Tumgik
#my 6 fucking attempt at this because i keep either posting it on accident or deleting :)
Text
a longass time ago I said Jonathan had more scenes than Mike and Joyce combined and I Was Not Lying....but I'll put most of my yelling under the read more. anyway here's when Jonathan first meets the babs vs where they are after the plot is over (5 years later)
Tumblr media
Will saying "he will judge you" means "he's gonna decide if you're allowed to physically handle everyone else because I am not small and can't tell if you'll be Annoying to them (handling them too gently/roughly/shakily/etc)." this is the feral clone that likes to be thrown around like a fucking frisbee and dangled upside down, so Jonathan couldn't possibly hurt him on accident
Mike doesn't fully "pass" later and is mostly allowed to handle the clones that like moving slow and steady (mainly the watchful (second) clone) or if a clone just wants to be in a really high place. but they are still babs and usually full of energy and too fucking impatient for the careful speed at which Mike would move them place to place
Tumblr media
the one hanging out in Jonathan's t-shirt hammock is the sixth clone, very tiny clone, likes to be carried around and sleep in warm places because the lab was Not That :) the other two are the feral (first) clone and verbally savage (third) clone. clone 3 asks Jonathan on multiple occasions why he doesn't have human friends and has "so much time" to play with them (for a significant number of months, any time spent with Jonathan is "a lot" compared to the abrupt stop of all human interaction after the lab escape)
-
quick review of the Wills:
#0 Wise: Big Will, Mom Will, Final Boss Will, very soft and attentive and caring but also very Done and Remorseless
#1 Warrior: feral as fuck, absolutely ready to FITE at any given moment, does not let a lack of legs stop him from trying to hunt on land
#2: Watchful: mostly keeping track of the smols but also tries to look over the Tol, maybe got a little separation anxiety
#3 Wordsmith: likes to craft stories as much as honest insults, will spit out obvious Facts without hesitation...also he's farsighted as fuck
#4 Wary/Wistful: (has his own post) either Too Aware or completely and utterly Unaware of his surroundings, likes drawing and getting lost in his own head
#5 Wiggly: Gotta Go Fast, lives life on a sugar high but without needing sugar, the personification of object at rest vs object in motion
#6 Wandering: wants to see the entire world after being cooped up for 5 years, deserves all the gentle affection for the rest of forever
-
Jonathan is the first human Will "confronts" after the escape. he was 100% prepared to threaten the first person he encountered to try to get back home but then Jonathan is like ??? are you okay, get inside, are you in trouble, do you need help, where d— and Will doesn't get the chance to do much that night. just waits for Jonathan to fall asleep (he's not asleep) and yeets himself out a window to Contemplate. and the only evidence he was there at all is a discarded blanket, an empty glass with traces of salt, and the fact that Jonathan's closet is now missing the clothes he explicitly remembers offering to the christmas eve cryptid
(Jonathan did attempt to offer normal help at first like Benny thought to call child services for El but Will made it Quite clear that he didn't want more people involved. no fucking thank.)
over the next few visits, they gradually communicate and Jonathan understands that Will wants to go "home" (Brenner specifically didn't teach Will any words relative to California so it takes. a lot of trial and error to get his destination across), and Will also understands that it's a lot further than he thought and it'll take time/resources/"money"/research to get there (also "I like barely got my license I can't just drive out there, are you sure you don't want someone e—" "no.")
(Will told himself that it didn't matter what human helped him, that he just needed to find one and stick to them until he got where he wanted to go, that all the humans here were exchangeable like lab workers changing shifts....but Byers Bonding Power is no fucking joke and Will is not immune)
at the beginning, there were often several days/weeks between Will's ventures onto land. but, once he begins understanding the concept of human money, Will decides that finding/earning money is the one thing he can do to speed up the travel plans (since he can't learn to read maps and drive faster than he could collect money for Jonathan to do it for him..hypothetically). having a definable goal gives Will more motivation to force himself to interact with more people, so by the time Mike is properly "introduced", most of Will's human communication skills have been fairly developed (besides learning directly from Jonathan, mimicking tv people and sporadically interacting with Joyce/other Hawkins citizens helps him learn more words/tones/social scripts/dynamics/etc. for instance bringing fish to Benny on Friday mornings, or helping at the library for reading practice as he finds more limitations.)
while Will started socializing for the gas money and shit, he ends up getting more comfortable in Hawkins and occasionally using that money for trinkets and snacks and shit for the clones, or to repay Jonathan/Joyce over the months/years. and gradually, he stops being so concerned about returning because this is the only place the clones have known after the lab, they have a little home here and one of the clones can't live out in the ocean anyway, so no matter where they go, they'll have to stay near land if they want to stay together (and they do, even after they've passed the age a normal mer would've gone off on their own. because they're not normal mers, they're clones, and they're a part of each other in ways they aren't even aware of yet)
anyway things really get started when Jonathan takes some pictures of scenery and shit and accidentally gets cryptid Will in a shot of the lake. but seeing that photo makes Will decide to stop fucking around and determine just how trustworthy Jonathan is. (up until now, Will wasn't really sure how he was gonna get Jonathan to take everyone home without finding out what they were. but like. this took care of that issue.) this is the first and last time Will seriously "threatens" Jonathan because he gets.....Intense about exposing himself and/or the babs.
Will would seem kinda "undersized" for a "human" his age but is much stronger than he looks because he spends most of his time either swimming or training to be better coordinated on land, no rest. Will reacts negatively to the potentially dangerous photo and Jonathan reacts negatively to the familiar bodily threat (shoved against a wall like Lonnie did in s1) but they're both fine once Jonathan gets Clone Approved™
for Will, showing his Official Final Trust is basically when he allows himself to be in the water with a human around. even despite his quick acceptance of Jonathan's presence around the babs, he stays on land for quite a few weeks so if anything were to "happen" Jonathan couldn't run away while Will had a tail. he repeats the same process with Mike later, but this time he lets himself have a tail if Jonathan is around as a safety net (because like. lbr Mike could absolutely not outrun a hostile Jonathan. not that that ever becomes necessary) he also stays on land any time a bab wants to explore/play on land, which is why Will was just sitting around when wary Will brought Mike to him
I have already typed so much but there is still so much more but let me at least give some interactions Jonathan has with the different clones
it's important that everyone knows that Jonathan taught the feral Will to headbang to his weird human music, just this tiny pancake going apeshit while Jonathan does a sorta bopping hand motion next to him
all the clones like being high up (because underwater they're swimming way above the floor) but watchful Will and tiny wandering Will like it the most. wandering Will swaps between Jonathan/Mike/Joyce equally (tho spends the most time with big Will underwater at the start), but watchful Will absolutely abandoned Jonathan once tree Mike entered the picture. rip dude
I mentioned wordsmith Will roasting Jonathan earlier, but they're usually chill. they and wary Will spend most of their time together on land, with Jonathan reading out loud or helping wary Will do it (because wordsmith is too small to even turn pages....and also pretends to have no interest in learning to read because he hasn't realized that he's blind as fuck)
it takes Jonathan a hot second to adjust to wiggly Will's energy output but he Can keep up for a respectable amount of time. and when the bab eventually passes the fuck out, Jonathan carries him in a shirt pocket until he revives and is ready to nyoom again (or hands him over to big Will to be cradled and pet like a tired kitten😌)
bonus note: while the babs were basically raised bilingual, which is then kept in practice by Jonathan entering their lives relatively "soon" after leaving the lab, big Will was not and has more difficulty retaining new sounds/words and is hella more likely to let out some faint inhuman noise in place of something he can't say. Jonathan felt a little Cursed at first but gets used to it fairly quickly, and Will does it less and less as time goes on
on rare occasion Will makes a horrific sorta grinding scuttling sound and Jonathan just has to accept that that's a sign of happiness and not a threat to his life. the babs have made that sound before too but it's not as loud or deep and feels more like being threatened by a sick puppy than a sci-fi horror beast
-
the first time Mike hears that sound is life threatening. he is like legit near tears because Will was right next to him (he was fucking straddling Will's legs and hugging him so close) he got full blast of that shit like he could feel that sound in his Chest and he wanted to Die.
Mike: do you feel good? (do you like how our relationship is progressing, do you enjoy the way we spend our time, do I make you feel safe and comfortable and happy, do y—)
Will: y̸̛̛͉͎̹̩̭̥͇͐̓͒͝e̴̢̢͖͕̠̖̟͓̻̘̰̊̍͗͝ş̷͔̳̯͈̩̠̣̣̎̆̾̐̊͜͠
[they immediately separate and make Intense Eye Contact]
Mike, heart pounding but not in a good way: ....is that a good sound
Will: I don't usually do that out of water...
Mike: is that good
Will, pointing at his mouth and showing off his Throat Teeth: we make it by grinding our teeth really hard, l̸̛̞̝̝̹͌̽i̶̯̩̭̱̊̏k̵̫̭̥͉̾̉̐ḛ̴͌̿͛̕ ̵̟̼͊̀ṯ̴̢̩̈́h̷̫̤͎̽̿̌͒ͅi̵͝��̩̝̈́͌͜s̵̨̺̱͒́̂̕
Mike, who has only seen teeny tiny needly bab throat teeth and never previously considered how quickly a deep kiss could turn into Brutal Murder By Adult Throat Teeth: is it good
Will: it's good
Mike: o k t h x (but please say that first next time!)
-
these throat teeth are kinda like. if a moray eel's second jaw was structured like a demomonster head. terrible flesh flower blooming from the back of Will's throat, able to reach forward into his mouth to grab food and drag it back for digestion. and Mike just realized he regularly puts his own face within biting range. not that he's afraid that Will is going to intentionally eat his face. but like. it's the Possibility.
there are a lot of things that Will regularly pretends to be human about now (like having to chew food) unlike the babs that still do what they want whenever they want, so Mike hasn't really had to picture a lot of their casual actions being done by a much larger body. he's gonna start tho. he's gonna Start.
17 notes · View notes
maddenleftchat · 2 years
Text
I am so sorry 👑 anon! I deleted the original request! So I'm gonna try my best to stay along the lines of the original request!
(a/n) this is going to be a little bit out of my normal set up, because I'm a dumb and messed up the request)
YANDERE GANG LEADER X GN!READER
Triggers: obsessive behavior, possessive behavior, stalking, unwanted attention, superiority complex (?), Extremely unhealthy obsession, unhealthy habits, mention of being kidnapped, mention of being followed, unhealthy relationships, toxic relationship, and heavy yandere like behaviors. Please be careful when reading.
Enjoy.
Yandere Gang Leader
~Desire~
Tumblr media
(this is what he looks like btw)
Tumblr media
Desire, a feeling that can suffocate one's lungs. It strings along their inside's, slowly corrupting the entire being. It's threads sews it into the thoughts, creating a patch work mural of the desire's end goal. Desire ties itself to the neck of one's neck, choking them with greed. Desire climbs into the heart, slowly infecting the innocents. Desire is a dangerous creature. One that no mortal weapon could ever kill. A creature that infests every breathing thing on the earth. Desire is a very dangerous thing.
~
Cars flew past with exhaust of their loud engines filling the once clean air. The clatter and chatter of the world around you was drowned out by the blasting music in your ears. You were stuck on another planet of your imagination with your dream life. Sure, your current life was not that bad, you had a nine-to-five, and an apartment in New York City. But things were boring, it felt as if your days had begun to blend together. Almost as if the days were just small pieces and strokes of profound colors only made to be blurred together to blend in with a brown background; with the dry brush dragging them on longer than needed.
But it had been a long day, the sun's setting beams stretched to your cheeks. It's warm, barely able to be felt, as it's graceful touch merely grazes your soft skin. But it's brightness was more than enough to greet your gaze. It's blinding gold light causing you to squint. With the loss of parts of your vision it was hard to see the incoming man towards you.
It seemed as soon as the impact took place, time slowed. Your wide eyed expression seemed to slowly appear on your face, as you collided with the taller man's chest. The impact could be the equivalent to a tsunami hitting a huge stone wall. The both of you and the man ended up on the ground. With the sun no longer invading your eyes, you could properly see the situation. The surrounding people's eyes stared at you and the man, their gaze felt like daggers piercing through you. You were quick to look down at the man laid under you, his weight suit scuffed with the wet dirt from that day's previous rain. He was wearing sunglasses, a smart idea, and they now sat on the side walk a few feet away from his face. The lenses had popped out, and they looked expensive. At this point, your heart pounded to the point it was almost like it was going to jump out of your chest. The feet that have carried all these miles then decided it was time to get away. So that's what they did, you quickly stood up. And right when you were going to make the grand escape, a large calloused hand grabbed your ankle.
And a deep voice spoke, "Aye, help me out here! It's fucking rude to not help, do you not have any manners left?!"
Turning your head to the voice, the man had sat up and rubbed the back of his head.
With your heart dropping even farther than you thought it could, it took you a moment to process his words. Hell, you were still processing the entire ordeal.
"Hello?!" He spoke once again, you were quick to answer this time.
"Oh-..y-yeah! Here!" You said quickly, the feeling of anxiety leaked into your tone.
With adrenaline still pulsing through you, you grabbed the man's hand, and pulled him to his feet. This was highly unexpected on his part, how the hell were you that strong?
You then scattered over to the expensive sunglasses. You ran to them like a chicken was looking for food. In the state of your anxious panic, you failed to notice his amused smirk.
His whole mood just went from irritated to amused. You were quite the interesting thing.
Once your hands finally got a hold on the glasses and their missing lense, you shamefully brought this over to the man. You were blushing from how embarrassed you were. People were still watching you, some even recording. You so badly wanted to rip those phones from their hands and destroy the devices.
The man then held out his large hand from the glasses, that smirk quickly disappeared into a scowl once more when the glasses were placed in his hands.
"You're kidding me right?" His voice was wrapped with anger.
"I-I'm so sorry sir! I'll buy you a new pair! I promise!" You said a bit too loudly.
The man straightened his suit and stared down at you, "Fine then. Do it, I'll show you which ones I want."
The man's immediate words in actions took you off guard. "Wait- what? Like right now right now?!" You were quick to follow the man, but he walked fast.
"Yes right now, right now." He said not even bothering to give you a second glance.
"Well can I at least get your name?" You sounded exhausted.
As you asked this question, you were currently standing behind him, and the question itself caused the man to slow down. Since you stood behind him, you couldn't see the smirk creep on his face again.
"Edmond. Edmond Carlo." He said picking up his speed again.
Though you kept up this time and smiled, "Oh, well, I'm (Name)."
"I didn't ask," Edmond spoke coldly.
You went quiet after that. Though this quiet gave you a moment to finally process the man in front of you. His entire vibe was pure intimidation. He was tall, muscular, with dark hair. His shoulders were broad. His facial expressions seemed to hold nothing, but a resting bitch face and irritation.
Edmond walked with long strides full of confidence, making the people in front of him move. It was a bit hard to keep up, but you managed. Edmond walked with his head held high, while you walked with your gaze down at your feet. And within the little amount of time you had spent around Edmond you just now realized how self conscious he made you feel when you were around him.
The man's entire vibe screamed nothing less of confidence, and power. He seemed so young, but had his entire life together. While you were over here in your late 20s/early 30s working a stupid 9-5.
After being lost in thought for so long, you didn't even notice when Edmond stopped in front of you until you bumped into him... again.
"Watch it, woman." He spoke in a warning tone.
Just as you were about to talk back, he glared back at you. It was quick to shut you up.
As your eyes dragged away from Edmund you looked in front of you, only the relies you stood at a store's entrance. Though it wasn't just any store. It was an expensive looking store, a place where you could only dream to shop…
"Let's just get this over with…" You mumble walking into the store, not hearing the amused chuckle from Edmund behind you.
As you walked into the store you were greeted with the smell of pure wealth. You looked around and it was surrounded with designer purses, expensive jewelry, designer clothing, and things of similar taste. Dreads spilled over you at this point, you were just now realizing the reality of your situation. You would likely walk out of this place spending hundreds of dollars on a pair of fucking sunglasses for this man you didn't even know. But it was better than being jumped by Edmund's possible goons. As you glanced back you were greeted with the sight of Edmund looking at you.
"Well what are you waiting for? Go pick out the pair you want." You mutter yet again.
Edmund scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Quit muttering and mumbling so much. It'll make you seem like an even bigger loser."
You so badly wanted to retort back with a clever and snide comment, about your logic over took you when you realize that would just be even a stupider of a decision. So you remain silent leaving your disagreeing thoughts to yourself. As you followed Edmund around the store you were constantly looking at your watch. You fiddled with your fingernails impatiently and made a habit of looking at your watch, looking at Edmund, and looking back down at your fingernails to fiddle with.
And you would soon find out that this greatly annoyed Edmund. As he quickly turned to you with a frown and spoke in a low whisper, as to not make a scene, "What the hell are you doing? You're gonna drive me insane… what is so important that you have to keep looking at the time?"
You jumped slightly at his sudden stern tone, and moved your gaze to his frowning expression, "I just have a cat that I need to get home to."
Your response to Edmund was only met with yet another scoff. But he did seem to quicken his pace slightly. Soon after he picked up a pair and placed them on his face.
"These. What do you think?" He asked, turning to you.
You studied his face for a moment gathering an opinion. "To be honest, I like the other pair of you." You said pointing to the pair he has previously tried on. They were a classic wire style with golden frames.
"Really?" He asked, grabbing the golden frames and examining them, "You don't think they look tacky?"
You shook your head before speaking, "No. They fit your eye shape nicely." You complement and notice the small nod he gave you.
He put down the pair he had previously on his face, and called over an employee. The employee took the golden framed glasses and walked over to the checkout desk, with you and Edmund following close behind. You sighed and grabbed your credit card already imagining the big dent this is going to put in your bank account. As the employee rang up the glasses the grand total ended up to be 212$ (USD). Reluctantly you handed your card to the cashier, and Edmund wore a victorious and amused smirk. Oh how badly you wanted to wipe it off his face…
After the transaction was complete the cashier bagged up the glasses after putting them in their casing and handed you the bag. You took the bag and handed it to Edmund. Then made a quick exit, with a tomato red face. Though you did have your "new friend" quickly follow you out.
You then turned to him and spoke once more, "Once again I'm really sorry for breaking your glasses, but I have to leave now." You said turning away and not giving Edmund a chance to respond, to his displeasure.
But, not to worry, you two would have plenty of time within the coming future.
That night you made it home just in time for your cat's feeding, but you were really too tired to do anything else. Least to say you collapsed in your bed that night and had a good night's sleep.
~
As months pass you slowly begin to forget about the situation. Your mind began to be occupied with other more important things. Such as friends, work, family, and of course your wonderful cat. You couldn't allow yourself for that little situation to take up your entire life. Though you could not be lying to yourself, That situation did take up a good portion of your paycheck. But nothing a little overtime couldn't fix.
Throughout the next month you felt you were busier than ever. Your boss made you work later nights, and your friends wanted to hang out with you more. But you couldn't really complain, it made you happy that your life was beginning to feel full again.
Though no matter how much you worked, or how much time you spent with your friends you couldn't shake this feeling. This feeling of constantly being looked at. The feeling of constantly being watched. The feeling of no privacy. The constant feeling of being uncomfortable, and sometimes even dreadful. But every time you feel like you were being watched, and every time you looked around, there was always nothing. Nobody was ever looking at you. Nothing was out of the ordinary, everything around you looked completely normal. Were you just going crazy after all this time? All this time spent in this big city with no silence? Maybe that was the case. Or at least that's what you chopped it up to. It's the only logical thing you wanted to think about especially after things started going missing. They weren't big or expensive by any means, as a matter of fact they were small things. Maybe like an old shirt you haven't worn in months and you just completely forgot about. And the only reason you noticed it went missing is because it was the only shirt that went with your outfit that day. Or that one pen you always use to write down quick notes because it's most convenient. Or maybe it was even a flower from the bouquet that you keep by your bed. The flowers usually help brighten up the room…
You were too scared to even think of the possibility that somebody might be doing this. You really tried your best to convince yourself that you were just doing all these yourself. Maybe you just got rid of the shirt because you thought you would never wear it again. Maybe you just lost the pen among the clutter. Maybe... You just threw the flower away because I was wilting? These were the only logical things that you could come to. It's not like you could go to the police... You didn't have any proper evidence. For all they could know you could just be drugged up and so high that you've been doing all this yourself and driving yourself to paranoia.
But a small part of you knew. A part of you knew that this wasn't your own doing…. But oh well, life goes on and you have to go with it. You didn't have time to think of these things.
Though while you had been focusing on other things in your life, he hadn't even moved on. After you left him without a response in front of that store he was locked in. His infatuation with you was confirmed. He didn't know what it was about you. Maybe it was your strong want to talk back to him, but you were too submissive to actually say anything. Or maybe it was your strong want to be held responsible for your actions. He always did appreciate people that took responsibility. Or maybe it was just your doe eyes, the way they sparkled with innocence. You didn't know any other way of living, other than the middle class 9-5. And he loved that about you. He loved how you were so unaware of the thousands of other ways to live, and he loved how you picked what you were comfortable with and stayed with it.
The moment after you left his site after that situation, he called one of his men to come and pick him up. But he didn't end that call before asking his men to dig up any and everything they could find on you. And trust me... They found a bunch of stuff. It Doesn't even matter if you use social media or if you are famous or not, anybody can find out anything on anybody if they have the right resources. And lucky for him he did. And so he watched you and watched you for the coming months. And prided himself with taking little souvenirs. Like an old shirt of yours. You wouldn't know what's gone. Or that one pen you always use when in a rush, maybe you'll notice that's gone and it'll make you a bit weirded out. And a flower from your room. He needs to know your preferences.
To be honest, he didn't know what sparked his obsession. Maybe it was the fact that you gave off such a motherly vibe, unlike the one thing his own mother could provide for him. Or maybe it was just because he was lonely being at the top, and he needed a little plaything to keep him entertained. Hell he may never even know what started this; But he does no one thing. He knows he needs you.
Edmond watched you through many ways. Whether it be ordering his own men to watch you, or watch from the camera's he has placed in your apartment. It didn't matter, as long as he got to see you, and see the little scared reactions from you. Edmund had the right to scare you all he wanted. You are his after all.
~
It had been about 6 months since the feeling of being watched started. No matter what you did you can seem to shake it off, but you didn't want to tell anybody about it either. They might think you're crazy... But you would soon learn that would be your biggest mistake.
~
It was a late night on a Thursday. It was about 11:00 at night, while the streets weren't empty they weren't exactly crowded either. You usually like to take the back roads so you can get home faster. And tonight was no different.
You walked at a fast pace with your bag on your side and your coat wrapped around your body. You were aware of all of your surroundings, and we're ready to defend yourself if anybody decided to mug you. You could never be too safe in this big city. Though it was when you began to let your guard down did they strike. You were just approaching your apartment building, when a black van pulled up to the side of the road by you. You didn't even have time to process it before you were being pulled into the van with a bag placed over your head. Then everything went black and you lost consciousness.
The humming of an old light bulb woke you up. Your eyes' lids refuse to open for a few moments. It felt like dumbbells were hanging from them, they were so heavy. A little groan escaped you, as you shifted around in your uncomfortable seat. It didn't take you long for you to register that your ankles and hands were tied. Your angles were tied to the legs of the chair and your hands were behind you. The rope was rough and itchy, it hurt to even move any of your limbs. Your head pounded it felt like a bunch of jackhammers were going off inside of it. Your head swayed lazily from side to side as you tried to gather your surroundings, it was unsuccessful.
"Ah, are you awake?" You heard a family familiar voice speak.
The voice was coming from in front of you, so you lazily swayed your head in that direction.
A slurred, "huh?" was all you could muster to get out at the time.
A chuckle came from the familiar voice, "Oh, maybe they used a little too much... Well, that doesn't matter. As long as you can hear me things will be fine. Can you hear me?" The voice asked.
The voice sounded like it was echoing in your head. The room began to spin and you felt like you were gonna throw up, but still you nodded.
A deep sigh left where the voice came from as a black gloves hand placed itself onto your cheek, to keep you from swaying your head.
A click of the tongue came before the words, "My poor baby. All drugged up and no idea what to do with themselves… That's alright. I'll take care of you from now on. As long as you promise to take care of me too."
That's when the source of the voice showed itself.
It was him, Edmund. Your drugged out eyes widened as much as they could.
Edmund simply let out a light chuckle, "Surprised? Well..I would be too.. I would love to explain myself, but I can't. It is not that I don't want to. But I can't, I do not know why I took you here. I do not know why I stole your belongings. And I do not know why I have such a...desire for you. But my heart aches for yours, my love. You fascinated me the day we met… You had such an innocent air about you, I could not watch the world crumble it." He stopped speaking for a moment. Within the moment he brought his face closer to your own. He's lips grazed yours, as his lidded eyes looked deeply into your distant gaze.
Yet another amused expression would paint his perfect features. "So I watched you. And watch you. So much to the point where I know all of your habits. Now...you might be asking, how? Well.. simple. I hired my men. You see my beloved, you can escape me now that you've gotten my attention so don't even try. I have connections everywhere, It's just part of being such a big mafia boss. Though I don't mean to brag…" He said, placing his lips onto your own. Though it ended about as quick as it started He continued once again, "Don't you see (Name)...I have fallen for you. I have a need for you. I have an unsatisfiable love for you. An ever growing desire…."
Word count: 3.6k
_________________________________________
Thanks for reading!
97 notes · View notes
itsclydebitches · 4 years
Text
RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Divide”
Tumblr media
Hello, everyone, and welcome back! It feels good to be doing some normal RWBY-ing in this strange world of ours. First, some supplementary materials.
Number One: In response to any (valid) questions along the lines of, “Hey Clyde, it’s now been a full year since Volume 7 was airing and you still haven’t answered my ask about it. Or the ones about Volume 6… what’s up with that?” I’ve created what I hope is an informative video detailing the problem:
vimeo
(I assure you, the Earth, Wind & Fire was a happy accident during the screen recording.)
Needless to say, there’s a lot and I’ve known for some time now that I will LITERALLY never get through all my asks. Which doesn’t mean I don’t want you to send future thoughts in! Just know that as we head into Volume 8 territory I’ll most likely prioritize those, as well as any Volume 7 asks that aren’t woefully out of date. But I do want everyone to know that I read all the asks I receive, appreciate them immensely, and think too much about hypothetical answers, even if I don’t have time to actually write them out 💜
Number Two: There’s a bingo board this year!
Tumblr media
Jury’s out on whether I’ll remember to update it, but at the very least this serves as a decent glimpse into my — and others’ — expectations going into this volume.
Number Three: I’ve collected a list of things I’ve heard about Volume 8 from what seem to be reputable sources. I did this because RT is developing a tendency to talk up certain points and then fail to deliver, either because something was taken out of a volume/moved to another, or because RT apparently has radically different ideas about what including something means. So this might be handy to keep on file and ask ourselves two months from now, “Did RT actually deliver on what they promised?”
Emphasis on Ruby’s leadership and how Summer’s death has impacted her
Insight into Ren and Nora’s flaws
May Merigold will supposedly have a larger part
More information about The Long Memory (Ozpin’s cane)
Theme of the volume is that you can respect someone but that doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with them
Very short timeline (supposedly just two days)
Yang in particular is very suspicious and distrustful
I was also going to include a list of all the threads that need to be continued/wrapped up, but honestly that would have taken too large a chunk off my life. Let’s just throw out the highlights:
Are we really going to have Qrow gunning for Ironwood?
Clover is dead regardless. Press ‘F’ to pay respects
Oscar bb you got shot please acknowledge this
Ozpin bb you got done dirty please acknowledge this
Penny is a Maiden now. I feel like the fandom has been sleeping on this (myself included)
Queer baiting, queer baiting… you’re on thin ice at this point, RWBY. Just skate on over to the queer snack bar before you fall straight into the lake.  
Ren spill your deep dark secret already and it had better be something more than just ‘Oh no Nora might someday die :( ’
Salem is here so how the actual fuck is the cast surviving this?
Will Ironwood likewise survive his descent into antagonism? Yes or please yes no?
I think that’s all the biggies. I strive to keep lists like this in mind while analyzing, but honestly RWBY has a hundred moving parts that are abandoned or changed or simply retconned at the drop of a hat. So an attempt will be made.
Number Four (last one I promise!): Normal disclaimers and reminders for Recaps apply:
Please don’t fill up the already full inbox with flames. It’s still 2020. No one has time for that nonsense.
There will absolutely be typos and wonky parts because I try to get these out the same day an episode premieres. I have now been working on this for ten hours, nearly straight, and have no more energy for edits. Apologies in advance and RIP to my Saturdays.
I reserve the right to use stupid GIFs and memes at my discretion.
I strive to keep my focus on recapping/analyzing but salt tends to worm its way in… If you’re a die-hard RWBY fan with little patience for criticism, let alone (at times) snarky criticism, please proceed with caution.
No wait I lied, this is the last thing:
Tumblr media
Okay, got that out of my system LET’S DO THIS!
Tumblr media
We start not with the episode itself but rather Rooster Teeth’s (RT’s) strange non-promotion of it. If you follow my blog you may have caught the post where I pointed out that there was nothing on RT’s website to suggest that one of their most popular shows—if not the most popular show—was premiering today. Nothing on the main page. Nothing on the RWBY page either, not unless you count the Volume 8 poster background (easily mistaken for the Volume 7 poster) and the trailer buried all the way down past Episodes, past Merch, in the Bonus Features section along with videos like Live From Remnant and the volume intros. RT… the promotion of your feature show is not a bonus. This should be front and center! Honest to god, five minutes before the episode dropped I was checking the website for a Volume 8 section, a countdown, anything that would tell me the episode was imminent without relying on fans on tumblr to keep me in the loop. We got nada, zilch. I’m not sure whether that speaks more to RT’s iffy management of the series or simply the website’s horrible design—RIP losing RWBY on Youtube—but I was surprised when I saw the episode a few minutes after 11:00am. At that point I honestly expected to hear about a dely.
So that’s the mood I entered the premiere in, but truly? We start off strong. Things take a pretty severe nosedive later on, we’ll get to that, but I was impressed with our beginning and that probably has a lot to do with the fact that we start with our villains.
Tumblr media
We open on a Cinderella character, Cinder, and thus I’m immediately pleased that we’re getting something about her backstory after all this time. Seven years! She appeared in episode one, folks! To say we’re overdue is an understatement. There isn’t a whole lot to go on, just a younger Cinder sadly scrubbing the floor, poised under a spotlight. What we learn, or potentially learn, is based far more in cultural knowledge than this scene. We know Cinderella’s story, which includes the abusive family, the longing for more, the eventual escape, and thus we’re able to read all of that in this image, despite the image itself not telling us any of this overtly. That means we could be wrong in our interpretation, but if we’re not it’s an easy shorthand in an already packed story.
Tumblr media
What I’m really impressed with is the sound bridge between the scrubbing and her nails on the back of Neo’s chair. Fantastic way to confirm that this is Cinder as well as showcasing just how far she’s come. The sound of her labor has been replaced with the sound of her power and given that Cinder’s power is stolen, tied to a grimm arm, the property of a genocidal maniac… that’s messed up. It’s a Cinderella story gone wrong.
So yeah, Cinder tells Neo to head straight into the creepy, grimm infested blood cloud to see Salem and Neo is like, ‘Uh… no thank you?’ lol.
Tumblr media
RT does a good job this episode with her expressions, ensuring we know exactly what she’s thinking despite an unwillingness/inability to speak.
Tumblr media
Poor Neo might be in too deep, but I quite like the overall atmosphere of this opening. Say what we will about Salem’s awful characterization, at least she has style. This woman knows how to make an entrance and, piggybacking off of the Apathy, RT knows how to infuse horror elements into their fantasy. The red and purple coloring of the clouds, spiked whale teeth peeking through, bright orange in the background looking like explosions… that’s all 👌 Including the intro card.
Tumblr media
The only thing I want to gripe about is this:
Tumblr media
I’m sorry, why does the whale grimm have landing pads? Or something like it?? The whale otherwise works because it’s poised between the natural and the fantasy synthetic. It looks like a real grimm whale on the outside, but is sporting a throne room, a control panel, and other unnatural elements on the inside. It’s a visual indicator of Salem’s ability to control and change grimm. Now though, the additions are wrong, infringing on the line between organic and tech, the line between what helps the grimm individually (giving monkeys wings) and what just helps Salem. Every other aspect of the whale straddles that line wonderfully, adding to the creep factor, like a grimm version of the Uncanny Valley: it’s not quite a whale anymore… but landing pads? That looks ridiculous. Why does Salem even have that? How many ships are her people feasibly using? Why are there five?
Take it away, please.
Cinder waltzes in like this is a normal home visit, but Neo has an appropriate ‘What the actual fuck?’ face going on.
Tumblr media
They approach Salem on her throne where Cinder immediately kneels, greeting her with, “My queen.” I mentioned during my trailer breakdown that I think Cinder is lying her ass off here, and I still think that based on a line we’ll get in a minute, but now at least we have a sense of how she can pull this off. A woman who started out as a (presumed) servant is going to know how to mimic subservience, even if her heart isn’t in it. Salem is very good at playing the girl who will still kneel and scrub the floor for you. She will scrub the floor, she’ll do everything you want, she’ll just be plotting her own rise to power while she does it.
There’s quite a bit of interesting cinematography in this episode, not all of it good, and I think one of the mistakes is here when we get a closeup on Salem’s mouth as she greets Cinder. A closeup like that should be reserved for more significant dialogue—“Rosebud”—and yet we get this shot again when Cinder tells Emerald to be quiet. It’s awkward and coupled with the numerous eye closeups we got in the trailer, I think RT is playing a little fast and loose with the camera. Each shot should add something to the scene, not distract from it. If you don’t have a reason for including a technique like that then leave it be.
Back to the actual dialogue though. We knew that Salem knew Cinder was alive and now it seems that she just expected her to come back? I’m slightly lost. It feels like we’re missing something here. Cinder goes off to secure the lamp, fails, nearly dies, wanders on her own for months, and then randomly shows back up on Salem’s whale doorstep, yet Salem isn’t angry at all? Did she have faith that Cinder would return when she has something to offer? Did she just not care about Cinder, considering her return an unnecessary but otherwise welcome surprise? That would make the least sense given that she holds the key to accessing Beacon’s relic… but that circles right back around to why Salem is seemingly indifferent to Cinder’s comings and goings. Surely she can’t actually believe that Cinder is loyal?
“So I trust you wouldn’t return to me empty handed,” she says. Yeah, trust means nothing in this show, Salem, didn’t you watch Volumes 6 and 7? Again, I simply don’t know. I suppose I’ll just chalk it up to confidence, that if Cinder did bail Salem knew she could track her down again. Deciphering her motivations and beliefs is a lost cause when the show continually gives us so little.
The important thing now is that Cinder does indeed have an offering and you can see that Salem is somewhat surprised at being handed the relic.
Tumblr media
Cinder, of course, takes credit for the victory and we’re given another wonderful shot of Neo. ‘YOU took it?’
Tumblr media
Oh, Neo. Best get out while you still can.
Tyrian appears having obviously made his way to Salem’s ship sometime between her arrival and now. The exchange is pretty standard for this group. He insults Cinder for failing and needing this victory to make amends, talks about how any win against Ironwood says more about his lack of intelligence than her skill, and Cinder… doesn’t have a whole lot of comebacks, actually. I’d say Tyrian won that verbal spar, enhanced by a better use of the camera when we get his tail looming menacingly towards Cinder and Neo.
Tumblr media
He goes on to say that Watts was a “necessary sacrifice” so, uh… I’m just going to toss out the ask I answered yesterday. Based on our intro I’d say Watts is still significant to the volume—hacking Penny is my guess—but by the end? He could be in trouble.
(As a side note: I plan to analyze the intro next week. It’s just easier when it comes first.)
Tyrian also calls Neo “little one” which I just found absolutely hilarious. In an on brand creepy manner, that is. Not that Neo couldn’t kick his ass, but there’s something wonderfully chilling about having the serial killer use an endearment towards a potential victim, one that comments on her size while he’s looming.
In contrast, Cinder refers to Neo as a “valuable asset” and we get our third mood of the episode.
Tumblr media
Who’s going to start a Neo reaction image collection?
It’s true enough on the surface—who wouldn’t want an ally who can turn into anyone else?—but we’re still bumping up against question of why Salem needs this. She’s immortal! She has an endless army! Magic! This scene works well with a villain who needs a skillset like Neo’s to succeed, but Salem doesn’t. RT is doing a great job writing a story thus far, just not the story we’ve previously been given. This isn’t the story they set up.
This will come back up when we reach the RWBYJNOR group. Just wait.
Before that though, the gang’s all here as Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel show up, all in new outfits.
Tumblr media
I think I like everything except for the weird Xs on Emerald’s jacket—it’s way too distracting and frankly makes an otherwise good look ugly—and the fact that she’s showing her midriff in Atlas. Hazel doesn’t have any sleeves! Oh my god, why doesn’t anyone dress for the weather in this show?
Frankly, I found their reunion to be kind of lackluster. I mean, there was nothing wrong with it. Emerald does sound briefly excited, she does run, and it’s in character for Cinder to cut her off… it just didn’t resonate with me emotionally. I thought after two volumes of thinking she’s dead, then working through the knowledge that she’s alive, that I would feel Emerald’s shock and relief more, but I didn’t. And I’m not entirely sure why. I don’t want to level any accusations at the voice acting because frankly I know next to nothing about that skill (and from what I’ve seen it’s usually praised in the fandom), but I will say that throughout the premiere I was noticing it more than I ever have before. The lack of emotion here and some awkward deliveries later, like when Yang goes, “Ruby, there is no way Ironwood will cooperate with us” and I immediately thought, “Wow, that came out stilted.” These observations stick with me because, as said, voice acting usually isn’t on my radar. It’s not something I’ve studied or had practice analyzing. If you’d never told me that Ren or Qrow’s VA changed then after a year hiatus I literally wouldn’t notice… but there’s something about this episode that didn’t sit right. Anyone else get that sense, or was it just me?
Regardless, the arrival of our other three villains really doesn’t amount to much, though I’m happy for all the Emerald and Mercury fans who get to see them in new outfits. The focus is still on Cinder as she delivers a line indicative of her true motivations: “That power will be mine.” Yeah, she’s not loyal to Salem, she’s just power hungry. Of course, Salem immediately takes note of this and raises her hand, in another nice use of the foreground, reminding her that she hasn’t given that order.
Tumblr media
Cinder is shocked, angry even, but quickly covers it up with her “Without you I am nothing” line. If I caught it right I think she also calls Salem “Ma’am”? Hilarious. Again, skilled at playing the servant.
Also, before I forget, it’s worth noting that almost everything from our trailer appeared in this episode. Yeah, there are a few details like Nora attacking some tech and the group on their bikes, but on the whole we’ve already seen the majority of our promo material and will likely get most of the rest next week. It makes me both interested and nervous for what another twelve episodes are going to hold.
Salem opens her whale, or opens a portal type view in it, something that gives us a long-distance look at Atlas. I don’t know what exactly is going on here, but it’s pretty so I’ll take it.
Tumblr media
She also delivers the frankly badass line, “Just because you’re more valuable to me than a pawn does not make you a player.”
Tumblr media
She waves them all away with perfect ‘You mean nothing to me’ attitude and we sadly leave our villains.
Tumblr media
Sad not because I don’t love my farm boy, but because things are about to get a whole lot messier.
Oscar has made his way to a camp of civilian survivors… all of whom are just hanging out in the supposedly deadly cold. Yeah, there’s a single fire, but at least four of them aren’t anywhere near it. Three of them also aren’t wearing gloves. What was that survival rate again?
Tumblr media
A nice if gruff dude gives Oscar soup—water?—while showing off his… badger claws? I don’t know what kind of faunus he’s supposed to be, but he feels like the sort of two second, minor character who could easily become a meme lol.
Oscar thanks him (my polite son!) and hands the bowl back after a single sip. Which is impressive because I would have assumed the guy was giving me the whole bowl and just taken it. Hell, I’ve done that even when I didn’t assume it’s all for me. A Starbucks barista once approached me with a tray and a plate of samples, I knew I was supposed to take just one, yet for some reason my hand went to take the whole goddamn plate. He had to tell me off, then I was trying to explain that I didn’t actually want or think I should have eight shots of cappuccino all to myself, I don’t even like coffee, he clearly didn’t believe me… it was awkward. So good job, Oscar. You’re less awkward than me (though that’s not saying much).
Tumblr media
Now a question, Oscar. Darling. Brilliant boy who has been through too much: why the fuck aren’t you talking to Ozpin? This will be A Thing later when he presents a lack of time to talk as justification for keeping more secrets (we’ll get to that too…) yet here is time! You’re just sitting there for who knows how long, with plenty of privacy to hide a supposedly one-sided conversation so the Mantle citizens don’t get weirded out or suspicious. Talk to Ozpin. Our headmaster gets two lines in this episode, utterly inconsequential lines like his airship scene, lines that feel like they exist to say, “See? He’s still included in the story!” even though he absolutely is not. Two volumes of mostly silence, a perfect setup to start the reconciliation process, but we’re going to put it off again?
Tumblr media
Instead Ruby randomly and conveniently appears. I want to know how she found him. Oscar isn’t wearing a tracker. He clearly didn’t call them because he’s surprised when Ruby shows up. He fell alllllllll the way back down to Mantle and then wandered to a random part of the slums. You’re telling me they flew over the entire city—after beginning this search thinking he was in Atlas—and somehow managed to spot him from up in the air? C’mon. I would have rather had a beginning where Oscar makes his way back to the group himself, giving him and Ozpin time to hash things out.
“Need a lift?” Ruby says, eliminating that potential. Sigh.
Tumblr media
Oscar immediately starts beating himself up when he gets onboard, saying that he “was stupid to think the General would listen.” Nah, you were stupid to buy into Ruby’s nonsensical confidence and for telling Ironwood he’s as bad as Salem. Sorry, Oscar, but everyone is written badly these days. I will, however, say that I am THRILLED at the group’s reaction to his return. Ruby says that she’s “just glad you’re alright.” Nora has a wonderfully tender moment where she hugs him gently rather than her usual glomp.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
That? That added a year to my life. Everyone else seems relieved that he’s okay too, so kudos there. After four years of Oscar being an outsider in the group, this is one of the few moments that feel like he’s 100% accepted. Really glad to see it.
Now let’s see if it sticks after they learn Ozpin is back...
They fly to the Happy Huntresses’ base and I again feel like I’ve missed something crucial. When did they team up? I mean, RWBYJNOR was working directly under Ironwood up until the last hour and Robyn ran off to fight Tyrian/Clover in the last couple episodes. When did she have time to explain her (briefly) changed allegiance and why would the Happy Huntresses trust the group without that? Did Robyn share that Blake and Yang went behind Ironwood’s back for her? Do the Huntresses instinctively trust them because they’re now wanted by the military? How did they even run into each other?
Again, I think we would have been better served to have an episode before all this. Let Oscar make his way back and let the group struggle with the magnitude of their situation on the airship, before they find new allies. Transferring directly to, “They have help and a secret base and a plan in the works!” makes me feel like I missed the real premiere last week. You know, the one where Salem unexpectedly arrived and we left the group like this.
This is where we’ve ended up though. The group is cozy in this hideout, getting info from Joanna, and my only other thought is, “Why is she giving all this exposition?”  
Tumblr media
Shouldn’t it be May? I mean, we were told that she was going to play more of a role this volume, a promise that’s pretty important imo given her status as a (so far off screen) trans character, so why not put her in the role of mediator between the Happy Huntresses and RWBYJNR? Giving her that setup as a leader among her people as well as lots of lines would be meaningful. A trans character just existing and being a part of this fight! May could obviously still fill that role—I’m well aware that we’re only one episode in—but it just seems like a missed opportunity to me. Out of all the undeveloped Happy Huntresses, our premiere focuses on the one who has the least importance to the fandom.
As said, Joanna talks a fair bit but what it basically boils down to is trying to get everyone to the crater below Atlas. It’s apparently not safe, but it’s warm, which is what matters right now.
So… let me get this straight. You want to gather everyone into a not safe crater, by leading them through an army of grimm, so that they can wait there in case someone moves the Staff, thus dropping an entire city on top of their heads? That’s the plan? Which admittedly isn’t Joanna’s fault. This is another instance of RWBYJNOR having information that a leader does not and they should really consider speaking up about it. But of course they don’t.
Also, how long does everyone have in regards to the cold? Shouldn’t there be dead civilians by now? The time it would take to find the Happy Huntresses, team up with them, get settled in the base, and find Oscar says that things should be pretty grim right now (pardon the pun), yet every non-aura user in this city seems content to just hang out in the snow. Either the cold is deadly enough to justify moving everyone to the crater, or it’s mild enough to let everyone survive this long, not both.
After hugs are given everyone obviously wants to know what happened to Oscar. His response?
“It’s a… long story. I get the feeling there’s been a few of those tonight.”
That’s a check for the bingo card! We’re halfway through the first episode and we’ve already got another secret. Yes, this is a secret. Oscar actively chooses not to tell anyone that Ozpin is back—something Ozpin himself comments on—and then skillfully draws attention away from himself with “I get the feeling there’s been a few of those tonight.” Indeed, all eyes go to Penny. Oscar’s plight is forgotten, which is what he wanted. His justification?
Ozpin: “You’re not going to tell them?”
Oscar: “You and I aren’t done talking yet.”
Along with this look.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Oscar no. There’s so much wrong with this I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s create a list.
As said, you had plenty of time to talk to Ozpin and chose not to. Miss me with this excuse.
You are now doing to your friends exactly what you and your friends did to Ironwood, which in turn is what Ozpin did to you! I can’t believe we’ve got Oscar critically side-eyeing him when they are still—still—repeating the behavior they drove Ozpin away for.
What is there to even talk about now? Oscar didn’t punch himself/Ozpin (lol) but he did steal Jinn’s name from Ozpin in the first place. You got what you wanted, drove him away, and have been lying and keeping secrets ever since. The only thing they should be talking about involves apologizing. Any further criticism—which is what Oscar’s expression and curt reply suggests—is beyond hypocritical.
Seriously, what needs to be discussed? There’s no reason not to tell the group unless Oscar wants to talk about whether they should tell them. There’s no good ending here...
Don’t you think it would be nice to know that Ozpin is back and you’ve got super magic powers while making plans to save the entire world?
This is all especially stupid given Oscar’s “Salem wants to divide us” reminder to Ruby in a moment. Oscar, you are doing the most to divide the group right now. By not forgiving Ozpin. By refusing to work with him. By keeping him secret from everyone else.
This is bad, friends, I worry for what the rest of the volume will bring…
The story is done with Ozpin for now so I guess I will be too. The group continues filling Oscar in and we get some shots of the base, including a rather prominent poster of what I assume are two Happy Huntresses. Did they die in battle perhaps?
Tumblr media
It’s a little strange.
Oscar: “Where’s Qrow?”
Me: “Likely still making bad decisions.”
No one knows so they just drop it. Which I kind of get, only so much you can do to find him if he’s not out on the streets like Oscar, but it still reads as kind of iffy that two nieces look down at the ground for a hot second and then move on with their plans, content to leave Qrow to whatever fate befell him. In a minute we’ll see Yang firmly take Ren’s side regarding helping the people they can in Mantle, which frankly comes out of nowhere for her. I think an easy motivation would have been Qrow. Ruby wants to save the world, Yang wants to find and save their uncle, and that just happens to align with Ren’s desire to save the civilians who need immediate grimm and cold help. Don’t get me wrong, I like that there’s finally some division between the sisters, I just wish it hadn’t come about so abruptly. Ren had setup for standing up to Ruby. Yang did not.
But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Joanna lists the grimm horde and no heat as the major threats to everyone. The group agrees.
Me: What about Salem?
Joanna says that this is all doubly dangerous because there’s “no more military protection.”
Me: Oh, so now you want the military?
This is all so disjointed. Even more-so when Joanna mentions that Ironwood has stopped all evacuations to Atlas, likely due to the “hard light shields” that are the only thing standing between Salem and the city. Thing is, the show never makes this connection, I just did it myself based on this scene and the one that comes later. The show presents Joanna’s line as a pure condemnation. Ironwood won’t let more evacuees in because… he’s just evil, I guess. Yet there is a justification here, namely that continuing the evacuations even while he’s stuck without Penny leaves him wide open to a Salem attack, the death of everyone currently safe, but that argument is never presented to the viewer. I don’t need people to agree with Ironwood’s perspective, I just wish that perspective was offered as an option. The show is very good about acting like RWBYJNOR’s opinion is the only justified opinion, or simply the only opinion at all.
After everything is laid out Weiss goes, “We’re never going to sleep again, I just know it.”
Tumblr media
I could make a crack about the lack of continuity and how the group should be collapsing right now… but that was a funny line. It can stay.
What is far more of a problem is the fact that no one is talking about Salem. Okay, that’s a lie. They do talk about her, but in a roundabout way like her presence isn’t impacting every decision they make. That’s the real issue. They’re acting as if Salem isn’t here right now, like she’s off far away, maybe approaching slowly, and they’re arguing over how best to prep the world for her eventual attack. There’s no emotion here—let alone action—to reflect that the series’ Big Bad has arrived and is poised to murder them all. Literally what is this? Ruby is yelling about warning the world and, ignoring the continued question of why that’s a good thing when the world can do nothing to stop Salem and knowledge of her continually drives people to horrible acts, she has yet to acknowledge that… she’s the world? Ruby is the world in this conflict. She, Mantle, and Atlas. Salem is here for you all. Right now. You are, this instant, in the situation you want to warn others about, so why don’t you try to do something about it? Or at least acknowledge it. Ruby wants to warn the neighborhood about a potential fire while her house is actively ablaze, and the fire could have totally killed her by now but decided not to for… reasons.
“Ruby’s right,” Nora says. They have to tell the world so “they can prepare.” How? How are they supposed to prepare for this? The story cannot continue ignoring Salem’s immortality.
“Ruby’s right,” is all Blake says and I’m starting to thinks that’s why her character exists now, to agree with Ruby. It’s great that she’s getting a little distance from Yang, but man.
As Ruby asks whether Pietro can get Amity up and running despite it not being finished (called it) we start an incredibly odd sequence of flashforwards to their individual missions. I’ve seen a lot of praise for this already and though I agree that, in theory, it’s a good way to save time, I found the actual execution to be jarring. Upon thinking back through our timeline, it became clear they were flashforwards, but while watching I thought they might be flashbacks (especially since that’s more common).
Tumblr media
Some of the shots, like Nora’s, just look awkward when you’ve got the exact expression and pose transplanted from one scene to another, like she’s a cardboard cutout behind a green screen. To say nothing of how the flashforwards ruin any suspense (I use that word loosely) in the conversation itself. If the question is, “Will they decide to go to the military compound?” then that question is answered when we see Ruby scoping out the compound, not when the group actually decides on the course of action.
Tumblr media
It just made an already muddled scene worse for me, so I hope this trend doesn’t continue.
And of course, Amity can be used despite all the info last volume claiming that it wasn’t finished. Pietro suddenly acts like it is finished and the only thing standing in their way is Ironwood providing access. If that were the case, he would have used Amity weeks or days ago like he wanted to! When was it finished? Not after Watts commented on how incomplete it was. When did they get back the resources they needed from Robyn? It’s as ridiculous and retcon-y as I thought it would be.
Yang points out that Ironwood will never listen to them and Ruby counters that “he doesn’t have to.” They’ll just take the access from him. Because why wouldn’t they in a series where they’ve already stolen two airships? Stealing from the super evil military that Joanna wishes were helping them right now is just the group’s go-to plan nowadays.
Pietro isn’t sold on this plan though. He lists at least three obstacles they’d need to get through “and then… oh boy, I might need to think about this some more.” “And just to clarify,” Oscar says, “This is the easy option?” Um...no it’s not? We also know there’s an access point in Ironwood’s office so… why not go there instead? They really think the Academy is less guarded than the military base? There’s a potential justification here along the lines of, “After Neo and Cinder broke into his office Ironwood will have the place on high alert,” but unless I missed it the group doesn’t assume anything like that. They just listen to Pietro point out all the ways they can’t get into the military base and jump straight to that being the best option. It feels like a transparent way to create conflict for the group. We’ll just have them taking the most dangerous route despite an easy route being offered alongside it. Why bother mentioning his office at all? Just have the access in the military base. Boom, done.
It’s that conflict and the fact that Ruby tends to hear “You can’t” and digs in her heels. You can’t go to Atlas. I’ll just steal a ship then. You can’t defeat Salem. Watch me. You can’t break into this base. Guess what I’m doing! She’s dangerous in her fairy tale, meta-driven insistence that everything will turn out her way because she wants it to.
Speaking of, we finally—FINALLY—get someone challenging Ruby. Sort of. Not actually but it’s the closest we’ve ever gotten:
Yang: “Ruby, when we came here we said we’d follow your lead… but things haven’t exactly worked out.”
Now, there are two things to take away from this moment. The first is how utterly shocked Ruby and the others are. I mean, take a look at these expressions.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Ruby straight up can’t believe what she’s hearing. Weiss put her hand to her mouth like this is the most dramatic thing to ever happen to her. Oscar looks down in a ‘Yeah, I agree but please don’t look at me and make me admit that’ way. And Nora looks indifferent in the screenshot but animated she goes sort of stern, likely pissed that Yang would dare say that given her own agreement with Ruby. This not only reiterates that Yang’s challenge came out of nowhere—seriously, how did we move from following Ruby no matter what to this? Last volume she asked a single question along the lines of, ‘You sure?’ and when Ruby said ‘Yes’ Yang was entirely on board—but also demonstrates that no one has EVER said no to her before. Ruby is amazed that someone would challenge her. The act of challenging Ruby is, in and of itself, shocking. This group has gotten so used to following Ruby blindly that the teensiest little pushback is greeted with this.
Tumblr media
Because it is teensy. This is the second takeaway: Yang barely challenges her and that challenge leads nowhere. She doesn’t accuse Ruby of anything, she doesn’t question her continued authority, she just broadly implies that things could be better. We followed you, now things are bad, take from that what you will. It’s incredibly mild as far as criticism goes, making the shock all the more, well, shocking, but it also amounts to—wait for it—nothing! Because Yang didn’t truly challenge Ruby’s leadership. She’s still in charge, she’s still calling the shots, and they’re still listening to her. We might have gotten some change if this division had been allowed to play out, but instead Jaune comes in with a, “Let’s go for both!” solution. It let’s both groups get what they want which, in turn, releases them from the need to grapple with whether they’ll listen to Ruby when she’s advocating for something they don’t agree with. We have now lost the chance to see whether, when push comes to shove, Ren and Yang will cave to Ruby’s will or stick by their own beliefs.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s more conflict than we’ve gotten in years, but that doesn’t mean it’s particularly compelling conflict. It’s good by RWBY’s standards, which doesn’t necessarily make it good. The actual issues at hand—Ruby’s dangerous arrogance, the group’s loyalty, her choices up until now—are just swept under the rug. For all the visuals we get insisting that there’s this great divide in the group… there’s really not. Not in any way that matters.
Tumblr media
Also, Ruby is an idiot. Okay, that was mean, but she really is in this scene. She’s actually not an idiot overall because she was written as wonderfully intelligent in the early volumes, but now? Lately? She makes me want to bang my head against a wall.
“But that’s how Salem got this far,” she cries. “By dividing us!”
Ruby… oh my god, Ruby. No one should have to explain to you that dividing people means turning them against each other, not literally dividing your team to complete separate tasks. This girl honestly thought that because there was this teensy disagreement and that half the team would complete Plan A while she and the other half completed Plan B, both of which notably work towards the goal of, “Protect people from Salem,” that this was somehow what Salem wanted. That is was dangerous. Honestly, it’s a scary look at her view of leadership too: If everyone doesn’t 100% agree with me and do what I say, that’s an objectively bad thing that the grimm queen wants, right? Does Ruby think that unification means following a single person (her) without question or variation? That would explain a lot...
The fact that Oscar needs to explain the difference to her is not good. It really doesn’t say great things about this version of Ruby. Though he was comparing Ironwood to Salem last volume, so really they should all be wearing dunce hats.
Tumblr media
Penny offers to take the relic directly to Salem in exchange for her leaving the kingdom alone. I honestly didn’t expect that. If anyone took that risk I would have put my money on Ozpin (but of course, during all this talk of the women he knows best, he’s kept quiet). Oscar is again the voice of wisdom, pointing out that they have no reassurance that Salem will keep her word. At least Penny is thinking about Salem as a threat though, so kudos for that. When this plan is shot down she volunteers to get Ruby past the military security instead and, uh, she’s a little intense about it.
Tumblr media
I’m not entirely sure what is going on with Penny. She disagreed with Winter but then seemed to come around to her point of view, enough to help anyway. They had another (stupid) disagreement about the value of individual lives, so that helps to explain why she’s teaming up with RWBYJNOR (if you ignore that Ironwood is also trying to save individual lives...). Did watching Fria die shake her up? Is it being the Winter Maiden that’s not sitting right? Does Penny have lingering feelings about the framing that haven’t shown up until now? Her status as a ‘real girl’? We’ve got a lot of reasons that could definitely explain this sudden need to fight, but we’re not told which—if any of these—is the driving force.  
We’re then given a lot of little details. Someone points out that if Salem gets the staff and “create[s] anything else” then Atlas will fall (so yeah, let’s move the people underneath it). We still don’t know what exactly the Staff does because “creation” is kind of broad and “powering a city to float” doesn’t seem to sit within that category at all. Pietro gives Yang the keys to his lab so they can get the bikes. We see the group dividing in the flashforwards, something I do like, especially since the show has gone out of its way to break up most of the usual duos. Nora in particular is pissed at Ren for his choice.
“Oh, I’m saving Mantle because I actually believe we can do this.”
#yikes. Well, I did say I wanted a conflict other than ‘Oh no, one of us might die’ and it looks like I got it. But Nora, the only reason you can do this is because the plot is in your corner: none of you are collapsing from two major fights, you didn’t lose your aura so the cold isn’t a danger, the military is barely a threat all of a sudden, Salem is helpfully hanging out in her whale instead of killing you, and the story decided that Amity can function so long as you all are the ones who get to use it. That’s why you can do this. Ren, who follows in-world logic and doesn’t want to risk a whole kingdom’s worth of lives on a pipe dream, thinks differently, oddly enough.
Tumblr media
As they leave though Penny gets a call from Ironwood. I know precisely what the fandom is going to say here: “This evil man is just trying to use Penny to open the vault!” Of course he is. He needs it open to save everyone he can, Penny included. Plus the concept of “using” her is a double-edged sword. What do we think the group is doing right now? Using her to get past the security. Penny’s power is a tool any way you slice it. Granted, Penny volunteers to help the group, but notably here Ruby speaks for her. Penny seems torn and Ruby takes the scroll away with, “She’s not going anywhere until you change your mind about Mantle.”
Tumblr media
Sorry, Ruby, but coming from you that sounds less like a reassurance for Penny and more like just an order for Ironwood. Remember Harriet? We’ll stop attacking you provided you do what we want. Ruby has yet to learn about compromises, let alone acknowledge that she might be wrong. How about you let Penny decide where she goes, especially since by all logic she should have a lot of loyalty to Ironwood. She knew him before she ever met you. She’s worked with him since she was rebuild post-Volume 3. Despite what Penny has said, if the story would just let her think about his actions for a hot second—making her the protector of Mantle, sticking up for her after the framing, sending her to the party, teaming her up with Ruby, etc.—she might realize that the ‘He doesn’t want me to have friends’ and ‘He just treats me like a tool’ assumptions are just that, unfounded assumptions. But no, Ruby speaks for them both because Ironwood is evil now.
“If she makes it through our defenses,” Ironwood says, “everything that follows will be on your hands.”
That’s true! Kind of like how it’s own Qrow’s hands that Clover died. When you insist on making a bad situation worse you hold responsibility when the shit hits the fan. You know though that Salem won’t get through their defenses now, somehow, so that there’s no chance RWBYJNOR will be blamed for it. Or, by that point Ironwood will be so crazed that anything coming out of his mouth is dismissed, no matter how accurate it might be.
We then transfer to the Ace Ops who are, despite what the fandom theorized for many months, clearly upset about Clover. Also pissed. Which they have every right to be. Their friend and leader was killed. Imagine for a moment that Ruby had been murdered by Tyrian with an allies’ help. Exactly what do you think the group would do? Swallow it quietly and get over it? Ha.
Tumblr media
I’ve already seen some speculation that Clover survived due to details like showing us the bandage and his room being listed as for a “Patient,” but he looks pretty dead to me.
Tumblr media
He got gutted through the chest and left out in the snow for who knows how long. We saw him slip away. Qrow screamed over his dead body. He’s not breathing now. If RWBY suddenly claims he survived this, I’m calling BS.
Most of the other visuals we get here were already dropped in the trailer. Winter is pretty injured from her encounter with Cinder, likely permanently based on her new outfit. Ironwood had to replace his arm—and I am calling BS on that “Losing his arm is reflective of him losing his humanity” commentary from RT. Please go read up on a couple decades worth of ableism in media and then get back to me.
We get Ironwood’s line about the light shields and, notably, a whole lot of empathy. Regardless of what he might want Penny for, he still called her with compassion. He’s watching the Ace Ops mourn their friend. He’s talking about protecting his kingdom. The first thing he says to Winter is, “Thank you, Winter. I don’t know what I would do without you.” Ironwood has a heart! It’s always on display, which makes this scene utterly ridiculous.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I literally don’t know how to respond to this. The gunshot made me jump, both because it’s a gunshot and because, again, what the fuck? I know I said that next volume RT might just have Ironwood descend into full villainy, shooting whoever he pleases now that he’s shot Oscar, but I didn’t actually expect them to do it. Because he never should have shot Oscar in the first place! I wanted the story to let Oscar grapple with it a bit and then quietly backtrack, acknowledging it as the mistake it was. The concept that Ironwood, empathetic Ironwood, rational Ironwood, always thinks before he acts Ironwood, let’s kids yell at him Ironwood, tried to team up with Robyn Ironwood, did everything Ruby wanted Ironwood, won’t kill Watts after he destroyed his arm Ironwood would shoot this guy just to shut him up is absurd. It was absurd then, it’s absurd now.
That being said, there’s a possibility he didn’t actually shoot the council member, but rather just (“just”) gave a warning shot down the hallway. I say this because the reactions to this are pretty tame. Everyone looks startled, yeah, but after the initial shot there’s nothing that I would expect if there was now a guy bleeding out on the floor. The council woman doesn’t scream. Winter doesn’t seem overly shocked. No one is running to try and help him. Basically, if Ironwood had just killed a political figure in front of six witnesses, entirely unprovoked, I would expect a bit more of a reaction than this. This feels far more like a, “Damn he’s not joking around, letting off warning shots to get people to leave him alone” not “WOW, our general just killed someone in cold blood!”
What I really hate though—beyond just assassinating his character—is how many fans think my friends and I are delusional for calling it character assassination at all. I hopped onto the RWBY tag for five minutes this morning and was bombarded with posts about how Ironwood needs to be murdered horrifically, anyone who likes him is sick, the Ironwood stans are as bad as Adam stans, you’re an idiot if you want him redeemed… because apparently the concept of a story writing a character badly doesn’t compute. I’m not here to argue that Ironwood didn’t do these awful things (regardless of whether he actually killed the guy or not). I’m not here to argue that they’re not awful. I’m just here to say that we never should have gotten these scenes in the first place, or if we were going to get them, we deserved an actual descent into murder at the drop of a hat territory. I’ve already explained extensively on this blog how early Ironwood was not accurate foreshadowing for this, and Volume 7 certainly wasn’t setup, but it looks like the majority of fans aren’t interested in examining whether any of this adds up. Which makes my job, as someone trying to examine this series somewhat objectively—in as much as that’s possible for any single viewer—as well as simply enjoy it as a show, really hard. It’s bad enough when a story keeps taking the characters you love and villainizing them, and doing that badly, but then when you turn to the community and see them rallying around the idea that you’re awful for being dissatisfied—you’re the bootlicker, you’re the blind stan, you can’t see what’s ‘really’ going on here… that sucks. For those of you happy and satisfied with Ironwood’s arc, that’s great! I’ve also seen a lot of posts hyping up the complexity of his character now. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying what we’ve been given and I’d never want to imply that just because it’s not what I wanted it’s somehow wrong. I’m honestly thrilled that after a year of worry so many people have adored our premiere, including this scene. I just wish that I could say RWBY had given me something I didn’t want in a persuasive manner and that the fandom as a whole was a bit more welcoming of differing criticisms.
Not that I didn’t already know the RWBY fandom had its flaws, but still lol.
That’s basically it for our premiere. Nice note to end on, huh? Our final scene is of Salem using the lamp to set her bloodhound grimm on the city. Why doesn’t she just go herself? What was she planning to do here in Atlas in the first place, considering that getting the relic was a surprise? Who knows. Little about this holds together. But we do end with another awesome shot, so small favors.
Tumblr media
It’s always strange concluding a recap, but even more-so when it’s a premiere, during a historical moment in the U.S., amidst all the nonsense that is 2020. So for now I’ll just conclude with three quick things:
The updated bingo board will be listed at the end of each recap, provided I don’t forget about it lol. Today I’m checking off tone (not nearly enough freaking out about Salem), the team keeping secrets (Oscar), and major plot point dropped (Amity is suddenly finished). I could also probably check off the cold not killing civilians and getting Amity up and running, but we’ll see if any changes with those.
I’m including my Ko-Fi link at the end of recaps now. Not with any expectations. Not with anything resembling pressure. I thought long and hard over whether to include it at all—let alone mention it here—because I love doing these and never want anyone to feel like it comes with strings attached. But life is a little harder and weirder than it was last year, so I figure it can’t hurt. Feel free to pass on by and I won’t be bringing it up past this note.
Far more importantly: thank you for reading! :D
(Bonus 4. Editing this was an absolute nightmare — damn you, tumblr!  — so I apologize if anything is super wonky when I finally post.)
Tumblr media
See you next week! 💜
[Ko-Fi]
106 notes · View notes
rickriordanfandam · 4 years
Text
opinions on riordanverse ; my edition
a lot of people have been doing this so i decided why not right. probably gna lose some followers or smth but anyways. pls respect my opinions! if u disagree, thats fine, but please be polite. unless any of my opinions strikes u as morally wrong then pls point it out to me respectfully. thanks!
- i actually liked drew. im so sorry to everyone who hates her but full offence, why. think about it this way ok, first of all drew became hc because silena died. silena was the traitor, the one who betrayed chb, yet after she died campers celebrated her as a hero? and then drew suddenly has to replace her and live up to idk that legacy she left behind,, when all of a sudden this girl named piper swoops in and takes her place. idk abt u but i wld be salty abt that too. not only that, but as an asian, the chances of drew having faced racism/bullying as a child is pretty high (she studies at brooklyn academy). which means that when she finds out shes a demigod, and arrives at chb where most of the campers are white (this is an assumption btw), she’d obviously be scared of being bullied for her skin color right?? so the first thing she wld do before the campers get to bully her is to bully them before they can do so. (sentence structure here is wack i apologize) ofc this might not even have happened, drew could have had a perfect childhood && was a b1tch for no reason, BUT EVEN THEN HER ROLE AS A BULLY WAS PRETTY VITAL BECAUSE THAT FURTHER SHOWED THE CONTRAST BETWEEN HER AND PIPER,, HIGHLIGHTING PIPER AS A HERO//GOOD CHARACTER,, AND THEREFORE MAKING READERS LIKE PIPER MORE. anyway stop hating on drew please. ALSO WHY IS THIS SO LONGA SDFJHG
- jason isnt bland, the fandom just kinda erased his backstory (thanks to @pjohoo-memes for the phrasing lol)
- reynabeth wouldnt have lasted/would have broken up several times. idk i just see them as two extremely powerful characters who have firm opinions and will definitely clash at some point. in a platonic relationship,, i can see them as really good friends but as lovers? idk i just think theyll break up
- PIPABETH
- i dont really like jercy,, i see them as better friends than lovers. also idt jason and percy were that close..?
- the dam and not my type jokes are srsly cringey and were never funny. ik that seems hypocritical since my username literally makes use of the dam joke but honestly i dont actually like the joke. its not funny to me and has never been funny
- the seven were not best friends. they definitely argued,, and honestly probably werent as close as the fandom makes them seem. like ure dumped with 6 other people, out of which u only know a few. my introverted ass would have jumped off the argo 2 quicker than leo valdez could bomb camp jupiter up. also leo was a dick to frank. so what if frank is bigger sized?? thats not a valid reason to tease him
- the fandom needs to stop hating on octavian while worshipping luke. if u hate luke and u say u hate octavian too, then okay. but if u tell me ure a luke stan but u despise octavian?? imma disagree w u. luke was worse than octavian im sorry. first of all, octavian being a dick was kinda justified. hes been after the praetor position for so long, and everyone keeps saying to “wait for jason” when suddenly this dude, whos a son of NEPTUNE (neptune wasnt liked much by romans), and the camp decides to make him praetor?? dude i would be pissed off big time. and then afterwards, he finds out that greek demigods are real and the dude they made praetor is greek. AND THEN GREEK DEMIGODS COME TO CJ AND ONE OF THEM BOMB IT UP?? octavian has been told all his life that greeks are scum and this dude called leo valdez attacks cj. sure it was an accident, but did octavian know that? no. so it was honestly justified that he was such a salty prick im just saying. also some of yall be hating on octavian for cutting a teddy bear open and thats the funniest shit ive ever heard i swear 
- luke didnt go to elysium
- travis and connor stoll r way too underrated. the two have been head counselors of the hermes cabin since luke was revealed as a traitor, can u imagine the stress? luke, the person they probably looked up to as a brother, betrayed them. and they didnt even have time to process this when they were  thrown the roles of being hcs. that would have been so stressful and i would probably have broken down if i were them. the stoll brothers taking turns to wake up at ungodly hours because a new camper is crying and homesick and terrified, the stoll brothers having to comfort and take care of new campers, having to deal with the amount of people in that cramped space because not enough campers are being claimed fast enough. having to resolve issues between campers in the hermes cabin all the time. the stolls arent just comedic relief, and we need to stop treating them as such
- tratie shldve been canon idc idc
- demigods of the demeter cabin arent talked about enough and i love the fact that meg was demeters kid. like she isnt the child of one of the big three yet shes so powerful.
- we need to hype clarisse up more her character arc was phucking amazing 
- rachel is overhated. sis found out greek gods exist and regularly come down to earth to fuck around and went “ok cool”. queen shit behavior methinks
- the floor 19 crew of mcga is srsly underrated. like do u even remember halfborn gunderson, mallory keen, tj, etc??? bc i feel like we only remember samirah, magnus, alex, and sometimes blitz and hearthstone
- sadie (tkc) was kinda annoying at first. i like her more now tho but i rmb not liking her for a phat while
- tkc and mcga need more love
- carter kane and jason grace arent boring. theyre just really sweet boys who are too good for this world and yes yes yes 
- hazel and frank (especially frank) need to be hyped up more. i hardly ever see anything about them. also yall seem to forget that frank was literally made praetor and that even hecate admired hazel and was willing to fight beside her because of how powerful she was
- frazels age gap is kinda sketch but i still think theyre really cute
- nico definitely had trauma from going to tartarus on his own
- GROVER IS PERCYS BEST FRIEND
- annabeth isnt smarter than leo but neither is leo smarter than annabeth. ive seen a lot of discussions about who is smarter and heres my hot take on it: neither. theyre equally smart, just in different ways. leos a genius mathematically speaking. he has no issues solving math problems meant for people much, much older than him. annabeth on the otherhand, is great at strategies etc. she can make an army of 1000 more powerful than the enemy, even if theyre outnumbered. so in my opinion, both are equally as smart//u cant compare their intelligence, because their talents lie in two different areas.
- while i do agree rick riordan isnt a god and that hes bound to make mistakes,, AND that hes given us a lot of representation,, if the representation offends the people its sposed to represent, then theres a problem. im talking about piper as a poc and wearing feathers in her hair. im not a poc, so i cant speak for them on whether or not its wrong, because i dont know either. HOWEVER, i have seen multiple posts BY pocs talking about how they didnt really like rick’s representation of piper, and thats an issue. pocs have been and are still oppressed and discriminated against by many. as a white cis man, we cant really blame him for not knowing (tho he could have done a research,, asked some pocs,, idk), but by representing pocs in that manner, hes influencing impressionable kids/teens into thinking “oh pocs wear feathers in their hair all the time” etc, which isnt true. the pjo/hoo series is extremely successful, and kids who read the books will probably start forming inaccurate opinions on pocs. the amount of fan art that depicts piper with feathers in her hair dont help either. “but rick said so in the books, so its canon” yeah well rick isnt a god and he can get some things wrong at times. im not saying we should cancel him, im saying we should start educating ourselves and not spread false info like pocs wearing feathers in their hair all the time. also that snake song shit where she sang Summertime was just- yeah. bc heres the thing you can be racist, and still include minorities, but portray them in a racist way. And even then, ignorance isn't a thing to admire. Getting those facts wrong still has a major impact. It continues to perpetuate racist stereotypes.
“ With the feather thing, I looked it up myself; it takes less than five minutes to figure out that Cherokees don't braid feathers into their hair. I didn't grow up in the country where my parents are from. I have many other first/second generation American friends who have also been through that, with a bit of a disconnect from their culture. But something that most of us have in common is that when we didn't know something, and when our parents weren't that big of a help, we looked it up. We sought out resources online and through other people from our culture to be able to connect more with where we came from. Some of that took a Google search. So I find it hard to believe that Piper, a girl who Rick's trying to portray as someone who is attempting to connect with her culture and is totally against racist stereotypes, wouldn't know that eagle feathers aren't supposed to be braided into your hair casually. She may be disconnected from her culture, but she's also shown to want to connect back to it. Piper wouldn't be casually braiding feathers into her hair while also telling off people for being racist. It makes no sense.” - reddit thread (down below) 
for those of yall who wanna know more please please read this, it has a lot of things i wanna add in here : https://www.reddit.com/r/camphalfblood/comments/gy3gl2/piper_mcleans_portrayal_is_innacurate/ 
as well as https://finding-my-culture.tumblr.com/post/189422373260/maxie-ratties-and-cattie-finding-my-culture 
i will be posting screenshots of these in future posts so if ure viewing this on ig and u dont have tumblr,, dont worry 
- the fact that most of the strong female characters in the series refuse to be “girly”, and ngl i dont really like that. just because ure girly doesnt mean u cant be strong. 
- piper would have been a great way for him to start making the strong characters act girlier, but instead he went with the “I’m not like other girls” trope which is quite obnoxious to hear constantly, and I don’t think it’s necessarily great for younger girls to read that idea growing up.  the closest we've ever had to a strong female character who was also into "girly" things was Silena. when I was younger I admired Piper's "I'm not like other girls" thing, but then I got older and realized that the whole mentality of "not like other girls" is super obnoxious, and a little bit toxic
i have a heck load more that i cant rmb rn but yeah feel free to add more 
130 notes · View notes
Text
Something more infinite (George Weasley x reader) ch. 3
Chapter 3: Sticks and Stones will break my bones, and so will you because you knocked me off your broom, you maniac! 
Tumblr media
Chapters: 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 (final) |
Word count: 2.4K 
Warnings: Light swearing, TW: broken bones, injury. 
In the midst of the busy O.W.L oriented fifth year, you were so grateful for flying lessons. At this point you were being buried in books and assignments to the point of having to reduce your prank wars with the twins to the weekends only (which was easier to carry out now that they’d seemingly lost their map sometime over Christmas). As the snow began to melt away and the spring was coming along, so were the exams and you had so much on your plate you were afraid you’d choke. Flying lessons were a breath of fresh air, literally, since they were spent away from the dusty halls and classrooms out on the grounds and on the quidditch pitch, which was where you were now. Madam Hooch understood that her fifth year students were more than fed up with information from all their other subjects and since flying was not an exam subject, she’d softened on your class during this late afternoon class. She’d allowed you to part up into teams and play amateur quidditch games in a mini-quidditch cup. 
The students from the houses decided on their teams quickly, since only the most competitive students were up for playing, the rest of the students seemed to welcome this chance of sitting still and concentrating on something that wasn’t reading for 90 minutes with open arms. The teams were mixed houses, and originally when it had been announced that the lesson was going to be spent on quidditch, you’d planned on sitting back and zoning out so hard you’d forget where you were, maybe take a nap, either way, you were not intending on playing. 
At least until George and Fred Weasley loudly joined a team. There was a sort of hush over the conversation, Madam Hooch called out for a chaser for the team opposing the twin’s team. No one wanted to play. People were well aware of the twin’s affinity for quidditch, even you had to admit that they were talented beaters, and you fully understood why none of your classmates were particularly interested in facing off with bludgers sent by them right before the end of year exams. So how you managed to volunteer yourself was unknown even to you. But there you were, on a broom, ready for take off. George looked positively giddy, and you wished you’d volunteered earlier as beater. You’d love to have a bat to retaliate with. You don’t show it, but the knowledge of George’s skills as a beater, and the fact that you don’t have a single way of keeping yourself from being hit by an iron ball pelted towards you is your flying skills makes you a little nervous. You’re not a bad flyer, but you’re not on the quidditch team for a reason. You try to brush off the fear as Madam Hooch blows her whistle and starts the game. The game isn’t as high speed as the offical quidditch games, since most of the teams are just regular, extremely exhausted students, which you’re thankful for. You do your best to keep up and actually manage to almost score before the bludgers come at you. Fred seems to be targeting people at random, mostly trying to get players away from the goal posts, but George only seems to have eyes for you, even when you don’t have the quaffle. Luckily for you, you manage to dodge the bludgers well enough by attempting to stay far away from George, though this doesn’t seem to make him focus on anyone else. When you assist in your team scoring and a bludger zooms by your ear so close to your head you nearly fall off you broom, you become fed up. You speed towards George, 
“Would you fuck off?” You yell at him, he grins back at you, he hasn’t even broken a sweat yet while you can feel how flushed your cheeks are, same as the rest of your team, for some reason this makes you even more annoyed, 
“Why? I’m just doing my job?” he replies, 
“Y/n!” Someone yells and suddenly there’s a quaffle being thrown at you which you catch. There’s a split second which feels like an eternity where you and George look at each other, then he looks at the quaffle and a smirk appears on his face which genuinely makes you uncomfortable. This is not the same expression he’s worn whilst tormenting you in ways that could easily be described as childish teasing. No, this smirk is pure malice, and you know all too well what he plans on. The second long eternity ends and you speed off, swearing under your breath. You’re never volunteering for a game of quidditch against George again. First a bludger attempts to knock you off your broom but you’ve seen that coming so you do a spin and avoid it, what you haven’t expected is George appearing at your side, trying to push you away from the goal posts by blocking you. You’re used to him blocking you in general though, and you’re not having this. You’re not going to let him win. You don’t care what it takes; he’s not defeating you. Even if he has to knock you off your broom. And he does have to, because when you push into him in an attempt to signal “hey, I sort of meant that ‘fuck off’ thing I said earlier.” He pushes back. And there’s a slight error in your calculations, because you’ve forgotten that George is not only taller than you, he’s also stronger. A lot stronger. His shoulder knocks the wind out of you as you try to stay on your broom, hold on to the quaffle and not steer into the spectator stands. But you’re still hanging on. You’re not down yet. So you decide to push back again, and before he can knock you off your broom you dive underneath him, in an attempt to escape on the other side of him, if you could do that you could score. Here’s the thing though: George notices what you’re doing, from the years of playing quidditch, he’s become quite good at recognising manoeuvres before people even do them, and you’re a beginner, which means your moves are obvious. So as you appear on the other side of him, before he even registers what he’s doing, he spins and kicks out, as he would in any regular quidditch game, his foot knocking you off your broom in a swift but forceful movement. 
And everything seems to slow down as you fall, letting the quaffle go. You don’t register anything as you fall, other than the very notion that you’re falling and then the conclusion that if you’re falling, you’ll probably also land. And you just sort of hope you won’t die or break anything too important. You do land, on the sand, with a thump that shakes your bones and reverberates through your every cell. Your vision blurs as everything happens very quickly and very slowly at the same time. In this blurry version of the world, people land around you in slow motion though they seem to appear by your side almost instantly. Madam Hooch’s voice is ringing in your ears. Someone asks if you’re alright. You feel yourself nod, then wince as the pain registers in your shoulder and arm. Then the rest of your body follows suit. Madam Hooch and some classmates help you stand after checking in to see if you’re able to stand. To your own amazement you can, and as you do you lock tearfilled eyes with George’s. 
George wished he could describe the way he felt in that moment as he saw you fall off your broom. It had felt like shock and victory combined into a strange slush of stomach dropping, heart soaring and nausea. It had taken him the remainder of the day to conclude that he hadn’t really meant to knock you off your broom. He didn’t know what he had intended on doing exactly, though. Most likely, he thought, he’d just wanted to win over you. To have another thing to rub in your face. And he supposed he did have that now. Only, he didn’t want to rub it in your face. He actually didn’t want to see you at all. Because for the first time ever, George felt something different inside him at the thought of seeing you. Something akin to the way he felt when he’d broken his sibling’s things on accident as a child and had to face them when they found out, something not unlike when he’d play-wrestled Ron and knocked one of his teeth loose, something like….No, George thought to himself, he was many things, but George was not feeling guilty because of you. He couldn’t be. Right? 
Sure it had been unfair of him to underestimate his strength and of course he’d felt bad when you’d broken your collarbone and arm in the fall. He’d even considered seeing you in the hospital. He knew how horrible it was to drink skele-gro, after all. He hadn’t seen you though, he figured he was not the person you wanted to see. Besides he’d felt that weird need to avoid you. And avoid you he did. For the first time in almost three years, George Weasley had actively stayed away from you. He’d skived off the classes you had together, had sat far away from you in the great hall, often with his back turned to you, he’d simply done a 180 whenever he’d seen you in the halls or at the library. And this bloody feeling in the pit of his stomach wasn’t going away, which had kept him plenty busy with all the extra time he’d had from skiving off. The feeling had almost completely consumed him at this point, and he didn’t know what to do about it. He woke every morning with a strange expectation that a howler would come from his mother, spend the few classes he had left in the school year awaiting McGonagall or even Professor Dumbledore himself to show up and pull him aside to scold him. He’d wandered every corridor with a feeling that he was trespassing when he had every right to be there. And he was sick of it. A small voice in his head told him to just apologise to you, but that little voice had no idea what it was really asking of him. Apologising to you would mean he’d have to lose face to you, and for some reason George would rather have his fingers hexed off one by one than be vulnerable in front of you. 
When he did see you it was in Hogsmeade on the last visit before the summer vacation began. He’d been at the three broomsticks with Lee and Fred, celebrating that they were officially done with exams and studying. He’d been chosen to go order their drinks on the argument that he was the one closest to the bar. And as he’d been waiting on his order, he’d heard your unmistakable voice behind him. Turning around to face you, he noticed your arm enveloped in a cast, he’d heard the story in snippets from passersbys and offhand notions: complicated break, waiting list for st Mungo’s, weeks to recover completely. Every word had added a pebble to the pile of boulders in his stomach. You looked up at him and almost looked surprised to see him. He figured you would. It had been almost two months since you’d been face to face like this. coward another voice whispered in the back of George’s mind. He shrugged it off. 
“Oh,” you say, “Hi, Weasley,” your e/c eyes have a certain gleam in them, he’s well aware it’s not from him, he’s heard you’ve done well on your exams despite the broken bones, he figures the gleam is from pride, 
“Hi,” he replies dryly, say something, anything, say you’re sorry just speak dammit, George, “Nice cast,” he manages a smile but on the inside he’s curling into himself with horror, “want me to sign it?” as he says it the gleam in your eyes disappears, and the usual sour expression you wear when you speak to him paints itself on your face. To his own astonishment, it doesn’t bring the joy it usually does, it makes him feel sort of sick, actually, say you’re sorry, the voice begs again. 
“You can sign your bank information, and I can send you the bill from St Mungo’s if you want,” you turn back to the bar, looking at a menu that you’ve already ordered from, “doubt you’ll be able to afford it though,” you say, slightly softer, and the weight of the boulders of guilt inside him becomes painful, he hadn’t thought about the cost of getting your bones fixed, and as an extra weight, you were right, he couldn’t afford to pay it. So he doesn’t answer. You glance up at him with a challenging gaze when he doesn’t but he just bites his lip to counter the pain inside him. 
“Three butterbeers, Weasley,” Rosmerta says, placing the drinks on the bar, 
“and three butterbeers and a soda for you, L/n” Rosmerta holds onto the tray with drinks, “Oh don’t worry about it, dear, let me carry the drinks to your table for you,” she says and sets off towards the table where your friends await you,  
“I guess I’ll see you next year, Weasley,” you say, “and don’t think the arm is going to stop me from kicking your arse if you knock me off a broom again,” you grin at him, and a wave of elation runs through George at the sight of you grinning at him. It tells him that you’ve not resorted to hating him fully, at least not in a different way to how you hated him before. You were rivals, yes. But George would never consider you an enemy. Not that you were friends. He didn’t like you. He didn’t think he liked you, either way. 
“Y/n?” The word slips out between his lips as your back is turned to him, he blinks a few times, trying to figure out what to say, you stare at him with an expression that seems to say “go on?” 
“I’m-erh- I’ll see you next year,” he says. 
taglist: @schlongbottom​ @cardboardbenmazzello​ @unseensilver​ @mochamiilk Let me know if you want to be added :))  
35 notes · View notes
worldspinsmadly · 3 years
Text
OKAY! This is going to be an extreeeemely long post with my various WandaVision theories! SPOILERS ahead for episodes 1-5, so tread carefully if you haven’t seen them yet! Also, buckle in for a lot of reading haha...
- Agnes is Agatha Harkness
This theory is pretty widely accepted but in case you haven’t heard it yet/need a reminder of what the theory is: Agatha Harkness is a witch in the comic books. She is an agent of Mephisto (basically the devil in the MCU, a sorcerer who is super powerful & does trades/grants wishes but in a monkey’s paw kind of way) and also acts as Wanda’s mentor when she is training. She is there to help Wanda realize her full potential. Reasons for this theory being accepted are:
1. Agnes = AGatha HarkNESs
Pretty self explanatory, this one.
2. One piece of evidence everyone likes to point to is that Agnes is ALWAYS wearing a brooch, much like Agatha. 
In a similar vein, Agnes dresses up like a witch in the Halloween episode (which we get tonight!!). The third comic-y reason is that she says her anniversary with Ralph (whom we NEVER see) is June 2nd, which is the start of the Salem Witch Trials. Agatha Harkness was one of the witches at Salem.
3. She (especially in episode 5) keeps showing up at the exact right time to help Wanda however she needs it. Examples include her showing up to welcome Wanda to the neighborhood and plan the dinner with Vision, bringing her along to the neighborhood planning committee, helping Wanda with the boys (showing up when they’re crying, the doghouse). She is always there, basically acting as a guide for Wanda in the town.
3. She knows that this is a fake world and that Wanda has some control over what happens. This is most clearly evidenced in episode 5 when she says “Do you want me to run that again?” She also doesn’t notice/care that Wanda has magic, which anyone else in the town would. Also - anyone else notice how she overacts constantly? (In a good way - I love Kathryn Hahn)
Which brings me to theory two:
Agnes/Agatha Harkness is the one in control, not Wanda - or at the very least, is using her power to try to influence Wanda’s actions.
1. Agatha is an agent of Mephisto. I think that she is acting on his orders to make this town and Wanda’s life in it the way that it is. Multiple reasons for this, but the main one for me is episode 5 (On A Very Special Episode), she clearly has control over/intimate knowledge of what’s happening inside the WandaVis household. How else would she know to show up when the twins are crying, or when they bring in a new dog? Other sketch things:
2. The boys only ever age up (or attempt to age up) when Agnes is there. I think that she is the one who is making them do that. If she can control every single person in town’s actions and speech, who’s to say she can’t control and manipulate the magic twins’ powers as well?
3. She clearly* killed Sparky, likely in order to try to help Wanda realize how powerful she really is and bring in the idea that she can bring people back to life. It may even be possible that Agnes wants to bring back a specific person but can’t without Wanda’s powers. *To me, it’s clear, because when she walked into the kitchen, Sparky almost killed himself with the electricity but didn’t, and then of course she “found him” in her azaleas.
4. Norm never specifies who “she” is that’s in his head.
MOVING ON TO THEORY THREE:
SWORD and (Acting) Director Hayward are sketchy as fuck, and likely are doing some evil shit and trying to pin it on Wanda.
I don’t mean this to say that SWORD is the organization that put the town in the hex, or is the one that is controlling everything that's happening, but I think it's very clear that there's something going on behind the scenes that they don't want us to know. There are lots of different ways that you can see this, but some of the ones that are most important are as follows:
1. SWORD is clearly developing weapons which Monica highlights when she says, “it also says observation and response on that door not creation.” This is apparently against the mission of SWORD itself, which does not lead to a super trustworthy organization.
2. Director Hayward is clearly trying to place blame on Wanda for things she either didn’t do or didn’t control. The clearest example of this is when he is giving his speech in Episode 5 after Monica comes back, and Jimmy Woo was speaking. Hayward keeps interrupting to explain how Wanda is evil - she joined Hydra (as Jimmy says, it’s more complicated than that), she purposefully hurt people in Lagos (it was an accident), she fought against the Avengers (before gaining their trust and joining them). (Also, side note, I love Jimmy Woo and how kind he is. We need more Jimmy Woo in the MCU). 
3. The video that he shares of Wanda breaking into SWORD...not a single. person. in the SWORD lobby turns, notices, or reacts at all to Wanda walking in, violently throwing open doors, and basically stealing a corpse. I don’t know about you, but if I worked in a secure and secretive government facility, and a rogue Avenger that’s been gone for 5 years just suddenly appeared and was using her powers to break down doors and steal a secret project, I’d probably at LEAST turn and look. 
3a. I’m honestly not even sure that that’s Wanda vs. a body double, like, there’s a reason that the only power they showed was her opening a door, breaking glass, and gently coming down into the room - all things that can be easily faked. You’re telling me that SWORD, in all their advanced tech, space travel, science, money, you’re telling me that the best visuals they have are 1. barely in color 2. blurry and 3. don’t show close-ups of her face? I think that it wasn’t Wanda who took Vision’s body, and I think the footage was fabricated. 
4. CLEARLY - SWORD has been experimenting on Vision. Whether to revive him, recreate his technology, whatever, it is explicitly stated that that is against his living will and the Sokovia Accords. IF (and I think it’s a big if...) Wanda did violently break in to steal his body, it would likely be to protect him and make sure he is being honored, not make him into a weapon. 
NEXT THEORY!
VISION IS ALIVE - and no, Wanda is not just puppeteering his corpse (this is one of the worst theories I’ve heard about WandaVision and I hate it and if I never hear it again it’ll be too soon)
1. I have several reasons to think this. First, if he weren’t alive, why would we have so many scenes of just Vision, or scenes where Vision is figuring out that something is wrong?
2. In the trailers, we see Vision leaving the boundaries of the hex (to be fair, I haven’t watched any of the new trailers, because I don’t want any spoilers) - BUT - how could he do that if he weren’t his own being?
3. I genuinely do not think that Marvel is going to make us watch Vision die again. Not a third time.
How is he alive? I think that there’s obviously an extreme amount of Mind Stone energy within Wanda, and I’m sure that there’s a world in which she could transfer some of that energy to Vision and help bring him back. Not entirely sure of the methodology to be fair, but I just have a feeling in my heart.
OKAY ON TO RANDOM THEORIES THAT I BELIEVE BUT HAVE NO EVIDENCE FOR:
1. Monica came out of the Hex with powers - my only reasoning being that her brain scan and her blood draws were both inconclusive/blank.
2. Wanda isn’t lying when she says she doesn’t know how this started or what’s happening. I think she has more control than most people in town, but I think that’s more that she is a little tuned in to the frequencies of the town than that she started it all. But I really think that Agnes is in control.
3. OH PIETRO - He’s the Evan Peters Quicksilver instead of ATJ (rip) because Agnes had to search through the multiverse for him - she can’t bring people back to life (Wanda can though...ATJ i’m holding out hope...). So anyway, she just searched through the universes and found the closest thing to Pietro that she could.
4. Aerospace engineer that Monica knows might be Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic. (The Fantastic 4 and the X-Men have a long history with Agatha Harkness, so it would make sense to bring those characters in now that Disney is able to)
5. Dottie is also a witch - she’s not identified on the magnet board with the other townspeople, she’s in control of some things.
6. Hayward might be Mephisto in disguise, who knows.
7. Magneto is going to come back at the end of the series i have no real reason to believe this
8. I don’t trust the post man.
OKAY THAT’S ALL I have to go back to work and this is way too long please send me all your theories :)
18 notes · View notes
Text
So I recently went a little... Red-string-cork-board-wild for a very minuscule reason. Namely, I wanted to try and figure out if there was any evidence to back up the fanon of whether or not Graham Folger & Oliver Banks had ever been in a relationship for... Reasons.
To start with, I decided to relisten to MAG 003 just for a lil refresher on who the hell Graham even was (emphasis on the was, lmao). Now, the statement was first catalogued in 2007, but the actual events of the statement take place on 2005; first possible hole in the theory, because, in MAG 011, Oliver, under the alias of Antonio Blake, states that his relationship with "Graham" ended 8 years previous to when he gave his statement to the Magnus Institute, which was given in 2015; which means Oliver's relationship would've ended in 2007.
Why do I point this out though?
Mostly because during MAG 003, when Amy Patel has to chill in Graham Folger's flat due to being concussed, and in an attempt to reassure her, all Graham Folger says is "no worries, I'm gay ✌️" which, okay, that's reassuring, sure... But wouldn't it have been more reassuring to say, "Not only am I hella gay, but I'm also seeing someone." Now, sure, maybe because this is '05 and they don't really know each other that well, he probably thought that would be a little TMI, but then again I feel like "oh I'm seeing someone" is significantly less TMI then just flat-out coming out to someone. Either way, later Amy spends essentially weeks or months watching this dude, and he's always. Alone.
And when she described Graham Folger's flat, it didn't sound like a place TWO (2) people were sharing, it barely sounded like there was one person living there. (And Oliver mentions that he'd been in a SIX (6) YEAR relationship, with a shared living space). A little sus, but... Amy does also say that Mr. Folger spends an awful lot of time outside of his apartment so... Double life maybe? Perhaps.
-- Impromptu read more because this got longer than I intended! So the rest is under the cut --
But now let's take a long look at MAG 011, where Oliver, or Antonio if that's easier for anyone? Nah, let's keep it as Oliver— anyways, MAG 011 takes place in 2015, 8 years prior is 2007; but then.. 6 years prior to that, when Oliver's relationship with "Graham" would’ve started... That would've been in 2001 🤔 now why does that particular year ring a bell? Well, that's because in 2001 is when Graham Folger's parents passed away; which would MEAN THAT, if these two had ever dated, then either it would've been just after Graham Folger had lost his parents, OR, the accident would have happened during the start of their relationship. And I do hear that stuff like that either makes or breaks a relationship, so; hey, maybe they would've had problems from the start. Doomed to end before it began, y'know.
But this is what actually made me go back and relisten in MAG 003, again; because I wasn't 100% on that because for whatever reason I had the year 2003 stuck in my head, IDK. Anyways, it was while I was relistening to MAG 003, again, that I realized my timeline... Wasn't entirely correct. Because Amy Patel, yes she first met Graham Folger in 2005; but it was in September 2005; and the real meat of the statement doesn't start until about 4 months after that initial encounter— which means Amy would've started Graham-watching in Dec. 2005 or Jan. 2006.
You know what else I found rather interesting? In the closing comments for this statement that the Archivist gives us, the apartment under Graham Folger's name was sold in... Early 2007. I wonder... How closely that might actually line up with whenever Oliver Banks apparently ended his relationship with "Graham".
But let's loop back to the "Dec. 2005 or Jan. 2006" bit, because in the supposed timeline given to us in Oliver's statement (MAG 011), he and his "Graham" started having issues a year prior to the official break-up. Maybe that's why Amy never would've seen Graham Folger's partner, in the assumption that he had one, because they was havin' issues, so if Graham Folger had a partner, maybe they weren't hanging about too much.
Alternatively, maybe the real kicker, the Real end to this, alleged, relationship, was because things just started being Different around the start of 2006; say maybe around April? April 7th of 2006 if we want to get real specific. Maybe it was after that day that the relationship got just a bit too much.
Maybe, in the last year of this alleged relationship between Oliver Banks and Graham Folger, maybe Oliver tried to make things work, but there was just something so off about "Graham" so... Not-him, and yet this is still the man that Oliver looks at and remembers spending almost 6 years of his life with. But maybe things get just weird enough that, Oliver just does some digging, maybe he's looking for some excuse some reason for why Graham seems so different but so familiar. Maybe there was an update on the accident that happened (either before or after they got together) and it's having an affect on "Graham". Let's say he does this little research deep-dive while at work too. So he's just sitting at his desk, scrolling through old news, etc. etc, maybe checking new stuff, who knows. (And assuming that even digital scans of polaroids are also untampered) He comes across an old picture that, sure enough those are the Folger Parents, but who the hell is that dark haired teenager in the picture?
Now why would this be happening why Oliver is at work? Well, because in MAG 011, Oliver states that he had a breakdown at work that required him to take leave and supposedly helped to fuel his breakup which then left him on a friend's couch. Obviously it could actually be the other way around; that the break-up was the catalyst for the breakdown at work, but this is no longer a post about why Graham Folger and Oliver Banks weren't a thing, but rather a post on why it would hurt so much if they had been.
Because we're gonna switch gears now and take a peek from Not-Graham's perspective. Because what does Not-Graham, the Not-Them, want? Well, we know they like scaring and upsetting people, but Graham Folger isn't exactly a socialite and apparently didn't have enough of an outstanding presence that made him particularly rememberable. But you know what he did have? The table. The same table that the Not-Them really wanted to have smashed up in... MAG 039, I think (IDK main plot is just an entrée for me right now, not super important y'know). So, sure Graham Folger doesn't have a lot of people in his life, but he's got this partner that he was already having a rocky relationship with, so why not make that relationship even more unbearable on the other party? Just make it absolutely intolerable, in the hopes that the partner might just get fed up enough to do something irrational, like smash a table that apparently means just so, so much to "Graham". But in the end that doesn't work, because the partner just ends up dippin' out (side note: love the idea that Oliver is petty in the way that instead of destroying something that he knows his partner is fond of, he just like, sells the fucking table off instead, send the Not-Them on another wild goose chase to find it again, because that would be funny as fuck).
Regardless, around the beginning of 2007, the two will have broken up, and Not-Graham no longer has a reason to keep that flat so it gets sold, because the Not-Them either has the table and fucks off after that, or they gotta start all over again trying to find it, and Oliver cuts ties and starts crashing on a friend's couch.
It's circumstantial, sure. But when you really look at it... The timeline does actually match up pretty well, and I think that's pretty cool.
Anyways, that's all for now. Whether or not Graham Folger & Oliver Banks ever actually had a relationship in canon, who can say.
But if Oliver's "Graham" isn't Graham Folger, then who is it? Well, not to mix podcasts, but anyone here ever listen to The White Vault?
77 notes · View notes
whitetrashjj · 5 years
Note
i think it’s so fucking funny that even when you have similar setups (as seen in your recent gifset) bellamy/clarke look so much more like an actual couple who love each other than b/cho
That’s the whole ass point though isn’t it? I’m certain that if you showed that gifset to someone who knew nothing about The 100 and asked them which were the couple and which were the friends, they would at the very least hesitate before answering, if not answer Bellarke. It would not be possible to answer bec/ho without doubting it. 
And the fact is that it appearing that way is a conscious choice. Those scenes put the couples in very similar situations and show how they interact with each other and the truth is bec/ho do not stand up. Each choice; the timing, the framing, the focus, everything. was designed, written, shot and edited to be like that, it went though multiple channels, starting with Jason, then going though the writers, the directors, the actors, the editors and back to Jason, and that was all approved because that was what they wanted the audience to see. 
I know you didn’t ask for it but I’m gonna analyse those scene for a bit because I’ve been wanting to do it so here is the perfect opportunity. (this gif set if no one knows what I’m talking about)
So here we have the first one. Originally, this gifset was going to just be comparisons of how far apart bellarke stood in comparison to bec/ho so this was my starting point. These scenes were from the same episode - happened on the same day I believe. And first up we have bec/ho:
Tumblr media
Not obnoxiously close but not far apart either, nothing worth calling out as a problem until you observe bellarke a couple scenes later:
Tumblr media
These idiots are standing so close that Bellamy is actually on an angle so his arm/shoulder can go behind Clarke’s. Because simply standing arm to arm isn’t enough they actually have to over lap. Now to be fair - because I believe in trying to be objectively fair when making comparisons and not taking things out of context to prove your point - Bellarke had just hugged and bec/ho are simply standing in a crowd watching a speech. Now, I don’t know about you but after I hug my friends I usually step back at least one step if not a couple, I do not linger in their personal space the way I would if I was interested in someone. 
Compare this to bec/ho, who of course aren’t engaged in a one-on-one, but are in unfamiliar surroundings,  surrounded by unfamiliar and possibly hostile people and there is nothing, they aren’t lingering close, have a protective hand out to reassure the other, not even a look to check up on each other. Just looking at these two gifs side by side, it seems off... A little odd but not damning evidence? Let’s move on then. 
Comparison #2 looks at the comforting shoulder touch. Bellamy has just left behind his sister, the one person he has shouldered the burden of it being his responsibility to keep safe, and it’s more than likely that she will die. Clarke has just written a list on 100 people to save from praimfaya, damning 300 of her people, and thousands of other people, to death. In these scenes Clarke and Bellamy are in very similar emotional states, riddled with guilt, weighed down with an impossible burden, and emotionally distraught and exhausted.  So the person witnessing this does what they can to try and comfort them, place a hand on their shoulder to show their support, that they don’t have to do this alone and they are there for them.
Tumblr media
We can see here that Bellamy barley responds to the touch, does not lean into is at all. He does look at E/cho briefly acknowledging the support and her attempt to comfort him, but he does not linger on her, quickly looking away and continuing to look dejected. This shows that while he appreciated the gesture it does very little to actually help him feel better. 
Compare this to Bellamy and Clarke:
Tumblr media
Bellamy place’s his hand on Clarke shoulder to support her. Instantly we see the relief this creates for Clarke, her tense shoulders slump, her eyes flutter closed, not only does she then bring her own hand up to cover his but she leans her head on him. This shows how much his simple touch helped how, how it helped ground her and how he helped shoulder that burden without having to say the words. She not only leans into his touch but leans on it, she needs it, needs him and can’t get close enough to it. Not buying it yet? More comfort to come...
Once again we have comfort for similar situations. Bellamy found out that Clarke, one of his closest friends is dead. Clarke finds out that she can not say goodbye to her mother who she won’t see for 5 years, with a possibility of never seeing her again. So when Bellamy tell’s E/cho this he is searching for someone, something to make him feel better:
Tumblr media
There are so many things to unpack here - for fairness some frames have been removed to remain under the size limit - but let’s start with Bellamy initiates the hug. Bellamy has continuously shown that physical contact, particularly hugs, is a big thing for him in terms of comfort. What he needed in that moment was a hug but E/cho makes no move for it - this is not shock related because she already knew that Clarke was dead - this proves that she doesn’t know what Bellamy wants or needs. And then the hug last for a grand total 5 seconds (with very generous start and finish times) before Bellamy pulls away again showing that it didn’t help ease his pain or make him feel better otherwise he would cling onto her as long as possible.
Let’s compare shall we:
Tumblr media
There is a reason this is my favourite bellarke hug (we don’t have time to unpack it all right now). Compared to the hug above, however, it get so much better. First we have Bellamy instantly going to Clarke his arms open wide welcoming her in, knowing exactly what she needed in that moment without Clarke needing to say anything. Then we have the camera zoom in on Clarkes arms circling around Bellamy, clinging to him, signifying how much she needed him in the moment and how comforting it was for her. Clarke sobs into his shoulder being completely venerable with him and Bellamy closes his eyes grabs onto her and gently rocks them back a forth, showing how comfortable and how immersed in the embrace he is. This hug last’s for 15 seconds, and they only break apart because they were interrupted, otherwise there was no end in sight, even after that they linger clinging to one another for a further 4-5 seconds (times vary as it’s hard to say when hugging starts, and then finishes and lingering begins). Ultimately there is no comparison in these scenes, and the fact that they were shot this way with the much time taken for them is so telling, remember nothing you see on scene is an accident, everything has been designed that way.
Lastly let’s ring in the post with little reunion run and hug. In fairness Clarke thought Bellamy was dead, and Bellamy only thought Echo had been in enemy territory with no contact for a day or so - interpret that how you will. 
But here we have bec/ho:
Tumblr media
They run to each other, they get to each other as part of a wide shot incorporating many other elements, they stop short of each other and say a quick hi, and finally they hug and kiss as out of focus shapes in the corner of the scene. A truly heartfelt, iconic and important reunion. 
The we have Bellarke:
Tumblr media
We have Clarke sprinting at Bellamy, jumping on him, wrapping her arms around him, the only thing stopping her from getting to him was his body, we have Bellamy wrapping his arms tight around Clarke, and then multiple back and forth shorts of their smiles, them tucking their heads into each others necks, and closing their eyes in relief.
I don’t know what else I can say for this one other than, the emphasis put on the impactful reunion of two characters and what this means for their relationship, vs the emphasis put on the reactions of other characters (other character who simply hate having sun in their eyes) - speaks volumes.
I mean - if I wanted to I could find countless other similar comparisons, if I needed to but  I don’t think I need to. The 100 is a show with a high casual viewer ratings, this means you should be able to know the relationships by watching one episode and well, there is proof right there, Jason said himself someone would be able to start this show at s6 and know who loves who. Do you think anyone with has only watched Season 6 could reasonably put Bellamy’s feelings for E/cho above Clarke from only what they have seen on screen? I doubt it. 
629 notes · View notes
Note
For the monster requests, what about vampire timeskip Dimitri who's been starving himself of blood or something like that?
Pairing: Vampire! Dimitri x Reader
Prompt: Vamp Dimi but is idiot and won’t drink blood
Description: Friday, September 13th, 2019. The moon is full and the evening is full of magic. And yet, you’re stuck in a basement masquerading as an Italian restaurant. As if sensing your boredom (or perhaps the lack of customers) your manager sets you free. So, in the cool air of the upcoming fall, you walk home, deciding that the gross bandage covering your unfortunate cooking cut had to go, not realizing, in the dark of night alone, you would begin to bleed. Profusely. Still at least a half-mile from home and all alone in the dim light of a street post all you can do is attempt to stop the bleeding lest if get all over you and your uniform…
Content Warning: Vampires, blood drinking, mentions of stalking/attacking, dubious consent (I swear this is cute though)
Rating: sfw
Word Count: 2090
Notes: Me, walking home from work today: Damn how tragic that a mysterious, attractive vampire isn’t here to help me deal with my bleeding thumb. also me, now galaxy brained: Hey wait a fucking minute
Oh before I forget if anyone cares for it I might make a part two bc ya girl is always touch starved!!!
Edited: 6/7/21; holy shit I’m so glad I don’t work there any more lmao
_______________________________________________________________
“Just when I thought this night couldn’t get slower,” You sighed, looking down at the tablet before you. It was hardly even 9 pm yet you barely had any reservations left at the restaurant despite it being a Friday. At this rate, your manager was going to cut someone loose soon; either you, or your co-worker.
“Oh, hey John” You looked up as your co-worker greeted your manager.
“Hey you two,” He grinned weirdly wide for the situation. “It’s pretty slow right now, so it looks like one of you is free to go,” He smiled and watched as the two of you looked at one another.
“Ahh well, I don’t have many hours this week…” She frowned. You nodded, remembering earlier in the evening she had explained needing to pay for court fees.
“Ah damn, guess its me then.” You frowned but weren’t all that upset. You would have loved more hours but if someone had to leave you would take it.
“Cool, cool!” Your manager grinned. “You’re free to go then, _____, enjoy your evening.”
“I’ll try” You smiled but it didn’t reach your eyes. It was a nice evening out but you would have to walk a little over a mile home by yourself. You hummed softly to the cheesy old pop music, going about clocking out and gathering your things to leave. Your roommates were busy tonight and the bus would be at least another half hour, so it looked like you were walking home this evening.
Finally out the door after giving your goodbyes, you supposed it could be worse; autumn was coming, offering its cool evening wind to the word and you could feel the magic in the air. The moon was full and bright as you stepped up and out of the basement the restaurant you worked at up to the busy plaza around it. It was a Friday night after all, a special one though, since it was Friday the 13th! People seemed cheerful to be out on such a pleasant evening and you decided if you had to walk any day, you were glad it was this one.
The walk went about as it usually did for the first half, you keeping to yourself as you walked out of of the busy plaza towards the apartments outside of it. Your left thumb pulsed, sending you an unfortunate reminder of the cooking accident you had yesterday; while cutting potatoes for homemade chicken noodle soup you were careless and sliced right into your thumb. Luckily, none of it got on the food and you ended up being fine but it was deep enough and on a weird part of your thumb that band-aids usually couldn’t stop the bleeding alone and felt weird on it. Not only that, it made I hard to text or play games. With much joy, you realized now that you were off work, you could rip the weird blue bandage that covered it off. So you did just that, ripping it off and throwing it in the nearest trash can. You walked a bit longer, where the streetlights got further between one another and the roads a little quieter. It was then, you realized, your thumb had decided to bleed; profusely at that. With a sigh, you held the offending digit in your mouth as you dug through your purse, stopping under a street light to find the tissues you kept in there. With one hand it was hard to look and even harder to dig it out but eventually you did, wrapping the tip of your thumb and around with the tissue and applying pressure with your pointer, hoping to stop the bleeding. While you did get it squared away eventually it refused to stop bleeding; you weren’t too worried about it, it would have to soon enough but it was sure annoying to keep the pressure on it. Bleeding while walking alone on a Friday evening wasn’t your idea of fun. Still, you marched on in hopes of reaching your apartment to properly take care of this stupid cut.
Unbeknownst to you, you weren’t quite alone this evening. Ever since you had begun bleeding he had been following you. Stalking you. He knew better than to attack some poor defenseless human; he had sworn to himself never to do it again. But dark forces were at work tonight; the pull of the full moon, the magic of Friday the 13th and you, stumbling down the street bleeding and none the wiser. It all worked against him and Dimitri couldn’t help himself as he slinked ever closer towards you looking for the opportune moment to strike.
You were in that little gap of darkness between streetlights, where anything could happen. No cars lit you up and no sound broke the slight tapping of your shoes against the concrete. You lifted your hand and paused a moment, hoping that your thumb had stopped bleeding. To your great chagrin, it had not and was, in fact, bleed more than it usually did when you upset it. With a sigh, you lifted your hand preparing to press your thumb your lips, preparing to keep your thumb in your mouth while you once again dug for your tissues. But you never got that far because your wrist was caught in someone’s hand. Your breath hitched as you were pulled against something solid, yet cold. A chest, you could infer, because soon after a sultry voice was whispering in your ear.
“Forgive me for what I’m about to do,” You were left unable to reply as you were spun to face your assailant; the light from the streetlamp behind you did little to show his features, merely crown his tall figure in a glow of old yellow light. He was blonde you could see, his hair up in some sort of half ponytail. Unable to fight his strength and finding yourself unable to scream you could only gape in shock as he lifted your hand, now dripping with your blood as you left your cut uncovered, and licked the blood freely flowing down your palm and the side of your thumb. He licked the cut and an involuntary shiver went through you as your eyes met; strangely, you noted he wore an eye patch. After that unprompted lick, he spoke once more, keeping your gaze as he spoke again. “May I… continue?” There was a hunger in his gaze, a look in that one baby blue eye you couldn’t say no too. Not trusting your voice to stay steady in this situation, you merely nodded dumbly watching in amazement as he held your hand to delicately and brought your thumb to his lips. His gentle touch was in stark contrast to the grip he had on your hip, holding you snug against him as he did… whatever it was he was doing. The situation was beyond strange, you had to admit but a strange sense of euphoria washed over you as this even stranger man drank your blood. Soon, the long moment passed and with a small hiss as his lips rose, you realized that where your cut was was clean. The only thing that remained was a strange, warm feeling and a little pink scar where it once was.
“Uhh,” The words lamely left your mouth as you looked from your hand back to the man, who was licking his lips and trying his best to look like he wasn’t blushing. Vaguely, you got the sense you knew what was happening here but not wanting to seem or sound as crazy as you felt you stayed silent, hoping your assailant, err companion? Whoever he was, you hoped he would have some sort of explanation. Things were too crazy for you right now and rather than dig yourself deeper into the pit you were in you stood silent, watching the many emotions pass through his face.
“I…” His voice was so soft, so low, it was hard to catch even in the still of the night. “I apologize, I was so rash and I-I…” The blush on his face seemed to deepen, for reasons unfathomable to you but you dared not question them. Despite not trying to be intimidating, due to his sheer size and power you were effectively intimidated and let him continue. “I shouldn’t have done that and yet… I find I cannot stop.” He brought your hand he still held to his cheek, pressing it against his cold skin. It was funny how the most intimate you had been with someone was a mere stranger but you supposed nothing bonded two people together like bloodletting in the city suburbs.
“I’m sorry but… I’m so lost…” You hadn’t even noticed your free hand was trapped between the two of you until now, curling loosely against his nice dress shirt.
“I… am Dimitri,” Lovely, if you ever got out of this situation you could tell the police the name of the attractive man who drank your blood and stole your heart. “And I… normally don’t do this but tonight just made the perfect storm for me to come and…” He shivered at the thought of his own actions  “…attack you.” He shook his head, looking distraught. “Even now, the taste of your blood stains my tongue, the smell of you burns my nose…” Dimitri leaned in as if to confirm this, his lips hovering just above the junction of your neck and shoulder “Please, stop me.” His words were so low. You held your breath, unsure what to do, what to say.
“V-vampire?” The word tumbles out of your mouth, uneven and rough. He sharply pulled back and you gasp, looking at his face once more.
“Are you that surprised?” His smile was wry, his chuckle dry.
“Right, right,” You didn’t know what you were doing or why but you laughed awkwardly, using your free hand to brush back some of your bangs in any attempt to find some control in this situation. “I’m uh, _____.” You added, suddenly unable to look his way. He still held you close, as if he didn’t know any better or any other way. “So um… I’m guessing you err, didn’t get your fill?” You smiled but Dimitri was quick to notice it was forced.
“Don’t feel obligated to me out of fear.” He frowned and made move to let you go but decided against it and decided to instead give you a small squeeze. “What I did was wrong and should be treated as such…” You cut him off.
“No I… don’t think its that.” You frowned, a blush covering your face as you come to terms with the real reason you wanted this to continue. “It’s just um… well, it feels nice. You feel nice holding me.” The both of you stared at one another wide-eyed, shocked at the words that left your mouth. “And um well, you know… it’s dangerous for a girl to be walking alone at this time of night.” You giggled a bit. “So… maybe you could help me home and in return, we could do this in a more comfortable setting?” Once more shocked, it took Dimitri a moment to process the words you said and even longer to find a proper reply to them.
“You… want me to walk you home?” He said softly.
“And come in, if you’d like.” You smiled.
“After what I did…” he began but you stopped him.
“Well, you actually helped me.” You laughed. “That cut was super annoying at best and now that it’s gone I feel a lot better.” You smiled warmed him possibly more than the first taste of your blood did. “So, help me again… and maybe I can help you in return?” You said. Dimitri wasn’t one to simply let a woman go when she asked for his help but he still felt wrong you were so freely offering him what he had long since denied himself. “Please?” The hand you had pressed against his chest fell as he went to move away but he paused at your mumbled please, giving you the chance to catch his hand in your own.
“I… suppose that would be alright.” Dimitri had blushed countless times this evening but not so much as he was now as you lead him down the darkened street towards your apartment. The night was still young and he didn’t know what it would hold but he found that for once, he was looking forward to this.
151 notes · View notes
cupidhaos · 5 years
Text
(2nd attempt lol) So I went through Newsflash! and Move! with a fine-toothed comb...
This is structured into 4 parts to make it a bit easier to read. The first part is interesting information I 'found' again after reading through everything with watchful eyes again. The second part is a listing of everyone who could've done it, and what reasons they may have. The third part is not necessarily informative, but still interesting stuff I 'found' while reading through it again. And last are questions I had or things which didn't add up for me. This is extremely long (the Word document I have is 6 pages long RIP), so grab a drink and get comfy. Also, this is mostly just based on what is in Newsflash! and Move! itself. Hope you'll enjoy!
Interesting information:
“It’s crucial to the plot that you know” (DK in Newsflash! 5) implies there’s a hidden plot, one we don’t see
“You’re going to make plenty of friends soon enough y/n” (DK in Newsflash! 5) Did DK orchestrate Y/N becoming friends with SVT? Why? Does he want to tear SVT down? But why through Y/N?
Oh, remember that girl who told the schoolboard about Jeonghan and Chaeyoung, angry Jeonghan planned on resigning from SVT for Chaeyoung? The one who essentially was the cause for Jeonghan & SVT ghosting Chaeyoung in the beginning of Newsflash! because she got word to Chaeyoung’s father and he threatened to take away their scholarships? Maybe it has something to do with her… (Newsflash! 10)
Joshua said himself that the others give up easily (Newsflash! 10) as soon as the situation becomes a bit dire
Newsflash! 11 “I know what it feels like to just have someone slip away from you when you could’ve done more” (Y/N texting w/ Mingyu) Who?? Is she talking about?? COULD IT BE A REASON FOR SOMEONE TO BE A BITCH TO Y/N???? Adding to that the next text: “You have the chance to fix things before it’s too late” WHEN WAS Y/N TOO LATE?? FOR WHOM??
The Barista from Newsflash! 13 (I FORGOT HER NAME I’M NOT IN THE LOOP WITH GIRLGROUPS) could’ve heard everything SVT+Chaeyoung talked about when they were locked in that back room… maybe that started something? (Edit: okay in Newsflash! 22 several girls comment on Y/N’s tweet and one has the same profile picture as the Barista… so her name is something along the lines of Hyunie?)
Newsflash! 17 DK texting “He’s not the one for you trust me Y/N” makes DK all the more suspicious. How do you know that? Who are you trying to set us up with?
Newsflash! 21 DK knew before Y/N said anything at all that Y/N was out with Jeonghan and that Jeonghan had kissed her. How did he know?
Newsflash! 23 DK texting “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see” makes me think he didn’t actually plan all this… but the use of the emoji makes him still suspicious. But if he didn’t plan this – why does he know so much?! Is he stalking Y/N? Why? For what reason?
Newsflash! 29 Name of one of Jeonghan’s clients was dropped – Eunha. Was she the one who bitched to the schoolboard? Wonwoo calls her ‘VIP client ;)’, which Jeonghan doesn’t really appreciate (“how about u shut the fuck up :)” Has all the passive aggressive energy in the world)
Newsflash! 31 Okay, so Yuta: ex-bf from Japan; Y/N’s first love (what was Joshua then? Didn’t Y/N leave Korea because Joshua didn’t return her feelings in Senior year Highschool?); cheated on her (did he really?); showed her pictures/nudes to his friends;
Newsflash! 31 Am I… the only one who is kind of suspicious of Wonwoo? Like, why was he there? I don’t believe he was there by chance. And even if he was, why would he help Y/N? What does he gain from this? Yeah, SVT’s motto is ‘respect women and make them feel happy’, but… it still seems suspicious to me.
Newsflash! 33 DK texting “that?? wasn’t??? supposed to happen????” “where did he even COME FROM” confirms a suspicion of mine – it wasn’t an accident that Wonwoo was there. Or maybe it was? Ugh, I don’t know. All I know is that Wonwoo and DK are both suspicious as hell.
Newsflash! 34 HOLD ON A MF SECOND JEON WONWOO HAS A CLIENT WHO IS CALLED SOHYE. A CLINGY CLIENT. SOHYE AND SOHEE AREN’T TOO FAR APART. MAYBE SISTERS…? A SISTER WHO IS MAD THAT HER SISTER WASN’T TREATED ALL THAT NICELY BY WONWOO. THAT’S WHY SHE’S AFTER Y/N – BECAUSE SHE THINKS Y/N AND WONWOO ARE ACTUALLY DATING. IT WOULD MAKE SO MUCH SENSE THO BECAUSE CUPIDHAOS ALSO SAID ‘Sohee is connected to SVT but not in a way you think’ THAT WAY SHE’S CONNECTED TO SVT (HER SISTER IS WONWOO’S CLIENT) AND WE DEFINITELY WOULD’VE NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT. YOOOOO
Newsflash! 37 Jeonghan chewing Y/N out… and showing a possible motive.
Also Y/N is a dumbass for believing you can’t get phones in Thailand. HOW DUMB DO YOU HAVE TO BE??? Honestly. I mean, I get it if they were like, in a really rural part of Thailand, but somehow I doubt that
Move! 3 DK not be cryptic for 1 minute challenge: failed. BOI- “oh y/n this is where the story starts my dear friend” ???? Dear friend sounds so threatening. Like, what did Y/N do to you?
Move! 4 Why does Seungkwan want to keep Y/N away from SVT so desperately? Like, if Y/N can prove to them that the whole thread is a lie, she has 6 more people on her side. That would give her a lot more credibility, to be honest. Does Seungkwan have a reason for keeping Y/N away from SVT?
Move! 4 Chaeyoung is… surprisingly good… and QUICK… at getting Jimin’s and Seokjin’s number… even after they changed it… That’s suspicious. How good is Chaeyoung with tech?
Move! 4 Someone wanted Y/N info. And they were willing to pay for it. (This is before Y/N left, right after Jihoon posted the picture of being on the train to Busan with Y/N. So someone planned all this before Y/N even left.)
Move! 4 Jimin’s and Seokjin’s education and jobs have been threatened. (By whom exactly? Schoolboard? Or just a ‘random’ person? An anonymous person? They don’t know either – anonymous.) They were forbidden from talking to SVT (someone wants to prevent SVT from finding out the truth…) or explaining themselves.
Move! 5 Y/N mentions deleting all the photos she had of Yuta from her phone. But maybe Yuta still had some? Also (that happened to me) if you have a Google account and don’t adjust your setting, pictures taken on your phone will be saved on your Google Drive. As a backup. (I once deadass couldn’t get rid of 3 GB WORTH OF PICTURES BECAUSE OF THIS). Maybe that’s how someone got the pictures? Hacked Y/N’s email?
Move! 5 Soonyoung is very quick to point to Yuta. Then again, Yuta looks very suspicious. So… a ruse, probably.
Move! 5 DK “I trust no one and you shouldnt either” just… why should we trust YOU telling us not to trust anyone? Hm?
Move! 5 Vernon still hanging out with SVT (when did he even become friends with them? Nothing of that was mentioned during Newsflash! ? How did that happen??) is very suspicious. Like, isn’t there a conflict of interest? Or is he just stringing along either side? Making SVT believe he is on their side, or making Y/N believe he is on her side. Also, has Vernon met Sohee?? Or did he only hang out with SVT before the thread was posted? (But if that were the case… Minghao wouldn’t retweet it and Wonwoo wouldn’t say ‘we should do that again’.) Vernon, you’re very suspicious now.
Move! 5 Also interesting to note: Vernon practically pushes Y/N into Wonwoo’s direction. First saying that Mingaho isn’t a fan of Y/N anymore (true, I guess), but then leading her to Wonwoo? Did he know Wonwoo was the weakest link/the one who had doubts? Does he know Wonwoo still has feelings for Y/N, and is trying to push them together? Is Vernon playing something???
Move! 6 “You just disappearing out of nowhere was a bit weird” HOE YOU SAW EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED??? SEUNGCHEOL, MINGYU, JEONGHAN AND Y/N WERE IN YOUR APARTMENT ON THAT EVENING??? YOU WITNESSED HOW JEONGHAN YELLED AT Y/N WHEN SHE WAS ALREADY A MESS?? AND YOU THINK IT’S WEIRD SHE RAN AWAY AND NEEDED SOME TIME? BOI-
Move! 6 One of Wonwoo’s answers indicated that he didn’t text Seungkwan or Chaeyoung and never asked for clarification, but just believed Sohee. He also never asked Vernon or Chan (again, why Vernon? And why is DK and Hoshi missing here??)
Move! 7 Jihoon mentions Y/N being pulled into things she didn’t do since Sohee appeared – is he talking about the thread saying Y/N manipulated Wonwoo (a whole lie, and SVT KNOWS THAT), or is there something more? Wasn’t there once the talk of rumors? What kind of rumors? More than what is written in the thread??? Ouf…
Move! 7 Mingyu outright says "Wonwoo I thought you liked Sohee…" Makes me suspicious. Did Sohee specifically target Wonwoo? Or is Wonwoo just pretending to be on Y/N's side? Hm...
Move! 8 DK clearly hinting towards Yuta being behind it all… but can we trust DK.
Suspects and why they would do it:
Chaeyoung:
Might still hold a massive grudge against SVT, and doesn’t want Y/N associate with them (Not logical – why would Jihoon and Wonwoo be okay? Why would she keep them around? They’re SVT too, and they ghosted her too, unlike Joshua.)
Might still hold a massive grudge against SVT and wants to get revenge (Once again – why are Jihoon and Wonwoo fine? They are/were SVT too.) (Thread/Rumors mainly hurt Y/N, not SVT.)
Holds a massive grudge against a specific member (don’t know who – maybe Jeonghan? Maybe one of the guys who overran Y/N?) and wants to ruin them. Orchestrated this whole thing and ‘leads’ the ‘investigation’ so it’ll lead to (a) certain member(s), in order to ruin them or keep them away from Y/N.
Got extremely jealous with how popular Y/N became with SVT. SVT is neglecting her once again, and Y/N is neglecting her as well, hanging out with her new friends instead. So, she wants to keep Y/N away from them, and hopes that this break of trust will cause Y/N to not be friends with SVT anymore, even if the situation gets cleared. She can be friends with Y/N again, Y/N will spend a lot of time with her again, and Chaeyoung’s happy again. (Might be psycho, but who knows…? Some people are crazy. And Chaeyoung seems very bossy with Y/N. (Granted Y/N needs it because DEAR LORD but still…))
General Reason for SVT members:
They feel betrayed and used by Y/N. She just left them, without even saying goodbye to them (she only texted Joshua before she left, as far as we know). They feel manipulated by her, and want to get revenge on her.
Or stereotypical ‘If I cannot have her, no one can have her’ or ‘If he cannot have her, no one can have her’. Y/N doesn’t want to be her girlfriend? (Or the girlfriend of one of their friends – JH and SC, for example.) Then you’ll be no one’s girlfriend. And I’ll drag you down.
Seungcheol:
Angry and hurt that Y/N immediately ran away after he got injured (for her, might I add), so he might feel like he was manipulated 
Jeonghan:
Angered at how Y/N treated Seungcheol and the rest of SVT, unknowingly strumming everyone along. Literally blamed Y/N for ‘everything going to shit’ into her face. Could be prone to enlisting the help of someone to tear Y/N down.
Joshua:
Extremely frustrated with Y/N. Feels betrayed by her and wants revenge. Finally snapped.
(Feels like he doesn’t know his friend anymore, which is why he believes so easily.)
Jun:
Deeply hurt that Y/N just went away without even saying anything. Wants to get revenge on her. Feels like she didn’t give him a chance, and now wants her to pay for it.
Soonyoung:
Frustrated that Y/N is only spending time with SVT now, wants to bring her back to her old circle of friends
Wonwoo:
Fell in love with Y/N, realized there’s too much competition and decided to get rid of them. (But why would he be hesitant when Y/N contacts him? Wouldn’t he want to be immediately on her side, to get into her good graces? But that could make him suspicious again… Hm…)
Fell in love with Y/N before the others did, before Jeonghan ever saw her in Communications class. Knows the others are competition, and wants to separate Y/N from them, hoping the break of trust will prevent Y/N from getting close to them.
Jihoon:
Knows all of the members. Knows they’re not good for Y/N. Wants to keep them away from Y/N. Hopes the massive break of trust will prevent Y/N from becoming friends with them again, even after the situation is cleared up. ’Leads’ the ‘investigation’ with Chaeyoung to lead it away from himself.
DK:
Homeboy knows too much. He said ‘and this is where the plot begins’ when Jeonghan sat next to Y/N at the beginning of Newsflash!. Always knew what was going on, even if it were unlikely for him to know. Could there be a reason for him orchestrating everything? Did Y/N wrong him at some point?
I feel like we all forget that in the first profile post, it’s stated that Mingyu and DK are close friends. Maybe he got über salty at Y/N not getting together with Mingyu, like he wanted to (?)?
Mingyu:
Feels abandoned by Y/N. Wants her to feel the same abandonment.
Minghao:
In the same class as Y/N – maybe a petty ass reason but she could’ve been too much competition? So he wanted to get rid of her? Essentially make her so disliked she’s forced to leave for her own sake.
Seungkwan:
Frustrated that Y/N spent so much time with her new friends, barely finding time for her old friends.
Vernon:
Maybe wanted to get into SVT, but got rejected. Tries to shake them up (Wonwoo and Jihoon left SVT already) so he maybe gets a chance to join SVT.
Seems to know an awful lot; pointed Y/N into Wonwoo’s direction. If not the culprit, then someone who helped? But why would he betray his friend? Well… has Y/N been a good friend?
Chan:
Same as Vernon possibly.
Mad that Y/N doesn’t hang out with him and the others as much anymore, and wants to bring her away from SVT.
Yuta:
Angry that Y/N won’t take him back, and that she humiliated him in public (she hit him and called him a dick)
First plan (just outright ask Y/N to come back to him) didn’t work. Now, next plan is set in motion.
(Most likely to be a red herring. He’s a bit too obvious.)
Yiren:
Y/N ‘stole’ Jun from her for a moment. He’s back with her now (both of them are Clownsssss), but still – hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. It could be a reason why she would want to harm Y/N, and make her stay away from Jun.
Sohye:
Clingy client of Wonwoo. Is not happy AT ALL that her favorite SVT member is spending so much time with another girl, someone who is not a client. Maybe wants to get rid of Y/N and keep Wonwoo to herself?
Sohee: Popular Theories:
Ex of Yuta who’s angry at Y/N because Yuta dumped her to get Y/N back. Wants to ruin her to get back at her.
Related to Seungcheol/Chaeyoung/Seungkwan/Anyone and either isn’t happy with how Y/N treated her (relative is not a dick in this route) or is the henchman of her relative, who holds a serious grudge against Y/N and wants to see her go down.
Ex-friend of Y/N who is angry that Y/N abandoned and forgot about her. (Maybe she was mentioned in Newsflash! 11?)
My theory:
Sister/Cousin/Very close friend of Sohye (clingy client of Wonwoo). Angered to see her sister/cousin/close friend being ignored by Wonwoo and not have his full attention anymore. Also think Wonwoo might be falling for Y/N, and doesn’t want her sister/cousin/close friend to experience heartbreak.
Chaeyoung’s Father:
Already has a history of being controlling over who interacts with his daughter
(Is he still part of the Schoolboard? And does the School still restrict SVT, or is that no more?)
What does he see: His daughter in distress, talking to SVT again, leaving for an entire summer… all because of who? Y/N.
Knows he can’t separate Chaeyoung from Y/N – childhood friends after all – but he can separate Y/N and Chaeyoung from SVT. Then he can start working on separating them.
‘Bitchy’ Client of Jeonghan (Eunha?):
Could be the one who bitched to the schoolboard when Jeonghan wanted to resign from SVT for Chaeyoung – or not.
Could be jealous of Y/N taking Jeonghan away from her, and wants to keep him away from Y/N
Jaehyun:
That one dude Chaeyoung dated for a hot second (were they really together??), best friends with Yuta (makes him suspicious!)
Could be in on the whole plot, planned to get to Y/N through Chaeyoung, but after that failed, they’re now doing Plan B
Unknown:
In Newsflash! 11 Y/N mentioned she once was too late in mending her relationship with someone. (She let someone slip away, as she said it.) Who was it? And could it be that the person is back, angry at Y/N for letting her slip away and wanting to get revenge?
Funny-informative things:
Seungcheol considered Joshua still a brother, even after Joshua left SVT and basically told them to get lost. So it’s extra ironic that he told Jihoon to leave because of a girl he just met ~2 months ago (Newsflash! 4)
You know, it’s really ironic – in Newsflash! 10 Joshua cites the fact that SVT just left Chaeyoung behind as his reason as to why he doesn’t tell Chaeyoung the truth. It’s very obvious he’s angry about them just leaving her. But look at what he’s doing now, leaving his friend of YEARS for… well, poor reasons. At least poorer reasons than SVT had to avoid Chaeyoung. Their education was at stake, while for him… what is at stake?
I like Jun calling Mingaho out on his bullshit in Newsflash! 22. First telling Jun that Y/N doesn’t like him that way and that he should go on a date with Yiren but then later on turn around and tell him ‘omg it was obvious she had feelings for you why did you play with her!!!’ Hao you just sank.
Newsflash! 26 Joshua’s whole tirade about “You should come to me when you need something, I should walk you home at night, it should be me, not Jun or Mingyu or Jeonghan” just rubs me in the wrong way. Like, dude – you weren’t there for her, but others were. So Y/N learned ‘oh, ok, can’t go to Joshua, I’ll go to someone else’. You can’t blame her for that. She went and found a different support system because you weren’t there for her. Stop being so controlling and demanding – even if you’re her friend since childhood, she doesn’t owe you shit. She doesn’t have to rely just on you, and doesn’t owe you a relationship. (Gosh, sorry went off on a tangent.)
Newsflash! 28 Jeonghan saying he’ll wait for Y/N until she’s ready (a whOLE LIE)
Newsflash! 36 Y/N doing the right thing and PUNCHING YUTA LIKE HE DESERVES GOODBYE HOE
THE MF IRONY OF JUN TEXTING “you don’t have any rights rn ur a dick” TO JEONGHAN IN Newsflash! 38 I’M DIEING XD HONEY, YOU ARE DICK YOURSELF. AND YOU’LL CONTINUE TO BE A DICK. GOSH YOU’RE MY BIAS WRECKER BUT HONESTLY SCREW Newsflash!/Move!Jun (Can we please get a moment where Jeonghan is convinced of Y/N's innocence but Jun doesn't believe her stubbornly, making Y/N cry, and then later when he sees he was wrong and tries to apologize Jeonghan pulls a "you don't have any right rn ur a dick" PLEASE???)
Also thank you Lee Jihoon for telling the guys they need to freaking CHILL. “throwing yourselves at her like DOGS” is exactly the phrase I would’ve used. 10/10 (Newsflash! 38)
Newsflash! 40 Joshua being a whole clown and texting “ill wait an eternity for you even if I get heartbroken in the end” like yeah, look at where you are now
Okay so to get this right: Y/N, Chaeyoung and Seungkwan have left for 1 week; Y/N drops her phone into a river in Thailand; that same week the thread was posted (but not on the exact same day?); very soon after that Sohee shows up and lies. That's… quick. How did no one of SVT think "wait, how come she showed up so soon after the thread was posted??" They really have -5 braincells, huh.
Questions I have/Things which don't add up for me:
Why was Chae’s Dad okay with Joshua still being friends with Chaeyoung? Is it because they didn’t have a thing for each other? Also, Chaeyoung's father still could've threatened Joshua. Either by threatening to take away his scholarship (if he has one) or by threatening to kick him out of university. Why was Joshua fine?
Why was it only Joshua who held to Chaeyoung when shit went down back then? I can understand Jeonghan, since his education was threatened, and Seungcheol, since he seems to be close with Jeonghan. But all the others? Did none of them, of all 12 (10) of them, care enough for Chaeyoung to say ‘I am resigning from SVT, I want to keep being friends with you’? My point is: it seems that SVT has a history of dropping people quite easily. Especially girls. Which is ironic, since SVT’s motto/theme is about respecting women and making them feel happy.
Then again - for how long have Joshua and Chaeyoung been friends? For how long have Chaeyoung and Y/N been friends? We know Joshua and Y/N are childhood friends (as far as I remember), but since Joshua said he met Chaeyoung during his time in SVT and only got close to her at that point, I don't think Y/N and Chaeyoung were childhood friends. But we also know Chaeyoung and Y/N were friends in Highschool, or else Chaeyoung wouldn't know about the reason why Y/N left for Japan. So... was Joshua just not aware of Chaeyoung, the best friend of his childhood friend? (How would that work??)
How did Y/N not know of SVT at the beginning of Newsflash! ? Like, she has to ask Chaeyoung who they are, even though Y/N has already been there for 2 Quarters. I get being a reclusive, I am too, but even I know about the very popular stuff going on around me. And SVT has to be popular. A host club/frat like theirs, not popular? They wouldn't bring in money if they weren't. And they do, as far as we know. So... is Y/N so unaware of her surroundings?
What also confuses me – we know Chaeyoung and Y/N have history. We know Y/N and Joshua have history. But Seungkwan and Y/N? We don’t know about them. We’re told he’s close friends with Y/N (Mingyu asking Seungkwan for help for getting Y/N and Seungcheol together, Seungkwan being the one to travel along Chaeyoung and Y/N), but we don’t see it. We see as much of their friendship – even less – than of Y/N’s friendship with Vernon, Dino, Hoshi and DK. I’m just- what’s their history? Why was he the one to travel alongside Chaeyoung and Y/N? Yeah, Chaeyoung said it’s because he’s not trying to get into Y/N’s pants, but… neither is Vernon or Dino. Or Seokmin. Hoshi is on shaky grounds, but I don’t think he wants to either. So, why Seungkwan?
Did DK and Y/N ever actually meet? Either during Newsflash! or Move! ? Because we know Y/N spent time with Vernon, Chan, Seungkwan, Soonyoung, Joshua and Chaeyoung on different occasions, but never was there any talk of DK. Speaking of which - how did DK and Y/N become friends? Was DK just an 'add-on' when Y/N started tutoring Chan and became friends with him? Does that really make them friends?
And... that's all I have. Sorry if I lost some things when I re-submitted them! And let's hope it'll work now!!
I really love what you do. Keep up the amazing work!!! 💕💕
29 notes · View notes
sunfloweradore · 5 years
Text
drafts!!
okay SO i’m on break and have a shit ton of free time and i actually want to write (shocker right omg) i have many drafts and i’d just like to know which one you’d be most interested in me posting first (drafts are after the blurbs in bold)
vote here or in my inbox  
1. based off of something i read on wattpad but i can’t find it or i would credit it sksskls, harry’s neighbor is flicking the bean EVERY TIME he’s in the shower so he has to hear her moans all the time and he is fed! up!
2. basically y/n wants to move out of her parent’s house and will do anything to find a decent roommate, it turns out to be harry, and he’s secretly an assassin
3. someone requested that i write a story where the reader is latina which has been in my inbox FOREVER so if you requested it i am so sorry for the wait but i’m not latina so it’s a little difficult to write from that perspective but i'm trying!!
4. harry is a photography major and has a crush on y/n (kind of a nerd/popular girl thing but it’s sweet)
5. so nick sets harry up on a blind date with some girl who is bi and sees a girl in the crowd who she can’t stop staring at and it’s y/n, harry actually offers for them all to have a threesome once he sees her
6. finally, i don’t have a draft for it, but someone requested that i have an a/b/o fic where a rival pack hurts y/n
1. Harry was pissed off and turned on constantly. All he wanted was to shower in peace- it’s why he moved out of his friends house and into an apartment. He was now regretting that decision because of how shittily thin the walls were. Every time he wanted to take a shower, he’d do it at night time. It was just how he was, a routine thing. He’d get through his day, eat something, take a shower, and pass out with a dozen fluffy blankets. However, once he’d moved into said apartment, he discovered that he’d have to make some adjustments.
The first time it happened, Harry assumed it was a one time thing (everyone has their needs, so did he) and was enjoying his shower, turning up his music to block out the noise. The next five times, though, made him realize it would keep happening no matter what kind of noise he tried to make in its place. He couldn’t necessarily say that he didn’t enjoy the moans- they were pretty, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a tinge of arousal whenever he heard one, but Jesus, it was so bothersome. If he was trying to take a relaxing bath with lavender bath salts and calming music, muffled moans would burst through the room. If he just needed a quick rinse before going to bed, bam, it sounded like someone was either getting murdered or having the best damn orgasm in the world... every single time. Apparently whoever this woman was, really enjoyed getting herself off, especially when she heard the water running on the other side of the wall (Harry could kind of understand, though, he was a bit of an exhibitionist, himself, but he definitely wouldn’t fuck himself that loudly without even knowing who was on the other side. For all she knew, Harry could be an 80 year old man whose nurse showered him every night).
In a sour moment mixed with cheap drugstore alcohol and pure bravery, Harry decided enough was enough.
2.  The sounds of cars beeping and trailing down the highway echoed through Y/N’s ears on her long, tiring walk home. She lived with her parents in her second year of college, and, while she appreciated their generosity, she needed to find a place closer because the walk back gave her blisters (she probably needed a car, too, but that was a whole different struggle). She didn’t have many friends, either, tending to isolate herself on accident in an attempt to be a good student, so it’s not like she could ask anyone if she could pay rent to live with them or anything of the sort. Her only option was to look for ads or fliers in her neighborhood that sounded good enough for her to live in (she was very desperate at this point and could honestly care less if they had some sketchy building, as long as her room and the rent were decent).
3.  (Hey babe! I don’t know if you’re still doing requests but if you are, could you do one where the reader is latina? Like yovanna ventura (u can check her ig she’s so gorgeous!) and like the fans hates her bc they want him to date someone skinny and white and compares her to kendall or camille, and bc of that she’s having second thoughts on dating him, thank you hun!💖💖)) If Y/N had to describe Harry’s past girlfriends, the first word that came to mind was… plain. And she didn’t mean it in a bad way, honestly, she didn’t, but it felt like there wasn’t hope for anyone who wasn’t... white enough... someone you’d see on the cover of all magazines, someone who didn’t… stand out. At the same time, though, it seemed to have become an expectation that he dated girls like that, who were equally as famous as he was and people within his circle that he was comfortable with. Which is why it was such a shock that he posted a picture with a latina, naturally golden skin glowing with a smile that matched Harry’s completely. No one expected it at all, which made her a bit sad, honestly. Not because she felt bad about being with him, no, not at all, but because they’d all been expecting someone who was the complete opposite of her.
4. “Make sure to delete the ones that are ugly, please!”
“Got it,” he spoke softly, enamored by the effortless way her hair fell onto her collarbones. The lighting was perfect, peering through the tree leaves and shining particular light onto her right eye and enhancing certain parts of her pink sweater. Honestly, this was their first shoot and he already had an inkling that no photos would be deleted.
5.  Harry was on a date with a girl. A girl he thought was insanely hot, despite her odd choice to go to a club in some part of LA he’d never even heard of and he actually quite liked going to them (more so being dragged there by his friends, but it was fun most of the time to see them all get wasted, even if he was somewhat a wallflower). He thought it was going to end in her being all over him once she had a few daiquiris in her, hoping to take her home but he should’ve known that Nick wouldn’t introduce him to anyone he’d actually like, or, more specifically, anyone who’d actually like him. It started off okay, she’d asked him about his upcoming album and he answered politely despite answering those types of questions more times than he could count on both hands. She seemed distracted and he wanted that kind of attention on him, not whatever was behind him. He wanted to kiss her glossy lips and feel her dig her long nails into him, feel them pull at his skin while he fucks into her.
6. Can you do a werewolf!au and a soulmate!au where Harry finds his soulmate aka y/n but then a rival pack hurts y/n? Happy ending
25 notes · View notes
siyeonjisoo · 5 years
Text
Oookay.  Long post in-coming.  TL:DR is I saw the GazettE yesterday and while it was a really fucking long day, IT WAS AMAZING AND ALL WORTH IT AND I LOVE THEM AND MY FRIENDS <3 <3 <3
SO my day started at 3:50am when I woke up.  got on a train at 5:17 in the morning to get to NYC by 7.  I ended up being the 34th person in line.  The folks at the front of the line had come straight from Dallas and started lining up at 4am which is both insane but awesome.  I was waiting for the discord friends to show up and was the second one to show up.  the line was originally along the front entrance of the building and all mixed.  The business on the corner, however, really hates the lines being in front of their entrance so we actually got split from VIP and GA really early.  I think it was like 9am when that happened and all of us who are familiar with how shit Playstation staff’s organization usually is were shook.
My friends and I had a great time hanging out all day long so I got no complaints, even though I sat my ass on a sidewalk in Times Square for 10 hours yesterday.  We had ourselves organized and knew we were gonna be fine but Playstation staff showed their true identities by trying to fuck with it all day long.  We all got in several shouting matches of them just going on power trips and us trying to explain that they don’t have to worry about us.
I also painted my nails at some point in line haha
Because we were so damn close to the doors, we could hear soundcheck from outside.  They played Zetsu, Shadow VI II I, Sumire, and Bathroom and I was fucking crying so much then.  Those were the first tears of the day, I think, but nowhere near the last.  We were all freaking out over it.
A little bit after that, I went on a trip to use the bathroom (which was the last time I think I went before I got home at 2am lol.  Held anything from like 3pm till then).  We were going to the Hardrock Cafe for that so we had to walk from the alley tunnel where the VIP lines were around the block past the main entrance of Playstation.  A staff member came walking out just as a car was pulling up with 3 men in the backseat.  They all had light blonde hair and masks on.  Staff hurriedly ushered them inside.  I saw the eyes of one of the guys and I swear to god that it may have been Kai.  It was after the soundcheck so unless staff did the soundcheck for them, they went out for lunch after and I saw them when they came back.  Which is possible.  So yeah, that may have happened.
We were allowed to go inside starting around 6:30 so we started organizing ourselves into the number order we had around 5 just so we could be ready when staff started letting us in.  I was standing from 5pm then until like 9:45, after the concert ended.  At 6:10, they started organizing us by letting us snake through to get our VIP bands and (if you were Heresy) other bracelets.  We got like 25 people through that way and it was taking REALLY long so they gave up on that and sent the first bunch through.  Because a lot of people weren’t there (either were GA given a # by accident or just not there) I ended up being within the first 20 to get inside.
I hit up the merch table to get a Reita bear and because of that, lost the chance to get the barricade but I still was in the 3rd row on the side that I wanted to be on.  It was around 7 by then and we were all just waiting for everyone to get in.  I talked with all the people around me and we all had a great time.  At 8:02, the concert started.
Here is the setlist:
99.999
Falling
NINTH ODD SMELL
GUSH
Vortex
Venomous Spider's Web
THE MORTAL
SONO KOE WA MOROKU
DOGMA
The Suicide Circus
INCUBUS
UGLY
ABHOR GOD
Filth in the Beauty
encore
INSIDE BEAST
Cockroach
Tomorrow Never Dies
I managed to keep my spot in front of Reita in the 3rd row for the entire show, only moving like an inch or two away from center, toward Aoi.  By the time Vortex happened, I definitely was not standing on my own feet but was being held up by the crowd and swaying all around with them.  I had one foot on the ground to keep me, well, grounded, and was just being pushed back and forth with the crowd from then on.  I don’t think I have been that covered in sweat in my entire life.  My shirt was fucking drenched, thank goodness it was a thick material so the white didn’t become transparent at least haha.
The folks directly behind me were holding onto my shoulders and back to balance while headbanging and that pushed me forward and backward so I was headbanging better so thanks fam!
I also got a punch in the eye at one point and this was the thought process of my reaction (over the span of like 2 seconds):  "oh no, i'm a daycare teacher! I can't have a black eye!" then "fuck it, I'm at a concert I don't care" then "wait it didn't even hurt that much why was I so dramatic".  There was no damage and I was just being dramatic so enjoy laughing at me.
I was right in front of Reita so I got lots of him.  He stuck his tongue out while making eye contact with me at one point.  I saw heaven in that moment.  He also kept doing this weird little waving thing with his hand throughout and it was really fucking cute and made me laugh while doing it back at him.
Ruki would also hop up in the area right in front of us, right on the edge of the stage, and after the first time he came there, I was on that one foot until the main set ended.  Seeing Ruki’s dorky dancing in person, that close, is so funny.  I laughed so hard every single time he did his little chicken neck dance thing.  Can’t take him seriously when he does that.
Aoi was teasing all of us and being a handsome man.  He also attempted to turn Sono Koe wo Moroku into a sexy song with how he was dancing there.
Kai and Uruha were on their side of the stage the entire time and I couldn’t see either of them very well but every time I did, they were breathtakingly beautiful and seemed to be having so much fun.
Main set ended around 9:08.  We chanted back and forth between encore and gazetto for like 11 or 12 minutes before they came back on.
Aoi and Reita stayed in their costumes while Kai and Uruha had changed into tour shirts.  URUHA LOOKED SO FUCKING SEXY IN HIS BECAUSE he had cut the sleeves off and the collar so it was a low v-neck style.  Made his choker necklace stand out even more and HOLY FUCK IS THAT MAN SEXY.  Kai took his microphone and yelled at us in English about how fucking awesome we were and it was so nice hearing him curse for some reason.  I can’t explain why it was so nice to hear but it was.  After that, they started a slightly elongated instrumental intro to Inside Beast before Ruki came out on stage and he also had not changed out of his costume.
The only time that Uruha came past the center onto my side was during Inside Beast I think.  The only words I could think at that moment were “oh my god, that man is so beautiful”.
I knew that Tomorrow Never Dies was going to be the last song they played so as soon as Ruki started saying “last”, I started feeling like I was going to cry.  But the problem with that was the fact that I had sweated out so much liquid that I had no tears.  So I sobbed but without tears throughout that entire song.  After that song, Aoi, Uruha, and Reita threw their pics into the crowd.  One of Aoi’s landed like a foot or two to my left but either someone caught it and didn’t tell anyone or it got lost cause no one claimed to have caught it after.
Kai had his phone and took a picture from behind his drumset.  I think it was a selfie with us in the background.  Then he came down to the front, smiley as ever, and took some more pics of just us.  I found myself.  I’m in the purple circle here
Tumblr media
We then all went up to the chairs in the back to wait for it to be M&G time.  I would have been fine if my day had ended there, honestly, because it had already been amazing.  But no, there was still more.  It was like 9:30/9:40 when they started clearing the rows to go through.  I was surprisingly calm about it because I was concentrating on my promise to a friend.  She was behind me in line and I had promised to get Aoi to wish her a happy birthday since it is today, the day after the concert.  So I focused on that and making sure I could say that to him instead of freaking out over anything else.
so the order was Aoi, Reita, Ruki, Kai, Uruha.  one by one, here is what happened.
Aoi: he takes my hands and thanks me in English.  I thank him in Japanese while marveling in how SOFT his hands are.  Then I tell him, again in Japanese, about it being my friends bday tomorrow and asking him to say something.  He looks at her and grins and nods to me.  Reita is staring at me now and I almost froze having both of them looking straight at me at the same time.
Reita: I hand to him the card I wrote for all of them and he takes it while saying, in English, “For me?” and he sounded so cute.  I corrected him and said it was for all of them and he nodded and thanked me, in Japanese, and I thanked him too.  I kinda didn’t even notice that he wasn’t looking at me with two eyes because I was in so much shock.
Ruki: He gave me the softest smile as he took my hand in both of his.  I thanked him and almost couldn’t let go of his hands.  Not because of me, but because of him not wanting to let go.  I think he saw my tattoo when we shook hands which makes me happy.
Kai: THIS MAN IS SO SWEET.  I thanked him while we shook hands and this is kinda when I started losing my mind.  I let go of his hands kinda fast but I told him, in Japanese, that he has an amazing smile and he tilted his head and smiled at me.  Like just at me and my legs almost gave out under me.
Uruha: His hands.  They are so big.  And so soft.  AND HE IS SO FUCKING HOT.  I had completely lost my mind by then so he said thank you in English and I just couldn’t say anything else but thank you in English.  My brain was goop.
I walked away from Uruha on shaky legs, got my VIP little towel, and then collapsed against a wall and started sobbing.  11 and a half years waiting for an opportunity to thank them, face-to-face, finally brought to an end last night and it all just crashed down on me in that moment.
My friend who was behind me came out crying and came straight to give me a hug and we just hugged and cried for almost a minute, just standing there.  Aoi had wished her a happy birthday, as expected, but Reita did too.  That’s why he had been staring at me while I spoke to Aoi lol.
I just wandered around with my friends inside the venue, trying to keep from sobbing completely because ain’t nobody need that kind of attention from a venue’s staff.
My friends all parted ways to go back to their respective Airbnbs or hotels while I started my lonely walk back to Penn station.  But I was still kinda crying so I scanned the crowd of people also walking in that direction until I found people I recognized to be from this concert.  Caught up with them and asked if I could walk with them for a little bit so I wouldn’t be a girl walking through the city, alone, crying, at night.  We ended up stopping to get food together and chatting for like an hour before I had to head off to catch my train.
I cried literally off and on the entire way home.  On the train, walking from train to car, driving home, every step of the way.  I ended up being awake for a solid 22, almost 23, hours yesterday.  My throat is still sore today.  My neck hurts so much.  My heart is so full of emotions that I am still so close to crying at any moment.  All of the stress about the semester up until now? Worth it.  All of my worries about finals? Gone.  I met and spoke with (in Japanese) the human beings who inspired me to start learning Japanese in the first place.  I will be graduating from college in 13 days as both a member of Sigma Tau Delta and cum laude.  Not to be overdramatic or cringey or anything but I know for a fact that I would not be at this point in my life if I hadn’t found this band when I was 11.5 years old.  11.5 years later, this is what my life is like.  I have the money to afford to MEET them.  And the opportunity for it.  Life can change so much.  Like, if anyone ever needs a reminder that “it get’s better” this is it!
The first goal was just to see them in concert.  That was ticked off the list in 2016 at their first world tour.  The second was to meet them and be able to say “thank you” to them in person.  That was ticked off the list last night.  The new goal? get them all to autograph my arm, under where I have their logo, so I can get that tattooed as well.  My entire left arm is going to be dedicated to bands that have shaped who I am so there will also be Miyavi tattoos and maybe even some Berryz Koubou tattoos there one day but for now, the goal is their autographs.  So look out for that.
Tumblr media
Also, check out all of my beautiful and lovely friends.  I love them all so much and miss you all already!! (I’m the blondie grinning like a dork because I was so happy!)
26 notes · View notes
wp-blaze · 1 day
Text
Gifts for Those Who Dream to Become a Writer
Tumblr media
Many aspire to be writers, and thoughtful gifts can inspire and support them on this journey effectively.
5 notes · View notes
lanasaved · 5 years
Text
Tumblr media
cue me, clanking noisily at a nearby manhole as i attempt to scrabble my way bk out of the sewer like the stinky little rat tht i am. enchanté, ghouls! some of u might remember me (nai/from manchester so i pronounce things like a gallagher brother n i’m profusely sry abt it) bt if nt i hd to drop off the face of the Earth rp wise fr a hot minute there bt now im bk n i couldn’t resist reviving lana so???? here we r. u kno the drill more abt her under the cut!!
( cis-female ) haven’t seen LANA JAMESON around in a while. the KRISTINE FROSETH lookalike has been known to be (+) VIVACIOUS & (+) ALLURING, but SHE can also be (-) UNRELIABLE & (-) CARELESS. The 22 year old is a SOPHOMORE majoring in BALLET. I believe they’re living in AUDAX but I popped by earlier and no one answered the door. ( nai. 22. gmt. she/ha/the beast from split. )
some random aesthetics: a red water pistol topped up with caribbean rum and covered in stickers of cartoon pin up girls, a vinyl record whirring silently because you got too distracted by a stranger’s hands to reach over and flip sides, giant inflatable flamingos floating in the aftermath of a pool party, smudgy lipstick kisses left like an autograph on someone else’s mirror
SO i think in terms of explainin where she’s been fr the past month i’m gna say tht she didn’t rly.... tell a lot of ppl??? probably only a select few bt to others im guessin she was pretty vague bc she hates discussin anythin serious/personal. anyway essentially she’s been back @ home helpin her brother out n i won’t elaborate much more bc im a thot
frm this point on ive jst pasted her old intro bc im the laziest woman alive n that’s jst life Babey
she’s local to the ny area i jst havent decided where exactly she grew up tbh. probably somewhere upstate
okay so her mum is an old money socialite / three time campaign model way back when n her dad is a big record label mogul. he owns a label called jameson records n they repped a few rly big rock bands back in the eighties, altho they’re mostly known for ‘poppy injects’ whose lead singer had a big heroin scandal tht brought down his career. lana p much grew up around musicians snorting lines instead of spooning down cereal fr breakfast n her parents were v much absent her whole life
they’re pretty well off obviously n bc of her relation to such a big music industry figure she’s hung out w a fair few relatively high rep ppl thru her teens. she amassed kind of an instagram following mainly fr her style (v penny lane-esque in some aspects aka lots of fur cuff trimmed jackets bt then also jst.... a wild combination of everything honestly. pastel faux fur coats, seventies style platforms, flame red cowboy boots, pastel coloured fishnet tights n glitter used like highlight Everywhere) n bc she’s undeniably very pretty
her parents always kind of jst… didn’t like her. it was v clear that she was an accident after her older brother caleb n that even when they just had him alone they weren’t cut out for parenthood. they always kind of jst… ignored her n hoped she’d go away. she had to mke herself microwave meals when she ws only like 12 bc they’d forget to get her anything. once she went like 6 days without her mum even looking her in the eyes once
despite this tho!!! she’s always been insanely close w her brother caleb. he’s her whole world. thts why when he decided to sign up to the army she ws understandably scared bt supported him regardless. bt then he wound up getting discharged under grounds of severe ptsd when he witnessed his best friend die in an explosion tht took place in a shock raid. caleb returned home n he was never the same n lana kind of felt like he’d died out there too. he’s in n out of hospital a lot n it’s rly hard on her bt she doesn’t tlk abt it to anyone rly
growing up lana was always a huge social butterfly. jst literally…. knew everyone n everyone definitely knew her. she ws one of those girls tht ws kind of impossible to ignore or forget. very animated, always made u feel like u were the centre of the universe whenever she spoke to u, always made it feel like u were best friends even if ud only spoken to her once. she has this magnetic way abt her tht is kind of hard to find in real life. it’s something ud only rly expect out of a movie character
she’s always been insatiably spontaneous n adventurous. always doing something weird n wild every weekend. she has ten thousand stories tht always earn a laugh or a gasp over how ridiculously absurd they r
anyway so after caleb got back he was rly withdrawn n depressed. he shut lana out n was kind of harsh to her a lot of the time, always telling her to leave him alone or pushing her away. it didnt help either tht lana had a rly traumatic experience w some of her dad’s colleagues at the label when she ws 16 n he was away n she cldnt even tell him abt it once he was bk bc of his own traumas. she kind of jst shut it all in n kept it to herself
this obviously?? made her spiral a lot. she was already a girl tht loved sex (she’d only rly done foreplay before tho) but since her trauma it got…. completely out of hand. it got to a point where she couldnt rly go 2 days without it, probably not even 1. her lowest point has probably been scrolling thru craiglist for anonymous encounters n meeting up w strangers on there fr a quick fuck jst for the thrill even tho it’s insanely dangerous n she cld wind up getting herself killed. it’s v clear at this point tht she has a sex addiction whether she’s ever admitted it or not. in fact she’s so… shameless in her endeavours tht she’s actually currently having an affair w her ballet instructor tanya who’s engaged to b married
she also currently? is working as a cam girl. she found this website bc she trawls… porn stuff a lot n she wound up applying to work as one bc she thought it’d b fun n wld earn her some disposal income (even tho she frankly doesn’t need it bc she’s already well off). the guy tht manages all of the girls on the site is kind of suspect n it’s a whole plot i’m gna unravel where it’s actually like the front for a cult or something wild so. stay posted ig. kgjdkgjh
new development!!!!!!!! cue me trottin around doin jazz hands. she’s actually been cut off by her dad so she’s….. living off the money she has left n has to look to find a job which is jst. a nightmare fr someone like lana bc she’s insatiably irresponsible n destined to be fired from anything she tries to hold down bt. it’ll be interesting bc this means she genuinely has to keep on camming even tho she’s starting not to want to any more bc of other circumstances i won’t elaborate on jst yet winks
personality/some fun facts: uncontrollably flirty. boundlessly confident. cld make a joke out a paper bag n her comedy is sometimes surreal / absurd. she tends to laugh when she feels like crying n has a smile brighter than a ray of texas sunshine. always dapples her fingers thru the breeze when she’s driving in a car w the window down. her fav book as a child used to b alice in wonderland n she’d fantasise abt having her own little wonderland too where everyone knew her name n asked her things n took her on adventures. at the time it didn’t rly strike her how evident it was tht that was bc she was so lonely. she almost always has some sort of sweet on her, whether it’s strawberry laces or gummy bears or cherry lollipops. she adores david bowie n prince n madonna n anyone tht’s a vintage style icon w little care fr what ppl think. wildflowers r her favourites bc they’re the brightest and u can’t buy them. she’s had like 8472493874 ‘relationships’ n none of them hav lasted beyond a month / hav been terrible / hav seen her being treated badly / she’s cheated on them. i dnt think she’s actually been w anyone she hasn’t cheated on in some form or another
plot ideas: exes tht lana’s fucked over hideously. she’d probably cheat a lot and it’d be a whole…mess. mayb someone tht flipped the switch and cheated on her? a cousin plot cld b fun too. a friend tht lana fel out w bc she slept w their significant other. someone tht’s getting lana into drugs?? she’s kind of impressionable/down for anything so tht’s a likely scenario she’d get into tbh. an unrequited crush!! (either way is cool). someone tht is just hanging out w her/using her bc she has a lot of instagram followers or they want to b signed to her dad’s label. someone in a band!! she’d probably make like penny lane n b their groupie/sleep w them all fgjkshgkh. umm a good influence too mayb? oh and a past summer romance/fling tht cld either have meant a lot or not have meant anything at all. bonus points if both of them hav a diff viewpoint on it. honestly?? anything is fine i cld ramble for days. let’s get wildt!
15 notes · View notes
valentinesparda · 5 years
Note
F/O Love Tropes: all even numbers for either Glaz or Mirage 💚
@ectozombie ALRIGHT LADDIES LETS GO
--------------------
2. Accidental Hand Hold: When did you first hold hands with your F/O?
GLAZ ; “accident” my ass, that shit was on PURPOSE after MANY ATTEMPTS and when bones grabbed glaz’s hand and he didn’t pull away they wouldn’t stop holding hands for like an hour. it was after their second date because their first one, warden chaperoned because bones refuses to drive.
MIRAGE ; this one was an accident because mirage got spooked and grabbed tempest by the hand and just kept fucking running. tempest was smug about it for a few days and that’s what started their little....relationship that mainly consists of being asshole friends with benefits but the benefits are annoying everyone around them and booty calls.
4. Almost Kiss: What was your first kiss with your F/O like?
GLAZ ; soft....very gay....and in the snow. before a training mission glaz pulled bones off to the side and said that he had something for good luck before he pulled off his mask and kissed them.
MIRAGE ; okay so like. their first kiss was sloppy and didn’t really mean anything. their First Kiss was tempest going to shut up mirage, who was wildly babbling about something and hinting at something more than just friends. fuck with me
6. Bodyguard Crush: How does your F/O make you feel safe?
GLAZ ; b....big russian boy with a soft side....hh. knows how to get under your skin and learn all your tics and give you reassurance in his own little way which normally involves sitting together in silence. a big coat filled with love and the feeling you get when you think about your favourite things you used to do as a child.
MIRAGE ; stupid yellow boy with a heart of gold and loves to dance on the battlefield and wouldn’t hesitate to put himself between danger and his partner. he feels warm like sunlight in the morning and a comfortable blanket and dancing in the kitchen at night when no one is around.
8. Grow Old With Me: How long have you and your F/O been together?
GLAZ ; like two years.... baby relationship
MIRAGE ; REALLY baby relationship. several months at BEST
10. Love Epiphany: When and how did you realize you loved your F/O? When and how did they realize they loved you?
GLAZ ; very early on, bones realized that they wanted to spend so much time with timur and had a sinking suspicion that maybe they were catching feelings when they couldn’t stop watching him do anything with a lovestruck look on their face and a bubble in their chest. and then glaz looked at them and smiled and they knew
MIRAGE ; tempest knew that they loved mirage (and not just the idea of being with someone) in the middle of the night when they went to visit him. and sometime during that time, they looked at him at his most vulnerable and realized “oh shit. oh fuck. he’s so cute. i really like spending time with him. this isn’t just stupid anymore. oh no i actually care”
12. Post-Kiss Catatonia: How did you and your F/O react to your first kiss together?
GLAZ ; bones put their mask on and couldn’t focus for the rest of the day. glaz was giddy and kapkan smacked him on the back of the head. they both couldn’t wait to end the mission so that they could maybe kiss some more.
MIRAGE ; mirage shut up and then broke into this wide grin which. made tempest smile. mirage even started to say something stupid before tempest cut him off with ANOTHER kiss. he would not shut up about it for three months.
14. You Must Be Cold: How does your F/O keep you warm when it’s cold outside?
GLAZ ; puts bones in his coat and they stand there warming up
MIRAGE ; they’re both WELL DAMN JACKIE I DON’T CONTROL THE WEATHER.mp4
1 note · View note
Text
EOR Agartha Singularity Chapter 14~END
With the power of insanity, regret, suffering and MORE SUFFERING... This entire singularity is just going to speed run, trying to complete without needing CS. Because of paranoia that the coming Christmas event requires LB3, especially the amount of new Servant and SOME in particular screams out LB3 requirement
DW seriously wants everyone to catch up to the latest story, which hence implying... Not all event are going to be Salomon-locked anymore
Tumblr media
Before I start... The following chapters at this point, DO NOT GRIND FOR BOND POINTS. All the major bosses have finally showed up and that's where you need your sanity and strong team composition to beat them
Chapter 14
Both arrows in this chapter, you're fighting both Megalos and Christopher Columbus. Megalos has 2 HP layer while Christopher has only 1
Tumblr media
In the first arrow, you're only required to either survive for 4 turns or break ONLY Megalos's first HP bar.
Tumblr media
Second however, you're required to defeat both of them. 
For Megalos 
on his HP break, buffs himself with Critical Damage Up for 3 turns but debuffs himself with Quick Resistance Down for 3 turns (demerit).
Second HP Break, buffs himself Critical Rate Up for 3 turns but debuffs himself with Arts Resistance Down for 3 turns (demerit).
Columbus
on his HP break, buffs the enemy team with Pierce Invincibility for 3 turns.
Personally, kill Megalos first because as usual for Berserker class reason and you really don't want him to receive the invincibility pierce if you break Columbus's HP bar by accident
Chapter 15
A visual story mode, so nothing much to see here except googling up for the summary ^^;
Chapter 16
The final and longest fight for this Singularity, which I repeat, DO NOT GRIND FOR BOND POINTS UNLESS YOU'RE PREPARED!
Tumblr media
First arrow... It's actually where Confucious doing confusion fu on you and your team. Not really confusing since you've got Scheherazade and 8 mob bosses of different classes with her
Her only gimmick at each HP break is giving taunt on those mobs for 10 turns, and, she reduced damage from Servants with King trait (*stares at AUO* Yeah people like AUO or Arthur, especially Ozzy). So, you're more or less required to bring either borrowed AOE Alter Ego/Berserker preferably without the King trait to kill them.
Finally the final boss, Demon God Pillar Phenex!
Because you're going to fight that fucking tentacle pillar 3 TIMES in different arrow in two separate classes.
In Arrow 2, you're first fighting it in their Caster class. It take reduced damage from Servants with King trait and, will Charm & inflict HP reduction every turn to a random party member.
Tumblr media
Arrow 4, your first round to survive against it after it uses its permanent guts buff 2 times!
Demon God Phenex itself:
Single target Instant-Death combined with a Death Rate Down debuff.
Single Target Charm combined with a 1 turn delayed HP reduction debuff (the affected servant will have its HP reduced once the player's turn ends).
Self cleanse, one-turn incoming debuff negation, NP gauge single tick charge.
Demon God Phenex's NP:
It will first attempt to remove any buffs [CE buffs such as Volumen Hydrargyrum's one won't be affected].
Party wide AOE multiple hit damage.
All the party members will be inflicted with a 1,000 damage per turn Burn debuff.
Tumblr media
Arrow 5, this in particular you’re to survive 10 turns when young Fergus from plot reason reduced its MAX HP to 1 and its guts buff completely gone to kill it.
Its skills and NP is the same as before... But it has now an insta-death skill to kill your Servant, so do beware of that.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Now that this first shit is done for main quest... I’ll start immediately for SIN Lostbelt tomorrow/later tonight right after I’m back from my trip to AFA :D
Because writing this with less than 6 hrs of sleep for 2 days is just me wanting to finish this ASAP
Observation:
Apparently this Singularity has a decent habit in throwing different classes together so that you can’t use a single class to deal with them. Yeah, not even Berserker unless you got a good setup to keep them alive
Dahut mini boss:
Or aka Drake Alter, where if she had Wild Golden Hunt with her for her NP... This entire boss fight with her is practically screaming chaos if she decided to buff it with pierce invincibility
Ideally Carmilla and Jack are best against her for Assasin class
But if you’re starting this way later like now, Okada Izou is subsitute to bring in for his anti-humanoid skill
Alternatively any assassin will do to kill her
But when dealing against her with Hydra, do bring a Lancer for main DPS with a good composition of a team to deal with them both
She isn’t that difficult so I considered her more of a mini Boss to deal with before the biggest fish
Wu Zetian:
If you have Scheherazade before starting this Singularity, she’s the ideal Caster against her. Wu Zetian possess the king trait with her so Scheherazade can deal more damage to her
She herself isn’t that much of a problem from her skillset wise other than her own healing and removable defense down debuff
Only problem you’ll need to be aware is her 3 tick NP gauge AND her increase of crit damage after using her NP
Her NP also has a removable poison debuff so Medea Lily can be brought along if needed
Otherwise general Caster should work, and preferably ST NP Caster to deal with her more efficiently
Penthesilea:
Basically where DW decided to kill anyone who brings Heracles-chan as a last resort due to her third skill targets to Greek Mythology Male Servant
Or actually specifically in lore wise, it’s more towards Achilles if you have him on your team
As her Berserker class, she definitely hits like a fucking truck with damage and crit
Her second skill is something to take note as not only with debuff immunity but also giving a charge in NP by 1 tick for sudden killing of your Servant
For her female trait, bring Carmilla or Jack ideally to with her
If you’re starting like now for this Singularity, Foreigner Servants and Izou are very recommended in dealing with her
The SSR Main Servant Scherherazade too as well for her NP and skill against King-trait Servants
Karna, Arjuna, Scathach, Enkidu, Oda Nobunaga & Ruler Martha, and AUO respectively for their NP/skills against Divine and Weak to Enuma Elish trait
Telsa & Raikou for her Earth & Sky trait
Siegfried-George combo is also recommended if you want Siegfried’s NP to deal higher damage against her
If you don’t have any of the above, bring more taunters and healers in both CE and Servant to keep the damage away from your main DPS Servant
Support like Jeanne and the Great 4 Casters are welcomed in supporting your main DPS
Overall until Chapter 13, majority of the fight requires you to survive until you break her first HP layer
Megalos & Christopher Columbus
In general of Megalos, his own taunt debuff to your Servant is stackable. Taunters like Leonidas and George are perfect to take in that debuff from your main dps
On my first post on Megalos, I’m completely wrong, he doesn’t have his Nine Lives NP for this NPC boss fight. His NP is a very high damage AOE NP that can be blocked by evasion or invincibility
But, he’s still same as Heracles with the same weakness as before
Euryale for usual being most recommended against him as a budget 3* due to her NP
Others such as:
Greek Mythology Males: Penthesila Her first gacha appearance practically screamed to raise her ASAP just to deal with him with further damage. Her own skill debuff immunity prevents her from being debuff with taunt. But, her weakness is also her own class as a Berserker that will kill her ASAP
Humanoid: Nightingale & Izou (Only available after 2018/2020(estimated if no changes in schedule))  Nightingale’s own skill does harder damage against him with humanoid trait. Also, her NP provides good healing when needed. But once again her downside as a Berserker class will kill her faster
Male: Orion, Tamamo Lancer, Stheno and Medb
For Stheno, you can pair her with Euryale for a charm-locked combo
Orion, Tamamo Lancer and Medb with their own ST NP will definitely kicks his butt big time!
CEs to pair with them generally is still Kiyohime CE for damage boost
Divine: Karna, Arjuna, Napoleon (only available after release of LB2), Oda Nobunaga, Ruler Martha, Scathach and Enkidu
Scathach and Enkidu for stalling if needed since their NP will stun him against his Divine Trait
Karna and Napoleon for higher damage against him
Oda Nobunaga both version are great in dealing with him for another alternative. But Oda Nobunaga Archer more recommended if you’re not able to get her Berserker version, as her Archer is a free welfare Servant
CE to bring:  Fondant au Chocolat or Versus for higher damage against Divine Servants 
Large: Arthur Pendragon
Once again after his limited appearance in Chaldea’s Boy Collection, his own third skill will give him great boost in damage against him for his large trait
AUO for Enuma Elish, Telsa and Raikou for Earth & Sky trait
Other CEs: Holy Shroud of Magdalene More for your taunters to keep them alive longer if needed when dealing with him
Christopher with Megalos
His own skillset and NP, except for a guts buff that charges his NP unexpectedly, isn’t really a problem
But because of his dangerous pierce invincibility that buffs his whole team when HP break is a big threat
Heck, his NP can actually be blocked with evasion!
Against him, I personally go for a stalling/total defense with Mash, borrowed Jeanne and MHXX + Kiritsugu for DPS
Or actually go for a setup that generates NP fast if you want Jeanne to be able to use invincibility against both of their NP at the same time
RNG plays a part which I’m thankful that by the time after Megalos is gone and Christopher’s HP break was at a good timing that he can’t do it with his NP
Otherwise, if he’s alone, he’s generally not a threat until you got a Berserker with him
Scheherazade & her mobs
Ozzy somehow becomes a not-really recommended Rider to bring because of his king-trait against her
Or actually any Servant with a King Trait isn’t recommended to bring against her
Male Servant will have a problem when dealing against her 2nd charm skill as it’s an AOE skill against all Male Servants
Has an AOE NP that deals extra damage to king/queen trait Servants
As this is after Fate/CC collab, borrow Alter Ego Kiara for AOE NP to deal with her and her mobs. Some of her mobs are under the weakness of Alter Ego
But you’ll need taunters here without a doubt because the neutral damage from the mobs will still hurt like a bitch
If you don’t have Kiara in your friend list or Servant Roster, find/borrow an AOE Berserker to kill them quickly
Phenex
General
Own skillset:
Voice of Allurement / Coming out from My Mouth: Inflict "Charm" Status and "HP Drain after 1 turn" on a target. (1 turn)
Droopy Eye: Inflict "Insta-Kill Resist Down" status to one target. (3 turns)
The Time For Rebirth is Here: Remove all debuffs from self and grants self debuff immunity. (1 turn) Charges own NP Gauge by 1 tick.
Own NP:
It will first attempt to remove any buffs [CE buffs such as Volumen Hydrargyrum's one won't be affected].
Incineration Ceremony : Phenex (NP) Deals damage to all targets and inflict "Burn" status to all targets. (5 turns)
For my fight with it in BOTH Caster and Ruler class, it’ll always use the skill on third bullet point before it uses his NP the following turn. That habit is one where if you do face, you’ll have a lot of problem to stall him if you don’t have buff remover in your team
I’ve been lucky for insta-kill for both fights since none of them got it from Phenex
The first bullet point of its skill can be RNG dependable. If it hits your Servant that about to use their NP, it’ll stun them for 1 turn before draining
Caster version
Your budget Riders who got King-trait like Boudica and Alexander are preferably not recommended to bring for this fight. It has a permanent buff to take lesser damage from those with king trait
Rider except the 2 and welfare like Santa Artoria are viable to bring, especially those with ST NP
Origin Bullet if you have to deal more damage against it
Vessel of the Saint if needed to have your main DPS not be debuff by charm
Ruler version
For its first round in arrow 4, you’re required to survive until you cleared 2 of its guts buff
All Guts buff revived it at 100% HP
Second round in arrow 5, you’re to survive at least for 10 turns until Young Fergus debuff activated + his own guts buff removed to kill it
Like first round, its Guts buff revived it at 100% HP per activation.
But Young Fergus’s own debuff against it will lowered its Max HP every time it triggers
Borrow/Use an ST NP Avenger like Jeanne Alter and Lobo to kill it as your main DPS
Or if you’re starting way later especially now, you can use budget Salieri to work with borrowed avenger to kill it more quickly
Taunters and healers are welcomed especially taunters to steer the charm debuff away from them
Healer like Hans or Merlin to keep them alive to deal and survive for those specific requirements
For Hans that I brought him, I had him with Demonic Bodhisattva CE so that his NP heals more for both Salieri and Jeanne
Apparently, Mash’s invincibility skill on your Servant isn’t removed when it’s about to use its NP
But his burn debuff can sting like heck if it does outdo your healing per turn on your Servant
Otherwise for both Ruler version, do setup a team to help surviving against the demon god
5 notes · View notes
sweetness47 · 6 years
Text
Ghosts of Memories
 Pairing Clint Barton x reader
A/N: this is for #MAMTWritingchallenge hosted by @marvelatmytrash (I haven’t decided whether or not to make it a series yet. I will see where this one goes.) feedback is always welcome, as is reblogging.
“You have no idea who I am do you?” paired with calming someone down after a nightmare.
Warnings: Fluff, maybe, language, violence, memory loss, lost love, nightmares, trauma…basically if you’re under 18, don’t read this!
Summary: You are a SHIELD agent, one of the top elite. Not only do you kick ass with weapons and without, you can also control elements ie. Earth, fire, wind, water, electrical current and light. You can’t remember anything past 6 years ago, due to a terrible accident, or so you’ve been told. Doctors say your memories may never come back. So what happens when they do start to return?
Tumblr media
Six years ago:
“I’m just going to the store to get eggs and milk, then pick up a deluxe pizza on my way home.” Y/N shouted down the basement stairs to her hubby. Clint peeked around the corner and looked up at her with his best puppy dog eyes. She caved and sighed. “Alright, ham and pineapple, and a 6-pack of Bud Light, but only because I love you and because it’s your birthday.”
Clint ran up the stairs and wrapped Y/N in his arms, and giving her a short, intimate kiss, promising some fun later. She threw her arms around his neck, moaning into his kiss. “Thanks honey. You are really the best, you know that? You kick ass, save the world, and you’re mine.” he whispered in her ear.
She smiled, “Of course I know Clint, and I’m lucky to have you too.” She said, winking at him and kissing him on the nose. “Who else could I get to fix the toilet, help me save the world, and kill all the spiders for me. You’re indispensable.” Y/N giggled as Clint reached for her sides, especially that ticklish spot by her ribcage. She squealed and tried to tickle him back, but he backed her against the wall. “Ok, ok. I give.” He was laughing as hard as she was as they kissed then, both breathless and both exceedingly happy.
As she got in the car, she remembered his reaction that morning as she presented his birthday present, neatly wrapped with an iridescent bow and matching ribbon. As he opened it, and realization set in, a huge grin appeared on his face, and in an instant he was swinging her around, showering her with hugs and kisses, the framed ultrasound picture still in his hand. She was about ten weeks according to the tests, and everything looked exactly the way it should, no abnormalities. It was too soon to know the gender, but she didn’t care. They were pregnant.
She listened to radio as she drove, weather reports and warnings were filling every station she tuned in to. Then she hit a winter onslaught. The sky darkened, and in the blink of an eye a torrential downpour of ice and snow suddenly clouded her vision. As she tried to use her power to lessen the storm’s intensity, another car lost traction on the icy street, and rammed into Y/N’s SUV. The force of the impact caused her car to break through the barrier of the bridge, and plummet head first into the frigid waters below. Blackness and water were everywhere, Y/N tried to move the water and get the car out, but there was too much ice. Instead of moving the car out, the ice pushed it down to the bottom. Her cracked windshield began leaking, the cold beginning to seep in, and without any access to wind, she couldn’t get out.
Desperate to free herself from her seemingly inescapable prison, she used light to melt what remained of the window, bracing herself for the onslaught of arctic liquid that would come at her. It wasn’t enough, the pressure slammed into her, knocking breath from her lungs, not letting her get air before enveloping her. Y/N tried to focus as she swam out the window toward the surface. Finding a small opening still in the layer of ice that covered the river, she came up for air, trying to grab the top of the ice. She could hear people yelling, but was too cold to say anything. Then before she could make the water warmer and get herself to shore, she was pulled under by the current, her head striking the jagged edge of the ice, and her world went black.
Present day:
Y/N stared at the transfer notice in her hand. Why on earth, especially since she really liked her current posting in Ireland, would she all of a sudden need to go to New York. Fuck this shit. Her head began to pound, and she absently grabbed a bottle from her pocket, popped two white T-3’s and went back to cleaning out her room. There was some small part of her that wishes she was normal, with a normal job, maybe a normal family. But noooo, she was a government assassin, and an inhuman, which made her a valuable commodity, and apparently needed in New York. She looked out her window, thinking how much she was going to miss all the lush green countryside and the peaceful walks amongst that greenery.
New York, where the aliens had attacked some time before, and the Avengers initiative was enacted. She knew who Nick Fury was, especially since he was the first person she had seen when she’d awoken from her coma. They had met on numerous occasions since, and each time he had attempted to recruit her to help with the Avengers. But she had declined each time, not wanting to leave Europe. She wasn’t European by birth, but she’d grown to love it here since being re-assigned after her accident, the one where she lost a lot of her life, her memories gone, locked away in the deep recesses of her mind. Doctors said the memories could come back at some point, or they may never return. What was worse, SHIELD files had been erased of her life before. It was almost as if they were hiding something from her, either for mental health reasons, or simply because they liked her better now. And no one ‘knew’ anything, or so they said, even Fury, stating that maybe she shouldn’t keep digging. She had tried social media, phone records, DMV records, anything, and they all came up blank. It was as if she’d never existed before, and it nagged at her conscience.
She was soon packed and on board the small plane that would take her across the ocean. Agent Phil Coulson met her at the airstrip when she landed, to escort her to their base. “Welcome here Y/N.” He extended his hand and she took it happily. Phil was something of a legend amongst the elite agents, having been the force behind putting together the A-team as she liked to call them. And truth be told, she was anxious to meet them, having been a fan for a while now. Natasha Romanova was kind of a role model, even though the age difference was only 2 years, she was everything Y/N aspired to be. There were times she imagined sparing with Widow, just to see who could best who first, though she suspected for as good as she was, Natasha was better, having trained from a young age.
When they finally arrived at the ‘secret’ base, she was shown to her quarters, where she set to work unpacking and changing out of her travel clothes. Making sure her identification was properly displayed, she took herself on a self-guided tour of the facility. It was actually pretty nice digs, and pretty big, much bigger than the Irish base. Not watching in front of her, because she was busy looking around, she walked into a brick wall, which actually wasn’t a wall at all. Thor had been walking back from the cafeteria with some java for the road, when Y/N bumped into him, causing hot liquid to erupt from the cup, and spill all over both parties.
Y/N immediately apologized. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Are you hurt? Let me help.” And bent down to retrieve pieces of broken pottery that was the cup.
Thor smiled warmly. “No harm done. There is always more coffee to be had. Are you new here?” he asked, seeing your name badge.
Her cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson. “That obvious huh. Yeah, just transferred in from Ireland. I’m Y/N. You must be Thor.” She stated casually, gesturing at his armor and cape, and of course that infamous hammer. Mjolnir was the most fascinating weapon she’d ever seen. Y/N pointed to the beautiful but deadly item in his hand. “I know I can’t pick it up, but can I…well…touch it? Sorry, that sounded weird. It’s just a really awesome hammer.” She blushed more, realizing how stupid that sounded.
Thor chuckled. “Not at all my lady. By all means, feel free to gaze upon the power of the mighty Mjolnir. However I must warn you, it does tend to shock those who touch it, except me of course.”
Y/N raised a brow, now completely thrilled. She reached out her hand and ran it across the Asgardian symbols and craftmanship, and did indeed get a shock. But rather than sting, it seemed to blend into her skin and ignite her own power. Soon her body and Mjolnir were sharing electrical current, the hammer increasing the strength of Y/N’s energy output. Thor watched the interaction, completely taken aback with what was transpiring in front of him. Never in his lifetime had anyone been able to create that kind of power with his hammer except for himself. Now his curiosity was peaked, and he offered Y/N the weapon to hold. Frowning but not unwilling to try, she accepted the gift, and both were genuinely shocked when the hammer allowed her to hold it.
Some of the nearby agents had stopped to witness this event, including Fury and Coulson, and a wide range of expressions filled their faces, from shock, to amazement, to genuine wow. Y/N handed the hammer back to Thor when she saw the attention she had attracted. Excusing herself, she made her way over to Nick Fury and extended her hand. “Sir, good to see you again.” You said with respect, and perhaps a touch of affection. Fury was like the older brother, always protecting her and covering her ass when she dug into files she shouldn’t.
Fury accepted the gesture and returned the handshake. “Y/N. Haven’t changed a bit I see. Still manage to find new and interesting ways to make yourself known.”
Y/N smiled. “Yes sir! Now, on with the tour!” She gave a mock salute, earning a smirk from Coulson and a glare from Fury. He didn’t scold her, but she did make herself scarce, as the tour wasn’t quite done yet anyways.
She had been briefed on the plane with regards to the nature of her re-assignment. Power, they needed whatever they could get, and Y/N’s power was amongst the best in the entire SHIELD world. Talks of aliens and impending doom were everywhere. But the agency seemed especially worried. Whatever. Steady paychecks helped with the negotiations, landing herself a nice raise and bonus incentive. She could only hope that her ‘headaches’ and ‘nightmares’ didn’t interfere with her work. It wasn’t bad now, not like it was when she’d first awaken, but it still happened on occasion. It was like a never-ending cycle of torment, flashes of near death, a storm, drowning. But she could never move past those images. She would wake in cold sweats, shaking, screaming, only to realize she was alone and in no present danger. Only once did the flashbacks happen during a mission, luckily it was Fury and Hill that accompanied her for it, and neither were hurt in the process.
Fury did advise her to see a counsellor after, and she did. But the talks, while they did help some, were only that, talk. Nothing could be done to bring back the rest of the memories. It was just plain annoying sometimes. And times like this, when she was this pissed, were the times where she found exercise to be a good stress reliever. So she made her way around the base until she came across the training room, where she found Nat taking on Steve Rogers. Amused, she stood by the door and watched. Where Steve was fast and strong, Widow was small and agile, both were quick and equally deadly in their own right. Just as Y/N sat down, Steve caught movement out of the corner of his eye and Nat flipped him, taking him out for the count.
Steve got up as you walked over to apologize. “I’m sorry. I distracted you. Good match though.” You remarked.
Nat came over to join. “It wasn’t bad. Don’t apologize though. Distraction can’t be used as an excuse.” Then she looked over at Y/N. “Do you want to go a round?” she asked quizzically.
You raised a brow. “Sure. I’m Y/N. I just transferred in from Ireland.” You shook hands with Steve and with Nat.
“Nice to meet you Y/N.” Nat smiled. “Do you need to change?”
“Nope. I’m good.”
Nat motioned Y/N over to the mat. A few people stopped to watch, including Steve. Y/N put her hands up. “I won’t use my abilities. This will just be hand to hand.” She promised.
It was Nat’s turn to be surprised. “Abilities? You’re inhuman?” Y/N nodded. “That’s where I heard your name from.” She shrugged. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
Nat took her fight stance, as did Y/N. For what seemed like an eternity neither moved, studying the other, watching like a lion stalking prey. Then Nat lunged, her body diving to sweep Y/N’s feet from under her. But she dodged, anticipating Widow’s tactics, and made a beeline for her arm to disable her. She countered, throwing a kick at Y/N’s arm, which was deflected, and coming around with a backhand to attack. Ducking, Y/N landed a small punch in her midsection. Nat quickly brought her knee up, catching Y/N’s chin, causing her to bite her lip. Y/N recovered quick, bringing her leg sweeping low in a circle, and connected with Nat’s ankle. She fell back, but was back on her feet quickly.
Back and forth they went, minutes ticking by, people beginning to cheer and wager on who would actually win. Without using her power, she was pretty evenly matched with her idol. For a while it seemed as though no one would ever win. Then someone else stopped to watch the fight. Someone who went white upon seeing who his friend was fighting. He pushed through the crowds to get a front row seat, unable to believe what he was seeing. “Y/N?” he whispered.
Y/N looked up at the mention of her name, and Nat got the upper hand, setting Y/N up and taking her down with that head-scissor lock flip. Gasping for air, Y/N looked for the owner of the voice that had cost her the match. Then leaning over her, offering a hand up, was a handsome, blue-eyed man that looked like he’d seen a ghost. Only he was staring at her, not a ghost. He kept her hand in his, almost afraid to let go.
Y/N tried to remove her hand, but he held firm, as if she would disappear if he let go. “Y/N. What the hell? I…it’s been 6 years. Where have you been? Why didn’t you come back if you weren’t dead? I don’t understand…” his voice trailed off as he studied Y/N’s confused look. Realization dawned on him then, and he let her hand go. “You have no idea who I am, do you?”
Y/N bit her lip, taking a step back as she shook her head. “No, sorry. Ummm…” Her head began jackhammering in her skull, and she ran, needing to get away from him, from everyone, just needing to be alone.
It was Nick who came knocking on her door. She let him in, only because she knew he wouldn’t go away. He motioned to sit, and Y/N nodded. The flashbacks began adding images, of a man with light brown hair, blue eyes. Holding her, making love to her, kissing her. Not even the T3’s were helping now. With tears streaming down her face, she looked into the eyes of the man she had learned to trust, the man who she was pretty sure had been partially lying to her all these years.
“I want the truth Nick, and I want it now.” Y/N wiped away a tear and glared at the man in front of her. “Who in the hell is that man and why did he act like he knew me?”
Nick sighed. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a USB and threw it on the bed beside her. She looked at it, then back at Nick. Anger slowly seeped through her usually calm façade, and he held his hands up as a peace offering. “These are the files you’ve been searching for all these years. Your life before the accident, your original posting, and everything else you tried to find. That man in the gym, Agent Barton, was your husband of 5 years, and your childhood friend, your high school sweetheart, and your first love. The day of your accident, it was his birthday. Your gift to him was an ultrasound picture of the 10-week-old fetus you carried. A violent storm swept into the area when you were driving to the store, your car was run off the road and into the icy river. You nearly drown. You went into a hyperthermia-induced coma. Your abilities are quite powerful, but ice doesn’t like you. You couldn’t save yourself fast enough. You lost the baby. The memory loss was from a concussion suffered when your head found the edge of a sharp jagged ice chunk. You know the rest of this past 6 years. Everything else is on there.” He gestured to the piece of tech, and got up to leave.
Y/N just stared at the wall, barely acknowledging Nick’s exit. For two hours she just sat there, trying to process everything she’d just heard. Her skull felt like a basketball pounding on pavement. She couldn’t keep her eyes open as the world started spinning. Her body hit the mattress, feeling like lead. Her mind flashed images, dark water, sleet, ice, cold water rushing at her, the current pulling her under the ice, her chest hurting from lack of oxygen, panic. She tried to scream but the water muffled the sound. She flailed, clawing at the ice, needing the air, needing to live. Suddenly arms were holding her, shaking her, a warm male voice was calling her name.
Clint had been walking slowly toward her room, trying to figure out how to talk to her. Then her screams broke through his thoughts and he tore down the hallway, opening her door in less than 3 seconds. She was choking, her breath ragged, like she couldn’t get any air. She was panicking. She was having a nightmare. He sat on the bed and gathered her into his arms, and held her, stroking her hair, whispering soothing words.
She opened her eyes to the man who was a stranger to her, but not a stranger. She nestled into his embrace and cried.
@legion1993 @marvelatmytrash
26 notes · View notes
ecoamerica · 2 months
Text
youtube
Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared
The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!
16K notes · View notes