandcrawler scavenger reader I did (which I will do eventually with or without Mandoctober to guide me) but I went through some personal stuff so I more or less wanted to base this around family and where your roots are from rather than Tatooine itself, which in its essence is that one scene with Luke skywalker standing outside his home with the twin suns and later on down the line, his final resting place along with his twin sister Leia. 

Someone dear to me passed away almost ten years ago now. The anniversary is the day Season two comes out. Which is essentially why I’m so committed to this fandom now. But I also wanted to write something just to get the remaining grief out of my system. 

Mum, this one is for you.

Ni kar’tayli gar darasuum Buir.

Poe Dameron x reader, Nameless!Mother (or Mother Figure) x Din Djarin

(FOR CLARIFICATION DIN DJARIN IS THE READER’S FATHER IN THIS ONE)

also somehow I wrote 5K in two hours none stop...am I Alexander Hamilton? 

It had been so long since I had been home. It hurt to think of the place where I came from. Hatred had leaked into my very belief system, my culture...even my family. 

I felt like they hated me for leaving... but I was scared that they’d never miss me. That I had only been a ghost in their lives. There for 18 years and then poof! I was gone. 

My father, Din Djarin, the Mandalorian saved my mother from slavery when she was quite young. Around my age to be precise. He had no idea at the time because she had been living with an Ugnaught named Kuill. That’s why my middle name is Kuill. I owe that fateful Ugnaught my existence for freeing my own mother from slavery when she was barely even a woman. 

She had nowhere else to go...and instead of keeping her grounded and sheltered away from the rest of the world. He let her live. 

Growing up you hear stories of people dying all around you, neighbours, friends and yes, even pets. It hurts so much you can’t even comprehend it. You become numb and barren to the pains of the world.

It feels like you don’t care anymore.

It got to a point where I was making things up in my head out of anger. How I would’ve handled things differently, what I wanted to do with my life, where I wanted to go.

But my father had only one strict rule.

Once we set down roots...we can never leave.

I never questioned it after the first time he told me why. 

My mother...on the day I decided to leave, knew that something was wrong.

Lately I had been restless, agitated and easy to anger. 

At first she thought I had fallen pregnant. Something that had made us both laugh at the time. It was a hollow memory to me now. I had no idea if she was dead or alive. 

It hurt. The unknown. Death, life. It didn’t matter. 

What mattered was the fight to live. To help others thrive.

You were raised to be everything the First Order was against. 

So of course you wanted to join the resistance at the first chance you got.

---

“NO.”

“But-”

“No means no! Do you have any idea what your mother and I went through to bring you this life, so you could live in the peace that the universe scarcely gives? Do you have any idea how lucky you are?!”

“That’s exactly why I have to go! Don’t you understand that! I love living here. But some people aren’t as lucky. You know that more than anyone in this village buir. Mum knows it too.”

It went deadly quiet for a moment. 

“I did not bring you this life...risked everything with my culture, my creed, just so you could selfishly throw it away...I don’t want you to die like my parents did Ad’ika.”

I didn’t say it then but...that was another reason you needed to go. To make your ancestors and those Mandalorians who came before your father proud. 

It was the one time Din Djarin had let his guard down.

You crept away into the night, leaving only a kiss on your little (in size) brother’s brow and a note next to your mother’s tools.

It was the best way you could’ve said goodbye. 

“I am one with the force and the force is with me...This is the way.” 

---

Two whole weeks later I found yourself on a planet that was the polar opposite of what I was used to. So much technology that I didn’t know the names of, ships, speeders, weapons and people. 

It was strange how seeing so many people made you euphoric at the time. I was only a rookie, and I had never left home before. Of course I was nervous. 

There was so much to learn! Keeping up with the resistance is what scared you, what if they threw you out? You had trained under your mother’s mechanical know how just to get here but what if-

“Djarin! Y/N!”

“HERE!” You hadn’t realised how loud you had been until all the people turned to look at you funny. Whispers and giggles followed. Maker, this was embarrassing. 

“Good to know you’re here. I’m Poe Dameron by the way. Noticed you weren’t paying attention. You nervous?” Making eye contact with the most gorgeous man you had ever seen was the last thing you had expected. He was a hot shot pilot apparently. You heard a girl giggle behind your head as she winked at him. Oh, give me a break. 

“...A little.”

“Okay well don’t be. You recruited for a reason and according to where you’ve been registered you’re the best mechanic we’ve seen in a long while. Which is why you’ve been assigned to my X-Wing.” 

Jealousy dripped in ugly green buckets. You were quite fond of the colour, with it being the colour of your little brother’s skin. But...it hurt nonetheless. 

“Yes sir.” You whimpered pathetically.

You were doing this for them. Not for some pilot you had only just met. Well...him too. 

---

Crashing into General Leia Organa with heaps of your paperwork was not how you planned your first day ending.

“Kriffing Bantha fodder! Why don’t you watch where you’re-Oh my god you’re Princess Leia.” 

To say you had been absolutely obsessed with her when you were younger was an understatement. 

She reminded you of your mother in so many ways it hurt to look at her.

Which is why you were so confused when she touched your cheek only to find yourself crying at just the sight of her. 

---

“So...you left on bad terms with not only your father, but your family in general. Even if your mother never found out?”

“I’m worried that it’ll put a strain on my parents relationship with each other more than anything...I can’t contact them or write. It’s too risky.”

“Your father taught you well.” 

“Wait...you know who my father is?”

“Many people have heard of the Mandalorian that killed Moff Gideon with the dark saber. Some have speculated that it was a myth...now I can see that it wasn’t since you are living proof of what Mandalorians can create.”

“My mother was never a Mandalorian. She was a Mechanic through and through...she just happened to be thrown into motherhood twice along the way.” you joked bitterly.

Your parents had told you the tales of Moff Gideon. It was a fairytale that had been shrouded in mystery. Something you weren’t expecting to hear from the two people you admired the most. 

“I love my family. That’s all Mandalorians care about. Their clan and their people as a whole. I’ve neglected that part of myself for far too long. We had to hide to be safe. It made me angry. I told my dad I was going to leave the night before I did. He said no...I went anyway. It doesn’t matter what he thinks...not right now. I have to put what matters to me in this universe first.”

“Hmm...you sound a lot like a young jedi knight i used to know.” 

“Are you talking about Master Luke Skywalker?” You were getting excited now. 

“No...one of his students he took for a very brief period. You see the child was the same species as Master Yoda but he was already fifty years old. A relationship where a padawan is already older than their teacher? That...now that is strange.” Leia giggled to herself. 

Everytime you glanced at her all you could see were fragments of your own mother. You understood why everyone here adored her. Why she was in command whilst others who thought they deserved it, weren’t.

She was a mother through and through. Whether to her own child or not, you knew she didn’t realise this one fact alone. 

“You remind me of my buir. She has many similar features...not the same just, similar.” 

“I’m honoured you think of me that way Djarin. But I believe that there is an anxious pilot waiting for you in the hangar.” 

“Kriff! Thank you for the Caff General. It's a lot different to what I’m used to but it’s a welcome change.” Getting this out in one breath you bowed somewhat awkwardly before running out of the canteen. 

---

“Y’know you’re strange right?”

“Kriff!” Banging your head on the bottom of Poe’s X-Wing was not how you wanted this to pan out. 

“You’re annoying, did you know that?”

Watching his face was like observing a painting, depending on your interpretation and the angle the motions you saw were just-

“Mesh’la.”

“What...is that some weird curse word or somethin’?” 

“Uh! No, I mean, yes! I mean...maybe.” scratching the back of your neck, you attempted to soothe the bump that was forming there. That was going to be a little ray of sunshine to wake up to tomorrow morning. 

“Hey, let me take a look at that.” Turning around somewhat hesitantly. You let Poe take a look at your ‘wound’. 

“Yikes, looks like a lot of blood.” 

“What!” 

“I’m kidding. It was a joke to get you less stressed out...obviously it didn’t work.”

“Sorry...I’m just anxious, I guess.” 

“Wanna talk about it? My X-wing is in great shape right now by the way, my old mech checked her out before you shipped in. He was a great guy but...he was one of a handful we lost.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Hey it’s okay. Death is a part of life, unfortunately I learnt that at a tender young age.”

“What happened? ...if you don’t  mind me asking that is.” 

“...My mother, she was a pilot just like me. She fought for what she believed in and yet, she died anyway. It hurts but...I fight because of what my parents did.”

“No way! Me too! My parents took a back seat compared to what the resistance did back in the day but my Dad was a total badass and my mum...well, my mum was a slave.” 

The look of shock you saw on Poe’s face was something you mistook for awkwardness. 

“I’m sorry if I overstepped Captain Dameron.” 

“Nah, you did the complete opposite actually...we’re gonna spend a lot of time together for god knows how long so it’s good that we get the emotional baggage out of the way first.”

The smile he gave you made your knees turn to jelly. 

You didn’t know then how taken Poe already was with you, He thought you were cute, but he underestimated how much of a badass you really were. The knowledge of your parents though...he tucked that away for safe keeping right next to the ring that sat against his heart. 

Little did he know then how much emotional baggage you really had...

---

-3 YEARS LATER-

“DJARIN WE NEED YOU IN MEDICAL STAT!” 

“DON’T YELL AT ME LIKE I’M ONE OF YOUR NURSES MCLAGGEN! I CAN HANDLE IT!”

“I KNOW THAT, THAT’S WHY WE NEED YOU!”

Although you admired your crew mates sometimes you wanted to rip off their kriffin’ heads. 

Everyone was stressed lately. All three of the golden trio had vanished, out of sight, out of mind. And to make matters worse, Leia was just as worried as you were. 

“Commander Djarin!”

“Poe!” Running to your best friend in the whole freaking universe, you wrapped him in the biggest hug you could muster. You had been so worried about him. 

“I missed you! I was so worried...I didn’t know what to think…” Shame and guilt crept into your very being as Poe stood before you, he was carrying a very solemn aura. Something bad had just happened. You could feel it all around you now. People were sobbing in the courtyard. 

Everyone was upset...but that could only mean-

“No...No, don’t you dare tell me she’s gone.”

“Y/N I’m sorry.” Poe was a mess, just like you.

He held you in his arms as you screamed in agony until nightfall. 

---

“I’m never gonna be good enough for this. Not like she was.” 

Hearing Poe go through the worst thing he had ever faced once again broke your heart tenfold. More than yours was breaking already. 

“Poe Dameron, you listen to me and listen well okay?” 

Every part of his being was hyper focused on you as you said these next words, it’s like you were commanding them into his brain. 

“Leia loved you. She may have never said it out loud but she said it in the ways any mother would. She was the mother of the resistance sure but she had a real soft spot for you after everything with...Ben.”

Comparing Poe to Kylo Ren was a painful business but everything about grief was painful, it made you focus on the good and the bad. 

“Family is more than blood. That’s what my father’s creed taught me. I will never forget it as long as I live. When this is all over and he’s not going to put a knife through my chest just for leaving I’ll introduce you. Hell, I’d drag you back to my home planet right now if i could...you would love it.” 

“I’m sure I would...Mesh’la.”

“...What did you just call me?”

“I got that right didn’t I? It’s not an insult, it’s a compliment? I thought it meant beautiful I was just guessing off interpretation I didn’t read any mmph-”

You had cut him off by slamming your lips onto his. Sure, it was inappropriate to make out in front of both your mother figure’s corpse but...you knew by now that many times she had told you to tell him how you truly felt when it came to war?

It was now or never. 

She had that with Han Solo and in the blink of an eye he had left. 

But Poe? Poe had been your constant throughout all of this, he loved you in ways you could only imagine and you loved him. Even if the kiss ended up not meaning anything...you knew you would never regret it as long as you live. 

“Ni kar’tayli gar darasuum Poe Dameron.”

“WHA- what, um, ahem, does uh, that mean?” You had flustered him, you felt pride in your very soul for doing that. 

But Damn if his tousled hair didn’t like so fine? Maybe it was the fact you had just clawed your fingers through it like the world was ending...but in a way it kind of was. 

“I will keep you in my heart forever...that’s the Mandalorian way of saying I love you Poe Dameron.” 

“Oh...MANDO’A!” 

You leapt back at this, not the reaction you were hoping for. But it was so ardently Poe you couldn’t help the grin on your face. 

“What about it?”

“That’s your culture! Your language! That’s why you told me your father is such a bad-...ass”

“There a reason you’re just saying ‘ass’ to yourself, General?”

“Oh bantha fodder...I’m gonna have to ask for your father’s blessing to marry you by talking to a Mandalorian?” 

An audible gasp snapped him out of his stupor.

“You...you were gonna propose?”

“Of course.”

The painting had returned. The painting you kept in your heart and sang to every day. The one you comforted when he had nightmares, no matter how close to your body he was, you knew by that point your friendship was long gone. 

You had never put a label on it...but in a way, you had always been each other’s ‘one’.

And now...He was asking you to be his riduur?

“Leia convinced me. She said if I didn’t buckle up and saw what was right in front of me throughout this whole war. I would've killed myself over my love for you.” Confirming that he was in fact, in love with you, was a breath of fresh air. 

Even if the jungle you had been camped out in for months on end had changed your temperament you couldn’t help the tears welling up in not just your eyes but Poe’s as well. 

“Y/N Kuill Djarin. I love you so damn much it hurts to leave you every time I ran to that hangar. I knew everytime I left it could’ve been the last time and it scared me. Because who was I going to be if I never found my forever girl? My mom told me that much before she passed…” 

Shara Bey’s ring. The fact that he had carried the ring of his deceased mother around for years on end just to be close to her made your heart simultaneously sing and cry. 

Not only because the ring was now yours to keep. 

But so was the man who gave it to you. 

That night, before the final battle, your hearts beat as one.

---

You had won.

Everyone had celebrated, you both drank so much that when you woke up in bed together the next day, despite the crippling twin headaches, all the two of you could do was laugh. 

“I mean...if we think about logically it was only a matter of time before one of us pounced on the other?” You offered into the awkward harmony you had both fallen into. 

“Yeah but I just really wanna know...I didn’t hurt you right?” 

You had never told him, but Poe knew just by the way you had gotten up to get some water, despite the fact he was ready for round two almost instantly due to how the sheets bunched and fell from your figure, that you were a virgin. 

But just from the simple process of illumination of what little you had told him of your life before the Resistance or BP he liked to call it (before Poe), you preferred BB (before Beeps), he knew you had never been in a relationship. Not properly anyway. 

Not with him. 

In a way the thought of being your first filled him with joy...but every time he had imagined it he had expected to be a gentleman, rose petals, lilies, gods, any flowers he could’ve found in that blasted rainforest would’ve been perfect! 

What he didn’t understand was how the drink had addled his brain so drastically that he had just pounced like a feral animal on his precious girl. He wanted to take your innocence on your wedding night (Your engagement hadn’t yet been announced to the Resistance as you both wanted to wait for the onslaught of weddings to die down before the wedding of the century was even announced so in a way, your relationship as fiance’s technically still didn't exist). 

And yet...you realised something during the haze and the blur of everything Poe and you last night. 

You had made a new home here, a life for yourself...and it was good. 

You had done exactly what your parents did and more.

So of course you were emotional. I mean, you two hadn’t even used protection!

Although...you didn’t share this with Poe the thought of a little version of you and him growing within you? It set your heart on fire. So when you kissed him with the passion of a thousand thunderstorms, you didn’t hesitate to return the favour of last night...and then some. 

---

Shuffling into the cantina had never felt so awkward in all of your three years here. You were 21 years of age now. People hooked up all the time and it’s not like you broadcasted your virginity to anyone here.

That was until the green bundle of joy himself practically flew into your arms. 

“Ad’ika?!” Your exclamation panicked Poe, his hand immediately going to your waist as he inspected the creature wrapped around your neck. BB8 whirled in Ad’ika’s wake, circling the figure of 8’s around the both of you. 

“What, they did?” Ad’ika looked up at you like you had grown three heads. Sure, he looked like a kid. But he was now roughly 90 years old. He was a fully grown child now. You still blushed like a little girl apparently as he continuously giggled into your neck.

“Not important right now buddy. Where are our buirs?” You muttered tearfully. Today had turned into a whole other kind of day. 

“C’MON GUYS HURRY UP I’VE NEVER SEEN A REAL LIFE MANDALORIAN BEFORE!!” Seeing friends of yours running past only to be met with the vision of your buirs brought you the relief that no bacta patch (or in this one specific case casual sex???) could ever give. 

Your mother was vision as always and Poe confirmed it.

“Y/N...I knew the day I first met you that you were beautiful but the fact that your mother looks almost exactly like you right now scares me.” 

“Poe, whatever you do don’t say anything inappropriate around my Da, he won’t appreciate it, at all.” 

Even though you were smiling like crazy, Poe knew you were being deadly serious. You didn’t want anything to ruin today. 

Besides, there was only one reason your buirs were wearing their armor once more. Your father was wearing all of his Mandalorian armor, scuffed and slightly dusty with age (he had clearly left in a hurry) but your mother was wearing her long forgotten robes. Once she was planning on giving to you one day. You realised she looks a lot like Rey right now. 

The dark saber she carried at her side confirmed it. 

But her eyes meeting yours from across the room as she spotted her daughter reunited with your son, caused both you and Poe to tear up once more as she grabbed her Riduur’s hand. 

“Excuse us.” Polite as always, she waited for no one as she made her way to you and only you as she almost tripped over poor Beeps in the process. 

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

You both laughed a similar laugh that any one around would recognise. It was like Leia had come home but you all knew she was gone...she was never truly gone. She lived on through each and everything the resistance had touched. 

Including you...and Poe.

Din and your mother.

Ad’ika...and Luke Skywalker.

Your mother the day she killed Moff Gideon with a light saber that she did not know she had the untaught skills to possess.

It was like strings were tangling and wrapping and strangling…

Except it was beautiful.

“We missed you so much Ad’ika.”

Looking into the eyes of your buir, his scarred and worn face now riddled with crow’s feet from the happiness you had placed there. 

It was home. 

---

Drums beating. Heart pounding. Numerous friends and family to you and to Poe squabbling over what hairstyle you would wear. 

Today was the big day. Surprisingly you had announced it a week ago. 

After everything that had happened, when your father showed up, Poe asked right on the spot if he could marry you. Not caring that he had to prove himself in the trials of Mandalore. 

In his heart he had become one with your clan. He had become a son in your father’s eyes, another foundling that had just found his way here. 

“I know men aren’t technically allowed to be in the chamber, but I just had to meet my future daughter-in-law before the big day.” Your breath catching in your throat, your eyes met those of a man you recognised.

Although you had never met it’s like you had a scrapbook in your mind or all the stories, all the little details of what Poe’s Dad looked like. 

He was more handsome than you originally thought, but that was a given seeing as it was the exact same as when you met Poe himself. 

“Nervous?”

“Surprisingly...not at all.”

“Poe...wanted me to give you this.”

A glance of the ring gave you a flicker of a moment of self-doubt. He would never have his own Dad break things off...would he? 

“Don’t worry. It’s a family thing you know, for father’s to give away their daughter’s. I asked your mother but I had no idea that she was from the tribe of many mothers.” Giggling to yourself at that line, you realised where you had got your spirit from. 

Leia was here with her own family today, you could feel it in your bones.

“It’s sweet of you to ask at all when we have never even properly met.” 

“Ah, you’re wrong there, in a way we have. Poe told me so much about you I began to cry before the wedding even started. Good thing he told me at the bachelor party.” 

Raising an incredulous brow at him, you wondered a silent question. 

“It was just me and him for most of the night before drinks with his friends. Don’t worry, Poe’s not that kind of man.” Smiling to yourself, you knew he was right. You also knew this meant Poe had a terrible influence of friends. You loved them all. Of course Poe asked Finn to be his best man and you asked Rey to be your maid of honour.

They wanted everything to be perfect. 

Although a week made everyone go a bit stir crazy. Someone even came up with the rule that as long as we were all staying on this damn jungle planet. We might as well have a week in between each one to plan. 

You can’t remember how many bridezillas had attacked you over Poe Dameron in your dreams. 

In reality everyone was happy for you, in their minds, if they thought about it you were the perfect match for Poe in each and every way. 

Wait ‘til they found out how short the actual ceremony was. 

“Anyway, Shara, god's rest her soul, would’ve given you this if she were here, but I’m here to tell the tale so I’m giving it to you to wear on the chain she gave him when he was little.”

Feeling tears well up in sympathy for the father and son duo, you couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m getting married so I need to know. How did you ever learn to cope with the pain of losing someone that close to you?”

“Simple...I didn’t. Poe was angry for years. Not just at the world but at the system. It’s why he felt he had no choice but to become a spice runner. The system wouldn’t let him win and he was exhausted from the guilt and the grief. I couldn’t bring myself to reprimand him.” 

Remembering something your mother said to you long ago...you knew you had to tell your future father in law something that had been on the backburner for the last few days of preparation. 

“There’s one small detail in all of this that you should know Kes.”

“What’s that…”

“...I’m pregnant.”

“Goodness! How? Wait no, I know how what I meant was when?”

“About a month ago now?” It was before my parents' surprise visit and Poe dropped the bomb on everyone that he intended to marry me. 

“Let me guess, he asked for your Dad’s blessing?”

“Well...yeah.”

“Think of them as an early wedding present.”

“Thanks. Although at least this means I can get out of consummating the marriage.” Laughing nervously, Kes was about to say something else when the door creaked open once more. 

“...Wow.” 

“Hi Dad.” 

“Um..sorry but I’m guessing your Poe’s father Kes?” 

“Yeah, Heard a lot 'bout you and your daughter over the years.” 

Smiling to yourself, you let them chat as your Mother crept from behind your father’s ceremonial cape (It had a red inner lining and fur lining the top, don’t ask) She looked just as radiant as you did. 

“My daughter.” 

“Hi Mum.” 

“Did none of your friends fix up your hair?”

“We couldn’t decide on a style…”

Sadly you knew your time to prepare was drawing to a close, you needed to be as ready as you were when repairing the X-Wings.

“How about...I do your hair like my mother did for me?” 

Tearing up at the mention of your grandmother, god's rest her soul, you wished she were here to see this. 

“Please.” ---

Poe was nervous. No doubt. Finn was panicking and Rey wasn’t helping with all the screaming and waving around the chairs and tables she was doing by abusing the force just to get things done quickly. 

Today...was a mess.

But it was the best kind of mess. 

Jokingly, Finn had put a bow tie made for large Loth Cat’s around Beep’s neck. Poe had agreed that he had never looked so dapper. What they didn’t expect was your Dad’s distaste for droids and his dry humor. 

Poe knew why though, so he didn’t get angry or throw a fit like the first time you met BB8 and was scared to shit. 

It was strange that you had never met a proper droid before that day. 

And wow, now he was marrying you. Time flew, so quickly. 

To break the ice Poe had asked Din the story behind Ad’ika. In a quick attempt to get to his daughter before the ceremony took place, people filing in as he talked and avidly listening, he told the story of how he had come across the beauty that was/is your mother, how he met Ad’ika, how he had saved his life. Why Poe had discovered the secret tattoo of a mudhorn on your back. One that you had received from your Auntie Cara Dune you added fondly. 

Who he would be meeting for the first time today. 

The jungle had never looked so beautiful. You had both decided that the wedding would take place around dusk on the last night of summer, when it was not too humid and yet hot enough that the ceremonial wear had to be adapted to the heat. 

Din had graciously warned Poe about Mandolorian traditional wedding dresses and how your mother had worked night and day to make your dress perfect. Poe quickly learned that your mother was a jack of all trades. 

This was his family now. Forever and always. 

A crescendo began as the miscellaneous Mandalorians dotted around the room beat the traditional drums to a high and demanding tune, light glinting off their multi-coloured helms dancing in the setting sunlight. With the Fur pressing against Poe’s throat he had jokingly said he looked like a king. 

When Din answered back saying since he was a clan leader he technically was choked on his own spit. 

Her fiance, the love of his life, had been a princess in disguise this whole freaking time. 

It stuck in the back of his mind as the music grew too demanding, but as gasps filled the room he couldn’t help looking up. 

Your mother was walking you down the aisle, your dresses looking not so similar yet similar enough that anyone and everyone knew you were one and the same, yet different. 

But you, Gods above, you. 

You looked like a princess. 

Beskar cladded your upper arms, two feathers decorated your hair, matching braids flowing down your neck as your squeezed your mother’s arm in excitement upon spotting your future Riduur. 

You had both made it out alive. And happy. 

Not everyone had been so lucky, but you were doing this for them. To keep their memory alive. 

And as Poe attempted to make love to you that night and you jokingly told him that traditionally you can’t touch the bride for another week if she has already fallen pregnant.

Let’s just say he got a matching bruise on his head from the first time you met.

Yeah, it was a mess.

But you were both finally home.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian fanfic #Din DAD Djarin strikes back #Poe Dameron x reader #FINALLY! #Father!Din Djarin x reader #Dad!Din Djarin x reader #FEELS TRAIN PPL COMING THROUGH #I'm having a rough week so here #baby yoda #baby yoda fanfic #the ad'ika chronicles #baby yoda fanfiction #nameless!mother #nameless!mother figure #Leia Organa x reader #platonical Leia Organa x reader #platonical star wars fanfic #din djarin x reader #din djarin fanfic #din djarin fanfiction #din djarin x reader fanfic #din djarin x gender neutral reader #din djarin x fem!reader #din djarin x masc!reader #Pronoun never heard of 'em #HERE WE GO #star wars #star wars fanfic

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Secretly

Mino/Song Minho Scenario

Request: Hi!! I hope it’s okay with me requesting this as it’s based on a fanfic I’m writing and just want to see how it would play out and that requests are still open. Could I request a Mino headcanon or Winner headcanon with Mino secretly dating Jiyong’s older sister (just by a year) who’s also a Kpop idol, actress and fashion designer? Thank you.

you know what? the request made me inspired, I’m gonna make this a short story with my own interpretation instead! let’s see how it goes! :D  (note: I made the sister as the reader instead of an OC)

Never once had you regretted starting a career as an actress. While you knew you also had a passion in fashion designing, and even went to college for it, acting was just another level. Experiencing a whole different life through acting, controlling your own emotions, it was a challenge and a fun experience in one package. 

So instead of pursuing the career in fashion world, you decided to audition as an actress. It did not take you a long time to make your debut, because as much as you wanted to deny it, the power your little brother, Kwon Jiyong, has, was a huge impact. But, it was still your very own hardworking self that made you a rising star that you were known as.

After your latest drama hit, you were suddenly in much demand for reality shows, that your entertainment literally had to refuse a few of the offers. One of the show they accepted in particular, was to make you show off singing skills, just because again, you were related to G-Dragon. Hearing this, you hoped so badly that your brother would refuse the offer, with him being all busy, but much to your dismay, he accepted.

It wasn’t like you didn’t like your own brother, he was a very kind and caring person towards you in your whole life, but him in a recording studio? that was a whole different person. You had heard stories from his band members how strict and perfectionist he could be while recording. Once, Daesung had to repeat a part in their song fifteen times, before he decided it was the right one to put into the song. The horror in Daesung’s face when he told the story was still lingering in your head.

Jiyong being the extra guy he was, he decided it would be great to add a surprise element to the song, with a surprise feature from another YG artist. At that time, he was thinking of another male rapper. And also at that time, Mino from Winner was available.

That brought you to the current situation. You standing up in front of the mic, for what you could recall, almost an hour in time, and your brother on the other side of the room, frowning. 

“Could you maybe, sing it again but this time, lower your voice a little bit?”

You wanted so badly to protest and start a fight with your sibling, but your eyes went to the man sitting next to him. Song Minho, you didn't know the guy that well. Heck, the only conversation you had had with him prior, was when you accidentally met him at an award show. Both of you only shook hands and said names, that was all. You couldn’t embarrass yourself in front of him by lashing out at your brother. Even though you were so hungry because your stupid self forgot to eat breakfast...

“You know I’m not a singer, right?” You tried to complain in a calm voice.

“I know, that’s why we have to have a good pre-recorded for you when we are on stage later.” 

Sigh. That clearly did not work. What did you even expect? For the almighty G-Dragon to go easy on you just because you were his sister??? Pfffft.

“You~ the breath of fresh air, the—” 

“Stop, stop.” Jiyong shook his head and began to instruct you the tone that he wanted. “The breath of fresh! You need to take the ‘fresh’ part to—”

“Ji,” You called, sounding a little bit like pleading.

“Hmm?” 

*GROWL*

“Did you forget to eat breakfast again?”

If the ground could swallow people, you would be begging it to consume you whole. The sound of your stomach rumbling, in full speakers, while someone you barely know was also present inside the room. Your first initial move was to look at Mino’s reaction. He was looking away, but you could see his cheeks lifted, you know he had at least a grin on his face. He was clearly trying his best not to burst out laughing. Great, just great!

“Let’s just continue this tomorrow, I have to meet up with some management from Nike in a bit anyway.” GD said. “Minho-ssi, can you help me a little bit with the auto tune on verse one?”

“Ah, if you’d let me...” Mino replied, in an unsure tone. “Would that be okay?”

“Yeah, I trust you, I know what you can do.” Jiyong smirked. “And Y/N, make sure to eat, I don’t want you to get sick.” He said as he packed his stuff.

“Sure...” You said, still standing up frozen in front of the booth door. “Can I eat with you?” 

“No, cause I’m gonna go right away, the place is quite far... Just eat downstairs, they serve good food, you know?” He smiled at you. “Bye!”

“Bye...” You sighed.

As Jiyong left, you were left feeling terribly awkward. Should you just leave? Should you say something? Was the sound of your empty stomach that bad? UGHHH!!!

When your eyes met, Mino immediately smiled at you, his eyes almost closed, he looked so cute. Wait, what?

“Y/N-ssi, have you tried eating in our cafeteria before?” He asked politely. 

“Uh, actually I haven't...” 

“If you don’t mind, I’m also a little bit hungry.” He smiled. “Do you want to eat together?”

“O-Of course!” You smiled awkwardly. 

Here you thought you were great at controlling your emotions with your whole acting experience, one smile from Song Minho, now you were stuttering.

And that was how it began. A smile, a friendship, then feelings that blossomed through the way. 

The show went amazingly well. It helped you with more exposure to your public, which of course meant, more offers, and in return, Jiyong and Mino got some royalties. Even though you had to stand through your brother’s perfectionism for quite some time, you also got to spend your lunch time afterwards with Mino, secretly. 

That wasn’t the only thing that you both ended up doing secretly behind your brother’s back. You exchanged numbers and began texting with each other. You began to frequently visit YG, bringing your brother food and stuff, in camouflage to secretly meet someone. 

After almost a year of doing many things secretly, both of you then began dating, yet again, secretly. Not only because both of you being in eyes of public and all, but there was one thing a little less if not same, scarier than public’s opinion... your brother.

There actually was not really a concrete reason for both of you to fear him acknowledging the relationship. Jiyong had never once scold you for dating despite of you being a public figure, nor had he once said that he disliked Mino. But the thought of him knowing that you, his older sister, dating his colleague who is younger than him, was just a little bit overwhelming. 

Mino on the other hand was scared as Jiyong was someone he looked up to and respect. He didn’t want him to think that some younger and incompetent dude was messing around with his sister. He was afraid that if Jiyong were to ask him what could he offer to his sister, he could not answer. Compared to the well known G-Dragon, Mino felt like a grain of dust.

**

Both of you were happily cuddling on your couch, watching a movie together. You were comfortably resting your head on Mino’s shoulder, while his fingers played with your hair softly. It was a very chill and relaxing time for both of you, before the sound of your phone ringing suddenly came interrupting.

“It’s my brother, he’s outside...” You said, eyes widened in shock.

“WHAT?!” Mino jerked up. “Should I hide???”

“In my bedroom, quick!” 

You opened your front door, hoping Jiyong wouldn’t notice the nervousness in your voice. “Ji! Why didn’t you tell me first before coming?”

“What? I’m always like this what do you mean?” He lifted one of his eyebrows, looking at you. “Oh, you were watching Mulan?” He asked as walked and saw your TV.

“Y-Yeah!”

“Is it good?” He said as he sat down on the sofa, taking one of the popcorn on the table. 

“Nah, it was shit!” You laughed. “It doesn’t matter though, I don’t mind watching bad movies as long as I have good company...” You widened your eyes as you realized what you had said.

“You had company?”

“No! I mean, I always say that to you! Unlucky me, just when I decided to watch alone the movie turns out to be awful, huh?” You laughed nervously. 

“Hmm.” Your brother crossed his legs, he seemed unsure with your answer.

“Why are you here anyway? My break time is very precious, you know? I’d love to spend it wisely.” 

“Oh, yeah that.” Jiyong put his index finger up as he remembered something and opened his backpack. “You remembered my friend who is a model? The guy we met two weeks ago?”

“Ahn Seojun?”

“Yeah, him.” He said as he took out a box of chocolate with a black ribbon on top of it. “He was overseas and he recalled you saying that you like this chocolate.”

“Uh... Tell him I said thanks, I guess?” You said, eyeing your brother weirdly. “That was nice of him, in fact, way too nice?”

“Maybe he likes you.” Jiyong casually shrugs.

“Yeah... he’s nice and all, but I’m not interested.” You chuckled.

“You are single anyway, why not?” 

“Uh, I’m still not interested...”

“Or are you not?” Jiyong looked at you sternly. 

“What?”

“Come to think of it, you used to talk about so many crushes to me... Ugh, you even used to have a crush on TOP hyung!” He laughed.

“Well, maybe I grew up! Besides, crushes are just crushes, I never had any deep feelings towards them! Unless you think I could develop feelings towards Chris Evans???” 

“You must be in love now...” He broke into an evil grin. “Come on, who’s the guy?”

“Okay, you’re not making any sense here, if that’s all, then you should go home. I want to continue spend my break without my brother pestering about my love life.”

“Alright, alright! Geez! No need to get so defensive...” He rolled his eyes. “So, you sure you are single?”

You cleared you throat. “Uh uh.”

“Then, if Seojun asked for your number, should I give it?”

“What?! I thought we are over this???”

“Yah, Mino-ssi!!! Come on out!” Jiyong suddenly yelled out with a huge grin still plastered on his face.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

“If you don’t show yourself now, I’m going to tell the producers to postpone your solo album!” He said, almost singing. He definitely was enjoying this way too much. 

A few seconds later, you heard your bedroom door opening and closing very quickly. Mino stood in front of your bedroom for a while before walking up towards both of you. His eyes was looking down to his feet the entire time.

“There you go!” Jiyong clapped. “So, tell me again, my beautiful sister, you sure you are single?”

“Ji, if you’re going to scold us, then please scold me as I—”

“Whoa! Who said I’m gonna what?! I’m just mad you never told me!”

“Wait, so you’re okay with this?” You said, pointing back and forth to both yourself and your boyfriend. 

“Of course I am! Who am I to tell you what to do anyway?” He folded his arms. “Besides, this guy...”

“Y-Ye?” Mino jerked his head up, almost like he was in military. 

“He’s a good guy, as far as I know.” He smiled and patted Mino’s shoulder. “Calm down, your solo album is safe!”

“Ah... yeah, thank you very much, hyung-nim...” Mino bowed.

“Yah, yah, put your head up! Geez, you do know you’re dating my older sister. right? Technically, you’re in higher position than me now.” He laughed. 

“I promise I’ll never hurt her!” Mino suddenly said out loud. 

“Shut up...” You nudged your boyfriend, blushing.

“Alright, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone now.” Jiyong said, looking very amused. “Next time, if you’re planning on hiding your boyfriend, make sure his brand new released adidas shoes ain’t in your shoe rack first.”

“Dammit!” You cursed.

“Oh come on, I’ve known since you started visiting me so frequently in YG! This is just a lucky coincidence.” He said as he grabbed his bag and walked towards the front door. “I’ll see both of ya later!”

“Go away! Stop interrupting me!” You stuck your tongue out playfully. 

“Yeah, yeah.” He laughed. “Mino-ssi,” Jiyong stopped and nodded at him before finally closing the door behind.

Mino nodded back, but you could tell he was really nervous as little beads of sweat was visible under his bangs.

“Phew!” You shouted as you threw yourself on the couch. “That went well, huh?”

“Y-Yeah...” Mino said, sitting down next to you.

“See? You have nothing to worry about!” You took his left hand, still laying down beside him.

“Still, who am I compared to your brother?”

“Mino,” You said as you repositioned yourself to rest your head on his lap. “I don’t care about neither your money or fame, you’re you. You’re the best person I’ve ever met in my entire life, and you dare ask who you are?”

“Okay, that was cheesy, I totally wasn’t prepared for that...” The guy laughed but his cheeks were reddened. 

“Shut up! Said the guy who was practically yelling to my brother, saying he’d never hurt me, like he was in Japanese drama or something.” You giggled.

“Hey, missy, how about you shut up before I kiss you.” Mino grinned, now face only inches away from you.

“In that case, I would never shut my mouth then...” You smiled as you close the gap in between.

yayyy!!! I hope I did the author justice by this! :D sorry I didn’t make the reader as an idol as well, I feel like her not being an idol helped the plot nicely hehe 😅

the author that requested this is @genuinestyles​ btw! check em out! 💖

#winner scenarios #mino scenarios #gdragon scenarios #winner #winner imagines #bigbang scenarios #jinwoo scenarios #seungyoon scenarios #seunghoon scenarios #winner reactions #song mino #gdragon

[reflectionsofacreator]

So like. I kinda sat down to write about this one, and I feel like I don’t know what to write about. There’s a lot to write about, but like... [scrubs face] it’s like, there’s a lot of emotional (sledge)hammers with this one, and it’s hard to pick apart so I can actually talk about it. Paralyzed by there being so much, you know? 

God writing this one was like pulling teeth, tbh. 

Buckle up lads, this one clocks in at over 2k. Mobile users I’m so sorry. 

I think the first thing I’m gonna tackle is the name of this one. It’s called The Truth, but in the context of Clay, that previously had an incredibly specific meaning. “The Truth” wasn’t so much a phrase as it was referring to the real truth of the Precursors and the nature of Eve and Adam, and the truth of humanity as a whole. Historically, every mention of “The Truth” around Clay refers to that specific idea, and now we have a new thing that uses the same name. It’s kind of interesting too, because the Truth that Clay shared was very explicitly something he was giving to other people, after learning about it for himself. And in this case, this is Truth that he’s being given, either about his situation, or the situation of his successor. 

This memory opens up with a doctor and Warren Vidic talking, after the episode that Clay had with the Bleeding Effect, and the doctor makes mention of Clay having been here a year already. He administers a medicine that’s actually an anti-psychotic, as a way of trying to stabilize Clay’s deteriorating mental state. There’s no guarantee that it’ll actually work, is the issue, mostly because the Bleeding Effect isn’t exactly a well known mental condition, and what everyone knows about it is simply what they’ve found out via the Subjects. Which is a very small group of people. I do wonder, though, about the Bleeding Effect as a .. hmm, genetic thing? It’s seeing the memories of your ancestors superimposed over your own perception of the world, and it’s implied that it’s because of the Precursor DNA that you can even have that happen, because it’s linked to Eagle Vision. Or at least, that’s what I’ve gotten so far, I could be completely wrong. 

The conversation with the doctor gets shooed away in favor of a conversation between Clay and his father, and like. I really wonder at the timing of it, if it’s supposed to be a conversation that Clay had while he was in Abstergo. It’s possible that it was a conversation that happened before Clay got sent in, but he sounds too resigned and weary I feel like, to have it happen outside of his imprisonment. Another reason why I feel like it’s after is because the last conversation we heard with Clay and his father was during the Bleeding Effect, when Clay was telling him about the Assassins, and things dissolved into a fight when Harold made it about money. This conversation feels like it’s a while after that, after Clay’s resigned himself to not being able to really convince his father of anything. 

Before Clay dives into the mainframe, there’s another glitch, which causes your controller to rumble. The screen goes noisy, and what shows is an exit at the end of a long walkway. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen glitches or hallucinations, but it’s freaky literally every time. 

We watch as Clay starts to hack through Abstergo’s systems after that, and the actual design of “going into” the mainframe is covered in a dozen different firewalls. It’s a neat sort of visual way to show just how hard Clay’s hacking is, as well as how many firewalls there are, because if he gets caught, he can get killed. 

Right before he goes in, on the right side of the “mainframe” is a code cipher. 

This is a Caesar cipher with an alphabetical shift of 3, and it reads  "Lucy, she Is aLways behind You." The capital letters spell out LILY -- traditionally lilies were associated with death. Now, you could interpret this as “Lucy’s got his back, she’s his teammate.” Which like, maybe. But with the addition of the word lily, and knowing that Lucy betrays him... nah. It’s more like she’s a threatening presence that needs to be watched. 

Clay snoops through Vidic’s mainframe and learns that Vidic is specifically after Desmond. Now, we know that this is at least over a year of Clay’s being here, and that Desmond was captured September 1st. What I’m really saying is just how long did Abstergo know about Desmond, and what lengths did they go to research him before they took him? Another question I have is like -- I know ac1 said that Abstergo found him via his fingerprints for his motorcycle license, but just how would that give them access to his genetic profile. Granted, that’s probably some early installment weirdness of ac1, but. (That being said, I remember reading a fic where they made mention of Desmond donating plasma for cash, and that’s how Abstergo found him, which is more believable than fingerprints....) 

I also can’t help but wonder like -- what’s going through Clay’s mind as he realizes that the Desmond Miles that Juno spoke of during his Bleed is the next Subject, and his successor? Or is it that he was completely unsurprised because Juno gave him a look into the possible future with the Calculations? 

Anyways, Clay finds out what Vidic wants, and excitedly says that they can leave, and we follow the path to see what looks like a broken stone circle at the base of two beams of light. 

(The wireframe is just the gameplay mechanic) I have... no earthly idea what this is, or what it could possibly mean. I think this is the only broken structure you see in all the memories, Desmond or Clay’s. It’s vaguely reminiscent of a broken film wheel, but I’m not sure if that’s what it’s supposed to be. But like, it’s so goddamn conspicuous because it’s the only broken structure we find. ls it supposed to symbolize a broken trust, a loss of faith after witnessing the “play” unfold?? .

Speaking of the “play”-- what the fuck. What the actual fuck. Is it supposed to make me uncomfortable? Because by god it did that. The sharp departure from how the rest of the narrative has been told is jarring as fuck, especially because it’s so like, proper. I swear, all that’s missing is like, a slightly off-key oldtimey music track and you’ll have a full blown horror segment. Maybe I’m just being dramatic, but like -- finding the broken wheel when that’s already something weird, having the camera forcibly taken away from you so you can watch this performance. And like, just listening to Warren monologue at Lucy is disturbing as well, for reasons that are hard to articulate. 

It’s like -- Meta wise, I know why she’s not talking. Her voice actress, Kristen Bell, had left and didn’t renew her contract (as her contract was only for 3 games), thus not being able to voice Lucy for any further appearances. IIRC, this is actually why Lucy was written to die, instead of simply recasting her, and then they had to scramble to make the “She’s a Templar!” twist work. Jury’s still out if it did or not, but like -- I do appreciate them trying to explain why she defected during her undercover years, but like... Ugh. It still leaves such a sour taste in my mouth, because it’s obviously a writing scramble and not a cohesive narrative that was plotted from the beginning. 

For a comparison, Clay’s story and ultimate fate feels complete, it feels alright. Yeah, it’s arguably a worse fate than Lucy, he died twice over, but like. We knew he was dead from the first moment we saw him, we knew that there was only one way that this could really go, a tragedy. There was a clear progression of his story, and the fact that you know how it ends. That being said, I do wonder about Clay’s death as a Subject in ac2, before the plotbeats of Lucy being a Templar were set in stone for Brotherhood. I know that the 20 glyphs in ac2 did talk about how Lucy was there when Clay killed himself, but I kinda doubt that it was in the same context of “she was supposed to save him but deliberately betrayed him due to her loyalties”. I guess what I’m getting at is that Lucy’s story feels terrible due to the writing surrounding it, while Clay’s feels deliberately terrible because that was the point. 

Back to my original point of “Lucy not talking”-- while there is a meta reason for it, I kinda want to ascribe a narrative reason, despite the meta outweighing the narrative. 

Lucy is characterized by almost never showing the full extent of her feelings or motivations, leaving you to wonder what’s actually going on in her head constantly. Sure, she leaned on Desmond a lot, but there’s also an undercurrent of a power imbalance there, and we always got the sense that she kept more to herself than she revealed. By having Warren talk at her, we’re further kept from knowing just what she felt about all of this, and instead we’re given another glimpse of the strange relationship that Warren and Lucy had. 

Warren was her boss, but also her superior in the Templar order, and the man who saved her life from his own company. Back in ac1, Lucy recounts to Desmond how she was attacked in the middle of the night, going to be silenced by Abstergo so she couldn’t talk about the Animus, only for Warren to save her life by telling the men to stand down. The assailants were people that she interacted with every day, even ate lunch with. This is after she’d been with Abstergo for a while, and finally feeling like she was being taken seriously with her work (as well as her undergrad thesis/work) she was going to be killed to keep quiet. We don’t actually know why Warren saved her, but it’s my firm belief that that’s when Lucy changed alliances to the Templars.

However, I do wonder about the confrontation between Lucy and Warren at the end of ac2, during the credits. I know, I know, her being a Templar wasn’t really a thing in ac2 (I think), so therefore you have to take it all with a grain of salt, but like. The conversation here brings attention to it, where Warren tells her “Make sure you look very upset. You need to be convincing.” And I can’t help but wonder if Warren and Lucy ended up trading insults that hit way too close to home in order to further the deception... It wouldn’t be hard to pretend to be hurt if she actually was hurt by what he said, y’know? 

I think the last thing about Warren’s speech that really bugs me is like -- he tacks on the whole “Oh, yes. Once inside their hideout, perhaps you might ask the Assassins why they left you alone for so many years.” And like. That just gets under my skin in a lot of ways because like-- he’s got a point, the Assassin’s methods are Rather Horrible™ with how they completely cut her off for a deep cover mission at seventeen (no I will not ever be over that), but the way he says it just. He’s clearly manipulating her to entrench her further onto his own side, and I just. Ngh. I kinda wonder if the delivery of the line was intended for the audience rather than Lucy herself, because she already knows all this, and for him to bring it up feels like an insult to her intelligence. It feels kinda slimy in a way that I can’t really describe. Or maybe it’s just because I just do NOT like Vidic. 

There’s also the question of like, how did Clay see this -- this is all dramatized for the sake of us, the audience, but did he watch this via video feeds or something??? The thought of him watching Lucy and Warren talk about his successor is kinda jarring tbh. Also this throws a wrench into the ending of ac1 (though tbh what DOESN’T throw a wrench into ac1) where they were going to dispose of Desmond only for Lucy to intervene. Is it because Warren and Lucy were operating on their own project that wasn’t exactly approved by the Templar higher ups?? Or something?? 

This whole memory says that Desmond was their goldmine for the amount of genetic information he held, so why would the higher ups -- wait. Unless the whole thing was a ploy by having Lucy speak up in “defense” of Desmond in order to get him to trust her some more.... Hrm.... Granted that fits, it’s just a sort of way of re-contextualizing the ending of ac1... 

Waves hand anyways Clay finds out about this plan for Lucy to gain Desmond’s trust and give them the data, and then we finally have control again. There’s this sort of distorted error noise, and the red blocks start to fill up the room, threatening you as they force you closer and closer to the screen, which only shows a picture of a door with a strange symbol on top of it. 

This is the symbol for 3 Juno, an asteroid in our solar system that’s the 11th largest, and contains 1% of total mass of the asteroid belt. It was discovered September 1st, 1804, by Karl Ludwig Harding, and initially considered to be a planet, along with a few other asteroid/dwarf planets at the time. It was given this symbol, ⚵, like how Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter all have their own symbols. 

Aside from the obvious “hey that’s Juno, she’s the big bad of this shit”, there’s a couple things that stood out to me. The date of discovery, September 1st -- that’s the same date that Desmond got captured by Abstergo, gives me pause. I’m not sure if it’s something that was intentional on the dev’s part, or if they were just looking for a symbol that would represent Juno. Either way, that’s enough of a coincidence that it makes me feel unsettled, the same way that Lucy was bothered by the date of the satellite launch being 72 days away. It might just be an honest coincidence, but considering that this is Clay we’re dealing with... nah. 

Another thing that the AC wiki told me is that this is also the symbol for the Instruments of the First Will, an in-universe religious organization that worships the Precursors, and specifically Juno. Now, this organization doesn’t actually appear until at least ac4 Black Flag, and continues on all the way through Syndicate. This is more like an early bird cameo than a full blown reference, as we still have to get through ac3, But it’s still interesting to point out and look at, and wonder what’s going on with it all. 

Anyways, the door itself is actually part of the screen, and impassible, and it stays that way as the bricks come closing in, chasing you. It’s really tense tbh, with this feeling of claustrophobia on top of the revelations you were forced to watch. It also doesn’t help that like. You had control wrenched away from you so you could watch the conversation, and the speech was long enough to lull you into maybe putting your controller down to watch, and then with a rumble you suddenly have control again and are being chased towards a door that doesn’t open. 

The picture of a door becomes an actual door after the blocks get closer and closer, and we break through into the light, and onto memory 7.

If you like what I do, or want to see any other sort of analysis, consider buying me a ko-fi!

#Lucy Stillman #Clay Kaczmarek #Assassin's Creed #fuck it this goes in the main tag cause i'm proud of it #i'm so fucking sorry mobile users #motherfucker unlimited #creator plays ac rev #creator plays ac lost archive

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: “Pomp and Circumstance”

Welcome back, welcome back. I managed to miss last week’s title/summary leak, which for any other show would have been a blessing. With RWBY though I find myself not minding---even hoping for---spoilers, just so I won’t be quite so blindsided by things when I actually watch them. It’s a topsy-turvy world.

We’ll get to that in a bit though. For now, we open on the new Amity Arena immediately flying over the Schnee dust mine. I’m talking the group has barely made it back out into the sun before Ironwood’s men are arriving and setting up base. That’s some real eagerness to get the ball rolling. Funny how Ironwood’s entire plan is doomed to failure and eight of the people helping him to complete it haven’t mentioned that yet...

We get a shot of the Ace Ops triumphantly emerging with Qrow and RWBYJNR positively geeking out over how fantastic their take-down of the geist was. It was admittedly a great battle. The best scene I think we’ve had in a while. Sadly, that charm didn’t carry over into this episode. 

As the gang gushes over how fantastic they were Clover explains that it all comes down to the makeup of their team. They were specifically chosen to compliment one another and make up for any liabilities they might bring. Forethought like this brings back the age-old question of whether Ozpin’s own teams are as random as they appear. Does he really leave it to chance, who you first run into and what relic you happen to pick? Or was he subtly pulling the strings in order to ensure that complimentary teammates ended up together? Even if they don’t realize they’re complimentary at first. Ruby and Weiss are a perfect example of that. 

It’s a question we may never have answered. Especially as the Ozpin hate just keeps piling on and on. Before that though we’re given a ton of humor. Nora, continuing her role as comic relief, slides up to Elm and asks if she needs a new best friend. Their team name could be

I’d watch it.

More pressingly though, talk of team compositions and pairing up leads to a comment from Harriet that we need to unpack. Bear with me for a moment though because there’s something else I want to tackle first. It’ll connect back in a moment. Basically, I want to address my frustration last recap that Oscar was left behind with no explanation and the assertion by others that this was a ‘show don’t tell’ moment. It wasn’t. Providing your audience with no reasoning behind a decision is not the same thing as providing a visual explanation as opposed to a verbal one. On some level the choice to leave Oscar behind functions like an argument and I see this a lot in paper writing:

Student: This ad is really sexist

Me: And...? Why?

Student: I mean it’s obvious? All the women are wearing skimpy clothes and that one guy calls her a ‘bitch.’

Me: Perhaps obvious to you, but we can’t rely on the reader picking up on the same details and interpreting them in the same way. So you need to include that as evidence. In addition, you need to consider potential counter claims. What if I said some women choose to wear skimpy clothing because they feel empowered by it and that my friends often call me a ‘bitch’ as a silly endearment? How do we undermine those arguments in the context of your ad so you can more solidly prove that it’s still sexist? 

Student: Hmm

vs. 

Yang: We didn’t bring Oscar with us

Me: And...? Why?

Yang: I mean it’s obvious? He’s not ready for this fight yet.

Me: Perhaps obvious to you, but you can’t just bank on the viewer coming to that same conclusion. You also need to consider potential counter arguments. What if I pointed out that Oscar fought just as well as you during the premiere battle and that there’s now a history of you excluding him from every event you possibly can? How do you then undermine those points to prove that a) he really isn’t ready yet and b) that you actually left him behind because of his skill and not because you’re all still pissed at Ozpin?

Yang: Hmm

That was not a ‘show don’t tell’ moment. That was no tell combined with no show. A ‘show don’t tell’ would have been Yang going, “I don’t feel so bad now that we left Oscar behind” and then cutting to Oscar training with Ironwood, showing us that he needs to improve his skills as opposed to Yang just telling us, ‘He’s not ready yet.’ But we got neither. 

I bring this up a full episode later because here, in “Pomp and Circumstance” we’re given another shining example of precisely how bad RT’s ‘show don’t tell’ skills are. The Ace Ops. What are we shown? A group that is incredibly close with one another. They’re capable of anticipating each other’s moves and are able to follow directions with little to no prompting. They’re constantly joking, teasing, goofing off in a way that implies real intimacy. Clover proclaims, “What would you do without me?” demonstrating a familiarity that allows him to exude both confidence and playfulness. They’re close enough that he needn’t maintain the persona of their boss; close enough that he can play the part of their hero without anyone taking offense. In short, they act precisely like Team RWBYJNR.

Now, what are we told by Harriet?

“We’re not friends... that’s the job. We don’t confuse the two.”

Excuse me?

There has been nothing---NOTHING---in the last two episodes to imply that this team functions solely as a work group. Based on what we’ve been shown the idea that they’re not friends is laughable. What the audience sees and what the audience is told by a character do not match up. Kind of like how we’re told throughout the entirety of Volume Six that the group is heroic when we’re shown them repeating the actions of the villains. Kind of like how Qrow tells us that Ruby is different from Ozpin even as we’re shown her making the exact same choices. Here, we’re told that the Ace Ops aren’t friends yet shown that they clearly are and this disconnect functions solely as a means of---again---highlighting how special RWBYJNR supposedly is. Because we get a long shot of how devastated that mindset makes them

and then Ruby immediately rejecting the idea that you need to maintain a purely professional relationship in order to be a good team, begging the girls to go out sightseeing with her. Later Weiss proclaims to her father that they’re not merely friends, they’re family. As nice as the sentiment is, this is just another example of how RT is trying to paint RWBYJNR, RWBY in particular, as intrinsically better than all the other fighters around them. The takeaway is that the Ace Ops might be powerful, but without friendship they’ll never be as strong as our heroes... except the Ace Ops are clearly friends. Harriet’s cold and judgmental tone---You consider yourself friends with them?---makes no sense here. This would be an entirely different situation if we were actually shown an Ace Ops team that acted indifferent towards one another and if, later on, that professionalism and lack of knowledge about each other’s temperament, skills, etc. led to a problem. Ruby comes in with a, “See? I never would have made that mistake with my team because I’ve gotten to know them both on and off the battlefield. Being friends is an asset.” But we don’t get that, so all we’re left with is a message of, ‘RWBYJNR is super special even though they’re doing nothing different from the Atlas specialists. But trust us, they’re intrinsically better.’

That message got old, oh, two volumes ago.

In addition, can we please talk about the messy pacing? The group doesn’t want to go sightseeing with Ruby because they’re exhausted. Weiss and Yang act like their traveling and near death experiences happened last night, and later Qrow’s “the finally getting to Atlas part” comment reads as recent too, but as I mentioned in the previous recap, Pietro’s comment tells us that at least a few days have passed. Realistically a few weeks. So which is it? Has enough time passed to justify Pietro creating seven distinct upgrades and apologizing for having their weapons “so long”? Or has so little time passed to justify the group talking about their trip like they still haven’t had the chance to sleep after Penny’s tour? Yes, this stuff actually matters when you’ve got a laundry list of internal conflicts and the audience wants to know how much time the group has had to grapple with them. Has it only been a few days since the Ozpin drama, or a few weeks? Did Yang and Blake murder a guy the other day or last month? We’re simply not told. 

While consistency unravels Ironwood tells Clover that he needs the Ace Ops “on the ground” being “subtle” in their investigations... so maybe don’t bring Marrow. This moment, right down to the humor, is pretty identical to Blake deciding to leave Yang behind when she went to dismantle the CTV tower. Because “Stealth’s not really your... um...” Thing. If only the writing acknowledged these failings in a non-comedy context and encouraged the characters to learn from their mistakes. Marrow might have to listen to his boss and Yang will do anything Blake asks of her, but the rest of the time? ‘You’re really bad at missions that require subtly’ is just going to piss the group off. Even though it’s true.

As the Ace Ops take off Ironwood calls over the team leaders. Which is a bit of a weird choice considering he’s not asking Jaune and Ruby to keep secrets from their teams or anything. They’re literally just going to turn around and relay that info immediately  to YWBNR. So why not just tell them all at once? Chalk it up to not wanting to animate nine characters. Basically though we learn at least part of Tyrian’s motivations here. He’s been killing off prominent figures who oppose Ironwood, including Forest, trying to make it look like Ironwood himself is killing to keep them quiet. And it’s working. More points to Ironwood for throwing out, “I’m not really concerned about my public image” when Qrow accuses him of only caring about publicity. If Ironwood is secretly a horrible dictator who really doesn’t care about his people... he’s doing a very good job of hiding it. 

He’s also super chill about Jaune talking back to him about the embargo, a sharp contrast to Jacques’ “How dare you speak to me that way!” when Weiss takes a similar tone. Like the party way back in Volume Four, Ironwood is presented as the clear hero to Jacques’ villain. He lets subordinates point out difficulties and potential mistakes he’s makings. Instead of just, you know, abusing them. 

So yeah, Jacques is a thing. He shows up pissed that Ironwood commandeered his abandoned mine, but also he’s happy because he thinks Ironwood has screwed himself now. Jacques is gunning for a seat on the council and he hopes the military taking possession of private property, not matter how grimm-infested, will help. He accuses Ironwood of roping Weiss into all this, Weiss reasserts that it was her own decision to help, and we get a lovely moment of the team supporting her. 

I’d just like to point out though, this is all proof that Weiss would have been just fine if they’d sent her to Atlas. The fandom was up in arms over that suggestion, making wild claims about how Jacques would kidnap her or something, but this scene canonically undermines all of that. Turns out Jacques didn’t have spies everywhere, waiting to scoop Weiss up the moment she landed. However long the group has been hanging out in Atlas, he had no idea she was here until she was standing right in front of him (and even then it took him a long minute to realize...) Turns out Jacques can’t just do whatever he pleases with another human being just because he’s her father. In Ironwood’s presence, which Weiss would have ended up in if she’d flown with Cordovin’s blessing, Jacques can’t touch her. Hell, he can’t do anything even if Weiss was alone.  If Weiss is willing to dump racists in the trash with her semblance I think she’s gained enough confidence to do the same to Jacques if he dares try to hit her again. The moment the fandom went, ‘They clearly HAVE to steal military property/disable a CTV tower and risk this tenuous peace because poor Weiss would be done for if they just sent her to Atlas with an armed guard and a transformed Qrow and possibly Maria in a suitcase’ I was just, ‘... What?’ That was never a good justification and this scene just reinforces that.

The one (metaphorical) blow that Jacques manages to land is by telling Weiss how distraught her mother was when she left. I wonder if there’s any truth in that or if it’s pure manipulation. 

As he leaves Winter flies in, clearly avoiding her father. Weiss gets partway through calling her out on that before Penny lands in their midst. 

From here the episode really unravels. With the surprise half ruined, Ironwood takes the group up into the arena and presents them with their huntsmen licenses. Now, full disclosure. I said I wanted this back in the premiere. In fact, my exact words were,

“I don’t think the show would ever go for my suggestion of another school arc so they could finish their training, but at the very least we should provide some sort of loop-hole for these characters. Have Ironwood provide special licenses based on their heroics at the Fall of Beacon and their work since. Because right now we have a world that’s continually emphasizing being a huntsmen as a job, something you earn the right to call yourself, yet 95% of our group doesn’t have that right in the eyes of their society.”

And I still stand by that. In as much as I’m acknowledging that so long as the writing refuses to treat the group like the students they are, taking away that status is the next best thing. However, that was written before the story decided to re-emphasize precisely how not huntsmen-like the group is. Everyone remember that? It was a week ago, wherein the group was characterized like kids playing dress up, following the adults around, acknowledging that it feels like they’re real huntresses even though they’re not, and then they witnessed a fight that put their skills and maturity to shame. A part of me honestly is glad we’re not dealing with this as a moral issue anymore. The other part of me is going, “Really? You set up how the group is still a bunch of students and then turn around and give them licenses an episode later? Can we at least be consistent?”

It’s fine though. It’s done. Yay. They all have licenses. Even though they technically didn’t do the work required to obtain them. And they’re also still at least a year, probably two years, too young to have them. Considering that schools are a four year program. It’s fine. 

The group doesn’t even seem happy to have them though. In fact, they trivialize the moment. That word exactly: “It almost feels trivial now.” I don’t think RT intends for the characterization to come across this way but man does the group sound arrogant. Wow. We’ve been given a huge amount of power and privilege when we technically haven’t earned it, have actually done quite a lot lately that should have resulted in punishments over rewards, this is entirely out of the blue, something we’ve all wanted for most of our lives... so thanks, I guess? We’re feeling kind of iffy. Ruby at least makes some sort of comment about how Ironwood doesn’t need to do this, which just lets him re-assert that they all totally deserve it. Besides, he needs all the help he can get. Remember, we’re about to tell everyone about Salem!

Obviously no one pipes up during this speech. There aren’t even shared guilty looks. They’re just... letting their lie become a part of their ascent into full-fledged huntsmen. Oh boy.

Overall this party just feels depressing as hell to me. Yes, let’s celebrate in an empty, creepy arena that’s a traumatic space for literally everyone here. Made worse by the fact that no one acknowledges this. Once again Penny functions purely as comic relief. I thought that finally, finally we would get a conversation between her and Ruby. Hey, Penny! We’re taking selfies and eating cake in the very place where you were horrifically murdered! Maybe we should talk about that? 

Nope.

Instead we get a train wreck of a conversation between Qrow and Ruby. She brings up the fact that they’re all keeping secrets... and Qrow laughs.

The hypocrisy is really astounding here. Ozpin keeps a secret and gets punched into a tree, along with Oscar. Ruby keeps a secret and Qrow looks like he wants to ruffle her hair. She asks him if she’s just like Ozpin and he responds with, “Oz only trusted himself with the whole truth. You’re trusting others, just making sure they prove themselves first. I think that’s a pretty big difference.”

Okay. That’s one hell of a messy statement, but let’s take it at face value for a moment. So tell me, Ruby. Precisely what does Ironwood have to do to “prove himself” to you? How long do you feel you need to wait? One more mission? A dozen? A few weeks? Months? ...Years? There’s no surefire way for someone to prove that they’re trustworthy and if, after that person has already shared their own secret plan with you and continually treats you as an equal---please help me in this fight, feel free to talk back to me, here’s licenses so you’re legally a part of this team---you’re still iffy about their motivations... what more can they do? You might just keep waiting and waiting for some sort of sign, putting things off because telling them is so risky and you just want to be sure. You might even reach a point where you’ve known Ironwood for ages and you still haven’t told him because, well, you haven’t gotten that proof you were looking for yet. Especially if you were, say, in a time of peace where telling him only feels like a cruelty. Especially when you’ve been betrayed so many times before and are always fighting against those memories. Your little, ‘I’m just waiting until I know I can trust him’ could theoretically go on for decades because we can never absolutely know a person. Lionheart is proof of that. Ironwood might one day look to you and say, “How can you not trust me yet?” and you might respond with, “What have you done to prove to me, without a doubt, that I should?”

I’m reusing this: 

Ruby is in precisely the same position Ozpin was with his inner circle. Including Qrow. If Ruby is unsure that a military-minded, incredibly stressed man should have this information now, despite how trustworthy he might seem, why would Ozpin have been sure of that a year earlier? Ironwood was the same military-minded, stressed, seemingly trustful guy. If Ruby felt like she couldn’t rely on Qrow mere weeks (or even days) ago because he kept refusing to stay in contact (something that was established way back at Beacon. That’s not new) and falling into drunk, pessimistic stupors, why would Ozpin feel like he could rely on him in other ways? Especially when those “other ways,” telling them about Salem’s immortality, would lead to absolutely nothing good. Seriously. Has the group suddenly come up with a plan to defeat her, proving that Ozpin was wrong not to bring more creative minds into the fray? No. Has the group fallen apart for a long stretch and has only now made noises about moving forward for the sake of moving forward, something they’d already agreed to do as huntsmen fighting immortal grimm? Yes. All telling them about Salem did was make them more depressed and stressed, the two things that draw literal monsters to their door. That’s it. Their goals and motivations are precisely the same as when they started: keep fighting. Ironwood, on the other hand, has to know about Salem because his plan hinges on her mortality. Ozpin risked nothing by keeping this secret from the group. He arguably saved them a lot of grief. Ruby, on the other hand, risks countless lives and chaos across Remnant because she’s letting Ironwood inch closer and closer to telling the whole world, all in an effort to muster up an army that will accomplish nothing. 

Ruby is Ozpin in this scenario, but her secrets carry more weight than his ever did. This isn’t a group of teens feeling morally outraged that their leader told a lie; how dare you not tell us everything when we’re risking our lives... even though we’re always risking our lives and would continue to risk our lives whether you told us or not!  This is an incredibly powerful general about to change the shape of the entire world if he doesn’t learn the truth. The stakes are nowhere near comparable. Combine that with the fact that Ruby and her friends just finished taking the high road. That’s the kicker here. That Ruby doesn’t just admit, ‘Yeah... I’m like Oz. Because he was right. You do sometimes need to keep secrets and it is hard to trust people.’ No, no, no, they have to keep demonizing him. Ruby needs reassurance that she’s nothing like that evil secret keeper... even though we can all see she 100% is. She’s arguably worse now that she wants to play the victim to Ozpin’s secret keeping while simultaneously doing the exact same thing to Ironwood. She’s arguably worse since her secrets risks far more lives than Ozpin’s ever did. Where’s the fandom’s outrage over Ruby’s manipulation? Who’s punching her? When they bring up Summer, Ruby needs to characterize her death as “another Oz secret” wherein, like the fandom, she assumes he holds responsibility before there’s any proof of that. Even when Qrow admits that Ozpin has no more idea how Summer died than he and Tai do, he rescinds it! “But who knows what he may have hidden from us over the years.” Excuse me, but you all need to stop gearing up to assign blame without evidence, especially when you all are currently committing the exact same sins Ozpin did. We’ve been doing this since Volume 5:

Yang: I just learned that my uncle is the one who kept his semblance and bird transformations secret from me, but I’m going to blame Ozpin for it and demand “no more” lies. Even though up until now he’s never lied to us.

Qrow: I just admitted that your mother’s death is her own secret, but I’m going to subtly blame Ozpin for it anyway and remind you, as well as the audience, that he could be keeping an untold number of secrets from us. Truly a horrific thing when we, too, are keeping a bunch of secrets.

It’s also just a complete OOC moment that Qrow would be laughing about Ruby keeping secrets and hugging her as he tells her to press on while likewise maintaining his suspicion of Ozpin. Because Qrow’s whole beef with Ozpin is that he’s supposedly “wasted” his life while serving him. Everything he does is worthless because of Salem’s immortality. So if he’s now (randomly?) on team, ‘Do things because they’re right even if we can’t win in the end’... why is he still upset? If he can admit now that all this work---building new CTV towers and taking up everyday missions---is still super important, then why isn’t he thanking Ozpin? ‘Oh wow. I realize now how worthwhile this work is, regardless of whether Salem can be defeated. I guess I do owe you that gratitude for allowing me to do it all in the first place.’ Is no one ever going to acknowledge that Ozpin was right? About their work and about the need to keep secrets? You all are literally adopting his views, his mindset, and his choices. But nope. Nothing. It’s just an illogical mix of ‘Everything we believe is what Ozpin taught us’ with ‘But oh yeah screw that guy.’

The only reason Qrow is all buddy-buddy with Ruby’s secret keeping is because he’s in on the secret. Objectively speaking, if Qrow had a right to know about Salem’s immortality than so does Ironwood. They were both inner circle members. They both served Ozpin for (presumably) the same amount of time. With the exception of maybe hearing about the brother gods---and even then Qrow didn’t take that story literally---they seemed to have the same level of clearance. Ironwood has done just as much to “prove” his loyalty as Qrow ever did, but he doesn’t want to admit that telling someone this kind of horrific info is just plain hard. So Qrow, like the entirety of RWBYJNR, makes it about their own status as heroes, adopting a ‘we’re totally different’ mindset. I get to know about Salem’s immortality. Ironwood though? No, no, we’re justified in keeping it from him. People just aren’t allowed to keep things from us.

It started off with Yang’s ‘How dare you keep secrets only I’m allowed to do that’ nonsense and has now spread to the entire group. We had an entire volume of people verbally and physically assaulting Ozpin in the name of his lies. Now Ruby does the exact same thing and gets hugs and praise for it. I spoke too soon last episode. The hypocrisy is unreal.

I honestly didn’t think RWBY was still capable of frustrating me to this extent, but here we are.

Oh, and so long as we’re riding this frustration train... where is Oscar? 

He was not acknowledged once in this episode, let alone invited to the party. You know, the one that he could have really easily been flown in for now that the danger is gone. The one that Winter, Penny, Marrow, Elm and Vine all make an appearance at, but not the guy they’ve been traveling with and who is way more invested in his ‘friends’ getting their licenses than some random Ace Ops members. From here on out I’m officially calling BS on anyone who tries to justify the group/the writing excluding Oscar. There was no reason not to invite him to a planned celebration specifically designed to give this team, a team he’s a part of, a bit of downtime. Sorry you didn’t get an armor upgrade, or get to go on the mission, or get to attend the after party. Everyone just kind of forgot you exist or couldn’t be bothered to explain why you’re missing. RWBY really just doesn’t like him or Ozpin and boy, does it show. 

The remaining plot is minimal. The group pulls up a mission board and Jaune gets roped into escorting school children, a mission with absolutely “no danger” in it. So if we actually get to see him completing this, you know they’ll be danger. As they continue choosing their first jobs as huntsmen we return to Jacques, brooding in his office. Whitley makes a brief appearance to announce that Watts has barged his way into the manor. We learn that everyone apparently thinks Watts is dead---that helps explain why they’re still using his code. A dead guy  isn’t much of a threat---and Watts tells Jacques that he can help him regain his lost wealth, get a seat on the council, and screw over Ironwood. Through the pretty silly line of “Have your cake and eat it too.” I like that expression, but it’s hard to make it sound sufficiently threatening...

And that’s where we end! A rough ride this week, folks. Can’t complain about the break...

Until next time. 

Minor Things of Note

Watts’ comment about how Whitley is the spitting image of Jacques makes me think of cloning. Like, I don’t think the writing would actually go there, but it’s a potentially cool option. Evil billionaire with access to fantasy technology has two rebellious daughters before finally just cloning himself a ‘son’...

Where is Maria? What is she doing? Can we please stop abandoning important characters and then having the cast acting like they ceased to exist?

#rwby #rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 7 spoilers #mymetas #rwby recaps

[ecto-american]

I think Ember’s entire self would have fit really well as being a deceased Kpop idol. Not just in terms of who she is as a character and it giving her more depth and personality that already matches her canon, but also give great social commentary on how toxic the music industry, especially Korea's, can be.

More detail explaining this under the cut.

Firstly a disclaimer: I was an absolute Kpop weeb in my high school years. I knew all the bands and dances and stuff, and thus I was somewhat exposed to the culture of Kpop. Since then, I kind of have gone back and done some researched and watched documentaries and the like (because I am a big sociology nerd), but I'm not that deeply invested in Kpop anymore. But this is a thought I've had for a long time, ever since I first began to hear some of the problems surrounding Kpop idols and such.

I also want to point out that I am not saying that Ember within canon is a deceased Kpop star. She clearly isn't, and I'm not trying to make a case as to why she is given canon evidence. I'm writing this because I really like this interpretation a lot better than what canon gave us. In my own personal headcanons and worldbuilding and rewrite fanfiction, Ember is a deceased Kpop star.

We got that squared away? Coolio. Let's start.

Now that “preface” or whatever is out of the way, I really want to begin this by giving some background on Korean pop, specifically the industry and the culture surrounding it, for those who don't know. This is going to give some much needed and important context behind what I'm about to say about Ember. I will also be providing as many sources as I can to this section, but a lot of this is really easy to find on google as well.

In Korea, to be a pop star: you basically have to be perfect. In your dance, music, appearance, your entire image is now basically the property of your manager. Plastic surgery is a massive deal in South Korea, and it's partly due to this.

When you get your contact, you basically have to go through a bootcamp, which involves: Limited contact with family and friends, dropping any romantic relationships or behaviors that would be deemed unwholesome (many companies even go as far as forbidding relationships so that fans can better “see” themselves as being with the idol, which increases sales), brutal training schedules and everything you do is so heavily monitored by your bosses. This has lead to many Kpop idols (especially women) to be dangerously underweight or to have eating disorders, 15 hour training days day after day, being fired for being in a relationship outside of their company's approval/against contract. It's caused literal deaths and mental breakdowns.

Of course, America has the eating disorder problem too, and long work days. But please take in mind: management in Korea actively pushes for these eating disorders and are almost applauded publicly for keeping their stars thin, while in America, it becomes an absolute scandal. And yes, America has long work days too, but in comparison to Korea, American musicians basically only release a single or two in a year, and an album about every three years or so. On average. Kpop groups are pressured to release one or two albums every year on top of regular singles. If you youtube Korean pop shows, there's so many examples of stars collapsing on stage due to exhaustion and hunger. And most of the time, they're forced to get back up and continue, compared to America where they're normally “hey show over”. There are some Americans who will go through with it, but it's normally stars who are determined to finish in spite. It's not a push by your boss to finish or be fired and blacklisted from the industry.

Kpop idols are often broke as fuck, so there’s not even that as compensations. Many literally don't get most of the proceeds from their music. Their contracts are often compared to being slave contracts by stars. One Kpop star even said that she and her group had to split one meal whenever they were on tour because they were in such poverty. Oh, a rising group, right? NO. It was one of the biggest fucking Kpop girl groups of the time, Stellar! But even if they were a brand spanking new group, what the fuck.

And why don't they leave? Because they wanna be famous and make music. It’s just that unfortunately, it’s a very saturated industry because the agencies literally just crank out so many idol groups every single year, thus leading to absolutely brutal competition. People are regularly rotated out and replaced within groups. Idol groups are regularly formed or disbanded There's lots of weekly programs and music competitions to see who's the best of the best. You're constantly ranked. You're constantly fighting for the top spot. Lots of Kpop idols have to really fight to get their name remembered or known. The best of the best get reknown internationally.

Okay I'm done with the background now, lol. But you get the jist! The Kpop industry is fucking brutal and needs a good social change. Though now that I've laid out a lot of this, you can kind of get the sense as to where I'm going with this.

Based on every appearance Ember has in the show, we can deduce two things: She hates adults and wants to be remembered.

What are two major problems within Kpop industries? Adults controlling these really young adults (normally freshly 18) trying to break into the industry that's hard to make a truly lasting impression on, that's trying to be remembered.

Ember, if we take her canonical song and the background information provided by interviews, is meant to have died in a fire after being stood up. But I think that she would much better fit as a character who died from the intense social, physical and mental pressures of being a Kpop star. Perhaps a Kpop star that was left forgotten in the crowd of idols, whether it's dying in an accident or suicide.

It’s just me, but I really personally don’t like the canon that she died in a fire because of a boy. It’s just really weak imo, and idk. I don’t like backstories based around a romantic interest like that, especially when it’s so bland. Ember is a fucking dead musician and rock star within canon, and that’s the best you can come up with? She died in a damn fire after a boy stood her up? No mentions that she was into music or something?

Of course, she likely wasn’t famous she died. She likely rose to fame post her death, but that’s still just really? Kind of a headscratcher in a sense? Ember deserves more. The given backstory of her death is literally so? Random imo? Given who she is in death? Unless her entire thing is about how she changed so much in death for a guy, which is kinda Hmm for me. But that’s most of canon lmao.

I feel like this Kpop idol angle would have been a much stronger backstory potential for her. It could paint her as this really hardworking idol, this incredibly talented musician and vocalist who just couldn't make the cut. Maybe she got fired for loving another idol. Perhaps she just wasn't up to the brutal industry standards of being a Kpop idol. It’s a backstory that clearly incorporates her musical talents within her life, and kind of gives her death more of an impact, that gives her more character depth. Whether she’s a perfectionist because of this or has such strong self esteem issues due to the pressures she experienced in life. All of this motivating her to work solely towards her goal, or making her realize that she just really wants to have a more relaxed life and do things like date freely and enjoy the peace and privacy she now likely can have.

Ember's powers would fit really well with this Kpop backstory too She can hypnotize people. Besides Kpop kind of literally hypnotizing a lot of people, it could be shown as a legitimate skill of hers, or something she gained in death as she hoped that she could truly charm an audience into remembering her. She wants to be remembered within canon. No matter the cost or sacrifice. The same kind of sacrifice and price many Kpop idols are forced to make and pay.

It gives her stronger motivations other than just being famous for the sake of being famous or to possibly get that one boy’s attention (? It really depends on your personal take). She wants to be famous to prove herself to a company that worked her to literal death or that basically rejected her, or as a personal dream finally achieved. She now has the power to destroy the adults that likely exploited her as slave labor that maybe made her die in poverty or after being another abuse victim.

To me, it’d help pack a better emotional punch and reasoning as to why she does what she does. Fame has much more meaning to her, it’s personal, losing it again would devastate her. At the end of Fanning the Flames, can you imagine how hysterical she might be if the entire sequence was an unintentional repeat of the events that lead her to her death? Why she’s so specifically disgruntled against adults other than the typical “teenage rebellion” to the point of turning them into slaves in Pirate Radio (which is? fucking wack considering how much better it’d be to use something else). Turning them into slaves just like they would have done to her for years, especially since it’s on exercise equipment. It’d bring personal satisfaction to possibly watch them run or bike or work out until they literally collapse like she might have done before. Then forced back on and continue. Hell, you can even explain as to why she kept her relationship with Skulker an apparent secret: she’s used to have to hiding a boyfriend or risk losing everything.

I would have loved to see her being used as a good social commentary on that industry specifically, but also as a hot take for the abuse that just happens in general too much within the music (and many other fame based industries).

If we're going by canon show airing date, Ember would have popped up right around the time Kpop was really making it's mark on American culture. America got really into Kpop in the mid-2000s and, as you can tell by BTS's popularity, is still going really strong. There's even an entire Wikipedia page about it, the Korean Wave. Whether you want to “modernize” DP or keep it in it's canon air date roots, this would still be a relevant possibility no matter where you personally like DP to fall on the IRL timeline.

While many Kpop stars are in groups, given her possible circumstances, she likely broke off to be a solo artist. If you've ever seen Kpop idol fashion, they're also very colorful! Very fashionable and interesting, and it'd be really cool to see more of that kind of fashion for her. The dances are very good too, well choreographed, and it'd just lead to really interesting possibilities as to how she looks and behaves on her stage.

I dunno man, I just feel like this is a really cool take. My personal take tbh, and I just think more people should think about deceased Kpop idol Ember.

#nick talks #headcanons #hcs #ember mclain

[starlling-writes]

Bewitching Monsters - Elf (Aero) Part 1

Series Rating: 18+ Chapter Contains: no warnings Pairing: f/m BeMo Masterlist   ☆  Writing Masterlist

For about a week, I had put off opening the mysterious box my elf courier randomly gave me. Apparently it was a present from him, though he had failed to mention that at the time. When I confessed to neglecting the box, he was understandably piqued. I didn’t mean to insult him; I seriously had no idea it was important for me to open ASAP.

Caera, wafted around me as I sat down, blade in hand, ready to open the gift. She had bothered me a time or two about it. Now I felt her excitement in the air as I cut the twine and opened the box.

First, I found a note. “A welcoming gift. I hope it’s to your taste. Perhaps I’ll see you at the Brumalis feis in this? Or not in this, whichever you prefer, Little Witch,” I read aloud. I groaned and tossed the letter aside. He was never going to let me live down how we first met—I was naked and he got a good long view.

I pulled a dress out of the box. Made of black chiffon, it was a simple, sleeveless, shift dress sewn in panels to give the subtle illusion of a spider web. Okay it was actually really cute and seemed like it would fit. It was too sheer on its own, but I had plenty of options to wear under it. Feeling giddy, I decided to play dress-up.

This was going to be the first feis I took part in since moving to Arvos. I missed the Autumnal feis because I was so busy settling in and dealing with Caera’s mischief at the time. I still paid my respects, but there was no celebrating beyond enjoying a large piece of fudge and a bottle of delicious mead. For Brumalis, I was thinking of going no holds barred.

Brumalis celebrated the end of the harvests and marked the changing of the seasons to winter. Since it began the season of death, it was also the time when we paid respect to those departed. Grand festivals went from sunset the day before, to sunrise the day after. Both autumn and winter colors were popular. Blending the color schemes was equally as common  as costume changes. However, multiple outfits would not be wise this year. I planned on getting wasted. I doubted future-me would have the coordination to successfully change clothes without any troubles. And I really did not want to risk ruining my new dress—even if it was from a bothersome elf.

The next day, I stopped in at Honey Cup to grab a latte on my way to the archive. I had research to do and needed all the caffeine I could get. Plus, I was hoping that I’d be able to run into the air elf again so I wouldn’t need to track him down on my own.

“Sweet morning, Witch. You’re in here earlier than usual,” greeted Honey.

That was another reason I needed caffeine: I was up way too early for the schedule I kept. Sleep eluded me half the night. I was even able to watch the sunrise for once today—it would have been lovely if it weren’t for my unexpected guest. “I feel dead inside.”

“Spiced tea latte?”

“Yes. In the largest size you can make.” I leaned on the counter and stared at the menu. I never took the time before to look at all the food options they had. Most were fruit or vegetable based pastries, along with a couple hearty soups for the season. The café was still slow at this hour so I wasn’t worried with holding up the line as I tried to pick something. “I’m torn between a berry tart and a veggie pot pie. Both sound amazing right now.”

“How about the pot pie for now and take the tart to go?”

“See this is why I love you. You let me indulge in all my cravings. It’s also why I hate you—for enabling my poor habits.”

“What kind of fae would I be if I didn’t tempt my patrons?” She smiled mischievously as she handed me my tea. The warmth of the mug seeping into my hands was bliss. I curled up in the corner of a couch and sipped, savoring the flow of this magical life-giving beverage at this unholy hour. Within a couple minutes she delivered my food to me too.

Never have I scarfed down any meal as quickly as I did that pie. I was fairly certain it was spelled to be more delicious than any food could hope to be. Then again, I had been up for hours now with nothing in my stomach, so it might have just been my ravenous hunger. Still, it was heavenly.

“Hey Honey, how often does that one courier come here?”

Her eyes flashed up at me and the corners of her mouth tugged into a sly smirk. “Why the inquiry, dear Witch?”

“Don’t read too much into it,” I warned. “I just want to know if I should bother trying to run into him here, or just call for him at the postal court.”

She dashed over and flung herself onto the couch beside me—and partially onto me. “You opened the gift?” Her voice chimed with the joy of a child receiving the puppy they always wanted. It was a challenge not rolling my eyes at her gossip-loving reaction.

“Yes.”

“Well?”

“He gave me a dress and said he hoped to see me at the Brumalis feis.”

She jerked away, sitting up straight and cocking her head slightly. “Gave you a dress?” I nodded. “He, gave you a dress? He gave you—and just wished to see you there? Not ask you there on a—what have you done to him?” she accused.

“What? Nothing! We barely know each other. I think we’ve maybe had like—three?—interactions so far. Maybe four. I didn’t spell him, that’s for sure.”

She pulled her legs up and wrapped an arm around them as she placed her thumb to her lip. “I’ve just never known him to be the generous sort like this. I’d thought he offer the dress as a bribe to being his date, not give it freely.”

Her insight played weirdly with my heart. The only notable thing that happened between the air elf and myself was me flashing him. Was that enough of a moment to make him act uncharacteristic? I didn’t think my body was that special—being a short, small chested, jiggly pear. It was nice thinking my natural self had charmed someone to such a degree.

My joy dipped as the Honey’s finger dug into my cheek. “Someone’s blushing!” she sang.

“I’m going to the post now.”

“Fine, fine,” she continued to sing. She jumped up and walked behind the counter to grab the little bag she prepped my tart in already. She handed it to me, along with a small tea to go, and waved me off. “But expect to dish the deets at some point.”

“Sweet day, Neighbor.” I switched back to the default fae-name to pester her as much as she had me. It only made her smile more.

“And a very sweet day for you, Witch,” she winked.

The postal court was a bit out of the way from the archive, but it shouldn’t be too long of a detour. Not that the books were going anywhere. I had never been inside the building before and was a bit awestruck when I entered. Vaulted ceilings, towering columns, and rows and rows of equaling towering shelves filled with packages stretching back behind the large clerk desk bisecting the lobby.

Once it was my turn, I greeted the clerk and asked, “I was wondering if one of the couriers was currently in. Or if I could leave a message for him.”

“Courier number?”

“What?—Oh. Umm, I don’t know… his number,” I admitted. “I’m the witch from the southeast woods. Is there a way to see who has delivered there? He’s the only one that’s come by.”

“Don’t worry,” answered a voice behind me as a hand touched my shoulder. I turned to greet a familiar grin. “I believe I’m the one she’s looking for.”

“That was easy.” We walked off to the side of the lobby for a bit of privacy.

“I’ll come whenever you like, Witch,” he said and leaned against the wall. He pulled one of his vambraces out of his bag and started strapping it on his arm.

“Watch your words,” I slyly retorted. But we both knew he measured every word he chose well.

“Visiting me at work now,” the air elf said and reached in his bag for his second vambrace. “I might start getting the wrong idea.”

“I only came to thank you for the dress and accept your invitation.”

His eyes sparkled. “Perhaps I’m getting the right idea after all.”

“Oh, please,” I snickered. “I don’t know many people yet, and I’m going to be at the feis anyway. Hanging with you should be much more fun than partying alone.”

“Hmm. I prefer my own interpretations. Anyways, what color dress will you be wearing? We should coordinate.”

“What makes you think I’m gonna wear anything under the dress you gave me?” I teased, feeling my flirty side bubble up.

He raised his brow and gave me a knowing look. “Because as you’ve already demonstrated a second ago, you love destroying my fantasies.”

I shrugged innocently and took a sip of my tea. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see then. Or not see. Whichever I end up preferring.”

He chuckled darkly and traced his fingers down my arm. “Wicked, little Witch. You could kill a male with such trepidation.”

“Good thing I know how to dispose of bodies and am attracted to the other sexes.”

His laugh filled the room twice over, resulting in many looks our way from both employees and patrons. It sounded like summer, well into a still bright evening. He brought my hand to his lips. For three heartbeats, he kissed it. Slowly he brought his eyes up to mine and sent butterflies fluttering into my core. “Until the feis. Little Witch.”

I watched him leave and return to his work. The air felt lighter.

Brumalis was going to be interesting this year.

— — —

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Character Arc:  [Here]  P2   P3

#monster love #exophilia #writeblr #elf x human #fae #elf love #fae love #fae x human #Bewitching Monsters

[the-nysh]

Whats your opinon of kiri//baku and todo//deku?

!!!!! 👀 Oooh, *takes deep breath* so I’ve finally been askedthe big question. (Thank you for courteously using the /s to block the ship names out of the tags) Because I DO have opinionsabout them. I’ve mostly kept them to myself, but since I’ve been prompted, Iwill try to be as honest and thorough as I can. :’)

Disclaimer: If you high-key shipeither of the two, please proceed with caution! 

To preface:

If it wasn’t already obvious from the content I reblog (and rave about in thetags), my decisive fav character of the series is Kacchan, and similarly, my otp of the series is with him and Deku(as bakudeku, aka bkdk for short – which is how it’scommonly called on twitter). So going in, that’s my given stance already.

But it wasn’t always this way! :O When I first started theseries I went in pretty cautious, wary, and undecided; I actually never plannedto fall so hard for either the character or the ship (and I rarely ship things tobegin with). That is, until Hori repeatedly bludgeoned me in the face and heartwith all the reoccurring and carefully consistent character development, to thepoint ch120 became the final, decisive nail in the coffin - the point of noreturn for me. :’3 So now, I’m fully invested in seeing how their story pulls through to the end, nomatter what it might become (it doesn’t even need to be shippy). With them thematically established as two sidesof the same coin – on opposite ends of the same spectrum of heroism – the twohalves of All Might who both win and rescue:I want to see how they push each other towards greatness and mature into a pairof the best heroes. It’s a long-term investment of hope and a case of slowburn positive development, in direct (and on purpose!) contrast to its rockyand strained foundations (they ARE immature and emotionally constipated teensafter all), but it’s all been carefully laid out through a steady path ofnarrative foreshadowing. Where the prospects at the end of that path – of mutualsupport, understanding, reconciliation, cooperation, teamwork, trust – arebeautiful and rewarding things that make their ongoing journey of growth worthit. So…for Hori to smash any original expectations I might have had, and makeme fall hard for something I never intended to happen, are examples of whatI consider GOOD writing.

After I realized this, I went and did my research. Which inmy case, is reading up on countless character/relationship meta and fanfics togauge how the fandom sees their potential too. So I am very aware of the multiple sides of existing arguments and the dramathat’s already happened in the fandom (from across both tumblr and twitter). Iknow the western fandom considerably favors kr/bk and td/dk (at least for now), BUT in the eastern fandom,it’s actually bkdk that’s more popular. Hmm, curious why that is?

One of the reasons is partly thanks to the widespread availabilityof fan mistranslations (FA group) that have greatly exaggerated certain characterizations(ie Kacchan), leading to fandom fearmongering and the perpetuation of stigmasagainst the canon development of certain relationships (ie bkdk), which in theoriginal text, were never nearly thatflanderized or as offensive in context to begin with. Include also, adifference in cultural expectations/values, and we get a prickly concoction ofmisunderstandings ready to brew. It’s a poor and unfortunate case of important subtleties/complexitiesgetting lost in translation, while the bad things are blown way out ofproportion, to the point the story’s original intent is sidelined, or worse, canonis deliberately obstructed by translators who already dislike seeing suchcontent (because it’s ‘not their ship’) – so they prevent and hurt othersfrom fully enjoying the progression of the series as the author intended. Peoplecan like what they like (that’s perfectly fine), but in all of my lurking, Ihave SEEN examples of these things (andworse) actively happen, and quite frankly, the spread of this blatant toxicityand compulsive collective ignorance sickens me. So, I choose not to getinvolved with it, and instead focus on the positive.

Because of my preference for meta and faithfulinterpretations of the text (making sure available translations are reliablefor analyzing, for instance), I’ve gathered enough information (andacknowledged enough counterarguments) to make an educated decision for myself onwhat I value most and want to see from the series. Unless Hori veers offotherwise, I’ll stick by that conclusion and enjoy following the series throughto fruition (regardless of what the rest of the opposing fandom might say).

For example, one of the first dedicated and respectful metawriters – back when only the FA scans were available, but who ALSO providedcorrections from the Japanese text where necessary, came to this conclusionabout Deku and Kacchan’s characterizations:  

From ryokure:

“Deku is such a super special case that if a fanfichas him and Kacchan in it - no matter the parings - and they don’t have somecase of mutual obsession, I actually consider that OOC.”

Which, after everything I’ve seen of the characters, I can fully concur withthat statement.

MEANING, if the fandom portrays them off alone, together, or involvedin relationships with other characters and they lack this intrinsic magnetism that binds them together (for betteror worse) – if they can somehowfunction completely normal without being influenced by the presence of anotherand magically not even care about each other anymore, then my suspension of disbeliefbreaks. They’re too OOC. (Unless it’s a fic au where they never met or grew uptogether.) These two are TOO canonically wrapped up in their mutual complexesto simply cut ties, wrap up all their unresolved issues with a band-aid,and essentially ignore a core issue of the series for the sake of ‘shipconvenience’ with others. Their canon relationship is too complex to make such simplifiedportrayals of them believable, or even such flimsy ‘solutions’ for their issuesfeasible. Thankfully, we have Hori actively doing all the hard work for us sowe don’t have to worry about such transgressions like that happening in canon. (InHori’s consistent characterizations we trust!)  

Now then, with all of THISestablished, I can finally answer your main question: my opinion on kiri/bakuand todo/deku.

Let’s start with todo/deku:

Because believe it or not, when I was still new to the fandom and in my earlyresearch stages, I actually lowkey shipped them and read plenty of fics aboutthem too! I was open to them as a pair, but still undecided and wary because I didn’t know who to ship withDeku: either Todoroki or Bakugou. I saw all the widespread (western) fandomcontent for td/dk, with the apparent foundations for the ship based on eventsfrom the Sports Festival, where Deku ‘saves’ Todoroki and acts as the catalystto allow him to defrost his issues with his father and realize his true power.I thought, ‘ooh there’s something interesting in there worth looking forwardto; I’ll keep an eye on how canon develops their relationship from here.’

Unfortunately…canon didn’t give me anything else substantial to build on. Andin my case, those are foundations I NEED to be fully on board and convinced fora ship. It was the equivalent of fandom hyping me up for something to lookforward to, with me sitting there with a huge smile and my arms raised inanticipation…only for the rest of the manga to leave me dry. It was a hugedisappointment. Because except for a few scattered incidents, like from theStain arc and maybe the recent ‘it’s ok for heroes to cry sometimes too’moment, canon progress for their relationship has been severely underwhelmingand virtually nonexistent. Todoroki has chilled into becoming a supportive (yetstill socially awkward) friend for Deku yes, but even Iida has had more canon incidents of concern for Deku’s wellbeing,and challenges Deku into becoming a better person/hero with their interactions.(And yet, fandom support for Deku and Iida is virtually nonexistent incomparison, because their friendship resembles the camaraderie between bros, Iguess??)    

So then I was like, ‘wait, am I missing something here? WHY does the fandomlove td/dk so much, when their canon interactions are so limited, and the onlybig thing that’s happened between them was all the way back in the SportsFestival??’ So, I went and investigated the potential of their relationshipfurther in fanfics (which are quite numerous and popular on a03 I might add).

After taking a look, I began to see trends. Most td/dk fics are heavily skewed in Todoroki’s favor, tothe point of being practically one-sided in character development. The mainconflict in almost all their ficnarratives revolves around solving Todoroki’s issues with his father and comingto terms with HIS powers, leaving Deku as a passive, supporting participant inhelping Todoroki out with his problems. Which, while the two of them could bondtogether over their missing/difficult father issues, after a while this same familyconflict gets old and stale. What else is there? What about Deku’s problems for equality’s sake?He’s the main protagonist! How abouthis difficulties in learning how to make One for All his own too? Ah nope, hecan’t canonically confide in Todorokiabout the secrets of his quirk, now can he. ;) Oh wait. What about his problems with Bakugou? Is the biggest elephant in the room going to be ignored for the sakeof typical couple melodrama, or is my fav character going to be demonized so that Todoroki, the ‘prince’on a white horse, can ‘save’ Deku, the ‘damsel’ in distress, from him?! No way. And THAT is another hugeproblem I have with the ship.

Because in all the fics I’ve read of them, I never once was convinced ofDeku’s feelings for Todoroki. I can understand Todoroki gaining a passing crushon Deku thanks to their fight in the Sports Festival. But Deku? How does heeven fall for him? Just becauseTodoroki is nice and considerate and listens to him? Like a friend? (Deku has Uraraka and Iida forthat too, what makes Todoroki any more special than them in Deku’s life?) Thisties in to my previously mentioned suspension of disbelief and ooc territorynow. Because Deku is not some haplessdamsel in distress ready to be swept off his feet and easily charmed by somepotential suitor; he’s a BAMF with a heroic spirt that’s even feared byBakugou. And these traits are so rarely utilized to their full potential intd/dk fics - Todoroki’s influence rarely even challenges or inspires Deku toBECOME the best he can be to draw out his latent potential. (Iida’s canonicallydone more in that regard thanTodoroki’s ever done.) Again, it feels too one-sided in Todoroki’s favor toimprove as a better person/hero.

Oh yeah, and since Deku became one of Todoroki’s first ‘true friends,’ forTodoroki to fall for him feels like putting too many eggs in one basket,without giving Todoroki the chance tobranch out and make normal/healthy relationships with OTHERS first beforesettling down. He’s a socially awkward kid emotionally repressed by domesticabuse; for him to latch onto Deku, the ‘first’ person he’s finally (andliterally) warmed up to, feels like the budding symptoms of unhealthy copingmechanisms and compensating for Todoroki’s deeper emotional issues. Where it thenbecomes Deku’s ‘responsibility’ to care for the turnout of his wellbeing, whenNO - Deku’s got plenty of his OWN issues to become burdened with someone else’s on top of those. Plus in canon,Todoroki’s doing just fine and is perfectly capable of handling his personal problems onhis own without having to depend on Deku.

Again, it’s all touchy territory that feels like it sidelines the mainintent of the series itself – by branching off into the deep end of Todoroki’sangst at the expense of Deku’s, or worse: simply wrapping everything up with afluffy bow called ‘the power of love.’ Nuh-uh, not only is that immenselyidealistic and unrealistic, but it’s totally not the kind of content I signedup for when I started the series. I’m frankly not interested in delving into thoseoff-tangent topics in opposition to canon, where Deku’s problems are oftensidelined, his characterization compromised, and my fav character (Kacchan) eitherbecomes an exaggerated, antagonizing impediment to their ship or is simplytreated like he doesn’t even exist. (My patience and willing suspension of disbeliefonly go so far.)

In the end, Todoroki’s a supportingcharacter. In a tertiary tier after the protagonist (Deku) and the deuteragonist(Bakugou). Yet in td/dk fics he’s almost always turned into a main protagonistsomehow. I can understand his appeal and why he’s so popular in the fandom, yes(and I like him too!), but there’s a point where this exposure becomes TOO much,the limit to his available canon issues becomes saturated and repetitive, and itultimately becomes so tiring to keepcoming back and addressing the same topics in fanon when canon has alreadymarched on to focus on more pressing issues. I’m more interested in exploring those other things.

So nowadays, whenever I see td/dk content, I go ‘ayy that’s nice (or cute),’and keep on scrolling. It doesn’t bother me, but it doesn’t interest meanymore either. I probably won’t touch anymore fics of them together either;I’ve seen and had enough. I’m actually more receptive to seeing Todorokiinteract and develop friendships with other characters, like Inasa (the wind guy from the rival school)or even Momo for instance. Either of those ships I see around, I’m cool withtoo.

The final line: I don’t ship them (anymore), because canon swayed me over with the more pressing and compelling developments of bkdk.   

NOW, it’s time to talk about kiri/baku:      

To start, I actually LOVE Kirishima as a character. And I’ve alreadyestablished upfront that my fav character in the series is Kacchan. So whatgives? It turns out their ship has neverbeen on my radar.

Kirishima is a great character, but I’ve only ever seen him as a supportive bro. To EVERYONE in their class. Whichis precisely how Hori designed him: to be a compassionate/empathetic nice guywho bridges the gaps between the class with his vigorous enthusiasm and support(same role that Denki shares, by the way). And he fulfils this role splendidly.But he ALSO has his own insecurities and developing friendships with manyothers in the class – Denki, Mina, and Deku included. All of those people areimportant to him (and I’m cool with all their ships with him too). Kirishimadoes not solely revolve aroundBakugou.  

It’s true that near the beginning of the series, Bakugou was an angry loner,Kirishima trailed after him on his own accord, and after seeing his version of‘manliness’, decided to stick by him and support him, because Kiri saw thepositives of his character that ‘no one’ else bothered to see. (NOT true; Dekuhas always seen and admired Kacchan’spositive traits since they were children.)And so what’s canonically established is a budding friendship where Kirishimafulfils his given role to bridge gaps (whenever Bakugou strays away from theclass), essentially working as a rubber band plot device, and as a secondperspective – aka a fresh lens, for the audience to view Bakugou’s positivequalities.

All of this I’m cool with. I actually enjoyseeing their canon interactions and the kind of fun, slapstick way they bounceoff each other. (I even like the concept of Dragon!Kiri too!) BUT, it’s whenfanon starts twisting their canon relationship into shippy territory, that’swhere things start getting…ugly, at least for me.  

Remember, I’ve always only seen Kirishima as a supportive bro, and I MEAN that. They have the samered eyes. The same style of spikey hair. The same pumped up mannerisms whenthey get going. Too many similarities that rub me the wrong way when put in aromantic context. (The only difference is that one of them is the soft-hearted ‘niceguy,’ and the other is the outwardly prickly ‘asshole.’) To me, to ship them feels like the equivalentof taking the parallel ends of two polarized magnets: you can manually forcethem close together, but in the end, they cannot touch because the same ends ofmagnets naturally repel. Now, flip one of those magnets around (aka turn it intoDeku), and boom, the opposite ends attract with explosive force. And THAT ishow bkdk feels to me in comparison.

However, the kr/bk fandom doesn’t stop there. I know there exists plenty of fics about them, but I’ve never read any, and frankly, I never will, not even for curiosity’ssake. Because from the overabundance of otherfandom content, I already know what their ship dynamic is about. And it doesnot appeal to me at all.

Remember how I said Kacchan is my favorite. I do not appreciate when thefandom warps him into either a demonized or castrated caricature of himself –aka when they turn him into someone he most definitely is NOT, all for the sakeof a ship. Or worse: when they use Kiri’s relationship as a means of changingBakugou into a character they findmore appealing. NO. Even more worse: when they treat Kiri’s whole character as awalking plot device for ALL of Bakugou’s positive character development. Fuckno! Kirishima doesn’t deserve this dehumanizing treatment by the fans, andneither does my fav, getting subjected to this…betrayal to his whole character.

What am I talking about? When fans insist that Kiri is the ONLY personBakugou can be ‘nice’ to, outright forsaking or ignoring the canon developmentseither of them have with other characters – what about Denki, the rest of the‘Bakusquad’? Or Deku? Remember my dislike for ignoring the elephant in the room back in my spiel about td/dk?Well here, it’s infinitely times worse.

Because Kiri does not become aconvenient narrative replacement to ‘solve’ all of Bakugou’s problems or themeans to correct his bad behavior. It’s not even Kiri’s business orresponsibility to do so! (Same deal if Uraraka is shipped in Kiri’s place.) Hispresence doesn’t challenge Bakugou’s current conduct or world views to improvehimself as a better person, OR actively affect his drive to become the best hero.At most, Kiri endures the brunt of Bakugou’s outbursts when they happen(because he can harden with his quirk, he can ‘take’ it, and their banterbecomes ‘humorous’ and ‘harmless’…no, it absolutely does not) and amicably slides off any further implications with a ‘heyman, that’s not cool’, or excuses/accepts it with a ‘it’s fine because he’s justbeing himself.’ Now we have a situation where Kiri becomes a passive ‘butt-monkey’to Bakugou’s whims and actually enableshis unacceptable behavior to persist. And Bakugou somehow becomes fully invested in a single confidant who babies andpicks up after him (how the heck? no way would he allow himself to get ropedinto a relationship like that, if any at all. He’s strong and independent enoughto handle himself fine.). Even when it’s portrayed where Kiri is the ‘only’ oneBakugou’s nice to, they’d exist in a vacuum tunnel, sealed off from the influenceof others, and become a spiraling fester-hole of static development. None ofthese prospects are the ‘healthy’ long-term results that fandom seems to claimthey are. Tell me, if Bakugou was reallyan abusive character, would his behavior magically ‘fix’ itself simply thanksto Kiri’s passive influence or ‘the power of his understanding kindness and love’?The answer is a resounding and definite NO. The only person who can canonically stand up to Bakugou’s behavior (andnot brush it off), fundamentally challengehis world views and complexes, match him in equal and opposite intensity with themutual drive to be the best, and receivethe full extent of his turbulent feelings, is Deku.

This is what I’m referring to when I say fandom often ‘ignores the elephantin the room,’ because THIS (Deku and Kacchan’s relationship) is an established,ongoing and important core issue of the series itself, that many shippers wouldrather sideline for the priority, current gratification, and fluffy convenienceof an opposing ship. Aka, simply slap them together with the first nice friend theymeet (in both Todo and Baku’s cases, it’s the ‘too many eggs in one basket’problem again…), who will solve all their problems and work to ‘change’ theminto better people…somehow? No, that’s the case of unrealistic, wishful thinking bad writing andtaking the easy way out when something -the elephant in the room- is too challengingand complex to tackle head on. Thankfully, Hori IS tackling their story head onas purposely intended, so I don’t have to worry about canon jumping the sharkon the progress of their relationship.  

So, instead of Kiri being shipped with Bakugou, I much prefer him as a supportingcharacter (a supportive bro!!) who helps ease Bakugou into social/emotionalsituations that he’d normally avoid (which is how Hori originally designedhim??? to bridge those gaps -aka Bakugou’s loner distance - in the class) I’veread plenty of bkdk fics where Kiri becomes the mvp BECAUSE of his natural abilityto do this! With him as a much-needed wingman, voice of empathetic reason, and trustedsecond opinion who Bakugou can confide in to help confront his chronicemotional constipation over Deku. Shipperscan claim that Kiri helps Baku come to terms and become receptive to ‘softer,’ affectionatefeelings when they’re together, when it’s actually the opposite: Kiri becomes astepping stone for Bakugou to learn how to ‘make friends’ with other people whenthey’re apart. ‘Other people’ meaning: Denki, the ‘squad’, Todoroki, the restof the class…and most importantly, Deku.Let my son -Kacchan- learn how to form healthy, genuine relationships withpeople again, so he can gain the necessary experience and maturity to reproach hislifelong treatment of Deku and decide to patch up their relationship on his own terms. This, I feel, is a much more satisfyingoutcome and effective use of Kiri’s character, both in his involvement withBakugou and for the long-run benefit of the series itself.

But instead of seeing it this way, much of the (western) fandom overexaggerates the importance of Kiri and Baku’s relationship, to the point it notonly overshadows the content of other ships, but obfuscates the actual translated GEN contentof canon itself. (WHY!?!) I’m not even going to touch the propensity, hypocrisy, and irony of their shippers to harassand bully others for their opposing shipping preferences (that’s a whole other can of worms). Overall,it’s gotten so bad and obnoxiously rampant that I’ve been forced to block the ship tag for my own sanity and enjoyment of theseries. The ONLY time it’s ever beenrequired for me to use the blacklist function here, and that’s saying something.

Therefore: I support their friendship as supportive bros, but kr/bk as a ship was never on myradar. I’ve never shipped it, and I will notbecome interested in their potential as a pair. I used to be ok with seeing fan content of them around…until thefandom essentially and unfortunately soured it into a notp for me. Welp!   

And there we have it, my full opinion on both ships. I hope that satiatesanyone’s curiosity on the matter, as so far I’ve had plenty of personal reasonsto stay in my own lane and only show my avid support for bkdk. This I’ve confidently decided and I will continue todo so, for as long as I’m invested in the series.  

For some further reading and similar informed opinions:  

http://explodo-smash.tumblr.com/post/165154054112/not-to-pit-ships-against-one-another-but-i

http://explodo-smash.tumblr.com/post/163895267877/why-do-you-ship-bakugou-and-deku-if-its-abusive

http://tinyshinysylveon.tumblr.com/post/168731953134

https://punkbakugo.tumblr.com/post/170514358890/do-you-think-that-the-fandom-over-exaggerates

Also related: my opinions about Kac/chako. And Izu/Ocha.

Edit: now cross-posted on a03

#Anonymous #replies #bnha #bkdk #meta #shipping #rom it’s time to bring out our salt shakers because it’s PARTY TIME 8D #(whoever makes it thru the nearly 4000 words gets a cookie :'D) #honestly i never expected to get an ask about this but time makes it inevitable i suppose :') #therefore i put in both the time and honesty to speak for myself and other bkdk supporters #my opm followers are welcome to check this monster out too #just to see how much salt i’m packing and normally hold back #(this will not become a regular occurrence - unless i'm explicitly asked for more of my opinions on the matter) #anyway for those with similar solidarity: enjoy! :)

[maiji]

PASSION GENTLE SEXY COOL

@atorier and I have this wonderful friendship where we're into different things (series/fandoms), but appreciate the same overarching stuff (e.g., creative process, storytelling, character design and development) so we can still excitedly talk about what we're into with each other. This means she updates me on otome games and I update her on, uh, classic Asian literature and comics with Buddhist monks. It results in lots of hilarious conversations where random things get all blended together and we end up with yet another dumb and convoluted (but IMO great) in-joke.

So I want to tell you about our new character design framework, PGSC: Passion, Gentle, Sexy, Cool.

Long story short, atorier has been playing 夢王国と眠れる100人の王子�� (100 Sleeping Princes and the Kingdom of Dreams), in which you basically rescue/collect princes from different fantastical themed countries. 

Each prince has a type: passionate, gentle, sexy, cool, or cute. These labels convey a general expectation of the character's personality, appearance and story, and are broad enough that there is quite a bit of latitude in interpretation for how the label works for them. For instance, gentle doesn't necessarily mean wimpy; cute doesn't necessarily mean the character looks like they're 10 years old, etc. For fun, atorier showed me different characters and I guessed which type they were based purely on design and facial expression. 

Then, I recently finished reading ボーズ☆ライフ！ 春 (Monk Life ~Spring - I haven't decided whether or not to get the summer edition yet lmao), which is a comic of comedy 4-koma about these four guys who purposefully or accidentally shave their heads and go to monk school.

I was showing some pages to atorier and this convo happened:

(No cute, because it easily falls as a subcategory of interpretation under passionate or gentle, and simple is better.)

Armed with our revelation, I started seeing if I could apply this totally arbitrary framework to other things. It's like that school of thinking when conceiving an ensemble cast, where you base each character on a particular thematic pillar to help create interesting balance and dynamics as you write, and hopefully have more diverse characters that can appeal to different people. Like yinyang, the four humours, the four (or five, if using an Asian system) elements, sentai colour symbolism (red, blue, yellow, black, green, pink etc.), that sort of thing.

So let's take Yu Yu Hakusho. Here are the four main characters and my mapping attempt. 

Passion: Yusuke, obviously. This is a common main character personality (like red for Sentai teams, fire element, etc.)

Gentle (and cute): Kuwabara because he's such a softie 

Sexy: Kurama, I think the fandom has spoken on this one

Cool: Hiei, who is outwardly aloof and distant, and I think the fandom would generally agree as well

Not bad. Ok, let's see it applied to a different quartet. This will enable us to appreciate the broad interpretation possible with each label. Here's the Toguro Team.

Passion: Bui, with his intense drive to be powerful and beat Toguro

Gentle: Toguro Ototo (younger) and his many moments of being startlingly thoughtful/diplomatic and not wanting to cause more suffering than necessary

Sexy: Karasu, because of his appearance/attitude and dynamic with Kurama

Cool: Toguro Ani (older), who is an arrogant heartless bastard.

As you can see, this can all be debated - I don't see why someone couldn't argue Karasu and Bui should switch, because of Karasu's obsession with Kurama, for example, or whatever. An interesting and useful system should be flexible and allow you to have overlap and ambiguity if a character is multidimensional, otherwise you end up with the most boring canned stereotypes. But I think you'll agree that the alignments show enough distinction that you can pretty comfortably put people in a section and filter relationships and comparisons through it, which then become more interesting (and amusing lol). They don't have to be totally different, just provide enough of a different angle that you can emphasize certain characteristics over others in how you write or how others perceive the group and its individuals. It's also just fun to rationalize the association and be able to think more deeply about the characters.

Now let's try this with Tale of Genji, sometimes considered the world's first novel. Here are the four main male characters. They don't all appear at the same time as the two friendship-rivalries (Genji and To no Chujo / Niou and Kaoru) are of different generations, but the story emphasizes the difference in quality/personality between each of them and between the generations, so it's valid to compare them all together from a literary analysis perspective. 

Sorry I couldn’t easily google up a cool picture of these people since the heyday of this fandom was like a thousand years ago. But I got this cute sticker set! 

Genji: Sexy

To no Chujo: Cool (here the interpretation is less cold and more, uh, cool cool - he's self-assured, a more toned-down sexy lol)

Niou no Miya: Passion

Kaoru: Gentle

You can add further nuance. For example, Niou is definitely Passion+Sexy, and Kaoru is definitely Gentle+Cool. This example works super ridiculously well, actually! IT'S BASICALLY THE WHOLE CRUX OF THEIR NARRATIVE CONFLICT as reiterated by about a bajillion scholarly articles over the last millennium. Therefore this is now a valid literary analysis framework lmao

After all this productivity, I went to bed.

And then woke up in the middle of the night with the thought, BUT WHAT ABOUT HOKUSHIN AND THE MONKS??

Here's my approximate 4am thought process (you can reference everything we know about them in the monks cheatsheet!): 

Passion: Easy-peasy. Definitely Nankai

Cool: Probably Touou. He's gruff and blunt.

Gentle: I would put Hokushin.

That leaves Sexy for Seizan. OK I'm done and now I can sleep.

Then I fell asleep again and dreamed about something unrelated, like doughnuts or spreadsheets or whatever. When I woke up for work I was like, hmm, this list might need some review. Or who knows, maybe not. Imao

THE END

#silly #lol #passion gentle sexy cool #yu yu hakusho #tale of genji #bouzu life #yume 100 #urameshi yusuke #kuwabara kazuma #kurama #hiei #toguro ototo #toguro ani #karasu #bui #hokushin #seizan #seitei #touou #nankai #hikaru genji #to no chujo #niou no miya #kaoru chujo