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#naturally no one knows about punishment time in the first episode
goshdangronpa · 1 year
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DANGANRONPA DRAG RACE
May the best drag queen survive!
(I initially called this Dragonronpa, but another Tumblr user called dibs on the name for their own AU - sorry for any confusion!)
This is a stupid idea, with an unspeakable amount of time and thought put into it, conceived solely by combining two things I like (Danganronpa and RuPaul's Drag Race). Obviously, I must share it!
--
Obviously, the host is a gender-swapped Junko Enoshima. The Ultimate Fashionista terrifies the contestants slightly more than RuPaul does, and she lives for juicy drama.
Judges and cast include:
Miu Iruma: the token aggressively heterosexual woman on the panel. Like Michelle Visage, she can dish. Unlike Michelle Visage, she can't take.
Teruteru Hanamura: his time to shine! The one place where the wannabe sophisticate's double entendres can be endearing rather than creepy.
Nekomaru Nidai: one of the speedo-clad assistants? The choreographer for any dance challenges? Why not both?
Guest judges include:
Sayaka Maizono: she's only here to cynically take advantage of her queer fanbase, but she enjoys seeing everyone dress up and the racers go crazy for her.
Tsumugi Shirogane: a huge fan of the show and she won't shut up! The Ultimate Cosplayer oversees a challenge where racers create outfits inspired by anime and fandom culture at large.
Contestants include:
Kokichi Ouma: a comedy queen who gags everyone every time. Strives for the villain edit because she knows who the audience will really remember after the winner is crowned, she knows who gets into All-Stars. The season really starts to drag once she's eliminated.
Gundham Tanaka: intimidating on the outset with impeccable gothic style, though secretly a sweetie. She's too unique to get far, but she parlays her newfound fame into a better turn on Dragula. Better yet, the mainstream exposure helps the freaks who'd love her style find her.
Hifumi Yamada: can't have Drag Race without a big girl strutting her stuff. Hifumi takes inspiration from her beloved magical girls, which may get notes for not branching out more but dazzle nonetheless.
Ultimate Impostor: when commanded to give a stage name after initially giving no name at all, they gag everyone and steal the name of previous winner Byakuya Togami. Guess who absolutely nails Snatch Game.
Korekiyo Shinguji: impressive fashion, impeccable make-up, imaginative results. A little unhinged, but witty and determined. A real contender for the crown. Let's just say the backstory from V3 isn't in this AU.
Chihiro Fujisaki: whether they see her as someone to protect or an easy target to knock out, every competitor thinks she's adorable. Like so many Drag Race contestants, she eventually identifies as trans.
... I talk about the post-show futures of these contestants, but I also enjoy the idea that instead of merely sashaying away, losers get Punishment Time. They literally need to lip-sync for their lives.
Alright, artists, there's your prompt
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A bit ago I made a post bringing up that Leo has been prone to self sacrifice even before the movie & that the movie is just the first time Leo’s self sacrificial nature wasn’t played for laughs 
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Leo: Wait! I’m the one who cheated, I created the portal to save my brothers punish me
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Leo: Flush me and let my family go!
And on the post I made previously a lot of people brought up that Donnie actually references Leo’s tendency for self sacrifice in the episode Snow Day 
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Donnie: Too fast! Leo sacrifice yourself to buy us time!
In Rise Donnie has been know to break the fourth wall every now & then so this could be a reference to the self sacrificial nature that all versions of Leo share
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Donnie: Well Leo since you sell the fewest action figures, why don’t you go ahead and jump first?
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Donnie: Wow one season later and I still got full battery nice
But Donnie making a joke about Leo sacrificing himself could also mean that he’s noticed that Leo is willing to put himself in danger for family but since it’s mostly been played for laughs, he also treats it like a joke.
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So I kind of wonder what was going through Donnie’s head when Leo sacrificing himself stopped being played as a joke, do you think he felt guilty over the fact that he noticed the fact that Leo had always been willing to sacrifice himself for family & that he had done nothing to stop Leo from always trying to sacrifice himself? 
Do you think he felt guilty over the fact that he had even unwittingly encouraged it?
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storydays · 2 months
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Hazbin Hotel: Episode 1 p1
Overture
@avatar_lover
(3rd POV)
"Once upon a time, there was a glowing city protected by golden gates known as Heaven. It was ruled by beings of pure light. Angels that worshiped good and shielded all from evil. Lucifer was one of these angels. He was a dreamer with fantastical ideas for all of creation. But he was seen as a troublemaker by the elders of Heaven. 
For they felt his way of thinking was dangerous to the order of their world. So he watched as  the angels began to expand the universe in their ways. From the dust of Earth, they created Adam and Lilith. Equals as the first of mankind, but despite this, Adam demanded control and Lilith refused. 
Drawn in by her fierce independence, Lucifer found her and the two rebellious dreamers fell deeply in love. Together, they wished to share the magic of free will with humanity, offering the fruit of knowledge to Adam’s new bride, Eve, who gladly accepted.
But this gift came with a curse.
For with this single gift, evil finally found its way to Earth. With it, a new realm of darkness and sin, and the order Heaven worked hard to maintain was shattered. As punishment for their reckless act, Heaven cast Lucifer and his love into the dark pit he created, never allowing him to see the good that came from Humanity, only the cruel and the wicked. 
Ashamed, Lucifer lost his will to dream. 
But Lilith thrived, empowering a demon-kind with her voice and her songs. And as the numbers of Hell grew, so did its power. Threatened by this, Heaven made a truly heartless decision, that every year, they would send down an army: an extermination to ensure Hell and its sinners could never rise against them. 
But Lilth’s hope remained. And her dream was passed down to their precious children, the Prince and Princess of Hell.”
A pale hand closed the story book, as a young woman held a key close to her, looking downcast. “Don’t worry Mom, I’ll make you proud.” She whispered, gazing out the window, listening to the screams outside. 
“Charlie?” a voice called startling the young woman. “Augh!” she yelped, as her key turned into a cat, who ran away to hide. Charlie winced before turning to the other woman, “Vaggie! Did you hear all that?” she asked. 
“Uh, yeah. I was standing right there.” smiled the woman, pointing at the door. “Sorry, I get pretty worked up after an extermination happens. The story helps.” Charlie frowned, staring at the book. “I know, don’t worry. I enjoy your theatrics. Are you okay?” Vaggie asked, sitting next to the blonde demoness. “I’m fine, just–ya know thinking about family stuff.” “DId you hear your from your mom yet?” Charlie shook her head sadly. 
“Oof, how long has it been now?” 
“Not that long…only…..seven….years. Off doing something important, I’m sure.” Together the women stood up, to look outside the window. “But this kingdom was something she really cared about; something I care about.” Charlie hugged herself, smiling wistfully. 
“Well, at least you’re not alone.” Vaggie soothed, holding Charlie’s hands.”I just hope that what I’m trying to do here will work.” Charlie admitted. “It will. I have faith in you.” the white haired woman smiled, cupping Charlie’s cheek. 
“All right, come on. Alastor says he’s got something he wants to show us.” Vaggie walked out of the room, Charlie going to follow her, before hearing the church bell ring outside. She turned to look out at the clock as it rang, signaling the end of the extermination. Charlie sighed before heading downstairs. 
*Downstairs*
“Well, hello there, you wayward sinner!” A cheery voice, on the television, called out to a demon currently stabbing another on the street, making the two look around confusedly. “Do you like blood, violence and depravity of a sexual nature? Of course you do, that’s why you’re in Hell! But what would you say if there was a place that had none of that?” questioned the voice as more sinners popped up, varying emotions from annoyance to confusion. The camera then zoomed to reveal the hotel.
“Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel! A misguided path to redemption!” the camera then pushed into Charlie’s personal space as she was mid conversation, before she noticed the camera and she smiled and waved nervously. A spider demon appeared behind her, using all four of his hands to give the demoness bunny ears behind her head and on the side. “Founded 5 days ago by Lucifer’s delusional daughter, Charlotte Morningstar! Come place your faith in her inexperienced hands as she tries to work through her daddy issues by fixing you!” 
The television showed a picture of Lucifer facing away from Charile as she hugged herself, tears in her eyes. Then it showed Charlie attempting to convince sinners to join. 
“Here we offer fun things! Such as somewhat functional staff.” The camera showed a grumpy cat demon who was clearly drunk as he face planted into the bar. A little cyclops woman scurried around him, chasing a bug with a giant needle in her arm, with a maniacal grin on her face, as she attempted to stab the bug.
“24 hour pest control! Custom rooms, and just look at this tacky parlor!” The camera panned out to show a piece of wood falling near the spider demon from earlier who was lounging on a couch, clearly bored as he examined his finger nails.  “Enjoy riveting conversation with our singular resident.”
The spider sent the camera a middle finger, making an effect of the word Wow appear on screen, changing to show a crudely drawing of the hotel with different notes and smiley faces with a large toothy grin. “Wow! All this and more at the Hazbin Hotel. Your last desperate attempt at salvation starts here!” On the screen, appeared: “Call now or don’t! I don’t care! We still don’t have a working phone!” 
The TV shut off as the audience in the room sat around, emotions varying from anger, shock, and disbelief. “So, what’d ya think?”asked a grinning deer demon, dressed head to toe in red and black. 
“I’m sorry, what the FUCK was that?” scowled Vaggie, arms crossed. “Uh, yeah, one note. Alastor…” Charlie started, ignoring how the demon’s smile tightened. “I mean, first off, thank you so much for making this, seriously, amazing, but um..” Charlie played with her fingers as she tried to explain her thoughts, “The tone was maybe a bit..off?” Alastor tilted his head as she continued. 
“We want people to WANT to come here. This makes it look–um..” “Bad. The word you’re looking for is bad.” Vaggie snarled, crossing her arms. 
“Funny, I was going for hilarious!” Alastor laughed. “It didn’t explain anything about how we’re trying to save demons, which is the whole fucking point!” 
“Vaggie is right, Alastor. The commercial was to let sinners know we are trying to save them.” called a smooth voice from another armchair. The male was sitting on the chair, his legs over the arm of the chair, and the cat from earlier purring in his arms, as he stroked her back. This was the Prince of Hell, Heir to the Throne, and Charlie’s big brother, (Y/N).
“Well, my dear (Y/N), I haven’t been active in Hell for some time, and everyone remembers me from my radio show. The proper way to express oneself!” Alastor turned to the TV with a clear disdain written over his ever grinning face.
“But you insisted on this noisy picture box advertisement. So I had a little fun with it.” “Oh fun, you had a little fun?” Vaggie snapped, before standing. “Well, this is not what we want to represent us. When you showed up here, a week ago, you told us you would help run this hotel. Instead, you’re mocking us. Nobody’s going to want to come to a place that a powerful Overlord like you thinks is a waste of time.” Vaggie hissed before the 4 noticed a red hand waving in the air. 
“What?” snapped Vaggie as (Y/N) started to walk towards the bar. 
“If’n you’re filimin’ a commercial, can I suggest you take advantage of the talented celebrity you have right here?” The spider demon from earlier, sat up lazily, grabbing the bottle of alcohol with him, and winked at the people, gesturing to himself. 
“Angel, you’re a porn star.” Vaggie deadpanned.
“A famous porn star.” Corrected Angel, as (Y/N) came back and sat next to the spider, with a strawberry Daiquiri in his hand. 
“I’ll have the horniest sinners knockin’ down these walls to get in.” The white furred spider grinned smugly, before swinging his legs over (Y/N)’s lap, clearly comfortable. “We are not shooting a porn as a commerical.” Vaggie said firmly. 
“Why not? Sex sells, don’t it?” Angel winked. “I swear, if you film me going at it with Sexy Princey or Mr FancyTalk Creep Voice here, you’d be rollin’ in participants to stay at this tacky hotel.”. Alastor laughed loudly before deadpanning. “Haha! Never going to happen.”
The bespectacled prince cleared his throat nervously, cheeks a slight red as he tried to compose himself. “A-Angel, we appreciate you wanting to use your ‘special skills’ to, um, attract folks to the hotel. But I–WE, meant to say WE don’t want to exploit you in that way.” 
(Y/N) smiled at the spider demon who grinned, leaning into the prince’s space, close to his ear, and purred, “But what if I want you to exploit me……..Daddy?” “HAHA! OKAY!”
(Y/N) yelped, before using his wings to quickly fly up and over by the bar, startling Angel who then smirked knowingly at the demon. 
Turning towards the girls, Angel continued to talk, “This body was made to be exploited, baby. I’ve got the arms, I got the stamina, I got the legs, I got the lung capacity. Oh, oh! I have the legs, the gag reflex, the holes, the chest fluff everyone thinks are tits..”  Charlie laughed uncomfortably as Angel continued talking.
(Y/N)’s phone started ringing, making the prince roll his eyes and walk away, answering his phone. “I’ll be right back.” 
He turned the corner, and grinned deviously as he answered the phone, “What up, bitch!”
*Back with the others*
“Hey, I have a question. If freaky face over there is so powerful, then why can’t he just make people stay here?” Angel asked suddenly, pointing at Alastor.
“Oh trust me, I can.” Alastor grinned darkly, briefly showing his horns.
“Why do you think I’m here?” A gruff voice called from the bar, making everyone turn to the bar, towards the grumpy cat from earlier. 
“You think I’d be cleaning bottles and listen to you fucks’ bitch and moan, if he wasn’t forcing me.” The bartender hissed as the little cyclops appeared next to him, grinning. 
“I like being forced.” She giggled. 
“Keep that to yourself, Niff.” grimaced the cat demon. 
“What, you don’t love being here with me, Whiskers?” Angel mocked, making a kissy face. 
“Call me whiskers again, and I’ll jam that bottle down your throat.” the cat threatened.
“Kinky! C’mon, keep talking dirty.” grinned Angel, narrowing his eyes at the cat.
“Angel, let Husk do his job. And no, we can’t force people to stay here; they need to choose to.” Vaggie stated. 
“I’m choosing to be here, and I think it’s all stupid. We’re in Hell, toots.” Angel shrugged, “That’s kind of the end of the line, ain’t it?”
“Well, maybe it doesn’t have to be.” Charlie smiled. “Just because no one’s ever made it out, doesn’t mean it’s not possible.”
Angel placed a hand on Charlie’s shoulder as he leaned down to her height. “Hey, whatever means I can keep crashing here rent free.” The women shot him a deadpanned look, and he scowled. “Crack is expensive.”
(Y/N) quickly came and grabbed Charlie by the arm, grinning excitedly. “Char, come with me!” Charlie yelped as her brother pulled her around the corner. 
“Woah, (Y/N), what’s going on?”
“So the leader of the Angel Army wants to meet…and I managed to convince Dad to let me send you to talk to them instead.”
Charlie tilted her head. “Why me? You usually take care of stuff like that.”
“Because, Char, you are the princess of Hell,and I think you’re old enough to start partaking in stuff like this. And.. you can use this as an opportunity to try to convince Heaven to give your Hotel a chance. “ (Y/N) prompted. 
“Ooh! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Charlie hugged her brother before rushing to tell Vaggie. (Y/N) going to lean on the couch, as Vaggie questioned Charlie. “But the extermination just happened. What could they want this soon after?” 
Charlie started singing and twirled Vaggie who replied dizzily, “Okay but just don’t sing to them.”
“That bitch is half way down the street.” (Y/N) and Angel laughed, with the others looking out the door, watching the princess sing. 
“Is she–?” Vaggie asked, worriedly.
“Oh, she’s dancin’.” Angel tossed his head back, drinking the bottle in his hands, ignoring Vaggie’s groan.
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yujajacha · 1 year
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omg i am sooo whipped for rei from buddy daddies it’s not even funny he makes me so mentally ill.. he’s literally perfect
so.... imagine being his little housewife and everything hahah.. that’s literally all i can think about ever since i watched some of the first episode 😭 i will definitely write a full fic sometime but here are some headcanon drabbles.. they’re not reallyyy proof read so it’s not the best but hopefully i’ll edit it sometime, just wanted to post something since it’s been awhile ^_^ happy new year everyone!!
CW: NSFW/MDNI, husband!rei, housewife!reader, fem!reader
husband!rei who really likes it when you wake him up in the morning. usually you’ll kiss him good morning, and he thinks it’s really cute! he prefers it over alarm clocks. he’ll purposely not wake up when you call on him in the morning or when you try to shake him. he likes surprising you back. after you give a few kisses to his face, he’ll french kiss back. you get really embarrassed and shocked the first few times it happens! after awhile you expect it, but it still makes you flustered. he also enjoys dragging you in the bed. he’ll loop his arms around you and just tug you in.
generally, i think he really likes kissing as well. he loves messy french kisses and is really rough in general. he likes to randomly start making out with you, even in public. you get really shy and it really fires him up more. he’s just so shameful and really doesn’t care. even if people stare or notice, he still stays unbothered.
husband!rei who thinks you are really a cute wife. you always make sure everything around the house is done! you do all the chores really diligently as well. but something deep inside him always stirs. he just wants to tease and disturb you. he’ll grope you randomly when you’re cleaning up after him. or when you’re cooking he’ll come behind you and grind himself on your ass.
husband!rei who’s super clingy. he always wants to have his hands on you. he easily manhandles you and uses as a cushion. he loves when you wear cute clothing for him, but his favourite is when you only wear his shirt that’s too big for you. it reminds him that you’re really his and he loves it. you belong to him.
husband!rei who’ll only take showers if it’s with you. he’s pretty lazy and uses that to his advantage. he’ll either wait until you nag him to go take one or if he really feels like one will drag you with him. he loves when you scrub his hair and wash his body. you even use your soap when you wash him, so he loves that he ends up smelling like you. he’ll also guide your hand to his dick just to tease you. he also loves washing you! it’s just an excuse to grope and touch you everywhere.
husband!rei that loves when you get on your knees when he’s playing his video games. when you rub your face on his crotch and give kisses to his dick through his pants. sometimes you’ll even try and lick through his boxers. he’s really patient, but his dick is already throbbing. he’ll wait until you try to take off his bottoms rather than eagerly remove them. he thinks it’s pretty cute when you become so excited for him! he’d mock you for it, but he’d want it as much as you.
he also loves when you cockwarm him. he’s so lazy by nature that cockwarming is so perfect for him. the way you keep squirming and whimper for him to move just makes him even harder. he really tries to control himself when you’re cockwarming him when he’s gaming. he really wants to stop playing and thrust into you, but it’s worth waiting. sometimes if he’s really impatient he’ll quit his game and punish you for being so naughty and disturbing him. he’d fuck you right until you’re about to cum, he can just tell with how tighter you’re getting and how your pussy flutters around him. he knows how badly you want to cum, and by not letting you he gets to hear you beg for him. he loves when you plead to climax. after edging you for awhile, he’ll make you cum nonstop. if you beg him to stop, he’ll say that it’s what you asked for.
husband!rei that says your cooking is just “decent” but in reality really enjoys it. however, one thing he could never undermine is how good you taste. he just needs to tell you how tasty you are. the dirty words that come out of his mouth always shake you up. he says them so shamelessly too. and he really likes eating you out as well. he’ll spend hours licking you and sucking on your clit. it doesn’t matter how many times you’ll try to make him stop, he won’t though. he’ll only stop when he feels like it. he really takes his time and goes at it so lazily and slowly, and really savour everything. he also like it when you pull on his hair, you’re not very strong compared to him and he finds it cute. it won’t make him stop at all either.
plus! he has really nice hands. he likes making you suck on them. he’ll feed you at times just to feel you licking and sucking his fingers. he also licks his fingers after fingering you, because he just can’t waste your juices. he loves fingering you as well and his fingers are nice and long, so it always leaves you satisfied. he’ll make you sit on him a lot, which usually ends up with him playing with your wet cunt.
husband!rei after a long and stressful day that comes back home to you. sometimes he’ll be in a good mood and really relieved that everything went as planned, so he’ll be a bit sweeter to you. he’ll thank you for being there for him and fuck you really slowly and sweet, but still be a bit mean. but other times he just wants to pound your pussy like there’s no tomorrow. you’re just his little stress relief. he just needs to let go and take his pent up feelings out. he’d take you from behind when you’re still clothed and just messily thrust with no rhythm, he just needs to go at it.
i’m gonna write him with a maid reader or pet play reader next hahaha… 😭😭😊 (i will do both eventually fr)
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esterzach · 6 months
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The price of the small pleasures
Alanna's character feels like a needed contrast that helps shape the perception of Moiraine's character. There is this whole episode where it's all about family and home. Alanna comes back home with a huge family, the kids are having fun, laughing, and playing with her Warders, it's warm, sunny, and cozy, a beautiful nature around, with lots of food as usual. Alanna is open, speaking with everyone, and making jokes. Life is good and people seem happy. Alanna is never alone and it looks like she is often home, where she is accepted and loved. And then there is Moiraine. Oh, boy... It's almost hilarious if it wasn't so fucking depressing.
This one comes back to her huge house, dark and gloomy even during the day, and revisits her memories, but it doesn't seem happy. It looks like a museum of someone long dead. Her things are covered, someone is keeping her room, all her things, but she is never home. She barely says two words to her sister and immediately they have a fight. And I get it - Moiraine is not exactly pleasant in her behaviour, even though she has her reasons. But she refuses tea. TEA! Alanna is cooking, having full meals, and enjoying life, and Moiraine refuses even that small pleasure. And tea is one of the few things Moiraine loves. It's almost as if she deprives herself of every pleasure. And it's not like she can't spend 20 minutes with her sister and say at least a few nice words.
Moiraine doesn't eat. They make a point with that one. We never see her eat. Lan eats, Nynaeve eats, Alanna( almost all the time - she is green, after all), her warders, Lan, Thomas, Verin, and Adeleas is all about LET ME enjoy my meal and wine ( half of the time she is completely out and doesn't know what happens around her and the rest of the time she is horny (now that is not exactly true, but that is for later). Perin even eats. Egwene drinks with Elayne. Everyone at some point is shown to eat. Never Moiraine.
Food is not just necessary for survival. Food is also a pleasure. It should be a pleasure if done correctly. Meals also mean connection with other people. If and when Moiraine ever eats, she eats alone. She refuses to join the others in Verin's house, her sister, and she refuses the sandwiches of her nephew. They make yet another point of showing how isolated she is, even from people, who genuinely care about her.
The first time her sister is actually nice to her, her first reaction is to get defensive and snarky and, after a couple more words, Moiraine literally crumbles and starts to cry. This is the first time in months, after The Eye she shows emotion in front of someone. And it's almost forced, she is exhausted, and hasn't slept in... a while and someone basically reads her and finds exactly her weakness and confronts her about it. That is just for a moment and she composes herself immediately. Seconds later she gets help and she shows emotion again. It sort of seems like showing vulnerability and weakness, and asking for help is something that she has no right to do, or... I don't know.
The one time we saw her doing some for her own pleasure was Tar Valon. The tea and the spa. And Siuan. And this was it. Now it sort of feels like she is avoiding that on purpose. Either she thinks she doesn't deserve it or thinks that this is a distraction.
Her baths in Verin's house are more self-punishment than pleasure. She doesn't have to carry water alone, but she does it anyway. And something tells me that this well is probably not the only one around that house. Both women are Aes Sedai, which means they can use The One Power for ... a lot of things. They have a garden and a bunch of flowers in the house, that look pretty fresh and green for the Mediterranean climate, considering the grass around is dry. Usually, every house has a well or some source of water close by. Yet, milady goes to a well, that is so far from the house, that is practically useless. Good luck bringing enough water from there for all the needs in this house, but anyway. Even with nothing to carry, in this heat, a walk like that is, to put it mildly very unpleasant. With something that heavy to carry up that hill... I don't know.
The other thing is - small pleasures are distractions. The only time she actually sits in the company of the others in S2 is when they are on their way to Tar Valon. And that is because she doesn't have a choice. And something happens there, that I think she thinks is a mistake. A moment of distraction, a small weakness, that threatens to ruin her plan. She is having a conversation. That scene is brilliant! Subtle, well-written, and perfect and I watched it like probably 30 times so far but I was focused on the wrong thing. The night when Lan and Moiraine travel to Tar Valon, everyone is around the campfire. Moiraine is again standing at a distance, isolated from everyone else until Verin goes to her, reveals what she knows and basically tells her "You know what I am not promising anything, you just have to trust me." They cut to other things and when are back again Moiraine folds and decides to sit with them. What could go wrong? Adeleas is drunk again, floating on a pink cloud, imagining romantic stories, speaking of sex life, and trying to make Lan talk. She asks how Lan and Moiraine met. What follows in uncomfortable silence! None of them speaks, Lan seems uneasy, and Moiraine glares annoyed. She continues to avoid his eyes. Verin tries to help, by saying that it's late and they have to go to bed. Adeleas ignores her, in her drunken haze and blabbing some imagined overly sexualized story, which gets on Moiraine's nerves. She quickly interrupts Adeleas's idiotic monologue with the true story of their first meeting. Whether it is because she is already annoyed with Adeleas' behaviour toward Lan, or wants to save him from an uncomfortable moment, is irrelevant. Lan is surprised. Moiraine speaks! But what was meant to be just a way to make Adeleas shut up, turns into a sweet moment. Because this memory is precious for both of them. Lan smiles and joins the explanation, they look at each other, and she smiles too throughout the whole time she tells the story. It turns into a banter between two very close people. Bond, no Bond, at this moment it doesn't matter - they are in synch again. This is beyond sweet. They joke! hell, Moiraine jokes! This is what they look like. This is them. For one very small moment. Everyone laughs. And then, all of a sudden, with a serious voice, a laser-sharp focus, and a very sober-looking expression, Adeleas says her great line. "And that's when you knew. Any old Warder can save you from Trollocks, that right one can save you from yourself." Adeleas wasn't drunk at all. You can pretend to be drunk when you are sober, you can't act sober when you are drunk. It was a setup for Moiraine, to open up, to speak, and she knew exactly how to make her drop her defenses and finally speak to him. An attempt to make her get close to Lan again maybe? Lan was happy for sure. Moiraine though... is on the verge of tears.
She knows what her goal is with him. She knows what the plan is and that little moment was a failure. The small pleasure of this moment would probably cost her. In order for her plan to work, she has to be awful to Lan. One small distraction, and she falls back into her normal self. A tiny moment of happiness, a shared memory, and the old, cold, and sour Aes Sedai is a normal woman with feelings. The danger - Lan sees through her and never wants to leave her side which eventually will lead to his death. That's how much a moment of weakness might cost.
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actual-changeling · 3 months
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Do you think Crowley would be more emotionally open without Aziraphale? I’ve never thought about it, but I’ve just read the tags of your last ask and now I’m really interested
Short answer? Yes, absolutely.
Long answer? Also yes, but it's complicated. <- past me was correct, this got very long, my apologies.
What-if scenarios are always part canonical evidence/part subjective interpretation, because the only Crowley we know is the one who spent six thousand years orbiting Aziraphale.
Still, there was a pre-Aziraphale him, up until Job I presume, which is when they started being lonely together, and we do see what they were like!
The Starmaker is his 'before', the being he was before the doubt, the war, the fall. Before hell and the garden and Aziraphale. She is the blueprint the Crowley we know is built on. In the short time we have with her, she's incredibly emotive—with both positive and negative emotions—and her body language is soft, almost fluid.
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Showing emotions is simply a natural part of being a person, and what exactly that looks like obviously varies; but this angel has never been punished for doing so. There are no consequences, it's safe to exist however she wants (though not much longer).
After this, we get Crawley what I assume is more or less a short amount of time after the fall. Everyone got settled in hell, and once the institution was functional, they now needed to actually have humans running around on earth. Otherwise there are no souls to torture.
Even here, Crawley is still open, still smiling, still soft, although a bit more covert in their body language. She laughs and—this is the important part—questions God right on there on the walls of Eden.
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Even after falling for asking question, she does not stop, not for one moment. Despite the trauma they undoubtedly must have gone through, Crawley sees an angel, slithers up to him, and strikes up a conversation, trusting that he will not hurt them.
Now, this is where subjective interpretation comes in, because we have no information of what the fall was actually like. They got punished for asking question, for rebelling, for trying to change the system—but in my opinion, they never got punished for having emotions.
In the modern day, angels are terrified of making mistakes or asking question, but they are still emotive, they physically express their feelings. Some are more intense in their expressions, others subdued, but from Muriel all the way to Gabriel, they talk about emotions, they show emotions, and that in of itself is not a crime.
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Hell is just as—if not more—emotional than heaven. Just remember Hastur when Ligur was melting and then later during the trial, or Beelzebub when ze summons Crowley in the first episode.
Yes, they communicate in code a lot, but only when it comes to very specific kinds of information and interactions, not when someone is going insane over the blaring alarm.
Why does all of this matter?
Because it proves that the level of emotional suppression Crowley and particularly Aziraphale have reached is not taught by either heaven or hell.
Instead, just like Aziraphale's claims that 'heaven is watching', it is a rule system instated by himself for himself, and by extension for Crowley; he set the requirements for interaction and forced Crowley to meet them if he wanted to be around him.
We don't see Crowley laugh the way he did as Bildad or the Starmaker anymore, we never see him carefree or joyous or sad. I mean for fuck's sake, he HIDES behind his glasses, a physical manifestation of the repression he's caught in.
Humans wouldn't notice his eyes in the same way the police doesn't notice them at the convent in Tadfield. The glasses show up during Job, and we know Crowley already had a plan to go against orders, so glasses it is. However, he doesn't wear them during the crucifixion, which comes after Job. Crowley tells us she spent a lot of time with Jesus, so you'd expect her to be wearing them, but she isn't—whatever her relationship with Jesus was, she seemed to trust him a lot, and Aziraphale wasn't around.
Aziraphale is the one who demands silence, who never wants to talk about anything he himself hasn't approved as a 'safe' topic, he and his fucking forgiveness whenever Crowley questions God, calling him a demon and pushing him away whenever he openly shows affection towards Aziraphale.
So yeah, of course Crowley cannot regulate his emotions and has no idea how to express himself now, Aziraphale has shoved a gag down his throat for six thousand bloody years and still wants it to stay in place. Our closed-off Crowley would not exist without Aziraphale's continuous presence in his life, and that is a hill I am more than willing to die on.
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Crowley is getting his heart broken in the worst, most violent way imaginable both times. But now? His face is stone and steel, one third of it hidden away behind black-out glasses. No tears, no words, no desperation, no flying hands or fluidly moving body.
This is the kind of person you become when someone else forces you to make yourself small, when emotions are punished and affection withheld until you act the way they want. It's horrible, it's unhealthy, and it destroys parts of yourself that you will never get back, no matter how hard you try.
So, in conclusion, yes, without Aziraphale's influence, Crowley would be softer, more open, and we would still see remnants of the Starmaker in him—but we don't.
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iwtvfanevents · 1 month
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Rewind the Tape —Episode 1
Art of the episode
During our rewatch, we took note of the art shown and mentioned in the pilot, and we wanted to share. Did we miss any? Do you have any thoughts about how these references could be interpreted? How do you think Armand and Louis go about picking the art for their penthouse in Dubai?
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The Fall of the Rebel Angels
Peter Bruegel the Elder, 1562
This painting is featured in the Interview with the Vampire book, and it was important enough to be included in the draft pilot script!
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Bruegel the Elder was among the most significant Dutch and Flemish Renaissance artists. He was a painter and print-maker, known for his landscapes and peasant scenes.
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Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion
Francis Bacon, 1944
Bacon was an Irish figurative painter, known for his raw, unsettling imagery and a number of triptychs and diptychs among his work. At a time when being gay was a criminal offense, Bacon was open about his sexuality, and was cast out by his family at 16 for this reason. He destroyed many of his early works, but about 590 still survive. The Tate, where these paintings are displayed, says this about the work: "Francis Bacon titled this work after the figures often featured in Christian paintings witnessing the death of Jesus. But he said the creatures represented the avenging Furies from Greek mythology. The Furies punish those who go against the natural order. In Aeschylus’s tragedy The Eumenides, for example, they pursue a man who has murdered his mother. Bacon first exhibited this painting in April 1945, towards the end of the Second World War. For some, it reflects the horror of the war and the Holocaust in a world lacking guiding principles."
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Strawberries and Cream
Raphaelle Peale, 1816
Peale is considered to have been the first professional American painter of still-life. [Identified by @diasdelfuego.]
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Outfits inspired by J.C. Leyendecker
Leyendecker was one of the most prominent and commercially successful freelance artists in the U.S. He studied in France, and was a pioneer of the Art Deco illustration. Leyendecker's model, Charles Beach, was also his lover of five decades. You can read costume designer Carol Cutshall's thoughts on these outfits on her Instagram.
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Iolanta
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, 1892
The opera Louis and Lestat go to was composed by Tchaikovsky, another gay artist. The play tells a story "in which love prevails, light shines for all, lies are no longer necessary and no one must fear punishment," as put by Susanne Stähr for the Berliner Philharmoniker.
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On the Hunt or Captain Percy Williams On A Favorite Irish Hunter
Samuel Sidney, 1881
The unidentified painting on the right might be from the same hunting series, though we couldn't identify the exact one. There's also a taxidermy deer, ram, and piebald deer on the wall. [Identified by @vfevermillion.]
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The Artist's Sister, Melanie
Egon Schiele, 1908
Schiele was an Austrian expressionist painter and protege of Gustav Klimt. Many of his portraits (self portraits and of others) were described as grotesque and disturbing. [Identified by @dwreader.]
A Stag at Sharkey's
George Wesley Bellows, 1909
Bellows was an American realist painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City. [Identified by @vfevermillion.]
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Mildred-O Hat
Robert Henri, undated (likely 1890s)
Henri was an American painter who studied in Paris, where he learned from the Impressionists and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against American academic art. [Identified by @nicodelenfent, here.]
Starry night
Edvard Munch, 1893
Munch was a Norwegian painter, one of the best known figures of late 19th-century Symbolism and a great influence in German Expressionism in the early 20th century. His work dealt with psychological themes, and he personally struggled with mental illness. [Identified by @vfevermillion.]
If you spot or put a name to any other references, let us know if you'd like us to add them with credit to the post!
Starting tonight, we will be rewatching and discussing Episode 2, ...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self. We hope to see you there!
And, if you're just getting caught up, learn all about our group rewatch here ►
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ferretwhomst · 1 year
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Holy Shit I Just Realized Something (toh finale spoilers and Badly Structured, Massively Long Rant up ahead)
when we first meet willow in early s1, she's in the abomination track and as we all know she is Struggling. abomination magic just doesn't come as naturally to her as plant magic, which is fine, but it isn't being addressed by the school.
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soon enough she gets switched over to the plant track as she wishes- i don't remember the exact details of the episode, it's been a little while, but iirc principal bump shows up after willow covers the entire inside of the school in vines and basically goes "no, i'm not punishing you, instead i'm switching you to the plant track because you're clearly more skilled at this type of magic."
which none of us really thought about, right?? maybe some of us were like "hm, that was a bit abrupt" but we didn't think too much of it because we didn't have much of an idea of bump's character yet.
not much later, it's revealed that bump himself is a part of the abomination coven. (it's not exactly Discussed but his sigil is visible in some shots, like this one.) he is bound by sigil to be restricted to abomination magic and nothing else.
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one slightly less relevant detail that i find interesting is how he doesn't Look like an abomination coven member, and so he seems a lot less invested in his status as an abomination witch. now you may be thinking: ferret, that's a moot point because 1. not every magic user is going to have their preferred type of magic/coven/track whatever implemented into their design and 2. princy b wears his Principal Robes every time we see him up until the finale, so it would be difficult to implement those details into his design anyway.
now, that second point is actually, uh. Fair. but as for the first point, allow me to explain
here are two prominent abomination coven members, darius deamonne and alador blight
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both of them are pretty obviously abomination coven members right off the bat. darius, being a coven head, has a Shit ton of purple in his design to indicate this (and that's not even including his hair). with alador, this is toned down, but it's still obvious by the permanent abomination goo stains on his coat (and also by the fact that he apparently doesn't wash his hands after working on the abomatons /lhj). these two are specialists, in different ways, of course, but ultimately their skills lie in abomination magic, and neither of them have expressed a wish to try other types of magic at this point.
but here's the thing. as far as i can tell, bump is Not a specialist. while he is a skilled abomination witch, we rarely see him make use of the fact except for during fight scenes- he doesn't seem very invested in it. plus, when we see him during the epilogue, he's enjoying a new hobby, which is...
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...plant care, much like willow! :)
(side note i love the holes in his hat for frewin's horns)
now, of course you could interpret this as bump simply discovering a New hobby between where wad left off & the epilogue. but to me, this says that all this time he was held back from his passion for plant care for multiple reasons, for example his job as the principal of hexside definitely put a strain on him in terms of how much time he could spend doing things for himself. but now that he's retired, and the coven system has been dismantled, he can spend more time doing things that bring him joy, just like many others in the epilogue.
this means that when he saw what willow was capable of back in s1, and transferred her to the plant track, he was really saying "i see you're struggling, and i won't let you go through what i went through by forcing you to go down a path that isn't yours." and god he means so much to me for that.
anyways end of rant, if you're here reading this i sincerely congratulate you for getting this far without passing away . i am very unnormal about hieronymus bump and it shows.
(also, PLSPLSLSS reblog this if you agree i spent like an hour here sitting here typing this all up on my phone at 1am AHDKDJFJE)
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lolita-lollipop · 1 year
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Hey there, First off I wanted to say I love your work! Second my request is a platonic yandere TodoDeku taking care of a sick reader who cant hold down food or eat anything but the reader just cant seem to get better no matter what medication they use? I could use some comfort for that because I'm currently dealing with that haha.
YANDERE PRO HERO IZUKU X SICK READER X YANDERE PRO HERO TODOROKI
TW VOMIT AND IV
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Izukus keys jingled as he unlocked the front door to the shared home between him and his husband, and you. The door was heavily secured in case you ever tried to run, not that you would, or could. The house was quiet, usually there was the lingering sound of the tv left on, or the kittens mewing. But no. Just the sound of still air remaining still.
“I’m home! Y/n? Todo?” He called out, usually one of the two came to greet him at the door, usually todoroki, but occasionally you when you needed something. Todoroki got home about an hour or so earlier than izuku , so usually dinner was already either prepared or ordered, and you were ready for bed. He was used to the sound of you talking with your papa when he got home, used to the sound of the toys he’d gotton you rattling. But recently it’s been different, he couldn’t remember when it started, when you got like this. All he really knew is it happened fast and abrupt, all of a sudden you were always exhausted, it even took a lot of coaxing to get you out of bed in the mornings, you could barely stomach an apple, and you pretty much avoided eating in general in fear of vomiting. You were sick. And it wasn’t getting better.
They’d placed monitors all over the house, security cameras that were connected to a small device similar to a baby monitor, it was just a safety precaution, or it was supposed to be. They’d never noticed how soundless you were, how you barely moved, probably in attempts to relieve the aching in your bones. It worried both of them to no end at how your body was eating itself from the inside out in place for food.
What was even worse was that they didn’t know what to do about it. They couldn’t get another doctor because you might act out and try to free yourself, but neither of them had enough medical experience to help you. Really help you.
Nowadays todoroki didn’t have time to cook anything for dinner when he first got home, he was too worried about the fact that you haven’t moved from the position he left you in this morning, about the fact that the lunch and snacks the two husbands had left you for the day went mainly untouched. And how the Meds that you were supposed to be taking just made you feel sick instead of any better. When he came home today he could feel the tension in the air, he the world around felt void, how the rooms life had just been sucked out.
They don’t know when this depressive episode of yours started, at least they thought it was a depressive episode. At first they believed it was you rebelling against them, going on somewhat of a hunger strike to try and get them to let you go. So naturally they punished you, took away the cats and the tv and the books. But that did very little in stopping you, at some point the way you stared off into space forced them into realizing something was very wrong.
Izuku pulled off his coat and shoes at the door, putting his keys up on the highest shelve that he knew you couldn’t reach. His other hand clutched at a bag of some of your favorite takeout food, or what used to be your favorite at least. He just needed you to eat something, hopefully this might help. He was lost in the endless tombs of his brain, thought being the only thing consuming him. Then he heard it, heard you. And he dropped the bag, dropped his coat from his hands, and ran to your room.
Soft sobs could be what’d through the home monitors, his phone blinked with a red light, indicating that you were actually moving, making noise. When he opened the door, his heart almost broke. You were sitting in a corner, rolled into a fetal position, hiccuping and sniffling, you had your hand pressed to your mouth in attempts to quiet yourself, you were far too consumed by your own feelings to notice him. There was a small plastic container on the table with a few mango slices left in it, and a small puddle of… stomach liquid on the other side of the room. It only took him a few seconds to connect the dots. And he was immediately on you.
“Oh my baby- it’s okay it’s okay don’t cry, daddy’s here now. I’m so sorry you got sick- I know it feels bad. Can you tell me what happened sweetheart?” He cooed , using his sleeve to wipe the corner of your mouth, and picking you up with his strong arms. As he held you tight and close in his comforting embrace, you didn’t fight, usually you would at least put a little squirming into it, but you were far too weak to even try.
“I just- I was really hungry so I tried to- I tried to- and then after my stomach hurt really bad and I got really sick and I couldn’t make it to the bathroom an- I’m so sorry I got- I got it in the carpet” you spoke through your sobs, clutching close to him, you just had felt so good today, like you were getting better. So against your better judgment , you actually ate most of the mango your dads had left for you, then your body seemed to remember it was sick before your brain did, and before you knew it you were hunched over clutching your stomach, hurling out whatever you’d just eaten.
It was just so humiliating, to not understand what was happening to you. That’s why you’d been crying, Izuku knew how you felt about all of this, that’s why he’s been so lenient when you have sass or snap at him. Because you’re hurting. It’s these moments when he knows it best, he let you wrap your legs around his waist and stick your head between the crook of his shoulder, his hands went up and down on your back soothingly, and he bounced slightly on his feet in order to calm you. You would probably make yourself sick again with all of this crying.
“Oh my poor baby- I’m so so sorry this keeps happening. I promise Me and papa are gonna find a way to make this better” he clutched you tight to him, and although you wished you wanted to fight him, scratch his eyes out and take this moment of softness to run. You didn’t, your body felt as if it was made of lead, and your eyes struggled to stay open, and you just felt so. utterly. sick.
So instead you clutched his shirt, and leaned into him. A husky cough left your lips at the pressure he put on your back, which did nothing but made you cry more. The thought of them making you better scared you, they’d tried everything, who knows what crazy solutions are left.
“I-I don’t wanna see a doctor again. Please don’t make me I- I can’t” you pleased of the man, drawing out any sympathy he might’ve held for you, he did know how much you suffered because of whatever this sickness was. Supposedly it was because of stress, after all getting kidnapped by two random strangers who overpower you and force you into being their child harms you mentally, and in turn, physically.
“Don’t worry baby. Your father will have his brother come instead of one of those scary doctors. I know I know you don’t like him either ,but we need you to be seen okay? If you’re good I’ll let you watch one of those horror movies you like. The rated r ones?” He coaxed, beginning to lay small pats on your back in order to prevent a freak out, you didn’t like doctors, at least not the ones he brought you to. Which was understandable, usually he would offer tot ale you out for ice cream, but as you were currently… not eating, this was the next best option.
You grunted and nudged your head closer to the knook of his shoulder, letting him hold you tight. You were still quite focused on holding your remaining nausea down.
“I’ll take that as a yes then? Hm?”he questioned with a little laugh, trying to lighten your mood. It didn’t.
“…yes”
———
It took a few hours for both todoroki and natsuo to get here, natsuo took a little convincing to treat you. He loves you, don’t get him wrong, you’re his favorite little niece, but now that they had taken you against your will and kept you in a cage. It just felt wrong to help his little brother. Still. He supposed it was worse to have you be kidnapped and fatally ill than to just be kidnapped. So begrudgingly he came.
Shoto had warned him that you would be much less than happy to talk to him, and it might be possible that you would have to be restrained. But in the end he agreed.
You heard your two fathers talking to your uncle outside your room, a gruesome horror movie played on the small tv in front of you, an older one that should’ve made you squirm and cringe at the violence and gore occurring, still, you watched intently, almost with a smile. The door opening snapped you out of your stare. The bed next to you dipped down as somebody sat, no doubt your fathers older brother natsuo.
You didn’t hate the man, in fact before all this the two of you knew eachother quite well. But like everybody else, he chose to standby as your two “fathers” confined you here. So you always held some remorse for him.
You were tied down with silk straps, wrapped tightly, but still comfortably. In a position that had you facing the tv. It honestly wasn’t that bad, as you were comfortable and the ropes were soft. It did make you feel mildly vulnerable around this man, but you’ve known natsuo since you were little, and you trusted him. At least you hoped you could. Then again, trusting people had only gotton you kidnapped and put in one of the worst mental states of your life so…
“Hey sweetheart… so, you’ve been having some trouble eating. Right?” He asked, trying to keep his voice as monotone as possible, he’d known that you would look bad, after all you hadn’t eaten in weeks and you were going through severe depression and dissociation. But… god. You looked dead honestly, devoid of all life but somehow still living. The way you did nothing but nod to his question only further proved his point.
“We’ll, I already know you’ve been quite stressed, I completely understand as this is such an environment change for you. But there are also a few physical illnesses that this could be. I’m just gonna ask a few questions alright? Are you okay with that?” He (obviously) did most of the taking, as almost the entirety of your attention was on the movie playing in front of you. It was obvious he was trying to make you feel like you were in charge here. Like you could tell him to leave and he would.
You knew that wasn’t true though.
He asked a wide variety of questions about how you felt when you ate, was it full, was it empty. He also asked about what you had eaten last before all of this started. You’d answered truthfully, after all you did want to get better so you could stop feeling so weak all the time.
The more he spoke to you, the more his voice became a lullaby. The movie in front of you continued with its display of blood and guts, it combined with the way natsuos voice droned, and just pulled you further and further towards sleep. It was actually quite nice.
The last thing you remembered before drifting of was getting a warm hug from the man, and then some talking outside, even a little crying from whom you presumed was midoria.
Then, nothing.
———
When you woke up, you hadn’t been restrained anymore. And you were sitting in a soft chair, one that you had recognized as the one next to your parents bed. A cat sat in your lap, you stared down at it, still half asleep, it made you happy.
Then, as you came to consciousness, you began to be painstakingly aware of how you were feeling. The nausea was gone, and so was the emptiness, but now… now there was this fuzzy feeling all around your body. And there was such a sharp pain in your arm, it felt like it was stabbing you repeatedly.
Then you saw what it was, and THAT woke you up.
There was a bag rested on a large pole next to you, with some liquid inside of it. The bag was feeding into a pipe which went into your arm. A thin needle was pressed into the knook of your elbow.
No no no no no. They did not put a fucking needle in your arm. They wouldn’t. Who knows what the hell is in that bag? They could be pumping you with fucking drugs all day and you wouldn’t even knows You panicked and tried pulling at it, doing absolutely anything to keep the stupid thing from pumping whatever that was into your blood.
Pulling at the pipe and patch hurt far too much for you to continue, so you just sat and stared at the IV. It made you sick thinking about what they did to you while you were happily sleeping. They fucking stabbed you. With a needle. Your vision began to blur and your hearing went fuzzy as a panic attack pulsed through your senses.
You were able to hear small footsteps, and then somebody grabbed and picked you up.
“No no no- don’t do that baby. It’s there to help you- oh I know you don’t like it. I know baby- We should’ve told you about it. But it’s here to help you sweetheart. No don’t cry- it’s okay” todoroki hushed as you clawed at the small patch on your arm, he held you tight, which actually helped a little bit, as it stopped you from pulling the IV out.
Even though you wanted the stupid little needle out of your arm, the sight of your blood would make you panic further. Todoroki knew this, so he chose to just let you wriggle and squirm in his arms as opposed to making yourself bleed.
Isn’t that funny. You love watching those little films filled with blood and gore, but the second you shed any of your own blood ,you panic. How cute.
He had known that the needle and the bag would make you freak out, but both him and his husband had figured that this was a better option than a feeding tube (that would really freak you out). And although it upset you, it was for your well-being, and you would have to understand that.
Their intentions were innocent too, they didn’t drug you, all they wanted was for you to be healthy. They just want you to be safe and happy and healthy, they just want you to feel okay.
They just wanted to nurse you back into the girl they fell in love with all those years ago.
And you…
You would get used to it if it meant you started feeling better.
You would have to.
—————————————
This is an oooollldddd request that I was struggling with heavily because when I started writing this one I had an eating disorder :P
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY LOVELY LITTLE AMERICAN READERS!
Anyway now I’m all better and I was able to figure out an ending sooooo…
Thank you anon for requesting ! And Thank you readers for reading!
Hope you enjoyed! Have a very good day!
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darlenicy · 4 months
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Darcy and Riven – their story and why I ship them
In January 2023 I found my way back into the Winx fandom - more precisely, I created this Tumblr on January 28th, 2023 and since then I have been constantly passionate about this show from my childhood. Most of all, of course, for our three favorite witches. Accordingly, this year I have given a lot of thought and HCs to the Trix and their relationships. Today is the day that I'm going to write down all of these HCs and thoughts I have and tag them properly so that they're easier to find in my jumble of posts, reblogs and crazy fangirling. Well, have fun!
I got my first anon ask about Driven headcanons (hcs most of the time now) in march and therefore tried to order my thoughts on this topic as well. It actually became something of a definition of their relationship and how I see them in the show: This is how my bullet journal looks:
Riven is pretty badass. That's why Rivusa doesn't make much sense because ego-wise he would have gone after best-girl-Bloom. Or Princess Stella, but more Bloom, simply because Brandon (Sky) obviously found Bloom interesting.
Then there is Darcy. Not only is she the complete opposite of the loud, glittering fairy gang, but she also forms a stark contrast to Riven. She is powerful, yes, but above all she is calm, goal-oriented and come on in 1x8 we see how cute she is. Of course, Riven likes her power-talk in 1x9 but he surely is keen on her because she is a totally different type of girl than Musa or Stella.
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Oh, and an important thing that just came to my mind while supervising what I wrote and putting it into a post: DARCY DID NOT MIND-CONTROL HIM IN CANON!
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Her glowing eyes meant that she formed the connection with Riven, so that he could contact her mentally later on in the show!
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It's fkn 4kids who came up with the mind control because they tend to downplay everything for all American kids' sake. - Ok back to the post:
In terms of type, if comparted to the fairies, Darcy is mostly like Flora, but in contrast to the nature fairy, she has a much more self-confident demeanor. She is also the first to respond to Riven as a person and his needs (power, being recognized). Then of course there is the matter of rescue. Firstly: Thanks for saving my life and secondly: The woman can ride this flying motorcycle like a guy. Where can you find something like that? And unlike the Winx, who are constantly in trouble, Darcy (and her sisters) is beyond competent (in Season 1 after all, we know how the writing goes down, *sigh*). So, we have Darcy: a beautiful, competent badass BB who just saved his life and looks like an angel that fell from heaven - all in the specialist uniform too - sexyyy. So, it's an extremely attractive girl who also knows guy things and cares about him and really sees and perceives him as a person. She's not a self-centered good-time girl who makes him clean, so she doesn't have to endure her punishment alone (looking at you, Winx....)
But who exactly is Darcy? (she's my girl, my bb, my queen) Out of the Trix, she is probably the one who is least behind the world domination plans. Of course, she is still a member of the Trix - and of course not less power-hungry than her sisters. But she would be the one most likely to give up everything to live a quiet but fulfilling life with the person she loves. Isn't she? She is definitely the first to panic and to make mistakes as a result. We remember episode 1x5, where she immediately panicked when everything didn't work out as planned. She thought she would find Stella's ring in no time, that wasn't the case. Instead of keeping a cool head like Icy would have, she freaks out and starts attacking Bloom. Is it fear because she is running out of time and doesn't know what to do if her disguise is exposed? In any case, Darcy would have been expected to wear a more confident disguise. But in the end, she's the one most likely to panic and this episode shows that perfectly. Maybe that's also the reason why she has clever ideas, but often doesn't think them through. In episode 2x10 she tries to get Icy to put the feather in the scales, fearing that she might have made a mistake and get wiped just like Stormy, who had previously hit the scales with brute force. Icy states very correctly: You’re a backstabbing coward, Darcy. And I love you for that. And with that she the nail right on the head. Darcy is certainly the first of the Trix to get nervous. She certainly has a tendency to overthink, whereas Riven strikes first and thinks later (at best).
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Mind control is her specialty. She knows how to get into the minds of her victims to confuse and weaken them. At the same time, she also knows how uncertain and dangerous feelings can be. When it comes to having deep feelings for someone else, she is more likely to be the one who is insecure and cautious. Precisely because feelings are so uncertain, she probably tries to make decisions with her head rather than with her guts.
Their love story is iconic and cute. Basically, we have good girl and bad boy, but the good girl is one of the bad guys and the bad boy is ultimately one of the good guys. They haven't really fought against each other yet. Riven only knows that Darcy is one of the most powerful witches in Cloud Tower and that she and her sisters hate the Winx. Since Riven is skeptical of the Winx himself and has no deeper connection to them, he has little to do with this antipathy from both sides and perhaps only hears about it in passing from Brandon or Sky. So in 1x7 he doesn't pay much attention to the Trix. The fact that he turns on the light and exposes the Trix is once again Riven being Riven. He wants to be the cool dude and doesn't really care about the situation. He simply has no interest in the Winx's affairs and is only pissed when he becomes personally involved with Musa being thrown into his arms by the minotaur. Maybe that’s where his inner hero speaks? But first and foremost, he wants to praise himself. The first time he really notices Darcy is in 1x8, where she represents to him the complete opposite of the fairies, one of which had just shown him up (Bloom).
Darcy, on the other hand, is already interested in Riven in 1x7 and hides the whole thing behind the talk about the Prince of Darkness (seriously, WHO is the Prince of Darkness? Why is that never clarified?). One episode later, she's extremely worried that something might happen to Riven with Icy's, admittedly delicate, plan. bb obviously already has a crush on him. And no one can claim that Icy doesn't know this and is actively using it for her plan. I think that Darcy's feelings didn't matter to her at all, thinking she'd get over it sooner or later. But the fact is, even Icy sees the spark fly between them.
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So you could say it was love at first sight for both of them. It is also important for Riven that after all the disappointments and constant criticism he was exposed to at Red Fountain, someone finally recognizes him and his talents. While the Winx, especially Stella, just complained about him, Darcy supported what he was. Partly because she can take advantage of his ambitions, of course, and partly because she simply likes him. I think there are some things Darcy does simply for herself and not because it's part of the plan to rule the Magic Dimension.
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From Riven's point of view, what probably also speaks for Darcy is her maturity. She's not a little fairy to save. The opposite is the case. She is probably more experienced in other things too - but that always depends on the respective HC. Darcy can be a bad bitch and cute bb - both are accurate. For me though, she gives more bb vibes than bitch vibes. However, she appears much more mature and confident than the fairies. Speaking of bb (she's one, look at her!) -
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she's the type most likely to develop romantic feelings. Icy is too calculating and Stormy is just there for the passion (if you get what I mean). In 2x2 we have this scene "*sigh* To be young and in love...".
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She's also the one of the Trix most likely to feel something resembling remorse, if only for her time with Riven. On the other hand, in season 2 we have Riven, who immediately sees through Darcy's attacks - because he knows them. Very well. There is probably still a connection between the two. There could have been more hints about their relationship besides “cute” and “not cute”. There could have been one or two longing looks. I FELL ROBBED.
That’s basically how I interpret their story and why I ship them. I’ll come up with some headcanons these days as well. Stay tuned :3
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ai-the-broccoli · 25 days
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if I had a nickel every time an episode in Ace Attorney involves a murder orchestrated by a pair of partners-in-crime where:
the one who wanted the victim dead and who's calling the shots is the yang-esque partner, an orange/red-coloured and explicitly cat-coded villain antagonist man with a misleadingly nice title/nickname/slogan ("tender"; "refreshing" etc) that doesn't suit his real nature + a bright conspicuous motorbike that is currently out of use, whose main thing is acting i.e. playing different characters & roles, and is able to fool many around him with his act, who is the primary antagonist or "real" bad guy in the episode narratively and,
the one who was enlisted by the cat-coded biker to help with the murder is the yin-esque partner, a black/white-coloured character with an ostentatious visible sign of past injury on their head and an eerie aura designated to invoke fear & creepiness from the moment they appear on screen, who consistently makes it sound as if they might kill you or someone else any second when they speak, but is ultimately treated as less antagonistic/more sympathetic than cat biker by the narrative.
and
cat biker stars as the leading role of their murderous two-man act, while the scary accomplice plays a supporting role in the background costumed in the uniform of the service job (e.g. maid, butler, waitress, bellboy) they're disguising themselves in.
despite serving the cat biker, scary accomplice is actually far more powerful in reality and both of them know it. scary accomplice's last name is infamously powerful in the criminal underworld and strikes terror into people's hearts; when brought up to the law enforcement for the first time, the player is told that other outlaws fear them and the police can't reach them.
cat biker acts tough and intimidating with the rogue face he puts on but he's actually a coward absolutely terrified of scary accomplice's actual power, because he knows the only reason they hasn't got him dead yet is that he is still on the accomplice's good side and they trust him.
and
the duo carries out the murder according to cat biker's wish but they're unsatisfied without making sure biker never gets convicted, so they decide to take a step further and mess with the lawyering as well. so they target phoenix wright personally, which eventually becomes their undoing because it just pushes him to find out the truth even more.
moreover, phoenix hates betrayal personally, and during his search he finds out that cat biker has been deceiving scary accomplice all along, despite scary accomplice's strong devotion to and forceful dedication to trusting cat biker. cat biker also even expresses his contempt toward them for this foolish trust behind them
phoenix breaks the truth about this betrayal to scary accomplice but couldn't get through until he provides evidence with the correct explanation, because accomplice has wanted to trust cat biker. after phoenix gets the truth through, scary accomplice completely turns against cat biker and wants him punished, which eventually helps phoenix gets him convicted and jailed with the help of unconventional methods
...I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but,
did you know that AA2: Justice for All was originally going to have 5 episodes, and Recipe for Turnabout was supposed to be 2-4 while Farewell, My Turnabout was originally meant to be 2-5, before they ran out of space and switched Recipe for Turnabout out for AA3 instead?
which means if it went as planned, Recipe for Turnabout would've been right before Farewell, My Turnabout. I wonder if that means this parallel could actually have been not completely unintentional?
anyway it's hilarious to me to think that Farewell, My Turnabout (the Engarde & De Killer case) would've been exactly one case after Recipe for Turnabout (the Tigre & Viola case) and exactly one case before the Dahlia & Phoenix case (Dahlia is a villain tied to the theme of deceit + comparable to Matt, while Phoenix is all about trust and trusting your clients + foils Shelly). fellas is it gay to strongly parallel not one, but multiple doomed godawful dysfunctional canonical m/f romances thematically
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dangermousie · 9 months
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The Killing Vote - all these excellent dramas are killing my free time
Full disclosure - I rarely like police/killer/etc dramas (or narratives in any medium) and only checked out The Killing Vote because of my utterly irrational and unhinged thing for Park Hae Jin. We are all anonymous here so I can admit that when he first showed up on the screen I literally exclaimed "oh, fuck me!" in Pavlovian delight. The man just does it for me, OK?
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(That's not his first moment but I like this cap.)
However, to my pleasant surprise, as I expected to be forwarding for a few glimpses of PHJ, I really really REALLY like the dark and unhinged the first episode.
The set-up is fairly simple, a little like Devil Judge Only Not Legal. Basically some mysterious dude sends "questions" to all citizens of Korea to vote on whether some criminal who escaped sufficient punishment should die or not; if majority votes yes, he kills them. The government is in uproar and forms a team to track the man down. Park Hae Jin's character is the leader of the team (about him more later.)
OK, why do I love it? It's a very dark show - I don't mean just visually (so many scenes take place at night) but narratively - the place is portrayed as a cesspit of humanity and nothing is clear cut. In fact, the drama very interestingly (it remains to be determined if they will develop it properly) posits of how much everyone is on continuum of vigilantism and what is acceptable. For example, our protagonist, the cop played by PHJ is, while clearly not a murderer, is hella unhinged.
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He himself is a vigilante with a badge, which can be a very dangerous thing (we don't know why he is so relentlessly driven but if I were a betting person, I'd bet that scene in the prologue, where he had to arrest a man who killed his daughter's killer because said killer walked is one of his goads.)
Honestly, one of the big draws to me is just how utterly unhinged he is. He really has no stops. Look at him with the human trafficker:
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And then he makes sure the camera won't catch it and bangs his own head on the table a few times as hard as he can until it bleeds. !!!!!!!
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He has no stops and you begin to wonder if it's really a difference merely in degree of extreme between him and the killer he is supposed to catch. You can tell a large part of him sympathizes.
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The matter of fact his assistant says as he's bandaging up PHJ's face after that little stunt says volumes.
One of the reasons I love PHJ is his unnerving intense vibe on screen - he can play someone where you don't know if they will be loving or they are secretly a serial killer, and do so incredibly convincingly. (The first drama I've seen him in was East of Eden, a sprawling epic of nurture versus nature, where he was the swapped at birth bio son of a noble worker brought up by evil businessman and he was magnetic and repulsive all at once - his "father" was so unhappy about him having genuine feeling for the girl he was obsessed with since childhood, he paid someone to drug and force him into sex and later sonny turned around and raped the girl he was obsessed with since childhood because monsters and abuse beget monsters and abuse. Childhood friends to rapist and victim is quite an arc. The drama tried to later redeem him with mixed success - it was a vvvvvv long drama - whether it worked out is something up to each viewer to decide - I - am biased by his hotness in the safe confines of fiction - but he was a truly fascinating character to watch.) The whole episode he is so on edge; you can see it burn in him when he has to protect the scumbag who got early release despite being a rapist, abuser etc etc and a part of him definitely sympathizes with the killer who eventually does the man in. His no holds barred character appears to be why despite his insane success rate he's not promoted and disliked by higher ups. He and cyber whistleblower cop girl both appear to be not good at fitting in.
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This is not a drama that is likely to have any romance (alas) but I actually do like the vibe between them - they are very very different but both pretty damn unhinged.
PS This bit from East of Eden is basically what crack is like:
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Here is Park Hae Jin ripping open his shirt so as to make it easier for Han Ji Hye to stab him. Ahahahaha god I miss old kdramas and their insanity.
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Ranting about the old Netflix Marvel shows:
Looking back at the original NMCU as a whole, while I think the general consensus is that this side of the MCU fell off when “Iron Fist” premiered, I think the real issue is more complicated then that. I think that the Netflix shows started off strong, but couldn’t implement their long-term plans for their side of the universe due to mismanagement/lack of collaboration. Oddly enough, the NMCU sorta reflects the current issues with Phases 4 and 5 of the mainstream MCU.
When you look at the shows overall, it feels like a bunch of creators were given free reign with these characters, and it shows. All of them had their own distinct identity, as well as what audience they were targeting. The problems started occurring when the shows had to start connecting.
I can’t say this for sure, but it really feels like no one was put in a Kevin Feige-like position to direct the overall journey. Instead, it feels like Jeph Loeb and Marvel Television (which was its own thing before being absorbed by Marvel Studios) just sorta mandated that the shows need to have a big crossover event. It made sense, especially since the Arrowverse was pulling this off as an annual thing with their shows. While it sounds good on paper, I feel like none of the teams behind each show were in sync with each other:
1) Daredevil didn’t really find a good way to balance the needs of the show and the needs of the crossover. Rewatch season 2 and you’ll notice that while the Punisher storyline feels more thought-out, the Elektra storyline feels jumbled and incomplete. In fact, the first 4 episodes are focused on Frank, and then all of a sudden, Elektra is pushed into the story. I can’t prove this but it feels like the original idea was to focus on Frank Castle, but then Elektra had to be introduced in order to set up “The Defenders”. Which was premiering the following year.
2) Jessica Jones didn’t even bother building up into “The Defenders”.
3) Neither did “Luke Cage”.
4) Although I have a ton of separate issues with “Iron Fist”, I do feel sorry for the production team. This show had the unfortunate burden of having to introduce its hero while also doing most of the build-up for the crossover. To make matters worse, if you read up on the behind-the-scenes development, you would know that the show was rushed out. Finn Jones was literally learning the fight choreography minutes before filming.
I have this funny feeling that Marvel Television set up the schedule for each show and refused to change it. Given more time, Netflix could’ve made it work. I can easily imagine the Elektra storyline being its own season of “Daredevil”, “Jessica Jones” and “Luke Cage” each having a season focused on the Hand, and “Iron Fist” being given more breathing room to introduce Danny Rand before diving into the crossover.
But let’s say Marvel Television didn’t want to make people wait that long for a crossover. Then they still failed to move the storyline of the shows in a way that could naturally lead into “The Defenders”. You’re telling me Jessica and Luke couldn’t have at least had a 1-2 episode subplot about the Hand? Or that the Daredevil team couldn’t have introduced Frank Castle later on in order to prioritize Elektra, who is arguably the most important character in the crossover? “Iron Fist”, while not a good show, at least tried to lead into the crossover.
(Side note: Just as a reminder, a common problem people had with the NMCU was that each season was too long at 13 episodes and that the shows didn’t have enough story to squeeze in. Jessica and Luke could’ve definitely worked in a 1-2 episode Hand stand-alone subplot to offset these issues)
I don’t mean for this post to take away from any of these shows. I still am fond of the NMCU. But looking back at it, I can’t help but feel that they were mismanaged. Good on their own, but since they had a crossover miniseries set up, there needed to be stronger collaboration between each show. Or, at least move the damn crossover if the shows weren’t ready for one.
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ryan-the-dark · 3 months
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Claire McCallister knows Becky Botsford is WordGirl.
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I know! I know! Give me a second to explain and break this down.
In the very first episode of the series "Tobey or Consequences", Claire is shown to be intelligent enough to craft together devices to counter her son's robots.
This shows she's just as if not more intelligent than Tobey! There's the argument that could be made that Tobey made those devices but why would she make him? He would be able to program ways to short-wire them.
In the same episode, it was referenced that WordGirl calls Mrs. McCallister whenever Tobey commits crimes. Now I know this isn't much evidence, but let's say for this theory, she met Becky by now. This could be when she was suspicious because of how similar "Becky" and "WordGirl's" voice was.
If that ain't enough to convince you, maybe this will. In "By Jove You've Wrecked My Robot", Tobey tells Becky and I quote:
"And if you try to run off and turn into WordGirl, I'll use all the robots to destroy the city."
Now, if Claire's as smart as Tobey and we're using that for this theory, I'm pretty sure when she sees Becky, she'll put the pieces together in similar reasons. "The same hair color, the same skin tone, the same lips" as Tobey points out: "You and WordGirl are the same height, the same hair style and color... The same sparkingly smile. The same ruby lips..."
Now if Tobey put these pieces together, I think Claire, through enough time, could do so as well. I think the reason why she doesn't say anything is because one she has to make sure her son is punished for his crimes. And two, she respects WordGirl enough to not risk anyone who would use that information incorrectly to find out. The only reason she doesn't say anything to Sally who is her friend is because she either found out she doesn't know, think she knows and just playing an act and so acts none the wiser, or just don't want to ruin the current dynamic with the possibility that the Botsfords doesn't know. Another reason, she knows Tobey's happier around WordGirl and doesn't want him to be bothering Becky in her private life.
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This is "Robo Camp", a fairly early episode, being season 2 episode 11. At this point, she was trying to push him to cease doing robot activities:
Claire: This is going to be an important trip for you, Tobey, because you’re going to learn to appreciate nature. And hopefully grow out of this silly robot phase.
Tobey: Yes, Mother. That would make sense, except that nature is a thing of the past! Technology and robots are--
Claire: TOBEY! No robots! I don’t want a repeat of what happened last summer at basketball camp... Or two summers ago at baseball camp!.. Or last, last, LAST summer at drama camp!... I mean it, Tobey! No giant robots, end of story! You need to be more independent, and learn to do things on your own!
Btw, I think the reason why they're not very close is because they don't understand each other not that she doesn't care about him or vice versa, but I won't get into that into this blog.
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I can see Claire having a moment where she realizes: "Wait a minute Tobey's not happy around other kids. He's more lively around WordGirl and enjoys her company..." That type of thing. So she doesn't do much to try to stop him, not that she approves, but because she genuinely loves Tobey and values his feelings, even though she wishes he would stop with the robot attacks.
It would also explain the reason why she doesn't remove his robot privileges permanently. For people who follow abusive Claire, there's so many things to debunk this. Like in the "Talent Show Tobey" episode where she was cheering Tobey on and was genuinely proud of him until his robot destroyed the building. Given Tobey entrapped WordGirl into reading poems in this episode, you would think she wouldn't care about WordGirl. Well, do remember that it's not like Claire knows. She just thought WordGirl agreed, and was happy that Tobey was doing something she'd viewed as productive and WordGirl was kind enough to help him out.
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(More happy Claire please! 💯💯💯)
In the "Guess Who's Coming To Thanksgiving Dinner" episode, she was trying to enjoy the holiday, and when he left, she was searching literally everywhere for him. When he came back, she was happy to see him.
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(WE NEEDED MORE SCENES WITH THEM JUST BEING 😁)
In "New Year of Doom!" Tobey and Claire smiled at each other on top of a robot throughout the New Year count-probably the most touching moment between the two and shows she supports whenever he builds his robots just in a constructive way.
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I think if she wanted to, she would scrap all of his robots. She literally could, but she knows she would end up breaking his heart. He would be broken because he'll be forced to quit similar to when Miss Power threatened to never allow Dr. Two Brains to have cheese again. She always gave me reluctant disciplinarian type of vibes and would never do anything that would break his little heart. Off topic for a bit, that's why I wish there were more fics about Claire redeeming Tobey instead of Becky because, while I'm all for Tobecky, I feel like that makes more sense considering Tobey pressed so many buttons and disrespects her, and Becky's still a child at the end of the day while Claire is an adult so her mind is wiser, he's her son, and has more reasons to redeem him. Most of all, WordGirl's one of the superheroes of the city and don't have any obligation to redeem any of the villains besides maybe Dr. Two Brains with the whole mouse brain dilemma. She could guide them, but I feel like she would be suspicious about Tobey's change at least for a while. One last thing, while I do like redemption stories, the characters themselves have to change. Guidance is different from forcing them to switch sides. Claire redeeming Tobey stories would allow more ground to be given if that makes sense.
That aside, now, let's say Tobecky happens, and they sort out their issues especially with Tobey's (there's plenty of them as Go Gadget Go shows) I can imagine something like this occurring when a teenager or adult Becky inevitably has to tell Claire she's WordGirl because let's be honest it would avoid a lot of awkwardness. I even see her telling her family eventually, but this is how I actually see it going:
"Mrs. McCallister, I'm WordGirl..."
"...I am not blind, Becky. Though I have tried to be, for Tobey's sake. And for yours. I have suspected things about WordGirl a long time ago. I have put the pieces together as he had, though we do not speak of it. I... pretend that I don't know. And I was happy to, because it made him happy. WordGirl made him happy, when nothing else ever truly could."
If a teenage or adult WordGirl series or some other thing that continues the show ever happened where this theory was true, how do you think Becky would react to Claire knowing that she was WordGirl?
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This blog was inspired by:
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rose-tinted-vision · 3 months
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Once again being annoying about a journey to love on the TL:
I think one reason why I still cannot get over AJTL is because!! of how beautifully and realistically it portrays the relationships between characters, and more importantly, it does not outright shove the main pairing into our faces. their relationship took time to develop which made it more realistic imo, and is a nice contrast to a lot of shows these days that seem to have characters falling in love in the span of two episodes.
(I've made a tl;dr a while ago here)
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Episode 7
As in- the main couple is shown quite a bit, yes. They get their fair share of screentime, but the drama also focuses on the friendships between the liudaotang squad, the sibling dynamics between NYZ and YY and how it parallels with RRY and LTG.
It really highlights the different kinds of love that one person can have in this life, like the platonic love between YSS and NYZ (imo), the familial love between YL and NYZ, the romantic love between RRY and NYZ, all of it really balances out and i love that.
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Then there is also the fked up obsessive love that LTG has for RRY, and the drama shows that you can still recover from that (we are ignoring ep 37 here), it shows that you can still move on from that and grow from there- you may not necessarily forget them and that is okay.
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Episode 26, 36 "my master is the only woman I'll ever love."
Then theres also the love for the country, embodied by how LTG and YY entered a loveless marriage for the sake of their countries (ep 37), and for the sake of protecting what their loved ones are fighting (and died) for.
It is also, arguably, shown by how Qian Zhao died to save the King's life for the sake of maintaining peace in Wu, even though his entire objective was to kill the King.
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Another thing I really liked was the emphasis they gave to Yang Ying's relationships, her attempts at finding love and the way they validate her feelings about it- she had just realised how much of a scumbag Zheng Qingyun is, eventually moved on to slowly having feelings for Yuan Lu, but entered a political marriage with Li Tongguang in the end- and she's still so young.
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"As long as you gave a clear conscience, even if a woman has only loved one person, or loved multiple people in her life, she still deserves respect"
(Lastly, there's Yu Shisan who's like. the embodiment of love in this drama- not just because of his flirtatious nature, but its in those small scenes that really shows how deeply he loves.
There's the start of the show, where he volunteers to take the punishment in Yang Ying's steed (ep 6),
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then there's the episode where NYZ clarifies to Ruyi that it's because YSS is too worried that he is acting indifferent (ep 8). Then there's all the scenes where he periodically checks up on NYZ (ep 10, 31, etc), his concern for Ruyi putting all her eggs in one basket (ep 20ish), the talk between him and JMN where she admits that YSS treated her well (ep 30).
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And then there's his death. There's this wonderful post that has been haunting me for months. How do you save Yu Shisan, when half the people he loves is dead? How do you save him when, even if he survives, would not allow himself the love that he gives away so freely? (see: first half of episode 39)).
Just know that this show has me feral over it's brilliant writing. They got me from the very beginning when they portrayed NYZ's emotional intelligence and acceptance of RRY and his consideration for her. (and when they introduced Yuan Lu. I went: that's my blorbo from this show).
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crithaus · 1 year
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I wanna make some things like very clear to the new Vox Machina fans coming from the animated show to our humble home. Really I wanna settle some of the score about my best girl Vex'ahlia.
Now I know, I know that with so incredibly much source material to try and condense into just 36 22 minute episodes naturally some stuff is gonna be cut out or missed or edited, and TLOVM is it's own canon true, but what with it being Vox Machina but abridged it makes sense to me that it can be directly compared and perhaps found a bit lacking in regards to its source material, and so here I go.
They're not treating Vex with total fairness to be honest. A lot of her best early moments in VM are taken out or given to other people in TLOVM, like her first brush with death with Delilah in the Briarwood arc (it was her that got attacked by Delilah and almost died, not Keyleth, but like this one I get ig. The Twins and Percy held like the campaign record for being down and hurt the most like Sam had to deliberately change that so this wasn't hours of the twins just being near death like I'm not happy but I get it), or season two changing how she found Trinket (Vax was nowhere near her when she ran into those poachers) and mainly the portrayal of Vex as this snippy, mean, jealous, callous, unfeeling bitch without any of the uncertainty inherent in her or the tender moments to flesh her out.
Like in VM proper she's rude and a little snippy sure but that's borne of an established backstory of emotional neglect and the crushing trauma of poverty and Vax literally being the only other person who genuinely loved and cared for her after the mother who's arms she was ripped from was burned alive, (y'know after Syldor the worst dad god ever created literally abandoned them with their mother for 10 years while they were dirt poor (but happy, Elaina is the best mom to live ever), dragged them away from her for 5 in which time he destroyed her and Vax's self esteem, let the whole racist ass town he was ambassador of harass them along with harassing them himself and forced them to be the perfect quiet little doll heirs he only decided he wanted after 10 years of no 'true blooded' kids of his own) and then when they ran away, saw their mother had been murdered in her home by a fucking dragon had to spend the next several years at only like 15ish stealing (in Vex's case haggling and hunting) to survive! Like Vex's hangups around money are from the period in her life where she as controller of her and Vax's meager finances was in charge of making sure they didn't starve to death in the woods somewhere, at 15 she and Vax had to keep themselves alive with no help from anyone but each other, her haggling any and everyone down is a direct response to that.
And oh boy Syldor? Syldor? And his bullshit expectations and neglect are the reason she's so chronically unsure of herself and so desperate to keep being Vax's favorite. You think Keyleth is unsure of herself? Buddy you have seen nothing. Vex's confidence in herself is a facade and literally the longer you know her the more obvious that becomes. She's so slow to let other people in and equally slow to trust cuz she's been hurt so brutally and the few times she relaxes enough to do something for herself (side eyeing the broom incident), she gets narratively punished for it! Bro, the night before meeting with Syldor Percy finds her in tears obsessively polishing her armor cuz she's so desperate even after all this time to prove to Syldor that she is someone, that she isn't the diluted little half-breed Syldor always looked down his nose at (and then Percy, who never again was fooled by her false airs and stepped up to do The Sweetest thing god ever created), like...she's fucked up! And lonely! And wants nothing more than a stable home and people who genuinely like her.
Them leaving their home in when the conclave first attacked Emon drove her to tears because it was the first home she'd had in so long and now they had to leave it. She's got so much depth and she is so endlessly kind too. Every time she sees someone whose circumstances mirror her own she doesn't hesitate to open her purse for it. (her freeing those kids??? Anyone???) She's no Keyleth or even Pike to be sure but she's so sweet. Keyleth goes tearing off up the Sun Tree, Vex follows. Grog gets swindled by some punkass merchant? Vex goes tearing off after him, all her interactions with Vax to be honest she might have Little Sister disease but still, she is so endlessly kind and good and it's not as overt as Pike's genuine goodness or Keyleth's earnestness, it's slightly more subtle but always present. She's the beating heart of Vox Machina, she encourages them all, (just look at what they tell Pelor I mean.... And and I could go on and on about how the fact that she's the champion of the god of Life, Light and the Sun means so much narratively but I mean I doubt I need to I mean it's Pelor), They all look to her and Vax for guidance, look at what they do to fucking Saundor for him merely taunting her, (yes it's more deep than that I know), they literally get stuck in hell and wait there, in the middle of HELL for her cuz they can't/won't move on without her.
She's brilliant, and clever, and broken and 'greedy' and a bitch yes true, but she's so much more than that, and I'm not even gonna tell you to watch the podcast cuz fuck Orion tbh and y'know I am a hater and a gatekeeper both and am totally fine being in the little niche of of vox machina likers, but if you want substance, if you want all of her because god is she compelling, then take your cues from the podcast and not the show.
The show is new, and still ongoing, and I hope they start letting her shine as she was always meant too in later episodes, but she is the heart and soul of Vox Machina and y'all better put some respect on the name of Lady Vex'ahlia De Rolo, Champion of Pelor, Baroness of the First House of Whitestone and Grandmistress of the Grey Hunt, Coinmistress and Treasurer of the Tal'dorei Council.
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